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Goan Fish Curry

2009-09-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

I had been searching for a good Goan fish curry recipe and finally found it at one of my favourite blogs. I make this curry either with pomfret or prawns. I like the simplicity of this recipe. I have made this curry with the normal red chillies and with Kashmiri / Bedgi chilies. And just like blog mentions, its the Bedgi chillies that give Goan curries their distinctive color and taste. They are not too pungent but impart color to the dish. Use these if possible.

Ingredients:

1 medium size silver pomfret (or any other firm, white fish)
½ medium size onion, chopped fine
¼ Tsp turmeric
½ Tsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste
4-5 dry red Kashmiri or Bedgi chilies
4 cloves garlic
3-4 peppercorns
½ Tsp coriander seeds
1 cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen

Method:

Clean and slice pomfret length wise. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Apply salt and turmeric and keep aside.
Grind the Bedgi chillies, garlic, peppercons, corriander seeds and grated coconut with a little water into a fine paste.
Place chopped onion and ground paste in a pan. Add a cup of water. Bring to boil on low heat. Add tamarind paste and season with salt.
Finally add fish slices, bring to a second boil then simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot with rice.

Tip: Make this curry in the morning to serve at dinner, or even better the next day!

Chicken Stuffed Mushroom

2009-08-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

Its been really long since I have blogged any new recipe. So, I will get started with a "starter" recipe :). This is a very simple recipe with the classic combination of chicken and mushrooms.

Ingredients:

10-12 Mushrooms
Few pieces of Boiled Chicken (finely chopped)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Garlic (finely chopped)
Pepper powder to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Oil
Grated Cheese

Method:

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stem. With the back of the spoon scoop out a thin layer of the mushrooms so that chicken can be stuffed well.
Heat oil in a pan and stir fry the mushrooms till the water is evaporated and the mushrooms shrink in size.
Remove the mushrooms from the pan and keep them aside. In the same pan add 1tsp of oil and fry the chopped garlic. Once the garlic turns brown, add chicken and the scooped out mushroom pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sauté the mixture for about 4-5 minutes. Let the stuffing cool down a bit.
Pre-heat the oven at about 180 degree Celsius. Stuff the mushrooms with the chicken stuffing and on top of the stuffing add generous amount of grated cheese.
Bake the mushrooms for about 8-10 minutes or till the cheese melts and the top becomes brown.

Gul-Amba

2009-03-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

My mom prepares this dish for me every year at the outset of summer - I don't remember a single year when she did not make it. But yeah, earlier she used to make it for her daughter, now she makes it for her grand-daughter. This dish can be made sweet or sweet & sour. I prefer the khatta-mitha taste better. Gulamba tastes best with chapathi. When I was a kid (or to be honest way beyond that), I would never bother to look at what vegetables were made whenever gulamaba was at home - just chapathi and gulamba for both the meals :)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Green Raw Mango (grated / cut into small pieces)
½ Cup Jaggery pieces
1 Tsp Cardamom Powder
1 Tbsp Ghee
2-3 Cloves
4-5 Black Peppers
Few Cashews (optional)

Method:

Peel the outer skin of mango. Cut into small pieces or grate.
In a pan, take ghee and add cloves and pepper. Saute for a few seconds and then add raw mango pieces and cashews. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
Now add jaggery pieces gradually and keep mixing well till they melt. The amount of jaggery to be added depends on how 'khatta' the mango is, and how sweet you prefer the dish!
Add cardamom powder and turn off the heat.
Allow it to cool. Store in a clean and dry container. Can be kept for about 12-15 days.

This is my entry for this month's Monthly Mingle - Kids Lunches.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2009-03-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

I had never heard of this cake until I started baking. I attended a one day baking course where I got to know about this upside down cake. It is cakes like this, which are not available at a bakery (atleast around here), that make me feel nice about making cakes at home :)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp Melted Butter
¾ Cup brown sugar
6 Pineapple rings (canned)
Few Cherries
½ Cup Butter
½ Cup Sugar
4 Eggs
1 Cup Maida
1 Tsp Baking Powder
½ Tsp Salt
½ Tsp Cooking Soda
1 Tsp Pineapple Essence

Method:

In a 9-inch square cake pan, melt butter; sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange pineapple and cherries on sugar, making a design.
In a glass bowl, cream the butter and gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Add beaten eggs, essence and again beat well.
Sift maida with baking powder and soda.
Add sifted dry maida and beat until smooth pouring consistency.
Pour over pineapple design. Bake at 180° Celcius for about 40-45 minutes.
Cool for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate

Punjabi Bhindi Masala

2009-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

Paneer and Bhendi are the first dishes that come to my mind whenever we have vegetarian guests coming over for lunch. This preparation is a particularly good option - simple to make, fabulous to taste and "rich" to look!

Ingredients:

250 gms Bhindi (Lady Finger)
3-4 Onions
4 Tomatoes (puree)
1 Tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 Tsp Dhania Powder (Coriander Powder)
1 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 Tsp Kasuri Methi
1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
5-6 Tbsp Oil
Chopped Coriander leaves (for garnishing)
Salt to taste

Method:

In a pan, take 2-3 tbsp Oil and fry the lady finger. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add more 2-3 tbsp oil and fry onions.
Once the onions become soft, add ginger-garlic paste and sauté.
Add dhania powder, red chilli powder and sauté again.
Add tomato puree and salt and cook till the masala leaves the edges of the pan.
Add the fried bhindi to the masala. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Once the bhindi is cooked, add crushed kasuri methi and garam masala powder.
While serving, garnish with corrainder leaves.

Tomato Dal

2009-03-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

The much loved andhra "tomato pappu" is expectedly my hubby's favourite too. There are many ways to make this dal. The most simple one being cooking tomatoes, onion and dal together and finishing off with tadka. This one is more spicy and tangy! Tastes best when made in ghee.

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor/Tuvar Dal
6 Tomatoes (diced)
1 Onion (finely chopped)
3-4 Dried Red Chillies (halved)
¼ Tsp Turmeric powder
5-6 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Coriander powder
2 Tbsp Ghee/Oil
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
10-12 Curry leaves
1 Tsp Asofoetida powder (Hing)
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash the dal, add 3 cups of water, turmeric, and pressure cook till soft. Once the dal is cooked mash the dal to a fine paste and set aside.
Heat oil/ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds. As they start spluttering add curry leaves, chopped garlic, red chillies and asofoetida powder.
Now add chopped tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium heat till the tomatoes turn soft.
Add salt, coriander powder and allow to cook for 2 minutes.
Add the mashed dal. Add water if the dal is too thick. Cook for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.
Garnish with chopped corriander and serve with hot rice, papad and pickle. Yum!

Palak Paneer

2009-03-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

We visit a Punjabi restaurant quite often, but never tried their veg fare until recently when we visited with some "veg only" friends. We ordered Palak Paneer - it turned out very different from the usual ones we have had. The most unusual thing was that the palak was ground with dried red chillies and the mustard tadka. I tried it at home and it came out quite well!

Ingredients:

250 gms Paneer (diced)
2-3 Bunches of Spinach/Palak
3-4 Dried Kashmiri Chillies
4-5 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 Onion (chopped)
1 Tsp Mustard
1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
1-2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and drain the water from spinach. Chop it coarsely. In a pan boil water and add the chopped spinach. Let it cook for 2 minutes. Strain it and run cold water over the boiled spinach. This way it retains the "fresh" green colour.
Once cool, grind the spinach with dried red chillies. Use only Kashmiri chillies.
In a pan, melt the butter and add mustard seeds. When they crackle add the chopped onion and fry till translucent.
Add garlic and fry till garlic turns slightly brown.
Now, add the spinach paste, salt and sugar and let it cook uncovered for 2 minutes.
Add the Paneer pieces and let it again cook for 2 more minutes. Do not cover and cook as the spinach might turn darkish in colour.
Add garam masala powder and switch off the flame.
Garnish with grated paneer or fresh cream and serve hot!

Tip: For step 6 above, I prefer the paneer as is, without frying it. If you prefer fried paneer, deep fry the paneer upfront and immediately put them in water. This will keep the pieces soft and prevent them from becoming chewy.

Hawaiian Salad

2009-03-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

We had this salad in a Pizza joint and loved it. The pineapple adds wonderful flavour! The salad in the Pizza joint had mayonisse dressing but at home I prefer not to use mayonisse. Instead I made a dressing with curds and olive oil.

Ingredients:

1 cup Pineapple (diced)
½ cup Boiled Macaroni
½ cup Onion (diced)
½ cup Yellow/Red Capsicum (diced)
½ cup Carrots(diced)
½ cup Cucumber (diced)
4-5 Salad Leaves
½ cup Thick Curds
3-4 tbsp Olive Oil
1-2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste

Method:

Cut onions, carrots, pineapple, capsicum into small cubes. Break the sald leaves (do not chop) into medium size pieces.
For the dressing, combine curds, salt, sugar and olive oil. Mix well.
In a serving bowl, put in the vegetables and toss in the dressing. Serve chilled.

Tutti-Frutti Cookies

2009-03-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

The recipe for these cookies is from here. Before I started blogging I used to bookmark reciepes that appealed to me. This one was bookmarked long time back. I like the fact that the cookie dough can be stored for a month. But be assured it won't last that long!

Ingredients:

1 cup Maida
1 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Salt
½ cup Butter
½ cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Desiccated Coconut
1 cup Tutti-Frutti

Method:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat again. Stir in flour mixture, coconut and mixed fruits. Mix until dough forms.
Divide the dough into 2 portions. Shape into rolls and wrap them in wax paper or cling film. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Slice the dough logs into thin slices with a serrated knife. Bake them at 175° C for 10 to 12 minutes or until pale golden.
Remove and let cool on wire rack.

Gajar ka Halwa

2009-03-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

My husband's favourite dessert! He especially loves it when made with khoya. But, here in Hyderabad it is difficult to find fresh khoya. I subsitute it with milk powder and that works just fine.

Ingredients:

1 cup grated Carrot
2-3 cups Milk
1 ½ cups Sugar
5-6 tbsp Ghee
½ cup Milk Powder
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1-2 sheets of Silver Varq (optional)
Chopped Almonds, Raisins, Pista, Cashew

Method:

In a pan, fry the grated carrots in ghee till the carrots go soft.
Now add the milk. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes on low flame or till the carrots are completely cooked
Add sugar and keep stiring till the sugar dissolves completely.
Add milk powder and mix well.
Add the cardamom powder and again mix well.
Add the nuts (keep a few aside for garnishing) and again mix well.
Garnish the halwa with the reserved nuts and varq and serve warm or chilled.

Banana-Walnut Loaf

2009-03-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Every time we get bananas in summer, we end up with a few that are too soft to eat. A banana-walnut loaf is an ideal way to put them to use :)

Ingredients:

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Banana Puree
3 Eggs
1 ½ cups Maida
1 tsp Vanilla essence
½ tsp Baking powder
½ tsp Baking Soda
30 gms Oil
1 ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
¼ cup chopped Walnuts

Method:

Cream the sugar along with the banana puree till the sugar dissolves completely.
Add the eggs into the above mixture and beat well.
Sieve the flour, along with the cinnamon powder, the baking powder and baking soda. Gently add this flour mixture into the banana puree and mix.
Stir in the walnuts, essence and the oil into the above mixture.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180 Celsius or till done.

Paneer Makhanwala

2009-02-06T21:49:00.000-08:00

This one must be the most "ordered" item in most of the Veg restaurants. My hubby's favourite too :). I don't make it very often because its a very rich gravy with cream and cashew paste.

Ingredients:

250 gms Paneer cubes
3-4 (medium) Tomatoes (puree)
3-4 (medium) Onions (sliced)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tsp Dhania powder (Coriander powder)
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Garam Masala powder
½ cup Curds
½ cup Cashew nut paste
½ cup Fresh Cream
½ cup Butter
Pinch of sugar
2-3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Shallow fry the sliced onions till they turn brown and make brown onion paste in a mixie.
Blend brown onion paste, tomato puree, ginger-garlic paste, kesuri methi, dhania powder, red chilli powder, cashew paste, curd, garam masala in mixer and make a paste.
In a pan add 2 tbsp oil. Add the masala paste and fry till the oil separates.
Add salt and sugar. Cover and cook.
When it boils add fresh cream and butter. Cover and cook for 2 miutes.
Now add paneer cubes and again cover and cook for 2 minutes.
Before serving add fresh cream and butter.

Tips:

Soak the cashew for 5-7 minutes in warm water before making paste. This ensures a smooth paste.
While making brown onion paste, add curds instead of water. It is easier to make brown onion paste this way than adding water.

Lachha Roti

2008-11-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

When we make a rich gravy like Paneer Makhanwala or any chicken gravy, I feel chapathi doesn't do justice to the dish. At the same time, I don't like maida based rotis or naan. So one day while watching a cookery show, the chef was showing how to make Parathas, Naans and the likes from maida. The way he made the Lachha paratha, I thought we can do the same with wheat flour atta. I tried it and everyone at home loved it! Now, there is a demand for this roti even for "normal" curries. Since it is made from regular dough, I can serve them whenever my family wants :)

Ingredients:

Wheat flour dough
Oil/Ghee

Method:

Roll the dough into a normal 6 inch chapathi.
Apply oil/ghee all over the chapathi and sprinkle dry flour on top of it.
Now fold this chapathi the way we make paper fans.
Roll this fan into spiral shape.
Roll this spiral ball again as you would roll a normal chapathi.
Now dip a cloth in water and dab one side of the roti with water and put this wet side on the hot tava. This step gives a tandoorish feel to the roti.
The flame should always be high when making the rotis.
Once one side is done, dab the other side also with water, turn the roti and let it cook.
Now add oil/ghee and again cook both the sides.
Take it out of the tava and immediately ruffle it the way we ruffle paper. This brings out all the layers (lachhas) of the roti. Lachha Roti is ready!

Raagi Chocolate cake

2008-10-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

This cake was a big surprise for me! I could never imagine that a raagi cake would taste so yum :)! Again this recipe is from a cookery show. Ilisa had stopped eating raagi sometime back and I was wondering what to do with the remaining raagi flour. I found an absolutely great alternative. It tastes just like a chocolate cake.

Ingredients:

100 gms Butter (softened)
150 gms Raagi flour
100 gms Sugar (powdered)
1 tbsp Baking powder
¼ cup Cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 Eggs
5-6 tbsp Milk
Chopped dates and walnuts

Method:

Sieve raagi flour, cocoa powder and baking powder.
In a bowl, beat the butter till it is light and fluffy.
Now add sugar and mix well with the butter.
Now add beaten eggs gradually to the butter mixture and mix well. Add essence.
Now add the raagi + cocoa + baking powder mixture and beat well till the mixture is light and fluffy.
Add 5-6 tbsps of milk and again mix well.
Grease a cake tin with butter and pour one layer of cake mixture and sprinkle with chopped dates and walnuts. Now pour a second layer of the cake mixture.
Do this till the cake mixture is completely used.
Bake at 180 Celsius for 30-35 minutes or till done.

Wheat Cake

2008-10-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

My daughter Ilisa likes to have cakes as snacks. I make an effort to make healthy cakes for her by adding some dates, currants, walnuts or almonds - things that she wouldn't take otherwise! I came across this recipe on a cookery show and loved the simplicity of the recipe. And to add to it, it was made from wheat flour and I had to give it a try. I was concerned about the texture, taste and whether the cake will rise and be soft. Turns out, the cake is not light and soft but tastes great and moreover Ilisa loved it!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup Wheat flour
1 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
6 tbsp Ghee
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tsp Baking powder
Milk (boiled and cooled)
Chopped almonds (for garnishing)

Method:

Mix wheat flour, baking powder and sugar granules.
Add ghee to the flour and mix well.
Now add beaten eggs and beat till sugar is dissolved.
Add milk as and when necessary to make the mixture of pouring consistency.
Pour it in a cake tin and garnish with chopped almonds.
Bake for 40-45 minutes at 180 Celsius.

Zunka Bhakri

2008-08-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favourite meals :). Anyone staying in Pune would have had, atleast once, Zunka-Bhakri and onion bhajji at Sinhagad. It is simply divine! I have not been able to replicate the same taste though. Maybe it is the beautiful location of Sinhagad or the way it is prepared on charcoal- it just tastes out of the world at Sinhagad.

Ingredients (For the wet mixture):

1 glass water
2 Onions (chopped)
½ tsp Red chilli powder
½ tsp Turmeric powder
1 cup Besan

Ingredients (For the masala):

2 Onions (chopped)
4 tsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard seeds
½ tsp Jeera
½ tsp Garlic paste
½ tsp Ginger paste
1-2 Green chillies (chopped)
Salt to taste

Method:

In a bowl add besan, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, chopped onions and water. Mix well.
For the masala, heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, jeera, ginger paste, garlic paste, chopped onions, green chillies and salt. Saute till onions turn brown.
Add the prepared wet mixture to the pan and mix well. Cover and cook for 6-7 minutes.
Serve hot with bajra/jowar bhakri!

Kadhi Pakoda

2008-08-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

I love Kadhi Chawal a lot! Its one of my favourite meals - hot kadhi, rice, pickle and papad. Yummy!

We were once put up at a luxury hotel in Hyderabad with all expenses (including meals) paid for. Now, the greedy me planned to hog on the lavish 5 star lunch buffets everyday, and the fact that I didn't have to pay for them made it even more attractive :). But 2 days into the stay I got bored of the buffets - too many items can at times kill your appettite. On the 3rd day I had a look at their room service menu and was delighted to see Kadhi-Pakoda! For the rest of my 2 weeks, I just had that for lunch without getting bored :)

Ingredients (For Pakoda):

2 Onions
1 Potato
2-3 Green chillies
5-6 Garlic cloves
1 inch Ginger piece
Coriander (as per taste)
1 cup Besan
2 tbsp Rice flour
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Ajwain (Carom seeds)
Salt to taste
Oil (for frying)

Method:

Make a thick and coarse paste of green chilles, garlic, ginger and corriander. Add water as and when necesary. The paste should not be smooth.
Chop the onions and potatoes and mix them in a bowl. Apply salt and keep aside for 10 minutes
Add besan, ginger-garlic-coriander paste, rice flour and salt. Mix well and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.
Now keep adding enough water to make a thick batter.
Heat oil and drop the batter with a spoon or with hand into moderate hot oil. Fry till golden-brown.
Remove from oil and put on a tissue paper or towel to absorb the excess oil.

Ingredients (For the kadhi):

1 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Mustard seeds
6-7 Curry leaves
3-4 Green chillies
3-4 Garlic cloves
¼ cup Besan
Pinch of Hing
½ cup Water
Salt to tate

Method:

Mix the besan with the buttermilk, to form a smooth mixture. No lumps should be formed.
Heat oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add curry leaves, turmeric, garlic and hing.
Now pour the besan-buttermilk mixture, add water and let the whole thing simmer till the "raw/kachcha" taste of besan is gone. It should take about 8-10 minutes.
Add water depending upon the consistency you want.
Add the pakodas to the kadhi and boil it till pakodas get completely soaked.
Garnish with chopped corriander and serve it with rice and pickle!

CLICK: July 2008

2008-07-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

I never thought I would try having a red tea, leave alone like it as much. We absolutely loved this tea that we got as a gift from a cousin in Ireland.

This post is my entry "Very Berry Nice Tea" for the event CLICK: July 2008!

Palak Paneer Pulao

2008-07-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

My husband doesn't eat paalak unless its paalak paneer. And while I do like it, I always ended up eating it with rice than roti. That's when I thought why not make pulao with Palak and Paneer!

Ingredients:

2 Paalak bunches (Leaves only)
1 cup Paneer pieces
2 cups Rice
½ cup Sweet Corn (optional)
2-3 Green chillies
5-6 cloves of Garlic
1 Onion (finely chopped)
1 tbsp Sugar
2-3 Bay leaves, Cinnamon sticks, 4-5 Peppercorns and 4-5 Cloves
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp Oil + for frying

Method:

Make a paste of palak leaves, chillies, garlic and 1 tbsp of sugar. Add water but don't make the paste too thin.
Wash and soak rice.
Heat a pressure pan and add oil. Add whole garam masala. Sauté for a minute.
Now add chopped onions and sauté till they turn brown.
Add the paalak paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Now add rice, corn, salt and water. Give 2 whistles.
In the meantime fry the paneer pieces. I prefer stir fry than deep fry.
Once the rice is cooked, mix fried paneer pieces and rice in a bowl.
Garnish with fried onion.

This post is an entry for the event "Paneer: a delicacy"

"Britannia" style cake

2008-07-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe at North Ki Rasoi Se. What I liked about this recipe is its simplicity. My daughter loves cakes and I am always looking out for simple cake recipes. This one reminded me of the Britannia cakes which come in small packages. I was worried about the texture of the cake since no beating was involved - everything was just mixed in the grinder. But the cake came out very well!

Ingredients:

1 cup Maida
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Oil
1 tbsp Custard Powder
1 tsp Baking Powder
4 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Method:

Mix maida, baking powder, sugar and custard powder thoroughly.
Grease a 6x6 pan with oil and dust it with maida. Keep the pan aside.
Break the eggs in a blender.
Add oil and vanilla essence, blend it for a minute.
Now start the mixer on slow speed and add the dry mixture (maida, sugar etc.) spoon by spoon and add the entire dry mixture this way.
Pour the mixture in a baking dish and bake in pre heated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 30-40 min.
Cool the cake. Enjoy it with a hot cup of tea!

Apple Rabdi

2008-06-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

I choose the First Box for the Open Sesame 2 contest hosted by Siri and DK and it contained the following riddle:

A moniker in my name for a city
A phrase with me will make you cherished
I am so good for you in my utter simplicity
In Medical dictionary the fact so furnished
I am so famous in the world of bytes
Known for many aspects of usage
I am fat and rotound and make crunchy bites
My fame known from many religious traditions - right from the old age
Am, I forbidden? Or mystical ?
or the eternal giver of Youth
I consists of five internal carpels
Am good for good health of your mouth
I am as basic a fruit as you can think of
Or as hard if you dont try enough
If You eat me on a day to day basis
Then you dont have worry about anything - be it cold or dry cough

Yep! The answer was - Apple. We do not use apple that much in our cooking. I know a lot of desserts in the west (esp. USA) are made from Apple, but then I did not want to make something I cannot relate to. After racking my brains a bit, I remembered having Apple Rabdi at a dinning hall in Pune and I knew right away that this is what I want to try. The subtle flavour of apple goes well with the rabdi. I had some mini rasgullas which I added as garnish. The result was fantastic!

Ingredients:

2 medium Apples
½ litre Milk
2-3 tbsp Sugar
¼ tsp Green cardamom powder
8-10 Almonds, blanched and sliced
8-10 Pistachios, blanched and sliced

Method:

Pour milk in a broad vessel and bring to a boil. Simmer till it is reduced to half the original quantity.
Add sugar and cook on low heat, stirring continuously.
Peel and grate two apples.
Add the grated apples to reduced milk and mix. Cook for three to four minutes.
Add cardamom powder, almonds and pistachios. Take it off the heat.
Garnish with mini rasgullas (optional).
Serve hot or cold.

Mutter Paneer

2008-06-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

The original recipe requires two pastes - brown onion paste and a paste of cashew & khus-khus. Making the two pastes is too much overhead for me and as usual I take a short-cut method as described below. There was hardly any difference in taste.

Ingredients:

1 cup Green Peas
1 cup Paneer
½ cup Cashew nuts
1-2 Tomatoes (finely chopped)
1-2 Onions (sliced)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1 tsp Dhania Powder
1 tsp Red chili powder
¼ tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 tsp Kasoori methi leaves
2-4 tbsp Oil
¼ cup Coriander leaves
¼ cup Fresh Cream
Salt to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and cashew and stir fry them till onions go brown. Cool and make a paste. Add curds instead of water to make a paste.
In another pan heat oil and add onion-cashew paste, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, dhania powder, red chilli powder.
Now add chopped tomatoes and peas. Stir fry till they tomatoes go soft.
Add water. Cover and cook till peas go tender.
Add salt and mix well. Now add paneer pieces.
Let the mixture come to a boil then add kasuri methi and garam masala.
Cook on low flame for 2 minutes. Now add cream and take the pan off the heat.
Garnish with Corrainder.
Serve hot with roti, paratha or naan.

Punjabi Chicken Bhuna

2008-06-26T00:09:00.001-07:00

This preparation is made by my mom frequently and it just tastes like restaurant gravy. I use Everest meat masala in this recipe. The meat masala comes quite handy when I want to make chicken in a hurry.

Ingredients:

250 gms Chicken
1 cup curds
1 tsp Garam Masala powder
1 tsp Coriander (dhania) Powder
Whole Garam masala (2 Bay leaf, 2 Black cardamom, 2 Green cardamom, 2-3 Cloves and 1 " Cinnamom)
1 " Ginger piece
1 whole Garlic
2 medium Onions
2 medium Tomatoes
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Everest Meat Masala
2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1-2 Green chillies
1 tsp Jeera
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp Oil

Method:

Make a fine paste of onions, tomato, green chillies, ginger and garlic. Keep aside.
In pressure cooker add oil. Add jeera and let it splutter. Now add whole garam masala. Sauté.
Add the paste and fry till oil leaves edge of kadai.
Add chicken, dhania powder, turmeric,salt, meat masala and curds. Mix well.
Now add garam masala and water ( depending on how much thick gravy you want) and give 1-2whistles.
Serve hot with roti or rice.

This is my entry for Chicken- My favourite

Besan ke Cheelay

2008-06-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

A very easy to make breakfast option. You can add vegetables of your choice including leafy vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 cup Besan
½ cup Water
¼ cup Oil
1 tsp Ginger Paste
1 tsp Garlic Paste
2 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
1 medium Onion (finely chopped)
1 medium Tomato (finely chopped)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
2-3 tbsp Corriander (chopped)
2-3 tbsp Carrot (grated)
2-3 tbsp Cabbage (grated)
2-3 tbsp Paneer (grated)
2-3 tbsp Green Peas(boiled & roughly mashed)

Method:

Make a batter combining all the dry ingredients first and then gradually adding water and finally the oil.
Add onion, tomatoes, paneer and remaining vegetables. Mix well until no lumps remain.
Heat tawa. Use the ladle to spread the batter quickly in spiral motion, to make cheelay measuring 5 inches in diameter.
Drizzle a little oil on top of each cheelay, turn sides over and cook.
Serve it hot with sauce, chutney or just curds & pickle!

This post is an entry for Weekend Breakfast Blogging

Date Cake

2008-06-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular recipes on food blog world! This cake recipe is one of the simplest recipes ever. Just grind all ingredients together and bake – it can’t get any simpler than this!! The original recipe is at Aayi’s recipes.

Ingredients:

18-20 Dates (seeds removed)
1 cup Milk
1 cup Maida
½ cup melted butter/ghee/oil
¾ cup Sugar
1 tbsp Baking Soda

Method:

Warm the milk and soak the dates in it overnight or for at least 4-5 hrs.
Sieve together Maida and baking soda. Mix them well and keep aside.
Grind together dates along with the milk in which it is soaked and sugar to a fine paste.
Remove this paste in a bowl and add oil/butter/ghee.
Now add maida & soda mixture 1 spoon at a time.
Mix maida well with the dates paste to make a smooth batter (no lumps should be formed).
In the meantime pre-heat the oven at 180 degree for 10 minutes.
Pour the cake batter in a pan which is greased with oil/butter and dusted with maida.
Bake at 170-180 degree for 30-35 minutes or till done.