Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Sad news about Rinku and Amit

Many of you must have heard about a techie in Banglore who killed his wife and then commited suicide. He suspected his wife of having an affair.

The girl stayed just 1 mile away from my mom's place in Mumbai. My mom knew her mom and had attended the sangeet ceremony last year before Rinku's marriage. I never met them.

I don't think anyone has a right to take another's life, whatever the reason. He could have divorced her. Saw her photos on Orkut. She looks beautiful. She has all their couple photos on orkut where as Amit has only his in the profile. Not even one of hers.

People are so stressed with jobs etc that they are taking such extreme steps. Hope sense prevails. May Their souls rest in peace. TWo families have been destroyed by one senseless act.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

GOING TO INDIA FOR 2 MONTHS

Hi dear friends,

I am going to India on 7th march and will return on 5th may. Today some of our friends are coming over for the weekend. Next week will go in preparation and packing, cooking for my hubby. So I will not be able to blog till may. I will try to visit blogs next week and from India whenever I get time. See you all soon. Will miss you.
Bye.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Nice Matters award, Thank you Meera


Meera of Enjoy Indian Food passed on this award to me. Thanks a lot Meera.

"Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

One of my first choices to pass on this award would have been Ashaji. She is one of the sweetest people I had the opportunity to meet through blogging. Love all her posts.

And then it would also have been Happycook. Her posts are great but she also resembles one on my dearest friends, and I always smile whenever I visit her blog and see her photo.

There is Shailaija, who has taken it upon herself to keep all of us connected.

There are many more who are very dear to me, and whose blogs I always visit, but most of them have already gotten this award. So I wanted to pass it to some other bloggers who have been very good to me.

So I pass this award to Meeso of http://meesosweetandspicy.blogspot.com/ . I think she is one of the sweetest people around.

Ammupatti of http://bhagavathy.blogspot.com/. I love reading her posts.

Anjali of http://annaparabrahma.blogspot.com. I did not know too much about the koli dishes and traditions, but her posts take me to her world.

Spicy Tangy Shrimps/Prawns

Everyday food gets a bit boring some times. Even though its healthier to eat roti, sabji, dal, chawal sometimes we crave for some thing spicy to jazz up a simple meal. These shrimps are ready in just 10 minutes. They also taste great with drinks and can be served as snacks.If you have kashmiri mirch powder or paprika, use that to get a better color. I did not have it this time, or you can get a vibrant red color to the shrimps.


 


Ingredients

12-15 medium sized shrimps, peeled and deveined (I get the ones from Costco which are already peeled and deveined)

For the marination

1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garlic paste
salt to taste

Other ingredients
1 tsp mustard seeds
7-8 curry leaves torn
3 dried red chilies broken
3-4 green chillies chopped in big pieces
a pinch of hing
1 tblsp oil
1 tblsp lemon juice
green coriander

Marinate the prawns in the above for just 10 minutes. Never marinate seafood for long time.

Heat oil, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add hing, red chilies, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry for a minute.

Then add the prawns and cook on one side for two minutes, then turn them an cook for another 2 mins.

Remove them in a serving dish and add lemon juice and coriander leaves.

Serve hot. I even make them ahead of time and just heat them for 30 secs in the microwave.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

PACHRANGA PANIPURI - JFI LEMON/LIME

Ambala Cantt is my birth place, and is situated in Haryana. It’s the place where we went twice a year, for many years, to spend our summer and diwali vacations. This was where my mom and dad had spend their childhood. My naniji (mom’s mom) had some health problems and we would spend all our holidays at their place so that my mom could take care of my nana nani at least during the holidays.

Ambala is known for its Air and Army Cantonments and also for its surgical and medical instruments. But it is also a heaven for food lovers.

In the mornings, you can get breakfast of puri, aloo, aloo chana and kaddu ki sabji. This would be our breakfast many mornings. You can’t even imagine how delicious this is, if you have not eaten it in Ambala.

In the afternoons, various feriwalas go from huse to house, selling their tasty foods. It could be a kulfi wala, chaat wala, tikki wala, mungfuli wala or churan wala.

In the evening, the streets bustle with activity. The chaats wala have hordes of people waing in line for their turn. There is a tikki wala, who sells the most delicious tikki chaat. The tikki is cooked for a long time, on a big tava till it becomes very crispy on the outside. Its then sliced open, and served with green chutmey, imli chuney and dahi. Its very difficult to re-create such delicacies at home, even though I make a mean aloo tikki chaat.

Then there is a pachranga golgappe wala, who makes5 different types of water. So you get a diffenet water in each of your golgappas. It been 7 years since I have been to Ambala, and really miss the golgappas a lot. So I decided to re-create the pachrange experience at home. My mom makes 3 types of pani with panipuri. I made 5 types.

I make the pani with less tamarind and more lemon juice because tamarind water sometimes hurts the teeth. You can use tamarind for your water if you choose. I am sending it to Coffee at
http://thespicecafe.com/2008/02/01/jhiva-for-ingredients-limelemon/
 
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Pudina wala pani (this is what i make regularly for panipuris)


For 480 ml water – 2 cups.

2 tblsp fresh mint/pudina
1 tblsp coriender / dhania leaves
2-3 green chilies
A small piece of ginger
2 tsp pani puri masala (I use everest)
2 tblsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Grind all the above to a paste using a little water. Mix it with 2 cups of water and keep it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours to develop the flavors. Strain the water and throw away the pulp.
Serve cold.


Hing wala pani

For 480 ml water- 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Hing/ asafetida 1/4th tsp
Kala namak/black salt 1 tsp
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp or to taste
Coriander/dhania powder 1 tsp
Red chili powder 1 tsp or more to taste
Sugar ½ tsp (optional)
Chaat masala or pani puri masala 1-2 tsp


Khatta pani

Water 2 cups
Everest pani puri masala 1 tblsp
Red chili powder or green chili paste to taste
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp
A little salt or kala namak to taste
Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold

Meetha/Sweet pani

For 480 ml water 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Meethi chutney 2-3 tblsp as per taste (I use Deep tamarind and date chutney)
Green chili paste or red chili powder 1 tblsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp
Salt to taste
Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold


Jeera pani

For 480 ml water 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Roasted jeera powder 1 tblsp
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1-2 tblsp
Red chili powder/green chili paste 1 tsp
Black salt/kala namak 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar 1 tsp (optional)

Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold


Other ingredients

Panipuris/golgappas 40 nos

Boiled potatoes 5
red chili powder 1/2 tsp
roasted cumin seed powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Mash the boiled potatoes nicely. Add cumin seed powder, chili powder and salt. Mix well

To serve

Make a hole in the golgappa, add some boiled potatoes and then fill with the water of your choice. you can also put a little meetha pani and then top with another pani to create a new combination.

Update: Curry leaves and some fresh vegs have been banned by Indian Exporters.

Hi Everyone,

Searched on the net yesterday and found that the curry leaves and some vegetables, especially those which come from Kerela have been banned by Indian Exporters, and not the USA.

Because of the exchange rate being the way it is, they are not making any profits and want the importers to increase prices. Lets see what happens. At least USA has not banned it, that means we can get it after this problem is solved, even though it may become a bit more expensive. But who cares, so long as we get them

Monday, February 25, 2008

Is there a ban on curry leaves.

My Indian grocery store uncle told me yesterday that USA has put a ban on curry leaves. Has any one else heard this. Cant believe it. I can't imagine so many dishes without the curry patta.

SPICY BREAD ROLLS - BRead stuffed with potatoes and deep fried

Bread roll, Bread pakoda, Tikki etc would be our breakfast on sundays when we were younger. Paranthas were made for weekday breakfast and these fried delights during weekends. I wonder how I have stayed thin and alive, after eating such junk food. We can't imagine eating such foods regularly now.

But I wanted to make something with potatoes to submit for the two potato events and decided to make these for breakfast this sunday. This is a very common dish in northern India, especially Delhi and Punjab. These bread rolls are deep fried but i will try to bake them the next time.

This is my entry for A POTATO FE(A)ST Hosted by DK's culinary bazaar. The link is http://culinarybazaar.blogspot.com/2008/01/yet-another-event-potato-feast.html

Its also my entry for Ode to Potato hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice. You can find the information for the event here. http://www.monsoonspice.com/2008/01/announcing-ode-to-potato.html

 


Ingredients

To make 8 rolls

White bread 8 slices ( you can use wheat bread but I like mine with white bread)
Boiled potatoes 4
Green chilies 1-2 tsp
Green coriander/dhania leaves 2 tblsp
Grated ginger 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Onion finely chopped 1 tblsp
Red chili powder 1 tsp
Amchoor powder or lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry.


 


Method

Mash the potatoes nicely. Add all the ingredients and mix well.

Heat oil. Till the oil heats, make rolls out of the bread. Dip the bread slice for just 5 secs in water, remove and squeeze out all water, keeing the shape of the bread intact.

Take the potato stuffing and shape it into a cylindrical shape. Then keep it in the bread and close the bread slice around it, and press it between your palms to bind it nicely. Make all the rolls the same way. Then deep fry on medium heat till golden brown.

Serve hot with any chutney or sauce of your choice.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

PACHRANGA PANIPURI / GOLGAPPE - with FIVE different waters for filling

Ambala Cantt is my birth place, and is situated in Haryana. It’s the place where we went twice a year, for many years, to spend our summer and diwali vacations. This was where my mom and dad had spend their childhood. My naniji (mom’s mom) had some health problems and we would spend all our holidays at their place so that my mom could take care of my nana nani at least during the holidays.

Ambala is known for its Air and Army Cantonments and also for its surgical and medical instruments. But it is also a heaven for food lovers.

In the mornings, you can get breakfast of puri, aloo, aloo chana and kaddu ki sabji. This would be our breakfast many mornings. You can’t even imagine how delicious this is, if you have not eaten it in Ambala.

In the afternoons, various feriwalas go from huse to house, selling their tasty foods. It could be a kulfi wala, chaat wala, tikki wala, mungfuli wala or churan wala.

In the evening, the streets bustle with activity. The chaats wala have hordes of people waing in line for their turn. There is a tikki wala, who sells the most delicious tikki chaat. The tikki is cooked for a long time, on a big tava till it becomes very crispy on the outside. Its then sliced open, and served with green chutmey, imli chuney and dahi. Its very difficult to re-create such delicacies at home, even though I make a mean aloo tikki chaat.

Then there is a pachranga golgappe wala, who makes5 different types of water. So you get a diffenet water in each of your golgappas. It been 7 years since I have been to Ambala, and really miss the golgappas a lot. So I decided to re-create the pachrange experience at home. My mom makes 3 types of pani with panipuri. I made 5 types.

I make the pani with less tamarind and more lemon jucie bcos tamarind water sometimes hurts the teeth. You can use tamarind for ur water if you choose.



 
Posted by Picasa

 




Pudina wala pani (this is what i make regularly for panipuris)


For 480 ml water – 2 cups.

2 tblsp fresh mint/pudina
1 tblsp coriender / dhania leaves
2-3 green chilies
A small piece of ginger
2 tsp pani puri masala (I use everest)
2 tblsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Grind all the above to a paste using a little water. Mix it with 2 cups of water and keep it in the fridge for about 5-6 hours to develop the flavors. Strain the water and throw away the pulp.
Serve cold.


Hing wala pani

For 480 ml water- 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Hing/ asafetida 1/4th tsp
Kala namak/black salt 1 tsp
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp or to taste
Coriander/dhania powder 1 tsp
Red chili powder 1 tsp or more to taste
Sugar ½ tsp (optional)
Chaat masala or pani puri masala 1-2 tsp


Khatta pani

Water 2 cups
Everest pani puri masala 1 tblsp
Red chili powder or green chili paste to taste
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp
A little salt or kala namak to taste
Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold

Meetha/Sweet pani

For 480 ml water 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Meethi chutney 2-3 tblsp as per taste (I use Deep tamarind and date chutney)
Green chili paste or red chili powder 1 tblsp
Lemon juice 1 tblsp
Salt to taste
Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold


Jeera pani

For 480 ml water 2 cups

Water 2 cups
Roasted jeera powder 1 tblsp
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Lemon juice 1-2 tblsp
Red chili powder/green chili paste 1 tsp
Black salt/kala namak 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar 1 tsp (optional)

Mix all the above an keep in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Serve cold


Other ingredients

Panipuris/golgappas 40 nos

Boiled potatoes 5
red chili powder 1/2 tsp
roasted cumin seed powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Mash the boiled potatoes nicely. Add cumin seed powder, chili powder and salt. Mix well

To serve

Make a hole in the golgappa, add some boiled potatoes and then fill with the water of your choice. you can also put a little meetha pani and then top with another pani to create a new combination.

Bread rolls - Potatoes stuffed in bread and fried.

Bread roll, Bread pakoda, Tikki etc would be our breakfast on sundays when we were younger. Paranthas were made for weekday breakfast and these fried delights during weekends. I wonder how I have stayed thin and alive, after eating such junk food. We can't imagine eating such foods regularly now.

But I wanted to make something with potatoes to submit for the two potato events and decided to make these for breakfast this sunday. This is a very common dish in northern India, especially Delhi and Punjab. These bread rolls are deep fried but i will try to bake them the next time.

This is my entry for A POTATO FE(A)ST Hosted by DK's culinary bazaar. The link is http://culinarybazaar.blogspot.com/2008/01/yet-another-event-potato-feast.html

Its also my entry for Ode to Potato hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice. You can find the information for the event here. http://www.monsoonspice.com/2008/01/announcing-ode-to-potato.html

 


Ingredients

To make 8 rolls

White bread 8 slices ( you can use wheat bread but I like mine with white bread)
Boiled potatoes 4
Green chilies 1-2 tsp
Green coriander/dhania leaves 2 tblsp
Grated ginger 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Onion finely chopped 1 tblsp
Red chili powder 1 tsp
Amchoor powder or lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry.


 


Method

Mash the potatoes nicely. Add all the ingredients and mix well.

Heat oil. Till the oil heats, make rolls out of the bread. Dip the bread slice for just 5 secs in water, remove and squeeze out all water, keeing the shape of the bread intact.

Take the potato stuffing and shape it into a cylindrical shape. Then keep it in the bread and close the bread slice around it, and press it between your palms to bind it nicely. Make all the rolls the same way. Then deep fry on medium heat till golden brown.

Serve hot with any chutney or sauce of your choice.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

WHICH COOK BOOKS TO BUY FOR SOUTH INDIAN, GUJARATI, KONKANI, RAJASTHANI AND OTHER CUISINES

Hi Bloggers,
I am going to India in March. Every year I get a lot of cook books. I have more than 50. I wanted some suggestions on good cook books. I wanted books with traditional recipes, those cooked in every day life. If you have any favorite cook book, do give me some suggestions. Would love some feedback.

Thanks a lot.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Celebrating Valentines Day with Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice

Yesterday was valentine's day. For the past two years, I have been in India during Feburary (for my yearly India trip)and my husband was here. So we were not together. This year, I decided to make something special for him. Samir loves chicken and chinese and so I decided to make Kung Pao chicken. I got this recipe from the Chinese Cook Book, which I purchased at Costco some time back. This book has a wonderful collection of chinese, Thai, and other asian recipes. The kung pao tasted very good with the fried rice.

Also in the picture are the two cards that I received from my two valentines, Samir and my two year old son Rudra. The cards were really so beautiful, with very nice wordings.


 



Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:
Marination

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp sherry (optional)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
½ tsp sugar
1 tblsp corn starch
1 tsp red chili powder

Other ingredients
1/4th cup peanuts
5-6 dried red chilies
2 tsp finely chopped ginger and garlic
½ green or red bell pepper (capsicum) chopped
2 tsp dry sherry (optional)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp chili sauce or chili powder
1 tblsp corn starch
½ cup water
Oil 2 tblsp
Chopped green onions for garnish.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Smaller pieces cook faster. Marinate in the above and keep for ½ hour. Or you can marinate it for more time or overnight and then ½ hour before cooking, add the corn starch.

Heat oil. Fry the peanuts on slow flame till they change color and become crispy. Remove.

Increase the heat to high. Add the dried red chilies to the pan. Add the chicken and stir fry on high heat for 4-5 mins till the chicken is cooked.

Add the bell pepper and peanuts and fry for 2-3 mins.
Mix sherry, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, chili sauce, corn starch and water. Stir it well and add to the above chicken. Reduce the heat and cook for 1-2 mins till the sauce gets a little thick.
Sprinkle with green onions.


Vegetable Fried Rice
Ingredients
Long grain rice 1 cup, cooked and cooled.
½ small onion chopped
1-2 carrots chopped
Small piece of cabbage chopped
Some bell pepper chopped
1-2 green onions chopped
2 tsp ginger chopped
2-3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 tblsp oil

Soak the rice in water for 15 mins. Heat water in a big pan. Add some salt. When the water starts boiling, add the rice. Cook till the rice is done. Drain and cool. Keep it in the fridge for some time to cool it. I generally make the rice in the morning.

Heat oil on high flame. Add the ginger, fry for 20 secs. Add onions, fry for some time. Then add carrots, fry for a min, add cabbage, spring onion and bell pepper, stir fry for 1 min.

Then add the rice, mix well and stir fry for 1 min. Add soy sauce, vinegar and mix well. Taste for salt. If you want it spicy, you can add some chili sauce. Since I make the chicken very spicy, I don’t add any chilies to the fried rice.
Yo can add any other vegetables you have on hand like green beans, mushrooms etc.





 
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Monday, February 11, 2008

Spicy Chicken Puffs - from Ashaji of Foddieshope

My son and I have been sick for the past 10 days, down with flu. In all these days I did not cook anything. Yesterday I was feeling better and wanted to cook something yummy and spicy, and my husband loves chicken, and so I made these puffs. I have seen many recipes for puffs, but yesterday I followed Ashaji's recipe. http://foodieshope.blogspot.com/2008/02/gujarati-cuisine.html
She had given this recipe for Nita, but I made full use of it. I was scared to try these bcos it was the first time I was using puff pastry, but it was one of the best dishes.

The result was a beautiful puff, which was crispy and flaky on the outside, and spicy and flavorful inside. Just be careful when you bite into a hot puff though, the spicy chicken just hits you.

 

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Chicken Puffs
Recipe for 4 puffs

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm Puff pastry – Thawed at room temperature for 40 mins
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 green chilies finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp tandoori masala
1-2 tsp amchoor powder
1 tblsp Green coriander
Salt to taste
1 tblsp oil

Chop the chicken into very small pieces. Heat oil. Then add cumin seeds. Then add the chopped onions and fry till golden brown.
Add ginger garlic and green chilies and fry for a minute.
Then add turmeric, red chili, coriander and tandoori masala powder and fry for 30 secs.
Add the chicken and salt and fry on medium heat till the chicken is cooked and is completely dry.
Add the amchoor powder and chopped coriander and mix well. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Take the thawed pastry sheet. Cut it into 4 parts. Put 1 tblsp or more filling in each pastry and then fold it over to make a V shape. Put water on all sides and press it nicely to that the pastry sheet sticks.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. You can brush the top of the puffs with a mixture of eggs and water to get a golden color. I did not do that.

Bake in the oven for about 15-17 mins till golden brown. Serve hot with sauce or ketchup.

Missi Roti - a traditional north indian roti

Missi roti is a favorite type of roti cooked in Punjab and Rajasthan. Its nothing but a combination of whole wheat flour and besan, with addition of certain spices and onions. This tastes great when you serve it hot off the tava. Its very easy to make espcially if you do not have any vegetables at home, or just want a change. Some people use more besan or eqal quantities of flour and besan, but I like a little less besan in my rotis.

 
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Missi Roti
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tblsp besan/chick pea flour
2 tblsp onion finely chopped
2 tblsp green coriander finely chopped
2-3 green chilies finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
Oil for the paranthas.

Add all the above ingredients (except oil) and mix well. Add water and knead into a medium soft dough. Knead the dough for 5 mins, add 1 tsp oil and knead again.
Then cover and keep aside for 30 mins.

Heat tava over medium heat. Take a small ball of the dough and roll it out into a thin disc, like you make a roti. Roll them a little thicker than a roti. Put dry flour as and when needed. Roll it slowly so that the roti does not break or stick. Put the parantha on the tava, cook for 20 sec, turn and cook 20 sec more. Then put ½ tsp oil on each side and cook till golden spots appear. This generally takes 1 minute per side. Repeat for all the other rotis. Serve hot with pickles, chaas, butter and yogurt.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Cauliflower or Gobhi Paranthas

Wheat formed the basis of our diet when we were younger. We had rice once or twice a month. Rotis and paranthas were an everyday meal. Stuffed paranthas of various kinds formed the basis of breakfast along with lassi. I love all kinds of stuffed parathas and have it for breakfast everyday whenever i visit India.

 
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Now we have parathas for lunch or dinner or as brunch on weekends. Here is the recipe for gobhi parantha.


Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
warm water as needed
1 tsp oil.

Knead the dough as you would for rotis, but not too stiff. The dough should be soft and pliable. After making the dough, put 1 tsp oil on the dough and keep aside for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, covered with a moist cloth or paper napkin.

For the filling:

1/2 cauliflower broken into florets
1 tblps finely chopped onion
1 tsp ginger grated
4 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green coriander finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds optional
salt to taste

Wash the florets and let them dry. Grate the cauliflower. Mix all the other ingredients. Ensure that everything is very finely chopped or the parathas will tear while rolling.
If the filling looks too watery or if you are having difficulty rolling it and the parathas are breaking, add 1 tblsp of roasted besan or chick pea flour.

While making paranthas, take a small ball of dough, roll it out to about 2 inch diameter, then pinch the sides to make them thinner than the center. Now put about 2 tblsp filling in the center. The more the filling, the tastier the paranthas will be. Bring together all the edges of the dough over the filling and close it properly.

Keep the ball on the surface and press it gently with the back of your palm or your fingers. This helps in spreadng the filling evenly and prevents the parantha from breaking. now roll it slowly into a thin round.

Heat the griddle or tava and cook the paratha on one side for about a min, turn over and cook another min, now put 1 tsp oil on each side and cook for 2 mins more or till the parantha is nicely roasted and turns golden brown.

Serve the parathas with pickles, curds, a dollop of butter and lassi.

Cooking from other blogs - Pineapple Pulissery (Pravs) and Mushroom Thoran (Sujo)

Blogging has opened up a whole new world for me. Cooking is my passion and I always loved trying out new recipes. Growing up in a punjabi family, I did not know much about the foods from the south. Growing up in Mumbai, the only foods available in resturants were idlis, dosas and uthapas. There were no ethinic or regional cuisine resturants where we could have tasted this wonderful cuisine. And all the cook books which i purchased also had only recipes for sambhar, rasams, avial, dosas etc. So we were very unaware of the satisfying and comforting food, kalaans, errisery, pulissery,thoran etc.

I am still confused about a lot of stuff, but slowly getting there. Infact i had named this recipe as pineapple errisery and then saw on Pravs blog that its Pulissery. These foods now form a part of our menu, even though I switch the names some times. Sorry for being an ignorant North Indian.




And I dedicate this post to Pravs, whose recipe i have followed for the errisery . We loved the sweet, tangy and spicy combination, and it tasted wonderful with rice.
Here is the link to her recipe http://simplyspicy.blogspot.com/2006/10/pineapple-pulissery.html

With the errisery, I made mushroom thoran. I got the recipe from Sujo's blog http://wwwkerala-india.blogspot.com/. My husband could not even guess what vegetable it was. It tasted so wonderful. Thank you Sujo.


Here is Sujo's recipe. I made some variations. Those are noted in brackets.

500 gms White button mushrooms finely chopped (i used baby bella)
3 shallots sliced
3 green chillies finely chopped
1/4 cup Grated fresh coconut (i used 1 tblsp)
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder (i used cumin seeds)
A few curry leaves (optional)
1 tblsp. oil for sauteing
1/2 tsp. mustard
Salt as per taste
Method:

Heat oil in a frying pan.
Splutter the mustard seeds in it.
Saute the onion until slightly brown.
Add curry leaves.
Add the chopped mushrooms, chillies and garlic and let it cook until all the water has evaporated.
Fresh grated coconut may be added after the water is evaporated along with the cumin and turmeric powders and mix. (i ground it with cumin seeds in the mixer).
Cover and cook on a low fire until done.

Monday, February 4, 2008

I have added my blog to Foodie blog roll

Thank you Jenn for having this blogroll to bring all the bloggers together, and thanks for adding me too.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Great Cooks Blogroll and thank you Jill

Hi Every one,

I just added my blog to the GREAT COOKS Blogroll. This is the brain child of Jill McKeever of simpledailyrecipes.com. And just like she seems from her photos, she is a very sweet person. I was lost on how to go about adding the code on my blog, and she send me step by step instructions on how to do it. Thank a lot Jill, for every thing.

If you are interested in adding your blog to the Great cooks blogroll, you can go to http://simpledailyrecipes.com/great-cooks-blogroll to get more exposure and reach the blogging world out there.

Kabir Das Doha

Bura jo dekhan main chala
Bura na milya koi,
Jo mann Khoja aapna
Mujhse bura na koi.



Roughly traslated this means:

This means that when I went to search for some one bad, I could not find them.

When I looked into my own heart, There was no one as bad as me.

We always try to find fault with other people, because of our ego, or our perception. They may be right in their own way or in their given situation, but since their behaviour is different from us, we dislike or criticize them. May be its time to look within our selves and find the real cause of the problem. May be we are wrong in the wrong. God has given us this life to be of service and help other people, and love all the people created by Him.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Baigan da bharta- brinjal bharta

Baingan ka bharta is one of my favorite vegetables. In punjab, it is made very simply, without using too many masalas, so that the roasted taste of baigan is not masked with the tastes of masala. I have seen many recipes which use corinder powder,garam masala etc. But do try it in this simple manner once, i am sure you will like it.

This vegetable tastes great with rotis or plain paranthas too. The trick to making good bharta is to have approximately the same amounts of onions, baigan and tomatoes.

 
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Ingredients

1 big brinjal
1 jumbo onion or 2 medium sized onions
2 tomatoes
2 green chilies
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbl sp green coriander
1 tsp ghee
1 tbl sp oil
Salt to taste

The best tasting bharta is the one in which the brinjal is roasted on open flame. This gives a smoky flavor to the brinjal. Roast the brinjal on open flame directly for about 10-15 mins. It should be roasted on all sides by rotating it every 2-3 mins. If you do not have gas, then you can microwave the brinjal for about 10 mins, rotating it after every 2-3 mins.

Peel the brinjal and also remove the seeds from inside.
Chop the brinjal into fine pieces. Also chop the onions, tomatoes and green chillies.
Heat oil. Add cumin seeds. Once they change color, add onions. Add a little salt to the onions and fry for about 7 mins. They should change color to light pink but should not become brown.

Add green chilies, ginger and brinjal and cook for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes, turmeric, chili powder, and salt and cook for 8-10 mins. Then add 1 sp ghee and cook for a min. garnish with green coriander.

The ghee gives it a very nice flavour and makes it moist. do not cover the bharta while cooking. It should be cooked uncovered through out. You can adjust the amount of green chilies, but the spicier it is, the better it tastes. .

Thank you Sailaja

Thank You Sailaja for giving us this forum. We were really missing Food Blog Desam and this helps everyone, especially new bloogers like me to make friends and connect with other bloggers. We really appreciate the time and effort that Indira and Mathy had put into Food Blog Desam and which now you have continued in a new way.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Fiery Red Thai Curry flavoured with lemon grass and Kaffir lime leaves

I have been making thai curries for about 2 years now. But I could never find lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves any where. So the curries would taste good but missed that zing. Recently I was able to find lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves at a local oriental store. This time the curry tasted very authentic. Here is some information about leomn grass anf kaffir lime leaves. I got this imformation from http://importfood.com/. You can visit their website. They also sell these products online. I was palnning to order it from them when I found about our local store.

Kaffir lime leaf adds an unmistakable, refereshing taste that is essential in many Thai soups & curries. The leaves have a strong fragrance and flavor that can not really be substituted. If you do not have the leaves, you can try adding lemon zest.If you do get them fresh, you can keep them in Ziploc bags and freeze them for upto 4 months.

Lemon grass also can be frozen and used as required.
 




 

Ingredients:

1 tblsp oil
½ onion chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1-2 tblsp Thai red curry paste (I use Mae ploy Brand)
2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
½ cup Mushrooms/thai eggplant/baby corn/bamboo shoots (any one or in combination)
2 cups coconut milk
1-2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon jaggery
1 stalk lemon grass cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 kaffir lime leaves
1-2 tblsp lemon juice
4 large fresh basil leaves—finely sliced – optional (I just use coriander leaves)


HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the curry paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Add the chicken and stir fry for some time. Then the coconut milk fish sauce, jaggery and bring to the boil. Let the curry cook for 5 mins. Then add the vegtables, lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves. Cook for 10 mins or till the vegetables and chicken get cooked. Then add lemon juice and remove from heat. Add the basil leaves or coriander. Serve hot with rice.

If you find the curry paste too spicy, you can increase the amount of coconut milk or add a little water.
For thicker curry, you can add a little cornstarch mixed with cold water and add it 2-3 mins before switching off the gas. I don’t add cornfour.

Fish sauce has a funny smell but in the curry you will not be able to smell it. It is used instead of salt and gives a lovely flavor.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Moong dal mangooris - fritters or vadas

My husband and I do not watch any games. I never even watched cricket back in India. But when i saw this event, I remembered how my mom would make either bhajiyas, mangooris or samosas etc for us. My dad and brother loved cricket and this would spice up things even more. This recipe just takes 15 minutes and tastes wonderful. And what is better than fried food for the game??? This is off to Mansi for the event game night party at http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2008/01/announcing-event-game-night-party.html

 
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For the fritters:
1 cup moong dhuli dal - split moong dal with skin
3-4 green chilies
2 tblsp green coriander
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 inch piece ginger
salt to taste.
Oil to deep fry.

Soak the dal for about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. Grind it in a mixer with all the above. Don't use too much water bcos the batter should be very thick. And do not grind it too fine. It should be a bit grainy. If you feel that the batter has become thin, just add 1 tblsp chick pea flour to thicken it. This is optional.

Heat oil. Put the wadas in the hot oil with a small spoon and deep fry on medium heat till golden bron. Serve hot with sauce or chutney of your choice.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Guilt Free Chivda

I have eaten chivda many times and I love it. My MIL makes it very tasty but she deep fries all the stuff required for the chivda. Even the ones you get in Indian stores are full of oil. I first saw a healthy version of this chivda on Nupur's blog. Its called bhadang and she uses garlic also in it. I generally prepare it a little differently, without garlic. Do checkout Nupur's recipe here. It tastes wonderful. http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2006/01/q-is-for-quick-bhadang.html.

I have seen many different wonderful recipes for this chivda on different blogs, and this is my version.

 


Guilt free chivda

2-3 tblsp oil
2 cups murmura/puffed rice
2 cups thin poha
½ cup peanuts
2 tblsp raisins
2 tblsp Dalia/roasted chana dal
10 curry leaves torn into small pieces
3 green chilies finely chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste.

Spread the murmura on a plate and microwave for about 2 mins to crisp it up. In between just mix it once and keep an eye on it so it does not burn.
Do the same with the thin poha.
Microwave the peanuts for about 3-4 mins till they crisp up. Mix them in between and ensure that they do not burn.

Heat oil in a wide pan. When the oil heats, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they crackle, reduce the heat to low setting; add curry leaves and green chilies. Fry for a min, then add the peanuts, raisins and dalia. Fry on low till everything is little fried and crisp. Then add the turmeric, red chili powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.

Add the poha and murmura, mix well and cook on low heat for 5-6 mins, stirring continuously.

Remove from heat. Cool completely and then store in an air tight container.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Bottle gourd/doodhi/ghiya kofta curry

Bottle gourd/ doodhi is very good for health but my husband is not very fond of it. This is a typical north indian recipe which my mom ould make regularly when we were ypunger. I generally avoid it bcos the koftas are deep fried but it tastes great with rotis. I plan to try this recipe with steamed koftas.

 



 
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Bottlegourd/doodhi Kofta curry
For the Kofta :
½ of small bottlegourd/doodhi/ghiya grated
2-3 tblsp chick pea flour/besan
1 green chili
1 tblsp coriander leaves chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

For the curry:
1 tblsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium sized onion grated
1 tsp ginger grated
1 tsp garlic grated
2 tomatoes grated
½ tp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves chopped

For the Koftas

Peel the bottle gourd. Grate it and squeeze it to remove the water. Add all the ingredients for the koftas and make a thick batter. Add the water that you squeezed as required. The batter should be quite thick.

Heat oil. Then add spoonfuls of batter to make koftas and deep fry on medium heat. Fry till golden in color and drain on a paper.

For the gravy
Heat 1 tblsp oil. Add cumin seeds. When they change color, add the grated onion. Fry till the onion is golden brown in color.
Add the ginger garlic and fry for a minute.
Add turmeric powder, red chili and coriander powder and fry for a min.
Add the grated tomatoes and fry till the oil separates and the masala is nicely cooked.

Add a little water and salt cook for 5 more mins. Add the fried koftas, garam masala and cook for 3-4 mins. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Sungta Humman - Prawns in coconut curry a goan speciality

This is the definition of comfort food given by Wikipedia.

Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or special reward.The reasons a dish becomes a comfort food are diverse but often include pleasant associations of childhood.

My husband is from Goa and this is the ultimate comfort food for him. Before marriage to him, i had never tasted this dish. But he used to eat it nearly everyday with rice and fish fry. I would wonder that how could some one eat the same thing every day. But believe me, I tasted it and I was hooked. Now we have changed our eating habits and reduced the consumption of coconut a lot. But i still prepare this once in a while for my dear hubby. The prawns or shrimps that we get here do not have much flavor to them, but if you every get a chance to eat it in India, do try this delicious curry.

This is my entry for Monthly Mingle hosted by Meeta K at her blog http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/2008/01/drop-in-decorate-roundup-mm-17.html

 

 
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Ingredients
10-12 medium sized prawns/shrimps
1/2 small onion chopped
4-5 pieces of drumsticks - optional
a pinch of hing/Asafoetida

to grind to a smooth paste with a little water:
a small piece of onion
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut (or frozen coconut)
8-10 black peppers
2-3 dry red chilies
1/4th tsp turmeric
2 tsp raw rice
1 tsp tamarind paste or a small piece of tamarind
salt to taste

Coconut oil 3-4 drops optional

Put the prawns, chopped onions and drumsticks in a pan. Add 1/2 cup water and pinch of hing and cook on medium heat without covering for about 10 mins. Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste and add to the pan. Cook for another 10 - 15 mins. Check for salt, tamarind and chilies and add more according to taste.
Add the coconut oil, remove from heat and serve hot with rice and fish fry.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Why does my Rasam taste bland???

I always made rasam with ready made rasam masala. I first had rasma when my colleague from office (who was from Kerela) got it in office. She would get a variety of rasama and i fell in love with them. After marriage, i tried many time to make rasam at home, but they always tasted bland. I didn't know then that using ready made masala was the reason for this. I knew but was lazy I guess.

Recently I saw a recipe for mysore rasam on http://greenjackfruit.blogspot.com and thought i should make my own rasam powder at home. The difference in taste was unbelievable.


 

 
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This is the recipe i got from http://greenjackfruit.blogspot.com/2006/09/mysore-rasam.html I made some changes to it to suit our taste.

Mysore rasam

2 Tbsp toor/arhar dal, cooked
1 lemon-sized tamarind
1/2 tsp Turmeric
salt
1 tomato, finely chopped

For the tadka
Ghee or oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
curry leaves 8-10
dry red chilies 2-3
Hing a pinch


For powder:

1 tbsp tur dal
2 red chilies
5-6 peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chana dal
1 .5 tsp coriander seeds
a pinch of Hing
a few curry leaves.

Dry roast the spices for the powder on low heat till the seeds change color and emit a nice aroma. When cool, grind to a course powder. You can increase the quantities and make more powder to store for later.

Boil diluted tamarind water with tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Add the cooked and mashed dal to it, add 2 tsp of rasam powder and boil. Simmer on low heat for 15 mins.

Heat ghee or oil in a pan, then add mustard seeds. when they crackle add curry leaves dry red chilies and hing.

Add to rasam mix well and remove from heat. Garnish with green coriander.

Serve hot with rice and sabji.

Bottle gourd/Doodhi/Sorakaya paranthas

Bottle gourd/doodhi/Sorakaya is a very nutritious vegetable. It was a regular dish in my mom's place. But my husband did not like it and so for a number of years, i did not make it. My 2 year old eats it in any form, and since its good for him, I have started incorporating bottlegourd in our food in a number of ways.

Making bottle gourd paranthas or theplas is one of them. These paranthas taste very good with some achar, yogurt and any sabji. We also had some srikhand with it.

 
 


1 cup grated doodhi/ bottle gourd
1 tblsp besan (chickpea four)
1 ½ cup aata / whole wheat flour
2 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green dhania finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Oil to make paranthas.

Grate the doodhi/ bottle gourd. Add all the above ingredients and mix well. Doodhi has a lot of water content and so first make a dough with the above and then add water as needed. Knead the dough for 5 mins, add 1 tsp oil and knead again.
Then cover and keep aside for 30 mins.

Heat tava over medium heat. Take a small ball of the dough and roll it out into a thin disc, like u make a roti. For parantha roll a little thick, for thepla roll it a little thin. Put the parantha on the tava, cook for 20 sec, turn and cook 20 sec more. Then put ½ tsp oil on each side and cook till golden spots appear. Serve hot with pickles and yogurt. These taste good with any side dish of vegetables too. .

Friday, January 18, 2008

nature's play- so many strawberries in one

 

Chicken cheese ravioli with brown butter and walnut sauce and a salad

Wednesdays are reserved for pastas or pizzas. We love pasta and so most Wednesday nights, its pasta night. This week it was ravioli. This is the first time that i made ravioli, well boiled it. It was so delicious that we will end up making it very soon again. This meal takes only 20-30 mins to put together and with a healthy serving of salad, its not too unhealthy either.

The day i decided to make ravioli, i looked up the recipe for its sauce on Food Network, epicurious etc but all recipes called for some or the other ingredient which i did not have on hand. So this recipe is combination of recipes that i saw on these websites.

 



For the pasta:

1/2 pound chicken and cheese ravioli (We got it at costco-next time will try the one at TJ).
1 tblsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/4 cup walnuts
1-2 tblsp grated parmesan cheese
Parsley for garnish (I used coriander but recipe called fro basil and parsley)

Break the walnuts into small pieces and microwave for 2-3 mins till they get a bit roasted.
Heat butter on low heat. Wait till it turns brown. Then add olive oil, chopped garlic and chili flakes and cook on low heat. Add walnut pieces and keep the sauce warm.

In the meantime, cook the ravioli as per the directions. This took only 4 mins in the boiling water.

Drain the pasta, Add to the sauce and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat. Put some pieces of ravioli on a plate, spoon the sauce with walnut pieces, garnish with coriander and grated parmesan cheese.

For the salad:
Mix greens (we use the organic mix greens from Costco)
Chopped tomatoes
chopped carrots
sliced onions
your fav dressing.

Mix everything together and serve. I used the wishbone spritzers for the first time (Italian dressing). It tasted great with the pasta).

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Spicy pepper chicken - from Shilpa's blog aayi's recipes

Every friday night is celebration time and what is better than chicken??
I try to make either chinese, or mexican or some other snack type item on friday. It has to be very spicy and very hot. I saw this recipe on Shilpa's blog Aayisrecipes. She has a wonderful collection of non-veg recipes. This is very easy to make and yummy too. Thanks Shilpa.


 


This is Shilpa's recipe. I made some changes which are mentioned in brackets
Ingredients:
1/4 lb boneless chicken
A pinch turmeric
1 tbl spn thick yogurt (i used more yougurt about 2-3 tblsp)
1 tea spn ginger paste
1 tea spn garlic paste
1/2 tea spn chili powder (I used about 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder)
1 tea spn pepper powder
Oil
15-20 curry leaves
Salt


Method:
Apply ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, 1/2 tea spn pepper powder, salt, yogurt to chicken and leave it aside for about 2-3hrs.
Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is steaming hot, add the marinated chicken (i added gried red chilies broken in 2 before adding the cjicken). Cook for 5-6mins from both sides (do not add any extra water). When the chicken is almost half done, add 1/2 tea spn pepper powder, curry leaves (cut into two), cover and cook till chicken is completely done. (Add coriander leaves and lemon juice)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Stuffed bitter gourd/karela and Maharashtrian Aamti with goda masala

Maharashtrian Aamti
This aamti is a staple in my in-laws home. Even though they are from Goa, my hubby’s brother and bhabhi do not eat non-vegetarian food. So there is fish curry, and then there is this aamti. My MIL tries to vary the menu but this is one of the aamtis which is regularly made. Its sour, and spicy and a bit sweet.

We love stuffed karelas. This is a simpler version of the same. there is another elaborate recipe for stuffed bitter gourd on my blog.

 
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Maharashtrain aamti

½ cup toor/arhar dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
8-10 curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp goda masala
a small piece of tamarind, soaked and pulp removed
1 inch piece of jaggery or gur
2 tsp oil
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish
2 tsp grated coconut

Wash the toor dal and pressure cook till it is done.
Add turmeric, red chilies, gur, goda masala, salt, tamarind pulp, 1/2 cup water and cook for 10-15 mins.

Heat oil. Add mustards seeds. When they crackle, add hing and curry leaves. Add this to the dal, cover and cook 5 mins on low heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve hot with rice and any vegetable.
Goda masala is a blend of about 20 spices and coconut which are roasted and then ground. I get mine from my MIL. I think there is a recipe for it on Nupur's blog.

Stuffed Karela/ bitter gourd
Ingredients:

6 small tender bitter gourd/karelas
2 tsp yogurt
2-3 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp amchoor powder
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tblsp oil + ½ tblsp oil

Peel the karelas and slit them and remove all the seeds.
Apply salt and 2 tsp yogurt liberally, both inside and outside. Keep aside for at least 1 hour. Wash the karelas nicely, squeeze out all the water and keep aside.
In the meantime, prepare the stuffing.
Mix 1/2 tblsp oil with all the ground spices. If you use mustard oil, that will taste much better in this recipe.
Stuff a little stuffing in each karela.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. place the karelas in the pan and cook on low heat till brown on each side. You can cover and cook for initial 10-15 mins and then cook without a lid for the remaining time till brown.

If you like bitter gourd, do try out another stuffed karela recipe on my blog.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Thank you Ashaji

Ashaji has been an inspiration not only to me, but many new bloggers. When we enter the world of blogging, we do not know the rules. No one out there know us. At a time like this, any one who welcomes the new blogger with his/her sweet comments, brings great joy and a sense of satisfaction. Ashaji does this admirably.

She has such a wonderful blog with excellent recipes. I always wondered how she got the time to visit all blogs and leave her comments. I have a toddler and am a stay at home mom and sometimes do not get too much time to blog. She utilized her valuable time to encourage new members and connect with the old.

Thank you Ashaji. Hope you will still get some time to visit us.

Spinach/palak chicken - taste bhi, health bhi

We love chicken and I make it at least once a week. Making the same recipe every week gets a bit boring. And incorporating palak with chicken makes it more nutritious.
Whenever i made palak paneer, i felt it tasted too bland. My friend Vineeta came to my rescue. She showed me some tricks to make palak paneer yummy. I used the same tricks in the palak chicken and i really tastes wonderful. Do try this dish.


 
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Spinach/Palak Chicken
Ingredients:
Palak/baby Spinach ½ pound (you can use regular spinach)
6-8 small pieces of chicken – I use bone in halal chicken.
1 tblsp butter
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
6-8 black peppers
1 piece cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic grated
½ inch piece of ginger grated
1 large tomato chopped
2 green chilies chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Method-

Chop half of the spinach, add it to boiling water and cook it for 3 mins. Keep aside. Boil the other half of the spinach in water for 3 mins and then grind it with a little water into a smooth paste.

Heat the butter in a pan (I use a non stick pan). Heat it on a low heat till it turns light brown. Add the bay leaves, cloves, black peppers and cinnamon. Then add cumin seeds. Fry for a minute and then add the sliced onions. Increase the heat to medium.
Fry the onions till they are light brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and chopped green chilies and fry for a min.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and coriander powder and fry for 30 sec.
Add the chopped tomato and fry for about 10 mins, till the masala is cooked and oil separates from the masala.
Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Fry the chicken with the masala for 5 mins. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 mins. Add a little water if needed.
Add both the pureed and chopped spinach and mix well. Add ¼ th cup water. Add the garam masala, mix well, cover and cook for 10 mins. Serve hot with naan and chopped onions.

The browned butter gives a nutty taste to the spinach. Keeping half of the spinach chopped gives a very nice texture to the palak chicken.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Aloo baingan ki sabji - potatoes and brinjal cooked with onion, tomatoes and masalas

This is a vegetable that we have regularly for lunch with rotis and curds. In most punjabi households, rice is not common. Rotis are eaten for lunch and dinner. Most punjabi vegetables are made with the same method. gobhi all, baingan aloo, matar aloo etc aste great with rotis. It tastes yummy with rice too.

 
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Aloo Baingan
Potatoes chopped into ½ inch dice 1 cup
Brinjal chopped into ½ inch cubes 1 cup
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic grated
½ inch piece ginger grated
½ tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
Salt to tatse
Coriander to garnish
Oil 1 tblsp

Chop the potatoes and brinjal and keep in water.
Heat oil add cumin seeds. Then add chopped onions and sprinkle a little salt. Fry on medium heat till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a min.
Add turmeric powder, red chili and coriander powder and fry for a min
Add chopped tomatoes and fry till oil separates from the masala.
Add the potatoes, mix well and put ¼ cup water, cover and cook for 5 mins. Add the brinjal and cover and cook on low heat till done. There should not be too much water, only enough to cook the vegetables.
Sprinkle garam masala and green coriander.

Serve hot with rotis and dahi