POSSIBILITIES - cooking is just one of them

Sad news about Rinku and Amit

2008-03-25T06:01:00.003-04:00

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.

GOING TO INDIA FOR 2 MONTHS

2008-02-28T14:09:00.002-05:00

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.

Nice Matters award, Thank you Meera

2008-02-27T12:16:00.004-05:00

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

2008-02-27T11:07:00.005-05:00

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.

PACHRANGA PANIPURI - JFI LEMON/LIME

2008-02-26T12:22:00.002-05:00

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/

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.

2008-02-26T11:13:00.002-05:00

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

Is there a ban on curry leaves.

2008-02-25T18:19:00.001-05:00

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

2008-02-25T15:00:00.001-05:00

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.

PACHRANGA PANIPURI / GOLGAPPE - with FIVE different waters for filling

2008-02-19T12:39:00.006-05:00

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.

Bread rolls - Potatoes stuffed in bread and fried.

2008-02-19T10:51:00.006-05:00

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

2008-02-16T16:23:00.004-05:00

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.

Celebrating Valentines Day with Kung Pao Chicken and Fried Rice

2008-02-15T11:29:00.002-05:00

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.

Spicy Chicken Puffs - from Ashaji of Foddieshope

2008-02-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

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.

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

2008-02-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

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.

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.

Cauliflower or Gobhi Paranthas

2008-02-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

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.

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)

2008-02-05T12:55:00.000-05:00

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.

I have added my blog to Foodie blog roll

2008-02-04T18:06:00.000-05:00

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

Great Cooks Blogroll and thank you Jill

2008-02-03T21:10:00.000-05:00

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

2008-02-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

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.

Baigan da bharta- brinjal bharta

2008-02-02T10:28:00.001-05:00

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.

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

2008-02-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

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.

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

2008-01-31T12:31:00.000-05:00

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.

Moong dal mangooris - fritters or vadas

2008-01-29T09:47:00.000-05:00

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

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.

Guilt Free Chivda

2008-01-28T12:51:00.000-05:00

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.

Bottle gourd/doodhi/ghiya kofta curry

2008-01-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

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.

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.

Sungta Humman - Prawns in coconut curry a goan speciality

2008-01-23T10:48:00.000-05:00

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

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.

Why does my Rasam taste bland???

2008-01-22T12:33:00.001-05:00

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.

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

2008-01-22T11:58:00.000-05:00

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. .

nature's play- so many strawberries in one

2008-01-18T12:48:00.000-05:00

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

2008-01-18T12:43:00.000-05:00

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).

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

2008-01-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

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)

Stuffed bitter gourd/karela and Maharashtrian Aamti with goda masala

2008-01-16T12:53:00.000-05:00

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.

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.

Thank you Ashaji

2008-01-14T12:11:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

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.

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.

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

2008-01-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

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.

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

Punjabi Bhuna mutton / rada mutton - finger licking goooood

2008-01-08T12:43:00.000-05:00

When we were growing up, mutton or chicken was a weekly fare. And then, one day I went with my dad to the butcher to get some mutton. And that was the end of non-veg eating for me. The sight of the butcher cutting the mutton put me off eating non-veg for a number of years.

And then I fell in love, and who would I fall in love with, but a goan, who loved loved loved fish and rice and had it every day. And so it was either me starting to eat non-veg again or he leave eating it. So I started eating non-veg after marriage, and cooking it too.

But mutton was something else. For 8 years after marriage, i did not cook mutton. And then decided one day to cook it for my hubby. I did not taste it but he just gobbled it up. Then I made it again on my son's first birthday and it was the first dish to be completely polished off. Now i have started eating mutton again and believe me its delicious.

Ingredients
Mutton 3 pounds shoulder piece cut into small pieces

For the marination
1 cup yogurt
2 inch piece ginger chopped
7-8 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder
4-5 green chilies chopped
1 tblsp coriander powder

other ingredients
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 small green cardamom
1 black cardamom
2 piece cinnamon
10-15 black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
2 jumbo sized red onions chopped
3 big tomatoes chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 tblsp kasoori methi or dry methi
green coriander to garnish
Oil 5 tblsp
salt to taste

Marinate the mutton overnight in the ingredients for marinade.

Heat oil . Add bay leaves, Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and black peppers. Then add cumin seeds.

When they pop, add onions with a little salt. Fry for about 30 mins on medium heat till they turn golden brown.

Add the mutton pieces (reserving any marinade)and fennel seeds and fry with the onions till all the water dries up. This will take about 45 mins.
Now add the tomatoes ad fry for 15 mins till the oil separates. .

Then add kasoori methi and garam masla and 1/2 cup water, salt and pressure cook for 10 mins. When the pressure drops, open the cooker and fry for five more mins. Garnish with green dhania.

I add more oil while frying so that it is easier and takes less time. After opening the cooker, i remove all the oil that floats on the top and the fry the mutton for 5 mins.

The trick to this mutton is frying frying frying . The more you fry every thing, the tastier it gets. I make 3 pounds at a time and freeze it in small containers.
Garnish with green dhania

The same old Aloo parantha, but extra soft

2008-01-07T19:15:00.001-05:00

Paranthas were a staple for breakfast while growing up. Aloo, gobhi, mooli, palak, dal, methi were some of the common parathas we had. Now we have them for dinner once in a while.

Bhardwaj aunty, our neighbour after marriage, showed me the trick to making the softest of paranthas.

Recipe for aloo parantha

Ingredients:

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

Knead the dough as u would for rotis, but not too stiff. Keep aside for 1/2 hr to 1 hr, covered with a moist cloth or paper napkin.

For the potato filling:

2 boiled potatoes
1 tblps finely chopped onion
4 green chilies finely chopped
1 tblsp green coriander finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp dhania or coriander powder
1 tsp amchoor/mango powder or lemon juice - optional
salt to taste

mash the potatoes very well so that there are no lumps. then add all the above and mix well. chop every thing very finely.

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 filling in the center, the size of the ball of dough or even more. 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 ur palm or ur 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.

These paranthas melt in the mouth bcos the filling is more that the dough itself. U can serve it with curds and pickles.

chicken chettinad and karela curry- cooking from other blogs and websites

2008-01-07T15:30:00.001-05:00

I love trying out new recipes from blogs and other websites. One such website is vahrevah.com. The chef, Sanjay Thumma demostrates excellent recipes. These can also be found on youtube, rediff and some other websites. I love this recipe for chicken chettinad, which is different bcos it does not use coconut and is therefore healthier.

The recipe for karela curry is from one of my fav blogspot, Shaheen's. The recipe can be found on Shaheen's blog. Thanks Shaheen.

http://malluspice.blogspot.com/2006/10/pavakka-curry-biitergourd-with-yogurt.html

Chettinad chicken

250 grams chicken cut into small pieces (boneless or boned)
2 piece cardamom
2 stick cinnamon
3 piece cloves
2 tsp coriander pdr
1 tsp red chilli pdr
2 tsp coarsely crushed pepper corns
1 tsp cumin
2 springs curry leaves
1 tblsp fresh chopped coriander
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 gr chillies
1 tsp mustard
2 tblsp oil
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp lemon juice
Heat the oil in a large pan. add mustard and cumin Add finely chopped onions, and fry till the onions turn light golden brown. Add turmeric, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, and green chilli and saute for a while.
Add chopped tomatoes . . Then, add the coriander powder and salt and mix well. Add the chicken to the frying pan and mix well, and cover and cook over a low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add a little water only if u need it. The chicken gives out some water. When the chicken is almost done, add the ground pepper into the mixture and mix well. Garnish with green dhania. sprinkle some lemon juice on top.

Deep fried and satisfied - with bread pakoda

2008-01-06T19:26:00.000-05:00

I love deep fried foods. Before marriage, breakfast in our house would be bhajiyas, bread pakoda, bread roll, paranthas etc. After marriage it all changed to idlis, dosas, poha, upma etc. more healthier no doubt. But I do miss the deep fried foods from my childhood. And in this cold weather, what can be more satisfying than a plate of deep fried snacks for breakfast.

So here goes the recipe

Ingredients

White bread slices 4
1 cup besan or gram flour
1 tblsp finely chopped onion
1 tblsp finely chopped coriander leaves
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

I use white bread for this recipe bcos that is what we had as kids and i still love these snacks with white bread.

Cut each bread slice into 2 pieces at an angle.
Mix the besan, onions, green chilies, green coriander, salt, chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Add enough water to make a batter, which should not be too thick or too thin. Something like the consistency of dosa batter.

Heat oil. reduce the heat to medium. Add 1 tblsp of hot oil to the batter and mix well. Then dip each piece in the batter and deep fry in hot oil on medium heat till golden in color.

Serve with either green chutney or sauce.

dahi sev batata puri

2008-01-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

Dahi Sev Batata Puri
Sunday evenings, as the weekend ends and a new week is about to start, we crave for something spicy and chatpata. So generally I make chats for dinner. Last weekend was dhai sev batata puri. The recipe is for 2 people.

For this you need:

Puris used for panipuri 20
Boiled potatoes 2
Roasted jeera powder
Green chutney
Tamarind chutney
Curds 1 cup
Chopped onions
Chopped cilantro
Thin sev

For green chutney
1 bunch coriander/cilantro leaves
¼ bunch mint leaves
4-5 green chilies or as per taste
1 clove garlic
1 spoon lemon juice
Salt
1 tblsp peanuts

Grind the above in a mixer with a little water. The chutney should be a little thin in consistency.

Tamarind chutney
I use the ready made tamarind and date chutney – Deep brand. It tastes wonderful and is available whenever we need it to serve with snacks. You can make the chutney at home:

½ cup tamarind
3/4 cup jaggery (gur)
10 dates
2 tsp Chili powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp roasted cumin powder

Clean and remove the seeds from the tamarind and wash it. Soak the tamarind, dates and jaggery (gur) in warm water for one hour. Then run it through a mixer. Sieve the pulp and add some water to get the desired consistency. Cook this on a low flame for about 15 mins. Add the salt, chili and cumin powder. You can store this in the fridge for upto 2 months.

Method

Boil the potatoes and mash them nicely once they are cool. Add salt, chili powder and roasted jeera powder.
Beat the curds and add a little salt and sugar to it. You can add a little milk to make it thin.

When ready to eat, make a hole in the puri. Add potatoes, chopped onion, green chutney, tamarind chutney, curds, green coriander, and sev. Serve it immediately.

Khichdi with Kadhi (from Mallika's blog-http://www.quickindiancooking.com) and papad - soul food

2008-01-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

When we were younger, my mom would make khichdi only when some one was sick. And then it would be served with its 4 yaar - Dahi, papad, Ghee and Achhar.

Now I make khichdi for my son (who is 2) but my hubby and i never have it for dinner. After reading Mallika's post, we tried this combination and loved it. I made the kadhi using her recipe as a base, with a little variation. Here is Mallika's recipe

http://www.quickindiancooking.com/2007/06/26/cool-kadhi-and-nutty-khichdi/

Gujarati kadhi
For the kadhi

1 cups plain yoghurt a little sour
2 tbsp gram flour (besan)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp hing
3 cloves
10 curry leaves
2 green chilies
2 whole red chillies
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Green coriander

In a large bowl, mix together the yoghurt, water, gram flour, salt and sugar and chopped ginger. Whisk it briskly until bubbles appear. Boil the kadhi on a low heat for 10 mins.
Heat ghee or oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add cumin seeds, and hing.
Then add the cloves, curry leaves, green chilies, and dried red chilies. Add this tempering into the kadhi, cover and simmer for 5 more mins. Serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves.
Cook the kadhi on low heat through out and keep stirring.

Khichadi with vegetables.

Ingredients
1 cup rice – bastmati or sona masoori
½ cup yellow mung dal or toor dal
¾ cup chopped vegetables – I use frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots corn and beans)
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp hing
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp coriander powder
Oil or ghee 2 tsp
Salt to taste.

Wash the rice and dal nicely and soak for 30 mins. Heat oil or ghee in a cooker. Add cumin seeds, and after they splutter, add hing.
Then add the vegetables and fry for 2 mins.
Then drain the rice and dal and add it to the cooker and fry for 2 mins.
Add the turmeric, cumin and chili powders. Fry for a min.
Add 4 cups water and salt. Close the cooker and after the first whistle, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 7 mins.
Serve the khichdi hot with kadhi, papad and achaar..

Kabir Das Doha

2007-11-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

Bada hua to kya hua, jaisay ped khajoor,
Panthi ko chhaya nahin, phal laagen ati door

There is no point growing big, like a date tree,
Which gives no shade to travellers, and fruit is hard to reach.

In this doha Kabir Das has explained that we should not be like the date tree. This tree is huge and majestic to look at, but does not give any shade to people and its fruits are too far away to reach and pluck.

Our life has no meaning if we just try to earn more money or power, and don't use it for helping others. Whatever our skills are, we should use them to help others in need. People will remember you not by the amount of money, or the size of your house, but by how helpful you were to them in their time of need.

Re: recipes from other blogs mushroom chettinad and Pavakka curry and a big thanks to Indira and Mathy

2007-11-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I made Mushroom Chettinad from Nupur's blog One Hot stove and Pavakka curry (karela in yogurt ) from Shaheen's blog malluspice and it turned out wonderful. The curry with rice tasted lip smacking good. I don't have my home computer installed till now, so could not take and post photos. But do try these.

And I would like to take this opportunity to thank Indira for her search engine and Indira and Mathy for Foodblogdesam. These have provided us with ready tools to search and blog recipes. You have made it really easy.

Thanks a ton.

Kabir Das Dohas and their explanation

2007-11-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

Saint Kabir Das born in Year 1398 A.D.(71 years before Guru Nanak). Kabirpanthis (followers of Kabir) say that he lived upto the age of 120 years and give date of his death as 1518, but relying on the research of Hazari Prased Dwivedi, a British Scholar has said that 1448 is probably the correct date of Saint Kabir's demise.

I have been moved by his Dohas since childhood. Doha means 2 lines and all his teachings about life and this world come in the form of Dohas. I loved reading the Dohas and explanation on the website Boloji.com. I will try to present one Doha at a time with its explanation and would love to hear from you all what your thoughts are.

DUKH MEIN SIMRAN SAB KAREN, SUKH MEIN KARE NA KOI,
JO SUKH MEIN SIMRAN KAREN, TOH DUKH KAHE KO HOI.

Kabirji has in this Doha tried to explain to us that everyone remembers God when ever there is a problem, but not during our good times. But if we were to remember him even in our good times, then we would not have bad times at all.

Whenever we have some problem in our life, we immediately turn to God for a solution and an end to our misery. But very rarely do we remember to Thank Him when good things happen to us. Many of us pray everyday but sometimes it just becomes like a part of our routine. I think what he means to tell us that if we remember God all the time, we will have fewer problems, we will have more strength to deal with our problems, and they would not appear to be as big as they seem.

Pancake Fest

2007-08-14T21:32:00.000-04:00

We have never been too fond of IHOP, and find it too sweet for our taste. Recently, Samir, Rudra and I hade been to Costco. There we had a sampling of theirr waffles. And Rudra, who was 20 months old at that time, loved it. This started a weekend ritual at our house. Samir and Rudra go swimming on the weekend and I make brunch. Pancakes with maple syrup, chicken sausage and eggs.

I get Aunt Jemima pancake mix. We use real maple syrup, which is a little expensive, but lasts a long time and is really yummy.

Ingredients
For pancakes
1 cup aunt Jemima pancake mix
1 egg
1 tblsp oil
3/4 cup milk

Mix the above and keep aside for 10 mins. Make the pancakes.

Chicken sausage
We get the sausage from costco or wegmans. We generally use the sundried tomato and herb chicken sausage.
Heat 1/2 cup water in a non stick pan. Prick the sausage with a fork and add to the water.. Cook on medium heat till all water dries up and the sausage becomes brown from the outside. Sausages come fully cooked but you just have to heat them completely.

We also have sunny side up eggs and freshly sqeezed juice with this.

The only problem is that after this meal, its realy difficult to do anything other than sleep.

Lobia masala

2007-08-13T15:33:00.000-04:00

I have loved lobia (black eyed peas) since childhood. My nani loved them too. So whenever we went to stay with our nanaji naniji, lobia would make a regular appearance. It doesn’t take much time to cook and is really tasty with rotis and raita.

Ingredients
1 cup lobia
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
12 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
1 tblsp oil
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnish

Method
Wash and soak the lobia in water for an hour.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
Add cumin seeds and when they change color, add onions. Fry till onions become brown. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a min.
Add turmeric, chili and coriander powders and fry for 30 sec.
Add tomato and fry till the masala gets cooked and oil separates from the masala.
Then add the lobia, mix well with the masala, add 1 ½ cup water and salt.
Close the cooker, and after first whistle, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10 mins.
Open the cooker after the pressure drops, add garam masala and cook for 4-5 mins.
Garnish with green coriander.

Linguini with marinara sauce

2007-08-13T15:29:00.000-04:00

Linguini with marinara sauce

Preparation time 5 mins
Cooking time 15 mins

Pasta has become one of our favorite Wednesday meals. Why Wednesday?
After the weekends go by, spent in lazing round, eating lots of yummy food and having fun, the week just drags. By Wednesday, I am in a mid week crisis. I get bored of the roti, sabji, dal, chawal routine (both cooking and eating it) and crave some thing fun. And Samir just loves the fact that he can have wine during the mid week. So pasta it is. And the best part is – its ready in 15 mins. I have seen this recipe on Food TV, though I do not remember the show.

Ingredients (for 2)

½ pound dry linguini
½ jar (app. 1 ½ cups) of tomato basil marinara sauce (I use trader Joes organic sauce)
½ small onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp chili flakes
1 Tblsp maggi hot and sweet chili sauce – it’s different (optional)
1 Tblsp good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil – EVOO
2 Tblsp grated parmesan cheese
2 Tblsp salt
Chopped parsley for garnnish

Method
Heat lots of water in a big pan and add 2 tblsp salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 9-10 mins, according to the directions on the package.

In the mean time, heat olive oil in another pan. Add chopped onions, garlic and chili flakes and cook on low heat for 4-5 mins. Do not let the onions or garlic brown.
Then add the marinara sauce and maggi sauce and cook 5 mins.
Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup liquid. Add the drained pasta and liquid to the sauce. Add the parmesan cheese. Mix well and serve, garnished with parsley.

It’s really easy to make the sauce at home, but it’s just more convenient to use a readymade one.
I use the magi sauce to give the sauce a kick and a bit if sweetness. I love magi.
Our regional libraries have a lot of cookbooks. Do check them out if you have the time.
I get many of my pasta recipes from these books.

kolhapuri chicken

2007-08-03T13:19:00.000-04:00

My mom-in-law is the best cook in the whole world. My husband is from Goa, and Aayi makes the most amazing fish and chicken I have ever tasted. I feel I still have a long way to go before I can cook like her. Here is a recipe that turns out really great. It’s different from Aayi’s chicken saguti recipe, but tasty nonetheless.

Ingredients
1 full chicken cut up, around 2 ½ pounds (we get ours from halal store, so it tastes like the one back home)
8 cloves garlic - grated
1 inch piece ginger - grated
2 big onions – sliced, keeping aside 1 table spoon chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
½ cup dry grated coconut
2 inch piece cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
5 cloves
1 black cardamom
10 black peppers
2 tablespoon kolhapuri masala
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
1 tbl sp Green coriander
½ tsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste
2-3 tbl sp oil

Wash the chicken well. Marinate with salt, kolhapuri masala, ginger, garlic and kashmiri chili powder... Keep aside at least for 1 hour.

Heat 1 tbls sp oil. Add sliced onions and fry till brown. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and dry coconut. Fry on slow flame till coconut turns brown. Then cool and grind to a fine paste, using a little water.

Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and fry. Add the marinated chicken and fry for 10 mins.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 10 more mins.
Add the ground masala, a little salt and mix well. Add 1 cup water and cover and cook for about 30 mins, till the chicken is done. You can add more water if required. Garnish with green coriander.

Traditionally, all the masalas are roasted separately, and then coconut and onions are also fried separately. But that takes too much time and so I just fry everything together.
If you do not have kolhapuri masala, then you can use 1 tbls sp coriander powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp chili powder and a little garam masala powder. And while frying the onions and coconut, add 1 tsp sesame seeds and 1 tsp poppy seeds. It will taste a bit different but still be good.

bharwaan karele

2007-08-03T13:17:00.000-04:00

Stuffed karela is a dish that even karela haters will like. Dal, chawal and stuffed karela are a whole meal by itself. It does take some time for the preparation because you have to make the stuffing and then fill the karelas and fry them. But they keep well in the fridge for upto a week and so I tend to make about 8-10 at one time and we have them everyday till they are gone. My husband is a goan but he loves these karelas as much as fish. So that's saying some thing about them. Just try them once and you will be hooked.

Ingredients

6 small sized tender karelas
1 jumbo onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kalonji or onion seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/s tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp amchoor powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1-2 tsp Punjabi pickle masala
1 tbl sp green coriander or cilantro
1-2 tbl sp oil
Salt to taste

Peel the karelas and slit them and remove all the seeds.
Apply salt liberally both inside and outside. Keep aside for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the stuffing.
Heat oil, add jeera and onion seeds.
Add finely chopped onion and fry till brownish in color.
Add turmeric powder, chili powder, amchoor, coriander powder, pickle masala, fennel seeds, salt and cilantro.
Fry for 1-2 mins and the stuffing is ready.
Wash the karela very well and dry them.
Stuff the above mixture in each one, filling them completely and then tie each karela with a thread so that the stuffing won’t ooze out when you fry them.
Heat oil, put the karelas in a single layer and fry on low heat uncovered, turning them every 10-15 mins, so that they brown up on all sides.
Remove the threads a serve.

My mom makes the mango pickle at home and it has fennel seeds, mustard oil, methi seeds and other spices. We take a tsp of this masala and add to the stuffing. Here in the USA I generally use either Pachranga mix pickle or Sanjeev Kapoor’s Punjabi pickle and use that masala. You can use any mango pickle or mix pickle for this. Just use the masala and do not use any pieces of mango etc in the stuffing.

Gobhi Aloo

2007-08-03T13:15:00.000-04:00

My mom makes very delicious aloo gobhi. She deep fries the aloo and gobhi, and then prepares the masala. Our generation shies away from deep fried stuff. So I just shallow fry the aloo and gobhi. The rest of the recipe is similar to my mom’s. Enjoy.

Ingredients
½ cauliflower cut into small florets
1 potato cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium sized onion chopped finely
1 medium sized tomato chopped finely
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tbls sp yogurt
1 tsp kasoori methi
¼ tsp garam masala
1-2 tbl sp oil
Salt to taste
Green coriander to garnish

Cut the cauliflower into florets and soak in salted warm water for 10 mins.
Heat 1 tbl sp oil. Add the cauliflower florets and shallow fry them till they are golden brown in color.
Shallow fry the potatoes till golden brown. Remove them on tissue paper to drain off excess oil.
Heat 1 tbl sp oil and add cumin seeds.
When they become brown, add onions and fry till brown.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 1 min.
Add turmeric, chili and corriender powders and fry for 30 secs.
Add tomatoes and fry till oil seperates.
Then add yogurt and mix well.
Add potatoes and salt and 1 tbl sp of water and cover and cook till potatoes are ½ way cooked.
Add the cauliflower and salt, mix well, add some more water and cover and cook till done.
Sprinkle with garam masala and green coriander.

Soaking the gobhi in warm water helps clean the florets.
Adding yogurt to the masala gives a very good color and terxture to the dish and makes it creamy.

Punjabi Rajma

2007-07-31T11:48:00.000-04:00

Growing up, Rajma chawal or kadhi chawal were a staple meal for us on Saturday afternoons. Sundays were reserved for Mutton/ chicken. Nowadays, with so many varieties to choose from, Rajma or kadhi make a very rare appearance. But when they do, they are very welcome.

Ingredients:

1 cup Rajma
1 very large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 inch piece cinnamon
4 cloves
1 back cardamom
10 black pepper
4 tablespoon tomato puree or 2 large tomatoes
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
2 tbls spoon fresh coriander
Oil
Salt to taste

Soak the rajma overnight
Grind onion, garlic and ginger to a fine paste
If using tomatoes, grind them separately.
Heat oil in a non stick pan; add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and black pepper. Cook till they change color.
Add onion paste and fry for about 15 mins till the paste turns brownish in color and oil separates.
Add tomato puree and fry for 10 mins till the oil separates and masala looks cooked.
Then add turmeric, chili and coriander powder and fry for 1 min
Add rajma and salt and fry 2-3 mins.
Add 2 cups water, put the full thing in a pressure cooker, close the cooker and put it on high heat. After the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 20 mins.
After the pressure subsides, open the cooker, return to the heat, and add garam masala and green dhania and cook 5 mins. It you want a thicker gravy, cook some more time. For thinner gravy add a little more water.

I use non stick pan so that the masala does not stick while frying. You can directly fry the masala in a cooker. In that case add a little water while frying if the masala starts sticking. Serve the rajma with basmati rice and sliced onions.

Introduction

2007-07-30T13:51:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

My name is Vimmi. I am new to the blogging world. Well I have been visiting blogs for a long time and have decided to create my own, primarily dedicated to Indian recipes. I first came across Anthony's blog when I was searching for some recipe. From there I got a link to Indira's blog and a new world opened up for me.

I love reading all your blogs and some of them just crack me up. I am not so witty but do have some good recipes which I would like to share with you all.

I presently live in Virginia with my best friend, my lover and the father of my child (who also happens to be my hubby) Samir and my 22 month toddler Rudra.

Blogging has opened up a world of possiblities for me - to read and try new recipes, to share my recipes with everyone and to make new friends.

The possibilities are endless in creating extraordinary food from ordinary ingrediants.