Friday, April 27, 2007
Gulabi Paneer - Paneer cooked in beetroot sauce
From somewhere got the image of how beautiful paneer would look
in a pink coloured sauce .. And Lo we go
Ingredients:
Beet Root - 2 medium sized chopped to small pieces
Onion - Big sliced
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Chilly Powder - 1 1/4 tsp ( use half more than the usual ,as beets are sweetish )
Garam Masala - 3/4 tsp
Yogurt - 3 tsp
Paneer - as much as u want .. I like slices than the usual cubes
Salt
Oil.
Flavoured Milk:
Cardamom - 2
cinnamon - a very small piece
Milk - 1 1/2 cups
Boil milk with the cardamom and cinnamon for 2 minutes.
Method:
1) Heat oil , Add onion slices and half of the garam masala.
2) Cook on low heat. When onions are light brown add ginger garlic paste.
3) When there is no raw smell add chilly powder , salt.
4) Stir in chopped beetroot.
5) Increase the heat , make space in the middle and add yogurt tsp by tsp
each time waiting for the water to evaporate and mixing it with the masala.
6) Add remaining garam masala and cook covered for 10 minutes.
7) When beets are cooked , switch off , cool and grind to a smooth paste.
8) Heat oil , add the paste , saute for few seconds. Remove the caradmom and cinnamon and add the milk and stir well
till you get a thick gravy. This should take less than a minute.
9) Add paneer. Garnish with corriander leaves
Green Mutton Curry
made of mustard greens. Sounds good doesnt it ..
B4 going to the recipe lets read some facts about Mustard greens.Summarized from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=93
Mustard greens
Are packed with nutrients. They are a good source of vitamins , minerals and dietary fiber.
Are rich in antioxidants Vitamin E.
Promote the health of Lungs.
Delays the loss of mental power.
Supports womens health with its calcium content.
Produce Sulforaphane when chewed, this causes the liver to produce enzymes thatdetoxify cancer causing chemicals and cause colon cancer cells to commit suicide.
Phew !!!
Green Paste:
Chopped Mustard Greens - 1 cup
Onion - use 1/2 of a small onion , rouchly sliced
Green chilly - 4 ( whole)
Sugar - a pinch
Oil - 2 tsp
Heat oil , fry the green chillies , add the mustard greens and onions.
Saute till there is no raw smell. The leaves should retain their color , it should not
become brown.
Grind to a paste with 1 tbs water.
Mutton Gravy :
Mutton - 200 gms
Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Bay leaf - 1
Cardamom - 4
cloves - 5
Cnnamon - 1 inch stick
Onion - big sliced thinly
Tomato - 5 tsp puree
Corriander leaves - 2 tbs chopped
Mint leaves - 5
Corriander pwdr - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 4 tsp ( Mix mutton with yogurt and set aside )
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Green chilly - 4 , Sonf - 1/2 tsp and Jeera - 1 tsp ground together coarsely
Salt
Oil
I used mutton that needs 15 whistles to get cooked..
1) Heat oil , add bay leaf , cardamom , cloves and cinnamon
2) Add onions and cook in low heat till light brown.
3) Add the green chilly mixture and ginger garlic paste
4) Add Corriander leaves , mint , tomato , salt , corriander pwders
5) Raise to high heat and add mutton yogurt mix.
6) Keep stirring till all water evaporates.
7) Add 2 cups water and pressure cook mutton.
8) Cool , remove and add green paste , chana dal , water if required
If you are not confident about the green paste , u can saute it in oil for few seconds
b4 adding.
9) Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
10) Garnish with corriander leaves
Thursday, April 26, 2007
N is for Niligiri Korma and Niligiri Curry
Nilgiri Korma - vegetables cooked in a flavorful onion sauce
Nilgiri Curry - potatoes simmered in a green corriander sauce topped with coconut milk
This is my entry for Nupur's A-Z event for Letter "N"
Nilgiri Korma:
Dry red chilly - 5
Corriander seeds - 2 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 1/2 tsp
Sonf - 1 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Cardamom - 4
Cloves - 5
Bayleaf - 1
Onion - 1 big , cut roughly , boiled and ground to a paste
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Vegetables chopped - 1 cup ( I used soya balls , lauki )
Thick Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Corriander and Mint - 2 tbs chopped finely
Method:
1) Dry roast red chilly , corriander seeds , cumin seeds , saunf , poppy seeds.
Grind to a paste with some water.
2) Heat oil add bay leaf , cinnamon , cloves and cardamom. When aromatic add onion paste
3) Saute till light brown. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry till there is no raw smell.
4) Add salt , spices paste.
5) Add vegetables. Cook covered for 5 minutes.
6) Add a cup of water, Cook the vegetables.
7) Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.
8) Add corriander and mint.
I did not want too much of coconut , so i used dal as a thickening agent.
I cooked masoor dal , mashed it well with a few drops of ghee and
added it to the korma instead of coconut milk.
Nilgiri Curry :
Corriander - a small bunch
Mint - 2 springs
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Shredded coconut - a handful
Onion - half of a small onion
Green Chilly - 6
Poppy seeds - 2 tbs ( soaked in warm water)
Grind the above to a paste.
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Onion - a small one chopped
Onion - a medium one chopped roughly , boiled and ground
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Potato - 2 medium sized , boiled , peeled and cubed
Method:
1) Heat oil , mustard seeds , fry chopped onions. Add onion paste.
2) Saute till light brown , add green paste , corriander powder. Fry well.
3) Add Curd and potato. Fry for 2 minutes. Add garam masala , coconut milk. Simmer for
5 minutes.
I added some fish to the curry as i cant survive without non veg..
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Murg Musallam - Whole chicken in gravy
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
Meen Paruppu Usili - Fish Dal Usili
For the paruppu usili:
Thursday, April 19, 2007
M is for Masoor dal Kebab
Inspired by shikampur kebab i wanted to make vegetarian kebabs with dal.
Chose Masoor dal for the following reasons
1) Requires very less soaking time
2) Gets cooked quickly
3) Last but not least , the letter of this week is "M"
This is my entry for "A-Z of Indian Veges Letter M" hosted by Nupur
This makes 6 kebabs.
Preparing Dal:
U will need
Masoor Dal - Filled in a cup of volume 300 ml apprx 300 gms
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Ginger flakes - 3
Green Chilly - 3
Red Food Color - a pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt
1) Soak Masoor dal in water for 2 hours.
2) Grind with green chilly , salt , ginger garlic paste , ginger , red food color.
You should have a smooth paste now.
3) Heat ghee in a non stick pan , add the paste and fry for few seconds.
Do not fry for too long , the dal should have dough consistency, if you over fry
the dal will be reduced to grains .. you cannot make kebabs with it :-(.
Set aside.
Peparing Potato:
Potato - 2 medium sized , boiled , peeled and mashed really really well.
Do not use too much potato. The dish should have a predominant taste of dal.
After you mash the potato , the quantity should be about half of the masoor
dal paste.
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Onion paste - 2 tsp ( grind 1/2 of small onion )
Make powder of the following Spices
Cloves - 5
Cardamom - deseded , 4
Cinnamon small stick
Kala Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Sonf - 1/2 tsp
Mace - 1/4 tsp
Aamchoor - a pinch
Red Chilly Pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Corriander pwdr - 1/2 tsp
1) Heat oil , add onion paste. When there is no raw smell , add ginger garlic paste.
Fry well.
2) Add the spice pwdr.
3) Mix salt with the potato evenly.
4) Add potato. Fry for few seconds.
5) Mixing Dal and Potato
Mix potato with dal evenly.
Make the dal paste after making the potato mixture.
Do not let the dal dry.
6) Add some chopped onions and corriander to dough.
Make the stuffing:
Boiled eggs - 3 , the yellow part chopped finely , reserve the white
Khoya - 3 tbs
Onion - 1 small , sliced thinly , fried and half of it crushed.
Green chilly - 1 chopped
Mix the above well.
I did not have khoya , so i made some egg sauce , refrigerated it for 30 minutes.
Cut it into small pieces for the filling
Make the kebab:
Oil - for deep fry
1) Take a small ball of dough , flatten it , place some filling in the center.
2) Take another ball , flatten , place on the above , seal edges and shape to ovals.
3) Fry the kebab one by one in the oil. The heat should be high when you drop the kebab.
Once the outer crust is cooked , reduce heat to low.
If the heat is low initially , the kebabs will break.
Garnish with fried onions , egg white.
Monday, April 16, 2007
JFI - Greens - Malai Mustard Greens Gravy
B4 going to the recipe lets read some facts about Mustard greens.
Summarized from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=93
Mustard greens
Are packed with nutrients. They are a good source of vitamins , minerals and dietary fiber.
Are rich in antioxidants Vitamin E.
Promote the health of Lungs.
Delays the loss of mental power.
Supports womens health with its calcium content.
Produce Sulforaphane when chewed, this causes the liver to produce enzymes that
detoxify cancer causing chemicals and cause colon cancer cells to commit suicide.
Phew !!!
Ingredients:
Mustard greens - 1 cup ( I used the frozen one )
Green chilly - 5
Onion - a small one chopped finely
Tomato puree - 5 tsp
Cumine pwdr - 1/4 tsp
Corriander pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Cashews - 7-10 and Poppy seeds 1 tsp both soaked in little warm water
Milk - 1 1/2 cup warm for soaking jaggery
malai - 3 tsp ( I tied a handful of cottage cheese tightly in a cloth , left it for 10 minutes
to drain all the water. Now grind it, U will get a creamy paste )
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Aaamchoor - a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch
Jaggery - little soked in the warm milk
Corriander leaves - 2 tsp chopped
Butter - 2 tsp ( I used "I cant belive its not butter" )
Method:
Mustard greens have a slight bitter taste , to compensate that i used some jaggery.
Another way to level the bitterness will be to use swetish vegetables like
louki or peas. I used to cashews and butter as i was sceptice about how it will
turn out. After all its an experiement.
1) Heat a tsp of oil in a pan , Add green chilly , when they begin to turn white
add mustard greens , butter. Saute till there is no raw smell.
Take care not to brown it. If it loses all its water content , u will not
get a paste while grinding.
2) Grind the above with 2 cashews and a tsp of milk.
3) Heat oil in a vessel, saute onions. Add corriander leaves and ginger garlic paste.
Add cumine pwder , corriander pwdr .
4) Grind the cashews and poppy seeds to a paste.
Stir in mustard greens puree , tomato puree and salt.
5) Let fry till there is no raw smell. Add cashew paste, garam masla and aamchoor.
6) Fry for few seconds. Add milk. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
7) You should have a thick gravy now. Add malai, boiled aloo or fried panner.
I added boiled soya balls as i did not have stock of the above.
Simmer for 4 minutes. Serve
Simple Tamil Recipes
Paruppu usili - a delicious and filling dish made of dal and vegetables.
Egg Spinach - spinach sauteed with scrambled eggs to give a "i cant blieve its spinach" taste
Kabbage Kothavarangai - shredded kabbage , chopped vegetable and shredded coconut
combined in a tasty poriyal
Potato fry - boiled potatoes , cubed and fried till crisppp
Paruppu Usili
soak 1/2 a cup each of tur dal and chana dal in warm water overnight.
Grind to a paste with 3 dry red chillies , salt , a pinch of hing and turmeric powder.
Steam it for 10 minutes.
Cool and crumble it to small grains.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan , splutter mustard seeds , curry leaves. Add crumbled dal and fry till it becomes
light brown.
Take a cup of vegetable of your choice ( french beans , kothavarangai or beans )
Cook it in little water with turmeric and salt.
Heat 1 ts oil in a pan , add a dry red chilly broken , add vegetables and fry for sometime.
When it becomes light brown , add the dal mixture. Mix well.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Muttai Kothu Parotta - Egg kothu parotta
scrambled eggs , topped with a spicy gravy ...
Sounds yummy doesnt it
My 50th post . Boy am i excited ...
This serves 3 people who are not thatt hungry
or 2 people really hungry :-)
Tomato - 1/2 diced ( 3 tsp if using puree )
Red Chilly Pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Corriander Pwdr - 1 tsp
Turmeric Pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Pepper poswer - 1/2 tsp ( use indian pepper pwdr )
Curry Leaves - 1 spring
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp ( i used rice vinegar )
garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
yellow onion - 1 finely chopped.
aniseed - 1/4 tsp
Oil for cooking
Dont let any of the ingredients burn.
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch stick
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Split Black Gram dal - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Aniseed - 1/4 tsp
Poppy Seeds - 1/4 tsp
2) Grind the spice powder with red onions , tomato , chilly pwdr , corriander pwdr, garlic paste , vinegar to a smooth paste.
3) Add some curry leaves to the above paste . Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
4) Heat oil , add turmeric pwdr , curry leaves and onions.
5) When onions turn brown add pepper powder and paste. Reduce to simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
6) When the oil comes on top half cup water , curry leaves , aniseed.
7) Cook covered for 5 minutes.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Egg/potata Roast
Vegetable Korma
I guess its because i did not like vegetables 6 months back :-) ..
This new recipe worked out like a charm ...
Ingredients:
To be roasted and ground to a powder
Bayleaf - a small piece
Elaichi - 2
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Aniseed - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/3 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry roast the above for less than a minute and grind to a powder.
Aamchoor - 1/4 tsp
Mace - a pinch
Ginger - 1cm * 1cm piece
Garlic - 2 cloves
Onion - a small one chopped roughly
Tomato - a small one , chopped
Cashew - 5 - 10
Shredded Coconut - 2 tbs
Green Chilly - 7
Salt
Add the above ingredients to the powder and grind to a smooth paste.
Onion - a small one chopped finely
Bay leaf - 1
Corriander pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Curry leves - 5
Coriander leaves - few springs chopped finely
Vegetables
potatoes - 2 small , boiled , cubed , refrigerated for 10 minutes
carrots , peas , beans , lauki , cauli flwr - half boiled.
Method:
1) Heat oil , Add bayleaf . Saute onions.
2) Add curry leaves and corriande leaves , corriander pwdr.
3) Add masala paste. Cook covered till there is no raw smell.
4) Add a 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to boil.
5) Add vegetables and cook covered on low heat for 10 minutes.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Gulab Jamun
Milk Powder - 1 cup ( I used non fat )
Oil for deep frying
MLA Pesarattu or Upma Pesarattu
This is like adai stuffed with upma...
It goes well with ginger chutney.
The original recipe doesnt use any dal other than moong , but i add these
for taste.
Ingredients:
Whole moong dal - 1 cup
Split gram dal - a handful
Cooked Chickpeas - a handful
Split Dalia - a handful
Green Chilly - 5
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Egg - 1 beaten
Soak dals , chickpeas and dalia for 8 hours and grind with salt , green chilly
and ginger to a slightly coarse paste adding as little water as possible.
Add egg and mix well.
Garnish:
Onion - 1 small finely chopped
Corriander leaves - a handful chopped
Curry Leaves - a spring chopped
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Heat a pan , smear oil , add pesarattu batter and cook like a dosa.
When one side is half done , garnish with the above mixture and flip.
When done , flip again , keep the upma in the centre and fold like a masala dosa.
Serve with ginger chutney or with nothing like how i did :-) :-)
Monday, April 09, 2007
Lazeez Lauki
Just realised there are double L's in the title..
Lazeez Louki or delicious lauki is cooked as a whole ,
stuffed with khoya and nuts is filled with suprises.
Should we stop here .. ne lets take it to the next level ....
Cook lauki in a mild spices onion based sauce ....
Is so much enough ... ne how about giving the dish a rich saffron taste...
Lets serve this with lacha paratha ...
Shall we?
For Lauki
Lauki - 1 about 500 gms
cashew /pine nuts / pista - 10 pieces
Khoya - 200 gms ( I made khoya from Happy Burp 's recipe )
Onion - 1 small chopped finely
Corriander leaves - few leaves , chopped finely
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric pwdr - 1/4 tsp
Chilly pwdr - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Ground meat or chopped veges of your choice (optional) - use as little or lot as you want
Do not use potatoes please ... Use chopped cabbage or capsicum
I used 20 gms of ground beef
Sonf - 1/4 tsp
Yogurt - 2 tsp
Salt
Method:
1) Heat oil , fry cashews , sonf , saute onions , Add ginger garlic paste
2) Additional meat or vegetables , curd , all powders and salt.
3) Cook till all water evaporates. Crumble Khoya and stir well.
Set aside.
Preparing Lauki:
1) Peel lauki , remove the center portion , make hole on the outside evenly
with a fork. Smear little salt on the outside.
Set aside for 10 minutes. All the water from the lauki will come out.
2) Heat oil in a pan , Add lauki and brown it evenly throughout.
3) Let it cool and stuff the khoya mixture tightly into the lauki.
Set aside
For Gravy:
Onion - 1 big sliced thinly
Cloves - 4
elaichi - 1
mace - 1/4 tsp
poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 1 tsp
Chilly pwrd - 1/4 tsp
Saffron - few strands crushed
Kewra water - 1 tsp ( optional )
Milk - warm 1 cup and dissolve crushed saffron in it set aside for 10 minutes
Method:
1) Fry onions till light brown. Set aside
2) Grind cloves , elaici , mace and poppy seeds.
3) Add yogurt , fried onions. Grind to a smooth paste.
4) Heat oil , add onions paste , chilly pwdr and saute till there is no raw smell.
5) Add half of the saffron milk. Bring to a boil . Reduce to simmer and add the stuffed lauki
carefully
6) Cook covered for 10 minutes.
Flip the lauki so that the othet side gets coked. Add remaining saffron milk and
Kewra water. Cook covered for 10 minutes or till lauki is soft.
7) Serve on a platter garnished with corriander leaves.
Cut the lauki before serving.
Fish Podimas/Poriyal
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Vatral Kuzhambu : Tamil Cuisine
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Split gram dal - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Corns - 6
Dried Red Chilly - 5
Curry Leaves - a spring
hing - a pinch
Onions - 2 medium sliced thinly to 1 inch length
Tomato - 2 ( 6 tsp if using puree )
vatral of your choice - i used kothavangai vathal , few
Tamarind water - lemon sized ball dissolved in 2 cups warm water
Brinjal - 2 , cut to 4 pieces. ( can use okra or tindora instead )
Sonf - 1/2 tsp
garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 4 pods , each sliced to 3 pieces
Rice powder - 1/2 tsp dissolved in water
Gingelly oil - 1 tbs
Oil of your choice
Spice Paste:
Chilly Pwdr - 1 tsp
Corriander pwdr - 3 tsp
Mix the above , add enough water to make a paste
Spice powder:
Roasted channa dal - 1 tsp
Roasted split gram dal - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
Sonf - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Dalia - 1 tsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Grind to a fine powder.
Add a tsp of vinegar and mix well.
Method:
1) heat oil , splutter mustard seeds , split dal . Add curry leaves , red chilly , hing.
2) Add vathal.saute onions till light brown. Add garlic paste , spice powder. Saute for 3 minutes.
3) Add spice paste. Saute till there is no raw smell.
4) Add tomato , salt . Mix and cook covered for few minutes.
5) When oil comes on top add brinjal , gingelly oil ,tamarind water , sonf , few curry leaves.
6) Cook covered for 15 minutes.
7) Add garlic , rice powder mix and cook till desired consistency is reached.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Peas Puree Cutlet
Stuffed eggs in carrot gravy
Baked eggs
Eggs in carrot gravy
Soya Balls W Peanuty Palak
I always liked soya.... Ne not because of its nutritious value etc etc ..
It looks like meat .... :-) ... My dad hated it for the same reason :-( ...
So Mom used to make it rarely ...
Suddenly thought about soya and did this ..
Ingredients:
Soya Balls - a handful ( Microwave in water for 4 minutes )
Peanut Oil - 2 tsp +2 tsp
Palak - a handful ( sauteed in 2 tsp peanut oil till light brown )
elaichi - 1
Onion - 1 1/2 big sliced thinly
GingerGarlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Tomato sauce - 7 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Aamchoor - 1/4 tsp
Cashew - 6 soaked in warm water do this b4 u start cooking
Paprika - 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander pwdr - 1 tsp
Method:
1) Fry palak in 2 tsp peanut oil till light brown. Set Asie.
2) Heat oil in a pan , add elaichi , saute onions , add ginger garlic patse .
3) Add tomato sauce , all powders , salt garam masala , aamchoor.
4) Simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Let cool and grind with soaked cashews to a smooth paste.
5) Heat peanut oil in a pan , add the paste. Saute for few minutes.
6) Add 2 cups water , soya , palak.
7) Cook covered for 10 minutes.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Fish with mustard oil
was planning t have just bread and omlette...
But hubby comes home hungry , Bread n omlette is not considered food....
I had to fix something good within 10 minutes...
Lo goes the recipe.. It is very simple to make but delicious.
The mustard oil gives the dish a very different taste.
Did the same with brinjal ....
Ingredients:
Nethili Fish (anchovy fish) : 20 pieces
mango - 2 small pieces
Onion - 1 small , chopped finely
Tomato puree - 1 tsp
Aniseed - 1/2 tsp
Corriander pwdr - 1 tbs
Chilli pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric pwdr - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Vinegar - 2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Mustard oil - 2 tbs
Gingelly oil - 1 tsp
Salt
Method:
1) Mix all the ingredients except mustard oil.
2) Heat mustard oil. Add the mixed ingredients.
3) Set flame on high. Cook for a minute.
4) Reduce to low , cook for 5 minutes.
5) Add 1/2 cup water. Cook for 5 minutes.
6) Add some hing and serve.