Green Shrimp

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 green chillies
1 tomato (chopped)
1 clove garlic
2 lb shrimp (cleaned and de-veined)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste


Grind Coriander, tomato, 1/2 onion, green chilli and garlic into a fine paste.  In a pan heat oil and add the onion. Fry until onion turns lift brown. Now add the ground paste. Add chilli powder, cumin and salt to taste. Cook until the mix reduces to half its consistency.

Now add the shrimp and cook for 10 minutes. Remember over cooking shrimp will make it rubbery. By now the shrimp will be well coated with the green curry and cooked. Remove from heat and serve.

Kasa Kasa Payasam

I crashed my laptop with all the photos in it. I also seemed to have misplaced the usb cord that connects the camera to the desktop computer and hence I'll be next few recipes with out photos. Will update photos when possible.

Ingredients:

1 cup Kasa Kasa (poppy seeds)
1/2 cup Jaggery
8-10 Almonds
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tsp ghee
8-10 raisins
1/2 cup milk

Method:
Soak the Kasa Kasa with a little water for 30 mins. Soak Almond and grated coconut in the milk for 30 mins. Grind soaked poppy seeds with soaked almond and grated coconut along with the milk that was used for soaking.

In a deep bottomed pan add 1 cup of water and add jaggery. Allow it to dissolve well and if needed strain the jaggery water and then keep aside. In another deep bottomed pan heat the ghee and fry the raisins. Remove and add the ground poppy-almond-coconut mixture into the remaining ghee. Bring to boil and then add the jaggery water while stirring constantly.

Boil well and if needed add little milk. Stir the mixture constantly so that it does not boil over. When done add a little cardamom powder and add the fried raisin.

This payasam tastes best when served cold.

Organic food?

Its everywhere and everyone is talking about it. Organic food!!

I heard about Organic food only after I moved to US.  In simple terms Organic variety of a food involves food which has been grown without the influence of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides.

Even though I have often wanted to buy organic food, I find that it gets very expensive. There has been a lot of articles on what can be bought organic and what cannot be bought organic. It gets confusing at some point, so here is a list for my reference which I read in a article on yahoo.

Preferably Organic
—Most Commonly Contaminated*

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes - Imported
11. Carrots
12. Pears

If Budget Allows, Buy Organic

1. Collard Greens
2. Spinach
3. Potatoes
4. Green Beans
5. Summer Squash
6. Peppers
7. Cucumbers
8. Raspberries
9. Grapes - Domestic
10. Plums
11. Oranges
12. Cauliflower
13. Tangerines
14. Mushrooms
15. Bananas
16. Winter Squash
17. Cantaloupe
18. Cranberries
19. Honeydew Melon
20. Grapefruit

It’s Your Call
—Least Commonly Contaminated

1. Sweet Potatoes
2. Tomatoes
3. Broccoli
4. Watermelon
5. Papaya
6. Eggplant
7. Cabbage
8. Kiwis
9. Sweet Peas - Frozen
10. Asparagus
11. Mangoes
12. Pineapple
13. Sweet Corn - Frozen
14. Avocadoes
15. Onions

Friday Food: Mutton Sukka Varuval

Mutton Sukka Varuval/ Mutton Pepper Fry

Ingredients:

1 lb mutton(bite size pieces, preferably with bones)
3 garlic pods
1 inch piece ginger
1 Tomato
1 onion (chopped finely)
Few sprigs of Coriander leaves (chopped)
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
 2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:

Make a paste of ginger and garlic either with a mortar-pestle or in a blender.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add the cumin seeds and let it splutter for a second and then add half the chopped onion. Fry for a few minutes and add the ginger-garlic paste. Then add the chopped tomatoes, few curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Add turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp of garam masala. Add the mutton pieces and salt to taste. You can add 1/2 a cup of water if required. Pressure cook this mixture for 2 whistles on medium-high flame. Remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add the remaining onion and fry until golden brown. Add curry leaves. Now add the liquid from the cooked mutton. To this add cumin powder, garam masala and pepper powder. Check the taste of salt and add more if required.

When the liquid is half its original quantity, add the mutton pieces and fry until all the liquid is evaporated. Keep stirring so that the pieces do not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Remove from heat once done, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Mutton Paruppu Kozhambu

Mutton in Toor dhal Curry

It was mothers day this Sunday. I have fond memories of this Mutton Parupu Sambhar growing up and this post is for my mom.

Ingredients:

1 lb Mutton(preferably bone with some flesh on it)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 cup toor dhal
1 small Tomato
1-2 pods of garlic (chopped)
Curry leaves
1 tbsp Sambhar Powder
Salt to taste

Seasoning

1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
1/4 onion (chopped finely)
Couple of sprigs of Coriander leaves(chopped)
1 sprig - Curry leaves
1/4 cup of dilute tamarind juice
A pinch of Asafoetida
Oil

Method:

In  a pressure cooker add the toor dhal, mutton, garlic, tomato, onion, curry leaves, sambhar powder, salt to taste and 2 cups of water. Pressure cook on medium-high heat for 3 whistles. Remove from heat.

In a separate pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When the mustard splutters add onion and fry for a few minutes until the onion is brown. then add curry leaves and asafotida. Add the coriander leaves and the dilute tamarind juice. Pour this seasoning over the prepared Parupu.

Serve hot with rice.

Note1: The tamarind in seasoning is optional and can be skipped.
Note2: More vegetables like drumstick, brinjal can be added to this to add more flavor.
Note3: I like my mutton well cooked(almost to the point that it falls apart on touch). So pressure cooking it along with dhal. If you like your mutton pieces to be more chunkier, cook it separately and add to the dhal.

Mushroom Biryani

Ingredients:


1 cup sliced Mushroom
2 cup Basmathi Rice
1 small strip Cinnamon
2-3 Cloves
2 Cardamom
1 Bay leaf
1/2 onion chopped
Salt to taste

Grind to Paste:

3 green chilli
1 inch piece Ginger
2 cloves Garlic
2 Tomatoes
1/4 cup coriander leaves
1/4 cup mint leaves
1 small strip cinammon
2 cloves
1/4 onion chopped

Method:

Grind all the ingredients under "Grind to Paste" to a fine paste.  I am using cinnamon, cloves in both girding and in the main rice dish.

Also soak the Basmathi rice in water for 30 minutes.

In a large deep bottom pan heat oil. Add the cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom. Fry for a minute and add the chopped onion. Now add the chopped mushroom and fry until the mushroom is half cooked. Now add the ground masala and salt to taste. Add 3 cups of water and bring to boil.

Tip: I am adding only 3 cups of water because I already have 1 cup of masala. Rice and water is added in a 1:2 ratio.

Now add the rice and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high. Turn the heat down to low and cook closed for 15 minutes or until the basmathi rice is cooked.

Serve with raitha and boiled egg

Gothumai Dosai - Whole Wheat Crepes

My mom is a diabetic and she always made this at home for herself, but I never attempted to taste this when I was at home. The first time I got to eat this was in my in-laws house. My mother-in-law made this for all of us and believe me, this is the simplest and healthiest food that we can prepare.

As I have said before I try to make chapathi's whenever possible. Last weekend I was unable to prepare the chapathi dough in advance and remembered my mother-in-laws godumai dosa. The best part is this does not need fermentation and batter can be prepared just before making the dosa.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Rice Flour (this is optional, will make the dosai crispier)
Salt to taste
Water to make the batter

Method:
Mix all the ingredients with water to make a batter in the consistency of dosa batter (Add water in increments so that you do not make the batter too watery).

Make the dosa's in a non-stick pan and serve hot with chutney of your choice.

Stuffed Mushroom

 Ingredients:

10 Button Mushroom
1 Garlic pod (minced finely)
1 tbsp Cheese Spread (store bought)
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 String Cheese
Salt to taste

Tip: I used the Rondale Garlic & Herbs Cheese Spread from Safeway. But any cheese spread or shredded cheese can be used.

Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel and break off stems. This will give us a mushroom cap into which the filling can be added. Chop the stems finely and keep aside.

In a pan heat oil and add the minced garlic. Once the garlic starts to fry add the chopped mushroom stems. Now add red chilli powder, cumin powder and salt to taste. Cook until the mushroom is 75% cooked and shrinks in size. Remove from heat and stir in the cream cheese spread or the shredded cheese.

Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).

In a baking sheet arrange the mushroom caps and spoon in the mushroom stuffing into each cap.  Decorate the top with strings removed from the string cheese. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 -  23 minutes. You'll know the stuffed mushroom is done when water starts to form below the mushrooms in the baking pan.

Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Cauliflower in Mushroom-Paneer Masala

Cauliflower in Mushroom-Paneer Gravy
Ingredients

1/2 cup sliced button mushroom
1/4 cup paneer (cut into small pieces)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 green chilli (split in the middle)
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
 1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
Fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped)
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

 Method:

In a pan, heat the oil and saute the chopped mushroom on medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from oil and let it cool. Now in a blender add the paneer and the sauteed mushroom and 1/2 cup of water and blend it into a smooth paste.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the chopped onion. When the onion turns light brown,add the green chilli, ginger-garlic paste and saute until the rawness goes away. Now add the blended mushroom-paneer mixture, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well and add the cauliflower florets.

If this mixture is too thick you can add another 1/2 cup of water. Cook covered on medium heat for 10 minutes until the cauliflower florets are cooked. Now remove the cover and cook on high heat until the gravy is thick.

Remove from heat and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with Roti/Chapathi.

Vegetable Spring Roll - Oven Baked

Makes 10 Spring Roll

1 cup Cabbage (finely chopped)
1/2 cup Carrot (grated)
1/2 cup Spring Onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp pepper powder
10 spring roll sheets
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil

Heat oil in a pan and add the cut cabbage, carrot and spring onion. Also add the pepper powder and salt to taste.  There is no need to add water as this is a dry mixture. Keep stirring so that vegetables do not stick to the pan. Fry until the vegetables are 75% cooked. Remove from heat.

The spring roll pastry sheet is available in any Chinese, Korean or Asian grocery stores.

In a single sheet and place a spoonful of the vegetables at the bottom end of the triangle of the sheet. Fold up the bottom of the wrapper and cover the filling and roll. When you are half way through fold the right and left sides and now roll over the entire length of the sheet. Stick the end to the roll with a drop of water. Repeat this for all the remaining spring roll sheets.


Preheat the oven at 350°F  (180°C) and place the spring roll in a baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes. I first set the timer for 25 minutes and later turned over the roll and let it bake for another 8 minutes to get a all around brown and crispy roll.

Serve hot.

Kozhi Varuval - Chicken Fry

Kozhi Varuthathu (Chicken coated and roasted in spices)

Ingredients:

2 lb chicken (with bone and into chunck size pieces
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 small onion (chopped finely)
1 spring curry leaves
2 green chilli
Salt to taste
Some fresh Coriander leaves for decoration.

Method:
Marinate the chicken with chilli, cumin, coriander, 1/2 tsp salt and ginger garlic paste. If possible marinate overnight else at least marinate for a couple of hours.

Now add the marinated chicken and a cup of water in a pan and cook covered until chicken is 90% cooked. Now remove the cover and cook on medium-high until the water evaporates and the masala starts to stick to the chicken. Remove from heat.

In a different pan, heat a little oil and add the onion. Fry until it turns brown.  Add curry leaves and green chilli and fry for a few more minutes. Add the cooked chicken(with any masala that is left), add the garam masala powder . Fry this until no water remains and the chicken pieces gets roasted on all sides.

Remove and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot with Mutton Biryani.

Kovakkai Poriyal

Kovakkai/Tindora Fry

Ingredients:

1/2 lb Kovakkai/Thondekai/Tindora(Julienned)
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste

For Seasoning Oil
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp urad dhal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 red dry Chilli
1 spring of  Curry leaves

Method:

Heat a pan, add the Julienned Tindora, salt, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, turmeric. Add a little water and cook until 80% done. This means that the Tindora is not completely cooked through and some of the crunchiness remains in the vegetable. Remove any excess water.

Now in a different pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When the mustard starts to splutter add urad dhal, dry chilli and curry leaves. Fry for a minute. Now add the cooked Tindora/Kovakkai and fry. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder and cumin powder. Fry on medium low for a few minutes until the spices blend in. Add more salt if required.

Remove from heat and add grated coconut. Adding coconut is a optional step and can be skipped.

Vazhakkai Roast

Ingredients:

1 Raw Banana(Vazhakkai/Plantain/Balekayi)
2 tsp Sambhar powder
1 tsp rice flour
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For Seasoning:
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp urad dhal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 red dry Chilli
1 spring of Curry leaves

Method:

Peel the skin of the raw banana with a peeler. You can leave some of the skin on and do not need to peel the skin completely.

Now cut the vazhakkai into medium think slices. In a bowl mix sambhar powder, turmeric powder, rice flour and salt to taste. Add a little(just a few drops) water into this mix and make a paste. Apply this paste evenly on all the cut raw banana pieces. Marinate for atleast 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard starts to splutter add urad dhal, dry chilli and curry leaves. Fry for a minute.

Now place each piece flat on the pan and fry on each side on medium heat until roasted. This could be a tedious process and will take time. But the fired spicy roast at the end was well worth it for us.

Once done, remove from heat and serve.

Julienning Vegetables

Julienne is a cut in which the vegetable or food item is cut into long thin strips

Tamil Puthandu Vazhthukkal

Even though there is a confusion about Tamil Puthandu and Chithirai Thirunal, for most of the Tamilians April 14th is new year. So it is for my hubby.

Tamil Puthandu Vazhthukkal!!

In Photo: Rice, Sambhar, Vazhakkai Roast, Kovakai Poriyal, Paruppu Vadai, Appalam, Aval Payasam

Everything on the menu was a delicious treat and we polished away our plate and enjoyed the dinner.

Homemade Rasmalai

Rasmalai

Happy Easter!!

Last weekend we celebrated Easter with my brothers family. They prepared mouth watering chicken wings on the barbecue which was moist and juicy, fish fry and our all time favorite of Mutton Biryani and Mutton curry from my sister-in-law. We took loads of nice pictures of all the food. Will post it soon.

When I was speaking to my sister-in-law last weekend I offered to bring in a homemade dessert. There were a couple of favorites like the Sorakai Halwa and Rasmalai. Finally I decided on the Rasmalai. Will make the Sorakai Halwa sometime and post the recipe.

Here we go:

Ingredients:
8 cups whole milk
2 tbsp lemon
4 cups of sugar
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
7 pistachio chopped
7 almonds chopped
3 cups water
2 whole cardamom

Method:

Rasmalai is nothing but Rasgulla which soaked in reduced sweet milk flavored with cardamom (sort of like Rabri).

To make paneer for Rasgulla :

Boil 5 cups of milk in a deep bottomed clean pan. Once the milk starts to boil, pour in lemon juice slowly, stirring continually. Remove from heat and remove the water in the paneer. Wash paneer well in water and hang in a muslin cloth till the the water is completely drained.

  
To make Rasgulla :

Take the paneer which is completely drained of water and gently knead and mash the granules to make a smooth dough out of the paneer. Shape it into round ball and flatten slightly with the insides of the palm to form a oval/round shape. I was able to make 8 paneer balls.

In a pressure cooker add 3 cups of water, 2 cups of sugar, 2 whole cardamom and the shaped paneers. Cook for 2 whistles and remove from heat. Remove from the cooked rasgulla from the water and place in a bowl to cool.

To make Malai: 

Put 3 cups of milk into a heavy-based saucepan and stir constantly while bringing to the boil. Cook steadily and continue stirring until reduced to about 1.5 cups. Lower heat, add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Now add the powdered cardamom and nuts. Remove from heat and cool.

Finally the Rasmalai:

Remove the Rasgulla's from the water and gently squeeze out water by placing the Rasgulla between both your palms. Place this in the malai prepared in the above step. The Rasgulla is like a sponge and will absorb the malai. Place in the refrigerator for atleast 30 minutes before serving.

Serve chilled and enjoy!!

Mutton Biryani

I tried my hand at Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani tonight and was quite impressed with the end result. I am sure this is not the authentic recipe for the Hyderabadi version but we liked it a lot and hence this quick note down of the recipe for the next time.

I do not have the step by step photos for this because I originally did not intend to post this. Maybe next time, I'll post the step by step photos.

Ingredients:

2 lb fresh Mutton(good size chunks)
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 cup of chopped mint and coriander leaves
1 cup of julienne onion
2 green chillies chopped
2 tbsp garam masala
1 Tomato(chopped)
1/2 cup yogurt
2 cups Basmathi rice
1/2 tsp food color / saffron


In a pan, heat oil and add 1 cup of julenne onion. Fry the onion until they are golden brown in color. Now add the 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste and fry until there is no raw smell from the paste left. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Fry for a few minutes and add the mutton pieces. Stir well and add the chopped green chilli, mint and coriander leaves, also add the yogurt and 1 tbsp garam masala. Add salt to taste.  Mix well. Transfer this mixture into a pressure cook and add half a cup of water and cook for 1 whistle. Remove from heat.

In a separate deep bottom pan, take 3 cups of water. Add 1 tsp garam masala and salt to taste. When the water starts boiling add rice and cook 50% until the rice is half cooked and water evaporates. Remove from the pan and keep aside.

When the pressure goes down from the cooker remove the mutton spices mix. Also mix the food color or saffron in 1/4 cup milk.

In the thick bottomed pan, add a layer of mutton-spices mix and then a layer of rice, half the food color and then again a layer of mutton-spices mix, then the remaining rice and sprinkle the remaining food color on top.


Cook on low heat for 45 minutes keeping the lid tightly closed. Decorate with caramelized onion.

Serve with boiled egg and raitha.

Aval Payasam

Ingredients:
1 cup Aval/Beaten rice/Rice flakes/Poha
3 cups Milk(whole milk preferable)
1 tbsp Ghee
1 cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
5-6 whole Cashew
5-6 Raisin

Method:
In a deep bottomed pan heat the ghee and fry the Cashew and Raisin until light brown. Remove from the ghee and keep aside. In the remaining ghee in the pan, add the aval and fry for a few minutes. There is no need for the aval to turn brown. Just well coated with ghee.

Now add the milk to this and bring it to boil. Also add sugar. Keep stirring so that the milk does not boil and flow over.  Reduce the heat and keep cooking until the milk reduces to half of its original content and the aval/poha is cooked. Now sprinkle the cardamom powder and remove from heat.

Garnish with the fried cashew and raisins and serve. This can be eaten hot or chilled.

Note: If you feel the Payasam is too thick you can add milk to it. You can also add more sugar to it to make it sweeter.

Friday Food: Panner Butter Masala and Peas Pulao

This Friday, I was a little lazy to try out any new recipes. Hence browsed through some of my old recipes to decide what I should cook. I finally decided on Peas Pulao and Paneer Butter Masala.

Hopefully I'll try something new next Friday.

Vazhai Pazha Dosai/Banana Dosa

 Banana is a staple food in my house and most of the times it becomes so ripe that both of us do not want to eat it. Hating to throw away food in trash, I am always thinking of ways to include them in everyday food.

The other day when we were watching Pandiyaraj's son's debut movie Kai Vandha Kalai. In the movie Pandian makes Vazhai Pazha dosai for his future son-in-law.  What a great way to use those left over ripe banana's. So here it is. The recipe for Banana Dosa.

Ingredients:
2-3 Ripe Banana's
2 cups Rice- 2 cups
1/2 cup Aval/Poha/beaten rice
1 tsp methi seeds
Salt to taste

Soak the rice, Aval and methi seeds in water for 5 hrs. Peel the Banana's and mash them. Put the banana, soaked rice, aval and methi seeds in a grinder or blender. Add some water and grind to the consistency of a Dosa Batter.

Tip: It is always good to add water in little increments while grinding as this will give us a good idea on the consistency of the batter we are preparing.

Remove and keep it over night for fermentation.

When you are ready to eat the dosa, add salt to taste, mix the batter and make dosas on a non stick pan.

Serve with Cutney of your choice.

Friday Food: Mullangi/Mooli Paratha

Diakon Radish Paratha 

 

Its that time of the week again when I am ready to cook up something nice and head out for the evening. Last time I was on vacation in Bangalore, I and my sister were discussing about the health benefits of veggies and how she gets my nephew and niece to eat up theirs. One of the way was the Mooli Paratha. The budding cook in me was very interested in it and got the recipe from her. I am really not sure if the Punjabi's cook it this way, but she did mention that she got this recipe when she was residing in Delhi a few years back.

Ingredients:

1 large Mullangi/Mooli/Daikon
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Ginger(grated)
1/4 tsp salt
few sprigs of cilantro chopped finely
2 cups wheat flour
1-2 tbsp yogurt(if required)
Ghee(as required)

Method:

Grate the Mullangi and keep aside for 15-30 minutes. You'll see that the mullangi will leave out a lot of water. Take handful of this grated mixture and squeeze out the water. Keep this water aside as this can be used when mixing the wheat flour.

In this dry and squeezed Mullangi/Mooli mix garam masala,chilli powder, a pinch of salt and cilantro. Keep aside.

Now in diffirent container take wheat flour and add salt. Use the mullangi water to mix this into a soft dough (chapathi consistancy). If the mullangi water is not enough use some yogurt.You can add a tsp of oil if required. Set aside for atleast 30 minutes.

Now make balls out of this dough and flatten them between you palms. Roll it out a little in round shape and add a tablespoon of the filling in the center and then bring the edges over and close. Roll it into circles (like chapathi).

Heat a non stick pan and cook the paratha. Turn side when done. Add a little oil and coat the paratha well on both side. Ghee can also be used instead of oil. Paratha should cook well on both the sides and Serve hot.

I served it with yogurt and Paneer Butter Masala.

Paneer Butter Masala

Today I decided to make Mooli Paratha from a recipe I got from my sister, but my taste buds were not ready to eat it with just yogurt. I wanted something spicy which will be a good combination with the Paratha and later for a cup of rice.

At the beginning of every Sunday, I have loads of veggies in my fridge, but as the week progresses, I find that I am normally out of most of them but only have a few left like beans, carrots(which are a must have in my fridge). Today other than the beans and carrots I also had Paneer and Mullangi(Mooli) left. Hence dinner for today was Mullangi/Mooli Paratha and Paneer Butter Masala.

A little searching on the internet led me to this video by vahrehvah chef Sanjay for Paneer Butter Masala. 
Wow..this sounded simple enough.

I made a few changes to this recipe like using fresh tomato puree, a cup of peas, frying up the paneer, some cumin, using onion and ginger-garlic. I also skipped the kasoori methi powder. The end result was ultimate paneer masala. Believe me when I say it was THAT good!!

I am adding this recipe for my own reference. The original recipe can be found at this link.

Ingredients:
250 gm Paneer
1/2 cup peas
1 cup tomato Puree
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1 cup milk
1/2 onion chopped finely
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 stick butter

Method:

In a bowl, mix coriander powder, garam masala, cilli powder, tomato puree and milk. Keep aside.

Cut Paneer into bite size pieces and shallow fry in a skillet and keep aside.

Heat the butter in a pan and when the butter melts add cumin. When the cumin splutters add the onion and fry until it turns brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell leaves.

Now add the milk and spices mixture, salt to taste and cook for 10 minutes on medium. Add a little more milk if the mixture is too thick. Add the peas and fried paneer and cook for another 5-10 minutes on medium-low.

Remove from heat and serve.

Gobi Manchurian

There were only a handful of things that I knew to cook before marriage and the list included making tea, pressing chapati successfully into round shape, Okra stir fry, Vegetable Cutlet and Gobi Manchurian.

I had all forgotten my love for Gobi Manchurian until my recent trip to India when my 14 year old nephew Sanjay reminded me of the Gobi Manchurian I used to make and asked if I had made it for his Chithappa.

I have cooked Okra and Vegetable cutlet a couple of times in the past, but never got to post those recipes. Will do it soon.

For me the key to making the Gobi Manchurian which is much loved food is to have the right ingredients. Adding Capsicum, Soy Sauce, Chilli Sauce and Tomato Sauce plays such a important part in the flavor of this food.  This week I had all these with me and decided to make it right away.

Ingredients:

General:
2 cup cauliflower florets(bite size pieces)
Oil for Frying

For Cauliflower fry/fritters:

1 cup besan flour(channa dhal flour)
3 tsp rice flour
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste(I added about 1/2 tsp)


For Manchurian:
1 cup onion (cut into bite size cubes)
2 tbsp Spring Onion (chopped)
1 green chilli (chopped finely)
1/2 cup Capsicum or green bell pepper (chopped - bite size pieces)
2-3 pods of garlic(chopped finely)
1/4 inch piece of ginger(chopped finely)
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Chilli Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan on medium. Mix all the ingredients in "For Cauliflower fry/fritters" with a cup of water to form a thin batter(consistency of a dosa batter).  Dip the florets one at a time in the batter and fry in oil. Remove to oil absorbing tissue paper when golden brown. (Heating the oil on medium will help in cooking the cauliflower while its turning golden brown). Keep aside.

Tip: Do not add all the florets to the batter and then take each one to fry. This will make the batter more water and cauliflower may not get well coated with batter. Dip each of the florets separately.

Now heat oil in a non stick pan. Remember to cook the entire Manchurian on high heat. Add the chopped ginger-garlic, green chilli. Fry for few seconds. Now add the capsicum/bell pepper and cubed onion. Add salt to taste(I added 1/2 tsp).  Fry until the onion is translucent and capsicum is a little soft. Add the soy sauce and chilli sauce and mix. Also add tomato sauce and mix. I used 2 tsp of tomato ketchup, u can add more if you like the taste.

Tip: Remember Ketchup is the key and a normal tomato sauce does not give that flavor we get when we buy in restaurant in India.

Now add the fired Cauliflower fritters and mix well until all the florets are well coated with the sauce. Add a little water if required. Fry for a few minutes on the high heat.

Decorate with the spring onion and serve hot with Vegetable Fried Rice.

Vegetable Fried Rice

 Ingredients

1 medium onion(chopped finely)
1/4 cup Beans(chopped finely)
1/2 cup carrots(julienned)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cups cooked rice
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
2 pods of garlic
2 green chilli

2 tsp Oil

Smash the garlic and chili using a mortar and pestle. If you do not have a mortar, then you can cut the garlic and chili into fine pieces.

Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over high heat. Add the smashed garlic/chilli and fry for a few seconds and then add onion and fry until light brown. Now add Beans, Carrots and Green onions. Stir-fry until vegetables are tender. I have chopped the beans finely because beans normally takes a long time to cook.

Tip: The vegetables need not be completely cooked. They should only lose their raw taste.

Add Soy Sauce. Now mix the cooked rice and stir-fry on high heat for 2 minutes.Push rice mixture to sides of pan, forming hole in center. Add egg to center of pan, and let cook for few seconds.Mix the rice, and stir-fry until egg is cooked.

Tip: There is usually no need to add more salt as soy sauce usually contains lots of salt. If required you can add more salt.

Serve Hot.

Broccolini Pulao

Guess what I did with my Broccolini/Baby Broccoli that found in the farmers market? I made pulao out of it to go with Kadai Mushroom.

The recipe for Broccolini Pulao is same as my Simple Peas Pulao. I have replaced the peas with Broccolini chopped into bite size pieces.

What a yummy way to eat the greens!!

Kadai Mushroom

Kadai Mushroom

Ingredients:

1 lb Button Mushroom (Cut into bite sized pieces)
1 medium onion (chopped finely)
1 small onion(cubed)
2 tomatoes (chopped finely)
3 pods of garlic
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1.5 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup water
2 tbsp oil
2 sprig spring onion (chopped)
Salt to taste

Take the ginger and garlic and smash it finely in a mortar and pestle.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a Kadai and add cubed onion, mushroom, fry for a minute or two until the mushroom shrinks in size. Remove from the oil and keep aside.

In the same oil, add the finely chopped onion and fry until the onion is translucent and light brown. Add smashed ginger/garlic and fry for a minute.

Add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Cook until the tomato is well cooked.  Add 1 cup of water and cook for a few minutes.

Add the fried mushroom, cubed onion in this gravy. Check for salt and spices and add more if required. Remove from heat once done. Garnish with spring onion or cilantro and serve hot. I served it with Broccolini  Pulao.

Kadai Mushroom gets its name from the cooking vessel - Kadai which is similar to a wok.