Chili Mango

If you love sweet and sour dishes and also love to cook with ripe mangoes, then go for this Chinese sweet and sour dish, Chili Mango. It has the balanced sweet and sour taste, once the dish has cooled down a bit and the flavors have settled in. This will be a good side dish along with chinese fried rice or noodles. But then i just ate the chili mango and didn't need anything to go along with it. Try it and you might also like it.

Ingredients

2 big - Ripe & firm mangoes, cut to small pieces

1 medium size - Onion, chopped

1 - Capsicum, chopped

1 - Green chili, chopped

1 tsp - Finely grated ginger

1 tsp - Finely grated garlic

1/4 tsp - Red chili powder

3 tsp - Red chili sauce

3 tsp - Tomato sauce

3 tsp - Soya sauce

1.5 tsp - Vinegar

1.5 tsp - Cornflour

Garnishing

1 stalk - Greens of the spring onion, chopped finely

Method

1 ) Mix and combine the sauces - Red chili sauce, tomato sauce and soya sauce in a bowl. Then in another bowl mix and combine cornflour, vinegar and 2 to 3 tbsps of water.

2 ) Heat 2 to 3 tbsp butter in a pan, add onion and fry till it turns pink in color in medium heat. Then add ginger, garlic and green chili. Fry for a minute then add capsicum and fry till capsicum is fried lightly and still crisp.Add chili powder, lower the heat and then add the mixed sauces and stir in well with the ingredients in the pan. Then add the cornflour mixture, salt to taste, stir and mix well

3 ) Add mango pieces, mix well and cook on very low heat for a minute. Let the mango not get over cooked. Now when still hot i was not so keen on the taste, but when it cooled down a bit and flavors got balanced, it really tasted good. Serve into a serving bowl and garnish with spring onion.

Serve as a side dish with chinese fried rice or noodles.

Muringya Ela Thoran / Drumstick Leaf Stir-Fry

In kerala a drumstick tree in the backyard of a house is a common sight. There is one our back yard too. This gives a good supply of drumsticks and leaves to cook when ever you desire for a dish made out of it. Now to make this drumstick leaves upperi / thoran, pick on young drumstick leaves. Older leaves tend to be more bitter. Pick just the leaves off the stem and then clean them well.

Ingredients

2 to 3 cups - Drumstick leaves,washed

1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/2 cup - Shallot/ small onion, chopped

Coarsely grind

1/2 cup - Freshly grated coconut

1/4 tsp - Jeera

1 big - Shallot / small onion

2 - Green chili

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

Method

1 ) Heat a wok or kadai with coconut oil, add mustard seeds and pop it in medium heat. Then add the shallots and fry till lightly browned. Then add turmeric powder and salt to taste and stir in.

2 ) Now add the drumstick leaves, stir and then close with a lid and cook on low heat till the leaves get wilted. Then add the coarsely ground coconut mixture, stir, close with a lid and further cook on low heat for few more minutes till done. The leaves will get cooked in it's moisture. Take care to see that the leaves don't stick to the bottom of the pan and start burning from lack of moisture.

Serve hot as a side dish with rice.

Variation - When the quantity of the leaves are less or even otherwise if you need a variation, add little par- cooked toor dal, and cook with the drumstick leaves. following the same recipe.

Mutton Masala

Mutton masala has the flavors and taste of a naadan kerala meat preparation. And i find comfort in these naadan tastes to have with rice or kerala porotta.

Ingredients

1 kilo - Mutton with bones

1/2 cup - Small onion/ shallots, chopped

1'' piece - Ginger, finelt chopped

6 big flakes - Garlic, finely chopped

1 small - Tomato, chopped

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/4 tsp - Red chili powder

1/2 tsp - Jeera

1 tsp - Black pepper powder

3 to 4 tsp - Coriander powder

3 tsp - Eastern, Mutton masala powder

Garnish

1/4 cup - Thenga kothu, Coconut cut to small pieces

4 sprigs - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Marinate mutton with turmeric powder and salt to taste for 15 minutes.

2 ) Heat coconut oil in pressure cooker, add onion, ginger, garlic and fry till lightly browned. Simmer then add jeera, tomato and fry for minute or two then add all the powders - red chili powder, pepper powder, coriander powder, mutton masala powder and fry in the oil till the raw smell of the masala goes.

3 ) Add mutton pieces and fry for minute or two. Then add 1/2 cup of water, close the cooker and pressure cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Open the cooker, once cool. Place the cooker back on stove and then add the coconut pieces, curry leaves. Simmer and cook till all the gravy is used up. Now it is individual choice here, if you like a little gravy then stop cooking when the gravy thickens up. Adjust salt to taste. If you like it dry then cook till all the gravy is dried out and then add more coconut oil and fry the meat to the desired stage.

Serve hot with rice, roti or kerala porotta.

Kali Dal

Kali dal is yet another delicious Punjabi dish, that is wholesome and rich in taste. Whole black urad dal with skin is used for making this dish. Earlier i had posted 'Dal Makhani' recipe, cooked in slow cooker. This dish also can be cooked in a slow cooker to get the creamy texture for the dish. But now this a pressure cooker recipe, which is equally good.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Whole black urad dal, washed well

5 cups - Water

3 to 4 tbsp - Heavy cream / malai

5 tbsp - Ghee

Salt to taste

Grind to a paste

2'' piece - Ginger

10 to 15 big flakes - Garlic

4 - Green chili

Seasoning

1 tsp - Jeera

2 medium - Onion,chopped

1/2 tsp - Hing powder, Asafoetida

1/2 to 1 tsp - Garam masala powder

1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder

8 medium - Ripe tomatoes, pureed

Garnishing

3 to 4 tbsp - Heavy cream / malai

Some Coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method

1 ) Soak urad dal for an hour or two in enough water. You can also soak overnight and sprout it, which will be more nutritious. Then transfer to a pressure cooker along with ground ginger-garlic-green chili paste, 1 tbsp ghee, salt to taste and 5 cups of water. Pressure cook for 50 minutes. Cool the cooker then take some of the cooked urad dal and grind to a creamy consistency. Pour it back to the cooker.

2 ) For tadka / seasoning - Heat 3 to 4 tbsp of ghee in a pan or kadai, add jeera, let it splutter, then add onion and fry till the onion is well fried to a golden color then add the powders, hing, red chili powder, turmeric and garam masala powder. Let the powders get fried for a few seconds, then add the tomato puree. Stir and cook till the tomato is well cooked on low heat and the oil separates. Pour half the heavy cream and mix in well. Now pour this tadka on top of the cooked urad dal, stir in. Adjust salt to taste. Keep the cooker back on stove, simmer and cook for few minutes.

3 ) Now garnish with some coriander leaves and when serving pour some heavy cream on top and serve hot.

Serve hot with roti or basmati rice.

Laal Maas

Laal Maas, is popular Rajasthani meat dish, that is cooked with a lot of red chilies to give a very deep red color to the meat curry. This red meat curry usually prepared with goat /lamb meat and is served with roti. Rajasthani roti's are made from bajra, maize or besan.

Ingredients

1 kg - Mutton with bones

20 to 25 - Whole dried chilies

3 medium - Onions, chopped

2 tsp - Fresh Garlic paste

2 tsp - Fresh ginger paste

4 small - Bay leaves

4 - Cloves

2 - Green cardamom

2 - Black cardamom

2 tsp - Roasted cumin seeds

3 tbsp - Coriander powder

1 cup - Yogurt

Garnish

Few coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1 ) Soak whole dried chili in warm water for sometime. Then grind to a smooth paste using little water.

2 ) Heat Ghee or refined oil in cooker, add bay leaves, clove, green and black cardamom and let the spices release their aroma, then add garlic and ginger paste and stir till lightly fried, then add onion and fry till onion turns golden brown in color. Now add the chili paste and fry till the oil turns red and floats. Put in the meat and fry till the meat is well coated with the chili paste and the color of meat changes.

3 ) Now add coriander powder, cumin and yogurt and salt to taste. Cook till all the yogurt is absorbed by the meat. Then add 2 cups of water, stir, close the cooker and pressure cook for 10 minutes till the meat is fully cooked and tender. Open the cooker once cool and then garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with roti

Note - Adjust chili as per your spice level. You can add half of regular dried chili and half of kashmiri chili, to get the reddish color.