Microwave Tips

1 ) Making oil less Pappad in Microwave - Place one pappad on the turn table and microwave. In less than 30 seconds pappad will get cooked. Watch the pappad, when it's getting microwaved. Stop the microwave as soon as the whole pappad is cooked.

2 ) Blanching Almonds - Place some almonds in a microwave safe bowl along with little water to cover the almonds.Microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Take off the microwave and cool a bit. Then peel the skin off the almonds. Almond skin will peel off easily.

3 ) Drying fresh green herbs - Mint leaves, coriander leaves, Methi leaves can be dried in the microwave. Place fresh leaves in a microwave safe plate and microwave for 2 - 3 minutes. Then crush the dried leaves and store in containers.

4 ) Make tamarind pulp - Add lemon size tamarind and one cup water to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 3 - 4 minutes. Strain to collect the pulp.

5 ) Make bread crumbs - Crumble 2 bread slices and microwave for 2- 3 minutes. Let the bread cool, which in meanwhile will dry, then powder the crumbs in blender.

6 ) Reheat Chapathi - Wrap chapathi in a napkin or paper towel and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.

Soya Chunks Curry

A soya nuggets / chunks curry with potato tastes more or less like a mutton curry. This gravy curry will be good with rice or roti. Also if the curry rests for an hour or so, it will taste even better with all the flavors settling in. Good amount of onion and oil is used for this recipe to get good results.

Ingredients

1.5 cups - Nutrela Soya Chunks

1 big - Potato, quatered

4 big - Onion, chopped

1'' piece - Ginger, pound well

6 big flakes - Garlic, pound well

2 big - Tomato, grated or pureed

1/4 tsp - Jeera

2 tsp - Coriander powder

1 tsp - Red chili powder

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

1 tsp - Chicken masala powder

Garnish

Coriander leaves

Method

1 ) Wash soya chunks then soak in enough hot water for 1/2 an hour. Squeeze out all the water well. Again wash in fresh water and squeeze out the water. Do one more time, squeeze all the water out very well and set aside.

2 ) Heat 1/4 cup oil in a pressure cooker, add jeera, then add onion, little salt and fry on low heat till onion turns light brown in color. Now add ginger garlic paste and fry for a second. Then add the powders - coriander, red chili and turmeric powder and fry till the raw smell goes.

3 ) Now add tomato and fry till tomato is cooked and oil separates on low heat.Then add potato quarters and fry well till potato is fried a bit. Then add soya chunks and fry well for 5 minutes on low heat. Add more oil if necessary.

4 ) In another utensil bring 3 cups water to a boil. Pour this water to the cooker, stir, add salt to taste. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles. Once the cooker is cool, open the lid, place the cooker back on heat and then add chicken masala powder, simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Then finally garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Serve with rice or roti. Serving after half an hour to one hour or more, enhances the flavor.

Vatanyachi Usal - White Peas Curry

Vatanyachi Usal is a traditional marathi dish, that is popular among local mumbai people. Dry white peas is used here for this dish.This is served hot with roti.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Dry white peas, soaked overnight

1 medium - Onion, chopped

2 medium - Tomatoes, chopped

1 - Bay leaves

2 sprigs - Curry leaves

To fry & grind to a paste

1 medium - Onion, chopped

1'' size - Ginger, chopped

5 big flakes - Garlic, chopped

1/4 shell - Copra Or 1/2 cup - Fresh coconut, grated

1/2 cup - Coriander leaves

2 to 3 tsp - Kashmiri chili powder

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1 tsp - Garam masala powder

Method

1 ) Soak white peas over night and drain.

2 ) To make gravy - Heat oil in a pan, add onion, ginger and garlic. Fry till the onion turn pinkish. Now add copra / coconut and fry till coconut turns lightly brown in color. Turn off the stove and cool. Transfer to a blender and grind along with coriander leaves, chili powder, garam masala powder to a smooth paste, adding little water as needed.

3 ) Heat cooker with some oil, add bay leaves, curry leaves, onion and fry till lightly brown in color. Now add tomato and fry till tomatoes gets cooked on low heat. Then add ground masala and stir for a few minutes. Then add the white peas, stir and mix well with masala. Add 3 cups of water, salt to taste and stir. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with roti.

Vegetarian Tomato Omelet

Other day a friend visiting me shared with me this vegetarian tomato omelet recipe. She is a vegetarian and doesn't eat any eggs. With a name tomato omelet, i assumed it was made with eggs and tomato, but besan is the base with strong flavors of tomato, onion, coriander and spices. This turned out to be a good snack that we had with tea. Here i find similarity with punjabi puda, which is also a besan based pancake.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Besan / Gram flour
1 big - Onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup - Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp - Jeera powder
1/4 tsp - Coriander powder
1/8 tsp - Hing powder
1/4 tsp - Red chili powder
Salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste

3 medium - Tomato, chopped
1 - Green chili
1 small size - Ginger

Method

1 ) Sift besan to remove the lumps into a mixing bowl. Add onion, coriander leaves, jeera powder, coriander powder, hing, red chili powder and salt to taste. Make a paste of tomato, green chili and ginger in a blender. Add this mixture to the mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients very well. Add little water if needed and make a batter that is like a pancake or idly batter consistency.

2 ) Heat a non-stick pan. Grease with little oil. When the pan is hot, add a ladleful of the batter and spread a little. Then drizzle some oil on the top and the sides. Bubble will start forming on the batter and the bottom will start turning lightly brown in color. Using a spatula, turn the pancake over and cook on both sides evenly. Take off the pan and serve hot.

You can serve this with tomato ketchup or any chutney.

Aloo Matar Tikki, Fruit Chaat

Chaats are popular street food in india, especially in the northern regions. These are savoury snacks that are lip smacking and filling. Aloo matar tikki, a potato- green peas pattie, that is served with fruits and garnished with onion, coriander leaves, spice powders and drizzled with curds, is a very filling and delightful snack. With the tartness and sweetness of the fruits and the savoury taste of aloo matar tikki, it's a combination of taste in your mouth. Also check out aloo tikki choley chaat, i had posted some time back.

Ingredients

For Tikki

3 big - Potato, boiled with skin

1/2 cup - Green peas, boiled

2 - Green chili, finely chopped

1/2 '' piece - Ginger, finely chopped

1/2 cup - Coriander leaves, chopped

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp - Garam masala powder

Salt to taste

To coat

4 tbsp - Bengal gram flour

To Garnish

1 cup - Mixed fruits, diced

1 - Onion, chopped

1 cup - Thick curds, beat with a little sugar

1/2 tsp - Roasted cumin powder

1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

Few sprigs coriander leaves

Method

1 ) To make tikki - Mash potato, while still warm very well. There should not be any lumps. Then crush peas with hand lightly and add to the potato and mix. Add green chili, ginger, coriander leave, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt to taste. Mix well, then take a little of the mixture, make a ball of it, then flatten to make a pattie / cutlet /tikki shape.

2 ) Heat oil in a pan. Spread some bengal gram flour on a plate, roll the tikki, in bengal gram flour and deep fry or shallow fry until golden brown in color. Make tikki's in the same manner with rest of the mixture.

3 ) Now to garnish and serve the tikki with fruits - Place two tikki's in a serving plate along with some diced fruits. Add some beaten curds around the plate. Sprinkle roasted jeera powder and chili powder. Garnish with chopped onion and coriander leaves.

Fruit suggestion - Pomegranates, grapes, apple and like. Cut fresh fruits when ready to serve.

Garam Masala - A Marathi Way Of Making It.

Garam Masala Powder is a blend of various spices, that is dry roasted to release the aroma of the spices and then powdered. This is stored in air tight containers, so that the aroma of the spice mix is not lost. Garam masala powder is used in a dish towards the end of the cooking, when the dish is almost done, so that the aroma of the powder is not lost. Making of garam masala powder differ from region to region and as per one's requirement to a particular dish. Here is a spice blend, given to me by a maharastrian lady, who uses this garam masala powder in her chicken curry, sabzi and other maharastrian dishes that she prepares.

Ingredients

2 tbsp - Coriander seeds

2tbsp - Black pepper corns

2 tbsp - Fennel seeds

1 tbsp - Cloves

1 tsp - Shah jeera

4 big sticks - Cinnamon

2 to 3 - Mace /Javitri

6 - Bay leaves

5 - Big black cardamom

2 - Star anise

1 to 2 tbsp - Khus khus / poppy seeds

Method

1 ) In a heavy kadai / pan, add the all the ingredients listed except khus-khus. On a low heat stir and dry roast the spices. The spices will release it's aroma and will turn lightly brown. Turn the stove off, transfer the spices into a plate to cool. Now add khus khus to hot pan and let it warm up in the heat of the pan. If needed place pan on low heat till khus-khus turn light brown. Take off stove and cool.

2 ) Once cool, transfer to a coffee grinder or a good blender that can powder the ingredients well.

Transfer the powder into a air tight container.

Now an homemade garam masala powder is ready to be used in any dish that calls for this spice blend to flavor and spice up the taste buds, with its aromatic flavors.

Phirni - Creamy Rice Pudding

It's been long since i posted a sweet dish here. Phirni / firni, a creamy rice pudding is easy to put together and a sweet delight that is garnished with nuts. The basic ingredients are milk, rice and sugar, then as to one's taste and preference you can make variations to this basic recipe. Addition of almonds, rose water, saffron or mango or strawberry can bring about variation in taste. This recipe has some almonds and rose water to enhance the taste of phirni.

Ingredients

4 cups - Milk

3 to 4 tbsp - Coarsely ground basmati rice

1/2 to 3/4 cup - Sugar ( or as to taste )

1 to 1.5 tsp - Rose water or few drops of rose essence

20 - Almonds, blanched & thinly sliced

Method

1 ) To blanch Almond - Put almond in microwave safe bowl, with little water. Microwave for one minute. Take off the microwave and set aside for few minutes to cool. You can now peel the almond skin off very easily. Slice thinly and set aside.

2 ) Boil milk in a big pan. Once the milk has boiled, take some boiled milk and mix it with ground rice to a smooth consistency. Then pour the rice mixture to the milk on stove and keep stirring continuously. Cook till the milk has thickened and has a creamy smooth consistency. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time.

3 ) Add sugar and taste for sweetness. Adjust sweetness as per your taste and preference. After adding sugar simmer for a few minutes to dissolve the sugar, while stirring constantly. Take off the stove, add the rose essence and stir in the sliced almonds, reserving some for final garnish on top.

Pour phirni into shallow dessert bowls. Allow to cool to room temperature, refrigerate and serve cold. Traditionally phirni is served in small earthen cups / matkas, like the one in the picture.

Note - For variation, crushed pistachio nuts can be added as final garnish. Also cardamom powder can be sprinkled.

Stuffed Soya Potato Cutlet

Soya nuggets are rich source of proteins and they are referred to as the vegetarian meat. And it's so true, that this soya potato cutlet tastes more like a meat cutlet, when you bite into the stuffed soya nugget filling in the center. A delicious snack, which will be a good add to your tea time.

Ingredients

6 medium - Potatoes, boiled

1 tsp - Chat masala powder

1 tsp - Ginger, finely chopped

1 - Green chili, finely chopped

Salt to taste

For filling in center

3/4 cup - Soya Nuggets

1 small - Onion, finely chopped

2 - Green chili, finely chopped

2 tsp - Ginger, finely chopped

Few coriander leaves, finely chopped

Salt to taste

For Coating

1 - egg

Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Soak Soya nuggets for one hour in water. Drain off the water from the nuggets after one hour.

2 ) Heat a pan with oil, fry onion, chili, ginger to a slight brown color. Then add coriander leaves and stir for a second then add soya nuggets, salt to taste, simmer and cook closed with a lid for 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle water in between and stir if the fry is getting too dry.Take off the stove and cool once the nuggets are cooked.Nuggets should be dry without any excess water.Once cool, transfer the cooked soya fry into a blender / grinder and pulse for one or two times to get a coarse mixture of the nuggets.

3 ) Boil potato with skin. Discard the skin and mash potato finely when still slightly warm. Knead to make a smooth dough. There should not be any lumps. Add chat masala powder, ginger, green chili and salt to taste. Mix well with the potato.

4 ) Take a small amount of potato dough, make a ball of it, then shape it like a cup to add filling in center. Add a little soya mixture in the center and then wrap it with potato dough. Now shape it like a ball and flatten little to a cutlet shape.

5 ) Beat an egg well with little salt. Dip the cutlets in the egg and then shallow fry it to a golden brown color. Drain off the oil and serve.

Serve hot as a snack with tomato ketchup.

Sraavu / Shark Curry

How about some fish and rice for lunch ? If there is a good fish curry, then there is nothing more i need with rice.When i got some fresh sraavu from market, i remembered the sraavu curry amma used to prepare. The gravy had a slight mustard flavor to it and made the taste quite unique for this fish curry. I have not seen amma add mustard seeds that is ground with other ingredients, for any other fish curry. So this was special for sraavu curry. I called amma for the recipe and here it goes.

Ingredients

1 kilo- Shark, skinned & cut to small pieces

1 tsp - Red chili powder

1 tsp - Turmeric powder

2 to 4 - Green chili, slit in center

1/2 cup - Small onion, diced

2'' piece - Ginger, chopped

1 big lemon size - Tamarind

Few sprigs - Curry leaves

Salt to taste

To grind to a smooth paste

1/2 shell - Coconut grated

4 - Kashmiri dry whole chili

1.5 to 2 tsp - Mustard seeds

Method

1 ) Extract 1 to 1.5 cup tamarind juice from the tamarind pulp, by soaking in water.

2 ) To a earthen pot add fish pieces, chili powder, turmeric powder, green chili, ginger, small onion, curry leaves, salt and enough water to immerse the fish in. Bring to a boil, simmer and cook till the fish is cooked.

3 ) Meanwhile, grind to a smooth paste, coconut and kashmiri chili with tamarind water. Then add mustard seeds and pulse two to three times to get the mustard seeds crushed. Just get the seeds crushed and not a paste.

4 ) Add the coconut paste to the fish and add more water if needed to get a semi- thick gravy consistency. Bring to a boil, simmer for a few minutes, add some curry leaves and pour some coconut oil on top. Take off the stove and serve hot.

Serve hot with rice and enjoy the meal.

Chicken Manchurian

I was so carried away by the beautiful blooms in my little garden, i was more focused on capturing the flowers in the frame rather than the chicken manchurian. Just love the picture to see the blooms. Coming to the recipe, a popular Indian chinese dish called chicken manchurian goes well with chinese fried rice. A manchurian implies, a sweet and salty brown sauce and you can read more about the origin of indian - chinese cuisine here.

Ingredients

1 kilo - Boneless chicken, cut into small pieces

1 - Egg white

1 tbsp - Cornflour

To marinate chicken

2 tsp - Red chili powder
1 tsp - Black pepper powder

2 tsp - Worcestershire sauce

Salt to taste

For Sauce

8 big flakes - Garlic, crushed & chopped finely

2 - Green chili, chopped

2 to 3 stalks - Spring onion, chopped

1/2 tbsp - Vinegar

1 cup Water

1 tbsp - Corn flour

1 tbsp - Soya sauce

1/2 tsp - Sugar

1/4 tsp - Pepper powder

Method

1 ) Marinate chicken pieces in ingredients listed for marination. Marinate for 3o minutes. Mix egg white and cornflour well. Add this mixture to chicken pieces and mix well.

2 ) Heat enough oil to deep fry. When the oil is hot, add chicken pieces in batches and fry till brown and done. Drain off the oil and set aside.

3 ) To make the sauce - Mix cornflour, vinegar, soya sauce, sugar, salt, pepper powder to one cup water and keep aside.Heat some oil in a pan , add garlic and green chilies and saute till garlic looses its raw smell, then set aside some spring onion for final garnish, rest add to the pan and saute for a minute. Then add the mixed ingredients in water to the pan, stir and bring to a boil. Simmer and add the chicken piece to the sauce and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, closed with a lid. Once the sauce has thickened and coated the chicken pieces, take off the stove and serve garnished with some chopped spring onion.

Serve hot as a side dish with chinese fried rice.

Note - I have suggested boneless chicken pieces, but i have done with chicken with bones. Also to enhance the Chinese flavor, a pinch of MSG, know as ajinomoto can be added, which is optional.

Idichakka Thoran - Tender Jackfruit Stir Fry

When such traditional dishes are made, makes me think, if only i had the ammikallu. That would have made the pounding easy. I remember as a kid,my mother's kitchen well equipped with traditional gadgets like ammi kallu and like. But then later those gadget were replaced by modern gadget like mixie / grinder that made life easy in a city life. Though bit laborious in comparison to grinder to make a smooth paste of ingredients with ammi kallu, the taste that is got from ingredients pounded and ground in ammi kallu is not found in the modern grinder.
Coming to the recipe, very young and tender jackfruit is used to make this thoran. Applying oil liberally on hands and knife before cutting helps to prevent your hand and knife getting sticky from the gum inside the jackfruit. De-skin the jackfruit and then chop the jackfruit to small pieces. Once done with chopping, you can clean the knife clean, by placing it on fire and then wiping the knife with a newspaper.

Ingredients

3 cups - Chopped tender jackfruit

1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder

Few curry leaves

Coconut oil

Salt to taste

Grind coarsely

1/2 to 3/4 cup - Freshly grated coconut

1/2 tsp - Cumin / jeera seeds

4 - Green chili

6 big flakes - Garlic

2 - Shallots / small onion

A small piece - Ginger

Few curry leaves

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard seeds

1 tsp - Urad dal

2 - Whole dry red chili

1/3 cup - Shallots, chopped

Few curry leaves

Method

1 ) To a pan add 1.5 cup water, turmeric powder, salt to taste and bring to a boil. Add jackfruit pieces, little coconut oil and cook closed with a lid on simmer till jackfruit is cooked well. Once jack fruit pieces are cooked, increase heat and let all the water dry out. Cool and then you can add in little batches jack fruit into a blender/ grinder and pulse one or two times to get it crushed. Or you can use a mortar and a pestle to pound the jack fruit pieces lightly.

2 ) Heat a kadai /wok with coconut oil, add mustard seeds urad dal and let the mustard seeds pop. Then add dry chili and saute, then small onion and fry till lightly browned. Add curry leaves and the coarsely ground coconut mixture. Fry till the raw smell goes, then add jack fruit and mix in well. Stir and fry for a few minutes and take off the stove.

Serve with rice as a side dish.

Rogan Josh

Mutton cooked in a rich gravy of spices, that is roasted and ground to a smooth paste, releases an aroma that is so delightful, it can tickle your palate with flavor and taste. Kashmiri chili gives the deep red color for the gravy.

Ingredients

1 to 1.1/4 Kilo - Mutton Shoulder, cut to small pieces
2 medium - Onion, sliced
2 Medium - Tomato, pureed
2 - Bay leaves
2 sticks - Cinnamon
5 - Green cardamoms
1 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tbsp - Red chili powder
3/4 cup - Thick & sour Curds /yogurt, beaten

To roast

1 tbsp - Coriander seeds
2 tsp - Cumin seeds
1 tbsp - Poppy seeds
16 - Almonds, shelled
2 - Brown cardamoms
1/4 tsp - Pepper corns
4 - Cloves
A large pinch - Mace
2 Tbsp - Coconut, grated

To grind along with roasted ingredients

5 to 6 - Kashmiri,whole dry red chili
2'' piece - Ginger, chopped
10 to 15 flakes - Garlic
A large pinch - Nutmeg, grated

Method

1 ) Soak kashmiri chili in 1/2 cup hot water for 15 minutes. In a pan roast all ingredients listed to roast from coriander seeds to coconut on medium heat, stirring continuously until the spices give out their distinct aromas.

2 ) Now grind the roasted ingredients to a smooth paste along with kashmiri chili, ginger, garlic and nutmeg. Add and use the water in which kashmiri chilies were soaked in, little by little to grind the ingredients to a smooth paste.Aroma from the spices ground fills up your kitchen.

3 ) Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add bay leaves, cinnamon and green cardamoms. Stir for a few seconds Then add onion and fry till onions are golden brown. Now reduce flame and add turmeric powder, chili powder and stir for a second. Then add the ground paste, tomato puree and stir well.

4 ) Add one tablespoon curds, stir till curd is well blended. In the same way, add remaining curds one tablespoon at a time, till all curd is used up. Now stir and cook till oil separates on the top. Add meat and salt to taste. Stir meat till lightly browned. Add one cup water, stir well. Close the cooker and pressure cook for 10 minutes. Remove cooker from heat and cool.

Serve with basmati rice or roti.

Egg Vindaloo

Portuguese influenced Indian cooking and this influence can be seen in the Goan cuisine. Vindaloo style of preparation was introduced by the Portuguese in Goa. The traditional Portuguese dish, vindaloo evolved into a fiery, vinegary curry with the addition of various indian spices that was ground with vinegar to give it a unique taste, that is tangy, spicy and flavorful. This egg vindaloo has got a sweet and sour taste to it.

Ingredients

8 to 10 - Hard boiled eggs, shelled & cut into halves

2 big - Onion, sliced

6 flakes - Garlic, crushed

1'' piece - Ginger, minced

1 medium size - Cinnamon bark

2 tsp - Chili powder

1/4 tsp - Cumin seed powder

2 tsp - Sugar

3 tbsp - Vinegar

2 tsp - Worcestershire sauce

Salt to taste

Method

1 ) Heat one tablespoon ghee, in a pan, add cinnamon bark,onion and fry until onion turn light brown in color. Now add garlic, ginger and saute, then add chili powder, cumin powder, fry for a second and then vinegar. Fry the spices well with the onion for five minutes.

2 ) Now its time to add sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and one cup of water. When the curry boils add egg and simmer for 10 minutes, closed with a lid. Once done take off the stove and serve after half an hour to let the spices and vinegar settle and balance the flavors. Egg vindaloo can be had on the same day or after 2 to 3 days too.

Note - Boiled potato, cut in quarters can be added along with egg.