Aug 31, 2006

Mutter Paneer

My entry for JFI:Milk
Ingredients:
Onions sliced-1medium size
Tomato paste-1/4cup
Paneer cubes-11/2cup
Cooked peas-1/2cup
Thick curd-1/2cup(optional)
Oil
Cloves-2
Cardamoms-2
Cinnamon-2inch stick
Ginger garlic paste-1tsp
Chilli powder-1tbsp

Method: Heat oil in a pan & fry onions till it turns brown. Cool &grind it to a fine paste, keep aside.
Fry paneer cubes in oil till light golden yellow. Put it in Luke warm water till required.
Heat oil in a pan add whole spices, ground paste& ginger garlic paste, sauté for 1mt.
Add tomato paste,curd, chilli powder, salt, sauté for 2mts add water if required.
Now add the peas, paneer cover & cook for 5mts or till the gravy is of required consistency.
Garnish with cilantro. Goes well with roti.

Aug 21, 2006

Chicken Kabab




I usually prepare this chicken without onions but this time & tried it with onions, it really added an extra flavor.
Ingredients:
Boneless chicken-1lb (clean & wash)
Salt to taste
Lemon juice –2tsp
Oil/butter -3tbsp
Onion-1medium sliced
Ginger garlic paste-1tbsp
Chilli powder-2tbsp
Heavy cream-1/4cup or thick curd
Garam masala-1tbsp



Method:Heat oil in a pan, put onions & fry till it turns brown & crisp, remove & let cool, grind them to a fine paste.
Put the chicken in a bowl &add lemon juice, salt, onion paste, chilli powder, cream, garam masala powder, & ginger garlic paste.
Mix well & let it marinate for 8hrs or even longer.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.Thread the chicken pieces on skewers, brush with butter, place on the rim of a shallow baking tray. Cook until the chicken pieces are tender.
Note:If using curd, place yogurt in a fine strainer set over a bowl, and refrigerate for 8 hours to allow moisture to drain out.

Aug 18, 2006

Knolkol/Kohlrabi/Shalgam Fry

This is my mom’s recipe, one of my favorite vegetarian dishes.

Kohlrabi-2 chopped into small pieces
Grated coconut-2tsp
Pepper-4nos
Green chilli-3or4
Ginger Garlic paste-1tsp
Cinnamon-small piece
Cardamom-1
Cloves-2
Onions chopped-1/4cup
Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Curry leaves-4
Salt to taste
Oil-2tbsp

Method: Grind together coconut, green chilli, &pepper to a fine paste. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan, put curry leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves once they splutter add onions & fry them for about 5mts.
Then add ginger garlic paste sauté for 1mt, add ground paste, turmeric powder, and salt & fry well.
Then add the chopped kohlrabi, little water, mix well, cover & cook till the vegetable is fully cooked.
Once the kohlrabi is tender fry well till all the water is evaporated.

Aug 14, 2006

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani & Khubani Ka meetha

This is my contribution for Indira’s Independence Day Food Parade .I choose 2 dishes from my hometown Hyderabad. Hyderabad the capital of a south Indian state Andhra Pradesh. It is known for its rich history and culture with monuments, mosques, temples, presently for IT industry& off course the Hyderabadi cuisine. When Indira announced about the Independence Day Food Parade ,I was not sure where to start because there is so much to talk about Hyderabadi cusine.It’s a paradise for food lovers. Hyderabadi cuisine is a blend of heavy mughal influences, traditional Andhra and Telangana cuisine. some of the famous dishes include Hyderabadi Biryani,double ka meetha,khubani ka meetha mirchi ka salan, sheer korma as well as hyderabadi-haleem a combination wheat,meat,mixture of some spices, traditionally eaten by the Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. No meal in Hyderabad is complete without Paan (betel leaf wrapped around a mixture of betel nut, aniseed, cloves, cardamom, and gulkand). There are Paan shops, almost one every few meters. Umm! staying here in the US I really miss all of this a lot. Here in the US every special dinner parties in my house has dum biryani & dessert khubani ka meetha, for which I’ll be sharing the recipe. There is more than one method of preparing a biryani, hyderabadi biryani is most known. Its preparation is a long, time consuming one, though the end result can make the time spent well worth the taste. Khubani is a sweet dish made out of apricots.khubani is an Urdu word for apricots. Khubani ka meetha is a famous dessert of Hyderabad. It is a popular & common dessert in Hyderabad wedding dinners.

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani:
Ingredients: Chicken/mutton-1lb Basmati rice-1ld (washed & soaked in water) Onions-2medium thinly sliced Cardamoms-5small Cinnamon-2sticks Cloves-6 StarAnise-2
Mace-4
Pepper-10approx
Fennel-1tsp
Bay leaf-2-3no
Thick curd-1cup
Chilli powder-2tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Ginger garlic paste-2tsp
A bunch cilantro mint leaves chopped
Lemon juice-3tbsp
Ghee/oil-1/4cup
Saffron strands dissolved in warm milk

Method: Dry roast 3cardamoms, 1cinnamon stick, 3cloves, 1staranise, mace, pepper, fennel & bay leaf &powder them. Marinate the meat with curd, turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, Ground masala powder, lemon juice, half of the chopped mint&cilabtro & salt. Fry the sliced onions, till brown & crisp, crush & add half of it to the meat mixture & let marinate for 2-3 hrs.

In boiling water add the remaining spices &cook the rice until 3/4done.drain & set aside. Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed dish &add the meat mixture fry for a minute. Then add rice over it drizzle little ghee saffron milk. Remaining onions cilantro mint leaves. Cover the dish with foil& cover with heavy lid & cook on dum for 30-40mts on medium heat.
Serve with raita & Mirchi Ka Salan





Khubani ka meetha:
Ingredients-
Dried apricots-1cup (1packet in local grocery stores)
Sugar-1/4cup approximately
Water-to soak apricots
Method: Wash & soak the apricots in water for 5-6hrs or overnight. De-seed the apricots & crush them with fingers or hand blender in the water. Put it in a pan & add sugar according to taste, as apricots are already sweet. Cook over medium heat till the apricots r fully cooked .the color changes from light brown to bark brown. (When u break the seeds u get a small nut that can be chopped & garnished over the dessert before serving.)





Serve cold or hot with ice cream or custard.

Aug 9, 2006

Keema (Minced Meat) Paratha

Paratha-
Ingredients:
Flour-2cups
Oil/ghee-1tbsp
Salt to taste
Water to knead
Method: Mix flour, salt, & ghee then add water little at time & form soft dough. Keep covered with a moist cloth.
Keema-
Ingredients:
Minced meat-1/2 pound (washed)
Onions-1/2cupchopped
Tomatoes-1/4cupchopped
Ginger garlic paste-1tsp
Pepper-2tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Garam Masala powder-1tsp
Jeera powder-1/2tsp
Salt to taste
Water-1/2cup
Oil-3tbsp
Method: heat oil in a pan & add onions fry well then add ginger garlic paste sauté for a minute & add tomatoes, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt, jeera powder & fry for 2mts. Now add the meat, garam masala powder, & water. Cover & cook till the meat is tender & is fully cooked. Fry well till all the water is evaporated & the meat is fully dry.
Making Parathas: take small ball sized dough. Roll like a thick puri
Place little keema mixture over the puri & bring all ends together & form a ball.

Now dusting with dry flour roll into a paratha.

Heat a griddle, place paratha on it.Drizzle with ghee/oil & cook till done.

Aug 7, 2006

Mutton Fry

Ingredients:-

Mutton-1lb washed
Chilli powder-2tbsp (adjust to spice level)
Garam masala powder-1tbsp
Turmeric powder-1/tsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves-1stem
Onions-1cup chopped
Cinnamon-1inch
Cardamom-1no
Cloves-1no
Ginger garlic paste-1tbsp
Green chillis-3
Oil-3tbsp
Method:
In a pressure cooker, add washed raw mutton chilli powder, whole spices, turmeric powder, salt, 1/2tbsp ginger garlic paste & water.
Close cooker & pressure-cook mutton.

Heat 2tbsp oil in a kadai.curry leaves, slit green chillies&add chopped onions& fry till lightly brown. Then add ginger garlic paste & fry.Add cooked meat, garam masala powder to it and mix well.
Stir and fry well till the water evaporates and mutton turns brown. Garnish with cilantro.
Goes well with rice or roti.

Ragi Puttu

Ingredients:-Ragi powder-1/2cup, Sugar-1/4cup approximately, Ghee as needed, Salt pinch,Coconut –2tbsp grated, Cardamom powder-1/4tsp
Method: mix salt & ragi powder together & steam it for 10mts Remove from fire & break up or mix well. Then add sugar, grated coconut, and cardamom powder Serve hot with melted ghee.

Coconut Milk Rice & Pakora Kurma




Coconut Milk Rice:
Ingredients:
Basmati Rice-3cups (wash & soak in water)
Coconutmilk-3cups or 1tin
Cashewnuts-6nos
Cardamom-2nos
Cinnamon-1stick
Cloves-3nos
Bayleaf-2
Onion –1/2 sliced
Ginger garlic paste-1tsp
Garlic flakes-6 peeled
Salt to taste
Ghee/oil-3tbsp
Water-3cups
Method: heat ghee in a rice cooker add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves& let it splutter. Then add cashew nuts & fry till they turn golden color Then add sliced onions fry well add ginger garlic paste & fry for 1mt. Add rice salt mix well then add garlic &mix.Now add 3cups coconut milk & 3cups water. Cover & let cook.
Pakora kurma:
Kurma:
Onions-sliced-1/4cup
Onions-chopped2tbsp
Green chillis-8nos
Ginger garlic paste-1tbsp
Garam masala powder-1tsp
Turmeric-1/4tsp
Grated coconut-2tbsp
Feenel seeds(souf)-1/2tsp
Tomato-1/2chopped
Salt to taste
Fry onions & green chills in oil & make a paste of onions, green chilies &ginger garlic paste. Keep aside Make a paste of coconut & feenel Now heat oil & add chopped onions & fry. Then add the ground onion paste & fry well Add coconut paste, turmeric powder & garam masala powder & mix wellAdd tomatoes salt & water, cover & cook for about 5-10mts.
Pakora: Bengal gram dal-1cup (soak in water for abt 2hrs)
Onions-chopped1/2cup
Garlic flakes-2nos
Green chilli-3
Fennel seed-1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Oil-deep frying
Grind together chena dhal, garlic flakes, green chillis, &fennel seeds coarsely Mix the mixture with onions & salt. Heat oil in a kadai & drop the mixture with spoon into the oil & fry. Put the fried pakoras in the kurma directly. Serve with rice or roti.