Fish Paatio/Patia

After making the Maacchi Pulao, I had actually picked out a list of things to be tried for Parsi Cuisine, hosted by dear Meera of Enjoy Indian Food, for 'RCI-Parsi Cuisine'. However, it shows clearly I wasn't able to do any of it. I just got to one dish and sharing it here, which is also late, but thanks Meera for accepting it.

I had frozen Salmon fillets and so decided to make another fish item again. The pictures of the Patio/Patia looked really mouthwatering everywhere that I looked. So, decided to go with it and this is the source of the original recipe.

The dish is called Fish Paatio and I must say, tastes very good and doesn't take much time to make.

I am writing down the quantities that I used and the method for future reference.

Ingredients

To Grind into paste
2 - dried red chiles

2 - cloves garlic

1 - tsp cumin seeds/jeera

1/4 - tsp turmeric pwd

You also need (for the Ragout)

1/2 lb. -Fish fillets

1/4 - tsp red chilli pwd

1/4 - tsp turmeric pwd

1 tbsp - oil

2 - green chillies, slit to the stem

1 - small onion, finely chopped

1 -large ripe tomato, chopped

1/2 cup - (loosely packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems

Salt to taste

1 tbsp - jaggery or brown sugar

1/2 tbsp tamarind pulp or lime juice

Method

For the masala:

- Grind the red chillies, garlic, cumin, and turmeric together into a paste (or see the note below).

To make the ragout:

- Rub the fish with the chilly powder, turmeric and little salt.

- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the green chillies, allow to sizzle for a moment, and follow with the onions. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden.

- Add the masala paste and stir over moderate heat until the aroma rises. Add the tomatoes and the fresh coriander. Cook over low heat till its pulpy.

- Add salt to taste, the jaggery, and tamarind/lime juice to get a good sweet-sour balance, adjusting all as needed.
- Fry the fish separately on a tawa in as little oil as possible until tender. Add to the onion and tomato mixture. Cook together just enough to heat through and they all come together.

Note:

- If you haven’t got a grinder, you can still make patia masala in a food processor or blender. Pound the cumin seeds first in a sturdy mortar or pulverize them in a spice grinder, then add them to the food processor bowl along with the garlic, chopped first to make grinding easier, 1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, and the turmeric. Dribble in just enough water to turn the mixture into a paste.

- I used Salmon fillets and cut them into slightly bigger chunks.

Recipe Credits : http://www.parsicuisine.com/DhanDarPatio.html

So, off this goes to 'RCI-Parsi Cuisine', hosted by Meera of EnjoyIndianFood.

Regional Cuisine of India- RCI is the brainchild of Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.

P.S: Please excuse my photograph, I took this from the cell phone as my camera is broken.

Maachi/Fish Pulao - Parsi Cuisine

Its the first time that I actually made something related to Parsi Cuisine, and that too I tried a hand since its dear Meera of Enjoy Indian Food, who's hosting her first event 'RCI-Parsi Cuisine'.

I was very happy with the outcome of this Pulao and best of all, its super easy and fast to make. I know for sure what to do with rice and fish next time. So, do try it.

I looked up in the links provided by Meera and here is the original recipe and the source for my dish. I have used Salmon fillets for this pulao.

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups

Fish - 3 large fillets ( I used Salmon)

Green chillies,chopped - 3

Onions, sliced finely - 2 big

Cinnamon sticks - 1 inch piece

Green Cardamoms - 3

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tomatoes, skinned and chopped - 1 large

Garlic cloves, ground - 2- 3 cloves

Cloves - 4

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Cilantro - 1/4 cup

Salt- to taste

Oil

Method

- Fry the onions golden brown. Remove about 2 onions for later use. In the remaining onions, add in chopped coriander, green chillies, garlic and turmeric allowing it to cook for a few minutes. - Add in chopped tomatoes, cook till pulpy, and then add in the fish pieces with about 4 cups of water. When the fish is nearly done, add chilli powder and sugar and allow to simmer till about 1/2 cup of gravy is remaining.

- In the meantime, boil the rice with salt, removing when half done. Drain off the water and cool.

- In a pan put the reserved fried onions with oil, on a slow fire and add in cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom and cummin seed which have been pounded slightly. Allow to simmer for a few minutes and remove off the fire.
- In a large pan, spread half the rice and layer with fish, fried onions with garam masala, fish gravy and then lastly another layer of rice which has been infused with saffron, topping it with very hot oil. Cover the pan and cook on a low fire for atleast 10 minutes. Mix all the palao together, cover and cook till rice is done.

Note :

- I used Salmon fillets and cut them into slightly bigger chunks.

- I have not used Saffron.

So, off this goes to Meera's 'RCI-Parsi Cuisine'. Wishing you great success in your first event Meera !

Regional Cuisine of India- RCI is the brainchild of Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.

Kadagi Saung / Breadfruit side dish

Saung (pronounced as song), is a very typical item in the Konkani cuisine. Its a spicy dish, bright red in color, great in taste and easy to make. Many different vegetables can be used to make Saung. This is a picture I took from what Mom had made back home.

What I have here today is of Breadfruit/Kadagi. For more on Breadfruit, see this post.

Ingredients

Kadagi/Breadfruit, cleaned & cut into small wedges - 4 cups

Onions, diced abt 1/2 inch size - 2 cups

Garlic, chopped - 5-6 cloves

Teppal/Sichuan peppers - 4-5

Tamarind pulp- from a marble sized ball

Red Chilli powder - 4 tsps or less

Haldi powder - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Mix the Tamarind pulp, salt, red chilli pwd, with very little water in a small bowl and keep aside.

- Heat about a tbsp of oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and saute just till the onions are just transparent.

- Add the breadfruit pieces and just enough water to cook it. Once tender, add the turmeric pwd, and paste made with tamarind pulp. Slightly crush the Teppal pieces in little water and add it along with the water (abt 2 tsps) and the teppal pieces to the pan.

- Bring to a boil and then its done.

- Serve as a side with rice and dal or any other curry.

Note :

- The breadfruit slices cook very fast, so don't add too much water.
- It should be a dry dish, so no water should be present when done.

Happy Diwali !

Wishing one and all a very happy, prosperous and safe Diwali !!!

Have a great one !!!

Chettinad Chicken

A very well-known dish and loved by many. Am sure there will be many ways one prepares this, and I have to try many of them too. This recipe I have been following is from and I have tried it both with and without coconut, I must say they both taste great, but my personal favorite is the one which uses coconut.


You can view the original recipe here.


This is what I have followed.


Ingredients


Chicken - 2 1/2 lbs.
Poppy seeds/khuskhus - 2 tsp
Fennel seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies - 5 - 8 nos. I used 5
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Ginger(chopped) - 2 tsp
Garlic(chopped) - 2 tsp
Tomatoes(medium) - 3 nos(chopped)
Onions(medium) - 2 nos(chopped)
Lemon - 1 no
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Green cardamom - 4 nos
Cloves - 2 - 4 nos
Curry leaves - 10 - 15 nos
Chopped Cilantro - to garnish
Oil
Salt - to taste

Method

- Cut the chicken into small pieces.
- Roast the red chillies, grated coconut, poppy seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fennel seeds in oil.Grind it to a paste along with ginger and garlic.
- Heat oil in a large pan.Fry onions, till golden. Add curry leaves and the ground paste and saute for some time.
- Add tomatoes, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Add in the chicken pieces and mix well. Cook for 5 mins, then add 2 cups of water and lemon juice.
- Cover and cook, till the chicken is done.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Note : Leave out the coconut if you do not want.

- Also you can increase the amount of coconut to about 1/2 cup to get a more thicker gravy.

Kadagi Phodi / Breadfruit fries..

Palpanasa Kadagi or Breadfruit is a loved vegetable( or fruit) in Konkani cuisine. I know of many many people who absolutely love this and none that don't. This may not be a common vegetable but is just extremely tasty and when cooked right, its the melt-in-the-mouth types. If you don't know about it, read here.

In my family, we use it for Phodis ( shallow fries), Baje (deep fries like pakodas), in dry dishes with and without coconut, and gravy based dishes with coconut. Hmm, by far, I love the Phodis best of them all, and couldn't possibly just stop eating until there's no more :)..I strongly recommend everyone to try this atleast once to know what I'm talking about here.

To clean the Breadfruit, you have to peel the outside thick skin, then remove the pith(gheer) from the center. See the collage below. The one that I have here is not the freshest of them all, else they are light greenish in color.



The way you make the Phodis is just like how you make any others. So, here it is..

Ingredients

Breadfruit slices - 12-15
Semolina/Rava - 1/2 cup approx.
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp or more
Salt - to taste
Oil - to shallow fry

Method

- After removing the outer skin and the pith from the breadfruit, cut it into thick slices as shown in the collage ( approx. 1/4 inches thick).

- Take the slices in a wide bowl, and soak them in water for a few minutes. Then, drain the water and add salt and toss to coat the slices evenly. Keep aside for about 10 minutes.

- When ready to fry, mix the rava and chilli powder, coat the breadfruit slices evenly in it, and start placing each slice evenly on a hot tawa.

- Drizzle oil around and over each slice and cook same way on both sides till done.

- To check if it is done, insert the steel spatula through the slice. It should be soft and go through easily, should not be tough.

- Serve hot as a side with rice and curry/dal.

Check out my other phodis here & here.

Maskasangi Talasani / Drumstick side dish

This is one of my favourites with Drumsticks. Just a simple coconut-pepper combination takes the drumsticks to another level. The drumsticks you use in this should be not too old ones (joon) and stringy, else it doesn't taste good. So select nice small, tender ones. Mom had made this when I visited her this time and here is how its made.



Ingredients

Drumsticks, cut into 2 inch pieces and sliced in half- 2 cups

Freshly crushed black pepper/Pepper powder - 2 tsp. or more

Fresh/frozen grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Heat about 1 tsp oil in a kadhai/pan. Add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the cut drumstick pieces, saute for a few seconds, add water just enough to cook the drumsticks. Cover and cook till half-done.

- Add salt, coconut and pepper and mix and cook covered till the drumsticks and fully cooked and tender. Cook uncovered if there is any extra water so that finally the dish is dry.

- Serve as a side dish with rice and curry.

Note : You need more coconut and pepper for this. Skimping on the coconut will not give good results.

- If you don't like pepper, use red chilli powder instead, but the taste is completely different.

Kaccha Avalakki / A Poha recipe...

An excellent snack/breafast item which is very quick to make and easy to carry for long journeys too. The good thing in this the powdered nuts being added. I had seen this in a TV show and accordingly adapted it.

Ingredients

Thin Poha/Beaten rice/Avalakki - 4 cups
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Putani/Hurigadale/Roasted split chana dal - 2 tbsp
Green chillies, chopped - 3
Grated fresh/frozen coconut - 2 tbsp
Red onion, chopped fine - 1 small
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp or as you prefer.
Salt - to taste
Oil
Cilantro - 1 tbsp or more.
Sev - to garnish, optional.

Method

- Heat little oil in a pan. Fry the peanuts in it, remove from oil. Next, add the Putani, fry and take out. Coarsely powder the peanuts and putani together in a mixie/blender.
- In the same pan, add more oil if needed, once hot, add the mustard seeds. Once they start popping, add the cumin seeds, green chillies, onions, hing, turmeric and salt. Saute for a few seconds and take off from flame and pour in a bowl.
- Add to the mixture the coconut, lemon juice, cilantro and the powdered peanuts and putani and allow to cool.
- Then add the Poha to the above and mix evenly with your hands.
- Garnish with more cilantro, sev and coconut.

Note : If you are carrying this for a journey, you can add the sev just before serving.
- You can eat this with yogurt also.
- Use only the thin variety of Poha in this.

Curd Rice with Pomegranate

Simple, delicious, satisfying, cooling - how well this description fits for a bowl of curd rice. There are oh so many variations you can make of a curd rice, and each and every of them tastes just as good as the other.

This one here uses pomegranate and all I can say is the sweet, sour and the spice, all makes this a good one.

The quantity of the yogurt to use really varies and depends on what type you are using and also how thick or thin you want the consistency to be. Curd rice consistency should be on a denser side and not runny. Also, curd rice is supposed to make atleast a couple of hours before you serve, so that the flavours set in. If the rice turns out to be very sour, you can add a little milk and mix evenly to set the taste rite. If you are travelling for a few hours and carrying curd rice, its a good idea to add a little milk to the prepared curd rice, for it to curdle and be just right when eating.

Ingredients

Cooked rice, slightly mushy and cool- 1 cup

Yogurt/Curd - 3/4 cup or more

Green chillies, chopped - 2

Curry leaves - 4-5

Udad dal - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing/Asafoetida - a generous pinch

Grated ginger - 1 tsp

Pomegranate - 1/2 cup

Cilantro - a little, chopped

Milk - 1/4 -1/2 cup ( if needed)

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- In a small pan, heat a tbsp. of oil and add mustard seeds, when they begin to crackle, add the udad dal, cumin seeds, hing and when slightly browned, add the green chillies, ginger & curry leaves. Pour this mixture on top of the rice.

- Add salt, pomegranate, cilantro and the yogurt to the rice and mix everything evenly. Add more yogurt (and milk) if necessary.

- Ready to serve, but let it rest for about 30 mins and its even better.

- Goes best with some pickle and papads.

Note : Replace green/red halved grapes with pomegranate and its another delicious variation.

Mango Dal..

A few years ago, I tasted this Mango Dal for the first time at a friends place and ever since fell in love with it. I love the use of raw mangoes in curries and dals, but a whole dal based with raw mango, is just pure comfort food for me. I could eat this dal everyday without any complaints and works great for us as my family loves it too..

This is how I make my Mango dal, as adapted from my friends recipe.

Ingredients

Toor dal, cooked and mashed - 1 cup
Raw Mango, cut into chunks - 2 1/2 cups

Chopped onions - 1 cup

Chopped ginger - 1 tsp

Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 4

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Garlic, chopped - 3 cloves

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 5

Salt - to taste

Oil/ghee

Method

- Cook the mango with the onions, ginger, chillies, turmeric, and salt in about 2 cups of water. Cover and cook till the mango pieces are tender but not mushy.

- Add the cooked dal to the above and add water if needed to make the consistency thick or thin and cook.

- In a separate small pan, heat ghee/oil and add garlic, saute till it turns golden in colour, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the dal mixture and keep covered till serving.

- Serve hot with rice.

Back to blogging - and a Milky Marble Cake.

Going back home is always great. The family, food and the whole atmosphere back home is just pure bliss. I stayed for three months, seems long, but I didn't know how time flew. Well, any amount of time feels short when I'm in India, so that's another story. Getting back to routine just feels tougher now, not to mention cooking and cleaning ( well, am home all the time, so that's nothing much rite ??)..

Anyways, I thought let me start blogging. But then, nothing has been happening in the kitchen, so am blogging about something which I had before going on vacation. I don't know the frequency of the posts that will happen here, but I hope to not go missing out of the scene. Ya, reminders and nudges are welcome :)..

Coming to today's recipe, its a Milky Marble Cake which I had made many months back for a friends anniversary. It was something which I had seen in one of the books and had in mind for a long long time. The actual recipe calls for a Madeira cake, but the procedure seemed very lengthy, so I just followed shortcuts which I always do with most of my cakes. I went a little overboard with the marbleing, but this was a first time, so some concession there :).

For the Cake that I made, you will need the following. I have used the store-bought cake mix. All the quantities are rite, except for the chocolate bars, I am just writing down from memory.

Ingredients

Ready Cake Mix (Sponge Cake) - 1 pack plus you will need the eggs, oil and water as mentioned on the pack.
Semi Sweet baking Chocolate/Chocolate chips - 4 oz.
Milk Chocolate Bar ( Hersheys/DairyMilk/any veriety) - 1 bar, approx. 4 oz.
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Lemon Zest - grated from 1 lemon
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Icing sugar (Confectioners) - 3/4 cup
Toothpick

To make the Marble Cake :
- Prepare the Cake mixture as per the instructions on the back of the pack. Divide this prepared mixture into 2 parts. Keep one as it is and to the second one add about 2 tbsps ( or as per your preferance) of cocoa powder. To adjust the consistency, you can add a little milk and mix it evenly.
- In a greased 9" round cake pan, dusted with some flour and lined with a parchment paper cut out to round shape, pour in alternate spoonfuls of the plain mixture and the chocolate mixture.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 325deg F till done or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take out and cool on a wire rack. Once cooled, I like to place it on the serving plate, so that you don't need to shift again.
- Next is to make the Chocolate curls. You will need 3oz. of the chocolate bar, make curls using a peeler. Spread out the curls on a thick sheet of paper.
- Melt the remaining chocolate and set 2 tbsps. aside. Spread the rest of the melted chocolate around the sides of the cake.

- While the chocolate is still soft, coat the sides of the cake in chocolate curls. Do this gently by slightly tilting the cake on one side and rolling the curls on it. Do not press heavily.
- Next is to make the Glace. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix the sugar evenly to form a glace of the consistency of pouring cream. Spoon this icing onto the top of the cake evenly and spread to the edge.

- Drizzle the reserved 2 tbsps. of the melted chocolate over the icing. While still soft, run the tip of a toothpick through the chocolate and icing to create the marble effect. And its ready...

- The inside of the cake looked like this picture below..

Blogging break...

Dear Blogger friends and visitors, I am going on a break for sometime now, as I am travelling to India on vacation :). Can't wait to get home and meet family and relatives and friends and catch up with a whole lot of things..

I will resume blogging probably mid-August. Until then, here's wishing you all good times and a great summer :)..Have fun and happy blogging...

Chana Usli with Carrots & Zucchini..

Well, this dish was just born out of nowhere. All three of us love Uslis/Stir-fries with beans, legumes and I just when making the regular Chana Usli, I thought why not add in some carrots and zucchini to get the juicy factor in it and not let it be dry, since I was out of coconut. Tasted good I thought, and the addition of these veggies kept it moist and juicy. So here goes..

Ingredients

Black Chickpeas/Kala Chana - 1 cup, soaked overnite or in hot water for atleast 2 hrs.
Carrot, grated - 1 cup
Zucchini, grated - 1 cup

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chillies, slit lengthwise - 2 or 3
Hing/Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - 4-5
Juice of half lemon or more.
Salt - to taste

Cilantro, chopped - to garnish

- Pressure cook the chickpeas with salt and little water for 1 whistle or until cooked. Keep aside till pressure subsides from the cooker.

- Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and once they crackle, add the cumin seeds, hing, green chillies, and curry leaves.

- Then add in the chana with very little water, let it cook it the water evaporates.

- Add in the grated zucchini and carrot, mix well, switch off the flame, and cover the pan and keep for about 5 mins.

- Pour in the lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot as a side with rice and curry or just as an evening snack.

Lemon-Ginger and Zucchini Dal..

A simple dal you might like if you like the combination of lemon and ginger in it.

Ingredients

Cooked Toor Dal - 1 1/2 cups. Dal should be mushy and pasty.

Zucchini, cubed - 2 cups

Green Chillies, slit lengthwise - 4-5

Ginger, finely chopped - 1 1/2 inch piece

Curry leaves - 4

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Methi/Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cilantro - a few sprigs

Juice of 1 big lemon

Salt - to taste

Ghee/Oil

Method

- In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat oil/ghee ( I used ghee) and add mustard seeds. When they start crackling, add the cumin seeds, methi seeds, curry leaves, ginger and green chillies. Take care not to burn the methi seeds. Add the cooked dal to the pan with enough water to make it to a consistency you prefer. Bring to a boil.

- Add the zucchini pieces and boil till the pieces are just tender but not mushy. Switch off the heat and add the chopped cilantro and lemon juice.

- Serve with rice or tastes great to just slurp as a soup.

Tofu-Spinach Paratha..

I am of this habit that if I make something, I do it so much that people around me have to tell me to give them a break from it and try something different. Same works with me for cooking sites too. Once I was in Showmethecurry.com, I got looking at their videos and saw many which looked very good to me and worth trying. The first one I made was the Ice-cream and now its these Tofu-Parathas.

I have taken the idea from the site, but followed by own recipe and added ingredients which I thought would be suited for us. The most interesting thing which drew me to this recipe was the use of Pickle Masala, and I knew I had to try it. Apart from being very fragrant, the masala lends great taste. These parathas work really great and are very filling and healthy too.

You can see the original recipe at Showmethecurry.com.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 1 cup

Bajra flour - 1/2 cup (optional)

Tofu - 7 oz.

Spinach, finely chopped, fresh or frozen - 1 cup packed.

Jeera/Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Pickle Masala - 1 tsp or more per taste

Green chillies, finely chopped - 1 or more per taste.

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Thaw the spinach if frozen, microwave it for 2 minutes. If using fresh spinach, chop it very fine and microwave it for 2 minutes. When cool to handle, ring out all the water and reserve the water. You can use the same water to bind the dough.

- Empty the liquid from the tofu pack. In a wide mixing bowl, mash the tofu completely with your hands. To it add the spinach, cumin powder, pickle masala, green chillies and salt and mix evenly.

- Next add both the flours and mix evenly and add water little at a time and bind to form a dough. Cover and keep aside for about 30 mins.

- Make little balls of the dough and roll out like you would rotis (not too thin).

- On a hot tawa, fry them on both sides with little oil.

- Serve hot, with a side of your choice or some chutney or yogurt. Mine is served with ridgegourd peels chutney.
Notes :

- By pickle masala, its meant the gravy clinging to the pieces in the jar. I used the Aamla/Gooseberry pickle masala from the readymade pickle jar.

- Be careful while adding the salt as the pickle masala already is salty.

- Bajra flour is just optional. Can either do without it and just add the wheat flour or use a combination of other flours.

- The original recipe mentions Silken Tofu, but I used firm tofu and it worked extremely well, and mashed easily with least effort.

- I have used frozen spinach, but its optional. Skip it or use any other greens.

Eggplant Chutney - Andhra Style..

Before meeting my Andhra friends, my knowledge of Chutneys was very limited. In Konkani cuisine we do make a lot of Chutneys but mainly with coconut present in them. Its very few vegetables like tomoto, raw mango, ridge gourds that we make chutneys of, and most of them are used for pairing with Idlis/Dosas. I was quite surprised by the various other kinds of chutneys people make with eggplants, ridgegourds, ivy gourds, and literally every other vegetable. More surprised when I learnt that most of these chutneys are used to mix with rice and eat. Ahhhh, how wonderful they taste and what a great meal just a chutney and rice forms !!!

Ingredients

Eggplant, chopped into small cubes and soaked in water - 4 cups
Tomato, roughly chopped - 1 cup
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies, chopped - 2 or more as per ur taste.
Garlic cloves, roughly chopped - 3
Tamarind - a small marble size ball
Turmeric powder - 1/4 pinch
Cilantro - to garnish
Salt - to taste

For tempering

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Udad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4

Optional - Chopped red onions, as per choice.

Method

- Heat oil in a deep pan. Add the green chillies, cumin seeds and the drained eggplant pieces and saute. Add salt and Turmeric. Let it cook till eggplants are half done.

- Then add the tomato and saute. Leave it cook and when done, switch off heat.

- Put in the garlic and tamarind and cover the pan.

- Once the mixture cools down, blend it in a mixie/blender WITHOUT adding any water. Take out the blended chutney in a serving bowl.

- In a separate small pan, heat little oil, add mustard seeds, when they crackle, add the udad dal, chana dal, and the curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the blended chutney. Add chopped cilantro to garnish.

- You can serve it like this OR go one step further and top it with some chopped red onion along with chopped cilantro and mix well and serve.

Note :

- This chutney is mainly mixed with rice and had, but also works extremely great for dosas, idlis and rotis.

- Adding the chopped red onions at the end of it is optional, but gives a great crunch and bite to the chutney.

Thai Vegan Curry..

The following is a recipe I tried out from here. With the Thai Vegan event happening, I was on the lookout for some easy recipes, as although loving thai food, I had never before tried it at home. I try to keep away from peanuts in cooking, plus didn't want to go through the entire process of making the sauces and everything.

Anyways, after narrowing down on a curry (rite, we love curries), this is what I have.

I have used the store-bought readymade green curry paste, and I must stress here, that although my picture indicates a bland curry here, its deceiving. That paste was just overly spicy and so the curry went a long way in the spice level even without the spice color.

All in all, we were extremely pleased with this flavorful, spicy, coconuty, vegetable curry and with the ready paste, it worked to be really really easy.

I have adapted the recipe to suit us. You can see the original recipe here.

Ingredients

Extra-firm Tofu - 12 oz. package

Chopped fresh veggies ( carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, green beans) - 3 cups together

Straw mushrooms, drained - 1 can. I did not use this time, but definitely would recommend.

Potato, cut into chunks - 1 small

Thai kitchen green curry - 1 1/2 - 2 tbsps.

Coconut Milk - 1 can (13 oz.). See note below

Vegetable broth - 1/2 cup.

Sliced bamboo shoots, drained - 8 oz. can

Frozen peas - 1/4 - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Method

- Put a large pot of water to boil.

- Slice tofu into 1/2"x1" pieces and on a greased baking sheet, bake them in the oven at 275F for 30 minutes till lightly browned.

- Clean any grit from the mushrooms if using.

- Add the fresh veggies and the potatoes to the boiling water. Cook just until al dente. Strain and set veggies aside.

- Carefully open the coconot milk can WITHOUT shaking or disturbing the can. Spoon out the white cream from the top while keeping the clear liquid at the bottom. You will find the clear liquid after spooning out more than half of the can. Keep them both separate.

- In a large pot or deep frying pan, combine the clear coconut liquid and the vegetable broth. On medium heat, cook the veggies, tofu, bamboo shoots until cooked but not mushy. Add more broth to cover all the vegetables while cooking. Add the mushrooms and peas midway.

- Slowly stir in the coconut milk for desired consistency. Add in the green curry paste and the salt and cook till raw smell goes away.

- Serve hot with rice.

Notes :

- I used only 1/4 of the reserved cream of coconut. Used all of the clear liquid. The original recipe says that this method of separating the clear liquid and the cream is used to get rich curries.

- You could use a mix of many or just a couple of vegetables in this dish.

- This dish tastes better with time, like for the next meal.

- I used the 'Maesri' brand of green curry paste. Its very spicy and fragrant.

This post is off to ' Its a Vegan World - Thai ' , hosted by Priya of Akshaypatram.

Its a Vegan World is the brainchild of Vaishali of EarthVegan.

This post would also go to FIC - Red & Green, hosted by Neha of EasyNTasyRecipes.

FIC is the brainchild of Sunshinemom of TongueTicklers.

Mango-Raspberry Ice Cream..

Come a little warmer weather and we are looking for coolers and thirst quenchers. Today I have a Mango-Raspberry Ice cream here. I followed the recipe from showmethecurry.com for this super easy and yummy ice-cream. The recipe was for Mango Ice-cream but I added raspberries also and it turned out very good.
You can see the original recipe and the video here.

Ingredients

Mango Pulp - 30 oz can
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz can
Whipped Topping - 8 oz container
Fresh/frozen Raspberries - 3/4 -1 cup
Fresh Mango - cubed, optional

Method

- If using fresh raspberries, chop them into little pieces. If using frozen ones, just lightly crush them with the back of a spoon and they breakup easily.
- In a big bowl pour in the mango pulp, whipped topping, condensed milk and the raspberries.
- Fold them in very gently. Do NOT use an electric beater or whisk rigourously.
- Pour into a dish with a tight fitting lid.
- Cover and place in the freezer for 2 hours.
- If using the cubed mango pieces, after a couple of hours, mix in the cubed Mango pieces and return dish to the freezer. If not also, remove from the freezer, mix once and return to freezer covered.
- Allow it to freeze for another 3 hours or so. And then its done.

Notes:
- I have not used the cubed mango pieces.
- You can use fresh mango pulp instead of canned one.
- Add in any other kind of berries like strawberries, blackberries, etc., instead of raspberries.
-You can add in Tutti-fruiti, nuts, saffron or cubes of cake for a variation.

This post is my contribution to My Favourite Things - Frozen Desserts, hosted by Aquadaze of Served with Love.
My Favourite things is the brainchild of Bindiya of InLoveWithFood.

Also goes to Mithai Mela, hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

And also goes to Festive Food-Summer Treat, hosted by Priti of Indian Khana.

Last but not the least, also goes to 15 Minute Cooking, hosted by Mahimaa of Indian Vegetarian Cooking.

Carrot-Capsicum Lemon Rice..

This rice comes to my rescue most times I'm out of ideas or am in no mood to cook anything elaborate and still don't feel guilty of not making the right food at home. An all in one, delicious and filling lemon rice with the addition of carrots and green-peppers to make it a good eat for kids and adults all the same. Being a one dish meal, and colorful too, its easy to get my kid to eat it. The carrots and capsicum still remain slightly crunchy as they are not fully cooked, and it tastes good.

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup

Capsicum, sliced very fine - 3/4 cup

Carrot, finely grated - 1 1/2 cup

Grated ginger - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Chana Dal - 2 tsp

Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 3 nos.

Curry leaves - 4-5

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- Cook the rice and keep it aside to cool.

- Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and once they crackle, add the udad dal, chana dal, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Once the dals are browned, add the turmeric powder and salt and switch off the flame. Add the carrots and capsicum and mix well and cover and keep for about 10 minutes. The heat from the pan is enough to soften the veggies. No need to cook them.

- Then add the rice and the lemon juice to the pan and mix everything evenly with care to not break the rice.

- Serve as it is or with a side of your choice.

This goes to CFK - Rice event hosted by Trupti at RecipeCenter.

Cooking for Kids event is a master mind of Sharmi of Neivedyam.

This also goes to FIL - Carrot event, hosted by Sanghi of Sanghi's Tasty Bites.

Curried Black-Eyed Peas

A delicious creamy dish made from Black-eyed peas/Alasande. All the spices, whole and ground, make this a fragrant and delicious side-dish for rotis or rice. I have adapted this recipe from the book, 'Indian Home Cooking'- by Suvir Saran & Stephanie Lyness.

Ingredients

Black-eyed peas/Alasande - 1 cup, soaked in water overnight.

Whole Cloves - 2

Pepper Corns - 1/8 tsp

Green Cardamom - 3

Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch stick

Whole dried red chillies - 2

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Bay Leaf - 1

Ginger, minced - 1 inch

Red Onion, chopped - 1 medium

Garlic cloves - 2 nos. minced with 1/8 tsp of the cumin seeds with mortar/pestle.

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Tomatoes, pureed - 3 medium or 1/4 cup canned puree

Plain Yogurt - 1/4 cup

Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Water - 1 cup

Method

- Pressure cook the peas with water just enough to cover the surface and cook for 1 whistle on medium high heat. The peas should be cooked but not mushy.

- Heat abt a tbsp of oil in a pan, add all the whole spices, then add the onions and fry till browned.

- Add the garlic, saute till lightly browned, then add the coriander & cumin powders, red chilli powder, saute a few seconds.

- Add the tomato puree, fry well and simmer for about 5 minutes.

- Separately, whisk the yogurt in a bowl, stir about 2 tbsps of the hot sauce into the yogurt to temper it.

- Once the tomato is fully cooked, stir in the tempered yogurt, garam masala powder, cooked black-eyed peas and water. Turn the heat to medium and heat until it just bubbles.

- Do not boil again after this, as the yogurt will curdle otherwise.

- Serve hot with rotis or rice.

This post goes to WYF-Side Dish, hosted by EC at Simple Indian Food.

Olive Quick Bread with Cumin and Herbs

All I can say about this bread is that it is delicious as well as truly fragrant. Not too many calories as compared to other bread recipes, and works just fine for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or simply as a snack.

It looked and tasted just great, but the only problem I felt was that it was a little delicate and gave way easily. Not sure if its the binding agent or anything else. I would like it to be more firm next time, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

I have tweaked the original recipe to make it eggless and also added/subtracted a few ingredients to suit our taste. The original recipe is here.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Baking powder - 2 tbsp

Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Dried Italian seasoning ( or just dried Oregano as in orig. recipe) - 1 tbsp

Ground Cumin - 1 tsp

Dried Red Chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp

Whole Cumin - 1 tsp

Buttermilk - 1 1/2 cups

Fat free milk - 1/4 cup

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

Black Olives, drained, rinsed and sliced - 1 can

Walnuts, chopped - 1 cup, optional

Method

- Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

- Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan or a square pan or baking sheet with oil or non-stick spray.

- Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dried herbs, whole cumin, ground cumin, red chilli flakes, in a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir with a fork to distribute.

- Add the buttermilk, milk, and oil. Stir until moistened. Stir in the olives and nuts (if using).

- Smooth the dough into prepared pan or if using baking sheet, form dough into a ball shape, place on pan and flatten into a round about 3 inches high. Brush a little olive oil on top if desired.

- Bake about 40-45 minutes, or until brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean.

Note :

- Reduce or omit the cumin seeds if you feel its too much, since there is ground cumin also. We love it, so I have added the whole ones too.

- I have added the red chilli flakes for the extra zing. You may skip it.

- I have used the store-bought cultured buttermilk.

This makes its way to BBD#18- Quick Breads, hosted by Mansi of Fun & Food Blog. Thanx for hosting Mansi.

This also goes to the Egg Substitute Event - Yogurt/Buttermilk, hosted by Madhuram of Eggless Cooking.

Thanx to so many of you who mentioned here about this event, this now also goes to AFAM-Olives hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

MeeryaKana Panak / A sweet spicy drink

This is a drink that is made in my home on Ugadi day. It looks simple to look at, but is packed with flavour with the pepper, jaggery & lemon all going in to make it something you keep wanting for more.

Ingredients

Black pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cardamom seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery grated - 4 - 5 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Water - 3 cups

Method

- Blend the peppercorns and cardamom seeds with very little water ( 2 tsps or so).
- Now add this to all the rest of the ingredients mentioned and stir till the jaggery is dissolved.
- Ready to be served.

Note :
- We don't strain this before serving. The mixture settles at the bottom, so swirl the glass a little before taking a sip to get a little bit of everything in the sip.
- Leftover can be chilled in fridge.

This post goes to the event Think Spice- Think Pepper hosted by Divya of Dil Se. Thanks for hosting Divya.
Think Spice is an event started by Sunita.

Tomato Rice-1

This is one variation of Tomato Rice that I'm sharing here today. I got this recipe from my SIL who in turn got it from her friend. It tasted really wonderful and is easy to make too.

Ingredients

Tomatoes, medium size, chopped very fine- 2 nos. ( I used 2 big Roma tomatoes)

Garlic cloves - 3

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 3/4 tsp or more

Lemon juice - 1 tsp ( optional)

Onions, finely chopped - 1 big . I used red onion

Curry leaves - 4

Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Oil/Ghee/Clarified Butter

Method

- Wash the rice and soak it in water for about 30 minutes.

- Make a wet paste by blending together the garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, coriander and fennel seeds with very little water. Keep aside.

- If cooking in pressure cooker, heat the cooker, add ghee or oil or mixture of both, add the onions and fry till lightly browned. Add the curry leaves.

- Add the blended paste and saute for a minute, taking care it does not stick to the vessel.

- Add the chopped tomatoes and fry well till everything becomes a pulpy mixture and oil starts separating.

- Drain the water from the soaked rice, add it to the above, add salt, and saute for a few seconds.

- Add 2 cups of water to the cooker, add lemon juice(if adding), close the lid with the whistle, and let it cook for 1 whistle. If using electric cooker, follow all the above steps and cook till done.

- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with raita or salad or papad.

Note:

- If you want an even richer taste, just reduce the quantity of rice to 1 cup and follow the rest of the quantities and procedure. In case of 1 cup of rice, add 1 1/2 cups of water.

- Try using ghee in this preparation, tastes wonderful.

After Asha's comment, updating and sending it to a few more events now.

This goes to Colors of Taste-Powders-Flavored Rice hosted by Smitha of Kadumanga.

Also going to Single Serving Recipes hosted by Sahaja of SpicyRasam.

And since the deadline for this event is extended, it also goes to FIL-Tomato hosted by Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights.

Gava Peetha Guli/ Wheat flour ladoos- Happy Ugadi..

Wishing all the readers a Very Happy Ugadi! Wish you all health and happiness!



The recipe here today is of Wheat flour laddus/Gava peetha guli, which is one of the very most often made and loved item in most Konkani households. It is called by different names like Unde, Peetha Guli or just Guli by the Konkanis between North Kanara and South Kanara regions of Karnataka. Most people from all over India make these ladoos and its known by different names to everyone, but I will share today my Mom's recipe, that I have known and relished all these years.

The most interesting fact about these laddus is that they break very easily. Even when eating them, one has to be careful as to just get a piece in the mouth while still holding the rest of the piece intact in the hand. I have known many friends of mine when young, who used to pick one and bite and either there would be a big mess of the laddu crumbling on the floor or they would choke. So if you do try it, its a warning to eat it slowly and carefully.

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 3 cups

Sugar - 2 cups

Elaichi/Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Melted Ghee/Clarified butter - 3/4 cup plus another 2 tbsps.

Method

- Make a fine powder of the sugar in a blender/mixer. If using powdered cane sugar also, you will need to make a fine powder of it. You can add the cardamom seeds in the blender and powder it alongwith the sugar.

- In a heavy bottomed pan, add 2 tbsps of ghee and roast the wheat flour on low flame till its very slightly browned and gives out an aroma. Keep stirring constantly to avoid burning. Once roasted, switch off the heat. The whole roasting takes about 30 mins or more.

- Add the 3/4 cup of melted ghee to the roasted flour and mix roughly with a spoon.

- Once the flour is warm enough to handle, add the powdered sugar+cardamom mixture (or cardamom powder separately if not powdered alongwith sugar) to the flour mixture and mix everything evenly using your hands. This mixing has to be done with hand. Mix such that there are no lumps formed by the ghee and the sugar is evenly mixed.

- Immediately, when mixture is still warm, taking little mixture at a time, form laddus using your palms. If you feel you cannot bind them easily, add little more melted ghee and bind them.

- Once completely cooled, store in air tight container and use.

Note :

- When you add the sugar, it should not melt in this laddu. That's the reason its added when the flour mixture is not too hot but warm enough to handle.

- We do not add any nuts in this laddu, in my family.

- These quantities will yield 25-27 laddus.

Enjoy your Ugadi everyone!

These laddus are off to JFI- Wheat hosted by Roma of Roma's Space. Thanks for hosting Roma.

Jivha for Ingredients is an event started by Indira of Mahanandi.

Tomato Chutney

This is a recipe which I learnt from my Mother-in-law. When they had visited us, she saw some packets of readymade tomato chutneys that I had in the fridge. That is when she taught me how to make this and also made a big batch for me. This is a versatile chutney and has a very long shelf-life. From applying on breads, to having as sides with rotis/dosas/or just rice, it comes handy when you need it.

The procedure for making it is a little tiresome and you need to use your hand constantly when its being made, but if its so versatile, might as well take the pains one day and enjoy it later rite.

So, here goes..

Ingredients

Tomatoes, medium size - 5 ( I have used Roma Tomatoes)

Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 3-4

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp (or more). I have used the extra hot variety.

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Oil - 1 tbsp or more

Method

- Pressure cook the whole tomatoes for 1 whistle in the cooker with water only under the vessel and not with the tomatoes.

- Once pressure comes down and cool enough to handle, discard the skin from the tomatoes and blend them to make a fine puree.

- In a heavy pan, heat the oil, add the methi seeds and once lightly browned, add the curry leaves. Next pour the tomato puree and add the salt, red chilli powder and the turmeric powder. Now, you have to keep stirring the mixture, else it will keep spluttering around. Either keep stirring continuosly on medium heat or turn the heat to low, cover the pan lightly just so that steam can escape from the pan. Keep checking and stirring every few minutes to see the water content and to avoid sticking.

- Stir evenly till all the mositure content has gone, the oil starts separating and the mixture becomes dry and comes together as one.

- Turn off heat.

- Once completely cooled, you can transfer it to a container with lid and refrigerate for months.

- Without refrigerating, it will be be good at room temperature easily for 2 days.

Note :

- More oil is used usually to keep the contents good for a long time. However I have used 2 tsps. Also its important that there is no water content at the end when the chutney gets done, if you want to store it for long. Else keeping it a little liquidy with the water content works just fine.

- Please keep in mind that the whole mixture of 5 tomatoes will reduce and yield only about 1/4 cup of the chutney, so adjust the spices and salt accordingly if you do want to make a bigger batch.

This is my entry to SWC-Meals on wheels, hosted by Lakshmi of Taste Of Mysore. Thank you for hosting Lakshmi.

This is also my entry to the FIL - Tomato hosted by Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delights. Thank you for hosting Sanghi.

MBP-Snacks from Meera's..

I have tried the following recipes from Meera's - EnjoyIndianFood. As is the case with all of Meera's recipes that I have tried, these came out great and were enjoyed by all. Thankyou Meera for sharing them with us all.

Please click on the title links for Meera's recipes.

1. Eggless Banana Cake

I just followed all her instructions. The only thing I added were a Tbsp of black raisins, rest is all the same as per recipe. The aroma in the whole house when this was baking was just like that of Banana Mulka ( a Konkani banana fritter). If you like Mulka, you can't miss this.



2. Lemon Yogurt Cake

Again, followed exactly her recipe, and just like her, didn't do the glace. A true winner cake for teatime.


3. Khatta Dhokla

I am always in awe of the number of Dhokla's, Muthiyas and other goodies Meera makes. Had bookmarked quite a few, and finally made this one day. I tried both the variations that she mentioned, with chilli powder and black pepper powder. They both tasted very good. This is a keeper recipe.

I would like to send these all to MBP-Snacks & Savouries hosted by Ashwini of SpicyCuisine.

MBP is started by Coffee of The Spice Cafe.

I would also like to add that a few days back, Meera passed on these lovely awards to me.

Thanx a lot Meera, am truly glad to get them from you and humbled.

Tried & Tasted and loved..

Suganya of Tasty Palettes is one blogger who always awes me with her photography and recipes and the variety of cuisines she blogs about. Many a times, I am just stuck drooling at the pictures and takes me quite long to scroll down and look at the recipes. And this month's Tried & Tested being her blog, I couldn't but help try out these few recipes, out of the many which I have bookmarked. All of them were just superb Suganya and thankyou for sharing them with us all.

So, here we go.

1. Pala Musu- Green Jackfruit Curry. (click on the link title for the recipe)

I used the canned jackfruit and just followed all of her recipe without any tweaks. Sure a keeper recipe this is. If you like raw jackfruit, you should try it too.

2. Pepper, Garlic and Cumin Rasam with Potato Roast. (click on title link for the recipe)

I tried both of these as a combination with Rice and its comfort food at its best. I have never made Rasam this way, so was a very good learning experience for me. The potato tasted excellent too, not too many ingredients and a simple recipe. Taste- Superb!

My pictures don't do justice at all to her recipes, but try it to know the taste. Thanks Suganya for sharing with us your recipes.

This post is off to Tried and Tasted - Tasty Palettes, hosted by Sweatha of TastyCurryLeaf.

Tried and Tasted was originated by Zlamushka of Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen.

Tomato Rasam-1

This is rather my bizarre way of making Tomato Rasam. Bizarre coz I never saw or heard anyone making Rasam like this. You may laugh at this, but this is what I used to make soon after I got married. I tasted some excellent rasam's at friends places, but the long procedures somehow kept me from following them. Very soon I learnt about canned tomatoes, in almost every other form. How thrilled was I when I made my first Rasam after a lot of thinking and whether to or not to with the Canned Tomato Paste, lol. We both instantly liked it and ofcourse after making some changes to it, this became my standard way of making rasam for a very long time. Since we both used to love Rasam a lot, I used to make it so often, with pepper, ginger, with or without rasam powder, with celery in it, and what not. We used to love to drink this rasam every other day. Some of my friends politely would tell me that's not how Rasam is made.

Slowly, I gave up canned tomato for the fresh ones and that rasam recipe of mine was forgotten. Few days back, I suddenly remembered it and thought, why not make it and enjoy it, my recipe of bygone days. Now, if I thought of making it again, it should be tasting good rite. Even though made from the canned stuff, it tastes really good to just gulp it down sip by sip. Try it..

Ingredients

Tomato paste, canned - 1 1/2 tbsp

Tamarind - a small marble sized ball, soaked in water and juice extracted from that.

Garlic cloves - 3

Black pepper corns - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or more

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Cilantro, chopped - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - 3-4

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

- With a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, pepper corns and cumin seeds together.

- Heat oil in a pan, add this crushed mixture, saute for a few seconds, add the curry leaves.

- Add the tomato paste with 4-5 cups of water, add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, tamarind juice, and cilantro. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes till the mixture boils completely and you don't feel any rawness of the paste.
- Serve hot.

Note :

- Making it thicker or thinner by adding more or less water.

- Adjust and vary the garlic and pepper according to your taste levels. You can give an extra seasoning of garlic after the rasam is ready.