Punjabi tadka: Baingan ka bartha

Since today is the end of the week and I feel so energised to cook something extravagant I went through my fridge and found two eggplants sitting comfortably in the box. I wonder how it got there, cause i don't ever remember buying one of these from my trip to the market...My husband must have got them seeing how he loves to eat this king of vegetables...that is what it is called as such...

Some little facts about this wonderful vegetable are as follows. It is called the eggplant, aubergine, melongene, brinjal or guinea squash or nightshades and is a native of India. The fruit is botanically classified as a berry and contains numerous small, soft seeds which are edible, but have a bitter taste because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids; this is unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

Enough of facts, though interesting it is getting me hungry. So lets start cooking. Todays recipe is Baingan ka bartha, to put it in layman terms it is Smashed Eggplant curry....This dish is very popular in Punjab and it takes its roots from there....This works wonders with a nice roti....

Things you need are:1 medium Baigan (eggplant), 1 Finely chopped onions, 2 Finely chopped tomatoes, 1 Finely chopped green chilli , 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder, 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder, 1/2 tsp dried mango powder, 3 tbsp Vegetable oil , Salt to taste , Chopped green coriander leaves for garnishing

How to make it: 

There are two steps to this curry. First, you have to roast the eggplant till the skin chars. To do that, brush baigan (eggplant) with oil and roast it on a gas burner over medium heat or use a grill too. Frequently turn the eggplant upside down, until fully roasted. Once done, hold it under cold running water or in a bowl full of water. Cool it and peel off the blackened skin. 

Second and the final step towards making this mouthwatering curry is to mash the flesh of the eggplant and keep aside. I prefer to add some amchoor or dry mango powder to get rid of its bitterness and some turmeric powder to avoid further blackening.

Now to make the curry,heat oil in a pan/kadai . Add green chilli and onion and fry over medium heat until light golden brown. Add tomatoes and cook until tender. Now add the mashed baigan (eggplant) and fry till the baigan is coated well and oil starts to separate, this should take about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Then add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt and stir. Garnish the baigan bharta with green coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note: People who don't love the eggplant and have nightmares of eating this beautiful vegetable you should try this recipe. I hate eggplants but manage to eat this curry as it doesnt look like an eggplant in the end.

 

Hyderabadi Style: Mirch ka salan

This morning when I went shopping for some fresh veggies my eyes fell on this luscious green long chillies, not the regular short, small spicy one but the longer and fatter version of green chillies. I bought some thinking I would make my hubi a Mirch ka salan with rotis for tonight's dinner since he loves spices so much.....

So here it goes.....the process is quite simple but it involves a lot of ingredients to make it nice and spicy.... 

Things you need for the gravy: 200 gms long green chillies, 1 tsp jeera, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1/4 tsp nigella seeds , 6 curry leaves , 1/4 tsp turmeric powder , 2 tbsp coriander-cumin seeds (dhania-jeera) powder, 2 tsp chilli powder, 4 tbsp tamarind water, 2 tbsp chopped corriander, 5 tbsp oil, salt to taste

To be ground into a paste: 6 cloves of garlic, 12 mm. (1/2") piece ginger, 1 onion, 2 tomatoes, 3 tbsp grated coconut

For the dry powder: 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 1 tbsp cumin seeds 

How to do it:

For the dry powder:  Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds and cumin seeds lightly. Remove and powder.

For the gravy: Heat the oil in a kadai. Wash and slit the green chillies. Remove the seeds and fry in hot oil until they turn white. Remove. In the same oil, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and curry leaves. Cook until the seeds crackle. Add the paste of onions and tomatoes and fry for a while. Add the turmeric and coriander-cumin seed powder, chilli powder and dry powder masala. Cook for a few minutes until the oil comes on the top. Add 2 cups of water and the tamarind water and cook until thick. Add the fried green chillies, coriander and salt and cook for a few minutes. The gravy should be thick. Serve hot.

 

 

 Note: This dish doesnt work good with green capsicum or bell peppers.....

Punjabi tadka: Paneer pasanda

India has long been witness to a number of invasions. Be it the Greeks, Turks, Afghans, French, Portuguese and of course the British are some of the invaders, who plundered the wealth of our nation. Over the centrues these invaders also brought with them, a number of culinary delicacies to share making the Indian cuisine perhaps the most varied cuisine in the entire world.

Mughal cooking is famous for its use of combination of ground masalas giving a unique texture to its food. Mughlai cuisine provides a collection of dishes that are acclaimed all over the world like pulav, kormas, naans, biryanis and many paneer dishes. The gravy is heavy and rich most of the time because of the use of dry fruits, ghee, butter and heavy cream. These ingredients give a silky smooth texture to the sauce or gravy and enhance the taste of the dish.

Paneer pasanda is one such exotic and delectable dish from the Mughal cuisine which will end up making you only want more. Pasanda is a Urdu word which means ‘liking’. This dish is a popular North Indian and Pakistani vegetarian dish, derived from a meal served in the Court of the Moghul Emperors. This dish is rich in protein and low fat making you crave for it over and over again.

In this dish, the paneer is sandwiched with pleasant spices and then cooked in a delicate gravy reflecting the dish’s flavour and blend. Pasanda is a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds and is heavily seasoned with cumin, kasuri methi and rest. but  milder in comparison to most Indian dishes making it palatable to most westerners. 

Things you would need: For filling: 400 gms of Cottage cheese (Paneer) cut and grated, 18-20 Cashew nuts roasted and coarsely ground, 18-20 raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, 1 cup maida, 1 cup cornflour

For the gravy: 2 medium onions roughly chopped, 1 inch piece of ginger, 3-4 garlic pods, few coriander leaves, 5-6 Kashmiri Mirch, 1 tbsp poppy seeds paste, 1 tbsp almond paste, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 cloves, an inch of cinnamon, 2 tbsp watermelon seeds,

Oil for shallow frying + 2 tbsp, 1 cup tomato puree, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 tsp sugar, salt to taste

So how do we cook this:

Paneer sandwich: Cut paneer into triangles. Slice the triangle pieces up until the three quarters. Please do not cut in the end. For the stuffing, in a mixing bowl add grated paneer, raisins, freshly chopped coriander leaves, chopped green chillies, roasted cashew nut coarse powder and mix all of them well. Put this sweet and tangy stuffing in between the slit triangle paneer pieces and keep aside. Take equal quantities of maida and cornflour, add little water and form to a batter. Coat these stuffed paneer pieces with the batter well and fry them it slightly golden brown. Keep the aside.

Soak the poppy seeds in a little water for 1 hour and grind into a smooth paste. Grind all the contents of gravy together with a little water. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan and add the gravy and cook it on low flame till the raw smell of onion disappears and the oil leaves the edges. Now mix in the tomato puree and cook for further 2 minutes on high flame. Add about a cup of water if the gravy is thick. Let the gravy simmer for a few more minutes until the fat separates. Simmering is an important technique especially for making curries/gravies as the spices get cooked and blend with each other on low heat. Cover and cook till the raw flavors are gone. Check for seasoning. Add pinch of sugar, kasturi methi powder, and little cream to make it rich. Add the fried paneer to this and cook it for a while in low flame. The dish is ready to be served. To give a little sourness to the dish you can also add amchur powder.

It works wonders when served with Naan or Zafrani pulao.

Punabi tadka: Mughlai Shahi kofta

Over the centuries, India has been invaded by the Aryans, Greeks, Persians, Huns, Turks, Arabs, Afghans, the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the English! The Mughals of Turkish-Persian origin, came in the 16th century. Their cuisine which is hugely popular up until this day, fuses Indian, Middle Eastern and Persian styles of cooking. Their food is known for its richness and the use of exotic spices, dried fruit and nuts, cream and milk combining to create rich, regal dishes often garnished with rose petals, silver foil - food fit for the Kings! . The Mughals did everything in style and splendour from their living to their eating everything was exotic. Since they ate very rich food (high in fat, carbs and proteins) they reduced the number of intake during the day. 

One of the most sorted of recipes, Shahi Kofta is the perfect vegetarian alternative to meatballs. It goes very well with naans (tandoor-baked flatbread) or Jeera Rice. The recipe involves very few steps to create the best shahi kofta I have ever tried. This recipe is from my mom's kitchen .....a recipe I have tried over the years and always loved.....So please try this and enjoy!

Things you need: Potato – 250 gm, Tomato – 250 gm, Boiled peas – 1 cup, Onion paste – 2 tsp, Cooked rice – 1 ½ cup, Grated coconut – 1 cup, Curd – 1 cup, Oil to deep fry, Turmeric powder – 1 tsp, Chili powder – 1 tsp, Coriander powder – 1 tsp, Butter – 2 tbsp, Fresh cream – 2 tbsp, Cashew nut – 12, Almond – 7, Raisins – 15, Chopped Coriander leaves – 1 cup, Ginger-chili paste – 2 tsp, Paneer/cottage cheese – 150 gm, Salt to taste, Water – 1 cup

The rich process of Shahi Koftas

Grind tomatoes and keep aside. Chop onions and puree them as well. Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. Add cooked rice, coriander leaves, ginger-chili paste, salt and grated coconut to the mashed potatoes. Knead and divide into 12 portions and make balls. Chop the cashew nuts and almonds finely. Add raisins and chopped nuts to paneer/cottage cheese and make 10 balls. Now flatten the potato balls and stuff in the paneer balls. Seal them properly and make balls or oblong shape. Deep fry them in oil and keep aside.

Heat butter in a pan. Sauté the onion paste till golden brown. Add the tomato puree, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and sauté till the oil starts to separate. Add 1 cup water and let it boil. Add the boiled peas and let the gravy boil for 5 minutes. Add the beaten curd and put the flame off. Mix well and add the koftas to the gravy. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves and fresh cream.

Voila!!! Perfect koftas for a nice rich dinner.

Punjabi tadka-Paneer Bhurji

Following my post yesterday to the very simple process of making paneer at home, I am going to share a very easy basic recipe of cottage cheese (paneer). They say Learning is fun, One step at a time. 

Paneer bhurji is the easiest of the paneer dishes which is made with very less effort and time. This was the first time I was making this without my amma's supervision. I had this all the time in big restaurants. Now its almost 3-4 years, so I thought it would be best to try things at home when everything is available. I loved it a lot and its is a simple way to make too! This can be a perfect lunch box idea, you can even wrap the paneer bhurji in roti for your kids. They would love it too. It also makes a quick and easy dinner dish when teamed with hot Chapatis or Parathas or rotis.

I made this with cottage cheese I myself prepared at home. All you have to do is crumble the paneer before using it for the dish.

Things you need:

300 gms fresh paneer (mashed into a crumbly texture), 1 medium onion chopped fine, 1 small tomato chopped fine, 1 green chilli chopped fine, 1 green capsicum chopped into cubes, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp coriander powder, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil, Chopped fresh coriander to garnish, Salt to taste

How to make it:

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium flame, till hot. Add the cumin seeds and fry till spluttering stops. Add the onions and fry till soft. Now add the green chillies and tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are pulpy. Add the capsicum and fry till cooked a little.  Add all the powdered spices and mix well. Fry for 2 minutes. Add the paneer. Mix well and cook for 2 more minutes. If the paneer gives off water at this stage, cook till the water has dried up. Turn off fire. Season with salt, if desired. Garnish with the chopped fresh coriander and serve hot with Chapatis or Parathas. Paneer Bhurjee also makes a great topping for fresh, hot toast! Top with lemon juice to make it a little tangy if preferred. 

Try this easy recipe and enjoy it for a sumptuous dinner.

Any time favourite- Rice Upma and its easy variant Upma Kuzhakattai

When looking for some nice savoury breakfast dishes to make, nothing can beat the rice upma or Arisi upma in my mother tongue Tamil. This was my hot favourite for breakfast or dinner. It is light yet filling. I now appreciate the humbleness and simplicity of this dish. This goes on wonderfully with my last post the tangy Brinjal curry as the upma is subtle and wholesome in taste.

Back in those days, this upma was always prepared in a heavy bottomed bronze pot called vengala panai. The slightly burnt upma which gets stuck to the bottom of the pot is to die for. Nowadays, this can be made in a handi, kadai, pressure cooker or even the modern rice cooker. Talk about being futuristic.

Also in the past people used to visit flour mills to get the rice ground to rava rice and stored for future use as upma was made almost every other day. But the city where I live I have no clue of the nearest flour mill, so I ended giving up preparing upma without this step involved. When I went down to Chennai to visit amma, I saw her soak the rice before grinding it in the simple blender. The soaked rice not only is easy to work with but also yields uniform rava texture instead of turning it into a floury consistency. Now let’s get cracking with the starting material sorted out!

As with all my dishes posted, this recipe also involves using the basic stuff available in your pantry or the nearest supermarket. The things you need are:

For the upma:

Raw rice- 1 cup, Toor dal- 1 fistful, coconut- ½ cup, grated, Salt to taste.

For tempering:

Mustard seeds- ½ tsp, Urad dal- 1 tsp, Chana dal- 1tsp, Pepper- ½ tsp, Cumin seeds- 1 tsp, Red chillies- 4 to 6, Curry leaves- few, Oil- 1 tablespoon

The process of preparing is very simple and easy. Here it goes.

Wash rice and dal together thrice and drain the water completely. Leave it for 20-30 minutes. Take this mixture in a food processor or blender and pulse for 2 or 3 times. The rice should be coarsely ground but not as fine as rava. This will yield about 1 ¼ cups of rice rava which is sufficient to serve two.

Transfer the ground rice to a rice cooker. In a seasoning pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and leave it till it starts popping. Add chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, pepper, cumin seeds and curry leaves, in that order. When the dal becomes brown, add this seasoning mixture to the rice. Also add coconut, salt and 2 ½ cups of water. Mix well and turn the rice cooker on. When done, fluff the rice. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with a drizzle of coconut oil. Serve hot with tangy Brinjal gravy from the last post. What a heavenly combination guys. Please do try and let me know.

As a variation to this recipe is a follow on which can be made further to the Arisi upma recipe, is upma kozhakattai recipe?

As already stated, Upma is a mainstay breakfast in most Indian homes but Kozhakattai is something that Tamilians offer to our beloved Lord Ganesha to keep him happy. Upma Kozhakattai is none of these. This is a fine example of 'saatvic' food. It is very easy to make now that the rice upma is ready.

Remove the 'upma' onto a big dish / thali and cool off for 5-10 minutes. Once cooled, take a big handful of upma and shape it into ovals/spheres with a flat bottom for easy cooking. You will get roughly 14-15 such kozhakattais from 1 1/2 cups of flour. Arrange this in a steamer and steam them for 10 minutes or until a skewer or tooth pick comes out clean or can be placed in a sauce pan with some oil for shallow frying so it can be enjoyed with a bit of crunch on the bottom following cooking. Serve with chutney or tangy Brinjal gravy. Works magic in your mouth.

Check this wonderful Brinjal in a tangy gravy

My Paruppu Usuli recipe from last week post brought back wonderful lip smacking memories from my amma’s kitchen. The unbeatable aroma of the good old Ennai Kathirikai Kozhambu (means just the simple Brinjal in tangy gravy). Just the mere mention of the name always kindles my taste buds. This post is an effort to let my amma’s divine recipe reach the whole world! 

If you have time on your hands and are craving some homemade meal, like what your mom/grandmom would have made if she were with you, then this one's for you. I made it on a Saturday morning and it lasted till Tuesday the next week. I had it with rice, dosa, chappathis, more rice and more dosas! I am also planning to make this when my amma visits me. She is going to be so impressed. 

Brinjal sometimes brings out horrible memories for some people out there, so I thought I should just Google up the word Brinjal and I found these amazing facts about the King of vegetables; at least that is what I remember Brinjal being called from my childhood. They are low in saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol, high in dietary fibre and loads of vitamins and minerals. But what is different about this. Most vegetables are, but the important part is it is an excellent food in weight loss, being low in calories and fat.

Before you guys think this is no longer a food blog and leave the page, I will move on to the recipe of the day; an authentic Tamil Nadu Kozhambu recipe. Make sure you pick out nice and small Brinjal of more or less similar size. The rest of the things you need for this recipe are readily available in the nearest supermarket.

The things you need for this Kozhambu is

8-10 small aubergines , A lime-sized ball tamarind,  1/4 cup sesame/gingely oil/til oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp powdered jaggery/sugar, small onion chopped, rice flour 1 to 2 teaspoons

For the spice powder, the things you need are;

1 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp hing/asafoetida, 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, 8 dried red chillies, 2 tbsp chana dal, 2 tbsp toor dal, 2 tbsp urad dal, 1 small coconut grated, 1 tsp salt

For tempering of the Kozhambu you need;

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 dry red chilli, 1 sprig curry leaves

The process to make this awesome tangy and spicy Kozhambu is sometimes is a bit overwhelming for laid back person like myself but is not a difficult recipe. There is a bit of roasting and grinding and soaking and frying to be done. My grandma would have said "these days’ girls have it easy, you have the blender!" She is of course right! So let’s get started.

Make crisscross cuts in the Brinjal and leave them in water until cooking. Soak tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes and extract thick milk from it. Set this aside. Heat oil in a handi or wok, add garlic and fry until fragrant. Then add onions and fry them until golden brown. Stir in tomatoes and continue cooking. Cover and cook for few minutes until the tomatoes turn pulpy and oil starts to leave the sides. Now fry the Brinjal till cooked through and semi soft. Meanwhile heat few teaspoons of oil in a kadai and add all ingredients except salt. Fry till spices are fragrant and dals and coconut have turned golden brown. Remove from heat, mix in salt and grind to a coarse powder. When the Brinjal are done and gravy thickens add this coarse powder. Bring this to boil once or twice and transfer to a serving bowl. To a wok, heat oil and then add the spices for tempering. When the mustard seeds start popping pour this over the Kozhambu recipe for a nice seasoning. Serve with anything you like rotis, rice, pongal or dosas.

Note: This kuzhambu keeps well for up to 4 days at room temperature. Make sure that you bring to boil each time before serving. It tastes best the day after it is made. I love it with dosa!

                                                     
For all of you who don’t like Brinjal for any reason, please try this wonderful tangy recipe once and you would forget why you ever disliked this vegetable. And all the rest of you please try this recipe and give your valuable comments.

Forgotten delicacy: Paruppu Usili

Ever since my childhood, I used to pester my mom to prepare this paruppu usili for me every single week. It’s a lentil crumble which can be prepared with vegetables like beans or banana flower or cluster beans or onion or carrots and so on. Even without the vegetable, this dish can be mixed with plain rice dotted with ghee. It not only adds body to a vegetable like beans but also a great flavour. But my personal favourite is when this dish is done with banana flower (vazhaipoo in Tamil). The combination of paruppu usili, mor kozhambhu which is a kind of stew made with butter-milk and garlic pepper jeera rasam (which is a clear soup eaten with rice) makes a tasty South Indian main course. Sundays are the perfect time to indulge in such traditional lunches followed by an extended afternoon siesta. 

It is very simple and easy to prepare and it is not time consuming. The things you need are readily available in your nearest supermarket. So why don't you look at this recipe and go shopping. This is the recipe which has been used in my family for years...so here am letting the secret out.

1/2 cup toor dal  Handful chana dal (split bengal gram dal)  2 red chillies  1 green chilli  pinch of asafoetida  Pinch of turmeric powder  2 cups chopped  banana flower (vazhaipoo in Tamil)  Oil  1/2 tsp mustard seeds  2 red chillies  Salt to taste

The process is so easy and it takes so nostalgic that you would make it over and over again...So just start cooking as it is a time tested recipe......

Wash and soak the dals for 3-4 hours.   Drain the dals well. Take the dals, 2 red chillies and one green chilli with some sea salt, a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida in a mixer. Rough grind the above. Don't make too smooth a paste. Remove the ends of the banana flower and any other fibrous parts and the bulb from inside. Chop them into small pieces. Place them in little water to which turmeric and salt has been added. In a steamer / cooker without whistle steam the above mixture for about 10 minutes. Once cooled, crumble it well with your hands. Try and take only as much water as is needed to cook the beans so that you don't have to throw away any water in the end. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Crackle the mustard seeds in the oil, add the 2 chillies. Then, add the crumbled usili and saute till it turns golden brown. This is the paruppu-usili. Saute for another 2-3 minutes. Paruppu Usili is ready to serve. Instead of   Banana Flower(Vazhappoo) , Cluster Beans(Kothavarangai),  carrots or French Beans can be used. Can be served with Rice. Let me know how it all went......wait for my next recipe Vathal Kozhambu

Kanjivaram idli- South Indian bun cake

Brought up in a South Indian family, Idli was and is our hot favourite, tasted divine specially with the sambhar and chutney our mom made. Me and my sister would always go for idli any day over pizza or pasta. When we were much younger we always called this Cake idli. So I started trying my hand  on making this Kanjivaram Idli my mom made with such ease. My better half loves to eat home cooked food and try new cuisines and his knowledge of idli is the simple Idli. Kanjivaram idli is something new and out of this world name for him. So following my mom's footsteps, I made the idli using the same process my mom always did remembering from watching her whilst sitting on the kitchen counter while she cooked.

The procedure she used was simple and time tested, so there is nothing to worry but just start cooking even if you are an amateur cook.

Things you need are ready available in all supermarkets.

1 cup Rice  1 cup Urad Dal  1/2 tsp Pepper  1/2 tsp Jeera  1/2 cup Coconut  2 tbsp Oil  1/2 tsp Channa Dal  A pinch of Asafoetida  A pinch of Turmeric  3/4 tsp Salt  Green Chilli  1/2 inch Ginger  A few Curry leaves

Just follow this procedure step by step and you are sure to get the best soft white fluffy idlis in town.

Soak the rice and urad dal in water for a few hours. Then, wash and grind into a coarse batter adding enough water. Keep it to ferment overnight. The next morning, heat oil in a pan and add the rest of the ingredients, fry a bit, and then mix into the batter along with required salt. The batter should be thick. After that, steam in idli moulds or greased plate for almost 10-20 minutes. But i would strongly recommend big plates for steaming as it is awesome to cut into the idli just like a cake. Serve hot with tomato Chutney or homemade sambhar. Hope some of you try this South Indian delicacy and let me know if it tasted as good as it always did.