Saturday, 22 February 2020

                                     
                                                      Palak Raita: Spinach In Yogurt

I have eaten many varieteis of raitas but this one was new for me and delicious as ever, extremely satiating side dish. An Uttarakhand delicacy. I had this in a small ton called Arakot near Kanatal where we stayed. I enjoyed it a lot  with the mandue ki roti, and am sharing the simple raita recipe with you all.

Ingredients

1 bunch spinach cleaned and chopped roughly
2 green chillies chopped
2 tspns clarified butter for tempering
A small spoon of cumin seeds
1 small spn of asafoetida
Salt to taste
Home made fresh yogurt, as required

Method
In a pan heat the clarified butter, add cumin seeds let them splutter, add asafoetida and the chillies, now add the spinach,  salt as needed, cook till the rawness is gone. Transfer into a mixing bowl and keep it ready, juast at meal time mix in the yogurt and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with roti, bhakri of any kind.

Tuesday, 18 February 2020

                 
                                                                   Baingan Ka Salan

A tasty, tangy brinjal curry, tastes great with Biryani, Paratha and phulkas too. Made with whole brinjals and aromatics. My version of it is here for you.

Ingredients

6 small brinjals, the purple and white ones with thorns on the stalks
2 onions chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
1/2 cup fresh coriander chopped fine
2 tspns of goda masala
2 tspns of chaat masala
2 tspns each of ginger and garlic paste
Salt to taste

Ingredients for grinding into a coarse powder
1/2 cup of peanuts
1 cup of grated dry coconut
1/4 cup of sesame seeds
4 dry red chillies

For tempering 
Some oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder and some asafoetida

Method

First take the brinjlas, remove the stalks leaving a little of the soft portion unremoved, give each brijal two slits, one each in opposite directions, see to it that they remain intact with the slit, put them in water and leave in the fridge for about an hour. 

In a pan take some oil and make a tempering of mustard seeds, asafoetida and some turmeric powder. Add the brinjals after removing them from  the water. Now add salt, the goda masala and chaat masala, half of thechopped  coriander, sprinkle little water and cook them covered till they are soft. Remove in a bowl and keep ready.

In the meanwhile in another pan you can add the ingredients for grinding, in a little bit of oil, roasting each separately, cooing them and making a coarse powder.

In a kadai take some oil, add the chopped onion, cook till golden, add the ginger garlic paste, cook well, add tomatoes, cook till mushy, now add the cooked brinjals, mix well, add the ground powder, remaining coriander, adjust the water as per your need. You can make a curry semi dry as I havemade or add more water. Salt can be added carefully since chaat masla has some amount of salt. Let it cook till the masala gets well infused in the brinjals. Now it is ready to serve.

Friday, 14 February 2020

                                                                         
                                                             Cutlets Valentine Special

A snack dish which I made for all my loved ones for the Valentine's Day. Red colour stands for love, let there be love and peace among all :)

Ingredients
2 potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 beetroots pressure cooked to one whistle, peeled and grated
1/2 cup semolina (rava)
1/2 cup coriander chopped fine
1/2 cup corn flour (the flour of corn we use for make di roti)
1 tspn of chilli powder
1 tspn kasuri methi crushed in your palms
1 tspn of dry mango powder
Salt as per taste

Method
In a mixing bowl after grating the pressure cooked ingredients spread the semolina and keep for about 1/2 an hour for it to soak well. Now add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Make heart shaped cutlets, keep them to shallow fry on a pan with a little oil, let them get done crisp on both sides. Serve with mint chutney, sauce or any dip of your choice.

Tuesday, 11 February 2020

                                                                   
                                              Mixed Vegetable With Amul Dairy Creamer

Mixed vegetable is again a trial dish which turned out to be really tasty and I would like to share it with my friends. Here goes my way of making it. The addition of the dairy creamer adds a creamy twist and a lovely taste to the dish.

Ingredients
1 broccoli (florets)
1/2 a chopped cabbage
1/2 cup green peas
2 onions finely chopped
2 tspns of ginger garlic pounded freshly
1 large tomato
1 tspn chilli powder
!/4 tspn of turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander chopped
2 tspns full of Amul dairy creamer (the milk powder)

Method
In a pan take some oil add the turmeric powder, add ginger garlic, wait till its rawness disappears. Add the onions, saute till well done, add tomatoes, little coriander, cook till done, add the chilli powder, salt and now add the broccoli, cabbage and the peas. Let these cook in the moisture created by the cooked gravy. Cook covered till all the vegetables get done. Lastly add the dairy creamer, just give it a mix and garnish with fresh coriander. The dish is ready.

Saturday, 8 February 2020

                       
                                           Stuffed Mushrooms In Spinach  Almond Gravy

An experi-mental vegetable dish which turned out to be very palatable! I thought this would be different in taste and texture. Goes well with phulka, chapati and parathas.

Ingredients for the gravy
 Pressure cook these ingredients to 1 whistle with no water added, once cool grind to a paste 
1 bunch of spinach cleaned 
8 almonds
1 large tomato chopped roughly
8 garlic cloves
2 tspns ginger grated
3 green chillies slit (adjust according to your taste)

Garam masala to be added later not while grinding

Mushrooms to be stuffed
3  boiled potatoes, peeled and mashed with salt, dry mango powder, some chilli powder, chopped coriander
8 mushrooms big sized, middle portion scooped out, to be filled with the above mixture and either grilled in an oven with a little oil or you can even pan roast them. Keep them ready to add in the gravy.
Now in a pan take some butter, add a bit of turmeric powder, add the spinach gravy, salt to taste, some garam masala. Let it cook a bit, add the mushrooms carefully to se that the filling does not come out. Just mix gently and let the mushrooms get coated by the gravy, enjoy with the roti of your choice. The picture below of the stuffed mushrooms.

Saturday, 1 February 2020

                                                                       
                                                                      Egg Tokku

Egg tokku is a dish I learnt from one of the Fb food sites. I forget the name, but yes, the credit goes to this particular site  for this awesome preparation. Here goes the version of what I recollect.

Ingredients

6 eggs boiled and peeled and made into two parts lengthwise
3 large onions chopped thin long pieces
About 10 curry leaves
3 tomatoes pureed after blanching and peeling
2 tspns of ginger garlic pounded in a mortar pestle
2 tspns of coriander powder
2 tspns of chilli powder (adjust as per taste)
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh coriander

Method

In a pan heat some coconut oil, add the curry leaves, saute, add onions, saute till golden brown, add ginger garlic, cook till the rawness disappears, add salt chilli powder, coriander powder and mix, now add the tomato puree, chopped coriander, wait till the oil is separated, add the eggs, stir gently so you do not break them. cook for a while and serve with malabar parotta, phulka or chapati.