Cottage Cheese Curry With A Southern Touch

An experi-mental dish again, a very tasty, nutty creamy, spicy curry to go wth rotis and pulao.A must try for paneer lovers, here goes my recipe...

Ingredients

250 gms of paneer/cottage cheese cut into cubes

For roasting and making into a fine powder

1/2 tspn shahi jeera

1 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn coriander seeds

6 white pepper corns

6 black pepper corns

10 curry leaves

1 inch ginger roughly chopped

8 garlic cloves

1/4 cup dry grated coconut

Roast the above in very little oil, grind and keep ready

Ingredients for curry

2 onions finely chopped

 2 onions thinly juliened

2 tomatoes finely chopped

Juice of half a lime

1 tetra pack of coconut milk

1 tspn kitchen king masala

1 tspn chilli powder

1 tspn kasuri methi

Salt to taste

Freshly chopped coriander for garnishing

Method

 In a pan take some oil, add the finely chopped onions, saute till golden, add the chopped tomatoes, fry well till done, now add the ground masala, mix well, add the juliened onion, fry well, add the tomato puree, lime juice and all the spices, mix well and cook, now add the paneer and saute for about three to four minutes, add coconut milk and mix well,  you can slit a couple of chillies, fry them and add at the end(optional) do not cook for too long else the milk may curdle. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander.

 

                                                                        

                                                                         Tomato Bhat

A simple, yummy recipe I learnt from a friend by name Prabha who was my neighbour. Many years ago we lost touch since she shifted from there, she will always be my friend wherever she is and this rice always will keep her in my memory. Thanks Prabha and here goes my recipe...

Ingredients

2 cups of long grained rice, I used Basmati

2 large onions finely chopped

3 tomatoes finely chopped

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder as per your taste

 2 tspns of Saar masala or Sambar masala

Juice of half a lime

Oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder and asafoetida for tempering

In a pressure cooker take oil as per requirement, add mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder, now add the chopped onions, a chopped chilli if you like, saute till golden, add the tomatoes and all the rest of the ingredients, cook till mushy. Now add the rice and mix well, add 4 cups of water, cover and cook to 2 whistles. Transfer to a serving bowl and then serve garnished with chopped coriander.

 

                                                          

                                                          Prawn Rice With Coconut Milk

An easy rice preparation which would be a treat for prawn lovers like my son Nidhi who taught me this preparation, the hit of the pepper and the awesome nutty flavour of the coconut milk which makes the rice moist and soft, will be very satiating on the palette. The recipe is here for you....

Ingredients

300 gms of prawns, shelled, deveined, marinated in salt, turmeric powder and 2 tspns of garam masala

2 cups of basmati rice soaked for about half an hour

2 tspns ghee

2 bay leaves

1 tspn of whole pepper corns

2 cups of  coconut milk

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander for garnishing

Method

Take deep pan, add the ghee, add the bay leaves and the peppercorns, once they release an aroma add the prawns, salt and stir a bit, then add the rice, 2 cups of water and 2 cups of coconut milk. Mix well, leave it to cook covered till done. Once done garnish with chopped coriander and serve.

 

Dal Vada With Coconut Chutney

Dal Vada the quintessential snack which any South Indian would swear by!! I love the crunchy from outside, tasty, spicy and soft from inside vada, would have it at anytime of the day. Specially great with a cup of strong filter coffee. My recipe goes here for you...

Ingredients

1 cup chana (Bengal gram) dal soaked for about four hours

An inch of grated ginger

2 onions chopped fine

3 green chillies

10 curry laves chopped fine

Some freshly pounded black pepper corns

Fresh chopped coriander

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method

Drain the soaked dal and take it in a mixi jar, add the ginger, coriander, green chillies, and grind it to a coarse mix. Add a bit of water if needed, transfer to a mixing bowl and mix the chopped onions, curry leaves, coriander, salt, the pepper corn. Make equal sized balls and press between palms to flatten them. heat oil in a pan and fry the vadas on medium heat so they get done from inside but do not burn from outside. Fry to a crisp golden brown colour, spread them on a tissue for absorbing any extra oil. Enjoy them with coconut chutney or any sauce of your choice. 

 

                                              

                                                                   Honey Cheese Toast

A favourite dessert which we had at a mall in Bangkok, Thailand!! What a dish, the warm crisp toast, the honey and the combination of the salty cheese and the chilled ice cream!! mmm,  so tasty and so palatable that, so long after the trip none of us have forgotten it. The heavy rain, the walk through the rain and then this yummy treat.  A must try... my daughter Ashwini made it and passed on the recipe to me, here goes my version of it.

Ingredients

Brioche bread, you need to cut it into thick slices

Vanilla ice cream

Honey

Butter

Cheese, I used kraft cheese (grated)

Method

On a skillet keep the bread slice and toast it to a crisp golden colour with butter on it, transfer to a plate, first drizzle honey as per your taste, keep a scoop of ice cream, then again drizzle some honey, now grate cheese on it, as much as you want and have it warm to get the best taste.

             

                                                                      Sweet Sour Okra

A dish that is very much popular in North Karnataka, it is called Gojju in Kannada and Kayras in Marathi. Sweet, sour, spicy and tasty to go with either rice or chapatis. My recipe....

Ingredients

250 gms of okra washed, wiped and chopped into medium sized pieces

1/4 cup of powder made of roasted peanuts

1/4 cup powder made of roasted sesame seeds

2 tbsp of tamarind pulp

2 tspns of jaggery powder

1 tbsp of saar masala or sambar masala

1 tspn of chilli powder

Salt to taste

Coriander for garnishing

Method

First in a kadhai take some oil, make a tempering of mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder, add the chopped okra and cook till almost done, now add the powders, the tamarind and the jaggery. Add water enough to mix all the ingredients well, a little to a curry consistency. Bring this to a boil on slow flame. Once done add more water if needed or adjust as you would like to have, whether with rice or roti. Transfer to a serving bowl once done, garnish with some fresh coriander and savour it.

 

  Mushroom Gravy With Cream Cheese And Thousand Island Sauce

This is an experi-mental dish which was so amazingly delicious that I would recommend as a must try. Awesome with phulkas and rotis. Here goes my recipe.....

Ingredients

250 gms of mushrooms washed and chopped to medium sized pieces

2 large onions chopped fine

2 large tomatoes chopped fine

8 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger pounded

2 tspns of thousand island sauce

1 tbsp of cream cheese (garlic cilantro)

2 tspns of kashmiri chilli powder

!/2 cup chopped coriander

Salt to taste, use wisely since the sauces have salt in them

Method

First of all in a pan with olive oil saute mushrooms till they are cooked and change colour. Keep aside. In the same pan add some olive oil, saute the onions to a golden brown colour, add the ginger garlic, cook well, add the tomatoes cook till mushy,  add the chilli powder,the sauces mentioned, the coriander and salt to taste, mix well and now add the mushrooms and cook till they get well mixed. Your dish is ready to serve.