Garlic fried rice

Sometime simple is sooo good , this fried  rice is incredibly simple and full on flavour perfect for an easy weekday lunch . 

You need 

1 leftover bowl of rice ( white / brown)

Garlic minced - 1 teaspoon

Egg - 1 beaten 

Soy sauce -1 small teaspoon 

Tabasco sauce / sriracha sauce - per taste ( optional)

Salt & pepper 

Oil - 1 teaspoon 

Spring onion to garnish 

Heat oil in wok , add minced garlic.

Add beaten egg , scramble for a minute 

Add soy sauce , tobacco sauce salt and pepper.

Mix for 30 seconds , add rice.

Mix well, turn off heat, add chopped spring onion.

Serve hot 

Lunch in a bowl - Mexican rice

Another easy and tasty rice option for easy weekday lunch. Perfect as side dish to your mexican meal plan or have this as main dish, either ways its great.


You need :

Long grain white rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small , very finely chopped
Tomato puree- 2 tablespoon / finely chopped 1 large tomato
Ginger paste - 1/3 teaspoon
Garlic paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Chicken / Veg stock - 3 cups
Cooking oil - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste


In a nonstick pan / wok. Add oil, heat it on medium heat for half a minute.

Add onion and fry it till light golden for a minute

Add ginger garlic paste and if you are using cumin powder .

Fry this mix for a minute, add very little water if mixture starts sticking.

Add tomato puree.

Add rice in this mix . mix well an turn heat to low.

Fry for a minute , add salt

Add stock, cover and cook for 12-14 minutes. Till rice is 85-90% done and most of the liquid has evaporated.

Turn off the heat. Let it remain covered for 5 minutes. Rice would be done by now.

Serve hot.

Puy lentil salad

I love to watch food shows. Sometimes even when its less about food and more about everything else (Hell's kitchen anyone ?? ), :) 

This salad recipe today is inspired from Rachel Khoo's show 'Little Paris Kitchen'. I say inspired because instead of cooking the lentil with Bay leaves and thyme i soaked the lentil overnight in plain water with bay leaves and thyme.

Here is the recipe for this easy , healthy and wonderfully tasty salad.

Soak Puy lentil overnight (6-8 hours) with Bay leaves and thyme in plain water , drain water , remove bay leaves and thyme.

1/2 Beetroot - sliced thinly
Goat / Feta cheese 
Sea salt to taste
Dill Vinaigrette
Olive oil

For Dill Vinaigrette

Fresh Dill - 2
Olive oil - 1 table spoon
Lemon juice- 1 teaspoon
red wine vinegar - 1 splash

Mix together in an electric blender to a smooth dressing like consistency.

For salad

Mix all ingredients for salad , serve immediately . Tasty and super healthy !

Puliyodharai Rice

Before moving to Bangalore ‘South Indian’ food for us was the once a week dosa / idli at Sagar Ratna restaurant . Ofcourse we had our occasional order of curd rice or south indian thali but most of it was eating outside. Beside idli sambhar  we hardly attempted cooking this cuisine at home. Once we moved to Bangalore and also because of this blog which has motivated me to try out new things , I am beginning to experiment with the food from the four wonderful south of india.

I have already shared Kaikari Ishtew on this blog, which now is a family favourite and make it atleast once in a week.  Today I am sharing Tamrind rice recipe , a popular tamil dish, i specially love it for its tangy flavors.  There are few variation of this recipe, i followed one from the famous blog Sailu's Kitchen . My family is not very fond of Gingelly oil so i replaced it with sunflower oil and removed peanuts, since i am allergic to the same.

Additionally i also made large batch of Puliyogare Powder Mix (also available in store , but taste infinitely better if you make  at home) and have now stored in a air tight container, it makes the whole process a lot simpler  & faster for next time around.

Ingredients 

For Puliyogare Powder Mix (good for 6-8 portions)

Coriander seeds - 3 tablespoons
Fenugreek seeds - 1 table spoon 
Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon 
Sesame seeds (white) - 2 tablespoon 
Curry leaves - about 20 (better if slightly dried)
Black pepper - 1 tablespoon 
Red chili - 3/4 (more if you prefer spicier)
Split Bengal Gram /Chana Dal - 1 1/2 table spoon 
Split Black Gram (husked) / Urad Dal - 1 table spoon 

Roast all ingredients on medium flame (preferably cast iron skillet) or any heavy bottom pan for 8-10 minutes. Keep checking the temperature to ensure non of these burn.

Transfer it in a blender and once cool enough , blend into fine powder.

You would need about a tablespoon of this powder for 2 people portion, store the rest in airtight container in a cool dry place.



Ingredients for Rice

White rice (cook till almost done)
Tamarind  paste - 1 large teaspoon, I used  Dabur homemade tamarind paste, else you can soak tamarind in warm water for half an hour and extract pulp.
Jaggery / Gur - 1/2 teaspoon (1 small coin shape)
Mustard seeds -1/3 teaspoon
Split Bengal Gram /Chana Dal - 1  tea spoon 
Split Black Gram (husked) / Urad Dal - 1 tea spoon 
Deseeded Red chilli - 1 
Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon
Salt to taste 
roasted groundnuts - 1 tablespoon 
cooking oil - 1 large tablespoon.
Curry leaves - 5-6 leaves 

Method 

Cook rice in plain water till almost done (90-95%), spread rice on a cool surface and mix salt and little bit oil.

Heat cooking oil in the pan,  trun heat to medium , add mustard seeds and curry leaves, let it splutter for 10 seconds

Add chana dal & Urad dal, let it fry for a minute or so till it becomes deep golden.

Add red chillies, tamarind paste, jaggery, turmeric powder and turn heat to low, cook this mix on low heat for about 8 - 10 minutes, add water if the mixture thickens.

Add salt to the mix, at this stage it should be a medium paste like consistency.

Turn off the heat now.

Add 1 table spoon of Puliyogare Powder Mix.  Mix well. 

Now add rice to this mixture, mix well (fold it instead of mixing vigorously so rice doesn't break)

Add roasted peanuts on top.

You can serve it immediately or leave it for half an hour or so for the flavor to develop further.

P.S. Keep tasting on each stage to adjust the 'spiciness' per your preference.

Lunch in a bowl - Egg fried rice

The 'lunch in a bowl' series got suspended for a while since family, festival and whole lot of feasting took over in last couple of months. Before we start the next round of feasting around christmas and new year, its time for some simple and nourishing dishes and so i brought back the 'lunch in the bowl' series.Today's dish was the simplest to put together and was perfect for a bowl of leftover rice.

Here is how i made my lunch today.

1 leftover bowl of Brown rice , you can use fresh rice / white rice , whatever you have in your pantry / fridge.
1 tea spoon cooking oil
One small onion - finely chopped
1 clove of garlic - finely chopped / grated
Vegetables - finely chopped , you can use whatever left over vegetable you have , make sure you finely chop it.
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon All in one stir fry sauce (if you don't have this sauce, mix bit of tomato sauce, soy & chili sauce)
2 eggs whisked

Salt to taste

Ensure all prep is completed before cooking starts 

Prep all the ingredients and ensure its ready to add.

Heat the wok, add oil

Once the oil is hot, add onion & garlic , stir on high heat for 30 seconds

Add rest of the chopped vegetables , add salt, stir for another minute

Add vinegar and all in one sauce

Add cooked rice

Mix everything well

Turn heat to  medium , add whisked egg , mix everything well , ensure egg gets spread evenly and cover rice. 

Turn off heat , add bit of cracked pepper and serve. 

Kaikari Ishtew

After a rather heavy lunch yesterday, mom and me wanted to make something simple and flavorful for dinner so we finally zeroed on lemon rice and Kaikari Ishtew .

Kaikari ishtew is a coconut based dish usually had with appam. We tried it with rice and turned out equally good. I followed Sanjeev Kapoor recipe from Matering the art of Indian cooking  with slight tweaks (reduced the chilli & replaced coconut oil with sunflower oil)
You need :

Carrot - 1 medium cubed
Potato - 1 medium cubed
Cauliflower - 1 small cut in florets
Onion - 2 small chopped finely
Ginger, Garlic paste - 1.5 teaspoon
Cooking oil - 1 teaspoon
Bay leaves - 2
Cinnamon sticks - 2,  1" sticks
Cloves - 4
Star anise - 2
Curry leaves - 10/12 leaves
Green chillies - 2 whole (recipe called for 4 chillies stemmed and slit)
Coconut milk - 1 full cup
Salt to taste
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon




To prepare the Stew

In a wok add a glass of water and bring to boil.

When water comes to boil, add vegetables and let it cook for 2-3 minutes

Drain hot water and toss vegetables in cold water so it stops cooking.

In the wok add oil, once hot add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, chillies, curry leaves  and chopped onions.

Saute for a minute

add ginger garlic paste and stir , let the whole mix cook for couple of minutes on low heat

Drain water from vegetables and add it to the wok, add salt and coconut milk

Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes

Once vegetables cooks (make sure it doesn't overcook and becomes mushy)

Add garam masala powder , mix well. Turn off from heat, serve hot !

Achari Bhindi

Bhindi (lady finger) always evoke strong reaction from most of the household, people either love it or like my sister can't stand the 'slimy nature' of this simple vegetable. 

However due to its high fibre content it's highly recommended for good health so I try and incorporate at least once every week . I mostly cook it like a dry vegetable in bit of mustard oil but once in a while make achari bhindi, slightly spicy and perfect with plain parathas .  it's  also a great and easy way to use the leftover masala bit from your regular achar.

This is what you need :

Serves 2 

Okra / lady finger / Bhindi (250 -300 gms ) - sliced into 1 inch long pieces

Onion -1 large - sliced very thinly

Mustard oil / any cooking oil - 1 1/2 table spoon

Achar masala -1 table spoon 

Turmeric powder -1/3 teaspoon 

Salt - to taste 

In a wok / heavy pan heat one table spoon of oil on medium flame.

Add sliced Lady fingers and sauté for a couple of minutes( be gentle while sautéing else it would break ).

Turn heat to low and cover and cook till about

80% done.

Remove from wok, keep aside.

In the same wok add remaining half table spoon oil add sliced onion.

On medium heat cook onion for 2-3 minutes till it becomes transparent  and little soggy.

Add achar masala, salt and turmeric and mix well and continue to cook for a minute or so.

Now add back cooked bhindi and gently mix all well.

Turn heat to low and cook till bhindi is completely done.

Serve hot with parathas, also great as a side dish with Rice.

Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice)

A simple variation on plain rice, perfect for the time when you want something fancier than plain rice and yet not take the complications of Biryani.

Although simple it's packs quiet a punch in terms of flavour. Bonus it also brings goodness of cumin. Cumin  is  featured  prominently in Mexican, Mediterranean, Indian, Middle Eastern, and certain Chinese cuisine. 
Cumin seeds contain a good amount of iron. Iron is an essential element for the formation of hemoglobin in the blood required for transport of oxygen.Cumin helps control stomach pain, indigestion, diarrhoea, nausea and morning sickness.For further detail read here http://completewellbeing.com/article/small-cumin-big-benefits

Now to the dish , 
you need :
Rice - important to use good quality basmati rice 
Clarified butter (Ghee)  / cooking oil - 1 table spoon 
Cumin - 1 teaspoon
Green chilli (optional)-1 sliced 
Salt - to taste 
Preparation : 
Soak rice in room temperature water for 10 mins, drain and leave aside.
 In a wok / heavy pan  add clarified butter and heat on medium flame. 
Once hot add cumin seeds let it splutter for few seconds . Be careful about the heat so that cumin turns golden and not dark.
Add green chilli ( if using) Now add drained rice, mix well for a minute add salt and turn off the heat.
Add water Transfer it into rice cooker / pressure cooker / microwave bowl to cook,  as you would normally cook rice. Rice can be cooked in pan / wok directly over medium heat in about 10- 15 mins, adjust water as required.I garnished with some finely chopped spring onions.Jeera Rice is excellent to serve with rich gravies , dal makhani etc , its simple and subtle flavour is excellent to compliment the richness of gravies.

Vegetable Pulao

A favourite potluck lunch, a meal in itself , full of flavours and healthy. Serve it on its own or bit of curd / raita on sides.

Serves 2

Rice - wash drain and keep aside 

Ghee (clarified butter) / Cooking oil -1 table spoon 

Onion -1 medium finely chopped

Ginger garlic paste (or crushed) -1 teaspoon

Tomato -1 table spoon purée or crushed 

Green chillies -  1 finely chopped

Vegetables - assorted chopped small - 1 cup

Spices (you can eliminate any if its not in pantry or you don't have a taste for it), I used 

Bay leaves -2 

Cinnamon - 2"stick

Peppers- 5/6

Cloves -2/3

Star anise -1

Mace 

Coriander seeds -10/12

Salt - per taste

Turmeric 1/3 spoon 

Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon 

Coriander leaves for garnishing.

In a heavy wok, add Ghee and keep the flame to medium. Once hot add all the aromatics ( spices) , sauté for 30 seconds. Add ginger garlic paste sauté for further 30 seconds.

Now add onion and green chillies (if using) and sauté on low heat for a minute. Now add all the vegetables, turn heat to high, sauté for another minute add tomato purée, salt, turmeric and mix well for a minute or so. Now add rice , turn off the heat, mix well for a minute.

Add Garam masala , transfer into a microwave bowl add water and microwave on high for 20 mins. In case you are not using microwave you can use pressure cooker or rice cooker . In pressure cooker cook for 2 whistles and in rice cooker per the instruction. 

Vegetable Pulao ready to be served in 30 minutes.

Lunch in bowl - Spaghetti Aglio E Olio with mushroom and Garlic & some pasta gyaan

Today's lunch in a bowl was a super simple affair. It was modified from the version I shared earlier (here), still very very flavourful.

For this version you need : 

Spaghetti - boiled in salted water (al dente)

Garlic - 3/4 large pods , sliced thinly 

Dry red chilies -2/3 deseeded and sliced 

Button mushroom - half cup , cubed 

Olives -4/5 sliced thinly 

Basil leaves -3/4 large leaves 

Olive oil - 1 table spoon 

Heat oil in a wok , add red chillies & garlic , sauté for a min on medium heat till garlic turns slightly golden.

Add mushroom and olives , sauté for couple of mins.

Add boiled pasta, tear up basil leave , sauté for couple of mins , turn off heat.  Garnish with black pepper and basil leaf serve hot .. Super simple 

And now for some pasta sauce pairing I read recently.

Contoured pasta : Are great for trapping chucks of vegetable or meat.

Tubular , Short pasta : Are perfect for holding viscous sauces.

Long thin pasta : Are best with oil or cream based sauces . 

Lunch in a bowl - Egg Biryani

For my lunch in a bowl today,  I tried this super simple variation of all time fav biryani. I used eggs , you can use any meat or lots of vegetable.

Things you need :

One small red onion - sliced thinly 

Green peas - 1 cup (frozen or fresh) 

Ginger - 1/2 spoon paste or crushed finely

Garlic -2/3 pods crushed or half a spoon paste 

Bay leaf - 1 

Star anise -1

Cinnamon - 2 , 1/2" pieces

Cardamon -    1

Red chilli -1

Black peppers - 5-6

Biryani masala -1 table spoon

Garam masala -1/2 tea spoon

Turmeric -1/3 teaspoon 

Salt - to taste 

Cooking oil -1 large table spoon (I prefer ghee for biryani)

Egg - 2 boiled for 8-10 mins

Rice - 1 portion 

For rice preparation 

In a deep pan , boil 2/3 cups of water, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, bay leaf, star anise and 1 stick of cinnamon.

 

Once water comes to complete boil , add rice mix well, cook uncovered on high heat for 3-4 mins , switch off and cover the pan completely, this should help rice cook in its own steam.

Check for rice after 6-7 mins , it should be 60-70% cooked, drain all extra water.

Rinse with normal temperature water and leave aside.

For masala prep :

While you are cooking rice, in a wok add 1//2 of cooking oil , once hot add cardamom, pepper, red chilli and sauté on medium heat for 30 seconds, add ginger garlic and sauté for further 30 seconds.

Now add sliced onion, peas and turn heat to low, fry for couple of minutes and add biryani masala (adjust for water when ever mixture gets too dry or starts sticking ), add turmeric powder and salt.

Cover and cook for 5 mins on low heat.

After 5 min remove cover add boiled eggs and water , turn up the heat to medium and cook for further 2-3 mins, the consistency of masala should be of thin paste (not too watery) 

Turn off heat, remove masala from wok and keep aside.

In the same wok add remaining oil (1/2 tablespoon), turn on the heat to medium, layer half of rice in the wok.

Now add the cooked masala all over the rice, spread evenly.

Now layer the remaining half of rice on top, covering the masala completely .

Sprinkle garam masala on top add 1/4 cup of water from side ( around the edge of rice), turn heat to lowest level and cover completely .

After 2-3 mins turn off the heat and leave it rest. Ensure that lid is firmly secured so rice gets to cook completely  in its own steam.

After 5 mins quickly check if rice is done, else let it rest for some more time. Once done sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves for garnish and serve.

I like to have this biryani on its own you can have a bit of raita / curd on the side.

Lunch in a bowl - Chicken noodles

Given that I work from home most days of the week, I usually want to have something light for lunch, easy to prepare and eat between meetings and emails. So I thought I will start a series with 'lunch in a bowl' , will try to keep it quick and nourishing.

First up : Chicken noodles 

This is how I went

Boiled noodles in salted water, till al dente (2-3 mins before the  require time)

Drain, rinse under tap water - so that it stops cooking, set aside.

Thinly slice 1/2" of ginger, 1 clove of garlic.

Slice up all the vegetable you have in fridge sufficient for one portion. I had onion , yellow pepper, cauliflower. You can add mushroom, capsicum, cabbage, carrot , whatever is there .

In a wok heat one table spoon of cooking oil , once hot add the sliced up vegetables , ginger and garlic and stir on high for couple if minutes.

In a bowl mix half a teaspoon each of  soya  sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce,  1 teaspoon each of vinegar and spring roll sauce (current favourite love the mix of chilli and something sweet), few drops of Tabasco sauce - for extra kick and 1 tablespoon water

Add this mix to the wok, turn down the heat to medium .

To this mix add bite size pieces if boneless chicken(or any other leftover meat you prefer)

Cook for couple of minutes. On medium heat till chicken is almost done. Adjust water as required.

Now add the noodles , sauté around of couple of minutes so noodles is completely covered in sauce .

Turn up the heat, break an egg into a bowl, beat up nicely and add this mix to wok.

Quickly mix it in wok so it covers all the noodles completely, stir for half a minute, check for salt and adjust per taste.

Turn of the heat, garnish with some onion leaves and serve yourself. Your quick and easy lunch done in under 15 mins.

Arbi masala

I did a bit of experiment in the kitchen and since it turned out good , thought I would share with you all. 

This is what you need : 

 Arbi / Colocassia  (medium size) : 250 gm

Green tomato : 2 medium - sliced thinly

Ajwain( carom seed) : 1/3 of tea spoon

Onion : 1 medium - sliced thinly

Amchur powder / chat masala - 1 tea spoon 

Red chilli whole (deseeded ) : 2-3 small

Garlic 2-3 cloves - finely slice

Oil: 1 tbs ( mustard or any cooking oil)

Salt 

Turmeric powder 

Now boil the arbi in pressure cooker for one whistle, remove from heat, drain and leave aside to cool.

Finely slice onion, tomatoes , garlic . Make a incision in chilli and  remove seeds ( it gives a nice someky flavour without the heat) 

Once arbi is cooled enough to handle, peel the skin ( be careful at this stage some variety really itches, in that case rub oil and lemon juice on hands before handling arbi)

Slice up boiled arbi in 4/6 pieces length wise.

Now heat oil in wok, once it smokes turn down the heat to low  for a minute, add ajwain seeds, garlic , red chilli and fry for 30 seconds. 

Turn the heat to medium

Add onion and fry for 2-3 minutes till it turns brown.

Add sliced tomatoes, turmeric powder , fry for minute , cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add arbi and mix well so masala covers completely .

Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on low heat till arbi is almost done

Add chat masala / amchur powder and salt and cook for 2-3 minutes till arbi is done.

Serve hot with roti / paratha 

 

Bharwa karela (Stuffed bitter gourd)

While there are various version of stuffed bitter gourd,  i usually end up making this version cuase its light and takes less time to cook.

So here is the recipe

For stuffing

Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 inch , chopped/ grated / paste
Tomato - 2 small size, finely chopped
Chaat masala / Amchoor powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - per taste
Chilli powder - per taste
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cooking oil


To prep the karela, clean them thoroughly and make a slit length wise to open it up , scoop out the inside pulp & seed and keep aside for stuffing (discard if its mostly seed)

Rub some salt all over and inside these karelas and leave aside till you prep the stuffing - rubbing of salt takes out the bitterness and makes them slightly tender. Don't leave for more than 30 minutes else it be too soggy.

Now to the stuffing

Heat oil, add onion , saute for couple of minutes till it becomes slightly golden. Add the inside pulp from karela if using.
Add Tomatoes , further saute for couple of minutes.
Add chilli powder, turmeric, chaat masala and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes .
Since there is no water added be careful about the masala sticking to the pan or better still use a non stick pan.
Once all masala mixes well, add salt and remove from heat

Now clean karelas  carefully so all the salt is removed. Stuff this mix in the karela. If you are feeling a little 'gourmet' you can use a cotton thread to truss it else stuff tightly and roll over so the mixture does not spill.

Pour  a little bit oil on top and sprinkle garam masala. You can now cook this stuffed karela over stove in the pan or like me bake it oven for 30 mins. If using microwave use the convection setting 15 mins.

Best served as side dish for roti / naan/ paratha 

Spinach garlic stir fry

An absolute dinner time favorite, this side dish is healthy , yummy and the best part takes 5 mins to assemble and cook.

Things you need

Spinach leaves - wash thoroughly and pat dry (preferably baby spinach, on more mature leaves remove stalk completely else its little chewy)

cloves of garlic - sliced thinly

toasted sesame seeds- this is for texture really. On a warm tawa/ iron girdle  (not hot else it would burn), toss a teaspoon of sesame seed , roll around for a min, till you get golden brown color, remove immediately.

Sesame oil -  for a slightly nutty flavour

burnt chilly garlic dressing (completely optional - i picked this from fab india and it goes well with lot of stir fry dishes ), you can use a drizzle of tobsaco sauce, peri peri sauce whatever you have in your pantry to give a little heat to the dish. (Skip if you are not in mood)

Salt - a pinch


Now the easy part.

In a hot wok, add a tea spoon of cooking oil (sometimes i don't use oil at  all), add garlic , stir it for 30 seconds.

Add spinach leaves , give it a good stir for a minute.

Add the chilly garlic dressing (1/2 tablespoon) , a generous splash of sesame oil (1 table spoon).

Turn off the heat , add salt , toss well for 20 seconds

Sprinkle toasted sesame seed.

Serve right away .

P.S. This is best to be cooked just before serving , reheating doesn't go too well with it.

Serving suggestions :

Hot Roti / Paratha and curry of your choice. This works as an excellent side dish.

Grilled chicken and instead of baked potatoes / vegetables , you could serve up this stir fry

From mum's kitchen - Kele ka kofta

I had some family members coming over lunch this sunday. There was a quiet a bit of spread, chicken pepper fry, chana dal, chicken tikka curry, pualo and kele ka kofta. Since i learnt to make kele ka kofta from mum very recently and is quiet a hit with husband, thought will share with you all.

Ingredients :

For kofta  

Raw bananas - 3/4

Garam masala powder 

salt to taste 

finely chopped green chillies (quantity depends on tolerance of heat, if you serving to kids, skip this)

finely chopped 1/2 inch ginger 

1/2 tbs amchoor or chat masala powder 

posto dana (optional) 

oil for frying

For curry 

Bay leaves -2/3

Cardamom -1 crushed

2 medium size onion, finely chopped or roughly grounded 

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbps 

Cumin powder -1 teaspoon

Dhaniya powder -1.5 teaspoon

Turmeric 

red chilli powder 

Salt to taste 

2 tbps Oil 

Preparation:

• For kofta, using a large pressure cooker , cook raw bananas (with skin on) for 2 whistles. Take off from heat, let it cool (10-15 mins)
• Once cool, peel the bananas, mash properly , add  chillies, ginger, salt, chaat powder, garam masala and roll into small balls.
• Spread posto dana on to a small plate and roll these koftas on to it, remove excess.
• Heat oil in kadahi and fry these koftas till they nicely browned all over.
• Remove and keep aside on a kitchen towel to drain extra oil.

For gravy.

• In hot oil   bay leaves and single crushed cardamom.
• Add onion, fry for 2-3 mins till it becomes slightly brown / golden.
• Add ginger - garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minute till it mixes well
• Add cumin, coriander, red chilli and turmeric powder , fry for 2-3 mins , add water if this masala sticks.
• Cover and let it cook for 5 mins on low heat.
• remover cover, add salt (be careful, as there is salt in koftas too) and water to form the gravy base.
• Let it come to boil
• Add half tea spoon of garam masla
• Cover and cook till gravy cooks completely(3-4 minutes) , turn off the heat

For serving 

Couple of minutes before serving layer koftas in the serving bowl , add gravy on top , check for salt, serve piping hot with rice / pulao.

adraki gobhi

I was in rush to finish off lunch yesterday to attend the HP indiblogger meet , so  was looking for a easy and quick to make recipe for cauliflower.

As always saneev kapoor to rescue. It's deceptively simple (so simple that you might be tempted to tweak / add ingredients... please don't , it taste great as it is !)

Here is what you need.

Cauliflower - cut into medium size florets
Cumin - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric - powder / paste - turmeric is in season these days , got some from my local super market, now i am using the paste, somehow feels better :)
Red chilli powder / paste
Ginger - paste and few thin slices cut
Tomato - one medium size, chopped roughly
Vinegar - 1 teaspoon  - soak some thinly sliced ginger in it.
Lemon - half
Salt


Now the process

soak the cauliflower in water , add a little salt and turmeric powder / paste

Heat oil in non stick shallow pan (i used normal kadhai  but the masala tends to stick since there is no water, so better to use non stick pan)

add cumin to splutter

add ginger, red chilli paste

saute for couple of  minutes

drain cauliflower , add this to the pan

add salt &  half of vinegar soaked ginger

mix well,

cover and cook on low heat till cauliflower is half done

add roughly chopped tomatoes,

cover and cook till done

add remaining vinegar soaked ginger and juice of half lemon just before removing from fire

serve hot.

I served with matar jeera rice pulao and tadka chana dal,Sure it will taste great with roti / paratha

Total time taken : 20 minutes  and tastes amazing!!

P.S. Finally didnt attend the meet :( blame it on sheer laziness & crying my eyes out while watching Stepmom for the nth time

Quicky lunch for one - Chicken Tikka Masala

I know chicken tikka curry doesnt  exactly sound like a quick and easy meal, but if you have been entertaining like crazy for last few days and now have refrigerator full of tupperware boxes with leftovers just sufficient for one/ two  person, this could be a easy meal.

What you need

Few pieces of left over chicken tikka ( super easy , will share recipe in next post )

Onions - roughly chopped or if you are using smaller onions like  i did , just cut in halves.

Tomatoes (2, preferably pureed - boil in water for couple of minutes, remove skin , blend )

Chicken curry masala (i usually perfer making my own masalas for gravies but for a working day these can be real life savers)

And ofcorse, oil, salt & turmeric


Now the easy part.

Step 1 :

Heat oil in kadhai, add chopped onions, fry for few minutes. Once onion become slighly translucent add pureed tomatoes, cook for few minutes on medium heat (no need for continuous stirring , just make sure it doesn't stick to pan, add water if required . This whole process should take about 5-7 minutes.

Step 2 : 

Now add turmeric powder, salt (be mindful, tikka would have salt of its own so adjust accordingly) and chicken masala powder, mix well and stir for couple of minutes, add water , turn the heat to simmer and cover and cook for 5-7 minute ( this is when you answer few calls, reply to emails :) ) 

Step 3  ( you can skip if you want , in that case leave it on heat for few more minutes so onion and tomato gets a right gravy consistency) 

Once gravy cooks thoroughly, turn off the heat, using a hand blender ( in case you dont have one wait for it to cool a little before transferring it in blender jar ) , mix this in kadhai itself for  a minute. 

Step 4 : 

Turn on the heat , add your chicken tikkas, cook for couple of minutes on high heat. Check salt 

And serve with rice / chappati ...comforting meal for one is ready ! 

Kitchen adventure - Malai kofta

It's been all about food & family last couple of weeks, while we revisited some old recipes, also tried hand at few new and pleasently they all turned out nice and easy to cook.

This one is from Sanjeev Kapoor's cook book and like i said earlier super simple and extremely yummy :)

Ingredients

For kofta

• Paneer - I used Nilgiris Malai paneer - super soft 
• Green cardamom powder - 10 -12 pods, remove skin and grind it into a powder
• Refined flour - 1 spoon with malai panner , 2 if you are using normal paneer (essentially sufficient enough to bind the paneer into balls for frying)
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste 

For curry

• Tomatoes - 3 medium  (chopped roughly) 
• Cashewnuts - 10, mixed in some almonds as well
• Melon Seeds- didnt have, so could not add
• Poppy seed - 1 tablespoon (best if soaked in slightly warm water for couple of hours)
• Ginger - 2 inches 
• Green cardamoms - 2-3 
• Red chilli powder - slightly more than what you use normally, otherwise the dish would become too sweet 
• Oil - One teaspoon (you can skip also)
• Yougurt - 3-4 table spoon 
• Salt to taste 

For serving

• Fresh cream - 2 table spoon 
• Garam masala powder - 1/4 spoon 

Step 1 : 

Heat a pressure cooker, add all Ingredients   for curry , add a cup of water. Close the lid and leave it on medium heat for 3-4 whistles.

Step 2 :

Grate paneer, mix cardamom powder, salt & required refined flour and shape in small balls (200gm of malai paneer pack gives can be made into 8-10 koftas)

Step 3 : 

Heat oil, fry these paneer koftas  till golden, leave it aside to drain on kitchen towel.

Step 4 : 

Once the pressure cooker  steam goes off, open the cooker, let it cool for few minutes and use a hand blender to mix the cooked 'curry' well to reach the right creamy consistency, add water if required. 

Step 5

Arrange koftas in the serving ball, pour the curry on top, garnish with fresh cream and garam masala powder.

Serve hot with chappati or partha 

(P.S. mix the kofas and curry just minutes before serving , else koftas will get too soggy) 

Photo from Sanjeev kapoor site 

P.P.S , was so busy trying this and playing with my nephew , forgot to click photographs :D, but trust me it looks as good as the picture above ! 

Quicky lunch for one

I love mushroom in all shapes and forms . It is my favorite vegetable to cook for myself since husband doesn't really care for it . So, my meal for one today was mushroom ofcorse, cooked in a jiffy 

ingredients for the "dish", basics from the kitchen - onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli, cumin, coriander  and coconut milk 

Roughly chop, ginger, garlic, chilli and onion

prep on the way, addition of ingredient tumeric, salt and oil 

crack cumin in hot oil, add ginger garlic , chilli, onion - saute for few minutes ..till onion turns brownish.

Transfer this mixture into a belnder and make a coarse paste.

brown onion paste - wait for few minutes before blending , else it gets too hot in the  blender 

Transfer brown onion paste back in wok, add coriander powder, turmeric and saute for few minutes.
Add cubed mushroom, coconut milk, water as required, simmer for a while ....add salt

Let it simmer for few minutes

And here is the final 'meal for one' ...

with hot rotis & yummy garlic and chillies acchar