Yellow Pumpkin Curry

This pumpkin masala sidedish can be used as a side dish for Chapathi.

Ingredients:-

1. Pumpkin - 1 cup (cut into cubes)
2. onion -1 (chop it)
3. Tomato - 1 (chop it)
4. Oil - 1 tsp
5. Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
6. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Coriander seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
8. Ginger - a small piece
9. Garlic - 1 clove
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Red chillies powder - 3/4 tsp (acc to taste)
12. Salt to taste
13. Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
14. Coconut - 2 tsp

Take a pan and cook the pumpkin pieces adding required amount of water. In the mean time, grind coriander seeds, garlic, ginger, coconut, half of chopped onion and tomato, into a fine paste and keep it aside. When the pumpkin is 3/4th done, drain it and keep it aside. Pre heat the same pan with oil, splutter mustard and cumin seeds, saute the remaining onion to golden brown and add the remaining tomato pieces and fry it for few minutes. Now add the grounded paste along with turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala powder, required amount of water and let it boil for couple of minutes. Now add the pumpkin pieces along with required amount of salt and let everything cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust water according to the required consistency. Garnish it with coriander leaves. This goes well with Chapathi and poori.

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Homemade Ladakhi Thukpa

Thukpa (Tibetan: ཐུག་པ་, Wylie: thug pa) is a Tibetan noodle soup, usually served with meat. It is popular in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and also in the states of Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and some other parts of India. The food is widely available in restaurants in these regions.

Ingredients:

For the broth
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 medium radishes, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, blanched
3 small onions, chopped
5 big garlic cloves, chopped
4 sprigs of spring onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoon mustard oil
Salt to taste

For the Noodles
1 egg
3 cups atta
About 1 cup water

Preparation

In a heavy skillet, heat mustard oil until hot and add onions and garlic and fry until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes then add all the masala powders and pepper. Add spinach and radish and cook well for 10 about minutes. When radish is soft and spices are fragrant, add about 4 to 5 cups of water and bring to boil. Lower heat and let it cook while you make the noodles. Add chopped spring onions and cilantro right before serving.

Making thukpa noodles

On a big bowl, mix flour with egg and add a a few tablespoons of water at a time while kneading mixture into a dough. When thoroughly mixed, roll out dough like a chappati and then slice the flattened dough into long strips. Slowly add dough strips into boiling broth and cook covered at medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste, or do what the locals do which is omitting the salt altogether and taste the natural sweetness of each and every ingredient used to make this delicious dish.

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Gujia(Chandrakala)

This is a Rajasthani speciality sweet made with semolina and all purpose flour that is suji
and maida and they are stuffed with exotic dry fruits and milk solids. Gujia is an favorite sweet served in North India during the festival of holi. With colors of gulal and fun and friends this sweet add special sweetness to this festival of  color. In south there is a similar variation which we call chandrakala.

Recipe makes 20 to 24 gujia.

Ingredients:

Crust:
 •1 cup all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
 •1 tablespoon sooji (semolina flour)
 •2 tablespoons oil
 •1/3 cup lukewarm water or as needed

Filling:
 •1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
 •1 cup milk powder
 •1/4 cup coconut powder
 •1/4 cup sliced almonds
 •1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
 •2 tablespoon sugar
 •2 tablespoon melon seeds (optional)

Garnish:
 •1/2 cup sugar
 •1/4 Water
 •2 tablespoons sliced almonds and pistachios

Also needed:
 •1 tablespoon all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
 •2 tablespoon water
 •Oil to fry

Method:

Crust:

1.Mix flour, sooji, and oil in a bowl, make a soft dough adding water slowley as needed. Knead the dough until the dough becomes soft and pliable. 
2.Set the dough aside and cover it with a damp cloth. Let the dough sit for at least ten minutes.

Filling:

1.Mix the cream and milk powder in a frying pan.
2.Cook on medium heat until mixture starts leaving the sides of the frying pan and becomes soft runny dough. Stir continuously so the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
3.Turn off the heat and add coconut, almonds, melon seeds, sugar, and cardamom powder. Mix together well.
4.After cooling, the mixture will be lightly moist. Keep aside.

Making the Gujias:

1.Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 1 tablespoon of flour to make a paste. Set aside.
2.Knead the dough again for a minute.
3.Divide the dough into about 20 equal parts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands.
4.Roll each ball into about 4-inch diameter  (like a roti or chappati).
5.Dip your finger in the flour paste and spread it around the rim of the rolled dough, but just on the half the circle.
6.Take the rolled dough in your palm and put about 1-1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture in the center and fold it into a semi-circle. Now press the edges together with your fingers. Make sure the edges are completely sealed otherwise they will open while frying and oil will get in and filling will come out.
7.Continue filling the rest of the gujia in the same manner.
8.Heat about 1-1/2 inches of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should sizzle right away but come to the surface slowly.
9.Place the gujia in the frying pan few at a time.
10.After gujhias are floating on top of the oil, turn them slowly. Fry the gujias until they turn light golden-brown color on all sides. Don’t fry on high heat; the gujia crust will be too soft and not crispy.
11.When they are done cooking, lift them out of the oil with a slotted spoon.

Garnishing:

 1.Boil the sugar and water on medium heat until syrup is about one thread or 230 degrees (Fahrenheit) on a candy thermometer.
 2.Dip the gujias into the syrup making sure they are coated with syrup all around.
 3.Place the gujias on a wire rack to allow the extra syrup drain.
 4.Garnish the gujias with sliced almonds and pistachios while the gujhias are still moist with syrup.
 5.Gujias will be dry in an hour.
 6.Gujia can be stored in airtight container up to a month.

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KING PRAWN PULAO

Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves: 8
Ingredients

King prawn (shelled) 1 kg
Basmati rice 1 kg
Onions 1 kg
Tomatoes ½ kg
Orange colour ½ tsp
Milk 1 tbsp
Peppercorns 20 nos
Cloves 25 nos
Cadammoms 15 nos
Cinammon stick 10 cm
Cummin seeds 1 tsp
Shahajeera (caraway seeds) 1 tsp
Red chillies 20 nos
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Garlic 1 pod
Ginger piece 4 cms
Coriander leaves (cut fine) ½ cup
Green chillies 6 nos
Cashew nuts 125 gm
Oil 1 cup
Salt 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash rice and keep aside for two hours. Slice ½ kg onions and deep-fry till dark brown in the oil. Keep aside. In the same oil add peppercorns, green chillies (cut lengthwise) and coriander leaves (cut fine). Add ½ kg onion (cut fine). Fry onion till it becomes light brown. Grind ginger, garlic and other masala to a fine paste. Add to the roasted onion, in the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Then add prawns, ground cashew nuts paste, chopped tomato and ½ cup water. Cook till gravy thickness. Parboil rice in water, with 1 tbsp salt. When rice is cooked drain water completely and spread rice in a big flat plate.

Apply orange colouring to the rice and divide in into seven parts. The mass of onion and prawns with masala should be divided each into 3 parts. At the bottom of a large vessel place slices of raw potato. This is to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom. Spread a layer of rice over the raw potato slices. Then spread a layer of prawns and onions over the rice. Continue the layering process as follows: rice, onion, rice, prawns, and so on, with a final layer of rice.

Make 4 holes on the upper layer of rice and pour in each hole one teaspoon of clarified butter. Put a lid on it and make a paste of 1 cup of wheat flour, with water and seal the lid with the same. Keep the dish on light flame for about 1 hour till the seal is broken and steam comes out. Then put off the flame. The emission of the steam is an indication that the dish is ready and the same is ready to be served.

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FINE PRAWN KISMOOR

Ingredients:

Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Fine dried prawn (galmo) 2 cups
Grated coconut 1 cup
Chilly powder ½ tsp
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Oil 1 tsp
Tamarind pulp ½ tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Onion chopped fine 1 tsp
Method:

Clean the prawns by taking off the head, legs and tails. Roast the prawns on a slow fire with two teaspoons oil. Keep stirring continously and when light brown, take off the fire. They will get crisp after a little while. Break the prawns into two to three pieces each depending on the size. Chop the onions finely. Mix together the coconut, chilli and turmeric powders, tamarind juice and salt thoroughly.

Just before serving add the prawn pieces and chopped onion and mix well once again. Do not add prawns before hand as they will get soft. Onion may be roasted in a little oil if preferred to raw.

Note: In order to maintain the crispness, prawn should be added when ready to serve

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Akhuni Chutney

Khatsu, my friend from Nagaland told me about this when we were in college. Fermented soya bean popularly known as Akhuni in Nagaland, kinema in Sikkim and turumbai in Meghalaya, is a significant ingredient, used to create a pungent aroma in various dishes, also used as a pickle.It is prepared year-around from soyabeans by people of all tribes, but most notably the Sema tribe of southern Nagaland. Angami Nagas prepare their pork with akhuni. But, then again its pungent smell might not appeal to some...
There are a whole lot different ways of making Akhuni chutney. This is the simplest, easiest and fastest way.  Its for those times when you are hungry and want to have something hot and tasty! Try it and you won't regret it.

Here's the recipe - step by step.

You'll need a couple of chillis (hotter the better), ginger, salt, garlic(optional), and Akhuni.
Now you are thinking what Akhuni is..

Variously known as akhuni, Dzacie aakhone or axone, it is perhaps the most commonly used fermented product of Nagaland. Soyabeans grow up to an elevation of 1,500 m and in rainy conditions, making it extremely suited to the Naga hills. It is also a protein-rich legume in an otherwise traditionally protein-sparse diet.

Akhuni is prepared by picking and cleaning the soyabeans well in fresh water, and then boiling them until they are soft, but still whole. The excess water is drained and the soybeans are placed into a pot or degchi and put either out in the sun or next to the fire to warm and ferment. This takes three to four days to ferment in summer and around one week in winter.

Preparation:

Roast the chillis in hot ash/kadai for about 3minutes, take them out put in a little salt, according to preference, and pound them with a pestle till its almost a paste, add the ginger or garlic or both and pound them together with the chillis. Roast the akhuni over hot charcoal or kadai and mix it in the chilli with the pestle. And Viola!

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Mulligatawny or Milaku tanneer - Anglo Indian Soup

Mulligatawny is a curry-flavoured soup of Anglo-Indian origin.  Translated literally from Tamil, "Mulligatawny" or "Milagu tanni" means "pepper water" ("Millagu" மிளகு means pepper and "tanni" தண்ணீர் means water). The dish the Anglo-Indians call "pepper water" is actually closer to Tamil ரசம்-rasam (pronounced russ-um) than "mulligatawny".

 There are many variations on the recipe for mulligatawny. In the West, the soup typically has a turmeric-like yellow colour and chicken meat, beef, or lamb meat. Often it is thickened with rice.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 chile pepper, seeded and deveined (your choice: banana, poblano, jalapeno, habanero--whatever you can stand)
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup lentils
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 cup coconut milk* or whipping cream
• 1-2 cups cooked rice (preferably basmati)
• 1/2-1 cup shredded cooked chicken (you can cook raw chicken in the stock at the start if you don't have leftover chicken lying around)
• 1/2 cup tart raw apple, chopped fine

Garnish: spoonsful of extra cream or coconut milk--and minced cilantro or parsley.

Saute the celery, carrots, onion, and pepper in the butter at a low heat until the onion is translucent. Stir in the curry powder to blend and cook for a minute. Pour in the stock, add the lentils (and chicken, if it's raw), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, get the rice cooked (if it isn't already); likewise with the chicken. Then shred the chicken and chopped the apples finely. You don't need to skin the apples.

When the soup is done, season to taste with the salt and pepper, then puree, solids first, in a blender. Return to pot.

When ready to serve, bring the soup to a simmer and add the coconut milk or cream. Take the pot to the table, as well as individual bowls of warm rice (heated in the microwave, if necessary), shredded chicken, finely chopped apple, coconut milk (or cream), and minced cilantro (or parsley).

To serve, have big individual serving bowls at the ready. Spoon rice into each bowl (flat soup bowls are nice here)--then pile on a big spoonful of chicken and a spoonful of apple. Ladle the soup on top, then drip coconut milk/cream into the center and swirl--and sprinkling with fresh cilantro and parsley.

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Litti & Chokha - Bihari breakfast

Litti - Chokha is a very popular food of north Bihar.It is generally served with a bowl of melted pure desi ghee.Made with Whole wheat atta and stuffed with Sattu (a special gram flour).  Chokha is similar to the ennai kathirikkai minus the tamarind in it. Instead tomato is used.

INGREDIENTS

All things should be according to your requirement. For example, I am going to explain for two persons:

For Litti

 
·         Atta Flour ¼ Kg
·         Sattu (gram flour) ¼ kg
·         Garlic 1 piece
·         Ginger 50 gm
·         Green chilies 5 piece
·         Cilantro (dhaniya) leaves 2 or 3 pieces
·         Thyme (Ajwain) ½ spoon
·         Lemon juice 2 Spoon
·         Salt according to taste
·         Mustard oil ½ Spoon
·         Onion 1 piece

For chokha

 
·         1 piece big Brinjal (Baigan)
·         Tomato 2 pieces
·         Salt to taste
·         Greenchillies chopped

Method of Cooking Litti:

·         Arrange all the ingredients of making Sattu (gram flour).

·         Now, cut all the ingredients to mix in Sattu.
·         Take chopped onions, green chillies chopped, lemon juice, chopped ginger, garlic, and thyme and mix all the ingredients in sattu.   
·         Knead the atta fluur nicely and make a cup like shape.
·         Fill the ready sattu in the cup and close it .
·         You can fry litti in either mustered oil or in refined oil.

Method of Cooking Chokha:

This is similar to the enna kathirikkai minus the tamarind in it.  Now, you have to keep brinjal (baigan) and tomato on lower flame. You should rotate them also to cook better. After that you can remove baigan skin and mix with tomato, green chili, salt and dhaniya leaves.

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Pua

Maithili is a language spoken in mithila, which is the north eastern part of bihar. Legend says it is the land of Sita, daughter of King Janaka and consort of King Rama. The dialect is Indo- European and it is more like Hindi or sanskrit.

Pua is a sweet dish made like poori. I had the chance to taste this dish while at Adampur in punjab from Sinha uncle's (My father's colleague) residence.

Ingredients:

• Milk :500 ml
• Sugar :300 gms
• Maida(Flour) : 250 gms
• Kismis(Raisin) : few pieces
• Cardamom powder : 1/4 tsp
• Desiccated Coconut : few slices
• Banana : 4-5 nos
• Oil for frying

Method:

 

Boil milk and cool. Add sugar to the milk and let it dissolve. After the sugar is completely dissolved add the maida to the milk. Mix well so that you get a very smooth batter. There shouldn't be any lumps in the batter. The batter should not be very thin. If the batter looks thin add some more maida for a thicker batter. Let the batter rest for half an hour. Meanwhile chop the raisin & the coconut slices. After half an hour add the raisin, cardamom powder, coconut and mashed bananas to the batter & mix well.

 

Heat oil in a kadhai. Pour a ladle of the batter in to the kadhai. The pua will puff up like a puri. Cook on low heat till both the sides turn golden brown.

 

Pua can be had on its own or with Rabdi.

 

Tip:

 

Do not keep the batter for a very long time after adding the bananas. If you do not want to make pua out of the entire batter add bananas only to that portion of the batter that you will use.

 

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MOIRA PLAINTAIN CROQUETTES

MOIRA PLAINTAIN CROQUETTES

Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 12

Ingredients:

• Big Moira plaintains (not fully ripen, a little hard) 6 nos
• Milk 2 litres
• Sugar 2 cups
• Grated coconut 1 cup
• Crushed cashew nuts 1 tbsp
• Raisins 2 tsp
• Cardamom powder ½ tsp
• Butter 50 gm

Method:

Cut bananas (without removing the skin)into 3 or 4 pieces and steam till soft. Cool, peel and lay in a flat dish. Cut each piece in half and carefully remove the string of seeds. Mash smooth, adding a little butter. Shape into a 15 balls. Keep aside.

In a saucepan mix ¼ cup sugar and 1 cup grated coconut. Add cashew nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously. Add cardamon powder, raisins and cook till the mixture dries. Remove the pan form the stove and allow the mixture to cool.

Now take each banana ball, flatten it on the palm of your hand and place one tsp of the mixture in the centre. Fold over carefully, roll into a ball again, and flatten slightly using your palms. Stick a clove on the top. Place into flat dish and chill for 7 to 8 hours. Boil milk with sugar till it reduces to half the quantity and put in a flat deep bowl. Arrange the balls in the thick milk and serve.

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Goan MACKEREL CURRY WITH BLACK GRAM & FENUGEERK (Uddamethi)

MACKEREL CURRY WITH BLACK GRAM & FENUGEERK (Uddamethi)

Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients :-

1. Large mackerels (scalled) 6 nos
2. Grated coconut 2 cups
3. Onions 4 nos
4. Red chillies 8 nos
5. Turmeric powder 2 tsp
6. Peppercorns 50 nos
7. Oil  3 tbsp
8. Lime-size ball of tamarind (15 gm)/Kokum
9. Rice 2 tbsps
10. Black gram 2 tbsp
11. Fenugreek ½ tsp
12. Salt to taste

Method:

Cut each mackerel into 4 pieces; apply salt, marinate and wash after 15 minutes. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Stir-fry rice till it becomes dark brown and remove from oil. To the same oil add  black gram (dal) and stir-fry till browned. Remove the black gram (dal) from the oil. Put fenugreek and blackpepper corns into the same oil, stir-fry till fenugreek splatters, and remove from the oil. Cut one onion lengthwise. Stir-fry in 2 tsp oil in a separate pan till golden brown. Add grated coconut and stir-fry till brown.

Course rice and black gram (dal) together. Grind stir-fried coconut, tamarind, chillies and turmeric to a rough paste and keep aside. Fenugreek and peppercorns should also be ground to a fine paste.
Cut the remaining 3 onions fine and stir-fry in the remaining oil until onion becomes soft. Add ground coconut with 5 cups water and salt. Add mackerels, mix ground rice and black gram dal with the curry. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

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Goan UDDAMETHI (Raw Mango Curry)

In every cuisine there are a couple of dishes that stand out for their unique combination of flavors. Mango and fenugreek in a curry - can you get more exotic than this?

Uddamethi is made in both a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian version. Mackerel is used for the non vegetarian one. I shall tell that in a separate post.

Sour ingredients like hog plums (ambade) also called called Pulicha kaai in the Tamil language, which means "sour fruit" and raw mangoes for the vegetarian one.


UDDAMETHI (Raw Mango Curry)

(serves 2-3)
Ingredients

1 unripe mango
2-3 tsp grated jaggery
salt to taste

Masala -

1 tsp black gram (urad dal)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2-3 dry red chillies
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Seasoning -

1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
a pinch of asafetida
a few curry leaves
oil

Preparation

Peel mango and cut into cubes. In a little oil lightly roast urad dal, methi seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies. Grind to a fine paste with coconut and turmeric. Keep aside.

Add a tablespoon of oil to pan. When hot add mustard and curry leaves. Next add fenugreek seeds and let brown. Toss in mango cubes. Add jaggery, salt and enough water for mango to cook.

When it is soft to the touch, add coconut paste and mix well. Simmer for five to six minutes until well combined. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

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Fried fish (तळील्ले नूस्ते)or talile Mashali

This is a Goan Hindu food one of the hot favourites of Daivajna Brahmins of the the goan Saraswat community who eats fish and chicken on most days and are facultative vegeterians. However, they do not eat beef or pork, due to religious beliefs.

Goan Fried Fish (तळील्ले नूस्ते)or talile Mashali

Ingredients: (2-3 servings)

5 slices of fish (Mackerel, pomfret, king fish, etc)
2 tbsp Goan masala paste
2-3 tbsp Cooking oil for shallow frying

Preparation of Talile Mashali

• Apply Goan masala paste to the fish and let it marinate for 15-30 minutes.
• Heat oil in the large skillet over the medium heat.
• Add fish slices and let them fry for a few minutes each side or until the fish turn golden brown and cook thoroughly.
• Serve hot with some salad.

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Goan Masala

This is an indispensable masala in Goan kitchens. It is found in most homes in Boa and is used for many seafood dishes as well as white meat ones. This recipe makes about 200g, any leftovers will keep in a jar in the refrigerator for 3-6 months.

Portions: 200g Masala Paste

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients


•75g small dried hot red chillies

•1 tsp cumin seeds

•4 cm piece of cinnamon bark, broken up into bits

•1 tsp cardamom pods

•1 tsp cloves

•1 tbsp ground coriander

•2 tbsp hot paprika

Wet Ingredients


•1 tbsp oil

•1 small onion, diced

•10 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

•50g ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

•150ml palm or cider vinegar

Method

1.Dry Ingredients: Grind the dry ingredients together in a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder to a powder.

2.Wet Ingredients: Heat some oil in a saucepan over a moderate heat. When the oil is hot add the onion, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook until the onion is soft and transparent, remove from the heat and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

3.Add the wet ingredients including the vinegar to the dry ingredients in the mortar and pestle and grind to a paste. Alternatively place all the wet and dry ingredients together in a food processor and process to a smooth paste (you may need a little more vinegar but be careful not to add to much).

4.To Store: Place the mixture in sterilised jar with a little oil over the top of the masala. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

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Tsebhi shiro

This is another chutney type thing added on top of injera.
Ingredients:

500 gr. raw dry groundnuts
100 gr. butter
2 spoons tomato paste
2 small onions
2 teaspoons mixed spices to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Shell groundnuts, clean and grind into flour. Put the other ingredients into a saucepan with 500cc of water and bring it to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with injera.

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Alitcha birsen

Ingredients:

5 spoons sunflower or other vegetable oil
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
250 gr. tomatoes, peeled
200 gr. lentils
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ginger
2 fresh red chilies (remove the seeds)
1 liter boiling water

Heat the oil in a frying-pan and fry the garlic light golden. Add the sliced skinned tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes. Add the washed lentils and simmer shortly. Add salt, pepper, ginger, chili and boiling water. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture on a low fire for 60 minutes.

Add boiled Eggs cut in halves on top of it if you like.

Serve with injera.

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Derho(Chicken)Tsebi

This is a Dish that is put on top of injera. This typically is a chicken dish.

 

Ingredients:

3 Medium size onions, chopped
50 cc chili paste (berbere)
50 cc tegelese tesmi
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 spoons lemon juice
2 spoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
4 large tomatoes, peeled
1 kilo chicken
6 hard boiled eggs (peeled)
pepper and salt to taste

To make Tegelese tesmi (herb butter)
Ingredients:
200 gr. unsalted butter
100 cc water
2 small onions, shredded
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ginger, shredded

Put the butter and the water in a frying-pan and heat them until the butter has melted. Add the other ingredients and simmer the mixture on a low fire for 30 minutes, until the mixture stops skimming and the butter is clear. Do NOT stir the mixture. Sieve the butter and allow to cool down in a well closed jam jar .

Preparation:

Cut the chicken into pieces and drain them well. Sprinkle the pieces with a mixture of the lemon juice and the salt and marinate during 30 minutes. Fry the onions lightly on a low fire in the frying-pan. Do not use butter or oil. Add some water if necessary to prevent burning or sticking. When the onions are done, add the berbere and fry shortly. Add the tegelese tesmi and fry this mixture for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes skinned and sliced, garlic and ginger and simmer during 20 minutes on a low fire, stirring regularly to prevent sticking. Add some water and the pieces of chicken and simmer until the chicken is done. Add the eggs to the sauce shortly before serving. Serve with injera.

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Tsebhi Birsen (Spicy Lentils)

This is a traditional Eritrean recipe for a classic stew of lentils cooked in a tomato-based sauce with Berbere spice, cardamom and cumin.

Ingredients

250g red lentils
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, minced
2 tbsp Berbere spice
200g tomatoes, blanched, peeled and sliced
2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground Ethiopian cardamom (or substitute ground black cardamom)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and black pepper, to taste

Berbere Spice preparation: This is a common Ethiopian sauce that is hot and spicy tasting. Made with the seeds of cumin, cardamom, coriander, and fenugreek that are combined with garlic, ground cloves, turmeric, grated gingerroot, black pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon, and dried red chiles, this sauce provides a distinctive tangy flavor for ethnic foods.

Method:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions until lightly golden. Add the berbere spice and fry for 5 minutes more then add all the remaining ingredients (except the lentils) and simmer briefly. Add the lentils, season and cover with 300ml boiling water. Cover the pan and allow to simmer for an hour (add more water as necessary).

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Injera - eat your plate

Injera

This is an Ethiopian recipe. I happened to visit an ethiopian restaurant in california a couple of years back with my friends Sudhir and Makesh. This looked similar to our Dosa and was delicious. Though it looked like a Dosa, it was made like we make Appam.

When we were young we (I and my sister) used to fight for a plate to have food. "My mother used to yell.. are you guys eating food or the plate.!" Well, Injera is not only a kind of bread—it’s also an eating utensil. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, this spongy, sour flatbread is used to scoop up meat and vegetable stews. Injera also lines the tray on which the stews are served, soaking up their juices as the meal progresses. When this edible tablecloth is eaten, the meal is officially over.

Injera is made with teff, a tiny, round grain that flourishes in the highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, it contains practically no gluten. This makes teff ill-suited for making raised bread, however injera still takes advantage of the special properties of yeast. A short period of fermentation gives it an airy, bubbly texture, and also a slightly sour taste.

This is however a modified version of it since we are not sure if teff is available here.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup teff flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• a pinch of salt
• peanut or vegetable oil

Utensils needed

• a mixing bowl
• a nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet

Preparation:

1. Put the teff flour in the bottom of a mixing bowl, and sift in the all-purpose flour. 
2. Slowly add the water, stirring to avoid lumps.
3. Put the batter aside for a day or more (up to three days) to allow it to ferment. In this time, your injera batter will start to bubble and acquire the slight tanginess for which it’s known. Note: If you find that your injera batter does not ferment on its own, try adding a teaspoon of yeast.
4. Stir in the salt.
5. Heat a nonstick pan or lightly oiled cast-iron skillet until a water
drop dances on the surface. Make sure the surface of the pan is smooth: Otherwise, your injera might fall apart when you try to remove it.
6. Coat the pan with a thin layer of batter. Injera should be thicker than a crêpe, but not as thick as a traditional pancake. It will rise slightly when it heats.
7. Cook until holes appear on the surface of the bread. Once the surface is dry, remove the bread from the pan and let it cool.

This dish can be eaten with Vegetarian and meat tsebhi(Curry or stew). My next post is a Tsebhi recipe.

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Vendakka Mezhukkupuratti / Ladies Finger(Okhra) Stir fry

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench, pronounced US: /ˈoʊkrə/, UK: /ˈɒkrə/, known in many English-speaking countries as lady's fingers or gumbo) is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins. The plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world.Unspecified parts of the plant were reported in 1898 to possess diuretic properties; this is cited (or simply stated) in many sources associated with herbal and traditional medicine. Okra (and rhubarb, beets, spinach, Swiss chard, sweet potatoes, tea, chocolate and soy products) are rich in oxalates; the Mayo clinic recommends that people who tend to form calcium oxalate kidney stones may benefit from restricting such foods.

Ingredients

Chopped Ladies Finger / Okra / Vendakka ~ 2 1/2 cups ( Medium size pieces)
Green chillies ~ 3-4 Nos (Split length-wise)
Chopped Onions ~ 1/2 cup
Red chilly powder ~ 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder ~ 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds
Oil
Salt

Method

First wash the ladies finger nicely and cut off both the ends and then chop it to medium size pieces.
Then heat 11/2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add onions and green chillies and saute till soft.

Then lower the flame and add red chilly powder, pepper powder and turmeric powder.After that add chopped ladies finger/ vendakka and salt. Then mix it nicely. Cook covered for about 10-15 minutes in a low flame. Do stir in between. (Note: If its becoming very sticky, then add 1/2 tsp of oil and mix nicely.)

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Olan

Olan is a typical Kerala dish and a must in Sadya (big feasts). This is a less spicy dish so everyone including children enjoys it.The main ingredients are Black-eyed Bean, Pumpkin, Ash Groud and Coconut Milk. This is a very easy dish and good to serve along with Cooked Rice or Chappathi.The dish is extremely nutritious and healthy, it is supposed to be very easy to digest and light on the stomach. This dish is low in calories. The White Pumpkin is rich in calcium and vitamins B and C and has a high fibre content. The Orange Pumpkin is rich in Vitamins A and B, protein and calcium The Black eyed Beans (Lobia) though a high calorie food is rich in protein, calcium and vitamins A and B.Olan is prepared in ina way thatis could besaid that no Sadya (Feast) is said to be complete without the olan.

The following recipe is meant to serve for 4 adults.

Ingredients of Olan:

Black Eyed Beans (Van Payar): 1/2 Cup
Ash Groud (Elavan / Kumbalanga): 1 Cup
Pumpkin (Mathan) : 1 Cup
Green Chilies (Pacha Mulaku): 3 to 4 nos
Coconut Milk (Thengapal) thick: 1/2 Cup
Coconut Milk (Thengapal) thin: 1/2 Cup
Curry Leaves (Kariveppila): 5 to 6 nos
Coconut / Sunflower Oil: 1 tablespoon
Salt: to taste

Preparation:
Soak the Black eyed beans overnight. Pressure cook it the next day till 3/4th done. Don’t cook it completely else it will get mashed in the olan. Remove the skin of the White Pumpkin and Orange Pumpkin (the skin of the orange pumpkin can be retained as it gets cooked, provided the skin is tender, if very tough to cut then please de-skin it) and cut it into small square pieces. The chopping of the vegetables is also very important in Olan. It has to be cut into square pieces only.

Cook the vegetables and the half done black eyed beans with salt and the slit green chillies in a little water. When the pumpkins and the beans are completely cooked (don’t overcook the pumpkins, take in a spoon and see if it is soft, that means it is done, don’t cook it to the level that it gets mashed), To the cooked pumpkins and beans add 1cup coconut milk i.e. your second milk (refer to tip) and boil. When it thickens well, add ¼ cup of your first coconut milk.

Bring this to a boil and remove from fire.

Season it by frying curry leaves in 1tbs coconut oil.

Mix well and serve hot.

Tip : Grate ½ a coconut. Squeeze out 1/4cup of the milk from the coconut without adding water, this is known as the first milk which is very concentrated. Grind in a mixie with little water and take one more cup of milk from the coconut.
Nowadays, we can buy coconut milk in a tetra pack, even the ready coconut milk can be used, but incase of using the ready coconut milk, no need to follow the first and second milk etc. just add the coconut milk as per the measure given and follow the method.

**Olan can be prepared with just one type of pumpkin also, that is either the White Pumpkin or the Orange Pumpkin.

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Aval Upma / Poha Upma/ Beaten(Flattened) Rice Dish

Flattened rice (also called beaten rice) is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. These flakes of rice swell when added to liquid, whether hot or cold, as they absorb water, milk or any other liquids. The thicknesses of these flakes vary between almost translucently thin (the more expensive varieties) to nearly four times thicker than a normal rice grain.

This easily digestible form of raw rice is very popular across Nepal, North East India and Bangladesh, and is normally used to prepare snacks or light and easy fast food in a variety of Indian cuisine styles, some even for long-term consumption of a week or more. It is known by a variety of names: Chindé in Bengali and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, Chira in Assamese, Chudaa in Oriya, Chiura in Nepali, Bhojpuri and Chhattisgarhi, Poha[1] or Pauwa[2] in Hindi, Baji in Newari, Pohe in Marathi, Aval in Malayalam and Tamil,Phovu in Konkani, Avalakki in Kannada, Atukula Poni in Telugu, and Pauaa/Paunva in Gujarati.

A huge number of variations of Upma are made with whole or refined ground wheat and rice of varied grain size, vermicelli, Durum wheat semolina or pearl sago. A wide range of vegetables may be added, and may be garnished with a variety of beans (raw or sprouted), cashew and peanuts. For a variation called masala upma(known as 'Kharabath' in Karnataka), sambar masala or garam masala is added along with red chilli powder, instead of green chillies.

The Rice Upma, which is mainly popular in the southern parts of Karnataka is referred to as Akki Tari Uppittu (Rice coarse flour uppittu). Another variant of upma is prepared with grated coconuts instead of onions, especially on holy days, when onion is avoided. This type of upma is generally smeared with ghee at the end of preparation. Dishes similar to upma can be made by substituting small crumbs of leftover bread or Idli instead of flour. Upma made from coarser rava known as Sajjige is a dish of Udupi cuisine. It is sometimes served along with snacks such as sauted and spiced poha or Chevdo.

Ingredients:

2 cups aval or poha (flattened rice, available in Indian grocery stores).
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
15 curry leaves
1 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 small onion, finely minced
2 potatoes, skins scrubbed clean.
1/4 cup peanuts
1/4 cup coconut milk (use coconut shreds if you'd rather)
Chopped green coriander, for garnish
Lemon juice
Preparation:

The above ingredients are for four servings. Before you go ahead with another step in this recipe, place the aval in a large vessel and wash under running water for a minute. Set the vessel and aval aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

Cut the potatoes into a small dice and then zap them in a microwave with 1 tbsp water until the potatoes are tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds and when they sputter, add the dry red chillies and curry leaves.

Add the onions and saute, stirring, until the onions begin to soften. Add the potatoes and stir to mix.

Add the peanuts and toss together for another two minutes. Add the coconut milk, mix, then add the drained aval and salt to taste.

Toss the aval and the vegetables together well and check for salt. Turn off the heat and add coriander leaves.

To serve, place in bowls and spritz with some lemon juice (in India, the aval is served with a little wedge of lemon on the side). Eat hot.

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Cherupayar Curry

Cherupayar (Green Gram) curry is the most common breakfast item served with the puttu (Steam cake). Like the kadala curry, cheru payar curry also a good combination with the puttu for breakfast, it’s very tasty. Cherupayar or Green Gram curry is also served with the breakfast items like Dosa, Idly or Bread. Payaru curry can be served with rice gruel for lunch and with chapatti for dinner.

Ingredients:

Cherupayar parippu (Moong dal) – 200 gm
Coconut – 1 cup
Cumin powder – 1 pinch
Turmeric powder – ¼ t sp
Garlic – 3 nos.
Salt – As required
Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
Red Chili – 2
Curry Leaves – 1 stem
Shallots – 2

Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon

Plantain - Cut into medium sized cubes 10 pieces

Preparation Method:

Wash the cherupayar and cook it with water and add salt as required, better to use pressure cooker for cooking. When the dal is cooked properly smash it. Grind coconut along with cumin powder, garlic and turmeric powder and make it as a fine paste. Add this paste to the cooked and smashed dal and boil it. Then remove from fire.

Heat coconut oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds, add dry red chilly and chopped shallots and fry it till golden brown color appears. Then add curry leaves and pour this to the dal curry.

We can also add boiled plantain cubes and a pinch of black pepper powder into this which will add a nice taste to this.

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Thakkali Saadam / Tomato Rice

This is a simple and delicious dish which is easy to prepare. The dashing red colour rice just invigourates the tastebuds. When the aroma of masala is mixed to it, wah..Yummy!
Delving into the history of this dish, I found that it is not originally a dish from Tamilnadu, But a dish from Mexico. It is simple to explain this.

The tomato is native to South America.The word "tomato" comes from the Nahuatl word tomatl, literally "the swelling fruit". Aztecs and other peoples in the region used the fruit in their cooking; it was cultivated in southern Mexico and probably other areas by 500 BC.

After the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish distributed the tomato throughout their colonies in the Caribbean. They also took it to the Philippines, from where it spread to southeast Asia and then the entire Asian continent. Though there are no definite records of when and how it came to India , the Portuguese perhaps introduced it to India.

Tomato is one of the most important "protective foods" because of its special nutritive value. It is one of the most versatile vegetable with wide usage in Indian culinary tradition. Tomatoes are used for soup, salad, pickles, ketchup, puree, sauces and in many other ways It is also used as a salad vegetable. Tomato has very few competitors in the value addition chain of processing. India is the 4th largest producer of this vegetable.

Coming back to history of this dish, Mexican rice, also known in US as Spanish rice, is a side dish made from white rice, tomatoes, garlic, onions, parsley, cilantro (coriander) and other ingredients. Although it is called "Spanish rice" this side dish is unknown in Spain. The term "Spanish rice" is not used by Mexicans or Mexican food enthusiasts, and its use probably stems from the fact that the Spanish language is spoken in Mexico, and the dish is usually simply referred to as arroz ("rice") in Mexico.

This is a preparation of this variant in south of India. Tangy Tomato Rice makes a great one-dish meal.

Ingredients:

•2 cups cooked Basmati rice (you can also use leftover rice)
•4 large ripe tomatoes cut into cubes
•2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
•1 tsp mustard seeds
•1 large onion chopped fine
•2 green chillies slit lengthwise
•1" piece of ginger grated
•2 tsps coriander powder
•1 tsp cumin powder
•1 tbsp garam masala
•Salt to taste

Preparation:

•Heat the oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds and green chillies. When they stop spluttering add the onion and fry till soft.
•Add the tomato and ginger and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy.
•Add the coriander, cumin and garam masala powders, salt to taste and mix well. Cook on a low flame for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
•Turn off the fire and add the rice. Mix well.
•Serve with pappadum and onions mixed with salt,cucmber slices, carrot slices and youghurt(salad).

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Lime Pickle / Cheru naaranga Achar

This is the lemon you get in US. This is too big and the taste is also different.

This is what I use for this pickle. In US they call this Limes...

 

 

Ingredients:-

Cheru naranga / Yellow Lemon - 10 ( the grocery store here has lemon double the size of it back home, so I purchased the same lemons we get in India from the Global food market in Kirkwood)

Salt -  to taste + a pinch of sugar

Gingelly oil / Nallenna / Sesame oil - 2 table spoon + 2 table spoon

Mustard seeds - 1.5 tea spoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1 tea spoon

Garlic - 10 cloves ( you can add more if you love the bite of it in your pickle)

Ginger - a small piece

Green chilly - 2-3 sliced

Curry Leaves - a handful

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chili powder - 2 table spoon ( use as per your spice level , 2 tbsp is really spicy)

Kaayam ( asafoetida) -  1/4 tea spoon

Vinegar - 2 tea spoon

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Clean , wash and pat dry the lemons .

2. Steam in a idlicooker or steamer for 5-8 minutes.

3. Let it cool and wipe it well with a kitchen towel and cut into 8 pieces.( if lemon is small make 4 pieces).

4. Take an air tight glass jar and add lemon and a table spoon of salt and a pinch of sugar and mix well.

5. Keep it for a couple of days.

 

On the day you are making the pickle

 

1. Heat 2 table spoons of gingelly oil/ nallenna in a pan and add mustard seeds.

2. When they pop up add fenugreek seeds and fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add garlic, ginger, green chilly and curry leaves and saute for a couple of minutes and add turmeric powder.

4. Add chili powder , and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil.

5. Simmer for 5 minutes or till the water is reduced or it is thick.

6. Add  asafoetida ( kaayam) and fenugreek powder (if using) and mix well.

7. Remove from fire and let it cool.

8. Add Lemon pieces , salt to taste and vinegar mix well.

9. My mom usually leave it in the pan for 4-6 hours , but you can omit this step if you want.

10. Transfer that to a glass jar and add 2 table spoon of gingelly oil. 

11. Make sure the glass jar is airtight.

 

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Double Ka meetha

Double ka meetha is a dessert of Hyderabad and made from hot crisp fried roundels of bread, soaked in saffron and cardamom flavoured syrup, topped with cream. It is similar to of Shahi tukre.

It is a popular dessert of Hyderabadi cuisine. It is served at weddings and parties. More often than not, it is the double ka meetha that one encounters or, if a more elaborate banquet is being hosted, gille firdaus or badam ki jaali relegate this simple yet elegant sweet to the background

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Sugar           - 1 Cup
Condensed Milk  - 3 Tsp
Bread slices    - 4
saffron         - 2 small pieces
Milk            - 2 Cups
Almonds         - 4
Cashews         - 4
Dried Grapes    - 4
Ghee            - 1 tsp

Cut bread into halves of triangle and let them dry over night , fry in ghee till golden brown.
Make sugar syrup flavoured with cardamom and saffron color. Slowly boil milk till it is reduced to 1/4 of original.
soak bread in sugar syrup for few seconds and remove . put all nuts and dryfruits over the sweetened bread and pour over syrup.
You can add a little of Milk and serve chilled as well.

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Veggie Puffs

This infact is a desi version of American gourmet which is called a "turnover". We call it veg puffs or veggie puffs in India.

A turnover is a kind of pastry made by placing a filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, and sealing it. Turnovers can be sweet or savory and are often made as a sort of portable meal or dessert, similar to a sandwich.

Ingredients:
 •Pastry sheet – 1 pack
 •Medium size potato – 1 (cooked and mashed)
 •Green chilly -1
 •Green Peas – 3 tbsp
 •Onion – 1/2 cup
 •Coriander leaves – a few
 •Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
 •Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
 •Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
 •Garam masala – 1/4 tsp
 •Oil – 2 tsp
 •Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

Preparation of Masala:
1.Pastry sheets are available in any of the stores from the frozen section(Pepperidge farms pastry sheets are famous)
2.Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds
3.Once they splutter add onions and saute
4.Now add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies and keep tossing for a few seconds followed by red chilly powder and garam masala
5.Now add the mashed potato, peas and some salt
6.Combine them well. Sprinkle some coriander leaves and mix it
7.Remove from heat

Preparation of Puff:

1.Now cut the pastry sheets into square pieces. An easy way to do so is to cut them along the creases of the three folds and then cut each strip into three pieces horizontally.
2.Fill them with masala and fold it. Keep less masala to avoid them coming out of the pastry sheet while baking.
3. Keep them all in Aluminium trays (easily available in stores) after smearing a little oil or butter on it so that it that the puffs won't stick on to the tray.
4.Preheat oven at 350°F and keep the tray with puffs inside for 30 – 40 minutes
5.Keep checking it every 15 minutes
6.Once they become golden brown colour remove from oven

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