Chow chow and mutton curry

   I had just left the market with an pack of chow chow.  This green vegetable, resembled potato like in texture.  I wanted to try it differently other than usual poriyal or kootu, which is why I called my aunt.  She told me that chow chow, radhish, carrot and potato are few vegetables that can pair excellently with mutton curry.  Even those who don't like veggies and prefer mutton alone, will find this curry delecious since the chow chow absorbs the flavour of mutton and portrays as same.  You can add green chillies to the masala paste instead of chilly powder, but, since we had an toddler, I sticked with latter option.

Yes, and I made the curry along with mutton and its liver.  Mutton liver or thilli is an excellant source of iron, and moreover they dominated the entire flavour and we all nourished the same.  This curry goes great with rice/idly or dosa.  I hope you try the same and let us know.  

Karahi chicken

   'Karahi Chicken', an Pakistani dish, derives its name from the round, circular shaped wok (called as karahi) they are cooked with.   Prepared with tomatos and green chilly as its base, this gravy is not only flavourful, but also was delecious.  

With an toddler around, I decided to go with moderate amounts of green chilly (If you wish this dish to be highly spicy, you can add more amount of green chillies) Remaining amount of green chilly, was substituted with capsicum slices to give an sweet touch.  This dish, is cooked as an one pot meal and traditionally was cherished till late nights.  Simplistic approach, with easy-peasy ingredients and no-oil cooking complements this dish an lot.

KHUMB DOPYAZA - Mushrooms cooked in double onion masala

   'Dopyaza' meaning for double onion masala, actually originated when an cook (from Mughals), accidentally added lots of onions into mutton curry.  This  dish was much favoured by the kings, and hence the name originated.  For such an delicate curry, and an blessing for onion-lovers, why can't we drag them around and play with our veggies ;) Yes, they paired up excellantly with mushrooms and my other half couln't be happier than that. (I, really wasn't surprised, for an man who loves to eat raw onions, cooked ones must have pleased far...)

Onions, at first, used for usual sauting and  finally used as an garnish too (garnishing ones were deep-fried).  Apart from accompanying spices like black cardamon, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns, they also pair with souring agent (curd/mango/tomato puree).  So, let us move to this delecious curry at once.  

DINNER

MAIN COURSE 

ROTI / PARATHA/ WRAP

·        Aamla paranthas

·        Ajwain paratha

·        Aloo ki paratha

·        Carrot paratha

·        Hot dog wraps

·        Kheema ki parantha

·         Peas paratha

·         Rumali roti

PASTA  

·        Chokolya

·        Spaghetti with meat sauce

·        Desi-styled spaghetti

·        Lasagna

GRAVY/CURRY/DAL  - VEGETARIAN

·        Aloo ki bhaaji

·         Baby cabbage gravy

·         Dum Aloo

·         Gobi kandhaari

·         Harira

·         Hiruva masala shaak

·         Hot & Sour corn balls

·         Kache kele ki kofta curry

·         Kadaai khumb

·         Kadaai kobhi

·         Kadaai vegetable

·         Khoya matar

·         Khuskhuswali khumb

·         Kichi bhajji

·         Low calorie kofta curry

·         Malaai gobi matar

·          Malvani khumb curry

·          Mangalorean curry

·          Mili-juli subzi

·          Mushroom and capsicum stir-fry

·          Mushroom dopyaza

·          Mushroom ki Roganjosh

·          Mushroom theeyal

·          Padwal ki masaledar dal

·          Padwal ki nilgiri gravy

·          Palak paneer

·           Paneer masala

·          Phool makhana curry

·          Shahi khumb

·          Sindhi saag

·          Soya aur tarkari ki masala

·          Spicy and creamy bottlegourd gravy

·          Thai green gravy

·          Tomato chutney

·          Vegetable taka tak

·          Vegetables in garlic sauce

    

  DAL 

          ·            Bhaja moong dal

·           Chilly kabuli chana

·           Dal bukhara

·           Dal ki soya

·           Dal maharani

·           Dal tadka

·           Dal with tofu

·           Katachi aamti

·         Mooli ki dal

·           Pindy choley

·          Punjabi rajmah

·           Rajma masala

NON – VEGETARIAN GRAVY

·           Chungdi jhola

·           Goan egg curry

·           Kadhai lasuni gosht

·          Karahi chicken

·           Kolhapuri pandhra rassa

·           Kolhapuri taambda rassa

·            Kolyaas ki shaak

·           Murgh makhani

·           Murgh Pasanda

·           Prawn balchao

·          Shimla mirch ki kombdi

     

RAITA / SALAD

·          Coleslaw

·          Cucumber raita

·          Koshimbir

·         Sprouts salad

·          Detox salad

Desi-styled spaghetti/ Ajwain flavoured spaghetti

    The heat of Degi mirch  along with pureed tomatos and aromatic  ajwain seeds.... Can anything go wrong with this??  Definitely not... :)  The sauce I made for this spaghetti had this strange medley blend, though they tasted heavenly together.. A strange marriage between two varied cuisine, yet they bonded each other very passionately and gave out an pleasant dining-out experience :)

Partially they are from my Morphy Richards guide, this sauce were used in Pizza.  I just transferred the idea to spaghetti, though I should also mention that I had made lot of modifications.  For cheese mentioned, I replaced them with cottage cheese/paneer.  Vegetables like onion, tomato and capsicum has also been replaced quantitywise to match up our Italian bridegroom :P

I, also dressed up this prepared spaghetti with olive oil before topping up with sauce.  Every bite was delecious, and I got an strong credit from my brother-in-law.  :P  Yeah.. that was an prestigious moment as I could recollect them...  Hope you would try the very same and let me know...

Bhaja Moong dal - Potluck party, cyber style December 28th 2013

   For this month of potluck party, I was paired with Sutapa.  I was too happy because I am an dal or gravy-aholic lady.  In this blogging world, we can see many bakes, many goodies  or many virtual treats, but when it comes to your home-cooking, making gravies or dal for dinner becomes an wondering part of life because breakfast and lunch preparation gets over my morning itself.  And for me, I simply quiz what to cook up, with my refrigerator and provisions shelf wide open  :D  :D   This potluck party, very clearly compensated my thought :P  

Bhaja moong dal, an bengali dal is an rich and exotic dal.  'Bhaja' means 'fry' and so moong dal was fried with ghee before pressure cooking and tempered with spices and coconut.  When I prepared, I can notice a pleasent aroma and taste, unlike other dal preparations.  So, thanks to Sutapa for introducing such an nice dal to us, I enjoyed them thoroughly with roti. 

Paneer masala

Hi all, this paneer masala is from '100 vagai side-dish' book by Archana Natarajan.  Thanks to Srivalli for an awesome CCC because I am utilizing all my cookbooks now, which otherwise would have been an dusky showcase material  :P  Never thought paneer masala would have been this much delecious that too without adding dense cashew paste or cream.  Recipe calls for an simple ingredients, yet awesome output.  Isn't it great??

This gorgeously looking paneer masala is too creamy and tasty that anybody can hardly resist :)  And they save a lot of time too :P  Comes in handy, especially if you have any sudden guests coming over also for an week-end treat!  Hubby loved it with roti/chapathi, though this would be guarentely an hit with pulao/rice :)

Hiruva masala shaak / Green masala curry - POTLUCK PARTY, CYBER STYLE Dec 10

   It's party-time!!! :D  yes, back to potluck party, cyber style hosted by Jagruti mam where several bloggers meet with their party dishes online and share treat virtually  :D.  They, also pair up and prepare the other partner's dish and cherish them as well.  Isn't it interesting??   But, travelling frequently for past two months, I was not able to make up.  This time, I do proudly present the authentic curry preparation, made by my Mother-in-law - Hiruva masala shaak or Green masala curry.

 

As the name suggests, green masala curry is  very hot (Caution to spice-tolerant guys!), they differ from Nilgiri/green coloured curry because it is not the  (green) colour that matters here.  Hiruva masala shaak has many green chillies (8-10), sauted and pureed, this masala is added to regular curry-base, unlike other curries where  pureeing mint/coriander leaves is done to attain characteristic green colour.   

Padwal ki masaledar dal

Well, well, well... What can I say about this dal?  This is one of my hubby's favourite and he asks them quite often to make.  Little does he know that this dal, when first made was an yesterday's left-over kootu, that got churned over to masala dal with garam masala touch!!  :D  :D  After that, I started preparing masaledar dal frequently, atleast once a week.  Hopefully, this dal has lots of padwal/snakegourd that is healthier too!!

 

I must admit that this dal goes on rocking combo with dosa/kal dosa.  Roti also makes an better match.  They taste best the next day (Don't know why, experts please explain)  Don't worry with snakegourd still staying in your refrigerator.  Just grab them, and prepare this dal, for I am sure, you won't be disappointed :D

Kadaai khumb

     Mushroom always has an special reserved place at my refrigerator :)  I buy them often, atleast once an week.  This is because both hubby and daughter are mushroom lovers, they love in any form.  I made this kadaai khumb one day for dinner and I must say it was appetizing, palatable and melted easily with rotis/parathas. 

 

As goes with all kadaai gravy, I made them with cashewnut paste and cream.  This is an rich gravy, and also has green peas with them.  If you prefer it milder, you can add almond paste/putane dal paste instead of cashew paste. Also instead of cream, milk can be added.  This, is derived from Punjabi cuisine, where lots of dairy products are used. 

 

 

You can also try other mushroom recipes here like Mushroom stir-fry, Mushroom theeyal, Malvani khumb curry, Khuskhuswali khumb, Laal khumb, Mushroom dopyaza, Mushroom jalfrezi. 

 

Kothukkari kuruma/minced meat kuruma

   Minced meat/kothukkari curry goes great with idiyappam/dosa/rice.  Here I have added precooked minced meat along with masala, this is an tempting dish for NV-lovers.

 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients required:

To temper

•  1 tbspn of oil
• 1 Bayleaf, crushed
• 1 star anise
• 1-inch cinnamon piece
• 1 Black cardamom
• 1 clove
• 1 Marathi mogga
• 1 tsp sombu/fennel seeds

Idiyappam - Step by step tutorial from store bought riceflour

   Idiyappam, is commonly found dish in South (Tamilnadu, Kerala, coastal parts of Karnataka) India.  The rice flour paste (or wheat flour/ragi flour) is pressed to noodles, steam-cooked and had.  While sweet ones, are done by dusting  with sugar and coconut flakes, savoury-lovers are free to have them with a dip of any spicy curry.  You can opt for Kadalai curry, Meen kolambu, Chettinadu kozhi kolambu.  Also am having minced meat curry on my draft and will post them soon :D

This dish is highly made by preparing rice flour at home, that is why I presume the name goes, Idi-'appam (Idi meaning 'to crush' in tamil.  'appam' meaning pancake) Here selected rice is soaked, drained and is dried.  They are then crushed to yield very fine rice flour and the process continues.  What happens here is that, I have made them with store-bought riceflour.  Store bought ones may not be suitable if used directly.  The trick is to roast them till they get an fine texture.  Later they are sieved to yield uniform sized and textured rice flour.  Thanks all goes to my, Keralite neighbor who shared this with me :D  Thank you aunty :)

Spaghetti with meat sauce

  Spaghetti is thin, long pasta from Italy.  Here, I used dried form of spaghetti packet, made of wheat durum semolina.  Spaghetti is topped usually with tomato sauce, with herbs like basil and oregano.  Here, I used meat sauce and the result was awesome.  The basic sauce, I used was Maggi's instant pasta sauce.  If you want an home-made one, click here

 

Since, this was my first Italian association, I followed each steps carefully.  These spaghetti were a bit denser than our instant noodles.  I cooked them till they were completely done and it went good with sauce.  They were heavy on stomach. One bite topped with sauce was completely heavenly.  I added both meat and vegetables here, vegetarians can replace the same amount of meat with additional mushrooms.

 

Rumali roti/ Zero oil roti - Homestyled

   Those soft, thin roti's you order at restaurant is not so tough to make at home.

  Name originating from 'rumal' meaning Kerchief in Urdu is an combination of maida and wheat flour and is cooked on inverted griddle/tawa/kadaai.  After cooking, these are folded in four and is served hot with sizzling mughalian curries.  Here, I used lesser maida than original composition ie one parts of wheat flour with 1/4 part of maida.  Rotis thus obtained were super-soft and much to my surprise stayed soft for more than six hours.  And most interesting fact is that these are zero-oil rotis, so go ahead and give an try, for you are sure to get praised :)

Restaurent styled Murgh makhani

Murgh makhani or Chicken butter masala originating from Punjab, is an tempting, rich and mild chicken gravy.  Loaded with khoya, cream and cashew paste,  these are heavy to stomach and delight the mind instantly. The dried kasoori methi leaves are also added along with cream/milk to top-up the flavor.  If you have any guests turning in or if it is one of your special occasions, this dish is an must-try. 

 

They look lovely,isn't it?? Got the red colour from degi mirch masala.   Chicken, marinated in curd and other spices is pan-friend, cooked on kadaai with onion, garam masala, khoya, cream and cashews.   But don't hesitate to make them  due to richness and high priced ingredients.  Check out my home-made khoya recipe here  Interestingly, here I used an quick version of khoya.  In an vessel with 1/4 cup of milk powder, I stirred in 11/2 tsp of hot water and  got an instant-form of doughy khoya, roughly around 1 tbspn.  I used them in this preparation. 

 

 And replacing cream, I used full fat milk.  (using low fat milk also is not an problem)  Also, lastly added green chillies for an spicy murgh makhani (which traditionally remains mild).  You can avoid them if you want creamy, non-spicy type.

 

You can check other murgh recipes like Karahi chicken, Murgh pasanda, Kolhapuri taambda rassa, Nattukodi pulusu, Chettinadu chicken gravy, Piri piri chicken, Chicken vindaloo, Kozhi kolambu etc   

Malai panneer tikka - Potluck party, cyber style

    Am back from Chennai from an function, and I was equally excited about my dish at party!  I soon recalled that I hadn't tried any starters, so here I am with Malai panneer tikka.  'Malai' means any dish cooked with milk cream and also adds on cashewnut paste.  In North India many dishes are prepared using this term, Malai kofta,  Matar malai, Rasmalai,  Malai peda etc.  Here, in an similar way paneer tikkas are prepared.

Tomato chutney - Potluck party, cyber style

    When I first looked into my partner's(Sutapa Ghosh) dish, I was happier  thinking that making chutney would be easier. Alas, this tomato chutney cooked in bengali style is not  an easy one.  The important ingredient required was ammsattva or mango leather which I had hardly heard off.  At this time, Sutapa Ghosh of sutapasindian blog suggested other names of ammsattva.  In Andhra pradesh, these ammsattva or mango leather is called as Mamidi Tandra or mango jelly.

      According to wiki, they are fruit leather, mixed with concentrated sugar solution, sometimes also an chemical called potassium metabisulphite and is poured over bamboo mats.  The texture of prepared mamidi tandra is unique because it is  made by consequent layering (only after before added layer dries away) over a period of month.  Over ripe thotapuri mangoes are specially used for this purpose.

Khus khuswali khumb/ Mushroom flavoured with spicy poppyseeds base

   I love to try gravy with different base, here is one, poppy seeds flavoured mushroom gravy.  Poppy seeds are highly nutritious, rich source of protein, dietery fibre and also an base for preparing anti-cancer drugs.  I have previously prepared Harira, where poppy seeds are pressed to yield milk which is had with poori/chapathi.  Alternatively, poppy seeds are known to create false positive result in drug tests :(  So, it is advised better not to carry them when you travel to other countries, especially to Saudi Arabia where it is regarded as an severe punishable offence.

Ingredients required

For the masala paste (The following ingredients are dry roasted and ground into a fine paste)

• 3-4 tbspn khus khus/poppy seeds
• 3-4 dry red chilly
• 1 tsp whole dhanya
• 1 -inch cinnamon stick
• 1 black cardamon
• Pinch of ajwain
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 tsp of putane ki dal 
• 3-4 garlic pods
• 1/2 tsp dry ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Chokolya - Indian pasta

 The thought of making chokolya struck my mind when I was pondering over my first main dish for  poluck party.  This chokolya used to be dinnertime options at my childhood days.  This doesn't need any side-dish since it is soupy!  Wheat flour is kneaded  and rolled to individual circles.  Each circle is cut into various diamond shapes and cooked over onion-tomato base.  At my in-law's residence, she used to make rice flour dough, which is torn and shaped into  tiny roundels before adding to gravy base.

A popular variant called 'kolyass ka chokolya' where mutton chunks are added into usual preparation is known.  Also vegetarian version using finely chopped palak/other spinach forms are also seen.  The authentic chokolya is an very spicy one, tempered like biryani style.  (However, here I added lesser spices because I wanted my kid to consume) And because of its spicyness, coconut paste/powder is added in the end in order to cool the body.  

Low-fat/Low-calorie kofta curry

   This week I brought green plantains/vazhakkai from super-market.  Bored of making fry or usual poriyal, I tried out this kofta curry.  The result was fabulous.  To top that, the normally added cream is replaced by beaten curd and provides much healthier version from shahi kofta curry.

Let us follow the recipe now.

Ingredients required

To make kofta

• 1/2 cup steamed and grated vazhakkai
• 1/2 cup paneer, crumbled
• 1/4 cup of steamed and grated carrot
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped capsicum
• 1 Bread slice, slightly crumbled
• 2 tbspn of finely chopped spring onions green part
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp peppercorn powder