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

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 :)

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. 

 

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   

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

Hot & Sour Corn balls

   Not long before, I watched hot and sour mutton balls cooked on a TV show.  I wanted to make them too!  Using mutton at my home is like once in a month, so I just skipped the idea of making them with mutton, instead came up with this vegetarian idea.

This dish came out very delecious and went great with roti/dosa/all sorts of bread, do try and let me know.

Muttai curry (Hard-boiled eggs cooked in spicy masala gravy and topped with semi-fried tomatos)

Ingredients required

For the masala base

• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 2 tsp khus khus
• 1-inch cinnamon piece
• 2-3 cloves
• 2 green cardamon
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds/sombu
• 1 tsp of whole dhanya
• 3-4 red chillies
• 1/2 cup finely sliced onions
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

To temper

• 4-5 tsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp rai/mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp split urad dal
• 1/2 tsp whole jeera
• 1/4 tsp venthayam/methi seeds
• 4-5 tsp finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves

others

• 2 eggs (hard-boiled and deshelled)
• 2 tomatos
• 1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp coarsely crushed peppercorn

Method

In a kadaai, saute ingredients for masala.  Blend into paste, set aside

Take tomatos and chop into fine juvelinnes, wash them to remove pulp/seeds

Heat oil and add tomato juvelinnes, semi-fry them with few spoons of oil.

Cut the hard boiled eggs into two, and cook them on tawa too, till they turn golden yellow in colour

Set aside eggs and tomatos

In the  kadaai, heat oil and add ingredients for temper one by one.  Add masala paste

Add in turmeric powder, kaalimirch, jeera powder and salt

Cook till raw smell fades away.  In a serving bowl, add eggs, top with gravy and fried tomatos.

Serve with dosa/idly/rice

Hmm... it was very yummy....

Malaai gobi matar

Ingredients required

For the gravy base

• one cup of finely chopped onions
• one cup of finely choppped tomatos
• one slit green chilly
• 1 tsp Everest subzi masala
• 1 tsp Everest garam masala
• 1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp dhanya powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 tsp khoya

other

• 1 cup of cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup of green peas
• 1/4 cup milk cream

Method

In a kadaai, saute all ingredients for gravy base, like onions, tomatos, green chilly, all spice powders and khoya.  Saute till tomato becomes mushy, cool and blend into paste

In a separate pan, add gravy base along with cauliflower and green peas.  Cook  them till the cauliflower are three fourth done, at this juncture add cream.

Simmer the flame for 5-10 minutes and serve hot with paranthas

Chungdi jhola

Chungdi jhola is a spicy gravy based on prawns with different flavour of spices.  This, being an oriyan dish is known for its dark red colour (which comes because of dominant presence of tomato and garlic) and is flavoured with garam masalas.  So moving to recipe

Ingredients required

For the gravy base

• 3-4 tomatos, finely chopped
• 10-15 garlic pods
• 2 bay leaves, crushed
• 2-inch piece of cinnamon, crushed
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder
• 1 tsp dhanya powder
• 1 tsp salt

other

• 1/2 kg prawns, cleaned, deshelled and deveined
• 8-10 tsp of mustard oil
• 2 tsp of Everest garam masala

Method

In a kadaai, saute all ingredients for gravy base, without adding oil.  Saute till tomato gets completely mushy, which will take around fifteen minutes in simmer flame. Cool for sometime and blend into puree.

In separate pan, heat mustard oil and shallow fry prawns for fifteen minutes

After sometime, add garam masala and stir-fry the prawns

Add in pureed gravy base and cook till prawns are done.  Serve hot with parathas

Spicy and creamy bottlegourd gravy

Who said bottlegourd can be boring always with dal or some non-spicy gravy?? Try this flavourful and creamy gravy... u will be asked for some more   ;)

Ingredients required

To be sauted and blended into masala paste

• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 cups finely chopped tomatos
• 2-3 slit green chillies
• Handful of mint leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp Everest kitchen king masala
• Pinch of turmeric
• Half tsp salt
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

To be blended into creamy paste

• 4 tsp coconut water
• 2 tsp khus khus
• 1 tsp putane ki dal/pottu kadalai
• 2-3 whole cashewnuts

other ingredients

• 1 cup bottlegourd pieces, deskinned, deseeded and chopped into big pieces
• 3 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

Method

Saute ingredients given under masala paste and blend them after they are cooled.

In a kadaai, add bottlegourd pieces and masala paste, heat in simmer flame till bottlegourd gets three fourth cooked.

Now, add creamy paste and heat for ten more minutes, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with parathas