Nutty peas delight

I've realised that vegetables go down much easier, if they are colourful, which prompted me to make this peas- pepper curry in a creamy gravy for dinner. You can bet every last bit was polished off.

4 pods of garlic, thinly sliced
2 inch piece - ginger, grated
1/2+1/2- yellow and red pepper, thinly sliced
2 1/2 - onions, thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp - ghee
1 cup milk
1 tsp - garam masala
Oil to sauté vegetables
3 tbsp flax seeds
6- 8 cashew nuts
1 tsp kasuri methi
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Method
Steam the peas for five minutes till slightly cooked. Keep aside.
Coarsely grind the flax seeds and cashew nuts (without water). Keep aside.
Heat the oil in a non stick pan, add the thinly sliced garlic, ginger, onions and pepper and saute for a minute on medium heat.
Add the coarsely ground nuts and cook for about a minute. Add the 1/2 cup of milk and cook until the milk evaporates.
Add the garam masala, salt, sugar and 1/2 cup of milk and bring it to a boil.
Add the peas and the kasuri methi and mix well.
Serve immediately. Goes best with hot rotis.

Beetroot halwa

Though often eclipsed by it's more famous cousin, gajar ka halwa, in my house, beetroot halwa was always (if not more) as popular. My mother had a maid to do the chopping and grating, so there was rarely a single day in winter that we didn't have one of the two desserts to feast on.
Personally, I don't like making beetroot halwa, because the vegetable leaves a nasty stain on the hands, but since carrots haven't come to the market yet, I had no choice but to make this today, and I am glad I did.

250 gms beetroot- peeled and grated
equal measure milk
2 tbsp sugar (you can add more, but the beetroot is sweet in itself)
cashewnuts
cardamon

Method
Wash, peel and grate the beetroots and keep aside
Bring the milk to boil in a thick bottomed pot, reduce the flame, add the grated beetroot and sugar, and keep stirring till the milk thickens completely.
Towards the end, throw in the cashewnuts, so it cooks a bit, but not too much.
Garnish with powdered cardamon and serve chilled

Ashtami spread- Suji halwa

I have very vivid childhood memories of going from house to house for Ashtami Puja. Though a very a fussy eater, I would cheerfully eat the puri, halwa and kala channa, because tucked away somewhere on the plate would be a couple of shiny 1 rupee coins!
Though my mother in law used to do the Puja too, I never picked up the tradition, but this year, I decided to give it a try.
Suji halwa is easy to make, as is sukha channa, but it was the first time I was attempting puris, and was I scared!
When the puris puffed up, I puffed up with pride, and felt quite a Domestic Diva as I fed my family "garam garam puris".
Unfortunately, however, when I put the first spoonful of suji halwa in my mouth, I got a whiff of hing, and before long I was able to trace it to the fact that I had used the same wooden spoon with which I had earlier made hing-walla aloo. Nobody else saw it, so not cribbing too much!

1 Cup – Sooji (Semolina)

2 Tbsp- Ghee (Clarified Butter)
1 Cup- Sugar
4 Cups – Water
1/2 Cup- Almonds, Raisins and Cashewnuts

Method 
Heat the Ghee in a Kadhai and once it is heated add the Sooji to it. 
Now keep stirring continously till the sooji gets golden brown in colour. Take care not to burn the sooji. 
Now add the water to the kadhai and soon after add the sugar. 
Again keep stirring the mixture to avoid any lumps. 
Now add the dry fruits to the mixture and after 3-4 minutes, take it off.

Dahi Malai Murgh/Chicken in Yogurt and Cream sauce

This is a tried and tested recipe from MM's Kitchen Bites, and the first time I made it, I fell in love with it. The best part is that it takes very little time to make, and can be made ahead of time and re-heated later.

Ingredients:
Chicken, curry cut, 1 kg
Fresh Cream, ½ cup (can use less or more if you want)
Garlic ,paste , 1 tbsp
Ginger, paste, 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves, 2 tbsp
Oil, 2 tbsp




- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/03/dahi-malai-murghto-gossip-and-drinking.html#sthash.7yvibNY4.dpuf


Dahi Malai Murgh/Chicken in Yogurt and Cream sauce





Ingredients:
Chicken, curry cut, 1 kg
Fresh Cream, ½ cup (can use less or more if you want)
Garlic ,paste , 1 tbsp
Ginger, paste, 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves, 2 tbsp
Oil, 2 tbsp





Marination:

Thick curd/Yogurt, ¾ cup ( ensure that it is not sour)
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp
Salt, to taste



Instructions:

Wash and clean chicken, Wipe dry. Make small cuts in the chicken. Mix all ingredients mentioned under marinade in a bowl and add in the chicken. Rub the marinade on the chicken pieces. Cover and let it marinate for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Bring the chicken back to room temperature before starting cooking.



Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the ginger garlic pastes and on low flame fry till light golden brown .Add in the chicken with the marinade to the pan, mix well and let it fry for 3-4 minutes. Add black pepper powder, stir and cook covered on low flame. Stir every 4 to 5 minutes so that the chicken doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Since this is done on low flame, it take about 30-40 minutes – you will first see a lot of water and oil floating on top, eventually the water will get absorbed, only oil will be left and the colour would change to this nice beige light gold.



Crush kasoori methi with your hands and add it along with cream and some salt in to the pan. Mix well and continue to cook on low for 5-10 minutes.do a taste check and adjust salt and black pepper. Serve hot with Naan or Parantha.

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/03/dahi-malai-murghto-gossip-and-drinking.html#sthash.7yvibNY4.dpuf


Dahi Malai Murgh/Chicken in Yogurt and Cream sauce





Ingredients:
Chicken, curry cut, 1 kg
Fresh Cream, ½ cup (can use less or more if you want)
Garlic ,paste , 1 tbsp
Ginger, paste, 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
Kasoori Methi/Dried Fenugreek leaves, 2 tbsp
Oil, 2 tbsp





Marination:

Thick curd/Yogurt, ¾ cup ( ensure that it is not sour)
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp
Salt, to taste



Instructions:

Wash and clean chicken, Wipe dry. Make small cuts in the chicken. Mix all ingredients mentioned under marinade in a bowl and add in the chicken. Rub the marinade on the chicken pieces. Cover and let it marinate for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Bring the chicken back to room temperature before starting cooking.



Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the ginger garlic pastes and on low flame fry till light golden brown .Add in the chicken with the marinade to the pan, mix well and let it fry for 3-4 minutes. Add black pepper powder, stir and cook covered on low flame. Stir every 4 to 5 minutes so that the chicken doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Since this is done on low flame, it take about 30-40 minutes – you will first see a lot of water and oil floating on top, eventually the water will get absorbed, only oil will be left and the colour would change to this nice beige light gold.



Crush kasoori methi with your hands and add it along with cream and some salt in to the pan. Mix well and continue to cook on low for 5-10 minutes.do a taste check and adjust salt and black pepper. Serve hot with Naan or Parantha.

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/03/dahi-malai-murghto-gossip-and-drinking.html#sthash.7yvibNY4.dpuf

Dak bungalow chicken

Growing up in a vegetarian household, for the longest time, the only non-veg dishes I had tasted were the fish fry and the roast chicken at this restaurant in Jamshedpur, and the chicken they served at the Guest House. It was only when I read the name "dak bungalow chicken", and tried to research it on the internet that I realized that what the cook at the Guest House was dishing out was a continuation of the grand colonial tradition of "dak bungalow chicken". This is a mish-mash of a bunch of recipes, and tastes exactly like I remember it.

Wash and clean the pieces of chicken and pat dry.
Mix -
1/2 cup curd
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp each cumin pwd and red chilli pwd* and 2 tsp coriander pwd
salt to taste
Marinate the chicken in the mixture and keep aside for about 4 hours.

Fry in 1 tbsp oil-
2 medium onions chopped
6-8 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
1 badi elaichi
8-10 cloves
till the onions turn a golden brown.

Turn off the flame. Take out about 1/2 the total quantity of the fried mixture (without any of the whole spices), grind to a smooth paste and return to the mixture.

Add the marinated chicken pieces to the fried masala, stir well, and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Best with hot phulkas with lots of ghee.

* adjust chilli powder to taste