Mango Mor Kuzhumbu

This was a recipe that came to me from a friend, and even though I have never tasted it myself, was tempted to try. Loved it.

1 cup ripe mango pulp
1 tsp haldi powder
salt to taste
4 cups curds
2 cups  grated coconut
2 green chillies

For Tempering:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp methi seeds
2 red chillis
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp oil

Method
Blend together the coconut and green chillis.
Add haldi, salt and the ground paste to the mango pulp, add some water, and bring to a boil.
Reduce flame to a simmer and add beaten curds. Stir carefully, and don't let the curds boil, becasue it will split.
Heat the oil, add mustard seeds and methi seeds. Once they stop spluttering add curry leaves and red chillis and saute for a minute or two. Pour the seasoning onto the curry.
Serve hot

Instant Mango Pickle

When the first mangoes fell off the trees after the April Showers, I would rejoice, because it meant the appearance of instant mango pickle at the dinner table. I love it more than most other things, but this is the first year that I attempted to make it myself.

Raw Mango cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp haldi powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
a pinch of hing
(all these can be adjusted according to taste)

For tempering
3 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/3 tsp urad dal
Curry leaves (optional)

Method
Wash Mango thoroughly and wipe with a paper towel, then chop in to fine pieces.
Marinate with the dry powders and keep aside.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and when it stops spluttering add urad dal and fry till golden brown.
Pour the oil with tempering onto the mango pieces, mix well and store it under refridgeration in an airtight container.
Tastes best after 2- 3 days, and can easily be kept for a month in the refridgerator.

Kala channa

This is my easy peasy, can't go wrong recipe for kala channa.

 Soak 1 cup kala channa for a few hours, then pressure cook for 2 whistles with haldi and salt.

Dry roast dhania and jeera, and pound till it forms a coarse powder.
Heat a little oil, add 1 onion chopped fine, and 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste. When the raw smell goes, add the dhania-jeera powder, 1 tsp amchur powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder.

Add the cooked kala channa, bring to boil, and cook on low heat for a few minutes. Adjust salt as per taste.

Serve garnished with dhania patta.

Mango Chaas

There are versions and versions of mango lassi- mine is a low fat version with just a hint of mango.

Beat 1/2 cup dahi, 2 tbsp mango pulp and rock salt with 1/2 cup water tilll smooth. Delicious.

Chaas

With the mercury threatening to break through the top of the thermometer, and with me being on a particularly intensive running schedule, I've lost count of the number of times I have made this in the last few weeks.
 

Dry roast jeera and pound it till it becomes a coarse powder (I make this in a larger quantity and keep it).
Whisk curds with the desired quantity of water, add powdered jeera and rock salt to taste, stir, slurp.

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

Manga tokku

When I was staying at home, I never quite cared for this chutney (or maybe it was never served to me), but somewhere along the line, I developed a taste for it and have bought numerous bottles of it. This was the first time I dared try it out myself, and it turned out better than the store bought versions. I know I am not going to buy it any more.

Mango grated - 1 cup
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Chilli powder - 3 tsp (more if you like it hot)
Salt -2 tsp (or to taste)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing -1/4 tsp
Fenugreek powder(dry roasted and powdered) - 1/2 tsp
Cooking oil- 1 tbsp

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds and hing. When the mustard seeds start spluttering add the grated mango, and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt, and cook till the oil starts to separate. Add the fenugreek powder, mix well and cook for a minute or two.

Can be stored in the fridge for upto two weeks. Best with dosas.

Maharashtrian Vangi

This is a variation on the Maharashtrian bharela vangi- this has a slightly runny gravy so can be had with rice too.

Chotoo brinjals - 250 gms
Onion - 2 medium chopped
Tomato- 1 large chopped
Peanuts - 3 tbsp, roast, remove skin and crush lightly
Garlic - 4/ 6 pods
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste
Cooking oil- 1 tsp

Wash the brinjals and pat dry. Cut lengthwise into quarters, coat with turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.
Heat the cooking oil, and fry the onions, garlic and tomatoes with the rest of the powders till the onion starts turning transparent.
Add the peanuts and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, till the onions and tomatoes are well cooked.
Add the stuffed baigan, mix well, and fry for about 2 minutes.
Add enough water to half cover the baigans, and let it cook on low heat till baigans are well done, and you get a slightly runny gravy.

Can be had with either rotis or rice.

Aam panna

Decades later, I still remember those days. Those oppressively hot days in April, when old-timers would nod and predict that it would rain before the day was over. The sudden darkening of the sky, the howl of the Kalabaishaki winds, the electricity getting knocked out, the clatter of water hitting the rooftops, the smell of wet earth filling your nostrils. And the next day, hunting for the mangoes that were brought down by the gale, some alchemy in the kitchen, and cool glasses of aam panna being thrust into your hands.
Even today, when I have a tall glass of aam panna in my hand, I am transported back to that lovely bungalow in Jharkhand, and I am 8 once again.

Raw mango - 1 large size
Sugar - 3 tbsp or as required (depends on the sourness of the mangoes and how sweet you want it to be)
Roasted jeera powder - 1/2 tsp (dry roast the jeera, then roughly pound it)
Mint leaves - few
Rock Salt to taste

Cook the mango in the pressure cooker till soft (2 whistles should do it- I cooked it along with the dal), and let it cool
Gently peel off the skin, and remove the pulp
In a blender, blend the mango pulp, rock salt, powdered jeera and sugar till smooth.

This forms the stock of the aam panna, and can be stored in the fridge for upto a week. When you want to drink, you dilute it with 3 parts water, add a few torn mint leaves, top with crushed ice serve.

Tomato stuffed with cottage-cheese and pesto

I first made this a few years back, after seeing it in some food programme, and have never tired of it.

 
Chop off the top of the tomatoes, remove the seeds, and coat with olive oil.
Crumble cottage cheese, chop olives and mix with pesto sauce (I use store bought, because they taste better than the stuff I make myself).
Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture, and bake till the tomatoes are done (the reason I am vague about time is because I like the cheese to be melted but the tomatoes to remain firm- most people like the tomatoes to be cooked too).

Mango panna cotta (if you can call it that)

[This was adapted from Mona's coffee panna cotta recipe, and has been made twice more after that. Not sure what it is called, but it works for me and my family.]

1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cream
1 cup mango pulp
3 tbsp sugar

Place the milk in a heavy, small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over and let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin. Stir over medium heat just until the gelatin dissolves, but the milk does not boil (about 2 minutes).
Add the cream, the mango pulp, and the sugar. Stir over low heat, until the sugar dissolves (about 3 more minutes). Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Pour the mixture into a mould, cover and refrigerate, stirring every 20 minutes during the first hour. Chill until set, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.