Gujarati kadhi

One of many reasons I love a Gujarathi thali is because of the sweet kadhi that comes with the piping hot khichudi. Khichudi is easy to replicate, but for some reason, I never thought to attempt the kadhi. Never, that is, till I made kadhi three times in a fortnight recently, and got thinking about whether I should now attempt something a little different.
Asked a few Gujaratis for the recipe, but the ones they gave me didn't seem to be what my taste buds remembered, so I took the basic recipe from Tarla Dalal, and tweaked it a bit. Maybe I am imagining it, but it tasted pretty much as I remember.

2 tbsp besan

1 1/2 cups curds

1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste (I crushed one green chilli and used 1/2 tsp ginger paste)
2 curry leaves
2 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

For The Tempering
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch hing
1 red chilli , broken into pieces
1/2 tsp methi seeds
2 tsp ghee

Method
Combine the besan, curds and 2 1/2 cups of water in a deep pan and whisk well.
Add the ginger-green chilli paste, sugar and salt, mix well and bring it to boil, while stirring continuously. Keep aside.
For the tempering, heat the oil in a small pan and add the jeera and mustard seeds.
When the seeds crackle, add the hing, methi seeds, curry leaves and red chillies and stir for 15 seconds.
Pour the tempering over the kadhi and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Bread rolls

Haven't baked bread for a long time, so decided to make these bread rolls. Just a basic bread, but they came out pretty well, and I'm happy.

I followed my basic bread recipe. After the first rise, I rolled the bread out, spread cheese, oregano, and olives on it, rolled it up, and sealed the edges. I allowed it to rise again for 30 minutes, before sprinkling sesame seeds on top, brushing with milk and baking it. Lovely.

Panna cotta- jelly trifle

"Why don't you make that trifle you made a few months back?", the Hubby asked me while having strawberry custard last night.

"I haven't made trifle for almost a year", I told him.

"No, you did make it four or five months back, and it was really good", he insisted.

"You don't mean the cheesecake I made last month for our Anniversary do you?", I queried.

He couldn't remember either way, but since he'd praised something I made, I had to make something similar for him again.

There was a packet of raw mango jello at home, so a vanilla pana cotta topped with green-mango jelly it was. Tasted delicious.

For the panna cotta

Ingredients:

• Whole milk, 1/2 cup 
• Gelatin, unflavored powdered, 1 1/2 tsp 
• Heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups 
• Instant coffee powder, 3 heaping tsp
• Sugar, 1/4 cup 
• Salt, a pinch
• Dark chocolate, for garnishing

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/02/espresso-panna-cottabring-on-love.html#sthash.QzzXlSLG.dpuf

 1/2 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tsp gelatin
1 1/2 cups cream
1/4 cups sugar
vanilla essence- couple of drops

Strawberries- a handful, chopped into eighths
1 packet jelly crystals (mine was raw mango)

Method
Place milk in a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin on it, and let it stand for 5 minutes till the gelatin softens
Heat the milk, stirring softly so the gelatin dissolves, but ensure the milk doesn't come to a boil (should take 2 mins or so
Add the cream, sugar and vanilla essence, and stir till the sugar dissolves. Should take 2-3 minutes
Remove from heat, let it cool a bit.
Drop a few strawberries in the serving classes (this quantity should make about 6), and pour the cream over them.
Cover and refrigerate for about 6 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so for the first hour.
When the panna cotta is nearly set, make the jelly by following the instructions on the packet. Let it cool, and just when it starts setting, pour it over the panna cotta, and refrigerate till it sets.

Ingredients:

• Whole milk, 1/2 cup 
• Gelatin, unflavored powdered, 1 1/2 tsp 
• Heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups 
• Instant coffee powder, 3 heaping tsp
• Sugar, 1/4 cup 
• Salt, a pinch
• Dark chocolate, for garnishing

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/02/espresso-panna-cottabring-on-love.html#sthash.QzzXlSLG.dpuf

Ingredients:

• Whole milk, 1/2 cup 
• Gelatin, unflavored powdered, 1 1/2 tsp 
• Heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups 
• Instant coffee powder, 3 heaping tsp
• Sugar, 1/4 cup 
• Salt, a pinch
• Dark chocolate, for garnishing

Instructions:

Place the milk in a small heavy saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let it stand for 5 minutes so that the gelatin softens. 

Now, on medium heat, stir just until the gelatin dissolves for about two minutes, but  ensure that the milk does not come to a boil.

Add the cream, espresso powder, sugar, and salt. Still on low heat, stir ,till the sugar dissolves, about three more minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. 

Pour the cream mixture into 2 Martini glasses, dividing equally. 

Cover and refrigerate, stirring every 20 minutes during the first hour. 
Chill until set, minimum 6 hours and up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, use a vegetable peeler or grater on the chocolate block some shavings. Sprinkle the shavings over each panna cotta and serve. - See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/02/espresso-panna-cottabring-on-love.html#sthash.QzzXlSLG.dpuf

Tahdig- an Indianised version

I first had Tahdig at my hubby's uncle and aunt's place. She grew up in Iran, and told me that her mother had adapted the local tahdig to make it more palatable to Indian taste buds. I loved it, but never took the recipe from her. By the time I was ready to do so, she's stopped cooking for so many years, that she'd even forgotten she ever made it.
This then is a replication based on Google Uncle and Memory.

2 measures rice

3 potatoes diced (with the skin intact)

1/2 tsp jeera

1/2 bunch dill leaves chopped fine

salt to taste

oil 

Method

Wash the rice till the water runs clean. Soak in double the quantity of water for 30 minutes. Bring the water to a boil, turn off the flame, cover the vessel and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Line a non-stick wok with oil, layer the potatoes, and cook on a low flame till one side is done. Turn around.

Heat some oil, add jeera seeds, when it starts spluttering add the chopped dil leaves, and stir around for a minute. Add to the rice, and mix well. Add salt to taste.

Gently pour the rice onto the potatoes, making sure not to disturb the layer. Cover and cook on a low flame till the rice is done.
To serve, invert the wok over the serving tray, so the potatoes form a crispy layer on top.

Patti's Keerai Mashiyal

Nostalgia comes in many forms. One of them takes the form of dreaming about some of the stuff that used to be served at my grandmother's place. All of us sitting around the dining table. Rice piled on the plates in front of us. A big dollop of ghee being dropped on top of the rice - my uncle asking for his to be on the side, so he could lick it- and the food. Parupu and keerai made an appearance very often, and I can't think of those times without the taste lingering on my tongue.
I got this recipe from my mother, even though I don't remember her ever making it for me, and it tasted every bit as good as it I remember it to be.

1 bunch chawli/ amaranth leaves

1/2 tsp jeera

Salt to taste

1 tsp rice flour

For tempering

Oil

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 red chilli

1 sprig curry leaves

A pinch of hing

Method

Wash and finely chop the amaranth leaves.

Cook covered with very little water, salt and jeera, will well done. Mash well with the back of a spoon

Dissolve rice flour in water, add to the cooked greens, and cook a little more.

Temper oil with urad dal, mustard seeds, hing, red chilli and curry leaves, pour over the greens and mix well.

Serve with rice.

Green tomato chutney

I got this traditional Lingayat recipe from my mother who got it from her friend last year, and made it immediately. But after that first batch, whenever I went looking for green tomatoes, all I found were tindas! 
After the passage of a few seasons, I chanced upon green tomatoes the other day, and immediately picked up a bunch to make green tomato chutney. Since the fridge is fully of chutneys right now, I've frozen it for the time being. Looking forward to pairing it with my paniyarams in a couple of weeks! 

1 onion chopped
6 to 8 pods of garlic (I add a bit more)
2 green chillies (I use one large)
250 gms green tomatos (chopped)
1 sprig curry leaves
Handful of roasted chana dal (pottukadalai)
Cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Fry onion, garlic and green chili till the raw smell goes.

Add chopped green tomatoes and curry leaves,and keep frying on a low flame for 2- 3 minutes.
Add a handful of channa dal and salt to taste to the mixture, and blend till it attains a "chutney" consistancy.
Can be stored under refridgeration for upto 2 weeks.

Eggless Pancakes, rustled up in a jiffy

When I saw this recipe posted by Rekha Hegde, I knew I had to make it for the kids 'someday'. Every couple of days, I would tell myself that I will make it 'soon', but I could always find excuses not to attempt it. 'Someday' finally came today, when both the kids were home (study leave, if you can believe that), and I was able to send the older one off to get bananas, instead of using that as an excuse not to make the pancakes.

Drizzled with honey, it tasted much better than I thought it would, but I could just not manage the perfect chocolate circle that I was to get. Next time, I do it with just the plain batter!

1 cup chopped banana
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup thick curd (slightly sour)
2 tsp ghee or butter
2 tbsp sugar

1 cup maida (can replace 1/2 cup with wheat, I didn't)
2 tsp baking pd
vanilla essence
2 tsp cocoa

Blend banana, water, milk, thick curd, ghee or butter and sugar with a hand held blender.Sieve maida and baking baking pd, add to the blended banana mix and mix well.
For chocolate batter add cocoa to half the batter.
Pour 1 ladle of white batter on hot tava, do not spread with the ladle. Pour another ladle of chocolate batter in the centre. Cover and cook.
When completely cooked, put little ghee and flip them to other side and cook for few secs.

Apple-raisin cake

A couple of minutes after polishing off the orange sponge cake I'd baked two days back, the Younger One decided he wanted an apple cake. When he expresses a food related desire, I rush to obey, so off I went to discover recipes for apple cake. Most required apple juice, but since we've not had the best possible experience with apple juice, I didn't want to try any of them.
This is adapted for a recipe for apple upside down cake, and the batter gave me 24 cup cakes.

One large apple, chopped into small pieces

Raisins- a handful (about the same quantity as the apples)
1 1/3 cups flour
2/3 cup castor sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg

Method:

In bowl combine flour, castor sugar, baking powder, ginger, and cinnamon. 

Add chopped apple, raisins, milk, butter and egg, and beat well till combined.

Preheat the oven at 220 degrees. Pour the batter into cupcakes (I had enough for two batches of a dozen each). Bake for 20-25 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.

Red Hot Chilli Pepper Jelly

Many moons back, I saw this recipe for "Red Hot Chili Pepper Jelly", and stored it away in the recesses of my memory. I knew making jams and jellys was complicated, and never thought I would ever progress to a level where I would be brave enough to try.
Coincidentally, a couple of days after my first successful attempt at jam making, I chanced upon these luscious red chili peppers at the vegetable vendor. On an impulse, I picked it up, and dug the recipe out. What can I say? It was well worth it!

1.5 Cups – 1″ sized pieces of Indian red pickle chillies, trimmed and seeds removed (I kept a few seeds on because I thought I would like it)
1 Cup Red Bell Pepper/capsicum chunks
1 apple, cored and chopped
1 Cup vinegar
2 Cups sugar

 

Method:

Place the chillies, pepper/capsicum and apple in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely mashed. Transfer the mixture (along with any juices) to a heavy-bottomed, high-sided pan. Add the vinegar and sugar. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, for about 25-30 minutes or until the jelly thickens. A tiny bit of jelly when placed on a frozen plate will appear to be set, rather than runny. 

The jelly will thicken as it cools, do not overcook or else it will get  too tight and hard to spread.

Ladle the jelly into clean glass jars and allow to cool before covering.

The possibilities are endless- I can visualise slathering the jelly on a slice of bread, topping with grated cheese and biting in!

Fried rice

You can't have Indo Chinese without fried rice. Fried rice you get from takeaway joints tends to be slightly oily, but if you are making it at home, you can control pretty much everything.

1 measure rice, cooked
White of spring onions - 1 tbsp
Bell peppers, chopped fine - 1 tbsp
Oil
Soya sauce to taste
Vinegar to taste
salt to taste
Sesame seeds
Spring onions

Method:
Lightly fry the bell peppers and spring onions, till the raw smell goes.
Toss the rice with the friend onions and bell peppers, soya sauce, vinegar and salt. Adjust quantities as per your taste.
Sprinkle sesame seeds, and mix.
Serve garnished with spring onions.

Gobi Manchurian

The hubby wanted Chinese, the kids didn't want to order food (no, it is not any great love for my cooking- they wanted me in the kitchen so nobody would pester them to study). There was half a cauliflower in the fridge, so I decided to sacrifice my chilla, and make Gobi Manchurian instead.

Cauliflower- 1 medium (or 1/2 large), broken into florets

For the batter: 

Cornflour - 3 tbsp
Maida - 2.5 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the gravy:

Oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 1.5 tbsp sliced thin
Spring onion white part - 1 tsp
Spring onion green part - 1 tbsp
Big Onion - 1 chopped finely
Green Chilli sauce - 3/4 tsp
Soya sauce - 1/8 tsp
Tomato sauce - 2.5 tbsp
Cornflour - 2 tsp mixed with 3 tbsp water (I used the leftover batter instead)
Salt - to taste

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients listed under 'for the batter' with little water to form a thick paste.

Boil water and add cauliflower florets, salt and turmeric powder. Cook only till half boiled, drain water and keep aside.

Marinate the boiled cauliflower florets in the batter, mix well and leave it marinated for 15 mins.

Heat the oil, and fry the cauliflower florets till brown.

Heat oil and add sliced garlic,spring onion white part saute for 2 mins then add onion and saute till slightly browned. 

Now add the green chilli sauce, soya sauce mix well in high flame for a minute. 

Simmer,add tomato sauce and little water say 1/4 cup water, add cornflour water mixture of you are adding then allow it boil and come to a sauce consistency.

Now add gobis. Mix well again for 3-4 minutes for the flavours to get blended well with the gobis. The gobi pieces should be a little crisp and not soggy at this stage.

Add salt to taste, garnish with spring onions, and serve as a starter, or with Fried Rice or Noodles.

Clear noodle soup

I had some noodles left over from making sesame ginger noodles the other day and decided to make some clear noodle soup for myself. Mixed and matched a bunch of recipes, and came up with something I liked quite a bit. Wonder why I never thought of making an Indo-Chinese soup before- they are so high on taste given the amount of effort one needs to put in.

500ml low salt vegetable stock
1 inch piecce of ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
1 stalk of lemon grass
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
handful of moong sprouts
cooked noodles
 2 spring onions, sliced, to serve

Method:
Put stock, ginger, garlic, lemon grass, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar in a saucepan, and heat. Simmer for 5 mins.
Throw in the sprouts and heat for an additional 5 minutes (if you can let it marinate for about 30 minutes, it will only improve the taste
Add the cooked noodles, let it boil for about 30 seconds, and serve garnished with spring onions.

Parsi Choi

Everyone knows I love my beverages. Chai or coffee, tea or kapi, I am indifferent. As long as it is hot, and comes with a book, I'm a contented puss.
So, when I have lemongrass, guess what I make- the Parsi Choi. Tastes amazing with the latest Martin Beck book!

200 ml water
100-125 ml milk
1 tsp Society tea powder
1 tsp sugar, or more, as per taste
¼ -1/3rd tspn black pepper powder
 long shoot of lemon grass, cut into 2 inch pieces (I prefer a wee bit more)
15-17 mint leaves

Method:
Wash the lemon grass n mint n keep aside.
Heat milk n water.
Add the tea powder, pepper powder, the washed herbs, sugar n bring it to a rapid boil. 
Once it comes to a rapid boil, cover it for a couple of minutes, then pour it out.
Enjoy with a lovely book on a drizzly day. 

Basil chicken

After the success of the ginger chicken, I was dying to try out something else. When I saw the basil at the vegetable vendor's, I took that as a sign that I should make this basil chicken from MM's kitchen. And yes, it was lovely. Noodles with a dry chicken dish is going to become a regular at my place now!

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm

Onion, sliced, 1 large

Bell peppers, 1” square pieces, as much or as little as you want ( I only had red)

Plain Cashew nuts, broken (so that Hubz feels I have added enough even though I haven’t), a handful and then some more!!

Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves

Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)

Basil leaves, about a cup

Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp

Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don’t have this, soak some dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and brown sugar)

Fish sauce, 1 tbsp

Brown Sugar, 1 tsp

Oil, 2 tbsp

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/05/cashew-chicken-with-basilhave-10.html#sthash.Y88XsoxD.dpuf

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm

Onion, sliced, 1 large

Bell peppers, 1” square pieces, as much or as little as you want ( I only had red)

Plain Cashew nuts, broken (so that Hubz feels I have added enough even though I haven’t), a handful and then some more!!

Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves

Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)

Basil leaves, about a cup

Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp

Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don’t have this, soak some dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and brown sugar)

Fish sauce, 1 tbsp

Brown Sugar, 1 tsp

Oil, 2 tbsp

- See more at: http://mmskitchenbites.blogspot.in/2013/05/cashew-chicken-with-basilhave-10.html#sthash.Y88XsoxD.dpuf

Chicken, boneless thighs, 300 gm
Onion, sliced, 1 large
Bell peppers, 1" square pieces
Plain Cashew nuts, broken, a handful and then some more!!
Garlic, sliced, 3-4 cloves
Dried red chilies, 4-5 (or fresh if you can find)
Basil leaves, about a cup
Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp
Thai Chili paste, about 1 tbsp (if you don't have this, soak some
dried red chilies in water and then grind adding some vinegar and
brown sugar)
Fish sauce, 1 tbsp
Brown Sugar, 1 tsp
Oil, 2 tbsp

Method:
Remove any excess fat and wash the chicken. Wipe dry and cut into bite
sized pieces.
Leave it to marinate with the chili paste, sugar, soy sauce and fish
sauce. Keep aside.
Soak the dried red chilies in a little warm water. When they go soft,
remove and cut diagonally into slightly large pieces. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok/large pan over the medium-high heat and add about a
teaspoon of oil. Add cashew nuts, and fry until golden then remove
from the pan and keep aside.
Wipe the pan clean and add the balance oil.
Add the chilies, garlic, onions and fry till onions go soft.
Add in the chicken with the marinade and toss around for a few minutes
on each side till is almost done. Add in bell peppers and half of the
basil leaves and mix well.
Cook till chicken gets done.
Check for seasonings and adjust to taste. Add in the fried cashews and
rest of the basil leaves. Mix well and serve over steamed rice.

Niramish Aloo Dum

Growing up in Calcutta as I did, one of my favourite street snacks had to be aloo dum. Half a dozen pieces of divine goodness, in a leaf 'dona'. I've come a long way since them, and prefer pairing my aloo dum with a roti than with a toothpick, but the desire to drown in the taste still remains. This recipe, like most others, is sourced from the internet.

Ingredients:

Small size potato: 500 gms, boiled and peeled
Tomatoes: 2-3 (large, ripe) or Tomato Puree: 2-3 tbsp
Warm water: 2 cups
Coriander leaves: for decoration
Red chilli powder: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 ½ tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar to balance

For tempering:
Oil or ghee: 4-5 tbsp
Cinnamon stick: 2”
Green cardamom: handful
Cloves: handful
Sugar: ½ tsp
Asafetida/ hing: 1 pinch

Method:
Boil and peel the baby potatoes and keep aside.
Heat the oil or ghee, add the ingredients for tempering, and fry on a low fire till the raw smell goes.
Add the potatoes and fry till lightly golden.
Toss in the dry ingredients, and stir till the potatoes are well coated.
Add tomato puree (puree the tomatoes if you don't have puree), and fry on a low flame till well done.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with parathas or puris. It can also be enjoyed as a stand alone snack.

Ginger Chicken

I am not a great believer in Valentine's Day. Actually, scratch that- I am not a believer in Valentine's Day at all. But I still wanted to make something "special" today, only because I could.
After going through a bunch of recipes, I decided to try out this 'ginger chicken' recipe from MM's blog. I wasn't able to fry the chicken, so had to cook the whole thing after attempting to fry it, but the speed with which it disappeared makes me want to try it out again, soon.

Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, 500 gms (I used curry cut chicken, because that's all I could get)
Onions, finely chopped, 1 large
Light Soy Sauce
4 tbsp Vinegar
4 tsp Honey
2 tbsp Fresh Ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp Oil
2 tbsp Water
about ¼ cup Sesame seeds
1 tbsp (optional) Green onions, for garnishing
Salt and Pepper, if needed, to taste

Method
Wash and clean the chicken. Remove all the extra fat and cut into bite sized pieces.
Whisk together the light soy sauce, vinegar, honey, and ginger together in a bowl. Add in the chicken and mix well. Marinate for at least half an hour. Once ready to cook, strain the chicken from the marinade and keep aside.
Heat a wok or frying pan over medium heat and add oil. Once hot, add the chicken and stir fry in batches till almost done. Do remember that the chicken and marinade have honey in it so if the pan is too hot , the sugar will burn and get bitter; if the pan is too cool, chicken will braise in its own water instead of frying. Please adjust heat accordingly. Once done, take the chicken out and keep aside
Add the chopped onion and the reserved marinade to the pan. Fry for 10-15 seconds and add the water.
Let the mixture come to a boil and reduce the heat. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes till onions go soft and the sauce reduces to coating consistency. Check and adjust seasonings.
Add the chicken back in and mix well. At this stage, I covered the dish, and let it cook for about 15 minutes because I wasn't sure if it was done.
Add in the sesame seeds, mix and take the chicken off heat.
Garnish with green onions and serve with rice or noodles.

Sesame Ginger Noodles

Once I decided to make ginger chicken for dinner, I knew I had to pair it with noodles. Here's what I came up with.

1 packet hakka noodles
3-4 tbsp spring onions chopped fine
1 inch piece of ginger cut into stripes
2 tbsp cooking oil
salt, soya sauce, vinegar to taste
sesame seeds for ganish

Method
Cook the noodles as per the instructions on the packet, drain, toss with a little oil and keep aside.
Heat some oil, add the spring onions (after keeping 1 tbsp aside) and ginger and fry till the raw smell goes
Turn off the flame. Add the noodles, and the sauce, vinegar and salt and toss well.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds, and garnish with the reserved spring onions

Strawberry jam

To say that I have always dreamt of making my own jam is an admission I would be scared to make.But it is true. When I was a child, nothing spelt winter more than my mother making and bottling tomato jam, which I would then enjoy for the rest of the year. I knew I would attain Domestic Divadom the day I could do similar.
And yet, though I made and bottled strawberry preserve last week, I just couldn't muster up the courage to attempt jam. Not, that is till I stumbled upon Namita's wonderful blog, Ambrosia. I fell in love with her attitude towards cooking, and I just had to try out her recipe for strawberry jam. Crest Awesome!

Ingredients:

Strawberries

Sugar (depends on quantity of fruit)

Lemons

 

Method: 

Wash the strawberries; keep them for sometime to dry.

Hull the strawberries and chop them.

Measure the chopped fruit and transfer to a heavy bottom steel wok.

Measure equivalent quantity of sugar.

Mix sugar and fruit well and let it rest for two hours. The strawberries will become soft and release juice.

Add juice of half lime for every cup of chopped fruit.

Cook over medium flame stirring at short intervals to avoid jam from sticking to the bottom and burning.

When the quantity of jam reduces and starts attaining jam like consistency, reduce the heat and cook on low flame stirring constantly.

To test doneness, drop some jam on the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate... if it doesn't try to run back together, it is done. If it is runny, it needs to be cooked for some more time.

While the jam cools, sterilise the bottles. Place the washed and dried bottles with the lids in the oven. Set the temperature to 100 degrees and set the timer to 10 minutes. Remove the bottles and their lids from the oven. 

Ladle hot jam into the jars leaving ¼ inch head space. Secure the lids tightly.

Besan sooji kachumber paniyaram

When you have to whip up something quick and non-fussy for lunch everyday, you soon run out of ideas. Right now, my kids will be more than happy if I feed them paniyarams or curd-rice every day, but I know that I shouldn't push my luck too much, or they will just stop having both of them.
This was something I whipped up on the spur of the moment, and which was a real hit with the kids!

Ingredients:
4 heaped serving spoons besan
1 heaped serving spoon sooji/ rawa
2 serving spoons leftover kachumber (mine had cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in lime juice)
salt, if required
a pinch of baking soda

Method:
Mix all the ingredients into a batter, and keep aside for about 15 minutes
Add the baking soda, and mix well to aereate.
Grease a paniyaram pan with a bit of ghee, and pour the batter into the mounds. Cook on a low flame, and when the paniyaram starts to pull away, turn it over till the other side cooks too.
Serve with coconut chutney or ketchup

Cucumber cake

Cucumber cake? If we can have a zucchini cake, why not a cucumber cake?
Cucumber cake, a traditional recipe from Maharashtra. Now, that really got my attention, and since the recipe had so many of my favourite ingredients, I just had to try it out. There were very many recipes on the internet, but I based mine on SNT's recipe, though I halved the quantities.
The result was, well, different. We alternately loved it and merely liked it, but it was something new! And new is sometimes welcome.

Ingredients :-
3 Cups Grated Cucumber( do not drain its water, that lends more taste, will help moisten the cake and prevent it from becoming dry)
2 Cups of Rawa/Suji
2 Cups of Jaggery ( now depending on the sweetness of the jaggery , do reduce or increase the amount)
2 Cups Freshly Grated Coconut
1 Tsp Cardamom Powder
Handful of Broken Cashewnuts
½ a Cup of Raisins ( I didn’t add them)
Pinch of Salt
2 1/2 Tbsp of Ghee
1 Tsp of Baking Powder
½ Tsp of Baking Soda
 
Method:-
Grease your pan with ghee and keep aside.
Mix the cucumber, rawa, jaggery and coconut with your hands till the jaggery has melted well into the mixture. 
Then add ghee, cardamom powder, salt, cashewnuts, raisins. Keep aside for the rawa to absorb the liquids for about 10/15 mins. 
Add the baking powder and baking soda and mix lightly but well. 
Pour into the greased tin, and steam for 15 minutes. Let it cool a while before demoulding it. 
 Serve when totally cooled without any garnishings or sauces

Chauli- baigan ki subji

Though I have often seen this green sitting side by side with the palaks and methis, I've never thought to try it out. Maybe it was because I didn't have a recipe, or maybe it was because I am not particularly adventurous when it comes to greens. But this remained one of the few greens I haven't ever gone near. Until the other day when I was at the vegetable vendor with a friend, and asked her how she cooked it. "With baigan", was her reply. Immediately intrigued, I forced the recipe out of her in bits and pieces, and made it a couple of days later. I loved it, and the kids tolerated it, which is saying quite a lot!

1 bunch chauli leaves, destemmed, washed and chopped 250 gms small brinjals, cut into eighths 4-5 pods of garlic 1 green chilli 1 tsp jeera 1/2 tsp haldi powder Mustard oil Salt and sugar to taste Method Heat the oil, and splutter the jeera seeds. Add chopped garlic and the green chilli and fry till the garlic browns. Add the brinjals, and fry till partially cooked Add the greens, salt, sugar and turmeric powder, and mix well. Cover the pan, and let it cook in its own steam till done

Pakods kadhi

Kadhi is one of the few dishes that can be whipped up in a jiffy, so if you intend indulging in pakores at tea-time, you migh as well make some more and have kadhi for dinner! The recipe is similar to the one I posted last year.

Ingredients:
1 cup curds
haldi powder
chilli powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp besan
12-15 pakore

For tempering:
rai
jeera
hing
curry leaves

Method:
Mix all the ingredients under kadhi into the curds and keep aside for 5 minutes

Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai, and do the tadka. Reduce the flame, add the dahi mixture and water if required. Mix well, and bring to a boil.

Drop the pakore into the kadhi, and give it one boil before serving

Dhania patta ke pakore

Today was perfect pakoda weather! For the last couple of weeks, the city has gone crazy. There was a winter like none other I have encountered in January in the city, and just when I was getting used to it, in the course of a single day, it went from deep winter to the early days of summer. For about a week, we sweated even in our sleeveless clothes, but the day after I put the winter clothes away, winter was back again.
It looked like it might drizzle today (though of course, it didn't), and I just had to make myself a plate of pakore to go with my crime novel.

1 cup besan
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
salt to taste
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/3 cups chopped dhania patta
oil for frying

Method
Mix all the dry ingredients well, then make a batter, but carefully adding water. Whip a couple of times so it is well aereated, and keep aside for about 15 minutes
Heat the oil (to check the temperature, drop a tiny bit of batter- if it rises to the surface, the oil is ready for use), and drop in spoonfulls of the batter.
Fry till crispy, remove, and drain on a kitchen towel.
Enjoy with garam-garam chai, and a good book.

Date walnut cake

I always thought eggless cakes were an oxymoron, then I started making a few of my own, and reluctantly agreed that they could be done. But as I surf the internet, I find so very many varieties of eggless cakes, I am absolutely floored.
This recipe came because I wasn't able to access my own tried and tested recipe for an eggless cake, so took the help of google to find something to accompany our Sunday tea. Came out better than I expected, and am definitely making it again.

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour/atta
½ cup all purpose flour/maida
½ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup sugar
1 cup milk
¾ cup water
1 cup seedless dates
½ cup walnuts
2 tbsp flax seeds
2 tbsp melon seeds
2 tsp instant coffee powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt


Method
Chop the dates and walnuts and keep aside.
Heat the milk and switch off the flame, add the coffee powder and stir. Add the dates,and allow it to soak for 20 minutes
Seive the whole wheat flours and all purpose flour with salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C/392 F.
Add sugar, soaked dates with milk, oil and water to the sieved flour, and mix well, till well aerated.
Add the chopped walnuts, flax seeds and melon seeds to the batter and mix well.
Pour the batter into the cupcake liners.
Bake for 20-25 minutes till a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Alternately, pour the batter into ceramic/ glass cups, and cook for 60 seconds on the microwave

Wholewheat Calazone

For someone who made her first calazone only a few months back, I sure seem to be making up for lost time. And why not- it is one of the easiest breads to put together, and with this, you don't have to worry about proteins and vitamins, because all the goodness is stuffed into the bread.

What makes this special is the fact that I made it with whole wheat bread, and it came out brilliantly.

For the bread
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
3 cups wholewheat flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp olive oil


1 cup water (you will need much less)
pinch of salt
butter for brushing

For the stuffing
Soya granules
4-5 pods garlic
1 onion chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
oil
Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Olives
Cheese

Method
Dissolve the sugar in a bit of warm water, add the active dry yeast, mix well and keep aside. If it doesn't turn frothy in 10 minutes, wait an additional 5 minutes. Throw it away if it still doesn't froth, because the bread is not going to rise in any case.
Sieve the flour and salt. Add yeast, milk and oil, and start kneading. Add water as required- do not add more water than needed. Once the dough is well mixed, knead for an additional 10 minutes. This (and the milk) is critical when you are working with whole wheat bread.
Cover with a cling foil and keep aside for about 60 minutes, by which time the dough should have doubled in size.
Meanwhile, soak the soya granules in boiling water. Fry onions and garlic. When onions turn transparent, add tomatoes and cook till mushy. Add drained soya granules, salt and red chill powder. Take off the fire, and stir in chopped olives and grated cheese
Punch down the dough, divide into 8 parts, and roll each into a circle.
Place the stuffing in the centre, fold once and seal the edges. Cover and keep aside for an additional 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Transfer calazones to a greased baking dish, brush with butter, and bake for 20 minutes.

Parsi Mora Dal (Everyday dal)

"Mora dar chaval—plain dal with rice—is a dish with tremendous significance for Parsis. It may appear anytime, but it has to be eaten on any occasion out of the ordinary..... The underlying lesson is that life cannot be led without experiencing both joy and sorrow in some measure, and we mustn't make too much of either, for both are fleeting."
When I read this excerpt from 'My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking' by Niloufer Ichaporia King, I knew I just had to make mora dal to celebrate the Parsi Food Weekend on IFF. Dal is a staple in my house, and while I don't claim to be an expert, I do know that nothing can beat a dal well made.

1 cup red lentils (masur dal), husked split pigeon peas (tuvar dal), or mung beans (mung dal)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon (or more) salt
1 onion, quartered (optional)
1 green chile (optional)
4 cups (or more) water
1 to 2 tablespoons ghee or butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion or shallot (optional)

Pick over the dal to remove stones and chaff. Rinse the dal and transfer to a pot; add the turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt, quartered onion, and chile, if using, along with at least 4 cups water. Bring to boil; reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, until the dal is tender. (Masur and mung dals soften in about half the time it takes to cook tuvar dal, which needs a good 45 minutes to 1 hour.) Watch out for overboiling, even with the heat down.
When the dal is soft and mushy, pass through a sieve or a food mill or liquefy in a food processor or with an immersion blender, which saves you the trouble of pouring and transferring. The texture of the dal should be thick, smooth, and pourable. Taste for salt.
To finish, heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Sizzle the seeds, garlic, and onion, if using, until the garlic begins to brown around the edges and the seeds start to crackle. Tip the vaghar into the dal and stir.
Note: In my mother's house, it was considered good practice to send dal to the table in a tureen with the vaghar floating on top, a last-minute affair, although the flavors have a better chance to combine if you stir in the toasted spices ahead of time. If you're having dal as a first-course soup, you can serve individual portions with a little vaghar poured over each one.

Wafers par Eendu

What do you do when you have half a packet of wafers that got crushed when your child sat on it? If you have a friend like Jenifer guiding you, you make the most delicious brunch anyone can think of with it!

1 tbsp butter
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chilli
1/3 tsp jeera powder
1/3 tsp red chilli powder
1/3 tsp turmeric powder

A handful of potato wafers- crushed
1 egg

Heat butter. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillis, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder, and fry lightly. You do not need to add salt, because the wafers have enough salt to go around.
Mix the crushed wafers, sprinkle water, and toss around till soggy.
Meanwhile, beat the white of an egg till well aerated, add yolk and beat some more.
Pour the egg batter on the wafers, cover the pan, and let it cook in it's own steam till done.

Spinach-cheese sunflower shaped bread

I saw this picture and I knew I had to make this. But since I believe in making things difficult for myself, I decided to make it with whole-wheat bread. Luckily (for me and the kids), the bread came out supersoft, and it ended up being an excellent meal. Shudder to think of how it could just as well have gone wrong.

For the bread
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar 3 cups wholewheat flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp olive oil
 1 cup water (you will need much less)
pinch of salt
butter for brushing
Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top


 For the stuffing 
1 bunch spinach
6 pods garlic
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Grated cheese


Method 
For the bread dough
 Dissolve the sugar in a bit of warm water, add the active dry yeast, mix well and keep aside.
If it doesn't turn frothy in 10 minutes, wait an additional 5 minutes. Throw it away if it still doesn't froth, because the bread is not going to rise in any case.
Sieve the flour and salt. Add yeast, milk and oil, and start kneading. Add water as required- do not add more water than needed.
Once the dough is well mixed, knead for an additional 10 minutes. This (and the milk) is critical when you are working with whole wheat bread.
Cover with a cling foil and keep aside for about 60 minutes, by which time the dough should have doubled in size.

For the stuffing
Wash and chop the spinach leaves. Blanche in boiling water for about a minute and drain well
Crush the garlic with some oilve oil, and add to the spinach
Add the grated cheese, salt and pepper, and mix wel.

Shaping
Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough and divide into 2 parts
Roll one into a circle and place on a greased baking tray.
Place a big mound of spinach stuffing in the centre. Leave a ring, and arrange the rest of the spinach in a larger ring around the centre.
Roll out the other circle, and place over the first one. Place a small bowl over the centre mound, and using that as an indicator, press down.
Seal the perimeter, pressing down with a fork so it doesn't open out. Make long slits along the outer ring, and twist each piece by 90 degrees, taking care to shape it like the petal of a flower.

Cover and keep aside for an additional 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Brush with butter, sprinkle sesame seeds over the central part and bake for 20 minutes.

Fried Paneer, with strawberry preserve

I tried making paneer tikka a couple of weeks back, but it was an unmitigated disaster. Since the family loves paneer tikkas, I decided to fry the paneer instead, and the results were equally good.
In a fit of inspiration, I paired it with strawberry preserve, which took it into the realms of divine. Here, then is the recipe for fried paneer.

250 gms paneer
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 green chillies
4 tbsp vinegar
Rock salt to taste





Method
Pound the coriander leaves and green chillis in a mortar and pestle till most of the juices are released. Add vinegar and rock salt.
Cut the paneer into thin pieces, and marinate overnight
Remove most of the greens. Melt butter on a tawa, and lightly fry till browned.
Serve with strawberry preserve.

Papeta par Eendu

Two monsoons ago, a group of friends and I went to Lonavala for a weekend run. We left at the crack of dawn, and by the time we returned after running through the clouds to Amby Valley and back, we were so ravenous we could have eaten anything. Since the time of our return was uncertain, the cook at the Masonic Lodge where we were staying had prepared a brunch of boiled eggs, toast and something that I was told was a Parsi preparation. It tasted wonderful, but wouldn't anything taste wonderful after you have run more than 20 miles? Busy as I was with gobbling the food, I didn't take the recipe from the cook, and soon forgot all about it.
It was when we started talking about preparing Parsi dishes over the weekend, that I remembered the dish, and asked Jenifer if it was indeed an authentic Parsi dish, or just an urban myth. She assured me that it was an authentic dish, and even gave me the recipe. My kids and I had it with (store bought) ladi pav for dinner, and after licking my plate clean, I was left asking for more.

4 potatoes boiled and cubed
3 tbsp butter
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste


3 eggs

Heat butter. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillis, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and salt, and fry lightly.
Add the cubed potatoes, mix well, and fry till it starts browing.
Meanwhile, beat the white of an egg till well aerated, add yolk and beat some more. 
Layer the potatoes in the dish, add abou 1/4 cup water, and pour the egg batter. Cover the pan, and let it cook in it's own steam till done.

Rajasthani bajra khichdi

"Heaven here art thou in the bowl of khichadi!" 
Sounds weird to hear that, but it is true. Very few things give as much comfort as a hot bowl of khichidi. Which must be why, when I discovered a bottle of bajra in a forgotten shelf of my cupboard, I thought not of my regular bajra dish, but of looking for a bowl of pure comfort. I found it in this Rajasthani khichdi- just six ingredients (excluding water and salt), but it sure packs a punch.
 

1/3 cup whole bajra washed well, and soaked overnight
3 tbsp dhuli moong dal
Salt to taste

Ghee
1/2 tsp jeera
Hing pwd
1 red chilli

Pressure cook the bajra and moong with about 1 1/2 cups water, and salt to taste, for 2 whistles (lower flame after first whistle and wait for the second).
Roughly pound the cooked bajra-moong mixture so it gets a bit mushy

Heat ghee in a vessel, add jeera, red chillie and hing, and pour over the bajra-moong dal mix.
Serve with dahi or meethi kadhi

Strawberry Preserve

Last year, I was buying strawberries almost every day, and cooked an amazing lot of dishes, but once the season got over, it all got over. So this time, I decided to make some strawberry preserve, so I could continue to indulge in strawberries just a little bit longer.

1 pound strawberries
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar

Method
Add the sugar to the water and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, cut the strawberries in half, and crush some of them slightly.
When the water starts boiling, reduce the flame and add the strawberries.
Cook on a low flame, till the syrup starts to thicken. A scum forms after the strawberries are added- keep removing them (I used it to make milkshake).
Take off the flame, and pour into sterilized bottles.

Methi carrot subji

Life is different when you have a cook. You know that she can make only a couple of dishes, and you just rotate them as best as you can. But when decide to take over cooking responsibilities, you want to innovate as often as you can. And it is fun. Specially when you come up with something your family really likes. This was one of those.

Ingredients:

Carrot- 250 gms, diced

Methi leaves- 1/2 bunch, washed, de-stemmed and chopped

Mustard oil- 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Haldi pwd- 1/2 tsp

Hing- a pinch

Kasoori methi- 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the mustard oil, and when it is really hot, reduce the flame and add the jeera. When the jeera stops spluttering, add garlic and hing and fry till the raw smell goes. Add carrots, and fry on a low flame for 2-3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, cover and let it cook till carrots are soft.

Mac and Cheese Casserole

Mac and Cheese Casserole was always a favourite of mine, and my kids love it too. Normally, I make a plain version, but sometimes I add an extra layer to it. This is the latter.

1 packet macaroni

1/2 cup cheese, grated

2 tbsp bread crumbs

2-3 garlic pods chopped

1 onion chopped fine

1 tomato chopped fine

1/2 cup soya granules

Red chilli powder, salt to taste

Butter for frying

For white sauce:

3 tbsp cornflour

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the macaroni following the instructions on the packet. Drain and keep aside.
Heat the butter, and saute onions and garlic till the onions turn transparent. Add tomatoes, and mush around.

Meanwhile, soak the soya granules in warm water for a minute, drain and add to the onion-tomato mixture. Add spices and cook for 2-3 minutes. Keep aside.

 

Make a smooth paste of cornflour and water, keep aside.

Heat milk, add the cornflour paste with constant stirring ensuring that no lumps are formed. Bring to boil, reduce the flame to low, add salt pepper to taste, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add half the quantity of grated cheese, and turn off the flame.

Grease a baking dish. Arrange the macaroni and the cooked soya in layers, and pour the sauce over it. Put the remaining cheese on top, add some breadcrumbs and a bit of butter, cover with a cling foil, and bake in oven at 200 for 5 mins.