Mushrooms with brown rice

When the cat is away, the mice will play. When hubby is traveling, we have all kinds of different foods for dinner. Where normally, we would have rice and dal, today, we had brown rice with musrooms gravy. The kids were smart enough to catch me out, though, and have already extracted a promise that I will make the same mushroom dish with pasta!

200 gms button mushrooms
1 onion, cut lengthwise
4-5 pods garlic
3 tbsp basil leaves
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp butter
1 cup chicken stock

Method:
Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet. Add garlic and onions, and saute will browned.
Meanwhile wash the mushrooms, and cut them lengthwise. Add to the browning onions, and saute till the water is released, and then starts drying up.
Add chicken stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Gradually bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, make a paste of cornflour with 2-3 tbsp water. Add to the gravy, serving constantly to ensure there are no lumps.
Simmer for 5-8 minutes till the gravy starts to come together. Add torn basil leaves, and simmer for an additional minute.
Serve with steamed brown rice.

Dahi pulki

When you have both garlic and mint in the same dish, why would you even think of hesitating before making it? Specially when it is an easy peasy recipe, that also packs the nutritional punch of curds and besan? This is a Marwari recipe I fell in love with and it entirely lived upto its promise.

2 cups curds

5 tbsp besan

1 large onion, chopped fine

Green chillies to taste

1 tsp garlic paste

2 tsp dried mint leaves, crushed

Salt and red chilli powder to taste

3 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Method:

Our the curds into a large bowl. Season with red chilli powder and salt. Add crushed mint leaves and garlic paste and mix well. Add water and mix till you get a smooth consistency. 

Mix onions, green chillies and besan with salt and red chill powder. Add water and mix to get a medium thick batter. 

Heat oil in a saucepan, and drop in single teaspoons of batter in batches. When one side of the phulki is done turn it over to brown the other side. Drop in the curd mix while still hot. 

After all the batter is exhausted, add cumin seeds to the oil, and when it stops spluttering, pour over the dahi phulki

It can be had as an accompaniment, or as a snack. 

Beet soup

I wanted to have a soup for lunch, and a quick audit of the fridge threw up only two slightly sad looking beets. Necessity is the mother of invention, and this awesome soup resulted.

2 beetroots

1/2 cup curds

1 tsp garlic paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Cream cheese for garnish

Method:

Roughly chop the beetroots and steam them for 10 minutes. 

Blend beetroots, curds and garlic paste till you get a smooth consistency. Add water to get the desired thickness. 

Bring the blend to boil, with salt and pepper

Sprinkle with cream cheese or feta cheese before serving. 

Savoury canapés with microgreens garnish

Having decided I was going to have microgreens for lunch, the rest of the meal sort of created itself. Savoury crackers, with 

For crackers:

1 cup maida

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste3 tbsp grated cheese

Method:

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees

Sift together the flour, salt and pepper. 

Add oil, and knead well till you get a firm dough

Roll onto a greased baking sheet, and make indentations with a sharp knife

Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Take out of oven and let it cool on a wire rack. 

For the hung curd:

1 cup yogurt

1 tsp garlic paste

4-6 olives chopped fine

Salt to taste

Method:

Tie the curds in a muslin cloth, and hang it up so the whey escapes. Squeeze out the remaining whey. 

Add garlic paste and salt and mix really well till you get a smooth consistency. 

Add chopped olives and mix well*

For serving:

Scoop/ pipe the hung curd on the crackers, garnish with microgreens and serve. 

*- if you are having the dip without microgreens, you can experiment with the flavours- I kept it simple

Vetalai rasam- Kerala style

After dreaming for years about having an edible garden, I'm finally close to achieving the objective. Though I don't have much in the form of  vegetable plants, I do have the scope to grow stuff.

But one thing I do have is a betel leaf plant, so I looked online to find something I could make with it. This rasam is really lovely- garlicky, with the flavour of betel.

2 medium-sized tender betel leaves

1/4 tsp of turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp of jeera powder 

6 pods of garlic

1 small onion

1 medium-sized tomato

1/4 tsp of black pepper powder 

A small lemon-ball-sized tamarind 

2 sprigs of curry leaves 

1 generous pinch of hing

1 tbsp of oil or ghee 

3 cups water

Salt to taste 

Method:

Soak the tamarind in the water for a few mins. Extract juice and discard the pulp. Keep aside. 

Roughly grind the garlic and onion in small mixer. Keep aside

Heat oil in a pan and add some mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering, add the crushed garlic-onion mixture along with the hing. Fry for about a minute. 

Add the pepper powder, turmeric powder, and jeera powder, and fry for 30 seconds. 

Add the tomatoes and fry until soft.

Add the tamarind water with some salt and the curry leaves and bring to boil. After about 5 mins of boiling, add the betel leaves, each torn into four. 

Serve hot with rice. 

Chicken curry with a hint of coriander

It is only recently that I found that where the traditional Punjabi/ North Indian gravy uses ginger-garlic paste, the Maharastrian version uses ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste. Almost everything else is the same, but this takes the flavour to a different dimension. With the hubby home for the weekend, I had to make chicken curry rice at least once, but this time I made it the Maharashtrian way, and it was a huge hit. Most of it got consumed before I could click a picture, so the picture will have to wait for another day.

1 kg curry cut chicken

For marinade:

3 tbsp curds

1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste*

1 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

For gravy:

3 small onions, chopped

1 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilli- coriander paste

2 tomatoes, chopped fine
4 tsp dhania powder
2 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt to taste
2-3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Wash and clean the chicken. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Take onion and tomatoes in a blender and grind to a fine paste
Heat the oil, lower the flame, add the onion-tomato paste and the g-g-gc-c paste, and cook on a low flame till the raw smell goes, and the masala starts leaving the sides of the kadhai.
Add the marinated chicken, mix well, cover and cook. The chicken will release water, so keep stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the vessels- add water, if required. The chicken will be nice and tender in about 20 minutes.
Serve hot with rice or rotis.

* Grind equal quantities of ginger and garlic, with green chillis to taste and double the quantity of coriander leaves and stalks. It can be stored for 2 weeks, and makes a great addition to any gravy. 

Green Mango Chutney

The maid decided to take a day off, and I had to think of something I could make for dinner which would not have me cursing the world and her fifth cousin for pushing me into the kitchen in the heat. Dosa and chutney was the obvious choice, but I decided to go a bit creative with the chutney and use raw mangoes for the sour taste. It was quite yummylicious, and I am looking forward to finishing the rest off tonight.

1 green mango
1/2 coconut
3 large pods of garlic
1 green chilli
Salt to taste

Method:
Grate the coconut.
Chop the green mango into small pieces (you could peel and then chop, but I was lazy).
Peel the garlic.
Blend the coconut, green mango, garlic and green chilli, with sufficient water, till you get the desired consistency.
Add salt to taste, mix well, and serve with dosas.

Red Coconut Chutney

Very often, when we eat out, we end up getting a "red" coconut chutney with our dosas and idlis. I always liked it (and had more of it than the regular chutney), but never thought to make it myself. Then, I tasted it in the office canteen, and liked it so much, I got the recipe and tried it out myself. The kids and I all loved it, and even though it is a little tougher than the regular one, I know I will be making it too.

1/2 coconut, grated

1/2 large onion, chopped

4-6 pods garlic, sliced lengthwise

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 red chilli

Salt to taste

1 tsp cooking oil

For tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

A pinch of hing

1 tsp cooking oil

Method:

Heat the oil. Add garlic and onions, and saute till transparent. Add chopped tomatoes, and saute till it turns mushy.

Grind coconut, garlic-onion-tomato mix, red chilli and salt to your desired consistency.

Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add hing and curry leaves and toss around. Pour over the chutney and mix well.

Serve with piping hot dosas or idlis.

Fusilli in creamy tomato sauce

Another of those days when everyone wanted something different- Thing One wanted pasta in creamy sauce, Thing Two wanted a tomato based sauce, and I craved burnt garlic. This recipe was modified from my earlier 'creamy tomato pasta', but with sufficient burnt garlic to interest even my pup.

6 (fat) cloves garlic, diced
2 tomatoes, chopped fine
4 sprig fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp olives

Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
2 cups milk
2 tbsp cornflour
200 gms pasta

Method
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, wash, drain and keep aside.
Heat the butter, add the garlic and heat till it is slightly burnt.

Add chopped tomato, and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy. Push with a spoon to mash coarsely.

Add torn up basil leaves (keeping one or two aside for garnish). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the milk, and bring it to a boil. With a small quantity of milk, make cornflour paste, and add to the rest of the milk with constant stirring. Cook on a low flame for 2 minutes and take off the fire.

Mix the pasta, garnish with olives, and serve.

Radish stir fry

This is my attempt at cooking greens the Maharashtrian way. While I would normally have used a traditional 'green', these radishes looked so lovely, I had to give them a try. 

I cup radish and radish leaves, chopped fine

3 tbsp peanuts

6 pods garlic, peeled and chopped

1 green chilli, chopped

1 tsp mustard oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil, add the garlic and sauté on a low flame till browned

Add chilli and peanuts and sauté till peanuts start browning

Add the radish and radish leaves, and sauté till done (about 2-3 minutes)

Add salt to taste, mix well, and serve hot 

Spinach Stir Fry

I had this spinach stir fry in office the other day, and thought it one of the most flavourful dishes I've ever had. Turned out being one of the easiest dishes to make also.

1 bunch spinach
6-8 pods garlic
1 tomato
1 tsp oil
2 tbsp melon seeds

Method:
Wash the spinach well, and cut it into shreds.
Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
Peel the garlic and cut in half.
Heat the oil, add garlic, and saute till brown.
Add spinach, tomatoes and salt to taste. Fry on medium heat till the water escapes and dries up again.
Garnish with melon seeds and serve.

Chicken in Creamy Wine Sauce

I've been wanting to make a chicken in wine sauce for a long time, and found this recipe that I really liked. Unfortunately, the milk/ cream curdled when I was adding it, and the chicken didn't come out as well as I had hoped it would. But I am definitely making it again, without the wine this time.

1 curry cut chicken
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic
1 package mushrooms, halved
1 cup wine
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves

Method:
Heat olive oil and brown chicken. Remove chicken and reserve drippings; keep aside.
Cook onion with garlic in reserved drippings, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 

Stir in mushrooms and cook until browned.
Stir in wine, cream and milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly reduced. 

Return chicken to the skillet, cover, and cook till chicken is well done (about 20 minutes).

Stir in basil, and serve.

Fresh and Crunchy Salad

A couple of weeks back, a friend taught me to make mozzarella cheese. Though it sounded very similar to the process of making paneer, I decided to take it at face value and try it. The bad news is that the end product was no different from regular paneer. The good news is that the paneer went straight into a crunchy salad which was quickly consumed with the Sunday lunch!

For the paneer:
1 litre milk
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the salad:
2 large tomatoes
2 medium onions
1 large cucumber
12- 15 black olives

For the marinade
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
4- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp crushed dry mint
Salt to taste

Method:
Add the lemon juice to cold milk, and keep aside for 30 minutes
Bring to a boil, reduce the flame, and keep stirring till the whey separates.
Drain and keep aside.
Cut the cucumber, onions, tomatoes and paneer into 1/2 inch square pieces.
Mix the marinade, toss in the vegetables, cover with cling film and keep in the fridge for 2 hours.
Garnish with olives before serving

Spaghetti Aglio E Olio

While browsing the internet the other day, I saw a picture of Spaghetti Aglio E Olio, and looked up the recipe. Somehow, I was not convinced that such a simple recipe would work, and yet, I couldn't quite forget it either. So, when the kids wanted a Pasta in White Sauce, I decided to reserve a little bit of the pasta to make the dish for myself.
For such a simple dish, it sure packs a mean punch, and I am definitely making it again.

200 gms spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
8 pods garlic, chopped fine and mashed slightly
1 tsp red chillli flakes
3 tbsp cheese grated
Salt to taste



Method:
Bring the water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water before you drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until it just begins to turn golden on the edges-don't overcook it!
Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
Carefully add the reserved pasta-cooking water to the garlic and oil and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by about a third.

Add the drained pasta to the garlic sauce and toss. Off the heat, add the cheese and toss well. Allow the pasta to rest off the heat for 5 minutes for the sauce to be absorbed.
Taste for seasoning and serve warm with extra Parmesan on the side.

Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce

This recipe is adapted from a classic recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. It has been Indianised, and uses only the ingredients that are regularly found at home.

1 large purple baigan
1 tbsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 cup curds
2 tbsp olive oil
2-4 pods garlic, crushed
Salt to taste

For garnish:
Mint leaves
3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Method:
Dice the eggplant into 1/2 cm thick slices. Pat with garam masala powder and salt and let the flavours absorb for 10 minutes.
Heat a tawa, and shallow fry the eggplant slices. Keep aside
Meanwhile, whip the curds with the olive oil, crushed garlic and salt.
Arrange the eggplant slices on a serving dish, pour the buttermilk sauce over it, garnish with pomegranate seeds and mint and serve.

Fusion Vermicelli

Fed up of the same thing, but not wanting to stray too far from the tried and tested formula, this was the lunch I rustled up for my son and me on the first day when he had to fend for himself while his mother was at work. He, however, didn't seem to like it much, so one idea gone out of the window.

1/2 cup vermicelli
1 head broccoli
1/3 cup sweet corn
6 leaves basil
4 pods garlic
1/2 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp butter
Salt to taste.

Method:
Cook the vermicelli according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and keep aside
Heat the butter and when it is melted add the garlic and stir till the aroma starts getting released. Add the corn, and broccoli, and saute till the corn starts getting browned.
Add torn basil leaves, paprika powder and salt adn mix well.
Mix with the vermicelli, and serve hot.

Moong dal with amaranthus stalks

My mother is visiting, and since she loves Bengali food as much as I do, I picked up a huge bunch of red amaranthus/ lal shaag. It was only when I got back home, that I realised the stems were too thick to cut up and cook with the leaves. Reluctant to throw them away, I went to Google Uncle, who gave me an idea but no recipe- chopped amaranthus with moong dal. I made up the recipe, and quite like it.

1 cup whole moong dal
2 tbsp channa dal
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 cup amaranthus stems, chopped
6 pods garlic
1/2 tsp jeera
2 green chillis
2 tbsp curds
Cooking oil
Salt to taste
Mint or coriander leaves for garnish

Method:
Heat the oil, add jeera and let it splutter. Add garlic and the green chillis, and saute till browned.
Add chopped amaranthus stems, and saute for about a minute.
Wash the dals, and pressure cook with the fried masala, and turmeric till soft (20 minutes on low flame after the first whistle).
Remove from the fire, allow it to cool down, add curds, and heat till it reaches boiling temperature.
Garnish with mint and serve with rotis.
Wash and pressure cook the dals with the turmeric powder, till cooked.
Either serve with rotis, or eat it as a chilli.

Green moong dal

Less is often more when it comes to spices, and this dal is a great example of it. There is a medley of tastes, but not so many it is overpowering. 

2 measures whole moong dal

1 onion

3 pods garlic

1 green chilli

Salt to taste

1 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 tsp jeera

Method:

Pressure cook the moong dal in sufficient water till cooked (I cook on high flame till first whistle, then turn it down and let it cook for 20 mins)

Meanwhile, roughly mince onion, garlic and green chilli.

Heat cooking oil, temper with jeera seeds, add ground paste and cook on low flame till the raw smell goes.

Add the cooked dal, salt to taste and about 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce flame and let it slow cook for 10 minutes.

Serve with rotis.

Peanut-tomato-garlic chutney

Many mother back, I read about this peanut sauce that women in rural Maharashtra whip up to add spice to their dishes, and filed it away in memory. By the time I finally got down to making it, I had forgotten the exact recipe and decided to improvise. This, however, is the recipe I am sticking to from now on.
 

1 cup peanuts
1 small tomato, chopped
2 red chilies (more, if you want it hot)
4-6 pods garlic
salt to taste

Method:

Dry roast the peanuts, remove the skin and let it cool

Boil tomato and red chillies for about 5 minutes and discard the water.

Grind the peanuts, boiled tomatoes and chillies and garlic to make a smooth paste. Add salt.
Serve with dosas.

Flavoured rice dish

It is far too hot to cook, but not only does the family still need to be fed, the family seems to be getting more and more demanding by the day. Uttara Ghosh's flavoured rice was originally prepared using prawns, but when she told me that chicken could be used too, I just had to try it out. And it got devoured even before I could take a decent picture.

1 measure rice, soaked for 30 minutes
500 gms boneless chicken cut into thin slices
4 eggs
2 medium potatoes
2 onions
4-6 pods garlic, minced
1 green chilli
2 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method
Boil the eggs, and semi boil the potatoes.
Cut 1/2 onion into long thin slices and mince the rest
Heat the oil, and fry the chicken slices with the minced onions, green chilli and garlic, till the raw smell goes. Keep aside
In the same dish, fry the soaked rice.
Add the chicken, double the quantity of water and salt to taste. Bring to boil, reduce the flame, cover, and let it cook.
Meanwhile, fry the eggs and quartered potatoes till slightly browned.
Fry the onion slices till browned.
When the rice is nearly done, stir well, add the eggs and potatoes, cover and let it cook till done.
Garnish with browned onions before serving.