Spicy Whole Masoor

1 cup whole masoor
1 tsp GG paste
2 green chillies
1 large onion chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped fine
Turmeric, chilli, jeera, dhania powders
Garam masala powder
2 tbsp curd
Salt
Oil
Chopped coriander leaves

Pressure cook the washed whole masoor with turmeric till soft.
Heat oil in a kadai and chuck in the green chillies. Add the chopped onion and fry well for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomato and the GG paste and fry further for another 2 minutes. Stir well. Add the powdered spices and mix well. Add the curd and mix it well. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour in the cooked masoor and stir. Add salt. Let it come to a boil adding a little water if required. Let it boil well. Sprinkle the chopped coriander and serve with rotis/parathas/bread or even rice.
You can add a tablespoon of pure ghee to the pot at the end. It gives the entire dish a wonderful aroma and flavour.
You can also add small cubes of potatoes to the masoor while pressure cooking it.

Alu'r Dom

This is a typical Bong preparation, very easy to make, and is absolutely delicious!! Serve with hot luchis or porotas..

This is how i make it though the recipe will vary from family to family, cook to cook :)

Small or baby potatoes, boiled and skinned.
1 large onion, minced, not paste.
1 tsp GG paste
2 tbsp fresh curd/ dahi
turmeric
chilli powder
Dhania powder
Jeera powder
garam masala powder
whole garam masala
salt
mustard oil
Fresh coriander leaves

Heat mustard oil in a kadai. Let it heat up properly and then fry the boiled and peeled potatoes browning them nicely. Remove on to a plate and keep aside. Put in the whole spices- cardamom, cloves, bay leaf, etc. Fry for a minute and then add the onions. Fry well stirring all the time. Don't burn the onions. Add a minced green chilli if you like your food hot and spicy. Add the powdered spices and the fresh curd. Stir and mix well. let it cook. Add a tablespoon or two of water only if required. Stir well. Add the potatoes and mix well. In case the potatoes are biggish prick with a fork so that the spices and salt can get in. But be careful not to break the potatoes. Let it cook covered for a couple of minutes. There should be no gravy, just the thick masala paste coated all over the potatoes. garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve.

You can add a little dried mango powder if you like with the other powdered spices. it adds a nice zing.

Dimer Jhol (Eggs in gravy)

This is a typical preparation eaten with rice. There are many variations to this basic recipe, this is what my Mom used to make.

4 boiled eggs
1 large onion, sliced
2 large potatoes, cut into 6 or 8 chunks
2 green chillies
1 medium tomato, chopped
jeera/turmeric/dhania powders
Ginger garlic paste
whole garam masala
oil
salt
Fresh coriander

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the potatoes till they are lightly browned. Remove and keep aside. in the same oil put in a stick of cinnamon, 4 cardamoms and a few cloves and a couple of bay leaves. Let it fry a bit and then add the green chillies and onions. Fry well till the onions turn pink, don't let them burn. Add the chopped tomato and the GG paste. Stir well and add the spice powders. Add a bit of water if required so that the powdered spices don't burn. Cook for a while mixing well. Add the salt and the boiled eggs (shelled of course!!). Stir to coat the eggs with the spice and onion mix. Add potatoes and a cup (or more) of water. Bring to a boil, simmer and cook covered till the potatoes are done. Adjust salt if necessary. Serve hot garnished with chopped corainder leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

Doi Begun (Brinjals in yoghurt)

This is a very easy recipe and one of my favourite ways of cooking brinjals. You can use either the big purple brinjals or the small ones, but not the green varieties.

1 large brinjal or 10 small brinjals
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 large onion, sliced
1 medium tomato, minced
Turmeric
Cumin/jeera powder
Chilli powder
Ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup dahi/yoghurt
Salt
Oil
1 or 2 Green chillies
Fresh Coriander leaves, washed


Cube the brinjal and sprinkle with salt. Leave in a colander for 15 to 20 minutes. If you're using the small ones, slit in quarters upto the stem leaving it intact on the stem.

In a wok/kadai heat oil. I used Mustard oil. Once the oil is heated well drop in the mustardseeds and let them pop. Put in the brinjals and fry well turning constantly. Let the brinjals soften a bit. Put in the onions and fry well. Add the ginger garlic paste, tomato, green chillies and the spices and stir it well. Let it cook. Beat the yoghurt with a fork and add to the kadai. Stir it well and cook covered for 5 minutes or so. Check that the brinjals are cooked through. Adjust salt. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve with rotis or parathas.


I made this dish using a ready cooking paste which contained tomatoes/onions/ginger and garlic/ and a little salt

Masala Daal Parsi Style

This is an easy way to jazz up a simple daal. I use a mix of masoor and tuvar daals with more of the masoor and a little tuvar for body. About 2:1 ratio.
Wash the daals well and pressure cook with a generous bit of turmeric. Once the cooker is opened, mash the daals with a whisk or a flat spoon. Parsis like their daal to be a smooth thick puree.
In a wok or kadai heat some neutral oil- peanut/sunflower. Throw in some curry leaves, a chopped tomato, a couple of green chillies, some ginger/garlic paste and a generous spoonful of Dhansakh masala. Fry it well and then pour in the cooked daal. Add salt as required. Bring to a good rolling boil. Add a spoonful of ghee.
Garnish with finely chopped corinder leaves and serve hot.

Nariyal na Doodh ma Knolkol

This is one veggie I've never cooked before. Hubby loves it. So I procured some, called up my Ma in law and found out how to cook it.

It's quite simple, the recipe she gave me, and works with delicious results.

Knol Kol Parsi Style-

4 or 5 knol-kol
200 ml coconut milk
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 green chilli, minced
1 tsp jeera seeds/ cumin seeds
1 tbsp oil
salt

Peel the hard outer skin of the knol-kols. Cut into small cubes, the smaller the better.
Heat oil in kadai. Put in the cumin seeds once the oil is hot. Add the garlic and the minced green chilli. Fry for a minute and then add the chopped onion. Fry well for 2 or 3 minutes.

Add the cubed knol-kol and fry for atleast 5 minutes stirring well.

Add salt.

Pour in the coconut milk and add some water if required. Bring to a boil and cook till the knol-kol is cooked through. This might take a while, so cut them into small cubes.

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Surmai Machher Patla Jhol

This is a sort of amalgamation of my basic Bong palate and my adjustments to Parsi cuisine... Traditionally this thin stew like fish preparation is made with Rui or Catla, both 'sweet water' or river fish. Since they tend to have numerous bones my Hubby finds them difficult to eat. So I make this Jhol with Surmai instead.

4 surmai steaks
1 large onion, sliced
1 tomato, chopped fine
whole garam masala
1 green chilli
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Turmeric
chilli powder
Jeera (cumin) powder)
Dhania (coriander) powder
salt
oil
Fresh coriander

Heat oil in a kadai or wok. Add 4 cardamoms, 2 cloves, 2 inch piece of cinnamon, 2 bay leaves and the green chilli. Let it fry for a minute. Add the sliced onion and fry. Don't let the onions brown or burn. Add the chopped tomato and stir well. Add the GG paste, the powdered spices, stir well and add a bit of water. Cook for a minute or two. Add salt. Mix it well and pour in a cup of water. Bring it to a boil and then add the fish steaks. Let the fish cook, add water to make the gravy thin, if necessary. You should have a thin watery gravy. Once the fish is cooked sprinkle with washed and chopped corainder leaves. Serve hot with rice.

If you like river fish this tastes fantastic cooked with Rui or Rohu.

Hello February :)

Hello February!!
the year is new no more...the winter chill is on in Navi Mumbai. I've never experienced a nice and chilly winter like this in Mumbai, ever. This time we got to drag out the blankies and the woollies and all the pretty shawls!

Lots of winter food has been made :)

will post soon about them...

My new Clock!!

I'm sooo kicked!!! I found this cool looking clock on someone's blog and managed to get this really cute Orange one for my page. Figured out how to, and managed to 'generate the HTML code and copy it to the correct window...and voila! I have a clock on my page :) :)

The only problem however is that is half an hour slow...this is the closest I found to Indian Standard time...

Baked Bread & Cheese Comfy

This is something my Mom used to make when we were kids. It’s one of my yummiest memories :)


Cheddar or any tasty cheese cut into strips. Use Britannia Cheese Slices if you like.
Eggs
salt
Slices of bread
½ cup milk
Pepper

Take a small rectangular oven dish or a small loaf tin. Spread sides with a little butter. Soak the bread slices in milk and press out excess milk. Try not to break the slices.
Line the base of your dish or loaf tin with the slices.
Put a layer of cheddar strips or cheese slices.
Beat the eggs in a bowl with a little salt and pour some onto the cheese. Grind some pepper over this. Repeat the procedure starting again with milk soaked bread. Repeat till you have at least 3 or 4 layers. Finish with cheese on the top. Pour in any excess egg.
If it looks dry, beat an extra egg with a little milk and pour it in.
Cover with foil and bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Carefully open foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it checking to see it does not burn.

Take out from oven carefully and serve directly from the tin. The melted cheese and the cooked eggs make a delicious combo with the moist bread. Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

To make it even more awesome put a few slices of salami or some grilled bacon (rind removed) in the layers for added taste..

Pancakes

On days when we have time for a relatively relaxed breakfast I make pancakes. I learned these from our neighbours, the Ahmeds, when I was a very young girl. The recipe is simple, perfect for a child to learn. In those days we'd spread jam or honey on the pancakes, now of course, we have many more options. These pancakes are thin and more like crepes but since I've grown up calling them pancakes, to me that's what they are.

Pancakes

1 cup plain flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
A pinch of salt

oil for frying

Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl to make a runny batter. Refrigerate for half an hour.
Heat flat non stick pan and add a little oil. Stir the batter and pour a ladle of batter on the pan and let it form a flat pancake by tilting the pan from side to side. Let bubbles form on the surface. Using a flat spatula flip the pancake and cook the other side. Make the pancakes thick or thin, as you like.
Serve hot with jam, honey, peanut butter, Nutella spread…whatever you like.

Egg Bhurji

Chop an onion and a green chilli. Chop a tomato too. Fry the onion and green chilli in some oil in a pan till the onions turn brown. Add the tomato and mix well. Let it cook. Add some turmeric, chilli powder and salt and let it cook.
Take a couple of eggs, beat the hell out of them. Add to the pan and stir really well. Cook eggs till they thicken. Leave them runny if you like or cook further.

Eat with bread or rotis :)

Simply Subzis

Palak, Bengali style

1 bunch Spinach (palak) leaves
1 small potato, peeled and cubed into small pieces.
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 green chilli
salt

Wash spinach leaves thouroughly. Drain and chop. You don't have to chop it fine, just cut the bunch into about 5 sections across. Discard any roots.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok and put in the mustard seeds. Once they begin to splutter (they will) put in the peeled garlic and the green chilli with its stem removed. Stir for half a minute, and then add the cubed potatoes. Stir for a minute and cook covered for 5 minutes till potatoes are nearly cooked. Add the spinach leaves and salt. Don't add any water as the spinach will release lots of water. Cook till most of the water has evaporated.
Palak bhaji with potatoes is ready.

Simple Aloo Mutter

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed. Not too small.
1 cup green peas. Frozen will do very well.
1 tsp ginger garlic paste.
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 green chilli, stem removed
turmeric
chilli powder
Jeera powder
garam masala powder
3 cloves (lavang)
1 small piece cinnamon (dalchini)
2 elaichi (cardamom)
oil
salt


Thaw the frozen peas by soaking in water.
Heat oil in kadai. Add the whole garam masala- cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Fry for a minute. Add the onions and fry till lightly browned. Keep the flame low so you don’t burn them. You can add half a teaspoon of sugar to brown them better. Add the tomato, GG paste and green chilli. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the turmeric, chilli & jeera powders and put in a couple of tablespoons of water so the dry spices don’t burn. Add the potatoes and stir well. Let it cook for 5 minutes giving it an occasional stir. Cook it covered. Drain the peas and add them to the pot. Stir everything well to mix, add a cup of water and let it cook. Add salt and the powdered garam masala and let it bubble till the potatoes are completely cooked.
You can garnish the dish with some chopped fresh coriander leaves.
You can add some paneer to this too.

Serve hot with rice, rotis or bread.

Easy Sponge Cake

I've been baking the basic sponge since I was about 11 or 12 years old....my Mom taught me this recipe and I've been making it ever since. It reminds of the long summer afternoons with Moni reading a 'Millsie' as she called them (Mills& Boon books) and me making stuff with her instructions. Sponge cake was learned one such afternoon :)



3 eggs
125 gms Butter
1 heaped cup flour (maida)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Sift flour and baking powder together. Set aside.

In a clean bowl beat the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. They should be well combined. Add the eggs and vanilla essence and beat again. Pour in the sifted flour and baking powder and combine using the electric hand beater.

Line a baking tin with butter paper and pour in the batter. You can also use brown paper.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for about 40 minutes. Insert a knitting needle into centre of cake to test if done. The needle should come out absolutely clean.

Cool in tin and remove to a plate. Remember to remove paper from the base of the cake.

If you like you can cut the cake in half horizontally and spread some warm jam in between. Just microwave a couple of tablespoons of jam in a saucer and spread on the cake.

You might also roll some raisins or tutti frutti bits in dry flour and add them to the batter like I've done for the one in the picture above.  That is my Hubby's favourite.

Sometimes Mom added a generous tablespoon of cocoa powder to the batter with the flour to give the cake a nice chocolatey twist.
Enjoy :)

Some shortcuts and Basic recipes

Here are some basic recipes and other lifesavers that make life in the kitchen easy..

Fried onions-
As the name suggests...slice a pile of onions. Fry in peanut/ sunflower or any neutral oil. Store in a closed jar. No need to refrigerate. The trick here is to fry the onions slowly till they are dark brown and nearly caramelised. Add a bit of sugar to speed things up.

Fried Garlic
Chop a mountain of garlic. Deep fry in hot oil without burning. Store in a bottle or jar. No need to refrigerate!!

Ginger garlic paste-

Scrape skin off ginger. Chop into small pieces. Peel garlic. Usually I take more garlic and less ginger but you can vary the roportions, or you can grind them separately and use as required. Grind in the mixie. Refrigerate.

Or you can take the easy way out and buy a jar from your local store :)

Infact nowadays you not only get the basic garlic/ginger paste but you also get combinations with jeera, red chilli, green chilli etc., added to the basic mix. So go for it!! Pick up a variety and experiment :)

Very Easy Rice.

1 cup basmati (long grain rice)

Wash the rice well. Pour enough water to submerge the rice about an inch or so. Put to cook. As soon as it begins to boil reduce heat and let it simmer. Cover the vessel leaving a little room open. The rice should be perfectly cooked in about 10 mins or so. Keep a check. You can add a bay leaf (tej patta) or a star anise (badiyan phool) to the rice along with a bit of salt. It gives the rice a beautiful aroma.

A couple of attempts and you will be an expert…My hubby taught me how to cook rice. He used to call me his very own cereal killer!!

Basic daal.

1 cup daal.
Masoor daal (the pink one) cooks the quickest. You can cook it without a pressure cooker. Just soak for a while after washing well. Put on stove with plenty of water and a teaspoon of haldi. Add salt after the daal is cooked. Adding salt during cooking process retards the cooking process and leaves the grains hard. So add it later.
Tuvar daal (large yellow grains) takes longer to cook. It’s better to use a pressure cooker for this.
Wash well. Put into cooker with approximately thrice the quantity of water. Add a teaspoon of turmeric and shut the cooker. Place on heat. After the first whistle lower the flame. Let it cook for another 5 minutes and switch off. Let the cooker cool on its own. DO NOT force open the cooker.

Once cooked, you can just add salt and ghee and mash up the daal a bit. It will taste lovely.

Or you can fry some onions, add some garlic, a green chilli or two and add this to the boiled daal with a spoon of ghee. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander (kothmir leaves) and you’re in business!!

You can make some of the easy accompaniments I've written about earlier...like fried potatoes or even fry a slice of fish to eat along with your Daal Chawal. A good spicy pickle is another great side.

Kitchen Start-Up

In my days living in the hostel and then in our own place I learned a lot of shortcuts to good cooking. Though I love cooking, I love it even more if I can find an easier way to do it.. The satisfaction of having a good meal without having a state of the art kitchen and a chef's certificate, is indeed immense!! Here are a few things that I do. Of course it does help that we are in the food business so I have access to some things quite easily...like fried onions, fried garlic, ginger garlic paste, etc. But most of this stuff is easily available or is easy to make..


Equipment

You can start with a hot plate or a gas burner...either works well, though a gas burner is far cheaper as far as fuel costs go. If you are using a hot plate make sure your cooking vessels have a flat base. No round bottomed kadais or woks.
I like to have a couple of good quality non-stick pans, apart from a pressure cooker, a few dekchis/ bowls etc and a selection of wooden or metal cooking spoons/spatulas, etc

You must invest in a small onion chopper. There are really nice ones by Black & Decker….mine is now more than 10 years old and its going strong. You can also buy a ‘stick mixie’ …the ones that look like a longish stick with a blade at one end. These come with a few jars and can do a little more than basic chopping.

And you must have a good knife. I don’t let anyone use mine. It’s a big one, serrated, and it’s a dream to use. Find one that you like and hang on to it!! And you must have a chopping board. Buy an acrylic one…they’re available everywhere. They’re easy to clean and maintain.


Stuff to stock in your pantry...

A basic selection of spices and powders..turmeric, chilli, jeera, dhania, garam masala, pepper, salt (of course!!) and whatever ready mixes you might like...rasam powder, sambar powder, chicken masala, biryani masala, chhole masala, etc.
I'm a great fan of the readymade gravy mixes that are availabe...Parampara, etc. And of course...you must have ginger and garlic paste, you can stock them separately pasted or in combination.

Basic staples like rice, dal, oil and onins, potatoes, garlic pods.

If you have a fridge (which is difficult if you're in a hostel) then the world is your onion :) Stock it well! Stock up on whatever non veg foods you like…fish, chicken, mutton, mince, etc., and have paneer, green peas, frozen corn too.

Most big cities have supermarket chains that sell pre-cut vegetables, sometimes even in combination…Chinese stir fry, sambar vegetables or individual veggies sliced or diced. I have even seen trays of salad!! And of course you do get cut mixed fruits too. These might cost a bit more but they do save a hell of a lot of bother.

As you go along your confidence in the kitchen will improve and soon you’ll be eating well and entertaining too!!


More later....

Daal Chawal and....

Hubby demanded Daal Chawal again...this time with fried prawns on the side. It got me thinking.. what all do we eat as accompaniments to good old Daal chawal? Daal Chawal seems to be quite a universal staple in many homes across India, eaten along with a variety of fried or mashed side-dishes, pickles, poppadums or salads...

Here are a few of the fried stuff that are common in my house...

Fried Prawns.

Prawns, shelled and deveined.
Turmeric, chilli powder, salt, Ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder (optional), oil

Wash prawns well and drain. Mix in generous quantities of all ingredients except the oil. Let it marinate for a while. Fry in hot oil. Serve with a twist of lemon juice and a couple of fresh green chillies for added bite.

This is a typical Parsi way of doing fried prawns.


Aloo Bhaja

Fried potatoes, Bengali style.

Cube potatoes. Rub turmeric and salt into potatoes. Heat mustard oil and throw in some mustard seeds. Let them crackle. Add the potatoes. Stir well and fry on high heat for a minute. Lower flame and let it fry covered stirring once in a while. Don't let it burn. Serve hot once potatoes are cooked through.

Peyaanj Bhaja

Fried onions.

This is something my Mom's aunt used to make, especially for us kids.

Onions sliced. Sugar. Ghee.

Rub the onion slices with your fingers to open them up into individual strands. Heat a generous amount of ghee in a kadai. Fry the onions with some sugar. Fry over a slow flame so as to not burn the onions.
This tastes lovely with plain daal and rice. You can serve Aloo Bhate with it.


Aloo Bhate

Aloo Bhate is one of the most loved preparations that I would eat at my grandmom's house every summer when we visited during school summer holidays...

Boil a couple of potatoes with the peels. Peel after they are boiled. Mash the potatoes while they are still hot. The basic mash will have only mustard oil and salt. You can elevate it to a slightly fancier version by adding finely chopped onion and minced green chillies to it.


Tareli Machchhi

Fish fry, Parsi Style

Surmai or Pomfret slices.
Turmeric, chilli powder and salt
oil to fry

Marinate the fish in the spices for half an hour.
Fry in hot peanut or any neutral oil.
Serve hot with lemon slices.

Jewels to eat....

This is an incredibly simple but exceptionally yummy preparation of vegetables.

1 red capsicum (bell pepper)
1 yellow capsicum
3-4 spring onions
4 cloves garlic
1 large potato, cubed
salt
fresh cracked pepper
oil

Cut the capsicums into cubes and chop the spring onions using the greens and the bulb. Chop the garlic, not too fine.
Heat oil in a wok and first fry the cubed potatoes till nearly done. Add the spring onions and garlic and fry another couple of minutes. Toss in the capsicums and stir it all well. Add salt and plenty of fresh cracked pepper. Cover for a couple of minutes and let it cook. Leave the capsicums slightly crisp. That's it!! Serve hot with bread or rotis :)

The coloured capsicums look very pretty like glistening jewels :)

Boozy Chocolate Mousse

I've got to make chocolate mousse for 300 people. That's going to be a hell of a lot of mousse!! It's so simple to make and yet it is so delicious...

Here's how...

Dark cooking chocolate 250 gms
3 tsp sugar, preferably small grains
6 eggs
Your tipple of choice (rum/brandy/liqueur)- 2 tsps

Microwave or double boiler.
Egg beater
2 very clean mixing bowls
Egg separator
Rubber Spatula
Clean large spoon

Melt the chocolate in a microwave or use a double boiler (put a bowl with the chocolate in a saucepan with simmering water. Ensure that no water gets into the chocolate).
In one of the mixing bowls measure out the rum or other liquor and 2 tsp sugar. In the other put 1 tsp sugar.
Separate the eggs putting the yolks with the rum and sugar and the whites in the other bowl. Make sure that the whites have no trace absolutely of any yolk. I usually separate the eggs individually in a small bowl and the add into the large bowls. This ensures that in case a yolk breaks the entire batch of whites is not ruined.
Once the eggs are separated, add the melted chocolate to the egg yolks and beat till smooth.
Clean the beaters thoroughly and wipe clean. Beat the egg whites till firm peaks form.
Fold in the egg whites into the chocolate mixture using vertical circular movements with the large spoon. Don't stir as if you're cooking curry!! Fold in gradually incorporating as much air as you can. Scrape clean using a the spatula.
Pour mousse into a clean glass bowl, cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate to set.
The mousse will be set in a couple of hours.
Garnish with chocolate shavings or chips or whipped cream...whatever you like.

This recipe gives you about a litre of mousse...enough for about 8 people.

You can use liqueurs like Schnapps, Kirsch, Pear liqueur, Coffee liqueur, Cointreau...whatever you like :)

Gorgeous Garlicky Chicken wings...

This is one of the easiest but most scrumptious recipes for making a quick snack or starter...

Chicken wings, tips removed.
salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Garlic, chopped and fried
Olive oil.

Marinate the wings in salt and pepper. Heat a little oil in a flat non-stick pan. Place the wings in hoy oil and lower the heat. Cover and let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes, undisturbed. Turn wings over to cook on the other side. Sprinkle a liberal amount of the fried garlic and cover again. Once the wings are cooked through (test with a fork. When juices run absolutely clear, they're done) increase heat and let the wings crisp a bit.
Serve hot!! They're simply yummy..

I usually keep a jar of fried garlic in my pantry.





All you do is chop a mountain of garlic and deep fry it quickly without burning it. Let it cool completely and store in an air-tight jar.