Navratna Kurma

We invited a family friend who recently got married over for dinner. Since I'm at my mum's place for a while I really didn't have worry about the cooking. My help usually goes as far as deciding the menu :) Once I'm home I am mommy's little girl again with no responsibilities to worry about!! But this time I decided to contribute to the cooking for a change.
The reason this dish is called 'navratna' is because it has nav (nine) varieties of veggies. But it totally depends on what veggies you would want to add in. I only used 4 different vegetables so i suppose that would make my dish 'char-ratna' ! :p

Ingredients

• 2 tea cups of assorted and boiled vegetables ( peas, carrots, potatoes, french beans)
• Grated paneer 200 gms
• Puree of 3 tomatoes
• 2 onions, grated
• Ginger & garlic paste, 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder, 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder, 2 tsp
• Coriander powder, 2 tsp
• Garam masala, 2 tsp
• Cream 100 gms
• 1 cup milk
• Oil 6 tbsp
• Cashew nuts and raisins, a handful
• Chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
• Salt to taste

Procedure

• Heat 1 tbsp of oil. When hot fry the cashew nuts and raisins until the nuts turn golden brown and the raisins puff up. Keep aside
• Now add the rest of the oil. Fry onions and ginger-garlic paste till golden brown
• Add the turmeric powder, Chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala and fry well for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes
• Now add the tomato puree and dry fruits and fry till the oil leaves the sides
• Next add milk and bring to a boil. Now simmer till the gravy thickens
• Add the cream and mix well
• Add paneer to the gravy
• The vegetables go in next. Simmer for a few minutes
• Garnish with the coriander leaves and some more cream

Happy cooking!

Tomato Curry

This again is a very easy recipe to make. It's simple and tasty too. But most people would like this only as a side dish. I love it just as it is and don't feel the need for any other dish with it. This goes well with khichdi/rice and chapatti too.

Ingredients
2 tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
1 cup curd
2 green chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Procedure

• Heat the oil in a pan
• Temper the oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies
• When it has all crackled well enough, add the onions and tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes get slightly mashed
• Turn off the flame
• In another bowl whisk the curd and salt till smooth
• Mix everything together and 'tomato curry' is ready to be served!

Happy cooking!

Bread Upma

This is a good snack for breakfast. I remember i ate it for the first time on my first day at office. I was with a colleague and a little apprehensive of all the new job responsibilities. Then we went to the canteen for a tea break. I decided to try out the bread upma from the menu. I loved it! i couldn't believe you could make anything like this out of bread. The snack did me good, and I got back to work with renewed energy! :) Now I make it regularly for breakfast.

Ingredients

5-6 slices of bread (better it is is a day or two old)

1 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

2 green chillies, chopped

3-4 curry leaves

A handful of roasted peanuts

1 tsp chilli powder ( need not be added, if you want it less spicy)

Chopped coriander for garnish

salt for taste

1 tbsp oil

Procedure

• Heat oil in a pan
• Add the onions and curry leaves, fry till it becomes soft
• Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are cooked and mashed
• Add the chilli powder and fry for a minute
• Add the peanuts
• Tear the bread slices with your hands  in to bite sized pieces
• Add this to the pan and fry nicely till the bread pieces are well coated
• Garnish with coriander
• You can also add about a tsp of sugar if you like

  Happy Cooking!                          

Chocolate Mousse

I was having an intense craving for something really chocolaty when I made this and it was only chocolate mousse that I decided would satisfy my craving! But for some reason all the stores in my area were out of fresh cream that day. So I had to wait two whole days before I could satisfy my (still undiminished) craving! :).By the end of it though I sure was satisfied!!

Ingredients

2 eggs

3 tsp gelatine in 1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups milk

7 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

250 gms cream

Procedure

• Mix gelatine in cold water in a small heavy, heavy bottomed pan. Leave aside for 5-7 minutes. Heat on a low flame to dissolve it. Do not let it boil. Keep aside
• Separate eggs
• Mix milk, sugar, cocoa and egg yolks in another heavy bottomed pan. Cook on a very slow fire, stirring continuously till custard coats the spoon
• Remove from fire
• Cool to room temperature. Add gelatine, stirring continuously
• Chill in freezer till thick, but not set. Add 200 gms cream. Beat
• Chill again till thick
• Add stiffly beaten egg whites and essence
• Pour into individual serving cups or a serving bowl
• When set, whip 50 gms cream with 1 tbsp powdered sugar till soft peaks are formed. Chill the cream in an icing gun
• Sprinkle with some powdered sugar and cocoa and decorate with whipped cream

Happy cooking!

Brinjal in Coconut Masala

Baingan / brinjal is not everyone's favourite. Was'nt mine either. Until my friend from office brought this particular baingan dish for lunch. I thought it was really yummy. So of course I immediately took down the recipe and promptly made it for dinner the next day.

Ingredients

1/2 kg baby baingans/ brinjals

1/2 a cup of coconut, grated

1 small bowl of jaggery, grated

1/2 tsp asafoetida / hing

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

1 lemon sized ball of tamarind

3-4 curry leaves

2 tbsp oil

Procedure

• Slice the brinjals in thin slices and put it into a bowl of water mixed with 1 tsp of salt
• Soak the tamarind in a bowl of warm water
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan
• When the the oil is hot, toss about the brinjal slices unil it is cooked, keep aside
To the same oil, add another tbsp of oil and add the mustard seeds
• When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the hing and curry leaves
•  Next add the coconut, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and fry for 2-3 minutes
•  Squeeze out the tamarind pulp and add to the above mixture
• Now add the brinjal slices and add a little water if required and cook for about 5  minutes                                                                                                                                        Brinjal Sabzi is ready !

Happy cooking!

 

Corn Mushroom Baked Dish

This makes a perfect side dish if you're holding a party at home. Goes well with toasted and buttered garlic bread. But if I'm not i the mood to make chapatti's then this is what I make for dinner and my husband simply loves it. Making the white sauce is the only tricky part. Once you get that right, nothing can possibly ruin your dish, because it's that simple to make.

You can also add sausages or fried salami and bacon bits if you fancy it.

Ingredients for white sauce

1 cup all purpose flour/maida

4-5 tbsp butter

1 - 1 1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

To be fried in butter:

2 tbsp butter

1 cup sweet corn

1 cup mushroom, sliced

Garnish:

4 tbsp cheese, grated

Procedure

• In a pan melt the butter slightly and add the flour
• Fry nicely on a medium heat, till there is a nice aroma, and the flour changes colour slightly
• Now turn off the heat and keep the pan aside
• In another pan again melt the  butter slightly and add the corn
• Fry for about five minutes, then take out the corn
• Next fry the mushrooms for another five minutes
• By now the maida and butter mixture would have cooled down sufficiently
• Add a little bit of milk and start blending it in nicely
• Keep adding the milk gradually utill it forms a thick sauce
• Make sure that you remove all lumps from the sauce
• You can add more or less milk according the consistency of the sauce, which should slighty thick, but of free falling consistency
• Now put it back on a low flame.
• Add salt and pepper and stir it continuously for about five minutes (if the flame is too high, it will start forming into lumps)
• Turn off the heat and add the corn and mushroom to the sauce
• Now transfer the contents to a microwaveable container, grate some cheese over it and bake for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted

Serve hot with garlic bread

Happy cooking!

The photo did'nt turn out as well as expected, but I will update it  as soon as I have a better picture :)

Mooli Parathas

This is one dish that I am proud to say my mother-in-law thoroughly enjoyed. She being mainly a rice eating person, doesn't normally enjoy chapattis, but when she had my parathas she couldn't stop raving about it! :)

Mooli isn't something that you normally you use in cooking, so this is a great way to eat it.

In order to avoid the sharp pungent taste this vegetable has, you need to fry it well before making the parathas.

Ingredients

4-5 moolis, peeled and grated

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1-2 green chillies chopped

1" piece ginger, grated

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped

salt to taste

For the dough

2 cups flour

water

salt

2 tsp oil

Procedure

• Mix all the ingredients for the dough together, by adding the water gradually and kneading in to a soft dough.
• It should be soft and yielding to the touch.
• Cover and keep aside

Stuffing

• Squeeze the water out of the grated radish
• In a frying pan, heat one tbsp of oil
• Add the cumin seeds
• When the seeds start spluttering, add the green chillies and ginger
• Next add the radish, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt
• Fry nicely for about 5 minutes on a medium heat, till all the excess water has evaporated
• Add the chopped coriander
• Turn off the flame and allow the stuffing to cool
• Now make equal size balls of dough
• Roll out the dough slightly to about 3 inches in diameter
• Put 2 tsp of stuffing and cover it, by wrapping the edges around \to form a small ball again
• Now carefully roll it out, dust it with flour while doing so, so that the dough does not stick
• Put it on a tawa which is on a medium heat. Drizzle it with some oil/ghee
• Keep turning it over till it is well done on both sides

Mooli paratha is read to be served! You can serve it with a raita of your choice - vegetable raita, boondi raita, masala raita etc

Happy cooking!