Shahi Pulao | Vegetarian Fried rice

 

This is my mohter in laws recipe which I am featuring as part of the Indian Indepedence day recipe roundup from my followers.  I actually made this one today. I followed her instruction and the pulao  was an absolute breeze to prepare. It also gets the seal of approval from our son. He sat down and did not say a word (which is RARE) as he enjoyed this pulao, especially the cashews and sultanas.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice

3-4 cloves of cloves

1 stick of cinnamon

3-4 pods of green cardamom

1 pod of black cardamom

4 black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 red chillies

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

¼ cup of cashews

¼ cup sultanas (raisins)

½ cup of mixed frozen vegetables (corn, green peas and carrot)

salt to taste

1 tablespoon of butter

water

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Cook the rice in a rice cooker with salt. Drain the excess water and let the rice cool to room temperature.

Melt butter in pan and add red chillies. Add the whole spices including cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorn, bay leaves and cumin seeds. Saute for ½ min and add the cashews and sultanas. Cook until the cashews are golden brown. Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the cooked rice and mix thoroughly and let it cook for further 5 minutes.

 

 

Shahi Dal

Shahi dal or you may call it Dal Makhani is a black lentil preparation with red kidney beans. In my variation, I have used the four bean mix. It has not changed the taste of the dal a lot but has certainly changed the texture. It is more chunky and I like it chunky. If you don't like chunky, I would suggest just use the red kidney beans and black lentils. to make it more rich use Ghee instead of butter.

Ingredients:

1 can black lentils

1 can of mixed beans

1 can crushed tomato

1 teaspoon of Panchporan

1 stick of cinnamon

2 red chillies

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of red chilli powder

4 cloves of crushed garlic

½ inch of grated ginger

1 onion finely chopped

1 cup of cream

1 tablespoon of butter

salt to taste

Panchporan mix

Equal blend of-

nigella seeds

cumin seeds

fenugreek seeds

mustard seeds

fennel seeds

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Melt the butter in a pan and add the panchporan mix. Add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and red chillies. Saute for ½ mins and add the onion and saute further for 2 mins. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the spices including red chilli, coriander, garam masala powder and the cinnamon stick. Cook the spices for 2 mins and add the four bean and black lentils. Cook the lentils and beans for 15 mins. Add the cream and salt and cook for another 15 mins.

Serve with rice.

 

 

Spinach Linguine with Marinara Sauce

We usually see a lot of things on sale in a store or online and then buy them. It turns out later that we had no need for that item at all. One of these items is the pasta making machine. After letting it sit in the pantry for 6 months, one fine day we decided to give it a go and make our own fresh pasta. Now along with pasta come the sauce so here is how we made the linguine and the sauce from scratch. It turned out to be one of the best pasta dishes we ever made and had.

Ingredients:

Linguine:

1 ½ cup plain flour

2 eggs

1 bunch of spinach

2 teaspoon olive oil

salt

Sauce:

1 can of crushed tomato

1 brown onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

½ teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 cup of chopped parsley

1 cup of fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Preparation time: 50 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Chop and boil the spinach leaves and drain water.

To make linguine first sift the plain flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well and crack the eggs and add the finely chopped boiled and drained spinach. Fold the flour from outside in. Mix the flour with some oil to make consistent dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roll the dough using a rolling pin and pass through the pasta machine for at least five times. Each time decrease the gap between the machine to a lower setting. Once the dough is mixed thoroughly use the linguine attachment on the machine and pass the rolled sheets through the machine. Dust the linguine with some plain flour and let it dry for at least 30 minutes. If you don't want to go through this laborious process, use store bought pasta.

In a large pot boil water and add some oil. Cook the pasta for not more than 5 minutes. Because it is fresh pasta it does not need more than 5 minutes to be al dente. Drain all the water but don't wash the pasta. Unwashed pasta tastes much better than the washed pasta. Usually cook the pasta just before the sauce is ready so the pasta does not stick to each other.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the garlic and chilli flakes. Add the onion and saute until light brown. Add the oregano and crushed tomatoes to the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the salt, chopped parsley and basil and cook for 1 minute.

In a plate roll the linguine and serve the sauce over the top of the pasta. Grate some parmesan cheese and grind some fresh black pepper to serve.

Just to be on record the pasta machine has since been sitting in the pantry biting dust.

 

 

 

Stir Fried Lamb with Honey and Soy sauce

I was not a big fan of honey and meat in a single preparation but when I had the Soy Honey Stir Fried Lamb, I was not only impressed with it but hung up on trying it at home. It is effortless to make but has loads of flavours to tingle your taste buds. I am also hooked on to adding sesame seeds in all stir fried dishes. They go very well with dry garlic.

Ingredients:

½ kilo stir fry lamb

1 tablespoon of soy sauce

2 tablespoon of honey

2 red chillies chopped

1 teaspoon of dry garlic

1 teaspoon of sesame seeds

½ cup of broccoli

½ cup of baby corn

sesame Oil

salt to taste

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Add some sesame oil to the wok and add the stir fry lamb. Cook the lamb in batches until it is tender and set aside. Mix the soy sauce and honey in a mixing bowl until they are homogeneous and set aside.

In the same wok add the rest of the sesame oil and fry the dry garlic, red chillies and sesame seeds. Toss for 30 seconds and add the broccoli and baby corn. Cook on high for 1 minute while constantly tossing the mixture.

Return the lamb to the wok and add the soy and honey mixture. Add some salt to taste and cook for further 2 minutes on high heat.

Serve with white rice.

 

Fried Prawns

This is a quick and easy starter if you are having friends over. The fried prawns will go very well with beer or chilled white wine.

Ingredients:

1 Kilo raw peeled prawns

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoon rice flour

1 egg

salt to taste

oil to shallow fry

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Mix the rice flour, red chilli powder, black pepper and turmeric in a plate. Add some salt to taste.

Beat 1 egg and set aside.

Heat enough oil in a pan to shallow fry the prawns

Dip the prawns one by one in the egg first and then in the rice flour mixture and shallow fry until pink. Squeeze some lemon juice on the prawns and serve hot with some sweet chilli sauce.

Tambda Rassa

Sukka Mutton and Tambda Rassa are twins so to speak. One can not exist without the other. It is essentially a soup from the stock of cooked goat or lamb. It uses the same spice blend and ingredients as the sukka mutton.

Ingredients:

Bone goat curry pieces

1 cups of grated coconut

1 medium brown onions sliced

½ teaspoon of poppy seeds

½ tablespoon of Kanda Lasun Masala or red chilli powder

1 tablespoon of garam masala

4-5 cloves of garlic

½ inch ginger

½ cup fresh coriander leaves

3 tablespoon of cooking oil

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Pressure cook the goat pieces for 15 minutes.

In a pan roast the grated coconut until golden brown and set aside. In the same pan add ½ teaspoon of oil and roast the sliced brown onion until golden brown.

In a blender blend the coconut, roasted brown onion, fresh coriander, ginger, garlic, garam masala, kanada lasun masala and poppy seeds into a fine paste.

In a pan add cooking oil and add the blended paste and saute for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the curry goat pieces and the stock. Add some salt to taste and bring it to boil.

This dish is best served with Bhakri/roti, sukka mutton and rice.  

 

Sukka Mutton

I would like to introduce to you the Gem of Kolhapuri cuisine, “Sukka Mutton”. This is one of my favourite meat preparations. There are plenty of restaurants in Kolhapur where you get a Kolhapuri Thali which serves sukka mutton. My favourite place is Shetkari dhaba at Phulewadi, Kolhapur. Sukka mutton or Stir fry goat has to be accompanied by “Tambda Rassa” (Goat Soup). But I will feature that in another post of mine.

Ingredients:

1 Kilo Goat curry pieces or lamb pieces

2 cups of grated coconut

2 medium brown onions sliced

1 teaspoon of poppy seeds

1 tablespoon of Kanda Lasun Masala or red chilli powder

1 ½ tablespoon of garam masala

2 bay leaves

7-8 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

½ cup fresh coriander leaves

3 tablespoon of cooking oil

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Pressure cook the goat or lamb for 15 minutes and separate the stock from the curry pieces. Store the stock for Tambda Rassa/Goat soup.

In a pan roast the grated coconut until golden brown and set aside. In the same pan add ½ teaspoon of oil and roast 1 sliced brown onion until golden brown.

In a blender blend the coconut, roasted brown onion, fresh coriander, ginger, garlic, garam masala, kanada lasun masala and poppy seeds into a fine paste.

In a pan add cooking oil and once hot add the sliced onion and bay leaves. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is golden brown. Add the blended paste and saute for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

Add the curry goat pieces and coat them well with the blended paste. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. If you are not pressure cooking them cover and cook on a low flame for 40-50 minutes. Usually this has to be served dry but if you are not cooking the goat or the lamb in a pressure cooker keep adding the separated stock in small amount until the meat cooks and then let the water evaporate to make it dry. Add some meat tenderiser if necessary to make it tender.

This dish is best served with Bhakri but can also be served with hot Rotis.

 

 

 

Kolhapuri Kat Vada

My home town Kolhapur is most famous for 3 things. Kolhapuri Chappal, Sukka Mutton and chamchamit Misal. Until recently there were very few fast food joints in the city for the simple fact that if people were hungry, they would go and eat Misal any hour of the day. If it is lunch or dinner you have sukka mutton and bhakri as the preferred choice. While I will feature Kolhapuri sukka mutton and tambda rassa in a different article, I will show you how to make the “Kat” for the misal. This Kat can also be used with “Batata vada” to make “Kat- vada”.

Ingredients:

1 brown onion

½ cup freshly grated coconut

4 cloves of garlic

½ inch ginger

¼ cup coriander leaves

4 pods of cardamom

½ teaspoon of fennel seeds

2 sticks of cinnamon

½ teaspoon of coriander seeds

½ teaspoon of cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

2 star anises

½ cup of milk

2 tablespoon of kanda lasun masala

½ teaspoon of turmeric

salt

600 ml of water

5 tablespoon cooking oil

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

In a pan roast the cardamom, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black pepper and set aside. In the same pan roast the coconut until golder brown and set aside.

Add little bit of oil to the pan and saute the chopped onion until golden brown.

In a blender add the roasted spices, turmeric, star anise, roasted coconut, onion, coriander leaves, garlic and ginger and blend to make a fine paste.

In a pan add the remaining oil and add the kanda lasun masala to the oil and saute for ½ minute'

Adding the kanda-lasun masal at this stage ensure that you get the “tavanga” for the misal. If you do not have the kanda lasun masala substitute it with red chilli powder however add the red chilli powder while blending all the masala.

Saute the masala until oil starts separating and add the milk. Adding the milk was a tip, I picked up from my mother in law. Although milk seemed out of place in the recipe the first time I heard of it, it tapered down the spices a fair bit leaving the tavanga and the colour as it is. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes and then add the water. Let the “Kat” boil for about 4-5 minutes and add some salt to taste.

For making Kat vada, halve the batata Vada in bowl and pour the cut over the vada. Garnish with chopped onion and juice of lemon.

 

 

 

Pad Thai

Pad thai is a wonderful preparation and is Thailand's national dish. It is a street food in Thailand and very popular here in Australia. It combines the tangy tamarind, spicy chilli and crushed peanuts. It is one of those dishes that you want to keep on eating.

Ingredients:

½ cup tamarind extract

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon cooking oil

3 red chillies

½ teaspoon of chopped garlic

2 teaspoon of chopped onion

1 teaspoon of lime juice

uncooked prawns/shrimp

½ cup firm tofu

2 cup flat white noodles

1 cup bean sprouts

½ cup roasted and crushed peanuts

fresh coriander leaves

1 egg

salt to taste

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Soak the flat rice noodles in boiling water until they are soft. Drain the water and wash with cold water and set aside.

The tamarind extract can be bought in any store but if using whole tamarind, soak the tamarind in warm water and them blend it in the blender. Strain the juice using a strainer.

Pad thai sauce

Add tamarind paste to a wok and add the fish sauce. Add the palm sugar and brown sugar,stir and let it simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Set the sauce aside in a bowl.

Noodles

Coat the wok with oil add the garlic, onion and red chillies. Add prawn to the wok and cook until they are pink. Add firm tofu and the egg and cook it for 2 minutes.

Add the noodles to the wok and add 3-4 teaspoon of sauce and add lime juice. Toss the noddles until they are coated with sauce. Add the lime juice and bean sprouts and toss again.

Serve the pad thai with roasted and crushed peanuts.

 

 

Sambar

The recipe for today is sambar. Sambar south Indian dish best eaten with Idli, Dosa, medu vada or just plain rice. It is a sumptous lentils or vegetable stew cooked with toor dal. To make authentic sambar you would need to make the smabar masala from scratch. But in this recipe I am showing you how to make sambar from store bought sambar masala. But if would like to make the sambar masala from scratch please visit www.vahrevah.com from chef Thumma.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

½ cup toor dal

3 tablespoon of sambar masala

1 teaspoon of tumeric

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1 teaspoon of asafoetida

curry leaves

3 dry red chillies

1 tablespoon of garlic

1 red onion chopped

½ cup coconut milk

1 potato diced

1 tomato chopped

¼ cup jaggery

1 tablespoon tamarind extract

salt to taste.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Wash and cook the dal in pressure cooker for 15 minutes under pressure or cook it on a stove until it is tender. Mash the dal evenly and add little water if necessary.

In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping add the asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves. Add the red chillies and saute for 30 seconds. Add the garlic and onion and saute until onions become translucent.

Add the potatoes and any other vegetables you may want to use (eggplant or drumsticks go best with the sambar along with potatoes). Add the sambar masala and tamarind juice to the pan. Saute for a minute and add the coconut milk to the pan cook for further 2 minutes.

Add the cooked dal to the pan and add a cup of water and bring to boil. Once the sambar comes to boil add the jaggery and tomatoes. Add salt to taste and simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

Serve with Idli, dosa or medu vada.

Announcing our first virtual food event & a chance to win $20 Amazon gift card.

On 15th August, India celebrates it’s Independence day so finding a theme for this event was easy. Independence or freedom is the theme of this event. So if you have dish that is liberating or asserts your independent style of cooking…that’s the dish we are after. This is not a contest, so everyone’s a winner just for participating. That said, all the foodies who send entries will automatically get into a lucky draw. One randomly picked foodie will receive a $20 Amazon gift card.

Here’s how it will run:

Event: Freedom | Independence
Venue: www.hrishi.com.au
Dates: From 13 July 2011 – 13 August 2011
Entries: If you are sending a blog entry – Up to 5 post entries are more then welcome. Please include – Your name / Blog Name / Blog URL / Photo.
If you are not sending a blog entry – Simply email your name, your recipes with the photo to hrishidesai77@gmail.com
(I am not limiting the size of the photo, since I will resize it before posting anyways)
Roundup: The roundup of recipes received will be presented on 15th August 2011

*If you would like this recipe recorded for youtube/web, please sent it a few days before the roundup. Where possible, I will record the recipes with due credit and post it in the roundup.*

The more the merrier…so feel free to pass this on to fellow foodies. Let’s get cooking.

To view this and other events going on in the blogosphere, click here.

Ragada Patties

Ragada patties reminds me of my uni days. During our study leaves every semester, I used to go back to my home town “Kolhapur” to prepare for the exams. Every evening all of us friends used to hang out at a “tapari” (street vendor) to have ragada patties, pani puri and bhel. I think I spend more time mingling with my friends than studying during these study breaks but that is a topic for another day. I am featuring my version of ragada patties. There are several ways to make it so please comment if you have would like to suggest some missing ingredient.

Ingredients:

For Ragada

1 can of cooked cannellini beans (white peas)

½ bunch of mint leaves

½ bunch coriander leaves

2 green chillies

2 garlic cloves

½ inch gimger

1 onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon asafoetida

1 tablespoon oil

½ litre of water

salt

For Patties (aloo tikki)

2 medium potatoes

½ inch grated ginger

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon of cumin powder

½ cup green peas

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander

½ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)

oil to shallow fry

salt to taste

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

To make ragada, blend the ginger, garlic, mint leaves, coriander leaves and chillies to a paste.

Heat oil in pan and add mustard seeds and once the seeds start popping add the asafoetida and turmeric. Add the chopped onion and saute until the onions turn translucent. Add the blended paste and saute for further 1 minute on low heat. Add the cumin powder, salt and the beans.

Add water and simmer for 10 minutes.

For patties

Boil, peel and mash the potatoes. To the mash add the grated ginger, green peas, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder, fresh coriander, red chilli powder and salt. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and set aside

In a pan add oil. Make flat patties of the mash and shallow fry on both sides until golden brown.

Plate up the patties, top it with garma garam ragada. Garnish with chopped onion, some chat masala and tamarind date chutney.  

 

Shepuchi Bhaji

Dill or shepu as we call it in Marathi is traditionally used as a herb in western cooking. In India fresh dill leaves are used in the main course dish to prepare stir fry dill or shepuchi bhaji. Dill has a very bitter taste and to make it into a main course it needs to be mellowed down a little bit. Garlic does just that.

Ingredients

3 bunches of dill

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

2 green chillies

½ cup of besan or gram flour

2 tablespoon of oil

1 teaspoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1 teaspoon of asafoetida

1 teaspoon of turmeric

salt to taste

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Wash and dry the dill bunches and finely chop the leaves.

In a pan heat the oil and mustard seeds and once they start popping add the asafoetida and turmeric. Add the garlic and chopped chillies and saute for 1 minute.

Add the chopped dill and saute until the dill turns dark green and shrinks. Add the besan, salt and sugar and mix thoroughly.

Cover the pan for 2 minutes on low heat and turn the heat off.

Serve with hot rotis.S

 

Aloo Tikki

Aloo tikki (potato patties) is a savoury snack and famous street food in India. It is one of those starters that makes on almost every Indian restaurants menu abroad. Aloo Tikki is very versatile and works as a great party snack. Make it less spicy it becomes a kids party snack. Aloo tikki can also be used for 'Ragada Patties'.

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes

½ inch grated ginger

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon of cumin powder

½ cup green peas

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander

½ teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)

oil to shallow fry

salt to taste

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

Boil, peal and mash the potatoes. To the mash add the grated ginger, green peas, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder, fresh coriander, red chilli powder and salt. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and set aside

In a pan add oil. Make flat patties of the mash and shallow fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve with mint and yoghurt chutney or tomato ketchup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essential Indian Cooking Ingredients

Indian food is a pot-pourri of spices, colours, textures and flavours….just like a bollywood movie it is full of drama. So if you think Indian food is nothing more than curries and spices and is time-consuming…Think again. We are a father son team on a mission to shatter these myths. Here we showcase how versatile Indian food is and how innovative cooks can be.

If you are just starting out with Indian cuisine in particular, it may be overwhelming if you have not had a lot of exposure to the essential ingredients. For this reason, I have put together an ebook which provides common names and pictures for the most commonly used ingredients.

To download your FREE copy of the Indian Cooking Ingredients: A Visual Guide, just register with your email id at www.hrishi.com.au and we will send you the link via email.

Please leave a comment if I have missed any essential ingredients in the list and I will make every attempt to update the ebook.

Thanks
Hrishi

Burrito

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Ola everyone, como esta? If you haven’t guessed already, today we are featuring a Mexican recipe, Burrito. Burritos are a traditional food of Ciudad Juárez, a city in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, where people buy them at restaurants and roadside stands. It is a wheat flour tortilla wrap which is filled with rice, chicken, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Ingredients

Wheat flour tortillas

¼ kilo of chicken cut in stripes

1 can of corn kernel

1 Spanish onion finely chopped

1 tomato chopped

2 red chillies finely chopped

½ cup of chopped coriander

½ cup of cooked Mexican rice or refried beans

1 packet of taco seasoning

cheese

1 teaspoon of sour cream

1 teaspoon of guacamole

juice of 1 lemon

salt

1 teaspoon of oil

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins

Corn salsa

Mix the corn kernel, some salt to taste, chopped red chillies and the lemon juice and set aside.

Onion salsa

Mix chopped onion, coriander and tomatoes and set aside.

Chicken preparation

In a pan add oil and saute the chicken until cooked. Add the taco seasoning and mix well and set aside.

Burrito assembly

On the wheat tortilla, spread the Mexican rice and some of the chicken. On top of the chicken add the onion and corn salsa. Spread some cheese over the mixture. Add a dollop of sour cream and guacamole. Fold the three sides of the tortilla and wrap the bottom with some Aluminium foil.

Enjoy the Burrito. Adios.

 

 

 

 

 

Burrito

Ola everyone, como esta? If you haven’t guessed already, today we are featuring a Mexican recipe, Burrito. Burritos are a traditional food of Ciudad Juárez, a city in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, where people buy them at restaurants and roadside stands. It is a wheat flour tortilla wrap which is filled with rice, chicken, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Ingredients

Wheat flour tortillas

¼ kilo of chicken cut in stripes

1 can of corn kernel

1 Spanish onion finely chopped

1 tomato chopped

2 red chillies finely chopped

½ cup of chopped coriander

½ cup of cooked Mexican rice or refried beans

1 packet of taco seasoning

cheese

1 teaspoon of sour cream

1 teaspoon of guacamole

juice of 1 lemon

salt

1 teaspoon of oil

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins

Corn salsa

Mix the corn kernel, some salt to taste, chopped red chillies and the lemon juice and set aside.

Onion salsa

Mix chopped onion, coriander and tomatoes and set aside.

Chicken preparation

In a pan add oil and saute the chicken until cooked. Add the taco seasoning and mix well and set aside.

Burrito assembly

On the wheat tortilla, spread the Mexican rice and some of the chicken. On top of the chicken add the onion and corn salsa. Spread some cheese over the mixture. Add a dollop of sour cream and guacamole. Fold the three sides of the tortilla and wrap the bottom with some Aluminium foil.

Enjoy the Burrito. Adios.

 

 

 

 

Suralichi Wadi

Suralichi Vadi aka khandvi is like state of origin rugby in Australia. Instead of NSW fighting against QLD where the footy was originated, the Maharashtrians fight against the Gujarati's about the origin of this dish. Making the dough is the most tricky part of this dish. Once you perfect the dough, it should be a cruise afterwords. At the end this one is worth all the efforts.

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup besan/gram flour

300 ml butter milk

1 teaspoon of turmeric

salt

Mix the butter milk, besan and turmeric in a pan and heat it while stirring. Avoid forming clots and break the clots if you see them. Add some salt and constantly stir the dough until it becomes thick.

Test the consistency of the dough by spreading a small amount on a steel or glass plate. Let it cool down and using your finger try rolling it up in a roll. If it rolls up easily that means it is done but if it is sticky, cook it further until it starts rolling. Do this test as many times as you want until the dough is cooked.

Once the dough is cooked then divide it in three equal parts and spread it on the steel or glass plate using a flat bottom cup. Spread it evenly on the plates and set it aside to cool.

Stuffing Ingredients:

1 cup freshly grated coconut

1 cup chopped coriander

2 green chillies

1 teaspoon of sugar

1/2 juice of lemon

Meanwhile, in a blender dry blend the coconut, coriander, green chillies, salt and sugar. Squeeze half a lemon into the mixture and mix well. Divide this mixture in three equal parts and spread it on the plates.

Tadaka/Tempering Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

3 tablespoon cooking oil

1 teaspoon hing/asafoetida

In a small pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and hing. Once the mustard seeds start popping turn the heat off and set aside to cool. Spread this cooled tadka on the plates.

Using a knife slice the dough on the plates about inch apart to make them bit size. Start rolling them up one by one. Make sure you roll them tightly while keeping the stuffing of coconut and coriander within the rolls and careful not to break them.

Enjoy this with a hot cup of tea as an evening snack.

Fruit Relish

The inspiration for this recipe comes from a friend of ours in Canberra. My wife had dinner at their place and had the fruit relish and enquired about the recipe. I have made a few changes however the gist of the recipe is the same.

Ingredients:

½ kilo persimmons

1 cup brown sugar

3 medium size tomatoes deseeded and chopped

3 dried red chilles

1 tablespoon panchporan

1 tablespoon roasted and grounds panchporan

2 tablspoon of oil

salt

Panchporan (Five spice mix):

Equal blend of-

nigella

cumin seeds

fenugreek seeds

mustard seeds

fennel seeds

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Heat oil in a pan and add the panchporan. Once the mustard starts popping add the dried chillies. Saute for ½ minute.

Add the persimmons and saute for a minutes and add the tomatoes. Saute for another 2 minutes and add the brown sugar and salt. You can easily replace persimmons with apples or pears and make this relish.

Cover it and cook it for 30 minutes and set aside to cool. Once cooled add the roasted and ground panchporan.

You can store the relish in a air tight container for about 2 months. It can be served with a bread platter or ploughman’s lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pav Bhaji (Vdo)

 

Pav bhaji is one of the most famous and popular street food especially in western India. Pav Bhaji takes me back to my college days. The late night studies and riding a motorcycle at midnight to the bus station to eat pav bhaji and fresh fruit juice. It was very easy to make with whatever veggies we had at the hostel and cheap enough to fit in my student budget. Pav bhaji is one of those dishes that always taste better the next day. The reason being there are several spices that go in the pav bhaji masala and it probably takes them that long to infuse all the flavorsin the pav bhaji. Don't worry you don't have to prepare the masala at home as it is readily available at the Indian grocery stores.

Pav bhaji is also possibly the best way to get kids to eat their vegetables. You can pack a pav bhaji sandwich in the lunch box or as an afternoon snack. The pav bhaji masala has red chilli powder in it so if you are cooking it for your kids use 2 tablespoon instead of 3 that way there is no room for complaint about it being spicy.

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes boiled, peeled and chopped.

1 red capsicum diced

¼ cup of cauliflower

1 carrot diced

1 cup of green peas

1 large onion finely chopped

1 medium tomato chopped

200 gms of butter

3 tablespoon of pav bhaji masala

ginger garlic paste

pav or bread rolls

salt to taste

 

Preparation time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 10 mins

 

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Combine the red capsicum, carrot, cauliflower and green peas in a pot filled with water. (You can additionally use green beans, corn or any other vegetable of your choice. Just make sure you add some potatoes since they bind the bhaji together.. )

Parboil the vegetables until they are just cooked. Once the vegetables are cooked, drain the water and save it as vegetable stock for later.

Coarsely blend the boiled potatoes and other boiled vegetables in a blender. (If not, you can finely mash all these vegetables)

Heat 100 gms of butter in a pan and add the ginger garlic paste. Saute the paste for 30 seconds and add the onion to the pan. Saute the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook them for 3-4 minutes or until they are completely cooked.

Add the pav bhaji masala to the pan and roast it for about 30 seconds. Return the vegetables to the pan and give it a thorough mix. Add additional 50 gms of butter to the pan and salt to taste.

Add some drained vegetable stock to adjust the consistency.

The bhaji is now ready and now you need to prepare the pav or bread roll. Slice the bread roll in half and apply some butter to the bread. Sprinkle some pav bhaji masala on the roll and toast the bread on a pan until golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy your pav-bhaji.

How do you make yours? Write back and let me know. Visit my blog for more recipes and tips to cook delicious Indian food, quickly and easily.