Thursday, 30 October 2008
Tomato chutney
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Paneer Bhurji
My friend, Sunita once brought a vegetable which she shared with me, it was finger licking delicious. All my queries as to what it was made off met with an enigmatic smile and reply, “Finish all this then I will tell you.” Afterwards she told me it was paneer bhurji, she had made out of the little milk that had curdled. Till then it had never occurred to me that a paneer bhurji is a nice way to get rid of the last one cup milk that has curdled. I make it quite often, since the last little milk and I cannot bear one another.
For paneer bhurji you will need to strain the curdled milk through a muslin cloth (traditionally) but I cant stand that piece of cloth ever again so I stain it through a maida sieve or a big strainer with fine holes. Discard the liquid what you have in the sieve or strainer is paneer
1 cup paneer
1 onion chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
A little kasuri methi
Coriander
Salt to taste
Heat the oil, add mustard when they splutter add onion. When the onions become translucent add garlic. Fry till light brown in colour. Add the tomatoes and fry till they become pulpy. Mash all the tomatoes with a ladle, add the dry powders. Fry for a couple of minutes then add the kasuri methi and paneer mix well. Add salt garnish with coriander.
Raw Tomato Kosambri
My grandmother had made this salad I faintly remember it when I see raw tomatoes in the market, today I decided to make it. Ajji made it quite pungent but since no one can eat pungent stuff at home I made a milder version. Hats off to my memory it was the same stuff, milder, but same.
This is what I used
2 raw tomatoes
2 green chillies
2 tblspn puthana/futane
½ tblspn oil
½ Mustard seeds
½ tsp hing
Salt to taste
Coriander for garnishing
1. Cut the tomatoes in to fine pieces.
2. Add salt.
3. Grind green chillies, futana coarsely in the chutney pot. Add to tomatoes.
4. Heat oil, add mustard when it splutters add hing.
5. Mix with the tomatoes.
6. Garnish and serve.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Sambar Masala
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dhania(coriander seeds)
1 1/2 tbsps chanadal
1 1/2 tsps urid dal
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1 1/2 tsps jeera
8 seeds methi(fenugreek)
1/4 cup dry grated coconut
8 byadgi red chillies (you can use any kind but then adjust the number for pungent you need)
3 sticks of dalchini (cinnamon) 1 inch each
dagadfool 1 tbsp (optional)
Method:
1) Roast grated coconut
2) Roast dhania and red chillies with a liitle oil
3) Roast rest of the ingredients individually with a liitle oil
4) Cool and dry grind
PS Roast on low flame till you get a fragrance.
Gobi Fry
My better half like cauliflower a lot, so we buy it religiously every week. When all avenues of cauliflower vegetables are over I make this one. The reason is its very oily. I tried shallow frying the cauliflower but the end result was not as nice. The only concession it allows is parboiling it like I have mentioned below. Addition of Kasuri methi and coriander also gives the vegetable nice flavours add with the dry masalas say, ½ tsp each.
So indulge once in a while.
1 medium cauliflower (300-350 grms)
Oil for frying +2 tblspns.
1 medium onion grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed.
½ inch ginger, crushed
1 large tomato, pureed
½ tsp turmeric,
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp dry mango powder
½ tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
Sugar as per taste
- Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets in a utensil, add about ½ cup water cover and boil till you can smell the cauliflower. Strain and plunge in cold water. Dry on a clean napkin. (This is an optional step).
- Deep fry till golden and tender over medium heat.
- Drain and keep aside.
- Heat 2 tblspn oil and put in the onion. Fry till oil separates.
- Add garlic, ginger. Fry lightly.
- Add tomato puree and the dry masala powders, salt and sugar. Fry till you get a nice fragrance.
- Add cauliflower. Mix well.
Dark Chocolate Cake
The ingredients are:
- Grease and flour 10” square pan or two 8” round pans.
- Preheat oven to 180ÂșC.
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt.
- Mix together cocoa powder, 2 tblspn ghee, hot water. Keep aside.
- Cream till light and fluffy ghee, butter and sugar.
- separate egg yolks in the mix
- Mix in coco paste and vanilla essence.
- Mix a little milk, blend, and add some flour blend, repeat till flour is over. End with flour.
- In this sticky dough fold gently stiffly beaten egg whites.
- Spoon the batter gently.
- Bake till done.
CHOCLATE FUDGE
This recipe is something that my SIL, tried out long before her marriage. It can be made with milkmaid also, but, I like to use this recipe, as I don’t always have milkmaid at home.
1½ cups milk
¾ cups cocoa or 100 grms cooking choclate
4 cups sugar
½tea spoon salt
¼ butter or ghee
2 tea spoon vanilla essence
nuts
1.In a heavy pan mix cocoa & milk, stir till it dissolves over gentle flame.
2.Mix sugar & salt, cook over low flame till sugar dissolves. Raise heat & cook till it reaches soft ball stage( a drop put in cold water should form a soft ball)
3.Remove from heat & cool slightly till pan is cool enough to handle.
4.Add butter, nuts & essence. Beat well now spread on a greased tray & smoothen top cut when firm.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Sabudana Khichidi
Please note that I have said that groundnuts and potatoes have to be peeled, in reality I don’t do it. I soak the potatoes in water; scrub them with a sock I have kept specifically for this purpose. The reason is generally under the peels the maximum nutrients are stored so if I peel them I am loosing them.
I grind the groundnuts with the chilli, lemon and sugar.
Also soak the sabudana, drain the water then add 1 tblspn of curd mix it( this tastes better), soak overnight or minimum of 8 hours.
Today since I was running behind schedule I have grated the potatoes.
In place of potatoes if use sweet potato, grate it in water after you wash them clean and use one more green chilli.
Ingredients:
2-3 potatoes peeled and cut into fine bits.
3 cups sabudana/sago, wash & soak overnight.
¼ cup groundnuts roasted, peeled &coarsely ground.
1 green chilli, slit.
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp Sugar
2 tblspn coconut
Salt as per taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tblspn ghee
3-4 tblspn milk
Method:In the sabudana add groundnut powder, lemon, sugar, 1 ½ tblspn coconut and salt mix well.
Heat the ghee and add cumin seeds till they change colour.
Add the green chilli sauté.
Add potatoes a little salt, mix, cover and cook till cooked.
Now add the sabudana mixture and stir till well mixed.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the flame add milk cover and keep aside till serving time.
Garnish with coconut and coriander.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Spicy Garlic Chilli Potatoes
8-10 med potatoes
2 tsp cooking oil
½ tsp mustard oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
Method:
Wash peel and cut potatoes like french fries.
Fry mustard, cumin and garlic till brown.
Remove from fire.
Add turmeric and chilli powder.
Potatoes salt.
Cook till done.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Frankies
Ingredients:
For the cutlets:
3 cup left over vegetables, like cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, spinach, peas.
3 medium sized potatoes (boiled),
5-6 slices of bread
Idli rava for coating
Oil for frying
For the wraps:
Chapattis
Cheese spread
Tomato sauce
Some onions chopped lengthwise (optional)
Tomatoes cut lengthwise (optional)
Coriander chopped fine
Toothpicks
Method:
Boil the vegetables with a little salt, say ½ cup water, till tender and mash.
Grate the boiled potatoes and mash.
Soak the bread slices in water and squeeze them out. (You can use the water left over after boiling the vegetables).
Mix all the three in a bowl like soft dough.
Make small longish rolls as thick as two fingers and about as long.
Dip in the idli rava and shallow fry in oil till well done.
To put together
1. Spread cheese spread on the chapatti, some tomato sauce, and sprinkle coriander leaves.
2. Place the cutlet on the chapatti such that it is about an inch out of the chapatti.
3. Put a few of the onion slices, tomato slices.
4. Wrap the chapatti pin it with a toothpick and serve.
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Mysore Pak
I must really thank my Mother-in-law for supporting my efforts in making this sweet, for the first time my friends comment was that my barfi has become very nice, soft(in marathi it is khush khushit) I was disappointed. But Kaku, my MIL, made sure I made it again and applauded my efforts. This time it was a real Mysore pak.
What you need for this is as below:
1 cup besan
1 ½ sugar
1 cup water
3 cups oil
A little ghee say 1-2 tblspn.
Method:
Fry besan in a little ghee till it gives a fragrance on low flame.
Put the oil to heat on low flame.
Mix sugar and water and boil till you get one string consistency, one string consistency is when you hold a drop of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and pull them apart you should get a string of sugar.
Add the fried besan into the sugar syrup and now, very gently add the hot oil with a ladle stirring the syrup.
On adding the hot oil your besan and syrup froths, don’t worry that’s normal
Add a ladle of hot oil, stir continue till all the oil is used up.
Keep stirring the besan and syrup mixture and all the ghee will start seeping out.
Pour in a metal sieve and all your oil will drain out.
Cool a little and cut out the pieces.
The oil collected down can be used to soak Shankar paali atta.
Bhendi Bhaji
Ingredients:
¼ kg.Bhendi
1 tblsp urid daal
½ tblsp methi seeds
½ coconut
½ tsp red chillies (as per taste)
3 pepper corns (as per taste)
A lemon sized ball of tamarind
2-3 tblsp jaggery
½ tsp asafoetida
½ tsp haldi
Method:
Ajji’s recipe said:
1. Fry the urid daal and methi individually
2. Add bhendi cut lengthwise and add salt. Let it rest for about 10 minutes.
3. Grind coconut, pepper, haldi, red chilli powder jaggery and tamarind.
4. The bhendi went into ½ tsp oil stir fried for about a minute. Add the ground mixture
5. Cook on low flame till the bhendi is done.
6. Tastes best with rice.
Sunday, 5 October 2008
LIME TEA
1 cup water
5-6 springs of mint/pudina
Sugar as per taste
1/8 inch Ginger (optional)
4-5 grains of tea
1 lemon
Boil water with the sugar, ginger and tea.
Add the mint leaves and leave covered for 10 minutes.
Squeeze the lime.
Strain in your glass.
You could chill it also, I have tried making ice cubes out of this tea it is very messy. Maybe you should have an ice tray for tea cubes only. If you have the patience try making thin slices of the lime and freezing in the cube.
Friday, 3 October 2008
Neer Phanas Kapa
So this is your “neer phanas” or bread fruit.
Apply a little oil to your hands and cut “neer phanas” or bread fruit in four pieces lengthwise. Remove the skin and the central core, now make 3-4 pieces again lengthwise, the pieces should be about ½ inch thick.
(You can store this cut “neer phanas” or bread fruit in a container for 3-4 days.)
Now, sprinkle the “neer phanas” or bread fruit with salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and toss the “neer phanas” or bread fruit. Let it rest for about an hour or so.
Now take some idli rava and roll your pieces of “neer phanas” or bread fruit in the rava till they are well coated. Arrange on a nonstick frying pan. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of oil cover and cook over low flame till they are golden. Turn them over and fry again. If the kappas are too dry sprinkle some water and cover immediately and cook. This is your end product. Enjoy!!
P.S. In place or idli rava you can use ordinary Bombay rava, rice flour or bread crumbs.
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The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!! by Archana Potdar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://madscientistskitchen.blogspot.in/.