Aloo bhaji

A thought comes to my mind often - 'Am i really a south Indian?'

Mangalorean breakfasts are popular worldwide. Every south Indian family have their own typical dishes for breakfast and these recipes are loved throughout the world, and my house is no exception. But... i am. I do not like south Indian breakfasts as much as any other south Indian would do! No offence to anyone but its something which i have not been able to figure out. Everybody in my family drools over it, but fortunately or unfortunately i dont! :p

When there is a south Indian dish for breakfast, i have something else made for myself. Aloo bhaji is one such option. My Ammi makes this and its sure for grabs, ALWAYS.We team it with chapathi or rice roti and it is heart and tummy filling! :)

What we will need :

Potatoes / Aloo : 6 medium
Eggs :1
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp
Urad daal /split black beans:1/2 tsp
Green chillies : 3
Chopped onions: 4 medium
Turmeric/ Haldi powder: 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add in mustard seeds, urad daal and fry for a minute.

2. Add chopped onions and stir fry till its about to start getting brown.

3. Add in chopped potato cubes and fry for about a minute. Make sure you do not mash it.

4. Add salt, red chilli powder, split green chillies, garam masala powder, haldi powder and stir fry for two mins.

5. Add a cup of water and pressure cooker it for one whistle.

6. Once its cooled, add a beaten egg to the aloo bhaji and mix well.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapathi or rice roti.

Aloo Ki Bhaji

Kharaash chicken

One of our favorite chicken dish made at home. It tastes as delicious as it looks! We usually associate chicken with the color red, but this dish is green is color and it teases the taste buds the moment our eyes set on it! This Kharaash chicken is usually a part of every daawat at our place and mostly its on the menu because of its demand at home :p My Ammi taught me this recipe and i loooooove making it each and every time. My sentimental values are attached to this dish!


Ingredients :
Chicken - 500 gms
Green chillies - 15 medium
Coriander Leaves - A bunch
Turmeric / Haldi powder - 1 tbsp
Thick Curd - 200 gms
Garam masala powder 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Green food color - a pinch

How we make it:

1. Grind green chillies, coriander leaves and haldi powder to a fine paste.

2. Wash and drain the chicken and fold it well with the above paste adding thick curds, garam masala powder, salt and green color

3. Marinate the chicken for atleast an hour. For best results marinate it for 3-4 hours.

4. We usually grill the chicken in our oven for around 45 mins or till its cooked well on both the sides. This is a better and healthier option since it does not include the use of oil in it, but the other option is to cook the chicken with the same mixture and then shallow fry.

All geared up to get grilled!

An excellent side dish for parties since it goes well with roti, naan or rice!

Sending this to Food Palette series- GREEN event at Torview

Clams dumplings / Khubbe ke mutkule

Though my parents are basically from Mangalore, my Ammi was born in a village known as Gangolli, which is in Udupi district, Karnataka. My Ammi grew up there and so a part of the cooking she knows has been inspired from the village. I must say that Gangolli has some AMAZING cooks and the food that they make is seriously delicious. They have their own ways of cooking and the masala's they make and use in their recipes are drool worthy! Maasha'Allah!

I am proud of being a part of one such family :) My Naanu (Grandma) is an excellent chef and we all absolutely feast on the food she makes. One of the most yummilicious dish she makes is the Clams Dumplings aka khubbe ke mutkule. Since my parents are on hajj, we asked our naanima to come over and stay with us so that we miss our parents a little less :p

And i got this so awesome time to learn cooking from her! :D Here goes the recipe for clams dumplings, which is one classic dish of Gangolli, that i learnt from her and prepared!

Ingredients:

Clams / Khubbe : 1 kg


For clams masala:

Roasted red chillies : 4-5
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp
Fennel seeds/ saunf : 1 tbsp
Ginger : 1/2 inch
Salt to taste

Method: 

Grind all the above to a very fine paste.

For the dumplings:

Katsambhar rice/ Par boiled rice : 2 cups
Coconut grated : 1
Salt : 1/2 tsp
Chopped onions : 1
Chopped coriander leaves : 2 tbsp


Method:

Grind the rice, coconut and little salt to a coarse paste. It should not be too thin nor too thick. If it is too thin it wont be easy to fill inside the clams, so it is required that the paste should be fairly thick.

Once the mixture is removed from the blender, add the chopped onions and coriander leaves and mix well.

My naanu's tip: Add 2 tbsp clams masala into this mixture and mix. It makes the dumplings more tastier ;)

Now for the assembling:

1. Wash and cut open the clams.

2. Keep them overturned for sometime so that the water in it is all drained out.

3. Cover the inside of the clams with the masala. DO NOT FILL. Just layer it once.

4. Fill in the dumpling mixture into the clams.

5. Place all the clams one by one inside a tandoor. This dish requires the clams to be cooked through steam, that is why we use the tandoor to cook the clams.

 

6. We usually keep it for around 30 minutes. You can check if its is cooked by inserting a knife and to see it comes out clean.

SERVE HOT! But by experience, it tastes better after 2-3 hours. Its cuz the masala gets incorporated well during that time ;)

Linking this post to an event hosted by Sujana's World - Her event ' Celebrating regional cuisine'

Rice pudding/ Chaawal ka meetha

Eid Al Adha Mubarak to all! :)

This Bakrid was my first Eid without my parents being around, as they are on the holy pigrimage- Hajj! Usually Eid is a time when we are all happy and excited, but this time though we were happy, we missed our parents ALOT! But when we think about the amazing time they are having on their pilgrimage, we feel sooo happy for them and pray that all their worship and dua's are accepted and pray that everyone gets a chance to do their hajj, Insha'Allah!

Its Eid and how can we not make a sweet dish on this special day! Alhumdulillah ours is a big family and we have guests coming over to our house from dawn to dusk! Maasha'Allah! So i had to think of a sweet dish which every single person would love! From elders to kids. And the Rice pudding came to my mind! It is such a simple but delicious dish which absolutely everyone loves. So here's how i made it.

You will need:

Rice ( We use Pulao rice) : 100 gms
Milk : 1 litre
Sugar : 1 cup ( or as your sweet tooth demands) :p
Almonds : 8-10
Pistachios- slivered or roughly chopped : 1/4 cup

How we make it:

1. Wash and soak the pulao rice for 10 minutes.
2. Soak the almonds in hot water for few minutes so that it can be peeled off easily.
3. Grind pulao rice till you get a coarse paste. It should neither be too thick nor too thin.
4. Grind the almonds to a thick paste.
5.Boil the milk with the grinded pulao rice and stir it till it boils. Make sure you keep stirring it all the while.
6.Add sugar and almond paste when it starts to boil.
7.Take it off from heat and allow it to cool down.
8.After half an hour, refrigerate it.
9.Before you serve, garnish it with Pistachios and make others drooooooool over it. ;)

Sending it to Akheela's Event on Torview toronto!

Prawns Manchuri

In a non- vegetarian hogging family, there would be just a handful of persons who would not love eating prawns. In our house, all LOVE it! If we know its prawns for lunch or dinner, no one would be late to the dining table to make sure we grab our share! :D Today when my bro was going to the market, i asked him to get prawns, thinking i could use it for a side dish for lunch. Prawns manchuri was on my mind and once bhayya got it home, i got cooking!

Ingredients:

Prawns 500 gms
Red chilli paste - 2 tbsp
Onions - 2-3 medium sized
Capsicum- 1
Garlic - 4 cloves
Tomato sauce- 2 tbsp
Soya sauce -1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves

Method:

1. Clean the prawns and cook them with red chilli paste adding salt to taste.

2. Once the prawns are cooked, heat oil in a kadai/pan and saute onions till the raw smell of onions go away.

3. Add the chopped garlic and stir fry for a minute.

4. Add the chopped capsicum and saute for two mins.

5. Now add the cooked prawns into the sauted mixture and mix well.

6. Add in the tomato sauce and soya sauce and mix perfectly well.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or rice. It serves as a perfect combination to both!

Chatpata Tomato Curry

Another favorite dish of our house! It is a slight variation to the normal tomato curry and from the time mum tried it, we all have been asking for more. Now since my Ammi is on her pilgrimage trip to Mecca, i thought lemme make this ;) And i did and it turned out just the way Ammi makes it. So you know, how proud i feel! ;)
The best thing i like about this dish is the aroma. It smells sooooo good that you would want to eat it right away!

So here goes the recipe for the Chatpata tomato curry!

You will need:

Chopped Tomatoes - 6-8
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds/ Zeera - 2 tbsp
Fresh Curry leaves - 10-12
Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Boiled eggs ( optional)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and allow it to pop. Then add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and the chopped tomatoes.

2. Add salt and stir-fry this paste.

3. Add a cup of water and mix well. Close it with a lid and allow it to cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Add chilli powder and let it cook for a couple of minutes again.

5. You can divide the boiled eggs into half and add it to the curry just before serving.

SERVE HOT along with white rice, paapad and pickle!

Samosa Chaat

The month of Zil hajj started today in the Islamic calender and i woke up this morning for namaaz and decided that i would fast today! One of the best things to do for the first 9 days of the month, the 10th day being Eid-ul-Zuha. So as everyone else were having breakfast, i was thinking of what do i make for iftaar. I made up my mind within seconds on the juice that i would make, i,e Watermelon juice, but then what snack do i do! Then it struck me.. Why not Samosa chaat? I had never made it before, but i was ready to try it! So i got going..

What i gathered:

10 Fried samosas
1 cup dried green peas (we can use white channa too)
2 big tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp sugar/ jaggery
Coriander to garnish
Tamarind Chutney
Green Chutney
Yoghurt
Chat masala
2 tsp chole masala
4 green chillies
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp oil
salt to taste


Method:

1. Soak peas/channa in water for atleast 5-6 hours
2. Boil the tomatoes, peel and make a puree of it.
3.Grind the onion and keep aside.
4.Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan and add green chillies, turmeric, onion paste and fry.
5.Add cumin powder, ginger garlic paste and fry till the smell of raw onions is gone.
6. Add tomato puree and cook for few mins.
7.To this, add soaked peas, red chilli powder and chole masala and mix well.
8. Add little water and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
9. Once cooked, remove the whistle and cook till you get the desired thickness.
10. Add sugar/ Jaggery and mix well.

Assembling:

Take the peas mixture in a bowl and add the crumbled samosas to it. Add green chutney, tamarind chutney and yoghurt. Add the finely diced onions, coriander and chat masala.

It was then time for iftaar and the table was made ready for it with dates, fruits, juice and the samosa chaat. Once the Azaan was heard, i broke my fast and.. Vola! Samosa chaat tasted awesommmmmmmmmmme! Since we all are spicy freaks, we ate it royally, but it was my naani who said it was a lil too spicy. So next time i make it, i need to check my spice-o-meter and then nail the dish! ;) That apart, we all fell in love with the samosa chaat! :)

Tamarind chutney

Ingredients:

1 large lemon sized tamarind
100 gms seedless dates
1/2 cup jagerry
1/4 tsp Asafoetida / hing
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Soak tamarind and the dates in one cup hot water for an hour or microwave for 3 mins on high. 
•  Blend well in mixer along with the jaggery.
• Add asafoetida, salt and boil till the consistency is fairly thick.
  
  
  
  

Green Chutney

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Coriander leaves
1/2 cup Pudina / mint leaves
2-3 green chillies
4 tbsp Jaljeera powder
2 tsp Chat masala

Method:

Grind to a smooth paste with water- coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies.

Add Jal jeera powder, salt, jeera powder and chat masala.

Mix well and add enough water so that the consistency is fairly thin.

Ginger-Garlic Paste

Aah! One paste which we all Indians Absolutely LOVE! The aroma it gets into the dish is simply awesome, not to forget the taste it gives too! We usually make this paste at home and store it. It is used so much in our daily cooking, and that's the reason we always make sure we make enough and more of this paste and refrigerate it.

Ingredients:
Ginger root -250 gms
Garlic Pods - 500 gms
We usually use Garlic and Ginger in the ratio 2:1 in quantity.

Method:

1.Wash and scrape the ginger root using a spoon or knife. Cut it into chunks.
2. Peel Garlic and chop them into pieces.
3.Grind the ginger and garlic together adding very little or no water to make a fine paste.
4. Store in air-tight containers and refrigerate.

Tip: To peel garlic easily and quickly, prep it either by roasting it a little on a griddle or microwaving it for 1 minute on the 'High' setting. The skin will peel off without any trouble. Another solution is to soak the cloves in a bowl of water for 2 minutes and then peel.

Shami Kebab

Shami Kebab ((Urdu: شامی کباب ), Hindi: शामी कबाब) or Shami Tikka ((Urdu: شامی تکہ ), Hindi: शामी टिक्का) is a popular Pakistani and Indian kebab, that is composed of small patty minced mutton or beef, ground chickpeas and spices. Shami kebabs are an extremely popular snack in Pakistan and India. They are often garnished with lemon juice and/or sliced raw onions, and are usually eaten with chutney made from mint or coriander.

Shami Kabab literally means Syrian Kabab (Sham) in Arabic. Some are of the opinion that these kebabs were introduced to South Asia during the Mughal era by Muslim emigrants from the Middle East. They had employed cooks from all over the Muslim world to serve in the royal kitchens. Some of the cooks were from Syria as well. The Sham refers to either Syria specifically or the Levant in general, and these kebabs literally means Syrian kebabs or Levantine kebabs in Arabic.
[Above info source: wiki]

My Ammi started making these shami kebabs in the month of Ramadan few years back. And since then its a huge hit! :D I inherited this recipe from her and now i can comfortably make these lovely delicious kebabs. So here goes the recipe of how we all can make Shami kebabs.

Kebab patties before frying

Ingredients:

Kheema/ Minced mutton or beaf -1 kg
Chana daal/ Split chickpeas- a fistfull
Onions - 2 small
Red chilli powder- 2 tbsp
Haldi powder- 1 tbsp
Coriander/Dhani powder- 2 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Grated coconut -1 small coconut
Garam masala Powder- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Eggs 2
Breadcrumbs ( rusk powder) - as req'd
Coriander leaves

Method:

1. Wash, clean and pressure cook the kheema with all the other ingredients in it except for the eggs and bread crumbs.

2. Once its cooked well, drain the excess water.

3. Grind the kheema mixture to a fine paste.

4. Remove the batter and add two eggs ( or as required) and mix well.

5. Make patties and roll over bread crumbs and deep fry!

Your shami kebabs are all ready to be gobbled up! Enjoy with tomato sauce.

Shami Kebabs

Roasted Coconut Masala

The coconut used for making this masala should be grated and dried under the sun. For drying the coconut, we usually keep it on our terrace for around 2-3 hours. Its then immediately roasted with a little oil. The most important part in this preparation is that we need to keep stirring it all the time till it turns light brown. Take care so that it doesn't turn very dark because it would then taste sour. Once its roasted then grind it without water, NOT EVEN A DROP OF WATER, in the grinder. It would then make a fine paste and when its done, transfer it into a air-tight container. It should not be a glass or plastic container. We usually store it in a steel container. And unlike all the other masalas, this masala should NOT be refrigerated.

Green Chilli paste for Meat dishes

This green chilli paste is so versatile, you'll want to try it with a variety of meat, seafood, noodle and soup recipes. This fragrant green chilli paste makes dishes easy to cook, and quick as well, especially if you make the paste ahead of time and keep it on hand in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

Green chillies 1 kg
Roasted Coriander 200 gms
Turmeric Powder 2 tbsp
Ginger 1/2 kg
Garlic 1/2 kg

Method:

Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste. Refrigerate in an air-tight container.

Red chilli paste for Mutton/Beef/Chicken

This red chilli paste is surprisingly easy to make. Added to meat dishes, this paste will create a wide range of delicious dishes that are certain to please. Use right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months if stored in an air-tight container.

The quantity of the ingredients will depend upon the quantity of masala you would want to make.

For eg: If we take 1 kg chillies, we would need a 1/4th kilo of coriander seeds, 100gms haldi powder, two pods of garlic and one large ginger.

Ingredients:

Roasted Red chillies
Roasted Coriander seeds
Haldi Powder
Ginger
Garlic

Grind red chillies along with Turmeric powder and coriander seeds till it makes a fine paste.We do not add salt while grinding, but its put on top ( just a little) after the masala has been transferred to the air-tight container.

Red chilli paste for Fish/Prawns

This is one masala which you will ALWAYS find  in our refrigerator.We use this masala to fry fish and prawns and its seriously yummilicious! Make it once and you can store and use it for two months!Very very handy in emergency cooking! LOL! Check your spice-o-meter when preparing this paste, adding less fresh chilli if you prefer milder dishes.

Ingredients:

Red chillies
Turmeric/Haldi Powder
Rock salt
Tamarind
Fenugreek/Methi
Zeera/Cumin seeds
Ginger
Garlic

Method:

Grind all red chillies, turmeric powder and salt together till it makes a paste. Then add tamarind and grind it again. Next add Zeera, methi, Garlic,Ginger and grind them all together again until to get a smooth paste. Store it in a air-tight container and refrigerate.

Daal tadka

Its the FIRST dish i learnt from my Ammi. :) This Daal Tadka has been a favorite in our house since ever. Anytime ammi says its Daal for lunch today, everyone of us experience a sense of joy within us. Seriously. Some kinda magic it has made on each one of us. So definitely no guesses on why its the first dish i learnt from my mum. So here goes the HAWT favorite recipe of our house!

You will need:

Toor daal   1 cup
Onions        2
Tomatoes    1
Green chillies 3
Turmeric Pdr 1/2 tbsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste 2 tbsp
Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
Tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp
Red chilli masala- 1 tbsp ( Info given below)

For tempering/ bagaar/tadka:
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tbsp
Cumin seeds/Zeera- 1 tbsp
Garlic cloves - 3

Method:
1. Wash the daal and pressure cook it with chopped onions, tomatoes, slit green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt and 3 cups of water. I usually cook it for 2-3 whistles as i like the consistency to be a little thick ans sometimes it depends upon the daal too. So its better to check after 3 whistles.

2. Once its cooked, take some tamarind and soak it in water and take the pulp out of it and add it to the daal. Now add the red chilli masala and allow it to boil for 2-3 mins. The red chilli masala is one of the masala's which we prepare at home and refrigerate. You can find the method to prepare it here.

3. Heat oil in a pan for tempering. Once its hot, add in the mustard seeds. When it starts to pop, put in the cumin seeds and garlic cloves and let it splutter for a minute.

4. Now add the tempering to the daal and cover it immediately. I love the aroma it gives when its added to the daal. Pure awsumness! :D

And now our delicious daal is ready to be gobbled up! Team it with roti or steamed white rice and if you want a whole meal, have a prawns dish or chicken dish by its side and in no time everything will be vanished! You can trust me on that ;)

Sending this to Priya's CMT and Jagruti's CMT  event  :)

Its the Beginning!

Bismillah-irrahman-nirraheem ( In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful)

A very warm Welcome to YOU and me to this tiny winy part of cooking in this BIG world wide web of recipes. Like each one of you, i love cooking too, NOW. If i go two years back into my life, i would probably say that i just love hogging, coz that's what i used to do! But that was coz of my schedules earlier. My studies, college, friends, activities etc etc, never helped me take up cooking as a full time hobby. But now that i am done with my studies AND that i am married ( which is the most impt reason), i have taken up cooking as a full fledged occupation! LOL! And i am absolutely in love with it! :)

So here i am with my 'Brand new' blog which is a dedication to the person who inspired me to learn cooking- My Ammi- and through this i am gonna learn recipes and share them, create new ways of cooking, experiment with ingredients, play with utensils, share my experiences and overall have a fun filled time in my 'rasoi ghar'! So join me and lets play with flavors in our kitchens! ;)