Sunday, December 30, 2007

Easy Ghee Rice


Lazy Sunday noon having Ghee rice and chicken curry by my Mom are very comforting childhood memories for me even todate.Mmmm... the aroma would kindle anyone's taste buds. To end the lunch with a store bought jilebis /jahangir would just be perfect. I am so happy to see that my otherwise picky 5 year old and my sweet 3 year old also relish this equally. I make this Ghee rice in two ways depending on how much time i have.The easier version i post below, while the more time consuming one i will post in the near future. The former one is equally good but the latter is more rich because of the coconut milk added to it.
I hope this stays as a pleasant childhood memory for my kids as it has to me.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup rice(preferably jeergsamba variety)
  • 2Tblspn refined Peanut/Sunflower oil
  • 2 Tblspn Ghee
  • 1 heaped Tblspn green chilli, ginger and garlic paste(all the more better if made fresh)
  • 3 Cardamom
  • 5 Cloves
  • 2-3 small pieces Cinnamom
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 1 1/2 cup milk(the regular milk that we drink:) , not the coconut milk)
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • Salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Slice the onion thin and cut them width wise once.
  2. Wash and soak the rice in water for 1 hour. drain and keep aside
  3. Heat a Heavy bottom Vessel.
  4. Add the ghee and oil.
  5. When the oil is hot, add the cloves, cinnamon and cardamom.
  6. Once the spices begin to give a strong aroma, add onion and cook until soft.
  7. Now add the green chilli-garlic-ginger paste and stir. Fry this for a few mins.
  8. Put in the green peas and rice and stir for 2-3 mins.
  9. Now add the milk , salt and water and bring the whole thing to a boil.
  10. Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat to LOW, stir, cover the lid tight and let cook for 8 -9 mins.
  11. Put off the heat. Let stand for 5 mins.
  12. Open the lid,stir once and serve with any coconut based Chicken gravy of your choice.
Oven Procedure:

  1. Follow the same steps until 8. Bring to boil milk and water together in a seperate vessel.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 Degree Fahrenhiet.
  3. Take a Baking pan of appropriate size. Add the rice mixture, pour in the hot milk and water.Add the salt. Now stir once, cover with a Aluminium foil or lid.
  4. Put the pan in the oven , allow to cook for 40 mins.
  5. Remove from Oven , stir once and serve with any coconut based Chicken gravy of your choice.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Peas Paratha


After returning home from work , although you are tired , you wouldn't want to compromise on the food you serve to kids. At the same time, no energy to make an elaborate dinner. Parathas were a good choice as they wouldn't take much time and also make the kids eat them without picking the vegetables out. One of my neighbours Neema, a Rajasthani , came to my help and taught me all these wonderfully easy nutritious parathas. Soon i started making Parathas with dal, peas, methi, palak and so on... What made the difference was that these were not stuffed parathas and so all the more easier to make. Kids eat them without a fuss , especially when served with butter or curds. Here's my version of Peas Paratha.

Ingredients:

1 cup Peas( frozen or fresh)
3/4 cup Wheat flour
1 tblspn Ghee
1 tspn Cumin(Jeera)
1tspn Red chilli powder( increase or decrease as per taste)
salt to taste
Oil for frying

Procedure:

  1. Boil the peas and mash them.
  2. Take the mashed peas in a bowl, add the jeera, red chilli powder , salt and ghee.
  3. Now add the wheat flour.Mix all the ingredients to make a dough like chapati. The amount specified is an approximate value.You could adjust the flour so as to finally get a dough like chapati. Do not add water at all.
  4. Knead well and keep aside for 15 mins.
  5. Make small balls out of the dough.
  6. Roll out the balls into round flat parathas of medium thickness .
  7. Transfer the parathas onto pre heated Tava. After a 20-30 seconds, flip over and spread little oil all over. Now flip over again and spread oil to the other side.
  8. Cook for a min or so and remove from Tava.
  9. Serve with butter or curds.

Note: Do not roll the parathas very thin. If they are on the thicker side, they tend to be very soft.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Grated Egg Burji



Why egg burji??! Believe me, the egg being grated in this recipe brings a totally different texture to our regular Egg Burji. If some of you have already heard and done it like this before, this one is not for you. I am posting this for those like me who had never heard about egg being grated before.When i tried it, It tasted more or less the same as the regular egg burji but the look and texture was so different. really appealing! Isn't it nice to try the same thing in different ways sometimes just to break the monotony?!

Ingredients:
  • 2 large Onions finely chopped
  • 1 tblspn ginger grated fine
  • 4-5 Green chillies finely chopped
  • 1/2 tspn Red chilli powder(optional)
  • 3-4 Eggs hardboiled with shell removed
  • 3-4 Tblspns Oil
  • 1/2 tspn garam masala
  • salt to taste

Procedure:

  1. Heat the oil in a pan.Add the onion and green chillies and fry until it is transclucent.
  2. Now add the ginger and stir well for a minute or so.
  3. Now add the red chilli powder,garam masala and salt and stir.
  4. Lower the heat.
  5. Using a grater, Grate the hard boiled egg into the pan.
  6. Stir to mix all the ingredients well.
  7. Serve with an optional garnishing of chopped coriander.

Note: My idea is that you can use any base to suite your taste and then grate in the boiled egg.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Akki Rotti













Akki Rotti is a kind of flat bread made with Rice flour ("akki hittu" in kannada).Again, there are several versions of it.Some make it plain and have it with a rich gravy like stuffed brinjal gravy while some make it with a lot of ingredients going into it like onion, green chillies, coriander, grated coconut, grated cabbage and so on. The following version of Akki Rotti is how its made in our house. Everybody in my family loves it and so when i have to make it for the entire family , my fingers begin to ache as you need to flatten the rottis using the fingers. But isn't it fun cooking when you see the yearning for more? :)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Rice flour
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
  • 5-6 finely chopped Green chillies
  • 1 tblspn coarsely powdered peanut(optional)
  • 1 tblspn coarsely powdered channa dal(optional)
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped Methi leaves
  • 2 tblspns finely chopped coriander/dill greens
  • salt to taste
  • water to make the dough
  • Oil

Procedure:

You need to use boiling water to make the dough as it half cooks the flour ,so u don't have to keep it for a long time on the tava , and it also makes patting the rottis easier.

To make the dough you can use one of the following 2 methods.

A. Mix all the above ingredients except water and oil in a bowl. Now add boiling water to it and turn the ingredients using a steel spoon so as to make a dough which is neither to hard nor too soft.

B. Take only the Rice flour in a bowl. Add boiling water and mix well to form a reasonably stiff dough.Once it cools down a bit add the other ingredients except oil and mix to form the dough for Rotti.

Make round balls with a handful of dough.

Add a few drops of oil onto a plastic sheet.( You could use one side cut out of a ziploc cover) and spread the oil across the entire sheet.This is done so that the dough does not stick to the sheet and can be taken out easily.

Take one ball of dough and flatten it onto the oiled sheet. Using your fingers continue patting and spreading the dough across so as to form a round shape.

Transfer this onto your hand and then onto the preheated tava.(Alternately you could pat the rotti on a aluminium foil or wax paper. Invert the sheet onto the tava, and peel off the sheet.)

Spread a few drops of oil over the rotti. After a little less than a minute, flip it over .Cook for another few seconds .

Remove and serve with Kadlekai chutney.

Tips:

  1. You can keep the groundnut powder and channa dal powder prepared earlier on in a larger quantity and store in an airtight container.This saves time.
  2. To make the groundnut powder, dry fry the groundnuts. After it cools down, dehusk and powder in a mixie .
  3. To make the channa dal powder, dry fry , then after it cools down, powder in a mixie.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Egg Curry





Egg is one thing that can be used for preparing any part of the meal, be it starters, main dish or desert and in so many zillion ways too. This egg curry is one among them which goes really well with chapati.

Ingredients:

  • 5 eggs
  • 2 onions finely chopped
  • 1 tomato finely chopped
  • 1 tblspn freshly prepared ginger garlic paste
  • 4-5 green chillies finely chopped
  • 1/2 tspn red chilli powder
  • 4 tblspn Oil
  • 1 tblspn chopped coriander


Procedure:

  1. Heat the oil in a pan.
  2. Add the onions and green chillies and fry until they are tender and cooked.
  3. Now add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 2 mins.
  4. Then add the tomatoes and cook.
  5. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add red chilli powder and stir .
  6. Add a few tblspns of water to the gravy and gently shake the pan so that the gravy spreads evenly across the pan.Do not add much water.
  7. Now reduce the heat to the lowest possibe.
  8. Break eggs one by one, each at different places across the pan.Cover the lid and cook till the eggs are done.DO NOT stir at all after you add the eggs.It may take awhile for the eggs to completely cook.Have patience:)
  9. Garnish with chopped coriander.
  10. Once cooked you will notice that the dish thus prepared is very appetizing, with the top layer hard with the boiled eggs and the layer below is the soft gravy.You can actually cut it with the serving spoon so as to include the egg and the gravy below while serving into plates.

Tip:Make sure that the onions, tomato and green chillies are very finely chopped.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Pakka Vada



Being married to a mallu, i thought it was about time i posted some recipe from Kerala. Just in time, Rajju's elder sister mails me this simple snack recipe from Kerala. After nearly a year in US, Rajju was happy to have something like this he has been missing.Thank you Rejitha chechi!

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup Rice flour
  • 2 cups Besan
  • 2 tspn Red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tspn Hing
  • 1/4 cup Curry leaves
  • Salt as per taste
  • Oil for deep frying
Procedure:
  1. Take the rice flour in a bowl. Add boiling water and mix well using a spoon to make a soft dough.
  2. Once it cools down a little, add the Besan , salt, hing, redchilli powder and mix well to form a dough similar to chakli dough.If required, u could use some more room temperature water to make the dough.
  3. Take a chakli press and use the one with narrow slit which results in a tape shape.
  4. Heat oil in Deep botton pan(kadai).
  5. Now add the dough prepared in parts into the chakli press, close and press into the oil in a circular fashion so as to fill the entire surface area of the oil.
  6. Fry until golden brown .Remove onto a kitchen towel.
  7. Once cooled , break into smaller pieces and garnish with deep fried curry leaves. This also gives a good aroma.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Aalu Baaji



Aalu Baaji is a side dish which goes very well along with Pooris or Chapatis. I learnt it at a friend's house. As a beginner,in an attempt to get the dish to a rich red colour as in her house, I added more and more of red chilli powder. Didn't realise that her dish was red becoz she had used a particular variety of the chilli powder(Byadige Menashinakai). The poor soul who visited our house first was my bro's friend, who inevitably had to taste it first along with a chapati. I was wondering why he didn't speak the entire time he was eating hurriedly or why he vanished as soon as he was done. I was told later that he had run to the street corner departmental store to gobble up some sugar to compensate for the extreme spiciness of my Baaji. I had to throw away the entire dish. It still brings a smile to my lips when I think of that guy. Why the hell didn't he stop eating??!!! Make sure none of you make the same mistake :) .

Ingredients:

  • 1 Onion medium sized chopped fine
  • 1 Tomato chopped fine
  • 2 Potatoes boiled and peeled
  • 1 cup Green peas
  • To grind: 1 small sized onion coarsely chopped , 6-7 garlic cloves, 1inch ginger, 3 cloves, 1 small piece cinnamon, 1-2 sticks coriander greens, 2tspns Red chilli powder, 1/2 cup Coconut grated.

Procedure:

  1. Grind the ingredients mentioned under "To grind" to a paste adding the required water .
  2. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a thick bottom pan, add the chopped onions and fry until they are tender.
  3. Now add the tomatoes and fry for 2 minutes.
  4. Later add the peas and cook for a while.
  5. Add the paste, stir and reduce the flame.
  6. Cook covered until the masala seperates from the oil .
  7. Now add the water to give the required consistency of a thick gravy. Bring to boil.
  8. Crumble the potatoes with hand into the pan .Make sure you do not smash the entire potatoes. Let there be small lumps of potatoes in between.Stir.
  9. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  10. Remove from heat and serve with pooris or chapatis.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Chakli














When i had just started to cook, i thought making stuff like chakli, nipattu and kodbale was only possible by experts who had years of cooking experience.To prove me wrong , Doordarshan telecast a cookery show which showed this easy recipe for chakli. I gave it a try albeit with a little apprehension, and was really happy with the outcome.Eversince i have tried different recipes from this category and have made a collection of them from different sources.So when i was wondering which one of these to post first, i felt the first one that i learnt from the Doordarshan show would be right, coz it rid me of my fear to try.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup Maida
  • 2 cups Rice flour
  • 2 tspn Til (sesame seeds)
  • 2 tspn Jeera (cumin seeds)
  • Red chilli powder as per taste(I put 1 tblspn)
  • Salt to taste
  • 11/2 Tblspn Sugar dissolved in water
  • 4 Tblspns Ghee
  • Oil to fry

Special utensil required: Chakli Press available in Indian stores

Procedure:

  1. Mix all the ingredients first except the water.Then add water in which sugar is dissolved and make a dough.
  2. Using the chakli press, fill the dough in parts into the chakli press and press the dough out in form of concentric circles onto a plastic paper.
  3. Meanwhile heat oil in a Deep bottom Pan(kadai).The quantity of oil should be more to facilitate deep frying.
  4. When the oil is reasonably hot( mind u! not very hot as this may burn the chaklis), add the chaklis into the oil and fry them till they are done. Remove them onto a Plate .
  5. Allow to cool.Once cooled, store in a airtight container

Note: You may note that when the chaklis are done, they sink to the bottom of the pan.They can be taken out after this point.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Masala Vada / Vade






Vade in Kannada and Vada in some other Indian languages, is an Indian snack made from split Bengal gram ,crispy on the outside, soft inside.This particular snack was prepared at home only on festivals to accompany the several other delicacies for lunch. But i would never like it as a part of the lunch ,coz by then , it would have turned cold. I felt ,it tasted best when it was hot, so i would have it as soon as my mom would fry them , and ended up getting shouted at. Now since I am the one who cooks, I make them at my will and eat more than I serve :). Since it snowed here today and is really cold, I thought why not treat myself to this wonderful healthy snack.


Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Channa dal( split Bengal gram)
  • ½ inch Ginger chopped
  • 5-6 garlic flakes
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 small piece cinnamon
  • 1 large onion chopped fine
  • 7 green chillies chopped fine(you can decrease or increase as per your choice)
  • 2 tblspn Coriander chopped fine
  • ¼ cup Dill( sabakki soppu) chopped fine(optional)
  • 2-3 sprigs of coriander to grind
  • ¼ tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 Tblspn rice flour
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for deep fry.


Procedure:

  1. Soak the channa dal for about 2 hours and drain.
  2. Keep aside one fistful of channa dal.
  3. Grind the remaining channa dal along with the ginger, garlic,coriander, cloves and cinnamon.
  4. Now add the channa dal kept separate , chopped green chillies, onion, dill, coriander , turmeric powder , rice flour,salt. Mix well.
  5. Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Make lemon sized balls , pat slightly in your palm, and fry them in the oil until brown.
  6. Serve hot along with the chutney of your choice although I devour them up just like that or along with my cuppa tea.
Note:The onions, green chillies and greens should be chopped very fine .
Do not add water while grinding . The paste needs to be thick.

Prep time : 25 mins. this excludes the soaking time.