A hot favourite of my kids, their friends and my friends. My kids are now grown up, but even now, whenever I bump into their school buddies , they always talk of the fudge & how they salivate at the thought of having it.
INGREDIENTS:
Condensed milkmaid(I use Nestle Milkmaid)-1 tin
Melted Butter (Unsalted)-100 grams
Sugar(Regular granulated)-1 /4th Cup
Cocoa powder-3/4th cup
Refined flour/Maida-2 tbsp
Walnuts( shelled, broken into small pieces)-1 cup
METHOD:
1.Take a heavy bottomed pan( kadhai)
2.Mix all the ingredients except the walnuts and put it in the pan.
3.Cook on high heat , stirring all the time.If you are busy & cant keep stirring it constantly, cook it on low heat.
4.Keep cooking till it thickens considerably and when you take it in a ladle( Kadchi) & try to drop it back into the pan, it falls in sheet not drops & that too not drop easily.You can also put a drop into ½ cup cold water, take the fudge drop & try to roll it between your fingers into a ball.It should form a soft ball ,which retains its shape.Thats the end point.
5.Add walnuts and mix well.
6.Switch off the gas.
7.Pour the fudge onto a lightly greased ( with refined oil , not butter) tray 11 inch X 9 inch size- like a swiss roll tin.
8.Spread evenly.
9.Let it cool slightly.Mark lines on it about 1 inch apart( its called scoring), horizontally as well as longitudinally.
10.Leave it outside to cool, in winters & in a fridge in summer.
Chicken,cut into 8 or 12 pieces,washed & drained-1
Basmati Rice, wash and soak for half an hour-2 Cups
Garlic chopped fine-1/4 cup
Ginger chopped fine- ¼ cup
Onions chopped fine-3 large
Onion sliced-2 medium
Potato,washed, peeled, cut into 6 pieces,browned in oil on low heat-1 large
Tomatoes , chopped into small pieces-2 large
Refined oil-1/3 cup and to deep fry sliced onions
Shaan Bombay Biryani Masala-1 tbsp
Hing (Asafoetida)-1/4 tsp
Dhaniya powder(Coriander)-1 tsp
Jeera(Cummin seed) powder-1 tsp
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Salt-To taste
METHOD:
1.Take 7 cups of water in a deep pan.
2.Add the washed, soaked & drained rice
3.Cook on high heat till one boil and then simmer covered, checking frequently to ensure rice is not overcooked.
4.Drain the rice in a strainer, add salt and keep it aside.
5.Prick the chicken with a fork.
6.Heat oil in a deep thick bottomed pan.
7.Add asafoetida,garlic & ginger and sauté on high heat,stirring constantly till brown.
8.Add chopped onions, sauté till slightly pink.
9.Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till the water dries up.
10.Add the semi cooked browned potatoes & chicken and brown well on high heat, stirring constantly,till oil separates.
11.Add the masalas and sauté for a minute.
12.Add 4 cups water along with salt.
13.Reduce the heat and simmer covered with a tight fitting lid till chicken and potato are tender with a thick gravy.
14.Take a deep serving dish.
15.Take little chicken curry, spread in a layer, topped with rice, then again a layer of chicken , followed by rice and repeat till all the rice & chicken is used up, taking care that the top most layer is of rice.
16.Deep fry sliced onions and garnish the biryani with this.Serve hot with onion chutney, Raita, onion-tomato-cucumber Kachumber etc.
ONION CHUTNEY :
INGREDIENTS:
Onion,cut into pieces -2 large
Dry red chillies-4
Lemon-1/2
Salt-to taste
Mustard oil-2 drops
METHOD:
1.Grind together onion with chillies.
2.Add salt, juice of ½ lemon & 2 drops of mustard oil.
3.Mix well.
VARIATIONS: Try various biryani masalas like MDH, Shaan Punjabi Yakhni/Sindhi Biryani Masala etc .
A favourite of family and friends during winter.It is a lovely end to a meal and is a no fuss dessert, rich in Iron.It is akin to chocolate/fudge with dry fruits. With doctors recommending handful of mixed nuts to be consumed daily,this is a nice tasty way to have nuts along with jaggery, a rich source of Iron.
INGREDIENTS:
Gud/Jaggery powdered -1Kg
Ghee/ clarified butter-1tbsp
Almonds whole-1 cup
Walnuts shelled and broken into 2 or 4-1 cup
Cashew nuts , broken into 2 or 4-1 cup
Dry coconut/Khopra sliced thinly-1 cup
Saunf/ Aniseed -3 Tbsp
Jeera/ Cummin seeds-1 Tbsp
Black pepper (optional) ,if using whole-2 tbsp and if coarsely ground-1 tbsp
METHOD:
1.Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed kadhai.
2.Once the ghee gets heated , add powdered gud.
3.Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and keep ready.
4.As soon as the jaggery melts completely, add the dry fruits, condiments etc and mix well.
5.While hot,drop small spoonfuls on a tray, separated by about ½ inch from each other(You will need more than one tray).
6.Remove when cool and store in an airtight container.
This is a very simple, no fuss recipe of ghia/Bottle gourd/Lauki. This is a traditional recipe,which people ( Like my parents-in –law),who hail from Dera Ismail Khan, follow. I learnt it from my mom-in –law and is a favourite of my husband. I, make it, but don't eat it coz I don't like ghia,tinda,tori family of vegetables.
INGREDIENTS:
Ghia/bottle gourd( Peeled and cut into roundels)-500 grams
Refined oil-1 tbsp
Jeera/cummin seeds-1 tsf
Ajwain/carom seeds-1/2 tsf
Haldi/Turmeric Powder-1/2 tsf
Hing/Asafoetida-1/4 th tsf
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsf
Jeera ( cummin seed )powder-1/2 tsf
Dhaniya(Coriander seeds) powder-1 tsf
Garam masala powder-1/2 tsf
Salt-To taste
METHOD:
1.Cut the ghia into round slices about ½ a centimeter thick.
2.Heat the oil in a kadhai.
3.Add the hing, jeera and carom seeds.
4.Saute for a minute.
5.Add salt & the other masalas except the garam masala and sauté for a minute.
6.Ad ghia.Saute on high for 5 to 7 minutes and brown a little.
8.Cover and cook on slow fire for 10 minutes till tender but crunchy.Dont overcook.
Curd, hung in a muslin cloth for 1/2 hr- 1 & 1/2 cup or 300 grams
Butter( white/ Salty yellow)- 125 grams
Britannia Digestive biscuit-250 grams
Gelatine ( I used solar red packet) -2 tbsp
Water -1 cup
Peach halves – 1 Tin
Cream , chilled in a steel bowl ( I used Amul 200 gram)-1
Milkmaid -1/2 tin
Cheese spread, plain (I used Brittania )- 1 tbsp
METHOD:
1.Melt butter.
2.Take biscuit in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.Add to the butter and mix well.
3.Spread on a greased 7 inch loose bottomed cake or springiform tin.Keep aside to cool.
4.Mix hung curd with cheese spread.
5.Take chilled cream and beat till fluffy but thin.Add to the hung curd.
6.Beat mixture till smooth.
7. Drain the peaches,leaving 2 to 3 for decoration, puree the rest in the blender till smooth.
8.Add to the curd cream mixture.Beat well.
9.Add milkmaid gradually, checking for sweetness.
10.Soak gelatine in a cup of water.Make into solution by heating over a double boiler.Cool for 5 mins under the fan and add to the cream curd peach mix.
11.Mix well.Keep in the frezer for 10 mins.Take out after 10 minutes, stir and scrape the sides of the pan.Place again in the freezer.Repeat the same process after 10 minutes. Repeat this till it begins to thicken.
12. When it's a little thick starts, pour onto biscuit base.
13.Out of the reserved peaches, chop some and slice some.Add chopped peach pieces to the cheese mix.
14.Decorate with sliced peaches. Keep in the fridge , NOT in the freezer.
15.Serve very cold.
VARIATION:
You can replace peaches with mangoes/ strawberry, pineapple, kiwi,apricots, litchis etc. However, the amount of milkmaid and gelatin will need to be adjusted accordingly.Do experiment.
Tori, akin to Zucchini, is a very light healthy green vegetable. This is a very easy low cal tasty preparation.
INGREDIENTS:
Tori ,washed peeled , cut longitudinally and then cut into 3/4inch pieces-750 grams
Refined oil-1 tsf
Dhaniya sabut ( coriander seeds)- 2tsf
Jeera sabut( Cummin seeds)-1 tsf
Kali mirch sabut ( Black pepper seeds)-1/2 tsf
Asafoetida /Hing-A pinch
Haldi/Turmeric powder-a pinch
Sugar(to preserve the green colour)-1/2 tsf
Salt-to taste
METHOD:
1.Heat the oil.
2.Coarsely powder, preferably in a pestle & mortar, jeera , dhaniya & kali mirch.
3.Add the coarse powder to the oil & sauté on high heat for a minute.
4.Add haldi and hing , sauté for a minute.Add tori,with sugar,stir fry on highheat for 5 minutes.Add salt.
5.Reduce heat. Cover it with a lid & simmer for 7minutes. Little water might be left. There is no need to dry it out.
6.Remove the lid and check for tenderness. It should be tender but not overcooked and pulpy.If semi done, cover it and switch off the gas. It will cook in the heat of the vessel you are cooking it in.If done, leave it to cool without a lid/ place under the fan till serving time. Serve with chappatis.
Poha is a very basic traditional breakfast dish of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is very often served with Jalebi as a combo.Its a light and tasty dish.
INGREDIENTS:
Poha/chidwa-1 & ½ cups
Refined oil-1 tbsp
Jeera sabut(Cummin seeds)-1 tsf
Mustard seeds-I tsf
Asafoetida/hing-pinch
Onion chopped-1 medium
Boiled potato ,chopped into ½ inch pieces-1 small
Haldi-1/4 tsf
Red chilli powder-1/4 tsf
Green chilli chopped-1/2 tsf
Curry leaves-2 tbsp
Coarsely powdered roasted peanuts- 2 tbsp
Salt-to taste
Lemon-1
METHOD:
1.Heat the oil.
2.Add jeera , mustard seeds and hing,till the mustard splutters.
3.Add curry leaves.
4.Add onions and saute till pink.
5.Add turmeric and, red chilli powder and green chillies ,sauté for a minute.
6.Add boiled chopped potatoes and stir fry on high heat for a couple of minutes.
7.Take poha in a strainer, wash under water, pressing it with the palm simultaneously to drain excess water.Drain well.After couple of minutes add it to the pan( poha should be wet & the flakes should not stick and be lumpy)
8.Stir fry on high heat for few minutes till the flakes are cooked and dry.
9.Add salt and mix.
10.Add roasted coarsely crushed peanuts, if using.
11.Serve with lemon juice/ lemon which one can add , according to one's taste.
Chicken Keema/Mince( Wash boneless chicken , drain and get it minced)-250 gram
Onion (finely chopped )-½ cup
Ginger( Grated)- 1 & a ½ tsf
Garlic (finely chopped)-1 and a ½ tbsp
Green chilli (finely chopped)-1
Black Pepper (Coarsely ground preferably in a pepper mill)-1 tsf
Salt -to taste
1/3 cup raw rice-soak for 1/ 2hr
METHOD:
Mix all the ingredients except the rice. Drain the rice and spread it on a plate. Make small chicken balls , roll in rice and place in a steamer.Steam in a steamer/idli steamer, till the rice gets cooked( usually 15 minutes). Serve hot.
Salt -to taste (Depending on how salty the tandoori masala is)
Ghee –To baste
METHOD:
Poke the chicken with fork at multiple points , so that the marinade can seep in. Add all the other ingredients as listed above, except the ghee. Mix well. Marinate for 1-2 hrs in the fridge. Grill on hot coal or in a pre heated OTG at 250 degree .You can also thread it on to a skewer and grill in a tandoor. Turn it with tongs when brown , baste with ghee, so that the other side too gets grilled and brown. Serve piping hot with chaat masala, lemon.
VARIATION:
In case you have left over tandoori chicken, make an awesome salad with it. Remove the flesh from the bones, into one inch size pieces.
Take little oil, depending on how much left over chicken you have, heat it in a fry pan.
Take a medium size onion, cut into 4 to 6 pieces. Remove the layers of the onion and add it to hot oil. Cook on high heat till pink.
Add 1 tsp to 1tbsp finely chopped garlic and stir fry till brown.
Add mushrooms (Optional) cut into 4 pieces, if large and into two, if small , stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 1 inch chunks of pineapple ( preferably grilled) and stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Pineapple too, is optional.
Cut medium tomato into 6 pieces. Remove the seeds. Throw it into the pan and cook on high heat. Ensure that it remains firm and not squashed.
Add 1 inch size chunks of green , red and yellow peppers .Stir on high heat for a minute or two.
Add salt and red chilli powder according to taste and only for the vegetables , as the tandoori chicken would have already have salt and spices. Add the chicken.Mix well. Serve hot.
This is like a one dish meal, a very tasty ,no fuss one too.I got introduced to it, after my marriage.It was regularly made at my in-laws' and now at my home too.My mom in law would make it with rice. What I found strange was that they would treat it like a sabzi/ dry vegetable and eat it with roti. Eating roti with rice seemed strange.But I would always have it without roti,like one would have a thin, slightly watery khichri.I too make it with rice , but few years back, I adapted it to daliya/broken wheat/bulgur.It looks like khichri, but is certainly not a dish meant for the invalid.You can use your imagination, add veggies/keema/boneless mutton/nutrela , so on and so forth .To make it special add fried sliced onions on top.
INGREDIENTS:
Daliya/Broken wheat OR Rice( you can also use cooked rice)-1 cup
Peas-1 cup
Vadi-preferably large spicy Urad dal/ Moong dal -1
Turmeric powder-3/4th tsp
Salt-to taste
TEMPERING/TADKA:
Ghee/clarified butter-1 -2 tsp
Garlic chopped (OPTIONAL)- ½ to 1 tbsp
Jeera/Cummin seeds-1 tsp
Red chilli powder( if want really spicy)-1/2 tsp
Asafoetida( Hing) powder-1/4tsp.
METHOD:
Wash daliya in a fine strainer. These days ,the varieties one gets(Aahaar) ,are usually pre roasted & quick cooking and don't require to be soaked. Put this in a pressure cooker, along with the peas, turmeric powder , vadi, salt and 7 cups of water. If you wish to fry the vadi and add , you can do that too. But a lighter option would be to heat the ghee that you are going to use for tempering, in a tadka pan, throw in this vadi and shallow fry it. Remove it and use the left over ghee for the tempering/tadka. Place the lid on the cooker and pressure cook on high heat till one whistle . Thereafter simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from fire. Let the pressure drop of its own. Add tempering…Heat ghee,add jeera , hing, red chilli powder ( if using).Stir and add to the daliya in the cooker. If it seems thick, add some water and salt. Serve hot. You can have it with/without roti.
VARIATION:
1.Use rice instead of daliya.
2. Add vegetables.Cut the vegetables into large pieces, so they don't become mushy after pressure cooking. You can cook the daliya in a large, deep pan and cook without pressure.
3. Add boneless meat/keema/ chicken.For this first cook the mutton/keema till 3/4th done and then add to the daliya.if adding chicken,just stir fry chicken in a liitle bit of oil and add.
4. Add nutrela, nutri nuggets as per the instructions on the box.
5.Add dal of your choice, after soaking and /or partial cooking,depending on its cooking time.
An adaptation of the Oriental /continental stir fry vegetables. It's a very light healthy low calorie tasty preparation. Whenever I make it, the feedback I get is very encouraging. So do try it. You can make it as part of your main course or have it like a snack, like my daughters do.
INGREDIENTS:
Paneer, cut into cubes of 1 inch-100 grams
Cauliflower-5 florets
Beans, cut diagonally into two-100 grams
Carrot, sliced diagonally 1/4th inch thickness-100 grams
Mushroom, if small cut into two and large cut into four-100 grams
Lotus stem, sliced diagonally 1/4th inch thickness -100 grams
Baby corn, slice diagonally into two-100 grams
Onion,chopped into 8 and the layers separated-1 medium
Green, red and yellow capsicum-1/4th of large one of each colour.
Corn(Tinned or frozen)-2tbsp
Green peas-100 grams
Tomato, one large,with seeds removed, chopped into 6 pieces-1
Garlic chopped fine( Optional)-2tbsp
Cummin seeds(Jeera sabut)-2 tsp
Red chilli powder-1tsp
Garam Masala powder-1/2 to 1 tsp
Sugar( To preserve the green colour of the green vegetables)-1 tsp
Salt-to taste
Oil-2tbsp
METHOD:
Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add paneer and stir fry, till brown spots appear. Remove with a slotted spoon. Now add cumin seeds to the oil. Add garlic , if using and stir on high heat till slightly brown. Add sugar. Now add vegetables in the order of cooking time required i.e first lotus stem, then cauliflower and /or broccoli,carrots, green peas,beans, baby corn, mushroom followed by corn .After each vegetable is added cook on high heat for about 5 minutes.So by the time you add ,mushroom , lotus stem would be optimally tender.TThe vegetables must be constantly stirred.The vegetables must be crunchy not mushy.Now add onion .Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.Then add the 3 coloured capsicums along with tomatoes.Cook on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add paneer.Mix gently ,so tomatoes don't become pulpy.Add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala .Serve hot. Its best to make this just before serving.
I love coconut and anything made with coconut or coconut milk,. Hence, yesterday when an old friend & college mate, came to stay with me, I decided to innovate and made this corn in coconut milk.Since she, like me, is from the Southern part of India, I could boldly experiment,confident that she would not be averse to coconut milk, unlike a lot of people from the Northern part of India. I was delighted when I got compliments from family , friends and colleagues.I was told in no uncertain terms, to post the recipe before the night ended!!!So here is the recipe:
INGREDIENTS:
Corn on the cob,tender,large size, cut into 1 inch pieces-3
Onion, medium size, chopped-1
Onion, medium size, ground-2
Garlic,chopped-1tbsp ( grind with onion)
Ginger, chopped-1 tsp ( grind with onion)
Tomato,medium, ground-2
Green chilli slit-1
Refined Oil- 3 tbsp
Cloves-2
Cinnamon-1 inch
Green cardamoms-2
Bay leaf-1
Sugar-1 tbsp
Besan/Gram flour-2 level tbsp
Coconut milk powder-2 small sachet(Nestle)
Red chilli powder-1/2 to3/4 tsf
Turmeric powder -1/4 to 1/2 tsf
Salt-to taste
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a deep pan.
Add clove, cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon.
Add the chopped onions and cook till they turn pink.
Now add ground onion-ginger- garlic paste and cook till slightly brown.
Add turmeric and chilli powder.(Preferably mix in a tbsp of water and add)
Add the tomatoes and cook on high heat till it starts leaving oil.
Add bhuttas or corn and sauté for 5 minutes.
Add coconut milk powder , mixed with 1.5 litres water and 2 tbsp gram flour.
Add salt and sugar.
Cook on high heat till one boil.
Now reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes till corn is slightly tender.
Take off the fire.
Add slit green chilli
Serve hot with rice.
VARIATIONS:
1.Can omit ginger, garlic paste.
2. Can omit tomatoes.
3.Can omit clove,cardamom , cinnamon and bay leaf.
4.Make South Indian stew style, by omitting tomatoes, clove,cardamom , cinnamon and bay leaf, replacing with hing/ asafoetida, 2 dried red chillies,1 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp jeera or cummin seeds, few curry leaves.No turmeric is used and add ½ tsf coarsely freshly ground black pepper in place of red chilli powder.
A very tasty simple daal. A favourite of mine and my dear friend Rapti.
INGREDIENTS:
Moong dhuli daal-1 cup
Garlic -5 cloves
Garlic chopped 1 and a ½ tbsp
Ginger chopped -1 tsp
Refined oil-1 and a ½ tbsp
Ghee /Clarified butter-1 tsp for tadka
Asafoetida/ hing-1/4 tsp
Jeera sabut/Cummin seeds-1 tsp
Haldi /Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Lal mirch/red chilli powder-1/4 tsf
Green chilli with a slit( cheera in hindi)-1
Salt-to taste
METHOD:
Wash daal and keep it in a strainer to drain water.Take ½ tbsp oil. Heat it. Add 5 cloves of garlic, without chopping.Saute on high heat till black and burnt. Cover with a lid and turn off the heat. Keep for 10 minutes for oil to imbibe the flavour of garlic.Now throw the garlic and add 1 tbsp oil to the remaining oil and turn the gas on.Add chopped garlic and ginger. Sauté till golden.Now add the daal and sauté a little. Add haldi , lal mirch powder, salt and mix.Now add 3 cups water.Bring to boil. Then lower heat and cover with a lid for 10 to 15 minutes till daal is cooked. Remove lid and bring to one boil by raising the heat.Take off the heat. Add tadka by heating ghee,add jeera , hing, green chilli.Serve hot with rice or roti.
Tori ( Can substitute with zucchini) Peel and cut into pieces of ¾ inch size- 250 gm
Tomato medium , chopped into small pieces-1
Urad daal spicy Vadi-1/2
Jeera sabut( Cummin seeds)- ½ tsf
Asafetida/hing-2 pinches
Turmeric powder-1/4th tsf
Red chilli powder ( preferably coarse powder)-1/4 tsf
Refined Oil- 1tsf
Salt- to taste
METHOD:
Heat oil.Add jeera and hing.When jeera splutters,add vadi and sauté it.Add haldi and lal mirch powder.Now add tomato, lower heat and cover for 5 minutes.Open and mash tomato with a spoon. Add tori and mix. Cover with a plate and cook on low heat. Check after 5 minutes that it is not sticking to the pan.Add ½ to 3/4th cup water and simmer for 10 more minutes. Open and add salt.Raise the heat and wait till it comes to full boil. Take it off the heat. Serve with phulkas.
Tip-While cooking green vegetables add a pinch of sugar , to keep the veggies green.
Malpua and rainy days….an inseparable combo. When my mom in law was alive, the moment it would rain, we would demand malpuas. For the last many years, probably since her demise, we had'nt had them.With the recent cloudburst in Delhi, there was tremendous nostalgia for the same. So here I was making malpuas after so many years….The nicest part is that , you don't need a sugar syrup for this kind of malpua. So for diabetics, one can use sugar substitute and make it, which one cant do with the recipes requiring syrup.
INGREDIENTS: Maida- 1 cup
Milk -2 cups
Sugar/Sugar free natura-1and a ½ tbsp to 2 tbsp. (When using sugar free natura, the amount used in terms of volume is the same as for regular granulated sugar.But in terms of weight they are not equal)
Aniseed/saunf- 1/2 tsp
Black pepper ( Uncrushed)/ kali mirch sabut- 1/2 tsp
Refined Oil- For frying
METHOD:
Mix all the above ingredients.Keep for about ½ hour.Mix well again. Heat oil in a frying pan for deep frying. When it turns hot, lower the heat, pour the batter slowy, with a ladle . Now raise the heat.It will spread and become like a fried egg.Turn it so as to enable it to cook on both the sides. It should be golden in colour.Remove from the oil and place on an absorbent paper ,like a kitchen towel, to absorb excess oil. Serve hot .You can serve it with rabri/Kheer too.Tastes awesome.If serving with kheer/Rabri one can reduce the amount of sugar in the batter.
This is a favourite of my daughters and their friends. It is a must at all their parties.
INGREDIENTS:
1.Curd -400 gms.Hang in a muslin cloth for 1 hour
2.Chopped onion-½ cup
3.Chopped garlic-1/4th to ½ cup,depending on one's taste.
4.Green chillies chopped-2
5.Cheese spread-I used 3 different ones , 1/3rd box each of Brittania classic plain, masala herbs and Mexican Chilli.( One can use variety of flavours and innovate)
6.Chilli oregano seasoning( FAB INDIA)-1 tsp
7.Juice of Lemon-1
8.Salt-To taste
9.Red , yellow and green bell pepper chopped very fine-1/2 each of medium size
10. Cucumber peeled, deseeded and chopped fine-1 ( Taste before adding lest you should add a bitter one)
METHOD:
Blend the ingredients 1 to 8 in a blender.Add 9 and 10. Mix well. Serve with chips, or crudités which are traditional French appetizers comprising raw vegetables like cucumber, carrots, Red & Yellow bell pepper, Zucchini, asparagus spears, etc, cut into strips or cauliflower, broccoli, cut into bite size florets.Try making it. Its delicious.
3 dry red chillies( Can use fresh red/ green too)-If using dry, soak in hot water for 5 minutes to soften it
4 to 5 fat garlic cloves
Juice of 3 lemons
Salt-To taste
1/2 cup -Roasted coarsely crushed peanuts
METHOD:
Julienne the raw papaya.
Boil the sliced beans in water just enough to cover it.Add 1 tsp sugar to it, coz sugar helps to retain the green colour.Take it off from the fire , immediately after the first boil.Let it remain in the pan for 5minutes.Then drain the water and add ice cold water.The beans must be crunchy and green.Mix it with papaya.
Dice the tomatoes, discarding the seeds.Add this to the papaya , beans mix.
Make a paste of dry red chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar.( Tastes better than the one made in a mixie)
Boil sugar and water till sugar dissloves.Add this to the chilli garlic paste.
Add the sugar chilli garlic mix to the vegetable mix.Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.
Sprinkle groundnuts just at the time of serving, otherwise they will cease to remain crunchy.
VARIATION: 1 cup of diced cucumbers (after discarding the seeds) and ½ cup of fresh pomegranate seeds (Fresh anar ) added to the above mix tastes very nice too. Accordingly, increase the amount of red chillies, garlic and lemon juice.
This is a recipe I hit upon , while going through a cookery book titled " Cooking with Maharajas" , By Digvijay Singh of Sailana.Excellent simple recipe.I have lost count of the number of times I have made it. Recently I made it again, when Shyam Benegal, the renowned film maker was over for dinner.He told us that he had a had it , long ago , when he had dined with the royal family of Sailana. I recall vividly the day, when I first made it.My husband wanted mutton for dinner. I wanted to try this recipe.However,I was slightly sceptical , since it had bare minimum ingredients and was worried that it might turn out bland.So I divided the mutton into two portions. With one ,I made the usual regular mutton curry and with the other, I proceeded to experiment making"Jungli meat". The recipe stated that no weights and measures were given ,as in a jungle one doesnt have the wearwithall and one makes with "Andaza" or approximation or instinct. However, one can carry dry ingredients like salt & dry red chillies and treat the "shikar" (The hunt) with this recipe.Coming back to the day when I first tried it out, my husband came back home after work, he being a foodie & a die hard core mutton lover, heard my introductory speech about the two praparations and decided to check out the jungli meat first. The first bite and his lament was" itna thoda kyon banaya" i.e why did you make such a small quantity?. But then this was an experiment and wasn't quite sure that it would be a successful one. Thereafter the next time I made it , I innovated and added garlic to it and wow , it tasted even better now. So the original recipe got modified and now is a constant feature of my parties.I have figured out measures too, so that my cook can replicate it and now he is a pro.
The recipe is as follows:
PRINCIPLE: The meat is cooked in minimum cooking medium and water, so that the meat is neither boiled nor fried.In fact ,my assumption is, that in the jungle , it must be cooked over slow fire with wood and no cooking medium coz meat has its own fat and it must be getting cooked in that.
INGREDIENTS:(Serves 4 to 5)
Mutton-16 pieces( Thats how I usually buy-one each of nalli, gole , machli and chop per person, so that everybody gets all the various kinds of cuts)
Unbroken dry red chillies -8 ( 1/2 the number of pieces of mutton)
Cooking medium-1 tsp ghee ( Sorry, the taste is not the same with oil-Like my husband says ghee aur nahari ko upar vale ne khud apne haathon se banaya hai ).Dont add more than 1 tsp please ( read aforementioned principle).
Garlic chopped fine- 4 tbsp ( Almost 1 tbsp per person)
Salt -According to taste.
Water- variable amount ( bare minimum)
METHOD:
A WORD OF CAUTION-Do not break the red chillies and please do not cook in a pressure cooker. It will be unpalatably pungent.
Take a kadhai/ pateela ( any pan of your choice). Add 1 tsp ghee.When it is hot add, the washed & drained meat. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes , by the watch. It will start releasing water.If at the end of 10 minutes, no water is left, add 2 tbsp water.Add salt, garlic and red chillies.Now cover it with a tight fitting lid and cook on slow fire for 1 and a 1/2 hour, checking every 15 minutes, to ensure there is some water, so it neither boils nor fries. If water dries out before meat is fully cooked, add 2tbsp water. Once tender, uncover and cook on high heat and dry out the water. Serve piping hot, either as snack with cocktails or as part of main course.
NOTE: NO GARNISHING REQUIRED WITH GARAM MASALA /HARA DHANIYA ETC.
VARIATIONS:
I have tried it with small round unpeeled potatoes( 1 chilly for 5 potatoes) after washing them, piercing with a fork and with chicken too after puncturing with fork coz chicken , unlike meat is bland and spices should seep in for it to taste good. Both potatoes and chicken will cook earlier than 1 and ½ hour.Do experiment with green chillies, vary the number ,depending on the variety of chilly and how pungent it is.
Sundal is a traditional salad and snack.Its easy to prepare healthy, filling, spicy, tasty and tangy.It is served as a Prasad ,very often during the 10 day festival of Dussehra/Navratri, called " Golu"in Tamil Nadu .( which is where I hail from) This is the time when one goes to the homes of friends and invites them to come and witness the display of “ Golu Bommais”, at one’s home.Golu is a display of dolls & figurines, decorated in 5/7/9 /11 (i.e odd numbers) step like tiers, so as to have optimum visibility of all the figurines. Beautiful kolam or rangoli is made. When visitors come, the women (only married and unmarried but not widows-!!horrible practice ) are offered kumkum (Vermillion), haldi , chandan ( sandal paste) , betel leaves ( Paan) with betel nut (supari), Prasad and a gift – usually a blouse piece.The Prasad is very often “ SUNDAL”, madewith white chick peas, black chick peas, white or red lobhia or black eyed beans, Bengal gram dal( chana dal) etc.Occassionally sweets are given as prasad after offering it to the Gods , following the puja.As kids , me and my siblings would love to go to various homes , sampling an array of the prasad.It was so much of pure and simple fun.
INGREDIENTS:
Chick peas (motay safed chole)- 2 cups
Turmeric powder( Haldi)-1/2 tsp
Refined Oil-1 tbsp
Asafoetida( Hing)-1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies-2
Cummin( Jeera) seeds- 1tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Bengal gram( Chana Dal)- 1tsp
Black Gram ( white in colour) i.e Dhuli urad Dal- 1tsp
Curry leaves-10
Salt –To taste
Red chilli powder -1/2 to 3/4th tsp ( Depending on how spicy one likes)
Raw mangoes peeled and chopped into tiny pieces-2 tbsp
METHOD
Soak peas overnight.Pressure cook with turmeric ,salt and just enough water to cook till done. In case you have forgotten to soak or decide to make it without advanced planning, pressure cook unsoaked chick peas.Simmer for 10 minutes after the 1st whistle.Let it soak in the cooker for an hour and a half. Then add turmeric & salt and pressure cook again for one whistle and simmer for ten minutes.Let the pressure drop spontaneously.
Now take a pan , add oil, heat it up.Add asafoetida, broken dry red chillies, cumin and mustard seeds till the seeds splutter.Now add the two dals-bengal gram and black gram, cook on slow fire till they are slightly brown in colour.Now add the curry leaves. Add the boiled & drained chick peas, salt and red chilli powder.Mix well.Turn off the heat.Garnish with chopped raw mangoes and have it hot.It tastes very nice even at room temperature. Optional garnishing-grated fresh coconut and lemon juice.
You can substitute chick peas with green peas, peanuts, other beans and all the other alternatives mentioned in the introduction.The same recipe can be used to cook various vegetables like fresh green beans, finely chopped potatoes, green or purple cabbage, small boneless fish pieces, boiled mutton & chicken cubes etc.Make sure the veggies remain crunchy and not overcooked.Let your imagination run wild and try the recipe with other alternatives of your choice.
I am a medical doctor, a radiologist by profession at a leading imaging centre in Delhi.Cooking and singing are my passion.With God's grace and a loving encouraging family, who are the guinea pigs for my culinary creation, I hope to write regularly for this blog.A very special mention about my colleagues, who too are very willing guinea pigs. Finally, I owe it to my dear friend & colleague,Sriram Rajan without whose invaluable help, this blog would not have been born.Thanx all.
