Kheema Parata(Minced meat)

I am here with one more famous parata from Punjab,which is not only available in Punjab but quite famous in Paratey wali galli in Delhi and also in our neighbouring country Pakistan.This parata is stuffed with lamb mince which makes a perfect choice for your lunch box.This is very simple and easy to make.My kids just love this parata.So normally i prepare them whenever i am free and freeze  so whenever they feel like having they just take it out and micro Or you can prepare this minced meat stuffing in advance and store it in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients( for kheema stuffing)
For 10 Paratas you need
Kheema-1/2kg
Potato(optional)-2( boiled and Mashed)
Besan/chick pea flour-1tbsp( Roasted)
Garam masala power-2tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste1tbsp
Red chilly powder-2tsp
Pudina-2tbsp( chopped)
Cumin seeds/Jeera-1tsp
Turmeric-1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee or oil for frying

Method:

• Heat oil in a shallow pan add cumin seeds when hot .Let it crackle for a second then add onions and stir until translucent .
• Now add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
• Now add garam masala,red chilly powder, turmeric powder and saute for a second.
• Now its time to add minced meat and salt to taste.Mix it well and cover it with a lid.Cook until all the juices dry out and the meat is tender.We want the stuffing to be dry so while making paratas it won't come out.
• Once it is cooked add roasted besan , mashed potato and chopped mint leaves.Mix it well and switch off the gas.
• You can make this a day before because it should  be cooled completely .

Ingredients (for dough)
Whole wheat flour-4 cups
Ajwain-1/2tsp
Ghee-1tbsp
Oil-2tsp
Salt to taste
Warm water for Kneading about 2 cups or as required

• Knead the dough by first mixing ajwain,salt and oil to the the flour.Now slowly add warm water to the dry ingredients mixing the flour at the same time.Knead well to form soft dough.Make a depression in the centre and add ghee.Knead again.Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Method :-

• Divide the dough into 10 balls.Dust a wooden board or flat surface with some flour.Now roll the dough ball into 4"disk .Spread 1tbsp of keema stuffing on the disk and seal it.

• Repeat the procedure for all the other balls of dough.
• Now dust the wooden surface again and roll each stuffed dough into a 6" parata.Gently roll the paratas other wise the stuffing will leak out.
• Heat a tsp of ghee or oil on a tawa/griddle.Fry each parata for about 2 mins per side on medium flame.The parata should have brown flecks on the surface.
• Serve hot with thick curd and pickle.

Eggless Caramel Pudding

I never thought of making Caramel pudding without eggs but a week ago i wanted to post some dessert in one of my vegetarian food group and i wanted to prepare something which is simple and no one ever tried there before and thats how i thought of trying this pudding which is very simple and easy to make.All you need is little corn flour and china grass.I tried it with cornflour before but this time just added a tsp of china grass which makes this pudding deliciously sweet and amazingly gorgeous ,is truly a wonderful treat for the whole family.yes my family is in love with this eggless caramel pudding and i assure even yours will like it equally .Just give it a try and sit back and relish the taste.

Ingredients:

Milk-1/2 litre

Vanilla custard powder-1tbsp

China grass-1tsp

Sugar-1/2cup

Sugar-1tbsp for caramel

Method: 

• First mix the custard powder in a 1/2 cup of cold milk,boil the remaining milk with 1/2 cup of sugar,when it comes to a boil add 1tsp of powdered china grass,cook for 5 minutes.Add dissolved custard powder mixture and cook till thick.

• In a pan add 1tbsp sugar for caramelizing with 1tsp of water and Cook till sugar turns to dark brown, immediately transfer this to pudding mould and spread the syrup all over the mould. You can use small moulds.Here i have used 3 small moulds,1big and 2small sized moulds.Once you are done with your caramel pour the custard sauce and set for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.Before serving make sure to loosen the sides and over turn on the plate.

Egg-less Mango Mousse

Today i am here with one interesting  mango dessert which is very easy and tasty "Eggless Mango Mousse".Usually Mousse contains eggs which gives nice creamy texture to this dish but in this is absolutely egg less mousse,here egg is substituted with condensed milk and i have not used gelatin in this but normally i do use gelatin when i prepare my mousse with eggs.But this time i just wanted to try this type without using my gas or micro which i normally use while making at least to boil my milk .It has a nice thick creamy texture which i am sure everyone will enjoy especially vegetarian.I have tried this combo for the 1st time and believe me the flavour of mango enhances the taste of this mousse.I tried it for the 1st time and we all loved it a lot.

Ingredients:-

Mango cubes-2 cup
Condense milk-1cup

whipped cream-1cup

Lemon juice-1tsp

Sugar-1/2 cup

Method:-

• Blend mango pieces,lemon juice and sugar in a blender till sugar dissolves completely by adding little  milk.
• Now refrigerate this puree for an hour to cool .
• After an hour Whip the cream till its light and smooth.
• Now fold the puree into the whipped cream very gently.Mix it well ,you will get nice thick creamy texture(you can use your electric mixer too.For this you need some ice cubes.Method is simple .Just Put the mixing bowl inside the cold one with the ice and begin mixing the mango puree with condensed milk,sugar and lemon juice.slowly the mixture will begin to thicken and then it will be like thick whipped cream.Now gently add the cream and blend it again.It will take about 5 minutes.Stop and divide the mousse into cups .I have used some mango pieces but you can serve without that too.
• Refrigerate for at least for 2hours.
• Your egg less mango mousse is ready.

Note; Those who are allergic to raw eggs ,kids with poor immune system should avoid eating raw eggs especially in summer.

Rice-Rava dosa

I am here with one more crispy rava dosa.I love this dosa because its very simple and quick to make.This dosa is very popular in south india but of course with different combinations.My version of dosa is simple and worth trying .This is our family recipe of rava dosa .Usually people add rice flour with rava and maida but my mom used to prepare this dosas  with left over batter of  Paan polo(neer dosey in kannada, In this dosa too i have used  left over paan pola batter without coconut .So i am here with my version of Rava dosa in which i have used rice batter instead of  rice flour which is easy to make and crispy like our normal rava dosa.

Ingredients:
Raw rice/dosa rice-1cup
Rava/semolina-1/2 cup
Jeera/cumin-1tsp
Onion-1 chopped finely
Green chilly-2 chopped finely
Coriander leaves(optional)
Salt to taste

Method:-

• Soak rice for about 1hour and grind to smooth paste.
• Now mix rava little at a time to avoid any lumps to the rice batter.
• Now add about 3 cups of water.The batter should be  VERY thin, almost like a watery consistency.

• Now add all the remaining ingredients and start preparing dosas.

• Heat a griddle or non-stick dosa pan and spread little batter and spread it slowly unlike our normal dosas.The spreading  of this dosa is bit tricky so keep trying until you succeed.
• Fry on both side using oil or ghee till crisp.

Serve hot with any of the chutneys.I personally prefer dry chutney with this.

If you are using  Paan polo(neer dosey ) batter : for 2cups of batter  add jeera1/2tsp,maida 1tbsp,rava-1cup and salt to taste and proceed.

Raw Jackfruit Kofta Curry

I prepared this dish almost a month back as i was busy all these days i couldn't post.Actually 1st i tried Raw jackfruit croquette with this dish and it was so yummy so tried this dish.It was really came out very well as i thought.

Ingredients:
jackfruit croquette-10
Onion-4
Red chilly powder-2tsp
Tomatoes-2
Ginger- garlic paste-1tbsp
Cardamom-3
Cloves-6
Cinnamon-2( 1"piece)
Coconut-1tbsp
Kasoori meethi-2tsp
Ghee or oil-1tbsp
Salt to taste
Sugar-1tsp(optional)

Raw jackfruit croquette

• I have not mentioned the procedure of making croquettes/ koftas as it is already there in my blog so today i just tell you how to make the gravy so please click on the link for the detailed recipe of making  koftas.

Method of making gravy for koftas:

• Grind  3onions ,coconut,tomatoes,cardamom,cloves and cinnamon to fine paste.
• Heat ghee or oil in a sauce pan add  remaining one onion chopped and fry until it changes to light brown.
• Now add ginger-garlic paste and fry  till the raw smell goes away.
• Add in ground masala paste along with  karoori methi,sugar and salt and stir it again till the oil floats on top.
• Now add 2 cups of water and the  Raw jackfruit croquette and allow it to boil on slow fire for 10 mins or till the gravy is semi dry.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or Ghee rice.

Instant chocolate brownie ( microwave)

My son was after me to bake some chocolate cake for him.So instead of cake  i made this gooey  Instant chocolate brownie for him.This is very easy and quick to make in the microwave.I really liked the texture,nice gooey  chocolatey  and my son is very happy to see this :) ..This is instant brownies as i have used marie biscuits just to try something quick and easy... . I have seen so many instant brownie recipes but never tried one but this is an absolute delight .

Ingredients:-
Marie biscuit-25(Coarsely powdered)
Sugar-3/4 cup( powdered)
Unsalted Butter-1 cup( melted)
Milk-1cup
Roasted almonds,cashew nuts and walnuts-1cup(slightly crushed )
Cocoa powder-1cup
Baking powder- 1/2tsp
Tutti fruitti -2tsp


Method:-

• Take melted  butter and sugar in a bowl and beat it well until sugar dissolves completely and the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
• Mix in milk and baking powder and  cocoa powder blend it well.
• Now add marie biscuit powder and fold it in the mixture.
• Grease the microwave safe dish and sprinkle some maida.
• Now pour the mixture to the dish and add the nuts and tutti fruitti
• Microwave on high(100%) for 3mins and then 2 mins on 90% power.
• Let it stand for 2 mins in the microwave.
• Now its ready to serve.
• You can serve it hot or cold with vanilla ice cream or chocolate sauce

Serving suggestion:
serve with chocolate sauce or with plain vanilla ice cream

Ponsa gharai(Jackfruit payasam).... a Konkani delight

Today i am here with one more konkani dish and my all time favourite payasam/Godshey withJackfruit ,we call it  " Ponsa Gharai ".Gharai is a payasam prepared using jackfruit bulbs cooked in jaggery and coconut milk.Every season at least once my mom used to prepare this dish.My dad used to drink this in a mug rather than eating with a spoon.

 Ingredients:
Jackfruit-2cups(cut into pieces)
Jaggery-1cup or to taste
Coconut grated-2cups
Basmathi rice-1tbsp
Cashew nuts for garnishing
Salt-1/2tsp

Method

• Soak rice for about 30 mins.After 30 mins grind it along with coconut to smooth paste by adding 3cups of water and keep aside.

Add caption

• In a big sauce pan add 4 cups of water add jaggery,few cashenut pieces and jackfruit pieces, cook until jackfruit pieces are soft but not mushy.You should feel the whole pieces.
• Now add the ground paste and bring to boil.Just one boil is enough.Switch off the gas.
• Garnish it with Cashew nut and serve hot or cold.

           

Pansa idli (jackfruit idlis)

Yesterday i posted Mulik and today sweet idli with jackfruit.Both are absolute konkani delight.My son love this idli a lot so was after me from many days infact he was waiting for this season specially to relish this dish.Usually i use overripe jackfruit or soft variety( tulvo) which makes this idli more tasty and its very easy to grind.So without wasting much time  let me start with the ingredients because i am not very sure about our power it may go anytime.we are badly effected with a power problem so i get only few hours per day to work on my blog

Ingrediens:-

Idli rava-2cups

Jackfruit bulbs-10-12

Jaggery-1cup or to taste

Coconut-1cup(grated)

Salt-1tsp

Few pieces of cashew-nuts for garnishing 

Method

• I have used organic dark brown color jaggery which gives fantastic color to this dish and very healthy too.
• Now grind coconut and jaggery along with jackfruit puces to smooth paste.

• Now wash and Idli rava and slowly mix little by little to avoid any lumps with the ground jackfruit paste.
• The paste should be thick so be careful while adding water.
• Keep this batter at least 1hour to set.
• After an hour start steaming this as normal we steam our normal idlies in a idli cooker and garnish with cashew nut pieces.
• Steam this for 20 mins.
• Serve hot with dollops of home made butter.

Ponsa (jackfruit) mulik

Summer is the season where you enjoy so many fruits like mangoes,watermelons,musk melons and of course  jackfruits.I love jackfruit especially barko type which is slightly hard compared to other variety that is tulvo which is very soft and little difficult to swallow.I really enjoy making so many dishes from this fruit.We konkanis make so many dishes from tender and ripe jackfruit like idli,mulik,payasam/garayi ,muddo,patholi,pappad,chips ..etc...
Today i am here with one of my favourite  jackfruit snack ie Ponsa Mulik as we call in konkani .Its  a soft sweet type bondas or you can call it jackfruit fritters ,which is usually served as a evening snack .

              In this dish i have used soft and mushy variety jackfruits we call it  tulvo in konkani .this variety is perfect to make these type dishes. I really thank to my son who enjoys climbing trees especially to pluck these jackfruits for me.I really enjoy making dishes with jackfruit which is my favourite too!

Ingredients:
jackfruit-11/2cups (10 bulbs)
Raw rice-1/2cup
Wheat semolina/soji/bombay rava-1 cup
Grated coconut-1cup
Jaggery-1cup or to taste
Salt-1/2tsp
oil for frying

Method:

•  I have used organic jaggery which has lovely dark brown color and awesome taste.Powder jaggery and grind it along with all the other ingredients except bombay rava to smooth  paste with 1/2 cup of water.

 You have to deseed before using it.You can use that seeds for making curries ,cutlets or desserts which i am going to post soon..

• Add wheat semolina/soji little by little and mix.Make a mixture of thick consistency so its easy to make a ball while frying.
• Now heat a oil in a pan  and start dropping one by one marble sized lump/ball in the oil.
• When it turns to dark golden take it out from the pan .
• Serve hot as a snack . 
• 

Saucy Crab

Today i got huge crabs which is my all time favourite seafood.I wanted to prepare something unusual dish without coconut and less spicy.Then i remember one dish my mom always used to make with other seafood For example :prawns ,clams or any other shell fish but she never prepared it with crabs so thought of trying that dish of her with my  crabs.
    My amma (mother) is a fantastic cook,coming from a small fishing village in the state of God's own country 'Kerala',She made a excellent dishes with seafood in which she is a master.

This recipe is very simple and less spicy compared to my earlier post  of  Kurla alley piyava Gashi/konkani style crab curry.


Ingredients:-
Crab-4
Onion-4( chopped finely)
Tomato-1( chopped finely)
Ginger paste-2tsp
Garlic paste-2tsp
Green chilly-4-5 slit
Turmeric-1/2tsp
Chilly powder-1/2 tsp
Tamarind pulp-1tsp
Cooking oil-1tbsp
Salt to taste

How to clean the crab:-

• Place the crab on the flat surface ,belly side up.
• Now you will see triangular -shaped belly flap,just pull that off  by holding the belly part tightly with your left hand and with your right hand  thumb try to pull off the shell like how you open the tiffin box and shell comes out easily.
• Now with a creaser cut off the ends of the legs and separate the claws from the crab.
• Now pull off the spongy gills and small paddles which is over the belly of crab.
• Now wash it under the water and cut into half from the centre of the belly to two pieces and keep aside.

Method:-

• Heat up your pan and add cooking oil.
• Stir fry the onions until they are light pink.
• Now add tomatoes and red chilly powder, keep stirring until tomatoes are soft and mushy.
• Now add Ginger and garlic paste and saute till you get nice aroma.
• Its time to add  some green chillies and turmeric and give a nice stir.
• When all the spices are done now its time to add pieces of crab along with tamarind paste and salt.
• Now add a cup of water,cover and cook on a low flame for 10 mins or till you get nice thick saucy crabs.

Serve hot with plain rice

Amrakhand

Yesterday i got some sweet ripe Alphanso/appus mangoes in the market.So while making Shrikhand  thought of making this Amrakhand which again  yoghurt based dessert but the difference is Amrakhand is flavoured with mango purée or pulp where as shrikhand is plain sweetened yoghurt. Gujarat is famous for both Amrakhand and Shrikhand.Both are served as a dessert or side dish with puris.

Ingredients:

1. Hung curd-2cups
2. Mango pulp-1cup(don't use any water while making)
3. Sugar-2tbsp or to taste depending on the sweetness of mango
4. Butter-1tbsp
5. Salt a pinch
6. Almonds few for garnishing

Making of hung curd:

• Hung curd is nothing but yoghurt from which excess water has been drained off
• For making hung curd you will need a muslin cloth ,bowl and sieve.
• Place a muslin cloth over a sieve (big one) and pour the yoghurt in the centre of the muslin cloth
• Tie up the muslin cloth tightly with a string and leave it over the sieve.
• Now keep this sieve over a huge bowl.This is important ,else you will end up with a puddle of whey.
• Now keep this inside the fridge for at least 8-9 hours.
• Now open the muslin cloth and you will get nice creamy yoghurt.

Note:-Don't discard the water strained from the yoghurt.You can use it for curries or while kneading dough or mix it with sour curd to make spicy buttermilk.

Method :

• Make mango pulp by puréeing mango pieces in a blender.
• Refrigerate the puree for at least 1hour. 
• Now with a help of a hand blender mix hung curd ,mango purée,butter and  sugar  till light and creamy .
• Then add the cardamom powder and salt and mix it well.
• Let it rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before serving.
• Garnish with crushed almonds before serving.

Note: Color of your  Amrakhand is depend on the type of mango used and Alphanso  mangoes are the best choice.If  you use amrakhand with puris then use only a cup of mango plup for 2 cups of hung curd in order to get a thicker Amrakhand.If you want little smooth dropping consistency as a dessert  then use curd and pulp  in 2:2 ratio you will get nice creamy Amrakhand.

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a famous Gujarati dessert which is prepared from hung curd or yoghurt sweetened with sugar and  flavoured with cardamom .
   I prepared this for breakfast along with poori which makes a excellent combo.You can serve this for dessert too with lots of nuts and can use some saffron to give that rich golden yellow colour to this dish.


Ingredients:
Curd-1ltr
Sugar-1cup(Powdered)
Cardamom-4-5 pods(powdered)
Almond-4-5( crushed)
Pistachios- 4-5 (crushed)

Making of hung curd:

• Hung curd is nothing but yoghurt from which excess water has been drained off
• For making hung curd you will need a muslin cloth ,bowl and sieve.
• Place a muslin cloth over a sieve (big one) and pour the yoghurt in the centre of the muslin cloth
• Tie up the muslin cloth tightly with a string and leave it over the sieve.
• Now keep this sieve over a huge bowl.This is important ,else you will end up with a puddle of whey.
• Now keep this inside the fridge for at least 8-9 hours.
• Now open the muslin cloth and you will get nice creamy yoghurt.

Note:-Don't discard the water strained from the yoghurt.You can use it for curries or while kneading dough or mix it with sour curd to make spicy buttermilk.

Method:

• Now take hung curd and mix it  well with powdered sugar .
• To get that creamy texture use hand blender and blend it well until sugar dissolves completely.
• Now mix in  cardamom and half  of the crushed almond and pistachios.
• Garnish with remaining nuts and serve chilled.
• You can serve it like a side dish with spicy pooris or can serve as a dessert.

Oats-Ginger Dosa

I am here with one more type of dosa which is not only healthy but yummy too.After my Appo/Gundu Ponglu/Paddu with oats thought of posting this one.In this dosa i have used  not only oats but ginger too which enhances the taste and the aroma of this dosa.

Ingredients:-
Raw rice-2 cups
Urad dal-1/2cup
Oat-1cup
Ginger-2 Big pieces
Salt to taste

Method:-

• Soak all the ingredients together for at least 6 hours except ginger..
• After 6 hours grind all the ingredients along with ginger to smooth paste.
• The batter should be little thick like idli batter.
• Now add salt and keep this overnight .
• Next day nicely mix the batter and start making dosas.
• Heat griddle and apply ghee and pour a ladle full of this batter and do not spread too much .This dosa should be little thicker.
• Now cover it with lid and let it cook on low flame.After an minute turn the dosa and fry on the other side till crisp .
• Serve hot with any chutney or sambar.

Sambarballi(cuban oregano) chutney/Tambuli

Sambarballi(cuban oregano) chutney/Tambuli

Sambarballi is a herb which is also know as cuben oregano.In kannada it is known as doddapatre and some call it sambrani .Leaves of this plants are aromatic and thick.This herb is widely know for its medicinal use especially in children.This herb is used for curing stomach related ailments like indigestion , constipation and acidity.You can also make the tea just boil some leaves along with coarsely ground cumin and coriander seeds which is very good in indigestion. I used to give the juice mixed with honey to my kid when they suffer from cough or cold.It has a cooling effect when mixed with curd so whenever i prepare this chutney i add curd and serve with rice.You can prepare variety of dishes like vada,bajji or in curry paste.

Ingredients

• 10-15 Sambarballi leaves
• 1cup Coconut grated
• 1 Onion-(chopped)
• 5 cloves Garlic
• 5-6 Green chilly
• 1/2tsp Cumin(jeera)
• 4-5 Pepper corn(optional)
• 1 cup Curd-(thick)
• 2-3 tsp of oil for frying.

Cooking Directions

1. Fry all the ingredients in oil on a low flame for a few minutes except coconut and curd.
2. Now grind it along with coconut to smooth paste with little water
3. Just before serving add curd and serve.
4. Goes well with plain rice.

• variation:- just omit curd and use tamarind Pulp.you can use this chutney with dosas or sandwiches .

Kori Sukka( dry chicken curry with coconut).. an authentic Manglorean dish

On the occasion of Mother's day  i am here with one of  my  amma's(mother )favourite dish Kori sukka.She used to love that dry masala more than the chicken.This is a very popular "Bunts" dish which is served on all occasions .Kori means chicken and sukka means dry dish.This dish is very popular through out the region of Tulu nadu in the south west of india.The cuisine of bunts is famous all over india.Some popular among them are kori ghashi,kori sukka,kaney masala,neer dosa,kori rotti,pundi gashi and Bangudey(mackerel ) puli munchi.

    Usually they prepare this dish with country chicken or free range, which is little hard and chewy compared to our broiler or farm fed chicken.This dish tastes goes well with our manglorean dishes  like idli,neer dosa or pundi/ oondi .Country chicken with skin tastes good.

Ingredients:-

1. Chicken-1(medium sized pieces with or without skin)
2. Red chillies-10-12
3. Coriander seeds-2tbsp
4. Cumin-3tsp
5. Ajwain/ova/oma-1/2tsp
6. Fenugreek seeds-1/4tsp
7. Pepper-1/2tsp
8. Garlic 1Pod
9. Tamarind-1small lemon sized ball
10. Coconut grated-1(4cups)
11. Turmeric powder-1/2tsp
12. Onion-4 chopped
13. Butter or oil-1tbsp
14. Salt to taste
15. Curry leaves-2 springs
16. Coconut oil/ veg oil-3tsp

Method

                                                     

• Heat 1tsp of oil and roast red chillies,coriander seeds,fenugreek,ajwain, cumin-1tsp and pepper corns very on low flame until the all the dry masalas changes to light brown color.

• For the 1st paste : grind roasted masala along with turmeric,1 pod of garlic and tamarind to smooth paste adding 1 cup of water and keep aside.

• For second paste : In the same jar grind coconut along with Cumin seeds to a coarse paste without adding any water ( just one or 2 round is more than enough while grinding.In this dish you should feel the coconut and jeera/cumin ,so keep it as coarse as possible).

 

• Now heat the remain oil or butter, add 1 chopped onion and saute for few seconds then add  the 1st masala paste along with chicken and salt and  do not forget to add plenty of curry leaves to get that nice fresh  flavour.
• Cover it with lid and boil till the chicken is cooked well.
• At this state add second masala paste* and mix it well ,let the masala coats the chicken pieces. cook  on high flame till the dish is fairly dry.Switch off the gas .
• Now take a small pan and add little coconut oil ( i prefer coconut oil which enhances the flavour of this dish ) or any other veg oil.when its hot add onion and remaining curry leaves and fry until onions turns to golden brown .Temper the Kori/ chicken sukka with fried onion and curry leaves.
• Serve hot with Paan pola/neer dosa or plain boiled rice.