Machli Chutney wali.....

Recipe courtesy: Raj kamal chopra ,executive chef,Mugalai sheraton,Agra

My hubby loves seafood,me not so much but love to cook. Yesterday i got this beautiful flat type fish similar to pomfret ( locally known as kapi) and tastes as good as pomfret .So when i started searching my recipe collection i got this recipe from my old 1999 march edition of Woman's era and it looked like something my husband would enjoy but at the same time i wanted to give him less oily food so instead of frying i steamed this fish in banana leaf( i have not used any oil in his fish only me and kids enjoyed it with ground nut oil which gives nutty flavour.The recipe is very simple and worth trying.

Ingredients

• 4 Pomfret or any other flat variety fish
• 1tbsp Lemon juice
• 1tsp Red chilly powder
• 1tbsp ginger -garlic paste
• 6-7 Green chillies
• 1 cup fresh coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup green mint leaves/pudina
• 2tsp Amchur /dry mango powder
• 2tbsp ground nut oil

Cooking Directions

First marinate the fillets with lemon juice,red chilli powder and salt and refrigirate for 15 mins.
Next prepare chutney with green chillies,coriander and mint.
Marinate the fish with this green chutney,amchur powder, ginger-garlic paste and some ground nut oil,refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

Check for seasoning before steaming the fish.Take one banana leaf cut into 12" square pieces and gently roast over the flame to make soften the leaf.

Now apply some oil over the leaf then carefully place the fish with the chutney and carefully wrap it in a banana leaf.

Heat a non-stick pan and place the warped fish,cover it with a lid and cook on slow flame for about 10 mins on one side ,then slowly turn the fish and let it cook for about 3-4 mins.

Note: If you want to fry this fish then just heat a thick bottomed griddle on medium heat and grill these marinated fish using little oil( grill each side for about 3 mins)
To serve spread on a platter and garnish it with lemon wedges,onion rings and chaat masala( which is sprinkled on top of the fish)

spicy chicken drum sticks

Recipe by Preethi baliga

My kids love spicy drumstick glazed with honey.This is very easy version of drumstick and very good choice for your parties as it takes only few mints for preparation with really simple marination.You can prepare this previous day of your party and just an hour before serving start roasting and i am sure you and your friends going to love this.

Ingredients

• 5 chicken legs (preferably skin on)
• 1tbsp Ginger- garlic paste
• 1tbsp Red chilly paste
• 1tsp Spice powder
• 2tbsp light soy sauce
• 2tbsp Honey
• 1/4tsp Orange- red( food) colour
• 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1tbsp melted butter

Cooking Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients except chicken legs and give it a nice stir.
2. Add chicken legs and cover the bowl with cling film,then place into fridge to marinate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
4. Place the chicken drumstick onto a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until the skin is golden and the chicken is cooked through. (To check, pierce the drumstick at its thickest part, next to the bone. The juices should run clear.)

How to make red chilly paste.

• Soak 6-7 kashmiri red chillies in warm water for about 30 mins and grind to smooth paste by adding little salt.Be careful while adding salt because both soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce contains salt so just a pinch of salt is more than enough while making this paste.

Udupi brahmin saru / rasam

Recipe by Preethi baliga

I love almost all kind of south indian sambar and rasam or saru as popularly know in dakshin kannada but this udupi brahmin style saru is one of my favourite.I simply love its aroma and unique southern flavour. Some people use tomatoes instead of tamrind but i love this with tamarind which once again gives an authentic flavour and aroma of south indian rasam.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients

• 1tbsp Fresh coconut grated
• 5-6 Kashmiri red chillies
• 1tsp Coriander seeds
• 1/2tsp Cumin seeds
• 4-5 Pepper corns
• 8-9 Fenugreek/methi seeds
• 1/4tsp Turmeric
• 1/4tsp Asafoetida/ Hing
• a pinch of Black thil( optional)
• 1 Marble sized ball Tamarind
• 1tsp Jaggery
• 1/2tsp Mustard
• 1 spring Curry leaves
• 2 red chillies( cut into pieces)
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Cooking Directions

1. Dry roast all the ingredients except jaggery ,tamarind and salt on low flame for 5-6 mins.
2. Once it is cool down grind it to smooth paste by adding one marble sized ball of tamarind.
3. Now add this paste to a sauce pan along with One litre of water.
4. Now add salt and jaggery and bring to boil and switch off the gas.
5. Take a tempering pan and add oil.Let it heat then add mustard followed by red chillies and curry leaves and temper this to saru/ rasam.
6. Garnish with few coriander leaves.
7. Aromatic udupi brahmin style rasam/ saru is ready to go with your hot rice.

Andhra style fish fry.. Chepa vepudu

Recipe by Preethi baliga

I got this recipe from my old recipe collection.Though i never tried this before until my kids wanted something different from our usual fish fry.So while searching i got this amazing recipe.we all loved it so much...I do prepare similar fish fry but never used tomato or pepper before. i am sure you and your family going to love it ...

Prep time: 20-25 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Ingredients

• 10 Fillets of Indian salmon/Ravas
• 1 Onion
• 1 Piece Ginger( 1")
• 1 Pod Garlic
• 2 Green chillies
• 1 Tomato
• 1/4 cup Coriander leaves
• 1/4 cup Thick curd
• 1tsp chilly powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2tsp Pepper powder
• 1/2 cup Rava/semolina
• 1tsp turmeric powder

Cooking Directions

1. Clean fish fillets,marinate with salt and turmeric for 15 mins.
2. Meanwhile grind masala paste using chopped onion,tomato,ginger,garlic,green chilly,coriander leaves,curd and salt to taste.( do not add any water while grinding and be careful with the seasoning as we have already used salt while marinating the fish).Prepare smooth thick paste.
3. Now apply this masala paste to fish fillets and keep aside for 10 mins.
4. After 10 mins beat an egg and pepper, then gently roll all the fillets in this mixture.
5. Then coat it well with rava/semolina.
6. Heat shallow frying pan ,add oil and fry all the fillets until all the sides are golden brown.
7. Serve hot with onion rings and slices of lemon

Chana upkari .

chana Upkari

Upkari is a dry dish usually stir fried.You can use any type lentils or beans or vegetables to prepare this easy and tasty dish.Normally we konkanis prepare this on Friday's combination with beaten rice /pova chutney or Godu povu(sweet beaten rice) for breakfast.This is also served in temples as prasad.I prepared this on krishna janmashtami along with some other dishes as a prasad to Lord Krishna. You prepare this with a combination with sweet potato or cooking plantain which is really a deadly combination

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Ingredients

• 1 cup Bengal gram
• 1tbsp Grated coconut
• 1tsp Mustard
• 2-3 Red chilly (dried cut into pieces)
• 1/2tsp Asafoetida/hing
• 1 spring curry leaves
• 2-3 tsp coconut oil/veg oil

 

Cooking Directions

• Soak chana/chik peas overnight in 4-5 cups of water( In winter season add a pinch of baking soda while soaking for that extra softness )
• Now pressure cook chana /chick peas 3-4 cups of water for 3 whistle.Do not forget to add salt while cooking chana for better taste.
• Now heat a kadai/wok add in some coconut oil or any other oil ( we konkani's prefer coconut oil specially for this upkari ).
• Now add some mustard and wait till it crackles .
• Now add red chilly pieces followed by curry leaves and little hing/asafoetida.Stir it well .

• Now add Cooked chana/chick peas.
• Add little salt if necessary and cook till the dish is almost dry.
• Finish it with  grated coconut and mix it well for a minute and switch off the gas.
• Chana upkari is ready to serve.

Krishnashtami parasad

Sheer Khurma/sewaiyan kheer/vermicelli pudding

Happy Eid to all my Muslim friends... Today i am here rich dessert called "Sheer Kurma" specially prepared during the month of ramzan with lots of dates and nuts.This is the main dessert that is served on Eid day .Sheer means sweetened milk and khurma is made from dried dates. This special dish is served on the morning of Eid day in the family after the Eid prayer as breakfast, and throughout the day to all the visiting guests. in this dessert they use special vermicelli called sevaiyan which is thinner than vermicelli.The consistency of this dessert should be thin as they serve this in a tea cups.so this dessert is supposed to drink.Try to make sheer khurma with thin roasted vermicelli else will spoil its authenticity. So be ready and celebrate your festivals with this vermicelli delight.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Ingredients

• 1 litre Milk
• 1cup Vermicelli( roasted)/sevaiyan
• 15 Dates
• 2tbsp Coconut ( cut into thin slices)
• 10 Cashew nut( cut into pieces)
• 10 Pistachios ( chopped)
• 1tbsp Charoli/chirongi
• 4-5 Almond( blanched)
• 11/2cups Sugar
• saffron a pinch/kesari milk masala Powder
• 1tbsp ghee/clarified butter
• 1/2tsp cardamom powder

Cooking Directions

1. Soak dry dates in warm milk for 30 mins and then cut into long thin slices
2. Boil milk with dates,coconut pieces and sugar till it reduces to 3/4 of its quantity
3. Now add roasted vermicelli and boil further 5 mins or till desired consistency is obtained.
4. In a pan add ghee .In that add dry nuts and fry gently for few seconds.
5. Now add all the nuts into the boiled vermicelli along with saffron( i have used 2tsp of kesari milk masala powder )
6. If you are using saffron soak it in warm milk for 10 mins and add it just before the nuts and also add cardamom powder.
7. Sheer kurma is ready to serve.Enjoy this delicacy hot or chilled

Idli with a twist...Corn- pepper masala stuffed idli

I just love south indian breakfast especially idlies But my kids are very fussy when it comes to south indian food.So to make this humble idli more interesting each time i present it with a new look. This time i tried this stuffing and they simply love it as i have prepared some garlic sauce to get along with this yummy idles.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Yield: 15
Ingredients

• 5 cups Idli batter
• 1 cup fresh or frozen sweet corn
• 1 Red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1tsp Curry powder/garam masala powder
• Salt to taste
• 2-3tsp Butter

 

Cooking Directions

1. Heat butter in shallow pan.
2. Add sweet corn,finely chopped bell pepper and saute for 2mins.
3. Now add in some salt and curry powder and mix it well,switch off the gas
4. Stuffing is ready.

 

1. Now heat some water in idli cooker and arrange the idli tray.
2. First add a table spoon of  corn filling in each mould and then pour some batter and steam for about 10 mins.
3. Goes well with spicy garlic sauce.

Drumstick leaves Dal

drumstick leaves dal and square roti

Drumstick leaves are packed with vitamins and minerals especially vitamin A and C.Nutritional analysis show that the leaves are very high in protein and contain all of essential amino acids,including 2 amino acids that are especially important in children's diet. When my 11 year old son heard me telling all the benefits of it and he at once went and got me one huge branch of this tree and asked me to prepare some dal and from that day onwards he daily asks me to prepare something out of it.My mom too loves this leaves a lot so whenever i go to my native i do take some leaves and some flowers of drumsticks which is as tasty as leaves for my mom.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1cup Chanadal/Bengal gram dal
• 2cups Drumstick leaves
• 7-8 Garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 Green chillies
• 2-3 tsp Sambar Powder/Garam masala powder
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2tsp Cumin seeds
• 8-10 Curry leaves
• 2-3 tsp Oil/ghee
• Salt to taste
• 1 (marble sized) Tamarind ball

drumstick  leaves dal

Cooking Directions

1. Soak chana dal/Bengal gram dal for an hour in 1 litre of water.
2. Heat oil or ghee in a pressure cooker.
3. Add mustard and cumin let it splutter then add curry leaves followed by crushed garlic, green chillies,saute for a second.
4. Add roughly chopped drumstick leaves and turmeric powder, again saute for a minute or until you get the nice aroma of drumstick leaves.
5. Now Add sambar or garam masala Powder ( i have used sambar powder) and mix it well.
6. Soak Tamarind in hot water and squeeze out all the pulp
7. Now add chanadal along with the water,tamarind pulp and salt to taste.Now cover it with cooker lid and take 3 whistle .Let it cool before opening the lid
8. Spicy dal is ready to serve. Pour some ghee to enhance the taste.
9. serve hot with rice or roti

Easy way to make rose water

Rose water or Gulab jal is quite popular in india.The benefits of rose water can be enjoyed by simply making it at home.There are many ways of making rose water.Today i am here with an easy and simple method of making rose water at home.rose water has several benefits.You can use this in any face mask for that cooling effect and also helps to reduce wrinkles and moisturises your skin.It can be used on any skin type without causing much irritation. You can include this rose water in your daily diet too.All you have to do is just add some rosewater to your milk along with some gulkand to get that rich rose flavoured drink or you can use it in some other Indian desserts like gulab jamoon and pedas.You can even add this to your cakes,puddings and biscuits. Rose water is a well-known for its natural healing properties as a good anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory product and can be used in treating wounds. For sunburns, rose water can be gently rubbed over the affected area or when taking a bath, add a few drops and relax while the magic takes effect

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2cups Rose petals
• 4 cups Distilled Water
• 1 glass jar (sterilized )

Cooking Directions

1. Freshly pick some roses from your garden which is pesticide and chemical free.
2. Make sure you to pick just opened flowers during early morning hours before the sun gets hot on the plants.
3. When it comes to choosing roses Red or pink roses are most commonly used to make rose water but other colors are acceptable as well Truly, it is more important that the roses be organic than that they be any particular type or color.
4. Pluck the rose petals and make sure to choose only the good ones. Put the rose petals in the bowl and wash thoroughly .
5. Now take one sterilized glass jar and add all the petals .
6. Now boil distilled water and pour this over the rose petals and cover it with a lid until the liquid is cool.You see petals have lost their colour,the water the water has taken On the colour of the rose petals
7. Carefully strain the water using the kitchen strainer and let it cool. You then have the option of adding alcohol like vodka to preserve your rosewater or as it is just add 1 part of vodka to 8 parts of rosewater

Tri colour pinwheel sandwiches

Recipe by Preethi baliga

India is celebrating 65th independence day today so thought of making tri colour sandwich using 3 colours of our national flag ie saffron,white and green.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 0
Total time: 20Mins
Yield: 12
Ingredients

• 12 slices Sandwich bread
• 1/2 cup Green chutney
• 1/2 cup Tomato chilly sauce
• 2 Potato( boiled)
• 1 Cucumber( grated and squeezed)
• 1/2tsp Pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 2tbsp butter

Cooking Directions

1. Grind 1/2 cup coriander leaves,1/2 cup mint leaves 1 lemon sizec ball of tamarind, 2green chillies and salt and sugar to taste.Grind all the ingredients to fine paste and your green chutney is filling is ready
2. Method of making potato filling 1st mash potatoes and mix it with grated cucumber.Now add some salt and pepper and mix it well.your second filling is ready now.
3. Now its time to make the sandwiches ,Cut crust off and then arrange 3 slices in a row at a time for each sandwich roll.
4. Put water on the edge of each slice and put another slice on it and roll with a help of rolling pin .Spread with butter
5. Now spread green chutney on 1st slice then potato filling on the 2nd slice and on the 3rd slice spread some tomato chilly sauce.
6. Now gently roll the bread slices and use and aluminium foil to roll your sandwiches.
7. Put in the freezer for 5 min or in the refrigerator for an hour .
8. Now take it out from the fridge and cut into 3-4 pieces and serve.

Cow's colostrum Kalakand...a famous Indian sweet

Recipe by Preethi baliga

Kalakand is a famous indian sweet of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Rasjasthan prepared from milk and milk cheese/Paneer.But here i have used Cow's/bovine colostrum milk to prepare this dish as it is very healthy and good for growing kids.Colostrum is the early milk produced for a few days after delivery. In cows, it's called bovine colostrum. This milk is apparently rich in immunoglobulins which are certain types of protein involved in promoting the immune system and fighting germs. There are other types of compounds in it such as growth factors, nucleosides, etc., that are not found in regular milk.It really boost your immunity.

Prep time: 0
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Yield: 11/2cups
Ingredients

• 1cup 1st day cow colostrum milk
• 4 cups 2nd day cow colostrum milk
• 1cup sugar
• 1tsp cardamom powder
• 1tbsp Pistachios( chopped)
• 1/4tsp Kesar/saffron

Cooking Directions

1. Mix both 1st and 2nd days milk and pour this in a Sauce pan
2. Now start boiling the milk and keep on boiling till the water dries up completely.
3. when the mixture is almost dry add sugar and continue stirring for 10 mins or till its dry and leaves the side of the pan.
4. Add in Cardamom powder,crushed pistachios and saffron and mix it well.
5. Now transfer this mixture to a round plate and flatten it with a spoon and let it cool completely .
6. Cut into desired sized pieces and serve chilled

Kacchi dabeli masala

When i think about street food in india one things comes to my mind that is paani puri or gol gappas.But few years one of my neighbour intruduced me to  this "Kacchi dabeli" it was awesome.I really started liking this more than bhel puri which was once upon a time was my favourite .Dabeli is nothing but a stuffed pav/burger with potato,ground nut , pomegranate and lots of shev with sweet and sour chutney.
  Today i am posting only the masala powder which is used in dabeli.Actually i  have prepared  this masala specially for some of my friends  who keep asking me about this masala.So thinking of preparing this weekend.

Ingredients:

Coriander-1/2cup

Jeera-1/4 cup

Saunf/fennel -1tbsp

Mace/javethri-2 small pieces

Cloves-1tbsp

Cinnamon-6-7(1" pieces)

Red chillies(preferably kashmiri)-20

Method:

• Dry roast all the ingredients till all the masala's are roasted well.
• Let it cool for a while then ground to fine powder .
• Store this in an air tight container

You can use this masala for any other dishes instead of garam masala and chilly powder.

Tomato rice

This dish is very popular in south india prepared with ripened tomatoes.This rice goes well with plain yoghurt or yoghurt salad.

Ingredients: 
Precooked Rice-4 cups
Ripe tomatoes-3-4( chopped)
Sambar masala-1tbsp
Cardamom-1
Cinnamon-1" piece
Onion-2(sliced)
Cumin-1tsp
Garlic-2 crushed(optional

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp of ghee +1tbsp of oil,in that add cardamom,cinnamon and cumin and if you are using garlic add that also.
• Now add in sliced onion and saute until its turns to golden brown color.
• Add in tomatoes  along with sambar powder,salt and sugar( optional) and let the tomatoes cook until mushy.
• Now add precooked rice ( you can use left over rice too) and mix it well with the tomato masala.Cover it with a lid and cook on low flame for about 5-6 mins.
• Its ready to serve.

Serve hot with  thick plain yoghurt ...You can pack this in your kids lunch box  too.

Naral vadi with a twist /coco-beet burfi

We Hindu's celebrate many festival during month of Shravan.Today on the full moon day (purnima) Throughout  maharashtra  people celebrate this day as Naral purnima. naral means coconut which is offered to sea god.The festival also marks the beginning of the new fishing season.So many people prepare this  coconut wadi on this occasion.Apart from naral purnima we also celebrate Raksha bandan and Nulu hunnime/sutta punnav.So on this special occasion  thought of preparing this popular dish of maharashtra with little twist.In this burfi i have used beetroot to get that nice pink color.

Ingredients:
 Fresh grated coconut-2cups
Sugar-13/4cup
Beet root grated-1/4cup
Milk-1/4cup
Cardamom -4-5
Fresh cream-1/2cup
Cashewnuts -8-10(  lightly crushed)

 Method:

• Mix all the ingredients and make a coarse paste in a mixer.

Now transfer the ground paste to a kadai/pan and keep on stirring on medium flame so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan .It will take about 15- 20 mins to become thick.

   

Let it cook until its starts leaving the sides of the pan.Now immediately   transfer this to a greased plate/thali.

Now with a help of a rolling pin roll into a 1" thick layer.Cut into desired shape pieces.Let it cool and its ready to serve.