Lucknowi Mutton curry

Lucknow city is famous for its monuments and delicious mughlai cuisine.Food is the soul of lucknow.People from all over the world come  here to enjoy the rich culture and historical monument along with delicious mughlai cuisine like kababs,biryani and dumphukth dishes which seal the aroma of the meat and the whole spices in which they are cooked.

                      Today i am here with famous lucknowi mutton curry which is my all time favourite mutton curry.You can add mutton leg/paya pieces also to this curry to get that thick gravy.

Ingredients:- 

Mutton-1kg

Tomatoes-2

Curd-1/2cup

Onions-5

Cashew nut-10

Poppy seeds-1/2tsp

Ginger-2(1"piece)

Cloves-6-7

Pepper corns-5-6

Red chilly-7-8

Garlic-2 pod

Cinnamon -3  pieces

Coriander leaves-1/2cup(chopped)

Oil-2tbsp

Salt to taste.

Method:-

• Marinate the mutton with curd and salt to taste.
• Roast  whole onion over the direct flame and keep aside.
• Dry roast poppy seeds,chillies,cinnamon,cloves and pepper corns.
• Now grind roasted onion,tomatoes , cashew nut and roasted masalas to a fine paste .
• Grind ginger and garlic to smooth paste and keep aside
•  Now heat the pressure cooker pan  and add oil.In that add ginger-garlic paste and fry for few seconds.
• Now add marinated mutton pieces and fry further 5mins.
• Now add the ground masala  and add 2 cups of water and cover the lid and cook for 20 mins or till done.
• Now open the and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with hot pulka or naan.

Sol kadi/kokum kadi

Kokum/birinda/sol is a fruit widley available fruit in konkan region,Goa and some parts of Karnataka. This red coloured fruit is believed to be very useful in summer because of it cooling effect on the body. The drink prepared with this fruit is very refreshing it not only quenches your thirst,but also helps to prevents dehydration and sunstroke due to heat.

                           We konkani's use this for preparing juices,kadis and use it for curries instead of tamarind especially for fish curries.Today i am going to tell about this sol kadi which is one konkani speciality .Our lunch is incomplete without this sol kadi specially in summer.You can buy dried rind or readily available syrup for making this kadi.

Ingredients

Dried kokum rind-10

Coconut grated-2cups

Green chillies-4-5

Fresh coriander leaves-1tbsp

Asafoetida-1/2tsp

Garlic-4-5 pods

Salt to taste.

Method;- 

• Soak kokum in a cup of warm water for 30mins,to soften and to release the juice.After 30 mins when the water turns to dark pink color squeeze the kokum rinds and strain the juice and keep aside.
• Grind coconut along with all the ingredients except kokum to smooth paste adding 2cups of water.
• Now mix the kokum juice to cocunut paste,mix it well and then  strain the juice.
• Now you will get nice thick kadi .Add again 4 cups of water and salt to taste.
• For enhance the taste  of this kadi serve chilled.

Agua de pina

Agua de pina is nothing but simple pineapple water or juice as we call it in india.It is available all over mexican street stands and served in restaurants .Simply to make this juice more interesting for my kids i gave Mexican name to my juice.

Ingredients:-
Pineapple chunks-2cups
Sugar-1/4cup
Crushed ice-2cups full

Method:-

• Blend pineapple and sugar in a blender .
• Fill the glasses with crushed ice and pour the juice and serve with pineapple wedges .