Category: Appetizer

Categories
Appetizer Chutney Condiments Indian Maharashtrian Vegan Vegetarian

Green Tomato Chutney

Green Tomato Chutney

In Solapur dry chutneys are more popular. Of course the most famous one, Peanut chutney along with Flaxseed and garlic chutney often grace the dinner plate. They have a long shelf life and that’s critical in the hot arid weather of Solapur. However there are a few wet chutneys that are also made often here, and one of them is this Green Tomato chutney.

I am not sure why but its called Bel Vangyachi chutney as well. This recipe is a classic example of how a few simple, humble ingredients can create magic. You take a bite of this and there is a burst of flavor in your mouth. It comes together real quick too

Often times in Solapur when the jowar bhakri (sorghum flat bread) is made on the wooden chulha, the bhakri is kept to get crunchy. While that’s happening, on the same iron pan on which the bhakri is made, this chutney, or Pithale, or Mirchi Kharda (Green chili chutney) are made. I feel its such an efficient way of cooking.

Bhakri on the chulha

I love growing vegetables and every summer when the tomatoes are growing in the garden, I look forward to making this recipe. My Mom says, the perfect tomato should be not 100% green, it should have a tinge of yellow. So I make sure I pick such tomatoes for the chutney.

I pick green ones to make Fried Green tomatoes, Louisiana style

The recipe is super simple but I guarantee you will love it

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Solapur style Green tomato chutney

Super easy to make recipe using fresh green tomatoes that packs a flavor

Course Appetizer, condiment
Cuisine Indian, Maharashtrian
Keyword Chutney, Green tomatoes, spicy chutney

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 2 Almost green tomatoes see the details above
  • 5 Green chilies adjust the amount to your taste
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • 1/2 Tsp Turmeric
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 2 Tbsp Roasted Peanut Powder

For the Tempering

  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1/2 Tsp Turmeric
  • 1 Tbsp Chopped cilantro

Instructions

Chutney

  1. Heat the oil in the pan

  2. While the oil is heating, chop the tomatoes in medium size pieces. Chop garlic and green chilies in big pieces

  3. Add turmeric to the oil

  4. Add the chili and garlic to the oil, make sure the oil is not too hot. We don’t want any color on the garlic or the chilies. We just need to soften them

  5. Add tomatoes and sauté on medium heat. Add salt.

  6. Cover and let the chili, garlic and tomatoes soften

  7. Now using a pestle mash the ingredient to a coarse consistency right on the pan. You can also use a blender or mortar pestle to do this. You can want to have a coarse texture and not a paste

Make the tempering

  1. In a small pan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and turmeric.

Assembly

  1. Add the peanut powder and the tempering to the tomato mixture

  2. Garnish with chopped cilantro

Categories
Appetizer Healthy foods Indian Maharashtrian Side dish Snack Vegan Vegetarian

Kairchi Daal

Gudhi padwa is celebrated in Maharashtra, India as a new year. Across India the same day is celebrated by different names but the spirit is the same. We look at nature, and you can see that spring is in the air and this day is the celebration of the new beginnings. Bengali celebrate ‘poila boishokh’ , Keralite celebrate Vishu and so much more.  Not just in India but even Zoroastrians celebrate ‘Nowrouz’ which marks the first day of the spring. On this day they have a platter newly sprouting wheat is always on the table along with other things. 

I feel you feel like celebrating if you just look around. Where I live, there are beautiful blossoms everywhere, when I go for a walk, I see beautiful wildflowers, mustard fields with yellow flower and just a sense of rejuvenation. 

We went for a beautiful hike in a state park and saw so many beautiful wild flowers, it was just breathtaking. 

I picked a few of these and decided to make a Gudhi using those. 

In India, especially in Maharashtra we celebrate Navratri which starts on Gudhi Padwa. Often there are Haldi Kunku which is a gathering for women, an informal social gathering. The celebration is for a goddess and I remember very fondly my Aai coming up with amazing ideas for decorations. One year we had recreated a famous garden from southern india, another year was a beautiful swing made with flowers and plants. As a kid I loved helping Aai with this event.

This is also the season when you start seeing Green mangoes on the tree in India. So naturally traditionally two dishes using the green mango are always made for this haldi kunku, Aam Panhe, a drink made with cooked green mango & jaggery and the second is this , Kairichi Daal.

I love both of these things very much. Today when I picked up the green mango to make this, it turned out not very sour but the kiwis I picked up from the farmers market were so sour, so voila, a new dish is born. I added some Kiwi and the results were quite delicious.

It a super easy recipe, hope you guys like it. If you have any such traditions, I would love to know about them. 🙂

I have also written the recipe in Marathi, hope thats useful to some.

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Kiwi Green Mango Lentil Salad

This is a typical dish made during the spring while the mangoes are still green and tart. Soaked lentils add a perfect crunch to this salad

Ingredients

साहित्य

  • 2 Cups Chana Daal
  • 1/2 Cup Peeled and grated Green Mango
  • 2 Kiwi Peeled and chopped
  • 3-4 Green Chili paste
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Freshly grated coconut
  • 1-2 Tbsp Chopped mint leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Chopped cilantro

For tempering

  • 3 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 Tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1 Tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1/4 Tsp Asafetida
  • 3 Dry red chilies
  • 1 Sprig Curry leaves

Instructions

Method

  1. Soak the lentils for 4-5 hours at the least 

  2. Drain and crush them in mortar pestle, make sure you don’t make a fine paste

  3. Mix sugar, salt, coconut, mint, cilantro in the crushed lentils. Once its completely mixed, add the kiwi and green mango. 

  4. Heat oil in a pan. Check if its hot by adding a couple of mustard seeds, if they splutter add the rest of the ingredients and saute for 30 secs. Make sure it does not burn 

  5. Add this tempering to the lentil mixture. The salad is now ready 

  6. Serve at room temperature

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Kiwi Green Mango Lentil Salad

This is a typical dish made during the spring while the mangoes are still green and tart. Soaked lentils add a perfect crunch to this salad

Ingredients

साहित्य

  • 2 Cups Chana Daal
  • 1/2 Cup Peeled and grated Green Mango
  • 2 Kiwi Peeled and chopped
  • 3-4 Green Chili paste
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup Freshly grated coconut
  • 1-2 Tbsp Chopped mint leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Chopped cilantro

For tempering

  • 3 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 Tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1 Tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1/4 Tsp Asafetida
  • 3 Dry red chilies
  • 1 Sprig Curry leaves

Instructions

Method

  1. Soak the lentils for 4-5 hours at the least 

  2. Drain and crush them in mortar pestle, make sure you don’t make a fine paste

  3. Mix sugar, salt, coconut, mint, cilantro in the crushed lentils. Once its completely mixed, add the kiwi and green mango. 

  4. Heat oil in a pan. Check if its hot by adding a couple of mustard seeds, if they splutter add the rest of the ingredients and saute for 30 secs. Make sure it does not burn 

  5. Add this tempering to the lentil mixture. The salad is now ready 

  6. Serve at room temperature

Categories
Appetizer Bengali British European Protein Snack Vietnamese

East-er Eggs – Indian scotch eggs

You know how some ideas just keep brewing in your head but it takes forever for it to happen, but when it happens its even better than what you had imagined. Today’s recipe is one of those recipes.

It has two may be three recipes. They are different and yet complimentary and there is one thing that ties them together. I get excited and happy when that common thread works just so wonderfully.

Part One – London & Kolkata

I visited Kolkata with the family and absolutely loved the Bengali cuisine, especially the snacks and the sweets. The sweets made with fresh chenna that melt in your mouth are to die for. We were there when the most prized ‘Nolen Gur’ was in season and the sweet shops were showcasing various things made using this liquid gold, I fell in love with this Gud. The softest Rosogulla and sandesh made using this Gud were my favorite.

There are many snacks that are popular in Bengal. Different types of kachoris, Jhal Moori which is a snack made with puffed rice and the famous ‘chaap’ to name a few. The word ‘chaap’ possibly comes the english word Chop, but this one has no meat in it and instead is made from different vegetables, especially beets which gives it the classic red color. Its served with chutney like most Indian snacks.

I started making these chaap ever since then and everyone loves them.

I love traveling, within the country, internationally, alone, with a group, I just love to travel and more often than not, food is a critical component of my itinerary. So even when I was on a business trip to London, I made sure I visited the grocery store and local market and tried some of the specialities. One of the things I ate for the first time was Scotch Eggs. An egg wrapped up in minced meat and fried, then cut open and served with some mustard, its a popular pub food. I love eggs in any form so I had obviously liked these.

Today I decided to borrow on these two ideas for a a recipe I had in mind.

Beet Scotch Eggs

I took the beet mixture from the Bengali chaap, wrapped it around very soft boiled egg and deep fried it.. result.. delicious !!!!

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Bangla Scotch Eggs with Kasundi

This recipe is inspired from two dishes I tasted and loved. 

Ingredients

  • 4 Beets Boiled and grated
  • 1 Potato Boiled and mashed
  • 1 Onion Finely chopped
  • 1/2 Tsp Garlic Paste
  • 1/2 Tsp Ginger Paste
  • 1/2 Tsp Garam Masala
  • 3/4 Tsp Roasted Jeera Powder
  • 1/2 Tsp Red Chili powder
  • 1 Green chili Finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 Eggs

For coating

  • 1/3 Cup Maida/ All purpose flour
  • 1/3 Cup Water
  • 3/4 Cup Bread Crumbs

For Frying

  • Oil

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and saute till soft

  2. Don’t let them caramelize 

  3. Add ginger and garlic paste and saute for a few secs

  4. Add the grated beet and saute till its almost dry 

  5. Now add cooked potato thats very well mashed

  6. Mix and saute well till the mixture is dry 

  7. Add salt, a pinch of sugar, garam masala, cumin powder and red chili powder

  8. Mix well 

  9. Add green chilies and turn the heat off 

  10. Set the mixture aside to cool 

Cooking the eggs

  1. Boil water in a sauce pan

  2. Once the water comes to a boil, slowly add all the eggs in the pot

  3. Cook for 4-5 mins with a rolling boil

  4. Drain the eggs  and run  under  cold water 

  5. Peel the eggs and set aside 

Batter for Frying

  1. Make slurry with the all purpose flour and water. The slury should be thin but thick enough the coat the egg. 

  2. Take the breadcrumbs in a bowl and season with some salt

Heat some oil in a deep pan on medium heat

Frying the eggs

  1. Take one eggs and fourth of the beet mixture. 

  2. Cover the egg completely with the beet mixture, making sure the coating is even and no gaps. Press the coating tightly, this ensures that the coating will not fall off while frying 

  3. Dip this beet covered egg in the slurry, ensure it oats the whole surface

  4. Roll it in the breadcrumbs 

  5. Fry the egg in the oil on medium heat till its crisp all around

  6. Let it cool and then cut it in half carefully. Since the egg is half boiled, the yolk would be soft and spreadable

  7. Serve with pickled onions and Kashundi 

Part two- California, Bengal

I love eggs and I love to eat them in any form, wait did I already say that? Anyway so I love making sandwiches as the weather gets warmer and one of my favorite is Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich. Crusty white roll with even crunchier pickled vegetables, its a treat. I feel that pickles of all kind can perk up even a boring meal. Although now pickles are made in every part of the world, it is said that the process of pickling might have started in 2400 B.C in Mohenjo Daro. No matter who started making it, it sure is a favorite of many unless you are in a pickle ( get it 🙂 , sometimes I surprise myself with my play on words, hehe !)

So I wanted to pickle my eggs to make egg sandwich and then I got inspiration from the ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ who add beets to their pickling process and I did just that. But I wanted to make it a little different and drew on my Indian spice box and one of favorite spice mix, Panch Phoran. Panch Phoran translates to Five Spices, it comes from Bengal, east India. Typically it has fenugreek, Cumin, Mustard seeds, Nigella seeds and Fennel. I love it because even though its simple, it delivers amazing flavor to any dish you add, daal, meat, fish or even pickle 🙂

These pickled eggs provide the much needed acidity to the fried Beet Scotch eggs.

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Panch Phoran pickled eggs

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp Panch Phoran recipe on the blog
  • 1 1/2 Cup Red Wine Vingar
  • 4 Tbsp Thinly sliced shallot or red onions
  • 2 Beets Sliced or qurtered
  • 2 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1 Tbsp Salt
  • 4 Eggs Soft Boiled
  • 1 sprig Mint to serve
  • 1 Tbsp Kasundi to serve

Instructions

  1. Mix salt & sugar in the red wine vinegar and stir till dissolved 

  2. Gently pound the panch phoran and add to the vinegar

  3. Take a glass jar and add the eggs, sliced shallot and beets to it

  4. Pour over the vinegar mixture

  5. Close the lid and let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 days 

  6. When ready to serve, cut the eggs in half carefully

  7. Chop the pickled onions and beets finely

  8. Top the egg with the chopped onions and beets 

  9. Garnish with mint and kasundi 

Recipe Notes

 

Panch Phoran : Here is a simple recipe for your reference 

Don’t keep the eggs for longer than 3 days, you will not have a beautiful demarkation of red/pink and white

To soft boil the eggs, add eggs to boiling water and cook for 5 mins. Drain and run under cold water and peel 

You can also make deviled eggs with this. 

 

 

Categories
Appetizer Fusion Maharashtrian Snack Vegetarian

Sweet Potato Hasselback Dabeli

I love street food. I feel that is an easy, fast and cheap way to experience the local cuisine. Anytime I travel to a new place, I make sure I visit the local markets and enjoy the street food. In India street food changes from town to town. When you are in Mumbai, you get to enjoy amazing Vada Pav, Pav Bhaji and of course Dabeli.

Dabeli which translates into ‘pressed’ is one of my favorite street foods. It is believed to have originated from the Kutch region of India and also known as Kutchi Double Roti. I still remember eating one of the best dabelis when I visited my cousin in Mulund, Mumbai.

Yashwant Dabeli in Pune

I will write a post and share a recipe for Dabeli soon but today’s dish is all about Hassleback. Hassleback potatoes are a fun way to cook, and dress up an otherwise boring potato. I am not the greatest fan pf potatoes however I love sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes are a great source of complex carb along with many nutrients like Vitamin A, C and B making it a power house. It lends it self well to sweet and savory dishes. Sweet potato gnocchi , to pie to fries and so much more. So I try to incorporate Sweet potatoes in our diet when I can.

When I visited Delhi, I really enjoyed the road side snack of roasted Sweet potato sprinkled with some chaat masala. I love the earthy flavor. In fact winter is the best time to visit Delhi. If you happen to be there, I would highly recommend doing a Food tour of Old Delhi with my friend Anubhav with Delhi Food walks.

Today’s dish is inspired by my travel to Delhi and Mumbai, my love street food. It’s easy to make, its healtheesh and looks impressive. You can play with the many flavors or spices that you might have in our pantry, can not go wrong.

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Sweet Potato Hasselback Dabeli

Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American, fusion, Indian
Keyword dabeli, easy to make, hassleback, kutchi, potato, snacks, sweet potato
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 2
Author Anagha

Ingredients

  • 2 Sweet Potatoes Try and pick long and narrow ones
  • 1 Tsp Kosher Salt

Spice Butter

  • 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 2 Tbsp Dabeli Masala You can use a market bought or make at home

Garnish

  • 1/2 Cup Pomegranate Arils
  • 1/2 Cup Spiced peanuts I will share my recipe soon
  • 1/3 Cup Fine Sev
  • 4 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 F

    Prepare the potatoes

    • Scrub and wash the potatoes the potatoes
    • Slice the potatoes thin leaving about 1/4 inch at the bottom uncut. You can use two chop sticks or even wooden spoons to guide the knife and prevent it from cutting it all the way through.

    Spiced butter

    • Heat the butter in a sauce pan till just melted. Turn off the heat and add the Dabeli spice mix. 

    Assembly

    • Take a baking sheet or a overproof pan, I like using a cast iron pan
    • Arrange the potatoes on the sheet with the cut side up
    • Brush on half of the  butter mixture, making sure to get in between all the slices. 
    • Bake until tender and crisp, 45- 50 minutes.
    • Take out of the oven, and brush the remaining butter mixture and bake for another 20-25 mins.

    Garnish

    • Place the potatoes in a serving dish. Drizzle the date chutney and mint chutney 
    • Sprinkle some cilantro, pomegranate, Spiced peanuts and the Sev
    Note:  
    I have made a small video of how to cut the potatoes in thin slices without cutting it through. Here it is. 
    Categories
    Appetizer Healthy foods Indian Maharashtrian Main Dish Mexican Vegan Vegetarian

    Pulled Jackfruit Taco with Sugarcane tortilla

    As you know I love cooking with what’s in season, go visit the local markets, pick up some produce, get some inspiration, bring it back to the kitchen and make something fun. This time when I visited India in Summer, although it was ultra blistering hot, I mean we are talking 108F and 90F at night, it did not stop me from going to the market.

    I picked up some raw jackfruit, mangoes from the market and on the way home stopped off to grab a drink of fresh sugar cane juice. As I was driving home, I started thinking about my summer vacations growing up.

    It used to be super hot where I grew up, but we still enjoyed our afternoons. A everlasting game of monopoly, carom board, playing cards and endless conversations were so much fun. Every summer we also visited my Nani (maternal grandma). She lived in Mumbai and the train ride to her place used to be another event we looked forward to every summer.

    My Mom is a great cook and an amazing planner.  So she would pack perfect food for all our train journeys. One of the dishes was this roti/poli/tortilla made from sugar cane juice, called ‘Rasachi Dashmi’.  It not only tasted awesome but was perfect for the train journey as it stayed good without any refrigeration and tasted great cold.

    My nani would always have alphonso  mangoes waiting for us along with other things from konkan and she would make the best Poli in the world. We would devour the mangoes with poli and ghee.

    Kokam, Tadgola and so much more. Fragrant yellow jackfruit would fill the air. I will share more recipes using the ripe or yellow jackfruit soon.

    One of those things was raw/green jackfruit. She would make the best bhaji with it, with lots of red chilies and tender cashews.

    My nani is no more, but her memories I cherish through various foods. My kids are not so lucky to just hop on a train and visit their Nani, my Mom. The 10K miles is a long distance to cover. But we always take family trips in vacations, sometimes local, sometimes even staycations but always make time for family.

    I know how important it is to spend time and make memories. We are all big time foodies so more often than not the destinations are picked based on the variety of food we get to eat. We love to explore local cuisines and produce, always a local market visit is included in the vacation plan.

    One of the favorite destinations is Mexico, I just love Mexico. Its nice and warm, people are very friendly, I can speak the language and most of all, amazing food. I can visit Mexico many times and nto get tired.

    Mexican food is probably my second most favorite food after Indian food. Whenever we visit Mexico, II make sure we go to the local markets and try some amazing dishes. Last time we visited this restaurant in Maztlan, El Precidio and everything there was incredible.

    I love Mexican food as it highlights seasonal produce, perfect balance of spice, sweet, savory and just satisfying meal. I love the use chilies in many ways, I love how they use traditional cooking methods to get some complex flavors in dishes like Mole.

    One of the most commonly known Mexican foods is Tacos. Simple yet flavorful, incredibly versatile.

    Today’s dish is inspired by the  summer vacations, both mine and my kids’s and its tribute to the local produce.

    Pulled Jackfruit Taco with Sugarcane juice tortilla

    [yumprint-recipe id=’8′]

    I would love to know about your summer memories and foods. Please share in comments.

    Categories
    Afghani Appetizer

    Borani banjan- Eggplant in garlic yogurt sauce

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    Let me confess, I love eggplants in any shape and form. Stuffed, roasted, pan- fried with chick pea flour, I love them all. So for me saying that this is one of the favorite ways to cook eggplant is a big deal.

    A friend of mine had made this when I had dinner at her home a few years back and since then I make it at least once a week.

    For the past 2-3 years I have been very mindful of what I cook. I have been trying and making an effort to eat only organic whenever possible. I also have been trying to buy only local produce and majority of that from the farmers market. I love going to the farmers market. I love the vibrant colors, the freshness in the air.


    I love it when I get to interact with the person who has worked on bringing such great produce to me, I love chatting with them as it gives me a feel for where my food comes from and provide a connection. It also gives me a great sense of appreciation when I learnt that they load up the trucks at 5:00 in the morning to bring the fruits and vegetables to the market.

    I love to make things with that produce and share it with them. Last few weeks I have been making yummy strawberry roll ups, I brought some to the vendor whom I buy my strawberries from, it was so nice to be able to share it with them.

    So back to my eggplant , I ate this first time and I fell in love with it. I love yogurt, I love mint and I love eggplant, so it was no surprise that I love this recipe.

    It is very simple and you can make the two parts ahead of time and assemble it as you are ready to serve.

    Borani banjan

    Ingredients

    • 1 Large eggplant, sliced
    • 1/2 onion sliced
    • 1 large tomato , sliced
    • 2 green chilies
    • a few mint leave
    • a sprig of Cilantro
    • Sauce
    • 1 cup yogurt
    • 1 small clove of garlic
    • 1/4 tsp olive oil
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 1 tsp dried mint leaves

    Method

    Cut the eggplant in 1/4 inch thich uniform slices. Sprinkle with some salt and set aside for 30 mins.


    In the meanwhile slice the onions & tomatoes  in  slices, slit the green chili and remove the seeds if the chili is very spicy.

    After 30 mins, the eggplant will give out some water. Sprinkling with salt  removes any excess bitterness the eggplant might have.

    Heat some oil in a pan and shallow fry the eggplant slices until they are cooked. Make sure the heat is not too high, we want the eggplants to cook but not get crispy.


    Take the cooked eggplant on a plate. In the same pan, heat some more oil and layer the onions in a single layer, saute till they are soft.


    Top them with the slices tomatoes and slit green chilies. We don’t want the tomatoes to get browned but instead sort of get stewed. Add the chopped mint leaves and cilantro as well.

    Top the tomatoes and onions with the cooked eggplant and let it cook for about 10-15 min on a low flame.

    For the sauce

    Mix all the ingredient for the sauce in a bowl. Keep the bowl in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

    When you are ready to serve, make sure you bring the eggplant to room temperature. I feel it tastes much better that way.

    To serve

    Take the cooked eggplant mixture, mash it ever so slightly and top it with the yogurt mixture.

    Today I served it with Mejadra, Turkey kabab. More on that later.

    Categories
    Appetizer Indian Vegan Vegetarian

    Soya Pyaaz Ki Seekh kabob

    I love summers. Abundant produce, long days and backyard barbecues. I love anything and everything that comes off the grill. The smoky aroma it imparts to the food is so appetizing. We have grilled all the way till October, even when it is raining with an umbrella in the hand, umbrella not for us but for the grill 😉

    Today it was a gorgeous evening, the first moon was in the sky. It marks the beginning of Ramdan.  It was not too hot, prefect temperature to have a meal on the patio.


    I love summer produce and can almost go vegetarian in summer but then the kabobs call my name, and I melt.

    This recipe today sort of helps me be vegetarian on Monday. It is perfect for the #meatlessmondays and the grill.

    I love watching all food shows but there are some favorites and master chef is one of them. I loved the indian version more because there was Vikas Khanna and there was Ranveer Brar ;). Recently I got a chance to meet with Vikas Khanna( thanks to a dear friend)


    A local organization Women’s now is hosting a cooking competition  and Ranveer will be the judge, so now I can not wait to meet Ranveer.

    Today’s recipe is based on his recipe. I made a few tweaks, it is a keeper


    Ingredients

    1.5 cup soya chunks or 1 cup granules

    1 large potato

    1/2 onion finely chopped

    1-2 green chilies chopped

    1 tsp Shahi Jeera

    1 tbsp oil

    1 tsp crushed coriander seeds

    1/2 tsp red chili powder

    1 pinch cardamom powder

    1-2 drops of liquid smoke

    A few mint leaves chopped

    Cilantro chopped

    Salt to taste

    Method

    • Boil the potato, peel and mash well.
    • Soak the soya chunks in hot water for 15-20 mins. Drain and squeeze out excess water.
    • Pulse in the food processor to get a minced meat like consistency.
    • In a pan heat the oil, add jeera when the oil is hot. Sauté for a few seconds.
    • Add the chopped onions and chilies and sauté on medium heat till brown.
    • Add these onions to the soya mixture along with potatoes and rest of the ingredients.
    • Make patties and shallow fry in a pan or make long rolls and shape lo a kabob on a skewer. Cook till crispy outside.
    • Remember everything else is cooked so make sure you don’t let the kabob dry out.

    I served it with a Rose-strawberry coconut smoothie with chia seeds, it seemed to somehow compliment the colors of the sky.

    Categories
    Appetizer Indian Vegetarian

    Beets-oats tikki pattice

    It was a lazy Friday evening. Although it was gorgeous outside, all of us were super lazy. After a long day of work, that swing was calling out to me, it said come and relax with me with a nice book, may be a glass of wine. 

    Recently I have been obsessed with Spanish music. I am trying to learn Spanish and listening to the famous Spanish songs helps. My favorite these days, ‘Quizas, quizas, quizas‘by Andrea Bocelli & Jlo, it oozes with romance and feelings of love & longing. The song was playing in the background, which made me want to just close my eyes and relive some very happy moments of the past couple of days. 

    But it also made me long even more for those moments. 

    I was willing to give into the temptation, that is when my stomach growled. It said, don’t you want something nice to go with that glass of wine and the book. 

    I opened the fridge and there was pretty much nothing. I was ready to give up. I said today I am going to be bad and just eat popcorn or cereal or bread and jam for dinner. Just then I heard these beats call out to me, ” hey you got us from the market, remember? You can not ignore us.”  So I decided to make something with beets. Just then I rememberd the left over steel cut oatmeal from this morning. 

    Suddenly I knew what I was going to make. 

      

    Ingredients

    2 beets

    1/2 cup of cooked steel cut oats 

    1 tsp red chili powder

    1 tsp chaat masala

    1tsp amchur powder

    1/4 tsp ginger garlic paste

    1 tbsp chopped cashews

    1 green chili chopped

    1 tbsp chopped cilantro

    Salt to taste 

    2 tbsp sooji or cream of wheat

    Method 

    Grate the beets and squeeze out the excess water. You can add that your smoothie or soups. 

    Mix all the ingredients except the sooji and mix thoroughly. All the spice proportions are per our taste, you can change as you like. 

    Take a plate and spread the sooji on the plate. 
    Make lemon size balls with the beet batter and flatten it out. Make sure you wet your palms so that the dough does not stick. 

    Dip the patties in the sooji and shallow fry till golden. Make sure you cook on a medium flame so the beets have a chance to cook.

      
    Dips 

    I love making these dips. They come together in minutes and are perfect for such appetizers. 

    Smoky paprika dip-

    Take one chipotle chili( I use the one from the can, that comes in the adobo sauce). Chop it fine and mix with yogurt. Add some roasted cumin powder and salt and the dip is ready. 

    Mint- garlic dip-

    Take chopped mint and one small crushed clove of garlic and add to a bowl of beaten yogurt. Mix well and add salt to taste. 

    I am enjoying these with a glass of wine, my feet up on these pillows. What more can one ask for?

      

    Categories
    Appetizer Indian

    Stuffed Paneer with Khubani Chutney

    Apricot -Paneer Tikka

    I love it when a recipe looks like a million bucks, tastes like a trillion bucks and yet it is so easy to put together. I also like the fact that you can prepare parts of the recipe and simply assemble it when you are ready to serve.

    Today’s dish fits that description very well. I just love how nicely the delicate flavors of the apricot marries with rich home made paneer. Paneer is a form of a cheese, very similar to ricotta cheese but firmer. It is made by curdling the boiled milk with some acid like lemon juice, white vinegar. It is an integral part of the North Indian Cuisine. You see this a lot in the Nawabi or Moghlai cuisine. These cuisines represent the dishes made for the kings and queens of India.

    I love cooking with dried apricots. I love dessert made with dried apricot, another Nawabi dish from the southern state of Hyderabad in India, Khubani ka meetha. I will share that recipe some time soon. I also love making stuffed apricots and Apricot Alomond cake.

    Back to our recipe today, I got this recipe from a dear friend Harjeet, a very talented chef. I l love how he put together simple ingredients to make delectable food.

    I have also been playing with food photography. I recently bought these pewter plates from a flea market, I have used them in the photo today, I love how they contrast the bright yellow tikka.

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    Stuffed  paneer with khubani chutney

    Ingredients:
    1 lb Paneer
    1 tbsp thick yogurt ( I make mine by hanging plain yogurt in a cheese cloth)
    Salt to taste
    1 tsp Turmeric

    For the paste
    2 tsp Mustard oil
    1 tsp Yellow chili powder
    1 tsp Deegi mirchi power
    2 tsp Ginger garlic paste 

    For the chutney
    Khumani (Dry apricot)chopped 3 tbsp

    1 tsp Cilantro chopped
    1/2 tsp green chili chopped
    1 tsp chopped mint
    1 tbsp Sugar
    1/2 tsp Black salt
    1/2 tsp Roasted cumin seed 



    Methods

    Apricot chutney
    Boil some water and add chopped apricot and cook them for a while till it becomes soft.     
    Now add sugar, roasted cumin seeds, chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, chopped mint,black salt, salt,Deggi Mirch.
    Cook it on slow fire till chutney thickens and can be easily mashed with the back of a spoon. 

    For paneer 
    Make paneer cubes about 3/4 -1 inch thick. Make a slit in the center, make sure you don’t cut it two pieces.
    Mix salt and turmeric and coat the paneer with that mixture.

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    In a separate bowl mix mustard oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste.

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    Stuff the paneer pieces with the apricot chutney. Make sure that the chutney is pushed in all the way through so each bite will get a bit of chutney with it.

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    Cover this stuffed paneer with the yogurt mixture.

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    Now heat a little fat in a pan and pan seared this stuffed paneer till it gets a nice golden brown color.

    Close up Apricot Paneer Tikka
    Close up Apricot Paneer Tikka

     

    Categories
    Appetizer Chicken Fusion Healthy foods Indian Side dish Sprouts Vietnamese

    Chicken tikka vietnamese Spring Rolls

    When I have an idea in mind, I can not rest easy until I execute on it. One such idea was variations on the Vietnamese Spring rolls. I wanted to try making an Indian version, I thought it would go really well with the concept.But before we talk about that recipe, let me tell you my  first encounter with these spring rolls.

    The first time I ate these spring rolls when I was pregnant with my first child. I had a terrible time with the morning sickness and could not keep anything down. Around that time we were invited to my husband’s colleagues wedding reception. The bride and groom both were of Vietnamese origin and so at  the celebrations the food served was Vietnamese.

    Forget eating and enjoying, I could not even stand the smell of most of those things. It had a lot of fish sauce,and all kinds of meat. Everyone tried to see what I can eat, offered so many things but nothing felt right at that time. Then someone got these interesting looking things that they called ‘Spring rolls’. They were nothing like the ones I knew from back in India. They did not look fried and almost looked transparent. I loved those..I loved the fresh basil and mint and the crunchy bean sprouts… it was perfect.

    I have been making these for a while now and love making variations.

    Today’s variation has a Indian touch. The meat used is the pickled chicken, I think it compliments the fresh mint and cilantro.

    This recipe for the Achari chicken is a perfect addition to the fresh ingredients of the spring roll. You can also use chicken tikka or any other nicely seasoned meat. I have made this with marinated Tofu/Paneer to make the vegetarian/vegan version. It tastes just as well.

    Achari chicken spring roll
    Achari chicken spring roll

    Ingredients:

    Chicken:

    • 3/4 lb boneless Chicken ( for vegetarian option use Tofu/Paneer)
    • 2 ½ tablespoons Achari Masala
    • 1/4 lb Hung Yogurt (this is basically yogurt hung in a cheese cloth)
    • 1 tablespoon refined flour
    • 2 tablespoons Mustard Oil

    Other ingredients

    • Bean Sprouts
    • Few green lettuce leaves
    • Thin rice noodles, cooked according to the packet
    • Julienned carrot
    • Few mint leaves
    • Few cilantro leaves
    • Few Rice paper sheets

    IMG_2509

    Method:

    • Heat Mustard Oil in a 10 inch nonstick pan until it smokes.
    • Add Achari Masala to the pan. Cook the spice mix for 20 seconds, then remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes.
    • In a glass bowl, mix yogurt and cooked spices well. Make sure to include the oil.
    • Cut cubes of chicken & marinate it with the pickled curd marinade for minimum 60 mins.
    • IMG_3233

    Now cook the chicken on medium flame, add refined flour and cook for 8-10 mins. Once cooked evenly, keep it aside.

    Assembly

    Dip the rice paper in cold water for 5 seconds. Take it out and shake off the excess water. Make sure you use cold water and also don’s leave the rice paper in the water for too long. Although when you take it out, it might still feel stiff but it does soften up.

    IMG_2510

    Lay the wet rice paper flat on a board. Layer all the ingredients. In works the best to start with a piece of lettuce, this helps provide a base and stability to the roll. Now continue with the rice noodles, Chicken, sprouts, carrots, cilantro, mint.

    Now roll like a burrito making sure that no vegetables are poking out. We want our spring roll to look pretty.

    IMG_2513

    Make sure that you keep these covered so they don’t dry out.

    Cut in half and serve. Depending on the flavor of the chicken you can pair with the right sauce. For example when I make it with an indian flavored chicken, I serve it with a Tamarind-date chutney.

    IMG_0269

     

     

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