Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Pyaaz Paratha


Pyaaz Paratha.. OMG drool !! every single time I see these pictures !! Because this itself is so heavenly and pleasing, with the added benefit of it being easy to make.. and with minimum ingredients.. what could be better than this !! This has been our Sunday morning breakfast for the last 3 weeks, on special demand from hubby..

Ingredients:

Wheat flour: 2 cups
Spring onions (very finely chopped): 10
Green chilli (very finely chopped): 1
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder
Cumin powder
Coriander powder
Asafoetida
Mango powder
Chaat Masala/Garam Masala
Mint powder
(All spices according to taste)
Butter (for frying)


  1. Add all the spices with the wheat flour and mix really well. For best results, first add all the dried spices, mix well and add onions and green chilli. 
  2. Knead the dough adding very little water carefully, so that it does not become sticky, otherwise parathas cannot be made from that dough. Make a nice dough.
  3. Pinch out small balls from the dough and roll carefully using a little dusting from the dried wheat flour. 
  4. Heat the griddle/tawa on highest temperature and carefully put the rolled out paratha on the tawa.
  5. Turn after 20 seconds. Let cook completely from both sides. Ideally it is cooked evenly,just past the stage of not remaining uncooked, but we prefer a little bit burnt flavour in the same, adds to the taste (just as you could see in the pictures). This comes with experience, you might not want to burn it much, as it will spoil the entire taste. So cook it just until past the uncooked stage.
  6. Now fry both sides with butter and take out on a plate. Add a dollop of butter and serve hot with any pickle/raita.
Pyaaz Paratha in the process..

Monday, September 22, 2014

Curry leaves Chutney


I tried to make this curry leaves chutney when I was out of mint and coriander to make Coriander Chutney, to go with Khatta Dhokla, and to my surprise, it turned out to be quite wonderful, even though I was doubtful about how it would taste. Now I plan to make this chutney with idlis and Khaman Dhokla as well. Here are all the recipes:
5-Minute Rawa Idli Recipe
3-Minute Khaman Dhokla Recipe
3-Minute Rawa Dhokla Recipe
Spicy Idli Recipe

 Although this recipe uses fresh curry leaves, we rarely have access to them outside India. So I used the dried curry leaves for this chutney, hence the dark colour, and not even a good picture. It will have a green shade if fresh curry leaves are used.

Ingredients:

Curry leaves: 1/2 cup
Urad Dal: 2 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Grated coconut: 2 tsp.
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Tamarind paste: 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.


  1. If using fresh curry leaves, dry roast them until crispy. I use dried, so I did not roast them, they are already dried and roasted.
  2. Heat 1 tsp. oil and add urad dal, fry until it becomes golden. Add asafoetida, coconut and green chilli. Fry for about 30 seconds. 
  3. Cool and add to a mixer. Add salt and tamarind and grind together with the roasted curry leaves to form a smooth paste. Take out in a bowl.
  4. Heat 1 tsp. oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Pour over the chutney, mix and serve. 

Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan


This weekend I made Vegetarian Hyderabadi Qubooli Biryani, and served this delicious Mirch Ka Salan with it to make it all the more flavourful. This can be served with any pulao or rice dish, also as a side dish with any meals.. and as a curry itself with roti/paratha/naan etc.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (chopped): 2
Green Chilli: Washed (whole): 1
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Dried red chillis: 2
Garlic (chopped): 4 cloves
Tamarind paste/Tamarind concentrate: 2 tsp.
Curry leaves: a few
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Onion (grated): 1
Sesame seeds (til): 1/2 tsp.
Poppy seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Peanuts: 4 tsp.
Coconut powder: 2 tsp. (I used grated coconut)
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.


  1. Heat a pan at medium heat and dry roast sesame seeds, half cumin seeds, half mustard seeds, coconut powder and peanuts. Keep aside. 
  2. Now, dry roast the grated onion and keep aside. Let cool and grind to a smooth paste along with the dry roasted spices and coconut. 
  3. Heat oil and add the whole green chilli, fry until it turns white. Remove from oil and keep aside. 
  4. Heat the same pan and add the remaining cumin seeds and mustard seeds. 
  5. When they crackle, add the curry leaves, dried red chillis and poppy seeds. Fry for a minute.
  6. Add the chopped garlic and mix well. Add the roasted spice paste prepared earlier. Add red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Add the tamarind concentrate, mix well and let cook for 3-4 minutes. Add little water if required.
  7. Add tomatoes and salt and mix everything well. Add coriander powder and mix. Let cook until the tomatoes become soft and cooked completely.
  8. Add the fried green chilli and mix well. Cook for about 30 seconds and turn off the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves (optional) and serve with Hyderabadi Qubooli Biryani or Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani and enjoy the royal Hyderabadi Cuisine.






Qubooli Biryani (Hyderabadi Layered Biryani)

I'm totally in love with Hyderabadi Cuisine and I try my hands on the same whenever possible. I had made this Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani, to which I drool till date.. also a very famous dish in my blog.. The procedure took long time, but the results cannot simply be described in words. So, when I got my hands on this another biryani (vegetarian version), I wanted to make it, so this has been on my bucket list since very long, also because the name sounded so royal.. Qubooli Biryani.. Wow! Hume Qubool hai !!

This weekend we were out of ideas, my husband suggested we make probably some biryani, even though both of us avoid rice as much as possible. So this clicked me and I prepared this another vegetarian style of biryani.. finger licking good!! I served it with Garlic Raita and Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan


Ingredients:

Basmati Rice: 2 cup
Chana Dal: 1/4 cup
Onion (sliced): 1 big size
Whisked yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp.
Lemon juice: 1 tsp.
Mint leaves: about 20
Coriander leaves: a few
Milk: 1/4 cup
Cinnamon stick: 1/2 inch
Green Cardamom: 2
Peppercorns: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Saffron strands: a few


  1. Wash the chana dal and boil in an open container on high heat for 10 minutes with turmeric powder. Drain all the water and keep aside.
  2. Boil the rice, drain all the water and keep aside. Boil as you would normally do. If you wish to see how I boil the rice perfectly, see How to make the perfect boiled rice.
  3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the sliced onions. Fry on medium heat until they become brown and crispy. Drain from oil and keep aside on a kitchen paper.
  4. Heat the same pan again. Add cinnamon, cardamom seeds, peppercorns and cumin seeds. Cook for a minute and add ginger-garlic paste. Mix well and let cook for another minute.
  5. Add the cooked dal and red chilli powder. Mix well. Add salt and yoghurt. Mix and let cook for about 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and mix. Cover and let cook for about 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat and transfer this masala to a bowl.
  6. Heat a deep pan (or kadhai) and add a layer of the masala at the bottom. Spread a layer of the cooked rice over it and add half the milk. Add half the fried onions, mint and coriander leaves. I used mint powder because I did not have mint leaves. Skipped onto coriander leaves.
  7. Add another layer of masala and the remaining rice layer. Add the remaining fried onions and mint leaves. Add the milk and top with saffron strands.
  8. Cover and put on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover, mix well and enjoy !! Qubool hai !!
After making the layers, before putting on the cover.

After being cooked, removing the cover.





You might also like:


Hyderabadi Dum Chicken Biryani
Hyderabadi Dum Biryani
Mirch Ka Salan
Hyderabadi Mirch Ka Salan

Friday, September 19, 2014

Potato Cutlets


Ingredients:

Potatoes (boiled): 4
Bread Crumbs as required
Salt: To taste
Red chilli powder
Cumin powder
Coriander powder
Mango powder
Chaat Masala
Garam Masala
Kasoori Methi
(All spices to be added according to taste, can be modified accordingly)
Corn flour: 2 tsp.
Oil for deep frying


  1. Peel and mash the boiled potatoes completely. Add all the spices and mix very well.
  2. Add the corn flour and mix thoroughly. This will help in binding the potato paste.
  3. Now take a little of paste in your hands and mould it to the desired shape. Roll into the bread crumbs and carefully add to the hot oil. Repeat for all the potato paste.
  4. Let all the cutlets fry from both sides till golden brown.
  5. Drain on a kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Take a tissue paper and press lightly on the top as well , it will remove any remaining oil.
  6. Serve hot with Coriander Chutney.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Wonder skin: right in your kitchen..!!


My Nani-ji has been the inspiration of my life since forever.. She is the one who introduced me to the kitchen for the very first time, she is the one who took care of me, told me the difference between the good and the bad, she is the one who has always been there for me and she is the one who I love and adore from the bottom of my heart. She celebrates her birthday on the 17th of September ever year, and this year as she turns 86, I share here some of the wonderful tips she gave me from our very own kitchen... those are the ones she has been using in every phase of life. Here I share some skin remedies from her tips, which are tried and tested by myself.

  1. For dry skin: Grind chana dal/masoor dal in a grinder. Add mustard oil, a pinch of turmeric powder and make a paste mixing gulab jal (rose water). Apply on face with fingers. Wash after 15 minutes. Pat dry. 
  2. Soak masoor dal in lemon juice overnight. Grind to a smooth paste and apply to the face for about 30-40 minutes in the morning. Wash slowly to remove all the pack from the face. This pack is useful for glowing skin.
  3. Mix turmeric powder, gram flour (besan), mustard oil in the ratio 1:3:1. Add little water to make a hard dough like mix. Scrub face with this dough slowly for a glowing skin. Still using this personally whenever my skin feels dull. 
  4. Dry orange peels and lemon peels separately in the shade till they are completely dried. Grind them in the mixer and mix together 1:1 ratio. Soak in rose water for 10 minutes. Apply on the face and neck as a pack. Leave for 15 minutes. Wash and pat dry to get a softer skin. 
  5. For oily skin: Mix gram flour, turmeric powder, chandan powder in the ratio 3:1:1. Mix with this lemon juice and rose water in 1:1 ratio to make a paste. Apply on the skin and wash after 30 minutes. Your skin will feel better and less oily. 
  6. For sun-burnt face: Mix plain yoghurt with gram flour (besan) in a ratio 2:1. Apply on the face and wash after 10 minutes. Regular use of this pack help heal skin faster and remove the sun-burn. 
  7. For pimples on the adult skin: Squeeze out the juice from a piece of ginger, mix with coconut oil in 1:1 ratio and boil until the oil absorbs all the ginger and you can see only the oil. Remove from the flame, cool and apply on the affected area every night. This oil can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. 
  8. Make a powder of turmeric powder, chandan powder and neem leaves powder in equal quantities. Make a paste with water and apply on face pimples. Let dry and wash. Use regularly for the cure for pimples. (For this, I bring a bag of dried neem leaves from India, powder and use). 
  9. Soaking in the sun and the skin feels heated up, make a paste of mint leaves with water and apply on the face for 20 minutes. It cools down the skin of the face absorbs all the heat. Personal tip in living out of India, where mint leaves are not readily available, I dry up the mint leaves in shade whenever I can get my hands on them, then make a powder of those leaves and store in a ziplock bag with my spices. Apart from using in cooking, I use it in the face-packs as well. 
  10. For glowing and spot-free skin: Mix turmeric powder, wheat flour, mustard oil in a ratio of 3:3:1. Make a paste with milk. Apply on the face and let dry for 30 minutes. Wash and pat dry. Pimples and dark spots will vanish slowly with regular use. 
With mentioning all these tips which are passed on to me by nani-ji (hundreds of more to come, kept noted in various note-books), I thank her because I have't used a single cosmetic product on my face for the last 10 years now and I've hardly taken any facials in the beauty parlours (which, more often than not, have dissatisfied me greatly) after I use these tips for my regular cleansing, scrubbing and taking care of my own skin. 

Thanks a bunch Nani. Wish you a very Happy Birthday. Ma you live to be a 100 (to the least). Love you from the bottom of my heart. 


Note: These tips from the kitchen are from the author's own experiences and are not to be replaced with any medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor before using these packs if any kind of allergy persists. The author will not be responsible for any health hazard however.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Ghee Chicken Roast


I've always loved roasted chicken, be it boneless or chicken drumsticks. This Ghee chicken roast is one of those flavory awesomeness where the chicken is marinated and roasted in ghee on the stove top, mixed in a mildly spiced flavorful and aromatic masala cooked slowly with fresh curry leaves and topped with a dash of lemon. I'm sure you will love this Ghee chicken roast recipe.



Ingredients:

Chicken: 200 gm
Yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.
Dried red chillies: 2
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Fenugreek seeds: 1/4 tsp.
Peppercorns: 1/2 tsp.
Ginger: 1 inch
Garlic: 3 cloves
Green chilli: 1
Tamarind paste: 2 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 1
Curry leaves: a few
Ghee: 6 tsp.


  1. Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, salt and turmeric and marinate the chicken in this mix for 2-3 hours.
  2. Dry roast the dried red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns and fenugreek seeds on medium flame. Let cool and grind to a fine paste with ginger, garlic, green chilli and tamarind paste. Keep aside.
  3. Heat 3 tsp. ghee in a pan and add the marinated chicken. 
  4. Cover and let cook for 10 minutes. Remove cover and transfer the contents to another bowl. Keep aside.
  5. Heat the remaining ghee in the same pan and add the ground masala paste. 
  6. Let cook well until the masala leaves oil on the sides.
  7. Add chopped onions and mix. 
  8. Cook until the onions are transparent. Add the curry leaves, mix and cook for 15 seconds. 
  9. Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft. 
     
     
  10. When the tomatoes are completely soft, sprinkle little water and fry the masala. Keep sprinkling little water and frying the masala. Repeat about 5-6 times. Now the masala is ready. 
  11. Add the cooked chicken to this mix. 
  12. Mix well and sprinkle a little water. Stir and fry on medium flame. 
  13. Let cook for about 5-7 minutes. Turn off the flame, sprinkle lemon juice (optional) and serve hot with a side of salad, chappati and chicken curry. 




Friday, September 12, 2014

Rogan Josh (Chicken Masala)


Rogan Josh is basically an aromatic mutton curry dish which has its origins in Persia and is a famous dish of Kasmir region in India. This can however be prepared with chicken and lamb as well, just the cooking time would differ: while it would be similar for lamb and chicken with little variations, it will almost be twice for the mutton curry.

Rogan Josh is a dish which is red in colour, basically because of two reasons, first, it is originally cooked with mutton, which releases and imparts the bright red colour to the curry. Secondly, the recipe calls for the kashmiri red chilli powder, but as there is only a single brand of red chilli powder that suits my husband with a sensitive stomach, I replaced the kashmiri chilli powder with that chilli powder, which probably did not impart the colour; tasted heavenly nonetheless.. !!

Ingredients:

Chicken: 200 gm
Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Bay leaves: 2
Cloves: 2
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
Asafoetida: 1 pinch
Cardamom (seeds): 2
Onions: sliced 1
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Salt to taste
Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Ginger powder: 1 tsp.
Whisked yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.


  1. Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom seeds. Add the sliced onions after a minute and fry till they start getting brown.
  2. Add the ginger-garlic paste and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add the asafoetida and mix well.
  3. Add the chicken pieces and mix with the masala. Let cook for 5 minutes. Then add salt and 1/2 cup of water and cover. Let cook covered for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove cover. Mix the red chilli powder in 2 tsp. water and then add to the pan. Mix. 
  5. Add the fennel seeds, ginger powder and the yoghurt. Mix well and let cook for another 10 minutes on medium flame.
  6. Turn off the heat, add the garam masala (do not mix) and cover. Keep aside for 10 minutes. Remove cover, mix and serve hot. 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Onion Pakodas



It's evening and it's raining outside.. It's Monday and it's evening tea-time. I feel lazy to prepare anything out of the way, when the idea of making these easy pakodas strike me.. and lo! these come out of my kitchen in less than 15 minutes.. happy hubby, happy me !!

Ingredients:

Besan (Chickpea flour): 1 cup
Spring onions: 4
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder
Garam masala
Coriander powder
Cumin powder
Asafoetida
Mango powder
(Add all spices according to taste)


  1. Add all the spices to the besan (chickpea flour) and mix well. Add water slowly to make a paste. The paste must neither be too thick nor too runny.
  2. Heat oil on high flame. Cut the spring onions in rings. I use spring onions because they don't give the raw onion taste while eating.
  3. When the oil is hot enough (check by carefully dropping a bit of the paste, if it rises up slowly, then it is hot enough).
  4. Drop one onion ring into the paste and coat evenly. Carefully drop into the oil. Repeat for all the rings. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn and check if done. This will take a total of about 8 minutes.
  5. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle some black salt (optional) and enjoy with hot tea.

Urad Dal Raita


Feeling a bit more than experimental, I'm loving to try out a variety of raitas these days.. from Garlic RaitaMint Onion Raita to Beetroot Raita and Tomato Pachadi... I have been feeling a little more experimental, and a little more confident. So here goes another yoghurt experiment:

Ingredients:

Yoghurt: 1 cup
Urad Dal: 2 tsp.
Green chilli (very finely chopped): 1
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: 1 pinch
Cooking oil: 1 tsp.
Salt to taste


  1. Dry roast the urad dal on medium flame till it changes colour to golden brown. Cool and grind to a fine paste.
  2. Mix the yoghurt with this powder and mix well.
  3. Heat oil in a pan and temper cumin, asafoetida and fry the green chillis for 15-20 seconds. Add to yoghurt and enjoy !

Monday, September 8, 2014

Tomato Pachadi


Tomato Pachadi? Isn't that supposed to be a South Indian dish? Yes, absolutely. Even though it is obvious that I am a typical Punjabi, this cannot keep me from trying different cuisines.. But pachadi? really? That was my sister's reaction when I said I want to try something like this.. Basically because I saw an overflow of Onam Sadaya recipes in the past weeks, I was inspired to try out the varied version of the north Indian raita, a yoghurt side dish.

The original name goes to "Thakkali Thayir Pachadi", actually meaning tomatoes in a mildly spiced yoghurt and coconut gravy. I was sceptical initially because of the different way this is prepared that the regular raitas we prepare, and also I am not a very experimental person, specially when it comes to food. But I still decided to give it a try, and whoa! another successful experiment in my kitchen.. Ting Tin Trinnn !!



Ingredients:

Yoghurt (beaten): 1 cup
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Curry leaves: a few
Dried red chilli: 1
Tomato (finely chopped): 1
Salt to taste
Cooking oil (I used olive oil, but I hear coconut oil tastes the best): 1 tsp.

  1. Grind together 1 tsp. yoghurt, 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds and green chilli. Mix this with the remaining yoghurt. Keep aside.
  2. Add the finely chopped tomatoes and salt to the yoghurt and mix well. Keep aside.
  3. Heat oil on medium flame and temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and the red chilli. Let cook for about 2 minutes on medium flame so that the mustard seeds get cooked and do not leave raw taste in the pachadi.
  4. Pour this mix over the yoghurt with tomatoes and mix well. Serve.


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