Cabbage Kofta Curry

Cabbage kofta (in appe pan)

Ingredients:

Cabbage (grated): 200 gm
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.

For the curry:

Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Poppy seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Black peppercorns: 1/4 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Tomatoes (chopped): 2
Yogurt: 1 cup
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tamarind: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.
Kasoori methi: 1/2 tsp.
Cream: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. To make kofta, mix the grated cabbage with salt, red chili powder and coriander powder.
2. Mix well with hands and make medium sized round balls and keep aside.  
3. Heat the appe pan on low heat and when warm, add a drop of oil in each cavity. 
4. Put one cabbage ball in each cavity. DO NOT COVER. 
   
5. Let cook for some time and turn the kofta to other side. Let cook both sides and remove from the appe pan and keep aside. 
   
6. To prepare the curry: heat 2 tsp. oil and crackle cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the whole spices: coriander seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds and black peppercorns. 
7. Add the onions and saute them until transparent and starting to brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir. Let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
8. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Cover and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove cover and stir. 
   
9. Turn off the flame and let it cool. 
10. When cooled, grind to a smooth paste adding a little water. 
11. Heat the same pan again and add a tsp. of oil. Add the paste and a cup of water. Stir and bring to a rolling boil. 
12. Add the yogurt and mix well. Let cook for about 10 minutes. 
    
13. Add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind. Mix and let everything cook for about 5 more minutes. 
14. Add the garam masala and kasoori methi and give a stir. Turn off the flame. 
15. Just before serving add the koftas to the curry, garnish with a tsp. cream and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 

Maa ki daal/Kaali Dal/Black lentils

Maa ki dal (typically called maah di daal) or kaali daal is a typical recipe made in Punjabi households and this recipe my dear, has always been very much famous in my home. This is a very simple version of dal, unlike the Dal Makhani recipe, there is no butter, ghee, cream, cashews, spices etc. added in this recipe and this is a perfect homely recipe made only using black whole lentils, simmered in a simple masala and served without any garnish and served with simple garam garam ghee wali chappati.

My Nani has a saying about this dal in my home which goes like: "Maah di daal, te hove do ghee chupdi rotti naal" !! (Black lentils with two ghee smeared chappatis is a heaven!).

Have previously shared three equally yummy and different recipes using the same whole black lentils:
Dal Makhani: The royal taste of Punjab
Dal Bukhara recipe
Amritsari Langar wali Dal recipe

Here's the recipe for maa ki daal/ black lentils soup..

Ingredients:

Black whole lentils: 1 cup
Onion (chopped): 1
Garlic (chopped): 4 cloves
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Tomato (chopped): 1
Green chili (finely chopped): 1
Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.

1. Soak the black whole lentils in water for 6-8 hours or overnight. 
2. Wash thoroughly and drain the water in which the lentils were soaked. Pressure cook for 8-10 whistles with salt or until soft. 
3. Heat oil in a pan and crackle the cumin seeds. As they crackle, add the asafoetida.  
4. Add the onion and ginger and fry the onions until they are transparent. 
5. Add the garlic and fry for about 2 minutes. 
6. Add the tomatoes and green chili and sprinkle salt. Mix well and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Add the red chili and turmeric powder and mix well. Turn off the flame after 2 minutes. 
8. Add this masala to the boiled dal and simmer for about 15 minutes. Turn off the flame and serve hot. 
9. This dal is best served with simple chappatis smeared with ghee. Please do not add any garam masala or any other masala. This simple, homely flavor is actually the specialty of this dish without and added spices. Ideally this dal is also not garnished with anything and savored in its simple form.
10. Enjoy !!! 

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Aate ki Pinniyan/Panjeeri (Punjabi dry fruit pinniyan)

Aate ki pinniyan.. OMG! I have a nostalgic memory of pinniyan right from my childhood. This was one thing that was religiously made in our home every winter season. And we used to go crazy and always just tried to eat the panjeeri as soon as it was prepared and me and my brother have burnt our hands and mouths may times while trying to eat it hot-hot, just removed from the stove top, in a hot kadhai. And of course mom and Nani used to get so angry.. After the balls were made, we kept eyeing where Nani is keeping the big box so one of us can sneak in (while the other remains on guard to see if mom/Nani is coming) and steal some of the pinnis.

Mom thought these would be good for my health as I was really thin in my childhood, but one day I was caught eating about 12 of these when I was just 6 years old! I became really sick and then the rule of "one pinni per day" came into being in our home for both me and my brother. That explains our need of stealing :D

Of course now there is no rule of eating these so I enjoyed fresh pinnis made by my Nani ji on my recent trip to India. She had prepared a lot for me and wanted me to carry back here as I do every year. But my husband is lactose intolerant and every time he's not able to taste them as it's difficult to find lactose free products in India. So I did not bring them this time instead I decided to make them myself from Home made lactose free ghee so that he can also enjoy them.

These are really easy to make and does not use a lot of ingredients. These are very rich and healthy because of the use of dry fruits in them. I took the recipe from Nani ji and tried these for the first time. Trust me, they came out really awesome and yummy, my first batch is already over as I'm typing this. You can eat this as it is (as panjeeri) or roll into balls and eat as pinniyan.

Now the detailed recipe:

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour: 2 big cups
Ghee: 2 big cups (I used home made ghee)
Powdered sugar: 1 big cup
(Use the same cup for measurement for all three).
Cashew nuts: 50 gm
Almonds: 50 gm
Walnuts: 25 gm
Desiccated coconut: 50 gm
Raisins: 50 gm
Poppy seeds: 25 gm
Isabgol: 25 gm
Pumpkin seeds (dried and roasted): 25 gm (optional)
Edible gum (gond): 50 gm
Green cardamom: 3

1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan on low flame and add the ghee and the flour. Begin by roasting the flour in the ghee slowly. 
   
2. Add little more ghee if it feels very dry. 
   
3. Keep roasting until it begins to change color to a darker shade and gives out a wonderful aroma. You can check if the flour is done and not raw by taking out a little roasted flour and letting it cool a bit and tasting it. Otherwise roast a bit more until done. 
4. By the time, in another pan, add 1 tsp. ghee and roast the edible gum. It will swell up and change color. Turn off the flame and let cool. Grind finely and keep aside. 
5. When the flour is done and not tasting raw, add the edible gum to the mix and mix well. Roasting the flour is the most important and time-consuming part and after that it's really easy.
   
6. Add the poppy seeds and 2 tsp. sugar. Mix everything well and stir for a minute. 
    
   
7. Roughly pound all the dry fruits and pumpkin seeds and add to the mix. You can also grind them in the mixer and can adjust the quantity of dry fruits and skip some as well. Add the dry fruits to the mix. 
   
8. Mix everything well and stir for about 2 minutes. 
    
   
9. Now add the desiccated coconut and isabgol. Add the remaining sugar and mix everything really well. Stir for another minute. 
   
10. Add the raisins and cardamom seeds and turn off the flame. Mix everything well to incorporate in the mix and your yummy panjeeri is ready!! 
    
11. Let cool a little portion and taste the sugar. You can add more powdered sugar to the whole mix while it's still hot. 
    
12. Check if you can roll into balls after it has cooled down: press and level a part of the panjeeri with a spatula and lift a little portion, if it has small cracks, then it needs more ghee. It can't be rolled in balls.
    
13. Heat again on low flame and add more ghee. 
    
14. Test by the same method, press and lift with the help of spatula. Now you can see there are no cracks that means the ghee is perfect and ready to roll in balls.  
    
15. After it has cooled down a bit, roll it in small balls (pinniyan). If you still can't roll into balls, that means the ghee is less. Heat up the whole mix again on medium flame and add more ghee. Turn off the flame and roll in pinniyan when it's cooled down a bit. 
16. Store in air-tight container at room temperature.
    
     

I'm sure you loved this easy and quick recipe. Didn't you? Please share your thoughts/comments/feedback in the comment section below. Also, don't forget to connect with me on Facebook and do send your feedback pictures so that I can publish them on the page.

Happy cooking! Happy eating! 

Makki di Roti te Sarson da Saag

Makki di Roti te Sarson da Saag: Punjabiyan di shaan!! (The pride of Punjabis)

Well, this is the first food which comes in mind when we talk together of winters and Punjab!
Oh yes, and as of almost all the Sikh households, this is the pride food of our home as well. As the winters begin to set in in India, we see lush bright mustard greens in the vegetable markets and the preparations begin to prepare this awesome Sarson ka Saag which undoubtedly goes with flavorful makki ki roti.

Unfortunately we don't get mustard leaves where we live so I prepared Palak ka saag instead. It tasted yummy and a wonderful alternative where mustard greens are not so easily available. In this post I'm sharing the recipe of both Palak ka saag (how I prepared it) and Sarson ka saag (recipe by my Nani ji) and also how to prepare the perfect Makki ki roti..

Palak ka saag recipe:

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves: 500 gm
Onion (chopped): 1 large
Tomatoes (chopped): 2
Ginger (chopped): 1 inch
Garlic (chopped): 3 cloves
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Cooking oil: 1 tsp.
Makki flour: 3 tsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Ghee: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Onion (finely chopped): 1

1. Wash and chop the spinach leaves. Assemble all the other chopped vegetables: onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilli. 
   
2. Add about 3 cups of water in a deep vessel or a pressure cooker and add all the chopped vegetables to it. Bring to a rolling boil in open flame.  
   
3. Turn off the flame and remove all the vegetables and let them cool. 
   
4. When cooled, grind them all to a smooth puree like mixture. Keep aside. 
   
5. Heat oil on medium flame and add the spinach paste to the pan. Stir well and let cook. Do not cover. 
   
6. Keep stirring and cooking. Add some water which was boiled with the veggies to the saag and keep stirring and cooking. Water is added because the saag will soon become dry in the process of cooking but will not be cooked properly. So adding water and stirring will give more time for saag to cook. This whole process will take about 15 minutes. 
   
7. Now add the makki flour to the saag. It will start getting thicker in consistency. Add the salt and the red chilli powder. 
   
8. Keep stirring and after few minutes the water will evaporate and it will become the saag consistency. Turn off the flame. 
   
9. Now prepare the tempering for the saag: Heat the ghee on medium flame and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the onions and fry until they start getting brown. Turn off the flame and add the tadka to the saag. Mix well and cover. 
   
10. You can remove cover and serve after 10 minutes. Saag is ready. Serve hot with a dollop of butter, makki ki roti, gud and achaar. 
    
    
    
    

Makki ki roti recipe:

Ingredients:

Makki flour: 2 cups
Warm water to knead the flour
Salt to taste
Carom seeds
Ghee: to top the makki roti

1. Take the makki flour in a kneading bowl and add in salt and carom seeds. Mix well. 
2. Begin by adding very little warm water to the flour and then mixing it with fingers. Keep adding little water and mixing the flour until it reaches a crumbling consistency. 
3. After that try and bind little flour together. Start keeping the little bits of binded flour to the side and again adding very little water and try to bind more bits of the flour. Continue keeping the binded flour to the side and try to make one big lump of the binded flour. 
4. Makki aata will not require a lot of water so be careful about adding water. Bind the whole flour into a big lump of dough and roll it between your palms to give it a round-like shape. the final product must not be sticky.  
   
5. Now will begin to make roti of this dough. Pinch a small ball of the flour and make it as round as possible by rolling between your palms. 
   
6. Lay it on the flat surface and press the ball lightly with your fingers. Don't apply a lot of pressure of it will disintegrate. 
7. Flatten it a little more with your fingers and then try to lift it up carefully with a flat spatula. Sprinkle some dry makki flour at the bottom if required. 
   
8. Now lightly begin to roll it with the help of a rolling pin. Apply very light pressure, keep checking if you can lift it with the spatula. The roti might have little rough edges on the side, it's normal. Take care not to make too big roti otherwise you won't be able to lift it up with the spatula. 
   
    
9. When it's done, lift up the roti with spatula and put it on the tawa on medium-high flame.
10. Flip the side and press with a kitchen cloth. 
    
11. Flip again and keep cooking till the roti is done: light brown spots will appear on the roti. Prepare rotis from all of the dough in this way. 
    
12. Serve hot hot with Sarson ka saag or Palak ka saag. 
     
    

Sarson ka saag recipe (Recipe courtesy my Nani ji)

Mustard greens: 500 gm
Spinach leaves: 150 gm
Makki flour: 50 gm
Dried red chili: 2
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Green chili (chopped): 2
Onion (chopped): 1
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Garlic: 2 cloves
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Cream: 1/2 cup
Ghee: 3 tbsp.

(This quantity of saag will serve 4 to 6 people; you can adjust the ingredients according to requirement).

1. Wash and chop finely the mustard greens and spinach leaves. 
2.  Pressure cook for 3 whistles with two cups of water. 
3. While the greens are getting pressure cooked, add the salt, red chili powder, garam masala, ginger and cream to the makki flour. Mix well. 
4. Heat 1 tbp. ghee and fry the flour mixture on medium flame until it starts getting golden brown. Turn off the flame and keep aside. 
5. By this time, the mustard and spinach would be boiled. Let cool and grind to a smooth paste in the grinder. Keep aside. 
6. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. ghee and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the dried red chillis and onion. Fry until it starts getting brown. 
7. Add the garlic and green chilli and mix well. Let cook for a minute. 
8. Add the cooked flour mixture; mix well and let everything cook for 2-3 minutes. 
9. Now add the ground mustard and spinach paste. Mix well and turn the heat to medium-high. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Do not cover. 
10. Turn the flame to medium-low and let cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off the flame, add a dollop of ghee and serve hot with Makki ki roti (procedure explained above), gud, papad and achaar. Enjoy !!!

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