Plain Paratha with Kaleji (Liver) Masala

One of the first non- vegetarian dishes I learnt to cook after getting married, was kaleji masala. The first festival after our wedding was bakrid. It was only a couple of weeks since we were married, and hubby told me that this is a traditional dish made every Bakrid and is usually the first meal of the day.
A quick phone call to M-I-L and I learnt how to make this delicious dish.

 

 You will need:

 For the Paratha:

Whole wheat flour 2 cups
A pinch of salt
1 Tbspn oil/ghee/clarified butter
Water

For the Kaleji Masala:

Goat liver, cleaned and cut to bite sized pieces 1/2 kg
Onions 2, finely chopped
Ginger Garlic paste 1 tspn

Green paste being made

Chopped Corriander leaves 1 cup
Mint leaves 1 cup
Green chillies 4-5
Pepper corns 8-10
Salt to taste
Yogurt - 1 cup
Red chilli powder 1 tspn
Turmeric powder - 3/4th tspn
Oil 2 Tbspn

The method :

Parathas

Mix together the flour, water and salt, knead to form a soft, pliable dough. Keep aside for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 15 portions. Using a rolling pin, roll out the portions into small thin rounds (roti). Spread a drop of oil on half the circle and fold it into a semi circle. Spread another drop of oil on half of the semi circle and fold it into a triangle.
Sprinkle a little flour on a plain surface and roll out the triangle evenly on all sides. Heat a pan and bake the paratha until it's evenly done on both sides. Little brown dots should form on both the sides. Apply a little oil while Baking. Serve hot with Kaleji masala

Masala

Marinate the goat liver with, salt, red chilli powder, yogurt, ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder for about about 2 hours.
Grind the green chillies, pepper corns,mint leaves and corriander leaves to form a paste. Keep aside.
 Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Stir until the onions start to brown. Now add the marinated liver to the pan. Cook until it starts to ooze oil. keep stirring in between. Now add the ground green paste, to the cooked meat. Cook on a low heat until all moisture is evaporated. Some more yogurt can be added if moisture is lost before the liver is cooked. Remember not to add water.

Plain paratha with Kaleji Masala

Mirchi Bajji

  Call me weird , but the first thing I can think of when someone reminds me of monsoons in India , is food. Hot, piping, spicy fritters (pakode, bajji) or chaat. I don't like drinking tea , but most people say a hot cuppa along with these snacks lifts up your spirits on a rainy day.

 Our second recipe for scrumptious tuesday is Mirchi Bajji (Jalapeno fritters). I am pretty sure most of my Hyderabadi readers are longing to have a bajji while reading this post. There are different fillings used in different parts of India, I will only cover the basic version today.

For this recipe you will need

For the batter :

Besan (chickpea/gram flour) 1 cup
Ajwain (carom seeds) 1/4th tea spoon
Salt to taste
Baking soda 1/2 tspn

For the stuffing:

Jalapeno peppers / big green chillis 8-10
Tamarind pulp , the size of a lemon
Ajwain (Carom seeds) 1 1/2 tspns
Salt to taste.

The Method

Soak the tamarind for about 20 minutes. You can also heat it in a micowave for about a minute if you are in a hurry. Keep this aside to cool

In a bowl mix together all the ingredients for the batter . Keep adding water to this mixture until the consistency is right. When the Chilli is dipped in the batter it should coat completely. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Keep aside

In a blender mix together the tamarind pulp, Carom seeds and salt.

Slit the chillis lengthwise without seperating the crown. De seed the chillis with a spoon. Now stuff the chillis with the tamarind pulp mixture. Keep aside for a while. This will ensure that your chillis are not very spicy. If you want them hot, you can fry them right away.

 Heat oil in a deep pan . Once the oil is the right temperature , we start frying the chillis. To test the heat of the oil, drop a little batter in the oil, it should sink to the bottom of the pan first and then slowly rise up. If it rises up immediately, then the oil is too hot. Now dip the stuffed chillis in the batter and drop in the oil. Fry on medium heat until golden brown. Remove on to a paper napkin when done, to remove excess oil.

Serve hot with finely chopped onions and tomato sauce.

Masala Dosa and Chutneys

 Dosa! The favourite breakfast of every South Indian. We had a few guests over last week and they were very curious about how dosas were made. This scrumptious tuesday, I share with you my Recipe for Masala Dosa along with two chutneys. Onion and Groundnut.

 The Dosa is a savory crepe or pancake made with lentils and rice. It is one of the staple breakfast meals in south India and is equally loved every where else.

Do remember that for the batter, different people have different measurements. Experiment with the ratios to see how you like you dosa.

You will need: 

For the Batter

• 2 Cups Rice
• 1 cup Urad dal (Black gram)
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
• Salt to taste

For the Masala

• 2 potatoes, Boiled and mashed
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1 medium onion finely  chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp cooking oil
• Finely chopped corriander leaves
• Finely chopped ginger 1 tspn

For the Onion Chutney

• 2 Large onions roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp corriander seeds (dhaniya)
• 2 Dried red chillies
• Salt to taste
• a little jaggery
• Tamarind , the size of a gooseberry
• Oil 1 tspn

For the Groundnut Chutney 

• 1/2 cup ground nuts
• 2 green chillis
• 2 garlic cloves
• Tamarind, the size of a lemon
• salt to taste
• curry leaves
• Oil 1 tspn

The Procedure

The batter

Soak all the ingredients except salt for at least six hours. Grind to a fine paste, add salt and water. The batter should be a runny consistency. Keep this batter aside to ferment for a few hours / overnight. I live in a cold country so I leave the batter next to the radiator to ferment.

The Masala

Heat oil in a pan, add the green chillies and the ginger. Stir until lightly fried, now add the chopped onions. Fry until transparent. Now add the mashed potatoes and mix well. Finally, add the salt and turmeric and stir until the potatoes are well done. Top with finely chopped corriander leaves. Take the pan off the heat and leave aside to cool

Onion Chutney

Onion chutney is one of my favourites. My mom used to make this both with idlies and dosas. It is a healthy chutney and helps cool the body. Heat a little oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Fry until transparent. Add the remaining ingredients except jaggery. Fry until the onions are firm but well done. Make sure the corriander and chillies do not burn. Take off the pan and leave aside to cool. Add a little jaggery to this mixture and then grind it to a fine paste. Serve at room temperature

Groundnut Chutney

Groundnut chutney is a very very delicious chutney and tastes amazing with dosas. It is a favourite with my husband. Heat a little oil in the pan and add all the ingredients. Keep stirring until you can smell the fried peanuts. Take care not to burn anything. Take off the heat and leave aside to cool. Grind the mixture to form a fine paste.

The Dosa

Heat a flat pan /skillet. Make sure that the pan is well heated before you start or else the dosa might break.

Sprinkle a little oil on the pan. Now scoop a ladle full of batter and spread on the heated pan. Start from the middle and spread outside in a circular motion.

Take a spoonful of masala and top it on the dosa. One the Dosa is well done (Brown on one side) , remove it from heat , fold it it half and serve with the chutneys.

Tips:

• Rub a piece of onion on the pan after every dosa, this keeps the pan non sticky.
• I always use very good quality non stick pans. This way I can use less oil and the food is healthier.
• For a brown dosa, use more oil.I don't add much oil, so my dosas are white.

I love eating Dosas on weekends. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy.