Fried lamb

I know, I know, I make this look like a cookery blog, but I managed to find some time today, so here you go.
Today's recipe is a delicious lamb fry, one of my favourites. This dish needs some patience to make but the wait is worth it. For this dish..

You will need

Lamb , cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
Curd 1/2 cup
1/2 lemon juice
Ginger- garlic paste 1 Tbspn

Corriander leaves - Finely chopped
Mint leaves - Finely chopped
Slit green chillies 2-3
Onion, finely sliced 2
Jeera (Cumin) powder - 1 tspn
Corriander powder - 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder 1 tspn
Garam masala powder 1 tspn
Oil

The method:

Clean the lamb and cut into bite sized pieces. Marinate the lamb with Curd, lemon juice, ginger- garlic paste, Corriander leaves, mint leaves, salt, green chillies, and Red chilli powder.

Marinade this mixture for 2 hours. Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onions. Keep stirring until the onions are golden brown. Now add the corriander and cumin powders. Now add the marinated lamb pieces. Keep stirring until the lamb has slightly changed color. Cover the pan and cook on medium heat. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning the lamb. Stir until the lamb oozes oil. Once the pieces are dark brown, not burnt, sprinkle the garam masala on top. Stir for a couple of minutes. The lamb is ready to eat. Tastes great with roti and rice.

Chepala pulusu (Fish curry Andhra style)

 I have always loved eating sea food. My parents are from coastal towns and I seem to have inherited this love of sea food from them. One of my favourite dishes is chepala pulusu. Pulusu is a tamarind based curry. This dish is made in different ways across andhra. What I will blog today is the way it is made at my place.

 I am not much of an expert at selecting fish, but my mom says river fish taste great with pulusu. After living out of India for so long, I pick up whichever fish I can get in the frozen food aisle at the super market.

 To make the pulusu you need

Any river fish , 1/2 kilo ,Cleaned and cut to 2.5 - 3 inch pieces
Onions - 2 big, finely chopped
1 Tomato - pureed
3 green chillies, sliced
Tamarind - the size of a small orange
Ginger- garlic paste 1 tspn
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder to taste
Dhaniya (Corriander seed) powder 1/2 tspn
Jeera (Cumin seed) powder 1/4 tspn
Corriander leaves 1/4 bunch, chopped
Garam masala 1/4 tspn
Sugar a pinch
Oil 1-2 Tbspn

Seasoning:
Mustard seeds 1 tspn
Curry leaves 6-7
Green chillies 3 , sliced
Methi (fenugreek) seeds 5-6

The method:
Soak tamarind in water for a few minutes. Take pulp of the tamarind and keep aside.
Apply salt,red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, and jeera powder to the fish and keep aside. If you are worried that the fish might break while cooking, heat the oil in a pan, and lightly roast the fish for a few seconds, remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, add the mustard seeds, after they begin to splutter, add the curry leaves, slit green chillies and methi seeds. Add the chopped onions, stir until transparent. Now add the ginger garlic paste,keep stirring, do not let it burn.

Add the fish pieces to the pan, add the tomato puree, do not stir or the fish might break. Cover the pan and cook at medium heat for 1-2 minutes until the puree is cooked. Now filter the tamarind pulp and add the liquid. Cover the pan and cook at medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lid and add the garam masala, sugar and carefully shake the pan to allow the masala to mix in the curry. Now add a little red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, jeera powder and salt, shake again. Add the remaining green chillies (you can add one if you do not like spice), corriander leaves. If you feel the curry is too thick for your liking, add a little water to dilute. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes.

This tastes great when served with hot rice.

Vegetable Manchurian- Dry

 Most people I know love Chinese food. But, I wonder how many of them ever had Indo-Chinese food. Indo Chinese is the Indianised version of Chinese dishes mostly sold by street vendors but also available in many restaurants. Many Indians believe this is authentic chinese food. Show it to a Chinese and he would probably not recognize the dish at all.

 One of my favourite Indo- Chinese dish is Vegetable Manchurian. There are two versions of this dish, wet and dry. Today I will post the recipe  for Dry Vegtable Manchurian.

 For this you will need :

• Grated Cabbage 1 Cup
• Grated Carrot 1 Cup
• 1 Stalk Chopped Spring onion
• 2-3 Chopped Green Chillies
• 1 Tbspn Corn Flour
• 1 Tbspn Soya sauce
• 1 Tspn Pepper Powder
• 1 Tbspn Garlic Flakes
• A pinch of ajinomoto
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tspn sugar
• Oil 

Method :

Squeeze out the water from the grated cabbage and carrot and mix them well. Ensure that most of the water is out or else it will be difficult to keep the shape intact. In a mixing bowl, add the squeezed carrots, cabbage, corn flour , salt and green chillies. Mix well.
Make small balls out of this mixture. There will be no need to add any water to this mixture. I usually make fist sized balls as I have super tiny hands, the usual size is about that of a kofta.
Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the balls until golden brown. Drain and take out into a tissue lined bowl to absorb excess oil. Keep aside.
Heat another pan and add 2 Tbspn oil. Saute the Garlic, some more green chillies, ginger and spring onions and stir fry for a few seconds. Add the vegetable balls and stir fry for a few minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add soy sauce and sugar. Mix well and cook for two minutes.
Garnish with spring onions and corriander

Sunni undalu

 Mom is visiting us and we have an abundance of sweets to eat. But my favourite has always been sunnundalu, made with urad dal.This is a simple but delicious recipe.

 For these you will need

 Urad dal (Blackgram) - 1 Cup
 Powdered Sugar - 1 Cup
 Elaichi (Cardamom) powder - a pinch
 Ghee (Clarified butter) - 1/2 cup


Dry roast the urad dal in a heated pan until the lentils turn a coppery color and a beautiful fragrance emanates. Keep aside to cool. Powder the lentils and mix the powdered sugar and elaichi powder to this.

If you want the sweet to be crunchy make a rough powder, if you like the sweet to melt in your mouth, make a fine powder.

Now heat the ghee until it melts. Pour the hot ghee into the powdered mixture and make round balls. Melt in your mouth, delicious Sunni undalu are ready to eat.

Idly, sambar and coconut chutney

Delicious Idlis  with sambar and coconut chutney

 Last week we discovered an Asian store in our neighbourhood. I ended up buying a small bottle gourd and fresh coconut among other things. So, hubby wanted me to make sambar and coconut chutney with the idlis I was gonna make for breakfast. I use my mom's recipe to make sambar, and usually tastes great, but this time it was totally out of this world.  I thought I'd share this recipe with all of you.

You will need :

For the Idli batter:

• 1 cup urad dal (black gram /black lentil)
• 2 1/2 cups idli rawa
• 1 tsp methi seeds (fenugreek)
• 1/4 th cup flattened rice(Poha)
• Salt to taste
• Baking soda - a pinch

For the sambar :

• 1/2 cup Toor dal (yellow pigeon peas)
• Tamarind, the size of a lemon
• 2- Onions, roughly chopped(if you can find spring onions,chop and add them along with onions.)
• 2- Tomoatoes , roughly chopped
• Vegetables, cut into bite sized pieces (I usually use drumstick, ladies finger, raw mango, bottle gourd, brinjal, whichever is available)
• Curry leaves
• Cilantro / corriander leaves , finely chopped
• Mustard seeds 1 tspn
• Dry red chilies - 2
• Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch
• Oil/ghee 1 tbspn
• Green chillies - 2 slit horizontally
• Turmeric powder - 1 tspn
• Salt- to taste
• Red chilli powder - to taste
• Sugar 1 tspn

For the sambar powder:

• Chana Dal (dried, split chickpeas)- 1 Tbspn
• Corriander seeds (Dhaniya) - 1 Tbspn
• Jeera (Cumin) seeds - 1 tspn
• Dessicated coconut 1 tspn.
• Ghee / clarified butter a few drops

For the coconut chutney:

• 1/2 Cocunut cut into pieces
• 2 Green chillies
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• Mustard seeds 1 tspn 
• Dry red chilli 2
• Oil - 1 tspn
• Salt

The Process:

Idli:

Clean and soak the Urad dal and Methi seeds for about 5 hours. In a seperate container, soak the Idli rawa and Poha for approximately 2 hours. 


Grind the Urad dal and methi seeds to form a foamy and soft texture, now add the idi rawa and poha mixture to form a fine and frothy paste. Take this mixture in a container, add baking soda and leave overnight for the batter to raise. Mix with your hand to initiate the fermentation process. Read the details for fermentation in my post about Dosa batter. 


 Once the batter is fermented, it will rise to double the quantity. Now grease the idli moulds with oil / ghee and add the idli batter to each mould. Make sure you do not fill the mould to it's full as the idli will rise after steaming. Pressure cook for 15 minutes.


 Serve hot with sambar / chutney

Sambar:

Sambar is a staple in many south Indian homes. Though making sambar is an elaborate process, it can be done fairly quickly once you get used to it.

Soak the tamarind in warm water.  

Boil  the Tur Dal along with a little turmeric and salt. Drain the excess water and grind the dal in a mixie or mash it until it is a pulp. Keep aside


Heat a  little wok and add a few drops of ghee to this. Roast the ingredients for the sambar powder until a lovely aroma arises from it. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Once cooled, grind into a fine powder and keep aside.


In a large container, add a tbspn of oil. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to splutter, add the curry leaves and Dry red chilies. Once a nice smell arises add the Asafoetida and immediately add Green chillies and onions and stir quickly. Do not let the Asafoetida burn. 


Once the onions become transparent, add the chopped tomatoes, stir and reduce the flame. Cover and et simmer on a low flame for 2 minutes. Now remove the lid and add the remaining vegetables, stir and cover again. Let the vegetables simmer on a low heat for 3-4 minutes.


In the meantime, prepare the tamarind pulp by mixing the soaked tamarind in water. remove the solid tamarind and keep the pulp aside.

Now remove the lid of the container and  add the mashed dal , stir once and add the tamarind pulp. Mix well. Now add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder and the sambar powder, stir well. Add 2 cups of water and cover and cook on medium for 5 minutes.


 Remove the lid, add sugar and sprinkle chopped corriander leaves. Bring to a boil , Cover with llid and continue simmering for another 10 minutes. Sambar is ready to serve. Tastes great with rice, idli, dosa. 

Coconut chutney: 

Coconut chutney

Chop the coconut and grind into fine paste along with the green chillies and ginger.


Heat oil in a pan , add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Add curry leaves and red chillies. Once chillies change color, remove and add the mixture to the ground coconut chutney. Add salt and mix well.


This chutney goes well with idlis, Dosas and vada.

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.