An Indian Attitude towards Food ...

Mollagu Kuttu with Mango Pachadi (Raita)

2006-10-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

Pakodas and Chai are hot favourite to everyone on a rainy day. But this mollagukuttu with raw mango pachadi is one heavenly combination which is worth a try. My sister is always full of praises about her MIL's cooking and after trying this recipe, it turned out to be so true. She keeps trying out new recipes which she gets from her MIL and shares it with me.

For the Mollagu kuttu

Boil water and in the hot water add turmeric , pepper powder , sambhar powder. Let this cook for 5 -10 mts . To this add vegetables ( green peas, snake gourd , broad beans (english) - avarrakai(tamil), tomatoes ) , Tur dal , salt as per taste. Pressure cook all this 1-2 whistels.
Grind fresh coconut , pepper , cumin seeds . Add this paste to the cooked vegetables. Boil everything well and give thadka of Mustard seeds, Udad dal , curry leaves, hing powder, red chillies in coconut oil.

For the Raw mango pachadi (raita )

Cut the raw mango to small pieces. Heat oil in the vessel and add mustard seeds , udad dal , red chillies, curry leaves . Add the raw mangoes , turmeric powder and little red chilli powder. For 1 medium sized raw mango add 2 glasses of water. Once the water starts boiling add jaggery 2-3 small pieces. You will see that the mango gets cooked very nicely , if its still watery you can mix rice flour with quarter cup water and add to this.

Serve hot with steamed rice . Everytime my husband sees raw mango in the market he wants me to buy it and cook for him this awesome combination especially when it rains or is very cold.

kadai Paneer

2006-10-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

When u order kadai paneer in the restuarant , the idea behind it is to eat something spicy to give you that right kick !!! Thats exactly what this recipe is about and the brain behind is none other than my elder sister who truly is elder sister in all respects . She gives us the right kicks, boosting and keeps driving us. No matter where you are, with her around you will simply be charged up all the time. No wonder her kids are hyperactive ;) but they are very smart too !!!

Here is the recipe :

Cut fine 1 big onion or 2 medium sized onion and sautee them. Add to this 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, turmeric (haldi), 1 tsp saunf ( fennel seed ) powder, 2 tsp dhaniya powder and 2-3 tsp garam masala powder, 2 tsp kitchen king curry masala, 1 tsdp kasoori methi powder and red chilli powder as per spice required. Let it cook well , this can be used for many other sabji's as well.

Cut 1 big onion , 1 capsicum and 1/2 tomatoe and paneer in long strips .

Heat combined oil and ghee. Add cumin seeds. Keep the flame high and add Onion and Capsicum strips. Add the cooked paste , saute and then add the tomatoes . After a min add the paneer and close the pan with lid and switch off the gas .The paneer gets cooked very nicely in the steam. Serve hot by garnishing with fresh chopped corriander leaves.

Note: If the paneer is not fresh , soak the paneer for about 10 mts in warm water before cooking.

SmartNephew

2006-10-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

The other day my Sister and Bil took my nephews for hayride like everyother parent since the fall season has started its one happening thing in the east coast. At the entrance , they said children below 5 need not buy tickets. My elder nephew went in first and said he is 51/2 and a ticket was bought for him. My Bil told to the lady at the counter that the second was just 2 yr old and this little guy corrects his dad and tells " No dad am 5". When the lady asked him again he answers confidently and with a lot of attitude "Dad am actually 5 and not 2" . Being a 2 1/2 yr old he speaks too clearly so no one actually believed my Bil in the queue so not only he ended up buying the ticket but also was made to look like a fool by his little one. When my sister came back and told us we all had a hearty laugh ;)

Coming Soon .....

2006-10-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Visit the blog to find some interesting recipes of my Lovely MOM who has been serving mouthwatering dishes to us all these years especially my dad who is a Big Food Critic !!!

Chicken Lollipop

2006-10-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from my Sister-in-law's and she is the Guru at it. The entire family loves to eat these chicken lollipops when she makes it. Just like we see in hindi movies they have a family song this lollipop is a family dish in my husband's house whenever we all meet. No one ever gets bored of eating this and my niece is practically growing up hogging the chicken lollipop right from the kitchen when her mom is cooking. My little nephew who cant chew the chicken loves the peel and would happily eat the peel.

Grind 2 bunches of corriander leaves , green chillis as per taste , 1 big piece ginger, 8-9 garlic cloves , 1-2 eggs depending upon its size, 1/2 lemon juice. Donot add water as the egg takes care of it.
1:2 is the ratio of maida (flour) and corn flour. Mix the flour , orange color, with the ground mixture, salt to taste. Marignate the chicken drumsticks in this mixture and refrigerate it for half an hour .

Deep fry the chicken lollipop in the heated oil and serve hot with chilli sauce.

I had cooked it recently for my sister's family and they loved it. Hopefully we will soon visit my SIL and enjoy these lollipops from the very own Guru's hands .... my mouth has already started watering !!!

Fish and Shrimp Fritters

2006-10-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

This recipe is something I had read a long time back and makes a great starter or snack with Chilli garlic hot sauce. Good dish to make for all those who eat only fish, like my BIL, my sister feels very bad when she makes chicken for the entire family and is out of ideas for fish recipes.

250 gms boneless fish
200 gms Shrimps
1 spoon lemon juice
1 egg
2 spoons flour
1 tsp chopped garlic.

Combine all the ingredients with garam masala and corriander leaves. Grind to a coarse paste. Add salt to taste. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture in hot oil and fry until golder brown.

Tomato Stuff Bhaji

2006-10-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Not a big fan of cabbage, as I always felt that it lacked taste. So when I was staying as a paying guest back in India, the owner had a tough time cooking food for all of us, as each one of us had our own likings. We all used to make a big face, whenever it was cabbage in the menu.
As it was tough for the owner to satisfy all of our food needs at the same time by not repeating the dishes, she came out with this tomato stuff recipe and since then all of us like eating cabbage.

Do NOT wash the cabbage, chop it finely , add salt and keep it aside for 15-20 mts. Drain the salt water afterwards.
Heat 1tsp oil and saute in it 1tsp Cumin seeds ( jeera) , 2-3 red chillis , 1 tsp Corriander seeds .
Grind this mixture.
Add to the cabbage 1 medium sized lemon juice , 2 tsp sugar , ground mixture and salt as per taste.

Chop the tomato head one side making the base flat . Remove the tomato seeds from inside and stuff it with the cabbage. Heat oil in a thick pan , place the tomatoes , cover it with the lid and simmer the gas and allow the tomatoes to cook well.

Tastes very nice with chapatis. You can refrigerate the tomato seeds juice and use it later for cooking. Enjoy this tomato stuff.

Dum Aloo

2006-10-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

One big advantage of staying away from home is you get to learn different style of cooking. I was the princess at home and nver entered the kitchen at all, while my mom did all the cooking. Since I had to do my own cooking, for my own survival, I have realised the importance of it. Since then I have taken up cooking as a hobby and now I keep trying out different stuff.

This is an easy DumAloo recipe .... you might be wondering that I write its easy for all recipes, thats becoz all people who know me will completely agree that I am a BIG LAZY goose. Hahaha.

Here is the recipe :

Soak Kaskas (white poppy seeds) with 3-4 red chillis , if u want it spicy otherwise can reduce it to 1-2, and dry coconut in half cup water. If you cant get dry coconut, just soak the other 2 ingredients.

Boil the baby potatoes first. Then add little oil in a nonstick pan and saute it for a minute, to make it a little crisp fro the outside. You could deep fry the baby potatoes too. Use a fork and poke few holes in these potatoes, so the spices can seep in it.

Grind 1 small piece ginger, 2-3 cloves or garlic, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp Cinnamon powder or a small piece of cinnamon stick, 4-5 green Cardomom, with the soaked kuskus (White poppy seeds), red chillis and fresh or dry coconut. This paste should be little thick so don't add much water.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a round bottom pan , cook this paste for 3-4 mts with salt and 2-3 tsp sugar, and then add the cooked potatoes. Add little water to make it a nice gravy curry. If u would like more richer taste, add 1/2 cup cream, allow it to cook till it starts to boil. Server it hot with (fresh) finely chopped corriander leaves as garnishing.

This can be enjoyed best with Chapatis or Nans of any kind.

Egg Curry

2006-10-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is a mouthwatering easy eggcurry which I learnt from my MIL. Although she is not amongst us , but my 2 months of stay with her after marriage helped me a lot to learn about her, my husband's family and yes some real good curries.
Everytime I make this curry, miss her a lot. We had a wonderful time together , getting wet in the heavy rains of mumbai in our house terrace , watching tv , gossiping ..... will always cherish it.

Grind together with 1 cup water to a smooth paste

1 big onion
2-3 medium tomatoes
green chillis as per taste
1/2 cup coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small piece of ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp garam masala powder

Take a thick bottom pan , add 2 tsp oil. Once the oil gets hot add mustard seeds . Add the ground paste and salt let it cook.
Add water if its too thick or u can also add 1/2 cup milk. When its almost cooked break the egss next to each other depending upon the width of the pan.
Simmer the gas close the lid of the pan and allow the eggs to cook.

Garnish fresh chopped corrianger leaves and serve hot with rice. The egg flavour blends extremely well with the gravy and its yummy mouthwatering curry.

To whomever I have given this recipe they make egg curries now only like this and enjoy it thoroughly.

Thank you amma for sharing such a lovely recipe with me.

Tomato Soup

2006-10-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

Today I tried this yummy tomato soup and my husband simply loved it . He is a foodie and enjoys everything that I usually make and encourages me to try out new stuff . That makes me experiment more.

Here goes the recipe for you all who want to get praised by their family.

Extract the juice ( used a juicer ) of

6-8 Tomatoes
2-3 Carrots
1 cucumber
1 Onion ( small )
Small piece of ginger
1-2 garlic gloves

Boil this mixture with 1 tsp dhaniya ( corriander) powder , 2 tsp red chilli powder , 1 big tsp sugar and salt to taste.
When you start getting the cooked aroma of the soup add half cup milk .

Serve hot with crushed pepper.

"Corn Chaat"

2006-10-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best chatpatta chaat while watching a movie , game or for travel.

Check this Recipe out:

Take a cup of Sweet Corn canned or boil the corn kernels
Add a pinch of pepper powder , chaat masala , red chilli powder
Squeeze half a lime in it
Mix throughly
Enjoy

Its simple, and something we have enjoyed everytime.