Chettinadu Mushroom Masala

This tangy and hot curry is my version of Chettinadu masala. It goes very well with chapathi's and parantha's especially potato parantha. Since its quite sour and hot it can easily pass off as a chutney and you may serve raitha along with it to tone down the heat in your food.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
Mushrooms: 500 gms (2 packs), washed and chopped into quarters
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Long dry red Chillies- 2
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Masala:
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Peppercorns- 4 nos.

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 1/2 tbsp

Corriander Seeds- 1 tbsp

Round dry red Chillies - 5 nos.

Garam Masala Pwd- 1/2 tsp

Roast the above ingredients with 1/2 tsp oil on low heat. Cool and make into a paste with:
 1/2 cup water
 1 tbsp of Tamarind paste (yes, you need lots of tamarind and that what gives this dish the "tang".)
 1/2 tsp Turmeric Pwd.

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, lower heat and add long dry red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
2.Put in the mushrooms and fry untill well coated with oil.
3. Add the ground masala and salt. Mix well.
4. Add about 1/2 cup water and let the curry boil. Do not cover.
5.After 1 boil, lower heat and simmer untill the gravy become thick.
6. Serve hot with chapathi, roti or parantha's.

Aaloo ke Paranthe / Potato stuffed indian bread

Aaloo ke paranthe topped with warm desi ghee ......hmmm.....  That's the taste of rugged India... No calorie counting here.

A classical North Indian dish , it is usually served with pickle and raitha. My weekend favorite, I have also tried pudhina (mint) chutney and a mushroom pickle with it and trust me...any one of these two just takes the parantha to a different level. No matter what you serve with the parantha, a raitha is a must. You may also serve it plain, especially to children.

Makes 6 Parantha's.

Ingredients:

Basic Dough:

Whole Wheat flour (Atta) + All Purpose Flour(Maida) - 1 1/2 +1 1/2 cups = total 3 cups

Water - little less than 1 1/2 cups (dissolve 1 tsp salt in it)

Ghee - 1 tbsp for kneading  and 1 tsp to fry each parantha.

Stuffing:

Potato - 2 medium size

Onion - 1 chopped

Green Chillies - 2 nos chopped

Ginger - 1/2 " piece grated

Corriander leaves - 1/2 bunch, finely chopped

Turmeric pwd. - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup only if required.

Method of Preparation:

Basic Dough

1. In a deep bowl, put in your flour. Add 1 cup of water and mix with your fingers. Now add the rest of the water little by little. You will need a little less than 1/2 cup. Keep mixing with fingers untill all the flour is damp. Once all your flour forms into a ball, but still dry add 1 tbsp water(no tmore than that). Your dough should be slightly sticky, this will give you soft parantha's. In any case if you have added more water you may add more wheat flour.

2. Add 1 tbsp ghee and knead the dough. The more you knead, the softer parantha's you'll have. When your dough looks smooth, roll into a cylinder between your palms and take out 6 equal sized parts.

3. Knead these parts again and shape into balls by rolling them in between your palms. Cover and keep aside.

Stuffing:

1.Wash potatoes well in running water and boil with skin until cooked. I usually put it into the pressure cooker with enough water to cover the potatoes and cook it on medium heat until one whistle. Once the pressure come down on its own i remove them from the cooker and then peel them.

2. Mash the peeled potatoes until there are no lumps.

3. Heat oil in a kadai and fry onions, green chillies and ginger untill onions turn transparent.

4. Add salt and turmeric pwd.

5. Add the mashed potaoes and mix well.

6. If there are lumps in the potaotes then you may add 1/4 cup water and mash with masher untill there are no lumps.

7. Cook until the mixture is dry. Cool. Make 6 equal sized balls.

Assembling:

1. Roll the dough in a little wheat flour and flatten with roller to about 3" diameter.

2. Place the potato ball in the center of the dough.

3. Bring up the sides of the dough, close the potato ball completely with dough.

4. Flatten with you palm and roll into some flour.

5. Now lightly roll into parantha's.

6. Heat a tava/griddle on medium heat.

7. Place the parantha and cook untill you see whitish spots all over the parantha.

8. Turn over and cook for 2 minutes. Now spread 1/2 tsp ghee over the surface and turn over. Spread another 1/2 tsp ghee on the other side too. Press down and fry untill you see small brown spots all over the parantha.  Serve hot.

P.S.: 1. If you like spice, you may also add 1/2 tsp chilli pwd, 1/2 tsp jeera pwd and 1 tbsp aamchur(dry mango) pwd to your potato stuffing.

2. For best results, while rolling out the parantha's try not to press it down hard. Roll very lightly.

Chicken Pepper Masala

From the land of spices, comes this simple yet sophisticated Chicken dish that is very easy to prepare and yet a great hit at many parties. This dish has few ingredients and simple cooking methods. To get best results use only fresh whole spices and avoid pre-ground powders, except for turmeric.

Serves 5

Ingredients:

Chicken - 10 medium sized pieces, cleaned and washed with salt and turmeric

Onions - 3 medium size, sliced

Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 tbsp, freshly ground

Cloves- 2 nos.

Cardamom- 2 nos.

Cinnamom - 1/2" piece

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Pepper- 1 tbsp (roasted and coarsely ground)

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp (roasted and coarsely ground)

Oil- 3 tbsp

Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water - 1 cup.

Coriander leaves -  finely chopped for garnishing

Lime wedges to serve along.

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a kadai and put in the cloves, cardamom and cinnamom.

2. When the spices pop, put in the sliced onions and fry till transparent.

3. When onions are transparent, add ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes. Add curry leaves and fry for a minute.

4. Put in chicken pieces and freshly ground pepper and coriander. Fry until the chicken turns golden brown on the outside.

5. Add 1 cup of water, salt and turmeric pwd. Cook covered on medium heat for about 20-30 mins till chicken is done.

6. When the chicken is cooked remove from cover and cook uncovered untill the masala is dry.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with lime wedges.

P.S.: If you want to use store bought ginger- garlic paste use only 1 1/2 tsp of it. You will also need to put in lesser amount of salt as the ginger -garlic paste will contain salt in it.

Carrot Burfi

                 
A colorful tasty Indian Sweet!

Makes 15 burfi's.

Ingredients:
Carrots - 3 cups (grated and packed into cup)
Ghee - 1 1/2  cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Sliced Almonds for garnish.

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat Ghee in a kadai. Add grated carrots and cook till all the moisture evaporates and the raw smell goes.
2. Add sugar. Mix well with the carrots and keep stirring on medium heat for about 8-10 mins.
3. Keep a plate aside and put half tsp. of the mixture on the plate. Allow to cool. Now try to roll the mixture into a ball with your fingers. If it forms a soft ball then your barfi is ready. If it does not and water separates out from the carrots it means it still needs cooking.
4. As soon as the burfi is ready pour it onto a plate and cut into shapes while warm. decorate with sliced almonds or any other crushed nuts. Tilt the plate to drain the extra ghee. You may use this ghee for cooking any other sweet or while making chapathi's.
5. Remove them from the plate after it has cooled and serve. This burfi will stay fresh for about a week in an air-tight container.

Bread Pudding

The easiest of all Puddings. A great for beginer's. Enjoy!

Serves 8

Ingredients:
Milk - 2 cups
Eggs- 2
Sugar - 8 - 10 tbsp
Bread - 6 slices or more
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cinnamom- (grated) a pinch
Nutmeg- (grated) a pinch
Nuts and Raisins of your choice- about 1/4 cup each
Vanilla essence(optional) - 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, break the eggs and lightly beat them.
2.Add warm milk and stir well untill well blended.
3.Add butter and sugar and stir to dissolve.
4. Break bread slices into the milk. Stir well. Add more broken bread if desired. The whole mixture should look like a watery batter.
5. Add spices and nuts and raisins. If you are too lazy to grate the spices and opt out of it then the vanilla essence is a must.
6. Pour into a bake proof dish.
7. Place the dish in a shallow pan half filled with water and bake at 150 degC. for about 1 1/2 hour or untill a knife pierced into it comes out clean.
8. Serve cold.

Tips: Your bread pudding will turn out best if you use soft, fluffy and porous bread. Thats what gives air in your pudding and makes it light. The more dense your bread , the more dense your pudding will be. So try to avoid dense bread.

Theen Pulao

Multi -Tasking is the key to everything in today's world and it holds good for this recipe im giving you. If you read the recipe, it is very long. Dont get frightened though because all i have done is detailed out every task so that its easy for beginer's.

One day in all the early morning office hurry, i came up with this recipe of pulao with vegetables. My husband a non-veg food freak liked it so much he kept asking me to prepare it again. Made with all that was there in the fridge and with no interest in cutting and crying over onions, this pulao is made with 3 coloured pastes and 3 types of vegetables. Thats why the name "theen" = 3 pulao.Im giving you the recipe in exactly the same sequence that i did to save on time. So follow it carefully, especially the instructions on the heat for cooking. This will avoid burning your food !!!The key is to keep your veggies crunchy, so dont overcook them. The gravy in which you cook your rice and veggies is a rich sauce like consistency and that gives this pulao a unique flavour. So enjoy your "theen pulao".

Serves 6
Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 1cup

Baby corn- 8 nos, sliced into coins

Carrot - 1 no., cut into cubes

Beans- 12-15 nos. cut into 1/2 "

Refined Oil- 3 tbsp

Salt to taste.

1. White Paste

Onions- 3 medium size

Garlic- 5 pods

Ginger- 1"

2. Green Paste

Corriander leaves- 1/2 bunch

Capsicum - 1 no.

Green chilli- 1 no.

3. Red Paste

Tomato- 1 medium size

Turmeric Pwd- 1/4 tsp

Red Chilli Pwd- 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala Pwd - 1/2 tsp

Corriander Pwd- 1 tbsp

You may substitute garam masala and corriander pwd with 1 tbsp chicken masala pwd.

Method of Preparation:

1. Cut all veggies and keep them ready. Its always better to do this before hand and refrigerate them.

2. Wash rice and soak in water.

3. Put all the ingredients for the white paste and mix in a blender till fine.

4. Heat oil in a kadai and pour in the onion paste. Fry on low medium heat.

5. Put all ingredients for the green paste and mix in the blender till fine.

6. Increase heat and let the white paste turns golden. Then add the green paste and fry again on low.

7.Meanwhile put your red paste ingredients into the blender and mix to a fine paste.

8. Increase heat and fry till the raw smell goes.

9. Add the red paste. Fry on medium heat for about 3-4 mins.

10. Add the chopped vegetables and mix untill well coated with masala.

11. Drain the water for the rice completely and add. Mix well and fry till the rice is well coated with the masala.

12. Add 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 mins or untill rice is done.

13. Garnich with finely chopped onions, tomato and greens of spring onions.

14. Serve hot with raita or a wedge of lime.

Saada Pallya - Beans

Saada Pallya literally means Plain Vegetables. It is vegetables cooked in a minimum amount of water and then seasoned with oil. Simple, tasty, home cooked food, you may serve it as a side dish along with dal, sambhar or any curry and rice.

serves 6

Ingredients:
Beans- 2 cups (cut into small pieces excluding the ends)
Onion- 2 tbsp chopped fine
Coconut(grated)- 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Seasoning:
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Long red chillies- 4
Curry leaves-4

Method of Preparation:
1. Wash the beans well in salted water.
2. Put in the onions and beans in a kadai, add salt to taste and water.(water should be a cm. less than the level of your beans. This avoids overcooking and keeps your veggies crunchy.) Cook covered on medium heat for about 10 mins till or untill the beans seem done. Cook on low heat untill the water has evaporated.
3. Heat oil in a small pan for seasoning. When hot add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Put off heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Pour over the cooked beans. Mix well and put off heat.
4. Add in the grated coconut. Mix well and serve hot.

Tips:. This is a common recipe that can be made with many other vegetables like cabbage, carrot, beetroot,long beans,snake gourd, green gram and even cashew nuts. My favourites are cashewnuts,cabbage and beans!