Sweet Cardamom Rice

Whenever we cook rice, we tend to cook it more than required and then worry what to do with the leftover rice. Well, here is something sweet we all have heard about, sweet rice, but cooked with some more ingredients.


It takes care of the leftover rice and also serves as a quick dessert.


Pre-Preparation
Plain Boiled White Rice, crush the rice with hand to avoid lumps.


Ingredients
Plain Boiled White Rice - 1 Bowl
Cardamom Powder (Elaichi) - Crushed cardamom is also OK to have - 1/2 TSP
Raisins - (Kishmish / Saungi) - 15-20
Sugar - 3 TSP
Fennel Powder (Saunf) - 1/4 TSP
Pure Ghee - 2 TSP


Procedure
Heat the Ghee in a non stick frying pan for half a min. Add raisins, little cardamom powder and little fennel powder with it (Save some fennel and cardamom powder for the end). Let it crackle for 20-30 secs and add rice to it. Make sure you crush the rice with hand to avoid lumps. Keep stirring the mixture constantly. We do it so that ghee gets nicely spread over the rice. You would feel the aroma of Desi Ghee around you. While stirring, add sugar and stir the mixture on medium flame for 1-2 minutes.


Serving
Transfer the mixture in a plate / bowl and sprinkle fennel powder and then cardamom powder over it. Serve hot and have it hot.

Baingan Pathankoti

Brinjal or Eggplant (Baingan) comes in various shapes and sizes. Its most popular dishes are Baingan Bharta and Baghare Baingan (the stuffed preparation). We recenly tried out a new preparation of the Eggplant. It's quite simple and quick to cook and tastes yummy! We call it 'Baingan Pathankoti'. ;-) Pathankot is our home town!


Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:


* Eggplant (Baingan) - 1 big
* Red Onions - 2 medium
* Tomatoes - 3-4 medium
* Finely Chopped Green Chillies - 2-3
* Finely Chopped Garlic - 1 TSP
* Finely Chopped Ginger - 1/2 TSP
* Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 TSP
* Coriander (Dhaniya) powder - 1/2 TSP
* Turmeric (Haldi) - 1/2 TSP
* Mango powder (Amchoor) - 1/2 TSP
* Red Chilly powder - a pinch
* Asafoetida (Heeng) - for flavor
* Salt - to taste
* Chopped Coriander Leaves
* Vegetable oil - enough for deep-frying


Preparation:
Chop the eggplant into 1-inch pieces and put them in water until we do the other preparations. The reason to keep them in water is to avoid the eggplant pieces turning black.


Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the 1" sized eggplant pieces.
Make sure that the oil is not very hot and take the eggplant pieces out after frying them for half a min. The whole idea of deep-frying the eggplant is to make it soft before the final preparation.

Blend onion and tomatoes to make a thick mixture. Should use a blender.

Heat 1-2 TSP oil in a pan, put cumin seeds, and wait till they start crackling. Add chopped ginger, garlic, and green chilies, and sauté them for half a min. Add the onion-tomato paste and let it cook on a low flame for a min. Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, and asafoetida. Mix well. You can smell the air filled with the fragrance of North Indian spices. While you enjoy the aroma, the mixture would need a minute to be ready.

Add the deep-fried eggplant pieces and mix them well with the paste. Now we had already fried the eggplant pieces, so the pieces will be very soft and mix very nicely with the spices mixture. Make sure that the gravy is neither very thick nor very watery.
Add salt and cover the mixture and let it cook for about 5 mins. Do not forget to stir the mixture after every minute to prevent the mixture from sticking to the base of the pan. 

Check the eggplant pieces, if they need some more time, it is ok to give it another minute to cook.

Add mango powder in the end and mix well. And finally Garnish the eggplants with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Plain Paranthas.

Stuffed Bitter Gourd - Karela

There was a time Divu used to hate Karela (Bitter Gourd). After tasting Mom's Stuffed Karela, she started loving them. ;-) And when she decided to prepare it herself, she came up with a combination of Mom's and her Grandmom's recipe. Here's how we made Stuffed Karela:
Ingredients:
• Fresh Bitter Gourds (Karela) - 4 to 5
• Finely chopped Red Onion - 1 medium
• Finely Chopped Garlic - 1 TSP
• Finely Chopped Ginger - 1/2 TSP
• Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 TSP
• Cumiin Seeds Powder - 1 TSP
• Aniseed/ Fennel seed (Saunf) - 1/2 TSP
• Mango powder (Amchoor) - 1/2 TSP
• Turmeric Powder (Haldi) - 1/2 TSP
• Red Chilly powder - 1/2 TSP
• Coriander powder (Dhaniya) - 1/2 TSP
• Salt - to taste
• Asafoetida (Heeng) - for flavor
• Mustard oil - 3-4 TSP

Pre-preparation
Scrape the skin off the Karelas with a knife and keep it aside (make sure you do not peel off the skin). We are going to use the scrapped skin for stuffing, so be careful here.

Mix the scraped skin with salt and keep it for an hour. Rub some salt on the Karelas too and leave it for an hour. The purpose of salt is to reduce the bitterness of the Karela. Skip this step if you like your Karelas to taste bitter.

Preparing the stuffing
Heat 1 TBSP of oil in a pan and saute the chopped onion, garlic, and ginger. Wash the skin of Karelas that we mixed with salt earlier, preferable use a sieve for washing. Rinse the excess water and mix it with the rest of the mixture. Add cumin seeds powder, mango powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder and salt in the mixture. Mix it well on low flame. Keep this mixture aside and let it cool for sometime. We will use it for stuffing.

Preparing Karelas
Wash the Karelas to and on each piece make one longitudinal slit. It will open up the karela from inside, now carefully remove the seeds from it. Stuff the mixture inside the Karelas and make sure that it doesn't come out. You can use a regular sewing thread around the pieces incase karela does not hold the mixture.

Cooking
Heat 2-3 TSP of oil in a non-stick pan. Put some cumin seeds and let them crackle. Put a pinch of Asafoetida and one by one, carefully place Karelas in the pan. Cover the pan and Cook the Karelas on low flame for at least 25-20 mins. In between, keep turning the Karelas to ensure that they get cooked from all sides. The Karelas need to be cooked enough to make their skin soft.

Precautions
Don't overcook Karelas. It will harden and blacken the skin.
Careful with the slit, don’t cut the karela into 2 pieces.
Don’t forget to take off the thread before eating the Karelas.

Bread Gulab Jamuns

Divu's on a cooking spree these days, and yesterday, she thought of trying the Bread Gulab Jamuns that her granny used to make. Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:


* White bread - around 10 slices
* Milk
* Sugar - 2 bowls
* Raisins
* Vegetable Oil


Procedure:


Remove the sides of the bread slices and crush the white part. Mix milk with bread and prepare a dough. Make sure that the dough is neither too hard nor too soft. So, add just the right quantity of milk.


Grease your hands with oil and make small-sized balls using the dough. Put some raisins inside each jamun. Keep the size of the jamuns small to avoid the taste of raw bread. Heat enough oil in a pan and deep-fry the jamuns till they turn golden-brown. Simultaneously, prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar and water till the solution becomes dense. Make sure that the syrup is free-flowing.


Soak the jamuns in the syrup for an hour or so. Warm the gulab jamuns before you serve them.

Methi Matar Malaai

Just before the dinner, at around 8 PM, I felt like having something different and my mind started going back to my bachelorhood days when I used to eat daily at a small restaurant. That was the place where I had made friends with the owner and would always order something off the menu and the chef would always make me the dishes I ordered in the way I wanted them. Of those, one of my favs was Methi Matar Malaai and I made it today. Here's the recipe.


Preparation time: 15-20 Minutes


Ingredients:

• Matar (Green Peas - Fresh or Frozen) - 1 Bowl
• Methi (Fennel Leaves) - 1/4 Bowl - You may chose fresh/dry leaves and if you chose dry, soak in fresh water before use
• Cream/Malai - Half Bowl
• Red Onions - One
• Tomatoes (optional) - One
• Jeera (Cumin seeds), Red chilly powder, Salt, and Kitchen King (a pinch of it for taste)

Procedure:
Heat 1 TSP oil in a pan. When it gets real hot, put cumin seeds in it and let them change their color to dark brown. Add the finely chopped onion and stir fry till they become golden brown. At this stage, you can also add chopped tomatoes (if you wish) to the onions and fry them. Now add the peas and stir for 2-3 mins.

Add the remaining spices, except Kitchen King. We'll save it for the end. Fry the mixture for a min and then cover it to let the peas cook for some time.

After 2 mins, add the fennel leaves and mix them well with the peas. Stir the mixture for 1 more min. You'd now get the nice aroma of the fennel leaves.

Now add cream and mix it properly. Also, add a pinch of Kitchen King to flavor it. Methi Matar Malai is almost ready now. While serving, pour a TSP of ghee on it. Tastes amazing! :-)
Have it with garma-garam fulkas (chapattis), Naan ...slurp slurp!

Besan Kadhi - Simple Quick and Tasty

Most of the time, the young / adults, married or unmarried, are running short of time. Hardly anyone has the patience to spend time in kitchen. For all those enthusiasts (I used to be one of those) who want to eat some good homemade food and that too with minimum effort, here is the simplest dish from my kitchen : Besan (Gram Flour) Ki Kadhi (don't confuse it with Curry).

PS: I am not adding any pakoda's in it, if you prefer, you can prepare pakoda (bhajjhi) separately and then add to the kadhi at the end

Total Time - 10 mins

Ingredients:

Gram Flour: 2 Bowls
Water: 5 Times the Gram Flour
Curd / Yogurt: 2 Bowls
Coriander Seeds: 1 TSP
Red Chilly Powder: 1/2 TSP
Red Dry Chillies: 3 - 4
Turmeric Powder: 3/4 TSP
Asafetida Powder: Pinch of it, as per taste
Salt: Per Taste
Vegetable Oil: 4-5 TSP

Preparation:

0th Min: Mix Gram Flour with 2 bowls of water. Make sure that you get rid of flour lumps if there are any.

1st Min: Heat 2 TSP vegetable oil in a wide pan, and when hot, add coriander seeds, red chilly powder, turmeric powder in it. It would take less than 5-7 seconds for the spices to start blackening,

1 Min: Add the gram flour + water mixture in the pan and stir it for 2-3 mins. Make sure that you constantly stir the whole mixture with a spatula. If you don't, lumps will get formed at the bottom and the whole mixture will have to be dumped. Add remaining water if the lumps are forming and add more if required.

4 Min: Mix the Curd / Yogurt with little amount of water to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the mixture and keep stirring for another 1 min.

5 Min: Add salt to the mixture and keep stirring for sometime.

6 Min: Let the mixture come to a boil. This might take 2 mins.

8 Min: Heat 2 TSP Vegetable oil in a small pan. When the oil becomes super-hot, add some coriander seeds and dry red chillies. It would take a couple of seconds for this 'tadka' to be ready.

9 Min: Pour the 'tadka' over the mixture and your KADHI IS READY.

Serve HOT with fresh cooked Basmati Rice.

Aaloo Achari - on public demand!

So this happened a week ago when Divu was continuously trying out new stuff and happened to try Achari Aaloo as well. They turned out so good the first time that we decided to make it for the next potluck. And this time, I gave her a hand. ;) They tend to become a hit with everyone and people have been asking for its recipe since long. So here it is, on public demand! :)

Ingredients:

• Potatoes (medium-sized, boiled, and cut into wedges - around 1 inch Size ) - 4-5
• Medium-sized Red onions (ground) - 4-5
• Ginger paste - 1 TSP
• Garlic paste - 1 TSP
• Salt, turmeric powder (haldi), red chilly powder, cumin seeds (jeera), mustard seeds (sarson), onion seeds (kalaounji) - all to taste
• Whole red dry chilies - 3-4
• Cooking oil

Keep these two aside as extras for the end :-)

• Sugar (1 TSP)
• Vinegar (1/3 cup)

Procedure:

1. Deep fry the potato wedges in oil till they are golden and keep them aside.
2. Heat one TSP oil in a wok, add onion paste to it, and saute it till it turns brown.
3. Make sure that you stir the paste constantly to avoid overcooking it. We need a light brown color - no dark shades. :) In less moisture, the onions should not take more than 3-4 mins to get the right color, but if the moisture is high, they might take 2 extra mins.
4. Add garlic and ginger paste to it and saute for some more time - around 3-4 mins.
5. Add salt, red chilly powder, turmeric, and then stir for a min ; at this point, the hot mixture should start releasing its fragrance and you can smell the taste :-) "Make sure you don't have runny nose at this time or you would miss some real good fragrances. ;-) "
6. Add the fried potatoes now.
7. Mix the potatoes well with the mixture and add a cup of water to it. We don't want to make the potatoes float and nor do we want them to be dry. So add water appropriately.
8. Let the mixture cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes.
9. Heat 1 TSP of oil in another pan.
10. Add whole red chillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and onion seeds to it.
11. We did not have whole red chillies so we used chilly flakes. :)
12. When the seeds begin to crackle and the chillies turn dark, pour this mixture on the top of the potatoes.
13. Achari Aaloo is ready steady go!

I had earlier asked you to keep Vinegar and Sugar aside; here is why. The above recipe will give you salty Achari Aaloo. If you intend to make it a little sweet to maskofy your "woh" do this:


After step 6-7 (adding water and stirring), mix sugar and vinegar in a separate bowl and add it to the mixture. Stir it for 1-2 mins and then do the remaining steps.

Aaloo Achari would go best with garma-garam pooris, butter naan, and my personal favzz Plain Lachhaa Paranthaazzzz....yummmyyy mummmyy.


Best of Luck and Enjoyzzz!

Papaya da halwa

This time around we explored the Fiesta grocery mall and bought a Texan-sized Amrican Papaya. Ok, it wasn't that big to be called Texan, i agree.

The next day, i got diet-conscious and thought of having fruit breakfast so asked Divs to get me Mr. Papeeta(papaya). Dangg, it tasted so a little weird, so i got back to my age old friend Banana. Nevertheless, ab Mr Papeeta is here so have to make something of it.

Divu took advice from Poojya Maata G, who suggested "Papaya ki kheer". So we were all set to prepare the kheer today but ended up with Papaya ka halwa! Let's see how. :D

Here are the usual halwa ingredients that we need:

• Papaya - 1 ripe medium-sized
• Sugar - 4 -5 TSP
• Milk - 1/2 ltr
• Almonds/Raisins/Cashew nuts
• Ghee - 2 TSP

Here's what we did:

1. Grate/mash the papaya and drain excess water.
2. Heat ghee in a kadhai (pan) and fry the papaya pulp on low flame for around 10 minutes.
3. Add sugar and stir well. Cook this mixture for 2 more minutes.
4. Now add milk, stir well, and let the mixture come to a boil.
5. Increase the flame to high and keep stirring constantly to avoid halwa from sticking to the kadhai.
6. When the milk mixture starts becoming dense and leaves the sides of the kadhai, add the dry fruits to it.
7. Stir for some more time. It's now ready whenever you feel it is! :D
8. Serve hot!

The smell of the Papaya halwa can fool anyone into thinking that it's Gajrela (Gajar ka halwa). Even the looks of both the halwas are the same.

Njoi! :)

Friday night Matar Paneer!

It was Friday night and I felt the itch to kick Divu. What's a better way than to kick her out of the kitchen and make something delicious for her! ;-)

In the refrigerator, the poor soul was lying unnoticed since long so I thought of bringing it to life, of course, in My own style! :-) Ohh, I was talking about Paneer!
Paneer or Cottage cheese (We used to say in college - "Paneer is to a Vegetarian what Chicken is to a Non Vegetarian"). As I am a hard-core vegetarian, so my dishes would be strictly vegetarian! :-)

This is what the Paneer looked like after going through an ordeal of 25 minutes. Read on if it tempts you and aspires the chef that's hiding somewhere inside you!

Ingredients:

• Red Onion Chopped / Half Sliced – the way you like it - 1 Big / 2 Small
• Half Sliced Red Tomatoes - 2 to 3
• Fresh / Frozen Green Peas - Half bowl
  (If frozen – soak in water before use for 10 mins)
• Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 TSP
  Finely chopped / crushed ginger and garlic can also be used)
• Finely chopped Green Chilies - 4 to 5
• Cottage Cheese - ½ Lb (250 gms)
  (Homemade / Fresh Paneer would be the best choice)
• Butter/Oil - 2 TSP
• Desi Ghee - 1 TSP

Spices - Regular:

• Cumin seeds (Jeera) 1½ TSP
• Corianderpowder (Dhaniya) 1 TSP
• Red Chilli powder (Lal Mirch) 1 TSP
• Turmeric powder (Haldi) 1½ TSP
• Salt per your taste (Namak) 1½ TSP for me

Special / Optional:

• Asafoetida powder (Heeng) a pinch
• Kitchen King (Everest / MDH) per your tsaste (I prefer around ¾TSP)
• Coriander leaves (Fresh Dhaniya)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the pan and put butter/oil.
2. Reduce the flame to Sim and throw in cumin seeds. When you hear its churning sound and see them jumping all over the, fry them for half a minute or so, till the color becomes dark brown.
3. Now throw in the ginger-garlic paste and give it a few seconds to turn brown.
   Now it’s for the green chillies to find who is hotter - the pan or chilies themselves!)
4. Throw in half of the chopped Green Chilies in the mixture. Fry them for half a minute.
   
   Do not forget to sir the mixture continuously when it's getting fried.
   

5. Put in the chopped onions now and sauté at medium heat for 3-4 mins – wait for the light brown color to appear.
6. Now put the half-sliced tomatoes and saute` well.
   
   Cover the mix for a min at light flame to let it release some water.

7. Put the rest of the spices and mix well.
   
   Do not crush the tomatoes to save on time - let them release water by itself. Cover the mixture again and let it cook for 2-3 mins at low heat (lesser than Sim). While it's cooking, enjoy the aroma of the Micky's special tadka!
   

8. Put the peas in the mixture and stir well again and increase the heat to Sim.
9. Cover the mixture again and let it cook for 2 minutes. Right now, I am letting the peas absorb some flavored moisture from all the spices!
10. In the meantime, crush the cottage cheese and keep it ready. The mixture will release some more moisture, and if somehow it goes totally dry, you can add some water (half a bowl – not essential).

11. Finally, mix the cottage cheese and stir well at medium heat.
12. Heat it for a min and spread it on the pan.
    At this stage, the yummy Matar Paneer is ready to serve, but I prefer adding the specials now.
13. Sprinkle the Kitchen King and Asafoetida powder over the Matar Paneer and mix it nicely .
14. Micky da matar paneer is ready steady go!

Yummmmzzzz!!!

Serve in a Bowl and Garnish the Matar Paneer with finely chopped Coriander Leaves and a tablespoon full of Desi Ghee!

InJoyzzzzzz!!!

Kick d start

A chemical engineer turned Java programmer turned SAP consultant (and a probable chef :-) )

Professions change, the people around you change, and YOU change. What does not change is the sarson da saag and punjabi tadke de tamatar te pyaaz.

Through this blog, I'm gonna let you see how I perform in the kitchen at times, especially on the weekends. So I'll ready steady go with my next preparation soon! ;-)