Daliya Kheer

Another one of my daliya recipes!!  I just can't keep my hands off this whole-grain these days. Packed with fiber which is known to speed up sluggish metabolisms, it is a boon for people wanting to lose some weight. It is also known to help prevent Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular ailments. While I used to cook daliya exclusively for my kid, now I end up eating half of it myself.

It is great way to inculcate healthy eating habits among kids given the amount of junk that they eat. One just needs to cook it real soft while giving it to the younger kids else they might find hard to digest it.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins (including 20 mins standby)

Ingredients -

1/2 cup daliya or cracked wheat
2 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tbsp sugar or as per taste
2 tbsp condensed milk (optional)
few strands of saffron
raisins/cashews/almonds for garnishing (as desired)
1 tsp ghee

Cooking - Heat a frying pan. Add the ghee followed by the daliya and roast on low-medium flame till it turns reddish in colour. This takes about 5-6 mins.

Soak the roasted daliya in 1 cup hot milk for 10 mins. Transfer the soaked daliya to a pressure cooker along with 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 whistles. Remove from stove and keep aside till steam escapes. [ If you are in a hurry, forgo the soaking and cook it for 1-2 extra whistles. ]

While the daliya is being cooked, bring the remaining milk to a boil and let it reduce. Add the daliya along with sugar, condensed milk and saffron strands to the milk. Boil for 3 mins.

Remove from stove and serve hot or slightly chilled.

Note - I have kept the consistency a little liquid so that it is easier for the kids to drink/swallow it up. It does thicken on cooling but one can cook it for few more minutes if still more thickness is desired.

Egg Biryani

My 15'th Biryani recipe!!! Have to admit it has become tough to resist the lure of the ultimate "one pot meal".

This one is dedicated to all the egg lovers, especially the eggy-tarians, people treading the thin line between vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism. A very popular version that I had kept over-looking. Better late than never.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 25-30 mins

Ingredients -

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 eggs
• 1 large + 1 medium sized onion
• 2 tsp GG paste
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1 large tomatoe (finely chopped)
• 1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
• 1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves
• a few strands of mace
• a pinch of nutmeg powder
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamon
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 1/2 cup yogurt

Preparation - Chop the onion into thin long slices

Cooking - Boil water in a saucepan. Add salt and the eggs to it. Boil for 12-14 mins.

At the same time heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add the onions and fry till brown.

Add the GG paste and fry till raw smell goes away. Add the tomato puree and fry till oil starts to separate out.

Add turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Fry for 1 minute.

Add the yogurt and cook till oil separates.

By this time the eggs would be cooked. Hold them under running water for 2 mins to cool down. Crack and remove their shells.

Add the eggs to the pressure cooker.

Add the washed rice along with the chopped mint and coriander leaves. Fry till the leaves wilt up a bit. Add 2 1/2 cups warm water. Add salt to taste. Finally drop in the whole spices, nutmeg powder and ghee.

Cook on a medium low flame for 1 whistle (approx 12-14 mins). Remove from direct flame . Heat a tawa on a low flame and place the pressure cooker on it for 10-15 mins. Keep aside for a few minutes before opening the lid.

Open the lid and fluff the rice grains with a fork. Sprinkle some lemon juice if you need more tang to it.

Serve with some raita and onion rings.

 

Strawberry-Yogurt Muffins with Choco chips

Baking to do away with the blues. That is what I did yesterday. However I was so wound up that I forgot to check my baking powder supply. It has now reached the bottom of the tin and unfortunately I had also ran out of fruits salts which can be used as a substitute. On top of that I was dropping stuff and by the time the muffins went into the oven, I realized that I had forgotten to turn on the bottom grill. Somehow I managed to make a batch of decent looking (but very tasty) muffins but ended up feeling even more wound up. I guess I need a break from the regular stuff.....hence planning for a vacation sometime next week or so. Worry not if I go MIA for a few days...

For now, read on for the quick recipe -

Total Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar (powdered)
• egg ( 1 no)
• yogurt ( 2 tbsp )
• baking powder ( 1/2 level tsp )
• choco chips (2-3 tbsp)
• Mala's strawberry crush ( 1 tbsp )

Preparation - Take the butter in a mixing bowl and beat it for 3-4 mins. Add the powdered sugar and beat well for 5 mins or till the mixture turns a few shades lighter. Mix in the strawberry crush.

Break egg into a separate bowl and beat well such that stiff peaks can be formed.
Stir gently into the butter-sugar mix. Add the yogurt too.

Mix the flour and baking powder together. Use a sieve to gently sift it into the batter in small batches. Mix gently till no lumps remain. Add in the choco chips.

Grease a non-stick muffin tray. Pour into the molds till 2/3 full. Sprinkle some choco chips on top.

Cooking - Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Put the tray inside and turn down heat to 160 degrees after 5 minutes. Bake for another 10 mins. Insert a toothpick at the center of muffin and check if it comes out clean. Else bake for another 5 mins.

Note - Dust the choco chips in some flour before adding to the batter. This prevents them from sinking (well I actually forgot this step too).
 

Maccha Mahura

Mahura. Ghanta. Chencheda. Fish cooked with a medley of vegetables but known by different names by people from various parts of Odisha. Phew...it can get quite confusing at times. While Ghanta is usually vegetarian with loads of sprouts and fresh coconut ( Ex - Ghanta made on Dwitibahana Osa ), Chencheda is usually made by combining some kind of leafy vegetable with the fish ( Ex- Poi (malabar spinach) Chencheda or Bandha kobi Chencheda ). Even for Mahura, it can be either Niramish (no onion-no garlic, ex - Mahura besara prasad from Puri temple) or amish ( Chingudi mahura or maccha mahura ). Hence, there is no wrong or right categorization but yes the spices are different.

Traditionally, only the head and tail of a fish like Rohu/Bhakura is used in this recipe but one can also make it with the other parts. IMO, given the demands of a fast moving world, one needs to adapt rather than end up in the league of dinosaurs. And that requirement will dictate the future of most traditional recipes. So fret not.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

2 pieces of Bhakura/Rohu fish ( I used a tail and a fillet )
1/2 cup chopped eggplant
1/2 cup chopped pumpkin
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1 small potato
1/2 of a green banana
1 medium sized tomato
1 small onion
4-5 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 dry red chilli
1 large bay leaf
2-3 cloves
8-10 peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 green cardamom
1/4 tsp turmeric
oil (as per requirement)
salt to taste


Preparation - Marinate the fish with salt and a pinch of turmeric.

Grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a coarse paste. Chop the tomato into small pieces.


Cooking - All the vegetables (except tomato) should be chopped into similar sized cubes. Clean and transfer them to a cooker with 1/4 cup water. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt. Cook on high flame for 2 whistles.

Set aside for allowing steam to escape. Drain excess water and keep aside.

Dry roast the coriander, cumin, chili, bay leaf, peppercorn, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom till fragrant. Remove and allow to cool down. Grind into a fine powder.

Heat 2-3 tsp oil in wok. Add the fish and fry for 6-7 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
In the same wok, add some more oil. Add the onion-garlic-ginger paste and fry till raw smell goes away.

Add the fried fish to the wok. Slightly crush it and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle a little salt. Allow to soften a bit. Add the boiled vegetables at this stage. Turn up the flame and fry for 3 minutes.

Finally add half of the powdered masala along with some water for cooking the vegetables. Cover with a lid and simmer on low flame for 8-10 mins.

Once done, add the remaining masala and remove from the flame.

Serve hot with white rice or rotis.

Note - Grinding the onions along with the ginger and garlic makes the curry rich. If you want to keep it light, chop onions in medium sizes pieces and fry to a golden before adding the ginger garlic paste. Proceed as above.

One can even skip the onions if one wishes to as it is the 'mahura' spices that bring this dish together.

Chuda Bhaja

Whenever I used to fall ill or catch a cold as a kid, my mom would find it a very difficult task to feed me. Everything tasted like sawdust and I refused to open my mouth. It was during those times she gave me mudhi bhaja or chuda bhaja, puffed rice/flattened rice fried with some onions, chilli and topped with some JB mixture/farsan . Now the JB mixture thing is a legend with most Rourkela-ites but sadly not available in other parts of the state. While it was quite simple and healthy, it tasted wonderful to my ravaged taste buds. In fact the taste and the memories still linger on in my mind. And that is why I made this recently when my son was suffering from a cold. The little one quite enjoyed it. Sadly I had to do without the JB mixture as I did not have any in stock. (Even the little one likes it, maybe it is in his genes.)

While I do make this with the addition of oats ( you will find it on my blog ), I never thought of posting it. But this time I made a note to do it. Some of the harried moms' will surely find it useful. Read on -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


1 cup chuda or poha or flattened rice
a fistful of peanuts
4-5 curry leaves
1 dry red chilli (broken into 2-3 pieces)
1 small onion finely chopped
2-3 tsp oil for frying
a bit of red chilli powder  (optional)
Some mixture/farsan for topping
salt to taste


Cooking - Heat oil in a wok. Add the red chilli and curry leaves. Fry a bit.

Add the peanuts and turn up flame so that they start popping.

Add a little chuda at first. Allow then to soak up some oil and get puffed. Then add in the rest of the stuff. Fry for 5-6 mins till they turn crispy. Add salt and mix in.

Add the onions at this stage and fry on high for 1 minutes.

Finally remove from flame and add the mixture.

Serve immediately else it tends to get soggy. (If you want to store it, do not add onions or add them at the beginning and fry to a crisp.)

 

Spaghetti al Limone

I love paste recipes that are simple and light with just the right amount of spice. That is why I was delighted to come across the recipe for pasta al limone, i.e., pasta seasoned with lemon. But when I looked up still more, I could find wide discrepancies in the seasonings used in most recipes with the exception of perhaps olive oil, cheese, lemon and basil ( just one recipe used parsley ). So, I added a bit of my own to it. Cheese, lemon juice and mayonnaise with a hint of basil make for the most mind-blowing combination is what I discovered in process.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

• 150 gm spaghetti
• 2 garlic flakes (finely chopped)
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1/5 tsp chilli flakes
• 3 tbsp grated cheese
• 1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
• juice of one lemon
• grated rind of one lemon
• 7-8 fresh Italian basil leaves
• freshly ground pepper as per taste
• salt to taste

Preparation - Take the chilli flakes, cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon rind, 1 tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk together.


Cooking - Boil 8-9 cups water in a large saucepan. Add salt when it comes to a boil. As it gets to a rolling boil, throw in spaghetti. Cook for 12 mins or till aldente ( stir 2-3 times in between ).

After the spaghetti has cooked for 9-10 mins, heat a wok. Add the olive oil and as it warms up, throw in the garlic pieces. Allow it to just turn light brown. Remove and keep aside.

Drain the spaghetti while retaining about 1/2 cup of liquid. Add some of this liquid to the mixing bowl containing the cheese-mayo mix.

Transfer the spaghetti back into the saucepan. Add the olive oil-garlic and toss a bit. Add the contents of the mixing bowl along with some basil leaves and crushed pepper. Toss well.

Serve immediately.

Picnic Chicken ( Picnic er Murgi )

This is one bookmarked recipe that had somehow gone off my To-Do list. Please do not ask "why ?. Maybe the simplest explanation is that it got lost in the huge ocean of notes that I keep making all the time. But I had fallen in love with it the very first time I read it on Bong Mom's Cookbook. In case you are curious about that name, you have to read Sandeepa's blog to believe her flair for story telling. She just makes the most everyday recipes seem so special. Do check out the original version at Bong Mom's Cookbook. When I finally decided to try it out yesterday, I found that I had run out of a few ingredients so I had to make good with whatever was available. Still it was finger-lickin good. Makes me wonder "what if..................".

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

For marination-

500 gm skinless chicken
2 large red onions
2 tbsp GG paste
2 green chillis
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
1/5 tsp garam masala
3 tsp mustard oil
juice from 1 lemon
salt to taste

For cooking -

3 tsp mustard oil
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 inch long cinnamon
1 black cardamom
1 Kashmiri chilli
1 big tomato ( freshly pureed)
2 sachets of tomato sauce/kethup ( the kind that they give at KFC or dominoes )
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 cloves
4-5 crushed garlic flakes
2-3 slit green chillis


Preparation - Wash and clean the chicken. Transfer into a mixing bowl. First prep it up with salt, turmeric and lemon juice.

Chop one onion and half of the other into chunks. Slice up the remaining half onion.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the onion chunks and saute till translucent. Transfer into a grinder and puree them. Add to the chicken along with the onion slices.

Also add the remaining ingredients mentioned under "For marination". Mix well and keep aside for 1/2 hour.

Cooking - Heat 3 tsp mustard oil in a pressure cooker Allow to smoke. Then add the dry spices (broken dry chilli, cinnamon, bay leaf, 2 cloves and cardamom).  As soon as you get the fragrance, add the tomato puree along with sauce/ketchup. Fry till oil starts to separate.

Add the chicken and turn up heat. Fry on HIGH for 4-5 mins.

Then add the cilantro, garlic, green chilli and remaining cloves. (I ended up drizzling some more mustard oil at this point ) Mix and then add 1/4 cup water. Close lid and cook on low to medium flame for 2 whistles.

Remove from flame and allow steam to escape.

Serve hot with white rice and dal fry ( or with Luchis ).

Mudhi Muaa

My mom never fails to amaze me. Whenever I call her regarding a recipe, she has all the answers to my questions. Even when I am least expecting it. Agreed that she does not make Chinese or Italian, but Indian cooking is her forte. She is the kind who had her basics very strong and I believe that such people hardly take any time to adapt to any kind of cuisine. Wish I had learnt more Odiya recipe from her during my school/college days.

Yesterday when I was feeling a bit down, I was reminded of my childhood days which would never be the same without stuff like arissa pitha, gajaa, nimika, muduku and various types of muaa. Since I had the basics in stock, I decided to prepare some mudhi muaa for myself. While I had seen her preparing 'Muaa' a long time back, I did not remember the steps. So I called her and asked "How many cups 'Mudhi' for 1 cup 'guda'? . As expected, she replied 'seita tote kemiti kahibi. Andaziya kari ne'. Huuh, these ladies are some experts. They use their eyes and hands as some kinda weighing machine while I am totally lost without my measuring spoons and cups. Somehow we decided that 1 part jaggery would be fine for 5-6 parts puffed rice and hence I set about the cooking. By force of habit, I ended up making modifications to the original recipe and used a few other ingredients keeping the sensibilities of my toddler and his friends in mind ( you know how most kids are these days ). Turned out to be easy given her tips and made a nice batch of muaas which are going to get over very soon. Maybe even before this post goes live.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 15-20 mins


Ingredients -

1 cup jaggery ( I used the Patanjali Madhuran Natural Sugar )
6 cups mudhi/puffed rice
1 fistful of peanuts (dry roasted)
1 fistful of char magaj ( chiroli /chironji) (dry roasted)
2-3 tsp ghee
2-3 tbsp finely chopped walnuts ( my addition )
a fistful of raisins ( my addition )
2 tbsp grated chocolate ( my addition )
a pinch of nutmeg ( my addition )


Cooking - Heat the jaggery with 1/3 cup water in a wok. It will melt and then start to foam/bubble. Gradually ( arnd 3-4 mins) the bubbles will get smaller and now it is time to test for the right consistency of the jaggery. If it gets over-cooked then the puffed rice will not bind together.

Take a large bowl with cold water in it. Put a single drop of the jaggery into it. If it dissolves into the water, it needs to be cooked for longer time. Keep repeating this test at intervals  of 1 minute.

Add the puffed rice and mix thoroughly to uniformly coat the puffed rice. Remove from the flame at this stage. Immediately add the peanuts, char magaj, walnuts, raisins, grated chocolate and nutmeg. Mix in.

Keep aside for 2-3 mins.

Rub ghee on your hands and take a fistful of the mixture. Mold into a ball . Repeat for the remaining mixture.

Keep aside to cool down for 1-2 hours. One can then store them in an airtight tin for almost a month.

Vegetable Daliya ( Vegetables with cracked wheat )

A very simple and nutritious daliya recipe that I made for my son. Apart from the regular vegetables, one can also add some sweet corn/baby corn and colorful peppers to give the dish a visual lift. I have kept the spice level low as it is intended for toddlers but one can add more for that extra zing.

Read on for the recipe -

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Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup daliya or cracked wheat ( used Patanjali brand )
• 1 1/2 cup assorted vegetables ( carrot, cauliflower, french beans, peppers, sweet corn, beetroot, potato )
• 1 small onion
• 1 small tomato
• 1/5 tsp red chili powder
• 1/6 tsp coriander powder
• a pinch of cumin powder
• a pinch of turmeric
• a pinch of cumin seeds
• 2 1/2 tsp ghee (Patanjali brand)
• 1 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• coriander for garnishing

Preparation - Heat a frying pan. Add 1 tsp ghee followed by the daliya. Roast for 5-6 minutes on medium heat.
Remove and keep aside.

Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces.

All the vegetables should also be chopped into tiny pieces if they are to be pan cooked. Bigger sizes are Ok for pressure cooking.

Cooking - Take the roasted daliya in a cooker. Add 4  cups warm water and salt to taste. Close lid and cook for 3-4 whistles. Remove from flame and keep aside till steam escapes.

Heat  the oil and 1/2 tsp of ghee in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and allow to pop.

Add and fry till translucent.

Add the vegetables along with salt, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin power and coriander powder. Mix well and fry for a few minutes till vegetables are cooked through. (Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid for faster cooking)

Finally add the tomatoes and allow them to soften a bit. Now add the cooked daliya and mix thoroughly. Cook for a few minutes more so that the flavors are properly assimilated into the daliya. Remove from flame and keep covered for 4-5 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining ghee and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

 Note - One can add some more hot water during the last stages of cooking to thin the consistency further. This is especially good for younger kids ( less than 1.5 years of age ) as they tend to swallow rather than chew down their food. One should also pressure cook the vegetables before combining with the cooked daliya for such toddlers.

Special Alu Bharta

Had a very bad experience yesterday!!!! A very popular Odiya website 'http://recipe.fullodisha.com/'  is copying my images ( from very old posts ) and claiming it as own. While I duly sent them a message, they have not reverted back to me. Feel sad when people display a lack of spine. I have been working hard for the last 5 years trying to collect Odiya recipes from various people that I come across and showcase them as a part of our culture. This incident made me feel like going off the public platform. But then we do not throw away the tea cup if a fly falls into the tea. We discard the tea and start afresh. Hence will be 'water marking' all my pics thereafter. Hope this serves as a lesson for all bloggers.

For today, a special alu bharta that my mom used to prepare.............

Preparation Time - 10 mins


Ingredients -

• 2 large boiled potatoes
• 1 medium sized onion ( chopped into mediun sized pieces )
• 1/2 inch ginger (grated)
• 1-2 dry red chilli (broken)
• 1-2 green chilli (broken)
• a pinch of jeera
• a pinch of mustard seeds
• 2 pinch curry powder ( or one can use meat masala /sambar powder - anything that you like )
• a handful of peanut seeds ( my mom does not add it )
• 2 1/2 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation - Peel and slightly mash the potatoes.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok.

Add the peanuts and allow to crackle . Then add the mustard, cumin, red and green chillis. Fry for 5-6 seconds.

Add the onion and ginger. Fry till translucent.

Finally add the curry powder and fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add the mashed potato and fry till it starts to leave the sides and come together.

Remove from wok.

Serve hot/warm with rice/roti/parantha.

Note - While adding sambar powder, my mom used to add a few curry leaves and some tomato. Though not authentic alu bharta, it tasted great.

Andhra Tomato Chutney ( Another Version )

A few weeks back, I had posted the recipe of Andhra tomato chutney that is usually served with dosas and uttapams. This time I am back with another version that is usually paired with rice. Easy to prepare and using less oil, it makes for a flavorful side dish. A big "Thanks" to my very sweet neighbor for sharing the recipe with me. (Somehow the color looks much more darker in actual but the pics give it a orange brown hue).

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 3 tomatoes
• 5-6 shallots
• 2-3 garlic flakes
• 2 green chillis
• 2 tsp urad dal
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder ( optional )
• a small piece of tamarind
• 1 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation - Chop the tomato into big chunks.

Cooking - Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the urad dal, cumin and coriander seeds. Fry till fragrant. Remove and transfer to a plate. Allow to cool a bit before transferring to a mixer jar with the tamarind and salt. Grind into a powder.

Meanwhile add the remaining oil to the wok. Add green chillis followed by the tomato chunks. Fry till tomatoes start to soften a bit. Remove and allow to cool a bit.

Add to the mixer jar and buzz to get a smooth paste.

Finally add the garlic and shallots and buzz for 1-2 seconds. ( small chunks of the shallots and garlic should remain )

Serve with rice.