Saunth/Soonth Chaas ( Dry Ginger Buttermilk )

Quite unexpectedly, I ran out of ginger yesterday. Had become addicted to adding it to my buttermilk. So, I thought of experimenting with its closest substitute, dry ginger. It is quite difficult to powder this ingredient. I dry roasted a bit of it on a tawa and then transferred it to the masala grinding jar of my mixie. When it did not get powdered completely, I just passed the coarse powder through a sieve and used the fine portion for adding to the buttermilk. The taste was different from the usual ginger flavored buttermilk but it was quite nice and I ended up with a new variant.

Read on for the recipe-

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 glass yogurt
• 1 1/2 glass water
• 1/2 tsp dry ginger powder
• salt to taste

Preparation - Take all the ingredients in a blender. Buzz for a minute.

(Add some ice cubes to the blender jar. This will not only chill the drink but all the fat will also float to the top and can be easily removed.)

Pour into glasses and serve.

Pudina Paratha (Mint leaves Indian bread )

Parathas are wholesome, filling and can be made with a variety of stuffings. With the kids at home these days, it is time to treat them to such a leisurely breakfast. This is another variety of paratha that I made yesterday. Also made a cooling aam-panna to go with it.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 10-15 mins

Ingredients -

• Whole wheat flour ( 1 1/2 cups)
• onion ( 1 small, chopped )
• mint leaves ( 3 tbs, finely chopped )
• cumin seeds ( 2 tsp )
• ajwain(carom) seeds ( 1 tsp )
• dry chilli  ( 1 no )
• crushed green chili (optional)
• salt to taste
• oil/ghee for frying paratha ( 2 tsp )
• buttermilk/yogurt for kneading the dough

Preparation - Dry roast the cumin, carom seeds and red chili till the seeds start to pop. Grind into a fine powder.

Take the flour in a plate. Add the chopped onion, mint leaves, green chilli, 1/3 tsp of the roasted masala powder and salt. Mix well. Add buttermilk/yogurt little by little to get a stiff dough. Cover with moist cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.

Make 4-5 balls out of the dough. Roll out the balls into parathas/circles.

Cooking- Heat a non-stick tawa. Put one paratha, add little ghee/oil and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip and add some more oil/ghee. Cook till done.

Repeat for the other parathas as well.

Note -Serve hot with some cooling aam panna / lassi or shikanji. ( Kneading with buttermilk/yogurt ensures soft parathas even when cooked/fried with very less oil. )

Paper Boat Drinks (Review)

The schools have closed for the summers and most kids are now grounded at home. The heat and the hours spent playing is definitely taking a toll on them and one can see them demanding stuff like cola and other chillers. After all that is the stuff being played out on TV all day.

But the question is do we want our kids to grow up without sampling a bit of our foodie heritage. What about all those natural stuff that we grew up on. Those drinks that form an indelible part of our childhood memories and were much cherished by generations. While loving grandmothers and mothers had all the time in those laid back days to make it with their own hands, Paper Boats brings that very same goodness packaged in a quite innovative manner in eco-friendly pouches.

I must say it was an ad in the TOI that drew me to these drinks. I quickly bought and sampled four of the flavors and have repurchased them a few times too. Got it online from Bigbasket.com. You can order them Here . And BTW i paid a visit to their website which is quite fun. I especially loved the bit where they show how to make a paper boat. Yep, you can find it on the landing page itself. So sweet.

Loved the packaging!!!

Aamraas turned out to be my favorite followed closely by the 'Jamun Kala Khatta' (Maybe you can blame this on the fact that I am a huge fan of mangoes and that might have colored my judgement. But the sweet thick nectar-like stuff does make me go crazy.)

The flavours is in order of my preference.

Aamraas

Jamun Kala Khatta

Kokum

Jaljeera

I liked the 'Jaljeera' flavor the least. It was maybe too sweet for my liking.


Ratings -

The drinks score a 4.5 for their packaging, quantity and overall appearance.
They are true to the natural taste and free of any preservatives. Hence taste takes a 4.5.
Priced at Rs 30 each, they are easy on pocket too. (But if you compare to drinks like Maaza and others, they are slightly expensive which might influence some customers.) Hence I would give it a 4.5.


Overall, I rate it a 4.5/5. And yes, I have re-purchased Aamraas and Kala Khatta. Also looking forward to trying out the new flavours 'Imlee ka Amlana', 'Golgappe ka Pani' and 'Aam Panna'. 

Beetroot Raita (Detox Mondays)

Though beetroot is one of the healthiest vegetables known to us, some people avoid it owning to the rather strong and distinct flavor it has. Same is the case with my in-laws who otherwise have quite healthy eating habits. While it can be a bit overwhelming in the raw form, adding to the curries and stir fries tends to tone it down and make it more palatable. However, if you still want to have it raw despite being unable to stand it (believe me there are quite a bit of people who fall in that group), you can add it to raita, lassi or even smoothies. Curd seems to enhance the natural flavor of beetroot and I am quite in love with this combination.
( A small tip though. Try using grated beetroot instead of pureeing it as it gives a better taste. )

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 5 mins

Ingredients -


1 medium sized beetroot
1 cup fresh yogurt
1 green chilli (crushed)
salt to taste
fresh coriander for garnishing

To roast and make a powder -

1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1 dry red chilli

Preparation - Wash and peel the beetroot. Grate it and keep aside.

Beat the yogurt lightly.

Cooking - Heat a pan. Add the seeds and broken red chilli. Allow seeds to start popping before removing from flame. Once cooled, make a fine powder using a spice blender or even a regular mixie.

Take the beetroot, yogurt , green chilli and 1/2 tsp of the above powder in a mixing bowl. Add salt to taste and adjust the water. Mix thoroughly.

Serve immediately or chill it for 20 mins in the fridge.

Garnish with coriander and serve with rice, rotis or paratha.

Lagan ka Murgh ( Hyderabadi Chicken Curry )

Have been watching a lot of Khana khazana and you tube these days. While there are so many impressive recipes that I do want to try out, I have been rather partial to recipes that offer a higher ROI in terms of taste. For some reason(s), I dread spending more time in the kitchen these days.

This is one such recipe that I caught on youtube. The mind-blowing taste belies the minimal effort that goes into its making. It was a chef from Marriot (Hyderabad) who was detailing the recipe. He just threw in all the ingredients in a lagan, gave it a mix and put it on the stove. It can hardly get simpler than this. By the way, the lagan a wide and deep vessel with a thickened bottom used in Indian cooking (more like Mughlai cuisine me thinks). But the only problem was that he was measuring everything in grams. Since I do not have a weighing scale (kitchen purpose ones are easily available these days), I have converted everything into spoons and cups.

Read on for the 'asan sa' recipe -

Preparation Time- 35 mins (Includes a lot of standby time)

Ingredients -


500 gm chicken on the bones
1 tbsp poppy seeds
3 tbsp broken cashew
1 tbsp chiroli (charmagaj)
2 tbsp grated dry coconut (copra)
1 tsp red chilli powder ( I only had the Kashmir variety in stock which gave the dish a reddish hue )
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2-3 clarified butter or desi ghee
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 cups tomato puree (freshly made)
1 1/2 cups fried onions ( I used two medium sized onions, sliced thinly and deep fried )
1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves
1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
3-4 crushed green chillis
1/2 cup yogurt (and just a little more)
salt to taste


Preparation - Dry roast the poppy seeds, cashews, chiroli and dry coconut. The coconut should start turning brown. Remove and allow to cool down. Grind into a smooth paste with as little water as possible.

Take a lagan or a deep and thick bottomed vessel. Put in all the ingredients except for chicken
(take care to crush the fried onions before adding to the vessel ).Add 1/2 cup water and mix together.

Wash and marinate the chicken with salt and a pinch of turmeric.

Cooking - Put the vessel on medium flame. Allow the contents to come to a boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken pieces, mix thoroughly and cover the vessel with a heavy lid. Cook covered on a medium low flame for 15 mins (give a stir once in a while).

Check if the chicken is done. Else cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove from the vessel once done.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Note - I did not use coconut as I did not have any in stock but the curry still tasted heavenly. However, if you are partial to the flavor of coconut, do add it. One can also add some thick coconut milk instead.

Chocolate Kheer

Time for some sweet indulgences!!! This time I decided to add some molten dark chocolate to my usual rice kheer. Added a new dimension to a classic recipe but changed the color to a dark brown which seemed odd for a kheer. I love the nutty brown color too much. Maybe I will try this next tie with some white chocolate.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 1 hour 15 mins

Ingredients:

• Fragrant rice ( 1/2 cup )
• milk ( 1 litre )
• ghee ( 3 tsp )
• sugar ( 2-3 tbs )
• cashews/almonds ( 1/2 cup )
• cardamon ( 2 nos )
• condensed milk ( 1/2 cup )
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate cubes ( or 4 tbsp of cocoa powder )

Cooking: Wash the rice and transfer to a pressure cooker. Add 1/4 of the milk, ghee ,sugar and salt. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 whistles. Remove from fire and allow to cool down slightly.

Boil the milk separately. Fry the cashews and keep aside.

Transfer the contents of the pressure cooker to a wok. Add boiling milk and cashews. Allow the milk to boil till it thickens ( Takes about 1 hour ).

Meanwhile melt the chocolate cubes in a double boiler.

Add cardamon powder and condensed milk to the kheer. Cook for 2-3 more mins. Remove from the flame and keep aside.

Stir in the liquid chocolate while the kheer is still hot. Pop it into the fridge once the temperature comes down sufficiently.

Drizzle with some white chocolate sauce and serve. (Tastes best when chilled)

Kashmiri Chicken Korma

Finally a Chicken recipe after a long time!! Had been cutting down on its intake because of summers but the sporadic rainfall during last weekend gave us a chance to indulge in some yummy chicken gravy. Wanted to make something new and this bookmarked recipe came to my mind. Quite easy and takes minimal effort.

Made a few changes in the preparation method. The original recipe calls for sauteing the onions and spices in ghee/oil and them making a smooth paste out of it. But I chose to boil/cook them in water till tender and then make a puree out of it. This saves quite a bit of butter/oil from going into the dish (and finally adding up on the waistline). This is a distinctively sweet-sour gravy with the added pungency of the dry Kashmiri chilis. But one can reduce the sweetness if one is not very fond of it.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 40 mins

Ingredients -

• 500 gm chicken pieces ( use boneless if you wish )
• 3 tsp oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 3 green cardamom, crushed
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup thick yogurt
• salt to taste
• freshly chopped coriander for the garnish

For making gravy -

• 1 medium sized tomato (fully ripened)
• 1 large sized onion (optional)
• 4-5 garlic flakes
• 1 inch long ginger
• 2-3 dry red chillis
• 2 tbsp broken cashews
• 2/3 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp pepper seeds (optional)
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• a fistful of raisins ( optional, add only if you want it more sweet )
• salt to taste

Preparation - Roughly chop the onion, ginger and garlic. Cut the tomato into 4 pieces.

Marinate the chicken with salt and turmeric.

Cooking - Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to boil in a saucepan. Add all the ingredients mentioned for the gravy. Boil for 7-8 minutes. Allow to cool down and then transfer to a blender. Make a smooth paste out of it.

Heat the oil + butter in a wok. Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry on medium to high flame till they turn brown on the outside. Then add the masala paste along with chili powder and cook for 7-8 minutes till it starts getting thick and oil just starts to ooze out.

Add 3/4 - 1 cup hot water and bring to boil. Simmer for a few minutes.

Rub the kasuri methi between your hand to warm it and then add to the wok. Also add the crushed cardamom and sugar. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Switch off the flame. Stir in the beaten yogurt . Switch on the burner and cook for 3-4 minutes on a low flame and adjust salt if needed. Remove from wok.

Garnish with the coriander and serve hot.

Note - One can also add some more cream/use milk instead to water to make the gravy rich. 

Panasa Cutlet ( Low calorie recipe )

Cutlets are a great way of making use of any leftovers. Every time we have any leftover vegetables or even fish/chicken, I fashion them into cutlets which give them a fresh lease of taste and look. However, since cutlets seemed so mundane to me, I never thought of featuring them in my blogs. However, I have been seeing quite a few cutlet recipes floating around these days, so thought of adding my bit too.

I have seen quite a lot of folks avoiding them as they are invariably cooked/fried with a lot of oil. My sincere request to all of you to invest in a good quality non-stick tawa/frying pan and enjoy these yummies without the guilt. This is a classic odiya style recipe sans the breadcrumbs bit. If we are having it with hot rice or pakhala, I do not use breadcrumbs. But it is a must when the cutlets are to be served as a snack. One can also avoid the potatoes if one has high sugar levels. Use some soya kheema and a bit of chuda powder instead.

Read on -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 3 cups boiled jackfruit cubes
• 1 cup boiled potato cubes
• 1 medium sized onion ( finely chopped)
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp grated/crushed garlic
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• a pinch of turmeric
• 4-5 tsp oil
• salt to taste

For the outer layer

• 2 tsp besan
• 2 tsp rice flour
• a pinch of salt
• a pinch of chili powder
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preparation - Mash the jackfruit and the potatoes. Break any lumps but do not make it too smooth.

Make a thin batter out of the rice flour, besan, salt and chilli powder.

Cooking - Heat 2 tsp oil in a wok. Add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 2-3 mins. Now add the mashed jackfruit and potatoes. Sprinkle all the
powders except garam masala. Mix and fry for 4-5 minutes on medium flame.

Sprinkle garam masala and coriander leaves. Mix and switch off flame.

Allow to cool down to a tolerable temperature. Then pinch small balls out of the mix and fashion into round/diamond/heart shaped cutlets.

Dip into the batter and gently roll over the bread crumbs to make a uniform coating. Make similar cutlets out of the remaining mix.

Heat a non-stick tawa/frying pan. Drizzle with a little oil or use a oil spray.

Place the cutlets over it and cook on both sides for a few minutes till little brown spots appear. Remove from the tawa/frying pan.

Serve immediately with some ketchup or even as a side dish with hot rice and dal.

Green Mango Rice (Mamidikaya Pulihore)

Green mangoes are much in season and I am trying to make the best use of this opportunity. From chutneys to dal, summer drinks to main meals, I have added it to everything. There is something about the tongue tickling mouth watering tang provided by these green mangoes that makes me go bonkers.

I was feeling quite lazy yesterday afternoon and was hesitant to cook something. But a growling tummy has its own way of kicking one into action. When I finally sauntered up to the fridge, I saw some leftover rice. Immediately, the thought of some indo-chinese style fried rice cam to my mind but as I rummaged though the cut-vegetables boxes, I found a few slices of raw mango. I usually cut up the veggies on the weekends to save some time on busy weekdays. That is when I decided to make some lip-smacking mango pulihore.

Read on for my version of this South-Indian delicacy -

Preparation Time - 8-10 mins ( I have used cooked rice but if you do not have it, add another 10-15 mins )

Ingredients -

2 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup grated green mango ( you can increase/decrease as per liking )
a handful of peanuts
2 tbsp skinless urad dal
2 dry byadgi chillis
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a sprig of curry leaf
a generous pinch of asafoetida
2-3 tsp oil
salt to taste

Cooking - Heat the oil in a shallow pan. Add mustard seeds and broken red chilis. Once the mustard starts spluttering, add curry leaves with asafoetida. Fry till they wilt a bit or  turn brown.

Add the urad dal and peanuts. Turn up the flame so that they crackle a bit.

Add the raw mango and stir for 1 minute. Finally add the rice .

Sprinkle salt to taste and gently mix in. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the pan.

Serve hot with some papad.

Gobi Kasuri

A simple preparation of cauliflower with dried fenugreek leaves, the bitter but aromatic flavors of this herb lift the dish out of mediocrity and catapult it into another league. Unlike the Punjabi version which has an overdose of Kasuri methi, I have aligned it more with the Odiya cauliflower stir-fry 'Phulakobi Santula but with distinct notes of the latter herb . Cauliflower like its other cruciferous cousins ( say broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts ) is very low on GI and loaded with cancer preventing antioxidants. However, given the propensity of Indians for deep frying or steeping this vegetable in heavy gravies, much of the benefits are lost. This vegetable tastes best when blanched for few minutes and then sauteed with less oil. A very low calorie dish, this one is especially recommended for those who suffer from diabetes and other heart ailments.

It goes very well with rotis but tastes equally good when paired up with white rice. Since it is quite dry it makes for a good lunchbox recipe. Read on -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients:
Cauliflower ( 1 no, medium )
tomato ( 1 large )
onion ( 2 nos, medium )
red/green chilli ( 1-2 nos )
red chilli powder ( 1 tsp )
ginger garlic paste ( 1 tsp )
turmeric (1/3 tsp)
kasuri methi ( 1/2 cup)
pancha phutana ( 1/2 tsp)
garam masala ( 1/3 tsp)
oil ( 2-3 tsp) (I used Pomace olive oil for this recipe and t came out good)
salt to taste


Preparation: Dice the cauliflower into large sized florets . Cut the onion into thin long slices. Cut the tomato into long slices along its length and remove the seeds.

Soak the kasuri methi leaves in warm water.

Cooking: Bring water to boil in a large saucepan. Add salt and turmeric, followed by the cauliflower florets. Boil for 5-6 mins. Drain excess water and keep aside.

Heat a wok. Pour the oil into it. Add the pancha phutana and green chilli followed by the onions. Stir fry till the onions turn golden.

Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for 3-4 mins till the raw smell goes off.

Add the tomato slices. Sprinkle red chilli powder and a little salt. Cover with a lid and cook till the tomatoes soften and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Oil should start separating by this time.

Add the cauliflower florets along with the kasuri methi leaves. Stir fry on high flame for 3-4 mins. Cook covered on low flame for another few minutes till the cauliflower florets imbibe the flavors of the kasuri methi.

Add the garam masala and mix well. Remove from the stove. Serve with rice, rotis or parathas.

Note - One can also skip the tomatoes and add amchur instead.

Watermelon Lemonade (Detox Mondays)

A perfect thirst quencher for the scorching summers!!A tall glass of watermelon lemonade provides more than just the day's supply of antioxidants (watermelon is rich in lycopene). Loaded with vitamins and minerals, it is a very powerful cleanser and diuretic ( speeds up the removal of toxins from the body which catapults it to the league of detox drinks ). It also helps regulate the blood pressure and blood sugar levels when consumed on a regular basis. The watermelon seeds are iron rich so think twice before discarding them.

Check out the recipe-

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -

2 1/2 cup watermelon cubes (seeds removed or you can keep them)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar syrup
few mint leaves
ice cubes

Preparation - Take the watermelon cubes along with water in a blender. Buzz for a minute or two. Use a strainer to get a clear juice or use can even drink it as it is (which will be thicker).

Put some ice cubes and crushed mint leaves in a tall glass. Pour the watermelon juice. Add lemon juice and sugar syrup.Gently stir in to mix all the ingredients.

Serve immediately. (Do not mix the lemon if you are going to keep it in the fridge for a few hours)

Note - Use of sugar syrup is optional.