Burrani / Bhoorani Raita

Cooking Time Required: 10-15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 30-35 rupees

Ingredients: Thick curd/yogurt ( 200 gm ), garlic cloves ( 3-4 nos ), black salt (1/4 tsp), roasted cumin powder ( 1/3 tsp ), ajwain powder ( 2-3 pinch )red chilli powder ( 2/3 tsp), salt to taste, sugar ( 1 tsp, optional).

Preparation: Add the curd to a mixing bowl and beat it for 2-3 mins . Crush the garlic cloves, and add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and a little amount of water. Mix well and keep aside for 10-15 mins.

Pass the mixture through a seive or a thin cloth to filter out the garlic pieces.

Serve (chilled) with Hyderabadi Dum Biryani.

Its Raining - Awards!!!

I was recently bestowed with these lovely Awards by Mugdha of (COOKING FUNDAS). She has a lovely glog with authentic oriya stuff and very good non-vegetarian recipes. Do visit her.
































Passing on the awards to my fellow bloggers!!!
1. Ushnish -COOKING AND RECIPES
2. Sutapa - TIPS FOR DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY COOKING
3. Sangeetha - Typical Indian Cooking
4. Reshmi - EasY
CooK
5. Deepa - Hamaree Rasoi
6. Melange - Mélange !!
7.Zareena - My Experiments With Food
8.Vardhini - Zesty Palette
9.Vatsala - Show and Tell
10. Sravanya - Srav's Culinary Concepts
11. Mina - Authentic Vegetarian Recipess
12. Archana - The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!
13. Ayeesha - Torview
14. Vimitha - My
Culinary Trial Room
15. Kirthi - Krithi's Kitchen

Nadia Bara ( Coconut Vada )

Cooking Time Required: 15-20 mins
Cost of Preparation: 30-35 rupees

Ingredients: Channa dal (split gram, 1 cup ), fresh coconut pieces ( 1/3 cup ), ginger ( 1 inch long ) , roasted cumin powder ( 1/3 tsp ), baking powder ( 1/3 tsp ), dry red chillis ( 2-3 nos), salt to taste.

Preparation: Soak the channa dal for 5-6 hours. Wash and grind into a thick & coarse paste along with coconut pieces, dry red chilli and a little water.






























Add the grated ginger, cumin powder and salt to taste.

Cooking: Heat oil in a wok for deep frying.

Shape the paste into flat circles and put into the hot oil. Cook on both sides to a slight reddish color.





























Serve with rice and dalma or even as a snack/starters.

Poee Bara ( Malabar Spinach Vada )

Cooking Time Required : 10-15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 15-20 rupees

Ingredients: Poee/Malabar spinach ( 1 bunch ), potato (1 medium, cut into small
pieces), red chilli powder/ finely chopped green chillis (1/2 tsp or to taste),
besan/gram flour ( 4-5 tsp), cumin powder ( 1/4 tsp), cumin powder ( 1/4 tsp), ginger garlic paste (1/4 tsp), salt to taste, oil for cooking.

Preparation: Wash and clean the poee leaves. Cut into small pieces. Keep aside. Cut the potato into small pieces. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl except for the oil.

Mix well. Add a little water if required to bind the mixture (normally the poee &
potato will leave some amt of water).












































Cooking: Heat a pan. Add 2-3 tsp oil.

Dump fistfuls of the mixture on the pan and slightly flatten it out . Drizzle with some more oil.

Cook on both sides for 3-4 mins or till done.

Serve hot with rice and dal / or as snacks .

Palak Sev Chaat

Cooking Time Required: 10-15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 15-20 rupees

Ingredients: Paalak/Spinach ( a bunch ), besan/gram flour (8-10 tsp ), sev bhujia ( 1 cup), baking powder ( 1/5 tsp ), curd/yogurt ( 4-5 tsp), sugar ( 1-2 tsp ), cumin
powder ( 1/5 tsp), salt to taste, oil for frying, sweet/spicy tamarind chutney (
optional, to taste).

Preparation: Wash and cut the paalak into strips.

Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the besan, baking powder, cumin powder and salt to
taste. Sprinkle a few drops of water if required to bind the besan with the leaves.

Beat the yogurt with sugar and 2 tsp of water.

Cooking: Heat oil in a wok/deep vessel.

Add the palak strips to the hot oil. Fry on both sides for 1-2 mins. Remove from wok
and keep aside on a plate.

Add the sev bhujia generously over the palak pakodas. Sprinkle a little sweetened curd and sweet/spicy tamarind chutney.

Tasty Palak Sev chaat is ready to be served hot.

Note: I had to make the palak pakodas with very little besan and a bit of cornflour as i realized that i had ran out of a very vital ingredient at the 11th hour. Had made up my mind by that time to have the chaat so went ahead and made it. But i can vouch that the version i had a friend's place with ample amount of besan was better.

Alu bhendi Bhaja/Charchadi

Cooking Time Required: 10-15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 15-20 rupees

Ingredients: Ladiesfinger(bhendi) (200 gm), Alu(potato) ( 1 no., large ), green chilli (1-2 no.), cumin seeds (1/4 tsp), mustard seeds (1/5 tsp), turmeric powder(1/4 tsp), mustard oil ( 2 tsp ), salt to taste.

For the mustard garlic paste: mustard seeds (1 tsp), garlic cloves ( 4-5 nos).

Preparation: Wash the ladiesfinger and cut into small pieces . Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces than the ladies finger so that they get cooked in the same time.

Grind the mustard seeds and remaining garlic pods into a fine paste.

Cooking: Heat 2 tsp oil in a deep vessel and add the broken green chilli, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add the potatoes and ladiesfinger to the spluttering seeds.

Fry the ladiesfinger and potato pieces on a high flame for 3-4 mins.

Mix the garlic-mustard paste with 1/3 cup of water and add to the wok. Add salt and turmeric and close with a lid.

Cook till water evaporates and veggies are cooked. Sprinkle a little mustard oil towards the end (options).

Remove from wok and serve with rice/rotis/parathas.

Muga Bara

Cooking Time Required: 15-20 mins
Cost of Preparation: 30-35 rupees

Ingredients: Green moong dal ( 1 cup ), sugar ( 3-4 tsp ), baking powder ( 1/3 tsp ), salt to taste, oil for frying.

Preparation: Soak the moong dal for 5-6 hours. Wash and grind into a thick & coarse paste along with a little water.

Add the sugar and baking powder. Add salt to taste. Mix well.

Cooking: Heat oil in a wok for deep frying.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Cook evenly to a reddish brown color.
Remove from the wok and put on a absorbent paper.

Serve hot.

Note: While the sweet version of muga bara is hugely popular, one can also prepare the spicy version by substituting the sugar with green chillis, coriander leaves, onion and cumin powder.

Muga bara is also offered to Goddess Lakshmi as a prasad.

Fish and brinjal Curry

Cooking Time Required : 15-20 mins
Cost of preparation: 30-35 rupees

Ingredients: Rohu/Mirkali pieces ( 2 nos, medium sized ), potato ( 1 no, small ),
brinjal ( 1 no, small), garlic flakes ( 2 nos ), green chilli ( 1-2 nos), turmeric ( 2 pinch), mustard oil ( 2-3 tsp ), kala jeera ( 1/2 tsp ), salt.

Preparation: Marinate the fish with salt and turmeric for about 5 minutes.

Cut the potato and brinjal into small pieces.

Cooking: Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan . Add the marinated fish and fry on both sides for
6-7 mins.

Heat the remaining oil in a wok. Add the chopped green chilli, kala jeera and crushed garlic flakes. Stir fry for 30 secs.

Add the potato and brinjal pieces along with a pinch of turmeric. Fry for 3-4 mins.

Add 1 cup of water along with salt and bring to a boil. Add the fried fish.

Cover with a lid and simmer for 7-8 mins til most of the water evaporates. Remove from the stove.

Serve hot with white rice.

Note: My MIL picked up this recipe during her stay in Kolkatta. Not sure about the name though.

Chicken Tandoori with lacchedar Pyaz

Cooking time required: 30 mins
Cost of preparation: 30-35 rupees

Ingredients:

For marinate: Chicken pieces( 150-200 gms), ginger garlic paste (1 tsp), onion ( 1 half, small ), mustard oil ( 1 tsp), yogurt ( 1 tbs), Tandoori masala ( 1 tsp ), Kashmiri Lal Mirchi powder ( 1/3 tsp), salt, turmeric ( a pinch ), vinegar ( 7-8 drops).

Ghee/butter for brushing the chicken pieces.

Preparation: Make cuts in the chicken pieces. Rub salt and vinegar all over and keep aside for 10 mins.

Mix ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, turmeric, tandoori masala, Kashmiri Lal Mirchi powder, salt, chopped onion and mustard oil.

Drain any excess liquid from chicken pieces and pat dry. Add the masala paste and rub evenly over the pieces.

Put in a bag and marinate chicken pieces overnight in the fridge.















Cooking: Preheat the oven for 5 mins. Remove the chicken from fridge and keep at room temperature for 40-50 mins.
















String the chicken pieces using a skewer rod and brush ghee/butter all over.

Put into the oven and bake at 200 degrees for 15 mins. Remove from oven and brush some more ghee/butter and again cook at 200 degrees for 15 mins.

Remove from oven and keep aside for 5-10 mins.















Remove from the skewer rods.
Serve with lemon wedges and lacchedar pyaz ( thinly sliced and marianted onions ).


For the lacchedar pyaz : 1 onion ( small ), lemon juice ( 1 tsp ), pepper ( 2-3 pinch), salt.

Cut the onion into thin long strips. Add the rest of the ingredients and keep aside for 1 hour.

Sending this yummy recipe to Kirthi's event 'Serve it -Grilled'. Do check this out : Krithi's Kitchen: Announcing "Serve It" Series.. Serve It-Grilled

Kala Channa & Soya Chunks sabzi

Cooking Time Required: 12-15 mins
Cost of Preparation: 15-18 rupees

Ingredients: Kala channa ( 1 cup ), onion ( 1 no., small ), green chilli ( 1-2 nos
), Nutrela soya chunks ( 1 cup ), cumin powder ( 1/4 tsp), chaana masala powder ( 1/4 tsp ),
garam masala ( a pinch), coriander powder ( 1/4 tsp ), turmeric ( 2 pinch ), salt, oil ( 1 1/2 tsp ), pancha phutana ( 1/5 tsp), coriander leaves for garnish ( optional ).

Preparation: Soak the kala channa overnight. The soya chunks can also be soaked
overnight else 2-3 hours also suffice.

Cooking: Wash and add the kala channa & soyabean chunks to a pressure cooker with a
little salt and turmeric. Add 1 cup of water. Cook for 2-3 whistles. Drain away excess water.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the pancha-phutana, followed by the chopped onion and green
chillies. Fry till the onions turn translucent.

Add the boiled channa and soya-chunks along with the cumin powder, coriander powder and channa masala .Stir fry for 3-4 mins.

Add 1/2 cups of water and boil for 5 mins or till most of the water evaporates. Remove from the stove.

Serve with white rice / rotis.

Cheesy Dip

Ingredients: Cheese spread ( 1 tbs ), thick sour curd ( 2 tbs ), garlic & pepper tabasco sauce ( 2/3 tsp ), lime juice ( 1/3 tsp), garlic flakes ( 2 nos ), salt.

Prepartion: Crush the garlic flakes and add to the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

Serve with Nancho/Salsa Chips/samosa.

Note: Keep refrigerated and use with 1-2 days.