Daily Archives: July 3, 2014

Fresh fenugreek greens gota

Preparation Time : 50 minutes

Cooking Time : 6 – 8 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 6 members

Description

I know just two dishes that I use fresh fenugreek greens for . One is for methi chapathi and the other I use the fenugreek greens along with chicken or mutton gravy . I came across this recipe in good food magazine and was delighted about the easy approach and uncomplicated home style recipe to use fresh fenugreek greens . Followed the original recipe religiously but found the fenugreek leaves bitterness over powering the gotas so on my next try used a simple trick I always do to remove the bitterness of the fenugreek greens to a certain amount by soaking them in water along with sugar for a few minutes , drain and use as required . This worked wonders with the light , airy , crunchy , local , rugged flavoured gotas . These gotas are a Gujarati variation of the methi pakoras found across India which is usually made in winter as a street food . Some of the greatest Indian tastes in food are with the street food sellers in our country . I made these for ifthar which was an apt opportunity to add some greens into my menu injecting a dose of freshness .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Gram flour	1 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour	1/2 cup
Salt	to taste
Sugar	1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon
Red chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida	1/4 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1 teaspoon
White sesame seeds	2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds	2 teaspoon coarsely crushed
Black peppercorns	10 coarsely crushed
Green chillies	4 crushed
Garlic cloves	4 crushed
Curd	4 tablespoons
Fresh fenugreek leaves	2 cups cleaned
Fresh coriander leaves	1/2 cup chopped
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Marinate cleaned fresh fenugreek leaves in 1 cup water with 1 tablespoon of sugar for 15 minutes .
Mix gram flour , salt , sugar , chilli powder , turmeric powder ,asafoetida , garam masala powder , sesame seeds ,coriander seeds , green chillies , garlic and pepper corns together .Add curd and mix well .
Top with fresh methi leaves drained and coriander leaves along with 1/2 cup water to make a thick paste consistency batter similar to condensed milk .Let the mixture stand for 15 minutes .
Add baking soda and mix well . Heat oil until extremely hot .Add 4 teaspoons of hot oil to the gota mix ,this helps the gotas get crunchy and light .
Gently add a tablespoon of the mix to the heated oil and fry until golden brown in colour .Drain and repeat with the rest of the batter .
Serve hot with green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney.

Bread pita pockets with lamb filling

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 – 25 minutes

Serving : 10 member

Description

Pita bread pockets with lamb filling . I got to see a picture of this dish in a foodie group which was posted by my fellow home chef mubeen Sulthana . The dish looked so different and wondered how the pita bread pockets were made as they looked perfect . As usual recipe requests were poured and the recipe was posted but only of the filling , not the pita bread pockets . After a while the pita bread pocket recipe was also posted . Saved the recipe and gave it a try one fine morning . Time consuming but good things come to those who wait isn’t it ? The way the bread just popped up and puffed floating over the hot oil , I felt like a child in a candy store filled with so much joy and excitement . The genius tricks and twists that we home chef’s posses in our own ways is amazing and any day far better than a cook book recipe or a recipe googled . We inspire and share the little we know with one another helping each of us improve and widen our culinary horizon . With all credits to mubeen for this recipe , I have elaborated the original recipe a lot more so it’s easy for you people to follow . Happy cooking and snacking to all .

Ingredients

Ingedients	Quantity
Sandwich bread	16 slices
Flour	1/2 cup
Oil	to deep fry
Egg	2 beaten
Salt + pepper	to taste
Bread crumbs	2 cups

Method

Steam bread slices over a stove top or in a microwave oven for 10 seconds .
Remove and dust with flour and roll the bread slices with the help of a rolling pin to flatten the bread slices .
Cut each flattened bread slice into circles with the help of a round mould cutter .Take two cut round bread slices ,
place one over the other and brush the edges of the bread slices with water .Press the wet edges together and seal the edges firmly .
Do the same to all the bread slices .Beat eggs with salt and pepper to taste .
Dip each sealed round into the beaten egg , remove immediately and toss over the bread crumbs making sure the bread crumbs are coated well all over on both sides .
Do the same with all the sealed bread rounds .Heat oil to deep fry and fry the bread rounds to a golden brown colour .
The rounds puff up like poorie’s . Drain and cool completely .Cut each fried round into half to get a semi circle pocket with the help of a sharp knife .
The pita bread pockets are ready .

Ingredients For the filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Minced lamb	¼ kg
2 medium sized onion	2 chopped
Chilly powder	1 teaspoon
Pepper powder	1/4 teaspoon
Cumin powder	1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger and garlic paste	1/ 4 teaspoon each
Coriander leaves	chopped few

Method for filling

In a pressure cooker put the minced meat and the rest of the spices .let it cook up to two whistles .heat oil , sauté the chopped onions to translucent .
Add the cooked minced meat and cook to dry .Taste and adjust seasoning .
Garnish with coriander leaves .Cool completely and set aside .

How to proceed

Fill each bread pita pocket with generous amount of filling and serve with tomato ketchup ,mayonnaise or any dip of your choice .

Note

Make the filling and pita bread circle until dipping into beaten egg and coating in bread crumbs all around ahead for ultimate convenience .
Deep fry the Pita bread circles just before serving , cut into 1/2 , fill and serve .
You can use any filling of your choice . Vegetarians can substitute with a vegetable filling , panner filling or soya chunks filling .

Layered tender coconut and pomegranate wave

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

A budget day at home and had guests to entertain as well . I had to cater to a menu with available ingredients at home . Some how managed the starters and main course but was stuck with dessert as I didn’t know what to do . Checked out what was there in the pantry at home apt for a dessert . Had two tender coconuts , one pomegranate , coconut and sugar . Ok some thing that I had to come up with these few ingredients in hand . For dessert I have to have a setting agent and was lucky to find agar agar in hand . Now I was confident enough that I could pull of a decent dessert . Wanted to set the dessert in an alternative pattern to create a visual treat . Suddenly the bulb moment happened with in me and I thought why not set the the pudding by tilting the glasses so that I get a wave effect . Gave it a try and to my surprise , the coconut milk used along with the tender coconut gave me two layers instead of one which up lifted the look and taste of the dessert . I guess the tilting technique of setting the dessert got me connected to the leaning tower of Pisa where a blunder became a wonder :-)) . The flavours of the tender coconut , coconut milk and pomegranate married each other so well transforming into a never like before harmony combination of goodness and taste . The most talked about dish that day on the table . I realised that the fun part of hosting is trying some thing different to impress .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Tender coconut water	2 tender coconuts
Sugar	to taste
Agar agar ( china grass )	10 grams + 10 grams
Thick coconut milk	1 cup
Pomegranate juice	3 pomegranates
Red food color	few drops

Method

Soak 10 grams of agar agar in 1/2 cup water + tender coconut water for ten minutes .
Heat agar agar soaked in water with tender coconut water .Once the agar agar has dissolved add sugar to taste and mix well .
Remove from flame and add thick coconut milk .Mix well .
Pour into tall glass and tilt the glasses and set in the freezer for 40 minutes or more to set .
( I placed it in a large bowl of ice cubes with the glasses tilted and kept in the freezer to set quicker ) soak the remaining 10 grams of agar agar in a cup of water for 10 minutes .
Heat soaked agar agar in water until dissolved .Add sugar to taste and mix well .
Remove from flame add pomogranite juice ( I added a few drops of red colour as I had only one pomogranite in hand as the colour was pale ) pour over the set tender coconut layer and replace in the freezer with the glasses straight for another one hour or more to set .
Replace in the refrigerator and serve chill any time when desired .