Daily Archives: September 4, 2014

Tandoori fish

Preparation Time : 4 hours

Cooking Time :10 to 12 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

With the healthy bug on a high at home , the kitchen is on full swing experimenting healthy recipes to bring about smiles in the dining table as usual . A hard task to crack with majority of the trials resulting in the bin and by fluke at times it gets on to the dining table . To add upon this I had to cook some thing with fish that has to be healthy , tasty and looks appealing to the eyes as well . Broke my head and then suddenly the bulb moment happened in mind that grilling is healthy . What a relief it was but to be on the safer side just stuck to a known recipe . So my age old tandoori chicken recipe that is succulent , mildly spiced , grilled and the best known dish in the entire Indian cuisine came handy but with a twist of using fish instead of chicken . Cut down all the ingredients to 1/2 the amount that I usually use for chicken and added a little bit of onion seeds to take away the fishy smell . Went ahead and the out come was lip smacking good with a seasoning help of onion seeds to bring out the unique flavours of this dish which when served was empty in seconds . This can be served as a starter as part of a large festive meal or as part of a tandoori platter mixed with other grilled meats like in leading restaurants . Was so very happy about this dish and thrilled about the fact that these sort of sumptuous dishes can easily be made in a modern home kitchen that I shared the picture with my friends and cousins . My best buddy Gazeena sulu kunahmed liked the crockery used and called me immediately to ask from where I got it . I have promised her to get her a similar serving platter set on my next visit to her place . Surprised about how much can two souls share in common :-)) as even I get weak in the knees seeing such lovely crockery and traditional kitchen wear .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless fish	1/2 kg ( sheer with out skin and bones )
Butter for basting	2 tablespoons
Chaat masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cream	1 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger paste	1/4 teaspoon
Lemon juice	1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon or to taste
Salt	to taste

Ingredients for First marination

Ingredients	Quantity
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Ginger paste	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Lemon juice	1 tablespoon
Oil	1/ 4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Saffron	a pinch
Hung curd	1/2 cup
Kalongi ( onion seeds or omam in Tamil )	1/4 teaspoon

Method

Mix salt , red chilli powder , ginger garlic paste and lemon juice . Rub this paste over the cleaned fish and set aside for 30 minutes .
Whisk hung curd in a large bowl , add all the ingredients for marinade together .
Add this marinade to the fish and mix well . Set aside to marinade for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator .
Preheat oven to 175 degree Celsius .
Skewer each piece of marinated fish leaving a gap of 1/4 inch between each piece . Keep a tray underneath to collect the excess drippings .
Roast for approximately for 6 -8 minutes or until cooked in the pre heated oven . Baste with butter and roast for another 3 minutes .

To serve

Remove the fish from the skewers , arrange on a platter . Sprinkle chat masala powder and cream ( I avoided the cream ) .
Garnish with onion rings and lemon wedges . Compliment with raitha or a fresh salad .

Multigrain healthy mix iddiappam’s

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 3 members

Description

Last month there was a food fare at my home town in tirunelveli about cooking with multigrain’s in a healthy way . A small step taken by the local women to bring awareness of the health benefits of using multigrain’s instead of rice to avoid the intake of carbohydrates . I made sure to take my cook also along with me and we both patiently went through each and every stall in the food fare . We were given samples of the displayed food and the recipes were shared by request . There were three dishes that really kept me interested and I made sure to get all the recipes as well . This multigrain healthy powder iddiappam was one among the three dishes . I was surprised about the iddiappams being soft after so many hours as the food fare timing was from evening 3 to 7 . Tried the recipe and it was as good as the normal rice flour iddiappams expect for the change in colour with vitality , texture and spot on flavour when paired with a home made savoury curry . Hubby dear didn’t complain as well so these iddiappams are a sure addition to my regular menu at home that’s healthy goodness on the table for the pleasure of it .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Multigrain health mix powder ( satthu maavu )	1 cup
Rice flour	1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 teaspoon
Water	as required

Method

Roast the multigrain health mix powder in a hot kadai for five minutes . Remove , add rice flour and salt . Mix well .
Boil water and pour over the flour mix and mix well . Once it starts to come together , cover with a lid and set aside for 15 minutes .
Add one teaspoon of oil and knead to a soft dough . Grease the iddiappam press with oil and fill with the dough . Press in a circular motion on to a greased idli plate dent or greased iddiapam plate to get multigrain healthy mix iddiappams .
Heat water in an idli steamer or pressure cooker . Steam for ten minutes or until the iddiapam’s are cooked .
Serve hot with any gravy of your choice or coconut milk with sugar and sliced bananas .

Note

When using pressure cooker to steam , do not use the weight . Steam for ten minutes with out the weight.

Malabar mutton biriyani

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 to 45 minutes

Serving : 8 to 10 members

Description

Malabar biriyani . This recipe is from one of my moms cook book which was given to her by her friends daughter henna from Calicut . That cook book is a treasure trove with home recipes from all the districts and communities of Kerala . Been wanting to flick it but mom is so very organised that she sure will get to know if its missing . So finally took note of all the recipes from that book . I really don’t know which district in Kerala follows this recipe but its aromatic , lightly flavoured , visually appealing , magical with a very balanced straight forward recipe that elevates dum cooking . I remember my friend sulu mentioning ( while we were in school ) about a wedding that she had attended in Palghat and the biriyani was horrible . I didn’t get her point then as I had never ever tasted malabar biriyani before . In Palghat we grind cinnamon , cardamom and cloves to a paste and add it to the biriyani which gives a dark brown colour and a pungent over dose taste of the spices . Only after my co – sister who hails from nagarkovil came into our family , I got to taste a lot of malabar biriyani . As in her place they follow the malabar biriyani style of cooking but another version with slight changes from this biriyani recipe . I guess there are at least a million recipes of biriyani’s in India very own to every region and community and these classics can never ever go out of style . This has served as a reminder to me that the biriyani means different things in different parts of India .

Ingredients for mutton gravy

Ingredients	Quantity
Mutton or chicken	1 kg
Onion	250 grams sliced
Green chillies	100 grams or more to taste ground
Garlic	50 grams ground
Ginger	50 grams ground
Poppy seeds	2 tablespoons ground
Mint	1/4 bunch
Coriander leaves	1 bunch chopped
Curd	1 cup
Lime juice	1 lime
Ghee	150 grams
Garam masala powder	1/4 tablespoons
Salt	to taste

Ingredients for Rice

Ingredients	Quantity
Basmati rice	1 kg
Onion	1 big sliced
Ghee	100 grams
Cinnamon	1 stick
Cloves	3
Cardamom	3
Ginger paste	1/4 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Water	as needed
Salt	to taste

Ingredients to Garnish

Ingredients	Quantity
Deep fried crisp golden coloured sliced onions	250 grams
Fried raisins	20 grams
Fried cashew nuts	20 grams
Oil	to deep fry
Saffron	a huge pinch
Rose water	1 tablespoon
Garam masala powder	1 1/2 tablespoon

Method to Garnish

Heat oil and deep fry sliced onions to crisp and golden in colour , drain and set aside .
Fry the raisins and cashew nuts in the same oil to golden in colour and set aside along with the fried onions to garnish . Soak the saffron in rosé water and set aside .

Method for mutton gravy

Heat ghee and brown the onions adding ginger and garlic paste . Fry to crisp .
Add green chilli paste and poppy seed paste and sauté for 3 minutes . top with mutton and salt , sauté till the colour of the mutton changes for about 5-8 minutes .
Add 1 cup water and cook the till tender .Top with lime juice , chopped coriander leaves , garam masala powder and mint leaves and boil till it gets to a thick gravy . Taste and adjust seasoning . Set aside .

Method for rice

Wash and soak the rice in water . Heat ghee in a pressure cooker , add cinnamon , cloves , cardamom , sliced onion .Fry to translucent .
Top with ginger garlic paste and fry to crisp . Pour the water along with salt and bring to boil .
Add washed rice and toss well and pressure cook for 1 whistle and simmer for 10 minutes . Switch of the flame and once the whistle settles down , set aside .

To proceed

Take a huge heavy bottomed vessel that is apt for dum cooking . Start layering with the

First layer – cooked mutton gravy
Second layer – cooked rice
Third layer – sprinkle of garam masala powder , sprinkle of fried onions , sprinkle of fried cashew nuts and fried raisins and finally a sprinkle of saffron soaked in rose water .
Pile up the huge vessel repeating the layers as mentioned above until all the mutton gravy , rice and garnish ingredients are over .
Make sure that the final layer must be the garnishing layer . Close the lid of the huge vessel . Place it on top of a hot tawa in low flame for 15 minutes to cook and infuse the flavours by dum cooking .
(Place a vessel with water filled in it on top of the lid of the malabar biriyani huge vessel , so that the flavours don’t escape out .This is what I do ) serve hot with onion Raitha , fried Kerala pappadam , malabar biriyani chutney , chicken roast and pineapple slices as side dishes .

Ingredients for Malabar biriyani chutney

Ingredients	Quantity
Coriander leaves, with part of stem	A small handful
Mint leaves	A small handful
Garlic	4 cloves
Ginger	1/4 inchsmall piece
Jaggery	A small piece
Chilli powder	1 teaspoon (dry roasted)
Tamarind paste	1 tablespoon
Fried onions	2 tablespoons
Dates	6 deseeded
Salt	to taste

Grind all the ingredients to make a smooth paste. Chutney’s ready.

Malpua

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 -35 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Malpuas are rich , soft deep fried pancakes which are soaked in saffron flavoured sugar syrup and eaten warm , topped with rabdi or almonds and pistachios . This recipe is an instant version to the authentic recipe . This sweet doesn’t take much skill or any special equipment to pull off . Sure this sweet will high lighten your Diwali table with a succession of celebration and a great meal. Much of the prep for the dessert can be done in advance , leaving you more time with your loved ones as festive time is together time . The pillowy malpuas soaked in the sugar syrup and topped with rabdi are gooey , chewy and delicious that are outstanding when served warm . Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream which serves as a timeless combination . This dessert is packed in with quite a lot of calories , but all of us can do with an occasional treat , cant we ??? And get a taste of happiness.

Main Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Flour / maida	3 cups
Semolina	1/4 cup
Milk	2 litres
Sugar	1/2 cup + 2 cups for sugar syrup
Ghee / oil	to deep fry
Saffron	a pinch soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk
Baking soda	1 teaspoon
Cardamom powder	2 teaspoons
Fennel seeds	2 tablespoons
Crushed cashew nuts	1/4 cup
Raisins	soaked in water 1/4 cup
Salt	a pinch
Yellow food color	a few drops ( optional )

Method for sugar syrup

In a heavy bottomed pan , add 2 cups of sugar and 1 1/4 cup of water . Bring to boil adding a pinch of cardamom powder .
Boil for about 15 minutes in medium heat . Remove from heat and set aside .
The syrup should be warm and not too hot when you put the fried malpuas in it .

Method for the malpua

Boil milk with 1/2 cup sugar . Reduce it to 3/4 the amount . Cool down to room temperature .
Take semolina in a big vessel . Pour the milk and let it soak for 15 minutes.
Now add the flour , baking powder , cardamom powder , yellow food colour and salt . Mix well with a whisk or an electric egg beater making sure no lumps are in the batter .
Add fennel seeds , saffron soaked in warm milk , cashew nuts and raisins . Mix well with your hands .
The batter consistency must be like of dosa batter consistency . Set aside for three hours . ( You can start of with making the rabdi now , step -3 ) Heat ghee in a small non – stick pan with edges .
Once hot , lower the flame for a minute . Pour a ladle full of batter . It will take a round shape . Let one side cook for a minute , flip over to cook on the other side .
When done , remove and put it into the warm sugar syrup . Leave for 30 seconds , remove and set aside . Do the same with the remaining batter . Serve warm with rabdi .

Ingredients for Rabdi

Ingredients	Quantity
Milk	4 cups
Sugar	2 tablespoons
Rose water	1 teaspoon
Green cardamom powder	1 teaspoon
Almonds	a few
Pistachios	a few
Yellow food color	few drops ( optional )
Cream	1/4 cup
Saffron	a pinch

Method for Rabdi

Blanch the almonds and pistachios, peel and slice them thinly. Bring the milk to the boil then cook slowly on low heat for at least half an hour.
Stir frequently and let the cream thicken at the edge of the pan. Add all the other ingredients and mix well . Remove from heat and cool down.

Note

Make sure not to soak the malpuas in sugar syrup for too long.