Daily Archives: January 19, 2015

Turnip Parata

Preparation Time : one hour

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Turnips are one vegetable that I hate in what ever form they are cooked in . I still remember piling up the entire mass of turnip from my plate to a spoon and gulping it down with a mouth full of water with out chewing or getting to taste it as a kid at my boarding school . As it was compulsory to finish of what ever was served in the plate . If not , we had a teacher minding us on each table and to add to this we did have a duty teacher who comes checking our plates after every meal . My aversion towards turnips got more worse as I started cooking them mainly due to the acquired smell it has . So no turnips at all what so ever at home . Once on a holiday to moms place , she served me a Parata with curd for lunch and it tasted yum . I was surprised to know it was a Parata Stuffed using turnips . Though turnips to me is not considered a taste by itself , it still was one of the most intense sensations I experienced . The touch of thick curd magically added depth to the turnip paratas leaving way to a satisfying meal . Got the recipe from mom and then on it was added as a regular at home . This sure was a revitalising wake up call to me after decades of aversion towards turnips .

Ingredients for dough

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Ingredients for turnip stuffing

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Method for Parata Dough

Place wheat flour, salt, curd and oil in a mixing bowl.Knead to a soft dough adding water.Cover with a wet cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.

Method for Turnip Stuffing

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds.Once it start’s to crackle, add grated turnips.Sauté until moisture is gone.
Now add red chilli powder , ginger, garlic , green chillies, turmeric powder, garam masala powder , dry mango powder and salt.
Cook and stir for 4 to 5 minutes or until all the ingredients are mixed well and stuffing turns dry . cool completely.

How to proceed

Make 6 round balls from the dough.Roll each ball in the shape of a round roti (about 5-inch diameter) to hold the stuffing.
Put 2-3 tablespoon stuffing in the centre of roti and gather the edges towards the middle and roll gently with in your palms to a round ball.
Do the same with all the dough and turnip stuffing . Roll each stuffed ball gently dusting flour to one inch thick rotis . Heat a tawa / griddle over medium heat.
Put the stuffed rolled paratha on the hot griddle / Tawa . Cook for 2 minutes then flip the paratha and apply ghee or oil on the paratha.Cook further for another 2 minutes longer or until the paratha colour changes to light golden brown.
Remove and serve hot with thick curd or any vegetable curry of choice .

Bread lasagna

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Having nearly half of the previous night vegetable soup and sautéed vegetable filling that was used for sandwiches . I was left to deal with re creating another dish with the Left over’s but with out a sign of its own previous version . The best that came to my mind at that moment being pressed for time as well was to come up with a one pot baked dish . Thought of mixing all together and just baking it with a dash of grated cheese . Some how felt it might taste the same as soup and sandwich . Revised in my mind about all the baked dishes I know and when lasagne came , the bulb moment happened . Went ahead but now the problem being my soup was too runny . Thickened it with cornflour and made a custard like sauce . Spiked the left over sandwich sautéed vegetable filling with some dried herbs . Layered them and baked it . In the dining table hubby dear was talking about hosting a feast for his friends with the best dishes I know as having his dinner . He was like , add this also to the menu as it tastes Devine . I wanted to burst out laughing but kept my cool and just nodded . Hubby dear made sure to send little to his friend Dr. Basker and his parents next door . Confused me with left overs sent around had no choice other than to keep quite as the secret of left overs will be out . Once hubby dear finished his dinner , my boy whispered to me saying ” i know this is last nights vegetable soup and sandwich filling, but ma – you are a genius in fooling people through food . ” happy me for two reasons . One I got to execute left over in style and two my boy does have a good sense of things happening around with out being mocked .In total it was madness with left overs , letting me enjoy and experiment with my own twist . After all to me , cooking isn’t merely about fresh ingredients , knife skills or even skill full presentation . It is deeply philosophical and if there is no purpose or individuality to inspire with love then it isn’t cooking for sure .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Bread	10 to 12 slices
Instant soup packet	1
Ready made Pizza sauce/ tomato sauce	1 cup
Vegetables	( carrots , beans , cabbage , cauliflower , capsicum and green peas) - 3 cups chopped
Olive oil	1tablespoon
Garlic flakes	2 crushed
Dried herbs	(oregano , thyme , basil ) - 1/4 teaspoon each
Chilli flakes	to taste
Salt	to taste
Butter	1 tablespoon + to grease
Grated cheese	1/4 cup

Method

Heat olive oil . Add crushed garlic , chopped vegetables dried herbs , chilli flakes and salt to taste . Sauté until the vegetables are 3/4 cooked and crunchy .
Prepare soup according to packet instructions but add 1/2 the amount of water mentioned to get a thick custard like consistency , gooey sauce .
Apply pizza or tomato sauce to the bread slices .
Grease a casserole baking dish with butter all around and bottom well . Layer with bread slices , then the veggie filling , top with soup custard , garnish with Grated cheese .
Do the same up to the top of the casserole dish . Grate cheese as the final top layer . Place butter bits all over the top and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 20 minutes until the cheese melts to a golden colour crust and bubbles .
Remove from oven , cool a bit for 5 minutes and serve hot . Yummy yum .

Notes

Can do the same with any left overs substituting bread with chapathis , rotis , naans . Any filling of choice ( left over non veg gravy , subji , poriyal )
Instead of soup ( dal , white sauce , pasta sauce , left over curries ) Instead of cheese ( grated paneer , mashed potatoes

Chicken cigars

Preparation Time : 35- 40 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 minutes for filling + 1-2 minutes for each batch deep fried
Serving : 6-8 members

Description

The first time I got to see these cigars ( vegetarian though ) made was in master chef India ( can’t remember the season ) at a team challenge in the palace of Rajasthan . This was the winning dish in the episode as well . Did store the idea in mind then but was forgotten like always . A few months back just before the holy month of Ramadan could start , I had a chat with my friend Anisa Arif and as usual the foodie in us took over and ended up discussing food . It was her that reminded me about these cigars again while our chat . Made sure to try it out immediately for all the lost time stored and forgotten from my mind . Anisa did ask me to apply flour paste all around the edges of the cover and just to roll up the cigars with the filling and deep fry . I was not confident with her version as felt the filling might just all come out once dropped into hot oil . So I went with my instincts being more safe by applying flour paste over both the sides of the rolled cigars . Wolla , it worked perfect and was a perfect snack to munch about with such ease that endeavoured to capture the soul of our regular local chicken samosa but in an innovative , tasty way . All thanks to the spice queen Anisa Arif for bringing back the long lost cigars in to experiment at my home kitchen and I hope it continues at all your kitchens too .
Ingredients for chicken filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
Thin Coconut milk	1/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Salt	taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Onions	5 big chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Mixed vegetables	carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt - 1 cup
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	one hand chopped
Pepper powder	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for chicken filling

Pressure cook cleaned chicken , coconut milk , salt , turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste for one whistle .
Bring to boil and Reduce the water . Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ) .
Heat oil in a non stick board pan . Add onions and fry to translucent .
Add green chilies , boiled chopped mixed vegetables , shredded chicken , mint leaves , coriander leaves , salt and pepper to taste .
Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together .
Remove from heat , cool and set aside .

Ingredients for the cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Readymade spring roll or samosa sheets	12 to 15
Flour / maida	1/4 cup
Water	little
Salt	to taste
Oil	to deep fry

How to proceed

If using spring roll sheets , cut one sheet into two equal rectangle strips .
Mix flour / maida with salt to taste and little water to get a smooth paste like consistency .
Place about two tablespoons of filling over the rectangular sheet one inch away the top edge .
Apply the flour paste all around the edges of the rectangular spring roll / samosa sheet .
Roll from the top end of the rectangular sheet tightly making sure the chicken filling is intact with out scattering away .
Apply little flour paste on both the ends of the cigars .
Do the same to all the sheets and filling . Heat oil to deep fry in medium heat .
Drop the chicken cigars in batches and fry to golden brown in colour . Drain and serve hot with any dip of choice .

Notes

Vegetarians can avoid the chicken and use potatoes instead along with the other vegetables following the same for the filling .
I always press the filling by hand to get a log shape . Then place over the rectangular sheet and roll tightly . This way the filling stays intact .
I usually follow this recipe up to the rolling of cigars and store in the freezer for 2 to 3 days . De freeze and deep fry when ever needed .

Masala prawn fried rice

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 35- 40 minutes

Serving : 8-10 members

Description

What do I start with , the dish or its creator ??? Well the creator of this dish has been kit n kin with me first so I shall start with her . The sense of nostalgia and the unforgettable of the sensuous and the breathtaking – Our Cousins . Who are our first best friends isn’t it ? Like wise to me my cousins Aneez and Rizwana were my first besties . We were a trio with best of secrets kept to ourselves and would attempt the most wired things together having other junior cousins feel so irritated about this ( shifa and cithara .. Am talking about you two here :-)) . Aneez was the first to get married among us . Rizwana and myself used to hang on to Aneez’s lips to hear all her new married stories not knowing one day even we will be soon following the same . Yeah , like wise Rizwana and myself did get married off . The only difficult thing being I was married away out of station when Aneez and Rizwana still remain in the same town like before . So they do hang out together a lot with out me , which bugs me for sure till date . Coming to the dish masala prawn fried rice .this dish was brought by Aneez for the second anniversary celebration recipe swap of sauté , fry n bake . Aneez was so excited and happy to be a part and kept calling me a million times with her doubts and quotes . I made sure to save some of this dish and it tasted even better that night seducing , irresistibly time and again . Aneez went back home with a prize and her entire family celebrated it with pride . She enjoyed every moment of this pride being num as her prize was for winning a game and not for the dish . What ever a moment of joy is to be cherished for ever isn’t it ? I am happy that I was responsible for this joy at her home . The little I could do for my best cousin sister .

Ingredients for gravy

Ingredients	Quantity
Prawn	1 kg cleaned
Onion	4 sliced
Tomato	3 big chopped
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon or to taste
Ginger garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon each
Light Soya sauce	1 teaspoon
Tomato sauce	1 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Oil	3 tablespoons
Celery	1 tablespoon chopped
Spring onion	1 tablespoon chopped
Coriander leaves	1 tablespoon chopped
Garam masala powder	1/4 teaspoon

Method for gravy

Heat oil in a frying pan . Sauté onions to translucent . Top with ginger garlic paste and sauté to crisp .
Add turmeric powder , red chilli powder , tomatoes and salt . Mix well and sauté until oil separates . Add soya sauce and tomato sauce .
Mix well . Top with cleaned prawns and cook adding little water to tender . Check seasoning .
Garnish with chopped celery , spring onion , coriander leaves and garam masala powder . Remove from flame and set aside .

Ingredients for rice

Ingredients	Quantity
Zeera sala ( zeraga samba ) rice	1 kg
Ghee	3 tablespoons
Oil	2 tablespoons
Cinnamon	1 inch piece
Cloves	4
Cardamom	4
Onion	2 sliced
Garlic	6 flakes chopped
Mint leaves	1/2 hand
Coriander leaves	1/2 hand chopped
Green chillies whole	4 or more to taste
Water ratio	rice 1 : water 1 1/2 .

Method

Wash and soak rice . Heat ghee and oil together in a pressure cooker . Top with cinnamon , cloves and cardamom .
Once they crackle add onions , green chillies and garlic . fry to translucent . Pour measured water with salt to taste , mint leaves and coriander leaves .
Bring to boil . Add soaked and drained rice . Close and cook for one whistle . Then simmer for 5 minutes .
Switch off flame and Let the whistle sound subside .open the cooker lid , mix gently and set aside .

Ingredients for egg

Ingredients	Quantity
Eggs	4
Salt + pepper	to taste
Oil	1 teaspoon

Method for eggs

Heat oil in a non stick kadai . Best eggs with salt + pepper powder . Pour into the hot kadai and scramble the eggs to cooked and soft .

How to proceed

Mix prawn gravy , cooked rice and scrambled egg together making sure all are mixed well . Masala prawn fried rice is ready . Serve hot .

Coconutty jack fruit pudding

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 -40 minutes + cooking and refrigeration timing

Serving : 6-8 members

Description

Jack fruit is my favourite fruit for many reasons from it’s sweet taste to it’s aroma to the nostalgia it carries along with my childhood days . Most of my summer vacations were spent at my maternal grand mothers place in Palghat as my mom was always busy helping dad at work . Grand ma’s place was a massive huge house with so much space all around the house . We did have a back yard called the thodi with mango trees , coconut trees , plantain plants , tapioca , jack fruits etc .. Which was lush green through out the year . Even the walls had all naturally grown green mesh in them . The kids were not allowed to go to the thodi alone as there were snakes there . The restriction did tempt us kids a lot to sneak in when ever possible and every time it was pure adventure from climbing trees ,to plucking fruits , to peeping over the last compound wall to see the pond in the other side ,to running away from snakes , to seeing live in helps romancing ( ssshush it’s a secret till date :-)) . every time there was a ripe jack fruit from the thodi , it was like a festive season with two maids cleaning the ripe jack fruits with coconut oil greased hands separating the ripe fruit segments from the seeds and thorny cover with all the kids around watching and gobbling a few immediately . The air is filled with the mesmerising scent of ripe jack fruit that it takes you towards the happening place if away . My grand ma would make all authentic stuff with the jack fruit from payasam , puttu to kolakattai . Umm , I doubt kids now a days will have such memories . Coming to the pudding . This was a first try with pure instincts of my nostalgic memories of my childhood days presented in a new posher avatar of those well researched authentic recipes of my grand ma’s magical treats . Served it to my hubby dears niece sabura and her dad when they were home to invite us for her sisters wedding . They liked it so much that they asked for a second helping and made sure to pack some as well . This sure made me more confident about my new posh version of jack fruit pudding letting a lot of gratitude to the good times life had to offer leaving way to good memories to cherish for ever and ever .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quiantity
Condensed milk	1 tin
Thick coconut extract / milk	1 tin of the condensed milk tin
Jack fruit purée	1 tin of the condensed milk tin
Chopped jack fruit	1 tin of the condensed milk tin
Eggs	2
Vanilla essence	few drops
Ghee / coconut oil	to grease the pudding tray

Method

Blend 2 eggs , condensed milk , thick coconut milk , jack fruit purée and vanilla essence together in a food processor . Add the chopped jack fruit bits into the blended mixture and mix well .
Grease a pudding tray with ghee / coconut oil well . Pour the condensed milk + jack fruit mix into the greased tray . Heat water in a pressure cooker or rice cooker . Place a stand round ring and place the pudding tray above with a lid .
Close the cooker lid and pressure cook for three whistles . If using rice cooker cook with a lid until it shows keep warm indication .
Remove carefully and cool completely . Then place in the refrigerator over night . Run a wet knife all around the edges of the pudding tray .
Place a plate that’s bigger than the pudding tray over and tilt the pupping tray to get the pudding on to the serving plate . Cut and serve .

Notes

Grind grated coconut of half of a big coconut with just 1/4 cup water to a smooth paste . Then strain to get thick coconut extract / milk .
Blend cleaned jack fruit with little water to a smooth semi thick gooey paste to get jack fruit purée .
make sure to close the pudding tray when steaming as the pudding tends to get water into it .
In case you see a lot of water in your steamed pudding , do not panic . Leave it as it is . When you tilt the pudding to the serving plate just drain the excess water away .
I usually place 6-8 heavy stones on top of the pudding tray lid to avoid the water getting in . Sounds crazy but works always .
This pudding can be served hot , warm or chilled .