Posts by OCS | Saute Fry N Bake

Home made cheesy baked barittos with salsa and green peas guacamole

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour
Serving : 8 members

Description

Going through some old pictures of my family holiday in Dubai, came across a few images of a Mexican feast we had there at a restaurant. There was a tsunami happening in my mouth with so much saliva… Went into the kitchen to see what can be made for dinner. Had a few left over chapathis, immediately the barittos from the images on my holiday just popped up in my mind. Started prepping and it was like a never ending story. One after the other had to do so much for this one pot dish and I was like for these left over chapathis do I have to do so much ??? Another problem came up with me having no avocados in my pantry to make guacamole which is the only source that lends a creamy texture to the dish. Came up with an idea to use mashed green peas to replicate an avocado guacamole. Worked perfect… With a pat on my back from myself…. Baked the dish and it was an instant hit at home except for the complaint of the berittos being too big. This dish did wind a course of aroma, taste, flavor and colour. There is no secret method or any special touch that makes this Mexican dish a gourmet’s nirvana experience through the plate but it’s what ordinary folk prepare for themselves. Keeping in mind the metaphor of adventures with which this one pot dish has introduced me to…. To being another Bon appetite.

Ingredients for salsa

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	I chopped
Tomato	1 chopped
Green chillies	1 chopped
Coriander leaves	1 teaspoon chopped
Salt	to taste
Lime juice	1 teaspoon

Method for salsa

Mix all the ingredients together and place it. The refrigerator until needed to be used.

Ingredients for Green peas guacamole

Ingredients	Quantity
Boiled green peas	1 cup ground to a smooth paste
Hung sour curd	1/4 cup
Mayonnaise	2 tablespoons
Salt	to taste

Method for green peas guacamole

Mix all the above ingredients together to a smooth paste. Taste and adjust seasoning and set aside.

Ingredients for the barittos filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Cooked shredded chicken	2 cups
Onions	4 chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Garlic	5 cloves chopped
Red, green and yellow bell peppers	I each
Cooked red kidney beans ( rajma )	1 cup
Paprika + salt + peppe	to taste
Red chili flakes	1 teaspoon
Cooked Rice	1/4 cup
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for barittos filling

Cut the bell peppers into 1/2. Clean the seeds and grill over flame for a minute to char the skin on each side.
Do the same to all the bell peppers. Keep covered in a vessel for 30 minutes. Peel of the skin and chop the peppers.
Heat oil, add chopped onions, green chillies and garlic together. Sauté to translucent.
Add 3/4 of the chopped bell peppers and mix well.
Add all the other ingredients one after the other and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning .
Remove from heat and cool completely.

Other ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Cheddar cheese	1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese	1/4 cup
Butter	to grease
Tortillas	8 ( I used large sized wheat chapathis instead )

How to proceed

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Take a wide baking platter. Grease it with butter on the bottom and all around.
Take a tortilla, spread one tablespoon of green peas guacamole all over on one side. Fill the center with a generous hand full of stuffing.
Fold the sides first. Then from top tightly roll to get a tight, fat roll. Place in the greased baking platter.
Like wise roll all the tortillas with green peas guacamole and filling. Pack these rolls tightly in the baking platter.
Sprinkle the reserved three color bell peppers over. Top with salsa evenly. Pour remaining green peas guacamole and spread all over evenly.
Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes until you see bubbles all around the edges. Then grill to get a golden top. Serve hot .

Hibiscus tulsi sharbet

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes + setting aside for two hours

Serving : 7-8 glasses

Description

In the recent have been seeing a lot of dishes being made with the hibiscus flower. First a master class by chef sanjeev kapoor in master chef India and followed by many fellow foodie bloggers posting recipes. Having lots of these flowers at my in- laws place, came up with an idea of making a sharbet using the hibiscus flower which will be of good use during the month of Ramadan. Went with what ever my inner instincts told me.made the sharbat and it was aromatic, thick, slippery, sticky and syrupy having all that takes to look like a store brought sharbet syrup. The addition of tulsi leaves did help to take the sharbat to another level. The natural light hue from the hibiscus flower was so inviting but when diluted with water the colour did look a bit faded. So I was forced to add a few drops of pink food colour. I was surprised as there is so much we can do with our every day local produce where even with in a 100 km radius of a city subtle variations can occur. A sure eye opening experience that has widened my culinary journey for sure.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Tulsi leaves	1/2 cup
Hibiscus flowers	10 -15 remove the middle stock of the flower
Water	10 cups
Sugar	6 cups
Cardamom powder	1 teaspoon
Dry ginger ( chukku in Tamil )	1/4 inch piece powdered
Salt	a pinch
pink food colour	a few drops (optional)

Method

Boil tulsi leaves, cleaned and washed hibiscus flowers and 5 cups of water together until reduced to half and the fragrance of the flower and tulsi has been infused into the water.
Remove and mix in cardamom powder and dry ginger powder. Mix well and cool completely.
Boil sugar and remaining water together until sugar dissolves and gets to a slightly thick syrup. Cool completely.
Remove scum from cooled sugar syrup. Mix sugar syrup with drained hibiscus- tulsi water and mix well with a pinch of salt.
Strain after two hours . Store in the refrigerator and use when needed. Keeps well for a month when refrigerated.

To serve

Mix 1/2 teaspoon lime juice with sharbat syrup to taste, ice cubes and one glass of chilled water. Mix well. Garnish with chopped tulsi leaves and serve.

Sesame cheesy chicken rolls

Preparation Time : 35 -minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

The first day of the holy month of Ramadan where I had to present a snack that’s mind blowing, new and tasty with the condition that I cannot taste it as I am fasting. My mind was stuck to a few images I got to see that morning about casual truths of life with all emotions captured perfectly with no bar to caste, greed and colour. So I wanted to replicate that mood of mine on a plate. Well how do I do that ?? I made a white sauce also known as béchamel sauce which is the mother sauce in French cuisine that is used as the base for other sauces. Added cheese and Italian herbs for the Italian twist in it. For the universal touch added bread in it and used it for coating as well. Now every thing seemed to be very European…. Umm.. To get the Asian side in added black and white sesame seeds ( for the colour too ) to coat the rolls. Deep fried and asked my cook to taste it. She goes on to say” amma super”..That’s what she says for all the dishes given to taste. As usual this snack was disturbed to cousin’s and now our turn for testing.I waited until I get an approval from hubby dear. He was like after eating these chicken what ever… Every thing else tastes stale.My eyes popped out as this is what I wanted to represent in the plate for this was the same feeling I had in me after seeing those images. I tasted it and though it was a complete fusion of too many cuisine’s, they are fell in place comfortably with class. When food can do wonders, I guess we people all around the world also can do so. Isn’t it ???

ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Boneless Chicken ( diced and cooked along with ginger + garlic paste	1/4 kg
Ginger + garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon, ( for chicken )
Boiled mixed chopped vegetables	1 cup ( beans, carrots, cabbage, capsicum,mushrooms, sweet corn, green peas )
milk	1 cups
refined flour	2 tablespoons
butter	2 tablespoon
Cheese slice	3 grated
salt	to taste
Chilli flakes	to taste
White pepper	to taste
Mixed dried herbs( oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill, basil )	a pinch of each
Bread slices	12 + 6 Grind to a coarse powder separately
Black sesame seeds	1 tablespoon
White sesame seeds	2 tablespoons
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Heat and Melt butter in a wide pan.add refined flour,saute a little and add the milk very gradually,stirring vigorously all the time making sure no lumps are formed.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, add the salt,white pepper,chilli flakes,dried herbs,chicken and boiled vegetables. Mix well and boil till a thick gooey sticky consistency is obtained.Add cheese slice grated and mix well. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Beat an egg with salt and pepper to taste. Mix fresh bread crumbs ( 12 slices ) with salt to taste , white and black sesame seeds. Place over a flat plate.
Add 6 bread slices coarsely powdered to the cooled chicken mixture and mix well. Check seasoning. Take a lemon size ball and roll into finger long round rolls with the help of greased hands.( the mixture might be sticky but it does get to the roll shape, you can add more bread coarse powder to remove some moister if you want )
Dip each roll into beaten egg with salt and pepper to taste.Then roll over the fresh bread crumb sesame mix , making sure it is well covered all over. Do the same to all the chicken mixture. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat oil to deep fry over medium heat. Deep fry to a deep golden colour over medium heat making sure not to burn the rolls. Drain and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Peppery curd fruit chat

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 10 members

Description

The quest for healthy food on the table is always a nerve racking business for me. As any thing that’s high in calories and is extremely fatty is what my taste buds want always. So my brain always lets me use fatty culprit Ingredients. Every year on the holy month of Ramadan, I make sure to stick on to healthy way of eating but it prolongs just for a day or two. So this year made sure to have at least one dish that’s healthy and not deep fried. A dessert every day after our night prayers is a must at home while fasting. Usually I make some thing with fruits, China grass or custard which is light with no eggs added to the dish. So I made up my mind to come up with a fruit chat that I remember eating at the food court at the express mall in chennai with my best buddy sulu a few years back. Tried my best to replicate the dish. Looked similar but was not as colourful as in the food court as I used all fruits with similar colour code. yet again no tasting as I was fasting and my cook with her regular “AMMA SUPER” answer made me feel even worse. I felt the addition of cracked black pepper was a big mistake. I didn’t have the patience to wait until our night payers so gobbled a spoon while breaking our fast. Awesome fruit chat where the cracked pepper was the hero saying “hey, I can get along with any one you silly” to me.which resulted in me smiling and hubby dear asking me why are you smiling ??? I know, if I tell him the fact of what was in my mind.. I will be put to shame. As he thinks I am obsessed with food and it is my first husband. So just mentioned about some thing else instead. Oops a lie.. While breaking my fast. Had to tell him the truth and yet again was ragged by him making a call to the kids with all them laughing at me. Happy me as, I am sure this will be a cherished memory that I have given to my loved ones through food.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quiantity
Hung Curd	3 cups
Banana	1 chopped
Apple	1 peeled and chopped
Ripe Mango	1 peeled and chopped
Tinned Pineapple	3 slices chopped
Sugar	to taste
Corn flour	2 tablespoons
Milk	1 cup
cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Black pepper corns	½ teaspoon crushed
Fresh coriander leaves	1 tsp chopped
Mint leaves	10 chopped
Lemon juice	1/2 a lime
Black salt (kala namak)	1/4 teaspoon
Chaat masala powder	1/4 teaspoon + to sprinkle
Salt	to taste
Tinned cherries	to decorate

Method

Bring milk to a boil and add cornflour diluted in a little milk to it while stirring.
Keep stirring while the milk is simmering and the mixture thickens to a thick saucy consistency with out lumps .
Take it off the heat and cool. Add salt,crushed pepper, cumin powder and chat masala powder. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Mix all the fruits in a bowl, add lemon juice and sugar, mix well.Pour the cooled milk – cornflour mix over the fruits and toss well.
whisk the hung curd. Add the whisked hung curd little at a time to the mixed fruit and keep mixing to get a thick consistency mass of fruit with a saucy textured curd. Taste and adjust seasoning,sugar and other ingredients.
Garnish it with chopped green coriander leaves and mint leaves. Sprinkle chat masala powder over and top with a cherry to add more glamour. Chill and serve.

Notes

You can add any fruits of the season for this dish like grapes, guava, pears etc…
I have used fresh pineapple chopped and boiled with sugar to taste and water for 10 minutes. Cooled it completely and mixed with the chopped fruits as I didn’t have tinned pineapples.
You can add tinned mock tail fruits also. Make sure the curd you use is not sour.

Go green kiwi punch

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : nil

Serving : 2 members

Description

By gone are the days when I used to droll at pictures of exotic fruits in magazines, the television and else where as most of the fruits are available in my home town now a days. Like wise kiwi was one fruit that made me ponder a lot from the taste to the colour of the fruit. A fruit that’s lovely green in colour with a splash of black seeds in an even more beautiful pattern. The first time I got to eat it with sheer excitement… didn’t last long though as the The after taste of eating a kiwi fruit really put me off leaving behind an acquired taste. From then till date, I use kiwis only for decoration purpose or to add more colour to a fruit spread. Going through sauté, fry n bakes web site, took note of the drinks category having the least recipes. Made up my mind to come up with a mock tail. Went strait to the refrigerator,opened and was gazing at things in it that would be of use to my idea of creating a mock tail. I found 3 kiwis in one corner. Took it out and started with a flow of what was going on in my mind. The finished product was a visual treat. Now it has to be a mouth full of treat as well. Had a sip… Tasted like 7 up with sugar crystals.oops… Dum me didn’t even mix the mock tail before tasting. Mixed and tasted it, tasted nice but I was worried about the after taste of a kiwi fruit that I hate. Some how the after taste of the kiwi fruit didn’t exist in the mock tail. To my surprise this mock tail was a stunner as it brought with it a melange of flavours and visually very impressive too. Exotic,yet simple and delicious. It only requires some quick assembling to be done that leads to up lift the summer time sprit in style.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Kiwi	3 peeled and chopped + 1 peeled and sliced to 1/2 inch thick pieces to decorate
Green food colour	a few drops ( optional )
Sugar	1/4 cup to decorate the glass + 3 tablespoons or to taste
Ice cubes	1/2 cup crushed
Ice cold Sparkling water / 7 up / sprite	2 glasses ( I used 7 up )

Method

Place two tall clean glasses in the refrigerator.
Grind chopped kiwi,sugar to taste and few drops of green food colour to a smooth paste.
place the 1/4 cup sugar over a flat small plate. Do the same with another small plate of the same size but fill it with 1 1/2 cups of water.
Remove the tall glass from the refrigerator. Dip the top mouth of the glass into the flat plate with water, wetting the rim all around.
Remove the glass in a inverted way and press over the sugar plate, making sure the sugar forms a border on the rim of the glass. Do the same with the other tall glass as well.
Care fully spoon in equal amounts of the puréed kiwi into the two tall glasses making sure the sugar border does not get disturbed.
Add equal amounts of crushed ice care fully over the kiwi purée layer in the two glasses.
pour sparkling water gently with the help of an inverted spoon into the two tall glass once again making sure not to disturb the sugar border and the kiwi purée.
Garnish with a slice of kiwi on the side of the glass making a small cut in one corner to hold on to the glass and stand.
Serve immediately with a straw or a mock tail mix. Mix before drinking and indulge.

Bread sweet

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serving : 6 members

Description

Every festive meal in a the ravuthar ( tamil – Muslim ) community is served with a sweet beside for sure. The sweet is mainly made with a fruit or a vegetable of choice and flavoured with cardamoms,ghee,sugar,nuts and raisins.We have white pumpkin sweet called mittah,tomato sweet,pineapple sweet,beetroot sweet,green mango sweet… The variety differs from each district through out Tamil Nadu. There is a vast regional difference in the food from North to South of the state.Only in the recent the mighty bread sweet has been added into most of the wedding menus. No idea as to from where this simple yet stunning crowd pleaser popped up out of a sudden but has become very popular over taking the older variations. The first thing to be served on to the plantain leaves at weddings are the sweets as a symbol of serving a helping of happiness to begin with.Where we start with the sweet waiting for the remaining main course ( what else other than biriyani in a Muslim wedding ) to be served.I remember,my friend meera’s mother in law sharing the recipe with me once but never did try it as at home the old school menu is welcomed un-changed always.My gal ANISHA got the recipe from me once and she told me all were wooed by the bread sweet.Now my turn… Did make it once when I had to send a packed lunch to my friends house.Gave a spoon full to hubby dear and he liked it too. From then on its a regular at home with sparks of conversation flying over and over again debating about the votes for the new in bread sweet or the old school ones. My vote goes to all the sweets as each sweet has it’s simplicity of its own.Ubiquitous at most ravuthar festive occasions, this simple sweet is relished for its pleasurable dining experience and perfect for large gatherings. You don’t need to be an expert cook to make this sweet. You just have to want to do it Like I do always..

Ingredient

Ingredient	Quantity
Bread loaf	1 cut into cubes with the crust
Sugar	3 cups
Water	1 1/2 cup
Un sweetned Kova	100 grams
Cashew nuts	3 teaspoons chopped
Raisins	3 teaspoons
Almonds	5 soaked in hot water for a minute , peeled and cut into thin strips
Pistachios	10 soaked in hot water for a minute , peeled and cut into think strips
Salt	a pinch
Saffron	a few strands soaked in 2 tablespoons of warm milk
Ghee	4 tablespoons
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Boil sugar and water together for four to five minutes. Mixing well,until sugar dissolves and gets a bit thick.
heat oil to deep fry in medium heat. Deep fry the beard pieces in three batches to a deep golden brown colour.
Make sure not to burn them. Drain over absorbent paper. Cool completely. Blitz the crisp bread pieces to a coarse powder and set aside.
Heat ghee,add cashew nuts. Once they start to get to a light golden colour add the raisins and sauté,lowering the heat.
Top with the coarse bread powder and sugar syrup. Mix well to combine and get to a gooey mass.
Add the Un sweetened kova to little water and dilute it. Pour over the bread and mix well.Bring to boil until you get a mushy mass of semi thick sweet in your pan.
Top with a pinch of salt,almond strips,pistachio strips ( I have added cucumber seeds and chirongi nuts-saara paruppu in tamil, which is optional) and saffron soaked in milk. Mix well. Taste and adjust.
serve at room temperature garnished with more almond strips and pistachio strips.

Notes

Make sure to deep fry the bread cubes in medium high flame for a few seconds to a deep golden colour.
As the bread cubes tend to burn easily, in case you are using sweet kova,add less sugar syrup.
I always dilute the kova with little water and pour over the bread as it’s easier to mix with no lumps.

Rice pearl balls

Preparation Time : soaking of rice for three hours + 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 25- 30 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Mesmerised me…. After Watching chef vikas Khanna in master chef India season -2, I could not wait to see his first cooking show twist of taste in the telly. I made sure to be free at the time of its first telecast… All ready with a pen and paper to take note of the deeply seductive twists in his recipes. The first recipe to be shared was tuna flowers with apricot jam. My, my I was flattered with each twist in the dish. He sure is a genius as there are too many ethos of innovative ideas and creativity he implements to dishes that have made me feel so dum about myself. Well no wonder he is a Michelin starred chef. Here I have borrowed the idea of coating soaked rice and made a few changes to my liking and to suit the food habits at home. I made sure to substitute fish with chicken first , then a few bits and pieces of alterations here and there as always. My first try in round one was a big flop show as the rice was really grainy and the filling I used smelled eggy. Second round trial…. Again a few errors to be corrected and went ahead. This time I soaked the rice for 3 hours instead of 1/2 an hour as in the original recipe. And made another filling as well. Waited nervously not wanting to go in for another round of trial and error. Tasted the first batch out and it tasted delicious when eaten hot immediately. The rice coating does get a bit dry when served after a while. I recommend this dish to be served immediately once cooked. This ingenious steamed dish is sure to satisfy even the heartiest appetite, very impressive too and apt to be included to any menu during parties at home. By doing so you get to be spoke dining at the cheek list of a button.. Wooing your guests for sure.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Basmati rice	1 cup
Ground boneless chicken	2 cups
Egg white	1
Light Soya sauce	3 tablespoons
Sugar	1 teaspoon
Vinegar	1 tablespoon
Green chillies	3 or more to taste , blitzed coarsely
Garlic	2 cloves crushed
Spring onion greens chopped	3 tablespoons
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash and Soak rice in water for 3 hours . Drain and dry the rice.
Mix ground chicken with egg white, soya sauce, sugar, vinegar, salt, garlic, green chillies and spring onion greens together.
Divide into equal portions . With the help of greased hands roll to balls .
Spread the rice in a flat plate . Roll the chicken balls over the rice making sure it has coated well all over by pressing lightly.
Arrange over a wax paper or greased foil paper lined steamer little apart from one another.
Cover and cook over boiling water in medium heat for 30 minutes.
Serve hot immediately with dip of your choice or else the rice tends to get hard.

Bengali style fish cooked in plantain leaves

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 16 – 20 minutes for each fish .

Serving : 2-3 members

Description

Other than having a few bengali seniors, class mates and juniors… I have no idea about their food habits to their culture, language ….. I can go on and on. But I know all Bengali ladies are very beautiful with their cotton Saree’s and big round bindhi on their forehead and are very artistic people. Have heard hubby dear talk a lot about the fish and shell fish in Calcutta and not to forget the mighty resagullas for sure. I have seen a few cookery shows featuring Bengali food and got to know they love their fish and use a lot of mustard oil, mustard paste, panch pooran ( five spice ) powder and add a little sugar to most of their dishes. Hope what I have assumed is right ?? Me, not to be blamed as no country on earth has more diverse culture’s, appetite’s, language’s and more ways to satisfy them like we Indians do. With our hundreds of ethnicities , natural bounty and inventive cooks our country is definitely a food lovers paradise. I believe, one way to understand and experience what it means to be Indian is through our country’s varied, constantly evolving cuisines. I ended up making this dish as when it comes to fish , I always end up with a Tamil or Kerala recipe. So for a change with hearing hubby dear rave about Bengali style fish ,it was about time for a do over. Gave a try with the help of searching for a recipe that interests me in the world wide net. I didn’t want the regular onion – tomato base so stuck to this combination of mustard seeds and coconut paste base. I sure did add a few ingredients and followed the recipe to the core . My version is made more flavorsome with an additional dash of vinegar. The final product looked pale but when tasted it was out of the world therapeutic comfort food. This dish can never fail to make you feel indulged. Happy me as I found a wealthy way to play with ingredients in true blue Bengali style. So here starts my inspiration to begin an affair with bong food…

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Fish	2 whole white pomfret fish cleaned and make close slits on both sides
Lime juice	of one lime + more to drizzle over the fish
Mustard seeds	2 1/2 tablespoons
Grated coconut	1 cup
Green chillies	8 or more to taste
Salt	to taste
Sugar	1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1 1/2 teaspoon
Vinegar	1 teaspoon
Oil	3 tablespoons + to drizzle + 2 tablespoons to fry
Banana leaves	2 big
String / tread	to tie

Method

Smear fish in salt , lime juice and turmeric powder .
Apply little oil over banana leaves. Place the greased leaves over a gas burner and smear the leaves so that they loose their firmness. Set aside cutting them longitudinally into two equal parts .
Grind mustard seeds, coconut, green chillies with little water and vinegar to a smooth paste. Add sugar, salt, turmeric powder and 3 tablespoons of oil to the ground paste and blitz again to mix well .
Divide the paste into equal two portions and set aside. Heat oil to shallow fry. Slightly fry the fish in hot oil and keep aside to cool completely. Coat the cooled fish with coconut paste.
Place a coated fish in the centre of a banana leaf. Drizzle with a squeeze of lime juice and little oil Neatly fold the banana leaf and tie with a thick string.
Heat oil in non stick wide pan. Cook banana leaf wrapped fish on either sides for 7-8 minutes in medium low heat. Remove and serve hot.

Tangy capsicum gravy

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 – 30 minutes

Serving : 4-6 members

Description

My mom is the most sophisticated lady I know on earth. She does a million things at a time and is the centre of attention any where she goes. But she hates to cook and is the last thing she wants to do as well. I know all your minds reading this is ticking with how on earth are you so passionate about food and cooking then ??? Well it’s all from the so called genes that’s been given to me from my grand ma and my aunts ( dads mom and his sisters ) oops coming back to the point. Once on a visit to mom’s place, she had catered lunch for us from a home chef being her own self with laziness to cook . As hubby dear is fussy about eating food from out side, I made sure to taste the dishes ahead and all the dishes were yummy yum. Mom had ordered a typical Muslim lunch with mutton biriyani , onion raitha , a tangy gravy usually it’s made with brinjals, a chicken fry and a firni for dessert. We all relished the lunch with our mouths zipped about the food being catered from outside as hubby dear would just not eat the food. After lunch he kept saying every thing was pitch perfect today. We all kept giggling silently to ourselves. The tangy gravy was my favourite and as tasting it, I kept revising the dishes preparation and Ingredients used. I made sure to try the same the following day at moms place as we had my cousin sister’s in – laws visit us for lunch from United States. My cousin’s mother – in – law also went head over heels over the tangy dish and took the recipe from me then and there. When ever this dish is served, the recipe is a must share as I remember sharing this recipe with my aunt ( moms last sister ) too. I do use small sized whole slit egg plants and three colour bell peppers using the same recipe. What ever variation it’s lip smacking good. Only later did I know this is an authentic dish very own to the memon Muslims from Bangalore side. With access to the world wide net, did check the recipe and not bad as I did represent the dish as the original recipe. With a big pat on my back from myself…. I Felt delighted as creations do ample justice to their deliciousness.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Capsicums	250 grams cut into finger size strips
Onion	1 sliced
Cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder	3 pinches
Red chilli powder	2 teaspoons
Tomato	4 puréed ( grind with out adding water )
Black pepper corns	1 /4 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Dry red chillies	3
Curry leaves	few
Tamarind pulp	6 tablespoons
Green chillies	2 slit
Coriander leaves	2 tablespoons chopped
Oil	8 tablespoons

Ingredients to grind

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	1 fried to pink
Poppy seeds	1 tablespoon
Sesame seeds	1 tablespoon
Grated coconut	1 tablespoon

Method to grind

Grind all the above ingredients together to a smooth paste using little water .

Method

Heat oil in a wide pan . Add the sliced onion and fry to a golden colour .
Top with garlic paste and fry to crisp . Mix in cumin powder , fenugreek powder , turmeric powder , red chilly powder , green chillies , salt to taste and puréed tomatoes .
Sauté for seven minutes and add the ground paste .
Mix well and cook further for another two minutes stirring occasionally making sure the bottom does not burn .
Top with whole red dry chilies , pepper corns , and curry leaves . Stir well and add the capsicum strips .
Toss well and cook for ten minutes in medium heat to tender . Add the tamarind pulp mix well .
Bring to boil , then simmer until oil floats on top . Taste and adjust . Garnish with chopped coriander leaves .
Serve hot as a side dish with biriyani , Paulo , anything and everything.

Notes

Can do the same with whole tiny slit egg plants .

At times I use red bell peppers alone or a mix of red , yellow and green to add more colour to the dish .

Dahi – cheese ghost kebab

Preparation Time : 40 – 50 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 4-6 members

Description

Meat and cheese is one combination I have wanted to pair together for quite some time . But the two fatty culprits did scare me away because of the calorie in take its going to end up in and not wanting the rats in my laboratory ( oops the Rats are hubby dear my kids and son – in – law , the laboratory is my kitchen ) who end up eating and have a heart attack over night . So I just threw away the idea from my mind immediately. Later , after a few months time while just whiling away my time over the foodie groups in face book . I came across a picture of a mutton roast that’s grilled with grated cheese over a hot Tawa . There was a tsunami happening in my mouth as I just could not take my eyes away from drooling . Finally I ended up gulping a hell of saliva . Checked to see who has posted it and who else other than my friend Anisa Arif the spice queen . Well now there is no health issues coming in between as when a friend has tried it , it’s an alerting alarm signal saying its your turn dumbo . Not wanting to repeat the same as Anisa did , I just used a recipe from my hand written cook book and added grated cheese with a revolutionary idea to the filling . This recipe is an authentic recipe very own to the nawabs of Hyderabad . I have just added my twist of adding grated cheese to the filling leaving the recipe undisturbed. As authentic old school recipes need no more polishing to be done . I just found a cheats way of not keeping the mutton whole and the dal used along just led an option to tell when questioned about that the meat used is very little . The amount of roller coaster rides I go through to just satisfy my cravings to experiment a dish with no complaints is sure adventures and worth while when I hear oohs … And aahhs over the table when served filling in a lot of joy in me . This fool proof dish vanished away in minutes and has been on demand from then but I keep it away as I know this fatty culprit is to be enjoyed only once in a blue moon . From humble old school to va – va – voom with a clever riff on the classic worked wonders ….

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless mutton	600 grams
Cumin seeds	1 teaspoon
Pepper corns	6
Ginger	1/2 inch chopped
Garlic	10 cloves peeled
Bengal gram	1/4 cup soaked in water for half an hour
Coriander seeds	1 teaspoon
Green cardamom	1
Black cardamom	1
Garam masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Red chilli powder	2 teaspoons
Mace powder	a pinch
Salt	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons + to shallow fry
Eggs	2 beaten with salt to taste

Ingredients for stuffing

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	1 chopped finely
Hung curd	1/4 cup
Grated processed cheese ( I used Amul cubes )	1/4 cup
Mint + coriander leaves	2 teaspoons chopped

Method for filling

Squeeze the chopped onions between your palms to remove excess water .
Mix hung curd , grated cheese , onion , mint + coriander leaves chopped together .
Taste and add salt as the cheese used already has a lot of salt content in it . Place in the refrigerator.

Method for the kebab

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pressure cooker . Add cumin seeds , coriander seeds , pepper corns ,
black cardamom, green cardamom , ginger and garlic . Stir well for a minute over medium heat . Add the boneless mutton pieces and sauté for five minutes until the colour of the meat changes .
Top with soaked and drained Bengal gram dal , salt to taste ,red chilli powder ,mace powder and garam masala powder . Stir well for about 2-3 minutes.
Add one and half cups of warm water and Bring to boil . Pressure cook for 4 or more whistles depending on your pressure cooker to cooked and dry . Remove from heat . Cool completely and grind to a smooth paste with out adding water .

How to proceed

Divide the ground paste to equal lemon size portions and roll to a round with greased palms .
Insert your thumb from the top of the round to get a hollow dent in the middle . Fill the dent with dahi cheese stuffing .
Flatten a goose burry size of the ground meat and cover on top of the filling .
Roll gently to a circle again with no cracks . Then flatten a bit to get tikki / cutlets shape . ( I used a greased cutlet mould to get perfect sized kebabs ,
you can use a Horlick’s bottle top too ) Do the same to all the ground mutton and filling .
Heat oil to shallow fry . Cost each kebab with beaten egg .
Drop into medium hot oil and fry for 40 -50 seconds on one side , then flip over gently and fry to a golden colour and crisp on all sides .
Drain on absorbent paper . Serve hot with mint chantney .

Notes
You can substitute mutton with chicken and do the same

Quite a tricky dish but worth the pain for sure