Mushroom Matar Masala

Mushroom Matar Masala is a famous recipe in India..Its a very tasty and healthy recipe as mushroom contains vitamin and matar/peas contains protein and vitamin both...In this dish, mushroom and matar cooked in spicy onion tomato gravy and richen by cashew paste. Serves best with rotis, naan, paratha or rice and pulaos.

Ingredients


1 1/2 cups green peas
200 gms mushrooms ( cut into halves )
2 tbsp oil
4 cardamoms
1" stick of cinnamon (dalchini)
1 cup chopped onions
2 tbsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lehsun) paste
1/2 cup chopped tomato
2-3 chopped green chilli
1 tbsp red chilli powder
(I used MDH Deggi mirch powder, which gives the curry a nice colour )
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
1/4 cup cashewnut (kaju) paste
2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cardamoms, cinnamon stick and onions and saute till onions turn golden brown in colour.
Add the ginger-garlic paste, mix well and cook for 2 minutes on a medium flame.
Add the tomato, chilli powder, coriander seeds powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt and cook till the oil leaves the masala.
Add the cashewnut paste dissolved in 1 cup of water and mix well.
Add 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a boil.
Add the green chillies, green peas and mushrooms and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or till the green peas are fully cooked and the gravy thickens..

Serve hot garnish with coriander leaaves...enjoy.. :-)

*Note:- MDH Deggi Mirchi Masala Red Chilli Powder is a unique, age old blend, processed from special varieties of colourful Indian red chillies. It is mild-hot and imparts glowing natural red colour to curried dishes making them attractive and more palatable.For best results fry chopped onions in oil till golden. Then add chopped tomatoes and Deggi Mirch. Stir till it is homogenised, and imparts the red colour. Then proceed with your normal cooking. If not using tomatoes, reduce flame, add Deggi Mirch and as soon as it imparts colour, proceed further.

*Sending this yummy recipe to Kalyani & Vardhini's Dish it Out Event

Celebrating My 200th Post with Butter Rice

This is my blog's 200th post...and i decided to make a dish from my fav list from Mom's kitchen and share it with all of u...Butter Rice is one more product of my Mom's Kitchen , which all of us n my family were craving for...me and my bro dont want anything else with it as we liked to eat and finish this soon mom made and gave it to us..:)This is a sweet ,simple , easy to make dish and also can be made from left over rice..
and here it goes:-

Ingredients:

1 cup - Rice(arua)
3 tbsp - butter
1/2 tbsp - ghee
2 tbsp - sugar
1 tbsp - cumin seeds (shajira & ordinary mixed)
1 tbsp - halved cashews
1/2 tbsp - skinned and halved Almonds
1/2 tbsp - raisins
4 to 5 - whole pepper corns
1 bay - leaf
1/2" - dalchini
2 1/2 cups - water (approx.)
salt to taste
Few chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

Wash rice well and soak in salt water for 30 minutes.
Heat 2 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp ghee in a heavy or nonstick pan.
Add cashews and raisins to ghee.
Fry to a light brown, drain, keep aside.
Add jeeras, peppercorns, bayleaf and dalchini to same ghee.
Stir fry for a few seconds, drain, and add rice
Keep aside the drained water.
Stir gently, frying rice till 2min.
Add salt water, bring to a boil.
Simmer covered, till rice is cooked and water evaporates.
Each grain should be separate.
Then put 1 tbsp butter and sugar over it. Mix well.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with dal tadka or a spicy gravy vegetable or have it like this....enjoy...:)
 
* Note:- If u dont want it sweet then, u can discard the using of sugar and enjoy it ...:)
 
Sending it to Aipi's bookmarked event

Chicken Jagatpuri

Chicken Jagatpuri is very much similar to the chicken masala recipe, with a wonderful garnishing of fried eggs..The dish is very tasty with full of aroma and the garnishing made it more tempting and inviting..This is made by my husband and the name is dedicated to the place, where he had it...My husband during his bachelor days was a big fan of this dish made in a Dhaba of Jagatpur, a place in Cuttack, Orissa, India...So we kept the dish name as chicken jagatpuri...:)...and here it goes:-

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 kg

Onions(big) - 4 nos
(sliced thin)
Tomato(medium) - 2 nos
(cut into pieces)
Yoghurt/Curd - 2 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 2 tbsp or as reqd
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Cumin(Jeera) powder - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1'' stick
Cloves - 3 nos
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil
2 hard boiled Eggs - Crushed  and fried for garnishing

Method

Marinate the chicken with little chilly powder, turmeric powder, curd, 1 tsp Mustard oil and salt.
Keep aside for 30 mins.
Hard Boil 2 eggs. Peel their skin and crushed them.
Heat oil in a pan/kadai and fry the crushed eggs for 2-3mins and keep aside..

Heat oil in the same pan/kadai.
Add 1 tsp sugar, when it turns to brown, add  cinnamon and cloves and fry for a min.
Add onions and fry, till they turn brown.Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute.
Add tomatoes and fry, until they blend well.
Add chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and pepper powder.
Fry for 2 mins.Add the marinated chicken and fry for 5-10 mins.
Add water as needed to the chicken.
Cover and cook, until the chicken is done and the gravy thickens.

Garnish with the fried eggs and serve hot with roti/paratha/naan/rice/biriyani....enjoy

Jackfruit Seeds Fry With Mustard Paste(Panasa manji besara bhaja)

Jackfruit Seeds Fry With Mustard Paste(Panasa manji besara bhaja) is one of my fav from Grandma's kitchen..Recently when i saw these seeds while roaming in market, i thought of making this tasty and yummy recipe,and soon bought it to home....as the name suggest ,here i used mustard paste with jackfruit seeds and the combination gave a wonderfull, delightful taste to the dish..and brought back my childhood memories back..:)

These Jackfruit seeds would give you around 135 kcal/ 100 gms. It is a rich source of complex carbohydrate, dietary fiber, vitamins like vitamin A, C and certain B vitamins, and minerals like calcium, zinc, and phosphorous. They contain lignans, isoflavones, saponins, that are called phytonutrients and their health benefits are wide-ranging from anti-cancer to antihypertensive, anti-ageing, antioxidant, anti-ulcer, etc. Jackfruit seed powder has the ability to relieve discomfort due to indigestion.

Jack fruit seeds are indeed very rich in protein and nutritious. In general, the seeds are gathered from ripe fruit, sun dried and stored for use in rainy season in many parts of  India. Different variety of recipes prepared in India where they are eaten either by roasting as a snack or added to curries in place of lentils..Boiled Jackfruit seeds and chutney of the seeds are also very tasty ....

Enough talking..now coming to the recipe and here it goes:-

Ingredients

Skinned and cut jackfruit seeds – 2 cup
(Cut it in lengthwise shape)

Potato - 1(Cut in lengthwise)
Onion chopped – 1 no.
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
(soaked in water for 30min)
Garlic Flakes - 5
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Salt as per taste
Cumin – 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Method

Grind the mustard seed along with garlic flakes to a fine paste and keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai/pan and put cumin seeds.
When the seeds start crackling, add chopped onions, the jackfruit seeds and potato pieces along with turmeric powder and salt.
Fry for 1-2min. Then add the mustard paste with lil water.
Mix well and cover the lid. Cook till the seeds and potato pieces are done.
Now add cumin powder, coriander powder and chilli powder to it.
Stir fry for 4-5mins.

Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice/roti/paratha...enjoy..:)

*Sending it to Shobha's Cook it Healthy Event

Chilli Soyabean

Thursday is a veggie day for us, but all of my veggies in fridge was over and I was not having any clue what will I make for side dish to have with rotis in dinner. Then suddenly i saw these Soya chunks in a jar..and i decided to make and have a try for this Chilli Soyabean....I had it 3-4 yrs back,  when i was in Bangalore,but forgotten to give it a try...Its full of proteins and even my kid liked it a lott...Thankfully it was super hit in my home and here it goes :-

Ingredients:

Soya Bean - around 2 cups
Red Chilly Powder- 2 tsp
Onions - 2 nos medium ( chopped )
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
Green Chilli - 2 nos chopped round
Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 3-4 tbsp
Chilli Sauce - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing


Method

Soak the soya chunks in water for 30 mins and drain the water well by squeezing them.
Then heat oil in a pan, onions, green chilli, red chilli powder, salt and the ginger garlic paste..
Saute till the onion becomes transparent and the ginger garlic paste's raw smell goes.
Add the soya chunks and saute for around 5-7 minutes.
Add in all the sauces and saute for about one minute in medium flame.
Sprinkle some coriander leaves on top and serve hot with rice/roti/paratha...enjoy..:)

*Note : You can alter the quantity of sauces according to your flavours..
If gravy is needed, then add in the corn flour mix with water, saute all the ingredients properly, close the lid and cook for 10 mins in low flame.By the time its done you will get a good thick gravy.(Check salt if needed)..... :)

Sending this yummy recipe to Ayeesha's Any One Can Cook : Series 22

Also sending this to Shobha's Cook it Healthy Event :-

Bhendi Besara

Bhendi Besara is ladies fingers or okras cooked in mustard paste and tomato or ambula.Besara  means mustard paste which is a main ingredient of  various odia curries. Use of tomato or ambula  in this increase the sourness of the curry..This is another of my  favourite from Mom's kitchen...and here I am sharing it with you all... :)

Ingredients

20-25 okra/bhindi/bhendi

2  medium ripe tomatoes( sour variety or Desi tomato what we usually called it will give u a good result)
U can also use ambula or dried mango instead of tomatoes

2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 Green chilli

5-6 flakes garlic

1/2 tsp pancha phutana(mix of cumin,mustard,aniseed,fenugreek,nigella seeds)

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

1/2 tbsp mustard oil

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp turmeric pwdr

salt to taste
A pinch of sugar

Method:

Make a paste out of the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chilli and garlic flakes with little water.

Chop the tomatoes( u can also make a paste and add that ) .

Wash and cut the okras(bhendi) into 1"-2'' pieces.

Heat oil in the pan and add pancha phutana, when it starts spluttering add okra(bhendi) pieces, fry it for few minutes then add the ground paste.

Add  turmeric pwdr  and cook the paste for 4-5mins and then add the tomatoes, salt and water.

Cook okras in the gravy till fully cooked. Add a pinch of sugar mix it and cook further for a minute, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice/roti.

*Sending this authentic recipe to Aipi and Priya's Bookmarked Event

Dahi Bara, Aloo Dum and Ghuguni Chaat...

Monsoon came, and its a perfect time to hav some chatpata things like chats, gupchups/panipooris, and pakodas...So i am welcoming the monsoon by making the famous street food of Cuttack, Orissa...You talk to any Cuttacki and they will swear by their dahi bara, aloo dum and ghughuni chat! Ofcourse each local region will have its own favorite. Some will swear by Eshwara's dahi bara, while other's will only touch Raghu's dahi bara and others are purists who love their chandi chowk's dahi bara...Funny is'nt it... :-)

Cuttack is my sasural(in law's place) and therefore im so lucky to have this chat usually in the evenings or even in breakfast sometimes...i just enjoyed the food with my in laws wenever i ws thr...Now me and my hubby ws missing this very badly, so i decided to make this at home...Dahi Bara is urad dal fritters in spicy and tangy curd, Aloo Dum is a spicy potato curry and Ghuguni is a curry made of  dried  yellow peas  and to make it a chat we just hav to mix all these 3 things with some chopped onions, bhujia,coriander leaves and chopped green chilllies.... You can't escape from the aroma of this....very tempting and enticing, I should say!!

I already post the recipes to make Allo dum and Ghuguni, so u can follow that...Here i'll post the recipe for Dahi bara as well as to assemble these 3 to make the famous Chat...and here it goes:-

Ingredients

For the Bara


Urad Dal/Black gram(without skin) - 1 cup soaked overnight
2 -3 green chillies
Bunch of coriander leaves
1 inch of ginger - Minced
1/2 tsp Baking soda
Salt to taste
Oil for frying


For the Dahi  mixture



Dahi/Curd - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup (adjust consistency based on taste).
2 tbsp Grated Ginger
1-2 Green chillies cut into thin slices
Black Salt to taste
Sat to taste
1-2 tsp Roasted cumin powder

Tempering

Oil
Few Curry leaves
1 tsp of Mustard seeds
1-2 Dry Red Chilli
Pinch of hing

Method

Drain the water from soaked Urad dal(black gram) and grind to a paste .
If the paste is too free-flowing, add a few tbsps of rice flour or semolina/sooji to thicken it.
It should be thick enough such that you can just hold the mixture with your hand and give it a round shape before frying it. It should not be too thick or too thin.
Mix salt and baking soda along with the ginger, chillies and coriander leaves to the dal paste.
Keep aside in a warm place for 6-8 hrs.
(If  u r in India don't mix salt and leave aside , it is too warm and the Bara becomes too sour. Add salt only before deep frying)

Just before deep frying, get the dahi mixture ready. It is simple, beat the curd with salt and black salt.
Once it is a smooth paste, add water , cumin powder , grated ginger and chillies.
Taste at this point and adjust any of the above as per your liking.

Put both ur hands in the water before taking the mixture in one palm.
This prevents the mixture from sticking .
Give it a round shape and make a hole in the middle with ur fingers of another hand.
Carefully drop the shaped bara into the oil and fry it on medium flame for 1 to 2 min.
Flip it on to the opposite side. Fry till it becomes golden brown on both sides.

Once removed from the oil, drop them in water for a few minutes before transferring them to the dahi mixture.
This step keeps the bara soft and drains out the excess oil..


Now season the dahi mixture with the tempering.
Take a small pot, and heat oil in it.
Add mustard seeds , wgen it crackles, add red chilli, hing and curry leaves .
Fry for 1 min and pour it over the dahi bara...

Make the Allodum and Ghuguni by following my previous posts..

>Aloo dum

U can also have this with roti/poori/paratha/rice...or have it simply like this by adding some chopped onions and bhujiyas...

>Ghuguni

U can also have this with roti/poori/paratha/rice....or have it like this by adding chopped onions,curd,tamrind chutney, coriander leaves and bhujiyas...

Chaat

To assemble the chat we have to follow these steps:-

Take 3-4 Dahi Bara in a container.
Add 1-2 tbsp of the Aloo Dum.
Add 1-2 tbsp of Ghuguni.
Top it with Bhujia, chopped onions, chopped chilli and coriander leaves.
Sprinkle some roasted cumin powder..
You can add a sprinkle of black salt (optional).
Enjoy monsoon with this aromatic, tasty ,spicy, tangy and chatpata Chaat..

Malpua

Malpua is an Indian pancake served as a dessert or a snack..and this is my posting for celebrating the last day of the Raja Festival...will post one more recipe(janta podapitha) later for this festival...but now i am posting this sweet and very famous recipe for malpua..This delicious dish made of maida (refined flour) and milk melts in the mouth  for satisfying your sweet cravings...hope everyone will like it...:)
and here it goes:-

Ingredients:

1 litre milk or 250 ml evaporated milk

4 table spoon maida (all purpose flour)
2 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tsp fennel Seeds
Ghee for frying
(U can also use refined oil but deshi ghee increases the taste)

Method:

Boil milk in heavy bottomed broad pan on medium flame,stir continuously till it reduced to 1/4 quantity.
Add maida once the milk gets cool.
Mix well and make a batter of pouring consistency like the thick ice cream shake.
Keep it aside for 2-3 hours by adding fennel seeds with it.
In a pan add sugar and take enough water to soak sugar,boil it and make the sugar syrup of one string.
To achieve this, keep boiling the syrup until a drop of syrup leaves one string between your thumb and finger.
Add cardamom powder to the sugar syrup.

Heat ghee in the shallow small frying pan.
Now pour some batter with the ladle to form a malpua.
(approximately of the size of small pancake or poori)
When you pore the batter in the center of pan, automatically it will take the shape of circle.
Fry both the sides till it becomes light golden brown in color.

Soak the malpua in sugar syrup for 1 min,drain and serve hot.
U can serve malpua with some rabri and dry fruits on the top.

Tips:

Do not confuse evaporated milk with condensed milk its different.
If you are using evaporated milk add refined flour directly to the milk,no need of boiling.
If u reheat the malpua in microwave,do it for only 10 seconds.

*Sending this to Ayeesha's Any One Can Cook: series 21

Pachila Kadali Bara/Ripe Banana Fritters

I had some ripe bananas but not in a mood to eat them directly or 2 make banana milkshake or smoothies...so i end up making this simple, sweet  and crispy bara/fritters..My husband and son both liked it a lott...the taste was awesome..just superb...and here it goes:-

Ingredients


2-3  ripe bananas
2 tbsp milk
1 cup all-purpose flour(maida)
2 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
oil for frying
1-2 tbsp milk powder for dusting
 

Method
 
Cut the bananas in 2'' length size slices.
In a large bowl, prepare the batter by mixing milk,  all purpose flour, corn flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon.
Heat oil in a kadai or heavy bottomed pan.
Dip the slices of bananas in the batter and fry in the oil...
Cook, turning once, until browned, or  up to 4-6 minutes.
Drain on paper towels and dust the milk powder over the fritters..
 

Serve hot or cold...we liked it hot but u can hav it cold too....so do it and enjoy..
 
*Sending this crispy fritters to Krithi & Siri ' s Healing Foods - Event

also sending these easy to make fritters to Ayeesha's Any One Can Cook: Series 21

Pura Podapitha

Today is the first day of Raja(Pahili Raja) as i described in my previous post...and i am celebrating it with a dish of my fav from my Grandma's kitchen i.e; known as Pura Podapitha(Pura means stuffing )...U can  also see my earlier post for Podapitha..

Ingredients

1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup black gram - without outer skin (chopa-chhada biri)
1/2 cup milk or as needed
1 cup finely grated coconut (nadia kora)
1 cup crumbled paneer/chhena
(if u can get dahi chhena, the taste will b more good)
10-15 small pieces coconut (nadia khanda)
1 1/2 cup sugar (chini)/jaggery(guda)
3-4 green cardamom(crushed)
2 tsp of black pepper powder
ghee or refined oil
1/2 tsp  salt
1 tsp Baking soda
 

Method
 
Soak the rice and black gram in water in separate bowls for about 4-6 hours.

Wash them thoroughly and grind together by adding milk as needed to make a smooth  and thick batter..
Mix coconut pieces, salt 1/2 cup sugar/jaggery, crushed cardamom and baking soda to the batter and mix well.
Keep it covered for about 3-4 hours for self-fermentation.
Take grated coconut, crumbled paneer and 1 cup sugar/jaggery in a bowl and mix well.
Heat a kadai/pan and fry the above mixture by adding the black pepper powder  for 5-10 mins.
This will b used as the stuffing.

Pre-heat the microwave/pressure cooker.
Form a thin layer of oil/ghee in the surface of the cooker/baking disk.
Add a layer of the batter about 1-2 cm thick.
Spread a layer of the pura or stuffing over it.
Cover it with another layer of the batter about 1 cm thick.
Spread ghee over it.


For cooking in microwave, just bake it for 30-40 mins.

For cooking in the pressure cooker, cook it by closing the lid (without mounting the whistle-weight).
Place the pressure cooker in simmer flame for 40-50 mins.

Now poda pitha is ready.
When the pitha comes to normal temperature take it out  carefully, and cut it into desired shapes.
Serve  like this or with milk and ripe mango pieces, dalma, kheer or any other curry of ur choice.... enjoy..

Sending this perfect pitha to priya and aipi's bookmarked event.

Happy Raja Festival to All Friends...:)

Raja is the most important festival of Orissa, generally associated with the farmers and is celebrated during the onset of monsoons.

Poda Pitha(click 2 check the  full recipe)

The festival is observed for 3days. Most of the time it falls in mid of June (14th to 16th June).It is believed that Prithivi or the Earth gets her menstrual cycle in these three days once in a year and it has to be celebrated by unmarried girls.. It is one of the most awaited festivals among the Unmarried Girls in coastal Orissa.

Day 1: Pahili Raja (First Raja) - The last day of month “Jyestha”.

Day 2: Raja Sankranti (Middle Raja) the first day of month from which rainy season starts. It also inaugurates the agricultural year all over Orissa which marks the moistening of summer parched soil with the first shower of monsoon making it ready for productivity.

Day 3: Bhuin Dahana (Last Raja) – The second day of “Asadha” To celebrate the advent of monsoon the joyous festival is arranged for three days.

The celebration of the festival starts from day before the Pahili Raja and is known as Sajabaja…and the fourth day of Raja festival is also celebrated in the name of “Basumata Puja” (Basumata: Mother Earth).

During this festival digging of soil or tempering it in any way is strictly prohibited and unmarried girls are forbidden to do all kinds of manual works. They don’t carry water, cook foods, cut vegetables, sweep the houses, sew clothes, grind grains, comb hair, walk in bare foot etc. During these three days girls are seen in the best of their dresses and decorations, eating cakes, fruits, paans and rich food at the houses of friends and relatives.

Another common sight during this festival are swings which naturally come up in every nook and corner of the villages.The entire surrounding of the villages turn into a cauldron of ricocheting songs that go up with the oscillating swing. The girls and kids, move up and down in the swings rending the village sky with their joyous impromptu songs. The swings are tied to the branches of Mango or Banyan trees and decorated with garlands of different flowers. One of Girl is elected as Dola-rani (queen of the swing) by the Girls group. When the queen takes her seat on the swing, the virgins move her forward and backward with chorus of charming songs. These songs are full of jolly spirit of girl-hood days and refer to glorious future, happy love and would be marriage with suitable husbands..

While girls scatter beauty, music all round moving up and down on the swings during this festival, young men (normally unmarried Men) give themselves busy in various types of country games including playing cards, Bagudi, Kho kho and Kabadi competition. While ‘Yatras’ and ‘Gotipua’ dances are arranged at night in prosperous villages; plays and other entertainment programs are also conducted.

The main attraction of the festival is Poda Pitha (Burnt Cake) prepared of rice, urad dal, cardamom powder , coconut, cottage cheese, ghee and jaggery. The size of the cake varies according to the number of family members.

Chingudi Besar dia Bhaja/ Prawn Fry with mustard paste

Prawn or chingudi(in oriya) is one of my favourite non veg...
Chingudi Besar dia Bhaja/ Prawn Fry with mustard paste is a recipe from my Mom's kitchen...and here it goes:-

Ingredients:


3-4 prawns(big size)
We can use small prawns with shell (chhota chingudi) for this recipe..
1 small onion-chopped
3 tsp mustard paste
(prepare by grinding  2 tsp mustard seeds, 5-6 flakes garlic )
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil to fry

Method:

Clean the prawns by removing the shells.
Marinate  the prawns with 1 tsp turmeric powder, salt and oil. Keep aside for 10 mins.
Heat oil in a pan or kadai.
Add the chopped onions and fry for 2 mins.
Now add the prawns with the mustard paste to the kadai.
Also add the turmeric powder,  red chilli powder and salt along with 1/2 cup of water.
Mix well. Put the gas on medium flame. Stir frequenty.
Cook until it all becomes dry.
Serve with hot rice.

Khira

Delicious kheer made using paneer or chenna..I forgot to mention that, its a very famous dish of Puri(The Place of Lord Jagannath),Orissa, India...

Ingredients
 
Paneer or chenna, crumbled - 1 1/2 cups
Milk - 2 litres
Few Cashew nuts and raisins -  Fried in ghee
Green cardamom powder  - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1-2 cup
Salt to taste

Method

Boil milk  by adding lil water in a deep pan and simmer till it reduces and thickens .
Add green cardamom powder and mix well.
Add salt and sugar and stir till sugar dissolves.
Add chenna and  fried cashew nuts,raisins. Mix well .
Take it off the heat and set aside to cool.
Serve hot or cold...

Mutton Rara

Mutton Rara, i had this dish in resturants, and loved it a lot...but the name makes me think, as u, doesn’t it? Why Ra-ra? Why not Ba-ba? Or Fa-fa? There’s definitely got to be a story behind it.

So i googled and got a fantastic story from a very nice site i.e; http://aapplemint.com/of Kajol.....She narrated the story she heard , in such a lovely way, that i just copied it from her site and  the legend goes like this:- The Chhota Nawab of Awadh, and the Rajkumari of Jaipur were madly in love with each other. They wished to be together but life had other plans. They had a clandestine love affair and their families found out. The princess was whisked away to a fortress surrounded by deep waters and guarded by an evil witch. The prince yearned for his ladylove, but was unable to get in. The witch was clever and unforgiving, but she had one weakness: mutton. The prince called down the finest bawarchis of his great empire for one task only: to create a mutton dish so delicious that it would render the witch powerless. And so the dish was prepared near the moat of the bewitched castle … Cooked slowly and patiently in whole spices – spices that had made Hindustan famous all over the world – black cardamom, green cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, whole black peppercorns, star anise, cumin seeds and Kashmiri red chillis. They cooked and they stirred and as the masalas roasted the deep sensuous aromas arose and wafted through to the fortress. The meat simmered and began to tenderize, and the witch could not control herself and magically transported the pot to her chamber. She loved the preparation so much, that she actually gave the Rajkumari away to the Chhota Nawab and blessed them with eternal happiness. The magnanimous prince named the magical preparation after the witch, whose name was Rara … hence Mutton Rara.

Their might not be any princely love story in truth....The dish, however, is royal and extravagant in every way, and needs to be made with a lot of love and a little bit of effort.I just followed applemint's recipe with the addition of ghee in place of olive oil to get a more aromatic and authentic taste..

Ingredients

1 cinnamon stick
2 whole black cardamom
4 green cardamoms
4-5 whole black peppercorns
2-3 cloves
1 star anise
1-2 bay leaves
7-8 dry whole red kashmiri chillis – deseeded, soaked in hot water and ground to a paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
250 gms Mutton mince
500 gms leg cut into cubes (with bone n all)
2 onions finely chopped
3-4 tomatos finely chopped
2 tbsp thick curd
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
3 tbsp Ghee

Method
 
Take a kadai with a heavy base, pour in the ghee.
As it begins to smoke, fry all the whole spices till fragrant, and add the onion, ginger and garlic.
Sautee till soft and add in the mince, frying it well and continuously, till you can see each grain of the mince. Add the tomatoes and keep frying the mixture.
Now add the mutton pieces as well as the remaining spices, and give it a good stir.
Keep stirring till you see the tomatoes break in, absorb the spices, and start to form the gravy.
Cover with a lid and let it simmer slowly for about 40 minutes, adding water when necessary.
When the meat is tender and you begin to see the oil separating from the gravy, add the thick curd, stir, and turn off the heat after 5 minutes.
Serve hot with Roti/Naan/Paratha/Rice/biriyani.

Tawa Naan

Naan is a favourite of all Indians...usually made in tandoor or oven can also be made on tawa in home, which we called as Tawa Naan...

Ingredients

1.5 cups lukewarm water

2 tsp Curd-beaten
3/4 tbsp yeast
3 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
A generous pinch of salt
2 tsp nigella seeds-kala jeera

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add beaten curd and mix well.
Add in sugar, salt , kala jeera and the flour, incorporate well until a sticky dough is formed.
(Bring the mixture together with your fingers. No need to knead. You'll be left with a sticky mass of dough)
Set aside covered for 20-30 mins.
I left it alone for around 20 minutes and it almost doubled..
The dough will be sticky and very elastic. Dig your hand in some flour and tear off a peach-sized piece and  transfer  it to a floured surface.
Shape into oval shaped nans with help of rolling pin if necessary.
Make sure there are no holes in the nan once you are done rolling it out.

Heat tawa on high heat, brush on some ghee or oil, lower the heat to medium and lay the nan on carefully.

Flip over in about 2 mins when the first side starts browning.
Cook closed for 30 seconds to a minute now, depending on the thickness of your nan.
Serve hot with any veg or non veg dish of ur choice...
I served it with chicken jagatpuri and its a real treat...

Bread Roll and glad to mention my 1st award

Bread Roll was one of the fantastic things i have ever tried. It tasted awesome. Thanks to Deepa of Hamaree Rasoi for such a wonderful dish...I just followed her step with a lil variation and got an interesting breakfast to taste...Here it goes:-

Ingredients

4 bread slices(I used white bread)
2 boiled potatoes
1 cup finely chopped vegetables(carrots,cabbage,peas, beans)
1 onion(chopped)
1 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp chat masala powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
2-3 green chillies (chopped)
1 egg
salt to taste
oil for frying

Method

Remove the bread crust and keep aside.
Smash the boiled potatoes.
Heat oil in a kadai/pan and add the chopped onions.
Fry tiil golden brown. Add green chillies,ginger and chopped vegetables.
Fry for 1 min and add smashed potatoes, red chilli powder, chat masala powder, garam masala powder, salt and mix well.
Remove from fire and allow it to cool.

Soak bread pieces in water one at a time and gently squeeze it by pressing between the palms.
Put the potato mixture inside the bread.
Fold and sealed the edges together with little water..
(Here water will work for binding)
Follw the same procedure for other breads.
Beat egg in a bowl.
Heat oil in a kadai.
Dip the bread rolls in beaten egg and fry till golden brown..
Enjoy with tomato sauce or any sauce or chutney of ur choice..

* Sending this recipe to Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's bookmarked Recipes Event

Glad to mention my 1st award shared by my dear friend of  Oriya Rasoi, whose blog is having all the oriya recipes, and who is a gr8 cook as well..Thanx a lott to u..