Methi Paratha

Methi paratha is a very common tiffin variety in North India, prepared either as stuffed paratha or by mixing methi with the chappati flour. However I've been preparing methi dishes only for the past couple of years, but have only had ready made Methi parathas from the Indian grocery store. I liked the way they were prepared by mixing methi and flour together unlike the stuffed paratha. So I tried this recipe once and found it to be a very simple and easy process. Surprisingly my kiddo didn't differentiate it from the regular chappati and she also liked the taste. That's one big success for me...Check out this easy and healthy recipe that can be substituted for your regular chappati or paratha.

Things you'll need:
Fresh or dried fenugreek (methi) leaves - 2 cups
Chappati flour - 3 cups
Garlic - 2 gloves, finely minced
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Oil - 2 tsp
Water - for kneading the dough

Yield - 6 parathas

Method:

Step1:
Wash the methi leaves and soak them in lightly salted water with a pinch of turmeric for few minutes. This is to remove all the bitterness in the methi leaves. Squeeze the leaves and chop them.

Step2:
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds crackle add the minced garlic and the methi leaves. Saute them for couple of minutes, add the chilli powder cumin powder and little salt. Saute until the methi leaves are cooked. Switch off the stove and let it cool.

Step3:
Mix the chappati flour with 1 tsp of salt in a bowl, add the methi leaves and knead it to a soft dough adding water little by little. Keep it aside for half an hour. (Leaving them for some time makes the parathas even softer)

Step4:
Divide them into 6 equally sized balls. Roll them one by one and cook them in medium heat. Spread butter on both sides.

Serve them hot with your choice of side.

Cheesy mac and broc!! (Spicy macaroni and cheese with Broccoli)

Nowadays I have got into the practice of innovating lunch box ideas just to make something convincing for my preschool so that she would eat her lunch at school. My little one is not a great fan of mac and cheese and would back off even if I say the name. I tried the mac and cheese recipe with white cheddar cheese instead of the orange cheese (which I have already posted in this blog) and named it as white pasta (Yeah!! I have to invent new names too). She liked it and ate it only the first day and it came back untouched for the next couple of times.. So I made a spicy version of the mac and cheese with broccoli (That's one of the few vegetables she likes) and packed it with a garlic bread and prayed that she should like it. With all that hype...Here's the recipe for the spicy mac and cheese..

Things you'll need:
Macaroni - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 small, chopped
Garlic - 2 gloves, minced
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp (optional)
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as required
Ground black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Fresh or frozen broccoli florets - 1/2 cup
Evaporated milk - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Shredded cheddar cheese - 1/4 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp

Yield - 2 Servings

Method :

Step1:
Bring 3 cups of water in a pan and bring it to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and the macaroni, and let it cook for 10 mins until the pasta is cooked (should be firm and not too soft). Drain and keep aside. Cook the broccoli with some salt and pepper (I cooked it well enough to mash it. You could just blanch the florets and add them to the pasta)

Step2:
Heat the butter in a pan and saute the onion and garlic for couple of minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, chilli powder, salt and pepper and saute them for a while. Add the flour and stir until the flour is incorporated into the mixture. Its ok if the mixture turns dry after adding the flour.

Step3:
Add the evaporated milk slowly and mix well so that the flour mixture is mixed well with the milk and no lumps are formed. Once the mixture thickens and becomes creamy, switch off the stove and add the cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.

Step4:
Add the pasta and the broccoli. Mix them all and serve with a toasted garlic bread. If you are packing it for lunch, warm 2 tbsp of milk and pour it over the pasta before closing the lunch box so that the pasta stays wet and creamy.

PS: My kiddo ate the garlic bread and had only a couple of bites of the mac and cheese. I would give it one more try before going for the next experiment.. I liked it with some nachos though.. :)

Vegetable manchurian

My friend would be very happy to see this recipe posted. She was asking to post this recipe ever since I made this for our Chinese themed potluck. I tried this recipe for the first time and luckily it came so well and liked by all my friends. This recipe takes quite a bit of time for the prep work. With a little patience and care this recipe would turn perfect.

Things you'll need:

For the vegetable balls:
Mixed vegetables (I used carrot, cabbage, beans and cauliflower) - 2 cups, grated
Salt - as required
Soy sauce - 1 tsp
Corn flour - 1/2  cup
Chilli sauce - 2 tsp
Boiled rice - 1/4 cup (optional, to reduce stickiness of the vegetable mixture and easily hold them)
Spring onions (white and green parts) - 2, finely chopped
Oil - for deep frying the balls

For the gravy:
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Ginger - 1" piece, minced
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Sweet and sour sauce (optional) - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 1tbsp
Vegetable stock (reserved after boiling the vegetables) or water - 1/2 cup
Salt - as required
Spring onions (green part) - 2

NOTE: Take care when adding the salt as soy sauce contains salt.

Yield - Serves 5-6 persons

Method:

Step1:

Blanch the vegetables with little salt in 1/2 cup water for couple of minutes. Squeeze out the water and reserve it for the gravy. Add the soy sauce, chilli sauce, green onions, corn flour and boiled rice (optional), to the vegetables and shape them into balls. Deep fry the balls and keep aside.



















Note: Always try frying one ball first, and if comes together fry the other balls.

Step2:

Heat a little oil in a pan, saute the onions, garlic and  ginger. Add the sauces, vinegar, salt and sugar, and the stock. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for couple of minutes. Mix the corn flour in 1/4 cup of water and add it to the gravy. Stir until the gravy thickens. Switch off the stove and garnish with spring onions.

Step3:

Add the fried balls just before serving. Serve with fried rice or noodles.

TIP: If you want it dry, skip the stock. Rest all the steps are same.

Mint (Pudina) pulao

This is one of my favorite mixed rice varieties. I love this pulao for one more reason..My lil one likes this one after her most favorite 'masala rice' (biriyani). Whenever we get mint from the grocery store, I would make this pulao with any spicy side (rajma masala, channa masala or chicken curry) and there's our exotic lunch served. Excluding the time it takes to remove the mint leaves from the stalks, it takes very less time and could be prepared quickly.

Things you’ll need:

Mint leaves (without stem) – 1 cup

Coriander leaves or Cilantro – a bunch

Green chillies – 2

Onion – 1, cut lengthwise

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp

Salt – as required

Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Coconut milk (optional) – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups (1 cup if using coconut milk)

Whole garam masala (cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves) – as desired

Basmati rice – 1 cup

Oil or ghee – 2 tbsp

Yield – Serves 2-3 people

Method:

Step1:

Clean and soak the rice for 15 minutes. Grind the mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies into a paste without adding water.

Step2:

Heat the oil (or ghee) in a pan and add the whole garam masalas. When they crackle, add the onions and saute until they are soft. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry until its raw smell subsides.  Add the green paste and saute for couple of minutes.

Step 3:

Drain and add the rice to the pan, fry until the water is absorbed, add the water (and coconut milk if desired), lemon juice and salt.  Transfer it to a rice cooker or pressure cooker and cook until the rice is done. (you can switch off the cooker in ten minutes if the rice cooker doesn't turn off automatically. For pressure cooker you can switch off after two whistles)

Serve with your choice of curry.

  

Ground chicken curry (Chicken kothu kari kuzhambu)

This is a spicy coconut-based curry which is very easy to make, doesn't need any frying like the regular 'kola urundai' kuzhambu, and tastes so yummy. I got the packed ground chicken for this recipe..you can either get the packed one or if you don't have it in hand, you could just grind some boneless breast meat in a mixer/grinder (make sure to wash the jar thoroughly after grinding, because the ground meat sticks to the blades).

Things you'll need:

For the meat balls:
Ground chicken - 1 lb
Onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
Green chillies  - 2 minced
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 or 3, chopped
Coriander leaves - 2 or 3 sprigs, chopped
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as required

For the curry:
Onion - 1, big, chopped
Tomato - 2, chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - a handful
Ground coconut paste - 1/2 cup
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - as required
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - for sauteing

Yield - Serves 4-5 persons

Method:

Step 1:
Prepare the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients under meatball section. Shape them into gooseberry size balls. Keep aside.

 

(I saved some meat mixture and shaped them into kababs for grilling!!!)

Step 2:
Heat the oil in a pan, add fennel seeds. When the seeds start to crackle, add the onions and fry them until translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute them until raw smell is gone, then add the tomatoes. When the tomatoes are soft and cooked, add the turmeric, chilli and coriander powders, salt and 1 cup of water. Stir well, bring it to a boil.










Step 3:
Add the meat balls and cook the curry covered, in medium flame, until the oil separates. Add the coconut paste and further cook it in medium high flame, for few minutes. Switch off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves if you like.










Serve with hot rice or rotis. Also goes well with idli, dosa or aapam.

Hyderabadi mutton 'Dum' Biriyani

I feel so dumb to say I like biriyani..Who doesn't?. If you are a non-vegetarian you sure do like biriyani. There are different varieties of biriyani depending upon the methods to prepare the biriyani. The most popular one is the hyderabadi dum biriyani which I wanted to try for a long time. But authentic dum biriyani seemed a very complicated process with layering the rice and curry in a big vessel, sealing it, placing it in a hot tava at low heat (I've heard some even add some hot charcoal at the top of the vessel to transfer heat from the top of the vessel)..whew! I got tired thinking about all these processes..I thought there should be a simpler way which takes less time without compromising the taste (without the charcoal thing especially). I made some research (no..I just browsed the web) and found that some had found success making this dum biriyani in oven. Wow! that simplifies it. It doesn't take much time and there's no worrying about rice burning out at the bottom of the vessel. Here's the dum 'oven' biriyani..

Things You'll need:
Mutton - 1 lb
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1, big, sliced lengthwise
Green chillis - 4, slit lengthwise
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Curd or yogurt - 1/2 cup
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - as required
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Whole garam masala - (cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves) as required
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cardamom  - 1
Mint leaves - a handful
Coriander leaves - a bunch

Yield - 3-4 Servings

Method:

Step 1:
Clean the meat. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Marinade the meat with the chilli powder, coriander powder , turmeric powder, half of the ginger garlic paste, salt, yogurt and lemon juice. Leave it aside for at least an hour or even overnight if possible.

Step 2:
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, add the whole garam masala, onions, green chillis and ginger garlic paste. Saute until the onions are translucent and soft. Add the marinated mixture and mix well. Add little water and cover the cooker. Cook the meat for 6-7 whistles or until the meat is almost done.

Step 3:
Bring some water in a vessel. Add the rice, salt, cumin seeds and cardamom. Cook the rice until the rice is half-cooked (The rice should look grainy but should be soft when touched).

Step 4:
Drain the rice. Layer half of the the meat mixture and rice in an oven-proof dish. Add some of the mint leaves and coriander leaves. Again layer the remaining meat mixture and rice and top it with the remaining mint and coriander leaves. If you like some colored rice, mix some saffron in teaspoon of milk and add it by spoon at some points of the rice layer.

Step5:
Cover the dish with an aluminium foil and seal the edges so that the steam doesn't escape. Place the dish in the oven and cook it for 10 to 15 minutes depending upon the oven. Remove the dish, allow the steam to settle. Then open the foil and fluff the rice. Don't stir too much or the rice will break. Serve it hot with raita and curry of your choice. I served it with keema gravy and raita.

Spicy fish curry

If you search for fish curry in the Internet, most of the results would be the one including coconut paste/milk. My style fish curry is always the no-coconut and ultra spicy version. If the  fish is fresh the curry would be at its best. If you love the spice and seafood combination, this one's definitely for you.

Things you'll need:
Fish slices - 1/2 lb
Onion- 1,big, chopped
Tomato - 2 chopped
Tamarind - golf ball size
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as required
Oil - 2 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Black pepper (whole) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a handful
Green chilli (optional) - 1
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves, crushed

Yield - 3-4 Servings

Method:

Step 1:
Clean the fish slices. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the pulp. Heat the oil in a pan, add the fenugreek seeds and pepper. When the fenugreek seeds turn slightly reddish and the pepper pops, add the onion (Don't let the fenugreek seeds to darken or the curry will have a bitter taste). Saute the onion till it is translucent, add the crushed garlic, saute for a minute and add the tomatoes and curry leaves.

Step 2:
When the tomatoes are cooked, add the chiili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Mix well, leave it for sometime until the masalas are cooked and add 1/2 cup of water and the tamarind juice. Let it boil. When the curry is boiling add the fish without reducing the heat. Let it come to a boil again. Add salt, give it a stir, cover it and cook until the fish is cooked and oil separates at the top. The spicy fish curry is ready to be served with hot rice.

NOTE: One more method to simplify the cooking process is to mix all the spice powders and salt in the tamarind juice, add some water to it and add it to the pan after sauteing the vegetables. The rest of the process is same.