Recipes-Cookery Tips by Nina.

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2010-04-19T19:17:00.008+01:00

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Quick Potato Vegetable - North Gujarat Style.

2010-03-21T01:08:00.002Z

ITEMS REQUIRED:

1/2 kg Potatoes
2-3 medium hot green chillies
2-3 medium size garlic cloves
medium size piece of ginger

1/4 tspn dry ground coarse fenugreek
1/4 tspn mustard
1/4 tspn jeera/cummin seeds (whole)
2 pinches asafoetida
2-3 pinches turmeric powder
1 tspn dhania jeera (dry coriander & cummin powder)
2 tblspns cooking oil (groundnut oil tastes better)

Salt to taste.
Non-stick pan with a lid. Wooden spatula/flat ladle (the one used for making omlets and pancakes.

METHOD:
Wash, wipe and mash/chop fine the green chillies. Peel and mash the ginger and garlic. Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them in 4 quarters then slice the quarters in 1/4" pieces. Wash these once if you'd like to (I don't).

Heat 1 tblspn oil in the pan over low heat, put the mustard. Hold the lid over the pan whilst the mustard is splattering. Drop the jeera/cummin seeds and asafoetida powder as soon as the mustard stops splattering. Immediately drop in the chopped/ mashed green chillies and garlic, and fry it for about 20 seconds. Then drop in the chopped potatoes, ginger, turmeric powder, fenugreek + dhania jeera powder. Mix well over low heat. Add the 2nd tblspn oil if necessary and give a little stir. (You may sprinkle a little water, but not a lot). Let the vegetable cook for at least 5 minutes on low heat. Check once through the cooking. Take the pan off the hob as soon as it's done.

Remember, trying to cook it on high will burn the veg and it may even turn mushy. Cooking it on low heat without stirring anymore will leave the potatoes nice and slightly crispy.

Serves 3-4.

Full of carbohydrate. Can either be eaten with bread, naans or chapaatis; and pickle of your choice. It can also be eaten with rice and yoghurt or yoghurt kadhi (see recipe/post for kadhi).

PS: Do not put too much turmeric or dhania jeera powder. The veg will go bitter and lose taste.

Enjoy!!

My Recipe4 Minced lamb/Khimo.

2010-03-16T23:52:00.007Z

For 500 grams minced lamb you will need:

Ingredients:

250 grams ripe chopped tomatoes
1 large onion (finely chopped)
1/2 to 1 tspn ginger paste
1/2 tspn garlic paste
1/2 tspn (medium hot) green chillie paste
2 tspns lemon juice
2 tblspns fresh chopped coriander

1 tblspn cooking oil
2 tspns coriander+ cumin powder (dhania jeera powder)
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
5or6 whole cardamoms (if you like)
1/4 tspn garam masala

Method:
Semi-cook the minced lamb in a deep pan, drain the excess fat and leave it aside.

Fry the finely chopped onion in a non-stick pan on low heat until transperent. Add garlic and carry on frying until the mixture is aromatic. Add chopped tomatoes and lemon juice and carry on frying until combined with onion and the mixture starts to leave sides. Add whole cardamom, ginger, turmeric and dhania jeera powder fry for 2 more minutes. Now add the semi-cooked minced lamb fold it thoroughly with the mixture and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Turn the heat off once it's cooked. Sprinkle the garam masala and mix it thoroughly before taking it off the hob.

Take it off the hob sprinkle the coriander and stand it for at least 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

This minced lamb/khimo dish can be eaten with naan bread or chapaatis.

Serves 4.

(Often I serve it with sliced onion mixed in salad cream with a pinch of salt. Tastes good.)

If liked one may also put 2 to 3 table spoon of peas in this whilst cooking. The only drawback is, the dish will taste sweetish and you may not like it.
Most Indians use goat meat (diced or minced) instead of lamb, which is tastier.

YOGHURT CURRY (Kadhi - GUJARATI / INDIAN STYLE) :

2008-03-02T23:25:00.001Z

Serves 6 – 7.

3 -4 Litre capacity - Steel Deep Pot with lid.
Hand held or electric blender
Wooden Ladle Long handled
Cup styled Long handled - Steel/Metal Ladle (for tarka and serving)

1 - 2 Pints drinking water
400 – 500 Grams Yoghurt (Greek Style would be better).
½ - 1 Teaspoon Fresh Green Chillies (Pasted/mashed or ground)
½ - 1 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger (Medium Sized - Pasted/mashed or ground)
1 Clove Garlic (Medium Sized - Pasted/mashed or ground)
10 – 15 Curry Leaves (Kadhi patta)
1 Small bunch Fresh Coriander Washed and cleaned.

2 Table Spoons Gram flour (Besan)
¼ Teaspoon (Freshly ground) Pepper Powder
1 Teaspoon (Freshly ground) Cummins Powder
¼ Teaspoon (Freshly ground) Mustard Powder/Paste
A pinch or two of Turmeric Powder
¼ Teaspoon coarsely-ground dry fenugreeks
1 Tablespoon Ghee or 10 - 15 grams butter
½ Teaspoon Whole Cummins
6 - 8 Whole Mustard.
2-3 Pinches of Asafoetida Powder
1 -2 Teaspoon Sugar
Salt to taste.

First wash clean all the greens including garlic and ginger. Leave the coriander aside to drain. Paste or grate the Chillies, Ginger and garlic together or separately. I prefer it separately as I like it gingery and not garlicky. (You’ll develop your own tastes depending on how often you have it.).

Anyway, empty the Yoghurt in a deep pot. Add a cup of water to the yoghurt (leaving aside the rest to add later for right consistency). Add the Besan/Gram flour and blend it well. Then add green chillies, ginger and ½ of the garlic paste. Blend it all thoroughly either with a hand held or electric blender. Add the other spices i.e. pepper, Cummins, mustard, turmeric and a bit of fenugreek powder and run it all again through the blender. Add more water from what was set aside if necessary, stirring until you feel that the mixture is not runny.

(Make sure you haven’t left any bubbles of grams flour. If you notice just a few hold each on the wooden ladle in the mixture and press it with a teaspoon to blend it. But if there are many, sieve the mixture – add some of the sieved liquid to it and run it through the blender, put it back into the mixture).

Stir in the sugar and salt once you have the thoroughly blended mixture ready. Put it on medium heat stirring it all the time with the wooden ladle, making sure the flour doesn’t stick to the bottom. Lower the heat once it starts to boil and covering the pot with the lid. Very low heat is ideal to simmer, this will assist the besan flour cook in the mixture/kadhi. Still keep an eye so that it doesn’t boil over. If it oozes out you’ll lose the best bit + the taste. Simmer it covered for at least for 5 minutes. Switch off the heat after 5 minutes. The curry/kadhi will look very much like broth. But you’ll love the taste.

Meanwhile make ready the tarka, i.e. heat the ghee/butter in the metal ladle on low heat put the whole mustard. Move the ladle away from the heat as soon as the mustard starts to splatter. Quickly add the Cummins to it. The Cummins will start to brown when splattering. Drop in the curry leaves, ground fenugreeks and Asafoetida Powder immediately. Switch off the heat and carefully lower the ladle with all its contents straightaway in to the Curry/Kadhi pot, immediately covering it with the lid, not letting out the Tarka Aroma. Let it stand covered for at least 5-7 minutes. Pick leaves with edible stems off the fresh coriander to garnish the curry/kadhi. Do not chop it fine. You want to keep intact the coriander flavour too. So, just loosely break them with in a bowl and leave them aside to garnish the curry/kadhi just before serving.

Some people like the Curry/Kadhi slightly thick and some like it runny. But don’t worry if you’ve put a bit more water, as the Curry/Kadhi will thicken when boiled. That’s when you’ve actually achieved the right consistency. Careful!! Don’t add any water once it’s been boiled-cooked.

This item goes well with Spinach vegetable and rice with some roasted Papadoms. Many Gujaratis/Indians love this simple but tasty combination. It is full of nutrients. A pinch of plain cooked rice and spinach veg., or just the curry/kadhi and plain rice is a favourite of some Indians.

SPINACH VEG. Indian Style - for 2.

2007-08-12T10:20:00.000+01:00

250 grams Fresh or frozen spinach
2 medium size onions
2 medium size (not very hot) green chillies
¼” piece of fresh ginger (grated/paste)
1 table spoon cooking oil
¼ teaspoon whole cumin
A pinch of Asafoetida
salt to taste

Wash clean the fresh spinach (do not leave any grit) chop it 2” long stripes (it is more fibrous in long stripes, than fine). Leave aside to drain any excess water. Meanwhile slice the onions, green chillies and grate the ginger.

Heat the oil in a flat pan or a non-stick wok, add cumin seeds. Sprinkle the asafoetida when cumin starts to splatter. Immediately add the green chillies fry them for 3-4 seconds, then add the onions. Fry them until they start to look transparent. Now add the spinach and grated ginger mix everything well and leave it to cook on very low heat. Do not add any water. Spinach yields water, so let it cook in it’s own juices. Add salt towards the end according to taste mix and leave it on heat for a minute or two. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes then serve.

Tastes good with some slightly buttered rice, khichadi (a mung daal/lentil & rice dish – recipe of which also is in my blog) or plain rice and yoghurt or buttermilk.

Tip: You can also use Swiss-chard instead of spinach.

All Purpose Seasoning.

2006-12-04T21:33:00.001Z

Fruit Yoghurts.

2006-04-19T16:02:00.000+01:00

I had plenty of raspberries and strawberries left from last year, and was confused what to do with them. Suddenly I thought of semi cooking it with some sugar and freeze it.
Well, now I take out a piece or two as and when I need it to make fruit yoghurt or add it to a dish.

You could try it too.

Some more Dry Lentil Soups/Daal.

2006-04-11T00:55:00.001+01:00

Items: Medium Size Pot with Lid & A Deep Wok style Ladle.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Tur Daal
½ tspoon garlic-ginger+green chilly paste, haldi (turmuric), dhania jeera powder,
1 tspoon gur (jaggri) or saugar,
¼ tspoon lime juice,
1 small canned chopped tomatoes
A Pinch of cinnamon powder.

For tarka/waghaar
1 ½ teaspoon cooking oil
¼ “ mustard
¼ “ whole jeera/cumin seeds
2-3 pinches hing (asafoetida) the yellow powder (it’s in the box yellow coloured little plastic jar)

Wash half to 1 cup of Tur Daal (Tur Lentil) with warm water 3 times. Leave aside to soak for at least 2 hours (if you'd like to cook it a bit later). Else pressure-cook it for 10-12 minutes if not soaked. (use 2& half cups water to pressure cook. Do not cook on high heat. Lower it to medium once you hear the first whistle). When cooked it’ll look smooth like paste. Switch the heat off and leave it cool.

Meanwhile put together all the ingredients to add to it later.

Heat the oil in medium sized cooking pot, add mustard, add jeera/cumin seeds when the mustard almost finishes splattering immediately sprinkle the hing(asafoetida powder) a pinch of cinnamon powder and add chopped tomatoes to it. Keep on stirring whilst adding the dry spices, sugar/jaggri, lime juice. Carry on stirring until it comes apart from the pan and you see the oil around the mixture. Now add the cooked daal and 2 to 3 cups of water. Mix it well (or stir it with a churner/egg whisker) and bring it to boil. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to minimum and simmer it for 10–15 minutes. Keep a check that the daal doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or ooze out whilst simmering. Else you'll loose all the goodness/taste. Switch the heat off after 10–15 mnts. Sprinkle some fresh coriander and let it stand for a few minutes and serve it with rice.

N.B: If in a rush put the pressure cooker under cold running water. Be careful not to lift the whistle before cooling sound stops. Lift the whistle with a cloth or prong.

By NinaPhiona Shukla ©

Mum's Chicken Recipe.

2006-04-10T17:05:00.001+01:00

Some more Dry Lentil Soups/Daal.

2006-04-10T17:02:00.000+01:00

Indian Sweet Dish ~ Golpapdi.

2006-04-04T20:23:00.000+01:00

Chicken - Sunday Roast.

2005-11-28T05:16:00.000Z

Chicken – Sunday Roast ~ Serves 6-8.

You will need:

1 whole chicken (approx 2Kgs in weight)
8 Garlic cloves or 1 teaspoon paste
1/2 teaspoon powdered/whole cloves
1 teaspoon pepper powder
Some fresh herbs i.e. rosemary, thyme, curry leaves etc.
1 cube chicken stock
2 / 3 tablespoon white corn flour for gravy (if desired, for thickening the gravy)
1 teaspoon salt

Cut the legs & wings off if desired. Give a little wash and pat it dry with kitchen towel. Sprinkle some salt and leave it aside.

Chop garlic thin slices & herb strands. Make small incisions in a few places all over the chicken with a small knife. Hold the knife in place every time you make incision. Insert piece of garlic, strands of herbs and some clove and pepper powder. (Incisions should not be too wide that the herbs & garlic comes off, stick them in tight.) Baste it with castor little sugar or any jam of your choice. I normally use red chilli sauce for basting.

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 7, 175°C (if fan assisted), 300°F for 5 minutes. Place the chicken in sitting position on the middle shelf. Also place a large tray with 1- 2 cups water in it, in the bottom shelf, underneath the chicken, so that the juices fall in it whilst it is roasting. (A 2 Kg chicken would take at least 2 hours to cook well.) Turn the chicken over at the end of 1 hour.

Pierce it with kebab stick to check if cooked when it starts to brown. Leave it in to brown a bit more and slightly burnt all over. When almost done, turn the oven off and let it stand whilst making the gravy from the water that’s in the tray. (Some people like it with gravy).

I use this water for gravy as it has all the oil and spicy flavour that has dripped from the chicken whilst roasting.

To make the gravy:

You may either make it in the tray or a saucepan. Pour all the watery substance in to the saucepan crush and dissolve the chicken stock in it. Keep on stirring until the stock has dissolved.

Dissolve 2 to 3 tablespoon of white corn flour in some cold water in a cup until smooth. Keep on pouring it slowly stirring the gravy continuously so as not to leave any flour lumps. Add salt to taste.

TIP: If you like veg. in the gravy. You may add desired vegetables to the tray whilst the chicken is roasting. I have often done it and tastes delicious. Gives a different flavour to the gravy.

Some more Cook's Tips.

2005-11-27T21:23:00.014Z

COOKERY ~ TIPS.

Do you know?
• You could make a variety of Pâté from the leftover cooked vegetables!
• Freeze portions of marinated fish, chicken or meats for future use. (Date it and use it within 3 to 6 months).
• Cooked a dish too salty? Adding a potato or two, or any suitable vegetable will help.
• Any left over Rice from previous day!!
o Make Fried rice or add it to Theplaa Mix (see recipe for Theplaas. )
o Fried Rice: Finely chop an onion. Sauté it in some oil, butter or ghee. Add 1 or 2 chopped garlic cloves (depending on quantity of rice) and 2 pinches of turmeric powder, salt to taste and mix it well. Add the leftover rice. Sprinkle a few drops of water. Leave it on heat for approx. 5 minutes. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes and serve.
• Cook Chicken or meat dishes a day or two in advance and leave it in fridge. Tastes better!!
• Dry roast the semolina or couscous before making the dish in a karahi. Round bottomed frying pan like a vok. Either steel with copper or sandwich base, or a non-stick one. Dry roasting will take away the weird smell and funny taste it gives if used (raw) without dry roasting.
• Also, dry roasting these two items helps preserve it for longer, and used in any dishes gives a unique taste. In India some people make Shira, Laddus and festive sweets with dry roasted semolina, and they are tastier.

Tip of the Day - 20/03/2010:
Add 1 to 2tspns lemon juice to any fish dish halfway through cooking. The fish won't split/break. Lemon juice kills the fish odour and the tastes better.

Never use too much oil to fry fish except those that really need a bit more oil. Most fishes are naturally oily. Fry/cook them in a non-stick pan with only 1 tspn or a few drops of cooking oil on low heat.

I normally give atleast 2 or 3 washes to fish and meats in a mixture of 1 tspn salt, vinegar and lemon juice in some cold water. And leave to drain while sorting other items for the dish. This kills the funny smell and freshens it.

You don't want to spend whole day in the kitches, true. But Give Some Time for your cooking cooking anything on low heat once it starts to boil will preserve nutrients and tastes better. Cooking over high heat, too many spices and too much oil ruins the taste.

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[Have you heard the English phrase – ‘there are many ways to skin a cat?’]
If you know and have heard of it. It’d be easier for you to understand something in respect of cookery that many dishes can be cooked in different ways. It all depends on the items/spices available, styles and methods adapted in different countries and provinces. And most of all people’s tastes.
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