Month: May 2020

Mutton Kurma with English Vegetables

Non-Vegetarian

Ingredients:

Mutton – 500 gms

Cauliflower – 4 small flowerettes

Beans – 4 or 5 chopped

Peas – 1/4 cup

Potato – 1 chopped

Knolkhol – 1 chopped

Green chillies – 4 or 5

Turmeric powder – 3/4 tsp

Tomatoes – 1 no + 1/2

Onion chopped – 1 big + 1/2

Chopped coriander – 3/4 tbsp

Chopped mint leaves – 10

Juice of 1/4 lime

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Curds – 2 tbsp

Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp

Cashewnuts – 5

Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Aniseed/Saunf – 1/2 tsp

To Grind:

  1. Grind coconut, cashewnuts and poppy seeds to a fine paste.
  2. Cut the green chillies and saute it in oil well and add 1/2 onions and 1/2 tomatoes and saute well. Grind it and keep it aside.
  3. Marinate the mutton for 1 hr in yogurt.

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan. Add the whole garam masala (saunf, cardamom and cinnamon). Add chopped onion, ginger garlic paste and saute well. Then add coriander leaves and mint leaves and also the green chillie-tomato paste, turmeric powder and saute. Add the mutton and saute well. Add little salt and cook in pressure cooker until 2 whistles are heard. After the first whistle, reduce the flame and cook for 10 – 15 minutes on slow until the 2nd whistle. If the meat is not tender, you may need to give more time to cook.

After the pressure cooker cools down, check if the meat is cooked. Then add the coconut paste,lemon juice and the chopped vegetables and stir it once. Close the cooker again and keep until 1 whistle sound is heard. Close and allow the cooker to cool.

Serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Healthy Orange Granitas

Desserts

Ingredients:

Oranges – 4

Water – 1 cup

Honey – 3 tbsp

Fresh Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Oange zest – 1 tsp

Preparation:

Wash the oranges and cut 1/4 of the oranges from the top and keep the top and the oranges separately. Also, cut a sliver from the bottom so that the oranges stand firm. Freeze the scooped out oranges for 2 hrs.

Using a knife, scoop out the insides of the orange. Collect the juice and the pulp in a bowl. Pulse this alongwith honey, lime juice, orange zest and water until smooth, in a blender.

Pour the puree into a broad flat pan or broad flat bottomed plastic container and place it in freezer. Every 30 minutes, scrap with fork to break the ice. Repeat 4 times upto 2 hrs.

When you are about to serve, remove the frozen granita and scrap it again and scoop it into the orange shells. Serve garnished with mint or cream.

Sabudana/Sago vada

Snacks

A Maharastran evening snack made with sago (tapoica pearls), potatoes and peanuts, which is crisp on the outer side with a soft texture inside.

Ingredients:

Sabudana/Sago/Tapoica pearls – 1/2 cup

Water – 3/4 cup for soaking sago

Roasted peanuts – 1/4 cup

Potatoes – 1 big or 2 medium sized

Green chillies – 2 finely chopped

Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Corainder leaves – 2 stalks chopped

Rice flour (optional if needed only) – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak sago in 3/4 cup water for 2 hrs. Some sago may require longer time. You can find out by pressing the sago. If it is soft, it is soaked well or else, soak it for longer time.Drain it well in a colander and keep it aside.

Powder the roasted peanuts coarsely.

Boil the potatoes and mash them well. Do not overcook the potatoes.

In a mixing bowl, add the mashed potatoes, sago, coarsely powdered peanuts, green chillies, jeera, coriander leavess, salt and mix well.

Shape them into vadas or patties. They should not be too thick or too thin.

Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, slip the vada into the pan. If it starts to break, add 1 tbsp rice flour to the dough, mix again and fry on medium flame. When it turns golden brown on one side, flip it to the other side. When it is done, take it off and drain it in a kitchen tissue and serve.

Mutton Chukka Keerai Curry

Non-Vegetarian

Another recipe which is a regualr in my mom’s kitchen is mutton with brinjal and sorrel leaves/khatta palak or chukka keerai as we call it. This curry can be served with rice, chapathi or pooris too.

Ingredients:

Mutton – 500 gms

Medium sized Tomatoes – 2

 Onions – 2

 Chilly powder – 2 tsp

Coriander powder – 4 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Ginger paste – 1 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste – 1 1/2 tsp

 Small violet brinjals to be sliced into four – 7 -8 nos

1 small bunch consisting of 15-20 leaves of Chukka keerai/sorrel leaves(English)/Khatta palak(Hindi)

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

 Coriander leaves (chopped finely) – 10 stalks

Mint leaves (chopped finely) – 15

Preparation:

Clean the greens and take only the leaves. Discard the stems. Wash and chop them.

Heat oil. Add chopped onion and sauté till it becomes soft. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes away. Add mint leaves and half of coriander leaves. Chopped tomatoes and fry well till tomatoes turn pulpy. Then, add chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and sauté on very low fire for 2-3 minutes or else, the powders may get burnt. Then add meat and sauté well. If you feel the meat may stick to the pan, sprinkle with water and sauté for 5-7minutes. Transfer to cooker and add 1 and 1/2 cup of water to cook meat. Cook for one whistle. After one whistle, lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes (depending on the quality of meat).Since this is soft, tender meat I have kept it for 10 minutes only. Put off the fire and open the cooker only after the pressure goes down. Then add sliced brinjals and add chopped sorrel leaves and cook on low flame till brinjals are tender. Remove when gravy thickens.

Coconut Thogayal

Chutneys

A coarse version of chutney which is mainly eaten with rice or pongal or kichdi. Super tasty when eaten with hot rice and ghee.

Ingredients:

Oil – 1 tsp

Grated coconut – 6 tbsp

Red chillies – 2

Kashmiri red chilli for colour (optional) – 1

Urad dhal – 1 tsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp or as per taste

Sugar – a pinch

Tamarind – a small marble sized one

Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp

Ginger (optional) – 1/4 inch piece

Curry leaves – 2

Seasoning:

Oil – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 3 or 4

Udad dal – 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Wash and soak tamarind in 1 tsp warm water so that it can be ground easily.

In 1/4 tsp oil, fry red chillies separately and then remove.Fry urad dhal, asafoetida and 1 or 2 curry leaves. Pulse red chillies and urad dhal for a second. Add ginger chopped and pulse once again.Then add all the other ingredients. Grind without water first, then add very little water. Make it into a slightly coarse paste. The thovayal should be a very thick consistency. Remove into a small bowl and season with mustard, urad dhal and few curry leaves.

Note: Some people roast the coconut slightly while roasting other ingredients but personally I don’t, as I like the fresh grated coconut.