Dal Paratha

Jai Shri Krishna from garvi Gujarat! :D Today, I made dal parathas. And before you make fun of the shape of my parathas, lemme warn you. This time, they DIDN'T look like a part of Australia :|


Anyway, here are the ingredients you'll need:


- 1 cup wheat flour
- 2 tsp oil


For the filling, get:


- Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup moong dal
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- 1 pinch asafoetida (heeng)
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp oil
- Salt to taste
- Oil as needed


Here's how:


1. Sabse pehle, sieve the flour and knead a soft dough (don't play with it - it's not playdough, remember?) :P Then keep aside.


2. Soak moong dal for an hour. Then wash, drain and keep aside.


3. Uske baad, cook the dal in a cup of water.


4. Then, heat oil in a pan, and add the cumin seeds & asafoetida. And fry till they start to pop.


5. Now, add the cooked dal, turmeric powder & red chili powder. Mix well. And cook till the mixture is dry. Then let it cool.


6. Take a bit of the dough, make a puri out of it and put the dal mixture in the center. Then, close it from all sides, and roll it out like a paratha.


7. Finally, heat a tava and cook the paratha by putting oil on both sides.

8. Serve hot with curry/pickle/chutney. Smack!

Bebinca

An Indian pudding. Traditional Goan dessert. Also known as Bibik or Bebinka. Has 16 layers. And was adopted by the International Weather System  as the name of a typhoon! ;)

Here's what you'll need:

* 200 gm refined flour

* 10 egg yolks (Confession: I eat eggs. But that's the extent to my non-vegetarian-ism) :P

* 500 gm sugar

* 200 ml coconut milk

* 5 gm nutmeg powder (jayphal)

* 200 gm butter

Let's get started!

1. First of, mix the flour, egg yolks, sugar, coconut milk & nutmeg powder, and make a batter.

2. Then, grease an over-proof dish with a spoonful of melted butter. After this, pour 75 ml of the batter into this dish and spread evenly.

3. Now, bake this mixture till it is golden brown. Then, spread another spoonful of melted butter on it, and pour 75 ml of the batter (and spread evenly, of course) :P Set to bake again, until golden brown.

4. Repeat this process till you use up all the batter.

5. Bebinca done!

Secret to Eat: Serve a slice of hot bebinca, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Heaven!

Baingan Bhaja

Fried brinjals, translated literally. No, I don't have an obsession with eggplant/aubergine. And no, this dish is NOT from Bengal, contrary to popular belief. Mine comes from Chattisgarh ;)

BB makes an awesome side dish, especially with dal chawal. Slurp! And easy to cook, too!

Get these first:

- 100 gm brinjals

- 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 1 tbsp mustard oil

- Salt to taste

Let's get frying:

1. First, slice the brinjals lengthwise.

2. Now, rub the salt & turmeric on the insides. Simultaneously, heat the mustard oil in a frying pan.

3. Then, place the brinjals on it, and keep turning from side to side, till they have cooked evenly.

4. Don't forget to make dal chawal before whipping up BB! ;)

Litti

I bring to you to the soul food of Bihar/Jharkhand - litti :) To those who don't know what it is, think of it as baati from Rajasthan. Reference:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baati

Anyway, littis are made usually during winters. And eaten with either tomato/brinjal bharta or aloo ka chokha. P.S. no am only posting the recipe for litti. Greedy readers :P

Gather the following first.

For the flour, you'll need:

* 1 & 1/2 cup whole wheat atta. For more crispy littis, you may want to use maida.

* 1 cup curd

Note: Knead the dough using curd and not water. and make sure the dough is soft without lumps. Once kneaded, cover & keep aside.

For the filling, you'll need:

* 1 cup sattu (it is a special ground powder mix of chana dal, green gram, jowar, wheat, oat, barley etc. Most supermarkets keep it. And in case you can't get your hands on any, just ask a friend traveling from Bihar/Jharkhand to get you some) :)

* 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

* 1 piece of ginger, finely chopped

* 2 green chilies, finely chopped

* 1/2 cup cilantro (dhaniya) leaves, finely chopped

* 1/2 tsp mangrela (nigella seed or black cumin)

* 2 tbsp mustard

* 1 tsp ajwain (thyme)

* 1 tbsp lemon juice

* 1 tbsp masala of chili pickle

* Salt to taste

Here's how to make the awesome L:

1. Mix all the ingredients of the filling, and add about half a cup of water to moisten the mixture.

2. Now, make balls out of the dough. P.S. Remember, this is not 'playdough' :P And don't forget to dust each ball with atta. And remember that the balls have to be proportionate/equal sized :D

3. Once the balls are done, put 2 tsp of the filling in the center of each  litti, and close from all ends.

4. Then, preheat the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit/190 degree Celcius. Put all the littis on a foil, and bake till one side turns brown or black spots come on the surface. Then, turn over the littis to the other side and bake again.

Alternately, you can also deep fry the littis if you don't want to go through the baking process. Or even make them like how you would make rotis over a stove. Whatever suits you.

And here's the secret to eating the litti - you take a hot piece, burst open the center with a finger, and pour ghee on it. And THEN you sink your teeth into it. But not without  tomato/brinjal bharta or aloo ka chokha!!

Cabbage Kofta Curry

CKC is a scrumplitiously-yummyness from Assam. My perfect accompaniment on a cold Bangalore night & steaming white rice :D

For the koftas, you need:

- 1 small cabbage, finely shredded

- 2 small onions, finely minced

- salt to taste

- 1 tsp garam masala powder

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1 cup gram flour (besan)

For the curry, gather:

- 1 large onion, finely sliced

- 2 cloves

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1-2 cardamom pods

- 1 medium onion

- 5 garlic cloves

- 1 small piece of ginger

- 1 tsp cumin (jeera)

- 1  tsp coriander seeds

- 1 tsp poppy seeds

- 1 tsp cashew nuts

- 4-5 green chilies

- 1 medium tomato

- 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

- 1/2 tbsp yogurt

Now, the method:

1. First of, mix all the ingredients of the koftas and make a batter. Ensure that it is smooth & not lumpy. Mine had 1-2. OK; 3-4 :P

2. Then, heat cooking oil in a kadhai, and pour tiny balls of the batter into it, deep fry till light brown, then set aside. You can place them on a tissue paper for it to soak the excess oil.

3. Now, heat some more oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions till they turn pink-ish. Then, mix all the ingredients of the curry together (minus the yogurt), and it to the kadhai. And fry this, till the oil starts to separate from the onions.

4. Then, add a tablespoon of yogurt to this and mix well. Now, add salt and water, to make a thick gravy. And bring the mixture to a simmer.

5. Finally, add the koftas to this. And voila! CKC ready!

Paanch Phoron Taarkari

Ahoy from the far east (of India, that is) :) This is the only vegetarian recipe I could source from Arunachal Pradesh. So, bite me, non veggies :P

Paanch Phoron Taarkari literally means vegetables in a spice blend usually of fenugreek (methi), nigella seed, cumin seed, radhuni & fennel seed.

Another very easy/very yummy dish :)

Let's get started!

First, gather the following:

- 100 gm diced  pumpkin

- 2 large diced potatoes

- 1 large diced brinjal

- 2 large slit dry chillies

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

- 1/2 tsp aniseeds

- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

- 2 bay leaves

- 2 chopped green chillies

- 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 1 tsp cold milk

- 1/2 tsp sugar

- Salt

Here's how:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add all the dry spices.

2. Now, stir-fry the spices, add the  cut vegetables and mix well.

3. Then, put the green chillies, sugar & salt. Mix thoroughly.

4. Now, pour water & milk to cook the vegetables.

5. Keep simmering till the veggies turn tender and absorb the water.

Done! Serve hot with puri. Or even rice.

Baghare Baingan

Welcome to Andhra Pradesh ;) Yes, that's where Baghare Baingan hails from. Simple to make & surprisingly yum (despite the 'baingan' factor) :P


For making a delish plate of BB, you'll need:


* 250 gm small brinjals
* 1/2 cup finely chopped onions (chop them in a food processor if you well up at chopping them manually) :P
* 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste (don't both making a paste at home - there's ready-made paste available at stores, for lazy women like me) ;)
* 1/4 cup grated dry coconut
* 2 tsp tamarind paste
* 1 tbsp roasted coriander seeds
* 2 tsp roasted sesame seeds
* 2 tsp roasted cumin
* 1/4 tsp turmeric
* 1/2 tsp red pepper powder
* 7-8 curry leaves
* 1 tbsp coriander leaves for garnishing
* 1/4 cup oil
* Oil for deep frying
* 2 tsp salt


Here's how to get cooking:


1. Slit the brinjals and deep fry them on a high flame, till they turn a little tender & glossy (note: do NOT throw the brinjals into the kadhai, but gently place them, so as to eliminate spattering/scalding) :P


2. Once done, remove the brinjals from the oil and keep them aside.


3. Now, grind the coconut, coriander seeds, cumin & sesame seeds together. Add a little water if need be.


4. Then, heat the 1/4 cup of oil, and saute the onions & ginger-garlic paste, till the onions turn soft and a little transparent. Now, add the curry leaves & the ground mixture and turn it around and saute till the fat separates. (again, be careful not to spatter) :P


5. Now, add the tamarind paste, salt, turmeric & red pepper powder, and mix well. Finally, add the brinjals, and turn around a few times.


6. Then, add 1/4 cup water. And bring to a boil & simmer, then cover for 5 min.


7. Finally, garnish with coriander leaves. And serve! Preferably with puri or roti.

The First :)

A new year. A new beginning. At least in the kitchen :)

Stay tuned for my culinary trysts, to name a few.

Will try and keep my promise of posting at least one recipe a week, God willing!

Cheers.