Mutton Kurma Tuesday, December, 5, 2006

                                                      Before my marriage, I don’t remember my mom preparing mutton, may be because no one in my mom’s house liked mutton,…or I should say no one really liked any non veg item. She rarely used to prepare chicken and fish. Whenever she prepares some non veg item, then that day was used to be a very bad day for me as I was been insisted / scolded …..to have them . And after marriage, I slowly started eating chicken and now I can say “I love chicken  ”  but don’t like mutton, shrimp (I seldom eat fish). My husband being an ardent lover of mutton , I prepare mutton curry (I prepared 5/6 times in 2 years   ).  I always prepared with meagre success. In every attempt I learned a new thing. So with all those experiences, I prepared mutton kurma last wkend   which was a very bit hit……Oh atlast I found the way….

                       

                                                                         Mutton kurma
Source: This is an absolute trial and error recipe.

Ingredients:
Mutton – 300 g
Potatoes – 2-3 no.
Onions – 2 medium size.
Tomato – 1/4 cup
small piece of crushed Ginger
Crushed garlic – 3 no.
Green Chillies – 2 no.
Turmeric – 2 tsp
Coriander powder – 1Tbspn
Garam masala – 2 tbspn
Red chillie powder – 2 Tbspn
Salt
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon small piece
Bay Leaves – 2
Cashew nuts – 2 tbspn
Milk – 1 Tbspn
A pinch Saffron (optional)
Oil – 3 tbspn
Curd – 1 tspn
Cumin powder – 3 tspn

Ground to Paste:
   Brown onion paste:
1.Take pan, add 1 tspn of oil , and chopped onion(1 onion). Remove from the fire when onions turn golden brown.
2.Put into blender, grind to fine paste.
  
   Cashewnut Paste:
1.Take 2 tbspn of cashewnuts in a blender and make them to fine paste using 1tbspn milk. Can add more milk/water for the required consistency. (If you are using saffron then soak the saffron in the milk for 5-10 min and use that milk for grinding the cashewnuts.)

                         

Method:
1. Bofore doing the kurma , cook the meat in spices. This way meat absorbs the spices. I pressure cooked it. So , in a cooker add well washed meat, sufficient water, crushed garlic, crushed ginger, 2 green chillies, turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder 1tbspn, salt, potatoes ( peeled and half cut), cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Allow it to cook untill u get 8-10 whistles.
2.In the mean while u prepare the brown onion paste and cashew nut paste.
3.Once the meat is cooked , drain off the water well.
4.Now, heat 2-3 tbspn of oil in a pan, add chopped onion(1 no.), add salt, garam masala.
5.Add brown onion paste once onion turn golden brown color.
6.When you find it leaving oil, add tomatoes and cashewnut paste.
7.After few min ( roughly 7 min), add cooked meat,and potatoes. Now adjust the spices, and water untill you get the required consistency and spice level. Let it boil for 10 min.
8.At the very end, add curd, jeera powder. Mix them well and remove from the flame.
9.Garnish with coriander leaves. (optional)
Goes well with piping hot rice, poori, pulaos, biryani.

Notes:
1.I used frozen indian green chillies.
2.I used pressure cooker for cooking the meat.
3.I drained out the water in step 3, since I was using the frozen meat. If you are using the fresh meat then you need not drain the water. In that case, do keep in mind about the amount of spices you are using.
4.I made the cashewnut paste using saffron milk (saffron being soaked in 1 tbspn of milk for 5-10 min). I also added little for the required consistency.
5.I used tinned tomatoes.

Palak (Spinach) Pulao Wednesday, November, 15, 2006

                                       Palak (Spinach) pulao …..does it sounds weird ? Even I thought the same when I saw palak rice in many blogs. But one should admit -”Very healthy recipe, mainly for the kids who doesn’t want to have greens.” When I saw the palak rice in many blogs I thought of preparing palak rice but in my way.. ie  adopting my original pulav recipe for palak. I also made up my mind that if this comes out bad then I will switch to the the methods used by my fellow bloggers for palak rice.  Ahhh,……I was relieved by the taste. Though it came out well, I desire to cook the palak rice the way my fellow bloggers cooked n posted.

                  

                            Palak (Spinach) Pulao garnished with carrot, and capsicum

Source: I adopted my original pulav recipe for palak.

Ingredients:
Palak – 1 bunch
Potatoes – 2 no.
Frozen peas – 1/4 cup
Onion – 1 big
Frozen green chillies – 5 no.
Rice – 3cups
water – 6 cups
Ginger – 1 tspn
Garlic – 1 Tbspn
Garam masala – 1 tbspn,
Curd – 2 tbspn
salt acc to taste
oil 2 tbspn
Jeera+shahi jeera – 1 tspn
cloves – 2 no.
cinnamon – small piece
bay leaves – 2
Turmeric – A pinch

Note:
1.I used 1 Tbspn of garam masala. check the spice level before adding garam masala as we are using 5 green chillies.
2. I used Indian green chillies frozen.
3.Make paste with all green chillies, garlic and ginger.
4.I used the pressure cooker for preparing this dish.

Method:
1.Heat oil in pan, add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, jeera ,shahi jeera.
2.When jeera starts spluttering, add onions (cut lengthwise), chilli-ginger-garlic paste, salt and a pinch of turmeric.
3.Fry for about 7 min. Now add cubed potatoes, peas. saute it well for 5 min and then add chopped palak (spinach).
4.When spinach is half cooked add 2 tbspn of curd n mix it well.
5.Add 6 cups of water.Let the water boil.
6.Once see the taste. If u feel it to be less spicy then add garam masala to it.
7.Now add 3 cups of rice and pressure cook it.

Goes really well with Bhendi(Okra) Raita.

                  

                                                           Palak (Spinach) Pulao

Terminology:
Palak – Spinach
Garam Masala – Mixture of ground spices (available readymade),
Jeera – Cumin seeds
Shahi Jeera – It has different names, Kashmiri jeera, Himali jeera, Nepali jeera, Kala jeera, Black cumin. Many think that black cumin/kala jeera as Nigella/onion seeds. Please remember Nigella / onion seeds are totally different.
 

Fried Rice Tuesday, November, 7, 2006

                        It’s been a long time since I have blogged. This time I came with the fried rice. I used noodles and soyasauce in this recipe. Should I call it as chinese fried rice,….I do not know. I am not sure, where  have learned this from,…its just an innovative recipe.

                       

source : An Innovative dish

Ingredients:
Rice 5 cups
Noodles 2 blocks
Capsicum 3 medium size – cut lenth wise
Carrot – cut length wise- 1 cup
Cubed Carrot 2-3 Tbspn (optional)
Peas -1/4 cup
Cauliflower – 1/2 cup of florets
Spring Onions – 1/4-1/2 cup
Eggs – 2
Ginger 1 Tbspn
Garlic 2 Pods(big)
Indian green chillies – 5
Soya sauce – 3 Tbspn
Olive oil – 2 tbspn
Black pepper powder acc to ur taste
Salt to taste

Note:
1. In this recipe I have used 2 blocks of Indian maggie noodles. I have not used the maggie masala powder.
2.I have used Indian green chilies frozen.
3.I have not only used the carrots that were cut length wise but also cubed carrots(2-3 Tbspn).
4.I used Negi(japanese spring onion).
5.I used basmati rice.

Method:
1.Boil cauliflower in salt water until cooked. Keep it aside
2.Boil carrot, peas. Keep them aside.
3.Take pan, add little oil and scramble the eggs. Keep it aside
4.Boil the noodles in a hot water. Before adding the noodles to the hot water , add oil. This prevents the noodles from sticking. If you are health conscious then oil can be substituted with the lime water (few drops) in this step.Now keep theboiled noodles aside.
5.Now make the paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies.
6.Heat oil in a pan, add negi(japanese spring onion), capsicum(cut lengthwise),boiled carrot, peas, cauliflower.Addchilli-ginger-garlic  paste. saute them well for about 10 min. Add scrambledegg, salt, soya sauce. Mix them well.
8.Now add bolied noodles, and cooked basmati rice. Mix well
9.See the taste. If u find it to be less spicy then add black pepper powder.

               

DEEPAVALI SUBHAKANSHALU!! Saturday, October, 21, 2006

                        

May the shimmering diyas…..
The crackling fireworks……
Spark up your life with happiness!

Here’s wishing your Diwali, is a joyous celebration of lights!
Happy Diwali!!

Diwali ki Shubkamnaye!!

Aloo Fry (Andhra Style) Tuesday, October, 10, 2006

                   

                                                   Andhra Style Aloo Fry

Source : Mom

Ingredients:
Boiled potatoes cubed – 4,
Green chillies – 2 (Acc to ur spice level),
Oil – 1-2 tbspn,
Urad dal + Chana dal – 1 tspn,
Jeera – 1-2 tspn,
Mustard seeds – 1/2-1 tspn,
Curry leaves – 6
Turmeric – Pinch
Onions cut length wise – 2 cups,
Coriander powder – 2tspn(Optional),
Salt acc to taste
 

Method:
1.Heat oil in a pan, add urad dal, chana dal, jeera, mustard seeds.
2.Add curry leaves, green chillies, onions, turmeric once jeera splutters.
3.When onions become transparent add salt, coriander powder. Mix well.
4.Once onions get cooked, add boiled potatoes.
5.Remove from fire afer 4-5 min.
6.Garnish with spring onions/ coriander leaves.

Goes well with poori(Indian bread deep fried in vegetable oil), rice.
 

Palakura Vepudu (Spinach Fry): Friday, October, 6, 2006

                                        In my childhood, I used to hate leafy vegetables, except for spinach. I used to eat spinach without any complaints. My mom was worried about my hatred towards the leafy vegetables. She used to try and convince that whatever the dish made of leafy vegetable is of spinach one. I simply used to eat it…..This episode continued till my high school. Later I realized that my mom is playing trick with me (not through the taste……I overheard my mom saying this funny thing to her friend. Is it not funny ?). Even now I cannot easily recognize. Now I do not hate the green beauties,  I try eating them.

My mom prepares palakura bangaladumapa fry (spinach-potato fry), Palakura pappu(spinach dal), palakura vepudu.

                      

                                            Palakura Vepudu (Spinach Fry)

This is a super easy recipe.
Source : Mom

Ingredients :
A bunch of spinach,
Oil – 1 tbspn,
Red chillie – 1,
green chillie – 2,
1/2 cup chopped onion,
Urad dal + Chana dal – 1 tspn,
mustard – 1/2 tspn,
Jeera – 1 tspn,
A pinch of turmeric,
Salt to taste.

Method :
1.Heat oil in  a pan, add red chillie, urad dal, chana dal, mustard , jeera. When jeera starts spluttering add chopped onions, green chillies,turmeric,and salt.
2.When onions turn golden brown, add chopped spinach.Mix well. Don’t put the lid.
3.Keep stirring periodically.
4.Remove from the flame once spinach becomes soft.
 Goes well with hot steamed rice, chapathi.

Note: Red chillie powder can also be added if u feel less spicy.
 

Capsicum Roti Pachadi Wednesday, October, 4, 2006

                                 We all (both mom’s side and in-laws side) love roti pachallu( Plural form of  roti pachadi). My mom n grandmom make roti pachallu using any vegetable they find.

Eg:Kothimeera Tomato roti pachadi – Coriander leaves,tomato chutney,
      Pudina tomato roti pachadi – Mint leaves,tomato chutney,
      Vankaya Dosakaya roti pachadi - Egg plant, indian cucumber chutney,
      Vankaya tomato roti pachadi - Egg plant, tomato chutney,
      Vankaya roti pachadi - Egg plant chutney,
      Tomato  roti pachadi - Tomato chutney,
      Cabbage roti pachadi - Cabbage chutney,
      Dondakaya roti pachadi - Tindora chutney,
      Carrot roti pachadi - Carrot chutney, …etc,…..

But this capsicum pachadi is my own creation. Long time back(almost 2 yrs back) I bought capsicum in a sale. For almost 2 days we had capsicum curry. Got fed up with same capsicum curry,… so prepared capsicum tomato curry,…..which was an utterly failed experiment. Then I got this idea,…capsicum chutney,…I made on the same lines we follow for other vegetables. It was a big hit. This chutney became famous in our friend’s circle,…and everybody liked it. May be the capsicum’s flavour makes it so tasty.    

                   

                                                  Capsicum Roti Pachadi
              Before proceeding to the actual recipe let me tell u about the word Roti pachadi.
Pachadi means Chutney/pickle.
Roti : The chutney made in Rolu ( Indian Mortar) is called roti pachadi. Any chutney will taste good if we make it in a “Rolu” (Indian Mortar)

         Though I have used mixie here (instead of Rolu (Mortar)) , I like to refer it as roti pachadi,….
Ingredients :
Capsicum – 4
Green chillies – 2
Garlic pods – 2-3 medium
Jeera – 1-2 tspn
Tamarind water – 3 tbsp
Oil – 2-3 tspn
Salt to taste

Method :
1.Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies, capsicum and close with the lid.
2.Let them cook on slow flame.
3.Remove from the fire once they become soft (Takes roughly 7 min).Remember,….don’t overcook them.
4.In a mixie, add garlic pods, above softened capsicum + green chillies , jeera, tamarind water, salt. Grind them.
5.Serve with hot rice, indian clarified butter. Also goes well with Masala vada, pakodi,…

Note : This chutney can be served with / without tempering. Both versions tastes good. I do either way.In the picture above  u don’t find tempering.

For tempering :

1.Heat 1 tspn of oil in a pan , add red chillies(Check the spice level of the chutney once , since we have already added green chillies during frying.), 1 tspn of urad dal + Chana dal, jeera-1/2-1 tspn, mustard seeds-1/2 tspn.
2.When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves – 10 no. , coriander leaves (optional).
3.Add this mixture to the chutney. 
 

Pachi Pulusu Tuesday, October, 3, 2006

                                    Pachi Pulusu is again a famous and traditional Andhra delicacy, usually served cold with hot rice. The word pachi means, raw. It is prepared using tamarind pulp.
 Types of pachi pulusu : Vankaya pachi pulusu, maamidikaya pachi pulusu.

                   
                                             Pachi Pulusu with hot rice  , mudda pappu     

Here I am presenting you the simple pachi pulusu. Very easy to prepare.

Pachi Pulusu:

Ingredients:
Tamarind water – 3 cups,
Chopped onions – ½ cup,
Salt to taste,
Sugar – 1 tbspoon.
Red Chilli – 4 no.
Oil – 1 tspn

Method :
1. Heat 1 tspn of oil in a pan, add 4 red chillies. Fry them well.
2. Take 3 cups of tamarind water in a bowl, add chopped onions, salt. sugar.
3. Mash the fried red chillies and add them to the above tamarind water.

Serve with hot rice. Goes well with Mudda pappu ( Pressure cooked red gram with little salt), and Pulagam(split green gram cooked with rice, salt, black pepper).
 

Mudda Pappu Tuesday, October, 3, 2006

                                  Mudda pappu is Andhra delicacy. It is also called as Sudda Pappu. It is considered to be very important serving during festivals , special occasions and obvious first course of a meal whenever guest visits one home. It is served with hot steamed rice , generous servings of clarified butter, some veg pulusu, aavakaya.

Pulusu :
            Pulusu means sauce or gravy. This is a very traditional dish and is usually cooked in the rainy season.
 Eg: Bendakaya Pulusu        (Okra in tamarind gravy),
       Vankaya Pulusu           (Eggplant in tamarind gravy),
       Chamadumpala Pulusu (Colocasia in tamarind gravy)
       Chepala Pulusu      (Fish in tamarind gravy),…….etc

                   

                                              Mudda Pappu with Pachi Pulusu

Aavakaya Pachadi (Maamidikaya Pachadi) :
            A very famous and tasty pickle in Andhra. This pickle is a must pickle in all Andhra house holds. During the mango season all Andhra house holds will be busy in making this pickle. The main ingredients are raw,  very sour mangoes and a combination of spices. This is preserved for one year (can also be preserved for more than a yr). Such a great taste,…..hmmmm,…..mouth-watering, ….one can never forget that heavenly spicy pickle. This is forms a verrry good combination with Mudda Pappu, Indian clarified butter, White rice.

Mudda Pappu :

Ingredients :
Kandi pappu (Tur dal in hindi),
Salt to taste.

Method :
1. Pressure cook kandipappu (1:2 ratio- kandipappu:water).
2. Once cooked, add salt to taste and mash it well.

Serve with hot rice , Indian clarified butter, Aavakaaya pickle. I also love to have with Pachi Pulusu.
 

Mushroom Pulao Tuesday, September, 12, 2006

                               Though I love biryani/pulav (frequently prepare) , I always had a doubt ..”What is the difference between biryani and pulao?” . Recently I read an article (www.uppercrustindia.com) and got my doubt cleared ….Thanks to internet.

There is a subtle difference between the biryani and the pulao.

In a biryani, the parboiled rice is layered twice or more between the spices and the meat, and they are all cooked together.
In a pulao, the stock of meat forms the base and the rice is cooked with the spices so that it absorbs the flavor of the spices. A pulao is like an assembly of cooked rice and meat.

Pulao is made by the absorption method of cooking rice.
Biryani is made by the draining method of cooking rice.

In pulao the base ingredient is mixed with the rice, while in biryani the main ingredient is at the base of the vessel.

In biryani lot of aromatic masala is used.
Pulaos are relatively less spiced.

The other basic difference is that the Pulao has quite a bit of gravy in it whereas the biryani tends to be dry.

Mushroom Pulao :      

         

                                       Mushroom Pulao , Aloo Raita                

                     This is again my own creation. Sometime back, my husband desired to have vegetable pulao. At that time I had only mushrooms and peas in the freezer. I was reluctant to prepare but he made me to prepare with mushrooms.I prepared using the same method I use for normal pulao.I was bit afraid of the final result, but to my surprise it came out well. From then onwards, he insists( in fact, even I am interested in this pulao) me to prepare mushroom pulao rather than veg pulao.

Ingredients :

Mushrooms – 1 pack
Potatoes – 2
Green peas (optional)
Onion – 1 medium
Basmati Rice – 2 cups
Ginger garlic paste
Garam masala,
Coriander powder,
Mint Leaves,
Coriander leaves,
Curd 1-2 tbspn
Salt to taste
Oil

Spices:
Red chilli – 1
Bay leaf – 1
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon small piece
Cardamom – 2
Star Anise – 1
Maratha Moggu – 1
Jeera – 1 tspn
Shahi Jeera – 1 tspn

Method:

1.Add 2 tbspn of oil to the preheated pan and add all the spices one by one.
2.When jeera and shahi jeera starts spluttering, add mint leaves , coriander leaves and fry them for 2 min.
3.Add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, coriander powder, salt(acc to ur spice levels) and a pinch of turmeric(optional)
4.When onions turn golden brown, add potatoes, mushrooms, green peas(optional) and close with lid.
5.Let the mushrooms cook in its own water(if necessary add little quantity of water). 
6.When mushrooms gets half cooked, add curd and stir it well. Then add 4 cups of water. When water starts boiling add 2 cups of rice and pressure cook it.
7.Serve with any spiced curry or any raita…..this time we had with Aloo Raita.

             
                                              Mushroom Pulao