THE RECIPE LARDER

Palak Kebab

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Palak Kebab

Another shout out from my daughter, for this recipe. I had made it for their friends when they were here and it was polished off in no time.

Well, many a good news hovering around me. The daughter got into Yale, my cooking classes have taken off and this darned blog has got fixed. There were some major issues, so all those of you who tried to come back for your favourite recipes and found gibberish in the ingredient section, my apologies. My very profound and heartfelt apologies. It could have got fixed earlier, but as usual, I was travelling.

I was in Mahabaleshwar, a small quaint hill station a few hours from Bombay. I have a home and a farm there, so this time the 12 days I stayed there, I ate off the farm, played with the new pup and chilled with my best friend Nishi.

We cooked, ate and drank!

We would wake up in the mornings, sit in the sun, (it was cold there!), and sip our tea and coffee. Then after a leisurely breakfast, we would put face packs (moisturising ones – like I said it was Brrrrr!) and jabber away for an hour or so. By the time the watch thought of turning both its hands to 12 – we would be sitting with our afternoon drinks – again yakking away to our hearts’ content. It was the most idyllic holiday one can have.

I plucked fresh Spinach, from the field and made this ultra easy and very delicious recipe. It needs very little preparation time. I have cooked it on a non-stick, with very little oil, but if you have a large party you can easily fry it in oil. I did it for the kid’s 21st birthday party and it vanished into mouths as soon as freshly fried plates were put in front of them.

cocktail snacks

I have also made a video, for a quick look-see. The first video I made was not “good enough” and my niece and son insisted I work a little harder and produce a better one. Well, they are not all that happy with this one either, but I lack patience so there is for all to view.

Unfortunately, I am not able to load the video here because of (temporary – I will fix it asap) data restrictions. But here is the Facebook URL

FACEBOOK URL FOR VIDEO OF PALAK KEBAB

and there is the google drive URL.

CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK

I hope you will see the video and try the recipe. It makes for great cocktail snacks, lunch box sides, or sides.

Promise to get back with a recipe soon. I’ve been tardy!

 

 

Palak Kebab
Print Recipe
Quick and easy, with minimum fuss and preparation. Great as cocktail snacks.
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Palak Kebab
Print Recipe
Quick and easy, with minimum fuss and preparation. Great as cocktail snacks.
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
Garnish
Servings: Pax
Instructions
  1. Soak the dal for 30 minutes.
  2. In a mortar and pestle, pound together the chilles, garlic and ginger.
  3. Wash and chop the spinach into very fine strands.
  4. Bring water to a boil, and boil the Spinach for a 2 / 3 minutes.
  5. Wash and grind the soaked dal into paste with as little water as possible. Preferably no water.
  6. In a non stick skillet, add a appx 1 Tbspn oil.
  7. Add the ginger, chilly and garlic paste. Fry till it is brown.
  8. Add the onions, and fry till brown.
  9. Now add the Dal paste, and again fry till it forms lumps and all the water has evaporated.
  10. Now add the spinach and mix and cook till incorporated.
  11. Add the cottage cheese/ ricotta cheese. Break it and sprinkle it all around for a better mix.
  12. Mix till incorprated.
  13. Add the cashews, garam masala and salt.
  14. Mix well and take off the fire on a plate to cool.
  15. Oil your hands and make small rounds, appx the size of a small lemon.
  16. Flatten it. Repeat with the entire mix.
  17. In a skillet add appx 1 Tbspn oil and cook the kebabs, pressing it and turning it till it browns on both the sides.
  18. You can also fry these kebabs in oil.
  19. Serve hot, sprinkled with chaat masala and garnished with onions. Serve with a corriander chutney.
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Sailani Dal

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Being Indian, and bought up on typical desi meals, Dal has been a staple dish served over lunch and dinner. After years and years of eating dal – Dal tadka, Gujarati Dal, Dal Langarwale, Kaali dal, etc etc, all felt so mundane – so overrated and so damned boring. At some point, I just lost faith in Dal!!

At a wedding recently, I saw the tag read Sailani Dal. Now that sounded completely new and something I had never heard of, let alone eat. I timidly tried a spoon, hoping my boredom towards dal would not bias my taste. My eyes sprang open, and my mouth instantly watered for more. I quickly filled up a soup bowl and made a meal of the dal.

The taste, the different flavours stayed in my mind for the longest time. It’s like one of those right moments when you read, smell or taste something, your senses just inhale it and push it deep into your conscious mind, keeping that memory forever fresh. And at any time when you bring it to your mind, it feels like it happened only a few moments ago.

Completely besotted, I went online for a hunt for the word “Sailani”. What was it? Turns out, it was the Maharaja of Sailana who invented this recipe. The Sailana’s hail from the Indian, Princely State of Madhya Pradesh. They were avid foodies and revamped recipes not only from their hometown but from all over India. In the 1980’s a book of their recipes was published but is no longer available easily.

The dal itself is super easy to make. Even the ingredients are minimal. The recipe calls for Toor (Arhar – Split pigeon peas). I urge you to use the best quality spices while making the Sailani Dal. Eat it with rice, or roti – it’s up to you. But eat it you must-

 

PS_ dedicating this recipe to my baby girl Kanak, who sits far away in the USA. She had loved this dal when I made it for her. HEY! Kanak – do try this out and send me pictures. KISS KISS!!

Sailani Dal
Print Recipe
Flavourful and by far the tastiest and easiest dal you could make.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Sailani Dal
Print Recipe
Flavourful and by far the tastiest and easiest dal you could make.
Servings Prep Time
4 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 30 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Soak the dal for 30 minutes. Wash well and drain the water.
  2. Add haldi and hing, along with 1 Cup of water and add to pressure cooker.
  3. Boil the remaining water, and keep it very hot. Set aside for use later.
  4. The cooked dal should be thick, not thin and watery.
  5. When completely cooked, place a heavy bottomed pan on medium fire.
  6. Add the oil and ghee.
  7. When hot, but not smoking, add the cloves and garlic.
  8. Sauté for a few minutes.
  9. Add the dal. Add the balance hot water.
  10. Add the salt and let it cook till it starts to boil.
  11. Add the kasuri methi and cook for a few minutes more.
  12. Serve hot.
Recipe Notes

The dal tastes better if cooked atleast 2 hours before it is consumed.

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Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)

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kachcha sambhar

I was all set to meet the husband for a romantic lunch, but Bangalore being crowded, overpopulated, Bangalore, the traffic was such that it was either the lunch or the airport. And that airport had a plane parked which was going to take us to Goa! So really there was no dispute, the airport on time – it was.

 

I surprised our caretaker with a lunch request. She wasn’t prepared to make anything since I had announced gleefully about my romantic plans. So she hemmed and hawed, wondering what to make. (And I was feeling fussy about food that day!) Her husband (I have mentioned him before in my blogs. He is a complete foodie- for which I am eternally grateful!) Well her husband suggested “Kachcha Sambhar” in his typical local accent. It took him three repeats of the word before I realised that is what he actually meant. Raw Sambhar.

I have learnt to experiment and sometimes leave the suggestions to the experts. AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. In fact, I was in food paradise. Every spoonful going in was ambrosia. Now I love garlic, and I love spice, and the most fun part was it has not one drop of oil!! Perfect right??

We did take off to Goa, and we had an amazing time, caught up in that leftover romance and all that! 😛 But I raved and raved about the Kachcha Sambhar, and he finally told me to use other methods to turn him on!! ( 😛 we are a foodie family!!)

Here is the recipe — the tomatoes have to be burnt — burnt black on a high flame. Wait for it to cool, and skim the skin off. Please do wait for it to cool — this way the skin comes off and does not leave small pieces of black burnt skin behind. We don’t want any black stuff in the sambhar. Same goes for the green chilly.

This is a very spicy dish. Deseeding the chilly reduces the spice. If you want it less spicy, reduce the quantity of the chilly, but don’t delete it completely. That would be a SIN! and Karma will pay you back!!

Tastes absolutely amazing with rice and a bland veggie. I love it with chilla. You make your own combinations and message me.

I was on the floor worshipping this dish! Hope you like it too!

Ciao!!

 

 

 

 

 

Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)
Print Recipe
Quick, elegant and earth shatteringly tasty!
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)
Print Recipe
Quick, elegant and earth shatteringly tasty!
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Burn the tomato over high flame. Tomato should be rotated. It should char completely.
    Burn the tomato over high flame. Tomato should be rotated. It should char completely.
  2. Burn the green chilly over high flame. Rotate and burn till completely charred.
  3. Let the tomato and chilly cool.
  4. When cooled, peel the black skin off the tomato and discard.
  5. Wash your hands so that no black stuff sticks back on the peeled tomato
  6. Chop as finely as possible. This reduces the time required later while pureeing with hand blender.
  7. Peel the black layer of the green chilly. Deseed the chilly. (This is very important)
  8. Chop the chilly into small pieces.
  9. To a pot, add the tomatoe, green chilly, salt and water. Mix well with a hand blender. No large pieces of tomato should be left.
  10. There will be a few small pieces of tomato floating around, let them be.
  11. Transfer contents to a serving bowl, add onions, garlic and garnish with corrinader. Serve cold.
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Puran Poli

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Aloha! From Maui – Hawaii!

It’s been a busy happy week for us. Our daughter graduated with double majors in History and Anthropology! What a ceremony and what a delightful time for us proud parents. A huge bunch of us attended her graduation – her grandparents, brother, parents and her many many loyal friends. We hooted and cheered, and of course, her dad n me wept quite openly.

Will post pictures soon……! It’s all in the camera right now, and we are vacationing in Hawaii!

 

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puran poli

puran poli

It’s a recipe from Rekha once more. Rekha of the serene nature and yummy cooking!

The recipe is really tedious for the first time. But once you make it (and you will – again and again, I promise you), it will become easier and easier.

puran poli - cooked to perfection

puran poli – cooked to perfection

The trick is in the dough. Once you have got that right, everything falls into place as easily as a beer in a glass.

She made it on a plastic surface, but she said using a banana leaf gives amazing results. “The flavour of the leaf seeps in”, she said.

I have given the measurement for the water, but each flour behaves differently from the other. Some soak up too much water, while others use less. Use the water little at a time, till you get the right consistency. I have put up images and videos for the same.

Stack Of Puran Poli

Stack Of Puran Poli

Without further ado – here is the recipe.

the filling of the poli

the filling in the poli


Puran Poli
Print Recipe
A little work, but the final dish will have you dancing.
Servings Prep Time
15 pieces 30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
15 pieces 30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Puran Poli
Print Recipe
A little work, but the final dish will have you dancing.
Servings Prep Time
15 pieces 30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
15 pieces 30 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
For the filling
For the dough
For making the poli
Optional
Servings: pieces
Instructions
The filling.
  1. Wash and boil the channa dal, till it is well cooked. It should not be over cooked. The grains should look whole, and when pressed with a spoon should smash.
  2. Once cooked, leave it to drain completely. No water should be left in the dal.
  3. Deseed the cardamom pods and smash the seeds in a mortar.
  4. In a heavy bottomed pan, add the drained dal, jaggery, cardamom pods and desiccated coconut. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, till the jaggery just melts.
  5. Scrape out on a plate and let it cool.
  6. Once cool, blend it in a heavy duty blender. Blend little at a time. The mixture will be very dense and you might think of adding a little water. DO NOT DO IT. Be patient.
  7. Make 35 gm oblong balls.
For the dough.
  1. Make a sticky dough using a little water at a time. Keep your hands oiled, using the oil mentioned in the ingredient list. Do not pour the oil in the dough mixture. PLEASE SEE THE VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RECIPE FOR THE DOUGH TEXTURE.
  2. Once the dough is kneaded, let it rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Make 25 gram balls.
Filling
  1. Take the dough balls and flatten them into a 2 inch diameter circle.
  2. Take the balls made with the filling, and roll in into an oblong shape. It should look way larger than the dough ball.
    Take the balls made with the filling, and roll in into an oblong shape. It should look way larger than the dough ball.
  3. Put the filling into the ball and start pushing the filling into the ball, gently but firmly. At the same time keep pushing the dough over towards the top of the filling. Basically the dough has to engulf the filling. PLEASE SEE VIDEO NO 2 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RECIPE FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO FILL THE FILLING INTO THE DOUGH.
  4. Once the filling has gone into the dough, cover the top with a twist of the dough and pat it into a 3 inch circle. KEEP YOUR PALMS AND FINGERS OILED. (I'm glaring at you when I say that!!)
How to roll the poli
  1. Oil the banana leaf. If you are not using a banana leaf, you will need a 15 inch square of food grade plastic.
  2. Keep spreading the poli till it is really thin and you think now it will break. PLEASE SEE VIDEO NO 3 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RECIPES FOR INSTRUCTIONS.
Cooking
  1. Heat the non stick pan. Keep the flame / intensity to medium high.
  2. Ladle a teaspoon of ghee into the non stick pan.
  3. Gently lift the poli off the banana leaf and put into the non stick pan.
  4. Spread another spoon of ghee all around the poli
  5. After a few minutes lift and turn the poli. The non cooked side will now be touching the non stick pan.
  6. Add another spoon of ghee and take off the fire, after 3 odd minutes.
  7. The filling is dry and the flour used for the dough is greedy for ghee. You may add as much as you require or as less. But remember, that hot poli eaten with a small spoon of hot ghee spread on it tastes the best.
  8. Serve warm with ghee and red chilli chutney. (See previous blog!)
    Serve warm with ghee and red chilli chutney. (See previous blog!)
Recipe Notes

 

 

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Mango Curry – Fajeto

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While growing up, we lived in this huge rambling and wild compound. The coconut trees far outnumbered the humans. Everyone was equally immersed in the neighbours’ life, as much as their own. Without exception, every evening we kids met up at 4 pm and were dragged home at 8 pm, by parents who had to spell out dire consequences if we delayed leaving our playmates to come home. We cycled, played hide and seek – a complete torture for the person who was the “den”! The game went on forever because someone or the other always got the better of him. Our compound was massive, with many many hiding places. And new ones were found every day.

We had a fish pond, which was religiously cleaned one Sunday a month, and in summer vacations. We lived by the sea, so horse riding, football, cricket were our favourite pass times.

Well – now that I have drowned myself in serious nostalgia, I might as well get to the point, before I sit down to write childhood memoirs of Appu!!

Mango Curry

Mango Curry

Our neighbours were 2 boys and their parents. Sweetest most friendly people alive. Of course, the boys had to torture us time and again, which they did with glee and wild abandon. We are all grown up now and treat each other with respect, but I loose all semblance of maturity when I eat anything at their home. Aunty (the sainted mom, who handled two, very naughty boys) still cooks. We very unabashedly invite ourselves to their dining table every once in a while. Right down from the chapati to the pickles have hitherto unknown flavours and fragrances.

mango curry

mango curry

Yesterday I passed by their home, and the redolent aromas emitting from their kitchen window made my stomach growl. I had to stop by for a quick chat, and had a taste of the mango curry  –  or as the Gujrati’s call, it _ Fajeto. I think I must have gone into a trance for a bit! Mango exploding with a bit of ghee and a high taste of asafoetida! This was made by the wife of one of the boys (ah! alright Men now!) – Smita. And … well, I think the staircase to food heaven starts right there!

I made it today for lunch, it turned out amazing. I took her permission and am now publishing it in the blog.

mango curry

mango curry

Don’t wait up too long. The mangoes are perfect right now. Use ALPHONSO only. As far as I am concerned all other mangoes are not mangoes. They are frauds! Duplicates! Imposters!

Very easy, very quick and very tasty! You will make it again and again!

Mango Curry - Fajeto
Print Recipe
Made very quickly, eaten up as fast! Will leave you salivating for more!
Servings Prep Time
3 - 4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 - 4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Mango Curry - Fajeto
Print Recipe
Made very quickly, eaten up as fast! Will leave you salivating for more!
Servings Prep Time
3 - 4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 - 4 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
To blend together.
For the tempering
Add while cooking.
  • 1 Tspn heaped Sonth (Dried powdered ginger)
Servings: people
Instructions
To make the mixture for blending.
  1. Squeeze out the pulp of both the mangoes. Using your hands, squeeze and rub the pulp from the seed also.
  2. In a bowl, add the pulp, curds, besan and water, and blend well using a hand blender.
Tempering
  1. To a heavy bottomed pan, add the ghee.
  2. When the ghee heats up (don't let it smoke), temper the cumin seeds.
  3. When you get the fragrance of the tempering seeds (see that the seeds dont burn), add the ginger chilly paste and fry for a few seconds.
  4. Add the curry leaves (be careful, it might splatter).
  5. Add the hing, and quickly pour the blended mixture into the pan.
  6. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY - from now onwards till the curry boils, keep stirring the curry continuously. It doesn't have to be vigorous. The curry might split and / or stick to the bottom and give it a burnt taste. PS - It's actually quite easy. Just be a pro and keep stirring it.
  7. After a few minutes add the salt. Keep stirring.
  8. After another few minutes, add the sonth.
  9. Keep stirring till you see big bubbles rise to the top.
  10. Still keep stirring. At this point I thought my curry had split, but not so. So don't get worried if you see small little pieces of now mango coloured curd floating around.
  11. Keep stirring till it boils vigorously.
  12. After one big large boil, take it off the heat and serve hot.
Recipe Notes

Smita said it goes best with Chapati and vegetables, as a side dish. I had it with rice. For my husband's birthday today, I plan to serve it as a small shot of soup. So many versatile ways to use it.

I was thinking of adding a little extra besan, to thicken it. Or maybe I could thicken it with corn flour - and then roll some baked sweet potatoes in it and serve it. how about with fried tofu?

To jazz it up a little, you could increase the spice quotient in the ginger chilly paste, or add a few dashes of red chilli flakes.

I think it will taste amazing with sticky rice too, in a hot bowl with some sesame seeds and crushed roasted peanuts.

mango curry shots

mango curry shots

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mango curry

mango curry