Cholar Dal Diye Begun er Dolma.....

Picture Courtesy : Kamal Shah

 The small brinjals are suffed with chana dal and then added into the gravy. It can be served with rice or paratha. This recipe is a love from my kitchen. 

To make the suffing

Ingredients 

1 cup Split Bengal Grams / Chana Dal soaked in water for 30 minutes 

1 Onion sliced 

1 tbsp Garlic - Ginger  paste 

1 green Chilli slit

1 Green Cardomon 

1 Small Cinnamon stick 

2 Cloves 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker. Add the ghee. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and green chilli. Let the spices crackle. Add the onion. Stir and cook till translucent. Add the garlic - ginger - chilli paste. Sauté it for a minute. Add the chana dal, salt and all the spice powder. Add 3/4 cup of water. Pressure cook it for 2 whistles. Let the pressure release. Open the lid. If an water remaining, switch on the gas and dry up the water in the dal. Let it cool. Take a grinder. Discard the whole spices from the dal. Add the dal and pulse it for 2 to 3 times. It should be coarsely ground and some whole dal should be seen. 

For the Dolma 

Ingredients 

12 small size Brinjals 

Stuffing 

1/4 cup Onion paste 

1 tbsp Garlic - Ginger paste 

1 to 2 Green Chilli slit 

1 Bay leaf

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste 

1 Green Cardomon 

1 Small Cinnamon stick 

2 Cloves 

1/2 cup Curd beaten 

2 tbsp Ghee 

1 tsp Coriander leaves chopped 

Oil to fry 

Method 

Cut the brinjals from both the ends. Keep the top and discard the back end of the brinjals. Scoop out the centre part of the brinjals. Take a pan, add oil. Let it heat. Half fry the brinjals and the top edge of the brinjals. Remove it on a kitchen tissue paper. As the brinjals cools down, stuff the brinjals will chana dal stuffing. Take the top edges of the brinjals and cover the top of the brinjals. Insert a toothpick to secure the stuffing. Take a flat pot. Add ghee. Let it become hot. Add the bay leaf, cardamon, cinnamon stick, cloves and green chilli. Sauté it for a minute. Add the onion paste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste. Cook for 2 minutes more. Add the curd, salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Stir and cook till the oil starts to separate from the masala. Place the brinjal one at a time into the pan. Add 11/2 cups of water.  Cover and cook on low flame till the brinjals are tender. Once the brinjals are cooked, remove the tooth pick before serving. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it hot with rice or paratha.

Gadbad Thandai Kulfi....

As Holi is round the corner and the sun is scorching bright. Here is something traditional, but unique cool.... cool.... recipe for you. This Kulfi is a medley of flavours and colours.... with love from my kitchen...

Thandai Milk (Base for the Kulfi)

Ingredients 

1 liter Full cream Milk 

1/2 cup Banana pulp 

3 tbsp Sugar

1 Green Cardomon 

4 Pepper corn 

8 Almonds soaked and peeled 

6 Pistachios 

1/2 tsp Water Melon seeds

1/4 tsp Fennel seed 

1/4 tsp Poppy seeds 

A pinch of Saffron 

Method

Take a deep bottom pot. Add milk and simmer on a low flame till it reduces to half the quality. Meanwhile take a grinder, add cardomon, pepper corn, almonds soaked, pistachios, water melon seeds, fennel seed, poppy seeds, saffron and 4 tbsp water. Grind the ingredients in to a paste. As the milk is simmering, add the wet paste and the banana pulp. I have added banana to give a rich and creamy texture to the kulfi. Stir and cook till the milk thickens. Switch off the flame and let it cool. Take a blender and blend it until smooth. 

For the Gadbad Thandai Kulfi 

Ingredients 

Thandai Milk 

6 Betel leaves 

1 tbsp Gulkand 

1 drop of Green colour 

4 tbsp Rose Syrup 

1 drop of Red colour 

2 tbsp Sweetened Coloured Fennel seeds 

Method 

Divide the Thandai Milk into 3 parts. Take a blender, add one part of the milk, betel leaves, gulkand and green colour. Blend it till all the ingredients have incorporated well. Pour it in a bowl and keep it in the refrigerator. Wash the blender. Now add the second portion of the milk, rose syrup and red colour. Blend it well till all the ingredients have incorporated well. Pour it in the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator. Now take the mould in which the Kulfi will set. Pour 2 to 3  tbsp of the remaining milk into each moulds and keep it in the freezer to set. After an hour, remove the moulds from the freezer. Take out the rose thandai milk from the refrigerator. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of rose thandai milk in to each moulds. Keep the moulds back in to the freezer. Again after an hour remove the moulds from the freezer. Remove the betel leave thandai milk from the refrigerator. Add 2 to 3 tbsp of milk into each moulds. Sprinkle the sweetened coloured fennel seeds on top. Keep it back in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Insert a ice cream stick.  Refrigerate it back till it sets.

Garlicky Creamy Spicy Tuna Pasta....

A quick meal for a lazy day. Any type of Pasta can be used in this recipe. Instead of Tuna, boiled shredded chicken can be added. Absolutely love the flavour and it is very easy to make. 

Ingredients 

250 grams Spiral Pasta boiled and drained 

1 canned Tuna flakes or fresh Tuna boiled and shredded 

1/2 cup Fresh Cream 

1/4 cup Marinara Sauce 

1 tbsp Garlic chopped 

1 Jalapeno Green Chilli chopped

1 Pickled Red Jalapeno Chilli Chopped 

1 tbsp Green and Black Olives chopped 

1 tbsp each Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese grated 

1 tbsp Butter 

1/2 cup Starch Water from the Pasta which was boiled 

Method 

Take a wok, add butter, let it melt. Add the garlic and the green  jalapeño. Sauté it for few minutes.  Add the cream and let it simmer for a minute. Add the marinara sauce and mix it with the cream. Add the pasta and the tuna flakes. Toss it. Let it cook for a minute. Add the starch water. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the liquid reduces. Before serving garnish with red jalapeño, olives and grated cheese. 

Spicy and Salty Strawberry Cookies

 

 This cookies are spicy and salty in taste. Instead of water, I have used strawberry pulp. It is perfect to have them with your evening tea or just to munch on. 

Ingredients 

225 grams All Purpose Flour 

75 ml Strawberry pulp

1 Green chilli minced 

1 tbsp Pickled Red Jalapeno Chilli Chopped 

1 tbsp Mint leaves minced 

1 tsp Roasted Cumin seeds crushed 

1 tbsp Sugar powder 

Rock Salt as per taste 

110 grams Butter 

40 ml Oil

Method 

Beat the butter well. Add the flour and mix it, till it forms crumbs. Add the strawberry pulp and oil. Beat it well. Add the salt, sugar, cumin, mint leaves and green chilli. Beat it again. Add the red chillies and mix it. Take a big star nozzle and a piping bag. Fill the cookie mixture in the piping bag and pipe out small cookies on a baking tray. Bake at 170 degrees celcius for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it cool completely before eating. Store it in an air tight container.

Instant Crispy Dosa with Mix Lentils and Semolina... Served with Turnip and Coconut Chutney....

I wanted to make something instant as I was super hungry and did not feel like having bread for breakfast and as I am alone for lunch, did not feel like making a meal. So this dish was great for brunch and it is healthy too. 

So here is the recipe of how I made this Instant Dosa with mix lentils and semolina..... which is served with spicy Turnip and Coconut Chutney. 

For the Dosa

Ingredients

2 cups of Semolina or Idli Rawa

1/2 cup Sago flour 

1/4 cup Black split lentil

1/4 cup Green split lentil

2 tbsp split Bengal Gram 

1 tsp Eno 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Wash all the lentils together and soak it for 15 minutes. Take a grinder and grind the lentils and salt together  into a smooth paste. Add the sago flour, semolina and some water. Make it into a medium thick batter. Remove it into a mixing bowl. Add Eno and mix it. The batter is ready for making dosas. Take a dosa skillet. Let it heat on low flame. Add 2 ladles of the batter. Spread it and drizzle some ghee. Let it cook on low flame until crispy and brown. Serve it hot with the turnip and coconut chutney.

Turnip and Coconut Chutney 

Ingredients 

1 medium size Turnip cut into pieces 

1 small piece Ginger 

2 Green Chillies cut into pieces 

1 small piece raw Mango or preserved Mango piece 

1/4 cup Fresh or Desiccated Coconut 

Salt to taste 

Few Curry leaves 

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds 

1 tsp Oil

Method 

In a grinder, grind all the above ingredients except curry leaves, mustard seeds and oil into a thick paste. Take a small pan. Add oil, let it heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add the seasoning into the chutney.