Saturday, January 19, 2008

Bombay chutney

Ingredients: (for 2 people)



1) 1/2 medium-sized cup besan

2) Salt to taste

3) 2 green chillies

4) Curd for mixing

5) A 1-inch long piece of ginger

6) Turmeric powder

7) Mustard seeds

8) 8-10 cloves of garlic


Method:



1) Take off the skin from the garlic and ginger. Cut the green chillies into large pieces. Dry grind chillies, garlic and ginger in mixer to make a paste. Keep aside.

2) Mix some curd in the besan and add salt and turmeric powder to taste. Keep aside. It should be neither too thick nor too thin.

3) Heat some oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter.

4) Add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste and stir for some time.

5) Add the besan paste, and add water/curd as required.

6) Cook for 5-7 minutes on low flame.



This chutney can be eaten with paranthas, dosas or chappatis. Best used hot.

PS: I don't know where this recipe got its name from. It is called Bombay Chutney at our place and has been passed on through generations. :)

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Cauliflower manchurian

Note: Highly customised as per individual tastes


Ingredients: (for 2 people)


1) 1 medium-sized cauliflower
2) 2 small-sized onions
3) 6-7 cloves of garlic
4) Coriander leaves to garnish
5) Salt to taste
6) Sugar to taste
7) Red chilli powder to taste
8) Mustard seeds
9) Oil
10) 4-5 tablespoons tomato ketchup
11) 3 tablespoons red chilli sauce
12) 2 tablespoons corn flour
13) 4 tablespoons maida
14) A pinch of Hing
15) A pinch of turmeric powder
16) A bit of ginger


Method:


1) Cut the cauliflower into large florets. Half boil the cauliflower in some water. Keep aside.
2) Cut the ginger, onion, garlic and coriander and keep aside.
3) In a large bowl, mix together the maida and cornflour, salt and red
chilli powder to taste and turmeric. Add some water and make a watery paste.
4) Heat some oil in a kadhai. When it is hot, dip the cauliflower florets in the paste and fry till brown in colour. Keep the fried cauliflower florets aside.
5) In the leftover oil after frying, add mustard seeds and hing. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
6) Add the garlic, ginger and onion and fry for a little while.
7) Add the cauliflower florets and stir well, ensuring that the florets do not break.
8) Sprinkle a little water and add salt, sugar and red chilli powder to taste. Stir well.
9) Add the tomato ketchup and the red chilli sauce and mix well.
10)Take off from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.






In order to increase the thickness of the gravy, mix a tablespoon of corn flour in water well so that there are no lumps and add this to the curry. Can be eaten with rice, chappatis or just as a snack.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Hyderabad-style baingan curry

Finally I have done it - started a recipe blog! Updates here might not be as frequent as those on my other blog. However, the recipes will be presented in the simplest way possible. Some of the recipes might be customised to meet my tastes. You can add or deduct ingredients as you feel like.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert cook, but I love cooking. It gives me a lot of satisfaction, though I don’t do it as often as I should. Some of the recipes that I am planning to put up on this blog have been passed on since generations in our family, while some I have learnt from here and there. You might even know some of the recipes. Finally, I would like to add that the blogger does not accept responsiblity for any damage caused to any reader on account of the preparation and consumption of any recipe stated on this blog. :)

I begin with the recipe for Hyderabad-style Baingan curry. Here you go:

Ingredients: (for 2 people)

1) 10-12 small, green brinjals (called ‘Ravaiya’ in Gujarati)
2) A handful of raw groundnuts
3) 10-12 cloves garlic
4) A small lemon-sized ball of tamarind
5) Salt to taste
6) Turmeric powder - a pinch
7) Red chilli powder to taste
8 ) Jaggery to taste (optional)
10) 4-5 tablespoons oil
11) Mustard seeds
12) Hing (asafoetida) to taste


Method:



1) Soak the ball of tamarind in some water in a bowl. Keep aside.
2) Cut off the stems of the brinjals. Put 4 slits length-wise halfway through them. Keep aside.
3) Remove the skin from the garlic. Grind together the garlic cloves, salt and red chilli powder to taste, turmeric powder as well as the groundnuts to a coarse powder. Do not add water.
4) If necessary, more salt/red chilli powder can be added to the ground mixture at this stage. Stuff this powder into the brinjals and keep aside.



5) Extract the pulp from the tamarind and strain to remove impurities. Add a little more water if necessary. Keep this aside.
6) In the pressure cooker, heat the oil and add mustard seeds and hing. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
7) After the mustard seeds splutter, add the brinjals and stir a bit, ensuring that they do not break.
8 ) When the brinjals are half-cooked, add the tamarind pulp and cook for a while. If some of the stuffing is left over, it can be added at this stage.
9) Add crushed jaggery as per taste. Stir well, in such a way that the brinjals don’t break.
10) Close the cooker, adding more water if needed, put the weight on and allow to cook for 5-7 minutes.

Open the cooker when the steam escapes, and the curry is ready! Can be eaten with chappatis or rice.




PS: We call this Hyderabad-style Baingan curry at home because this recipe was taught to me by a Maami from Hyderabad. I don’t know the actual origin of the recipe.