Malai Kofta Curry

This month Nupur of UKRasoi has challenged the south team with this rich and creamy Malai Kofta Curry for the South Vs North Challenge initiated by Divya of You too can cook. Here every month, someone from north team would challenge the south team with north indian recipes and vice versa.

Ingredients:

For the gravy: 

Tomatoes medium 3
Onions medium 2
Garlic 4
Finely chopped ginger 1 1/2 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Kasoori methi 1 tbsp
Cream 3/4 cup or full cream milk 1 cup
Salt
Water

For Khofta:

Paneer from 750 ml of milk - grated
Potatoes - medium -2 ; boiled and grated
Milk Powder 1 tbsp
Corn Flour 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala a pinch
Salt

Whole spices

Cardamom Green 2
Cloves 2
Cinnamon 1 inch
Bay leaf 1

For garnishing:

Grated Paneer
Cream
Chopped Coriander Leaves

Preparation:

Chop the Onions and tomatoes.Puree the tomatoes and then strain.

To make Paneer:

Boil milk as usual. Lower the flame and add 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. Keep on stirring and then add another 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. When the whey separates, switch off the flame. Strain and then hang it in a cheese or muslin cloth to remove the excess water for at least half an hour.  Remove and then place a weight on the covered cheese for at least an hour. Refrigerate for further use. 

Boil, peel and grate the potatoes. Grate Paneer.

Method:

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Make equal sized balls out of it. Deep or shallow fry until brown. Keep it aside.

In a pan, heat little oil. Add the whole spices. Fry till they turn slightly brown and releases nice flavor. Add the chopped onions. Fry till they turn slightly brown. Cool and then grind it to a fine paste.

In the same pan, add little more oil, pour the ground onions-spices mixture. Fry for a while. Now add the tomato puree. Allow boiling till the oil leaves along the sides of the gravy.

Now add water, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder and kasuri methi. Stir and allow boiling. When it is reaches the desired consistency, reduce the flame, pour in the milk/cream stirring the gravy simultaneously.

Arrange the gravy in a bowl. Drop the koftas. Garnish with grated paneer, cream and coriander leaves. 

Serves:3-4
Serve with Chapati or Naan.

Potato stir fry with peas and sweet Corn

Potato stir fry is something that I prepare when I run out of time or have no idea what to cook as it goes with any rice. But when I take little effort and add some more vegetables, it becomes much more flavorful and tasty. Also, I get the feeling that I've served not just potatoes but also some more vegetables along with it.

Ingredients:

Potatoes Medium 2

Peas 1/2 cup

Sweet corn 1/4 cup

Sambar Powder 1 tbsp leveled

Onion small 1

Ginger Garlic Paste 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves few

Salt

Oil

Preparation:

Cook potatoes. Peel and cut into small pieces. Chop Onions and Coriander.

Heat a Pan. Add corn, peas with little water, a pinch of salt and little sambar powder. Cook until done.

Heat oil in an other Pan. When hot, add cumin seeds. When it start changing its color, add chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and coriander leaves. 

Fry till the onions turn translucent. Now add the chopped potatoes. Add Sambar powder and salt. Continue frying it on a low flame. When it is almost done, add the cooked peas and corn. Stir well and fry for few more minutes until everything gets mixed well with each other. Now add few more coriander leaves and stir again. Switch it off and serve.

Serves: 2

Serve with steamed rice and curry or vegetable biryani/pulao. I served with Tomato Rice.

Note: You can also cook peas and corn while frying potatoes. But they tend to loose their shape and color while frying for a long time. So I cooked it separately and added with the potatoes.

Litti Chokha for SNC Challenge

Litti Chokha is a traditional dish mostly prepared and had in U.P, Bihar and Jharkand. I've never been to these places nor had a chance to taste their food. Thanks to the SNC event started by Divya of You too can cook. Without it, I would not be able to explore the traditional recipes like this. Each month a member of South Team would host and challenge a recipe to the north team and vice versa; the theme of SNC. 

Litti Chokha is made out of wheat flour with stuffing (or Pithi) made out of Sattu (roasted Bengal Gram Flour). When I served this to my Hus telling the name 'Litti Chokha', he asked what nethi chuttiya (an ornament worn in the forehead) ? But after eating he said its really nice and something very different from our regular food. He said he feels like eating in sowcarpet area of chennai. North Indians mostly live there. Thanks Nupur for the detailed recipe, without your step by step clicks, it would be very difficult for me to understand the recipe itself. I just used regular Bengal Gram Flour, but to know about the exact preparation of Sattu, please check out Nupur's space.

I tried making Litti through deep frying method. The flavor and the taste was awesome but few of the pieces didn't get cooked well. So I again tried this using oven. This time it came out well cooked. But when I was about to start, I noticed I was running out of Baking Soda. So I made the recipe without it; thus looks little flattened. Never mind, I like it and it is worth trying. 

Ingredients:

Litti:

Wheat Flour 1 cup
Ajwain seeds 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda 1/8 tsp
Warm Water 1/2 cup
Ghee 1 tblsp and additional Ghee for serving

Pithi/Stuffing:

Sattu 1/4 cup (I used roasted gram flour)
Chopped Coriander Leaves 1/4 cup
Green Chilly 1 (finely chopped)
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Finely chopped Ginger 1/2 tsp
Ajwain seeds 1/4 tsp
Mustard Oil 3/4 tbslp
Pickle 3/4 tbslp

Chokha:

Potatoes (Medium) 2
Garlic Cloves 2
Tomato half
Onion (Small) 1
Green Chilly 1 (finely chopped)
Finely chopped Ginger 1/2 tsp
Coriander Leaves Few
Mustard Oil 1 tsp
Salt

To prepare dough for Litti:

Mix all the ingredients except water. Now add water to form a soft dough. Cover and set it aside for half an hour.

To make Chokha (Stuffing):

Pressure cook Potatoes for three whistles. Peel the skin and mash it. 

Meanwhile, roast garlic and Tomato on the gas flame. Once cooled, remove the skin and mash it with spoon. 

In a bowl,combine mashed potatoes, tomato and garlic. Add all other ingredients along with salt. Mix well. 

To shape and cook Litti:

Divide the dough into medium sized balls. With a rolling pin, roll it like a small chapathi without adding additional flour. 

Take a tblsp of the stuffing, put in the center of the dough piece, wrap it and close from all sides. Pinch off the extra piece. Press it gently to flatten.

Preheat the Oven at 200 deg C. Place all the pieces in a baking tray. Allow baking for 30-35 minutes. Flip them for 2-3 times in between for even cooking.

Serving:

Break Litti at the center. Drop little Ghee so that it reaches both the Chokha and the stuffing. Serve with Chokha and/or chutney.

Linking this recipe to SNC this month hosted by Nupur.

Potato and Okra Gravy for Vegan Thursday

This is the north indian gravy I tried few days back. I am quite bored with regular vegetable kurma, so made this just for a change.  Potato and Okra didn't go well together as much as Carrot and Beans. But I can definitely have this once in a while as this gravy came out quite different with nice flavors just because of those two veggies added.

Recipe source: Rak's kitchen

Ingredients:

Potato 1 Big
Okra 5-6
Tomato 2
Onion 2
Finely chopped Ginger 1 tsp
Finely chopped Garlic 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Cumin Powder 1/8 tsp
Garam Masala 1/8 tsp
Turmeric Powder 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds and fennel seeds few
Bay leaves 2
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt and Oil

Preparation: 

Chop Onions and tomatoes. Chop okra lengthwise. Chop potatoes into thin slices.

Method:

In a pan, heat little oil. Add chopped ginger, garlic and onion(1). When they turn translucent, add chopped tomatoes. Fry till they are cooked. Cool and grind it to a fine paste.

In another pan, heat little oil and fry the okra pieces. Fry till they are done and turn crispy. Keep it aside. In the same pan, add sliced potato pieces. Fry till they turn slightly brown and gets half cooked. Remove and keep it aside.

In the same pan, heat little more oil and add cumin seeds, fennel seeds and bay leaves. Fry till they crackle and then add the chopped onions. Fry till they turn translucent. Now add the ground tomato paste and all the Masala powders.

Fry till the oil separates. Now add half cooked potatoes, water and salt. Allow boiling. When it is almost done, add fried okra. Boil for few more minutes until done.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serves: 2
Serve with Chapati or any Indian Bread.

Linking this recipe to vegan thursdays.  Vegan thursdays is to share vegan recipes that does not include dairy products, eggs, honey and any other animal derivatives. I am happy to be a part of this group. To join contact here.

Dhokar Dalna for SNC 8

When Nabanita of Esho-Bosho-Aahare posted this recipe for SNC this month, I got interested to try as Dhokar (Lentil cakes) resembles Paruppu Urundai (Lentil balls) in Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu (Lentil balls cooked in Tamarind Gravy) recipe of Tamilnadu. But the gravy is very different from usual gravies I make and was very doubtful whether my family would like it. 

So I altered the gravy recipe alone according to our taste. We do not like the flavor of cumin seeds, garam masala and asafoetida much in any recipe, so reduced their quantity. I've never used onion seeds so reduced it too.. I used yellow lentils instead of split peas dhal (or Matar Dhal) ; I'm not sure both are same or different. If you are looking for the perfect Dhokar Dalna recipe, check out Nabanita's space. Thanks Nabanita for this tasty and healthy recipe with step by step instructions and clicks. As expected, the Dhokar caught much attraction here; my Hus said to make it some time again.

Ingredients:

For Dhokar:

Channa Dhal ¾ cup

Yellow Lentils ¼ cup

Green Chillies 2

Grated Coconut ¼ cup

Finely grated Ginger 1 tsp

Onion seeds ¼ tsp

Turmeric Powder ½ tsp

Asafoetida a big pinch
Salt and Oil

For Curry:

Potatoes Medium 2
Tomato (finely chopped) 1

Coconut Milk 1 ¾  cups

Grated Coconut ½ cup

Finely Grated Ginger 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Asafoetida a big pinch
Tumeric Powder
Cumin Powder 1 ½ tsp
Garam Masala 1 tsp
Chilli Powder 1 tsp
Bay Leaves 2
Green Chillies 2
Water
Salt and Oil

Preparation:

Soak Dhals for 4 hours. Grind them to a coarse paste along with ginger and chillies.
Grate coconut. Chop tomatoes and Chillies. Cube Potatoes.

Method:

For Dhokar (lentil cakes):

Mix salt and the other ingredients to the ground dhal batter.

Heat one tbsp of oil in a Pan. Add Tumeric Powder and the dhal batter. Stir continuously until the batter leaves the kadai.

Meanwhile grease a plate. Pour this batter on the plate. Spread and cut into desired shapes.

Heat oil for deep frying. Fry the Dhokar until golden brown and set it aside.

For the curry:

Now, heat little oil in a Pan. Add Asafoetida and Turmeric powder and cubed potatoes. Fry until they turn golden. Keep it aside.

In the same pan, heat oil. Add Cumin seeds, Bay leaves, finely chopped ginger, green chillies and Tomatoes.Fry for a while and then add all the Masala Powders.

Fry till they combine well. Now add fried potatoes, enough water and salt. Bring it to a boil. Now add grated coconut and coconut Milk . Allow boiling until done.Now add the fried lentil cakes and sprinkle little garam masala. 

Now Dhokar Dalna is ready to be served with hot steamed rice.

Linking this recipe to SNC of this month.

 Notes:

Add only little oil when frying the batter.
Grease the plate before pouring the batter.
Add Dhoka to the curry when about to serve.

Potato Sag

Who on earth doesn't like potatoes?!! Recently my friend, Vimitha has written about her love towards potato. I can even prepare recipes daily with potatoes as there are humpty number of recipes around with potatoes. But I make it a habit to prepare potatoes when all other fresh vegetables go out of stock as it stays fresh for a longer time.

This recipe is quite different to us. South Indians (mostly tamilians) usually avoid dry curries but prefer gravies to eat with Roti or Poori. So do I. When I came across this recipe in Mallika Badrinath's recipe book, I thought why not give a try. Once I made this as side dish for Poori, the combo was excellent.  Then I gained confidence to make this with chapati. We liked it surprisingly. This dry curry is an exception that we like it with chapati and we don't prefer other dry curries. I like to have this with rice too.  But I've absolutely no idea why has she named this recipe as Potato sag. If you know the reason, please do update in comments. This is very similar to usual potato stir fry but except for the addition of yoghurt and tamarind pulp.

Ingredients:

Potatoes 3
Sambar Powder 1 tbsp leveled
Green Chillies 1-2
Yoghurt 2-3 tsp
Coriander Leaves few
Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp
Oil and Salt

Preparation:

Pressure cook Potatoes. Mash one Potato and dice the other potatoes. Slit chillies.

Method:

In a Pan, heat oil. Add Cumin seeds. When they start crackling, add chillies, mashed and diced potatoes. Fry it for few seconds on a low flame.

Now sprinkle Sambar Powder and Salt. Fry until the potatoes get a slightly roasted coating.

Now add yoghurt and fry for some more time till the yoghurt combines well with the potatoes.

Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Serves: 2
Serve with Chapati or Poori. I once served this Tomato Rice , the combo was excellent.

Notes:

The original recipe uses 1/2 kg of Potatoes, two are mashed and others are diced. Tamarind pulp is also added at the end.

Sambar Powder can be replaced with the combination of Chilly Powder, Coriander Powder and Cumin Powder.

Urulai Kizhangu (Potato) Puttu

This recipe is entirely different from usual hot and spicy potato stir fry. This goes well with any spicy curry like puli kuzhambu or poondu kuzhambu.

When I served this along with poondu kuzhambu (Garlic curry) today, my hus mistook it as upma. He said "Dont you know I hate upma".. Then I realized that this exactly looks like upma. But the flavors are really amazing and different.

If you want to try a different stir fry with potato, then this would be your perfect recipe.

Ingredients:

Medium sized Potatoes 4
Red Chillies 3
Pearl Onions 6
Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp
Channa Dhal 1/2 tsp
Ural Dhal 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder 1/8 tsp
Salt
Oil

Preparation:

Cook Potatoes in a Pressure Cooker for one more extra whistles. Remove skin and chop into fine pieces. Give a gentle press on the chopped potatoes with a knife or spoon. Need not mash as we prepare for stuffing.

Chop pearl onions.

Method:

In a Pan, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they pop up, add Ural Dhal and Channa Dhal. As they turn slightly brown, add Curry leaves, Turmeric powder and Red chillies.

Now add chopped pearl onions. when they turn slightly brown, add mashed (slightly) potatoes. Add salt. Mix well and fry for sometime. This will not take much time as potatoes are already cooked.

Serve with steamed Rice and any spicy curry.

Serves: 2

Potato and Peas Gravy

Chapati is served mostly for dinner at my home. I strongly believe that it is voluntarily included in south indian menu nowadays thinking it would reduce weight. But I came to know recently, it is a myth and rice provides little more calories to chapati, but nothing extra ordinarily as we think.

Well, now towards the recipe.. I am really bored with mixed vegetables in gravy. So thought why not include some other veggies. Potato was lying in my kitchen untouched for so many days. I would say Potato is prepared only when all other veggies go out of stock.  But this time, I pity potatoes and wanted to use it first. So made this curry with Potato and my favorite Peas. 

  
Ingredients:

Potato  (Big) 1
Peas 1/2 cup
Tomatoes (Medium sized) 3
Onion (Medium sized) 1
Cashew nuts 8-10
Ginger Garlic Paste 1 tsp
Grated Coconut 3 tsp
Chilli Powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Garam Masala 1/4 tsp
Butter and Oil

To temper:

Cloves 2
Bay Leaf 1
Cinnamon a small piece
Fennel and Cumin seeds few

Preparation:

Cook Potato. Chop it into small cubes.  Chop Onions into thin strips. (I read in a food blog, cut onions into half moons, I wonder how innovative the blogger's words are.!!!! )

Grate Coconut. Cut Tomatoes and grind together with cashews.

Method:

In a pan, add butter and oil. When they become hot, all the ingredients mentioned under "To temper" one by one. When they turn slightly brown, add the ginger garlic paste and onions.

Fry till the onions change their color to light brown. Now add the Tomato paste. Fry till the raw smell goes off and the oil separates.

Now add all the Masala Powders. Fry till its raw smell goes off. Pour little water, Salt and Peas. Cook for few minutes and then add boiled & cubed potatoes.

Add enough water and allow boiling. When the gravy is almost done, add the grated coconut and boil until the gravy reaches the desired consistency.

Serves: 2
Serve with Chapati

Pasiparuppu (Moong Dhal) Sambar

I would say this a comfort food. I was given Idli with this Sambar the next day after my every surgery. I had many surgeries by God's grace. This combo was suggested by my Doctor. I gave this to my son as side dish when I first fed him Idli though included spices very less.

My Mom usually prepares this along with Chapati. But this goes well with Idli too.

Ingredients:

Moong Dhal 1/2 cup
Potato (small) 1
Tomato 1
Pepper seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves 4-5
Pearl Onions 5-6
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida 1-2 pinch
Green chillies 2
Salt
Water

Preparation:

Chop Pearl Onions and slit chillies. Chop Potato into thin slices along with the skin.

Method:

Cook Moong Dhal along with Tomato in pressure cooker. 

In a Pan, heat oil. Add Pepper and Cumin seeds. When they turn slightly brown, add Curry leaves, Pearl onions, Chillies, Turmeric Powder and Asafoetida.

Now add sliced  potato. Fry for a while and then add little salt and water.

Meanwhile cut the cooked Tomato into 2-3 pieces. 

When Potato is almost cooked, add cooked Moong Dhal and Tomato. Mix well and add water & salt.

Boil till the Sambar reaches the required consistency.


Serves: 2
Serve with Idli / Dosa / Chapati.

Notes: 

As tomato is cooked with Dhal, it makes the cooking faster. But you can also chop and add raw tomato when adding potatoes. 

This Sambar tastes better when pepper seeds and chillies are added quite more as there is no other spicy or chilly powder is used. My pepper seeds and chillies are very hot here; so have added less. Adjust pepper seeds and chillies according to your taste. If feeding children, add the spices less.

I personally like it very much as it is very easy to prepare and goes well with chapati and nutritious too.. :)

Linking this recipe to Hearty and Healthy event by vimitha of My culinary Trial room..

Potato (Urulaikizhangu) Bonda

When I made Potato Wedges some time back, my son liked it very much. It was very much fun to see him eating Wedges dipping in Sauce. I came to a conclusion (of course, a wrong oneL) that my son is ready for all snacks with Potatoes. I made this and served him yesterday. To my surprise, he didn’t even touch it and didn’t even consider it as a food. What to do??  Kids are like that.. As usual we ate them and gave some to neighbors here.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes – medium – 4
• Onions – medium- 2
• Finely chopped Curry and Coriander leaves ¼ cup
• Finely chopped Ginger and Garlic 1 tsp
• Asafoetida a pinch
• Turmeric Powder 1/8 tsp
• Chilli Powder ½ tsp
• Coriander Powder ¼ tsp
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp
• Cumin ¼ tsp
• Salt ½ tsp
• Oil (for seasoning and deep frying)

For the batter:

• Kadalai Maavu (Chickpea Flour) ¾ cup
• Chilli Powder 1 tsp
• Salt ¼ tsp

Preparation:

Chop Onions, Coriander and Curry Leaves as fine as possible.

Method:

• Pressure cook Potatoes for 4-5 whistles (I mean more than usual). Peel and Cube Potatoes into finest pieces as possible.
• Heat little Oil in a Pan. When hot, add cumin. When it starts crackling, add chopped Ginger, Garlic. Few seconds later, add chopped Coriander & Curry leaves and Onions. Fry till onions turn slightly brown.
• Now add cubed Potatoes, sprinkle all the Powders, Asafoetida and Salt. Mix well and fry till the powders get well mixed with Potatoes. Simmer the flame and mash the Potatoes. (Need not put more efforts here, gentle mashing will done as it is already cooked).
• Switch off the flame and add lemon juice. Allow to cool for some time.
• Meanwhile prepare the batter; add Flour in a wide vessel. Sprinkle Salt and Chilli Powder. Mix well. Add water little by little, stirring simultaneously to form a thick batter.
• When it is quite hot (bearable hot), make small balls out of the mixture prepared. Dip in the batter and deep fry them.
• Serve with Coconut Chutney or Tomato Sauce.

Notes:

I made small bondas for my little one; you can increase the size. Coriander Powder can be replaced by Chat Masala and/or Amchur Powder.

Linking this to Serve it Fried event of Krithi’s kitchen and Iftar Nights of Jabeen’s Corner.

Simple Oven baked Potato Wedges

I am new to baking. I tried Potato Wedges for the first time. It came out really good..

Ingredients:

Potatoes (large) 4

Oil (less than ¼ Cup)

Chilli Powder ½ tsp

Pepper Powder ½ tsp

Salt

Preparation:

Cut Potatoes lengthwise into 4-6 pieces each.

Method:

• Preheat Oven to 190°C for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, combine Chilli Powder, Pepper Powder, Salt and Oil in a bowl. Mix well. Brush each Potato with this mixture.
• Place an Aluminium Foil in the Oven Tray. Place these Potatoes with enough gaps in between.
• Bake for 25-30 mins or till done.

Serves: 2

Serve with Tomato Sauce.

Notes: Chilli and Pepper Powder can be increased acc. to your taste.

Linking this recipe to Iftar Moments and  Anyone can cook series of Taste of Pearl City. 

                                          

                                          

Chicken Curry with Vegetables

My Hus wanted Chicken Curry with Vegetables yesterday. I gave it a try with Pearl Onions. My Mom and Grandma always use Pearl Onions with Chicken. I tasted a little; it was good. My Hus liked it very much and asked me to prepare the same next week. This would tell you how good it tasted.

Here is the tasty recipe.

Ingredients:

Chicken 400g

Potato (Medium) 1

Peas Handful

Tomatoes (Medium) 2

Pearl Onions 15 OR ¾ of 350ml cup

Dried Red Chillies 5

Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp

Chilli Powder ¾ tsp

Coriander Powder 2 tsp

Garam Masala ½ tsp

Chicken stock 3 to 3 ½ cups

Yoghurt and Turmeric Powder for marinating

Coriander Leaves

Whole Garam Masala

Aniseeds and Cumin 1/8 tsp each

Cloves 4

Bay Leaves 2

Cinnamon a small piece

Black Cardamom 2

Preparation:

Roughly chop Pearl Onions and Tomatoes. Clean and cut Chicken and Potato into medium pieces.

Rub Yoghurt and Turmeric Powder over chicken pieces and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.

Method:

Heat oil in a Pan. Add Chillies and chopped Onions. When Onions turn translucent, add the chopped Tomatoes. Fry till its raw smell goes off.

Let it cool and then puree the mixture.

Heat Oil in a Pan. When hot, add the whole Garam Masala. When they turn slightly brown, add the pureed mixture.

Saute for a while and then add all the Powders. Fry till the oil separates.

Now add chopped Potatoes and Chicken Pieces. Mix well. Fry for a while and then add Chicken stock, Salt and Peas. Stir well. Close the lid and cook till done.

Garnish with Coriander Leaves.

Serves: 2-3

Serve with hot steamed Rice or Chapati.

Notes:

Chicken Stock can be replaced by Water and Pearl Onions by normal Red Onions.

Grated Coconut can also be added. But I didnt use Coconut as the gravy was already thick with ground Onions, Vegetables and Chicken.

 

Whole Moong Dhal (Pachai Payaru) Kurma, Channa (Kondai Kadalai) Kurma and this Curry goes to Sobha Shyam's Cook it Healthy: PROTEINicious Event..

Moong Dhal, Channa, Chicken and Peas are rich in Protein.