Upma (Soojir Upma)

Semolina or sooji upma is a  common breakfast item that I usually make during weekend when we get bored of eating roti sabji and bread omelet . This is a very easy preparation and I made it a healthy one too by adding vegetables like carrot and capsicum.

Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji/ Rava (Semolina)
25 gms fried Cashew Nuts (optional)
8 Curry Leaves

1 inch Ginger chopped
1 chopped Onion
3 Green Chillies slit sideways
1 Potato chopped
1 Capsicum chopped
1 Carrot chopped
1/4 cup Green Peas frozen or fresh
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Daal
1 tsp Channa Daal
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
Chili powder to taste (optional)
2 tblsp Oil
Few curry leaves
Finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tblsp Ghee
Lemon juice to taste

Method:::

• Sift Sooji through a muslin / cheese cloth or very fine sieve.
• Heat 1tbsp. pure ghee / unsalted butter and fry sooji ,on a moderate heat, stiring constantly to light brown color and set aside.
• Now heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and allow them to splatter.
• After mustard seeds start spluttering, add curry leaves, green chili and onions. Fry till onions turn translucent. 
• Add the daals : chana & urad & fry till they turn red.
• Add ginger and green chilies. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
• Add all the vegetables, turmeric & chili powder, and salt to taste.
• Now add 3 cups of water and cover the pan and allow it simmer on low heat until the vegetables are done.
• Add the fried sooji to it stirring constantly till it becomes little thick.
• Take off from the heat and lemon juice if desired.
• Serve hot garnished with cashews and coriander.

Tips: When you need to cook the Onions and not brown them, best thing to do is to sprinkle a little water. This adds moisture to the onons and cooks them without browning them.

Chicken Masala

Chicken Masala

Chicken Masala is among the best known Indian foods all over the world. Its gravy can be made as hot or mild as you like so it suits most palates. It tastes great with Kaali Daal (black lentils), Naans and a green salad. This is my recipe for Chicken Masala and it is the real deal! It has been tried and tested numerous times and is loved by everybody that has eaten it. I hope you will like it too.

Ingredients:

Ingredients

• 1 kg boneless chicken skin removed
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your taste)
• 6 cloves
• 8-10 peppercorns
• 1" stick of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 8-10 almonds
• Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom
• 1 cup fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)
• 3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 tsps garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 400g/ 14 oz of chopped tomatoes, ground into a smooth paste in a food processor
• 1/2 litre chicken stock
• 2 tbsps kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• 3 tbsps unmelted, soft butter
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
• Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
• Mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder (from previous step), coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the chicken. Allow to marinate for another hour.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.
• Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till sealed (chicken will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color).
• Now add the tomato paste, chicken stock, kasuri methi and remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix to the chicken.
• Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume.
• Melt the butter in another small pan and then pour it over the chicken.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Butter Naan, Paratha.

Tips - For an authentic and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavour: When the Chicken Masala is cooked, make a small bowl shape with aluminum foil and place it on top of the curry ('floating' on it). Heat a briquette of charcoal on an open flame till red hot and gently put the charcoal in to the aluminum foil bowl. Cover the dish immediately. Remove the cover just before serving, discard the foil bowl and charcoal and serve. The curry will be infused with a smokey flavor!

Kashmiri Chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken.The addition of plain yogurt toward the end of the cooking time gives this a deliciously mild and creamy flavor, which makes a wonderful contrast to all the spices. This is best eaten with some good basmati rice, but plain jasmine rice works too.

Ingredients :

• 2 medium size red onions
• 1 lb. boneless chicken breast or chicken thighs.
• 3 teaspoonfuls. “Pathak’s” Kashmiri Masala paste
• 2 teaspoonfuls. Tomato paste
• ¼ teaspoonfuls ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoonfuls combination garlic / ginger paste
• 6 oz. chopped Cilantro
• 1 tsf sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls salt as desired
• 1 to 2 tsf crushed red pepper for extra desired hotness. 
• 2 teaspoonfuls cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoonfuls clove powder

Method:::

1. Finely chop the two red onions and sauté them on medium heat in Olive oil until browned. 
2. Then add the tomato paste, Kashmiri Masala paste, garlic- ginger paste, ground cinnamon, sugar, red pepper and the salt and mix these up over medium heat into a thick paste for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Then add one pound of chicken meat that is cut up into cubes into this mixture. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat.
4. Stir this frequently to blend all the ingredients together. 
5. When cooked in about 30 minutes add the chopped cilantro and mix it into the gravy.
6. Use salt, sugar or red pepper at the end to fine tune the taste to your liking.
7. Total cooking time from scratch to finish should be no more than 45 minutes.
8. Serve hot when cooked and eat with rice or Nan. Sliced off the vine tomatoes dribbled with some olive oil and basil paste goes very well with this dish.

Pav Vaji

Pav Bhaji  is a fast food dish that originated in Marathi cuisine.Pav bhaji consists of bhaji (a thick potato-based curry) garnished with coriander, chopped onion and a dash of lemon and baked pav. The pav is usually buttered on all sides.

Ingredients::: 

• Potatoes,boiled and mashed - 4 medium
• Tomatoes,chopped  - 4 medium
• Onions,chopped  - 2 medium
• Green capsicum,chopped deseeded  - 1 medium
• Cauliflower,grated -  1/4 small
• Green peas,shelled  - 1/4 cup
• Ginger,chopped  - 1 inch piece
• Garlic -  8-10 cloves
• Oil  - 3 tablespoons
• Green chillies,chopped  - 3-4
• Pav bhaji masala  - 1 1/2 tablespoons
• Salt      -   to taste
• Butter  - 3 tablespoons
• Pav     -    8
• Fresh coriander leaves,chopped -  1/4 cup
• Lemons,cut into wedges -  2

Method::

1. Boil green peas in salted water till soft, drain, mash lightly and set aside. 
2. Grind ginger and garlic to a fine paste. 
3. Heat oil in a pan and add three fourth quantity of onions. Sauté till light brown. 
4. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste. Stir-fry for half a minute. 
5. Add half the quantity of tomatoes and cook on medium heat for three to four minutes, stirring continuously or till oil separates from the masala. 
6. Add capsicum, mashed peas, cauliflower, potatoes and one and half cups of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for ten minutes, pressing with back of the spoon a few times, till all the vegetables are completely mashed. 
7. Add Pavbhaji Masala, salt and remaining tomatoes. Cook on medium heat for two minutes, stirring continuously. 
8. Heat half of the butter in a thick-bottomed pan or a tawa. 
9. Slice pav horizontally into two and pan fry in butter for half a minute, pressing two or three times or till pav is crisp and light brown. 
10. Garnish the bhaji with chopped coriander leaves, remaining butter and serve hot with pav accompanied with remaining chopped onion and lemon wedges. 

Tip - Pav bhaji masala is a spice blend which is readily available at most grocery stores