Potol Bata

Potol Bata, potol means Parwal or pointed goured in English, and bata means paste. This simple recipe is of a parwal paste. It is so simple to cook and yet tasty to eat. One can make this as a side dish to the main course.

I must give due credit to my Boudi (bhabhi) in Kanchrapara. She casually gave the recipe to my Ma and she in turn suggested it to me. The recipe is quite similar to Chingri bata. So what are we waiting for, lets start.

Ingredients:

1. Potol (parwal) - 250 gms
2. Onion - 1 (large)
3. Garlic - 5 cloves
4. Ginger - 1 inch
5. Salt to taste
6. Haldi - 1/2 tsp
7. Red chili powder - 1 tsp
8. Green chillies - 5
9. Vegitable Oil - 5 tbsp

Preparation:

• Peel the potol with the help of a peeler. Once all the potol is peeled off, dice them into tiny pieces. Smaller the pieces the easier it would be to cook.
• Dice the onion, garlic and ginger. Slit the green chillies in between
• In a kadai add oil and warm it up. When the oil is nicely warmed up, add the potol, onion, ginger, garlic and all the spices.
• Mix them well. Cover the kadai and let it cook in simmer. In between stir them occassionally.
• Once all the ingredients are well cooked, take the kadai off the head and let it cool.
• Take all the contents and grind them in a stone grinder or food processor. Remember you just want to grind them once.... dont make a paste out of it.
• Serve with the main course.

Pure vegetarian pizza (Indian Style)

A vegetarian pizza made in the Indian style. Good for Tuesday s and Thursday s when you cannot have non vegetarian yet want to have something nice.

Ingredients:

• Pizza topping
• Nutrela (soya beans) – 10 to 12 cubes
• Tomato – 1 finely chopped
• Curd – 2 tbsp
• Red chili powder – ½ tsp
• Zeera powder – ½ tsp
• Dhaniya powder – ½ tsp
• Salt – as per taste
• Olive oil (for marinating) – 1 ½ tbsp
• Cheddar Cheese – more the better
• Olive oil (for frying) – 8 tbsp

Pizza Base – 6 inch base (available in bakery)

Preparation:

• First of all, take the nutrela (soya beans) cubes and crush them. Don’t crush them to dust, just make smaller pieces of them, and keep aside.

• Take all the masala, curd and olive oil and mix them together. Take the crushed nutrela cubes and add them to this. Keep this aside for marinating for about 45 minutes. In the mean time, finely chop the tomato.

• After marinating it for 45 minutes the pizza topping is almost ready

• Add olive oil to a frying pan and add the marinated mix to it. Let it fry in simmer. Add the chopped tomatoes to it.

• You may need to add water. Add a tea spoon at a time. Keep frying till the nutrela cubes become brown and soft. Once done keep aside

• Take the pizza base; grate the cheese on top of it, so that it’s covered with cheese. Don’t get health conscious, you are going to eat a vegetarian food, so keep grating the cheese till you are satisfied.

• Add the fried nutrela cubes and masala to the top of the cheese layer

• Turn you microwave oven to convection mode. Pre heat the microwave to 120 – 140 C for 4 minutes

• Place the pizza on the metal tray. The metal tray must have been provided with your microwave (use the metal tray not the grill)

• Place the tray and set the temperature for 120 C and timer for 10 minutes. Check after 6 minutes, if the cheese has melted stop, else continue. Check the sides if they have turned brown, bring down the temperature.

• You are done, sprinkle some chili flakes and you are ready to eat your veg. pizza. Enjoy

Moroccan Mutton with Caramelized Onions and Tomatoes

Description:
This classic Moroccan dish features beef, lamb or goat meat stewed in savory spices and then topped with makfoul, a caramelized onion and tomato mixture. It can be prepared in a conventional pot, pressure cooker or traditional tagine. My advice is to stick to pressure cooker, you wont find a tagine in Delhi. Trust me, I have tried for the past 2 weeks now.

The recipe calls for the Moroccan spice blend Ras El Hanout. If necessary, you can substitute a few whole cloves and a pinch of nutmeg (jaiphal) for the Ras El Hanout. Again stick with the cloves and jaiphal no kirana wala or super store has ever heard of this spice before.

Ingredients:
1. 1 kg mutton, cut into 2" or 3" pieces
2. 2 large onions (about 500 g or 1 lb.), chopped
3. 2 or 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4. Salt – 1 ½ tsp
5. Ginger – 1 ½ tsp
6. Chilli powder – 2 tsp
7. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
8. Ras El Hanout – 1 tsp or few whole cloves and a pinch of nutmeg (jaiphal)
9. Black pepper – ½ tsp
10. White pepper – ½ tsp
11. Saffron threads – ¼ tsp, crumbled
12. 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks - crushed
13. Chopped fresh parsley (or dhaniya) – 2 tbsp
14. Olive oil – ¼ cup

----- For the Makfoul -----
1. 2 large onions (about 500 g or 1 lb.), thinly sliced
2. 4 medium tomatoes (about 500 g or 1 lb.), thinly sliced
3. Honey or granulated sugar – 4 tbsp
4. Olive oil – 2 tbsp
5. Cinnamon – 1 tsp

Preparation of Mutton
• Mix the meat with the onions, garlic, spices, herbs and oil in a pressure cooker.
• Brown the meat, uncovered, over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add 3 cups of water, cover, and bring to pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat, and cook with pressure for 45 minutes, or until the meat is very tender. Reduce the sauce until it's thick and mostly oils.
• To serve, arrange the meat and sauce on a serving platter, and top with the caramelized onions and tomatoes.

Preparation of Makfoul:
• While the meat is cooking, make the caramelized onions and tomatoes (makfoul).
• In a large skillet with a lid, mix the sliced onions with the cinnamon and honey.
• Add the oil and sliced tomatoes, and cover. Cook over medium heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquids evaporate and the onions are nicely coloured.
• You can continue cooking the onion and tomato mixture until quite dark if you prefer.

Liver Onion fry - Moroccan style

Morocco is known for its culture & cuisine. From this land I accidently stumbled upon this simple yet mouth watering recipe of Liver & Onion fry. I invite you to come and enjoy the taste and flavours of Morocco.

Ingredients

1. Goat or lamb liver – 500 grams
2. Large onions – 2 or 3
3. Olive oil – 3 – 4 tbsp (for marinating)
4. Olive oil – 7 – 6 tbsp (for cooking)

5. Salt – to taste

6. Degi mirch – 4 tbsp
7. Cumin (zeera) powder – 1 ½ tbsp
8. Black pepper – 1 tbsp
9. Vinegar – 2 tbsp
10. Butter – 2 tbsp

Preparation

• Clean the liver. If the liver is not already sliced into pieces, make slices. Keep the pieces small to medium in size. The bigger they are in size the difficult and longer it take for them to be cooked.

• In a bowl, keep the liver, mix zeera powder, degi mirch, vinegar, olive oil, black pepper all together. Keep this marinated liver in the fridge (not deep freeze) for about 30 to 45 minutes

• Dice the onions finely and keep aside. In a kadai add olive oil and heat it up, so that it is warn. Do not over heat it. Add onions to it; also add a little salt and chilli powder.

• Turn the oven to simmer and let the onions cook. Occasionally stir the onions so that they are smeared in oil and fried. Once the onions turn soft and brown take them out of the oil. Make sure you hold the onions out of the oil for sometime so that oil drains out – don’t squeeze!! Keep the onions aside.

• Add a little more oil the kadai (2 – 3 tbsp) if required and add the marinated mix of liver and spices. Let them fry over simmer. Stir them and occasionally add water, only a tablespoon at a time. After about 45 – 50 minutes check if the liver has become tender, if not then keep on cooking on simmer. Remember do not cook on high; it will burn the spices before the liver is cooked.

• Once the liver is cooked, add half of the onions fried earlier and mix well. Take them out on a platter. Don’t scrap the kadai to clean the spices off it. Just take out the liver onions mix. Leave the spices behind inside the kadai; we have other plans for it.

• In the warm kadai now add 2 tbsp of butter and allow it to melt. With the melted butter now rinse the kadai well, so that you have a sauce of thick texture. Using this sauce, scrap the surface of the kadai so that no masala is left behind.

• On top of the fried liver add the remaining fried onions as garnish.

• Pour this sauce on top of the liver-onion fry. Garnish it will dhania leaves. Serve hot else the sauce will freeze over.

• Enjoy

Stuffed Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1. Chicken whole – 1 (750 gm.)
2. Vinegar - 4tbsp
3. Thread - to tie the chicken
4. Tomato, dhaniya leaves and green chillies for dressing

For Stuffing

1. Big tomato, finely chopped – 1
2. Onions, finely chopped – 2
3. Carrots - 2 and/or beans – 8/10, finely chopped
4. Mutter (as per your taste)
5. Ginger garlic paste – 1, ½ tsbp
6. Red chilli powder – 1, ½ tsp.
7. Haldi – ½ tsp.
8. Green Chillies – 6
9. Salt & pepper (grounded) – taste
10. Chopped dhaniya leaves

Preparation:

Preparing the Chicken:

• Do not the cut the chicken, just ask the butcher to clean the cavity
• Wash chicken, inside out. Please be careful, the inside is to be cleaned thoroughly
• Pat dry with Chicken with a cloth or tissue towel (which ever is available)
• Rub vinegar on the chicken inside out
• Rub pepper and salt to the chicken inside out, immediately after rubbing vinegar
• Leave the chicken in refrigerator for 3 – 4 hours

Preparing the stuffing:

• Boil the diced carrot, mutter and/or diced beans, drain the water and allow them dry
• Heat oil in a pan, till its smoking
• Turn the gas to simmer
• Add onions to the oil to fry. Fry till they are soft. When frying the onions add ¼ tsp. salt
• Add red chilli powder, haldi power, and ginger garlic paste to the pan
• Mix well and stir and at the same time add the chopped tomatoes
• Once they start turning drown – which means they are fried, add the boiled vegies
• Be careful, u might need to add water if required. But do not add too much, as the stuffing must be dry. Once all is fried n dried, place everything in bowl and allow them to cool down

Chicken in the microwave:

• Take out the chicken from the refrigerator
• Stuff the cooled stuffing inside the chicken cavity – caution – don’t squeeze everything in, neither let it stay loosely
• If your entire stuffing doesn’t go inside the chicken, don’t get upset
• Tie the wings of the chicken with a thread, so that it doesn’t fly off
• Also, tie the legs with a thread, in case it decides to run instead
• Rub oil on the outside of the chicken – be generous,
• Place the chicken with breast side facing up on the metal tray. The metal must have been provided with your microwave (use the metal tray not the grill)
• If you have the stuffing left, place it on top and around the chicken
• Add 4 tsp. of oil on top of the chicken, so that it make a small pool of oil around the chicken on the tray
• Pre heat the microwave to 150 – 200 C for 5 minutes
• Place the tray and set the timer for 40 minutes
• After 20 minutes, take out the chicken and turn it. So that the breast is on the tray now
• Continue baking it
• After 20 minutes check for tenderness of the chicken, if leathery, then place the chicken again for another 5 – 10 minutes

Dressing:

• Cut the threads tied earlier
• Place the chicken a ceramic tray
• Cut tomatoes and onions in rings, and place them on top and around the chicken
• Cut green chillies in long slender pieces and place them around the chicken
• Sprinkle dhaniya leafs and add a dash of lemon for taste

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

1. Powdered sugar (icing sugar) – 1 cup (note sugar has to be powered or it will burn)
2. Maida – ½ cup
3. Eggs – 2
4. Baking powder – 1 tbsp
5. Milk – ¼ cup
6. Vegetable Oil – ½ cup
7. Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp
8. Amul cream – 2 packets
9. Colour sprinklers – 1 packet
10. Chocolate syrup

Preparation:

Preparation of essence:

• Mix 2 tbsp of cocoa powder with 2 tbsp of icing sugar and keep aside

Preparation of batter:

• Sift maida with baking powder. Keep aside
• Beat eggs and sugar till the eggs turn fluffy and the mixture becomes more than double in volume. Add essence
• Add oil or butter to beaten eggs-sugar mixture in the bowl. Mix well
• Ideally keep on beating till your hands pain. If they don’t start paining check the clock, it should be ideally 45 minutes of beating.
• Fold in maida gradually till all the maida is used. Add milk to get a slightly thinner than a soft dropping consistency
• Grease a deep glass or ceramic bowl (microwave proof) with butter. (Melt the butter first else you won’t be able to grease). Pour the batter in it. Microwave uncovered for 4 minutes. Do not microwave for a longer time even if the surface of the cake does not feel firm and it appears wet after 4 minutes. Let it stand for 4 – 5 minutes. Let it cool for 8 – 10 minutes before removing from baking dish.

Dressing:

• Take Amul cream and hang it in a piece of porous cloth for 30 – 45 minutes
• Mix ¼ cup of icing sugar after extracting the cream. Mix well.
• Layer the cake with the cream
• Sprinkle with colour sprinkler & cocoa powder
• You can also use the cream to decorate by putting it inside a cone and make design using it.
• Also, you can buy a can of whipped cream (expensive though – 350/- to 550/-) and spray the cake with it
• Add chocolate syrup on the top as per taste.

Chicken ko momo, Khursani ko Achar

Chicken Momos and Khursani (Mirchi/Chilli achar) is a speciality from the Hills. These mouth watering delicacies are a staple diet for these people. I present this recipe on behalf of my wife, Chhaya

Ingredients:

Achar:

1. Dry chillies – 8 / 9
2. Tomato – 1
3. Garlic – 8 cloves
4. Salt – ½ tbsp (or to taste)

Stuffing:

1. Chicken keema – 250 grams (request the butcher to add a dollop of fat in the chicken while he is making the keema)
2. Onion – 3 (large) chopped very fine
3. Ginger – 1 inch, chopped very fine
4. Ajena Moto – 1 pinch
5. Maida – 2 cups

Also Required:

Rice cooker to steam the Momos or a Maktu (the utensil used to steam Momos)

Preparation:

Preparation of Achar:

• Wash the dry chillies and tomatoes thoroughly and keep aside.
• Take whole dry red chillies and boil them in water. Take the tomato and cut into half and add it in the water and let it boil. Once the water has come to boil, let it boil for 3 minutes.
• Drain the water; however keep it aside in a bowl.
• Put the chillies, tomato, and garlic in a blender. Add salt along with 3 tablespoon of water. Use the water kept aside earlier.
• Let it run for a couple of minutes. Check for texture and taste. When you open the blender lid, be careful, don’t lean over. It can cause you sneeze continuously, because of the chilli fumes
• If required add a little more water and run the blender if it does not make a smooth paste.
• Once you a smooth paste keep it aside in a bowl

Preparation of Momos:

• Chop the onions very fine and also the ginger.
• Take the keema in a bowl; add the finely chopped onions and ginger. Along with a pinch of ajena moto. Mix it thoroughly. Keep it aside.
• Take the maida and add water and knead into dough. It should be neither too hard nor too soft.
• Make small balls of the size of sparrow eggs. Make small puries out of these and keep them aside.
• Take a little bit – ½ a table spoon of keema which was made earlier and place it in the middle of the maida puri. Rap it in the shape of a leaf. And while rapping it up create some fissures on long the edges. Keep these aside
• Keep the rice cooker ON for 30 minutes before you place the momos in the steaming tray.
• Once you have about 10 – 15 of momos ready. Place them in the steaming tray inside the rice cooker. It generally takes 15 – 20 minutes for them to cook.