Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2009

Malai Kofta to Die For

Malai Kofta is by far my most favorite Mughlai dish. This one is almost similar to the recipe I've been making for years from Bawarchi.com (Saroj Kering). I usually don't need to refer to it anymore, but writing it down in case I lose it. I've also made a few minor changes. For the kofta: Boil potatoes, peel and mash. Add Grated Paneer, salt, chopped green chillies, chopped cilantro (optional). Mix well. Fill with chopped cashews and raising. Make oblong shaped koftas. Make a paste of Maida, salt and water. Dip the koftas in the paste and deep fry till light golden brown. For the sauce: Dry roast a few cloves, a stick of cinnamon and a few cardamoms. Grind into a coarse powder. Grind cashews. Boil onions till soft. Make a paste along with the cashews. Heat Ghee. Add the spice mix, let fry for just a couple of seconds and add the cashew and onion paste. Add ginger garlic paste (not too much). Add salt, white pepper powder, sugar, milk, grated Khoya, and fresh cream. Mix ever

My Signature Aloo Ghobi

This has become one of my signature dishes. Goes perfectly well with a sweet or saucy vegetable on a regular "indian" menu. This is one recipe that does not use tomatoes, for a change. People almost always fall in love with this one. It's also very quick and easy, so I love it. Make big florets of cauliflower. Dice potatoes into big chunks. Slice onions. In a big pan, heat up oil. Add cumin seeds, add the onion, and the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till onions are a bit soft. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, generous amount of amchur, a pinch of garam masala, a generous pinch of chole masala (this is the secret ingredient in this aloo ghobi), a small handful of kasuri methi, some dried mint (another secret ingredient that does wonders). Stir fry all the spices for a few seconds. Add the potatoes, and then the ghobi (Sometimes, I have trouble getting the potatoes to cook). Add salt, and mix everything and keep sauteing. Try not to use any water. If you

Perfect Antipasto Pasta Salad

I made this over the weekend, and I couldn't think of anything to make it better. So, here's the recipe. (I used some fancy artisan tricolor Farfelle for this, but regular pasta should work just fine). Pasta: Boil the pasta in plenty of water and salt till just done and drain. Dressing: one big clove of garlic, finely chopped, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, a pinch of dried oregano, dried thyme, finely chopped fresh parsley, salt, pepper, red chilli flakes. Mix everything and whisk in extra virgin olive oil. Add: finely chopped roasted bell pepper, pieces of artichoke hearts, green olives stuffed with pimentoes, capers, chopped sun dried tomatoes (in oil), cubes of fresh mozzarella. Toss everything together, chill and serve (make sure you add the cheese after the salad has cooled down, since you don't want to melt it). Goes well with a nice piece of bread. It's very rare that L. compliments my cooking, but this one, he just kept saying how much he loved it. That reall

Diwali Feast continued

Khajoor Mithai (like Prashant corner's): Grind (preferably) Majdool dates in the food processor to a coarse paste. Chop Almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts into fairly big pieces (one almond into 2-3 pieces only). Roast them slightly on a low flame or in the oven. Head some ghee in the kadai and fry the date paste in it, for a short while. Add the nuts, and set in a greased plate. Chakli (Bombay mummy's recipe): Take rice flour, add a small amount of Besan, some sesame seeds, salt, red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder to it. Mix well. Now add softened butter (almost muthi padtu mon). Add yoghurt and water and knead a soft dough. Make chakli's with the mold on plastic sheets and fry in hot oil on a low flame. All this treat making business is taking a toll. I'm going to finish up with a few kaju katli tonight and then call it a day. There's so much more to be done...!! Rangoli, Mehendi, Diyas..

Diwali Feast

The first Diwali after the wedding is a very significant event in an Indian woman's life. It's when she learns the traditions of her in-laws family, and starts a few of her own. It's when she sets the tone for the celebrations of all the future Diwali's in her family. Even though I am slightly busy these days, I'm really excited! Of course, so much of it is about food..Here are some recipes for my future reference. Thor (Bombay Mummy's Recipe): Take coarse whole wheat flour (laadu no lot). Add some sesame seeds and white poppy seeds. Add enough ghee to make "muthi padtu mon". knead a semi soft dough with whole milk. Let it rest, so that some of the milk is absorbed. Now, knead the dough, divide it into small balls and roll out small and thick puris. Prick them with a fork and fry them in pure ghee on a low flame. In another pot, prepare very thick sugar syrup (soft ball consistency). Add cardamom powder, nutmeg and saffron. Dip the fried puris in the s

A Revival Post - Gobi Paratha

So like most other blogs, I almost abandoned this one, and now attempting to revive it. It is really more out of necessity. I'm married now, and cooking has now taken on a whole new meaning in my life. It's not just fun..it's also about getting two square meals on the table every single day. It's going good so far, but there are days when I really run out of ideas and recipes. I hope this blog comes to my rescue on those days. So, I made gobhi paratha the other day, and I was feeling good..so I came up with a few spices to add which made it really yummy. Here's the recipe (sorry, no time to write separate ingredient lists and detailed instructions. I think I'll have to make do with this new format) Chop Ghobi really fine (almost mince). Heat oil. Add cumin seeds, hing, ginger garlic paste and finely diced onions. Saute till onions become soft. add Coriander-cumin powder, finely diced green chillies, a pinch of garam masala and amchur. Add the Gobhi and saute. In