Swaraj

Sunday, 3 May 2015

Nimona

Hi everyone,

Today I'm gonna share a new recipe called Nimona. This recipe a heard from my very near and dear friend Neelam, who is a Bhojpuri. Nimona is a favorite recipe of bhojpurias. The best taste comes in winters when farm fresh peas are available. In eastern Uttar Pradesh it is called nimona and in Jharkhand & Bihar it is called Gudila. Nimona best goes with rice and Aalu bhujiya. I have made it as it came to me because on internet there were various versions of it.

Ingredients:

Frozen peas – 1.5 cup

Potato -1 medium

Tomato – 1 medium

Onion – 1 medium

Green chilles

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Tumeric powder – ½ tsp

Fenugreek seeds- pinch

Oil - 2-3 tbsp

Garam masala – ½ tsp

Badi elaichi – 1

Method:

1. Soak peas in lukewarm water to defrost it.

2. Grind the peas with one chilli in the mixer.

3. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and put fenugreek into the oil and badi elaichi for aroma.

4. Saute potato and chilli in the oil.

5. After say 2-3 mins add the mashed peas and cover it for few mins.

6. Add the cumin, coriander and turmeric powder to the mix.

7. Saute for few mins,

8. Add salt and tomatoes along with 2 cups of water and let it boil till oil separates from peas.

Sunday, 18 January 2015

Custard Cookies

Custard cookies are beautiful easy cookies. Deliciously tasty and scrumptiously melting moments in your mouth. They are excellent shortbread with beautiful texture yet soft made with custard powder mix.

Butter 250 g
Sugar powder (or) icing sugar 155 g
All purpose flour 250 g
Custard powder 155 g
Egg 1 n
Castor sugar for coating

Procedure
1. Take a bowl add butter, sugar powder, cream it and add egg mix it well.

2. In this add all purpose flour mixture (all purpose flour and custard powder)mix it well like a soft dough. If you over mix they can become hard so just fold in the flour and custard mix into creamed egg sugar butter mixture.

3. Make them into round balls and coat with the castor sugar, transfer into baking tray, take a fork and press it on the top of the roundels

4. Bake them at 180 degree centigrade for 15 minutes.

Microwave Chiki recipe

Hello,

Recently juggling with two kids I am pressed for time. So I try and find recipes that take a little time. Like this one here. I had tried this and proved a very good adapted from Madhura recipe turned out be a bonus.

3/4 cup Sesame Seeds
1 cup dark jaggery
1 tsp of ghee or clarified butter
1/4 cup of roughly grounded cashew nuts /peanuts/ pistachios
1/2 tsp of cardamon powder
1 tsp of water

Procedure:
1. Microwave sesame seeds for total of 4 mins in the microwave at high power intermittently stirring after 2 mins in a microwavable glass bowl. Remove and keep it to cool.

2. In the microwavable glass bowl add 1 tsp of clarified butter and add 1 cup of dark jaggery. Microwave for 2 mins intermittently stirring every 1 min.

3. Once jaggery is melted add cardamon powder, sesame seeds, nut powder and mix it well before it gets cool.

4. transfer this on to a baking paper and sandwich between the paper adn just roll with the roller pin. Once rolled in desired thickness, say 0.5 cms, cut them in square or diamond shape with the knife or pizza cutter. And let it cool down for 30 min.

Your easy peasy til gul vadi for your Sankranti special made just under 15 mins. Enjoy!!!!!

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Making clarified butter/Ghee from packaged butter

Clarified butter is also called drawn butter. Simply defined, clarified butter is unsalted butter that has the milk solids and water removed so all that remains is pure liquid golden-yellow butterfat. The advantages of this type of butter is its long keeping quality (several months refrigerated) and its high smoke point (can be used in frying without burning).

Method:

1. Gently melt unsalted butter in a non-stick pan over low heat until the butter melts.

2. There will be a top layer formed of white foam or froth (the whey proteins) and should be skimmed off with a spoon.

3. When you have skimmed all the white foam from the surface of the clarified butter, and it has stopped giving out the form, remove the saucepan from the heat.

4. Let the clarified butter sit a few minutes to allow the milk solids if any to further settle to the bottom, and then strain the mixture through a fine sieve or a cheesecloth-lined strainer.

5. The liquid collected is the golden-yellow clarified butter (butterfat) that can be covered and stored several months in the refrigerator. Remember Chilled clarified butter does become grainy. I keep mine in room temperature and it is used up fast as well.

6. Keep a separate bowl for the milk solids you skim off — it's fantastic on popcorn! You can also add the leftover milk solids to mashed potatoes or as a topping for vegetables. They're also be delicious over pancakes, waffles or French toast.

Kolhapuri Chicken /mutton curry

Hi guys, This time I'm going to post the two in one curry. I mean to say, I am posting one single recipe with the variations of meat in it. If you are bold enough, you can use both in same recipe. I have made this with both variations and it taste just awesome. Tried and tested recipe.

Ingredients:
Goat meat/ Chicken - 500 gms
Onions -2
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1 tbsp of lemon juice
4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Kolhapuri kanda Lasun masala - 3 1/2 tsp

Masala paste:
Desiccated coconut - 2 tbsp
Sesame seed - 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves - 6-7
Fresh ginger - 1 inch
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves chopped

Method:

1. If you are using goat meat follow from here and if using chicken skip to step 5 , In a pressure cooker heat 1 tbsp of oil.

2. Add 1 chopped onion, turmeric powder and salt and saute. Saute onion till it changes colour.

3. Add meat, seal the meat on high heat turning it side to side.

4. Keep on stirring till the colour of meat changes, now add about 3 cups of water and close the cooker, bring it to full boil and cook until 7-8 whistles.

5. Now lets make the masala paste, dry roast the desiccated or dry shredded coconut until brown. Dry roast cumin and sesame seeds as well.

6. You can gring this roasted mix in a mortar pestle or on patta. I just grind them in mixer along with coriander. And make separate ginger garlic paste. You can use if you have the ready made paste.

7. In a pressure cooker, add oil and saute onions till they are translucent.

8. Add the ready made kanda lasun masala and the ground masala as well. saute till oil separates from masala. this might take 4-5 min on medium heat.

9. Now add the cooked mutton at this stage. If using chicken add the marinated chicken (marinate chicken with red chili, ginger garlic paste, salt and turmeric) stir well.

10. Let the meat of chicken get nicely coated with masala mix and cook for 3-4 mins.

11. Now adjust the consistency with addition of water and salt. Mix well and close the cooker and brig to full boil and till 1 -2 whistles. If not using cooker, you can keep this boiling for about 20- 35 min till the meat comes off easily from the bone.

12. Serve this with paratha, roti, chapati or pulka and white rice.

Palak Dal

This recipe was often made by mom when she used to cook after she used to back from office. Its kind of one pot meal deal. I loved the dal with rice and some poppadom and a spicy omelet.

Ingredients:

1 cup Toor dal
1/2 cup moong dal
2 tbsp channa dal
1 cup chopped palak/spinach
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped/sliced
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2-3 Green chillies slit (if more you need more spice, add 1 or 2 green chillies in seasoning)
2-3 garlic pods - crushed and chopped
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of garam masala
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups water, approx
For seasoning/tadka:
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of hing/asafoetida
1 tbsp ghee or oil
3-4 crushed garlic with peels
Green chilled (for more spice)

Method:
1. In a pressure cooker, add all dals and and rinse the dals.

2. Add the chopped onions and ginger-garlic paste.

3. Add red chili, turmeric, coriander and cumin powders, garam masala and combine. Add the chopped palak and mix it well. Add chopped tomato, garlic and all the other ingredients.

4. Add salt and one and half cup of water and combine. And close the lid, cook on high to medium flame for 3 whistles.

5. Heat oil or ghee, add hing and other seasoning ingredients and pour over cooled cooked dal. Adjust salt if necessary and mix well.

6. Serve with rotis or white rice.

Chopped spinach1 Bunch (100 gm) Toor dal1 Cup (16 tbs) Tomato1⁄2 Medium Tamarind juice2 Teaspoon Seasoning To Taste Mustard seeds1⁄4 Teaspoon Cumin seeds1⁄2 Teaspoon (jeera) Dry red chillies1 Garlic pods2 , crushed Methi1 Tablespoon (Fenugreek) Turmeric powder1⁄2 Teaspoon Chilly powder1 Pinch Salt To Taste
Read more at http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/dal_palak_0#PLvIZmoviYu0f246.99

Friday, 17 January 2014

Vegetarian cookies....no butter no egg version - Nankhatai

Ingredients:

100 gms ghee ( clarified butter )
100 gms powdered sugar/ Icing sugar
180 gms plain flour/All purpose flour/Maida
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
Pistachios/Almonds, chopped / sliced

Method :

I used ghee at normal or room temperature and weighed it.
In a large bowl, beat ghee and sugar until creamy.
Preheat oven to 180 C. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sieve flour with baking powder and keep aside.
Gradually work in the flour mixture, mixing with your hands until the dough comes together.
Divide the dough into equal sized balls. Flatten slightly with your palms. Keep pressing the edges to form a smooth cookie.
Arrange on the prepared baking sheet, 2" apart. Add a pistachio or almond on the centre of each cookie.
Bake 12 - 14 minutes until the almond turns light brown.
Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for a minute.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then store them in an air-tight container.