Food-n-More

Hi everyone ! So Diwali is behind us now and so are all the rich sweets and treats. So it's time for something different now. I tried out this Butter Chicken a few days back and it turned out pretty good and tasted just like the restaurant one we get in India. I checked out a recipe from http://www.videojug.com/ which is a fabulous site with very clear and step-by-step easy videos on how to make lots and lots of delicious recipes. Do check it out yourself sometime. I almost followed the entire recipe just as shown except for one step, and that is regarding pre-cooking the chicken. On videojug they have sauteed the chicken before adding it to the curry but I find that makes the chicken very chewy. So I grilled the chicken breasts in the oven until completely cooked and then cut them into bitesize pieces.

You will need…
2 chicken breasts,
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp ginger, crushed
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp ground almonds
220 g can of whole peeled tomatoes/ or chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp fresh coriander or spinach, chopped , 1 heaped tblspn kasoori methi (which was not in the original recipe )
salt and pepper

Method:
Step 1:
Smother the chicken breasts with the vegetable oil and season well with salt and pepper
Step 2:
Grill the chicken breasts in the oven at approx 200 deg C for around 30 mins or until completely cooked .
Step 3: After removing from oven let it rest for a few minutes before cutting it into bite-size pieces and put it aside
Step 4:
In a frying pan melt the butter.
Step 5:
Fry the onion with the cinnamon.
Now add the onion and cinnamon and fry together in the pan.
Step 6:
Add the remaining ingredients.
At this point add the crushed garlic, crushed ginger, turmeric, chilli powder, almonds, peeled tomatoes, tomato paste and the natural yoghurt. Stir all of the ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
Step 7:
Bring to the boil and cook.
Bring the ingredients to a boil and stir for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 8:
Add the chicken.
Put the chicken back into the pan and combine with the other ingredients.

In last stage of cooking add the kasoori methi. Before adding it microwave it for a few seconds and then crush it slightly between your fingers to release it's flavour.
Step 9:
Add the fresh coriander.
To compliment the dish, garnish with coriander,or fresh spinach ,or finely chopped spring onions and mix with the sauce.
Step 10:
Serve steaming hot and eat up with Naan Bread or Rice!

Posted by Anupama at 1:14 PM 7 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Chicken, Indian, Party Cooking

!! दीपावलीच्या तुम्हा सर्वांना खूप खूप शुभेच्छा !!

!! Happy Holidays to all on Food-n-More !!

Posted by Anupama at 7:10 AM 3 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Diwali Snacks, Festive wishes, Indian, Indian Sweets, Maharashtrian food, Sweets

Posted by Anupama at 8:30 PM 5 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Diwali Snacks, Festive wishes, Indian, Indian Sweets, Maharashtrian food, Sweets

Hi everyone! Yes I am back after ages, but that's because earlier my parents were here and then after they left I got a job. So I have been keeping very busy and that has resulted in my not being able to give much time to my dear blog. But of course that does not mean I am going to stop blogging completely, no way. I love blogging way too much to give it up . So here I am back again.
Just last Saturday my friends and I got together with families for our pot-luck dinner at my place. Each one of us got one lovely dish and that made up a very very sumptuous dinner. It is so much more fun when each one plays a part in the cooking . You might have made a certain dish hundreds of times but it tastes so different and interesting when someone else cooks it. Like the Pav Bhaji that my friend Ash makes. It's delicious with a capital D . Praj in our group is the Basundi expert. So obviously she made that except this time we added Haldirams Rasgullas to the Basundi and turned it into a mouth-watering Ras Malai . And of course there is Jyoti who loves to cook and have people over to eat all the delicious South Indian delicacies that she creates . So she brought along Chitraanna , which is mildly spiced rice with lots of lentils and peanuts in it.
My contribution was Dahi Wada, which all of us just love . So this is what I will share with you today.
Ingredients for the wadas:
3 cups urid dal (Split black lentils) soaked overnight
1 cup fresh grated coconut,
10-12 chillies,
3 tblspns cumin
2 to 3 tspns sugar
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
Ingredients for the yogurt mix:
1 litre and a little more thick whole milk yogurt,
sugar to slightly sweeten the yogurt,
3 tspns of ginger paste,
1 tspn cumin and coriander powder each
salt to taste
Ingredients for the tempering:
3 tblspns of oil,
2 tspns mustard
10 to 12 curry leaves finely chopped
1/2 tspn asafoetida (hing)
Method:

• Soak the urid dal overnight or at least for 5 to 6 hrs,
• Grind the soaked urid dal finely along with the grated coconut, chillies , cumin, salt and sugar . While grinding the dal add water in small quantities only as much as needed to aid the process of grinding.
• Keep aside for a little while.
• Prepare the yogurt by whipping the yogurt to a smooth consistency.
• Add some milk to the yogurt to give it the consistency of a thick pouring sauce. Mix in the sugar ,salt and ginger, cumin and coriander powders.
• Before frying the wadas keep a large pan of lukewarm water at hand . Add to the water a little yogurt and mix it well . This water is used to soak the fried wadas .
• Now heat the oil and drop tblspnfuls of wada batter into the oil and fry on a very moderate heat. This is important for the wada to cook well right upto the centre. If the wadas are fried too fast the centres remain uncooked.
• After frying the first few drain them onto some kitchen paper and let them cool . After they have cooled pop them into the lukewarm water and let them soak in the water for a while until they become slightly soggy
• Repeat this process with all the wadas, putting them in water only after they have cooled slightly
• Note: if hot wadas are put in cold water they remain hard at the centre, so let them cool first.
• When all the wadas have been put in the water squeeze out the water from each wada by pressing it gently between your palms and place them flat one next to the other in your serving dish.
• Pour over the prepared yogurt evenly over all the wadas
• Prepare the seasoning by adding the mustard seeds to hot oil. When they begin to splutter add the hing and the curry leaves and switch off the gas.
• Spoon this seasoning over the dahi wadas carefully . Sprinkle some chilly powder over the finished dish and garnish with coriander . Let your guest help themselves to the date and tamarind sauce
• Also offer your guests extra cumin and coriander and chilly powder .

This makes a wonderful side dish during a meal or a main snack at tea time

Posted by Anupama at 1:08 PM 8 comments Links to this post    

Hello after a very long time. I know I have been away from my blog but I just had to come back today to wish you all Ganapati Bappa Moraya!! I hope you all enjoy the Ganapati festival just as much as I do with my family here in UK.

My parents are here to visit and we have been very busy doing all sorts of activities with them and that's the reason behind my absence from the blogging world. Thanks to all those who have sent me lovely mails in this past month. I will return to regular blogging soon . I promise. Till then have a great time celebrating the Ganapati festival wherever you are in the world.

I leave you today with 2 Ganapati special recipe posts from last year. Hope to find them useful.

What I have for you today is a very special dish made particularly on Ganesh Chaturthi as it is Ganapati Bappa's favourite. It is Modak. The one I have for you today is the fried and the steamed version .

Ingredients:
For the outer cover :
1 cup Plain Flour,
2 tspn Fine Semolina,
3 tblspn very hot oil
A pinch of salt

Ingredients for the filling:
210 gms fresh shredded coconut
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cardammom powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg powder

Procedure:
Filling: (Filling can be prepared one day in advance and kept ready)

1. In a heavy bottom pan mix the coconut, jaggery and sugar on a moderate to low heat . Keep stirring until the the mixture loses moisture and becomes slightly dry. This takes about 10 t0 15 minutes .
2. Switch off the gas and then sprinkle the two spice powders and mix well. The mixture is ready. Optionally you can make it richer by adding raisins, broken cashewnuts etc. Keep the mixture covered until you need it.

For the outer cover:
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Keep covered for at 30 minutes.
2. Before using soften the dough by drizzling a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) on it and pound it in a pestle and mortar. This is very tedious but very neccessary. It makes the dough pliable.
3. Now make small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a thin puri.
4. Place it on your palm and put a tspn full of filling in the centre. Pinch the sides of the puri at regular intervals and close the modak firmly from the top. Place the modak on a plate and cover the dish with a clean wet cloth so that the modaks do not dry out .
5. Make all the modaks in the same way.
6. Deep fry 3 to 4 modaks at a time on a moderate to low heat. Let cool and then store a container.

The steamed version of Modak is even more delicious. Follow these steps carefully and you will have the most gorgeous modaks on Ganesh Chaturthi

Ingredients (For 7 to 8 Modak):
For the outer cover:1 katori very fine Rice flour (sieve the rice flour to get a fine and soft flour),
1 katori water,
a pinch of salt,

Ingredients for the sweet stuffing
:2 cups fresh grated coconut,
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 tspn cardamom powder,
1/2 tspn grated nutmeg

Procedure for Outer Cover:
1.In a steel container mix the rice flour ,water and salt to make a smooth paste
2. Pressure cook this paste like you would do for dal in a pressure cooker, (thats about 3 whistles and simmer for 5 to 7 mins)
3. Let the pressure cooker cool for a while before opening it.

Procedure for the stuffing:
1. While the pressure cooker cools down prepare the stuffing.
2. In a heavy bottom pan mix the grated coconut and jaggery and cook the mixture for 20 to 25 mins on a very low heat, stirring frequently
3. After switching off the heat add the cardamom and nutmeg. Let the stuffing cool.
4. After the rice flour dough which is called Ukad has cooled down enough to handle ,oil your palms well and knead this dough till it becomes very pliable and soft enough to fill and shape into a modak. Along with oil also use water on your hands to further assist you with this.
5. Now make a lemon size ball of dough ,place it between two oiled plastic sheets and spread out the dough with your thumb to the size of a puri (see pic)
6. Place this puri on your wet palm and place a tblspn full of stuffing in the centre.
Make vertical pleats in the dough by pinching it at regular intervals between your thumb and forefinger (I wish I could show you a pic but I was struggling so much at this stage that holding a camera was simply impossible)
7. Now close the modak from the top by creating tapering shape .(Gosh! I am so bad at explaining this) But I guess all marathi readers will know what I am talking about and for others the final product should look like the modak in the main pic and the pic below. )
8. To steam these I used an idli cooker and idli moulds. Use any kind of good steamer. At home in India we normally place a soft muslin in a colander ,put all the modaks in it and then place the colander just inside the rim of the pressure cooker and steam for 15 to 17 mins. Alternatively they can be steamed in an electric rice cooker too.

Imp Note: Before steaming, dip each modak quickly in water and then place in the steamer. This prevents the modaks from cracking
Serve with generous dollops of homemade ghee. No ! don't say no to Ghee. You must have Ghee (or Sajuk toop as we call it) with Modak.
ENJOY!!!!

Posted by Anupama at 4:33 PM 5 comments Links to this post    

You all probably know from many of my previous posts that we friends have regular tea get-togethers on Fridays. It gives the kids a chance to have a great time on the last day of the school week and it gives us ladies an excuse to meet and chat and eat tasty snacks. Well this week it was my turn and my choice of snack was this ever -popular Kutcchi Dabeli. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kutcchi Dabeli ,it is a Gujarati snack ,it's name being derived from the place Kutch in Gujarat. But it is a very very popular street food in Maharashtra and is probably just one place below Vada-Pav which tops the best-seller list of street-food.

Very surprisingly though I never ate Kutcchi Dabeli when I was in college. Never even once. I ate it the first time here in England when a friend made it . I just loved it and have ever since wondered why I never ate it earlier. I mean if it tastes so good at home it must be great when eaten on the road-side, right?? Well I definitely will find out the next time I am in Pune ,which unfortunately is not so soon. So till then I will keep making it at home.

Now Kutcchi Dabeli needs a special Masala /Spice Mix which is easily available back home, but not here in UK. The most popular brand is Siddhi Masala , so I had my sister bring me a few packs of that when she last visited. But it can be substituted with cumin-coriander powder and garam masala which is also a blend of the same spices just probably in different proportions.
So now on to the actual process :

Ingredients for approx 12 Dabelis:
12 soft rolls /buns
1 kg potatoes boiled ,peeled and mashed,
1 pack of Dabeli Masala (100 gms) OR
2 tblspns each of coriander and cumin powder, 2 tblspns of garam masala, 1 tblspn of chilly powder,
Salt to taste (you don't need any salt if you are using the dabeli masala . It has everything in it.)
Date and Tamarind Chutney,
Red chilly and garlic chutney (blend red chillies, garlic salt and sugar together in a blender with a little water)

For the garnish:
Seeds of one or two pomegranate,
Sev,
2 finely chopped onion,
Salted/spicy peanuts
Finely chopped coriander

Method:

• Boil and mash the potatoes and keep aside,
• In a pan heat 4 to 5 tbslpns of oil , add to that the mashed potatoes and all of the 100 gms of dabeli masala or the alternative spice powders with the salt. (Remember no salt if using the Dabeli Masala) and mix it all well. Your filling is ready.
• Spread out this filling evenly on to a large plate and garnish generously with all the garnishings as you see in the pic. It looks very pretty.

To serve:

Split a bun in half and spoon both the chutneys in it first, then put about 2 tblspnfuls of potato filling on top .

• Put some more salted nuts and sev if you wish.
• Top again with date and tamarind chutney and close with the top part of the bun.
• Butter the bun on both sides and brown it nicely on a tawa/flat pan.
• Serve hot

Posted by Anupama at 1:11 PM 11 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Chaat, Indian, Maharashtrian food, Picnic Food, Potatoes, Vegetarian

A couple of days back my good friend Kavita left UK and went back to India for good. Before leaving she gave me a bagful of groceries that she had left over and obviously couldn't finish before she left. This is a normal practice amongst us friends . Whenever one of us is leaving for good we kind of have a grocery distribution programme between us . The person who is leaving accumulates all the store cupboard groceries that she cannot use up and asks us to take what ever we fancy . So everyone kind of gets to explore her groceries which is fun . Although of course it is no fun to have one of your group leave forever. It leaves a kind of empty void that is very difficult to get used to.

So this time along with other things I got something that I had never used before. She had a container full of hand-threshed whole wheat from her family farm back home in India. So it was of the best quality ever. K said her mom-in-law and sisters in law make a kheer out of it although she had never tried it herself it UK. My initial enthusiasm on recieving it faded a bit when I saw the whole grain and wondered how I would cook it. I have cooked bulgar wheat before but this was something else altogether.

So I tentatively cooked it in my pressure cooker with some water. Thankfully it cooked beautifully and the kheer or pudding that I made from it turned out just fabulous. I cooked it in coconut milk and the taste was mind-blowing. So thanks to K for that! Bulgar wheat being widely available and imparting the same taste is my recommendation as a substitute to the wheat I used for this pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Bulgar Wheat,

1 can of coconut cream

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut,

3/4 cup jaggery (or use light brown muscovado sugar)

a generous pinch of saffron,

1/2 a tspn of cardammom powder

1/2 cup approx milk (to thin the kheer if needed)

2 tblspns ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Cook the Bulgar wheat with the grated coconut and some water in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

In another pan heat the ghee and add the cooked wheat and stir for a couple of minutes

To this add the coconut milk/cream from the can and stir it in well,

Next add the jaggery/sugar and the saffron . (you can soak the saffron in warm water or milk for some time but it's not neccessary)

Now simmer the kheer /pudding for a good 20 to 25 minutes on a very low heat, stirring occasionally so it does'nt stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you would like it a bit thinner in consistency add the milk. Remember it becomes thicker and thicker as it cools down, so it a good idea to have it a bit thinner than you would like when it is hot.

Switch off the heat after 25 mins and sprinkle the cardammom powder and stir it in well.

This pudding tastes good warm or chilled. We love it chilled. So I chilled it in the fridge for an hour before serving. To serve decorate with cashews or almonds or any dry -fruit of your choice.

Posted by Anupama at 11:57 AM 13 comments Links to this post    

Labels: Coconut, Desserts, Indian, Indian Sweets, Jaggery, Maharashtrian food, Milk, Vegetarian