Haleem – Yum yum :)

post on August 2nd, 2012
Posted in Meat, Mutton Tags: , ,

So Its Ramadan time and typically, it reminds me of many tasty dishes which appear during this time at many places.

One of the memories I have had was of Haleem from Biryani Paradise long back. The hotel is now closed but the taste has been in my memory for a long time.

So perusing that path back, I decided to search for something traditional on this recipe and make it.

Last weekend, my pet project was to make Haleem and well it came out pretty ok for a first timer.

I will share the video and the recipe from this amazing site.

Video 

Recipe 

Ingredients

I Kg Mutton/ Beef/ CHicken
250 g Dried Wheat
50 gms split peas
Handful lentils ( red lentils
3 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tbsp chilli powder
2tsp garam masala
2tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cloves powder
large pinch of curry leaves.

2 tsp ghee or vegetable oil

To accompany
Sliced green chillies
Chopped Fresh Coriander
Lime slices
Fried onions

Method

  1. Soak the wheat and dal in cold water overnight and drain
  2. Heat the ghee in a Large pan and brown the meat for about 5 minutes
  3. Add in the garlic and ginger paste and spices and stir fry for 2 minutes
  4. Add in the soaked pulses and 2 litres of water. bring to boil and simmer gently, stirring from time to time for about 4-5 hours. Top up the water when needed to keep the haleem fluid
  5. After 5 hours the meat should be extremely tender. Break up the meat with a potato masher or haleem chamcha.
  6. The objective is to achieve a lump-free thick and creamy mixture which almost shines.
  7. Serve the haleem with corriander, tarka, sliced limes, fresh ginger and chillis.

Titli’s Tips
If you cannot get wheat, use barley or yellow split peas as substitute
Mashing takes time. Be prepared to spend around 25 minutes or more with your masher.
If you do not want to mash you can pour the haleem in a food processor and whizz coarsely.

Haleem freezes really well and is great to serve.

 My notes 

  • The Mash thing did not work with me.. maybe because I dont have patience :)  I put that in the food processor. 
  • I did not use Ghee and it came out well
  • I am using this dish in many ways like sandwich spreads, accompaniment with roti. It tastes good all ways and any ways you want to have. I also had it with Dalia kichdi and it changed the flavor of that dish.. 
  • It does not go very well with Biryani but goes well with White Rice. 

And Last but not the least. A big Thank you to Titli for the video and the recipe… :)

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Kaccha Aam diye Macher Jhol | Fish Curry with raw mango

post on July 15th, 2012
Posted in Fish, Freshwater fish, Lunch, Main Course, Tried and Tested

So summers have been warming the cockles of our heart… wanting me to experiment with different seasonal fruits..  Raw Mango, Starfruit, and various other bunches of fruits.. which are sour and yet we can do a lot of combinations with it..

It so happened that we went to this place 6 Ballyganje and happened to eat the dishes on a Mango festival and well, let me say it left something lacking and I got the inspiration to try something on my own.. Back home in Assam, during summer, my aunts made some wonderful fish curries with sour fruits… and it made me think….  Lo and Behold, I persuaded Rocks to get me some raw mangoes and in addition picked up some Starfruit as well.

So here goes one of my recipes… Fish curry with raw mango.

My main take was to have sweet, sour, hot, on the dish..

Ingredients 

To be boiled in a pressure cooker with some 3-4 whistles

  •  Raw Mango – 1
  • White Pepper – 2 tsp
  • Dry Red Chillies – 4
  • Green Chillies – 2
  • Turmeric – a pinch
  • Red Chilli Powder – a pinch
  • Salt – as needed
  • Water – 2 cups
  • Sugar – 1 tsp – ( you can also put 1 drop of sugar free liquid as well like me if you cannot take sugar)

To be fried in a pan

  • FIsh Steaks : 8 pieces  ( you can take Rohu/Carp)  marinated with turmeric, red chilly powder and salt
  • oil as required to fry the fishes. I took about 2 tbsps. You can use as much or as little as you need.

For the curry

  • Black mustard – 1tsp
  • Corriander for garnishing

 

 

  

Method 

  1. Cool the raw mango boiled mixture and blend it in the food processor. Keep it aside.
  2. Fry the marinated fish and keep them aside. Keep the leftover oil.
  3. Heat a wok or Kadhai and add the oil left over from the fried fishes.
  4. Add the black mustard and wait till it sputters
  5. Add the blended raw mango mixture and add 2 cups of water and boil the same till it boils up.
  6. Add the fried fishes and let the fish boil for about 4 – 5 minutes
  7. Add corriander to garnish and serve hot with steamed rice..
  8. Enjoy the rains and your summer.

 

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Butter chicken

post on March 18th, 2012
Posted in Chicken, Lunch, Main Course, Meat, Recipes Tags: , , , ,

I wanted to make something rich and creamy with meat and I found this quite easy to cook. My mantra is always, fast to cook good to eat.  Result was awesome, can make a highlight of your meal.. :)

Attention : This is a very very rich dish :)

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 125ml (1/2 cup) natural yoghurt
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1kg chicken breast fillets, chopped
  • 125g cashews, roasted
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbs sunflower oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 Indian bay leaf* or normal bay leaf
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika ( I used Kashmiri Chilli powder with a pinch of sugar) 
  • 425g can tomato puree*
  • 150ml chicken stock ( I used hot water) 
  • 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
  • Steamed basmati rice, to serve

Method 

  1. Combine yoghurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, chilli, cumin, ginger and garlic in a bowl. Add chicken and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Reserve half the cashews and place remaining cashews in a food processor. Process until finely ground.
  3. Heat the butter and oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf and cook for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Reduce heat to low, then add chicken and marinade, paprika, tomato puree, cashew powder and stock. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in cream and cook for a further 10 minutes.
  4. Garnish with cashews, chopped coriander and serve with rice.

Notes
Begin this recipe the day before. * Indian bay leaves are available from spice stores. Note: Tomato puree not tomato paste.

 

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Chicken Schnitzel

post on March 18th, 2012
Posted in General Tags: , ,

Well I love eating this but never tried it and came across the video by accident as I was browsing for starters. I thought this was too easy..

Depending on the people I invite, I would keep the fry whole or cut it into some bite size pieces and season it with some corriander, lemon slices, onions or a dip.. :) on the side..

You take your pick.. here is the video I referred to today..and the end result was pretty good.
Maybe you could add on the salt and pepper.

 

Enjoy… :)

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Maacher Kalia

post on March 18th, 2012
Posted in Bengali Food, Freshwater fish, Home Cooking, side dish, Tried and Tested Tags: , , ,

This recipe is from the web as well and well it usually comes out well. Has a light flavor and yet a good body to it.

Very Bengali and very north eastern,  not to be experimented with Sea fish… well if you do and have a good result let me know how.. :)

Ingredients:

  • 2 large steaks of a firm fish like salmon or rohu
  • 3 teaspoons turmeric powder
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • oil for deep frying
  • 3 medium sized potatoes
  • 10-12 large cauliflower florets
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2″ ginger root , peeled and grated
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
  • 2 dried red chilli peppers
  • 2 teaspoon panchphoran
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 2 teaspoons corriander powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 Tablespoon plain unsweetened yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 3 cups warm water

 

Method:

  1. Cut each fish steak into 4 quarters as evenly as possible. Wash and drain the fish and place in a bowl; rub the pieces with 2 teaspoons turmeric powder and one teaspoon of salt and let sit about 15-20 minutes
  2. Heat the oil for deep frying in a small deep vessel (like a karhai) at “medium high” heat. Deep fry the fish a few pieces at a time – 5 mins. each side and then set them aside
  3. Peel the potatoes and cut each one into 4 long wedges. Wash the potatoes and the cauliflower florest, drain and set aside
  4. Heat 6-8 tablespoons of the oil the fish was deep fried in in a large pan. When the oil is hot crumble the dried red chilli peppers into it and add the panchphoran. When the panchporan begins to sputter, reduce the heat to “low” and add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 30 sec to a minute
  5. Next add the onions and stir fry them on “medium” heat until they are soft and golden brown. Now reduce the heat to the lowest setting and add the remaining turmeric powder, chilli powder, corriander powder and cumin powder stir fry for 2-3 mins.
  6. Raise the heat to “medium-high” and now add the potatoes and cauliflower. Stir fry for 5-6 minutes making sure they are evenly covered in all the spices. Add the yogurt and stir fry for another minute or two and then add water and bring it to boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to “low” and let it cook for 15 mins.
  7. Now add the fish and stir once. Cover and cook some more until the vegetables are done. Sprinkle the garam masala and take off from the heat. Pour into a serving bowl, let it sit 10 mins. before serving

Serves: 4-8 people
Serving ideas: plain rice.

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