Moong Dal Halwa

Ingredients

1 cup yellow moong dal

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup ghee

1/2 cup khoya - I used milk powder instead

a pinch of saffron

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

slivered almonds for garnish

Method

Soak the moong dal in water for 6 t 7 hours. Once they are soft, coarse grind them - add very little water if required to do so.

In a karahi add the ghee and to this add the ground moong dal. Mix it well on medium heat and stir at all times. When the mixture has no more water and it turns to a nice golden brown, add the suagr and the khoya and mix well. The mixture should be incorporated well. Now add the saffron, cardamom powder and the slivered almonds and mix well.

Serve as a nice and warm dessert after yummy dinner.

Coriander Chicken

A friend of mine makes this dish. I never tasted the dish made by her, but loved the recipe. Cilantro/Coriander is my favourite herb and to make it the focal point of a dish was very exciting.

Ingredients

2 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken breasts - cut into one inch pieces

2 medium onions - pureed

4 cups cilantro/coriander - roughly about 4 bunches

9 to 10 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger piece

4 green chillis - you can use more if you like it spicy

1 teaspoon tamarind paste

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 cup oil

2 tablespoons ghee/clarified butter

4 cloves

4 cardamoms

4 pieces of cinnamom

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

1 black cardamom

salt to taste

pepper powder

Method

Marinate the chicken pieces in some salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon oil. Let it stand for 15 minutes. Make a paste of the corinader/cilantro, garlic, ginger and chillis and keep aside.

In a karahi, add the 2 tablespoons oil and saute the chicken pieces till you get a nice and golden brown crust on the outside. Drain it in a plater over a paper towel. In the same kadhai add the balance oil and fry the pureed onions till they turn golden brown. Add teh tamarind paste and mix well. Then add the corinader mixture and the turmeric powder and fry the mixture well till it leaves the sides of the vessel. To this add the garam masala and the chicken pieces and mix well. Add salt if required. Cover and let it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes on medium/low flame.

Just before serving - take a small karahi add the ghee. When it gets hot, take it off the flame and add the cloves, cardamom, star anise, black cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon. Add this on top of the gravy as shown int eh picture and serve with naan or chappati

Aamshe Teekshe (Mackerel Curry)

Roughly translated Amshe stands for sour and Teekshe stands for spicy. This is a typical Goan/Manglorean fish curry generally made with mackerel. We had prepared this dish when Mom was here. We found some very good mackerel and just could not resist having rice and this curry.

Ingredients

2 medium size mackerels - cut into about 1/2 inch slices - Mackerel is called bangda in India

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric

12 byadgi mirchi - a dried chilli found in Karnataka, India - you can get it in an Indian store here

1/2 cup fresh/frozen coconut

2 teaspoons tamarind paste - I used the bottled tamarind paste

1/2 onion - finely chopped

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

5 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons coconut oil - you can use any other oil, but coconut oil gives that coastal taste

salt to taste

2 to 3 kokums - "kokum"

Method

Clean the mackerel and apply the 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon turmeric to all the pieces evenly and let it sit aside.

In a blender grind to a very fine paste the dried chillis, garlic, coriander seeds, coconut and the tamarind paste. Add enough water to get a thick paste. Remember, do not add a lot of water while grinding - you will not get a smooth paste with lots of water.The paste should be very smooth - no granules.

In a karahi add the coconut oil. To this add the chopped onions and fry them till they get transparent. To this add the ground paste and bring it to a boil. Add water to get a nice gravy consistency. When the gravy starts to boil, add the mackerel pieces to it. Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Then check if the fish is cooked. Be very careful with the spoon because the fish is very delicate and we do not want the fish to powder in the gravy. Add salt if required and then add the kokum.

Serve hot with rice.

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients

1 full cauliflower - broken into florets
2 onions - cut inot big pieces
1 capsicum - cut into big pieces
4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chilli garlic sauce (Sriracha) - you can add more if you want it spicy
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flower
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup oil

Method

Clean the cauliflower and cover the florets in some salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of sriracha. Let it stand for about 15 minutes. Then add these to the egg and then dust it in all purpose flour and fry them till golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel.

Use a wok and add 2 tablespoons of the oil to it. When it gets hot add the garlic and immediately add the onions. When they get transparent add the capsicum. Add the tomato ketchup and the balance sriracha and the soy sauce. Let it cook covered for about 5 minutes. Add the fried cauliflowers to this mixture and mix well. Add salt only if necessary as the ketchup and the sriracha already have salt in it.

Serve hot with noodles or fried rice. Can be served as an appitizer too.

Chicken Pattice

There is this amazing chicken pattice that we get in Mumbai at Venus Cakes. Yum stuff. Last year when my parents had come that had actually bought some of the the pattice for us. We just heated it in the oven and savoured it. Then later my mom made these at my sisters place and we all loved it. Ofcorse it was not like the Venus Cakes pattice - but, it tasted nice. I tried it too and here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground chicken

2 medium onions - finely chopped

1 tomato - finely chopped

1 inch ginger - into paste

9 to 10 cloves garlic - into paste

4 green chillis - into paste

2 tablespoons yogurt

you could grind the the garlic, ginger and chillis together

1 cup chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon dhania jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil

1 packet puff pastry - I used pepperidge farm and it had 2 sheets in it.

Method

Marinate the ground chicken in yogurt and half of the cilli, garlic and ginger paste. Let it marinate for atleast an hour.

In a karahi add the oil. When it gets hot add the chopped onions and fry till its golden brown. Then add the balance of the ground mixture and the tomatoes and let the mixture fry till it leaves the sides of the pan. Now add the turmeric, dhania jeera powder and the garam masala. Mix well. Now add the marinated chicken and mix the masala well with the chicken. It should be a well incorporated mixture. Cover and let the chicken cook. This should take about 15 to 20 minutes. If there is any water formed int eh mixture, then uncover and cook till all the water evaporates. Let this cool.

Take the puff pastry - it should be at room temperature. 1 sheet can be cut into 8 equal rectangles. Add enough of the chicken mixture on one side of the triangle and fold in the middle. Seal the remaining 3 sides by pressing it down. Do the same with all the triangles. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 to 20 minutes of till the puff pastries become golden in color.

Serve with tomato ketchup.