Rustic Chicken Curry from the Ghaat village of Maharashtra (Ghati Masala Chicken)

The villages in the mountain areas of Maharashtra are called "Ghaats" and the people who reside here are called "Ghaatis" - it is not an offensive term if used in the right sense. Well........ I do not want to get into the lingo debate here - just trying to clarify why the name for the dish.
This is a rustic dish prepared by the villages of the Ghaat areas of Maharastra and hence the name. My grandma used to cook this and thats how I know of it. We love the aroma and the rustic taste. It is a great accompaniment with jowar/bajra/rice bhakris or even with the humble rice.

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken (I used boneless skinless thigh meat) cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons yogurt
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
1 medium red onion
1 medium tomato
7 garlic cloves
5 dried kashmiri chilis (add more if you want it hot)
2 tablespoon dried coconut slices (kopra)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (til)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
2 green cardamoms
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dane)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
small piece of mace
2 tablespoons coconut oil
salt to taste

Method

Marinate the chicken pieces in turmeric, salt, yogurt and ginger garlic paste and let it sit for atleast half an hour.
n the meantime - on an open flame (I did it on my gas stove) - roast the whole onion (with the outer cover peeled off) till you get a nice char on the outside. Do the same with the tomato and the garlic. Take a pair of tongs and get a char on the red chilis, just 5 seconds on an open flame. Put all these charred items into a blender and let it cool.
In a karahi, dry roast the dry coconut slices till they turn a nice brow color. Add this to the stuff in the blender. Now dry roast the sesame seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamoms, cloves, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, peppercorns and mace for about 30 seconds to a minute till you get a nice fragrance - be careful not to burn the spices. Add this to the blender too.
Once the stuff inside the blender has cooled  bit, add some water and blend to a coarse paste. You can make it into a fine paste if you like it that way.
In a karahi, add the coconut oil and the blended paste and 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Once the mixture boils - lover the heat a little and add the chicken pieces, add salt to taste. Cover and cook for about 20 to 25 minute till the chicken is cooked through.
Serve it with Chappatis, or Bakri of your choice of even with rice.

Cilantro Salmon Bake

Salmon - that beautiful orange colored fish is an acquired taste. I still remember the first time I had tasted this fish......... I nearly spit it out. But, over time we have developed a love for this fish. We have tried cooking it with Cajun spices, Indian spices, even added it to curries. We love the fish cutlets made with salmon.
I always wanted to bake salmon using a crust - like most of the pictures that I had seen on pinterest and on various food sites. But, at the same time, wanted it to have some spice. So, we came up with this spicy cilantro mixture to be added on top and also in between the salmon fillet to fit our taste-buds. The result was - well, just awesome. We loved it.

Ingredients

4 center-cut fillets of Salmon (I used frozen Salmon)
2 cups cilantro / coriander leaves
4 green chillis (you can add more if you like it spicy)
8 garlic cloves
1/2 inch ginger
1/2 onion
1 teaspoon salt (you can add more or less - as per your taste)
juice of a lemon
1/4 cup olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a food processor, add the cilantro, garlic, chillis, ginger, onion, salt, lemon juice and 1/2 of the oil and pulse about 10 times to get a coarse mixture - it should look like the mixture does in the picture above. Take the salmon fillet and using a paring knife, make a small incision in the middle of the fillet, fill it with a little of the cilantro mixture and set aside - repeat the same process with the other fillets. Take a baking tray and grease with some of the remaining oil and place the salmon fillets in a row. Smear the remaining mixture on top of the salmon fillets evenly. Add a sliced onion or if you like a sliced tomato and pour the remaining oil all over. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes till the Salmon is well cooked.
Serve with Salad of your choice.

Masala Dudh & Fresh Strawberry PannaCotta (Veg)

Today is Valentines Day - well, its the day of love and hearts - Its a day of red and pink overdose. Come to think of it........ why should we celebrate love only on one day???? Why cannot everyday be a celebration of love???? 

Well, Valentines Day has no particular significance at our place - According to my hubby........ everyday is Valentines Day if we can make it happen - and I agree with him.

Well - everyone was making something special for Valentines Day - and I wanted to try this dessert for ages. So, took the opportunity and made it. Very happy with the way it turned out. Hubby is not a great fan of milk based desserts - the only one he likes is rasgullas. Even he gave me a thumbs-up for this.
I remember as a kid we used to get these packets called 'china grass' - there were various flavors available - pista, chocolate, strawberry, mango. kesar, elaichi and many more. I used to love the milk jelly - yes, thats what we called it.
After I started cooking, I found out that china grass is actually 'agar agar' a veg substitute for gelatin and is used to make vegetarian jelly, pannacotta and many other such desserts. It is actually a seaweed used in Southeast Asian cuisine. That is what I have used in this too. Makes it fully vegetarian.

Ingredients

9 strawberries

6 tablespoons sugar - divided (add more if you want it more sweet or less if you want it less sweet)

1 cup water

1 & 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)

1 tablespoon dudh (milk) masala (I used Everest)

7 grams agar-agar flakes

Method

Quarter the strawberries and add 2 tablespoons of sugar to it. Let it sit for about an hour. In the meantime, bring the 1 cup water to a boil and add the agar agar to it. You have to be patient as the agar agar will take some time to get completely dissolved - almost 15 minutes. Once it is dissolved, you will get a nice liquid without any particles. Keep this aside. In another saucepan, add the milk and the remaining 4 tablespoons of  sugar and bring it to a boil. To this, add the dudh masala and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
Now, back to the strawberries - In the one hour that the strawberries were left with the sugar, they will have released some water and the sugar gets dissolved. Grind this into a fine paste and set aside.
Now divide the agar agar solution into 1/4th cup and 3/4th cup. Add the 1/4th cup to the strawberry mixture and mix well - add the 3/4th cup to the milk mixture and mix well.
Now to assemble them - I had used 4 medium sized ramekins - you can use small ramekins too or you can even use a silicon mold which has those beautiful flower or any other designs. I am still awaiting my silicon mold, thanks to the weather - its taking its own sweet time coming to me. Here is the link - Rose Mold
Add the milk mixture about 1/2 of the ramekin/mold. Let it set for about 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature and then in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes. Now add the strawberry mixture to the top of the milk mixture - just to form a small thin layer, about 1/4th inch. Now let it set in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 hours.
Before serving, dip the bowl in some hot water, then run a knife along the edge of the pudding/pannacotta and invert onto a plate. And enjoy this yummy goodness.

Makke ki Masala Poori (Masala Poori made with Maize Flour)

Makke ka aata (Maize flour) also called masa here is awesome to make makke ki roti along with some nice sarson ka saag or even baingan bharta. I can have hot hot makke ki roti with a dollop of ghee and gur (jaggery) - its just heaven.
Yesterday, we made makke ki masala pooris for snacks along with some adrakwali chai (Ginger tea). It was amazing on this cold and wintery day. 

Ingredients

2 cups makke ka atta (maize flour)
1/4 cup wheat flour
salt to taste
water to knead
1/4 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons kasuri methi (crushed)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 cup oil for frying

Method

dry roast the ajwain, cumin and fennel seeds untill a nice aroma fills the kitchen. Cool and grind to a fine/coarse powder in a spice grinder. Mix in the chili powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, kasuri methi and salt into the ground spices and mix well. Add this to the mixture of maize and wheat flour and mix well. check for salt, add more if needed. Add enough water to make a pliable dough - the dough should not be soft. It will look like chappati dough, but will not feel as glutenous.  make small round balls o this dough to make pooris.
Heat the oil in a karahi - the heat is kept as a medium high I used a tortilla press (you can even use the poori press you get in India). I used a ziploc bag - I gut it so as to seperate the two sides. Place one plastic sheet on the bottom round of the tortilla press. Now place a dough ball on it and place the other plastic sheet on top. Now cover the tortilla press and press the lever to make a round  flat poori shape.  Carefully remove it with your fingers (very lightly). Put it in the oil and fry till it puffs up - now carefully turn it over and let the other side get a golden brown. Remove on a plate lined with a paper towel (tissue paper).
Savor with pickle, ginger chai - I am sure this will taste good with saag and the bharta too.

Bialys - We Knead to Bake # 5

Bread No. 5 in the We Knead to Bake project was Bialys. I had tasted this bread at a friends place. She had bought them at a store bakery. We had it lightly toasted with some butter and it was accompanied by ginger tea. So when Aparna from My Diverse Kitchen said we were going to be baking Bialys......... I was very happy.

We Knead to Bake with bread no. 5 for the month of May in the year 2013 - yes, I am late in posting the recipe here. I had cooked quite a few things last year and baked a few things too. And also was a regular with the we knead to bake group. However, never got to posing the recipes here on the blog. Blame my health and the feeling of just lazing and doing nothing that had taken over my whole life last year.

Well - I am much better now and will be posting all the recipes to the food and to the baked goodies in the coming days.

The Bialys maybe thought of as a cousin to a Bagel but is quite different from it. For one thing, a Bialy is baked whereas a Bagel is boiled and then baked. A Bialy is round with a depressed middle, not a hole, and typically filled with cooked onions and sometimes poppy seeds. So it is not shiny on the outside with largish puffy bubbles on the inside. A good Bialy should have a springy soft crumb and a chewy and floury crust. A lot of people slather Bialys with butter or cream cheese but they are also nice as they are. Bialys are best when eaten within 5 to 6 hours of making them.

The name Bialy comes from Bialystocker Kuchen which translates as “bread from Bialystok” which is in Poland. Apparently, Bialys are rarely seen or made in Bialystock these days. In the days when there used to be Bialys in Bialystock, it seems the rich Jews ate Bialys with their meals, while the Bialys were the whole meal for the poorer Jews. In the early 1900s, many Eastern Eurpoeans, including the Polish, immigrated to the US and settled down in New York. Naturally, they also brought their Bialy making skills with them and that is how the New York Bialy became famous.

What lends Bialys their signature chewiness is the use of flour that is high in gluten. It is suggested to use bread flour if you can find it. Otherwise use all-purpose flour and add 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (for the 3 cups).  If you cannot find bread flour nor vital wheat gluten, go ahead and make it with plain flour. You’ll still have very nice Bialys that are slightly softer.

One way to make them slightly chewier: just refrigerate the dough overnight after the first rise. The next day, take the dough out and keep it at room temperature for about half an hour. Then shape the rolls and proceed with the recipe. These Bialys are on the softer side so do not over bake them or they will dry out and become tough.

Bialys usually have a thin layer of caramelised onions and poppy seeds. I caramelized my onions with a hint or rosemary and some balsamic vinegar and they tasted yum.

This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

For the dough

1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour (use bread flour if you can find it or all-purpose flour + 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten)
1 tsp salt
Milk for brushing the dough

For the Onion Filling

1 tbsp oil
3 medium onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoon dried rosemary (crushed)
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste

Method

Make the dough first. If you are using bread flour or vital wheat gluten, then your dough will be tougher to knead so if you have a machine you can use, go ahead and use it. If you’re doing this by hand, just adapt the instructions to that.
Put the yeast, sugar, salt and flour in the food processor bowl. Pulse a couple of times to mix and then add the warm water in a steady stream. Knead until the dough comes together as a mass and then let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This will help the dough absorb water. Knead again, adding a little more water or flour (not too much) if you need it, until your dough is smooth and elastic but not sticky.
Shape it into a ball and put it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough till it is well coated. Cover and let it rise till about double. This should take about 2 hours. If you’re not making the Bialys right away, you can refrigerate the dough overnight at this point. When ready to make them, keep the dough at room temperature for about half an hour and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
In the meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil in a pan add the onions, and sauté over low to medium heat. Sprinkle a little salt and continue sautéing until they become soft and turn golden brown in color. Add the rosemary and the balsamic vinegar and saute for another 3 to 4 minutes. Keep the caramelized onions aside to cool.
Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and place the dough on it. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each one into a roll by flattening it and then pinching the ends together to form a smooth ball. (See this video for shaping the rolls) Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for about one hour (about  1 1/2 to 2 hours for refrigerated dough)  till pressing with a finger on the top leaves a dent.
Work on one piece at a time, while you keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. When the rolls are ready, pick them up one at a time and using your fingers, form the depression in the middle. Hold the roll like a steering wheel with your thumbs in the middle and your fingers around the edges. Pinch the dough between your thumb and fingers, rotating as you go and gradually making the depression wider without actually poking a hole through.
Remember not to press on the edges, or they will flatten out. Once shaped, you should have a depression about 3” in diameter with 1” of puffy dough around the edge, so your Bialy should be about 4” to 5” in diameter. Prick the centre of the Bialy with a fork so the centre doesn’t rise when baking.
Place the shaped dough on a parchment lined (or greased) baking tray leaving about 2 inches space between them. Place the caramelised onion filling in the depressions of each Bialy. Brush the outer dough circle with milk.
Bake the Bialys at 230C (450F) for about 15 minutes till they’re golden brown in colour. Cool them on a rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. This recipe makes 8 largish Bialys.

This is a video on how to shape the Bialys - How to shape Bialy

This is a video on suggestions to eat a Bialy - How to eat a Bialy