Baingan ka salan

Baingan ka salan is one of the dish served in north indian marriages.

Mirchi ka salan is also very popular (i haven't tried it yet though).

This dish has a royal name and a royal taste!

Ingredients:

1) small Eggplants - 5

2)1 big onion finely chopped

3) 1 tomato chopped

4)1/2 tsp mustard seeds

5)few curry leaves

6)1 tsp garam masala

7)1/2 cup of grated coconut.

8)1 tbsp of sesame seeds

9)1 tsp cumin seeds

10)4 cloves of garlic

11) 1 inch ginger

12)1/2 onion

13) cilantro

14) cooking oil

15)salt

16) chopped chillies

Preparation:

Dry roast items from 7 till 12 and grind them to a paste.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and wait till it splutter. Add chopped onions and chillies and fry till onions are transparent. Add tomato and sliced brinjal and salt, fry till its almost done. Add the masala paste from the first step and 1/4 th cup of water.Granish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with rice or chappatties.

Bharwa Baingan (Stuffed Brinjal Fry)

Ingredients:

1) 8 baby egg plants(cut in four, make sure that the stem remain on it and the brinjal is not seperated, fry these egg plants in oil for 45 seconds then remove and keep aside)

2) 2 tbsp of chana Dal/dhalia

3) Dry red chillied -4

4) salt

5) 2 tbsp of while gram (urad dal)

6) 1 tbsp of dry whole Coriander

7) 1 tbsp of whole cumin

8) small ball of tamrind (seed less)

9) curry leaves - 5

10) 4 cloves of garlic

11) oil

12) pinch of turmeric

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan add chana dal and fry for few minute, when you see the chana dal becoming slighty golden coloured add urad dal and fry for a minute. Now add red chillies, coriander and cumin one by one and keep frying . when it turns to golden colour, turn off the gas and add tamrind , curry leaves, turmeric and garlic to it. Mix and leave the mixture to get cool.

Once done grind it in a mixute grinder to a coarse powder. Mix salt and add small amout of water to the powder for getting a thick paste. stuff this paste to the brinjal. Take a non stick pan and add 2 tsp of oil and place the stuffed brinjal in it, sprinkle 1/2 tsp of salt then cover with a lid and cook on low flame.Fry it for 20 min and in keep turning the sides of the brinjal in between. make sure it is fried on all four sides.

Green spinach with white Gram

Let me confess here one thing that i always used to like tasty food and would never ever think about its nutrious facts, which i now realise was wrong. It was only after i came to the US that i even started thinking about healthy food(green veg, salads, etc etc)..
My husband would always say try cooking spinach, but it was a big No No for me..


I am now slowly trying to cook more of green veggies and eat healthy


So, This spinach dish was my first try it came out very well..Really tasty
Try it!!

Ingredients:
1) One bunch of fresh spinach
2) Half a cup of grated coconut
3)1/4th cup of split while gram(urad dal)
4)2 cloves of ginger
5)2 tsp cooking oil
6) salt
7) 1/2 tsp cumin powder
8)1tsp Chilli paste..This one you will get in chinese store.. i specially recommend to use this because this has a uniqe sour taste..
If you dont fine it then try mixing 1/2 tsp of lime juice to our normal chilli paste..will do the job

Preparation:
Clean spinach and chop them. Heat oil in a pan , add the split gram and keep the flame on low.
Fry until the gram turns light golden coloured, then add grated coconut and saute of half a minute. Then add chopped spinach and grated garlic..saute of 2 minutes. Add chilli paste(mixed with lime juice), salt and cumin powder. Do not cover it, keep stirring it occationally . cook till all the water has escaped and the dish is dry.

Aloo(potato) Kasa kasa Fry..

This dish is known as aloo posto in West bengal..

You can make this dry or with semi gravy..I am

making here the dry version of it, goes well with

chappatties

Ingredients:

1) 250 gm of potato

(peel and sliced into cubes)

2) 2 onions chopped

3) salt and a pinch of turmeric powder

4) 2 tbsp poppy seeds or khas khas.

5) 2 green chillis chopped

6) cooking oil

Prepearation:

Keep the sliced potatos in water so that their colour doesnt

change.Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan add potatos to it cover it with a

lid and stirr occationally. Add salt and turmeric and keep frying at low flame.

when potatos are half done add onion and chilli. Use a non stick pan so that potatos

do not stick to bottom. when potatos are cooked properly add poppy seeds and

fry till the dish gains a slight golden colour.

Chatpati baingan (brinjal)

Today i was thinking before posting this dish that

what is it actually called ..is it baingal fry, baingal chatni .no no..its not that

Kept thinking and i could not think of an authentic name, hence i gave my own

creative name to this cute dish :)

As the name says it is really a chatpati dish ..Try making this once and you will be in love with it..

Ingredients:

1) Brinjal 1

2) chilli 1

3) one half of a onion finely chopped

4) few cilanto chopped.

5) 1 tomato chopped

7) half a tsp garam masala

8) 1/4 tsp cumin powder

9) ginger garlic paste 1 tsp.

10) cooking oil

11) salt

Preparation:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan , add chopped onion and chilli and fry for 2 min..

then add sliced brinjal, salt and keep the gas stove on low and cover the pan with lid.keep stirring occationally.. Brinjals will take some time to get soft..when you see brinjals turning slightly soft add ginger garlic paste and tomato. cover and cook again, stirr in between. when you see brinjal fully cooked add garam masala and cumin podwer. again fry for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Note: I added 1/4th tsp of black pepper pwder at the end as i wanted it really hot (optional)

Achinga( Payar )Mezhukkupuratti

"Achinga " mezukkuparatti was one thing that i never liked much as a kid. The typical kerala way of making this mezukkuparatti is very pale to me , hence i made a little spicy version of this dish and i absolutely love it.

Am sharing it with you all , please try it at home

Preparation:

1) Achinga -1 bunch cut into small

2) 1 Onion finely chopped

3) 1 green chilli finely chopped

4) 1 tomato finely chopped

5) chopped ginger - 1tsp

6) chopped garlic - 1tsp

7) cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

8) oil for cooking

9) salt according to taste

10) mustard seeds

Preparation:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan and put mustard seeds to it. when the seeds splutter add onion, ginger, garlic and chilli and fry till the onion turn little transparent. Now add tomato and cumin powder and fry for a minute. Add achinga and salt to it mix well and cover with lid. Open and stirr occationally. Keep frying till they are done.

Veg Cutlet (without egg white coating)

Ingredients:

1) Boiled vegetables 1 cup(you can use carrot, green peas, etc)

2) mashed potatoes 1 cup

3) boiled and mashed beet root 1 cup

4) Giner finely chopped 1 tsp

5) garlic finely chopped 1 tsp

6) 2 green chillies finely chopped

7) all purpose (maida powder) 1/2 cup

8) bread crumbs 1 cup.

9) garam masala powder 1 tsp

10) oil and salt

11) onion finely chopped 1 small or use half.

12) mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

13) lime 1/2

Preparation:

make sure you drain out excess water from boiled vegetables and mash them then add mashed potatos , mashed beetroot and mix well. Now in a pan heat 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds.Once they spluter add chopped onion, ginger, chilli and garlic, fry them and then add to garam masala add chilli powder if you want cutlet to be spicy(optional). Add the mashed vegetabled to it and mix well, fry for few minutes so that moisture evaporates from the mix and it is dry.

make small balls out of the mix and dip it in maida paste (mix water and maida to make this paste) then roll it in bread crumbs. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry them.

Chicken Stew

Appam and Chicken Stew are the best compination. I made appam also on the day i made this chicken stew but appam didn't come out well.. so will keep trying and post it once it come out good.let me share the chicken stew receipe here

Ingredients:

1) Chicken 1 pound

2) 2 big onions

3) 2 green chilli

4) 1 tomato

5) 1 big carrot chopped

6) handful of green peas

7) ginger finely chopped 1tsp

8) garlic finely choppe 1 tsp

9) garam masala powder - 1tsp

10) black pepper powder - 1tsp

11) few cilantro chopped

12) 1 can coconut milk

13) oil for cooking

14) 1 tbsp coriander powder , salt (according to taste)

15) whole spices (cloves 5 , cardamom pods 4, cinnamon stick , bay leaves)

Preparation:

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan, add the ingredients in number 15 and stir few times. Now add

chopped onion , chopped chillies, ginger and garlic and saute them . Add chopped vegetables and tomato to it and keep frying. Now add garam masala, pepper powder and coriander powder to it and After few minuted add chicken and salt to it and fry for few more minutes.Take half of the coconut milk from the can and add equal amount of water to it and pour it into the pan, cover it and cook for 10 minutes on low heat till the chicken becomes tender. Now add remaining coconut milk and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with cilanto leaves.

Rasgulla

Calcutta (Kolkata) Rasgullas are the most famous

sweet in West Bengal.

"Rosogulla na khele khawar ta puro hoy na"

The above line (in bengali means) the meal is

incomplete without having rasagulla at the end

and hence my blog is also incomplete without

this best sweet.

Ingredients:

milk- 4 cup

lime juice - 2 tbsp

sugar - 1 cup

Preparation

Place the milk in a heavy bottom pan

and bring it to boil , once it start boiling

add the lime juice you will see the water getting seperated

boil it untill you see water and paneer particles getting seperated.

Turn of the gas and drain the paneer in a cheese cloth.

Press it hard and try taking off as much water as possible.You can

also keep it under a heavy object for few minuted. Now take the paneer in

a plate and rub it with hands until it is soft enough to make balls.

make 12 small balls (or more). Remember the rasagullas increase in size

hence try to make the balls half the size of rasagulla. Now in a pressure cooker

add once cup water and sugar and bring it to boil. then place the 12 paneer balls

and close it and cook for 7 minutes. Rasagullas are ready!!!

Namkeen

This snack is a different version or "murukke".

For making this you need a idiappammaker (noodle maker)which has plates of different shapes. Use any shape as desired.

Ingredients:

1) 1/2 cup Rice soaked in water for 4 hrs

2) 1 cup besan (gram flour)

3) Curry leaves -4

4) 1/4th of a onion

5) ginger garlic paste 1 tsp

6) salt

7)cooking oil

8)dried red chillies 3

Preparation:

Grind rice in a mixer , also add onion, red chillies and curry leaves to it while grinding. Do not add lot of water.Take a bowl add besan flour and mix from the first step , then add salt,

ginger garlic paste . Make a dough like the one we use for chappatti.Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and take small portion of the dough put it in the noodle maker (with required shape) and press into the hot oil. Fry both sides.

Veg Pakora

We like pakoras mostly during rainy season.

Sitting with family doing chit chat,

and having pakoras with a hot cup

of ginger tea !!! ..thats heaven.

Ingredients

1) Chickpea flour (besan) - 1 cup

2) Chopped onion -1/4 cup

3) Chopped green chilli -1

4) Sliced cauliflower -1/4 cup

5) 2 chopped spring onions

6)beaking soda 1/4 tsp (very less)

7)salt -1/2 tsp

8) ginger garlic paste -1/2 tsp

9) green peas - few

10) cooking oil

Preparation

In a bowl mix well all the items from 1 to 9 by adding water little by little. In a heavy bottom pan

heat cooking oil and using a spoon put the mix in small portion to the hot oil and fry.Drain the pakoras on kitchen towel and serve hot with tomato ketchup, dont forget the tea :)