Beginners Kitchen: November 2011

Beans and potato dry

Ingredients:
Beans, chopped: 250 gm
Potato :2 medium
coriander leaves: 7-8 strands
cumin seeds : 1 tbspn
curry leaves :few
hing powder : 1/ 4 tspn
turmeric powder:1/4 tspn
oil
green chilli : 1
coconut : 3 tbspn (shredded/dessicated)
salt to taste

Method:

Peel and chop the potato in thin slices and also the beans

In a blender add coconut, cumin seeds, green chilli, coriander leaves without adding water. pulse the blender slightly on and off because we want these spices to be crushed slightly and not a paste(slightly chop coriander leaves n green chilly before blending)
Heat oil in a pan , add mustard seeds and curry leaves, allow them to crackle, add hing powder and turmeric powder and immediately add the blended masalas. Saute till the raw smell disappears.

add in the chopped vegetables and salt, saute. add little water, close the lid and cook them till vegetables are cooked completely.
Serves as a best combination with rice and daal curry.

Preparation time: 20 mins

Time to cook: 20 mins

serves 3

Capsicum besan fry

Ingredients:
Capsicum : 2 big
besan / gram flour : 1/2 Cup
onions sliced : 2 medium
Chilli powder :1 /2 tbspn
coriander powder : 1 tbspn
turmeric powder : 1/2 tspn
Aamchur powder : 2 pinch
Salt to Taste
Oil
mustard seeds : 1 tspn
ajwain/ carom seeds : 1 tspn
hing : generous pinch

Method :

Cut the Capsicum into chunks of size 1 inch
heat oil, add mustard seeds n allow them to crackle, thn add ajwain , hing, wait for few second, add in the sliced onions. Saute till onions turn translucent
Then goes in the capsicum chunks, saute on medium flame for about 5 mins till they turn soft

Add in the dry powders(chilli powder,coriander powder,turmeric, amchur powder n salt)
lastly sift the gram flour before adding to prevent any lumps in it. Mix all

Serve it as a side dish with rice n curry, or as a side dish with chapathi.

Note:

If you want to eat with chapati, add 1/2 cup water at last. mix evenly while heating.

Cooking time: 15 mins

serves : 2-3

Coconut burfi

Coconut burfi is a very quick n easy burfi that can be prepared in all occasion. In this post I am showing how to make it in much more simpler way by adding condensed milk and other 4 simple ingredients.
Traditionally its prepared with freshly shredded coconut, milk and sugar. But in some places its difficult to find fresh coconut. So I tried out with dessicated coconut(dry coconut) and the end result was just like the traditional one.

Continue to read »

Chicken ghee roast

Continue to read »

Gobi parantha / Cauliflower stuffed Indian flat bread

Ingredients:
wheat flour: 2 cups
salt :1/2 tspn
oil :1 tbspn
water to kneed

for stuffing:
Gobi(cauliflower) : 2 medium size
ginger minced/paste : 1 tbspn
red chilli powder :11/2 tbspn(medium spicy)
roasted coriander, crushed:1 n 1/2 tbspn
green chilli minced :1(optional)
jeera/cumin :1 tbspn
ajwain/carom seeds :1tspn
turmeric powder :1tspn
dried mango powder :1/2 tspn
mint leaves :8-10
coriander leaves : 3-4 strands
salt : 1 tspn or to taste

Method:

Take the wheat flour in a bowl. together with salt and oil kneed the dough with water . Let the dough be little hard and not very soft. Cover with a lid n keep aside
Grate the gobi into fine grains either with a grated or in food processor

Take some oil or ghee in a pan, add ginger, saute n add grated gobi into it n fry it
Add all the stuffing ingredients one by one like red chilli , coriander powder, jeera, ajwain, dried mango powder , salt, turmeric and green chilli. finally add mint and coriander leaves.
saute till the cauliflower is cooked completely. make sure that all the water is evaporated (you can even add some dry potato powder into the mixture so that it absorbs any extra moisture),allow to cool slightly

Now take small portion of the dough , roll it into into small chapatis, put some filling in the centre and cover it with another small chapati. Press seal the edges.

Roll the dough further to the size of paratha. If you have difficulty in rolling it further, then even you can take the dough in between plastic cover , apply oil both sides n just apply pressure with hands from all around

Fry on both sides on a non stick pan with ghee.
have it with curds or raw onions.

Palak sambhar

Continue to read »

Simple daal tadka

Continue to read »

Idli upama

Idli upma is one among my favourite breakfast dishes. Whenever my mom prepares idli, she would set aside atleast 4 idlis to make its upma for me. I love to have it with some tangy chevda or bhujiyas.This could be prepared well even with left over idlis from previous day. The raw flavour of onion, mint n coconut oil together brings forth a nice aroma.

Continue to read »

Mooli Parantha/ Radish stuffed flat bread

Ingredients:
wheat flour: 2 cups
salt :1/2 tspn
oil :1 tbspn
water to kneed

for stuffing:
Radish(mooli) : 2 medium size
salt : 1 tspn
roasted red chilli :2
green chilli minced :1
jeera/cumin :1 tbspn
ajwain/carom seeds :1tspn
turmeric powder :1tspn

Method:

Peel the skin of the radish and shred it. Add some salt to it and set it aside for 10 mins.

After about 10 mins , properly squeeze the excess water from the radish . make it as dry as possible.
Now take the wheat flour in a bowl. Add salt and oil into it.Also add the squeezed radish juice into it. kneed the dough , add some more water if required. Let the dough be little hard and not very soft. Cover with a lid n keep aside.
keep a non stick pan on gas, add oil n then transfer the squeezed dried radish into the pan . Saute it on medium to high flame till all the moisture evaporates n also till the edges of radish turns brown

Take out from pan .Transfer it into a bowl. allow to cool. Add minced green chilly, crushed red chilli, chopped coriander, turmeric powder, cumin and carom seeds into it. Mix with a spoon

Now take small portion of the dough , roll it into into small chapatis, putt some filling in the centre and cover it with another small chapati. Press seal the edges. Roll the dough further to the size of chapatis.