Wednesday 29 July 2015

authentic bisibele baath recipe ...


   My introduction to Bisibele baath and the experience was horrible..being given a plate of extra spicy and extra sour, mushy  rice dish which almost tasted like sambar rice in dolphin hotel during a college function. I swore i would never even think about bisibele baath in my entire life. But after i got convinced by a lady colleague of mine who is basically from coorg, karnataka ; (bisibele baath being an authentic, traditional recipe of the kannada cuisine..).and she actually explained the difference between sambar rice and bisibele baath after a long and hellbent debate from my side, I decided to learn and try the ORIGINAL bisibele baath and it turned out to become one of my favorites.. I am going to share that recipe today..

                                                                BISIBELE BAATH

                                                     

Ingredients:

For the Masala /Bisibelebath Pudi:

Channa Dal 1 tbsp
Urad Dal 1 tbsp
Dhania seeds 2 tbsp
Dried Red Chillies - Byadige -20 and above
Fenugreek a generous pinch
Kopra/ dry coconut/ dessicated coconut 4 tbsp
Cinnamon 1/4"
Marathi moggu- 1
Tamarind 1/2 tbspn
poppy seeds  tspn
Jaggery size of a lemon (adjust according to taste)
Salt to taste

  For the pressure cooker:

Rice- 3/4 cup
Toor Dal a little less than -1/2 cup
Vegetables (green beans, carrots, potatoes, green peas)- 2 cups
peanuts- 2 tspns
Water- 6 cups
Turmeric- a pinch
Ghee- 2 tspns

For the seasoning:

Ghee- 3-4 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Hing- a generous dash
Curry leaves- 20-25
Dry red Chillies broken- 4-5
Cashews broken- 15-20 pieces

Method:

  1. Heat 2 tspns ghee in a pressure cooker and add the peanuts and fry till they crackle. Add the chopped vegetables and fry till they change color and turn crispy. Wash rice and toor dal, combine it with the rest of the ingredients mentioned under 'for the pressure cooker' in a pressure cooker. Turn on the heat.
  2. Cook for two/three whistles till soft and completely cooked. Set it aside
  3. Mean time, toast all the spices under the 'masala' individually till fragrant.
  4. Toast the Kopra as well. Make sure it is still pale golden in colour.
  5. Combine the toasted spices, Kopra and everything else under the 'masala' with a little water in a blender and grind it into a paste. The paste should be slightly coarse, not too smooth like say Sandal paste, but still slightly coarse, like say chutney.
  6. Pour the ground masala and some water into a thick bottomed big pot. Bring it to a boil. simmer. Make sure there is enough water in the masala and it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. So keep and eye on it and keep stirring. Simmer it for 20 minutes, till the rawness of the masala disapper and the aroma is mellow and heady. If you have any doubts about the doneness of the masala, go ahead and simmer it for another 10 minutes, but do not hurry into the next step.
  7. Once the masala is cooked and aromatic, carefully mix in the cooked rice-dal-vegetable mixture. Needs to be very careful, it is gonna scald in the matter of seconds.
  8. Combine eveything well. Bring it to a gentle boil.
  9. Prepare the tadka. Heat ghee in a pan. Throw in the mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves, chillies and the cashwenuts one by one. Pour the sizzling mixture on the rice mixuture and cook for  more whistle.
  10. Adjust salt. Add more ghee if needed. Serve hot with Bundi or chips or mixture of choice.

Sunday 21 June 2015

Khandvi..a snack for those who crave for a delightful taste and yet are quite calorie-conscious..

           Khandvi is one of the yummiest snacks. It is easy; yet  tricky to prepare. I learnt this recipe from my new Gujarati neighbour. :-) One thing that really makes me happy and enthusiastic is a new neighbour for this reason. And i prepared it yesterday evening and it came out perfect. Just the way it tastes out there in any of those marwadi restaurants.
So, I proudly share my newly learnt recipe of this surprisingly yummy snack for the calorie-conscious guys out there.

                                         





Ingredients:

Chickpeas flour/ Besan - 250 grams
curd- 100 grams
green chilli-ginger paste- 1 teaspoon
asafoetida/ hing- 1 pinch
salt to taste
turmeric powder- 1/4 teaspoon
freshly grated coconut- 50 grams
mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
Green chilli (chopped)-1
ghee- 1 teaspoon
chopped fresh coriander leaves- 50 grams
sugar- 1/2 teaspoon (dilute with 2 teaspoons of water)
water- 3 cups (600 ml) + 2 teaspoons

Method:
1. Take a bowl and mix in the besan, curd, turmeric, hing, salt, ginger-green chilli paste along with 3 cups of water.
2. Heat a sauce pan and add in this mixture and keep stirring continuously till it thickens and literally forms a ball like shape while stirring.
3. Grease a huge plate with oil and spread this mixture while still hot into 1/2 mm thickness  and cool it for 10 minutes.
4. Make slits on the layer with a knife like  inch ribbons and carefully, roll each ribbon in to a khandvi roll.
5. Prepare the tempering by heating ghee in a pan and let mustard see splutter and add the green chillies too and fry for a minute. Add in the coconut and coriander and immediately add in the sugar water and garnish on top of the khandvi rolls. Serve Hot with green chutney.
               





 

Italian Pasta..As It Is..

      
            Currently, I am enjoying the most flavorful  pasta dish i ever had till date..and it has been made by my brother. During his stay in the United States, he has learnt Mexican and Italian Cuisine through his friends. Basically Pasta is an Italian dish and  believe me!! Indian restaurants prepare the most uninspiringly distasteful pasta And you can surely give a miss to sunfeast and maggi pastas too. You would realise that.... once you taste this original Italian Pasta that i am having right now.
                    So my dear friends, I share the same with you here today..
It always the pasta sauce which makes a hell lot of difference to the entire pasta dish. So, here i share the original Italian red sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

For red sauce:
 10 red ripe whole tomatoes
  5 garlic cloves
  1 cup fresh basil leaves
  2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  salt to taste
  italian seasoning/mixed herbs as per taste
  crushed chilli flakes as per taste

 Pack of spaghetti or fusili pasta
 5 cups water (for boiling)
  1 tspn salt
  1 tspn olive oil

                                            

Method:
 1. Boil the water along with salt and oil till the water bubbles vigorously.
 2. Add in the pasta and cook till soft; for almost 10 minutes. Drain and run through cold water. Keep aside.
 3. Heat a saucepan and add the extra virgin olive oil and add the garlic cloves and.  the whole tomatoes and cook till they turn soft and mushy by smashing them often. i.e, for almost half an hour.
 4. Add in the salt, fresh basil leaves, italian seasoning and mix thoroughly till the veggies almost melt into a sauce.
 5. Add in the boiled pasta and cook on medium heat. Give it a good mix and top[ it with crushed chilli flakes and seasononing and serve hot.  


Wednesday 29 April 2015

Aloo tikki chhole chaat...(Delhi style)

            Honestly Speaking! Growing up in Delhi is the best thing to happen for foodies..Nowhere else have i seen the passion for food that Delhites have..I learnt a lot about north-Indian cuisine (Starters, Main course dishes, snacks, Sweets, Desserts, Savories..) during my stay there in my childhood. Festivals were the time when i was stuffed up by neighbours..Let it be the vrat ka prashad or the chatpate chaats.. Lots of memories to cherish.
            Today i am going to share the typical, Delhi style Aloo tikki chaat..  
Ingredients:
For the tikkis:
3 or 4 medium size potatoes/aloo
1/2 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
1/4 tsp fennel/saunf powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
1/4 tsp chaat masala powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbspn corn flour/bread crumbs
1 or 2 tbsp oil for frying the tikkis
salt to taste
For Assembling and garnishing:
1 bowl of chhole
20g chopped onions
20g chopped coriander
20g  green chutney
20g sweet chutney
20g Yoghurt
chaat masala as required
20g Sev
red chili powder as required (optional)
lemon juice as required (optional)
                                             
                               
Method:
  1. Boil the potatoes till they are cooked till soft.
  2. peel the potatoes when they are still warm and then mash them.
  3. Add all the spice powders listed above including salt.
  4. Add the corn flour as well. stir and mix well.
  5. Make medium sized patties from the potato mixture.
  6. Shallow fry or pan fry till the patties are crisp and browned.
  7. serve with chhole; topped with both the green chutney and sweet chutney.
  8. Also add some chopped onions, chaat masala and sev.
  9. Add spiced yogurt. Sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala and red chilli powder and sev on top.
  10. Serve aloo tikki chhole immediately.

Tuesday 28 April 2015

Love bites...Trust me!! you will fall in love.. :-)

            I am not one of those people who experiment with flavors..food. I always prefer the authentic, original versions. But today, it so happened that i used my intuition and  curiosity, i did not make use of any prior knowledge and you know what!! i surprised myselves with a really delicious snack. So, I am sharing it with all of you now. I dedicate this recipe to my angel baby.. :-)
                                                     Love Bites

Ingredients:
Maida- 250g
Milk- 50g
Baking soda- 5g
Salted butter- 30g
vanilla essence- 5ml
For sugar syrup:
Ssugar- 250g
Water- 100ml
Oil-500ml
     
                                           
                       
Method:
1. Sieve together maida and baking soda into a bowl.
2. Melt the butter and add it and mix it gently to form a crumbly texture. Add in the vanilla essence and milk and mix it well and knead it into a soft but firm dough and cover with a moist cloth.
3. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Then roll the dough into chapatis and cut into heart shapes using a heart-shaped mould and slightly press the edges of each heart with your fingers.
4. Heat oil in a deep-botomed pan till it fumes. Reduce the heat to medium flame and fry the heart in batches till crispy and golden in colour. Drain and keep aside to cool.
5. Heat 100ml of water in a saucepan and add the sugar and make a 2 thread consistency sugar syrup.(when you hold a drop of the syrup between your thumb and index finger and separate your fingers, 2 threads must be formed)hread
6. Switch off the stove and immediately add in the hearts and mix gently till all the hearts are coated with the syrup and place each separately on a butter paper to cool.Store in an airtight container. Top them with powdered sugar.

For the first time in life, i had experimented; with my angel baby in mind, and it turned out to be a really yummy snack... :-) Try it out and enjoy!!!



Monday 27 April 2015

Chhole Bhature...my best friend's request!! :-)

            This brings back college memories...my recipe was a favorite among friends. I remember how Ramya would request me to cook it for her once she tasted it and relished it, and it was on the menu again and again for her..On Demand!! :-).Once she came from Vijaywada to have it.
      Pavani has recently told that she relished that flavor and requested me to add my recipe to the blog.
So today i am sharing my version of Chhole bhature..

Ingredients:
Chhole-200g
Cinnamon- 1 stick
Cardamom-3
Bay leaf- 2
Teabag- 1
Soak the chhole in water overnight or 6 to 8 hours minimum, Put the above ingredients in a pressure cooker along with 500ml of water and cook it for 5 to 6 whistles and let it cool naturally in the cooker itselves.
 
                                 
To roast and grind:
1 tsp -Cumin Seeds/Jeera
1 tsp - Fennel Seeds/Saunf
1/2 tsp - Black Peppercorns
1 - Black Cardamom/Badi Elachi
1 - Green Cardamom/Choti Elachi
1/2 inch - Cinnamon/Dalchini
1 - Star anise/Phool Chakra
1 - Mace/Javitri
4 - Cloves/Laung
1 tsp - Red Chili Powder
2 tsp - dhania powder
1/4 tsp - Turmeric Powder
if you donot have patience and could go easy on authenticity, go ahead with chhole masala. Add as instructed on the pack.
Onion- 2 medium

For the gravy:
2 tbsp - Oil or Ghee
A Pinch - Asafoetida/Hing
1 small - Bayleaf/Tejpatta
1/2 tsp - cumin seeds
1 Medium - Onion
1/2 tbsp - ginger-garlic paste
2 - Green Chillies
3 medium - Tomatoes
1/2 tsp - Dry Mango/Amchur Powder
1 tsp - Lemon Juice
To Taste - Salt, sugar-1/2 tspn
1 tbsp - Chopped Coriander Leaves
Garam masala powder- 1/2 tspn

Method:
1. Rinse chhole 3-4 times  in water and soak overnight with double the amount of water. Next day rinse the soaked chhole 2 times and pressure cook with 1/2 tsp salt, bay leaf,cardamom, cinnamon and tea bag with 500ml water for 5 to 6 whistles. Once pressure is released, discard the bay leaf, cinnamon,cardamom and tea bag, drain the chickpeas and keep the water aside.

2 .Heat a pan, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, mace, star anise, peppercorns, black cardamom, green cardamom and saute for a min on medium flame. Off the flame and add red chili powder, dhania powder, turmeric powder, stir for 30 secs to a minute so all the masala gets roasted, allow to cool and grind into fine powder.

3. Peel and roughly chop 2 onions and slice the third onion. Heat 2 tsp oil or ghee in a pressure pan and saute onion until light brown, allow to cool and grind into fine paste, add 1 tbsp water only if needed. Chop and puree the tomatoes, chop green chillies and keep aside.

4.In same pan, heat 30ml of oil or ghee, add hing, bay leaf, cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Add sliced onions, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and saute until onion becomes golden.

5. Now add the onion paste and cook on medium flame with regular stirring until oil oozes out. Add the tomato puree, 1 tbsp heaped of masala powder prepared or the chhole masala of your preferance, garam masala, 1/2 tspn sugar and mix  it well.

6. Cook until oil oozes out with stirring in intervals on medium  flame, Add chhole and the water in which chhole were boiled that we have  reserved and 1 or 2 cups of water if required and bring it to a boil. Mash few chhole with the back of ladle, this makes gravy thicker, pressure cook for 2 whistles and let it simmer for 5-8 mins or until oil floats on top. Now add a dollop of butter and simmer for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice. Serve hot with bhature.

For Bhatura:
Ingredients:
2 cups Flour ( 1 took 2 cups Refined flour and 1 cup Wheat Flour)
2 tbsp Semolina (Rava)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3 tspn ghee or Vegetable Oil
5 tbsp Thick Yogurt 
4 tbsp Warm Water
3 cups Oil
Salt as per taste
Sugar- 1/2 tspn

Method:
1. Sieve flour, semolina, salt and Baking Powder. Add yogurt, oil  warm water.
2. Combine it with your fingers to knead. Knead for 15 to 20 mins till it shapes into a smooth ball. The more you knead the better your dough would be.
3. Now cover this with a damp cloth and keep in a humid place for 2 hours.
4. Make medium sized balls; about 2 inches and roll them with a roller. Dust some flour before rolling.Shape them into round shape as you make rotis but keep the thickness slightly thicker than a roti. You can roll them into triangular shape too, it looks great. Please don't cut them with cookie cutter or any metal; as it won't puff then. Just take a small ball and roll it round Or oval individually.
5. Now take a deep-bottomed pan and add oil. Wait until oil is fuming. Now gently place each bhatura and fry one by one. Keep the gas on medium heat. Give some pressure with the back of spoon while frying bhaturas. Flip and fry both sides such that  it should be light golden brown. Please don't burn them.
6. Place the fried bhaturas on paper napkin to remove excess oil. Bhaturas taste great once hot so fry them just before eating.
                 Serve the Chhole with hot  Bhaturas along with some salad or raita.
                                                       MyTreat for you!! :-)

Sunday 26 April 2015

Rajma chawal...simply yummmmm..



         Rajma is the first north indian recipe i had ever tasted in life and it was yummmm!! I learnt the recipe from a punjabi jat. It makes a sumptous,happy meal when accompanied with a plate of  steamy hot rice.

Ingredients: Rajma – 200g soaked overnight
Onions – 2 (medium size)
Garlic – 3 beads
Ginger – 1-inch piece
Oil – 1 tspn
Ghee – 1 tspn
Tomatoes – 2 (medium size & finely chopped)
Salt – as per taste
Red chilli powder – 2 teaspoon (Kashmiri chilli powder preferred)
Garam masala – 1/2 tspn
Coriander powder – ½ tspn
Cumin powder – ½ tspn
Coriander leaves – for garnishing

                   
                   
                               
Method: 
1.Grind the onions, ginger, and garlic to a fine paste. Heat oil and ghee mix in a flat-bottomed vessel and fry the onion paste till golden brown. Add the tomatoes and saute till the oil separates.
2. Add the red chilli, garam masala, coriander & cumin powders, and salt. Fry for a minute. Add drained rajma beans and 4 cupfuls of water. Stir well and bring it to a boil. 
3.Cover and simmer over low heat for approximately 20 minutes or till beans are tender. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice. 
       If you are using a pressure cooker, bring it to full cooking pressure on high heat and then simmer and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool naturally.
                                    Enjoy!!