Kofta (Meatball) curry

paniyaram chutti

There are innumerable ways of making kofta curry,this is my version of a less oily and easy to make recipe.

You will need a paniyaram pan(easily available here,you get it in most of the stores that sell utensils)in case you don't find it please use a pan to shallow fry the koftas.

Ingredients :
1/2 kg Minced Mutton with just a little bit of fat.
3 large onions chopped fine
3 red tomatoes chopped fine
1 tbsp chopped ginger and garlic
1 green chilli minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste
1 tbsp methi leaves,you can use the dried kasuri methi too if you don't have fresh,just soak them in some warm water before using.
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp homemade garam masala powder 
1 large cup curd, well beaten
2 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp mint leaves
1 cube Amul cheese
1 fresh egg
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp fresh cream mixed with a bit of milk
salt to taste

Method:
Wash the mince and drain well,squeeze out as much water as possible,place in a food processor and grind it further,add the cheese cube,pepper,a little salt and the egg and continue to grind,remember not to overdo it,keep it mixed well but not too fine. Place in the fridge for 1/2 an hour. Remove,shape into balls and put it into the paniyaram pan (don't know it by any other name) and fry them till well done.
Take a heavy bottom pan with lid and pour oil into it,add the chopped ginger/garlic,chopped green chill  and the methi leaves,saute well till the ginger and garlic start changing colour,add the chopped onions and fry well till they change to a light pink.As the onions change colour (keep stirring constantly)add the ginger garlic paste and fry well,add chopped tomatoes,sprinkle some salt and keep stirring well,gradually keep adding the dry powders,one at a time sauteing well with each addition and sprinkling some water from time to time.
Once you see that all the masala has mixed well,add a teaspoon of curd and keep sauteing well...finish the curds a teaspoonful at a time,sauteing well between each addition....Do not let the gravy become too dry, add 1/2 or 1 cup water and simmer gently...Add the meatballs and mix gently,allow a lot of gravy to remain as the meatballs absorb some gravy.
Remove and garnish with julienned ginger,methi leaves and a drizzle of beaten cream...

Some tips on the kofta: Do not grind the mince too fine,let it remain a little grainy...Brush the paniyaram pan with a little oil before putting the koftas in it...Keep sauteing well once you add all the masalas,sprinkling generously with water...

Please do try and make this recipe and do tell me how it tasted...remember to share food and serve with love and kindness...

Vegetable Samosa

Ever since I had been to a friends place and had the humble samosa,I have been waiting patiently to make it.Now what better moment to make it than when you have guests for tea .Its an easy to make light snack,often had during tea time(well some have it for breakfast too).You can add any stuffing you like,just remember to keep it dry,half cooked and with as less oil as possible.

Ingredients:
2 cups Maida/Flour
2 Tsp  fine Semolina/Sooji/Rawa
A pinch of salt
Knead all together with water to form a soft pliable dough.
Allow to rest till you get your stuffing ready.

Ingredients for stuffing:
1/2 cup shelled Peas
1/2 cup thickly grated Cabbage
1/2 cup button Mushrooms chopped 
2 medium sized onion finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 green chillie finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chillie powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2 cups oil for frying
salt to taste

Method :

Add 2 tsp of oil in a pan and saute cumin seeds,ginger, green chilli and chopped coriander till they change colour.(Ensure you do this on a slow flame)Once they change colour add the onions and saute well,till they change to a light golden brown.Add the peas first and saute well,let the peas cook for a while...Add mushrooms and all the dry powders and mix well.Cover and allow the vegetables to cook for a while.Remove lid and add the grated cabbage,mix well,place lid and after a minute, switch of the stove.Allow it to cool partially without removing the lid.Once its sufficiently cool,open the lid and allow it to cool completely.Do check if any liquid remains in the vegetable,if there is, return to heat and saute till dry,but do remember the vegetables need to have a crunch to them.Cool completely.

To make samosas take sufficient amount of dough and roll out into thin large disks.Divide them into halves as shown in the picture,add the stuffing,wet the ends all around the disks and form into samosas.Heat oil and fry samosas gently on medium flame turning them once.

Some tips on samosas,do keep the dough wrapped till you get your stuffing ready.Always ensure that you fry the samosas on medium heat and if you have a four burner gas stove,the one further away from you(it makes sense,less splashing or sputtering)Do not over cook your vegetables at any cost,they need to be half cooked and crunchy.During the process of sauteing the vegetables do not be tempted to add any water to it.The stuffing should be dry.Do not saute on high heat,keep it on low/medium so that the moisture from the vegetables are released and they cook in their own steam.As much as possible cover the vegetables while cooking.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe,as much as I did while making it.
Do remember to share your food,and serve with love and kindness.

Wasabi Prawns

I don't like what Crimson Chakra (Gandhi Nagar,Chennai) has done to me,not only has it got me addicted to their fabulous food,but it has got me hooked on to Gourmet Market,( a food store located within their premises) its every cook/chefs, food paradise.A small u shaped store,it has the capacity to hold all the exotic food delicacies your heart desires.On one of my sojourns to CC,I picked up a wasabi paste ( a horse radish inspired sauce) to make its namesake, wasabi prawns.I had the good fortune to enjoy this dish at a fine restaurant named Chao,since then have always wanted to try this at home.

Now the flavours for this need to be delicate,so just don't go overboard with the wasabi paste.
For this you would need 

Ingredients:
400 gms shelled,deveined
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 egg white
2 tbs cornflour
salt to taste
Marinate the prawns in the above mixture adding the cornflour just before frying.
Fry in piping hot oil,(do remember to stay away from the sputtering pan) till brown and crisp.

The sauce:
1 cup good mayonnaise 
1/2 cup fresh cream
1 tsp Wasabi paste (increase if you want more spice)
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp onion seeds

Mix all the ingredients except the oil and onion seeds, together till its smooth,add the fried prawns to it and mix well.Heat the oil add onion seeds and fry for a few seconds,pour over the prawns and serve immediately.

Hope you liked this recipe,remember to share and serve with love and kindness....

Walnut Chutney

Walnut chutney is probably one of the easiest and simplest of recipes.Its healthy,nutritious and tasty at the same time......All you need is a handful of walnuts,some cashew nuts and a few other ingredients commonly found in every Indian household.... 

Ingredients:
1 large cup of walnuts
6-8 cashewnuts
A bunch of coriander leaves,plucked and cleaned.
A few sprigs of mint leaves,cleaned 
1 green chillie
1 cup of hung curd,well beaten (optional)
salt to taste

Method:
Grind all the ingredients except the walnuts and curd and blitz in a mixer till just ground,add the walnuts and grind well...remove and mix with the curd...curd is an option,you can have it as it is....

Some tips: Dont use the stalk of the coriander,only the leaves and the most important tip is to add the walnuts towards the end....I have included a picture of the walnut chutney with the methi parantha,more of the later in another post....Remember to share and serve with love and kindness....

Mango Chutney

A couple of weeks ago,Chennai had to face the lashings of mother nature in all its glory courtesy "Nilam" the storm... the sound and fury was much more than an actual downpour...nevertheless it brought along with it four mangoes from my tree,a treasure indeed considering its not the season for it and i never knew they had existed in the first place...I used two for a dhall,and one for a fish curry,the remaining one, I had to use for a mango chutney my mother in law taught me...its easy and simple to make often eaten with plain hot rice....

All you need are:

1 large mango skinned and grated fine

Equal amount of coconut grated fine

2 tbs of whole coriander

1 tbs of cumin seeds

8 whole hot red chillies
1 pod of garlic peeled
1 inch piece of fresh ginger cleaned and skinned and chopped

A pinch of asafetida

1 tbs of Bengal gram dhall

1 tbs of Black gram dhall
A few sprigs of curry leaves
1 heaped tsp of jaggery powder 
salt to taste

Method :
In a pan add a tsp of oil and saute all the ingredients except the mango,coconut,jaggery and salt...Saute well to a golden brown..Remove,cool and add all the ingredients together and grind to a coarse paste...check for salt and serve with hot rice and ample servings of clarified butter/ghee...

A few tips...add some water to the jaggery and soak, mix well and add it to the mango/coconut when your grinding...

Remember the spice/salt quotient can be adjusted to individual tastes though i find you can add extra spice to this chutney as the sourness of the mango and the sweetness of the coconut balances it out...Add equal amount of grated coconut without the hard brown skin...This chutney can be refrigerated and kept for many days...can be used as a sandwich spread too....

Nilams fury was not in vain (yes that's what the storm was named)  got to make this delicious chutney and shared it too...

Please share your food and always serve with love and kindness.....

Work Shop with Sara Koshy

Deviating from my normal recipe posts,I am today writing about a work shop I attended hosted by The Chennai Food Guide showcasing the multi talented cook/chef and our principal instructor for the day - Sara Koshy...Those who live in Chennai need no introduction to her,she has been teaching the wonderful art of cooking and baking for more than a decade,proficient in Asian cuisine,she is a powerhouse where food is concerned...

To begin with the workshop had organised a set Thai menu consisting of the following:
Tofu Satay
Chicken Satay
Tom Yum (vegetarian)
Tom Yum Gai 
Red Curry both vegetarian and non vegetarian
Thai Fried rice,vegetarian and non-vegetarian
Buoroy (stuffed Lychees in coconut milk )

The workshop started with the sweet dish first the magical Buoroy,its easy to make and tasted absolutely divine....Meanwhile Sara had started with the chopping of the vegetables for the stock and the main menu....Learnt the art of cutting in yin yang style from her...notice the vegetables are cut at a slant... that's the yin yang effect...

The stock simmered with a delicate balance of many vegetables for a couple of minutes,before it was strained and used to make a light soup...The Thai Fried rice seemed easy enough to make as Sara effortlessly went about showing us all the delicious,perfectly balanced recipes...

Learnt further that Thai food is a mixture of the sweet and the sour,found a lot of it happening at the workshop...chilli,coconut and jaggery played important roles in Thai cooking.The cutting of the Tofu and the skewering of both chicken and Tofu for the satay were explained clearly by Sara..Red curry chicken/vegetable was a simple no fuss recipe,in fact,found that Sara made most of the recipes simple and easy to make....

An evening well spent,thanks to Chennai Food Guide for introducing us to workshops and to the art of Thai cooking by Sara Koshy... Valuable inputs were given by Mohamed Ali M the administrator of Chennai Food Guide on Naga Bhut Jolokia the hottest pepper in the world together with Saras reportee on the distinct use of fish sauce in Thai cuisine...

The pictures you see here are courtesy my dear friend Kamalika Krishmy,who was kind enough to share the photographs of the workshop with me...do check out her blog janakipattiskitchen.blogspot.com

Leg of Lamb

Its the festival of Eid ul Adha aka Bakrid, the time to pay allegiance to Allah by sacrificing a Sheep following in our Prophet Ebrahims footsteps, its the time of meat,meat and more meat...As children,we would wait behind closed windows and doors and await the preparation of biryani,liver fry and so many other delicious preparations my mother would churn out in our kitchen. After the Biryanis and the Kormas it was always the time to make the dried Kebabs....This was always the laborious  process of cutting the meat into long strips,pounding them a bit ,marinating in spices,stringing them and then allowing them to dry...This post however is not about Kebabs,but about a leg of Lamb recipe which i often make post Bakrid..

Ingredients :
1 leg of Lamb kept whole,make gashes against the grain to allow masalas to seep in (i used the front leg approximately weighing 1 1/2 kg)
2 heaped tbsp raw papaya paste
Juice of 4 large lemon
Salt to taste
Apply all the above mentioned to the leg of lamb and allow an hour of marination
Next take
2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste (2:1) ratio or whole ginger and garlic equivalent to 2 tbsp of paste 
10 Red chillies whole
2 tsp Peppercorns
2 inch stick cinnamon
8 cloves
6 pods cardamom
2 tsp coriander powder or 4 tsp whole coriander
2 tsp cumin powder or 3 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chillie powder
1 large bunch coriander leaves,cleaned and washed well or 1 1/2 heaped cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup  mint leaves
3 green chillies
a bit of salt
Grind the above ingredients to a paste adding very little water,till you get a smooth consistency,add 1/2 cup olive oil to the marinade and apply thoroughly to the leg of lamb...seal well with aluminium foil and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours ... keep turning the leg every 6 hours....Remove an hour ahead of grilling and bring to room temperature...
Fire a grill up and place the leg without removing the foil,turning often,till you feel the semi liquid has dried inside.....remove the foil baste generously with melted butter and grill to desired consistency..serve hot with wedges of lime and walnut chutney...

Tips :Remove some of the masala from the leg before putting it on the grill,keep aside and use it later when you remove the foil,basting alternatively with butter and masala...Always grill the leg with the foil on first so as to seal in the flavours...once you feel the meat is cooked and there is no liquid remaining,remove the foil and allow the leg to grill to perfection,baste generously with melted butter.

A leg of lamb should be a little on the spicy side though not overly so,it should have a good amalgamation of spicy and sour in equal proportions...please do try this,its delicious to taste..
  Walnut chutney is very simple,take a handful of walnuts,add 4 almonds,a cup of coriander leaves,1/2 cup mint leaves,2 green chillies and salt to taste..grind carefully with little water,remove .mix in 1/2 cup well beaten curd and you're good to go....

Hope you liked this recipe...do share your food and don't forget to serve with love and kindness