December 11, 2011

Delhi Belly

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A Little treat from my dear Bro!
and also a gastronomical gift from the  main land of India .
Since I have been blogging for the last 5 years which is  very seldom , but the pursuit has always been the same as my fellow bloggers to bring out the best in the world of cooking from what I see around or from what I cook around ,this time it happened that my brother who was travelling on a business trip to Delhi decided to let his camera lens go wild on the streets on 'Dilli' and the results were phenomenal . Thanks to him I could share all the fabulous pictures here ;)
North Indian food has been hailed to a pedestal and deserves to be there too as it has a colorful blend of spices that get ur taste buds taking a ride of their life.

Most photos posted down here are of street vendors and street food commonly sold  in India in this case specifically Delhi vegetarian and ample kinds of non vegetarian options too



The list is endless  believe me when I saw these pictures all I wanted to do is get on the first flight back home they are too tempting.

 

Like this one a perfect example of fast food breakfast street style , fast easy breakfast on the go and yum malicious.




Usually this is a very common sight on the streets of any busy Indian street be it Mumbai or Delhi you will come across quite a few vendors standing out in the open and frying food in hot pipping oil or puris frying in hot oil served as a snack usually accompanied with some kind of a veggie side commonly called as 'sabji' made of potatoes or garbanzo beans with spices to jazz it up.



Like they say a picture is worth thousand words hence the above one says it all !
And to sum it all saving the best for the last another very common snack the Indian answer to the burger own very own Vada pav .



Njoy and happy holidays!

November 15, 2011

Paneer Mattar Masala

 
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Today was a wet day for us felt like cuddling under a warm blanket with a hot cuppa of chai with a good book :) but it was dinner time so I decided to make some thing a little more heavy and fulfilling as the weather was so calling  for it .
I usually have a block of paneer or in American terms 'cottage cheese'
 sitting in my freezer and staring at me along with that was the Malaysian parathas just side by side that made my dinner decision easy .Now Malaysian parathas are very similar to the maida rotis in India but not as hardy as the naan a little more on the soft and flakier side these are pre rolled frozen all that needs to be done is to cook on a non stick pan, but just make sure these are made right before you eat as these rotis do not taste that good if they sit for long time again easily found in Indian and also Asian stores. These rotis go great with any kind of gravy my kiddos love to have them rolled with honey too YUM ;0

What u need  for Paneer mattar masala
Paneer- 1 block cut in to cub sizes
small green peas-1/4 cup
onion - 1 cup paste form
tomato -1 finely chopped
ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoon
green chillies- 3 chopped fine optional
cilantro-1/4 cup chopped
half n half -1 tablespoon optional
oil-2 tablespoon
salt- as needed
turmeric- 1 teaspoon
jeera - 1 teaspoon full
tikka masala or garam masala- 1/2 tablespoon

Heat non stick pan add the oil let it heat add the jeera when they start to spurt, add the onion paste cook well till the raw taste goes away and the oil separates. Add the ginger garlic paste to this paste cook for 5- 10 mins till the raw smell diminishes, add the chopped  tomatoes let this mixture cook for a few mins on low flame.
Meanwhile fry the paneer cubes in pan till all the sides are brown keep them separate in a  bowl after done with the frying. Add the garam masala or the tikka masala, turmeric  and salt to the tomato- onion paste by now this turns into a thick consistency ,add the Green chillies again this part is optional or u can substitute with paprika too. More color less spice :)
Add the fried paneer pieces and the small peas to this mix also add a little water if the mixture is too thick, last add the half n half as needed u can add more if needed. Make sure when u add the half n half the pan is on low flame so the the cream does not curdle.The consistency u should be looking for  of the gravy that is not too watery or not too thick .
Garnish with the chopped cilantro and have with Rice or rotis!
Njoy!

November 12, 2011

Pad thai



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Coming to the US and in the first month we went to Thai restaurant according to all my newly acquired pals this was very close to Chinese food and good too. So as usual playing on the safe side we ordered some fried rice and ginger chicken or something like that not very clear on the details since it has been close to 10 year now ;0
Then later I came across the ever popular Thai dish called Pad Thai which I instantly fell in love with for years it stuck to be the favourite dish to be ordered  any Thai restaurant then later I started to venture into making this one from scratch. well after a few attempts i nailed it now it is a regular at our place .
 The only catch is that u cannot make it ahead of it just make it before u plan to eat.
the recipe I followed is all thanks to an other blogger whose link is posted below .
Try u wont be disappointed
http://chezpim.com/cook/pad_thai_for_beginners

Njoy!

October 29, 2011

Rava Upma


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Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day and hence the name break the fast :) usually on weekends I luv to make something heavy so we all can indulge into good food and fill up our hungry bellies for the rest of the easy and lazyy weekend ahead. I remember as a child travelling in trains the best part was eating the train canteen and station  food yummy!!!
Usually it would take us 2 days to get to our destination and the starting station would have an entirely different food selection then the ending station because both were 2 different states .The canteen food was more or less the same one dish which I truly looked forward to on the train was their upma packed in a little silver container, hot and steamy delivered by the canteen men who would come ahead of time to take your order , along with this upma we always ordered hot coffee or garma-garam tea what a great way to start your day! Eating the upma , while sipping on some hot coffee and looking outside the through the window of the train was so relaxing . I miss those long train rides , now when we go to India we reach the same destination in 2 hrs even before U can finish your breakfast and coffee it is landing time , and the view out of the window of the plane well now thats a whole different story!

And  that is why I still have that dish as my top 5 breakfast dishes to indulge in on a weekend morning!

WHAT U NEED TO MAKE THE DISH:
upma- 2 cups
shallots-1 tablespoon chopped
ginger chopped-1 inch
green chillies-2-3 chopped
curry leaves a few optional
cilantro a small bunch chopped
mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
urad dal-1 teaspoon
butter 1 tablespoon
EVOO-1 tablespoon
water-2 cups

Heat a thick bottom pan , add the oil when right temp is reached add the mustard seeds let it spurte add the urad dal toast for 1-2 mins then add chopped shallots, ginger, chillies. curry leaves, saute for 5 mins.
Add the rava and salt to this and again toast for 5 -7 mins till the rava is very slightly brown.
Then add water and let this simmer for 10 mins till all the water is absorbed into the rava.
Mix the upma well such that the rava is all separated out evenly , toss the butter in for added softness and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Njoy !

October 2, 2011

Beef cutlets

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Beef cutlet is not a very universal Indian dish but when u go down south like specifically Kerala this dish is a perfect appetizer and a great compliment to hard drinks and otherwise too . U cannot go wrong with this absolute crowd pleaser make it and u will be hailed as a rock star even if it is just for the day ! ; P
I usually make it around Christmas or Easter time truly delectable dish believe me there won't be any left overs with this one!
what u need to make the recipe:
Beef -2 pounds
boiled potatoes-2
shallots chopped-1/2 cup
(sorry the pic shows big red onion in the backdrop cos I had used up the shallots for the cutlets!)
ginger finely chopped-1/2 inch
green chillies chopped as per taste
cilantro chopped -1 tablespoon
salt to taste
bread crumbs plain- 2 cups
oil to fry as needed
eggs -2 beaten

There are different options to make the mix but the one I follow is to boil the beef pieces with a little salt in the cooker till well done. Then use a blender to get it to a thread like consistency with out adding any water at all just the meat this texture gets it close to the authentic beef cutlets in kerala because I have tried this other ways comes out little chunky.
add the chopped shallots, chillies, ginger, cilantro, salt
and the boiled potatoes blend these all well together.
Then line up the beaten eggs first add a little salt to the eggs too, then the bread crumbs
 start making the patties of the beef mix.
Heat a pan with oil when the right temp take the patty dip the patty in the eggs , then coat with the bread crumbs next stop is the hot pan.
Turn the patties both sides till golden brown serve with tomato ketchup or shallots marinated with chillies and vinegar Njoy!

September 24, 2011

Simple Rice Pilaf






It has been long since I have posted something close to a recipe on my blog , well busy life takes a toll on you never the less my 3 and 1/2 year old blog has started to hyperventilate getting near on to its last breath and so in desperate need to revive it I decided to post, the other very valid reason is that this was my weekend off no plans ahead so just lazing on the couch like a potato I decided to put this time to good use visit my blog world and seeing all the excellent recipes & updates that my fellow blogger's were up to inspired me to get in action .






So here's is a very simple dish



Rice pulao or like the western world calls it rice pilaf , name it either ways this dish is a great combo with any gravy dish.

What u need to make this dish:


Rice -2 cups
frozen or fresh peas -1/3 cup
cub size cut up carrot -1/3cup
ghee-1 tablespoon
bay leaves-4
cardamon-4
cinnamon stick -2 inch length
whole black pepper-1 teaspoon
salt to taste
lemon juice-1 teaspoon
water -4 cups
Heat a thick pot /pan ,add the ghee which can be also substituted with oil too as per taste and preferences of the individual . Add the whole spices to the ghee toss around till a smoky aroma comes, add the carrots and peas cook for 10 mins on medium flame .

Then add the cleaned rice to this stir till the rice is pearly white at least another 5 mins .
Add hot water to this mix gently stirring usually the water should be twice the quantity of the rice .
When the rice starts boiling add the lemon juice and salt cover for 15 -20 mins till the rice is fully cooked
Serve with hot curry and Njoy this easy peasy recipe

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