Cook's Hideout: MIL
Showing posts with label MIL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MIL. Show all posts

October 31, 2014

Beet-Tomato Rasam

When my MIL told me about Beet rasam, I was a little skeptical. I am not a big fan of beets, I eat them once in a while without complaining, but they are not something I really crave for. So when my MIL said Beet & tomato rasam, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I asked her make it anyway just to see how it tastes. It tasted pretty good and I noted the recipe down to try it for myself later.
Beet-Tomato Rasam
I made the rasam recently with the beets I had in the fridge. Grinding cooked beets with tomatoes gives this rasam a thick consistency and the beets give a very subtle sweetness. Only the color of this rasam gives away the presence of beets, otherwise it is pretty inconspicuous. This is a great way to feed beets to kids.

July 11, 2014

Kakarakaya Tomato Kura (Bitter gourd-Tomato Curry)

My MIL made this kakarakaya/ bitter gourd curry when she visited us last month. There are quite a few ways to take the bitterness away from bitter gourd, like boiling them with a souring agent like yogurt or tamarind and then squeezing out the bitter water. But this time my MIL salted thinly chopped bitter gourd pieces and refrigerated them overnight. In the morning, she squeezed out the water and made the curry in the pressure cooker.
Both refrigerating the salted bitter gourd and making the curry in the pressure cooker was new to me, so I promptly wrote down the recipe to post it here for future reference.
Kakarakaya Tomato Kura (Bitter gourd-Tomato Curry)

April 24, 2013

Bagara Rice (How to cook Pulao/ Pilaf in Pressure Cooker)

Blogging Marathon# 27: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: Miscellaneous - Tips to cook Pulao/ Pilaf in Pressure Cooker
Dish: Bagara Rice
We are in the last week of our Blogging Marathon# 27 and the theme for this week is 'miscellaneous" and 'arts & crafts'. I've to say that I'm a little crafty. No, I guess I have to say I was crafty more than 10 years ago and now I can't even think of anything fancy for my kindergartner's projects. 
When Valli announced that the theme for the last week is arts & crafts, I started watching a Telugu cooking show that had a segment on food carvings. I made note of quite a few and started trying out my crafting skills. After seeing my creations -- Tomato tulips/ Strawberry flowers & Cucumber Chinese fan, my husband decided to start cooking himself because of the amount of time and energy I was spending on trying to precisely cut the fruit/ veggie to get the right shape. Oh, mind you none of what I made actually looked what they were supposed to look like and it seemed waste of resources to the husband. After hacking away a week's worth of tomatoes for one trial, I had to agree with him and accept my failure.
So for the next few days, I'm going to post some quick and easy rice recipes. Also I'm planning to post  what I learnt in my Wilton Cake Decorating course later on in the week.
Bagara Rice
Today, I have a very simple and tasty rice dish. It is spiced with whole garam masala (spices), mint and cilantro. I cooked it in the pressure cooker. Recently couple of my blogging buddies have asked me how my pressure cooked pilaf/ pulao's come out so fluffy. There was a time when my pressure cooked pilafs were either mushy, burnt at the bottom or uncooked. So after some experiments, I think finally I've started to make some decent rice dishes in the cooker.

July 11, 2008

Masala Egg Curry

This is another one of my MIL’s recipes. This masala gravy can also used to make mushroom or potato curries.


Ingredients:
Eggs – 5, boiled
Red Chili powder – ½ tsp
Lemon - 1

For the Masala:
Onions – 1 large, roughly chopped
Garlic – 6-7 cloves
Green chilies – 6-7
Peppercorn - 1tsp
Cinnamon stick – 1” piece
Almonds - 2 tbsp
Grated coconut – 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Mint leaves – ½ cup


Method:
  • Grind masala with little water to a smooth paste.
  • Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan, add the masala and fry till it turns lightly brown and does not smell raw anymore, about 12-15 minutes.
  • Add about 1cup water and salt to the gravy and let it come to a slow simmer (add more or less water depending on the consistency of the curry). Slide in the eggs along with salt and red chili powder. Simmer on low flame for another 7-8 minutes. Squeeze juice of 1 lemon and serve with rice.
I'm sending this to Mansi's Healthy Cooking event at Fun and Food. Thanks Mansi for hosting this healthy event.

June 30, 2008

JFI-Tamarind: Besan Chikki

My second recipe is for this month’s JFI, being hosted by Sig of Live to Eat. I’m revisiting one of my husband’s favorite, Besan Chikki for JFI-Tamarind. My MIL made it on demand and it was just awesome. I can never make it the same way she does even with the recipe on hand. Here’s the recipe.


Ingredients:
For Chikkis:
Besan – 1 cup (sifted)
Green Chilies – 3-4, chopped fine
Curry leaves – 3-4
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Salt – to taste
For Gravy:
Onion – 1 small, chopped
Tamarind pulp – ¼ cup thick home made kind
Fenugreek powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste


Ingredients:
  • To make besan chikki: Fry besan in a pan on medium-low flame, until it turns golden and does not smell raw anymore. Remove and keep aside.
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustards and cumin seeds; after they pop, add chilies, turmeric and curry leaves.
  • Add 1¼ cups water and let it come to a simmer. Slowly add the fried besan and mix thoroughly making sure that there are no lumps. Keep stirring until the mixture comes away from the sides. Remove onto a greased plate, cut into squares and let cool.
  • For the gravy: Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and after they splutter, add onions and sauté till light brown. Add tamarind pulp and ½ cup water. Add all the remaining ingredients and on a slow flame, bring the gravy to a simmer, about 15 minutes. Add the besan squares and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  • Serve with rice or roti.

Phool Makhani Curry

I’m posting two recipes today to send them off to two events. This first one is for Open Sesame 2nd Edition. Choose a box, get a riddle, solve the riddle and post a recipe with the ingredient were the rules of Open Sesame. I thought it sounded like fun and I sent an email to Siri for my riddle. I flunked my first try, but got it right the second time. Here’s the riddle (for Box 2).

I am a flower but adorn a bouquet, I do not
I have an inbuilt perfume in my being
So strong and so intense that my oil will make your insides 'hot'
My medical impact all over the world seen.

My 'Yorubas' infusion is the 'savior' of star wars
I have been used as a barter by the fellow 'sadiqi's' during trades
One does not have to fight tooth or 'nail' for me
I am usually pink but mostly available browned in shades

I may be dry , I may overpower your tongue
But add a little for that midas touch
Come now, start thinking of that spice
Whose bite make your 'teeth' say Ouch!

My first guess was “Peppercorn” which was wrong and costed me 5 points. Second was correct and the answer is CLOVES.

Thanks to Siri and Dhivya for this very unique blog event.

For the recipe, my MIL made Phool Makhani Curry with spicy clove masala. I never had phool makhani before, they look like big pop corn, but they are actually popped lotus seeds. They are pretty bland to begin with, but absorb any and all the flavors that you add.

Ingredients:
Phool Makhani – 2 cups
Onion – 1 medium, roughly chopped
Green chilies – 3
Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Tomatoes – 2 medium chopped
Red Chili powder – ½ tsp (or to taste)
Salt – to taste

For the masala:
Cloves – 6
Cinnamon stick – ½“ piece
Whole Cardamom – 1

Method:
  • Grind the masala ingredients into a smooth powder in a spice blender.
  • Blend onions, green chilies and coriander leaves into a smooth paste.
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan; add the makhanas and sauté till they turn slightly brown on all sides. (These fried makhanas can be eaten as is with a sprinkle of salt and pepper).
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the onion paste and fry till it turns golden. Add tomatoes, ground masala, red chili powder and salt; cover and cook for 5-8 minutes, till tomatoes turn into a mush.
  • Add fried makhanas and mix well. Add ½ - 1 cup water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Makhanas absorb the gravy and shrink in size. They looked like chole after done.

One last thing to mention is my first award ever, Trupti of Recipe Center gave me ‘Rockin Girl blogger’ award. Thank you so much Trupti for passing me this award.

June 24, 2008

Maida Puri with Aloo Kurma

My in-laws are visiting us from India and we are having a great time eating yummy snacks and food for the past 2 weeks. My MIL made these puris, they are similar to baturas but much faster to make.

Ingredients:
Maida (All purpose flour) – 1 cup
Sooji (semolina) – ¼ cup
Salt – pinch
Oil – 3tbsp

Method:
  • Mix maida, sooji and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center.
  • Add warm oil to the well, slowly mix in the flour. Add water as needed and make firm dough (thicker than chapathi dough). Cover and set aside for 10-15minutes.
  • Roll out into 4”-5” diameter puris. Deep fry until golden and remove onto paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve hot with any curry.
We had our puris with this is a quick and easy kurma that my MIL made.

Aloo Kurma:
Ingredients
:
Potatoes – 3, medium, chopped into bite size pieces
Onion – 1 medium, roughly chopped
Green chilies – 4 medium
Coconut milk – ½ cup
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Mint leaves - 1/4 cup
Ginger – 1”piece
Garlic – 2 cloves
Yogurt - 2tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • Grind onions, chilies, ginger, garlic, coriander and mint into a smooth paste.
  • Add 1tbsp oil in a pressure cooker, add the onion paste and sauté till slightly golden. Add potato, sauté for 5 minutes. Add coconut milk, yogurt, salt and 1cup water. Cover and cook for 2 whistles. Serve with puris.

August 10, 2007

Dalia Khichdi











This is my contribution to Shaheen's (@ Malabar Spices) Summer Express Cooking event. Shaheen wants all of us to don Rachel Ray's cap and make 30 Minute meals.

I shared an apartment with 2 American girls few years ago and thats when I truly realized that Indian cooking does take a lot longer than American cooking. I used to slave in the kitchen to make my dal and rice (I didn't have a pressure cooker and had to microwave my dal which took almost forever) and my roommates used to make (mostly sandwiches and pastas with store-bought sauces), eat and clean in matter of minutes.

Thanks Shaheen for coming up with this event, it definitely made me re-think about my cooking and prepping process. I'm eagerly waiting for the round up for tips and recipes from fellow bloggers.

My contribution is my mother-in-laws recipe. There is no need to plan anything ahead for this recipe and takes about 30 minutes including the preparations. It is great as a quick dinner, lunch or breakfast.

While the khichdi was cooking, I even had time to make Majjiga charu (spicy buttermilk) as a side dish.

Ingredients (For 2 people):
Dalia (Cracked Wheat) - 2/3 cups
Moong dal - 1/3 cup
Onion - 1 medium
Carrot - 1 medium
Potato - 1 medium
Peas - 1/4 cup, frozen, thawed under running hot water or in microwave
Green Chilies - 4
Ginger - 1"piece
Curry leaves - 10
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

0 - 5 minutes: Prepping the veggies and heating the pans.
  • Heat a pressure cooker on medium-low flame and a non-stick pan on medium-high flame.
  • Chop the veggies into chunks (don't have to be finely chopped, but make sure that all the veggies are almost the same size).
5 - 20 minutes:
  • Add dalia to the non-stick pan and roast till light brown. Remove and keep aside. Next roast the moong dal until fragrant and slightly brown. This will take about 5-6 minutes. I rinsed and drained roasted dalia and moong dal at this stage, but it is optional.
  • Mean while add 1tbsp oil in the pressure cooker, add cumin seeds and hing. After the seeds crackle, add ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Fry for 30 seconds, add the onions, potatoes and carrots. Saute for 3 minutes.
  • Add the roasted dalia and dal along with 2 cups of water, peas, salt and pepper. Pressure cook on high till 2 whistles.
  • Let the cooker cool and enjoy khichdi with any chutney, pickle or left over curry.
I served my khichdi with left over (thanks Lavanya from Cookery Corner for the recipe) and majjia charu (spicy buttermilk).

Note: You can make it even faster by eliminating the roasting dalia and dal part and using frozen mixed vegetables instead of fresh ones.
If you don't add the dal that makes it a terrific vegetable upma.

Dalia Khichdi w/Long beans Thoran & Spicy Buttermilk
For Majjiga Charu:

Ingredients:
Red Onion - 1/2 medium or 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
Green chilies - 2
Curry leaves - 4
Yogurt - 1 cup
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt - to taste

For tempering/ popu:
Ural dal - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - pinch

Method:
  • Whisk yogurt with 1/2 cup of water to make smooth buttermilk (or simply use buttermilk). Add turmeric and salt, mix well.
  • Heat 1tsp oil in a small sauce pan. Add the popu ingredients and when the seeds splutter, add curry leaves, ginger and green chilies. Fry for 30 seconds, add onions and saute till slightly brown. Add this to the curd, mix well.
You can have this with plain rice also.

October 26, 2006

Pachi Pulusu

This is a quick and easy recipe from my mother-in-law. As the name suggests (Pachi=raw; pulusu=soup), there is very little cooking involved in this dish. It tastes awesome with vuthi pappu (plain dal).

Ingredients:
Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp
Onion - 1 medium, chopped fine
Green chilies - 4, chopped fine
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 6

Method:
  • Dry roast sesame seeds and grind into powder.
  • Add water to tamarind paste and bring to a consistency of your liking. Add chopped onions, green chilies, sugar, salt and sesame seeds powder. Mix well (you might want to use your hand to get uniform consistency).
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan, add the seeds and curry leaves. Add this to the pulusu and serve with rice and dal.

September 22, 2006

Miriyala Charu/ Rasam (Pepper Soup)

This is my mother-in-law’s recipe and is very effective in clearing up your nose and throat during the “cold” season. Hot pepper with pungent garlic is a great combination for this spicy rasam.

Ingredients:
Peppercorns – 12-15
Garlic cloves – 4-5
Cumin seeds – 1tbsp
Red chilies – 3
Tamarind pulp – 3 tbsp
Curry leaves - 4
Salt –to taste

Method:
  • Grind peppercorns, cumin seeds and garlic cloves into a coarse paste (doesn’t have to be completely smooth).
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a saucepan, add red chilies and fry till they darken in color. Add the curry leaves and ground pepper paste. Fry on low flame for 2-3 minutes or until it gives out nice garlic smell.
  • Add the tamarind pulp, salt and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover and let stand till ready to serve.

You can refrigerate the unused pepper+garlic masala for days in the refrigerator and use it when needed.

August 22, 2006

Dosakaya Pappu

Everytime I think of dosakaya (cucumber), I always remember this story. One of my Aunts from a small town in AP had to move to Delhi after marriage. She found out soon enough that Delhites don’t sell Andhra style cucumbers (round yellow ones), but preferred the long green ones. During that time, much to the happiness of my aunt, my dad planned our family vacation to Delhi. So what do you think we were all carrying; almost 10kgs of dosakayas on our 26hr journey from Hyderabad to Delhi.

Here is my mother-in-law’s way of making dosakaya pappu.

Ingredients:
Toor dal (or Masoor dal) - 1 cup
Dosakaya (cucumber) – 1, peeled and diced
Tomato – 1 small
Onion – 1 small
Green chilies – 3
Red chili powder – 1tsp
Turmeric – 1/8 tsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Curry leaves – 4
Red chilies – 2
Asafetida – pinch

Method:
  • Put the first 7 ingredients in a pressure cooker with 1tsp of oil. Cook till done (number of whistles depend on your cooker, mine I need at least 6 whistles).
  • Heat 1tsp oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and wait till they pop, then add red chilies, curry leaves, asafetida. Add the tempering and salt to the cooked dal and cook on low flame for about 10minutes.
Serve with hot rice and ghee. Yum..

August 17, 2006

Vegetable Biryani

My husband likes dum ka biryani very much and all I knew how to make was the regular fried rice. So when my mother-in-law was with us, I made sure that I watch her make it and take notes. I was a little off in the measurement of ingredients, but I’m happy that my husband liked it.

Preparing Vegetables:
Potatoes, carrots, beans, peas – 2 cups (chopped into big chunks)

For marinade:
Yogurt – ½ cup
Ginger garlic paste – 1tbsp
Chili powder – 1tbsp
Garam masala – 1tsp
Coriander leaves – ½ cup chopped
Mint leaves – ½ cup chopped
Cashew powder – 1tsp
Salt – 1tbsp

  • Add all the ingredients for marinade to the chopped veggies and let stand for at least one hour in a covered dish. The aroma of all the spices is amazing at this stage.

Cooking Rice:
Basmati Rice – 1½ cups (soaked in cold water for at least 1 hour)
Make a small fabric pouch with the following spices:
Shah jeera – 1tsp
Cinnamon stick – 1” piece
Anise flower – 1

  • Add 5cups of water and the spice pouch into a big pot and bring the water to a boil. When the water comes to a rolling boil, remove the spice bag and add the soaked rice(drain water completely). Stir occasionally. Cook till the rice is ¾th cooked. This will take about 8-10 minutes max. Drain into a colander and keep aside.

Other ingredients:
Milk – ¼ cup
Saffron – few strands
Onions – 1 cup, thinly sliced and fried in 2tbsp of oil till golden brown.

Putting everything together:

  • While the rice is cooking, heat about 6tbsp of oil in a very large heavy bottom pan. Add the vegetables and cook covered on medium low heat until the veggies are just tender.
  • After the vegetables are tender enough, add the rice as a layer, top rice layer with saffron-milk mixture and fried onions.
  • Bring the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for about 20 minutes. Resist mixing the whole mixture. After 20minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
Serve hot with raita and paneer kurma.

Heres the picture of our dessert: Simple Chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

August 14, 2006

Besan Chikki - Independence day food parade

Indira of Mahanandi is hosting a very unique Parade for this year's Indian Independence day. She wants us to whip up our culinary skills to salute Mother India on her 59th Independence day. My entry is a very simple dish (more like a peasant dish) that does not require many ingredients.
Chikki (or savory biscuits) made with besan (chickpea flour) are cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce and it is usually served with any kind of roti or rice. This is my mother-in-law's authentic besan chikki recipe.

Ingredients:
For Chikki:
Besan - 1 cup (sifted)
Red onion - 1 small chopped fine
Green chilies - 3 chopped fine
Curry leaves - 3
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4tsp
Salt - to taste

For Gravy:
Red onion - 1 small chopped
Tamarind pulp - 1/4 cup thick home made kind (fibers removed)
Fenugreek powder (menthi powder) - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery - 2 - 3tbsp (depending on taste)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • To make besan chikki: First fry the besan in a pan on medium-low flame, until it turns golden brown and does not smell raw anymore. Remove onto a plate and keep aside.
  • Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the same pan, add mustard and cumin seeds. After the seeds pop, add the chopped onions, green chilies, turmeric, curry leaves and saute till onions are softened.
  • Add 1¼ cups water (besan:water=1:1¼) to the onion mixture and let it come to a slow simmer. At this stage add fried besan slowly, stirring the mixture continuously, making sure that there are no lumps.
  • Keep stirring until the mixture comes together like upma. Remove onto a greased plate, cut into diamonds and let cool.
  • To make gravy: Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and after they splutter, add onions and saute till light brown.
  • Add tamarind pulp and about 1/2 cup of water. Add all the remaining ingredients and on a slow flame, bring the gravy to a simmer, about 15minutes.
  • Add the besan diamonds and simmer for another 5-10minutes. Make sure not to move them too much in the gravy, this might break the biscuits.
  • Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
We had our besan chikki with jonna roti. Simple and very satisfying meal. You can find detailed instructions for making jonna roti in Indira's and Cook's cottage blogs.
Wish you all a very Happy Independence day.

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