Indian Food

I clearly remember when I made this curry for the first time. It was my 10th vacation and I decided to cook something all by myself. I browsed through mom's Ruchira and thought of making Dudhi Kofta curry. I checked the ingredients and everything was available at home. While following the recipe blindly, all along, I thought I was making Malai Kofta as kofta for me was always malai kofta from the restaurant. It didn't even occur to me that the recipe didn't even have malai or any other ingredients that make Malai Kofta. Yeah, I was all of 15! When the curry was ready, a delicious aroma wafted through the kitchen. I was happy. When my family arrived from work, mom was shocked to see my escapade. Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly, as it had come out really well. Every one, except me was happy. Though it tasted great, for me it was a disaster. After all, I was supposed to be making malai kofta and what I had made didn't even taste or looked like one. Now, it tasted great, but that's another story. The credit for that delicious taste goes to Mrs. Kamlabai Ogale of Ruchira. Many years later, I prefer making this version than calorie and fat laden Malai kofta. The only difference is that I no longer look at Ruchira for reference. When I made this dish last time, I just threw some basic ingredients from my Maharashtrian pantry together. I am sure the recipe is quite close to Mrs. Ogale's original recipe. Dudhi Kofta Curry Bottle Gourd Fritters Curry Ingredients For making Koftas (10-12) 1 small dudhi/bottlegourd, peeled & grated, squeeze to drain out water 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 3/4 cup besan/chickpea flour 2 tbsp minced cilantro 3-4 green chilies or per desired heat, minced salt to taste You will also need 1/4 cup daaNyache KooT/Roasted, unsalted peanut powder 1/2 tbsp jaggery water as needed Salt to taste Tempering 1 tbsp oil 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/4 tsp asafoetida 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp white sesame seeds 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped tomato 1 tbsp goda masala 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste 1 tsp paprika or mild chili powder Garnish 1 tbsp minced cilantro Method 1. Squeeze out water from dudhi and mix with besan, salt, cilantro, chilies, turmeric powder. Make a thick dough and steam till they are cooked. Alternatively, you can deep fry these dudhi fritters and set aside to drain. 2. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder and sesame seeds. 3. As they splutter, add onion and ginger garlic paste. Saute till onion is soft. 4. Add tomatoes, goda masala and paprika. Saute for about 5 minutes. 5. Now add water, salt, jaggery and peanut powder. Bring to boil. Switch gas to low. Let it simmer. 6. Place koftas slowly into the simmering curry. 7. Simmer for few more minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Note 1. In order to save some calories, I steam the koftas or sometimes use appe pan to shallow fry. But originally, these are fritters which are meant to be deep fried. 2. Adjust the amount of besan and salt, depending on the size of the bottle gourd. Make around 10-12 koftas for this recipe. 3. If you have a big bottle gourd, adjust the chickpea flour and other ingredients. Make koftas and freeze all the remaining koftas for future use. 4. Dudhi Muthiyas can also be substituted in this recipe. Recipe Credit Ruchira by Kamalabai Ogale Print Page

For a sizzling time, come over to WelcomHotel Sheraton New Delhi from 17th- 26th May 2013 Baywatch is back to sizzle your appetite with the smoking hot Sizzler festival. The beer and sizzler festival at Baywatch offers a variety of hot and scrumptious sizzlers be it South Indian, Western or Asian Cuisine. From the freshest of flavors to the most lip smacking spices, the sizzler festival promises to take you on an incredible gastronomic journey. (non vegetarian) Menu- Chuppal Kari- Skewers of mutton cubes and bell pepper, onions cooked with roasted coconut gravy and mudaliyar spices served with steamed rice From Turkey with Love- A combination of best of Turkish nad Lebanese offers- chicken shawarma, chicken sheesh touk, lamb kibbeh served with sour cream, hummus, garlic mayo and soft pita pockets. The Dragon Sizzler- Pan seared minute tenderloin steaks glazed with dragon sauce, served with a bowl of sticky rice. The London Mix Grill- Pepper steak, barbeque chicken, jumbo prawn, bockwurst sausage, grilled fish fillet- united in one platter. A la carte menu for the same is available during lunch and dinner meal time (i.e. 12:30 to 3:00 pm and 7:00 to 11:00 pm) Choose between vegetarian and non vegetarian sizzlers and enjoy them with a complimentary glass of chilled beer. Price 850-1050 plus taxes So come, have a wonderful meal and leave feeling full and happy with your friends and family For a sizzling time, come over to WelcomHotel Sheraton New Delhi from 17th- 26th May 2013 Baywatch is back to sizzle your appetite with the smoking hot Sizzler festival. The beer and sizzler festival at Baywatch offers a variety of hot and scrumptious sizzlers be it South Indian, Western or Asian Cuisine. From the freshest of flavors to the most lip smacking spices, the sizzler festival promises to take you on an incredible gastronomic journey. (non vegetarian)menu- Chuppal Kari- Skewers of mutton cubes and bell pepper, onions cooked with roasted coconut gravy and mudaliyar spices served with steamed rice From Turkey with Love- A combination of best of Turkish nad Lebanese offers- chicken shawarma, chicken siesh touk, lamb kibbeh served with sour cream, hummus, garlic mayo and soft pita pockets. The Dragon Sizzler- Pan seared minute tenderloin steaks glazed with dragon sauce, served with a bowl of sticky rice. The London Mix Grill- Pepper steak, barbeque chicken, jumbo prawn, bockwurst sausage, grilled fish fillet- united in one platter a la carte menu for the same is available during lunch and dinner meal time (i.e. 12:30 to 3:00 pm and 7:00 to 11:00 pm) Choose between vegetarian and non vegetarian sizzlers and enjoy them with a complimentary glass of chilled beer. Price 850-1050 plus taxes So come, have a wonderful meal and leave feeling full and happy with your friends and family

Blogging Marathon# 28: Week 3/ Day 3Theme: Sindhi DishesDish: Kheerni with Seviyan & Sago (Semya/ Vermicelli & Saggubiyyam Payasam)For the 3rd day of BM# 28, I wanted to make a Sindhi dessert, and since I was making for myself, I didn't want to deal with elaborate process and lot of leftovers. After looking high and low for a simple Sindhi dessert I found this Kheerni recipe on Alka's Sindhi Rasoi. She made her kheerni with crushed up seviyan (semya/ vermicelli). Upon further googling for Sindhi Kheerni, I found Shobha's recipe that she made with Sabhudana/ Sago pearls. I wasn't sure which one to choose for my kheerni, so I decided to add them both for a creamy and delicious kheer.Read more »

During the summer months, a serving of mixed fruits with vanilla ice cream, custard or mango sauce sounds so soothing and appealing to our palates. I found a similar recipe on the kesar mango pulp can I had and tried it as I was sure that we would like it. We were immediately sold though my presentation doesn't do much justice to this yummy dessert. I would have ended up with a better picture showing all the ingredients if I had put the mango pulp for a while in the freezer. I didn't and so all the ice cream ended up looking melted. However I assure you that this delectable dessert is an appealing one. A quick one to put together and needs no cooking. My kind of dessert when there is company. :) Ingredients: (2 servings) 1 cup kesar mango pulp 1/2 cup chopped mixed fruits (I used orange, nectarines, bananas and apples.) 4 scoops vanilla ice cream Wafer cookies (optional) Method: * Scoop out vanilla ice cream into a tall glass. * Pour mango pulp over it. * Top with mixed fruits and also some whipped cream if desired. * Decorate with crumbled wafer cookies. Serve chilled. Check out here to know what other participating marathoners are cooking. Comments

When I was thinking what I should make for the final day, I suddenly remembered that I had copied some sindhi recipes from one of the earlier marathons. Manisha had blogged about sindhi dishes and I remember just copying the recipes, so I simply glanced through them and went ahead making it. Infact this was not in the plan at all, as I thought I might simply post whatever I had already made. Everybody at home were indulging, with parents wanting me to make dinner for them. They were game for any new dish that I was planning. Nothing acts more as a push than willing folks to eat my food. So I just breezed into the kitchen, after noting what needs to be taken in. I even planned on a dessert to go with this delicious parathas. Masala Koki, Sindhi Aloo In all my haste, I failed to notice couple of things. First thing is, the rotis have to be really thick, which calls for the criss cross to be made on top. Next is, Manisha had referred Vaishali for both Masala Koki and Sindi Aloo recipes. I can point out whose recipe it is by simply looking at the recipe format. Somehow the story began with Manisha talking about her friends and it skipped my memory on what she said later. Only on the day I was checking again to read through it for links, did I notice that she was doing that week as BM paired and she did from Vaishali. Now that's a very close circle! Anyway everybody loved koki and aloo. Infact koki if not for the size and anardana, is very similar to the onion roti that we make at home. And aloo had dry mango powder. so all in all it was a new taste of the old dishes. I was so glad we all had a delicious meal. I went on to read more in Vaishali about Kokis and I see that there are two varieties. One with Pepper and another Masala. I ended up making Masala Koki. Masala Koki Ingredients Needed Wheat flour - 1 cup Oil/Ghee - 2 tsp Onion, julienne 1/2 cup Green chilli, finely chopped - 2 - 3 nos Anardana /pomegranate seeds powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Coriander leaves Mint leaves Salt to taste How to make the Kokis Take the flour in a bowl. Add all the ingredients and mix everything. Now slowly add water and knead to a stiff dough. Divide into balls, roll them out. Mark crisscross lines on top, making sure they are not deep. Heat a tawa and cook on both sides with oil/ghee, making sure it gets cooked well. Serve with aloo, curds and pickle Notes The criss cross is to ensure cooking deep inside as these are rolled thick. Sindhi Alu Ingredients Potatoes - 5 Turmeric powder a pinch Chilli powder 1 tsp Amchoor powder/Dry mango powder 1/4 tsp Corainder powder 1 tsp oil for shallow frying Salt to taste How to make the aloo MW the aloos with marks on the top for 5 mins. Soak and peel the skin. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Saute well. Then sprinkle all the other spice powders and continue cooking with lid covered for 5 mins. Serve garnished with coriander leaves. Notes: Original recipe calls for potatoes to be added as such. Though I know the taste and look will vary if I add boiled potatoes, I had to do it for want of time. next time will surely do this way. It was such a delicious dinner, I was so glad that Amma loved this so much. She said it was really such a long time since we made Onion parathas. So this reminded her of those days, when it used to be a weekly affair. I hope you enjoyed the Sindhi Recipes as much as I enjoyed making them. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 28

What happens when food bloggers sit down and eat... #fbforl

Hello from hot and humid Chennai! It will be 2 months soon since we are in Chennai. We came here in the first week of April, it was just as humid and hot as it is today. Officially the start date of summer is May 15th. Although I don't agree. The summer for me started on April 2nd for me....the date I arrived.If you are happened to be in one of such climates where you feel that you need some drink that really cools you down, this is the drink you should try. It has all the cooling ingredients. I just decided to put all the cool things together and the results had to be amazing. It has fresh coconut water, mint leaves, chia seeds, and cardamom and a squeeze of lemon.I know it's not the best picture, but this is what I was able to capture sine I am some 8000 miles away from my SLR....:( I took this one with a random Nokia phone, the name of which I am not even curious to know.Getting back to the drink.....I think cardamom really takes it to another level. There are two types of cardamom used in Indian cooking. One is big black cardamom, which is usually used in heavy dishes like biryani, pulav , punjabi currys and the other is green cardamom which is used in light and sweet dishes like kheer, and drinks and such. It's a great digestive tonic, has awesome anti- inflammatory, anti- microbial, diuretic properties and helps in detoxification of body. It also has soothing effect on muscles, nervous system and gives mental clarity.So here it goes-:Fresh coconut water of 1 coconut.Mint leaves just slightly teared apart with your hands.Chia seeds- about 2 tbspGreen Cardamom- about 2-3, peel and discard the outer shell and use only small black seeds which are inside. Crush them and add.A squeeze of lemon. Lemon if you are drinking in the morning and lime if you are drinking in the evening. Lemon makes your body alkaline if you have it in the morning and acidic if you are having it in the evening. Always use lemon in the mornings and lime in the evenings.Mix well keep it for about 15 minutes to let the flavors come together and then indulge...:) The chia seeds will swell, the mint leaves will release nice aroma and flavor, cardamom will do it's job and your body will bless you about 2 hours later. That's right, at this very moment as I am writing this blog entry, I could feel my body feeling cool from inside, and I am not feeling restless as I feel every evening due to the hot conditions here in Chennai.The one thing you should always have on your list when you visit south indian cities like Chennai, is SPICES. Oh..boy I can't stress it more, they are local and fresh, the smell makes me feel like living here forever.( I hope my hubby is not reading this..:)) The freshness is something that will last on your tongue forever. It's unbelievable!!!Another thing you should have on your list is a visit to Nalli Silks while in South India. Absolutely gorgeous collection that one shouldn't miss..:)A friend of mine has shared this amazing song on FB that I want you all to listen to. It's been just an hour and I am already hooked on to it. Loving it. I guess it's perfect background for writing a blog post.Here it goes...Enjoy!!

Blogging Marathon# 28: Week 3/ Day 2Theme: Sindhi DishesDish: Sindhi Mung-a & Aloo TookFor day 2 of BM under 'Sindhi dishes' theme, I made 2 very delicious and simple dishes. Dal with moong beans and a dry curry with potato. I had a lot of Sindhi dishes bookmarked to try like this amazing Sindhi Saibhaji, Kokis and other veggies dishes. But my husband's been travelling and I didn't want to make these just for myself because even if I make just a little bit, there will be a lot leftover for me to eat for a whole week. So after browsing through Vaishali's & Alka's blogs, I ended up with 2 dishes that can be made with minimum ingredients and in small quantity, so I won't have too much leftover.First up is this simple dal made with whole moong beans. I love all beans, both for their health benefits and texture. When I saw the recipe on Vaishali's blog, I thought how different can it be from the dishes I'm used to. But I was pleasantly surprised on how much flavor just finely chopped ginger and garlic imparts to a dish.Read more »

Have you read my post on Homemade Mascarpone raise your hands, I mean comment here if you tried it out. So assuming you did make it in your own kitchen.This a very old draft that I pulled out to post right away after seeing the picture. It is a simple dessert with a touch of art. I think your guests will love it and you don't need to sweat over it to please them.Ingredients1 pear1/2 cup pomegranate juice1 cup mascarpone cheese1/4 cup icing sugarPrepare mascarpone cheese and chill in the fridge overnight. You can used ready made straight from the box if in a hurry.Now prepare the pears. In a saucepan heat the Pomegranate juice. Shave off the pear skin. Halve the pear and put it in it. Cook till the pear gets a nice pink colored skin. Let it cool. Now slice the pear thin. It should have pink outer color and untainted insides. Before serving blend the sugar into the mascarpone cheese to sweeten it and fluff it up a bit. Pipe it out into pretty bowls. Arrange the sliced pear in the form of a rosette on top of the piped mascarpone in each bowl. Tip: always start making the rosette from inside by first making the rolled bud then arranging the petals around it.Serve chilled. All material on this blog is Copyright © 2006, 2007 to Anna Parabrahma

For the second day of Sindhi dishes, I decided I had to make something with cluster beans, the sindhi way. As I had said my wish of putting my cookbooks to good usage went down the drain, I had to think of ways to make the best of what I had. Though the perennial question "What to make for dinner" seems to plaque every household, somehow it is not so strong when I can discuss that with Athamma. Now hubby dear said he is dreading the moment I step in, as I ask him that right away! I also warned him that he has to play critic to the BM theme this month as I was planning on making regional specific. Which means he has no say in quoting the authenticity other than simply saying if it was good or not. With the lack of time, I almost decided I should split the dal and aloo tuk to separate days, I knew it looked so simple to post separately. Luckily I have landed with enough dishes to do it together. However this gravy I did with cluster beans had to be a post on it's own. In fact when I googled for sindhi style Guaar dish, I couldn't find much. I had to settle down to one source and requested Vaishali to seal her approval. I couldn't do that as well. So in the end I have to share and hope this is sindhi. We normally make cluster beans in two ways. One dry saute with spices and roasted peanut, another gravy as a side dish for either dosas or chapatis. This version ended up being a dry saute with more of spice than what we normally add. It went fine with chapatis. Sindhi Guar Bhaji Sindhi Guar Bhaji Ingredients Needed Cluster beans / Guaar, finely chopped - 250 gms Tomatoes finely chopped - 2 medium Ginger Garlic paste 1/2 tsp Green chillies - 2 long Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Whole cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/ 2 tsp Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp Dry mango powder 1/4 tsp Cooking oil - 1 tsp Salt to taste How to make Sindhi Guaar Bhaji: Wash the chopped guaar 2-3 times in normal water. MW the beans in enough water for 10 mins, drain the beans and keep it aside. In a non stick pan, heat oil, Add cumin and mustard seeds and allow to crackle. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste, cook for 2 minutes on low flame. Add chopped tomatoes, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes until nice color of tomatoes appear. Add boiled beans and coriander powder, saute for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water and garam masala powder, mix thoroughly. Simmer with lid covered so that the masalas are cooked and coats the vegetable. Finally add the dry mango powder, combine everything, make sure the subji is dry. Sindhi Guaar is a dry Subzi, so cook till all the water is evaporated. Serve hot with chapati Notes: I was skeptical about adding both cumin seeds and mustard for tempering. By default other than our andhra dal, I never add this combination for gravies. Come to think of it, other than dry mango powder, everything else is the same as how we make our kuras (gravies). So that goes to say that simple dishes across states are very much similar in their making. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 28