Fried Olives

Ingredients

1. 15- 20 Cerignola green olives rinsed and dried

2. 4 tbsp of ricotta cheese

3. 2 tbsp of gorgonzola blue cheese

4. 1 tbsp of lemon zest

5. Pepper to taste

6. 1 tbsp of dried thyme

7. 1 ½ cup of all purpose flour

8. 1 egg beaten

9. 2 cups of panco bread crumbs

10. Vegetable oil for frying.

Directions

1. Make an assembly line of three bowls/ trays of all purpose flour, egg, panco bread.

2. In the mean time heat oil in a non stick deep dish pan or fryer.

3. Now in a bowl add ricotta cheese and gorgonzola blue cheese. Make sure you keep this cheese in room temperature before mixing other things.

4. Add thyme and lemon zest to the cheese and mix well.

5. Now in a zip lock bag put the cheese mixture. At the end of zip lock bag cut a slight hole for filling the olives.

6. Carefully fill the olives with cheese mixture and keep on dropping into the flour tray.

7. When all the olives are done dust the olives from flour and add to the egg tray one by one with help of spoon.

8. Then at last to the panco bread crumbs. Roll them well so that bread crumbs sticks well.

9. Take the olives out and keep in tray carefully. Wait till all the olives are done.

10. Now drop at least 4-5 olives in oil, it only takes 2-3 minutes.

11. When they turn golden brown remove from oil and keep in tray covered with tissue paper.

12. Enjoy hot fried olives appetizer with ketchup.

-Chitra

Paneer Bagh-E-Bahar

Ingredients

1. 200 gms paneer / Indian cottage cheese cubes

2. 2 cup green bell pepper/ capsicum cubed (around 1-2 inch)

3. 2 cup of cubed onions

4. 1 green chilies vertically cut and finely chopped

5. 1 tsp garlic finely minced

6. 2 tbsp of ginger minced

7. 1 cup pineapple chopped

8. 1 can of tomato puree

9. 2 tbsp of tomato ketchup

10. Salt to taste

11. ½ tsp red chili powder

12. 1 tsp sugar

13. ¼ cup cashew nut paste

14. ½ cup fresh cream

15. 2 tbsp oil

Directions

1. Heat up oil in a non stick kadai and mix in ginger and cook on medium heat.

2. Now when ginger turns light brown add garlic and green chilies and sauté.

3. Whisk Cashew nuts paste and fresh cream.

4. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until little soft and turn brown.

5. Now mix in cashew cream paste and stir very rigorously.

6. Now add tomato puree and ketchup and cook for 5-8 minutes with lid closed.

7. Add salt and red chili pepper. Stir fry it for 5 minutes and mix in sugar.

8. Mix in pineapple and stir till cooked. Low the flame now.

9. Mix in paneer cubes. Stir carefully so that cubes don’t fall apart.

10. Transfer to serving bowl and serve hot with tandoori roti.

-Chitra

Pineapple and Mango Jam

Ingredients

1. 1 can of crushed drained pineapple

2. 1 can of mashed can mangoes

3. 2 cups of sugar of sugar

4. Water

5. ½ cup of lime juice

Directions

1. Blend pineapple and mango so that there are no chunks.

2. Now in a non stick pan add sugar and water and cook till sugar carmalizes.

3. Now add Mango and Pineapple pulp to it.

4. Keep on stirring them and add lime juice.

5. Cook till it is fully cooked and turned thick.

6. Ladle in sterilized jars.

-Chitra

Peas Mushroom Pasanda

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of fresh green peas

2. 2 cups of sliced mushroom

3. 1 big onion diced

4. 2 tsp of garlic minced

5. 2 tbsp of thick tomato puree

6. ½ cup of cream

7. Salt to taste

8. ½ tsp of red chili powder

9. ½ tsp of turmeric powder

10. ½ tsp of coriander powder

11. ½ cup of diced cashews roasted

12. 2 cardamoms

13. Dhaniya / coriander for garnishing

14. Oil

Directions

1. In a non stick pan add 2tbsp of oil

2. Now add diced onions and cook for brown color.

3. Now add garlic and stir. Cook for 1 minute to cook rawness of garlic.

4. Now add Peas and sauté them till they are half cooked.

5. Add Mushroom and stir fry them in the same mixture.

6. Now add Salt, red chili, turmeric, coriander powder.

7. Cook and then add tomato puree.

8. Add cardamom’s and add ½ cup of cream, stir and cook with lid on till it is cooked thoroughly.

9. Turn off the heat, add cashews to the mixture.

10. Serve hot with butter naan, garnish with dhaniya leaves.

-Chitra

Tip of the Day

While making tomato soup, add 1-2 slices of bread while grinding the tomatoes in the grinder. This will ensure that the soup is not only thicker but also tastier.

Chicken Vindaloo

Ingredients

1. 3 chicken Breasts chopped in bite size pieces

2. 3 tbsp of lemon juice

3. 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar

4. 2 onions chopped finely

5. 2 tbsp of garlic and ginger paste

6. Salt to taste

7. 1 tsp of coriander powder

8. ½ tsp of cayenne pepper

9. 1 tsp of red chili powder

10. 5 tsp of garam masala

11. 1 tsp of cumin

12. ½ tsp of mustard seeds

13. ½ tsp of cumin seeds

14. ½ tsp of cinnamon

15. 1 bay leaf

16. 2 cloves

17. Oil

18. Coriander / cilantro / dhaniya leaves to garnish

Directions

1. In a large plastic bowl or zip lock bag add lemon juice, vinegar, one chopped onion, all the spices and shake it well.

2. Now add the chicken pieces and marinade and leave it overnight or for 4 hrs minimum.

3. In a non stick pan add 2 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil .

4. Now add chopped onion.

5. When they turn pink add ginger and garlic paste.

6. Cook for 3 minutes and add salt.

7. Add the marinated chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked with lid closed on low heat. Stir in between so that chicken does not stick.

8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve in fancy kadai with rice or laccha paratha.

-Chitra

Lucknowi Daal

Traditional Daal recipe is spicy and tangy.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of soaked tuar / arhaar daal

2. ½ tsp f turmeric powder

3. 2 tbsp of tamarind pulp

4. Salt to taste

5. 1 tsp of cumin seeds

6. 1 tsp of dried Red chili

7. 4 chopped finely garlic cloves

8. A pinch of Asafetida

9. 1 cup of milk

10. 2 tbsp of Oil

11. Cilantro / dhaniya leaves for garnishing

Directions

1. In a non stick deep pan add two cups of water.

2. Now add soaked daal to it.

3. Add milk and green chili and stir.

4. Bring the daal to boil.

5. Now reduce the heat and add tamarind pulp and turmeric powder.

6. Cook on simmer and meanwhile in a non stick pan prepare the tadka.

7. Heat oil and add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

8. Now add dry red chili and chopped garlic and reduce heat.

9. Add asafetida powder and salt.

10. Pour the cooked daal in a serving bowl.

11. Mix in the tadka and chopped dhaniya leaves to daal and stir.

Serve hot with roti or steamed rice.

-Chitra

Another Recipe got published in “Times of Oman” issue October (7-13), 2010

Here it is guys:) Thanks to all of you

-Chitra

Tip of the Day

If you sprinkle Nutmeg / Jayaphal while boiling the milk for making kheer, rabri etc.. it will become tastier.

Try these Recipes :-

Ras Malai, Meethi Sewaiyaan, Sabudana Kheer, Rabri Faluda, Firni

Chicken Jalfrezi

Ingredients

1. 2 Chicken breasts skinless shredded / chopped in bite size pieces

2. 1 big onion chopped finely vertically

3. 2 cloves of garlic minced

4. 2 tbsp of grated ginger

5. 1 green chili finely chopped without seeds

6. 1 cup of mixed bell pepper sliced vertically( red, green, yellow, orange)

7. 2 cups of boiled basmati rice

8. 4-5 tbsp of butter

9. 1 tbsp of olive oil

10. 2 tbsp of tomato puree

11. Salt to taste

12. 2 tsp of (mild one) curry powder or use mixture of 2 tsp turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder.

13. 1 cup of water

Directions

1. Heat the Oil in non stick pan and add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 3 tbsp of butter. This will prevent butter to burn.

2. Add the chopped onions, garlic and chili when the oil and butter is hot. Fry till the onions turn golden brown but do not burn.

3. Now add curry powder and stir.

4. Now add tomato puree and salt to taste and let it cook for 1 minute.

5. Add the chopped chicken to the pan, and cook for 4-5 minutes till chicken is almost cooked. Be careful it does not stick to the pan.

6. Now add water to the pan and turn down the heat.

7. Put the lid on and let the chicken cook for 3-4 minutes.

8. Now add bell peppers and stir in and close the lid again and let it cook until bell peppers turn little soft.

9. Now add grated ginger and turn off the gas. Close the lid and set it to other side.

10. In the mean while add 2 tbsp of butter in another non stick pan on low heat. When the butter turns liquid and little hot add the boiled basmati rice without water.

11. Turn off the gas and remove from heat and stir with fork so that rice does not break.

12. Transfer the rice into bowl and push it down. Now tilt the bowl carefully in the middle of tray and spread the cooked chicken jalfrezi around the rice and serve hot.

13. Garnish with spring onions chopped.

Rajasthan ki Kadhi

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of besan / gram flour

2. 3 cups of chaaj / butter milk (or mixture of 2 cups of yoghurt +2 cups of water)

3. 3 green chilies chopped

4. Red chili powder

5. Turmeric powder

6. Salt to taste

7. ½ tsp f coriander powder

8. Pinch of Asafoetida

9. ½ tsp of ajwain / carom seeds

10. ½ tsp of cumin / zeera seeds

11. Oil

12. 1 tbsp of ginger minced

13. About 10 curry leaves

Directions

1. Heat 4 cups of oil in deep dish non stick pan for pakoras.

2. In a bowl add 2 tbsp of besan with 1 green chili chopped. Add ½ tsp of red chili powder and ¼ tsp of turmeric powder.

3. Add 2tbsp of yoghurt.

4. Add cumin seeds, ajwain, coriander powder, ginger and asafetida and salt.

5. Mix it well till it turns to thick batter for pakoras.

6. Drop the pakoras one by one when the oil is hot and cook all of them.

7. Keep the pakoras on tissue paper or kitchen towel for excess oil to drain.

8. In another bowl add Butter milk and rest of the besan.

9. Add ¼ tsp of turmeric powder and salt and mix it well.

10. In a non stick pan add 2 tbsp of oil and add the butter milk mixture.

11. Cook till it turns little thick.

12. Now in a non stick pan prepare the tadka.

13. Add 1 ½ tbsp of clarified butter or vegetable oil and add ½ tsp of red chili powder and curry leaves and green chilies and sauté them.

14. Pour the tadka to kadhi and add pakoras to it.

15. Serve hot with steamed Rice or zeera rice or paranthas.

-Chitra