Saturday, January 29, 2011

Basundi

The recipe is simple, but requires some time and patience. But other than that, it is not at all difficult. I got the recipe from my friend's wife Sowmya. I followed her instructions and it turned out much better than I expected. I attribute the success of this recipe to its simplicity.

Ingredients:
  1. Milk (whole milk) - 1 ltr.
  2. Sugar - 1/2 cup or as per taste
  3. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp.
  4. Saffron - 10-15 strands
  5. Pistachio (thin slices) - 1 tsp.

Procedure:
  1. In a deep flat bottomed nonstick pan, heat milk on medium flame till the milk boils.
  2. Continue heating the milk on low flame till the milk is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume. During this process, layers of cream will be formed. Keep stirring in these layers of cream into the milk.
  3. Add sugar and stir till it dissolves completely.
  4. Add cardamom powder.
  5. Add saffron strands dissolved in 2 tsp. of warm milk.
  6. Remove from flame. After it cools to room temperature, refrigerate. Serve chilled, garnished with pistachio flakes.
According to most internet sources, Basundi and Rabdi are the same. Somehow, I personally call this dish above Basundi. It is thick and creamy and can be served as a singleton dessert.
I do refer to Rabdi in some of my other recipes, where it is used as an accompaniment for Jalebi or Malpua or as a part of the recipe for Shahi Tukra or Rasmalai. According to my definition, Rabdi must not be extremely thick and creamy, but just slightly thicker than milk so that it can be kind of soaked in by the Jalebi, Malpua etc. For making Rabdi for these dishes, you can follow the same instructions as above, but instead of reducing the milk to 1/3, reduce it to half its original volume.




Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Tomato Gojju

This is probably the first dish I ever learnt to make from mom. Its quick and easy to make and tastes yummy. We generally make it when we are short of time or when we are traveling.
Ingredients:
  1. Tomatoes ( chopped finely) - 6
  2. Onions ( chopped finely or into thin long slices) - 2
  3. Green chillies (slit into long pieces) - 3
  4. Chilli powder - 1 tsp. (optional)
  5. Dhania powder - 1 tsp. (optional)
  6. Mustard - 1 tsp.
  7. Oil - 3 tsp.
  8. Coriander leaves for garnishing.
  9. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Procedure:
  1. Heat oil on a kadai. Add mustard and allow it to splutter.
  2. Add green chillies, curry leaves and onions and fry till onions turn translucent.
  3. Add tomtoes and cook with closed lid on a low flame for 5 minutes.
  4. Add chilli powder, dhania powder and salt. Cook for 5 more minutes. Stir well.
  5. Garnish with coriander leaves and remove from flame.
This dish tastes best with chapatis. It can be had with dosa, ragi dosa and idlis too.
Variations:
Add finely chopped capsicum or brinjals or peas after onions and before tomatoes and cook for a few minutes for an enhanced taste.

Vendhaya Keerai Kozhambu

Ingredients:
  1. Methi leaves - 2 cups (cleaned and chopped)
  2. Tamarind - size of a lemon
  3. Solid asafoetida - 1/2 inch piece
  4. Red chillies - 2 or 3
  5. Sambhar powder - 2 tsp.
  6. Oil - 3 tsp.
  7. Mustard - 1 tsp.
  8. Corn flour - 1 tsp. (optional)
  9. Jaggery - 1/2 inch piece (optional)
  10. Salt to taste

Procedure:
  1. Soak tamarind in one cup of water and extract the pulp.
  2. In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard.
  3. When the mustard splutters, add asafoetida, red chillies and the methi leaves and saute for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the tamarind pulp.
  5. Add sambhar powder,salt and bring to a boil.
  6. Keep boiling for around 5-10 minutes on a low flame.
  7. Add corn flour or rice flour to very little water and make a light paste. Add this to the boiling gravy to thicken it. If you do not want the gravy to be thick, you can skip this step. Also you can add a small piece of jaggery if you like it.
  8. Remove from flame and serve with hot rice and ghee/gingelly oil.
The same procedure can be used for Kozhambu with other vegetables. Replace methi leaves with thinly sliced onions, whole shallots, lady's fingers cut into 1 inch pieces or brinjals diced into 1 inch cubes. Add some methi seeds and curry leaves to the seasoning in this case.
Since this kozhambu does not use coconut or dal, it can be stored for upto a week when stored in the fridge.

Baingan Bharta

This is a kind of customized version of Bharta that I make - took a few recipes from the net, cut the complexities and tailored it for my kitchen.

Ingredients:
  1. Brinjals (Large Purple) - 1/2 kg
  2. Onions - 2
  3. Tomatoes - 2
  4. Green chillies - 2 or 3
  5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
  6. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
  7. Oil/Ghee - 5-6 tsp.
  8. Coriander leaves - for garnishing.
Procedure:
  1. Smear the brinjals with oil, prick them with a knife and roast them over direct flame. Peel the burnt skin, add salt and mash the pulp. If needed, cook it for 2 minutes in a microwave.
  2. In a kadai, heat oil/ghee, add finely chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent.
  3. Add finely chopped green chillies and finely chopped tomatoes. Fry till a homogeneous gravy is formed and the oil separates out.
  4. Add chilli powder, dhania powder and salt.
  5. Add the mashed brinjal pulp and fry for some more time.
  6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis.

Chana Masala

My aunt was here for a week and we had a food festival at home! She gave me an easy recipe for Chana Masala, so thought I will share it here.

Ingredients:
  1. Chana (white) - 250 g. soaked overnight.
  2. Tomatoes - 2
  3. Onions - 2
  4. Ginger - 1 inch piece
  5. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
  6. Everest Chana Masala powder - 1 tsp.
  7. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
  8. Oil - 3 tsp
  9. Salt - to taste
Procedure:
  1. Cook the chana in a cooker. Make sure that the chana is completely cooked.
  2. Grind the ginger, onion and tomatoes together in a mixie to make a puree.
  3. Take oil in a kadai and fry the above puree till the raw smell is gone.
  4. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and chana masala powder.
  5. Take a quarter of the cooked chana and mash it completely with hand. Add this back to the rest of the chana. (This is to make the gravy slightly thicker).
  6. Add the fried masala to the chana, add salt and cook for some more time. You might want to pressure cook for one more whistle.
  7. Garnish with chopped coriander or onion rings and serve with puris.