Life 'n' Such

One example for dinner menu for kashmiri food would be dinner at Mir’s. Aunty Sara and Uncle Mir invited my parents when they were visiting US. They had what I call a mini vaazvaan! Vaazvaan means the food served at a typical Kashmir wedding. It consists of several meat/poultry preparations like kebabs, koftas, tandoori style etc etc. It never ends.

In the same way, Aunty Sara always had an elaborate menu. Hence I call it mini-Vaazvaan . Infact the above picture doesnt show all the dishes Aunty had that nite. There were just too many for my poor camera to capture. But I think there were 2-3 vegetables, pilaf, tandoori chicken etc etc along with the meat dishes that can be seen in the picture.
Being Kashmiri food week, I think it is appropriate to post the pictures of the food even though I dont have the recipes as yet.

Above picture is of dessert we had that night: Kunafa and Pineapple delight.

Hmm….now all I need are the recipes ….Aunty Sara …please help!

3 Comments | In: Food, Kashmiri, Recipes | | #

I normally dont like peas, but I just loved this vegetable made by Mumtaaz aunty last week. Bell pepper with peas tastes amazing, you have to give it a try! It looks pretty too, and ofcourse it is super healthy!

Ingredients:

Bell pepper (simla mirch) 4, cut in long pieces
fresh/frozen peas (as much as you like)
onion 1-2 chopped
salt and spices (chilli (mirchi) powder, coriander (dhania) powder, cumin (jeera) powder, garam masala)
1/2 can tomato sauce/ fresh tomatoes
oil and water for cooking

Method:

Fry the onions till brown in the oil, then add the bell pepper, fry till oil separates out (I think, when they start looking shiny and the pieces are tender, its done). Put the frozen peas and fry again.

Finally add the salt and spices to this. Mix for a minutes till the spices are cooked(not burnt ). Add the tomato sauce and sautée for a couple minutes, add water, and cook covered till it all comes together.

No Comments | In: Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Recipes | | #

I am dedicating this week to Kashmiri food. Yesterday we had a small gathering to welcome our friend Fauzia’s parents to US. I cannot make authentic Kashmiri food, but I love it, I love Kashmir, and most off I like every Kashmiri I have met so far. I hope Kashmir gets the freedom it deserves. Everything about it is so wonderful!

To start this week, I thought Kehva (Kashmiri tea) is perfect. This is made by Fauzia , she used cinnamon sticks, green cardamom and saffron. Start by boiling cinnamon sticks in water for about 5 minutes, add the saffron and the cardamom and boil again for another 5-8 minutes. (Aunty Sara had put all the ingredients in the cold water, and let it stay like that, until she was ready to make the tea)
I have another recipe for Kehva by Sara Aunty posted earlier, she used green tea leaves (from Kashmir) with the cinnamon and cardamom.

Note: You can garnish with almonds pieces while serving. This recipe has no caffeine, its an herbal tea.

1 Comment | In: Food, Kashmiri, Recipes | | #

We had gone for dinner to Mumtaaz aunty’s house. She had made I think 7 main dishes. I dont eat meat, but she had made enough vegetables and chicken, so I was one happy gal! I wish I had taken my camera, she had butter chicken, chick peas, green bell pepper with lots of peas (I loved this combination of vegetable, I have the recipe, I am going to post it after this one), chops, sheekh kebabs, and lamb cooked with beans (again unusual combination).

I liked this butter chicken, it is a recipe that you can make anytime, requires less effort, and minimum number of ingredients, and shhhhh dont tell anyone, it doesnt have butter in it So people watching weight, around the world, try this one, you will have a happy stomach and a healthy heart!

Ingredients:

boneless chicken breast, cut in bite sized chunks
onions chopped (about 1 onion onion for 2 chicken breast)
ginger and garlic grated
salt,
spices: red chilli powder (mirchi), cumin powder (zeera), corriander powder (dhania)
3-4 tbsp tomato sauce
2-3 tbsp sour cream
water and oil for cooking

Method:

First heat the oil, start frying the onions till they are reddish brown. Add the chicken, salt, ginger and garlic, fry till all the water evaporates, and the pieces look oily/shiny. Add the spices, fry for a minute, add the tomato sauce, again fry nicely for a long time (till oil seperates). Add sour cream mix well, finally add water to get a sauce like consistency. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or till the chicken is tender.

Now didnt I tell you, this was easy-breezy!

2 Comments | In: Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Recipes | | #