Jeera Aloo sabji – Cumin Potato – Indian recipe

Easiest, quickest, minimum ingredients, extremely delicious, healthy way to eat potatoes….. okay are these not enough reasons for you to try this once at least!

This recipe is by Mumtaaz Aunty (Yasir’s aunt; who is super talented, cooks, bakes, sews, looks gorgeous, hey….almost like this recipe… strictly talking in food language that is :D ) Hi Aunty, miss you all….

Okay back to the recipe. This is made, and I am not exaggerating when I say, in probably every house in India!

I cannot believe everyone I know forgot to give me this recipe, when I started learning to cook!!

Enough talk talk… here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Whole cumin (‘jeera’) about 1 tsp
3 medium size potatoes, washed, leave skin on, diced
couple tbsp oil for cooking
salt, black pepper, red chilli (‘mirchi’) powder as per taste

Method:

First heat the oil, in a shallow pan. Put the cumin in it, after it sizzles, add the chopped potatoes. Mix and then sprinkle the salt and chilli powder. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, till the potatoes are tender.

Done! Hey…that’s it…what do you think? Is it not exactly as I mentioned?

March 4, 2010 | No Comments »

Basmati Rice – cooked in rice cooker – easy recipe

I know, I know who doesn’t cook rice! Everyone knows how to make rice, but  everyone cannot make the perfect rice using the rice cooker, i know I cant!  Most of the times my rice is sticky, too much water, sometimes dry, maybe less water? I dont know.

Mumtaaz aunty told me her way to make basmati rice, she uses the big rice cooker with the locked lid.

Here is her recipe.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice (ofcourse), (for 6 people, 3 cups, use 5 cups water)
salt, and oil

Soak the rice in cold water for one. Then drain the water, and put it in the rice cooker with 5 cups of water, salt and oil.

(Mumtaaz aunty said, if u have 3 cups of rice in the cooker, then put water, till the level is at 5 cups. )

Aunty said, that Basmati needs more water.

February 25, 2010 | No Comments »

Spinach and Potatoes – Kashmiri Recipe – Aloo Palak

Aunty Sara has very easy recipes, which are great for gals and guys like me.

I just found this recipe for making spinach with potatoes (I love it), very easy, delicious, and oh so healthy! What more do you want?

And you can eat it with anything.

Ingredients:

Onions, chopped,
garlic paste or finely chopped,
baby spinach 1 bag,
spices: red chilli (mirchi) powder, corriander (dhania) powder, cumin (jeera) powder, fennel (saunf) powder, haldi, pinch of garam masala
potatoes, diced
Method:
Fry onions and garlic, then put spinach.

Cook on low heat till half the water evaporates, then add potatoes. Sprinkle the spices. Cook till potatoes are tender.

February 21, 2010 | No Comments »

Aloo ki sabji – Simply Potatoes – Indian Recipe

I cant write enough about the versatility of potatoes, and how it continues to be the most loved vegetable all over the globe! Hey, dont mean to be a smart you know what, but it is a Global vegetable….haa!

Well, this is what Neeti made during my pregnancy, when I went to visit her. She is now in India, hope she is back soon!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped,
1 tbsp garlic paste or chopped, however you like it
3-4 medium size potatoes, boiled and chopped in bite size pieces
spices: red chilli powder or paprika (if you dont like it too hot), corriander seed (dhania) powder, salt, black pepper, couple pinches of turmeric (haldi)

Method:
Fry onions, add garlic (lots)

Add the spices, and mix well. Finally add boiled potatoes. Cover with a lid for a couple minutes. Done.

Note: Goes well with simple dal rice (lentils and rice), or Indian rotis (Indian flat bread), or as a toast sandwich.

February 16, 2010 | No Comments »

Store-bought ingredient : Home made bread! (Puris with Pillsbury biscuit dough recipe)

Kylie, is Yasir’s colleague’s young daughter, and she had asked for some Indian bread recipe, so Yasir emailed her the link to making Puris/parathas from my blog.

She made puris, and I am super impressed!! They took a picture, I will post it, they look perfect!

So, I remembered the short cut I used to take to make puris, when I started cooking. I dont know who had given me this tip, but it was great! Pillsbury biscuit dough, available in almost all grocery stores here in US, can be used to making a different variety of Puris made in India, they are called Bhature (eaten usually with Chole).

Ingredients:

Pillsbury biscuit dough,
oil for frying,
all purpose flour for dipping
Method:

Divide the biscuit dough in half, and roll them in your palms, and then flatten them into discs. Dip in a little all purpose flour, and then roll out little circles with a rolling pin. Fry as per the instructions listed in the Puri recipe.

Puri recipe: http://www.lifensuch.com/puris.htm

Chole recipe: http://www.lifensuch.com/chole-chick-peas-cooked-in-indian-spices-super-simple-recipe.htm

May 27, 2009 | 3 Comments »

Egg Burji – w/garlic – Scrambled eggs with garlic and Indian spices

I hate the smell of egg these days. So, I remembered my Mother-in-laws burji; she makes it with garlic and spices. It is so good. I made it a couple days back, I made some extra, because I had run of out fried onions, and since I was going to stand in the kitchen and fry chopped onions anyway, I made a bit extra. In Kashmir, we would have this burji with Whole wheat parathas. Yumm Yumm. I wish I was there now.
Ingredients:

Eggs 4 medium sized
2 onions (medium or large size)
2 tomatoes (large size); if you want to use tomato paste instead, about 1 1/2 tsp
1 tsp garlic paste,
salt, 2 tsp red chilli powder, sprinkle of black pepper, 1/2 tsp garam masala or corriander (dhania) powder (1/2 tsp),
oil for cooking

Method:

Start by frying onions, until translucent. Then add chopped tomatoes to it, and cook till oil seperates out. Add the garlic and spices, and a little salt. Fry for a minute, and add beaten eggs to this, and cook this on sim or low flame, until the eggs are fully cooked. Ta-da Done.

I could eat this for breakfast or lunch. Anytime it would be just great!

Note: If you want to make it more presentable, add fresh chopped cilantro, and green hot peppers towards the end.

April 23, 2009 | No Comments »

Gud Papdi – Sukhdi – Gujarati Indian Recipe

When I was in elementary school, one of our neighbors were from Gujarat, western part of India. She used to make this dessert made with 3 commonly found ingredients in Indian houses. Ofcourse you could jazz it up with dry fruits and stuff. But I am so lazy, I just stuck to the basic ingredients. This is my mother’s recipe for making gud papdi, which I am guessing she picked it up from our neighbor.
Not only is it delicious, and good for you, kids genuinely like to eat it. And they dont know its a healthy dessert. Shhhhhhhhh, lets just keep that to ourselves! :)

Here it goes.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour (smooth texture), 1 cup
jaggery (gud), 3/4 cup grated
unsalted butter or ghee 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Optional:

white poppy seeds (khus khus) about 1 tbsp
slivered almonds for garnish

Method:

Keep a small tray or a deep dish ready, but greasing the bottom with a non-stick spray or ghee. I used a 8X8 inch square glass pan.
Start by heating up the ghee/butter. Then add the flour to this. Roast on medium high flame till you get a sweet smell, and the color looks like a deeper tan/golden red.

When its nicely roasted. Turn off the heat, and add the jaggery to this. Quickly mix it.

Then put this in the greased pan, and flat it out with a spatula, or with the bottom of a smooth bowl.

Cut into little pieces, and let it cool thoroughly.

I read somewhere this stores well for upto 15 days.

Note: I made a small mistake, I got bored grating the gud, so I just put it in a ziplock bag and broke it up in small pieces with rolling pin. But later when I was mixing it in with the roasted flour it would not evenly mix in. So, next time, take the effort, and grate it!! :)

April 6, 2009 | No Comments »

Suji halwa – Cream of Wheat Dessert – Indian Recipe

I never ever ever could make halwa, but tonight, inspired by a recipe I saw on YouTube, from Vahchef which is very much like my Turkish Un (flour) Halwa recipe, I finally did it!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ghee  (I used 1 stick unsalted butter),
1 cup suji (use fine, but coarse works too – suji is basically cream of wheat)
1 cup sugar (more or less, depending on taste – start with less, you can always add more at the end)
2 3/4 cup milk + water (1 3/4 milk, 1 cup water) – cold
almonds slivered (cut length wise) (optional: cashews, raisins, pistachios, etc)
saffron soaked in warm water (few pinches of saffron)

Method:

I started by roasting the almonds in the butter, till they were about pinkish in color. Then I added the suji. On low – med heat, I roasted the suji for a long long time (my mother and Rudaba aunty say that when you get the sweet smell, then its done). Since I have a blocked nose tonight, I went by the color, so look for pink-tan color. (I almost burnt it, so be careful).

Then, after its nicely roasted, add the sugar, mix quickly, and pour the cold milk water mixture slowly, while stirring constantly.

Let it come to a boil, then reduce the flame/heat to medium. Add the saffron soaked in water now. Let it cook, till it reaches the consistency you like (dont make it really dry, let it be little gooey). When most of the liquid evaporates. Put a lid over the pan, and turn off the heat, and leave it like that for about 5-8 minutes.

That’s it, its ready. Serve hot!!

Note: You can freeze this. Just while serving, thaw completely, and microwave till its nice and hot.

March 4, 2009 | No Comments »

Baingan Raita – Grilled Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce – Indian Recipe

This recipe is by my Mom, it is super delicious!! And oh… really easy, especially when you use a can of Grilled Eggplant (which is available in Middle Eastern Stores).

Ingredients:

1 can Grilled Eggplant, or you can do you it over gas flame or in the oven
2 onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
green hot peppers, chopped (as many as you desire)
salt, as per taste
a pinch of sugar
black pepper powder
1 tsp garam masala
yogurt (I think about 1-2 cups)

Method:

Fry the chopped onions, till translucent (not golden brown). Add in the garlic and green peppers, and sautee for a few minutes. Add the sugar, salt, garam masala, the grilled eggplant, mix and turn off the heat after 5 minutes.

Cool it completely and stir in the beaten yogurt.

That’s it, serve at room temperature. Garnish with chopped cilantro and chopped green hot peppers (without the seeds if you dont want it hot).

This is good as a side dish to complement Indian food, or as a dip with crackers.

December 14, 2008 | 2 Comments »

If Thanksgiving Turkey is a No No – then make chicken! – Whole baked chicken – Indian spices

Now, I am not a big fan of Turkey, I have eaten it a few times, but I still like my chicken better. And so this time, we decided to make a whole chicken stuffed with rice for Thanksgiving dinner.

Not only does it take way less time to cook, the prep time is also shorter, but the end result is just fabulous! It looks great, it tastes great, win-win all the way!

Ingredients:

Whole chicken (we got 2, a chicken is way smaller than Turkey)
Tandoori Barbecue or Chicken Tikka Bbq mix from Shan,
Garam Masala,
Cajun spice mix
ginger garlic paste,
yogurt,
lemon juice
red food color
butter for basting
oil for marinade

For stuffing:
rice about 1 cup,
1 small potato, chopped in little pieces
Shan biryani mix, 1 tbsp,
oil
Method:

Clean the chicken, and prepare the marinade in a bowl first. I add almost a whole packet of the bbq mix (for 2 chickens), about a 1/2 tbsp garam masala, about 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste, squirt of lemon juice, drizzle in a little oil, a pinch of red color, and a sprinkle of the cajun spice.

Cut some slits in the chicken, and then apply the marinade with your hand, rubbing it in.

Marinade the chickens for atleast 2 days in the refrigerator. On the day of cooking, leave it out at room temperature for atleast a couple hours.

To make the rice, soak it in water. Then add it to boiling water, let it cook almost till its half done. Drain out the water, and mix in some biryani masala (Shan biryani mix), about a tablespoon, the chopped potato, and some oil.
To bake the chicken, put them in a pan belly side up. Put the rice stuffing in it, till its almost full, because once the rice is fully cooked, it will come out of the chicken. So you dont want too much in it.

Bake at 375 deg F, covered with foil. Till it is cooked thoroughly, I would suggest, every 20 minutes, open and check it with a fork, and also drizzle some melted butter over it.

When it is cooked, remove the foil, and bake for additional 10-15 minutes. Also, at the end, broil for a couple minutes.

That’s it.

So, you see, its only marinating, stuffing, baking.

Note:  I think only potato stuffing would taste great too. Also, you could use the small chickens (about 3), this would look really cute.

December 5, 2008 | No Comments »
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