Life 'n' Such

Do you know what Caravan Serai means. Well it means Roadside Inn for travelers. You could still see a lot of these in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, etc. But mostly ruins, which I am sure are still a lovely sight.

We went to a restaurant last night, craving good ol’ fashioned non veg food. We decided on Caravan Serai, an Afghani styled joint. This is located on Link Road, Andheri w, in Mumbai, near the Infinity Mall.

My thoughts:
Taste: Alright, I could eat similar food almost every other place,
Cost: A bit pricey (per person about Rs. 750, i.e. in USD hmm about say $15-$18),
Ambiance: Good ambiance, nicely decorated cream walls, with unique things hanging on walls and ceiling, pretty cool, good mood lighting, inside and outside dining option, low seating, which was unique, I don’t know if taller people would like that.

We ordered a few things, but the best thing we liked was the masala papad. It was perfect!

Recipe for Masala Papad:

A udid dal papad fried in oil.
The topping: It was just plain finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro (corriander leaves) with a little salt, and red chilli powder.

That my friend, was the recipe, so easy huh? So get up make it, and eat it right away, so you know what I am drooling about. Its a good snack, appetizer, and oh I almost forgot, we ordered a tall glass of sweet lassi, which was so good with this Masala papad. Yumm!

They served the lassi beautifully. It was a tall glass, with few ice cubes, and the lassi was nice thick consistency, not completely smooth and whisked, but there were a few pieces of yogurt (dahi) in it, which a nice idea I liked. And the best part is the small stream of a rose syrup they had down the side of the glass, gave a light flavor and looked brilliant!

It was just divine!

So, quick take, if you have money to splurge, sure go ahead, enjoy at the Caravan Serai and definitely order the Masala papad.

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian, Interesting stuff, Kashmiri, Other | | #

I love this!

And I had no clue, this was that easy!

So without further ado, here we go.

(Now you get a clue, what I was doing in Kashmir, learning more Kashmiri recipes from MIL) Enjoy my dear friends.

Ingredients:

Eggplant (baingan), long and thin, about 3-4 inches long
tamarind, either dried or concentrated, and dissolved in water to create a thin consistency
our usual spice mix: red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder (all or any of these as per your availability
oil for frying and some for cooking
fried onions,

Method:

Wash the eggplants thoroughly, now to cut them holding the heads, only slit them twice lengthwise, not all the way through (I have taken pictures, dont you worry). Then, deep fry them in oil, till they are golden. After all are fried, put them in the tamarind water.

Now in another small pan, put some oil, add the fried onions, when it gets a bit hot, add the spice mix. Now when the spices are cooked, put this on the eggplant, give it a slight stir, and get the whole thing to a boil. Then simmer on slow heat for sometime, till the eggplants are very tender.

Done. I love to have this hot with steamed rice.

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

Today we are making doodhi ka halwa. I am learning how to make it from my MIL.

Ingredients:

2 large doodhis,
3-4 cups of sugar,
about 1 or 2 cups milk,
3-4 tbsp fresh cream (malai),
2 tbsp ghee
for garnishing: cashews cut in halves (sliced lengthwise)

Method:

I peeled, grated the doodhi (2 big ones), core removed because of the seeds.

Now put it in a large pot (non-stick preferably) and put about 3 cups sugar for 2 large doodhis. Put lots of malai, ghee, and milk.

I think the milk will curdle to form little balls.

Cook on high heat for sometime stirring constantly. Towards the end, when all the liquid has evaporated, it will start looking shiny, and the ghee will separate out. That’s when its done.

Stir in the cashews. Yummy! One of my favorites!

This can be relished hot or cool.

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

We made chicken biryani last night using Bombay Biryani Masala of Shan. It is my favorite for making biryani.

I pretty much follow the recipe on the pack. And while making layers at the end of rice and the chicken masala, I add a couple more layers of yogurt mixed with some cinnamon powder and garam masala and another layer on top of that of fried onions.

What this does is that, you get moist clumps of fried onions in your every bite. Delicious!

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

This is a truly versatile recipe, you can bake/fry/grill it. You can use any fish fillets you like. And all the magic happens in minutes. How wonderful does this sound, especially, when you are back from a long day at work, and you want something quick for the entire family?

Let me break it down for you. First marinate or not, your choice. Then bake in an oven or grill it outdoors, or fry it on a pan with very little oil. Hmmm…its sounding better and better, right? Yup, the recipe is easy breezy!

Also, you can put any seasoning you like, Indian spices, or rosemary garlic, or just plain ol’ salt n’ pepper! Oh yes, it would be great if you have good quality olive oil.

Ingredients:

Fish, (salmon, tilapia, etc)
seasoning as per your taste, (look above for different options)
olive oil for drizzling on top of the fish.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Sprinkle the spices or salt and pepper, and drizzle lots of olive oil. Then bake the fish for about 10 mins (more or less depending on the instructions on the packet). Flip the fish, and bake for additional 5-8 minutes.

Its done.

I love eating this with baked potato fries, or microwaved corn, or sauteed vegetables and ofcourse a big hearty salad.

Yumm Yumm!

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

Hey y’all, I got it! I finally got it! The perfect potato fries which are not fried at all! How good does this sound. Yes, it is 2gud2btrue, but hey, I am tellin ya, its true! You wanna believe me, I know I know, fooled too many times, by not so true recipes!

But, I have seen these made with my own 2 eyes. And then ate them too, down to the last one, had to split it with the hubby. Grrr!!!

Ok, so here is the scoop, I mean the story behind how I got the recipe. Yasir’s great Mumtaz aunty and Qam uncle were visiting us the last few days. And I got the recipe from her. That’s it. I didnt have to beg, or steal it, she showed me how to do it. Now isnt that just great. I wish all people were like her, and shared they expert recipes and tips with us. Won’t the world be a better place?

Okay, enough of my story telling, back to the recipe:

Ingredients:

potatoes (4-5, washed thoroughly, and do not peel the skin off)
salt, red chilli powder, oil, bread crumbs ( I do not remember if she added a little garlic, have to ask her)

Method:

Cut the potatoes lengthwise to get wedges. Mix in the seasoning.

Preheat oven at 400 deg F, and then arrange the potato wedges in a single layer on a metal tray (coated with a non-stick cooking spray, I use Pam).

Bake around 25-30 mins. (You make bake additional time to make it more crispy).

That’s it. Now get your favorite movie, and have a good time!

2 Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Other | | #

I don’t know if this is the recipe for sarson ka saag, but nonetheless, its an excellent recipe to make mustard greens.

Aunty Sara made this the last time, we had dinner with them. I loved it! This time when I visited her for tea, I asked her for the recipe, and its a very different recipe. Various steps are involved, like, boiling, squeezing, blending, and cooking. But hey, in the end its all worth the effort. (Actually it sounds like a lot, but, I guess, with fewer ingredients, and using a blender, the recipe is always easy)

Ingredients:

mustard greens (1 pack)
1 onion, couple cloves of garlic, few green hot peppers,
salt,
oil for cooking,
red dried chilli peppers,
mustard seeds

Method:

First boil the mustard greens, till they are tender (about 20 mins). When cool, squeeze out the excess water. Put it in the blender, and put the onion, garlics, and hot peppers with a little bit of the boiled water. Blend. Then in oil, heat the oil, and drop the mustard seeds in it. When they pop, add the red dried peppers and quickly add the pureed mustard greens.

That’s it, cook till you see oil floating on the top.

The recipe does not seem as bad.

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

Also called as ‘Red’ Chicken by Fadia and Ikram (Fauzia’s kids). This is so good, they want to eat red chicken everyday!

Mumtaaz Dar aunty made up this recipe (trial and error). Now it is perfected. Get a jar of Hot curry paste (the brand she used is Patak, but I am sure any brand will work)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Hot curry Paste
3 tbsp tomato sauce/puree,
2 tbsp tomato ketchup,
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste,
1 tbsp olive oil,
salt as per taste
chicken legs and thighs (about 12 pcs)
4 medium sized red skin potatoes (peeled and chopped lengthwise into 4 pieces)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then drop the potato and chicken pieces in it, and coat each piece with the marinade.

Marinate overnight, and bake at 400 degree F for some time, and then at 350 till the chicken is cooked completely. (you might have to toss the pieces around once while baking)

3 Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Recipes | tags: baked chicken, curry, potatoes. | #

O O broccoli! We all know how healthy broccoli is. But still so many of us are hesitant to eat it on a daily basis… maybe the texture, the appearance, the taste…

Last night Aunty Mumtaaz’s had dinner as Zunee; her newest granddaughter and her parents, were visiting) We are going to miss Zunee, she is leaving today, she has such beautiful curly hair.

Aunty Mumtaaz had so much variety, and she had made this broccoli cooked in Kashmiri style.

It was so good, no kidding. And the recipe, oh so easy. I had to write it down, before I forgot it.

So here you go.

Ingredients:

broccoli heads, seperated into florets (or a pack of frozen broccoli)
dry onion (looks like coconut flakes)
oil for cooking,
salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, and garlic

Method:

In oil, put the onion, and quickly drop the broccoli in it. Aunty Mumtaaz said not to mix the broccoli with the spatula too many times. Shuffle the pan instead. And let it cook till it gets tender. Add the spices. Cook a bit. Done.

It tasted so good with plain white steamed rice and yogurt. Hmmmm.. yummy!

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

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 ) 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?

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Indian, Kashmiri, Other, Recipes | | #