Green Chutney

Philomena Dias

Green Chutney with Cheese spread on Gootlis or Brun ( hard and soft bread in Mumbai) were a favourite for breakfast. It's been a while but just last week we made this chutney and I've had it over the last few days either for breakfast, lunch or as an evening snack :D

1/2 a coconut
1 bunch of coriander including tender shoots
4 garlic pods
1/3" ginger
3 green chillies - deseed
1/2" tamarind
1/2 a small onion
1 tsp jeera (cumin)
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Grind together. Check for salt and chillies and add more if required. makes a good sandwich paste.

Beef curry

Philomena Dias

We lived in the Dias house for quite a bit of the 11 months that we spent in Mumbai the year we got married. The commute to Andheri was long and tedious and Julius' house was midway. There was a standing invitation to spend the weekends with them. We sometimes forgot to go home for the week and stayed on 9 days at a stretch. Aunty is a wonderful person and a great cook. We always felt at home. In addition to Aunty, Julius and Audrey, there were usually 4 weekend guests - Annie, Claudette, Ramesh and me. Those days were wonderful!

This is the first of Aunty's recipes

Ingredients
250 gms beef - cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp - Jeera (cumin)
1/2 tsp - Pepper
4 pods - Garlic
3 pcs - Cloves
1" pc - Cinammon
2 pcs - Cardamom
1/4 tsp - Turmeric
3 - Red Dried Chillies
1 Large - Tomato
1 Large - Onion - finely chopped

Method
First fry onions till light brown. Add diced tomatoes and then add the meat which has been washed and salted. let the stock dry. Add the Masala. Add Vinegar and sugar to taste. Then add water till it almost covers the meat. Add potatoes if required. Cook for 45 minutes.

Note: We've tried this recipe with mutton and that tastes fantastic too. Cooking time gets reduced though. Also we always use a pressure cooker to cook meat dishes.

Meat Loaf

Philomena Dias

500 gms minced beef
250 gms bacon ( remove sides)
1 tsp pepper powder
4 green chillies
6 pods garlic
1/2" ginger
2 eggs

Wash mince well and drain in a sieve. Put the kheema in a pan on high flame and dry. Dont forget to stir constantly. Cut all the other ingredients very fine and grind into a smooth paste along with the mince. Add salt and pepper later. Soak a bun in water or 4 slices of bread. Squeeze out the water and add along with 2 eggs to the mince mixture. Line the vessel with oil/ butter, pour mixture and cover with brown paper. Tie the paper to the vessel firmly with a string. Put this dish into a larger one half filled with water. Cover the larger vessel with a lid and put a weight on it. Let the water come to a boil and then lower the flame. Cook for half an hour.

Nizam Kathi Rolls

Ujwala Prabhu 

If you're from Kolkata you'll surely know what i'm talking about. When I first left home and went to Pune to study the one thing that I kept talking about to my new college friends whenever the topic of food came up was Kathi Rolls. When they didnt understand me I told them that they were Chicken Rolls. They said no problem you can have some delicious ones at Marz-O-Rin. 

And then I waited eagerly till we could go to Camp, where the shop was located - near Kayanis - the Shrewsberry biscuits shop. When it was eventually put in front of me I was terribly disappointed, the Pune Chicken Roll turned out to be hot dog bread with lettuce and chicken with a sweet mayo dressing. I grew to like these too but nothing compares, nothing compares to Nizam Rolls. 

Out of Kolkata I tried the Frankies and the Baida rotis but that was not what my taste buds yearned for. For years I've tried to replicate it at home but not very successfully. So I'd save up all the wanting for my annual visit home and eat these rolls every time! And then a few years ago we heard that Nizam had shut down - labour problems. 

Kolkata has changed so much from when I lived there as a kid. Nizams was an important part of eating out for us and now it's no longer there. Nor is Skyroom or the Chicken Champ place at the petrol pump. For a while when we were in Bangalore, I think for the last two years of our stay, a Nizam outlet opened up in Indira Nagar and their Rolls were finger licking good. 

When I went to Kolkata a few weeks back, I decided to try out the Park Street guy. His rolls are good too but he adds some kind of red and green sauce. I didnt let him add those in mine but there was just that something missing. 

While writing for the meme that Sonali tagged me for I googled for Nizam Kathi Rolls and was dismayed with the recipe that appears all over the web which has mashed potatoes as a stuffing! Scandalous :D 

Here's my version for Chicken Anda Parathas. You could replace the Chicken with Aloo, Paneer, Mutton or Beef. I'm willing to try any suggestions that you may have to make it taste more authentic. 

Ingredients n prep

Knead dough for 6 parathas - i use atta but i'm told that maida makes them more authentic and that's what i'm going to try out the next time.

Make Chicken Tikkas - about 4-5pcs in each paratha - shouldnt be made too dry - soft and succulent is what you want.

6 eggs - beat, add salt and keep aside 

Onions - finely slice and seperate into half rings. mix half with chopped coriander, finely chopped green chilly, salt and pepper and a generous amount of lime juice. Mix well and set aside. The other half of the onions saute lightly and sprinkle some chaat masala n set aside. 

Method 

Braize all 6 Parathas lightly and set aside. 

In the pan add a tablespoon of oil and then add a ladle full of lightly salted beaten egg. Add one of the parathas set aside on top. 

When the paratha starts to expand and bloat upwards flip it and let the other side cook. Be generous with the oil. Remember it has to stay soft but crisp. Dont let it turn too crisp. And I repeat be generous with the oil while cooking. You can wipe some off with tissues later. 

 Keep the other three ingredients - chicken and onions - both types - ready. Remove the Anda Paratha from the Pan and put on the counter. 

Put the egg n next Paratha in the pan before proceeding further. In the middle of the paratha spread some sauted onions mixture. Add the chicken tikka pieces over this. Add another layer of onions. Squeeze some lime. Roll the paratha and roll half of it in some brown paper. This will catch the extra grease and keep the paratha in a roll format. Eat hot. 

Update August 2020 : This has now got incorporated in the making :) - One other change that I intend to make the next time is to lightly saute the onions prior to making a salad out of it. I saw the Park Street guy doing this :P 

 

Update: While surfing to find a picture to put temporarily before I make my next lot and take a picture. I discovered on explocity.com that a Nizams of Kolkata has resurfaced in Delhi! 

 Update : Jul 1, 2006 : Viki Saigal : More locations for similar rolls - Ayub's in Bombay in Kala Ghoda or Sardars at Ballygunje Phadi in Cal or Nizam's at H Block C Circus Delhi and if in SIngapore and reeeeely homesick, try the Prata pepper sausage roll at the Takashimaya food Court in Singapore !! July 01, 2006 4:52 PM - more details in his comment on this post

Update: Sep 8, 2006: anonymous says "Nizam's in Kolkata has re-opened on September 6th with a newly renovated with the same food from the same people. Once again we all can enjoy our good old kathi rolls" - i hope that this is true and now i have one more reason to look forward to the my next trip to Kol :P 

Update: Dec 11, 2006: We found a restaurant in Dhaka which serves Kathi rolls almost as good as those made at Nizams. For those in Dhaka the restaurant is called Dhaba and it is in Banani. 

Update : June 25, 2008 : Vinita Nayar : An article on Nizam, "Beef it up", by Nondon Bagchi on how good the food still is. Have to put this on the top of my list for my next visit to Cal. Thanks Vinita, for the link.

10 foods I (we) miss the most

I got tagged for this meme by Sonali of Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice and I know that I am going to enjoy putting this one down. My slight variation is that I'm listing down a few more than required of my favorite foods and some that Ramesh misses. I have wickedly decided that this list will also act as a reminder to ensure that I obtain these recipes from our respective mums and put them up for easy reference :D

We miss everything that our mums cook :D so i'm going to set that aside and list a variety. The lists arent in any particular order.

Ramesh's favourites
Vatha Kuzhambu
Molagu Kozhambu
Mor Kuzhambu
Kirai Mulagutal
Arachuvitta Sambar
Jeera Rasam
Uralai curry
Vendakai Pachchadi
Avial
Jangiri
Sojji appam
Paal Poli
Papdi Chaat

My favourites
Dosas and Bhakres with Coconut Chutney
Nizam Rolls
Prawn Curry and Fried (Gaboli fried (Roe - fish eggs) too :P )
Bagde Ambat
Chaklis - My mothers are the best! honest - i've tried them from several sources
Alu Dosa - Rosti - Papa Prabhu version - indianized
Biscut Ambode
Sabudana Vada
Sevai with sweetened coconut / jaggery sauce
Puchkas
Teesre Vadi
Dim Sums
Mutton Biryani

Beef Oliathiyathu & Appams

Kiran Mathai

Our samaan has arrived and with it my books. This is from a bunch of recipes written in a 1991 diary. I'm happy to have located it finally and will be posting the 10 odd recipes soon.

We used to haunt the Mathais for Appams, stew and oliathiyathu a long long time ago.

Ingredients
Meat - 1 kg

Masala - grind
Red Chillies - one dozen :D
Coriander 1 1/2 tablespoons
Big Jeera (Cumin) - 1 tsp
Pepper - a pinch
Cloves - 1
Thakolam - 1
Cardamom - 1
Cinammon - 1 1/2"
Garlic 1/2 a pod
Button Onions - 4
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Seasoning
Button Onions 10
Green Chillies - 2
Ginger - 1"
Curry Leaves

Cut coconut pieces and fry and set aside

Method:
Heat oil, add ingredients for seasoning and add ground masala. Add meat and cook, adding water if necessary till the meat is cooked and dry. Add coconut pieces and serve.


Appams
Raw Rice - 2 cups full
Cooked Rice - 1/2 a cup
Grated Coconut - 1/2 a coconut
Sugar - 2-3 tblspns
Yeast - 3/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Ferment yeast and sugar for 20 minutes. Put all ingredients in a mixer and grind. Ferment at least for 6 hours and then use the batter to make pal appams (thinner batter) or vellappams (thicker batter)

Books a noobie South Indian "sometimes" Cook uses

As we are in transit mode, I'm unable to get my hands on my recipe collection to update this site. Decided that this too might be of interest to some of you.

I am a hoarder and collect many books and have, over the years, managed to acquire quite a decent cook book collection. Shall add a picture of the collection once I get my hands on them again. I cannot cook without a book. Well, I can manage Rice, Dal and a Subzi but that's about it. And by the way currently that's our daily fare. The 4 books that I've mentioned here are ones that i refer to the most.

Rasachandrika
I got my first copy from my mum - actually she gave me hers and said that she'd get herself another! Now here's a book I would higly recommend to all those interested in Konkan cuisine. This, if my mum is not easily available to hound, is where i look for my recipes. I'm scatty and forget sometimes the ratio of rice to udad dal for dosas!! This book comes in handy then :D Sadly, it is currently out of print but you just have to check with your nearest konkani friend and i promise you, out will pop a copy of this book :D

Khana Khazana - Sanjeev Kapoor
I started cooking rather late in life. I was about 34 and a proud owner of several cookbooks. Everytime I'd open them, read the instructions and give up! We had, by then, been in Shanghai for about a year. My friends there had convinced me that I owed them a dinner for which I would have to cook! Armed with a newly aquired copy of Sanjeev Kapoors Khana Khazana, I decided to give it a try. And it turned out quite well or so I was told by them. Most of my friends know that I dont like to cook and hence appreciate what I make when I make it much more than they would have otherwise. What continues to be a huge success with my friends is the Achari Gosht. And I think if I could make it anyone can :P

Prashad - Jigs Kalra
When I was getting married at 25, Sangeeta a very good friend of mine advised me to get a copy of Prashad. She was using it for her dinner parties. It was several years before I actually used it. The one that I've used the most often and recommend is the Lal Maas recipe.

Cook and See
I think this book is better known as "Samaithu Par". I did a google on this and found that it was listed on Amazon! Sadly also listed as unavailable. But if you know anybody in Chennai you'll be able to get your hands on this set of 4 books easily. I've only used Vol 1 so far.

Tags:

• book
• cookbook
• indian
• saraswat
• konkani
• cuisine

Around the World - A Food Meme

I have been tagged by Ashwini of Food for Thought and Sonali of Sugar, Spice & Everything Nicefor this one. Looks like fun and I hope it does the rounds well. I've been tagged once before but this is the first time I'm taking it forward.

1. Please list three recipes you have recently bookmarked from foodblogs to try:

• Hyderabadi Kachche Gosht ki Biryani from No, Sir, I dont just write 'love' stories. I've been drooling over this one for quite a while. Having been in transit for a while, I havent had the time to try it out.... as yet!

• Amerindian Spinach & Salmon from Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice. I've had something similar at my sisters home and since she is currently far away I hope to try my luck with this one as soon as we move to our own home. Dhaka has a great supply of fresh fish.
  

• Moong Dal Chilla from Food for Thought. I was very happy to come across this recipe. The first time I tried these were when we had a long stay in a hotel in Mumbai a couple of years ago. I enjoyed them enormously and used to look forward to the Tuesday mornings when they served these in their breakfast buffet. It's certainly a dish that I would like to add to my current range of breakfast choices.

2. A foodblog in your vicinity:

• I'm still very new, here in Dhaka and I have yet to find one in the immediate vicinity. Acutally, I usually never surf or check out sites based on their location. I think this is because when I first started surfing the www, everything was based in the US! The first two that I came to interact with through my listing at Indian Bloggers are
  

1. My Dhaba run very efficiently by V K Narayan
   
2. Anthony's Bachelor Cooking hosted by a very energetic and enthusiastic Anthony
   

3. A foodblog (or more) located far from you:

• Route 79 (UK)

4. A foodblog (or several) you have discovered recently (where did you find it?):

• Here's the long story for where i found them :D When i first put up my site, it was purely as an online personal recipe collection. Mainly for me and for friends and family. And then while surfing ( and I do a lot of that everyday not being otherwise gainfully employed :P ) I stumbled across Indian Bloggers. Actually desipundit listed one of my other blogs on their site and I noticed the Indian Bloggers chiclet for the first time there. I added a couple of mine to the list and then before I knew it, traffic increased, VKN got in touch with me and then Anthony listed one of the recipes on my site - Burmese Khao Suey and I was happy to share what I had with a wider audience. This lead to interacting with several food blogs which is a first for me :D and 3 that I would like to list here are

1. Aayi's Recipe
1. Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice
1. Food for Thought and

5. Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this meme?

• Aayi's Recipes
• Canadian Baker
• Simply Recipes

I couldnt resist adding a little bit about memes.

• "An Internet phenomenon (sometimes called an Internet meme) occurs when something relatively unknown becomes increasingly popular, often quite suddenly, through the mass propagation of media content made feasible by the Internet; however, the popularity of the phenomenon usually wanes as rapidly as it was acquired: the Internet's lack of physical boundaries leads to a much faster and wider spread of information and ideas, especially when the subject is based around humor or curiosity." Go to Wikipedia for more.

Keerai Mologootal - Spinach Dal (Kerala)

Vimala Jayaraman

One of our favorites and it is on Ramesh's request list every visit. This Dal is usually accompanied by Vendakai or Lal Petha Pachadi (Okra or Red Pumpkin Relish.

1. Wash, cut and boil ( 2-3 minutes) about 250gms of Spinach along with a pinch of turmeric powder. Drain and mash roughly with a ladle or blend in a mixer for less than half a minute.

2. Boil (pressure cook) 100gms of Toor (Arhar) Dal. Mash well and set aside.

3. In a kadhai add a little oil and lightly fry two small dried red chillies, one tsp of udad dal and one tsp of jeera.

4. Grind 1 1/2 tbl spns of coconut, 1/2 a tsp of raw rice (gives the dal some thickness) along with the red chillies, udad dal and jeera.

5. Mix this with the roughly ground Spinach and boil for half a minute. Add salt to taste.

6. Make a tadka of 1/2 a tsp of mustard seeds and 1/2 a tsp of udad daal and add to the Spinach dal. Put some fresh curry leaves at the end.

7. Serve with rice and a pachadi.

Vendakai Pachadi - Okra Relish

Vimala Jayaraman

We had the mologootal with this pachadi for lunch today. Truly outstanding when Ramesh's mum makes it.

1. Wash and cut 200gms of Bhindi into small bits.

2. Lightly fry 1/2 a tsp of mustard seeds and a 1 tsp of udad dal. Add the bhindi, 1/4 tsp haldi, one red chilli and one green chilli. Cook for 5-7 minutes or till the bhindi is almost cooked (till it loses its gooeyness)

3. Soak a lemon sized piece of tamarind in hot water for 5 minutes. Extract the juice and strain.

4. Add this to the bhindi and boil till it becomes tender.

5. Grind 1 1/2 tbl spns of fresh coconut along with 4 small green chillies and 1/2 a tsp of raw rice. Add to the bhindi. Add salt to taste.

6. At the end add 1 tsp of jaggery and adjust salt.

Eat along with rice, mologootal and Papad or Chips.

As a variation you could have Parangikai (Lal Petha) Pachadi - the only change required is that in step 5 above you could add 1/2 a tsp of mustard seeds when grinding.

Calamars Basquaise

Recette Sorreguieta (but we got it from Nicolas)
Nicolas Moulin

Nicolas got this recipe from a friend and made it for us. That was several years ago, in Banglaore. And when it turned out to be delicious, he gave us the recipe in case we ever felt adventurous enough to try it on our own. Cleaning the squid had been quite a task but I still have the recipe and I do plan to try it out again.

Cleaning the squid
Remove the tentacles
Remove the inside cartilage
Remove what is left inside the body
Remove skin
Wash thoroughly with lemon water

Cut the squid into two pieces lengthwise.
If they are big enough, then cut them in two widthwise too

Preparation of the Sauce
Peel off and cut a few carrots into cubes
Cook sliced onions and garlice in a half regular half olive oil mixture
Add salt, pepper and chilly
Add four peeled tomatoes

Drop the prepared squid in the sauce. Cook until they whiten. Flambe with 3 spoons of whisky. Add white wine and thyme. Leave it to simmer for sometime.

Optional - add fresh cream before serving
Ideally should be prepared a day in advance.

Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw
Additional garnishes Amina Sarkar

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Burmese Khow Suey / Khao Suey

Premika Posaw

Lost until today! I had Khow Suey for the first time when Premika made it for us and it was delicious! And then I misplaced the recipe for the longest time. The next time I had it was at Meera D's, where it was a favourite with the family. And then I had it at Amina's (photo taken of the spread) a few days ago and that's what had me scuttling around trying to locate this recipe. I plan to make this again some time soon.

Ingredients

1/2 kg boneless chicken cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 onions chopped fine
6-7 cloves garlic grated together with
1 1/2" of ginger
3/4 tbspn besan (gram flour)
Coconut Milk
Haldi, Chilli Powder & Salt

Garnish
Chopped spring onions
Deep fried sliced onions
Chopped coriander
chopped green chillies
Fried garlic flakes
boiled egg chopped small
maggi noodles (raw) fried
peanuts - fried/roasted broken into pieces
soya sauce
lime cut into quarters

Method
Fry onions till soft. Do not brown. Add ginger, garlic paste. Fry till it smells like it is done (!) approx. 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken, turmeric (shld look yellow) and chilli powder. Fry till the chicken turns white and is coated well with the spices. Add besan and mix well. Add coconut milk and an equal quantity of water. Also add the salt now. Bring to boil and let it simmer till the gravy thickens. The coconut milk might threaten to froth over but dont panic, wait for it to settle.

Serve in a bowl - first the noodles, top it with the gravy generously till the noodles are well covered and top with the all the garnish.

( discovered that premika has made no mention of the noodles in her recipe and i havent a clue so will have to chase her up to add that bit. Well, I got laughed at plenty but here it is. Jan 11, '06)

Boil water. Enough to cover the noodles. Put in noodles only after water starts boiling for 7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a tsp of oil and a garlic pod to the water along with the noodles. Drain and serve. We ate Khao Suey at Amina's last night and it was fabulous. I've updated the "Garnish" section with a few additions.

Fish/Prawn Curry - 2 Varieties

Pushpa Prabhu

This is one dish that has been liked by everyone who has tried it. Ours have not turned out as good - at least my taste buds insist. I think it all has to do with the kind of red chillies that you use and figuring out how much of imli to add. Papa's variation which follows was to allow us to make it without coconut or coconut milk. Tastes rich and creamy too.

Ingredients:

1 Kg Fish/Prawns
1 Coconut (grated)
7-8 red chilies (lightly roasted)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (lightly roasted)
1/2 teaspoon haldi powder
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
Salt to taste
1 large onion (finely chopped)


1. Clean and cut fish into pieces. Put aside with salt and haldi (note the fish needs to be washed before it is added to the curry)
2. Grind coconut and spices into a fine paste (should have the consistency of a gravy)
3. Fry onion in a pan to golden brown
4. Add coconut paste to the onions and bring to a boil
5. Add prawns and cook for 5 minutes (till prawns are cooked and it doesnt take long max. 10mins!!) In the case of fish you could wait for the oil to rise to the surface.

--------------------------------
Alternative method
Devidas Prabhu

Ingredients:

1 Kg prawns
1/2 liter cream
1 tablespoon red chilly powder (lightly roasted)
1 tablespoon coriander powder (lightly roasted)
1/2 teaspoon haldi powder
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 large onion (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

1. Shell and clean prawns. Put aside with salt and haldi (note the prawns needs to be washed before it is added to the curry)
2. Fry onion in a pan to golden brown
3. Add spices to the onions and fry
4. Add water and tamarind paste and bring to a boil (salt to taste)
6. Add prawns and cook for few minutes basically till the prawns are almost cooked. will not take more than 5 mins max.
7. Add cream and heat for a minute (note, do not boil as cream might curdle)

Categories: pushpa, devidas, prawn, fish, curry, coconut

Bhakres

Pushpa Prabhu

Ingredients
1 cup rice flour
1 cup sooji (roast all the sooji you buy - very lightly - before storing)
3/4 cup coconut grated
2-3 green chillies - deseed and chop finely
1 cup sliced onions ( quartered )

Preparation
First take a spoon of salt and one of sugar. With the back of a spoon mix this with the chillie pieces on the chopping board. Then add the onions and mix well. In a mixing bowl add the sooji and then add a little water and mix. Next add the onions mixed with salt and chillies. Stir well. Then put in the rice flour and water and mix well. Thin to the consistency you need.

Method
Heat the dosa tava till hot. Take a ladleful of the bhakre mixture and pour into the centre of the tava. Spread in dosa like fashion - as far as possible. Put a teaspoon full of oil around the bhakre and into any holes that may be there in the middle. Cover with a lid for 2-3 minutes. Open and turn. It should cook a bit on the second side too. The main side should be brown and the bhakre a bit crisp.

You could replace the onions with grated cucumber for the cucumber bhakres only remember that you need to add 2 teaspoons of sugar to that mixture.

Chicken Fry

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1/2 kg chicken cut in small pieces ( about 1" or a bit larger)
1 cup dahi
2" ginger piece
7-8 pods of garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder

Preparation
Make a paste of the ginger and garlic and add to the dahi. Also add salt, garam masala and red chilli powder. Mix well. Check taste and then add to the chicken. Ensure that all the pieces are well coated. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Method
Heat a little oil in a kadai. Put the chicken and stir till all the pieces are coated with oil. Then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Open and keep stirring till the water dries and the oil comes to the surface. Serve Hot.

Green Chicken Curry - 2

Roopa Nayak

Ingredients
1 kg Chicken pieces ( broiler )
1 coconut of 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk
2 medium bundles of coriander
11-12 green chillies
11-12 garlic pods
3 marble sized bits of tamarind
4" ginger
4 medium onions

Sabud Garam Masala
1 tsp khus khus
5-6 cloves
3-4" cinnamon
7-8 peppercorns
1 cardamom
1/2 tsp jeera
1 tsp coriander seeds

Method
Make a paste out of one bunch of coriander, 2" ginger, 7-8 pcs garlic and 7-8 pcs green chillies. Apply to the chicken pieces along with salt and a pinch of turmeric and set aside.

Fry one chopped onion, 4 pods of garlic, 2" of ginger and 4 green chillies chopped fine in a kadai. Fry just for a short while to take away the raw smell of onions. Remove from oil and set aside. In the same oil fry the garam masala. Remove, allow it to cool and then put into a mixie along with the fried onions, another bunch of coriander, the tamarind and 2 tablespoons of coconut from which the milk has been removed. Make a masala

Take 3 chopped onions and fry in a pressure cooker till nicely browned. Add chicken and fry for a few minutes. Then close the pressure cooker and allow it time for one whistle. Wait for the pressure to subside before opening to ensure that the chicken is cooked. Open and add the second masala and allow it to boil. Also check to see if the chicken in tender else cook for longer. Then add coconut milk and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. Add half the quantity of coconut milk add more if the flavor has not come out. If not spice enough add red chilli powder and check and top up salt.

Prawn Wadis (Cutlets)

Manjula & Roopa Nayak

Though this recipe is originally for shell fish. We made these wadis once with prawns and the next day with cabbage, both very tasty. I think its all the coconut! Gals the cabbage version for you - sorry!

Ingredients
250gms prawns OR shredded cabbage ( v.small bits )
1 and 1/2 medium onions chopped fine

For the Masala
1/2 a coconut grated
4 red chillies } saute a
1/2 tsp coriander seeds } bit
a pinch of turmeric
a marble sized bit of tamarind
salt to taste.

For coating
a mix in equal parts of sooji and rice flour

Method
Grind the masala. Make sure you only add water as required as you want a thick paste and definitely not a watery one. If it does turn out to be too watery add a bit of rice flour to thicken.

Add the onions and prawns and mix well using your hands ( kallay )

Take a bit of the mixture in the palm of your hand and make a ball the size of a laddoo and roll in the coating mixture. set aside on a plate. Do this with all the mixture.

Then put a griddle on the flame and wait for it to heat well. Add a teaspoon of oil. Tilt the tava in different directions till the surface has a coating of oil.

Lower the flame. Take one ball of mixture and flatten on the tava. Repeat till the tava is filled but leave enough place around the wadi for you to be able to turn them.

Do not turn too quickly as the wadis then just break up. Wait for the first side to cook and brown well before turning and then let it brown well on the other side too. Add oil while turning to ensure that it doesnt stick to the tava.

Serve hot. We cooked them in coconut oil but I dont think that that is necessary.

Prawn Malai Curry

Cant remember if i got this one from Loli or from the web. Shall check with her and correct. The Bengali malai curry tastes quite close to ours - just the mustard bit is different.

Ingredients
500gms Prawns
1/2 cup Coconut milk
1/2 cup Onions chopped
20-30gms Paste of mustard seeds
2-3 Green chilis chopped
1 tsp Turmeric
5 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt to taste


Method
1) Clean and de-vein prawns and marinate
with the paste made from mustard seeds and
little water, 2 tbsp of oil, chopped green chillies, turmeric and
salt. Keep it aside for a while.
2) In a pan take 3 tbsp of oil and fry in the chopped onions till pale golden brown.
Then add the marinated prawns into the pan
properly fry for sometime while stirring.
3) Next add the coconut milk to the contents of the pan
and cook for 10 minutes till the gravy has become thick.

Sukanya's Sambar

Sukanya Balakrishnan

She made it simple enough for even me to understand! An easy and nice sambar recipe.

1. Boil 1 cup of arhar dal and set aside.

2. take hot water and add tamarind the size of a large lime and set aside for a while.

3. In a saucepan take a bit of oil and add 1and a half tablespoons of whole dhania and an equal quantity of red chilies. Fry this till the dhania is reddish brown. Add half a spoon of methi. Fry briefly and then set aside.

4. in a saucepan and add the juice from the tamarind. Add water again mix with the leftover tamarind and empty into the saucepan. Do this 3 times.

5. Once it starts boiling add karipatta, hing, salt and the vegetable. Also add 1 tsp. of sugar. Keep keep on a medium flame till the vegetable is cooked.

6 . Grind a quarter coconut along with the roasted dhania, methi, red chili mixture into a smooth paste.

7. When the vegetables are cooked and the tamarind water has reduced to half the quantity that you started with, add the paste.

8. Boil for another 5 to 6 minutes.

9. Now add the cup of arhar dal which has been mashed to a paste and boil for another 2 to 3 minutes.

10. Make a tadka with mustard seeds and add to the Sambar. Close the lid of the saucepan to hold in the flavors.