Aloo Baingan

Cooking Time: 30 mins                           Servings:  5
Preparation Time: 15 mins                      Category: Main course, Veg

"Aloo Baingan" is an easy to make popular North Indian dish which is cooked in rich and spicy gravy. Eggplant (baingan) and potato (aloo) make a great combination and when roasted together in a perfect blend of spices, tastes heavenly. It's important to make sure these vegetables are well roasted till they turn tender. The consistency of the dish can be dry, semi-liquid or liquidly with taste ranging from medium hot to super hot. In this post, I opted for liquidy consistency with medium hot taste. You can use tomotoes along with the vegetables to give a tangy flavour to the gravy but I usually prefer yougurt/cream to tomato.

This recipe is as simple as you might guess and a safe bet if you want to make something simple yet special dish within quick time. It goes very well with phulkas, rotis, parathas and even with plain rice. Enjoy this absolutely delicious dish cooked in aromatic spices which leaves a taste that lingers on even after eating :)



Aloo Baingan

Ingredients:
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Egg plants - 6, chopped into cubes or slit vertically.
Potatoes - 4, chopped into cubes.
Onions - 2, finely chopped.
Green chilles - 4, slit vertically.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste.
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp.
Yougurt/Cream - 2 Tbsps.
Cooking oil - 2 Tbsps.
Ginger & garlic paste - 2 tsps.

Preparation:

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• Heat oil in a vessel and add cumin seeds. When they start to crackle, add potatoes and saute for 5 mins.
• Add onions and saute till they turn brown. Now add green chilles and saute for another couple of mins.
• Add the egg plant/bainga/brinjal pieces and saute untill they turn tender.
• Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, ginger & garlic paste, salt to taste and mix well. Close the vessel with a lid and cook for 5 mins.
• Open the lid, add 2 cups of water, mix gently and cook for another 5 mins or till the gravy gets to a boil.
• Take yougurt into a small bowl and whipp it to ensure there are no lumps. You can also use cream instead of yogurt.
• Add whipped yogurt/cream to the dish, mix well and cook for another 5 mins on slow flame.
• Add garam masala powder, turn off the stove, garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

PS: If you want to use tomatoes instead of yogurt/cream, chop 2 tomatoes and add them directly after adding all the spices (in step 4 above) or simply add 2-3 tbsps of tomato puree.

Double Ka Meetha

Cooking Time: 30 mins                            Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 15 mins                       Category: Dessert


"Double Ka Meetha" is a famous dessert from the city of pearls, Hyderabad. It is made from fried bread slices soaked in cardomom flavoured sugar syrup & hot milk and topped with cashews, pistachios, saffron etc.

Double Ka Meeta or Indian bread pudding is a popular dessert of Hyderabadi cuisine and is served at most weddings and parties. More often than not, it is the double ka meetha that one encounters which is an immensely rich dessert and worthy of special occasions. Double ka Meetha is a specialty of Hyderabad and the name of which would many who have had it, drool like crazy. Bread is commonly known as "double roti" in Hyderabad and hence this name.

Give this luscious pudding a try! It's another dessert which is really to die for :)

Ingredients:

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Double Ka Meetha/Indian Bread Pudding

Sliced Bread loaf - 1

Sugar - 200 gms

Milk - 1/2 litre

Ghee - 3 Tbsp

Cooking oil - 2 Tbsp

Cardamom powder - 2 tsps

Khoa/thickened milk - 1 Tbsp (optional)

Saffron - a pinch

Water - 4 cups

Dry fruits:

• Cashew nuts/Kaju - 1/2 cup
• Raisins - 1 tsp
• Pistachios - 2 tsps cup
• Karboja seeds/Melon seeds - 1 tsp

Preparation:

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• Heat 2 Tbsps of ghee along with cooking oil in a vessel and deep fry the bread slices. (It's your choice to use only ghee or mix cooking oil with it. If its only ghee then you need 5 Tbsps of it).
• Drain on tissue paper and place on a tray-like vessel and keep aside.
• Boil milk in a bowl on low heat. Now mash the khoa/thickened milk and add it in the bowl. Keep stirring till milk starts to condense.
• Add a pinch of saffron to the milk and mix well or you can use it for the topping without adding it to the milk
• Take water in a bowl and boil it, add sugar and keep stirring till it becomes thick syrup, add cardamom powder.
• Dip each fried bread slice in milk and add it to the sugar syrup bowl, mix gently and keep aside.
• Heat a Tbsp of ghee in a pan and saute cashewnuts, raisins, pista and melon seeds for a couple of minutes and keep aside.
• Add the remaining milk directly to the bread and mix gently. Let the mixture soak with bread for 30 mins minimum.
• Once it is soaked well, serve it as a dessert with fried dry fruits and a pinch of saffron as topping.

Hyderbadi Lal Gosht

Cooking Time:       45 mins                            Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 10 mins                             Category: Maincourse - Non-Veg

Gosht is the transliteration for the Persian word 'laal maas' with meaning meat or flesh, which has been adopted by other South Asian languages. In India, gosht dishes are likely to be made with goat or mutton and the term "mutton" is more likely to mean goat rather than adult sheep, as it does elsewhere in the English-speaking world.

As the Hindu religion specially prohibits eating beef, and Islam prohibits the eating of pork, Indian gosht is not traditionally made with these meats. When Indian dishes are translated and adapted for Western audiences, lamb is the meat most often used in the adaptation. This has led to a common misconception that gosht means "lamb". In common Indian English the dishes made from any sort of meat are termed as Non-Veg. (Non-Vegetarian); in contrast with most of the Indians being Vegetarian (in fact Lacto-Vegetarian). 

Variations include bhuna ghosht, kadhai gosht, raan gosht, dal gosht, nihari gosht, hara Gosht and saag gosht. Now, lets see the recipe for Hyderabadi Lal Gosht:-

Ingredients:

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Mutton - 1/2 Kg (boneless or with bones)

Cooking oil - 3 tsps

Onions - 2, finely chopped

Hyderabadi Lal Gosht

Tomato puree/sauce - 2 tsp

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon sticks - 2

Cardamom - 4

Bay leaves - 2

Water - 1 cup

 For marinade

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Yogurt - 2 cups
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Red Chilli powder - 2 to 3 tsps
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Mint leaves - 1 stick, finely chopped
Coriander/Cilantro - 1 stick, finely chopped
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp

For seasoning

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Shahi jeera or black cumin - 1 tsp

Cooking oil - 2 tsps

Green chillies - 2 slit

Curry leaves - 4 or 5

Preparation:

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• Wash mutton properly, dran out the water and take it into a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients to it, mix well and and keep the marinade in refigirator for about an hour.
• Heat cooking oil in a vessel and add bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and saute it for couple of mins.
• Add chopped onions and saute it until they turn crisp and golden brown in color. Then add tomato puree/sauce and simmer the mix for 5 mins.
• Now add the marinated mutton to it and mix very well. Let it cook it for 10 mins on high flame.
• Add some water and cook for another 20 mins on medium flame. Stir it at regular intervals.
• Then simmer it for another 10 mins. Turn of the stove and take the dish to a serving bowl.
• Heat 2 tsps of oil in a small pan and add black cumin/sahi jeera, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute it for couple of mins and add this to the dish.
• Serve the curry hot with romali roti, tandoori roti, ghee rice etc.

Pakora

Cooking Time: 10 mins                           Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 mins                  Category: Veg snacks

Pakora is a mouth watering fried snack (fritter) found across South Asia. Pakoras are prepared by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, paneer, cauliflower, chilli, bread, chicken or occasionally mixed vegetables and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them. The most popular varieties are palak pakora (made from spinach), paneer pakora(made from paneer, Indian soft cheese), pyaz pakora (made from onion) and aloo pakora (made from potato) .
In southern states of India, such preparations are known as bajji rather than pakora. Usually the name of the vegetable that is deep fried is suffixed with bajji. For instance, potato bajji is sliced potato wrapped in batter and deep fried. In such states, pakoda is taken to mean a mix of finely cut onions, green chillies and spices mixed in gram flour. This is rolled into small balls or sprinkled straight in hot oil and fried. These pakodas are very crisp on the outside and medium soft to crisp inside. There is also a variety that is softer overall, usually termed medhu pakoda in restaurants, that is made of any other ingredients, such as potatoes.

Pakoras are usually served as snacks or appetizers across all major restuarants in India. Though its a popular dish for all seasons, its mainly preferred during monsoons as the feeling one experiences is heavenly when pakoras are served with hot tea during rainy evenings. If you haven't tried this yet, I strongly suggest you to as monsoon has already arrived in India. A perfect snack for a perfect season. Hope you enjoy them as I do.

Here is the simple recipe for onion pakora:-

Onion Pakora

Ingredients:

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Onions (sliced) - 4

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Green chillies, finely chopped or grounded - 2

Besan (chickpea flour) - 100 gms

Rice flour - 50 gms

Baking soda (optional) - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Cooking oil - for frying only

   

Preparation:

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• Take all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to make a batter. Avoid using excess water.
• Heat the oil in a small vessel.
• Take a small portion of the mixed batter at a time and drop it in hot oil or
• Take some batter in your hand and sprinkle it directly and slowly in the hot oil. 
• Fry till they turn crispy and golden brown. 
• Serve hot with mint chutney or spicy tomato sauce or just with hot tea.

 

PS: Add grounded jeera and few chopped mint leaves to the batter mix. This gives an awesome taste to the pakora.

Paapdi Namkeen

Cooking Time:  10-15 mins                     Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 mins                      Category: Veg snacks

Paapdi namkeen is an all season snack. It is great on its own and goes very well with chai(tea)/coffee. It can also be used in the preparation of paapdi chat. It lasts for few weeks if stored properly in air tight container. The authentic paapdi namkeen is prepared with Maida only but some tend to add a mix of whole wheat & rice flours to prepare this. Here is the recipe:-

Paapdi Namkeen

Ingredients:
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Maida flour – 250 gms
Groundnut/Vegetable oil – 1 Tbsp
Ajwain – 2 tsps
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp(optional)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water(enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry the namkeen

Preparation:

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• Mix maida, groundnut/vegetable oil, ajwain, cumin and salt well in a bowl.
• Now add water slowy and keep mixing to make a firm dough (chapathi kind) and keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Cut the dough into small balls and roll them into thin chapathi kind of sheets.
• Sprinkle some maida on both sides of the sheets.
• Now cut into desired shapes (I usually cut them into diamond shape) and again sprinkle some maida over the pieces.

• Heat cooking oil and fry the pieces till it gets crispy and turn light golden in color. Keep them in cooking paper towels/napkins and once cooled store it in air tight container.
• Enjoy it with hot desi chai or coffee.

PS: Sprinkling maida won't allow the sheets/cut pieces to stick together and also avoids namkeen to absorb more oil.