Sarson da saag ala Varsha Saxena - the AXF buddy

Ingredients

Take 500gms sarson

250 gms bathua

250gms palak 

Ginger - 2inches 

Garlic - 1 whole

Green chillies- according to taste 

Tomatoes- big 1and half 

Onion -2 small

Recipe-

Wash and clean the  three saags. Remove the hard portions . Then first put the sarson leaves and let it cook open on slow flame ( shouldn't burn) till it starts leaving little water. Drain only the water so that there is no bitterness of sarson .Don't boil complete, just little water needs to be drained. Then add the other two leaves (bathua and palak).Put around 3/4 chillies, 1 inch ginger ,5/6 cloves,little salt and pressure cook for just 1 whistle. Let  it open on it's own. 

Once cool grind it coarsely in the grinder .

Then chop the 2 onions finely, tomatoes finely , few green chillies, left over garlic and  ginger .Everything finely. 

Take a pan, heat some mustard oil in it and then add onions and  garlic  together. Cook till light golden brown, then add tomatoes, ginger,chillies and little salt to it .Once the tomatoes are  soft ,add the boiled and coarsely  ground saag in it and cook on low flame for about half an hour so that the water dries completely. 

While boiling if you see water in the cooker you can dry it .Don't throw the water .

Walnut Dip

While accompanying my little one to her dance workshop, I met this very interesting lady, Poyani Mehta. She introduced me to this lovely and healthy dip.

Ingredients :
1 cup walnuts
1 cup yoghurt
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped(not more)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation :
Blend all the ingredients to a smooth blend in a blender (that was a tongue twister was it not!). Chill and serve with nachos or any finger foods during cocktail parties or simply apply it on garlic bread or any other bread to make it more fun and tasty.

Thank you Poyani - the name is a tribute to Narsee Mehta who penned poems on the Lily, Poyani

Ratatouille....the way Deepti likes it

I had heard about the Ratatouille but it was only in the movie. And when she said I make it, I couldn't resist exclaiming,"Really ? how?!'


And here's how...
Ingredients :
1 zucchini diced
1 red and 1 small bell pepper diced
1 aubergine (bharta baingan works just fine) diced
Cheese (if you are not too worried about calories)
1 big onion diced
Tomato (1 cup puree, and 1 coarsely chopped)
Herbs - thyme, oregano, basil, parsley...I also like mine with Rosemary

How....

Its extremely simple 

1.       1 zucchini, stir fry in olive oil (3/4 tsp) for 5mins. Add salt and pepper. Don’t cover when cooking. Keep it aside

2.       Then repeat the same with eggplant only.

3.       Then capsicum (1 red 1 yellow for colour)

4.       Then in olive oil, put cut 2 garlic pods. Add 2 diced onions

5.       When they turn brown add 1 tomato puree and 1 diced tomato

6.       Then add the zucchini, eggplant and pepper. Cook and cover for 20-25mins till its all well cooked. Keep stirring in between.

7.       Add oregano, basil, thyme and parsley towards the last 5mins.

8.       Grated cheese if needed

While some sites say you can do all veggies together upfront, Step 1,2,3 help retain some original taste in each. And like I said, it is how Deepti likes hers, she adds an extra tomato and onion

I tried it and we all loved it....its all about change is it not?!

Yum Dum Bhatkali Biryani - courtesy the Manelkars

There is nothing like a good 'Bhatkali biryani' on a day when you can't stop thinking about food.

The biryani brings to mind the stories that my mum always told me about her younger days. Belonging to a family of rich educated business people, for her, indulgence was nothing new. Her grandfather who had rich and fine tastes (and of course the affluence to support it) ; arranged for chefs specializing in local cuisines, to come over, stay in the out-house and create lip-smacking cuisine for the family. Ah! that was life.

Now, almost 50 yrs hence, I used the same recipe, handed down to me by my mum to create the very finger-licking biryani.

And for those who would love to try it ; here it is :

Quantity

500 gm basmati / any long grained fragrant biryani rice

For the Dry Masala :

2 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp jeera

8 methi seeds

1 tsp turmeric 

1 tsp khus khus

4 cloves

1.5 inch cinnamon

2 pepper corns

1/2 tsp anise seed 

4-5 cashewnuts

8 red chillies

Dry roast all these 11 ingredients and after cooling, grind to fine powder. Let us call this (A)

Now ;

Dry roast 2 diced onions , 6 garlic cloves and grind them to a fine powder. Let us call this (B)

Next;

Fry 4 onions cut into strips add 4 green chillies, coriander leaves, 2 tomatoes finely sliced. Add (A) and (B). Once the tomatoes are cooked well, add chicken / boiled veggies/ prawns (whatever you prefer) to this masala and cook until the meat is well cooked.

Meanwhile ; 

Take ghee, add tej pata, cloves 2, 1.5 inch dalchini and rice. Lightly fry, add twice the quantity of water and boil until done.

Now for the Dum part ;

Layer the rice and masala and cook covered for awhile (Dum cooking). If you don't care much for the dum , you can simply eat the rice topped with the gravy...it takes equally yummy.

And, thank the 'Bhatkali Naytes' for this delectable dish.....ya ya I know ; it's 50 yrs since then , but its the thought that counts :)

Kachori, nothing like it on a cold wintry morning

I need to thank Shipra Mishra for this recipe. Had it not been for a discussion on the preparation she would be sending to school as part of a project about teaching kids about foods made out of wheat, my palate would have been deprived of this delectable snack. Here goes....
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour  250gms
Ajwain 1/2 tsp
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste.

Knead all these ing using water into a fine smooth dough.

For the filling...
250 gms peas, shred them into a smooth paste with little water to aid grinding
Turmeric powder
Coriander powder
Jeera powder
Chilli powder

Method
Take a tbsp of oil and added the pea paste and all the masalas meant for the filling. Cook on slow flame till done.
Now for the grand finale....
Use the atta, make them into tiny balls, roll out each ball, add the filling, seal the balls and roll them into puris. Deep fry them.
Caution ....knead atta previous day to prevent kachori from breaking when frying. Add salt to the filling at the very end, just before stuffing

Rajma, Shalini Puri style

Close to a year back, I had some super yummy Rajma cooked by a dear friend at a farewell dinner. Try this and tell me if you agree...
Ingredients
Rajma 1 katori, soaked overnight, boiled with pinch of turmeric. Rajma being hard beans need at least 30 mins pressure
Onion 2 large , first boil them in water n then purée them
Tomatoes 3 large, first boil them in water then purée them
Garlic n ginger paste
Green chilli 2 if less spicy variants! You can purée this with the onion
Asafoetida
Pepper corns 3
Clove 2
Cinnamon 1/2 inch piece
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves finely chopped

Method 
Take 2 tbsps oil, add jeera, whole Garam masala (in this case 3 ing specified earlier), fry lightly till aromatic, add ginger garlic paste, green chilli+ onion purée, once it has reddened, then add tomato purée, garam masala powder 1/2 tsp, when the masala leaves oil, add Rajma, simmer for 10 mins, and finally add finely chopped coriander to garnish. 
Tastes yummy with Garam Garam phulkas. 

Yummy corn fritters

I had these at a friend's place and thought the recipe was worth sharing..

Thank you Shivani Chander for this. She mentioned she had Sanjeev Kapoor to thank. So thank you to him too :)

Ingredients :

Babycorn (boiled) 20-25

Ginger and garlic paste 1 tsp each

Red chilli powd to taste

Salt to taste

Chaat masala to taste

Soy sauce can be added but it discolours on frying

Oil to deep fry

For batter : 

Maida 2 tbsp

Cornflour 2 tbsp

Coriander or parsley leaves finely chopped

Pepper or red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste 

Method :

In a bowl, marinate the boiled baby corns in ginger paste, garlic paste, red chilli powder, salt and chaat masala for fifteen minutes. Set aside. To prepare a batter, mix refined flour, corn flour, parsley, red chilli powder and salt in a bowl. Add sufficient water and whisk to make a batter of coating consistency. Set aside. Dip the marinated baby corns one by one in the batter and deep fry till golden and crisp. Drain and place on an absorbent paper. Serve hot with the tomato garlic sauce.

Happy monsoon!!!

Onion Chutney courtesy Deepa Rajesh

Ingredients :
Small (tiny) onions. Peeled. 2 bowls
Tomatoes chopped 1 bowl
Red chilli powder
Asafoetida
Turmeric powder
Coriander leaves
Coriander seeds
Coriander powder
Salt to taste

For seasoning
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds

Preparation : first fry the onions golden brown in oil, add coriander leaves, coriander seeds, asafoetida, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric. Once well fried, add tomatoes and continue frying till oil leaves. Grind to fine paste. Season with curry leaves and mustard seeds. Add salt to taste