Crispy Potato Fry

Potatoes served at Breakfast, At Dinner served again, Potatoes served at Supper again, forever and Amen!!

I read the above quote somewhere and absolutely loved it. There will be hardly any one who loathes potatoes. Be it any country, any person, everybody loves this underground jewel. I have already praised a lot about potatoes in my previous posts and I don't want to brag about it again. So I will directly go to my post which is of course a delicious yet simple "Crispy Potato Fry".

No Indian meal is complete without this dish. Be it a South Indian or a North Indian Thali, you will find at least one potato dry dish as an accompaniment. Bachelors can make use of this recipe as it is quickly made with absolutely no complications. No boiling hassles at all. Its easy to make and equally delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 2 green chillies ( slit and cut them in half)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida (heeng)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• a pinch of sugar
• salt to taste
• 10-12 curry leaves

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes & halve them length wise. Cut again into thin long slices. Soak them in a bowl of water till its ready to be added in the dish.
2. Heat the oil in a non stick pan & when its hot, add the mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies & turmeric powder. Saute till the mustard seeds splutter.
3. Now drain the water & add the potato slices to the oil. Sprinkle required amount of salt & saute well so that the oil coats well with each slice of the potato. Cover with a lid and let the potatoes cook in medium heat for 7-8 minutes.
4. Open the lid & add the red chilli along with a pinch of sugar & stir again. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender. Serve hot with chapathi or steamed white rice along with some Dal. Your Indian meal is complete. :)

Macher Jhol (Bengali Fish Curry)

While I was going through the "Index" of my Blog, containing the list of recipes that I've tried, I realized that I have not made anything from the eastern region of India. I have always mentioned about North, South & Western Indian cuisine but never about the Eastern sector. I should be seriously ashamed of it. So I decided to introduce the "Eastern" Indian cuisine to all of you by including the recipe of the most popular dish of West Bengal "Macher Jhol". It literally means, Fish (Macher) & Jhol (Water). It is a typical runny Bengali fish curry cooked in mustard oil. Many of my friends are Bengali & I have truly relished the Bengali cuisine at their home.

I can closely associate myself with Bengal as I hail from the state Kerala. Both the states are miles away from each other but there are umpteen similarities between them. Be it Communism (We shall not talk about it), football fans (for a change, is not cricket they fancy), the sweetness of the languages (they sing while they talk) & most importantly the cuisine (rice & seafood) to list a few. The Gastronomic likeness is ten on ten. :)

A Bengali meal is highlighted by the fish preparation, & this is one of the most popular curries in the region. It is a thin curry, but the flavour of the mustard oil is striking. If you replace the mustard oil with any other oil, this dish will be surely edible but will lose its authentic flavour.

This is my first try, hence I have referred the recipe of Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The recipe suggests you to use any fresh water, firm white fish with bones preferably, but I have used boneless Salmon as I had to customize it according to my "ingredient availability". Also my gravy is a bit on the thicker side, the authentic version suggests, it should be runny. Better late than never, here's the recipe. :)

Ingredients:

• 500 gm rohu (any freshwater fresh, washed & scaled, cut into 8 plates )
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 cup (50 ml) mustard oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 medium potatoes (cubed)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 2 big tomatoes (pureed)
• salt to taste & for marinade

Method:

1. Wash the cut fish thoroughly under running water & drain in a colander. Add required salt & 1/4 tsp turmeric powder to the fish & rub with your hand nicely until well coated. Marinate for a minimum of 15 minutes.
2. Heat a non stick pan & add the mustard oil. When the oil starts to smoke, reduce the heat to medium. (When using mustard oil, always bring it to smoking point in order to remove the pungent smell of the oil) Now add the cubed potatoes & saute till it is brown on all sides. Drain and set aside on a kitchen towel.
3. To the same oil, add the fish pieces, two at a time & saute until browned. Drain & set aside with the potatoes.
4. To the oil, add the mustard seeds & bay leaf. Let the seeds splutter. Now add the chopped onion & saute till golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste to it & stir again till the raw smell of the paste has gone.
5. Now add the cumin powder, red chili powder & the remaining 1/4 tsp turmeric powder & stir for a minute.
6. Add the tomato puree & simmer until the oil comes to the top.
7. Add 1 & 1/2 cup of water & required salt & stir. Close the pan with a lid. When it comes to a boil, add the fish & potatoes & simmer for 5-8 minutes more.
8. Serve hot with steamed white rice. AAH! My mouth is watering while I write the recipe. :)

Fortune Cookies

It is the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese calendar. The Chinese New Year has begun from 23rd January 2012 & all are in a celebratory mood especially the people living in China Town all over the world not to forget the country China itself. Last year I witnessed the New Year Celebrations in China Town, Manchester where the festivities were in full swing. The Lion dance, Dragon parade, the fire works, Kung Fu show and more. And of course how can I leave out the delicious food. Oh it was yum!!

Keeping New Year as a reason, I thought of baking some "Fortune Cookies". I had never tried it before & this was a good chance for me to bake some. A Fortune Cookie is a crispy biscuit made out of flour, egg whites, butter & sugar. The biscuits take very little time to bake but folding needs to be quick. As I read on about these cookies, I came to know that they were originated by Chinese Americans. Each biscuit contains a message, usually a proverb or a Chinese phrase. The biscuits are served at the end of a Chinese meal to wish good fortune.

"Physical Activity will dramatically improve your outlook today". This was the message for me when I opened my first Fortune Cookie. SO APT!! :)

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites
• 60 gm icing sugar (if its not available, you can grind the granulated sugar to fine powder)
• 45 gm unsalted butter (melted)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract / flavouring
• 60 gm plain (all purpose) flour
• General predictions or funny future predictions written in small chits (around 25-30 messages for this recipe)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 Degree Celsius. Lightly grease a baking tray.
2. Place the egg whites in a glass bowl and whisk until just frothy. Add the icing sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract & stir until smooth. Now add the flour mix until smooth & leave for 15 minutes.
3. Take a tea spoon of mixture & pour it on the baking tray. Spread the batter to approx 3 inch circle with the spoon.
4. Bake for 5 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges.
5. Working quickly, remove from the tray by sliding a flat bladed knife under each round. Place a written fortune message in each cookie.
6. Fold in half, then in half again, over an edge of a glass or a palette knife. Do not burn your hands & be careful with the tray and the cookies. Place the folded cookies separately & let it cool down on its own.

7. Repeat the procedure from step 3. . Make 2-3 cookies only at a time, otherwise they will harden too quickly & break when folding.

Pulikachal / Puliyodharai (Spicy Tamarind Mix) to make Tamarind Rice

Now Pulikachal or Puliyodharai must be a very unfamiliar word to most of you however South Indians can immediately relate to it. So let me explain to those who literally don't have any idea whatsoever. As most of us know that Rice (Sadham in Tamil) has got a special place in every South Indian's heart, plain white rice is mixed with variety of lentils, vegetables & spice mixes to give an unique flavouring to it. Many of the popular variety rice dishes are Thayir Sadham (Curd Rice), Thakkali Sadham (Tomato Rice), Sambar Sadham, Thenga Sadham (Coconut Rice) etc. One of which is the Puli Sadham or the Puliyodharai which is nothing but Tamarind Rice. The Rice is mixed with a special tempered tamarind mix which tastes super TANGY & obviously delicious. You just need some poppadams or some crisps to go with it.

Usually I buy ready Puliyodharai mix from any of the Asian Stores & use it instantly to my plain white rice. These variety rices are so quick to make especially in those "don't want to slog in the kitchen" days. But recently, one of my close friends Meghana came to visit me & she showed me "from the scratch" version of a Pulikachal or the Mix. It is so easy to make with your pantry ingredients & you can store this homemade mix for 10 - 12 days provided you keep it in your refrigerator.

I promised her that I will surely put this super easy recipe in my Blog so that others can benefit from it and here it goes. :)

Ingredients:

• big lemon sized ball tamarind
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 dry red chillies
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• pinch of asafoetida (heeng)
• 10 -15 raw peanuts
• 1/2 tsp chana dal (bengal gram)
• 1/2 tsp urad dal (black gram)
• 10 curry leaves
• 75 ml oil (preferably gingelly oil)
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind balls in 2 cups of warm water for 15 minutes. Extract all the juices from it & remove the pulp.
2. Heat the oil in a deep based pan & add the mustard seeds to it. When it splutters, add in the chana dal, urad dal, peanuts, dry red chillies & curry leaves & let it get roasted.
3. Now add the asafoetida, black pepper, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder to it & stir for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the tamarind juice to the pan & let it boil in medium heat till the raw smell of tamarind goes.
5. When the tamarind juice slowly starts to thicken, taste the mix and add the required amount of salt. The salt should balance the sourness of the tamarind and the spiciness of all the added spices. (My suggestion would be that to add less salt so that you can later add it when you mix it with rice)
6. Simmer the heat down & cook till the oil settles at the top. Switch off the heat.
7. Let the mix cool down & then store it in a tight jar & keep refrigerated.
8. Mix 1 tbsp of Pulikachal to your 100 gm of cooked white rice & relish your tamarind rice or Puliyodharai whenever you feel like eating. :)

Indonesian Noodle Salad

This fresh tasting, Asian inspired noodle salad is speedy & nutritious. I always make this when am super lazy or in a mood to eat low fat food for a change. This noodle salad then comes to my rescue. Its tasty, quick and super filling. :)

Ingredients:

• 100 g medium egg noodles
• 1/2 cucumber (sliced into thick baton)
• 1 bell pepper/capsicum (any colour, sliced)
• 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)
• 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (preferably ketjap manis, an Indonesian soy sauce)
• 1 lime
• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts (coarsely crushed)
• 1 egg (soft or hard boiled)
• 1/2 tinned cannellini beans (this is completely optional. I simply added it to my salad. You can use any other tinned beans or completely omit it)

Method:

1. Cook the noodles in boiling water until just tender. Drain & arrange on a serving platter. Top with cucumber batons, sliced bell pepper & onion. Add the beans at this stage if you want.
2. Drizzle over the soy sauce & squeeze over the lime.
3. To finish, sprinkle over the crushed roasted peanuts & top with the halved boiled eggs.

Linking this recipe to ameessavourydish.blogspot.com where she is hosting a link party "Fit & Fabulous Fridays".

Gaajar Ka Halwa (Indian Carrot Pudding)

Happy 2012 every one! Since its the beginning of a New Year, I thought of cooking something sweet as to fill the year full of sweetness, good health & prosperity. So I left wondering what do I make to usher 2012?? Then I thought of "Gaajar Ka Halwa", a popular North Indian sweet dish mainly prepared during the Winter Season. Gaajar (Carrot) Ka Halwa (Fudge) is made with bloody red carrots which are grown in abundance during Winter, in India. Its natural sweetness & goodness makes this dessert more slurrrrrp worthy :)

Its January & there is still some nip in the air, so I chose to make some Carrot Halwa. I managed with the ordinary orange carrots as I didn't find any red ones here in England. It didn't match the taste of those bloody ones but the dish didn't disappoint me. Anything with sugar gives you a high...isn't it??

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded carrots (preferably red ones)
• 4 cups milk (boil it & keep it warm)
• 4 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 & 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp crushed cardamom
• 10 - 15 cashewnuts
• 10 raisins

(My food processor helps in shredding the carrots very quick)

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a deep based pan & add the shredded carrots to it. Roast the shredded carrots for 10-15 minutes in the ghee until the raw smell of the carrot goes and the carrots change its colour.
2. Now pour the warm milk to the roasted carrots & let it help in cooking the carrot. Stir frequently to avoid any burning of milk at the bottom of the pan. This process will take a bit of your cooking time. Cook the carrots till all the milk dries up.
3. Now add the sugar to the cooked carrot & keep stirring until all the sugar has melted. The carrot mixture would have now have become like a soft fudge. Simmer the heat down & stir frequently.
4. Meanwhile heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a small pan & roast the cashew nuts & raisins till they are light brown.
5. Add the cardamom powder & the roasted nuts & raisins along with the ghee to the Carrot Halwa. Stir the carrots for few more minutes till it leaves the sides of the pan. Remove & serve hot.