Khus raho!!

I saw a programme on TV which had a recipe using Khus and I wanted to try my hand at it!

I had Tofu at home and so thought why not make a paneer dish with a khus gravy.

So, I whipped out my web-enabled phone, opened Google and searched. Tarla Dalal came to my rescue again..well, not her but her fan!!

The result was a lip-smacking, finger-licking dish which everyone loved!!

http://www.tarladalal.com/ViewContributedRecipe.asp?recipeid=6982

Shahi Khus Paneer With Kasuri Methi

Preparation Time : 10 mins Cooking Time : 15 Serves / Makes : 4

Ingredients

1. 5 tomatoes grated 2. 2tbsp poppy seeds soaked in 1/2 cup of warm mild 3. 1 cup paneer cut into cubes 4. 1/2 chopped Capsicum 5. 2tbsp Kasuri Methi 6. 1" dalchini 7. 2tsp Chilli powder 8. 2tbsp fresh cream. 9. 1 green chilli, deseeded and cut into julliennes 10. 1tsp oil 11. Salt to taste

Method

1. Blend lightly grated tomatoes and the poppy seeds. 2. Heat the oil and add dalchini to it and saute for a few seconds. 3. Add the capsicum and fry for a few mins. They should be half done. 4. Add the tomato and khus mixture and saute for 4-5 mins. 5. Add the milk in which the khus was soaked, the kasuri methi, chilli powder and salt to taste. 6. Add the cream and garnish with julliennes of the green chillies

Potata bravas!

For the brave potato souls, this recipe comes straight from Spain via an Indian Mag.

The pic of it was so delicious and the receipe so seemingly simple, my epicurean experimental side took over and wanted to try it asap. To my luck, we had some baby potatoes lying around ...

Recipe -

500gm baby potatoes

Basil - a bunch

Parsely - a bunch

salt and pepper

For sauce-

2 med sized onions - finely chopped

4 med sized ripe tomatoes - finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp mixed dry herbs

salt and pepper

Olive oil - 2 tsps

Half-boil the baby potatoes. No need to skin them.

Then, add some herbs like basil, parsely (pref fresh ones), salt and pepper and wee bit of oil and bake at 180 deg C for 15 mins (until potatoes are done or golden brown).

Meanwhile, chop two onions finely, followed by 4 med sized tomatoes.

In a skillet, add some olive oil, fry the onions, garlic and then the tomatoes, till soft and almost pureed.

Add salt, pepper and some dry herbs like oregano, thyme, and more basil.

Once potatoes are done, pour the tomato sauce on it and enjoy the feast!

My official taster is my husband and he was over the moon with this dish. Definitely worth a repeat!!

toasted chappatis

(trying to ignore the lack of posts for such a long time.....:))

Thanks to Tarla Dalal, I was able to amaze my folks again with some toasted chappatis!

It was real simple - use some leftover chappatis, cut veggies of your choice in tiny tiny pieces, add some oregano, tomato ketchup, salt (and whatever other spices you think will go well) to the veggies to make the stuffing.

I cut the rotis into halves (Semi-circles), put the stuffing in it, added a wee bit butter and some cheese shavings, and then put them in my sandwich maker. And viola, the toasted rotis are ready. Yeah, one minor detail - brush some oil on the roti before toasting.

It was very yummy...needless to say! ;)

Soya soya chand, crispy asmaan!

Soya crisps

Simple and filling.

What u need -

soya seeds - 1 cup (depends on how much you want to make)

salt to taste

tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Soak soya seeds in water for about 2 hours

Drain the water and add salt and turmeric and mix well

Keep it in the fridge for 6-8 hours. Preferably leave it overnight.

In a shallow microoven safe plate/dish, take a handful of these seeds (quantity such that they dont lie on top of each other), add a bit of oil and mix well.

Microwave at HIGH for 5 mins, mixing the seeds once in between.

Cool completely and store.

Note: If you see the seeds char a bit, stop and mix.

Some seeds might not be done fully, but still are as tasty

Dont use plastic bowl/plate. Since there is very little moisture in the food being cooked, the danger of the plastic melting is high. If you want to use plastic, make doubly sure that it is thick enough.

How much chip does a chipmunk chunk??

Low fat potato chips - as pure nonsense as this entry's title??

Come on, dont be so skeptical! I did finally find that amborsial reciepe for the minimal oil baked potato chips and it came out just fine.

It is really simple. What you need is

a) Microwave oven

b) 2 med sized potatoes - thinly sliced

c) 1 tsp oil (yeah!!)

d) salt to taste

e) 1/2 tsp Oregano (optional)

f) 1/4 tsp chilli powder (optional)

Place a double layered tissue paper on the turn-table of the oven. Lay the sliced potatoes one at a time on this sheet. Cover as much sheet as you can.

At HIGH, microwave it for 3 mins. Turn the potato slices once in between.

Mix salt, oregano, chilli powder and oil in a bowl. Sprinkle/spread this on the potato slices.

Microwave at HIGH for 2 more mins, turning the potatoes once in between.

Viola! you are done! If the chips char a bit, stop early. Let them cool fully before serving.

Most of my chips ended up slightly dark brown but didnt taste burnt at all. I guess, that how they will look but tasted very very nice!

Now, you no longer need to pine about chips or dream about the gaint potato wafer chasing you and asking you to eat it...go ahead and 'no one can eat just one'!!

out with the sprouts!

Well, this isnt a new dish that I found today, but I had discovered this few months ago in a Tarla Dalal cookbook. And, it gave me a new way to make use of the nuturious sprouts which Sathya never liked to eat.

It is called Sprouts Dosa. And it is quite simple and quick to make. You can make it plain, spice it up or stuff veggies into it to pack a more nutrional wallop!

Here is how you can get it....

1 cup of sprouts (I used green moong sprouts)

4 tbsps rice/wheat flour

salt to taste

Grind the sprouts to a smooth paste in a blender by adding sufficient water. Add the flour and salt and mix well till there are no lumps. If required, add more water till you get a dropping consistency (like a dosa batter).

If you want this spiced up, add 1 green chilli, few cumin seeds, a bit of garam masala powder while blending. Go ahead and add garlic, ginger and onion if you really want more zing.

On a hot tava, pour it out like how you would do for dosa/ chilas/ pancakes. Drizzle oil on the ends. If you are a dosa aficionado, then remember that you have to handle it like how you do it for a rava dosa - it wouldnt spread so well, so spread it while pouring it itself. Also, dont turn it as it tears easily.

If you want the stuffed version, make the dosa as above but dont spice it.

for the stuffing -

any green veggies you have - capsicum, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beetroot, beans, peas, corn.....

onions

1/2 tsp oil

few cumin seeds

salt to taste

1/2 tsp chaat/garam masala (optional)

finely chop or grate all of them

in a skillet, add 1/2 tsp oil (use olive oil if you are dieting) and add few cumin seeds.

Let it crackle and then add all the veggies

Add a pinch of tumeric and salt to taste

Saute for a while till the veggies are half-cooked

Add the garam / chaat masala and stir well and cook for 1 min more.

While making the dosas as described above, when the dosa is almost done, add the vegetable stuffing to the dosa. Spread it over one half of the dosa and close it with the other half (similar to how you would do for a masala dosa). Cook for a bit more (say 1 min) and serve hot.

If this doesnt work for you, then you can make it like an uttapam, i.e. spread the veg stuffing over the dosa and serve it open-faced. For this, add the veggies while the batter is still wet on the tava. If the dosa is thick, close with a lid/plate for it to cook well.

Hummus, I said!

Yesterday night I made Spinach Hummus, and it was yummus! :)
Here is what I did...

1 cup of cooked kabuli chana (chickpeas)
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 tsp til seeds (roasted)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (roasted)
few sprigs of soya leaves (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon's juice
salt to taste

Put all of these in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add water as required while the blending. I preferred to use the same water in which the channa was cooked.
It can be served hot or cold.

Hummus is usually served with Pita bread. But in India where it is difficult to find it in your corner grocery shop, I recommend trying it with dry toast or even chappatis. It still tastes as good!