Hyderabadi Dum ki Machchli

I must confess I am a vegetarian. But for the love of a husband who loves his fish I have learnt how to cook it. I find cooking fish easiest since it requires very little time and mostly does not need elaborate recipes. I am using fresh water fish here. The Local fish is called "Katla" and is abundant in lakes in Rajasthan particularly Jaisamand lake.
This recipe has been adapted from a wonderful cookbook "Hyderabadi Cuisine" by Pratibha Karan. Interestingly she is a Vegetarian too with great non vegetarian recipes in her book. :)
One main ingredient that adds flavour to the dish is Watermelon & Muskmelon seeds. They are easily available in supermarkets and shops. Popularly called Khabooja & Tarbooj dried seeds. They are soft and can be crushed fresh using a pestle & mortar.

You need:
1/2 kg Fish cut into slices

To be ground into a paste

2 medium onions
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
3-4 green chillies ( add more for more heat)

1- 1/2 cup yogurt ( thick)
oil for cooking
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ground seeds of watermelon & musk melon seeds
Salt to taste

Tempering
1/2 Tsp caraway seeds ( shahi jeera)
1/2" cinnamon stick
4 cloves

How to make:
Wash fish and pat dry. keep aside.

Paste Onion, Ginger ,Garlic & chillies.

Heat Oil, Add Tempering . Add Onion Paste to it and fry well.

Add salt , turmeric to it and fry . Add whisked Yogurt to it. Make sure the heat is turned down while adding yogurt or it separates.

Meanwhile crush Watermelon & Musk melon seeds.

Add fish and the crushed seeds to the pan. and simmer for about 12-15 minutes till fish starts to flake.
It should be cooked but not overcooked.

Can be served with rice . Garnish with coriander if you wish. The fish tastes best if it is cooked slightly in advance may be 2-3 hours . The flavours seep in the fish much better. You could re heat and serve hot. :)

Apple Cake

Apple Cake

            On a recent holiday to Kesroli palace fort in Alwar , I ate one of the most delicious coffee cakes. The flavours were so subtle that despite being a baker myself I had to ask the chef " what is it that I can feel but not pinpoint in it?" To my surprise the magical element was Grated Apple.. Yes!! and it tasted divine.

With apple season round the corner I decided to try  adding apple to one of my favorite basic cake recipes.. and Bingo! the cake was so delicious that it was eaten in a day..:P

I don't know much about varieties of apple. Nor do i care. they just needed to be juicy nd fresh. I used Shimla apples that have just started flooding the market.

here's the super Tasty easy Apple cake  for every1.

You need

125 gms Maida

125 gms castor or regular Sugar

100 gms Butter ( I use Amul/salted for this one)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

few drops of lemon extract or lemon juice

1 apple peeled and grated.

pinch of powdered cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg

How to make

1) Pre heat oven at 180 degrees. Dust a baking pan or  line with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl mix Eggs, Sugar & Butter till fluffy. 

3) Add vanilla, lemon extract, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

4) Mix the baking powder and flour. add flour to the butter mixture.

5) Peel and grate a large apple. And quickly add to the batter before it oxidizes.

6) Mix gently and pour in the prepared tin.

7) Bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

And the delicious cake is ready to consume.. :P

Easy Chocolate Squares

            I am back to Blogging after nearly a year.. a year full of activity  but total laziness to blog anything at all.. been archiving pictures of what I made but never got around posting them.. Thank God for FACEBOOK which reminded me this morning that there has been no activity on the page..:)
now for this renewed beginning, as the cadbury Dairy Milk ad says "Kuch meetha ho jaaye". what better way to begin than a chocolate recipe.

             The best thing about this recipe is that it hardly takes any time and is so yummy that it finishes before you know. Before we talk about the recipe let me tell u a few things about ingredients. In terms of chocolate to use you have a lot of options. It can be chocolate buttons or cooking chocolate bars. Often I have read people mention percentage of cocoa in the chocolate or a great brand. Personally i really never found any difference .. but if you prefer a certain brand go ahead use that.. i buy whatever that i can considering i live in a smaller town and it is a bit of a luxury to choose brand.. and never found any difference in results..you may opt for semi sweet or dark chocolate depending on your taste preference.
the original recipe is from www.chefinyou.com but i have tweaked it to my liking.

You need

• 350 gms of any cooking chocolate chopped or chocolate buttons
• 400 gms Tin of condensed milk ( Nestle milkmaid wud do)
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of butter( unsalted) if using salted Amul etc don't add extra salt
• Cinnamon or any other spice if you like ( optional)
• 200 gms assorted nuts roughly chopped ( cashews, almonds, walnuts etc)

How to Make

In a large heatproof glass bowl mix chopped chocolate/ buttons, condensed milk, salt, butter, cocoa powder and spices if using.


Heat the mixture using double boiler.. a double boiler is essentially a glass bowl kept above a simmering pan of boiling water. the water shud not touch the sides of glass bowl. this way chocolate melts using indirect heat of steam.

Once the chocolate melts add the chopped nuts. and pour the mixture into a square tin lined with greased baking or parchment paper. Let the mixture cool. refrigerate for 2-4 hours .

Once set u can cut squares of your choice out of it. And wrap using a chocolate wrapping paper. Or better just eat it like that..:)

PANCAKES

1&1/2 cup flour ( maida)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cottage cheese (paneer) or regular Amul cheese
1 cup chopped fruit ( strawberry, bannanas etc...) entirely optional

How to make

In a bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
In another whisk eggs, butter. add milk and cheese to it.
Gently stir the wet into dry using a wooden spoon.
Stir in fruits if using.
On a warm non stick skillet drop spoon fulls making rough circles.
Cook well in both sides till golden.
Serve warm with Butter/ Honey/ Maple Syrup..:)