Vinegared Red Onions

One of the standard accompaniment in any
Indian Tandoori restaurant is vinegar red onions.
i am not sure about the origins of it but they definitely are tastier version of the otherwise strong smelled onions. And i always wanted to make them at home so you can enjoy them with your daal tadkaa .. a chef friend then gave the perfect recipe for it.. and it's easy

You Need
1 large beetroot
few small red onions
salt
1tbsp white vinegar
water

Method

Clean and peal the beetroot. grate it finely using grater.

In a saucepan heat the beetroot with little water about 1/2 cup.

Bring it to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes till the beetroot leaves all it's color and juice.

Switch off the gas. add some salt strain.

Add vinegar to the juice and put cleaned whole onions in the colored water.

Let they soak color for about 2-3 hours . You can refrigerate up to 2-3 days with the water.

Serve

Nankhatai

I am really not sure of the origin of these really rich fatty biscuits.. or can they be called biscuits??
I have relished them at bakery shops but since i started making them myself they taste even better..( even at the risk of your waistline..) they are very easy to make and very quickly as well..
The ingredients are simple and we have them at home all the time..
you need
2 cups flour ( i go half maida half whole wheat flour)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup ghee ( unsalted butter if u want)
a pinch of soda bi carb ( baking soda)
a handful of cashew nuts powdered

Mix sugar and ghee in a bowl and whisk well using blender.
Mix flour , powdered cashews and baking soda well.
Add flour to wet ghee mix.

Make a soft dough. it doesnot need any water or milk and would form a crumbly dough.

Preheat oven to 180 deg centigrade and grease a baking tray.

Make small pedas out of the dough and gently press then.. do not flatten ..

Make a cross using a knife lightly.
Bake for about 15-20 min. they will look soft but will get little firm on cooling.
Enjoy..:)

PHIRNI

Kheer is perhaps one of the most common dessert dishes made in north indian homes... smallest of occasion or celebration kheer would be there with puris ... Phirni's though are not so common.. i first tasted phirni at rajputana shereton courtesy my chef friend... and the way they serve it as an individual portion in a miiti ka bartan makes it yummier.. later when i tried the recipe at home it turned out even easier..

The most difficult part is getting the rice to be ground into grainy consistency.. the problem was solved when i found packets of ground rice rawa in local super markets.. this made the whole recipe a matter of minutes..( okay almost 60 min still easy..)

YOU NEED

1 liter milk

60 grams rice rawa

60 grams sugar

elaichi powder

saffron leaves 3-4

kewra essence

Method

Put milk for boiling in a heavy bottom pan. let it boil till it is reduced to 2/3 rd of actual quantity.

Add 60 grams rice rawa and keep stirring occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom.

Add saffron and elaichi for flavour. Cook till the rice granules are almost translucent.

Take off the flame. Let it cool a bit.

Add sugar to the slightly cooled phirni. Mix well. Add Kewra essence.

Garnish with finely chopped pista..

RASAM

The easiest way to eat is to order idli sambhar from the neighbourhood place.. hehehe... yes till you discover the joy of homemade Rasam and Sambhar.. honestly i find most restraunt sambhars very spicy.. would anyday prefer homemade to it..
on one of these visits to Crosswords i had casually picked up a south indian cook book.. Simply south by Chandra Padmanabhan.. and it turned out an excellent book. it had vegetarian recipes from all southern states.. and very simple.. it was a delight to try them..
the recipe of rasam given below is hers with very smallish changes suiting a north indian pallate.. the powder can be made and stored in a jar for quite some time..

• Rasam Powder
  1 1/4 cup dried red chillies
  2 1/2 cups coriander seeds
  1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
  1/2 cup black peppercorn
  2 sprigs curry leaves
  3/4 cup tuwar daal
  1/4 cup chana daal
  1 tsp tumeric powder ( do not roast)
  
  Dry roast invidual masalas, leaves and daals in low heat..
• The daals will turn light golden and masalas fragrant..
• Grind into a fine powder..

Simple Lentil Rasam

1 1/2 teaspoon tuvar daal
1 lime sized ball of tamarind
2 tsp rasam powder
1/2 tsp hing
salt to taste

1) Soak daal in water for 30 min and grind into a fine paste.. add about 1 cup water to the paste..
2) Soak tamaring and strain the juice/ pulp.. add about 3 cups of water to it ..
3) Add rasam powder , hing and salt to tamarind water and bring to boil uncovered for a few min till raw aroma of tamarind disappears..
4) Add the daal paste and cook till frothy..
5) Temper with ghee, mustard seeds, dried whole chillies, and curry leaves..

Serve...:)

LAAL MAANS

LAAL MAANS - MUTTON RAJASTHANI STYLE

Despite being a Vegetarian i have been cooking non - veg dishes for my husband who loves it and eats veg only for the sake of change in taste ;).. initially it is very difficult for people like me who had not seen raw meat let alone cook it.. even now i make an estimation of masala or meat done or not purely by experience since i don't taste it ..

Laal maans is a rajasthani mutton speciality. though there is nothing very special in the ingredients , it is the combination and ghee which makes it an aromatic curry.. u can choose to add more water or make it a thickish gravy.. i use pressure cooker since mutton takes longer to cook.. you can also experiment using a handi and cover it with a lid.. i am sure it will taste better..:))

1/2 KG MUTTON

MARINADE

100 gms Dahi

1 onion grated

4-5 cloves garlic grated

about 1" pc of ginger grated

salt to taste

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Dhania Powder 1 tsp

Red chilli pwdr 1/2 tsp

TEMPERING

Jeera (cumin)

Badi Elaichi 2 pcs

dalchini 1" pc

Laung 3-4 pcs

Bay Leaf 2 pcs

GRAVY

2-3 Medium onions chopped finely

4-5 Whole red chillies soaked in water and pureed into a fine paste.

2 tbsp ghee

METHOD

• 
  
  mix all the marinade ingridients in dahi and make a smooth paste.


• 
  
  marinate the mutton with this paste and leave for 2 hrs.


• 
  
  heat ghee and add all the tempering.. it will be nicely fragrant.


• 
  
  add finely chopped onion and fry till golden .. add the red chilli paste to it..


• 
  
  now add the marinated mutton pcs to it and stir fry till the fat separates..


• 
  
  add about 2 cups ( small) water and adjust salt.


• 
  
  in a pressure cooker cook it for about 20 min on low- medium flame.


• 
  
  if cooking in handi cover and cook for an hour or till cooked..


• 
  
  garnish with coriander leaves.

PINDI CHOLAS

Cholas just like daal can be made in a lot of ways.. Every cook has his her own way.. i really like my pindi cholas to look nice and black with tanginess of imli .. there are different ways to achieve nice black cholas..

my friend Preetika suggests soaking the cholas in tea water.. that is boil tea leaves in water and strain. soak the chick peas in this water overnight.. result is dark brown cholas..

another friend and really good home cook Ravi suggests soaking them in amla powder.. i am not sure if you can get amla powder readily in markets.. i make mine by drying amla at home and powdering it fine.. mix a teaspoon powder with water and soak cholas overnight to get a nice tangy black chola..

a simple chola recipe

cholas soaked overnite in either tea or amla water

ginger garlic paste

chole masala

salt

red chilli powder

butter

fine slices of ginger and finely sliced onion for garnish

• boil soaked chanas with salt and some garam masala till soft .
• take a heavy bottom pan and warm butter leaving about a tsp to use later..
• add ginger garlic paste and saute..
• add cholas and mash them slightly with laddle..
• add chole masala and red chilli..
• add some anardana powder or imli water if you want to make it tangy..
• in a seperate pan heat some butter and add it to simmering chola .. it will bubble and stir the cholas once the bubbles die down..
• garnish with thinely slices wedges of giger and onion.. or coriander !!!

THE MAKHANI TRAIL

Of all the things supposedly VERY Indian to most foreigners ( read Brits) makhani food is definitely very Indian... butter chicken and daal makhani are best known Indian dishes ..though honestly they have as little to do with India as English to Indian soil and they both still remain popular.. i mean English not being our own language has gained huge popularity and daal makhani though not a staple Indian kitchen dish is widely available in all Indian restaurants..

Everyone has a claim to daal makhani or Black daal... the Gujrals of Moti Mahal claim the invention of makhani daal and so for the tandoori chicken.. Daal Bukhaara of the ITC chain also claim originality..

I feel daal's unlike other recipes have a typical flavour of each kitchen.. every chef has his/ her own way and so does every mother .. ( here comes the phrase.. meri maa jaisi daal...) taste differs on the mix of the daal..( chana , urad etc), tempering and even the pot ( clay or steel)

This particular recipe for a black daal is quite yummy and presentable to serve at gatherings..

we need

Black Gram ( whole urad) 1 portion ( your measure katori/ bowl whatever)

Kidney beans ( rajma) 1/3 portion ( 1/3 quantity of daal.)

Ginger garlic paste 2 tsp

Tomatoes 4-5

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala 1 teaspoon or to taste

White butter ( about 3-4 tablespoon)

Cream to garnish

method

• The daals need to soak overnight.
• boil the soaked daal with salt and some garam masala... i use my pressure cooker for it initially as it is faster..
• once boiled take daal in a heavy bottom pan and simmer while stirring occasionally..
• add ginger garlic paste..
• Puree the tomatoes in a blender and add to the cooking daal.
• add white butter and some cream and keep boiling.
• the process may take about an hour or so .. you'll notice that the daal is turning a reddish tone with a thicker consistancy.
• take a smaller pan.. heat some butter or ghee in it.. add chilli powder and garam masala. temper the daal with this tempering. let bubbles die down.. mix well ..
• just before serving add some cream and garnish with cream and chopped coriander.