Vermicelli Pulao.

Vermicelli Pulao

 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Vermicelli
1 Table carrot chopped julienne style
1/4 cup Green beans chopped diagonally
1/4 cups Fresh green peas(Frozen)
1/4 cups Mixed peppers(Green, red, yellow) chopped julienne
1 medium tomato sliced length wise.
1/2 cup Potatos diced.
5-6 Thai Chillies sliced length wise
1 medium onion julienne
1Tbsp Oil
3 Cups Water
Salt to taste.
Fresh Coriander and lime for garnish.

Kitchen Equipment/utensils:

Large skillet (wide pan) with lid. 

Cooking Method:

1. In a large skillet, dry roast vermicelli until light brown or skip this if bought roasted vermicelli.
2. Remove into  bowl, then heat oil saute chillies, onions, potatoes, beans, peas, carrots , peppers and tomatoes more or less in same order as they per there cooking time. peppers, carrots and  need very less time.
3. Add 3 cups of water and salt. Taste the water it should be slightly salty close the lid.
4. Bring it to boil and add roasted vermicelli decrease the flame to low and let it cook until soft. 
5. Remove the lid if excess moisture is present. using a wide skillet helps evaporate the moisture faster and have nice texture to the vermicelli.
6. Garnish with coriander and squeeze lime juice for extra tang Serve with chutney or with any fritter  raw plantain

Tips:

1. Mix and match as per availability and taste.

2. Consistency is key to this recipe, tends to get mushy easily. ratio is 1(vermicelli):11/2(water).

3. Use less water if the recipe gets mushy as it depends on vermicelli texture and brand.

Pakki Egg Biryani

Egg Biryani

A pakki biryani, is when rice /meat/eggs/vegis all cooked individually and then assembled.

 Ingredients:

2 Cups Basmati Rice (Soak for 30mins, while you are prepping)

4 Eggs 

3 Cups Water

4 Bay leaves

2 cloves

1/2 inch cinamon

2 peper corns

2 cardamom whole

1 tsp Shahi jeera

2/3 cups Yogurt/Curd Strained(remove whey by hanging for few minutes).

1 Tbsp Biryani masala

1 Tsp dry coriander powder

1 Tsp Chilli powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 large Onion sliced 

5 Thai chillies(Adjust as per taste)

1 Tbsp or 10 mint leaves.

2 Tbsps Fresh coriander leaves chopped.

2 Tbsps Light Olive oil or any cooking oil

Salt to taste.

Half Lime 

Kitchen Equipment/Utensils:

Rice cooker, Saute pan, Mixing bowl.

Cooking Method:

1. Cook rice with just 3 cups water by adding half of whole spices, 2 bay leaves, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 slit thai chillies and 1 tsp oil.
2. While rice is cooking, boil eggs until done and shell .
3. In a bowl whisk yogurt, chilli powder, biryani masala, corainder powder, 1 tsp oil and set aside.
4. Take a pan wide and enough to hold the cooked rice.
5. Heat 2 tsps of oil, saute remaining chillies, onion until brown and crisp.
6. make few slits to the eggs with a knife so that they do not burst in oil,add boiled eggs to the pan and roast for few minutes, add turmeric and saute for 2 mins.
7. Pour the yogurt mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes on low-medium flame just to incorporate the masala and coat the eggs.
8. loosen rice in the cooker and layer in the pan top of with remaining mint/pudina and corainder.
9. Cook on very low flame for 8-10 minutes.
10. Take it off the flame, mix well and garnish before serving.

Tips:

1. Best served with Raita of any kind carrot, cucumber or onion/tomato.
2. By adding just 3 cups we are cooking 80 percent and then finishing on stove.

Oatmeal Naivedyam....Healthy option for Festive Season

Oatmeal Naivedyam

Had this at a temple, some devotee cooked. Felt awesome alternative specially during festive season,

Ingredients:

1 cup Instant oats (See pic)

2 Cups Low fat milk

1/2 Cup Grated jagery

1 Tbps  Cashews

1 Tbsp Blanched slivered almonds

1 Tbsp Golden Raisins

1/2 Tsp Cardamom powder

1  Tsp Ghee/Clarified butter

Kitchen Equipment/Utensils:

1-2 quart Sauce pan, Grater for jagery

Cooking Method:

1. Heat glee in a saucepan, roast cashews, raisins just golden color.
2. Remove the nuts from pan using a slotted spoon and remove any remaining ghee from sauce pan.
3. Bring milk to boil and stir in instant oats until cooked.
4. Add in jagery, almonds and mix well.
5. Switch off and fold in nuts, cardamom powder and raisins.

Tips:

1. Use instant oats, the quick cooking are very fine and may not hold.
2. Add in warm milk if the oatmeal solidifies.
3. Best served hot. Adjust sweetness as per taste.

Stuffed mini peppers.......Spicy twist

Stuffed peppers with Pesto

Had similar appetizer in Santori, Greece. They were mild, i made it bit spicy for my family pallete

Ingredients:

Oven:

10 Sweet mini peppers halved lengthwise with stem intact

4 oz Goat cheese plain

1 oz  Cream Cheese plain

2 Tsps Crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tbsps Lime juice

1/2 tsp pepper powder

Olive oil for drizzling 

Pesto:

1/2 Walnuts toasted

1/2 Cup Coriander chopped tight packed

1/4 Cup Mint(Pudina) chopped tight packed

1/4 Cup Lime juice 

2 Garlic Cloves

6 Thai Chillies

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kitchen Utensils/Equipment:

Blender, Oven, Baking Sheet, Knife.

Arranged on a baking sheet.

Cooking Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 350C/180C.
2. Spoon the seeds out of Peppers, add the seeds to all the ingredients of pesto and blend to paste.
3. In a bowl take all the ingredients for oven and mix until incorporated. Do a taste check.
4. Scoop spoonful of cheese mixture into each pepper halves and bake for 20 mins.
5. Serve hot with pesto.

Tips:

1. Use all cheeses at room temperatures.
2. Pesto can be store in refrigerator and used for dips or sandwich spreads.
3. Roast some peppers for layering a sandwich...recipe coming soon.

Raw Plantain Fritters(Arati kaaya Bajji)

Raw Plaintain

Ingredients:

1 Raw Plantain, peeled and slices using mandolin/chip side of a grater box.

1 Cup Besan/Bengal gram flour

1/4 Cup Rice flour

1 pinch baking soda

1/4 Tsp carom seeds/Ajwain

1/2 Tsp Chilli Powder

1/2 Tsp Salt or to taste.

Chaat Masala for serving.

Water as needed.

Oil for deep frying.

Kitchen Equipment/Utensils:

Mandolin or Box Grater with chip slicing. mixing bowl, Whisk.

Cooking Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, dry whisk besan flour, rice flour, salt, chilli powder and soda until no lumps. 
2. Rub the carom seems in between your palms and pour into the mixture.
3. Make a batter with enough water i.e. close to 1/2 to 3/4 cup water. The consistency of the batter should be like dosa batter so that the batter sticks to plantain and not watery.
4. Add 1 tsp of hot oil from the deep fryer into the batter , this will help puffing up the fritters.
5. Coat eat plantain slice with batter an deep fry on medium flame, so that the batter cooks and also has a beautiful color on top.
6. The temp of oil is very imp. Make sure the plantains do not sink, the moment they are dropped they should bubble up. Then reduce flame and cook until done. 
7. Spinkle some chaat masala and serve hot.

Tips:

• Test the oil temperature before frying and maintain good temperature.
• Check if the batter all cooked inside by breaking a fritter.
• the slices should of the size of chips. I prefer rectangles...
• Goes best with Pulihora or Upma.

Daawat E Haleem

Daawat e Haleem

Ingredients:

500 gms Clean Goat meat bone-in, cut in 2" size just as cut for Biryani

200 gms Ghee(Clarified butter)

2 large onions thinly slices

10 thai chilies/mirchi sliced

100 gms  whole wheat kernels husked

50 gms barley whole

25 gms bengal grams

25 gms masoor dal(red toor dal)

25 gms moong dal

1 tbsp chilli powder

2 tsps salt

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsps pepper corns

2 tsps cinnamon(around 2" piece)

2 tsp all spice (kabob cheeni, look like a pepper corn with a tail)

2 tsp Shahi jeera

2 tsp cloves(around 5-6)

Kitchen Equipment/Utensils:

A 5-quart pressure cooker, 1 Large sauce pot at least 10 quarts, similar to pasta/biryani pot. A potato masher and blender/mixer.

Cooking Method:

1. In the pot, take 2 Tbsps of Ghee and dry roast half of all whole spices, all lentils along with wheat and Barley, until light golden color and take off into a blender/mixer jar.
2. In the pressure cooker, put 2 Tbsps of Ghee saute half of whole spices (along with chilli and salt), Thai Chillis, Onions until golden brown.
3. Add meat and cook for about 5-6 mins then add 4 Cups water and let it whistle for 8-10 on a really low to medium flame. Make sure the whistles are paced at longer intervals. We a 50 mins cooking time.
4. While the meat is cooking prep the grains. Coarse blend the roasted lentils and whole spices mixture.
5. Bring 8 cups of water to boil, add salt and lentil spice mixture and cook until soft. Stir intermittently.
6. Add remaining half chilli powder, salt and cook until its all gooey and cooked thoroughly.
7. Once the cooker is all cooled, fish the bones from the meat and mash the meat with hand masher just to loosen any remaining bones. DO NOT BLEND. 
8. Add the meat along with remaining water into the lentil cooking pot and let everything cook for another 1 hr on a very low flame and user a masher to stir just like we do for Pav Bhaji. 
9. The resultant should be just like the one shown in pic.
10. Top it off with Fried Onion and Serve Hot. 

Tips:

• You can use another pressure cooker to cook lentils just to fasten the process.
• A potato masher is a must or wooden lentil masher
• For frying onions, Slice a large onion length wise. Dust with all purpose flour and deep fry until crisp.
• If finding lentils a tough situation you can buy Store bought haleem mix packets, but stick to home made spices.