Culinary Xpress: March 2016

Khichdi - A Feast of the Lord

9:37 AM

To many, the humble khichdi or khichri or Khechudi, evokes a medley of emotions, by the mere mention of the name, one either loves or hates it. Almost every state in India has it's own name for Khichdi, and has it as part of regular meals. It is called khichuri in West Bengal, Adahengu khichdi( ginger-asafoetida khichdi) in Odisha which is a part of the famous Chapan Bhog of the Lord Jagannath temple, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Bisi bele bath in Karnataka and Khichri in Bihar and UP.

This humble Khichdi which is a part of the famous Chapan Bhog of the Lord Jagannath in Odisha is cooked with rice, dal, seasonal vegetables and served with curd to the devotees.This temple khichdi is the ultimate lesson in slow fire cooking where nine earthenware pots placed one atop another. The steam moves from one pot to the next, cooking the ingredients inside the successive pots.

Ayurveda, the Indian wisdom of medicine, also recommends Khichdi for all body types as a cleansing regimen. Khichdi is also the first solid that babies are introduce to, Rice and Lentils are simmered till mushy, seasoned with Turmeric and salt, and fed to infants to introduce them to adult food as it is soft , easily digested, and has no spices.

The khichdi refers to a nutritionally balanced stew of rice and pulses, usually made with high quality grains, easily digestible lentils, fresh vegetables, exquisite spicing and homemade ghee, making it adequate, luscious and comforting.I, for one loves it and enjoy this soothing comforting bowl of earthy goodness. To cope with the blandness, khichri is usually paired with tangy and piquant partners, khichri ke char yaar, dahi, paapad, ghee and achaar.

Cuisine:Odia

Prep Time:30 minutes

Cooking Time:10 minutes

Serves:2

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice
½ cup Moong Dal
3 cups water
1 tbsp ghee
1 bay leaf
2 green cardamom
1/2 inch cinnamon
1 or 2 dry red chilli
1/4tsp of cumin seeds
1/4tsp asafetida
1tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt as per taste
for garnishing
Fresh coriander
Green chillies
lime wedges

Let's Learn How to make this Khichdi:

Rinse and wash Rice and moong lentils together. Soak both of them for 30 minutes in water.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in pressure cooker add cumin. When it starts to splutters then add bayleaf, dry red chillies, green cardamom, cinnamon,grated ginger and asafetida.
Saute for 10 to 15 seconds and add the drained the rice and moong lentils to the pressure cooker. Stir for a minute .
Pour 3 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt.
Close the lid tightly and pressure cook the khichdi on a medium flame for 1 whistle. Once the whistle comes, turn the flame to low and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait till the pressure is released and you can open the lid.
Serve the Khichdi with ghee on top and garnish with coriander leaves, green chillies and a wedge of lemon.
This type of Khichdi taste great with curd/yogurt, papad or pickles to balance the blandness.

Sending this recipe to 33rd Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of celebration of everyday cooking with #Rice

You may also try out other preparation made with rice from the following links:

KANIKA - FAMOUS ODIA SWEET RICE

Egg Biryani

Vegetable Yakhni Pulao

Vegetable Tehari

Brown Rice Biryani

Raw Mango Rice

HEALTHY FENUGREEK PULAO - METHI PULAO - METHI PILAF

HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI

EGG PULAO

"CCChallenge"

Dhokar Dalna ( Lentil fritters in Potato & Tomato gravy)

10:24 PM

Dhokar Dalna (Lentil fritters in Potato & Tomato gravy) is a traditional dish from the Bengali Cuisine that's purely satvik, which was originally created by the Bengali widows who were not allowed to eat onion or garlic. Dhokas are the fried chana dal fritters that are lightly spiced and then simmered in a gravy made with tomatoes and ginger, spiced with cumin and coriander called Dalna, a cooking term that means any vegetables cooked in a medium thick gravy seasoned with ground spices, specially with Garam masala and a touch of ghee.The dhokas are such a delight and the Dalna is so fragrant that you wouldn't even miss onion or garlic in here.

Dhokar Dalna is a part of traditional Bengali cuisine and is somewhat similar to the besan tarkari my mother does at home. The only difference I found is that she made those from the gram flour and this one is done with soaking the daal itself. The other difference is that my mom used onion and garlic in the paste whereas this one is done without onion and garlic.

The lentil paste is cooked with a few flavorful spices to form a cake. Then that cake is cut into pieces and fried. Finally the fried lentil fritters are cooked in an aromatic gravy. The long process associated with the making of 'dhoka' will not hunt you when you actually tastes the dish which is so good and unique that you won't mind the effort put into it.

Making dhoka is easy but there are few things to pay attention to. When grinding the dal, use just enough water to reach a smooth consistency. If the mixture is too dry, the patties will crack when you fry them. For spicier dhokar dalna, supplement the recipe with green chilies. You can also mix finely grated ginger in the dal paste.

Cuisine: Bengali

Prep Time: 5 to 6 hrs preferably overnight

Cooking time:40 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients for the lentil fritters:

1 cup split gram (chana dal)
Water for soaking overnight
About 2 Tbsp water for grinding
1 Tbsp ghee or oil
A pinch of pure hing powder
A pinch of salt
1 tsp jeera seeds, dry roasted and ground
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Oil/Ghee for frying

Ingredients for the gravy:

2 – 3 Tbsp ghee or oil
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 small bayleaf
1/8 tsp pure hing powder
1/4 tsp kalonji seeds
2 medium size potatoes, boiled ,peeled and mashed
2 medium size tomatoes, pureed
water as needed
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp jeera seeds, dry roasted and ground
2 green cardamom seeds, lightly crushed
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing

Let us learn how to make Dhokar dalna:

Wash and soak the dal in plenty of water for about 5 to 6 hours or preferably overnight. Drain and keep aside. Add enough water to the dal to grind it in a food processor.

Heat up the ghee or oil over moderate heat and sauté the hing powder for about 30 seconds and then scoop in the dal paste. Keep stirring it until it thickens for about 5 minutes. As it will stick to the bottom of the pan, keep stirring. It’s ready when it pulls away from the sides and forms a solid mass. Now add the roasted jeera powder, chilli powder and salt. Mix well and spread the paste in a oiled platter. When it cools down, cut it into diamond shapes or squares.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry till light golden. Drain on a clean absorbent kitchen towel or paper and keep aside.

Heat up the ghee or oil in a pot. When it’s, drop in the green cardamom, bayleaf and once it starts to release its flavor, add grated ginger. When the ginger turns a little dark, add the hing powder and kalonji seeds.

Add the tomatoes and fry until they start to stick to the bottom of the pan, and the ghee or oil begins to separate from them. Add mashed potato, coriander powder, turmeric powder, roasted cumin p[owder, red chilli powder and sauté for a minute.

Now pour in the water and salt. Cook until the gravy thickens. I have used mashed potatoes to make the gravy thick. Add the fried lentils to the gravy when it is somewhat thick. Remember that the cakes will absorb liquid; you may have to add some more water if the gravy dries up.So it is better to put the dhokas in the gravy just before serving.

Add garam masala and serve hot garnished with chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Recipe adopted from Sunday Times Newspaper and this recipe is being sent to Cooking from cookbook challenge for the month of March.

Thirst Quenchers

Chaas/ Masala Chaas/Buttermilk -Summer cooler to beat the heat, desi style.....

8:13 PM

Indian summer can get really mean. Being closer to the equator means it is bound to get really hot. For a couple of days the heatwave here makes the place feel like a hot furnace and one feels like grabbing a bottle of cola. Though the chilled bubbly drinks seems enticing for a moment, but no one can beat the heat better than this desi cooler named Chaas or Buttermilk.

Chaas or buttermilk is one of the popular summer cooler made with yogurt, all over India with some variations. Chaas is made by churning yogurt (curds/dahi) and cold water together in a pot, using a hand-held instrument called madhani (whipper). This can be consumed plain or seasoned with a variety of spices like asafoetida, fennel, ginger juice, curry leaves or coriander leaves .

In North India, usually salted chaas is taken whereas in other parts masala chaas and pudina chaas which is flavored with mint leaves is more popular. Chaas can be made from fresh yogurt, and the natural flavour of such Chaas is mildly sweet. This type of Chaas is very close to Lassi, with two major differences: Chaas is more dilute (with water) than lassi and unlike lassi, Chaas does not have added sugar.

Although Chaas can be made from fresh yogurt (curds/dahi), it is more commonly made at home from yogurt that is a few days old and has become sour due to age. That’s why Chaas has a tangy, slightly sour taste which is considered delicious. A pinch of salt is usually added to it for further enhancement of taste, and other seasonings can be added also.

In India, the consumption of Chaas is associated with two major benefits: cooling and improved digestion. Both of these properties are improved by the addition of spices. The cooling properties of Chaas, which helps people to rehydrate and beat the heat of the Indian summer, is greatly valued traditionally. Chaas is considered as a cool drink which keeps the body temperature down in summer. An earthen pot is used to prepare chaas and store it for a few hours before consumption. The use of earthen pot makes the chaas cool even in summer. In the extremely hot desert areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, people consume chaas with salt after getting exposed in the sun because this cools the body and aids in rehydration.

Cuisine: Indian

Preptime:10 minutes

Serves:4

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup yogurt
4 cups cold water
1/4 tsp black salt
2 tsp roasted ground cumin seeds
1 green chilli finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped mint leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all the ingredients together in a large jar and give it a good blend with your hand blender or just the conventional whisk. Yogurt needs to be broken down to a smooth texture and the mixture becomes frothy. If chilled water is not stored for use , make sure to refrigerate the prepared buttermilk for a while before serving.

Pour chaas in glasses. Garnish with mint leaves and serve chaas immediately.
Use chilled water preferably in this yummy spiced up butter milk. I Served it post lunch as an appetising and soothing drink to digest the heavy lunch we had.The whole work took me not take more than 10 minutes.

Foodie Monday Blog hop

Shrikhand-Creamy Yoghurt infused with custard apple and Cardamom

7:37 PM

Shrikhand, creamy sweet hung curd, mildly flavored with crushed cardamom and saffron strands is a magical transformation of simple curd into a sweet delicacy befitting for GODs. That’s why "Shrikhand" is supposed to mean "Ambrosia of the Gods". This traditional Indian dessert uses Low fat, rich and creamy Greek yogurt and involves no cooking and is a standard feature of many households especially in Gujrat and Maharastra. Shrikhand is generally flavored with saffron, cardamom or diced fruits and served with masala puri or as a standalone dessert.

If like flavored yogurt, then this homemade flavored yogurt – Shrikhand will surely satisfy your taste bud . The main ingredient for Shrikhand is hung curd. For shrikhand your curd needs to be thick and no water in it. For this, you have to tie the fresh curd in a cotton Or linen cloth to let the water droop down from the cloth. Keep tied for 3 to 4 hours Or overnight. Let the whey flow down. Now unwrap the cloth to use your hung curd. Hung curd is known as chaka in India.

Hung yogurt is like a blank canvas and you can paint it with the flavors you want. If you like a fruit based shrikhand, just add the puree or the pulp of the fruit after blending the hung curd and blend everything again. You can add any fruit, dry fruits with sugar and yogurt to make your fruits shrikhand. One of its most popular variations is aam Shrikhand or Amrakhand where mango puree is added to this dessert . I have already posted Amrakhand recipe earlier.

As winter bids adieu and summer is fast approaching, this festival of colour known as Holi is round the corner which has many dimensions to it than only colours. From celebrating the change of season, get together with families and friends and preparing delectable sweets and savories, this festival reminds us that there is no bigger and vibrant festival than Holi. To celebrate the #Festivalofcolors, the Foodie Monday BlogHop theme for this Monday was Colors associated with Holi and I have decided to keep my canvas blank and fill it with all the colors of Holi by making Cardamom flavoured Shrikhand and present it with a thandai based tart and topped it with fruits of my choice to represent the true colors of Holi.

Ingredients for the Thandai based tart.

1 cup all purpose flour

1/8^th tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

a pinch of nutmeg powder

1/4th cup grated coconut

¼ cup thandai powder/ syrup

5 tbsp cold unsalted butter

1/4^th cup powdered sugar

cold water if you are using Thandai powder

Ingredients for Cardamom filled custard apple Shrikhand;

400 grams hung curd

1 cup sugar

1 cup custard apple puree

1 tsp cardamom powder

few pistachios for garnishing

For the garnish

Assortment of fruits like, banana, kiwi, grapes, red apple, orange, pomegranate, cherries etc.

let's learn how to make this Shrikhand:

To make the thandai tart, add all purpose flour, baking powder, nutmeg powder, salt and sieve well in a bowl.

Mix sugar and butter together till smooth and creamy add the thandai powder, grated coconut and mix well, add the all purpose flour, baking powder ,salt and nutmeg powder mix and make a dough using very little cold water. Water is not required for the dough if you are using thandai syrup. Cover it with cling film and keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees . line a parchment paper in a 7" tart mould . Take out the dough from the fridge and place it between two parchment paper. sprinkle some flour on it and start rolling it in a circular motion. Make a circle larger than your tart mould and take out the top most butter paper from it. Now carefully invert the dough over the tart mould and remove the butter paper. Press the dough as per the tart mould and place some cheakpeas over it which helps in retaining the shape and it won't puff up and blind bake it the oven for 40 minutes.Take out of oven and keep on a wire wrack to cool.
Place yogurt in double layer cheesecloth/muslin cloth, gather up the sides and put the bundle in strainer over the deep bowl. Put in the fridge over night to drain.
Put drained yogurt, cardamom, sugar in the food processor. Mix well and adjust for sweetness.Add the custard apple puree to it and keep in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes or till you are ready to serve.
Pour the yogurt mixture over the crust and tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Top the tart with your choice of fresh fruit or berries before serving.
Sprinkle nutmeg powder and pistachios on it and enjoy this fruity flavoured Shrikhand.

Going by the color of the Holi , I have given a twist to the normal shrikhand by adding the subtle flavor of oranges, do give it a try and share your feedback.

For Orange Shrikhand

400 gms frsh thick curd

11/2cup fresh orange juice

1 cup sugar

2 tsp orange zest

10 seedless dates

To make Orange Shrikhand, add orange juice, sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil at medium heat for 15 min or till it gets a thick syrup consistency. To thicken it add dates puree to it and stir continuously during the boiling process. Turn of the heat and let it cool down. Once cool, grind to a fine purree.

For hung yogurt, tie the yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang it for about 2-3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator till all the water drains from it. Grind hung curd and orange puree at low setting till it you get a smooth texture.

Transfer the mixture in to an airtight jar and keep it in the fridge for 2 hrs before serving.You can keep this orange Shikhand in the fridge for later use. Serve on small tarts and decorate with grated chocolate.

Sending this to 32nd Foodie Monday Bloghop theme of ##Festivalofcolors.....

Have a safe and colorful Holi....

Fish

Macha Tarkari( Odia style Rohu Fish Curry)

6:11 PM

Odisha, previously known as Orissa, is one state that is traditionally famous for it's mouth watering delicacies of rice, lentils, desserts and sea food. Odia cuisine is known for its simplicity and delicate treatment of various ingredients that goes into it. Odisha has a vast coast line along the Bay of Bengal and also has many rivers flowing within the State. Owing to this proximity, access to riverine fish and its inclusion has become an inevitable part of Odia cuisine and majority of the people from Odisha are non-vegetarians and fish forms an integral part of their traditional cuisine.

Fresh water fish such as Rohu has a natural sweetness to it than the fishes from sea and that is what that makes all the difference to this Odia fish delicacy called Macha Tarkari/ Macha Jhola which is sure to leave a lasting impression on your taste buds for a while. When I crave for some fish, this few ingredient Macha Tarkari / Macha Aloo Jhola( Oriya/Odia style fish curry with potato ) is the one I always prepare for my lunch. "Maachha" in Odia means Fish; "Aloo" means potato and "Jhola" refers to a thin consistency gravy quite typical to an Odia style fish curry). If you are looking for a light, simple and different fish curry, then this oriya/odia fish curry recipe is the perfect solution to your meal plan.This recipe is very close to my heart as it is still the same way I have been making as I was when I learnt it first. Though I love to experiment with food, but rohu fish curry recipe reminds me of home and the little things that my mother does for me as a child make it so much worthwhile to try it as it is.

Unlike the fiery spiced curries associated with Indian food, the Oriya/Odia food is usually subtle and delicately spiced using Panch-Phutana, a mix of five spices- Cumin, Mustard, Fennel, Fenugreek and Nigella (Kalonji) seeds.Mustard oil and mustard seeds are ingredients, which makes Oriya/odia food stand apart from other cuisines. Mustard oil has a typical pungent smell and it is usually heated to its smoking point to decrease its pungency.Mustard Oil is mostly used for frying fish and making fish curries since it imparts a very distinct taste to the subject at hand.

Cuisine: Odia
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves - 4

Ingredients

500 grams Rohu Fish
2 medium Potatoes

For the masala

1 medium Onion
1 small Tomato
1 tsp Ginger - Garlic paste
1/4 tsp panch phutan
2 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
1 tsp Roasted Corriander Powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 bay leaf
1inch cinnamon stick
2 green cardamoms
Salt to taste

Let us Learn how to make oriya/odia fish curry recipe:

Wash the fish and apply turmeric and salt to the fish. Marinate and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Chop the onions and tomatoes finely.

Peel and cut the potatoes into medium side wedges and apply turmeric and salt to it.

Pour some mustard oil and heat it to smoking point. Slowly add the fish pieces one by one and shallow fry them in batches. Take out the fishes and keep them on a kitchen towel .

Add the potatoes and shallow fry them in the same oil and keep aside.

Add bay leaf, cinnamon, green cardamom to the oil and when it starts to release it’s aroma, put a pinch of panch phutan .

Next add the onion and fry till it turns a little brown, add ginger garlic paste to the oil. Stir and fry the masala till the masala is cooked and there is no raw smell.

Add chopped tomato, potatoes, turmeric, cumin powder,coriander powder, chili powder and salt. Cook for few more minutes till the masala starts to leave oil at the sides.

Add a cup of warm water ,cover and let the curry simmer on medium heat till potatoes get soft. Add fish to it and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on slow heat . Remove from heat and add the garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves on top to garnish.