Culinary Xpress: Indian Cuisine

Buta Dali Aloo Kakharu Tarkari – Chana dal with potato and pumpkin curry

8:24 PM

Buta Dali Aloo Kakharu Tarkari – Chana dal cooked with potato and pumpkin is a a very sought after dish in every odia household. This daal is liked by all for it’s amazing taste of spicy lentils blended with sweetness of pumpkin. It is a nutritious and a wholesome dish which goes very well with rice or poori. This daal is prepared with Buta dali or Chana daal or Bengal gram as popularly known as along with bay leaf, potato, pumpkin , ginger and coconut mostly on festive occasions and does not include onion or garlic in it. This simple no onion garlic aromatic daal is easy to make and taste absolutely divine.

This tarkari made out of Bengal gram is quite different from the other lentils prepared in rest of the country. Buta dali or Bengal gram is a little hard compared to other daals which when cooked holds it’s shape better than other lentils.The use of potato and pumpkin in this daal along with the richness of coconut makes the daal creamy and luscious and makes your dining a never to forget affair of odia traditional cuisine.

Now if you want to cook this simple, extremely tasty, authentic odia dish on a week day or specially for Sunday lunch for your family and friends, donot wait too much, go ahead and check this recipe below. This daal goes extremely well with Pooris or rice and serve with a sweet kheer as side dish.I have literally grown up eating this daal prepared every alternative day as we have a tradition of not eating non veg food during 4 days a week. Every time I prepare this daal, it reminds me of home and of childhood.

Cuisine: Odia

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

serves:4

Ingredients:

1 cup Buta daal (channa daal)
1 cup pumpkin diced
1 large potato diced
1-inch ginger grated
1 tomato chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 to 3 dry red chillies
1 tsp Roasted cumin and dry red chilli powder(3 teaspoons cumin seeds
8-10 dried red chillies)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ghee
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp sugar
Chopped coriander and coconut to garnish
Salt to taste

Let's Learn how to make this recipe:

Dry roast the cumin seeds and red chilies for the cumin chili powder till you get the aroma. Care should be taken not to over roast and burn the seeds.Grind it and store it in an airtight container.

Wash and cut the potatoes in cubes along with the pumpkin and keep aside.

Soak the Buta dali for 30 minutes.Wash Buta Dali and bring to a boil along with potato, pumpkin, salt and turmeric in a pressure cooker up to one whistle. Do not overcook the daal.

Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds , dry red chiilies and bay leaf .When they start to splutter, add grated ginger and stir for a minute. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till done.

Add the boiled dal to the above masala, grated coconut and simmer for few minutes. Garnish it with cumin and chilli powder and chopped coriander leaves and chopped coconut .

Serve it with Puri or Rice. The consistency of the dish is a personal preference. So add water accordingly and enjoy.

Andhra Cuisine

Pulihora - Tamarind Rice

1:54 AM

Pulihora or Andhra tamarind rice is often prepared during festivals and is offered as naivedyam to the gods. As Hindus consider turmeric powder a symbol of auspiciousness, this dish is cooked on almost all good occasions and festive days. Pulihora is also referred to as sour rice as Puli means sour taste .Cooked rice is seasoned with tamarind paste and other basic ingredients like curry leaves, peanuts, chilies and turmeric. When this dish is made with tamarind then it is called PULIHORA and is called CHITRANNAM if made with Lemon.

Pulihora stimulates the taste buds very nicely with it’s sour, spicy, and salty taste as it contains ingredients like Turmeric, Green Chilies, Lemon, Asafoetida, Curry leaves. Pulihora, simply put, is rice flavored with a sour ingredient, tempered with mild spices, roasted peanuts & lentils but the main flavor comes from the tamarind. The meal would feel incomplete without one of them.

Cuisine: Andhra Pradesh

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serves:2

Recipe Source: Here

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cooked rice
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
10 - 15 fresh curry leaves
salt to taste
large lemon sized tamarind (soak in a cup of hot water and extract pulp)
1 tsp Jaggery
1 tbsp channa dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 medium dry red chilli
4-5 green chillis slit length wise
1 1/2 tsps finely chopped ginger
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds powder
A fistful roasted peanuts
3 tbsps oil

Let's learn how to make Pulihora:

Rinse and soak the rice for 30 minutes. Cook in such a way that each grain is separate and then spread it to cool.

Sprinkle turmeric powder, salt, a tbsp of oil and few fresh curry leaves to the cooked and cooled rice and keep aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a cooking vessel, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add dry red chillis, cumin seeds, channa dal, urad dal and fry for a minute till light brown. Next add the slit green chillies, ginger, asafoetida and few curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.

Add the tamarind extract and jaggery and cook till the raw smell of tamarind disappears for approx 5-7 mts. It will be a like a thick but flowing paste.Remove from heat.

Add the cooked tamarind mix and combine well such that it’s spread all over the rice. Adjust salt. Finally sprinkle the roasted sesame seeds powder and roasted peanuts and combine well. Let it sit for at least 3-4 hours for the flavors to set in.

Serve with yogurt and papad.

This recipe has been developed as part of the Ugadi celebration event hosted by Jayashree who has a beautiful blog Evergreendishes.

"CCChallenge"

KADHI PAKORA RECIPE

8:16 PM

Kadhi Pakora/ Pakode or kadhi chawal literally means “fritters with yoghurt”. The dish can be savoured both on special occasions or as part of the everyday meal. Kadhi is one such recipe that reminds us of homemade food. Served warm with fluffy steamed rice, papad and pickle I couldn’t think of a more satisfying meal. Rice is undoubtedly the perfect accompaniment for it. Simple to make, this yoghurt and gram flour based curry is full of flavour.

One of the reasons why I enjoy this Punjabi Kadhi Pakora recipe is because it has a real tangy taste to it that enhances the taste of the pakoras brilliantly.You can have the kadhi alone minus the pakoras but when the pakoras are added to the gravy , it enhances the flavour of the kadhi soaking all the spices.

Cuisine: Punjabi

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking time:20 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients:

For the Pakoda:

1 cup besan
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup chopped baby spinach
2 chopped green chillies
1/2 tsp baking soda
salt

For the Kadhi:

400 grams sour curd
3-4 tbsp besan
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garlic paste
salt
1 tbsp coriander powder
3 cups water

Foe the 1 st tempering:

1/3rd tsp fenugreek seeds
2 to 3 whole dry red chillies
1 tsp fennel powder
a pinch of asfoiteda
2 tbsp mustard oil

For the 2nd tempering:

1 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

Let's Learn How to make Kadhi Pakoa recipe:

In a bowl take sour curd and whisk it well till smooth. Add gram flour, red chilli powder, garlic paste,turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt to the whisked curd.Add 2 cups of water and stir and mix everything again to make a smooth mixture without lumps.
Take gram flour in a bowl and add green chillies, baking soda and salt as required.Add thinly sliced onions and chopped spinach.Mix everything well and keep aside covered for 30 minutes to allow the onions to release water in the mixture. Depending on the water content in the onions, accordingly add water as required to make a thick batter.
Heat oil in a pan or kadai. with a spoon or with your hands drop the pakora batter in the oil.when the pakoras are partly cooked, then turn over and fry the other side till the pakoras are crisp and golden.
Remove the fried pakoras and place them on a kitchen paper towel so that extra oil is absorbed. keep them aside.

In another pan or kadai, heat mustard oil. make sure to use a large bottomed pot so that while cooking, the kadhi does not spill. Add fenugreek seeds, a generous pinch of asafoetida/hing , whole red chillies and roasted fennel powder.
Allow the seeds to crackle and change their color. Fry on a low flame, so that these spices do not get burnt. Then add 1 cup water so that the temperature will come down and now add the curd mixture. Stir very well. This way the curd will not split .
Increase the flame to medium and bring the kadhi to a boil. Keep on stirring often so that the kadhi doesnot stuck to the bottom. Lower the flame and then simmer the kadhi for 8 to 10 minutes or till the kadhi thickens. f the kadhi becomes too thick, then add some hot water. Add the pakoras in the kadhi. Stir gently and let the pakoras be soaked in the kadhi for 8 to 10 minutes.
Before serving, make the 2^nd tempering .Heat the ghee in a small pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and when it starts to sputter, turn off the heat and add red chili powder. pour this on the simmering kadhi. Stir it well.
Serve with plain steamed rice.

Sending this recipe to Cooking from cookbook challenge for the month of March.

"CCChallenge"

Chicken Rezala Recipe

8:40 PM

Chicken Rezala is very popular and authentic dish originated in Bengal and highly influenced by Mughlai cuisine. This royal dish is simply magical with it’s delicious aroma, texture and lip-smacking taste. The chicken is slow-cooked in a white cashew nut gravy with a blend of aromatic spices which lends a divine flavour to this dish. It has a perfect blend of sweetness and sourness in a mildly spiced gravy which makes it just delectable with Naan, Roomali Roti or Paratha . The juicy succulent pieces of meat drowned in silky white semi thick gravy which glides through your taste bud without being heavy, besides bringing that perfect balance of sweetness and heat.

Chicken Rezala has so much of complex flavours and layers of taste, which makes it is so distinctive from other Mughlai dishes. The secret behind a successful Rezala is the use of homemade sweet yogurt that nicely compliments the dish giving a nice sweet taste. Though Rezala is synonymous with mutton, some can also prepare it with chicken, mushroom, paneer, fish egg or prawn. The white gravy is made with curd, cashew nut and poppy seeds paste, flavored with subtle spices which are not commonly used in normal dishes. Apart from cardamom, cloves, the dish is spiced with nutmeg powder, white pepper powder and got contrasted by whole dry red chili and garnished with ghee/ clarified butter.

Unlike other Bengali delicacies which has travelled to far away land, Rezala remain confined to the geographical boundaries of Kolkata.The long period of Muslim rule in the country has greatly influenced the architecture and cuisine of the country and Bengal was no exception.The most interesting thing about this recipe of chicken rezala is the uses of few chosen spices, slow cooking and uncommon blending of onion with curd used for marination as well as for cooking. I have arrived at this recipe after going through many recipes on internet and food magazines, but a special mention to my friend Piyali Muthha from mytrystwithfoodandtravel whose Chicken Rezala has tempted me to try this and blog about it.

Cuisine: Indian

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking time : 20 to 25 minutes

Serves:4

Ingredients

For the Marination:

4 nos of Skinless Chicken leg pieces
2 Medium Size onion
4 to 5 large Garlic Pods
1 inch Ginger
1 cup Fresh Curd
1 teaspoon White Pepper powder
1 teaspoon Nutmeg Powder

Whole Garam Masala

4 Green Cardamom

1 Black Cardamom

4 Cloves

8 Black Peppercorn

2 Red Chili

1 Bayleaf

Other Ingredients:

2 teaspoon Ghee/Clarified Butter
3 teaspoon Refine Oil
8 whole Cashew Nuts
1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds
1 teaspoon Sugar
A few strands Saffron

Let’s Learn How to make this Chicken Rezala:

Soak the poppy seed and cashew nuts in warm water for minimum 30 minutes.
Wash the chicken and drain all water from it. Make cuts in the chicken pieces with a sharp knife so that the marinade will soak through it. Keep aside.
Boil the Onions till done, let it cool. When cool, drain the water and grind along with ginger and garlic together in a blender to make a smooth paste.The paste has to be absolutely smooth.
Using a whisk, beat the curd to make it smooth.Grind cashew and poppy seeds to a paste and keep aside.
In a bowl mix onion,ginger garlic paste and curd. Add nutmeg and pepper powder. Add salt to taste. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and marinate. Keep it aside for minimum 30 minutes .
Heat the oil. Lightly pound the whole spices so that it can release it’s aroma and add to the oil. Let it sizzle with lovely aroma. Now put the marinated chicken pieces and sauté on medium heat till all sides turn white. Now pour in all the marinade and Cook for 8-10 minutes.
Add the poppy and cashew seeds paste and cook for a minute.Pour 3/4 cup warm water. Check the seasoning and cover. Let it simmer on low heat till oil starts to float on top and the chicken is cooked through.
Uncover and add the sugar and strands of saffron .
Before serving heat 2 teaspoon of ghee or clarified butter and add the dried red chillies. lower the flame and let the ghee infused with the flavor of red chillies. Pour this over the curry and keep covered till you are ready to serve.
Serve with Naan, Paratha., Kulcha or Roomali Roti etc.

Sending this recipe to Cooking from cookbook challenge for the month of March.

You can also try other chicken recipes like

Sarson Da Saag and Makki Di Roti (Tempered Mustard Greens with Cornmeal Flat Bread)

7:09 PM

Winters brings with it a respite from the scorching hot summers, where temperature drops in and the spirits soar. Along with cosy blankets and quilts it brings with it variety of food, vegetables, fruits and sweets. This is the time when the markets are flooded with lush greens saags and vegetables. Come winters Makki di roti (coarse maize bread) and Sarson da saag (mustard plant) are culinary delights that are savoured in every household of North India especially Punjab .

The prominent names that come to mind whenever Punjabi cuisine is mentioned are tandoori chicken and butter chicken. But one thing that remains literally evergreen, is the traditional Punjabi dish of sarson da saag with makki di roti. Come winter and every Punjabi household, eateries and most roadside dhabas

have their fill of this dish which is so rich in iron and calorie.

Sarson ka saag is made with combination of different green leafy vegetable such as sarson or mustard leaves to which smaller quantities of paalak (spinach) and bathua (wild spinach) are added. Mustard leaves or sarson tastes a little bitter on it's own, to suppress that spinach or any other leafy vegetable is used along with it. Popularly spinach, bathua or methi is mixed with sarson but if it is not available you can just add spinach. However bathua adds a very nice taste to this saag.

The sarson leaves are washed properly before being shredded and then pressure-cooked. The flavour of the dish comes from the Tadka, which is an art itself and has to be good. The saag dish is not complete without dollops of butter - be it the home-made white butter or the salted one. One does not have to be calorie-conscious to savour this Punjabi delight. Serve hot with spoonful of butter or cream. Sarson ka saag tastes best with makki ki roti made from corn flour, which makes it a complete package. Sarson da saag and makki di roti is a quintessential Punjabi dish that is enjoyed by both Punjabis and non-Punjabis alike. The dish uses spinach-which makes it a healthier alternative.

Cuisine: North Indian/ Punjabi
Prep Time : 30 minutes
Cook time : 40 minutes
Serve : 4

Ingredients

4 cups chopped Fresh mustard leaves
2 cups chopped Spinach
1 cup chopped Bathua ( Wild Spinach)
2 tablespoons Pure ghee
2 medium Onions finely chopped
2 nos of medium tomatoes
2 inch piece of Ginger chopped
6-8 cloves Gralic cloves chopped
4 nos of Green chillies chopped
1 teaspoon Red chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Cornmeal
Unsalted butter for garnishing
Sliced Green Chillies, Tomatoes and Ginger Julienne for garnishing

Let's Learn how to prepare Sarson da saag recipe:

Clean , wash and chop the mustard leaves, spinach and wild spinach leaves and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker place the chopped mustard, spinach and wild spinach along with the ginger, garlic , tomatoes, salt and 2 cups of water and bring to a whistle and let it simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes.
After cooling take away the boiled leaves and keep the water aside. Place the boiled leaves in a food processor along with 2 tablespoon cornmeal and grind to smooth paste.
Now heat 2 table spoon ghee in a pan.Add the finely chopped onion and sauté till light brown. Add green chillies and sauté for a few minutes more. Add the ground mixture , red chilli powder , coriander powder , garam masala and cook for five to ten minutes or till the paste thickens.
Garnish with thinly sliced tomato, green chillies and ginger julliens Serve hot with makki di roti.

Makki di roti is a flat, unleavened Punjabi bread made from corn flour, primarily eaten in Punjab region of Pakistan and India. Like most rotis in South Asian cuisine, it is baked on a tava. It is an important element of the rural Punjabi cuisine. Makki is a Punjabi word for maize (corn) and a yellow flour made from it is the base ingredient for this recipe. Traditionally makke ki roti is prepared by flattening a dough ball into round shape by repeatedly pressing it in-between palms in a thumping motion and then baked on hot tawa.

Makki ki roti is a little different from the regular whole wheat flour chapattis. They are essentially to be made using warm water and they do not roll easily. One can use dry flour to roll them out between parchment paper or butter paper. Locally, corn flour is available only in the winter months. Rotis made with the flour of freshly harvested yellow corn are delicious. A dollop of unsalted white butter is mandatory on the roti; a half dollop doesn’t hurt in the saag as well. Winter is not the time for a low-fat diet.

Ingredients

2 cups Corn Meal or Maize flour
1 bunch of Chopped coriander leaves
Salt as per taste
1 inch finely chopped ginger
2 nos of finely chopped green chillies
1 teaspoon ajwain
Warm water

Let's Learn how to make makki di roti:

Mix maize flour, ajwain,chopped coriander, green chillies, ginger and salt in bowl.
Add warm water. Mix and knead to make a smooth dough. Cover With a damp kitchen cloth, cover the dough for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into equal parts. With your palm, flatten the dough pieces.Slowly roll the dough to a thick and small round on a silver foil or baking sheet to prevent it from sticking to the floor. A small quantity of flour can be sprinkled to stop the dough to stick to the surface.
Place the Roti on a hot Tawa or griddle and cook on both sides. Roti is now ready to be served. Add a dash of butter for a richer taste.