This is one of my oldest recipes learnt from my favorite chef Sanjeev Kapoor. It was a late 90’s cooking show called Khana Khazana, shown on Zee channel. I was a regular viewer of the show. No youtube, blog or any other social media to refer. Just a book was enough to note down the ingredients and watch the show to try and recreate the dish. The below dish is one classic example that I have been preparing since a while.

Ingredients:-

Brown chana                           ½ cup

Paneer                                        250 gms

Basmati rice                             1 ½ cup

Onion                                          1

Tomato                                       1

Green chilli                                2

Garlic                                           4

Coriander seeds                         2tsp

Dry red chilli                             1

Cloves                                        3

Cardamom                               3

Cashew nut                              3 tsp

Fresh coriander leaves           ½ cup

Fresh pudina leaves                 ½ cup

Oil                                             5 tbsp

Salt                                            2 tsp.

Method

Soak the brown chana for 6 hours and pressure cook them. Wash the basmati rice and keep it aside for ½ hour. Cut the paneer into small cubes. Grind together green chillis, garlic, coriander seeds, dry red chilli, cashews, coriander leaves, pudina leave with ½ cup of water. Cut the onion and tomato into small pieces.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a deep pan, add the cloves and cardamom, now add 4 cups of water and salt. When the water starts boiling add the rice, give it a stir, cover and cook on medium flame till the water gets absorbed. Put off the flame, the rice should be only cooked 80%. Remove the lid and allow the rice to cool. Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add the onion and fry till they become translucent, next add the tomato and fry further for 2 minutes. Next add the brown chana and the grounded paste and cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes. Add the paneer cubes and give it a stir.

Add the mixture to the cooked and cooled rice and mix it well. Heat a tawa, place the pan on the tawa, lower the flame, cover the pan and dum cook the biryani for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy steaming chana and paneer biriyani with raita  and chips.

When someone at home asks what’s cooking and you say paneer… even before I complete the dish name it’s a yes. Age doesn’t matter! Right from my grandson to my husband, paneer is one item everyone enjoys in whatever form it is prepared. My chithi (my mother’s sister) recently visited us and her dishes are all time favorites in our Chellam’s family (my maternal grandmother was called Chellamma). So here’s one of the dish she prepared –Paneer Lababdar.

Ingredients:-

Paneer                                     500 gms

Onion                                       3 big

Tomato                                    4 big

Green chillies                          3

Cashew nuts                          2 tbsp

Ginger                                     ½ inch

Garlic                                      5 pods

Cinnamon                             2 small pcs

Cloves                                     4 nos

Garam masala                      1 ½ tsp

Kasuri methi                        1 ½ tsp

Honey                                     1 tbsp

Tomato ketchup                   2 tbsp

Curd                                        ½ cup

Fresh cream                           ½ cup

Chili powder                          ½ tsp

Salt                                         1 ½ tsp

Butter                                   4 tsp

Oil                                         4tbsp

A pinch of saffron.

Method

Cut the onion and tomatoes into big pieces. Take a deep pan add 2 glass of water. Now add the onion, tomatoes, cashew nuts, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cloves. Lower the flame and cook till the tomatoes are softened. Allow the mixture to cool and blend it in a mixer into a fine paste.

Heat a pan ,add 1 tsp of butter and 2 tsp of oil. When the butter melts ,lower the flame and add the saffron and  then the paneer cubes. Sprinkle ½ tsp kasuri methi,½ tsp of garam masala and ½ tsp of red chili pwd. When the base is cooked flip over and fry the other side. Fry them till they are golden in all sides.

Now take a deep pan add the remaining butter and oil, when the butter melts add the grounded paste, the remaining  garam masala, red chili powder, salt ,give it a stir and allow the mixture to cook on a low flame till you see the oil floating . Now add the honey, tomato ketchup, cream and curd and cook for further 5 minutes. Now slowly add the cooked paneer and cook for further 2-3 minutes. Put of the flame and the add the remaining kasuri methi. Paneer Lababdar is ready.

You could add 1 tbsp butter, cream or just garnish with chopped coriander leaves and green chili before serving. Enjoy hot paneer lababdar with roti, chapatti or just jeera rice.

Me and my Chithi

As a family, we are always waiting for a mid day snack! In our language it’s called “norukutheeni”. Gone have the days where we try to prepare the same old dishes. My creative juices helped me create a snack called “Maggi pakoda”, which inturn made my family ask for more!
I also tried this dish in one of my food stalls and it was a hit! It has ever since become one of my signature dishes that people love to devour. It is the perfect snack for any day!

Ingredients

Maggi Noodles pck 2 pcks

Carrot, Cabbage, Onion, Capsicum ½ cup

Corn flour 1 ½ tbsp.

Gram flour 1 ½ tbsp.

Oil for frying

Method

Boil 5 cups of water in a pan ,add Maggi noodles and cook till 80%. Be careful not to cook it completely.Grate the carrot and cabbage, finely chop the onion and capsicum. Allow the noodles to cool.Once the noodles is at room temperature add all the vegetables and the Maggie masala ,corn flour and gram flour and mix them together ( don’t knead them) to get a dough form. Heat oil in a deep pan, make small balls of the mixture and deep fry the balls. Maggi Pakoda is ready, enjoy it with some tomato ketchup or Spicy Mango Dip.

Pakkoda is an all time favorite snack. And when it rains and you have a cricket match to watch, you definitely wouldn’t mind munching on something. So here’s a simple and quick pakkoda recipe. I am sure you will find all the ingredients in your fridge. A little bit of corn flour is all that is used.
Enjoy the pakkoda with hot coffee, tea or a drink of your choice!Ingredients:Mixed vegetables— 2cups Bread slices—- 4-5 Corn flour— 2 tbsp Ajwain— 1/2 tsp Chill powder— 1/2 tsp Salt— 1/2 tsp Oil for frying.Method:-Cut vegetables into small pieces. I used onion( onionis optional), potatoes, carrot and capsicum. Powder the bread slices in a blender. Add ajwain, chill powder, salt and the powdered bread to the vegetables and mix well. Sprinkle some water and mix it again and keep aside for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a deep pan. Now add the corn flour and mix well. Make the mixture into small balls and fry them in hot oil. Note– use bread that is at least a day old and if the mixture doesn’t bind together add little more powdered bread or corn flour, sprinkle some water and make the pakkodas.

Eid holidays are occasions that are very close to my heart. Having spent majority of my life in Dubai, Eid celebrations in this beautiful country are always special. Those days were all about shopping, movies, visiting the mall and enjoying the delicious spread many restaurants offered. A true celebration without doubt! And without fail there used to be the customary family lunch prepared by me which would include the family’s favorite dishes. As a reminder to this wonderful occasion, here is a small rendition of few of my favorites! Eid Mubarak!

Today’s lunch—palak dal, aloo gobi sabji, shrikhand, chapathi, salad and stuffed dates.

Palak Dal

Ingredients:-

Palak— 1 cup

Toor dal— 3/4 cup

Channa dal— 2 tbsp

Onion— 1 small

Tomato— 1 small

Garlic— 5

Ginger— 1/2 inch

Green chilli— 2

Turmeric powder— 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida— 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder— 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder — 1/2 tsp

Salt— 1 tsp

Cumin seeds— 1/2 tsp

Ghee— 2 tbsp

Lemon.

Method:-

Wash palak well and blend it coarsely. Cook the dal together in a pressure cooker. Chop onion, tomato, green chili, ginger, garlic into small pieces. Now heat the ghee in a deep pan, add the cumin seeds, when they crack add the onion and saute it until they are translucent. Now add the tomatoes, green chili, ginger, garlic and further saute it till everything gets mushy. Now add the palak, give it a stir. Now add the cooked dal, to this add turmeric powder,red chilli powder, asafoetida, coriander powder and salt, stir it together, add 1/2 glass of water, cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Put of the heat. Before serving squeeze in juice of half a lemon. Enjoy palak dal with chapathi or jeera rice.

Suffed Karela/ Bitter Gourd.

Karela or Parikay is not a favorite in most households. But both of us, myself and my husband love it. It all depends on the way you incorporate flavors into it. So I usually make Pittla (south indian concoction with many spices) or a Fried version. I have been wanting to make stuffed Karela for a long time, so tried it out and the result was great! Both of us had a great experience!

So here’s my style of Stuffed Karela. Try the recipe and enjoy it. It is a good combination with Chapathi, Rasam rice or Curd rice.

Ingredients:-

Karela— 2

Coriander seeds— 3 tsp

Cumin seeds– 1 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds— 1/2 tsp

Peanuts— 4-5 tbsp

Whole dry red chill — 2

Tamarind— small marble size

Turmeric powder — 1/4 tsp

Salt— 1 + 2 tsp.

Oil—- 4-5 tbsp.

Method:-

Clean the karela well. Now scrape the outside skin of the karela and keep it aside. Slit the karela and remove the seeds and add it to the scraped karela skin, add 1/2 tsp salt. Rub the karela with salt inside and outside. Keep aside for 15-20 minutes. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil. Roast the coriander, cumin, fenugreek seeds along with red chilli. Once the color changes, add the peanuts and roast it. Turn off the heat and add the tamarind and give it a stir. Cool it and grind them coarsely. Squeeze the mixture of the other skin and seeds and remove the extra water. Rinse with water. Do the same with the karela, rinse in water twice. Now add the grounded masala, one teaspoon salt, turmeric powder to the seed mixture and stuff this mixture in the karela. Heat the remaining oil in a pan and place the stuffed karela and close it with a lid. Reduce the heat and allow it cook slowly. Turn over the karela in between and cook it from all sides.

Enjoy sumptuous Stuffed Karela!

A pachadi that is synonymous for this season. Though both, the ripe mango and the jackfruit are sweet, the texture of the respective fruits, add a different and unimaginable dimension to this preparation. A very innovative method of incorporating fruits as an accompaniment to the main dish.

Ingredients:-

Mango— 1/2 cup

Jackfruit— 1/2 cup

Tamarind— small lemon size

Red chill pwd— 1/2 tsp

Turmeric pwd— 1/2 tsp

Coconut— 1/4 cup

Green chili— 1

Mustard seeds— 1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds— 1/4 tsp

Coconut oil— 1 tsp

Salt— 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves.

Method:-

Cut the mango and jackfruit into small pieces. Soak the tamarind in water. Cook the mango and jackfruit pieces in tamarind water, along with turmeric, chill powder and salt. Grind together coconut and green chili into a smooth paste. When the mango and jackfruit becomes soft, add the coconut paste and cook further for 2-3 minuts. Now heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the fenugreek seeds, when they turn red in color add the curry leaves, add this tempering to the pachadi. Mambazha- chakka pachadi is ready.

“Talking about recipes that have been passed down through generations, I taught my daughter to make Mexican Rice, which was taught to me by the very famous Tarlal Dalal. Her book had a refreshing take on the most simple and old recipes; for instance, using Ketchup as an ingredient to infuse the right kind of flavour to the dish. Folks , heres presenting to you Mexican Rice, my family’s ode to the power woman Tarlal Dalal.

Ingredients

Rice— 1cup

Onion— 2

Carrot— 1

Capsicum— 1

Tomato — 1

Garlic— 3-4

Soya sauce— 1 1/2 tsp

Tomato ketchup— 1 tbsp

Pepper pwd— 1/2 tsp

Chilli flakes— 1/2 tsp

Salt— 1 1/4 tsp

Oil— 4-5 tbsp.

Method:-Wash and soak rice for half an hour. Cut one onion into small pieces. Cut the onion and rest of the vegetables into long thin strips Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the garlic and fry for a minute, now add the onion cut into small pieces and saute till the onion becomes translucent. Now add the washed rice and saute till the grains are seperate. Now add water, 3/4 spoon of salt and cook the rice. Spread the cooked rice. Now in pan heat rest of the oil, add the onion and saute for a minute, now add the carrot and capsicum and saute further for 2-3 mnts. Now add the tomatoes and further saute for 2 more mnts, then add the remaining salt, pepper pwd, chilli flakes, soya sauce, tomato ketchup and give a stir and put of the heat. Now add this to the cooled rice and mix it together. Mexican rice ready.

Note– original recipe had cabbage instead of carrot. The day I decided to Mexican rice there was no cabbage at home so I used carrot.

The season of mangoes is here! Finally! Last year during the same season I wanted to try out something new and the resulting dish was the Spicy Mango dip. It was quite a hit! This time recently guests were coming over and I was wondering, what else could I make with mangoes? Thought about making a Mango payasam but I wanted to serve something chill. Mango Phirni!
Check out the recipe and have sumptuous Mango Phirni in this hot weather!

Ingredient:-Milk—- 2 litres

Mango—- 2Rice— 1/4 cup

Sugar— 1 1/2 cup

Almonds— 1/4 cup.

Method:-Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.Soak almonds in warm water,and peal it. Wash ,peel,cut the mangoes and blend it into a pulp.Keep aside 1/4 cup of milk and put the rest of the milk to boil in a heavy bottom pan. Once the milk starts to boil simmer and let it reduce. Grind the almonds with milk and add it to the boiling milk. Now grind the rice coarsely. Add the grounded paste to the boling milk and keep stirring continuously. The phirni will start thickening. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning. Now add the sugar and mix well. Allow the Phrini to simmer till it reaches a thick consistency.
The Phrini will further thicken onces it cools.

Allow it to cool completely, now add the mango pulp and mix well. Refrigerate the Phrini and serve the cool Phrini with some granished almonds.

This is a recipe that is very close to my heart. It is one of the first dishes that was taught to me by my mother in law way back in 1987. She used only fresh spices and not readymade garmmasala. A very rich and sumptuous Kuruma that can practically go along with any Indian bread. I paired this curry with delicious Koki’s! Recipe for Koki to follow in my next post.

Ingredients

Mixed vegetables

Beans, carrot, peas, potato— 2cups

Onion— 1 big one

Tomato— 1 big one

Green chills— 2

Garlic—- 2-3 ponds

Ginger—- 1/2 inch

Cashew nut—- 8-9

Kus kus seeds— 1 tsp

Colves— 3

Cinnamon— 2 small pc

Whole pepper— 6

Star anise—- 1

Mace— 1

Cumin seeds— 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder—- 1/2 tsp

Salt— 1 1/2 TSP

Oil — 2-3 tbsp

Curd optional—- 2 tbsp.

Method

Soak together cashew nuts and kus kus.

Grind

1. Green chills, garlic, ginger

2. Onion

3. Tomato

4. Spices, cashew nuts and kus kus seeds

Heat oil in a deep pan, add the cumin seeds, when it cracks add the green chill, garlic and ginger paste, fry for 2 mnts in low flame. Next add the onion paste, fry again for 2mnts. Next add the tomato pulp. Fry well till the raw smell goes and oil oozes out. Next add the vegetables, salt, red chilli powder and the paste of spices with cashew nut and kus kus seeds. Mix it together, add half a glass of water close and cook the kurma. When it’s almost done add the curd, cook for a minute.

Tasty Kurma ready.

Option: – After adding the vegetables with spices paste and water, you can pressure cook it for 2 wishtle.