Tapioca and Sardine Curry, A Kerala Speciality

Known as "Kappa-Meen Curry" in God's own country- this is by far the best breakfast, lunch or dinner I have eaten when I'm in Kerala. Its made on most days as a late morning breakfast at my father-in-law's farm, north of Calicut in a place called Thalayad, for the workers who work on the coconut plantation. This breakfast is often eaten along with a chutney that's spicy and tangy.
Don't leave Kerala without trying this dish, and its made with a variety of fish curries other than sardine curry.

Zains Restaurant - Calicut Kerala

Because of this article we went for an exquisite meal, to Zains in Calicut, Kerala. Below is an extract from the article in Outlook Traveller by friend Hari Menon on North Kerala's Mappila cuisine. You can read the whole article here.

" Zain’s is where Kozhikode’s foodies go for their biriyani fix. There’s a good reason why the lane outside the restaurant fills quickly with cars, bikes and people. It isn’t just the biriyani. The dishes Zainabi Noor’s kitchen turns out every day are among the best examples of Mappila cooking you can get anywhere. It’s been over three decades since Zainabi started this restaurant, a pioneering woman entrepreneur. Today, as she surveys her popular realm with a mixture of businesslike efficiency and grandmotherly charm, it’s hard to believe her critics gave the venture a month. Her husband and partner, Noor Mohammed, an Afghan who once played football for Kerala, takes me through the day’s specials, most of which customers can check out in a glass cabinet in the restaurant—a good thing for visitors, since the menu is entirely in Malayalam. There’s the wonderfully fragrant prawn and chicken biriyani; kozhi adachitathu (whole chicken stuffed with eggs) which is half-cooked in masala, then fried, before being returned to the masala; the wonderful meen pathiri, a rice-based bread this time, steamed in plantain leaves with a fried fish and savoury stuffing, and, to finish with; unnakai, made from mashed boiled bananas, mixed with eggs, sugar, nuts and raisins before being deep fried, and chattipathiri, a savoury dessert made of refined flour pathiris layered with a mixture of beaten eggs, cardamom and sugar, with cashew, poppy seeds and raisins added."

Photo: A plate of plain pathiri with chicken curry.

Zains is located behind the Fire Station on Convent Cross Road, South Beach,

Calicut - 673001

Tel: +(91)-(495)-2366311

Doc Varkey's Pork Chops with Apple Sauce

I thought I'd include some organic facts about pork before the recipe so we don't immediately relegate this much maligned meat into the "not-so-healthy" category of foods.
Eat in moderation just like anything else you enjoy !!

The information below is sourced from http://www.organicfacts.net

Nutritional Value of Pork:
Pork makes to the position of most widely consumed meat till today, with being bred almost in all major parts of the world. It is a rich source of proteins and fats. This meat being used to make sausages, ham and bacon is an essential part of people's daily nutrients requirement in many countries. No doubt, Pork has always been an energy packed food.

Nutrition Facts and Information about Pork:
Pork has a high mineral content of Phosphorus, Selenium, Sodium, Zinc, Potassium and Copper. The two minerals which are present in good quantities are Iron and Magnesium, while Calcium and Manganese are found in traces only.

Vitamin Content of Pork:
Pork is highly enriched with Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Thiamin, Niacin, Riboflavin and Pantothenic Acid. However, Vitamin A and Vitamin E are found in very small amounts.

Calorie Content of Pork:
Calorific value of Pork is 458.0 per 100 gm. This is quite high when compared to other animal products like chicken.
Health Benefits of Pork:
Consumption of Pork in moderate quantities is helpful in gaining energy. It is good for skin, eyes, nervous system, bones and mental performance. Intake of Pork also ensures better immunity to body due to presence of essential antioxidants.

Now that we have that out of the way, here's the recipe for this delicious pork chops recipe which is slightly adapted from Doc Varkey's - only in the method of cooking and not in ingredients.

Ingredients

4-6 pork chops/Spare Ribs

2 medium onions sliced fine

1.5 tablespoon olive oil

1 Apple, peeled and chopped small

1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Maggi hot and sweet tomato ketchup :-)

Salt to taste

Method

1. Sear pork chops on a high flame till brown on either side. Keep aside.

2. Heat 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil in a pressure cooker or a heavy bottomed casserole. Add onions. Cook till soft

3. Add chopped apples and cook till soft

4. Add ginger-garlic paste, honey, wooster sauce, pepper, maggi sauce or any hot & sweet sauce, and stir over a low flame till all ingredients combine well

5. Add browned pork chops and cook together for about 10 minutes

6. Add salt to taste, and a cup of hot water and stir

7. Pressure cook for 30 minutes or cook on low heat in a covered casserole till meat is soft

Sunila's Parsi Dhansag

I am half parsi from my father's side and so I have grown up eating a fair amount of parsi food. My mother learned how to cook parsi food really well and so we often eat and cook it. I am including her recipe for mutton dhansag and will keep adding my other favourites. Also attached is an article written by Freddy Birdy about eating Bombay Duck at my mother Sunila's house in Delhi.

Ma’s Dhansag
Boil : dhuli mung, masoor, and tur dals ( 1/3 Cups each, or you will have too much dal) with 2 chopped onions, 2 tomatoes, a wedge of (50 gm ) baingan, white pumpkin, yellow pumpkin, a small bunch of methi and a few leaves of palak. If available, put in a green mango. Boil just enough to puree it all roughly.

Marinate I kg of meat in 2 Tbsp. adrak-lassan (ginger-garlic). Fry 3 sliced onions till brown, add meat and stir till it leaves water, add 4 Tbsp dhansak masala, 2 Tbsp. sambhar masala, 2 grated tomatoes and the vegetable puree. Add 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1tsp zeera powder,1 tsp dhania powder , 1 tsp. garam masala powder.

If you haven’t put in the green mango add some tamarind juice at the point when the dal-vegetable puree is added to meat.
A tadka of a few methi leaves crackled in oil with some whole red chillies on the top is nice
Parsis also add a spoon of jaggery after the tamarind juice as they like their food quite sweet but you can skip that.
Of course if you are making veggie dhansag, you follow all the steps except instead of marinating meat in adrak lassan (ginger-garlic) you add 1 tbsp. of adrak-lassan to the fried onions.


Bombay Duck in Delhi.
By Freddy Birdy

Some of Delhi’s most delicious meals can be had outside its restaurants.

If you are ever invited to lunch at Sunila Patel’s, and if you happen to know in advance that she will be serving her crisp-fried, green chilly-stuffed Bombay Duck, then please do drop every pressing engagement and go.

It is an arduous climb up several “ builder-steps” to her second floor apartment, but worth every asthmatic gasp.

You will be seated at a square wooden table, bought in the mid eighties at Taaru’s, that furniture brand that existed when there were no such thing as furniture brands. Behind you will be a wall full of books, leaning against each other unselfconsciously like old friends. The walls will be scattered with delicate Mickey Patel drawings. And a split air-conditioner will lower the second floor summer temperature considerably.

But all this will fade to a blur and your whole, undivided attention will fall on the star attraction, as it is placed simply before you.

The Bombay Duck is not a bird, it does not quack, neither does it come from Bombay. Ours comes a short hop down the road from the Chitaranjan Park fish market. To call the Bombay Duck a fish would be like calling Shabana Azmi an actor. It is much more than that. It is about an inch longer than a 6 inch ruler, slender, firm, yet slightly, nicely, plump. [ Think Aishwariya Rai’s belly in Kajra Re.] It is marinated for a bit in a touch of turmeric, a finger’s pinch of red chilly powder, a tiny hint of ginger-garlic paste, stuffed with an entire small green chilly, dusted in the merest whisper of rice flour and gently placed delicately on an iron griddle glistening with smoking hot oil till it is done to an impossible deliciousness, shatteringly crisp on the outside, the flesh meltingly soft and moist on the inside.

Even though I would include Sunila in my list of favourite conversationalists in Delhi city, her Bombay Duck is best eaten in utter silence, with your fingers, head focused firmly on the plate in front of you, fingertips just slightly scalded by the searing hot flesh, hands used only in pantomime when it is time for your plate to be replenished. You pause midmouthful to rain fresh lime on it, lengthwise, from large half-discs of lemon, or gulp large sips of iced water. It is important to mention here that no other conflicting flavour be served alongside. The only thing that goes well with Bombay Duck, is more Bombay Duck.

The ingredients for this feast to end all feasts, cost a princely thirty rupees. But simply flashing a credit card will not give to access to this extraordinary taste sensation. The Bombay Duck is unlisted on menus in Delhi. It would appear naïve and a little foolish in front of its richer cousins: crabs, lobsters, tiger prawns, mussels. But it is a dish that occupies heartspace, not menuspace. In a sense, this is fast-food, straight from the fish market, into the frying pan and in your mouth. But it is possibly the world’s most delicious fast food. You cannot merely buy your crisp fried Bombay Duck, you have to earn it. And of course, it is never ever too late to get to know Sunila Patel.

Black-eyed pea soup/ Lobia Dal Soup

I love lentil and bean soups. I got the idea to make this one from my friend who ate this black -eyed pea/Lobia dal soup quite often while she was on the famous Delhi based dietitian, Shikha Sharma's diet plan. She mentioned how delicious one can make it apart from it being filling and nutritious. However, this recipe is my own variation. In addition to a high protein content, black-eyed peas serve as an excellent source of calcium and are also high in vitamin A and folic acid.

Ingredients
1 cup black-eyed peas/ Lobia
pinch of turmeric
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 teaspoon red chilli powder/paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped spinach leaves
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup spring onions
1 cup stock or 1 soup cube dissolved in 1 cup warm water

Method
1. Soak one cup black-eyed peas/lobia dal overnight
2. Boil in 3 cups water with salt and a pinch of turmeric/ haldi. If in a pressure cooker, 2 whistles on a high flame and 12-14 minutes on a simmered flame are enough.
3. Heat 1/2 a tablespoon of oil in a pan, add chopped onion and garlic and stir. Add 1 teaspoon red chilli powder / paprika (optional)
4. Add tomatoes and stir till they break down and cook completely.
5. Add the chopped carrots, spring onions, peas, spinach leaves, and stir for 5 minutes.
6. Add one cup of chicken or vegetable stock. One soup cube will do too. If using a soup cube, dissolve it in a cup of warm water and add to the pot.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add the black-eyed peas/Lobia Dal and the water it boiled in. Boil together till desired thickness and consistency.

Mutton Rogan Josh

This recipe is an adaptation of Camellia Panjabi's recipe from the book 50 Great Curries of India. Its a combination of both the Hindu and the Muslim way to cook it. Serve with plain rice, saffron pulao or serve with hot with rotis !

1 kg mutton ( some bones)
8 cloves garlic chopped or crushed
3 teaspoons kashmiri red chilli powder
1/2 cup thick yoghurt
250 gm small onions chopped, normal onions will do too
1/4 cup ghee/ oil
4 cloves
2 large black cardamom
4 green cardamom
2 cinnamon leaves, tej patta
1 blade of mace/javitri
1 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon fennel / saunf powder
1 teaspoon ginger powder/ sonth
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste

Method:

1. Boil the mutton with the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 6 cups water for 30 minutes. Remove and strain. Keep stock aside.
2. Make a paste of the red chilli powder by adding a little bit of water.
3 Whisk the yoghurt, set aside.
4. Heat ghee/oil. Add onions and fry till golden brown. Add cloves, green and black cardamoms, mace coarsely ground together. Add the 2 bay leaves. Fry for a minute.
5. Add the coriander, fennel, ginger and turmeric powder and fry. Add chilli paste and a little warm water and stir.
6. Add the meat, saute till nicely coated by masala. If the masala sticks to bottom of pan keep adding a little of the stock kept aside.
7. Add whisked yoghurt and stir well.
8. Add 3-4 cups of the stock kept aside and lower heat. Cover and cook till meat is tender.

Seafood Pasta by Julia Mily

Please welcome another one of my favourite dishes! I've ordered it in so many restaurants and tasted so many variations, but this one cooked by Julia at our home was the best. I want to post many recipes of dishes made by Julia who's recently arrived from Munich for 3 months, and seems to be spending a lot of time cooking wonderful meals for us. It really should be the other way around, but we're soon going to make up for it and cook her favourite dish in India so far -Butter Chicken!

The trick to cooking this dish is that the pasta has to be done or at least almost done when you start making the seafood sauce, as once the seafood sauce is ready the pasta must go in immediately.

Ingredients
500 gms of mixed seafood (we had frozen shrimps, mussels, baby octopus and squid)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh garlic paste
1 stock/soup cube
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 dry red chilli or 1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
3 large tomatoes chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoon white wine
1 packet spaghetti

1. Cook Spaghetti in water with salt and few drops of olive oil and drain.
2. Heat the olive oil and stir in garlic. Add one dry red chilli or half teaspoon of red chilli flakes and stir for 2 minutes or so till the garlic cooks but not browns.
3. Add the seafood and stir on a high flame 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste
4. Lower the flame and add the white wine and stir.
5. Dissolve the stock/soup cube in some water and add to the dish.
6. Add tomatoes and stir. Keep tossing for 5 minutes. The tomatoes don't need to cook too much
7. Add parsley and stir.
8. Add cooked spaghetti toss thoroughly. Add more Olive oil and stir if the spaghetti is too dry.

* This dish tastes much better If you have the option of using fresh octopus, mussels with the shells on, gambas and fresh bits of sea fish.

Tuna Fish Salad

Here's a simple and wholesome summer salad. Potatoes added to this salad make a nice change from the regular recipes available. Serve chilled.

Ingredients
1 small can tuna, drained
2 medium potatoes boiled
3 fresh tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic, chopped fine or ground
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
paprika to taste
Salt to taste

Method

Boil the potatoes, skin and crumble into large pieces. Chop the tomatoes into large pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the tuna, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, parsley, garlic , salt and pepper. Add the boiled potatoes and tomatoes. Mix well and refrigerate until chilled. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.

Green Masala Mutton Chops

I bought some mutton chops from Metro Cash and Carry at a great price the other day and decided to try this recipe. Turned out fantastic and much appreciated by all at a happy Sunday lunch at the Tulls. Here's how to make this dish.

Ingredients
8 medium mutton chops, washed and drained
3 finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste

Blend the following and Marinate chops in:
1 cup yoghurt/ Dahi
4 green chillies
1 teaspoon fresh garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
a pinch of turmeric/haldi
1 teaspoon roasted cumin/jeera powder
pinch of red chilli powder
1/2 cup of fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon of mint/pudina leaves
Juice of half a lime

Method:

1. Marinate mutton chops for at least half an hour.
2. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and fry the chopped onions till golden brown.
3. Remove 3/4 of the fried onions and keep aside for the garnish
4. Add marinated meat into pressure cooker with the remaining onions and stir for 5-6 minutes. Add the salt.
5. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles on a high flame and 10 minutes on a low flame.
6. Turn the gas off and let the pressure subside.
7. Pour into a dish and garnish with the fried onions.

Clay Pot for setting Yoghurt/ Dahi

I just bought this clay pot from the Dastkari Haat Samiti bazaar that came to Bangalore for a 10 day fair held at Chitra Kala Parishad. Its from the Rajasthani terracotta pottery stall. I was told by the potters that if I thought I was setting good yoghurt/dahi at home, I didn't know how much better it could be if I set it in pot like this ! Sure enough, this mud pot for Rupees 80/- has given me the BEST yoghurt I have ever been able to set at home and it tastes delicious. My friends have since also praised the pretty clay pot and the taste of the yoghurt/dahi set in it.


The clay pot is not glazed or coloured with anything. It helps to wash it gently in water several times before using it to remove any debris.
I also find it useful to fill any clay cooking vessels with left over water in which you have cooked rice, and leave it overnight. It primes the dish and prepares it for cooking, or in this case setting yoghurt/Dahi.

Focaccia Bread with Olives and Habanero Chilli

This is an easy Focaccia Bread recipe I learned from Mary Berry's Complete Cook Book, a lovely pictorial cookbook published by Dorling Kindersley. I'm still trying out different variations and recipes, but so far, my tried and tested one is this. I used chilli oil made with home grown habanero chillies as a garnish on this bread.

Ingredients
750 grams of flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 packet or 7 gms of fast acting dried yeast
3-4 tablespoon rosemary ( I use dried herbs) but if you have access to fresh, please use that
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing
250 ml tepid water
2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped olives
A sprinkle of habanero chilli oil

1. Put the flour in a bowl, add the yeast and the rosemary
Make a well in the middle, add oil and water and knead dough to a soft but not sticky consistency. When its smooth and elastic- shape it into a round and place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover and keep away in a warm place for an hour till it has doubled in size.
2. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and knock back with your fists. Knead for 2-3 minutes and then roll it out to form a round shape -5 cm and about 2 inches thick. Oil the baking dish lightly and place the dough in it. Cover with cling film and leave for another hour in a warm place.
3. Brush with chilli oil or plain olive oil, sprinkle the olives and sea salt and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes at 190 degrees C or 375 degree F.

Sprouted Dal Moth

This dal, more popularly eaten in its namkeen or savoury form is really delicious when sprouted and eaten as a spicy dal. You can make this semi dry or more liquidy depending on what your meal is like. Delicious and high in nutrition, it has become one of the regulars in our home.

Ingredients and Method
Soak one cup of Dal Moth overnight. Wrap in a muslin cloth and keep it in a strainer to sprout use a sprouting dish.

Heat one teaspoon of oil.
Add a pinch of asafateda.
Add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, when they crackle, add 3 slit green chillies
Add 1/2 a teaspoon of ground garlic and 1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger, Stir for 1 minute.
Add a pinch of turmeric, 1/ 2teaspoon coriander powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of red chilli powder and stir
Add the pulp of 3 freshly grated tomatoes. Stir and cook till the oil leaves the masala
Add the sprouts and salt to taste. Stir to mix well.
Add 1 1/2 cups of warm water of you want the consistency thin and 1/2 a cup for a more dry consistency to eat with rotis
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and juice from 1/2 a lime.

Stuffed Whole Karela / Bitter Gourd

Ingredients
8 karelas/ bitter gourds
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil/ghee

Stuffing
2 grated onions
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon fennel powder/ saunf
1 tablespoon of the grated skin of the Karela
salt to taste

Method
1. Grate the outer skin off the karela. Keep one tablespoon aside (optional)
2. Slit along one side and remove the seeds.
3. Soak them in salted water for half and hour. Squeeze out water.
4. Heat a little oil, fry grated onions and then add all the other ingredients in the same order as listed. Mix and turn off the fire.
5. Once cooled stuff the karelas and tie with string only if required. The stuffing masala once cooked sticks together in a tight consistency so does not generally fall out.
6. Heat oil, once hot add the karelas, lower heat and roll them around till browned evenly on each side.

Green Beans and Sprouts

This dish feels and tastes more like a warm salad and less like a regular cooked vegetable. Tastes fabulous as a side dish with any Indian meal!

2 cups chopped green beans
1 cup sprouted green mung beans
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 small sambhar onions sliced
salt to taste
pinch of red chilly powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice


Heat the oil, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
When they crackle add the onions, stir and add the beans and sprouts.
Add the salt and the red chilly powder, stir and cover and cook for 5-8 minutes.
The beans and sprouts should still be crunchy when its ready. Add lemon juice.

Doi Maach, Fish in Curd, A recipe from Bengal

My mother often makes this curry at her home in Delhi. The CR Park fish market is a 10 minute walk away and the fish used for this curry called "rahu" is always available.

There are so many ways to make doi maach but this is Chitra Ghose's recipe and my favourite one so far.

1/2 kg pieces of Rahu
1/2 Tablespoon mustard oil for frying the fish
1/2 teaspoon each of red chilli powder, turmeric and salt to rub on fish pieces.

2 tablespoons ghee
1 bay leaf
2 cloves, 2 green cardamom, 1 small piece cinnamon coarsely ground in a mortar pestle
1 medium onion chopped fine
2 medium onions blended into a paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 cup curd blended with 1 cup water at room temperature
salt
pinch of sugar
6-8 slit green chillies

Method

Rub the fish pieces with a little red chilli, turmeric and salt. Set aside 10-15 minutes.
Fry them in hot mustard oil till slightly brown.
Drain and keep aside.

Heat ghee, add bay leaves and the coarsely ground whole spices- cloves, cinnamon and cardamom
Immediately, add the sliced onions and fry till soft and a bit brown.
Add the onion paste, ginger and garlic pastes and fry for 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle water if the masala catches.
Pour the blended curd into the pan and stir. Add salt and a pinch of sugar.
Add slit green chillies.
Layer the fish gently into pan and simmer for 10-12 minutes or till fish is done and oil comes to the top.

Best eaten with hot rice and baingan and/or kaddu bhaja ( grilled brinjal and pumpkin)

Mutton Curry with Coconut Milk, A recipe from Tamil Nadu

This recipe is from one of my favourite recipe books called Aharam, Traditional Cuisine of Tamil Nadu, by Sabita Radhakrishna. I have featured another recipe from this book here.
While freshly made coconut milk will always work best, I have used Dabur coconut milk tetrapacks the thin milk, I use half the required quantity diluted with warm water. You can also make this recipe with chicken.

1 Kg mutton
1 cup curd
2 large coconuts/ 2 packets Dabur coconut milk

2 Tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter
5 cloves
5 green cardamoms
2 (1" piece cinnamon)
3 large onions chopped fine
2 teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
salt to taste

Clean and wash mutton. Marinate with cup beaten curd.
Grate the coconuts and extract 2 cups thick milk and 1 1/2 cups thin milk
Heat the ghee and oil together in a pressure cooker. Add the whole spices coarsely crushed in a mortar and pestle.
Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli -coriander-turmeric powders and fry together on a low heat for 5-8 minutes.
Add the marinated meat and fry till the oil rises to the top.
Add the thin coconut milk or diluted dabur coconut milk to the meat and the salt and pressure for 15 minutes.
After the pressure cools add the thick milk and simmer till the curry becomes thick and golden coloured.

Horse Gram Lentil Soup

This recipe is my version of a simple horse gram lentil soup and not the traditional Andhra recipe known as Ulava Chaaru. Horse Gram is rated as one of the most nutritious lentils known for its low glycemic index and positive effects on people with high blood pressure. I first ate a version of this soup made by Aji Joseph, a chef who works in Chennai.

Ingredients
1 cup horse gram lentils
3 cups water
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped beans
salt to taste
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped

Method
1. Wash and boil lentils with salt in a pressure cooker on a medium to high flame. I have a small pressure cooker and gave the lentils 5 whistles and this took 20 minutes
2. In a separate pan, heat oil, add garlic and onions and stir.
3. Add carrots, beans and then the tomatoes. Add the lentils and all the water to the pan.
4. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or till desired consistency.

Some other vegetables that will be nice for this soup are pumpkin, cabbage, and turnips.

A Simple Mutton Curry

I made this dish the other day for my brother Rishad who loves mutton curry. He calls this kind of a curry - "dark brown mutton curry from Delhi". Its a very North Indian way of cooking mutton and best with hot chapatis (which are a whole wheat unleavened bread from India).

750 grams-1Kg meat
4 Tablespoons beaten curd/ yoghurt/dahi
1 Tablespoon kashmiri red chilli *
1 teaspoon cumin/jeera seeds
4 Bay leaves/ Tej patta
4 black cardamoms
2 inch piece of cinnamon
5 cloves
salt to taste
3 tomatoes grated or blanched and chopped with the skin removed
2 tablespoons oil
Fresh coriander leaves

Grind together:
4 medium onions
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon garlic

Whisk curd and mix in the kashmiri dry red chilli. Marinate the meat in this curd mixture for 3-4 hours.
Coarsely grind the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin seeds in a mortar pestle.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan, add the coarsely ground whole spices mentioned above. Add the onion-ginger-garlic mixture.Fry till brown.
Add the marinated meat and salt to taste, and fry till the meat changes colour and the marinade liquid dries up.
Add tomatoes and cook. Once the tomatoes have fried well, add 3 cups of hot water if you want a gravy for rice and 2 cups if you want slightly thick gravy to eat with chapatis/rotis .
Once the hot water is added, put the pressure on and cook for 15 minutes.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

* Kashmiri red chilli is easily available in stores. It adds a deep red colour and is proportionately less chilli hot than other red chilli powders available.

Shami Kababs

The past week has been a shami kabab bonanza, with birthdays and parties where this is a favourite appetizer. I try and keep a bunch in the fridge to eat with rice and dal sometimes too.
Some shami kabab recipes will have a filling in the centre of chopped onions, green mint and coriander and other condiments but this is an easier version with everything thrown in to the minced meat mixture- just as delicious !

1/2 kg mince meat
1 cup chana dal/split bengal gram lentils
4 cloves
3 cardamom
1 stick cinnamon
4 dry red chillies
4-6 peppercorns
1 onion sliced
1 heaped teaspoon garlic
1 heaped teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric / haldi
1/2 teaspoon coriander/dhania powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin/jeera powder
salt to taste
2 tablespoons approximately of chopped coriander/dhania leaves
2 Tablespoons of chopped mint/pudina leaves
3 chopped green chillies
juice of half a lime
1 egg

1. Wash and soak the chana dal for 15 minutes. Wash and strain mince. Put it in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the chana dal and 2 cups of water.
2. Add the sliced onions, garlic, ginger, cloves, red chillies, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste.
3. Cook covered on a medium flame for 30 minutes, keep stirring every now and then.
4. Cook further till the water dries up and the meat leaves a little of its natural oil. Lower flame and keep stirring so that the meat mixture doesn't stick.
5. Turn off and leave to cool. Grind the mixture in batches. Add finely chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, and green chillies. Add lemon juice and one egg and mix it all up.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
7. Shape into small patties, and shallow fry in hot oil leaving them at least a minute on one side in frying pan on medium heat.

Chicken Stew

I made this chicken stew to eat with Italian Foccacia bread I have just learned to make- the recipe of which I will post later. This simple stew with vegetables and herbs tasted wonderful as I used home made stock made by my friend SS who shared some with me. It makes all the difference to add home made stock compared to soup cubes.
You can make this stew without the meat and only veggies as an alternative.
Serve with rice or bread ! I used my habanero chilli oil as a base, you could use any other oil of your choice


500 gms of chicken pieces
1 tablespoon habanero chilli oil
2 onions sliced
1 teaspoon freshly ground garlic
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 cup stock
2 potatoes cubed
4 carrots chopped into large chunks
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon oregano

Heat oil and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides in the hot oil on a high flame.
Lower heat, add onions to the browned chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes, add garlic paste, salt and pepper to taste, and stir. Cook for 10 minutes or so on a low heat, covered.
Add the potatoes and carrots and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the stock, simmer and cover and cook till vegetables and chicken are cooked.
Add the milk and keep stirring occasionally.
Add oregano and keep stirring till the gravy is of desired thickness. I didn't add any cornflour but you can if you like a thicker stew.