Paneer Manchurian

Paneer Manchurian

(An indo-chinese dish of cottage-cheese dumplings in a mild-spicy soy-sauce gravy.)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
20Min 4 10Min

Ingredients :

200 gms paneer/cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup crushed cashewnuts or almonds
25 gms cornflour
100 gms flour
1/4 cup spring onions - chopped
1 clove garlic - flaked
4-5 green chilies - chopped
100 gms tomato sauce
1/4 tsp pepper pwd
1/4 tsp chilli sauce
1/4 tsp vinegar
1/4 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
onion leeks for garnishing
cooking oil

Cooking Instructions :

Mash together the paneer, leaves, nuts, flours, spring onions, garlic, pepper pwd, salt, sugar & green chilies. Add 1/3rd of each of these - the tomato, soya & chili sauces and vinegar. Mash to a thick mixture, adding a little water if reqd. Make golf-ball size balls of this mixture & deep fry till golden brown. In a saucepan, add all the remaining sauces & vinegar with 2 cups water bring to a boil. Taste & add salt/sugar and thicken the mixture with cornflour, while simmering. Last, add the balls & garnish & simmer for just 2 minutes.

Goan Xacuti

Goan Xacuti

(A Goan meat curry made of either chicken, lamb, beef or pork in a spicy dark-brown gravy made from freshly roasted spices)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
20Min 4 20-40Min

Ingredients :

800 gms chicken or any meat
2 medium onions
1 cup grated coconut
1 inch sticks of cinnamon
6 cloves
4 dry red chillies
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
1 tsp ajwain
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp of peppercorns
1 tsp of fennel seeds (saunf)
4 Star-shaped black spice
1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup groundnut oil
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of tamarind pulp
¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Cooking Instructions :

Wash skinless chicken and cut to small (12 total) pieces. Peel and chop the onions. Heat a little oil and slightly brown the grated coconut and keep aside. Then dry roast cinnamon, cloves, red chillies, turmeric, khus khus, ajwain, cumin seeds, peppercorns, fennel seeds, star anise and coriander seeds till a nice aroma is given out. Grind to a paste together with a little water, the garlic and coconut. Heat the remaining oil in a thick-bottomed pan and fry the onions till brown. Add the masala paste 2 tbsp at a time, stirring well in between, and cook till oil separates. Add the chicken pieces and saute for sometime. Add two cups of water and salt, bring to a boil. Add tamarind pulp and grated nutmeg. Simmer until meat cooks and serve hot with boiled rice or pav.

Goan Vindaloo

Goan Vindaloo

(A spicy vinegar-based dark-red Goan meat curry made of either chicken, lamb, beef or pork)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
20Min 4 20-40Min

Ingredients :1 kg. meat (chicken/beef/mutton/pork)
2 medium potatoes cut into 8 pcs each.

For Seasoning:
3 tbsp. ghee
few curry leaves
1 small onion- finely sliced
Salt to taste

For Vindaloo Masala:
1/2 tsp peppercorns
3 tsp. jeera/cumin
12 small dry kashmiri chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cardamoms
10 cloves garlic
2-3 tbsp. Vinegar

Cooking Instructions :

Grind the masala ingredients to a smooth paste (No water, just vinegar). Cut and wash the medium size meat pieces. Heat oil & fry onion till brown, add curryr leaves and stir. Fry in the masala - Stir frequently. Now add meat and salt to taste. Cover & cook -Toss gently from time to time to cook meat evenly & ensure it does not burn. Boil the potatoes, peel and cut into fours. Add them to the meat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until till meat is cooked. Serve with plain white rice.

Goan Fish Curry

Goan Fish Curry

(A dark- orange spicy yet tangy Goan Fish curry, rite outta mom's kitchen!)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
15Min 6 20Min

Ingredients :

1 kg fish slices (white or black pomfret, kingfish, atlantic salmon)
salt & turmeric to marinate
1 tsp turmeric
1/s tsp cumin
1/2 tsp peppercorn
4 garlic cloves
1 small chopped onion
6 dried red chilies
2 tbsp coriander seeds
6 tbsp fresh grated/ powdered coconut
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 ripe tomatoes or 1/2 cup tomato paste
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 slit green chili
1 sprig curry leaves


Cooking Instructions :

Wash fish & add 2 tbsp salt & tsp turmeric - toss & leave to marinate for 30-45 mins.
Grind the coconut, red chilies, pepper, jeera/cumin, turmeric/haldi, coriander seeds, onion& garlic with water to a smooth paste. Chop tomatoes & place in a thick-bottom vessel with oil - THEN, heat it. When its soft, add the ground masala 2 tbsp at a time, stirring constantly & frying well in between. Add 1 cup water & leave to boil. Wash fish well & add to boiling gravy. Then add the tamarind, slit chili & vinegar & simmer open until fish is cooked, toss in the curry leaves & simmer for few seconds.

Hint: keep some washed fish pieces aside to fry: Toss them with 1/4-1/2 tsp each of pepper, turmeric, cumin & red-chili powders & shallow fry.

Meatball curry

Meatball curry

(A Goan recipe for healthy meatballs in a thick spicy onion & tomato based gravy)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
15Min 4 15Min

Ingredients :

1. 1/2kg or 1lb minced meat
2. 1 tsp garlic-ginger paste
3. salt & pepper to taste
4. 1/2 tsp each of haldi/turmeric pwd, garam masala (all spice) pwd n coriander pwd
5. 1 finely chopped green chili or 1/2 tsp red chili pwd
6. optional 1 tsp vinegar
7. 1 medium onion - finely chopped/ minced
8. 2 large chopped onions
9. 2-3 red dried chilies
10. 1 half-inch cinnamon stick
11. 3 large ripe tomatoes - chopped
12. salt to taste
13. 1/2 tsp pepper pwd
14. 1/2 tsp cumin pwd
15. 2 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
16. 1/2 tsp each pf turmeric pwd
17. 1/2 tsp red-chili pwd
18. 1/2 tsp cumin pwd
19. 1/2 tsp pepper pwd
20. 1 cup minced/ finely chopped onions
21. 1/2 cup tomato puree/ paste
22. 2 tbsp vinegar
23. 2 tbsp coriander pwd
24. 1 tbsp tamarind juice/paste
25. salt and lime as reqd.
26. chopped coriander to garnish.
27. 1/2 cup full-cream coconut milk


Cooking Instructions :

For the meatballs, mix ingredients 1 to 7 and make 1" meat balls with the mixture - pressing tightly in your palm n then shaping. Set aside. For the gravy, fry ingredients 8 to 14 above in 1tbsp oil in a pressure cooker in the order listed, frying well after adding each item. Cook till tomatoes soften, then add the meatballs & enough water to cover them all. Gently toss spices around the meatballs. Close and cook for 1 whistle in the pressure cooker or till meat is cooked.

For the gravy, fry onions in ghee, then add the turmeric, coriander, red-chili, pepper pwds. Fry well & then add the tomato puree & fry well. Add coconut milk 2tbsp at a time, stirring gently & constantly. Add the meatballs with the soup from the cooker, boil for 2-3 minutes & then simmer for 2-3 minutes after adding salt, sugar, vinegar & tamarind to your taste. Garnish with coriander.

Pindi Chholay

Pindi Chholay

(A unique take on chholay, a North Indian chickpeas gravy, this time cooked with tea bags, giving it a distinguished flavor & a dark color)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10 Min 4 15Min


Ingredients :

1 cup chickpeas/ garbanzo beans soaked overnight at room temp.
1 chopped onion
1 potato - diced
2 tea bags
2" ginger piece - minced/ finely grated
1 finely chopped garlic clove
3 ripe tomatoes - finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
1 tsp cumin pwd
1 tbsp coriander pwd
1 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tbsp amchur (dried mango) pwd
1 slit green chili
Salt & pepper to taste
Cooking Oil
Garnish items: ginger juliennes, chopped coriander leaves & raw onion rings


Cooking Instructions:

Boil the tea bags in 3 cups water & then use this tea-water to pressure cook the chickpeas, adding salt to taste. In a kadai, heat oil & fry the potatoes & set aside. In the same oil, fry the onions well & then add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, cumin, chili pwd, amchur pwd, coriander pwd - Fry well for a minute & then add the fried potatoes, slit green chilli, boiled chickpeas, salt & pepper. Add water if you need a more fluid gravy as opposed to a thick one. Cover & cook for 2 minutes (simmer). Heat 1 tbsp oil or ghee in a tempering pan, fry the ginger juliennes in it & toss it over the gravy. Garnish & serve with hot rice, rotis, bathuras or parathas.

Pepper Chicken Chettinaad

Pepper Chicken Chettinaad

(A thick dark spicy gravy from the Southern-Indian state of Tamil Nadu, boasting strong peppery notes & a rich coconut flavor.)


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10 Min 4 15Min


Ingredients :

1 chicken cut to medium pieces
1 cup curd/ yoghhurt
4 tsp garlic-ginger paste
2 tbsp fresh coarsely ground peppercorns
few drops lime juice
cooking oil
3 large onions - finely chopped
2 ripe chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
salt – to taste
2-3 whole dried red chilies (to taste)
2 sprigs of curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 cup chopped coriander (garnish)
1/4 cup ginger juliennes (garnish)
1/4 cup dessicated / grated fresh coconut (garnish)


Cooking Instructions:

Marinade the chicken pieces in well-beaten curd, half the garlic-ginger paste, pepper & lime juice for upto 1 hr. Heat oil in a non-stick thick bottom vessel, fry onions in it & then add the remaining garlic-ginger paste & fry well again. Add the tomatoes and stir fry till the oil separates. Add turmeric & stir. Add the chicken-marinade mixture & add salt to taste - toss well & fry for 5-6 minutes. Add 1 cup of water, cover and cook till the chicken is cooked. In a small tempering-pan, heat 2 tbsp oil & toss in the red chillies & curry leaves. When chilies are turning dark, toss in the mustard seeds & when they stop spluttering, remove and pour at once over the chicken. Garnish with ginger juliennes, chopped coriander & coconut and serve with rice or Malabari parottas.

Palak Paneer

(A creamy medium-spicy North-Indian spinach(palak) gravy with cottage cheese (paneer) cubes.)


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PrepTime : Serves : Cook Time
10 Min 3 10Min


Ingredients :

2 bunches spinach
1 bunch coriander
1 chopped large onion
1 cup cooking cream
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
salt to taste
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 green chili
1/2 kg paneer/ cottage cheese - cut in 1"x1" cubes
3-4 cardamoms/ 1/s tsp cardamom pwd
1/4 tsp ajwain (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric
cooking oil/ clarified butter


Cooking Instructions:

Finely grind the spinach, coriander leaves, cumin, peppercorns, chili, cardamom, ajwain, turmeric & half the onions with some water. Place the paneer cubes in room temp water with 1/4 tsp turmeric powder added to it - Leave aside. In a sauce pan, heat 3 tbsp cooking oil/ butter, fry the remaining onions well. Then add the ground mixture 2-3 tbsp at a time, frying well & then add salt & suger. Drain the paneer & drop the cubes into the gravy. Simmer open (not covered) for 2 minutes & then add beaten cream 2 tbsp at a time, gently folding it into the gravy to get a pleasant green colour & then simmer (open) till desired consistency is reached. Garnish with cream & serve with steamed rice or piping hot rotis/ naans.