Mutton curry

Goat/Lamb meat chunks  1.5lbs to 2lbs

For marinade:

ginger paste 1heaped tsp

garlic paste   1 heaped tsp

salt     1tsp

turmeric  1/2tsp

chilli powder 1tsp

coriander powder   1tsp

cumin powder 1/2tsp

yogurt     1scoop

For curry masala:

black mustard   1/2tsp

red chillies   5

poppy seeds  1tsp

fenugreek seeds  few seeds

white sesame seeds 1/2tsp

coriander seeds   1/2tsp

cumin seeds  1/4tsp

cloves  5

cardamom  3

kalonji(nigella) seeds   1/2tsp

black pepper  1/4tsp

For curry base:

Onion   1big size, diced

tomatoes   2, diced
green chillies  5, minced

curry leaves 5-10 leaves

chopped cilantro   1tbsp

ginger paste  1/2tsp

garlic paste 1/2tsp

chopped raw papaya  1/4 cup

yogurt 1/2cup
chopped mint leaves, few 

Add when pressure cooking: whole betel nut 1 (remove from curry after cooked)

Instructions:

For marinating: Wash mutton chunks and apply all marinade ingredients to coat pieces well. Marinated meat can be stored in freezer till use or if being used right away, leave in fridge for a few hours at least (overnight is best). If frozen, thaw before cooking.

For preparing curry masala: dry roast all masala ingredients, cool and grind to a powder. Set aside.

For preparing curry: Heat 1-2tbsp oil in a pan. Add diced onion, a pinch of sugar, cover and cook till soft. Add ginger and garlic paste and saute till raw smell is gone. Add marinated mutton pieces, mix well, cover and cook for 15 min. Add ground curry masala, diced tomatoes, raw papaya and curry leaves. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add yogurt, green chillies, cilantro leaves and cook further 5 min. Mix intermittently, to avoid curry base from sticking to the pan. 

Transfer curry into a container suited for pressure cooking. Add mint leaves and mix. Cover, and pressure cook for 3-5 whistles. Follow instant pot instructions, if using for pressure cooking.

Before serving/eating, remove betel nut from curry. Enjoy with cooked brown rice/white rice/quinoa or roti/chapathis.

Potato and seared broccoli soup

Recipe from: Seared Broccoli and Potato Soup (MELISSA CLARK)https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017010-seared-broccoli-and-potato-soup

1.5lbs baby potatos
2 big heads of broccoli
1 spanish onion
2 large cloves garlic
black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1.5tbsp butter

Dice onion and quarter baby potatoes. Slice garlic into big chunks. Separate broccoli into florets.
Melt butter in a thick bottom pan. Add chopped onion and cook till translucent. Add potatoes, cover and cook for a few min. Add salt and 3-4 cups of water, boil for 10-15 min till potatoes are almost soft on a fork.
Heat a non-stick or cast iron griddle. Drizzle olive oil to coat the surface. Place the broccoli florets and let sear to reddish brown on both sides, on the stalks. The florets will be partly seared and partly green. Drizzle a little more oil if dry. Also place the garlic sections to sear on both sides. Once seared, add broccoli and garlic to the boiling soup and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. Add crushed black pepper to taste, adjust for salt.

Cool for 5-10 min, and puree roughly the vegetables using an immersion blender. Take care to not puree thoroughly. There should be chunks of potatoes in the soup.

Add lemon juice if desired. Enjoy hot with toasted bread or crackers.

Sauteed cabbage with moong dal and shredded coconut

1/3 cup of raw yellow moong dal
Soak the dal in water a couple of hours before cooking. Strain before use. (this is optional. Cabbage can be cooked with just shredded coconut)

1 small head of green or red cabbage
1/2 cup of frozen shredded coconut (not flakes)
8-10 curry leaves
Coarsely chop cabbage.  Thaw frozen shredded coconut for 30 min or so till it is easy to break into big chunks. Take a chunk big enough to be about 1/2cup. Set aside.

1/2tsp black mustard seed
1/2tsp cumin seed
 3 tsp oil

Add oil to a heated pan, add mustard and cumin seeds. Once they splutter, add cabbage, strained moong dal (if adding), curry leaves, a pinch of turmeric and salt. Mix to combine, cover and cook till cabbage is almost done. Add shredded coconut, cover and cook for a few more min. garnish with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy hot with rice/cracked wheat/quinoa/roti!

Cracked Wheat with vegetables and peanut powder

1/3 cup whole green mung
Soak mung in water overnight, leave covered till ready to cook. Strain water before cooking.

handful of raw peanuts
roast and coarse grind (add 1-2 red chilli, optional)

2/3 cup split bulgur
2/3 cup cracked wheat coarse
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2tsp oil
salt to taste

Take the bulgur, cracked wheat and quinoa in a pan, add 3.5cups of water, oil, salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce flame and cook till water is absorbed.

1 large potato
2 carrots
two handfuls french beans
two handfuls of spinach or kale
small head of broccoli (optional)
handful of whole cashewnut (optional)
salt to taste

Chop all vegetables into bite size chunks. Heat 3tsp of oil in pan, add tempering (optional - 1/2tsp black mustard seed, 1/4 tsp cumin seed). When seeds start spluttering, add vegetables, green mung and saute for a min. Cover and cook till vegetables are mostly cooked (firm). Add cooked wheat and quinoa. Drizzle 1tsp of oil or ghee. Add peanut powder. Mix well, cover and cook for 3-5 min till flavors combine. Add chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

Enjoy as it is or with a couple of dollops of yogurt!

Dal - Lentils with Spinach

1 cup of (Indian) red lentils
1 small onion
1 tomato
1 bag of baby spinach
1/2 tsp cumin seeds, whole
1-2 green thai chillies (optional)
1-2 pinches of turmeric powder (optional)

For seasoning:
1/2 tsp of black or brown mustard seeds, whole
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds, whole
1 red chilli (optional)
1 clove of garlic (chopped finely)
3 spoons of cooking oil

This dal can be made in a rice cooker. Add the washed lentils into the rice cooker, and cover with 3 cups of water. Let it soak as the other ingredients are prepared. Slice onions, chop tomato into eight pieces, and chop spinach roughly. Slit the chillies lengthwise or keep them whole. Add all these ingredients to the lentils soaking in the water. Turn the rice cooker on, add the half spoon of cumin, salt, turmeric powder, and a spoon of oil. Cover and cook till the lentils are done.

In a small pan, heat 2-3 spoons of cooking oil and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chopped garlic and red chilli, if using. Once the mustard seeds splutter, turn the heat off, and add the seasoning to the cooked lentils. Add  cup of water if necessary, and boil the lentils for 5 minutes more.

Enjoy hot, with cooked quinoa or rice or rotis!

Chunky vegetable stew with kidney beans and quinoa.

One small onion (white or red)
One large tomato
One clove of garlic
One bay leaf (optional)
Nutmeg (optional)
Oregano (optional)
Ground Black pepper
Two carrots
Two white potatoes
Two handfuls of baby spinach or half a bunch of kale
One chayote squash
Half a can of kidney beans or other beans of choice
A small head of broccoli (cut into large florets)
Two spoonfuls of quinoa
A cup of milk

This stew is ideally made in a pressure cooker. If not available, a rice cooker or a slow cooker can be used.
Dice onions into small pieces, chop garlic finely. Peel and cut vegetables, except spinach, into large chunks. Heat two spoons of butter, two spoons of oil in the cooker or in a pan, with the bay leaf in it. Add diced onion and cook for a few minutes. Add chopped garlic and fry a little.
Add the rest of the cut vegetables except broccoli, spinach, beans, quinoa, salt and combine for a few minutes. Add water enough to immerse the vegetables completely. Cover and cook till the vegetables are tender. Open the lid, add cut broccoli and let the stew continue to simmer.
(If using a slow cooker, at this point, transfer the stew into a pan, heat and continue to simmer.)

Add a cup of milk, grind up to a quarter spoon of black pepper into the stew, as well as a pinch of nutmeg and oregano if available. After about 7-10 minutes of simmering turn the stew off.

Enjoy!

Avocado and Egg on English Muffin

Ingredients:

Two English muffins
Two eggs
Sprinkle of oil for cooking eggs
Black pepper
One avocado
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Tomato ketchup or fresh tomato slices

Break eggs into a pan, seasoned with a little oil. Let the eggs set, turn over if necessary. Add a dash of black pepper. Slice and toast muffins. Slice open the avocado, remove the pit, make long slits along the fruit, and scoop out slices. Lay the slices from one half of avocado on one half of the muffin. Sprinkle with vinaigrette. Lay one egg on the other half of the muffin. Add ketchup or lay a couple of slices of tomato. Press the muffin slices together. Make another muffin similarly.

Enjoy!

My version of Date-Nut Blondies

I got this recipe from "Mom's Big Book Of Baking", just customized it a little bit, due to the available ingredients. I used my toaster oven for baking at 325 degrees. The recipe calls for walnut or pecans, but I had salted pistachios and used those.

Ingredients: it is better to have all ingredients at a similar temperature while baking, so I usually take out all my refrigerator ingredients in advance.

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Brown sugar - 1 cup, packed
Egg - 1
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Salted pistachios - 1/2 cup
chopped dates - 1/2 cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1/8 tsp
Ground nutmeg - a pinch

If baking in a regular oven preheat to 350 degrees. I used a toaster oven, so I did not have to preheat till I was almost done mixing the ingredients. I baked at 325 degrees.

Line a loaf pan with aluminium foil, making sure that it is well tucked into the corners, and leave some overhang. In a small mixing bowl place the butter and microwave for 30-40 seconds. Take it out, add the brown sugar and mix till the sugar dissolves thoroughly. Add vanilla essence, whole egg and beat for a minute or two.

Rub the salted nuts lightly in a paper towel to remove some saltiness. Add them into a clean coffee grinder and pulse for a minute. The nuts should be still coarse, and in bits( We are not looking for a powder). Sift together, the flour and baking powder. Mix the pistachios, cinnamon and nutmeg powder in. Add the butter-brown sugar mix, and combine. Add the dates just to incorporate. Immediately pour into the prepared loaf, and place the loaf in the preheated oven.
Bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on your oven size and settings. It is done, when you insert a knife in the center of the loaf, and it comes out clean. Turn the oven off, and let the loaf pan stay in for a few minutes.

Take the pan out, and using the foil overhang, pull out the blondies on to a plate and cut in to squares. If any are left, store them in the fridge in an air-tight container.

Enjoy!

Veggie Sandwich, baked fries and mango milkshake

This is my take on the combination of burger+fries+ milkshake.The recipe is for two. The fries take about 40-45 minutes to bake, so it would be good to get that started and then work on the sandwich and milkshake.

Fries: (I got the basic recipe from http://sarahscucinabella.com/2008/01/22/oven-baked-sweet-potato-fries/.)

Ingredients:
Russet potatoes: 2 big
Canola oil: 1-2 tbsp

To toss and coat the hot fries:
Garlic: 1 big clove
Grated Parmesan cheese: 1 tbsp
Black pepper: a couple of pinches
salt: a pinch
dried oregano (optional) : a pinch
parsley (optional) : 1 tsp, chopped

Preheat a toaster oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil, pour half teaspoonful oil and spread fully. Wash and peel potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch or thicker slices lengthwise, cut each slice again lengthwise into thick slices. They will resemble the fries in the store in shape. Add these to cold water, and drain into a paper towel. Pat them dry, and drop on to the baking sheet. Add the rest of the oil and toss all slices to coat with oil evenly. Put the tray in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, turning them once after 20 minutes. The fries should be golden brown in color, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, when they are done.

Mince the garlic clove as finely as possible. In a bowl, combine the Parmesan, pepper, salt, oregano, parsley and minced garlic, and mix together. As soon as the fries are done, remove from the oven, sprinkle the cheese-garlic mixture on top and toss to coat quickly.

Sandwich:
Ingredients:
multi-grain bread: 4 slices
ripe avocado, pitted and sliced: 1
red tomato, sliced: 1
roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped - 4-6 slices
romaine lettuce leaves: 2-4
alfalfa sprouts: handful (optional)
balsamic breeze salad spritzer
cheese spread of your choice
Ground black pepper

Lay down all the veggies, except the sprouts, and spritz with the salad spritzer. Layer the veggies on the one slice of bread. Top with sprouts. Spread the other slice of bread lightly with cheese spread and sprinkle with ground black pepper. Make a sandwich and press down firmly. Toast till the bread turns golden. Cut into two triangles and serve with dill slices. Repeat with other two slices of bread.

Mango milkshake:
Ingredients:
Milk - 1.5 cups
Mango puree - 1 cup (store bought)
Ice cubes - a few

Run the ingredients in a blender till it turns frothy, pour immediately into two tall glasses and serve, with mint leaves (optional), for a refreshing drink with the sandwich and fries.

Enjoy!

Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani

KM and Vishal love Biryani, and KM is the one usually making it. Tonight I wanted to make the Biryani all by myself, without 'any' help from him. I was told that it turned out pretty good. I wouldn't know, because I don't eat meat! Here goes...

Mutton: 3/4 kg (1.5 lbs), marinated well in advance if possible
For marinade:
Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tsp
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
turmeric: 1/2 tsp
lemon juice: 2 tbsp
salt

Mix all the marinade ingredients into the cleaned meat, and mix well so that the marinade covers all the mutton pieces well. Transfer into a freezer bag and use as needed. This can be stored in the freezer up to six months.

Other items for Biryani:

basmati rice: 4 cups (each cup measures about 200 grams)
Bay leaves: 4-5
Onions: 2
Green Chilli: 4
ginger-garlic paste: 1 heaped tsp
tomatillos: 2 small
tomato: 1
mint leaves: handful or dried mint: 1 full tsp
papaya: cubed pieces, 1/2 cup


To be ground together:
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Cashews or Pistachios: palm full

Ground Masala:
Cloves: 4
Cardamom: 3
Black cardamom: 1
Cinnamon: 1" stick
Saunf (fennel seeds): 1/2 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds): 1/4 tsp
Dhaniya (coriander seeds): 1 tsp
Methi (fenugreek seeds): 1/4 tsp
Black peppercorns: 1 tsp
Anise: 2 petals (taken from one star anise)

Other:
Ghee: 2.5 tbsp
Milk: 3/4 cup
Saffron strands: a couple of pinches

Method of prep:

Heat milk in microwave for 30 seconds. Add saffron strands and set aside.

Chop onions, slit green chillies. Grind the chill powder and cashews(or pistachios). Add 1 tbsp of ghee, 2 tbsp of oil to a heated pressure pan. Add bay leaves, and then the chilli powder mix and fry for a minute. Add onions and green chillies and fry till onions turn translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste, and fry till the raw smell evaporates. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp of mint powder or a few fresh mint leaves, chopped. Add the marinated meat, well chopped tomatillos and tomatoes, finely chopped papaya, Ground masala (reserving 1/2 tsp for rice) and fry for 5-8 minutes. Add a cup of water, cover the pan and pressure cook for up to 8 whistles.

While the meat is cooking, wash and add rice to a thick bottomed pan with lid, add 6 cups of water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp of the ground masala. Cover and cook till rice is dry (it might be a little undercooked, but that is fine). Turn the heat off. After 5 minutes or so, remove the rice into a plate.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Put in an oven tray and fill with hot water till half the tray's height. Smear 1/2 tbsp all around the same pan in which rice was cooked. Add a layer of rice, and top it with a layer of the cooked mutton with sauce. Add another layer of rice, sprinkle 1/2 of saffron milk. Add a couple of more layers of rice and meat, topping off with rice. Sprinkle the rest of the milk, 1 tbsp of ghee, a few mint leaves. Put the lid on. Cover the lid with aluminium foil and securely all around the lid. Place the pan in the oven tray with water and let bake for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy with Cucumber raita, onion raita or mirchi ka salan!