Tak Jhal Chingri Macher Matha diye Achar (Prawn head pickled with Garlic, Green Chillies and Tamarind paste...)

Tak Jhal Chingri Macher Matha diye Achar (Prawn head pickled with Garlic, Green Chillies and Tamarind paste...)

Nothing can beat the taste of the prawn heads. It's juicy and is more tastier than the prawn flesh. Normally we fry it or make vegetable with it. But this time I came up with a different recipe and it's pickle again. The combination of tamarind and fresh green chillies and garlic makes it super tasty..... Try it. 

Ingredients
1 bowl Prawn heads cleaned, marinated in turmeric powder and salt, then fried
10 big Garlic cloves  cleaned and coarsely ground
10 Green Chillies coarsely ground
6 Green chillies chopped into big pieces
3 tbsp Tamarind paste
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cumin Coriander  powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Panch Phoran
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 cup Mustard oil

Method
Take a pan, add oil. Let it heat. Add bay leaves, panch phoran and green chillies chopped. Let the panch phoran crackle. Add the coarsely ground garlic and chillies. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the tamarind paste, salt, cumin - coriander powder, turmeric powder and sugar. Stir it and cook for 2 minutes. Add the prawn heads. Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Cool it and store it in a dry glass container and refrigerate it. It will stay in the fridge for  2 months.  

Kulcha Buns Stuffed with Chatpata Choley...

Kulcha Buns stuffed with Chatpata Choley.... 

I remember having Choley kulcha in Manali... Instead of making two different dishes.. I thought of stuffing the Choley in the kulcha.. It taste awesome with the buttery taste. Have it hot... 

For the Choley

Ingredients

1 cup Chickpeas soaked overnight and boiled 

2 Boiled Potatoes chopped into small pieces

1 Onion chopped

1 Tomato chopped 

1 tsp Garlic minced

1/2 tsp Ginger minced

2 Green chillies chopped 

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Chaat Masala

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Roasted Cumin powder 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

Juice of 1 Lime 

1 tbsp Oil 

Method 

Take a wok, add oil, add cumin seeds. Let it crackle, add the garlic, ginger and chopped chillies. Sauté it for 1 minute. Add the onions, sauté it till translucent. Add the tomato, stir it, add the chopped potato and the chickpeas. Stir and add 1/4 cup of water.Cover and cook till the water has dried up. Add the salt, chaat masala,roasted cumin powder and lime juice. Mix it. Take it off the flame. Add the coriander leaves for garnishing. Keep it aside while we make the Kulcha buns. 

Kulcha Buns

Ingredients 

3 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup Luke warm water

1 tbsp Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Dry Yeast

Salt to taste

1/2 cup or more Water

2 tbsp Butter (room temperature)

Method 

Take the yeast and sugar and mix it into the lukewarm water. Let it rise. Add the salt into the flour and mix it. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Pour in the yeast water and little more water and knead it into a soft dough. Add little butter and knead the dough well for 10 minutes. Apply little butter on the dough, cover and keep till it rises double in size. Punch the dough and divide the dough into equal portions, size of a tennis ball. Cover and keep for another 15 minutes.

To make the stuff Buns... 

Grease a baking tin with oil. Take one portion of the dough, flatten it. Add the chatpata Choley in the centre. Close the edges of the bun. Place the bun on the baking tin.leave some distance for the next bun. Apply oil on the bun and flatten the bun. Keep it for 20 minutes. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven. Apply butter on top of the hot buns.

Honey Ginger Banana Bread

Honey Ginger Banana Bread

What do we do when we have ripe bananas at home... I make rustic cakes with the bananas. I have added ginger for the taste. I have also added honey and oats for health. 

Ingredients 

3 Ripe Bananas mashed

1 tsp Ginger powder or grated ginger 

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Oats

1⁄2 cup Butter, melted

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Honey 

1⁄2 cup Buttermilk

1 tsp Soda bicarbonate 

1/2 tsp Baking powder 

Pinch of Salt 

Method 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease and lightly sprinkle some flour into the bread loaf pan. 

Take a mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas with butter. Beat it. Add sugar and honey. Beat it. Add butter milk. Beat it. Add Soda bicarbonate, baking powder, ginger powder and salt. Beat it. Add the oats, mix it. Add the flour and mix it until all the ingredients has incorporated well. Pour the  mixture into the bread loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool before removing from pan. Cool it completely before cutting.

Chicken Drumstick cooked in Garlic and Mushroom Sauce served with Handmade Orecchiette....

Chicken Drumstick cooked in Garlic and Mushroom Sauce served with Handmade Orecchiette....

Ingredients

5 Chicken Drumsticks 

1 bowl Cleaned and sliced Mushrooms 

1 garlic Pod peeled and cleaned 

2 cups Mushroom soup or Vegetables soup ( I have used Knorr Vegetable soup Pack) 

1/4 cup Amul Cream 

1/2 cup Milk 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

3 tbsp Butter

1 tbsp Parsley chopped 

Method

Take a  pan, add butter. As the butter melts, add the chicken drum sticks and cook the drum sticks till light brown on both the sides. Remove it and keep it aside. In the same pan, add the whole garlic cloves and mushrooms. Sauté it till the water evaporates and the mushrooms are light brown in colour. Remove the mushrooms and keep it aside. In the same pan, add the soup, stirring it constantly on a low flame add the cream and milk. Cook on low heat add salt and pepper. Stir it. Add the chicken drumstick, cover and cook till the chicken is done. Add the sautéed garlic and mushrooms. Stir it and take it off the flame. Garnish with parsley leaves. Serve hot with hand made Orecchiette pasta..... 

Orecchiette 

 Orechie meaning "ear" and -etta meaning "small" is a variety of home-made pasta typical of Apulia, a region of southern Italy. Its name comes from its shape, which resembles a small ear. It is made from Semolina or wheat flour and water and is rolled into thin long strips and cut into small pieces. Then each piece is given the shape of a ear.

Ingredients

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup Semolina 

Water as required

Method

Take semolina and wheat flour and mix it. Make a well in between the flour. Add water little at a time and knead it into a soft dough. The dough will be a bit sticky. Use little flour to dust the platform and then continue to knead. Divide the dough into 3 portions. Take one portion while  cover the  rest of the dough with a moist cloth. Sprinkle flour on the platform and  roll  the dough into a long strip. Cut small portions from the strip. Repeat the same for the remaining dough. Take a cut piece and with the help of a palm and the thumb, press the portion from the centre and give it a pull. It will look like a ear shape. Boil water in a pot. Add the pasta and cook it till done. Drain the water, drizzle olive oil on the pasta. Serve with garlic and mushroom sauce..

Aam, Gosht Aur Chane ka Achar.....

Aam, Gosht Aur Chane ka Achar.....

Raw Mango and Chickpeas pickle is a pickle from Rajasthan. I wanted to give it a twist... This pickle is for all non veg lovers. I have added Mutton and innovated the spice powder. Something different and worth the try. 

For Marinating the Mutton 

Ingredients

1 bowl boneless Mutton cut into small pieces

1 tbsp Ginger and Garlic minced 

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tbsp Chilli powder 

Juice of 1 Lime

Method 

Marinate the mutton with all the above ingredients for 1 hour. Pressure cook the mutton, cook it for 3 whistles. Let the pressure release. Open the lid, if there is any water remaining, dry it up. Take the mutton out from the pressure cooker and keep it aside. 

For the Spice powder 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Mustard seeds

10 to 15 Pepper Corn

8 or more Whole Dry Red Chilli as per the spice required 

1/2 tbsp Dry Ginger powder

2 tbsp Madras Curry powder

1 tsp Garam Masala

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients together into a powder. 

For the Pickle 

Cooked Mutton pieces 

1 Bowl of Chickpeas soaked overnight and boiled ( it should be just cooked and not mushy)

1 cup peeled and grated Raw Mango (squeeze out the excess water) 

1 tbsp Garlic and Ginger minced 

Spice powder

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Sugar 

Juice of 1 Lime 

Few Curry Leaves

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

2 pinches of Asafoetida 

1 cup Mustard Oil 

Method 

Heat the oil in a wok, add the mustard seeds. Let it crackle, add the curry leaves, garlic - ginger and asafoetida. Sauté it for a minute. Add the mango, let it cook for 5 minutes in the oil. Add the chickpeas and the mutton pieces. Stir and mix the mutton pieces. Add the spice powder, sugar and salt. Stir it and cook for 2 minutes. Switch off the gas. Add the lime juice. Stir it and let it cool. Store it in a dry glass jar and refrigerate it. It will stay for 2 months.