Aloo Rassa

Aloo Rassa

It’s had with dhuska, puri or Paratha. It’s one of the vegetarian dishes from Jharkhand 

Ingredients 

4 medium size Potatoes boiled and crumbled

1 large tomato chopped

1/2 tsp Ginger paste

¼ tsp Fenugreek seeds 

Salt to taste

¼ tsp Turmeric powder 

½ tsp Red chilli powder

1/2 tsp  Cumin powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Fennel powder 

1/2 tsp Dried Mango powder 

1/2 tsp Garam masala powder 

Pinch of Asafoetida

2 tbsp Mustard Oil

Method 

Take a wok, add oil. Add the fenugreek seeds, sauté for few seconds. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, fennel powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida. On a low flame stir for few seconds. Add little water and keep stirring, or else the masala will burn. Add the ginger paste and tomatoes. Sauté it till the tomatoes become mushy. In between keep adding little water. Once the tomato are mushy, add the potatoes, stir add salt and add a cup of water and let it simmer for some time, add garam masala powder and dried mango powder. Stir and let the curry simmer for sometime until it thickens. Once the curry thickens add Coriander leaves. Serve it hot with pooris or paratha.

Aish El Saraya...

Eid Mubarak to all...

May you be blessed with joy, peace and happiness.

Aish El Saraya...

It means bread of the royal palace. It's a Lebanese dish. Aish El-Saraya is made on special occasions.

Sweet sugar syrup is drizzled over the toasted bread and covered with thick cream on top. It is garnished with chopped pistachios and rose petals. It is served chilled. 

With love from my kitchen....

For the Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp Lime juice

2 tsp Rosewater

Method

Add sugar, lime juice and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Stir and let it cook on low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil and switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater. Cool for 10 minutes.

To make Aish El Saraya

Ingredients

8 slices White Bread,sides cut and toasted

1 1/2 cups of Milk

1/3 cup  Sugar

1 cup Fresh Cream

3 tbsp Cornflour

1 tsp Rosewater

Sugar Syrup

1/4 cup chopped Pistachios

Few dried Rose petals

Method

Take a baking dish. Place 4 slices of toasted bread slices into the dish in a way that no gap should remain. Pour 1/2 of the syrup on the bread. Top with remaining bread. Drizzle with remaining syrup. Keep it aside. Add milk, cream, sugar and cornflour in a  sauce pan. Stir it till the cornflour has mixed well. Cook, stirring it constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Switch of the flame. Stir in rosewater.Pour over the bread in the dish. Sprinkle with pistachio. Set aside to cool. Refrigerate until it sets. Serve.

Mutton Zaffrani Pilaf

Pilaf or Pulao is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth. Sautéed onion, spices, vegetables, fish, meat and dry fruits are added depending upon the local cuisine. It is a common dish made in India, Bangladesh, Middle East and many other countries. 

This is an easy recipe. The dish has a mild flavor and taste of the spices and saffron. This dish can be made in various ways. This dish can be served with raita.

Ingredients

1 kg Mutton pieces

500 grams Basmati Rice

2 big size Onions sliced

1 tbsp Ginger - Garlic crushed

1 tsp Ginger - Garlic paste

2 Green Chillies cut into half

1 tsp Coriander leaves chopped

2 Bay leaves

6 Apricots

2 tsp Almond Flakes

1 tsp Raisins

1/4 tsp Saffron

1/4 cup hot Milk

Juice of 1 Lime

1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1 Star Anise

1 medium Cinnamon stick

4 Cloves

2 Green Cardomom

1 Mace

2 tbsp Ghee

Method

Wash and soak the rice and keep it aside. Soak the Saffron and turmeric powder in hot milk, keep it aside. Take a big pot, add a tbsp of ghee and let it melt. Add the green cardomom, cinnamon stick, cloves and fennel seeds. Let it splatter. Add 1/2 the quality of the sliced onions, saute till pink in colour. Add the mutton pieces, salt, sugar and bay leaves, stir and cook for 10 minutes. Add 2 liters of water, stir, cover and cook till the mutton has become tender. Remove the excess mutton broth if any and keep it aside and can be enjoyed as soup, as when we add the rice, it will cook in the broth, so the broth should be just enough to cook the rice. To be precise, there should be 4 1/2 cups of the broth. 

Take a wok, add the remaining ghee, let it melt. Add the remaining onion slices, fry the onions till golden brown in colour. Remove a tbsp of onion and keep it aside for garnishing. Add the 1 tsp almond flakes and raisins into the remaining fried onion slices. Stir for another minute. Add the ginger - garlic paste. Sauté for a minute. Add the fried onions, apricot, lime juice and nutmeg powder into the mutton broth. Adjust the salt. Drain the excess water from soaked rice. Add the rice, stir and let it cooked till 80 percent of the rice is cooked. Add the saffron milk. Stir the rice gently. Cover and cook till done. Before serving garnish with fried onions, pinch of saffron, 1 tsp almond flakes and coriander leaves. Serve it hot with raita.

Braised Cottage Cheese / Tofu, Spinach and Dried Mushrooms.....

This time during my trip to Singapore, I happened to pick up different varieties of Dried Mushrooms which are very popular like shiitake, oyster, flower shiitake, portobello and needle mushrooms. Before cooking the mushrooms, you need to soak the mushrooms in hot water for several minutes, squeeze the excess water out and then used them. Mushrooms have a meaty flesh and a woody flavor. If you don't have dried mushrooms, use fresh mushrooms which are available at your place. I have added cottage cheese, but tofu can also be used. Other ingredients that I have used are spinach, onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, bird eye chillies and seasonings. This dish can be served as a starter for vegetarians... 

Ingredients

1 bowl of mix variety of dried Mushrooms soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and then squeezed them out from the water

6 to 8 pieces of cottage cheese / tofu cut into triangle shape 

1 big Onion cut into cubes

 6 Garlic cloves sliced

 1 small piece of Ginger sliced

2 Green Chillies cut lengthwise 

4 to 6 Bird eye Chillies 

A handful of spinach leaves along with it's stem broken into half 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder

¼ cup of Oil

2 tbsp Soy sauce

1 tbsp Honey 

1 tsp Vinegar

Method 

Take a wok, add oil. Then fry the cottage cheese / tofu until brown on both sides. Keep it aside. In the same Oil sauté the garlic, ginger and chillies for a few seconds. Add the onions and saute till translucent. Add the spinach and sauté on high heat for a minute. Add the mushrooms, add the soya sauce,vinegar,honey, salt and pepper powder. Add the cottage cheese / tofu. Stir it. Cover let it simmer in it's juices for 2 minutes. Serve it hot.

Mango Pickle in Water

This Pickle has no oil at all. It only consist of raw mango, spices and water. With just few techniques to follow, this pickle is ready and it stays for 2 to 3 months. To preserve it further, you can refrigerate it. 

Stage 1 - Spice Powder 

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Coriander seeds

1 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Fennel seeds 

2 tbsp Mustard seeds 

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds 

10 Guntur Chillies for pungency 

10 Byadgi Chillies for colour 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder 

Method 

Roast all the above ingredients except turmeric powder and asafoetida powder for 2 minutes. Cool it, add the roasted spices, turmeric powder and asafetida powder into a grinder and grind the spices into a fine powder. Keep it aside. 

Stage 2 - Drying the Mangoes

Ingredients 

1 kg Raw Mangoes washed and cut into pieces with skin 

1 tbsp Salt 

1 tbsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Apply the turmeric powder and salt to the mango pieces. Keep the mango pieces in a steel strainer, place another smaller vessel on the mango pieces, and put some heavy weight on the vessel.  Keep it aside for 6 to 8 hours. Some of the water from the mango will drain out. Take the mango pieces and spread it on the paper or cloth and let it dry for another 8 hours. 

Stage 3 - Making the Pickle 

Ingredients 

Raw Mangoes 

Spices

2 1/2  tbsp Salt

3 cups Water 

Method 

Take a pot, add water and salt into the pot. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Switch of the flame and let the water cool down completely. Take the water in a bowl, add the spice powder and mix it. Add the mangoes and mix it. The water level has to cover up the mango pieces. Transfer the mangoes into a clean dry glass bottle. The pickle should fill up to 3/4 of the bottle, as the water can leak from the bottle while the mango pickle process is still on and it takes 7 days to be ready. Initially the spice water is liquidy, but eventually the mangoes and the spices will soak up some water and it will become  into a thick paste. You can enjoy the pickle after 7 days.