Karela Yakhin

This recipe is adapted from a Kashmiri cook book I own from many years called Kashmiri Kitchen. The bitter gourds are cooked in curd gravy with out onion, garlic, turmeric powder and chillies. I absolutely love this recipe. Believe me the dish is absolutely scrumptious to have it with hot steaming rice.

Ingredients

6 to 8 medium size Bitter gourds

1/2 cup Curd beaten

2 Cloves

2 Green Cardamom

Pinch of Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Ginger powder

1 tsp Fennel seed powder

1 tsp Garam Masala

Salt to taste

1 cup Oil to fry

Method

Scrape the outer skin of the bitter gourds and give a slit on them. Remove the seeds of the bitter gourds. Apply salt on the bitter gourds and keep it aside for 5 minutes. Wash and drain out the excess water from the bitter gourds. Heat oil in a wok. Lightly fry the bitter gourds in the oil. Remove the bitter gourds and the excess oil from the wok, leaving 2 tbsp of oil in the wok. Add the cardamom and cloves in the oil. Let it crackle, add the asafoetida. Stir and add the curd. Stir it for a minute. Add the salt, ginger powder, fennel seed powder and garam masala powder. Stir and let it simmer for a minute. Add 1/2 cup water. On low flame, let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add the bitter gourds. Let it simmer till the bitter gourds have cooked and the gravy has thickened. Serve it hot with rice.

Langcha

On the way to Shantiniketan in West Bengal, you will cross Shaktigarh. This place is known to be the birth place of Langchas.

Langcha is a sweetdish which is made with cottage cheese mixed with other ingredients. It is long cylindrical in shape. It is deep fried till a darkish brown crust is formed and then it is  dipped in sugar syrup till it becomes soft and juicy. 

I have used a food processor to blend the ingredients together, but the actual process is to knead it with the help of your palm.

Thin Sugar Syrup

Ingredients

1 cup Sugar

2 cups Water

Method

In a pot add the sugar and water, let it simmer till the sugar dissolves. Keep it aside.

Thick Sugar Syrup

2 1/2  cups Sugar

1 cup Sugar

Method

In a pot add the sugar and water, let it simmer till the sugar dissolves. Let it boil and switch off the flame just before the one string consistency. Keep it aside.

To make the Langcha

Ingredients

300 grams Cottage Cheese

100 grams Khoya / Mawa

1/4 cup Rice Flour

1/2 cup All Purpose Flour (AFP)

1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp Cardomom powder 

2 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Soda bicarbonate

1/2 tsp Ghee

Thin Syrup

Thick syrup

Oil to fry the Langcha

Method

Add the cottage cheese, khoya, rice flour, apf, nutmeg powder, cardomom powder, sugar and soda bicarbonate in a food processor and blend it till all the ingredients are blended well. Remove the mixture on a plate and knead it. If you feel that the dough is too soft to handle then add a tbsp of apf or more and knead it. Apply ghee on your palm and knead it, till a soft dough is form. Divide the dough into equal portions. Take a portion, apply oil on the palm and give it a long cylindrical shape. Take oil in a wok, heat it. On a low flame fry the langchas till darkish brown in colour. Keep stirring the langchas while frying to get uniform colour on the langchas. Remove the langchas from the oil and drop them into the thin syrup and let it soak for 20 minutes. Then remove the langchas and soak them in the thick syrup for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes serve it. 

Seyal Murgh...

It's a Sindhi dish. The chicken is slow cooked with lots of onion and spices. It's a semi dry curry dish. It's served for lunch or dinner. For a twist, I have added a handful of Spinach leaves. 

Ingredients

750 grams Chicken 

2 large size Onions finely chopped 

1 large size Tomato finely chopped

1 tsp Ginger paste

1 tbsp Garlic paste

4 Green chilies chopped 

A handful of Spinach Leaves finely chopped 

A handful of Coriander leaves finely chopped

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Red Chilli powder 

1 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1/4 cup Oil

Method 

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot. Add onions, sauté the onions till it is brown in colour. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Sauté for a minute. Add the chicken and sauté it until the chicken changes it's colour. Add the powder spices and salt, stir once. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes,spinach leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies. Stir and cook further till the chicken has cooked. In between add 1/4 cup of water. Serve it hot with pav or rice. 

Kashmiri Dum Aloo...

There are many variations of making Dum Aloo. Some of the different states in India has their unique way of making it. In Kashmir, the dum aloo looks rich and vibrant due to the Kashmiri chilli powder used in it, which gives colour to the dish. Apart from the colour, the dish is flavorful too, as the fennel seed powder and ginger powder is also used in it with the other spices. 

The medium size of potatoes are boiled and pricked with a tooth pick. It is deep fried in oil and then the gravy is made. 

I was inspired by Chef Sanjay Raina's Dum Aloo Video and I had to make this dish which was in my bucket list. 

Ingredients 

12 medium size Potatoes boiled 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Saha Jeera

1 Cinnamon stick

2 Green Cardamom

2 Black Cardamom 

3 Cloves

2 Bay Leaves

1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder 

2 tsp Fennel powder

1 pinch of Asafoetida

1/2 tsp Ginger powder 

1 tsp Garam Masala powder 

Salt to taste 

3 tbsp Curd beaten 

Mustard oil to fry the Potatoes 

Method 

Prick the potatoes all over with a toothpick. Take the mustard oil in a wok. Heat the oil well till the smoking point. Reduce the heat and fry the potatoes well till golden brown in colour. Remove the potatoes from the oil and keep it on a paper towel. Remove the excess oil from the wok, leaving 2 to 3 tbsp oil in the wok. Add the whole spices and sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the red chilli powder into the wok and stir well on a low flame. Add  2 tbsp of water, so that the chilli will not burn. Add the curd and stir. Add all the spice powder and salt. Stir and cook all the ingredients together well till the oil separates from the masala. Add 1 1/2 cup of water. Let the gravy simmer for 2 minutes. Add the fried potatoes.  Cover the wok and cook for 20 minutes till the gravy thickens a bit. Serve it hot with rice. 

Lasuni Palak Pav...

Baking bread at home is a more healthier option rather than buying it from the store. All of us are regularly kneading dough at home everyday to make rotis, chappaties or Paratha. But when it come to making bread with yeast we are a bit sceptical about it. Believe me, it's a very easy task. Only thing you have to keep in mind is that you have to give the dough time to rise. Proofing is very important. 

To make it more nutritious, you can add grated or chopped vegetables while kneading the dough. You can add spices as per your choice to make it more flavorful. Serve it as snacks or eat it during breakfast with chai - maska or enjoy it with any side dish like egg omelette, keema or vegetables. 

Ingredients 

500 grams All Purpose Flour 

1 small bowl of Spinach 

4 Garlic Cloves 

2  Pickled Tomatoes or 2 Sun dried Tomatoes 

1 tsp Pickled Red Chilli slices or Red Fresh Chillies 

11 grams Dry Active Yeast 

10 grams Sugar

5 grams + 1/4 tsp Salt

240 ml of Water

50 ml Oil

Method

Chop the garlic, spinach, Tomato and chillies. Take a pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Heat it. Add the garlic, sauté it for few seconds. Add the spinach, pickled tomatoes, chillies and salt. Stir and sauté till the water from the spinach has dried up. 

Take 1/4 cup lukewarm water, add sugar and yeast. Stir it and let it rise. Add the rest of the salt to the flour and mix it. Add the yeast water and the remaining water to the flour. Add the spinach mix and start to knead it. After 5 minutes, add 1 tbsp of oil and knead for another 5 minutes. Add another 1/2 tsp of oil to the dough. Cover the dough and keep it to rise double in size.

Apply oil on the palm, punch the dough and knead the dough on a flat surface for 2 minutes. Divide the dough into equal  portions depending upon the size you want. I weigh the dough as it will be of the same size. Take a rectangular baking tray. Grease it with oil. Roll the dough and place it on the baking tray. The dough should be touching each other. Apply oil on your fingers and gently flatten the dough from top. Cover the dough and let it rise double in size. Spray water on the dough. Bake at 190 degrees celsius for 20 minutes or till brown in colour. Remove it from the oven. Brush the pav with butter. Let it cool completely before eating it.