Kala Chana and Ragi Soup

 Kala Chana and Ragi Soup (Desi Style)

This soup is wholesome, healthy and delicious .. 

I have added coconut milk for enhancing the flavour (optional). Ragi is added not only to thicken  up the soup, but it is also  healthy and has high nutritional values. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup boiled Kala Chana / Black Chickpeas 

3 tbsp Ragi / Nachni flour 

1 small Onion finely chopped 

1 small Tomato finely chopped 

1 Green Chilli finely chopped 

5 to 6 Garlic cloves finely chopped 

1 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves 

1 tsp Roasted Cumin powder 

Lemon wedges for serving 

Salt to taste 

3/4 cup Coconut Milk (optional)

1 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Coarsely grind the Kala chana without water. Take out a tbsp of the coarsely grounded Kala Chana and keep it aside for garnishing. Add 2 cups of water In the rest of the ground Chana. Take a pot, add ghee, once the ghee melts, add the garlic and onion. Sauté until translucent, add the tomato and green chilli, sauté for a minute, add the ragi flour and continue to sauté for another minute. Add salt and roasted cumin powder. Stir all the ingredients. Now add the ground Chana with water and constantly stir the soup as no lumps should form. On a low heat let the soup cook, until the soup has thickened up a bit. Add the coconut milk and continue to simmer for few seconds. Switch off the flame. Garnish with some coarsely ground chana, coriander leaves and serve the soup hot, squeeze some lime juice before having the soup. 

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Stuffed Whole Wheat Pita Bread

 

 Stuffed Whole Wheat Pita Bread… 

It’s a wholesome meal loaded with vegetables …  delicious.. This dish can be enjoyed anytime of the day… This dish can be easily made at home with little bit of planning and most of the dry ingredients are available in our kitchen. 

Lebanese Spice powder is available online.. incase you don’t want to make it. 

For the Pita Bread 

Ingredients 

2 1/2 + 2 tbsp  cups Whole Wheat Flour 

2 tsp Dry Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

1/2 cup Lukewarm water + More water as required 

1 tbsp Olive oil

Method 

Add yeast, sugar and water in a bowl and let it proof for 10 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups of  flour and salt and mix it well. When the yeast is ready pour the yeast on the flour. Mix the dough well. If required add more water little at a time and start mixing the flour and kneading it into a soft dough. Add a tbsp olive oil and knead it for 5 minutes. Brush some olive oil on the dough. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest until it rises double its size. When the dough is ready, sprinkle some flour on the dough and remove the air from the dough.  Knead it again for few seconds and make 6 equal portions of the dough. Arrange the balls on a greased tray leaving some distance, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. With a help of a rolling pin roll out each ball into a 1/3 inch thick oval shape or in circles. Let the pita rest for 10 minutes.

To Make  Pitas on the Stovetop...

Warm a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Put the rolled-out pita on the skillet and cook until you see bubbles starting to form. Flip and cook for few seconds on the other side, press the surface gently with a towel. Flip again and cook another few seconds.  The pita should start to puff.  Keep cooked pitas covered with a clean towel while cooking the remaining pitas.

Lebanese Spice Blend 

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Coriander powder 

2 tbsp Cumin powder 

2 tbsp Pepper corn powder 

2 tbsp Paprika ( used Kashmiri chilli powder)

1 tbsp Clove powder 

1 tsp Cardamom powder 

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder 

1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients and store the spice blend in a glass bottle. 

For the stuffing  - 

Ingredients 

3 Soya Chaap Stick cut into small pieces 

3 to 4 Mushrooms cut into half and sliced 

1 small Onion cut into half and sliced 

5 to 6 Garlic cloves chopped 

1 medium Tomato deseed, cut into half and sliced 

1 small Capsicum sliced 

2 Green Chillies chopped 

1 tsp Lemon juice 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Lebanese spice powder 

1 tsp Olive Oil

Method 

Take a pan, add olive oil, add the soya piece, sauté for 2 minutes, add the onion, garlic and continue to sauté for a minute, add the capsicum, green chillies, continue to sauté for another minute. Now add the mushrooms and tomato. Continue to stir fry on medium low flame, add the salt and the Lebanese spice powder. Continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes, until all the vegetables are cooked and the all the ingredients have mixed well… switch off the flame. Add the Lemon juice.. mix and keep it aside.. 

For the Salad 

Ingredients 

1 small Cucumber cut into thin strips 

1 small Tomato deseeded, cut into half and sliced 

1 small Onion sliced 

1/2 cup of thinly sliced Cabbage 

1 tsp Lemon juice 

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin powder 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Take all the ingredients in a bowl, mix all the ingredients together and keep it aside for 15 minutes. 

For Assembling - 

Ingredients 

Stuffing 

Salad

Pita bread 

Method 

Cut the pita bread into half.  Take one half of the pita bread. Create a pocket. Add some salad into the pita bread pocket, add some soya Chaap stuffing and some more salad.. and it’s ready to be served. 

Chicken Mandi

 Mandi is a traditional dish originated from Yemen, it many consist of  meat and rice cooked with Yemeni spice blend called Hawaji. It is cooked in a underground pit. It's extremely popular in most areas of the Arabian Peninsula. 

There are many ways one can make this dish. Mainly the meat has to be moist. The meat is marinated and cooked separately with the rice in a steamer and then the chicken is grilled in a tandoor.. The dish has a smoky flavour. This dish is served with Tomato Chutney called Salata Hara.. 

Here is how I have made the Chicken Mandi inspired from Yummy O Yummy. 

Spice Blend 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Coriander seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp Peppercorns

6 Green Cardamom 

6 Cloves 

2 inch Cinnamon 

1 small piece of Nutmeg 

2 Bay leaves 

1 tsp Paprika (used Kashmiri chilli powder here)

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Dry roast all the whole spices for few seconds, let the spices cool down. Add the turmeric powder and paprika / Kashmiri chilli powder and grind all the ingredients together into a fine paste. 

Marinate the Chicken 

Ingredients 

2 pieces of the Chicken thighs

1/2 tsp Garlic paste 

1 1/2 tbsp Spice blend

Salt to taste 

1 tbsp Lemon juice 

Few strands of Saffron in 3 tbsp of hot water 

2 tbsp Olive Oil 

Method 

Take a bowl, add the spice blend, salt, 3 tbsp saffron water, 2 tbsp oil,garlic paste, lemon juice and salt. Mix all the ingredients together. Give few slits on the chicken pieces. Rub the spices on to the chicken pieces. Keep the chicken pieces aside for an hour or more. 

For the Mandi 

Ingredients 

250 grams / 1 cup of Basmati Rice 

1 medium size Onion sliced 

2 Green chillies slit 

1 tbsp chopped Garlic cloves 

1 Dried Lime

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

Marinated Chicken 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

2 Green Cardamom 

2 Cloves 

1 inch Cinnamon 

2 Bay leaves 

Salt to taste 

1 Chicken cube seasoning 

Few Raisins and Almond Flakes for garnishing 

Few Saffron strands in 4 tbsp of hot water 

1 tsp + 1/2 tsp Butter

1 tbsp  + 1 tsp Ghee

1 small piece of Charcoal 

Method 

Wash the rice and keep it aside. Take a steamer pot, add 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tsp butter, once the ghee and butter melts add the whole garam masala spices, cumin seeds and bay leaves. Let the spices crackle, add the onion, green chillies, dried lemon and garlic, sauté until the onion slices are translucent. Add the rice, chicken cube seasoning and salt. Stir and sauté the rice for a minute. Add 2 cups of hot water and saffron water into the pot.  Cover the lower steamer pot with the casserole pot of the steamer. Place the marinated chicken in the casserole. Cover the casserole pot and cook the rice until done. Remove the chicken, brush the chicken with butter. and grill the chicken for 15 minutes, until golden brown in colour. 

Add the almond flakes, raisins and chopped coriander leaves into the rice. Stir the rice gently. Place the chicken over the rice. Place a small bowl in the center of the pot. Burn a charcoal, place the charcoal into the bowl, pour 1 tsp ghee. Immediately cover the pot and wait until the smoky flavour has infused into the rice and chicken. Once done remove the charcoal out. Serve the Chicken Mandi with Tomato Chutney called Salata Hara..  

Salata Hara 

Ingredients 

1 Big size Tomato chopped 

2 tbsp Tomato Purée 

1 Green Chilli

2 Garlic Cloves 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1 tsp Lime juice 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Take a blender, add the tomato, green chilli, coriander leaves, garlic, salt, lime juice and tomato purée. Blend all the ingredients together into a paste. Serve this Chutney with Chicken Mandi. 

Amara Diye Ilish Macher Tok

 Amara Diye Ilish Maacher Tak 

This is one of the recipe made Ilisha fish that is sour in taste.. the sourness is made either tamarind pulp, dried raw mango or the fruit of the season that is hog plum.. (Amara). I have added a tbsp of poppy seed paste too to enhance the taste of the curry… and to create new recipe from my kitchen with love.. Serve this curry with steamed rice. 

Ingredients 

4 slices of Hilsa / Ilish 

4 small size Hog Plum peeled 

2 Garlic cloves crushed 

3 to 4 Green chillies slit

1 Dried Red Chilli

1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder 

2 tbsp Jaggery powder or Sugar

1 tbsp Poppy seeds paste 

3 tbsp Mustard oil 

Method - 

Marinate the fish with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt for 10 minutes. 

Add oil in a pan, fry the fish on both the sides until light brown in colour… or we can just use the fish without frying them. 

In the same pan, add mustard seeds and dried red chilli. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add the hog plum. Stir for a minute, add the green chillies and garlic. Stir for few seconds, add 2 cups of water, poppy seed paste, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and jaggery powder. Cover the pan and let the gravy simmer for 2 to 3 minutes on medium - low flame. Add the fish and let it simmer further for another 2 to 3 minutes. Once done serve the Hilsa curry with steamed rice. 

Chingri Posto Narkel Diye Paturi

 

 Chingri / Prawns with posto and narkol bata (poppy and coconut paste) wrapped in kola pata (banana leaves) - Chingri Posto Narkel Diye Paturi. A side dish that goes well with rice. Here is my version that I make at home at times…

Ingredients to marinate the Prawns 

300 grams medium size cleaned and deveined Prawns 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 

Method 

Mix all the ingredients above ingredients together and keep it aside for 15 minutes 

Ingredients- For the paste. 

2 tbsp Poppy seeds

Few small pieces of Coconut pieces peeled 

1 small piece of Ginger 

3 to 4 Garlic cloves 

2 Green Chillies 

Salt to taste 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients into fine paste 

Ingredients for the Chingri Paturi 

Marinate Prawns 

1 medium Onion sliced 

Few Coconut pieces sliced 

3 to Green Chillies slit

Wet paste 

Salt to taste if required 

1/2 Red Chilli powder 

2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp Mustard oil

2 medium size Banana leaves washed and gently warmed up the banana leaves over low flame. 

Method 

Take a bowl, add the marinated prawns, wet paste, red chilli powder, 2 tbsp mustard oil, coconut slices, onion slices, salt if required. Mix all the ingredients well. 

Place the glossy side of the banana leaves on top.. of each other in a crisscross manner. Transfer the prawn mixture on the banana leaves. Wrap up the banana leaves and tie the leaves with a thread. Take a pan, add 1/2 tsp mustard oil and spread the oil all round the pan. Place the parcel into the pan. Cover the pan, on a medium low flame, cook the parcel for 5 minutes, change the side of the parcel and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, repeat the process once again. Once done, open up the banana leaves and serve the dish with hot rice. 

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