Kara Kuthiraivali - Ravai Pidi Kozhukatta

 Kara Kuthiraivali - Ravai Pidi Kozhukatta - 

This traditional dish is from Tamil Nadu - Kongunad region. In Andhra it’s known as Kudumulu. In Karnataka it’s known as Kadubu. In Kerala it’s known as Pidi Kozhukattai. This dish is usually made during Ganesh Chaturthi or during occasion… family gathering. Usually made with rice. The rice flour is cooked in hot water with spices and salt. Then once the dough is easy to handle, the Kozhukatta are usually oval shaped and moulded by hand (Pidi) and then steamed. A very healthy comfort steamed dish that can be eaten for breakfast. 

There is a sweet and a savoury version of Kozhukatta. We are making the savoury version. 

Here I have made Kozhukatta not with rice flour but with semolina and barnyard millet mixed in equal portion. 

This can be had for fasting and can be good substitute for rice. This dish can be served with coconut chutney. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup Semolina / Rava 

1/2 cup Barnyard millet / Sama 

Few Curry leaves 

Few chopped Coriander leaves 

2 to 3 chopped Green Chillies 

1 small piece for Ginger Grated 

1/2 cup Grated Coconut 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds 

1 tsp Chana dal

1 tsp Urid dal 

Pinch of Asafoetida 

2 cups of Water 

2 tbsp Oil 

1 tsp Ghee 

Method 

Take a wok, add 2 tbsp oil, heat the oil. Reduce the flame. Add the chopped chillies, ginger, curry leaves, urid dal and chana dal. Sauté, add the mustard seeds and asafoetida. Sauté for few seconds. Add the water. Add salt, let the water simmer. Add the coconut and stir. After few seconds add the washed semolina and sama millet. Stir as the batter shouldn’t form a lump. Stir and cook until it forms a soft dough.. once cool. Switch off the flame… and cover the wok and wait until the dough is easy to handle. Take a steamer, on the top vessel, brush some ghee or place a banana leave. Apply ghee or oil on your palm. Take small portions and shape the Kozhukatta with the help of the palm. Place the Kozhukatta into the vessel. Steam the Kozhukatta for 10  minutes. Serve them hot with chutney.

Keema - Patties Pav

 I had eaten this dish at a Sindhi restaurant in Ulhasnagar. The dish was so delicious that I couldn’t resist making this at home… and moreover when the request comes from my daughter…..

Keema - Patties with Pav - 

The patties was made with keema stuffed in between the potato covering… and the keema gravy was poured over the patties… served with pudina Chutney, sliced onions, a lemon wedge and Pav….. 

Here is my version of making Keema Patties at home with a twist …. As there was no keema at home and had around 300 grams of boneless mutton at home…. I tried making keema at home… usually with the help of the chopper I manage to make small pieces of mutton, but my chopper knocked out… as I didn’t have any options, I tried grinding the keema in a grinder… the mutton became a paste… I had to make the keema texture… so the twist… and believe me the dish was delicious… see the recipe for the twist…. And some what healthy for the twist added… 

For the non-vegetarian- mutton and chicken keema and for the vegetarian boiled soya keema can be used… rest the recipe is the same… 

For me the twist ingredient had to be used by force as the mutton became a paste and I didn’t have soya granules to give the dish keema texture… but I would say use the twist, it becomes healthier.. 

I made the Potato Patties without the Keema stuffing in an air fryer…. 

For the Patties 

Ingredients 

3 Big Boiled Potatoes mashed 

2 finely chopped Green Chillies 

1 tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves 

1 tbsp finely chopped Mint leaves 

3 Bread cut into pieces 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Amchur powder 

1/2 tsp roasted Cumin seeds 

1/2 tsp roasted Dried Chilli powder 

1/2 tsp + 1 tsp Oil 

Method 

Take all the ingredients in a bowl, except 1 tsp oil. Mash and mix all the ingredients together until a soft dough is formed. Make lemon size portions and flatten the portions with the help of the palms. Apply little oil on the palms to avoid sticking. Grease a tray with oil. Place the patties on the tray, air fry at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes on one side, turn and for 10 - 15 minutes on another side. The patties is done. 

For the Keema 

Ingredients 

300 grams Mutton Keema 

1/2 cup Oats 

1 medium size Onion cut into pieces 

2 medium size Tomatoes chopped 

15 Garlic cloves 

3 small pieces of Ginger 

4 to 5 Green Chillies 

1 small bunch of Mint leaves cleaned 

1 small bunch of Coriander leaves chopped 

1 dried red Kashmiri chilli cut into pieces 

2 Bay leaves 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Cumin powder 

1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin powder 

1 tsp Coriander powder 

3/4 tsp Chilli powder 

3/4 tsp Garam Masala Powder 

1 tsp Meat Masala 

1 tsp Kasuri Methi 

4 tbsp Ghee 

Method 

Since I didn’t have mutton keema, I tried doing the keema at home and it became mutton paste.. 

Take grinder, add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies, few handful of coriander leaves and mint leaves… grind the ingredients together into a coarse paste. 

Take oil in a dekhchi / pot. Add 3 tbsp ghee, once the ghee heats up, add the dried red chilli pieces and bay leaves, after few seconds add the wet masala paste, sauté and keep cooking for a minute on medium low flame. Add the dried spice powders and salt - turmeric, cumin, chilli powder, coriander, salt, garam masala, meat masala and Kasuri Methi. Stir and cook for few seconds, add the chopped tomatoes. Cook until the masala starts to release ghee. Add the mutton keema… I add the mutton paste, and stirred well so that the paste doesn’t form a big lump… cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, add 1/2 cup of water and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. When the mutton was almost done, I added oats and stirred well. Let it cook for 2 minutes. The gravy will thicken up because of the oats, add another 1/2 cup water, let it cook for a minute. Switch off the flame and let the keema rest for 2 hours… this will enhance the taste… before serving… if you see the gravy has thicken up, add water as desired so the the gravy is of pouring consistency.. check on the salt… add the salt if required. Add the roasted cumin powder and 1 tbsp ghee… garnish with chopped coriander and mint leaves…

To serve the Keema Patties-

Take a flat bowl or a plate. Place the patties and pour the keema gravy on top, garnish with sliced onions, mint leaves, lime wedges and mint chutney. Serve with Pav…. 

Chicken Momos with Soup and Momo Chutney

Momo is one of my and my daughter’s favourite… and I think many of us likes momos too… being rainy season don’t want to risk our stomachs…  eating out… here is my way of making momos at home… savouring them with hot piping soup and spicy momo chutney… all to go with the season.. 

This is a special combination we get on the streets of Kolkata at many places … 

Here I have used 50 percent wheat flour and rest refined flour… I have added veggies to the chicken to make it more healthier… Oil is almost nil… we can replace the chicken with pork or prawns.. along with the veggies… 

For the Momo Chutney 

Ingredients 

2 Big Tomatoes cut into big pieces 

6 Kashmiri Chillies cut into pieces 

10 Garlic cloves 

1 small piece of Ginger 

Few stems of Coriander leaves chopped 

1 tbsp Raw Peanuts 

1 tbsp Sesame seeds roasted 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Sugar 

1 tbsp Vinegar 

2 tbsp light Soy sauce 

Method 

Take a pot, add the tomatoes, Kashmiri Chillies and peanuts, add 3/4 cup of water. Boil the ingredients on a medium flame for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame and add garlic and ginger, cover and let it cool down. Once in room temperature, add the ingredients in the grinder and add salt, sugar, pepper powder, vinegar, soy sauce, coriander stems and sesame seeds, grind all the ingredients well, add water as desired to get the runny consistency of the cutney. Once done keep it aside, can be kept in the fridge for a week. 

To make the outer covering of the Momos 

Ingredients 

1 cup of Wheat flour 

1/2 cup of Refined Flour 

Salt to taste 

Luke Warm water 

Ingredients 

Mix the wheat flour, refined flour and salt together, add little water at a time and knead a semi hard dough. Cover and rest the dough for an hour.. 

To make the stuffing and soup for the Momos.. 

Ingredients 

Take 2 Cabbage leaves cut them into pieces 

1 small Carrot cut into pieces 

1 small piece of Onion cut into pieces 

2 Green Chillies 

10 Garlic cloves for Momos 

6 Garlic cloves chopped for Soup

1 small piece of Ginger 

1 Stem of Spring Onion chopped 

1 stem of Celery chopped 

5 to 6 Boneless Chicken pieces 

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

1 tbsp Soy Sauce 

1 tsp Red Chilli sauce 

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Chicken seasoning powder for Momos 

1 tsp Chicken Seasoning powder for Soup 

1 tsp of Wheat flour slurry 

1 tsp Oil 

1 tbsp Corn flour 

Method 

Take a food chopper, add the cabbage, carrot, green chillies, garlic, ginger and spring onion. Finely chop all the vegetables, remove the chopped vegetables from the chopper, keep one tbsp of the chopped vegetables aside, now squeeze all the water out from the rest of the chopped vegetables. Don’t throw the water extracted from the vegetables. Now put the dry chopped vegetables back into the chopper, add chicken pieces, salt, pepper powder, soy sauce, chilli sauce, chicken seasoning powder and corn flour, blend all the ingredients together well until the ingredients are well combined and forms a soft dough, remove and keep the stuffing in the fridge for 30 minutes. Take a steamer, add 3 cups of water, chopped vegetables, celery, garlic, water extracted from the chopped vegetables used in momo stuffing, salt to taste and chicken seasoning powder and the slurry. Stir well. This soup will cook along while we will steam the momos… 

Let’s make the Momos 

Take a dough and knead well, take a portion from the dough, roll the dough into a thin round disc, take a round cutter, and cut medium or small size disc from the big disc, place the disc on the plate, make a batch of 12 disc at a time, take the stuffing and mix well, take a disc, take a small portion of the stuffing, and place the stuffing in between the disc, spread the stuffing a bit, then start covering the edges of the disc… giving the momos a shape you desire, repeat the process and make all the momos… grease the steamer plate, place all the momos on the plate, cover the steamer and steam the momos for 15 minutes. While the momos are cooking, we can prepare the second batch of momos. Prepare both the batches of momos then serve. Once the momos are ready serve the momos with hot piping soup and spicy momo chutney. 

Varhadi Chicken Curry

Varhadi Chicken Curry 

Varhadi cuisine and Saoji cuisine comes from the eastern region of Maharashtra (Vidarbha region). Varhadi and Saoji are the 2 cuisines that are spicy and not suitable for faint hearted person, but still Varhadi cuisine has a milder version of spice level. 

Today we prepared Varhadi Chicken Curry right from scratch… A lovely recipe shared by my friend. The Varhadi Masala once made can be stored and can be used in making other Varhadi dishes… 

We added less Chillies because of my daughter, but more chillies can be added as per the taste. We served the Chicken with Bhakri, Rice, Chinchecha saar and Onion. 

Varhadi Masala Powder 

Ingredients 

2 tsp Cumin seeds 

1/2 tsp Sahi Jeera

6 tbsp Coriander seeds

1 tsp Mustard seeds

20 Pepper Corn 

1/4 tsp Methi seeds 

1 tsp Kasuri Methi 

2 tbsp Dried Grated Coconut (Khopra)

6 Cloves 

2 Black Cardamom

6 Green Cardamom

1 small piece Nutmeg 

1 Javtri 

1 tsp Dagad phool

1 medium stick Cinnamon 

4 to 5 Kashmiri chillies 

6 Spicy dried Red Chillies 

Method 

Fry roast all the above ingredients until light brown in colour and an aroma releases, switch off the flame and cool the masala down. Grind the masala into a powder. This powder can be stored for any gravy dish.

Wet masala 

Ingredients 

1 big size Onion sliced 

15 Garlic cloves 

2 to 3 small pieces of Ginger 

Few stems and leaves of Coriander leaves chopped 

1 tbsp Oil 

Method 

Take a pan, add oil and heat the oil, reduce the flame and add onion slices, stir fry the onion slices until light brown in colour, add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute, add coriander leaves and stems, stir and cook until the onions are brown in colour, switch off the flame and cool down. Grind with 1/4 cup water until the ingredients becomes into a paste. 

Varhadi Chicken Curry 

Ingredients 

750 grams of Chicken cut into pieces 

1 small Onion chopped 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Chilli powder 

2 tbsp Varhadi Garam Masala 

Wet paste 

4 tbsp Oil 

1 cup Water 

Method 

Take a pressure cooker, add the chicken pieces, little salt to taste, 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder and water, give 2 whistles, switch off the flame, let the pressure release, separate the chicken pieces from the stock. Take a pot, add oil, let the oil heat. Add the chopped onion, stir fry until light brown in colour, add the chicken, stir, gradually add the remaining turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt to taste. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Varhadi masala, stir, add the wet paste, continue cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Now add the chicken stock, stir and let the curry simmer for 5 minutes. Switch off the flame, cover and keep, before serving add coriander leaves, serve with bhakri,  rice and onions.

 

Chingri ar Kacha Aam diye purbhora Lunka r Achar

 

Chingri ar Kacha Aam diye purbhora Lunka r Achar - 

This pickle recipe was going on in my head for sometime ..  I wanted to experiment and create the recipe… finally made it, it’s an amazing Bengali pickle for nonveg lovers. I have used prawns, but mutton Keema also can be used after boiling the Keema. 

Here I have taken fat green chillies, stuffed the chillies with raw mango and prawns with spices. This pickle with stay for 3 to 4 months in the fridge. Can be enjoyed with dal - rice, Paratha or chapatis. 

Any pickle masala can be used, I have also shared the masala that I have made. 

Here is the recipe… 

For the Pickle Masala 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Mustard 

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp Carom seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

1 tsp Chilli powder 

Method 

Grind all the above ingredients together into fine powder 

For the stuffing 

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Kasundi 

2 tbsp Pickle Masala 

1/2 Turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Black Salt 

Salt to taste 

10 to 15 boiled Prawns ground without any water

3 tbsp Ginger- Garlic - Green Chilli paste ( 1 small Ginger, 10 to 15 Garlic, 10 Green Chillies) 

4 tbsp grated Raw Mango - excess water squeezed out 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients together. 

For the Pickle 

15 Fat Green Chillies washed, dried, stem removed and slit on one side for stuffing 

Stuffed Masala 

1/2 cup Mustard Oil 

1 tbsp Vinegar 

Method 

Take a green chilli, stuff the masala in the green chilli, repeat the process until all the chillies are stuffed. 

Take oil in a spread out pan, heat the oil until smoking point, switch off the flame and cool the oil down. Switch on the flame once again, the flame has to be low. Place the stuffed green chillies in the pan. Turn the green chillies and coat the oil all over the chillies. Add the excess stuffing masala into the oil, the oil will be just warm, switch off the flame, let the oil cool down. Add a tbsp of vinegar. Take a clean dry jar, place the green chillies into the jar, pour the excess oil and the masala into the jar. Keep the jar out for 2 days. Then keep the jar in the fridge. It stays well for 3 to 4 months. Enjoy with dal - rice, Paratha or chapatis.