Simple Rice Kheer

July 15, 2008 | By sonzy In Recipes | Comments(0)

Here is a recipe for a simple Rice Kheer

Ingredients
# 3 Litres Milk
# 100 Grams Rice
# 100 Grams Sugar
# Kesar (Saffron )
# Elaichi (Cardomom)
# Badam (Almonds)
# 2 Tbsp Water

Method
Boil Milk. Add rice to the milk when boiled. Stir the milk until it gets thick and of dropping consistency.
Allow the milk to cool. When the milk mixture is at room temperature, Add Saffron, and Sugar to it and mix it well. The Milk mixture will get a good colour. Top it with Almonds and Cardomom Powder.

Tags: naan, kulfi, sambhar, dosa, handi, chettinad, desi, roti, palak, tandoori

Boondi Raita

July 15, 2008 | By sonzy In Recipes | Comments(0)

Simple Yoghurt appetizer made from Tiny Dumplings of Besan (Chickpeas flour) put in Yoghurt.

600 ml Yoghurt
1/4 tea spoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or coriander

Method

Soak the boondi in water for about 10 minutes.
Squeeze lightly and set aside.
Beat the yoghurt smooth with fork, add the salt, pepper and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Fold(put in and mix well) the moist boondi in yoghurt.
Refrigerate. Sprinkle with chopped mint or coriander leaves.
Serve chilled.

Tags: gosht, chana, karahi, vindaloo, dhokla, kulfi, tikka masala, tandoori, curries, idli

Indian Bread : Bhatura

July 14, 2008 | By sonzy In Recipes, curry | Comments(0)

Bhatura is a fried indian bread made from refined wheat flour, typically served with chickpea curry.

Ingredients

1 Kg. Maida flour
Sooji flour (Rava) 100 Grams
1 Spoon Baking Powder
2 Tbsp. Fat or Ghee
1 Cup Curd
Salt To Taste
Oil for Deep Frying

Method
Mix all the Ingredients.
After Mixing, make a dough out of it.
Leave the Dough so that it can ferment(because of Baking Powder and Curd) for 6-7 hours.
Make Pedas (small round balls )out of the dough and make Oval shaped Rotis or Chapatis ready for Deep frying.
Deep fry the kneaded Rotis out of the dough.
Serve hot with Khatte Chane.

- Sonzy.

Tags: karahi, tikka masala, tandoori, indian curry, tandoor, chettinad, murgh, handi, naan, dal

Chicken Tikka Masala

July 12, 2008 | By sonzy In Recipes, cooking-tips, curry | Comments(0)

Chicken Tikka Masala : Everything you ever wanted to know about it.

Definition : chicken tikka masala , n. • mild curry dish of chicken in a tomato-based sauce, cooked tandoori style (in a charcoal-fired oven). Optional hefty dose of tartrazine lends luminescent orange glow. (As described by BBC)

Chicken tikka masala has a truly postcolonial history, produced when one of the world’s greatest cuisines found itself confronted by a British palette unused to anything spicier than table salt. Legend has it one obstinate diner demanded gravy on tandoori chicken. A bemused chef responded by adding tin of Campbell’s tomato soup and pinch of spices, unwittingly partaking in early example of fusion cookery.

" Chicken Tikka Massala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences. Chicken Tikka is an Indian dish. The Massala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in gravy. "

- Extract from a speech by British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook.

Facts and Figures about Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM)

Sainsbury’s sell 1.6 million CTM meals every year and stocks 16 CTM-related products including chicken tikka masala pasta sauce. Other derivations include CTM crisps, CTM pizzas, CTM kievs and Marks and Spencer’s famous CTM sandwiches (18 tonnes devoured every week).
A 1998 survey by Real Curry Restaurant Guide of 48 different CTMs found only common ingredient was chicken.
23 million portions a year are sold in Indian restaurants.
10 tonnes of Chicken Tikka Masala a day are produced by Noon Products destined for supermarkets.
Most schools and charities in Sylhet, Bangladesh are run by proceeds from its sales.
Chef Iftekar Haris from Newport, Gwent has written a musical in praise of it.
Organisers of Kingfisher National Curry Day claim that if all the portions sold in one year in UK were stacked they would constitute a tikka tower 2770 times taller than the Greenwich Millennium Dome.

Though there have been around 50 versions of the same dish, I give here a recipe how I would like it.

Ingredients

Part I.

2 lbs. boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup yogurt

3 t. minced ginger

3 t. crushed garlic

1/4 t. white pepper

1/4 t. cumin powder

1/4 t. mace

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. green cardamom powder

1/4 t. chili powder

1/4 t. turmeric

3 T. lemon juice

4 T. vegetable oil

Melted margarine (for basting)

Part II.
5 oz. tomato paste
10 oz. tomato puree
2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
2 t. ginger paste
2 t. garlic paste
2 t. green chilies
1 T. red chili powder
2 t. cloves
8 green cardamoms
salt to taste
3 T. butter
2/3 cup cream
1 t. fenugreek
2 t. ginger, julienned
honey to taste

Method

Whisk all of the ingredients in Part I together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes.

While doing this, make the sauce in Part II. Deseed and chop green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water. Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir. If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken.

Tags: roti, tandoor, handi, gosht, naan, indian food, indian curry, chicken, karahi, murgh

Making Paneer Softer !

July 10, 2008 | By kuntal In Recipes, cooking-tips | Comments(0)

A reader asked us a question which is quite common :

Q – Once while in singapore, i had an excellent paneer dish, where the paneer was so soft and melts in my mouth. How do I get this? Could it be the curdling agent (I always use lime/vinegar, but I’ve read that curd is the best agent). I’ve also tried frying the paneer, and soaking in water for a softer texture,but to no avail. How do I get that soft, melt in the mouth texture?

Paneer, Indian Cottage Cheese Kuntal answers :

1) Always use the full cream milk instead of toned milk for making your paneer as the higher fat content keeps paneer moist and soft.
2) Yes, curd is the best curdling agent but you can still use lime/ vinegar to curdle the milk for the paneer. Try using the whey (drained liquid of solid paneer) for curdling the milk.
3) When you drain the liquid and collect the solid content in a muslin/ cheese cloth, dip the content (paneer) in the ice-chilled water to stop overcooking and hardening. The chilled water lowers the internal temperature and retains the moisture inside.
4) Add the pieces of raw paneer, if the recipe demands, towards the end of the cooking process and avoid reheating your dish containing paneer.

Enjoy and take care.

Do you have any questions, or recipe-requests for our Chef Kuntal ? We would be glad to help.
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Simple Rice Kheer

Boondi Raita

Indian Bread : Bhatura

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala : Everything you ever wanted to know about it.

Definition : chicken tikka masala , n. • mild curry dish of chicken in a tomato-based sauce, cooked tandoori style (in a charcoal-fired oven). Optional hefty dose of tartrazine lends luminescent orange glow. (As described by BBC)

- Extract from a speech by British Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook.

Facts and Figures about Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM)

Sainsbury’s sell 1.6 million CTM meals every year and stocks 16 CTM-related products including chicken tikka masala pasta sauce. Other derivations include CTM crisps, CTM pizzas, CTM kievs and Marks and Spencer’s famous CTM sandwiches (18 tonnes devoured every week).

A 1998 survey by Real Curry Restaurant Guide of 48 different CTMs found only common ingredient was chicken.

23 million portions a year are sold in Indian restaurants.

10 tonnes of Chicken Tikka Masala a day are produced by Noon Products destined for supermarkets.

Most schools and charities in Sylhet, Bangladesh are run by proceeds from its sales.

Chef Iftekar Haris from Newport, Gwent has written a musical in praise of it.

Organisers of Kingfisher National Curry Day claim that if all the portions sold in one year in UK were stacked they would constitute a tikka tower 2770 times taller than the Greenwich Millennium Dome.