NorthIndianPlatter – Page 3 – The Secret Ingredient

Dinner

Anda Curry | Egg Curry with Aromatic Spices | Boiled Eggs in Flavorful Curry | Egg Curry Masala

By anshu April 30, 2015

Egg Curry defies the rule that eggs are only for breakfast. When boiled eggs are tossed in aromatic spiced curry it makes an incredible lunch or dinner option. All this while I was making egg curry without following any particular way.. simply make curry and throw in boiled eggs. I would sometimes cut eggs into half.. the yolk would mix with the curry and if I let the eggs be just like that they seemed bland. They were good but not extra ordinary. I knew there has to be a better way at making this curry amazing.

And as I was on the quest of finding a perfect recipe I spoke to a friend who guided me and asked to try a particular recipe of her’s. Ohhh Lord! the egg curry was beyond perfection. Apart from the method I followed the most scintillating part of the recipe was the curry. I used Eastern Egg Curry Masala which defined the gravy and made it finger licking.

Directions:
1. Boil eggs and peel their skin off. Make a plus intersection on the tip of the egg using a sharp knife. The cut should be gentle and should only open the top. Keep aside.

2. In a pan add cumin and cloves.

3. Also add peppercorns and dried coriander seeds. Toss them on medium low flame for a few minutes till the aroma starts coming. Put the flame off.

4. As the toasted spices cool down transfer them to a dry grinder or coffee grinder and and coarsely grind them. Set aside.

5. In a wok or karahi add Ghee or clarified butter.

6. Add a pinch of turmeric, salt and asafoetida.

7. Add the boiled eggs to the ghee and toss them gently on a low flame that they are evenly coated with ghee mixture and turn slight golden from all sides. We are basically shallow frying them so that their crust gets a little crunchy.

8. Transfer them to a plate. Look! you have to be careful while tossing I injured an egg 🙁

9. In a blender add tomatoes and make a smooth puree. Set aside.

10. Also make a smooth paste of ginger garlic and green chilies. Set aside.

11. In the same wok or karahi add dried red chilies and bay leaf.

12. Add the roasted coarse ground spice mix we made earlier.

13. Add chopped onions and saute them till they become soft and transparent.

14. Add salt, turmeric and red chili powder.

15. Combine everything and add ginger garlic chili paste. Saute till the raw smell of ginger garlic fades away.

16. Add tomato puree and mix.

17. Now comes the star of the recipe which is Eastern Egg Curry Masala. Add it to the masala.

18. Keep sauteing the masala till it has reduced and oil has separated from the gravy.

19. Add the eggs and coat them with masala without moving them much. Let them absorb the spice for a minute.

20. At this stage add water.

21. Cover with a lid and let it cook and reduce on medium low flame for good seven to ten minutes. Keep checking in between as to how much curry you will like.

22. My husband likes the gravy thick so it took me around 10 minutes to get this. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

23. Serve hot with Roti or even Naan or Kulcha .

You can try other dishes from Indian Cuisine like Dal Makhani, Shahi Paneer, Palak Paneer, Bharwan Karela and Dum Aloo

[whohit]EggCurry[/whohit]

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Dinner

Mushroom Do Pyaaza | Khumb Do Pyaaza | Mushrooms and Onions in Thick Gravy

By anshu March 29, 2015

khumbdopyaaza_featureda1

Mushroom or Khumb Do Pyaaza is a popular Indian Dish which uses Onions twice, hence the name. It has flavourful mushrooms cooked in aromatic spices in thick gravy. It tastes incredible with Roti or Lacha Parantha.

I am as it is a die hard fan of mushrooms. for me all mushroom dishes are special, be it Mushroom Lasagna, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Mushroom and Green Onions Pasta, Italian Frittata with Mushrooms and Spinach or Indo Chinese style Chili Mushrooms (I know that’s a lot of mushrooms :P)

khumbdopyaaza_featureda2

Coming back to the topic of Mushroom Do Pyaaza. I always had this dish in a fancy restaurant, where you cant have enough. So I decided to do this at home . I followed Ambikaji’s recipe. She is a fellow blogger like me and cooks very delicious food. I made a few minor tweak to her original recipe and it was a delight.

Directions:

1. Chop Onions, Garlic , Ginger, tomatoes and gently slit Green Chilies. Also cut two onions in large pieces and roughly separate their layers.Keep aside.

2. Wash and chop Mushrooms lengthwise. Keep aside.

3. In a wok add ghee or clarified butter.

4.Saute the mushrooms till they release their water and become soft and tender.

5. Once the water has absorbed remove them on a plate and keep aside.

6. In the same wok add little more ghee and add cumin seeds.

7. When the cumin seeds begin to sputter add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger and slit green chilies.

7. Add Bay leaf and one crushed cardamom.

8.Saute the onions till they become transparent and soft.At this stage add chopped tomatoes and continue cooking them till they become soft and gooey.

10. Switch off the flame and transfer the sauteed mix to a grinder. Make a smooth paste.

11. Transfer the smooth paste to the same wok and turn the heat on.

12. Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder and combine.

13. Add water and let it simmer for a few minutes.

14. Add cream and sauteed mushrooms.

15. Also add big chunks of onions and Kasuri Methi. Combine everything.

16. Let it simmer for another five minutes.Garnish with Garam Masala and Fresh Coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Rotis or Paranthas.

Other mushroom related recipes are Mushroom Lasagna, Italian Frittata with Mushrooms and Spinach or Indo Chinese style Chili Mushrooms. Kadahi Mushroom, Mushroom Biryani, Mushroom Matar, Palak Mushroom.

You can even try other Indian Recipes like Punjabi Style Dal Makhani, Punjabi Pindi Chole,Shahi Paneer, Palak Paneer.

[whohit]MushroomDoPyaaza[/whohit]

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Dinner

Punjabi Style Gobhi Danthal | Cauliflower Stem in Spicy Dry Gravy

By anshu January 29, 2015

Gobhi or Cauliflower is the most versatile vegetable after potatoes and found in almost all across the globe. In winters it is available in abundance in India. One gets tired of eating Aloo Gobhi or Cauliflower cooked with Potatoes so a variation is always welcome. Few days back I had posted recipe of Gobhi Manchurian. which is an indo-chinese way of cooking this nutritious vegetable. The interesting thing to note is that not only the cauliflower florets are used in cooking but the central stem holding the florets also makes such an amazing dish. My mother makes it and its absolutely delightful.Its one of my favourite dishes and I insist that you must try it in thick winters. Its also known as Vegetarians meat.

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You have to reserve and collect the stems or danthals when you cook cauliflower. The softer the stems the better the dish tastes. You can keep the danthals or stems in the fridge for two weeks and cook once you have enough danthals to get started. The other option is you can ask your local vegetable vendor to give you the stems. They will be happy to give away to you.

Directions:

1. You need atleast two full pods of Garlic for this. Peel the skin and keep the garlic cloves aside.

2. In a blender add garlic, green chilies, ginger and tomatoes and make a fine paste. Keep aside.

3. Remove the florets and take the central stem of the cauliflower. You can also use the hard shoots,ensure they are fresh. Wash them rigorously to remove all dirt.

4. Cut the danthals into half or if they are big cut them into fours lengthwise.

5. Put some mustard oil in the pressure pan. Wait till the oil starts to smoke out.

6. Put the tomato puree.

7. Also add the danthals and combine them with the puree.

8. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.

9. Also add garam masala and combine.

10. Close the lid and cook for 6-7 whistles or till it becomes soft and tender.

11. Garnish with Green coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Rotis and enjoy the most amazing vegetarian meat. Do not forget to remove the hard stems like bone 😉

You can even try other dishes from Punjabi Cuisine like Besan Kaddhi Pakore, Bharwan Karela, Dal Makhni, Langar Wali Dal and Dum Aloo.

[whohit]Danthal[/whohit]

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Dinner

Punjabi Style Kaddi Chawal | Besan Kaddhi Pakora | Gram Flour Curry with Dumplings

By anshu December 20, 2013

My mother is an incredible cook and the credit goes to her for taming me and making a good cook out of me. I learnt to cook out of need and never out of interest. But gradually that need became an enjoyment and lately a passion.

Last year when my parents visited me in Mexico, I made Kaddhi Chawal for dinner one night. Needless to say this recipe is my mom’s most famous recipe. When she started eating she paused and said “I cant say if its made by you or me”. That was the biggest compliment from my guru. I hope you try this recipe and enjoy.

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients for kaddi (not tadka) in a blender and add add only 1/4 of water and run the mixer to form a lump free liquid.

2. Pour this mixture in a large pot (ensure its very deep because on boiling it can spill) and add rest of the water.

3. Turn on the flame and let it boil for about 25-30 minutes. You must keep stirring it every minute and reduce the flame every now and then to stop the kaddhi flowing off the pot. Don’t be like me 😛 keep an eye on it. You can put it on high flame again and likewise keep repeating till about half an hour. Once you feel the kaddhi is cooked turn off the flame. The consistency of kaddhi will become less dense as the kaddhi cooks.

4. In a skillet/ pan add oil and let it heat for a minute and then add mustard seeds and cumin . Let it splatter for another half a minute. Ensure you do not over cook otherwise the taste changes.

5. Add Fresh kaddi patta and cook for additional half a minute. I do not have the luxury to have fresh kaddi patta in Mexico so i use dried coarsely ground kaddhi patta. It doesnt taste as strong as fresh leaves but something is better than nothing.

6. Add garlic and green chili and cook till garlic starts turning golden brown.

7. Now add this tempering on top of your kaddhi in the pot. Garnish with chopped coriander and garam masala. Keep aside.

8. For the pakora or fritters, in a frying pan pour oil and let it heat.In the meanwhile mix besan, onions, chilli, salt, red pepper powder and water to form a paste. It should not be very liquid.

9. With a spoon pour the mixture in heated oil to make fritters. Ensure you make small and thin fritters or pakora for kaddhi as they will not absorb a lot of kaddhi and there will be enough liquid.

10. Once you fry the fritters turning both sides till they acquire golden colour remove them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.

11. Put these pakoras/fritters in kaddhi and heat it for a couple of minutes.Your Besan Kaddhi is ready! Serve with Rice and enjoy !

Other popular and Lip smacking dishes from Punjabi Cuisine are: Bharwan Karela, Dal Makhani, Langar wali dal, Bharwan Tinda, Butter Chicken .

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[whohit]kaddhi[/whohit]

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Dinner

Shahi Paneer | Melting Cottage Cheese Cubes in Cashew Based Gravy

By anshu November 22, 2013

Shahi means Royal for the richness of its gravy. Honestly, I never tried making Shahi Paneer at home. I always had an idea that it is super rich and will invite calories. But this Diwali I wanted to make something for Dinner table which was different and little special for the occasion. I found a recipe to which I made some changes and it came out finger licking. Since then we do not fear calories and make it quiet often 😛 Its so delicious that you would want to make it for every special occasion.

Its better than they serve at any given restaurant. The richness of its gravy perfectly compliments with the soft cottage cheese cubes. Its creamy texture may malt your heart. Its my most sought after recipes which never fails me. I highly recommend that you use home made fresh paneer or cottage cheese for this to get amazing results.

Directions:
1. Soak cashews in water for at least 2 hours or overnight.

2. Chop Onions and tomatoes. Keep aside.

3. In a blender add ginger,garlic and green chilies and make a smooth paste. Keep aside.

4. In a pan put some ghee and add onions to saute till they turn golden brown.

5. Add the ginger, garlic and chili paste, mix well and saute till it is brown.

6. Add the tomatoes and saute for 6 to 8 minutes.

7. Cool the sauteed onion tomatoes and blend in a mixer along with soaked cashews to make a smooth puree.

8. Transfer in a deep pan, add 1/2 cup water and bring it to a boil on a slow flame.

9. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, coriander powder and salt to the puree and mix well.

10. Add cream, mix well and cook on a slow flame,for 5 minutes or till the gravy is thick.

11. Just before serving, heat the gravy and add the paneer pieces into it.

8. To make it taste just like restaurant add dried fenugreek leaves or Kasuri Methi to it and stir. Serve hot garnish with coriander.

Other Popular dishes from Indian Cuisine you can try are: Mughlai Shahi Paneer, Dal Makhni, Butter Chicken, Rogan Josh, Palak Paneer, Mushroom Do Pyaaza, Kadhai Mushroom.

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