Coriander Mint Rice

The other when Jaya shared this recipe with me, she assured me that it is a handy recipe that can be readily made on those lazy or busy days. A recipe that calls for just a few ingredients, very less time and the end result....the feel of having had a flavorsome biriyani. Yes, you read it right, that was exactly the feeling we all had at home after having this delicious rice. A green coloured rice which tastes somewhat like a biriyani, but doesn't require all that long procedure of making a biriyani. The fusion of the green herbs with the spiciness of the green chillies and tanginess with a dash of lemon, makes it taste great, accompanied with a chicken curry or paneer curry. Thank you Jaya for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups basmati rice
a handful of coriander leaves
a handful of mint leaves
3-4 green chillies (you can add more if you prefer more spicy)
4-5 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons ghee
salt to taste
Method

• Boil the basmati rice in plenty of water with salt until 3/4th cooked. Drain and keep aside.
• Grind the coriander leaves, mint leaves, garlic, ginger and green chilies into a fine paste.
• Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the grinded paste and stir fry in a medium flame until the raw smell of garlic is gone.
• Add the cooked rice to this and mix well.
• Add the lemon juice, mix well and remove from flame.
• The rice is ready to be served hot with some spicy chicken curry or any other curry of your choice.

* A pinch of garam masala powder too can be added at the end for that perfect biriyani taste. I didn't add, as I liked it as such:))

Desi Biscuits

 Ingredients

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup ghee

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon curd,beat until smooth

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon green cardamom powder

½ teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

• Sift flour with baking soda and keep aside.
• Beat ghee with baking powder until soft.
• Add sugar gradually and beat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add cardamom powder, ginger powder, salt, vanilla essence, curd and mix well.
• Fold in the flour and knead to form soft dough.
• Roll the dough into 1 ½ inch thickness and cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter.
• Give shallow cross cut at the centre and sprinkle some cardamom powder on top of it.
• Place the cookies in a baking sheet 1 inch apart.
• Bake at 160 degree Celsius for 15-20 minutes.

Ivy gourd/ Kovakka Masala

Watch how to make it  here

 Ingredients
 250gm ivy gourd/kovakka/tindli
1 onion chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced thin
1 teaspoon sliced ginger
1 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek/uluva/methi powder
1 cup thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

Method

• Cut each ivy gourd lengthwise into thin slices. 
• Heat in a pan and fry the sliced ivy gourds until it turns to a brown color.
• Remove the pieces with a slotted spoon .
• Now to the same pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and saute well. You can add one tablespoon of oil, if required. Saute this well until the onions turn golden brown.
• Low the flame and add the chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and fenugreek powder and fry well until the raw smell of the spices goes.
• Add the fried ivy gourd and salt. Mix well.
• Add the thin coconut milk, mix well and cover and allow this to cook on a low flame for 7-8 minutes.
• Add the thick coconut milk and mix well.
• Add the vinegar and sugar and mix well. As it begins to boil switch off the flame.
• Serve hot with chapatis, phulkas or nan.

Lasagne/Lasagna

At times my son turns out to be very health conscious.  He gets into a strict diet plan. He is a great fan of Italian food. ‘Vanellis’ is one of his favorite joints. I really used to feel sad when he used to avoid his favorite lasagnas and pastas. The thought of his increasing weight used to scare him… lol!!!!! How does he know that it’s his chubbiness that makes him soooo cute!!!!So I decided to make him some homemade lasagna to ensure that he remains to be my cute chubby brat.. also,I thank our dearest friend Sujit for sharing this recipe with me…..For all the cuties out there!!!!!

For the Ragu

400 grams kheema (I used frozen kheema)

2 onions finely chopped

2 carrots finely chopped

4-5 chicken sausages chopped (I used frozen Sadia chicken sausages)

500 grams chopped tomatoes (I used pomi chopped tomatoes)

1 can tomato puree

4-5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 table spoon vinegar

3 cloves garlic crushed

A pinch of nutmeg powder

1 teaspoon black pepper (can vary the amount as per your taste)
2 tablespoon chopped parsley

Salt to taste

For the béchamel

500 grams full fat milk

50 grams flour

50 grams butter

Salt to taste

A pinch of nutmeg powder

¼ tsp pepper powder

1 packet lasagna sheets

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup or more parmesan cheese

Method

• Cook lasagna sheets in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.
• Drain sheets and rinse with cold water and keep separate.
• Heat olive oil in a pot.
• Add chopped onion, carrot, garlic and sauté until it turns brown.
• Add chopped sausages and stir for 3-4 minutes on high flame.
• Add chicken kheema and stir for 4-5 minutes to make it brown.
• Now add the tomato puree and chopped tomatoes along with enough salt, pepper, nutmeg powder, bay leaves,oregano,vinegar and some water.
• Let it boil on low flame for 30-45 minutes. (Don’t forget to stir in between)
• After 30-45 minutes turnoff the flame and add chopped parsley.

To make béchamel

• In a pan pour milk,butter,salt pepper and nutmeg.
• Cook on low flame and once the butter melts add in the flour at once.
• Stir vigorously so as not to make lumps.
• Continue stirring until it thickens and then turnoff the flame
• To assemble, spread ragu in the bottom of a 9”baking dish.
• Arrange lasagna sheets length wise to cover all the sauce.
• Put more ragu and béchamel sauce on top of the sheets and spread plenty of grated parmesan cheese
• Repeat the procedure until you finish all the sheets.
• The top layer should be ragu, béchamel, parmesan and mozzarella.

• Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
• Finally grill with a flame on top for 10 minutes until it turns brown.

Chilli Mushroom Stir fry

A very easy and quick dish which can be made in a jiff and tastes awesome.On a day when I was running out of vegetables and didn't know what to cook, I tried this out with the ingredients that came in my hand, not knowing what the outcome would be. But believe me this was liked by all at home and what remained was the demand for more:) So made it again the next day as a sandwich filling in a tortilla wrap , but this time in vegan version..yes, skipped the chicken and it still tasted awesome!!
So, for all my vegetarian friends, you can skip the chicken and make this dish with mushrooms alone too. Enjoy!!
Ingredients
400 grams whole small mushrooms(canned)
200 grams  boneless chicken, cut into strips
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
salt to taste
2 tablespoon oil
1/2 red bell pepper sliced into 1 inch strips
Method

• Heat oil in a wok.Add the ginger and garlic paste.Saute well. Reduce the flame and add the chili powder and mix well(take care not to burn the chili powder).
• Add the mushrooms and chicken and saute well. Cook covered for 10 minutes on low flame or until the chicken is cooked.
• Open the lid and add the bell pepper, black pepper powder and salt and stir fry for 2 minutes on high flame.
• Add the tomato ketchup and continue to stir fry on a medium flame until the mushrooms and chicken get roasted well.
• Serve hot with any bread of your choice or you can even use this as a filling for a wrap or sandwich roll.

Dark Choco Biscuit Squares

Dark Choco Biscuit Squares

Ingredients

200 gram marie biscuits,crushed

½ cup black raisins

400 gram cooking chocolate (I used 52% dark chocolate)              

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

200 gram fresh cream

Fresh fruit slices for garnishing                                             

                                                                                                  

Method

• Crush biscuits in a bowl.
• Mix vanilla essence with it and add raisins.        
• Heat cream in a heavy bottomed pan on very low flame.
• Add chocolate pieces to it and stir well until it melts.          
• Turn off the flame.
• Mix half of the chocolate sauce with the crushed biscuits,just enough to bind the mixture nicely.
• Line a 7”tin with aluminium foil and put the mixture into it.
• Press and level it with your hands.
• Keep in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
• Once the bisuit layer is well set,pour the remaining sauce on top of it and level with a palatte knife.
• Keep it back in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
• Cut into 2”square pieces and garnish with any sliced fresh fruit of your choice 

Mangolicious Pear Smoothie

 Ingredients

1 ripe mango peeled and cut (I used alphonso mango)

1 ripe pear peeled and cored

½ cup milk, chilled

3 tablespoon sugar

4-5 ice cubes

Method

• Blend mango,pear,milk ,ice cubes and sugar until smooth.
• Garnish with chopped mango and pear.
• Serve chilled.

Swahili Chicken

Ingredients
8  chicken drumsticks
6 garlic cloves, crushed
4 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
8 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes
100 grams yoghurt, whisked
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Remove the skin from the chicken drumsticks and place them in a mixing bowl.
• Mix all other ingredients and pour it over the chicken.
• Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and keep this to marinate in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.
• Oil a flat baking dish and place the chicken in a single layer on the dish and bake in a preheated oven(150 degree Celsius) for 50 minutes.
• After 50 minutes, cover the dish with foil and place it back into the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes more.
• Serve with  plain boiled rice or pita bread.

Bread Upma

Ingredients

6 bread slices cut into squares

1 onion chopped

1 small tomato chopped

2 green chillies chopped

1 small piece ginger chopped

2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon  split urid dal

few curry leaves

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

salt

1 tablespoon oil

Method

• Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard and add the urid dal.
• Once the urid dal browns, add the onion, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves and saute until translucent.
• Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder,salt and coriander leaves. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy and oil starts to leave the sides of the pan.
• Add the bread pieces and stir fry until the masala coats all the pieces and the bread starts to brown here and there.
• Remove from flame, garnish with more coriander leaves and serve hot with a glass of sweet milk.

Pork Vindaloo

Vindaloo is a traditional Goan dish.The term vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese dish ‘Carne de Vinha d’Alhos ‘The term ‘Vin’ stands for vinegar and ‘alho’ means garlic in Portuguese.

This is a regular dish on my Mom’s Christmas menu. We can’t resist the aroma of this dish once my Mom starts off with it. Here goes the recipe for you all.

Ingredients

1kg medium fat pork cut into small cubes

2 medium onions chopped

Salt to taste

3-4 tablespoon oil

For Vindaloo masala

1-1 ½ tablespoon kashmiri chili powder 

1 tablespoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

2”ginger chopped

6-8 cloves garlic

2 -3 shallots

4-5 cardamom

4-5 cloves

3”cinnamon stick

1 ½ tablespoon mustard seeds

6-8 black pepper

¼ cup vinegar

Method

• Pressure cook pork with salt and water.
• Grind the vindaloo masala to a fine paste without adding water and keep separate.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan
• Add onions and sauté until it turns light brown.
• Add in the vindaloo masala paste and continue sautéing until it gives off a very nice aroma.
• Add the cooked meat and mix well until the meat is well coated with the masala.
• Cover the pan and cook for a few minutes under low flame.(you can add extra vinegar and salt if required at this stage)
• Remove the cover and stir under high flame until the gravy reduces to a thick consistency.

*Pork vindaloo always tastes better the next day. The longer you store it, the better it tastes.

Unakka Chemmen Chammanthi/ Dried Prawns Chutney

My kitchen welcomed a new member the other day. This traditional beauty is the inventor of all grinding equipments. Inspite of all other modern facilities that have replaced her, the taste that evolves from her is simply irreplaceable. A cute version of our traditional 'ammi kallu - grinding stone' has been installed in my kitchen counter. Now this chammanthi was made using this ammi kallu and I must say the taste was simply awesome. Though I have made this many a times before it was all made in the blender and so there was a specialty to it this time.

Ingredients
3-4 tablespoons of dried prawns(very small ones) or around 20-30 dried prawns
4 tablespoons of grated coconut
3-4 whole red dried chillies
4 shallots
1/2 inch ginger piece
few curry leaves
salt
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Method

• Dry roast the prawns for 3-4 minutes on a medium low flame. Take care not to burn them.
• Grind the prawns with the remaining ingredients, except the coconut oil into a thick paste without adding water.
• Drizzle coconut oil and serve with steaming rice.

Kunafa/Kunafe

The secret of success in life is eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.-Mark Twain

A call of celebration rings in the air.Yes, Droolsss is back with our first post for the month of June but its a special one to us as this is our 100th post.

 We were wondering and pondering on what should we post as our century hit. Celebrations always are welcomed with a punch of sweetness. An enormous list of sweet delicacies ranging from cakes, puddings, cookies,cheesecakes to our very traditional Indian ladoos flashed through our minds. In the glimpse of a moment it struck to us....why not we try the famous Arab sweet, Kunafa, which is most beautifully captioned the queen of Arab sweets. This caption very well suits this beautiful sweet with its richness of butter, cream, cheese and beauty of the orange kunafa dough saturated with the sweetness of sugar and rose water syrup. Its indeed a heavenly sweet .This will be a sure hit in your homes as it was/is in our home. All in our family say a big yes, to this sweet whenever we plan to buy this. At home it was a first try and lol it was a grand success.Once in a while we can have such rich sweets at least when you are in a mood for celebration, as we are today. For those of you who tend to linger with a guilty feel of heavy fat consumption take an extra one hour workout tomorrow 

So here goes our 100th recipe.

Ingredients
500 grams frozen kunafe pastry(thawed one hour prior to cooking)
500 grams ricotta cheese
400 grams mozarella cheese
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and hot
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons rose water
4-8 drops orange food colour
1/2 cup ground pistachio, to garnish
For the syrup
3 cups sugar
21/2 cups cold water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons rose water
Method
Make the syrup first and allow it to cool.For making the syrup, dissolve the sugar in the measured amount of  water and bring it to a boil on a medium low flame. Once it starts to boil add the lemon juice and allow to boil for 12 minutes. Add the rose water and vanilla extract and heat for 30 seconds more. Off the flame and allow to cool.
Mix the food colour in 4 tablespoons of melted butter and grease a 12 inch round baking pan with this coloured butter.
Chop the kunafe pastry(the kunafe pastry comes shredded resembling vermicelli) in a food processor in batches of four until you get  coarsely shredded kunafe pastry.

Pour melted butter little by little into the shredded pastry and mix with your fingers so that the butter coats the pastry strands well but it should not be soggy(The entire quantity of butter mentioned will be required or else the pastry will stick to the pan while cooking).
In another bowl mix the cheeses well. Sprinkle the sugar and rose water and mix well.
Layer half of the shredded pastry on the prepared baking pan and press into the pan well.

Spread the cheese on top of this and press well.

Finish off the top layering with the remaining shredded pastry and press well again.
Bake this in a preheated oven(180 degree celsius) for 30- 35 minutes or until the top attains a slight golden colour.
Remove from the oven. Give the pan a gentle shake so that the pastry separates from the sides. Now invert the hot kunafe into a serving platter.
Pour the prepared sugar syrup all over the kunafe and garnish with coarsely ground pistachio.
Cut into your desired shapes and serve.