Purple cabbage - what not to make?

Hi All -

I have officially hit a new low in experimentation. I went grocery shopping and got seduced by these bright-purple tight-bound cabbages. One part of me says "Wait, let's display some patience,  get a recipe and honorably buy this next time" - other part of me like a haughty wife refuses to listen and buys it never the less. And then for the rest of the week, I adoringly pride myself on my purchase - watch it with admiration every time I open the fridge to find something to eat but not select it for consumption as if it is a forbidden fruit. It is an asset no doubt - but it's use still evades me!

A week goes by..10 days gone..now my admiration is slowly turning into despair worrying that it's fate is not like some of the other less fortunate veggies in my pantry. This stunning beauty's destiny is also the black hole of my garbage can (literally, my garbage can is black - talk about disclosing too much detail in the current age of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare..every day a new social networking tool is enticing you to become "more" connected)! I have to eat it..but how?

A braveheart experience occurs - chop it into long slices with some red onions similarly sliced and lemon juice and a dollop of cheese-spinach dip (leftover from hubby's dinner of one night!) - well, not bad! BUUUUTTTTT, I will not eat it unless I am really hungry..since I had come back from gymn and regular dinner was still being cooked, I finished off half of this! The remaining half continued to languish in the cold frigid temperatures..am sure my fridge was gloating at that point "you thought you could get away, is it? Look who's back!" ;)

My nightmare - still three quarters of the purple cabbage remains! Time to resort to my base Indian cooking skills and see if I can still salvage my appetite for purple cabbage. So come Sunday evening and time to make dinner plans for the week, I go ahead and chop off the purple cabbage into tiny pieces and make a Indian-style cabbage curry with them! Since I was not hungry (or as I often am when there is nothing interesting enough to whet my appetite!), I had to put off "cherishing" it till Monday evening. Trust me, the suspense was killing me aside from the fact Monday blues with cloudy weather outside was not helping. Well, how did it turn out after all? Go ahead and ask that - if you have read through my entire monologue so far, may as well play along with me, eh? ;)

<< Rukawat ke liye khed hai..We will be right back >>

More in next post including a pic .. you better be back for that else ..
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Else what? There will be one less reader for that post! :p Have a great day and thanks for enduring through this timepass post! You really did not have anything better to do, did you? :)

Bhakri

Ingredients 
To make 12 small Bhakri 

2 cups Millet Flour
1 cup Hot Water
1 tbsp Salt
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder (to get the golden color)
1 Medium Onion
2 Red Chillies
1/2 cup Coriander leaves
A pinch Sugar

Method:

Mix all the ingredients.
Make sure water is hot when added.

Heat the flat pan.
Add a few drops of canola oil.
Drop a handful of the above mixture and spread it out.
In medium heat, let one side cook.
When done, it will easily separate from the pan and you can turn it over.
Let the other side cook for a few mins. It took approx. 3-4 mins per bread.

Top this off with some hot Garlic Pickle!

Prawn Masala

Prawn Masala - Looks dramatic like a Bollywood movie poster! ;)

We have only last year found this huge seafood market in DC and it has become our stop anytime we are in DC on a leisure ride. They have fresh as well as cooked crabs - some of the best I ever had. Dab them with some garlic butter and you are in heaven! This store is located in Water Street in SouthWest DC quite close to the Phillips Flagship Restaurant - their link is here. There are quite a few other nice seafood places closeby - got to try them someday!

So this time we went there, R found few jumbo Shrimp as well and we have now a new bar for "jumbo" Shrimps. I could only smell these beauties and have them in my list of items to be had next year when I break my fast! ;) Went ahead and made some Masala Prawns for R and he really relished them! When I first started cooking, think Shrimp was the first non-veg item that I got right - so any beginners out there, start with Shrimp - you are less likely to fail compared to cooking other non-veg items! So here we go with the recipe - enjoy the recipe and the pics! :)


Ingredients
Serves 3 or 2

Prawn - Big ones, 6

Sugar - a few pinches, for color
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chilli - 2
Dry bay leaf - 4-5

Onion-Garlic-Ginger-Tomato Ground Paste "Ba-ta Masala" * - 8 tbsp
Curry Powder - 6 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Turmeric - 2-3 tbsp, of which 1.5 tbsp will be used to marinate the Prawns


Crushed Tomato - 1 can
Potato - 1-2 (optional)
Canola oil - 2-3 tbsp

* My staple ground paste of onion-ginger-garlic-tomato consists of 2 onions, 5 garlic cloves, 1-1.5 inch ginger and 2 tomatoes. You can add some fresh green chillies as well, optional.

Method:

Marinate the Prawns with Salt and Turmeric. Keep it aside for 10-15 mins.
Lightly fry them in oil to get them half-cooked. It will later be fully cooked in the gravy.

If you are adding Potatoes, fry the Potatoes in some oil and fully cook them with some Salt and Turmeric Powder. It is a good idea to use the same pan for this dish so that you are not losing or throwing away the flavors of the Prawns.

Heat oil in a pan.
Add Sugar and let it caramelize - it gives the dish a nice color.
Add Cumin seeds, dry red Chilli, dry Bay leaf and let it roast lightly and add flavor to the oil. When the Cumin seed sizzles, that is a good indicator that the oil is ready for the ground paste ("ba-ta masala", as we Odiyas say).
Add the ground paste of Onion-Garlic-Ginger-Tomato.
When the paste is half-cooked, add the dry spices - Curry Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt and Turmeric.
Mix it well and let it cook for a few mins.
Add the crushed tomato and mix it well. Let it cook well.
Add the fried Prawns. Mix well and let it cook.
About 10 mins before stopping the heat, add the fried Potatoes and mix it well.

Prawn masala in preparation stage...how much longer? :p

R enjoyed his Prawn Masala with Chakuli. Recipe for Chakuli here.

Prawn Masala with Odiya Chakuli

Tandoori Cauliflower Fry

 

Ingredients

Serves 2

Cauliflower - 1/2, chopped into small pieces

Canola Oil - 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - as per taste

Dry Red Chilli - 2

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Shan Tandoori Powder - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - few sprigs

 

Method

Heat oil in Medium heat..

Add  Cumin seeds, Turmeric Powder, Salt, Dry Red Chilli, Chilli Powder and let it sizzle.

Add the Cauliflower florets. Stir fry to let it cook. 

As it is half-cooked, cover it to continue cooking. Keep watch so it does not burn.

As it is almost done, add Shan Tandoori Powder and stir fry in High heat. Just love the color this spice imparts...bright and absolutely enhances the flavors of this dish!

Garnish with fresh Coriander leaves.

 

Serve with Rice and hot Raita! Bon appetit! :)

Cha Cha Chakuli

After "not concentric circle" dosa post of last month, now is the time for some "concentric circle" Chakuli - a popular Odiya breakfast item! *~*

So light - you can easily finish off 4-5! :)

Long time back, I posted the Maida Chakuli here. I guess Chakuli and Dosa belong to the same family. Here's my take on the Chakuli and this is what works for me. Anytime I mention my recipe, someone or the other jumps in and tells me to do it slightly differently or using a different proportion for the batter - I have decided to not listen to anyone regarding this anymore. Coz everytime I do, my Chakuli's don't turn out good and I am left a angry frustrated person. And you don't want me anywhere near you when I am like this...hmmp! :)

Ingredients

Makes about 40 Chakulis! :)

Urad dal paste : Rice flour paste = 1:2 .. 1:4 depending on how "urady" you want it to taste
Crushed dry Methi 1 tbsp
Eno - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Water - to thin the paste slightly such that when you drop the paste, it should fall in one line from the spoon.

Method:

• Wash Ural dal clean. 
• Soak Urad dal with crushed dry Methi for half a day. Tip - Methi aids digestion.

• Grind it finely with the methi seeds included.
• Keep it aside outside (not fridge) covered for half a day. This will let it ferment. I usually put them in multiple containers and only take out the container I can finish in a day - it lasts for about a week.
• Mix rice flour with water and make a thick paste. Add little water at a time so that it does not become runny. As Maa says, making it runny and then adding extra flour to fix it will mess up the taste and texture.

• Take 1 serving of ural dal with 2 to 4 servings of the rice flour. This works perfectly for me than by using the pre-soaked forms of ural and rice and using their proportion! :)
• Add few spoons of water if you need to lighten it - the consistency should be such that when the skillet is in Medium heat, you get sufficient time to drop one spoon of the paste and spread it using concentric circles.

Chakuli Batter

• Continue in Medium heat cooking.
• Make sure the batter is in room temperature if it was in the fridge earlier on. Very important else it affects the texture of the chakuli.
• Few drops of oil (optional) - spread the batter using concentric circles and let it cook one side. Optional to turn it over and cook the other side - I do it to make sure it is cooked well as well.

If you were counting, "concentric circles" has been mentioned three times and that is the number of turns I usually get to do for my Chakuli! ;) 

Chakuli - View of both the sides ( Good to have the same in life too! ;) ) 

By the way, this tastes heavenly with a mix of White Sugar and Clarified butter aka Ghee (or as we Odiyas call it Ghia)! Both are sinful and in the list of things to avoid for many, including your's truly, but this is one combination I just cannot resist! Used to wait for and love this as a kid..still do! This also tastes great with spicy Mutton curry - try it! :)

On a side note, you have got to try the Magnum ice-creams - they are delicioso! Check them out - I love the double caramel and white chocolate flavor - it got over so soon! :(

Have a great day, everyone! :)

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Update on 04/13/2012:

This  goes to Divya's Culinary Journey's event "Let's Part Every Month" with this month's theme being "Breakfast". The event announcement page is here - check it out and send in your recipes if you are interested. This event was started by dear Surabhi and the event page is here. Check out all the wonderful posts the event has received!

Keema Cutlet

I can never go wrong with kababs - there is not much to mess it up, right?

When I was eating non-veg, my favorite weekend menu was Rice, Dal (lentils) and a meat Kabab with a crispy Papad - yummo! When I recommence non-veg eating on Jan 2nd next year, think this may be the first item I want to eat. Of course, other than Crab Curry and Whole Food's Tandoori Chicken Pizza with Mint Sauce! ;) Talking of my vegetarian resolve for this year, I am thankfully not craving meat as much as I had imagined I would. 3 months done - another 9 months to go - I can do it!

Was planning to send this post for "Cooking 4 all Season's - Kabab Mela" but I am way past the due date. Anyways, do check it out for a good collection of numerous kabab posts!

Enjoy the post...Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

Keema - 2lbs (Lamb\Chicken - both taste great!)
Onion - 2 large, finely chopped
Tomato - 2, finely chopped
Ginger - 2 tbsp, grated
Garlic - 4 tbsp, grated
Green chilli - 3-4, finely chopped
Shan Chapli Kabab mix - 1 packet
Salt - as per taste
Egg - 2
Fresh Mint - few sprigs, finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves- few sprigs, finely chopped
Canola oil - for shallow frying, a few tbsps

Method:

Make a paste of the all the above ingredients, except canola oil.
Heat canola oil.
Take a spoonful of the above paste and try to flatten it in the palm of your hand or in the pan.
Let one side cook before turning it over for the other side to cook.
Garnish with fresh chopped onions, sliced green peppers and slices of cucumber.

Sharing some recent pics of my Simei upma recipe which is regular weekend brunch item in my house. We love it - leftovers are convenient work-day lunch take-aways. Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Simei Upma

An even closer look at the Simei Upma

Fruity Custard

Custard used to a regular dessert item in my mother's kitchen. This also must have been the first dessert I ever made also. You can understand the sweet tooth that we Odiya's have from our dinner menu. Baba (my dad) is very health-conscious and likes to eat healthy and light for dinner. However, there has to be a sweet-dish on the side - every night. No exception to that.


Also as a kid, when I would hang out with friends, most of my friend's moms would make custard for us. This may be one of the safest item to make for kids - everyone likes it and you get to make them eat the fruits! ;)


When I went for my undergrad studies, we used to get custard often in our "mess" menu and special meals. It still intrigues me why dormitory kitchens and serving area are called "mess" - they could have been subtle enough and used a more "kinder" word for the ambience these dining areas provide :p Ok, let's get the mess picture out our head now and concentrate on the dish-in-hand! :)

Ingredients:

Milk - 5 cups
Custard Powder - 6-8 tbsp (I like mine thick - adjust as per your preference)
Ground Cardamom Powder - 1 tbsp
Condensed milk - 1/2 can
Sugar - 4 tbsp (adjust as per your sweetness preference)

Raisins - 1/2 cup
Cashewnuts (not salted) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1-2 tbsp

Chopped fruits (apple, banana, orange, grapes)
Rasagolla - a few (I use Haldiram canned ones)

Method:

Heat the milk.
As the milk warms up, add the ground Cardamom Powder, Condensed Milk and Sugar.
Take a few spoons of the warm milk from above and add to the custard powder in a separate container. Alternatively, you can use some warm water instead of the milk. Mix it well. This will ensure that the custard powder does not remain in lump form when you add it to the milk. Removing the lumps is quite an exercise by itself! :)
Add this mixture to the warm milk.

In a separate container, warm the butter and roast the raisins and cashewnuts. When done, add to the above custard mixture. Cool it down. I place it under the fan for 10-15 mins and then dunk it in the fridge for 30 mins or so.

Chop the fruits and the Rasagolla into tiny pieces a few mins before serving.
Serve a few spoons of the chopped fruits. Add the custard on top of it.

This is a trick I learnt from Maa - if you add the fruits to the custard earlier on, it will not last long and the fruits get mushy. This way, the fruits are crunchy when you eat. Prior to learning this, I used to add the fruits to the custard before putting it in the fridge - this is good only if you are finishing it off the same day.

Enjoy the dessert!

As I was playing around with my iPhone, clicked this pic which turned out quite good in "lighting". Yes, I know it is a lamp and it provides light ... was referring to the lighting for the photograph. :p Have a great day, everyone! :)