Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

ashu’s Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadilla

This morning I made these quesadillas for breakfast and as it is a much liked recipe in my house, I thought of sharing it here with you all. A few basic ingredients are a must to make this at home. We need ready Basil pesto and mushroom filling to make this. I have already shared my recipes of the Basil pesto (click here) and Mushroom filling (click here), check them as previous posts .

I first tasted quesadilla in Chili’s Restaurant in Dubai, something which I would love to eat regularly was the thought that came instantly to mind after the first bite. New food or menus that I loved eating outside first time always end up being tried in my kitchen and getting included in my regular cooking/menus. Like in most Indian houses, I too make fulkas or chapatis or parathas on a daily basis, and hence I prefer to make use of these instead of the Tortillas that I would need to buy from the supermarket for making this recipe. I prefer our regular whole wheat flour to make them. Chapati (without oil) that I make is just a bigger size of the regular  Fulkas that I make for our daily meals. (You can check my Fulka recipe here).

Before we start the recipe I would like to share that I prefer the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses more in my cooking over other cheese used by the specific recipes. I stock on the Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano, whichever I find available in the supermarkets. I have used the cheese that were stocked in my fridge.

Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS: (To make for 4)

Chapatis : 8

Basil Pesto: 4 Tbsp

Mushroom Filling : 1 Bowl (For recipe click here)

Cheddar Cheese slices : 6-8 slices (or you can use freshly shredded as per availability or requirement)

Parmesan Cheese: as per preference

Cooking Oil: 4 Tsp (use more if preferred)

METHOD:

Take 2 chapatis at a time and apply the basil pesto on both of them on one side each.

Basil Pesto and Mushroom filling and Chapatis to make the Quesadillas

Take 2 tbsp mushroom filling and spread it on one of the chapatis, cut the cheese slices in smaller pieces and spread over the filling, grate the Parmesan or Grana Padano cheese as per preference and cover it with the other chapati with pesto facing side and press firmly.

Basil pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

Heat a tava or pan and put these chapatis on it and press firmly with a wooden spatula so that both sides get roasted crispy, melting the cheese inside. We can make use of 1 tsp oil to make them crisper.

Press firmly and roast on both side

Use oil to make more crisp

Remove them from the pan once both sides are reddish and crispy. Cut them into fours and serve hot with more of the Basil pesto or they can be eaten as it is.

Cut the quesadilla into fours

Grate more of the cheese on top if preferred

We can even dry roast them and avoid using oil if we want, I did make some without using oil.

Roasted without oil

ashu’s Basil Pesto & Mushroom Quesadillas

You can make the rest of the quesadillas in this way, with or without using oil. Apply the pesto, mushroom filling, and cheese as per own taste and enjoy these healthy and delicious Quesadillas for any meal of the day.

Tip: You can even make use of any leftover chapati or plain parathas to make the quesadilla with any filling of choice.

I enjoyed writing this post and sharing my simple homemade recipes with you all, hope you enjoy trying it out.

Enjoy!

ashu

 

 

 

Tandoori Momos

Ashu’s Tandoori Momos

Any new dish or menu that I really like always invariably results in getting prepared in my kitchen. Do any of you readers share this habit of mine? Today’s recipe is one such new dish that I happened to taste this year.

I have already mentioned how Momos (click on it to see the momos post) happen to be a favorite dish in my household. And have also shared the fond memories of eating steaming hot momos in candle light, because their was a power outage, at the humble homely restaurant in Nagarkot during our Nepal tour in 2011, in that previous post. Do click on the link to read about that.

Now coming back to this post, I came across this word Tandoori momos in February of this year, and was quite intrigued and wondered what and how they must be. And just the following weekend I saw the name mentioned in a takeaway menu card of a local restaurant and immediately ordered them. They were the most amazing spicy momos I ever tasted. Momos, until then, that I always made at home were with no chili or spicy and just used herbs to season the meat or vegetables used. But the tandoori momos are The dish to eat if you like tandoori style cooking, I have simply fallen in love with this dish. I  highly recommend it if you have not yet tasted them.

The tandoori food like- tandoori chicken or fish etc sold in restaurants or eateries use the orange food color, but I do not use any color in my recipes and hence the color is not the typical orangy reddish that is so typical of tandoori chicken, but then homemade is always the best, with the freshest ingredients and always freshly made.

Today I share with you my recipe of the month –Tandoori Momos, I have made it per my taste preference. This might differ from any original tandoori recipe, but I am sharing here ashstyle cooking!! So here you go-Chicken Momo recipe, Tandoori style.

TANDOORI MOMOS (CHICKEN)

INGREDIENTS:

Boneless Chicken: 350 gm

GingerGarlic paste: 1 Tbsp

Green Chili paste: 1 Tsp or Red Chili Flakes: 1Tbsp

Chopped Green Coriander & Mint: 1 Tbsp

Salt: To taste

Refined Flour: 350 gm

Garam Masala: 1 Tbsp

Tandoori Masala: 1 Tbsp

Chaat Masala: 1 Tbsp

Cooking Oil: 2 Tbsp

METHOD:

Grind the chicken flesh with the ginger & garlic and green chili pastes. Or one can directly add the whole chili, ginger and garlic (2 small cloves of garlic, 1-2 green chili and small piece of ginger can be used) to the chicken and grind together. Add the salt and chopped coriander and mint leaves and mix well. Our momo filling is ready for use.

(ashuskitchen)Tandoori momo filling

Make a medium soft dough of the refined flour. We are not adding any salt to the flour, as we will be using the spices to coat. Make even-sized small balls of the dough and roll out a small circular puri.

(ashuskitchen)Tandoori momo outer cover

Fill the chicken stuffing and close the ends as shown in the picture. Make all the momos and keep ready. Do not forget to apply oil to the steaming bowl/plate in which the momos are to be steamed. This prevents the steamed momos from sticking to the bowl or one another after they are steamed.

(ashuskitchen) Chicken momos kept in steam basket

Steam the momos for 10 minutes in a steamer. If you are using a pressure cooker for steaming purpose, then do not keep the whistle.

(ashuskitchen)Steamed Chicken Momos

Take a small bowl and mix the garam masala, tandoori masala and chaat masala with oil. Apply this spice paste on each steamed momos and place them on a lined baking tray.

(ashuskitchen)Tandoori momos-The spice coated steamed momos

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C, with the oven & grill setting, and then bake/grill the momos for 25-30 mins or until they are baked. Over grilling might burn the outside coating, and hence do check them and use own discretion for oven time and remove once they look baked and grilled.

Do not keep the baking tray very close to near the grill as the intense heat from the grill might burn the top cover and the momo might be still half baked. Keep the tray in the middle shelf of the oven.

Vegetables and momos ready for baking/Grilling

I also made tandoori vegetables to go with this dish, our dinner menu that night in the last month, March month.

ashuskitchen- Tandoori momos (Chicken)

ashuskitchen- Tandoori momos (Chicken)

ashuskitchen- Tandoori momos (Chicken)

The spicy outer coat and the mildly seasoned chicken filling compliment each other and we get a taste that is the best and makes us reach out for more momos. We had a great dinner time in my household when I made these, though a couple of them did get a bit over grilled, resulting in a hard outer coat, but nevertheless it was a good meal time, all were finished, even the slightly burnt ones too 😁.

Ashuskitchen’s Tandoori Vegetables

Hope you all must have enjoyed the pictures and maybe you might like to give them a try. Do let me know what you think of the recipe in the form of your comments. Have happy mealtimes, and a great Sunday ahead.

Enjoy!

ashu.

Makar Sankranti Special: TilGul Satorya

Satorya- A Marathi recipe made on occasion of Makar Sankranti. It is puri with TilGul (Sesame seeds and Jaggery) filling.

We all know that January  is the first month of the English calendar, a month when all of us are geared up to bring in the new year with new goals, resolutions and lots of plans for the rest of the year.

In the Hindu calendar it is the month of Paush and it brings with it an auspicious harvest festival-Makar Sankranti. Different parts of India celebrates this harvest festival with different names, in Punjab it is called Lohri, in Tamil Nadu it is called Pongal, in Gujrat it is called Uttarayana, in Maharashtra it is called Markar sankranti etc.  It is celebrated on the 14th of January, but this year it happens to be celebrated on the 15th. It is the harvest festival and all the new harvest crops are worshipped and shared.  In Maharashtra, sesame seeds or Til and Jaggery or Gul that is made of the sugarcane is offered to the gods and shared with others in the form of sweets made of it. TilGul is given to all the family members and also distributed. The other harvest crops worshipped include green peas, carrots, sugarcane, ber, wheat, beans etc. In my house I have seen mother keeping all these crops along with tilgul as offerings or Prasad to the gods. Maharashtrian households do Makar Sankranti Haldi kumkum, a custom to invite married ladies and distribute these goods as ‘oti’ along with TilGul. The tilgul ladoo or laddu is very yum and it is very difficult to stop oneself from eating more than one. Both the til and gur are good for consumption in the winter season. Til is a good source of protein, and also rich in fibre , calcium, and iron. It is also used to make chutneys so that one can consume Til in our diet on a daily basis.

I have grown up eating tilgul delicacies that my mother made, she is an expert cook and a great foodie. I salute her enthusiastic spirit, is always lively, energetic, and ever ready to feed us her delicacies. Today on the occasion of Makar Sankranti I am sharing one of my aai’s (mother) recipe that I have grown up eating, always loved these puris, a grab it and munch along food relished so fondly

Madeira Cake, my birthday bake.

Ashu’s version of the Madeira Cake.

The month of October dawns with loads of anticipation, excitement and lots of parties lined up. Yup, for me this is one of the favorite months of the year. This unique individual was born in this month, happens to be the birthday month of my dad as well as sisters. In fact, their is a long list of family members celebrating birthdays in October. Thus this is a a month of celebration, and calls for a recipe to post as the cake -of-the-month!

For this mother, baking cakes and organizing birthday parties comes in stride as annual events that are looked upon with great eagerness. This birthday I took special efforts to bake a cake for myself, something that I am very much fond of eating. Since my trip to my motherland India, I had not baked cakes as frequently and hence was eager to taste my handmade cakes, and what better day to make than for one’s own birthday! I have taken the recipe from a cookbook and adapted it a little with regards to the taste. I believe each person is different and tastes differ and there is always room for little changes in any recipe. It is a rich, dense, buttery-tasting cake to which I have added the juice of one orange, that gives it an orang-y flavor that I liked. The top of the cake is layered with my choicest dried fruits instead of the fruit peels as per recipe. The whole process from assembly of the ingredients to the actual steps of baking the cake, fond memories of my late Dad, the self love and feelings of happiness, all resulted in quite an enjoyable process of baking, and not to forget the divine buttery aroma that engulfed my senses and made the wait for tasting it an exceptionally long one.

This birthday was special, the people connected to me, those who are far yet near, who love me made it special in their own unique ways. I feel blessed to have my wishes fulfilled and to be surrounded with people who make it special. My Jr. gave me some precious moments of the day that brought happy tears to the eyes. His effort in shopping gifts for his mamma brought to notice once again his excellent taste. My week long celebrations saw me enjoy different food preparations, something that is of interest to me. Arabic cuisine dinner, homemade South Indian snacks Brunch, Barbecue dinner and finally my wish of eating at my favorite chef Vikas Khanna’s restaurant Junoon at Shangri La Hotel, Dubai. It was a notable eating experience at Junoon. Chef Vikas Khanna with his humble and down to earth quality has won over many hearts, and to experience the most friendliest and excellent service at his hotel be it the dish presentations, the taste, the different flavors creating a riot, the food cooked to perfection, the ambiance all that made the eating experience worth the money spent. Thanks to dear hubby who made this birthday dinner my most special and memorable evening. I loved the open kitchen concept of this restaurant and the friendly staff was well aware of the numerous ingredients that went on to make those special dishes on the menu.

Arabic cuisine

South Indian dishes made by me for friends

@Absolute Barbecue

Birthday special Dessert for me from Junoon Restaurant, Dubai.

Let us get ready to bake this Madeira cake. It is a simple, tasty and a good choice of cake for serving with tea, dense, and quite similar to a pound cake. The ingredients used are as per my taste with modifications from the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter: 180 gm (Unsalted, softened)

Grated Orange Rind- 1 Tsp

Orange: 1 (Juice)

Sugar: 150 gm (little less if you prefer less sugar)

Eggs: 3

Refined Flour: 225 gm

Baking Powder: 1 1/2 Tsp

Mixed dried fruits of choice: 50 gm (Finely chopped)

Sliced Almonds:  25 gm or (as per own wish)

(I used a mix of dried apricots, cranberries, figs, raisins, and a red cherry)

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C (Fan assisted). Grease a square tin and keep ready for use. (Line with parchment paper, as it is easier to remove the cake.)

Sift the refined flour and baking powder together.

Beat the softened butter and sugar together using a hand mixer. Then add the orange rind and juice of the orange. I used orange rind instead of the lemon as per the recipe. Mix until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating batter for sometime.

Fold in the flour with the batter mixture. Pour into the greased and lined baking tin. Bake for 10 min and remove tin from oven and sprinkle with the dried fruits mix and again return the tin to the oven. Bake for 35-40 min or until done, a needle inserted into the batter should come out clean.

Cool the cake in the tin for sometime then remove and let it cool on a cake stand or wire rack.

Sprinkle or arrange the dried fruits on top of the cake and bake till done.

Enjoy this delicious buttery delight with hot cups of tea or coffee, or as a dessert after meal.

NOTE: As I baked it the previous night of my birthday, the picture quality is not very great, do bear with me.

I hope you would like baking this sweet delight and enjoy it as much as I did. It was nice to share with you all a few memories of the extended birthday celebrations. I chose this day to post in remembrance of my late dad who was fond of the cakes that I baked for him. All feel the loss of the dear departed ones, but moments like these make us relive the old memories that one shares with them. While baking the cake I had thoughts of my dad with me and was recollecting our old October celebrations, and made a small heart-shaped cake too along with the square one, one mine and one dads. I cut this one when my friends visited for the birthday brunch.

Heart shaped cake for myself 🙂

Have a wonderful day dear readers.

ashu.

Prawn Curry with Fresh Coconut

Prawn Curry with Fresh Coconut

In continuation of this months Goan Special seafood curry, I am posting my Prawn Curry recipe that uses fresh coconut.

For a seafood lover, the local fish market here is a delight, with an array of local and from abroad varieties of all types of seafood available for purchase in a single market. The display is so clean with all different fishes stacked neatly in the rows of shops/stalls that are numbered. The visit is always mind-boggling, difficult  to decide on what variety to purchase, and most visits end up in huge amount of seafood purchases. The family has no complains as long as they are getting to eat different dishes with interesting recipes.

For this recipe I always use either the small or big-sized prawns. The size of the prawns decides the ingredients added to the gravy, hence the preference. The small prawns are more sweetish in taste, hence the choice. It is a simple gravy, addition of just few ingredients makes it so delicious, a perfect blend of all the different flavors.The prawns and fresh coconut add the sweet taste, the Kokum adds the sour taste to the dish, and the chilies add the spice.

INGREDIENTS:

Small Prawns: 500 Gm

Fresh Coconut: 1/2 coconut (1 Katori grated coconut)

Onion: 1 Small

Red Kashmiri Chili: 3-4

Kokum: 3 pieces

Garlic: 4-5 cloves

Cumin: 1 Tsp

Red Chili Powder: 2 Tsp

Turmeric Powder: 1 Tsp

Garam Masala: 1 Tsp

Salt: To taste.

Cooking Oil: 2 Tbsp

Ingredients for Prawn Curry with Fresh Coconut

METHOD:

Soak the Kokum and Kashmiri red chilies in hot water for 10 min.

Wash, clean, peel and devein the prawns. Apply pinch of turmeric and salt to the clean and towel dried prawns and keep them in the fridge.

Kokum and Red Chilli soaked in water.

Grind the soaked chilies, fresh coconut, onion, garlic, cumin to a fine paste, add water if required to get a fine paste of the masala.

Heat a kadai or pan on the gas stove and add the cooking oil. Then add the paste of the masala and fry till it is cooked. The add the turmeric, red chili powder, and salt and cook till the oil is seen at the edge of the kadai.

Fry the masala till the oil is seen on the edges and then add the prawns to the pan.

Add the prawns and mix with the masala and cook with a lid covering the pan for 5-7 minutes. Then add the soaked Kokum and little water, the quantity added depends on the thickness of the gravy that is desired. Half a glass water would be sufficient to get a thick gravy. Use your judgment to add the required amount of water.

If more water is added to the masala then let the water in gravy boil so the masala gets mixed properly and the gravy consistency is not too thin. Do not keep the gravy boiling on the stove for too long as the prawns tend to become hard and rubbery if cooked for long.

Sprinkle the Garam masala on the gravy and then empty the contents in a serving bowl. Garnish with finely chopped green coriander.

Serving Options: The Prawn Curry can be served with roti/fulkas, hot steamed white rice, or Malvani vade.

Prawn Curry with Fresh Coconut served with hot fulkas/roti and Kokum Kadi and roasted papad, with helpings of steamed rice, my Malvani special weekend Lunch menu.

Ashu’s Malvani Special Weekend Lunch menu, the picture above, also includes fried fish either Surmai (click for-Kingfish Fry) or any other variety.

Click here for finding out how to roll roasted papad.

Click here for other prawn recipe on this blog.

I always enjoy meals that include this Prawn curry, sharing here gives me the opportunity to give you all the same experience. Happy cooking and enjoying your hand cooked meals, friends.

Wishing you all a pleasant day.

ashu.

Mini Madeleines

Mini Madeleines and blue berries for breakfast.

Madeleines, small French cake that taste similar to sponge cake. The mould is special that gives them it’s unique shape, which I find to be very cute and hence I always wanted to bake them. The delay in attempting to make these beauties was because I never had the mould in my stock of baking utensils. This week I finally saw a mini madeleine Silicone mould in one of my favourite shop and immediately purchased it. Returning home I made my first batch of Madeleines following the recipe that was included with the packaging. It was a first attempt and I was hungrily waiting to taste the result of my efforts, I had never even tasted them before. The kiddos were delighted with the cute looking spongy madeleines and they were over in no time. I did manage to arrange them in a flower shape to click pictures before they all disappeared from the plate, and I liked the look. As the madeleines got finished, I made a second batch and the pictures taken are used here. As I had never tasted them before, I tried following the recipe steps mentioned. Refrigerating the batter before use makes them spongier, and gives a rise in the middle, and that is how they should be is what I read on some celebrity chefs sites. These cakes taste the best when freshly baked, I had made them for breakfast, and some left over blue berries were also served. I loved the fresh fruit and cake combination. They can be eaten as is or along with Nutella for the chocolate lovers or any types of fruit jams. These are just options that I am mentioning, but I liked them hot, straight out from the oven and without adding or spreading anything on top of it. Most of the recipes I browsed used 3 eggs, but I have used only two eggs as I do not like too much of the eggy taste. Little bit of milk could be used, though the recipe does not include that. Most of the time the recipes I mention are modified and as per my taste preferences.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter: 90 gm

Eggs: 2 or 3

Sugar: 90gm

Refined flour: 100gm

Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp

Vanilla Essence: 1Tsp

OPTIONAL:

Zest of Orange: 1Tsp

Tightly packed brown sugar: 2 Tbsp

(Note: I used 2 eggs and little milk as I do not like too much of egg taste in the cake. Use 3 eggs for more soft and fluffier cakes.)

Assemble all the ingredients needed for the recipe.

METHOD: All the ingredients used should be at room temperature. The refined flour and baking powder should be mixed and sieved together.The butter should be melted. The oven should be preheated to 190 degree Celsius. The mould should be greased with butter and dusted with flour so that the madeleines do not stick to the mould.

Greased and dusted madeleine mould ready for use

Take a bowl and crack the eggs in it. Beat the eggs using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla essence and mix with the eggs and beat well to get a smoother mixture. This should be done for almost 4-5 minutes or till the mixture becomes very smooth.

Smooth mixture of eggs, sugar and essence.

Fold in the sifted refined flour and baking powder mix into the smooth egg and sugar mixture. Pour the melted butter from the side of the bowl and lightly fold into the batter.

Melted butter and flour mix batter.

Cover the bowl of the batter with a cling wrap and put in the fridge for an hour or two. Then, using a spoon, fill into the prepared mould. Put the mould inside the preheated oven and bake at 190 deg C for 10 min or until a slight golden colour is seen on the risen cakes.

Baked madeleines

I baked them a little longer than 10 minutes to get a more darker golden colour, but I felt some of them got over baked. The exact time for baking depends on the oven used, hence use self discretion for deciding when to remove or if it needs to be baked a little above 10 minutes. Mine were mini in size and the batter that was leftover went back to the fridge until I baked the second round. They take very little time to bake and if the batter is kept ready in the fridge then they can be freshly baked and served with hot cups of tea or coffee.

I find this to be an easy and handy bite size cake recipe that could become a favourite of the kids and hence would definitely ask my friends, readers, and fellow bloggers to give this dish a try.

I loved and enjoyed baking and eating them😊.

Happy baking!

ashu

Kothimbir Vadi or Coriander Roll

Kothimbir Wadi or Sambar Vadi: We call it Sambar Vadi in my household. All of those who are familiar with this snack would know how tasty it is and eating one wadi is never enough, we always eat more than one. I remember mother used to buy 1-2 kgs of the green coriander, patiently clean the bundles, wash the leaves, dry them and then finely chop them. The dry coconut needed to be grated. The onions needed to be finely chopped. Uff, that was too much of work to do. These were my thoughts in childhood  and I had made up plans then that I will never ever attempt to make this, I never ate the inside coriander filling during childhood so it was beyond me to understand the trouble mom undertook to make this. But things do change over a period of time as we grow, the eating preferences to some extent for me. A foodie does go the extra length to satiate the taste buds, provided it is something that one likes a lot. I am sure you all would agree that the taste of the food cooked by mothers always stays with us forever.

Growing up in a big family with specific recipes associated with particular festivals, time or season remain as fond memories. With ever shrinking family size, one might not indulge making certain dishes. The company of elders make us relive those eating moments, mom’s visit allowed me this privilege. The month gave me the opportunity to not only be under her loving care but also allowed me to meet the woman she is, whom I have always admired. The experiences and rigors of life transforms lives and make them what they become. It was overwhelming to see my mom, even at age 77, so full of enthusiasm and abundance of energy to enjoy each days moments. Her zeal for adventure, the spirit to explore and learn, to still keep caring and loving and giving, even now, when she should be the one receiving it, to still be so positive in spite of the situations and above all to lead a life that still makes a difference in other people’s lives makes me salute her, and I feel it is a blessing to be her daughter. Her strong persona gives strength in life’s weak moments. I loved each moment being with this amazing woman, my mother. I just wonder whether at her age I would be that active and zealous, I know not. But I would do my best because Yeah, I owe it to her.

Now it is time to start cooking this yummy snack from the state of Maharashtra in India. Reading the recipe you would come to know that it is not an instant dish, but does need some pre-preparation and a bit of efforts to make. But trust me, it is definitely worth trying and eating. We do get this ready-made in snack shops, on menus in hotels, but I can say the homemade ones are always the best. Though I make this every winter season or even otherwise when the taste buds crave, but I have to mention that my mom’s Sambar Vadi is the best for me. I have tried to make it as much like hers, but due to unavailability of some essential ingredient I have not added that. The post is essentially posted with the intent that the recipe needs to be saved for the next generation kids of my family. Happy cooking 😃!!!

KOTHIMBIR VADI:

INGRIEDIENTS:

Green Coriander: 400 gm (in weight after cleaning and chopping)

Onion: 1 Big

Green chilies: 4-5 nu. (finely chopped)

Fresh Coconut (grated): 1/2 to 3/4 of a fresh one or 150-200 g if dried one used. (one could use the dry grated coconut too instead of fresh)

Cumin: 1 Tsp.

Carom Seeds: 1 Tsp

Garam Masala: 1 Tbsp

Gram Flour: 250 gm

Rice powder: 1 Tbsp

Oil: For frying

Turmeric: 1 Tsp

Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp

Salt: To taste

METHOD: Prepare the ingredients. Clean the coriander bunch, wash thoroughly, then dry the leaves and then finely chop the green coriander. Grate the coconut and keep ready for use. Chop the chilies, onion and keep ready.

Cleaned, washed, dried and then finely chopped green coriander.

Heat the pan, put half the quantity of the chopped coriander and give it toss or two and remove from the pan and keep in a bowl. This is just done for a minute or so, to remove the raw taste.

lightly tossed coriander.

In the heated pan add 1 Tbsp cooking oil, then add cumin, chopped chilies and fry. Then add the chopped onion and cook till they are pinkish in color and are cooked. Once done then empty it on a plate and let it cool.

Fried in little oil until cooked.

Once the heated coriander cools, add to it the remaining chopped coriander that is raw. Add the cooked onion and chili to this mix. Add the turmeric, grated coconut, salt, and 2 Tsp of garam masala powder. Mix all these ingredients well so that the spices are evenly coated. (For more spice one can add red chili powder as per taste) This mixture is the filling.

The coriander filling.

In a bowl take the gram flour, 1 tbsp rice powder, add salt as per taste, carom seeds, 1 Tsp red chili powder, and 2 Tsp oil and add water to make a tight or stiff dough. Cover and keep it for sometime and then knead well. Make even- sized small balls and roll out puri’s. Apply garam masala paste (mix the garam masala powder with little water) on the puri and then put 1-2 Tbsp of filling in the center. Fold the sides and seal the ends. Little water can use used to seal the sides, if required. The ends should not open while frying in oil.

Make the puris and place the coriander filling.

Heat oil for frying in karahi. Fry the rolls until they become crisp and then remove and drain on a tissue roll. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Kothimbir Vadi or Coriander Roll.

These were the only pictures that I could click, the wadis had a very crispy outer coat (adding more oil to the gram flour results in the outer coating becoming very crisp), but mom liked them. I wish you all to give it a try if you are fond of making something new.

Enjoy! Happy Wednesday.

ashu.

Kibbeh- Recipe of the Month.

KIBBEH a dish that was first tasted in an Arabic Restaurant with lot of curiosity, a bit hesitantly as  I was not sure of the variety of meat that it was made of. Reassurance from the waiter that it was indeed lamb meat made me give it a try.

Early start of this year brought home the sad news about my dad’s demise. It was a dreaded news that I  would always worry about every time I left my motherland. Dad’s absence leaves a vacuum within, as apart from being my dad he was a great friend too. It was always a cherished moment to discuss about anything with him, to share my dreams and aspirations. The sad part is that I cannot share my blogging experience with him and I miss his thoughts on each and every post that I have written so far.  As he was fond of lamb mince, I have been posting and sharing my lamb mince recipes every month with you all, as making these dishes in my kitchen are my moments with him, his memories, cherishing all the good times that we spent together. To continue with this journey I bring here my Recipe of the Month, a middle eastern dish-KIBBEH.

To share a bit about my cooking experience of this dish. I made this dish for my hubby’s birthday this year, a new first time trying out of the recipe.  I searched the internet for information on how it is prepared, and gave it my own personal touch. As no chilli was added the first time, my first mental note was to add the chilli to the list of ingredients the next time I made it. This time when I was making it for the recipe of the month post, I have added the spice and chilli that I use at home and gave the dish my own personal touch. The final dish was devoured as soon as I kept it on the plate. It is a fantastic recipe, try and give yourself the gratifying moment!!

KIBBEH-MY RECIPE OF THE MONTH:

KIBBEH- This is a dish found in Middle Eastern countries. The main ingredients are Bulgur wheat (cracked wheat), lamb mince, onions. This is a deep fried dish, that has a soft filling of meat along with pine nuts. The onion in the dish imparts a sweetish taste, lamb the meaty taste, and the pine nuts  impart the nutty taste, all together making it a very different and unique tasting experience.  I have added chilli flakes and garam masala to make it a more spicy hot taste, more perfect for our taste.

INGREDIENTS: 

Bulgur wheat-3/4 bowl (75g),

Onion-2 Medium-sized,

Lamb mince-300 g,

Pine nuts-50 g,

Cumin -1 Tsp,

Chilli flakes- 1 Tbsp,

Garam masala- 1 Tsp,

Pepper powder- 1/2 Tsp,

Salt- to taste,

Cooking oil- For frying.

METHOD:

1. Soak the Bulgur wheat in water for 20-30 min.2. Drain the water from the soaked wheat and press it hard to remove all the excess water. Water should be completely removed from the soaked wheat.

3. Roughly chop the onions. Grind the soaked wheat, chopped onion, cumin, half of the chilli flakes, and 150 g of the lamb mince in a mixer pot. It should form a dough-like mixture. If need be one can add ice cubes when grinding the mixture.

4. Heat a fry pan on the gas stove. Add 1-2 tsp cooking oil and then add cumin. After that 1/2 finely chopped onion and sauté. Then add the chilli flakes, garam masala (ground spice powder), salt and the lamb mince. Mix all the ingredients  and cook till the meat is done. (All water should be dried out)

5. Dry roast the pine nuts lightly in a frying pan. When the meat is almost cooked, add the roasted pine nuts to it, mix well , and use this as the filling.

6. Brush the palm with water and take a spoonful of the dough-like mixture, form a ball. Using a finger make a pocket in the dough ball for adding the  pine nut and minced meat filling.7. Close the pocket after adding the filling and pressing with both hands give it a shape as show in the picture.8. Make all the Kibbeh and keep in a plate to fry.

 9. Heat oil in a Karahi and dip the Kibbeh into the oil, taking care not to spill the oil on the hands. Deep fry them to get a nice golden brown colour and a  crispy look. 10. Serve hot with any sauce of choice.

It is always a pleasure to serve food that my family loves to eat.  Wishing you all happy trying out this recipe of mine and I would love to hear your thoughts and your cooking experience of this recipe.

Tip: One could make and keep the Kibbeh in an air tight box and freeze to fry later as required. This way they will be handy and readily available to be taken out from freezer and fried as required.

Enjoy!!!!

Stuffed Lamb Mince Tikki

When we have foodies in the house, inspiration for making new dishes is always in abundance. This dish was one such idea of mine, mixing some left over pizza toppings to make the filling and a new dish got created and served to the family, which was well received.

Today, I present this as my RECIPE OF THE MONTH- STUFFED KHEEMA TIKKI/PATTIE:

 

INGREDIENTS:

Lamb Mince- 250 g

Cheese: Shredded cheese (I used Mozzarella)-2-3 Tbsp

Bell Pepper- 1/2, finely chopped

Olives- 1 Tbsp

Sliced Jalapeno Peppers-1-2 Tsp (I used the pickled ones)

Breadcrumbs: 1 Bowl (100g approx.)

Semolina-2 Tbsp

Green Chilli & Mint & Coriander paste-1 Tbsp

Oil- 2 Tbsp

Salt- To taste

FILLING/STUFFING: Bell peppers/shredded cheese/Jalapeno peppers/olives- All vegetables finely chopped. Mix all these together in a bowl.

METHOD:

1. Take the finely chopped bell peppers, olives, jalapeno peppers and shredded cheese in a bowl and mix it together. Keep this mixture ready to use as the stuffing.
2. In another bowl take the mince meat and add the green paste, the breadcrumbs, semolina & salt.
3. 
4. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl to form a meat dough, it should be firm.
5. Divide the meat dough into 8-10 small lemon-sized balls and then press firmly on the palm to flatten it out. Give it the shape of a basket to add the stuffing to it.
6. Scoop a spoonful of the filling into the mince meat basket and close it. Firmly press with both hands to form a round ball.
7. 
8. Roll the ball in breadcrumbs and lightly press to give it a tikka or pattie shape. Take care the filling in the pattie is tightly packed so that it does not open up in the fry pan when cooking.
9. 
10. Heat a non-stick pan on the stove, add 1 tbsp oil. Put the pattie/tikka on the pan, cook on both sides till it is golden and crispy in appearance.  If required, a little oil can be added to the pan after turning over the patties.
11. 
12. It is best to cook on a medium-to-slow flame,  this will ensure the meat gets cooked.  Cooking on high flame results in the outer coating getting cooked fast, while the inside is still uncooked.
13. Remove the cooked pattie from the pan onto a kitchen tissue so that the excess oil gets soaked up in the tissue.
14. Serve the hot pattie with tomato ketchup or chilli sauce.
15. 

 

If you love cooking and trying out your hand at something new, then do try this out. I am always excited to try experimenting with ingredients and making something grand so that the family has to say ”Wow, this looks amazing, can we try”! Eagerly awaiting to know your thoughts and comments on this dish.

Enjoy!