Aloo Paratha

A paratha is an Indian Flat Bread. It is made by pan frying wheat flour on tava. Parathas are stuffed with vegetables like potato, cauli-flower, radishes and paneer. The paratha can be round or square or triangular. The stuffing is kept in the middle and the flatbread is closed around the stuffing like an envelope. It is usually served with yogurt and pickle. It is a staple breakfast for a large number people in India. But, parathas don't go well with high oil content foods such as curries. Make a wholesome meal with this special Indian Bread.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

For the Dough
1 cup of Plain flour (Atta)
1 tbsp. oil
Water for kneading

For filling
2 Large potatoes boiled and peeled
4-5 Green chillies finely chopped
1 tbsp. coriander leaves
Salt and red chilli powder (according to taste)
Oil / butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mash the potatoes.
2. Add chopped coriander leaves and green chillies. Mix well.
3. To this mixture add all the spices and again mix well.
4. Divide the dough to small balls and roll them out.
5. Put the mixture over it.
6. Roll it into a paratha.
7. Cook on tava with little ghee until light brown and serve hot.
8. Serve with chutney or pickle or fresh curd.

Note :

In the hot weather add salt to the mixture of potato only when you are about to prepare the parathas.

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Green Chutney

Green chutney is a chutney named after its color. It is a great accompaniment to many chaat items. It can also be served with samosas as a dip sauce, along with dhoklas and stuffed parathas. The chutney adds a great taste when used as sandwich spread. Mint adds freshness to this chutney. The lemon juice enchances the flavor and prevent discoloration of the fresh green leaves. It can be stored for a week under refrigeration. You may prefer to omit the onion and make the chutney as a thick paste. This can be served with curd rice, fried rice, etc..

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Mint leaves, chopped
1 cup Coriander, chopped
1 large Onion, sliced
1 or 2 lemons (juice)
5 Green chillied
Salt to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Grind the ingredients into a blend using little water.

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Khajur Imli Ki Chutney

The all famous sweet and sour chutney eaten with snacks like samosas and pakodas.This sweet and sour chutney blend is used in almost all snacks. The secret ingredient that makes the chutney sweeter is jaggery. You may omit it if you prefer a more tangy flavor. This is an essential accompaniment to most chaat items. This chutney can be stored refrigerated for a month and deep frozen for more than six months. Dates and jaggery makes the chutney a healthy side dish. Pungent and quite wonderful Indian dish.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Dates (Khajur) ,deseeded
1/4 cup Tamarind (Imli) ,deseeded
1 cup Jaggery (Gur), grated
1 tsp. Chilli powder
A pinch asafoetida
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash the dates and tamarind.
2. Add them in a pan.
3. Add the jaggery, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt.
4. Pour 4 cups of water and simmer for twenty minutes.
5. Let the mixture cool down and strain the mixture.
6. Refrigerate and use as required.

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Fresh Garlic Chutney

Fresh Garlic Chutney is mandatory in any chaat. It is used for cooking in many Indian (especially Maharashtra and northern Karnataka) and Pakistani homes. The aroma of garlic is unmistakable. Its used in chaat items like Bhel puri, Papdi chaat, etc ... Soaking garlic in hot water makes it easier to peel them. To prevent discoloring of fingers and having the garlic aroma, apply oil before you peel the garlic. Make this chutney in large quantities. If refrigerated it stays well up to two weeks.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Garlic Cloves,peeled
1 tsp. Chilli powder
1/2 Lemon (juice)
Salt to taste


DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender with 1/4 cup water and gring to a fine paste.
2. Before using dilute with water and use as required.

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Bhel Puri

This is the most commonly sold chaat in the streets of Mumbai. Almost every street has its own friendly bhelwala with his inimitable blends of chutneys and masalas.Bhel is a delectable combination of papadis, puffed rice, sev, onions, potatoes, raw mango and chutneys.The proportions of the various chutneys can be changed to adjust to your personal preferences. Toast the puffed rice to make bhel crisp before using it to make bhel.If you store the puffed rice, sev and papadi and refrigerate or freeze the chutneys, you can rustle up a heavy snack in a jiffy for your hungry kids returning from school.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups Puffed rice
1 cup Sev
20 Papadis
1/2 cup Chopped onions
1/2 boiled potatoes,chopped
2 tsp. fresh Garlic chutney
8 tsp. Khajur imli ki chutney
4 tsp. Green chutney
1 tsp. black salt
1/2 lemon (juice)
Salt to taste

For the garnish:
1 tsp. raw mango finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp. carrot grated (optional)
4 tsp. Sev
2 tsp. chopped Coriander

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put the ingredients in a bowl and mix all the ingredients together.
2. Add the Sev and coriander for garnishing.

Note:

• Prepare the chaat just before serving.

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Chicken Chettinad

Chettinad is the historical name of the place in and around Kaaraikudi in Tamil Nadu. It's famous for architecture of houses and spicy food. Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in India. Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spicies used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosai, appam, idiyappam, adai and idli. Chettinad Chicken would be a feast for non-vegetarian lovers. Its spicy taste goes well with Indian breads.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
1 lbs Chicken
8 Curry leaves
2 Onions (medium sized - finely chopped)
2 tsp. Oil
2 cups water
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves (finely chopped - for garnishing)
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp. Chilli powder (optional)
1 tsp. lime juice (optional)

For the Paste:
10 Shallots (small onions)
1/2 tsp. Black pepper corns
2 tsp. Poppy seeds
8 Red chillies
1/4 cup grated coconut
1 tsp. Coriander seeds
1 tsp. Cumin seeds
1 tsp. Fennel seeds
1 inch Cinnamon (broken)
1 Clove
3 tsp. Ginger and Garlic (finely chopped)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash the chicken with a pinch of turmeric powder added to the water.Keep it aside.
2. Roast all the ingredients for the paste in a little oil except ginger and garlic. Allow them to cool and make a paste along with ginger and garlic.
3. Heat oil in pan (Kadai) and fry the chopped onion till golden brown.
4. Add curry leaves and the ground paste and fry till the paste turns slightly brown.
5. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till the oil leaves the sides.
6. Now add the chicken pieces and fry for sometime.
7. Add salt and water.Mix well.
8. Cover and cook till the chicken is tender.
9. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Note :

• Chilli powder can be added after adding the paste.
• Lime juice can be added at last before serving.

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Paneer Tikka

If there's one thing you'd want to make and serve to your guests without thinking twice, its Paneer! Paneer is a firm Indian cheese which soaks up the flavor of the marinade and keeps its shape when cooked. The mild, milky flavor of the paneer goes well with tandoori masala.It makes a good starter for an Indian meal or you can do smaller portions on cocktail sticks for party finger food. Soft, juicy chunks of paneer marinated in Tandoori masala and then grilled with veggies! This is a great dish to serve at your next barbecue.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENT:


For the marinade:
4-5 Cloves garlic
1/2″ Piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp. Red chilli powder
1 tsp. Punjabi garam masala or Tandoori masala
1 tsp. Cumin, roasted and ground
1/2 Cup curd (plain yoghurt)
Oil
Juice of half a lime
Salt

For the tikka:
400 gms Paneer, cubed
2 Red onions, halved along the equator, sectioned
1 Capsicum
Few button mushrooms
1-2 Tomato , sectioned into eighths

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a blender or food processor mix all the marinade ingredients.
2. Pour the marinade into a large bowl.
3. Put the paneer cubes into the marinade and refrigerate covered for upto an hour.
4. Add the prepared vegetables to the marinade 10 minutes before assembling the skewers.
5. Turn on the broiler. Alternatively, you can roast them over coals.
6. Assemble the tikkas by skewering the marinated paneer and vegetables, and broil for 5 min. Turn the skewers around and broil again till the paneer and the vegetables are spotted with black.
7. Serve hot with a mint-coriander-green chilli chutney and a twist of lime if desired.

Note:
If you don’t have skewers (and round ones are a waste anyway – the vegetables and paneer just keep slipping into the same position), just spread everything on a foil-covered baking sheet and broil.

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Mango Rice

Mango... I can say without any hitch or hesitation that mango is my favorite fruit. If you like Mango, then you will love this recipe. Mango Rice is also known as "Maamidikaya pulihora" is a popular festival recipe prepared on Telugu New Year. The sweet and tangy rice is very simple to make and takes very little time. This mango rice recipe is a unique and delicious way of combining the mango ( King of Fruits ) with rice. Mangoes are available during summer season. Its one of the "Variety Rice" special of South Indian Food.

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Boiled Basmati Rice
1/4 Cup Mangoes roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Grated Mangoes (Without the skin)
1/2 tsp. Chana Dal
1/2 tsp. Urad Dal
1 tsp. Mustard Seeds
3 Red Chillies (Dry)
6 Curry Leaves
A pinch asafoetida
A pinch turmeric
Oil
Salt


DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil and add chana dal.
2. When it is turning brownish, add mustard seeds and urad dal.
3. Add curry leaves,red chillies,pinch of turmeric and asafoetida.
4. Fry for a minute.
5. Now add the grated mangoes and fry for few minutes till they become soft.
6. Add salt according to taste.
7. Add the rice and mix well.
8. Garnish with the roughly chopped mangoes and serve hot.

Note:

• Red chillies can be replaced with green chillies.
• 1 tsp. of grated coconut can also be added.
• Even Ground nut can be added for taste.
• Add coriander leaves for garnishing.

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Kozhukattai - A South Indian Delicacy

Kozhukkattai (Mothagam in Sanskrit) is a famous South Indian Sweet. It is usually prepared on "Ganesh Chaturthi" or the birthday of Ganesha (the elephant-headed god of wisdom and prosperity).It falls on the fourth day of the Hindu month Bhadrapada around August - September. He is the son of Shiva and Parvati. Mothagam is his favorite sweet. Kozhukattais are steamed rice balls with sweet coconut stuffing. Its a mouthwatering dish. There are many varieties of kozhukattai of which coconut stuffed kozhukattai is the "King of Kozhukattais".

RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS :

For the stuffing:

1 cup fresh grated coconut
3/4 cup (250 gms approx.) grated jaggery
1/4tsp. cardamom powder

For the outer shell:

3 cups rice
2 tsp. Coconut oil or any other cooking oil
3 tsp. ghee
1 tsp. milk
A pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

The stuffing:

1. Fry the grated coconut in a pan.
2. When the coconut becomes dry add the grated jaggery to it.The jaggery will begin to melt.
3. Mix them well until the contents leave the side of the pan.
4. Remove from fire and add a pinch of cardomom powder.

The rice flour coating:

1. Soak the rice in water for a minute and spread it in a large plate or sheet for it to dry.
2. When there is little moisture in the rice, grind the rice into flour (smooth).
3. Heat a pan and add 2 tsp of oil.
4. Add 1½ cups of water, 1 tsp. milk and pinch of salt and boil.
5. Once the water boils,remove it from fire.
6. Pour the boiled water slowly into the rice flour and keep mixing the rice flour until it turns into a smooth batter without lumps.

To prepare kozhukkattais:

1. Knead the rice flour dough well.
2. Take a lime sized portion and form into a cup or small circles.
3. Smear little ghee on your finger tips to make it easier to handle the dough.
4. Put a smaller size ball of the coconut stuffing inside and close from all sides and pinch the ends together.
5. Repeat the same procedure, till the dough is used up.
6. Apply little ghee on the plates of the steamer.
7. Steam the kozhukkattais in a steamer for ten to fifteen minutes.
8. The kozhukattai is ready to be served.
   

Note :
If banana leaves are available, place the kozhukkattais on the banana leaf and steam.

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