MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

MUSHROOM PEPPER FRY

Mushrooms are a rich source of protein and I make it a point to make some mushroom dish or the other from time to time. The easy availability of white button mushrooms has made this possible. Needless to say, I think all these dishes are delicious and you will find recipes for some of my favourites like Achari Kumbh and Mushroom Chettinad here in this blog.

The addition of freshly ground pepper powder gives an altogether different taste to the cooked mushrooms in this Mushroom Pepper Fry. The spice level can be adjusted as per your taste.

Ingredients:

• Button Mushrooms, 200 grams,
• Capsicum, large-sized, 1 
• Onion, large-sliced, 1 
• Green Chilli, slit diagonally, 1 
• Chinese Garlic, 3 pods
• Ginger, 1/2 " piece
• Curry Leaves, a sprig
• Black Pepper Corns, 3/4 tsp, or as per taste
• Oil, 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Lemon Juice, 1 tsp 
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 1 tbsp, for garnishing

Method:

Wash and clean the button mushrooms and pat them dry. Slice the mushrooms. Keep aside.
De-seed the capsicum, chop it into cubes and keep aside
Slice the onion and keep aside
Finely mince the garlic and ginger. Keep aside
Prepare freshly ground pepper powder from the black pepper corns. Keep aside.
In a heavy-bottomed kadhai, add oil and heat it. When it gets hot, add the minced garlic and saute for a few seconds, till you get a good aroma, taking care it does not get burnt
Add the sliced onion, minced ginger, slit green chilli and curry leaves and saute for a few minutes
Next add the capsicum cubes and saute on medium flame stirring continuously for a couple of minutes. Ensure that the capsicum remains crisp without getting over cooked.
Add the sliced mushrooms, and salt to taste. The mushrooms will leave water.
Cook covered on medium flame, stirring from time to time, until the water is fully absorbed and the mushrooms become soft.
Sprinkle the freshly ground black pepper powder and the lime juice and mix well
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with chappatis

CORIANDER LEAVES RICE

CORIANDER LEAVES RICE

There are times when you are left with cooked rice and you wonder how to put it to profitable use. I have found it a big time saver to make different types of rice using cooked rice which is readily available. You will find a number of recipes for these dishes in this blog including Maavinkayi Chitranna or Raw Mango Rice and Curry Leaves Rice. They are useful additions to the lunch box or a quick packed lunch.

Today, I'll share how I make another dish using cooked rice and coriander leaves called Coriander Leaves Rice. Coriander leaves are called Kothambari Soppu in Kannada. I hope you will enjoy this dish.

Ingredients:

• Coriander Leaves, 1 cup
• Cooked Rice, 4 cups
• Ginger, chopped, 1" piece
• Garlic Pods, 3
• Green Chillies, 3-4
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Jeera, (Cumin Seeds), 1/2 tsp
• Onion, large sized, 1
• Salt, to taste
• Lime Juice, ( Juice from a small lemon)
• Groundnuts, for garnishing, 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash the coriander leaves and slice the onions. Keep aside.

In a mixer, grind the coriander leaves together with chopped ginger, garlic pods, and green chillies to a fine paste, using just the required amount of water. Keep aside.

Roast the groundnuts in a little oil, and keep aside,

In a kadhai, heat oil. When it gets hot, add the jeera and when it sizzles, add the sliced onions and saute till they are translucent

Next add the ground paste and cook till the raw smell goes and the excess water evaporates

Add the cooked rice and salt to taste

Mix well to ensure that the cooked rice is evenly coated with the ground paste and that there are no lumps formed

Squeeze the lime juice and mix well

Serve hot, garnished with roasted groundnuts

MOONGPHALI KI CHUTNEY (PEANUT CHUTNEY)

MOONGPHALI KI CHUTNEY (PEANUT CHUTNEY)

I associate tea time with a nice, hot cup of tea with a snack to go with it. If you are looking to make a quick yet nutritious snack at tea time, you can consider making Oats Moong Toast.

I found another delicious combination when I made toasts with Moong Phali ki Chutney ( Peanut Chutney) adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor Khazana's YouTube version.

You can either lightly toast the bread as I did or make plain sandwiches. To enhance the health factor, you may like to use brown bread.

Ingredients:

• Roasted Peanuts,  1 cup
• Coriander Leaves, 1/2 cup
• Small Green Capsicum, finely chopped, 1 
• Garlic Cloves, 3-4
• Green Chillies, chopped, 2-3
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp

Method:

Roast the peanuts, allow them to cool and de-skin them. Keep aside.

Wash the coriander leaves and keep aside.
Finely chop the green capsicum. Keep aside.

In a grinder, combine the roasted peanuts with the coriander leaves, finely chopped green capsicum, chopped green chillies, and garlic cloves.

Add salt, to taste and 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

Mix these well and grind to a chutney consistency adding just the required amount of water
Apply the chutney on lightly toasted bread slices
Serve with a hot cup of tea!

AVANASA SASAM :

AVANASA SASAM

A typical Konkani dish generally served during weddings and festivals is the Avanasa-Ambe Sasam which is a sweet and spicy side dish of pineapple ( Avanasa in Konkani) and mangoes (Ambe in Konkani) prepared in a base of coconut masala with mustard seeds ground in it (Sasam.)

This is the ideal combination but at times we make this with mangoes alone or pineapples alone.

You will find the recipe for the Ambe Sasam here. Since the mango season has not yet begun, I made Avanasa Sasam recently with just pineapples and seedless grapes. You can use either jaggery or sugar in making this dish. I have chosen to make this today with sugar.

Naturally, the amount of sugar you add will depend not only on your individual taste but also on the sweetness/sourness of the pineapple you use.

Today is a joyous occasion for us Konkanis as it is the festival of Samsar Padva or our New Year, also celebrated as Ugadi and Gudi Padva. My best wishes go out to all of you who celebrate this joyous occasion.  Also, I am pleased to share that today is the second anniversary of this blog, "Cooking With Shobana." Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. Over the last two years, this blog has had over 249,000 page views and it's Facebook Page now has nearly 3100 likes.

Ingredients:

• Pineapple, 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups
• Seedless Grapes, 1/2 cup
• Sugar, 4 tbsp, or to taste
• Coconut Gratings, 1 cup
• Roasted Red Chillies, (Byadgi variety), 3 
• Tamarind, small seed size
• Mustard Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Ghee, 1 tsp
• Salt, a pinch

Method:

Cut the pineapple into small pieces. Transfer to a vessel, add sugar and a pinch of salt and boil for about 4-5 minutes. Allow it to cool. Keep aside.
In a kadhai, heat a teaspoon of ghee. When it gets hot, add the mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Keep aside.
In a mixer, grind together coconut gratings, roasted red chillies, tamarind, and the spluttered mustard to a coarse paste, adding required amount of water. Ensure that the paste is fairly thick and not runny.
Next, mix the coarse paste with the pineapple pieces
Add the grapes and mix well. There is no need to boil the sasam.
Some choose to season with mustard and curry leaves at this stage. I prefer it without the seasoning.
The sasam is ready to be served. This tastes delicious when served chilled also.

TENDLE TALASANI: A STIR FRY OF WHOLE IVY GOURD

TENDLE TALASANI: A STIR FRY OF WHOLE IVY GOURD

I share today one of my favourite Konkani recipes, that of "Tendle Talasani." Tendle is the Konkani word for Ivy Gourd, which is called Thondaikai in Kannada, Tindora in Hindi and Tondli in Marathi. A "talasani" is a stir fry in which no water is used and the vegetable is cooked in oil.

The secret of making a good Tendle Talasini is to choose tender ones and discard those which are even slightly ripe. Also, you should slightly crush the whole ivy gourds without breaking them up or smashing them to a pulp. This helps them absorb salt and garlic and adds to the flavour and taste of the dish. I still continue the age old practice of lightly crushing the tendle individually by using a mortar and pestle.  There is no need to add any water as the talasani tastes best when cooked wholly in oil.

Ingredients:

• Ivy Gourd/Tendle, 2 cups
• Red Chillies, broken into two pieces, 3-4
• Garlic pods, crushed, 10-12
• Oil, 1 to 1 and 1/2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste

Method:

First, wash the tendle thoroughly then snip off the two ends

Lightly crush the tendle by using a mortar and pestle or a rounded stone. The secret is to crush them whole without smashing them to a pulp.

Apply salt to the tendle and set aside for about 20 minutes

Squeeze out the tendle  as the salt applied to it leaves a little water. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai and when it gets heated, add the crushed garlic pods

Allow them to fry and when they turn golden and you get a good aroma, add the broken red chillies.

Fry till the chillies are crisp

Now add the marinated tendle  and cook on medium heat keeping the dish covered

From time to time, stir the tendle
Once the tendles are cooked, remove the cover, check for salt  and add salt only if required
Allow it cook for some more time till the tendle get evenly roasted

I prefer to cook them a little longer as we like to have the tendle well roasted.

KADHAI PANEER WITH BELLPEPPER

KADHAI PANEER WITH BELLPEPPER

Elsewhere in this blog you will find recipes for Paneer Chettinad and Paneer Jhalfrezi. Today, I would like to share the recipe for another popular paneer dish called Kadhai Paneer with Bellpepper.

I made this recently and it tasted great!

Like any other dish, there are several ways of making Kadhai Paneer. I prefer to shallow fry the paneer pieces on a tawa before mixing them with the masala while some like to deep fry the paneer. Likewise, some also fry the capsicum but I prefer not to do so- to retain their natural crunch. I also did not use fresh cream mentioned in the original recipe.

This recipe has been adapted from Kadhai Paneer with Peppers from my friend Sushma Mallya's blog, Authentic Food Delights.

I guess I like this dish so much as it has some of my favourite veggies like capsicum and tomato to complement the taste of the paneer.

Ingredients:

• Paneer, (Cottage Cheese), 200 gms
• Tomato, large-sized, 1
• Capsicum, large-sized, 1
• Oil,  1 tbsp
• Jeera (Cumin Seeds), 1/2 tsp
• Green Chillies, slit, 1-2
• Onions, 2
• Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tbsp
• Haldi (Turmeric) Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder, 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder, 1 tsp or to taste
• Cumin Powder,  1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Garam Masala Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp

Method:

Cut the paneer into cubes. Shallow fry them on a tawa and keep aside.

Puree the tomato in a blender and keep aside

Chop the capsicum into cubes and keep aside

Chop the onions and keep aside

Heat oil in a kadhai and when it is hot add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add slit green chillies and saute

Add the onion and fry till they become translucent

Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell goes
Next, add the tomato puree and fry for 2 minutes

Now add the spices ( turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder) and salt

Mix well and fry till the oil separates

Add the capsicum cubes and the paneer cubes

Sprinkle garam masala and mix well so that the paneer and the capsicum cubes are well blended with the masala
Cook till the capsicums are done, without over cooking them.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves

Serve hot with rotis, paranthas or kulchas

FRENCH BEANS AND GARLIC

FRENCH BEANS AND GARLIC

They say that our Indian version of "Chinese" cooking is really not authentic but perhaps more of what may be called "Indian Chinese." Be that as it may, we love it!! Some recipes that I have tried and enjoyed include Hakka Mushrooms, and Spring Onion and Chili Fried Rice. 

This addition to my list of Indian-Chinese recipes is French Beans and Garlic adapted from Tarla Dalal. In this, French Beans are tossed with fresh sliced garlic and soya sauce to make a delightful accompaniment to Fried Rice or Noodles.

Ingredients: 

• French Beans, 2 cups
• Garlic, finely chopped, 2 tsp
• Oil, 1 tbsp
• Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp
• Sugar, 1 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Cornflour, 1 tbsp

Method:

De-string and blanch the French Beans. Cut them into long strips. Keep aside.

Dissolve the cornflour in 2 tbsp of water. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed kadhai. When it gets heated and smokes, add the chopped garlic and saute on high flame for about 30 seconds or till the garlic turns golden brown

Add the blanched French Beans, mix well and saute on high flame for 2-3 minutes

Add the sugar, soya sauce and salt, 

Toss well and saute on high flame for another minute

Add the cornflour mixture, (which acts as a thickening agent to bind the beans together), mix well and cook for a few seconds

Serve hot with fried rice or noodles

STRAWBERRY PHIRNI

STRAWBERRY PHIRNI

Phirni is a traditional Indian rice pudding. It is pretty easy to make. I was looking for an easy to make recipe for dessert as we had invited some guests when I came across this delicious Strawberry Phirni in a video on YouTube from Master Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

This is best made out of fresh strawberries but if you don't have these, you can make do with canned strawberries or even strawberry crush. The rice used should preferably be of Basmati variety. The amount of sugar required will depend on the sweetness of the strawberries you use.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Strawberries, 12-15
• Basmati Rice, 4 tbsp
• Milk, 5 cups
• Sugar, 3/4 cup, or to taste
• Cardamom Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Pistachios, 8-10
• Almonds, 6-8

Method:

Clean, wash and soak the Basmati rice for one hour in sufficient quantity of water, 

Drain the soaked rice and in a mixer grind this to a coarse paste. 

Add half a cup of water to the coarsely ground rice paste. Keep aside.

Wash the strawberries and chop them ( keeping aside a few for garnishing)

Blanch the pistachios and almonds, finely slice them and keep aside.

In a thick-bottomed vessel, heat the milk and when it boils, reduce the heat and add the rice paste gradually, stirring it in continuously taking care not to allow lumps to be formed. Also make sure, it doesn't get burnt at the bottom of the vessel

Keep stirring as the milk becomes thicker and allow it to simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Now add the sugar, and cardamom powder, mix well and stir till the sugar fully dissolves in the phirni

Remove from heat and allow it to cool to room temperature,

Add the chopped strawberries and mix well

Serve the phirni chilled, in earthenware bowls or ceramic bowls, garnished with pistachios, almonds and sliced strawberries,

* If using earthenware bowls, it is advisable to soak them in water for half an hour before use.