Zaiqa

The Haramasala walah (herb vendor) used to come by our house back in Hyderabad at around 10 a.m everyday. His loud, long and rhythemic shout..

“Kothmir, Pudina, Harimirch, Methi, Palak, Kulfa.. lelo”  (Buy fresh green herbs for cooking)

.. announcing whatever he carried on his bicycle that day, in small gunny bags to keep them fresh in the morning heat for his regular customers, used to bring me hurrying up to the gate.

I admit I miss these kind of venders here. They would have a boon in the kind of busy lives we are living. Imagine the kind of convenience they would have offered! You would atleast not have to worry for the supply for daily fresh fruits and green herbs in your diet. Aloo Methi Gosht reminds me of this Haramasala walah selling a range of fresh herbs and greens at my doorstep at a cut-price.

Aloo Methi Gosht – Potatoes,Meat and fresh Fenugreek leaves curry

The recipe is quite simple, and most loved in my family. Here it goes:

Aloo Methi Gosht – Potatoes, Meat and fresh Fenugreek leaves curry

Ingredients:

• Canola oil – 2 tbsp
• Red Onion – 1, large
• Meat – 250 gms
• Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Potatoes – 6, medium sized
• Tomato – 1, large
• Methi – 1 cup

Method:

• Add oil in the cooker. Once warm, add onions, meat and red chilli powder, salt. Let cook for about 5 mins on medium heat. Later, add water, close the lid and pressure cook until the meat is very tender.
• In the same pressure cooker with stock and meat, add tomatoes, diced potatoes and give it a stir. Pressure cook again for about 6-8 minutes or until the potatoes are just done.
• Add the chopped methi and let cook for about 5 more minutes.

Suggested Accompaniments: Tomato chutney and warm Rice or Rotis.

Luv,
Mona

I am immensely happy to update all my readers that my blog has been mentioned in The Telegraph article. This is the first time my blog has been mentioned in any newspaper. However, there is a spelling mistake regarding the title of my blog in that article. When contacted the author said she will not be able to rectify it now.. Regardless, I am immensely elated and joyous. I thank everyone for your support and appreciation.

Yesterday, we witnessed the first glimpse of flurries for this season of winter. I love winter, the use of layers of warm clothes, oceans of lotions, the lovely snowfall, the sparkly sunshine when the rays fall on the snow spead everywhere.. but there are also things that I dont like about winter, like the really short days with the dark setting in by as early as four in the evening, or the immense difficulty in leaving the warm and cozy blanket to get up and get ready in the morning, watery eyes, runny noses, boring darkness, dangerously slippery side walks and the wearisome task of scraping ice after every snowfall.. Nevertheless Canadian winter is a beauty in itself for the tourists (..and just for the first few weeks for the residents here after which we all get irked, fed up..)

After a day of work in these long, chilly and wintry days, one craves for comfort Indian food prepared fresh and ready to enjoy along with a few warm rotis. One such dish that I love is this preperation of Tuvar dal which I had learnt from my aunt.

Tuvar ki dal served along with warm rotis and Sukhi Arvi

Dals are an essential part of an Indian diet. They are prepared in various ways, dry, thin or saucy in consistency, and relished as either a side dish or used to wet rice. They serve as excellent protein sources. Tuvar dal is a little sweeter in comparision to other dals and mostly widely used. It is my favorite dal.

The following Tuvar dal preperation is a regular item in my house. It tastes absolutely yummy along with a vegetable side dish and rotis as a comforting meal for the soul.

Tuvar ki Dal – Yellow Lentils currry

Ingredients:

• Tuvar dal – 1 cup
• Water – to soak and cook
• Canola oil – 2 tsp
• Curry leaves – about 10
• Cumin seeds/Zeera – 1/2 tsp
• Canned tomato paste – 3 tbsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste

Method:

• Soak the dal in surplus water for about 6 hours. Later drain the dal and wash it well prior to cooking.
• Put the washed dal in a tall saucepan along with about 2 cups water and salt and let it cook on medium until the dal is soft but retains its shape. You can add a little water if needed for the dal to cook.
• Meanwhile, in a frying pan, pour oil and as soon as it warms up, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add tomato paste, red chilli powder and let it cook for 2-4 minutes on medium heat. Dump it all into the saucepan with the cooked tuvar dal. Add a little more water for all the ingredients to get properly mixed together. Let cook for about 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Warm rotis and a vegetarian or non-vegetarian side dish.

Takecare and Keep warm!

Luv,
Mona

Basic How To: Paneer

Paneer is fresh Indian cheese, easy to prepare but the only drawback is that it takes a lot of milk to prepare a little paneer. It perhaps the only kind of cheese most commonly eaten in India with a sweet smell, kind of rubbery with a mild flavor and the best form of protein source for vegetarians in their diet next to Soya protein(TSP_TVP). It is a block of condensed milk solids made my curdling milk (low fat or high fat) with acid, then strained with a muslim cloth and left to set under a weight until it is set into a block of white smooth textured cheese.

The first time I tasted Paneer was when I was in my teens during my school days. At the lunch break, I and my class mates would sit under the trees for shade in fresh air in the school playground with napkins spread on our laps and share our tiffin boxes passing about a spoonful of what each one of us had brought that day until we all had a sample of everyone else’s to taste. Soft, spongy and meaty. I immediately fell in love with it. There are always memories associated with food. Since then, I love to add paneer in my food.

Vacuum-packed paneer is available ready made, either frozen or fresh, at most of the Indian stores. I love to prepare my own Paneer whenever possible as I find it more soft, fresh and delectable. The procedure is effortless. You can later cut it into cubes and store them either frozen if you plan to use it after a while or refrigerate it in a plastic wrap to use it the next day.

Basic How To’s: Series II ~ Homemade Paneer – Indian (Unaged) Cheese

Ingredients:

Milk (low fat or full fat) – 2 litres
Buttermilk – 4 cups

Homemade block of Paneer – Indian (Unaged) Cheese

Method:

1. Line a sieve with a moistened muslin cloth and put it over a large pot.
2. Bring milk in a saucepan to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
3. Add the buttermilk, and lower the heat. Keep stirring the milk for a few minutes until you see the milk has curdled completely.
4. Carefully strain the curdled milk through the sieve lined with the muslin cloth. Let the whey collect in the bottom saucepan. The whey is highly nutritious. Store it to use later on in other curries instead of water (at this stage if you wish, you can experiment and add a few flavors that you like to the curds in the muslin cloth, like dried herbs, etc. Mix the dried herbs well with the curds and continue). Later, lift the edges of the cloth and tie the corners of the cloth into a bag completely enclosing the curds.
5. Remove the sieve from saucepan and place it in the sink. Place the bag of curds back in the sieve. Set aside under a heavy weight for about 3-4 hours to press to a flat shape about 2 cm thick. Later, transfer the Paneer block to a zip-lock packet and store refrigerated. Use within a week.

Tip: Paneer can also be made from failed yogurt.

This post is my contribution to the event Back to Basics originally stated by Jaya, and currently being hosted by Aqua at Served with Love.

The following is a curry I prepare quite often using paneer and frozen peas. The rich and subtle spicing in this curry is worth trying out. You will all love this gluttingly delicious side dish.

***

Matar Paneer – Indian Cheese and Peas curry

Ingredients:

Home-Made Soft Paneer/Cottage Cheese – 200 gms, cut into bite sized cubes
Fresh or Frozen Peas/Matar – 2 cups
Dry Roasted Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Dry Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1 tbsp
Onion – 1, large, finely chopped
Tomato paste – 6 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Red Chilli powder – 2 tsp
Canola Oil – 2 tbsp

Matar Paneer – Indian Cheese and Peas curry

Method:

1. Pour oil into a large frying fan with lid on medium heat, and as soon as it warms up add the chopped onion. Stir fry it till lightly browned, then add the tomato paste, coriander and cumin seed powder and mix well. Let cook for 5-8 minutes.
2. Add the cubed paneer, red chilli powder, salt, half cup water and gently mix. Close the lid and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Add peas and gently fold them in. Cover the lid and let cook for a minute more. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Serve it warm along with freshly prepared Rotis.

Luv,
Mona

Eid-ul-Fitr Celebrations after the month of Ramadhan

Eid Mubarak Everyone!

Alhamdulillah its been a wonderful Eid, May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) accept all our Duas and make us better Muslims inshallah.

I prepared Kaddu ki Kheer on the second day of the celebrations of the Eid-ul-Fitr, after coming back from work. Its a pity that its not a public holiday on the religious festivals. I think, especially in a multi-cultural place like Canada, this should definitely be given a thought.

Kaddu Ki Kheer – Bottle Gourd Milk Pudding

Kheer is one the most delicious, simple and quick pudding/dessert to prepare. I usually use rice, bottle-gourd, sago, white potato and sweet-potato to prepare different varieties of Kheer. The basic steps remain the same, boiling milk with sugar, cardamom, nuts and saffron for flavor.

Kaddu ki Kheer is also referred to as Gil-e-Firdaus (or Gul-e-Firdaus or Dil-e-Firdaus). This pudding is prepared by cooking grated Opo Squash/Kaddu in sweetened milk along with nuts and Tapioca pearls to give it body/thickness.

Kaddu Ki Kheer – Bottle Gourd Milk Pudding

Ingredients:

Bottle Gourd/Opo Squash/Kaddu – small sized, 400 gms (approx)
Full fat or Low fat Milk – 2 1/2 cups
Sabudana/Tapioca pearls – 1/2 cup, soaked in water for 15-30 minutes
Chopped Pistachios – 1 tbsp
Sliced Almonds – 1 tbsp
Chopped Walnuts – 1 tbsp
Chopped Raisins – 1 tbsp
Khoa – 1/4 cup, grated (or) Milk Powder – 1/4 cup
Sugar – 55 gms
Ground Cardamom seeds – a pinch
Saffron strands/Zafraan – a pinch

Method:

• Wash, peel and remove the seeds from the bottle gourd, reserve only the flesh. Shred it either in a food processor or using a grater.
• Pour 2 cups milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the drained sabudana and simmer heat and let it cook uncovered for 10 mins. half cover witha  lid, keep an eye on it, and stir frequently so that it does not boil away.
• Add khoa or milk powder, whatever using, to the remaining 1/2 cup milk. Pour this into the saucepan. Also add the shredded bottle gourd, ground cardamom seeds, sugar and chopped nuts.
• Let it cook for 10 more minutes on simmer. As the milk cooks it begins to turn light yellow in colour, and gets more concentrated and cremier. Once done, remove from heat and serve warm or chilled.

(Note: To make it more rich for a special occasion and for an indulgence, you can even use Unsweetened Condensed milk/Evaporated Milk in the recipe)

Luv,
Mona

‘Baghare Baingan’ (in Urdu) when translated into english language means ‘Tempered Eggplants’. Baghaar or tempering is an Indian process of flavoring the oil with spices which is used in the preperation of a curry to impart added taste and aroma.

Aubergines, Peanuts and a large sized Onion (One of the Aubergines has an ‘X’ shaped incision at its base)

This is a lovely and delicious brinjal side dish, a hallmark and peculiar to the state of Hyderabad, usually seen being served at Daawat – weddings, parties and large gatherings. It is generally had as a side dish along with Biryanis or some people even enjoy it along with a Roti/Paratha.

Baghare Baingan – Tempered Aubergines in a rich Sauce

The eggplants are cooked twice, once they are shallow fried and then later simmered in a fragrant sweet and spicy sauce of sauteed onions and roasted spices. The tamarind imparts a tangy kick to the sauce consisting of roasted nutty and buttery peanuts, poppy seeds and coconut, a range of aromatic spices and caramelized onions.

Only Indian eggplants that are small, shiny deep purple and fresh are used for this curry. These are easily available at many Indian stores. Brinjal/Eggplant/Aubergines or Baingan are not a favorite of many people, but I suggest you all try this dish once and you will definitely love it. It is one of the best aubergine dishes I have ever had.

The procedure to prepare Mirchi Ka Salan or Tamatar ka Salan is also almost the same as this curry. Also, you can also add any firm fish fillets (Red snapper, Haddock, Cod, etc) to the gravy instead of brinjal to make it a fish curry/Machli ka Salan; or halved tomatoes to the gravy to make it Tamatar ka Salan. There is no difference, except for the fact that in Mirchi ka Salan, green chillies are used; in tomato curry, tomatoes are used; in fish curry, fish fillets are used; and in this curry, the brinjals are used.

Baghare Baingan – Tempered Aubergines in a Spicy Nutty Tangy Sauce
Cooking time: around 45 minutes; Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Eggplants/Baingan – 6-8, indian variety~small sized, fresh, and deep purple in colour
For dry masala paste:
Khus Khus/White Poppy seeds – 1 tbsp
Till/Sesame Seeds – 1/2 cup/50 gms
Peanuts/Groundnuts/MoomPhalli – 1/2 cup/50 gms
Dry Desiccated Coconut – 3/4 cup/50 gms
Coriander seeds/Dhania – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/ Zeera – 1 1/2 tsp
For baghaar/tempering:
Cumin seeds/ Zeera – 1 tsp
Curry leaves/ Kariyapaak – 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds/ Rai – 1/2 tsp
Nigella seeds/ Kalaunji – 1/3 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi dana – 1/8 tsp
For gravy:
Canola oil
Yellow Onions – 4, large, sliced slightly thick into semi circular rings
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Salt – 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric/ Haldi – 1/4 tsp
Cilantro/ Kothmir – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Thick tamarind pulp – 4 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash the eggplants and make four incisions, perpendicular cuts (an X) from the base of each eggplant, taking care the stem end is intact. Soak them in a bowl of cold water with 1tbsp salt to prevent discoloration. Keep aside. In a kadai pour oil to deep fry. When the oil is hot, drain the brinjals. Deep fry the brinjals for about 10-15 minutes until they are tender and well cooked. Gently remove them in a platter and keep aside.
2. Heat a small non-stick frying pan or a cast iron skillet at medium high heat and once it is hot, dry roast the desiccated coconut, sesame seeds, khus khus, peanuts, coriander seeds and cumin seeds, all one by one separately for just 2-3 minutes until they are a few shades darker and remove them into separate bowls. Do not burn the spices. Once cool, rub off the skins of the peanuts. Grind them all separately in a spice grinder to a fine powder or a smooth paste without adding any water and keep aside.
3. Heat a large non-stick frying pan or a cast iron skillet at medium high heat, and as soon as it warms up add the sliced onions. Let the onions sweat and keep stirring them until they are just starting to brown up. Once the onions are soft and lightly browned in color, remove them to a platter and keep aside. Once the dry roasted onions are cool, puree them in a grinder until smooth. Keep aside.
4. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy non-stick pan at medium heat and as soon as it is warm, add the ingredients under the heading ‘for baghaar’ – cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, nigella seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let the spices splutter for a minute. Then add the pureed roasted onion paste and immediately cover the pan with a lid for a minute. Lower the heat to medium low and shake the pan to thoroughly mix. This is done for the mixture to absorb all the flavour from the baghaar(tempering). Uncover, lower the heat and add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the desiccated coconut paste, sesame seed paste, khus-khus paste and peanut paste and stir fry it for 2-5 minutes or until you see that the mixture comes together and starts leaving oil. Add the red chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Mix well and keep stir frying it for a further 2 minutes on medium low heat. Once the raw odor of the peanuts, ginger-garlic paste and coconut is no longer coming, add the dry roasted coriander and cumin seed powder and chopped cilantro and mix well. Pour in 3 1/2 cups warm water and the tamarind pulp. Mix well. Add the fried brinjals and stir. Cover the lid and let cook on simmer for 20-25 minutes while stirring frequently, until the oil has all separated and the brinjals are soft and completely done in the masala gravy. Remove from heat and serve the curry along with Pulao or Biryani or Naan.

Suggested Accompaniments: Biryani, Roti, Paratha

Varieties of Eggplant

This goes to the Monthy Mingle event currently being hosted by Ruth. The theme this time is Sensational Sides, and Baghare Baingan fits perfectly for the title of the event.

Inshallah my next post is going to be the round up for RCI:Authentic Hyderabadi Cuisine which I will publish in just a few days from now. So keep checking on it. Take care of yourselves everyone and Have a good weekend!

Luv,
Mona