Zaiqa

This recipe is my contribution to the event – A fruit a month’ AFAM, which the lovely Sig, of Live to Eat, has hosted for this month with Lychee as the fruit of the month. Many people do not know what Lychee are. Lychee is a fruit, mostly grown in China, and known for its sweet tart flavour. This fruit has a rose coloured skin when young, but as it matures, it develops a hard and leathery rind, which is inedible. It comes off easily leaving behind the jelly like, pearly white flesh with a single inedible seed inside. They are available fresh or canned in most asian stores. Anyways, here’s my entry for the event :

Ingredients:

Marination Ingredients-

• Boneless Chicken Breast Pieces – 500 gms, cut into 2 cm cubes
• Salt – 2 tsp
• Black Pepper – 1 tsp
• Canola Oil – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 1/2 tsp

Gravy Ingredients-

• Gram Flour – 5 tbsp
• Canola Oil – 3 tbsp
• Red Capsicum – 1/2 of a large capsicum, chopped
• Green Capsicum – 1/2 of a large capsicum, chopped
• Ginger Garlic paste – 2tsp
• Yellow Onions – 1, finely chopped
• Canned Lychee in Syrup – 1 can, 565 gms
• Tomato paste – 3 tbsp
• Water – 2 tbsp
• Red Chilli flakes – 1 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp

Chicken with Lychees

Method:

• Drain and reserve all the lychees and a cup of syrup individually in two bowls.
• Marinate the Chicken in the marination ingredients for preferably 30 minutes.
• Roll the chicken breast pieces in 4 tbsp gram flour and fry till golden brown. Make sure you do not fry them for too long as breast pieces toughen up too quickly.
• In a pan on medium heat, in a tbsp of oil, stir fry the red and green capsicum for about 7 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
• In the same pan add the remaining oil and fry the onions till light brown.
• Add the ginger garlic paste and fry it along.
• Add the reserved cup of lychee syrup to it and simmer covered for 5 minutes.
• Now add the tomato paste and the stir fried capsicum to it and mix well.
• Dilute the remaining one tbsp gram flour in a 2 tbsp water and pour this into the pan. Let it cook till the mixture begins to thicken up.
• Add the Chicken pieces and the drained lychees, chilli flakes and red chilli powder and give a good stir.
• Let it cook on simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Once ready, Serve it hot.

Luv,
Mona

Canned Tuna is a staple in my home. There are always a few tins stacked up in the pantry that come handy to me at times when I am in the mood of a quick fix.

Serve these cutlets as snacks with tomato ketchup, or as a side dish with Rice or Parathas.

Tuna Cutlets
Makes: 26 cutlets

Ingredients:

Canola Oil – 2 tbsp
Yellow Onions – 2, large size, finely chopped
Green chillies – 10-12, finely chopped
Tuna Flakes – 2 tins
Salt – 2 tsp
Red Chilli powder – 2 tsp
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
Potatoes – 3, boiled, peeled, and mashed
Egg Whites – 3, whipped
Bread Crumbs – 2 cups
Canola Oil – as needed for shallow frying the patties

Tuna Cutlets/Patties

Method:

• In a non stick heavy bottom pan on medium heat stir fry the onions and green chillies in oil till the raw flavour of onions is lost and they are translucent.
• Add the drained tuna flakes to the pan. Mix and let it cook for almost 20 minutes till the tuna is light brown in colour. Keep strring it occasionally ensuring it doesnt get burned.
• Add salt, red chilli powder, black pepper and garam masala.
• Add the mashed potatoes to it mix well.
• Keep stirring it continuously and let it cook for 7 minutes more.
• Once ready, keep aside and let it cool.
• Make small patties of the cooled mixture.
• Pour the whipped egg white in a cup and bread crumbs in an another cup.
• Dip the patties once in the egg white, then in the bread crumbs and store them in a plastic box if you want to store some, and arrange remaining on a tray to fry them.
• Pour oil in a pan shallow fry them till brown on both sides.
• Serve them hot.

Luv,
Mona

I am not much of a ‘Mithai’ person, I do not like sweets/mithai’s a lot. Just yesterday I had to attend a party at my aunt’s place and she gifted us some Boondi Laddu’s and the one to have them are everyone besides me in this house. I usually prefer sweets/desserts that are light, with not too much sugar, infact only a hint of sugar in it.

Kaddu/Bottle Gourd/Opo Squash

One such meetha that is light on stomach and calories, quick to get prepared, nonetheless satisfies my sweet cravings is Kaddu ka Meetha. For all those of you who haven’t tried this delicious meetha yet, I recommend you prepare it and try it atleast once.

Kaddu Ka Meetha/Halwa – Bottle Gourd Sweet
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd/Opo Squash/Kaddu – 1, medium sized, around 1 kg in weight
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Milk – 1/2 cup
Green Cardamom – 3, skin discarded and black seeds finely powdered
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Chopped/Sliced Almonds or Chopped/Sliced Pistachios or Raisins or Chopped Cashewnuts – shallow fried in little oil/ghee, for garnish

Method:

1.Wash, pat dry and peel the bottle gourd. Discard the peels or use them to prepare this curry. Then slice off the central pith containing the seeds and discard it. Use only the clear white flesh devoid any seeds present between the central pith and the peel. Grate this flesh using a grater or in a food processor. Mine came to around 4-5 cups of grated bottle gourd.

Grated Bottle gourd (left); Cut and Peeled bottle gourd (right)

2. In a heavy bottom sauce pan on medium heat, add the grated bottle gourd and cook it stirring continuously, but very gently, make sure you do not mush it up while stirring; until mostly dry. At this point add ghee and let it cook for a minute while stirring it gently. Pour in milk and let it cook again until it absorbs most of the milk. Add cardamom powder, sugar and keep stirring it. You can add more or less sugar according to your taste. Let it cook again until the sugar dissolves for about 5-10 mins more. Add fried nuts or raisins and mix. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate for a few hours and serve chilled.

Kaddu Ka Meetha/Halwa – Bottle Gourd Sweet

Suggested Serving: To impress your guests, serve the chilled meetha in mini pastry cases that are easily available in stores. You can name it ‘Kaddu ka Meetha Tarts’.

Luv,
Mona

Bhendi, or Okra, is one of my favourite vegetables. It is available very easily in the markets, fresh as well as frozen. I keep buying it from the market very often to cook it for everyone in my home. But, you should always be careful while buying fresh Okra. I always like to buy tender baby okra. Larger pods are tough and fibrous, so look for brightly colored pods smaller than 3 inches (9cm) long, with smooth, unblemished skin and firm texture. Refrigerate okra in a plastic bag for up to three days. Wash okra just before using it.

Bhindi – Okra

Khatta Salan/Shorba means ‘soured stew’. The sourness from the tomatoes and tamarind, a slight heat from red chilli powder and the subtle sweetness from the roasted onions along with the roasted spices impart an aromatic and delectable flavor to this okra stew. This same base is used in many other versions of the khatta shorba, which are Karele ka Khatta Shorba, Aloo-Gosht ka Khatta shorba , Arvi-Gosht ka khatta shorba etc.

When boiled, okra gives off a viscous substance that can add smooth thickness to stews or soups. It can be a bit difficult to cook as it sometimes is very slimy. In this recipe, the sourness from tamatoes and tamarind helps while cooking to get rid of the sliminess. It is an excellent sourse of vitamin-C, folate, and magnesium.

Bhindi aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan – Okra and Lamb meat Stew
Serves – 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Canola Oil – 8 tbsp
Yellow Onion – 3, large, sliced
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp
Tomatoes – 5, large, diced
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, fresh
Salt – 2 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tbsp
Lamb meat with bones – 650 gms
Cilantro – 3 tbsp, finely chopped
Okra/Bhendi – 700 gms, washed, dried and cut into approx 5 cm pieces with top and bottom removed
Tamarind concentrate – 2 tbsp (or) Lemon/Lime juice – 2 tbsp

Bhindi aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan – Okra and Lamb meat Stew

Method:

• Heat oil a pressure cooker and fry the sliced onions till lightly browned. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté it along for a minute. Add curry leaves, red chilli powder, salt, cumin and coriander seed powder and turmeric powder. Mix well. To it add the diced tomatoes and cilantro and let cook cook for 3-5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the oil has separated. Add meat and cook along until no longer pink. Pour water to cover the meat and pressure cook until the meat is tender.
• Once done, add tamarind concentrate or lemon/lime juice and okra and 2-3 cups water (as per your wish, depending on the consistency you desire) to the stew. Stir well and cover the lid. Let it cook on simmer until the okra is cooked. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Naan / Afghani Roti / Basmati Chawal / Paratha

Luv,
Mona

Soya is an excellent source of Protein including all Amino Acids, being the only vegetable whose protein is complete. It is also a good source of Calcium, Vitamins, Omega-3-Fatty Acids and Dietary Fibre. Benefits of Soya include promoting heart health with LDL cholesterol (Bad Cholesterol) lowering claim for soya; preventing Cancer and alleviating menopausal synptoms. Soya are also very versatile. They can be had in the form of Soya nuggets, whole Soya beans, or processed as Soya milk, Tofu or Soya sauce. I buy and store those dried soya nuggets in air tight containers in the pantry for very long periods.

Dried Soya Nuggets ~ Soya nuggets soaked overnight in water

Note: Soak Soya nuggets in surplus fresh cool water for 1-2 hours. Later, squeeze them, drain the water and put the squeezed nuggets in a dry bowl. Add fresh cool water to it and again squeeze them, drain the water and put them in a bowl. Repeat this about 8 times, until there is no lather in the water when you squeeze them while washing them up. This is important, otherwise the lather in soya will cause severe flatulence. So, be careful there.

Recipe Source: India’s Vegetarian Cooking, by Monisha Bharadwaj

Soya Ki Subzi / Soya Nuggets in Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Dried Soya nuggets – 300 gms – read ‘Note’ above before you start cooking
Canola Oil – 3 tbsp
Yellow Onions – 2, medium, chopped
Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomatoes – 2, ripe
Cumin seeds/Zeera – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Water – 100 ml
Green Chillies – 1, slit, for garnishing

Soya Ki Subzi – Soya Nuggets in Tomato Sauce

Method:

-Pour oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the onions until transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and the chopped tomatoes to it. Stir well and let it cook until it has become soft and mushy. Once cool, grind the above mixture into a paste.
-Heat the remaining oil in an another heavy bottom preferably non stick pan and fry the cumin seeds till they splutter. Now add the ground onion-tomato paste, and stir well to mix. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the spice powders and salt. Add the squeezed soya nuggets to the pan and stir in water. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, simmer for about 5 minutes and allow the soya nuggets to absorb all the flavours and liquid from the pan mixture. Cook until the gravy is semi-dry.
-Garnish with slit green chillies and serve it hot along with Parathas.

Luv,
Mona