Chicken Ishtew

This is one dish which I have always loved gorging in the by-lanes of Old Delhi but the Lamb Version and the distinct name Ishtew came from there only! The Karim's and Al Jawahars of the world are the real experts so when I saw the recipe on Seema Hussain's FB Page: It'S All About Seem's Food  I had to make this one...

She had posted the Mutton Stew recipe but I decided to make Chicken Ishtew instead! Thursday Evening, start of the weekend and the perfect time to start it on a high....

And it came out superb! very easy to make and the texture of this dish is very unique indeed....creamy without the cream and mellow due to the onions...and not too spicy as well! highly recommended I say!

Here you go with the recipe...

Ingredients:

750 grams Fresh Chicken
600 grams Sliced Onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds slightly roasted and coarsely ground
1 tsp whole black pepper
5 to 6 cloves
6-7 green cardamoms
2 black cardamoms
2 bay leaves
8-9 whole dry red chillies (dried)
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 whole green chillies (slit)
cooking oil - 6 tbsp
salt as per taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a Kadhai, Put the Black-Green cardamoms, cumin seeds ,black pepper, cloves, bay leaves and fry 1/4th of the sliced onions well till they are light brown in color and soft

2. Then add the chopped ginger & garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes

2. Add the chicken and fry well, after 5 - 6 minutes

3. Then add the coriander seeds add half cup water and fry on low flame for 3-4 minutes

4. Now add the remaining onions, whole red chillies(roughly chopped), Add 1 cup water and salt to taste.

5. Cover the lid of the Kadhai and let it cook till the chicken is almost done while stirring in between

6. Once the Chicken is cooked open the lid and cook it without the lid and cook this till the gravy is thick and onion is fully dissolved and the oil starts floating

7. Add the green chillies simmer on a very low heat for few minutes and serve

8. Thank me later

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Tomato Bhaat

The inspiration or the sudden inclination I should say came all thanks to Tanya Manjunath's post of Kohlapuri Chicken on Chef at Large and her Recipe BlogPost; as BP is blocked in my office I came back home and checked out her recipe & while doing that bumped into her Tomato Bath Recipe on that page! and there was a sudden blood-rush to make this dish tonight itself! Just couldn't wait and as always my partner-in-rhyme got excited too!

Link to the original recipe: http://tanyasrecipez.blogspot.com/2013/09/tomato-bath-tomato-pulav_6.html

And I am definitely many of Tanya's other recipes very soon starting with Chicken Pulao this weekend! already am a big fan of her recipes :) BIG THANKS to her for this...

We loved the taste of this super awesome & easy to make Rice delicacy and would be repeating it many a times in the future! Bandita just loved it!

Once we finished watching BigBoss, I went to buy Tomatoes, Pudina and Coconut Milk and Bandita started the initial preparations for this first time recipe!

I made some minor modifications to the original recipe and hoped for the best....

Here you go with the Recipe...

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 cup (I used Basmati, soaked for 30 minutes)
Tomatoes – 3 medium sized – pureed
Whole Garam masala (Cloves -4, Cinnamon – 1 inch, green cardamoms – 4, bay leaf- 1)
Onion – 1 large – finely chopped
Ginger  – 1 small piece
Garlic - 3 Pods
Green chillies – 3
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
Mint leaves – ¼ cup
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsbp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Coconut milk – 2 cups
Oil – 3 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Blend the Tomatoes into a fine puree in a blender

2. Make a fine paste of the Green Coriander, Ginger, Mint Leaves, Green Chillies and coriander

3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add whole garam masala and let it splutter

4. Add the chopped onion and sauté till the colour changes to the beautiful golden brown and I just love that glaze!

5. Add the paste you made and sauté for a while. Now add the tomato paste and sauté it till the oil separates.

6. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder and give it a mix.

7. Then add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add salt and check if you need to play around with the salt or any of the spices as per your taste.

8. Add the soaked rice and mix it. Close the lid and pressure cook it up to 4 whistles.

9. Serve hot with Onion-Tomato-Cucumber Raita and enjoy the subtle flavours of Tomatoes, Coriander and Pudina.............

10. Thank me later.


Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Sabudana-Kesar-Naariyal Kheer

I recently subscribed to Diabetic Living India on my iPad and the biggest reason for it was the cover page of the latest edition! It was irresistible and I could not just stay away! It featured a Kheer with a Rose Petal garnish! surely looked WOW! More details here: http://diabeticlivingonline.in/index.aspx

So had to make this one for sure; Sabudana has always been a favourite since childhood when my Mummy used to make Sabudane ke Papad and Pakode when we were growing up! and then after marriage I got introduced to the wonderful Sabudana Khichdi which Bandita makes!

Plus this Kheer also had 1 of my other favourite ingredients - Coconut! and I decided to improvise and added Kesar for good measure too! so now you know why this is irresistible!

And then this was made with Splenda so no sugar-laden guilt!

Without further adieu...the recipe details...

Ingredients:

Sabudana Pearls: 100 grams
Grated Coconut: 50 grams (I used the dry version but the fresh version would do wonders)
Low Fat Milk: 1 Litre
Almonds: 6-8 chopped
Kesar: Few Strands
Splenda: 20 grams
Green Cardamom Powder: 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Soak the Sabudana Pearls in water for 90 minutes

2. Soak the Kesar in warm milk for 5-10 minutes

3. Boil the milk in a non-stick saucepan and add the Cardamom Powder & Chopped Badam to it

4. Add the drained sabudana pearls, grated coconut and the soaked kesar in the boiling milk

5. Keep stirring till you get the desired consistency

6. Shut the flame and then add the Splenda and mix it well.

7. Let it cool off but if you are out of control like me then have it piping hot as I love my Kheer hot and not icy cold as many people prefer!

8. When you are done, garnish with some chopped Badam and then take a photograph!

9. Thank me later....


Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Chane ki Dal ka Gosht

I have been a big fan of Seema Hussain's Recipes (FB Page Link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/ItS-All-About-Seems-Food/151413248357562) and had been planning to make this recipe for quite some time; had this at a Pakistani Resto here in Kuwait named Safeena long back and enjoyed it immensely!

And now was the time to give it a try...a 6 days long weekend started and had to start it on a grand Goaty Note!

And it came out so well I was pleasantly surprised myself plus the icing on the cake was that Bandita loved it and actually overate which is normally my forte! the hard-work paid off and it definitely is one of the best feelings when people for whom you cook love your dishes!

It is a very easy Recipe and took me some 1.5 hours end-to-end to make this! do give this a shot folks...

Ingredients:

Chana Dal  1 cup (soaked in water for 2 hours)
Boneless Mutton - Small Pieces - 600 grams
Refined Oil - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 6 pods
Onions - 2 medium sized
Ginger - 50 grams
Green Chillies - 3
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tbsp
Garam Masala Powder 1 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Bay Leaves - 4 pieces
Fresh Coriander - 1/4 bunch (chopped)
Mint Leaves - 2 tbsp (chopped)

For the Tadka:

Desi Ghee 2 tbsp
Onion - 1/3 (finely chopped)
Zeera - 1 tsp
Pinch of Heeng (Asafoetida)

Method: 

1. Wash the Mutton pieces properly

2. Make a paste of Onions, Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies in a blender

3. Heat the oil in a Pressure Cooker and then add the bay leaves & the mutton pieces; fry for few minutes till the water is dried

4. Add the paste, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and cook on medium low heat and give atleast 6-8 whistles (don't start whistling yourself and let the cooker do that for you)

5. When the meat is half done, add soaked chana dal, some more water, salt and give 5 whistles again till the dal is done.

6. Now add the garam masala, chopped coriander & mint leaves and then mix well & keep aside.

7. In a tadka pan heat desi ghee,  add zeera, chopped onion and heeng; when golden brown in color, pour over cooked meat and cover for few seconds.

8. Eat this with Hot-Tawa Rotis and Plain Boiled Rice!

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Paneer Tawa Fry

Had some spare Paneer left after our Palak Paneer Experiment and this time too I wanted to try something which I had never made before....Through my searches came across this dish "Paneer Tawa Fry" which looked real delicious and had one of my favourite ingredients - Coconut! so it was pretty much final that this would be the one! Plus this was going to be real quick too!

Here you go with the recipe:

Ingredients:
Paneer: 250 grams

For the Marinate:
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 tablespoons
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder - 1 tablespoon
Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon
Desiccated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
Yoghurt - 2 tablespoon
Chopped Fresh Coriander - 1 tablespoon
Chopped Green Chillies - 1 teaspoon
Salt to Taste

For the Tadka:
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon

For the Garnishing:
Desiccated Coconut - 1 teaspoon

Process:

1. Mix the Ingredients and marinate the Paneer for 30-45 minutes

2. Heat the Oil in a Non-Stick Pan and splutter the Cumin Seeds

3. Bhunno the Paneer as per your choice; add water if you want some gravy in this dish

4. Eat this with Hot-Tawa Rotis

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!