Mutton Pudina

Got this recipe from one of my online friend, who had some Afghani Raan somewhere and tried to simulate the taste in his kitchen, then posted the recipe, which I have again adjusted according to my taste, and the result was awesome. We had it as a special dish on Holi, the festival of colors, accompanied with a simple non-spicy Peas Khichdi. The spicy taste of this dish blended well with the mild taste of peas khichdi and it was a perfect 'Jugalbandi' or Duet. We ended up with Thandai flavoured Mousse, another Holi special, with a twist. What a lovely lunch for a festive day!!!

Ingredients

• Mutton - 1 kg (Meat from raan)
• Hung Curd - 100 gms
• Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
• mint leaves paste - 3 tbsp
• Ginger paste - 1.5 tbsp
• garlic paste 1.5 tsp
• green chilli paste - 1tsp
• Ghee/Butter - 1 tbsp

For Gravy:

• Onion Paste - 2 tbsp
• fried onion  - 2 tbsp
• Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
• ginger paste - 1 tsp
• green chilli paste - 1.5 tsp
• Hing - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
• Ghee/White Oil - As required

Mix all the marination ingredients nicely and add to the mutton and rub well. refrigerate overnight.

On a thick botton flat type pan, heat white oil. Add Onion paste. saute till transluscent in high heat. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilli paste and saute for a few minutes. Add the mutton pieces without the marinade. Mix well. Turn on the heat. cover cook in medium heat for 5-7 mins.

Add the Marinades. Mix well. Sprinkle few drops of water (if needed). Add 1 tbsp of ghee and sprinkle garam masala powder. Mix well. Turn down the heat to lowest flame.

Keep cooking till oil separates. 

Add hot water depending on your gravy requirement. The gravy should not be too runny. Pressure cook till the mutton is just tender. Keep aside. Now take a clean pan and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Add star anise and the hing. 

Then add the cooked mutton and mix well. Let it simmer for some time. Adjust the seasoning.

Once the meat are all done and oil is separating. turn off the heat. Sprinkle chopped green chilli. 

Sprinkle fried onions and fresh mint / pudina leaves and serve.

Sending this to linkz Party by My Mixing Spoon

Crab Masala - Ka(n)kra Kosha

Here in Bengal, we have our very own nearest sea beach at Digha and Mandarmoni, which takes just 3-4 hours to reach. We have spent quite a lot of our weekends there when we have lesser responsibilities and not enough money to plan a lavish holidays. So, it was just packing your back-pack on a friday night, take a early morning bus and reach there, book a room in a descent hotel and then go and jump into the sea. Then there was sea food, and a good nap in the afternoon. Oh,, gone are those days!! In the evening, we used to go to the local market and bought fresh fishes and sometimes crab. There are a number of stalls on the beach, where you can approach, they will cook your fish for a very nominal charge. I have had the most delicious crab preparations there, with very few ingredients. I really donot know the secret of such a good taste, may be it is because of the fresh ingredients, or the sea breeze, or the holiday mood, or whatever, but I never forget that awesome taste of fish and crab dishes I had there. 
Tried to simulate that taste with this crab masala, which is not at per with them, still it is not bad either. 

Ingredients

• Crabs - 3
• Medium Onion - 4, chopped
• Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
• Ginger Paste - 2 tsp
• Salt, turmeric
• Sugar - a pinch
• Green Chilli - 6-7, or as per taste
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander Leaves - a handful

Boil the crab pieces with salt and turmeric in two cups of water for 5 minutes. Remove and keep the stock.

Add mustard oil in a pan. Then add slit green chilli, and after a stir, add the chopped onions with a pinch of sugar and salt. Fry till golden brown, then add the garlic paste and half of ginger paste. Mix well.

Add turmeric, salt, cumin powder and fry well. Next add the boiled crab pieces and mix well with the spices.

When oil separates, add the reserved stock and mix well. Add the remaining ginger paste and stir carefully.

Boil over low heat till gravy thickens. Adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle chopped coriander and serve hot with plain rice.

Sending this to the Linkz Party of My Mixing spoon

Khow-Suey

Khow Suey is a Burmese noodle dish with a delicately spiced coconut milk sauce or broth and is served up with an array of different contrasting condiments/toppings that takes this dish to the next level and give it a burst of amazing flavors.
This is one of our favorite meal as a family, I love the delicate coconut milk broth,my son loves the mix of toppings we put on top…hubby likes the crispy garlic and onion with the freshness of  green onion..it is that one dish to please all.

Ingredients:

• Egg Noodles - 2 packs 
• Boneless Chicken breasts - 300 gms
• Prawns - shelled and deveined - 2 tbsp
• Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
• Ginger Paste - 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder -  1/2 tsp 
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Dry red chili- 3-4
• Coconut milk - 1 pack 
• Lemon - 1
• Salt to taste

For the toppings/ garnishes:

• Boiled Eggs - 2
• Garlic cloves - chopped - 2 tbsp
• Onions - 2, chopped fine
• Spring Onions - a bunch - chopped
• Lime wedges
• Green and Yellow pepper - chopped, 1 cup

Take the chicken pieces in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of freshly grated garlic and half that of freshly grated ginger to the chicken. Sprinkle over the turmeric powder and some salt. Mix everything well so that all the chicken pieces are coated in the marinade. Let the chicken sit in the fridge.

Prepare all the toppings and garnishes. Chop the boiled eggs, sprinkle a pinch of salt and set aside. Finely slice the green onion and set them aside in little bowls.
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a small pan. Then fry the garlic slices until they turn a light golden. Remove them as soon as they turn golden using a slotted spoon and place them on a paper napkins to drain the excess oil.
Separate the onion layers, into strands and fry them in the same oil the same way you have fried the garlic, until it turns golden. Remove the fried onion with a slotted spoon and drain it as well.
Stir fry the bell peppers over high heat for a minute or so and keep aside.
Boil your egg noodles as per the instruction and keep ready.
 Now to prepare the chicken broth, add oil to a large pan. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds, dried red chili and stir.

Add the marinated chicken pieces and fry them with the spices untill they turn brown slightly.

Lower the heat and pour in the coconut milk and season it with salt. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the broth has been simmering for about 10 minutes and the chicken is cooked through, add the prawns and boil for 10 more minutes over low heat so that the prawns are cooked. Turn off the heat. Make sure there are enough broth.

Squeeze the juice of half a lime into the broth for a touch of tanginess. 
Serve the noodles in a bowl with the hot broth with all the assortment of condiments / toppings / garnishes so that everyone can customise the dish to their taste. 

Linking this recipe with Kitchen Dreaming Weekend Social 

Baked Prawn Pasta

Our Saturday Dinner is usually a special one, with some good food, good music and after dinner a good movie. However, this week, hubby was on tour, and we were missing him so badly that I didnot feel like cooking something elaborate, so made this prawn pasta in a jiffy. Surprisingly it was Yummmm!!!

Ingredients:

• Prawns - 250 gms, cleaned and washed
• Shell Pasta - 1 pack, boiled
• Tabasco Sauce - 1 tsp
• Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Dried Herbs - as required
• Salt
• Butter - 1 tbsp
• Cheese - grated, 2 tbsp
• Cream - 100 ml

Heat butter in a pan. Add the prawns and saute. Add salt, tabasco sauce, half of the tomato ketchup and half of dried herbs. Season well. Add the splash of water and remove from heat.

Take a oven proof Container. Mix the remaining tomato ketchup, herbs and cream lightly. 

Layer the cooked prawns on the pasta. Add 2 tbsp of pasta water too. Sprinkle grated cheese over.

Bake for 10  minutes at 200 degree C. And your prawn pasta  is ready to serve....

Sending this to link party of My Mixing Spoon

Thandai Flavoured Mousse - Holi Special

Holi,or the Festival of Colours is here. Though I am not a big fan of this festival because of various reasons, and I like observing this from a distance, and not be a part of it, still I like the vibrant and colorful spirit of this. Our Bollywood Movies are full of Holi sequences with the most rhythmic songs and dance and I like those songs, but again from a distance. This Holi celebrations are incomplete without a glass of thandai, which is a milk based thirst-quencher, very tasty and cooling and a perfect mood setter for playing colours. 
Last year I made a traditional Thandai, the recipe of which can be found here. However, this year I made the same Thandai with a twist and it become a MOUSSE!!!

Ingredients

• Almonds - 20
• Cashewnut - 15
• Poppy Seeds - 3 tbsp
• Black Pepper corn - 1 tsp
• Orange Jelly crystals - 2 tsp
• Orange Essence - few drops
• Rose Water - few drops
• milk - 1.5 cup 
• Powdered sugar - 3 tbsp, as per taste
• Beaten whipped cream - 1 cup
• saffron strands as reqd
• Cardamom powder - a fat pinch

Soak the nuts in water for 30 minutes, then peel the almond. Mix poppy seeds, black pepper corn and grind to a fine paste. Add little water if required.

Combine Jelly crystals,, 1/2 cup water and milk in a deep pan and bring it to boil, stirring continuously. Add the sugar and the nut etc paste, mix well and cook on a medium flame for about a minute or two, stirring continuously.

 Remove from the flame and let the mixture cool and thicken. Whisk the mixture vigorously to avoid any lumps. Add the beaten whipped cream and a few drops of orange essence to the mixture. Fold in gently. I have added few drops of rose water as well.
Pour equal quantity of mixture in glasses and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or till it sets.
Sprinkle cardamom powder on the top. Garnish with saffron strands and serve chilled.

Baby Corn Stick

This Saturday I was not feeling like spending too much time in the kitchen, hence decided to give it a try since this fits my criteria. It is easy, non-fussy and most of the ingredients are readily available in the kitchen and exotic at the same time.
P.S. - Can't remember exactly where, but it seems I saw this recipe in one of Sanjeev Kapoor Show.

Ingredients:

• Baby corn- 15-20
• Soy sauce- 2 tsp
• Honey- 1 tsp
• Brown Sugar - a fat pinch
• Ginger paste- 1 tsp
• Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Lemon juice- 1 Lemon
• Chili flakes- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste

Wash and steam the Baby corn. In a bowl, add soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, ginger-garlic paste & mix well. Add lemon juice, chili flakes & salt. Add the steamed baby corn to this sauce and marinate for 2 - 3 hours.

Thread the Baby corn to the satay sticks and place in batches on a frying pan with little olive oil. Let it get fried till golden brown and set aside. Do it for all baby corns.

Pour the excess marinade on the pan and stir quickly with a splash of water. Add 1 tsp of corn flour and let the sauce thicken. 

Serve the baby corn stick hot with sauce with a sprinkle of chopped spring onion over it.

Sharing this with the linkz party by My Mixing spoon

Orange Pudding

This Orange Pudding scores high on the comfort front. I had initially a bit of doubt about the outcome, but after baking, it results in this puffy golden melt in the mouth Pudding with a subtle hint of sweet and tangy orange, which is just out of the world. Best to have it warm. A bit dense in calorie though, but life is not about depriving yourself always, right???

Ingredients

• Butter - 50 gms
• Sugar - 150 gms
• Orange - 2
• Eggs - 3,
• Plain flour - 50 gms
• Milk - 250 ml
• Orange Flavor - few drops

Heat oven to 180 degree C. Juice the Oranges by removing the seeds and then strain it. Keep some segments separately for garnishing.

In the big mixer bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar together in a mixer. Add the orange juice, egg yolks, flour and milk one by one to make a smooth batter. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until firm and mix with the batter. Pour into individual ramekins which are buttered thoroughly. Put in a baking tray half filled with hot water.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until lightly browned at the top and set. Place half of a orange segment over each ramekin and serve warm.

Sending this to Linkz Party by My Mixing Spoon  and 'Bake Fest' event organised by 'Nandoo's Kitchen'.