Dahi Puri

                 Dahi Puri. My 1st post for the year 2020 and this delay is not because of all the reasons this year will be remembered for (-ever). Putting all the things aside for what's gone is gone and spicing up what lies in front I am sharing a super yum flavorful dish that has many ingredients that gives a burst of different flavors yet its all balanced perfectly.

                 Pani puri is my all time favourite I don't remember how and when I was introduced to it but I remember having them with Mom in my dream two days back...anybody as crazy as me? Nevertheless I remember being forced by my cousin years ago in Hyderabad's most famous chaat shop to taste dahi puri. Dahi or curd was not something I appreciated much back then although I devoured Dahi vade with pleasure. I'm thankful to him that he did that so I could add another dish to my list of favourites and another recipe on my blog!

                 Speaking of the dish in itself, the puris are loaded with potato mixture sometimes with chickpeas and other times with sprouts and then layered with a mixture of chutneys that is green chutney and sweet chutney or Date and tamarind chutney and then topped up with a layer of curd, onion, sev, coriander leaves and spices like red chilli powder, cumin seed powder and chaat masala. Some also like to add a few pommegrante seeds. I know you're drooling already so let's quickly head onto the recipe :-

A bite before we move on?

Ingredients:

1. Fluffed puris - 12 to 15 nos (homemade/store brought)
2. White chickpeas - 1/3rd cup
3. Curd - 1 & 1/2 cup
4. Potato - 2 nos
5. Onion - 1 no
6. Date & tamarind chutney - 1/4th cup
   
7. Green chutney - 1/4th cup
8. Sugar - 2 tbsp
9. Sev - 1/3rd cup
10. Cumin powder - 1/4th tbsp
11. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
12. Chaat masala - 1 tsp
13. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch or to garnish
14. Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. Drain them and pressure cook with a little bit of salt.
• Pressure cook the potatoes with little salt, peel and chop them down finely.
• Beat the curd adding sugar and salt as per taste. Also add in a tsp of cumin powder. Mix well.
• Gently make a hole in the puris using your thumb and arrange them onto a plate.
• Now begin filling the puris with chickpeas and potatoes.
• Add finely chopped onion in each puri.
• Add a tsp of green chutney and date and tamarind chutney in each. 
• Now add in the churned curd and repeat adding the two chutneys.
• Sprinkle red chilli powder, cumin powder salt and chaat masala from top.
• Garnish it with sev and coriander leaves.
• Serve immediately.

                               

         These taste best when served immediately or will turn soggy with time. You can prep all the things before hand and fill the puris just while serving on the go. Adjust the ingredients as per your taste and you will never know when you finished that plate. 

         If you are looking for more Indian snacks recipes then do try crispy Boondi, tempting Masala lobia, hot and fluffy Moong dal kachori, the easiest Sukha bhel and almost everybody's favourite Pav bhaji  from My Mom's Kitchen.

Wish to hear from you...

Happy Cooking!!!

Sabudaana kheer

                 Kheer is a famous dessert of India with infinite variations. The main component being milk which is paired with another ingredient to get the desired kheer. Bottle gourd kheer, rice kheer and Sabudana kheer are some of my favorites.

                Sabudana is the Hindi name for Sago. These white little pearls are rich in carbohydrates and act as a fuel for the body. We consume sago water mostly when we are sick or have an upset stomach. If you are skinny and wish to gain weight in a healthy way then Sago is the best option.

                Today's Sabudana kheer is a delight for sweet lovers. It is easy to put together the only time consuming step being the soaking of sabudana or sago pearls. Sabudana kheer is mostly served with pooris, the pooris in this case being similar to gujiyas that are made during the festival of Holi. Here comes the detailed recipe :-

Ingredients:

1.  Sabudana - 1 cup
2. Milk -2 1/2 cups
3. Sugar - 3/4 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
5. Cashews - few
6. Almonds - few
7. Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Wash and soak the sabudana in water for approximately 30 minutes in a cooking vessel.
• Place the vessel on stove (containing both sabudana and water used for soaking) and let the sabudana cook through. May take around 10 to 15 minutes. 
• Now add the sugar. You may adjust the sugar level to your liking.
• Once the sugar has dissolved add the cardamom powder. Mix well. Turn out the flame.
• Soak or boil cashews and almonds and cut them very finely.
• In a pan heat ghee and add cashews and almonds and fry till browned. Remove to a plate. (If you wish you can skip this step and add the nuts directly while serving). Add the remaining ghee to the sabudana mixture.
• Heat milk and add it to the prepared sabudana mixture. 
• Garnish with fried cashews and almonds.
• Serve immediately or chilled.

                                             

You may also like to try other desserts like Vermicelli kheer, Orange kheer, Bread Rasmalai, Aloo ka meetha and Gulgule from My Mom's Kitchen.

Happy Cooking!!!

Turai kheema (Ridge gourd & minced meat curry)

             Turai which is known as Ridge gourd in English when paired with minced meat or kheema gives a beautiful delicious side dish that tastes best with chapathis or soft phulkas. An ideal dish for breakfast.

           Ridge gourd is an excellent blood purifier and beneficial for diabetes and a cure for jaundice. Being low in calories it aids in weight loss and has a good content of Vitamin C and B. It is also a good source of zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.

          There are few points to remember while preparing this curry. First, do a taste check - the turai or ridge gourd can be bitter so it is important that you taste all the raw gourds before you cook lest the entire curry will turn bitter even if one gourd was bitter. Next the gourds reduces significantly in volume while cooking and finally, while peeling the gourd leave a little bit of green here and there like in the picture added below to keep the gourd firm or it will turn too soft and mushy. Here comes the recipe in detail :-

Ingredients:

1. Ridge gourd - 1 kg
2. Minced meat - 250 gms
3. Onion - 1 no
4. Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
5. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
7. Methi (small variety) - 2 bunches
8. Coriander leaves - few
9. Green chillies - 2 to 3 nos
10. Salt - to taste
11. Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Peel the ridge gourd. Do a taste check (refer paragraph above). Wash and chop finely like in the picture below.

• Wash and clean the minced meat. Drain the water completely.
• Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel.
• Add finely chopped onion. Saute over a minute.
• Add salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix well.
• Add the minced meat. Give a quick stir. 
• Now add the ridge gourd. Mix very well. Cover and cook on low flame while stirring occasionally. 
• Add the chopped methi leaves along with chopper coriander leaves. Slit and the green chillies as well. Continue to cover and cook on low flame for another 5 to 7 minutes or till the water dries up.
• Serve hot.

                                                       


         You may also like to try Palak kheema, Kheema baingan masala, Aloo kheema, Beans & minced meat curry and Kababchini ka kheema from My Mom's Kitchen.

Do come back to tell me your experience.

     I will meet you with my next post till then....

Happy Cooking!!!

Pista milk

               Pista milk is a refreshing drink that can be served warm in winter and chilled during summer season.

       
                Among all the nuts pista has always been my favourite. Removing its shell has been my childhood craze and then collecting the shells to make designs is a hobby that I still love to continue it was only sometimes that when the shells were too hard to remove and made my nails break that I hated them, nostalgia! However dad now gets the unshelled pistas and that also speeds up my cooking and eating process alike.
   
                Pistachios are loaded with nutrients, high in antioxidants and therefore this Pista milk brings a delicious and nutritious substitute to the daily plain milk. It is absolutely easy to make, put together in minutes. This can also be served in parties as a welcome drink. To make it appear more colourful you can also add green edible food colour towards the end of the recipe. Here comes the recipe in detail :-

Ingredients:

1. Milk - 1 & 1/2 cups
2. Pistachios - 2 tbsp
3. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
4. Sugar - 2 tsp

Method:

• Soak pista in half a cup of boiled milk for some time.
• Grind it to a coarse paste.
• Boil the remaining one cup of milk. 
• Add the ground paste along with sugar and cardamom.
• Adjust sugar level as per your liking.
• Cook on low flame for another 5 minutes. 
• Garnish with crushed pista and serve warm or chilled. 

                             You may also like to try Badam milk, Dry fruit milkshake, Milk sherbet, Strawberry milkshake and Mango milkshake from My Mom's Kitchen.

  Write your thoughts below in the comments...

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             Happy Cooking!!! 

Almond pilaf (Badam-i-pulao)

                        Today, I have an interesting recipe for you called Almond pilaf that can be a star dish on your next party table.

                                     

                    Going by the name this pilaf or pulao as we call it, is full of almonds that give a delightful crunch against the soft grainy texture of rice. Almonds give a royal look to this dish besides adding to the nutritional value they being a power house of  Vitamin E and antioxidants. The greens included here add to the visual appeal and the dish in itself is very quick and easy to prepare while also projecting the feeling to your guests that you have put in a lot of effort (a win win situation).

                    The Almond pilaf presented here is served with Hyderabadi kofta curry, however this can also be served with Hyderabadi bagaare baingan and it also tastes equally good with Mirchi ka salan (with capsicum), or also with Chicken khorma and Chicken curry while you can also try serving it with Dum ke tamaate. Here comes the recipe of Almond pilaf in detail:-

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 500 gms
2. Onion - 1 no
3. Almonds - 1cup
4. Shahjeera (caraway seeds) - 1 tsp
5. Cinnamon stick - 1 piece
6. Green chillies - 4 nos
7. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
8. Mint leaves - 1 bunch
9. Salt - to taste
10. Oil/ghee - 3 tbsp
11. Water - as required

Method:

• Wash and soak rice grains in water for atleast half an hour. Basmati preferred.
• Take water in a vessel to cook rice.
• Slit and add green chillies to the boiling water for cooking rice.
• Break cinnamon stick into two to three pieces and add it to the water.
• Add caraway seeds/shahjeera and let water come to a rolling boil.
• The water turns slightly greenish, at this stage add the soaked rice grains. Cook the rice completely. 

                                     

• In the meantime, heat oil or ghee and fry onions till golden brown. Remove to an absorbent sheet.
• In the same oil fry almonds. Remove to an absorbent sheet. Preserve and use this oil while layering.
• Now, that the rice is cooked drain the water completely. Remove to a strainer to ease the process.

                     

                 

• Now start layering the rice. First take rice add some chopped coriander and mint leaves followed by fried onion and almonds. Add a tablespoon of oil pouring it all over the rice.
• Next add rice making another layer. Again add coriander leaves, mint leaves, fried onions and almonds and a tablespoon of oil.
• Repeat the same step if you are still left with rice. The final layer being the garnish on top.
• Cover and cook on low flame for another 5 to 7 minutes.
• Serve hot.

                If you are looking for more rice recipes then do check out Bagaara khaana, Achari chana pulao, Boot pulao, Fitni pulao and Chana vegetable biryani from My Mom's Kitchen.

Share what you think of it in the comments section below.

Happy Cooking!!!

Mirchi ka salan (with capsicum)

                        Today this recipe of mine marks 150th recipe on my dear blog! So, I wished to keep it a special one, one of my favourites and also a special dish from the Hyderabadi cuisine and one dish that perfectly adhered to all categories above was Mirchi ka salan or like we say in the plural form mirchiyon ka salan. This is my personal favourite as my biryani is incomplete without this being my side. And nothing worse for a Hyderabadi to have its Biryani's taste spoiled.

                        Mirchi ka salan literally meaning pepper curry is a rich curry with the base of selected ground ingredients like coconut, sesame seeds and peanuts. It is rich in taste and the richness is further exalted with spices like mustard seeds (rai), cumin seeds (jeera), nigella seeds (kalonji) and fenugreek seeds (methi). Out of context, but I've recently read and like to share that 63% of the world's cumin seeds is consumed in India.
                   

                      Like I mentioned above, Mirchi ka salan is generally an accompaniment to biryanis along side Dahi ki chutney. Here, as you will see in the picture below, it is served with Methi Vegetable Pulao. While this curry can be made with any type of green peppers I am sharing the recipe using green bell peppers or capsicum or shimla mirchi.

                      This recipe is absolutely easy, a beginner level one and very quick to make when you have got all the ingredients ready on hand. This recipe can be halved or doubled as per need. Here comes the detailed recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. Capsicum - 7 to 8 nos
2. Tomatoes - 4 nos
3. Dry coconut - 1 no
4. Peanuts - 4 tbsp
5. Sesame seeds - 4 tbsp
6. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
7. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
8. Nigella seeds (kalonji) - 1 tsp
9. Fenugreek seeds (methi) - 1 tsp
10. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs for tempering + 2 sprigs with twigs
11. Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
12. Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
13. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
14. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
15. Salt - to taste
16. Tamarind extract - 1 cup
17. Oil - 5 tbsp

Method:

• Dry roast coconut, sesame seeds and peanuts. Grind to a fine paste altogether or one by one and remove to a plate. Add about a spoonful of water to keep the paste moist.
• To the ground paste also add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and ginger garlic paste.
• Take a fistful of tamarind and soak it in water for atleast 15 to 20 minutes. (The longer you soak, the better) Extract the juice and keep aside till ready to use.
• Wash the capsicum well. Cut the stalks(not entirely). Using a sharp knife make two small slits one horizontal and other vertical like in the picture below.

                              

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel.  
• Add the seeds - mustard, cumin, fenugreek and nigella. 
• Once they crackle add the curry leaves followed by capsicum. Cover with lid and cook till the capsicum gets fried or begin to change their colour. Stir frequently in between.
• Next, add the grounded masala paste with 1/4th cup of water.
• Now add in the extracted tamarind juice.
• Cut the tomatoes into quarters or halves like in the picture below. Add them to the gravy.

                                                             


                                                          

• Cover and cook on low flame till it comes to a boil and also till the tomatoes have softened a bit. Adjust the amount of salt.

• Add the curry leaves with the twig just as they are like in the above picture followed by chopped coriander leaves.
• Cook on low flame for another 5 to 7 minutes.  Turn out the flame.
• Serve hot with rice.

 

               Even though this curry is made specially to accompany biryani or pulao it tastes equally good with simple plain steamed rice and papads or  Boondi. Do try it!

               If you are looking for more capsicum recipes then do check out Carrot capsicum rice, Onion capsicum masala, Lobia chawal, Fresh green salad and Lobia salad from My Mom's Kitchen.

              

Do try and share your thoughts with me.

Happy Cooking!!!

Boondi

                   Boondi is a savory snack in India that is relished by all age groups. They are crisp and appetizing and hard to resist.

                   These are called boondi as when the batter falls down into the frying pan through the slotted spatula it falls in the form of small drops and drops in Hindi are called boond and so the name boondi - solely my interpretation 😎

                  We always had store brought boondi and as a kid I could never imagine making it at home. These round shaped balls always fascinated me and I was sure that there was a complex procedure involved behind it. Then, one day I heard that one of my maternal cousin makes it at home for her family and I was curious, at last, I laid my hand on the recipe and I must admit it is the easiest recipe ever. It requires minimal ingredients and even those that are almost always present in an Indian kitchen. Note that you will need a slotted spoon for this recipe. Here comes the detailed recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. Besan/gram flour - 4 tbsp
2. Rice flour - 2 tbsp
3. Chilli powder - 1tsp
4. Baking soda - a pinch 
5. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
6. Salt - to taste
7. Oil - for frying

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, sieve together besan and rice flour.
• Add chilli powder, salt and baking soda. Mix well.
• Take a cup of water and add it little by little to get a thick batter but of running consistency. You may require more or less of water to get the right consistency.

• Heat oil for frying in a kadhai or deep bottomed vessel.
• Hold a slotted spatula a little above the vessel. Using another spoon add the mixture. You can use this other spoon to help the batter pass through or gently shake the slotted spoon itself.
• Once the boondi gets fried or turns golden brown on all the sides remove to an absorbent sheet. Repeat the process with the entire batter and fry boondi.
• Once all the boondi is fried, in the same pan or in another one heat little oil and add the curry leaves. Remove these and add it to the prepared boondi. You can also crush them while adding.
• Serve hot.

                  Boondi can be stored in an air tight container for quite a long period of time and can also be used in preparation of other recipes such as boondi raita or carried for picnics or served along a cup of tea or with steamed rice along with a curry or just relish it on its own. The delicious taste will always keep you craving for more.

                  You may also like to try other snacks recipes such as Chudwa, Chana dal snack, Masala Lobia, Sukha bhel and Masala Chana Chaat from My Mom's Kitchen.

If you have tried any of the recipe from My Mom's Kitchen you can upload the pic of your dish on our facebook page. 

           Share your thoughts with me in the comments section below.

           Happy Cooking!!!