Ponganalu (South Indian breakfast pancakes

Remember the appam pan I bought in Wembley, well here are the Ponganalu;
I have adapted this from the web
Ingredients
1 cup rice
1/2 cup mung dal
4 spring onions
2/3 chillies
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1/2 inch ginger grated
1 table spoon of finely chopped coriander
1 table spoon of fenugrek (methi)
½ teaspoon of turmeric and salt taste
1/4 teaspoon Sodium Bicarbonate


Soak the mung beans and rice overnight. Grind, the batter should be quite thin (like pancake batter) and add everything except the Sodium bicarbonate mix thoroughly and leave for 4-5 hours.

Add the sodium bicarbonate mix.
Heat the appam pan, spray so oil when hot,
add 1 spoonful of batter/veg mix to each well, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, turn over and cook for a few minutes.


We served it with Chachi's green coconut chutney (recipe to follow).

Sarson ka Saag

We bought some sarson leaves or mustard greens at Wembley, 3 for a £1.00!! Not bad huH?
This is a Punjabi dish served with maki ki roti (maize flour chapati). So last Sunday this was on the menu.

Ingredients
3 bunches mustard greens; finely chopped
8 oz Paneer (can buy it at most indian stores; a bit like haloumi cheese)
1 onion; finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; crushed
1 inch ginger; grated
2/3 chillies; chopped finely
3 large tomatoes, peeled and crushes
1 table spoon coriander and cumin mix
1/2 tspn tumeric


Cook the shredded leaves in half cup of water, until tender, grind using wand (or stick) blender.
Cut the paneer in half inch cubes, and fry in a non-stick frying pan sprayed with a little oil, set aside.

In the same pan fry the onion in a little oil (1 desert spoon), when the onions are transparent, add the chillis, garlic and ginger and fry for a few minutes, then add the crushed tomotoes, cook for a while, add the tumeric, coriander and cumin powders.
Cook for a few minutes, and then add the whole lot to the mustard greens, mix and then add the fried paneer, cook for about 5 minutes and serve with maki ki roti. Here you can see it served with juwar rotlo.


Ok no maki flour in the house, so a compromise was needed...... I decided to make juwar jo rotlo. This a typical kutch/gujarat dish made out of sorgham flour (gluten free), it should be eaten hot.

Wembley for lunch

Today we are going to Wembley for lunch to celebrate chachi's birthday. I am looking forward to going to Popats to buy some Indian utensils, may be a dosa tava? ............... I will let you know tonight.
I will also look at sarees and jewellery, who knows, I may even pick up a bargain. More later.......

So! this is what I bought:

The first one is a wada maker, ie dar ja bhajia, you put the batter in the top and press the top over the hot oil to fry the bhajias.
I also bought a Appam maker, this is for a South Indian dish, here is what I may try tomorrow.

Pumpkin Pie

Today, I made 2 pumpkin pies from the pumpkin, Muni gave me for my birthday ( from her allotment).

Here is the recipe I followed, next time, you hear me say; I want to make a pumpkin pie, remind me of this time, it is HARD work, and we don't need to eat pumpkin pie - OK?

I made it harder for myself by roasting the pumpkin after slicing, at 180 degrees C, for two hours, when cool I removed the pulpy bits, and strained for 1 hour. I collected almost 1 litre of water, then I followed the above recipe.

Shaheen's Chicken Tikka, Corn and Potatoes

Chicken Tikka
Ingredients:2 chicken (8 piece each)
Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Yougurt, Shan Tikka Masala
Spoonful of garlic and ginger

Method: Mix in a large bowl two table spoonfuls of Olive Oil, two table spoonfuls of lemon juice, Shan tikka masala, Yogurt and spoonful of garlic and ginger. (save some for the potatoes)

Prepare the chicken by cutting threelarge slits on each piece and mix into the large bowl of the tikka massala. Marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and cook for 30mins

Corn
Ingredients: 750g sweet corn, cumin and mustard seeds
Vegetable Oil, Tomato Puree, Garlic
Fresh Coriander, Green Chillies

Method: Heat two spoonfuls of vegetable in pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, corn and stir. Add garlic, ginger, four table spoons of tomato puree and salt to taste. Add one hot sliced green chilli. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Potatoes
Ingredients: 1 Kg Small new potatoes
Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Shan Tikka Masala
Spoonful of garlic and Ginger

Method: Mix the potatoes with Tikka Masala above and bake for 30mins in pre-heated (200 degrees C) oven.

Sufro for Saheen and Mohsin's Majlis

1. Chicken Tika
   
2. Naryal waro ne ghosh waro mogo (lamb with casawa and coconut)
3. Churmaja Ladu
4. Gulab jamboo

Lamb Pilau

Lamb Pulao (Rice)

2 cups Basmati Rice

4 teaspoons Vegetable Oil

6 cloves garlic minced
1 inch ginger grated
4 green chillies chopped finely

2 IbLamb (2 inch cubes)

½ cup yogurt

1 large onion (chopped fine)

3 medium tomatoes (chopped finely)

1 desert spoon Coriander/cumin powder

4 Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick (flat)

2 Cardamom

8 peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Marinate the washed lamb/beef in garlic/ginger/chilli paste and yogurt for 2-3 hours or overnight. Put in a pan and add about 3½ cups of water and boil until the meat is cooked. Set aside.

Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.

Put the oil in a large pan, add cloves, cinnamon, cardomom and peppercorns, fry for a couple of minutes, add the onions, fry until brown. Add tomatoes stir until tender, add coriander/cumin powder, stir and add drained rice and meat (save the meat stock) and stir. Measure 1½ cups of meat stock for each cup of rice, in this case 3 cups and add to the rice/meat mixture. Bring to boil and then turn down heat to simmer, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Stir and cook for a further 5 minutes. Garnish with fried onions. Serve with cuchumber (tomato, cucumber and onion salad). Recipe to follow.

Sambharo (crunchy cabbage, carrot and chilli salad)

Ingredients

1 lb cabbage (finely shredded)

1 lb carrots (cut into julienne style sticks)

8 -10 mild Green chilies (cut crossways into 2)

1 tablespoon oil

1 tspn mustard seeds

1 tablespoon of sesame seeds

1 table spoon of melon seeds

1 teaspoon Salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add all the seeds, when they begin to pop, add the green chillis, cook for a few minutes and then add the carrots mix.

Add the cabbage and salt and mix thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium, add salt and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, so that the vegetables are still a little crunchy. Add lemon juice. Serve at room temperature

Dylan, Ben and Sean's Birthday Lunch

MENU
Curry puffs
Sambharo (Spicy Cabbage/Carrot/Chilli claw slaw)
Coconut chutney
Methi Chicken with Peppers
mani (chappati)
Lamb Pilau
Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Birthday Cake
Baklava

Mohsin's Penne all'arrabiata

This is the only dish Shaheen will trust me to cook (so this is a one off) - my children love it.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, 2 hot chillies
400g chopped plum tomato
Spoonful tomato puree
Oregano, Basil, Olive Oil
Penne Pasta, Lemon Juice
Salt, Parmesan cheese



Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.
2. Stir in the crushed garlic, chopped onions and chilled until Onions just start to yellow







3. Add chopped tomatoes, pinch of salt (remember parmesan cheese also has salt) and bring to simmer
4. Add oregano and basil to taste and a splash of lemon juice and allow to simmer on very low flame
5. Half fill a medium saucepan with water spoonful of olive oil (stops the pasta sticking together) and bring to the boil (cheat by using an electric kettle to give you a head start).
6. Cook the Penne pasta according to the packet instructions.
7. Drain the pasta and wash with water to wash starch away, and then stir it into the sauce.
8. Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese to taste.

Churma ja ladu

We also made these, on Saturday, they are for Shaheen and Mohsin's majlis on Tuesday 21st November.

Ingredients

1lb whole meal flour

4 oz chickpea flour

14 oz gur

4 oz milk powder

½ cup oil

8 oz butter

2 oz pistachios 2 oz chopped almonds

1 oz sultanas

1 ¼ teaspoon roughly ground cardamom

1 gm saffron

2 ½ tsp ground nutmeg

2 oz poppy seeds

makes 16-20 depending on the size

Method

Mix the two flours, add the oil and rub well, add some warm water to make a firm dough.

Shape the dough in flat oval shaps about ¾ inch and deep fry

When cool, grind or break them into a coarse powder

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, and melt the grated gur,

as soon as it starts bubbling, remove from heat and add:

1. milk powder

2. all the spices, (accept for poppy seeds), and saffron

3. the nuts (we did not have any pistas) and sultanas

4. the coarsely ground fried flour mixture

mix thoroughly, shape the mixture into desired size balls and roll them in the poppy seeds.

Curry Puffs for Dylan's Birthday

I managed to take this picture in the nick of time, 45 curry puffs vanished within seconds!

It is Dylan's 21st birthday on the 22nd of November, we are have a party at our house on Sunday 19th of November. So yesterday, Chachi and I made 88 curry puff and froze them down. Here is the recipe

Ingredients

Filling:

½ kg minced chicken breast

1 bunch spring onions

2 cloves garlic (minced)

½ inch ginger (minced)

2 to 3 finely chopped green chillies

½ cup chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 table spoon Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.

1 kg puff pastry

Method

Dry cook the minced chicken with garlic, ginger, chillies and salt, until all the water evaporates, break the lumps if they form. Add Worcestershire sauce, mix, and remove from heat when cooked, let it cool

Add garam masala, onions and coriander.

Cut the pastry in 32 cubes. Roll each cube into 3 inch square.

Place the filling in the centre, fold, and decorate edge with blunt side of a knife.

Place on a greased tray and bake at 220^oC for 20 minutes

We have frozen all the curry puffs for next week, I will post a pic when we bake them

Saturday morning in the Kitchen

Yesterday, Chachi and I spent all morning in the kitchen. I started at 8.00am with an intention to make dosa............ what a disaster!!
I used Git’s Dosai mix………….. ended up with soggy lumpy pancake that Chachi and I tried to eat bravely!

I don’t think I will be buying the dosa tava I was intending to buy from ebay. I still have half a pack let if any one wants to try it.