Alu Gobi - yummy, punjabi style

the evening started off with the usual conversation... what to make for dinner... the options... baingan, alu, chicken...

baingan was rulled out cause switi doesnt like it... a blessing cause i got to make something i never made before.. :D

so the vote was alu gobi (cauliflower and potato) in true indian or rather punjabi style... :)
(the choice also cause the cauliflower in the fridge was getting spoilt... ;) )

so here begins the work for the dish!!

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower
3-5 potatoes (in proportion to the cauliflower)
garlic
ginger
green chillies

Masalas:
turmeric powder
coriander powder
red chilly powder
salt
jeera
optional:
kasuri methi
kitchen king masala

Preparations:
1. heat oil in a pan and add jeera (cumin seeds) to it. roast for 1 minute till the cumin seeds change colour
2. add the chopped onions and roast them till they become transparent
3. add the chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies.
4. additional if you have, to add amazing taste, take kasuri methi (dry methi leaves, crushed)
5. roast all of them till the garlic is cooked.
6. add all the masalas abt 1/2 teaspoon to give the optimum mix of the flavour
7. cook the masalas into the onions and roast it for 2 mins.
8. add the chopped potatoes, cook them a bit in the masala thats in the pan
9. add the chopped cauliflower and mix well so that the cauliflower is mixed and coated well with the masala.
10. cover and cook well for 5 - 10 mins to cook the cauliflower and potato properly...
11. sprinkle with fresh daniya leaves and serve

eat this with roti or bread or any roll available in the market. :D yummy tasting!!!

Tips:
1. dubai potatoes and cauliflower are hard to cook on the pan, boil them in the microwave, makes it easy and faster to cook
2. grind the onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger in the grinder, makes it easier to cook and gets more flavours. :D
3. if the alu gobi seems dry or is getting fried, add olive oil on the top.. that helps to keep the gobi soft and nice.
4. the photo is from my next day attempt at the same recipe. theres no alu in this photo. the onions are a little more burnt, honestly. :D

original recipe: http://www.monsoonspice.com/2012/10/punjabi-aloo-gobi-recipe-how-to-make.html?m=1

Alu Puri - all time favourite

Today like all weekends started out with a hungry tummy and a houseful of people thinking what to eat....
the all time favourite Alu Puri (potato curry and fried indian bread) came to mind and mouth starts watering... :D

its a pretty simple recipe and mom and my roomie, switi would make it very conveniently... well !! here u r talking about 2 of the best cooks i have come across in my life... for me... cooking anything is a good challenge...

so step 1: google the receipe... :D (would never know what to do if google didnt exist)

post initial disappointment of not getting the well known "sanjeev kapoor" recipe, i looked at the 1st recipe link i got on google and went ahead... (the inclination to that link was also because of the fact that it said Punjabi Alu Puri... which was what i wanted to make)

so heres what to do!! :)

Ingredients:
4 -5 potatoes
2 onions
2-3 tomatoes
green chillies
garlic
ginger
cumin seeds
masalas/curry powders - red chilli powder, garam masala, haldi (teaspoon each would do)
salt to taste

Preparation:

for the gravy
1. boil the potatoes to medium cooked to help make the dish faster
2. slice the onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger fine, the tomatoes into chunky pieces.
3. put a pan on the gas
4. add oil, a few tablespoons, enough to roast the onions and other ingredients
5. once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, a teaspoon
6. ones the cumin seeds are roasted, add the onions and roast them till they are transparent
7. add the ginger, garlic and chillies and roast till they seem roasted (sorry dont have any other identification to how long to roast it
8. add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft.. crush the chunks of the tomatoes to make them little liquify.
9. season with the curry powders - red chillies, garam masala (1 teaspoon each) and a bit of turmaric powder (haldi)
10. cook for a min to let the curry powders roast in the tomato and onion mix. add the potatoes and half a glass of water.
11. cover the pan and cook for a bit, keep stirring periodically
12. smash a few potatoes into the mixture so that the gravy is a bit thicker and has a taste in it of the potato
13. open it and cook the potatoes while simmering the liquid.
14. add salt to taste and sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves for taste and smell. :D

for the puri (fried indian bread)
1. heat oil in a deep frying pan
2. take wheat flour, knead the flour with some water and oil into a stiff dough to roll up.
3. make small balls of the dough and roll it into a flat, thin rounds.
4. fry them into the hot oil, till they puff up and are golden in colour brown

Serve hot with the curry... enjoy!! :D

Tips:
1. grinding the tomatoes will also help, gives you that liquidy consistency.
2. the curry can be extremely watery also... dont worry
3. if the spices become more, like mine did... easy way to mellow it is to add a bit of yogurt.
4. fried indian bread is the literal traslation of "puri"... :D


the original recipe is: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/aloo-poori-punjabi-aloo-poori/

Yogurt Dip with veggies and chips - Lesson 3

Lesson 3: Yogurt Dip with veggies and chips

Ingredients:

Dip - Reshma ka dip 

Veggies - carrot, kakadi , beet and chips 

Dip: 

• 500gms hung curd
• 12 cloves of garlic
• Coriander - Daniya generous lot 
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make:

• Hang curd in a muslin cloth for 30 mins
• Fine chop the garlic and Daniya 
• Add to the dahi and keep in the fridge 
• Before u serve, add salt and pepper

a few basic things to remember:

• your friends are the best people to tell you easy ways of making yummy dishes. 
• hanging the curd makes it thick and non watery... more like a dip and not a raita. 
• garlic amounts can be changed depending on how garlicy you want the dip. :D 
• experimentation with other herbs and spices can change the look and taste of this dish. 
• salted chips (the standard packets) will go very well with this. 

Dessert Lesson 1 - Choco Cake with Choco Sauce

Dessert Lesson 1: Choco cake + choco sauce and cherries

Ingredients:
The choco cake this time was bought from the store near my house. its the sauce that made a difference and attracted me to the recipe in the 1st place. :) 

For the chocolate sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
• Hershey's choco syrup
• 1 splash brandy, rum, Amaretto or Baileys

How to make:

• Melt the butter in a pan
• remove off flame, put the dark choco into it and melt it. i used lindt dark choco (the white wrapper packet) 
• once the lindt is melted, for extra taste add hershey's choco syrup 
• last but not the least, a teaspoon of kahlua and the sauce is ready. 
• cut the choco cake pieces and spread a generous amount of the sauce on it. 
• add a tang with berrys (any) on the top, gets great appreciation! :D 

People come back for 2nds!! thanks friends!! :)  

A few basic things to remember:

• if the sauce becomes thick, heat it and add water to make it thin and flow. 
• just melt the butter else it will taste burnt
• use your judgement on your favourite chocolate to make the sauce. 

Original receipe: thanks Jamie Oliver - 
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/chocolate-love-cake-with-cherries-and-booze

Doodi ka kofta - lesson 2

Lesson 2: Doodi ka kofta!! (Bottle Gourd meatballs (just the balls :D )

my mom's best cooked dish.. took this up just by watching mom.. who says eves dropping and staring is wrong... :D 

Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd (Doodi)
gram flour (besan)
tomatoes 
onions
ginger
green chillies
salt
garam masala (garam masala - indian spice)
coriander powder
oil to fry

the usual is MANDATORY
khali pet (empty stomach)
some roomies  to experiment on... :D 

How to make:
Step 1: get all the ingredients in place so that they are handy when u making the dish. 

there are 2 steps to this recipe - 
1) making the Bottle Gourd meatballs. 
2) the gravy where the meatballs will float.. 

Step 2: making the bottle gourd meatballs 
1. the bottle gourd or doodi needs to be grated. choose a piece that's long and straight and firm. this will give the perfect taste to the dish. 
2. peal the skin of the doodi
3. use a grate to fine grate the whole doodi
4. add salt to the mixture which will make the stored water from the bottle gourd to release. 
5. squeeze and remove all the water. make it as dry as it can be by tightly squeezing the grated mixture.
6. to the dry mix add the gram flour enough to cover the grated doodi. this is only for binding. 
5. pour sufficient amount of oil (vegetable or olive) in to a pan to deep fry. 
6. roll the mixture into small sized balls and deep fry in hot oil. 
7. let the balls get nice and golden brown. 
8. remove the fried balls onto a tissue paper to help soak the excess oil. the balls are ready. 

these are ready, keep them aside to cool!! :D 

Step 3: gravy
this is the most common and simplest gravy to make... (i dont know how to make it) 
1. grind garlic, ginger to a good paste
2. grind tomatoes and onions to a good paste
3. take a little oil in a pan and roast the pasted garlic and ginger. 
4. add the tomatoes and onion paste to it and roast it. 
5. add water to make it a thick gravy. 
6. add the spices and salt to taste. 

step 4: add the fried meatballs to the gravy and get it to a boil so that the gravy soaks into the meatballs. 

ready to eat!! :) 

a few basic things to remember:
1. havent tried baking this dish to make it healthy. if someone tries it, pls let me know if it worked!! :D 
2. make sure the oil is nice and hot, else the balls will break when you drop it to fry in the pan. 
3. pls donot use your fingers to test the temp of the oil. word of caution, that burns really bad. my moms tactic is to test it with a smallest amount of the mix. it should rise immediately and sizzle. thats the right temperature. :) 
4. these fried bottle gourd meatballs can be served just like that also with ketchup or green chutney. :D interesting and amazing snack. 
5. this dish is a test of judgement when it comes to spices and cooking process. as this is moms recipe and no google reference, the measures are judgement. happy cooking!! :)