Ma's Kadhi

There are many things in my ma's cooking that I crave for almost everyday. But there is something really special about her kadhi. There have been more than several incidents when I would be thinking of ma's kadhi at work, and when I would call her the next day and happen to ask what she cooked/plans to cook for lunch - her answer would be kadhi-chawal! Also there were innumerable times when I would come home from college hungry and craving for kadhi-chawal and it would be on the table! I don't know how that happens but it has happened enough number of times that I don't get surprised any more :)

I normally like any kind of kadhi, but this one is my favorite - pakode wali kadhi with aromatic ginger and garlic. I believe each ingredient makes a difference as you can taste each and every single thing that goes in this kadhi. Here is ma's recipe -

For Pakoda (about 10 pakodas) -
Besan (chickpea flour) - about 5-6 Tbps
Very finely chopped onion - 2 tbsp
Very finely chopped 1-2 green chiles and handful of cilantro
Salt and red chile powder to taste.
Water to mix.
Oil to deep fry.

Mix all of the above very well, don't make the batter very thick or the pakodas will remain hard even after adding to the kadhi. I like them soft and juicy after they've been cooked in the kadhi. Let the batter stand for 10 mins (if you have the time). Deep fry the pakodas in hot oil and keep aside (read - hide! or there won't be any left for the kadhi!).

For Kadhi (Serves 2) -
Besan (chickpea flour) - 1.5 Tbsp
Plain Yogurt (low fat, no fat anything is fine), slightly sour yogurt works the best - 3/4th Cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4th tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red chile powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garlic (sliced thin in rounds) - 2-3 cloves
Ginger (grated) - 2 tsp
Green chile (slit lengthwise) - 1 or 2
Curry leaves - a few (IF you can find them!)
Salt to taste
Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp

Method
Whisk together yogurt and besan with a cup of water to get rid of lumps if any.
Heat oil, once it is warm enough add mustard seeds. As the first ones begin to crackle add fenugreek seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds and add green chiles, ginger and garlic.
Saute till ginger-garlic turn golden. Add red chile powder, turmeric and salt and add yogurt-besan mixture quickly and mix well. It is important to be quick here or the spices will burn. Its a good idea to pre measure and mix them.
At this point the kadhi wouldn't look yellow, if its of thickish consistency, add more water as the kadhi will thicken on cooking. Simmer till it begins to boil and look yellow. The objective is to make sure the kadhi is close to done before adding the pakodas. Boiling too long after adding pakodas will cause them to break (specially if you succeeded in making them soft :)) And adding them too late will leave them dry. Add pakodas and bring to a boil, simmer for a few more minutes.
Garnish with fresh cilantro (it adds a lot to the flavor, mom doesn't make kadhi if she doesn't have cilantro at home :))





Serve with hot rice (cooked with a little salt). I love radish on the side with kadhi-chawal but onions and mango pickles work well too! This kadhi is great on its own too, I usually finish a bowl before even reaching for the rice :)



I was hoping to post this on Mother's day for my dearest Ma who is so far away from me but still knows everything that I feel even without asking me about it. Love you Ma!

Daal Makhani

Updated on 11/25 for 'Think Spice - Think Ginger'

Daal makhani, better known as Kaali daal (black lentils, literally) to me has always been a favorite. It features on the menus of almost all North Indian restaurants, I think it's a place well deserved :)

This is a very simple and easy recipe for daal makhani. Does not require too many ingredients and is one of those things where you can taste every single ingredient :) I normally don't use any butter/creme to make it. I believe correctly cooking the daals is the key to its texture.

Ingredients(Serves 4):
1. 1 Cup Urad daal (whole black gram, not the split one)
2. 1/4th Cup Rajma (red kidney beans)
3. 1/4th Cup Chana daal (split bengal gram)
4. About 1 Tbsp ginger juliennes
5. 2 tomatoes chopped
7. 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
6. 2 Tbsp ghee
7. 2 tsp cumin seeds
8. Red chilli powder and salt to taste
9. A few dry red chillies
10. A big pinch of asafoetida

Method:
1. Wash urad daal, chana daal and rajma well, mix them and soak overnight(about 8 hrs) in lots of water.
2. Add salt to taste and pressure cook the soaked daals. I put the cooker on high flame and after first whistle lower the flame to medium-low. Let it cook for about 5-6 more whistles. There should be enough water or the daal will burn due to the long cooking time.
3. Once the cooker cools down, mix the daals well with a ladle, urad daal should be very soft , chana daal should almost dissolve, rajma will be as it is. This is how you get the creamy consistency, long cooking time is the key. If you can see the water separated from the urad daal, you probably need to cook for one more whistle.
4. Then add ginger juliennes (more the better, but depends on your love for ginger).
5. Now for tempering/tadka - heat ghee (or butter), add hing (asafoetida), cumin, dry red chillies and chopped garlic.
6. Fry a little and then add tomatoes.
7. Once tomatoes are soft, add some red chilli powder and then add the daal. Let it simmer for a while (10 mins or so on medium heat).



If you want you can add more butter/creme at the end. Its up to you how rich you want to make it. Since my mom makes it very frequently, she doesn't add any
butter/creme. Garnish with creme/butter and fresh cilantro.

Serve with parathas/naan/jeera rice and don't forget to serve some onions soaked in lime/vinegar (and salt) on the side :) Baingan ka bharta goes hand in hand with this daal. It tastes best the next day with fresh, crisp parathas.



Thoughtful Bee of Jugalbandi suggested that I send this as an entry to Sunita's (of Sunita's World) 'Think Spice' event. The theme this month is 'Ginger', a spice I love. A ginger relish made with lemon juice, green chillies and salt used to be a regular feature on our dining table in my parents home (talented Passionate Baker made it for this event :)). Another favorite is adu-limbu nu sharbat or ginger lemonade. Parthiv and I love it during the summer! And of course cannot fail to mention the importance of ginger tea, the comfort of tea combined with therapeutic ginger fills you up with warmth and soothes sore throats. My favorite mix is grated ginger mixed with black cardmom powder, a pinch of black pepper and honey. This used to be my mom's home made remedy for sore throat and cough.

Coming back to daal-makhani, this is one of those recipes where my love for ginger is quite evident. Ginger juliennes are added raw after the daal has been pressure cooked. It brings out the flavor of the ginger and I love all the spoonfuls that have a little gingery crunch in them!

So with thanks to Bee and Sunita, this post is off to Sunita's 'Think Spice - Think Ginger' event.

In Search of the Perfect Chole

I feel my search will never end. I make chole in at least 5 different ways, I keep experimenting, adding or removing ingredients, tweaking the procedure one way or another to get the taste that you get in the not-home-made chole. But the search continues. If you have ever tasted 'Havmor' (in Ahmedabad)'s chana-poori, you will know what kind of chole I am talking about. Chole in a dark thick gravy with some mysterious spices, each little chick-pea bursting with flavor to its seams. I know one thing - they use a barrel of fat in them! And I also know that I turn out to be a chicken when it comes to using a lot of oil in my cooking. Not that I don't love deep fried food - kachoris, pooris, my mom-in-law's deep fried farsaans like chakri, sev, farsi poori, peas kachoris, my mom's shakkarpaare, bread pakodas, bread rolls, samosas... bring it on! I'll never say no! :D

So, here we were, eating home-made chole, thinking about a plate of Havmor's, living in perpetual want for the perfect chole... and then we went to a pot-luck party where this lovely girl A (who I met for the first time) brought in some killer chole. It looked like the search had ended :) She sweetly sent me the recipe next day and I didn't waste a day in trying it out. The result - pretty good chole, but still in the same cadre as my other recipes. I just couldn't get mine to taste like hers! Most likely reason - my tendency for avoiding oil!! I then started tweaking her recipe and now we have moved a notch up. Our friends love those and so do we, but the search continues....

I just realized the above paragraph is good for nothing as this post is not about that recipe :D One week-night, it was pretty late by the time I got to the kitchen to cook. Saw these two chickpea cans, opened the freezer to find some frozen parathas. All set for a tasty meal! :)

My colleague Mr. K who is also an Indian (and from Delhi) knows what I mean when I say I need to get my chole right. He is a foodie like me :) He and his wife try several ways to make chole and he always brings me some to taste! A few days back he brought me a packet of 'Shaan Punjabi chole masala'. He said it’s a Pakistani brand and may be worth a shot for a different flavor. The ingredients for this brand of masala are quite different and include Baking soda and garlic. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try out the brand new masala when we were so hungry and this was the only thing I was cooking. So I decided to mix it up with other masalas. Armed with Shaan Chole masala, MDH chole masala and my home made mix of spices, and two chick pea cans I set out to make chole.

Here's the recipe-
Ingredients:
1. 2 cans chickpeas, wash and drain. Or 3 (cooked) cups kabuli chana/chole/chickpeas soaked for 6 hours and pressure cooked with salt to taste.
2. 1 Medium onion (grated or minced)
3. 1 tomato sliced lengthwise
4. 2 tsp chopped green chillies
5. 1 tbsp ginger (grated/ground into a paste)
6. 2 cloves garlic ((grated/ground into a paste)
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 1 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds
9. 0.5 Tbsp Shaan chole masala
10. 1 Tbsp MDH Chole masala
11. 0.5 Tbsp mix of roasted and ground cumin, pomegranate seeds and coriander seeds (1 part of coriander, 1 of cumin and 1/2 of pomegranate seeds - I made this masala for one of my experiments and just happened to have some left over).
12. 1 tsp red chilli powder
13. Salt to taste
14. 1 Tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Heat oil, add bay leaf, cumin, let them get fragrant and a little brown and then add green chillies-ginger-garlic. Sauté and enjoy the aroma :) Now add grated onions. Sauté for about 10 minutes on medium-low heat. If the onions stick to the pan, sprinkle few drops of water once in a while. Let the onions turn golden brown. Once you feel onions are cooked (make sure they are, half cooked onions can mess things up totally) add everything from #9 to #13. Be careful with the salt, canned chickpeas already have salt. Sauté for a minute. Turn the flame to high and add the chickpeas. Mix well to make sure the chole are coated with the masala. Now add a cup of water, bring to a boil. Add half of the sliced tomatoes, lower the heat, cover and let the chole simmer. When chole get to the desired consistency, add a few thinly sliced onions, rest of the tomatoes on top, turn off the flame and cover.

When ready to serve, mix the chole with the onions and tomatoes on top. Onions and tomatoes would have slightly cooked with the steam. Onions lend a nice aroma when you do this. Add more water if the gravy has dried out. Bring to a boil again, garnish with onions, chopped green chillies and fresh cilantro and serve with pooris/bhaturas/parathas.




I kept tasting the chole and added masalas as I thought necessary. You can use any one of the three masalas I used or even garam masala. I think the mix of roasted and ground coriander, cumin and pomegranate seeds is the most important ingredients.

I made a quick salad to go with the chole. I had bought this bunch of different colored carrots from Whole Foods. I tasted them and was disappointed, they had no flavor, just the crunch! I assumed the dark purple carrot would be the same as 'Kaali gajar' that we used to get in India sometimes. Mom would make a Kaanji out of Kaali gajar. Its a tangy drink made with mustard, red chilli powder and these carrots. Long slices of carrots are mixed with mustard, red chilli powder, salt and lots of water. This concoction is then allowed to sit in the sun for a day or two. The result is beautiful maroon colored water with a solid tangy flavor... yummm, gotta make that someday! So back to the purple carrots - When I cut them I found only the skin was purple, I felt cheated :(( Ha ha! So after lamenting for a while, I decided to make a quick salad.

Sliced 2-3 carrots in long thin slices, did the same with 1/4th cucumber and *very* little red onions. Mixed it all with salt and lime juice to taste. Warmed 1/2 tsp oil, added 1 tsp raai ki daal (split mustard seeds) to it. Added this tempering to the salad and mixed it well. I would have loved to add slit green chillies as well, but I thought the salad might get too hot for Parthiv :)

This crunchy salad made a perfect accompaniment to the hot chole and parathas.


If you read this, I would love to know how you make chole. So do leave me a comment! I will post the other recipe I talked about, soon :D

Methi wala kaddu and tari wali barbati

I am pleased with the title of this post, both 'kaddu' and 'barbati' are words that I don't get to hear very often nowadays :) Just another wave of nostalgia I guess! :)

I have been eyeing pretty looking Banana Squash at the grocery store for quite a while now but never tried cooking it. The other day I suddenly remembered the 'methi wala kaddu' (Indian Pumpkin seasoned with fenugreek seeds. Where Indian pumpkin is something close to butternut squash) that my mom used to make. And it felt like I had found some use for the banana squash :) Here's her recipe -

Ingredients: I am not giving exact measurements as this preparation doesn't need any!
1. Banana squash peeled and cubed. It was quite easy to peel using a regular peeler.
2. A little oil to cook.
3. Chopped green chillies, onions and garlic
4. Lemon juice
5. 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds. (In other words, use less fenugreek and mustard, and more cumin :))
6. Red chilli powder, turmeric and salt to taste
7. Fresh cilantro -chopped. I didn't have it, so I used spring onions.

Method:
1. Heat oil, add all the seeds and let them splutter.
2. Add garlic, followed by green chillies and onions. Saute a little bit. Don't let them brown.
3. Add chilli powder and turmeric, saute.
4. Mix banana squash cubes, sprinkle salt to taste and mix well.
5. Add a tbsp of water, mix, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.
6. When the squash is cooked, turn off the heat and stir in cilantro (I used spring onions) and lemon juice to taste.
7. Cover and let the flavors sink in.
8. Serve with fulkas/paratha and a wedge of lime.

Actually the spring onions went quite well with the other flavors. I might add it the next time, even if I have fresh cilantro. Mind you, the dish has a slightly bitter taste because of the fenugreek seeds, but I think that is what makes this preparation special! :)

I served it as a side to tari wale barbati/lobia/rongi/rawan/chowli/black-eyed peas :)



This is how I made the barbati.
Ingredients (serves 2)
1. 1/2 cup black-eyed peas
2. 1/2 onion grated/chopped fine
3. 2 tomatoes pureed
4. 2 tsp ginger/garlic/green chilli paste
5. Masala - 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp coriander powder
6. Oil about 1/2 tbsp

Method:

1. Soak black-eyed peas for about 2 hours in cold water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles with a little salt and enough water to immerse the beans. I prefer not to cook the beans too much initially as they should retain their shape.

2. Heat oil, add onions, ginger-garlic-chilli paste and tomatoes. (I put them all in the chopper together and chopped fine. My mom grinds them all - I am not fortunate enough to have an Indian blender like she has :) Turns out to be pretty quick and doesn't seem to matter though!)

3. After about 5-7 minutes of sauteeing as oil begins to separate, add all the masalas and a little salt. At this step I also added some chopped green bell-peppers, a lovely tip from dear Musical of Musical's Kitchen. Saute for a minute.

4. Add cooked black-eyed peas with the water it was pressure cooked in. Simmer for about 10 more minutes till you get desired consistency of the gravy.

5. Add fresh coriander.

Alternatively, you can also avoid pre-cooking the black-eyed peas. Just prepare the masala as in step 2 and 3, in step 4 add soaked black-eyed peas and then pressure cook for 4 whistles. I didn't do it this way this time around as I didn't want my bell peppers to over cook :)

For the extra dash of flavor, you can sprinkle some garam masala or chana masala at the end.

This meal was very close to a typical sunday meal at my parent's home. The only thing missing was chaach or namkeen lassi as punjus call it :) We would *always* have salad at home, so I made sure I at least had some chopped cucumber with this meal :)

Paneer 50-50

Parthiv loves paneer. He makes awesome paneer tikkas and the likes, so when he says he is going to dish out something with paneer, I never think twice and assist him happily :)

The other day, we wanted to make something easy and simple. I thought of kadhai paneer (a little on the dry side with chopped onions/tomatoes etc). But he was more in the mood for the matar-paneer kind (made with onion/tomato paste). So he declared he'll make me happy and make 50-50 paneer. Here's how he made it.

Ingredients:
1. About 2 cups paneer - thawed to room temperature and cubed. We used frozen paneer bought from an Indian store ("Nanak" brand).
2. 1/2 cup green peas
3. 1 onion (medium-large). Chop half of it it very fine in a chopper and slice the other half lengthwise.
4. 2-3 tomatoes made into a paste (we put the onions and tomatoes in the chopper together, so they were chopped very fine). 1 tomato, sliced lengthwise.
5. 1 tsp grated ginger
3. Half a green bellpepper, sliced thin lengthwise.
4. Red chilli, turmeric, coriander powder and salt to taste.
5. 2 tblsp of milk (use fat free if you like, worked for us).
6. 1.5 tbsp cooking oil.

Method:
1. Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan, as it heats add ginger followed by finely chopped onions and tomatoes. Saute till oil separates, should take 7-10 minutes on medium flame. You may need to add a little more oil to actually see the oil separating :) If you don't want to use too much oil, just ensure that the color gets darker (you may have to keep sprinkling water once in a while to make sure the paste doesn't burn). We added peas also somewhere in between to make sure they get cooked (when to add them will depend on how long it normally takes your peas to cook).
2. In the meanwhile, in a frying pan heat the remaining oil. Add sliced onions and saute, followed by tomatoes and bellpeppers and a little salt. The onions should become translucent but should not cook too much.
3. Add paneer and toss on high flame. Doing this pan-fries the paneer, making it crispier on the outside and eliminating the need for any deep frying.
4. If your tomato/onion paste is done by now, add red chilli, turmeric and coriander powder and salt and saute for a few seconds.
5. Add the sliced-sauteed veggies with paneer to this and mix well, so that the masala coats the paneer.
6. Add half a cup of water and let it simmer for 5 minutes or so, water will almost dry out.
7. When almost done, add milk and let cook for a minute or two.
8. Sprinkle fresh cilantro and serve with hot thick rotis.



As easy as that! :) To increase the flavor, you can sprinkle some kasuri methi at the end. Or if you want it spicier you can sprinkle some garam masala.

We turned up cooking our sliced veggies more than we would have liked, but it was delicious anyways :)



The leftovers had soaked the gravy completely making it a great candidate for kati rolls (there wasn't much left though!). While packing for lunch, I added some sliced onions and lemon juice to it. At lunchtime, I heated a roti and wrapped warm sabzi in it to make a quick, tasty kati roll!

Malai Koftas and Memories

First time I made malai koftas was on a special demand from our dear friend R's mom (who we lovingly call Masi). Masi thought that being a Punjabi kudi I would know how to make malai koftas. Sadly enough, I didn't! Malai koftas may sound very Punjabi but I doubt they are cooked commonly in Punjabi homes (not in my home at least!). But I couldn't let her know right (specially when I was just beginning to know this sweet lady)? So Parthiv and I made them just like this! And funnily enough I still think thats the tastiest thing we ever made :) And thankfully masi agrees!

We have made these koftas multiple times since then. Making them in large batches and getting together with a group of friends has been the norm! Too bad I don't have a picture to share. I will upload it the next time I make these creamy koftas.

I would certainly not classify these koftas as exactly healthy, but if you don't mind eating greasy restaurant made pseudo malai koftas once in a while, you surely won't mind these!

They do take some effort and time. Though the list of ingredients and steps look daunting, they are pretty easy to make. You can always make some extra koftas and deep freeze them. They are as good as new when added to fresh gravy!

I am not great with my measurements as I am taste-till-you-get-it-right kind of person. Make adjustments as you think appropriate.

For Koftas (makes around 8 koftas) you need -

Boiled potatoes - 2 large
Grated paneer - about 1 cup
Green chilli paste - 2 tsp
Green cardmom powder - 1/4tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Bread slices - 2
Coriander (dhania) powder - 1 tsp
A few raisins
sugar and salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Directions for koftas:
1. Mash the potatoes and bread, mix salt and half of green chilly paste, keep aside.
2. Grate paneer (microwave it for a few seconds to make it real soft), add ginger paste, rest of green chilli paste, salt, a little bit of sugar, green cardmom powder, dhania powder and mix well.
3. To assemble koftas - make a ball of the potato mixture, flatten it and fill the paneer mixture in it, top with a raisin and make a ball again. So it would be a potato ball with paneer inside.
4. Heat oil in a kadahi or wok. Deep fry the koftas on medium flame till the koftas turn golden and crisp. keep aside.

Ingredients for gravy:
Oil - 1 tblsp
Cloves - 2
A small stick of cinnamon
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 2tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomato paste - 1/2 cup or pureed tomatoes - 1 cup
Cashew powder/paste - about 8 cashews
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Creme - 1/2 cup or Half n half 1 cup
sugar and salt to taste

Directions for gravy:
1. Heat oil, add cumin seeds, a few cloves, some cinnamon sticks, let them crackle. Then add ginger paste and a little garlic paste. Saute for a few seconds.
2. Add tomato paste or tomato puree. If you are using store bought tomato paste you might want to dilute it a little.
3. Saute well till tomatoes begin to leave the sides.
4. Add finely ground cashew paste. Mix well, you can add poppy seed paste also if you prefer.
5. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and dhania powder, mix well.
6. Add creme/half n half. Add a little water accordingly.
7. Stir on medium heat till gravy reaches the right consitency. You don't want it to be too thick as the koftas absorb a lot of gravy.
8. Add sugar to taste and stir.
9. Add salt right at the end and stir.

To serve:
1. If your gravy has gotten cold, heat it well.
2. Add koftas and heat
3. Don't stir too much or the koftas will break.
4. Garnish with fresh coriander and creme or grated paneer.

Serve with sirke wale or nimbu wale pyaaz (onions soaked in vinegar or lime), naan or parathas or jeera rice.

This can easily be converted into a Jain recipe if you use raw plaintain instead of potatoes and skip the garlic.