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Wednesday 16 January 2013

From my kitchen Diary xv111

 What to prepare for lunch / dinner? This  question very often arises in the mind of   a housewife. More than  actual cooking ,it is very difficult to decide what to make. You ask your children what would they like to eat  for lunch/dinner. The reply, nine times out of ten, will be 'Mom make any thing'.  The same question you  put to your hubby, the  answer will  be, ' Dear you prepare anything .I love the the taste of every thing prepared by you'. You are  where you started!! Thinking what will be appreciated by the family!!  I have one solution.
Today I  prepared  a dish suggested  by a friend of mine. It was tasty. The most satisfying aspect is that it  was  appreciated by all the family members. It is  a Rajasthani dish  prepared  with Papad. I have  modified it  to give it some different  flavour.
 Papad Curry.
 Ingredients:-
Curd  1 cup
Besan (gram flour) 2 tbsps
Papad  4 small ones.
Boondi   1/4 cup
Cooking oil  4 tsps
Salt as per taste.
Turmeric powder  1/4 tsp
 Chilli powder  1/4 tsp
Garam Masala.
Cumin seeds  1/4 tsp 
Onion   i medium
Tomato 1 or 2
Ginger/garlic paste 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves. for garnishing
Red chilli  1 dried.

Method
.1  Mix Besan and  curd in a bowl, add turmeric powder and  water and stir very well to make a smooth paste.Keep aside.
2.Cut onion and tomatoes finely,
3.Put oil in a karhai add the ginger, garlic paste.Stir for a few minutes, and add the onions and tomatoes. Roast well.Add salt, chilli powder,a pinch of turmeric powder and garam masala. Add water for gravy.After  the water starts boiling, lower the flame and simmer till the gravy thickens.
3.Till the water is boiling, dry roast the papads till they are crisp. Break  them into pieces. and add to the gravy along with the boondi. Allow it boil for a couple of minutes.Remove from the fire.
4.Put  little oil in a frying pan,When the oil becomes hot, add the cumin seeds and whole red chilli. As the cumin seeds start  spluttering , remove  and add this  to the curry. Garnish with coriander leaves.
5.Serve hot. 

The second recipe is for cutlets. Generally  cutlets  are deep fried but I make them on a non-stick Tava and very little oil.
Corn Cutlets
 Ingredients
1.  Corn     2 cups
2. Paneer (cottage cheese) 200 grams
3.Grated ginger  1 tsp
4.Bread slice   1.
5 Besan (dry roasted)   2 tbsps
6. Salt to taste. 
7. Pepper powder 1 tsp.
8.Cooking oil   3to4 tsps.

Method
  Crush the corn  seeds  coarsely. Mash the paneer  thoroughly.Mix the two.  Remove the sides of the bread slice, dampen it  and mix it with the corn/paneer.Add  salt pepper powder and besan. Shape  them round. Temper the non stick tava and roast the cutlets on medium heat     Serve them hot with mint chutney or tomato ketchup. These cutlets may also be deep fried, if you prefer. They can be served as pre-dinner snacks.

Some useful tips
  1.Save the drained juice from frozen or canned fruit and use 
 fruit juice instead of water in your recipe. This is only a good 
 idea if the juice does not have a lot of sugar in it.

2.Bacteria on food will rapidly multiply if it is left at 60 C or above.
    Avoid  keeping food at this temperature for a long time.

  3. Avoid crowding food while deep frying.The food must be 
   surrounded by bubbling oil, and you must keep the temperature 
   from falling too much. If you add too much food to a small 
   amount of oil, the temperature will plummet, and the fried food 
   become greasy and soggy.




  

6 comments:

  1. Good recipes, I will try out. Thanks for the useful tips.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Meenakshi>You are an expert all rounder.A word of appreciation from you counts a lot.

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  2. Pappad curry is very commonly made in Rajasthan. I liked your recipe of dry roasting it first, usually, it is cut into pieces and added into the curry without roasting.
    The third tip about not crowding while frying is a good one... in the hurry to fry things fast, I add too many things in the oil... will not do so now! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you Shilpa.While writing the recipe of Papad curry, I was thinking about you. I am happy that you liked the recipe. On a visit to Jaipur, we visited Chokhi Dani.There we tasted Gathe ki subzi.I have prepared it many times but never got that unique taste.The Gathas become too hard.Can you post the recipe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sure Ma'am, will do that!! And next time, when you visit Jaipur, we must meet! :)

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  4. That looks so yummy, Usha ji! I will definitely try both! Putting both these on my Pinterest board now!

    ReplyDelete