Shortcrust Pastry for Pies

Ingredients

• ·      225 gms (8 oz) plain flour
• ·      125 gms (4 oz) butter (cut into cubes and keep in the freezer for a 15- 30 minutes)
• ·      A pinch of salt.

Option: 1

For the pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, add butter and mix lightly.

Using finger tips or pastry blender, rub or blend the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Sprinkle some 3-4 tbsp. cold water evenly over the surface and blend till the mixture begins to stick together.

If the dough seems dry, add little water. Collect the dough together to form a ball. Knead on a lightly floured surface for few seconds to form smooth, firm dough. Do not overwork. Wrap in a Clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling.

Option: 2 (my way)

You can add flour, salt and butter to a blender and blend slowly. Add 3-4 tbsp. water and gain blend it. Stop and pulse. Do like that 5-6 times until you get crumbly texture. Sprinkle some flour and roll into a ball. Wrap it in a cling film and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into the prepared pie plate and use as required. 

Potato Kurma

This one is directly from my mom’s kitchen, however I had made some omission. So while in the traditional variant coconut milk would be the base for the gravy, in my twisted variant I have gone for cashew nut paste. I have gone easy on the spice & grated coconut here. This dish a perfect foil for poori or roti.

Ingredients

• 4 medium potatoes boiled
• 1 onion large finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 3 tbsp. grated coconut
• 1 tbsp. fennel seeds
• 8-10 pcs cashew nuts powdered
• 1 ½ veg stock cube
• 2 tomatoes small finely sliced
• Coriander leaves to garnish
• 2 tbsp. veg oil

Grind coconut, fennel and cashew nuts together. Keep aside.

In a deep bottom non-stcik pan, add oil, Saute onion till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and curry leaves and sauté for about two minutes. Add chilli, turmeric, coriander and garam masala powder. Saute for a while.

Add tomatoes and the coconut mixture and veg stock cube. Mix nicely and add ¼ cup water; cover and cook till tomatoes are done.

Remove from heat. Let the mixture cool. Grind them to a fine paste.

To the same pan add the paste, potatoes and ½ cup water. Cover and cook for about 5-8 minutes or until the gravy thickens. Check for salt.

Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Spicy Roasted Sausages

This next dish is dedicated to my mother-in-law, who’s an awesome cook too. While she usually cooks this in coconut oil & use tomato sauce as the base. Now I have made some tweaks here & there and have also spiced up this dish. However that’s optional. Have this dish along with either roti or plain rice and a little bit of yogurt.

Ingredients

• 250 gms sausage (chicken/mutton)
• 1 green bell pepper chopped into blocks
• 1 onion large finely sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1 tsp. black pepper powder
• 2 tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 tsp. tomato paste (or tomato ketchup)
• 1 ½ chicken stock cube
• 1 tbsp. kasoori methi leaves
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 tbsp. veg oil
• Coriander leaves to garnish

In a deep bottom non-stick pan, add oil and onions. Sauté the onions till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add chilli, turmeric, coriander, Kashmiri chilli and garam masala powder. Sauté for about 2 minutes. It will be dry. That’s ok. Sprinkle some water.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste, stock cubes and kasoori methi leaves. Add sausage and bell peppers and mix. Add ¼ cup of water; cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Open the lid and add honey and mix.

Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves. OOOO…. YYuummmmm!!!!

Golden Potatoes in Coconut Gravy

By now you must have figured out that one of the common ingredients in most of my dishes happen to be coconut milk. So this next dish also happens to be infused with coconut milk. This modified version of the aloo gobi is only different in the fact that I have made this dish in coconut gravy & made the cauliflower extra crunchy. Addition of potatoes can also been seen as an option. This gravy goes pretty well with rice.

Ingredients

• 250 gms cauliflower florets
• 1 cup potatoes par boiled (optional)
• 1 onion medium finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 tsp. tomato paste (optional)
• 1 tbsp. chilli powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• ½ tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 cloves, 1 cinnamon bark, 2 cardamom pods
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 1 veg stock cube
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Par boil the florets in a sauce pan with enough water, a pinch of salt and a pinch of turmeric powder for about 10-15 minutes. The florets should be crunchy enough and should not be over cooked. Drain and keep them aside.

In a non-stick pan, add clove, cinnamon and cardamom pods and sauté for a while. Add cumin seeds and stir for a while. Add onions and sauté till translucent. Add 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste and sauté for a while. Add chilli, turmeric, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and tomato paste and add 3 tbsp. water and veg stock cube; cover and cook till tomatoes are done.

Add potatoes (if using) and florets; cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle some water if necessary.

Add coconut milk and mix completely. Cover and cook on a low flame for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

No-bake Fruity Dessert

A part of being gluttonous is that we tend to have cravings at all the odd times & midnight just happens to be one of those. This next dish was made during one such midnight. Since it was midnight, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to bake or cook. So just ended up rounding some stuff from my pantry & the end result was this dessert. For the 15 odd minutes that it takes to make this, the dish is quite delicious & fruity. I whipped out two versions of this – one with milk & the other without it.

Ingredients

• 1 small fruit cocktail mix divided (Delmonte)
• ¼ cup whipped cream + 1 tbsp.
• 6 marie biscuits( any arrowroot biscuits will do)
• ½ cup condensed milk (divided)
• ¼ cup milk

For the milk Version

In a bowl, mix ¼ cup condensed milk and milk together. Add ¼ cup of whipped cream and ½ of the fruit mix; incorporate completely.

Crush the marie biscuits coarsely. Divide them

Take a dessert bowl. Put ½ of the crushed biscuits as a base. Add the milk mixture.

For the fruit version

In a bowl, put the biscuits as a base. Add balance of the condensed milk and balance fruit mix. Top with whipped cream.

AAhhh…… Yuuummy treat. Now hoe easy was that!!!!!!!

Bagara Baingan

This is an Andhra dish which has a nutty flavour mixed with a little bit of sweetness to it. Peanut paste is the base for this dish. Usually baby brinjals (eggplant) are used to cook this dish, however for my variant I have gone ahead with the big ones. With the addition of grated coconut, I have infused a little bit of a Kerala touch into this dish too. This dish is best tasted when served with plain rice/roti.

Ingredients

• 1 large brinjal (eggplant) cubed
• 2 tbsp. veg oil/peanut oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion medium sliced
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• ¼ cup peanuts
• 2 heap tbsp. sesame seeds
• ½ cup grated coconut
• Lemon sized ball of tamarind
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 ½ tsp. chilli powder(or more)
• 1 tbsp. coriander powder
• 1 ½  tbsp. jaggery
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water for 5 minutes.

In a deep bottom non-stick pan, dry roast the peanuts first and then the sesame seeds separately.

Grind the roasted peanuts, sesame seeds and grated coconut together with a little water to a fine paste.

In the same pan, add oil and fry the brinjals till soft. Keep aside.

Into the same pan add cumin seeds and fry for about one minute. Sauté the onion till translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute or two. Add the paste and mix nicely. Add turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder. You can add salt or one veg stock cube. Mix completely. Into that add tamarind water and mix until the gravy is thick.

Add the fried brinjals and jaggery; cover and cook for about 5-6 minutes.

Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Best served with plain rice/ veg puloa.

Roasted Chicken

I have always wanted to cook a whole chicken as it is (no cut pieces) & this next dish was part of this wish. However to be honest this was an accidental preparation. To start off the plan was to have a rotisserie grilled chicken, however when the weight of the chicken exceeded the one that the rotisserie could hold, I decided to go for the roasted version. It is very important to marinate the chicken for at least 3 hours or more. Marinating helps the chicken to be very tender and soft & overnight marinating is the best option. But due to time constraints, I had to settle for the 5 hour period. I opted for pita bread, mayo & salad as sides for this.    

Ingredients

For marination

• 1.5 kg chicken
• 2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 2 -3 tbsp. chilli powder (according to your taste)
• 2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. garam masla powder
• 2 tbsp. chicken masala powder
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri chilli powder(or more)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• ½ cup thick yogurt
• Salt accordingly

In a bowl, mix everything in a bowl.

Clean the chicken properly especially the cavity area and pat dry the chicken with a paper towel and keep it on a wide bowl. Smear the marination paste and keep aside for at least 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

In a wide baking tray, line with a foil and place the chicken in the middle of the tray.  Drizzle some veg oil onto the chicken. The total baking time is about 50-60 minutes. However after 25 minutes do flip the chicken with help of a fork and cook for about 25 minutes.

Again flip the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and squeeze some lemon on top.

I had made some pita bread (Recipe will be following soon) and some mayo. Ohh  yuumm yuummm!!!!!!