Methi Matar Malai

Living in the United States has taught me several things in life. One of the things that I learnt was to cook my own Indian food that I grew up eating but cannot find it locally in Minneapolis, even at the best Indian restaurants. Just the other day I picked up a fresh green bunch of Methi (fenugreek) from our local Indian store, the intention was to make yummy parathas for the kids. But eventually it turned out to be a “chef’s choice day” on my daily menu board and the chef’s craving overruled everything else. So the next experiment in Kucurry kitchen was one of my favorite vegetable dishes, Methi matar malai (literally means “fenugreek peas cream”) which is easily available at any decent Indian restaurant in Mumbai. I knew that there could be an elaborate recipe for this one, but as always I tried to simplify it and it turned out just as I wanted it to be. Try it for yourself you will not regret it!

Methi Matar Malai:

Ingredients:

1 Bunch fresh methi leaves (de stemmed fenugreek leaves)
½ Cup sweet green peas
1 medium Tomato or 1 Tsp. concentrated Hunts Tomato Paste.
¾th cup Whole milk or cream.
1 small onion
3-4 medium garlic cloves
2-3 Serrano peppers
3 Tsp. oil
4 whole pepper corns
1 cardamom
1 Clove
Small cinnamon stick
Cumin Seeds
Poppy seeds (khas khas) – Optional
Turmeric powder
Salt

Method:
• Chop the tomato and grind into a smooth paste. If you are using tomato paste, mix paste with 1 Tbp water and keep aside.
• Grind chopped onion, serrano peppers and garlic in a smooth paste. Add water only if needed.
• Heat 1 Tsp. oil in a shallow pan, add cumin seeds and poppy seeds. Add the chopped fenugreek after poppy seeds start changing color. Cook till methi is softened and partially cooked. Keep aside.
• Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add clove, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric powder and pepper corns. Cook for a couple minutes. Add the onion, garlic, pepper paste. Cook on medium flame for 5-10 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and green peas. Cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
• Add the methi and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the milk/cream once the sauce begins to boil. Lower the heat, add salt to taste and simmer for 10 minutes or till you think it is ready to go.

Serve with roti, chapatti, naan or any other Indian bread.
Eat to your heart’s content!
-Sheetal

Fish Sukka/Fish with dry gravy

Just the other day someone asked my dear husband about the food that I make. He was in a pretty good mood that day, so prompt came the reply…”O ya…my wife does make pretty good looking food!” and just when my face began to light up, he added in with a smile on his face ‘but not necessarily good tasting you know!!” and turned around to look at how I react. “Well” I said “if not the food, you at least love my art! Maybe henceforth, you should just look at it and appreciate it rather than eating it!!”So the point is that I am an art lover. I like to see art in everything around, may it be the buildings, clothes, landscape or nature. So of course I try to see art in the food I make. The colors, form, texture, presentation, aroma, taste…it has everything you need to excite your senses. I strongly believe that “good looking” food is as appealing to the tummy, as much as amazingly tasty food is to the mind! So even if it is a simple recipe, it is your creativity that will always be put to test before your culinary skills.

Today’s recipe is the simplest fish recipe that I have ever tried. Few ingredients, less prep time and good scope for creativity. Its my grandma’s recipe, passed down to me by my mom so it is definitely worth a try.

Fish Sukka/Fish with dry gravy:

1 Pound fish fillets - Tilapia or any fish you like (best choice for this recipe is Indian Surmai)
1 cup grated/shredded dry coconut – Suka khobra (optional fresh coconut)
5-6 Large garlic cloves
5-6 Medium Kokam/amsul
¼ Tsp. Turmeric powder
½ Tsp. Red chili powder
¼ Tsp. Garam masala powder
½ tsp. Lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Pinch red food coloring (optional)
Salt

For garnish:
Cilantro
Lemon slices
Onions – julienne cut
Lemon juice
Salt pepper
Kaoori methi (Can be replaced with Italian seasoning or finely chopped cilantro)

Method:
Heat 1 tsp. oil in a shallow pan and add the grated coconut and garlic. Roast/Sauté on medium flame, stirring continuously. Set aside and let it cool. Grind this mixture in a thick smooth paste by adding water as needed. Add all other ingredients, except oil, to this paste, mix well and apply a thick layer of this paste to the fish fillets. Marinate for about an hour.
Add 1Tbsp oil in the same shallow pan. Gently lay the marinated fillets with a thick layer of marinade on and under it. Cook each side for 5 to 8 minutes or till fish is ¾ cooked. Add a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes. Set the fillets in a serving dish. Mix sliced onions, lemon juice, ½ tsp. kasoori methi, salt and pepper for garnish. Top with lots of cilantro if you like.

This can be served with white basmati rice, jasmine rice, naan or roti.
Cook well. Be creative!
-Sheetal

Spiced puffed Indian Bread.

Tikhat poori - Spiced puffed Indian Bread.
Category : Indian/ Snack/Meal
Preparation Time: 1 Hour
Serves - 4 to 6

Ingredients:
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Rice Flour - 1 cup
Gram Flour (Besan) - 1 Cup
Whipped plain yoghurt - 1 cup
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp/Oil to fry
Green chillies - 2 -3 medium
Cilantro - 1/4 cup
Ajwain/Oova - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste.

Recipe:
Put together cumin seeds, green chillies, cilantro and 1/4 cup water in a blender and grind to a smooth paste. In a deep mixing bowl add the wheat, rice and gram flour. Heat 2 tbsp oil and pour it over the flour mixture. Add the green paste, yoghurt, salt, sugar, turmeric and ajwain. Mix well and knead to a soft dough (Just like the the dough for making chappatis). Add water in very small amounts to achieve the desired consistency of the dough. You may need to sprinkle some flour over the dough with kneading it. Cover the dough and keep aside for 15 minutes. Roll up small dough balls, with diameter just about the size of a quarter or a little bigger. Using a rolling pin, on a clean dry surface, roll the balls into pooris about three to four inch diameter, dipping them in dry wheat/ all purpose flour at intervals to avoid sticking. Deep fry the pooris and serve hot.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve Hot with any pickle, vegetable curry, gravy, Kadhi or raita.

Shrimp with a spicy Onion Tomato sauce

Kandyvarchi Kolambi - Shrimp with a spicy Onion Tomato sauce
Note: Substitute Shrimp with potatoes for vegetarian version.
Category: Indian/Maharashtrian/ Pathare Prabhu
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Onions - 3 medium
Tomatoes - 3 medium
Shrimp - 300gms
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 5 large cloves
Green chilli - 1 medium
Cilantro - 1/4 cup
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Aesafoetida - Hing - 1 pinch (optional)
Bay leaf - 1
Butter - 1 tsp (Optional)


Recipe:

Put together ginger, garlic, green chilli, cilantro and 1/4 cup water in a blender and grind to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a vessel, add hing, turmeric powder, bay leaf and finely chopped onions. Saute onions (stiring at regular intervals) till soft and pale. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute for about 5 minutes or till tomatoes are soft. Add the green paste, red chili powder, garam masala and let cook uncovered till all the ingredients blend in well. You may add half cup water for changing the consistency. Let cook for 5 minutes. Add washed, cleaned, de-veined prawns, shrimp or lobster. Stir well, add 1/2 cup of water and cook covered on low - medium flame for 10 minutes or till shrimp is completely cooked. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and top it with a tsp of butter.


Serving Suggestions:
Great with white slice bread, chappati, naan, bhakri, roti or paratha.

Pickled Shrimp - Indian/Maharashtrian style

Kolambiche Lonche - Pickled Shrimp
Category: Indian/Maharashtrian/ Pathare Prabhu/side dish
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida Powder - Hing - 1 Pinch
Shrimp - 1 pound/500 gms
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Achar masala/ Pickle spice - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 2 tsp.

Recipe:
Heat oil in a shallow pan. Sprinkle a pinch of Hing. Add washed, cleaned, deveined, shrimp and saute for 2 minutes. Add Red chili powder, achar masala,salt and stir well. Once the shrimp is cooked, keep it aside (off the heat) and let cool completely. Once the shrimp mixture is at room temperature add the lemon juice and stir lightly. A quick delicious Shrimp pickle is ready.

Note:
Pickled shrimp can stay fresh for 4 to 5 days if refrigerated. DO NOT reheat the pickle at anytime after its done cooking the first time, even for later servings. This recipe can be modified to make pickled pomfret or Tilapia. Just substitute shrimp with fish.

Serving Suggestion:
It is great side with a good seafood menu. Should be served at room temperature.

Potatoes in coconut garlic curry

Batatyache Bhujane - Potatoes in coconut garlic curry
Category: Indian/Maharashtrian/Pathare Prabhu
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2 medium
Onion - 1 medium
Green/serrano pepper - 1or 2
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Garlic Cloves - 3-4 small
Cilantro - to garnish
Clove - 1
Kokum - 1(or 1 tsp lemon)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - Aafoetida powder 1pinch

Recipe:
Grate coconut, garlic and green chillies with 1/4 cup water to a smooth paste and keep aside. Peel and cut potatoes and keep soaked in water. In a pot, heat oil and add hing, clove, turmeric powder, and finely chopped onions. Saute till onions turn pale and soft. Add potatoes, red chili powder, the paste and salt to taste. Add water as desired (about 1-1/2 cup should be good for 2 potatoes). Cover and let cook on medium to low flame. Add Kokum/lemon juice and stir. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Serving suggestion:
Serve hot with white rice or chapati/roti/paratha.

Potatoes in sweet and sour tomato gravy.

Ambat god batate - Potatoes in thick sweet and sour tomato gravy.
Category: Indian/Vegetarian
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4 Medium
Thk Tomato Paste - 1-2 Tbsp
Aesafoetida Powder - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5 (dry or fresh)
Red chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Goda masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cilantro Powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind paste -1 tsp if thick 2 tsp if regular
Jaggery - 1 inch
Cilantro - To garnish
Salt - to taste


Recipe:
Wash, peel and chop potatoes in approximately 1 inch cubes. Soak them in water. In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil, add pinch of aesafoetida powder, mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric powder and potatoes. Stir on low flame for 1 minute. Add all the spice powders - red chili, cumin, cilantro, goda masala and mix well. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking take thick tomato paste in a mixing bowl and add 1 1/2 cup of water, mix well. Add this tomato sauce to the potatoes. Stir well. Cover and cook on low flame for 5 -7 minutes. Uncover and stir. Add tamarind paste, jaggery and salt. Mix well and cook covered till potatoes are done. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.

Serving Suggestion:
Best served with Roti, chapati, Naan, Paratha, dal & rice.

Note:
This recipe is based on store bought Hunt's Tomato Paste. If you make tomato paste at home, I recommend making it without any water. Also goda masala can be replaced with any Indian masala powder for a different taste.

Tofu/Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) Stir Fry

I haven’t been writing a lot lately. It’s been crazy juggling work, home and demands of my ever enthusiastic two year old twin boys. All said and done I still manage to spare some time for pursuing the two things I enjoy –cooking and photography. So at my dearest husband’s suggestion I have been trying out my hands at semi-homemade cooking, which simply means cooking at home with a little help with store bought items. For e.g Tofu, Paneer (Indian cottage cheese), organic chicken patties, casing free chicken sausages etc. But I still try to avoid canned food unless the recipe absolutely calls for it. I do not have anything against it; it’s just that I feel that the nutrition and satisfaction that fresh vegetables and fruit provide is not comparable to any canned or frozen item. Also, a great way to save time but still have delicious meal in minutes is to have a choice of cooking sauces, wines and vinegars handy. I will share a list if these items in the upcoming ‘tips’ email. With that said, here is a super-quick semi-homemade recipe for a yummy protein rich stir-fry.


Tofu/Paneer stir fry:

Ingredients:

1 Pound extra firm Tofu or Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Bunch spring/green onions finely chopped
5 large cloves of garlic minced
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Teriyaki sauce
1 Tsp. White Vinegar
1 Tsp. Red chili sauce (Sriracha)
1 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
Salt to taste
¼ cup Roasted crushed peanuts

Cooking method:

Heat oil in a pan. Shallow fry the Paneer or tofu till sides are brown and keep aside. In the same pan add minced garlic and chopped onions and sauté till onions become soft. Mix the remaining ingredients (except peanuts) in a bowl and add to the pan. Simmer for two minutes or till the sauce mixture starts boiling. Turn heat to low/simmer and add the Paneer or Tofu. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to high and let cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Be gentle when stirring since Tofu and Paneer both break easily. Garnish with crushed peanuts and serve hot.
Eat healthy and yummy!
-Sheetal

Tilapia in Coconut Curry

I grew up in a beautiful city called Mumbai. Mumbai was originally a group of seven islands which have now merged to become one of the world’s busiest, glamorous and most sought after cities. It is surrounded by the sea and boasts of one of the finest sea food experience anywhere in the world. I grew up loving Mumbai, loving its culture, its people and obviously the food. My grandmother, who is a great cook, has passed on her knowledge of amazing sea food recipes to the next generations. I crave for her sea food all the time. Although the available cooking means and methods have become way easier than they used to be many years ago, my grandma still loves the old school way of cooking from scratch (and it sure does taste better). Just like the fast paced life, everyone strives to make a fast-paced, but a healthy meal. Here is my take on it…if you plan it well; you can cook a great meal in no time! I am sharing my favorite quick Tilapia in coconut curry recipe that I learnt from my friend. Trust me this mouth –watering curry can be ready in no time.

Tilapia in coconut curry

Ingredients:

1 pound Tilapia fillets cut to 3 inch long pieces
2 Tsp. Ginger paste
1 Tsp. Garlic paste
4 cloves garlic
1 medium can coconut milk (2 cups if you are using fresh coconut milk)
1 cup water
1 Tsp. Red chili powder
¼ Tsp. Turmeric powder
1 Tsp. Garam masala
2 Tsp. Tamarind paste (replace with a Tsp. of lemon juice or 2 kokums if you do not have tamarind paste)
1 Tbsp. oil
Salt
Cilantro for garnishing

In a bowl, mix ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, 1 Tbsp. of coconut milk. Add tilapia pieces to the mixture and let it marinate for half hour.
Heat oil in a shallow pan. Peel, mash garlic cloves and add to the hot oil. Fry the garlic for a minute till it turns slightly brown. Then gently lay the marinated tilapia pieces in the pan over the oil and garlic and let it cook on medium flame. Tilapia cooks really fast. Do not turn the fish, tilapia is very delicate and flaky and easy to break. Just lift up the pan and give it a good shake. Add the remaining coconut milk and a cup of water. Give the pan one more shake. And let it simmer. Taste the coconut curry after 10 minutes. Add additional spices (this depends the type of coconut milk you use) if you like. Once the curry starts boiling add the tamarind paste or lemon juice. Add salt to taste and lots of chopped fresh cilantro. This curry tastes best when served with white basmati rice.

Super easy, super delicious and super quick fish curry is ready!!!
Enjoy
-Sheetal

Ginger Garlic Chicken - Healthy High Protein/ No Carb

After the kids went to bed last night I had about an hour dish out a protein rich, healthy dinner for my husband before he got back from school. Earlier in the day he had mentioned that if possible, he would like to follow a strict protein rich, no carb diet all week. So it had to be either chicken, fish or eggs. I decided to go ahead with my quick Ginger -garlic chicken recipe with a side of steamed asparagus and peanut sauce.

Ginger Garlic chicken:

For the marinade:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tsp. ginger garlic paste
¼ Tsp. Turmeric powder
¼ Tsp. Red chili powder or paprika
2 Tsp. Plain Yoghurt
½ Tsp. Tandoori Masala (optional)
¼ Tsp. Butter
Salt
Pepper

For cooking:
½” finely chopped ginger
4 peeled, crushed garlic cloves
Olive oil

Take the chicken breasts in a mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients for the marinade and coat the chicken with it. Use a fork to pierce the chicken several times. This is a good old way for marinade to get absorbed quickly into the chicken. Set aside for at least 15 minutes, about an hour would be great. In a non-stick pan heat 1 Tsp. of olive oil, add the chopped ginger and crushed garlic cloves. Sauté for two minutes or till the garlic turns slightly brown. Gently add the marinated chicken and any remaining marinade from the bowl. Cook on each side for 10 minutes or till completely cooked. Add a few drops of olive oil as needed while cooking.

Peanut Sauce:
For a quick peanut sauce, in a bowl mix together the following ingredients and a yummy sauce is ready in 5 minutes.
2-3 Tbs. unsweetened peanut butter,
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
½ Tsp Hot Chili Sauce
1 Tsp. sugar
1 Tsp. garlic paste
2-3 Tbs. water
Salt

Steamed Asparagus:
Steam asparagus for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper and its ready to go! If you want to make it yummier heat 1 Tsp of butter in a pan and sauté the steamed asparagus on high flame for 2 minutes, then add salt and pepper.

Plate it well – I think plating food in a creative manner does justice to the food, the cook and also the lucky person who gets to relish it! I will be sharing a few quick plating tips in my future posts.

Remember to eat well!
-Sheetal