Monday, September 13, 2010

Dhokar Dalna


I had been meaning to cook it ever since I had it in Kolkata at relative's place. I wasnt feeling all that great that day so couldnt enjoy it to fullest but whatever I had was sure good enough to motivate me to make it. So finally after almost an year I get chance to make this.

Dhokar Dalna
Ingredients
2 Cup Harbara Daal
2 Tomato
2 Green Chillies
2 Spoon Ginger
5 Garlic Cloves
1/2 Spoon Jeera
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Spoon Jeera Powder
1/2 Spoon Corriander Powder
Oil
Ghee
Salt

Method
  • Soak the daal overnight and keep aside.
  • In a mixie, grind the daal to smooth paste. Keep aside
  • In a pan, add in couple spoon of oil and let jeera splutter in it.
  • Add in 1 spoon of grated ginger, turmeric powder, salt and daal paste we made earlier. Cook till daal separates from sides of the pan.
  • Grease a plate and pour the daal mixture over it and spread uniformly. Let it cool.
  • Cut the diamond shaped pieces of this daal and shallow fry them in oil. Keep aside.
  • In a mixie, grind tomato, green chillies, remaining 1 spoon of ginger, garlic cloves to fine paste.
  • Heat a pan with spoonful of oil and add the above ground tomato paste in it. Cook till mixture is cooked.
  • Add in jeera powder, coriander powder, salt and 3 cups of water. Let it boil.
  • Add in earlier fried daal dhokas in it and let the mixture simmer till dhokas start absorbing the gravy.
  • Garnish with spoonful of ghee and serve.
Notes
I didnt make the gravy too spicy and hence didnt make use of garam masala. Instead I kept it light and let the dhoka taste through the gravy. Worked out quite well.
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Veg Biryaani


I had been making this for a while now, but its only yesterday that I actually managed to click the photos. So here I am posting this recipe, esp for all my vegetarian friends who are craving for Biryaani.

Veg Biryaani
Ingredients
3 Cup Rice
350g Bhendi
250g Small Eggplants
250g Carrots
2 Raw Bananas
4 Potatoes
4 Onion
3 Tomato
2 Spoon Pudina Leaves
10 Garlic Cloves
2 Spoon Grated Ginger
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/4 Cup Almonds
1 Spoon Dry Coconut
1/2 Spoon Poppy Seeds
2 Dried Red Chillies
1/4 Spoon Saunf
1/4 Spoon Black Pepper
1 Spoon Jeera
1 Spoon Corriander Seeds
3/4 Spoon Red Chilli Powder
1 Spoon Garam Masala
2 Cardamom
2 Cloves
3 Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Milk
A Pinch Of Saffron
Salt to taste
Ghee
Oil

Method
  • Pressure cook 2 potatoes
  • Soak rice in warm water for half an hour.
  • Soak poppy seeds and keep aside
  • Fry the whole egg plants, bhendi, peeled and diced bananas, 2 potatoes, and carrots and keep aside.
  • Boil a pot full of water and add in the soaked rice. Cook till almost done Let the extra water drain completely through sieve.
  • Heat a spoon of ghee and add in cardamoms, a cinnamon stick, cloves and salt. Add it to the rice and keep it aside.
  • Heat oil and add in finely chopped 2 onions. Fry till translucent and keep aside.
  • In same pan heat another spoon of oil and add in jeera, red chillies, coriander seeds, black pepper, saunf, dried coconut, cinnamon, 1/4 cup cashews and almonds.
  • Add in garam masala, red chili powder, poppy seeds, pudina leaves and earlier fried onions. Cook till spices start spreading aroma.
  • Let the mixture cool down and then adding the chopped tomatoes grind it to fine paste.
  • Heat the ghee and add in the ground mixture. Fry till oil separates
  • Add in all fried vegetables and salt to taste and cook for couple of minutes. Keep aside.
  • Warm the milk with safron and keep aside.
  • Deep fry the thin sliced onions and cashews till they are crisp and light brown in color. Keep aside
  • In a greased cooker layer the sliced boiled potatoes, then 1/3rd of rice, 1/2 of vegetable, again 1/3rd portion of rice, remaining half of the vegetable and remaining portion of the rice.
  • With big spatula make through and through wholes in the layer and sprinkle the safron milk.
  • Let the cooker sit on low heat till the pressure builds up. Garnish with the earlier fried crisp onions and cashews. Serve hot with raita.
Notes
Instead of cooking vegetables in gravy i added fried vegetables to the gravy. The taste was awesome and i could make sure that none of the vegetables are underdone or overdone.
I also wished I had those baby potatoes instead and could use them whole deep fried instead of diced ones.
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Sunday, August 29, 2010

Paneer Pattice


Today morning Ajoy demanded something fancy and new for breakfast. After thinking for a while I came up with this :) It was tasty and we had it as brunch instead :)

Paneer Pattice
Ingredients
4 Cup Finely diced Paneer
4 Potatoes
3 Spoon Corn Flour
1 Spoon Ginger
3 Green Chillies
5 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Spoon Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method
  • Cook the potatoes in pressure cooker.
  • In a mixie grind ginger, garlic and green chillies with 1/4 cup of water to fine paste.
  • Heat oil in a pan and turmeric powder and the paste in it and saute for couple of minutes
  • Add the diced paneer and salt it in it and cook till paneer is done well. Keep aside
  • Peel off the potatoes and mash them to fine paste.
  • Add in corn flour and salt to taste and knead to nice dough
  • Make lemon sized balls and press down to make cups.
  • Fill these cups with spoonful of paneer we made earlier and add close and flatten it
  • Heat oil really well and fry till brown on all sides. Serve hot with ketchup
Notes
While frying the pattice, the oil should be really hot otherwise the potato coating will stick to the bottom.
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