The magic of Indian
cooking is the proper use of spices. It is possible to create the most exotic dishes
with the slight variations of these ingredients. Most of the spices and herbs used are -chilies,
ginger and garlic, to name a few. There are few fresh spices ground into paste,
with water or vinegar. Each of the special spice helps to create its unique flavor.
MUTTON
KADA MASALA (Fathima of Lucknow, a friend)
Ingredients:
·
1 kg. Mutton
·
2 coconut (Extract Milk 2 cup thick and 1 cup thin)
·
8-10 red chilies
·
2’’ piece of ginger
·
10-12 garlic flakes
·
2 large onions
·
4 tbs. ghee
·
10 pieces cloves
·
5 pieces cinnamon
·
8 green cardamoms
·
Few Saffron strands
·
Salt to taste
Method
Put
2 tbsp. of ghee in a pan, add the meat with the crushed ginger and garlic. Cook
till the meat is tender. Put remaining
ghee in a pan and add 4 cloves, 4 pieces of cinnamon and 4 green cardamoms. Add
cooked meat, combined with sliced onions, chilies and remaining garam masala. Let it cook with thin coconut milk for
sometime. Finally add thick coconut milk and saffron and then cook for sometime
till aroma is slowly rises.
STUFFED
CRABS (Pavitra of Toronto, a friend)
Ingredients:
·
6 large crabs
·
5-6 garlic flakes
·
1’’piece ginger
·
2 green chili
·
2 onions
·
1 lemon
·
1 tsp. garam masala powder
·
1 tsp. chili powder
·
Coriander leaves 1 small bunch
·
Bread crumbs to fry
·
1 egg
Method:
Boil
the crab and scoop the meat and keep aside the empty shells for
stuffing.
Finely chopped onions, heat a pan with little oil to sauté onions, add red
chili powder, garam masala powder, garlic and ginger, finely chopped coriander
leaves, then finally add lemon juice and
salt to taste.
Barbeque
this stuff brushing little olive oil or deep fry.
Mutton
chilly fry (Shirley
D’Souza, friend from London)
Ingredients:
1k.g Mutton
50gms curds
Cut into medium size and
marinate in curds
For
dry masala powder
·
1o red long
chilies
·
2tbs. coriander seed
·
6 flakes of garlic
·
4 pepper corns
·
1tsp turmeric powder
·
1tsp cumin seed
·
2’’of cinnamon sticks
·
6 cloves
·
2green cardamom
Make a powder of these
ingredients.
·
150gms ghee
·
2 onions (chopped into lengthwise)
·
2tbs vinegar
·
Coriander leaves a small bunch
·
6-7 whole long green chilly
Method
·
In a thick bottom pan pour ghee when it is
heated add onions
·
Fry it slightly brown color remove half of
the fried onions from the pan and keep aside.
·
Squeeze the mutton from the marinated curd
and fry it in a low flame until it changes its color
·
Add half the quantity of masala powder adds
vinegar an enough water to cook the mutton
·
close the lid until it is nearly done
·
Now add the remaining masala powder, whole
green chili and fried onion.
·
Simmer and fry it for sometime
Decorate with finely
chopped coriander leaves.
NARGISI
KABAB (Late Ruma
of Mumbai, a friend)
Ingredients:
·
3 hard boiled eggs.
·
1 big potato.
·
½ kg. minced meat.
·
2 green chilies.
·
1’’ piece of ginger.
·
1 tsp. each of garam masala powder, cumin
seeds, coriander seeds.
·
3 flakes of garlic.
·
1 bunch each of coriander and mint leaves.
·
Bread crumbs.
·
1 egg stiffly beaten.
·
Salt and chili powder.
Method
Boil minced meat adding
little salt, until it is tender and grind.
Grind chilly, garlic and
ginger together into a paste.
Boil potato, mash it and
add salt in it.
Mince coriander and mint
leaves.
Mix all these spices with
boiled potato and meat & add salt to taste.
Cover the boiled egg with
the meat mix.
Roll into bread crumbs dip
in the egg and deep fry.
Decorate with fresh green
lettuce and cherry tomatoes.
(You can prepare this only
with boiled potato also)
LIVER
(lamb) MASALA FRY (from my late Mother-in-Law)
Ingredients:
·
½ kg. mutton liver.
·
Green chilies 7-8.
·
Coriander seeds 1 tbsp.
·
Coriander and mint leaves, a bunch each.
·
Pepper corns -5.
·
Onion medium -1.
·
5 flakes of garlic.
·
Ginger ½’’ piece.
·
Cinnamon, cloves & dalchini, freshly
ground to make 1 tsp.
·
Ghee 150 gms.
·
½ tsp. turmeric powder.
Add
salt to taste.
For grinding
·
green chilly
·
coriander seeds
·
pepper
·
ginger and garlic
·
coriander and
mint leaves
·
cumin seeds
·
little tamarind
Method
Slice onion,
cut and clean and wash lever and keep aside. In a pan, pour ghee and fry onions
into light brown color add ground masala add salt & turmeric powder, fry for
few minutes until it changes its color. Add fresh garam masala.
Finally add liver,
cook in a very slow flame and let it cook till it is done.
GHEE
RICE
(from my late Grandmother)
Ingredients:
·
½ kg. long grain basmati rice
·
½ kg.
ghee
·
½ kg. onions
·
100 gms. kishmish
·
1 ½ cups of water (steaming hot)
Method:
(my grand Ma used to cook in idli tandoor),
Slice onions keep aside.
Wash and drain the rice.
In a thick bottomed vessel
pour ghee (nearly ¼ kg.).
When it is heated, add
onions and fry the onions till it becomes transparent.
In the same vessel put rice
and fry for some time.
Add water and salt to
taste.
Sprinkle kishmish and pour
the rest of ghee on the top.
Cover the lid & cook
in a very slow flame for nearly for 7-8 minutes.
Remove from the fire and
don’t open the lid for the next 5-6 minutes.
HOT
AND SOUR PRAWN (from my Mom)
Ingredients:
·
Prawn 1/2k.g
·
Red Kashmiri long chili 10
·
Red short chili 5
·
Coriander seed 1 heaped tbsp.
·
Tamarind a lemon Garlic a big pod size
·
Turmeric powder 1/2tsp
·
Coconut oil 5
tbs.
·
Salt
to taste
Method
·
Shell
out clean and wash the prawns and rub it in little salt and turmeric powder.
FOR GRINDING
·
chilly , coriander and tamarind
·
1 cup of water ( masala water keep
separately)
·
Take a earthen pot (traditionally cooking) put
oil when it is heated add crushed garlic
without removing the skin. Let the garlic turn into dark reddish brown(not burnt)
·
Put prawns,
add grounded paste in it fry for a minute
·
Add a cup of water
·
Close the lid cook for till it is done
·
Semi dry goes well with dal and rice.
FRIED CHICKEN MASALA CURRY ( from my sister Sandhya Rao)
Ingredients:
·
15 dry long chilies
·
5 short chilies
·
1dsp. cumin seed
·
Few sticks of cinnamon
·
5 cloves
·
12 pepper corns
·
Little tamarind
·
Saffron
½ kg.
Onion (round shape cutting)
For
frying
Ghee and refined oil
2kg. chicken
Method
Cut the chicken into
medium size wash and keep aside.
·
Grind masala into a very fine paste, add 1
cup of water and keep separately.
·
Take a pan put chicken pieces with masala
water, keep it for boiling with onions, add salt to taste with 1 spoon of vinegar
.
·
When chicken is nearly done, remove the chicken
pieces from the frying pan.
·
Pour ghee or oil for frying the chicken
pieces.
·
When the oil oozes out, pour the left over
gravy and thicken it. Add salt and vinegar, if required.
·
Remove the fried chicken in a dish and
decorate it with hard boiled eggs cut lengthwise.
Mama
All cooking is matter of time,in general,the more time you
spend the better will be cooking.