Minty cottage cheese dumplings in tangy tomato sauce /  Hara paneer Kofta
Serves 4-5 

There is something so fresh about mint that whenever I use it for my cooking or just simply taking the leaves off the stalks, the whole kitchen is filled with such invigorating freshness . I love mint chutneys and it goes so well with yogurt in case you are making raita or buttermilk.

     I have used a little amount of the two herbs which I feel have a magical effect on any recipe. It blends so well with cottage cheese and the pishta green colour of the dumplings is so irresistible that one can polish off quite a few just while frying them for the main recipe.

    Mashed cottage cheese blended with fresh herbs , deep fried and immersed in a tangy red tomato sauce and savoured with plain rice or better still pooris or simply rotis , a chatpati potato curry and boondi raita is my definition of a feast .

   Here is how you can treat yourself to a delicious meal especially during the hot summer months when one has little appetite.

Ingredients:

1.   400 grams cottage cheese

2.   10 grams each of mint leaves and coriander leaves ( about a handful each)

3.   1 tablespoon grated ginger

4.   1 small onion chopped fine and one small green chilli

5.   200 ml tetra pack of tomato puree ( I used kissan)

6.   250 – 300 ml water

7.   One large onion minced fine with two tablepsoons water

8.   ¼ th teaspoon turmeric powder

9.   Salt to taste

10.                1 level teaspoon black pepper powder

11.                  Three fourth teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder

12.                 2 tablespoons cornflour

Method:

1.  Place the cottage cheese along with the fresh herbs in a food processor or the regular mixer jar and blend till the cottage cheese crumbles and mixes well with the herbs , the cottage cheese will resemble bread crumbs at this stage.

2.   Place the mixture in a flat dish and mix and mash with the ginger ,onion , green chilli and cornflour till the mixture sticks together into a dough.

3.   Make balls a little bigger than a walnut , roll them on breadcrumbs and refrigerate for about half an hour.

4.   You can make bread crumbs in a jiffy with a few rusk slices  ( I use Britannia) , just crush them with the kitchen rolling pin , will take a few seconds and collect in a plate.

5.   Deep fry the cottage cheese balls on high flame for just about half a minute till golden brown. Remember the dumplings are very soft and have to be cooked on high flame so that they cook fast and don’t disintegrate in the oil , in case that happens , roll them I some cornflour before putting them in the oil.Place the dumplings in a flat serving dish.

6.   For the sauce / curry , take a medium onion , mince with a few tablespoons of water and cook in oil till brown on a medium flame. you could season the oil with a teaspoon of cumin seeds before that.

7.   Stir in the turmeric and follow by the tomato water mixture.

8.   Dilute the tomato puree with the water and pour the solution into the pan , give a stir, let it boil well.

9.   Season with salt, black pepper and cumin powder.

10.                Pour the sauce over the dumplings / koftas which have been arranged in a flat dish.

11.                At first it might seem as if the sauce is too much  , but within a few minutes the koftas / dumplings will soak the sauce.

12.                Serve hot with rice or like I did , with pooris.

cottage cheese· curries· mint leaves· tomato

Minty cottage cheese dumplings in tangy tomato sauce /  Hara paneer Kofta
Serves 4-5 

There is something so fresh about mint that whenever I use it for my cooking or just simply taking the leaves off the stalks, the whole kitchen is filled with such invigorating freshness . I love mint chutneys and it goes so well with yogurt in case you are making raita or buttermilk.

     I have used a little amount of the two herbs which I feel have a magical effect on any recipe. It blends so well with cottage cheese and the pishta green colour of the dumplings is so irresistible that one can polish off quite a few just while frying them for the main recipe.

    Mashed cottage cheese blended with fresh herbs , deep fried and immersed in a tangy red tomato sauce and savoured with plain rice or better still pooris or simply rotis , a chatpati potato curry and boondi raita is my definition of a feast .

   Here is how you can treat yourself to a delicious meal especially during the hot summer months when one has little appetite.

Ingredients:

1.   400 grams cottage cheese

2.   10 grams each of mint leaves and coriander leaves ( about a handful each)

3.   1 tablespoon grated ginger

4.   1 small onion chopped fine and one small green chilli

5.   200 ml tetra pack of tomato puree ( I used kissan)

6.   250 – 300 ml water

7.   One large onion minced fine with two tablepsoons water

8.   ¼ th teaspoon turmeric powder

9.   Salt to taste

10.                1 level teaspoon black pepper powder

11.                  Three fourth teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder

12.                 2 tablespoons cornflour

Method:

1.  Place the cottage cheese along with the fresh herbs in a food processor or the regular mixer jar and blend till the cottage cheese crumbles and mixes well with the herbs , the cottage cheese will resemble bread crumbs at this stage.

2.   Place the mixture in a flat dish and mix and mash with the ginger ,onion , green chilli and cornflour till the mixture sticks together into a dough.

3.   Make balls a little bigger than a walnut , roll them on breadcrumbs and refrigerate for about half an hour.

4.   You can make bread crumbs in a jiffy with a few rusk slices  ( I use Britannia) , just crush them with the kitchen rolling pin , will take a few seconds and collect in a plate.

5.   Deep fry the cottage cheese balls on high flame for just about half a minute till golden brown. Remember the dumplings are very soft and have to be cooked on high flame so that they cook fast and don’t disintegrate in the oil , in case that happens , roll them I some cornflour before putting them in the oil.Place the dumplings in a flat serving dish.

6.   For the sauce / curry , take a medium onion , mince with a few tablespoons of water and cook in oil till brown on a medium flame. you could season the oil with a teaspoon of cumin seeds before that.

7.   Stir in the turmeric and follow by the tomato water mixture.

8.   Dilute the tomato puree with the water and pour the solution into the pan , give a stir, let it boil well.

9.   Season with salt, black pepper and cumin powder.

10.                Pour the sauce over the dumplings / koftas which have been arranged in a flat dish.

11.                At first it might seem as if the sauce is too much  , but within a few minutes the koftas / dumplings will soak the sauce.

12.                Serve hot with rice or like I did , with pooris.

Kachumber/ simple salad recipe

A simple toss of crispy, grated and  finely chopped vegetables with a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper is all that a "Kachumber" is about.  In this Kachoomber recipe I have taken approximately equal amounts of finely chopped onions and deseeded tomatoes , removed the seeds of the cucumber and capsicum  and finely chopped them too and grated the carrots . You could add a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, pomegrenate seeds, finely chopped apples or any other crispy salad vegetable or fruit of your choice. Squeeze in a teaspoon of lemon juice , sprinkle some salt and pepper , give a gentle toss and there you have a delicious mixed veg salad to go with your biryani, simple dal chawal or even as a snack.

Kachoombar

Kachoombar

bell pepper· mint leaves· salads· tomato

Kachumber/ simple salad recipe

A simple toss of crispy, grated and  finely chopped vegetables with a dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper is all that a "Kachumber" is about.  In this Kachoomber recipe I have taken approximately equal amounts of finely chopped onions and deseeded tomatoes , removed the seeds of the cucumber and capsicum  and finely chopped them too and grated the carrots . You could add a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger, pomegrenate seeds, finely chopped apples or any other crispy salad vegetable or fruit of your choice. Squeeze in a teaspoon of lemon juice , sprinkle some salt and pepper , give a gentle toss and there you have a delicious mixed veg salad to go with your biryani, simple dal chawal or even as a snack.

Kachoombar

Kachoombar

Prawn curry

Prawn curry Prawn curry Prawn curry Prawn curry

Prawn curry

I learnt this prawn curry from a good friend of mine who is a Malayali and an excellent cook  . She has taught me quite a few typical Kerala dishes and I would soon be coming up with lots of them.

Prawn curry

     This  prawn curry tastes best if cooked in coconut oil but you could use the regular refined oil too. I must tell you how I, being a Punjabi came to using coconut oil in my cooking. We were living in Cochin in those days, and once I was passing in front of my neighbour’s door and I smelled a heavenly aroma of food wafting from the door. When I met her the next day I asked her what she was cooking and she said that her cook was preparing “Avial”.

I told her about my sniffing spree  and she offered to send her cook to teach me how to cook it. Well she told me what all to keep ready as the cook did not know Hindi or English and I obviously did not know any Malyalam.

     So the next day the pleasant and kindly cook came and with no common medium of conversation we went along with this teaching and learning business in the international language of gestures. Then when the dish was cooked she managed to articulate the word oil…and I handed her the bottle of refined oil, she nodded her head and said something and I smiled back and she smiled back and said something and walked out waving and muttering and I very smartly understood that she is coming back with something.

    She was back in a jiffy with a bottle of ”coconut oil”.Now like most Punjabis I was a bit sceptical about this stuff and I tried to object and she understood that and she refused very firmly in malyalam and I understood and decided to keep quiet and let her do as she pleased. She poured a good amount of the oil over the prepared dish and I grimaced and vowed that I am not going to eat this stuff…how can one eat coconut oil I reasoned to my ignorant self. We conversed whatever over a cuppa and God knows what we talked about , but I remember that she kept smiling  and so did I.

    Anyways , I must admit that the “avial “was smelling great and tasted good too. We enjoyed the lunch very much but I very stubbornly tried the same recipe but used the normal refined oil in place of coconut oil. Well , honestly the outcome was a disaster and I admited that the credit for the delicious avial went to the "coconut oil" and then began my life long love and respect for this beautiful and heavenly oil called coconut oil.

   But luckily for non coconut oil lovers , this prawn curry recipe tastes good if not as great with refined oil too.

Prawn curry

So don’t miss such a simple and delicious  prawn curry just because I wrote coconut oil the first thing in my ingredient list.

Ingredients:

1. 300 grams prawns

2. 4 tablespoons coconut oil/ refined oil

3. A few sprigs of curry leaves

4. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

5. Two medium sized onions chopped fine

6. One large tomato chopped into big chunks

7. Two tablespoons grated ginger

8. 10 cloves garlic crushed

9. ¼ th teaspoon teaspoon turmeric powder

10.            ¾ th teaspoon Kashmiri  red chilly powder

11.          Two pinches fennel seed powder

12.          Salt to taste           

Method:

1. Take the oil in a pan and on medium flame let it get warm and then add the cumin seeds.

2. After a 10- 15 seconds add the curry leaves followed by the ginger and garlic. Stir fry for about five minutes.

3. Add the chopped oinions and on medium flame stir  till the onions turn pink.

4.Add the turmeric and the red chilli powders and stir fry for another minute to roast the masalas well.

5. Pour half a cup of water and...

.......give it a stir and let the water boil.

Add the prawns and stir and cover , the prawns won't take more than 5-7 minutes to cook.

6.  Add 200 ml of coconut milk along with the tomatoes and the salt and cook for just about two minutes more, not more otherwise the coconut milk will begin to curdle.

7.  Sprinkle the fennel seed powder and serve the prawn curry  with steamed rice.

Prawn Curry

Prawn Curry

Prawn curry

   

 

coconut milk· coconut oil· curries· sea food· tomato

Prawn curry

Prawn curry Prawn curry Prawn curry Prawn curry

Prawn curry

I learnt this prawn curry from a good friend of mine who is a Malayali and an excellent cook  . She has taught me quite a few typical Kerala dishes and I would soon be coming up with lots of them.

Prawn curry

     This  prawn curry tastes best if cooked in coconut oil but you could use the regular refined oil too. I must tell you how I, being a Punjabi came to using coconut oil in my cooking. We were living in Cochin in those days, and once I was passing in front of my neighbour’s door and I smelled a heavenly aroma of food wafting from the door. When I met her the next day I asked her what she was cooking and she said that her cook was preparing “Avial”.

I told her about my sniffing spree  and she offered to send her cook to teach me how to cook it. Well she told me what all to keep ready as the cook did not know Hindi or English and I obviously did not know any Malyalam.

     So the next day the pleasant and kindly cook came and with no common medium of conversation we went along with this teaching and learning business in the international language of gestures. Then when the dish was cooked she managed to articulate the word oil…and I handed her the bottle of refined oil, she nodded her head and said something and I smiled back and she smiled back and said something and walked out waving and muttering and I very smartly understood that she is coming back with something.

    She was back in a jiffy with a bottle of ”coconut oil”.Now like most Punjabis I was a bit sceptical about this stuff and I tried to object and she understood that and she refused very firmly in malyalam and I understood and decided to keep quiet and let her do as she pleased. She poured a good amount of the oil over the prepared dish and I grimaced and vowed that I am not going to eat this stuff…how can one eat coconut oil I reasoned to my ignorant self. We conversed whatever over a cuppa and God knows what we talked about , but I remember that she kept smiling  and so did I.

    Anyways , I must admit that the “avial “was smelling great and tasted good too. We enjoyed the lunch very much but I very stubbornly tried the same recipe but used the normal refined oil in place of coconut oil. Well , honestly the outcome was a disaster and I admited that the credit for the delicious avial went to the "coconut oil" and then began my life long love and respect for this beautiful and heavenly oil called coconut oil.

   But luckily for non coconut oil lovers , this prawn curry recipe tastes good if not as great with refined oil too.

Prawn curry

So don’t miss such a simple and delicious  prawn curry just because I wrote coconut oil the first thing in my ingredient list.

Ingredients:

1. 300 grams prawns

2. 4 tablespoons coconut oil/ refined oil

3. A few sprigs of curry leaves

4. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

5. Two medium sized onions chopped fine

6. One large tomato chopped into big chunks

7. Two tablespoons grated ginger

8. 10 cloves garlic crushed

9. ¼ th teaspoon teaspoon turmeric powder

10.            ¾ th teaspoon Kashmiri  red chilly powder

11.          Two pinches fennel seed powder

12.          Salt to taste           

Method:

1. Take the oil in a pan and on medium flame let it get warm and then add the cumin seeds.

2. After a 10- 15 seconds add the curry leaves followed by the ginger and garlic. Stir fry for about five minutes.

3. Add the chopped oinions and on medium flame stir  till the onions turn pink.

4.Add the turmeric and the red chilli powders and stir fry for another minute to roast the masalas well.

5. Pour half a cup of water and...

.......give it a stir and let the water boil.

Add the prawns and stir and cover , the prawns won't take more than 5-7 minutes to cook.

6.  Add 200 ml of coconut milk along with the tomatoes and the salt and cook for just about two minutes more, not more otherwise the coconut milk will begin to curdle.

7.  Sprinkle the fennel seed powder and serve the prawn curry  with steamed rice.

Prawn Curry

Prawn Curry

Prawn curry

   

 

Tomato Ketchup

The only reason I came up with this recipe is because my kids love tomato ketchup with pakoras , eggs dosas and omelettes and finger fries.

I believe that the ketchup I would make at home with fresh tomatoes would be a lot healthier that the ones we get in the market…..but that’s my personal point of view.

Here goes the simplest and to my mind the healthiest and yet the yummiest recipe of home made tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

1.               2.5 kg fresh tomatoes ( I used the local desi variety which have a high water content)

2.                Three medium onions  about 200 grams in weight

3.                200 grams sugar

4.                200 ml apple cider vinegar

5.                One tablespoon whole cloves

6.                Half a teaspoon black pepper powder

7.                Half a teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

8.                One  and a half teaspoon salt

Method:

1.                Chop the tomatoes and put them into a pressure cooker and give two whistles.

2.                After the steam goes off then open the lid and allow the tomatoes to reach room temperature.

3.                Meanwhile slice the onions , place in a pan with one fourth cup of water , cover and let cook till tender , for about ten minutes.

4.                Blend the tomatoes and onions together and sieve with a strainer discarding the seeds and skin .

5.                Place the puree into a heavy bottomed steel pot and let boil on full flame stirring intermittently till it becomes as thick as the ketchup you get in the shops.

6.                In the meanwhile simmer on low flame the vinegar and the cloves for about twenty minutes.

7.                Spoon out the cloves and after the tomato puree has become thick add the spiced vinegar along with the sugar and the red chilly powder and cook for a further fifteen minutes.

8.                Add the black pepper powder and the salt and give one boil.

9.                Let the ketchup cool completely before transferring the ketchup into glass jars or bottles.

10.         I would suggest that you refrigerate it since we aren’t really using a preservative other than the natural ones.

dips and chutneys· tomato

Tomato Ketchup

The only reason I came up with this recipe is because my kids love tomato ketchup with pakoras , eggs dosas and omelettes and finger fries.

I believe that the ketchup I would make at home with fresh tomatoes would be a lot healthier that the ones we get in the market…..but that’s my personal point of view.

Here goes the simplest and to my mind the healthiest and yet the yummiest recipe of home made tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

1.               2.5 kg fresh tomatoes ( I used the local desi variety which have a high water content)

2.                Three medium onions  about 200 grams in weight

3.                200 grams sugar

4.                200 ml apple cider vinegar

5.                One tablespoon whole cloves

6.                Half a teaspoon black pepper powder

7.                Half a teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

8.                One  and a half teaspoon salt

Method:

1.                Chop the tomatoes and put them into a pressure cooker and give two whistles.

2.                After the steam goes off then open the lid and allow the tomatoes to reach room temperature.

3.                Meanwhile slice the onions , place in a pan with one fourth cup of water , cover and let cook till tender , for about ten minutes.

4.                Blend the tomatoes and onions together and sieve with a strainer discarding the seeds and skin .

5.                Place the puree into a heavy bottomed steel pot and let boil on full flame stirring intermittently till it becomes as thick as the ketchup you get in the shops.

6.                In the meanwhile simmer on low flame the vinegar and the cloves for about twenty minutes.

7.                Spoon out the cloves and after the tomato puree has become thick add the spiced vinegar along with the sugar and the red chilly powder and cook for a further fifteen minutes.

8.                Add the black pepper powder and the salt and give one boil.

9.                Let the ketchup cool completely before transferring the ketchup into glass jars or bottles.

10.         I would suggest that you refrigerate it since we aren’t really using a preservative other than the natural ones.