Bitter gourd coconut fry

This dish does not have many ingredients, and does not take much preparation except for the coconut grating. Let me warn you, though, the bitter gourd must NOT be grated, for that would bring out the bitter juice, making the dish quite bitter.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd- 1 number.
Chilli flakes   - 1 to 2 tablespoons
Onion -   3 large
turmeric powder- half teaspoon
Salt - to taste(I add 1 tsp)
Grated coconut - about a handful
Oil  - 2 to 3 tablespoons

Method of preparation:

Slice the bitter gourd lengthwise and deseed. Chop it into small pieces(Do NOT grate it). Chop the onions to similar small pieces. Heat oil in a kadai and add the chilli flakes. When the chilli flakes fries up(this will happen soon; don't let it get burnt), add the bitter gourd, onions, salt and turmeric powder. Stir well and let it simmer. Keep closed. Stir well every 5 mins or so till the bitter gourd is cooked. This may take some 15 mins. Add grated coconut and continue on simmer for another 10 mins or so, stirring occasionally this the bitter gourd is done.

Chana Masala

A north-Indian dish that goes well with all kinds of roti and puri, kabuli chana masala has always been one of the family's favorites. It goes well with rice,too.

Ingredients:

1 cup kabuli(white) channa
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
1 green chilli
1 inch ginger piece
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp gharam masala powder
1 tbsp saya sauce
salt to taste
a few strands corriander leaves for garnishing.

Method:

Soak the chana for at least 4 hours and pressure cook till soft to bite: The level of water should be just a cm above the level of chana. Pressure cook till a whistle, and then leave it on simmer for 20 mins or half an hour.

Grind onion, green chilli, tomato, garlic and ginger into a paste.
Heat a tbsp of oil, and add the paste.
When the oil starts coming out, add the masalas a cook a minute.
Add the cooked chana along with the water.
Add soya sauce and cook till gravy thickens.
To make thick gravy you may follow either one or a combination of the following options:
  a. grind half a handful of cooked chana alond with the paste.
  b. add a tsp or two of corn flour to the curry as it gets cooked.
  c. smash the chana with a laddle as the curry gets cooked.
  d. fry 3 tbsp of grated coconut and dry grind it(I personally don't prefer this)

After the curry is cooked, garnish with corriander leaves.

Fish roast

This is a good recipie for any kind of fish, preferrably one that doesn't give out too much smell when raw.

Ingredients:

4 medium sized fish (or 8 small ones)
Onion - one large
Green chilli - 2-3
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Feenugeek seeds: 1 tsp powdered
Thick tamarind pulp - 2-3 tsps
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 tbsp

Method:

Grind all the above, except fish and oil, in grinder, apply to fish and leave for at least 1/2 hour. 2 hours would be ideal.
Smear oil on tava, turn on the heat, arrange fish, and cook on low flame.
Once fish is cooked, increase flame to medium heat or high, till fish skin gets crusty. You may serve with onion rings and lime squeezed over.

Dal and Cabbage curry

Chicken/Egg/Vegetable Biryani

Ingrdients:

4 cups basmathi rice
1/2 cup curd
4-5 tbsp oil/ ghee
3 tbsp salt

Whole Spices:
10 cloves
8 green cardamom
4 cinnamon sticks
6 tsps cumin seeds/ almonds

For gravy:
3 inch peice of ginger
2 whole garlics
8 green chillis
2 big onions
2 big tomatoes
1 buch corriander leaves
3/4 th bunch mint leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
8 tsps corriander powder
2 tsps chilli powder
3-4 tsps gharam masala
salt to taste

For Chicken byriyani, use 1 kg chicken, cut to medium peices and cooked

For Veg byriani use 3-4 cups of  mixed vegetables cut to small(not very small) pieces and cooked: more of green peas and carrots, and half as much beans, potatoes and cauliflower florets, and 1 capsicum if desired.

For egg byriyani use 6 full-boiled eggs or as required, cut in half

For garnishing:

10-15 big onions
1 cup raisins, or more if desired
1 cup cashewnus, or more if desired
1 bunch corriander leaves

Method of Preparation:


Marionate the chiken pieces/ eggs/ cooked vegetable with curd, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and a little salt. Remember you will be adding salt to the gravy, so you can adjust the salt accordingly.

Wash the basmathi rice and soak in warm water for 20 mins and then drain out the water.

In the time the rice is saoked and drained, prepare the gravy:
Roughly cut all the ingredients under the 'Gravy', except mustard seeds and powder, and grind them into a paste in mixer with 3 tbsps of water.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in kadai, splutter mustard seeds, and pour the contents of the mixer and stir.
When lumps begin to form, add chilli pd, corriander pd, turmeric pd, gharam masala and salt to taste.
Stir well into a sticky paste so that curry will not spoil quickly.

Keep 8 cups of water to boil(twice as much cups of water as the cups of rice)
In an aluminium/ brass vessel, hast 3 tbs oil/ghee, add the 10 onions slicked, 2-3tbs salt andfry the onions to dark brown. The addition of salt will remove the water from the onions faster.
Drain out the oil from the onions and remove the fried onions onto a plate. This is for the garnishing.
Fry the raisins and the cashews together till the cashews turn light brown, and remove them to another plate.
Dry roast the whole spices and grind them(if you don't like to bite them whole in the rice)
Fry the rice in the remaining oil/ghee till it turns a light pinkish-brown.
Mix a little of the gravy to the rice to give it an aroma.
Add the eight cups of boiled water to the rice and add 2 tsps turmeric powder, mix.
Keep it closed and place a weight on it. Allow it to cook on medium flame, with occational stirring.

While the rice is getting cooked, add the marionated chicken pieces/ eggs/ vegetable to the gravy.
You can now add required amount of water and boil to reach a gravy-like consistency.

Assembling the dish:
Assemble biriyani in a wide vessel by placing rice, gravy with pieces, sprinkling raising, nuts and corriander leaves alternatively till all gravy and rice is used up. Garnish the top with remaining nuts, raisins and corriander leaves.
You could also serve the gravy separately, in which case you'd have to only assemble the rice, nuts, raisings and corriander leaves.
Serve with onion salard(in curd), and your favourite pickle!

Potatoe-Pea curry