Ghost Chilli Pickle

I am not a very pickle loving person and not tried my hands on pickling as I always find the pickling process little time consuming and there is a chance of damage if not follow the proper process. So I always had neglected pickling. Recently my sister who lives in Assam had sent few exotic vegetables from Assam. Along with that she sent me few ghost chillies also. This is also known as bhut jolokia in Assam. As there was no other way to keep those chillies fresh for a longer time other than pickling them. So I started the process and the result just came out perfect. Now I take tiny portion of it in my lunch/dinner to get a watery eye and runny nose. Ghost chilli is considered as the Hottest Chilli in the World also as per the Guinness Book of World Records.

Very simple & easy process of pickling these red hot babies!!

Recipe of this pickle is as per the chillies I had.

Ingredients:

Ghost chillies: 19 numbers (this is all I had with me)
Salt to taste
Mustard Oil: 100 gms approx.
Juice of one lime
Vinegar: 1 tbsp
White mustard seed:3-4 tbsp. crushed
One clean glass/plastic jar

Direction:

Wash the chillies and sun-dry for 2-3 days. Cut them into small pieces wearing hand globes. In a kadhai/pan heat the oil and add the crushed mustard seed and saute for a minute and put the flame off.

In the cleaned jar, put the chillies. Once the oil is cooled, pour it into  the jar, add the salt, lime juice, vinegar and tighten the lid of the jar and shake it once so that everything combines and mixes well. Sun-dry this every day for a few days keeping the lid/cover open. Your pickle is ready ...

 

Khorisa maas (fish cooked with bamboo shoot) - An Assamese delicay

Khorisa maas is a speciality of Assam. Khorisa is grated bamboo shoots in raw, fermented or pickled form. I just love that aroma of the fermented bamboo shoot. As my sister had sent some bamboo shoot as well from Assam, I have fermented them first before using it in any of my fish or chicken dish. One can use bamboo shoot raw also. But I did the fermenting part as I wanted to keep them for a longer time and use as and when I require ..

Rohu fish: 4 pieces
Onion: 1 medium sized grated
Garlic ginger paste:1 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
White Mustard Seeds: 1 tsp
Tomato: 1 big sized finely chopped
Mustard oil: 4 tbsp
Bamboo shoot: 3-4 tbsp. (I used fermented one. if you are using raw, grate/cut them into thin slices and add)
Green Chillies: 1-2


Direction:

Wash the fish pieces and rub salt and 1 tsp of turmeric powder on the pieces and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a deep bottomed pan and fry the fish. We do not need to crisp-fry them and make them golden brown as we are going to make a curry only with the fish. Keep the fried fishes aside.

In the same pan, add & heat rest of the oil if required. Now add the mustard seed, chillies and allow them to crackle. Add the onion and ginger garlic paste and saute them for a minute or two. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt and stir till the masala leaves oil. Now add the chopped tomato and stir and mix with the masala. Cover it with the lid and cook in low flame till the tomatoes gets pulpy. Add about 1 cup of water to it and again cover with the lid for 2-3 minutes checking in between. As the gravy thickens, add the fish and combine with the gravy masala. Soon after that add the fermented bamboo shoot and give it a nice mix. Let the gravy boil for some more time uncovered. In another 3-4 minutes your khorisa maas would be ready.

Serve it with steamed rice and enjoy this super simple easy to make dish yet full of great flavour and aroma .

 

Chickpeas patty with the goodness of cottage cheese, broccoli & corn

We all know about chickpeas having high protein content and rich in dietary fibre ,it makes your tummy full with just a handful of them. This time , instead of having them as salad thought to prepare some patties out of it and in a more healthier way with lot of flavour. No potato used, very less oil to fry them.

 

Ingredients:

Chickpeas: 1 cup soaked in water overnight
Broccoli: 4-5 florets
Corn: about 1/2 cup (you can use boiled corns as well. I like it raw)
Cottage cheese/Paneer: 1/2 cup chopped into small cubes
Salt to taste
Onion: 1 medium sized roughly cut into cubes/slice
Garlic: 9-10 cloves
Green chillies: 1-2 chopped
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1/2 tsp
Handful of fresh coriander and mint leaves chopped
Bread crumbs for binding : 1 cup (Add more if you feel that the mixture is not well combined)
Oil for shallow fry

Direction:

Wash the soaked chickpeas properly and pressure cook up to 2-3 whistles. Please note not to over-cook these chickpeas. Keep aside to get the pressure released on its own.

In a mixer , take the cooked chickpeas, broccoli,  onion, garlic and give it a pulse . We do not need a paste of these. So one or two pulses would be enough to get the desired texture.

Now in a mixing bowl, take the mixture of chickpeas, add salt, coriander powder, chilli powder, chillies, corn, coriander & mint leaves and mix nicely so that all the ingredients combine with each other. Finally add the chopped cottage cheese or paneer and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs (You can stuff the chopped paneer inside the patty if you want). Now divide the mixture into equal sized balls and then flatten each of them between the palms of both your hands and keep aside in a dish. In another dish take the other 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and roll each of the patty onto this and keep them inside the refrigerator for about half an hour so that the patties get a nice binding.
Heat oil in a pan/tava and shallow fry  these patty and serve hot .

Bitter Gourd chips in less bitter way

Bitter gourd is one vegetable I am sure most of you would not have liked it as a child . I am no difference. I use to hate it whenever I see ma cooking it in her kitchen. But now its like a common and regular vegetable found in my kitchen very often. How do you all cook bitter gourd at home ? I use to make it as a normal  sabji with one dry chilly and little onion, very little dry masala till the time I spoke to this friend of mine from Assam few months back. This friend of mine asked me to try this simplest  and easy recipe of bitter gourd. And I tell you, this crispy spicy bitter gourd dish is really tasty that you will not feel that bitterness of this vegetable. I started adding this to my kid's diet as well . So here I go to share this simplest ghar ka recipe with you today. You can make it in no time whenever you feel like eating bitter gourd.

Ingredients:

2 nice soft Bitter Gourd of medium size
Besan: 3-4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Kashmiri chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Method:

Wash the gourds nicely and slice them into thin round pieces and pat dry on a tissue paper.


Once they are dried mash them with your hands properly so that the water comes out of the pieces. Now into this add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and mix well and keep aside for 2-3 minutes. Then add besan (dry - not to make any liquor/batter out of it) and mix with  the pieces and again mash them properly. This would look something like this.

Now heat oil in a deep pan and fry the bitter gourd besan mixture till they turn into golden brown colour. Fry them in low to medium-high flame to make them crispy & crunchy. Transfer them to a tissue paper to strain extra oil. Serve hot with your regular meal or  enjoy this crispy bitter gourd dish  with tomato ketchup in a less bitter taste.

 

Healthy Moong and oats paratha

Parathas are mostly everyone's favourite breakfast dish in India. I too make parathas for breakfast and for the little girl's lunch box quite often. This time when I was soaking the green grams/moong on saturday for my salads, thought of making moong paratha on sunday morning. Healthy Green grams/moong along with oats makes a healthier combination. You can use moong sprouts or other sprouts as stuffing as well for making paratha .

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:
Green Grams/moong: 1 cup (soaked overnight)
Onion: 1 small sized finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Chopped green chillies: 1-2 (optional)
Fresh chopped coriander : a handful
Oil: 2 tbsp.
salt to taste

For the dough:
Whole wheat flour: 2 cups (or as per your requirement)
Oats: 3 tbsp
pinch of salt
Sufficient water (I used luke warm water) to make the dough /or you can use yogurt to make the dough to make it softer.
Ghee to fry the prathas


Method:

Making the Dough:
In a large mixing bowl, take the flour, oats, salt. Add Luke warm water slowly and knead properly to get a soft dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for sometime.

Stuffing:

Wash the moong and pressure cook upto 1 or 2 whistles. Remember we do not need this to be over- cooked. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add the onions and saute till soft & translucent. Now add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, green chillies and stir in for 1-2 minutes. Time to add the cooked green grams/moong to it. Mix it with all the masala nicely. Finally sprinkle the chopped coriander and give one final  mix and remove from flame. Let it cool completely.


Divide the dough into equal sized balls of required size to make the paratha. Now keeping it on the palm of your left hand and with the thumb finger of the right hand make a big hole on the ball. Now place 2 tsp of the moong stuffing at the center and fold the corners in such a way that the stuffing is intact. Toss the ball in dry flour and roll it out into thin circles of approx. 6 inches diameter. Do the same process for the rest of the balls.

Heat a non-stick tava or griddle, place the roll parathas and cook each paratha till they turn golden brown in colour from both the sides using 1/4 tsp ghee/or you can use oil also. Continue the similar process with the remaining rolled out portions.

Whenever I make roti/paratha, I stack the cooked roti/parathas one above the other in a dish. This helps maintaining the softness and preserves moisture in the parathas. Serve this healthy oats moong paratha with chilled yogurt or some pickle.

 

Soy sauce and honey flavoured chicken kabab

I have kept the stainless steel skewers that came along with my microwave in cupboard since I bought the m/w. Once in a while I take it out and again keep it inside. Yesterday when I saw all three coloured bell peppers in my refrigerator , I just made my mind that I have to make the use of those skewers. Ordered boneless chicken from the nearby shop and started preparing my humble kababs. I tried this time a very simple one without much of a masala etc. But the flavour of honey & soy sauce came out very well.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast: 200 gms (wash properly and cut into cubes of medium size)
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 tbsp.
Soy sauce: 3 tsp
Honey: 3 tsp
Green chilli paste: 1/2 tsp (you can increase the quantity or can ignore if you do not like to add)
Vinegar: 2tsp
Salt to taste
Crushed black pepper: 1 tsp
Red/yellow/red bell pepper: 1 cup Cut into cubes
Olive oil: 1 tsp
I used stainless steel Skewers. you can use wooden one also. For wooden skewers, you need to soak them in water for about half an hour before using.


Method:

In a large bowl marinate the chicken pieces and the bell peppers with all the other ingredients (ginger garlic paste, salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, soy sauce and honey) and keep in the refrigerator for about half an hour-45 minutes. Preheat the oven at 220 degree Celsius.

Once the marination is done, skew the chicken pieces and bell peppers of all three colours alternatively in the skewers and keep aside. Do it for the rest of the skewers. Now place the skewers in the wire rack provided.  Bake the kababs for 7-8 minutes in 300 degree Celsius in micro+grill mode. After 7-8 minutes turn the skewers  and again grill for another 7-8 minutes. In case if it is not done properly , then cook for another 5-7 minutes. Do keep a close eye on the kababs while its cooking.

Serve hot with green chutney and squeezing some lemon juice on the kababs.



 

Cheesy baked capsicum rice

Sometimes the days of the weeks are hard to make my little girl eat her regular meals. Obviously as mothers we always try and want them to eat healthy and properly. So today I thought to surprise her by cooking something with rice only for her in lunch, but in a healthier way.

This was just a random thought of mine to bake rice other than cooking pulao or fried rice. And honestly I was not even aware of any baked rice dish(until I saw someone commented on my post that she had it in Singapore). Thought if everything can be baked , why not rice, that too if loaded with veggies. So I tried & tested this for the first time ever in my kitchen and it was a hit for sure. Minimum ingredients and easy to prepare recipe this one. Do give it a try and share your feedback .

 

Ingredients:

Rice: 1 cup washed and strained
Salted Butter: 1 tsp
Pepper powder: 1 tsp
Salt to taste
red/yellow/green capsicum: 1 cup cut into julienne
Onion: 1 small sized finely chopped
Garlic: 1 tbsp. crushed
2 cups water
Cheese: 1/2 cup grated. I have used processed cheese. (You can avoid if you want)
Oil: few drops to grease the baking tray/tin (You can bake this in any oven proofed borosil/ramekin bowl)
One strand of Rosemary roughly tore & Finely chopped Lemon grass for that extra flavour

Method:

Heat butter in a pan. Add the onion & garlic & saute for sometime.  Add the capsicum, pepper & salt & stir. Saute for about 2 minutes and then add the rice, rosemary and lemon grass. Mix them well . Saute for another 2-3 minutes. Now put off the flame. In the mean time , preheat the oven at 220 degree Celsius. Grease the dish/bowl/tin/tray with oil and keep aside. Once the rice and vegetables are cooled, transfer it to the bowl ,add water and bake it at 220 degree Celsius  for 20-25minutes covering properly with an aluminium foil. After 20-25 minutes take out the dish/bowl and remove the aluminium foil and sprinkle the grated cheese on the top and bake again for another 10-15 minutes so that cheese melts on the top. Remove from the oven carefully as dish/bowl will be very hot. Serve this cheesy baked capsicum rice hot and enjoy.

I served this rice to my little girl with some home-made French fries and I had with my home-made chilli pickle. You can add variation to this dish by including some other veggies like mushrooms/potato/carrots etc. or can make it non-veg with boneless chicken .

 

Mouth-watering Tangy and spicy Tamarind chutney

On a rainy monsoon morning I was sitting with my laptop checking out emails, face book  etc when I suddenly felt like having spicy tamarind chutney. Did not want to go out to get it from the shop and ask for home delivery of only one item. So I searched it in the net and I found a very simple recipe of tamarind chutney and thankfully all the ingredients were available at home that day. Unfortunately now when I am searching for the original recipe  link to mention here , I am unable to locate it.

So here is how I made this superbly deadly spicy tangy tamarind chutney. I am having this chutney these days with whatever salted I am eating. A roti or a rice-dal tastes even great with a spoon of this delicious chutney.

Ingredients:

Tamarind: 2 cups (I used seedless one. With seeds can also be used)
Jaggery: 2 tbsp grated
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Dates: 5-6 (I used seedless. if you are using dates with seeds, just remove it before mixing)
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Amchur powder: 1 tsp
Black salt to taste
2  cups water to soak the tamarind

Method:

Soak the tamarind in water for at least about 2-3 hours. I soaked it overnight. Mash the pulps with your hands. Pit the dates and roughly chop. Remove seeds if you are not using seedless dates.

In a pan/sauce pan add the tamarind pulp with the water, dates and all other above mentioned ingredients. Mix them nicely with a spatula and put on the gas stove. Let it boil for some time keeping the flame in high-medium. Keep stirring in between till the mixture takes a thick ketchup like consistency and the dates dissolve a little in the chutney. Put off the gas and let it cool. Transfer the chutney to air tight container and keep in the refrigerator to serve as per requirement.

If you like the chutney with a running like consistency , you can grind the dates in mixer/grinder and then use so that it completely dissolves in the chutney. I like to have it with little crunchiness so I used chopped dates.

 

Paturi - Grilled/Steamed fish wrapped in banana leaf

This sunday was a fisshyy day for us. Along with the mashed fish , I prepared paturi also for lunch. An awesome preparation with sharp pungent mustard paste and mustard oil. I did not follow the original recipe of Paturi prepared in Bengal. With my own twist and ideas I made this paturi today and trust me it came out very tasty. Every one in the family just loved it though they are not very fond of eating fish. There are different versions of making paturi , steaming is one version. I did it by grilling the paturi on my tawa/pan

Ingredients:

Rohu Fish: 3 pieces
Onion: 1 medium sized (half grated and half thinly sliced)
Ginger & Garlic crushed: 2 tbsp.
Salt to taste
Green Chillies: 2-3 slits
Mustard paste: 2 tbsp.(soak in water for sometime and grind it to a paste )
Mustard oil: 3 tbsp.
Banana leaf: 1 big sized . After you clean the banana leaf with water, heat it over the flame for sometime on both the sides to avoid the breakage of the leaf while wrapping the fish.

Method:

Clean and wash the fish aside. Marinate the fish with mustard oil, salt, mustard paste, crushed ginger & garlic ,grated onion. Rub the marination properly on the fishes and keep aside for about 20-25 minutes or so.

Place the fishes on the glossy side of the banana leaf at the centre along with the marination and place the chillies & sliced onions on top of it. Pour in all the remaining masala on the fish pieces. Now fold the banana leaf from all four sides and make it a square parcel. Heat a non-stick tava/pan and place the fish wrapped in banana leaf on it and cover with a lid for 10-12 minutes. Flip onto the other side and cook the other side also for another 10-12 minutes.

Remove from the flame once it is done. After 2-3 minutes open the wrap and serve as it is  hot with rice , dal & some chutney/pickle.

 

Maasor pitika (Smoked mashed fish) - An Assamese speciality

I have been thinking of making this dish for quite some time and I just love this mashed fish with lots of onion & mirchi. I can have it with plain rice and dal. But no one in the family is a big fan of fish other than me, so I intentionally delayed in preparing this dish. Today I just could not let myself go without doing this in the kitchen. Sent the husband to get the banana leaf in the morning to get me going. Very happy to share this recipe with you all . Though Assamese dishes has less scope of garnishing , still I tried to make it look little interesting.

Ingredients:

Rohu Fish: 2 pieces (you can take boneless fish also and as per your number of servings)
Onion: 1 small sized finely chopped
A handful of Chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Juice of half lime
Chopped green chillies: 1-2 (you can adjust as per your taste & ability)
Mustard oil: 1 tbsp.
Banana leaf of medium size. After you clean the banana leaf with water, heat it over the flame for sometime on both the sides to avoid the breakage of the leaf while wrapping the fish.

Method:

Wash the fish pieces and rub some salt and few drops of mustard oil nicely and keep aside. Place the fish on the glossy side of the leaf at the centre and fold it from all four sides and make it a square parcel. . Heat the tawa/pan and place the fish pieces wrapped in banana leaf. Keep the flame on low. Grill on  both the sides of the fish for about 10 minutes. You will get to see the fish colour changing to light brown and release water. Remove it from the pan and let it cool.

Once it is cool, in a mixing bowl mash the fish pieces with your hands. If you are using fish with bones, you can remove the bones while mashing also. Now add the chopped onion, coriander, chopped chillies, salt, mustard oil, lime juice and mix them all with the mashed fish properly. Check for the seasoning before serving. Enjoy this delicious healthy dish with plain rice & dal & some chilli pickle.

 

Healthy chickpeas salad loaded with veggies

While we indulge on the home made rich food & sweet dishes sometimes, need to check on my family's health & my sugar level as well. So I go a soup salad way and a very simple meal for the husband and my girl for lunch/dinner few days of the week. This chickpeas salad with veggies is so simple to assemble and you can have at any time of the day and it will keep your stomach full for a longer duration. You can do few variation by replacing chickpeas with cooked rajma/kidney beans of different types.

Ingredients:

Cooked chickpeas: 1 cup
Onion: 1 small chopped
Red, green & yellow bell pepper: half cup chopped
Cucumber: 3-4 tbsp. chopped
Tomato: 1 small chopped
Salt to taste
Amchur powder: 1tsp
Juice of one small lime
Chopped Fresh coriander

How to assemble:

Soak the chickpeas overnight and cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker up to 2-3 whistles or till it cooks. Remember not to overcook  the chickpeas. In a mixing bowl add all the above ingredients and mix well. Now sprinkle the chopped coriander.  You can have it this way or keep in the refrigerator and serve cold.