Keri nu Gosht – Mutton cooked with ripe Alphonso Mangoes

Keri nu Gosht – Mutton cooked with ripe Alphonso Mangoes

Among uncommon recipes, this one is king. I had been itching to lay my paws on this recipe. Finally, I got my sister-in-law to send it to me. This happens to be an old Parsee recipe. It comes down to us from the time when our grandmas ruled the kitchen. Unfortunately I don't have my grandma’s version because I wasn't fortunate enough to spend time with either of them in the kitchen. The first time I heard of this recipe I was extremely intrigued. Never before had I attempted a dish that combined sweet ripe fruit and mutton. This was a new one for me and I was skeptical in regard to whether the flavors would marry. I was wrong, marry they did! Who am I to be skeptical about a recipe handed down through the generations? I should have known better!

Ingredients:

½ kilo mutton, cleaned and cut into chunks

4-5 large onions, finely sliced

5 ripe Alphonso mangoes, peeled

4 cardamoms
1 inch cinnamon

4-6 black pepper corns

2 cloves

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

 2-2½ teaspoons red chili powder

½ teaspoon Parsee Sambhar masala

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

4-5 tablespoons oil

 Method:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the cumin seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon, black peppercorns, cloves and allow to splutter.
2. Add the onions and fry till golden.
3. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till it gets aromatic.
4. Add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, Parsee Sambhar masala and sauté.
5. Add the mutton pieces and sauté till well roasted and mixed with the masala.
6. Add salt and sugar and sauté till well blended.
7. Add the whole, peeled mangoes and gently sauté them for a while. Ensure they don’t break.
8. Add ¾ to 1 cup of water and pressure cook the meat and mangoes. If you own a cooker that whistles, then cook for two whistle and then lower the heat and cook for 7-9 minutes more. Allow the cooker to cool down and release the pressure on its own.
9. Open the cooker when all the pressure is released. If there is too much water simmer till the gravy is semi-thick and sufficient enough to ‘sop-up- with bread. Nope, no fancy-shmancy garnish for this hardcore 'bawa' dish. Enjoy!
   
   

Chef Notes: 

1. When you cook this you have to peel and keep the mangoes whole so select the best mangoes because you can't cook with mangoes that are rotten from the within. If at all you are unsure of the quality of mangoes, the next best option is to peel the mangoes, then cut the large cheeks of the mangoes from either side to check the mango from within and then use them. Do not chop the mango any smaller than this.
2. Ripe mangoes are sweet hence the quantity of chili powder used is on the higher side to achieve a balance of flavours. Feel free to reduce it if you prefer a milder flavour.
3. For those of you who know what Parsee Sali Gosht is, the consistency of this dish should be similar to the same. 
4. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

The Sago Saga

The Sago Saga

Sago Saga is just my fancy way of saying Sago Kheer, but.. but.. the twist to this recipe lies in making it in four different ways. The first is the simple version as made by our Grandmas and the three other flavored versions, as tried and tested by me. Choose any one and give it a go. Light and flavorsome, it’s an ideal dessert to beat the heat.

The Simple Grandma Version:

Ingredients:

2¼ cups milk
¼ cup water
3½ tablespoons sago/sabudana

2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
a pinch or two green cardamom seed powder
4-5 cashew nuts, chopped fine
8-10 kishmish/dry brown grapes

3-4 almonds, slivered

½ teaspoon butter

Method:

1. Soak the sago in water. The water should cover the sago and there should be a bit extra. Keep the soaked sago overnight, in the fridge.
2. In the morning, drain the sago from the water and keep aside.
3. Gently heat butter, add the chopped cashew nuts and gently roast them on a low flame. As soon as they show signs of turning color, add the kishmish and sauté for few seconds. Remove the cashews and the kishmish from the butter and keep aside.
4. Boil the milk and water.
5. Add sugar, green cardamom seed powder and continue boiling on medium heat.
6. Add the drained sago to the milk.
7. Keep stirring as it bubbles away for 3-4 minutes until the sago pearls lose their opaque white color and become colorless. Remove from fire.
8. Cool. Remove in individual serving bowls. Garnish with chopped almond slivers.
9. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours and serve.
   
   

The Saffron Version:

Heat ¼ cup of water (mentioned in the ingredients), and add a few stands of kesar/saffron to the hot water. Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes. Add the saffron water with the saffron threads to the milk and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written in the method section.

The Indian Chai Version:

Instead of ¼ cup water use ½ cup water and bring it to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add a teaspoon of regular tea and boil till the tea water reduces to ¼ cup. Strain the tea and add the strained liquid to the hot milk and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written in the method section. 

The Sweet-Ripe Alphonso Mango Version:

Omit the ¼ cup water. Reduce the sugar content to 1 tablespoon and boil the milk with the sago as directed in the method section of the recipe. Remove the milk and sago from heat when the sago turns colorless. Cool and add ½ cup mango pulp (I used ripe Alphonso mangoes) and mix well. Add a few tiny pieces of mangoes (optional). Garnish with mango pieces and slivered almonds.

Chef Notes:

1. Our Grandma’s used to make the plain version whenever we battled a stomach infection. I had forgotten all about this recipe until my friend Zarina Cama Clowsley posted it at a food forum on FB a couple of weeks back. I therefore dedicate the first version to her and to all the Grandmas who make this to heal their ailing grand babies.
2. This is an excellent recipe for people who suffer from stomach infections and acidity. When using it for stomach infections, I suggest you go with ‘The Simple Grandma Version’.
3. I added nuts because I wanted to serve it as a light after meal dessert, but if you’re having it to ease a stomach infection, please omit the dry fruits.
4. I have given four variations to this recipe. There are two more that you may try.
   Variations: 1. Adding rose syrup to the milk and water. 2. Instead of chai you may try it with coffee.
5. If you want to make a richer version then take 4 cups of milk and reduce it to 2¼ cups.
6. This time I used regular tea leaves for the Indian Chai version but feel free to experiment using flavored teas. You won’t know what works, until you give it a try. ;-)
7. For the mango version I used ripe Alphonso mangoes but you may use any variety of sweet-ripe mangoes. 
8. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Parsee Sagan No Ravo

Parsee Sagan No Ravo

At midnight, tonight, my baby (my blog) turned one year old. On the occasion of its first birthday, I bring to you a sweet Parsee delicacy that is always, always made on auspicious days/occasions. I request you all to join me in celebration for my baby’s birthday. To all of you who follow my blog, a big “THANK YOU”. Please do share the joys that my baby brings to your kitchen and to your table with your family and friends and share the blog with them. God Bless!

Ingredients:

¼ kilo semolina/rava/suji

150 grams clarified butter/ghee

1 tin (400 grams) Milkmaid

¼ - ½ cup sugar, or as desired according to individual taste

A few strands of saffron

1½ - 2 liters milk, as required - according to consistency desired

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

50 grams cashew nuts, each cut/split into two

50 grams almonds, blanched and slivered

50 grams pistachios, each cut/split into two

1 – 1½ tablespoon butter

Method:

1. In a pan heat the butter, add the cashew nuts, slivered almonds and pistachios.
2. Gently, on medium heat, fry them till they turn light golden.
3. Drain the nuts from the butter and keep them aside.
4. Take ½ cup hot milk from the specified amount of milk mentioned. Add the saffron, cover the bowl and allow the color of the saffron to seep.
5. Heat clarified butter/ghee, add the semolina and roast on medium low heat till it’s well roasted (it should not change color)
6. Add the milk gradually to the roasted semolina. Ensure that there are no lumps (quite the same way as you would when making White sauce/Béchamel sauce).
7. Add the saffron milk.
8. Add more milk if required. The consistency of the semolina should be such that it is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
9. Add the Milkmaid and stir well. Check for sweetness, add sugar as needed. (if you feel Milkmaid is enough, feel free to avoid the sugar completely).
10. Add the vanilla essence; give it a good stir and remove from heat.
11. Remove in a serving platter, garnish with fried dry fruits and serve.
    
    

Chef’s Notes: 

1. My grandma and my mum-in-law used to cool the ravo (after it was cooked) to warm temperature and add 2-3 beaten egg yolks to it. If you chose to do that, instead of adding the vanilla essence to the ravo, add it to the yolks when you lightly beat them with a fork. This ensures that the egg-y smell of the yolk doesn’t permeate the ravo. Mix the lightly beaten yolk-essence mixture to the ravo, put in back on the stove and reheat stirring all the time. I usually omit this step these days as this makes the ravo very rich and heavy and in turn it makes me very heavy. ;) :D
2. You can also use fried brown raisins for garnish along with the other fried dry fruits. I don’t because my bitter half hates raisins. Did I say bitter half?? Opppss, I meant better half. :P
3. I prefer making this with saffron infused milk but if you don’t like the flavor of saffron feel free to make this with plain milk.
4. I have mentioned the proportion of the milk as 1½ to 2 liters because the proportion will depend on your preference of consistency for the ravo. You may use just 1½ liters if you prefer it thick or you may take it all the way to 2 liters if you prefer it slightly thinner. My experience at making this dish, time and time again, has proved that for the quantity of semolina mentioned you will not need less than 1½ liters milk, nor will you need more than 2 liters. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Lamba Kanda na Vaghar ma Tikhkhi Mugg Ni Dar – Split Green Gram in Spicy Onion Masala

Lamba Kanda na Vaghar ma Tikhkhi Mugg Ni Dar – Split Green Gram in Spicy Onion Masala

This is a family recipe. It also happens to be Grumpy Tomcat's (read; husband) all time favorite. The sweet, translucent onions go beautifully with the spicy dal. Have I ever known anyone else to make this lamba kanda ni dar/dal? The answer is, no! Is this a typical Parsee/Bawa dish? Yes, I consider it so because I make it and I am a Bawi ;-) Do give this a try. It’s quite different from the dal/s we usually cook.

Ingredients:

250 grams split green gram lentil/yellow moong dal/mugg ni dar

6 medium-sized onions, sliced

3 - 4 green chilies, chopped fine

4 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 - 2½ teaspoons ginger-garlic paste

1½ red chili powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1½ teaspoons coriander-cumin powder/dhania-jeera powder

½ tablespoon Parsee Sambhar Masala

½ tablespoon Dhanshak Masala

½ teaspoon garam masala powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Salt to taste

A handful coriander leaves, chopped

4 - 5 tablespoons oil

Method:

1. Soak the moong dal in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water and rinse the dal twice in clean water.
2. Add 4 cups of water and salt and pressure cook the dal.
3. When done, open the cooker and briskly run a spoon through it to ensure it is nice and smooth.
4. Heat oil in a vessel, add cumin seeds and allow to splutter.
5. Add the onion and fry till limp, translucent pink, just on the verge of onion edges beginning to turn light brown.
6. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a few seconds. Add the chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder, Parsee Sambhar masala, Dhanshak masala, garam masala powder and sauté.
7. Add the tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are soft and oil separates.
8. Add the boiled moong dal in the masala and stir to mix the dal and masala. Ensure it is well blended.
9. Add a wee bit of water to adjust the consistency of the dal. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, yet not so thick that it is falls in blobs from the spoon.
10. Lower heat, cover the vessel and simmer for 10-15 minutes, allowing the dal to absorb the flavors of the masala.
11. Retain a few coriander leaves for garnish and add the rest to the dal. Stir, simmer for a minute more and take the dal off the hob.
12. Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and serve with roti and mango pickle.
    
    

Chef Notes:

1. When you boil the dal in the pressure cooker it will get quite thick, so ensure that you add adequate water when you pressure cook it.
2. Do not brown the onions. Leave them half cooked. Sweet, translucent onions are the hero of this dish.
3. This dish is spicy so feel free to reduce the quantity of spice if you aren't able to handle spicy stuff.
4. Please pay attention to the consistency of the dal as it should not be too watery or too thick.
5. If you have no access to Parsee Sambhar and Dhanshak masala, feel free to omit those spices. 
6. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Creamy Blue Cheese Dip

Creamy Blue Cheese Dip

Blue cheese dip has become the ‘classic’ accompaniment to crispy chicken wings and crunchy nibbles such as celery and carrot sticks, radishes and green onions. This also takes potato wedges to a new high. Also, this will be an ideal way for you to try the Sour Cream recipe I posted a couple of days back. It's time to bring out those wedges and wings from the freezer. ;-)

Ingredients:

½ cup sour cream (get the recipe here)

½ cup blue cheese, crumbled

¼ cup mayonnaise (get the recipe here)

1 small clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon milk

Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon chives, chopped (optional)

Method:

1. Pulse the sour cream, blue cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, milk and lemon juice in a blender until combined but still chunky.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add the chopped chives. Retain a wee bit to garnish.
4. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
5. At serving time, uncover, garnish with remaining chives and serve.
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. As the sour cream required for this was a small batch, I beat the cream by hand, with a whisk. If you are up to it feel free to give it a go by the whisk-hand method. It’s a wonderful experience to see the cream work under your hands, though, if you're in a lazy or rushed mode, feel free to pick up that hand blender.
2. The sour cream should have just a tinge of sourness; it should not be tart in flavor. What you need is a very mild hint of sour.
3. The given quantity makes 1¼ cup of dip.
4. The Creamy Blue Cheese Dip keeps in the fridge for a week. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   

Mango Ice Cream with Mango Bits

Mango Ice Cream with Mango Bits

It's the season of luscious, juicy mangoes. That is exactly why I decided to make mango ice cream and share the recipe with you. Clicking photos for this recipe was a real headache. The first time I tried to click the photos, even with all the props and camera in place, the ice cream began to melt real fast. 

The next day, I was a wee bit wiser. I went online to check what was going wrong. I learned a few tips and tricks and put them into play and that is why I managed to get that frost on the ice cream. No, these aren't photos of fake ice cream as you see in advertisements. This is Mango Ice Cream... for real! :-)

Ingredients:

1 cup mango pulp
¼ cup condensed milk (optional)
3 - 5 tablespoons powdered sugar, or to taste
5 tablespoons milk powder
100 mils milk
1 cup whipping cream
½ cup mango pieces

Method: 

1. Mix the mango pulp, condensed milk, powder sugar, milk powder, milk and give it a whiz in a blender. 
2. In a clean, dry bowl add the cream and whip to ‘semi-stiff peaks’ consistency. 
3. Gently add the mango pulp mixture from the blender and mango pieces into the cream. 
4. Mix it gently but well to ensure it all comes together perfectly. 
5. Freeze the mixture in an airtight container until sets. Scoop out and enjoy!

Chef Notes:

1. Condensed milk is added to give the ice cream a wonderful creamy texture. You can omit it if you like and adjust the sugar accordingly but I definitely prefer my ice cream creamy. 
2. Foods like ice cream when frozen lessens in sweetness hence when you adjust the sweetness please do add a wee bit extra. I used 5 tablespoons of sugar. 
3. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   

Sour Cream

 Sour Cream

Yup! I’m going to share yet another basic recipe with you. I learned this from Executive Chef Amit Chand of Hotel Novotel - Pune, during a cookery workshop that he had invited me to. Sour cream is a very versatile dairy product. Among other things, sour cream is used in dips; it is blobbed over baked jacket-potatoes and is also used as salad dressing. Store bought Sour Cream tubs are quite expensive. I see no reason for you to spend that kind of money when I can guide you to make sour cream at home, and quite easily at that. Also, the final result to the main dish for which you use the homemade sour cream is not going to be different at all. I promise!! :-)

Ingredients:

200 mils fresh cream (refrigerated)

½ -1 teaspoon lime juice





Method:

1. In a bowl, add the cream and whisk till the cream begins to thicken.
   
   
   
   
2. Add ½ teaspoon of lemon juice and whisk again until the cream thickens a bit more. Taste the cream, if it does not have that perfect hint of sourness, add a wee bit more.
3. Beat the cream till it forms soft, semi-stiff peaks. When you achieve that consistency, you have successfully made sour cream without spending a bundle. Enjoy!
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. Preferably make this in small batches to ensure the cream does not turn to clarified butter. I say this because most of us (me included) are home cooks and not professional chefs.
2. I beat the cream by hand with a whisk. Give it a go by hand. It’s a wonderful experience to see the cream work under your hands, though, if you're in a lazy or rushed mode, feel free to pick up that hand blender.
3. The sour cream should have a tinge of sourness; it should not be extremely tart in flavor. What you need is a very mild flavor of sour.
4. Having now made this an umpteen number of times, for family and friends, I can say with certainly that depending on the tartness of the lime, the quantity of lime juice required will only vary between ½ a lime to 1 lime.
5. When I say ‘soft, semi-stiff peaks’, I mean when you lift the cream on the whisk, the blobs that fall from it should form soft peaks in the bowl as they fall in. 
6. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.
   
   
   

Methi Malai Paneer – Creamy Cottage Cheese with Fenugreek

Methi Malai Paneer – Creamy Cottage Cheese with Fenugreek

I'm a hard-core carnivore but give me this cottage cheese dish and I’ll happily tuck into it. Non-spicy, yet rich and delicious, this would be an ideal dish to make when you're entertaining guests who prefer vegetarian food. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

250 grams cottage cheese/paneer
2 tablespoons oil or clarified butter
Extra oil to shallow fry
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
¾ teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoons garam masala powder
1 teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
A pinch of dry mango powder/amchur
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons dry fenugreek leaves/kasoori methi (retain a few for garnish)
200 mils fresh cream
200 mils milk
Salt to taste

For paste:

1 tablespoon poppy seed
1 tablespoon melon seed
2-3 green chilies
1 small onion, chopped
10 almonds
10 cashew nuts
6 tablespoons milk or water

Method:

1. Grind the paste ingredients, listed above, until smooth and keep aside.
2. Chop the paneer into squares or cubes. Shallow fry them for 2 minutes and place aside.
3. In a pan heat oil / clarified butter on low heat. Add the ginger-garlic paste. 
4. Sauté until the raw smell disappears. 
5. Add the grounded white paste. Stir well. 
6. Mix garam masala powder, roasted cumin powder, sugar and red chili powder. 
7. Combine and cook for 2 minutes. 
8. Roast the kasoori methi lightly, crush it and add it to the gravy. 
9. Take the vessel off the stove. 
10. Add the cream and milk gradually to the thick masala paste. Stir well and put back on fire on very low heat. Stir continuously till the gravy heats up and is gently bubbling. 
11. Add the shallow fried paneer. Stir gently but continuously. 
12. Add the amchur powder and salt to taste. Simmer for a few seconds. 
13. Garnish with dry-roasted fenugreek leaves. Take the pan off the hob and serve with rice, paratha or roti. 

Chef’s Notes:

1. Frying the paneer is optional. I did fry it. 
2. Please do not over-fry the cottage cheese/paneer as it toughens and becomes rubbery. 
3. Once you add the milk and cream please ensure that you keep the gravy on a very low flame and stir it continuously because not doing so may result in curdled gravy.
4. The base recipe for Methi Malai Paneer is courtesy Flavours Of Mumbai. I made various changes to the base recipe and these are my changes from the original one that i had read.
   (a) I increased the milk proportion for grinding the nuts into a paste.
   (b) I increased the quantity of cream and added milk to adjust the consistency of the gravy.
   (c) I added extra green chilies as 1 green chili was a tad bland.
   (d) I chose to roast the kasoori methi before crushing it to enhance the flavor.
   When you try the recipe please feel free to adjust the flavours and the consistency to your liking as the end result should suit to your taste buds. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism. 
   
   
   

French Loaves with Garlic Herb Butter

French Loaves with Garlic Herb Butter 

Never ventured into the kitchen?? Want to try your hand at cooking something truly simple?? Here's a recipe that will help you take those baby steps in the kitchen with great ease, the end result of which will be beautiful and drool-worthy.

Ingredients:

French Loaves / Baguettes

Garlic Herb Butter (Get the recipe here)

Method:

1. Diagonally slice the French loaves/baguettes.
2. Apply the garlic herb butter to one side of each slice.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Wrap each loaf separately in aluminum foil.
4. Place them under a hot grill.
   
   
5. Grill for 15 to 20 minutes. Please check intermittently to ensure they don't burn.
   
   

Chef Notes:

1. The Garlic Herb Butter can be prepared three days ahead and refrigerated.
2. You can also shape the butter into logs/roll/s, wrap the logs individually in plastic cling film and freeze the herb butter logs for up to a month.
3. For the Garlic Herb Butter, I chose parsley as my primary herb but feel free to go with any herb of your choice.
4. Please adjust the lemon juice according on your taste buds. 
5. You may share the direct blog-link of the recipe/s but do NOT publish my recipes and my photographs on any blog-site or website without my explicit consent or attempt to pass off my recipe/s as your own. You will be held accountable for plagiarism.