Dahi Ni Kadhi – The Khorshed Way!

When I moved to Pune 3 decades (and more) ago, I (aptly) knew my way around a kitchen but I learnt certain recipes and certain, tiny but important, nuances of the kitchen under the kind and patient guidance of my sis-in-law, Khorshed. She’s my eldest ‘jethani’ and I’m not much for words, face to face, but Khorshed is someone very close to my heart (oh, that does not mean I don’t trouble or rile her 😉). This is her recipe.

I’m no poet but I’ve penned this for her….

Through all the ups and all the downs,

Though all the smiles and all the frowns,

We’ve been through it all and more,

But one thing I know for sure,

No matter what the circumstances,

No matter where we’re led in life’s game,

We’ve been family; we shall remain the same! (Touch wood! 💕)

Ingredients:

3-4 green chilies, chopped fine

8-9 cloves garlic, chopped fine

½ kilo bland thick curd/yogurt/dahi (NOT sour)

1 big onion, chopped fine

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

Few curry leaves

½ teaspoon chili powder

1/3 teaspoon turmeric

Salt, to taste

Powdered sugar, to taste

1 tablespoon oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a stainless steel kadhai/wok.
   
   
2.  Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, green chilies, garlic, curry leaves and splutter for about 30 seconds.
   
   
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3. Add onion and fry till golden brown.
   
   
   
   
4. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, a wee bit of salt and sauté. Remove from fire and keep aside.
   
   
   
   
5. Take curd in a stainless steel or glass bowl and whiz with an electric hand blender to smoothen it (this will thin out the curd to some extent).
6. Add a wee bit of salt. Give the dahi a whiz. 
7. Add sugar to taste and give it a good whiz with the hand blender until the sugar is well incorporated.
8. Add the seasoned-sweetened curd to the spice mixture in the wok. Mix the masala into the dahi until it all comes together evenly.
9. Put the wok back on the stove on VERY LOW HEAT. (I cannot emphasize ‘very low heat’ enough.)
10. Stir CONTINUOUSLY and stir well till the kadhi heats up gently and evenly. Do NOT allow the kadhi to boil/bubble and do NOT let up on the stirring for even a few seconds.
    
    
    
    
11. Once the kadhi is hot (not boiling/bubbling), take it off the stove, check seasoning, add if needed. If you add extra seasoning, put the kadhi back on low flame; stir continuously for half a minute. Serve with piping hot rice or khichdee.
    
    

Chef’s Notes: 

1. You may add a wee bit of water to thin out the dahi, if you so like. As mentioned earlier, the gentle whizzing will thin it a bit. I prefer not to add water.
2. Adjust the salt and sugar to taste. Dad hates sour kadhi which is why the kadhi made at home is usually sweet and spicy with a light hint of tang (from the bland dahi - yes, even bland dahi will have a faint hint of tang).
3. Put the wok on the stove only after you have evenly mixed the dahi into the masala.
4. When you put the masala-mixed dahi on the stove please adjust the stove flame to the LOWEST setting.
5. When I say stir continuously, do not merely mean stir in a circular motion. Stir the kadhi all over the base of the vessel and the sides. At no point in time should the dahi get overly heated from one corner of the wok or bubble and boil. If at all that happens, the kadhi is sure to curdle/split.
6. Please use a wooden spoon to stir the kadhi evenly. The ladle you see in the photograph is merely used to serve the kadhi. 
7. Ensure you serve the kadhi with piping hot rice/khichdee. I say this because the kadhi will be hot, but it can never be piping hot.
8. You can serve Dahi Kadhi Rice with various kinds of fried fish, dry fish preparations, papads and pickles.
9. 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.
   
   

My trusty old Big Boss Electric Hand Blender

Chorizo – Goan Sausages

I was merely a school going kid when I had my first taste of Chorizo. At the time we merely knew of them as Goan Sausages. Mum hated to cook; still hates to cook. She rarely cooked even when I was a kid. I don’t hold it against her, she was a working mum and it was just something she disliked, as simple as that. Even today, you have a much better chance of seeing a blue moon then you have of seeing my mum in the kitchen. Yeah, she puts a blue moon to shame. *very evil grin* In those days (mid 1970’s) a friend gave her a packet of ‘goan sausages’, told her they were darn easy to make and guided her with regard to the recipe. I follow the very same recipe to this day. Yes, finally a recipe handed down to me by my mum. I know, I know, I’m being very evil, but I also know, she wouldn’t want me to be any other way. 😉  

Ingredients:

1 packet/400 grams Smoked Chorizo (Goan Sausages),

8 large onions, roughly sliced

3 to 4 large potatoes, diced into 1-inch cubes

Salt to taste

Water as needed

Method:

1.    Cut the strings with which the Chorizos are tied.

2.    Snip open the sausage casing  and remove the chorizo meat from within. Discard the casings. Keep the chorizo meat aside.

3.    Place half the quantity of the sliced onions in a vessel. Place half the quantity of sausages over it. Cover the sausages with half the quantity of diced potatoes. 

4.    Repeat the layering (onions-sausages-potatoes) with the remaining ingredients.

5.    Add enough water to cover the ingredients and bring the contents to a rapid boil.

6.    Lower heat; cover the vessel with a lid. Please use a lid that can hold water. 

7.    Pour half a glass of water into the lid that covers the vessel. Allow the chorizos to cook on low heat. (Adding water to the lid ensures the base does not burn while cooking – it helps the contents retain moisture – something told to me by my Gran)

8.    Intermittently, carefully lift the lid, give the contents a gentle stir. If more water is needed to cook the chorizos and the potatoes, add as needed.

9.    When chorizos and potatoes are nearly done, check seasoning (salt) and add if required.

10. Cover with lid (add more water into the lid if required) and continue cooking until the potatoes and chorizos are cooked.

11. The combination comes together as a nice thick gravy which is best had with crisp brun pau or a crisp baguette. 

Chef’s Notes:

1.    In the photograph/s I have posted I used Chorizos with the casing and discarded the wrapper after cooking (and clicking - silly me! Sigh!). When I remade the dish a couple of weeks later, I remembered to do away with the wrapper and then cook the dish. Turned out way better. That is precise why the recipe tells you to snip off the wrapper and discard it.

2.    I’ve cheated with the Goan Sausage casing pics and have used the same ones I used for the Chorizo Pulao recipe. I saw no point in re-clicking and water marking the pics.

3.    Usually the spices added to the sausages suffice (for a normal palate). In case you like very spicy food you may heat a tablespoon of oil and add chili powder as desired.

4.    Please add the salt only when the chorizos are ‘nearly’ done. This will ensure you don’t add too much as most of the excess water will have dried out by this time.

5.    Please add water to the dish and to the lid as and when required to ensure the food does not burn at the base of the vessel.

6.    It’s an easy-peasy recipe; so now you know why mum gave it a try. 😉

7.  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.

Multi-Purpose Masala

When I posted this on Instagram and my FB timeline, little did I know friends would ask me for this basic recipe. I never ever thought I’d be asked to post it, which is why I merely clicked one photograph of the finished product. The other (process) pics you see on my blog are cheat pics. I merely picked them up from my other recipes to give my readers a generalized idea of how the recipe progresses.

I use this masala mix for various dishes. It comes in handy when I have to make Akoori (or Bhurji), Sali Par Eda, Dal/s, Masala Bhaat or even Prawn Patio. When you’re in a rush, you can use it as a base for various meat dishes too. This recipe is sure to lessen your burden in the kitchen when you are hard pressed for time. 😊

Ingredients:

6 large onions, finely chopped

6 to 7 green chilies, slit and finely chopped

7 to 8 large tomatoes, halve and grate, discard skin

1½ teaspoon cumin seeds

3 heaped teaspoons ginger-garlic paste

4 teaspoons red chili powder (I use MDH Deghi Mirch)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

2½ teaspoons Parsi Sambhar Masala (optional or buy it online)

1 teaspoon Parsi Dhanshak masala (optional or buy it online)

2 teaspoons coriander-cumin powder

Salt to taste (plus a wee bit extra)

Oil as needed (and a big extra splash to preserve the masala)

Method:

1.    In a wok/kadai heat oil; splutter cumin seeds.

2.    Add the chopped onions and green chilies.

3.   Fry the onions till they are soft, translucent and begin to turn brown at the edges. (You may also fry them to a light golden, if you so wish)

4.    Add the ginger-garlic and fry for a few seconds.

5.    Add the chili powder, turmeric powder, Parsi Sambhar masala, Dhanshak masala, coriander-cumin powder and salt. Sauté for a few seconds or until the masala is well blended. Do not allow the masala to burn.

6.    Add the grated tomatoes.

7.    Cook until the tomatoes are rid of the sour raw tomato smell, the tomatoes turn mushier and are well blended in the oil.

8.    When large flecks of oil begin to surface over the masala, cook the masala for an extra two to three minutes on medium flame, stirring intermittently, until most of the oil begins rising to the top.

9.    Check seasoning and add extra if needed and simmer for a few more seconds.

10. Take the masala off the stove. Empty it out into a tight-lidded stainless-steel box.

11. Allow it to cool… thoroughly. Do NOT close the lid before it cools as it will create moisture within the vessel and, resultantly, the masala will not keep too long.

Chef’s Notes:

1.    Feel free to experiment with various variations. A few examples: I add diced potatoes and a cube (or two) of Chicken stock to this masala when I make masala bhaat/khichdee. For the Prawn Patio I merely add prawns and adjust the sweet and sour flavour once the prawns are cooked. To make Sali par Eda, I heat some of this masala, then add water to it depending on the amount of Sali I am using, add Sali, check the seasoning and make Sali Par Eda as usual.

2.    Please feel free to adjust the spices depending on your tolerance level for spice. I usually keep this masala a tad salty, spicy and oily. That way when use it I merely adjust the spices and seasoning a wee bit (or not at all). The oil and salt also act as preservatives. This masala easily keeps, in the fridge, for a month.

3.    Always use a dry spoon when you handle this masala. A wet spoon is sure to give you a vessel full of mould-y masala within a few days.

4.    Alternately, you may use chopped tomatoes, but I prefer the texture of masala with grated tomatoes. In case you decide to use chopped tomatoes, please ensure they are cooked until completely mushy and are devoid of excess moisture.

5.    This quantity makes approximately one kilo of Multi-Purpose masala. Keep it all in one big container or divide it into 5 boxes of 200 grams, as individual use, for various recipes. 200 grams works perfectly if you are cooking a dal or a meat dish for a family of four.

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.