Must Try

Found this on google…this is precisely what Indian cuisine offers !!

Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional cuisines native to India, it is not only different from rest of the world in taste but it also differs in cooking methods…Each recipe reflects a perfect blend of various cultures and ages. Just like Indian culture, food in India has also been influenced by various civilizations, which have contributed their share in its overall development … Indian food is as varied as anything else in the country there is no easy definition of an "Indian meal" but then there are a few MUST TRY recipes based on the regions to relish the authenticity of the place… 

Rava Besan Ladoo

Ingredients:

Basen / Gram flour(Kadalai mavu) - 1 cup
Semolina / Rava – 1 cup

Maida – 1 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Sugar powdered - 1 cup
Cashews,Almonds,dry grapes - 1/4 cup sliced
Cardamom - 3 nos

Method:

- Mix both sugar and cardamom in a mixer and make a powder of it. Keep it aside.
- In a kadai dry roast basen,rava and maida separately for few minutes.

- Mix all the dry roasted flour and Add ghee to this mixture and continue roasting for few more minutes in low flame.

- Initially the mixture would look crumbled. If you keep on mixing it, you will see the crumbled mixture bind together and not sticking with the pan. When the besan mixture turns light golden brown and is not sticking with the pan, remove from the pan. It takes about 10-15 minutes to be done in low flame.
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl and add the powdered sugar ,cardamom when the mixture is still warm,

- fry the almonds and cashews in little ghee and add them also to the mixture.

- Mix it well and start making ladoos when the mixture is warm to get perfect shaped laddus  

-  Cool to room temperature and store in a container.

Peas Pulao

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Frozen or fresh green peas - 3/4 cup

Onion - 1 thinly sliced

Ginger –Garlic Paste – 1 tblspn

Green chillies - 5 slit vertically

Cloves – 7-8

Cinnamon - 1 stick about an inch

Cardamom seeds - 2

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Cashews – few

Ghee / oil - 1 tablespoon

Coriander leaves to garnish

Salt to taste

Coconut extract – 1 cup

Methord :

- Wash and soak the basmati rice for half and hour.

-In a pressure cooker heat the ghee or oil, add the cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and fry for a minutes. Once the spices release their flavors, add the chopped onion and fry until translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.

- Add salt and green peas and sauté for a while.

- Pour in 1 cup of coconut extract, half a cup of water and bring it to a boil

- Then add the soaked rice and blend it with the ingredients added.

- Cover and cook for 5 mins , until the water gets absorbed and the rice is cooked.

- once its done fluff it with a fork such that the rice doesn’t break.

(Make sure that the rice : water and coconut ratio is 1:1.5)

KodaiMilagai Puli Kulambu

Ingredients:

Big Onion – 1, chopped

Tomato – 1 small, Chopped

Tamarind Juice – 1/2 cup, concentrated

Capsicum - 1, Diced

Turmeric powder- 1 pinch

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tspn

Cumin - 1/2 tsp

Oil – 1 tblspn

Salt-To taste

Grind to Paste:

Jeera Powder – 1 tspn

Red Chillies – 5 -6

Coconut – 2 tspns

Methord:

- Heat oil, season it with mustard, jeera and fenugreek seeds.

- Add the onion and saute until they becomes transparent and add the tomatoes and cook till it becomes pulpy.

- Add the diced Capsicum and sauté for about 2 mins .

- Add turmeric powder, jeera-chilly-coconut paste and salt, fry until oil separates out from the masala.

- Add the tamarind juice(Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out to make tamarind juice)  bring it to boil.
- Cook till the raw smell goes away and turn off once the oil separates from the gravy.

you can ignore using coconut if you want the gravy to last for more than a day.

Stuffed Okra

Ingredients:

Bhindi / Okra – ½ Kg
Mustard seeds – 1 tspn

Curry leaves 3-4
Curd (Yoghurt) 1 cup
Salt to taste
Oil

For stuffing

Besan (Bengal gram flour) - 2 Tbspns
Coriander-cumin powder - 2 Tbspns

Aamchoor -1 Tspn

Red chilly powder - 1 Tspn
Turmeric powder - 1 Tspn
Oil - 1 Tspn
Salt to taste


Method:

- Wash and clean the Bhindis, cut the top and end of the bhindis. Slit the bhindis in between not allowing it to be separated such as to fill the stuffing.
-  Now mix all the ingredients for stuffing, and stuff the bhindis.

-  Marinate the stuffed bhindis in thick curd for about 20-30 mins.
-  Heat a pan with oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds starts spluttering add the stuffed bhindis with the curd and add a pinch of salt . 
-  Coven the pan and cook on a low flame for few minutes. 

Hyderabadi Chicken Korma

I have always believed that the longer you saute the tastier the dish is. This is one dish which proved me that it is not true all the time. This is a easy recipe for any day.

Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)

Chicken - 1 3/4lbs or 800gms
Curd - 1 cup
Ginger - 3tbsp of paste
Garlic - 4tbsp of paste
2 onoins - Finely sliced
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Salt - to taste or 2tsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup grated or coconut milk
Cashew - 4Tbsp. (Soaked in warm water and ground to paste)
Sesame seeds - 4Tbsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/3 tsp

Marinate the above ingredients and leave it for atleast 30 min

Garam masala:
Cardamom - 8-10
Cloves - 6-8
Cinnamon - 2''
Bay leaf - 1

Method:

- Heat oil in the kadai and add the listed garam masalas above. Saute for a minute
- Add the marinated chicken and cook it in medium high flame for 5 minutes
- Add little wate and simmer till the chicken cooks
- When the chicken in fully cooked add 1tbsp lemon juice and fresh coriander leaves
- Serve hot

Milagai(Spicy) Chutney

Ingredients

 

Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 1 medium sized
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Coriander seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 1 string
Green Chilly - 2 to 3

Method :

- Grind together everything in the ingredients without adding water

- Heat the kadai and add one spoon gingelly oil(optional) and splutter the mustard and urad dhal
- Saute it in medium/low flame till the raw smell is gone.
- Serve it with dosa/idli

Mushroom Biriyani

Ingredients 

Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Button mushroom – 250 Grms,Diced
Onion -2 thinly sliced
Green chilli – 2/3 slitted
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tblspn
Tomato – 2 small, chopped
Coconut milk – 1 cup
Coriander leaves - handful
Mint leaves - handful
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

For the seasoning

Cloves – 7 to 8
Cardamom -2
Cinnamon –1 piece about an inch in size

Star Anise – 2

Bay Leaf – 1 leaf

Fennel seeds ( soampu) – 1 tspn

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tspn

Cashews - few (optional)

Method

- Wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes.

- Heat 2 tbsp oil, sauté the seasoning for 2 mins and add onions, fry till onion turn golden brown.- Add chillies and ginger-garlic paste and sauté well.

- Add chopped tomatoes, mushrooms chilli powder and sauté for few more 

minutes.

- Add 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup of water and the cup of rice and bring it to a boil.

- Add the mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt needed and close the cooker lid and instead of the cooker whistle place an inverted tumble on the nostril and cook for 10-12 mins .

- Open the cooker lid after the pressure subsides and add the ghee on top and mix it once loosely and serve.

Stuffed Shimla Mirch

Ingredients :

Shimla/ooty chilly - 5 to 6

Dhaniya Powder -  2 Tblspns

Aamchoor Powder - 1 Tspn

Chat masala - 1/2 Tspn

Ajwain Powder - 1/2 Tspn

Oil - 3 to 4 Tblspns 

Salt to taste 

Method :

- Mix all the dry powders and salt with about 2 spoons of oil to make it a thick paste.

- Make a slit in the chillies and stuff in the masala paste.

- Heat oil in a tawa and place the full chillies and

- Cook evenly turning them once in a while until done.

- Garnish with seasoning made of cumin seeds,jeera and serve. 

Mushroom Dopiaza

Ingredients:

Button Mushrooms – 1 packet diced
Oil – 2 Tbspns
Onion – 2 medium,1 finely chopped and the other grind to paste

Tomato – 2 medium ,1 finely chopped and the other grind to paste

Pepper corns – 1 Tspn
Coriander leaves – 1 small bunch
Dry Red chillies – 4 to 5
Cumin seeds – 1 Tspn

Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 Tbspn

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

·  Grind 1 onion, 1 tomato, pepper corns, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and dry red chillies to form a smooth paste.

·  Heat oil in a pan and add the finely chopped onions, Sauté till its transparent.

·  Add the tomatos and let it cook till its pulpy at this stage add the ground paste and let the raw smell subside…

·  Once the gravy is cooked add the ginger garlic paste, garam masala powder, turmeric powder and mix for a minute or so

·  And then add the diced mushrooms with salt and little water

·  Allow it to cook for 8-10 mins and serve.