Baingan Chatpata/Egg plant Stir fry

I am in a spree to finish off my left-over veggies and meat in the refrigerator because we are going home this weekend, yippee!! :) I never stuff my refrigerator with too much food because my hubby dearest is not too fond of food kept in the refrigerator. But doesn't work well for him everyday, poor thing! He does get 2-day old "fresh" food sometimes... :)

So this dish is something I just created today afternoon with a few eggplants. (baingan/brinjal) It's quick and easy and goes well with chapathi and white rice.

Ingredients

Baingan/Brinjal - 5 to 6 (medium)

Big Onion (diced) - 2 (big)

Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 1/2 to 2 tsp

Aamchur powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp (alter as per spice tolerance)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Sugar - a pinch

Water

Oil

Method

Cut the baingan/brinjal into medium size chunks and marinate it with aamchur powder. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Once the onions turn translucent and reduce in quantity, add a pinch of sugar to slightly caramelize the onions. Saut'e till golden brown. Add the ginger & garlic paste and fry for a few minutes. Throw in the chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the powders. Now add the marinated baingan/brinjal chunks and salt and toss till combined well with the onion and spice mixture. Sprinkle enough water and mix well. Cover and cook till done. Once cooked, stir fry till dry and masala is coated well on the baingan/brinjal.

Grilled Fish Sammies

We all enjoy a nice grilled cheese sandwich at anytime of the day. Sandwiches are loved by all, be it big or small. Once you factor in the basic requirements of butter, bread and cheese of the classic grilled cheese sandwich, one only needs a little imagination to take these sandwiches to the next level to unleash their true gourmet potential.

I was just thinking about what I could make for dinner today and suddenly I thought of sandwiches. Simple and easy. I love sandwiches for any meal, breakfast, brunch, lunch, snack, dinner....anything!

I had a few pieces of fish left in my freezer and thought why not make a few grilled fish sandwiches! Looking to make something a bit more fancy than your typical everyday grilled cheese?

Here is the perfect dish. It is delicious and filling too.

Ingredients

Fish (Seer fish) - 7 to 8 pcs

Lime - 2 tbsp (or Vinegar - 1 tbsp)

Ginger - a small piece

Salt - to taste

Water - 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Garlic (crushed) - 3 to 4 cloves

Big Onion (chopped fine) - 1

Green chillies - 2 to 3 (as per your spice tolerance)

Tomato (chopped fine) - 1 (big)

Pepper powder - 1 tsp (I add more. You can add as per your spice tolerance)

Cream Cheese (Cheese spread) - 4 tbsp (you can add or reduce as you like)

Oil

Method

For the filling

Cook the fish with Lime juice/vinegar, ginger, salt and water until done. Throw away the piece of ginger and leave to cool. Once cooled, flake the fish pieces into tiny bits and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add garlic, green chillies and onions and saut'e till onions turn light brown. Then add tomato and saut'e for about 2 minutes. Add the flaked fish pieces along with pepper and salt and combine with the other ingredients. Switch off the flame and keep aside.

For the sandwiches

Take bread slices and lightly butter them. (optional) Take the cream cheese in a bowl and gently whisk it. Add the fish mixture into it and mix. Adjust salt.

Take the buttered bread slices and place them on the grill, spread the fish and cheese mixture onto it. Place another buttered slice of bread on top and grill for about 3 to 4 minutes, just to give it that crisp. And there you have it, Grilled Fish Sammies, ready-to-eat! Enjoy!

Paneer Curry - Kerala Style

Today's recipe was shared with me by my sister, Sharon's mom-in-law, Mary aunty. Mary aunty is a wonderful cook and a lovely person. Lots of fun to talk to. She has quite a few masterpiece recipes to her credit. I love her cookies (of diferent kinds), puddings, pies and much much more. She and I both believe in cooking made simple and thus this dish goes by the same principle too.

Most days, I keep worrying about what new dish I can make that goes well with chapathis. Well this dish is definitely one that can be tried out once in a while.

Paneer which has always been the fort'e of North Indian cuisine has now found its way to the South too with this simple dish which will surely brighten up your dreary days. What do you think about cooking paneer, Kerala style?! Sounds cocky, I know but this is definitely worth a try. The fresh aromatics and the rich coconut milk gravy makes this dish a unique one.

I like this recipe especially for its simplicity, unlike most other paneer dishes.

Hope you enjoy this paneer dish.

Ingredients

Paneer - 200 gms

Onion (ground) - 1 (big)

Garlic (ground) - 3 to 4 cloves (plump)

Meat masala - 3 to 4 tsp (add more to the gravy if needed)

Tomato (ground) - 3 (medium)

Water - 1 & 1/2 cups + 1/2 cup for gravy

Milk - 1/2 cup

Thick Coconut milk - 1 cup

Cashew paste - 10 (soaked in a little water/milk for 1/2 an hour)

Vinegar - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves

Salt - to taste

Oil

Method

Heat water (excluding the water for gravy) in a pan with a pinch of salt and keep aside. In another pan, heat a little oil and fry the paneer pieces gently. Once fried, throw the paneer into the salt water and keep aside. Grind onion with garlic and meat masala and keep aside. Grind tomatoes and keep aside.

Take a pan, heat oil and fry the ground onion mixture on a low flame for a few minutes. (till the water content reduces and it starts getting off the pan) Add ground tomatoes into this and fry till oil separates. Now add the paneer pieces and combine well. Add the milk and water (for gravy) and cook for a few minutes. Then, add the thick coconut milk, cashew paste and a few coriander leaves into it and cook for a few more minutes. Do not boil. Add vinegar and switch off flame.

Notes: Frying the paneer pieces is optional. I normally don't fry it.

You can also fry a few curry leaves in oil and add it to the dish towards the last. It add to the flavour of the dish. For those who are health conscious, this step can be avoided.

Source: Our sweet Mary Aunty

Baingan Bartha

Baingan Bartha is a dish that was introduced to me after marriage by my lovely sister, Sharon. Mother of two wonderful children, she is a super cook and a super mom! I remember when we were both growing up, both of us always were so uninterested in cooking. Ma used to constantly call us both to the kitchen to watch her cook, but we never wanted to learn then! She was always so worried what we would do after marriage! :)

Anyway, getting back to the recipe, this is a super easy recipe and quite different from the original Bartha recipe.

With the weather so gloomy and dull yesterday, I had no heart too cook anything too elaborate. And, so I put together Baingan Bartha. The delicious colour and taste makes the effort worthwhile. This is one of our favourites. Hope you enjoy it too.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Eggplant (baingan) - 1 (big)

Big Onion - 2 to 3

Tomato - 2

Green chillies - 2 to 3 (as per spice tolerance)

Garlic - 5 to 6 cloves

Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Pickle powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Peanuts (powdered) - 3 to 4 tbsp

Cumin seeds/Jeera - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Coriander leaves

Ghee

Method

Wash and pat dry the eggplant and rub oil on it. Wrap with foil paper and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour in a 200°celsius or a 400°F oven. Once the eggplant is cooked through and is fork tender, take out the baking dish and immerse the roasted eggplant in cold water. (this helps the skin to come off easily) When it has cooled, peel off the skin and mash the eggplant well. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok and splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add garlic, green chillies and onions and sauté till golden brown. Once onions have browned well, add all the powders and sauté till raw smell goes away. Add tomatoes and sauté till oil floats. Then, add the eggplant/baingan into it and mix well. Add peanut powder into it and combine well till the eggplant/baingan is coated with the whole mixture. Finally, add ghee and coriander leaves and mix well. Switch off the flame.

Source: My loving sister, Sharon

Aloo ka Raita

Yoghurt is always a must at home with any meal. Yesterday I made this simple raita for dinner and we loved it. Very refreshing and wholesome. I love the "khatta-meetha" blend in some of the dishes and this raita is a perfect example of the same. The tanginess of the spices and sweetness of sugar makes this dish lip smacking good. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Potatoes (boiled, peeled & diced) - 2 cups

Yoghurt - 2 cups

Salt -to taste

Black Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder (roasted) - 1 to 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 2 tbsp + little more for garnish

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Method

Beat the yoghurt till smooth and pour into the serving dish. Add salt, black pepper powder, 1/2 of the cumin powder and coriander leaves to the potatoes and mix well. Transfer this potato mix into the yoghurt and garnish with rest of the cumin powder, red chilli powder, sugar and coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Source: NDTV Good Times

Carrot Milk Shake

Surprised?! Well, it's true. This is probably one of the healthiest milk shakes I have ever had. I am usually not too big on milk shakes. But to day when I was chatting with my mom-in-law, she gave me this idea of an absolute healthy milk shake. I was thrilled and decided to try it today itself. And I must say it is healthy.

My lovely mom-in-law, Amma is a fabulous cook and I normally refer to her as "Express Cook" to others. She is so fast and doesn't waste any much time in the kitchen. I like that! I don't believe in slogging in the kitchen the whole day when you can do other fun things too. Cooking is all about fun, and what makes it fun is quick and easy cooking. My mom-in-law is a wizard at easy cooking. She gives me fun tips which reduces a lot of load in the kitchen. A lot of her cooking and dishes have inspired me and this post is dedicated to her. This is quite an easy drink and a no brainer. However I decided to write about it because if you are like me, you will be inspired to try something very healthy once in a while!

This recipe is for 1 glass/serving. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Carrots (grated) - 1 big

Chilled Milk - 3/4 of a glass

Crushed Ice - few

Honey - to taste

Method

Grind the carrot into a smooth paste by adding a little milk. Now whip this mixture with the rest of the milk, ice and honey. Garnish with fresh cream and a piece of carrot or however your imagination leads you. Enjoy!

Notes: For the healthier version, I have used skimmed milk and honey.

You can use full-fat milk instead of skimmed milk and sugar instead of honey.

Source: My Amma

Crispy Chicken

Ingredients

Chicken - 10 pieces

For Marinade

Green Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Chilli Garlic sauce - 1 tbsp

Soya sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

For Batter

Maida - 1/2 cup

Corn flour - 1/2 cup

Red chilli powder - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (as per spice tolerance)

Eggs (beaten) - 1 (optional)

Salt - to taste

Pepper - 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Ajinomoto - a pinch

Water - just enough to for a semi-thick batter

Method

Make gashes in the chicken and marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients mentioned under marination. Keep aside for 2 to 3 hours. (if you are keeping it overnight, keep it in the refrigerator)

Make a semi-thick batter with the ingredients mentioned under batter. Heat oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot and bubbling, dip the chicken pieces in the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Serve piping hot as a starter or as a side-dish to go with some lovely rice or noodles.

Source: Mom