Cabbage Kofta Curry

Cabbage kofta (in appe pan)

Ingredients:

Cabbage (grated): 200 gm
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.

For the curry:

Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Fennel seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Poppy seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Black peppercorns: 1/4 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Tomatoes (chopped): 2
Yogurt: 1 cup
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tamarind: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.
Kasoori methi: 1/2 tsp.
Cream: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. To make kofta, mix the grated cabbage with salt, red chili powder and coriander powder.
2. Mix well with hands and make medium sized round balls and keep aside.  
3. Heat the appe pan on low heat and when warm, add a drop of oil in each cavity. 
4. Put one cabbage ball in each cavity. DO NOT COVER. 
   
5. Let cook for some time and turn the kofta to other side. Let cook both sides and remove from the appe pan and keep aside. 
   
6. To prepare the curry: heat 2 tsp. oil and crackle cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the whole spices: coriander seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds and black peppercorns. 
7. Add the onions and saute them until transparent and starting to brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir. Let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
8. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Cover and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. Remove cover and stir. 
   
9. Turn off the flame and let it cool. 
10. When cooled, grind to a smooth paste adding a little water. 
11. Heat the same pan again and add a tsp. of oil. Add the paste and a cup of water. Stir and bring to a rolling boil. 
12. Add the yogurt and mix well. Let cook for about 10 minutes. 
    
13. Add the red chili powder, turmeric powder, tamarind. Mix and let everything cook for about 5 more minutes. 
14. Add the garam masala and kasoori methi and give a stir. Turn off the flame. 
15. Just before serving add the koftas to the curry, garnish with a tsp. cream and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 

Spinach Egg Curry

Ingredients:

Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Boiled eggs: 4 (How to make perfect hard-boiled eggs)
Spinach: 500 gm
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Onion (chopped finely)
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Coconut milk: 1 cup
Tomato (finely chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Mango powder: 1 tsp.
Black pepper: 1/2 tsp.

1. Blanch the spinach and grind to a puree and keep aside.
2. Heat oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them splutter. 
3. Add the chopped onion and fry until it's transparent. 
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
5. Add the coconut milk and mix well. Let cook for about 5 minutes. 
6. After 5 minutes, add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Add the dry spices: red chili powder, mango powder and garam masala. Mix everything, cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. 
8. Remove the cover and add the spinach puree. Mix well. We don't need to cook more at this stage as the spinach is already cooked in the process of blanching. 
9. Add the boiled eggs (whole or halved) and turn off the flame. Sprinkle black pepper and serve hot! 

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Saffron Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken: 600 gm
Saffron: 1/2 tsp.
Cream: 1/2 cup
Cooking oil: 4 tsp.
Onions: 2 large
Ginger-garlic paste: 4 tsp.
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Nigella seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Dried red chilli: 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tomato (chopped): 2
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Yogurt: 1/2 cup
Green cardamom: 2
Lemon juice: 3 tsp.
Coriander leaves for garnish

1. Wash and clean the chicken and marinate it with the cream and a pinch of saffron and leave for 3-4 hours. 
   
2. Heat oil in a pan and crackle the coriander seeds and nigella seeds. Add the dried red chili. 
3. Make a smooth paste of onions and add to the pan. Fry until the raw smell disappears and it starts leaving oil on the sides. 
   
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and mix well. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle a bit of water. Mix and stir well. Sprinkle little water again after 2 minutes and stir well. Let cook. Repeat this process 7-8 times, keep sprinkling little water and stirring and leaving for about a minute each time. This will make the onion paste creamy without being watery. 
6. Now add the marinated chicken, stir well and fry in the masala. Add the dry spices: salt, red chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix everything well and fry for about 5-7 minutes. 
   
7. Grind the tomatoes in a paste and add the ground tomatoes at this stage. Add the garam masala. Mix well and let cook for about 8-10 minutes until everything is incorporated in the masala and it starts leaving oil on the sides. 
   
8. Add the yogurt, mix well and cover. Let cook for another 5 minutes. 
9. Remove cover and mix well. Add 2 pinches of saffron and powdered green cardamom. Mix well. Let cook for another 5 minutes and turn of the flame. 
10. Squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken curry, top with the remaining saffron and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot! 

Chettinad Fish Curry

Hot and spicy curry with a beautiful fiery color, without the use of much spices and red chilis, this fish curry is a yummy and wonderful companion with boiled rice and makes for an awesome meal for those who love Indian style fish curries (and those who don't are sure to fall in love with this one)!!

Ingredients:

Fish: 400 gm (I used salmon fish)
Curry leaves: a handful
Fenugreek powder: 2 tsp.
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Fennel seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Dried red chili: 1
Onion (chopped): 1 large
Ginger-garlic (crushed): 4 tsp.
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tamarind: 2 tsp.
Coconut milk: 1/2 cup

1. Clean and cut the fish into desired size and marinate it with fenugreek powder, half the curry leaves and lemon juice and leave for 30 minutes. 
2. Heat oil and fry the marinated fish from both sides until crispy and golden. Remove from the pan and keep aside. 
3. Heat up the same oil on medium flame and splutter mustard seeds and fennel seeds. Add the dried red chili. 
4. Add the chopped onions and fry until the onions are transparent. 
5. Add the crushed ginger-garlic and fry until the raw smell disappears. 
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Cover and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
7. Remove cover and add the dry spices: red chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Mix well. Add the tamarind and mix well again. 
8. Add the coconut milk, mix everything well and cover again. 
9. Remove cover after 5 minutes and add 3 cups of water. Cover again and let simmer and boil for 10-12 minutes. 
10. Remove cover and let cook open for another 5 minutes. Give a good stir and add the fried fish. Turn off the flame and cover. 
11. Remove cover after 10 minutes and the yummy, spicy curry is ready to eat. Serve with plain boiled rice or jeera rice. 

   
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Rajasthani Gatte Ki Sabzi

Gatte ki Sabzi is an authentic Rajathani dish and is an essential part of a Rajasthani Thali food. Well I belong to Jaipur (Rajasthan) and even though we had the authentic Punjabi dishes being cooked all the time, it was totally normal for us to eat Rajathani dishes as much as our Punjabi dishes. The one most popular dish was Panchmel Dal with Baati and another was this: Rajasthani gatte ki sabzi. Mom used to prepare this regularly and Rajasthani food was even served at weddings so it's all the more favorite.

Gatte is basically cylindrical rolls made of chickpea flour and boiled, cut and added to a wonderful yogurt-based flavorful curry. This can be savored with roti, paratha or even jeera rice (as my husband loves it).

Ingredients:

For gatte:

Chickpea flour (besan): 1/2 cup
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Carom seeds: 1 tsp.
Fennel seeds: 1 tsp.
Yogurt: 6 tsp.
Oil: 2 tsp.

For the curry:

Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Onion (grated): 1 big/2 small
Garlic (chopped): 4 cloves
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Yogurt: 1 cup
Chickpea flour: 2 tsp.

1. Add besan in a bowl and mix all the dry spices: red chilli, carom seeds, fennel seeds. Add the yogurt and oil and mix well. 
   
2. Make a dough using a little water if required. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll them into cylindrical forms. 
   
3. Boil water on high heat and add the cylindrical rolls to the water. Let boil until they are floating to the top of the boiling water. Drain the water and remove the cylinders. Now the gattas are ready. Let them cool down. 
4. Now we prepare the curry: Heat oil and crackle the cumin seeds and add asafoetida. 
5. Add the grated onion and mix well. Let cook until the onion turns brown. 
   
6. Add the chopped garlic and mix well, let cook for a minute. 
   
7. Add turmeric powder and red chili powder. Mix well. 
   
8. Mix the chickpea flour with the yogurt nicely and add this mix to the masala. Mix very well and add two cups of water. Add salt and bring to a boil. 
    
   
9. The boiled cylindrical rolls (gattas) would be cooled by now; cut them into small rounds. 
   
   
   
   
10. Add these rounds to the boiling curry. Mix well and let cook for 5 minutes.  
    
11. Turn of the flame and serve hot with jeera rice or chappatis (flat bread). 

The gatte ki subzi is typically made with the yogurt based curry and no tomatoes are added. But you can also make tomato based curry. Follow the same steps till step 7. After that add puree of two tomatoes and mix well. Let cook it completely so it blends in the masala. After that follow same steps from step 8. Wonderful gatte ki subzi with tomato base is ready! You can even alternate between sometimes making yogurt base curry and sometimes with tomatoes as both give distinctively different flavors.

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Versatile Vegetable Curry

Many a curry recipes have been shared by me previously but this one is nothing like any other: it's a totally different curry; a versatile vegetable curry. So what is this versatile vegetable curry? It's a curry base for so many dishes but totally unlike any other curry base. I have prepared and shared many curry bases like tomato base, yogurt, cashew curry, green curry and so on.. But this base curry contains vegetables. Yes, vegetables which are not liked, hidden in the base curry and more visible vegetables added to the curry in form of koftas etc. So, how about vegetables inside vegetable curry? A double dose of vegetables in a single meal, isn't it?

This curry is prepared adding vegetables which can be carrots, beetroots, zucchini, peas, pumpkin, bell pepper, or any other greens etc. which are usually eaten less or straight away disliked: both by kids and adults. This is also a great way to add nutrition to the diet by adding vegetables which are otherwise lying in the refrigerator and nobody is agreeing to eat, which happens with everyone at some point of time. I have used carrots and beetroots in this recipe but you can use any disliked/less preferred or to-be-used-soon vegetable to this curry. The fun part? Nobody can make out the taste of vegetables in the curry.

This curry can then be used as a base for so many vegetables like zucchini kofta, potato kofta, paneer kofta, paneer, base for egg curry and even as masala base for tempering dal. You can also use it with any simple stir fry like potato and peas stir fry: just add this curry base and voila! your potato peas curry is ready (which has more vegetables in it.. shhh don't tell anyone). Stir fry any vegetable: zucchini, brinjal, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and add this base to make vegetable curry inside vegetable curry (inception). This can also be used to transform any left over subzi. You get the idea..

So how to prepare? Here's a description:

Ingredients:

Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Onions (chopped): 1
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Tomatoes (chopped): 4
Beetroot (chopped): 1
Carrots (diced): 3
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp. (optional)
Coriander powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.

 

1. Make a puree of the beetroot and carrots with enough water (grind in a mixer until smooth, there should be no chunks of vegetable otherwise it will no longer remain a secret). Keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a deep pan/kadhai. I used my cooker without lid. Crackle the cumin seeds and add asafoetida. 
3. Add the onions and saute until they are transparent. Now add the ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, salt, red chili, turmeric and coriander. Mix and let cook on low flame. 
4. When the tomatoes begin to soften, add the vegetable puree. Mix well. Let cook on low flame for about 20 minutes until the gravy begins to thicken. 
5. Add garam masala and mix well. Turn off the flame. 
6. The curry base is ready. Congratulations, you have now hidden the vegetables inside a curry and nobody will ever know. Add some paneer or koftas and serve with chappatis or rice. 
7. If someone asks why the taste is different, just be really confident and say you experimented a new curry base today and you think it's awesome. Don't tell about this recipe to your husband/kids. Enjoy!

Loved this recipe? Do share your valuable comments and/or feedback in the comments section below and do share a picture if you try this recipe. Also, don't forget to connect with me on Facebook for regular yummy updates. 

Bengali Fish Curry

Neither am I from Bengal nor do I have any connection to Bengal, but still sharing a Bengali Fish curry recipe; and no, this is not an online recipe I tried. This is a recipe I got from a dear friend Writu who is a fun loving and cheerful Bengali girl and her name means season (ऋतु). I have never met anyone with a name beginning from letter 'W' and so when I heard her name for the first time, I believed her name spells as Ritu. There was a big confusion around her name and I once messed up things for her because of how her name was spelled and I thought it was something else; and then in a guilty attempt of getting things right for her, we became close friends. Today we have drifted apart as friends but I still remember the time I had this simple yet subtle taste of fish curry with rice at her place, and she wrote the basic recipe her mom and she follows for the fish curry.

This blog did not exist at that time and the memories of the recipe and the fish curry also faded as the friendship drifted apart. But last year, when I visited my parents in India, I was going through my old things in the wardrobe and there I found in an old diary a dusty page stuck in the diary with this amazing recipe and on the top was written her name "Writu". All the old memories came back of the awesome time we had, and I decided to try the recipe in my kitchen. I can't say for sure if this is an authentic recipe or is this how it is made in all or many Bengali households, but that's what she told me and said this is a very basic recipe.

To our friendship! Writu!

Ingredients:

Fish: 400 gm (I used salmon fillets)
Mustard oil: 4 tsp.
Panch phoran (5-spice mix):

• Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp.
• Mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp.
• Fennel seeds: 1/4 tsp.
• Black cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp.
• Fenugreek seeds. 1/4 tsp.

Dried red chilli: 1
Onion (finely chopped): 2
Ginger-garlic paste: 4 tsp. (I used grated ginger and garlic)
Tomato (chopped): 2
Green chili (chopped): 1
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Tamarind extract: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. Wash and clean the fish fillets and marinate them with salt, 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder, turmeric, 1 tsp. mustard oil and tamarind for 20 minutes. 
2. Heat the remaining mustard oil and fry the fish from both sides, flipping alternatively so that it cooks nicely from both sides. 
   
3. Drain and remove, keep aside. 
4. Heat the same oil and add the panch phoran or the five spice mix (cumin, mustard, fennel, black cumin and fenugreek). 
5. When they crackle, add the dried red chilli and add ginger-garlic after few seconds. Let cook until the raw smell goes away. 
6. Add the onions and fry until they are transparent and beginning to get brown; but don't let them brown. 
7. Add the tomato and green chilli and sprinkle little salt. Cover and let cook for 5-7 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
   
8. Remove cover, add the red chilli powder and mix well. Add a cup of water and cover again for 15 minutes on medium flame. 
9. Remove cover. The entire curry will be done and the tomatoes and the masala is nicely absorbed together. Let cook uncovered for 5 more minutes.
10. Turn off the flame and add fried fish pieces. Cover and leave for 10 minutes so that the fish absorbs the curry's flavor in the steam. 
11. Remove cover and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with rice. 

Palak Paneer

Palak Paneer is one of the most common recipe in Punjabi households and it's also served in parties and to our guests. I just love the cottage cheese cubes dunked in a this green curry with the rich, awesome taste without the use of any heavy ingredients like cashews, milk, yogurt, cream etc. This is the perfect recipe of my dad who is an amazing cook and prepares the brightest of green curry in palak paneer.

Other paneer recipes from the blog:

Achaari Paneer Masala
Paneer Lababdar
Paneer Makhani

Ingredients:

Spinach leaves: 3 cups
Cottage cheese: 1 cup
Cooking oil: 2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Onion (diced): 1 big
Ginger (chopped): 1 inch
Garlic (chopped): 4 cloves
Green chilli (choped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 1 big
Salt to taste
Red chili powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp.

1. Blanch the spinach and grind to a puree and keep aside. Blanching process: boil water in a pot and add the washed and cleaned spinach leaves and after a minute, remove the leaves and add to the ice cold water. Drain the water and grind. 
2. Grind the onion and garlic to a smooth paste and keep aside. Similarly, grind the ginger, green chili and the tomato to a smooth paste and keep aside. 
3. Heat the oil on medium flame and crackle the cumin seeds. Add the onion paste and begin to fry. Keep stirring and frying until the onion paste starts getting brown and cooked. 
4. Add the second paste: paste of ginger, green chilli and tomato. Mix well and add salt and red chili and fry. Keep stirring regularly so the masala does not stick to the base. 
5. When the masala starts turning little darker in shade and starts to leave oil at the sides, then the masala is done. 
6. Add the garam masala and give a stir. Add the cubed cottage cheese at this stage and mix everything well. Add little water to the curry if required. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. 
7. Remove cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
8. Add the spinach puree and mix well. Turn off the flame. DO NOT COVER. Never cover it even when reheating, it will lose its beautiful green color in the steam. 
9. Serve hot with chappati, laccha paratha or even Jeera rice. Enjoy !!

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