Tag Archives: Yum

FOOD

Sweet potato chaat

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Chaat is an Indian street food. It literally means to lick – meaning the dish is so good that you will be left licking your fingers. There are umpteen varieties of chaat, and an upcoming cookbook by the Food Network judge Maneet Chauhan is dedicated to this genre. In my case, it was the solitary sweet potato staring at me that led me to create this easy chaat that was gobsmacking, lip smacking good. Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 sweet potato, peeled, cut into small cubes and washed
  • 2 tsp cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 1 tsp chaat masala (available at Indian stores, but you can use curry powder in a pinch)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small tomato, finely chopped
  • 1 green chili, finely chopped
  • 1/4 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp tamarind chutney (available at Indian stores, but you can add pomegranate or date molasses)
  • 1 tbsps sev (chick pea sticks – available at Indian stores, but you can use a few potato chips crushed for crunch)
  • Slice of lemon (adds visual interest/additional tartness if needed)

How to:

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cubed sweet potatoes and fry till the sweet potatoes are fried nicely and turn dark. Keep tossing frequently to prevent it from burning. This took about ten minutes on a medium flame for me. Turn off the stove.

2. Sprinkle the salt and chaat masala on the cooked sweet potatoes and toss.

3. Take a platter and scatter the sweet potatoes on it. Now drizzle the tamarind chutney on top. Layer the rest of the vegetables on top of the sweet potatoes. Finish with a flourish of sev on top and a lemon slice on the side.

4. Finish eating and of course do tell me if it was lip smacking good:)

FOOD

Aloo Methi – spinning potatoes with fenugreek leaves

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I’ll be honest – the humble potato has taken a bit of a backseat in our meals of late. With all the hoopla around the nutritional content of a potato, we have not been making it a staple at meals. But potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. And it takes so little to elevate the potato into a lip smacking dish. Like this one, where the potatoes are sautéed in some oil, with cumin seeds, chilis and a whole bunch of fresh fenugreek leaves. Fenugreek leaves also known as “methi” are available aplenty at Indian grocery stores, and this is one of those put a meal together in a jiffy kind of dishes that takes a few ingredients. Sadly, the toughest part of making this dish is the painstaking cleaning required to rid the leaves of mud and grit.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 2 tsps cumin seeds
  • 2 dried red chili pods
  • 4 medium sized potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes, and washed
  • 1 bunch fenugreek leaves, washed repeatedly till the mud and grit is gone and finely chopped (discard the tough stems)
  • 1 tsp salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

How to:

1. Heat two tbsps of oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and red chili pods.

2. When the cumin seeds sizzle, add the cubed potatoes, salt, and turmeric powder. Cover and cook on a medium flame, stirring occasionally till the potatoes are nearly done (a fork inserted should glide through the potato). This took about 13 minutes for me. (If your potatoes are sticking to the bottom, sprinkle a bit of water)

3. Add the chopped fenugreek leaves, toss the potatoes so the leaves are evenly mixed in. Cook covered for five minutes, and then without a lid for a couple of minutes till the leaves have wilted and have coated the potatoes.

4. Serve hot with roti or pita.

5. A tip. You could also make cumin potatoes by skipping the fenugreek leaves altogether and calling the dish done when the potatoes are cooked. This tastes yum by itself or with rotis or as an accompaniment to rice.

FOOD

An absolutely divine malai kofta

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I’ve made malai kofta (aka home made cheese balls in a creamy gravy) many times in my life. But I never ever tried my mom’s recipe. Well, it isn’t mom’s original recipe, but one that she learned by saving some hard to come by money to attend cooking classes in Mumbai when I was a kid. Not only did mom expand her knowledge of cooking, but my brother and I were the fortunate recipients of her wonderful creations. Given the current “stay home” situation, I’ve been browsing through many of her recipes and decided to finally make her version of Malai Kofta. Not only did the dish turn out absolutely divine (my mom said so herself!), but I was doubly grateful that my mom took the time to make these exotic creations with some frequency when we were kids. It is a dish that requires quite a few ingredients and takes some time, but I promise you that you will have no leftovers on your plate or in your fridge.

Ingredients for the koftas:

  • 350 gms paneer, finely grated
  • 3 tbsps whole wheat flour or one slice of bread (I used low carb 647 bread) (for binding)
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 4 chopped green chilis
  • 1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tsp of garam masala
  • Oil to shallow or deep fry the koftas

    Ingredients for the spice paste

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh or dry grated coconut
  • 3 large cloves garlic
  • 6 small green chilis
  • 2 tsps chili powder
  • 2 large bunches of coriander leaves (cilantro)
  • 2 tsps coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp white poppy seeds (khus khus)
  • 1 inch piece ginger

    Ingredients for the gravy
  • 4 tbsps ghee or vegetable oil
  • 4 tomatoes crushed and set aside with the liquid
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt to taste

    Ingredients for garnishing

  • 1 tsp coriander leaves finely chopped
  • 1 tsp finely sliced almonds

How to:

1. Knead the paneer well, mix the flour or the slice of bread softened with a tad bit of water, and all the ingredients for the koftas except for the oil and shape into round balls. Deep or shallow fry the balls in oil and set aside on a paper towel to drain.

2. Put all the ingredients for the spice paste into a blender and grind into a fine paste with just enough water so the paste is a gravy consistency.

3.Heat the ghee or oil for the gravy in a pan and fry the spice paste well for about five minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, cream, and salt and cook the gravy for 10 -15 minutes. Turn off the stove.

5. Just before serving, transfer the gravy to a serving dish, add the kofta balls, and if you want, decorate with some finely sliced almonds and cilantro.

6. Serve hot with rotis, pita, naan, or rice.