Soya Chunks Biryani

Soya chunks known as meal maker or soy meat is a defatted soy flour product [source wikipedia]. Everybody in family loves these chunks, so much that hubby keeps a special note to pick these packets from supermarkets.

The protein content of these chunks is equal to that of meat and is highly nutritious especially for people who don't consume meat. They are also rich source of vitamin B, omega -3 fatty acids, fiber & carbohydrates. Having no particular taste they readily absorb any flavors that we dip in from different preparations.

Family being vegetarian, I always try to include soya in our diet and keep experimenting with different dishes such as variety rice, parathas, soups, side dishes etc in order to reap the health benefits from them. You can find here the SK recipe of soya golmatol that I had posted few months back.

Coming to today's recipe, its biryani using these chunks. This recipe is an adaptation of one that is shared by friend on food group of which I am a member. Thanks Asha for this aromatic and mouth-watering biryani recipe. My family enjoyed having it with plain curd and salads.


Ingredients

Basmati rice 1 cup
Cinnamon 1 inch stick 2
Cloves 2
Cardamom 2
Vinegar 1 tsp
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Soya chunks/ Meal maker 1 cup
Mixed vegetable 1/2 cup [I used frozen ones]
Onion large sized 1
Green chillies 2 [ You may adjust to suit your family requirements]
Tomatoes 2
Ginger garlic paste 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Coriander leaves fistful finely chopped.
Mint leaves fistful
Dahi 3 tsp
Salt as per the taste
Oil to use for soya chunks masala

To marinate half the quantity of above soya chunks
Ginger garlic paste 1 paste
Chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder 1/4 tsp
Rice flour enough to coat these chunks

For garnishing
Onion finely sliced 1
Finely chopped coriander leaves 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and clean rice. Soak it for 20 minutes. In a deep pan, heat oil, add cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom and saute it for few seconds. Add 2 cups of water, vinegar, salt and allow the water to boil. Now add washed rice and cook it [To cook the basmati rice I followed the packet instructions]. Once done, spread the rice on plate, separate it with fork and keep it aside.

Meanwhile boil soya chunks in water with salt until they become soft. Allow them to cool and squeeze the water out completely from them. Now take half the amount of them, add chilly powder, turmeric powder, 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste and sprinkle little rice flour on it. Mix it well and then deep fry these chunks. Place them on kitchen tissue towel. In the same oil add finely sliced onions [I used one onion] and fry till they become brown/ caramelize. Keep these deep fried items aside which will be used to garnish the dish. [You can shallow fry both these items as an healthier option]

To prepare soya chunks masala, heat oil in a pan. Add finely sliced onions. Saute them till they become translucent, add ginger garlic paste and fry it till the raw smell disappears. Add slit green chillies, finely chopped tomatoes and saute them till tomatoes turn soft. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and fry it taking care the powders don't get burnt or stick to the base of the pan. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves [ Alternately you can grind the leaves with green chilli into paste and add it]. Finely add dahi, boiled soya chunks, thawed mixed veggies, few tbsp of water, and salt as per the taste. Adjust the salt keeping in mind that you have already added it to soya chunks and rice before. Cook it with covered lid for 2 minutes.


Now the final step.
Open the vessel where you have cooked rice. Add soya masala and mix the whole mixture with spatula in clockwise and anticlockwise direction each time, so that rice gets coated with masala partially. Cover the vessel with lid and keep it on sim flame for 5 -10 minutes. Once done switch off the flame. Serve it hot garnished with fried onions and fried soya chunks with choice of accompaniment like plain or boondi raita or salad.


Happy cooking !!!
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Happy Ramnavami Wishes

Paanak is sweet spicy drink made in less time using jaggery, pepper, cardamom powder, dry ginger and lemon juice. This is specially made in temples at my native place and served as Ramnavami prasad.



I am yet to note down the traditional / authentic recipe from my family. Today being Ramnavami at my native place, I was tempted to prepare it. I did this with a guess work about the proportion of ingredients and served it chilled as prasad at home. 

Will update the authentic recipe some time soon as I get it. Happy Ramnavami Wishes to all my readers.
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Tawa Pulao

Tawa Pulao is another famous stall food [besides Masala pav] from the streets of Mumbai found especially on the carts selling pav bhajis. This is because the exotic pulao shares the same tawa/iron griddle in which the pav bhaji masala is prepared. I came across many recipes on different blogs, chef websites. Most of them had a basic recipe with variations and different proportions been used for the ingredients. The reason could be that street food recipes are not written down and hence the vendors must have come up with their own innovations and variations to attract the customers.

Finally, I decided to try out my version and adapted the Tarla Dalal recipe to cater the taste buds of my family.



Ingredients

2 cups Basmati  rice 
1 onion large sized  
1 capsicum medium sized finely chopped 
2 tomatoes medium sized finely chopped 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1 cup mixed vegetables [used frozen boiled them separately]  
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste  [U can used freshly crushed garlic ginger instead of paste]
1/2 tsp chili powder 
1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
1 tbsp pav bhaji masala 
1/2 tsp garam masala 
2 tbsp butter + oil 
Salt as per the taste
Sugar as per the taste.
1 tbsp lemon juice 

Method:



Cook the rice separately and keep it ready.

In a wok, heat butter + oil. Add cumin seeds and when they crackle add ginger garlic paste, finely chopped onions. Saute on medium heat till the raw smell disappears. Add chopped tomatoes and saute them till they turn mushy. Next add finely chopped capsicum and saute it for a minute. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala, pav bhaji masala powder saute for few minutes. Add boiled veggies and mix well till the veggies get nicely combined with spice mix. Sprinkle some water if the mixture starts sticking at the base of the wok. Add cooked rice, chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice, salt as per taste and sugar [optional step I usually do for my kids]. Mix everything well and cook it with covered lid on sim flame for 5 minutes. Switch of the flame. 

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves, raw chopped onions [optional] and lemon wedges. Serve it hot with raita as seen in below pic.



Happy cooking !!!

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Urad and Yellow Moong dal Idlis

Making idlis has been such a difficult task for me. I prepared the batter every time with a hope of having soft and spongy idlis. Attempted them so many times with all the known tricks and tested tips from my family, friends as well as from different blogs but each time it has been a failure. The type of lentils and rice used, the process of grinding itself, consistency of batter, the factors responsible for fermentation, etc I couldn't pinpoint exactly what was going wrong with my attempts. I had almost stopped steaming the batter for past few months and preferred making dosas from the ground batter though its a time consuming process for me.

Recently, my foodie friend Uma shared her recipe for soft idlis which included urad dal and yellow moong dal and NO RICE  *$#*# ... I was surprised to see the recipe didn't mention about inclusion of rice. [Later found out wikipedia has also mentioned that there is no known record of rice being added while preparing idlis till some time in the 17th century].  A bit scared to try this new recipe due to previous failed attempts, but then hopes u see ...it did remind me of the saying "Try and try till you succeed". And here is the result,,, SOFTY SOFT IDLIS


Thanks Uma for sharing this recipe. I am glad I attempted it and so happy with the results - delicious, nutritious, fluffier idlis. This recipe is a keeper and me gonna prepare them frequently

Ingredients

Yellow moong dal 1 cup
Whole white urad dal 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds few
Salt to taste

Method: 

Wash, clean and soak moong dal, urad dal [with fenugreek seeds] separately for 4-5 hours. Transfer them to mixer jar and grind them separately. Grind urad dal with required amount of water to soft smooth batter consistency. [Tip: add chilled water while grinding and also take breaks in between while grinding urad dal on mixie for 2-3 minutes till you get smooth batter, so that batter doesn't warm up and affect the fermentation process]. Remove the paste in broad vessel and keep it aside. In the same mixer jar add moong dal and grind it to fine paste. Combine this to urad dal paste, add salt and keep aside to ferment for 10 - 12 hours or till the batter rises. Make sure the vessel has enough space to allow the batter to rise. The final batter should be thick in consistency.

Next day, grease the idli moulds and steam like regular idlis for 10-15 minutes in steamer/ pressure cooker without whistle. Allow it to cool, unmould them and serve with sambhar or chutney or any other choice of accompaniment.


Note: 
  • You can do little variation by adding grated ginger, finely chopped green chillies, coriander leaves, hing, curry leaves  
  • You may also use split urad dal in which case the proportion would be 1.25 cups of urad to 1 cup of yellow moong dal. 
  • Please note that the batter should not over-ferment as it tends to become sour.
Happy cooking !

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Mujaddara with Garlic Lemon yoghurt.

We at home just love Middle eastern cuisine. It was only after our relocation to this region I got to taste and discover my love for this cuisine.  Hubby introduced me to hummus, falafel in the initial days itself. Once I joined work, got to taste veg fatayers, different salads, dips, arabic sweets at my office parties. I craved for these foods during both my pregnancies and inspite of having severe morning sickness I used to rush to my office cafeteria to enjoy having these foodsNo wonder kids jump with excitement at the sight of these foods and enjoy eating it till date.

Usually, its the takeaway option and we pick arabic foods (veg) from nearby restaurants. On a particular weekend, hubby came home with a plan to visit an arabic restaurant. He wanted us to taste this particular dish "Kusheri/Kosheri". Glad that he made the right plan because after this visit, one more dish got added to our favourite list. I loved the combination of rice cooked with brown lentils mixed with boiled macaroni, sauces finally garnished with caramlized onions

Back home, googled for its recipe. While doing so came across recipes for Mujaddara, a recipe similar to Kusheri but mujjadara does not have macaroni in it. A popular dish throughout the Arab world , this also consists of lentils either brown or green cooked with rice, garnished with sautéed onions and as a variation it can be seasoned with cumin, coriander or mint. I felt that this dish was a combination of our Indian khichadi + Mughlai Biryani and decided to give it a try instead of Kusheri. I chose this recipe from My Diverse Kitchen. Please note that this may not be the traditional/authentic recipe for this dish, but my family enjoyed having it. 



Ingredients

Whole green gram 1 cup [You can also use brown lentils]
Rice 1 and 1/2 cup [ Have used Basmati Rice]
Onions 4 medium sized
Ginger garlic paste 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1 tsp [optional]
Red chilly flakes 1/2 tsp
Mint leaves and Coriander leaves chopped for garnish
Lemon Juice 1 tbsp
Olive Oil + Ghee

Method:

Boil the whole green gram [ Note: I pressure cooked them for 2 whistles and then boiled it in a vessel for 5 minutes by adding salt] Try not to overcook the lentils [an important step for this recipe] and take care that they are cooked enough to be consumed. Cook rice separately by adding oil and salt. Once cooked separate by fork and allow it to cool. Keep it aside.

Now in a wok, heat olive oil+ ghee, add salt and put finely slice onions. Saute them on medium heat till they become soft and brownish/caramalized. {Note: Onions will reduce in quantity after this process so if you want to have more quantity you need to take more no of raw onions than mentioned above}. Drain them on a paper napkin and keep them aside.

In the same wok, add oil, gg paste, saute it for half a minute. Add cumin powder, cinnamon powder, red chilli powder, garam masala [optional] stir it. Add half of the fried onions. Toss it and add cooked rice and cooked lentils. Add red chilli flakes, chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt as per taste. Squeeze lemon juice, mix everything gently. Switch off the gas.

Transfer this to serving dish and sprinkle the remaining fried onions and chopped mint leaves. Serve it with plain/flavoured yoghurt or sauce.

Garlic Lemon Yoghurt
Yoghurt 1 cup  
Garlic cloves grated 4-5
Lemon juice 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves + red chilli flakes

Combine all in a bowl and stir to mix the ingredients well. Serve it with main dish. You can cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Happy cooking !!! 

Note: Recipe for Kusheri will come asap.


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Oondis/ Undis

Undi/Oondi is a popular breakfast among konkani people. These are seasoned rice dumplings that are steamed before consumption. Ideally it is prepared from rice which is soaked drained and later dried. Once dried it is ground with coconut and the mixture given a tadka with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, etc and then steamed. But for me the forgetful lazy person I am [always forget to soak the rice in time before the preparation], I use idli rawa [rice rawa] to make them.



"Pundi" and "Upma Kozhakattai" are similar preparation with some variation prepared by Tuluver [Tulu people] and Tamilians respectively. So let's see the recipe for Konkani oondis/undis

Ingredients

2 cups idli rawa/ rice rawa 
1 cup grated coconut 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1 and 1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds/ methi seeds 
12-14 curry leaves. torn into pieces
2 red chilies, broken into small pieces 
2-3 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Soak one cup of rice/ idli rawa for 30 minutes. Next coarsely grind 1 cup of grated coconut with half cup of water and keep it aside.

In a pan, heat oil add mustard seeds, when it splutters add urad dal, methi seeds and roast it till it turns light brown. Add curry leaves, broken red chilies and saute it for few seconds. Add 4 cups of water, salt to taste and allow it boil. As the water starts boiling gradually add the coarsely ground coconut and drained idli rawa stirring it continuously. Stir  it till the water gets evaporated and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Switch off the gas. Allow the mixture to cool a little bit. Once the mixture cools enough to get handled, grease your hands with a drop of oil. Take spoonful of this mixture and make round balls and make indentation in each with your thumb as seen in the pic below.





The rolled balls are now ready to go in steamer. Keep these balls in steamer/ pedavan or pressure cooker without whistle for 10 -12 minutes. Serve them hot with chutney, pickle or any accompaniment of your choice. 



You can even enjoy them with a dash of coconut oil on top. 


Happy Cooking !!!
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Potato Onion Salad/ Raita

Summer is approaching. Not a favourite season for most of them with the mercury rising higher, but then the season brings along with it school vacations and people take advantage of these holidays to visit the beaches, spend more time outdoors and enjoy various sports. In such a scenario, precautions should be taken before the rising temperatures create problems such as dehydration, sunstrokes, etc.

It is very essential to keep the body cool and prevent such episodes by drinking plenty of water, juices, buttermilk, lassis and eating more fresh fruits, salads, curds. The best way is to include various salads/ raitas in our daily menu. I prefer to add curds in these salad/raita recipes which surely helps to have a cooler effect on our body. Today, I am posting a simple and refreshing salad recipe.



Ingredients

Potato [Boiled peeled and diced] 4 medium sized
Onion one medium sized chopped 
Curd/Yoghurt
Green chillies 1-2 finely minced
Asafoetida a pinch [optional]
Coriander leaves finely chopped
Mint leaves [optional]
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix boiled potatoes with chopped onions, minced green chillies, curd, asafoetida, finely chopped coriander leaves and mint leaves. Add salt to taste. 

Yummy potato onion salad/raita is ready.

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Kooka / Chinese potato spicy sidedish

Chinese potato known as "Kooka" in Konkani, a hairy tuber, looks similar to arbi or baby potatoes but this one is dark in color,  smaller in size and a seasonal veggie. Read here to know the different names of this vegetable. I am still trying to know why the english name includes "Chinese" inspite of the veggie being native to tropical Africa.

"Kooka" when cooked has distinct taste and flavor which is loved by konkani people and thus many dishes such as upkari , humman, saung, etc  make use of this vegetable. Cleaning this veggie is a time-consuming, laborious  process and also leaves black stains on your fingers. But then you forget all the stains and pains you took to clean them once you get to taste the dish... so yummmm ! 

Today I post recipe of super spicy side-dish made with this vegetable. These days ready peeled ones are available in the frozen sections of supermarkets, which saves the time spent on cleaning this vegetable for a working woman like me :). I have used these frozen ones this time to skip the tedious cleaning process.



Ingredients

Kooka [ frozen packet] - thawed and cooked 2 cups
Coconut [frozen] 1 cup
Red chillies roasted 5-6 [ You can increase it to make it more spicy]
Tamarind lemon sized
Onion small sized chopped 3
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves few
Oil [preferably coconut oil] 

Method:
Thaw the frozen kooka and boil them separately with salt in water. If they are large in size halve them [With regular kooka you clean  and wash them. Cleaning can be done in one of the following ways, such as i) put them in gunny bag/jute bag and beat it on hard surface, ii) pressure cook for one whistle and then peel of the skin or iii) soaking them in water for about one hour and then scraping the skin with knife or peeler]

Grind coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind with a little water to a smooth paste. Keep it aside. Heat coconut oil in pan, add mustard seeds. Once they splutter add curry leaves and onions. Fry them on medium flame till onions turn golden brown. Add the ground paste, stir fry. Now add the cooked kooka pieces and mix well. Add salt [keep in mind to add little salt only as we have already added it while cooking the vegetable] as per the taste and water to adjust the consistency of the dish. Keep it on low flame for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame. You can enjoy it as side dish with chappatis/ dosa or rice and dal. 

Happy cooking!
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Hummus bi tahina

Hummus /Hummus bitahini, a popular middle eastern dish is served with khuboos or pita bread. This dish is popular around the globe and served as a dip or appetizer as part of an Arabic mezze. There are many different flavors that you can add to the basic hummus recipe such as avocado, roasted red pepper, roasted beet, squash, etc. 

Many recipes mention about mixing all the ingredients and blending it into smooth paste. I did it but somehow was not happy with the end result,,,it lacked the creamy texture as well as the taste. I googled to find more about ways to make a creamy hummus and the recipe at VegWeb was more convincing explaining the trick to make a creamy texture hummus. The clue was "Tahini" which adds flavor and texture to the hummus. The trick was emulsifying tahini with water based liquid or lemon juice before adding other ingredients. 


Ingredients

Chickpeas 1 can [400 gms]
Tahina paste 1/4 cup , I used store-bought [you can prepare the same at home by mixing roasted sesame seeds, olive oil and salt]
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Water 2 tbsp
Garlic roasted  4 cloves - chopped
Olive oil 2 tbsp +more for drizzle
Chopped tomatoes for garnish
Chopped parsley for garnish
salt to taste



Method:

Mix tahini and lemon juice in a blender [step of emulsifying the tahini]. Blend it for about a minute or until tahini becomes fluffy and creamy. Add chopped garlic and puree until smooth. 

Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse them off in water. Peel the chickpeas and add them part by part in blender and continue to blend it to smooth puree. You can add little water if the mixture looks dry. Add olive oil and salt to taste. Blend it till you get the desired taste and texture for hummus. 

Spoon out the hummus on to the serving plate. Drizzle olive oil over it. Garnish with sliced olives, chopped tomatoes and parsley leaves. Sprinkle some cumin powder and red chilly powder/ paprika powder if you prefer spicier hummus. Serve it with pita bread, carrot cucumber sticks or chips. Optionally you can garnish it with toasted sesame seeds and whole chickpeas. 


Happy cooking !!!

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Avalo Murabbah [Indian Gooseberry Jam]

Avalo also known by names such as amla/ nellikai/amalkai is an excellent source of Vitamin C and known as best natural herb in ayurvedic medicine having many health benefits. It has been used in variety of recipes like jams, chutneys and pickles.

The post today is about preparation of jam from this fruit which is known as Avale murrabbo/ Amla murabbah. It is very delicious and can be used as an accompaniment with bread, chappatis or idli dosas.



Ingredients

Avalo /Indian gooseberries
Sugar
Water
Saffron few strands
Cardamom powder

Method:

Wash and grate avalo and discard the seeds.
Measure the amount of grated avalo, place it in a pan and cook it with little water [quantity of water enough to immerse the grated avalo] for 7-8 minutes. Keep it stirring continuously on low flame. 

Once they get cooked and become soft, add in sugar [quanity equal to the grated amla]. Stir it nicely to cook further. Add some saffron strands to a tbsp of warm sugar syrup and later add it to the mixture. Allow the mixture to cook further till the sugar reaches single or double string conistency as per your preference.

Switch off the flame and add powdered cardamom. Mix well and keep it aside to cool. Store in sterilized glass jar/ bottle and refrigerate it. You can serve it with chappatis, dosas or spread on a slice of bread, idlis.

Happy cooking !
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Granola Oats Bars

I have always been buying these bars from the stores and gosh they are so expensive. Never knew the recipe would be so easy until I came across numerous recipes over internet. While reading through these recipes I realized that making these bars at home is economical. We can use a range of ingredients to suit our family preferences. This snack bar is the perfect grab and go choice, so here goes my version of preparing these bars




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Churmundo /Wheat flour laddoos

Churmundo is my favourite laddoo and liked by family too at home. This laddoo tops the favourites of many amchis/GSB/Konkani people and is prepared on different ocassions and festivals in Konkani community. 

They are prepared from simple ingredients like wheat flour, ghee, sugar,cardamom, raisins and nuts. Vvariations in the recipe can be seen such as adding besan/chickpea flour, rawa or sooji to the above ingredients. You need to have experience and know the knack of preparing these laddoos. Once you get that, you would find this preparation very easy. The best ones literally melt in your mouth and taste yummmmmmmmmmm. You have one and you feel like having one more and more and more. As a kid, I used to gobble down as many as possible when mom used to open the container that stored these laddoos. The batch would empty sooner than expected thus forcing her to prepare them again. 




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