I like the sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine. I think its the yin and yang concept that manifests itself in the recipes.  

Method

1. Marinate about 250 gms of deshelled and deviened prawns (I left the tail on) for about an hour with 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar a little bit of honey and salt to taste.

2. Cut 1 onion into lengthwise thin strips. Julienne  about 1/2 cup of carrot  and 1/2 cup of capsicum. Finely chop about 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. In Chinese cooking most of the ingredients are cut in the same shape. You can also cut all the vegetables into cubes instead of julienne. Cubes takes slightly longer to cook.

3. Take 2 tbsp  of oil in a pan. Add 2 tsp of cornstarch to the prawns. When the oil is hot, saute the prawns till they are pink and start to curl. Dont overcook the prawns as then they become harder.Remove from pan and set aside

4. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the carrots for 2 mins till slightly soft. Remove from pan and set aside

5. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the onions. When the onions are pink, add the ginger and garlic and saute briefly on medium flame. Add capsicum and carrot and saute till the vegetables look cooked. 

6. Mix 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp vinegar, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp corn starch and add this to the pan and bring to boil. The mixture will thicken and coat the prawns and the vegetables beautifully.

Serve with rice /noodles. 

As I was writing this post, I wondered whether what I bought today was shrimps or a prawns? Googled and found this post. The differences are so subtle that  I would rather enjoy my food - anyways whats in a name....

This is a very simple dish of one of my favorite vegetables - I believe one can hardly go wrong with bhindi.

Method

1. Wash, pat dry  and cut 1/2 kg of  Bhindi (OKRA) into 2 pieces lengthwise after cutting off the edges.

2. Take oil in a pan. When hot, Add 1 tsp cumin seeds and  a pinch of asafoetida (hing)and  2 -3 crushed garlic pods .

3. Add  bhindi  when the cumin seeds crackle and stir for 5 mins or till the  bhindi  looks slightly cooked.

3. Now add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp amchoor powder and saute till the  bhindi  is coated well with the masalas.

4. Add salt and 1-2 tsp besan powder and saute till the bhindi is well cooked.

Serve hot with chapatis.

I have tried many ice cream recipes but none have  given me as consistent results as this one. This mango ice cream came very close to the one they serve at Natural's parlours. I have tried this same recipe with different fruits like jackfruit, chickoo, custard apple, banana, guava, dates, apricots and they have all turned out tasty. Thanks to my cousin Kalpana tai for parting with her secret recipe :)



Method
1. Take 1 cup of full toned milk, 1 cup of any of the above fruit/dry fruit pulp (Here I used Alphonso Mangoes finely chopped) , 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk powder. You can also add some fresh cream if you like. I add slightly less than 1 cup sugar but you can adjust the sugar according to your taste.
2. Blend them all in the grinder till an even consistency is achieved. You can taste it now and add sugar/ pulp according to your liking.
3. Freeze the mixture - takes about 8 hours to set well.
You can serve this ice cream topped with some freshly cut pieces of the fruit.

Felt like cooking something rich today. This recipe certainly fit the bill with its cream and cashew component :)


Method
1. Cut 500 gms of paneer into cubes. Sprinkle salt, chilli powder and turmeric on the paneer pieces and keep aside for sometime.
2. Take 2-3 tsp of oil in a pan and saute these paneer pieces till slightly cooked - say 3-4 mins.
3. Remove paneer and keep aside
4. In the same oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2-3 pepper corns, 2-3 cloves, 1 inch cinammon and saute.
5. Add 1 big onion finely chopped and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute till onion is brown in colour.
6. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and let them cook with lid on. After 5 mins add chilli powder (According to taste) and 1 tsp coriander powder, 2-3 cashew nuts finely chopped, add water to the dry mixture and cover lid and let it cook.
7. Now when the mixture looks cooked, remove it from heat. Let it cool a bit and make a fine paste of it in the grinder
8. Again add the paste to the pan and cook it till it comes to a boil. Add the paneer pieces and some kasoori methi (finely crushed in between the palms of your hand) and add salt and sugar according to taste. I also added 2-3 tsp of fresh cream.
9. Cook for 2-3 mins and then remove from heat. Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves and serve with chapatis.

This recipe is heavily inspired from Vah re Vah video. However I avoided the elaborate stuffing and deep frying of paneer for the sake of time/effort.

Hubby loves the Kurma served in the Udupi hotels in Karnataka along with Puri. So tried this recipe from aayisrecipes.com and it tasted as good as the one served in hotels. 

Method
1. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan. Roast 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 inch cinamon, 4-5 pepper, 2-3 cloves, 4-5 red chillies and 1 tsp fennel seeds. Grind with 1 cup freshly grated coconut to a coarse paste.
2. In the same pan, fry 1 onion finely chopped. Add 1 cup peas, 1 medium sized potato cut into cubes, 1/2 cup of cauliflower florets, 1 tomato cut into cubes, 1/2 cup beans. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables and salt and let it cook to a boil.
3. When almost cooked, add ground masala and salt. Bring it to boil. 

Serve hot with Puris for breakfast. can also be served as a side dish for lunch/dinner.

I think this is one dish invented to mitigate the feeling of guilt of having deep fried puris by giving it a healthy twist 

Method
1. Clean and blanch about 1 cup of Spinach leaves in 1 cup water for less than 5 mins. 
2. Grind the blanched spinach along with the water with 2 green chillies, 1 inch ginger piece, 1 tsp cumin seeds and salt. 
3. Now add wheat flour (atta) and knead in to make a dough. Add enough atta to get a firm dough.


4. Roll into puris and deep fry.

Serve hot with Vegetable Kurma.

We like Red thai curry - I used to generally cook it with chicken and vegetables. Last week I had bought some prawns and decided to cook prawns the Thai way..and it was so tasty...The flavor of coconut milk goes best with prawns and I think this dish tasted better than Thai curry with chicken or with vegetables. Here is my recipe for Thai Prawn curry.

Method 

1. Take 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 large finely chopped onion, 1 tsp finely chopped ginger and saute till soft and the onions urn pinkish. Add 2 green chillies slit along the length and 3-4 blades of lemon grass and saute

2. Add 50 gms of  of red curry paste and cook for a minute.

3. Add 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped and saute till tomatoes are soft. Add 50 gms of coconut milk powder dissolved in 1 cup of water to the pan. Adjust the water according to your taste. Let this come to a boil and then let it again simmer for 5 mins.

4. Add 1 cup of deveined and deshelled prawns and cook for 5- 10 mins or till the prawns are cooked.

5. Last add 5-6 chopped coriander stalks and some finely chopped coriander leaves and cook for a minute.

Serve with rice.

What I love the most about cooking is that it lets you be creative in your day to day life. You experiment with your spices and you sometimes have a totally new taste. Last week I cooked this mutton curry with no particular recipe in my mind - just mixed spices that I love and created this dish :)





Method


1.Heat 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee  in a pressure cooker. Add 1 large onion finely chopped and saute till its brown. Add 1 inch ginger, 7-8 pods of garlic, 1 inch cinnamon, 5-6 black pepper, 2-3 cloves, 2 elaichi, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and saute for 2 mins. Grind the whole mixture in grinder to a coarse paste.
2. Again add 1 tsp oil in the same pan and add 1 bay leaf. Add the above mixture and saute for 2 mins. Add 2 small tomatoes finely chopped and cook it till tomatoes soften. Add 500 gms of mutton, 1 tsp garam masala,  1 tsp red chilli powder (or more according to your taste) , water and pressure cook for a good 5-6 whistles. I added some fresh mint leaves for added taste.
3. Open the pressure cooker after the steam is out and adjust the salt. Add the juice of half a lemon and garnish with coriander leaves. 


This curry tastes awesome with both rice and chapatis.

This was one of those days where the dish turned out so tasty that I forgot to take pics and remembered that I need to take a pic for the blog when the last piece was left :) 
I was also too hungry to decorate the plate and hence the fish remains in spotlight in the pic.

Very easy recipe and tastes yummy and spicy.



Method

1. Mix  a pinch of Turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli powder (you can add more depending on taste), 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp chopped coriander powder, salt, 4-5 curry leaves roughly chopped, 2-3 sprigs of coriander leaves roughly chopped,1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp oil in a bowl. Coat around 6 fish pieces evenly with this marinade. You can leave the fish in the marinade for an hour.

2. Roll the fish in a little Maida (All purpose flour) to hold the marinade together and then Pan fry on a low flame in a tawa. You need not add more oil as the marinade itself has oil.
I used Rohu fish here but you can try this recipe with any fish and it will taste good.

Here is my Indianised version of Chilli Chicken - one can never go wrong with this dish!

Method

1. Marinate 500 gms of boneless chicken pieces with salt, ginger garlic paste, soya sauce according to taste.

2. The usual method is to deep fry the chicken pieces. However I like it sauteed in 2-3 tsp of oil. I saute it till the color changes to brown and the chicken looks 70-80% cooked.

3. Remove the chicken aside on a plate.

4. Heat 2 tsp oil and saute 1 finely chopped onion (you can use the whites of spring onion), 2 inches of Ginger finely chopped, 10 pods of garlic finely chopped and 4-5 green chillies.When sauteed, add 1 capsicum chopped into long thin slices. Saute on high flame and dont overcook the vegetables as they taste better if they are crisp.

5. Add the chicken pieces, 1 tsp soya sauce(soya sauce is salty so be careful with salt), 1 tsp green chilli sauce, 1 pinch sugar, salt to taste, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp corn flour mixed in water and cook again on high flame for 10 mins stirring continuously.

6. Add a cup of spring onion greens cut into 1 inch pieces. Stir them into the dish and serve with fried rice.

Method

1. Take 1 cup white vinegar, 3-4 tsp sugar, salt and 1 cup of water in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally till the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely.

2. Add the 20 pearl onions, 10 garlic, 3-4 red chillies to the solution and mix well.

Do not confuse pearl onions with shallots

Pearl Onions look just like normal onions but are smaller in size. Shallots are darker in shade and are pointed at both ends (more like garlic cloves)

More info on 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_onion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shallot

3. Pour into a dry glass jar and allow the pickle to mature for 3 to 4 days at room temperature and then refrigerate.

Serve with chicken starters.

Chicken Cafreal is a Goan chicken dish. I find it very easy to cook and has almost always turned out good. Here is the recipe I follow

Method
1. Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds,  1 tsp cumin seeds,5-6 cloves,2  green cardamoms, 5-6 black peppercorns and 1 inch cinnamon till the spices are slightly brown. 



2. Add 1 inch ginger, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 2 green chillies, ,and half onion roughly chopped. I also added 5-6 stalks of coriander leaves and sauteed all these till they are slightly cooked. 

3. Now grind all this  to a fine paste using a little water and salt. Make deep incisions in the 500 gm chicken and add all this fine paste and refrigerate for two to three hours (no need to freeze).

4. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken and cook covered on medium heat stirring occasionally. Add a little warm water if required to avoid scorching. 
5. Cook for 15 mins. When almost done add vinegar/lime juice according to taste and cook for two to three minutes. Serve hot as a side dish.

Came across this quick and easy Microwave recipe on the Tarla Dalal's website and I had to try it. 
Tastes incredibly delish and doesnt take even 10 mins to cook.


Method
1. Mix 1 cup of full cream milk, 1 cup of grated paneer, 1/2 cup of condensed milk (I used Milkmaid), 3 spoons of sugar (adjust according to your taste), 2 tsp of Ghee, pinch of cardamom (Elaichi) powder in a large microwave bowl and cook in the microwave for 6-8 mins.
2. Remove from microwave and let it to cool. Once cooled, chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Yummy rabri is ready. Garnish with Saffron(Kesar) strands and dry fruits and serve.

Here is the link to the recipe on Tarla Dalal's website.

It is mango season now and my mom is here in Hyderabad. So she cooked this Konkani dish which is a must in most Konkani weddings which happen around Summer season. In other seasons, mangoes can be replaced by pineapple and grapes.




Method

1. Grind 1 cup grated coconut, 1 marble sized tamarind, 2 red chillies to a coarse paste adding little water. 
2. Dry roast 1 tsp mustard seeds till they splutter. Add this to the grinder along with 2-3 tsp jaggery (according to your taste) and grind it again.Add 1 cup of mango deskinned and cut into cubes. You can also add pineapple, grapes, orange cubes (deseeded). Mix well.
3. This goes well as a side dish with rice.

I like chicken cooked in south Indian flavours with mustard seeds and curry leaves flavoring the gravy. Tried my hand at Chettinad Chicken today and it turned out good.

Method

1. Marinate 1 kg of chicken with salt, turmeric and chilli powder for at least an hour
2. Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add 7-8 dry red chillies, 1 cup grated coconut, 1 tsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 cardamom, 3-4 cloves, 1 inch piece cinnamon, 1 tsp fennel seeds(saunf) 1 inch piece of ginger and 7-8 cloves of garlic, 1 twig (around 10-12) curry leaves and roast them till the masala is cooked. Grind this into a fine paste in grinder
3.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a vessel and when the oil is hot add 1 Bay leaf , 1tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping,  fry 1 large sized onion till brown. Add 1 twig of curry leaves and the ground paste. Add 3 finely chopped  tomatoes, 1 tsp red chilli powder, pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste.
4. Add chicken and mix and cook for 5 mins.
5. Add two cups of water, juice of 1 small lemon and cover and cook till the chicken is done (This can take upto 20-30 mins). Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or rice.

This is again a favorite Konkani dish. The taste of Sichuan Pepper (Tepal) and Turmeric leaves gives this dish a flavor that lingers on.

Method

1. Clean and cut around 20 mushrooms into 4 pieces.
2. Take 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 10-12 red chillies, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 small lemon sized tamarind and grind them together into a very fine paste in the grinder.
3. Mix this paste with mushrooms in a pan. Add salt to taste. Add 1 tsp coconut oil. Add 8-10 sichuan pepper (tepal in Konkani/Tirfal in Marathi).

4. Cover with 4-5 pieces of haldi leaves
5. Cover this pan and cook on small flame for 30 mins.
6. This is how the dish will look after its cooked.

Serve as a side dish with rice. Dont forget to remove the haldi leaves before serving!

We like Italian cuisine. Being prolific rice eaters, we have  developed taste for Risottos. Tried Chicken Mushroom risotto yesterday for the first time and it turned out good.

This is how I cooked this dish.


Method

1. Heat  1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add 1 thinly sliced onion and saute till translucent. Add  2 garlic pods  finely chopped and saute. Add 1 cup of Rice and saute till the rice is well coated with oil. Do not wash the rice before adding it to the pan. I used 1 cup of Riso Arborio. 


2. Boil 500 ml chicken stock on another stove as the onions are sauteed. I used Maggi stock cubes but I am sure home made stock will taste even better. Add chicken stock to the mixture to just cover the rice and stir the mixture until the stock is absorbed. Add more of the stock and keep continuing this till the rice is just cooked right. Dont overcook the rice. This can take upto 20 mins. By the time the rice is cooked your hand surely should start to hurt :)  If you fall short of stock you can add some water.


3. Add salt and pepper to the rice according to taste.
4. In the meantime also add 1 tbsp oil to a  pan. When the oil is hot, add 1/2 cup of boneless chicken cut into cubes and 1 tbsp chopped garlic and saute for 5 mins. Add 1/2 cup mushrooms and chopped basil and saute for 2 mins or until the mushrooms and the chicken are cooked.
5. Now add this to the rice. Top it with butter and grated parmesan cheese and serve hot

This is one of the tastiest Konkani Curries and features on my list of favorite Konkani dishes. Comes a close second to crab curry !!
Mom is here and hence she brought along Shark pieces from Mumbai. Shark is a difficult fish to clean as its skin needs to be removed so remember to ask the fish monger to clean and cut it for you. Shark is also available in dried form but here we have used the fresh fish.

Here is my moms Shark Curry recipe 

Method

1. Wash the fish and keep aside

2. Dry roast 1tsp coriander seeds, 7-8 red chillies, 1/2 inch cinnamon, 1 clove for 2-3 mins. Make it into a fine paste together in a grinder along with 1 cup freshly grated coconut, 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind and a pinch of turmeric.

3.Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan and Add 1 finely chopped onion. Fry it till it is translucent and then add the shark pieces.Add 1 cup of water and let the shark pieces cook. This may take around 10 mins on medium flame.

4.When the shark pieces are cooked add the paste. Add salt to taste. Adjust for water depending on how thick you want the gravy.

5. Cook for another 5 mins of medium flame or till the gravy boils.

6. Serve with rice.

This is a very easy dish to cook and the spinach and corn combination is very tasty. Really good for a light meal.






Method

1. Wash 2 cups of basmati rice and keep aside to remove the starchy content.
2. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker, add whole garam masalas like 3 cloves, 1 cardamom, 5-6 black peppercorns, 1 inch cinnamon stick and 2 medium sized onions finely chopped and saute till brown. Now add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and saute.
3. Add 1 cup of finely chopped spinach and 1/2 cup of sweet corn kernels chopped into 2. 
4. Add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp garam masala powder, 1 tbsp cumin powder and stir for 1 minute.
5. Add drained rice and saute for 2 mins till the masala coats the rice well.
6. Add 5 cups of water. Mix well. Add salt to taste and cover the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles or till rice is just well cooked.
7. Garnish with coriander and serve

We had relatives visiting us on Friday and I had to cook after coming back from work and did not have much time. So tried this quick recipe which I had written down in my book but had never tried before. I wasn't very sure how it would taste. But at the cost of sounding immodest, I must tell you that this turned out better than dishes served in restaurants:) 

Method

1. Take a non stick pan and fry 1 grated onion in 1 tbsp oil/butter and saute till brown. I add some salt while sauteing the onions as the salt gets absorbed and the dish tastes better.
2. In the meantime, take a bowl. Add 2 tsp of coriander powder, 2 tsp of chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tsp of kasoori methi powder, puree of  2 tomatoes and half a cup milk and whisk it and leave aside. I add spices always   based on my judgement and my preferred tastes..so you can change this according to your liking.
3. Add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste to the onion and saute. Now add the above mixture and let it cook on a slow flame for 3-4 mins.
4. Add  250 gms paneer cubes and salt to taste and bring it to one boil. Garnish with coriander and serve with Chappatis. You can add cream if you want but I skipped it.

The video for this recipe can be found here at http://www.vahrehvah.com/Paneer+Butter+Masala:3536. I used fresh onions and fresh tomato puree instead of fried onions and ketchup that the chef is using here.