Alu Mattar Keema - Potatoes Peas and Minced Meat Curry

 

Alu Mattar Keema

The best keema curry I've had was from the dhaba or truckers' diner in Defense Colony of New Delhi, India. Most often made with minced lamb, this dish can be prepared with any minced meat, i.e. chicken, beef or lamb. It goes well with steamed rice, chapatis or naans.

Pork Vindaloo

Pork Vindaloo

Pork is not often cooked at home, but I've always had vindaloo with pork so I had to continue that tradition.  This is my own take on vindaloo because my uses of spices and chili are minimal to suit the BIG MAN at home. At the supermarket, I found a package of pork that was already cut into pieces suitable for stew, so that saved me some time. This vindaloo is basically my recipe for meat curry with the addition of apple cider vinegar. Although potatoes are not added to a vindaloo, I like them in any and all meat curries. This dish tastes great with hot, steamed rice or any form of Indian bread.

Stuffed Crepes

Stuffed Crepes

These stuffed crepes are also called Moghlai Parathas in India. 

Scrambled Eggs

To enrich this snack, ground meat could be cooked along with the scrambled eggs and crepes made larger to accommodate the bulkier filling.

Crepes

The inspiration video I followed had a simple recipe for making crepes, but do modify the amount of liquid to make a fairly runny batter so that the batter can spread to a desirable size.

Suji Toast - Cream of Wheat Toast

 

Suji Toast

There are a myriad recipes for this popular breakfast dish on the internet. The video that inspired me is displayed at the end of this post. I found toasted suji at the Indian market which is what I used to make this. Our neighbourhood supermarket bakes their own Italian bread which was perfect because the crusty slices hold their shape and acted as a sponge for the topping. And according to my nephew, 'Iz bedder wid budder', so I used butter instead of oil to fry the toasts. The leftover batter can be made into little dosas. With less than 10 ingredients, breakfast is ready in under 30 minutes. 

Chicken Haleem - Chicken and Lentil - Wheat Berries Stew

 

Chicken Haleem

A colleague at work first mentioned Haleem and how delicious it is. A one-pot meal that is hearty and wholesome, I've been wanting to try it out in my kitchen for a long time. The main ingredient in the haleem mix is the wheat berry or little grains of wheat which are tinier than the wheat that is ground into flour.

As is my practice, I scoured the internet for haleem recipes, watched a few videos and came up with a recipe that is far from authentic, but delicious anyway. I mixed wheat berries with panch mishali dal or 5 different varieties of lentils. This consisted of red/masoor dal, split chickpeas/channa dal, white/urad dal, yellow/moong dal and yellow split peas/toor dal.

I used minced or ground chicken, 1 cup of wheat berries and a quarter cup each of the 5 types of lentils. The chicken was made into a keema curry and the lentils were first toasted in a dry skillet, cooled and blended to a fine powder. The chicken keema and haleem mix were then combined with 3 cups of water and simmered over medium-low heat until thickened.

Haleem reminds me of a rich version of khichuri in which rice is replaced with wheat berries. Delicious and nutritious, we had it for dinner with steamed rice and for lunch over a bed of rice noodles with several garnishes.

Serve with Garnishes

Masur Masala Bhindi - Red Lentils with Fried Okra

 

Masur Masala Bhindi

Masur dal or red lentils are the easiest lentils to make. They cook quickly and go well with any and all vegetables. Cooking the lentils with a bit of salt and turmeric separately then adding the stir-fried vegetables, gets this side dish on the table in less than half an hour.

There are a couple of ingredients in this recipe that are only available in an Indian market. Amchur is dried green mango that is ground to a fine powder. It's purpose is to reduce the mucus that is released while the okra cooks. If amchur is not available, leave it out, but make sure not to add anything to the okra until it's cooked. It will initially be slimy so fry it over medium heat and don't stir it too much. Wait until the okra browns before stirring. Add salt only when all signs of mucus disappear. Don't cover the okra while it's frying because the resulting condensation will make it more slimy. Notice that onions, tomatoes and green chilies are added after the okra cooks and all mucus disappears.

Panch phoron is the other ingredient that is available only in an Indian market. If it's not available, use whole fennel seeds and fennel seed powder which is made by dry-roasting a tablespoon of whole fennel seeds and grinding them to a fine powder.

Serve these lentils as a side dish for lunch or dinner. They go well with hot, steamed rice or any Indian bread.

Indian Egg and Potato Salad

Indian Egg and Potato Salad

Leftover Egg Salad

There were 2 hard boiled eggs left of the Egg and Onion Salad that we had yesterday. The eggs were chopped and the rest of the remains combined with mayonnaise to create a unique dressing for potato salad. This has to be taste-tested to appreciate the umami of mustard oil. So when you make Egg and Onion Salad, be sure to make extra for some Indian Potato Salad for lunch the next day.

Egg and Onion Salad Dressed in Mustard Oil

Egg and Onion Salad

Dressed In Mustard Oil

A suitable side dish to accompany biryani or khichuri, this simple egg salad is dressed in mustard oil. The original recipe was posted in a food group on Facebook. This was made with a couple of changes to that recipe. 

Maggi Noodles Omelette

Maggi Omelette

Maggi Omelette with Sriracha

This YouTube video was the inspiration for our delicious lunch today.  It combines my two loves, eggs and noodles. Very simple to make with no more than 5 ingredients (not counting butter, salt and pepper) lunch can go from conception to table in less than 30 minutes. This recipe makes 2 servings.

Chicken Keema Biryani

Chicken Keema Biryani

Biryani is a rich and wholesome dish that takes center stage at any festive meal. It consists of layers of fluffy, aromatic Basmati rice, a rich meaty base and loads of fried onions, herbs and aromatic spices that are steamed in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. 

This chicken keema biryani uses ground chicken that is cooked first, separately from the rice. I've cut down on the processing time by using a ready-made spice mix called Shan Pilao Biryani mix whose strong and spicy flavours works its magic on the ground chicken which serves as a base layer for the biryani. Basmati rice is soaked for 20 minutes, drained and air-dried before being spread evenly over the chicken base and topped with cilantro, mint and deep fried onions. Heated chicken broth is poured carefully around the edges of the saucepan and this one-pot dish is simmered over low heat for 25 minutes until all the liquids are absorbed by the rice.

This main dish is best accompanied by a cool and soothing Raita along with vegetable sides such as Green Beans Posto and Tomato Chutney.

Tomato and Onion Raita

Tomato and Onion Raita

Raita is an Indian salad that is tossed with a yogurt dressing. It cools the palate which makes it the ideal accompaniment to a spicy meal. It goes well with rich biryanis and pulaos or with a simple naan or any Indian bread.

Tomato Dal

Tur & Masur Tomato Dal

Bijoya Potluck 2019

Bijoya Potluck 2019

L-R from Top Left

Asha's Corn Salad

Sudha's Begun Alu Posto
http://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2018/04/begun-alu-posto-eggplant-potatoes-in.html

Masur-Channa-Chola Dal

Dak Bungalow Mutton Curry

Tomato Chutney
http://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2017/09/tomato-chutney.html

2 Kinds or Pulao and Basmati Rice (not shown)

Desserts:

Bhapa Sandesh
http://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2019/10/bhapa-sandesh-steamed-ricotta-cheese.html

Narkoler Naru
https://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2018/07/coconut-macaroons.html

Lal Bhapa Doi
http://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2017/09/tomato-chutney.html

Rasogolla'r Payesh
https://chumkieskitchen.blogspot.com/2014/10/rosogollar-payesh-cheese-dumplings.html

Kanda Poha - Flattened Rice Pilaf

Flattened Rice Pilaf

Cheera (Bengali) or Poha (Hindi) or Flattened Rice (English) is parboiled rice that has been flattened and dried. It's available in packages at Indian markets all over India and North America and is considered a 'good' food for diabetics.

I was under the misconception that Kanda Poha refers to the potatoes in this poha dish, but during a phone conversation, my sister said it refers to the onions in the dish. Onions are considered to be non-vegetarian in certain parts of India so it's important to name it appropriately.

It's a hearty and filling meal which, if had for lunch, curbs hunger pangs that usually occur in the late afternoon.

Roasted Cauliflower

The stove top was being used to capacity, so this cauliflower dish was baked in the oven. It tasted great and was so easy to assemble. It goes well with rice or chapatis.

Shahi Tukda - Royal Bread Pudding

Shahi Tukda

Shahi Tukda or Bread Pudding fit for a king, is a popular and festive dessert in Mughlai cuisine. Toast points, fried in butter or ghee until golden brown, are soaked in simple syrup, dipped in thickened milk (rabri) that is flavoured with cardamom and saffron and garnished with sliced almonds.

To simplify life and to cut down on sugar consumption, the step to soak the pieces of bread in simple syrup is eliminated. Also, making rabri is a very tedious process and to simplify that step, evaporated milk is mixed with Gits Kulfi mix which is already flavoured with cardamom and saffron.

Made with just five ingredients in less than 15 minutes, this dessert is delicious!

Bhel - Chickpeas and Potatoes Salad

Bhel

Chickpeas and diced, boiled potatoes tossed with tomatoes, onions, green chillies, cilantro and bhel puri masala made a refreshing salad for lunch. The bhel puri masala kit, which I keep on hand,  is available in Indian markets. I've served this as an appetizer with mini pita pockets for friends at dinner.  

Stir-Fried Spinach and Chickpeas

Saagwala Channa

A delicious way to dress up a simple bowl of spinach is to add meat or chicken, or in this case, chickpeas/garbanzo beans. Cooking it in a pressure cooker creates a creamy spinach in which the chickpeas provide a satisfying texture. The ingredients are similar to those used in a Saagwala Murg or Lamb. 

This side dish goes well with either steamed basmati rice or chapatis.

Onion and Tomato Raita

Onion and Tomato Raita

Raita is a cold salad, often served with a festive Indian meal, that helps to mellow the heat in spicy dishes. A dressing of Greek yogurt cools the body. 

A salsa of diced onions, tomatoes, green chilies and cilantro is dressed with Greek yogurt that is cooling to the body. Unlike a salad which is eaten as a first course, Raita is eaten along with other components of an Indian meal.

Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Peppers

Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Peppers

This is likely to become a favourite vegetable dish in our home because it's so simple and takes no time at all to put together. It's composed of pre-sliced mushrooms, onions, red and green peppers, and seasoned simply with some salt, ginger and garlic paste and black peppercorns that are ground to a powder along with mouri/fennel seeds.

A vegetarian couple a while back spent a week with us. Any longer than that would have caused me to eat heads because I was craving non-veg food so badly! But I picked up a few tips and tricks about cooking vegetables, particularly mushrooms. Because they shed so much water, the trick to cooking mushrooms, I was told, is to fry them first in nothing but oil until al dente. More oil is then added to fry the onions and other vegetables and salt should be added at the very end. This produces a dry stir-fry that is delicious served with steamed rice. It can be had with a variety of Indian breads, too.