Mutton Tikia or Balls

The same recipe works for both tikia and balls based on the final shape you choose. If you have ample time, shape them as discs (tikia) and shallow fry them, if you are in a hurry and your guests arrive in the next hour, make them into balls like I have done and deep fry them. The taste and texture remains very similar.
Tikia goes very well both with a glass of scotch that you share with your guests before dinner, or with a steaming cup of coffee.

Ingredients

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 tbsp. raw papaya (Instead you can use 1/2tsp. meat tenderizer)
• 2 medium onions minced
• 10 large garlic cloves minced
• 5 green chilies minced
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tbsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
• 1 tbsp. freshly ground Bengali garam masala
• 2 tbsp. roasted gram flour (Besan)
• 1 tbsp. sugar 
• Salt to taste
• Refined oil for frying

Procedure

Wash the minced meat and drain it on a colander or strainer to drain out most of the water from it.
Now take the meat in a mixing bowl and add chopped, onion, garlic, green chilies, raw papaya paste red chili powder, garam masala powder, salt, sugar along with a tablespoon of ghee to it.
Knead the minced meat well with all the spices and keep the mixture marinated in the refrigerator for half an hour.
After thirty minutes take out the mixture and bring it back to the room temperature.
Add roasted gram flour to it and mix well. This will help in binding the tikias. Take a lemon sized meat mixture and give it a flat round cutlet shape. that is the traditional shape of tikia. I have made them round as I was in a hurry.
Heat oil in a tawa (Skillet) and fry them on medium heat till the meat meat is cooked. Drain them on a paper towel and serve hot with paratha and your favorite chutney..

Zarda Pulao

When I first posted this picture to facebook a few asked me why have I used Zarda (chewable tobacco) in a recipe. I hope someone doesn’t get that idea again, here Zarda means yellow color and the name comes from the bright yellow pulao (pillaf).
This is a dry fruit pulao and not overtly sweet as some other sources might indicate. IT is very easy to make and goes very well with mughlai meat dishes like chicken roast in the picture.

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain  basmati rice
• 10-12 cashew nuts
• 10-12 sliced almonds
• 10-12 golden raisins
• 1/4 cup crispy fried onions (beresta)
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder / few drops of yellow food color
• 4 tbsp. refined oil
• 2 tbsp. ghee
• 1/4 cup of mawa / 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 1 tbsp. Bengali Garam masala powder
• 2 tbsp. rose water
• 1 silver warq optional for garnishing
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• Salt to taste
• Whole Garam Masala
  • 2' cinnamon stick
  • 5-6 cloves
  • 5-6 green cardamom
  • 2 bay leaves

Procedure

Wash rice and soak it in enough water for about thirty minutes. In a big sauce pan take enough water to cook the rice and add salt and turmeric powder to it. If you are using yellow food color this is the time you add few drops to the water instead of the turmeric powder. I prefer to use turmeric powder.
When the water starts boiling add the soaked rice to it and cook till the rice is just done. Now drain the water completely. Spread the cooked rice on a flat tray and allow it to cool.
By the mean time heat one teaspoon full of ghee in a pan and fry cashew, almond and raisin on low heat till they turn golden brown. Drain it on an absorbent paper and reserve.
Now in a non stick pan heat four tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Temper it with whole garam masala. When the oil becomes fragrant add rice along with salt, sugar and three fourth of the fried nuts. Mix well gently so the rice grains remain intact. Now lower the heat and add either mawa or full cream milk to it. Along with it also sprinkle rose water and Bengali garam masala powder. Mix gently, and cook it covered on very low heat for three to four minutes. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ghee. Transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with the rest of the fried nuts, crispy fried onions and silver warq.
Serve it with Dhakai chicken roast..

Nalli Nihari

Foods like nalli nihari made our stay in Hyderabad oh so enjoyable. One of the delights was to drudge through the insane evening traffic on Fridays to head to old Hyderabad, to pick up some nalli. I have forgotten the name of the restaurant but the taste still lingers on in my memory.
You can make this with lamb or goat. Ask the butcher for shanks (leg meat on bone). Made with a lot of spices this needs some planning, but the results easily make up for your hard work.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. lamb leg on bone
• 2 medium onions sliced
• 1/2 “ ginger cut into thin sticks
• 2 cups mutton stock
• 2 tbsp. clarified butter ( Ghee)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
• 1 tsp. sugar
• salt to taste
• 4 tbsp. Nihari masala powder
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp. cumin seeds
  • 8 green cardamom
  • 3 black cardamom
  • 2” cinnamon stick
  • 10 cloves
  • 3 blades of mace
  • 1 tsp. grated nutmeg
  • 14 black pepper corn
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 tsp. fennel seeds
  • 2 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 1 tsp. dry ginger powder
  • 8 dry red chili
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp. roasted chana dal powder

Procedure

Take all the ingredients listed under Nihari Masala Powder and dry roast them on medium heat till you start getting a nice aroma.  Turn off the heat and bring them down to room temperature. Dry grind them in a blender to make a fine powder of them.
Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan till it melts. Now add onion slices to it and fry them on medium heat for about five minutes. Add meat pieces to it and sear them on high heat to lock the moisture inside.
Sprinkle 2 tbsp. of freshly ground nihari masala powder and mix well. Saute everything together for about ten minutes on low heat.
Season the meat with salt, sugar and pour six cups of water to it. Give a nice stir and cook it covered on low heat till the meat is tender. it takes about 45 minutes.
Now pour the mutton stock over it along with the rest of nihari masala powder.
Mix the flour with half cup of water the add this mixture to the cooked mutton. Mix well and allow the gravy to simmer till it thickens.
Turn off the heat. Finish it off with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Dish it out and garnish with cilantro and serve.

Chicken Hariyali Kebab

We had a steady stream of guests over the holidays. Especially to cater to the palate of our local friends I chose this mild kebab, which goes really well with wine and beer. I serve this as a starter as Hariyali kebab turns out to be an excellent conversation starter.

Hariyali means green which is the color of the kebab, in this regard this is very different from the other kebabs. The green comes from the paste of cilantro, mint and fenugreek leaves that is used as marinade.

Ingredients

For 4 people. serving size 4 pieces

• 1lb. boneless chicken breast cut into 2” pieces
• 4 tbsp. thick curd
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup cilantro ( Coriander Leaves )
• 1 cup mint leaves
• 1/4 cup fenugreek leaves ( Methi )
• 1” ginger
• 5-6 fat cloves of garlic
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tsp. chicken tandoori masala
• 3-4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter)
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Take chicken pieces and apply salt, lemon juice and red chili powder to it. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

In the mean time make a smooth paste of cilantro, mint, fenugreek leaves along with ginger, garlic and green chilies.

In a mixing bowl add curd and all other ground spices and mix them with the green paste. Add chicken pieces to it and mix them well with the marinade so that the chicken pieces are well coated with it. Keep it covered for at least two to three hours.

Soak the skewers in plain water for half an hour to avoid burning. Now arrange chicken pieces on the skewer and apply some clarified butter over it.

Pre heat the oven at 400F and grill them for 12-15 minutes. Turn the skewers once when they are half way through for even cooking.

Remove the kebabs from the skewers and arrange them on a serving plate. Serve with some green chutney and lemon wedge.

Sahi Mutton Chanp

Southern Amenia, a famous restaurant in Golpark, Kolkata served a different kind of Chaap. It differed from the traditional Kolkata Chaap in being a bit mellow. When we were in college we used to love frequenting Southen Amenia just for this Sahi Chaap. Unfortunately worker dispute lead to it’s closure. Some of the workers even started making it on their own and selling it from a shack right outside the Amenia building. Now that all remnants of it has disappeared I have to make it for myself. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb. mutton chops
• 1 medium onion coarsely chopped
• 7-8 garlic cloves crushed
• 2-3 dry red chili
• 4 tbsp. thick plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. red chili powder 
• 8-10 almonds blanched and peeled
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 tsp. freshly ground Bengali garam masala
• 1 tsp. rose water 
• 2 tbsp. ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 2 tbsp. oil 
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Make a smooth paste of almond with milk and reserve it for later use.

You need to get mutton (goat meat) chop pieces to make chaap. In Kolkata you can just let the butcher know and he will make the chops ready for you. Outside your homeland, you need to specifically instruct the butcher to break the chops with the broad side of their flat knife. Otherwise use your metal meat tenderizer to flatten the chops.

Heat 1 tbsp. ghee in a pan till it melts. Now add chopped onion, sliced ginger and crushed garlic to it. Fry on medium heat till the onions start getting a golden brown hue. Turn off the heat and let them cool down to room temperature.

Now add the fried spices to a grinder and make a smooth paste of them with a spoon of yogurt.

Wash the chops and pat them dry.In a mixing bowl mix yogurt with the onion, ginger, garlic paste and red chili powder. Season the mixture with salt.

Rub this spice mixture well on both sides of the chops. Allow it to rest for half an hour.

Heat oil in a wide frying pan till it melts. Now reduce the heat and temper it whole dry red chilies. Arrange the mutton chops in a single layer. Cook it covered on very low heat for about 45 minutes.  Frequently remove the cover and mix the spices. Fry the chops till you can see that the oil gets separated from the rest of the spices.

Now add almond paste to it and cook for another five minutes on low heat.

Sprinkle rose water and garam masala powder over it. Drizzle one spoon of ghee and keep it covered till you serve. Enjoy with Biryani or laccha paratha.

Semiya Kheer

Eid Mubarak to all my friends celebrating Eid today. Hope you have been having your fill of Kheer or Payesh at the end of iftar parties. Here goes my recipe for Semiya Kheer that I like to serve as dessert at the end of a heavy traditional Bengali meal.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vermicelli
• 5 cups whole milk
• 3-4 tbsp. mixed dry fruits (Cashew, Raisin, Pistachio)
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom Powder
• 1 tbsp. ghee
• Pinch of saffron

Procedure

In a heavy bottom pan take milk and let it come to a boil. Once it starts boiling lower the heat and keep stirring it till it reduces to about 3 cups.

In a non stick pan heat ghee till it melts. Add cashew and raisins to it and fry on low flame till the nuts take a golden brown color. Remove and set aside.

Add vermicelli to the same pan and roast it on medium flame with the remaining ghee until turns golden brown.

Add roasted vermicelli and half of the dry fruits to the reduced milk. Cook on medium heat until the vermicelli is cooked.

Add sugar to it. The milk will become thinner immediately after you add sugar. Keep it simmering till you get the previous consistency. Turn off the heat and add cardamom powder to it. Stir well.

I like my kheer hot directly from the stove. You can go ahead and chill it in refrigerator. Garnish with rest of the dry fruits and saffron.

Lucknowi Galouti kebab

In Lucknow during the rule of the Nawabs, Galouti kebab used to be made with close to 100 secret ingredients and ground as many times to give it a paste like consistency. The idea was that even a person without teeth could eat it. However, for us mere mortals I have used a more humble list of spices.

Ingredients

For 12 Kebabs.

• 1lb. minced mutton
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/2” ginger
• 6-8 fat cloves of garlic
• 2-3 green chilies ( You can add more depending on how spicy you want)
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp. raw papaya paste
• 2” cinnamon stick
• 5-6 cloves
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 1 tsp. shah jeera ( Caraway seeds)
• 1 tsp. white pepper corn
• 1/4 tsp. crushed nutmeg
• 1 small leaf of mace
• 2 tbsp. roasted chick pea flour
• Salt
• Ghee (Clarified Butter for shallow frying)

For stuffing (Optional)

• 2-3 tbsp. chopped cashew and raisins
• 2 tbsp. thick yogurt

Procedure

In a frying pan take oil and fry onion slices till they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

In a grinder grind mutton along with fried onion, ginger, garlic and green chilies. The paste would be fine and sticky.

Transfer the paste into a mixing bowl.

Dry roast cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, shah jeera, pepper corn, nutmeg and mace till you get a nice aroma. Be careful not to char them.Now make a fine powder of all these dry roasted spices.

Add these ground spice powder to the meat mixture. Add papaya paste to it and mix them well. Let this mixture rest for 5-6 hours, preferably overnight.

Take out the mixture at least an hour before you make the kebabs. Sprinkle salt and chopped cilantro and mix once again. If the mixture is too sticky to handle sprinkle roasted chick pea flour little at a time.

In a small bowl mix chopped dry fruits with 2 tbsp. of thick yogurt. Take a hand full of meat mixture and make a bowl out of it. Carefully put half a tea spoon of dry fruit mixture and cover it up. Give it a round shape and flatten it slightly by using your palm.

Take a skillet and add 1 tbsp. of ghee. Heat till the ghee starts melting. Reduce the heat to its lowest and gently place the kebabs on the skillet.

Fry one side on low heat till lightly charred. Now flip it over carefully and let the other side cook. Some times I fry them covered for 2-3 minutes to ensure that the meat is fully cooked.

Serve them with mint chutney, the kebab will melt in your mouth….

Mughlai Paratha with Spicy Potato Curry

Updated: With new pictures

Moglai Porota as we actually pronounce it brings back memories of durga pujo, college-street, secret rendezvous with boyfriend and so many other things. It’s not just a food, but rather a ritual. You cannot possibly complete pujo shopping or finish your pandal visits without stopping for one.

Each time we go for a movie, here in US, we have a common crib that we should be getting some roll or moglai porota after that. So this time I made them and then headed for the theatre. The fun of the movie was quadrupled by the thought that we had them waiting for us.

for Spicy Potato CurRy

1. 2 large potatoes cut into cubes
2. 1 small onion finely chopped
3. 1 tsp. grated ginger
4. 1 tsp. minced garlic
5. 2,3 green chilies slit lengthwise
6. 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
7. 1 tsp. coriander powder
8. 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. red chili powder
10. 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
11. 1tbsp. oil

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and green chilies to it. Fry on medium heat till the edges of the onions turn brown. Add chopped ginger, garlic to it and fry them together till the raw smell goes away. You may need to sprinkle water if the spice tend to burn.

Add potato cubes to it followed by all dry spice powder.Add salt and sugar to season. Mix everything well so that the potato cubes are coated with all spices. Sear them on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.Now add about half cup of water and cook it covered till the potato cubes are tender. By this time the water should be dried up.If not crank up the heat and make it dry.

Keep it aside for later use.

Ingredients for Paratha

For the dough

1. 4 cups all purpose flour ( Maida )
2. 4tbsp. any vegetable oil
3. 1tsp. salt
4. 1 cup warm milk

In a mixing bowl mix flour with salt and oil and rub with your finger tips till it takes the texture of bread crumbs. Add milk little at a time and knead well. If the milk is all used up and you need more you can now add warm water to it. Knead well to make a medium soft dough. Apply oil to the surface of the dough and cover it with a damp cloth. Keep it aside for half an hour. Knead once more before you use it.

For stuffing

1. 4 eggs
2. 4tbsp. minced onion, ginger, green chili
3. Salt
4. Oil for deep frying

In a bowl take egg one at a time and whisk it with a spoon of minced onion, ginger and chili.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and make smooth balls. Now roll them out into a square of 8 by 8 inch. For easy rolling you can grease the rolling pin as well.

Pour the egg mixture in the center of the rolled out paratha and spread a little with a spoon. Now gently fold the sides by overlapping each other so that the egg stuffing in the center gets covered. It will look like a rectangular parcel.

		Folding VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Heat enough oil in a deep wok or kadai and carefully slide the envelope in. Fry on medium heat till you see tiny bubbles appearing on the surface. Flip it over and allow the other side to get cooked. Occasionally press it lightly so that the egg is cooked from inside. Remove with a slotted spoon when both sides take a light brown hue.

Drain it on a paper towel.

Serve it all together as shown below.

Nargisi Kofta Curry

Apparently in India a show called Master Chef has become a big deal. Some of my relatives have suddenly become super interesting in cooking and I frequently get calls from them either suggesting something I should be making or asking about some recipes that they have seen in that show. Nargisi Kofta was featured in Master Chef but my aunt couldn’t keep track of the recipe in the fast paced show and asked me to make it. So after some research (we do not get Indian TV channels) this is what I came up with. Nargisi Kofta looked awesome and tasted great as well.

Ingredients For Kofta

• 4 hard boiled eggs shelled
• 1 raw egg
• 300 gm mutton keema
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2” ginger
• 2 large onion finely chopped
• 5 tbsp. besan (Chic-pea flour)
• Salt to taste
• Dry roast and grind the following ingredients into a fine powder
  • 1” cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 cloves
  • 1/2 leaf mace
  • 3 green cardamom
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 1 tiny piece of nutmeg
  • 10 white pepper corn
  • 1 tsp. shahi jeera
  • 1 tsp. poppy seeds
  • 10 dry rose petal

Procedure Of Making Nargisi Kofta

Boil mutton keema with 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder, salt and bay leaves. Cook till there is no excess moisture left. Allow it to cool.

Fry onion till they turn golden brown. In a grinder take 2tbsp. dry spice powder, fried onion, ginger, garlic along with boiled minced meat and make a coarse paste out of them. If required you may add a spoon of yogurt to make the process easier. Season it with salt and mix well.

Take about an egg sized portion of the meat mixture and wrap it around a whole egg.

Ina bowl beat one egg with a pinch of salt. heat enough oil for deep frying in a wok. Now take each keema coated egg and dip it in the egg batter. Gently slide the egg in the hot oil and fry till the outer shell is crispy and brown. Remove and drain it on paper towel.

Ingredients for gravy

• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 1” ginger
• 5 cloves garlic
• 4 large red tomatoes
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• 1/2 tsp. roasted and ground spice powder you made for kofta
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 tbsp. butter for cooking
• Salt to taste

Procedure

In a pan take butter and heat it on low flame till it melts. Fry onion slices till the edges turn light brown. Now add ginger garlic paste along with cumin and coriander powder. Sauté on low flame till raw smell of the spices goes away.

Add chopped tomatoes and fry on low flame till it turns mushy and you can see oil oozing out of the spices. Add red chili powder and turmeric and fry for few more minutes. Add half a cup of water to it and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes on low flame. Turn off the heat and let it cool down completely.

Once it is cold enough transfer the mixture in a blender and blend it to a puree. Now strain the puree and discard the residue.

Pour the strained spice mixture in a pan and turn the heat on. Add cashew paste, salt and sugar to it and mix thoroughly. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and add fresh cream. Stir it well.

Pour the gravy into serving dish. Cut the koftas lengthwise into halves and arrange it over the gravy as shown in the picture. Sprinkle ground spice powder on top of it and serve.

Shahi Murgh Musallam

This is a food fit for the kings. A murgh or chicken is stuffed with fragrant Basmati rice, eggs, spices and cooked in a rich gravy. Generally served in elaborate banquets for the royals.

This originated in Pakistan and found it’s way into Bangladeshi (then East Pakistan) cuisine. I have heard that my grandma used to make this. I did not have the good fortune of having it from her. I learned this recipe from my Aunt (thanks to Vonage :)). Even though the recipe sounded intimidating and complex, it turned out pretty simple to make.

Murgh musallam is best made with small chickens. In the US it is kind of hard to come by and hence I use Cornish Game Hen. I get it from my local Whole Foods store.

NOTE: This needs 12 hour marination

Special Equipment

Wide pan that can accommodate the Whole chicken.

Ingredients For Chicken and Stuffing

• 1 whole gutted chicken weighing about 600gms. Without feather and skin
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 4 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 lime
• 1 cup Basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 1 hard boiled egg shelled
• 1 pinch saffron strands soaked in warm milk
• 1 tsp. ghee (clarified butter)

Procedure To stuff the Chicken

Wash the chicken and pat it really dry.

Now with a sharp knife make deep incisions over thigh, drumsticks and breast part. Make some gashes on the joints as well. These incisions will help to cook the chicken
evenly and faster.

Marinate the chicken with yogurt, lime juice, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt. Make sure that you put the marinade from the inside of the stomach as well. Keep it marinated in refrigerator over night.

Next day take out chicken at least half an hour before you start cooking. Mean while cook the rice till it is 90% done. Remove half cup of rice from the pan and cook rest of the rice till it is fully cooked.

Transfer the 90% cooked rice in a mixing bowl and one by one add salt, ghee, saffron infused milk and garam masala powder to it. Mix it gently with the rice so that the rice grains don’t break. Keep it aside.

Now take the marinated chicken and stuff one egg along with the spice smeared rice inside its belly.

With a needle and thread carefully sew the opening.

Heat about 10-12 tbsp. of oil in a flat pan and fry the whole stuffed chicken on medium heat till all sides turn golden brown. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Remove the chicken on a paper towel.

With the rest of the rice make saffron rice to serve with Murg Musallam.

Ingredients For Gravy

• 2 medium onions boiled and made into a fine paste
• 5 baby potatoes peeled
• 4 black cardamom 
• 2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric powder
• 4 tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp. poppy seed paste
• 2 tbsp. cashew paste
• 2 tbsp. rose water
• 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
• 4 tbsp. ghee ( Clarified Butter )
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat ghee in a wide pan till it melts. Add black cardamom and wait till it stops spluttering. Add potatoes and fry till they are golden yellow.

Add boiled onion paste along with ginger garlic paste and fry on low heat till oil starts oozing out from the sides.

Sprinkle red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Stir in well. Now turn off the heat and let the spice mixture cool down a bit. Pour yogurt and mix well with rest of the spices before you turn on the heat again. Add cashew, poppy seed paste, salt and rose water and give a nice mix.

Now gently add the fried chicken to it and apply the spice mixture all over it with a spoon. Cook it covered on medium heat for 10 minutes before you flip the chicken over. Cook the other side for another 10minutes. By this time both chicken and potatoes will be nicely cooked.

Gently cut the stitches and remove the thread.

Pour the gravy on a serving plate and carefully place the stuffed chicken over it. Line up the potatoes and serve with saffron rice.

Laccha Paratha (Multilayered Indian Flatbread)

Laccha means coil or bundle. As this name suggests this paratha is made by coiling dough together. Essentially instead of following the flat-bread approach, here the dough is flattened and then coiled around so that the final paratha becomes layered. This paratha is known in different names, like flaky-paratha, lacchedar parathha, laccha paratha, Kerala-paratha. All of these are essentially the same with slight variations (e.g. Kerala-paratha has egg in it).

Originally laccha paratha was available in Kolkata as just a paratha. We used to have it all the time in Golpark Bedwin. It was generally served with some Mughlai meat curries like chaap, rezala, rogan-josh, korma. However, with time it is become more popular as the standard Mughlai paratha. Today most street food joints serve egg-rolls and chicken-rolls wrapped in Laccha paratha.

We love to have laccha paratha with chaap (mutton, chicken), you can use this recipe as your first step for making rolls as well.

Ingredients

1. 3 cups + 2tsp. all purpose flour
2. 1tsp. salt
3. 1tsp. sugar
4. 4tbsp. oil
5. 4tbsp. clarified butter
6. 1 cup warm water
7. Oil for shallow frying

Procedure

In a small bowl mix ghee with 2tsp. dry flour to make a paste and keep aside.

In a big mixing bowl take rest of the flour, salt, sugar and mix them well. Add 4tbsp. oil to it and rub in the flour using your finger tips. Add warm water little at a time at knead it into a soft smooth dough. Keep it covered for about 30 minutes.

Knead the dough once again and divide it into 8 – 10 equal portions. Shape each dough into a round ball and flatten a little.

Flour a rolling surface lightly and rolled out a dough into a flat disc of about 6” in diameter (1/3” thick).

Apply the ghee + flour paste (made in the first step) evenly on the top surface of the disc.

Start folding the disc from one side like you fold for a paper fan. Continue folding till you reach the other end.

Now this will look like a long rope. Stretch it gently.

Start rolling up the rope from one end and tuck the other end underneath the dough bud. By this time it will look like a flower bud.

Roll out the dough bud with very gentle pressure without affecting the layers. Roll out only one side, do not flip and roll because it will spoil the layers.

Final rolled out discs should be little thick with visible layers.

Place the rolled out discs on a hot griddle. Fry for about 30 seconds and then turn it over. Pour half tsp. oil and spread it on the paratha. Shallow fry over low heat. Flip it over and again pour oil on the other side. Cook on medium heat you see nice golden spots all over.

Remove from the griddle and apply gentle pressure on the sides with your palms to loosen and make the layers visible.

Your laccha paratha is ready to eat!!!

Egg Korma

The surprise birthday party dinner my husband threw for me was all good, but for the egg kurma. I didn’t like it and it left me craving for some great egg korma.

A long long time back my mom had made egg korma for my birthday. I could almost visualize the eggs partially submerged in a creamy, fragrant, silky sauce which had layers of flavors. Mild but still redolent with spices, that korma was the best that I ever had.

After all this craving I decided to go ahead and make myself some of that korma.

Ingredients

1. 5 eggs hardboiled
2. 2tbsp. boiled onion paste
3. 1tsp. ginger garlic paste
4. 1tsp. green chili paste
5. 2tbsp. cashew paste
6. 1/2 cup plain yogurt
7. Mint leave (optional)
8. 1tsp. sugar
9. salt to taste
10. Oil
11. Tempering
    1. 1tsp. whole black pepper corn
    2. 3,4 whole dry red chilies
    3. 2 green cardamom
    4. 2,3 cloves
    5. 1” cinnamon stick

Procedure

Heat oil in a kadai or wok and temper it with all ingredients listed under tempering. When the oil becomes fragrant remove dry chilies and keep it reserved for garnishing. Add onion and ginger garlic paste to it. Fry on low heat till the spices turn light brown and the raw smell goes off.

In a mixing bowl mix yogurt with cashew and green chili paste. Pour the yogurt mixture over the fried spices. Add boiled eggs to it and fry together till each egg is well coated with spices.

Add 1 cup of warm water and crank up the heat. Season with salt and sugar. Simmer till the gravy is thick and oil floats over the surface. Sprinkle 1/2tsp. garam masala powder and dried mint leaves and garnish with fried red chilies.

Serve with luchi, parantha, Biryani or pulao. 

Chicken Tikka

Chicken tikka is one of the most famous of the Indian kebabs. Tikka means bits, pieces or small chunks. It is made out of boneless chicken breast pieces. The grilled marinated chicken pieces has an intoxicating taste and a lovely smoky flavor.

Summer in Seattle is gorgeous and we do not waste any chance to enjoy it to the fullest. When we first moved to these Northern latitudes my daughter was plenty confused when she was asked to eat dinner with sun shinning brightly in the sky. We had a hard time convincing her, as she still hadn’t learned to read the clock and vigorously indicating that the hour hand is past eight didn’t help. Now she makes us head to the nearest park for dinner and we happily agree. Nothing like firing up charcoal in the park grills and making some awesome kebabs.

These kebabs turn out great on gas grills or electrical oven as well, however, the smoky taste is stronger when made on charcoal.

In restaurants you’d find the bright orange kebabs which is made using food coloring. I avoid such additives, if you want you can add food coloring to the marinade.

Ingredients For First Marinade

1. 1lb.boneless chicken cubes from breast
2. 1tsp. ginger paste
3. 1tsp. garlic paste
4. 1tsp. kashmiri chili powder (paprika powder)
5. 1tsp. lime juice
6. Salt

In a mixing bowl take all the ingredients and mix well so the chicken pieces are nicely coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for second marinade

1. 2tbsp. besan (Bengal gram flour, available in US on amazon as well)
2. 1tsp. carom seed (optional)
3. 2tbsp. thick curd (Yogurt)
4. 1tsp. ginger garlic paste
5. 1tsp. Kashmiri chili powder (Paprika powder)
6. 2+1tbsp. mustard oil
7. Ghee (Clarified butter For basting)
8. Salt

Heat 1tbsp. oil in a pan  and temper it with carom seed. Add Bengal gram flour to it. Fry on medium heat till you get a nutty aroma. Remove and keep aside.

In a separate bowl whisk yogurt with the fried Besan and other ingredients. Give a taste check and adjust salt accordingly.

Add 2tbsp. of mustard oil to the marinade and mix. Now add the chicken cubes to this yogurt mixture and marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours. Overnight marination in the refrigerator works best.

For Grilling

1. Skewers (metal or bamboo)
2. Onions cut into squares
3. Ghee (clarified butter) for basting
4. If you have access to, use oil sprays like PAM Oil Spray (optional)

If you are using bamboo skewers soak them in water for 30 minutes. It will prevent them from catching fire in the grill.

Preheat the oven at 375F, for gas grills or covered charcoal grills turn up the heat and close the lid so that temperature reaches this. For open charcoal grills use your own judgment.

Now skewer the marinated chicken pieces and onions alternately. Spread them for uniform cooking.

For Electric Oven (or combination microwave): Grease a roasting tray and place the skewers on it. Drizzle ghee, or spray oil over the kebabs and grill for 10 minutes and then turn them over. Spray or drizzle some more oil or ghee and roast for another 10 minutes.

For Gas or Charcoal Grill: Place the skewers on the grill, drizzle with ghee. Frequently turn it over and if you have, use the oil spray frequently ensuring that the kebabs do not dry up. Repeat for around 15mins

You can serve them directly on the skewers with some mint chutney and salad.

Mutton Awadhi Biryani in Microwave

This mildly-spicy Biriyani is one of our favorite. Making biriyani sometimes becomes a headache because of the complex procedure of giving dum (air-sealed, low heat cooking). This easier version is almost as good in taste, but way easier to make.

Ingredients

1. 1 kg mutton( Goat Meat ) cut into medium sized pieces
2. 500gms. long grain basmati rice washed and soaked for 30 minutes 
3. 1 medium red onion cut into thick slices
4. 1 inch ginger bruised
5. 6,7 cloves of garlic crushed
6. 1 inch cinnamon stick
7. 4,5 cloves
8. 3,4 green cardamom
9. 2,3 black cardamom
10. 10-15 black pepper corns
11. 1 small piece of mace (Javitri )
12. 5 dry whole red chili 
13. 1 tsp. sahi jeera
14. 3,4 bay leaves
15. 1 tbsp. sugar
16. Salt to taste
17. 1tsp. shahi garam masala powder
18. 1tsp. rose water 
19. 1/2 cup hung curd or thick plain yogurt
20. 2 + 2 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter

Procedure

Marinate mutton pieces with thick curd, salt and sugar. Let it rest for an hour.

Wrap all the spices (3-14) in a rectangular muslin cloth and tie up all four corners together to make a pouch.

In a heavy bottom pan add 2 tbsp. ghee and allow it to melt. Add the marinated meat morsels to it and sear them on high flame till they turn light brown.

Now pour about a litre of lukewarm water to it. Once the water starts boiling drop the muslin pouch to it. Cover and simmer till the mutton becomes tender. Check and adjust the water level if required.

Skim off any scum that rises to the surface and separate the meat pieces from the stock with a slotted spoon. Keep them aside.

Squeeze the muslin bag firmly to extract all the spicy juice from it and then discard the bag. Now strain the mutton stock to get a clear juice.

Take a deep microwave safe bowl and grease the inner walls with 2tbsp. ghee. Put the drained rice along with 850ml. of strained mutton-stock and mutton-pieces. Adjust salt and mix them well.

Cook uncovered on high power for 12 minutes. Sprinkle garam masala powder and  one spoon of rose water over it. Stir once again.

Cook it covered for another 24 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff it with a fork. Give a 5 minutes standing time before you serve.

Chicken Reshmi Kebab

Summer in Pacific Northwest is precious as it is over before it starts. However, it’s gorgeous as long as it lasts. No one can complain about clear skies and 17 hour days. However, late sunset means it’s harder to get kids out of the swimming pools and have their dinner. So we sometimes resort to making our dinner by the poolside. Our community has gas grills along side the pools that help a lot.
This chicken reshmi kebab recipe can be executed both in gas grills, electric ovens and combination microwave ovens.

Ingredients

1. 1lb. chicken boneless pieces cut into thick strips or cubes
2. 1/2 cup thick plain yogurt (curd)
3. 2tbsp. lemon juice
4. 1 tsp. red chili powder
5. 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
6. 1tsp. roasted coriander powder
7. 1 tsp. Bengali garam masala powder
8. 2tbsp. lightly roasted chick pea flour (Besan)
9. 1tbsp. sugar
10. Salt to taste
11. 1-2 tsp. clarified butter (Ghee)
12. In a grinder make a paste of the following
1. 4,5 cloves garlic
2. 2,3 green chilies
3. 1tsp. cumin seed
4. 1 tsp. poppy seed
5. 2 black cardamoms

Procedure

In a mixing bowl take all the wet and dry spices and mix them thoroughly. Season the mixture with salt and sugar. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Marinate the chicken strips with this spice mixture and let it rest for 3-4 hrs. In summer days keep it in the refrigerator.
 
If you are using wooden skewers then pre-dip them in water for 30mins so that they don’t catch fire in the oven.
For electric oven preheat your oven at 350F. Skewer the chicken strips and brush with ghee. You might want to alternate chicken pieces with bell-pepper (capsicum) and onion. For electric oven grill for about 20-25 minutes turning the skewer frequently and basting with oil/ghee.

For combination microwave ovens put it on micro+grill combination mode and cook it for 10 minutes on each side.
If you have a barbeque grill put the kebabs on the grill, use medium heat and cook for 10 minutes with frequent turning and basting as mentioned above. At the end you might want to higher the heat/flame to bring in a slightly charred effect.
Serve with some onion rings or your favorite chutney.

Chicken Korma

Korma is a kind of thick curry primarily made of yoghurt, cream and nuts. It has a mild yet rich taste which is a hallmark of Mughlai cuisine.

When I invited one of our local American friend and his Russian wife I wasn’t sure what to cook for them. He wanted to have “real” Indian food and not the americanized version available locally. I chose Korma for them, whose authentic version itself is mild enough for the American palate, yet is extremely tasty. They liked it a lot and wanted the recipe. I had to write it up for them at 2 in the morning :)

Ingredients

1. 2 lb. skinless chicken on bone
2. 1 cup thick yogurt
3. 2 medium sized onion sliced
4. 9-10 Almonds blanched and slivered
5. 20 golden raisins
6. 2 tbsp. garlic paste
7. 1 tbsp. ginger paste
8. 1 tsp. coriander powder
9. 1 tsp. cumin powder
10. 1 tsp. turmeric powder
11. 2 tsp. Kashmiri red chili powder
12. 1 tsp. pepper powder
13. 1/2 tsp. mace ( jawitri ) powder
14. 1/2 tsp. nutmeg (Jaifal ) powder
15. 1 tsp. cinnamon powder
16. Half cup chopped coriander leaves
17. Salt
18. Sugar

Procedure

Marinate the chicken with ginger garlic paste. Allow it to rest for half an hour.

Heat oil in a pan and fry onion slices till the edges turn brown. Remove them and drain on a paper towel. In a blender take half of the fried onions, almonds and golden raisins and make a smooth paste by adding 1/4 cup of water. Keep it handy for later use.

In a mixing bowl take yogurt and add coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili, black pepper, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon powder, salt and sugar. Whisk until smooth.

Heat oil in a pan and temper with whole pepper corn. When the pepper corns start crackling add chicken pieces in a layer and fry till both sides become light brown. Remove and keep on a plate.

Now to the same oil add cinnamon and pods of cardamom. Add the almond, raisin and onion paste and fry till oil separates out from the spices.

Remove the pan from heat and wait for a minute or two till it cools down a little. This is the time when you add the yogurt mixture. Stir well to mix and bring it back to medium heat. 

Add the fried chicken pieces to the gravy and let it simmer on medium low heat. Cook it till the chicken is tender. Usually it takes about 30 mins to get it done.

Adjust the seasoning and finish with fried onions and chopped cilantro.