Fish Pakoda

My Friend Tina always complained that we did not visit her often, so she came up with a plan. She would call us and tell us that her mom prepared "fish". Me and Poorni would be there in a jiffy. Personally I dont like fish too much because of the fishy taste but aunty prepares it in such a way that it just tastes awesome!!


I decided to make this recipe for a get together and called up my friend for the recipe. It still did not come out as aunty's, nevertheless it tasted good. Here is the recipe -



Ingredients:

Pompfret Fish - 2 pounds (I used Tilapia)
lemon juice - 1 tsp
red chillie powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
turmeric pwder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 6 - 8 leaves
salt

Method:


Fish should be cleaned up and scaled. Rub salt all over the fish and wash it. Do this 2-3 times. I was told this helps in removing some of the fishy smell. Pat dry the fish abd cut into bite size pieces. Now mix all the ingredients and around half of the curry leaves in a bowl and marinate over night. When you are ready to make this, heat oil in a vessel and when the oil is hot add some curry leaves and deep fry the fish. Serve it with coriander chutney.

Chicken Biryani

This came out fabulously.. I looked up quite a few recipes and different styles of making biryani. Wikipedia gives a nice explaination in the different styles of biryani making. Finally I thought that for a first time biryani maker, I should try out Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe. Check out his video demo here.
Here is what it looks like right before I put it to dum.

And here I tried my hand at plating the biryani.. I know I need to work on making a better presentation :)

Recipe coming soon...

Spaghetti with tomato, basil, and mushroom sauce

I love to cook itallian food for my wife. Itallian cooking to me is very calming and very romantic and it always puts me in a great mood. I put on some nice music and open a bottle of wine and then start cooking... I think this is my first Ittalian recipe for my blog.. hope you try it out and like it!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup), plus 1 shallot,
sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, chopped into 4
parts each
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pack of
Spaghetti
3/4 cup vegetable stock or canned vegetable
broth
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly
sliced
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add minced shallot and 1 minced garlic clove and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high, add all mushrooms, and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushroom mixture to bowl.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add onion, sliced shallot, and remaining 2 garlic cloves; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with juices and white wine and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in mushroom mixture and 1/4 cup fresh basil. Remove from heat. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper; cover to keep warm. (Mushroom sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm mushroom sauce before continuing.)

Cook pasta in heavy large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well. Return pasta to pot. Add mushroom sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Add vegetable stock and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, tossing to coat. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes and remaining 1/4 cup basil over. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese separately.

Goat Curry

I think this has been my best attempt at making goat curry. I have made goat curry both in south indian style and north indian style. the major difference between the two style is that in South indian Style I add coconut milk and curry leaves. The other big thing I have started to do is I pressure cook the meat to make it soft and tender.. I love it when the meat is falling off the bone. Getting goat meat has also become a little easier around the boston region. I used to buy it in Quincy from this middle eastern halal store.. but the meat was not that good... Somebody at work suggested I go to Cheema's on Cambridge Street in Allston, and I think they have their permanent customer in me...

Ingredients:

Goat Meat cut in small one inch chunks - 3 Pounds
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 4 table spoons
Cinamon Stick - 2 inches
Cardamom - 5-6 pieces
Cloves - 5-6 pieces
Onions - 2 large chopped
Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Tomatoes - 2 chopped
Potatoes - 2 cut in big pieces
Salt to taste
Red Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander (Dhaniya) Powder - 2 tsp
MDF Meat Masala - 2-3 tsp

Method:

Heat the Ghee in Stainless steel wok
Add the cinamom stick, cardamoms and cloves.
Saute till they start to crackle.
Add the onions and saute them till they are a nice golden colour.
Add all the powder spices except the meat masala and mix it into the onions
Now add the meat sear it so it gets cooked on all sides.
Once the meat is browned on all sides add the tomatoes and mix it into the meat.
Transfer all of this into the pressure cooker and add enough water to immerse the meat.
Add 2-3 teaspoons of MDF Meat Masala and the potatoes and close the cooker.
Cook for 20 miuntes.
Put the cooker under cold water if you want to check if the meat became tender.
Pressure cook again if it has not become tender.
Make sure you have enough water or else you might burn your gravy!
If the gravy is too watery just let it cook on medium heat.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.