Mushroom Risotto

Priya loves risotto! She loved it the first time we had it together while we were in Vieques.. I know she will order it at a restaurant if its on the menu. It got me thinking about how difficult would it be to make... Looking at recipes I found out that the rice used to make risotto is kinda special. It's called Arborio rice. It is a medium grain rice and it is firm and creamy due to the high starch content. It was definitely not easy to make because you have to keep mixing the rice and adding the broth little by little, till it is cooked. It took me around 30 minutes.. Here is the recipe from my itallian cookbook



Ingredients

• 2 cups mushroom (we used a mix of portabella and crimini)
• juice of lemon (1/2 lemon)
• butter 6 tbsp
  
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot chopped
• 1 1/2 cup risotto rice (arborio)
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 3 tbsp fresh grated Parmesan
  

Method

• Chop the mushroom really small and then toss it with the lemon juice
• Melt 2tbsp butter and stir in the mushroom. Cook over moderate heat till they give up their juices, and begin to brown. Stir in the parsley. Cook for 30 seconds and then remove to a side dish.
• Place the stock in a saucepan and simmer till needed.
• Heat 2 tbs butter with Olive oil in the same pan the mushroom were cooked in. Stir in the chopped shallots and cook until it is soft and golden. Add the rice, stirring for 1-2 minutes to coat it with oils. Add the mushrooms and mix well.
• Now on moderate heat add one small ladle full of the hot stock and cook until the stock is absorbed or evaporates, stirring the rice with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Add a little more stock, and stir until rice dries again. Continue stirring and adding the liquid a little at a time. After about 20 minutes of cooking time, taste the rice . Add salt and pepper.
  
• Continue cooking, stirring and adding the liquid until the rice is al dente, or tender but firm to the bite. The total cooking time of the risotto may be from 20-35 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the remaining butter and cheese. Allow the risotto to rest for 3-4 minutes before serving.
  

Chole

Green peas and corn in spicy garlic sauce (Indo Chinese)

Moong dal

I made this dish in two ways,
1. Jeera chounk
2. Pyaaz and tomato chounk
So I am writing both styles. Picture is of style 2, I forgot to take picture of style 1.

Style 1 (Jeera chounk)
This one is the original method of cooking moong dal. In cooker, cook dal (add turmaric and salt) outcome should not be too thic or thin
In a wok (kadai) add Ghee give tadka of jeera, hing powder, add lal mirch powder ( be carefull, as soon as you add the mirchi powder add water or else it will get burnt) Then Add the dal. In the end add chopped dhaniya

Style 1(Pyaaz and tomato chounk)
In cooker, cook dal (add turmaric and salt) outcome should not be too thic or thin
In wok (kadai) add jeera,chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, thick chopped tomatoes, and the four out of five spices (dhaniya powder, mirchi powder, garm masala, salt, (no tarmaric since already added)).cook well and the finally add dal

Baigan ka bharta

Ingredients:

One big brinjal/egg plant roasted (should have little burnt flavour)
green peas (optional)
2 chopped onions
1 chopped tomatoes and crushed tomato
2 teaspoon ginder and garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon red chillie powder
1 teaspoon correinder powder (dhaniya)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
salt
1/4 teaspoon turmaric

Method

1. Heat oil in wok add some cumin seeds (tel mein thoda jeera dalo)
2. After the cumin seed starts to pop a little add the onions (jeera chat pat hone ke baad pyaaz dalo)
3. Stir for a min and add ginger garlic paste (thodi dermein garlic and adrak ka paste dalo)
4. Add turmaric, salt, red chiilie powder and Coriander powder (haldi,namak,mirchi powder,thoda dhaniya powder dalo.)
5. Now fry a little then add the tomatos (bhunne ke baad tomato paste dalo)
6. Finally add the roasted skinnless eggplant and fry (phir last mein baigan ka roasted pulp dalke fry karo.)
7. Add fresh cut Coriander leaves as garnish (last mein hara dhaniya)

Methi Mattar Mushroom Malai

This dish is a little modified than what you normally get in the restaurants. Ihave the added twist of also having mushrooms in it. One reason I tried out this dish was to impress my would be wife as it is one of here favourite dishes! It came out really well! I suggest you eat this with warm chapatis.


Ingredients:

• Green Peas - 2 cups
• Sliced Mushrooms - 1 cup
• Dry Fenugreek leaves (kasoori Methi) - 1/4 cup
• Fresh cream - 1/2 cup
• Cumin - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
• turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• salt - 1 tsp (to taste)
• ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Onions - 1 chopped

Method

Heat oil in a wok and add cumin. When it starts sputtering add the chopped onions. Fry the onions till they become translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry along with the onions for a minute before adding the coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala, red chilli powder and salt. Now add the mushroom and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the green peas, the dry fenugreek leaves and a cup of water and cook for 5 minutes covered on medium heat. Boil till you get a thick gravy. When it comes to a boil add the fresh cream and let it cook for another minute.

Aloo Gobi Mutor

Ingredients

Chopped potatoes
couliflower broken in tiny pieces
green peas
2 chopped onions
2 chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoon ginder and garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon red chillie powder
2 teaspoon correinder powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt
1/4 teaspoon turmaric

Method
Heat oil in wok, after few minutes when oil is hot add the chopped onions, and ginger garlic paste, stir it till light brown, then add two chooped tomatoes then add the spices - correinder powder, garam masala, turmaric, salt, red chillie powder and mix well.when its little cooked add the chopped potatoes cauliflower and add 1/2 glass of water(since no gravy)mix well and cover it with a lid .let it cook for few minutes stir occasionally. later add the green peas and cook little more. when the spies are well blended with the vegitables add fresh coriender leaves and its ready to serve

Rajma / Red kidney Bean Curry

I made one of my favorite north indian dish. This is actually my mom's receipe. when i was a kid i watched a movie Super Snooper (Terence Hill) a lot, here the hero loves the red bean curry.I wanted to be like him so i got hooked to this dish.

Ingredients:

boiled Rajma / red beans
chopped onions
crushed tomatoes
fresh corriender
fresh green chillies
ginder and garlic paste
red chillie powder
correinder powder
garam masala
salt
turmaric

Method:
Heat oil in wok, after few minutes when oil is hot add the chopped onions, and two teaspoon of ginger garlic paste, stir it till light brown, then add two small laddle full of crushed tomatoes then add the spices - correinder powder, garam masala, turmaric, salt, red chillie powder and mix well. when its little cooked add the red kidney beans add 1-2 glass of water mix well and let it cook well until the gravy is little thick and the spices goes inside rajma. add the correinder leaves as decoration on top

Eggplant in Onions and spices

This is one of my favourite dishes. I love the flavour of onions with eggplant. The cilantro also enhances the taste and smell of the dish. This is something one should have with rice and goes well with Sambar.


Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 Eggplant chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 onions, grated salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method:

Heat oil in a wok. Add the chopped eggplant. Saute on a open wok for 5 minutes.Add the salt and fry for another minute. Then cover your wok and let the eggplant cookand become soft. Once you know that the eggplant is soft, add the grated onions and fry the onions along with the eggplant. Add the red chilli powder and mix it in the eggplant and onions. In the end add the chopped cilantro and also mix it into the dish.

Sambar

Sambar is part of any major meal at home. We have it plain rice, dosa's, Idli's or wada's. I got this recipe from my mom.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow split peas (tuvar dal)
• 2 cups water
• 2 onions, sliced in big pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 3-4 dried red chilli
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 6-8 Fenugreek Seeds
• 2 tomatoes, sliced in big pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 green chilies, slit
• 1 carrot (optional, peeled and cubed)
• 2 drumsticks (optional)
• 5 okra, chopped (optional)
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 inch piece tamarind, soaked in a cup of hot water and extract juice
• 2 teaspoons sambhar powder (I use MTR sambar powder)
• salt to taste
• cilantro leaves (to garnish)

Method:

Boil the split peas in water till they are soft. Churn the peas with a spoon,and it should turn into a soup like consistancy (You can use a pressure cooker)

Heat the oil in a pot(I did it in a non stick pot). Once the oil is hotadd the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilli, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. After the mustard seeds start sputtering(make sure the cuminseeds dont burn) add the sliced onions and any optional vegetables you like. I like the okra, carrots and drumsticks in my sambar. Just saute for 2-3 minutes.

Now add 4-5 cups of water to the pot. Add the extracted tamarind juice, turmeric powder, salt, green chilies and tomatoes and bring it to a boil.

Once the pot comes to a boil add the boiled split peas. Keep on boilingfor 5 more minutes and then add the sambar powder.

After the sambar powder has been added boil for another 5 minutes add choppedcilantro leaves. Then boil for another 5 minutes or till the time the sambar comes to a nice soupy consistancy.

Pongaralu (Dosa)

Made my very first dosa, it came out well. The thing i was most excited about was it did not break, it was crispy and tasty, how cool is that!

Ingredients (in hindi) were:

3 kadchi rice powder
1 kadchi udad powder
Cumin seeds / jeera half
teaspoon
salt
dry Red chilie powder /lal mirchi powder
Asafoetida
powder 1 pinch / hing ek chutki bhari
Fresh green chillies / hari mirchi
Cilantro / Hara Dhania

kadchi = Ladle

Method:

Mix all the Ingredients in water till the batter is very thin. There is no perfect measurement of water, only thing to keep in mind is that the batter be thin with a little hint of viscosity.

Now take a flat iron wok(tava) place it on stove and heat it, then add some oil and spread by brush. take 2 kadchi/ladle of liquid bater and pour on the wok, don't flaten it with any other utensil, pour it in such a way that it should cover all the wok and it should be flat.after that add few drops of oil on the edges. then wait for a min or two until you feel that its cooking well.

Loosen the edges of the dosa with a metal spatula. Use the spatula to turn it then again after a min or two its ready to serve.

Just remember, the more falt you pour dosa it comes out more crispy, ofcourse oil helps too :)