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Baingan Bharta

Ingredients:

Aubergine
Onion
Tomatoes
Garlic
Green Chilli
Red Chilli Powder
Oil
Coriander Leaves
salt

Cooking Instructions:

Rinse the baingan (eggplant or aubergine) in water. Pat dry with a kitchen napkin. Apply some oil all over and keep it for roasting on an open flame. You can also grill the baingan or roast in the oven. But then you won't get the smoky flavor of the baingan. Keep the eggplant turning after a 2 to 3 minutes on the flame, so that its evenly cooked. You could also embed some garlic cloves in the baingan and then roast it. 2. Roast the aubergine till its completely cooked and tender. With a knife check the doneness. The knife should slid easily in aubergines without any resistance. Remove the baingan and immerse in a bowl of water till it cools down. 3. You can also do the dhungar technique of infusing charcoal smoky flavor in the baingan. This is an optional step. Use natural charcoal for this method. Heat a small piece of charcoal on flame till it becomes smoking hot and red. 4. Make small cuts on the baingan with a knife. Place the red hot charcoal in the same plate where the roasted aubergine is kept. Add a few drops of oil on the charcoal. The charcoal would begin to smoke. 5. As soon as smoke begins to release from the charcoal, cover the entire plate tightly with a large bowl. Allow the charcoal smoke to get infused for 1 to 2 minutes. The more you do, the more smoky the baingan bharta will become. I just keep for a minute. Alternatively, you can also do this dhungar method once the baingan bharta is cooked, just like the way we do for Dal Tadka. 6. Peel the skin from the roasted and smoked eggplant. 7. Chop the cooked eggplant finely or you can even mash it. 8. In a kadai or pan, heat oil. Then add finely chopped onions and garlic. 9. Saute the onions till translucent. Don't brown them. 10. Add chopped green chilies and saute for a minute. 11. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix it well. 12. Bhuno (saute) the tomatoes till the oil starts separating from the mixture. 13. Now add the red chili powder. Stir and mix well. 14. Add the chopped cooked baingan. 15. Stir and mix the chopped baingan very well with the oniontomato masala mixture. 16. Season with salt. Stir and saute for some more 4 to 5 minutes more. 17. Finally stir in the coriander leaves with the baingan bharta or garnish it with them. Serve Baingan Bharta with phulkas, rotis or chapatis. It goes well even with bread, toasted or grilled bread and plain rice or jeera rice.

Bread omelette

Ingredients:

Bread
Egg
Salt

Cooking Instructions:

Make and enjoy

Chicken Handi

Ingredients:

Chicken
Onion
Tomatoes
Garlic
Ginger paste
Vegetable oil
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Green chilli
Yogurt
Cream
fenugreek
Garam masala
Salt

Cooking Instructions:

Take a large pot or wok, big enough to cook all the chicken, and heat the oil in it. Once the oil is hot, add sliced onion and fry them until deep golden brown. Then take them out on a plate and set aside. To the same pot, add the chopped garlic and sauté for a minute. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes turn soft. This would take about 5 minutes. Then return the fried onion to the pot and stir. Add ginger paste and sauté well. Now add the cumin seeds, half of the coriander seeds and chopped green chillies. Give them a quick stir. Next goes in the spices – turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Sauté the spices well for couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the wok, season it with salt to taste and cook the chicken covered on medium-low heat until the chicken is almost cooked through. This would take about 15 minutes. Slowly sautéing the chicken will enhance the flavor, so do not expedite this step by putting it on high heat. When the oil separates from the spices, add the beaten yogurt keeping the heat on lowest so that the yogurt doesn’t split. Sprinkle the remaining coriander seeds and add half of the dried fenugreek leaves. Mix well. Finally add the cream and give a final mix to combine everything well. Sprinkle the remaining kasuri methi and garam masala and serve the chicken handi hot with naan or rotis. Enjoy!

Dal fry

Ingredients:

Toor dal
Water
Salt
Turmeric
Ghee
Chopped tomatoes
Cumin seeds
Mustard Seeds
Bay Leaf
Green Chilli
Ginger
Cilantro
Red Pepper
Salt
Sugar
Garam Masala

Cooking Instructions:

Wash and soak toor dal in approx. 3 cups of water, for at least one hours. Dal will be double in volume after soaking. Drain the water. Cook dal with 2-1/2 cups water and add salt, turmeric, on medium high heat, until soft in texture (approximately 30 mins) it should be like thick soup. In a frying pan, heat the ghee. Add cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. After the seeds crack, add bay leaves, green chili, ginger and chili powder. Stir for a few seconds. Add tomatoes, salt and sugar stir and cook until tomatoes are tender and mushy. Add cilantro and garam masala cook for about one minute. Pour the seasoning over dal mix it well and cook for another minute. Serve with Naan.

Kidney Bean Curry

Ingredients:

Vegetable Oil
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Coriander
Cumin
Paprika
Garam Masala
Chopped Tomatoes
Kidney Beans
Basmati Rice

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to colour. Add the garlic, ginger and coriander stalks and cook for a further 2 mins, until fragrant. Add the spices to the pan and cook for another 1 min, by which point everything should smell aromatic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans in their water, then bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 mins until the curry is nice and thick. Season to taste, then serve with the basmati rice and the coriander leaves.

Lamb Biryani

Ingredients:

Cashew nuts
Khus khus
Cumin seeds
Onions
Ginger garlic paste
Garlic
Mint
Cilantro
Saffron
Ghee
Basmati rice
Full fat yogurt
Cumin Seeds
Bay leaf
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom
Lamb
Red Chilli powder
Biryani masala

Cooking Instructions:

Grind the cashew, poppy seeds and cumin seeds into a smooth paste, using as little water as possible. Set aside. Deep fry the sliced onions when it is hot. Don’t overcrowd the oil. When the onions turn light brown, remove from oil and drain on paper towel. The fried onion will crisp up as it drains. Also fry the cashewnuts till golden brown. Set aside. Wash the rice and soak in water for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, take a big wide pan, add oil in medium heat, add the sliced onions, add the blended paste, to it add the green chillies, ginger garlic paste and garlic and fry for a minute. Then add the tomatoes and sauté them well till they are cooked and not mushy. Then to it add the red chilli powder, biryani powder, mint, coriander leaves and sauté them well. Add the yogurt and mix well. I always move the skillet away from the heat when adding yogurt which prevents it from curdling. Now after returning the skillet back to the stove, add the washed lamb and salt and ½ cup water and mix well. Cook for 1 hour and cook it covered in medium low heat or put it in a pressure cooker for 6 whistles. If the water is not drained totally, heat it by keeping it open. Take another big pan, add thrice the cup of rice you use, and boil it. When it is boiling high, add the rice, salt and jeera and mix well. After 7 minutes exact or when the rice is 80% done. Switch off and drain the rice. Now, the layering starts. To the lamb, pat and level it. Add the drained hot rice on the top of it. Garnish with fried onions, ghee, mint, coriander leaves and saffron dissolved in milk. Cover the dish and bake in a 350f oven for 15 minutes or till the cooked but not mushy. Or cook in the stove medium heat for 12 minutes and lowest heat for 5 minutes. And switch off. Mix and serve hot! Notes 1. If you are cooking in oven, do make sure to cook in a big oven safe pan and cover it tight and then keep in oven for the final step. 2. You can skip biryani masala if you don’t have and add just garam masala (1 tsp and red chilli powder – 3 tsp instead of 1 tsp) 3. If it is spicy in the end, squeeze some lemon, it will reduce the heat and enhance the flavors also.