A Girl's Diary..: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Brinjal Cashew Curry

A sour brinjal curry. It tastes best with hot rice. I have used cashew here, but one can also use peanut instead of cashew. When you will cook it , the aroma in itself is so irresistible!! A real competition for the non-veg curries.

Ingredients :

1. Black brinjal (cut into cube)- 1 cup
2. Salt to taste
3. Cashew- 1/2 cup
4. Onion- 1 large
5. Tomato- 1
6. Coriander seed- 1 tsp
7. Curry leaf- 7 to 8
8. Green chilly- 1
9. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
11. Red chilly powder- 3/4 tsp
12. Tamarind paste- 1 tbs
13. Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp
14. Garlic paste- 1 tsp
15. Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
16. Oil

Procedure :

Finely chop the onion. Heat 3 large tbs oil in a kadhayi. Let the oil be a little hot. Add the chopped onion and fry them on medium heat. Meanwhile, chop the tomato and keep aside. Dry roast the cashew until they turn brownish and a nice roasted smell comes off. Be careful as the cashews tend to get burnt easily. Now blend the cashew and tomato together. The paste must be a smooth one. Do not add much water as it will destroy the consistency of the gravy. When the onions turn brownish, add the chopped green chilly , coriander seed , ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Fry them until the curry leaves turn dark. When the onion is dark brown, add the cashew paste to it. Put some more oil if needed. Fry the paste with the onion over low flame. Add turmeric , cumin powder , chilly powder and coriander powder. Mix well and fry the masala. Add water when the cashew paste starts sticking to the base. Add the tamarind paste and brinjal. Mix well. Add more water if needed. Adjust salt level. Cook the kadhayi over low flame and cover it. Cook until the brinjal is done and the gravy reaches a semi thick consistency.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Banana and Almond Muffin

I have always had a fascination towards baking. Recently I made my first baking attempt. And it was a banana- almond muffin recipe. The recipe was super hit and I was super excited!! I loved the combination of the two. Hope my baking success will continue after this.

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour (maida)- 1 cup
2. Salt- 1/4 tsp
3. Sugar- little less than 1/2 cup
4. Baking powder- 1 tsp
5. Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
6. Chopped almond- 2 tbs
7. Banana- 2
8. Curd- 1/2 cup
9. Oil- 1/2 cup
10. Egg- 1
11. Vanilla essence- 1 tsp

Procedure:

Pre heat your oven on 350 degree F (pre heating an oven helps the oven to reach to the desired temperature from all side, the timing of pre heating vary from oven to oven. In my oven it takes 6 minutes. Just select "Bake" option and select the desired temperature, press start, it will automatically stop after pre heating and there will be a sound).

In a large mixing bowl add maida , sugar , baking powder , salt and baking soda. Mix everything well. Now add the chopped almond and mix.

In another bowl whisk the egg properly. Add the curd , oil and vanilla. Whisk it well. Mash the bananas properly. For a great taste you should use ripe bananas, the one with brown spots on the skin. Those bananas are really sweet and they add a nice aroma and flavor to the muffins. Now add the maida mixture slowly to the egg mixture. Mix everything with the help of a spatula. Do not over mix. Just moisten the dry ingredients. Place muffin papers in your muffin pan and fill each cup up to two third of height.

Now place the muffin pan inside the oven and bake it for 25 minutes (as it took in my case). After finishing insert a tooth pick to check whether it is properly done from inside or not. If the tooth pick comes out clean, its done. Keep it inside for a minute or two as it helps in attending the nice brown tinge. Take it out after that and cool the muffins. Your delicious Banana - almond muffins are ready.

Sending this to the event Banana recipe by Sameena and Sweet Luv by Vardhini.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Goan Fish Curry

This Goan fish curry is a lovely mix of sweetness of coconut and the sourness of tamarind. Here I never marinate the fish before to retain the original fish flavor in my dish. The rich thick gravy with the soft and juicy fish is an awesome combination with rice.

Ingredients :

1. Fish fillet- 4
2. Salt to taste
3. Onion (chopped)- 1 cup
4. Tomato (chopped)- 1/2 cup
5. Coriander seed- 1/2 tsp
6. Clove- 2
7. Cinnamon-1
8. Bay leaf- 1
9. Red chilly powder- 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
11. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
12. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
13. Oil
14. Tamarind paste- 1 large tbs
15. Garlic clove- 2
16. Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
17. Scraped sweet coconut- 3/4 cup

Procedure:

Heat 2 large tbs oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion, ground coriander seed, cloves,cinnamon and bay leaf. Fry the onion over medium flame until the onion turns light brown. Add the chopped tomato and garlic. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes until the tomato is mashed. Turn off the heat and keep the mixture aside to cool down. Make a smooth paste of the mixture removing the bay leaf, clove and cinnamon. Heat 1 tbs oil in the pan and add the removed cinnamon,clove,bay leaf, ginger-garlic paste and the onion paste. Keep frying them and add cumin powder,chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder and fry the paste until a nice aroma of fried masala comes out. Add the sweetened scraped coconut and some water. Adjust the salt level and keep cooking. Add the tamarind paste and mix well. When the gravy thickens a little, add the fish fillets and cover the pan. Cook over low flame until the fish is done. It takes hardly 4 to 5 minutes. Keep the fish soft and juicy, don't over do it. Your sweet and sour Goan fish curry is ready.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Ukha soup ( A Light Fish Soup)

Ukha soup is a light fish soup. It is very healthy and refreshing. This soup can be prepared with any of your choice of vegetable. I have used my own ingredients in such a way that it gives a nice twist of flavor to my soup. And this is my desi Ukha soup.

Ingredients :

1. Fish fillet- 3
2. Onion- 1
3. Salt to taste
4. Black pepper powder- 3/4 tsp
5. Olive oil- 1 tsp
6. Bay leaf- 2
7. Spring onion- 2 large tbs
8. Carrot- 1
9. Garlic clove- 3
10. Clove- 2
11. Cinnamon- 1
12. Potato- 1
13. Sweet corn- 2 tbs
14. Vinegar- 1 tbs

Procedure :

First heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf. Let them fry until the bay leaf leaves a nice aroma. Add one fish fillet to the oil and fry for a few seconds. Add 2 cups of water and the chopped garlic, sweet corn, spring onion, carrot. Break the fish fillet that has already been added. Peel the onion and prick it with a fork and add it to the pan. Add salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook it on high till the water starts boiling. Add the potatoes and cover again. Cook until the potatoes are done. Add 1 tbs vinegar and adjust salt level. Add the remaining fish fillets and cook the pan covered for 3 to 4 minutes.Do not over cook the fish.

When it is done, take the soup in a bowl. Throw away the bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and onion. Place one slice of lemon on top of it. and sprinkle some more pepper powder.