Recipe : Ragi Idlis (Vegan)

I don’t remember the last time I made an overnight fermented batch of idlis from scratch (easy availability of ready made idli batter in most cities I've lived in or my instant rava idlis with sour curd recipe were the culprits 😁)

Totally inspired by Deepa (Paticheri)'s session at last weekends Desi Cultures workshop, I decided to make idlis from scratch.

 

I'd bought powdered ragi at the start of the lockdown and I knew I wanted to make idlis with ragi, rather than just rice to make it slightly more nutritious.

Using idli rava and ragi powder, helped shorten the process slightly. 

Ingredients:

1 cup urad dhal (split and skinned black gram)

1 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)

1 cup ragi powder / ragi hittu / ragi flour

1 cup idli rava (this is ground idli rice)

Water to balance

Salt to taste

 

Method :

Soak the urad dhal & the methi seeds for  2 - 4 hours.

Grind smooth with a little water as necessary.

Transfer the ground urad dhal to a large vessel (10-12 cups volume)

Gently fold in the ragi flour and the idli rawa to the ground urad dhal.

Add water as necessary to get a thick idli batter.

 

Leave to ferment and rise for 8 hours / overnight.

 

Add salt to taste and give a gentle stir (I know some people add salt before fermenting, my nana always added salt just before cooking, so thats how I do it now)

Prepare your idli steamer (stove top or microwave)

Pour the batter into greased idli moulds (75% full) and steam until done.

It took me 5 minutes in my microwave steamer of 12 idlis at a time. The time is dependent on your steaming mechanism and how deep each idli mould is.

This quantity of batter gave me 36 medium idlis.

Take the idlis out of the moulds.

Serve hot with sambhar and chutney.

Today I served the idlis with spicy sambhar, Bangalore thela style green coconut chutney, Andhra style peanut chutney, a bit of chutney pudi in sesame oil.

 

Tips :

It’s been super cold here 3C in Joburg, but my friend Ajit Iyer & @paticheri’s tip to leave the maavu/batter in the oven with the pilot light on totally worked like a charm. 

Deepa's other suggestion, was to leave it on top of the fridge, but my fridge does not get warm on the top (rather on the rear)

Kim's Tips:

The batter is going to rise a lot, so when leaving it to ferment, put it in a vessel where it fills around half the volume.

Keep that vessel on a deep plate or bowl to catch any spills (especially if you are leaving to ferment overnight, inside your oven or on top of your fridge - it will save you valuable time if the batter overflows)

Work Backwards on timings. 

- If you want idlis for breakfast, you want to grind & mix everything just before you close the kitchen for the night. So soak the dhal around tea time.

- if you want idlis for dinner, then soak the dhal as soon as you wake up and give the batter at least 8 hours to fernent before you need to cook it for dinner.

 

Leftovers :

Leftover idlis work well later in the day, just give them a mild steam or sprinkle water and warm in a microwave.

Turn idlis into Masala Idlis.

Warm ghee, put some chutney powder in it and fry quartered idlis in it.

If batter remains and turns a bit sour, you can make ragi dosas from that batter or appes.

Fridge Cleanout : Chicken and Mushroom Pasta with Arctic Thyme (Vegan option)

In winter, it feels like our tastebuds are a bit frozen and sluggish, so the 2 of us need more intense flavours than we need in summer. Not necessarily spicier, but just more robust.

The food we ordered in last week from Norma & Vilma Caterers was fantastic, but the flavours in the Aji De Galina - chicken casserole - were a bit too mild for us in this weather.

I had ordered 2 plates of this, so I had quite a large quantity. I knew the flavours and texture would go very well with pasta.

Since I did not want to “mask” / “override” the original flavours, I just sautéed 3 cloves of garlic, and a mix of fresh Shiitake and oyster mushrooms with a smidgen of coarsely ground pepper, a large pinch of Arctic Thyme and 2 tsps sunflower seeds for crunch.

Put in about 20-30gms of cheese bits and ends lying in the fridge that were drying out and a soup cube dissolved in 1 cup of hot water.

Now added the chicken casserole to the pan and warmed it up gently.

When hot, I added 250 gms of cooked whole wheat pasta and gave it a quick stir. Sprinkled some arctic thyme that I think Aunty Sujata gifted me from her Iceland trip and served hot. So delicious.

For a veggie/vegan version, consider using a creamy mushroom soup or a sweet corn soup instead of a chicken casserole.

Using a tinned soup and adding some herbs and fresh veggies is a quick fix to making a pasta sauce.

Kim's Tips on Leftovers :

Sometimes when we order in from a new restaurant or a new cuisine, we may find that their balance of flavours doesn’t suit us.

My nana taught me her hard learned lessons in frugality. Never throw away anything that is usable / consumable, instead adjust, tinker, add flavour etc to suit yourself.

*Too salty, add boiled potatoes.

*Too spicy, add yoghurt / coconut milk depending on the base.

*Too plain, add herbs.

*Meat is too tender, turn into kebabs/ cutlets/samosa stuffing.

It’s not too difficult to tweak a cooked dish to give a completely new flavour profile at the next meal and #LoveYourLeftovers

We often have  leftover bits of cheese in the fridge that get dried out, before they are consumed or bits and ends that don't look pretty or don't fit in a sandwich. Pop all those bits and bobs into a pasta sauce for a bit more creaminess.

Recipe : Sheviyo Upma / Multigrain Vermicelli Upma - Vegan

I found a packet of dried multigrain vermicelli at the Indian store on our last trip. I had thought that I’d just steam it and serve it like sheviyos/idiyappam with coconut curry. But after the khao swey last week, this idea wasn’t as exciting and felt repetitive.

I remembered a dish that nana would make with leftover sheviyos and tried to recreate it. Not bad at all.

Ingredients:

200gms pack of multigrain or ragi vermicelli

1 tsp oil (coconut oil preferred, but any neutral oil works)

1 tbsp split channa dhal

2 tbsp split urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

2 dried red chillies - broken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut

1-3 chopped green chillies for taste

Salt to taste

A squeeze of lime

Sugar - optional

Method :

Multigrain or ragi vermicelli is different from regular maida vermicelli and needs slightly different treatment.

If you packet comes with instructions, follow those.

If it doesn't have instructions, soak the multigrain or ragi vermicelli in warm to hot (not boiling water for precisely 3 minutes.

Don't leave it too long, it will start to dissolve.

Now drain the multigrain / ragi vermicelli and steam for 5-6 minutes either in a steamer or in a covered bowl in the microwave

If using, leftover sheviyos/idiyappam, they can be given a light steam only if they have begun to dry out too much, they don't need soaking

Take a wide bottom vessel, heat it and add the oil.

To this add channa and urad dhal and let them crisp up (not burn)

Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves and the dried red chilli.

When they splutter, add the coconut and stir fry for a bit, to your level of doneness 30sec - 4 minutes.

To this add the steamed vermicelli and stir fry. If it is too dry, add little splashes of water at a time.

Add chopped green chillies and salt to taste.

Mix well and take it off the heat. The vermicelli does not cook for more than 2 minutes.

Squeeze a bit of lemon on top.

Serving Options :

* a sprinkling of sugar

* a coconut chutney

* a salty mango pickle with a bit of coconut oil

Recipe : Peach Sheera / Sooji Halwa / Rava Halwa / Sweet Upma / Semolina Pudding - (Vegan option)

Sooji halwa in Mangalore and around is called sheera.

Pineapple sheera / pineapple kesari / kesari bath  is the most common variant of this dish and Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore used to make an excellent version.  However in the recent season, mango sheera has been all over my social media feeds.

Friends and family know my aversion to fruits. The smell of most fruits makes me nauseous.

However, I do enjoy a few types of fruits and I do love a very select few. Preserved peaches are not really fresh fruit, but I Love them.

I found this brand called Brenda’s here in Johannesburg that are organic and low on added sugar that I really love, so I pick up a couple of jars each time.

This time instead of adding sugar to the sheera, I used the sweetness of the raisins and peaches with a little canning liquid.

I'm first going to give you the recipe of regular sheera, that is often served as breakfast or tiffin in Mangalore / Udupi. One of my uncles, loves pairing it with pooris for a more filling start to the day. Our Manglorean version of Poori + Shrikhand I guess.

Mum often gave us this for breakfast before heading off to school

Ingredients :

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp raisins - (optional)

1 tbsp broken cashewnuts - (optional)

1 cup fine sooji / Bombay rava / semolina

2 cups milk (or water or a mix of the 2 - the more milk, the richer the taste)

1/2 cup sugar

Method :

Soak raisins in a little water to rehydrate.

Heat your liquid component - milk / water / milk + water to boiling hot.

In a large pan or kadhai, heat the ghee.

Toast the nuts to golden brown if using and remove from the pan.

Roast the soji / rava / semolina on a medium flame until lightly browned.

Now add the raisins if using.

Add the boiling liquid and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

When it smells cooked and starts to come together, add the sugar and mix well.

When it starts to dry, turn off the heat, add cashewnuts and serve hot.

You can also set it on a greased plate and cut shapes when cooled and serve it at room temperature.

Variations & Tips :

You can add 2 pinches of cardamom powder / cinnamon powder / nutmeg powder at the end, for a more fragrant version.

Since the liquid in preserved fruit always seems to get leftover, instead of 2 cups milk + 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/2 cup canning liquid and 1.5 cup milk.

I think the original recipe would call for about 1 cup sugar, that's way too much for us and I have found that 1/2 cup works well. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.

If you are making a fruit version, then remember to account for the sweetness of the fruit.

Fruit Versions - Pineapple kesari / Mango sheera/ Peach sheera ...

For the above quantities, use 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit chopped fine (or even pulped if you want a super smooth version)

If you are using an acidic /sour fruit like pineapple, then the liquid is only water, no milk.

Fruits that are traditionally added are bananas or pineapple, but you can use mangoes, peaches or any other fruit that you have on hand.

The fruit is added AFTER you turn off the gas, as it really doesn't need to cook. It will just be gently warmed in the residual heat of the halwa / sheera.

A Note on Udupi Tiffin Rooms Menus:

Pineapple sheera is called kesari bath - the kesar (saffron) colour often coming from turmeric rather than the more expensive herb.

Kesari bath could also be just a yellow coloured sheera without pineapple - but definitely sweet.

Upma is referred to as khara bath (salty)

So if you see a dish called chow chow bath on the menu, it means one serving of sweet sheera and one serving of salty upma.

Recipe : Manglorean Burmese Khow Suey / Ohn No Khao Swe (Vegan Option)

Many many years ago, I posted an alternative recipe for Khow Suey and I promised to share my regular recipe too. It's only taken me 10 years to post this! 🤦

Khow Suey is a Burmese noodle soup with coconut milk which I have accompanied with Burmese split pea crackers (channa dhal) among other toppings.

I’m not sure how “authentic” my recipe is, given that I broadly follow one from the Manglorean Ladies Club Cookery Book that is over 25 years old. (My copy is the 5th edition in 1988, but the first edition was in 1978) So I suspect that this may be heavily modified - Russian Salad anyone?

But we love the flavours, so I continue to make it this way. The curry is very yum and can also be eaten with Rice or rotis, especially if you have leftovers.

While I make this curry with chicken, you can use boiled eggs, potatoes, veggies of your choice, tofu, or rehydrated beans, thus making this dish vegetarian or vegan as per your choice.

Ingredients :

750 gms boneless chicken - clean & cut into tikka size cubes

1/2 kg onions

2" ginger cleaned

1 pod garlic cleaned

20 long dry red chillies destemmed

1 tbsp fresh ground turmeric or 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 can coconut milk (or milk of 1 coconut)

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

4 - 6 nests Egg noodles - cooked as per instructions on packet

Method:

Grind together half the onions (250 gms), ginger, garlic, red chillies.

In a pan, heat some oil.

Add the other half of the onions and fry till opaque.

Add turmeric and fry for a minute or so, until the raw smell goes away.

Now, add the ground masala and fry on a medium flame till cooked and the oil seperates. You can add masala water (water got from rinsing your grinder jar) or thin coconut milk to maintain moisture as you are cooking.

When the masala is cooked, add chicken (or veggies / tofu) and cook till tender.

Now add the coconut milk (medium flame) and cook till it boils. If you want to add any veggies that just need a bit of a steam, add them now.

I added 200 gms sugar snap peas and 200 gms mangetout.

Turn off the flame.

Serve noodles and curry separately with an array of toppings, so everyone can assemble their own.

Toppings Ideas:

Fried noodles

Lime wedges,

Fried onion

Chilli flakes

Fresh coriander

Fried garlic

Boiled eggs

Green chillies

Fresh onion

Pe kyaw

Roasted peanuts

Fridge Cleanout : Bread & Butter Pudding

Homemade bread and butter pudding.

I made it to finish a whole lot of leftovers.

Husband messaged me this morning to say that when he returned tomorrow, he wanted to do one carb dinner @gopalscorner before going back on no carb, no sugar.

When I’d ordered home delivery from @romulocafelondon last Friday, I’d got some of their fantastic pandesan, but barely touched it.

It had dried out over the weekend and I was ready to get rid of it, but when he said another 48 hours of eat anything before going back on diet, I decided to make this pudding.

Greased a baking dish.

Sliced the pandesan buns in half to thin them out.

Slathered some pandan kaya (a coconut milk, egg and pandan/kewra flavoured spread) This was a bottle of really yummy stuff a friend got me from South East Asia, but I’m not a bread and jam or toast and marmalade eater and it was languishing at the back of a cupboard.

You can use butter or marmalade or any jam you like.

I had some dried cranberries and let them soak in water as I prepped the other components.

I didn’t have milk, but when @anu.hasan.uk was here last month, she had got some coffee mate which was also in the cupboard.

When @spiceupthekari visited Venice for her friends wedding last year, one of the takeaway gifts was a small jar of apple chutney / jam made by his nonna.

So I made the custard of this apple chutney, coffeemate, water, 4 eggs and cinnamon to taste. I didn’t add any sugar, because there was enough sweetness from the pandan kaya, apple chutney and coffee mate.

Layer the bread slices, sprinkle some dried fruit and nut, pour the custard to soak the bread. Repeat till all the bread has been arranged and soaked in the custard.

The recipe has to use slightly stale and hard bread, otherwise you will end up with a soggy mess. Let the bread soak in the custard for at least 20-30 minutes. I left it for an hour.

Just before popping it into the oven, I put the top layer of nuts and a few slivers of dehydrated coconut.

Bake at 180C for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Fridge Cleanout : Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom Miso Soup with Thai herbs.

Another clean out the fridge recipe.

I had a frozen bouquet garni of thai herbs (lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime & chillies) which I crushed & boiled in water.

Remove the herbs/ strain.

Then in went some chopped bamboo shoot from the back of the fridge.

Next, in went whatever was left in the miso paste jar.

The final stage was chopped chestnut mushrooms (that I’d retained from Sunday’s fryup, just for this soup) and emptied out some New Orleans’s hot sauce bottles.

Garnished with chopped coriander .

Voila! Fusion Asian Soup for a snowy evening in London.

Recipe : Indian Style Spicy Scotch Eggs - Nargisi Kofta

Scotch Eggs are a great way of using up leftover mince and they are very yummy too. I don't have any post-frying pictures, as they disappeared so quickly!

These ones were made with leftover low fat pork mince

I made this minced meat recipe of mine without the tomatoes or the peas. But you can use any recipe you like.

Take the leftover mince and potatoes and grind it in the food processor (add water if it isn't grinding & then later slow cook on a low flame to dry it out to the right consistency)

Add fresh coriander leaves and fresh chilli chopped.

You can fry these as it is for cutlets.
Deep fry them as meat balls and use in your favourite pasta sauce or Indian curry.

But to make Nargisi Koftas:

Boil eggs, cool, peel and dry completely before encasing it in the mince.

I sliced the eggs in half before covering with mince, but you can make them whole and slice before serving if you prefer

Dip in beaten egg & coat with rawa/semolina (optional - makes it crispy) and fry on a low flame with a little oil (they can also be deep fried)

I make this with beef, chicken or lean pork mince.

They get gobbled up so quickly.

You can even stuff them in burger buns or pita breads for a more filling meal.

Recipe : Chinese Chicken Sweet Corn Soup

Chicken, pork & sweet corn soup kind of day, today.

The basic recipe is from Gousto Cooking, but I added some chillies, extra ginger & garlic, lemon juice and leftover pork stock & some pork pate that was a little too chunky & gamey to use on toast.

The recipe below, builds on Gousto's recipe with the additions that I would use for myself.

For a vegan/vegetarian version, drop the chicken or substitute it with mushrooms/tofu and replace the chicken stock cube with a vegetarian stock cube.

The noodles make this a one pot meal. If you just want a plain light soup without the carbs, drop the noodles

This recipe makes 2 bowls of soup.

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast or 2 thighs - boneless

4 cloves garlic - peel and finely chop (or grate)

15g or 2" ginger - peel and finely chop (or grate)

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (optional)
1 tbsp soy sauce (2 sachets)
1 chicken stock cube
2 wheat noodle nests
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tin (150g) of sweetcorn or frozen

good squeeze of lemon juice

10g (3.5 tsp) sesame seeds toasted
2 spring onions finely sliced
10g (3-4 stalks + leaves) fresh coriander chopped

2 - 5 green chillies chopped fine

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 

vegetable oil - sunflower/canola

salt to taste

a kettle on the boil

Method:

Dissolve the chicken stock cube in 600ml boiled water – this is your chicken stock

Put the cornflour in a bowl and gradually stir in 100ml boiled water, then whisk to a smooth paste
Tip: the cornflour and water paste will help thicken your soup!

Put the wheat noodle nests with a pinch of salt in a pot and cover them with boiled water until they're fully submerged
Bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 5-7 min until tender with a slight bite
Once done, drain and return to the pot with a drizzle of vegetable oil (this stops them sticking together)

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a matching lid, with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a high heat

Once hot, add the chicken breast and cook on both sides for 3 min or until lightly browned (don't worry it won't be fully cooked yet!)

Add both the chopped garlic and chopped ginger to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 1 min

Add the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and chicken stock, cover with a lid, and cook for 12-15 min until the chicken is cooked

Once done, transfer the cooked chicken from the broth to a clean board and shred it apart, using two forks – this technique is known as ‘pulling’

Drain the sweetcorn

Keep the pan of broth over a high heat and gradually whisk the cornflour paste into the broth until it's silky smooth and thickened

Add the shredded chicken back to the broth along with the sweetcorn and cook for 2 min or until hot – this is your chicken & sweetcorn soup

Divide the drained noodles among large bowls and ladle over the chicken & sweetcorn soup

Give a good squeeze of lemon juice over each bowl

Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds, sliced spring onion, chopped green chillies, coriander leaves and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Recipe : Roasted Pumpkin (Vegan)

When we visited Canada a couple of years ago for a cousins wedding, we had a BBQ at U Ossie & Aunty Aureen's house and one of my (many, many) aunts - Belinda (who hates being called "Aunty" by me cause it makes her feel "old" LOL) roasted some butternut squash which was amazingly tasty.

Seeing that we don't get a variety of squashes in India, I hadn't had the opportunity to try making this myself. Today though, I saw some lovely red baby pumpkins in the market and remembering this recipe, I picked one up.

Sadly for me, the pumpkin wasn't ripe enough, so the end product was missing the sweetness, but I think the flavours worked very well and I will ask for help to select a ripe pumpkin next time and retry this recipe.

I could have added some brown sugar to this while baking, but this week is diet week and sugar and sweeteners are off the menu.

Its quite easy to assemble and takes about 10 minutes to prep (depending on the size of your pumpkin) and then another 45 minutes in the oven that you can use to prepare the rest of your meal or just have a bath or a glass of wine while the pumpkin is roasting.

Ingredients :
1/2 kg ripe pumpkin or Squash
6-8 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (you can also use all spice)
1 tsp chilli flakes
sea salt to taste
1/2 tsp of olive oil

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180C / 355F.
Clean and chop the pumpkin (you can retain the separated seeds for roasting)
Place the pumpkin pieces in an ovenproof bowl
Add the chopped garlic, cinnamon powder, chilli flakes, sea salt and olive oil.

Toss or stir till it is all well combined.
I used my hands and gave all the pieces a light massage with the spices.
If you feel the pumpkin isn't sweet enough, add a bit of brown sugar too.

Roast in the oven for 30-55 minutes.
(if you have cut your pumpkin into chunks, it will take closer to 55minutes, if you have sliced it fine, it should be done in around 30 minutes - ripeness of the pumpkin is also a factor in how long it will take to cook)
Serve hot

Kim's Tips for Leftovers :
While, I was roasting the pumpkin in the microwave, I placed the seeds in an ovenproof glass lid and slid it under the wire rack on which the pumpkin dish was placed. The roasted seeds can be lightly seasoned and eaten as a healthy snack or tossed into salads where they provide fibre and crunch.

If you don't feel like eating leftover roasted pumpkin for a second meal, give the pumpkin a whiz in the food processor until finely blended. Add some chicken or vegetable stock (till you get your desired consistency) and bring to a boil with some fresh herbs and cream to garnish.

You can even mix the roasted pumpkin pieces into a green leafy salad for an alternate texture and a sweet flavour that goes well with bitter leaves.

Kim's Tips:
While I piled all the pumpkin into one dish (given the limited size of my microwave oven), the better spaced the pumpkin pieces are, the better will be the caramelisation of the pumpkin.

The skin adds fiber to the dish, but you can remove it if you prefer.

This post is also being submitted for Round 2 of the Indiblogger & Borosil #BeautifulFood Competition

Recipe : Masala Idli (Vegan)

This recipe is a great way to finish leftover idlis or rava idlis. Rava Idlis normally have chillies, peas, seasoning and some other vegetables in them. If you are using plain idlis, you may want to use more masala and spice for more flavour.

The husband prefers to have the idlis nicely crisped up in this dish. But if your rava idlis have dried up with the temperature/ weather/ refrigeration - you can crumble them up totally and turn it into a masala upma.

Quantities would depend on the size of the idlis that you have made and the flavouring (if any) that you have used, so feel free to adjust measurements as you see fit.

Ingredients:
8 rava idlis (small microwave sized) quartered
1 tsp oil / ghee
pinch of fresh jeera
pinch of fresh methi
pinch of fresh mustard
1 dried red chilli
1 sprig clean curry leaves
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 medium tomato chopped fine
1" ginger grated
2-3 green chillies chopped fine to taste
Chopped coriander for garnish
2-3 tsps of your favourite chutney pudi / gun powder (optional)

Method:
Heat a wide pan, and add the oil.
When the oil is hot, season with methi, jeera and mustard seeds.
Add the chutney pudi if using, before it can brown add the crushed red chilli and curry leaves.
Now add the onions and fry till semi transparent.
Add the tomatoes, ginger and green chilli and fry till cooked.
Now add the quartered idlis and fry till done.
Serve hot garnished with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Kim's Tip:
If you have too many idlis and the pan isn't wide enough or your idlis are too soft or too dry, it will turn to upma.

Recipe : Stovetop Chicken and Mushrooms (Bonus : Sausage Pulao from leftovers)

I marinated the chicken for this dish, the night before and cooked it for lunch the following day. I used a lot of ingredients I had lying around like the pickled peppers and Kolahs sugarcane vinegar, you can substitute with fresh black pepper and any Italian herbs of your choice. The marinade is quite yummy, so you can even pop the marinated chicken on the grill/BBQ if you want a drier dish and omit the mushrooms.

I used skinless chicken, so it was very low in fat too.

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken
1 packet (400gms) button mushrooms (washed and sliced in half)
a few grams of sliced dried Shitake mushrooms (optional)
a few grams of dried oyster mushrooms (optional)

Marinade:
10 garlic cloves
3-4 strands of pickled green peppers (or 1 tsp black pepper)
a pinch of oregano
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp Kolah's sugarcane vinegar (substitute with balsamic vinegar to taste)
salt to taste

Method:
Roughly pound the garlic cloves and the pepper.
Add the herbs of choice and roughly pound a bit more.
Remove the strands holding the green peppers together, if you like, I removed them after cooking.
Add olive oil, salt and vinegar and mix well.

Marinate the chicken in this marinade for a couple of hours or overnight.

Take a large pan, pour out a bit of oil from the marinated chicken onto the pan.
Brown the chicken on both sides.

Then add the remaining marinade to the pan.
Now add whichever dried mushrooms you are using (if any) and cover the chicken with a tight lid.
Since you haven't re-hydrated the mushrooms, make sure they are sitting in some of the liquid marinade when you close the pan. (I find this gives much stronger flavours than rehydrating the mushrooms and then adding them to the pan)

After, the chicken is half cooked, add the fresh mushrooms.

(I initially don't let the mushrooms touch the pan surface directly, instead they steam on top of the chicken pieces, only when the chicken is cooked do I give it a stir and let the mushrooms come in contact with the pan.)

Cover and cook till done.
Once cooked, open the lid and serve immediately if you like some gravy, else cook without a cover until it thickens / dries up to your choice.

Serve hot with foccacia or on its own.

Bonus Recipe with Leftovers:

When we were done with the chicken, there was some oil left in the pan and it had great flavour, that I didn't want to wash out. If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can try this recipe.

Add a piece of cinnamon to the hot oil, then add a bit of chopped garlic and onions and fry till browned.
Add some sliced sausages and saute till cooked.
Now add the cooked rice (I used brown rice), salt and some green peas.
Saute until peas are cooked and serve hot.

Recipe : Beetroot and Raw Mango Clear Soup (Vegan)

Very often when cooking beetroot, we normally just throw away the water in which the beetroots have been boiled.

Given that I have been looking up Ayurvedic (where water that vegetables are boiled in, is also nutritious) and Bengali recipes (which rarely throw away anything as waste), I decided to make a soup with the water this time. It tasted pretty good. The picture is ordinary, but it belies the taste of this nutritious soup.

Ingredients:
1 kg beetroots - cleaned
1 raw mango - roughly chopped (or juice of a lemon - to taste)
1 large onion - quartered
2-4 green chillies to taste - roughly chopped
1 tsp pepper powder
1 tsp chaat masala powder (optional, but it ups the flavours if used)
pinch of chilli powder
salt to taste

Method :
Wash the beetroots thoroughly and cover with enough water in a pressure cooker.
Cook for 3 whistles and let the pressure release on its own.
Remove the beetroots and use in salads or any other recipe of your choice.
If you had washed the beetroots well, there should not be any need to strain the liquid.

To the beetroot liquid in the pressure cooker, add the roughly chopped onions, green chillies and green mangoes.
Also add the salt, pepper powder, chaat masala powder, chilli powder and salt.
Close and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
Let the pressure release and then open the pan.

If you didn't have raw mango to start with, add the lemon juice to taste at this point.

Strain and serve hot.

You can garnish it with coriander leaves if you like, but I personally prefer my soups completely clear.

Kim's Notes:
I cooked the beetroots with the skin on after washing them thoroughly. If you aren't sure how clean your beets are, then you can skin them before you cook them, or just the skin where it seems encrusted in dirt.

Green mangoes are in season and I had a mango left over from pickling that didn't make the cut, as it wasn't crunchy enough. If you don't have raw mangoes on hand, just add lime juice at the end (after pressure cooking the other ingredients)

 If you want to make it a chunky soup. Add a bit of chopped beetroot, after the second round of pressure cooking.

Recipe : Assamese Style Pork Fry

Delicacy in Guwahati was my favourite Assamese restaurant for simple home style food. Their pork fry and pork patot diya (baked in banana leaves) were my favourite items on the menu.

I've been craving that pork fry so much since I left Guwahati, and neither of my North East recipe books (Penguins - The Essential North East Cookbook and Ambrosia from the Assamese Kitchen) seemed to have the recipe that I was looking for. So I requested my friend Sanjukta, who is Assamese if she knew a recipe for this dish. Sanjukta currently writes a Food Column for G Plus - a weekly news magazine in Guwahati.

She gave me a simple straightforward recipe, that I used as a starting point for my pork fry.
"Marinate pork in crushed ginger and garlic, salt, pepper and some red chill powder. Now take the marinated pork in a wok and cook on low flame for over an hour. Keep stirring from time to time to avoid burning of the meat Now once it's done, chop onions and fry it it little oil in high flame. Add some haldi if u want. Add some chopped green chillies and stirring add the cooked pork into it. Add some more salt if required. Fry for some more time until done"

My recipe follows. I used 20 green chillies and didn't find it as spicy as I remember, so I added another 10 towards the end. If you don't like your food spicy, you can ignore the green chillies completely or lower the quantity.

Ingredients:
2 kg pork cubes - about 1" size (I used a mix of 1 kg ribs and 1 kg boneless to get a good ratio of meat and fat, but any curry cut should be fine)
4 tbsp ginger garlic paste (freshly pounded is a better option, but packaged will do)
2 tbsp garlic paste
2 tbsp pepper

1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp chilli powder
1.5 tbsp salt
1 tbsp mustard oil
2 large onions (roughly chopped)
2 medium potatoes (chopped same size as pork cubes)
1 tbsp turmeric (haldi) powder
30 green chillies (slit - optional or adjust to taste)

Method :
Marinate pork in ginger garlic paste, garlic paste, pepper, vinegar, chilli powder and salt at least for an hour. Overnight or longer is a better option.

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok (the more surface area, the better)

Put the fat pieces in the pan (not the meat, so the fat cooks for longer and starts to break down)
Once the fat starts to break down, add the onions and potatoes and let the potatoes fry a bit in the fat.

Add turmeric, half the green chillies and mix well.

Then, add the meat and fry on a low flame till well cooked.

When almost done, add the other half of the green chillies.

Dry it completely and let the meat crisp up a bit.
Serve hot with rice and dhal.

Kim's Note:
If there is any meat leftover, reheat it with some water, it will form a thick curry and garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or rotis.

Served here with Kabuli Channa Pulao and Raita

Recipe : Baked Brie with Caramelised Almonds (Vegetarian)

Brie is a soft French Cheese made from cow's milk. It has a harder rind on the outside which protects a soft cheese on the inside. The flavour is normally mild and not too ripe. A ripened Brie is called a Brie Noir.

Brie can be eaten as it is or baked to make it a little more gooey and runny. The rind is completely edible and best left as is (with a little hole cut out to breathe), if you plan to bake it. the rind will help keep your Brie in shape.

Brie is sold in circular shapes or triangular wedges. The circles work best for this recipe. If all you have access to is the triangular variety, then make sure that it has rind on the sides before baking it, else you'll just end up with an extremely limp quesadilla.

While I have used almonds in my recipe. All nuts work well and so do some fruits like cranberries when baking Brie.

This dish looks very fancy, but its very easy and fast to prepare, if you have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Ingredients:
1 small round of Brie (4.5" is the commonly available size in India).
1 tsp butter (salted is fine)
2-3 tbsp brown sugar (it gives better flavour, but if you are out of brown sugar, you can try regular sugar too, just try and brown it when caramelising)
1.5 handfuls of nuts (I used almonds, you can use walnuts or pecans)
pinch of salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp chilli powder

Special equipment :
Aluminium Foil
Oven proof small round baking dish

Method :
Bring the Brie to room temperature.

In a normal frying pan (preferably non-stick), melt the butter on a low flame.
Add half the sugar, salt, chilli powder and nuts and continue to swirl them around the pan occasionally on a low flame.
When all the ingredients (except the nuts) combine to form a sticky paste, take it off the flame and transfer the nuts onto  the aluminium foil.

Preheat your over to 180C.

Thinly slice off the top rind of the Brie, but leave the sides and bottom intact.
Place it in the oven proof bowl sliced side top.
Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on the sliced side and then top with the caramelised nuts.
(I sprinkled the remaining nuts around the Brie too)

Bake at 180C for about 20 minutes - until you see the soft cheese bubbling and changing consistency.

Let it rest for a few minutes and then serve hot with sliced Baguettes or crackers.

This can be served as a fancy appetiser, on a cheeseboard or as a snack for 2.

Kim's Notes:
Its important to move the hot caramelised nuts out of the pan and onto the foil to prevent sticking to your pan.

Also, don't move the nuts directly onto the Brie, it will start melting on top and your cooking won't be even.

If like me, you have been taught not to waste any food in the kitchen, then slip the sliced bits under the brie when baking or keep them and use them in any pasta sauce.

Standard Brie Size is 9-15 inches, so double the recipe for a Standard serving of Brie.

Recipe : Kheema / Mince Parathas

This is a great way to finish up leftover mince - whether it is  chicken, mutton or beef mince. And it turns into a complete meal, with just some raita on the side, especially if you have peas or carrots in your mince.

Ingredients : 
1 portion leftover mince
wheat flour
salt to taste
water for the dough
a little oil or ghee for frying

Method:
Mash the mince a bit if you have large vegetable chunks in it and dry it out, if it is liquidy.
Bring the mince back to room temperature.
Make a dough with wheat flour, salt to taste and water.
Make lemon sized balls and flatten them into circles, thick in the center and thinner at the edges.
Put a spoon of kheema in the centre and fold the edges over the kheema to form a ball.

Flatten and roll the disc in plain wheat flour.
If using a roti maker, put a dab of oil on each side (without rolling in flour) and make rotis as normal.
If using a tawa, fry on each side on a low flame, putting just a little oil or ghee on each side to help crisp it up.
Serve hot with cold raita.

Recipe : Kadalekai Chatni / Peanut / Groundnut Chutney - Vegan

This is a chutney, I really loved as a child. It was a great break from the staple coconut chutneys and mum normally made this to accompany goli bajjes.

It was only after I started cooking on my own that I realised how much easier it is to grind a peanut chutney compared to a coconut chutney, so its practical and fast too.

Currently with all the diwali hampers coming home, we have also received quite a few packets of flavoured roasted peanuts (kadalekai) and most of these snacks are too salty for my taste. So on this occasion, I used half a cup of mixed flavoured peanuts, rather than fresh groundnuts and the rest of rhe ingredients balanced out the saltiness and the flavours added to the groundnuts, added to the chutney too.

This chutney can be served with idlis and dosas / poli like any other chutney. It also tastes great with rotis and its high in protein. Most kids love nuts, so they will love this chutney too and believe me when I say that it is much easier and faster to grind than coconut, even if you are using a food processor / mixi.

Ingredients :
1 cup peanuts / groundnuts (roasted and skinned or the flavoured roasted variety)
1/2 tsp oil (til/gingelly or sunflower)
1 cup chopped onions (normally we use the smaller sambhar onions/shallots, but regular onions will do)
4-8 dried red chillies (depending on spiciness and heat tolerance)
6 cloves of garlic (you can chose to omit this, if you prefer, chop them if they are large sized)
tamarind pulp to taste
salt to taste

Seasoning :
1 tsp oil (til/gingelly or sunflower)
a pinch of hing powder (asafoetida - aids in digestion of the heavy nuts)
1 tsp split black gram dhal (urad dhal)
1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson / rai)

1 sprig curry leaves


Method :
Roast the raw groundnuts in a hot pan till cooked and skin them (you can leave the skin on, but we don't like the taste)
If you are using roasted masala groundnuts, you can skip this step.
But if you have leftover roasted nuts that have gone a bit soft, then re-roasting them helps.

In 1/2 tsp oil saute the chopped onion, garlic and red chillies till slightly brown.Cool the fried mixture.

When cooled, add it to the mixi with the skinned peanuts and the tamarind pulp.
Whizz until it reaches your desired consistency. I like it slightly grainy, but some prefer it completely smooth.
You may need to add a little water to help the grinding process if it gets too dry.
Add salt to taste (if use flavoured groundnuts, remember they will already have salt, so adjust accordingly) and give it a quick spin.

Pour the chutney out in a bowl.

In a seasoning pan, heat 1 tsp oil.
Add the hing powder.
When it dissolves, add the urad dhal and fry till it turns light brown.
Add the mustard seeds and the curry leaves and let the seeds splutter.

Pour this tempering over the chutney.

Serve the chutney with idlis and dosas / poli or with phulkas and dhal.

The chutney keeps well in the fridge too for about a week.


Note: The pictures above show quantities for 1/2 cup peanuts

Kim's Tip : The water used to wash the mixi / grinding stone can't be added to the chutney as it will become too watery, but you can use it to knead atta for rotis and give your rotis a different flavour.

Recipe: Mooli ke Patte ki Sabji - Radish Greens - Vegan

Radish (Mooli) is not a vegetable that used to be cooked in our house, I'm not even sure if it was indigenous to Mangalore or not. But its consumed in large quantities at my husbands place and he loves eating just raw mooli  - the long white variety - with chaat powder or black salt.

So whenever, I saw it in the market, I used to pick it up for him. If I shopped at a supermarket, I used to get them with the heads chopped off, the way carrots are sold, but if I bought it at a sabji mandi (farmers market) the green leafy top used to be attached.

I used to simply chop off the leaves and discard them before even putting the radish into the refrigerator. That was until his mom told me that the greens could be cooked!

This is a variation on how she cooks the radish greens. I cook the greens the day I bring them home (like most greens they don't take kindly to refrigeration)

Ingredients:
1 bowl of radish leaves chopped, you can also use the stalks
1 radish diced finely
1 medium potato finely diced (optional)
4-6 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp jeera (cumin) seeds
1 tbsp mustard oil (you can use vegetable oil as a substitute if mustard oil isn't available)
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat the mustard oil and temper with the garlic and jeera.
If you are using the potatoes, add them first and fry till almost cooked. (The potatoes add an extra texture and flavour, but it can be avoided if you want to keep the carbs low, or want a healthier dish)
Add the radish leaves and saute till cooked.
Add the diced radish and give a quick stir.
Adjust salt to taste.

Serve hot with dhal and rotis or rice.