Friday, 4 September 2015

Besan Dhokla


1 cup Besan
1/2 cup curd
1 green chili (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
2″ inch ginger, finely grated
1 ENO Fruit Salt
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup water

For seasoning
1/2 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp salt
4 green chilies, sliced into two, vertically
1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp sugar
20 curry leaves
1 1/2 cup water


Add the flour, curd and 1/2 cup water to a bowl. Whisk to remove lumps.
Thoroughly grease a bowl that fits into your pressure cooker.
Add rest of the ingredients and mix well and immediately pour into the greased pan.
Add water into the cooker to steam dhokla.
Fill about 40% of the pressure cooker with water.
Place the bowl on top of the small trivet and cover the lid of the pressure cooker (do not put the whistle.)
Keep the stove on high flame and steam for 25 minute.
In the meantime, heat oil in a pan. After about 30 seconds, add the mustard seeds. Allow to crackle. Add the other dry ingredients. Add the water and bring to a roaring boil. Let boil/simmer for 3 minutes.



25 minutes on, the dhokla should be ready. Switch the stove off and open the lid.
Take out the dhokla and slice into pieces. Pour the tempered water evenly on all pieces. Allow to seep into the dhokla.

Serve slightly cold.

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Palak paneer pie

The Recipe

Dough
2.5 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
4 tbsp Butter
8 tbsp grated Cheese

Make dough with ice cold water and put it in the fridge in a poly bag. If you like your crust crisp, refrigerate all the ingredients beforehand. Even the bowl, if you like. If its not too pliable, you may add a bit of water or butter, a little at a time.

Filling
2 Onions, chopped
2 Cups Spinach
1 Cup Peas, cooked
2.5 Cup grated Paneer
4 Green Chillies
Coriander, optional
Salt, Amchoor and Garam Masala according to your taste
0.5 Cup Pomegranate (Optional)

Just mix all these ingredients, and set aside. Divide the dough into two unequal portions. Use the larger one for the base and roll out according to your pie dish size and fit it in. Evenly spread the filling, and top with the rest of the dough. If you're making a flat topped pie, make steam vents with a fork. Bake at 180C until the crust turns light brown.

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Why not to pursue a PhD

pays less
for every 100,000/16,ooo
16% of new PhDs get a position in academia
value-added by MA and PhD is the same as average earning potential.
might even diminish
unexplained delay of months of review of thesis
no advance placement program

Tuesday, 4 August 2015

Noodles

Lesan hara mircha chopped
Black pepper
Salt
Veggies (corn, capsicum, red and yellow peppers, French beans, cabbage, carrot, onions, tomatoes)
Soya sauce
Vinegar
Italian seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
Hoisin sauce

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

Kadhai Paneer


125 gms paneer/cottage cheese, cubed
3 medium tomatoes/tamatar,
1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
3 garlic cloves/lahsun,chopped 
3/4 inch ginger/adrak, half crushed and half julienned
1 capsicum/shimla mirch, julienned (optional)
5-6 kashmiri red chilies or 1/2 tbsp, adjusted to taste
coriander seeds/dhania, roasted to 1 to 1.5 tsp crushed
¼ tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves
¼ tsp garam masala powder
¼ cup chopped coriander/cilantro leaves/dhania
1 tbsp salt or black salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a tbsp oil in a kadhai, add the crushed ginger and garlic, saute these till it leaves off aroma. On medium heat, add the chopped tomatoes, cooking the tomatoes till they become soft.
Pound the coriander seeds and red chilies to a roughly. After a while, add the spice powder to the tomatoes.
Cook till the whole mixture become like a paste and oil starts to gather at the sides.
Now add chopped green chilies, salt and garam masala powder. Mix these well.
Add the paneer and turn the heat to lowest. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Add kasuri methi, ginger and capsicum julienne and coriander leaves.

Serve with rotis or rice.


Sunday, 26 July 2015

Tehdi

Oil
Zeera
Adrak
Lesan
hara dhanya
mircha
tarkari
haldi
bhuna pisa zeera
pisa dhanya
pisa
aalu
gajar
beans
matar
rice
hara mircha


Heat oil, add long, badi elaichi, Kali Mirch
 Once the masalas have popped, add zeera and then a small pyaz sliced and hara mircha
 Stir fry for a bit, maybe till the pyaz start turning
 Add the aalu and gajar, stir.

 Then adrak-lehsan (1tsp together) and few hara mirche, OR hara mirxha lehsan, you can skip adrak if you like
 Stir fry, then add the chawal and water and cooker on high heat till it starts boiling, then add the namak and matar, stir cover and cook for 15mins on low aanch.

Saturday, 25 July 2015

Paneer tikka masala

http://bombaygrilltx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Paneer-Tikka-Masala-600x180_c.png


For Paneer tikka

  • 2 tbsp curd, whisked
  • 250 gm paneer, cubed
  • 2 medium capsicums, quartered into cubes
  • 1/2 cup onion cubes
  • 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp haldi
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ged chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp zeera powder

For gravy

  • 4 tbsp fried onions
  •  4-5 medium tomatoes, pureed
  • 1/4 cup fresh cream
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2" piece of Ginger
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp dhania powder
  • 1/2 tsp zeera powder
  • 1 tsp kasoori methi

Method

  • Take yogurt in a mixing bowl.
  • To that add chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt to taste.
  • And mix very well.
  • Add paneer cubes, capsicum, onion and mix very well.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • After 1 hour, separate the paneer from the capsicum and onions and put the paneer in a pressure cook, along with 3 tbsp water. Turn the flame on very low, preparing the gravy in the meantime. Cook for half an hour, or till the cooker is extremely hot. Switch the flame off and don't open the cooker. Wait for it to cool down.
For gravy
  • Heat pan on medium heat. Add a tsp of oil, coriander powder, garam masala, cumin powder.
  • Add the pureed tomato, and the left over curd batter from the tikka and let cook.
  • Add the fried onions and mix. Turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, or till the fried onions blend into the gravy.
  • Add red chilli powder, mix and cook until oil separates from masala.
  • Then add water, mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Once it looks like a gravy and is thick, add kasoori methi and salt to taste.
  • Add cream, mix, and switch off the flame.
Once the cooker has released its pressure, open it and fry the paneer pieces, one by one, over flame from the stove, 20 seconds each. turning it. Once the pieces are golden, toss them into the gravy. Repeat with the capsicum and onion till they have a charred appearance, making sure you don't cook them too much. 
  • When all are similarly goldened over the flame, mix in with the gravy and add 2 tbsp oil from the oil you fried onions in.
Serve hot with flavored rice or sheermal.