Cook It Up With Saanams

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped Half inch ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 1 tomato, roughly chopped
• 1 tin of chick peas, 400-500gms, drained and rinsed
• 1.5 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oil and when hot add the chopped onion. Fry on a high heat until it is translucent.
2. Then add the ginger and garlic and fry until the whole mixture starts turning brown.
3. Add all the masala powders, bar the garam masala. Fry for five minutes on high and then add half a cup of water. The masala mixture will bubble up. Let it cook until the water dries up.
4. Then add the chopped tomato and fry for five minutes until the tomatoes disintegrate. When they do, lower the flame and simmer for 5 minutes until you can see the oil coming out from the sides of the mixture. It may not come through little holes in the mixture because of its thickness. When the oil shows up, add the rinsed chick peas.
5. Give it a good stir, add the remaining water, the garam masala powder and simmer until you can see oil appearing on the surface of the gravy and the mixture starts smelling of chick peas rather than pungent masalas.
6. Add salt to taste.

Chana Masala

Ingredients:

• Eggs  : 4

• Flour : 2 level cups

• Sugar : 2 cups powdered

• Butter : 1 cup.

• Baking powder : 2 tsps

• Scraped coconut : 2 cups.

Method :

Mix everything as for other cakes and bake at 180 degrees C  or 350 degree F for about 25 to 30 minutes until done.

Coconut Cake

Ingrediants:

• 1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
• 2 cups thinly sliced celery (3 1/2 medium stalks)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
• 1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 bottle (12 oz) teriyaki baste and glaze
• 2 cups coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
• 3 cups chow mein noodles

Method:

1. In nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until beef is cooked through and no pink remains. Stir in celery and bell pepper. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender; drain.
2. Stir water chestnuts and teriyaki glaze into beef mixture. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until hot and bubbly. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in coleslaw mix. Serve over noodles.

Ground Beef Chow Mein

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram of Chicken (cut into pieces)
• 3 large Tomatoes (finely sliced)
• 4 medium Onions (peeled & finely sliced)
• 6 Green Chillies (Hari Mirch) (more or less may be used depending on taste preference.)
• 1 ½ tsp. Fennel Seeds (Sounf)
• 1 ½ tsp. Mustard Seeds (Rai)
• 1 ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds (Sufaid Zeera)
• 1 ½ tsp. Nigella Seeds (Kalonji)
• Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirch) (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)
• ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder (Pisi Haldi)
• 1 tbsp. Ginger Paste (Pisi Adrak)
• 1 tbsp. Garlic Paste (Pisa Lehsan)
• 250 grams of Plain Yogurt
• Lemon Juice (of 1 large lemon)
• 2 tbsp. of Cooking Oil

Method
1. Heat oil in a heavy based pan on medium heat. Add onions and fry (stirring occasionally) until golden brown. Add tomatoes and saute until they are well soft.
2. Add in the chicken pieces, plain yogurt , ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix and cover pot and let it cook on low heat until the chicken is half done.
3. Seperately put a frying pan on stove on medium heat and roast the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and nigella seeds in a dry pan. (Do not use oil.) Roast these seeds until the cumin turns brown.
4. Take 2 teaspoons of this roasted mixture and set it aside. Grind the rest of it in a grinder to a fine powder. Then add the turmeric powder to this grinded powder and make it into a thick paste by adding the lemon juice. Now stuff this paste into the green chillies and set them aside.
5. Add the remaining paste to the chicken and sprinkle the roasted mixture over the chicken and further cook the chicken until it is well done. Then add the stuffed chillies to the chicken and cook on very low heat for another 5 minutes.

Achari Chicken

Ingredients:

• Maida (flour) 180 grams.
• Butter 150 grams
• Sugar 200 grams powdered.
• Baking powder ½ tsp.
• Salt ½ tsp .
• Cocoa 4 tbsps
• Nescafe (instant coffee) 2 tbsps
• hot water 100 ml
• Eggs 2
• Vanilla essence 1 tsp
• Soda-bi-carb ½ tsp
• Vinegar 1 tsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Grease & dust a baking dish.
2. Dissolve the Nescafe & cocoa in the hot water. Sift maida , salt, soda & baking powder. Cream the butter with sugar. Beat the eggs, add vinegar , vanilla essence & add the butter. Add maida & the Nescafe mix. Mix well with the hand blender or cut & fold & mix well. Pour into the baking dish.
3. Bake in the preheated oven at 350 deg F for 25 minutes or till done. Put a knitting needle or a toothpic in the middle of the cake .It should come out clean & non sticky .Then it is done.
4. Sprinkle Castor sugar over the done cake to get a glazed look.

Ingredients

• 2 cups   whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup  moong daal

• 1/2 cup channa daal

• 1 cup minced meat

• 3 cardamoms crushed

• 6 peppercorns

• 4 cloves

• 1/2 tsp cummin seeds

• ½ tsp Garam masala

• 2-3  Finely cut green chillies

• Oil for frying

• salt to taste

Instructions
1. Soak the daals overnight.
2. Drain and grind to make a paste.
3. Rub a little ghee into the flour and salt. Gradually mix in enough water to make stiff dough.
5. Grind the cloves, peppercorns, cardamoms and cummin seeds.
6. Heat a teaspoon of ghee and fry the daal paste, ground masala and salt. Then fry minced meat adding a bit of salt, garam masala and green chillies to it.
7. Knead the flour dough and divide into balls. Flatten and put in a portion of daal and minced meat filling.
8. Close up and roll out into thick round puris.
9. Deep fry in oil till it bgins to turn golden.
Note: Serve with any kind of chutney

Kachoris

Ingredients
1 liter of milk (or 2 cups of powder milk dissolved in 12 cups of water)
4 tbs. sugar
5-6 green cardamom (Chhoti Ilaichi) seeds
¼ cup chopped pistachios (Pistay)
½ cup chopped coconut (Narial)-dried
½ cup chopped almond (Badam)
¼ cup raisins (Kishmish)
¼ cup chopped dried dates (Chhuwaray)
1 hand full of vermicelli (sewayyan)
1 tsp. Kewra essence

Instructions
1. Wash the dry fruit and soak in a little milk for 3-4 hours.
2. In a pot add milk, sugar and ilaichi seeds and simmer on low heat until it starts to thicken.
3. Add the vermicelli and keep cooking till it softens.
4. Add the presoaked dry fruit and cook for 5 minutes and just before removing from heat add the kewra essence.
5, Can be served hot or chilled.

Ingredients

• Mutton – 1 Kg cubed
• Basmati Rice- 6 cups( Washed and drained)
• Ginger garlic paste-3 tsp
• Onions-5 medium sized sliced fine
• Coriander powder- 4 tsp
• 1 tsp(clove, cardamom and cinnamon powdered together)
• 1 tsp roasted zeera powder
• salt and chili powder to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• lemon juice
• 9 cups water
• turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
• Oil/ ghee/ vanaspathi-3/4 cup.
• Garlic- 6 sliced
• clove – 10
• Cardamom-10
• Cinnamon- 1 inch

To grind together

• coconut- 1/2
• onions-6 medium sized
• zeera- 2 tbsp roasted
• Tamarind- a small marble size (can use tamarind extract )
• Coriander leaves -1 large bunch
• Green chillies- 6-8 a couple more if you like it spicier

Instructions:

1. Wash and clean mutton, add 2 tsp ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, 1 tsp chili powder, salt and pressure cook the meat.
2. In a frying pan , to a little oil, add a few of the cut onions, fry a bit, add the ground masala, coriander powder,zeera powder,the clove Cinnamon cardamom powder,chili powder and a little salt.Let it fry a little bit till the masala changes color and the coconut loses its fresh smell.Add the cooked meat, the rest of the ginger garlic paste. Don’t add extra water but cook it the same water as the one you cooked the meat in.taste the curry made, add salt and chili if necessary and allow the curry to get dry.
3. In a vessel, pour 9 cups of water and bring to boil. add salt and let boil.
4. Use a pressure cooker, or a big vessel, put ghee/oil.Add the remaining sliced onions, sliced garlic, cinamon, clove and cardamom. Fry till onions turn brow. Add the rice.Fry a little bit .Add the curry and the boiling water, sugar and juice of the lemon. Check the taste for salt . Pressure cook as for rice or cook it the traditional way till water evaporates.
5. Best served with Raitha We generally have it with mango raita.

Coorg Mutton Pulao

Ingredients
6 cups maida (white flour)
6 tsp. milk powder
200 grm. oil or margarine
1 cup evaporated milk
6 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
3 tsp. yeast

Instructions
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a dough.
2. Cover with a damp cloth and leave at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
3. Then divide it evenly into 12 parts.
4. Roll out into flat chapati which is as thick as a pizza crust. You may roll out the dough round or length wise. (it’s optional to sprinkle kalonji or till (sesame) on it)
5. Bake in oven at 350* F (that’s Gas Mark #4) till light brown.

Note: Can also be frozen after baking for later use.

Naan

Ingredients
2 cups milk powder
1 egg
1 tsp. oil
1 tbs. white flour (maida)
½ tbs. semolina (suji)
2 tsp baking powder
oil for deep frying

Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
4-5 green cardamom (Chhoti Ilaichi)
Few drops of Kewra essence

Instructions
1. First make the syrup by dissolving sugar in water.
2. Add the illicit seeds and cook till it starts to boil.
3. Remove from heat and keep syrup aside.
4. Mix together the rest of the ingredients into a dough and make into small balls (makes about 32-36) and deep fry until brown.
5. Add to the syrup and serve.

Gulab Jamun