Ingredients:
oil to fry
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 big size brinjals
How to make begun bhaja :
Wash and cut the brinjals into half inch round slices.
Apply salt and turmeric powder.
Heat up the oil in a pot to smoking point.
Take off heat, cool slightly and then reheat.
Fry the brinjal pieces till crunchy and brown.
Serve hot.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Going West (of Amsterdam)
The meeting at Roja's place on 6th May,2007 seemed to get a slow start but then it picked up with lot of things being prepared and discussed. As per the plan, we had following recipes:
Kotmir wadi by Ashwini
Poha by Prakash
Vegetarian Korma by guest chef - Achut Shanbagh
Toran (mallu dish) by Roja
and dessert 'Sondesh'( of two types) by Pathikrit
Ashwini initiated the proceedings with explainations about Kotmir wadi along with its ingredients. Pat, in the mean time, started preparing for Sondesh(es) as well. He gave a tasty surpise when he said that he's going to prepare infact two type of Sondesh: a normal one and a chocolate one. Prakash had to wait for his Poha while Kothimbir wadis were getting fried. Hungry people had their mouth ful with delicious Kothimbir wadis along with 'mrchi ka achar'. Poha, a popular dish from UP and MP, was followed by the main course.
The main course had 'Vegetarion Kurma' by our guest chef Achut which had all the flavours of Konkan. Next was Roja's tasty Toran, a popular Kerala dish.
Hence, Pat's Sondesh were all ready to be eaten and they were yummy. According to Pat, two is very less number of types as compared with the total types available for Sondesh. Interesting, isn't it?
Kotmir wadi by Ashwini
Poha by Prakash
Vegetarian Korma by guest chef - Achut Shanbagh
Toran (mallu dish) by Roja
and dessert 'Sondesh'( of two types) by Pathikrit
Ashwini initiated the proceedings with explainations about Kotmir wadi along with its ingredients. Pat, in the mean time, started preparing for Sondesh(es) as well. He gave a tasty surpise when he said that he's going to prepare infact two type of Sondesh: a normal one and a chocolate one. Prakash had to wait for his Poha while Kothimbir wadis were getting fried. Hungry people had their mouth ful with delicious Kothimbir wadis along with 'mrchi ka achar'. Poha, a popular dish from UP and MP, was followed by the main course.
The main course had 'Vegetarion Kurma' by our guest chef Achut which had all the flavours of Konkan. Next was Roja's tasty Toran, a popular Kerala dish.
Hence, Pat's Sondesh were all ready to be eaten and they were yummy. According to Pat, two is very less number of types as compared with the total types available for Sondesh. Interesting, isn't it?
Monday, April 16, 2007
April Fool meet
Well we met for cooking on April 1 as well. Coincidentally April 1 was a sunday exactly 2 weeks from our previous March 18 meet. This meet was special because it was the very first time we invited a guest chef. Pathikrit was the guest who now is a club member himself. Pat liked the idea of learning and cooking togther and hence opted to be a member himself.
This meet also saw a new member join the club - Roja. Also we met Fakhruddin's family, including his daughter Sara, this day.
Menu for this meet was:
Around 12 people were supposed to reach Ashwini's place. Pat being the guest chef and a quality person was the first to reach and had already started preparation like defrosting the chingri and cooking white rice.
Vandana had already prepared the soyabean kebabs from home as was very time consuming to demonstrate the same there. However some raw kebab mix was brought for demonstrating how the kebabs are made. All enjoyed the kebabs with mint chutney.
Once most of us were in, Pat started demonstrating the process of grinding the posto and breaking the phool gobi. The ingredients were discussed, salt check-check & dal tenderness was checked. The chingri posto was cooked in the microwave with minor research on Ashwini's microwave part of the process.
Finally we had the urad dal, veg and non-veg postos & white steamed rice to eb enjoyed. At this moment Pat gave us a pleasant surprise with his self made chilly pickle. It was exceptional. I even took some of it home which Pat gave reluctantly ;)
While the urad dal was getting ready, preparation for sheer khurma was started. The nuts were cut, milk boiled and sivaiyan mixed along with. The prcoess was demonstrated well. We then had the meal round 1 and round 2. Round 2 was only attempted by the non veg folks. As it is said, it needs to be had hot or else it is not the same, so we all enjoyed a bowl of hot & delicious sheer khurma.
Following the meal discussion happened on some more food. Specially the drink mastani from Pune that I jsut need to try whenever I am there.
This meet also saw a new member join the club - Roja. Also we met Fakhruddin's family, including his daughter Sara, this day.
Menu for this meet was:
- Soyabean kebabs with Mint Chutney
- Biulir Daal
- Posto Chingri Bhape
- Phulkopir Posto
- Sheer Khurma
Around 12 people were supposed to reach Ashwini's place. Pat being the guest chef and a quality person was the first to reach and had already started preparation like defrosting the chingri and cooking white rice.
Vandana had already prepared the soyabean kebabs from home as was very time consuming to demonstrate the same there. However some raw kebab mix was brought for demonstrating how the kebabs are made. All enjoyed the kebabs with mint chutney.
Once most of us were in, Pat started demonstrating the process of grinding the posto and breaking the phool gobi. The ingredients were discussed, salt check-check & dal tenderness was checked. The chingri posto was cooked in the microwave with minor research on Ashwini's microwave part of the process.
Finally we had the urad dal, veg and non-veg postos & white steamed rice to eb enjoyed. At this moment Pat gave us a pleasant surprise with his self made chilly pickle. It was exceptional. I even took some of it home which Pat gave reluctantly ;)
While the urad dal was getting ready, preparation for sheer khurma was started. The nuts were cut, milk boiled and sivaiyan mixed along with. The prcoess was demonstrated well. We then had the meal round 1 and round 2. Round 2 was only attempted by the non veg folks. As it is said, it needs to be had hot or else it is not the same, so we all enjoyed a bowl of hot & delicious sheer khurma.
Following the meal discussion happened on some more food. Specially the drink mastani from Pune that I jsut need to try whenever I am there.
Breakfast special
Feb 4 2007, we all met earlier than the regular time 12:00 noon. This time it was a breakfast meet where I and Vandana taught the group our acquired breakfast specialities. The dishes cooked for this meet were:
The day started with the eggs waiting to be cooked. Then it was time for the onions to be diced. Vandana started by demonstrating the Onion-cheese toast as well as the baguette with spice butter, both of which were baked to a certain degree. All members were also introduced to 2 new drinks: Mango Dream from CoolBest and Super Pineapple from Fernandes. Both these drinks can be purchased from any superstore in Holland.
The wait of the eggs was finally over when I cracked the first one open. Mushroom omelette is a treat for mushroom lovers. After the initial demo almost everbody tried their hands making one. Most of us liked it. While making the omelette, I also demonstrated the sunny side up egg. The trick to make has been described along with the recipe. Only the demo version was made as not many were willing to eat it ( Not every body likes the runny yolk).
We finished our breakfast meet well into lunch time with the dessert being gulab jamun. I narrated my experience on how much time and money I wasted on trying to make them. They were still not perfect after 3 different attempts. I think I need to make friends with a Halwai.
So ... a meet with a twist came to and end with the remaining raw items distributed for members to try it themselves at their homes.
- Onion-Cheese toast
- Baguette with spice butter
- Mushroom Egg Omelette (Also cooked Sunny side-up fried egg)
- Zarda (replaced by Gulab Jamun)
The day started with the eggs waiting to be cooked. Then it was time for the onions to be diced. Vandana started by demonstrating the Onion-cheese toast as well as the baguette with spice butter, both of which were baked to a certain degree. All members were also introduced to 2 new drinks: Mango Dream from CoolBest and Super Pineapple from Fernandes. Both these drinks can be purchased from any superstore in Holland.
The wait of the eggs was finally over when I cracked the first one open. Mushroom omelette is a treat for mushroom lovers. After the initial demo almost everbody tried their hands making one. Most of us liked it. While making the omelette, I also demonstrated the sunny side up egg. The trick to make has been described along with the recipe. Only the demo version was made as not many were willing to eat it ( Not every body likes the runny yolk).
We finished our breakfast meet well into lunch time with the dessert being gulab jamun. I narrated my experience on how much time and money I wasted on trying to make them. They were still not perfect after 3 different attempts. I think I need to make friends with a Halwai.
So ... a meet with a twist came to and end with the remaining raw items distributed for members to try it themselves at their homes.
Kachcha Chicken Biryani meet
Yesterday was the biryani and kulfi day that we had all been waiting for. The complete menu for this meet was:
We began the meal with some snacks and rose kulfi, which every body enjoyed. Ritu made the chhole chat. It was a bit delayed because the imli chutney took a while. Specially me was dying of hunger and had already cleaned the crisps Fakhruddin had offered in sympathy ;)
The chat was delicious with its tangy and spicy taste. It left us all looking forward to the main meal (in a positive sense). Biryani preparation had started quite some time back with Fakhruddin and Yakuta explaining the process. Because of the big vessel as well as the large quantity in which it was being prepared, there was an issue with the amount of water that had to go in the biryani. It turned out that the rice could not absord all the water that was added and so the biryani had to be topped off in the oven.
Although not the best texture, the taste was authentic and delicious. Fakhruddin has promised (or did he?) to work on the texture.
In Sarang's abscence we had to replace his recipe with another vegetarian one. Fortunately Sarang had hinted that he may not be able to make it so I was ready with an alternative. Mustard Onion Fried rice was demonstrated instead. This is a very quick and easy rice and turned out as I had expected.
We then enjoyed the fried rice and the kachcha biryani. Yesterday was unusually warm and to close the lunch, there was shahi badam kulfi which provided some rahat from the heat.
Before you guys speculate, the kachcha in the biryani is the chicken as it starts its journey. Did not get it? I'll explain as explained by Fakhruddin. Most biryanis (including the one we had in the very first home food club meeting) have the chicken and rice cooked separately and then they are layered and finally cooked under dum. Yesterday's biryani had rice and raw (kachcha) chicken mixed and cooked togther. Hence the name kachcha biryani.
End of another meet with new things to eat and learn. With yesterday's meet I earn for myself the honorary title (self claimed) of the kulfi wala.
- Chhole Chat
- Kachcha Chicken Biryani
- Bharleli Vagni (Replaced by Mustard Onion fried rice)
- Kulfi (Rose & Badam)
We began the meal with some snacks and rose kulfi, which every body enjoyed. Ritu made the chhole chat. It was a bit delayed because the imli chutney took a while. Specially me was dying of hunger and had already cleaned the crisps Fakhruddin had offered in sympathy ;)
The chat was delicious with its tangy and spicy taste. It left us all looking forward to the main meal (in a positive sense). Biryani preparation had started quite some time back with Fakhruddin and Yakuta explaining the process. Because of the big vessel as well as the large quantity in which it was being prepared, there was an issue with the amount of water that had to go in the biryani. It turned out that the rice could not absord all the water that was added and so the biryani had to be topped off in the oven.
Although not the best texture, the taste was authentic and delicious. Fakhruddin has promised (or did he?) to work on the texture.
In Sarang's abscence we had to replace his recipe with another vegetarian one. Fortunately Sarang had hinted that he may not be able to make it so I was ready with an alternative. Mustard Onion Fried rice was demonstrated instead. This is a very quick and easy rice and turned out as I had expected.
We then enjoyed the fried rice and the kachcha biryani. Yesterday was unusually warm and to close the lunch, there was shahi badam kulfi which provided some rahat from the heat.
Before you guys speculate, the kachcha in the biryani is the chicken as it starts its journey. Did not get it? I'll explain as explained by Fakhruddin. Most biryanis (including the one we had in the very first home food club meeting) have the chicken and rice cooked separately and then they are layered and finally cooked under dum. Yesterday's biryani had rice and raw (kachcha) chicken mixed and cooked togther. Hence the name kachcha biryani.
End of another meet with new things to eat and learn. With yesterday's meet I earn for myself the honorary title (self claimed) of the kulfi wala.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Rose Kulfi
The original Kulfi recipe can be found here. This recipe is similar however with a different flavoring. Please do read the original recipe before trying this out.
Ingredients
1 litre evaporated milk (full cream)
500ml cream (30gm fat/100ml variety or equivalent)
75 gms sugar
200 gms Gulkand
75 ml gulab jal (rose water)
20 gm (2 tsp) corn flour
pinch of red food color
Method
[1] Follow same procedure as the original kulfi recipe.
[2] Instead of Badam, add gulkand.
[3] Instead of elaichi, add rose water
[4] Mix in the red food color so that the mixture takes on a very light pink color
[5] Rose Kulfi is ready. Garnish with rose petals before serving.
Ingredients
1 litre evaporated milk (full cream)
500ml cream (30gm fat/100ml variety or equivalent)
75 gms sugar
200 gms Gulkand
75 ml gulab jal (rose water)
20 gm (2 tsp) corn flour
pinch of red food color
Method
[1] Follow same procedure as the original kulfi recipe.
[2] Instead of Badam, add gulkand.
[3] Instead of elaichi, add rose water
[4] Mix in the red food color so that the mixture takes on a very light pink color
[5] Rose Kulfi is ready. Garnish with rose petals before serving.
Shahi Badam Kulfi
Kulfi, the Indian ice-cream, is loved by all. Expats vouch for its taste and dismiss the whipped vanilla ice creams in its favor. Although Kulfi can be purchased like regular ice cream outside India, its not very hard to make it yourself. The one demonstrated here is extremely simple and turns out to be better than ones locally available in Indian restaurants. Give this a try.
Preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 litre evaporated milk (full cream)
500ml cream (30gm fat/100ml variety or equivalent)
175 gms sugar
100 gms badam
Seeds of 30 medium green cardamom pods
20 gm (2 tsp) corn flour
Preparation
Soak the badam in water for 2 hrs and then dry grind (coarse) them as shown below:
Method
[1] Take a thick bottom pan and put the evaporated milk (This milk is the regular milk which has been reduced to half) and the cream.
[2] Keep boiling on slow flame stirring most of the time till the milk-cream mixture is reduced to 4/5th. This should take between 30-40 minutes.
[3] Add the ground badam to the milk.
[4] Add all the sugar (Recommended that you adjust the sugar quantity as per your liking)
[5] Add the crushed elaichi seeds. (The image below is of seeds that need to be crushed)
[6] Now keep boiling for around 15 minutes
[7] Mix the corn flour in minimum water and add it to the milk. This would thicken the mixture.
[8] Boil for 2-3 minutes and remove from flame
[9] Once cooled, transfer to disposable cups as shown below. Fill the cups to 1/3rd capacity
[10] Freeze for atleast 8 hrs.
Serving
30 minutes before serving, remove the Kulfi from the freezer and keep it in the fridge. This makes the Kulfi a bit soft. To remove the Kulfi , immerse the cup into a bowl containing warm water. This will loosen the Kulfi. Invert it on a plate and give it a light tap. Garnish with more badam.
Variations
Kulfi can be made in similar fashion with the following Indian flavors:
Gotchas
The below are very important:
Preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 litre evaporated milk (full cream)
500ml cream (30gm fat/100ml variety or equivalent)
175 gms sugar
100 gms badam
Seeds of 30 medium green cardamom pods
20 gm (2 tsp) corn flour
Preparation
Soak the badam in water for 2 hrs and then dry grind (coarse) them as shown below:
Method
[1] Take a thick bottom pan and put the evaporated milk (This milk is the regular milk which has been reduced to half) and the cream.
[2] Keep boiling on slow flame stirring most of the time till the milk-cream mixture is reduced to 4/5th. This should take between 30-40 minutes.
[3] Add the ground badam to the milk.
[4] Add all the sugar (Recommended that you adjust the sugar quantity as per your liking)
[5] Add the crushed elaichi seeds. (The image below is of seeds that need to be crushed)
[6] Now keep boiling for around 15 minutes
[7] Mix the corn flour in minimum water and add it to the milk. This would thicken the mixture.
[8] Boil for 2-3 minutes and remove from flame
[9] Once cooled, transfer to disposable cups as shown below. Fill the cups to 1/3rd capacity
[10] Freeze for atleast 8 hrs.
Serving
30 minutes before serving, remove the Kulfi from the freezer and keep it in the fridge. This makes the Kulfi a bit soft. To remove the Kulfi , immerse the cup into a bowl containing warm water. This will loosen the Kulfi. Invert it on a plate and give it a light tap. Garnish with more badam.
Variations
Kulfi can be made in similar fashion with the following Indian flavors:
- Rose
- Kesar
- Kewda
- Pista
Gotchas
The below are very important:
- Only thick bottomed or heavy guage vessels should be used for making Kulfi
- All prepartion on low flame only to avoid burning of milk
- Keep stirring most of the time
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