Dosa with Chicken Masala

I am part of this club called Cook Eat Share! It is a cultural group of International students/faculty/staff/community members who have a passion for cooking, eating and sharing culture through food. We meet on Friday evenings at the University of Mississippi Counseling Center. Sometimes members host a meeting at their place and cook something traditional from their culture to share with the group.

So it was my turn and I was wondering what should I cook as the team had already tasted butter chicken, Jeera basmasti rice, kebabs etc. I wanted to make something traditional which they had never tasted before. After some brainstorming with the hubby we thought of dosa with chicken Masala.

I was a bit nervous serving dosa as I had to make sure all of the dosa's were perfect and everyone liked them as they do have a different flavor. The final result was great and I was amazed how all my friends appreciated it and enjoyed seconds. And the best part was one of my friend's 8 month old enjoyed the dosa as well(without the chicken ofcourse!).

So here goes my recipe for Dosa with Chicken Masala:

For the Dosa:

2 cups raw rice (I use Basmati as I have a huge bag and I sometimes use 1 cup brown basmati rice and 1 cup regular basmati)
1 cup urad dal/split black lentils
2 tbspn poha/beaten rice
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds/methi
Salt to taste
Oil

Soak rice, urad dal and the fenugreek seeds in water for atleast 6 hours. Many people soak these separately but I do it together. Soak the poha for atleast 20-30 mins in water.
Now grind the rice, urad dal, methi and poha to a fine paste using very little water.
Now keep this batter in a container covered with a lose lid or saran wrap in a warm place overnight to ferment. For me it's the oven but depending on the weather you can keep it even on the counter top if the house is warm.
The next day the batter will have increased in volume. Now add salt according to taste before making the dosas.
To make the dosa heat a non-stick pan on high for 3-5 mins when hot lower heat to medium and sprinkle few drops of water. The water should sizzle and evaporate quickly. Now pour the batter with a ladle and spread the batter around in circular motion as thin or thick you want your dosa to be. Add few drops of oil on the edges of the dosa. Wait for few mins around 3-5 and slowly flip dosa on the other side and cook. No need to add oil now. You can add oil to the pan before starting the dosa instead of the water trick (this was taught to me by the dosa king -my husband ;))

For the Chicken Masala:

1 lb Chicken thighs washed and cut into small pieces
5 tbspn Tomato paste (I use the canned one)
1 onion chopped
1/4 -1/2 cup cashews soaked in hot water and ground to a thick paste
1 tbspn ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli pwd,
1/4 tsp garam masala,
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder/haldi,
1/2 tsp cummin & coriander pwd
1/4 tsp Kasuri methi crushed
Salt according to taste
oil

Marinate the chicken with 3 tbspn tomato paste, ginger-garlic paste and salt.
Heat oil in a wok/kadai and fry the onions till golden brown now add the marinated chicken keep on high flame for 5-7mins making sure you stir every 2 mins. Let the chicken get a bit roasted but not burned. Now add the remaining tomato paste and red chilli, turmeric, coriander-cummin pwd and garam masala. Mix well & add the cashew paste, add little water and kasuri methi mix well and cook till the chicken is tender. Adjust salt.
I kept the sauce/gravy thick as I was serving it inside the dosa (refer to pic) but you can adjust the consistency of your gravy as you desire.

Note:
The poha is added to the dosa to make it soft & methi for its health benefits I guess.

I didnt make the chicken masala very spicy as it was being served to my friends who are not used to eating spicy food. You can increase the amount of spices according to your taste.

Methi Mutter Pulav

I am a big fan of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). You will always find some in my fridge. I love the flavor and fragrance it imparts when added to meat, veggies, parathas or rice dishes.Fenugreek is very nutritious and has many health benefits. In India it is used for digestion, skin problems, blood purifier, weight loss, to prevent hairfall etc. etc.

I was surprised when my friend from Yemen cooked few dishes using fenugreek (seed) powder. They use it extensively to cook flavorful fish and chicken dishes. I wasn't sure when she added a heap of fenugreek powder as I have always known it to be bitter but I was surprised how it complimented the meat and the fish dish and those dishes have become my favorite Yemeni dishes now.

Ok so coming to how I came up with this dish, it was late at night around 10pm and both Kartick and I had late lunch so we weren't really hungry till 9.30pm and then none of us wanted to step out as usual in the cold November night to get pizza or burgers as all the other restaurants in Oxford shut at 9-9.30pm ;( yeah that's true!

So I decided to make something simple and didn't want to grind or chop much. I looked in my fridge and I didn't have any veggies. I just has 2 small pieces of chicken thighs and some frozen peas. So I decided to make a simple pulav and served this with Chicken Kebabs. I marinated the chicken for 15 mins and fried it with my PAM olive oil spray while the rice was cooking. I will be posting that recipe soon as well.
This pulav turned out to be such a hit Kartick loved it as it was simple and not "masaledar"(spicy). We both were happy to eat a good home cooked meal and have leftovers the next day for lunch as well. (This pic was taken when I cooked the same dish for a friend).

Ingredients:

1.5 cups rice (washed & soaked for at least 10 mins)
1/2 cup peas (if using frozen soak in hot water for 5mins)
2-4 cloves garlic chopped finely
1 onion chopped
1-2 tbsp Kasuri Methi crushed with fingers
1 tsp Jeera/Cummin seeds
2.5-3 cups hot water
Oil/Ghee 2 tblspn
Salt

Heat oil/ghee in a wok/kadai when hot add Jeera when it sizzles add garlic and onion. Fry well till onion turns golden brown. Now add the Kasuri methi and fry for 1 min, add the peas and mix well. Cook for 2 mins. Add the rice fry for 2 mins and add salt & mix well.
Now add hot water 2.5-3 cups cover and cook till the rice is done.

Serve with raita/fried fish/papad/pickle/kebabs or any curry.

Note:
Kasuri Methi has a strong flavor so start off with 1 tbspn first since we like the flavor I tend to go a bit overboard with it.
If you don't like peas you can skip it.
I have also skipped peas once and added turmeric to this dish after adding the Kasuri Methi and made a simple yellow methi and onion pulav which was loved by all my friends at a pot luck party.

Grilled Salmon Salad

Salads are something Kartick is good with. He can toss up few veggies and make them taste so good. He makes sure we have salads and grilled veggies often. He loves to use his George Foreman grill often. I was all by myself for lunch that day and considering that I didn't have any groceries and had enough veggies for a quick salad I decided to toss a salad for lunch. And of course I had to add some meat to it. Since its all about being healthy I thought what could be healthier than a piece of grilled fish ;)
So I made this salad exactly like Kartick does and just topped it with a piece of grilled fish and voila I had a yummy and healthy lunch ready in just few minutes.I enjoyed this lunch in my living room on the couch watching Gossip Girl though I must admit I was tempted to open a bottle of wine..Surely a glass of Pinot Noir would go well with this salad!

Ingredients:

1 cup Baby Spinach
Lettuce (I am not a big fan of lettuce so I avoid it in my salads)
1/2 cup Shredded carrots
1 tomato sliced or 1/2 cup grape tomatoes cut into half
1 cucumber sliced
1 tbspn Feta cheese
Salad dressing - you can use store bought Italian vinaigrette or just mix together 1 tbspn olive oil, juice of half a lemon or an orange, salt, 1/2 tsp oregano or Italian herb mix
1 piece of fish (I used salmon you can use any firm variety)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt& pepper to taste
PAM Olive Oil Spray/ Olive oil

Wash the fish if using fillet if not remove scales and clean it well and wash it. Mix together garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper with few drops of olive oil and rub this on the fish & marinate for 15 mins.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and put the fish in a oven safe dish lined with foil and sprayed with PAM spray or lightly greased with olive oil. Now grill this fish in the oven for 15-20 mins and broil for a minute.

While the fish is cooking wash and chop/shred your veggies - now take a salad bowl mix together all veggies, add the dressing and toss the salad well. Now garnish with feta cheese and add the grilled fish on top or on side.

Note:
I buy store bought shredded carrots if you don't want to shred you can chop the carrots into sticks
If you don't have garlic powder and onion powder simply marinate the fish in chopped garlic or garlic paste, salt & pepper or any spices of your choice
You can use any dressing of your choice I also like Raspberry vinaigrette but I don't like the creamy dressings.
If you are making the salad dressing make sure the dressing is made at least 15mins in advance before adding to the veggies, letting all the ingredients in it blend well.
If you don't have an oven you can simply pan fry the fish in very little oil.

Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Here in Oxford we have friends from many countries and we love to share recipes of dishes and cook for each other. My husband and I love Chinese food - authentic and our yummy Desi Chinese food. I wanted to make some good Chinese stir fry which could be had with steamed rice of just by itself as a side. And I only had broccoli, some beef, and chicken in my house so I came up with this dish.. the flavors were perfect and the beef and broccoli complimented each other well!
I have tried my hand at few Asian dishes and they have turned out well except noodles.. they are decent enough and edible but I want to learn how to make great noodles with perfect seasoning.. will try again soon!
So going back to the recipe........

Ingredients:

1 cup broccoli florets washed
1 lb/ 1/2 kg beef sliced in medium pieces, fat trimmed and washed or chicken
1 tsp ginger grated
2 tblspn Cornstarch/All purpose flour (when you don't have cornstarch on hand)
2 tbspn or more Soy Sauce (1 tsbpn to marinate beef & 1 for cornstarch mix)
1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes
1 tsp sugar (use little to marinate the beef)
1 tbspn Olive/Vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp Sesame oil (can add more if you like the flavor)

Marinate beef in soy sauce, chilli flakes and sugar for atleast 15mins. Make a smooth paste of the cornstarch and water. Add the remaining soy sauce & sugar & keep aside. Heat oil in a wok add the ginger and fry but make sure you don't burn it. Now add the beef and stir fry few mins till the beef is no longer pinkish. Then add the broccoli and stir fry (you can do this separately as well if you are worried of the crispiness of the broccoli). Now add the cornstarch mixture and mix well. Add a little water (1-2 tbspn) if it gets too dry and adjust seasoning. Add some sesame oil and mix well. Serve with steamed rice or as an appetizer.

Note:
1) I just roast 1-2 red chillies and grind them to make chilli flakes - you can use store bought ones too
2) There is no salt in this dish as the soy sauce has enough sodium but if your soy sauce is light you can add some but go easy with it
3)Once I used 1 tbsp soy sauce and store bought Hoisin sauce (2 tbsp) it turned out well
4)You can garnish this dish with green onions

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Kartick (my hubby) sometimes complains of my food being too spicy (yeah I am guilty of cooking spicy food but I take care when I cook for friends to not go overboard with spices). So today I decided to make a continental meal. I didn't have many ingredients at hand and then again both of us didn't want to step out to go to Walmart.

So I decided to make some Fish Bechamel (Fish in white sauce)and Mashed potatoes and serve it with toast. I will soon post the recipe for Bechamel -I spiced the bechamel a bit with turmeric and red chilli powder but ensured it was not spicy.

The result was a simple and tasty meal.. So here goes the recipe for the mashed potatoes:

4 Potatoes
2-3 tbsp Milk
2-3 garlic cloves minced or 1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp butter melted(I used a low cal butter spread)
2 tbsp Parsley chopped (optional)
Salt & pepper

Boil potatoes. I cooked them in the microwave as its faster and I don't have to bring out my big pressure cooker. Just take a big microwave safe bowl add some water keep the potatoes in them next to each other. Cook for 10 mins then turn the potatoes and cook for another 10 mins (may take little longer depending on your microwave). Then peel the skin off and mash the potatoes with a masher or with the back of a big wooden spoon/ladle. You can also blend it once with a hand blender if you have one (I did this). Then add the milk,butter, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well. Garnish with some parsley.

Note:
You can skip the garlic and make plain mashed potatoes
You can add more or less milk & butter according to your taste

Masala Gobi

As I have mentioned earlier we try to include lotsa veggies in our cooking but here in Oxford, MS we don't get a variety of veggies. We need to go all the way to Memphis to get a good variety. We try and go atleast once a month and stock up otherwise I have to alternate between cauliflower, cabbage and eggplants which we get in abundance here. So we got some cauliflower from Wal-Mart and I decided to make something spicy which can be had with roti's and rice.
I wanted to use Panch Phoran which my friend had bought for me. It is a mixture of five whole spices - nigella seeds, cummin, fennel, fenugreek and mustard seeds. This is supposed to give the curries and dals a good unique flavor. This is widely used in the eastern parts of India such as Bengali cuisine.

So here goes the recipe for Masala Gobi:

1 Cauliflower (florets removed soaked in salt water, drained and washed)
1/2 tsp Panch Phoran
1 onion chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste/ginger-garlic finely minced or crushed
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4 tsp Red Chilly Powder
1/4 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
Salt as per taste

Heat oil in a kadai/wok once the oil is hot add the panch phoran. When it sizzles add onions and add ginger garlic paste. Fry till onions turn golden-brown.
Now add the turmeric, red chilly, Coriander powder and garam masala powders mix well. Add the cauliflower florets mix well so that the spices coat the florets evenly. Add 1/4 cup or less hot water cover and cook till cauliflower is done. Open cover add salt and cook till water evaporates and its dry enough.
Serve with Roti/Rice

Notes:
Make sure you wash cauliflower well after soaking in salt water so that all the salt is washed off.
You can only wash it with plain water
You can add a 1/4tsp Kasuri methi it will give a good flavor.
I really liked the flavor of panch phoran will be using it a lot now onwards.

Laadi Paav

Bombay is famous for its laadi paav and paav bhaji/bun maska. I remember when we got bread from Sardar bakery at Tardeo I would eat the paav by itself as it was fresh and hot and so yummy! Or when we would party all night we would land up at Churchgate to eat bun maska or brun maska... Ah! Those were the days.. I miss Bombay so much not only for the food but just the feel of the city!

Anyway we long to eat paav here and the closest to paav are the dinner rolls we get but they are not exactly the same. So I decided to take matters in my hand and give a try at making laadi paav.. ofcourse I wasn't gonna knead the dough with my feet as it's done traditionally.. hence the name "Paav" (That's what I have heard) ;)

Here goes the recipe:(This recipe makes around 12- 15 paavs)

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup as reserve if the dough gets too sticky ( I used 3 cups all purpose & 1 cup whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp active dried yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups milk and few tblspn milk for brushing on paav

2 tbsp butter, softened

2 tbsp melted butter for brushing on the pav


Method:
Mix together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a big bowl.
Now heat the milk and the butter in a pan mix well and heat till its lukewarm. If the milk is hot let it cool till its lukewarm.
Now add this lukewarm milk to the flour mixture and knead well till a soft and elastic dough forms. The dough should be soft but not sticky. You can add more flour if the flour is sticky but not too much as it will make the bread hard (yes, I speak from my past experience!)

Knead the dough for atleast 5-7 minutes. Now keep the dough in a greased bowl, (roll the dough in little oil) and cover with plastic wrap. Now allow it to double in volume it will take 1.5 hours.

After 1.5 hours knead the dough again almost punch it to remove the air bubbles in it and divide equally into about 12-15 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball little bigger than golf balls and place on a greased baking dish (grease with oil/melted butter and little flour). Place the balls in such a way that they touch each other around 3 balls in each row.

Cover this with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 375F and brush the paav with milk before putting in the oven and bake the paav for 10 minutes till they have risen and the surface is started to brown. Now take them out and brush with some melted butter and bake them for another 10 minutes till the tops have browned well (keep an eye on the bread). You may need some more time to bake the paav depending on your oven. I guess I took a total of 22 mins. Switch off the oven and take the rolls out and let them cool on a cooling rack for 10 mins.
Serve with bhaji/dal/curries or for breakfast with butter and chai or egg omlette.

Note:
Kneading is the key - the more you knead the better texture of the paav
My friend said she added a boiled potato to the dough which makes the paav super soft but she also warned me that would make the dough sticky hence you have to be good at baking as it gets tricky to get the right consistency of the dough. I skipped this part and played it safe as I am not a skilled baker.

Gobi/Cabbage Parathas (Wheat dough stuffed with spicy cabbage)

While I was in Bombay, India I was working in Telecom sales and we had to go to different corporates which were our accounts/clients and meet with them to ensure they are happy with our products and promote other products. Nariman point, Andheri East and Powai was where most of my clients were and few of my friends had the same areas as well. We would meet up for lunch at odd hours as there was no lunch break! I remember going to Only Parathas and hogging on different parathas paneer, gobi, aloo etc etc. There was another small joint in Hiranandani Food Court, Powai which served amazing veggie parathas as well. I always thought parathas were a tough nut to crack as you need to fill the dough and roll it out into a perfect round shape without the filling oozing out! I finally cracked this tough nut and I am so proud of it! ;)

So here goes my first paratha recipe:


For the dough:
Wheat flour 2 cups
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Kasuri Methi
1tsp Oil
Water as required

For the stuffing:
1 Gobi/Cabbage grated
1-2 Green chillies thinly chopped
1 tsp Jeera /Cumin seeds
1 tbspn Ginger-Garlic Paste
1/2 tsp Dried Mango powder/Amchoor powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
handful cilantro leaves chopped
Oil to fry paratha

Take a bowl and make the dough by adding flour, kasuri methi, salt, oil and water slowly while mixing and kneading the dough. Form the dough just like roti dough which needs to be pliable. Keep the dough covered with a cloth or plastic wrap while we make the cabbage stuffing.

Now for the stuffing take a kadai, heat oil. Add the cumin seeds when they crackle add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilly and fry. Now add the amchoor, coriander powder and garam masala and and mix well.
Then add the grated cabbage mix well and fry till the cabbage is dry. Add salt to taste and mix.
Garnish with cilantro leaves. Take off the gas and let the mixture cool down.

Make small balls of the dough. Roll the dough into a puri/small round shape now add 1 tbspn of the cabbage filling in the middle. Gather the dough from all sides and seal it.
Now flatten the dough with your fingers. Start by rolling out the dough into a flat round roti with a rolling pin.
Keep dusting with dry flour while rolling if the paratha gets too sticky. Be gentle so that the stuffing doesn't pop out.
Heat a pan/tawa. Add little oil and fry the paratha flip and fry on the other side.
Serve with pickle and yogurt.

Note:
Instead of adding the kasuri methi in the dough you can add it in the cabbage stuffing while cooking.
You can also add onions to this stuffing after adding the cummin seeds and fry.
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Baigan Patiala / Eggplant stir fry

I am a big fan of non-vegetarian dishes. I can literally eat it everyday. While my hubby gets bored of them soon and likes many veggies in his diet. Eggplant is his favorite veggie and he loves it the amchi way "Vaigana talasani" stir fried in oil with lotsa garlic and salt.
I had read about this dish in a magazine while I was in India and vaguely remembered it. I may have missed a few ingredients but the end result was a good eggplant dish and a happy husband! ;)

Ingredients:


2 Eggplants/Brinjals sliced like french fries but not too long

1 Onion, sliced

2 Medium tomatoes, chopped

2 Green Chillies, chopped (can increase if you can handle more heat)

1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Amchoor powder/Dried Mango Powder

1/2 tsp Onion seeds/Nigella/Kalonji seeds

1/4 tsp Red Chilli Powder (add more if needed)

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp garam masala/Kitchen King Masala

Salt

2 tblsp Oil


Method:

In a pan/wok, add oil when hot add cumin & Kalonji seeds when they sizzle add onions and saute till brown - you can add some sugar for them to brown faster. Now add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies fry for a few minutes then add red chilli, turmeric,mango powder, garam masala & mix well.

Add the tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are mushy and you can mash them with a wooden spoon.
Now mix in the eggplants, add salt, cover and let it cook till the eggplants are done. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with roti's.

Note:
I have also tried lightly frying the eggplants before adding them. This surely enhances the taste of the dish but even without frying the dish is great.

Jeera Rice

We live in a college/University town hence we have potlucks often. I love to cook and I am expected to cook Indian food ofcourse. This is one rice preparation that is simple and a hit with any chicken curry especially butter chicken or simple dal fry. Some of my friends just eat the rice by itself as it has it's own flavor with all the ghee and whole spices.

So here goes the recipe for Jeera rice

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (Basmati)- washed and soaked in water for 20 mins
whole spices (1 tsp Jeera, 2 bay leaves, 1 small piece cinnamon, 1 petal star anise and 2 pods of cardamom, 2 cloves and 2 pepper corns)
2 tblspn Ghee
salt as per taste
4 cups hot water

Method:

Heat a pan add ghee when its hot add the spices starting with Jeera. When the spices sizzle add the rice after draining all the water out. Fry for a minute then add some salt mix well. Now add hot water.Cover and cook for 20 mins till rice is cooked.
Serve with Dal/chicken curry/veggie curry.

Note:
1)This is a tip from my mom to add hot water to rice dishes as it ensures the rice grains cook well and grains are separate and they don't get mushy. I swear by it! ;)
2) You can only use Jeera and skip the other spices (that is how actually Jeera rice is made) but I like my Jeera rice with the flavor of other whole spices as well.