Archive for year: 2020

Christmas celebrations are not complete without a turkey on the table in Britain. Likewise, it is the most relished meat in the United States during Thanksgiving!

I roast a turkey every year during Christmas and I love the entire process from buying to putting it on the table for my family. About 7 years ago, I discovered turkey mince and was very excited to be able to explore different dishes. Also, turkey is lean meat and is more healthy compared to lamb, pork or beef.

Today’s recipe is Turkey koftas in a rich  gravy! It is one of my family’s favourite dishes and is a regular for dinner!

• Cuisine: Indian
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 40 minutes
• Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the koftas (meat balls)- makes 30 medium sized meat balls

• Turkey mince 750 grams
• Cornflour 1 tablespoon
• Garlic paste 1/2 teaspoon
• Ginger paste 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin powder 1 teaspoon
• Coriander powder 1 teaspoon
• Garam masala powder (blend of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves) 1 teaspoon
• Paprika 1 teaspoon
• Red chilli powder 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow frying

For the rich gravy:

• Onion, sliced 2 medium
• Tomatoes, chopped 2 large
• Garlic paste, 1/2 teaspoon
• Ginger paste 1/2 paste
• Dry red chillies 2-3
• Cardamoms 2-3
• Cloves 2-3
• Cinnamon 1 inch sticks 2
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tablespoon
• Cumin powder 1 teaspoon
• Fresh cream 2 tablespoons
• Salt to taste
• Oil 3 tablespoons for cooking
• Water 1 cup

Method:

1. Wash the turkey mince and drain the excess water. Tranfer it to a plate and knead it like a dough. Add garlic paste, ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, paprika, red chilli powder, cornflour and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well.

2. Divide it into 30 equal parts and roll them into balls.

 

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan and shallow fry the meat balls for 2 minutes. Reduce the flame and cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

 

For the rich gravy:

4. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick pan and add Cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamoms and cook for a minute.

5. Add the sliced onions and saute’ until golden brown. Add the garlic paste and cook for 1 minute. In the meantime, grind the chopped tomatoes, ginger paste and the dry red chillies to a smooth paste.

6. Once the onions are golden brown, add the tomato chilli paste and cook until the oil starts separating. Add 1 cup of water and salt to taste and bring it to a boil.

7. Add the koftas (meat balls) in the gravy and cook for 10 minutes. Add fresh cream and bring it to a boil. Switch off the gas and leave it for a minute.

8. The turkey koftas are ready to be served with a bowl of rice or a flatbread of your choice.

 

Today’s recipe is Paprika fried chicken, inspired by the Southern fried chicken which is more commonly known as KFC (Kentucky fried chicken). It is a favourite amongst all age groups. Easy to make; great to taste; hard to share.

• Cuisine: Southern US
• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Cooking time: 30 minutes
• Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Chicken 1 Kg (thighs with or without bone)- you can also make it with chicken legs
• Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
• Ginger paste 1 teaspoon
• Lemon juice 1 teaspoon
• Black pepper 1 teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon (1 tablespoon if you would like it to be spicy)
• Paprika 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Chicken coating:

• Egg 1 large
• Milk 2 tablespoons
• Plain flour 2 cups
• Cornflour 1/2 cup
• Breadcrumbs (golden)- you can buy it in the supermarket 1/2 cup
• Paprika 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces (boneless or with bone) with garlic paste, ginger paste, lemon juice, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and salt to taste. Cover it with a cling film and leave it aside for a few hours.

2. To prepare the coating:

• Beat the egg in a large bowl, add milk and mix it well.
• In a separate bowl, add plain flour, cornflour, breadcrumbs, paprika and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well.

Method:

1. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and milk batter and coat it in the flour mixture.

2. After coating it, leave it on a plate for 20 minutes.

3. Heat sufficient oil in a deep non-stick pan, so that the chicken pieces completely immerse in the oil.

4. Drop the chicken pieces one by one, when the oil is hot. You can cook 4-5 pieces at a time, depending upon the size of the pieces.

5. Fry till it becomes golden brown on each side (this would take 1-2 minutes). Reduce the flame and leave the pieces in the oil for 20 minutes.

6. Remove the chicken pieces from the oil and drain it on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.

7. Serve hot with a bowl of fries, salad and a dip of your choice. Please try this recipe and enjoy crispy and tasty fried chicken. Let me know if you liked it!

 

 

The last day of the vegetarian week! A mouth-watering dish from North India, which is very popular all over the world. It is a combination of chole (spicy white chickpeas), bhatura (fried bread made with plain flour and yogurt) and raita (an accompaniment made with yogurt). It is one of my favourites and I don’t miss non-vegetarian food, if I have chole bhature on my plate. Let’s start with the recipe!!

• Cuisine: Indian
• Serves: 6-8
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 40-60 minutes

Ingredients:

Chole:

• Chickpeas (2 cans of boiled chick peas) 800g or 2 cups chickpeas (uncooked)
• Onion. finely chopped 2 large
• Tomatoes, pureed 4 medium
• Ginger paste 1 teaspoon
• Lemon juice 1 teaspoon
• Bay leaves 2-3
• Cinnamon 1 inch stick
• Cardamons 2-3
• Turmeric 1 teaspoon
• Cumin 1 tablespoon
• Coriander 1 tablespoon
• Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
• Amchoor (dried mango powder) 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Water to boil the chickpeas if they are not already boiled

Bhature:

• Plain flour or self-raising flour 3 cups or 375 grams(I have always used plain flour for bhature. In this lockdown, I could not find plain flour but still wanted to make them. I used self-raising flour instead- to try something new! Now, I can happily say, that it can be made with either of them).
• Baking powder 1 teaspoon
• Yogurt 6 tablespoons
• Bicarbonate of soda 1/2 a teaspoon
• Baking powder 1teaspoon
• Oil 4 cups of oil
• 1 cup of warm water

Garnish:

• Red onion, finely chopped 1 large
• Lemon wedges
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)
• Green chillies, chopped

Method:

Chole:

1. If using uncooked chickpeas, then soak in overnight. Boil it in double the amount of water until tender. The chick peas are already boiled if you have the cans.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep non-stick pan, add bay leaves, cinnamon and cardamoms and cook them for 1 minute. Saute’ the onions till golden brown. Add the pureed tomatoes, ginger paste, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, amchoor and red chilli powder. Cook until the onions and tomatoes start to make a thick gravy.

3. Drain the water from the canned chick peas (or boiled chick peas) and add it to the gravy with salt as per taste.

4. Cook it in gentle heat for 20 minutes. Serve it in a bowl and garnish it with chopped onions, coriander (optional) and lemon wedges. Add chopped chillies to make it extra-hot if you prefer. Squeeze the lemon juice on the chole to make it more tasty.

Bhature:

5. Mix plain flour (or self raising flour), salt to taste, 2 tablespoons of oil, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and yogurt. Mix all the ingredients well. Use 1 cup of warm water to it and knead it to make a soft dough. Cover it with cling film and leave it for 3-4 hours.

6. After few hours, knead the dough again and divide it into 20 equal parts. Roll them between the palms and then roll out into 6-inch diskettes.

7. Heat the remaining oil in a deep pan and fry the bhaturas till light brown on both sides. Drain them on a kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Serve them with the chole.

 

Yogurt raita:

8. Add cumin powder and salt to the yogurt to make a simple raita, which goes really well with the spicy chickpeas.

Enjoy the delicious chole-bhature with yogurt raita!

Paneer is fresh cheese aka cottage cheese, common in the Indian subcontinent.Palak paneer is very close to my heart, as the flavour of palak (spinach) reminds me of my childhood. It is my daughter’s favourite too! It is simple to make but is very tasty and goes well with either rice or naan (indian flatbread).

• Cuisine: Indian
• Serves 4
• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Paneer (cottage cheese) 250 grams, cut into small cubes (easily available in the supermarket)
2. Spinach 250 grams
3. Onion, sliced 1 large
4. Tomatoes, chopped 2 medium
5. Ginger paste 1 teaspoon
6. Cumin powder
7. Garam masala powder (a blend of ground spices, easily available in the supermarket)
8. Cayenne pepper
9. Salt to taste
10. Oil 2 tablespoon
11. Water to boil spinach
12. Fresh cream 2 tablespoons

Method:

1. Heat oil in a deep non-stick pan and saute’ the cottage cheese pieces till golden brown.

2. Boil water in a pan and add the spinach to it. Boil it for 5 minutes and strain the spinach in a colander to remove excess water.

3. Add the boiled spinach, tomatoes and ginger paste in the grinder and grind it to form a green paste.

4. Heat oil in the same pan (where you had fried the cotttage cheese cubes) and saute’ onions till golden brown.

5. Add the green paste, cumin powder, garam masala powder and cayenne pepper to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Add a cup of water and salt to taste, cook for another 3 minutes.

6. Add the cottage cheese pieces and boil it together for 5 minutes. Add cream and mix well.

7. Serve hot with rice or naan.