Katharine Hepburn Brownies

These brownies have been doing their rounds in the blogosphere and I made these recently. They were a bit fudgy and had a crisp crust. I added a hint of coffee to it and absolutely loved the choco-coffee flavour it imparted. Abbas and I had one piece each of these after dinner for almost a week. Once they were gone, I badly missed my post dinner brownie indulgence. So made another bunch of brownies, which will make for a new post soon.

Recipe Source: Leites Culinaria

Ingredients:Unsalted butter - 1 stick or 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons

Unsweetened Chocolate -2 oz or 1/4 cup ( I used Morde's dark chocolate)
Sugar -1 cup
Eggs -2
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp
Flour -1/4 cup
Salt -1/4 tsp

Instant Coffee powder - 1 tsp (optional)

Walnuts chopped- 1 cup

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325F or 160C. Line a square baking tin with parchment paper.Prepare your baking pan.

2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in microwave.

3. Add in the sugar and stir well until combined.

4. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

5. Add vanilla extract and coffee powder and beat it well.

6. Fold in flour, salt & walnuts if using till all the ingredients are well incorporates. Do not overbeat.

7. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 40 mins.

8. Let it cool completely and cut into squares.

Sending this to Bookmarked Recipes Every Tuesday event hosted by Aipi and Priya.

Bengali Khichuri

When we were going to bid goodbye to Chennai and moving to Bangalore, I had to do most of the tasks as Abbas was working in Bangalore then. He would arrive along with Kakima (My co-sis’s mom) only on the previous day of our departure. Change of address in post office, transfer of gas connection, surrendering Landline phone, dealing with movers and packers, finishing off the groceries in my pantry. I had kept just enough rice, dal, potatoes, 2 red chillies, pinch of cumin seeds, salt for Khichuri to be prepared. As I had to go to office for the last day clearance, Kakima was going to prepare Khicuri with the limited resources she was provided with… I had marinated some boneless chicken pieces which would be deep fried to go along with Khicuri. To this date, we remember that day’s Khichuri as it had turned out to be yummilicious!!!

Kakima is a super talented cook and her Bengali preparations are to die for. We spent a good three months of time together in Bangalore. It was like a picnic everyday. We had the best of foods hogged as if there was no tomorrow. Kaku would go shopping and we would provide him with a list of groceries. Kakima would churn up delicacies one after the other and indulging in them was sheer bliss. Whenever we talk on phone, we recall those wonderful days spent together and the memories of them are soothing!!! I learnt many Bengali dishes from her but have never been able to match the taste that she imparts to them. Abbas and I are eagerly waiting for Kakima and Kaku’s stay with us….

This is how I prepare Khicuri:

Ingredients:

Moong Dal – 1¼ cups (lightly roasted on Tawa)

Masoor Dal – ¾ cup

Rice – 2 cups (You may use Gobinda bhog rice for a distinctive aroma)

Cauliflower – 8-10 big florets, optional (soaked in hot water with turmeric and salt and drained)

Potato – 3 medium sized, peeled and cut into 2 pieces each
Green peas – a handful (optional)

Onion – 2 large, sliced

Tomatoes – 2 large, finely chopped

Ginger paste – 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Red chillies – 2, broken into 3-4 pieces each

Bay leaves – 2

Salt – to taste

Sugar – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Green chillies – 2-3, finely chopped (optional)

Oil – 5 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash rice and both dals together 5-6 times or till the water is clear. Strain away all water.
2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Add cauliflower florets and sauté till they turn golden and crunchy from outside. Remove from oil and keep aside.
3. Repeat the same for potatoes and keep aside.
4. Add remaining oil to the same pan. Add cumin seeds, once spluttered add red chillies and bay leaves.
5. Add chopped onion and sauté till golden brown.
6. Now add ginger paste and sauté till raw smell goes away.
7. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till they turn mushy and oil separates.
8. Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar and combine.
9. Now add the washed rice and dal, sautéed cauliflower, potatoes and green peas. Mix well. Add 6-7 cups of water, cover with lid and let it boil.
10. When the water boils, slide the lid a bit and on low flame, let it cook till rice and dal are completely cooked. You may add more water if you like a runny Khichuri. If you want a dry Khicuri, once rice and dal are cooked, remove the lid and cook on fly flame till you get the desired consistency. I like my Khicuri neither dry nor too runny. Pour ghee on top and close the lid.
11. Serve hot with anything deep fried, green chillies, lemon wedges and ghee. I generally serve along with Begun Bhaja, Dim Bhaja. This time it was Chicken 65.

Mirchi Bajji - Green Chilli Fritters

Mirchi Bajji always brings me back the memories of Thiruvanmiyur Beach in Chennai. I have some very good memories to cherish associated with this beach. This is where I played Holi for the first time in my life. In Konkani tradition, Holi is only celebrated by men and girls / women are made to simply watch them from a distance. I always thought how much fun it would be to play in colours but never got an opportunity. The funniest part was that Holi is not celebrated in Chennai, so we bought some Rangoli colours. I went with a group of friends, we played Holi in the beach and had all eye balls in the beach instantly rolling towards us. Not only that, we also went back drenched in colours walking back to the main road earning glares and stares of people in the streets.

I also have a beautiful memory of Abbas and I going to this beach early in the morning to watch sunrise. Co-incidentally there were many people out there with telescopes and certain other gadgets… We wondered what was going on there. We learnt later that they had gathered to witness a rare phenomenon (eclipse perhaps, not sure) and sun would appear as though a part of it has been bitten away like an apple. Unfortunately we had forgotten to carry our camera that day! Sigh! But we were glad we captured the scene in our minds and I can still remember it!

You’ll find stalls serving deep fried goodies with coconut chutney. Honestly, I like to eat only the outer cover and leave the actual ingredient aside. Amma used to drop the left over batter in oil as a stream just for me to savour li’l gram dumplings…

Ingredients:

Long green chillies – 6-8, slit  (These are specially available in markets for making bajjis)

Bengal Gram flour / Besan– 1 cup

Rice Flour – ¼ cup

Ajwain – a pinch

Asafoetida powder – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp (optional)

Water – for batter

Oil – for deep frying

Method:

1. Mix together all gram flour, rice flour, salt, ajwain, asafetida powder, red chilli powder along with water. The batter should not be too runny or too thick.
2. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Once the oil is hot, dip chillies in the prepared batter and drop in hot oil. Reduce heat and let it cook, invert in between. Once you think the chillies are cooked, increase heat and remove from oil.
3. Sprinkle chat masala and serve with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

Methi Chapathi - Indian bread with fenugreek leaves

Ma made this as she saw this in one of the cookery shows. She forgot the name of this dish. She claimed that this dish belongs to Orissa. So I asked many of my Oriya friends describing the dish with ingredients to find out what it is called. But they weren’t able to name it. Here I simply christen it as Methi Chapathi. It tastes slightly different than our regular Chapathi as the dough is kneaded using curd. We absolutely loved it with Alur Torkari as side for dinner.

Ingredients

Fenugreek leaves – a fistful, cleaned

Wheat flour / Atta – 2 cups

Curd – 1 cup

Red chilli powder – ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Sugar – 1 tsp

Water – if required to need

Oil – ½ tsp for each chapathi

Method

1. Soak methi leaves in water mixed with little salt and sugar and keep aside for 15 mins. Strain the methi leaves squeeze excess water off.

2. Mix all the ingredients except oil and water and knead well. Add water or wheat floor to get a smooth but firm dough.
3. Cover with a kitchen towel and keep aside for about 30 mins.
4. Make smalls balls out of the dough and roll into small discs using a rolling pan.
5. Heat griddle and place a disc, sprinkle few drops of oil. Once the chapathi starts fluffing, invert and again sprinkle oil. Once it is properly cooked on both sides, remove from griddle and repeat for rest of the dough.

My li'l fairies always happy to help in kitchen...

 

And the final platter...

Chicken 65

Talk about origins of Chicken 65 and there are so many stories which narrate the reason this dish got it's name. Well, what's in a name? Chicken 65 is a famous appetizer mostly in Southern India. And personally I prefer it to Chicken Manchurian as I love the flavour of curry leaves in this dish.

Recipe Source:

Ria's Collection, her recipe source was Monica Bhide's Modern Spice

Ingredients:
Thick plain yogurt - 1 cup
Cornstarch - 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chile powder - 1 tsp
Lemon/lime juice - 1 tbsp
Red food colouring - 2 drops
Salt to start - 1/4 tsp
Boneless chicken - 1 lb, cut into 2” pieces (Please avoid chicken breasts, use boneless skinless thighs or chicken tenders)
Oil for deep frying

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Green chilies - 4 small, finely chopped
Curry leaves – 20

Oil – 2 tbsp

Method:
1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, cornstarch ,ginger garlic paste, chile powder,lemon juice, food colour & salt. Mix well. (The marinade will look pink now which will turn into a luscious red when the chicken is fried.) Add the chicken pieces and mix to combine.
2. Heat about 2 cups of oil in a deep saucepan. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add a few pieces of chicken and fry till they are crisp on the outside and cooked on the inside, 2-3 mins. Remove the pieces using a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Continue until you are done with all the pieces.

3. Place chicken on a serving platter.

4. In a small pan/skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil and when it begins to shimmer, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to sizzle, add the green chilies & curry leaves. Fry for about 30 secs. Pour over the chicken and serve.

Mango Cake - Eggless & Butterless

Many many years ago at my parent’s place in Kundapur…

Over-ripe bananas lying uneaten - Amma would make Mangalore Buns out of them. It’s a sweet deep fried bread.

Over-ripe mushy mangoes lying untouched – Amma would smash them using her hands and extract all the pulp, make rasayana out of it and serve with puris.

My reaction to her antics – “You are being so stingy. You are sneaking in rotten fruits in food just so that they are consumed. Why don’t you throw them away?”

…..

…..

…..

…..

Many years later, now at my household,

Over-ripe bananas lying uneaten – I make banana bread out them

Over-ripe mushy mangoes lying untouched – I make Mango cake out of them

My children are still small to call me stingy but hey, when they do step in my shoes, they will realize one day, just the way I did!!!

Here goes the recipe:

Source – Sailu’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour/maida - 1 1/4 cups

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1 1/4 tsp

Pinch of salt

Sugar - 2/3 cup ((I used powdered sugar)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Mango puree - 3/4 cup

Refined oil - 1/2 cup

Buttermilk - 1/2 cup (or ½ cup milk + ½ tbsp lemon juice kept aside for 10 mins)

Method:

1.      Pre-heat the oven at 180C.

2.      Grease and flour an 8″-9″ round baking tin.

3.      Sieve flour, baking pwd, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and cardamom powder to the flour mixture and mix.

4.      In a bowl, add vegetable oil, buttermilk and mango puree and mix well. Now, add the flour mixture and mix with the wet ingredients. Do not over mix. Gently tap the pan on the kitchen counter once to release any air bubbles.

5.      Pour into the prepared aluminum tin.

6.      Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool on wire rack.

Sending this to Bookmarked Recipes Every Tuesday hosted by Aipi and Priya

Tadka

The Amchi soul in me jumps at the sight of Taro leaves, Bread Fruit, Bamboo Shoots and many such rarely available ingredients. Similarly with time, my Amchi Soul has split into two personalities. Its new born twin is Bong, you see… It jumps at the sight of Date Palm Jaggery, Gobindo Bhog Rice, Bodi and the like! A couple of months back we discovered this Bengali Store which stocked up all such goodies which are hardly seen anywhere in Bangalore. Just looking at all that the store had to offer made me nostalgic. I was reminded of our ‘Paara’s Mudikhana dokan’ (local grocery store) and the faces of the storekeepers came floating in my mind like movie clippings. I stood there inspecting each and every shelf to ensure I was not missing anything. I spotted this ‘Tadka masala’ which Bhabi used to use whenever she made Tadka at home. It was then that I realized I hadn’t eaten Tadka in ages…

Green gram captivated me for the first time when Bhabi prepared this dish at home to go along with Puris for breakfast. She also added eggs to it which made it even more special. Tadka can be served with Rotis for lunch or dinner as well…

Ingredients:

Green Gram – 1 cup, washed and soaked overnight

Onion – 2, medium sized, finely chopped

Tomatoes – 2, medium sized, finely chopped

Ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Garlic paste – 1 tsp (optional)

Red chillies – 1, broken into 3-4 pieces

Bay leaf – 1-2

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Green chillies – 2 or more as per spice tolerance, chopped (Optional)

Salt – to taste

Tadka masala – 2 tsp

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Eggs – 2 (opional)

Oil – 3 tbsp + ½ tbsp

Coriander leaves – a handful, finely chopped

Method:

1. Boil soaked green gram in pressure cooker with salt for 4-5 whistles (2 on high, rest on low). Retain the water.
2. Omit this step if not adding eggs: Heat ½ tbsp oil in a pan and 2 eggs in it along with salt. Scramble eggs and keep aside.
3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in the same pan. Add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add red chillies and bay leaves.
4. Add chopped onion and sauté till they turn light brown.
5. Add ginger paste and garlic paste (if adding) and sauté till raw smell goes away.
6. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till they become mushy and oil separates.
7. Add boiled green gram along with the water, tadka masala, turmeric powder and salt (Check salt before adding as the gram boiled water would already be salty). Boil till you get the desired consistency.
8. Granish with scrambled eggs and coriander leaves.

Note:

I used Sunrise brand Tadka Masala. If it is not available, you may substitute with Pav Bhaji Masala or Kitchen King Masala.