Cholay Bature

I started with a plan to make Poori or Puri with Chana Masala. I always thought Batura was just a massive Puri. But its not and today I made Cholay bature and I am so happy with the result. And my whole family enjoyed it as a cold night's dinner. And its not that difficult to make. So here you have it. Enjoy

Cholay Bature (Deep fried flour bread with chickpea curry)

Cholay Bature with onions

Batura (Indian deep fried flat bread made of Flour and potato)
Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 medium sized potatoes boiled, peeled and grated (2 cups grated potato)
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. Oil for deep frying

Let the boiled potatoes cool and grate them. Mix the flour with salt, 1 tbsp oil and the grated potatoes. Mix till it forms a smooth dough. Don't use any water. Cover with a wet paper towel and set aside for 15 minutes. Divide into 6-8 equal parts and roll into a tortilla with a rollling pin by adding some flour on the surface.
Heat oil in a pan and add a little flour. If it comes up add the batura and when it comes up keep pouring hot oil on top ot it. Turn it and repeat till you start getting dark brown spots on the batura. Drain on a paper towel and serve hot with the Choley

Cholay (Chick pea curry with spices)

Punjabi Choley

Ingredients:

1. 1 can chickpeas washed and drained
2. 1 tablespoon oil
3. 1/2 cup finely chopped red onions
4. 1 large tomato chopped fine
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, cumin, dried mango powder (aamchur powder), garam masala, ginger-garlic paste
6. Corainder for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the onions and fry till they start getting a little browned. Add all the ingredients of number 5. Fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and cover and cook till they become pulpy. Add the chickpeas and a cup of water, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Mash a few chicke peas. garnish with cilantro and serve with batura and thinly sliced onions

Dal Sarson Wali aur Kakoda Fry

The other day I wanted to make Sarson Ka Saag which has become my favorite lately. And since I was at the Indian stores I got a couple of bunches of saag or sarson ka saag or the mustard greens. And today I made dal with these greens and it was great
                              I served it with Kakoda or Kantola fry. If possible always get the fresh Kantola and cut them but since its so rare I get the frozen package. The thing with frozen Kantola is, they use the very small Kantola also which can be bitter sometimes. Anyway, here is the yummy vegetarian dinner recipe

Kakoda Fry (Simple Teasel gourd fry)

Kakoda Fry

Ingredients

1. 12 oz frozen package of teasel gourd thawed
2. 1/2-3/4 cup sliced red onion
3. 1 green chilly sliced
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon chilly powder, cumin, coriander powder, turmeric
6. 1 heaped teaspoon peanut powder
7. 1 tablespoon each of chopped cilantro, chopped mint
8. 1-2 tablespoons oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin for a minute. Add the onions and fry till they become translucent. Add green chillies and fry for a minute. Add the kakoda and reduce the heat to medium low. cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients except peanut powder and fry for 5 more minutes. Add the peanut powder stir to combine and fry for 5 more minutes. Cut the heat, sprinkle the mint and cilantro and stir well. Serve

Dal Sarson Wali (Yellow split green grams with tomato and mustard greens)

Dal Sarson wali

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup yellow moong dal dry roasted
2. 2 cup mustard greens roughly chopped and washed
3. 1 large or 2 medium small tomatoes chopped
4. 1 tablespoon chopped onions (optional)
5. 1 big garlic pod chopped
6. 1/4 teaspoon each of mustard seeds, cumin, asafatida
7. 1 green chilly chopped
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric
9. 2 red chillies broken
10. few curry leaves
11. 2 teaspoons oil

In a pressure cooker, cook the dry roasted dal, mustard greens and tomatoes and cook for 4-5 whistles with 2 cups of water and turmeric. After the steam escapes open the cooker and mash the dal. Add 2 more cups of water and boil for 5 minutes. In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a minute. Add onions if using and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry for a couple of minutes. Add this to the dal and salt and continue to boil for 5-6 more minutes. Serve with roti or rice and kakoda fry

                 

Chicken and cheese Biscuit

You know what a Biscuit means in British English and what a biscuit means in American English. The first time I ate a biscuit in America I didn't like it but when I had Biscuits and Gravy it was pretty yummy. But today I made my own variation of Ham and Cheese Biscuit because I don't eat Ham I used sliced deli chicken and since I was using a dark baking pan I baked the biscuits to a golden perfection at 400 degrees instead of 425
                        An ideal weekend breakfast or if you have a little time it can be made on a weekday today. Overall it just took me about 30 minutes to make it and warm and yummy biscuits are ready

Chicken and Cheese Biscuit (Deli sliced chicken and cheese biscuits)

Chicken and Cheese Biscuit

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 1 teaspoon baking powder
3. 1/4 teaspoon each of baking soda, salt
4. 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
5. 1/2 cup chopped smoked deli chicken
6. 3/4 cup coarsely shredded Cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces)
7. 3/4 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten and mixed with 1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees if you are using a light co;lored baking sheet or 400 degrees if the sheet is dark. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles texture of oatmeal. Stir in chicken cheese. Stir in buttermilk just until mixed; do not overmix; gather together into dough.

3. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out dough with 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet. Gather up scraps; roll out once more and cut out additional biscuits; you should have total of 12. Discard trimmings. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake in 425/400 degrees F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

                                                          Serve it plain or with Gravy 

Baingan beenj Salan

There are two kinds of people...one who love eggplant and two who hate eggplant. I belong to the first category from the first time I went to the market and got eggplant all by myself. Before that I belonged to the second group.
                               Anyway, this curry made of eggplant and pinto beans is one of my favourite. When I was in India my mom used to make this curry with eggplant and the beans from the Indian broad beans or Sem ki phalli ke Beej. This goes great with either rice or roti and is super easy to make

Eggplant with beans curry

Baingan Beej Salan (Yummy Eggplant and Pinto Beans curry)

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized American eggplant cut into 1 cm cubes or 2 times as much chopped eggplant as the beans
2. 1 can washed and drained pinto beans
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 cup chopped onion
5. 1 green chilly chopped
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of grated ginger, grated garlic, turmeric, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin
7. Chopped cilantro for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin for a couple of minutes. Add the onions and fry till they become translucent. Ass ginger and garlic and all the spices and fry for a couple of minutes. Add eggplant and fry for 5 minutes. Add the beans and a cup water and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice and Kaccha Khatta or Till ka Khatta or with any of the Roti or Indian Breads

Chicken Enchiladas

Mexican cuisine is one of my favourite cuisine which has rice as a staple other than Indian. There are just so many Mexican eateries here that we can hardly avoid them and my favourite dish is the Enchilada.  And it comes either with a green sauce or red sauce but when we went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, there is a special way of oredering enchiladas there with both the sauces at the same time. You order Enchiladas with Christmas sauce :)
                                       But the Mexican food there in New Mexico was so very different from the Mexican food in California
                              SO I made enchiladas today with flour tortillas, chicken meat and green sauce made of tomatillos


Green Sauce for Enchiladas (Spicy sauce made of Tomatillos and green chillies)

Chicken Enchilada dinner

Tomatillo sauce

Ingredients:

1. 6-8 Tomatillos husk removed and washed
2. 1 jalapeno or 2 serano peppers
3. 1/2 medium sized white onion
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 green bell pepper
6. 1/2 cup cilantro

Broil or roast the tomatillo halfs, green chillies, onions and bell pepper for 3 minutes and turn and broil for 3 more minutes. Take care not to burn them. Let them cool and remove the skin if possible. Grind it with rest of the ingredients into smooth paste. If needed add a little water. Serve with enhciladas or tacos

Chicken for Enchiladas (chicken breasts slow cooked and shredded)



 Ingredients:

1. 2-3 chicken breast
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 1/2 red onion chopped
4. 1/2 teaspoon red chile powder

In a deep pot add all the ingredients and add enough water to cover the chicken and bring to a boil. Simmer for 35- 40 minutes. Drain the meat and let it cool. Shred it with a fork. Reserve the liquid.
I used turkey breast instead of chicken breasts and made turkey enchiladas

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (Flour tortillas filled with chicken and baked)
Ingredients:

1. 6 inch flour tortillas 10
2. 1/2 cup chopped onions
3. 2 tablespoons butter
4. 4 garlic cloves grated
5. Shredded chicken
6. 1 cup cream of chicken soup
7. 1 cup liquid form the cook chicken
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin powder, oregano, marjoram
9. Tamatillo sauce
10. 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
11. 2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

In a pan heat the butter and fry the onions till tender. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add all the spices and stir. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Add the cream of chicken soup, the chicken liquid and 1/2 cup green sauce and sour cream if using. Stir to combine.
Add about a tablespoon of this chicken mixture into a warm tortilla and roll. Greese a 9x13 baking pan. Add a layer of the green sauce and place the tortillla rolls seem side down. Top with chicken and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes until nice and bubbly
Serve with shredded lettuce and baked beans

Potatoes and Broccoli Casserole

I wanted to make Broccoli today and I didn't find anything which I liked and then I started searching for Potatoes and Broccoli and finally I made one of the most creamiest casseroles with broccoli and potatoes
               I used canned cream of chicken and it was pretty good

Potatoes and Broccoli Casserole

Potatoes and Broccoli Au Gratin

Ingredients:

1. 3 large potatoes peeled and microwaved for 3-4 minutes. covered
2. 2 broccoli heads cut into florets and microwaved for 2 minutes covered
3. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, all-purpose flour
4. 3-4 garlic pods grated
5. 1 can cream of chicken
6. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
7. 1/4 teaspoon salt if needed
8. 2 cups 2% milk
9. 1 tablespoon sour cream (optional)
10. 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and add chopped potatoes to it. Top it with broccoli. In a pan heat the olive oil and fry the garlic for a minute. Add the all purpose flour and fry stirring constanly for 5 minutes. Add milk and stir constantly. Add salt and fresh black pepper. Cut the heat. Add the cream of chicken and stir well. Add the sour cream if using. Add this to the casserole and sprinkle of cheese. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove cover and bake further at 300 degrees for 8- minutes. Serve hot