Jhinge Khalli

Khalli as we call it or Telaga Pindi as it is called in Telugu is the part of sesame seed which is left over after it had been thoroughly ground down and squeezed of all the oil. But it is still sesame seed powder which is super delicious, once you know how to cook it and very healthy too.

It is one of the main dishes which is served to new moms because of its many benefits

Today I made it with some shrimp. It can also be made just plain without anything or with different vegetables like Chinese Okra or Turai or Snake gourd also. The dish with shrimp is most delicious if dried shrimp are used but since today I don't have them I made them with regular shrimp. The little the shrimp the delicious the dish

Jhinge Khalli (Sesame seed powder with Shrimp)

Jhinga Khalli

Ingredients:

1. handful of shrimp (if dried soak them in water for 15 minutes)
2. Handful of sliced red onions
3. 1/2 cup Khalli mixed with half cup water
4. 1 cup water
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric powder
6. 1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
7. 2 garlic sliced
8. 1/2 teaspoon each of urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds
9. 1 or more garlic chopped
10. few curry leaves
11. 2-3 dried red chilli cut into pieces
12. 1 tablespoon oil

Bring the water along with salt, turmeric, chilli powder sliced garlic and onions to a roaring boil. Add the shrimp and Khalli to it and mix till all the water evaporates (may take a while). In a pan heat the oil and fry the urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves till they start to splutter. Add chopped garlic and fry till it becomes lightly brown. Add this tempering to the khalli and mix well. Serve with hot steamed rice and dal

Gobi Paratha with Masoor Dal Mirch Tadka

This is one of my favorite parathas. Easy to make (roll eyes...paratha making is a bit difficult). None the less I love it and today I made it for dinner. And to go with it, I am making Tadka masoor dal. Hot dinner for a chilly fall evening

Gobi Paratha Stuffing (cauliflower stuffing for Indian Bread)

Phool Gobi Paratha Stuffing

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups finely chopped cauliflower
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, amchur powder (optional), cumin
3. 1/2 tablespoon oil
4. 1 big or 2 small garlic pods grated
5. 1 green chilli finely chopped

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin for a minute. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients stir to combine and cover and cook for 10-12 minutes. Let it cool

Gobi Paratha (Cauliflower stuffed Roti)
Ingredients:

1. 3 cups wheat flour and more for making roti
2. 1/2 teaspoon salt
3. Oil for frying

Mix the wheat flour with salt and then with about 11/2 cups of water. Apply a teaspoon of oil to your palms and roll the dough and cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Divide it into 10 equal parts and also divide the cauliflower stuffing into 10 parts. Roll the dough into small roti and stuff the gobi in roti and make into a ball again and set aside.

Put some flour on the surface and roll again carefully into a roti. Heat a griddle and fry the roti till dark brown spots form on the roti. Serve hot with Dal

Masoor dal Mirch Tadka (Red lentil and bell peppers)

Masoor dal Mirch Tadka

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup masoor dal
2. 1/2 of small bell pepper chopped fine
3. 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. 1 teaspoon besan or chick pea flour
6. 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup chopped tomato
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, ginger garlic paste, turmeric , garam masala powder
8. 1 teaspoon salt
9. few curry leaves
10. 2-3 dried red chillies

In a pressure cooker cook the masoor dal along with tomatoes and turmeric for 3-5 whistles. Let all the steam escape. In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds and urad dal till they start to splutter. Mix the besan and yogurt and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and fry till they start to brown. Add the bell pepper and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds. Add the yogurt mix , dal and 1-2 cups of water and salt and mix well. Bring it to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add garam masala stir to combine, garnish with cilantro and serve with roti

Dal Tadka and Patta Gobi Phugina

Cabbage is one of those vegetables which becomes delicious when paired with any other vegetable or meat. Today it was scrambled eggs with Cabbage. And with it I also made my new favorite lentil recipe-the Tadka Dal and yummy hot dinner was ready

Dal Tadka (Split peas and lentil soup)

Tadka Dal

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup Chana dal or yellow split peas
2. 1/2 cup Masoor dal
3. 1/2 cup roughly chopped onions
4. 1/2 cup chopped tomato
5. 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten
6. 1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
7. 1 tablespoon oil
8. 2 garlic pods chopped fine
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, asafoetida
10. 3 dried red chillies broken
11. few curry leaves
12. 1/2 teaspoon each of coriander powder, garam masala, salt or to taste

In a pressure cooker cook the chana dal and masoor dal along with tomatoes and onions for 4-5 whistles with 2 cups water. Mash then after the steam from the cooker escapes.

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin, mustard seeds and urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves till they splutter. Add finely chopped onions and fry till they become brown. Add garlic and fry till they become a little brown. Add this to the dal along with all the spices and yogurt and 2 cups of water Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. garnish with cilantro and enjoy

Cabbage Fry 

Cabbage Fry

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 medium sized cabbage chopped fine about 4 cups
2. 2 medium tomatoes chopped fine, about 1/2 cup
3. 1/2 cup chopped onions
4. 1 serrano chilli chopped
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger garlic paste, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder
6. 2 tablespoons oil

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they become translucent. Add green chillies and ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add all the powdered ingredients mix well and add the cabbage. Stir well and cover and cook for 15 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro and enjoy

Patta Gobi Phugina (Scrambled eggs with Cabbage)

Scrambled eggs with Cabbage

Ingredients:

1. 3-4 cups cabbage fry 
2. 2 large eggs well beaten

In the pan you cooked cabbage fry for 15 minutes, add the beaten eggs and stir well to combine in the process scrambling the eggs. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. garnish with cilantro and enjoy

Shrimp Fajita

When you order Fajitas in a restaurant we get whatever meat we ordered plus onions and bell pepper. But when we go and order Shrimp Fajita at Port o' Cal we get Potatoes and tomatoes along with onions and bell pepper and it is served with a loaf of garlic bread. And this is what I made for Lunch today. Special Sunday Lunch Served Sir!!!


Shrimp Fajita (Stir fried shrimp with veggies)

Shrimp Fajita

Shrimp Fajita

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb shelled and deveined shrimp
2. 4 medium or 3 large potatoes boiled and peeled
3. 1 medium green bell pepper cut into strips
4. 1 medium large white onion sliced
5. 1 tablespoon each of butter, canola oil
6. 3 medium roma tomatoes cut into 8 slices
7. 1 chicken bouillon mixed  in a cup of water
8. 1 teaspoon each of corn starch, garlic powder, onion owder
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of paprika, fresh ground black pepper

Mix the corn starch into the water with chicken bouillon

In a wide pan heat the oil and butter and fry the onions and green pepper for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add shrimp to the pan and fry for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and quartered boiled potatoes. Add the onions and bell pepper back to the pot. Add the corn starch water and stir to combine. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Stir again and simmer for 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with garlic bread and lemon wedges

Tuna chunks in coconut gravy

The other day when I went fishing...in the super market I found Tuna and I got two big pieces. One I cut up into medium size chunks and made curry and the other I cut up into medallions and fried them

Today I wanted to eat a gravy based curry with my fried rice. So the tuna was made into a Thai flavored curry in coconut sauce with broccoli and it was great

Ingredients

1 lb tuna cut into chunks

2-3 cups broccoli florets

2 medium small tomatoes cut into wedges

2 cup lite coconut milk or 1 cup regular coconut milk+ 1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup very finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon red curry paste (optional)

1 teaspoon grated garlic and ginger

1 tablespoon each of soy sauce, white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt or less

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions for a couple of minutes. Add ginger and garlic and the red Thai curry paste if using and fry for 5 minutes. Add all the ingredients and bring to a a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and give a taste test. Adjust the salt and tangyness. Enjoy with white or fried rice

Chicken noodle soup

Chicken Noodle soup

Ingredients

1. 2 chicken breasts cut into 1 cm cubes
2. 1 medium small onion chopped fine
3. 1 chicken bouillon
4. 1 medium carrot chopped fine
5. 1 cup barley shaped egg noodles
6. 1/2 tablespoon each of olive oil, butter
7. 3 large garlic grated
8. 1/2 teaspoon salt or as needed
9. 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
10. 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or dried oregano (the magic ingredient)

In a heavy bottomed pan het the oil and butter and fry the onions till tender. Add garlic and fry for 30 minutes. Add chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add carrots and fry for 5 more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the egg noodles and keep boiling as needed ( mine needed 10 minutes) . Simmer for 3 more minutes and if you like your soup not so brothy mix 1 heaped teaspoon all-purpose flour in 1/4 cup water and stir into soup before simmering 3 minutes. Enjoy a piping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup

Palak gosht

I wanted to eat green vegetables or bhaji. My favorite being thota kura with lamb. But these days you can hardly find any leafy vegetables in the indian stores. So I made my second favorite...spinach with lamb. I used a pound of lamb leg with bones. And everyone just gobbled it. Bone in meat seems to be  much more flavorful to me

Palak gosht (spinach and lamb curry)

Palak Gosht

Ingredients

1. 1 can leaf spinach drained
2. 1 lb lamb cut into 1 inch cubes
3. 1 medium tomato chopped fine
4. 1 medium small onion chopped fine
5. 1/2 cup plain yogurt beaten
6. 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
7. 1 tablespoon oil
8. 1 teaspoon each of salt, coriander powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, chilly powder

In a pressure cooker cook the lamb with turmeric wi a little bit of water for 3 whistles.

Grind the spinach end into paste

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they start changing color. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes salt, chilly powder and coriander and cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy. Add spinach stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add the lamb and beaten yogurt and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with rice and rasam or roti