Chili

I used to make chili on a regular basis but I don't know what happened that made me stop. When I was making chili today I realized I haven't made chili in atleast an year.

Anyway it was nice making the chili. It was like meeting. Long lost friend

Chili (meat and bean stew)

Ingredients

• 1)1 lb ground lamb or beef
• 2)1 can diced tomatoes
• 3)1 can tomato sauce
• 4)1/4 cup water
• 5)1 teaspoon salt, cayenne cumin, ground coriander
• 6)1 medium large finely chopped onions, chopped green bell pepper
• 7)2 big or 4 small garlic pods grated
• 8)2 tablespoon oil
• 9)1 can northern beans or kidney beans

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and add cumin and fry for a minute. fry the onions till tender. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add ground meat and fry for 5-7 minutes Add all the remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat for 50-60 minutes. Garnish with cilantro , onions and if preferred grated cheddar cheese and serve with grilled french bread

Lamb kaboodeh with saffron rice and cucumber salad

I wanted to make some Mediterranean dish because I got this whole wheat pita bread from the store the other day. This pita bread was amazing and I just wanted to make something to go with it. So here is the menu for today.




Lamb kaboodeh( ground lamb kabob)
Ingredients

Lamb Kaboodeh

1 lb ground lamb
1/2 medium sized red onion grated
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
2-3 garlic pods grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1-2 tablespoons milk
Pinch of saffron
1 egg beaten
I tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Squeeze as much water as possible from the grated onions. Heat the milk and at the saffron
And let it stand for 10 minutes
Mix all the ingredients together with a light hand. Divide it into 5 equal parts and make it into logs or put them on a skiver. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes. Turn them half way through. Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish


Saffron Rice

Cucumber salad

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1. 1 medium small cucumber peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces

2. 1 Roma tomato seeded and chopped in the same size

3. 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped red onion, fresh squeezed lemon juice

4. 1/2-3/4 Teaspoon salt

5. 1/2 teaspoon pepper

6. 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint (optional)

7. 1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper (optional)

Let the onions and lemon juice sit together until you cut all the other veggies. Mix the rest of the ingredients together. Hold the salt until you are ready to serve else it will make the veggies lose water. Enjoy

Masoor Khichidi, Sheek Kabab aur Dahi Raita

Today being the day light saving day, everything happens late. I did change my clocks last night but in the morning I was still going by my biological clock and I didn't start cooking atleast by 12 PM. I had to cook something fast, ofcourse I put the ground meat to thaw in the morning itself. So the menu for the afternoon is Masoor ki Khichidi with Cauliflower, yummy Sheek kabaab with ground lamb and easy yogurt raita
Masoor Khichidi (Rice with Red Lentils)

Masoor pulao with carrots in a clay pot

Sheek Kabab with Masoor Khichidi

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups uncooked basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 15 minutes
2. 1/2 cup masoor dal
3. 1 tablespoons oil
4. 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
5. 2-3 cloves and 1 inch cinnamon broken into 3-4 pieces
6. 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
7. 2 cups chopped cauliflower florets
8. 2 green chillies slit
9. 3/4 teaspoon salt

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start changing color. Add ginger-garlic paste and the cloves and cinnamon and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the slit green chillies and cauliflower and fry for a few minute. Add 3 cups of water (1: 1.5 rice:water) and add salt to it and bring it to a boil. Dry roast Masoor dal this before hand, it will enhance the taste of the khichidi). Close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and serve hot with Sheek Kabaab  and Yogurt Raita

Sheek Kabab ( Ground lamb mixed with spices and baked)
Ingredients:

1. 1 lb ground lamb
2. 1/2 medium sized red onion chopped fine
3. 1-2 green chillies chopped fine
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger-garlic paste
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 cup bread crumbs
7. 2 teaspoons oil
8. 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground blackpepper
9. 1 tablespoon milk
10. 1 egg beaten

Mix all the ingredients together with a light hand. Divide it into 8-10 equal parts and make it into little logs on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the logs of sheek kabab and bake further for 10 more minutes. Serve as an appetizer or as a side dish

Here is the recipe for Dahi/Yogurt Raita

Methi Mutter Gosht

Methi or Fenugreek leaves are one of the few ingredients which are a bit bitter. (Bitter is call Kadva or kadvi and Hindi and I just had a brain freeze and couldn't remember the word) Anyway, but if you know how to handle it, it turns out great.
                    So the dish I made today is with fenugreel leaves, peas and boneless lamb. This is a great tasting recipe with health benefits too. Fenugreek is supposed to be good for you

Methi Mutter Gosht (Fenugreek leaves and peas with Lamb)

Methi Mutter Gosht

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 lb boneless lamb cut into 1 cm cubes
2. 1 cup each of fresh peas, frozen fenugreek leaves thawed
3. 1 tablespoons oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger-garlic paste, salt, chilly powder, turmeric
5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
6. 1 cup sliced red onion
7. 2 tablespoons plain yogurt beaten

Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt on the methi or fenugreek leaves and set aside for 15 minutes. Squeeze as much water as possible (this will take out most of the bitterness)
In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add turmeric, salt and chilly powder and the cubed meat and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the methi and 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 whistles. After the steam escapes open the cooker and add the peas and the yogurt and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with phulka or roti

Kheema fried rice with Kadhai Paneer

The last post I posted was for Kheema Mutter which I made for relatives in a hurry. And in a hurry they were and they didn't eat as much as I anticipated and I had a quite a lot of rice and Kheema Mutter left over. So I made a delicious fried rice with them and I served it with one of the most amazing paneer dishes-Kadhai Paneer

Kheema Fried Rice (Fried rice with ground lamb)

Kheema Mutter

Kheema Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups cooked Kheema Mutter
2. 3-4 cups of cooked rice (11/2-2 cups or uncooked rice)
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, salt, fresh ground black pepper
4. 1 tablespoon each of butter, oil
5. 1 large leek chopped
6. 1/2 cup chicken stock
7. 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

In a pan heat the butter and oil and fry the cumin for 3-4 minutes. Add chopped leeks and fry for 5 minutes. Add the kheema mutter , salt, pepper and stock and bring to a boil. Add the rice and stir to combine. Cover and cook on medium low heat for 5 minutes. Garnish with a generous amount of cilantro stir well and cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve as is or with Kadhai Paneer

Kadhai Paneer (Cottage cheese cooked in a wok along with Bell Pepper)

Kadhai Paneer

Ingredients:

1. 200gms of paneer brick cut into long strips 1/2 cm thick and 2 inches long
2. 1 red bell pepper cut into equal sized strips as paneer
3. 3 tablespoons oil divided
4. 1 medium onion ground to paste
5. 1 inch ginger ground to paste along with onion
6. 2 medium or 1 large tomato ground to paste
7. 3 bay leaves
8. 1 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder
9. 1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Here is how to make Fresh paneer
In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil and fry the paneer pieces for 5-7 minutes. Drain and set aside. Add the remaining oil and fry the onions till raw smell dissapears and the paste starts to get brown. Add the powders and stir well. Add tomato paste and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add capsicum or bell pepper and paneer and 1 cup of water cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if desired, serve with roti or plain rice or with any fried rice