Spinach Chicken Curry (Saagwala Murgh)

This recipe doesn’t use Turmeric Powder & Garam Masala Powder unlike the usual chicken curries. Nevertheless, I added chicken masala powder as I felt the curry was a bit bland.

Ingredients

1. Whole Chicken (cut into curry sized pieces) – 2 lbs
2. Fresh Spinach (chopped coarsely) – 1 large bunch/ Frozen Spinach – 2 cups
3. Diced Onions – 1 medium
4. Diced Tomatoes – 1 medium
5. Garlic Cloves – 4 small
6. Ginger – 2″ piece
7. Cardamom – 2 pods
8. Cinnamon stick – 1″
9. Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
10. Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
11. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp
12. Chicken Masala powder – 1 tbsp (optional)
13. Plain Yogurt – 4 tbsp
14. Oil – 2 tbsp
15. Salt – to taste

Preparation Method

1. If using frozen spinach, defrost it in the microwave before boiling it.
2. Boil the fresh or frozen spinach with 1/2 cup of water for around 5 minutes until the leaves are tender.
3. Wash and drain and chop the spinach very finely or blend it. Set aside.
4. Blend the onions, ginger and garlic with little water to get a smooth paste. Keep it aside.
5. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan and throw in the cardamom and cinnamon.
6. Add the onion paste and stir fry for 5 minutes until the paste is lightly browned.
7. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until mashed and pulpy.
8. Reduce heat and add coriander, cumin, chicken masala and red chilly powders. Stir fry for a minute.
9. Add the chicken pieces and saute for a minute or two.
10. Add 1 tbsp of yogurt at a time and keep browning the chicken for 5-7 minutes.
11. Add the finely chopped/pureed spinach and stir fry for a minute.
12. Add 1 cup of water and salt to taste. Mix everything and simmer gently for half an hour until the chicken is cooked.

Aloo Paratha (Mashed Potato Stuffed Indian Flat Breads)

These Aloo Parathas were made by my mother-in-law. The recipe is very simple and uses minimal ingredients. Onions are not used in this recipe but you may saute onions and mashed potatoes to make the stuffing.

Ingredients

For the Dough

1. Wheat Flour – 2 cups
2. Water – 3/4 cup
3. Salt – to taste
4. Vegetable Oil – 3 tsp
5. Wheat Flour for dusting & rolling – as needed

For the Potato Stuffing

1. Potatoes – 2 medium sized ones
2. Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
3. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
4. Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
5. Finally Chopped Cilantro – 2 to 3 tbsp (Optional)
6. Salt – to taste

Making the dough

1. Take wheat flour in a big bowl. Add little salt and 1 tsp oil to the flour.
2. Add water little by little and start kneading to form a nice and smooth dough which is not sticky.
3. Drizzle a few drops of oil so as to coat the final dough.
4. Cover with a wet cloth or paper towel and keep it aside for 15-30 minutes so that the dough sets.
5. After 30 minutes, take the dough and knead it one more time for a few seconds.

Making the Potato filling

1. Pressure cook the potatoes along with salt until they are thoroughly cooked. You can also boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until tender.
2. Remove skin and mash the potatoes thoroughly using your hands until there are no lumps.
3. Add salt, cilantro, turmeric, chilly and cumin powders to the mashed potato and mix everything well.

Rolling out Parathas

1. Using your palms, make big lemon sized balls from the dough.
2. Flatten each ball and start rolling it on a rolling board to form a thick disc of 3-4″ diameter.
3. Place 2 to 3 tbsp of the potato filling at the centre of the rolled out roti. Lift the edges of the Paratha and bring it towards the center and seal it to make a ball.
4. Flatten the potato filled balls and dust it lightly in flour. Roll it out carefully to make a flat paratha. Dust it in flour as you roll out the parathas. Make sure that the filling doesn’t come out when you roll the parathas.
5. Heat a tava or non stick pan and place the rolled out paratha on it. Cook on medium heat until small brown spots start appearing on the underside.
6. Flip and cook the other side until it is golden brown and starts puffing. Apply a dab of oil on both sides of the paratha to make it soft.
7. Serve these hot Alu Parathas with Curd/Raitha and Pickle.

Note

1. To retain the softness of the Parathas, cover them in a cloth and place it in a Casserole so that it remains fresh.
2. Do not use grinder/mixie for mashing potatoes since the potatoes will stick to the blades and you will have a tough time cleaning the sticky mess.

Baingan Bartha

When it comes to Brinjal, there are not as many Keralite dishes to try as the other vegetables. That’s when I started trying North Indian recipes with Brinjal. Here is my recipe for making Baingan and Green Peas Bhartha. This dish tastes excellent and goes well with Rotis or Naan. So if you have Vegetarian guests at home, try out this recipe and it is sure to please everyone.

Ingredients

1. Eggplant/Brinjal – 1 big one/ 6 to 8 small purple ones (I used the small purple varieties and it tasted much better than the bigger ones)
2. Fresh or Frozen Green Peas – 3/4 cup
3. Finely Diced Onions – 1 medium
4. Chopped Tomatoes – 2 medium
5. Slit Green Chillies – 2
6. Minced Ginger – 1 tbsp
7. Minced Garlic – 1 tbsp
8. Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
9. Red Chilly Powder – 2 tsp
10. Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
11. Fresh Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp
12. Oil – 2 tbsp
13. Salt – to taste

Oven Roasted Brinjals

Preparation Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line a baking tray with foil, apply a few drops of oil on the brinjals and place it on the tray.
2. Bake it for around 35-40 minutes for smaller brinjals and around 1 hour for the bigger varieties.
3. Allow it to cool completely. Remove the skin from the eggplant and mash the flesh thoroughly and keep aside. If the brinjals are cooked thoroughly, the skin will fall off very easily.
4. Heat oil in a non stick pan and saute onions until translucent. Saute the green chillies, minced ginger and garlic for a few minutes.
5. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and cook until mashed and pulpy.
6. Reduce heat and add turmeric, red chilly, coriander, cumin and garam masala powders.
7. Add the mashed eggplant along with green peas and salt to taste.
8. Mix everything well and cook covered for around 10-12 minutes until the eggplant has absorbed all the flavors.
9. Serve Baingan Bhartha with Rotis, Chappathis or Naan.

Mushroom Makhani (Mushroom Butter Masala)

Ingredients

1. Mushrooms (Peeled and quartered) – 3 cups
2. Diced Potatoes – 1 medium (optional)
3. Finely Diced onions – 1 medium
4. Crushed Ripe Tomatoes – 3 medium (You can alternatively use 1 can of store bought Canned Crushed Tomatoes or 1 cup of Tomato Puree)
5. Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
6. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tbsp
7. Garam Masala Powder – 1 tbsp
8. Coriander Powder – 2 tsp
9. Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
10. Whipping Cream – 1 cup
11. Butter/Oil – 1 tbsp
12. Sugar – 1 tsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Water – 1 cup
15. Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) – for garnishing

Preparation Method

1. Peel the mushrooms and quarter it or dice it into bite sized pieces.
2. Meanwhile, remove the stem from the tomatoes make an X (cross) slit with a knife on the rear of each tomato and add it to boiling water for a few minutes.
3. When the skin starts peeling off from the tomatoes, remove it from the boiling water and add it to a bowl full of ice .
4. Allow it to cool completely and then peel off the skin.
5. Crush the tomatoes thoroughly using your hands. You can also put the tomatoes in a blender and then strain to remove the seeds. Keep the crushed/blended tomatoes aside.
6. Heat butter in a non stick pan and saute onions until translucent.
7. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.
8. Reduce heat and add garam masala powder, red chilly powder, turmeric and coriander powder.
9. Add the mushroom and potato pieces along with salt and saute for 2 minutes.
10. Throw in the crushed tomatoes or tomato puree and allow it to cook thoroughly till oil begins to show.
11. Add 1 cup of water along with sugar and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat until the mushrooms and potatoes are cooked.
12. When the veggies are cooked, reduce heat and add whipping cream.
13. Allow it to come to a slow boil and remove from heat.
14. Garnish with cilantro.

Note

1. You can use store bought Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Puree for this recipe.
2. Tomato Paste and Tomato Sauce should not be used instead of Tomato Puree or Crushed Tomatoes as the taste will change. Tomato Paste contains highly concentrated cooked tomatoes and Tomato Sauce contains lot of seasonings. Crushed Tomatoes and Tomato Puree generally contain uncooked tomatoes and we need uncooked tomatoes for this recipe.

Triangle Parathas

Ingredients

1. Wheat Flour – 2 cups
2. Water – 3/4 cup
3. Salt – to taste
4. Vegetable Oil – 3 tsp
5. Wheat Flour for rolling – as needed

Preparation Method

Making the dough

1. Take wheat flour in a big bowl. Add salt and 1 tsp oil to the flour.
2. Add water little by little and start kneading to form a nice and smooth dough which is not sticky.
3. Drizzle a few drops of oil so as to coat the final dough.
4. Cover and keep it aside for 15-30 minutes so that the dough sets.
5. After 30 minutes, take the dough and knead it one more time for a few seconds.

Rolling out Parathas

1. Make lemon sized balls from the dough using your palms.
2. Flatten each ball by dusting it in wheat flour.
3. Place the flattened dough on a rolling board and start rolling to form a thin circle of 4-5″ diameter.
4. With the back of your spoon dipped in oil, apply oil on the flattened paratha.
5. Fold it into half to form a semi circle and again apply oil with the back of your spoon.
6. Fold it once again to form a nice triangle as shown below.
7. Dust the small triangle shaped dough with flour and again start rolling gently so that it forms a bigger triangle.

Making Triangle Parathas

Triangle Shaped Folded Dough

Baking the Parathas

1. Heat a tava or non stick pan and place the rolled out paratha on it.
2. Bake both sides on medium heat  till it is starts puffing and small brown spots start appearing.
3. You can apply a dab of oil on both sides of the paratha to make it softer.