Kashmiri Kahwa

Kashmir is known to be a paradise on earth and  it's a popular tourist spot in the North of India. The valley is painted is varied colors by our creator.  Snow capped mountains of Sonmarg to beautiful Chandanwadi and Bettab valley near Pahalgam to gondola ride in Gulmarg, Kashmir is a pristine beauty.  Its flowering meadows to its sparkling  rivers everything is near perfect in Kashmir. 

Last week I took my dream vacation in Kashmir with a group of 25 ladies.  No matter where we went, we tried the traditional green tea called Kahwa and pretty much got hooked to it. 

When for the first time I had the Kahwa at the houseboat in Dal Lake I asked the guy who served, why there were no spices or almonds added to it. His answer surprised me as he said:”Only Kashmiri Pundits add those spices and almonds.”  I saw this as a cultural difference between not just two kinds of Kahwas but also in the culture of this beautiful valley.

Kahwa is a traditional green tea consumed here.  Making Kahwa is an art in itself which one can experiment with by adding the amount of spices.  For example saffron kahwa has a golden hue while cinnamon kahwa is little brown in color.  Here is the recipe for a  Kahwa.

Ingredients:

2 cups water,  ¾ tsp sugar,  1 small piece of cinnamon, 2 green cardamoms, 4 almonds cut into half,  3or 4 strands of saffron,  ½ tsp kahwa leaves.

Method:

Boil water in a pan, add cinnamon, 2 almonds and green cardamom.

Close the lid to contain the aroma.  Boil for 2 or 3 minutes.

Rub kahwa leaves between your palms and add to the boiling water.

Lower the flame to medium and let it boil for 2 more minutes.  Add saffron and turn off the flame.  Let the lid remain closed.

In the meanwhile crush two almonds and put them in a cup or glass.

After one minute pour tea or kahwa in this cup.

Enjoy the aroma and the taste of kahwa.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone literally means big soup.  It is a thick soup of Italian origin made with seasonal vegetables by adding pasta or some other carbohydrate to make it more substantial. Common ingredients include beans, zucchini, onions, squash, celery, carrots, tomatoes and stock. There is no specific recipe for this soup as it varies from family to family. But one thing is common it is always made with seasonal vegetables.  It can be vegetarian as well as non vegetarian. In case of non-vegetarian soup, chicken broth is added while vegetable broth is used for vegetarian minestrone.  However, in Roman times the base of minestrone used to be bean broth.  Minestrone is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine and is almost as common as pasta or pizza.

As I was traveling North America for last two months, I discovered everyone in my family was a good cook.  In fact everyone made some or other dish with finesse and the result was very satisfying.  The Minestrone soup was made excellent by my sister in law.  She did not mind me sharing this recipe with the world.

Ingredients:

1 big onion, 1 big carrot, 1 stick of celery,  12 green beans, 1 whole zucchini, 3 tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, ½ bell pepper(optional), ¼ cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup pasta or barley,  1 bullion cube, 2 cups of vegetable stock, ½  tsp of pickling spices, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes,  1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Heat oil in a big pan, put pickling spices, red pepper flakes and add chopped onion, chopped celery, carrots and crushed garlic.

Sauté these vegetables but make sure they do not turn brown.

Add green beans, one cube of bullion and vegetable stock.

If you want to add barley do it now but if you want to add pasta make sure that you boil the pasta and keep it aside.  Add pasta at the end so that it tastes better.

Let it simmer for a five-seven minutes and then add zucchini and bell pepper towards the end so that they do not turn mushy. Now give it a boil and then reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add chopped parsley and let it simmer for a couple of  minutes more.

Enjoy your soup with Italian bread dipped into extra virgin olive oil.

(Note: Pickling spice consists of bay leaf, black pepper, coriander seeds, fenugreek and dill seeds).

Kitty's Lamb and Chicken Burgers

For last two months I have been traveling.  My cousin, Kitty, who lives in North America is a very good cook.  Most of the time in our family they have been making red meat burgers but here my cousin told me her secret recipe of lamb and chicken burgers with right touch of spices.  Although I am a vegetarian, I could not resist watching her make these burgers, which turned out to be very yummy as per all the connoisseurs  of burgers present in her house. Here I would like to share Kitty’s secret recipe with all of you.

 Ingredients:

Lamb minced 1 lb., chicken minced 1 lb., 1 big onion, 9 cloves of garlic, 1 cup green coriander washed, and chopped, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander seeds,1 medium size green chilly,  ½  bell pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt to taste.

 Method:

Chop onion, green chilly and bell pepper finely.  Crush garlic. Ground cumin and coriander seeds.  Mix all these ingredients with minced lamb and chicken and mix very well. Add olive oil and salt.  Now make burger size patties.  Grill them on medium heat for 5 or 6 minutes.  If they are overcooked they will turn dry.  It makes  9 to10 patties.

You can eat these patties either in a burger bun with mayo, mustard and ketchup etc.  If you want to eat these as kababs you can enjoy them with green chutney.

Steamed Snack of Oats

Ever since I have discovered the health benefits of Oatmeal, I am obsessed with this grain.  I tried to look or invent recipes using the oats.  Here I have made this snack which you can have either for breakfast or with your cup of evening tea or coffee.  Since oats and semolina is used for steaming this tasty snack, it is quite filling as the soluble fiber in the oatmeal absorbs a considerable amount of water which slows down the digestive process. That is the reason I ate this for my supper and I didn’t feel any hunger pangs till next day breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 cup oat meal, ½ cup rava(semolina), 1 cup yogurt(plain), ½ cup water,  ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/ 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 ½ tsp eno fruit salt,  1 cup green chutney.

 Method:

Grease a 7 inches round flat and keep it aside.

Roast rolled oats in a pan, when they cool off ground them in a mixer.

Roast semolina and let it cool off.

Now put oats and semolina in a pan, add yogurt, water, salt, sugar, turmeric, lemon juice and mix well to make a smooth batter. Add fruit salt and immediately pour half the mixture into the greased mould. Spread a layer of green chutney on this and pour the other half of the mixture on this.

In case you are not too crazy about green chutney made of coriander and mint leaves, you may sauté some vegetables like grated carrots, finely chopped green pepper (bell pepper) or any other vegetable of your choice and fill it in the middle instead of green chutney.

In a big pan pour one cup of water, place a small bowl filled with water in the middle of it and place on the medium heat flame.  Now place the dish with batter on the small bowl and cover the big pan. Let steam cook the batter for 17 minutes. Turn off the flame and cool off the yummy snack.  Cut into small rectangles. Take these out and place them in a plate.

Enjoy with ketchup if you like.

Note: See Green Chutney recipe in Papri Chat blog.

Mathari (salted snack)

Mathari is a very traditional North Indian snack.  It is usually made of white flour and is deep fried.  During winter evenings this goes perfectly with a cup of tea.  Once you start eating this it is very hard to stop yourself.  It was a must preparation in every household in those times when saltines or crackers were not available in India. In olden times parents of groom or bride used to hire a caterer just to make the mathari to be given to guests with other sweets. The best part of the mathari is, it can be preserved for a month when kept in an airtight container.

Mathari always reminds me of my childhood days when we took the train journeys and my parents always kept mathari to be eaten with tea sold in the terracota cups at the railway platforms.

Ingredients:

2 cups white flour, 1 cup semolina, 1 cup wheat flour, ½ cup cooking oil, 2 ½ tsp salt,

1 ½ tsp caraway seeds (ajwain), 1 tsp of dry fenugreek leaves(kasuri methi), 1 pinch of baking powder, pastry cutter or sharp knife,  oil for deep frying or oven for baking.

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a big bowl and make very stiff dough by adding a small amount of water at a time.

Divide the dough into large balls and with the rolling pin make a thick chapatti.

Cut into 2 inch wide and 3 to 4 inches long strips.

 Perforate every strip with a fork a few times. This perforation process stops them from fluffing while frying.  Fluffed up pieces tend to get soggy when cold.  On a warm day, keep these perforated pieces covered with damp muslin cloth.

Heat the oil to medium.  The trick to crispy mathari is to fry them slowly on medium heat.  When you put a mathari piece in the oil, it should sizzle and rise to top slowly not fast. That is when you can make sure that oil is ready for frying.

Fry in small batches till golden brown.  Take them out on a paper towel so excess oil is soaked.  It should be hard when cool.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee while watching your favorite TV show.

Note:

If you are not crazy about fried food, you may bake the mathari in a pre heated 

 Oven of 180 degree C (300degree F) for 20 -30 minutes till they turn golden brown.

Manchurian Idli

Rava (Semolina) Idli is a very light but wholesome meal.  In South India it is generally served as breakfast but in North India folks are very happy to have it as lunch or even as evening snack.  I recently learnt from a friend how to make use of leftover idli by turning that into a new dish called Manchurian idli.  I raised my eyebrows when I heard the name of  this dish.  Idli is a typical Indian dish but Manchurian means something Chinese delicacy. I must admit the end result was very yummy.  So here is my recipe for a Manchurian Idli.

Ingredients for Idli:
Rava 1 cup, yogurt 1 cup,  1/2 cup water approximately, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp eno fruit salt, 1 tsp oil for greasing the idli moulds (small moulds preferably).

Method for Idli:
Take rava, yogurt, water, salt  in a bowl and mix well.
In the meanwhile prepare idli moulds by greasing them.  Now add eno fruit salt to the mix and pour immediately a spoon full in each idli mould if it is a big mould but if it is a small mould put only ½  tsp in it.  On the gas stove put a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker with half a cup water in it.  In this pan or cooker put your prepared idli mould. Cover it well with a lid but in case of pressure cooker don't put the weight on it so that there is room for steam to pass.  Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Take it out of the pan for cooling.  Now take out every idli piece out of the mould. Once you are ready to eat or serve then turn this idli into Manchurian as everyone likes it warm.

Note: if you don’t have small idli moulds, you need to divide every piece of big idli into four parts before making it Manchurian.

Ingredients for Manchurian:

Onion 1 medium, carrots 2 medium size, cabbage shredded 1 cup, green pepper or capsicum 1 small size, soy sauce 1 tsp, tomato ketchup ½ cup, mustard seeds 1 tsp, cooking oil 1 tbsp, salt to taste.

Method:

Cut onion julienne, carrots into thin strips and green pepper into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan, put mustard seeds, when they stop spluttering, add onion till they turn light pink.  Add carrots, green pepper, salt, soy sauce and sauté for 2 minutes. Now add ketchup and idli and mix well.  Manchurian Idli is ready.  Serve warm.  

Pani Puri(Gol Gappa)

Pani Puri or Gol Gappa is an Indian street food which is loved by all age groups across the country. Gol Gappa has the same place in the Indian Food as Hot dog is in American, Tacos is in Mexican and Pizza is in Italian food.  In other words one can’t think of Gol Gappa or other chaats not being a part of  the spread during any wedding or such social function.
Gol Gappa has a myriad of flavors and textures – sweet, salty, tangy, spicy, soft and crispy, which epitomize Indian food.
Here I am writing about a tongue tickling crowd pleaser snack. It is known by different names in the different regions of the country. It is called Gol Gappa in North India, Pani Puri in West & South India and Puchka in East India. This street food sensation adds a flavorful punch to the palate.  

Ingredients for Puri or Gol Gappa:
1cup white flour, ½ cup semolina, ½ cup wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, pinch of baking soda, water for making stiff dough, oil for deep frying, round cookie cutter.

Method:

Mix all the flours, baking soda and salt in a big pan. Add room temperature water little by little to knead stiff dough. Cover it with a damp muslin cloth and keep it aside for 20 minutes.

Now make small equal sized balls of the dough. Do remember to keep them covered with damp muslin cloth.

With the help of rolling pin, roll out thin chapattis. Cut out small rounds with the help of a round cookie cutter or lid of any container. Make sure that these round small chapattis or puris are also covered with damp cloth

Heat oil in a pan. Please make sure that the oil is hot before frying otherwise the puris will soak in excess oil and will not puff. Put a small testing puri. If it comes up fast then the oil is enough hot.
Put 2 or 3 puris in the oil and fry them with the help of a slotted spoon.

While frying, pressing them gently in the center will allow them to puff up. Our aim is to puff up every puri.   Now flip them over and let them cook. Take them out on a paper towel when they are light brown and crisp. Don't let them get dark in color. 

Let them cool. Later you may store them in an airtight container.

Instant Spicy Water

Ingredients:

Jal jeera mix 3 tblsp, water 6 cups, mint leaves ½ cup (fresh or dry), lemon juice 2 tsp,

Black salt to taste,1 tbsp brown sugar, 1tsp red pepper, 1tbsp boondi(optional)

(Jal Jeera Mix pack is available at any Indian Grocery store)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well in a big jar and put in the refrigerator for cooling.

 

For Assembly:

Ingredients:

3 boiled potatoes semi mashed, 1 cup chick peas boiled and drained, green chutney and sweet chutney (see the recipe in Papri Chaat blog)

Method:

Make a small hole on a puffed up puri by tapping gently in the centre on the crisp side. Fill it with potatoes and 2 or 3 chickpeas with some green chutney, sweet chutney and some chilled spicy water prepared earlier. Stir the water before using so that all the spices get mixed.

You have to eat the gol gappa as soon as it gets filled with the spicy water. The best way to serve is to keep them filled with all the dry ingredients and offer guests small bowls filled with spicy water.  Let them dip their gol gappas into the spicy water themselves and eat immediately.