Raw Papaya Kofta Curry

Papaya is not just a delicious fruit; it contains abundant health benefits and medicinal values.  Papain enzyme present in green or unripe papaya is much more beneficial for our body than the ripened papaya fruit.  In fact,  green papaya juice helps in correction of bowel irregularities in a relatively short time including indigestion, constipation, acid reflux, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach ulcers, and other more serious gastrointestinal disorders.

Recently, we went to farmland owned by my husband and his family and were overwhelmed to see mango orchards.  We were walking around picking radish, guava and some other fruits and vegetables.  I saw a couple of trees of papaya and asked the farm manager to give one or two raw papayas.  I thought if I wrap the raw papaya in a newspaper it might ripen on its own.  Its then I heard some words of wisdom that raw papaya can be cooked into varied ways.  It can be turned into Kofta curry.  Koftas are like small dumplings made of grated raw papaya along with some spices and condiments.

Ingredients:
For dumpling or Kofta:

1 medium size raw or green papaya peeled and grated, 1 medium size onion grated,  4 tsp besan or chickpea flour, 1 small green chili chopped finely,  ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp dry mango powder, oil for deep frying.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients very well so that it becomes kind of smooth.   Deep fry the dumplings in the heated oil by putting a small tsp of mix at a time.  You may fry five or six dumplings at one time, depending on the size of your pan. When all are done keep them separate.  Now prepare the curry for the dumplings.

Ingredients

For the Curry:

1 big onion, peeled and finely chopped, 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped, ½ inch piece of ginger grated, ½ tsp of cumin seeds, 1 ½ tsp of coriander powder, 1 tsp of garam massala,  1 tsp of red pepper(optional), 3 medium size tomatoes finely chopped, 1 tbsp of plain yogurt, salt to taste.

Method:

Heat a tbsp of cooking oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds to it.  When they stop spluttering, add ginger.  After 30 seconds add onion and garlic and reduce the flame to medium. Let this mix cook very well; add salt (keep in mind that dumplings are also salty). Once it leaves oil on the sides, add tomatoes and coriander powder.  When this is well blended, add yogurt.  Cook for another two minutes.  Put 2 to 3 cups of water in this mix.  Add red pepper as that will give color to the curry.  Once a boil comes, add fried dumplings to it.  Give another boil, add garam massala or curry powder and cover it.  Turn off the flame.  Serve hot with chapatti, Nan or rice.

Cherry Almond Shortbread

I wish everyone a very happy, healthy 2013.  Hope you invent new dishes and enjoy eating them as well.

Shortbread cookies are Scottish in origin.  These rich, tender and crumbly cookies were once served on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.  Once you have made the basic dough of butter, vanilla, white flour and sugar you may experiment by adding varied ingredients like fruits, chocolate chips or nuts.

I added almonds and cherries which were sitting in my refrigerator.  I was pleased with the result as small speckles of cherry shine through the baked shortbread wedges, thus adding beauty to yummy cookies.

  

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar, 1 cup butter at room temperature, 2 tbsp cooking oil, 2 ½  cups white flour, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp ground cardamom,  ½ cup peeled and chopped almonds, ½ cup chopped cherries (frozen or preserved)

For Glaze:

1 tbsp powered sugar, 1 ½ tbsp milk

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degree F (200 degree C).

Grease two 9 inches pie pans.

In large bowl, cream together sugar, butter and cooking oil with an electric beater.

Blend white flour, cardamom powder and vanilla essence into the creamed mixture with a spatula.

Mix cherry and almond bits with the dough very well.

Dough will be crumbly.  Divide the dough into two parts.

Press in the bottom of greased pans.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool 10 minutes.  Cut shortbread into 15 wedges while warm.

Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over cool wedges of shortbread.

Soya Kebabs

Soya Kebabs are a very healthy and tasty appetizer.  Soya granules contain 54.2 grams of protein, which exceeds the amount of protein found in meats, eggs, milk and wheat. Soya protein contains all the amino acids needed by the body, and is an excellent replacement for meat-based proteins. Animal proteins are generally higher in saturated fats. Soya granules can be beneficial to the growth of strong bones and teeth in children.   Soya granules when added with potatoes and other vegetables make an excellent dish liked by adults and children as well.

Ingredients:

3 medium potatoes(boiled), 1 cup Soya granules, 1 carrot,  ½ green pepper(capsicum), 1 small onion, 1 garlic clove,  ½ tsp coriander powder,  ¼ tsp garam masala,  ½ tsp dry mango powder, salt to taste,  ½ cup bread crumbs, 1 green chili(optional), 1 tbsp sooji or semolina.

Method:

Boil Soya granules for 5-6 minutes.  Squeeze out all the water from the granules by pressing them between your hands.

Peel off and grate carrot, chop onion and green pepper into fine bits and crush garlic.

In a food processor, add Soya granules, carrot, green pepper, garlic, onion, green chili, bread crumbs, semolina, coriander powder, garam masala, dry mango powder and blend to a grainy consistency.

Now mash potatoes separately and add with the grainy mix to form a smooth and pliable dough.

Make small round kebabs of this dough and fry them in a non sick pan till they turn crispy and light brown.

Serve hot with ketchup or green chutney.

Note: Recipe of green chutney is in one of the previous blogs.

Raw papaya vegetable mix

Papaya is not just a delicious fruit; it contains abundant health benefits and medicinal values.  It is a refreshing diuretic with excellent antioxidant properties.  Papaya is unbeatable against almost all infections of the body whether internal or external.  It contains a very important active ingredient called Papain, which has the same effect on the digestive system that pepsin does for digestion.  Papaya also contains an active ingredient called fibrin that is rarely found outside animal body or human body. Fibrin is easily digestible and is particularly helpful in providing normal clotting of the blood in both internal and external wounds.

Papain enzyme present in green or unripe papaya is much more beneficial for our body than the ripened papaya fruit.  In fact,  green papaya juice helps in correction of bowel irregularities in a relatively short time including indigestion, constipation, acid reflux, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, stomach ulcers, and other more serious gastrointestinal disorders. Both papaya and its seeds contain anti-amoebic and antiparasitic activities.  When a crushed green papaya is applied as an adhesive substance to any laceration, wound, or cut on the skin, it helps in immediate cessation of blood and closes the wound so that it can heal quickly.
 It is advisable to eat a papaya after eating a fully loaded meal including meat, chicken, and fish for immediate elimination of fat.

Ingredients:

Raw or green papaya 1 medium size, 2 large onions, ½ inch piece of ginger, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 green chili (optional), 3 small tomatoes, 1½ tbsp of cooking oil, ½  tsp of yellow mustard seeds (methi dana),  ½  tsp of cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, 1 tsp turmeric powder, salt to taste, ½ tsp red chili powder(optional), 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam massala or curry powder, a few drops of wine vinegar, ¼ tsp of dry mango powder,  ¼ cup fresh green coriander leaves washed and chopped.

Method:

Peel off and cut raw papaya into small cubes.  Raw papaya has some kind of sticky stuff on the peel so make sure to wash it first before peeling it off.  It would be better to wear kitchen gloves while peeling off the skin.

Peel off onions, ginger and garlic and cut into small pieces. If you do not like ginger pieces coming in the mouth, grate the ginger.

Heat the oil, put asafoetida and after 10 seconds add mustard seeds and cumin seeds to the oil.  Once they turn light brown, add ginger, onion and garlic in that order and reduce flame to low.  When onion mix turns light brown, add turmeric and salt to it.  After 30 seconds, add cubes of papaya to this mix and cover the lid. Keep stirring from time to time till papaya pieces turn soft.

In the meanwhile puree the tomatoes into a mixer and add it to the papaya mix. Cover it again for a couple of minutes.  Add chili powder, coriander powder, dry mango powder and mix well.  Once all these spices blend well, add wine vinegar and garam massala or curry powder. Cover it for another minute or so.  Now add chopped green coriander leaves to garnish and turn off the flame. Keep the lid covered till you are ready to serve with chapatti or Nan.

Easy Taco Dip

Taco dip originated in Mexico and it is a meal in itself.   Those nibblers in your party will enjoy this as well.  .  When served with corn chips or tortilla chips taco dip makes a good appetizer for any get together.  This taco dip is less fattening as I haven’t used sour cream in it.  I have used hung yogurt which is a healthy alternative.  This dip is very easy to make. Since I use salsa to perk it up, guests don’t shy away from taking second and third helpings till all is gone.

Ingredients:

1 cup(8 oz) cream cheese,  1 cup hung yogurt or fat free sour cream, 2 cups salsa, 1 tsp chives, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp seasoned salt, 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce, 2 large tomatoes diced, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup black olives

Method:

Combine cream cheese, hung yogurt, salsa, spices and lemon juice and mix well with an egg beater.

Spread on the bottom of the large shallow glass dish.

Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and black olives.

Serve with baked tortilla chips.

 Note: You can put taco seasoning instead of other spices and lemon juice.

Sooji Ladoo

Ladoo is a ball shaped sweet popular in every region and state of India.  It is made of flour, sugar and other ingredients like ghee, nuts and flavors.  It is often served at festivals and other occasions like birth and marriage etc.  Ladoo comes from the Sanskrit word “ladduka” meaning a small ball.  Common flours used for ladoo include besan(chickpea flour), rava or sooji(semolina) and nuts.

This Diwali we got lots of almonds as gifts.  I wanted to make use of those.  So I tried making the rava ladoo which was very easy to make.  it came out to be tasty as well as nutritious.

Ingredients:

1 cup sooji or rava or semolina, 1 cup powdered sugar,  ½ cup ghee,  ½ tsp cardamom powder, ½ cup roasted almonds, ½ cup milk

Method:

Roast sooji in a heavy pan and put it aside.

Now melt ghee in a pan, add roasted sooji and sugar and stir it well.

Add chopped roasted almonds and cardamom powder and turn off the flame.  Mix it well and take out the mixture in a deep flat dish.

Let it cool off...  Now take a small portion of the mixture, add one tsp of milk and make a ball.  Repeat the same process till all ladoos are made.

These ladoos can stay out of refrigerator for a week.

Sandesh : a healthy sweet

All over India, the gastronomic culture of Bengal is well known for its affinity towards sweets, especially rosgolla and sandesh. Most Bengali sweets are made of milk turned into Chenna, sugar, spices, fruits, nuts, coconut and now a days even chocolate.   Sweets are an essential component of Bengali hospitality.  Bengalis send sweets to friends and family on every meaningful occasion.

The word “sandesh” means a message.  In olden times when a message or invitation was sent in Bengal, this special sweet was always sent along.

Being a light sweet, Sandesh is healthy as it supplements a good source of protein, carbohydrate and sugar thereby providing energy.  Sandesh comes in more than a hundred varieties.

I made this Bengali sweet on the occasion of Diwali.  Once I successfully made it, I realized this was the easiest sweet I have ever made.  I feel it is worth sharing it with my blog readers.

Ingredients:

Milk 1 ½ liter, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 2 tbsp water, ¾ cup plus one tsp sugar, a few strands of saffron, 1 tbsp milk, a few drops of yellow color.

Method:

Boil milk in a heavy pan.  When it reaches a boiling point pour vinegar and water mixture on this boiling milk and stir it lightly with a big spoon.  Lower the flame.  When milk starts cuddling, turn off the flame.  Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Now drain it through the cheese cloth and hang it on your sink tap so that all water drains up in an hour.

Soak saffron in a tbsp of  milk and let it sit for a while.

When all water drains up, take out the cheese or chenna and mix it well in the food processor for eight minutes by adding sugar to it.  Add yellow color and saffron mix milk.

Cook on a very slow flame in a heavy pan stirring continuously with a wooden spatula.  Make sure not to overheat the chenna mix as it might turn grainy and leave fat.  It should be neither too dry nor too moist.  Should be like a soft dough.

Immediately make small balls or any other shape you like.  Garnish with crushed pistachio or any other way if you like.