Showing posts with label microwave cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label microwave cooking. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sabudana Khichdi....in the microwave
One of the biggest surprises when I moved to Dubai from Bombay was that I could call the gas company and they would send a cylinder within minutes!! Now that was a huge relief for me and also for Terradaze - I had been so terrible with booking gas cylinders in Bombay that there had been umpteen number of times that I would dispatch him to the agent's depot to get a cylinder.
Of course, I hadn't reckoned with Murphy. Yeah, the same guy who lands up when he shouldn't!
And so, there was this day when I invited some people over for a Diwali breakfast. Before they came, Murphy knocked. The gas ran out early in the morning - no sweat, for the the gas co. had faithfully delivered the cylinder withing minutes of calling them in the past. But apparently, we hadn't read the fine print - on Fridays, they would send in the cylinders only after the afternoon prayers!
I had planned to make sabudana khichdi and I desperately wanted to make it for my guests, especially considering that it was amongst the few things that I made very well.
Now what?
Well...I did have my trusted microwave. I have always cooked extensively in the microwave - do check out my microwave paneer jalfrezi , chicken kebabs and the simple bread pudding - but would I dare to make sabudana khichdi in the microwave?
As it turns out, I have never made sabudana khichdi on the stove top again!
Serve hot with some green chutney or some swetened yogurt.
Of course, I hadn't reckoned with Murphy. Yeah, the same guy who lands up when he shouldn't!
And so, there was this day when I invited some people over for a Diwali breakfast. Before they came, Murphy knocked. The gas ran out early in the morning - no sweat, for the the gas co. had faithfully delivered the cylinder withing minutes of calling them in the past. But apparently, we hadn't read the fine print - on Fridays, they would send in the cylinders only after the afternoon prayers!
I had planned to make sabudana khichdi and I desperately wanted to make it for my guests, especially considering that it was amongst the few things that I made very well.
Now what?
Well...I did have my trusted microwave. I have always cooked extensively in the microwave - do check out my microwave paneer jalfrezi , chicken kebabs and the simple bread pudding - but would I dare to make sabudana khichdi in the microwave?
As it turns out, I have never made sabudana khichdi on the stove top again!
Sabudana Khichdi
Ingredients:
Sago - 1/2 cup
Peanuts - roasted, peeled and coarsely powdered - 5 tbsps
Potato - 1, peeled and chopped, optional
Green chillies - 3
Dried red chillies - 2
Cumin seeds - 2 tsps
Curry leaves - 10
Coriander leaves, finely chopped - 2 tbsp
Juice of half a lemon
Sugar - 2 tsps
Salt - to taste
Oil/ghee - 2 tbspsMethod:
Wash the sago under running water, then soak in water for a couple of hours. Drain the water and wash the sago once again. Cover the sago a moist cheesecloth; let it sit overnight or at least 6 hrs, at the end of which the sago should turn soft and spongy.
Wash the sago under running water, then soak in water for a couple of hours. Drain the water and wash the sago once again. Cover the sago a moist cheesecloth; let it sit overnight or at least 6 hrs, at the end of which the sago should turn soft and spongy.
Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes and soak them in water; after 10 minutes, discard the water.
Mix the peanut powder, salt and sugar in the sago, toss till the sago is nicely coated with the peanut powder.
Heat oil/ghee for a minute in the m/w. Pop in the cumin seeds and m/w on high for a minute. Add the curry leaves, red chillies and green chillies and m/w for another 40 seconds.
If using potatoes, add them in and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they are tender.
If using potatoes, add them in and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they are tender.
Add the sago and m/w for 4 minutes ( more or less, depending on the power of your m/w), stirring after every minute. When the waxy looking sago turns translucent, the khichdi is done. Add coriander leaves and lemon juice and m/w for a minute.
Serve hot with some green chutney or some swetened yogurt.
Easy as it sounds, sabudana khichdi is very easy to mess up. Here's what I do to ensure that my khichdi ends up nice and fluffy - spread the sago on a kitchen towel for a few minutes before mixing in the peanut powder - this works like magic - the excess water, if any, gets completely absorbed and the khichdi will not be soggy, I assure you.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Chicken Kebabs
Kebabs, the finest finger foods one can ever think of, have a not so glamourous origin. Scarcity of cooking fuel meant there was a need to effectively cook meat. Legend has it that kebabs owe their existence to medeival Turkic soldiers who used their swords to grill meat over open field fires (source - Wikipedia).
Of course, from those medieval fires to modern day cuisines, the humble kebab has come a long way and undergone a lot of tranformation - imagine Persian cuisine or Lucknowi cuisine without kebabs!!
I like kebabs for one simple reason - you can make them well in advance and freeze them; just grill them when the craving for something delicious strikes! And so, I am always on the lookout for newer kebab recipes.
When I first concocted the recipe for Berry Pulao, little did I know that the kebabs that went into it would end up being one of our favourites! So now, whenever I make Berry Pulao, I make sure I make some extra kebabs - these are so delicious and delicately flavoured that if I didn't make extra, they would never make it to the pulao!!
Of course, from those medieval fires to modern day cuisines, the humble kebab has come a long way and undergone a lot of tranformation - imagine Persian cuisine or Lucknowi cuisine without kebabs!!
I like kebabs for one simple reason - you can make them well in advance and freeze them; just grill them when the craving for something delicious strikes! And so, I am always on the lookout for newer kebab recipes.
When I first concocted the recipe for Berry Pulao, little did I know that the kebabs that went into it would end up being one of our favourites! So now, whenever I make Berry Pulao, I make sure I make some extra kebabs - these are so delicious and delicately flavoured that if I didn't make extra, they would never make it to the pulao!!
Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients:
300 gms chicken mince
for the marinade:
1 onion finely chopped,
Ingredients:
300 gms chicken mince
for the marinade:
1 onion finely chopped,
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp rose water
1.5 tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder)
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp rose water
1.5 tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder)
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
goat's cheese - 11/2 tbsp
1/2 egg
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt to taste
saffron infused ghee (toast about 20 strands of saffron, crumble them, add a tbsp of water and a tsp of sugar and let it stand for about 15 mins. Then add 2 tbsp of melted ghee).
Method:
1/2 egg
1 tsp garam masala powder
salt to taste
saffron infused ghee (toast about 20 strands of saffron, crumble them, add a tbsp of water and a tsp of sugar and let it stand for about 15 mins. Then add 2 tbsp of melted ghee).
Method:
Finely chop the onion, add a bit of salt to the onion and let it stand for about 15 mins. Then drain the juice off.
Add all of the above ingredients to the chicken mince and let it marinate for atleast 6-8 hrs.
Shape into flat discs, or if you have skewers, shape as you would seekh kebabs. Drizzle some saffron infused ghee and grill till the chicken is cooked tender.
Shape into flat discs, or if you have skewers, shape as you would seekh kebabs. Drizzle some saffron infused ghee and grill till the chicken is cooked tender.
I grilled mine in the microwave for 18 mins on the grill setting. Keep basting with the saffron ghee frequently - atleast 3 times. It is this saffron infused ghee that makes all the difference to the flavour of the kebabs, so don't skimp on its use!
Serve with spicy onion salad.
For the onion salad:
To finely sliced onions, add chopped coriander leaves, green chillies, lime juice, salt and sugar. Make the salad atleast 15 mins before serving.
These chicken kebabs are going to Priya's MEC: Savoury Snacks, an event started by Srivalli.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tandoori Nights
Gosh no, I am not talking about the song! I am talking about those Thursday nights ages ago when my sister and I would wait for an electricity cut. Waiting for an electricity cut...did i just say 'waiting for electricity cut'? Well, yes.
Electricity cuts were pretty much the norm almost every Thursday evening in the small town that I grew up in. Like everyone else, for the longest of time, we hated those electricity cuts as well. It meant missing the weekly Chhayageet* on Doordarshan* (after all, back then we didn't have too much of a choice in TV programs, did we?).
But one day a dhaba* opened in the vicinity of our house. And one such Thursday, when the power was out, my dad went and got some tandoori chicken from there. Sitting there in the balcony, with a few candles burning, the smell of kachuaa chaap, Vividh Bharati* belting out some hindi songs, eating the succulent chicken was an amazing experience.
Soon our attitude to those much hated power cuts changed. Now, we'd wait for the power cut - it wasn't as if papa wouldn't have bought the chicken any other day if we'd have asked him to - but there was something magical about eating it on the power cut nights.
And even now, whenever I eat tandoori chicken, no matter where I am or with whom I am, my mind goes back to those lovely Thursday tandoori chicken nights.
Electricity cuts were pretty much the norm almost every Thursday evening in the small town that I grew up in. Like everyone else, for the longest of time, we hated those electricity cuts as well. It meant missing the weekly Chhayageet* on Doordarshan* (after all, back then we didn't have too much of a choice in TV programs, did we?).
But one day a dhaba* opened in the vicinity of our house. And one such Thursday, when the power was out, my dad went and got some tandoori chicken from there. Sitting there in the balcony, with a few candles burning, the smell of kachuaa chaap, Vividh Bharati* belting out some hindi songs, eating the succulent chicken was an amazing experience.
Soon our attitude to those much hated power cuts changed. Now, we'd wait for the power cut - it wasn't as if papa wouldn't have bought the chicken any other day if we'd have asked him to - but there was something magical about eating it on the power cut nights.
And even now, whenever I eat tandoori chicken, no matter where I am or with whom I am, my mind goes back to those lovely Thursday tandoori chicken nights.
Ingredients:
Chicken - 6 legs, skinless
for the marinade:
Juice of 1 lemon
Thick yoghurt - 1/2 cup
Cream - 3 tbsps
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsps
Red chilli powder, tandoori chicken masala, salt - to taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Orange colour - a few drops
Oil for basting
Coal - 1 large piece
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and let the chicken marinate for at least 6-8 hrs (the longer, the better).
Just before grilling, heat the coal till it becomes red hot. Place in a small steel bowl and place the bowl in the centre of the vessel with the marinating chicken. Pour the ghee on top of the coal and when it starts smoking, cover the vessel tightly for about 5 mins. This gives the tandoori chicken a lovely smoky flavour.
Grill till the juices run clear as per your oven/microwave instructions.
I serve this with a spicy onion salad. Just slice the onions, add salt, sugar, lime juice, chopped green chillies, coriander leaves and mango pickle.
(*chhayageet - a weekly programme featuring songs from Bollywood movies broadcast on the national TV channel Doordarshan.
Vividh bharati - radio channel
kachuaa chaap - mosquito repellent
dhaba - small open air restaurants, usually found along highways catering mainly to truck drivers)
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