Aloo fry/ potato masala

The recipe for this aloo fry is from my friend who is a great cook. I have also learnt a few North Indian recipes from her, but this one in particular is the one I make often, especially when I am pressed for time or crave something spicy.

Ingredients

Potatoes – 5-6 medium

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 ½ tbs

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tbs

Hing – pinch

Coriander leaves – finely chopped

Method

Peel and cut potato in cubes or wedges

Boil some water with salt and cook potatoes until just done (do not overcook)

In a kadai/pan, add oil and sputter cumin seeds.( be  generous with oil for this recipe)

Add all the spice powders and fry for a minute or so until the raw smell goes.

Add the cooked potatoes and fry for few minutes until well coated in the masalas.

Add salt if needed and garnish with coriander leaves 

Beetroot pasta

When I came across this recipe by Nadiya Hussain in BBC food , I wasn't really sure how beetroot would taste in pasta and was not too keen on trying it. However, my 11 year old, who is also a keen foodie ( it runs in the family !) convinced me to try it and I was pleasantly surprised as it tasted delicious !   

The original recipe uses cooked beetroot,which we get here in super markets, but I used fresh ones. 

Other than cooking the beetroots and pasta, this recipe hardly take any time at all and will be ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Pasta - 300 gm

Beetroot - 2 medium

Garlic - 3 pods

Olive oil - 2-3 tbs

Feta cheese - 100 gm

Red chilli flakes - 1 tsp

Salt

Dill leaves (for garnish)

Method

Peel and roughly chop beetroot into cubes.

In a pressure cooker or pan add oil. Add chopped beetroots, red chilli flakes, garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add 1 -2 tbs water, salt and pressure cook for a whistle or if using a pan cook covered until done. I prefer pressure cooker for faster cooking.

Once cooked, puree the beetroots in a mixie/blender.

Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Drain and keep it aside.

Add the pureed pasta sauce to cooked pasta. Give it a good mix. Drizzle some olive oil.

Serve hot with crumbled feta cheese and some chopped dill leaves.

Chicken enchiladas

Recipe adapted from - BBC good food

Ingredients( serves 6 )

To marinate

Boneless chicken thigh fillets (diced into small cubes) - 600 gm

Smoked paprika – 1 tbs

Coriander powder – 1 ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ¼ tsp

For enchilada sauce

Olive oil

Red onion -2

Minced garlic - 1 tsp

Dried oregano - 1 tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder – 1 tsp

Smoked paprika - 2 tsp

Tomato passata /puree – 500 gm (I bought a bottle of tomato passata from supermarket but if u can’t find it blanch and puree tomatoes)

Sugar – 2 tsp

Salt

Pepper

For the enchilada

Olive oil

Red onions -2

Red pepper/capsicum – 1

Garlic

Smoked paprika – 1 tsp

Red kidney beans or black beans – 300 g ( I used tinned  one but you can pressure cook some red kidney beans and use that instead)

Flour Tortilla – 6 large

Cheddar cheese grated – 150 gm

Cream cheese – 2 tbsp(optional ) I only used it because I had it in my fridge.

Method

Marinate the chicken with the ingredients mentioned and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile make the enchilada sauce.

Add oil in a pan, add the chopped onions, sauté for 7-8 minutes until it’s soft and light brown.

Add minced garlic and fry for a minute or so.

Add oregano, paprika, cumin, chilli powder and fry for another 2 minutes.

Finally add the tomato puree, salt, pepper and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add sugar to cut the sourness.

Keep the sauce aside.

Enchiladas

In another pan add some oil and shallow fry the chicken until done. Remove and keep it aside.

In the same pan  use different if it is burnt) add some more oil and fry the chopped onions .

Once onions are nice and brown add chopped garlic and fry for a minute.

Add smoked parika, chopped red peppers , drained red kidney beans and  add half of the enchilada sauce we made before. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Remove from fire.

Assembling

In a baking dish/tray spread a layer of enchilada sauce.

Take tortilla wrap in a plate and  add the chicken filling in the middle, sprinkle with some grated cheese and roll it into a log. Place it in the tray.

Repeat the same until your tray is full( My tray wasn't big enough so I had to do it in two batches)

Pour some enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle some grated cheese and some cream cheese (if using)

Bake it in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes until cheese melts and bubbles 

Bengali Style fish curry/ Macher jhol

Hi all,

Hope you haven't forgotten me. I am back with a post after 2 years! Not going to bore you all with the details but in general life has been busy and typing up recipes seemed like a tedious job. 

This fish curry I made last week was too good to be forgotten and blogging about it seemed to be the best option to keep it safe. I am not claiming this to be an authentic version, but this tasted very much like the one we regularly order from our favourite Bengali restaurant. I got the basic recipe idea from a Bengali friend. The authentic version uses mustard oil but I used normal vegetable oil. If you are a fish lover like me, try this one for a change you will love it

Ingredients

Fish - 500 gm (I used Haddock)

To marinate

Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

For the sauce

Onion - 2 medium

Ripe Tomato - 5 small (preferably not the sour type)

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Whole red chilli - 1 

Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Salt

Coriander leaves

Method

Marinate the fish with chilli powder, turmeric and salt and keep it aside for some time.

Shallow fry the fish until 3/4 th done.

In the same pan add the cumin seeds once it sputters add chopped onions. Sauté it until it has browned nicely.

Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add chilli, turmeric, coriander and sauté until the raw smell goes.

Meanwhile blanch and puree 5 tomatoes.

Add the tomato puree to the onion paste.

Add water, some salt and boil. 

Carefully add the cooked fish and let it boil for 2-3 minutes.

Check salt. If the gravy is sour add a tsp of sugar.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Let it sit for some half an hour for the flavours to mingle.
Serve with rice. Enjoy !