These biscuits are easy to make and a wonderful way to use up the extra cheese. I bake a whole batch in the course of a morning.
Ingredients
All purpose flour 2 cups
Salted butter 1/2 cup
Grated cheddar cheese 3 cups
Salt 1 tsp
Dried Oregano 2 tsps
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Method
In a bowl mix the butter and cheese.
Add the flour, salt, oregano and red chilli powder.
Mix well to form a loose dough.
Form into small balls and flatten against the palm of your hand. Arrange on a buttered plate or tray. Press a fork against each biscuit to form the lines.
Bake in a 210 degree C oven for 15-20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and taken out when the biscuits turn golden brown.
I have always loved the pickle served at the gurudwara langar. That inspired me to come up with this pickle that has become a favourite with my family and friends.
Ingredients
Onion 1 large, sliced
Green chillies 6, slit and deseeded
Red chilli powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Yellow mustard powder 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tbsp
Onion seeds ( kalonji) 1 tbsp
Mustard oil 2 tbsp
Vinegar 2 tbsp
Method
Separate the sliced onions and add it to a bowl with the slit green chillies.
Add the salt, red chilli powder, mustard powder and turmeric.
I am not a big meat eater and I like curries that are mild and not very meaty tasting. This curry I developed according to my taste and it is creamy and smooth and quite mild. It has a great flavour thanks to the onions and cashew nuts.
Ingredients
Boneless chicken 500 g
Yoghurt 1 cup
Pepper 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves a few sprigs
Cream 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts 10-15
Onions 2 large plus 1 small
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Green chillies 2, sliced plus 2
Ginger 1” piece plus a smaller piece
Garlic 5 cloves
Coconut oil 2 tbsps
Method
Marinate the chicken pieces in yoghurt with salt and pepper.
Add 1 tbsp of oil to a heavy-bottomed pan and fry two large onions, roughly chopped. When the onions turn translucent, add the smaller piece of ginger and cashew nuts.
Switch off the heat when the cashew nuts turn golden and wait for the mixture to cool. Grind to a fine paste.
Add 1 tbsp of oil to the pan and add the cumin seeds.
When the cumin seeds stop sputtering, add one small onion finely sliced.
Crush the ginger, garlic and two green chillies roughly.
Add it to the onions with curry leaves.
Add the marinated chicken and mix well.
Add a cup of water and mix well.
Add the ground paste and mix.
Reduce the heat and cover and cook till the chicken pieces are cooked. Add the cream and stir it in. Do not cook too long after addding the cream. This makes the gravy very smooth.
Serve hot, garnished with sliced green chillies. it can be had with rice or naan bread.
Growing up in the capital, New Delhi, I got the opportunity to enjoy what was locally grown and locally produced. In today’s world of super brands, we end y eating the same cookies irrespective of whether we are in New York or Delhi. I miss the cookies that were made by the local bakers, each taking pride in some special dish or sweet or biscuit.
One that we loved were the coconut cookies baked fresh every day. They were crisp on the outside and deliciously soft inside with the baked coconut outside addding a wonderful nutty flavour.
These cookies come closest to that flavour I remember from my childhood.
Ingredients
Ghee or clarified butter 1/2 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup, fine or powdered in the mixie
Desiccated coconut 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup
All-purpose flour 1 cup
Vanilla essence 3 drops
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Milk 1 tbsp and 1/4 cup
Method
Whisk the ghee and sugar till well blended and fluffy. Add 1/2 cup desiccated coconut and mix.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla essence. Mix to form a dough. Add a tablespoon of milk if the dough is too dry.
Refrigerate the dough for about an hour.
Make into small balls and flatten between your palms.
Pour the 1/4 cup of milk in a bowl and spread the 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut on a plate. Dip the cookie balls in the milk and roll in the desiccated coconut.
Lay out the cookies on a buttered tray and bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 170 degree C oven. Cool and store in an airtight container.
This is a fresh take on the banana pudding which I developed as a hot desert for a dear friend who was battling cancer and felt too cold to enjoy anything that was not warm. This has less sugar but the hot chocolate powder ( I used Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate) lends a lovely smooth, chocolatey flavour. The chocolate and banana go well together along with a sublet hit of nutmeg.
I like cooking with minced chicken when I want to cook fast and don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. This is a quick and easy recipe that uses bursting with flavour.
Ingredients
Chicken mince 500 g
Tomatoes 3
Garlic 4 pods
Green chillies 3
Red chili powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Onions 2, chopped
Peas , frozen or fresh 1 cup
Coconut oil 2 tbsps
Method
Heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and when they stop sputtering, add the onions and garlic. Fry for a few seconds.
Add the washed and drained chicken mince and cook till all the water evaporates and the chicken changes colour.
Meanwhile puree the tomatoes in a mixer grinder along with the green chillies.
Add this to the mince.
Add the spices and salt.
Add the peas. Add about 2 cups of water and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently.
Once the gravy thickens, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with buns or naan or rice.
My husband loved mutton, especially the tender meat from a goat, and I came up with this recipe so that I could make it at a moment’s notice. The secret was that I would marinate the mutton and then keep it overnight in the refrigerator or even freeze it. This meant I could make biryani on call.
Ingredients
Mutton 1/2 kg, cut into cubes and on the bone
Basmati rice 3 cups, washed and soaked for 30 minutes
Tomatoes 2 large, chopped
Green chillies 2, chopped
Onions 2 large + 1, thinly sliced
Ginger 1”
Garlic 4 cloves
Mint leaves, a few
Cloves 2
Bay leaf 1
Cinnamon 1” piece
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Coconut oil 2 tbsps
Coriander leaves for garnish
Raisins 3 tbsps
Ghee 1 tbsp
For the marinade:
Yoghurt 1 cup
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsps
Chilli powder 1 tsp
Pepper powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Method
Marinate the washed mutton in all the ingredients and leave it overnight in the refrigerator.
Heat the pressure cooker and add the oil. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
When they stop sputtering, add the two large sliced onions. Sauté till they turn transparent.
Crush the ginger and garlic and add to the cooker. Sauté for two minutes till the raw smell disappears.
Add the marinated mutton pieces. Add the cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon, tomatoes and green chillies. Mix well. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of water and cook in the pressure cooker for two whistles on high flame. Reduce the heat and cook for five minutes. Switch off the heat and let the pressure cooker cool down.
Once the cooker is cool and the steam has escaped, open it and stir through once.
Drain the rice and add to the pressure cooker. Close the lid and cook for one whistle. Reduce the heat and cook for one whistle. Let the pressure cooker cool down.
Heat the ghee in a small frying pan and fry the small onion, sliced, till they are brown and crisp. Take care not to burn the slices. Take it out and fry the raisins in the same ghee for a few seconds. Take them out with a slotted spoon.
Open the pressure cooker and stir the remaining ghee in the frying pan through the fluffed up biryani.
Serve on a rice platter, garnished with the coriander leaves, fried onions and raisins. It goes well with a green salad, raita and pappadams.
I love all shelled seafood and prawns are my favourite. I have always made prawn biryani but my usual recipe is quite long and complicated. The other day, I wanted to make prawn biryani fast. And I came up with this recipe that can be made in less than an hour.
Ingredients
Prawns 250 g, cleaned, shelled and deveined
For the marinade:
Red chilli powder 1 tbsp Turmeric powder 1 tsp Pepper powder 1/2 tsp Salt to taste
If there is one variety of banana that I absolutely love, it is the Ethapazham or Nendrapazham, or plantain. It is great as a fruit, in curries and in desserts. This particular curry, Ethapazham Pachadi, is easy to make and is a fine balance of sweet and spicy.
Ingredients
Ethapazham or plantain 2, peeled and chopped
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut 3 tbsps
Green chillies 2
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Red chilli whole 1
Coconut oil 1 tbsp
Yoghurt 2 tbsps
Method
Boil the chopped plantains with red chilli powder, turmeric and salt in 1 cup of water.
Grind the grated coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds.
Mash the cooked banana.
Add the ground coconut mix.
Add the curry leaves and bring to a boil. If it is too thick, add some water.
Take it off the heat and add the whipped yoghurt.
Heat the coconut oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and whole red chilli.
Raw Papaya Salad is a delicious dish available at all Thai restaurants and a favourite with most patrons. The mix of hot chillies with garlic, shrimps, tamarind paste and fish sauce makes for a riot of flavour, very pleasing to the palate. I have tried to make a vegetarian raw papaya salad that offers the taste without the shrimps and the fish sauce.
Ingredients
Raw papaya 1 small
Tomato 1 medium
Garlic 3 cloves
Chillies 6-7, really hot ones
Fresh cowpea (lobiya) 2-3, roughly broken into 2” pieces
Soy sauce 1 tsp
Olive oil 1 tsp
Rock salt to taste
Peanuts 1/2 cup, roasted
Cashew nuts 10, roasted
Tamarind pulp 1 tbsp
Lemon 1
Jaggery powder 2 tsps
Method
Peel and slice the papaya into thin strips. I cut it the way the Thais do by scoring and slicing the papaya. You can follow this video to learn how to do it right
Soak the sliced papaya in iced water for 15 minutes. Drain. This will make the papaya crunchy.
Crush the garlic and rock salt in a wide mortar and pestle. Add the chillies to the mortar. I used the Indian Bird’s Eye chilli, known as Kanthari in Kerala. In Singapore, I used Cili Padi. The spiciness of the chilli gives the salad its special flavour and a kick.
Add the soy sauce and olive oil to the garlic and chilli in the mortar. Add the jaggery and the tamarind pulp. I soak a lump of tamarind the size of a small lemon in some water overnight and squeeze out the pulp and use it.
Add the drained papaya to the mortar and pound gently.
Cut the tomato into thick wedges. Add the cowpea and tomato to the mortar and pound gently to get out the juices of the vegetables.
Squeeze the lemon juice into the salad. Add the lemon skin too and pound gently. Toss well and then remove the lemon skin from the salad and throw it away.
Add the crushed peanuts and cashew nuts and toss well.
Chills & Chillies 