Grilled Garlic Chicken

I like to call myself a non-practising non-vegetarian. This is because I don't have a problem with meat per se, only with pork, fish and seafood, I hate the smell, and with beef and mutton, it's too chewy. But my biryani must be mutton, I love murg malai kababs, have adored the beef broth soups I ate in Colombia, and am generally happy to pick the meat out and eat. This of course leads people to look at me in shock and say 'you're vegetarian???' or mock me by calling me a fake vegetarian or asking me whether I am vegetarian today. Pffft to them I say ;)

Lentil soup

Or, I'm sick of dal, and I can't be bothered to make veggies.

For pre-cooking and background, see this.

• 1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils (masoor dal), pre-cooked
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp garlic paste

You can also add any herbs you like, paprika and tomato would be nice, also rosemary or thyme if you like them.

Cook the garlic paste in the oil, add the cooked lentils and the spices, and salt to taste. bring to a boil.

To make this recipe more filling, you can poach an egg into the soup. Simply crack the egg into the boiling lentils, cover the pot and cook as long as you want.

Any dal (this one is awesome with arhar)

For pre-cooking and background, see this.

• 1/2 cup uncooked dal, pre-cooked.
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (big black ones)
• 1/2 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato finely chopped
• 5-6 curry leaves (fresh if pos, dried also work)

Heat the oil and put the mustard seeds in. When they start to pop, add the rest of the spices, curry leaves (they will leap about if fresh) and the ginger garlic and fry for a bit. Add the onions till pearly, then tomato till juice runs, and then dal and salt. Bring to a boil.

Masoor dal

For pre-cooking and other background, see this.

This works with any dal actually.

• 1/2 cup uncooked dal, pre-cooked 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp dhania powder
• 1/2 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato finely chopped
• fresh coriander (optional)

Fry the spices in the oil for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger garlic and cook for a minute. Add the onion and saute till pearly. Add the tomato and cook till juices flow. Add the dal, salt to taste and bring to a boil. Garnish with fresh coriander.

Simplest moong dal

For pre-cooking and background, see this.

• 1/2 cup uncooked moong dal, pre-cooked
• 1 tsp oil 
• 1 tsp jeera powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

Fry the jeera, and the turmeric if you're using it, in the oil nicely, so it smells all cooked. Like 2 min or so. Add the dal, and salt to taste, bring to a boil. And ta-DAAAAA(L)!

Chilka dal (masoor and moong)

For precooking and background, see this.

• 1 cup uncooked dal, pre-cooked
• 1 tsp oil
• 2 tsp dhania powder
• 1 tsp jeera powder
• 1 tsp kasoori methi (optional but totally worth it)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste

Heat oil in pan. Add ginger garlic and spices and cook for about a minute. Pour dal in, add salt and bring to a boil. Ta-DAAAA(L)!

Lentils

Pre-cooking Lentils
I have established a habit of pressure cooking dals on a regular basis. Now, I grew up in a house where we used a cooker whose entire top came off, and you put tiered vessels inside it with carious things in the vessels. This way we would cook rice, dal to go in the sambar, and the potatoes to make into curry all in one go. Many people in India I have learnt do not follow this system. They use what I refer to as the Hawkins system (ours is the Prestige one), where the lid fits into a hole in the top of the cooker and you can only cook one thing at a time. The other major difference is that the whistle of the Prestige cooker comes off while that of the Hawkins doesn't. More on that another time. Having grown up like that it really feels like a waste to run th cooker and not cook more than one thing in it at a time, so I usually make two batches of lentils at a time, or chana and rajma together, etc. Which means I end up with a lot of cooked-and-awaiting-seasoning dal in the fridge and boy do I get sick of it sometimes, though I am glad that often I need only five minutes to make it.

Ok, I'm rambling. The point is, here you go easy dal recipes! The oil is based on a minimum of half a cup of raw dal, which should do 2 people at one meal. I don't eat chillies, but you can always add chilli powder/green chillies to taste. You can dilute the recipes to any thinness you want - generally yellow dals tend to be thinner than the other ones.

Chilka dal (dal with the skins on)
Take your dal, green moong or brown masoor.
Dal: water = 1:3
2 bay leaves
A medium onion in chunks
15 minutes on the Prestige; 3 whistles on the Hawkins

Yellow dal (moong or masoor)
These guys cook much faster, even in an hour or less on the stovetop without a cooker. Do not confuse them with yellow tuar or arhar dal, which needs 15-20 min in the cooker. Masoor is in fact orange but once cooked turns yellow.
Dal:water = 1:3
10 minutes in Prestige, 2 whistles in Hawkins

Yellow dal (tuar/arhar)
Dal:water = 1:3
15 minutes on the Prestige; 3 whistles on the Hawkins

Yellow Rice or Arroz a la Mexicana

There are some seven billion versions of this, and here is MinCat's very own special hybrid!

1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/4 medium pepper [the first time I used green and yellow and a lot more than 1/4th, so improvise], diced
1 cup rice
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup water [or more depending on how soft you want it]
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
less than 1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tbs olive oil
salt to taste


In large pot heat oil. Fry garlic and onions till onions are translucent. Add peppers and fry for a few minutes. Add rice and spices. Stir. Add water, broth and salt. Cover with lid and leave to cook on very low flame. Check on it periodically to see if it needs more water.

Suggestion: Serve with Beans and Plantains

Gobi shikshty five

I *love* cauliflower. And this is the BEST way to eat it! (Those who disagree can treat themselves to a big bowl of cole-slaw...)

Ingredients:
Cauliflower-1
Cornflour-3 tbsp
Capsicum/ green bell pepper - 1 small cut into tiny strips
Onion- I prefer green onions, but suit yourself - 1 cut into crescents Tomato sauce- 1 ½ tsp
Soya sauce- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
haldi/ turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil (sunflower/olive)
To make:
Clean the cauliflower and cut into small pieces. Soak it in hot water with haldi for 3-5 minutes.

Drain and add corn flour,salt and chilli powder to it. Mix it in with your hands. If needed just sprinkle very little water. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the wrapped pieces till golden brown.

Drain oil well. Set aside. Add 2 tsp of oil in another pan and saute the onions and green pepper for 2 to 3 mins till the onions are translucent. Remove from fire and set aside.

In the same pan add 1 tsp of oil and add the soya sauce. Immediately add the cauliflower and saute for 2 minutes in a slow flame.

Then add the onion ,greenpepper strips. Saute for a minute or two till everything is more or less homogeneous. ;) Remove from flame. EAT!

Quesadillas with Cheese and Vegetables

Quick-fix lunch for all us in Ye Forn Lands.

• Shredded cheese [You can grate if you're enthu enough. Trader Joe's Mexican blend for preference. Cheddar, queso blanco and Monterrey Jack]
• Tortillas [Trader Joe's sundried tomato and basil flour in this case]
• Veggies of choice, chopped long and thin [Onions and peppers are a good staple]

Heat oil in frying pan. Toss veggies in with salt, let them cook about 5-10 min. I hate crunchiness so I let em cook. Lay out a tortilla. Sprinkle cheese across half. Lay out veggies as you wish. Sprinkle more cheese. Fold over. Toast in frying pan till cheese melts. About 1 min each side should do. Eat.

Goes well with orange juice and the Colbert Report.

Chole (with Alu)

YUM!

Serves: 2-3
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 30 min

1 16 oz can chole/chana/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 medium potatoes, diced to about 1 cm cubes, peeled if you wish
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp haldi
1 1/2 tsp dhania
1/2 tsp jeera
1 tsp chana masala
5 tbs tomato paste or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped fine
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

Heat oil in pot. Fry ginger paste for 30 seconds. Add onions and fry till translucent. Add spices and stir. Add tomato paste and fry for about 1 min. Add potatoes. Fry for 1 min. Add chana. Add water to cover the chana and potatoes. Add salt. Cover and cook for 20 min.

Voila!
YUM!

Apple Martini

*hic*
So I decided I wanted some, googled about 70 million recipes which all have a dizzying variety of requirements and made up one. So far I like it. It's also very pretty, if the camera were here I'd post a picture.

Serves: 2

2 shot glasses vodka (grey goose)
1 shot glass apple schnapps (puckers)
1 shot glass dry vermouth (martini & rossi)
1 shot glass apple juice (red jacket orchard's fuji apple juice)

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker over ice. Shake. Pour into martini glass. Drink. Repeat.


*hic*

Strange Primavera Pasta

In delight at the success of this blog so far [snh snh] I've been cooking up a storm. This is the result of a pasta craving and a zucchini in the fridge. I'd say use what you have in the fridge, but I reccomend atleast some peppers, green beans and zucchini.

Serves: 2 and a bit
Cooking time: 30 min

6 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium red bell pepper*
1/2 cup green french beans *
1 medium zucchini*
4 tbs tomato sauce [not ketchup]
1 tbs dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
4 tbs milk [cream actually but I shudder at the thought]
1/2 cup white wine [optional]
1/4 grated edam cheese [substitute as you wish, it's what I had in the fridge]
2 tsp oil
salt to taste
as much cooked pasta as you like

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot, I'm told the one I used is called a Peking Wok. Add garlic and toss. Add onions and when they are transluscent, add remaining vegetables. Add spices and stir fry for about 5 min. Add tomato paste and wine. Stir for 5 min, add milk. It might split. Don't worry. Add salt and allow it to cook for 10 min or till vegetbles are done. Turn off the heat and add drained pasta. stir in the cheese while still hot and serve.


*Try and cut the veggies to match the pasta, I used fettucini so they were [fancy cooking word alert] julienned.

आलू मटर or Alu Mutter

Saturday morning I awoke with the Greatgrandmother of all hangovers. And all I wanted was पूरी आलू। Of course I couldn't get at any, but here's what I came up with.

Serves: 3-4
Cooking time: 30-40 min

4 medium potatoes, washed and diced into small cubes. I like the peel, but it's optional
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
4 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tsp धनीया (coriander) powder
1/2 tsp जीरा (cumin) powder
1/2 tsp हल्दी (turmeric powder)
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
Chopped धनीया (coriander) leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, preferably nonstick. Add the onions and saute till translucent. Add the spices and chilli powder if using and stir for about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and stir for 1 min. Add potatoes and peas and stir for 1 min. Pour enough water to cover the vegetables. Add salt, cover and let simmer for about 20 min or till potatoes are cooked to your liking. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve.

Serving options:
With roti or paratha. Good option is wholewheat tortillas heated on a skillet.
With rice and curd on the side.