Malai Kofta

Here’s a rich and creamy dish, the taste of which lingers in the mouth long after you have eaten it. You can have it with roti, paratha or puri. Today we had it with makke ki roti, that was also awesome!

Ingredients:

Potatoes           - 3 medium size (for 12 koftas), pressure cook, peel, and mash

Bread slices      -2

Maida  - 2 tsps

Paneer  - 150 gm

Khoa    - 150 gm

Tomatoes         - 5 medium size. Pressure cook for one whistle, remove skin, and grind

Yoghurt            - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Sugar   -2 tsp

Water   - 1 cup

To season:

Oil        - 2 tbsp

Cloves  - 3 nos

Jeera    - ½ tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Chilli powder    - ½ tsp

Coriander powder        - ¾ tsp

Garam masala   - ½ tsp

To garnish:

Coriander leaves and grated paneer

Method:

Dip the bread slices in water, take out,squeeze, mash and add to the mashed potato. Add the maida, salt and 50 gms of grated paneer and knead into a soft mix. Make 12 balls. Flatten each ball, put ½ tsp of khoa in the center and wrap around it to shape it. Deep fry them on medium flame and drain, keep aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a thick bottomed pan, add jeera and cloves. Reduce the flame and add asafoetida, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, and garam masala. Mix the yoghurt to the ground tomatoes and add this to the pan. Keep stirring in between. Grind 50 grams of paneer and the remaining khoa with some water and add this to the tomato yoghurt mixture. Add water according to the required consistency and bring it to a boil. Add the fried koftas to the gravy and after two minutes, remove from the fire. While serving, garnish with cut coriander leaves and grated paneer (the remaining 50 grams).

The fried koftas can also be eaten as a good snack with mint and coriander leaves chutney.

Coconut Rice

I have found that indrayani rice is very good for this preparation, as it gives some amount of stickiness. Indrayani rice is an aromatic rice, perfect for khichdi and pulao.

Ingredients:

Rice, preferably Indrayani rice   - 1 cup

Coconut milk    - 1½ cups

Water   - 1 cup

Salt to taste

Pepper powder            - ¼ tsp

Garlic   - 5 flakes finely cut

Method:

Wash and soak rice for ½ hour. Take the coconut milk and water in an earthen pot and put the drained rice. Add salt, finely cut garlic and pepper powder. When it boils, cover and reduce the flame. Cook for 15 minutes. The fragrance of this dish is so divine, so also the taste!

Pita bread stuffed with falafel

Pita bread

Ingredients:

Wheat flour      - 1 cup

Jowar atta        - 1 cup

Maida  - 1 cup

Salt      - 1 1/2  tsp

Sugar(or honey)            - 1 tbsp

Yeast   -2 tsps

Olive Oil or any other oil           - 2 tbsps

Warm water     - 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups

Method:

Mix the yeast with a little sugar and 1/2 cup water and keep it covered for about 10 minutes till it turns frothy.

Take the flours, salt and the remaining sugar in a large bowl. Make a small depression in the middle and pour yeast water in the depression.

Slowly add 1 cup of warm water, and stir with wooden spoon or rubber spatula until elastic.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes till the dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic.

Smear a large bowl with oil and place the dough in the bowl. Roll the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth or cling film and set aside to rise for about 45 minutes.

Once doubled, roll out in a rope, and pinch off 8-10 small pieces. Place these balls on a floured or nonstick surface. 

Cover with a cling film and keep it for 10 minutes. While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Be sure to preheat your baking sheet also.

Roll out each ball of dough with a rolling pin into circles. Each should be about 5-6 inches across and 1/4 inch thick. Bake them for about 3 minutes when they will puff up. If you want them to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

Falafel

Falafel is very popular in the Middle East as a fast food. 

Ingredients:

1 cup dried chickpeas (Bengal gram) soaked overnight

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 Green chilli cut fine

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil for frying

Method:

Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas with 2 cups water for 15 minutes. Cool and open the pressure cooker.

Drain and keep aside to cool. Run it in the mixi , add garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.

Form the mixture into small balls, slightly flatten. Shallow fry them and drain

Salad for filling:

Shred carrot and cabbage, add salt, pepper, a little olive oil and sprikle some vinegar. Mix well.

The final preparation:

Cut the pita bread into half, then split it to accommodate the filling. Apply tomato ketchup on one inner side, slide in the falafel, the salad and sliced tomatoes. 

And enjoy the Middle Eastern food!

You can see an easier version here.

Rice bhath

Whenever there is left over rice, it is a great idea to make this tasty dish for breakfast. My children used to love this.

Ingredients;

Left over rice    - 2 cups

Salt to taste

Oil        - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds  - ¼ tsp

Roasted peanuts  - 1 tbsp

Onion cut fine   - 2 tbsps

Ginger  cut fine - ½ tsp

Curry leaves     - a few

Tomato – 1 cut fine

Turmeric powder          -1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder          -1/2 tsp

Coriander powder        - ¾ tsp

Garam masala powder    - ¼ tsp

Method:

Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan and add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cut onion, ginger, and curry leaves. When the onion turns transparent, add the tomato. When the tomato gets cooked, add the roasted peanuts, stir for a while and add all the masala powders , the left over rice and salt. Stir for a minute or two and remove from fire.

Serve with tomato ketchup or coconut chutney.

Split mung dal for breakfast

Moong dal can be a great, nutritious addition to a balanced diet. It is a healthy meal that provides high levels of protein and fiber while containing relatively few calories and little fat. In addition, it is an excellent source of a wide range of vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients:

Split mung dal (green gram) with skin      - 1 cup soaked overnight

Water   ½ cup

Salt

Cottage cheese (paneer)  - small cubes, 2 tbsps (optional)

Pepper powder

To season:

Oil or ghee       - 1 tbsp

Jeera    - 1/3 tsp

Asafoetida  - a pinch

Method:

Cook the soaked mung dal with salt and ½ cup water in an earthen vessel ( I have started using this now, our good old ‘chatti’ in Malayalam) for ten minutes, or pressure cook with 3/ 4 cup water for 3 minutes.

Heat the oil or ghee, add asafetida and jeera when the oil starts smoking. When the jeera turns slightly dark, add to the cooked dal and mix well. Sprinkle some pepper powder.

Garnish with the paneer cubes and serve with a piece of lemon, to be squeezed over it before eating.