Restaurant style Chilly Garlic Mushroom Gravy

 

                               Chilli Garlic Mushroom

                         

  Like most of my recipes, this quick Chilly garlic mushroom gravy doesn’t need much cooking time. I usually search for easy recipes that do not need much time in the furnace like kitchen. This recipe don’t need much chopping  just 10 minutes which we can do under the fan and so cooking time takes less than 15 minutes which is bearable.

This easy and quick chilli garlic mushroom curry can be made dry as well as gravy style. I usually don’t  fry the mushrooms to avoid having fried foods, so I just saute them nicely. Most of my recipes are easy to cook and will be ready in minutes. 

You can serve this with steamed rice or with bread or roti or naan or with fried rice. You can easily mix n match to suit your taste.  I love mushrooms and twice or thrice a week I make mushroom dishes like mushroom masala or biriyani with mushrooms or sandwiches with mushroom filling etc.

Method

In a blender jar, add red chillies, garlic, salt, sugar and blend it into fine paste.

Heat a pan , add oil and add chopped onions. Saute till they turn soft.

Add ground paste, cook for 3 – 4 minutes.

Add mushrooms, cook till they start leaving the water.

Add salt, mix well and decorate with green onions and little cream, and it is ready to serve. (since I didn’t get spring onions  I used few coriander leaves instead)

Ingredients

Mushrooms sliced : 200gms

Onion chopped : 1

Spring Onion : 1

Garlic : 7-8 cloves

Red chillies soaked : 7-8

Salt : 1 tsp

Sugar : 1/4tsp

Oi : 2 tbsp

Salt

Notes

It is best to cut mushrooms into thick slices.

Serve as a one-pot meal by mixing gravy in rice.

You can add this to buttered noodles also.

Punjabi Bhindi Masala

 

                                      Bhindi Masala

             

Restaurant style Bhindi Masala gravy – an Indian style okra/ladies finger delicacy which can be enjoyed with Chapati or any other flat bread or rice, choice is yours !

My younger daughter is a huge fan, so I get bhindi every other week. I don’t make this curry as often since it needs more oil.  But there is no harm in indulging some of your favorite dishes once in a while, am I right ? Usually we make dry version of bhindi which we call vendakka mezhukkupuratti or stir fry in Kerala.

This is  a simple and easy recipe. A bowl of rice, dal and  bhindi masala = heaven! I love this combination..yum.

How to make this….

Method

You need some preparation work for the bhindi.  Wash lady finger and wipe it dry using a clean kitchen towel. If you are planning it early you can wash and keep it in a colander for some time.

Cut the crown and tip and chop into medium size pieces and shallow fry in little oil until it shrinks and changes color to dark green.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add cumin seeds. Once it splutters add chopped onions and saute till golden brown.

Add ginger garlic paste and  fry till raw smell goes. You can add green chillies also if you want to make it more spicy.

Next add all powders like chilly powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Saute over medium heat for 1 or 2 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes, saute until it starts leaving oil from the sides of the pan.

Take the pan from heat and add yogurt and mix well. Return the pan to heat and stir well.

Add garam masala and crushed kasuri methi, salt and amchur powder. Cook on low flame for another 2 minutes. You can add a pinch of sugar to enhance the flavour.

Pour ½ cup of water and let the gravy come to a boil. Adjust salt if required.

Add the fried bhindi mix well and let it simmer for another few minutes.

You can squeeze in little lime juice now if you don’t have amchur powder. Mix well & garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot  with roti/chapathi or jeera rice.

Ingredients

Lady finger/Okra/Bhindi : 250gm

Oil : 3 to 4 tbsp

Cumin seeds : ½ tsp

Ginger garlic paste : 2 tsp

Chopped onions : 1 medium

Tomatoes : 2

Red chili powder : 1 tsp

Turmeric powder : ½ tsp

Coriander powder : 2 tsp

Cumin powder : ½ tsp

Garam masala : ½ tsp

Amchur powder : ½ tsp OR juice of half a lime

Crushed kasoori methi :  ½ tsp

Yogurt : ¼ cup

Coriander /cilantro leaves

Salt : to taste

Sugar :  a Pinch

 

Sardine Rice or Mathi choru

 

                                          Sardine Fish Rice

                                       (Mathi  Chatti Choru)

 

Mathi Choru, a typical Kerala lunch made with fried sardines and rice. I ‘m getting highly experimental. This is a Sardine flavoured biriyani. Very easy and quick fish biriyani. You don’t need many ingredients  to prepare this rice. All ingredients are easily available in our kitchen. Usually we make curry or fry with the sardines, but this is very different recipe. Without taking much time let’s straight go to the recipe.

Method

Clean the fish and marinate  with little turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt and keep it for half an hour. 

Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow fry the fish flipping both sides and keep it aside.

                                     

In another pan heat 2 to 2  1/2 table spoon coconut oil add 1 tsp fennel seeds. Fry this well . Then add  thinly sliced onions and saute till it becomes slightly golden brown in colour. Now add few curryleaves and 2 whole red chillies. Saute this also. Add crushed ginger garlic paste and green chilly  and fry for some time . Once this is done  add  turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and garam masala powder. Saute until the raw smell goes off in a low flame.

Next add sliced tomatoes and continue frying till they are cooked. Mash the tomatoes well.  Once mashed, add 1/4^th of lemon juice. Mix well.

Add 3 cups of water and salt as needed . Cover and let it boil. Now add strained rice which is soaked for half an hour. Mix well and allow to boil.

Place fried fish on top of this . Now you should not mix  it with a spatula. 

                                            

Cover on medium flame until 3/4^th  of the rice is done. Simmer and close the lid and let it cook for  10 to 12 minutes. After 12 minutes  open and check . Tthe water has evaporated  now and the rice also cooked well.

Switch off the flame and cover for 5 minutes more. After 5 minutes open and your Mathi Choru or Sardine rice is perfectly done.  

                                      

                                      

Ingredients

For Marination

Sardine or Mathi : 20

Red chilli powder : 1 ½ tsp

Turmeric powder : 1 tsp

Salt

For Rice

Basmathi rice : 1 1/2 cup(soaked for half an hour)

Coconut Oil : 2 ½ tbsp

Fennel seeds : 1 tsp

Red chilli powder : 1 ½  tsp

Turmeric powder : ½  tsp

Coriander poder 1 tsp

Pepper powder : ½  tsp

Garam masala ½ tsp

Onion : 1 ½

Tomato :  1

Dry Red chilli : 2

Curry leaves

Crushed Ginger Garlic : 1 tbsp

Lemon juice : 1/4^th lemon

Water : 3 cup

Salt

 Now serve hot with Pappadam and Raita on the side and Enjoy !

 

Mini Poori with Beetroot Masala

 

                                    Mini Pooris with

                            Indian Coffee House Masala

                                 (No Kneading No Rolling)

This Sunday for breakfast I decided to make Poori masala. Usually Sunday’s are for Bread and egg, a lazy and easy breakfast.  But I made a  change in my time table and  thought of making poori . Pooris without kneading and rolling the dough.

 Yes ! you heard it right. I got this idea from Youtube channel Vini’sKitchen.  Thank you Vini.  A packet of half cooked chapathis which I had bought previous day  was there in my fridge. Immediately I took it out and made mini pooris using a small round bowl. I got 3 pooris from one chappathi.  But  one problem was what will I do with leftover pieces after cutting pooris. I don’t like wasting food. So I changed the decision and made triangle puris.  Sorry, forgot to take the pics of triangle poori. You will get 4 pooris. Just fold into half and then again fold and cut, your triangle poori is ready to fry. Soo eazy na . 

For Masala I made Indian Coffee house Masala in place of usual poori masala which is yellow in colour. Indian coffee house is a restaurant chain in Kerala and they make masala with  Beetroot and Potato. Their masala is not spicy, dark red in colour and also semi thick in consistency. This usage of beetroot is making them different from all other restaurants. Beetroot is rich in Iron and Folic acid. 

I made some extra quantity, so that I can serve  it for dinner as a filling in masala dosa.  Now we will see the method of making masala. This recipe is simple and easy to prepare. Making  pooris has already been discussed above. So no need of repeating it.

Method

In a pressure cooker cook chopped beetroot, carrot and potato with little salt for 3 – 4 whistles. Open the cooker once the pressure is released and slightly mash the content with a potato masher.  We want it mashed as well as small bits also in it.In a pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, Urad dal and add sliced onions, chopped green chilly, thinly sliced ginger and  curry leaves. Add little salt while sauting. We can add more later if needed. Fry till onions turn translucent. Add  turmeric powder and  Kashmiri chilli powder. Kashmiri chilli gives it a good color. Saute it on medium flame till raw smell goes. Now add cooked and slightly mashed beetroot and potato. Stir it well. Let all get well cooked in this masala for 5 – 10 minutes. Taste it now and add whichever is needed. You can add water if you need. Add ½ cup of hot water and cook it till it dries up. It shouldn’t dry up a lot. It should be Semi thick  in consistency.  Once cooked switch off the flame. Your Indian Coffee house Masala for Poori is ready to serve.

Ingredients for Masala

Beetroot : 1big

Potato : 2medium

Carrot : 1medium

Onion : 1 ½

Green chilli : 2

Curry leaves : a few

Ginger: 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder : ½ tsp

Turmeric powder : ¼ tsp

Mustard seeds : ½ tsp

Urad dal : ¼ tsp

Sunflower Oil : 2 tbsp

Water : 1 cup

 

                                                   Egg Masala Home Made

                             

                                                                      

An easy and tasty egg curry which is prepared quickly. Usually this curry is served with Appam, a Kerala style pancake or with Noolputtu (String Hopers). You can have this egg curry with Chappathi , Malabar Parotta or with steam rice. This recipe  I adapted from my mother in law and made some changes to make it more easier; but nothing much difference in taste.  

This spicy egg curry is usually  prepared first in thin coconut milk and then in thick coconut milk . Oh ! Very time consuming. Since I  don’t want to spend much time in kitchen and plain laziness, I found out an easier method. In place of thin coconut milk I add cow milk . I m telling you , no difference in taste.  Once everything is cooked, in the end you can add thick coconut milk. Why taking soo much trouble, if you have an alternative. The flavours of spices in the gravy perfectly balance with the sweetness of milk.

I make extra portions because I can use this either for afternoon lunch or for dinner with chappathi. My favourite combination is steamed rice, this egg masala and cauliflower stir fry. Oh God ! my mouth is drooling… I you have some thick curd also with this it’s just icing on the cake.

OK now we will see how to make this

Method

Hard boil the eggs. De-shell it and cut into half. Keep it aside.

Now comes the masala. Slice onions . Either Crush or grind ginger garlic into paste.

Heat oil (coconut oil) in a pan and splutter some mustard seeds. Saute onion, green chillies, curry leaves until onions turn light brown.

Add ginger garlic paste and saute it.

Simmer the flame and add turmeric powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, pepper powder, coriander powder, gram masala powder and fennel seed powder. Saute it well until the raw smell goes. You can add little oil if required.

Add sliced tomatoes and saute it. Add 1 or 2 tbp water and cover and cook. Once the tomatoes are cooked add thin coconut milk (if you are a lazy person like me add usual milk mixed with water). Mix it well.

Add the boied eggs into the gravy and let it simmer for 10 minutes, coverd. Let the masala coats the egg.

Now add thick coconut milk and gently mix  without breaking the egg. Let the curry boil and reach the desired consistency, switch off the flame.  Add some coriander leaves and mix.

Serve with Noolputtu or Appam or stemed rice or any Indian bread.

Ingredients

Hard boiled eggs : 5

Coconut oil : 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds : 1 tsp

Onion : 2 medium finely sliced

Garlic : 6 chopped and crushed

Ginger : 1 tsp crushed

Tomatoes : 2 medium chopped

Green chilly : 2 slit length wise

Curry leaves : a few

Turmeric powder : ½ tsp

Kashmiri chilly powder : 1 tbsp

Pepper powder : 1 tsp

Coriander powder : 1  tbsp

Fennel seed powder : ½ tsp

Garam masala powder : 1 ½ tsp

Thin coconut milk : 1 cup

Thick coconut milk : ½ cup

Salt : to taste

Coriander leaves : to decorate

                       

Fish Pie

 

                                                    Fish Pie     

                                         

 Today for dinner I made a very comfort dish that both my husband and daughter enjoyed without any usual complaints. Fish Pie. Almost everything goes well with this creamy pie recipe. You can serve this with some garlic  bread or dinner rolls. This is not an authentic fish pie recipe. I made some  changes to make it more healthy. It’s an easy to make dish and perfect for birthday/kitty parties or pot luck.

This fish pie is made with white fish , some veggies and eggs. The other key difference is that I added little tomato kechup for that sweet and tangy taste , mixed with white sauce and topped with cheese. I baked this dish on stove top for 15 minutes.  Along with this pie I served Tomato - Peas Shorba, (will share the recipe another time) . So here is my recipe..

Method

Boil the fish with little salt . Once it is cooled shred them with a fork gently and keep it aside.

Heat butter in a pan and saute chopped  onions and garlic until translucent. Switch off the flame and add flour. Mix well.

 Add milk and whisk without any lumps and cook over medium flame stirring continuously until it thickens well. Turn off the heat and remove from stove.

Add beaten egg and mix very well.

Now goes the shredded fish , grated carrots and  chopped capsicum . Mix.

Add tomato ketchup, salt and pepper. If you want you can add some chilli flakes also to make it more spicy.  

Grease a baking dish and pour the mixture in it. Sprinkle some mozerrella cheese on top. Since that was not available in my fridge I simply put  pieces of amul cheese slice (2 slices). Preheat a deep pan  or kadai with a lid for 10 minutes. Place a steel ring or a small bowl as a separator in the bottom and place the baking dish. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until golden on all sides in a low flame. Insert a tooth pick to check and if it comes out clean, switch off the stove. Slice and serve hot.

Tips

Use fleshy fish like Seer fish(Neimeen) or any white fish fillet. Always take care to remove all bones. It’s not nice to bite fish bones in a pie.

You can bake this in oven also.

Adding vegetables is completely optional. Can keep it plain or can add shrimps or squid to make it a seafood pie.

Ingredients

Shredded fish : 2 cups

Egg : 4

Chopped onion : 1 cup

Minced garlic : 4 cloves

Grated carrots :  1 cup

Chopped capsicum : ½ cup

Butter : 4 tbsp

Milk : 1 ½ cup

Flour :4 tbsp

Tomato ketchup : 2 tbsp

Pepper powder : as needed

Salt : to taste

                          

Schezwan Egg Noodles

 

                                 Schezwan Egg Noodles

Who does not like an easy to make street food.  I am kind of addicted to these easy cooking recipes. This was my yesterday’s dinner. It’s easy to prepare and added lots of vegetables and scrambled egg to make it healthy. Although Manoj is not fond of Noodles, my daughters love this.

Schezwan Noodles as the name suggests is made with spicy schezwan sauce. Though we are not big fans of spicy food, but love schezwan flavour . So thought of making this noodles. The main ingredient in sauce is dry red chillies and garlic. The schezwan sauce mixed with boiled noodles and stir fried veggies makes a healthy and tasty dish.

Method

First let us see how to prepare schezwan sauce. Soak red chillies about 20 to 25 in warm water for 30 minutes. It will turn soft after soking. Strain it and add to a blender. Make a fine paste.

Heat oil about 1/4^th cup. You need that much oil otherwise sauce doesn’t taste good.

Add chopped ginger and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes.

Now add red chilli paste and let it boil till oil seperates. Add Soya sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce and required salt. Cook for 5 more minutes in low flame and switch off.

Let it cool and store in an air tight container in refrigerator.This sauce will stay for a week if handled properly. Use clean and dry spoons and jar.

Store bought Schezwan sauce also can be used, but it has all sorts of preservatives and taste enhancers.It is easily available in all super markets.

I forgot to take the picture of sauce.

How to make egg noodles

To begin with, first scramble eggs. Add salt and pepper, cook and keep aside. Boil noodles as per the instructions on the packet with salt and oil. Drain and pass clean water through it. This prevents noodles from sticky and removes starch.

Place a wok or frying pan on medium heat. Add gingelly or sesame oil. When the oil is hot add chopped garlic, spring onions(only the white portion) and onions. Saute  till onions turn soft.

Add the veggies like finely chopped carrots, shredded cabbage and chopped capsicum. Keep on stirring on high flame. Sprinkle some salt, soya sauce and pepper powder.  Saute until the vegetables become tender.

Add schezwan sauce, scrambled eggs and mix well.

Add boiled noodles in batches and toss.

Adjust salt. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens.

Serve hot.

Ingredients

Noodles : 2 packets

Eggs :  3

Chopped onions : 2 medium

Chopped Spring onion white : ½ cup

Chopped garlic : 7 – 8

Chopped capsicum : 1/2 cup cup

Grated carrot :  ½ cup

Shredded cabbage : ½ cup

Pepper powder : 1 tsp

Schezwan sauce : 4 tbsp

Oil : 5 – 6 tbsp or as needed

Salt : to taste

Notes

Do not overcook noodles as it turns mushy when mixed with sauce and vegetables.

Add vegetables of your choice.

Stir fry on high flame.