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.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                Mumbai’s own Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji – Popular snack from the streets of Mumbai. A mish –mash of vegetables cooked in tomato based gravy with spices served with buttered bread called pav. Infact you will never find a Mumbaikar who doesn’t like pav bhaji. It’s soo tasty, how can you not love it ?

This is the only chat food that Manoj likes other than Samosa chaat. This dish can be had as a evening snack or dinner. I prefer to serve this as a dinner because it’s more or less a meal in itself. Super easy to cook and people of all age group can relish it.

Why I love this dish is, simple to make, loaded with veggies and apt for lazy weekends.

It can be made with basic veggies that wil be easily available in our kitchen like onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peas etc. I used sweet potato to make it more healthy. We can also add carrots, cauliflower, capsicum for this bhaji. Pav bhaji masala is easily available in all the super markets. I use Everest or MTR Pav baji masala. I always prefer to spend less time in kitchen so I buy the ready pav bhaji masala.

 If it is not available you can make it at home. 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp coriander powder,1 tsp dry mango powder or amchur and ½ tsp turmeric powder.

Method

First boil the veggies  in a pressure cooker  for 1 or 2 whistles. After it releases the pressure open the cooker and mash the vegetables well. Keep them aside.

Heat a frying pan and add 1 tbsp of butter and oil.  When the oil is hot add chopped onions  and fry them until translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and chopped green chilli and fry until it smells good.

Add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let it cook till it turns pulpy and mushy.

Add pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder,red chilli powder and salt. I added half tsp of sugar and Kashmiri chilli powder to enhance the taste and color.. Fry well  for 2 -3 minutes.

Then add mashed boiled vegetables and mix. Add ¾ - 1 cup of water.

Mix well and simmer for a while to bring out the flavour of masala.

Add 3/4tbsp of kasuri methi.

When it reaches the desired consistency that is semi thick gravy add generous amount of coriander leaves. Switch off the flame and add lemon juice before serving.

For toasting the pav, slit the pav horizontally. Heat 1tsp of butter on a tawa. Place the pav on the butter and toast it for 1 – 2 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and chopped onions. Top with more butter on bhaji.

Ingredients

Potatoes cubed : 2 large

Green peas : ½ cup

Cauliflower florets : ½ cup

Carrots chopped : ½ cup

Onion chopped: 1 medium

Tomatoes chopped : 2

Ginger garlic paste : 11/2 tsp

Butter : 1 tbsp

Oil : 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder : ¾  or 1 tsp(less spicy)

Turmeric powder : ¼ tsp

Pavbhaji masala powder : 1 tbsp(use more if needed)

Kasuri methi : ¾ tbsp.

Salt : to taste

To toast pav

Pav(buns or dinner rolls) : 6

Butter fot toasting : 1 tbsp

For garnishing

Onions chopped :2 tbsp

Coriander leaves : 2 tbsp

Butter : 1 tbsp

Notes

You can easily adjust the spice level to suit your taste.

Use good quality of pav bhaji masala or make it at home.

It can also be made in oil without using butter, if you prefer a more healthy version.

 

 

 

 

Airfyer Spring Rolls

 

                                  Airfryer Spring Rolls(Bread)

            

Crispy Bread spring rolls filled with  sautéed vegetables are super easy to make in the air fryer.This tea time snack can be enjoyed with your favourite dipping sauce and a refreshing beverage.

What I love about these airfryer cooked bread rolls is that they are- 

Easy to make, oil free, and healthy too. Most important for we housewives  is it is mess free, So less cleaning.

You can also deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel and serve hot.

Servings : 14 

Ingredients

Oil: 2 tbsp 

Sliced Onions: 2

Minced garlic: ½ tsp

Shredded Cabbage: 2 cups

Grated Carrots: 1 cup

Soy sauce: 1 tsp

Chilli sauce: 1 tsp

Pepper powder: 1 tbsp

Salt: to taste

Bread slices: 14 (I used normal sandwich bread without cutting edges. Too lazy.) 

Water to seal

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute onion and garlic for one minute. 

Add cabbage and carrots to this onion garlic mixture and cook until slightly tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Mix  sauces, pepper powder and salt into vegetable mixture. Mix well and switch off the flame. Stuffing for bread rolls is ready.

Take each slice and roll it into thin slice using a rolling pin. Place 1 tbsp of stuffing on one edge of the slice and roll it tightly. Use water to seal the roll. Repeat with remaining vegetable mixture and bread slices.

Brush airfryer basket with cooking oil. Place spring rolls into basket, working in batches as needed, and brush rolls also with oil. 

Set the timings to 10 minutes and temperature to 180 degrees, Cook  until evenly browned. Remove and serve hot.

You can skip onions and garlic and use more cabbage. There won't be much difference in taste. 

Enjoy this crispy oil-free bread spring rolls!!

 

Stovetop Spinach Mushroom Frittatta

                                          

                                                   Stovetop Spinach Mushroom Frittatta    

                                              

My family loves Frittata.  Frittatta is an open faced omelette in which you can add spinach, mushrooms, onion with eggs. So I had spinach and mushrooms . It is easy to make.You can make this dish for breakfast, lunch and for dinner also. I have not added any cream to keep it light but added some cheese to keep the texture smooth.  This is a stovetop recipe rather than oven and it is quite filling also. You can get creative with leftover frittata (which never happens in my home). You can use as a sandwich filling next day. So let’s start making protein and iron packed spinach,mushroom frittata.

Enjoy !

Method:

Whisk eggs,salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Heat little oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute thinly sliced onions and garlic. Add chopped mushroom and saute them with some salt. Next add chopped spinach and again saute for a few minutes till it release water. Once cooked add crushed chilli, oregano or mixed herbs. ( If you don't have oregano no issues.)Keep it aside.

Transfer this onion mushroom mixture into a butter smeared pie dish.Spread it evenly on the dish. Pour beaten egg over this mixture. Sprinkle some grated cheese. Place this dish inside a bigger pot and  close it with a tight fitting lid and keep it on low heat.  The heat from your cooktop will warm up the air inside the pot, baking the contents. You have to cook for 20 minutes on a low flame.

Let it cool and cut into wedges. Serve  warm.

Ingredients:

Serves : 3-4

Eggs : 5

Button mushrooms:  200gms

Spinach: 1bunch

Onions: 2 medium

Garlic: 4-5 cloves

Oregano: 2tsp

Grated Cheese:  ½ cup

Salt : to taste

Pepper: 1 tsp(adjust to taste)

 Tips:

To make it Indian style you can add little garam masala, redchilli powder and coriander leaves after adding spinach.

 

                   Spinach or Palak Paratha 

Yesterday I got some fresh Spinach or Palak from my local Super market.  Usually I make Palak Paneer when I get this, but again problem is my younger daughter is not very fond of  Palak and Manoj doesn’t like Paneer. Infact any of Paneer dishes. He has his own version of reasons. So idea of making this Palak Paratha came to my mind. It’s actually a blessing in disguise. Ha Ha.. I don’t have to make curry and Chappathi separately. Like one pot meal.  

Spinach or Palak Paratha is easy to make and healthy also. Just knead whole wheat flour and spinach puree and some masala powders. You can add green chilli, fennel seed or coriander leaves  to make it more tasty.

 I give this paratha  as a lunchbox dish to school. You can serve with curd or any pickle ( I love to have with any sweet Pickle like Dates) or just wrap with Paneer burji and serve it as a roll.

Method:

Blend the washed palak with green chillies , garlic and ginger to a smooth puree. You can omit garlic if you are not a garlic lover. I love adding ginger garlic in almost every dish. Its good for digestion na. In a big bowl take wheat flour, palak puree, all the spice powders, 2 tsp of oil and knead by adding little water to make a smooth dough.  Smear some oil and cover with a clean moist cloth and keep aside for half an hour.

Make small balls from the dough. Roll these balls into a chappathi.

If you want a triangle shape paratha sprinkle some flour and fold it into a semicircle. Again sprinkle some flour and  fold into a mini  triangle. Toss this in little flour and roll it  into a bigger triangle.

Place the paratha on a hot tawa and cook.

Apply some oil or ghee .

Serve this paratha with onion or cucumber raitha or some plain curd or any pickle.

Ingredients: 

For Palak Puree :

Palak/spinach leaves : 1 bunch

Ginger : 1/2inch

Garlic : 3cloves

Greenchlli : 1

For Dough :

Wheat flour:  2 cup

Salt: to taste

Oil: 2tsp

Fennel seed powder: 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder: 1/2tsp

Redchilli powder: 1/2tsp

Water: as required to knead dough

 Tips To make Palak Paratha

Please avoid stalks of spinach,because they might lend a bitter taste.

I prefer to puree the spinach. But you can also chop and add directly to flour.

Adjust the amount of spices to suit your taste as I prefer a mildly spiced parathas.