Pan Gravy Kadai Curry

Monday, December 26, 2011

How To Cut And Roast Chestnuts, the "relatively" easier way

BM#11: I eagerly look forward to Winter season for a few reasons. 1. The holidays, 2. The snow, 3. Chestnuts and then some..While the list is interchangeable, these three reasons almost always manage to stay on the top 10 of my "a few on my favorite winter things".. :)

Why are chestnuts called as "chestnuts?? Something to do with them resembling hearts? Don't know but who cares? It tastes awesome and that is all that matters. For folks who haven't tasted this, its sort tastes like fire-roasted "Jack fruit seeds".For those who haven't tasted either, I say, you don't know what you are missing. I had once before posted about how to cut and roast chestnuts. Since then I have found a "relatively" easier method to cut it and roast it. But please keep in mind that the chestnut isn't an easy nut to crack. But no pain, no gain,right?

Procedure:

Clean the chestnuts and wipe them clean.It can't be slippery.

The chetsnut had a dome-d top and a flat bottom.

Place the chestnut on a firm non-skidding surface. Using a sharp serrated knife put a deep slit on the sides. Please be careful and protect your digits.

Line them in a baking tray.

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Bake it for a good 20-25 minutes. The tough skin will put away from the delicious nut inside.

Remove the shell and remove the inner membrane.The membrane is bitter.

The nut should look clean and yellow and roasted. Ummm, delicious!

Here, enjoy! Or use it in a curry-

Gujarathi Undhiyo (With Chestnuts):

Saturday, December 24, 2011

How to Care for Iron Pots and Pans

BM#11: I have already told you about my new found love about Iron Pots and Pans. I am extending that love towards caring them as well.This is how I care for my Iron pans after I am done cooking with them. Religiously!

Procedure:

After cooking whatever with the Iron pan-

Clean it with warm water and mild soap. Never soak an Iron pan with water. After cleaning I sometimes notice that it still have some "residual" smell. So I boil some water in it.

Pour it out and wipe it clean of moisture. Spray some vegetable oil to the insides of the pan.

Smear it all over the pan with paper towel.

Wipe the excess with a clean paper towel.

Line the pan with a fresh paper towel and store it. Care for your pan and it will serve you well over the years. :)

Here is an excellent dish- Kadai Chicken and Eggs:

Friday, December 23, 2011

How To Remove Slime/Stickiness From Okra

BM#11:I love Okra! But I hate the slime that oozes from it when cut. So this is how I prep the Okra before I use it to make anything with it.

The main mantra to removing/reducing slime from okra is only one thing - "Dry, Dry, Dry". A dry Okra considerably has less slime. So I make sure that my cut Okra is super dry before it is transformed into a dish. :-)

Procedure:

Clean the Okra in cold water.

Drain it in a colander to drain excess water from it for about 15 minutes or so.

Transfer the moist Okra to a clean and dry kitchen towel.Rub it gently and remove the remaining moisture.

Move it to a dry plate and let it air dry.

Snip off the ends and cut them to desired length. I usually cut them about an inch long. "Dry fry" the cut Okra for about 5 minutes on a low flame.

Okra is now ready to be used in either a curry or gumbo or whatever with considerably less/no slime.How cool is that??

Stuffed Okra Curry:

Enjoy!!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Coconut Rice With Toasted Peanuts

This post is very special as it is a virtual baby shower for my blog-buddy PJ. When we(the members of Blogging Marathon) got to know that PJ of Seduce your tastebuds was expecting her second bundle of joy, we wanted to do something special for her. So we decided to cook and click for a post from her blog. I chose this recipe to post as her babyshower gift.

While she has a humongous collection of recipes, I chose this cause I have always wanted to post more of those "Variety Rice" recipes. What is Variety Rice? In South India, folks make varieties of flavored rice -- Lime Rice, Lemon Rice, Raw Mango Rice, Tomato Rice, Yogurt Rice, Carrot Rice frequently..sometimes all of them at the same time too cause they are so easy to make. They are often the star of picnic foods cause they don't spoil quickly and they taste good with almost any side dishes -- vegetarian or meat.

Side-dish choices:
Channa Masala "Masala Chickpea"

Lentil With Carrots and Sweet Potatoes-

Cauliflower and Peas Curry:

Ingredients:

1 Cup "Raw Rice", soaked 30 minutes prior to pressure cooking,cooked till they are firm yet tender and cooled so they don't get mashed when mixing
5 Tbsp Fresh or Frozen Scarped/Shredded Coconut
4 Tbsp Finely Chopped Red Onions
a handful of Roasted/Toasted Peanuts
1 Tsp Split Black Gram/Urad Dhal
1/2 Tsp Mustard seeds
a pinch of Asafoetida/Hing
1 Stalk Curry Leaves
2-3 Green Chilies
2-3 Dry Red Chilies
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Salt for taste

Procedure:

In a pan, heat a little oil and add the split black gram, mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds start sputtering and the black gram starts to brown, add the chopped onions, red chilies, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute till the onions become translucent.

Once the onion becomes translucent, reduce the heat and add scraped/shredded coconut, toasted peanut and salt.

Stir them all together and switch off the stove a couple of minutes later. The coconut shouldn't get too browned.

Add the cooled rice and gently mix.

Voila, you have your coconut rice, crunchy with peanuts and browned black gram and with a phenomenal taste due to the coconut.

Note:

People who are allergic to peanuts may substitute it with Cashews.

Check out what the other bloggers have made from her blog

Aarthi
Cool Lassi(e)
Gayathri Kumar
Kalyani
Kaveri
Mireille Roc
Pavani
Pradnya
Priya Srinivasan
Priya Suresh
Suma
Vardhini
Veena
Vaishali
Srivalli
Enjoy!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Celery And Salmon Stuffed Sweet Mini-Peppers

Mini sweet peppers are available in abundance during Summer. But about a month ago when I tagged along with DH to go shop @ Costco, I was pleasantly surprised to find bags of these cuties. MIL was also with us and she was asking me to prepare a nice and spicy treat for snacking.

I set out to make this appetizer/snack without a clue of what I wanted to stuff these peppers with. I just built this dish up just like how one builds a resume. So whatever I had in the fridge and freezer ended up as a stuffing -- A lone celery stick, a few chopped onions, cherry peppers,a stale bread slice and a few frozen salmon fillets. How did it turn out? Yum-O, if I have to say so myself. LoL

Ingredients:

13-15#s Sweet Mini-Peppers
3 Palm-sized Salmon Fillets, cleaned and dried on paper towels
4 or less/more B&G Hot Cherry Peppers, roughly chopped (I always have them in stock. I am addicted to these)
1 Celery Stick, thinly sliced
4-5 Tbsp Chopped Onions
1 Slice Stale White-Bread, toasted and crumbed
Cracked Black Pepper, as needed
Salt for taste
Olive Oil for cooking

Procedure:

Sprinkle cracked pepper and salt on the fillets.

In a thick bottomed saute pan, add little oil and sear the salmon on both sides, 2 minutes per side. Do not fully cook the salmon. They will have a chance to get fully cooked when they are stuffed into the peppers.

Cool and crumble the salmon. Set aside.

Clean the peppers.Keep the crown intact,slit the peppers without completely cutting them open. Remove the seeds and membranes using a spoon.

Chop the hot cherry peppers.

In the saute pan, add little oil and saute the chopped onions, celery and hot cherry peppers.

Switch off the stove. Transfer the crumbled salmon to the pan.

Add the bread crumbs and mix well.Add salt and pepper if needed. This is the stuffing.

Stuff the peppers with this filling. Add 2-3 tbsp of oil to the pan.Brown the stuffed peppers in the pan, 3-4 minutes per side. Close the lid and cook until it starts to wrinkle.