TAWA FRY POMFRET

With a coastline of 480km,  innumerable ponds and many rivers, availability of fish in the state has always been comfortable and made people of Odisha  fond of fish . Fish has always been cooked and served in many forms.  This recipe of mine is a simple one; very convenient and easy. I have chosen pomfret which has a few bones and makes it a favourite with the children. You can, however,  take any fish of your choice.

Here goes the method....happy cooking !

Ingredients -
Pomfret -4 pcs (cut into half)
Oil- 2 table-spoon
Dry spices for marination-
Salt -To taste
Turmeric(haladi powder)- 1 tea-spoon
Red chilli powder - To taste
Ginger and garlic paste- 1tea-spoon
Coriander powder-1tea-spoon


Method -

Marinate the pieces of pomfret with all the dry spices. Keep aside for 20 minutes. Take a non stick pan and add oil. Heat the oil and simmer the flame. Add the marinated pomfret pieces. It will take 7 to 8 minutes to fry the fish on both the sides. The raw smell of ginger garlic should completely vanish. When the fish is well cooked you will get a nice aroma . Serve hot with rice and tadka wali dal. Bon appe'tit !

PENNE PASTA IN SCHEZWAN SAUCE

 

Pasta is at the centre-stage of the traditional Italian cuisine. There are a lot of varieties of pastas which are these days available in Indian market. The varieties available are long, short, minute pastas (used for soups), egg pasta and fresh pasta. In India we have a misconception that pastas are made from flour(maida). Pasta is actually  made from Durum wheat flour.The commonly used pasta are the short ones. To name a few, they are penne, fusili, farfalle. I have used here penne pasta in my recipe, but you may use any kind of pasta of your choice.

Schezwan sauce  originated in the Sichuan province in southwestern China. It has a bold flavor, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chilli peppers give it the unique flavour.

My latest recipe is a fusion of Italian cuisine and Chinese cuisine. I have added only vegetables here; but you may also add any non veg item of your choice to this recipe.

Here is the recipe and happy cooking ... :)

Ingredients-

Penne pasta- 1.5 cups

Vegetables - 2 cups(Carrots, beans and capsicum all sliced )

Onion- 1 medium (sliced)

Schezwan sauce- 2 table spoons 

Method-

Boil the pasta as per the instructions in the packet. Keep aside. Heat oil in a wok. Add onion and saute for a minute; when the onion are soft, add the vegetables. Add a pinch of salt and saute the vegetables in high flame(Saute till the vegetables are just done.,ie they are neither half cooked nor overcooked ). Add the boiled pasta. Add the schezwan sauce and mix well. You may taste at this point of time and adjust the seasoning according to your taste. Bon appe'tit !!! 

Lauki ki sabjee ( Bottle gourd curry)

These days people of various age groups are conscious about their diet and prefer low calorie food. This is a good sign in spite of the fact that the "fast food" industry is showing a booming business. You need to be very particular with what you eat. Exercise also plays a vital role in keeping you in shape.The saying holds true here , "you are what you eat".

I should tell you about a low calorie recipe---  a very simple lauki ki sabjee. Lauki, known as  bottle gourd, is extremely low in fat content.

Ingredients-
Bottle gourd or lauki-1 medium (cut into medium size cubes)
Onion -1 medium (sliced)
Tomato-1 small (chopped)
Green chillies-2 (whole)
Turmeric (haladi) powder -1 pinch
Water-1/2cup (You can even adjust the water quantity according to your taste )
Pepper powder-1tea spoon or to taste
Salt - To taste
Cumin powder, coriander powder and red crushed chilli powder -To garnish


Method-

Take bottle gourd, green chillies , onion and tomato in a saucepan. Add water , salt to taste ,pepper powder and a pinch of turmeric powder.Simmer the flame and let the vegetables cook till tender.Remove from the stove and garnish it with cumin, coriander and red crushed chilli powder. Serve hot with roti or rice . Enjoy !!

Thai stir fry vegetables

After relocating to Hyderabad my family has taken a fancy to Thai cuisine. To meet their urge for Thai food ,I have started trying my hand on the same.The favourite is ofcourse Jasmine rice with Thai vegetable green  curry. I shall soon post Thai vegetable green curry but before that, to introduce myself and my viewers  to this cuisine, I tried a simple but tasty dish ,ie Thai stir fry vegetables. It goes well with noodles or our age old  roti .... :D

Ingredients-
Cabbage -1cup ( Chopped length wise)
Brinjal-1 cup (Chopped length wise)
Capsicum-1/2 cup (Chopped length wise)
Basil leaves-1cup ( Only the leaves)
Mushrooms-1/2 cup ( Chopped length wise )
Onion small -1 ( Chopped length wise )
Garlic pods- 4 ( Crushed )
Tobassco sauce-1 table spoon
Pepper powder-1 tablespoon or to taste
Salt -To taste
Vinegar-1tea spoon
Oil- 1 table spoon

In a wok heat oil, add onion and garlic. Stir it for a while till the raw smell of garlic vanishes.Onion shouldn't be brown but just tender. Add cabbage and mushrooms. Fry till tender ( flame should be high and you need to attend to the curry throughout . Otherwise it might get burnt). Add brinjal,  fry till done.Add capsicum and fry till done.Add salt to taste, tobassco sauce, vinegar and pepper powder. Mix well . Add the basil leaves, just give a toss and serve hot. It is different and tasty too !

Kukuda Panikoili

Chicken is known as "Kukuda " in Odiya. As I belong to a family of civil servants ,I have travelled all over Odissa ,even to the interior places. Panikoili is the name of a place at the meeting point of the National Highway 5 (Kolkota- Chennai ) and National Highway 215 towards Kendujhar.During my many journeys in childhood on this route I would feel inquisitive about a few road -side eateries the place has and think whether they would be serving the travellers a fabulous" kukuda " curry cooked in Odiya style.This recipe is a tribute to that place.

Ingredients-

Kukuda/Chicken -1kg (cut into medium pcs)

Salt-To taste

Jeera ( cumin seeds) -1tea spoon 

Haldi(Turmeric) -1tea spoon

Dhaniya (Coriander) powder-2 tea spoon

Chilli powder-2 tea spoon

Curry leaves/Bhurshanga pattra- 7-8 leaaves

Onion-3 big (Chopped)

Tomato-4 big (Chopped)

Ginger paste-1tea spoon

Garlic paste-1 tea spoon

Green chillis-  2(Chopped)

Tej pattra (Bay leaf)-1

Water-2 Cups(Boiled)

Potato-1 cup (Fried)

Oil- 2 table spoon

Method-

Heat oil in a kadhai .Add the tej pattra. Add jeera  and add onion.  Fry till they turn golden brown in colour. Add garlic and ginger paste. Saute till the raw smell goes from the ginger and garlic. Add tomatoes and saute till oil separates .Add curry leaves. Add kukuda ,add salt to taste and haldi powder. Mix together and cover the kadhai. In the meanwhile slice a large potato and fry with a little salt.

 After water leaves from the kukuda, let it dry completely .(Be careful at this point. Dont leave the kadhai unattended ,it may burn from the bottom.)Add dhaniya powder, chillie powder .Add 2 cups of water (Boiled) and mix well.Add the fried potatoes .Let it boil for 2 minutes. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy according to your taste.Serve hot with rice or roti .

Masala Parantha

Parantha is a flat bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Parantha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked dough. 

My children usually love the stuffed paranthas. This time I tried to make plain parantha but with a twist. I was a bit apprehensive but surprisingly both of them relished this masala parantha! Here goes the recipe-

Ingredients-
For the dough
Atta (Flour)- 1 cup
Salt- to taste
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Sambar powder- 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida- a pinch
Oil- 1 tablespoon
Water-To knead the dough

For cooking 
Oil or Ghee- for cooking

Method-

In a large bowl mix atta (flour), salt, turmeric powder, sambar powder, asafoetida and oil. Add the required amount of water needed to make the dough soft. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into small balls and then flatten them with your palms. Toss them over atta and then roll into circles. In the mean while heat the tawa or skillet. Lower the flame and place the rolled parantha. After a few seconds small air pockets will form. Flip the parantha onto the other side. Apply oil or ghee and again flip the parantha to the other side again. Apply ghee or oil. Serve hot with any curry of your choice. You can even serve this masala parantha with raita of your choice.

Enjoy!!!!!!!

Chocolate pudding

This is a very tasty treat for your children. They can have it anytime!! Here goes the recipe-

Ingredients-
Chocolate powder- 1/2 cup
Cornstarch- 1/4 cup
Salt- 1 tea spoon
Butter- 2 table spoon
Milk- 4 cups
Vanilla extract- 2 tea spoon
Cherries-For garnishing


Method-

Mix together cornstarch, chocolate powder,salt and milk in a  saucepan.Bring to boil . Keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.After you get the right consistency, switch off the flame.Keep aside the saucepan .Add butter and vanilla extract. Mix well.Pour it into individual glasses .Decorate with cherries and serve chilled(Please dont keep in the ice box to set the pudding ). Enjoy!