Baghare Baingan: From Nawaab's Darbar to My Plate!

Baghare Baingan

What happens when my current obsession meets my all time favourite vegetable? The answer is not just licked clean plate but licked clean vessel in which it was cooked, and also the fate doesn’t end there! It goes well beyond like licked clean spoon, serving bowl, and storing container also. Err… pardon my poor sense of humour but being foodie and food blogger means suffering some side effects of the same!!!

Capsicum/Bell Pepper Stew: Flavour Sensation

Capsicum Stew

The weather report said the snow has never been so severe in Britain in the last eighteen years. The Artic winds coming from Russia is the main cause for all these chaos and they are likely to last for few more days. All the motorways are jammed (and at some places there was 50 miles of congestion!), some of them are closed, most of the schools are closed and even public transport system is shut down in some parts of the country!!!

While washing the plates after dinner on Sunday evening I saw little dusting of snow on our garden shed and thought to myself it is one of those days where it snows everywhere except in our neck of woods. But soon small flakes of snow continued to fall and within half an hour there was an inch of snow covering the grass, trees and hedges. I was amazed to see the steady flow of snow flakes even when I went to bed and overjoyed when I saw thick coat of snow covered everything and turning gloomy grey scenes into white wonderland. It was the first time I had seen this much of snow in my neck of woods. Hell, 12 inches of snow is something that is very unusual in this county.


Met office is continuing to advice drives not to venture out unless it is essential and requested to take extreme care while driving. So while Krish is loading few bars of chocolates, water, and shovel in car’s boot I am snuggling under my favourite blanket with a wonderful book and flask of strong filter coffee and munchies ;) Yep, my holidays just coincided with the snow fall and boy, am I enjoying it or what? I did enjoy running around in our backyard and building snowman for good two hours. But it’s not much fun when your palms turn from deep red to purple and your nose start to leak! And you need a good target to throw all those big snow balls and my target was away on training and will be coming back home late in the evening.


That’s when I decided to take break and cook my lunch. Usually I opt for frozen food, takeaways or canned soups when I am alone at home. I don’t feel motivated or need to cook for myself. But good two hours of playing in cold weather left me wanting to eat something warm, something special, and something comforting. All I had in refrigerator was big cauliflower and a pack of multi-coloured bell peppers. People who know me quite well also know my love for stinking flower, I mean cauliflower. So there is no surprise as why I reached out for a bag of peppers.


All said and done, I was bit confused as what to cook with it. I follow strict rules when it comes to serving the food which means particular type side dish has to be served with particular type of food. For example,
Curry=Chapatti/Roti/Flavoured Rice
Soup=Bread
Dals/Rasam/Stews=Rice
Salads=mmmm… mmmm…. A big bowl of ice cream or chocolate bar to sooth your grumbling stomach ;)
Since kneading and rolling the dough was out of question after kind of kneading the snow balls so curry was stroke off from the list. Unbelievably we were out of usual whole meal pack of bread, so the soup was out of question. I was left with choosing between stew and salad and you don’t have to be a Sherlock Holms to find out what I opted for!!!

Capsicum Stew

Yup, I had Capsicum Stew for lunch served with a bowl of White Rice. While the rice was cooking in microwave, I went through a recipe book called 100 Vegetarian Curries by Mallika Badrinath. This is one of 4 books my mother bought for me when I left home as a new bride and it’s the same book referred when I couldn’t call my mother during initial days of my ‘hit and miss’ cooking days. This is a thin book which will fit well in your palms and has no glossy pictures to drool on. But what it has is collection of hundred different curries with outstanding results. I have had tried many recipes from this book and most of them have come out finger licking delicious. So all new brides out there, I would highly recommend this book if you have just started to cook and want to impress your family members with something exciting.


Mrs. Mallika Badrinath uses common, easily available ingredients in her recipes but her cooking style turns the final product to something exciting and exquisite. And the best example is this Capsicum Stew where she uses few spices and coconut milk that is very common ingredients in many households in south India, yet the end result is something beyond anyone’s expectation. Sweet and peppery capsicums cooked to tender in creamy goodness of coconut milk and roasted spice powder will surely make your head spin with different flavours dancing on your mouth and leave you feeling content. Don’t believe me? Well, then you simply have to try this dish and see if I am telling the truth or not!

Capsicums & Coconut for Capsicum Stew

Print This Recipe

---

Capsicum/Bell Pepper Stew (Coloured Peppers cooked in creamy Coconut Milk and Roasted Spices)

Prep Time: 10-20 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: 100 Vegetarian Curries by Mallika Badrinath
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With steam cooked rice

---

Ingredients:
3 large Bell Peppers/Capsicums cut into 1 inch cubes
3-4 cups/1 can Coconut Milk (Keep thin and thick milk separately if using fresh coconut milk)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 tsp Jaggery
Extract from 1 small Lime sized Tamarind Pulp/1 tsp Tamarind Paste
Salt to taste

For Spice Powder:
1 tsp Toor Dal/Split Red Grams
1 tsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Grams
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds (Optional as original recipe doesn't use it)
5-6 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
4-6 tsp White Poppy Seeds
1 tsp Oil

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tbsp Oil (Preferably Coconut Oil)
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
3-4 Cloves
2 Green Cardamoms, bruised (Optional as original recipe doesn't use it)
Few Curry Leaves
A big Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida

Capsicum Stew

Method:

Heat a pan and dry roast poppy seeds till they turn light golden, about 45 seconds. Transfer the roasted poppy seeds to coffee grinder or mixer jar. In the same pan heat oil and roast all the ingredients till lentils turn golden brown and aromatic. Let the roasted spices and lentils cool completely before you mix them with poppy seeds. Grind these roasted lentils and spices to fine powder and keep aside till needed.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cloves, cardamoms, curry leaves and hing. Sauté for a minute till the spices are aromatic.
Now add peppers and cook them on medium heat till their skin is wilted, about 3-4 mins.
Mix in spice powder, turmeric powder, jaggery, tamarind extract and salt to taste.
Now add 1/3rd of Coconut milk (thin milk if using freshly made coconut milk) and mix well. Cover and cook for 2-3 mins. Mix in the 2nd extract or 1/3rd of coconut milk and cook uncovered in low heat and bring it to gentle boil, about 5 mins.
Now add the tick coconut milk (or remaining 1/3rd) and bring the gravy to gentle boil, about 2-3 mins. At this stage make sure that the peppers are cooked well and they still retain their crunch. Turn off the gas and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves. Cover and let it sit for 5 mins for all the flavours to blend well. Serve it hot with steam cooked rice and enjoy.

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala for Second Blog Anniversary Celebration

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

Yes, tomorrow it will be 2 years since I created this blog and I did pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. For someone who loves changes and new adventures in life I have impressed and surprised myself by sticking to this blog for last 2 years. What a fabulous journey it had been…

Were you aware of the fact that I created this blog out of boredom?! Yup, that’s me; totally unpredictable and bit wacky ;) Moving to complete new and different country with new challenges to face upon, I had no idea what I wanted to do. From being a centre of attention among family and friends, I was pushed to face the new world filled with strangers on one of the peak winter days and for a tough shelled Cancerian it was not really an exciting prospect. I hid myself in a tough shell to protect myself from bitter cold days and I would have been hibernating there for very long time if not for this golden sunshine in the form of Blog world. That was when I started my personal blog Crabby Bites, expressing each and every emotions of daily life. It was just few weeks later I started writing few recipes learnt from my Amma, Ajji, Atte and aunts, a personal copy of recipes which served as reference while cooking. Soon I realised I needed new space dedicated to recipes and hence Spice Corner, now known as Monsoon Spice, was born.


It was my space, my corner where I started posting recipes for myself. Few days after that I received a very first comment from someone I didn’t know. That is when I realised there was someone out there who didn’t know me, but still they were moved enough to reach out and leave their trail. Today, even after 2 years of blogging whenever someone leaves their small notes I can’t help but get the same thrill I got it for the first time. Strange world we live in! I feel connected with most of you whom I have never seen or met before. Through blogging I have met hundreds of thousands of wonderful people- bloggers, bakers, food photographers, writes, chefs, readers, and even virtual world strangers who have become real world friends. So thank you, thank you and thank you to all you wonderful people (both friends and strangers) who have left their mark in my small world. It was truly an amazing journey with you people who have injected more spice into my already spiced life ;) Once again, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who have left your trail here on Monsoon Spice!

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

A birthday celebration is not complete without delicious food. Being a spice lover I couldn’t convince myself to make any sweets or dessert and yup, opted for something which my darling guinea pig/lab rat loves ;) What he loves, he always gets and he loves Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala. This was my way of saying big Thank you to my much better half who patiently waits till I finish cooking and clicking without any complaints :) We rarely use Paneer in our kitchen but whenever we use it we make sure that it gets full credit. Paneer Makhani or Paneer Butter Masala is one such dish which is very rich and flavoursome. Use of cashews, poppy seeds and fresh cream makes this quite fattening but remember, this is once in a while indulgence. My recipe is very simple and straight forward. I use two different, flavourful pastes made using onions and tomatoes ground with few spices. Addition of Kasuri Methi and fresh cream simply jazzes up this already creamy delight. Make this curry when you want to celebrate some special occasions or indulge when you want to uplift your moods and I can guarantee that it will be one meal to that everyone will remember for very long time. Off this goes to Ruth who is guest hosting this month's MM-Sensational Sides, started by gorgeous Meeta.

Ingredients for Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala: Paneer, Kasuri Methi, Onion & Tomato Paste

Print This Recipe

---

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala (Fried Indian Cottage Cheese in a delicious Onion-Tomato Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5

---

Ingredients:
1 block Paneer, cut into 1 inch cubes (approx 2-3 cups, I used store bought)
2-3 tbsp fresh Cream (I used single cream)
1 tsp Sugar (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tbsp+1 tbsp Oil/Ghee
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Ground to Fine Paste:
For Onion Paste:
1 large or 2 medium Onions
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon
3 Cloves
3 Green Cardamoms
1 Bay Leaf
½ tbsp Khus-Khus/White Poppy Seeds
3 cloves of Garlic
1 inch Ginger

For Tomato Paste:
1 can chopped Tomato/3 Large Juicy Tomatoes
10 Cashews
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional but recommended)
¼-½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ Turmeric Powder
½ -1 tsp Kashmiri/Deghi Chilli Powder (gives lovely bright red colour)

Paneer Makhani/Paneer Butter Masala

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil or ghee in a pan and add paneer blocks. Fry these pieces on both the sides till they turn golden, about 3-5 mins, and place them in a bowl of water for about 15 mins. It’s best to fry them in batches if you can’t fit them in a pan in single layer.
Grind onion and tomato paste with all the ingredients listed above to smooth consistency separately and keep it aside till required.
Heat another tbsp of oil in a same pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle and turn light brown in colour, mix in onion paste. Keep stirring at medium heat till onion paste turns light brown in colour and becomes little dry, about 6-8 minutes. This is an important step as if the paste is not fried well it will make the gravy bitter. Make sure that you continously stir the paste and it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Now add kasuri methi and sugar and stir for another minute.
Mix tomato paste and stir well. Simmer the heat and let it cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring in between to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Increase the heat to medium and add a cup of water, salt to taste and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Open the lid and adjust the seasonings.
If you find the gravy too thick, add about another ¼-½ cup of water. Drain water and mix in fried paneer pieces and cream. Simmer the gravy and let it cook uncovered for another 5-7 minutes.
Switch off the flame and mix finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with any Roti or Jeera/Saffron Rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

---

Other Paneer recipes blogged so far,

• Matar Paneer
• Paneer Koftas in Creamy Saffron Gravy

Puffy & Creamy: Phool Makhani Curry

Phool Makhani Curry

Blogging has its own advantage. I was used to cooking same food with same ingredients before I started blogging. I must admit that the time I am referring goes back to the era of me being a novice cook and I was not in a position to identify and differentiate one ingredient from other, especially when it came to lentils and flours. There were times when I mistook channa dal for toor dal and ended up using fine rice flour in place of maida to make Naan. And horrors of horror when I ended up using all that expensive Basmati rice in preparing Dosa batter, fit for one small army to feed, back in India. It’s a different story that I use Basmati rice quite often to make Dosa batter as they are much cheaper than Idli and Dosa rice we get here.

It’s since I started posting recipes in my blog that I learnt numerous recipes from different part of the world and discovered new ingredients which were unheard of while growing up. My Amma is an exceptional cook who even today fascinates me with her innovative recipes using rarest of ingredients. Fortunately I am like her when it comes to experimenting with ingredients and learning new recipes., just moving little away from comfort zone. Food blog world is one such place where you get to see and learn something unique every single day. Everyday I go through fascinating and adventurous journey of innovation in cooking with rare ingredients and I must say I am enjoying it thoroughly.


But there are sometimes when I get recipe requests from readers of Monsoon Spice with few ingredients which I have never tried or tasted. Some time back I received a recipe request from one of the readers to post Phool Makahni aka Puffed Lotus Seeds recipe. Till then I was not that familier with lotus seeds and I had no idea that there was puffed lotus seeds just like puffed rice or pop corns. Yes, they do look like pop corns and I felt to some extent they did taste like one especially when they are deep fried. Before I knew, I ended up eating half a cup of fried phool makhani sprinkled with little chilli powder and salt and had to fry little more for the curry. I had to stop myself from popping few more puffed lotus seeds and proceed into making this delicious Phool Makhani Curry.


This is a recipe I put together from various recipes found all over the web world. Most of the recipes had three things in common, coconut, cashews and poppy seeds. And all the recipes asked I deep fry these Phool Makhani before adding it to base gravy. But next time I am going to pan fry these puffed lotus seeds with little oil till they turn golden to reduce little amount of fat and calorie. And one more thing lesson I learnt is to buy extra pack of these puffed lotus seeds just to eat with little sprinkle of salt and pepper ;) In the end we had this delicious tasting bowl of curry which was creamy from addition of coconut, poppy seeds and cashews with touch of little spice notes to it from aromatic whole spices and spice powder used. Fried Phool Makhani, which is quite crisp when deep fried, transforms into melt-in-mouth creamy delight when added to the base gravy is one whole new experience we really enjoyed. This is my entry for Kayln's WHB guest hosted by Joanna.

Print This Recipe

---

Phool Makhani Curry (Puffed Lotus Seeds Cooked in a Spiced and Creamy Coconut Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-5

---

Ingredients:

2-3 cups Phool Makhani/Puffed Lotus Seeds
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
1-2 tbsp Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
Small bunch of Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Oil + Oil for Deep Frying
Salt to taste

Ground to Smooth Paste:
½-¾ cup Coconut, fresh/frozen
1 tbsp Cashews
1 tbsp Poppy Seeds/Khus-Khus, dry roasted till light golden
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
3 Cloves
3 Green Cardamoms
1 inch Ginger, peeled

Phool Makhani/Puffed Lotus Seeds

Method:

Deep fry phool makhani in heated oil till it turns light golden brown in colour and place them on paper towel to drain excess oil.
Grind cashews, roasted poppy seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and coconut to smooth paste adding little water at time.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle, add finely chopped onion and sauté till they turn golden brown.
Mix in ground paste and keep stirring for about 4-5 minutes till the masala paste turns light brown in colour and becomes dry.
Now add finely chopped tomatoes, garam malasa, kitchen king masala, sugar and give it a good stir till tomatoes turn pulpy, about 2-3 minutes.
Add around 1½-2 cups of water and mix in salt to taste. Cook this gravy on medium-low heat for about 10 mins, stirring in between.
Now add fried phool makhani and mix well. You can add little more water if needed depending on required consistency of the gravy. Cook on low heat for another 3-5 minutes. Mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and serve this delicious Phool Makhani Curry with roti, chapatti or rice of your choice.

Phool Makhani Curry

---

Notes:

Phool Makhani takes very few minutes to absorb all that gravy and turns into creamy delight. So add it to the gravy just five minutes before you switch off the gravy.
Although this time I deep fried these puffed lotus seeds I would suggest you to try pan frying them in batches with very little oil till it turns light golden if you want to restrict fat and calorie content.
You can also serve these fried Puffed lotus seeds with little sprinkle of salt and chilli powder.

---

Reminder (Just 6 more days remaining):

MBP-Street Food ends on 24th of June, 2008. Start patrolling the blogs and cook your favourite Street Food that your tummy begs and heart desires and spread link love.

Deadline: 24th June, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.