Egg shakshuka

 

Shakshuka is a super easy and healthy meal. It's origins are in Israel and other parts of the Middle East. It’s a simple combination of tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and gently poached eggs. It is a very tasty dish and enjoyed by all. I generally add a lot more vegetables to it to make it healthier.

Try it out!

  

Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash

What do I need??

 4 eggs

1 cup onion, finely chopped,
1 cup tomato course puree

1/2 cup finely chopped mushroom

1/2 cup finely chopped capsicum
2 tablespoons corn kernels
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mixed Italian herbs seasoning (optional)
Chilli flakes

Black pepper
Salt to taste

Finely chopped coriander for garnish 

What are the steps??

1. Heat butter and oil in a pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute till the onion is soft.
2. Add the other vegetables and let cook for 2-3 mins.
3. When the veges are half cooked, add the tomato puree. Cook till the tomatoes are cooked and most of the water is gone.
4. Add all the spices and mix well together. 
5. Now, add about 2 tablespoon water to make the mixture slightly runny.
6. After this, use your spatula to make little holes for the eggs, then crack an egg into each hole. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each egg to ensure they have taste of their own.

7. Now cover and let it simmer for 5-8 mins.

8. Garnish with coriander.

Enjoy this yummy shakshuka with bread or even with paratha !!

Any Tips??

* You can add grated cheese as a garnish too.

कोळ (Goan kol)

कोळ is a dish originally from coastal Goa and Maharashtra. It's made with coconut milk and spices. It's a great accompaniment with rice, or can be simply served as a cool soup along with a regular homemade meal. It's a great dish for hot summers!

Since our ancestors moved out of Goa towards central India many generations ago, the recipe here is recreated using normal cow milk instead of coconut milk. 

What do I need??

500 ml cold milk (boiled and cooled). Can be replaced by coconut milk

1 cup chopped onion 

1/2 cup grated dry coconut (fresh coconut can be used, in that case use less sugar)

10-12 peppercorns

2 tbsp ghee

1/4 tsp Amchur powder

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Make sure that the milk is cooled in refrigerator before using for the dish. It will taste really good.

2. Heat ghee and add onions and a pink of salt. Add peppercorns along with it. 

3. Once the onion is light pink and soft, add the grated dry coconut and mix together well.

4. Once coconut is slightly roasted, switch off the heat and let the mixture cool down. Make a coarse paste of this mixture once it cools down completely.

5. Now add sugar, salt, amchur powder to the milk and mix well. 

6. Add the paste to the milk and mix well together. कोळ is ready. 
Now, let's prepare the tempering now.

 

For the tempering.

1. Heat a tablespoon of ghee. 

2. Add mustard seeds. Once they start sputtering, switch off the heat and add hing (asofoteda) and red chilli powder. Add the tempering to the कोळ.

 

Enjoy with hot rice on a warm summer day!  

 

Any tips??

1. Amchur powder is added to the milk so that it doesn't spoil it. Adding tamarind or lemon will spoil the milk.

Nankhatai

 Nankhatai is a simple butter cookie which can be made at home as a healthy snack. This is the basic recipe. It can be enhanced by adding chocolate chips, dry fruits, tutti frutti etc. 

What do I need??

1 cup maida or all-pupose flour

1/4 cup besan or gram flour

70 g unsalted butter or ghee (make sure it is soft and at room temperature. It should not be melted.)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)

Half teaspoon elaichi or cardamom powder 

Few dry fruits pieces of your choice (cashews, almonds or unsalted pistachios)

 A pinch of salt

What are the steps??

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.

2. Take the powdered sugar in a bowl and add the ghee or butter.

3. With an electric mixer, cream the sugar and butter until it becomes smooth, light and creamy. 

4. Add cardamom powder and mix well together.
4. Now, sieve all the dry ingredients together, i.e, maida/all-purpose flour, besan, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Add these sifted ingredients to the butter and sugar mixure. Mix well with a spatula or spoon. 

6. Gently bring together the whole mixture to a dough. If you are not able to bring together the mixture and its crumbly, then add 2 to 4 tablespoons milk which is at room temperature or cold.
Do not knead the dough like you do for roti or naan dough.

7. After that, make small balls (lemon size) from the nankhatai dough. Lightly roll them in your palms and slightly flatten them.  Press a piece of dry fruit on the top and press slightly. 

8. Finally, bake the nankhatai in the pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden or golden.

This would make around 20 small nankhatais.

Any tips??

1. A few drops of vanilla essence can be used instead of cardamom powder.

Curry leaves chutney powder (podi)

Curry leaves or kadhi-patta is a common herb we use in our day to day cooking. I discovered a great way to retain its goodness in form of a dry chutney or chutney podi.

What do I need??

1 cup of washed curry leaves

3 tablespoons of urad dal 

2 tablespoons of chana dal 

2-3 whole red chillies 

1 tablespoon grated dry coconut

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon hing or asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon amchur powder

1 teaspoon Oil

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Dry roast the curry leaves for around 5 mins or until they are completely dry and can be crushed between fingers. Keep them aside once done.

2. Add oil in the pan. Add the mustard seeds.

3. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add hing, cumin seeds and red chillies.
4. Now add the urad dal and chana dal and wait for the dals to be slightly brown.
5. Add the dry coconut and sesame seeds. Mix and roast for half a minute and switch off the flame. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature.

6. Add the dal mixture, roasted curry leaves, salt, amchur powder to the mixer jar and grind to powder consistency.

While serving, add oil or melted ghee. Enjoy this delicious chutney powder with rice, dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), parathas, or akki roti.

Any tips??

1. Add a pinch of sugar if needed at step 6 if you want to add a bit of sweetness.

 

Onion Tomato Chutney

This is one of the most versatile chutneys I have ever made. Its super yummy and complements almost every staple dish, be it dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), paratha, akki roti and so on.

What do I need??

1/2 cup of chopped onions

1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes

2-3 whole red chillies 

5-6 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon hing or asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon chana dal
1 tablespoon urad dal
2 tablespoon Oil

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Heat the oil in a small pan. 

2. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add hing, curry leaves and  red chillies. Also add chana dal and urad dal.
2. Wait for the dals to be slightly brown and then add chopped onions. Sauté the onions on medium flame until they are soft. 
3. Now add tomatoes and fry until they are slightly soft. 
4. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well.

5. Cool the mixture down and grind to a chutney consistency. Add a little water if needed. But not more than 1 tablespoon or so.

Serve with dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), parathas, or akki roti.

Any tips??

1. Add jaggery or sugar at step 4 along with salt, if you would like the chutney to be a sweet.

Stuffed masala paratha

This is one of the quickest and tastiest breakfast dish I've learnt from my mom. Try it out. The kids love it too :)

 

What do I need??

For the dough:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon oil

1/2 tablespoon salt

Water as required

For the Stuffing:

2 tablespoons besan or gram flour

1/4 teaspoon aamchoor or dry mango powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon ajwain or carrom seeds

1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder

2 table spoon oil

Salt to taste.

What are the steps??

Preparing the dough

1. Mix all ingredients and prepare the dough similar to how we do for plain paratha. It should be of medium softness. Not too soft, not too tough.

Preparing the stuffing

1. Mix all the ingredients together and make a smooth paste. Add more oil if needed.

Preparing the paratha

1. Take a ball of dough, roll it out to the size of a thick poori. Apply the stuffing paste on it nicely and fold it twice, so that the shape is like a triangle.

2. Now roll it thin to the shape of the paratha.

3. Cook the paratha on both sides on a heated non-stick pan. Apply oil on both sides while cooking.

Serve with curd, chutney or pickle. Enjoy !

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a traditional Indian sweet dish made with hung curd. Its mostly prepared in Maharashtra during Holi and Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian new year). It's one of the most yummy and refreshing desserts. This recipe will make around 4-6 bowls of shrikhand, depending on the thickness of the curd.

What do I need??

1.5 lt thick Curd
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 pinch of saffron strands
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 cup finely chopped mixed dry fruits, like pistachios, cashews and almonds

What are the steps??

Preparing Hung curd or Chakka

1. First line a strainer with a muslin or soft cotton cloth and place it on a deep bowl.
2. Pour the curd into the lined strainer. Bring the edges of the cloth together and tie into a tight knot.
3. Gently press and make sure that whey is dripping out.
4. Now hang the cloth on hook, cabinet handle or refrigerator handle, so that the whey is allowed to drip down. Place a big bowl to collect the whey and leave the curd hanging for 5-6 hours or over night.
5. The hung curd prepared this way will be rich and creamy. With this 1.5 lt curd, you should get around 500-600 gms hung curd. But this may not be exact measure, it will depend on the thickness of the curd. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Preparing Shrikand

1. Take 1 tablespoon warm milk and add the strands of Saffron to that. Let it rest for sometime for the saffron to leave its natural colour.

2. Add the powdered sugar to the hung curd or chakka slowly and keep mixing well. You can also use an electric mixer for the same. The sugar should get completely dissolved in the curd and the mixture should be smooth and creamy. Add sugar according to taste. 

3. Add the saffron, nutmeg powder and dry fruits and mix well. The Shrikhand is ready to be served.

Any tips??

1. Add cardomom powder if nutmeg is not available
2. Add a bit of cold milk if consistency is too thick.