Goan Prawn Curry with Okra
Course: Mains, SeafoodCuisine: Goan4
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
500g prawns, shelled, de-veined and washed a couple of times
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 chillies, split lengthwise
A couple of pieces of Kokum / Aamsol (dried souring agents)
6-8 okra pods, trim off the stalk and cut into approx. 1 inch pieces
Salt, to taste
1-2 tbsp oil
A small ball of tamarind (about half a walnut in size)
- For the masala (spice paste) –
1/2 cup grated coconut
6 Kashmiri chillies
3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 tsp black pepper corns
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
Directions
- Sprinkle a little salt on the prepped prawns and set aside.
- Soak the tamarind in a little warm water in a small bowl and set aside.
- Grind all the ingredients for the masala into a fine paste using a little water, as needed
- Heat the oil in a large vessel.
Add the onions and saute till they soften. Add the kokum / aamsol. - Add the ground masala / spice paste to the pan and let it fry for a couple of minutes.
- Add a cup of water to the mixer and swirl around to pick up any of the remaining spice mix and add to the pan. Add more water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.
- Add the chillies and bring to a boil. Season lightly with a little salt (The prawns also have some salt on them so add salt accordingly). Lower the heat to a simmer and add the okra.
- Cook gently till the okra is almost cooked. Check for seasoning. Mash the tamarind up and discard any pieces of fibre or shell and add some of the tamarind paste, to taste.
- Add the prawns. Continue cooking just till the prawns have cooked through. (This usually just takes a couple of minutes depending on the size of the prawns.) Do not overcook the prawns.
- Check for seasoning and adjust, if needed.
Serve hot.
Recipe Video
Chicken in White Sauce Pasta
Chicken in White Sauce Pasta
Course: MainsCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings10
minutes30
minutesThis creamy pasta dish is full of flavour and comes together in under 30 minutes, making it perfect for a weeknight meal.
Ingredients
A single Chicken breast fillet, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup green capsicum, diced
1 cup of broccoli florets
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Chilli flakes, to taste
1/2 – 1 tsp Mixed herbs, or to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp vegetable stock / water
Pasta (enough for 4 servings)
A little parsley, to garnish
A little Parmesan cheese, grated
-
For the white sauce – 1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
Salt, to taste
Directions
- Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions. I bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season generously with salt. Add the pasta and cook till done. Drain and reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- While the pasta is cooking, season the chicken with salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Mix well.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add the chicken and cook through, stirring occasionally, till the chicken has cooked through. Remove the chicken in a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and quickly add the garlic.
Stir through and immediately add the green capsicum. Still through and let the capsicum cook for about a minute. - Next add the broccoli and saute well. (See note*)
- Add the corn and stir through.
- Season with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and mixed herbs, to taste.
- Add 1-2 tbsp vegetable stock (you can also use water), stir well, cover and let the veggies steam and cook for a minute or two or till they are done to your liking. (If you are adding cooked broccoli to the pan, you can leave this step out. )
- Add the cooked chicken to the pan and stir through. Set aside and cook your white sauce.
- To cook the White Sauce / Bechamel Sauce –
- Add a tsp of olive oil to the pan on medium heat.
- Add the butter and let it melt.
- Add the flour and stir briskly, making sure the flour incorporates well with the butter and oil and that no lumps are left.
- Cook this roux off for about 30 seconds to a minute or till the raw smell of the flour has gone. (Do not let it develop any colour.)
- Add half the milk to the pan and stir through well, making sure no lumps remain.
- Add the remaining milk and whisk well.
- Cook the sauce till it has thickened to your liking, whisking well.
- When the sauce is done, lightly season with a little salt.
- To assemble the pasta –
- Add the white sauce to the chicken and veggies in the pan. Stir well. Add the cheese and mix through.
- Check the sauce for seasoning and adjust, if needed.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan and stir through.
Serve your pasta in some serving plates. Finish with a light sprinkling of parsley and a grating of parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Our broccoli is fairly tender and cooks very quickly. If your broccoli takes longer to cook, blanch or steam it before adding to the pan.
- For detailed instructions on how to make a great white sauce, check the recipe video.
Kid-friendly Chicken Chilly Fry
Kid-friendly Chicken Chilly Fry
Course: MainDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes30
minutesThis easy to make Chicken Chilly fry is quick to put together and so delicious, it makes a great addition to a weeknight meal. It’s picky eater approved too.
Ingredients
1 chicken breast, cut into a couple of smaller pieces
For the marinade –Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1-2 tsp sour lime / lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp ginger paste
-
For the chilly fry – 1 onion, sliced
Some green and red peppers, sliced
1 tomato, sliced thickly
2 chillies, slit lengthwise (optional)
2 tbsp oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Directions
- For the chicken –
- Marinade the chicken by mixing all the marinade ingredients and slathering over the chicken pieces. Cover and marinade for atleast 15 minutes. (When I remember to, I marinade the chicken overnight, in the fridge. Just make sure you take it out of the fridge a little while before cooking, so that it comes to room temperature.)
- Cover the pieces with sufficient water and bring to a gentle boil and simmer till the chicken is completely cooked.
- Take the chicken pieces out of the stock and reserve the stock. When the pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them and set aside.
- To make the Chilly Fry –
- Heat some oil in a pan.
- If you’re using chillies, add them to the pan and fry them off to infuse some flavour into the oil.
- Add the sliced onion and saute for a minute.
- Next add the peppers and let them cook till they get a little char on them.
- Add the tomatoes, let them cook a little. Make sure them come in contact with the pan a little, so they can develop a nice little char on them too.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Next, add the shredded chicken and stir to mix everything well.
- If the mix appears a little dry, add a couple of spoons of the stock to the pan and stir well. (Add the stock as needed. I used about 4-6 tbsps. in all)
Once most of that liquid has been absorbed, your chilly fry is ready.
Serve hot.
Recipe Video
How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch
Fast forward to about 7-8 years ago, I actually learned to make my pizza bases from scratch. After a whole lot of trial and error, I finally found a combination that worked well for me. And I’ve stuck to that ever since. And its safe to say, that since then, I have never bought a store bought pizza base. It is quite easy to make, once you know what your doing. Coupled with this, I’m also going to share my no-cook pizza sauce recipe with you. This recipe is probably older than my pizza dough recipe. As far as the toppings go, we’ve tried a lot of combinations. Once you have the basics in place, you can switch up you toppings to suit your tastes.
I’m going to whip up 2 pizzas today, one is a pepperoni pizza and the other is a mixed vegetable pizza. While, we’re tried a few topping options, these two have got to be strong favorites in my house.
So let’s get on to the recipe, shall we?
Homemade Pizza
For the pizza dough –
2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 tsp instant dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
150ml luke warm water (approx.) (use as needed)
2 spoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
In a little bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Set the bowl aside for about 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
After 5-10 minutes, the yeast will turn frothy and is now activated.
In a large mixing bowl, take 2 cups flour and add the salt (I use about 3/4 tsp salt). Using your fingers, mix the salt through the flour.
Make a well in the middle of the mound of flour and add the yeast mix.
Start combining the flour with the yeast and gradually add warm water, as needed to form a soft dough.
The dough will be tacky at first, but will eventually be much more manageable and smooth.
Stretch the dough while kneading and continue this process for about 5 minutes. (See video above, for method). Halfway through the process, add the oil in 2 stages and continue working the dough.
Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and lightly coat the top of the dough, so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with some cling film or a clean, damp towel and leave the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise. Leave to prove (rise) for about an hour, or till the dough doubles in volume. (It might take a little longer during cooler months.)
For the sauce –
1-1 1/4 cup passata, tomato puree or canned tomatoes (If using canned tomatoes, process them to a puree before using)
2-3 small cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
A little less than 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix thoroughly.
The sauce is now ready to use.
To make the pizzas –
Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.
Divide the dough into 2 portions.
Stretch the dough to form the base. (See the video above for method)
Spread the sauce over the base, leaving a little margin from the edges.
Add toppings of your choice and cheese. (I use a combination of mozzarella and colby / cheddar).
Bake for 10-12 minutes or till the dough (pizza base) is cooked through and the cheese has melted.
Enjoy!
NOTES:
1) Remember to use warm water, not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast and your dough will not rise.
How to make Homemade Pizza from scratch
Course: MainsCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Medium4
servings30
minutes15
minutes1
minuteLearn to make your own Pizza dough and sauce at home and then personalise your toppings to make a pizza thats perfect for you.
Ingredients
- For the pizza dough –
2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 tsp instant dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
150ml luke warm water (approx.) (use as needed)
2 spoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
- For the pizza sauce –
1-1 1/4 cup passata, tomato puree or canned tomatoes (If using canned tomatoes, process them to a puree before using)
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
A little less than 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp red chilly flakes
- For the pizza –
Veg pizza toppings – Onion, capsixum, kalamata olives, pickled jalapeños, cheese (I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack)
Pepperoni pizza – Pepperoni slices, cheese (I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack)
Directions
- For the dough –
- In a little bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Set the bowl aside for about 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
After 5-10 minutes, the yeast will turn frothy and is now activated. - In a large mixing bowl, take 2 cups flour and add the salt (I use about 3/4 tsp salt). Using your fingers, mix the salt through the flour.
- Make a well in the middle of the mound of flour and add the yeast mix.
- Start combining the flour with the yeast and gradually add warm water, as needed to form a soft dough.
The dough will be tacky at first, but will eventually be much more manageable and smooth.
Stretch the dough while kneading and continue this process for about 5 minutes. (See video, for method). - Halfway through the process, add the oil in 2 stages and continue working the dough.
Shape into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and lightly coat the top of the dough, so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover the bowl with some cling film or a clean, damp towel and leave the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise. Leave to prove (rise) for about an hour, or till the dough doubles in volume. (It might take a little longer during cooler months.) - For the pizza sauce –
- Add all the ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix thoroughly.
The sauce is now ready to use. - To make the pizza –
- Preheat the oven to 250 deg C.
- Divide the dough into 2 portions.
- Grease 2 baking trays with a little olive oil.
- Stretch the dough to form the base and place on the greased baking tray. (See the video for method)
- Spread the sauce over the base, leaving a little margin from the edges.
- Add toppings of your choice and cheese. (I use a combination of mozzarella and colby / cheddar).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or till the dough (pizza base) is cooked through and the cheese has melted.
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- For the cheese – I use a combination of mozzarella and cheddar and colby jack
- For the toppings – Use whatever toppings you’d like on your pizza.
- Remember to use warm water, not hot water. Hot water will kill your yeast and your dough will not rise.
Goan Sausage Chilly Fry – No added oil recipe
Goan Sausage Chilly Fry – No added oil recipe
Course: MainsCuisine: GoanDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes20
minutesTender chunks of Goan sausage made in this style are irresistable. With a fusion of Goan and Portuguese elements, this chilly fry is the perfect balance of spicy and tart and is absolutely delicious.
Ingredients
60 beads of Goa sausages (take the meat out of the casing)
6-8 curry leaves
3 large, mild chillies, chopped into large pieces
1/2″ ginger, chopped into a couple of large pieces
1 and a 1/2 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
2 potatoes, cubed
1 tomato, chopped
Salt, to taste
Vinegar, to taste
Directions
- In a large pot, place the sausage meat, curry leaves, chillies, ginger, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and add 1 abd a 1/2 cup of water. Stir well. Cover the pot and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and cook till the potatoes and meat has cooked through and the liquid in the pot has mostly dried up.
- Taste and add salt and vinegar, as required.
Serve hot!
Recipe Video
Notes
- You can adjust the consistency to suit your liking. If you want the chilly fry completely dry, once the meat and potatoes have cooked through, cook it uncovered till the liquid dries up. If you’d like more of a gravy, add a little more water or take it off the heat as soon as the meat and potatoes have cooked.
Chana Masala – Curried Chickpeas. You won’t believe how easy it is!
Chana Masala
Course: MainsCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes40
minutes8
hoursMake meatless meals q delicious and wholesome hit with this Chickpea curry. Better than take-out, you’ll come back to this recipe whenever you feel the craving for some Indian food.
Ingredients
1 cup dry chickpeas (Wash, soak for 6-8 hours and cook till tender. Reserve the boiling liquid.)
1 bay leaf
2 inches of cinnamon
5-6 cloves
8-10 peppercorns
2 green cardamom pods
1 black cardamom pods
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
2 green/red chillies, split lengthways
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 and a 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
1 and a 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 cup tomato puree / passata
1 tbsp oil
Salt, to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
Fresh coriander leaves and stalks, finely chopped, to garnish
Directions
- Heat the oil in a large vessel.
Add the bayleaf, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and cardamom pods. - When the spices turn aromatic, add the cumin seeds and stir.
- Immediately add the chillies and onion. Saute till the onions have softened and have starting getting a little brown around the edges.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste and stir through. Saute for another minute.
- Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and garam masala powder and stir well.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of the stock from cooking the chickpeas to deglaze the pan and prevent the spices from burning. Stir through thoroughly.
- Now add the tomato puree and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring every once in a while.
- Add some more stock to bring the curry to the desired consistency. Please note, the curry will thicken a little as it cooks.
Bring it to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes. - After 5 minutes, stir and check for seasoning. Add more stock if needed. Add more salt, if needed. Add 1/2 tsp of sugar. (Depending on the tomatoes you’re using, you may need to add a little more sugar. Add to taste.) Stir through. Cover and simmer for another 5-7 minutes.
- At this stage your curry should be cooked. Lastly add in the boiled chickpeas. Cook for another couple of minutes till the chickpeas have heated through.
Garnish with chopped, fresh coriander and serve hot.
Enjoy!!!
Recipe Video
SRC 2018 Reunion – Sweet Chili Pork
Early last month, Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, who happens to be our SRC boss lady 😉 called out to all the club members and announced an SRC reunion event. Of course, I signed up for it and for this event, I was assigned Micha’s blog, Cooking Mimi. Micha’s blog is packed with great recipes. I had an absolute blast going through her blog and picking a recipe for today. After a lot of looking around I narrowed my choices down to this Hawaiian Pork, Potstickers (she even makes her own potsticker wrappers), Quick and Crispy Pork Cutlets and her Sweet Chili Pork. Have you spotted the trend here? I somehow happened to be zeroing in on Pork recipes. So this much was clear, I knew I was making Pork. When I saw her recipe for Sweet Chili Pork my mind was made up. This is what I was going to make.
Before we move on to the recipe, let’s talk about this Sweet Chili Pork, shall we? This dish has it all with juicy little pieces of pork tossed in a sweet sauce with mild heat from the Sweet Chili sauce and the crunch of the onion and capsicum just rounds it off beautifully. I could not believe how easy this recipe was. I wanted to try it just to see if a recipe this minimal would hit the spot. And hit the spot it did. I am so glad I tried this out. My husband is not a fussy eater but he is my biggest critic and helps me work on recipes and tweak them. He was floored by this recipe. And I agree with him 100%. This recipe is very similar to the kind of takeaway meals we got back in Bombay, albeit not with pork, but with chicken. Thank you Micha, for an absolute stunner.
I only made a couple of minor additions to the original recipe. I added some finely chopped ginger and garlic and some pieces of capsicum (green peppers) to the recipe. We served this up with some fried rice, but this would work very well with some noodles too.
Don’t forget to see what the others have whipped up for our 2018 reunion –
SRC 2018 Reunion – Sweet Chili Pork
Course: MainsCuisine: American – ChineseDifficulty: Medium4
servings10
minutes20
minutesJuicy little pieces of pork tossed in a sweet sauce with mild heat from the Sweet Chili sauce and the crunch of the onion and capsicum.
Ingredients
1/4 kg boneless pork
1 egg
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, cut into cubes
1 /2 green capsicum, cut into cubes (similar in size to the onion cubes)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2″ ginger, finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp lime juice
Directions
- Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a skillet over moderate heat.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl, whisk it and set it aside.
- In another bowl, mix the flour and cornstarch.
- Cut the pork into bite sized pieces.
- Toss the pieces in a little salt and lime juice. Toss the pork pieces in the flour mix. Then dip them in the egg and in the flour mix again .
- Fry the pieces of pork in batches for about 3-4 minutes a side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in another pan.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion and capsicum and stir fry till the pieces have just started to soften. I like mine a little crunchy. Cook it to your desired level of doneness.
- Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic and stir it around.
- Add the sweet chilly sauce and the fried pork pieces. Stir to coat everything in the sweet chili sauce. At this point, if you want a little more sauce in the dish, add some more. Toss well.
Serve hot.
Enjoy!!!
Nonya Chicken Curry
So, a while ago, when I saw this episode of Poh & Co, where Poh (one of my favourite TV chefs) whipped up a Nonya (a type of Malaysian) Chicken Curry, both, my husband and I knew we had to try the recipe out. The recipe does call for a few specialty ingredients, but the first time I made this curry, I didn’t have them and so I left them out. Even then the curry was a great one. But I knew I wanted to try the recipe with all of the ingredients. So I picked up the Pandan leaves and the Shrimp Belachan at a local Asian grocery store and made the curry again. This time with all the ingredients. The result was a mind-blowing curry. Now I don’t often refer to a curry as mind-blowing. A cake, maybe, but never a curry. But this curry is all that, and then some. It is one of my favorite chicken curries. And today I’m going to show you how I make mine. I have altered the method a tiny bit, to make the recipe more convenient and I hope you try this out the next time you want to make a chicken curry.
I tried to serve it up like a Nasi Lemak, but with plain rice instead of coconut rice. I added some fried baby anchovies, peanuts, boiled egg and some cucumber slices.
This curry also goes really well with roti or even bread. If you can get on hands on some Roti Canai, even better.
If you’ve never made a curry before, don’t let the idea scare you. It is easier than you think. I’ve put together a video to walk you through the process.
Let’s move on the the detailed recipe for this Nonya Chicken Curry.
Nonya Chicken Curry
Course: MainsDifficulty: Medium8
servings30
minutes30
minutesA few special ingredients, a spice-blend thats made from scratch, makes a truly well balanced curry comes together quite easily and is so very delicious.
Ingredients
3 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
15 dried red chillies
2 onions, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
20g toasted Belachan
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
8-10 curry leaves
2 tbsp oil (I use olive oil for all my cooking. You can use whatever oil you normally cook with.)
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 1/2 kilo chicken pieces
2 potatoes, cut into large cubes
2 birdseye chillies, slit lengthways
1 can coconut cream (400 ml can)
2 pandan leaves
Directions
- Deseed the dried chillies and soak them in hot water till they’ve rehydrated and softened.
- In a dry pan, on medium heat, roast the coriander, cumin and fennel seeds till fragrant. Take them off the pan and set aside to cool.
- Take the skin off the chicken, cut into pieces, trim the fat off and set aside.
- Using a blender or food processor (you can also use a mortar and pestle if you dont have one), grind the roasted coriander-fennel-cumin seeds mix, drained red chillies, onion, garlic, belachan and turmeric to a fine paste, adding a little water as needed.
- Heat oil in a large pot / pan over medium heat.
- Add the star anise, cinnamon and cloves and let them fry till fragrant about 20-30 seconds.
- Add the spice paste (rempah) to the pan and saute for 6-8 minutes till the sauce is very fragrant.
- Tear the pandan leaves into 3 strips lengthways and knot them together. Add the pandan and curry leaves to the spice mix.
- Add the chicken to the pan and stir to coat with the spice paste. Saute for 1-2 minutes or till the chicken pieces start to look opaque.
- Add the coconut cream and stir well.
- Add the potatoes, salt and sugar. Add a little water to thin down the sauce a little to reach the desired consistency. Let it come to a boil.
- Add the slit birdseye chillies, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer till tender.
- Check after 5-7 minutes, add more water if needed, stir to make sure the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pot and continue cooking till the chicken and potatoes are cooked.
Serve hot with rice.
Enjoy!!!
Recipe Video
Goan Beef Cutlets
These Beef cutlets have got to be one of my favorite recipes. When we were kids, my brother and I would wait for Mum to make a batch of these cutlets at home. It wasn’t made very often, but when it was, it was a real treat. I have, for the most part, stuck to my Mum’s recipe, with just a few tweaks.
These cutlets are very versatile. Make them smaller in size and serve them up with some tomato ketchup or Barbecue Sauce as starters or Finger food, make them larger and use them as patties in Burgers or make a medium size and serve it up with some Mashed potatoes / Roasted potatoes / Fries and a salad .
I have posted a beef cutlet recipe before, but that was a really long time ago. This recipe is the same, with just the addition of some Worcestershire sauce. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to take some new pictures. After all, its been a long journey from ‘My Hobbie Lobbie’ to ‘The Aspiring Home Cook’. I’ve also filmed a little video with some handy dandy tips too. I will link the video at the end of this post.
Goan Beef Cutlets
(Makes about 14-15)
500g ground beef (beef mince)
1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped (optional)
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2″ ginger, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 egg
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4-1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
Salt, to taste
2 slices of bread
Bread crumbs, to coat the cutlets
Olive oil, for frying (You can use whatever cooking oil you have on hand)
Soak the slices of bread in water for a few seconds, drain out all the liquid and crumble. Mix together all the ingredients except the bread crumbs and vegetable oil.
Make sure all the ingredients are well mixed and evenly distributed.
Shape into cutlets.
Coat with bread crumbs.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Carefully place the cutlets in the pan and let it cook on a medium heat till its done to your liking. Turn over and cook the other side as well.
Repeat till you’re done with the meat mix, adding more oil to the pan as and when you need to.
Serve hot.
Enjoy!!!
Here’s the video –
Tava Style Aloo Bhindi – Indian Potato and Okra Stir Fry
After a lot of searching, high and low, I found a recipe, that I tweaked to try and replicate the flavors I so vividly remember. Since I cook for just my husband and I, this recipe is scaled down. I also just use my favorite veggies from that day – okra (bhindi) and potatoes (aloo). I found that these are also some of the easy ones to work with. I don’t make this recipe very often, because the veggies start off by getting deep fried and are then tossed with a spice mix (tava masala), and the deep frying tips this to the slightly indulgent side.
The spice mix, or my version of the tava masala is hot a very hot mix. The spices used are warm and flavorful. The chaat masala is an integral part of this recipe. If you haven’t tried it before, it is a blend of a few spices like cumin, pepper and a few others with some powdered mango. So it has a unique flavor profile, you get a slight hit of salt, tang from the mango and delicious flavor from the blend of other spices. You can easily find this at any Indian grocery store. (This chaat masala also works well with other chaat recipes you find on my blog.)
So try this easy stir fry recipe. This is best enjoyed served hot with some chapatis, rotis, naan or other flatbread of your choice. It would also work well as a side dish to some hearty Dal & Rice.
Tava Style Aloo Bhindi
3 medium potatoes
20-25 okra
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 – 1 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder (or any other mild chilly powder)
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp chaat masala
Salt, to taste
1 1/2 – 2 tbsp oil, plus oil for deep frying
Place a pan with the oil for deep frying on medium high heat.
Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into evenly sized fries / chips.
Wash the okra and pat dry. Chop the stalks off the okra and discard. Try and use okra that is similar in size, if not, cut them down to about the same size as the potato pieces.
By now, the oil should be hot. Carefully, and in batches, add the potatoes to the oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan or the oil will froth over and spill.
Deep fry the potatoes on medium heat till they’ve cooked through. Drain using a slotted spoon and set aside on some kitchen paper to get rid of any excess oil.
Deep fry the okra on medium heat till they have start getting a little darker in color and have started crisping up.
Drain using a slotted spoon and set aside on some kitchen paper to get rid of any excess oil, like you did the potatoes.
Take the oil for deep frying off the heat.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan on medium heat. When the oil is warm, NOT hot, add in the turmeric powder first and then add the rest of the spice powders.
Stir that through for about 20-30 seconds or till the spices get aromatic.
Add the okra to the pan and toss well. Lastly add the potatoes and toss to coat the veggies with the spices evenly.
Check for seasoning and add salt, to taste. Toss well.
Serve hot.
You can watch the video recipe here –