Chick pea curry, rice and naan bread

I got home fairly late after a busy day at work and as I parked my car I was wondering what to cook.   As I opened the front, the scent of lovely food being cooked wafted through.  I was really surprised to see that dinner was ready.  Today's meal was prepared by my better half with the help of my handsome son.  They made chick peas in a tomato gravy, rice and naan bread.   They said that they had followed my recipe which they had printed off to follow!!  But the curry made by this duo turned out to be of a rich colour and full of flavours.  I think it tasted better than mine   The rice was cooked to perfection with lots of butter added to it!!   It was delicious.  It was great to relax and enjoy the meal with them.   I hope they will do this more often.

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Mung beans, Plain rice and Triangle parathas

Today has been a busy day with lots of housework plus cooking the Indian snacks - chora fari and farsi puri.  So dinner today was whole mung bean curry, rice and triangle parathas with garlic.  (I realise that I have never posted a recipe for plain rice!).

This is one meal the whole family enjoys and I don't have to worry about making something different for a fussy member of the family. We had it with lots of yoghurt and for afters - we had good old fashioned vanilla ice cream.  Now time to relax and catch up with friends.

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Corn and wheat flour chapatis (Indian bread)

Chapatis or chappattis are usually made from wheat flour and eaten with most Indian curries.   Different Regions of India have their own unique style of making chapatis.  In Kenya, the locals make them big and quite thick and often fry them but call them roti. I like to make small and thinly rolled out chapatis.  And no Indian meal is complete without either the chapati or paratha of some kind.  I have recently started to mix other flours to my chapati flour and am really enjoying the taste.  This recipe is made up of mixing 2 cups of strong white flour with one cup of corn flour.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Strong White flour - preferrably chapati flour

1 cup corn flour

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

pinch of salt

half cup flour - to use when rolling out the chapatis

2 teaspoons of olive oil (you can use any oil)

butter or ghee to spread on the chapati (optional) 

1 cup of warm water

Method:

1.  Sieve  the two flours.

2.  Add the salt, oregano and oil.

3.  Using warm water, mix the flour well.  Make sure that you pour the water in small amounts so that the dough doesn't get too soft.  Spread some oil in your palms and knead  until the dough feels pliable - almost like "play dough".  Leave the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes. 

4.    Now mix your dough folding it in as you mix. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least half an hour.  If you have time,  leave it in the fridge for as long as you can.  Leaving it in the fridge overnight and then making these chapatis produces the best results.   When you are ready to make the chapatis, take out the dough and warm it in the microwave for 20 seconds.  Knead it well and if the flour still  feels cold, you can warm it again for 10 or 20 seconds.  The dough should become slightly warm,  smooth and pliable.

5.  Divide the flour into 15 small balls as shown below:

6.   Dust each ball using the dry flour and roll out the chapati.  You can use any rolling pin and a work top if you do not have a pastry stand.  Making perfect round chapatis does take a bit of practice. The trick to a perfect chapati is to ensure that it rolled out evenly. Grip the rolling pin gently placing the palms of your hands on the at the edges of the rolling pin.  Dust some dry flour on the worktop let the chapati almost roll itself.  Try and resist pressing too hard in the centre of the chapati.  The same pressure should be on the whole chapati.   Please don't be put off if the shape of the chapati looks like the map of Africa or USA....the proof of the pudding is in the taste!!  Practice makes perfect 

7.  Cook it on medium heat using a griddle or dry frying pan. As soon as you can see little bubbles appear on its surface turn it over onto the o ther side. Press the chappatti gently; with dry kitchen paper. The air in the chapati will start to rise when you press the chapati with the kitchen paper. Keep turning the chapati until it rises or you get little dark spots.  Be careful when it rises as the hot air can scald your hands.

8.  Remove  the chapati and keep it on a plate.  Make sure that the plate is covered with a kitchen paper . The hot chapati causes condensation and the kitchen paper keeps the chapati dry.  If you like you can spread some butter or ghee on the chapati and continue making the rest, stacking them like pancakes. If you decide not to spread butter or ghee on the chapatis, my advice would be to keep the chapatis covered with a clean cloth.  This will keep them soft.  These chapatis taste just as nice as the ones made with just strong wheat flour ones. 

9.  Serve it with rice and any curry.  I made mung dall with my chapatis.

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Stuffed peppers in tomato gravy (bharena marcha nu shaak)

I love sweet peppers in a salad, sandwich or a curry.  The lovely colours and the flavours also look appealing.   They are an easy vegetable to prepare and cook.  My recipe for masala stuffed peppers is here.  This dish is a lot similar but cooked in a tomato gravy.

Ingredients for 4 servings

10 Baby bell peppers

1 medium red onion

½ cup mixture of cumin and coriander powder (often called dhana jeeru)

½ cup porridge oats  (grind these in a coffee grinder)

½ cup  chickpea flour (also called gram flour)

½ cup roasted and ground peanuts (for those who are allergic-leave out the nuts)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

2-3 cloves of fresh garlic

2 tbs cooking oil to add to the spices

2 tbs cooking oil for the curry

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 cup of  passata

Method:

To prepare the stuffing:

1.  Grind the roasted peanuts and oats in a coffee grinder.

2.  Prepare the stuffing by adding the chick pea flour, cumin powder, coriander, ground peanuts, freshly blended garlic, salt and chili powder into a small non stick frying fan.

3.  Add the two tablespoons of oil to the mixture and lightly toast the mixture so that all the flavours blend together.

4.  Allow the mixture to cool.

Prepare the peppers:

5.  Slice the peppers lengthwise and soak them in cold water so that all the peppers seeds get washed away.

6.   Stuff the peppers with the spices and arrange them in a small saucepan.

7.  Slice the onion into fairly big chunks and spread on top of the peppers 

8.  In a second saucepan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds to it.  Once the mustard seeds start popping, add in the half the  Passata and allow to cook for a couple of minute and spread this on top of the stuffed peppers.

9.  Also spread any left over masala on top of the tomatoes.

10. Add the rest of the passata and one cup of hot water to the curry and allow the peppers to cook - turning the occasionally using a spoon or metal tongs.

11. Once the peppers feel soft – the curry is ready to serve.

12.  Serve the peppers as a main dish or a side dish with hot chappatis and rice.

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Mung Dall (mug ni dal)

Mung beans when split become Mung Dall.  You can get mung dall with the green husk or the polished one with the husk removed.  All of the versions are full of proteins.   However, all three are used in different recipes.

Today's recipe is using the polished husked Mung dall.

Ingredients for 2-3 servings:

One and a half cups Mung dall

0ne and half cups of tinned tomatoes (crushed)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon tumeric

3 green chillies - chopped (use less if you are not keen on hot food) 

1 tablespoon brown sugar or jaggery or sugar substitute

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon ginger paste

small bunch of coriander

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon dried mustard seeds

1 or 2 pieces of cloves and cinnamon (optional)

pinch of  asafoetida (optional)

Cooking time: 20 -30 minutes depending on how long the dall was soaked for.

Method:

1. Soak  the mung beans for at least 2 hours but if possible longer.  You'll notice that the dall soaks up the water and the grains look bigger.

2.  Heat the sunflower oil.

3.  Add the mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, garlic  and asafoetida

4.  Once the mustard seeds and cloves stop popping, add the mung dall to the oil.

5.  Stir the mung dall so that all the beans are covered with the oil.

6.  Add the salt, tumeric, ginger and green chillies and stir.  Add in the sugar or sugar substitute.

7.  Add two and half cups of water to the dall.

8.  Let the dall cook gently until it gets soft.  (should take 10-15 minutes).

9.  Once the dall softens, add the tomatoes and lemon juice and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Although we call this a dall, do not stir the dall too much as the dall then becomes like a soup. In fact, the Gujarati's do not add a lot of water and make their dall fairly dry.  They serve it with Khadhi - which is a heavenly tasting soup made from Yogurt.

Note:   If you add lemon juice or tomatoes too early to the dall, the acid in the tomatoes and lemon stops the dall from softening.

10. Transfer the dall to the serving dish and sprinkle some coriander before serving with rice and chappatis.

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Mutter Paneer with Tikka masala

There are several paneer recipes on my blog.  I am always trying out new variations of mutter paneer and often the taste is guided by the taste of my children.  This recipe was made at the request of my son and he wanted me to use plenty of double cream in the dish. Using home made paneer made this dish taste great.

Ingredients (serves 4):

4 cups Home made paneer :(If using store bought paneer try and look for softer version of paneer)

I cup green peas (fresh or frozen)

2 tsp ready made Patak’s tikka masala paste

1 cup natural yoghurt 

1 teaspoon of grated ginger (or use the cubes of frozen chillies, ginger and garlic)

2-3 cloves of freshly minced garlic 

2-3 green chillies cut finely

1 teaspoon of mustard seeds

half teaspoon turmeric powder

½ cup  cashewnuts, powdered

1 cup of Pasatta

½ cup of double cream

Small bunch of chopped coriander leaves

½ cup sunflower oil or similar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar or sugar substitute

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut the paneer into half inch  strips and then cubes

2.  Mix 2-3 teaspoons of the paneer tikka masala to the yogurt and pour it on the paneer cubes.  Mix well.  If using home made paneer, be gentle as you don't want the cubes to start breaking.  Allow this mixture to marinate at least 30 minutes.

3.  Cover a baking tray with aluminium foil, brush  some oil on the foil and arrange the cubes on the tray.  Allow for some gap between the cubes. If you have any of the marinade left over, save it to add to the curry.

4.  Cook these in the oven  at 160 degrees Centigrade (Gas mark 3 or 325 F)  for 15 minutes.  If the paneer hasn't browned a bit at the sides, give it a couple of minutes more.

5. Allow the paneer cubes to cool.

6. Prepare the sauce.  Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and add the mustard seeds to the oil. Once the mustard seeds stop popping, add the pasatta and stir.  Add in the blended ginger, garlic and chillies; the salt, lemon and sugar.  Also add in the peas  and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes - giving you time to remove the paneer cubes from the tray.

 7.  Add the paneer cubes to the curry.  Also add in any left over marinade sauce mixture at this stage.  Allow the mixture to simmer gently.

8.  Add the powdered cashews to the curry and stir.

9. Once the sauce looks nice and thick, add in the double cream slowly , stirring in between.

10.  Allow the curry to simmer on a low heat until the sauce is nice and thick.

11.  Remove  and garnish it with coriander and some cream

12.  Serve with hot chappatis or naan bread.

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