Potato Chops with Vegetable Filling

 Vegetable Filling:

1 chopped onion and tomato, and two cups of finely chopped raw vegetables like carrots, peas, french beans, cauliflower, etc. 1/2 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste,1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, a handful of chopped nuts and raisins, half a teaspoon of gharam masala powder, Salt o taste.

Heat oil in a pan and add ginger-garlic paste. After couple of minutes add the chopped onion and tomato. Fry for about five minutes and then add the chopped vegetables. When the vegetables are done(not too soft) add the gharam masala powder(optional), black pepper powder(optional) and salt as per your taste. Finally add the  chopped nuts and raisins.  Cook for a couple of minutes and then 

turn off the flame.

To Make the Vegetable Chops: Take sufficient amount of mashed potato to form a ball(about 3 inches in diameter). Make a small well in centre of the ball and fill with the prepared vegetable filling. Fold over the potato to close the well. Then flatten the potato ball( just a little bit to form a flat round in the centre) on a wooden board dusted with flour and fry. When one side is brown turn the chop over in the pan and fry till both sides are brown. 

Serve with tomato ketchup and fresh coconut or tamarind chutney.

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Potato Chops with Beef Mince Filling

For Beef Mince:

200 grams beef mince
1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp of masala powder ( grind together, in equal measure,cumin, cloves,cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper corns)
3 tbsp of malt vinegar
2 onions chopped
1tbsp oil
1/2 tsp of sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp of chopped cilantro or fresh coriander leaves(optional)

Preparation:
Heat oil and add ginger-garlic paste and chopped onions. Fry onions till brown. Then add the masala powder. Next, add the mince, vinegar, and salt. Stir well and cook till mince is well done. Takes about 15 mins. Lastly add the sugar and the chopped cilantro or fresh coriander leaves(optional) . Stir once more and turn off the flame.

To make the potato chops: You will need 5-6 large potatoes-boiled and mashed with salt. Adding a little salt and butter to the mash gives it a smooth and creamy texture. And it sure makes the chops tastier too!

Take sufficient amount of mashed potato to form a ball of about 4 inches in diameter. Make a small well in the centre of the ball and fill it with some cooked mince. Close the ball and flatten it slightly. Then dip the chop in beaten egg and coat it with semolina or bread crumbs. Pan fry  the chop on both sides. And serve hot with tomato ketchup or coconut chutney.

You can also fry the potato chop without coating it semolina or breadcrumbs.

Soup Recipes: Spinach

250 grams frozen spinach or equal of fresh spinach leaves

1 small onion
1 teaspoon oil
100 ml milk
1 tbsp cream
A little grated cheese for garnish
And/or cheeselings (optional)
1/2 cube of Knorr or Maggie vegetable stock
Salt to taste

Peel onion and chop. Saute onion in oil and add the spinach(if using fresh leaves. Wash the leaves and add to the sauteed onion. Cover the pan and allow the spinach to steam for a few minutes). Turn off the fire. Add milk and blend the all the contents using an electric blender(a hand held one comes in handy for pureeing soups like this as you can directly use it in the pan.)

Mash the stock cube and add to soup. Alsoadd some salt( about half a teaspoonful) and stir. Turn on the flame and bring the soup to boil. Then lower the flame and allow soup to simmer(the longer it simmers the thicker the soup becomes). Just before turning off the flame, add cream and stir. Serve soup hot, garnished with grated cheese and cheeselings.

Soup Recipes: Chicken and Lemon Grass

 Chicken and Lemon Grass 

200 grams chicken breast cut into strips

1 tbsp vegetable oil

5-6 spring onions, chopped(green and white parts seperately)

1 inch piece of ginger(sliced)

3 cloves

1 tsp black pepper corns

1 inch piece whole turmeric

2-3 long leaves of lemon grass

3 cups water

1 tsp salt

Apply salt to chicken and keep aside. Heat oil  and saute the white part of the spring onion. Add chicken and cook till tender. Add ginger, turmeric,cloves and pepper corns. Stir fry for a couple of minutes and add water. Bring to a boil and then turn down the flame to simmer.

When the soup is simmering , add greens of spring onion and lemon grass. You can either chop the grass into 5 inch strips or fold leaves together and tie them up. Simmer for at least 10-15 minutes. Remove lemon leaves, and whatever bits of spices(cloves, ginger,etc.)  before serving.

Fried Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

1 kg Chicken thigh and breast pieces, quartered with bone

Marinade prepared with 1/2 cup vinegar(toddy preferably), 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste(freshly prepared, if you can spare the time, otherwise use ready-made paste), 2 tablespoons red chilly powder, 2 tablespoon sugar,  powder of 5 cloves and 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon, and salt as per taste.

Oil for frying

Method:

Marinate the Chicken thigh and breast pieces(skin removed)  in the marinade sauce for at least 8 hours or leave it overnight, even better( the longer you marinate the meat the tastier it is!).

When ready to cook the chicken. Heat oil (about half a cup in a pan) and put in the marinated chicken pieces. Do not close the pan. But keep the flame low otherwise the chicken will get burnt on the outside and remain uncooked inside. Turn the piece every few minutes.

Take out when cooked and crisp(not burnt!) and serve hot with slices of onion and lemon or cabbage raita(cabbage sale with yogurt dressing) and Naan bread.

Spicy Pork Fry

Ideally, this recipe is used to prepared wild boar meat (which is not easily available and so this adapted version using pork instead).

Spicy Pork Fry Recipe Ingredients:

1/2 kilo pork meat and fat cut into medium sized pieces

5 cloves garlic

1 inch piece of ginger cut in half

5 dried red button chilly

2 bay leaves

2 onions cut into quarters

4 tablespoons thick tamarind juice

3 tablespoon oil

Paste Ingredients and Preparation:

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; 1/2 inch piece cinnamon; 2 cardamon;5 cloves;1 teaspoon of cumin seeds;1 teaspoon of coriander seeds;1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder;1/2 teaspoon of red chilly powder;1 teaspoon gharam masala powder; 5 cloves garlic;1 inch piece of ginger.

Heat oil and fry all the above ingredients for a few minutes. Remove fried ingredients from pan and keep aside. 

Then heat another tablespoon of oil in the same pan and  fry one cup of grated coconut in it. Fry coconut till it is dark brown in color. Grind together all the fried ingredients, including coconut to form a coarse paste. 

Spicy Pork Fry Recipe Preparation:

In a pan  heat  oil and fry together onion quarters, ginger, garlic, cinnamon leaves, button chilly.  When onions are brown, turn off the flame.  Remove in a plate and keep aside. In the same pan fry the pork pieces till done. Add salt to taste.

When the pork meat is cooked to tender, add the coconut masala and tamarind juice to it. Mix well and cook till the masala begins to bubble. Keep the vessel open so that any remaining water can evaporate.  

Finally, add the fried onion quarters, ginger, garlic, cinnamon leaves,and  button chilly. Cook for another couple of minutes and then turn off the flame. Serve hot decorated with a few leaves of fresh green coriander.

Making Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Preparing the tomato sauce is an important step in most homemade pasta recipes. Of course a variety of ready-made pasta sauces are easily(and cheap too) available. But making your own pasta sauce makes it more special. And tastier too!

To make tomato sauce for pasta recipes you will need: tomatoes, basil, cloves, garlic, and some good red wine that can be used for cooking.

Method:

Boil 500 grams of tomatoes till the skins break. Turn off the flame and remove skin from tomatoes. The skin comes of easily when the tomatoes are still hot. Using a fork to hold the tomato in place and a knife to strip off the skin keeps me from burning my fingers on hot tomatoes.

Remove seeds from tomatoes and chop the tomatoes. What I do is cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the inner pulp with seeds and pass it all through a strainer. This way, I can collect the tasty inner juice of the tomato without the seeds.

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan( you can use any vegetable oil, it doesn't have to be olive oil but generally olive oil is preferred) and add to it the 5 cloves and  1 tablespoon of  minced garlic. Fry for a minute or two.

Next add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Pour 1 cup of warm water  into the pan and salt(as per taste).When the sauce begins to boil add a few leaves of fresh basil and half a teaspoon of dried oregano. 

Finally add half cup of red wine to the sauce.Lower flame and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes or longer, if you want it thicker!