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.

http://www.chirmooli.blogspot.co.uk/2012_10_01_archive.html

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!

One Pot Stew (Non Vegetarian)

One pot recipes are a big favourite of mine because it means less dishes to wash, less time spent in preparation of the meal, and a wholesome tasty dinner for the family and me. 

To prepare  this One Pot Stew, you will need:

1 kg of lean diced beef

4 diced carrots(peel and cut each carrot into 6 or 8 pieces)

6 large potatoes peeled and cut into quarters

3 small onions chopped

1 teaspoon of ginger and garlic paste

2 tablespoons of vinegar

2 inch long piece of turmeric                                                                                                                               

5 cloves

1 inch long piece of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil

Salt to taste 

Preparation: In a large pan, mix together ginger and garlic paste, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the diced beef to the pan. Mix well and keep aside for an hour. The pan should be large enough to contain all the recipe ingredients.

When ready to cook, add the chopped onions,  potatoes, carrots to the meat . Also add the turmeric, cloves, and cinnamon. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover the pan with lid and cook on slow fire for about an hour or until meat and vegetables are cooked. 

Break a loaf of bread or tear 4 bread slices into pieces and add to the cooking meat just before turning off the flame. Now add the olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro and black olives. Serve hot in soup bowls or on a dinner plate. This recipe should serve 4 to 5.

Lamb Stew Curry

Ingredients:
1/2 kg boneless lean lamb cut into cubes(about 1 inch squares)
1/2 kg lamb ribs
4 diced carrots(peel and cut each carrot into 6 or 8 pieces)
6 large potatoes peeled and cut into quarters
3 small onions chopped
2 tomatoes cut into quarters
8 flakes of garlic
3 inch piece ginger
1 teaspoon gharam masala powder
2 tablespoons of vinegar
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste


Preparation:
Peel and cut the ginger and garlic into slices. Cut the lamb ribs(with bone) into small pieces(about 2 inches long). In a large pan, mix together the ginger and garlic slices,1 teaspoon of salt, lemon juice, vinegar, and gharam masala powder. The pan used should be large enough to contain all the stew ingredients.
Add the lamb ribs and diced lamb cubes to the mixture and leave to marinate for a couple of hours. When ready to cook, add the chopped onions, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots, and a little more salt to the meat. Cover the pan with lid and cook on slow fire for about an hour and a half. Serve hot with bread or steamed rice.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

1 tbsp of olive oil
1 carrot
1 onion
3 flakes of garlic
55 grams mushrooms
500 grams lean mince beef
500 grams chopped canned tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato ketchup(optional)
1 tsp each of dried oregano and thyme
3 tablespoons of red wine
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
5 cloves
250 grams spaghetti
Grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
And Salt to taste

Preparation: Chop onion and garlic as finely as you can. Also chop the carrot and mushrooms(if you are using it) keep aside. Heat olive oil in a pan and add to it chopped onion and garlic. When the onion become transparent, add the carrot and mushrooms(optional) and saute for five mins.

Now add the mince to the pan and cook till meat becomes brown. Then add the canned tomatoes, ketchup(optional), cloves, oregano, thyme, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, pepper powder and salt. Bring contents to boil, stirring continuously and then simmer gently for about  an hour.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water till it is soft(takes about 15 minutes). Drain and keep aside. When ready to serve, arrange spaghetti in a bowl or deep plate, and pour meat sauce on top, cover with grated Parmesan and serve hot.

I also have another, more simpler and easier way, to make Spaghetti Bolognaise. Will publish it soon.

This recipe is also published on:http://expertscolumn.com/content/how-make-spaghetti-bolognaise and http://notecook.com/appetizers/a-fine-recipe-for-spaghetti-bolognaise/ 

If you try out this or any other recipes from Chirmooli, love to have your feedback! Many,many thanks for turning in. Thank you very much.

Chicken Pickle or Balchao Curry

This recipe can be used as a pickle or curry, whatever you like. 

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken breast pieces cut into strips

3 onions

5 flakes garlic

1/2 cup cooking Oil 

Salt

For the red chilly masala, grind together:

2 heaped tablespoons of Red chilly powder(or make powder by using dried kashmiri chillies with seeds removed, for a less fiery taste) 

1/2 cup Vinegar(either cider or toddy)

Powder of 15 cloves and 2 inch piece of cinnamon

Paste of 2 inch piece of Ginger and 12 flakes of Garlic(peeled)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation: Apply salt to the raw chicken breast strips and keep aside. Cut onions and garlic into slices. Then, heat oil and fry together onion, garlic and chicken strips till it begins to brown. Now, add the ground red chilly masala and stir well. Add more salt if needed. Turn down the flame when the contents begin to boil. Simmer for five or ten minutes and then switch out the fire.

Cool before serving or you can also serve it hot as a curry. If using this recipe as a curry, add one cup of water together with the masala. Boil and simmer as above. Also for chicken balchao curry you don't have to fry the chicken strips till brown(brown the chicken only if you are making it as pickle).

Goan-Portuguese Chicken Pickle  can be used as a sandwich filling for bread, pitta's, and/or fajita wraps. Combined with a few slices of cucumber, onion, and tomato, it's awesome!

Soup Recipes: Chicken and Sweet Corn

Ingredients:

500 grams of equal quantities of  steamed or boiled chicken breast and sweet corn(preferably canned)

1 onion chopped

1 tablespoon oil

100 ml milk

1 cup water

1 teaspoon cornflour

1/2 cube of Knorr or Maggie Chicken stock 

Salt to taste

Preparation:Using an electric blender, blend together, chicken, sweet corn and milk. Add a little salt to taste(not too much as the chicken stock cube that you will be adding later contains salt too). Heat oil in a pan and saute onion till transparent. Pour the blended soup mix into the pan. Blend again if to puree the sauteed onion(not necessary however).

Add the chicken stock cube and 1 cup of water to the soup and bring it to a boil, stirring continuously. When the soup starts boiling, lower the flame and let it simmer for sometime while you make a paste of cornflour and water(1 teaspoon of cornflour to 5 teaspoons water). Add cornflour paste to the simmering soup. Stir well. 

Finally, turn off the flame and serve soup hot with soft dinner rolls and butter. Yummy!Or enjoy it plain, as it is:Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup. Bon Appetit!

Broccoli Bhaji(Kerala style)

Ingredients:

A bunch of Broccoli
Mustard seeds

Vegetable oil(in Kerala they use coconut oil, I was told)

Finely chopped onions
Green chilly
Fresh grated coconut
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash broccoli, separate into florets and chop finely. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and add two teaspoons of mustard seeds(the small reddish-black variety). Close the pan and allow the mustard seeds to sputter for a couple of minutes before adding chopped onion(one medium sized onion). Saute the onions till they are soft. Then add the chopped broccoli into the pan.

Cover the pan with lid and let broccoli steam cook on low flame for about 5 minutes or till it is soft(but not mushy). Open lid, add salt(half teaspoon or more as per your taste). Slit one green chilly in half(lengthwise), remove seeds and add to the broccoli. Finally add the two tablespoons of grated coconut and stir into the bhaji.

Turn off flame after all the water has evaporated. Serve hot with bread or roti.

Cauliflower Bhaji

1 tsp Mustard  and cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp Vegetable oil

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 medium-sized onion chopped

2 tomatoes, also chopped

A handful frozen green peas

Fresh coriander (optional)

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash cauliflower, separate into florets and chop into medium size bits. In a pan, heat  oil and add to it mustard(the small reddish-black variety)  and cumin seeds.  Close the pan and allow the mustard and cumin seeds to sputter for a couple of minutes before adding ginger-garlic paste and chopped onion.

Saute the onions till they are soft . Add tomatoes and fry for a few more minutes. Then add turmeric powder and stir well. Finally, add the chopped cauliflower  and frozen peas. Cover the pan with lid and let cauliflower steam cook on low flame for about 5 minutes or till it is soft(but not mushy). Open lid, add salt(half teaspoon or more as per your taste).

When the vegetable is cooked and just before you turn off the fire, add a handful of coriander leaves to the bhaji. Close lid. Turn off the flame. This Cauliflower Bhaji is best eaten hot with Indian pickles and puris or chappati. It is also a superb accompaniment for  the traditional Indian rice and dal meal.

Christmas Sweets: Chocolate Salami Recipe

Ingredients:
100 g Cocoa
200 g Butter(at room temperature or soft but not melted)
1 Egg yolk(optional)
100g Ground sugar or castor sugar
15-20 Digestive biscuits
Rum or brandy
Butter paper for rolling out the salami and some fancy ribbons if you’d like to tie the ends of the paper(gives it a nice and festive look. And makes it a great gifting idea).

Method:

In a bowl cream together butter and sugar in the proportion of 2:1. Then add two heaped tablespoons of cocoa and mix thoroughly. Taste and add more sugar, if needed. Grind the digestive biscuits to powder and add to the chocolate mixture. Next, beat the yolk and add to the bowl. 

Then add a spoonful of brandy or rum(if you don’t like to use alcohol in your food you could try using any food essence or flavouring of your choice or skip it. It’s not absolutely necessary that you use either). You can also add a few roasted and chopped nuts to your salami.

Knead all the ingredients to form a ball. If you find it breaking, add more butter. Finally, roll out the chocolate ball to form a sausage (you can make it short or long, fat or thin, one or more, however you like it) on butter paper. Cover the salami with the butter paper and store in fridge. Lasts for 15 days.

Serving:

To serve Chocolate Salami, cut  the chilled salami  into slices, like you would any meat salami, arrange on a plate or platter, and enjoy it! Excellent with glass of port or sherry. Goes well with black coffee too. Or just have it plain, whatever.

Please note:

Although I have included the quantities in the ingredients, based on my many years of experience in making chocolate salami, I suggest that you have a little extra of all ingredients at hand(except for the egg yolk as one is more than enough even if you double the quantities of other ingredients in the recipe).

Secondly, keep tasting your mix to see what needs more adding -sugar,cocoa,butter,biscuit powder,rum/brandy? I use a lot of brandy in this recipe. Normally, one spoon is enough but I tend to use about 5 or 6 spoonfuls(sometimes just pouring it in, straight from the bottle). I love the taste of liquor in chocolate.

Fruit and Vegetable Salad with Yogurt Dressing

To make this salad you will need:

Red,Green and Yellow Peppers

Pineapple

Green Apple(or red if green is not available)

Onion

Yogurt

Salt

Iceberg lettuce and cherry tomato(optional)

To prepare the salad: Chop into fine pieces one quarter each of the coloured peppers (red, green, yellow). Mix chopped peppers with a handful of pineapple pieces, one chopped green apple (with peel), and half a small onion(finely minced). Add salt  and toss well, before adding half cup of yogurt to the salad mix. Mix everything again and your salad is ready.

Since I like to serve my food in style, here's an serving suggestion you could use. Wash and dry a few leaves of ice-berg lettuce and arrange it on a dinner plate to form a flower pattern. Next cover each lettuce petal with the salad and place a fresh red strawberry or cherry tomato or a few black olives in the centre.

If you would want to know more on the origins of this Salad Recipe, please view the original publication on Expertscolumn: Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Salad with Yogurt 

Soup Recipes: Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 Bundle Asparagus

100 ml whole milk

2 tablespoons single cream(optional)

2 tablespoons grated cheddar(mild)

1 small onion

Fresh herb of choice for garnish(optional)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and powdered black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Steam the Asparagus till soft. Saute onions in olive oil. Blend the Asparagus and sauteed onion with milk to form a smooth paste. I find it much easier to use an electric hand blender for pureeing soups as it is easier to clean up than a regular blender.

You can thin the soup, by adding more milk or water, if you prefer a lighter soup. Pour the blended soup contents into a pan and bring to a boil. Turn off the flame and then add cream and grated cheddar. Flavour with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with soft bread.

Adding cream and cheese to your soup will make it much richer. Although, I don't usually use cream for Asparagus soup, the grated cheese is an absolute must for me. Please feel free to skip it if you can or like(it definitely reduces the calories!).

Beef Gravy/Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

330 g diced lean beef

2 small onions 

1 tomato

1 carrot chopped

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste

5 cloves

1 inch pice of cinnamon

3 tablespoons red wine

Half a table tennis ball size of tamarind(seeds removed)

1 teaspoon garam masala powder(optional)

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper powder

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation: In a dish, make a marinade sauce using ginger-garlic paste, black pepper powder,salt, red wine, and gharam masala  powder(optional). Add the cubes of beef to  the prepared marinade sauce, mix well and keep aside for at least an hour.

Soup Recipes: Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 broccoli

1 medium potato

100 ml whole milk

Half of Knorr vegetable stock cube

Grated Cheese

Salt to taste

Preparation:Wash potato, peel and cut into cubes. Cut off the hard portion of the broccoli stem and break into florets. Wash separated floret of broccoli.  Put broccoli florets and chopped potato into a pan. Cover with water and boil till broccoli and potato is soft. Alternatively you can pressure cook the potato and broccoli(two whistles is sufficient).

Blend the broccoli and potato using an electric hand blender. Add milk and blend again. Add more milk or water if you prefer a lighter soup. Pour the blended soup contents into a pan and bring to a boil. Add salt and stir. Turn off the flame. When ready to serve, pour soup into bowls and cover with grated cheese(you can use any variety of cheese that you like).

Soup Recipes: Carrot

Ingredients:

3 Carrots
1 small onion
1 small potato
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 flake of garlic
3 cloves
1/2 teaspoon red chilly flakes
Salt to taste

Preparation: Wash and peel carrots and cut into large bits. Similarly, wash potato, peel and chop. Also cut onion and garlic in slices.  Put the chopped carrots, potato, onion, and garlic into a pan. Add cloves. Cover  the vegetables fully with water and boil till vegetables are soft enough for blending.  Turn off the flame and leave to cool. When sufficiently cool blend all ingredients together using a blender.

If you use a hand blender you can blend all the soup ingredients directly in the pan(which mean less washing!! And that’s a huge plus for me, at least!). Add salt and chilly flakes(optional) and bring to boil. You may add a little water if you want to thin the soup a bit. Turn off the flame. Stir in the virgin olive oil and serve soup hot, garnished with a few leaves of fresh coriander.

Goan Pork Balchão Recipe

Ingredients:

2 kg chopped pork 

3 onions chopped fine

2 heaped tablespoons of Red chilly powder 

1/2 cup Vinegar(either cider, toddy, or red wine)

Powder of 15 cloves and 2 inch piece of cinnamon

Paste of 2 inch piece of Ginger and 8 flakes of Garlic(peeled)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup Oil or pork lard

2 spoons of shrimp paste(optional)

1 cup warm water

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Marinate pork pieces in salt and vinegar(one spoon salt and 3 spoons vinegar, approximately) and keep aside.Then, heat oil or lard(whichever you are using) and fry the chopped onions till golden brown. Grind together Red chilly powder (or make powder by using dried Kashmiri chillies with seeds removed, for a less fiery taste), the prepared ginger-garlic paste, and powdered cloves and cinnamon in vinegar.

Add the ground red chilly masala to the fried onions and fry for 3 mins. Finally, add the pork pieces and shrimp paste(optional). Mix well and let the meat cook. When the balchao begins to boil, add water, the remaining vinegar, sugar, and more salt (if needed). Let the pork cook on slow fire for 40 minutes or more. Generally, it takes about an hour.  Serve with steamed rice or bread.

Also published on: http://notecook.com/salads/goan-pork-balcho-recipe/#ixzz29e5NglZg

Goan Prawns Balchao

Ingredients:

300 grams medium to large raw prawns(shell removed)

1 cup Vegetable oil for frying the prawns

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

6 tablespoons Recheido Masala(for fish)

6 tablespoons vinegar(toddy)

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash the clean prawns and apply salt to them. In a pan heat oil and  fry prawns till cooked (or you can cook  for longer till prawns are nice and crisp. For Balchão, I prefer prawns to be fried but not too crunchy. You may like it otherwise!?). 

Place fried prawns on paper kitchen towels to suck out excess oil. In the same pan, used to fry the prawns(or you can use another pan, whatever) sautee chopped onion till onion becomes transparent and then add the Recheido Masala.

Fry the Recheido Masala and onion for 3 to five minutes on slow flame and then add the fried prawns to it. Add more salt if needed. Fry for another 3 to five minutes on slow-medium flame. Add vinegar and bring Balchão to a boil. Turn off flame and cool.

When cool, fill the Prawn Balchão in a glass jar by pressing it down to bring out the oil. If the oil is less, heat some more oil, cool and add to the jar. The oil should cover the pickle completely or else it tends to grow fungus. 

This recipe is also published on http://expertscolumn.com/content/how-make-prawn-balch-o

Soup Recipes: Mixed Vegetable

Ingredients:

Two handfuls of cauliflower florets
Two handfuls of broccoli florets
1 potato
1 carrot
A handful of sweet corn(frozen or fresh)
A handful of green peas(frozen or fresh)
1 small onion
100 ml whole milk
Half of Knorr vegetable stock cube
2 tablespoons fresh cream(optional)
Salt to taste

Preparation:Peel and chop the onion, potato and carrot. Wash broccoli and cauliflowerin water, drain and keep aside. Put all the vegetable ingredients(onion, potato,carrot,broccoli,cauliflower,sweet corn and peas)in a pan. Cover vegetables fully with water and boil tillvegetables are soft. Alternatively you can also steam the vegetable till soft or pressure cook(two whistles).

When the vegetables are cooked, turn off the flame. Add milk, salt and knorr stock to the soup contents and blend using an electric hand blender. Once again turn on the flame and bring soup to a boil. Lower flame and let soup simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the fire and stir in the fresh cream(optional). Serve hot with warm crusty bread.

If steaming the vegetables, add one or two cups of warm water(depending on whether you would like a thin or thick soup, respectively) before blending the soup with milk. Serving suggestion: Ladle soup into bowl, pour a little thick double cream in the center add a few leaves of fresh coriander or parsley and a black olive on top of it or a quarter of tinned cherry tomato.

Soup Recipes: Chicken Cream

Ingredients:

300 grams steamed or boiled chicken breast

1 small onion

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

100 ml milk

100 ml cream

1 cup water

1 tablespoon cornflour

Parsley for garnish only

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder(optional)

Preparation:

Cut the cooked chicken breast into small pieces. Add milk and blend using an electric blender. Chop onion finely and keep aside. In a pan, heat oil and saute chopped onion till soft. Pour the blended chicken and milk into the pan. Add water and bring to boil, stirring continuously. Lower the flame and let soup simmer. In the meanwhile, make a paste of cornflour and water and add to the simmering soup. Stir.

Finally, add salt and pepper powder (as per taste), and cream. Stir and then turn off the flame. Serve hot garnished with parsley. Creamy Chicken Soup is an ideal recipe for a warm supper on a cold autumn/winter day. When preparing it, you may want to add more cream or less water into the recipe(it all depends on how you like your soup -thick and creamy, or thin and watery, you decide!)

Also it is not absolutely necessary to add cornflour only, you can make the paste using plain white or wholemeal flour also. Or may choose to skip this step altogether. Sometimes, I will make this recipe with only chicken, milk, water and salt. Blend it altogether. Pour into a pan and boil once. Turn off the flame and serve hot with a generous amount of grated cheese and a hint of black pepper powder. It's lovely anyway! Simply Delicious!

Tofu Curry(Vegetarian Recipe)

To make Tofu Curry, you will need the following ingredients:

200 grams Tofu;100 grams thick coconut milk; 1 cup water; 1 green capsicum;1 tomato;1 onion;1 carrot; a handful of french beans cut into 1 inch long pieces; a tablespoonful of ginger-garlic paste;1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, coriander, cumin and red chilly powder; 1 tablespoon of thick tamarind juice;1 tablespoon olive oil(or any other vegetable oil that you use);Salt to taste.

How to make Tofu Curry

Method: Cut all the vegetables and tofu into 1 inch square pieces. In a deep pan,  heat oil and add to it ginger-garlic paste. Let it fry for a couple of minutes and then add turmeric, coriander, cumin and red chilly powder.

After about one or two minutes put in the vegetables -onions, capsicum and tomatoes, first. Stir fry for a few minutes and then add the remaining vegetables  and tofu. Cook the vegetables and tofu for a while. Add tamarind juice. Mix well and then pour in the coconut milk and add salt. 

When the curry begins to boil,add  some water (optional, if you want a thick curry, skip adding the water). Turn down the flame and allow the curry to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, before turning off the fire. Serve hot with brown bread or steamed rice and a green salad.

Fried Vegetarian Snacks

Potato Toast Recipe

Ingredients:

Potatoes
Sliced Bread
Oil
Corriander
Salt
Tomato Ketchup
Method:

Boil and mash one large potato(remove skin before mashing) with some salt and butter. 

Chop a few leaves of coriander and mix into the potato mash. If you want to spice up your Potato fried toast , you may like to add some ground black pepper to the mash as well.

Take half a loaf of white sliced bread and cut each slice into four squares(trim off all the brown edges of the slices before cutting into squares).

Spray all the bread squares with a little water(taking care not to make it too soggy. Just a little water to help you stick the potato mash and bread together, that's all!).

Take a little of the potato mash and cover the  top of one side of each bread square with it. Spread the potato evenly across the bread square and press to stick  it together.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan and fry the potato squares till they become golden brown in colour. Drain  out all excess oil from the Potato fried toast using paper kitchen towels.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Easy Meat and Vegetables Stew

500 grams cubes of beef (lean),chicken breasts, and pork(you don’t need to have all three varieties necessarily!)
Half a kilo of potatoes chopped into large pieces
250 grams carrots, chopped(large pieces, 1 inch long)
250 grams green peas(fresh or frozen) or french beans cut in halves
250 grams of prepared macaroni(pipes only)
2 large onions, cut in quarters
2 tomatoes, again cut in quarters
1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon of black pepper powder

2 tablespoons of cooking oil
5 cloves

1 inch piece of cinnamon

2 inch piece of turmeric(optional)

Half a teaspoon of gharam masala powder(optional)
Salt to taste

Method:Heat oil in a pan and add cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste, tomatoes and onions and fry for a few minutes. Apply black pepper and salt to the chopped meat and add to the pan. Cover the pan and let the meat cook on slow fire for 10 to 15 minutes. 

Then add potatoes, carrots, peas, and about half a cup of water and cook till meat and vegetables are done. If you would like to have more gravy in your stew, adding a little extra water would be a good idea.

Meanwhile cook macaroni in boiling water. Strain and keep aside. Tossing the prepared macaroni in a teaspoon of butter will ensure that the macaroni doesn't stick together. Add macaroni to  the meat and vegetables. Add more salt, if needed.

You may like to thicken the gravy of your stew by adding to it a bit of cornflour paste (about 1 teaspoon full cornflour in 60 ml water). The cornflour paste should be added to the stew just before putting in the macaroni.

Hot Chilly Chicken

I used to think it was an Indian Recipe but now I know it's Chinese(though I am not wholly sure about this). To me it seems more like a fusion between Indian and Chinese cooking.

Here's my version of the awesome recipe.

Hot Chilly Chicken

Ingredients:

350 grams boneless chicken cut into strips

3 teaspoons of Soy sauce

3 teaspoons of vinegar

1 teaspoon of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

A hand ful of green chillies(seeds removed or else you'll have a fiery hot chicken!) cut in strips

5 flakes of garlic, skinned and cut into slices

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into slices

3 spring onions chopped

Oil for deep frying the chicken cubes

1/2 cup Cornflour 

Method:

Marinate the  chicken cubes using 1 teaspoon of vinegar, salt and pepper powder. Then make a smooth batter(dipping consistency) with cornflour and water. Heat oil in a deep fry pan. Coat each chicken cube in the cornflour batter and deep fry till golden brown.

After you finish frying all the chicken cubes, heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in  a pan and add to it the sliced green chillies,spring onions and slices of ginger and garlic. Stir fry on high flame for two or three minutes and add to it the batter fried chicken strips.

Mix together the soy sauce, remaining vinegar, sugar, a bit of water(a tablespoonful), and half a teaspoon of cornflour and some salt(if needed). Stir well and add to chicken. Mix everything well(taking care not to break the chicken pieces). Turn off the flame and you are ready to serve.

Homemade Mango Ice-cream

Picture courtesy Google Images

This recipe of Homemade Mango Ice Cream has been passed on to me by my mother(and I think she learnt it from my grandmother). As kids we would often make a lot of it during the summer holidays which always coincided with the mango season in Goa.

This Homemade Mango Ice Cream is really quite a simple straightforward recipe. And if you happen to own an electric ice-cream maker it sure is a breeze! You’ll have a yummy, creamy, fruity dessert in 30 minutes or less.

Homemade Mango Ice-cream Recipe:

Ingredients:

Pureed pulp of 6 ripe mangoes(preferably the mancurad variety)

200 ml full fat fresh cream

200 ml whole milk(cold)

2 tablespoons of ground sugar(you might want to add more if you like your ice-cream sweeter)

Method: Put all of the above ingredients into the electric ice-cream maker and in half an hour you will get  your ice-cream, all ready to eat. 

Now if you don’t have an electric ice-cream maker then blend together all of the ice-cream ingredients,listed above, by hand or in an electric blender. Pour the contents into a bowl, cover and then place in freezer to to set.

Tip: For creamier ice-cream. After the ice-cream has set(or almost set) take it out of the freezer and whip it till it is light and creamy again. Then keep to reset in freezer. Repeat two or three times. But, as kids, our ice-cream would get over by the first or second round of whipping and setting.

If not using an electric ice-cream maker the ice-cream tends to be a little icy but tastes divine, all the same!

Goan Pork Adamas (bone meat) Recipe

Adamas is the konkani term for bone meat. It is generally used in reference to the bones of the pig. Traditionally,pork bone meat curry is made as a way to use up the left over bones after all the meat has been removed for preparing the spicy, red Goan sausages.

Traditional Goan Adamas(bone meat)Recipe

Ingredients:

2 kgs pork bones with some meat on it, preferrably.

Two heaped tablespoons of red chilli powder

Two tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste

One level tablespoon of clove and cinnamon powder

Half cup of vinegar(Goan toddy vinegar)

One tablespoon of sugar

One tablespoon of salt(or more as per taste)

1 kg onions

6 to 8 tomatoes

2 or 3 bay leaf

1 cup cooking oil or pork fat(lard)

3 whole kashmiri chillies(optional)

Preparation:

First, wash and clean the the pork bones, apply salt to the bones and some red chilli powder(1 teaspoon), pour all the vinegar over the bones and let it marinate for at least half an hour.

Chop the onions and tomatoes separately. In a large pan, heat oil or the pork fat and add chopped onions. Fry onions till golden brown and then add the chopped tomatoes. Fry till a paste is formed of the onions and tomatoes. Then add two tablespoons of ginger and garlic paste. Fry again for a few minutes.

Next add the remaining chilli powder and clove and cinnamon powder. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. And then add the bones as well as the marinade to the pan. Add sugar and stir well. Cover the bones completely with water,add the bay leaves, and kashmiri chillies(optional) and bring to boil. When the curry starts boiling, lower the flame and simmer for 40 minutes or an hour. Serve hot with bread as they do it in Goa.