bhuna kukkad

ingredients:

chicken: 800g

yogurt: 100g

garlic: 10 cloves

cloves: 5-6

green cardamom: 4-5

cinnamon: 1-inch stick

red chilli powder: 1 tsp

turmeric: ½ tsp

salt: to taste

cumin seeds: 1 tsp

mustard oil: 2 tbsp

preparation time: 2 hours

cooking time: 30 minutes

 

method:

grind together garlic, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon to make a fine paste and mix red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. apply this paste to chicken and keep it in the refrigerator for at least two hours (i marinated it overnight...tastes better you knowJ).

heat oil in a pressure cooker. add cumin seeds and when they start changing colour, add the chicken. sauté on high heat. when the moisture is evaporated, add the yoghurt and half a cup of water. cover the lid and cook till two whistles. Open lid when pressure completely reduces. adjust salt and stir-fry till the chicken coats masala. garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with paranthas (that’s how i am going to eat it).

and as i always say, a little experiment is always welcome. and also revert back with your feedback...

enjoy...

adapted from marterchef sanjeev kapoor's recipe that goes with the same name.

aloo gosht

ever since i have started living alone, i have had this incessant urge for having good food, veg or non-veg. my quest for finding good places to eat has taken me from tiny little meghamala in ganesh bazaar, dhenkanal, to gokul chaat bhandar in hyderabad, to persis gold in the paradise, hyderabad, to arabian nights at basant lok complex, new delhi. but i swear i have not eaten better mutton cooked in mughalai style as i had at karims at jama masjid, new delhi. 

so when the anchor of a cookery show was sitting at the karims, dissecting their shami kebab and aloo gosht, i took down this recipe. it is a little different from what i had since i have used the normal garam masala, while at karims, they use their special masala. but honestly, it was worth the effort, and it was the best mutton i have ever cooked. try this, you will not be disappointed.

ingredients:

mutton: 500g
yogurt: 150g
ghee: 150g
black pepper: 5-6
cumin seeds: 1 tsp
cloves: 5-6
green cardamom: 4-5
red chili powder: 1 tsp
coriander powder: 2 tsp
ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp

black cardamom seeds: 1 tsp
garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
potatoes: 3 medium, slit into half
onions: 2 medium, deep fried

preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time: around an hour

method:
heat the ghee in a deep bottom pan (i used my cooker). you can also use refined oil instead of ghee. add washed mutton pieces and cook for five minutes. add yogurt. cover and cook for another five minutes. add all the spices except the garam masala and black cardamom seeds. cover and cook for another 10 minutes.
now add the brown onion, black cardamom seeds and potato. add a cup of water. cover and cook for another 30-40 minutes till the meat is tender. (mine wasn't tender after 35 minutes so i gave it four whistles.)
garnish with ginger juliennes and coriander leaves. serve hot with boiled rice or chapatis or parathas.

enjoy 

kuchh meetha ho jaaye

my first memory of having mishti doi dates back to the mid-1990s. my part of the world was a little away from bengal, and hence, i was unaware of a dish like that till then. niki, my cousin has to be blamed for my ever growing curiosity about food and the way it is prepared.

as i gulped down one spoon after other of that sweet brown yogurt, i remember, i asked her how she made it. i knew how we made yogurt at home but form where did the smoky flavour, the sweet taste, and the brown colour cama? i was amazed. around 13 then, i decided to get to the bottom of the story.

niki finally gave up, told me the secret, and i made for the first time at my home, the mishti doi, a bengali delicacy without which any ceremony in a bengali household is incomplete.

try it, you will like the taste.

ingredients:

milk: 1 litre (full cream)

yogurt: 15-20gm

sugar: 50gm

method:

boil the milk in a heavy-bottomed pan till it is little thick. in a separate pan, melt the sugar. as the sugar caramelizes, add the milk. (alternatively, you can just add the sugar in the milk, but then you will lose the smoky flavour and the essential brown colour.) now let the milk cool down till it's lukewarm. add the yogurt. pour it into either an earthen pot or a casserole. cover the lid and keep it in a cool and dry place to set overnight.

keep the set yogurt in the refrigerator in the morning. serve it cool as a dessert.

my innovation: while boiling the milk, coarsely crush and add one green cardamom. i loved the taste...hope you guys love it too.

till we meet again, happy eating, happy cooking

cheers

PS: photo courtesy google, will try put more of my pictures over time

the journey begins

the idea of mum's kitchen came some years ago when people said i was in the wrong profession. these years passed by conceptualizing the idea, and finally, after a lot of thinking, here it comes. eating and cooking are among my greatest hobbies, in that very order, and cooking, as i keep telling people, remains the greatest stress-buster.

though i remain a journalist by profession, this blog gives my love for cooking a social platform.

since i am often told that i take too long cooking :), mum's kitchen will bring to you, initially, recipes that can be prepared in a jiffy and are easy to cook. the aim remains simple and healthy cooking, which is often a problem with bachelors living alone in a big city. it will bring to you what i learnt from both my mothers, sometimes over the phone, and my innovations to the recipes.

there might be a chance you find the touch of the east in the recipes, but try them if u come across my blog... you will like them.

one can take down notes, try the recipe and cherish it, but anything that is published here is NOT FOR SALE and reproducing any content without prior permission should be considered an offence and violation of copyright.