Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

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Frankie – Popular Indian street food

Tawa Frankie Roll – How I decided to re-create this popular Indian street food at home. In 2014, global flavour leader McCormick, the parent company of leading herbs and spices brand Schwartz, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. The yearlong celebration kicks off with the launch of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Flavour Forecast (a new, annual prediction of what ‘flavours’ will be most popular in the cooking world) and the Flavour of Together programme, with the goal of connecting people around the world as they share 1.25 million stories about the special role food and flavour plays in our lives through.

To inspire people to share their flavour stories and tell the blogger community about Flavour Forecast, McCormick challenged me and a few other bloggers  to come up with a new recipe that is based on the Flavour Forecast trends :

1. Chillies Obsession: Food lovers everywhere are seeking out their next big chilli thrill.

2. Modern Masala: Indian food is finally having its moment, breaking free of its traditional confines with modern interpretations.

3. Clever Compact Cooking: Proving that big flavours can come from small spaces, cooks in urban kitchens are making the most of what’s available.

4. Mexican World Tour: Mexican flavours are making their way around the globe, with people everywhere discovering new aspects of this bright, casual cuisine.

5. Charmed by Brazil: The world’s attraction to Brazilian cuisine is heating up, thanks to its seductive mix of global and native influences.

I decide to take up Modern Masala as a flavour trend. Coming from India, using a complex mix of spices as part of our daily diet has always been a part of my life. The beautiful large open fruit n vegetable markets even in major cities are a visual treat and there is a lot of passion involved in say getting the right type of chilli powder. So I think my recipe is an amalgamation of these two big flavour trends together – Chillies Obsession and Modern Masala and of course because I manage all my culinary experiments in my tiny urban kitchen which is the size of a postage stamp I am sure my recipe also covers the theme Clever Compact Cooking!

My most vivid memory of spices being sold loose is of this huge wholesale and retail market in an area called Parel, Mumbai in India. There are many tiny shops and vendors which hand carts with huge piles of spices, bright red chillies in jute sacks, and mini yellow mountains of turmeric and ever imaginable spice being sold in the open. Of course, with our modern industries being so well developed we always used masalas out of a packet but the sheer variety available locally in any small town in India is mind-boggling.

Pune, India - spice market
Pune, India – spice market

In London, whenever I trudge to my local Indian shop and purchase Indian spices, I secretly wish that I could get an unlimited supply of aai’s homemade masalas. Her garam masala and red chilli powder where she carefully selects 2 types of chillies with varying degrees of heat and roasts them in a kadhai after they have been dried in the blistering hot afternoon sun! Then she takes it to a local mill where it is ground and packed into a large ceramic jar and then stored at home.

I have made a simplified version of Tibbs Frankie using boneless mutton and a variety of Schwartz spices which were sent to me. You could safely say that this fella ”Frankie” is a distant cousin of the Fajita and the Kathi Roll.

How this Frankie came into being is also a very interesting story which I shall share in a few lines here. These lines are from the Tibbs Frankie website

”The year 1967 Mr. Amarjit Tibb on returning back from England had a stopover in Beirut. During his brief stop there he stumbled upon a very ingenious Lebanese preparation, which was a pita bread wrap, with a variety of stuffing’s, this fascinated him. Upon his return the idea still lingered on and he kept innovating it to suit the Indian palate, after a year of research along with his wife they hit upon the perfect concoction. This Indianised wrap was soon tried among friends and family and after testing brilliantly it hit the markets. That was a new era to the term fast food in Mumbai, it caught on like fire in the Jungle, people accepted it and kept asking for more.Now came the problem of naming the product, again a number of brainstorming became the order of the day till a unanimous decision on the name was taken i.e. Frankie”

This explosion of flavours in a handy easy to eat roll which was given a  modern food truck makeover is a gastronomic delight and is available in a large variety of stuffings both veg and non-veg.I have rather fond memories of my college days and spending my pocket money which was always in short supply on these spicy, tasty rolls with a bunch of friends giggling away and then gathering any loose change we had left amongst us to buy a bottle or two of some fizzy cola to quench our thirst. Alert : have been suddenly been hit by a huge wave of nostalgia 🙂

I have created what is my version of a tawa chicken roll (tawa meaning pan in Hindi), the original Tibbs frankie filling is a tangy spicy  taste which they attribute to a secret ”Frankie Masala” – humm , well I think I got pretty close 😉 – evil laugh follows 🙂  You can go crazy and creative with the fillings and use this recipe idea to use up meat from your sunday roast, try various different veg and non veg patties with meat and masalas rolled into boiled potato casing and shallow fried. Great way to use a lot of colorful veggies and create a stir fry filling too – the possibilities are endless.

Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

Tawa Frankie Roll

Manjiri Chitnis
Popular Indian street food, this was created in Mumbai and is a deliciously paratha stuffed with a variety of fillings and green chutney
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion Indian
Servings 2 People

Equipment

  • Tawa – Flat frying pan
  • Saptula

Ingredients
  

Tawa Chicken Filling

  • 50 Grams Chicken breast
  • 1 pinch Asafoetida
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • Onion salt as per taste
  • 1/2 tsp Garlic Minced
  • 2 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin Powder
  • Red Chilli powder as per taste
  • 1/2 thum-sized Fresh Ginger fresh peeled
  • 2 medium Red onions finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 2 lage Jjuicy tomatoes chopped very fine
  • 1 large Green chilli split lengthwise
  • 1 Red pepper slit lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil

Mint and Coriander Chutney

  • 1 large bunch Fresh Coriander
  • 1 small bunch Fresh Mint leaves
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 1/2 Lime – freshly squeezed
  • Salt to taste

For the Frankie filling

  • 1 large Red onion chopped lengthwise

For the Paratha coating

  • 2 small Eggs
  • Salt for seasoning

Instructions
 

To make the Chicken Filling

  • Heat a saucepan on medium heat and add the oil
  • Once the oil is hot, add the asafoetida
  • Then add split green chilli and crushed fresh ginger
  • Saute' and add the garlic granules
  • Saute' and add the garlic granules, when the garlic begins to give out a strong fried aroma its time to add the finely chopped red onion
  • Cook the onion till it reduces and turns a delicious brown, then add the coriander and cumin powder and garam masala and mix well
  • Then add the finely chopped tomato and add very little water and cook for 1 -2 minutes without lid
  • Stir frequently, so as to ensure the mixture does not stick to the saucepan
  • Now the spices have been thoroughly cooked along with the onion and tomato to make a thick gravy
  • Cut the chicken breasts and red peppers into lenghthwise strip and add to the gravy
  • Add onion salt to the mixture, red chilli powder and turmeric
  • Cover and cook until done

To make the Mint and Coriander Chutney

  • Wash the coriander and mint leaves, blend to a smoothpaste with a green chilli
  • To reduce the heat use 1 chilli de-seeded.Add the salt and lime juice and sblend once again
  • A smooth thick green paste is the consistency we are after – add some water to adjust the consistency
  • This chutney stores for upto 10 days in the freezer in a clean ,air tight jar – rarely lasts that much in my house though -I love making Bombay sandwich for dinner with this delightful chutney

To make the coating for the Paratha

  • Crack the eggs in a bowl and beat with a fork, add salt to taste
  • Using a plastic brush spread on the surface of a frozen ready to eat paratha
  • Place the eggy side down on a hot pan coated with some cooking oil
  • Ready to eat frozen parathas are readily available in most supermarkets and Indian grocery stores

How to put the Frankie Roll together

  • Once the paratha coated with egg has been cooked on both sides, slather it with the mint and coriander chutney and add some red onion chopped lengthwise
  • Add a generous helping of the chicken filling , roll and wrap one end with some kitchen foil or baking paper. Enjoy hot
  • Dip into the chutney or tomato ketchup as you munch along
Keyword Frankie
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll
Tawa Chicken Frankie Roll

After I received the samples and wrote up my flavour story, my left hand was operated on (unexpected rescheduling) – a minor but rather errrmmm painful surgery and I walk around most of the time with a sling (promptly remove it as soon as OH leaves home for work hehe) So I had a bit of a panic attack about getting this post up on time,I know I missed the deadline by a few days  🙁

But am really grateful to the kind folks up at McCormick for bearing with me. Also I would like to thank OH for patiently chopping and cutting all the fresh ingredients for me and helping me to click these lovely photographs – what would I do without you? Sighh…

The company has pledged to donate $1 to United Way Worldwide and it’s UK partner Focus on Food, for every story shared on the Schwartz website, Facebook page or other social channels.

Disclaimer: Schwartz Samples and voucher for ingredients purchase sent by McCormick I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Vangyache Bharit- वांग्याचे भरीत (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

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I have noticed that I have become a bit more inclined towards celebrating festivals after coming to London, maybe it is out of being homesick during festive times and also to ensure that I remember the traditions involved I guess. ‘Makar Sankrant’ is a Hindu festival celebrated by my community ”Maharashtrians” with great pomp and enthusiasm as it heralds the season of Harvest. Similar to this festival is Lohri which is celebrated by the Punjabis in the North of India, Pongal in the state of Tamil Nadu, Uttaryan in the state of Gujrat. One festival so many names and so varied ways of celebrating! It is not only in India that this festival is celebrated it’s also welcomed in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos amongst others!

My mother always used to make a smoked aubergine vegetable dish called Vangyache Bharit – written in Marathi as – वांग्याचे भरीत on Makar Sankrant so I decided to make it too for Sankrant this year which was on the 14th of Jan’14. We also exchange small ladoos made of sesame seeds and jaggery called ”Tilache Ladoo” and wish each other by saying तिळगुळ घ्या गोड गोड बोला -‘Tilgul ghya god bola. It means that we shall forget and forgive any past bitter exchange of words and start afresh with this sweet offering and only speak sweet words of love. Til stands for sesame and Gul stands for jaggery in Marathi, so TilGul means a sweet made using sesame and jaggery as the main ingredients

The recipe is modified in various regions of the state of Maharashtra and also the variety of vanga/eggplant/aubergine or brinjal as we know it in urban India, is different in various parts of the state and in various states of India, of course differing due to climate and soil. Aai ( meaning Mother in the Marathi language – my mother tongue) always looked for the light green vanga or eggplant with white stripes on its skin which she rightly said tastes way better than its darker purple-skinned cousin.

Aai’s recipe which I will share now is how we have always made this dish at home. There are several variations and styles depending on which part of Maharashtra you hail from and also various sub-cultures and availability of local ingredients and palates.I guess what makes this recipe so special is that it brings back happy memories of childhood, festivity, celebration and the unmistakable smoky and rich vanga (eggplant/aubergine) taste with the crunchy red onion and a slap of hot spicy green chilli mixed in between, all balanced so well with the various masalas that go into this bharit Ummm!

 bi_makar_08_dec_26_162509

Image Credit WebDunia

Vangyache Bharit- वांग्याचे भरीत (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

Traditional Indian Smoked Aubergine dish
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 portions

Equipment

  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board
  • 1 Tongs
  • 1 non-stick heavy bottom saucepan with lid

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Large vanga/baingan/eggplant/aubergine
  • 1 Large Red Onion
  • 3 Green Chillies
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 1 tsp Cumin / Jeera
  • 2 tsp Garam Masala
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Hing / Asafoetida
  • 1.5 tsp Turmeric
  • 1.5 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 3 tbsp Oil
  • Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Roast the eggplant on a gas hob over a naked flame, completely turning it on the side and moving it up and down so you don’t miss any bits. Refer to my recipe notes if you would prefer to do this in the oven or on a BBQ.
  • Allow this to cool and then charred skin will come off easily.
  • Roughly mash the aubergine using a fork.
  • Finely chop one large red onion.
  • Remove the skin from the garlic cloves, place garlic and green chillies into a mortar pestle and ground into a rough paste.
  • Heat the saucepan and add oil, when the oil is hot, add asafoetida. Then add the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter, then add the cumin.
  • Now add the garlic and green chillies, chopped red onion and cook on low heat until the onions sweat.
  • Then add the red chilly powder, turmeric and garam masala and stir well, follow it up with the smoked aubergine.
  • Mix well and cook until done.
  • Garnish with finely chopped coriander/cilantro.
Keyword Bharit

IMG_6465 (Copy)

Recipe Notes

  • The beauty of this dish lies in the deep and rich smoky flavour of the eggplant, I would love to use charcoals and do this bit on an open rustic fire but well I make do with my hob. You could use the oven but it will take much longer but directly on the hob – though a bit messy, it’s quicker!
  • While roasting the aubergine on the hob ensure you monitor it closely and use tongs to turn it over. Cooking over a flame on a gas hob directly should be done very carefully. Use the overhead extractor fan so that the smoke does not set off your fire alarm.
  • For oven cooking, make some cuts in the aubergine using a sharp knife, rub lightly with some oil and wrap tightly with foil and place on a baking tray, and roast in a preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes at 180-degree celsius. Allow to cool completely before unwrapping and peeling off the skin.
  • My Aai does not add tomatoes to this dish and at times uses some Goda masala as well as it has dry grated coconut which can really alter the taste. Many people add chopped tomatoes.
  • Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice and dal.
  • We also enjoy this cold, cool completely, and serve it with a generous helping of set curd/ yoghurt.
IMG_6467 (Copy)
  • Mash with your hands in a smooth mass of soft cooked, smoked eggplant.
IMG_6477 (Copy)

IMG_6472 (Copy)

IMG_6482 (Copy)
Vangyache Bharit- ????????? ???? (Baingan ka Bharta) (Smoked Aubergine)

LEARN HOW TO COOK WESTERN COASTAL INDIAN CUISINE FROM THE C.K.P COMMUNITY WITH MY EASY-TO-FOLLOW RECIPES.

FIND BELOW A LIST OF INDIAN RECIPES ON MY BLOG, SOME TRADITIONAL, SOME FUSION, AND MANY REGIONAL FAVOURITES!

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

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In Marathi, my mother tongue we call this dish ”Uppit” and in the south of India its called Upma.

It’s a fluffy cooked breakfast made of roasted semolina and spices and can be customized by adding green peas and small carrot bits. I love eating this steaming hot garnished with a generous sprinkling of freshly chopped coriander and some finely grated fresh coconut – umm perfection, can almost feel a strong waft of the aroma swirl around my nose as I sit here and type the recipe 😉

After Kande Pohe this has to be my number one favourite Indian breakfast option. Agreed there’s a lot of ingredients but there’s a lot of flavour too!

In the Matunga area, there are many good Udipi restaurants who do upma on their breakfast menu and it’s so good gobbling fresh hot upma and dowing a cuppa or tow of hot filter coffee before getting to work on a busy weekday morning in Mumbai city. It’s very filling and budget-friendly too:) All you need is some time before rushing for the daily commute to ensure you can squeeze yourself into the restaurant and sit on one of the long wooden benches with complete strangers and hope to God you don’t have coriander stuck in between your front teeth if they smile at you  😉

Upma/Uppit (उप्पीट)- a classic Indian breakfast recipe

Manjiri Chitnis
Aclassic Indian savoury breakfast or tea time dish. There are many versionsnamely the one made in South India and the one made in Maharashtra
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Indian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup rava approx 100 grams
  • 1/2 tsp urid dal
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • A pinch of asafoetida
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 heaped tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder actually 1/2 a tsp for the ones who do not like their Indian food too spicy
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 green chillies chopped fine
  • 5-6 fresh curry leaves
  • 2 pods of garlic chopped fine or simply smash them and drop in the saucepan with skin on!
  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1/4 th of a juicy red tomato
  • Salt as per taste
  • Juice of a quarter lime
  • A pinch of sugar
  • Fresh coriander to garnish
  • Fine grated fresh coconut

Instructions
 

  • I usually roast the whole packet of 1 kilo of semolina I buy on a flat pan on a very low flame stirring constantly and then allow it to cool down completely.
  • Then store the roasted semolina in tins ready to use when I need to make this dish or the sweet version called Gooda Sheera/ Sooji Halwa which is a popular Maharashtrian sweet dish and especially important during festivals as we serve it as Prasad to Lord Ganesh or during Satyanarayan Pooja
  • In a saucepan add the oil and as it starts to heat, add the asafoetida, mustard cumin seeds and urid dal. The urid dal brown very quickly so stir this around a bit
  • When the mustard seeds begin to pop add the curry leaves, green chillies and garlic and chopped red onion.
  • When the garlic begins to turn a toasty brown and the onion reduces add the tomato and give this mixture a proper stir
  • Now add the turmeric, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well
  • Then add double the amount of water as compared to the quantity of rava/semolina, cover the saucepan with a lid and let the water come to a boil
  • If you wish to add green peas and carrots finely chopped for an extra burst of taste do it just when the water begins to boil and let it cook in the hot water
  • Now slowly stir in the semolina ensuring that it does not form lumps
  • Add the juice of a quarter of a lime, sprinkle a pinch of sugar
  • Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on a low flame for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent lumps forming or the mixture becoming too dry, if it is very lumpy sprinkle water and mix well
IMG_4793
  • Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut.
IMG_4796

I am just beginning to experiment with photos taken using my new 50mm f1.8 Canon lens – A’s gift to me for my birthday this year, I quite like the steady pattern of gifts coming in, starting with my first DSLR for my birthday last year. Just need to figure ways to wiggle out other gifts *evil laugh follows* 😉

Tasty Fish Dish in £1 – ready in 10 minutes – Raising awareness about extreme poverty and hunger

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Hearty home-made fish dinner on a tight budget? Yes, it is possible!

Recently, I read about living below a line challenge. The challenge is to feed your family by spending not more than £1 a day for 5 days. Why? To help put conservation around poverty into perspective. How the world views hunger, extreme poverty and issues related to poverty is an important conversation to have. For example, reading a hard-hitting fact like this one helped me understand how bad the issue of global hunger really is – ‘Hunger kills more than aids, malaria and tuberculosis combined’.

Please do visit The Hunger Project website to read about the challenge in detail. You can also donate, help fundraiser and do your bit to help end world hunger. World Hunger Day is on the 28th of May.

This recipe is basically to support some blogger friends who along with their families which includes their young children took up this tough challenge. But honestly, if someone told me I could make a fish main in £1 I would laugh aloud and make them a cup of tea to help them feel normal again. But trust me on this one you really can make a very delicious side dish and serve it with a spicy rice main for 2 adults for 2 main meals. Yes, it is possible to be thrifty and yet feed your family for less without compromising on taste.

When my friend S told me the easy-peasy recipe I just had to buy myself a pack from my new fav supermarket. This is probably the easiest recipe for a side dish ever.

Total prep time: Under 10 minutes Serves:2 adults as a side for 2 main meals

Ingredients:

  • Sprat Fish pack – contains about 20-25 fishes and costs around 90p to 95p
  • Turmeric powder 1 tsp
  • Red Chilli Powder -1.5tsp
  • 2 small hot green chillies sliced in a slant
  • Salt to taste
  • a pinch of Asafoetida
  • Oil – 2 tsp
  • 4 tsp Colmans Mustard
  • 1 tsp hot BBQ Mustard – don’t worry if you don’t have this just add half a teaspoon of paprika to 1 tsp of any mustard that you have lying around and mix half tsp of  BBQ sauce into this for a smoky flavour.

IMG_4734 with text

Recipe:

  • Wash the fish well under tap water and handle gently as it’s a small delicate creature and needs some fawning over but hey not much fuss I tell ya! But its all worth it because even my hubby apprehension that this fish has loads of tiny bones were all gone as he clicked his fingers after the meal 🙂
  • Heat a saucepan and  add 1sp oil, add asafoetida and the turmeric powder and salt and then the washed Sprat fish
  • Gently sautee them for about 1 minute or until you see the skin start to come off, don’t overdo it as they need to cook with the mustard in the next step.

Sprat has been sauteed

  • Remove the fish into a clean bowl and in the same sauce on a very low flame add another tsp oil, both the mustards pastes, chopped green chillies, red chilli powder and then the fish.
  • As it is a delicate fish it will cook quickly and as it does the big bone that runs lengthwise inside this tiny fish will be easy to remove and so you can get the head off to, I am not squeamish but my husband is and he refuses to eat the eyes but they are supposed to be packed with iron and fish itself is high on Omega 3 fatty acids, the good stuff your body needs. Mothers who breastfeed and consume fish are said to help give the baby better eyesight which is due to the high content Omega 3 fatty acids. Not only that as this recipe contains turmeric it has a heap of health benefits especially the fact that it helps people struggling to cope with psoriasis. If anyone has seen that episode of The Food Hospital on Channel 4 where a young mother and her son struggled with psoriasis, one of the big changes that they did to their diet was adding turmeric to even stuff like scrambled eggs.
  • A word here about the Le Range Mesurier BBQ Mustard, it’s one of the few things I purchased at the Cake & Bake Show 2013 apart from the sweet stuff. I also got a jar of zesty lime mayo from the same brand, they had a super offer of 4 jars at a great price!
  • I slant the green chillies slanted just because it looks posh 🙂
  • Ok, so I managed to remove most of the big middle bone with the heads and the fish cooks very easily in under 3 minutes.
  • Add a small helping of very finely chopped coriander for garnish.
  • Serve hot with steaming hot rice or khichadi, click here for a posh khichadi recipe from one of my older posts.
  • Do leave comments below and let me know what you thought of this recipe!

Sprat fish side is ready to serve!

I am entering this dish into a wonderful linky challenge called £1 or less recipe challenge started by Michelle Rice who blogs at Utterly Scrummy , with so much fresh and yummy fish made into a delicious dish and served with plain steamed rice its a thrifty budget dream dish full of flavour and ready without too much of labouring in the kitchen. Do link up and help spread the good cheer around in times of gloom when many families are struggling to make ends meet and feeding families with healthy food on a shoestring budget is a very real challenge for many.

one pound or less logo

Tasty Fish Dish in £1 – ready in 10 minutes !

Pomfret Fish Curry

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Flavours of Konkan

When anyone asks me what I would like as my LAST meal,I always say I’d like some fried pomfret so naturally, when I go Indian grocery shopping I always check for this fish. Though I must admit, nothing beats the flavours one gets from fresh fish. But well, just have to make do with frozen fish as the one I love is a Pomfret local to waters of the Indian Ocean.

This is a relatively simple recipe and does not require much effort but the marination is key as it can really give depth of flavour which is what we need.

I had 3 of these beauties to cook and couldn’t resist getting them to pose for my camera all dressed with the dangerously delicious spices that I rubbed into the fillets.

Pomfret with all the spices that are used in the curry.

Okay, it’s relatively easy making fillets after this fish has thawed thoroughly as it has very few bones, I like to remove the bit in the front with the eyes and the tail and also remove the fins then make fillets the size fit for a curry or fry.

Pompfret Fish Curry

Heirloom recipe, a traditional CKP style fish curry
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3 medium-sized Silver Pomfret
  • 2 tbsp Coriander and green chillipaste
  • 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
  • 1.5 tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 3 – 4 Cloves Garlic withskin on
  • 2 tbsp Grated coconut
  • 1 small pinch Asafoetida/Hing
  • 2 tbsp Refined oil
  • 1/4 Lime – juiced
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Wash thoroughly and marinate with redchilli powder, turmeric,salt ,ginger- garlic paste,coriander-green chilli paste and set aside for at least 40 minutes.
  • After the marination is done,heat oilin a saucepan,add asafoetida just a tiny spritz and throw in the crushedgarlic cloves with their skins on. As soon as they start to brown add the marinatedfish n toss it around for about half a minute.
  • Add enough water to cover the fishand cook on a low flame.
  • As the water begins to boil add inthe finely grated fresh coconut and stir in well till the curry is nice andthick.
  • Simmer till the fish is cooked andsqueeze the lime into it.
  • Serve with steaming hot riceand allow yourself to enjoy this simple yet classic fish curry, an everydayfare in the houses along the coast of Konkan and a great treat in ours.
Keyword CKP recipe, fish curry, Pompfret

These beautiful flowers are on stalks of fresh spring onion!! Unexpected, I know right?!! My ma (in-law) very patiently chopped these stalks and created this cute little spring onion floral display and the whole idea of this photograph with books we are currently reading is hers.

Spring Onion Bouquet

Bengali Bhaja with spring onions and potatoes

I was so excited to see them and had to buy myself two bunches and look for a Bengali Bhaja or bhaji (Marathi) sabji/sabzee (Hindi). Found a lovely food blog called ‘Hamaree Rasoi’.

Peyajkoli Batata bhaja
Spring Onion and Potato Bhaji

Needless to say, the meal was supremely satisfying and we all slept with gentle snoring now and then …TMI- oh yes, totally 😉

Pomfret curry with steamed rice and pejaykoli bhaja

Prawn Khichadi (Pulav/Pilaf/Poolav)

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This is NOT just a  recipe, it’s a Family Heirloom passed down the generations and cooked with great relish by my mother-in-law and her mum who is now 82 years old and still can stir up some to-die-for finger-licking dishes!

But before I start off rattling the ingredient list, a ”slice” of some history about the origin of this rice and prawn union. Coastal cuisine in the western Indian state of Maharashtra relished by the Maharashtrian community relies heavily on the use of all versions of the coconut, the most potent form being as part of the Goda masala. This and of course, the abundant availability of fresh seafood has given birth to many delicacies many of which are age-old like this dish.

It’s also my prized comfort food and guarantees a great Sunday afternoon nap 🙂 and will ensure you are crowned kitchen queen and master chef of all things nice hehehehe

Ok here goes, the ingredient list – This dish serves 2 adults for 2 meals with 2 generous helpings each and leftovers for the next day.

Prawn Khichadi (Pulav/Pilaf/Poolav)

Heirloom recipe, Traditional Maharashtrian coastal recipe, C.K.P
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4

Equipment

  • 1 Big Sauce Pan
  • 1 Mixer / Blender / Hand-blender
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Spatula
  • 1 Chopping Board

Ingredients
  

  • 500 gm Prawns
  • 2.5 Cup Rice
  • 3 Bay leaves
  • Goda Masala
  • Tumeric Powder
  • Red Chilli powder
  • 1/2 Lime
  • Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Ginger and Garlic Paste
  • Wet grated coconut
  • 2 Red onions finely sliced
  • 1 thumb-sized piece Cinnamon (Dalchini)
  • 3 Cloves
  • Green Masala

Instructions
 

  • On a pan on low heat sauté one finely chopped onionand the fresh wet grated coconut till the onions starts to caramelise, afterthis cools give it a spin in the mixer and make a fine paste.
  • Marinate the washed rice in some the above wetgrated coconut and onion paste, some goda masala , a squeeze of half of alime, salt, ginger and garlic paste and some Cinnamon. Set aside.
  • De-vein the prawns, wash under tap water andmarinate with red chilli powder, turmeric and green masala.
  • Take oil in a vessel and sauté the marinated prawnsfor 1-2 minutes.
  • Heat Oil in a vessel big enough to cook the riceand prawns together that will hold the water as well , add the cloves,remaining cinnamon and one very finely chopped red onion, add the marinatedrice and stir it , do this on a low flame.
  • Then add the marinated prawnsand water, for rice dishes water is always double the measure of the rice usedso for 2.5 cup measures of rice use 5 cups of water.
  • Cover and cook on a low flame.
  • Serve piping hot with a side of cooling curd, you can also serve with your favourite pickle. I generally serve this with a spicy Curry.
Keyword C.K.P Style Prawn Khichadi

How to make Green Masala

Green Masala – Use a bunch of coriander and two green chillies and give them a spin in the mixer, store this fine paste in the freezer and use it as and when needed, it’s one of the most basic marination masalas in most Maharashtrian non-veg dishes, especially seafood.

Spicy Curry

In a pan heat some oil and add asafoetida one pinch, add puree of 2-3 large red onions and one tomato and puree of 1 handful of wet grated coconut, season with red chilli powder, turmeric, salt, green masala, Goda masala and cook on a low flame with enough water to ensure a thick curry, Amp up the red chilli powder and green masala to your level of tolerance of spicy food!

Do let me know via comments if any of you made this dish and what you thought of the recipe!

P.S: Forgive the poor image quality, I have a Simple Canon Camera which I am unable to use too well and add to that the total lack of any photography skills but well the food tasted awesome :), that’s what counts right, hehe!

Update in 2013

A few days after I published this recipe, ‘A’ gifted me my first DSLR Camera – a shiny new Canon 600DS and I’ve been clicking away like a happy bunny ever since 🙂

To my absolute delight, he helped me add a new lens to my kit and gifted me a 50mm f 1.8 lens this year on my birthday. It is great for close-up food shots and true to the reviews, it works well in low light conditions.

Here’s an example:

The image below is from my kit lens where am struggling to fit everything in frame and focus on the prawns, I have sharpened the image, adjusted light and cropped it using Picasa 3.

Ingredients for Prawn Khichadi with old lends

Now see the difference in the image below, I love how the prawns are in sharp focus and how am able to easily adjust and fit everything in the viewfinder.I have adjusted light and sharpened the image very slightly, I am truly pleased with the results 🙂

prawn khichadi with new lens
bay leaves n cinnamon in pan
prawns sautee with khichadi spices
prawn khichadi plated n styled

Shahi Khichadi

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I have decided to finally upload some of the recipes which received a lot of comments on my Facebook food album and I ended up sending out the recipe by email to many of contacts. Here is one of the easier and more popular ones . When I was a kid when my mother said ”khaichadi” in response to what’s for dinner ? it usually meant that one of us feverish and needed something gentle on the tummy or one of us was trying to recover from an upset tummy .Of course the taste of the boiled rice and green gram halved and with skin on or the yellow version without skin , is ultimately satisfying a great comfort food when served piping hot with a dollop of ghee and some warm milk ,a good night’s sleep guaranteed !

But my version is spicy ,with a tasty twist and a lot of fun to cook and even more fun to eat .

I adopted this recipe from the way my mother makes khichadi and also from how my pal S of www.jainfoodie.com makes Jain Dal Khichadi . I choose to call it Shahi meaning Regal or Royal here because it is rather a posh version of the humble boiled version. Khichadi meaning an Indian for a slurpalicious RICE and lentil dish cooked like a pulav /pulao/pilau /pilaf.

Ingredients (enough to serve 2 with second and maybe a third helping !)

  • Rice 1 cup
  • A Mix of the following in equalish parts in the same cup used to measure the rice – Massor Dal also called Red Lentils-split and skinless, Moong Dal also called Green Gram yellow we will use the  spilt skinless variety and the split green moong dal with green skin on , Urid Dal also called Black Gram halved with skin ,some Toor Dal also called pigeon peas – yellow spilt and skinless .
  • 1 large red Onion
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 2-3 Bay leaves
  •  Bits of Cinnamon bark
  • 2 cloves of garlic smashed with skin on
  •  2 green chillies
  •  Jeera / Cumin
  •  Hing / Asafoetida
  • Salt to taste
  • Red Chilli Powder
  • Turmeric Powder
  •  2 small potatoes
  •  Few Curry leaves
  •  Few Cloves
  •  Few black whole peppercorns
  • 18. Oil for sauteing
  • Some Ghee – maybe 2 spoons – Clarified Butter

Method :

  • Wash the rice and lentils and place them in a pressure cooker ,add 4 cups (use same cup as the one used to measure the rice and the dals) of water and another to make it a little softer than regular rice ,pressure cook till 4 whistles are done.
  • Once the steam slowly releases from the cooker , you can open the lid and it will look like the picture below but a bit different in colour because when I made this I was short on red lentils so didn’t add them . Actually even you make this dish with rice and only yellow moong dal it will taste just as good 🙂
  • While the cooker is cooling down ,chop the potatoes into longish strips and stir fry them in hot oil till they turn brown, add some salt, sprinkled over them just as they get done, these potato fries are our garnishing to add that REAL REGAL or SHAHI touch to the dish . Once done keep them aside and STOP yourself from munching on them before your dish is ready , my husband managed to gobble quite a few ,pretending he was helping me ”stir” the onions while I clicked pictures ..grrrrr
  • Now Lets prepare the tadka /tarka or the tempering. First slice the onion and the tomato vertically into thinish slices .
  • Add oil about 2 large tablespoons into a pan and one teaspoon of ghee just for flavour and aroma , when this mix is hot add some hing , then add the jeera and the crushed garlic and the 2 green chillies spilt along the middle lengthwise as it opens them up and allows the pungent seeds to spread through the tempering , one kick ass way to add that hotttt KICK to the dish ,trust me this one is explosive spicy HOTT as it has all the ingredients to help the taste explode in your mouth, saute till the garlic is brown and the garlic’s skin starts to crackle , then add the cloves, the whole black peppercorns , bits of the barks of Cinnamon ,curry leaves, bay leaves and keep stiring this mixture to prevent charring or over heating ,it will look like in the picture below :
  • Then add the chopped onion, It should look like the picture below:
  • Then after a while when the onion has begun to turn a lovely pinkish ,brownish colour and looks the picture below it’s time to add the tomato .
  • Now add the vertically sliced tomato slices , I can assure you that now the potent aroma of all those lovely spices and the onion are stirring up quite an appetite inside you and making you hungrier every passing minute .
  • I dislike chunky bits of tomato floating in my mouth while I gobble up the khichadi so I jus a flat wooden spatula and gently ensure that the tomatoes are totally mashed  in a way that allows the mixture to become one entity, it should look like in the picture below :
  • Add just a bit of red chilli powder and some turmeric powder to the mixture above and add salt to taste ,Now add the cooked rice and lentil mixture to the above tempered mix of spices ,onions and tomatoes ,mix well stirring well, add salt again enough to flavour the rice and lentil mix .
  • It’s almost done , just keep this on a low flame for about a minute or two to allow the flavours of the spices to penetrate deep inside the rice and lentils .
  • The SHAHI KHICHADI is now ready to be garnished! Yay 🙂
  • WOW now doesn’t that look awesome ? I am quite proud about this creative production from my kitchen , hope you relish it as much as I did errr we did , hubby had to agree 🙂
  • If you fear that all the spices may be a bit too much for your sensitive palate prepare a quick cooling cucumber and curd accompaniment . Beat 2 spoons of set yogurt or thick flowing yogurt and add tiny square bits of fresh cucumber , season with a bit of salt ,some sugar and some jeera powder to taste .

Enjoy !

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry

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Akkhe Masoor or whole red lentils

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry – Recipe adaptation from Mother, Mother in Law and a close C.K.P friend – who loves to stir up some spicy CKP fare and generally succeeds at it 🙂

Masoorachi Aamti or Red Lentil Curry

Delicious, easy and quick recipe for using whole red lentils with skin on
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 portions

Equipment

  • 1 Pan with lid
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board
  • 1 Spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 300 Grams MasoorDal (Red Lentil) with their brown covers intact and whole
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 3 cloves Garlic with skin on
  • 5-6 Curry leaves
  • 2-3 Green Chillies
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1.5 tbsp freshly grated soft white coconut
  • 1.5 tbsp Goda Masala
  • 2 tbsp Coriander Powder
  • 1.5 tbsp Ginger – Garlic Paste
  • 3 mediumsized Red onions, chopped fine
  • 1/2 tsp Asafoetida
  • 1.5 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
  • Jaggery to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 – 3 petals Garcinia Indica – wet, salt preserved
  • Fresh leaves of Coriander chopped fine for dressing
  • 2 tbsp Sunflower Oil

Instructions
 

  • Soak the washed lentils in luke warm water for about 20 minutes. You can par-boil the lentils too, to save time. t
  • Heat two large generous tablespoons of oil in a wok, no weight loss tip this, huh? Indeed!
  • Add mustard seeds and wait for them to pop.
  • To this hot oil, dd Asafoetida, crushed garlic cloves , let the skin remian attached.
  • When the garlic is starting to brown add the curry leaves, green chillies, cumin and then the fresh grated coconut.
  • Now stir in the Goda masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and coriander chilli paste and mix well.
  • Now add the chopped onion and cook them on a low heat until they begin to break down and caramelise.
  • Drain excess water from the lentils and add them into this spice and oil mix. Stir well. Cover and cook on medium to low heat until almost done. Check occasionally and stir as so to ensure it does not burn.
  • Add the soaked Garcinia Indica alongwith the water it was soaking in. Mix well. Cook without the lid on low heat until fully cooked.
  • Season with finely chopped fresh as ever coriander andserve piping hot with phulkas dripping with ghee (clarified butter) or the plain old boiled white rice.
Keyword Masoor

Recipe Notes

  • Goda Masala – this is a mix of various spices readily available in Asian Grocery stores it’s basically a mixture of dry coconut roasted with a mixture of at least 10 different spices, best of all it’s available to buy online at Red Rickshaw – previously called itadka.com. Refrigerate this pack to increase shelf life,yayay so many tips from me, don’t YOU just LOVE me if u better don’t just READ this make n slurp it all ALONE, drop me A LINE and thank meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee) Better still make your own, recipe coming soon – watch this space!
  • Aamsul / Amsul – also known as Kokum or Garcinia Indica, is a plant belonging to the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae). This is one of those revered ingredients that is commonly used in Indian cooking especially in Maharashtra, along the coast. Much like my beloved coconut this fruit has multiple applications and is very versatile, besides it is such a good-looking gorgeous and delicious tropical fruit.
  • Coriander and Chilli paste – 2 small-sized bunches of coriander pureed with 2-3 green chillies – freeze and use on demand, handy and 1 of my 5 “save your face” purees for unwanted guests popping in at odd hours – the other 4 are listed at the end of this recipe.
  • The other 4 SAVE ME NOW pastes are: a garlic ginger coarse paste, Finely grated fresh white coconut paste, Tomato red onion puree -1:3, And the best one for last aye? – a few onions chopped lengthwise n lightly roasted in a kadhai (wok) with fresh white coconut finely grated till they turn slightly brown, then churned into a paste in the mixer.
  • The masoor dal can be done 2 ways for stage 1 of this process, 1st is the short cut which I love as I suddenly get an urge mid-evening to cook this typical CKP recipe to appease my urges to run to Heathrow n take the next flight to my parents home in Pune, hummmmm, so we soak the masoor dal 2 measures feeds 2 adults with a ravenous appetite and leaves some to spare.

Key

This is the key to a mystical tropical paradise…. errrr… sorry but it is not, it is simply the key to some important words that you will encounter pretty often while reading my posts or watching my videos. I am after all a student of Chemistry and treat my kitchen like my personal laboratory where I create my own kitchen experiments! This is why the word ‘Key’ reminds me of my Chemistry textbook in my school years 😉

  • C.K.P stands for Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu a sub-section of the Maharashtrian community in India and they generally hail from the coastal regions and hence are rather partial to freshly grated coconut and amsool in their food, not to mention their love for fresh fish and mutton, oh yeah!
  • Daal is used to loosely to refer to the uncooked Lentil and AAMTI is a Marathi word meaning cooked curry.
  • Coriander for my friends from across the pond is Cilantro.
  • Phodni – Marathi for tempering, also one of my favourite words to say. Follow my hashtag on Instagram #phodnitales , please pretty please? 🙂
  • Kadhai – The Marathi pronunciation sounds like it ends in ‘ee’, while the Hindi pronunciation stretches the first ‘a’ following the ‘K’ to sound like ‘aaa’ , easy or what?!
  • Phulkas – Also called chapattis or the delightful Indian Bread soft and fluffy and fresh off the pan has ghee smeared on it to pack some punch and many, many calories 🙂

EXPLORE MORE RECIPES FROM MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

Random Thoughts

I would totally rechristen the word ‘Method’ in a recipe post with the name ‘Process ‘ Why, well once a Chemistry student and a retail employee I guess some things just stay with you forever. Also, instead of “PREPARATION” I choose the word ”Process” which is drilled into a Retail Managers brain like young parents making their kids rote learn alphabets)

Pic 1: The saucepan contains oil heated and then the asafoetida, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, then the garlic, chopped green chillies and curry leaves and last but the best one is GODA masala

Pic 2 :Chopped red onion added to the mix

Pic 3: That’s the dal cooking

Pic 4 & 5: All done , the AROMA is filling my senses and transporting me into my MIL’s kitchen , I want to HUG her nowwwwwwwwwww

P.S: Will post pictures to compare the 2 sizes of Mustard seeds at a later date , I am now going to be too busy slurping my Aamti off the plate 🙂

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