Saturday, August 24, 2013

Bhutte ka Kees ( Corn Upma)

An amazing dish from the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh.  It is tangy, spicy and sweet .A wonderful snack . Use only Indian corn for this dish. While selecting corn , take care to pick only that are neither too hard nor too tender. You can either grate them or scrape them off the cob with the knife and then coarsely grind them.
I have mentioned 1/2 a cup of water in the ingredients. Start with a 1/4 cup, coz the quantity of water depends on the quality of corn. The water is only needed to cook the corn.  Ultimately the Kees has to be stir fried till all water dries up.

























Ingredients 
Corn ( grated )                       3 cups.        
Oil                                         4tbsp. 
Asafoetida                              A pinch.    
Green chilli ( finely chopped )  2.                    
Cumin                                     1 tsp.              
Mustard seeds                          1 tsp.               
Red chilli powder                    1/2 tsp.        
Turmeric powder                     1/4 tsp.        
 Salt                                        1.5 tsp.( or to taste) 
Water                                     1/2 cup.         
Sugar                                      5 tsp.              
Lemon juice                            2-3 tsp.        
Coriander (chopped)                4tbsp             
Fresh coconut ( grated )           4tbsp.            

Method 
  1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom non stick pan
  2. Add asafoetida , Crackle mustard seeds then add cumin and green chillies.
  3. Once cumin turns brown add the grated corn , 1/4 cup water , red chilli powder ,salt and turmeric powder. 
  4. Stir nicely ,cover and cook on low flame for two minutes .
  5. Now stir again on high flame for a minute .
  6. Repeat step 4&5 a couple of times .
  7. Check the corn , it should be cooked through, if not sprinkle some water mix well and cover and cook until done.
  8. By this time the corn should be absolutely dry, if not stir on high flame till its dry
  9. Add sugar and lemon juice mix well , cover and keep it off flame for five minutes. 
  10. Garnish with chopped coriander and fresh grated coconut . 
  11. Serve immediately.
Note : the leftover can be used to make stuff Paratha . That tastes great too.


Kadhi Pakora

A typical North Indian dish. There are various versions of this dish. My mom makes it without onion - garlic, but my hubby fell in love with this version when I tried it soon after my marriage. Since then I have been following this recipe only.




Kadhi
Ingredients: (Serves 4-5)
Sour curd              1 cup 
Besan                   1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Water.                 5 cups
Chilly powder.      1 tsp
Turmeric              1/4 tsp 
Salt                      To taste
Mustard seeds.      1 tsp 
Oil.                      2 tsp
Fennel seeds.        1/2 tsp
Asafoetida             A pinch
Nigella seeds.        1/4 tsp
Fenugreek.            1/4 tsp
Curry leaves.         20
Whole red chilly    3-4
Green chilly           1 chopped (finely)
Chopped coriander 2 tbsp

Pakoras
Ingredients:
Onion       1  1/2 cup (Coarsely chopped )
Besan. 3/4 cup+1 tbsp ( chickpea flour)
Chilly powder    1/2 
Turmeric.            1/4 tsp 
Salt      To taste
Fennel seeds.      1/2 tsp
Green chilly.         1/2 ( Finely chopped)
Coriander (chopped).     1 tsp
Baking soda.                 A pinch 
Oil.  For frying

Kadhi tempering 
Ingredients 
Ghee/ clarified butter         2 tsp
Garlic.             1 tsp
Onions            1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Red chilly powder.       1/2 tsp 
Green chilly.              1 julienned

Method :
For pakoras :
  1. Take onions in a bowl.
  2. Sieve  besan over the onions. 
  3. Now add in all other ingredients except baking soda.
  4. Add water tablespoon by tablespoon to get a very thick batter.
  5. Heat oil for frying.
  6. Once oil is hot enough, mix baking soda well in the mixture.
  7. Drop small portions (approx. 1 tablespoon )of mixture  carefully in the oil and fry on medium heat until golden.
  8. Keep on a kitchen towel to drain off excess oil.

For kadhi:
  1. Whisk  curd and besan so that no lumps are there. In case you are not able to break the lumps with a whisk, just strain it through a sieve.
  2. Add 2 cups of water , turmeric pd and chilly pd. mix well.
  3. Heat oil in a large deep pan.
  4. Add  asafoetida  , mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add fennel seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves , whole red chillies and green chilly.
  5. Quickly pour in the mixture of curd and besan, stirring all the while.
  6. Once the mixture comes to a boil, add 2 cups of water and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  7. Stirring now and then.
  8. Now add the pakoras and salt mix well and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
  9. Check the consistency of the kadhi and if needed add 1 cup boiled water.
  10. Remove from fire .
  11. Taste and adjust salt.
Tempering :
  1. Heat ghee in a small pan.
  2. Tip in garlic, green chilly and onions.
  3. Fry till onions are golden.
  4. Add red chilly pd.
  5. Mix and pour this tempering over the kadhi.
To Serve:
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice or roti.

Note :
  1. If the curd( yogurt) is not sour enough, once the kadhi is ready, taste and add lemon juice accordingly.
  2. If you don't like garlic , you can omit it in tempering.