Whats Cooking!!!!

Being from the state of Orissa where fish is the staple food, we are so used to eating fish and we even enjoy eating fish eggs and fish oil . Fish eggs are available only during the breeding season and really delicious when prepared nicely. So here is a simple recipe to make fitters out of fish eggs which is really simple and delicious. Ingredients: Fish Eggs: From one fish ( not sure how much it weighed  for us) Green chili: 2-3 finely chopped ( adjust as per taste) Onion: 1 small Finely chopped Garlic: 2 crushed Besan: 2 tbsp (add a little at a time till you reach a good consistency) salt: as per taste turmeric powder: 1 tsp Chilli powder: 1 tsp Oil for cooking. Procedure. Put all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl and mix together.  You will have to use a fork to mash up the fish eggs and make the whole thing into a thick paste. Heat oil in a shallow pan or tawa . Add a spoon full of the mix in the tawa and adjust the shape.  ...

I just came back from India and the memory of delicious food is still fresh. I made sure I got relish all my favorite  food and one of them is chaat that we get in cuttack. Its delicious and satisfies your taste buds. Of-course replicating the one made by the street vendor is not always possible, so here is the version my mom used to serve us. Ingredients: Ghuguni : 1 cup (per person) Tamarind Chutney: 1/2 cup Yogurt: 1/2 cup lightly sweeten  Tomato ketchup: 1/2 cup Onion: 1 medium finely chopped Green Chilli: 4-5 finely chopped Tomato : 1 large finely chopped Cilantro: 1/2 cup finely chopped Chaat masala: a pinch per person Sev: 1 cup Papdi: few per person. Oil: 1 tsp (per serving) Procedure: Heat a saute pan heat 1 tsp of oil. Add 1 tbsp  chopped onion, 1 tsp of chopped green chilli, 1 tbsp of chopped tomato and a pinch of salt. Saute for 1-2 mins and then add the ghuguni to the pan and saute for 1-2 more minutes and let it thickens ...

Back from a long long vacation from India and ready to get back to business as usual. A vacation with family reminds you how good you had till you decided to get married and move miles and miles and miles away from them. And it reminds you what cooks your mother and mother-in-law are ;) And it connects you to recipes that you had forgotten because you wanted to cook something fancy for the blog . So here is a very basic potala(parwal) curry. Ingredients: Potala: 15  Potato: 2 medium  Onion: 1 small finely chopped Ginger garlic paste: 2 tbsp Turmeric powder: 1 tsp Red chilli powder: 1 tbsp (adjust as per taste) Cumin Powder: 1 tbsp Coriander Powder: 2 tbsp Whole Cardamon: 2 Cinnamon Stick: 1/2 inch Salt: to taste Oil : 2 tbsp  water: 1-2 cup Procedure: To prep the potala you wash and the then script the outer skin of it with a knife and not use a peeler because that will remove too much and not much will be left to cook. If you find big...

Here is another dish that adds to the list of my love for flavored rice dish. Ingredients: Marination of prawns: Prawns: 15-20 shelled and deveined  Garlic paste: 1 1/2 tsp  Ginger paste: 3/4 tsp  Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp t Chilli powder: 3/4 tsp  Vegetable oil: 2-3 tsp  Salt: 1 tsp For the pulao masala: Vegetable oil: 2 tbsp  Green cardamoms: 4 Cinnamon sticks: 2  Nutmeg: 1tsp  Star Anish: 2 Cloves: 10 Onion: 1 large thinly sliced Green chillies: 2-4 sliced ( adjust as per your taste) Garlic paste:2 1/2 tsp  Ginger paste: 2 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder: 3/4 tsp Coriander powder: 1 Tbsp  Tomatoes: 1 large chopped Basmati rice : 2 cups washed and soaked for half an hour Water: 4-5 cups Mint leaves: finely chopped 2 tbsp Coriander leaves: finely chopped 2 tbsp Salt to taste Procedure: Mix all the marinade ingredients.  Coat the prawns well with the marinade and let it marinat...

Poha is a simple but hearty breakfast and brunch dish that originated in Northern India. I have had poha quite a few times but never tried making it before few days back. I like having it once in a while and realized that Kiara really liked it, which added another item to the list of items that she loves to eat. Ingredients: Thick Poha: 2 cups  Onion; 1 medium finely chopped Green Chilli: 2 chopped Potato: 1 medium cut into small cubes Carrot: 1 medium cut into small cubes Peas: 1/2 a cup Curry leaves : 4-5 Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp Peanut : 1/2 cup ( I didn't use any as DD is allergic to these :( ) Oil:  2 tbsp Salt to taste Procedure: Soak poha in water so that its soft but not mushy, the time of soaking depends on the thickness of the poha. In  a pan heat 1 tbsp of oil, add the cubed potato and carrot with a little salt and cook till cooked thorough and slightly crispy. Remove from the pan . If ...

Bhindi (Okra) is one of those vegetables that is loved by almost all or so I thought. Being prepared on a regular basis at home I had the mindset that everyone loves and knows how to handle it. But to my surprise I realized not all know how to cook it properly and despise it for its slimy texture. Many friends of mine mentioned that they tried okra and didn't like it because it was too slimy. I am guessing they didn't cook it right. So here is a simple and delicious recipe for Okra which is for sure not slimy at all. The trick is to find the right okra. When buying okra do this simple test of trying to break the tip off with your thumb and if it breaks easily then its really fresh and young, but if it gives a hard time then let it go, because if you cook it its gonna be a tuff to enjoy it. Ingredients: Okra: 1/2 pound or about 10 -15 Aloo (potato): 1 medium cut into cubes Onion: 1 medium chopped Pancha Putana: 1 tsp Dry red chili: 2 whole  Salt: taste ...

Manchurian is one of those chines recipes that I have been trying to master for sometime but everytime something goes missing and I never get the restaurant taste that we all crave for. But finally I tried the  Ching's Manchurian mix and vala perfect manchurians :). Ingredients: for the veg manchurian balls Grated carrot: 1 cup  Cabbage: 1 cup finely chopped  Bell pepper: ½ cup finely chopped  Spring onion/scallion greens: ¼ cup finely chopped Black pepper powder: ½ tsp freshly crushed All purpose flour/maida: 2 tbsp  salt to taste Oil for shallow frying for the sauce: Onions: 4-5 perl onions. Green Chillies: 2 slit Ginger: 1 tbsp  Garlic: 1 tbsp  Chings's Manchurian Mix: 3 tsp Water: 2 cups some chopped spring onion/scallion greens for garnishing Procedure: Mix all the ingredients listed under veg balls. keep aside for 15-20 minutes. shape into small round balls and shallow fry or deep fry till golden brown...