Onion Kachori - Rajasthani style

Onion kachori is a spicy round flattened ball filled with onions and other Indian spices which originated in Jodhpur and soon became a famous snack item in Rajasthan. It goes very well with hot milk tea, coffee or sweet lassie which is another delicacy of that place. I have tasted this amazing snack for the first time when prepared by a close friend who is a great foodie with great culinary expertise. I want to say a big thanks for introducing this tasty savoury to me. The recipe is quite simple and so I am sharing it here for all of you to enjoy.

Ingredients:

Onion                        1 (chopped)
Cumin  seed              1/2tsp
Coriander seed          1/2tsp
Kasuri methi             1/2tsp
Chilli  powder           1 tsp
Amchour powder      1 tsp
Garam  masala          1/2 tsp
Green chilli               1 slitted
Besan                        1 tsp
Potatoes                    2 (boiled  and smashed)
Sugar                         as per taste
Salt
Plain flour                2 cups
Ajwain                      pinch
Oil

Stuffing:

1. In a grinder add Coriander seed, Cumin seed, Fennel sedans, kasuri methi and grind it to make a coarse spice mixture.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a broad nonstick pan not too hot. Add the freshly made spice mixture asafetida, chilli powder , garam masala and roast the spices for a minutes.
3. Next add in the besan, aamchur powder and black salt and cook in a medium flame for about 2 to 3 minutes and keep stirring.
4. Once the mixer is roasted and gives a nice aroma,  add one chopped onion and two slitted green chilis. Now saute until the onions are soft.
5. In my version of pyaaj kachori i have added smashed potatoes to enhance the taste. Add boiled and mashed potato to the mixture and stirr well to mix together for few minutes
6. Add half tsp of sugar and salt to balance the taste of whole stuffing. Cook for a couple of hours switch off flame and let the filling cool for sometime.

Dough:

1. To make the kachori dough take flat vessel and pour 2 cups of plain flour. Now add pinch of ajwain, salt and 2 tbsp oil. Rub oil with the flour nicely.
2. Add little amount of water at a time and knead a medium soft dough. Dough need to be kneaded for 5 to 8 minutes to get a good texture. Let it cover and stay for half an hour.

Kachori:

1. Once the filling is cooled take small equal portions of it and make ball. similarly divide the dough portions little larger than the filling portions.
2. Take a portion of dough and flatten it with fingers and pressing the edges well. once it is about 3 inches in diameter put the filling portion inside and close the edges and make a large ball. Similarly make balls with other portions and let it covered with damp cloth and rest for 10 minutes.
3. Take each ball and press it with palm to flatten with little concave at center which help the kachori to puff up nicely while frying.
4. In order to make the kachori really hard and crispy, we need to fry it twice , first in high flame for about 10 seconds to ensure the outer layer is cooked and wont absorb much oil. After flash frying all the kachori in high flame reduce the flame and fry the kachori again in medium for about 5 to 6 minutes to make it puffed up well and super crispy.

Serve hot with sweet tamarind chutney enjoy this amazing evening snacks

Cheesy Malai Chicken Tikka

Cheesy malai chicken tikka is a variation of normal chicken tikka. Its basically grilled chicken kebabs with unique combination of spices with cream and cheese and hence the colour is creamy white. Cheese was not something always used in traditional malai tikka but it does take the flavor of cream to whole other level! One will get pure taste of malai and cheese in every bite of it.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast pieces       500 gms
Garlic cloves                     4
Green chillies                    2
Ginger                               1 inch
Lemon juice                      2 tbsp
Heavy cream                     1/4 cup
Thick yogurt                      2 tbs
Corn starch                        1 tsp
Garam masala                    1 tsp
Salt
Coriander leaves
Butter (for basting)
Mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Wash and cut chicken into kebab size pieces about 2 inches long.
   
   
2. Soak the wooden/skewers in water so that it doesn't burn while grilling.
   
   
3. In a blender add garlic cloves, green chillies, peeled ginger piece, few coriander leaves, yogurt and lemon. Blend the ingredients into a smooth puree.
   
   
4. Transfer into a bowl add heavy cream, corn starch and garam masala. Mix well and the marinade is ready. Add chicken pieces and coat well. Marinade it for minimum 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight in refrigerator.
   
   
5. Before grilling the chicken add mozzarella cheese and mix well. Now take each pieces of chicken and skew it into skewer..chicken is ready to grill or cook into skillet.
   
   
6. Preheat oven grill at 200 degrees and spray oil on the grill tray and place chicken skewers on it. cook chicken for 30 minutes .best with butter after 15 minutes turn and grill for another 15 minutes.

Take it out and splash some lemon juice
Grilled spicy malai chicken tikka is now ready to serve with Green chutney.

Sweet Sour Bitter Gourd With Mustard

Bitter gourd is one of those extremely healthy vegetables which is  rich all valuable nutrients  like iron, beta Carotene, calcium and potassium but many of us specially kids are  reluctant to eat vegetables due to its unique bitter taste. so if we manage to remove the bitterness by adding spices and sweetness then teaming it with other vegetables like onions, potatoes, brinjal and tomatoes, it turns into a delectable side dish .The recipe shared here is one of those traditional bengali dish which is a combination of sweet, tangy, spicy and a light touch of bitterness. Mustard paste  lends a unique achaari taste to the dish.

Ingredients:

Bitter Gourd Fine 4 medium sized
Onion Finely chopped 1Large
potato Fine cut  1medium
mustard paste 2Tablespoon
paanch phoron (five spices) 1Teaspoon
Red chili whole 2 nos
Turmeric Powder 1Teaspoon
Red Chili Powder 1/2 Teaspoon
Tamarind Paste or juice 1teaspoon
Mustard oil 1 Tablespoo
Salt as per taste
Sugar 1Teaspoon

Method:

1. Wash the bitter gourds well and cut  the vegetable into fine pieces and set aside.

2.Wash potato  and cut into small cubes.

3. Heat mustard oil in a non-stick kadhai. When oil is smoking hot, add paanch phoron and Red chili. when it starts spluttering add chopped onion saute for a minute then add potato slices and chopped bitter gourd. Mix well and set the heat to medium-low. Cook covered for about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.  Add Turmeric powder, Chili powder and salt. saute for a couple of minutes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook it in low flame for 5 to 6 minutes more, till it become tender.

5. Now add Mustard paste, Tamarind paste and sugar and give a good stir and cover it for about 5 minutes till the spices gets cooked nicely spreading the aroma of mustard.Turn off the heat.
Let it cool a bit and serve with warm cooked plain rice.

Cheese Stuffed Honey Glazed Chicken Cutlets

This crispy outside and  moist & tender  inside chicken cutlet is a perfect meal option to have when you need a fast and simple yet an extremely delicious snack or dinner recipe for your family. The recipe makes deep fried  chicken breast fillet with a surprise of cheese filling sealed inside  coated with a  sweet and sour honey garlic sauce. 

Ingredients:

Large boneless chicken breasts- 5 nos
Egg 2 nos
Chilli sauce 2tsp
Milk 2 tbsp
All purpose flour- 1/2 cup
Cajun seasoning ( or mixture of 1/4 tsp  of each Cumin powder, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, Black pepper and oregano)
Salt
Black pepper- 1 tsp
ground ginger
Chili powder
Cheddar Cheese grated (filling)-100 gms
Oil for frying
Chopped spring onion and sesame seeds for garnishing

 For Honey Garlic sauce

Honey- 2 tablespoons
Garlic- 4 cloves minced
Soy sauce- 1 tablespoons
pepper powder-1/2 teaspoon
Tomato sauce- 1 tablespoon
Cornstarch-1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Cut each fillet into two halves.

2. Take egg, chili sauce and milk in a bowl and add a pinch of salt whisk together to make a batter.

3. Hold  the chicken and cut a slit in 1 side of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Spoon 1 table spoon cheddar Cheese into each pocket.

4. In a large bowl, combine flour and Cajun seasoning, salt and mix together.Now Working one at a time, dredge cheese stuffed chicken breast piece into flour mixture and then dip into eggs batter, then dredge in flour mixture again, pressing  is required to get an even coating.

5. Heat oil in a skillet enough for deep frying, add chicken pieces to it, 2 or 3 at a time, and fry until evenly golden and crispy, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

6.To make the sweet and sour sauce, in a medium saucepan  add 1 tablespoon of oil.Turn the heat down to slightly medium. combine honey, crushed garlic, pepper powder and soy sauce and Tomato sauce. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water and add to the sauce. Stir mixture into the saucepan until thickened.

Add the fried chicken  and turn to coat in the sauce.Remove from stove immediately. Place chicken on plates and drizzle over remaining sauce in order to get a perfect glazed look.

Garnish with sesame seed serve with boiled and stir fried veggies.

Chicken Chop (Cutlet) Bengali style

Chicken Chop (Chicken cutlet) is a very famous street food item which most of the Bengalis miss dearly during evening snack time especially during monsoon and winter season and also when friends make a visit on weekends for pure "Bengali Adda". 

Though chicken chop/cutlet/Croquette are popular in many places but the preparations are different with respect to each place and so is the taste. The recipe I am going to share is one of those inherited recipes from my mother over the years and is very popular in my native place Agartala. It tastes awesome and easy to make too. Let’s go to the recipe.

Ingredients:

For stuffing (Pur)

• Chicken boneless 250 gms
• Onion 3 large (finely chopped)
• Garlic paste 2 tsp
• Ginger pate 2 tsp
• Green Chilli 5 to 6  chopped
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Cumin powder ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder 1 tsp
• Potato Boiled (adding salt) mashed 3 to 4
• Mustard oil  3 tbsp
• Roasted cumin powder 1 tsp
• Cornflour 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Oil for frying

For batter:

• Egg 2 nos
• Corn flour 1 tsp
• Salt one pinch

For coating:

• Bread crumb 1 cup (I have used homemade as I don’t find it more often and making it  at home is very easy. Take 5 to 6 Rusk biscuit/ bread toast and blend it in mixture and you can get freshly made bread crumb)
• Salt one pinch
• Black pepper powder ½ tsp

Method:

1. Clean and washed boneless chicken and cut into very small pieces. Now take it in a pressure cooker and add 1 cup of water and ½ tsp salt. Pressure cook it upto 2 whistles. One the pressure is released pour it in a strainer and strain the excess water.
2. Take a pan and heat 2 tbsp of Mustard oil . Add chopped onion and fried till it turn golden. Now add ginger and garlic paste and chopped green chillis, turmeric powder and cumin powder. Fry the masala for few minutes and add little water while frying.
3. When the masala separates oil after frying, add boiled chicken pieces and  and mix it  nicely. Add salt and garam masala and then fry the whole filling for 6 to 7 minutes till the chicken is cooked properly.  Once cooked shift the chicken mixture in a bowl. And let it cool completely.
4. Heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in the same pan and add ½ tsp of garlic paste. Now add the mashed potato, roasted cumin powder and 1 tsp of corn flour. Fry the mashed potato for 5 to 6 minutes til it gives a nice aroma. Shift the mixture in a bowl.
5. Take a small portion of mashed potato mixture and make a round ball. Now make small a case and stuff it with little of chicken mixture now carefully cover it to make smooth ball. You can wither shape them as round chop or oblong shaped chop as I have done.
6. Dip each chop in Egg batter and then roll into bread crumb coating. Now it is ready to deep fry.
7. Fry the chop in hot oil til it turns golden brown in color.
8. Remove it with slotted spoon on a tissue paper to drain excess oil.

Serve it hot and crisp and enjoy this delicious evening snack with tomato sauce or kasundi.

Achaari chicken ( with Raw mango pickle)

Whenever the question comes across my mind “ what to eat when I am so bored with everything I cook”, I start experimenting tweaking different recipes available in internet and comes out with some innovative variation of that. The recipe shared below is also an outcome of such experiment where I tried my own variation to the traditional “Achaari chicken” and it became a  delightful surprise for me and my friends who are too  hunting  for  a completely different style chicken curry. 

  Traditional Achaari chicken curry is a spicy, tangy and extremely aromatic thick chicken gravy which contains all spices used in Pickle and hence the name Achaari (pickle). My version is little different and simple where I have used Raw Mango Pickle or “Aam ka achar”instead of using much additional spices and that makes it quick and easy to prepare.

 If you are yet to taste this lip smacking ‘chicken curry with pickling spices’, go through the recipe here:

Ingredients:

1.              Chicken- 1 kg (Medium pieces preferably whole leg pieces)

2.              Onion finely chopped 1 large

3.              Onion paste of 2 medium Onions

4.              Tomato puree- of 1 large tomato

5.               Ginger garlic paste-2 tbsp

6.               Green chilly slit-4 nos.

7.               Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

8.               Coriander powder- 1 tsp

9.                Chili powder-1 1/2 tsp (as per spice tolerance)

10.              Raw mango pickle-2 and 1/2 tbsp (Store bought)

11.              Garam masala powder- 1/2 tsp

12.              Curd/yogurt- 1/2 cup

13.              Lemon juice-2 tbsp

14.              Dried Fenugreek leaves (optional)

15.              Salt-to taste

16.              Sugar as per taste

For seasoning:

1.              Mustard oil-4 tbsp

2.              Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

3.              Fennel seeds-1/4 tsp

4.              Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

5.              Fenugreek seeds- 1/4 tsp

6.              Black cumin seed (kalojeera/kalaunji)

                 You can use Paanch phoron (1 tbsp) if you have at home which is the mix of all these five above                          whole spices

7.              Bay leaf-1

Add caption

Method:

1. Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces with lemon juice, Mango pickle (you can use homemade or store-bought pickle and this is not a part of traditional recipe but adding pickle take the dish to a whole new level and give an amazing taste and aroma), Curd, salt and red chili powder. Keep it in refrigeration for at least an hour.
2. Heat mustard oil in a pan, add all the seasoning ingredients one by one or Paanch phoron. Once it starts crackling, add chopped Onion and fry for a minute.
3. Add onion paste and sauté until it turns golden. Now add Ginger and garlic paste and slit green chili. Fry the masala for 4 to 5 minutes on medium flame till raw smell goes off
4.  Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and Tomato puree and sauté the mixture for another 4 to 5 minutes
5.  Add marinated chicken and mix well and cook it on high flame for 4 to 5 minutes with continuous stirring. Cover and reduce the flame and let the chicken cook in its own gravy for 12-15 minutes.
6. Add one cup of hot water and cook it covered for another 12 to 15 minutes until the chicken pieces becomes soft and oil separates and floats on top
7. Adjust salt and sugar as per taste.
8. Finally add garam masala powder and kasuri Methi powder. Switch off the flame and let it cover for few minutes and your lip-smacking Achari chicken is ready!

Loitta Maacher Jhuri ( Bombay Duck Fish Scrambled)

"Loitta fish" as we all know is very popular as Loitta shutki in East Bengal. Its only very recently I was introduced to the real Loitta fish behind the Shutki when my mother prepared this awesome “Loitta maacher Jhuri”.

Loitta fish is famous as Bombil or BombayDuck in Mumbai. It is a very soft and mushy fish with only one singleSpine. It can be cooked without frying it separately though it need a generous amount of oil for cooking and hence not a very healthy option, but this quick and simple dish is a sure shot way to please everyone in the family and guests.

Ingredients: 

• 500 gms Loitta maach cleaned and washed (Without head) 
• 2 Large sized Onion (finely chopped) 
• 12 to 15 clove of Garlic (finely chopped or grated) 
• 10 to 12 green chili’s (need to add more chili to enhance the taste) 
• 1 and ½ tsp Turmeric powder 
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander leaves (chopped) 
• ½ tsp sugar Salt as per taste Mustard oil

Method: 

• Cut the fish into 1-inch long pieces and take in a bowl and mix with turmeric powder and salt. Keep it aside.
• Heat generous amount of mustard oil (around 4 tbsp) in a nonstick pan and add chopped Onion and then Garlic. Fry them in medium heat until golden yellow. 
• Now add chopped green chili and fry them for 3 to 4 minutes and add the marinated fish.
• Stir them very slowly in medium heat and since the fish will release enough water while cooking, it does not need any additional water. Keep frying with stirring slowly in regular interval until the fish cooked properly and the oil separates out from the mixture.
• Now add additional salt if required and sugar and mix it well. Slowly remove the central bone from the fish pieces which is a very easy task.
• Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with piping hot boiled white rice.