Ah, I didn’t realize I kept the blog empty for this whole month! It was a mix of intentional and unintentional. The world has been feeling like a very immoral and unfair place. It is like there is a lot of suffering but the ones on the top are really not bothered. It just keeps confirming the fact that humans are undependable and all that we can rely on is Allah. After all, He himself says that He created man weak and ungrateful and somehow every single day, it further reaffirms His infinite understanding of how the world works. Having said that, each day has become more about counting our own blessings and being grateful for it. It has become a time to look into us and literally remove the cobwebs of thoughts and ideologies. Alhamdulillah… It reminds me of the Covid days, when we did the same exercise, but somehow man is forgetful, and he needs bullets to dodge him from his procrastination… A couple of things have happened on the personal side, I guess which I will keep for some other day.

Since it is month end, it is time for the post for this month’s Shh Cooking Secretly challenge, the theme of which is “Soups”, suggested by Narmadha. Even though it is still warm most of the time, the craving for soup is slowly setting in because of the cool nights. Having said that, the fluctuation in the weather is becoming fodder for flu of all kinds. Anyway, I love soups and while having a discussion with my partner of the month, Seema about it, I decided to stick with an Indian themed soup with the ingredients she gave me, shallots and black pepper. Rasam is literally soup and hence I decided to share this rasam with coconut milk, which is different from how I make it, yet so soothing to the tummy and feels like a warm hug. Do check out what Seema made with her secret ingredients, onion and garlic.

I came across this interesting rasam from an Instagram page. As I then did my research as to the authentic way to make it, it looked like everyone had their style. It is said that this type of rasam has its origin from Pondichery, which is one place I really want to visit sometime when I go back home, In Sha Allah… Anyway, in this rasam, I have used very little tamarind for making it tangy and there are no tomatoes. The coconut milk is thin and added at the end. All in all, the rasam is quite watery, so either you can have it floating all over your rice with a dollop of hot ghee on top and maybe some potato fry for making it an ultimate comfort food, or you can simply chug it off a bowl on a cold evening. It is totally your choice. Whichever way it is, it is going to be delicious…

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Coconut Milk Rasam | Thenga Paal Rasam

A delicious South Indian style soup with coconut milk...

Course Soup

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 6-8 shallots
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• A fat pinch hing powder
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp methi
• 3-4 dry red chillies
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 small pc tamarind soaked in half cup boiling water for 10 minutes
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup thin coconut milk refer notes
• A handful coriander and mint leaves

Instructions

• Peel the garlic and shallots. In a mortar and pestle, pound them coarsely along with the cumin and pepper.
• In a chatti, heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard seeds.
• Add the hing, methi, curry leaves and dry red chillies and saute for a few seconds.
• Add the pounded mixture and saute till raw smell is gone and the mixture is wilted.
• Add turmeric, salt and pepper and give a good mix.
• Squeeze the tamarind of its pulp into the soaking water and discard the waste. Pour the water into the pot, bring to boil.
• Cook for around 5 minutes, till raw smell is gone.
• Pour the coconut milk, give a good mix. Adjust the seasoning.
• Allow the rasam to just heat - do not boil. Switch off and add the coriander leaves.
• Close and allow the rasam to rest till the time of serving. Enjoy warm.

Notes

I made coconut milk with coconut milk powder - 1 cup of warm water with a heaped tbsp of coconut milk powder. 

The post Coconut Milk Rasam | Thenga Paal Rasam appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

When September started, I had noted down that I will do one post every Monday. That was the deal. Somehow, after posting the Iced Hibiscus Tea, that didn’t happen. My whole plans went derailed. A few things came over which took over and the blog had to wait. Alhamdulillah, unfortunately, whatever took my time didn’t work out. I felt sad initially, and then I thought to myself, it wasn’t meant for me. If it was, the Almighty has absolutely no reason to block it from me. In the same time, during the Quran class, we were taught for the following verse:

And do not crave what Allah has given some of you over others. Men will be rewarded according to their deeds and women ˹equally˺ according to theirs. Rather, ask Allah for His bounties. Surely Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things. (Surah An-Nisa:32)

SubhanAllah… He tells us to keep asking so that He can provide from His infinite bounties. What more is there to assure myself that things will turn out for good! In Sha Allah…

Meanwhile, trying to get back into posting with this delicious curry, which is synonymous to the north Kerala district of Kasargode. Kasargode is a very peculiar state. Though it belongs to Kerala, they don’t speak legit Malayalam. Their language is a mix of all languages that belong to the boundaries in proximity to them, like Tulu, Kannada, etc. It is actually nice to hear, if you ask me. D had a colleague from there and his wife’s language was always over the head for us. However, umma managed to understand and can still pull out a decent conversation with her, where both understand each other despite their different dialects.

OK, so coming back to the curry, it is said to be a specialty of Kasargode and normally served in masjids during festivals, called “nercha” along with ghee rice, or during Ramadan and/or Eid. I adapted this recipe from an online source. The main difference in this curry from the way I usually make, is that the meat is marinated in a mix of aromatic spices for some time, before adding it to the onion-tomato masala to get cooked. It makes the dish more spiced and aromatic. I kept the curry a little thick because we had it with porottas, but surely this is amazing with any type of rice as well. When you crave for something different to make with your beef, then go ahead and try this amazing recipe, that doesn’t take much time, unlike the list of ingredients that go in, which seems quite long. Off to the recipe…

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Beef Palli Curry | Kasargode Style Meat Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Malabar

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef with bones, meduim peices

SPICES TO ROAST

• 3 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp clove powder
• Salt to taste

FOR GRAVY

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 meduim onions chopped
• 3 green chillies slit
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• Handful of chopped coriander leaves optional

FOR TEMPERING

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 dried red chillies
• 2 sprigs curry leaves

Instructions

• Wash and drain the beef well.
• On a hot saucepan, on low heat, roast all the ingredients under "spices to roast" for a few minutes or till aromatic.
• Add onto the beef, sprinkle in salt and toss well to coat all over. Marinate for 15 minutes or as long as possible.
• In a pressure cooker, heat coconut oil. Fry the ginger garlic paste for a couple of minutes.
• Add the onions and green chillies and saute till wilted.
• Add the tomatoes and cook till all mashed up.
• Now add the marinated beef along with a glass of water (ideally the water cleaning up any residue marination in the bowl), add more salt if needed.
• Cook for 5-6 whistles or till the beef is nicely cooked.
• Once done, sprinkle in the garam masala and add the coriander leaves if using.
• Heat oil for tempering. Splutter the mustard seeds and fry the dry chillies and curry leaves. Add in to the curry, allow it to rest for five minutes.
• Serve hot with neychor or flatbread of choice.

The post Beef Palli Curry | Kasargode Style Meat Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

After some time, I am participating in the Shh Cooking Challenge this month. I wasn’t actually up for it, but when I saw the theme of “no-onion, no-garlic sabzi” as suggested by Priya Iyer, I decided to participate. First of all, I don’t have too many vegetarian dishes on the blog. Also, we add onion and garlic into almost everything. So this was a nice challenge to work on. My partner is Renu for this challenge, and with a little discussion, she decided to give me ginger and turmeric as my secret ingredients while I gave her turmeric and amchur powder, with which she made her delicious dish.

After a little brainstorming and literally feeling stuck, I decided to stick with the most basic yet loved vegetable called potato. Nothing goes wrong with it, isn’t it? Hehe… I had this craving for some poori and bhaji, so I found this very easy Uttar Pradesh based gravy, that is usually served with crispy pooris and kachoris. You start off with cooking the potatoes, peeling and crumbling them by hands. The ingredients used are very basic. While checking recipes online, I found out that you could either chop the tomatoes or blend them, which I preferred to use the latter, since that works with my picky eaters. Hehe… Overall, if you are looking for a different potato curry to go with your pooris, then try this one out… Off to the recipe…

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Aloo Rasedar | No-Onion No-Garlic Potato Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2-4 potatoes 350-450 gms
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp methi seeds
• A fat pinch of hing
• 1 inch ginger peeled and chopped fine
• 1 large tomato
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp fennel powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• A pinch of sugar optional

Instructions

• Cook the potatoes. I did it in the pressure cooker. Cool down, peel the potatoes and crumble them with your hands.
• In a saucepan, heat oil. Fry the cumin seeds and methi seeds along with the hing.
• Add the chopped ginger and saute for a minute.
• Blend the tomatoes and chillies till smooth. Pour into the saucepan and cook, stirring occassionally till oil floats on the top.
• Add in all the spice powders and saute till the raw smell is gone.
• Now add the crumbled potato, salt and sufficient water and bring the mixture to boil.
• Check seasoning, add the garam masala and coriander leaves. If the sauce is too sour, add a pinch of sugar.
• Switch off and serve warm with pooris.

Notes

Usually a pinch of amchur powder is added but since I didn't have it in my pantry, I didn't use it. In case you do have, you can add around 1/4 tsp along with all your spice powders. 

The post Aloo Rasedar | No-Onion No-Garlic Potato Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I love how similar Sri Lankan food is to our food, after trying a few recipes like their chicken curry and the Wattalappam. So when the theme of “Gravies Side dish for Flatbreads” was declared for the Blogging Marathon #147, I wanted to try any curry from this cuisine and landed up on this delicious lentil curry with coconut milk in it.

I love anything with coconut milk and hence loved this gravy too. It was absolutely easy to make, and despite the limited ingredients used, I totally loved how it turned out. The spice came from the green chillies and despite the coconut milk added, it didn’t cut on the spice. All you need to do is to cook the lentils separately with green chillies and turmeric. Then, you just need to saute the rest of the ingredients, add the cooked lentils and finish off with the coconut milk. Of course, it tastes amazing with plain rice, but let it get thicker and enjoy it by scooping it with parathas, chapathis or just plain good – equally good! Off to this simple recipe…

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Sri Lankan Coconut Milk Lentil Curry | Pappu

An easy yet luscious lentil curry, made Sri Lankan style...

Course Main Course

Cuisine Sri Lankan

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup masoor dal
• 3 green chillies add more for spiciness
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 5-6 dried red chillies
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• In a pressure cooker, add the washed lentils, green chillies, turmeric, some salt and a pinch of oil, with sufficient water - a cup should do.
• Pressure cook for one whistle and keep on low flame for five minutes. Switch off and allow the pressure to go on its own.
• In an earthern pot, heat the coconut oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Briefly fry the cumin and fenugreek seeds.
• Fry the curry leaves, dried red chillies and garlic for a couple of minutes.
• Add the onion and saute till browned.
• Now add the cooked dal along with a little more water, if too thick. Mix it in and simmer for the flavors to mingle.
• Add the coconut milk, adjust salt and just simmer for a minute - do not boil or else the curry will split. Switch off and leave it closed for a few minutes.
• Serve warm with side of choice.

After such a long time, I have a blog post with just one picture. It was tough capturing it and my camera, which is showing signs of wear off, was acting weird. At least, I have one… It isn’t like not having anything…

The post Sri Lankan Coconut Milk Lentil Curry | Pappu appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I never intend to take long breaks with blogging but really, I don’t know how fast time is flying. Somehow before I knew, the first part of June is already over, and we are almost to at the middle of the month, and before we know, half of 2023 would be over. I am not going over there… At the moment, I am typing this blog post watching “Julia & Julie” in the background. The movie reminded me about my initial years of blogging, where I used to cook one new recipe every other day, get excited about how it turns out and then proceed to blog about it. It explains why I had a blog post almost every single day in the first few years of blogging, before it slowly started getting a little overwhelming and I had to slow down purposely. Now I don’t have to even do it, it just seems to happen… If not for the Blogging Marathon, I wouldn’t have even posted anything. This week, I am doing the theme of “Gravies for Flatbreads” in this week’s #147.

I have had this recipe on my drafts for a very long time. It kept moving from month to month since I made it the first time in February and repeated it again a couple of times. Maybe now is the time. I was seeing a lot of “Afghani Chicken Curry” on Instagram, that sounded absolutely easy to make and you know that I am not someone who won’t try anything that doesn’t need much of hardwork. I don’t know how authentically Afghani this is, but the gravy is very mild with a hint of spice. What I love about it is the ease to make, very similar to the Shinwari Karahi. The base can be made using one or a combination of your choice – cream, cashew paste and/or yogurt. I used a mix of cream and yogurt, since I feel that makes the dish feel less guilty. Hehe… Even though there are so many recipes on the internet with a little variation here and there, I decided to stick close to this one and cook my dish. All I can say is that with chapathi or with very hot roti, this chicken is really delicious… Off to the recipe…

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Afghani Chicken | Creamy Chicken Curry

An easy chicken curry made in Afghani style...

Course Main Course

Cuisine Afghani

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm chicken with bones, cut into meduim pieces
• 2 tbsp oil/ butter/ ghee
• 2 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi

FOR GRINDING

• 1 onion
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger peeled
• 3 green chillies
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves loosely packed
• 125 ml cream one packet
• 3/4 cup thick yogurt
• Salt to taste
• 3/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• Juice of half a lime

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients under "for grinding" and grind into a smooth paste.
• Add into the chicken and combine. Marinate for atleast a couple of hours or as much as possible.
• In a saucepan, heat oil or ghee, fry the bay leaves.
• Take out the chicken from the marinade and add into the pan. Shallow fry both sides till a little char, not necessarily cooked.
• Add around half to three fourth cup of water into the marinade and add into the chicken. Coat well.
• Cook on low flame, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking to the pan, till the sauce is cooked. (refer notes)
• Sprinkle the kasuri methi, give a good mix. Serve hot with bread of choice.

Notes

I kept my curry thick and without much of the sauce. If you want a little gravy, add a little more water almost at the end or some milk for extra richness. 

The post Afghani Chicken | Creamy Chicken Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I think it is clearly visible that I am struggling to create content for the blog. With my drafts dwindling and my cooking only for survival sake, it has been a very difficult time for me. I don’t want to let my blog be bare, however it just ends up that way. I can only say that I don’t see any improvement in the coming months, especially with Ramadan drawing very close. When many instagrammers are already up with their Ramadan series, I am nowhere in that category. Let me be, right? While I posted the Mango Bango on schedule, I went home on a very short trip to attend my cousin’s wedding. It was an amazing break from routine. Even though it was hot, it was amazing and breakneck at the same time! I have been a little more consistent with my workouts, though I can’t say the same with my eating, as such. However, all I can say is that I feel better than I have felt in a really long time as far as my physical strength is concerned. I guess that gives a little insight to how the year has been faring so far…

Having posted so many sweet recipes off late, I really want to switch to something spicy. I love rasam. For me, an afternoon meal of rice, umma style tamarind rasam, beans upperi and fish fry is a tug in my stomach. During my last proper visit back home in 2021, I saw umma adding cooked toor dal to her regular rasam. She said that it added more volume and thickness than usual to the rasam. She is right, but having said that, I am not a fan of thick rasam. I was very apprehensive when I made this rasam for the sadya I had prepared last year during the Onam time. However, my apprehensions were all put to rest. The cooked lentils did nothing much to make it that thick. In fact, it gave a nice grainy edge and made it even more tasty. I had made a huge pot of this rasam when HD had to take something along for their committee sadya, and he came back with an empty pot. Everybody commented that it was the perfect digestion drink after a heavy sadya. Hehe… Off to this super simple recipe…

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Dal Rasam | Parippu Rasam | Rasam with Lentils

Course Soup

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup toor dal
• 6-8 pearl onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 5-8 dry red chillies
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lime size pc tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Pressure cook the toor dal with water upto its level and salt for one whistle or till done. Allow the pressure to go on its own.
• Pour the onion, garlic, cumin and pepper in a mortar and pestle roughly.
• In an earther pot, heat oil. Splutter the mustard and fry the dry chillies and curry leaves.
• Add the pounded mixture and saute with a pinch of salt till nicely wilted.
• Add the tomato and turmeric powder, sprinkle in some water - better the water wiping the mortar. Close and cook, stirring occassinally till the tomato is completely wilted.
• Squeeze the tamarind completely and discard the tamarind. Pour the water into the rasam. Bring to boil.
• Add the cooked dal along with its water, adjust seasoning and cook for another five minutes or till done.
• Add the coriander leaves and switch off. Serve with rice and ghee, or have it as a soup along with a sadya.

The post Dal Rasam | Parippu Rasam | Rasam with Lentils appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For the Blogging Marathon #140 theme of “Pick One Cuisine – Anglo Indian”, here is a delicious yet mildly spiced chicken curry, that goes amazingly well with the Yellow Rice. When I found this recipe online, there were a few versions available with little variations. But the story was quite interesting. It seems that this curry was made with the country chicken that was grown in the yards of the Britisher’s own bungalows. This curry was a result of the ‘memsaab’ wanting a mild curry that her children could enjoy.

The lack of spice was what my girls loved about this curry. The curry uses a lot of whole spices at the beginning. The spice powders added are in minimum quantities. The best part about this gravy is the use of country chicken. Country chicken is much smaller and less fatty than the broiler chicken that is wildly available in the market. Since they are organic, they are on the pricier side too. I remember that in my childhood, D would buy this once in a while, but we loathed it, because the meat was pretty chewy. But this time, the one I bought was very flavorful and soft. The stew will be a little watery, since country chicken doesn’t have any fat to release and thicken the gravy. If you are unable to find country chicken, you can use regular chicken, but I urge you to try this curry with country chicken for maximum flavor.

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Country Captain Chicken Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Anglo Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 country chicken around 250-300 gm
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 cardamom
• 1 clove
• 5-6 black pepper
• 1 pc cinnamon
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 onion sliced
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 small tomato crushed (optional)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder increase for spiciness
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Briefly fry the whole spices and garlic.
• Add the onion and sauté till golden brown.
• Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till raw smell is gone.
• Add the chicken along with tomato, spice powders and salt. Give a good mix.
• Add water just enough to cover the chicken, close the lid and cook for 30-40 minutes on medium-low flame, or till the chicken is done.
• Adjust seasoning and finish off with coriander leaves.

Notes

There wont be much stock released by country chicken, so add sufficient water.

You can use regular chicken to make this curry as well. 

The post Country Captain Chicken Curry | Anglo Indian Chicken Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I sometimes wonder how previously I had the energy to blog. I used to be on a continuous roll. Despite my tight schedule of work, home and a young family, I still found time to cook, click and blog new recipes. Whatever spare time I would get, I would just put my thoughts in and publish a blog post. Over the past few years, I took steps to slow down, but this year, I have slowed down even further. Though I seem to be keeping a decent number of posts every month – between 8 and 10 – I still tend to compare to the past. The past is there, we can’t go back to it and change it. I think I should just be happy that I am still managing to feed the blog and not leave it blank whenever I can…

I have always mentioned how versatile potatoes are, on its own or combining with other vegetables or even any type of meat. Some of our favorite “aloo” dishes are the kalonji aloo, the easy aloo gobhi, and beef curry with potatoes in it. In fact, it is tough to pick and choose which ones are favorites. Recently, I came across “aloo palak” and I was like, why didn’t I try it? So I took out the spinach I reserved to make palak paneer and converted into this dish. I had already precooked the potatoes, so that dish didn’t take time to get done. Spinach is chopped and sauteed, and unlike many other dishes using this ingredient, here we use it straight up, instead of grinding it into a paste. It is an easy curry to make sure that you have dinner on the table. Off to the recipe…

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Aloo Palak | Potatoes with Spinach

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2-3 potatoes 300-400 gm approximately
• 1 tbsp ghee use oil to make it vegan
• A fat pinch of hing
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 bunch spinach chopped and cleaned
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp kasuri methi crushed
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Peel and boil the potatoes till almost cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In a saucepan, heat ghee. Splutter the cumin seeds.
• Add the hing and ginger garlic paste and saute for a few seconds.
• Add the chopped spinach and saute till just wilted.
• Add in the turmeric, red chilli, black pepper and coriander powder and saute till raw smell is gone.
• Add in the cooked potato, toss well to coat. Sprinkle in some salt and water.
• Cook on simmer for five minutes or till the curry is cooked.
• Sprinkle the garam masala powder and kasuri methi, toss well and serve hot with chapathis.

The post Aloo Palak | Potatoes with Spinach appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For the “Select one cuisine and cook three dishes” theme for this week’s Blogging Marathon #139, I picked Parsi cuisine as I mentioned in my post yesterday and decided to cook something that identifies as the main course. Parsi cuisine is highly meat and fish centric. Vegetarian dishes are very limited; however it can be noticed that potatoes are used with almost everything that can be savory. For example, today’s dish, which is a Parsi version of Matar Kheema, has some aloo thrown in with good measure, making it very similar to Aloo Kheema yet different. Did I confuse you? I think it is better to say that it is an amalgamation of the two dishes, in a Parsi way…

At home, not everyone loves mutton. It is only HD who enjoys this meat. My girls are not fond and I like it only to a limit. Hence, you may notice that I have cooked this dish with just 250 gm of mutton mince and still there was some leftover for me to have the next day afternoon. I have adapted the recipe from here. Even though the recipe list is exhaustive, the spices used are what is available in our pantry and despite the use of it, all the spices sit well in a lovely way. It was like everyone just did their job in the dish. The recipe comes together easily, doesn’t take much time and is delicious to scoop up with roomali rotis or even some pavs. Even though mutton mince is used, you can use chicken mince for a leaner version of this recipe.

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Kheemo | Parsi Style Minced Meat (Kheema) Curry

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 250 gm mutton mince
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 large potato
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp frozen green peas add more if you like
• 2-4 tbsp chopped coriander and mint leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Wash and drain the mince. Add red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste and salt and mix well. Set aside.
• Peel and chop the potatoes into small peices. Boil in water for around 10 minutes or till partially cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In a pan, heat oil. Add the onion and saute till wilted.
• Add the tomato and tomato paste and cook till the tomato is completely mashed.
• Add the marinated mince and mix it in well.
• Now add all the spice powders and give it a good mix. Cook on low flame till the mince is almost cooked. Add water if needed.
• Add the potato and green peas and cook till completely done.
• Add chopped coriander and mint leaves and adjust seasoning. Enjoy with rotis or rice.

Notes

This kheema is not spicy at all. Add more chilli powder or add pepper powder if needed.

The post Kheemo | Parsi Style Minced Meat (Kheema) Curry appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

For the second post for the theme “A dish for each course of a meal” for the Blogging Marathon #138, I am going to post the recipe of a dish, which is impossible to read correctly with the English spelling, so if you can read Malayalam, I am leaving it here – കാളന്‍. Anyway, not digressing too much into its name, Kaalan is a very thick stew made with yam and raw banana – yes, the same vegetables as the Koottucurry -, with a base of a sour yogurt and coconut base. The interesting bit in this recipe is the addition of fenugreek, which is not a very common ingredient as far as vegetarian cooking is concerned.

This curry uses sour curd along with a ground coconut mixture. I kept the yogurt out on my countertop overnight to make it sour. The process is quite easy with very limited spices. There are two ways of serving this – as a loose curry simply called Kaalan or as a thick side dish called as Kurukk Kaalan. I have mentioned the difference in the notes in the recipe card. After I made this curry and tasted it, I realized that this was one curry umma used to make once upon a time. I really don’t think she has made it anytime in the near future, since the taste felt really nostalgic to me. I am glad that I came across a dish that I can make as a repeat for my lunch menus now… Off to the recipe…

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Kaalan | Kerala Kurukk Kalan | Katti Kaalan

Course Afternoon Side

Cuisine Kerala

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 large raw banana around 250-300 gm
• 250-300 gm yam
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 cup sour yogurt refer notes

FOR GRINDING

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 3 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

FOR TEMPERING

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 dried red chillies
• 1-2 sprigs curry leaves

Instructions

• Roughly peel (not completely) and chop the raw banana. Peel and chop the yam too in similar sized pieces. Wash well and set aside to drain.
• In a chatti (earthern pot), add the chopped vegetables along with water upto its level, turmeric powder and salt. Bring to boil.
• Cook till the vegetables are almost done.
• Meanwhile, grind the coconut with the other ingredients under "for grinding" till it is nice and smooth. Add a little water as needed.
• Keep the flame on simmer. Whisk the yogurt well along with pepper powder and add into the cooked vegetables. Give a good mix.
• Add the coconut paste and mix well. Simmer for around 5-8 minutes till the raw smell is gone. Switch off and adjust seasoning.
• To temper, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard seeds. Fry the dry chillies and curry leaves briefly and add into the gravy.
• Close and allow the mixture to rest till the time of serving.

Notes

To make sour curd, measure the curd and keep it on your countertop overnight. 

This recipe will give a thick gravy. For a looser gravy like the regular kaalan, grind 1/2 cup more of coconut and add 1/2 cup more of sour curd, add a little less than 1 cup of water to adjust the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper accordingly. 

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