Parshe Maachh with doi

Ingredients :

Parshe fish
Mustard oil
Green chilly
Dry red chilly(whole) - 1
Onion
Methi seeds (whole)/Fenugreek
Tok doi/Curd (Sour)
Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Dhone pata/Coriander leaves

Procedure :

Fry the fish in mustard oil with salt and turmeric powder. Keep aside.

Add some more oil in the pan and put in one dry red chilly (whole), saute for a few seconds, add in the methi (fenugreek) seeds, onion, turmeric powder, a pinch of sugar(for the color), curd, tomatoes (optional), coriander leaves and stir fry. Wait till the aroma comes and the masala is done( when the oil comes on to the surface of the masala in the pan, it indicates that it is well cooked), add in the fried fishes. Stir for sometime and pour in a cup of water. Garnish with a green chilly. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Moolo Shaak or Greens of the Radish

Those of you who know how to cook this probably would laugh at me for posting such a recipe. It is extremely easy to cook.
Let me tell you a little about me here.
I love "shaak". I am this zodiac-sign-freak and being a Capricorn, that I am, call myself a goat for my affinity towards fresh green "shaak" or "saag". My favorite being kopi'r shaak or cauliflower leaves. My father one day went shopping and found a man selling cauliflower. He went and asked him whether he was willing to sell the leaves only.
To which, the shopkeeper replied - "Babu, the customers refuse to buy the cauliflowers along with the leaves because it increases the real weight of the veggie, so I have separated them and kept all of it aside. Very few people come for buying it and it is mostly the cows who eat it".
My father has a great sense of humor, he smiled and said, "My daughter also eats it".

I heard this from my mother who accompanied my dad to the market that day, she told me, "everybody smiled and the shopkeeper himself got up from his seat, found a bag and put in a lot of the green cauliflower leaves for you".

Now for the recipe :

Ingredients:

Moolo shaak/ mooli ka saag/ raddish greens
Mustard oil
Dry red chillies (whole)- 1
Kalo jeera/ Nigella - half a tea spoon
One green chilly slit from the top
Salt to taste
Maida/ flour - Half a tea-spoon


Method :

Wash and chop the leaves. Heat very little mustard oil in a pan, put in the dry red chilly and saute for 15 seconds. Remove the red chilly and keep aside. Add the kalo jeera and green chilly into the pre-heated oil, saute and put in the leaves. Add salt to taste and cook covered for 4 minutes. Open the lid and stir. To this add half a tea spoon of flour and turn off the burner. Smash the fried red chilly and sprinkle from the top. You are done. Serve with steaming rice.

Overseas Chicken

Ingredients :

Chicken - cut into small pieces
Cinamon, Cardomom and Cloves - finely ground to a powder (Garam Masala powder)
Ginger and Garlic paste (Garlic paste more in quantity)
Limejuice
Tomato - cut into small pieces
Onion - finely chopped
Black Pepper

For the Marinade :
To the chicken - add black pepper powder, ginger-garlic(more in qnty) paste, salt, garam masala powder, lemon juice, mix well and keep aside for a couple of hours.

Method :

Fry the chicken pieces in vegetable oil and keep separately.
Heat some oil in another pan, add into it, tomato, finely chopped onions, very little sugar, salt and cook till onions turn golden brown. Then add in the fried chicken, toss well till the chicken mixes with the other ingredients and 'Overseas Chicken' is done.

My love for cooking...

Dates back to the times when I was not even able to reach the gas burner, mounted atop a kitchen table. I carried with myself, a small stool whenever I entered the kitchen, strategically placed it in front of the kitchen table, perched myself on top of it and peeped into the fuming and smelling pans with coloured curries.
All hell would break loose if my granny or my mom found me in such a position...they almost always shoo'ed me out of my favorite place (the kitchen). Slowly with time, I was able to make them believe that I meant no harm to myself or to them, I was allowed to remain as a spectator at first and then was allowed to make rotis and Maggi and French Fries.
Post my class ten and twelve exams, I got a long break in between the next terms, that is when I seriously learnt cooking. My cooking guru was Sanjeev Kapoor..I used to religiously watch his cooking show on Zee TV each morning from 9:30a.m. To make sure that no one disturbed me while I was learning, I used to dismantle the telephone receiver from its base. Have been scolded too many times as a result, but to no change in habits.