Tag Archives: Yoghurt

Recipes: Pithla

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Here’s another recipe from the heartlands of my home state of Maharashtra. This recipe is from the kitchens of the rustic, rural householder and is a staple of practically every Marathi household. I got this recipe from a book I have had for almost twenty years now, called Maharashtrian Cooking authored by Kumud Marathe.

Pithla is something you can make in a hurry and can be increased also just as easily. You can make it as thick or thin as you like

Pithla

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sour yoghurt
  • 2 cups water
  • 3-4 tbsp chickpea flour or besan
  • 2 onions, thickly sliced
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1 green chilli, chopped
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
  • 3-4 tbsp cooking oil
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Beat the yoghurt well and mix it with the besan to make it a nice non-lumpy paste. Add water to increase it to the quantity and thickness you want, add salt and keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat the oil and when the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add in the chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
  • Now add the onions and cook till the onions are translucent and cooked.
  • Next, add the buttermilk and chickpea flour paste and let it come to a boil.
  • The more you boil this gravy, the thicker it will become. If you want it slightly thick, let it come to a boil and then switch off the flame after checking for seasoning.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot over plain rice or even Indian flatbreads.

You can call this a Maharashtrian Kadhi. For more Kadhi recipes, see Gujarati Kadhi and South Indian Mor Kozambu

Recipe: Dum Paneer Kali Mirch

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A couple of weeks back, I was searching for recipes to make when I chanced upon this recipe in NDTV food which was a pure paneer recipe. It intrigued me enough that I decided to make it, after making some changes to it based on what I had at home. It was super delicious and it’s a definite keeper at home.

This recipe cooks on dum in the last stage which essentially means cooking it in its own steam and not let the steam escape. I have cooked something on dum on a stovetop for the first time and it was achievement unlocked for me with this recipe!

Dum Paneer Kali Mirch

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups paneer, chopped into biggish chunks
  • 2-3 pieces of clove
  • 2-3 pieces of cardamom pods
  • 1 inch piece of cinnamon
  • 2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
  • 3-4 garlic pods
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 4 green chillies (use a lesser number if you are using the smaller green chillies as they tend to be spicier)
  • 10 pieces of cashew nuts soaked in warm milk for 20 mins and then blended to a smooth paste
  • 1 small cup of beaten yoghurt
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp pepper powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked pepper (to garnish)
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the onions and on fry them on a medium to low flame. We need to brown the onions, but not burn it, so you need to keep stirring. When nice and brown, cool it, blend into a fine paste and keep aside.
  • Grind the ginger, garlic and green chillies to a fine paste and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, add the remaining oil and fry the dry whole spices – cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and let them fry till the oil becomes fragrant.
  • Now add the browned onion paste and let it fry for around 5 minutes till the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan.
  • At this point, add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and saute for a few minutes.
  • After this, add the cashew paste and let it cook for a few minutes.
  • Next, add the beaten yoghurt and the dry spices – turmeric powder, chilli powder, pepper powder and garam masala and let it cook.
  • Add some water to bring it to the consistency you want and let it come to a rolling boil.
  • Add the paneer/cottage cheese and salt and any extra water should you need.
  • Now you need to cook it in dum. What it means is that you cook it in its own juice with no steam being able to escape. You seal the pan with aluminium foil and then cover it with the lid of the pan and let it cook on a low flame for 5-10 minutes.
  • Remove the foil, garnish with coriander seeds and cracked pepper and serve hot with any rice dish or even Indian flatbreads. I served this with a simple pulao.

Simply delicious!!

Recipe: Bottle Gourd (Lauki) Raita

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This is an amazingly simple raita which was made by my helper R. This is an earthy Punjabi recipe, which is made at homes during the summer.  Bottle Gourd is a very cooling vegetable which is full of water (about 92%), keeps your body hydrated, and is also a rich source of vitamin C, A and K and essential minerals like sodium, calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. Bottle gourd also promotes a healthy heart by bringing down the bad cholesterol levels. It is rich in both soluble and insoluble fibers, does not only facilitate smoother digestion but also helps curing tummy problems like constipation, piles and flatulence. Bottle gourd is excellent in quenching thirst, and lending a cooling effect on the body, especially during summers.

Bottle Gourd aka Lauki Raita

Ingredients:

  • 1 bottle gourd, peeled and grated
  • 3 cups yogurt, beaten
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp pepper powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seed POWDER

Method:

  • Boil the grated bottle gourd in a pan with just enough water to cover it and some salt for five minutes till it is cooked.
  • Remove and drain the grated bottle groud and when cool, squeeze well between your palms to remove all excess water
  • In another pan, whisk the yogurt well and add salt and pepper powder keep aside.
  • Add the boiled bottle gourd and check for seasoning.
  • Sprinkle cumin seed powder and chopped coriander and serve cold with any rotis or rice.

Baby Potatoes in Yoghurt Gravy – Kashmiri Dum Aloo

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I wanted to make something different for lunch today and searched for an exotic, yet easy to make recipe, something involving potatoes and yoghurt. I came across this yummy recipe by Honey from Honey, what’s cooking. I followed her recipe almost to the tee and so will not show the recipe here, but here’s the link if you want to read/see it. She’s got photos of the entire process so it’s easy even for a non-cook. Here’s how mine came out.

Verdict: It was tasty and not very spicy as I controlled the spice factor in the recipe. BB & S can’t eat spicy food and so all my cooking has to be less spicy than I like. I also made Pudina/Mint rice to go with this and will blog about this soon. I also made it a bit more watery than usual, but this was because I was going to eat this with rice. I would make this more thick if I was to eat it with rotis. This would also be an excellent accompaniment to rotis/chapattis/puris/nans.