Gulab Jamun

This is a dessert especially eaten in North India. Gulab Jamuns can be found in various shapes and sizes. The small round ones are the globally accepted ones. If you do not have any trouble eating sugar, this will be a recipe you do not want to miss. It can be easily made at home. The ingredients are readily available from your local supermarket store.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup milk powder of any good brand
2. 1/3 cup cake flour or all purpose flour
3. A pinch of baking powder
4. 2 tablespoon ghee
5. Milk for kneading

For sugar syrup
1. 2 cups sugar

2. 1 cup water
3. Cardamom seeds crushed of 3-4 green cardamoms

Method:-
* Mix the milk powder, cake flour, baking powder, and ghee. Add little milk to make into a medium hard dough.

* Now make into small balls. There should not be any visible cracks in the balls as it will break while frying. Cover it with a damp cloth.

* Heat the oil for frying. Now fry the balls in a low flame. All the sides should equally brown.

* Take a heavy bottomed pan and put in the sugar and water. Heat it and let the sugar dissolve completely in the water. Add the crushed cardamom seeds. Now drop in the made gulab jamuns. The sugar syrup should be made before frying the gulab jamuns, so that they can be instantly dropped into the sugar syrup.

* Sit back and enjoy.

Cauliflower and Potato Masala

This is one of my mother’s recipes. It has a good appetising smell. I remember the days I took this curry with me to my office. My colleagues used to give me their curry and take away mine. They always used to tell me to bring in more of this curry as they loved it a lot.

Ingredients

1. 1 medium Cauliflower cut into florets
2. ¼ cup onions sliced
3. 2 medium potatoes cubed
4. ½ cup yogurt
5. 1 tsp sugar
6. 1 tsp mustard
7. ¼ cup water

For grinding

1. 1 medium onion
2. ¼ bunch coriander leaves
3. 3 green chillies
4. 3 tsp fennel seeds (perumjeerakam)
5. 1 tblsp coriander powder
6. 1tsp. garam masala
7. 3 cardamoms
8. 1 tsp. turmeric
9. 1 inch ginger
10. 5 flakes garlic
11. 2 medium sized tomatoes
12. 1 tsp. chilli powder
13. salt to taste
14. oil

Method

• Heat a little oil in a kadai or heavy bottomed vessel and put in the cauliflower florets, sliced onions and cubed potatoes and sauté it.
• In another vessel, heat two table spoons oil, splutter the mustard seeds and then put in the ground masala and let it cook until the oil separates from the masala.
• Add the yogurt and sugar and mix with the done masala and heat it on low fire for further two minutes.
• Now add the sautéed vegetables and water and let it cook on low fire until the vegetables are cooked thoroughly.
• Serve it with chappatis or rice.

Butter Milk Curry (Moru Kachiathu)

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg double greek yogurt


2. 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder


3. 1/4 tsp chilli powder


4. 1/4 tsp. cumin powder


5. 3 button onions


6. 1 inch sliced ginger


7. 3 gloves garlic


8. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds


9. A pinch of fenugreek seeds (Uluva)


10. 2 dry red chillies cut into smaller pieces


11. salt to taste


12. 1 dsp. oil


13. 3/4 glass cold water

Method:

• Mix turmeric, chilli powder, salt and cumin powder with yogurt and keep it aside.


• Heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.


• Put in the onions, ginger and garlic and slightly brown them.


• Add the curry leaves and pieces of dry red chillies and heat for a minute.


• Now add cold water and then put in the yogurt mix and stir continuously. This should be done on a low fire otherwise it will curdle the yogurt.


• When the mix becomes warm remove from fire and transfer to any clean bowl. If it is kept in the same pot as it was cooked there are chances of curdling.


• Serve it with plain rice.

Fried Turkey

This is a favourite recipe in our house liked by each member of my family. It is very easy to make and turkey is highly nutritious. The nutritional content of turkey is found on http://www.nebraskapoultry.org/turkey_nutrition.htm . The big Pick n' Pay stores in South Africa sell turkey goulash which is easier to cook. There is no hassle of further cutting the meat into smaller pieces. Pick n' Pay cuts it for you and charges you less for the meat than turkey drumsticks. So why not let us put them to work.

Ingredients:

1. 1 kg turkey goulash (cut into small chunks)
2. 1 dsp. coriander powder
3. 1 tsp. chilli powder
4. 1/2 tsp. pepper powder
5. 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
6. 2 dsp. any chicken masala
7. 1 dsp. ginger slices
8. 6 garlic cloves
9. 1/2 cup chopped onions
10. 1/4 cup chopped fresh coconut pieces
11. 1/2 cup oil
12. salt to taste

Method:

• Mix the turkey chunks with all the ingredients except the chicken masala and oil.
• Microwave on high keeping it covered with a microwaveable cover for 15 minutes. Do not add water as turkey gives out its own water.
• Heat the oil and put in the cooked turkey. Add the chicken masala. Let everything roast in the oil until the water is all absorbed and the turkey gives out a nice roasted smell.
• Remove and serve hot with rice.

Fish Cutlet

Ingredients:

1. 3 cans of tuna chunks in brine
2. 2 medium potatoes boiled
3. 1 inch ginger cut into small pieces
4. 2 egg whites
5. 1 tsp chicken masala
6. 1/2 tsp. turmeric
7. 1/2 medium onion cut into small pieces
8. 2 green chillies
9. 100 gms bread crumbs for coating
10. salt as per taste
11. oil for frying

Method:-

• Saute the onions in a little oil until lightly brown.
• Add the ginger and green chillies.
• Drain the brine and add the tuna chunks to the above mixture
• Add the chicken masala and turmeric and mix.
• Mash the boiled potatoes and add it to the fish and the rest of the ingredients and heat it until the mixture is dry.
• Let it cool slightly and then shape into cutlets.
• Whisk the egg white. Dip the cutlets in it and coat it with bread crumbs.
• Heat oil and deep fry the cutlets.
• Serve it with salad.