Kitchen tips

Useful Kitchen Tips

So last week has been very busy with work and social commitments which means I spent very less time in kitchen. Haven't visited yet another state to hunt my next dish from the state. Today I sat down to do my weekly blog post as promised and was wondering for a long time about what to write. Finally decided to go with writing a list of handy kitchen tips that I have learnt over the years. I am sure these will be helpful to you.

1) Tired of gooey bhindi? adding a spoon of yogurt to Bhindi while cooking will make it less gooey.
2) Ever experienced curry stains on your clothes? Soak them in water with vinegar and wash after 30 minutes. This should help get rid of the stains. If you spilled curry on carpet? pour lemonade on it and dab with kitchen towel this will help lightening the stain.
3) Having trouble with puris soaking a lot of oil? - try refrigerating dough for 10 - 20 minutes right before making puris - this will yield puffy soft puris with less oil soaked.
4) Made your curry too spicy? - Adding ghee tadka will help reduce the heat in the curry.
5) Having trouble rolling your stuffed parathas? - Add some breadcrumbs to the stuffing and roll them carefully - they will be easier to roll.
6) Enjoy a bowl of popcorn with movie? - Store corn seeds in freezer and pop them while still frozen (Add to vessel straight from freezer) - This will give bigger popcorns and ensure less wastage of seeds
7) Love crispy pakora with your tea? - Add some rice flour to batter - Pakoras will be crispy and less oily
8) Preserve water that you have used to boil vegetables and use it while making curries.
9) Soak almonds in cup of warm water for 15 mins prior to pilling skin off
10) Ever felt frustrated by the time it takes to boil a whole potato? - Try soaking potato in salt water for half an hour prior to baking it in oven.

I will aim to bring you more interesting tips that I have personally tried and have worked for me at regular intervals. Do give me feed back while you read my posts.

Tadka maar ke - Makki ki roti and Sarson ka saag

So as promised this is my second post in series everything in between, This time a plate from Punjab - the land of five rivers. Interestingly this word was derived from Persian words panj meaning five and aab meaning waters. Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab and farming forms a big part of culture, festivals and cuisines in Punjab. Major festivals are celebrated at the times crops are harvested. Some of the festivals Punjabis  celebrate are Lohri, Baishakhi, Maghi, Teeyan etc. When I think of Punjab I remember the scences from a very famous bollywood movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge - beautiful country side, attractive farms , pretty women in their colourful garments and handsome jawans young Punjabi boys ..India at its best!

One day I would love to do a road trip through Punjab to see its beauty through my own eyes. Would love to taste yummy dhaba food which is a speciality in punjab. Punjabi cuisine offers variety of dishes such as Sarso ka saag and makki ki roti,halwa puri, tandoori chicken, naan, paneer dishes. All of these dishes well celebrate locally grown produces and makes Punjabi cuisine one of the popular cuisines of India.

So Sarson ka saag was on my mind last whole weeks when I spotted mustard greens at a vegetable shop. It is bad cold winter in our part of world and I thought Sarson ka saag and Makki roti can be a perfect way to end the cold weekend. And here is my recipe to happy tummy!

Sarson ka saag:

Ingredients

300 gms - Mustard greens - washed and chopped
100 gms - Spinach leaves - Washed and chopped
1 Big onion - Sliced
4 - 5 Cloves Garlic - crushed
4 - 5 Green chillies - cut
1 Medium piece ginger  (2 -3 inch) - grated
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp corn meal
Salt to taste
Lemon juice 2 tsp
1 tbsp Clarified butter
1 tsp Asafetida
2 -3 dry red chillies

Recipe:
Heat olive oil in heavy bottom pan. Once heated add sliced onions, chopped garlic, grates ginger and cut green chillies. Saute til onions are translucent.Add mustard greens and spinach leaves and cook until greens are cooked. Do not cover while cooking (This helps keeping leaves green). Add salt to taste and cornmeal and cook for few more minutes stirring in between. Leave aside and let it cool. Once cooled add into grinder and make a smooth paste (You can keep it half done as well depending on texture you are aiming for) Bring it out in a bowl ready for serve. Add lemon juice and mix well. Heat ghee in a small bowl and add red chillies and asafetida. Spread this over prepared saag and cover it and keep for few minutes before serving.

Makki ki roti:

Ingredients
1.5 cups Corn meal (Makki ka aata)
.75 cups wheat flour (You can mix more as per your preference as it is difficult to roll rotis from corn meal alone)
Salt to taste
1 Table spoon oil.
White makhan/ Ghee/butter for cooking

Method:
In a bowl mix corn meal, wheat flour and salt. Add oil and using warm water knead medium soft dough. Tip is to not leave dough after kneading as it dries out and makes it difficult to roll the rotis. Place tava on gas. Divide the dough in lemon sized portions and start rolling the rotis. It is difficult to roll so you can use two plastic sheets and roll it in between them.Be as gentle as possible and slowly make a round roti. Roll it to thickness as naan bread / bhakhri and gently transfer it to hot tava. Cook it until it is slightly brown and turn over carefully. Cook till half done and apply white makhan / Ghee / butter on both sides and cook until nicely brown on both sides and cooked well through. Can add a dollop of ghee / makhan while serving on makki roti.

Serve Saag and roti with chopped onion salad, pickle and khari lassi (Punjabi flavored butter milk)

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did. Please try recipe and leave me your feed back. See you soon with my next post.