Tadka Wala Dahi (Seasoned Yohgurt)

Ingredients:

2 Cup Plain Dahi (Yogurt)
1tsp Cumin (jeera) seeds
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
salt and sugar to taste
Red chili powder to taste (Kashmirilal)
Finely chopped coriander leaves
3-4 curry leaves
1 red chilly (sukha mirch)
one finely chopped green chilly (if you want some pungent taste)
dhania-jeera powder to taste
1/4 tbsp oil

Instructions:

1. Blend the yoghurt lightly using a hand blender. I use my hands. Mix the spices, sugar and salt while blending.
2. Heat the oil in a tadka pan.
3. Add the mustard and cummin seeds along with one sukha mirch and a few curry leaves. Allow the mustard seeds to sizzle and crackle.
4. Take the pan off from the heat.
8. Pour this mixture on the yoghurt.
9. Garnish it with chopped coriander and chopped chillies.

Health Benefits: An excellent source of easily-absorbed calcium . But it is always better to make curd at home. You will get the maximum beneficial bacteria from a home made curd.

Rui Maacher Jhol!

This one is straight from my kitchen....

Ingredients:

Rui ( Rohu) maach fillets (6), scales removed and washed.
Potato ( I big sized)
Onions ( 2 medium sized)
Tomato ( 1 medium sized)
Green chillies (4)
Black cumin seeds (kalojeera) for tempering
dhania powder( 1/2 teaspoon)
Jeera powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Haldi powder (1/2 teaspoon)
Garam masala (1/4 teaspoon)
Cilantro leaves
ginger paste (1/2 spoon)
Salt to taste
Mustard oil ( 6 spoons)

Preparation Time : 30 mins.
Serves : 4-5 people.

Method:

1. First, marinate the fish pieces with a pinch of salt and turmeric. Add few drops of mustard oil while marinating.
2. Heat Mustard oil in a kadhai.
3. Shallow fry the fish pieces .
4. Slice potatoes longitudinally ( wider than the size of finger chips).
5. Shallow fry potatos and keep aside.
6. Peel and cut onions in slices.
7. Slit green chillies.
8. Cut tomatoes in cubes or any desired shape.
9. Heat mustard oil. Let it fume.
10. Add kalojeera, wait for two minutes till they pop, add sliced onions, tomatos, green chillies, sute until the onions turn golden brown.
11. Add jeera, dhania & haldi powder, ginger paste, and cook the masala for sometime in low flame. You could add 1/ cuyp warm water at this stage for the masala to cook well.
12. Add the fried potatos.
13. Keep stirring the ingredients, until oil separates from the masala. Now add 6 cups of warm water to the masala, allow it to boil.
14. Once potatos are cooked, add the fish pieces.
15. Lower flame, cover the kadai with a lid and cook for some more time, till the gravy gains consistency.
16. Add salt according to taste.
17. You may garnish with garam masala or cilantro leaves.

There you go..rui maacher jhol is ready to be served with steamed rice! Try it, am sure you will love it. I just made the same stuff for dinner tonight.

Health Benefits:

Fish Curry cooked in this way has all the goodness of Indian ground spices, jeera , dhania, haldi, ginger, with each having its own benefits. Cilantro is rich in proteins. Green chillies are a rich source of vitamin C. They are also known to release stress release hormones (endorphins) in the body.Onions and tomatos offer antioxidant benefits. Kalojeera prevents indigestion.

Tip:

To take care of any excess salt in a dish, add a cube of raw potato or, add two spoons of strained curd to the gravy.

Easy to cook Indian recipes...

Was barely in the tenth standard, when I started trying Sanjiv Kapoor's recipes. Yummy!Everybody else wanted me to focus on my board exams for obvious reasons. But I would hardly miss Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe show, Khana Khazana on Zee TV , even at the cost of missing my lessons. Must admit, he is my all time guru, as far as Indian cuisine is concerned.

My passion for cooking grew with time. After schooling, I yearned for a career in hotel management. I loved the 'sciences' too. Parents favoured the 'sciences'. That meant I took up the 'sciences' at college, then some diploma in computers , and business management thereafter. Soon worklife followed.

Down the years, I did garner an intimate association with Indian cuisine.

Do you believe the adage ' the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?' Now, married for three years...i often feel so.

This blog will offer a wide assortment of healthy, easy to cook, delicious, Indian recipes. Good news for everyone, you have stopped at the right blog. Cooking is sure to become a delightful and easy experience for you.

Thought of the day: Eat Healthy, Think Better!