Nasuha Blog

With the summers comes the stone fruits and I get obsessed with cooking and baking with them. This obsession is not irrational as you just get a few days to enjoy these and then have to wait for an entire year for them to come back. So please bear with the upcoming recipes which will be featuring a lot of stone fruits :)
Made this not so common combination a few days back and it was loved by all in the family. The sweet and tangy plums gives a characteristic flavor to the gravy which goes very well with the spicy mutton. This recipe need both dried plums and fresh plums but if fresh plums are not available, you can add a few teaspoons of lemon juice.The thing that you should always keep in mind while cooking with plums is to add them at the end of cooking. If they are added in between, they make the gravy a bit bitter. Here is how I made this curry.

This recipe goes to the Kitchen Aid Contest organised by IFBM, the first f it's kind, food Blogger's meet that is happening in Bangalore.


All you need is

Oil - 3 tbsp and for frying onions
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Onion - 2 cups ( Finely chopped )
Cloves - 2-3
Black cardamom - 2
Cinnamon stick - 2 inch piece
Black peppercorns - 4-5
Mutton - 500 g
Yogurt - 1\4 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Kashmiri red chili powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1\2 tsp
Salt to taste
Dried plums - 100 g ( I used Del Monte's California prunes )
Fresh plum - 1 ( cut into thick wedges )
Fresh coriander for garnishing


Method of preparation

Coarsely puree the dried plums using a chopped.
Heat 3-4 cups of oil in a heavy bottom pan.
When the oil is hot, add the onion.
Fry the onion till they are golden brown.
Keep stirring in between for uniform browning of onions.
Drain the browned onion on a tissue lined plate.
Transfer the remaining oil in a vessel and keep for future use.
Add 3 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee in a pressure pan.
Add cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon and peppercorn.
Fry for 20 seconds.
Add mutton and fry on high heat till slightly browned. ( approx 5 minutes )
Mix yogurt, ginger garlic paste, fried onions, kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt in a bowl.
Add it in the pressure pan.
Add a cup of water and pressure cook till mutton is done.
Let the pressure pan cool completely.
Open the pan and add the fresh plum wedges and coarsely chopped dried plums.
Adjust the water and let it come to a boil.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Switch off the heat.
Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve hot with rice or Naan.

Dal or lentils are an important part of any Indian meals and as most households, it's made for at least one meal everyday in my home as well. Thankfully there are a variety of lentils to choose from and so it's not boring to eat the same thing each day. I also keep on making variations in the preparation and this time, I added dill leaves to my split red lentils. Dill leaves are high in vitamins and anti oxidants and are also a good source of minerals like calcium, potassium and iron. Adding dill leaves in Dal is also a good way to sneak in the greens in your child's diet, without him making much fuss about it. Here is the simple recipe to make Soya Masoor Dal.


All you need is

Dhuli masoor dal \ Split skinned red lentil - 1 cup
Salt - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1\2 tsp
Dill \ Soya leaves - 1\2 cup ( chopped )
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 4-5 cloves ( chopped )
Cumin \ Zeera seeds - 1\2 tsp
Fenugreek \ Methi seeds - 1\2 tsp
Asafoetida \ Heeng - 1\4 tsp
Dry red chilies-  3-4
Onion - 1\2 cup ( chopped )
Red chili powder - 1\2 tsp
lemon juice - 2 tbsp


Method of preparation

Wash the dal and put it in a pressure cooker.
Add 2 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder and cook till done.
Remove from heat and let the pressure release.
Open the pressure cook.
Add more water till the desired consistency of dal is reached.
Add soya leaves and cook the dal for 2-4 minutes.
Heat ghee in a pan.
When the ghee is hot, add garlic and fry till slightly browned.
Add methi, zeera, heeng and dry red chilies and fry till they splutter.
Add onion and fry till onion is golden brown.
Add this tempering to the cooked dal.
Add lemon juice in the dal.
Serve hot with rice or phulke.

Indo Chinese food has always been a favorite at home and with so many variations which can be done in this cuisine, there is no dearth of recipes to come up with. This sweet and sour vegetables is a very old recipe of mine and I have been making it since a long time. Every time I clean my refrigerator and the half of that red bell pepper or a few of those mushrooms needs to be cooked soon, this recipe comes in handy. Throw in which ever vegetable you have at hand and a few sauces along and you have a delicious meal ready with no effort. This dish gets it's sweet taste from the brown sugar and the sourness comes from the vinegar and lemon juice. Pair it with some steamed rice and trust me you will have a restaurant style Indo Chinese dish to relish in the comfort of your home. Here is how to make this recipe.


All you need is

Red capsicum - 2 ( cut into cubes )
Yellow capsicum - 2 ( cut into cubes )
Green capsicum - 1 ( cut into cubes )
Mushroom - 200 g ( sliced )
Carrot - 2 ( sliced )
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 2 tbsp ( chopped )
Ginger - 1 tbsp ( finely chopped )
Tofu or Paneer - 200 g ( cut into cubes )
Peanuts - 1\4 cup
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Red chili sauce - 2 tbsp
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Brown sugar - 2 tbsp
Red chili paste - 1 tbsp
MSG - 1 tsp ( optional )
Salt to taste
White pepper powder - 1\2 tsp
Cornflour - 2 tbsp
Green onions for garnishing


Method of preparation

Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a wok.
When the oil is very hot, add ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds.
Add the chopped vegetables and saute for a few minutes on high heat.
Add tofu and peanuts.
Add 2 cups of water in the wok.
Add soy sauce, red chili sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar, red chili paste, MSG, salt and white pepper powder and let the mixture come to a boil.
Mix cornflour with a little water and add it in the wok.
Cook till the sauce thickens.
Garnish with spring onion greens.
Serve with either plain rice or Pineapple fried rice as I did. Recipe of Pineapple fried rice coming soon.

These pickles onion or as called in India, Sirke vali pyaz goes very well with any Indian meal. Crunchy, tangy onions dipped in vinegar and salt for a day or two takes the meal to a next level. But now you don't have to wait to go to your favorite restaurant to enjoy these. It's very easy to make at home and gives that same result. Here is the recipe.


All you need is

Pearl onions - 1 cup ( peeled and washed )
White vinegar - 1 cup
Water - 1\2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1\2 tsp


Method of preparation

Take a glass jar.
Add pearl onions in the jar.
Top with vinegar, water, salt and sugar.
Cover the jar and keep it in the refrigerator.
Use the onions after 24 hours.
It can be stored for up to 10 days in refrigerator.

Note

The vinegar mixture can be used again to pickle the onions.
Just add more onions after the previous ones are finished.

Mirchi vada is a traditional Rajasthani snack in which a spicy and tangy potato filling is stuffed inside large green chilies and then the chilies are dipped in a chickpea flour batter and deep fried. The weather in Bangalore is a little gloomy from past few days and to make it a little fun, these vada's were perfect. Here is the recipe.


All you need is

Large green chilies - 7-8
Potatoes - 2-3 ( boiled and peeled )
Oil - 2 tbsp and for frying
Cumin seeds - 1\2 tsp
Heeng \ Asafoetida - 1\4 tsp
Saunf \ Fennel seeds - 1\2 tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- 1\4 tsp
Amchoor\ dry mango powder - 1\2 tsp
Fresh coriander - 1 tbsp ( chopped )
Besan \ chickpea flour - 1 and 1\2 cup
Red chili powder - 1\2 tsp
Baking powder - 1\2 tsp


Method of preparation

Add 2 tbsp oil in a pan.
When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, heeng and fennel seeds.
Add boiled potatoes.
Add salt, turmeric powder, amchoor powder and fresh coriander.
Mash the potatoes and mix with the spices.
Cook for 2 minutes on high heat.
Remove from the pan and cool.

Mix besan, salt to taste and baking powder in a bowl.
Add little water to make a thick batter.
There should be no lumps in the batter.

Make slits in the green chilies.
Remove the seeds carefully without breaking the chilies.
Stuff the chilies with potato mixture.
Coat the chilies with besan batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown from both the sides.
Serve hot with green coriander chutney.