Tag: comfortfood

Fusion Baked Truffle Khichdi.

main meal

FUSION BAKED TRUFFLE KHICHDI.

A very very simple comfort soul food.
Khichdi am sure is popular in all Indian homes. This khichdi barely uses any spices. Using truffle oil is the ultimate here. Lately in many Indian weddings, this has been a part of the menu. And truffle with anything is my favourite, be it pasta, be it french fries. 😊 today had these fresh shitake myshrooms so was tempted to make a fusion sort of a khichdi with them plus other vegs.
Do try this pantry friendly , humble khichdi which has amazing flavours.
I wish I had the fresh truffle which I could grate and add, but made do with the equally good flavoured truffle oil that I had

INGREDIENTS
Wash and soak together for an hour.
1/2 cup rice
1/4 cup yellow moong dal
1/4 cup toovar dal

Other ingredients.
1/2 cup finely chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh shitake mushroom( or any other mushrooms)
1/2 cup finely chopped french beans
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots.
2 sprigs curry pata..finely chop only the leaves .
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder.

Salt to taste
1 tsp mushroom seasoning or any vegetarian flavour( maggie cube or something)

For topping
Fresh mint leaves
Finely chopped corriander leaves
Fried onions.
Grated cheese as needed
Some sugar
Truffle oil or grated truffle..here I used the oil spray.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker or saucepan.
Add mustard seeds, cumin, When seeds crackle, add chopped curry leaves and some kotmir to the oil. Now add the garlic, saute till light golden. Add all the vegetables, salt, mushroom seasoning, turmeric, rice, dal and about 3 cups of water. Cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
Once the lid can be opened, churn a little with a wooden churner. Add about 2 tsps of truffle oil. But let the khichdi be not too smooth, leave it with a bite to it.

Put in a baking dish.
Sprinkle a bit of sugar all over the surface..just a bit, and it melts slightly for that slight upgrade in taste.
Top with grated cheese and spray truffle oil. Just grill for few minutes only till cheese melts.( you can even microwave it till cheese melts…normally 1 to 2 minutes.)
Top with corriander leaves, mint leaves and fried onions and a squirt of lime juice.

Enjoy.
I served with crispy karela and papadum, fried fish and pan fried potatoes.

AUR JI BHAJI..SINDHI STYLE.

main meal

Aur ji Bhaji ( sindhi style)

This recipe , is of  a delicious stew made sindhi style. A  very very simple and easy recipe.
Today I was craving this, so made it. Aur( rai, mustard seeds ) imparts a very good flavour to this dish , hence the name. Feel free to use any vegetables in this preparation. Though I like using the basic, potato, carrot, french beans, whole shallots and wadi. Here I would like to point out that we don’t get wadi in Jakarta,  and though I can bring them from India, am not really fond of the dry wadis. So since years I have been  making fresh moong dal  kachoris and adding  to the stew at the last moment just before serving.
Now about Authentic recipes. Normally an AUR JI bhaji, will be differently cooked in different houses, there are sindhis who don’t use any tomatoes in the preparation and there are some like me who grew up eating this dish based on a tomato gravy. Have tried making both ways and both ways are delicious. So I cannot really say which of the 2 is authentic. 
Today I will share the tomato based aur ji bhaji.
You can serve this with rice or with phulkas. I love eating this with chapati torn in pieces and added to a bowl of aur ji bhaji..yummm.

Soak 1/4 cup dhuli hui moong dal for 2 hours, drain and grind with minimum water, add a piece of ginger and 1 green chillie while grinding. Season with salt. Mix  well.

Fry teaspoons of the mixture to get about 16 fresh wadi/ kachori.Keep aside.

Blanch 2 tomatoes, discard the skin.
Put in a mixer jar along with one roughly cut tomato.and a small piece of ginger.
Grind and strain the juice. Discard seeds.

Put tomato puree in a sauce pan, add about 3 cups of water, and vegetables.
1 carrot cut into batons
1 peeled and cut potato
About 15 peeled shallots
4 french beans(  cut each into 3 or 4)
Bring to a rolling boil.
Add 1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsps red chillie powder.
Salt to taste.
Once vegetables are tender, add a slurry of wheatflour.  Till the gravy is thick.
( 1 used about 1.5 tbsps in 1/2 cup of water).
Add freshly cut corriander leaves and let simmer while we make the tadka.

Heat 2.5 tbsps of oil in a small pan
Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/4 tsp hing
2 sprigs of tender curry leaves
1.5  heaped tbsp of finely minced garlic

Saute till fragrant, add to simmering gravy. Done.

To serve..
Add few kachoris in a bowl and pour hot gravy over them. Enjoy

FUYUNGHAI aka fried vegetable omelette

main meal, snacks

FUYUNGHAI

This super easy egg dish is probably known to most of us. Probably invented by some innovative house wife who wanted to use up the vegetables and meat in her refrigerator. 😊
Very easy to make and comes together very quickly.
There is no hard and fast rule to make this, but its good to follow some guidelines. Its a basic Fried Egg omelette with some vegetables and protein tossed in, and some flour to bind it all together.
This dish is almost on all menus in old fashioned chinese restaurants in Jakarta. Here it is served with a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Fried till the outside of fuyunghai is crisp while the inside is soft . It is normally served with white rice. Do try this recipe😊

1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
1/3 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions
100 gms very finely minced chicken
50 gms prawns minced.
3 eggs
4 heaped tbsps cornflour
2 heaped tbsp flour..maida.
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp chicken seasoning..
1 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp msg or sugar.
( I added finely chopped bird eye chillies for an extra punch)

Mix all this together in a bowl.

Heat about 400ml of oil in a wok or frying pan. On medium heat, pour in half the egg batter, Keep splashing oil on it( as we do for Poories) .let cook on one side till crisp, gently turn over and fry till crisp. ( used two spatulas to do it gently).

Put into a platter, cut into wedges or squares.
Pour hot sauce on it.
Serve with rice for a complete meal or just as a starter.

Sauce..
Blanch 3 tomatoes
Blend in a mixer, and strain.

Now heat about 2 tbsps of butter.
Add 1 sliced onion
2 tsps minced garlic
Add 2 tsps sugar
And saute till onions become limp.
Add about 1/3 cup boiled green peas( I used frozen).
Pour in the tomatoes puree, season with , salt to taste, 1/2 tsp pepper.
Add about 2 tbsps of tomato ketchup.
1/4 cup water. Now add 1 tsp of vinegar.
Check seasoning and add some cornflour slurry to slightly thicken the sauce. The sauce shd be sweet and sour, so please adjust seasoning.

This Recipe is for 2 Fuyunghai.
Enough for 4 ppl people.😊

Sindhi fish kok

main meal
Sindhi style machi/fish kok

Maachi kok or fish kok, is a sindhi style of cooking fish. Normally only HILSA/ ILISH fish is cooked in this way… we sindhis call Hilsa as PALLO. Here in jakarta its difficult to get pallo aka hilsa. And frankly I prefer using boneless fish fillets with skin on. . As pallo has too many fine  bones. But its a easy recipe. .Do try this and have it with khichdi rice or sindhi phulko( chapati). Its a tangy and spicy dish which does not take long to make. I  have also made Paneer using the same recipe. KOK over here means uncooked onion tomato marination. Cooked while pan steaming.
Long before Partition,  buying Pallo fish was an elaborate affair, and the River Indus in Sindh gave a huge bounty of  these fish , especially during the monsoons. Our men  ancestors would buy pallo on sundays and this was cooked by the womenfolk , mostly for lunch only, to be enjoyed leisurely.
I have seen my mom preparing this kok pallo on many a sundays, for my grandparents or when we had special guests. She would cook this on a special tawa we had ( before the advent of  non stick pans).
On a sigdi( coal flame).
Just before serving she would heat up some brandy in a deep  hot metal  spoon,  flambe it, and pour over the fish..😊( mind you, this was for special guests).
My mom cooked andaz se, is a vegetarian but she could cook super tasty non veg.

200 gms Carp fillet ( Gurame)with skin or any other river fish. Gurame is a fresh water fish.
( I tried using red snapper, which is a salt water fish, but sadly it became too dry.)
Lightly salt it and keep aside for few mins, rinse and pat dry.

In a bowl, add
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 red tomato finely chopped
1 or 2 chopped green chillies
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger.
1 tsp corriander seed powder
1/4 tsp Amchoor
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chillie powder
Salt to taste…I used 1 tsp.
2 tbsps yogurt.

Mix this together using your hand, giving the ingredients a good massage. ( can use gloves)
Lastly add about 1/4 cup finely chopped corriander leaves.
Keep aside.

Back to the fish.
Heat 2 to 3 tbsps of oil in a non stick pan.
Slip in the fish, skin side down
Cook on both sides till 50 percent done.
Remove in a plate and apply the masala generously on the white part.

Slip the fish back in, skin side down.
Cover and cook on low heat for 10 mins.
The steam will cook the masala and fish.

Done. Sprinkle corriander leaves.

Serve hot.

This same masala can be used for making Paneer kok.
Shared some photos in comments section.

Paneer kok

Capcai ( chaap chai)

main meal

CAPCHAI
Pronounced.. chaap chai.

This is a simple stew, which we eat regularly at home. Especially when we have been eating out a lot. A very simple healthy non spicy dish which is really tasty.
Have it accompanied with egg fried rice to make a one dish meal. A very forgiving dish, which makes use of a lot of vegetables…( good way to clear out your fridge.😊)
You can make it vegetarian, or add chicken, or prawns.  Just make sure to cut the vegetables at a slant. So they can cook evenly and fast.

3 options to have this dish.
1.. Poured over fried rice.
2.. Poured over a mix of boiled noodles and deep fried boiled noodles.( also called IFUMIE) similar to chopsuey.
3. Poured over fried or steamed wontons( including a picture in comments.)

Just make sure its made on a high flame. And try to make  it near serving time, so the vegetables look fresh and not limp. Vegetables  should have a crunch..

1 carrot..peeled, sliced at a slant .
1 potato , peeled , quartered and sliced  at a slant.
4 baby corn, sliced at a slant.
1/2 cup of broccoli flowerlettes .. soaked in salted water.
1/2 cup pakchoi or mustard greens roughly chopped.
10 snappeas…baby sweetpeas whole.
1 big dry shitake mushroom ( boil in water untill soft).. then sliced.( retain about 1 cup of the water)
1 onion cut into big cubes
1 bell pepper..green or red or yellow, cut into big cubes.
1/2 cup quartered mushrooms( fresh or tinned)
1/2 cup chinese cabbage roughly chopped.
OPTIONAL…I ADDED SILKEN TOFU.
2 to 3 tbsps vegetarian oyster sauce.
2 tbsps sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper powder
Salt to taste.
1 tsp mushroom seasoning or MSG.
About 2 heaped tbsps cornflour mixed with some water to make a slurry..use as required.

To be ground to a paste..
3 seedless red chillies
6 garlic pods
1 inch piece of ginger.

Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan and add the paste. Saute till fragrant and add the white pepper and salt.
Now add carrots, potato, corn, mushrooms and mix. ( IF ADDING CHICKEN , ADD NOW, BONELESS CUBED )

Add  3 cups of HOT WATER.( including reserved water from shitake mushrooms)
Let the vegetables boil for about 5 mins, and add the oyster sauce, sesame oil, msg.
Now add onions, bell pepper, snap peas, chinese cabbage , pok choi, and broccoli.

Bring to a rolling boil for few mins only. 
Now add enough cornflour slurry to thicken the stew. Check seasoning and serve immediately.


BUBUR KACANG IJO/ MUNG BEANS PORRIDGE

dessert

BUBUR KACANG IJO.

A very close cousin to our desi Payasam, this bubur( porridge) is made with green moong dal aka Kacang ijo( pronounced KA-CHANG).
Here in Indonesia Buburs are very popular, and made  with lot of pantry friendly ingredients..such as rajma, green beans, banana, glutinous rice, coconut etc. These are mainly made or sold for breakfast and tea time.
Todays recipe uses ginger as a flavouring as well as for healing and warmth.
Ginger is used alot in teas and buburs to aid in digestion and for warmth.
Have this warm and relish it. Soothing and delicious.  Perfect in the awesome rainy weather in India.

1 cup green moong beans soaked overnight or minimum 6 hours.
2 pandan leaves knotted or use 4 cloves.
100 gms ginger…peeled and bashed in big chunks.
1/2 tsp salt.
250 gms jaggery.( chopped or grated)
3 tbsps white sugar ..if required.( I used, as it yin to the yan of jaggery)😊
200 gms thick  coconut milk( I used a tetra pack)
100 ml water for coconut sauce.

Rinse the soaked moong dal
Add to a pan along with bashed ginger and pandan leaves.
Cover with enough water and boil  till soft and mushy.
( I boiled for 3 whistles in a pressure cooker)

Meantime take the jaggery in a pan and add 1/4 cup water. Boil till dissolved, and strain, to remove impurities.

Now take the cooked moong beans, another 2 cups of water, salt , jaggery water in a pan and cook further till it becomes thick. Keep aside.
To make the coconut sauce topping,
Put 200 ml thick coconut in a saucepan, add about 100ml water, a knotted pandan leaf( or 1/2 tsp vanila essence)  1/4 tsp salt.
Simmer on a low flame for 10 mins. Remove in a bowl.

To serve..
Put some warm  bubur in a bowl, top with 1 or 2 tablespoons of coconut milk..

No sugar is added to coconut sauce.
This helps in balancing the sweetness of bubur.😊



SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN / CARDAMOM CHICKEN.

main meal

SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN.

Today’s recipe is SINDHI PHOTE BHUGO CHICKEN, cardamon/Elaichi chicken.
After someone asked me for an authentic sindhi recipe for phote bhuga TEEVARN( mutton), I went straight to the source of my sindhi recipes, MY MOTHER. While I was on a short trip to India. Sadly Mom’s health has detoriated as well as her memory. But she immediately could recall this recipe, and told me. In fact I asked her if we could add tomatoes, she said not at all.😊 so this recipe is more like a stew with a strong cardamon flavour and peppery undertones.A very light on the tummy dish.

Memories of my mom making this super fragrant dish( phote bugo teevarn) on sundays for my grandparents are so clear. My mom is a masterchef of sindhi delicacies, but sadly cannot cook any longer at the grand age of 90. But I am so thankful to have learnt most of my sindhi cooking from her.

Pls try it and have this accompanied by parathas and tawa toasted bread. The simplicity of this dish is what makes it so special.
The last time I made it was years ago for my mother in law , but with mushrooms. ( vegetarians please note).

500 gms chicken with bone( 6 good size pieces) make slashes on the chicken.
2 tsps of freshly ground cardamon with skin
4 to 5 whole cardamons..lightly bashed.
2 tsps freshly ground black pepper.
1 tsp shah jeera
1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
1/4 tsp garam masala
1.5 tsps salt.
3 cups water.
Finely cut corriander leaves with stems.
3 tbsps oil
2 tbsps Wheat flour mixed with 1/2 cup cold water.
( DO NOT USE CORNFLOUR).
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, and add the shah jeera, whole cardamons and the powdered cardamom. After a few seconds add the chicken and start sauting for at least 10 mins. The cardamom will start sticking to the chicken, keep going. Now add the corriander leaves, black pepper powder, turmeric and salt, mix for another 5 mins. The combined flavours of corriander, pepper and cardamom are amazing. Add the water and close lid. After 3 whistles, shut the flame and let the cooker cool down.
Open the lid and bring the chicken to a boil. Add the wheat flour slurry and simmer for a few more minutes.
Serve hot, sprinkled with black pepper and corriander.
Serve with parathas, and tawa toasted bread.or pao.

Sup oyong bakso ayam/ Ridgegourd/ Turaiya chicken noodle soup.

main meal

Sup Oyong Bakso Ayam
( Turaiya/Ridgegourd chicken noodle soup)
This is one of the best ways to eat this lovely vegetable. Adding Ridgegourd to soup gives it a silken texture and surprisingly it enhances the taste.
One of our favourite soups at home. Especially on a Rainy night.  Indonesians are not familiar with cooking Turaiya in a sabji form. Its mostly made this way in a soup. Do try this soup, which is very very easy  to make and a delight to have. A meal in a bowl I love Turaiya in any form, be it the aisi turiyuoon ji bhaji which my mother made often when we were young or even the phota bhuga turi which my mother in law gave me during child birth.😊

For the bakso ayam
Chicken dumplings
Blend 200 gms of boneless chicken with
2 pods garlic
2 egg whites
1 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornflour.
2 tbsp spring onion..finely chopped
1 tbsp  celery …finely chopped.

Make tiny balls with the help of 1 tsp.
Keep dipping the spoon in a small bowl of water.
Keep the chicken balls ready.

Soak about 70 gms of glass noodles in hot water. For 10 mins..drain and keep ready.

Take 2 Ridgegourds ..try to take the ones without seeds .
Peel and cut into round chunks. Not too thin, and not too thick…keep ready.
Blanch 1 bowl of moong bean sprouts in hot water , strain and keep ready( I used toge)

For the soup.
Grind 6 shallots, 3 garlic pods with a mortar and pestle. Make a paste.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add onion garlic paste, and 1 tsp of white pepper powder.
Saute till fragrant.
Ad 5 cups of hot water( better if you have chicken stock) I used stock. and bring to a boil.
Add the chicken balls .
Add 1 tbsp chicken sesoning or 2 cubes of knorr . I used royco.
Let the soup come to a rolling boil.
Add 1 tbsp of sesame oil.
Add  the ridgegourd / turai/ oyong.
Give a final simmer for 5 mins and take off the fire.

To assemble..
Put some glass noodles in a bowl, add blanched bean sprouts, and laddle the soup into the bowl.
Top with fried onion and chopped spring onion. And a healthy squirt of lime juice.
Serve with chilli sauce. I used fresh home made  sambal..

MACKEREL IN SPICY CHILLI SAUCE WITH STINK BEANS( Ikan kembung samal pete).

main meal

IKAN KEMBUNG SAMBAL PETE.
( MACKEREL IN SPICY CHILLI SAUCE WITH STINK BEANS)
Stink beans, bitter beans , twisted cluster beansthe names are  enough to put people off. BUT, wait, these beans are so called bcoz of their distinct taste and odour,( A bit strong, but similar to raw asparagus which I admit is an acquired taste.) The bean it self has a buttery bite to it. And the beans healing properties are many. They are very good in cleansing the kidneys., so don’t shy away…do try them Very very popular here in Indonesia. Petai( pronounced  Ptai) is mostly added to sambals or served as a side dish with rice, fish, chicken etc. Its truely delicious. Its normally just added in the last stage of cooking or eaten fried.
In India Its called YONGCHAK, ( I googled this, and saw its found in MANIPUR.) Pls do enlighten me if you know more about this in India.
Normally a single stalk will have about 10 to 12 beans, the outer covering is disposed and the beans are used.Every vegetable vendor who passes around will surely have many petai hanging on his cart.
These bright green beans surely brighten up a dish.
Ikan kembung is a distant cousin of the mackerel. Its not very fleshy, and has many tiny bones. But it fries very well and tasty to eat. Use any other fish if you want. Its the sambal which is so tasty..spicy, a little sweet and slightly tangy. Do try this recipe. Photo was a bit difficult to take..pls excuse the photography.

500 gms of ikan Kembung( chubb mackerel)..Make slits over the fish.
Wash well, rub lime juice and salt over it and let sit for half an hour.
Next rub some corriander powder and turmeric into the fish
Heat some oil in a pan and deep fry the fish till crispy…( you can cover while frying to avoid spluttering.
Keep the fish in a serving dish.

Sambal.( 1st step grinding)
7 red chillies
5 bird eye chillies
6 shallots
3 garlic pods
1 tsp salt
50 ml or 3 tbsps water.
Blend all this .keep asaide.

Step 2.
Heat 6 tbsps oil in a pan
Add the blended paste, 1 stalk of  lemongrass( slit and bashed), 3 torn kaffir lime leaves
Cook this till oil seperates.
Now add
10 whole bird eye chillies
1 big tomato sliced
1 tbsp jaggery or brown sugar
1/2 tsp sugar
50 ml or 3 tbsps water.
Also add the Petai( remove from stalk, and remove the white membrane, slit the green beans into 2)

Now cook all this for 10 mins till the beans lose thier rawness.
To assemble.
Put the fish in a platter, and pour the sambal on top of the fish, garnish with cucumber and thai basil.
Eat with hot white rice and some stirfry vegetables.
Have shared some photos in the comment section.

Egg chicken rolls

snacks

CHICKEN EGG ROLLS OR AYAM GULUNG DADAR TELOR.

This very simple , light and tasty snack comes together very very quickly.  Basically minced chicken is applied on a thin omelette and rolled , steamed and then panfried after cutting.
A no fuss recipe to make and eat😊
Please do try making this.

1st step
Beat 3 eggs lightly and season with salt and pepper.
Prepare 3 thin omelettes and keep aside.

# just cook lightly, don’t overcook the omelettes.

2nd step.
Put 200 gms of boneless chicken in a food processor.
Add 1 spring onion finely chopped
1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
2 tsps sesame oil
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 tsp salt.
1 tsp mushroom seasoning or 1/4 tsp msg.
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Run the mixer till chicken is minced well.
Add 1 egg, and run the mixer once more.
Remove into a bowl.

3rd step
Take one omelette, apply 1/3rd of the chicken paste evenly all over the surface.
Roll gently.
Repeat for all 3 omelettes.
Keep the rolls in a hot steamer, seam side down, and steam for 15 mins.

4th step.
Cut the rolls at a slant to get oval pieces.
Dip all the cut pieces into cornflour.
Dust off excess cornflour.
Heat a frying pan and add about 5 to 6 tbsps of oil.
Heat oil, and add the egg chicken roll  pieces.
Pan fry till golden.
Serve hot, with a sauce of your choice.