Tag: pune

SINDHI LASAGNA (MANI SEYAL CAKE)

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As the name suggests , todays recipe is of the quintessential breakfast of  sindhi homes.  Down the ages, some innovative home maker thought of using left over rotis in a practical form and came up with this delicious dish. Almost all sindhi homes serve this dish, but in many forms. Seyal maani( chappati) or Seyal dabroti using bread has many different recipes. Green masala paste or an onion based gravy is cooked and either bread or rotis are added to the simmering gravy and allowed to soak up the masala gravy. The normal procedure would be to tear up the chappatis into pieces and add to boiling gravy and cooked till the liquid evaporates , which would be within a few minutes. But, my mother in law made this dish in a unique way and that was stacking the chappatis or bread with the thick gravy between layers and building it up into a layered cake. A little extra effort and a pretty looking dish was ready to be served. Resembling an Italian lasagna but made with fewer ingredients.

Growing up, mummy made this dish once a week for breakfast, mostly on saturdays and was savoured by my grandparents, the plus point being its soft texture which was easy for them to consume. The leftover green paste was stored and very often my mom applied it on a chappati, folded it into a half circle and roasted it on a hot tawa with a little oil till crisp.. a delicious side dish ready in minutes.

Do try out this recipe and enjoy a sindhi dish which does not take long to cook and with all the ingredients easily available in our homes.

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SINDHI LASAGNA OR SEYAL MAANI ( CHAPPATI)

INGREDIENTS

8 LEFTOVER CHAPPATIS

1 CUP CHOPPED CORRIANDER LEAVES

4 CLOVES GARLIC

6 GREEN CHILLIES

2 TOMATOES .. BLEND INTO A PULP

2 TBSPS FINELY CHOPPED GARLIC

1 TBSP LIME JUICE

1 TSP SUGAR

2 TSPS CORRIANDER POWDER

2 TSPS CUMIN SEEDS

1 TSP TURMERIC POWDER

SALT TO TASTE

METHOD

1.. BLEND THE CORRIANDER LEAVES , 4 CLOVES GARLIC AND 6 GREEN CHILLIS INTO A FINE PASTE WITH A LITTLE WATER AND KEEP ASIDE.

2.. HEAT 2 TBSPS OIL AND ADD THE CUMIN SEEDS, NEXT ADD CHOPPED GARLIC AND SAUTE TILL FRAGRANT, NOW ADD THE CORRIANDER POWDER AND TURMERIC POWDER, ALONG WITHE TOMATO PULP AND SALT. COOK FOR A FEW MINUTES. FINALLY ADD THE GREEN PASTE AND COOK FOR JUST 2 MINUTES, ADD LIME JUICE AND SUGAR, MIX WELL AND REMOVE INTO A BOWL.

3.. NOW TAKE A WIDE BOWL AND ADD 1 TBSP OF THE COOKED GREEN MASALA AND ADD HALF CUP OF WATER TO IT.. THIS MIXTURE IS FOR DIPPING THE CHAPPATIS, TO MOISTEN THEM.

4..HEAT ONE TBSP OF OIL IN A PAN, AND ADD 1 TBSP OF THE COOKED MASALA TO IT.

5.. GENTLY DIP ONE CHAPPATI IN THE GREEN WATER MIXTURE, AND PUT IT IMMEDIATELY INTO THE FRYING PAN, APPLY SOME GREEN MASALA ONTO IT AND REPEAT WITH ANOTHER CHAPPATI..MAKE LAYERS WITH MOISTENED CHAPPATIS AND GREEN MASALA , FINISHING WITH GREEN MASALA ON TOP LAYER, ALL THIS SHOULD BE DONE ON LOW HEAT.

6.. COVER AND COOK FOR 5 MINS.

7..SLIDE THE STACK OF CHAPPATIS GENTLY ONTO A SERVING PLATE WITH A FLAT SPATULA AND GARNISH WITH GRATED CHEESE OR CHOPPED CORRIANDER. CUT INTO WEDGES AND SERVE .

 

SARSON(MUSTARD) PANEER AND PEAS WITH CHILLI OIL KULCHA

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This recipe which is a fusion recipe, combines the tanginess of mustard and the smoothness of coconut milk. East India  merges with south India.  Mustard is one the most important spice in Bengali cooking, whole mustard seeds, or paste of mustard seeds are happily incorporated into daily cooking, used liberally to coat fish and wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. I have also used  Panch phoran to temper this dish, panch phoran is a combination of 5 spices,  mustard seeds, onion seeds or kalonji as they are called in hindi, cum20171125_10462320171126_151055in seeds, fenugreek seeds, and fennel seeds are mixed together and used whole to temper the oil in the beginning of the cooking process. The use of mustard oil here imparts a nice nutty flavour. I love using mustard oil , coconut oil or ghee in all my Indian cooking , these oils bring out the true regional flavours of dishes from all over India. The use of coconut milk in this recipe balances out the tartness of mustard and vinegar used.

Paneer, or cottage cheese is so widely used in India, more so in the western, northern and eastern states. We Indians love our paneer in different forms, paneer pakodas, shahi paneer, paneer parathas, paneer bhurji, rosgollas, or kalakhands. Most Indian gatherings or parties will surely have  a paneer dish on their menu. I remember, when my mom magically transformed curdled milk into a delectable sabji, just by adding a paste of green chillies and corriander leaves and some garlic. Paneer has been very subtly introduced into the chindian cuisine in place of tofu, paneer chilli fry and paneer manchurian for example. My love for paneer started with a cold paneer sandwich which was served in Greenfields restaurant in main street way back in the seventies when I was a very young girl, this awesome sandwich had thin slices of paneer sprinkled with only salt and pepper,  sandwiched between 2 slices of white bread, slathered with mayonn20171125_144846aise and topped with crisp lettuce. Sadly, this restaurant shut its doors long ago. Puneites will surely remember this restaurant fondly.

Do try this recipe, and serve it with chilli oil kulchas, recipe of which i will be sharing here.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of diced paneer

1/2 cup of green peas.( I have used frozen peas)

1 big onion, finely chopped

4 green chillies ,finely chopped

5 cloves of garlic. roughly chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, sliced

3/4 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tbsps vinegar

2 + 2 tbsps mustard oil

1/2 cup thick coconut milk

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp paanch phoran

salt to taste

1/4 tsp sugar

PANCH PHORAN..( 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp fennel (saunf) seeds, 1/ 2 tsp fenugreek seeds and 1/2 tsp onion seeds.. mix. Use as required.) In this recipe I have used 1 tsp.

METHOD

1.. Heat 2 tbsps of mustard oil, add the mustard seeds, when the seeds stop crackling, add chopped green chillies, ginger and garlic. saute for a while, shut the gas, and cool this mixture. When it cools down add 2 tbsps of vinegar and grind this mixture to a fine paste. add water if required, keep aside

2. Heat 2 tbsps of mustard oil in a pan, add 1 tsp of paanch phoran and wait till seeds splutter and there is an amazing nutty fragrance in your kitchen, now add chopped onion and saute till light brown, add the paste of green chillies, garlic and ginger. saute for another 5 minutes.

3. Now add the chopped paneer and green peas, season with salt, sugar and turmeric. and add the coconut milk.

4.. Add half a cup of water and cover, cook  till a thick gravy is left. about 5 minutes.

serve garnished with grated cheese and chopped corriander leaves.

 

CHILLI OIL KULCHAS

Ingredients

1 cup flour

100 gms boiled and grated potato

1/4 cup yogurt

1 tbsp chilli oil

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1 tsp shah jeera..(caraway seeds)

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients to form a dough.

Divide into 8 balls and roll out  the kulchas.

Roast each kulcha on a hot tava

Finally brush with chilli oil .