Garam timater ki chutney...Hot tomato chutney

Asalamu alaikum,

Sorry about the long time between posts, I still have a lot to post, but time is in short supply!

So today's is a quick little recipe for timater chutney. We serve this hot as a side dish or some times as a quick midnight snack with roti.

Ingredients-
6-8 medium timater(tomato), diced very small, or you can puree it if you like.
1 tablespoon lesan(garlic) paste
1 tablespoon lal mirch(red chili) powder
namak(salt)to taste
1/3 cup tel(oil)


Step 1-Add the tel to the fry pan and allow to heat up.

Step 2-Add the lesan and fry for about 30 seconds until it starts to brown.

Step 3-Add the timater, and mix well.

Step 4-Add the lal mirch and namak, mix well. Continue frying, you made need to add a quarter cup of water if it starts to stick and burn.
Step 5-Fry until the timater has turned to paste(if not already pureed), and the tel starts to rise to the top. All the water should have dried up.
Garam timater chutney is done. It can be served cold, but is better hot.

Tarbuz ka cheelka salan-Watermelon rind curry

Asalamu alaikum,

This is an interesting recipe, though not one of our more regular dishes. It tastes very similar to loki(bottle gourd) salan when finished. I do like the frugality of it, something normally thrown away turned useful.

Ingredients-
Skin of one tarbuz(watermelon)-roughly a kilo,
3-4 medium timater(tomato), diced
2-3 piyaz(onions), finely sliced
1 tbsp lesan(garlic) paste
1 tbsp adrak(ginger) paste
a 2 inch dal cheeni(cinnamon stick)
8-10 kalli mirch(black peppercorns)
1 bari ellichi(large brown cardamom)
6-8 loung(whole cloves)
1 tbsp lal mirch(red chili powder)
namak(salt) to taste, maybe about a tbsp
1 tsp dhania(coriander) powder
1 tsp haldi(turmeric)
1/4 cup cooking oil


Step 1 Take your tarbuz and cut it into slices as you normally do, then slice the red part off and set aside for dessert. If there is a bit of pink left it doesn't really matter.

Step 2-Remove all the hard, dark green outer skin.
Step 3-Cut the cheelka into little slices, about half an inch by two inches.
Step 4-Gather all you ingredients
Step 5-Add tel to the pot and heat up.
Step 6-Add the piyaz and whole garam masale(loung, ellichi, kali mirch, dal cheeeni)
Step 7-When the piyaz has started to brown, add the adrak and lesan paste.
Step 8 After about 30 seconds, add the timater and all powdered masale(lal mirch, haldi, dhania, namak), and stir well. Fry until the tel starts to rise to the surface, stir often to prevent burning.

Step 9-Add the cheelka.
Step 10- Add half a cup water, not too much because the cheelka will release water as it cooks.
Step 11-Cover and cook on a low heat stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
Cook until the cheelka are easily pierced with a fork, and most of the water has dried up.
Serve as a side dish, with rotis.

Kerela aur keema...Bitter gourd and ground beef

Asalamu Alaikum,

Kerela aur keema is a favorite dish in our house, and it does not take too long to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 kilo Keema(ground beef), thoroughly washed and drained.
4-5 medium Kerela(bitter gourd)
3 medium piyaz(onion), finely sliced
3-4 medium timater(tomatoes), diced
1-2 tablespoons lesan(garlic) paste
1-2 tablespoons adrak(ginger) paste
6-8 hari mirch(green chilies), cut into one inch pieces
1 2" stick dal cheeni(cinnamon)
6-8 whole kali mirch(black peppercorns)
1 bari ellichi(black cardamom)
6-8 loung(cloves)
1 tablespoon lal mirch(red chili powder)
1 tablespoon or to taste namak(salt)
1 teaspoon haldi(turmeric)
1 teaspoon dhania(coriander powder)
1/4 to 1/3 cup tel(cooking oil)
Also-a karahi(like a wok) with enough tel(oil) for frying.


Step 1-After washing, use a knife to scrape the outside of the kerela to remove the skin/bumps, also remove the ends.
They will look kind of like this, cut them into slices about a quarter of an inch thick.

Step 2- In your karahi, deep fry the sliced kerela until they start to turn light brown.
Step 3-Remove from the oil and drain in a colander, or on some paper towels.

Step 4- In a pot add 1/4 cup tel, and start to fry the piyaz and the whole garam masale(ellichi, dal cheeni, loung, kali mirch) until the onions start to brown. Then add the adrak and lesan and fry another 30 seconds.
Step 5- Add the timater, lal mirch, namak, dhania, and haldi, and stir well.
Step 6-Continue frying, stirring often, until the tel rises to the top.
Step 7- Add the keema, and fry for 5-10 minutes to brown, stirring often.
Step 8-Cover and cook on low to medium until the keema is well done, you may wish to add a half cup of water.
Step 9-When the keema is well cooked add the fried kerela, and mix well. Cover again and cook another 10-15 minutes stirring often.
Serve with rotis, as a side or main dish.

Fried Hari Mirch...Fried Green Chilies

Asalamu Alaikum,

Fried hari mirch are a tasty, quick condiment/side dish. We usually eat them with dishes that are plain like kitchery, or dals with rice. Normally in our cooking we use the very skinny hari mirch as they are hotter than the other types, but for this you should use the fatter types of chilies. The ones we used are about as fat as a thumb and 3-4 inches long.

Ingredients-
9 hari mirch(green chilies)
1 TBSP namak(salt, this is totally optional)
3-4 TBSP zeera(cumin seeds)
tel(oil)-for frying

Step 1-Mix the zeera and the namak in a bowl. If you do not want to use the namak you don't have to, but we prefer it.

Step 2-Wash your mirch and patting to dry.

Step 3-Make a slit down one side of the chili to make a little pocket. You can take out the seeds if you like, we don't.
Step 4-Stuff a large spoon of the namak/zeera mix into each chili

Step 5-Add tel to the frying pan, and let heat a little.
Step 6-Carefully add each mirch to the oil, I use a chimta(tongs) to avoid splatters.
Step 7-Fry the mirches, rotating until they turn a medium brown all over.

Now your mirches are ready to add a bit of spice to a plain meal.

keema aur aloo...Ground beef and potatoes

Asalamu alaikum,

Keema aloo is a tasty main dish. It is similar in taste to Aloo gosht, but without the soup, and a little quicker to cook.

Ingredients:
1 kilo Keema(ground beef), thoroughly washed and drained.
6 medium Aloo(potatoes), cubed
3 medium piyaz(onion), finely sliced
3-4 medium timater(tomatoes), diced
1-2 tablespoons lesan(garlic) paste
1-2 tablespoons adrak(ginger) paste
6-8 hari mirch(green chilies), cut into one inch pieces
1 2" stick dal cheeni(cinnamon)
6-8 whole kali mirch(black peppercorns)
1 bari ellichi(black cardamom)
6-8 loung(cloves)
1 tablespoon lal mirch(red chili powder)
1 tablespoon or to taste namak(salt)
1 teaspoon haldi(turmeric)
1 teaspoon dhania(coriander powder)
1/4 to 1/3 cup tel(cooking oil)
2-3 tablespoons ghee(clarified butter)-this is optional and sometimes I don't use it in this recipe)

Step 1-Add the tel to the pot, then the piyaz.
Step 2-When the piyaz have turned golden brown, add the adrak and lesan paste, fry for 20-30 seconds.
Step 3-Add the timater to the pot.
Step 4- Add the lal mirch, namak, haldi, and dhania, mix well.
Step 5-Fry until the tel rises to the top, if you are using ghee then add it at this point.
Step 6-Add the keema.
Step 7- Fry the keema, stirring often, for 6-8 minutes to brown it a bit.
Step 8-Add the aloo, stir well.
Step 9-Add one glass pani, stir well.
Step 10-Cover and cook on a low to medium heat until the keema is thoroughly cooked and the aloo is just about done.
Step 11-Add the hari mirch, stir, cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, or more to cook off any excess pani. It should not be too soupy.

Serve with rotis.