[rohanjf]

I always wanted to prepare atta ka halwa (wheat flour halwa). But I felt too lazy to peel the cardomom and pound the seeds. Then an idea struck me. I pulverised whole cardomom pods with sugar in the chutney jar of my mixer.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup wheat flour (not maida)
0.5 cup clarified butter (ghee)
1 cup sugar
10 green cardomom pods
3 cups boiling water

Steps:
1. keep water for boiling
2. blend the sugar and cardmom pods to a fine powder
3. heat ghee in a large pan
4. add wheat flour and stir well until the wheat flour looks like a coarse powder
5. add sugar and cardomom mix
6. add 1/3rd of the water and stir rapidly till the water is absorbed
7. repeat with remaining water, 2 times

My wife said my halwa tastes as good as what her mother makes :-D

[carboy]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

I always wanted to prepare atta ka halwa (wheat flour halwa). But I felt too lazy to peel the cardomom and pound the seeds. Then an idea struck me. I pulverised whole cardomom pods with sugar in the chutney jar of my mixer.

Ingredients:
1.5 cup wheat flour (not maida)

Just for purpose of clarity, when referring to 'atta', it's always better to write 'whole wheat flour' because 'wheat flour' is the common term for 'maida'.

Whenever readymade food or snack mentions "wheat flour" in the list of ingredients, it's safe to assume it's maida, because 'atta' is always referred to as 'whole wheat flour'.

[bblost]

Was home alone last night and had some time to kill.

In a Pressure Pan.
Fried some chopped onions in oil till they went translucent and then added some ginger garlic paste.
Once the raw smell was gone added some mutton.

Cooked it till the oil separated from the mutton.
Added a paste made of "pudina+green chilli+garlic+black pepper".

Cooked a little and then added water.

Pressure cooked it for sometime.

Went very well with roti's.

[rohanjf]

We usually throw away the stems of a cauliflower. Yesterday I made a chutney from the stems.

Steps:
- In chutney jar of the mixer, add a little water and a small lump of tamarind pulp. Let it soak until the rest of the steps are done (if you are adding readymade tamarind paste, soaking is not necessary).
- Trim the stems of a small cauliflower to remove all the leaves. Julienne the stems.
- Heat oil in a pan and add 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon cumin and two teaspoons sesame
- Add julienned cauliflower stems and salt. Stir fry for 5 minutes
- Add the mixture into chutney jar.
- Add two de-seeded green chillies in the chutney jar (or with seeds - if you want it hot)
- blend

Goes well with dosa or even tawa roti.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by rohanjf

... stems of a cauliflower. ...

Inspiring - must try this sometime. And I used to think I am the only deviant who eats them!

I make this once every few months to satisfy tamasik urges:

1. Wash the cauliflower stems and coarsely chop them up

2. Cut some potatoes into length-wise wedges

3. Sputter the seasoning (mustard, jeera, methi, kalonji, saunf) in mustard oil

4. Fry the potatoes and then the c. stems in this oil till the aroma of fried cauliflower emerges

5. Add generous quantity of crushed garlic, chopped onions and chopped ginger. Stir and fry till the raw smell goes away

6. Cut a couple of tomatoes and crush them into the mix

7. Sprinkle turmeric powder and chilly powder (or chopped green chillies instead). Season with salt and a tsp of sugar. Sprinkle a little water, cover and simmer till done.

Goes well with rice or chapatties.

Question: How does one cook dried fish / shrimp / prawns without nauseating neighbors?

[Sheel]

Had a nice Iftaar at a friend's place some days back. There was Mutton, 3 different varieties of local fish, country rooster (in gravy) and poultry chicken as fried.

As ignorant, I can be, gave the poultry a miss & upon insistence picked a spoonful. It was so delicious that words can't describe it.

Asked and he said it is marinated & left for sometime before frying. What I recall, papaya was part of the marinated items apart from other usual ones. Any clue on what constituted the marinated ingredients?

Thanks

[fine69]

Have been cooking chicken and fish for a couple of months now but have only experimented with 2-3 recipes so far.

With the fish I'm always safe because there's no chance of me overcooking it and turning it into rubber, unlike chicken.

What I wanted to know was what could possibly be done when one is cooking chicken and its turned into rubber. Do I continue cooking it for another 20-30 mins or more and it will turn soft when one overcooks it way too much?

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by fine69

... With the fish I'm always safe because there's no chance of me overcooking it and turning it into rubber, unlike chicken. ...

With some varieties you can, like Black Pomfret and Tuna!

Originally Posted by fine69

... what could possibly be done when one is cooking chicken and its turned into rubber ...

Irreversible once you reach that point. The only thing one can do is to make a paste and use as spread.

The correct point is when it is just coming off the bone. Or with boneless pieces, when it just turns firm and you can cut with a spoon. Country chicken takes more than twice the time than broiler, and is best cooked in cooker to 6-7 whistles; otherwise slow-cook like mutton.

Remember, it continues to cook even after you turn off the heat - so you have to time it right.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

With some varieties you can, like Black Pomfret and Tuna!

Never knew that, thanks!

So far I've been cooking Sole, Basa and Surmai.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Irreversible once you reach that point. The only thing one can do is to make a paste and use as spread.....

What do you mean spread? Do I grind it or something? If I can grind it to paste and manage as a tasteful paste that'd be amazing.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by fine69

... Sole, Basa and Surmai. ...

These are quick cooking - ~10min.

Originally Posted by fine69

... What do you mean spread? Do I grind it or something? If I can grind it to paste and manage as a tasteful paste that'd be amazing.

Yup - grind to paste, add a little olive oil and adjust seasoning.

Or chop up fine and use as a filling in 'aloo tikka' or 'bharwan paratha'! Don't wait for too long as it will become dry and unappetizing after chopping fine.

[SPEEDY_RACER]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Question: How does one cook dried fish / shrimp / prawns without nauseating neighbors?

Answer:

Soak the fish/shrimp/prawn with some hot(more than warm and less than boiling ) water with salt for couple of minutes.

just rinse it and voila the smell is gone.

i have tried this and it worked charm

[bblost]

I had some cashew that I forgot to keep in a air tight box. They hence became a little soft.

1. Blanched and pureed Spianch.
2. Powdered those cashews.

melted some butter added some chopped Garlic.
Added the Cashew after the garlic was cooked. Cooked till the cashew was a little brownish. Added the Spinach.
Once cooked added a tablespoon of cream.

This tasted awesome on top of toast.

EDIT: SPEEDY_RACER: Thanks I will definitely try this out.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by bblost

....
This tasted awesome on top of toast.

Ha ha, you basically re-invented a variant of Pesto sauce!
This would have tasted very nice indeed!

[Aroy]

When ever nuts go soft due to humidity, I rejuvenate them in the Microwave. Depending on the quantity one to four 30sec bursts gets them crisp again.

If you like salted roasted Almonds/Cashew and can get hold of only plain nuts. then you can roast them to perfection in a microwave.

. Take a microwave proof dish (I prefer Corning oven ware dish)
. Put the nuts in it - preferably one layer only, and add water just enough to coat the nuts.
. Add salt - one teaspoon or more depending on the quantity and saltiness you want.
. Let the nuts soak in salt water for at least 2 hours.
. Drain all the water.
. Optional - dry the nuts in sun (reduces microwave time)
. Put the dish in a microwave and cook them for 2 minutes initially.
. As the time required depends on the quantity of nuts and their moisture content, keep roasting them 30s at a time.
. The nuts are roasted when all the moisture has dried and a "Pop" is heard.
. Cool the nuts.
. Taste one nut. If done to your satisfaction - OK.
. Else cook them some more.

NOTE
Till the nuts cool down they will be a bit moist, hence let them cool down before you check them for perfect roast.

The amount of salt is a personal preference. I like them salty while others like it less so. Adjust the quantity to your liking.

I have been doing this with Almonds for years.

[bblost]

Thanks Aroy. I will do this to the remaining cashews over the weekend.

Originally Posted by Aroy

. Taste one nut. If done to your satisfaction - OK.
. Else cook them some more.

This might be a problem. My daughter and I will check a couple every time and am sure it will be over by the time its ready.