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Old 7th November 2013, 22:16   #1096
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Hey Guys.

This is not a picture thread.
This is a recipe thread. So please share the recipes.


Quote:
Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
I have a very silly question - how does one make thick gravy for vegetarians without too much additives? I've noticed that our meals at home are more watery (we use very little oil normally) than what we eat outside or even at our relatives!

please advise
onion paste.
roasted peanut paste.
cashew paste.
grated coconut.

get the drift.

Last edited by bblost : 7th November 2013 at 22:18.
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Old 7th November 2013, 22:25   #1097
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
onion paste.
roasted peanut paste.
cashew paste.
grated coconut.

get the drift.
Speaking about Cashew paste - can anyone suggest if its ok to use cashew paste for Coconut Chutney?
If not, what should be the alternative?
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Old 7th November 2013, 22:27   #1098
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DCEite View Post
Speaking about Cashew paste - can anyone suggest if its ok to use cashew paste for Coconut Chutney?
If not, what should be the alternative?
To eat with dosa and idlies?
I don't think it would be appreciated by most people.
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Old 7th November 2013, 23:16   #1099
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
This is not a picture thread.
This is a recipe thread. So please share the recipes.
Ah, yes - point taken. Forgot to post the link, but here goes now...
Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
(using a recipe from the internet)
The link to the recipe is here: http://ilovecakes.com.mt/strawberry-cheesecake-recipe

She replaced the cream cheese with 2/3rd part 'paneer' and 1/3rd part 'dahi'. No strawberries to hand, so she decided to add strawberry food colour to the whipped cream layer, and then topped off with a layer of mixed fruit jam.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phamilyman View Post
...how does one make thick gravy for vegetarians...
Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
onion paste.
roasted peanut paste.
cashew paste.
grated coconut.
North Indian gravy thickeners are usually 'charmagaz' (melon seeds) or onion paste - 'khaskhas' paste is also used. A handful of 'maida' blended in also thickens gravy well. Coconut as a gravy filler isn't well appreciated by North Indian taste buds generally.

Last edited by SS-Traveller : 7th November 2013 at 23:34.
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Old 8th November 2013, 09:02   #1100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
To eat with dosa and idlies?
I don't think it would be appreciated by most people.
The chef here thinks so:



How else would you make the chutney non watery?
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Old 8th November 2013, 11:41   #1101
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I still do not have the guts to go the market to buy onions. When I had to prepare paneer mutter masala yesterday, I had to look for an alternative to get some gravy.

I found those large light-green chillies (used for making bajji/pakoda). I removed the seeds, and blended them into a fine paste along with a few de-seeded small green chillies. I fried the paste in little oil, then added garam masala powder and salt, added green peas and let it cook for a while. Then I fried paneer. Finally added a paste of cashew nuts in milk, and simmered for a while.

Problem: extra hot curry.
Slap on the face (figuratively): wife refusing to eat.

Solution: boil some soya chunks in water and salt. Squeeze and drain out water. Add a lot more milk to the curry and bring it to boil. Then add the soya chunks and cook for a while.

The curry was still spicy, but manageable with roti
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Old 8th November 2013, 11:53   #1102
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rohanjf View Post
I still do not have the guts to go the market to buy onions.
Come on!

Quote:
Solution: boil some soya chunks in water and salt. Squeeze and drain out water. Add a lot more milk to the curry and bring it to boil. Then add the soya chunks and cook for a while.
Potato is a very good salt reducer. I guess it will also work with heat.
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Old 8th November 2013, 13:22   #1103
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
... A handful of 'maida' blended in also thickens gravy well. ...
Arey baap re <ducking for cover>! It just takes a teaspoon of maida, or even better - corn flour, made into a paste with a couple of tsps of warm water to avoid lumps and added to the gravy halfway through cooking.

Runny gravy can also be a result of the masala (onion, tomato, cashew, almond, charmagaz ... whatever) not being fried enough for the amalgamation to happen. If the masala is not amalgamated properly (till oil distinctly leaves the sides of the pan while frying), the heavier particles sink to the bottom leaving a generally runny gravy.

For dals etc. one should use a whisk (or that implement that was earlier used to churn butter) for a short while to break up the boiled dal enough to make it thick, rather than stay separate and be runny.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DCEite View Post
The chef here thinks so ...
Billions of blue blistering barnacles! That is blasphemous BS. One cannot have respect for such *insensitive and ignorant* chefs. Expensive ingredients do not necessarily add value in a dish. Cashew paste has a really delicate flavor which is overpowered by the other aromatics - chillies, tamarind, mustard etc. OTOH cashew will reduce the spiciness of the chillies. At 400 a Kg for raw cashews, it would be a rather expensive thickener.

Thick coconut chutney is just a matter of good grinding. Ladies, and even most gents, in South India have it down to an art. For a thick chutney one has to grind the ingredients to a fine paste. Fine enough for the liquids and solids to be held together without separating. Try grinding without adding any water, and add a bit of water (tsps at a time) to reduce the thickness.
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Old 8th November 2013, 13:58   #1104
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Originally Posted by DerAlte View Post
Arey baap re <ducking for cover>! It just takes a teaspoon of maida, or even better - corn flour, made into a paste with a couple of tsps of warm water...
Depends on how many people you're cooking for - 1 to 2, or 6 to 8!
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Old 8th November 2013, 15:11   #1105
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DerAlte View Post

Thick coconut chutney is just a matter of good grinding. Ladies, and even most gents, in South India have it down to an art. For a thick chutney one has to grind the ingredients to a fine paste. Fine enough for the liquids and solids to be held together without separating. Try grinding without adding any water, and add a bit of water (tsps at a time) to reduce the thickness.
+1 to DerAlte.

@DCEite
What I do is:

I have just one mixie jar for grinding.
So I grind some putana (fried gram) into a powder. Empty it into a different dish.

Grind some roasted peanuts. I use a microwave for this.
Add chopped coconut.
Grind them together.

Now add the ground up fried gram.

Grind them together.

Then I add some water.

This way the chutney is thick.

There are a couple of ingredients you can add along for different flavors.
Garlic, Ginger, Green Chillies etc.

Tempering is also recommended.
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Old 8th November 2013, 17:32   #1106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Traveller View Post
Depends on how many people you're cooking for - 1 to 2, or 6 to 8!
3-4. For 6-8 it would be 2 tsp. If you add more, the gravy either tastes mealy (floury) or congeals on cooling.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
... There are a couple of ingredients you can add along for different flavors.
Garlic, Ginger, Green Chillies etc. ...
Putana / Putani / Bhuna kala chana is quite common in restaurant chutneys - reduces quantity of coconut and hence makes chutney cheaper.

Peanut chutney (doesn't usually have Putana) is a Hyderabad / North Karnataka speciality - raw peanuts (with skin) and chopped red or green chillies fried in a tiny bit of oil (almost like dry roasting) along with the tempering (udad dal, til / sesame and mustard seeds), and then ground to a paste. My wife one fine day switched to this chutney as a standard, instead of the usual coconut chutney - in the name of reducing cholesterol intake!!!

The variants of coconut chutney that I like the most are
1. Ginger & green chilly, usually with Kadabu's (idly made in jackfruit leaves)
2. Fried Onions (till browned) and red chilly, goes great with Dosae of all kinds
3. Coriander leaves (some, not like coriander chutney with kababs) and green chillies
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Old 8th November 2013, 19:41   #1107
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Last week had invited friends for a barbecue party at home. The method I followed was this:

1. Bought a whole bird of broiler chicken, skin-less.
2. Made 10 pieces of it.
3. Cleaned thoroughly.
4. Added 4-6 tsps of vinegar (white one), I think it softens the chicken pieces and helps in marinating.
5. Then added Kashmiri chilly powder generously and a little salt. Marinated for 4-5 hrs.
6. Prepared BBQ grill (a custom made stand) by putting wood coal and sprinkling kerosene.
7. Used a portable rechargeable fan (Orkia), (which was gifted to my wife by a pharma company) and thoroughly ignited the coal, included corners (this is the key).
8. Kept chicken pieces over it for 15 minutes and then turned upside down and kept for another 15 minutes. It tasted heavenly.

Note: After you keep the chicken pieces or anything don't use fan or any other method to ignite, it will surely spoil your BBQ.

Now the question I have for master chefs (especially DA saab) is, I would like to BBQ fish, beef and prawns this weekend. Which masala I should use and how to go about it?

A little bit more detailed reply would really help.

Thanks.
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Old 8th November 2013, 19:56   #1108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mroptimist View Post
Last week had invited friends for a barbecue party at home. The method I followed was this:

1. Bought a whole bird of broiler chicken, skin-less.
2. Made 10 pieces of it.
3. Cleaned thoroughly.
4. Added 4-6 tsps of vinegar (white one), I think it softens the chicken pieces and helps in marinating.
5. Then added Kashmiri chilly powder generously and a little salt. Marinated for 4-5 hrs.
6. Prepared BBQ grill (a custom made stand) by putting wood coal and sprinkling kerosene.
7. Used a portable rechargeable fan (Orkia), (which was gifted to my wife by a pharma company) and thoroughly ignited the coal, included corners (this is the key).
8. Kept chicken pieces over it for 15 minutes and then turned upside down and kept for another 15 minutes. It tasted heavenly.

Note: After you keep the chicken pieces or anything don't use fan or any other method to ignite, it will surely spoil your BBQ.

Now the question I have for master chefs (especially DA saab) is, I would like to BBQ fish, beef and prawns this weekend. Which masala I should use and how to go about it?

A little bit more detailed reply would really help.

Thanks.
Here is what I use
1. For meats
. Curd
. Kashmiri Chilli powder
. Salt
. Pepper, Nutmeg and cinnamon ground up
. Green chillies chopped fine
. Garlic paste

Mix the paste thoroughly. It should be thick. Taste the mixture. It should be slightly salty and a bit spicy.

Score the meat so that the spices can get inside, rub the marinade into the meat and leave it for as long as you can. Goat takes the longest followed by chicken and beef the least time to marinate.

2. For fish and prawn
. Lemon (or malt/balsamic vinegar)
. Salt
. Garlic

Mix the above. The mixture should be slightly salty but not overpowering.

Score the fish and rub the marinade in. Leave for a couple of hours. Some fish may change colour from translucent to opaque while. In that case it has been "cold cooked" and you can eat it as it is or barbeque for a maximum of two minutes each side on low flame.
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Old 14th November 2013, 12:19   #1109
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Anyone tried making cheese at home ? Not paneer but regular cheese. Please share your recipe and tips.

Also, where do I get rennet tablets in Bangalore from ?
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Old 14th November 2013, 16:34   #1110
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Originally Posted by sdp1975 View Post
... where do I get rennet tablets in Bangalore from ?
I doubt you will find retailers selling rennet. DIY Cheese-making is virtually unheard of in India. The stochastic process requires too much rigor to be rewarding.
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