Mughlai Paratha -Egg stuffed flat bread

In India , we eat different kinds of flat bread. Can be eaten at any time of the day be it break fast, lunch or dinner...Normally it is a must dish in the break fast time. Like we eat toasted bread, still today Flat bread are served in the morning time in many parts of India. Sometime it is just plain flat bread lightly toasted with Clarified butter or a stuffed one fried in butter.
Here is the recipe of the simple Mughal dish, Omelette stuffed flat bread which can be served as dinner with any kind of curry or can be eaten with simple tomato ketch up.

For Porota (Flat Bread) Dough:
200 gms of Maida (Plain Flour) and 300 gms of wheat flour sift together. Add 2 tpsp of oil, salt(as per taste) and water. Make the dough pliable enough and at the end with a little oil again knead it and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

For Egg filling:
1 Onion- sliced thinly
2 Green chillies- chopped
5 Eggs beaten
salt & freshly grinded pepper added in the egg mixture
optional- Milk can be added to the beaten egg
Fresh corainder leaves for garnishing
Oil for frying


Process:
Take a ball of the kneaded dough and roll over on your platform. Don't forget to sprinkle some flour on the platform.
Pour in 2-3 tbs of the egg mixture in the middle and spread it all around.
Sprinkle some onions on top of it and start folding the edges. This has to be done very quickly to avoid any spillage. Carefully hold the flat bread from both the sides and place it on the hot flat pan or tawa with some oil in it. Hold the tawa and adjust so that egg mixture is evenly distributed. Sprinkle some pepper if desired. Turn the bread upside down carefully and fry well. Remove from flat pan and garnish the flat bread with the corainder leaves and serve it hot with any kind of curry with some additional salad.

P.s: Dont worry if it spills....seen my mom doing it with perfection all the time and now after so many years I too feel proud each time I do it sucessfully.

Happy Cooking!!!

Litti- Stuffed wheat flour balls

Litti is basically a wheat flour ball stuffed with sattu(roasted gram flour powder) seasoned with many ingredients. Litti is actually a regional dish from Bihar and Jharkhand (Sates in India). But now this dish is included in many famous restaurants. This dish is cooked in different ways in different regions of India but the basic process is same. In Bihar & Jharkhand, it is served with diffrent roasted vegetables such as Potato and Tomatoes but in places like Jaipur and Rajasthan, it is served with lentil soup and very hot red chilli and garlic chutney.

For the filling
500 gms sattu powder (gram flour roasted)
salt as needed
Ajwain (carom seeds) and kalaunji( black onion seeds)- a pinch or two
salted Mango pickle or stuffed red chilli pickle's oil- 2 tbsp
1 small onion- finey chopped
aamchoor (dried mango) powder- 1 tsp
lemon juice- 2 tbsp
mustard oil- 1 small tbsp
pepper and chilli flakes-a pinch
Ghee(clarified butter)- 2 tbsp
Mix everything and keep aside
optional- Green chillies finely chopped
The above mixture will be little dry.


For Atta(Wheat Flour) Dough

Ingredients:

Ghee(Clarified Butter)- 2 tsp
salt- 1/2 tsp
carom seeds- a pinch

Rub the ghee(clarified butter) and atta(wheat flour), add salt, ajwain(carom seeds) and knead a dough a little hard and firm but well needed.

For Aloo chokha ( Roasted mashed potatoes)

2- medium size potatoes, boiled , peeled and mashed
salt and chilli powder- as needed
Garam Masala powder- 1 small tbsp
green chilli- finely chopped
Mustard oil- a little
Mix all the above


For Tomato chokha( Roasted mashed Tomatoes)
Tomatoes- 2 big sizes
Garlic- 3-4 Cloves
Chilli- 1
Salt, Black Pepper, Lemon Juice to taste

Put 2 tomatoes on a griddle pan or normal pan and let it roast there, you can also put 3-4 cloves of garlic and big green chillies to the pan. The garlic cloves will take less time to roast than the tomatoes and chilli.
Mix all above and add salt and pepper and lemon juice to it and mix well.

Litti Preparation

Divide the atta dough into small ball size and roll them with rollar pin or with your hands in cups so that you can fill the sattu filling in it. Place 2 tbsp of sattu filling in it and close it. With the help of your palm, carefully and slowly with less pressure, make a ball size as in the picture. After making enough balls , place them in a baking tray with ghee spreaded on top in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes in grill/convection mode (doesnt really matter) at 150-180 degree Celsius. Half way turn them and apply ghee on the other side too. You can adjust the temp if they are not cooking as needed but not maximum otherwise, they will be done from outside and inside will be still uncooked. I guess 180 degrees C is the best. After taking them out, apply some more ghee on the litti balls and serve hot with the Aloo n Tomato chokha. You can also make baigan ka bharta with this dish.

P.S- Please do let me know if I had missed anything in here.
Happy Cooking !!!

Prawn Pasta in roasted tomatoes & garlic sauce

Pasta is such an ingredient which can be cooked with almost everything and tada.... a new dish is born. Well, here is a dish which is actually a traditional pasta cooked in roasted tomatoes and garlic. Though any shape can be used but I have used here fusilli...But I guess spaghetti can also be a good choice.

Ingredients:

Pasta- 500 gms (any choice) boiled with salt and olive oil till al dente(Cook as per the guidelines given in the packet)
Tomatoes- 3 big tomatoes
garlic- 5-6 cloves
lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
salt- as needed
sugar- 1 tsp
basil leaves- a few
coriander leaves- a twig
onions- 2 small, sliced
Prawns- a small packet- if fresh, properly cleaned and deviened, If frozen, properly thawed
Green Bell Pepper- 1 big, chopped in chunks
White wine vinegar- 1 big spoon full
Cherry tomatoes -5-6
Grated parmesan & Cheddar
Olive oil- for stir frying

Recipe:

Cook the pasta in hot boling water with generous amount of salt and oil till all dente and then drain the excess water
In a different frying pan, roast the tomatoes and blend it to paste adding 3 garlic cloves, lemon juice, salt, sugar, basil and coriander leaves till smooth. This is the sauce.
Shallow fry the prawns till pink. In a frying pan add 2 tbs olive oil till hot, add the sliced onions , garlic and green peppers stir fry ....add the prawns to it and stir fry. Add the tomato sauce to it with a big spoon ful of white wine vinegar or rice vinegar , salt and black pepper and let it simmer for some minutes. Add the pasta and stir fry. Your pasta is ready...you can also add omelette to it as I have done...For garnishing add cherry tomatoes and basil.
Sprinkle some grated parmesan and cheddar and serve hot.

Other vegetables as spring onion, French beans, mushroom can also be added to this dish. This is a very basic recipe but very yummy and filling.

Happy Cooking!!!

Methi Mathri- An Indian Cookie

i

"Mathri" is a savoury item taken with a cup of tea in India specially

in winters. These very delicious salty crackers are made and can be stored

for a month or two.

Ingredients:

Plain Flour- 500 gms
Fenugreek leaves(Methi)- (if fresh, wash & dry them carefully and

chop finely)
Clarified butter- 1/2 cup
Carom seeds- 1 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Baking Soda- Less than 1/2 tsp
Veg Refined oil- for frying

Cooking Time: Under 30 min
Prep Time: Under 20 min


Recipe:

Mix flour, carom seeds, salt, baking soda and Fenugreek leaves.

Add the clarified butter and rub well. Knead a tight dough with

water. Cover and keep aside the dough for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil for frying in a deep frying pan. Make small balls of the

dough and with the help of the rolling pin spread the ball into a

round just like cookie shape. With the help of a fork, make some

holes on the cookie.
We need to slow fry these 3-4 cookies in oil till light brown. The

heat should be minimum so it will make the cookie very crunchy. It

should take a minimum of 3-6 minutes.
Take the cookies out and place them on the paper napkin to soak

the oil and cool them.

Fry all of them on a very low flame and once all of them are cooled,

they can be stored in an air tight container for a month.

Now, just take them out and serve them with a hot cup of tea.

Happy Cooking!!!

Tandoori Mushroom Aloo

This recipe is quite easy to make with minimal effort and its a veg dish too. This is a dinner's time dish and the best part is the leftovers can be used for great wraps, quesadilla or may be just used as a filling for sandwich.


"750 gms Mushroom(mixed)- cleaned and cut into chunks"
"" 2 Big Potatoes- cleaned and cut into chunks with skin on.
For the marination
"1 Tbsp Salt"
"1½ tsp garlic paste"
"1½ tsp ginger paste"
"1tsp garam masala"
"1/2 tsp ground cumin"
"2 tbsp lemon juice"
"4-5 tbsp olive oil"

For the dressing
"1 1/4 tbsp white wine vinegar"
"3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil"
"1/2tsp Dijon mustard"
"1 small red onion, finely sliced"


Cooking Time Under 30 min
Prep Time Under 15 min
Servings 4 people


Mix the ingredients for marination and whisk it well. Add the mushroom and potatoes and mix well and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to the max high temp.

On a roasting tray, spread the mushroom and potatoes Grill for 10-12 minutes, turning the mushrooms and potatoes when half done until slightly charred all over.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and drizzle all over the mushroom and potatoes. Make sure the mushrooms and potatoes get well coated.

Add some fresh cucumber and carrot slices to the dish and serve hot.

Happy Cooking!!!

Hello!!! Welcome to Haldar's Kitchen

Hello,

I am starting a new blog site with the very old tradition of cooking with a twist. Honestly speaking, I started cooking after my marriage. It happens when the hubby dear loves to eat...so this is why I got into full fledged cooking. I use to do some experiments with cooking before I got married... and oh yes, never use to follow the rules of the traditional cooking....but now its like a passion which makes me stand in the kitchen for long hours and really some kind of cooking calculation going in my head all the time. Believe me...So here, my journey of cooking traditional recipes with a difference, experimenting new combination and on top of everything mastering the "Art of Cooking".

Welcome to Haldar's kitchen. All the guest are welcome to give suggestion, correct me if I am wrong and also can publish or add recipes.

So, cheers to this new start and lets begin.
Happy Cooking!!!

Thanks everybody...

Gouri