Indian Hog Plum Sweet Pickles

In Bengali we call it "Amra" and in English it is known as Hog Plum. The pulp of this fruit can be eaten fresh or can be be used to make juices, jelly, pickles. Also the leaves,bark, juice and roots are commonly used to make medicines for various treatments.

Today I will share with u a unique pickle recipe from Hog Plum. For Indians pickles and chutneys plays an important role amongst all food items. Amra is only available during summer, hence you need to preserve it through pickles, chutneys, jam and jelly.

INDIAN HOG PLUM SWEET PICKLES

Ingredients:

Ripe Hog Plums (amra)- 250g

Molasses – 4 to 5 tbsp

Salt – as per taste

White oil – 2 tbsp

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Green Chilies – 2 or 3, finely chopped

Dried Mango powder – ½ tbsp

Preparation:

Clean and wash the ripe hog plums.

Put them in a pan with water, so that water covers the plums and cook till they become soft. I boil for 3 to 4 minutes which is sufficient for ripe plum. If u use green hog plum then you need to boil for 6 to 7 minutes.  

Allow it to cool down completely.

Remove the skin from the plums with your fingers and squeeze the plums to take out the juice, leaving the pit behind. Now, put the juice in a blender to make a fine paste. Remove the paste from the blender and keep it a separate bowl.

Add salt, molasses and dried mango powder into the juice, stir well. Taste once just to adjust the seasoning to your taste. Keep it aside.

For tempering, take white oil in a pan and heat the oil.

Add the garlic paste and let it sauté till it turns to light golden brown.

Once it is done, add the green chilies and fry for a few seconds and pour this tempering on the

Pour the tempering on the Hog Plum juice.

Serve immediately with kebabs, parathas or any snacks or you can also store it in a clean dry airtight jar and refrigerate for a week.

Chicken Sheek kebabs

Sheek Kebabs can be made with any kind of meat. You can make it with lamb meat, beef, chicken or any kind of meat. Please do remember, moisture is the enemy of any kind of kebabs. So, remove moisture as much as you can from the meat. Secondly, the most important thing to make kebabs is to add fat. If you add fat to your minced meat, it is going to be juicy, otherwise the kebabs will become dry. So, do not use lean meat, the best way is to cut the chicken pieces and then add extra fat into the chicken pieces, so when you blend the meat, the fat is helps to make the kebabs juicy. Another important part is that, to make a fine smooth paste, you need to add the ingredients in dry state.

The beautiful part of this chicken mince mixture is that you can use it in Koftas or turn this mixture to make burger or in many other ways.

So, today I will brief you about Chicken Sheek Kebabs.

CHICKEN SEEKH KEBABS

Servings: 5 to 6

Ingredients:

Chicken (boneless) – 250 g, with extra fat

Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves

Ginger – 1 inch size

Garam Masala powder – ½ tbsp

Coriander powder – ½ tbsp
Chilli Flakes - ½ tbsp

Fried Onions – ½ cup

Cheese – ¼ th cup, grated

Green Chilli – 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Coriander Leaves – 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Egg – 1

Salt – as per taste

Olive oil – for greasing
Metal or Bamboo Skewer – 2 to 3

Preparation:

In a bowl add all the ingredients, expect egg, salt and oil. Mix all the ingredients.

Put the mixture in a mincer and mince for once.

Take out the half minced chicken mixture and put them in a bowl, add salt, half of egg (full egg can be added if you increase the chicken quantity). Mix well altogether. The reason of adding egg is mainly because of making the chicken mince juicy.

Again put the mixture into the mincer and mince once more to make a smooth fine paste. Remember, other than chicken, for lamb or beef, you need to mince at least 3 times to get the fine paste.

Take the skewers, grease it with olive oil, with spread equal amount of chicken mince mixture on the skewers, press them lightly from top and bottom to make a nice shape of kebabs.

Put them into the micro oven in grill mode at maximum temperature for 15 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and turn it to other side and again put them in the oven for few minutes or you can use outdoor barbeque grill till it is properly done.

For those, who do not have skewers or seekh in their home, we have the solution for this to make the same juicy tasty kebabs.

Take a wooden or metal spoon, apply little bit of oil on it and spread chicken mince nicely on the narrow rod like area, press from top and bottom to make a good shape.

Pull them out form the spoon carefully and place them slowly into the hot oil for deep frying.

Remember, as this kebabs cook really fast, so you need not to fry for longer time.

Now, sprinkle some kebab masala over the kebabs and add lime juice.

Serve this juicy, yummy Chicken Sheek kebabs with red chilli garlic sauce.

Tips: 

To make Chilli Flakes, you need to take 10 to 12 dry red chilli. Remove the stems and the seeds and add them into a blender. Blend them well. Your Chilli Flakes is ready. You can preserve it in a air-tight jar.  

If you are using the Bamboo Skewers, you need to soak the skewers in water at least for half an hour.

If your Chicken mince gets little bit soft and holding your seekhs or skewers, then add some bread crumbs (not too much), mix them nicely. The bread crumbs will immediately absorb the extra moisture. But usually bread crumbs is not used to prepare sheek kebabs. It is only used if you go wrong with the proportion of ingredients or mixture. 

Mixed Veggie Pops

This is another popular snack. This Mixed Veggie Pops is readily available in fast food outlets, but today I will share with you the process of making this pops in home and that too without using eggs. For Cheese Veggie pops without eggs, which is very simple to make it at home. Add and mix grated cheese once the veggie mixture becomes cool. The rest of the process to make the pops is same and you need to just follow as explained.

Servings: 4 to 5
Ingredients:

Carrot - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Beans - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Green Peas - 1/2 cup, finely cut
Corn - 1/2 cup,
Pointed Gourd (Parwal, potol) - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Cabbage - 1 cup, finely chopped, boil for few minutes, strain the water
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup, chopped
Spinach - 1 cup, finely chopped (optional)
Cauliflower - 1/2 cup
Green Chilli - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Oregano - 1 and half tbsp
Black Pepper powder - 1 and half tbsp
Semolina (suji) - 1/2 cup
Curry powder - 1 tbsp
Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Bread Crumbs - 1 cup
Salt - as per taste
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Oil - 3 tbsp (for frying veggies)
Oil - for deep frying
Cheese - 1 cup, grated

Preparation:

Take a pan, heat oil, add veggies (carrot, beans, green peas, corn, pointed gourd, cabbage, coriander leaves, cauliflower) and green chilli one by one, saute for 2 minutes

Add pinch of salt, oregano, pepper powder, chopped spinach, Cook for few minutes in low flame by covering the lid of the pan.

Once the veggies are cooked, add semolina and add water very slowly and mix them continuously. For 1/2 cup of semolina you can add 1 cup of water. Mix them well and cook it for few minutes in low flame and then add sugar, mix, so that the mixture will become as like as dough.
Add curry powder, mix well, in low flame for few seconds.

Switch off the flame.

Allow the mixture to become cool. Here, at this point, you can add grated cheese to make Cheese Veggie Pops.

Sprinkle little flour on the top of the mixture and slowly mix them, as this will absorb any extra moisture. Now make the dumplings out of the mixture.

Now you need to seasoned your flour by adding salt and bread crumbs (1/4th cup), mix them well.

Drop in all the veggie dumplings into the seasoned flour to coat them.

Put all the coated dumplings on a mesh and dip them in the boiling water for few seconds and remove them and again put them into te seasoned flour, roll them for coating.

Again, do the same thing by dipping the dumplings in the boiling water. Remove them and now put all the dumplings on the bread crumbs only and coat them nicely with the bread crumbs and they get slightly crispy.

Once the dumplings are coated nicely, drop them one by one in hot oil. Deep fry them till the Mixed Veggie Pops become golden brown in clour.

Remove them, serve hot with sauce, imli chutney, green chutney, red chiili garlic chutney and enjoy.  

Spicy Aloo Boonda

Aloo Boonda is a very famous and typical South Indian snack. Boonda comes in two major verieties - Sweet and Spicy. The swetter version of Aloo Boonda is popular in Gujrat and the spicy version is called Batata Vada in Maharastra and in South Indian it is called Aloo Boonda. The process of making this Spicy Aloo Boonda involves deep frying, mashed potato mixture coated with gram flour or besan.

SPICY ALOO BOONDA

Servings: 4 to 5
Ingredients:

Potato - 3 medium, mashed
Cashew Nuts - 3 tbsp, broken into small pieces
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Ginger - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green Chilli - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Curry leaves - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 medium, sliced
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp, rub with your hands
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp
Gram Flour (besan) - 250 g
Carom seeds (ajwain) - 1 and half tbsp, rub well by your hands
Baking powder - 1/4 th tbsp
Rice flour - 1/4th cup

Preparation:

Peal Potatoe, Boil them and mashed them, keep them aside.

Heat Oil in a pan, add broken cashew nuts, fry them for a minute till they become golden brown. Remove them and keep aside.

In the same oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry the for few seconds.

Then add chopped ginger, green chilli, coriander and curry leaves. Fry them for a minute.

Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and then sliced onions. Don't fry the onions too much.

Add pre-fried cashew nuts, fennel seeds, salt. Mix well together.

Add mashed potatoes and mix potatoes with the spice mixture. Cook the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes.

Before removing the mixture add lemon juice, mix well.

Switch off the oven and allow the mixture to become cool.

Once the mixture becomes cool, divide the mixture equally to make round balls or as per shape u like. Keep them aside.

Prearation of Batter:

In a bowl take besan and add carom seeds, baking powder, chilli powder and salt. Mix them altogether. Add rice flour to make the Boonas crispy.

Add water slowly to make a semi solid batter.

Once the batter is made, dip the mixture balls into the batter and deep fry them in pre-heat oil till the Boonda become golden brown.

Sreve this Spicy Aloo Boonda with mustard sauce, green chutney, imli chutney or any sauce.


  

Mutton Haleem with Lentils

Mutton Haleem is a special dish which mainly available during festive month of Ramadan when Muslims observed fasting. I have learnt the intricacies of this recipe from one of my Muslim friends. I have never tasted Hyderabadi Haleem, but one day during last Ramadan I prepared Haleem in my home and invited my Muslims friends to have a taste of it and all of them certified that my preparation is as close as Hyderabadi Haleem. The taste is really awesome and heavenly, but te preparation is not so easy and time consuming also. But you can do it your home. Just follow the steps as staed below, do some hard work, I bet - your hard work will not be wasted. 

But, I should also give you some health tips about Haleem:

Good points: This is very low in Sugar, High in Selenium, Vitamin B12 and Zinc.

Bad points: High in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol.

MUTTON HALEEM WITH LENTILS

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Mutton- 500gms, boneless and cut into small pieces

Dalia (broken wheat)- 1/2 cup

Chana dal- 1tbsp

Urad dal- 1tbsp

Green moong dal- 1tbsp

Yogurt- 1 cup

Salt- as per taste

Ginger garlic paste- 1tbsp

Green chilli paste- 1tbsp

Shahi jeera (caraway seeds)- 1tbsp

Black peppercorns- 8

Red Chilli powder – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 and 1/2 tbsp

Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Cumin powder – 1 tbsp

Green Cardamom – 3 /4 pieces

Cinnamon – 1” size x 2 pieces

Cloves – 4 pieces

Bay Leaves – 2 pieces

Tomatoes – ½ cup, chopped

Onion – 1 cup or 3 medium, sliced

Garam masala powder- 1tsp

Mutton stock- 6 cups

Mint leaves- 1 bunch

Coriander leaves- 2tbsp (chopped)

Ghee- 1/4 cup

Lemon wedges- for garnish

Preparation:

Wash and clean the mutton pieces.

Marinate the mutton pieces adding salt and yogurt, mix well and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Take a pressure cooker heat ghee, add ginger- garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt. Sauté it and add mutton pieces, add sufficient water and put the lid on and let it cook for 3 whistle. Switch off the oven and keep it as it is till it becomes cool.

Soak the dalia and other dals separately (chana dal, urad dal, green moong dal) in water for 3-4 hours.

After 3-4 hours, drain the water from soaked dalia and dals.

Heat ghee in a frying pan and fry the sliced onions till they turns golden brown and caramelized. Keep aside.

Heat ghee on a deep nonstick pan, add bay leaves, green cardamom, cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, shahi jeera, sauté for a minute, add chopped tomatoes, sauté for few seconds and then add the dalia and dals to it.

Add cumin powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder on the dals.

Mix well and cook for a few minutes. Add green chilli paste, ginger-garlic paste, half a cup of fried brown onions, garam masala powder, mix well, cook for few seconds and then add half a cup of water to it. Cook for a minute.

Mutton Stock

Then add mutton stock from the pressure cooker and mix well. Now add the mint and coriander leaves to it. Cook for another 5-6 minutes.

Add the mutton pieces, salt and mix well.

Cover the pan and cook on very low flame for about 4-5 hours, but stir occasionally.

After 4-5 hours, remove the lid from the pan, take out the mutton pieces in a bowl.

My Hand Blender

Now by using the hand blender, blend the dal mixture like a paste. Once it is done, add the mutton pieces to the pan and stir well for 3-4 minutes.

Once it is done, switch off the oven.

Your Mutton Haleem is ready to served. Garnish it with the remaining fried onions and lemon wedges. 

Mutton Stock

Mutton Stock is a kind of stew which you can use in any preparation of mutton. Instead of adding water in your mutton recipe, you can add Mutton Stock for better flavour and taste.

MUTTON STOCK

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Mutton Bones - 200 gms

Onion - 2 medium, diced 

Carrot - 2 medium, cut into big pieces

Celery - 1 stalk, cut into 1" pieces

Parsley - 3 stalks, chopped little bit

Black Peppercorn - 7 to 8 pieces

Cloves - 3 pieces 

Bay Leaf - 2 pieces

Water - 8 cups

Salt - as per taste

Preparation:

Wash and clean the mutton bones by removing excess fat from them.

Heat plenty of water in a pan, add the bones into the boiling water and boil only for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain the water and remove the blanched (bones will become white and pale) bones from the pan.

In a non-stick pan add bones, diced onion, carrot pieces, celery, parsley, black peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves h 8 cups of water and put on the flame and start boiling. While it is boiling if you find any scum on the top, remove them.

After 15 to 20 minutes, put the flame in low and cook for another 40 to 45 minutes.

Then remove the stock from the oven, strain the stock with the help of a strainer. Allow it to cool. Your Mutton Stock is ready and you can use it as per your requirement or keep it in refrigerator till further use.

Hot and Sour Tangra Fish Gravy

Tangra is a fish which is mostly available in West Bengal and also a common and favourite fish for Bengalis and they are expert in making varieties of recipe out of it. It's a sweet water fish and the size varies from small to medium. I will share a typical and uncommon recipe of Tangra Mach (fish) which I've learnt from my mother recently. The moment I've tasted this recipe, I couldn't restrict myself from sharing with you all. 

HOT AND SOUR TANGRA FISH GRAVY

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Tangra Fish – 10 pieces

Panch Foron – ½ tbsp.

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Slit Green Chilli – 3

Coriander seeds paste – 2 tbsp

Radhuni (celery) seeds paste – 2 tbsp

Green Mango paste – 2 tbsp

Coriander paste – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tbsp

Mustard oil – 4 to 5 tbsp

Salt – as per taste

Coriander leaves – 3 tbsp, chopped

Preparation:

Clean and wash the tangra fishes. Marinate with little bit of turmeric powder and salt for 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan, fry the fish pieces and keep aside.

In the same pan, add panch foron, garlic paste, turmeric powder (1/2 tbsp) and slit green chilli. Fry little bit.

Then add dhania (coriander seed) paste, radhuni paste, green mango paste, coriander paste. Sauté for a minute. Add little water and cook well for another one minute.

Once, the spices mixture is cooked well, add fried tangra fish. Coat the fish pieces with the masala mixture. Turn the fish on other side. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes.

On top the fish gravy, add chopped coriander and whole green chilli and little raw mustard oil around the gravy.

Cover the lid and allow it to cook for 10 minutes in low flame.

Serve this exotic Hot & Sour Tangra Fish Gravy preparation with hot steamed rice.