Friday, June 24, 2011

American baby Aloo......

Last week as I was browsing the Indian store, found a stack of potatoes, in which I could spot  the baby potatoes also....I picked them up ( around 8-10) in hopes to prepare a traditional Kashmiri Aloo, but ending up experimenting these

I was trying to find a name , and my Husband suggested that since these are American potatoes ....it should be American Baby Aloo :)

Ingredients

5 -6 Baby potatoes

Gravy
2 Tbsp broken Cashewnuts / 4-5 whole
4Tbsp Curd
1 medium sized tomato
1 dry red chilli ( to give it a good color)
1 green chilly

Other Ingredients

1/2 Onion finely chopped
1/2 Onion grated
1 tomato grated
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1Tbsp red chilly powder ( choose the one which gives you more color but is less hot)
1tsp corainder powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
A pinch of asafoetida / Hing
A pinch of Saunf powder / fennel seed powder / coarsely crushed 
A pinch of chat masala
Salt To Taste
Full Cream - 3Tbsp
2Tbsp Oil

Oil for deep frying
Cilantro / Corainder leaves for garnish

How I made these

Thoroughly wash the potatoes
In a vessel boil water and add some salt , place the potatoes in the boiling water for 5 minutes
Once par boiled drain and let it dry / use a cloth to pat dry them
Prick the potatoes with a fork on all sides , to ensure that it cooks evenly from inside while fried
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the potatoes



Once you are able to see the fork pricks clearly / the potatoes are cooked and are deep brown remove and drain on an absorbent paper

Now for the gravy

Heat oil in a deep vessel / pan ( prepared for a slight mess if you don't use a deep pan cos the gravy will bubble all over your stove top)
Once heated add asafoetida and the chopped onions
Saute for a minute and add the grated onion, cook for 3 - 4 mins or until the onions are cooked well
Now add the grated tomatoes and cook for 3 -4 mins, stirring it occasionally 
Mean while combine all the ingredients for the gravy and give it a good blend for a smooth textured gravy
Add this to the pan along with the dry masala 's , saunf and salt



Simmer the flame and let it cook for 5 - 6 mins / until the oil is visible at the sides of the dish
Once done add the potatoes and let it cook for another 5mins
Remove from heat add the chat masala and garnish with corainder
Serve with rice / rotis






I kept aside a part of it and added cream to the rest







NOTE's


- If you are on your diet plan , you can grill the potatoes at 150 degrees , by marinating them 15mins earlier with salt , turmeric, red chilly powder and oil 
- If you want the onions to cook faster and completely add a pinch of salt 
- The dish is not very hot , because of the addition of cream, but if you still wish to give it a more sweet touch you can add in 1/4tsp sugar / honey / jaggery
- The gravy gets thicker on sitting for a while , so add cream white reheating, rather than adding it before
- If you want a more thicker gravy , you can increase the quantity of cashewnuts



For those who want to cook this using a microwave please let me know, shall post the same :) or if you have a different version please share it with others also


Happy experimenting !!!!!



Wednesday, June 22, 2011

How to Make Tamarind Pulp in Microwave


  • Soak 1/2 cup tamarind in a cup of water for 10 mins
  • Seal it with cling wrap and prick it for steam to pass 
  • Microwave it on full power for 3 - 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl
  • Give it a standing time of 5 mins, when cool strain and extract the pulp