Kolkata Egg Curry

Ingredients
Boiled eggs: 4
Potato: 2
Chopped tomato: 2
Green cardamom: 2
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Fennel seeds: ½ tsp
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: ½ tsp
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
Kasoori methi: 1 tsp
Garam masala: ¼ tsp
Salt: To taste
Oil: 3-4 tsp
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp

Kolkata egg curry

Method
Prick slightly on all the sides of the boiled egg and rub coriander powder, red chili powder and salt.
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and fry the eggs till golden brown. Remove from the eggs from the oil and cut them carefully into half.

To the same pan with oil, add green cardamons, clove, cinnamon, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and stir till they start sizzling. Add onion and saute well, add tomatoes and potatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes, before adding salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Add little water, close the lid and simmer till the oil starts separating from the mixture.

Add kasoori methi, garam masala and stir well. Delicately add the eggs and simmer for a few minutes so that the masala enters the eggs. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati or paratha or poori or roti.

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
Potatoes: 4-5 (washed, peeled and quartered)
Minced garlic: 2-3 cloves

Grated Parmesan cheese: ¼ cup

Butter: ¼ cup

Cream: ¼ cup

Pepper: To taste

Salt: To taste

Method

Cook potatoes in salted water till tender. Drain water and add garlic, cheese, butter, cream, salt and pepper. Mash the potatoes till smooth. Sprinkle coriander or Italian seasoning if you wish, before serving.

Potato Bhaji

Ingredients
Potatoes: 3-4
Chopped onion: ½ cup
Chopped green chilies: 1 tsp
Split Bengal gram (chana dal): 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: A pinch
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Chopped coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Salt: To taste
Oil: 1 tsp

Method
Boil potatoes, peel and chop them. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add asafoetida and split Bengal gram and sauté till golden brown. Add green chilies, curry leaves and onion and sauté till onion is translucent. Add potatoes, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Sprinkle a tablespoon of water and cook till the potatoes are heated through. Add coriander leaves and lemon juice and mix well. Serve with chapati or dosa.

Potato Wedges

Ingredients

Potatoes: 2-3

Oil: 2 tsp

Crushed garlic: 1 tsp

Garam masala: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp

Chilli powder: 1 tsp

Pepper powder: ½ tsp

Salt: To taste

Method

Peel and cut potatoes into wedges. Cook in water adding little salt till slightly soft. Drain and pat dry. Prick gently with a fork on each wedge and keep aside. Mix oil and all the seasoning together and add it to the potatoes. Toss wedges gently so that each wedge is coated evenly. Transfer to a baking tray and roast in microwave oven till golden brown and crisp. Serve with hot and sweet sauce.

Russian Salad

Ingredients

Boiled carrot: 1 cup

Tomato: 1 cup

Cucumber: 1 cup

Boiled green peas: 1 cup

Spring onion: 1 cup

Boiled potatoes: 2 cups

Black pepper: 1 tsp

Salt: To taste

Mayonnaise: 4 tsp

Olive: 2-3 tsp

Method

Deseed tomatoes and cut them into ½ inch cubes. Cut cucumber, carrot, spring onion and boiled potatoes into ½ inch cubes. Mix all the ingredients except potatoes and mayonnaise in a serving bowl and toss well. Add potatoes and toss well. Add salt, pepper and mayonnaise and toss gently. Decorate with olives before serving.

Chickpea Soup

Another simple Middle East recipe which I learnt recently is Chickpea Soup. It is served along with salads, olives, bread and yoghurt. It often forms the centerpiece of simple peasant meals. It is easy to make and very nice to have in winter days and never lasts long at my home. You can make it versatile by adding almost any vegetable to it to suit your taste. You can either add pasta or chopped spinach or broccoli or mushroom or carrot or any other vegetable. And as the name itself says, it is soup, healthy, plus no oil is used! So, forget about your dieting and enjoy this soup.



Ingredients
Chickpeas: 2 cup, washed and drained
Onion: 2, chopped into small pieces
Potatoes: 2 boiled, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
Water: 8-9 cups
Salt: As per taste
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Chili powder: 1 tsp
Pepper powder: ½ tsp
Lemon juice: 1-2 tsp

Method
Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Take eight cups of water in a large saucepan and add chickpeas and onion. Bring it to a boil, and simmer it for 1 hour (The more it cooks the more well the soup becomes as the chickpeas become softer and the liquid gets thicker and the soup develops a cohesion that it would otherwise lack). Then add potatoes, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder and ¾ cup of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer again for 1 to 1 ½ hours stirring in between. Check for seasoning and add pepper powder and lemon juice before serving.
Note: It is a good idea to taste the soup before adding lemon juice. Chickpea broth has a natural sweetness that you may prefer to leave untouched.

Vegetable Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 2 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Paneer: 1 cup
Cauliflower: 1 cup
Cabbage: 1 cup
Green chili: 2, finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Maida: 1 cup
Chili powder: 1 tsp
Ghee: 2 tsp
Salt: As per taste
Water: 1 cup
Oil: For deep frying



Method
Grate the boiled potatoes, paneer, cabbage and cauliflower. Heat ghee in a pan and fry both cabbage and cauliflower for 4-5 minutes. Then add potato, paneer, green chilies and salt. Check the salt at this stage and cook till all the water from the vegetables dries up. Remove from the fire and allow it to cool. Make small balls of the mixture and flatten between your hands and keep aside. Make a batter by mixing maida, ¼ tsp salt, chili powder in 1 cup of water. Heat oil in a frying pan, dip all the kebabs in the maida batter and deep fry them till golden brown. Serve them hot with pudina or tomato sauce.

Hara Bhara Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 4-5 medium sized, boiled
Green peas: 1 cup, boiled
Spinach: 1 bunch
Green chilies: 1 tsp, finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp, finely chopped
Ginger: 1 tsp, finely chopped
Chaat masala powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As per taste
Corn flour: 2-3 tsp
Oil: For deep-frying

 

Method
Grate the boiled potatoes and mash the boiled green peas. Cook spinach leaves in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes and wash the partly cooked leaves in cold water and squeeze out the excess water before finely chopping the leaves. Mix grated potatoes, peas and spinach and add chopped green chilies, chopped coriander leaves, chopped ginger, chaat masala powder and salt. Add corn flour to the mixture for binding. Divide the mixture into 25 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball and then press it in between your palms and flatten it. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the kebabs in hot oil for three to four minutes.

Note: If you are too diet conscious, you can shallow fry the kebabs on a tawa. To make kebabs look dark green, you can add more spinach leaves, but have to add more corn flour for a good binding.

Aloo Tikki

Ingredients
Potatoes: 3-4 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Salt: As per taste
Black pepper: ½ tsp


For stuffing
Green peas: ½ cup, cooked well
Ginger: ½ tsp minced
Garam masala: ¼ tsp
Salt: As per taste
Red chili powder: ¼ tsp
Cumin: 1tsp, dry roasted, coarsely grounded
Oil: For frying



Method
Mash the cooked green peas. Add all the stuffing ingredients except oil and mash well. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and keep aside. Mash the potatoes very finely and add salt and pepper and knead until properly mixed. Divide it also into 10 equal portions. Rub your palms with little oil.  Take each portion of potato mixture and make a ball. Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the centre and fold the edges together very finely so that the mixture does not come out. Very gently flatten the stuffed ball into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces. Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan. Slip in the patties and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding oil if required, on a very low heat. Serve tikkis with tomato sauce or mint chutney.

Aloo Shami Kebab

Ingredients
Potatoes: 4-5
Chana dal: 1 cup
Garlic: 12 cloves
Cumin: 1 tsp
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Dry red chili: 10-12
Black cardamom: 1
Green cardamom: 3-4
Clove: 3-4
Cinnamon: 1 inch piece
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp
Onion: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Green chili: 1tsp
Lemon juice: 1 tsp
Saffron: A few strands
Sweet kewra: A few drops
Salt: As per taste




Method
Peel, wash and boil potatoes with chana dal, garlic, cumin, black pepper, dry red chili, black cardamom, green cardamom, salt, clove and cinnamon, together until chana dal becomes soft but not placid. The water level over the ingredients should be only 1 inch above the ingredients. Grind the cooked ingredients without adding any water. Check salt at this stage. Then add chopped green chili, chopped onion, chopped coriander leaves, kewra, saffron and lemon juice to the paste. Make small balls and flatten between your hands like an aloo tikki. Heat oil in frying pan and shallow fry kebabs till golden brown and serve with pudina chutney.

Note: If the paste becomes too soft, you can add some roasted gram flour as a binding agent.

Aloo Raita

Ingredients
Potato: 1 cooled, peeled and cut into small cubes
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Green chili: 1 finely chopped
Coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp finely chopped
Yogurt: 2 cups
Salt: As per taste
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Dry chili: 2 broken
Curry leaves: 2-3 strands
Oil: 1 tsp




Method
Mix yogurt, potato cubes, coriander leaves, chopped chili and salt and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add dry chili and curry leaves. Saute till they are crisp and add tadka to the raita. Mix well and for few seconds and then transfer the Tadka to raita and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves. Chill the raita before serving.