Dabeli

Ever since my mother made this yummy recipe, I had been dying to try making it too. The creaminess of the potatoes is complemented well by the crunchiness of the peanuts and nylon sev. The tamarind paste adds a tang to the zesty red chilli powder and pomegranate adds a wonderful dash of colour with juicy sweetness. The humble dabeli can be made fairly quickly, which is perfect for people who are short on time but want to make and eat something really textured and layered.

Reduce the red chilli powder quantity and you have a recipe that becomes an instant hit with the kids too.

Ingredients
6 pavs (or buns)
3 medium sized potatoes
1 tbsp oil
Butter
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped, for garnish
1 medium tomato finely chopped
2 tsp Kutcchi Dabeli masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp tamarind paste (or lemon juice)
2 tbsp sugar
Masala peanuts
Pomegranate seeds
Salt to taste
Nylon sev
Finely chopped coriander, to garnish


Wash the potatoes and boil till they become really soft. You should be able to mash them easily into a thick paste without lumps.

Heat the oil in a pan, and add a little butter. Add the chopped onions and fry till they turn soft and golden brown. Now add the dabeli masala, and fry for one more minute. Add the tomatoes and saute them till they become very soft and mushy. Mash them as much as possible. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, sugar, and tamarind paste and mix well. Finally add the mashed potatoes and mix it all together.

The dabeli filling is now ready.

To serve, slit a pav horizontally, and scoop some filling into it. Top it with sev, onions, peanuts and pomegranate seeds. Heat a little butter in a frying pan, and place the pav on it. Roast it on both sides for half a minute, and serve garnished with coriander.

Happy Cooking!

Soya Keema

Alrightie... this post comes after a long, really long time. No excuses, I was just lazy enough to not try new things and post them here. The pregnancy and delivery should not be blamed.

Last night, I was craving my mom's chicken keema. She makes it so positively yummy! I decided to make the same with soya keema, to see if the recipe works. It did. It tasted good, not as great as my mom's but close enough.

Ingredients

• Soya keema (minced soya)
• 2 medium onions finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 cloves
• 4 pepper corns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 badi elaichi
• 4 small elaichi
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 sachet of maggi magic masala (optional)
• salt to taste

Prepare the soya keema according to instructions of the manufacturer. Drain and keep it aside.

Heat the oil and add the cloves and pepper corns. Once they have roasted, remove them. Now add the badi elaichi, small elaichi, and bay leaf. When they are roasted, add the ginger garlic paste and chopped onions.

Fry for three to four minutes on a medium flame. Now add all the dry spices, tomatoes and salt. Add half a cup of water and bring the curry to a boil. Lower the heat, cover with a lid, and allow to simmer for five more minutes.

Serve hot with chapati, or paranthas.

Happy Cooking!