Baked Pomfret with Green Sauce

I get frozen pomfret from Coconut Hill store in Bay area. This is frozen fish from Kerala and tastes like fresh fish. I just keep the fish out for around 1 hour in warm water to de-freeze it. This fish can be baked in the oven or fried on a tava. Both the versions taste great.

Ingredients
1 pomfret fish
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
4-5 pods of garlic
1 handful of coriander leaves or cilantro
4-5 mint leaves or 1 tablespoon dried mint leaves
2-3 green chilies or as per taste
1 tablespoon thick curd
small tamarind piece as per taste
1/2 cp semolina (optional)
salt for taste

Method
Clean and cut the fish as shown below. Remove the fins. tail and head. You can keep the head if you wish to, but I like to cut the head. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Make both horizontal and vertical slits to fill the masala.


Fry the garlic in a pan with one teaspoon oil till light brown. Grind all the ingredients other than fish together with very little water to make a fine paste. Apply the paste on the inside and outside of the fish.

If you are baking the fish, bake it for 15 minutes at 450 degrees or till the fish is cooked. If you are frying it on a tava then roll the fish in semolina or rava and fry on a tava on both sides till cooked. Serve hot with rice.

Vegetable Biryani

This is my mom's recipes. She would always make this dish mostly on weekends as it takes quite some time to create. We were introduced to biryani in Bhopal which is also very famous for its chicken and mutton biryani. You may try biryani at any number of restaurants, but the flavor and the taste of this dish is incomparable when make at home from the freshly ground spices and vegetables. The difference between pulao and biryani can seem like a thin line, but they are both differently prepared. Pulao is vegetables and rice cooked together. Biryani is a dish made with layered vegetables or meat, onions and rice. Read more about biryani here.

Ingredients

For the rice (Step 1):
2 cups basmati rice
2-3 star anise or badal phool
1 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
2- 3 pieces of cinnamon or dalchini
3-4 cardamom or elaichi
1-2 bay leaf or tej patta
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 medium onion
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon oil

For the Garnishing(Step 2):
5 medium red onions (thinly sliced)
handful coriander leaves or cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
10-12 broken roasted cashew nuts(optional)
1 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoon raisins (optional)

For the Vegetables (Step 3)
2 cups mixed vegetables (beans, carrots, potato, peas, sweet corn, cauliflower)
1/2 cup paneer (optional)
2 medium red onions paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon green chili paste (or as per taste)
1 teaspoon dried mint leaves or 3-4 fresh leaves
5 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves or cilantro
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3-4 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon piece
3 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon turmeric power
1/4- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (or as per taste)
salt as per taste

Method
For the rice: (Step 1)
Wash and soak the basmati rice in warm water for around 45 minutes. Drain the water and leave aside. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Add anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon and bay leaf. Fry for a minute and add finely sliced onions. Fry till onions are brown. Add the rice and fry for 4-5 minutes. Heat water double the quantity of rice - 1 cup. For 2 cups of rice use 3 cups of hot water. Add salt for taste. Add the hot water to the rice and cook till the rice is half done. Keep the juice of 1 lemon aside for final step.

For the garnish:(Step 2)
Finely slice the onions and fry them in 3 tablespoons of oil till they are brown. Mix in raisins, roasted cashew nuts,salt and chopped coriander leaves. Keep aside.

For the vegetables:(Step 3)
Chop the vegetables. If you are using cauliflower, then fry it in a teaspoon oil till it is brown on all sides. Follow the same procedure with the paneer. Saute rest of the vegetables. Roast coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Grind the seeds into a fine powder with cardamom, cinnamon,cloves and dried mint leaves if using.
Heat oil in pan and add ginger -garlic paste. Fry for 2 minutes on medium flame. Add green chili paste. Fry for a minute. Add onion paste and fry till the raw smell goes away. Add chili powder, turmeric powder. Add milk and chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Add the vegetables, paneer and coat the vegetables well with the masala. Add salt for taste and cook covered for 10 minutes.

For the biryani:
Put 1 tablespoon oil in a pressure cooker or a pan with tight fitting lid.
1) Put 1 tablespoon of the garnishing from step 2.
2) Add a layer of vegetables from step.
3) Then add a layer of rice from step 1.
4) Add some lemon juice and sprinkle a little (around 2 pinches) garam masala powder.

Repeat step 1 to 4 for all the vegetables, rice and garnishing. Cover lid and cook on a low flame for 25 minutes or till the rice is cooked. Cooking on a low flame (i use the range2 or 3 out of 9 on the coil) is important to ensure that the biryani is not burnt at the bottom of the cooker. Serve hot with dahi raita.

Preparation time: 1 -2 hours
Serves: 3-4

Appo / Appe / Appam / Paniyaram / Indian Aebleskiver

Appam or appo (in Konkani) is like Konkani pancake made for breakfast. It is good change from the daily dosa and idli breakfast items. It is another good tiffin recipe. Traditionally, we don't add onion, coriander while making the appam's. Left over dosa or idli batter can also be used to make appams. Aebleskiver's are very similar to appo in looks but they are made from flour and are sweet in taste. It was interesting to see that similar dish like appo is prepared in Europe. Read more about aebleskiver's here.
I was in search of a Aebleskiver pan ("appe kalyali" in Konkani) since a long time. I found many non-stick Aebleskiver pans at Bed Bath and Beyond and at other shops. I am not very fond of non-stick pans as I have read about the harmful effects of teflon in many online articles. I also feel the non stick coating will wear away without my noticing it.
According to a article "According to a study by the advocacy group, non-stick pots and pans could reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit (370 C) in 3-5 minutes, releasing 15 harmful gases and chemicals, including two carcinogens, two global pollutants, and MFA, a chemical lethal to humans at low doses. Non-stick coatings break down to a chemical warfare agent known as PFIB, and a chemical analog of the WWII nerve gas, phosgene." [1]
Hence, I usually buy anodized iron pans or heavy aluminum pans from the Indian store or cast iron skillets from online stores. I bought this Aebleskiver pan on Amazon.

Ingredients
3 cups rice

1 cup urad dal or split black gram or black lentil
1 cup medium onion
8-9 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro
1/2 cup finely chopped coconut pieces
1 teaspoon salt
oil

Method
Soak rice and urad dal in warm water for 6-8 hours. Grind a part of urad dal very finely. Add a part of rice and grind it with the urad dal as finely as possibly. Repeat this with the rest of urad dal and rice. Mix salt in the batter. Keep the batter ina warm place for 8-10 hours. I heat the oven to 100 degrees and then switch off the oven once it is hot. I then leave the batter inside the oven for 8-10 hours for fermentation.

Chop onions finely. Ad the onions, coriander leaves and coconut pieces to the batter. Oil the Aebleskiver pan or appo pan till hot and oil it well. i keep the heat on high till the pan heats up. Then I drop the heat to medium. Drop a tablespoon of batter into every hole in the pan.

Cover the pan for around 4-5 minutes. Remove cover and flip the appo's with a fork or a knife.It is a little tricky to flip the appe's and they may stick to the pan if the pan is not well oiled. Cook the appe's on the other side till it is light brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
Appe's can also be served with dry coconut chutney (chopra chutney recipe coming soon..) or coconut chutney.

Gobi Musallam / Whole Cauliflower Stuffed with Gravy

My learning to make Gobi Mussalum is a Comedy Of Errors. I first tried this recipe from Women's Era long time ago when I was in India before my marriage. The cauliflower took a long time to cook as I had not steamed it as mentioned in the recipe. The next time I tried, the cauliflower florets broke when I was stuffing the masala into the cauliflower. I guess I had over cooked the cauliflower. Another time, the masala was very runny and it did not stick to the cauliflower. After many failed attempts I learnt how to make the perfect Gobi Mussalam. I like this recipe as it is easy to make (if made correctly) and it is a great change from the regular gobi sabzi. I also make part of the recipe (masala) earlier, say in the morning and then integrate it and bake it just before dinner or lunch. It also keeps well for a day and tastes even better the next day. We usually buy baby cauliflowers from farmer's market and they are in season currently. Using baby cauliflowers makes it easier to stuff the small cauliflowers with the masala as opposed to larger ones.

Ingredients
5-6 baby cauliflowers
2 medium onion
2 tablespoon tomato paste or 3 tomatoes
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup milk
2-3 green chilies
4 tablespoon coriander leaves or cilantro
1/2 teaspoon amchur powder or dry mango powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
7 cashew nuts
salt for taste
oil

Method
Remove the stalk's of the cauliflowers and boil them in cooker for 8 minutes. Don't put the whistle or weight on the cooker. Drain all the water by placing them on a kitchen paper. Put a teaspoon oil in a flat pan and roast the cauliflowers till the heads are brown. Make small slits on the cauliflower with a knife head to stuff the masala. Keep aside.

Chop the onions. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Saute for a minute. Add chopped ginger, garlic and chopped green chilies. Add onion and fry till the raw smell of the onion is eliminated. Add cashew nuts and saute for a minute. Grind all the fried ingredients into a fine thick paste with milk. Put the paste into the same pan in which the onions were fried. Saute for around 4 minutes on medium flame. If you are using tomatoes, then chop them finely and cook them in a pan till the water has evaporated and then grind it into a fine paste. Add tomato paste and saute till the tomato paste has completely dissolve into the paste. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala powder, amchur powder and salt. Stir till a thick paste is formed. Add a little more salt and chili powder taking into consideration that the cauliflower is bland.
I take 3 tablespoon of this paste and add a little milk to make it liquid-ish. Put this liquid into the cauliflower bottoms to coat the interiors of the cauliflower with the masala. Now use all the thick masala and coat it on the bottoms and tops of the cauliflower and also push the masala into the slits. Line the cauliflowers in a baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees. Check after 20 minutes to see if the masala on the top has browned. If not cook for approximately 20 more minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. I did not garnish it as I ran out of coriander leaves today:). Serve hot with roti.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Serves: 3-4

Sliced Coconut

I am always trying new stuff I find in the Indian store, Costco, Trader's Joe's and other stores. I find some interesting items which are founf in ome stores but are not found in other stores. Also stores like costco are so vast that it is impossible to know all the items which are found there. My recent find at Costco is Alphonso mango juice and masala burger's from Trader's Joe. I am hence starting this column to list all the interesting items found in various stores in the Bay Area.
The first in the series is sliced coconut. I get it from Coconut Hill grocery store. I have discovered that my curries taste delicious and flavorful when I use sliced coconut as opposed to grated coconut. Check it out.

Gharge

I always look to make something good out of vegetables and hide them in dosas, idlis, rice dishes. I was delighted to see gharge recipe on Tee's blog. This dish is a very great way of eating pumpkin or squash. It is like pumpkin puri's made in north Indian cities but with an addition of jaggery and semolina. It is also similar to buns made in Mangalore. Click here for Mangalore Buns recipe. The best part is it can be stored for many days after preparing it. Gharge can be eaten as a dessert or as a snack. Visit Tee's blog Bhaatukli and click here for Gharge recipe.