Storm In My Kitchen

Whole Masoor Dal with Tuna Fry and Chapatis For the whole masoor In a pressure cooker, add 3/4th cup of whole masoor dal and wash nicely. Then add half tsp of turmeric powder, a tsp of chilli powder and a tsp of garam masala. Add a chopped onion, a tsp of ginger garlic paste, a chopped tomato and two green chillies and salt to taste.  When the dal is cooked, temper with a tablespoon of ghee and half tsp of cumin seeds. Serve with a dollop of ghee or with a little lime squeezed over it Tuna fish fry I used tinned tuna flakes for this....heat a pan, add the tinned tuna, add a large chopped onion and a tablespoon of fish fry masala.... fry nicely till all the water has dried up and the fish starts catching on the pan

Mango Fish Curry Can use fish like seer fish, king fish, mackerel, sardines or even prawns for this recipe I've used king fish for this Grind to a paste a little coconut, turmeric powder, chilli powder, ginger and coriander seeds Heat oil, add mustard seeds and a few fenugreek seeds, when the mustard sputters, add some curry leaves and a finely chopped onion...fry till the onion is light brown, add the paste and fry till the oil comes up, add water and salt, stir nicely. Reduce the flame to simmer then add the mango and fish pieces, cover and cook till the mango pieces are soft.

Nutella Oats Shortbread 100 gms unsalted butter Half a cup of brown sugar A few drops of vanilla essence 2 cups oats (ground to flour in the mixer) A tablespoon of flour Nutella to spread Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy..add the essence and the flour....bring together to form a dough, do not knead too much. Heat the oven to 170 degrees...then prepare your pie dish with a removable base and spread out the dough (I used a 9 inch pie dish) poke a few holes with a fork or skewer in the dough....bake for 20 mins. Then reduce the temperature to 120 spread Nutella on the pie and bake another 10 minutes Leave in the oven for about 10 minutes after baking time is over After that remove from oven and cut into 8 pieces with a sharp knife while it is warm. When cooled serve it with some toasted nuts or ice-cream.

Spring Onion Bhaji 4 bundles of spring onions, 4 big cloves of garlic, 3 dry red chilies broken into pieces, half tsp of asafoetida, quarter tsp of mustard and a tablespoon of oil....salt to taste Heat oil, add the mustard, when it cackles add the red chilies and garlic....fry a few seconds then add the hing and the onion leaves and salt...cover and let cook a couple of mins...... open the pan stir the leaves and cover again....when the leaves are slightly limp and the onion bulbs look translucent the vegetable is done.

Cauliflower Matki  2 handfuls of dry matki (moth beans or the brown moong beans) soaked and sprouted 1 cup of cauliflower florets 10 shallots or sambar onions 1 medium sized onion finely chopped 1 tomato finely chopped 2 tsp ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tablespoon or more chilli powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp oil Heat oil add cumin, then add finely chopped onion and ginger garlic paste. Fry a while, when the raw smell goes add turmeric, chilli and cumin powder. Bhuno with a little water till the oil comes up. Then add the sprouted matki. Cover and cook 5 minutes. Now add the cauliflower florets, shallots and salt. Cook covered for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook another two minutes till the tomato is done. Sprinkle garam masala, stir and cover for atleast 5 mins for the flavours to mingle. Serve hot. Goes well with chapatis or rice and dal

Fish Cutlets No potato, no breadcrumbs 1 king fish (about 15 inches) can also use shark, tuna or mackerel Whole spices 2 each of cinnamon, clove, cardamom and pepper Boil the fish with the spices and a glass of water. Drain all the water from the fish. Debone the fish and flake it. 3 onions 1 and half pods of garlic An inch big piece of ginger A handful of coriander leaves A handful of mint leaves 4 green gillies Chop all these ingredients finely Juice of two limes Salt to taste Jeera powder 1 tsp Garam masala 1 tsp 2 eggs Mix all the ingredients together and form cutlets and shallow fry in oil

Ven Pongal Rice 1 cup Split moong dal 1/2 cup For tempering Ghee 2 - 3 tablespoon Finely chopped ginger 1 tablespoon Cashews 6 - 7 roughly chopped 1 green chilli chopped Half a tsp of peppercorns Half tsp of cumin seeds Quarter tsp of mustard seeds A few curry leaves Water 1 1/2 cup Milk 1 1/2 cup Salt to taste Wash the rice and dal and soak for half hour In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee and add the mustard seeds, when they cackle, add the rest of the tempering ingredients and fry for a minute. Drain the water from the soaked rice and dal and add to the pressure cooker. Now add the salt milk and water. Cover and cook for 7 minutes on a low flame after the first whistle. It can be served with sambar or coconut cutney. Here I have paired it with Ginger Tamarind chutney