Some time back I mentioned that I was officially out of ideas for everyday cooking. That's when I decided that I would do the round of each of the states of the country and try and cook up some meals from each cuisine. Something new for me to learn and something interesting on the table as well. By no means is this list of recipes exhaustive and a complete representation of the state. I worked through Andhra Pradesh and then tried my hand at Bihar. I know I didn't try Litti Chokha and possibly several other dishes, but I will at some point and hope to update this post. Till then, here is what I tried and my comments on it. For these recipes I depended on various blogs I came across. You can click on each name and it will lead you to the original recipe. I have of course tweaked them a bit here and there and so you may want to as well.

Though this is a restaurant review blog, I look to cook just as much. I generally tend to open my fridge, check what I have on hand and then look for recipes online to match the ingredients I have. Mix and match a bit and come up with something. Sometimes, I just like someone else's recipe and make that, other times, I set out on a quest, like the showcase of Indian states I have going (though am only done with Andhra now and am working on Bihar). For today, I decided to put up some photos of the dishes that have come out my kitchen. Links to original recipes are at the link below.

And here are the recipes

Its' been a while since I posted a recipe, or posted anything for that matter. The reviews for Flamenco and Pepper Cafe will be up soon. But till then to soothe my guilty conscience, here is a simple recipe for chicken and brinjal. May sound strange, but it turns out yumm. Am always looking for recipes that allow me to combine meat and veggies to make a one pot meal. Especially since junior, like most other kids is allergic to the thought of vegetables. One evening I ended up having just brinjals and chicken at home. Scoured the net, read through a couple of international and Indian recipes, mixed and matched ingredients and methods and came up with this.


Ingredients
* 1/2 kg chicken - small pieces would be nice
* 3 medium sized brinjals diced
* 2 medium sized onions chopped
* 1 big tomato chopped
* 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste
* 2-3 tbsp of any chicken masala powder
* 400 ml of chicken stock (I used maggi cubes, 1 cube (foreign ones or two cubes Indian version) boiled in around 500 ml of water till it reduces a bit)

Method
* Fry the onions till they are transparent. Add in the ginger garlic paste and fry
* Throw in the diced brinjal and fry till they are slightly brown at the edges
* Put in the chicken and the chicken masala powder and coat the chicken well. Fry till the chicken crisps a bit on the outside.
* Add in the tomatoes and the chicken stock and cook the chicken till the stock reduces to a thickish gravy. This takes around half hour on medium flame.
* Once done, check for the level of salt since the stock will already have salt in it. Add as per taste.

For the ghee rice
Ingredients
* 1 large cup of rice
* 1 large onion sliced
* A little bit of whole cinnamon, clove and elaichi
* 1 bayleaf
* 1/2 cup ghee
* Salt


Method
In your pressure cooker, add the ghee and fry the bay leaf and whole cinnamon, clove and elaichi. Add in the onions and wait till they are brown. Put in your rice, double the quantity of water and salt. Close and make as you normally do.  

I hate Monday mornings specifically because I have to wake up early to get breakfast going. And half the time my brains are still asleep when its time to serve up. On such occasions, there are a few simple recipes I fall back on. The one I am going to explain is from this small selection.

* 8 slices of bread

* 3 eggs

* 2 tbsps of milk

* Chilli powder to taste

* Cheese slices

* Salt to taste

Beat together the eggs with the chilli powder, milk and salt. This is to create a dip. Something like a savory version of French toast batter. Dip your slice of bread in it and turn it over. Fry the slice in a little butter or oil. Flip sides when one is done. When the bread slice is still on the pan, cut strips of the cheese and put it on the bread. Wait a minute till it melts a bit. Take it off and breakfast is served. :)

Been a while since I posted a recipe. This is a simple one that we make at home. Its fun and its tasty and lends a special something to that home-cooked meal. For kids, its possibly also an interesting way to get those greens down. So here is what you do.

* Whole spinach leaves (try and get those that are not torn - wash and allow them to drain and dry)

* Gram flour

* Water

* Chilli Powder

* Salt

Make a batter of the gram flour, water, chilli powder and salt. Heat the oil for deep frying. Dip the leaves one by one in the batter till they are well coated. Once the oil is hot, deep fry this leaves till they look crisp. A minute or two on either side. Take them out and drain the oil on kitchen towels. This crispy treat is best eaten when it is straight off the fire.

This is a simple enough recipe and one that can be pretty wholesome for the family. Once you have all the ingredients in place (which should not take too much time), putting the dish together takes a short while. So here goes

* 1/2 kg kheema

* 2 large onions sliced

* 3 medium tomatoes chopped

* 1 large potato diced and boiled

* 3 tbsps of toor dal

* 7 - 8 large dry red chillies

* 6 peppercorns

* 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon

* A fistful of coriander leaves and mint leaves

* 1/2 tsp coriander seeds

* 1/2 tsp whole jeera

* 1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)

* 1 tbsp vinegar

* 7 to 8 cloves of garlic

* 1/2 inch piece ginger

* 3 cups of raw rice

* Half tsp haldi (food coloring with also do to get that yellow pulao shade)

* 1 bay leaf

* 3 cloves

* 4 tbsps of ghee (clarified butter)

Grind all the ingredients of the masala into a smooth paste. In a pressure pan, add a bit of oil and fry the sliced onions till they are translucent. Add the tomatoes and fry for a while. Add in the ground masala, the meat and stir fry till the meat is coated with the masala. Add in the toor dal. Add the required amount of salt and water. Close the pressure pan and cook the meat. A tip would be to add a little more water so that you have a gravy that will keep the rice moist.

For the rice, heat the ghee and fry the bay leaf, cloves for a while. Add in the rice, double the quantity of water and the food coloring. A pinch of salt also would be good. Cook the rice separately. Put it for a while shorter than you normally would.

Once the meat is cooked. Layer it with the rice and put it on dum, the way you would for a biryani. You can see how dum is done here. 15 minutes on dum would do fine. If you want a simpler way then cook the kheema completely and just mix it in with the rice.