Chipotle-Corn Salsa

Chipotle-Corn Salsa

By Blog No Baap   13:27   No comments:

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil 
• 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 1 large ear) 
• Salt and pepper 
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion (from about ½ small onion) 
• 1 medium poblano chile, minced (about 1/2 cup) 
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup) 
• 2 canned chipotles in adobo, seeded and minced 
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Preparation 

Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add corn, sprinkle with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and beginning to turn golden, about 3 minutes. Add onion and poblano and cook, stirring, until corn starts to brown and onion and poblano soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. (Alternatively, grill corn before removing kernels from ear. Slice onion and grill before dicing. Grill poblano, turning, until charred; remove skin and dice.) 

When corn mixture has cooled, fold in tomatoes, chipotles, lime juice, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Serve or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day to allow flavors to develop.

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Green Tomato and Onion Curry

Green Tomato and Onion Curry

By Blog No Baap   13:22   No comments:

I’m very fussy about tomatoes. I love the sundried variety but not in pesto. I like the raw variety but only paired with basil and mozzarella and in a ‘cachumbar’ (salad) with sliced onions, red chilli powder and salt. But I love cooked tomatoes. Especially in curry. It’s my go to dinner when I am ravenous but don’t have the patience to wait. I usually eat this with some plain basmati rice or leftover boiled barley or kicheree.

I have used green tomatoes because I like the unusual. You could use cherry tomatoes cut in half or the different coloured heritage tomatoes that can be found at farmer’s markets nowadays. Which ever you choose, make sure they are lovely and firm so they will keep their shape when cooking.

TOMATO AND ONION (SHAK) CURRY

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 heaped tsp small black mustard seeds
• 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1 medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 250g red or green tomatoes – it doesn’t matter as long as they are firm and tomatoey! Don’t buy the cheap economy ones
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp dhana jeeru (coriander and cumin powder)
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder – more as you wish
• 1/2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder) – optional but adds a tangy twist
• Handful fresh coriander – chopped

To make it 

• Slice the onion and garlic and chop the tomatoes into nice large chunks.  About 1 inch is good.  Smaller will turn them to mush and you don’t want that. Set aside
• Heat the oil in a wok or large saucepan – not heavy bottomed. This is a stir fry type dish.
• When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves in quick succession.  To test the oil you can pop in a mustard seed. If it fizzzles and pops then it’s ready.
• The seeds will crackle and fizzle and spit up so be careful when you add the onions and garlic now.

Frying onions is one of my favourite smells

• Stir for a minute with a fork (not wooden spoon as this will absorb the spices you are going to add)
• Add the tomatoes and then the rest of the spices and stir until all the spices are well combined.

And then the spices go in and the smell gets even better

• Keep tossing the onions and tomatoes with the fork for a few more minutes to cook the dry spices out and prevent sticking.  If it does stick add a little more oil or water.
• Do not overcook.  you want the onions to have a little bite and the tomatoes to keep their shape.
• Pour into a serving bowl, top with the chopped coriander and eat straight away.  This dish does not keep well so try not to have any leftovers!

I served these on Clearspring Quick Cook 5 Grains but you could also go with plain rice.

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Safed Dhokla

Safed Dhokla

By Blog No Baap   10:01   No comments:

Safed dhokla, literally meaning white dhokla, is one of the most popular Gujarati snacks

Dhokla is a really versatile dish. This white variety of dhokla is made chiefly with rice, which means it goes with almost anything. It tastes great with a wide range of dips, sauces, pickles. It is not one of those items that you have to plan the entire menu around, it just blends with most combinations of dishes. It can be a part of a formal meal, or it can be served as a snack. It is easy to whip up in a few minutes if you have the batter ready. You can also use different seasonings to give a subtly different flavor to each batch. This much loved snack has also inspired some unusual food combinations, one of them being ras dhokla, i.e. dhokla with mango pulp.

Clean, wash, and soak three measures of rice to one measure of urad dal separately for 4-6 hours. Grind them separately. Grind the urad dal to a fine paste till it is light and fluffy. Grind the rice slightly more coarsely. Mix the two pastes and let it stand for 5-6 hours or overnight so that it ferments. At the end of that period, either cook the batter or refrigerate till you need it. This batter keeps in the fridge for well over a day. The traditional way of cooking dhokla requires a large container for steaming, a small inverted bowl to be placed in the boiling water, and a flat dish or pan containing batter to place on top of the bowl. Then a large dish covers the big container. It can easily be cooked in a pressure cooker or in an idli cooker too.

While cooking, prepare the batter in small batches by transferring to another container and adding salt and ground green chillies. Spread the batter thinly in a greased flat pan or a deep dish and season with red chilli powder, ground pepper or chilli flakes. Cover it and cook on medium flame for 5-6 minutes. Use the clean knife test to check if it is cooked. If not, cover and cook some more. Once cooked, remove from the steaming container and let it cool slightly. Cut it into any shape or size of your choosing, remove from the pan using a flat spoon, and serve hot. 

Recipe for Safed Dhokla

• 1 ½ cups of rice
• ½ cup urad dal
• 5-6 Ground green chillies
• Salt
• Seasonings, such as ground pepper, red chilli powder, or chilli flakes

1. Clean, wash, and soak three measures of rice to one measure of urad dal separately for 4-6 hours.

2. Grind them separately. Grind the urad dal to a fine paste till it is light and fluffy. Grind the rice slightly more coarsely. Mix the two pastes, cover and let it stand for 5-6 hours or overnight so that it ferments.

3. While cooking, prepare the batter in small batches by transferring to another container and adding salt and ground green chillies.

4. Spread the batter thinly in a greased flat pan or a deep dish and season with red chilli powder, ground pepper or chilli flakes.

5. Cook by any steaming method on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Use the clean knife test to check if it is cooked. If not, cover and cook some more.

6. Once cooked, remove the pan from the steaming container and let it cool slightly.

7. Cut it into any shape or size of your choosing, remove from the pan using a flat spoon, and serve hot.

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