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Sanjeev Kapoor loves desi
food best.
From his new book
'Simply Indian', he picks his favorite recipes
Bhutte ke cutlet
1 cup corn niblets
2 medium-sized onions
4-6 green chillies
2-inch piece ginger
½-medium bunch fresh coriander leaves
¼ cup gram flour (besan)
2 tbsp oil + to deep-fry
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 tbsps chaat masala
Boil corn niblets or pressure cook them in two cups of water
and cool. Squeeze them in a muslin cloth to drain excess
water. Peel, wash and chop onions. Remove stems, wash and
chop green chillies. Peel, wash and chop ginger. Clean, wash
and chop coriander leaves. Roast gram flour in a pan till it
gives a nice aroma. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan,
add cumin seeds and fennel seeds and sauté till they change
colour.
Add onions and sauté till light brown in colour. Add
turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and
garam masala powder. Stir to mix well. Add half the cooked
corn niblets and sauté till done. Remove from heat, cool
slightly and grind in a mixer. Remove into a bowl.
Add the rest of the cooked corn niblets, chopped coriander
leaves and salt to taste. Add gram flour, breadcrumbs and
mix well to form a dough. Make 16 equal-sized cutlets. Heat
sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the cutlets till
golden brown in colour. Drain onto an absorbent kitchen
towel. Sprinkle lemon juice and chaat masala and serve hot.
Kalimirch tikka
½ kg chicken, boneless
12-15 peppercorns
4 medium-sized onions
1-inch piece ginger
6-8 cloves garlic
2-3 green chilli
4 tbsps oil
1 medium-sized green capsicum
1 cup hung yogurt
3 tbsp fresh cream
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg white
½ tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
½ tsp green cardamom powder
Butter for basting
Trim, wash and cut chicken into one and a half-inch sized
cubes. Pat them dry. Dry roast peppercorns and crush to a
coarse powder. Peel, wash and slice onions. Peel and wash
ginger and garlic. Remove stems, wash and roughly chop green
chillies. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies to a fine
paste. Heat oil in a kadai and sauté onions till brown.
Cool and grind to a paste. Wash, halve, de-seed and cut
capsicum into one-inch-sized pieces. In a large bowl combine
browned onion paste, hung yogurt, fresh cream, cornstarch,
egg white, ginger, garlic, green chilli paste, garam masala
powder, capsicum cubes, salt, green cardamom powder. Add
chicken cubes, mix well and allow to marinate for one hour
preferably in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 180-degrees C. Arrange the chicken cubes and
capsicum cubes alternately on a skewer and cook in the
preheated oven at 250-degrees C for 15 minutes basting
occasionally with butter. Serve hot with onion rings and
mint chutney.
Chef’s tip To make hung yogurt, tie up fresh yogurt in a
muslin cloth and hang it with a bowl underneath, preferably
in a refrigerator, so that the excess water is drained away
completely.
Chicken cafreal
1 chicken (1 kg)
2 medium-sized onion
3 tbsp oil + to deep fry
6 green chillies
1-inch piece ginger
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 cloves
8 green cardomoms
8 peppercorns
1-inch stick cinnamon
Salt to taste
3 tbsp vinegar
Wash, remove skin, trim and cut chicken into eight medium
sized pieces. Make deep incisions on the chicken using a
sharp knife. Peel, wash and finely slice onions. Heat
sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry onions till crisp and
golden brown. Drain onto an absorbent paper and reserve for
garnish. Remove stems and wash green chillies.
Peel and wash ginger and garlic. Dry roast coriander seeds,
cumin seeds, cloves, green cardamoms, peppercorns and
cinnamon. Grind ginger, garlic, green chillies and roasted
masala to a paste using a little water. Add salt to the
paste and apply this paste to the chicken and refrigerate
for two to three hours.
Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the marinated
chicken and cook, covered on medium heat, stirring
occasionally. Add a little warm water if required to avoid
scorching.
Cook for eight to ten minutes. When almost done and vinegar
and simmer for two to three minutes. Serve hot garnished
with friend onions.
Chef’s tip: If you like you can add a little fresh coriander
to the paste. I know of a Goan restaurant which does it and
it tastes delicious.
Malvani
mutton
500 gm
mutton
4 medium-sized onions
2 one-inch pieces ginger
10 cloves garlic
A few sprigs fresh coriander leaves
4 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
½ tsp turmeric powder
For malvani masala
10 red chillies, whole
2 tsp coriander seeds
4-5 cloves
½ tsp peppercorns
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
4-5 green cardamoms
2-3 black cardamoms
½ cup dry coconut, grated
1 tsp poppy seeds (khuskhus)
Clean, wash and cut mutton into one-inch sized cubes. Peel,
wash and slice onions finely. Peel, wash and cut one piece
of ginger into julienne. Peel, wash the remaining ginger and
garlic and grind to a fine paste. Clean, wash and chop
coriander leaves finely. For malvani masala remove stems of
red chillies. Roast on a hot griddle.
Dry roast coriander seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cumin seeds,
caraway seeds, green cardamoms, black cardamoms, grated dry
coconut and poppy seeds separately. Mix all the roasted
ingredients and grind to a fine paste with a little water.
Heat oil in a thick-bottomed vessel, add the onions, sauté
till light golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic paste,
sauté for a few seconds.
Add the mutton pieces, sauté for a few minutes, add four
cups of water and salt to taste and let it cook, covered, on
low heat. Once the mutton is cooked, add the ground masala,
turmeric powder and mix well. If the gravy is too thick add
another half a cup of water and simmer for two to three
minutes. Check the seasoning. Serve hot, garnished with
coriander leaves and ginger julienne.
Gulab-e-gulkand
1½ cups khoya/mawa
¼ cup chenna
¼ tsp soda bicarbonate
3 tbsp refined flour (maida)
¼ tsp green cardamom powder
Ghee/oil to deep fry
2 cups sugar
½ tsp lemon juice
Stuffing
6 pistachios
3 tbsp gulkand
Grate khoya and mash chenna. Mix the two with
sodabicarbonate, refined flour, green cardamom powder and a
little water to make a soft dough. Divide into 16 equal
portions. Chop pistachios and mix with gulkand. Stuff each
portion of the khoya-chenna ball with a little of this
mixture and shape into balls. Prepare a thin syrup with
sugar and equal quantity of water.
Add lemon juice to the sugar syrup and when the scum rises
to the surface, gently remove it. Heat sufficient ghee/oil
in a kadai. Add the balls and deep fry on very low heat till
golden in colour. Drain and soak in the sugar syrup for at
least fifteen to twenty minutes before serving.
Chef’s tip: Temperature of
the ghee/oil should be low while frying the gulab jamuns as
otherwise they will remain uncooked from inside. |
