Mutton Curry With Fried Onion Paste

Ingredients:

1/2 kg mutton

2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tbsp jeera powder

2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

3 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 medium sized onion sliced

1/4 cup curd

2 tbsp meat masala

2 tsp garam masala

1 bay leaf

2 black cardamom

1 cup water

4 tbsp oil

salt to taste

to garnish

coriander leaves

Method:

• Wash the mutton and pat dry. Marinate the mutton with ginger garlic paste and keep aside.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil and fry the onions till golden brown. Grind it to a paste.
• Mix fried onion paste and curd together.
• Heat a pressure cooker. Add 2 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is heated add the bay leaf and black cardamom. Once it releases its flavour add the marinated mutton and stir fry on high heat. Stir well.
• Add the dry masalas- coriender powder, jeera powder, red chilli powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, meat masala, garam masala and stir well on medium high heat. Let the masala cook for 5 mins on sim. Add salt and mix well.
• Add the curd and the onion mixture and stir well. Let the liquid dry up.
• Once the liquid dries up, mix well and add 1 cup of water, mix well.
• Cover the cooker with the lid and cook till one whistle on high and then cook on sim for 8 minutes.
• Let the pressure drop by itself, garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Tips:

• Do not add salt unless the mutton has been cook well with the masala.
• After the onion has been ground to paste its very important to mix the paste with dahi, it helps stop further cooking of the onion.
• If after the pressure has dropped the mutton is not tender, cook the mutton without the lid for some more time.
• Since this preparation has brown onion paste it cannot be stored for too many days as it will spoil the taste of the mutton.
• You can use meat masala of any brand.

Chikoo Shake

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

ice cubes

2 medium sized chikoo

pinch of drinking chocolate/coffee

sugar as per taste

Method:

• Peel the chikoo, deseed and chop it
• In a blender add chopped chikoo and blend till the chikoo is pureed. Add milk, ice cubes, sugar and a pinch of drinking chocolate/coffee and blend it for a minute.
• Transfer in a serving glass and serve chilled!!

Tips:

• I feel a dash of drinking chocolate /coffee gives the chickoo shake a fantastic taste, however you can avoid it.
• If you want to give an Indian taste you can add cardamom powder.
• Sugar would be as per the sweetness of the chikoo. Castor sugar/ powdered sugar is best as it dissolves faster.
• You can retain the peel of the chikoo.
• You can top the chikoo shake with whipped cream or ice-cream. Chocolate flavoured ice-cream really taste well with chickoo shake.

Chicken Cafreal

Ingredients:

1/2 kg chicken

To be ground into a paste

15 cloves of garlic

2" ginger

3/4 cup coriander leaves

8 pepercorns

1" cinnamon

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 lemon(juice)

5 green chillies

5 cloves

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp khus khus

1/2 tsp jeera

1/4 tsp haldi

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp butter

Method:

• Wash the chicken and pat dry.
• Make incisions on the chicken.
• Add all the ingredients of the ground masala in a mixie and grind to a fine paste.
• Apply the ground masala along with salt to the chicken and marinate for atleast 4-5 hours.
• Heat a pan on medium flame. Add the oil and butter, once its heated add the marinated chicken along with the marination.
• Fry the chicken on a high flame for 2-3 mins. Then turn the flame to sim and cover the pan. Let the chicken cook on a low flame.
• Once the chicken is cooked, turn the flame to high and dry the entire marination. Once the marination has dried, fry all the chicken pieces on a high flame for 2-3 mins.
• serve with french fries and goan ooney !!!

Tips:

• You can marinate the chicken overnight. The more time it marinates the better will be the taste.
• You can also add vinegar esp. the goan vinegar, that will give an authentic taste, however if you do not have it you can skip..like i mostly do.
• This is a dry preparation.
• You can preserve some of the marinate and once the chicken is cooked, take another pan add a bit of butter and oil and on a high flame add the remaining marinate also add sugar and salt and little bit of garam masala and add the chicken and see that all the masala coats the chicken. This way it really taste good.
• The amount of green chillies can be varied according to your taste.
• Squeeze lemon before serving it balances all the flavours.
• To make the tamarind pulp soak tamarind in hot water for sometime, squeeze well and sieve. Alternatively, add water to the tamarind and microwave covered for 1 minute. Keep aside for 2 mins, squeeze well and sieve.
• This prepartaion can be served as a starter.
• The garam masala powder can be avoided.