Showing posts with label starters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label starters. Show all posts

Mushroom Tarts



ingredients for the tarts

180 gm flour (maida)
75 gm unsalted butter (chopped into cubes)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt (if using salted butted dont use salt)
30-35 ml chill water

Method 1: Mix the flour with salt and sugar. Place it in a bowl. Stir in the chopped butter and crumble it with your fingers. You can also use a knife to cut the butter through the flour to crumble it. Sprinkle the chill water and slowly gather the crumbled flour and shape it into a disk.

Method 2: Place the flour, butter, salt and sugar in a mixer jar and use the whip button. When the ingredients reach a crumble form add water through the small lid until  the flour mix is just collected. Take this into a bowl and shape it into a disk.

Refrigerate the dough for one hour.

Roll the dough and cut out circles that fit in muffin cups. Place the circles in muffin cups and leave it in the refrigerator for another one hour. This will make the dough firm and it will not pull down while baking. Use the excess dough to make small rings or whatever you feel like and place it on the filling of the tart.


Recipe for Mushroom filling

Mushroom - 300 - 400 gms ( i used oyster mushrooms - these are soft than button mushrooms). Cut into thin strips. Use only the soft part. I used home grown mushroom, still i rinsed it in a bowl of water mixed with vinegar and salt.

Onion - 2 large
Garlic - 3 cloves
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cheese - as much as you need

method to cook the mushroom

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic. Stir till the onion is translucent. Add salt, turmeric and pepper. Stir for few seconds and add the mushroom. Do not add water. Turn to low flame. Let the mushroom cook in its own liquid for about 6-7 minutes or till tender. Turn off heat. 

Baking the Tart

Usually, tarts are filled and then baked. I am slightly apprehensive about this idea because i feel the juices in the filling will melt the dough. So i baked the crust first and then placed the filling just till the cheese melted.

The original recipe called for baking at 190 C for 15-20 minutes. Since oven temperatures differ you can check after ten minutes. I'll tell you what i did - i baked the crust at 190 C for 10 minutes and then filled about 1 1/2 tsp of mushroom filling, grated some cheese over it and placed a ring of the excess dough and baked for another 5 minutes. I think you should go by your logic for this step. The tart can served as a started or packed as a lunch or just snack.

The recipe for the tart crust is adapted from Joy of Baking. But i have reduced the quantity of butter. Yet the tart had a melt in the mouth texture.

Fish Cutlet - - - - -lightly spiced



This is a recipe which you can prepare and freeze and fry it whenever you need. The Fish Cutlet is slightly different from the usual ones (which I came across the web) bcause I have not added garam masala. I prefer to taste the taste of fish rather than lot of masala and the addition of ginger, garlic and coriander simply enhances the flavor.

The usually egg dip to coat is replaced with a rice flour dip to get a very crunchy texture. Try it and you’ll like it.

Use these fish cutlets as a starter or simply prepare a fish burger for lunch.

…enjoy!!


the recipe
Fish keema – 500 gms
Potato – 500 gms (boiled and finely mashed)

Oil – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1 large, finely chopped
Green chilly, finely chopped – 2 (deseeded would be better)
Garlic – 8 medium cloves, finely chopped or grated
Ginger – 1/3rd inch piece, finely chopped
Corianders leaves – leaves with only tender stem – 6 sprigs
Chilly powder – ½ tsp
Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Lemon juice / Vinegar – 1 tsp
Salt to taste

ingredients to coat the cutlet

Rice flour – 2 -3 tbsp - Coarse rice flour (the one used to make puttu)
Water – ½ cup
Bread Crumbs – as much as you need
Oil to shallow fry
Salt to taste
Pepper powder – ¼ tsp

Note: I have used fish keema to prepare this recipe. If you are preparing with fresh fish, clean the fish and boil it with ¼ inch ginger, 4 garlic cloves, turmeric and salt and just adequate water to immerse the fish. Separate the flesh from the skin and bones and mash it with a fork and then follow the method below.

the method

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom or non-stick pan. Stir in the onions and sauté till translucent. Add the green chilly, ginger and garlic and stir for few seconds. Add the chilly, turmeric and pepper powder. Sauté for a while and add the fish keema / mashed fish. Stir well in low flame till the fish turns dry. Pour the lemon juice and sprinkle the coriander. Sauté for few seconds and turn off heat. When the fish turns warm, add the mashed potatoes and mix well, preferable using a potato masher. Knead the mix into a dough. Take a table spoon of the mix and shape it into a cutlet. I used a cutlet mould and ended up with very large ones. You can shape it according to your preference. Shape all the potato – fish mix.

Mix the rice flour with about 10 tbsp water (the mix should not be very watery), salt and pepper powder. The rice flour batter should be solid enough / liquid enough to coat the cutlet. Dip each cutlet into the rice mix and then coat it with bread crumbs and keep it ready. To avoid the bread crumbs from leaving the cutlet, place it in the freezer for half an hour and then keep it at room temperature for 10 minutes and then shallow fry in a non-stick pan.

These cutlets can be stored in the refrigerator (freezer) in an air tight container for upto a month.

Souperoni


The name souperoni is nothing but the addition of macaroni in this lightly hot and tangy soup. The souperoni is perfect for a cold day and a nice way to make kids have soup.


the recipe
3 ripe tomatoes, blanched

1 large clove of garlic, chopped

1 tsp veg oil

½ tsp chilly powder

1 tsp soya sauce

1 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp chopped spring onion

Salt to taste

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp corn flour diluted in 3 tbsp water

a handful of macaroni

¼ tsp white pepper or black pepper powder

the method

heat oil in a pan and stir the garlic till the raw smell goes off (the garlic should remain white), drain from the oil. Turn off heat. Place the sautéed garlic and blached and chopped tomatoes in a blender and grind to a fine paste (do not add water).
Heat the pan (in medium flame) with the remaining oil and add the chilly powder and macaroni. Saute for about 5 seconds and add the soya sauce, tomato sauce and sugar. Stir for few seconds and add the pureed tomatoes and salt. Stir well and let the mix boil. When the macaroni is almost cooked add the corn starch. Bring the souperoni to boil and spring the pepper powder and spring onions. Turn off heat and serve hot.

Soya Cutlets ( baked or fried )


Until recently, I have been preparing only soya chunk curries. Once I tried to prepare recipes with soya mince, it seems to be very interesting. Therefore, the soya mince curry came up and then I tried to prepare cutlets using soya mince. On the first bite it is very difficult to distinguish whether this is a meat cutlet. However on the second bite you will definitely know that this is soya, because you can taste its flavor.

About Soya Mince, you can either prepare it at home or just use store bought ones. In the soya mince curry I had used a different method to prepare the mince and for this cutlet I followed a different method. The latter is a better process.

I prepared a baked cutlet to reduce the oil intake as well as to save time. You can just bake everything in one go.

the recipe

soya chunks – 20 -25 nos
potato – 2 medium or 3

the quantity of potatoes must be equal to or more than the soya mince bcoz soya has a very strong flavor

onion, finely chopped – 1
garlic, finely chopped – 2 cloves
ginger,  finely chopped – ¼ inch piece
garam masala – ½ tsp
coriander leaves, chopped – 2 – 3 table spoon
lime juice – 1 tsp
turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
chilly powder – ½ tsp
pepper powder – ¼ tsp
salt to taste
oil – 1 tbsp

to coat the cutlets

milk – ¼ cup
pepper powder – a pinch
bread crumbs – from two slices

the method

Boil adequate water to immerse the soya chunks. Turn off heat. Add ½ tsp salt into the water and stir in the soya chunks. Cover and let it soak for 20 minutes. Drain off and squeeze water from soya chunks. Wash it with fresh water. Cut it into two. Place the chunks in a blender and blend for 2 seconds. It would have become strands. Keep it aside.

Boil, peel and mash the potatoes.

Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions. When translucent add the chopped ginger & garlic (ginger garlic paste is also okay). Add turmeric, chilly, garam masala and pepper powder.  Stir in the soya mince and salt. Sauté until it is coated well with the spices (add few drops of water if need be). Add the lime juice and coriander leaves. Turn off heat. Let it cool.

Add the mashed potatoes to the sautéed mince. Knead it to a dough. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Shape it into patties of desired shapes.

Take the milk in a slightly wide bowl and add the pepper powder.

Keep the bread crumbs in a flat plate.

Take each cutlet, immerse it in the milk mix and then put it in the bread crumbs and coat it well.

Preheat over at 200 C for 5 minutes. Bake the prepared cutlets at 200 C for ten minutes. Serve with tomato ketchup or as you please.

* this cutlet can be either baked or fried

Elephant Foot Yam cutlets


I am making a disclaimer that this is not my recipe but this is one I watched on television a loooooooong time ago.....probably when i was in college or school....and this is the first time that i ever tried......it tasted good



Yam tastes best during July and August.....it is also a time when most tubers taste the best. The veggie cooks faster during these months and I particularly don't taste that itching sensation that usually comes with it. 

Yam  can be cooked in various forms and this is one recipe which even the kids couldn't resist. 

Yam being the common name, the specific name for reference is Elephant foot yam. Stored with immense medicinal value a good read about the benefits of the vegetable is found here.




the recipe


Yam, grated – 400 – 500 gms
Oil – 1 tbsp
Cumin – ¾ tsp
Chillie powder – 1 tsp
Rice flour – 1 ½ - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

the method

Sprinkle 1 tbsp oil in the yam and mix well. Steam the grated yam so that the water content in the yam evaporates off. Blend together the steamed yam, cumin, rice flour, chilly powder and salt. Shape it and deep fry in oil. While frying make holes in the middle of the cutlets gently to ensure that proper frying takes place in the middle of the cutlets also. Can be snacked or served with rice.


the recipe goes to the event - - dish name starts with E



Potato Wedges





the recipe

Potato – 250 gms
Pepper powder – ½ - ¾ tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tbsp

the method

Cut the potato into wedges. Boil water in a pan. Place the wedges in the water with a little salt and parboil. This takes about 5 minutes. Drain the water.

Heat oil in a pan (preferably a flat pan) and add the parboiled potato wedges. Add salt. Stir till all the sides have become light golden brown. Season with pepper powder and mix well. Can be snacked or served as starters with mayonnaise.

Shrimp Tempura







Tempura is a cuisine of Portuguese origin with much popularity in Japan. Thin strips of vegetables or sea foods like shrimp or squid are fried in the tempura batter.

Spicy Brinjal and Potato Stir Fry

Brinjal is one of my favourite vegetables. Growing up in the hillstation Valparai we had our own patch of vegetable garden and we use...