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

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken is a mild and slightly creamy chicken preparation that can be had with any kind of Indian flat bread like chapati, naan or batura. The addition of butter may not sound healthy, but i feel it is okay to have a little bit of sinful indulgence once in a while.

the recipe



ingredients for the marinade

Chicken - 500 gms

Lemon juice (optional) - 1 tbsp

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Ginger Garlic  paste - 1 tbsp

Garam Masala- 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

other ingredients

Butter - 1 + 1 + 1 tbsp

Onion - 1 (ground to paste)

Tomato puree - from 2 tomatoes

Kashmiri Chilie powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves & stem, chopped - 1/4 cup

Cream - 1/4 cup

salt to taste

the method

Cut the chicken into small pieces. Marinate it with the ingredients for the marinade for 30 minutes.

Heat one tbsp butter in a heavy bottom pan / pressure cooked in low heat. Add the marinated chicken and saute for about ten minutes.

In another pan add one tbsp butter and pour the onion paste. Add some salt so that the water from the onion will evaporate quickly. Saute for a minute or until the raw smell has gone. Pour the tomato puree and add turmeric, coriander, chilly and cumin powder. Let it boil for a while. Add the sauted chicken and mix well. Bring it to a boil. When the chicken is almost done add the garam masala. Reduce to low heat and add the lightly beaten cream. Stir briskly so that the cream will completely blend with the gravy and will not curdle. Check salt and stir in the coriander leaves. As per butter chicken recipes a final dollop of butter is essential. I have also added the same but it melted and came on top of the curry as you can see in the picture. So it is thoroughly optional whether to add another tablespoon of butter before turning off heat. This is a very tasty preaparation. Enjoy as you please.

the same recipe can be followed to prepare Butter Paneer or even a Butter Potato ;-)

 

Guest Post at Nithu's Kitchen

hi everybody,

glad to inform you that i got a chance to guest post one of my recipe and have a small chat at Nithu's Kitchen which has some yummy recipes.....

i guest (re-)posted Kashmiri Paneer recipe ...please do check out Nithu's Kitchen.....

cheers

roshan

Chembu Curry (Colocasia / Taro)

It is interesting to note how recipes evolve in our kitchen. This chembu / colocasia recipe evolved as a result of a dialogue in a Malayalam movie where the protagonist asks his caretaker to prepare a fish-like chembu curry with cocum / camboge in it. 

in case you do not have cocum, it can be substituted with tamarind pulp.

the recipe

Colocasia / chembu - 300 gms

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp + 1/2 tsp

Green chilly - 1 or 2

Salt to taste

Coconut Oil / veg oil - 1 1/2 tsp

Small onion - 5

Curry leaves - 2 sprig

Chilly powder - 1 1/2 - 2 tsp

Coconut milk (second extract - thin) - 1 cup

Coconut milk (first extract - thick) - 3 /4 cup

Cocum - 2 medium size pieces

Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece

the method

Peel and cut the colocasia / taro into small cubes. Wash thoroughly. Cook it in second extract / thin coconut milk with 1/4 tsp turmeric, salt and 1 green chilly. Stir in between to check whether it sticks to the pan (add water if need be). Once done, turn off heat.

In another pan, heat oil and stir in chopped onion. When translucent add ginger. Stir for a minute and add curry leaves, 1/2 tsp turmeric and chilly powder. Add 1/4 cup water and cocum pieces / tamarind. Let it boil for 5 -7 minutes. Turn to low heat and add the cooked colocasia and stir well. Check seasoning and let it boil for 5 minutes in low heat. Add the thick coconut milk and stir. Turn off heat when the curry starts to boil. Serve with rice and some veggies.

Peshawari Naan

I came to know about Peshawari naan while searching about the use of Kalonji. Peshawari Naan has similarities to a Kashmiri paratha in terms of the stuffing. I came across two recipes and I have come out with the best of two. I have avoided the use of eggs in the dough and have prepared it with wheat flour instead of maida / flour.

the recipe

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Yeast - 1 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Hot water - 3/4 cup

Butter - 2 tbsp

Butter - for pan frying the naan

Shahi jeera - 1/4 tsp

for the stuffing

Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp

Raisins - 1 tbsp

for rolling

kalonji / nigella seeds - 1 /2 tsp

the method

Place the hot water in a small bowl with the yeast, salt and sugar and lightly stir it. Cover the yeast mix and check it after ten minutes. The yeast would have come up. Place the wheat flour in a mixing bowl and make a well in it. Pour the yeast mix, shahi jeera and 2 tbsp  butter and knead it to a soft dough. Cover the dough with a wet muslic cloth. Let it rise (1 - 1 1/2 hours). Divide the dough into 8 - 10 balls. Stuff each ball with few cashew nuts and raisins. Flour a rolling surface and gently roll out oval shaped naans by sprinkling a tiny pinch of kalonji.

The naan is rolled gently to make sure that the air bubbles formed by the yeast is not pressed down completely.

Naan is usually cooked in a tandoori oven or in a usual oven. Since my previous experience with a baked naan was not good, i fried this in a pan, similar to a chapathi. Cook naan in medium to high heat and apply butter on either side. Serve with Kashmiri Paneer, Green Pea Green Kurma or any dish of your choice.

the recipe goes to Stuffed Paratha by Vardhini