Kakka Orotti | Steamed Mini Rice Balls in Chicken Gravy

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTION:

1. Wash, rinse and soak the rice in water for 3-4 hours
2. Drain and add the rice into the large jar of a mixer-grinder, and grind it along with minimal water to a coarse and grainy mixture
3. Now, open and add fresh grated coconut, fennel seeds and roughly chopped onions and grind for few more seconds (the mixture is not smooth, we just need to bring all together in a coarse texture)
1. I had to grind in two batches for even texture as my mixer grinder jar was not big enough. 
4. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add salt and start adding rice flour little by little until you are able to make the mixture into a non-sticky dough. You should be able to pinch a little and make balls that don't fall apart or too sticky. (Cover and keep it until needed)

1. Grease your steamer vessels (I used Idly pans) lightly with oil
2. When you are ready to prepare the kaka orottis,  rub both your palms and fingers with oil and take a handful of the dough, roll it between your hands into a log shape. Keep the log shaped dough on your left hand and pinch a small portion and roll in into a ball on the left-hand palm. Press it lightly in the middle to make a dent and keep them on the pan. 
3. Repeat this until the steamer pan is filled with these balls 
4. Steam cook for 10 minutes until done. You will notice that the become hard when done. 
5. Transfer them to a container and repeat until all of the dough is used up. 

1. Heat oil in a wide frying pan
2. Add raw rice, green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and sauté until rice puffs up and you get the rich aroma of the spices
3. Add fennel seeds and grated coconut and sauté again until the coconut starts turning golden
4. Let it cool and then grind with water to make it into a smooth paste 

1. Heat oil in a curry pot (this will be the pot where you will add the steamed kaka orotti) 
2. Add the chopped onions and sauté until golden. TIP: I love to season salt as I go. Adding salt at this stage will help cook the onion faster. 
3. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for couple more minutes or until the raw smell fades.
4. Now, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for few minutes until everything comes together. You can cover and cook at this point if it is too dry. 
5. Add all the spice powders - chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and sauté for few seconds.
6. Now, add  the washed and drained chicken pieces and stir well. 
7. Add about a cup of water and cover and cook until chicken is cooked completely. (open and stir occasionally to prevent burning)
8. Add the prepared coconut paste, garam masala and bring to boil while stirring well. 
9. Now, add some curry leaves and gently fold in the steamed rice balls (kakka orotti)
10. Fold until all the coins are coated with the gravy
11. Cover and cook on very low flame for 5 minutes. 
12. Switch off and serve hot for lunch or dinner

1. Prepare the rice dough
2. Prep the chicken and let it drain
3. Make the balls and steam, while steaming - make the coconut paste
4. Prepare the curry 
5. Fold in the steamed Kakka orotti close to the serving time

Feijoada | Goan Black-eyed Peas Curry

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

1. Wash and drain the soaked black-eyed peas thoroughly. 
2. Add them into a pressure cooker with sufficient water and pressure cook the beans until soft and tender. (4 whistles and let it cool on its own)
3. Puree the tomatoes by roughly chopping them into large chunks and blend without adding water till they are lump free.
4. heat some oil in a deep saucepan or curry pot and add the sliced onions. 
5. Saute onions until they are golden. 
6. Add the minced ginger and garlic and continue to sauté for 4-5 minutes.
7. Next, add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powders and mix well.
8. Pour in the tomato puree and mix everything together and cook until oil begins to release.
9. Tip in the cooked black-eyed beans and mix for a minute. 
10. Add salt, coconut milk, and a little water to bring it to the consistency you desire.
11. Add the jaggery and pomegranate molasses or tamarind paste and stir well. 
12. Simmer the curry for 5-6 minutes, ensuring not to allow it to boil vigorously.
13. Drizzle some lemon juice and chopped coriander and serve Feijoada (Spicy Goan Black-eyed Peas Stew) hot with chapatis or rice or even a slice of bread. 

Today's recipes are all about Green Grapes salads. Yeah! I was serious when I had said we are going on Salad way.  Grapes come is a few different varieties and F loves to snack on the green seedless tiny ones. What about you? I hate those gigantic ones! When these are in season (which is now!) they appear in the supermarket's imported aisle. F picked a whole bag of grapes and I was hunting for salad greens and picked a bunch of lettuce. He gave me the look "you really want that?" knowing how little insects freak me out! I know, you are shellshocked that this is my first time with Lettuce. :-P. While unpacking, I noticed we have a lot of grapes! How much can we keep popping?? That is how these salads were born for three consecutive days.

and about the lettuce - I shall spare the grossness (is that even a word?) :-P



I made these salads almost a month ago; 18th, 19th and 20th of October 2016 to be precise. :-P and has been in the drafts ever since. I am hoping to push out all the recipes waiting to be published and come back post vacation with renewed love for food and blog. InshaAllah.

Salads are always best with fresh ingredients. As green grapes tend to get fermented, it is best to consume within 5 days of purchase if stored properly. I read that it should be stored without washing, but I always soak and rinse with salted water and then store in a bowl in the fridge. So as an when we open the fridge, we can reach out and pop a few. :-P

I loved all three of them! Read on and let me know which one is your favourite!

Green Grapes Salad | Three Ways

Green Grapes Labneh Salad #1 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup green grapes
1 small cucumber, skin peeled roughly and chopped
1 red plum - pitted and chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils
fistful of chopped lettuce
2 to 3 tablespoons Labneh
1/2 teaspoon of brown or raw sugar
Sprinkle of brown sugar crystals or raw sugar to garnish
a dash of salt

Green Grapes Shallots and Peanuts Salad #2

1 cup green grapes
3 to 4 shallots, chopped
A fistful of chopped lettuce
2 tablespoons of roasted peanuts
a dash of jalapeno sauce

Green Grapes Fig and Walnut Salad #3

1 cup of green grapes
4 semi dried figs, soaked overnight and chopped
2 tablespoons of pomegranate arils
A fistful of roasted walnuts
A fistful of chopped lettuce
Salt and pepper for taste

Direction: 

It is best to have the ingredients chilled or ready before mixing the salad. Mix the ingredients in a bowl and serve cold!

This is how I used up the grapes and lettuce that cannot be stored too long. So, which one is your favourite?

Keeping up with Salads! :-P

• WAT
• Sabaayad
• Kashata

In my world too, some very interesting things happened this week - Alhamdulillah!

• The terrace door key is now always on it and we take Ragee and tea out there early mornings
• Made Nutella cheesecake parfait to use up Nutella - which seems good news that we are serious (a little) on weight goals
• I was so thrilled when two of my readers made the Cherupyre curry and shared how much their family loved it. It really made my day! 
• I also made a small batch of Bezar spice mix to make Dejaj Salona- which btw, reminds me to mention that - a business website is using my Salona image for their recipe and they don't have the courtesy to even respond to my concern. :-(  
• I swallowed pride and entered a plus size clothing store and shopped! Actually, makes me feel better as I fall into their Slim category! LOL. 
• We went shopping exclusively for Ragee - food and litter! She is loving both! 
• And the best thing that happened this week is I found mastic tears! :-D Alhamdulillah!

#PooriMasala rolled by me fried by F and my mom's pressure cooker masala of potato carrot and peas! The best weekend breakfast!

A post shared by Famidha Ashraf (@fashfaiz) on Aug 13, 2016 at 8:24am PDT

Today I am sharing the masala recipe that is served with Poori, assuming you all know how to make Poori. This was one of the earliest recipes that I got from my mom right after I came to Yanbu. Making Poori is a bonding activity - while I work the dough, F works on frying them. I like to keep the pooris puffed even while serving, so they go into this large colander right after frying. The Potato Masala is made in a jiffy because it gets cooked in a Pressure cooker. No boiling and peeling etc - no hard work at all!

Mom's Poori Masala | Potato Masala for Deep Fried Indian Flatbread

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 medium onions, chopped finely
2 to 3 green chillies, chopped very finely
1/2 inch ginger, chopped very finely
1 medium tomato, chopped roughly
4 to 5 small sized potatoes, cut into cubes
1 carrot, chopped into half inch pieces or roundels of 1/4 inch thick
1/3 cup frozen green peas
Salt to taste
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 cup water (add more to adjust desired consistency)

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker on medium to low flame
2. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter and then add the curry leaves 
3. Add the chopped onions, green chillies and saute until onions turn translucent 
4. Next, add the ginger and saute until the raw smell fades away
5. Tip in the chopped tomato and saute until they breakdown 
6. Fold in the chopped potatoes, carrots, green peas, salt, and turmeric powder
7. Add water and mix again
8. Close and pressure cook on a medium to high flame for 1 long whistle and then switch off before the second one.
9. Let the pressure cool on its own 
10. Serve warm with fresh pooris, luchis or any Indian flatbreads

Note: You can cook in a pot instead of a pressure cooker but it would take longer time and you just need to check until the potatoes are done.

Along with potatoes, mom adds peas and carrots which I have made every time except this one time as I ran out of carrots. If using frozen peas, add at the end and cook for a few minutes. With the travel plans, I am trying not to buy excess veggies so please feel free to add them when you make and adjust the water accordingly.


Poori Masala is our choice of breakfast at least once a month and I always make it this way.


Do let me know in the comments if you want me to include the recipe and method of making pooris.

Have a great Weekend! :-D

Split Green Gram Curry with Coconut and Fennel seeds 

1. Pressure Cook the listed items for 2 to 3 whistles and let the pressure cool off on its own 
2. Grind to paste all the items listed using mixer grinder 
3. Open the pressure cooker and keep it on a low flame 
4. Stir in the coconut paste, and salt and more water if it is too thick
5. Let it boil for 3 to 4 mins. Here you can decide the consistency you want the curry to be - if you need it thick, then let it simmer for a while. You will have to stir once in a while to prevent the dal from bubbling and splashing out. 
6. Switch off when it reaches the desired consistency 
7. In another small pan, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds and let it crackle, then add the dried red chilli and curry leaves. Pour this into the curry and give it a good stir. Close it with lid for a couple of minutes for the flavour to get incorporated
8. Serve hot with freshly crushed green chillies with ari doshas, chapatis or plain white rice. 

Updated image: 12/04/2017

Sweet Banana Drops

INGREDIENTS

1 big banana (or 2 small bananas), mashed well
2 to 3 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon rice flour
1 or 2 tablespoons semolina
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
a pinch of Baking soda
Salt to taste
1/4 cup coconut milk or water
oil to deep fry

*a pinch of baking powder can be added too. This will give a more puffed up and light banana drops.

METHOD

1. Heat oil for deep frying
2. Mash the banana(s) with sugar (or use a blender for the whole process)
3. Add rest of the dry ingredients 
4. Start adding coconut milk or water little by little and flap with your four fingers to break down and mix thoroughly.
5. Flap and mix until you get a batter that is not too thick nor runny. You should be able to scoop the batter with a spoon and use another spoon to release into the oil
6. Maintain the flame on medium and drop as much as batter balls your pot can hold (avoid overloading as that will bring down the temp of the oil)
7. Fry turning all sides until brown 
8. Remove with slotted spoons and place them kitchen papers to drain off any excess oil
9. Serve hot with a cup of tea

I have made these so many times but this is the first time I could capture it before it got dark.

Back home, they just take a little batter in hand and drop little portion into the hot oil - the reason why it got the name "nulli itathu" but I don't prefer to use my hand so the spoon hack!

That's all from me! Have a great weekend Gulfies!

What is Nectarine?

Salad with rajma and peach or nectarine