Vegetarian Samosas

Vegetarian samosas(This recipe makes about 3 dozen samosas)

Ingredients
2 boiled potatoes
½ onion finely chopped
coriander leaves chopped
2 small green chillies finely chopped
¼ tspn salt
¼ tspn mango powder
1 tspn garam masala powder (ready made or home made)
Spring roll pastry
1 tspn plain flour mixed with 2 tblspns water to form a paste
oil for frying


MethodTo make the filling, cut the boiled potatoes into small cubes. Add all the ingredients, onion, coriander, green chillies, salt, mango powder, garam masala into the boiled potatoes and mix well and keep aside.

Cut pastry sheets into long strips. Fold each strip from one end and add about one teaspoon of the filling. Continue folding to form a neat triangular shape and apply flour paste on the edge and close firmly. Deep fry the samosas in oil on medium heat until golden colour. Serve with ketchup or chilli sauce.

Mutton Masala

Ingredients
1 pound mutton chops
2 large onions finely chopped
3 tomatoes finely chopped
ginger/garlic paste
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 tbspn garam masala
1 tspn turmeric powder
2 tspn salt
4 tbspn oil
2 cups water
chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Method
Marinate mutton in yoghurt and half tspn salt and keep aside.
Heat oil and saute chopped onion in a pressure cooker till medium brown.
Add chopped tomatoes and ginger/garlic paste till tomatoes blend in with the onion.
Add mutton pieces together with turmeric poweder and salt.
Mix thoroughly on medium flame till oil is visible on the sides. This will take around half hour. Then add 2 cups water and pressure cook.
The mutton is cooked when a small layer of oil forms on top and also double check to see if soft enough to your liking.
Garnish with garam masala and coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapatis.

www.cookingindianstyle.com

Please feel free to send in your recipes for sharing with everyone.

How to wrap samosas

1. Cut egg rolls sheets into strips of 2" x 8" long.
2. Fold one side of corner twice in a triangle shape to form a small pocket.
3. Add filling with a spoon into the pocket and hold corners gently and fold again.
4. Continue folding into triangular shape till the end of the strip.
5. Brush a little paste made of plain flour and water on the edge and press lightly.
6. Deep fry the samosas after wrapping all or keep in freezer for later use.

For filling: chop boiled potatoes into small pieces and mix with finely chopped onions, coriander, green chillies and seasoning. Delicious and quick snack.

Cooking Tips

1. For tastier and crispier aloo parathas (potato pancakes), roll out 2 small chapatis and add potato filling on one and cover with the other and then roll again to desired size and cook on griddle.

2. For softer chapatis - make the dough and keep covered for at least 15 to 20 minutes before cooking.

3. To eliminate excess salt in any curry just add a few drops of lemon juice.

4. Rice tastes better when cooked on a gas cooker instead of a rice cooker.

5. Soak lentils (dal) in water for an hour before cooking to save on your gas bill.

6. Keep leftover green chutney in freezer for later use. Keeps fresh and colour remains in tact.

Chicken Bryani

This recipe serves 4 to 5 persons

Chicken gravy
1 whole chicken (or 4 chicken legs chopped into 12 pieces)
1½ medium-sized onions
2 medium-sized tomatoes
1 tspn ginger/garlic paste
1 tspn salt
½ tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn garam masala (preferably home-made)
3 tbs oil

Heat oil and saute one onion chopped finely. Keep covered on low to medium flame till slightly brown. Chop the other half onion and the tomatoes and grind into smooth paste. Wash chicken and marinade with ginger/garlic paste, salt and 1/2 tspn garam masala.
Add the onion/tomato paste into the onion which should now be slightly brown. Mix till the oil comes on top. Add the chicken pieces into the gravy and keep mixing for about 8 minutes until the gravy is brown. Add 2 cups water and keep on low flame for about 15 minutes till cooked. Once again the chicken is cooked when you see some oil on top. You may remove this excess oil now if desired.


Bryani Rice
2 cups basmati (Indian) rice
½ tspn turmeric powder
8 pcs chopped cashew nuts and 2 tbs raisins soaked in water for few minutes
¼ tspn tandoori colour (powder form available at Indian stores)
2 tbs oil
3½ cups water
Chopped coriander, 1/2 lemon sliced and ½ onion sliced lengthwise for garnishing.

Dry spices:
2 pcs cloves
5 pcs cardamoms (small green)
10 pcs black peppercorn
1” cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

Wash rice and add water, salt, turmeric, cashew nuts and raisins and mix well. Heat two teaspons oil and add the dry spices for just a few seconds and quickly add to the rice and keep to cook. When the rice is cooked, mix the tandoori colour in 2 tbs of water and sprinkle gently onto the rice while fluffing it. This will give the rice a lovely two-toned colour of red and yellow.

In a serving dish spread layers of bryani rice alternating with a few pieces of the cooked chicken leaving the gravy aside. Garnish with the slices of raw onion and lemon and chopped coriander. Serve with the chicken gravy. Excellent with raita.

Gulab Jamuns

Gulab jamuns are sweet milk balls served as dessert. This recipe makes 25 to 30 jamuns

Jamuns:
1 cup milk powder(full cream or low fat)
1/3 cup all purpose plain flour
1 pack whipped cream (200 ml)
2 tablespoons melted butter
Few pieces chopped almonds
Oil for deep frying

Syrup:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
Few saffron threads or a few drops of yellow food colouring
5 pieces crushed seeds of green cardamoms
Few drops rose essence

Mix the milk powder, flour and butter lightly with your fingers. Add the whipped cream bit by bit to form a dough. Keep aside for approximately half an hour.

Make the syrup: in a separate pot add water, sugar, cardamom seeds, saffron threads (or yellow food colouring), and boil for a few minutes till it forms a one-thread consistency. Switch off the heat and add the rose essence and keep aside.

Knead the dough for about a minute again so that it becomes smooth but should not stick to your fingers. Make approximately 25 to 30 small round balls from the dough using your hands. Heat oil under medium flame and set it to a low flame for frying the jamuns. Keep mixing the balls gently until they turn golden evenly. Remove on to a plate and quickly add these to the warm syrup. Garnish with the chopped almonds and serve. Jamuns can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a couple of weeks. Heat slightly before serving each time or have them cold if desired.