Hyderabadi Kaddu ka Dalcha : lauki dal

Kaddu here doesnt mean pumpkin. In Hyderabad and Bangalore Bottle gaurd commonly known as LAUKI all over India in hindi is called as KADDU. 

Hence it is actually LAUKI KA DALCHA. 

It is very simple mouth watering extremely tasty curry. Suits well with plain rice, zeera rice or it is commonly made along side biryani as well. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup soaked toovar dal(yellow lentils) or chana dal(bengal gram). Chana dal is preferred as it adds a different kind of buttery flavor.
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• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tomatoes finely chopped
• water 2 cups

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ tsp shahi zeera seeds(caraway seeds)
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 2-3 slit green chillies
• 1 small size bottle gourd/Lauki (cut into long pieces)
• 2 medium sized onions, finely sliced
• 2-3 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• 1 cup water
• salt -to taste

• 1 small lemon sized tamarind, extracted pulp
• 2 tsp coriander leaves finely chopped for garnishing
• 1 tsp garam masala powder(powder of dalchini, elaichi, cloves, shahjeera)
• 5-6 curry leaves while boiling

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook dal first 

1. In a pressure cooker, add chana dal, add turmeric powder, add tomatoes, add water and pressure cook until the dal is tenderized.
2. Cook it for about 10 minutes or 5-6 whistles.
3. Reduce the steam of the cooker, mash the dal by adding salt, add tamarind pulp, mix well, check if salt is required and keep aside.

For Cooking Bottle Gourd/Lauki:

1. In a pressure cooker, heat oil, add cinnamon stick, add caraway seeds, add curry leaves, add slit green chillies, add the chopped tomatoes, add the onion slices and saute for a while.
2. Add bottle gourd(lauki) slices, add ginger garlic paste, add turmeric powder, add pinch of red chilli powder, mix well, add water, add salt as per taste and pressure cook for about 3 whistles for the lauki to get soft.
3. Lastly Combine everything that is the dal with tamarind pulp and the cooked Kaddu curry all together.
4. To it add garam masala powder, curry leaves, coriander leaves, add some sugar to kill the sour taste(optional).
5. Bring the whole mixture to a boil on sim flame.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves. 

ENJOY!!!!

Sheermal : Sweetened Mughlai Naan : Indian special Bread

Sheermal is a sweetened Naan made out of Maida (All-purpose flour), leavened with yeast, baked in Tandoor or oven.

This is sweet bread. In the olden days, it was made just like Roti . The warm water in the recipe for Roti was replaced with warm milk sweetened with sugar and flavored with saffron. Nowadays, the restaurants make it like a Naan and the final product resembles Danish pastry.

Ingredients

Dough

1. Active Dry Yeast (.25 oz) pack: 1
2. White Table Sugar: 1 teaspoon
3. Warm Milk at 100º F to 110º F: ¼ Cup

4. Saffron: 6 Strands

5. Egg: 1 slightly beaten

6. Melted Ghee: 2 Tablespoons

7. Un-bleached All purpose flour (Maida) (8oz): 1½ Cups

8. Salt: ¼ teaspoon

9. Confectioner's sugar (Powdered sugar): 2 Tablespoons

Garnishing

Yellow golden raisins

Flour for dusting and rolling.

Method

Dough

1. Mix yeast, sugar, milk and saffron. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Mix in Egg and melted Ghee

3. Combine flour, salt, powdered sugar. Make a mound and make a well in the flour mound. Pour in the yeast mixture. Knead about 10 minutes. Gather in to a ball. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic film wrap. Let it rest for one hour or till the dough doubles in size.

Baking Sheermal

4. Knead dough again. Divide in 6 equal small balls.

5. Preheat oven to 450º F.

6. Roll out dough to form a disc about 5" diameter the thickness of 3 Nickels (5¢ coins).

7. Place about 5 raisins on the disc. Press the raisins lightly.

8. Put 2 discs on a greased baking sheet.

9. Bake 6 to eight minutes.

Kaddu ka dalcha recipe : Authentic Hyderabadi Recipe

Hyderabadi food’s so much around meat that not many realise that the cuisine also has wonderful vegetarian dishes. Though limited in number, these dishes are quite an important part of Hyderabadi home cooking. You would rarely find vegetarian dishes in Hyderabadi restaurants. That’s the sad part. One such stunning vegetarian dish’s the Kaddu ka dalcha. It’s funny that what the rest of India calls lauki or bottle gourd, is called kaddu in Hyderabad. Dunno why, but that’s how it is here. So whenever you see a Hyderabadi dish with kaddu innit. You know it’s bottle gourd or lauki ‘n not pumpkin.  I’ve seen a TV host make the mistake of assuming that this was pumpkin ‘n not lauki. The kaddu ka dalcha recipe calls for Toovar dal, onion, ginger garlic, tomato, spices ‘n lots of bottle gourd. I love the subtlety of this dish.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal/Arhar Dal (Pigeon peas split ) – 250 gm
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Water
Oil – 2 tbsp
Onions – 1 medium size
Whole Garam Masala – 3 cloves, 2 cardamoms, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp shah zeera (Black Cumin seeds), 1 bay leaf
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbs
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Tomatoes – 2
Bottle guard (Kaddu) – 1 medium sized
Salt
Mint Leaves
Coriander Leaves
Tamarind – 50 gm
Curry Leaves

Method:

• In a cooker, heat oil and add whole garam masala. Saute for 2-3 secs.

• Then add onions and saute until they are very light golden brown.

• Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and saute for 2-3 minutes.

• Add tomatoes, bottle guard and fry properly.

• Now add half glass of water, salt (1tbs approx.), mint leaves, coriander leaves and mix them. Close the cooker and let it cook for sometime (until 3 whistles approx)

• In another cooker, add water (Quantity: double the amount of toor dal) & Turmeric powder to Toor dal and boil it.

• Now mash the boiled dal and add tamarind juice to it. Then add curry leaves, coriander leaves and mint leaves and let the dal boil.

• Add the contents of tomato, bottle guard to the dal and let it boil for sometime.

Arabic Lamb Stew Recipe

INGREDIENTS :

Mutton 1 kg (pieces)
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Corn flour 2 tbsp
Garlic clove 3 – 4
Paprika powder 2 tbsp
Onion 2
Chicken powder 2 tbsp
Chicken stock 1 jug
Fresh Coriander/Parsley ½ bunch
Oil ½ cup
Salt to taste 

METHOD :

1.Wash meat and marinate it with salt, paprika powder and 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder.
2.Leave it for a while.
3.Now crush the onion and garlic.
4.Heat oil in a pan and add onion, garlic, chicken powder and 16. cup chicken stock.
5.Cook for 10 – 15 minutes.
6.When stock becomes dry, stir fry it well.
7.Now add meat and fry it again.
8.When meat fried well then add remaining chicken stock and cook for 2-3 minutes.
9.Now add remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder and cook 10 minutes more.
10.When meat is tender then take it out and keep aside.
11.Now add corn flour in remaining curry, mix well and make it thick like stew.
12.Now strain and combine the meat mixture.
13.Garnish with coriander leaves

Note: Cooking Time: 85-90 minuts, Serving: 4-5 persons 

Spanish Arab-Style Lamb Recipe - Cordero Moruno

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb lamb shoulder or leg (boneless) or 5-6 lb if bone in
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3-5 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup sherry
• 2 Tbsp almonds

Preparation:

This Arab-style lamb recipe makes 4-6 servings.

Remove lamb from packaging and pat dry. Combine cinnamon, cumin, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture on all sides of lamb. Set aside.

Peel and chop onions and garlic. Pour olive oil into a large heavy-bottomed frying pan and heat on medium. When oil is hot, sauté the onions and garlic until onions are translucent.

Place lamb in pan and brown on both sides. Once meat is browned, add 2-3 cups of stock to cover meat. Cover pan and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 to 1.5 hours. Check every 15 minutes or so, adding more liquid as necessary. When done, meat should be cooked through and tender.

While lamb is cooking, pour sherry into a short glass or small bowl and soak the raisins. Coarsely grind the almonds.

About 15 minutes before cooking is complete, , raisins and almonds to the pan. When lamb is ready, slice and serve with sauce and white rice or couscous.

Alfaham chicken preparation recipe Arabian recipee

Ingredients

• Whole chicken with skin : 4 nos
• Onion : 3 medium sized
• Ginger : 1 inch piece
• Garlic : 8 cloves
• Green Chillies : 4 nos
• Tomato : 4 nos
• Curd : 1/2 liter
• Lemon extract : 2 lemons
• Salt , Pepper : As needed
• Olive oil : 2 tsp
• Arabic Masala : 2 tsp

Preparation of Arabian Al faham Chicken

1. Divide each chicken lengthwise into two pieces.
2. Blend the ingredients Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Green chillies, and tomato into a fine paste.
3. Mix the curd, lemon extract,  Arabic masala, salt, pepper powder and olive oil and add the #2 paste to this.
4. Spread this paste over the chicken pieces thorughly and keep it for 2-4 hours.
5. Grill it and serve alfaham hot with Khuboos

• For Arabic Masala preparation
• 1 cup cumin seeds (whole)
• 1 cup fennel seeds (whole)
• 1 cup cinnamon sticks
• 1 cup coriander seeds (whole)
• 1/2 cup pepper corns (whole)
• 1/4 cup dried red chillies (whole)
• 1/2 cup turmeric powder

PS : Arabic Masala is almost same as the Indian Garam Masala. If you are in the middle east, its available under names like Bezar. If you want to prepare it locally, you can follow these instructions adapted from The Complete United Arab Emirates Cookbook. Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, pepper corns and dried chillies into a frying pan and roast over a low flame, stirring it continuously, until the spices turn golden color. Remove from heat and grind in a blender. Keep in an air tight container.

Vegetarian Dish : " Al Musaga'a"

Vegetarian Dish # 2:

" Al Musaga'a"


Ingredients:
- Sliced Fried Egg plants

- minced meat (cooked with masala and onions)

- vinegar

- green coriander

- bell pepper

- chick peas

- tomatoes

- tomato sauce


method:

- on the base of the deep plate make a layer of the eggplants and add on top the minced meat, make another layer of eggplant

- on a pan fry some garlic, tomato juice and tomato sauce, maggi, 1/4 cup of vingar, once boiled add on top of the second layer of eggplants

- then decorate with bell pepper and chick peas and put in oven then once done decorate with coriander..

Vegetarian Dish : Cheese Quiche

Vegetarian Dish

Cheese Quiche


Ingredients:

- 1 pieace feta cheese (250 g)

- 1/2 portion of pie dough

- 2 tablspoon sliced green olives

- 2 tablespoon sliced black olives

- 1/2 teaspoon thyme

- 1 hot sliced green chilli

- 1 tablspoon chopped fresh mints

- 1 small diced tomato

- 1 egg
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- 1 tin of condensed milk


method:

- soak cheese in water for 1 hour to reduce the salt in it

- spread through dough on to pie mould base, prick with a fork and bake in oven at 160 degrees for 8 minutes

- mash cheese using fork combine it with all ingredients , pour mixture on top and cook in oven for a further 30 minutes at same temprature..

Fish Gravy

Fish Gravy

ingredients:

- 1 kilo of fish

- 2 chopped onions

- 2 tomatoes chopped

- 1 garlic clove

- 2 hot chilli

- teaspoon salt

- little bit of masala powder

- 3 cup of water

- 1 tablspoon corn oil

- 1 can of tomato paste

ingredients:

- cut onions into small pieces and fry it until golden color. then add to it the garlic and tomato paste and leave it to cook.

- wash the fish then put it in a pan and close it to cook

- when the fish is cooked, add the the tomatos, then the masala, then the water and leave on low heat for half an hour,,,

Note: * of course u can add vegetables.. any of them that u like!

Arabic sweet dish : Khanfarush

 Khanfarush "

Its a traditional sweet

ingredients:

- 6 eggs

- 1 cup sugar

- 1 cup flour

- 1 cup of semolina

- 1 cup oil

- 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/4 cup rose watr

- 1/4 teaspoon cardomom

- a little bit of saffron

method:

- mix eggs and sugar in dough mixer until it doubles in volume

- sift flour, semolina and baking powder and mix well

- add saffron and cardamom to rose water and then stir all ingredients with a wooden spoon

- bring the special shaper of these type of sweets or there is a machine as seen in the pics

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- grease the machine with oil and pour a spoonful in every mould. close the machine for a few minutes.

Note: * Khanfarush can also be made in a frying pan or in small baking tins

Arabic dish : MANDI : Arabian Biryani

" Mandi "

Or biryani as everyone calls it

can be done with chicken or Meat

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of rice (i use basmati rice)

- 1 kg mutton

- 4 sliced onions

- 1 green pepper

- 4 table spoon oil

- 3 tablespoon butter or ghee

- 6 cardomom seeds and cloves

- 1/2 teaspoon coriander

- 1/teaspoon black pepper seeds

- 1 tablspoon salt

method:

- cut the meat and wash it

- boil the meat in a pan and once the foam is removed from surface, add cardomom, black peper seeds, cumin, cloves and salt. leave over heat until meat is nearly cooked.

- remove meat from pan and use same water to boil rice, then drain it

- heat oil and butter in a frying pan, fry the onions then sweet pepper and meat. season with 1 teaspoon of salt and cardomom powder

- place onion mixture in bottom of pan and pour rice over

- burn coal and place in a cup. put cup inside the pan and cover. place in oven for 20-30 minutes on 150 degrees.

sweet dish : khameeer bread : rot

"Khameer Bread"

we usually eat it for breakfast or dinner... 
Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

- 1 1/2 cup of brown flour

- 1 egg

- 3 table spoon powder milk

- 3 table spoon oil

- 1 teaspoon yeast

- 1/2 cup dates

- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cup of water

to decorate:

- sugar

- beaten egg

- fennel

- black seeds


method:

- clean dates and soak in 1 1/4 cup of warm water for 1/2 hour then drain

- mix white and brown flour and add in the powder milk, yeast and oil and egg. knead well

- add date water and knead. add water as necessary until a flexible dough has formed

- leave dough in a greased container for one hour ore more

- sprinkle oil in a frying pan

- shape dough into small balls, roll out balls and fry both sides. sprinkle surface with egg, sugar, black seeds or fennel.

Cupcake Recipe

The world of cake is very wide, it has many kind of cakes and here I will outline the original recipe, flavored with vanilla.

Quantity: 24 pieces (medium size), it can vary depends on u of ocourse..
Cupcake processing time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 and 1/4 cup flour
1 and 1 / 4 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
2 eggs large size
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter


Method:

- In the blender add eggs, sugar and mix well until u get a light color then pour in to a deep bowl.

- Add baking powder , salt and and vanilla

- Add butter and mix well

- start adding flour while mixing, then add milk, and mix well

- you have to have the special cupcake tray that goes in to the oven, u will find it in the supermarkets,,, and the cupcake papers (as i said sizes vary)

- pour the mixture into each paper, adjust the oven to 120 degree, and put the cupcakes in.

- leave it until it becomes golden.

For RaaBeah

VERMICELLI UPMA RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 cups Vermicelli
1 tsp Chana dal
1 tsp Urad dal
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
2 tsp Cashewnuts
2 tsp Peanuts
1 Onions
2 Green chillies
1/2 inch Ginger
1 Potatoes
1/4 cup Peas
1 Carrots
1 Tomatoes
4 1/2 cups Water
3 tblsp Oil
2 tblsp Ghee
3 sprig Curry Leaves
Salt to taste

 

How to make vermicelli upma :

• Chop the onions, chillies, ginger, tomatoes , potatoes, carrots into small pieces and keep aside.
• Heat oil and add chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When they start to crackle , add peanuts and cashewnuts. Fry till they turn golden brown.
• Add potatoes, carrots and fry for 4-5 minutes.
• Then add chillies, ginger , onions, peas and tomatoes.
• Cook until they are done.
• After that add salt and 41/2 cups of water, cover with a lid and let it boil .
• When the water comes to boil add vermecelli and simultaneously stir ( so that no lumps will be formed).
• Cover the upma with a lid for 5-6 minutes and then add 2tbsp of ghee and stir well.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney.