Tangy Eggplant and Potato....Aloo Baingan Chatpata

Brinjal or eggplant is not a popular vegetable in my family. So, it becomes difficult to come up with ways to make it interesting….Well this is one of the interesting ones.

I have based this recipe on a Sri Lankan pickle dish with brinjals that I had watched on TV.

Though this recipe retains some of the ingredients from the original one, I have modified it to include  the ingredients I had at hand.

Tangy and mustardy….it is just right!

I’m sure your folks will like it too J

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFya7Iibe8A&t=3s

ALOO BAINGAN CHATPATA                                            Serves 4

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 1 large or 2 medium cut into long pieces

Potatoes – 3 medium cut into large pieces and par boiled

Onions – 3 medium cut into chunks

Green Chillies – 3 to 4

Curry leaves – 8 to 10

Mustard seed - ½ tsp

Cumin Seed - ½  tsp

Coriander pdr – 1tsp

Turmeric pdr - ½ tsp

Cumin pdr - ½ tsp

Red Chilli pdr - ½ tsp

Ginger Garlic – 1 tsp grated

Sugar – 1 tsp heaped

Salt – to taste

Vegetable Oil – for deep frying + 2 tblsp

Vinegar – 2 to 3 tsp

Mustard paste or Kasundi – 1 tblsp

Water – ½ cup

Method:

1.    Deep fry the potato pieces till golden in colour.

2.    Squeeze out excess water from the brinjal and deep fry in batches till cooked.
3.    Fry the onions till light pink in colour. Then fry the chillies on low heat or they may burst open.

4.    In another pan, heat 2 tblsp of oil. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Let crackle. Add the curry leaves and fry till crispy. Reduce the heat.
5.    Add in the ginger-garlic followed by the dry spices – turmeric pdr, cumin pdr, coriander pdr, red chilli pdr. Mix well. Add ½ cup of water. Cook briefly. Add in the mustard past and vinegar and mix well. Turn off the heat.

6.    Add the sugar and salt and mix. Now add in the fried brinjal, potato, onion and chilli. Mix to coat the vegetables in the mustard sauce.

7.    Cook on low heat stirring the vegetables for about a minute.

8.    Turn off the heat and serve hot with puri or parantha or garlic brea

NOTE: *You may replace the onions with shallots.

             *The amount of vinegar may be increased slightly to make it more tangy.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

Mac n Cheese with a slight variation....

For those days that you want to indulge yourself….here is the ever popular Mac n Cheese with a slight variation.

 I added some chicken sausages to make it interesting….you can just add whatever you have in the fridge. For a vegetarian version you may add in corn or mushroom.

It is one of those that you would want to eat straight from the baking dish itself!

Sharing the video link to this recipe :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQeULxBJXuU&t=38s

MAC N CHEESE N CHICKEN                                                                  Serves 4

Ingredients:

Macaroni (boiled) – 2 cups

Processed Cheese (grated) – 1 cup heaped (or Chedder)

Sausage (pieces)  – ½ cup

Bread Crumbs – 3 tblsp

Warm Milk – 2 cups + a little extra

Butter – 2 tblsp

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 tblsp

Refined Flour – 2 tblsp

Pepper pdr – ¼ tsp

Nutmeg pdr – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Method:

1.    For the white sauce, use a thick bottom pan on very low heat. Add in a bit of the olive oil followed by the butter. The oil prevents the butter from browning.

2.    When the butter has melted and combined with the oil, add in the flour. Use a whisk to mix it up.

3.    Cook on low heat stirring constantly for about 2 mins or till the flour is cooked. You will know from the smell. Do not over cook or, the flour may take on some colour which is not desirable.

4.    Add in the warm milk and mix it quickly with the whisk to avoid any lumps.

5.    Cook the sauce on low heat till it just starts to boil. It will coat the sides of the pan and the whisk at this stage.

6.    Turn off the heat and add in the salt, pepper pdr and nutmeg pdr. Add most of the cheese reserving some for later use. Mix well. Keep aside. If the sauce becomes too thick add in a little milk to make it runny.

7.    In a large bowl, add in the macaroni, sausage pieces and ¾  of the white sauce. Mix it up.

8.    Prepare a baking dish by brushing it with oil or butter.

9.    Pour in the macaroni. Top it up with the remaining white sauce.

10. Mix the bread crumbs with some oil or melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the macaroni along with some grated cheese.

11. Grill or bake at 200°C for 5 mins or till the cheese melts and the bread crumbs turn crispy golden.

12. Serve hot.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

A spicy paneer dish ...PANEER MATAR MAKAI .... with video

Hello friends.... I am happy to announce that I have also started my own channel on YouTube by the same name as my blog .... Rinki's Kitchen...  check it out.

A craving for something #spicy can be the perfect driver for invention! This recipe was invented with the common spices available at hand. However, the intention was to combine them and the other ingredients to create a special flavourful dish that is really simple to cook.

Give it a try and let me know how it turned out. It has become popular with those that have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jDfzX5jXSM&t=2s

PANEER MATAR MAKAI                                              Serves 4

Ingredients

Paneer/Cottage Cheese – 200g (cut into small cubes)

Maida/Refined flour – 2 tblsp

Shelled Peas – ½ cup (boiled)

Sweet Corn Kernels – ½ cup

Green Chillies – optional

Tomato paste – of  3 medium tomatoes

Vegetable oil – 2 tblsp + for deep frying

Spice Mix:

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Haldi/Turmeric pdr – ¾ tsp

Kashmiri/Red Chilli pdr – ½ tsp

Coriander pdr – 1½ tsp

Cummin pdr – ½ tsp

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp

Garam Masala pdr – ½ tsp

Sugar – ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Water – 1 cup

Method

1. Toss the #paneer cubes in the flour to coat them well. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown, drain on absorbent tissue and keep aside.
2. In a large bowl, add the tomato paste followed by the spice mix. Using a spoon or whisk combine all the ingredients till thoroughly mixed.
3. Heat 2 tblsp of oil in a pan. Add in the tomato and spice mix paste.
4. Reduce the heat and cook the paste for 2 mins stirring constantly till it is well done and oil starts to separate from the masala paste. Add ¼ cup of water to the pan and mix it in. At this point you may add in some chopped green chillies or whole chillies as per your taste and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the corn and peas and cook for a further 3 mins.
6. Now,  add the paneer cubes to the gravy and mix well to coat them with the gravy. Pour in ½ cup of water (you may add more water for a thinner gravy) and cook for another 2 mins.
7. If you have added whole green chillies, remove them.
8. Turn off the heat and pour the Paneer Matar Makai into the serving bowl. Garnish with chopped #coriander and ginger juliennes.
9. Serve hot with any bread or rice.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017