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What's Cooking? Indian recipes
P.S. Lakshmi Rao, a retired banker, has a passion for cooking. Her friends and family enjoy her culinary delights. Lakshmi is a long time Atlanta resident.

<<What's Cooking? Main


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Key Lime Pickle

40 key limes
3/4 cup ground red pepper 
½ cup salt 
½ teaspoon hing (asafetida) 
2 cups fresh or bottled lime juice (or one cup fresh and one cup bottled juice) mixed with 1 tablespoon salt

Wash limes and dry them thoroughly with a paper towel or clean cloth. Slit all the limes from bottom side four ways, keeping the stem side intact.

Mix red pepper, ½ cup salt, and hing. Stuff the limes inside the cuts very tightly with the red pepper mixture. 

Pour the lemon juice into a 10x10 inch or 9x13 inch glass dish. Place all the stuffed limes, cut side up in the juice. Cover the bowl with a glass or plastic lid. After two days rotate the limes on their sides. For the next eight days soak the limes in the juice. Spoon the juice over the limes once in a while to keep the limes moisture on all sides. Do not use any wet spoons when mixing.

After eight days place the limes along with juice in the oven with light on for a day. Keep the oven door open a little to have air circulation. Turn the limes twice. By this process limes will loose their bitterness and moisture. If the oven door is closed the moisture will make the limes soft and the pickle will be spoiled after a while. It is very important to keep the oven door open slightly. 

Cool the lime pickle completely before storing. Keep the pickle in a glass jar with plastic lid. Taste improves when the pickle gets older. Tastes good with rice and ghee or with dal curries as a side dish.

I would like to thank Mrs. Padmavathi Vadlamani Garu for sharing this wonderful recipe. 

Lemon Pickle 

20 lemons
1 cup fresh or bottled lemon juice 
½ cup salt
½ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
¾ cup ground red pepper 
1-teaspon methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)

Wash lemons and dry them with a clean cloth or paper towel. Cut each lemon in to 12 pieces and place them in a large glass or plastic bowl with a lid. Mix lemon pieces with lemon juice, salt, and turmeric. Keep them covered in the bowl for three days mixing once in a while.
On the fourth day cover a large glass tray with clean cloth. Squeeze the juice out of the lemon pieces and spread them on the cloth. Save the juice in a small glass bowl. Put the tray of lemon pieces and the bowl of juice in the oven with light on and keeping the oven door slightly open. Keep them in the oven for twelve hours turning the lemon pieces around once. By drying them slightly lemons loose their bitterness and moisture and pickle stays fresh for long time. Do not let the lemon pieces dry too much.

Remove lemon pieces and juice from the oven and keep them out to cool for an hour. Roast one-teaspoon methi seeds in a dry pan until brown and grind them in to fine powder. Next in a large glass bowl mix ¾ cup red pepper, methi powder, lemon juice and lemon pieces together. 

Popu (Tadka) 
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon methi seeds 
1 teaspoon red mustard seeds
2 dry red chilies whole or broken 
¼ teaspoon hing (asafetida)

In a small pan heat oil, and add methi seeds. Fry until light brown and add mustard seeds and fry. When the mustard seeds start to splatter add chilies and hing. Remove pan from the heat. Let it cool for ten minutes and mix the popu with pickle. Popu is optional.

The pickle is ready. Keep it in a glass jar with tight lid.

Whenever we are recovering from fever we used feel like eating some thing sour and salty. This pickle tastes good when mixed with hot rice and little ghee.

HAPPY FOURTH ANNIVERSARY TO NRI PULSE!

 

Murgh Mussallum

CONTRIBUTED BY JYOTI SINHA

Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes; Marinate: 2 hours Cook time: 45 minutes

Whole Cornish hens: 2 (cleaned out and skinned)
Cooking oil: ½ cup
Spices for the chicken:
Ginger paste: 1 tbsps
Garlic paste: 1 tbsps
Garam masala: 2 tsps
Turmeric powder: 2 tsps
Coriander powder: 2 tsps
Cumin powder: 2 tsps
Red chili powder: 1tsp( add more for more heat)
Salt: to taste
Yogurt: ½ cup
Egg garnish:
Boiled eggs, sliced: 6, 2 with, and 4 without, yolks
Onions: 1 medium (chopped)
Tomatoes: 1 medium (chopped)
Ginger-garlic: 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Salt: 1 tsp
Mint leaves: 14-15,roughly chopped

Preparation: 
Mix together all spices for the chicken in the yogurt until nicely mixed. Pat dry the cleaned chickens. Prick them all over with a fork. Rub well into the inside and outside of the chicken the spices-in-yogurt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. After 2 hours, take marinated chickens out of the refrigerator, discard marinade. Heat the oil for the chicken in a deep-bottomed kadhai (wok) and when quite hot, add one marinated chicken. Let cook for 4-5 minutes and turn over. Cook it all over until it is well cooked. Repeat with the other chicken. Place chickens in a serving dish. Turn heat to medium. To the leftover oil, add the chopped onions for egg garnish. Fry until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped ginger- garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add all the garnish ingredients except the tomatoes. Stir the mix often for about 10 minutes turn heat to high. Add the tomatoes. Toss for 2 minutes and turn off the heat. Add the sliced eggs and mint leaves and mix them in. Cover and let the spices mix a few more minutes.

Garnish the chickens with the egg mix, spreading with a spatula. Cut at the thigh joint and in the middle of the chest cavity but don’t take the pieces apart. Serve hot with plain cooked rice or naan and finely cut rings of onions with lemon wedges. 
Healthful alternative: You could also bake the marinated chickens for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees F and then broil the top and underside for about 5 minutes each. For the egg garnish use two tsps of melted butter + two tsps of cooking oil.



Cream Cheese Ball

CONTRIBUTED BY FRANCES WEST

2 8-oz. cream cheese 
9 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

1 cup nuts, crushed

Let cream cheese come to room temperature.
Mix the cream cheese, pineapple, onion, green pepper,
and seasoned salt. (I used my blender.)

Using wax paper roll mixture into a ball.

Refrigerate overnight.
Remove from wax paper, roll into a ball and then coat 
with chopped pecans.

Serve with crackers. 

Chicken Salad with Fruit



3 cups pieces of cooked chicken 1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup sour cream
1 (11 oz.) mandarin oranges salt and pepper
1 cup seedless grapes, halved 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup toasted nuts, chopped

Mix first five ingredients.
Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Toss lightly.


Curried Baked Fruit



1 large can whole peaches, well drained
1 large can whole pears, well drained
small can pineapple chunks, well drained 
maraschino cherries to add color 

Place fruit in a baking dish.

Put 1/2 stick butter in saucepan. Add 1 cup
brown sugar and 2 tablespoons curry powder.
Mix and cook until sugar dissolves.

Drizzle over fruit and bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.



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