SWEET COCONUT PUFFS

Serves 6
Preparation time 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Dough:
250 grams refined flour or maida
50 grams butter
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ kg oil for frying.
For the Filling: 3 cups grated coconut and 3 tablespoons sugar mixed together

Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder. Mix in the butter and knead to a fairly stiff dough with very little water. Keep aside for 1 hour.
Take the dough on a floured board and roll out into a thin sheet. Cut squares of about 2 to 3 inches per side. Put a tablespoon of the sweetened coconut on half of the square. Fold the other half over in such a way to form a triangle. Seal the edges by dampening with a little water. Heat the oil in a deep pan till smoky. Slowly drop in as many puffs as the pan can hold and fry till brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and drain.

Note: These puffs can last for a fortnight if dry coconut or copra is used instead of fresh coconut

MEAT IN A GREEN MASALA GRAVY

Serves 6
Preparation Time 45 minutes

½ kg beef or mutton cut into medium pieces
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
4 green chilies
3 tablespoons coriander leaves
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (kuskus)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves, 2 cardamom,2 pieces of cinnamon
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil
3 potatoes pealed washed and cut into quarters
2 onions sliced finely
½ cup coconut paste

Grind the green chilies, coriander leaves, coconut, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and cumin seeds to a smooth paste in a blender. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions till golden brown. Add the meat, ginger garlic paste and tumeric powder and fry for some time. Now add the ground masala and salt and mix well with the meat. Keep frying on low heat till the oil separates from the masala. Add the potatoes and sufficient water and pressure cook for 15 minutes. Serve hot. This curry is good with ghee rice or Palau rice

SOME BASIC PREPARATIONS... MASALA POWDERS

1 BASIC CHILLY POWDER
½ kg Red Chilies (long or round variety for pungency)
½ kg Kashmiri Chilies or any other non spicy chillies (for adding colour)

Roast the two types of chilies in a pan or in a microwave oven for a few minutes. Powder them at home in the dry blender or get it done at the mill. A teaspoon or two of this chilly powder can be used for any type of dish that calls for chilly powder. It can be stored for more than a year.

2 ALL PURPOSE CURRY POWDER
½ kg Red Chillies for pungency
½ kg Kashmiri Chillies or any other chillies for colour
½ kg coriander seeds
200 grams cumin seeds
50 grams pepper corns
100 grams mustard seeds

Roast all the above ingredients separately then mix altogether and grind to a powder in a mill.A teaspoon or two of this powder can be used for almost all curries both vegetarian and non- vegetarian. It can be stored and used for more than a year.

3 PEPPER WATER POWDER
¼ kg Red Chilies
200 grams pepper corns
200 grams cumin seeds
100 grams coriander seeds
20 grams tumeric powder

Roast all the above ingredients and then grind together to a powder
2 teaspoons of this powder should be added to 2 cups of water, juice of 2 tomatoes, a lump of tamarind and a little salt and cooked for 5 minutes to make instant pepper water. This pepper water should be seasoned with mustard, garlic and curry leaves.

4. VINDALOO CURRY POWDER / PASTE

50 grams mustard
¼ kg red chilies for pungency
50 grams cumin seeds
¼ kg Kashmir chilies or any other chilies for colour
10 grams pepper corns
50 grams tumeric powder

Roast all the above ingredients together for a few minutes then powder in a mill or dry grind in a blender. Use 2 teaspoons of this powder for every ½ kg of meat when cooking vindaloo along with the other ingredients as per the recipe. If stored in an airtight bottle this mixture will stay fresh for more than a year. The same mixture can also be made into a paste if ground in vinegar but it should be stored in a fridge.

5 ALL SPICE POWDER (GARAM MASALA POWDER)
1 teaspoon pepper corns
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon cardamoms
6 pieces of cinnamon

Roast all the above lightly for a few minutes then dry grind to a fine powder. A teaspoon of this spice powder can be used for any recipe that calls for all spice powder or garam masala.