STUFFED SNAKE GOURD IN GRAVY

1 kg beef or mutton mince
1 medium sized snake gourd scrape and cut into 2 inch pieces after removing the insides
3 medium sized onions chopped
3 large tomatoes pureed
½ cup coconut paste
A small bunch of coriander leaves chopped
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
2 teaspoons chilly powder
1 teaspoon spice powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 green chilies chopped
3 tablespoons oil.

Wash the snake gourd and the mince. Marinate the mince with a teaspoon of chilly powder, turmeric powder, a little salt and some chopped coriander leaves. In a pan heat the oil and fry the chopped onions till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for some time. Add the chilly powder, coriander powder, spice powder, green chilies, coconut and salt and fry for a few minutes .Add the tomato puree and fry till the oil separates from the masala. Now add 2 cups of water and bring to boil. Meanwhile stuff the snake gourd rings with the marinated mince. Pack each ring tightly so that the mince does not fall out. Slowly drop the stuffed snake gourd pieces into the boiling curry and cook on low heat till the gravy is sufficiently thick and the mince is cooked. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with coconut rice or plain rice.

CHICKEN FRITTERS

Ingredients
½ kg boneless chicken cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons chillie garlic sauce
3 tablespoons corn flour
3 tablespoons plain flour (maida)
salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Make a batter with the corn flour, plain flour / maida and salt with sufficient water. The batter should be slightly thick. Mix the chicken pieces with the sauce and mix into the batter. Heat oil in a pan and drop in spoonfuls of the mixture a little at a time and deep fry till golden brown. Use kitchen absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Braised Ox Tongue

Serves 6
Preparation Time approx 1 hour
Ingredients

1 Ox Tongue
2 onions sliced
2 Carrots peeled and diced
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chillie powder
½ teaspoon spice powder or garam masala powder
3 tablespoons Oil
Salt to taste

Wash the Ox Tongue and boil it in salted water till tender. Cool then slice it.
Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions till slightly brown. Add the carrots, chillie powder, coriander powder, spice powder / garam masala powder, a little salt and about 4 tablespoons of the tongue stock and cook till the carrots are soft. Mash the carrots well. Now add the cooked slices of Ox Tongue and the remaining stock. Mix well and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Serve with Bread or with rice and steamed vegetables

Savoury Brain Fritters

2 Sheep Brains or ½ kg Beef Brain
2 teaspoons pepper powder
3 tablespoons flour (Maida)
1 egg beaten
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Wash the Brains well and remove the veins etc. Cut them into 1” pieces. Make a batter with the beaten egg, flour, salt, pepper powder and a little water. Mix with the pieces of brain. Heat oil in a pan and when drop in the batter covered brain and deep fry till golden brown. Serve hot.

For a difference in taste, use Besan flour instead of Maida and finely chopped green chillies, green coriander and onions may be added to the batter

TOMATO PALAU (PILAF)

Serves 6
Preparation time 45 minutes
4 large tomatoes pureed and diluted with water to get 3 cups of juice or 1 pack of tomato puree diluted to get 3 cups of juice.
2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves
2 large onions sliced finely
2 cups Raw Rice or Basmati Rice
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons chilly powder
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
2 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 3 pieces of cinnamon
4 tablespoons oil or ghee
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint
Heat oil in a pan or a rice cooker and sauté the spices, onions, ginger garlic paste and chilly powder for a few minutes. Add the rice, salt, mint, coriander leaves and tomato juice and cook till the rice is done. Serve with salad and Chicken Curry or Pork Vindaloo.

MINCE AND TATTIES - (MINCE AND POTATOES ) Tracking down traditional Scottish food in India

MINCE AND POTATOES & EGG KEDEGREE

Article from the Scottish Times 12/04/09....Pamela Timms
In Bangalore,last week I met Bridget White-Kumar, an obsessive chronicler of all things Anglo-Indian and author of five recipe books crammed with such delights as “grandma’s country captain chicken” and “railway mutton curry”.
At first glance, Bangalore, the home of modern India’s IT miracle, is a city that more than any other has freed itself from every trace of the Raj. Yet I found a community that has held on to many Scottish and English food traditions and used them to carve out its own identity.
Kumar greeted me with tea and shortbread. When she rustled up mince and tatties and said I could borrow her precious old recipe books, I was ready for her to adopt me. They include a rare 1874 edition of the Madras Cookery Book, written anonymously by “an English resident’s wife”, which contains recipes — or “receipts” as the memsahib called them — for Caledonian classics such as Scotch broth, mashed turnips and scones.

Bridget is no misty-eyed imperialist but a member of Bangalore’s 15,000-strong Anglo-Indian community, descendents of Scottish and English families who came to seek their fortunes in the colonies.
After independence, one might have imagined Anglo-Indians would have been glad to see the back of meat loaf and sago pudding, but the community, although proudly Indian, identifies closely with Scottish and English traditions and food.
Bridget’s own grandfather was a Scot named Percy Edgar Joseph and, through the enthusiastic scribblings of her mother and grandmother, she has inherited a vast collection of Anglo-Indian recipes.
Her mince and tatties, although unsurprisingly more peppery than we’re used to, bears a striking resemblance to the one I grew up with. I was amused to hear that it occupied the same place in her family culinary repertoire as it did in my family's. “It’s what we have when I can’t think what else to make,” she says.
While we devoured the mince, kedgeree and semolina pudding, Bridget told me about her early life on the British-run Kolar Gold Fields, in Karnataka where her father worked. Although she can’t remember where the mince and tatties recipe came from, the fact she remembers more MacIntyres and MacDonalds than Malhotras and Methas in her community offers some strong clues.
I left Bangalore with a heavy stomach and even heavier heart, vowing to go back as soon as possible.

ANGLO-INDIAN VEAL CHOPS

Serves 6
Preparation Time 45 minutes
½ kg good veal chops (Flatten them)
3 or 4 potatoes (Boil peal and cut each in half lengthwise)
4 big onions sliced
2 green chilies slit lengthwise
2 teaspoons pepper powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons oil
Pressure cook the veal chops with a little water till tender letting some soup remain. Open the pressure cooker and add the onions, green chilies, salt, pepper powder and oil and mix well. Keep cooking on low heat till the soup dries up and the onions and meat are a nice brown. Just before turning off the heat add the boiled potatoes and mix once so that the masala covers the potatoes. Serve hot with bread or rice.

ALMORTH (Mixed Meat and vegetable Stew)

This dish is a combination of meat, chicken, pork and vegetables. It’s a very old Anglo-Indian recipe. However, any combination of meat could be used as per personal preference. The same recipe could be used with chicken only.
Ingredients
¼ kg Beef
¼ kg mutton / lamb
½ kg chicken
¼ kg pork
A few carrots and beans chopped into medium size pieces (or any other English vegetables)
3 potatoes peeled and cut into quarters
2 teaspoons chillie powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons pepper powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
4 dry red chillies broken into pieces
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 pieces cinnamon
5 cloves
3 onions sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
2 tablespoons chopped mint
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons coconut paste
2 tablespoons vinegar

Cut the meat, chicken and pork into small pieces. Heat oil in a pressure cooker or a suitable vessel and add the onions, cinnamon, cloves and chopped garlic. Fry till the onions turn golden brown. Add the mutton, beef, chicken and pork also the chillie powder, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and tomatoes and mix well. Fry till the tomatoes turn to pulp. Add the broken dry red chillies, mint and the coconut paste and mix well. Add sufficient water and pressure cook for 10 minutes ( 6 to 8 whistles). Turn off the heat. Open the cooker when the pressure dies down and add the chopped vegetables and vinegar and simmer on low heat till the vegetables are cooked and the gravy is thick.
Serve with rice, chapattis or bread.

DUCK ROAST

1 whole duck with the skin
2 or 3 pods of garlic chopped very finely
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
2 teaspoons white pepper
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon butter or ghee

Wash the duck well. In a big pan or pressure cooker heat the oil and then fry the duck together with the chopped ginger and garlic till it is a light brown. Add the pepper powder, salt, lime juice and 2 or 3 cups of water and cook till the duck is tender. Keep simmering till all the water dries up. Add a tablespoon of butter or ghee and keep on frying on low heat till the duck is nicely roasted and brown all over. (The duck can be roasted in an oven instead of as above if desired). Serve hot or cold with steamed vegetables or mash potato

LEMON AND ALMOND CAKE

250 grams butter
250 grams sugar (powdered)
3 Eggs beaten
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon / lime juice
2 teaspoons grated rind of lemons
200 grams powdered almonds or almond powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
200 grams plain flour
A pinch of salt
4 tablespoons icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees centigrade. Grease and line a 22 cm baking tin.Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Stir in the flour, almond powder, lemon rind and lime juice. Spoon the mixture into the greased baking tin and smoothen the top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes till the top is golden brown and the cake is cooked. Dust the top with icing sugar. Serve hot or cold.

DRY CHICKEN FRY

1 kg chicken cut into medium size pieces
2 onions sliced finely
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon chilly powder
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon spice powder or garam masala powder

Wash the chicken and marinate it with the salt, chilly powder, turmeric powder and spice powder for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions to golden brown. Toss in the marinated chicken pieces and mix well. Close the pan with a lid and cook on slow heat for about 15 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Add a teaspoon of ghee or butter and fry till all the gravy dries up and the chicken is dry. Serve with bread or pepper water and rice.

SHEEP’S HEAD CURRY

1-sheep’s head skinned and cut into medium pieces
3-tablespoon’s oil
2-large onions chopped finely
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons chillie powder
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons corriander powder
1teaspoon spice powder /garam masala powder
Salt to taste 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
Wash the pieces of sheep’s head well. Boil with a little water in a pressure cooker till cooked. In another vessel, sauté the onions, green chilies and the ginger and garlic paste for some time. Add the chillie powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, spice powder and kuskus powder and fry for some time with a little water. Add the cooked sheep’s head pieces along with the stock, chopped garlic and salt and simmer till the gravy is thick. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Chicken Jalfrazie

Jalfrazie is a sautéd dish, which can be prepared with meat, poultry, sea food etc.
The word “Jalfrazie” came from 2 words: “Jal” meaning “spicy or pungent” and “Frazie” meaning “Fried”. As in the case of almost all of our cuisine, which started out as insipid concoctions, in the days of the British Raj, the original “Jal Frezie” was bland and tasteless. The Colonial servants would fry up the leftover Christmas Turkey and Chicken Roasts with some pepper, chillies, etc., for Breakfast the next day. Over the years many more ingredients and spices were added to this dish to make it as spicy and delicious as it is today and it has become synonymous with the cuisine of Anglo-Indians of West Bengal.
Chicken Jalfrazie
Serves 6
Preparation Time 1 hour
Ingredients

1 kg Boneless Chicken cut into cubes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 dry red chillies broken into bits
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
3 tomatoes chopped
2 onions sliced finely
1 teaspoon spice powder or garam masala powder
1 teaspoon peppercorns
3 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a suitable pan and add the cumin seeds. When they begin to splutter add the dry red chillies, onions and pepper corns and fry till golden brown. Add the chicken and sauté for a few minutes till it changes colour. Now add all the other ingredients and stir well. Simmer on low heat till the chicken is tender and the gravy is quite thick. Serve with rice, chapattis or bread.

ALMOND CHOCLATE FUDGE

Makes 24 pieces
Preparation time 1 hour
Ingredients

100 grams cocoa powder
1 tin condensed milk
300 grams sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 tablespoons ghee or butter
1 cup chopped almonds
½ cup milk

Melt the sugar with the milk and condensed milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Add the cocoa powder and mix well. Add the chopped almonds, vanilla essence and ghee and mix well. Simmer on low heat till the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the vessel. Pour on to a greased plate and decorate with a few almond slivers. When slightly cool cut into squares.

SAUSAGES… Appetizer or a Quick-and-easy Meal?

The meaning of the word “Sausage” in the dictionary means “Chopped or ground meat that has been blended with spices and other seasonings and usually stuffed in natural or manufactured casings”. The origin of meat processing is lost in antiquity but probably began when mankind learned that salt is an effective preservative. Sausage making evolved as an effort to economize and preserve meat that could not be consumed fresh at slaughter. Sausage makers use almost all parts of the animal carcass that cannot be used in other ways. The less tender cuts and organ meats are ground, spiced and made into delicious sausages. The procedure of stuffing meat into the sausage casings remains basically the same today as in the olden days. However, sausage making has now become a culinary art and is now available in a great number of varieties and flavours. Sausages have grown in popularity over the centuries. Today more than 250 varieties of sausages are manufactured and sold worldwide. Some of these varieties can actually be traced back to the town and country of origin. The contemporary role of sausage fits conveniently into our modern lifestyles as an elegant appetizer for entertaining as well as the main course in "quick-and-easy" meals. Sausages are made from beef, veal, pork, lamb, poultry and wild game, or from any combination of these meats. Traditionally, sausages were formed into a symmetrical shape, but now they can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes to meet consumers' needs and fancies. There are lots of innovative ways that you could use sausages besides having them with your Toast and Eggs at Breakfast. You could slice / dice fried sausages and serve them on crackers with cheese as an appetizer. Dice them and add in salads, soups, curries, etc. Grill the sausages and eat with a creamy garlic dip. Use them in Casseroles and Bakes with other vegetables and meats or you could just make a very delicious curry dish with them as under. 

 SAVOURY SAUSAGE CURRY 500 grams pork or beef (pepper) sausages 2 big tomatoes chopped 2 large onions sliced finely 2 green chilies sliced lengthwise 1 teaspoon ginger paste 1 teaspoon chopped garlic 2 tablespoons oil 1 teaspoon chilly powder ½ teaspoon tumeric powder ½ teaspoon coriander powder ½ teaspoon cumin powder Salt to taste Heat oil in a pan and add the sausages and a little water. Cook on low heat till the water evaporates and the sausages turn golden brown. Remove from heat and slice the sausages into halves. In the same oil add the onions, chopped garlic and green chillies and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger paste and fry for 2 or 3 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric, chillie powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt and fry till the tomatoes turn pulpy. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Add the sliced sausages and cook on low heat till the gravy becomes thick. Serve with bread or rice

ROSE COOKIES

ROSE COOKIES
Ingredients

½ kg refined flour or maida
250 grams rice flour (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
200 grams sugar
6 eggs beaten well
½ teaspoon salt
1 litre oil for frying
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth slightly thick batter.
Heat oil in a deep pan till it reaches boiling point. Now place the rose cookie mould into the oil to get hot. When the mould is hot enough dip it half way only into the batter and put it back immediately into the boiling oil. Shake the mould to separate the cookie from it. Heat the mould again and repeat the process. Fry rose cookies till brown. Continue in this way till the batter is finished.

Note: The batter will stick to the rose cookie mould with a hissing sound only if it is sufficiently hot otherwise it will just slide off the mould

KALKALS

KALKALS 

Ingredients

I kg refined flour  or maida                                       

6 eggs beaten well

2 cups thick coconut milk                                                 

½ teaspoon salt                             

300 grams sugar                       

1 teaspoon baking powder             

Oil for deep frying

Mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Add the coconut milk and eggs and knead to a soft dough. Keep aside for an hour. Form kalkals by taking small lumps of the dough and roll on the back of a fork or a wooden kalkal mould, to form a scroll. Alternately, roll out the dough and cut into fancy shapes with kalkal or cookie cutters. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry as many kalkals as possible at a time. Keep aside.

To ice the kalkals, melt 1 cup of sugar with ½ cup of water and when the sugar syrup crystallizes pour over the kalkals and mix well. Store in airtight boxes when cold.

SPICY ROASTED CHICKEN

Serves: 6
Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
1 whole chicken jointed into 4 to 6 pieces
6 medium size potatoes peeled
3 large onions quartered
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garam masala powder or all spice powder
2 teaspoons pepper powder
2 teaspoons chilly powder
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons lime juice

Wash the chicken and the potatoes. Mix in all the above ingredients and leave aside for 15 minutes. Place the marinated chicken in a suitable vessel or pan and cook on low heat till the chicken is tender and the water dries. Keep turning the chicken every 10 minutes or so to ensure that it roasts evenly and is a nice brown colour
Serve with Steamed vegetables and any type of bread

Alternately, the chicken could be roasted in an oven as well. Arrange the marinated chicken and potatoes in a buttered oven-proof dish. Cover the dish with foil. Bake in a moderate oven (355 degrees) for about 45 minutes. Serve with Steamed vegetables and any type of bread.

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CAKE

500 grams refined flour or maida


300 grams soft brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons spice powder

500 grams mixed dried fruits (equal quantities of currants, raisins and sultanas) chopped well and soaked in rum before hand

100 grams chopped orange / lemon peel

500 grams butter

3 eggs beaten well

4 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon baking powder

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and spice powder in a bowl. Add the fruit, orange / lemon peel and brown sugar and mix well. Add the butter and mix with a fork. Add the beaten eggs and milk and mix well to give a stiff consistency. Pour the mixture into a greased and papered cake tin and smoothen the top. Bake in a moderately hot oven for about 1 hour or till the cake is cooked and the top turns brown. Turn out and cool

To prepare the Almond Icing, soak the 300 grams almonds in water overnight then grind to a thick paste. Add 500 grams Icing sugar, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon almond essence and 2 tablespoons lime juice and cook with a little water in a heavy bottom pan till it solidifies. Remove from heat and cool. Knead it into a stiff ball.

To prepare the Royal Icing sift 200 grams icing sugar into a bowl. Beat two egg whites then fold them into the sugar. Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon vanilla essence. Mix to a stiff consistency.

Brush the cake with a layer of Jam or Egg white to help the icing stick to the cake. Add a thin layer of the Almond icing over the cake, pressing it gently to cover the whole cake. Using a flat spatula dipped in water spread the Royal icing over the layer of Almond icing. Decorate the cake as desired

CHICKEN PUFFS

3 cups refined flour / maida


½ kg boneless chicken

2 onions chopped

2 teaspoons pepper powder

50 grams butter

½ teaspoon baking powder

1/2 kg oil for frying

Salt to taste

1teaspoon chillie powder

2 teaspoons chopped coriander leaves

1 teaspoon chopped ginger

Sift the flour with a teaspoon of salt and baking powder. Mix the butter with the flour and knead into a stiff dough using very little water. Keep aside.



Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and sauté the chopped ginger and onions lightly. Add the mince, chillie powder, pepper powder, coriander leaves and salt. Stir well and cook on low heat till the mince is cooked and all the water dries up. Remove and keep aside to cool. Now take the prepared pastry dough onto a floured board and rollout into a thin sheet. Cut rounds of about 10 cm diameter with a saucer. Put a little mince on one half of the rounds and fold the other half over. Seal the edges by dampening with a little water. Prepare the puffs in this way till all the dough and mince is used up.

Heat oil for frying in a fairly deep pan till smoky. Slowly drop in the puffs one by one (as many as the pan can hold). Fry till crisp and brown on both sides. Remove from the oil and drain. Serve hot