East Indian Bottle Masala

A friend of mine gave me this masala recipe. I had been on the look out for this recipe for quite some time. Earlier I saw the recipe for this bottle masala in a book but it had only about 10 ingredients, but I had it on good authority that the original recipe has more than 20 ingredients. So I was very happy to finally lay my hands on this recipe. Hope all other gourmets on the look out enjoy this as well.

Ingredients :

Dried Red Chillies : 2 Kg.

Coriander Seeds : 500 gm.

Whole Turmeric : 50 gm.

Cumin Seeds : 125 gm.

Mustard Seeds : 50 gm.

White Poppy Seeds : 125 gm.

White Sesame Seeds : 125 gm.

Fennel Seeds : 25 gm.

Black Peppercorns : 125 gm.

Green Cardamoms : 75 gm.

Taj (Ceylon Cinnamon) : 125 gm.

Cloves : 50 gm.

Black Cardamoms : 25 gm.

Nagkesar ( Casia Buds) : 25 gm.

Mace : 25 gm.

Nutmeg : 2 no.

Maipatri (Mugwort) : 25 gm.

Badian / Badalphool (Star Anise) : 25 gm.

Trifal (Sichuan Pepper) : 25 gm.

Tamalpatra (Tejpatta / Indian Bay Leaf ) : 25 gm

Dagadphool ( Lichen) : 25 gm.

Kababchini (Allspice) : 25 gm.

Shahi Jeera (Black Cumin) : 25 gm.

Whole Asafoetida (hing) : 25 gm.

P.S. Dagadphool. This is a dried lichen used in Indian cooking. (Latin: parmelia perlata.)

Method : Saute the masala ingredients individually in little oil to let them release their flavours and then mix them together and grind to a fine powder. Alternately you can also dry roast the ingredients. Take care to crush the asafoetida, turmeric and nutmeg into smaller pieces before sauteing or roasting them.

गरम मसाला (Garam Masala Powder)

Garam masala is one of the main ingredients in Indian cuisine. A meal, especially a North Indian meal, can never be complete without the sprinkling of garam masala at the end.
The first thing you notice about the masala is the aroma. It has a sort of hot pungent heady aroma which lingers in the air long after you have closed the container of the masala powder.
Garam masala is a blend of spices usually used in Indian cooking not only for flavour but for the aroma it lends to the dish as well. A simple biryani or pulao with whole garam masala added for its unique aroma is something to be experienced as it cannot be described. "Heavenly" comes close.
Here is a blend that can be used for everyday use. There are other, more aromatic blends, but those will be posted later.

Ingredients : -

Coriander seeds - 8 tablespoons
Cumin seeds - 4 tablespoons
cloves - 10
black peppercorns - 3 tablespoons
cinnamon - 3-4 inches
black cardamom - 3-4
turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
green cardamom - 4
dried red chillies - 6-8
bay leaves - 2-3

Method : -

Roast the ingredients separately on a griddle til they release their unique aroma. Then powder them together.

Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients :

Chick Peas : 1/2 Cup; onions : 1 Large;

Tomato : 1 Large; Capsicum : 1 Large;

Chopped coriander or Parsley : 2 Tb;

Chopped green Chilli (Jalapeño or any spicy, fresh chilli) : 1-2 no;

For Vinaigrette :

Extra Virgin Olive Oil : 6 Tb; Dijon or Wholegrain Mustard : 1 Tb;

Lemon Juice or White Wine Vinegar : 2 Tb; Salt and Pepper : to taste

Method :

Soak the chick peas and then cook, with salt to taste, till done. Let them cool. Cut the onion, tomato and capsicum into dices of roughly the same size as the cooked chick peas. To the chick peas, add the diced vegetables, and chopped herbs. Mix all the ingredients of the vinaigrette and whisk well or you can put them in a glass bottle with a tight lid, close the lid and shake well. Add the vinaigrette to the salad and mix well. Serve at room temperature.

Mung Bean Chilla (Green Gram Pancakes)

I have always considered breakfast as the most important part of my morning ritual. That, along with a steaming cup of filter coffee and a crisp newspaper, really kick starts my day. So I take my breakfast very seriously. I have always marveled at people who eat the same breakfast, day in and day out, all their life. I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like. So one day I was at my friends house and his mom put a green dosa in front of me. I am always game for a new taste and tried it, and to my surprise liked it. The one she made was with garlic and fenugreek leaves. I am more partial to coriander (cilantro) so made a few changes and now you have the Mung Dal Chilla Amol-style.


Ingredients :

Whole Mung Beans ( Green Gram) : 1 cup;

Fresh Green Chillies : 4-6 no; Fresh Ginger : 1" inch;

Chopped Coriander Leaves : 1 Tb; Asafoetida : a pinch;

Chopped Onion : 1 no; Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp;


Salt to taste; Sugar : a pinch; Oil as required

Method:

Wash and soak the mung beans for 4-6 hours. Then add chopped chillies and ginger to it and make a paste in the blender. Add salt, sugar, asafoetida, turmeric powder. Add the chopped onion and chopped coriander to the paste. Add water to get the required consistency.
Pour a large spoonful of batter on a heated, lightly greased nonstick pan or iron griddle. Spread it with the back of a spoon to get a thin pancake. Cook on both sides till lightly brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney.
Serves : 4

Variations :

Dhokla : Add 2 tsp gram flour, 1/2 tsp of fruit salt eg.eno, 1 tsp oil and pour the batter in a greased cake pan and steam for 5 minutes.

P.S. You can also use mung dal ( split green gram ) with skin instead of the whole mung.

For Coconut Chutney :

Grated Fresh Coconut : 1/2 no; Chopped Green Chillies : 4-6 no;

Ginger : 1" scraped and grated; Roasted Cumin Seeds : 1/2 tsp; Salt to taste
Method : Mix all the ingredients together and make a semi-smooth paste.

Paneer Tikka ( Cottage Cheese Tikka )

Ingredients :

Paneer ( Cottage Cheese ) : 500 Gm; Curd : 250 Gm;

Ginger :1 inch; Garlic : 4-5 cloves; Green Chillies : 3-4 no;

Red Chilli Powder : 1 Tsp; Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 Tsp;

Processed Cheese Grated(optional) : 1 Tb; Chaat Masala : 1 Tsp.

Onion (big) : 1 no; Tomato (big) : 1 no; Capsicum (big) : 1 no.

Method :

Hang the curd in a muslin cloth till all the water is gone and you get Hung Curd ( the consistency should be like cream cheese). Make a paste of the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cut the paneer, Onion,tomato and capsicum into cubes.
Cream the processed cheese and add the hung curd. Now add the paste, red chilli powder and garam masala powder and mix well. Now add the paneer and veg cubes and keep refrigerated for a few hours (overnight is better). Take a slim, wooden skewer and skewer the cubes of onion, paneer, capsicum and tomato, in that order. Take three sets on each skewer. Grill them on a charcoal or gas grill till done, basting with a little vegetable oil as required. It takes about 3-5 minutes for one tikka. Sprinkle chaat masala on top and serve.