Delicio Recipe List

Suruttai poli, a traditional sweet preparation of South India, was chosen by Srivalli as the recipe for Indian Cooking Challenge for the month of February, 2011. This recipe is suggested by Nithya of 4th sense cooking, who stated her mother?s traditional, tried & tested recipe. I had never heard about this dish so it was a real challenge to attempt. When I searched the net for pictures, I came across Pavithra's recipe on how the final dish will look. Suruttai means rolled up and poli, generally refers to the sweet poli. It somehow resembled patisapta (a traditional sweet / savoury preparation in Bengali), stuffed with fillings of khoya & kheer / grated coconut, mixed with jaggery and rolled tightly. Here the outer covering should be thin, like a papad. It came out nicely and everyone enjoyed this delicious sweet treat. The only addition I made, I added some raisins in the filling mixture?. Ingredients: For filling: Roasted gram: 1 cup Sugar: 1 cup Cashews, chopped: 3-4 t...

Gujarati cuisine mainly consists of vegetarian recipe and have unique culinary traditions of India. Gujarati cuisine is also distinctive in its wide variety of Farsans or side dishes served with the main meal. Some Farsan are eaten as snacks / light meals. Gujarati food mainly comprise of 4 major regions, North Gujarat, Kathiawad, Kachchh and South Gujarat. North Gujarat is popular for its traditional Gujarati thali consisting of rice, dal, curry, vegetables, sprouted beans, farsan, pickles, chutney and raita. Some of the popular farsans, popular for their tastes are Pathara, Khaman Dhokla and Khandvi. Khandvi is a delicious savoury made with gram flour (beasn) and curd, tempered with sesame seeds and mustard seeds and served with fresh grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Srivalli chose Khandvi as the recipe for the Indian Cooking Challenge for the month of December. Preparing Khandvi is an art by itself and requires lot of practice to perfect the dish. I have never prepa...

Traditional Kashmiri cuisine is characterized by the use of curds in the gravies, which gives the dishes a creamy consistency. In Kashmir, potato is called 'Oluv' (Singular), and potatoes are called 'Olav' (Plural). 'Dama Oluv' is a poular North Indian cusine, having its origin in Kashmir. Better known as Kashmiri Dum Aloo, it is an all time favourite and mouth watering potato based curry recipe, prepared with whole / diced baby potatoes simmered in a rich and creamy gravy. The credit for the mouth watering and unique taste goes to the use of exquisite spices and ingredients. Dum means anything cooked under pressure. Here the aloo / potatoes are cooked under pressure in their own juices. Kashmiri Dum Aloo recipe is generally flavored with Kashmiri chillies and it uses typical Kashmiri spices like fennel / aniseed and ginger powder. Kashmiri Dum Aloo is particularly served with naan or roomali roti. Srivalli choose this dish as the recipe for Indian Cooking Cha...

Praline is a family of confections made from nuts and sugar syrup. Originally inspired in France at the Ch?teau of Vaux-le-Vicomte by the cook of the 17th-century sugar industrialist, Marshal du Plessis-Praslin (1598?1675), early pralines were prepared with whole almonds individually coated in caramelized sugar, as against dark nougat, where a sheet of caramelized sugar covers many nuts. Pralines have a creamy consistency, similar to fudge. They are usually prepared by combining sugar, butter and cream / buttermilk on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, till most of the water evaporates and they reach a thick texture with a brown color. They are then dropped by spoonfuls on a greased flat surface and left to cool to solidify into a crispy candy. Alka suggested Sri for choosing Varo to be the recipe of Indian Cooking Challenge (ICC) for the month of October. Varo is a kind of Indian praline with mixed nuts. Varo is a part of Sindhi cuisine, where Sindhi people make this as a Diwal...

For the month of September, Srivalli announced a delicious dish, Punjabi Kadhi for the Indian Cooking Challenge . Thanks to Srivalli for choosing this yummy Punjabi kadi and Simran for the awesome recipe. Kadhi / karhi is an Indian dish, specially a part of Gujarati and Punjabi cuisine, basically made up of vegetable fritters (pakodas) simmered in a spicy yogurt-based gravy containing chickpea flour (besan / gram flour) with tempering of black mustard seeds, cumin, asafoetida, dried chili peppers, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves in oil / ghee and eaten with steamed rice and roti / phulkas. Pakoda is a common Indian snack like onion pakoda, potato pakoda, eggplant, cauliflower or chopped spinach or chilies, prepared by dipping the ingredients in batter and fried into crunchy pakodas. Punjabi kadhi is a typical North Indian recipe made up of pakodas simmered in a thick yogurt gravy. Ingredients: For Pakodas: Gram flour: ? cup Onions, sliced: 2 medium Red Chilli Powder: ? tsp (as per tas...

Mishti Bhaat (Sweet Rice) / Mishti Pulao is an authentic Bengali Cuisin, where "gobindobhog" chal (rice / chawal) is used. You can substitute with long grained basmati rice. Very simple and easy to cook, a perfect rice recipe to serve guests, if you want something different other than plain rice / pulao. Ingredients: 2 cups (400 gms) gobindobhog rice 5 cups water 2 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 50 gms cashew nuts / kaju 50 gms raisins / kishmish 4 tbsp white oil 2 tbsp ghee 1 bay leaf / tej patta 1 inch cinnamon stick / dalchini 2 green cardamom / chhoti elaichi 4 cloves / laung Procedure: Wash and soak the rice for 30 mins. Drain and put the rice on a muslin cloth to completely dry the water. Soak the raisins in water. Split the cashew nuts. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and slightly saute the raisins and cashew nuts (till light brown). Drain oil and keep aside. Add the bay leaf, whole spices and stir fry. Reduce the flame, add the rice and stir fry for 2 mins on low flame. Add suga...

Sometimes back I wrote about Aloo Posto (Potatoes cooked in poppy seeds paste). It is served as a side dish with Biuli Daal (Urad Daal or Kalai Daal as known in Bengali). There are many ways of preparing this daal, but most famous is the simple & aromatic recipe stated below. Ingredients: ? cup (100 gms) urad dal (kalai dal / biuli dal) water (ratio 1 cup dal = 3 cups of water) ? inch ginger 2 tsp aniseed (fennel / saunf / mouri) 1 bay leaf 2-3 green chilli salt (to taste) 1 tbsp oil, for tempering Procedure: Wash and soak the daal for 10 mins. Drain and keep aside. Place the aniseed and ginger in a bowl and add hot water. Keep covered for 30 mins. Drain water and blend them together to form a smooth paste. (add a little water, if required). Keep aside. Boil water in a pressure cooker and release the daal. Add salt and mix well. Place the cover with the lid and give one whistle. Simmer and cook daal for 10-15 mins or until moderately soft. (ensure that the grains are visible and d...

Lady's finger (also known as Okra / Bhindi / Dharosh) is not a favourite vegetable of a lot of people. But knowing how to cook it in a proper way, can turn it into delicious side dishes. Here is the recipe of Stir Fried Bhindi, a crispy stir fry and a side dish preparation of lady's finger and onions and can be served with both rice and chapattis. Ingredients: 50 gms lady's finger / bhindi / okra 3 onions, finely choped 6 tbsp oil Powdered Masala: 4 tsp coriander / dhania powder 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp garam masala powder 2 tsp amchoor / dried mango powder 1-1/2 tsp salt (to taste) Spices for garnishing: 1 tsp aniseed / saunf / mouri 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera 1 tsp coriander seeds / saboot dhania Procedure: Crush aniseed, jeera and saboot dhania to form a powder. Keep aside. Wash and dry the lady's fingers. Slice the top and bottom end of each lady's finger. Finely chop to small pieces (You can slit lengthwise also). Heat oil in a kadhai...

Navratan Korma is a delicious curry (Mughlai cuisine) with nine ingredients including vegetables, nuts and paneer / cottage cheese (hence the name navratan / nine jewels). You can add vegetables of your choice. This is generally served as a side dish with hot Naans / Kulchas / Paranthas. Ingredients: 3 cups vegetables (potatoes, carrots, green peas, french beans, cauliflower and capsicum) 1 cup paneer cubes 1/4 cup dry fruits (cashew nuts, raisins) 3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped 6 tbsp white oil 1 & 1/2 tsp ginger paste 1 & 1/2 tsp garlic paste 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp coriander/ dhania powder 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera powder 1& 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (to taste) 2 tsp garam masala powder 2 tsp salt (to taste) 1 tsp sugar 1 cup milk 2 tbsp whipped cream 2 bunch coriander leaves, chopped Procedure: Heat oil in a non-stick kadhai / frying pan and slightly saut? the raisins and cashew nuts on on medium heat. Drain & keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Reduce flame, add g...

Aloo Posto (Potato cooked in poppy seed paste) is a delicious & popular Bengali recipe generally eaten as a dry accompaniment with a meal of steamed rice and daal. This recipe finds a place with biulir daal (urad daal) in every other Sunday afternoon lunch at our home. Ingredients: 4-5 medium sized potatoes 4 tbsp poppy seeds / posto / khuskhus ? cup water (to make poppy seeds paste) 2 tbsp mustard oil 1 tsp panchphoron 1 bay leaf / tej patta 3 green chillies ? tsp red chilli powder ? cup water salt to taste Procedure: Wash, peel and dice the potatoes into one inch sized cubes. Take a pan, boil water and steam the potatoes a little (ensure that the potatoes do not become too mushy). Keep aside. Soak poppy seeds in 1 cup of boiled water for 30 mins. Drain and put poppy seeds in a blender. Add 1 green chilli, ? tsp salt and ? cup water and blend to form a smooth paste. Heat oil in a kadhai. Add bay leaf & panchphoron and let them splutter. Reduce the flame. Add the poppy paste...

Yday it was very hot and humid. Thought of making plain rice and chicken curry for dinner. But on second thought wanted to prepare either jeera rice or peas pulao. But somehow ended up making a jeera peas rice, a tasty variation on plain boiled rice, with jeera and peas. Here is the recipe? Ingredients: 2 cups / 400 gms basmati rice (long grain rice) 4 cups water (ratio 1 cup rice = 2 cups water) 1-1/2 tsp salt (to taste) 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera 1 cup / 100 gms shelled peas 2 tbsp white oil 1 tsp ghee 1 bunch chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing cucumber slices, for garnishing 4-5 green chillies, for garnishing Procedure: Wash the Basmati rice well in running water. Soak in water for 30 mins. Drain water in a strainer / colander and keep aside. Take a nonstick pressure cooker (ordinary cooker will also do, but give a little bit more oil), heat oil. Add jeera let them splutter. Reduce the flame, add the peas and saut? for 2 mins. Add the rice and salt and stir a little. Add water ...

A traditional Bengali lunch is not complete without a fish curry where hot steaming rice is served with daal, fried vegetables and finally with a fish preparation. Here is the recipe for Sorse Rui (Rohu in Mustard Gravy) ideal to have with rice during lunch time. Ingredients: 4 pieces rui (rohu) 2 tbsp black mustard seeds (sorse) 1 tbsp poppy seeds (posto) 2 green chiili (for mustard paste) 1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 1/2 tsp salt (to taste) 2-4 tbsp mustard oil (as required), to fry fish 3-4 chilli (slit lengthwise) to decorate 1 bunch coriander leaves, chopped (optional) Procedure: Clean and wash the fish pieces and sprinkle 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and a 1/2 tsp salt on the pieces and rub on all sides. Keep aside for 10 mins. Grind the mustard and poppy seeds with 2 green chillies in a blender to form a smooth paste. Add a little water while making the paste. (Do not overgrind, as mustard paste may get bitter). Heat oil in a kadhai and shallow fry the fish ...

Thought of making Saag-Aloo (a nutritious dish made of spinach & potatoes) dish for tonight?s dinner. While preparing I found out there was no coriander leaves (which I generally use for spinach gravy recipes) but a handful bunch of mint leaves were available. Well wary at first of the taste, substituted coriander leaves with the mint leaves and voila...the final dish was also delicious with the typical smell of mint. A few bunch of mint leaves were extra so I prepared mint, cucumber & yogurt raita and instead of plain roti made pudina parantha to have a whole course "minty" menu for tonight's dinner. Ingredients: 2-3 bunch spinach, roughly chopped 4 medium sized potatoes, peeled & diced 1 cup shelled peas 2 bunch mint leaves 2 large onions, finely chopped / grated 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste 1 large tomato, finely chopped 2 tsp coriander powder ? tsp garam masala powder ? tsp red chili powder 1-2 green chilli (as per taste) salt to taste 1 tbsp oi...

Missi Roti is a Rajasthani speciality and a type of chappati / parantha. If you all remember my post on Chillah (another Rajasthani recipe), where I used besan, atta and maida with a variety of vegetables. Well missi roti is prepared with wheat flour and gram flour. Ingredients: 200 gms wheat flour / atta 200 gms gram flour / besan 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera a pinch of asafoetida / hing 2 tbsp kasoori methi powder1 tsp salt (to taste) 1 tsp red chili powder (to taste)white oil, for frying ?-1 cup warm water (for making dough) Procedure: Sieve atta to remove the husk. Take the sieved atta & besan in a mixing bowl. Add cumin seeds, kasoori methi powder, salt & red chili powder and mix well. Add a little oil and gradually add water and knead to form a soft dough. Cover with a moist cloth and keep aside for 30 mins. Make 10-12 small round shaped balls. Take a ball, press to form a flat shaped dough and roll into a slightly thick roti / chappati than usual. Heat a non stick frying...

Misti singhara (or sweet samosa) is one of my favourite sweet dish. Very easy to prepare also. The process of making sweet samosa is similar to that of the popular samosa (filled with fried vegetable stuffing) only here the stuffing is of khoya / kheer and the final samosas are dipped in the sugar syrup. Ingredients: 200 gms (2 cups) plain flour / maida 200 gms (2 cups) khoya kheer / mawa ? tsp baking powder 1 tsp nutmeg powder 1 tsp saunf (mouri / aniseed) ? cup boiling water (as required) 1- ? tbsp white oil (for kneading dough) white oil / ghee, for frying Sugar Syrup: 2 cups sugar 4 cups water 4-5 green cardamom (chhoti elaichi) few strands of saffron Making sugar syrup: To make the hot sugar syrup, take a deep pan, mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. (ratio is 1 part of sugar to 2 parts of water) and bring to a boil. Add 4-5 cardamom pods (crushed) and saffron. Mix with a spoon until all the sugar is dissolved in water. Boil the syrup and then simmer to reduce the water b...

I am back with a delicious Biryani recipe. I had Hyderabadi Mutton Biryani, first time during my stay in Bangalore. What surprised me that they serve a gravy with the biryani dish along with raita / green salads. So when I prepared the recipe at home, I kept the gravy and served it along with the biryani. Ingredients: 350 gms mutton, cut into cubes 200 gms basmati rice 2 large onions 4 medim sized tomatoes 1/2 cup curd 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tbsp red chilli powder (to taste) salt (to taste) 6-7 green chillies 4 tbsp white oil 2 tbsp ghee 1/2 cup mint leaves, chopped 1-2 cups boiled water (as required for gravy) 4-5 strands saffron 2 tbsp milk Whole Spices: 1 tsp cumin seeds 3 green cardamoms, slit 3 black cardamoms, slit 4-5 cloves 1 1/2" cinnamon stick 2 bay leaves Garnish: 2 large onions, sliced & fried 10-12 pieces, kashewnuts, fried 1 bunch corinader leaves, chopped 1 boiled egg, sliced Procedure: ...

Banana pith (known as thor in bengali) is an useful part of the banana tree (stem) which is believed to remove kidney stones. In previous days, a typical menu in bengali cuisine served during lunch time will have delicious recipes made from various parts of the banana plant like banana stem (thor chhechhki) and banana flowers (mochar ghonto). Cooking thor recipe is easy but the cutting takes a little time and patience. Because of our busy and hectic schedules, it becomes difficult to prepare these recipes on daily basis unlike other vegetables. But if you know the proper technique and have enough time in your hand, you can definitely give this recipe of Thor Chhechhki a try. Ingredients: 2-3 thor (banana pith) 2 large onions, finely sliced 1 tsp black mustard seeds 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise 1 tsp salt (to taste) 1 tsp sugar (to taste) Procedure: Remove the outer covering to get the core inner portion known as the pith. Cut the thor / banana pith into circular slices and keep ...

Kolkata is famous for roadside eateries and roll corners. There are varieties of rolls like egg roll, chicken roll, egg - chicken roll, chicken tikka roll, combination of the above mentioned ingredients, the list is endless, even vegetarian roll like paneer roll is available these days. Chicken Roll originated in Kolkata (Calcutta) and is often known as the Calcutta Kati Roll where spicy & cooked chicken cubes are placed & wrapped in parantha. A perfect recipe to enjoy in a get-together of family & friends. I prepare the chicken cubes beforehand. So when guests arrive, I only assemble the rolls and serve hot. Here is the recipe for chicken (tandoori) roll. Though the recipe may look lengthy, it is really easy to prepare. Ingredients: Chicken: 500 gms boneless chicken, skinned & cut into 2" cubes 250 gms (2 cups) yogurt / curd 3 tbsp tandoori chicken masala ? tsp nutmeg powder salt to taste 2 tsp mustard oil 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp coriander leaves, finely chopped (op...

Thanks all for your support. Writing the 50th food entry in my blog. Today is International Women?s Day. A day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. This day can also be stated as a day to celebrate the life of a woman who faces hardships with her inner strength. Here?s wishing you all a Happy Women?s Day. So how about some ?mishti mukh? as known to Bengalis for taking sweets? Lobongo Lotika, a traditional Bengali dessert, made of flour, filled with mouth watering khoya / mawa mixture and soaked in sugar syrup. A clove is inserted on top of the sweet, hence the name lobongo lotika (clove as known in Bengali). My grandmother used to make these sweets whenever we went to our grandparent?s place during durga puja (this sweet is generally eaten at bijoya dashami, the 10th day when the idol of Devi Durga is immersed in water). So here stating the recipe as learned from my grandmother in her memory??? Ingredients: 200 gms (2 cups) plain flour /...

Parantha (Paratha / Parota) is a popular food item that can be eaten at breakfast / lunch / dinner. Paranthas are basically of two main types: 1) Stuffed Paranthas and 2) Plain Paranthas. Each State of India have some special way of preparing these paranthas, the basic methodology remaining the same (The difference is only in the way each stuffing is prepared and in the rolling process). Paranthas are mostly a North Indian speciality incluidng some mouth watering paranthas from Gujarat and Rajasthan as well. Rice being the staple food for Eastern India (Bengalis), paranthas have become a delicacy which are prepared on special occasions like festivals / rituals etc. Non-stuffed paranthas are usually made from wheat flour / chappati flour (flour made from whole wheat) and normally layered. The dough is rolled out and brushed with ghee, folded and brushed with ghee again and folded several times to get the requisite shape (triangular / square / spiral). The final rolled out dough is pal...