Wednesday, December 23, 2009

My Very Own Pakora (fried snack)

My Very Own Recipe for Pakoras


This here is a fried Indian snack that is nice and fattening. Don't OD on these, they're good only for once in while indulgence ;-)

You can make pakoras out of any veggies (much like tempura) but this recipe is for onion pakoras.

Ingredients:
Onions
Gram Flour (Besan)
Water
Salt
Red chilli powder
Turmeric Powder
Green chillies (optional)
Oil

Preparation:
Slice a large onion thinly - the amount of onions is up to you, if you want more pakoras slice more
In a medium sized bowl add 1/2 a cup of the gram flour (called besan at indian stores)
Add 1/8 cup water to the flour
whip with a fork
the consistency should be like cream of wheat
add 1/8 tsp of red chilli powder
add 1/4 tsp. of turmeric powder
add 2 tsp. salt
slice the chillies length wise into 2 pieces then cut those pieces in half
add the onions and the chillies to the mixture
mix and stir around with the fork till everything is blended equally

heat the oil in a pan on medium heat
it is important that the oil be hot before the next step
take the fork and pick up a bit of the onion mixture (see picture for size)
drop into the oil (dont drop from too high or oil will splatter and burn your skin)
drop in as many as you have room for
fry for a little bit then flip over
the cooked side should be a golden brown
remove using a spatula with holes and place on a paper towel so the excess oil can be absorbed
wait till cooled before enjoying
i personally like to dip mine in ketchup
the texture should be nice and crunchy

here is a close up:


enjoy!

Monday, December 21, 2009

My Very Own Beef Stew - Indian Style

My Very Own Recipe for Beef Stew (Indian Style)

So I have to give a little credit to my cousin who helped me with this recipe. If he wants a mention I will add his name later...

Ingredients:

1lb. beef cubes
2 Medium onions
Olive Oil
Dried Red Pepper
Garam Masala
Salt
Water
Ginger paste
Garlic Paste (or minced - whatever you can find)
Naan Bread

explanations:
-The most important thing about beef stew is the type of meat. The meat I got (which turned out amazing) was juicy red cubes of boneless beef. I wish I had taken a photograph of the meat before I added it to the cooker, but unfortunately I didn't
-Here is a photo of the dried red pepper to make it easier to find at your local grocery:


-Garam Masala is basically a mix of all kinds of spice ground up into a powder, I got mine at whole foods
-Naan Bread is a flat but pudgy Indian bread that goes great with soaking up some gravy

Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker (about 1/8 of a cup)
slice the onions thinly and add to the heated oil
fry till the onions are golden brown (NOT burnt or crunchy)
add one piece dried red pepper (break it in half)
add 1 tsp each of garlic and ginger pastes
stir it in
add the cubes of beef (they should be 1" by 1")
stir it around
add salt to taste (i like salt so i added like 1.5 tsp.)
add 1 tsp. of garam masala
stir it in for a few minutes
it should look something like this by now:


Add 8 oz. of water (i like my stew with more juice, if you want a drier stew add less water)
close the pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes
let the pressure out and open it up
cook on med-low with the cooker slightly uncovered (this will tenderize the meat)
cook until the gravy is at the consistency and level that you want

it should look something like this:

sorry this was taken after we had already ate some :-p

take your naan bread and heat it up in a pan
dip it in your stew and enjoy!