Restaurant Style Creamy Rajma Masala

Rajma is probably one common dish, after chole, which almost every Indian, men and women alike, knows to cook. However simple it might seem, getting the perfect taste and texture is not always easy and many a times we end up in disasters. I know this because I have been through this when I was not so much into cooking and understanding the chemistry of the spices and ingredients that go into the making of a perfect dish. I hope those who find it difficult to nail the perfect Rajma Masala will find some respite in today's recipe!

Ingredients

2 cups red rajma soaked overnight (ensure that your beans are not lying in the pantry for too long. Else, you might not get the perfectly cooked rajma however long you might soak or pressure cook it. The tinted rajma cooks better than the red ones though)

1 big onion chopped

3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped (increase or decrease the quantity as per the sourness of the tomatoes as well as your preference of sourness in the gravy)

1 inch piece ginger, 3-4 cloves garlic, and 1-2 green chillies made into a paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp crushed kasuri methi

1 tbsp fresh cream (adjust as per your liking of richness in the gravy)

Salt as per taste

1 tbsp oil plus 1 tsp butter

Direction

Wash the soaked beans and pressure cook with sufficient water until done.

Heat oil and splutter the cumin seeds. Add the chopped onions and fry till golden. Make sure not to burn the onions  which will impart a bitter taste to the gravy. Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes followed by chopped tomatoes. Fry on a high to medium flame until the tomatoes soften. Add the dry spices except the kasuri methi and salt. Fry till oil starts separating. Now add the rajma with a slotted spoon and reserve the liquid. Add salt and mix the rajma and the spices mashing a few beans for a thicker gravy. Now add about 1-2 cups of the liquid or whatever liquid is remaining not exceeding 2 cups (no need to add extra water if you do not have the required water). We do not want a watery gravy. Now bring the gravy to a roaring boil and reduce the gravy to the consistency you desire, not too thin or too thick. Towards the end, add the kasuri methi and the cream. Give a good stir and remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice, roti, or naan.

                                       

                                       

Wholewheat Spiral Apple Bread

This has been on my mind ever since I saw it on a site and was really itching to try my hands on. However, not being an apple fan, I kept on lingering it until no further. My baking instinct could no longer hold the excitement of experimenting with the design. While the original recipe called for an only all purpose flour dough and butter for kneading, the calorie conscious me gave it a healthy twist and limited to using butter only for brushing. The taste was superb. Crusty on the outside and soft and gooey (from the apples) on the inside. I was in fact confused whether to call it a bread or a pie! Enjoy it on your breakfast table or with your evening tea/coffee.

                                     

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (you can increase as per your liking)

3 apples peeled cored and sliced

TOPPING

Melted butter for brushing

1/4 C brown sugar or to taste

Direction

In a bowl or glass, take the warm milk, half the sugar, and dissolve the yeast. Let it stand for about 10 minutes until frothy and slightly tanned in color. 

In a separate bowl, mix the salt and flour and the remaining sugar. Add the yeasty mix little at a time and form a smooth dough. The dough might feel sticky at the beginning. After the initial kneading, add the olive oil and continue kneading till you get a moist but non-sticky dough. Since we are using wholewheat flour, it is important to get a moist dough. If you feel the dough is too dry, add a dash of warm milk and knead. When you hold the dough in your hands, the dough should fall off and not leave any dough on your hands apart from a little moisture. The last few minutes of kneading is important as this is the time when the flour absorbs all the oil and moisture and transforms into a smooth dough similar to the baby bum!

                                         

Now lightly oil the dough and cover in a cling wrap and keep in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours until doubled in size. My dough rose beautifully and a part of it even popped out of the cling wrap, tearing it into two. What force!

                                         

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the sliced apples and cinnamon. Cover and keep aside until further use.

After the dough has risen sufficiently, take it out on a smooth lightly floured surface and punch a few times. Now with the help of a rolling pin, roll out an even disc not too thick. Make horizontal cuts onto the disc to get thin strips.

                                         

Now take a round baking dish, big enough for your dough, and grease it slightly. Now pick the smallest strip and make a small triangle and place it in the middle of the pan. Now place the cinnamon apple slices one by one around the triangle and cover it up with the dough strips from the back. Gently press the dough strips at the ends when you pick a new one. Continue with the apple and dough spiralling until you finish all the strips.

                                         

Cover with a cling wrap and keep in a warm place again for 45 mins to 1 hour for the second proofing. When you are reaching the end of the second proofing, it is good to start preheating the oven at 190 degree celsius for about 20 minutes.

Now brush a little butter on the spirals from the top and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden on top. Remove from oven and brush again with the remaining butter and sprinkle the sugar on top. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it remain for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

                                     

   

Quick and Easy Dhokla in the Microwave

This is one Gujarati dish which is super yummy and easy to make. While there are some twists and turns which can make it a bit more tasty but complicated, I prefer the easier version as it gets ready in just under 30 minutes, maybe even less. It makes for a wonderful evening snack with fewer calories. I googled about the calorie intake and was happy to know that each serving has just about 40 calories which makes it quite a hoggable dish. So enjoy your Dhokla with some nice coriander and tamarind chutney or just as is with a lovely cup of tea.

Ingredients

1 cup besan

1/2 cup sour curd

1 tsp sugar

A pinch of salt

A pinch of hing

1 small sachet of fruit salt/Eno

1 tbsp oil (I used Olive oil)

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp finely grated ginger

1 green chilli, super fine chopped or paste (optional)

For the tempering

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp sugar

Few curry leaves

1-2 slit green chillies

1 cup water

Direction

In a bowl, mix besan, water, curd, salt, sugar, hing, ginger, and chillies. Stir well to form a smooth batter. Grease a microwave safe dish and keep it ready. Now add the fruit salt to the batter and with one good stir to mix everything well, pour immediately into the greased dish. Microwave on a high for 8 minutes, checking after the initial 4 minutes and then readjusting the time depending on how clean a toothpick comes out once inserted. The cooking time varies for different microwave models and baking dish used. So adjust accordingly. It took me exact 8 minutes for my dhokla. Remove from the microwave and with a butter knife, make cuts through the dhokla for taking out the pieces later on. Keep covered lightly while you prepare the tempering.

In a small wok, heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds, curry leaves and slit green chillies. Now add the sugar and the water and bring it to a roaring boil. Stir to check if the sugar has dissolved completely. Now quickly pour this over the cooked dhokla and keep covered for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm with some coriander and tamarind chutney or have just as is with a lovely cup of tea.