Bacon Egg Cups

This is a quick and easy breakfast, especially if you have guests home for the holidays.It also is something I make ahead of time and refrigerate.Then I warm it up for a grab-and-go breakfast on the way to work. It is low carb and high  in protein and filling. Calories per serving 190, carbs 5.6 g, Protein 15g

Bacon Egg Cups

Serves 6

6 slices of bread of your choice

6 eggs

6 bacon strips- cooked

1 cup sausage crumbles- cooked

1 cup Shredded cheese of your choice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Parsley flakes

1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Get a large muffin pan and spray with non-stick spray. Cut bread with a circular cookie cutter to fit your tray. Place on bottom of tray. Edge with bacon strips. Add some sausage crumbles and cheese. Crack 1 egg into well. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and parsley flakes. Bake for 15 mts. Remove and garnish with parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Variations:
I have made this with an omelette filling adding onions, tomatoes, peppers etc.

Can top egg with a little basil pesto or salsa.

 

Tapioca (Koppa) Biriyani

It has been awhile since I posted but I hope this post will make up for it. Will see if I can get back into the cooking, picture taking and posting thing again.

Koppa Biriyani is a typical Kerala dish encompassing all the flavors keralites love. I think if a cooking show challenged me to make a dish that epitomizes Kerala cooking and my palate then it may be this dish that I would choose to make.

Koppa is tapioca or yucca. This ubiquitous root vegetable is an everyday staple in Kerala households (and toddy shops!) and when cooked is like potatoes. It can be eaten very simply boiled and salted served with a fish curry or a shallot chutney or cooked with turmeric yellow, coconut mixture. Koppa and Fish curry is the most commonest combination but I love the way meat goes with it. Beef is eaten widely in Kerala and added to koppa it is amazing. Any meat probably could be substituted. This is a very “meat and potatoes” meal. Biriyani is a misnomer because that dish usually has rice with some type of meat but instead of the rice this uses tapioca. Enjoy!

Koppa Biriyani

Ingredients:

3 lbs or so of Chuck Roast- Beef, cubed ( can use lamb, goat or chicken)

2 lbs  of Frozen or fresh Tapioca/Yucca pieces

2 tbs Oil of your choice-coconut oil will taste more authentic

1 lg onion- sliced

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

2 tbs Ginger, chopped

2 tbs Garlic chopped

3-4 dried Red chilies

Meat masalas appox 1-2 tsps. each- garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, red chilly powder

Sprig of Curry leaves and cilantro for garnsh

Salt to taste

 

Method:

Boil Tapioca chunks in a large stockpot of salted water. Cook until tender yet holds it shape. Drain and remove center fibers and cube into chunks. Set aside.

Meat preparation-In a large saute pan, add oil and when hot add mustard seed. Allow to pop. Then add onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and saute until softened. Add red chillies. Add masala powders and saute for a few seconds then add meat. Add salt to taste. Toss well and let cook until tender. Cover the pot for the first 10 minutes or then uncover. You want the curry to be semi-dry. Add a little water if sticking to pan. This will take at least 20 minutes. You should have tender meat pieces with a little bit of thick gravy.

Combine tapioca chunks with the meat curry and mix well. Garnish with cilantro.

Egg Korma

It has been a hectic few weeks and was not able to post anything. We had our annual entertainment and dinner program of the South Asia Muncie Association last weekend—SAMA FEST 2013. I was on the Board so had many organizational things to get together as well as headaches to sort out too. The Board learned quickly that you cannot please 100% of the people a 100% of the time. Overall we had a lovely evening and had 360 guests–our largest turnout yet. Our whole decoration theme was birds to play on the fact that we migrated from other places to the US and that we should appreciate the  multicolored array of our feathers  but that we are still all the same. The centerpieces all carried the bird/multicolor peacock theme. It was a very cohesive plan.

I wrote the script for the entertainment program–Called “Yatra (means a journey) – A Discovery of Heritage and Homeland” . It was about 2  friends ( one Indian and one American) are traveling to South Asia and they visit different regions and see the cultural items from that state they visit. There were dances from Punjab, Bollywood, Bengal, South India, Bangladesh and skits in between. It turned out beautifully. Isn’t it nice when what you visualize something in your head and it  becomes a reality? It was all about appreciating the regional differences and coming together as one in unity. In previous years this was called Diwali program then became named Diwali/Eid/Christmas, even though none of the evenings’ program included anything about Eid or Xmas. So this year the Board wanted it to be non-denominational and all inclusive. We decided to showcase and embrace regional differences without having religion in the mix. Some didn’t like the change, some absolutely loved it. The Americans( Which was half of the audience) enjoyed it and never realized each state in India is almost like a different country with its own language and culture.  Anyway, the next Board can go back to what was done in previous years and we will support them.

Anyway, that week I did not cook much so now back to reality.
Here is a dish I made for breakfast to go with Dosai and Idli but you can make this  for a quick weeknight dinner too. Enjoy!

Egg Korma

Serves 4

Ingredients:

6 hard boiled eggs

1/4 tsp mustard seed

Pinch of cumin seeds

1/2  medium onion diced

1 tsp ginger and garlic paste

2 sliced green chillies

1 tomato, diced

1 tsp chili powder or to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garam masala or egg/chicken masala

few curry leaves

Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish

1 tbs vegetable oil

Salt to taste

To Grind:
3 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes

1 green chili

2 tbs of cashews

1 tsp Khus Khus/poppy seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

METHOD:\

Take all items to grind and puree to a smooth paste adding little water. Set aside. In a frying pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds and wait until they stop spluttering. Add cumin seeds. Then add chopped onions, slit green chilies curry leaves and ginger-garlic paste. Sauté until light brown. Add the masala powders and salt to taste. Fry until aromatic then add ground coconut mixture. Add some water to make a thick gravy. Allow to cook on simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Keep adding water if it is getting too thick.  Add salt to taste. Add the halved boled eggs gently and coat with gravy. Cook for about  5 mts and then garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve with rice, biriyani, dosai, appam ,  chapathis

Chepala Pulusu–Andhra Fish Curry

This is for all my Andhra friends out there…Chepala Pulusu (Chepala-Fish, Pulusu-a tangy gravy). This dish is similar to the Tamil Meen Kolumbu.

The use of red chili and tamarind makes this curry very spicy and tangy. In my home state of Kerala we do not use the type of  tamarind used in this dish for fish curries—we use a special sour fruit–kokum ( a fruit from the tree Garcinia indica, part of the mangosteen family) .

_indica Garcinia indica (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In this dish the addition of sambar tamarind yields a more thick and dark colored gravy.

Chepala Pulusu

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 lbs-Pomfret, Porgy, king fish, Blue fish, etc…cleaned and sliced into steaks or chunks

Marinade for fish: 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt

1 large onion + 2 green chilies- pureed

1/2 onion, sliced

Few sprigs of curry leaves

1 lg tomato–pureed

3-4  tbs oil

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 tsp Red chili powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tsp coriander pdr

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

1tbs unsweetened coconut flakes

1 heaping tbs of tamarind block/paste dissolved in 4 tbs water and strained

Chopped cilantro for garnish

METHOD:

Step1:   Take the cleaned fish and add marinade ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hr.Heat oil 1-2 tsp oil in a frying pan and lightly fry the fish until light brown. Remove from oil and keep aside.

Step 2:  In a frying pan add remaining oil and add mustard seeds and fry til popped, add cumin and fenugreek seeds. Add sliced onions and curry leaves and fry until brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. then pureed onions. Fry until lt brown. Add all masala powder and sauté for a few minutes (until raw smell is gone). Add pureed tomatoes and allow to cook for 5 mts. Add more water if gravy is getting too thick. Oil should start separating. To this add tamarind paste and allow to cook for a few minutes. Add more water as needed to get a semi thick gravy. Add coconut flakes. Now drop in the fried fish and allow to cook for another 5 mts.

Transfer to a dish and garnish with chopped cilantro. Best served with white rice. Serves 4-6.

* A Sweet Treat * Beet Root Halwa

This is a recipe for my sister who liked it when she came over one day. It is quick and easy dessert. Halva or halwa is Arabic for sweet and served for special occasions. There are different types of halwa made from flour, dhals, some vegetables like carrot and bottle gourd. Some cities that specialize in a specific type of Halwa lend their names such as  Bombay Halwa, Kozhikode halwa etc.  Gajjar halwa or carrot halwa is fairly common and you can find this on most Indian restaurant buffets. The key for success in making these sweets are constant stirring to aid in evaporation of as much liquid as possible and lots of ghee. The sugar combined with the ghee produces a glistening texture to the sweet. Halwas are super sweet so a little goes a long way.

Beet Root Halwa has a rich color like no other and can be made with fresh beets. The drawbacks to using fresh beets are that they can taste muddy if not fresh, they are harder to grate and takes longer to cook. The canned beets work perfectly every time and are so easy to grate. This sweet tastes especially good when topped on plain vanilla ice cream when still a little warm. An impressive dessert for any guest!

Beet Root Halwa

Serves 6-8 if serving by itself, serves 8-12 if topping ice cream

Ingredients:

A must—Plastic gloves

3 cans of Small Whole Beets ( 15 oz ea)

1 to 1 3/4 cup sugar (according to taste)

1/4 cup Ghee (clarified butter)

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 cup dedicated coconut flakes (can use sweetened coconut but then reduce the amount of added sugar)

1-2 tablespoons cashews or slivered almonds

Method:

Drain the canned beets. Put on rubber gloves and grate medium fine. The gloves are a must as it will stain. Squeeze out any excess water. In a large frying pan add a tsp of ghee and toast the nuts until golden brown. Remove and set aside.

To the same pan add few tablespoons of ghee and add sauté the beets for a few minutes. Keep stirring until most all the water is absorbed. Then add the milk . Cook for a few minutes until the liquid has evaporated. Add sugar, and continue stirring. The liquid may increase so keep stirring until most has evaporated. Drizzle a little more ghee and add the coconut and cardamom powder. The coconut will absorb the rest of the liquid. The mixture should be somewhat dry and glistening. And the toasted nuts and remove from stove. Serve hot or cold, can also serve with ice cream.

Related articles

• Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Sweet) (click2cook.wordpress.com)
• Chickpea Halwa/ Kabuli Chana Halwa (gameofflavours.wordpress.com)

Summer Spring Rolls

My daughter has gone back to college (boo hoo! ) my son is with his friends at their lake houses ( wish I had more friends like that!) and my husband is away for a week at a conference.These rolls are a perfect meal for one that entails minimal cooking dish. These Vietnamese spring rolls are a family favorite and a make a nice party appetizer, especially in the summer. It is low fat but very filling. You can find the Vietnamese Spring Roll wrappers at any Asian grocery store. They are wafer thin, stiff round sheets that can be stored in your pantry for years. The wafers are softened by dipping them for a few seconds in hot water.

Summer Spring Rolls
Ingredients:

6 Spring Roll wrappers

1 large handful of rice noodles

1 cup steamed shrimp, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 large seedless cucumber, julienned

4 green onions, julienned

a bunch of cilantro leaves, left whole

Sauce- 2–3 tablespoon peanut butter, 2 tsp Soy Sauce, chili paste to taste- microwave together for a minute or so

Method:

In a bowl, place noodles and cover with hot water. Cover and let it sit for 10 mts. It should be soft by then. Drain off water.

Set out all ingredients to start assembly of wraps.

In a flat plate add few tablespoons of hot water. Dip the wrappers in the plate and flip over until moist ( only a few seconds) and transfer to a flat surface. It will continue to soften as it sits.

Starting at one end of the wrapper, smear some of the sauce and then arrange 3-4 shrimp. Top with the approx. 1 tbs cooked rice noodles, then the grated carrot, cucumber and a piece or 2 of green onion and a few sprigs of cilantro. Before wrapping add a little more sauce on to one side of the wrapper and roll, tucking in the edges into a roll. It will stick to itself and stay sealed. Slice on the bias and serve with more sauce for dipping.

NOTE: You can make this vegetarian by adding any veggies that you like. For non veg- can add any meat you like.

Related articles

Rice papers to make spring rolls (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Vegan Spring Rolls (the925vegan.wordpress.com)

Aloo Parata and Chicken Tikka Masala

This past week was my daughters 21st birthday (Where did the time go!:(….,) so this post is one of her favorites—Aloo Parata and Chicken Tikka Masala ( also can be called Butter Chicken/Chicken Makhani)

Aloo Parata

Ingredients:

2 cups chapathi flour or Atta ( can use whole wheat flour as a substitute)

1 tbs oil

1 tsp salt

Water to make a dough

1 large Potato, boiled and mashed

2 green chilies, minced

1 tsp grated ginger

1/4 tsp cumin pdr

2 tsp chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

Method:

Combine flour, salt water and oil and knead well. Coat dough with a little oil and cover with a wet paper towel. Keep aside for 20-30 mts. Into mashed potato add green chili, grated ginger, cumin pdr cilantro leaves and salt.

Take dough and knead again. Make golf ball size balls. Roll out into a 2 inch disc, add a spoon of potato filling and pinch ends together to encase filling. Apply little oil to rolling surface and roll out gently into a flat round disc. Heat a skillet and grease lightly with oil or vegetable spray. Cook parata on both sides until slightly brown. Press with spatula to make it puff up slightly.Top with a little butter and serve with any curry.

 Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into small pieces

2 tbsp.  tandoori masala ( usually can find in the international section of grocery store)

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tomatoes

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

2-3 green chilies

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Hing or asafetida (may omit if can’t find it)

2  tbs butter + 2 tbs oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

Whole garam masala-5-6 cloves, 2-3 cardamom, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 bay leaf

salt to taste

2 tbs Methi leaves (can substitute with cilantro leaves)

pint of whipping cream or half and half

Method:

Into chicken add tandoori masala and yogurt and set aside for 15 mts. The place on a flat baking sheet and bake  at 35o for about 15 mts. The switch to broil and let chicken brown a bit.

Puree tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, green chilies, sugar and hing. In a sauce pan add butter and oil then add the whole garam masala spices. Then add chopped onions. Sauté for a few minutes and add tomato puree mixture. Allow to cook well. May take 10 minutes. Should see the oil rising to the surface a bit. Add spice powders, salt and methi leaves. Fry for a minute and add chicken. Cover and cook until done. Add half and half/cream at the end and heat. Remove from stove. May sprinkle a little garam masala at the end and chopped cilantro leaves. Serve with Parata or Rice

Shrimp Kabobs with Masala Corn and Peas Orzo

Since summer is here now and the temps are in the 80’s here is a perfect menu for the grill.

Shrimp Kabobs
Ingredients
2 lbs shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 large red Onion
2 zucchini or squash
Cherry tomatoes, if you like them
Marinade:
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chili pdr
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbs lemon juice
Salt to taste
Mix all marinade ingredients and add to shrimp. Cut veggies into large chunks and add to shrimp. Refrigerate for a minimum of 15 mts.
Soak wooden skewers in water for 15 mts. Skewer shrimp and veggies.
Place on hot grill for 15 mts and turn until cooked.

Grilled Masala Sweet Corn
Husked corn- marinate with olive oil, salt, chili pdr,
Grill for 10 mts, turning frequently

Peas Orzo
Ingredients:
2 cups dry orzo pasta
4 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 cup frozen peas
Salt to taste
Method:
Boil 8 cups water in large pot. Add some salt and add Orzo. Cook for 5-8 mts and drain when cooked.
Set aside.
Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan. Add garlic, red chili flakes, peas and salt. Add cooked orzo and toss.

Serve kabobs on a bed of orzo.

Nargisi Koftas–Indian Style Scotch Eggs

I just love the name of these koftas—Nargisi Kofta. Reminds me of one of my favorite Bollywood actresses of yesteryear- Nargis. She and Raj Kapoor were the most perfect couple in the romantic comedies of Awara, Shree 420 etc…My dad was a great lover of Raj Kapoor films and my sister and I saw these films over and over again. Those were the days….and really was probably the Golden Age of Bollywood cinema.

Remembering Raj Kapoor (Photo credit: ramesh_lalwani)

A beautiful song from Shree 420

Anyway I digress….back to the koftas. After I had made the Keema Stuffed Tilapia, I had some leftover meat filling so decided to try this recipe. I think Scotch eggs are the British original version ( made with sausage) and Nargisi kofta came later or more than likely it was really the other way around. I guess like the age old question, which came first?- The chicken or the egg….

Narcissus up close (Photo credit: Bart Hanlon)

These Koftas get their name from the white flower with yellow center, the Narcissus (Nargisi in Hindi) and you can see why.

This recipe requires making the keema filling —see my previous post on how to make the filling here-

https://bmjoseph.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/keema-stuffed-tilapia/

Nargisi Koftas

Ingredients:

2- 3 cups Keema filling

2 slices bread

5 Hard boiled eggs

1 tbsp All purpose flour (maida)

1 beaten egg

1 cup Bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Method:

Soak the bread (crust and all) for a few seconds in water and mash into the keema filling—this will help bind the meat together and easier to coat the egg. Take the hard boiled egg and roll in a little all purpose flour ( better if the egg is still a little moist) then coat the outside with the keema filling making it as smooth as possible. You can make the outer layer as thin or thick as you want but it needs to be smooth or else after breading, it will fall apart in the oil.

Dip into beaten egg and then roll in bread crumbs. Coat well. Set aside and repeat for remaining eggs. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry until golden brown. Drain onto paper towel. Serve with ketchup, chili sauce, mint or cilantro chutney. I made a tomato gravy and placed the koftas into it as a main dish.

Tips-

• If you are making a large quantity, then use egg whites instead of the whole egg for the breading process….the yolk will make the oil foam a bit and burn after a while. Or else you will have to change out the oil more frequently. Using just the egg white will prevent this from happening.
• Instead of adding soaked bread to mix with keema, you can used a bit of mashed potato or bread crumbs to help as a binder.
• I don’t see anyone eating more than one piece as it does turn out to become the size of a baseball.
• The next day mu husband had the koftas on a toasted English muffin for breakfast

Here is my husbands breakfast

Related articles

• Bollywood couples with mindboggling chemistry – Part 2 (expertscolumn.com)
• Syn free Scotch eggs (vegetarian friendly) (howtomakelifebetter.wordpress.com)
• Mini Scotch Eggs (lucywigglesworth.wordpress.com)
• Chicken Chorizo Scotch Eggs (1 serving @ cal/ea) (twentysomethingandpaleo.wordpress.com)

Keema Stuffed Tilapia

Note: I had started this post last week but do to unforeseeable circumstances ( which I may share later) wasn’t able to post it. The only issue is I didn’t get too take was the final picture.

This is an original recipe of mine. I have not seen or tasted this before but there maybe something like this out there. This recipe is not something you will make everyday but it is worth the effort if you have the time and you like whole fish. Good to make on the weekends.

Keema is any type of ground minced meat. I had cooked some beef to make cutlets and had no energy to finish making it so decided to stuff a marinated whole tilapia instead. This was then pan fried. You can bake or broil this too. Using a little of coconut oil adds lots of flavor. If you do not eat beef, you can substitute with ground lamb, chicken or turkey. It turned out great. My husband loved it with rice and salas ( raw onions, green chilies and tomatoes with salt and vinegar) after a long plane ride back home from India. I think next time I am going to make it with a seafood stuffing like mini shrimp.

There are 3 phases- Marinating the fish, Making the filling an then bringing them both together. Hope you like it!

Keema Stuffed Tilapia
Ingredients:
3 whole medium sized fish, cleaned and scaled (Tilapia, Red Snapper, Porgie will work well)
Marinade-
Juice of half a lemon ( or white vinegar)
1 tsp turmeric
3 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 tsp salt

Make 3-4 vertical slits along the length of the fish and apply marinade all over ( in cavity and slits). Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Keema Stuffing

2 lb of beef chuck roast (may substitute with ground beef, chicken, turkey, lamb etc), boiled until cooked
1 tbsp Coconut or any other oil
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, diced
3-4 green chillies, chopped finely
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp each cumin and coriander pdr
2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chili pdr
Few curry leaves and cilantro leaves

1 beaten egg

Method:

Take cooked beef and mince in a food processor. In a medium frying pan, heat up oil, add cumin seeds and let splutter, add diced onions, green chilies, ginger and garlic. Saute for few minutes then add chili pdr, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala and curry and cilantro leaves. Now add meat and combine.If you are using ground meat then just add the raw meat here and sauté until cooked. When it cools down a little add the beaten egg. This will help bind everything together when cooking.

Remove fish from fridge and stuff cavity with the meat and egg mixture. Pack tightly and bring edges of fish together as much as possible.

Pan fry Method: Heat up 4 tbs coconut oil in a non stick frying pan. Add the fish (do not crowd the pan) Resist the urge to flip it before it is crispy and brown or else pieces will get stuck on the pan. Intermittently baste the top of the fish with the oil that is in the pan. Flip and let other side get brown and crispy.

Bake or Broil Method: Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Place fish in pan and drizzle a little of coconut or olive oil over the top. Broil for at least 20 mts until cooked. Or bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mts until cooked.

Serve with rice and salas.

Related articles

• Recipe: Keema Potato Pie (gaylefreeland.com)
• Recipe: Pan-fried Panko Tilapia – jennifer (itsjoulife.wordpress.com)
• Baked Tilapia for desi taste buds (wellnessinspired.net)