Capsicum Aloo

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to today's edition of cooking with Varun! In our last encounter we learned:

1. Sookhi sabzis make up a sizeable percentage of traditional Indian meals.
2. A sookhi sabzi with dal chawal qualifies as comfort food.
3. Varun will never go vegetarian.
4. Varun owns (pink) fluffy socks and likes classical music.

Today, we will continue down the road of sookhi sabzis (following which we might hang a right to the city of meat and then a left to the land of confused north Indian fare pretending to be south Indian). Our dish for today is capsicum aloo (green peppers with potatoes if you're not from the subcontinent). Now, I personally feel that capsicum is one of the most versatile and flavourful veggies out there. From freshening up salads to crisping up fajitas, all the way across to complementing all that meat on your pizza to sitting proudly in a spicy Chinese stir-fry or simply being stuffed with a hearty filling, capsicum is one of my favourite vegetables and I hope to, with this next dish, make it one of your favourites too!

This dish is a very simple typical Punjabi dish with clean flavours and a big impact. The soft potatoes supported admirably by the slightly crunchy capsicum and onions and a hint of chilli that hits you with each bite will definitely have you reaching for seconds. So without further ado, onwards!

For capsicum aloo you will need the following:

Capsicum (green peppers)          3 large
Potatoes                                    2 medium to large
Onion                                        1 medium
Jeera (cumin)                            1 tsp
Red chilli powder                        1 tsp
Haldi (turmeric)                         pinch
Dhaniya (coriander) powder        2-3 tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder                1/2 tsp
Green chillies                             2-3
Salt                                           to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Cube the potatoes.
2. Find a bowl.
3. Toss in the potatoes.
4. Top the bowl up with boiling water to speed up the cooking process.
5. Slice the onion lengthwise.
6. Chop the chillies.
7. Cut the capsicum into cubes.
8. As with all things Punjabi, don't make those dainty little cubes. Make nice man sized pieces. 

Method:

1. Turn the gas on.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 15.
5. Grab the lid to the pan.
6. Smile triumphantly.
7. Count another 5.
8. Add the jeera to the oil.
9. Slap the lid on before the sputtering begins.
10. Listen to the lid being pelted with sizzing jeera.
11. Wait till the sputtering dies down a little.
12. Tentatively open the lid a crack.
13. Slide in the chillies.
14. Slide the lid back on.
15. Enjoy more sputtering.
16. Count to 10.
17. Bravely slide open the lid.
18. Add in the onions.
19. Cook until the onions go translucent.
20. Drain the water from the potatoes.
21. Bounce the potatoes into the pan.
22. Add in about half the dhaniya powder, red chilli powder, jeera powder and the haldi.
23. Cook for a few minutes.
24. Add in the capsicum.
25. Add in the rest of the powders.
26. Channel your inner noodle chef and toss the contents of the pan.
27. Cook until the capsicum starts to get soft.
28. Turn the gas off.
29. Take pan to the table.
30. Serve with hot rotis.
31. Stuff face.
32. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Don't overcook the capsicum. Overcooked capsicum is gross and is likely to put you off capsicum altogether. This is why it is added last in most of the dishes it features in. You want the capsicum to be firm when you bite into it.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!

Besan Waali Bhindi

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to an exciting edition of cooking with Varun! Since I started this blog, we've looked at a few chicken dishes, a couple of paneer dishes and even a sweet dish. What we haven't seen, however, is some good old 'sookhi sabzis' (non curry based vegetarian dishes for the uninitiated) which I felt was strange since sookhi sabzis make up a sizeable percentage of traditional Indian meals. Fortunately, since I have the power to fix this gross injustice, I figured it was only fair that I do what's right and set the scales straight.

Now it could be the fact that winter is creeping in that I find myself craving more and more comfort food. A steaming bowl of dal and rice topped with a sookhi sabzi in my hands, my feet in fluffy socks while listening to classical music on the radio as the rain and wind beat down on my window after a hard day's work hits the spot! No, no.. don't panic, I haven't turned vegetarian (that will never happen); there will be more meat dishes.. many more in fact! Coming to today's dish. Today's dish is besan waali bhindi. This is a north Indian take on a south Indian dish so if you're wondering about where this dish is originally from, don't bother! All that matters is how good it is!

Before we begin, I feel obligated to tell you that if you're abroad and have store bought frozen bhindi (okra), please open your freezer, grab the bhindi bag, walk into your back yard (or to your largest, widest window), swing and hurl the bag as far as you can because unless you're looking to be coated in strong smelling slime that closely resembles the contents of a runny nose, you want fresh bhindi! Oh and this is one of the easiest dishes ever!

To make besan waali bhindi you will need the following:

Bhindi (okra)                              500 gms
Besan (gram flour)                      5 heaped tbsp
Cornflour                                    1 tbsp
Dhaniya (coriander) powder         1.5 heaped tbsp
Red chilli powder                         2-3 tsps
Jeera (cumin) powder                  1 tsp 
Haldi                                          pinch
Amchoor (dried mango)  powder   couple of pinches
Salt                                            to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Cut the heads and tails off the bhindi.
2. Slice each bhindi lengthwise so you have 2 halves.
3. If the bhindi is long, then cut each length into 2 halves.
4. Wipe slime.
5. Repeat until all the bhindi is cut.
6. Grab a big bowl.
7. Tip in the bhindi.
8. Add in the besan, cornflour, dhaniya powder, chilli powder, jeera powder, haldi, amchoor and salt.
9. Mix well. (it's ok to have surplus powder mixture in the bowl. This will become delicious crispy bits.)

Method:

1. Turn the gas on.
2. Bung a pan/kadhai on. (A non stick kadhai will work wonders. You will have beautiful unbroken bhindi pieces at the end that you will be able to brag about for years to come.)
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Splash in some more oil. (Remember the powder mixture and coating will suck the oil up. This does mean you have a mini oil well in your kadhai. Slightly more than usual is fine. You can add more if you think it needs more.)
5. Count to 20.
6. Tip in the contents of your bhindi bowl.
7. Do a little jig to celebrate that nothing sputters or spits.
8. Gently move the bhindi with a wooden spoon until all the bhindi has been introduced to it's oily host.
9. Bring the flame down to low.
10. Slap a lid on.
11. Walk away.
12. Return a few minutes later.
13. Take the lid off.
14. Inhale the glorious smell of the cooking besan .
15. Channel your inner noodle chef.
16. Grab the handle of the kadhai.
17. Mix the contents by shaking the kadhai until the bhindi at the top has swapped places with the bhindi at the bottom. (Or just use your wooden spoon but remember to be gentle!)
18. Put the lid back on.
19. Bump the gas up a notch. (Not quite medium but more than low.)
20. Walk away.
21. Repeat until the bhindi is cooked.
22. Turn the gas off.
23. Serve on top of a bowlful of dal chawal. (Or with rotis.)
24. Stuff face.
25. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

 

Tip: Make sure the bhindi is washed and dry before you start cooking. Use a hair dryer if you have to but do not cook with wet bhindi! Also, this is best eaten fresh out of the pan. Reheating it in a microwave will make it soggy.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!

Poha

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to a fresh edition of cooking with Varun! Remember what it's like to live at home? Sleeping in on weekends. Your mom asking you to wake up. Pestering you with questions about what you want for breakfast. You grunting incoherently. Somewhere along the lines of, 'No eat.. Sleep.. Go away.. Grr', until your mom coaxes you out of bed and feeds you a big plate of freshly made breakfast. You do? Good. Because today's recipe is the very simple, very quick, staple breakfast, poha.

A lot are you doubtless shaking your head going, poha? Really? This from the guy who's been putting up recipes for butter chicken and baked salmon and whatnot? To you I say, 'Aye!', and why not? This blog is 'Cooking 101' after all! It's not always about the fancy cooking with a load of ingredients. Sometimes, it's the simple stuff that hits the spot. On that note, full steam ahead!

For my Poha you will need the following:

Poha (rice flakes)	300 gms
Onion	1 medium
Green chillies	2-3
Raw peanuts	big handful
Potato	1 medium
Haldi (turmeric)	1 tsp
Red chilli powder	1/2 tsp
Rai (mustard seeds)	1 tbsp
Sugar	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves	few sprigs
Lemon

Prep:

1. Peel and chop the potato into cubes. Not very big, not very small.
2. Throw the potato cubes into a bowl.
3. Top the bowl up with boiling water.
4. Chop the onions. Not too fine!
5. Chop the chillies.
6. Chop the coriander.
7. Run the poha through some water to moisten it and drain all the water. You don't want it sopping wet or clumpy!

Method:

1. Turn the gas on.
2. Bung on a pan.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 10.
5. Add in the mustard seeds.
6. Run like hell to find a lid as the seeds start to ping out of the pan.
7. Add in the chillies.
8. Breathe in the pungent odour.
9. Cough.
10. Add in the onions.
11. Move the onions around for a couple of minutes.
12. Add in the peanuts.
13. Cook for a couple of minutes.
14. Drain the water from the potatoes.
15. Accidentally drop a few into the sink.
16. Look around to see if anyone is watching.
17. Distract the watchers.
18. Rinse the sink potatoes.
19. Surreptitiously slip them in with the rest of the potatoes.
20. Tumble the potatoes into the pan. (These will now cook faster since they've been soaking in hot water.)
21. Sprinkle in half the haldi.
22. Sprinkle in half the red chilli powder.
23. Mix well.
24. Cook until the onions go transparent and the potatoes are cooked.
25. Bring the heat down to low.
26. Add in the poha. 
27. Mix well until the poha takes on a light yellow colour.
28. Add in the rest of the haldi and red chilli powder.
29. Mix well.
30. Add salt to taste.
31. Sprinkle in the sugar.
32. Mix and cook for about one minute.
33. Turn off the gas.
34. Garnish with the coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon.
35. Proudly view your handiwork.
36. Miss your mother.
37. Realize the poha is getting cold so stop missing your mother.
38. Stuff face.
39. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Don't toast the peanuts too long or they'll get bitter! Also, don't mix the poha in too hard or it will start to lump together and that's just not nice! 

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!

Butter Chicken

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to a new edition of cooking with Varun! Now, ever since I started this blog, I've been getting requests for recipes (Yes. I do requests. And you can boost your chances of getting a request fulfilled by including a photograph. No, Mr. Back Hair. Not you!) and one of the more popular requests was for butter chicken. Seeing as I'm not one to turn down a request, I figured the time was ripe to tackle this silky, buttery behemoth that is probably the singularly most ordered dish at any restaurant or dhaba.

When I think of butter chicken, I automatically think of it being accompanied by a rich dal makhani, some decadent saag, soft, warm butter naans and a tall glass of lassi. (Ok, I'm suddenly hungry again!). Today, we'll learn to cook butter chicken and in due time, the rest. You might be under the impression that this a complex dish that requires precision and takes ages to make. This is true. And because I'm being nice enough to show you how it's done, you can thank me properly by contacting me privately and I'll give you an address to post gifts to. (I'm joking of course. This is easier than falling off a log.)

For Butter Chicken you will need the following:

Chicken                      500 gms (boneless if you can wangle it)
Yoghurt (dahi)             3 big dollops (make sure it's fresh!)
Cream                        1/4 cup
Butter                         3 very big globs
Onion                         1 medium
Tomato                       2 medium
Peppercorns                tiny handful
Red chilli powder         1 heaped tbsp
Ginger garlic paste      1 1/2 tsp
Cardamom (elaichi)     1
Bay leaves                  3
Sugar                          2 tsps 
Garam masala             pinch
Salt                            to taste

Prep:

1. Clean and cut the chicken into cubes.
2. Poke some holes in the chicken pieces with a fork to let the marinade in.
3. Pureé the tomatoes. (Or just use tomato pureé.)
4. Grab a big bowl.
5. Add in the yoghurt, the chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, salt and tomato puree.
6. Mix well.
7. Throw in your chicken pieces.
8. Mix until all the chicken is coated with the marinade. (There will be surplus marinade in the bowl. This will become your gravy.)
9. Stick the bowl in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour.
10. Grate the onion.
11. Powder the cardamom.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan/kadhai on.
3. Drop in the soft butter globs.
4. Watch as it melts into a golden pool and feel very very guilty about how much fat is in this dish.
5. Remember how good Butter Chicken tastes and tell your guilt where it can go.
6. Bounce in the peppercorns.
7. Shake in the elaichi powder.
8. Float in the bay leaves.
9. Move the stuff around for a few seconds.
10. Think how nice it is to not add jeera to things and wince as it spatters.
11. Add in the onion.
12. Watch it spatter anyway.
13. Shake head sadly.
14. Cook the onions in the buttery goodness until they turn golden brown.
15. Add in the chicken (marinade and all).
16. Quickly pour in the cream. (Don't worry, it won't split. The contents aren't hot enough.)
17. Mix mix mix until you have a silky sauce.
18. Add in some salt to taste. (Remember, your marinade already has salt, so you might want to go easy.)
19. Sprinkle in the sugar.
20. Cook until the butter separates from the sauce.
21. Add in a cup of water.
22. Bring the heat down to low.
23. Slap on a lid.
24. Take a 10 minute walk.
25. Return in 8 minutes because you're impatient.
26. Watch as the last 2 minutes tick by.
27. Take the lid off.
28. Gasp as the aroma hits you.
29. Pinch in the garam masala.
30. Bring the heat up a little.
31. Cook until the gravy thickens. (At this point you can pick out the bay leaves and bin them.)
32. Turn the gas off when the gravy reaches the desired consistency.
33. Decide that the chicken deserves to be served in a real bowl and not the kadhai it's been cooked in.
34. Find your prettiest bowl and transfer the chicken into it.
35. Take bowl to the dining table.
36. Drumroll.
37. Reveal to unsuspecting dinner mates.
38. Serve with garam rotis. (Or parathas. Or rice) 
39. Stuff face.  
40. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish. 

Tip: You can adjust the sugar based on how sweet you want it. I personally don't like my butter chicken to be very sweet.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!