We invited readers to share some of their favourite recipes with us. As part of a continuing series, we publish three lip-smacking recipes we've received:
First up is Rana Sinha Ray's mum's recipe for Omelette Curry:
Cuisine: Bengali
Type: Non-vegetarian
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
For the omelette:
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 green chilly, chopped fine
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
For the gravy:
- 1 1/2 medium onions, chopped fine
- 2 green chillies, slit
- 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
- 1 and 1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- 1/5 tsp jeera (cumin seeds) powder
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp ghee
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp oil
Preparation:
Making the omelette:
- Crack the eggs into a bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients except the oil.
- Whisk briskly with a fork or egg beater until frothy.
- Heat oil to smoking in a skillet or a non-stick pan (not too small).
- Pour the egg mixture and reduce heat to prevent the bottom from burning.
- Once the egg is cooked through, take it off the fire, and cut in quarters.
- Alternately you can make two omelettes and half them -- the idea is to have thicker omelettes than the usual thin and layered ones.
- Reheat the same pan and and brown the boiled potatoes in the residual oil (after the omelettes).
Making the gravy:
- Dissolve the chilly powder and jeera powder in a little water to make a paste.
- Heat oil to smoking in a kadhai (saucepan/wok).
- Put the chopped onions, sugar and salt in the oil -- this helps to brown the onions faster.
- Once the onions are browned, add the masala paste.
- Lower the heat and keep stirring.
- When the water dries up and oil starts leaving the sides, add the ginger-garlic paste and tomatoes.
- Keep stirring in low/medium heat until the water dries up and oil starts leaving the sides. If the masala starts sticking to the bottom, keep adding spoons of water.
- Take off the bhuna (roasted) masala in a grinder, add a little water, and grind to a fine paste.
- Heat the ghee in the pan, and add the paste. Add two cups of warm water and bring to a boil.
- Add the omelette pieces, boiled potatoes and slit green chillies. Boil hard for 2-3 minutes.
- Lower heat, add garam masala simmer for two minutes, check for salt and your curry is done. Serve with hot rice or paratha or chapati.
- Since the salt was put while frying the onions plus the omelette also has salt, be careful about the salt quantities.
Health quotient: Less oil, high proteins and carbohydrates, health benefits of ginger and garlic.
Next is Rimi Agarwal's recipe for Cinnamon Cauliflower:
Cuisine: Indian
Type: Vegetarian
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 medium cauliflower
- 1 tsp oil
- 100 ml coconut milk (or milk)
- Handful of cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- Fresh mint leaves
- 1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
- 4-5 whole black pepper corns
- 1/2 tsp garlic (or garlic powder)
- A few almonds
- Salt to taste
Preparation:
- In some oil, saute the sesame seeds (til), almonds/walnuts, saunf, pepper corns and garlic (add potatoes if you wish).
- Add cauliflower, mint leaves and a bunch of finely broken cinnamon sticks.
- Let it cook for a while on a high flame. Afterwards, simmer for 10-15 minutes on low flame.
- Add coconut milk and salt.
- Cook till the cauliflower stalks are soft and the florets are juicy.
- Serve with hot parathas
- You should get a rich and juicy flavor of cinnamon, garlic, mint and coconut milk.
Health quotient: Uses as little oil as possible, has healthy vegetables and whole masalas.
Here, Aafreen Quadri sends in her recipe for Cilantro Chicken:
Cuisine: Indian
Type: Non-vegetarian
Preparation time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 750 gm chicken
- 2 medium-sized onions, chopped fine
- 2 big bunches coriander, washed and chopped roughly
- 4 green chillies, chopped fine
- 1 1/2 garam masala powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder or 1 stick cinnamon broken into bits
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
Preparation:
- In three tbsp oil fry the onions and green chillies until the onions turn translucent.
- Add the coriander and fry really well.
- When the onions turn a golden brown, put in the ginger-garlic paste. Again fry well, add a little water to let the onion mash cook.
- Add in the spices: the garam masala powder the coriander powder, turmeric and the cinnamon (powder). Fry well till the masalas have cooked through.
- Put in the chicken. You'll have to fry the chicken thoroughly for about 10 minutes, till it browns.
- Add salt and a glass of water and let cook for 15 minutes.
- Simmer for another five minutes, till the oil leaves the sides. Serve with phulkas or parathas. (For larger quantities of chicken, you will have to add another two bunches of coriander and increase the other masalas accordingly.)
Health quotient: It has the right blend of spices, it's mildly flavoured and high in protein.