Rajma Masala

One of the biggest and the most famous Punjabi Delicacies - Rajma Masala. If you ask me, I simply love Rajma Masala, and this dish is something which we are preparing from the generations. I would say that almost every Punjabi in the world loves this dish, and not only Punjabis, this dish is loved by non Punjabis as well.

It looks that this dish is difficult and takes much time; however, it is not like that. Yes, the cooking takes some time, but the preparation is simple.

So let's quickly have a look at its ingredients and preparation.

Cooking Time: Near about 60 minutes

Serving: 3 - 4 people

Ingredients:

1) Rajma: Two cups or the most simple way is to measure them with your fist. For example: if you want to cook for 4 - 5 people then take four fists of Rajma (shown in the below image) and that would be more than sufficient.

There are two kinds of Rajma:

1) The first category is shown in the above image.
2) The other category is little brown in color where the Rajma is not dark maroon as shown above.
   
I would prefer dark maroon as it gives more color and taste.

2) Hing (Asafoetida): Half a tea spoon

3) Cumin (Geera): Half a tea spoon

4) Cardamom - 3, Cinnamon, and  three cloves - (Optional)

5) Chopped Onions - 1, Ginger - 20-30 grams and Green Chilies

6) Three Tomatoes - Make their puree

7) Garlic - 3 - 4 big cloves (Chopped)

8) Turmeric powder: 3/4 of a tea spoon

9) Coriander Powder: 1.5 tea spoons

10) Garam Masala: Half a tea spoon

11) Coriander leaves for garnishing

12) Mustard Oil: 2 table spoons
13) Salt: 1 tea spoon


Procedure:

Boil the Rajma: It is very important to soak Rajma in the water for 6 - 7 hours else they will take lot of time to get boil. Hence, the first step is to soak them for 6 - 7 hours..

Now put them in the cooker, add the water (2 - 3 times of their quantity), and put them on the burner. After 3 whistles, put them on slow burner for 35 - 40 minutes.

Alongside, let's prepare the masala.

Preparation of Masala:

Take a Vessel or a pan and add some oil into it. Once the oil is heated up, add Hing.

Health tip: I always prefer Mustard oil as it is very healthy, I do not use refind oil at all; however, you can use any type of oil to prepare the red gravy. 

After a minute, add Cumin seeds.

Now, the next step is optional. To bring more flavor into the Rajma Masala, you can add Cardamom, Cinamons, and cloves; however, if you want to add them, perform this step after adding the cumin.

Add grated Ginger and chopped Green Chilies.

After two minutes, add chopped onions. You can also grate onions in a grinder which will give a much fine texture of the gravy; however, they take lot of time and effort to get brown.

Cook them for ten minutes on slow burner. Once they are brown, add tomato puree, chopped garlic, Turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Garam Masala and salt.
Add 1/4 of a glass of water as we need to cook the ingredients.

Cook this masala for 15 minutes on slow burner. Once the water is all dried up, you will see something like this.

Add the boiled Rajma into this Masala.

Wait for a boil.

Now cook them on slow burner for 15 - 20 minutes. It actually depends on your taste of gravy. If you want a thick gravy then let the water get dried up, and if you want a tad diluted gravy them you can add more water and then cook it on slow burner for 15 - 20 minutes.

And here you go!!! Your Rajma Masala is absolutely ready. It looks like it is very difficult to make this dish, and it takes lot of time; however, it is not like that :-). It is very simple to cook; you just need the right proportion of the ingredients.

Eat it with rice and Raita. Yummy!!!!!!!

Please let me know your feedback, and I would be very eager to hear something from my readers.

Mushroom Curry with Red and White gravy

And it's good to be back. Yes, after a hiatus of near about 11 months, I am back with a bang. Today, I am going to share the recipe of Mushroom curry in red and white sauce.

Serving: Four people
Time: near about 60 minutes (Cooking and Preparation)

Here are the ingredients:

For white gravy:

1) A tea spoon of wheat flour.
2) A glass of milk
3) Half a tea spoon butter

For red gravy

1) One big onion (Chopped)
2) Ginger: 50 grams (Chopped)
3) Garlic: Four cloves (Big) or five small cloves (Chopped)
4) Green chilies: 3 - 4 (Depends on your spice level)
5) Tomatoes: 4 (Make the puree in the grinder)
6) Turmeric - Half a tea spoon
7) Coriander powder - Two tea spoons
8) Garam Masala - 1/4 of a tea spoon
9) Salt - 1.5 tea spoons
10) Oil (Prefer Mustard Oil; however, any refind oil will do): 3 tea spoons
11) Cinnamon: As shown in one of the below images
12) Cardamom: 3
13) Cloves: 3

Other Ingredients:

1) Mushrooms: 200 grams

2) Peas: 100 grams

3) Coriander leaves for garnishing

4) Basil for garnishing (Look for Basil over here)

Procedure:

Clean and boil the mushrooms. In order to get rid of the strange after taste of mushrooms, add five tea spoons of Milk in the water and then boil them. Let them boil for 5 minutes, and you will notice that the size of the mushrooms will become small. Take them off the burner and keep them aside.

In the same manner, boil the peas on slow burner for 10 minutes. Once both Mushrooms and peas are boiled, sieve them and keep them aside.

Preparing White Gravy:

This is quite simple. Take a vessel, add some butter into it and then add a tea spoon of wheat floor. 

Health tip: Well, you can prepare this gravy using white flour (Maida) as well; however, I prefer wheat flour as that is a much healthier option. Also, many people prepare this gravy using Cashew nuts where they grind them (instead of wheat flour); however, again, I prefer a healthier option which is to use wheat flour.   

Once you have added the wheat flour, stir properly until it becomes a tad brown. Once you see the brown color, add milk into it and stir properly again. Let it boil and keep stirring. After the boil, cook it for five minutes on slow burner, and you are done.

Preparing red (Tomato) gravy: 

Take another vessel and add some oil into it. 

Health tip: I always prefer Mustard oil as it is very healthy, I do not use refind oil at all; however, you can use any type of oil to prepare the red gravy. 

Once the oil is heated up, add Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Cloves.

Once they are dark brown, add Ginger and Green Chilies. 

After two minutes, add chopped onions. Cook them for 10 minutes on slow burner and wait for them to get dark brown.

Once they become dark brown, add the tomato puree. Stir it will, and after a minute, add Turmeric, Salt, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala and chopped garlic.

Add half a glass of water, mix all the ingredients, and wait for a boil. Once it boils, cook it on slow burner for 15 minutes, and your tomato gravy is ready. Now, we need to mix the white gravy into the tomato gravy.

Add the white gravy very slowly, and stir the mixture alongside. It is very important to stir the mixture, else the tomatoes will spoil the milk in the white gravy. Stir the mixture until it gets boiled.

After the boil, add the Mushrooms and Peas into the mixture, and cook them on slow burner for 15 minutes.

And here you go. Your dish is ready to serve. Garnish it with coriander and basil leaves to get more flavor.

Hmmmm...... I can imagine the smell and I am super hungry. In the mean time, please try this at your end and share your experiences with me. This dish definitely takes some time and effort; however, once it is ready, you will realize the worth.

Thank you for reading; sincerely appreciate your efforts...

Punjabi Kadhi

Another north Indian delicacy, for which I want to share my recipe, is Punjabi Kadhi. To make this, we need two major ingredients, which are Besan (Gram Flour) and Curd. Rest we need some spices to add taste and overall flavor to it. The trick of making good kadhi is the perfect proportion of Besan (Gram flour) and curd.

Dal Makhani

Dal Makhni is one of the best delicacies of North India. It is not easy to prepare but with a blend of perfect ingredients, patience, and hard work, you can easily earn accolades. Lets see its preparation :