KOCHI: Over the past few weeks, tomatoes have become hot potato, thanks to the sky-rocketing prices. Archita Raghu and Diya Maria George talk to home chefs who offer alternative recipes to some popular dishes
Raw Mango Fish Curry
By Shakeena Banu, home chef
Ingredients
Method
Heat oil in a pan on a medium flame. Add mustard, fenugreek, cumin seeds and a handful of curry leaves, one by one.
Now, sauté the shallots, add green chillies and masala powders. Cook under low flame for 5 minutes.
Add raw mango and tamarind pulp.
Add salt and sufficient water. Wait till it comes to a boil. Lower the flame. Let it cook until the raw smell goes away. Now, add the fish. When the fish is cooked, add coconut milk. Adjust the consistency and then put off the stove.
Let it stay for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh curry leaves.
Mughalai Chicken
By Kiran G Thomas, home chef
Ingredients
Method
Marinate the chicken with turmeric and salt and keep it aside for 15 minutes. Soak cashews in warm water for 20 minutes.
Chop onion into small pieces. Fry it in ghee or butter. When it’s golden brown, add 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste. Then add the turmeric and chilli powder.
Once the raw smell is not there, add the chicken pieces.
Once it’s half cooked add the cashew paste. Then add curd. If you want cream, add it in the end. Serve hot.
Paneer Butter Masala
By Shakeena Banu, home chef
Ingredients
Method
Sauté onion, garlic and yellow pumpkin in oil. Grind it into a paste. Grind the soaked cashew into a paste.
Heat butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add bay leaf. Sauté the onion, garlic and pumpkin paste until cooked. Add the dry masalas.
Grind the soaked cashews into a paste. Add the cashew paste and cook for 20 minutes.
Add sour cream. Add salt to taste.
Cook for another 5 minutes.
In another pan, add a tablespoon of butter, saute the paneer cubes until soft. Add this to the gravy.
Add the fresh cream.
Sprinkle crushed kasuri methi.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Kashmiri Dum Aloo
By Kiran G Thomas, home chef
Ingredients
Method
In the beginning, fry the potatoes and keep them aside.
Fry the spices. After that, fry the onions and the ginger garlic paste.
Then add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and garam masala. Then add curd. The curd should not curdle.
Add the fried potatoes once it boils. Switch off the stove. Garnish it with chilli, coriander leaves and a little fresh cream.
Pumpkin Pasta
By Dr Nithya Franklyn, MasterChef Tamil runner-up and paediatrician
Ingredients
Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute the pumpkin, onion, garlic, capsicum till soft. Season with chilli flakes, salt, herbs and grind to a puree with the coconut milk.
Cook your pasta in salt water as per instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
Heat the butter, add the puree, salt, pepper and the drained pasta and cook for a minute.
Serve with coriander leaves and grated parmesan.
Hibiscus Butter Chicken
By Goku K Mohit, HOME CHEF
Ingredients: For marination
For sauce
Method
Mix all the marination ingredients together and set aside for 30 minutes.
Boil the hibiscus petals in 2 cups of water and once the water is red in colour and petals turn pale. Reserve the water.
Grate the bottle guard and puree it with the hibiscus water.
Temper the whole spices in the butter followed by onion paste, ketchup, bottle gourd, hibiscus paste and cashew paste.
Add all the spice powder and sauté briefly.
Add the marinated chicken and cook it until everything comes together.
Add some water, green chillies and let the chicken cook.
Finally, add the cream and garnish it with coriander leaves.
Orange Rasam
By Dr Nithya Franklyn, MasterChef Tamil runner-up and paediatrician
Ingredients
Method
Mix the dal along with the water used for boiling with 1 tbsp of orange zest, turmeric powder, green chilli, crushed ginger and boil for a few minutes.
Roast and powder all the ingredients for rasam powder till aromatic.
Add the powder to the rasam and cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt to taste.
For tempering, heat ghee, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add red chilli, curry leaves and pour over the rasam and switch off the flame.
Add the juice of the orange after a minute and mix well. You can add a few drops of lemon juice for more sourness.
Enjoy with hot rice and a potato masala fry.
Chicken Curry
By Smitha Kuttayya, home chef and baker, Global Theeni
Ingredients
Method
Cook the meat or veggies with salt, chilli powder and turmeric. Fry all dry ingredients lightly and blend till smooth in a mixie.
Once the meat is cooked, add the masala and coriander leaves and allow to boil. Add the souring agent, allow it to boil.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with chapati, palputtu or plain rice.