Full Course Meals

RESHMI KABAB
INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg boneless chicken
• 4 onions, medium sized
• 2 inch ginger piece
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch coriander leaves
• 1 teaspoon jeera seeds
• White pepper
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 eggs
• salt
• lemon for garnishing
• spring onions for garnishing

PREPARATION
Mince the chicken. Grind the onions, ginger, garlic, coriander, jeera, pepper and garam masala together. Mix in the eggs and salt to the ground mixture. Shape into cylindrical kababs on skewers and cook over a charcoal fire. Keep turning the skewer till all sides are cooked evenly and the meat is tender. Remove kababs from skewer, garnish with lemon and onions and serve.

METHI THEPLA
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups wheat flour (atta)
• ½ cup gram flour (besan)
• 1 cup curd
• 1 cup, fresh fenugreek leaves (methi), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon green chilli paste
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil (plus more for cooking the theplas)
• warm water

PREPARATION
Mix the methi leaves into the curd in a small bowl and set aside for an hour. Add the flours, oil, ginger and green chilli pastes, garam masala, turmeric and salt to the methi mixture. Make a stiff dough, adding warm water, as required. Make little balls out of the dough. Take a ball of dough, flatten it out and gently roll it into thin chappatis on a floured surface. Heat a skillet or tava and cook the theplas on both sides, taking a little oil and generously spreading it over the thepla. Flip the thepla, add some more oil and flip it again. Repeat this procedure until the thepla is cooked well on both sides.
Note:Theplas are best eaten with curd and may be enjoyed either warm or cold.

CARROT PULAO
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 3 ½ cups water
• 250 gm carrots, grated
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 4 cloves
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (til)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

PREPARATION
Wash and cover the rice with water and set aside for about 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly. In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon. Stir. Add the sesame seeds. As soon as the sesame seeds start crackling, add the carrots and rice. Stir for a few minutes until the rice turns opaque. Add the turmeric, salt, pepper, sugar, ground nutmeg, and water. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pulao and simmer till the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked.

SHAHI PANEER
INGREDIENTS

• 500 gm cottage cheese (paneer), cubed
• ½ cup yoghurt
• ½ green capsicum, cut into thin strips
• ½ red capsicum, cut into thin strips
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek (methi) seeds
• salt to taste
• Ghee for frying
• Mustard oil or vegetable oil
• For the posto paste:
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (posto)
• 3-4 green chillies
• 3 cardamoms (elaichi)
• 3 cloves (laung)
• 1 inch piece cinnamon (dalchini)

PREPARATION
Grind the ingredients for the posto paste together with a little water to obtain a fairly thick-ish paste. Whip the yoghurt and set aside. Heat two tablespoons of ghee and sauté the paneer pieces and the capsicum. Keep aside. Heat a little oil and add the fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds splutter, add the posto paste. Stir well until all the water dries up. Add the yoghurt, paneer and capsicum. Stir well. Cover and cook on a low flame for about five minutes. Add salt to taste. Once all the liquid has almost evaporated, remove from heat and serve hot.

PALAK GOSHT
INGREDIENTS

• ½ kg mutton
• ½ kg spinach, stalks removed
• 2 medium sized onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
• 3-5 green chillies, chopped
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon whole garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons oil

PREPARATION
Wash and clean the mutton and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Briefly immerse the spinach leaves in salted, boiling water, for about a minute. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon. Gently squeeze out most of the excess water. Cool. Grind the spinach with the green chillies into a coarse paste. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil. Add the bay leaves, whole garam masala and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the chopped onions. Stir fry the onions till they turn translucent. Next, add the ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and mutton pieces. Stir fry on a high flame, stirring constantly. Add three cups of water cover and cook until the mutton is almost tender. Add salt and the spinach puree, and mix well. Cook until the mutton is tender. Server hot.

BEETROOT RAITA
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups yoghurt
• 1 raw beetroot, washed, skinned and grated
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• ½ teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
• 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
• roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed (optional)
• salt and sugar, to taste
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 2 tablespoons oil

PREPARATION
Whip the yoghurt so that there are no lumps and set aside. Squeeze out the excess water from the grated beetroot and stir it into the yoghurt. In a small skillet, heat the oil. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. As soon as the seeds splutter, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and green chilli. Add this vaghar to the beetroot-curd mixture. Mix well. Stir in the peanuts. Season with salt and sugar. Serve chilled.

JALEBIS
INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups maida
• 2 teaspoons chickpea flour (besan)
• ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1- 1½ cups warm water
• oil for frying
• For the sugar syrup:
• 3 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• a few strands of saffron
• elaichi powder

PREPARATION
In a bowl, combine the flours and yeast. Add the water and stir well, ensuring that there are no lumps. The batter should be of the same consistency as pancake batter, so adjust the water accordingly. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes. To make the sugar syrup, mix all the ingredients in a pot and stir over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Next, increase the heat to high and allow the syrup to cook for 5 minutes, without stirring. After the batter has rested for 10 minutes, spoon it into an icing bag, snip off the top and fit it with an icing nozzle of adequate thickness. A number 3 or 5 nozzle should work well. Heat the oil in a kadai. Once the oil is fairly hot, gently squeeze the icing bag, swirling the batter in a cylindrical motion to form jalebis. Fry the jalebis until they turn golden. Drain the jalebis on kitchen paper and once the excess oil has been absorbed, place them in the sugar syrup for about two minutes. Remove the jalebis and place them on a plate.

NOTE: Making jalebis requires a little practise. So, don't get upset if they initially don't turn out the way they do at mithai shops! Just have fun experimenting!
Serving suggestion: Jalebis are best enjoyed warm or at room temperature. Serve the jalebis with generous lashings of cold rabdi for a truly decadent dessert.