Benarsi Chuda Matar- minus the frills!

This post was meant to be done quite some days ago. It's been lying in the draft from the day I actually cooked this recipe. One evening, spurred by my usual impulsive nature, I decided to make some Chuda Matar! I don't make it as often as I would like to because I restrict my carbs at every meal. But this one is a genuine weakness of mine and on my cheat days, I sometimes indulge. An all time favourite, tea time snack we love to eat by the bowlfuls during winters. A close cousin of the Maharashtrian 'Poha', this isn't that famous in all of northern region of India. It is infact kind of restricted to Eastern UP and Bihar- and maybe in Delhi, made famous no doubt,  by some UP immigrant! :) Anyhow, no matter where you may be from, once you have had this bowl of goodness, you will keep wanting more, and that is a promise. 

A quick and easy snack, flattened rice is stir fried in desi ghee along with fresh green peas available only during winters in the north. Ofcourse, here in Dubai, I am forced to use frozen peas, but I use so much of seasoning etc, I can recreate almost the same taste as the one we have back home. It can be made as mild or as spicy as you wish, the best thing is that it is so easy to customise and so I wouldn't worry too much about getting it right. It is a non fussy snack, the variations appealing to almost everybody. The Maharashtrian version uses tiny cubed potatoes and peanuts along with finely chopped onions.Some folks also add veggies like carrots, cauliflower etc. No thank you. The Benarsi method is usually easier and somehow has ended up being a very 'Jain' friendly dish. So we don't use onions or garlic. Fresh ginger is however liberally used, along with easy to assemble spices. The end result is a tangy-sweetish dish, a sure winner. If you like Poha, you will like any cousin of it too!

Here's what you will need: 

This recipe serves one if you are very greedy like me or else will do just fine for two people too. 

1 large cup of 'Chuda'- flattened rice
1 medium sized cup of fresh or frozen peas
1' ginger- finely grated
2-3 green chillies- chopped very fine
1tbsp finely chopped fresh corriander leaves

Spices:

A pinch of aesafotida 
1 tsp  mustard seeds
1.5 tsp of cumin seeds
1tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper 
1 heaped tsp of mango powder or juice of one large fresh lemon
1 tsp sugar
1tbsp of  'bhuna masala' ( dry roast 1 tbsp of corriander seeds and 1tbsp of cumin seeds, cool, grind to a fine powder) 
1/2 tsp of any garam masala powder.
Salt to taste

2 tbsp full desi ghee

First off, take the chuda in a sieve. You need to be careful here, wash it quickly under running water no more than 10 seconds. I am serious about this step, if you exceed the time I recommend, you are likely to end up with a very lumpy dish in the end. But even before washing, just tap the sieve gently over the kitchen sink, any dust particles which dry chuda tends to have, will get 'dusted away'. Keep aside and let it drain. Like the in the pic below. 

Next heat the ghee in a large round bottomed wok. Once heated through, chuck in the aesafotida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds. Add grated ginger now. Let it brown on a medium flame. Once the ginger starts getting golden brown and gives off an aroma , add in the green chillies and fresh peas. Saute and mix. 

Just as the peas begin to cook ( you may have to cover and cook them esp if you are using fresh ones), add in tumeric, chuda flakes, the rest of the spices, fresh corriander, salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Just before you will cover and cook this for about ten minutes, sprinkle the garam masala, cover and let cook on a low flame for about ten minutes or so. 

Keep the flame low else the chuda might start sticking to the bottom of your pan. The steam which builds up inside when covered, makes the chuda-matar just slightly moist and soft. The entire process from start to finish shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. Whatever time it does take is because of the need to cook peas. Once done, serve hot with wedges of lime and a hot cup of chai. 

PS- Some people do add raisins and cashews too,  which I personally really dislike. Serve this with a chutney of corriander or tamarind. I make do with ketchup usually. And mostly not even that, because I am too impatient to wait. 

                This is how the final dish is supposed to look, a brilliant yellow! 

Have it for your evening tea time, filling and super tasty. Minus the frills. 

Bihari Boti Kadai- a rustic, fiery gateway to bliss...

My husband loves my cooking but has one significant gripe. I am never consistent in rustling up the same-tasting dish over and over, especially if he has liked a particular curry a lot. He says he can guarantee, I wont be able to come up with the same stuff again. Whis is true! I cook everyday, but in all these years of our marriage and being a family, I am quite surprised to recall that, indeed, I not only hardly repeat recipes, I also go on a different tangent even when I am supposed to stick to it... do any of you have that 'problem' too? Strange! Good thing then that I am writing some of the favourites here. Today I am sharing a rather easy lamb recipe. Bihari Boti Kadai- lamb or beef chunks cooked in a spicy blend. No onions-no chopping required. Which is always a bonus.

I dont really know for sure if this dish is from the state of Bihar, India. I simply, know it as Bihari Kadai and have been making it since forever. Boti ofcourse, refers to the largish chunks of meat with bone in. Kadai- as a dish refers to any 'gravy-curry' made in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent/Pakistan. The gravy could be thin and runny or even a thick masala flavoured one, to be eaten with breads. Bihari Boti kadai is quite spicy, so adjust the chillies according to your preferance and you wil be good.

Here's what you will need.

Lamb/Mutton/Beef  : 1 kg, I usually take shoulder cuts of a baby goat.
Ginger-Garlic paste : 1 tbsp heaped along with paste made of 5-8 (reduce if you want)- I simply ground them all together.

*You may even take boneless chunks of meat of your choice.

For the Bihari Masala, spices to dry roast and grind to a coarse powder:

Cumin seeds: 1.5 tsp
Corriander seeds: 1.5 tbsp
Pepper corns      : 1 tsp
Gram flour (besan) - 1tbsp (optional)
Dry roast the spices and gram flour on a gentle heat. Cool and girnd.

Salt to taste.
About 5-6 tbsp of oil (reduce if you aren't big on cooking with lots of oil)
A fresh lemon to squueze over in the end and a few ginger jullienes to garnish (optional).

Marinate the meat in the ginger-garlic-chilli paste along with the spices you powder. If you have time, as always I recommend a marination of at least 4 hours or more, even over night. However, if you dont have time, worry not, just marinate and mix, and begin to cook! I did too this time because I had surprise visitors. And I served this for breakfast actually with parathas and a big cup of masala chai. Heaven!

Heat the oil in a 'kadai'-  Add the marinated meat and cook(really that simple) initially on high heat for a couple of minutes then reduce the heat to medium/low. This dish is supposed to be dry, so aim for that in the final stages. A lot of moisture will be naturally rleased by the meat/salt combination, let it all help cook the meat and then gradually let it dry on its own while cooking.

The colour here is still that of raw meat and spices, the water is being released now...

Again, over the next forty-fortyfive minutes, if you are slow cooking it on the stove top, you may have to baby sit it and watch for any burning/sticking -to- the -bottom action happening. In which case, all you need to do is keep adding a little water, say about 1/3 cup of hot water. Always try and add warm/hot water to curries, helps retain the flavours better than just adding regular/cold water. I usually keep a big mug of hot water around myself. You may also pressure cook with 1 cup of water to hasten the process but dont omit the 'bhunoing' process in the begining for at least twenty minutes and untill oil has seperated.

Half an hour in to cooking, see how the colours change! I added extra hot chillies for our guests who enjoy it like that. So just follow the recipe if you are not ok with too much heat.

Then go ahead and pressure cook, once 'almost' done, remove lid, leave the pan open and cook to evaporate any water/moisture left.  Keep mixing and stirring untill the final look is thick, dry with the marinade sticking to the meat pieces. In the last few minutes, while you are letting the excess water evaporate, all 'doneness' of the meat will be achieved now. So dont worry even if pressure cooking it hasnt cooked the meat completely. Usually, you will find beef taking time.

Do you see how all the moisture is gone and the spices stick to the meat? Using 'besan' also helps in that.

I used thai red chillies to garnish as well as in my marinade paste, feel free to use whichever chillies you enjoy normally.

Garnish with ginger jullienes and serve with a wedge of lime to sqeeze over if preferred. Also ofcourse, you will need to make some warm chapatis to make it a perfect meal.