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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ajwain





Ajwain is a spice, also known as Carom or Bishop,s seeds, mainly used In Asia for culinary purpose as well as medicinal use.

It is rich in essential oil Thymol.
It is used as a digestive tonic and carminative.
It is also used as a preservative in canned food. It possesses anti-fungal properties.

My recipes containing Ajwain:
                                         Spicy crispy Fries
                                         Instant Tandori Chicken


Monday, November 15, 2010

Lamb Karahi

Karahi is a delicious traditional Pakistani dish. 
Meat is cooked in a spicy batter in a wok called"karahi"








Lamb -1/2 Kg (marinate with papaya)
Tomatoes – 4 (sliced into 4)
Green Chilies – 6

Garlic paste – 1 Tablespoon
Ginger paste – 1 Tablespoon
Red chili flakes – 1 tea spoon
Garam masala – 1 teas spoon
Salt – according to taste
Cumin – 1 teas spoon
Dry Coriander -  1 tea spoon
Ground black pepper – 1 tea spoon

Oil to cook – ½ cup



Heat oil in a wok (called Karahi in sub-continent). Fry meat, tomatoes and green chilies for 15 min. This step adds the peculiar taste to Karahi. Remove the excess oil later.

After removing the excss oil, add garlic, ginger, red chili, garam masala, salt, cumin, dry coriander, ground black pepper to the meat. Add 1 glass of water to cook thoroughly. (You can try with chicken and other meats; add water accordingly like no need for chicken)

Cook over low flame until meat is tender.

Now add some green chili, sprinkle fresh coriander and serve with Pita bread, or Naan.



Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cumin

Cumin seeds apart from giving flavor to your food possess certain health benefits.




  • Surprisingly, it contains remarkable amount of Calcium.
  • Apart from that it possess minerals like Iron, magnesium and sodium


  • It also contains Vitamins like C,E and A and anti-oxidents.
  • It is a rich source of Essential oils like thymol and dietry fibre.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Instant Tandori Chicken



Chicken -1 kg
Garlic - 3 cloves

Mix the following spices in yogurt to make a batter;
CHAT MASALA - 1,2 tsp
Red chili flakes- 1tsp
Salt – According to taste
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 200 grams



Pre-cook chicken in microwave for 8 min (add some water to chicken and cook in microwave)
Heat oil in a pan, now add chopped garlic.
Add chicken
Add the Spice batter.
Cover the pan and let meat cook in steam.

Serve with spicy crispy Fries.

Coriander

Spices not only add spice to the food, in fact each of them has its own individuality in terms of nutritional value. It is wonderful to see how a tiny spoon full of a particular spice is laden with essential nutrients.






Coriander (Raw and dried) is used as a flavoring agent or for garnishing. 
Mostly consumed in Indian subcontinent, It is used in making spices and sauces. I love the aroma of both raw and dried coriander.

  • It contains essentials oils as well as vitamins including vitamin C and, vitamin A.
  • It is rich in minerals including iron & phosphorous.
  •  It also contains anti-oxidants, the cancer fighting agents.
  • It acts as an appetizer and a carminative