Goan Style Egg curry (Coconut based gravy)

Hi all, today I am very excited as I am going to do a guest post on my blog. This is my very first guest post and I am so happy that it's none other than Mr.Sushant Varma (My husband). He is a very good cook and more important - loves to cook. He is an IT professional and doesn't get much time, but whenever he is free he does it, specially on weekends. Last weekend we went together for a group meet of Chef at Large, its one of the biggest foodie group on Facebook having more than 32000 members. There we had a secret ingredient swap (Every member got an ingredient, which was not revealed to other members, then they were shuffled and distributed back). Me and Sushant both are the members, hence we both participated in it. He got a fresh whole coconut, with which he had to prepare a dish. 

So he decided to prepare a Goan egg curry. We prepare egg curry frequently but the normal way its made, never tried it before but must say will be switching to this curry now more often. Won't be taking much time and straight away directing to Sushant.

"When I left home for my further studies, had various choices with food and had no idea about cooking. I went to New Delhi and had almost same options on most of the food joints with the same kind of taste. As very well said that “Necessity is the mother of invention” (for me cooking was an invention). I started cooking, but with a big question mark. Tried and failed many a times but somehow learnt the basic stuff. Then went to Mumbai for work and spent almost 3 years there. Great place with great people must say. There I learnt lot many varieties and got to know a lot about Goan food from one of my Goan friend. When cooking converted to passion from necessity never knew. But as an IT professional it’s so tough to take out time and continue our passion. I got married and that too with a foodie. Bas phir kya tha the journey began. Still I don’t get a lot of time, but can see my passion through my wife’s eye. So after a very long story here is the Recipe."
 
Recipe is for 2 portions, you can always increase the ratio as per the people.

Ingredients-

• Eggs : 4 nos
• Onions : 2 medium
• Garlic : 4-5 cloves
• Ginger : 1” piece
  
• Fresh Coconut : ½ cup (remove the brown part)
• Coconut milk : ¼ cup
• Tomato paste : 1 tomato (I used concentrated hence 1 tbsp)
• Tamarind pulp : 1 tsp
• Whole red Chili : 1
• Cumin seeds : 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder : ¼ tsp
• Red chili powder : ½ tsp
• Garam Masala : ½ tsp
• Salt : As per the taste
• Coconut oil – 2 tbsps (You can take any vegetable oil too)

Method -

• Roughly chop ginger, garlic, onions and coconut.
• Boil eggs
• Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add whole red chilies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and then garlic and ginger. Once done, add onions and sauté till they change the color to pink. Add coconut and again sauté till you get nice golden brown color. Add the powdered spices and tomato paste and fry until oil oozes out. Add tamarind pulp and stir. Now cool down the mixture and blend to a paste. In the same pan, pour it back and cook. Add coconut milk and stir continuously till a boil comes. Add salt and boiling water (if required). You can adjust the gravy consistency by adding water. Now add the boiled eggs cut into two and cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish it with green coriander. Enjoy with Chapati, or steam rice.

Thanks
Sushant

Thanks a lot Sushant for sharing this wonderful recipe with us :)) 

Please do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons are closer to a cookie than its meringue cousin, and is equally sweet. They have a nice crust and chewy inside. I heard a lot about Coconut Macaroons and always thought that they are very fancy and can only be bought from a bakery. Never ever thought to prepare them at home. 

 
Once I was going through a recipe of Ina Garten and found it to be not so difficult and quick to make. The original recipe contains Condensed Milk + Coconut + Egg whites, but making some changes I totally omitted the Condensed milk part and made them with sugar. Few recipes also add almond meal to it. There are many methods to prepare them. Few beat the egg whites to the stiff peaks and then fold in the coconut and sugar and many more. But I got a very easy and simple way to prepare it for you guys. There are various varieties of coconut macaroons these days - like chocolate, nuts etc.
So lets quickly see the ingredients followed by the method.

Ingredients :

• Castor Sugar - 1 cup
• Dessicated Coconut - 2 + 1/2 cups
• Egg whites - 4 egg whites (large eggs, if medium then 5)

Method :

• In a  big bowl whisk sugar & egg whites just to mix well.
• Now add in the coconut and again mix.
• Transfer the mixture to a pan on medium to low flame and continuously stir it. (Make sure to stir continuously as if not then the egg might cook to a scrambled egg and we don't want that)
• After sometime you will observe that the moisture has dried out a bit. Just close the flame and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. (make sure that the mixture is not too runny, if yes then cook it for some more time)
• Now take a plastic sheet piping bag or make your own, fill it with the mixture, cut a little big hole. 
• Pipe on to a baking tray lined with butter paper.
  Bake it in a preheated oven at 160 ° C for 20-25 minutes or unless they get a nice golden brown color.
• Once done, take them out and let them sit in the baking tray for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Once cooled, store them into an air tight container and enjoy !!!!!

Note :

They are very easy to prepare, but few things have to be kept in mind -

While cooking the mixture, stirring continuously is very important

While baking, once they start changing color keep an eye, as they might get a very dark color soon.

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :) 

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking

Priyanka :)

Oatmeal, raisins & choco chips cookies (Eggless & with eggs both version)

Oatmeal cookies are not new in our home as its liked by everyone hence an all time favourite snack for our family. Secondly its healthy too :). I have prepared them with & without eggs and frankly speaking didn't find much difference. They are crunchy outside and chewy inside. Have a nice buttery flavour with a sweetness of raisins & chocolate. I also add cinnamon powder to it as its my one of the favourite flavours, its totally optional but I must admit that it takes cookies to the next level :))))

Tomorrow I am planning to meet one of my foodie friend, so just thought to bake something for him. Made few goodies and will upload soon. The one thing which I thought to prepare first were these, as I am pretty sure it will be loved :). Presenting a food goodie to a foodie friend is quite tough na........But making my fingers crossed, I have packed them. 

They are very easy to prepare and have a longer shelflife. These can be stored in an airtight containers for a longer time. Having one cookie with a cup of milk is very healthy and believe me kids just love it. Once I prepared it for my niece and she became crazy for them, used to have them in her breakfast without any fuss, she is just 4 :))))). So lets quickly run through the ingredients following the method :)

I am also posting here a video for an eggless version, so all my vegetarian friends can see it. I didn't add chocolate chips in this version, if you like you can add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips too. 

Ingredients :

• Rolled oats - 1 + 1/2 cup (Old fashioned or quick any can be used)
• All purpose flour/Maida/ Plain flour - 3/4 cup
• Light Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup packed
• Castor sugar - 1/4 cup
• Butter - 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
• Egg - 1 nos 
• Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
• Raisins - 1/2 cup
• Choco chips - 1/4 cup

Method :

• Preheat your oven at 180 ° C/350 ° F
• In a big bowl beat butter till fluffy & light. 
• Now add both the sugars and continue beating till mixed well and the mixture becomes fluffy.
• Now add one egg and vanilla essence.
• In a separate bowl sift & whisk all the dry ingredients - All purpose flour + Baking Soda + Cinnamon powder + Salt.
• Fold in the dry ingredients to the wet (butter mixture)
• Incorporate oats + raisins + choco chips.
• Place the cookies with the help of ice cream scoop or spoons on the baking tray lined with parchment paper/aluminum foil.
• Bake them on the middle shelf for 17-20 minutes. If you like your cookies to be more chewer and not very much crispy then bake them till 15 minutes only. 
• Take them out, let them rest for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Later transfer them to a cooling rack and let them completely cool for atleast an hour. Once cooled store them in an air tight jar.

Note : 

• I have used brown sugar, but if its not available then you can use normal white granulated sugar too. If you can grind the sugar then that will also work great.
• Once baked, cookies tend to get bit harder when comes in contact with air. So don't panic if they are soft on touching after 15-17 minutes.
• Adding raisins & choco chips is totally up to your choice.

Enjoy with your family & friends :)

Do share your experiences and feedback with me in the below section of comments or on my Facebook page. I too have a You Tube channel please do visit for all the video recipes. All the links mentioned below :)

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/user/cookwithpriyanka

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/cookwithpriyanka

Thanks & Happy Baking 

Priyanka :) 

Paneer Tikka Masala

Paneer Tikka Masala is an Indian dish made from chunks of Paneer (Cottage cheese) & few veggies marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor or over a pan and served with spicy gravy. As we all know for vegetarians paneer is the best substitute of non-veg items. At the same time its healthy too. I have used home made paneer in this recipe, click here for Homemade Paneer recipe.  
I have tried out the restaurant style recipe here and I am very much sure that you guys going to love it :))))

Here is the video

 



Ingredients for marination :-

• Paneer (Cottage Cheese) -250 grams
• Capsicum - 1 green (remove the seeds)
• Tomato - 1 big (remove the seeds)
• Onion - 1 big
• Greek /Hung yoghurt/thick curd - 1/2 cup
• Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Kasoori Methi (Dried fenugreek leaves) - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - as per the taste
• Lemon juice - 1tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• 1 - 1 1/2 tbsp of oil for shallow frying

Procedure for Marination :-

• Cut the paneer & the other vegetables in small cubes.  
• In a mixing bowl take Yoghurt and add all the spices to it. 
• Now add paneer and the vegetables and lightly mix as the Paneer might break. 
• Now add oil and lemon juice and again mix. 
• Keep the marination in refrigerator for 1 hr. 
• After 1 hr, take a broad pan, add oil to it and put the marinated paneer and vegetables over it one by one. Do not mix them, keep them separate. 
• Keep the flame high and let the entire water absorbed. When done on one side flip it over and cook it on the other side as well. Paneer and vegetables will get golden brown color. Now we can take it out on a plate and keep aside.

Ingredients For the gravy :-

• Roughly chopped onion - 1 big
• Roughly chopped tomato - 1 big
• Roughly chopped Garlic cloves - 4 large
• Roughly chopped Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Cumin seeds - 1tsp
• turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
• Kasoori Methi (Dried fenugreek leaves) - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - as per the taste
• Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup

Procedure for making gravy :-

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds to it, as the seeds splutter add ginger & garlic and give it a good roast. 
• When they become little brown add onions and roast till they become light brown. 
• After they change the color add all the spices and a tbsp of water to it (So that the spices don't get burn) and cook until the spices oozes out the oil. 
• Now add the tomatoes and cook until they are softened. 
• Once done switch off the flame and let the mixture be cooled. After cooling put the mixture in a blender and make a puree out of it (If required add 1/2 cup of water for making a smooth puree). 
• Pour the puree in the same pan and cook it till a boil comes. As soon as the boil comes add the Paneer tikka and the veggies in the puree and give it a gentle mix. 
• After cooking it for 2-3 minutes add 2/3 rd of the cream in to the pan and leave rest of the cream for garnishing. Switch off the gas and serve it in a serving bowl, garnish it with rest of the cream.

Enjoy it with Chapattis, Naan, Parantha, Rumali roti or rice.

Thanks & Happy Cooking
Priyanka :))))