Indian Food Night! (part 3)

Apologies for taking so long in posting the last part of my Indian Food Night! Got really busy. :D

Eggplant Pakoras, with the rest of the dishes 

So after cooking the Chickpea dahl, I proceeded on cooking the tomato chutney. I only had 4 tomatoes from the Chickpea dahl; they were actually leftovers as the tomato chutney was not really part of the menu I planned for the night. 4 tomatoes were not enough, good thing I had a pack of tomato paste.

Tomato Chutney
So here are the ingredients I used:

• Ginger - 1 pc - cut in strips
• Cumin seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Onion - 1pc - minced
• Garlic - 4 cloves - minced
• Tomatoes - 4 pcs- cubed
• Tomato paste - 1 pack
• Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
• Sugar - 4 heaping tablespoons
• Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ginger and cumin seeds in about 2 tablespoons of oil. Then add the onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until aromatic. Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft; stir the mixture occasionally. Add the tomato paste and turmeric. Add enough water to make a thin sauce, then add the sugar, salt and pepper. Keep cooking on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thicken. Voila! Your sauce is ready. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yellow Rice

I then cooked the yellow rice, which was the easiest of them all. First wash about a kg of uncooked rice. It would be best if you use the long grain type of rice. Then saute the rice in 1/2 cup butter and 2 teaspoons of turmeric poweder. Stir constantly then turn of the fire. You could transfer the rice into a rice cooker, add water and cook as you would cook ordinary rice. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sooji Halava

The halava was also not part of my menu plan, but then when I checked my kitchen stock I found about a cup of Sooji (Semolina) powder. So I thought of cooking halava, which is also very simple to make. 

Here are the ingredients:

• Sooji (Semolina) 1 cup
• Butter 1/2 cup
• Brown Sugar 1 1/2 cups
• Powdered full cream milk 1/2 cup
• Water 4 cups
• Cashew nuts and raisins (around 1/2 cup each)
• A pinch of salt

Begin by toasting Sooji in low heat until golden -- keep stirring as it burns easily. Add butter until melted, then add sugar, milk, and 4 cups water. Turn the heat up to medium, then keep stirring until the Sooji has absorbed most of the water and the mixture had turned into a thick pudding. Add the cashew nuts, raisins and a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly. Turn of the heat and transfer to a serving dish.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eggplant Pakora

Lastly, I cooked the pakoras (Indian tempuras), which was also relatively very simple to make. Wash 800 grams of eggplant (around 6 pcs), and cut into slices. Prepare the batter by mixing 1 cup of Besan (Chickpea) flour, 2 teaspoons of Garam Masala powder, a teaspoon of turmeric, salt and pepper to taste, and enough water to make a it like a thin pancake mixture. Cover the eggplant with batter, and deep fry in medium heat until evenly golden brown. Serve immediately with the Tomato Chutney.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wasn't able to take pictures of all the dishes I cooked though, as I got very busy taking care of the guests afterwards. 

*Btw, these dishes are not hot, so if you want yours hot and spicy, you can adjust the dishes by adding chili powder/flakes.

Til my next cooking spree!