Bhuna Gosht

Last weekend my husband and I went to downtown for grocery shopping. After shopping, with heavily loaded bag we got into a taxi and somehow my husband managed to guide the driver to the nearest metro station Xiaobei to get back home. The guy was so surprised and happy to see my husband speaking broken Chinese ;).
While trying to explain about the metro station, he nodded for some reason and asked whether we are going for dining. We were confused and was checking GPS all the way till we got there. When finally we got down in the right destination we realized huh!! That's what he meant.. I guess he thought we are from  middle east countries and we are heading to have dinner at Arabic street..
The street is full of Arab restaurants and stores.We'd no idea such place exists in Guangzhou.. We bookmarked the place to reach out again for Middle east cuisines. But we did go through a store selling imported foods from Arab countries. As our days shopping had over, we just had a look around. But one thing caught our eyes lying on the bakery was Pita bread. I'd heard many recipes of Pita bread but never got a chance to use them. So quickly i grabbed one pack. The next day we made sandwiches with pita.
With 2 more breads left and we both were craving for spicy meat dish for long, I decided to cook "Bhuna Gosht" to have with pita breads. Its not traditional but pita bread is very similar to Naan bread. So went very well with Bhuna gosht.
Bhuna Gosht is all about spices. Mutton is slow cooked with loads of spices for hours. The slow cooking process gives the brown color to the dish. It takes 1-2 hrs to cook the meat along with all the spices. But its worth the wait.  It is rich and Lip smacking delicious. It can be made easier by using pressure cooker. But there is no room for taste when you hurry up for this dish. My advice is to make this recipe when you have plenty of time and mood of cooking something special for your tastebud....  I love the Bhuna gosht recipe from "ecurry" and this recipe has been adapted from them with slight variation.

Mutton Korma

Mouth watering Mutton Korma!!

Yes! Mutton Korma is one of the South delicacy. It's a rich Mutton gravy usually made with coconut and spices. Goes great with Paratha, Dosa or Chapathi. Same recipe can also be adapted for making Chicken Korma. What I have understood about korma is, in North India usually Korma is based on Yogurt and Nuts and in South the gravy is based on Coconut. Both the Korma's are different when u taste. Here i have posted south Indian Korma. Cook & relish.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese with a glass of Red wine not only liked by "Don" ;) but a huge population in earth likes this dish. It's time taking recipe to prepare but its worth waiting. Cooking spaghetti bolognese is not so difficult but require all your attention while its been cooked. The end result definitely speaks about your passion and the care you put throughout the process. Hence its best for showing your love and care to your loved ones. An evening with candle light dinner having spaghetti bolognese and red wine on the table, fun talks with loved one is all what we need in our life :).hmmm  Sorry guys i just closed my eyes and thought of  my spaghetti evening ha ha... Impress your loved ones with this recipe. Traditionally bolognese is cooked with minced beef. Since most of the Indians don't eat beef it can be substituted with minced lamb or pork.

Rogan Josh

Rogan Josh with a twist!!!

Rogan Josh is from Kashmir, meaning  cooked in oil at high heat. Tradionally Rogan josh is a Lamb dish cooked with Kashmiri chillies which gives the red color to the curry. But I made a twist by swapping Chicken for Mutton. I have also cooked Rogan josh with Mutton. But I couldn't find any big difference in the taste of the curry except the meat. The gravy is enriched with all kind of spices and curd is added to lessen the intense taste of red chillies. I make few non veg dishes in my pressure cooker to get a well blended gravy. You could also use skillet, but cooking time varies little longer than the pressure cooker. This recipe is adapted from Hawkin's recipe book.

Servings: 2
Cooker time: 10 mins
Preparation time : 20 mins
Level: Moderate

Ingredients:

	Mutton / Chicken	500 gm
	Vegetable Oil	1/4 cup
	Bay leaves	2
	Cinnamon	2 ½ cm stick
	Green cardamoms	2
	Onions	200 gm
	Tomatoes	150 gm
	Turmeric powder	1 Tsp
	Red chilli powder	1 Tbsp
	Curd beaten	¾ cup

Salt

as required

Roast and Grind:

	Coriander seeds	1 Tbsp
	Cumin seeds	2 Tsp
	Poppy seeds	1/2 Tbsp
	Almonds	10
	Brown cardamoms peeled	1
	Peppercorns	¼ Tsp
	Cloves	2
	Mace	a pinch
	Whole dry red kashmiri chillies	3
	Ginger	15 gm
	Garlic	5 flakes
	Nutmeg grated	A pinch

Method:

1. In a pan, roast together coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, shelled almonds, brown cardamoms, peppercorns, cloves, mace and grind to a paste along with whole chillies, ginger, garlic and nutmeg adding little water.

2. Heat oil in cooker. Add bay leaves, cinnamon and green cardamoms. Stir for a few seconds. 3. Add onions and fry till golden brown. 4. Add ground paste, tomatoes, turmeric and chilli powders. Stir.

5. Add 1/3rd of the curd and stir fry till curd is well blended. Do the same for remaining curd .Stir fry till oil shows separately. 6. Add meat and salt. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes. 7. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix well

8. Close cooker. Bring to full pressure on high heat. After the first whistle reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.

9. Remove cooker from heat. Allow to cool naturally.

10. Open cooker, transfer to serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Note:
1. Goes well with nan, chapathi or pulao
2. If you are using chicken reduce the frying time from 10 to 5 mins ( see no.6 in method)
3. You can also substitute cashew nut instead of almond.