Hello Friends, Welcome to Recipe Crush

Hi Friends,

First, my sincere thanks to everyone who encouraged me to pursue the passion to cook by liking “Recipe Crush” in Facebook. This page is an expression of the “Crush” to cook their favorite “Recipes” for every foodie. This is just a beginning… more to be followed in the coming days. I will keep you posted daily with the tip of the day, Regular Recipes and Menu of the month. This “Crush” to cook needs your contribution by your comments and suggestions. I will come up regularly with more and more new “Recipe Crushes”. Keep visiting this blog as well as facebook page for more updates. Let us make this “Recipe Crush” the one stop for the foodies.
Crushingly Your’s

Vegetable Pot Biryani

For me..on a relaxed day, nothing beats the happiness of the perfect, tasty and long grain veg biryani.. this time added a tinge of mud flavour to my veg biryani..
My first clay pot biryani !😋😋
Vegetable Dum Biryani Recipe :

Preparation time: 20-25 min
Cooking time: 1 hour
Servings: 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice:
  Soak a cup of basmati rice for 30 min. In a vessel, boil the water and then add   basmati rice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbs oil and cook. When it is cooked for almost 70%, drain the water and keep it aside.
• 1/2 cup Deep fried onions and cashew(Optional)
• 2 tomatoes diced
• Cut vegetables of your choice: Potato, carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas etc.,
• 3 tbsp ghee
• Masala ingredients:

2 Bay leaf
3 cloves
3 elaichi
Little stone flower
Small piece of cinnamon
1/2 tsp shah jeera
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2-3 green chilli cut into slits
1/2 cup beaten yoghurt
1/2 cup mint and coriander leaves chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder (You can add according to your spice level)
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp fennel seed powder(optional)

Directions:

First, we need to cook masala for the biryani.
1. To prepare the masala, heat 2 tbsp ghee in a wok pan. (Here I have taken a clay pot).
2. Then add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, shahi jeera, ginger garlic   paste and sautè until raw smell is gone.. Now add green chilli and fry for a min..
3. Later, add all vegetables, 1 tsp salt and close the lid and fry for 5 min.
4. Now add chopped mint, coriander leaves to it. Once cooked, add diced tomatoes followed by turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, fennel seed powder, garam masala powder and cook for 2-3 min..
5. Now add beaten yogurt and cook in a slow flame for few min. Adjust the salt (remember that we added half tsp of salt in the rice as well) and now the masala is ready!
6. So the final step in our Dum biryani is layering..
Take out all the masala in a bowl and take 1/3rd part of masala and spread it on the bottom of the handi (the vessel we are using for dum) and on top of that spread 1/3rd portion of rice and add 1/2 tsp ghee on that.. If you wish,you can also spread friend onions on this layer..
Now take another 1/3rd part of the masala and spread on the rice evenly and add 1/2 tsp of ghee and then take the last part of the masala and spread on the rice layer and on top of that, spread the remaining rice evenly and top this layer with 1/2 tsp ghee, the fried onions, cashew.. coriander leaves and mint leaves(optional).
1. Now put a tava on the stove and on top of that, put this handi and seal the lid of the pot with wheat flour mixture ( wheat flour mixed with water and little oil) to prevent the steam from escaping.. And put the pot for dum for 30-40 min.. Meanwhile check whether the heat is conducting evenly…

2. Now Biryani is ready and to be served with Onion Salan, Raitha or mint chutney….

 

Stuffed Karela

Karela… What to say about it? May be I belong to the exceptional group of people who lovee karela.. I make many varieties of karela.. Curries being majority of them.. I do make fries and snacks as well.. so coming to this recipe..

Complexity: Medium
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: approx 30min
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
1. 3-4 medium karela’s
For Stuffing :
1. 2 medium size onions
2. 10-12 Red chillies (adjust according to your spice level)
3. 3-4 Tbsp grated coconut
4. Lemon sized tamarind juice
5. 1/4th cup jaggery (adjust accordingly)
6. Rock salt (adjust accordingly)

Directions:
1. Cut karela into 4 inch pieces horizantally and split them in the middle into 4 keeping the bottom part intact for stuffing.
2. Grind red chillies,coconut, tamarind, jaggery, salt in a mixie smoothly and at last add onion and grind it coarsely..
3. Stuff this masala in the karela and keep aside.
4. Heat kadai or wide pan and put tadka and put all the stuffed karelas in such a way that stuffing touches the kadai and put in a slow flame and close the lid and let it simmer for 15 min and then turn the karelas to the other side and then again let it simmer for 10-15 min. Meanwhile, if karela is tender the juice oozes out naturally and if not, just add little water and mix to avoid over roasting and switch off the flame.
5. Check in between to make sure karela is not turning brown or burnt.
6. Top with coriander leaves(Optional)

Cauliflower Soup

Preparation time: 20-25 min

Makes: 2 persons

Complexity: Easy

Ingredients:

1/2 medium sized cauliflower
1 potato
1 shallot or medium sized onion
2-3 garlic pods
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder (otional
1/2 cup cream (optional)

Method:

1. In a hot pan, add olive oil or butter.
2. Then add onions, garlic and sauté until done. Later, add finely chopped potatoes and sauté for 2 min. Now add vegetable broth and cauliflower florets and let it cook for 4-5 min or until done. After letting it cool down, put it in a blender and make into a paste.
3. Now add the cream, pepper, nutmeg,salt (if you are adding vegetable broth, please check the taste and then add) and mix well.
4. Cauliflower soup is ready to serve.

Onion Salan for Biryani

Onion salan goes well with all types of biryanis. It’s orign is from Hyderabadi cuisine that traces its roots back to Mughal period. It is the best side dish with Potato Spinach Biryani.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions cut length wise and sautéed in oil
• 2 tablespoons peanuts
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoon desiccated coconut
• 1 chopped onion
• Oil to fry
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• Few curry leaves
• 1 Tablespoon chilly powder
• 1 Teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ Teaspoon turmeric Powder
• 1 Teaspoon cumin powder
• Tamarind juice
• Jaggery
• Salt to taste

Directions:

Curry paste: Heat a pan and dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, desiccated coconut and chopped onion. Cook until onions are tender. Then, using a blender make a fine paste. Keep this paste aside.

Sautéed onions: Heat oil in a pan. Then add length wise cut onions and a pinch of salt. Sauté them and keep it aside.

To prepare Salan: In a pan heat oil. To it, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric. To this, add the previously prepared curry paste. Then add water to get thin consistency that is best for salan. Once it comes to boil, put in the slow flame for 15 minutes. Then add tamarind juice, jaggery and salt to taste. Mix it, put the lid and cook for some time. Finally, to this add sautéed onions, cook for 2-3 minutes and switch off the flame.

Potato Spinach (Aloo Palak) Biryani

Easy to make biryani for 2 persons. To be served with Onion Salan or Raitha.
Ingredients:

• Basmati rice: Soak a cup of basmati rice for 30 min. In a vessel, boil the water and then add basmati rice and cook. When it is cooked for almost 90%, drain the water and keep it aside.
• 250g Diced Potato fried in oil
• ½ cup chopped Spinach (palak)
• ½ bunch Mint & coriander chopped
• Diced Tomatoes (2 medium sized)
• ¼ cup Fried onions
• 2-3 Bay leaves
• 2-3 Cinnamon sticks
• 2-3 Cloves
• 2-3 Cardamom
• ½ teaspoon Shahi jeera (Black cumin)
• 1 teaspoon Green chilly paste
• 1 teaspoon Ginger garlic paste
• ½ cup Beaten Yogurt
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 tablespoon Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• Salt to taste

Directions:
First, cook masala for the biryani. To prepare the masala, heat oil in a wok pan. Then add bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom, shahi jeera, green chilly paste and ginger garlic paste. Later, add chopped mint, coriander leaves and spinach to it. Once cooked, add diced tomatoes followed by beaten yogurt, turmeric and salt. Cook these ingredients in a slow flame. Finally, add deep fried potato pieces and cook for some more time. Take out half of the potato masala in another bowl while spreading remaining masala in a pot. To this potato masala, add cooked rice layer to the top, then add potato layer, followed by fried onions. Repeat these layers and add ghee in the final layer. Close the pot with a lid but cook this on a slow flame for 5 to 7 minutes.

Now Biryani is ready to be served with Onion salan or Raitha.

Hash Browns

Hash browns:

Hash browns are a part of regular breakfast menu in the west. The variations of hash browns depend upon the cultures. Here, we describe how to make a simple hash browns. We will come up with the different variants in the coming days.

Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 15-20 min
Makes about 4 hash browns

Ingredients:
1 Large russet potato/ 2 medium sized
1 Tbsp. All purpose flour/Maida
1 small onion/shallot grated
1 egg white (Vegans can replace egg with flax seed powder or potato starch)
Salt and pepper as needed
Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Method/instructions:

• You get crispier hash browns if you remove starch from the potatoes. To do that, first grate potatoes and keep them in a large bowl of cold water for 5 min. Then take this grated potato from the water and squeeze hard through the kitchen towel/potato ricer to remove moisture. In this way we are sure to get crispy and tasty hash browns.
• Now, keep this squeezed grated potatoes in a large bowl and add all the ingredients i.e. flour, grated onion, egg white, salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile pour enough oil in a pan/skillet (not too much but few tablespoons) and preheat the pan over medium heat.
• When the pan is hot enough, just take 1/3rd cup of the potato mixture and put it on the pan and flatten it as much as possible with the bottom of the cup or a flat spatula. (Do not disturb once it is flattened). The more flatter, the crispier it is.
• Cook for 5-6 min on each side over medium flame until they are brown and crispy.
• Make sure not to burn by regulating the flame. Serve hot with ketchup of your choice.

Masala Idly

Hungry kya? Do you have left over idlies at home? You can make a quick spicy delicacy with these idlies using gun powder and few more ingredients..

First you need to prepare gun powder to make this recipe. You can use this powder for 3-4 weeks.

Gun powder :

Preparation time: 5 min
Cooking time: 10-15 min
Makes: 1 US Cup
Level: Easy

Ingredients for Gun powder:

Red chillies- Depending on your spice level
1/2 teaspoon pepper corns
1 tablespoon-Channa dal
1/2 tablespoon urad dal
1 Tablespoon roasted Channa dal
1 Tablespoon raw rice
1 Teaspoon sesame seeds
Few curry leaves( you can use dried curry leaves if you don’t have fresh ones)
1 Teaspoon Hing
2 Tablespoons Coconut powder
Salt as required

Method:
Heat a tawa or pan and add whole red chillies, pepper corns, channa daal, Urad daal. Dry roast these ingredients for few minutes(4-5min) in a slow flame and then add roasted channa daal, rice, sesame seeds. Roast until rice changes its colour and then add curry leaves, hing, salt, coconut powder.Finally dry roast for 1-2 min and switch off the flame. Put all the ingredients in a blender and make a fine powder.

Masala Idly:

Preparation time-5-10 min
Cooking time: 10 min
Level:Easy

Ingredients:
Idlies-up to 3 at a time
Butter or Ghee: As required
Gun powder: Needed according to your spice level
1 medium Onion chopped
Few coriander leaves chopped

Method:
Heat a pan and add butter. Then add onions and fry until soft. Later, add gun powder, coriander leaves and fry for 1-2 min . Then add idlies and fry until done. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Schezwan Dosa

Serves: 2 persons
Preparation time: 10-15 min
Level: Easy
Ingredients:
• Dosa batter
• 1 cup Capsicum juliennes(red, green and yellow)
• 1/2 cup Cabbage shredded
• 1/2 -1 cup cheese grated depending on your choice.
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Ginger chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic chopped
• Schezwan sauce according to your taste
• Tomato ketchup according to your taste.
• Salt as needed

Method:
• As stated in the above,to make this delicacy, we need to prepare the dosa batter, schezwan sauce and the vegetable mixture.
• The recipe for Schezwan sauce is given above.
• To prepare the vegetable mixture, heat a pan and add very little oil. When the oil is hot, add onion, ginger, garlic, salt and sauté until done and now add all the capsicum juliennes, shredded cabbage and cook for 2-3 min and or vegetable mixture is ready.
• Now, to prepare schezwan dosa, heat the pan and pour the dosa batter and spread it with circular motion so that we get thin layer of dosa. Add oil all around and when it is done, apply the tomato ketchup in a thin layer and over that apply the schezwan sauce all over dosa and now add the vegetable mixture and grated cheese. Fold it in your favourite way and the yummy chinese style schezwan dosa is ready!!!