Here is a vibrant colored moist, low-sugar cake/loaf idea for your Easter brunch with a citrus burst. If you want a low sugar version then just skip the orange sugar glaze at the end. Allergic to nuts than skip them and the cake/ loaf will be equally delicious. The flavor is more from the orange. Depending on the type of pan you use the baking time might vary. On my first try I had used a rectangle larger pan the cake baked in 25 minutes but when I used the 9×13 it took about 40 minutes.

I tried this recipe after  my husband wanted me to buy the orange-cranberry scones they sell at the costco.  But the day I went shopping they were not available and so I convinced him that I would make them at home minus the preservatives. The reason being I love cakes more than scones. I also enjoy dessert with nuts in them and on my first try I used walnuts.

Serving Size: 9×13 loaf pan

Ingredients:

Cake batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp of baking powder

1/2 cold cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

3 eggs

3 tbsp of melted butter

1/4 cup oil

3/4-1 cup sugar

2 tbsp of orange zest

1/3 cup cranberries

1/3 cup almonds/ walnuts/ pistachios

1/8 tsp salt

Sugar Icing:

1 cup powder sugar

1 tbsp of lemon zest

3 -4 tbsp of orange juice

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F

Grease a cake pan with oil.

Beat eggs, sugar,melted butter, oil and salt. Next add the milk, juice and mix it together.

Strain and mix the flour & baking powder together and add it to the wet mixture.

Next add the nuts and cranberry fold it in carefully and then pour  in the pan and bake for 30-45 minutes till the toothpick comes out dry.

Let the cake cool. Then pour in the icing sugar or enjoy it without for a low-sugar dessert.

I am sure after all the heavy cooking for Easter here is an easy and equally tasty recipe for the weekend. Tikka Masala is always used with chicken and that is how most Indian Food lovers know it. This recipe I learnt from a good friend of mine Raakhee, who does not eat meat and fish. It is quick and very simple. You can use boiled eggs or add the egg to the curry directly and let simmer till the eggs are done. Use a larger pan so as not to over crowd the eggs.

To boil the perfect egg

Fill a pot with just enough water to cover the eggs. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat off and let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the water and crack the shell all over. Roll the egg all over to loosen the shell and  it peels off easily.

Serving Size: 4-5

Ingredients:

6 boiled eggs halved

1 pack of tikka masala sauce

1 small onion diced

1 small tomato diced

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp of sugar

couple sprigs of cilantro chopped

salt to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in a pot. Saute the chopped onions till  light brown. Next add the tomatoes saute till soft.

Add the tikka masala, water, sugar and salt cover and bring to a simmer.

Next add the halved eggs cover and cook for 5 minutes. If using raw eggs add them now, cover and simmer for 5 minutes till the eggs are done.

Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Enjoy with rice, bread or naan.

The title of my post may baffle you, but you read it right. Cheat or instant buttermilk is for people like me who use it only for pancakes even though it is consumed a lot by Indians but in a Goan diet not so much. So the question arises, what do you do with the rest when you buy a carton? Any suggestions are welcomed in the comment sections.  I have to credit another good friend of ours Julio, who loves to cook and share his discoveries and new finds every time we meet.

For the longest time I would get the Eggo frozen pancakes for my kids. My husband has been pushing me to a more homemade less preservatives, non-hormones induced foods. I must admit it is a lot more work and I am not always on for the ride as some days you just have to derail cause life is too hectic. After my first attempts of flat pancakes because I was too scared to use baking soda after earlier failed bitter attempts of cake making. But after a visit by our friends Julio and his family, my husband made them for breakfast based on his recipe I was totally impressed. I decided to give it a try this time using baking soda and found it is THE ingredient along with the acidity in butter milk that makes the pancakes fluffy. Mess around with these two and you are guaranteed a flat one….get the pun

For School days I make them before hand and keep them in the refrigerator or freezer for my kids. When you are ready to eat just cover with paper towel and microwave for 15-25 seconds depending on the size of pancakes.

Serving Size: 15 pancakes 4″ round

Making Instant buttermilk:

1 Cup warm milk

1 tsp vinegar

Mix together and let stand 5-10 minutes before using to make the batter.

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour / whole wheat

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda ( do not skip)

3-6 tbsp of sugar (based on preference)

3 eggs

3 tbsp of melted butter

1 cup homemade butter milk

1/8th tsp salt

2 tsp of vanilla

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients together first keep aside.

Next whisk all the wet ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix well till no clumps.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.

On a non-stick pan pour a little batter wait till the edges bubble, flip carefully and let cook for another 30 to 50 seconds.

Enjoy it with whipped cream and fresh fruits or maple syrup and butter.

I should have done this recipe way back but knowing that it does take extra effort I kept pushing it off till this week. So here is my mother’s recipe. I also experimented by baking some of the croquettes which were equally firm and held their shape. Beef croquettes definitely has a Portuguese origin and is somewhat close to the Dutch and Japanese.

        Shallow-fried Beef Croquettes

There are many variation in cooking the ground beef and how the croquettes are cooked. Some recipes  use Goan smoked sausages, recheado masala or the popular meat dry spices called Jeerem-Meerem for cooking the ground meat. Some use bread crumbs or cream of wheat/rava. And finally they are either shallow-fried or deep-fried. The reason I shallow-fried is my mom makes it that way. For extra flavor she adds more sautéed onions with a dash of sugar and fresh chopped cilantro/coriander to the ground meat mix, before she shapes them into cylindrical croquettes rolls. If you have leftover cooked beef like a roast you can use it.

Baked Beef Croquettes

Beef croquettes are very popular in a catholic household in Goa as a snack or h’orderve for parties, weddings and celebrations along with Coriander chutney sandwiches, Forminhas and Beef patties, Rissois de camarao …click on each to go to the respective recipes.

Popular Goan Party Snacks

4 Step in making croquettes

Cook the ground meat.

Grind the cook meat and add extra sautéed onions, egg, fresh cilantro and 3 slices of bread and let refrigerate for 30 -60 minutes.

Roll them in cylindrical croquettes and coat them in cream of wheat.

Shallow or deep fry the croquettes.

Serving Size: 16 croquettes

Ingredients:

1 lbs of ground lean meat ( 94% to 6%)

1 medium onion diced very finely

2 tbsp of recheado masala/goan jeerem-meerem (click for recipe)

1 tsp of vinegar

1 tsp of sugar

4 cloves minced garlic

1/2″ ginger minced

1 cup cream of wheat for coating/ finely ground bread crumbs

1 egg

3 sliced of bread crumbled

8-10 sprigs of finely chopped fresh cilantro/ coriander

oil for shallow frying

Salt to taste

Directions:

Cooking  the ground beef/ mince/ keema

Heat oil in a pan and saute half the amount of onions, ginger, garlic till soft and fragrant. Next add the recheado masala/ jeerem-meerem, vinegar and saute for 30-60 seconds.

Add the meat and mix very well, season with salt and half the amount of sugar. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Keep checking occasionally and stir as not to stick or burn.

Let cool completely or overnight.

Making the Croquettes

Saute the remaining onion till soft. Take off heat and add the remaining sugar, season with salt and fine chopped cilantro/ coriander. Let cool.

In a food processor/ meat grinder add the cooled meat, egg and crumbled bread slices and pulse a couple of times till all is mixed well.

Take out the mixture from the food processor and mix the cooled sautéed onion mixture. The texture and consistency have to be similar to a cookie dough to be able to shape the croquettes. Refrigerate it for 30 -60 minutes.

Divided the meat mixture into equal portions about 16 portions, roll them as ball and then press them down to form in cylindrical shape. Coat them in cream of wheat or finely ground bread crumbs and shallow fry on each side for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat.

For baking:

Heat oven to 400F. Line a cookie sheet tray with parchment paper, spray oil, then line the croquettes and spray the croquettes on top with oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes turn the croquettes halfway through the baking process to be baked evenly.

Tip: Make the croquettes ahead of time and freeze it. You can reheat them in the oven for 15 minutes at 375F.

I always wanted to make coconut macaroons but never looked up the recipe since I thought it might not be easy. Until I had got some sweet shredded coconut for a dessert that I made to take over to a friend’s place. It was a milk custard with canned pineapple, whipped cream, almonds and some sweet grated coconut.  After that day I was left with almost a full bag of sweet shredded coconut. That is when I thought of giving coconut macaroons a try. When I checked the back of the package it asked for 4 whipped eggs white and I thought what will I do with the egg yolks and so I changed my recipe to use whole eggs.

The recipe is so simple it can be whipped up in a jiffy and turns out chewy with a light crunch on the outside. It only needs 5 simple ingredients. Along with the eggs I used a bit of flour for binding and baking powder to make the macaroons light and airy. I also did not use any extra sugar since I do not enjoy overly sweet desserts.

Serving Size: 16 macaroons

Ingredients:

1 pack or 5 cups of sweet shredded coconut

2 eggs

4 tbsp of all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp of baking powder

pinch of salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 325F

Mix in the flour and baking powder together well.

In a mixing bowl beat 2 eggs and salt.  Add the shredded coconut and slowly fold it into the egg mixture.

Next sprinkle the flour and fold it in careful till well mixed.

Shape them into coconut macaroons and line them on a cookie sheet tray covered with parchment paper. Spray oil on the paper so that the macaroons will not stick.

Bake for 25-30 minutes till the macaroons are done.

Let cool and enjoy and store in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Variations:

Use chopped almonds and cranberry.

Unsweetened cocoa powder about 4 tbsp.

I got the idea of testing this recipe after my success with my cheat version of coconut macaroons. Doce de grao (check recipe)  is a staple sweet made for weddings, Christmas, church feast and litany’s in Goa. This sweet requires a great labor of love. Depending on the quantity it can take an hour, two or more of constant stirring before it is ready to eat. Since it is laborious to make, I only put in the effort to make it during Christmas. Every time I go to Goa I would try to carry it back with me but since fresh grated coconut is used to make this sweet and having it packed would make the coconut go bad in a 27 hour flight. Always feeling disappointed, I truly was so excited to give this recipe a try and hoping it would work. I was so happy when my first batch came out just perfect. I can now make it often and it is gluten-free.

If you are a Goan who has eaten doce de grao then this recipe makes for a softer version of the doce. Doce is a semi-soft dessert but you can also make it harder by adding more sugar. I love my mum’s version which was the semi-soft but it would go bad if not properly stored. Since I usually use less sugar in my deserts I only used 1/3 cup as the sweetened flakes of coconut would add more sweetness. The only alteration to the original recipe is the addition of eggs to bind the doce de grao batter/ coconut blondie(brownie). But it does not alter the taste in any ways. The flavor that is prominent is the chana and cardamom used.

Serving Size: 9″ Brownie pan

Ingredients:

2 cans or 3 cups of cooked garbanzos beans/ Chana dal

1/3-1/2 cup of sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup of sweetened flakes coconut

1/2 tsp of ground cardamom powder.

3 tbsp of oil/ghee

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F

In a food processor add all the above ingredients and pulse a couple of times till all is well combined and smooth.

Pour into a well-greased / well lined brownie pan and bake for 25-30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clear.

Cool and enjoy with a nice cup of hot tea.

Assado de carne or Beef Roast is a very popular everyday dish in Goa. In Portuguese assado is roast, carne is beef and vaca is cow. As kids we often took roast beef sandwiches to school. It was thin slices of beef with bread and butter. In Goa butter is a more popular spread, as mayo goes bad since the weather is very hot and proper food safety are not very well practised. Each family in Goa has their own variations in making assado/roast but mostly will included vinegar, ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, green chilli and black-pepper.

My mum usually marinates the meat for a couple of days with the ground paste and then slowly braises the meat in a pot even though it is called a roast (not every household in Goa has an oven). The meat would be cooked for an hour or more depending on the size of the roast. She also uses the same recipe for pig roast.  If you have access to a pressure cooker then you can cut short the time by cooking it for 7-9 whistles.  If there was leftover roast them my mom would make beef chilli fry, almondegaes (shallow fried ground beef pattie), beef chops or croquettes (click on each highlighted words to check the recipe). The Goan roast beef has a nice thick gravy that is then poured over the sliced beef. For parties you can sever sliced beef with some french fries or roasted potatoes for decorations. On my last trip to Goa I was surprised to see these sandwich being sold at the cafes as most everyone makes them at home.

Serving Size: 8-10

Ingredients:

3 lbs of beef

1″ ginger

1.5 bulb of garlic cleaned

1 green chilli  (i deveined mine)

1-2 sticks of cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp of vinegar

1/2 tsp of sugar

salt to taste

1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2″ chopped ginger

Directions:

Grind all the dry ingredients along with vinegar to a smooth paste. Apply to the meat and let marinate for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.

In a heated pot saute the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Till soft and fragrant.

Next add the marinated beef and cook on each side for 1.5 hour on a medium heat by rotating each side after 10 minutes and checking on the seasoning. If required add 1/2 cup of water halfway through and keep cooking the meat. Till soft and fully cooked.

Slice and serve with some roasted potatoes or fries.

Arroz which means rice in portuguese is a staple in Goa but the confusing fact is that when a Goan says they made arroz it means they made pulao. I had arroz con pollo only a couple of times but each one had a variation and as a home cook I wanted to make a recipe based on my taste. I do know that the Peruvian version uses cilantro and not all south american countries have the same recipe. Though the argument is that it first originated in Spain. To an Indian it’s more like a biryani pulao recipe. I have found that my kids enjoy my food experiment. Every time I come with something new they get excited and willing be my taste testers, while my husband on the other hand is more cautious and has a refined tongue not everything is a hit😉

Goan’s make arroz de camarao (shrimp/prawns),  arroz de verdura(vegetables) or Clam Pulao (arroz de mexilhão). The basic ingredients for making Pulao/Arroz is turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, onions, tomatoes, chicken or vegetable bouillon, bay leaf is optional. My recipe of arroz con pollo had a strong flavor of ginger, garlic, mint and cilantro. You can also use the same spice recipe to make a very aromatic curry for chicken, fish or meats.

Serving Size: 8-10

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of chicken thighs/ drumsticks

3 cups basmati rice

4 cups water or stock

2-3 chicken bouillon (according to preference)

4 tbsp of lemon or lime juice

salt to taste

Grind into paste

1 medium onion

1 medium tomato

5-7 cloves of garlic

1″ ginger

1 bunch of cilantro

8-12 leaves of mint

Dry Whole Spices

3″ cinnamon stick

8 whole cardamom

8 whole cloves

2 bay leaves

2  whole star anise

Directions:

Wash the chicken, apply salt and lemon juice and keep aside. Grind the wet ingredients and apply to the chicken. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Next heat oil add whole spices and till the oil is aromatic about 2-3 minutes while watching carefully on medium heat. Next add the marinated meat and saute for a couple of minutes. Check for seasoning. Cover and cook on medium heat for 25 minutes. Check occasionally.

In most cases there should be a gravy about 1.5 to 2 cups approx. Now add the washed rice, water or stock and season the liquid with bouillon. Bring it to a boil, cover and cook on medium low heat for 15 minutes. Turn of heat and let stand for another 20 minutes.

Open the cover and fluff the rice with a fork.

Variations:

You can use any meat of choice, shrimps or if you want to make a vegetarian version use soya nuggets. 

Check my website www.goanimports.com for all your Indian spices, dals and preserves needs in the US. FREE Shipping on $100.

Sopa de camarao/ Shrimp or prawn soup is a light creamy soup with the bold flavors of shrimps/prawns. This is a soup of the portuguese past days in Goa. I guess in our household we ate a lot of vegetable soup with macaroni and bread soup made from previous day leftover bread. I think I must have made this recipe once’s or twice. If you visit Goa it would be a hard soup to find compared to the chinese soups that are popular in Goa.

What I love about the soup other than it’s very seafood smell is that it is a lighter soup compared to clam chowder. Adding diced potatoes and tomatoes is an option. I have added tomatoes  for some color. I do want to mention that I used red onions as I forgot my grocery bag with white onions at the grocery store till I was ready to cook and realized I left one whole bag of groceries at the store on my way out.

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

20-25 small shrimps shelled and deveined

1/2 finely diced white onions

3 tbsp of butter

3 cloves of garlic diced finely

1 small tomato diced finely

3 tbsp of white flour

3 cups water

1 cup milk

1 vegetable bouillon

salt to flavor

Directions:

Wash the shrimps, apply a little salt keep aside.

Melt butter in a pot add the chopped onions and saute till soft.

Next add the tomatoes, garlic and saute for 1 minute.

To this add the flour and mix it for about a minute.

Gently add a little water to form a roux and take out all lumps.

Add the shrimps/ prawns and the remaining water stir gently and cook on medium heat till it comes to a boil.

Finally add 1 cup cold milk, season with bouillon and salt. Bring it to a boil again.

Serve hot with some oyster cracker, saltines or croutons. When we were kids we also dipped bread in the soup (psst…I still do it )

Bolinhos de coco or Bolinhas ( cookies in portuguese) is a very popular cookie for evening tea time in Goa. They are also popular during christmas. Since cream of wheat /rava is used to make them, they have a nice crunch and can also be tricky if not made right. The cookies can be hard to bite. In India cream of wheat is used to make multiple sweets/ desserts, Baath / Batica (cake), Sheera / Xiro , Neureos ( deep-fried coconut stuffed sweet dumplings).

As I was researching the recipe I found that some used white flour in the batter and some cooked the batter slightly before baking the cookies.  My recipe does not use flour but I did roast the cream of wheat/rava for a couple of minutes on medium heat to remove the rawness. My mom always did it and it gives a nice toasted smell. I also soaked the batter for 5 hours to soften the rava  before I baked the bolinhos and added a little extra baking powder to make it light instead of the cookies being dense. Since I used frozen grated coconut I replaced the water with coconut milk. In my opinion the frozen grated coconut found in the US is squeezed out of the first milk and so has no taste.

Serving size: 20 cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups of toasted cream of wheat / rava/ sooji

2 cups grated coconut

1.25 cup of sugar

3 tbsp of butter

2 beaten eggs

1/2 cup water or coconut milk

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

2-3 pinches of salt

Directions:

In a pan heat sugar, frozen coconut, salt, butter and water / coconut milk till all the sugar melts. Take off heat and mix in the cream of wheat / rava and let stand for 4 to 6 hours.

Heat oven to 350F. Grease a cookie sheet or line a cookie pan.

Next add the 2 beaten eggs and baking powder and mix well.  Shape into cookies and bake for  25-30 minutes till light golden brown.

Guisado in portuguese means “stew”. This recipe is credited to the portuguese influence on Goan heritage. It is more of a chicken curry than a stew. My mom makes it often at our home. Since my dad loved potatoes, she always added some. In my recipe there is a little added heat from fresh green chilli as my mom says that it adds a nice fresh flavor to the curry. If you feel it has too much heat then substitute the red and green chilli with paprika.

I may be wrong but based on my online search, in Portugal polvo(octopus) guisado is more popular than galhina(chicken). Also I found out that guisado is a very popular dish in south america with variations from each country.

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs of chicken (thighs, drumsticks with or without bones)

1 small onion chopped

1 small tomato chopped

5-6 garlic clove chopped

1″ ginger chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1 green chilli halved (optional)

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

1 dime sized tamarind

1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 potatoes cleaned and quartered

1 cup of water

salt to taste

Directions:

Clean, wash and apply salt, ginger and garlic to the chicken pieces and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Add the tamarind ball to the cup of water and let soak.

Heat oil in a pot add onions and saute till soft. Next add the green chilli, cumin, red chilli powder, turmeric and tomato and saute till the tomato softens.

Next add the chicken and saute for 4-5 minutes till well coated with the spices.

To this add tamarind water, cut potatoes and season with salt. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30-35 minutes. Check in between and stir.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or bread.

I had never cooked with black beans before as I always bought canned ones from the store. I was very surprised as to how easy and flavorful it was cooking at home.  Making your own is a better option than the cans considering from a health safety point of view. You can refrigerate or freeze the beans for later use. I made this recipe a couple of time now with and without oil and you cannot tell much of a difference.

One know fact about Goan cuisine is it does not use black beans neither did I see them in stores growing up. My husband has made an effort (with his wife’s helps  ) to eat more greener. He has been eating almost 90% plant-based diet and I must admit it can be monotonous if not being creative. It is also hard work and has to be planned. Since we do eat a lot of leafy green salads I am always looking for some protein to be included and black beans along with garbanzo beans are my goto.

Please feel free to share your Black Beans Recipes in the comments section.

Serving Size: 4 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups of overnight soaked black beans

4 cups water

1 tsp of whole cumin seeds

4 crushed cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp of red chilli powder (optional)

1 chopped small onion (optional)

3 tbsp of oil

1/8 tsp of baking soda

Salt to season

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a pressure cooker and cook for 25 minutes or 4 whistles.

Take off heat and let the pressure be released completely before you open the cooker to be safe.

Drain the liquid and save for making soup. Use black beans to make a variety of foods like rice, tostada, salad or more.

According to my mum Polle/Pole/Polo in konkani is a sweet or savory pancake made of flour. I really do not know much history about the Goan polle/polo nor could I find any information online. Hopefully on my next trip to Goa I can get more information on less popular Goan recipes that are disappearing. Another on my wish list is “Shollio/sholorio“. I hope I have spelt it right….if not please correct it in the comment section below…Thanks!

The nachne(millet in konkani) pole are almost red-black in color if you use the goan coconut jaggery but if you use the pale brown then it had a reddish-pink color. I do make these pancake often now since my husband and I enjoy them for breakfast and evening tea and it is gluten-free and vegan  . These pancakes are not fluffy but if you like them to be fluffy you can add about 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the batter. Growing up as a child we had a variations of the pancakes made for evening tea and some more homemade snacks. We ate boiled sweet potatoes, coconut stuffed pancakes called allebelle,  nankhatais, patolios, boiled taro, gorchem, bolo de rulao, bolinhos de coco, xiro, docebaji, plum-cake, atoll.

Serving Size: 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cup red millet/ragi/nachne flour

1 cup grated fresh coconut

3/4  cup grated jaggery

1.5-2 cups water or coconut milk (pancake batter consistency)

1/2 tsp of baking powder (optional if you do not like dense pancakes)

2 pinches of salt

Directions:

Mix the batter together till the jaggery mixes well and dissolves.

Heat a nonstick pan and pour approx 1/4 cup of the batter and let cook about 4 minutes on each side on medium heat.

Enjoy a nice healthy tea snack.

You can make in advance and store it in the refrigerator or the freezer. Just warm them up in the microwave before eating.

Bitter Melon is not a common vegetable at the grocery stores in the US but is a very popular vegetable among the Asians and for its health benefits. In Goa one of the popular recipes I grew up with is stuffed karela made with prawns/shrimps and goan recheado masala. The stuffing is first cooked and then stuffed melon is shallow fried in oil.  My recipe is vegetarian with 2 variations from the original recipe, I have skipped the prawns and I baked the karela instead of shallow frying.

Since karela is a bitter melon to rid the bitterness it requires 3 things that I think help cut the bitterness. First applying a generous amount of salt to each melon inside out and let stand for 30-45 minutes to drain out the bitter liquid. Second it need an acid and finally a little sweetness. Indian’s believe in many health benefits of karela/bitter melon you can check out more on my earlier blog post of Prawns and Bitter melon Fry by clicking here.

Serving Size: 12 small karela – 4″ size

Ingredients:

12 small karela/ bitter melons

2 medium onion chopped fine

1 medium tomato chopped fine

6 cloves of garlic chopped fine

1″ ginger cut fine

3 tbsp of goan recheado masala

1 tsp of sugar

1 bunch of fine chopped cilantro

2 tbsp of garam masala

salt to taste

Directions:

Split each karela and scoop out the seeds apply generous salt to each one inside-out and keep aside for 30-45 minutes. It will let out some bitter liquid. Wipe each dry with a paper towel.

In a pan heat oil, saute the onions till soft. Next add the ginger garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes along with the recheado masala. Finally add the sugar and salt to season mix well.

Take of heat and add the chopped cilantro. Keep aside to cool.

To the dried karela apply a little oil and garam masala inside and out and stuff each one with the recheado filling.

Bake at 415F for 35 minutes till the karela is soft.

For Variations

•  Add prawns/shrimps or paneer to the stuffing and instead of baking shallow fry the karela till they soften on the outside about 5-7 minutes on each side.
• Some recipes in Indian Cuisine use ground beef or chicken and potatoes.

Do note this recipe is spicy. You can make your own stuffing. My recommendation would be to add sour and sweet taste to cut the bitterness.

Fenugreek leaves is popular in a Goan household. It is usually made into a vegetable while in the rest parts of India methi leaves is used in many ways. It has many health benefits  which makes it very popular. I had never cooked with methi leaves before so this was my first time. Just fyi, I have to be in a zen state before I get cooking with first time ingredients so as not to mess up the recipe

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

leaves of 2 bunches of methi

1 small onion chopped finely

1 cup of moong or urad dal soaked for 30 minutes in water

1/4 tsp of Asafoetida (hing)

1/2″ finely chopped ginger

3 finely chopped garlic cloves

1 slit green chili

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp lemon/lime juice

salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a pan add oil. Once the oil is hot add asafoetida (hing), chopped garlic, ginger and sliced green chili.

Add sliced onions and saute the onions for 1 minute until they turn soft.

Drain the water from soaked dal, add dal in the pan. Let the dal cook along with onion for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add turmeric powder and coriander powder. Give a stir and mix well.

Now add washed methi leaves or fenugreek leaves and stir.

Let the methi gets cooked for 2 minutes until it reduces in size.

Once methi starts shrinking add salt as per taste and sugar. Squeeze 1 tsp of lemon juice.

Mix well and let cook uncovered for 2 minutes.

Methi bhaji is ready to serve with phulkas, chapati or rice.

This recipe is not for faint hearted as it is spicy. It is quintessential Goan and an everyday food during the mackerel season. Growing up we ate fish, vegetables and fruits that were only seasonal. It was much healthier this way. The word “recheado bhangde” is a combination of 2 languages “recheado” is portuguese and means “stuffed” and “bhangdo, bhangde ” is in konkani meaning “mackerel, mackerels”. Goan love their fresh caught fish for everyday meals. Till today the fisherwoman comes over with the daily catch in the morning.

Goan Fisherwoman Picture Credit: https://mthetraveljunkie.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dsc01587.jpg

A typical fish market in Goa

Picture Credit: http://blog.parrikar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/village-market-siridona.jpg

FYI: While I was researching for images on google I came across a YouTube video that had used one of my earlier image as the icon picture for the video and watermark it as their own. It made me very upset since I always credit my images and do not water mark.

Suggestion: 4 medium stuffed mackerel

Ingredients:

4 medium mackerel

5-6 tbsp of goan recheado masala

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup cream of wheat or rava for coating

Salt to taste

Directions:

Clean the mackerel guts and scales. Next butterfly the fish on both side of the bone and leave the bone in.

Apply salt on the inside out and keep aside.

Mix the recheado masala with sugar and salt to taste.

Apply the masala on either side of the fillet and marinate for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan. Coat each sides with cream of wheat or rava or semolina and fry for about 4-5 minutes on each side on medium heat till golden brown.

Enjoy with a side of salad, pulao rice or some steamed vegetables.

The Indian hot and sour soup is one of my husband’s favorite and now it’s my 9-year-old’s as well. I grew up with Indo-Chinese cuisine outside of goan and indian as it was the only other cuisine.  Now a days you can find all sorts of different cuisine in Goa. A Indo-Chinese restaurant called “Gaylin” was the most popular one in Margao.  You can also check out my other Indo-Chinese recipe  Chicken Manchurian.

This recipe is fairly easy and can be done a vegetarian or non-veg version. In the vegetarian version you can add cabbage, green beans, mushroom, carrots, bamboo shoots and tofu and for a non-veg shredded chicken. Else you can leave it as a thick broth without any additions. Last week I  used the same recipe to make chicken wonton soup.

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

6 cups of water or stock

1/2 onion finely chopped

5-7 finely chopped garlic cloves

1″ ginger chopped fine

3 tbsp of corn starch

1.5 tbsp of vinegar

4-5 tbsp of soya sauce

1 tbsp of chili-garlic paste

1/2-1 green chili chopped

salt to taste

Optional

1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage

1/2 cup finely chopped green beans

1/4 cup finely cubed carrots

1/2 cup cubed tofu

1/4 cup bamboo shoot

1/2 cup mushrooms

12-16 wonton

1 egg beaten

1/2 cup shredded chicken

Directions:

In a pot saute the onion and green chili till soften. Next add the ginger, garlic and saute for 30-40 seconds. Next add the vegetables and sweat them for 4-5 minutes.

To this add water or stock, chili-garlic paste, soya sauce, vinegar and salt to season and cook covered for 15 minutes on medium heat. You can add the wonton or tofu or shredded chicken bring to a boil.

Mix the cornstarch with 3-4 tbsp of water to form a paste. Add this mixture to the hot soup and stir till it thickens and starts to bubble. Finally add the beaten egg and stir the soup slowly to get egg stands.

Take of heat and serve hot. You can add fresh chopped cilantro for garnish.

Every time I am on Pinterest I have seen appetizing pictures of Zoodles. It has been on my list for a while. Finally a couple of weeks back I made it for the first time. On my first try I cooked it too long and it became too watery. I kept reducing the time on the stove till I finally felt that I had got it. The best duration to cook the zoodles is adding it to an already heated pan or pot taking it off heat and mixing it gently till the heats transfers and makes them soft without letting out too much water. This is not a very good food for leftovers you got to make it fresh. For the next couple of weeks I used zoodles as substitute for pasta and rice. Enjoyed them with pasta sauce, chicken curry and kung pao chicken. It gives you the same sense of slurping regular pasta or noodles without the extra carbs.

Serving Size: 2-4

Ingredients:

4 medium zucchini or courgette spiralized or julienned

2-3 smashed garlic cloves

1 tbsp of oil

Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a pan add the smashed garlic saute for 15-30 seconds.

Take the pan off heat add the zucchini noodles or zoodles sprinkle salt and toss in gently for 1-2 minutes.

Top the zoodles with warmed pasta sauce, sautéed or curried chicken, vegetables or any creamy sauce of choice. Enjoy a healthy meal. Also enjoy it as a side vegetable dish.

Upma is a very popular south Indian breakfast food. In Goa it is available at the chaia dukan (Tea Stalls) till lunch time, locals call it Uppit. Upma recipes have changed so much that it is now  consumed for lunch or dinner. The newer recipes have toasted nuts and dal, veggies and additional spices. The flavor and aroma are from curry leaves and mustard seeds. My recipe is of the past old days when life and foods were simple and not complicated.

Serving Size: 3-4

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of ghee or oil

1 cup cream of wheat/ rava/ semolina

2.5 cups water

1 medium onion chopped finely

15-20 curry leaves

1 green chilli

1/2 tsp of black brown mustard seeds

2 pinches of asafoetida

1/2 tsp of sugar

1/2 tsp of  salt

Directions:

Heat a non-stick pan and roast the cream of wheat on medium heat by stirring continuously for 5-7 minutes till it has a nice light golden color and a nutty smell.

Take of heat. Heat oil or ghee in a pot. Add the mustard seeds, chilli and curry leaves, saute for 20-35 seconds. Add the onions and saute till light brown. You can add peas and carrots if you like and saute for 1-2 minutes. On the side boil 2.5 cup water add the sugar and salt.

Once onions are soft add the boiling water and slowly add the roasted cream of wheat by stirring continuously till no lumps are formed. check for seasoning.

Cook for about 2-3 minutes till thicken. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. You can now mould the upma or serve as is. Enjoy it hot.

I finally had the courage to make my favorite Indian Dessert called Rasgulla ( Rasagola). Yesterday was Diwali in India, 80% of Indian household celebrated the festival of Lights and Good v/s Evil.  This would be one of the many sweets made. It is also popular in many Indian restaurants. Could be a recipe to be added to this year’s Thanksgiving Feast

These soft pillowy milk curd rounds are cooked in a rose or cardamom infused sugar syrup. There are a few variations to the recipe some use cream of wheat or white flour as a binding agent which is added to the milk curd dough. Making rasgullas is a 2 step process where first you make the chhena (milk curd). Next, after kneading the milk curd to a smooth dough and dividing into small balls is to cook them in a sugar syrup till they double in size.

Do note traditionally the sugar syrup is made with white refined sugar. My syrup has a brown tint as I used organic unrefined sugar. You can use this same recipe to make rasmalai

Serving Size : 3-4

Ingredients:

4 cup of whole milk

3 tbsp of lemon juice

2 cups of water

3/4 – 1 cup of sugar

1/4 tsp of cardamon powder

2 pinches of salt

1 tbsp of rose-water (optional)

Directions:

To make the milk curd. Bring 4 cups of milk to a light boil. Next add the lemon juice and cook it for another 5-7 minutes till all the milk curd separates from the whey.

Drain into a colander covered with a cheesecloth. Rinse the milk curd with water to take off any lemon taste and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Twist the cheesecloth and hang it for about 30 minute. Till most of the liquid drains out.

On a smooth surface knead the milk curd to a smooth dough for about 5-7 minutes.  Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and shape them into balls.

On the side in a new wide mouth pot heat water, sugar and cardamom powder till all the sugar is dissolved add a 2 pinches of salt.

To the boiling syrup now add the milk balls, cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes till they double in size.

Take off heat. Serve them hot with some crushed pistachios and saffron strands or cool it in the refrigerator. Will stay for about a week.