Louisiana Red Beans

INGREDIENTS

250 grams red beans
3 onions
1 capsicum
Garlic (half a pod)
Chilli powder
Salt
Sausage (optional)

METHOD


1. Soak red beans (rajma) overnight.

2. Start your red beans cooking with water and salt. Boil until soft (or pressure cook).

3. Chop onions, garlic and capsicum.

4. Heat oil in different pan (oil should almost cover the bottom of the pan). Before it gets too hot, add 2 tablespoons of sugar.

5. As soon as it has melted (as soon as you see the first whiff of smoke), add the chopped onions, capsicum and garlic to fry in the melted sugar until soft.

6. Scoop about half of the cooked red beans into another dish, and mash them.

7. Fry the mashed beans with the onion and garlic. Add a little water if necessary.

8. Add the rest of the beans, add pieces of sausage, and enough water to cook it a little more. Add salt to taste.

9. Don’t forget to eat over rice.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

INGREDIENTS

FOR MEAT BALLS (form balls & deep fry for a short  while)
½ kg mince
5 rashers bacon- (chop)
5 slices of bread
1 egg
½ pod garlic (paste)
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp mustard
1 level tsp chili pdr
Salt

3 pkts noodles- (boil)
OPT- Grated cheese

FOR SAUCE

Chop fine-
2 med onions
2 med capsicums
3 spring onions
2 stalks celery

½ pod garlic (paste)
½ kg tomato (puree)
3 sprigs mint (chop)
½ cup tomato sauce
½ tsp pepper
2 dsp flour
1 bay leaf
2 tsp sugar
1 beef-stock cube

METHOD

Fry onions, spring onions and garlic till golden. Add flour and immediately add tomato puree with 4 cups water. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Add meat balls (fried) and simmer for another 10 minutes. Garnish with mint. Serve with noodles and grated cheese.

Shami Kebabs

INGREDIENTS 

A - Pressure cook
½ kg mince
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup channa-dal
4 pepper corns
½ garlic pod
2 gr. Cardamoms
½ tsp chilli pdr 
3 cloves
1tsp jeera pdr

1 tbsp finely chopped onion, mint & green chilies
1 tsp dhania pdr
Egg white (opt)

METHOD

Pressure cook all ingredients under A for 20 minutes with 1 ½ cup water. Dry up in a non-stick pan. When cool, grind, mix in remaining ingredients, shape into flat cakes. Fry over hot flame with very little oil. Garnish with onion rings, mint sprigs, lime.

Shahi Korma

INGREDIENTS

1 kg undercut/mutton/veal
2 large onions
1 ½ cup curd
1 tbsp nuts

A-Grind 
2 tbsp ginger
1 pod garlic
2 tsp dhania seed

2 tej patta [bay leaves]
½ cup cream

B- Dry grind 
2 tsp khus-khus
1 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp jeera
3 cloves
2 pieces cinnamon
3 cardamoms
1 tsp dhania

METHOD

Cut meat into pieces. Marinade in A for as long as possible (½ hr- 4 hrs). Slice onions thin and fry till golden brown. Remove and drain. Grind nuts. Mix B into meat and cook piece by piece on hot fire. Fry well. Add curd, nuts, tej patta and 1 cup water. Simmer gently. Add cream just before serving. Garnish with fried onions.

Rishtas

INGREDIENTS

¾ kg mince
3 tbsp thick curd
2 tsp sunt
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp hing
½ tsp chilli pdr
Oil for frying

Dry Grind
3 cardamoms
3 tsp dhania seed
1 ½ tsp jeera
4 cloves
1’’ cinnamon
Small piece nutmeg
½ tsp peppercorn

METHOD

Squeeze out mince well. Add all ingredients & mix. Marinade for 1 hour or more. Form into sausage shapes. Fry on medium flame with little oil till juices dry up. Serve with onion rings, mint leaves & lime wedges.

Palak Ghosh

INGREDIENTS

2-3 bundles palak [spinach] 
1 ¼ tsp haldi
½ kg meat [undercut]
1 ½ tsp gin garlic paste
1 large onion (chop)
Oil
½ tsp garam masala
1 dsp vinegar
1 ½ tsp dhania pdr
Salt
1 ½ tsp jeera pdr
2 potatoes (cut into quarters)

METHOD

Marinade meat in ginger garlic paste & vinegar as long as possible. Add dry masalas to it. Wash palak well and boil in very little water till soft. Puree when cold. Heat oil. Fry chopped onion. Add meat piece by piece with hot fire. Brown well. Add palak, potatoes and water-1 cup. Simmer till cooked. (If ordinary meat is used pressure cook for about 30 mins and then add potatoes.)

Meat Loaf

INGREDIENTS

¾ kg minced beef [squeeze out well]
Few mint leaves [chop]
3[or more] rashers of bacon [mince]
½ tsp pepper 4 slices bread [keep open to dry a bit]
Salt to taste
1 egg
1 tsp mustard
1 dsp vinegar
1 dsp chilli sauce [opt]

METHOD

Mix all ingredients well and put into a dekshi with a well-fitting lid. Place on a trivet in a pressure cooker with about 4 cups water below. Pressure cook for about 40 minutes.

NB. Grind to a paste with a little oil to use as a sandwich spread. Sufficient for 2 to 3 loaves of bread