Groovy Island Girl: Sunday Recipes - i travelled to india & mexico

I traveled from Indian to Mexico in one day that was what I did - if only in my dream .. I did however travel from my kitchen of course … to my pallets with a blend of an Indian and Mexican dish. I was just in one those cooking moods so I decided a dish for today and another that can last for a few days and can be eaten at any time. I ended up making Keema Mattar a minced meat dish that is from the Subcontinent and it’s eaten with a kind of flat bread called chappati and some tomato & avocado salsa which is fast, quick and taste better if its kept overnight. I usually eat the salsa either on its own or with saltine crackers.

Keema mattar is a popular dish from the sub continents of India and Pakistan. It’s a spicy dish with potatoes and peas and yogurt. Keema is actually minced meat and mattar is peas. Chappatis are a kind of flat bread eaten mainly in the northern states of the sub continent. They are made out of atta flour which is actually wheat flour made out of hard wheat. According to wikipedia hard have a high level of protein and seeing that dough made of atta flour are strong they can be rolled out very thingy. It is a high source of fiber and if the flour is made the traditional way it imparts an aroma and gives a distinct taste to the bread.

The traditional way of making chappatis is a tedious process for someone with no experience like me. Thought I have tried it once I noticed it didn’t quiet come out the way I enjoy my store bought fresly rolled chappatis form Serangoon Road which is also known as Little India and it’s the place when you can find everything from Indian, Pakistan & Bangledesh. Anyways, the making of fresh chappatis involved kneading and rolling and cooking the flatten dough on a round flat skillet turning it about quickly. The finally product is a soft fluffy piece of flat bread as shown below. But hail modern technology they have frozen chappatis which are as good. My favorite brand would be the ‘Kawan’ brand which is a Malaysian product. It is pretty close to the real deal and truly delish. But for those who are keen on trying the home made chappatis I have also included a recipe of it.

the atta flour

atta dough rolled out & cooked chappatis

chappati cooking on a flat pan

**Keema Mattar

Ingredients: (serves 4)
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp ginger garlic paste mix
1 small onion (coarsely chopped)
1 potato (diced)
2 inch fresh ginger (coarsely chopped)
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp ground tumeric
2 tsp cayenne pepper (more can be added if you like it hot)
1 medium tomato (coarsely chopped)
½ cup plain yogurt
1 ½ pounds minced lamb or beef
2 tsp garam masala *
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 green chillies (chopped)
6 tbsp fresh cilantro(coriander)(chopped)
1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
Salt to taste

Directions
1-Heat oil in a pan. Throw in onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Stir and fry it until it
browns.
2-Put in the cayenne pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and turmeric. Stir once or
twice.
3-Put in the tomatoes and yogurt. Stir on high heat until tomato is soft.
4-Put in potatoes,meat,salt,garam masala.Stir breaking any clumps for about 2 minutes.
5-Put in one cup water. Stir and bring in to simmer for 25mins.
6-Add lemon juice, green chillies, cilantro and peas. Stir and bring back to simmer.
7-Cover and cook on low heat for 10mins.
8- Feel free to adjust the spiciness of the dish.

*Garam masala can either be made fresh or bought ready made at Indian stalls which sell spices. While writing this blog I learnt what garam masala actually translates too. Garam is the Indian world for hot/spicy and masala is the Indian word for spices hence garam masala. Makes sense to me. Garam masala is a mixture of roasted spices like cumin, coriander, cardamom etc. here is a recipe for the adventurous soul who is keen on making homemade garam masala . Me I just get them ready made so much for adventure huh … heehee..

Garam Masala

Ingredients
4 tablespoons cumin seends
4 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 table spoon cardamom seeds
2 Cinnamon sticks ,crushed
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons whole cloves

Directions:
1- Dry roast all ingredients in a heated heavy skillet over medium heat until the
spices emit a toasty aroma.
2- Let cool.
3- Grind to a powder in a spice mill or blender.

the color of a beautifully done garam masala

Chappatis
Ingredients:
Atta flour // 1 tsp salt // 1 tsp ghee(clarified butter)
Warm water

Directions: 1- Prepare dough by mixing together ½ cup of water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ghee and
just enough wheat flour.

2-Knead well till smooth and soft.

3- Keep aside for an hour.

4-Then shape parts of dough into balls .

5- Dust with atta flour.

6-Roll into chapatis on a rolling board.

7- Smear flat pan with ghee. Keep on flame.

8- Roast both sides of chapati on the flat pan moderately about 2 mins on each side.

The finish product chappatis (store bought) & keema mattar …

** the recipe for keema mattar was from a recipe by Madhur Jeffreys that I found a few years back and im not really sure from which website.

And from a very long blog on Indian food I make my way to Mexico for a very simple dish of tomato avocado salsa. Simple, fast and delicious. I am sure there are many variations of this but this is my version – at least it hasn’t failed me yet.

Tomato & Avocado Salsa

Ingredients
4 medium sized tomatoes (diced)
1 yellow bell pepper (diced)
1 large white onion (diced)
1 avocado (diced)
3 green chilies (seeded & chopped)
½ cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

Dressing
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
A pinch of salt
Pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:
1- Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together. Pour over mixed vegetables
2-Place all the diced and chopped ingredients in a bowl and pour dressing over.
Mix well. Cover With cling wrap and leave it in the fridge for an hour until all
the flavors are infused.

And here you have it tomato & avocado salsa with saltine crackers …