Koli masala : a robust blend of spices and a few curries with it...

It was a completely new bouquet of aromas that hit my senses as soon as I opened a packet of Koli masala given to me by Anita. The creator of this Koli masala blend is Anjali Koli and she had sent packets of this masala for Anita and me. That was long time ago and I used the masala first for a shrimp curry and then a liver curry that I mostly cook for dinner. I was pleased by the results and experimented with the spice blend a bit more, asked Anjali more about the recipes she uses it for and got to know she is a vegetarian. She sent me another large pack of Koli masala that would last me another 6 months or so even after sharing some with a friend.

After talking to Anjali, I started using this Koli masala for vegetables more and was never disappointed. It is a good change for our palate so used to everyday curry powder and the more aromatic garam masala. There is a distinct whiff of patharphool or dagad phool or Chhadeela (the lichen Parmelia perlata) and star anise in this spice blend and chilly peppers are also included so I don't add any chilly powder in the curries when I use it.

One of the most surprisingly good results I got from Moongrey (Rat tailed radish) ki subzi. So much so that I would always want moongrey cooked with Koli masala now, though I like the rat tailed radish salads and moongrey stir fry that I always do. Here is the simple recipe with moongrey and potatoes.

moongrey ki subzi with koli masala...

ingredients..
cleaned and chopped moongrey (rat tailed radish or radish fruits) 2 cups
boiled, cooled, peeled and cubed potatoes 1 cup
chopped tomatoes 3/4 cup
ginger and garlic 1 tsp each
Koli masala 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
cumin powder 1 tsp
mustard oil 1 tbsp
salt to taste

preparation...

Heat mustard oil and tip in the ginger and garlic. Fry till fragrant. Dissolve the powdered spices in 2 tbsp water and pour into the pan, fry till aromatic, for a minute approximately.

Add the potato cubes, fry for about 2 minutes stirring all the while on medium heat.

Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till mushy.

Add the moongrey and keep stirring the mix on low flame till the delicate radish fruits get cooked and soft. Serve hot or warm with roti or daal chawal meals.

This mutton liver fry was the most frequent during winter days, mostly cooked for dinner along with millet rotis. It used to be a comforting warming meal, but now as it has gotten so hot here in Delhi, I just fry the mutton liver with salt and pepper in a little ghee and serve with some parwal ka chokha or lauki ki subzi.

To make this mutton liver with Koli masala, Just cook the ginger garlic in mustard oil first, dissolve powdered spices in a little water and add. Cook briefly, add tomatoes, loads of dhaniya patta with stems and salt to taste and cook till mushy. Add liver and cook for about 20 minutes covered, stirring once in a while.

Another quick curry I do with Koli masala is the chickpeas and spinach curry. The Koli masala and tomatoes and cooked just like the liver curry, then I add the spinach and pressure cooked chickpeas. Cook this mix till the flavours blend. A very unusual chhole palak that goes well with either plain boiled rice or plain roti.

Interestingly, a few vegetables which the husband normally dislikes, were made using this Koli masala and he loved them. Bakla (fava beans) ki subzi is one acid test when trying a new spice blend. He loved this Bakla ki subzi with Koli masala. I normally cook bakla with potatoes and tomatoes and the everyday curry powder, have posted a really easy recipe of bakla here, this one with Koli masala was a nice twist.

ingredients
fava beans (bakla) 250 gm
potatoes cut into batons about 100 gm
sliced onions 50 gm (half a large onion)
chopped garlic 1 tbsp
sliced tomatoes 120 gm (one large ripe tomato)
koli masala 2 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure..

Remove stems and string the fava beans. Cut into halves if they are too large.

Heat mustard oil in a kadhai and tip in the chopped garlic and slice onions followed by batons of potato. Stir fry for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the fava beans and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the koli masala and mix well. Keep stirring for about a minute on low flame.

Add the sliced tomatoes and salt and keep stirring and cooking till the tomatoes get a bit mushy. Add half a cup of water, cover the pan and simmer for about 5 minutes or till the vegetables are cooked through.

Serve hot with roti and daal or even with plain boiled rice.

I cook bakla with slivers of potato sometimes, just with a tempering of green chillies and sliced garlic cloves. Essentially in mustard oil. I dunk everything at once in hot mustard oil along with salt to taste and cook them all on medium heat till garlic slices are browned well, potato slivers are nice and golden and bakla is cooked through. This time I sprinkled a little Koli masala and it tasted good. Just take care to cook the vegetables after adding spice blend well for a few seconds in this one.

Another try was with chopped green beans (French beans) and peas with tomatoes, with added paneer cubes. This one was a dry subzi made for Arvind's lunch box.

ingredients
chopped green beans 1 cup
green peas 1 cup
chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup
chopped garlic and ginger 1 tsp each
cubed paneer 100 gm (3/4 cup)
mustard oil 1 tbsp
Koli masala 1 tsp
black pepper powder 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

preparation

Heat mustard oil and tip in the ginger and garlic. Let them fry till fragrant. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till mushy. Add the Koli masala, turmeric powder and pepper powder and cook for a few seconds.

Add the peas and chopped beans, cover and cook till done. Stir in between to coat them well with the spices.

Add paneer cubes, mix well and cook covered for a couple of minutes. Serve hot with roti or daal chawal or as desired.

Just take care to add the Koli masala at a stage when it needs a bit of frying or cooking at medium flame so the spice blend gets cooked well. It is a robustly flavoured spice blend and stays well in the curry, does not evaporate like aromatic gram masala. I found that most of the vegetables take on the flavours well, especially in the presence of tomatoes or tamarind.

The good thing is, you can buy the Koli masala at Anjali's website. The spices are milled under her supervision and I found the quality really good. I never buy or use any packaged spice blends but this one would be an exception. This is home made. 

mutton liver curry with southern flavors...

I work hard to get the taste right for the ingredients I don't like otherwise. Mutton Liver was one such organ meat I never could develop my taste for in the initial days of my non vegetarianism.

Later when I realised that Arvind needed to eat mutton Liver frequently, I was petrified to think of the awful smell it emanates while cooking. He would ask me just to fry in salt n pepper with ghee as he loved it this way. A couple of times with the simple salt n pepper Liver fry and I was off with it for ever. Couldn't develop a taste for it, although many of our friends declared that was their favorite way to enjoy any organ meat.

I digressed, naturally towards the more flavorful versions of Liver curry. I am happy I did. Many yummy discoveries were made and mutton Liver is no more a horror..

I prefer cooking mutton Liver in a wet gravy or with watery vegetables and not a dry stir fry in ghee or oil. One with pumpkin and a lot of red chilly powder with a tempering of Nigella seeds is quite a favorite.The water content of the vegetables keep the Liver moist even when it cooks for a bit longer, which I prefer as I don't like a reddish flesh inside while biting into it.

So this curry was made in a jiffy, a few ingredients were made into a coarse paste and dunked into oil. Added the Liver after a while and cooked some more. That's it.

The taste is amazingly complex and rich for a simple procedure like this. The ingredients do the magic here. Procedure is almost three step.Read on....

ingredients...
(for 3-5 servings)
Mutton Liver 250 gm

For paste no. 1....
curry patta 10-15 springs (depending on how mature they are)
Ginger root 1 inch piece roughly chopped
Garlic cloves 5 fat ones
Shallots a dozen (do not replace it with regular onions, baby red onions would do)
Dry piece of Tamarind 1/2 inch chopped
Dry red chillies 3-4 or to taste (tamarind balances heat so add a little more than you normally do)
Black pepper corns 6-8
salt to taste

For paste no. 2..
One large red ripe Tomato(about 100 gm)

Sesame oil 1 tbsp

procedure...

Make the paste number one, a coarse paste is intended, so don't worry to make it too smooth. Empty the blender directly into the pan and then blend the tomato in the same without rinsing. Use as directed.

Heat the oil in a kadhai and tip in the first paste that was made. Stir a few times for a couple of minutes till the  oils comes on top. No need to add water.

Now add the tomato paste too and along with it the Liver pieces. Mix well and cook covered for 10 minutes on low flame.

Serve hot.

This is something worth repeating every week. A complex heat from red chillies, black pepper corns and ginger, a complex sourness from tomatoes and tamarind used together and the aromatic curry patta. The flavors are sealed.

This Liver fry with Curry patta is good too if you want to have a dry stir fry with mutton Liver.

Here is another mutton Liver dry curry with Coriander greens. Very flavorful, a little tangy and a bit hot. I just realised I have many more mutton Liver recipes waiting in the drafts, planning to post them one by one while I restore the pictures that I lost sometime back :(

This tangy and hot curry was something I would recommend when you have the fresh curry patta, some Shallots and Tamarind at hand. Any ingredient substituted and you miss the flavors.I am wondering how a vegetarian curry would taste with this quick gravy. May be some soy nuggets or tofu or simply poatoes?
What say?

liver masala fry with curry patta ...

A dry spicy curry with goat liver. North Indian masala and curry patta make a nice combination , this is what this goat liver fry taught me.

Goat liver is a regular on my table for supplementing my otherwise low fat and fiber rich food . At least once a week . And i need variety in my food so it is inevitable to keep trying different seasonings and spice mixes...to top it all my cooking needs to be time saving most of the times.

ingredients ...
(4 servings)
goat liver 300 gm
finely chopped onion 1 cup
finely chopped tomatoes 1 cup
finely chopped curry patta 1 cup tightly packed
ginger garlic and green chillies paste 2 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
cloves 3-4 nos.
black cardamom 1 no. crushed lightly
cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
everyday curry powder 1 tbsp
(or a powder made with coriander, cumin n peppercorns in 2:1:1 ratio with some bay leaves thrown in)
turmeric powder 2 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure...

Since everything needs to be chopped really fine , it is better to use a food processor or a chopper gadget , or trust your knife with your fingers...

Heat oil in a kadai and throw in the cumin seeds and whole spices in that order. Immediately add the chopped onion , chopped curry patta and salt and stir fry on high heat for a while . The onion paste should get translucent but not pink or brown.

Add the powder spices , mix well to get them cooked and aromatic.

Now add the tomato paste , mix well and cook for a while . Add the goat liver pieces and keep frying for a couple of minutes. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes . There is enough moisture in onion and tomatoes to cook the liver , but you can sprinkle some water in between to prevent burning the cooking mixture...

Stir fry some more after uncovering the pan , till the liver pieces are done and the spice mix sticks to the pieces well .

Serve hot with chapatis or as a side dish for a full course meal. It makes a nice starter too as many people like the liver pieces all by themselves. My favorite way to have them is with chapatis.

keema matar ... minced meat with green peas...

Who doesn't like keema matar , minced meat and peas curry ... and who doesn't like meat without fuss ...so here you are with an authentic keema matar . The way it is made in UP kitchens ...

This is a recipe of keema matar by some masterchef I once saw on TV many years ago . I was a vegetarian then and learnt this recipe for the husband .... now i like my nonveg food and this recipe has become the one authentic keema matar in my repertoire ... I have cooked this keema matar for a 40 something get together once and it was the most sought after dish that day....and it is so whenever i cook it even now....
 ( make sure you include some of the mutton fat when cooking this keema matar for a large crowd , big quantities turn out more yummy this way and the curry will be rich too )

I nice fragrant bowl of keema matar , is something like a comfort food for many. I like it with a hot and fluffy naan , fresh out of the oven ... or as i make it on my stove top.

I prefer coarse mince for my keema matar so i have to instruct the butcher specially to make it like this. The coarsely minced keema is better for a dry curry and a fine mince will be better for a gravy like curry , the peas almost floating in a dense gravy....so choose the mince the way you want it. The procedure for the curry will be the same.

I use my home made curry powders for this keema matar , and that makes this curry even more flavorful . If you don't use this spice powder , you can use your own spice mixes if they are close to these powders in flavor...

So here is the step wise procedure ....

Heat oil in a thick base kadai , throw in the cumin seeds . Add the chopped onions after the cumin seeds start spluttering ...After the onions become pinkish , add the ginger garlic paste and fry till everything gets cooked but not browned....

 Add the everyday curry masala , turmeric powder and the red chilly powder ... mix well keeping the flame very low at this point as the powders may get burnt otherwise. Sprinkling a little water while frying the masala will be better if it is getting smoky...Let it fry nicely till aromatic .Add salt to taste.

Add the minced meat , mix well and keep stirring and frying on low heat..The meat starts getting brownish first , the small pieces shrink a bit and then everything gets homogeneous while frying . This step takes about 20 minutes of dry frying ( bhuno) on low flame...

 Add the green peas to the cooking mixture and mix .... adjust salt and add some additional black pepper at this step . Add the special garam masala too . addition of black pepper powder and garam masala at later stage of cooking is done because the aroma is preserved better this way .

Add the curds , mix well and bhuno some more till the mixture turns almost dry again. i normally do not need any cover or lid on the kadai as this is cooked on low flame and is stirred almost all the time . Many things can be done while this curry is cooking a s it takes quite a long time to cook , using finely minced keema minimizes time though...do multitasking as you go...



Now is the time to add the green aromatics... the mint...

Mint is crucial to this recipe as it provides a nice earthy flavor to the curry...chopped green chillies also go with the mint ...It will take just a couple of minutes more on the heat.
Cover lastly and let it rest off heat for a few more minutes..


Serve hot with naans or chapatis....buttered or plain...I like it with plain whole wheat naan...home cooked glory...at it's best...

Let me list the ingredients ...for 3- 4 portions....

keema (minced meat) 300 gm
green peas 200 gm
diced onions 1.5 cup
ginger garlic coarsely pounded 2 tbsp
everyday curry powder 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 2 tsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp or to taste
special garam masala powder 1 tsp

black pepper powder 1/2 tsp
fresh curds 1 cup
chopped mint leaves 1/2 cup
chopped green chillies 1 tbsp ( optional)
ghee 2 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp

The keema matar will see you smiling after all the cooking and stirring you did over the stove top....The aroma of mint leaves is great ... i like mint leaves in my biryani too...just do not cook too much after adding the mint if you like it aromatic , otherwise too the flavor is good...

I make the keema matar kaleji too by this same recipe . I just boil the liver pieces in a separate pan with salt and turmeric . When the liver pieces are soft and done and almost dry in the cooking liquid , add them to the cooked keema matar .... i do it with the leftover keema matar sometimes . Cooking the liver pieces with the curry is not advised as the taste changes a lot.....boiling the liver separately allows the flavors of the keema matar stay well and the liver is having it's own burst of taste when you bite into the pieces....

I do not like mutton liver normally , but with keema matar it can be a good treat . Those nuggets of liver in the keema matar are really delectable...

There is one more variation to this keema matar recipe , a vegetarian version of keema matar . Just use boiled and drained soya granules ( nutrela types) instead of keema and you have a nice quick yummy curry...and this one cooks fast.

enjoy....

kaali mirch noon

Mutton is something we eat very occasionally and i do not like the liver , i have posted a liver recipe cooked with coriander greens earlier but most of the times i cook it along with the meat , i was not aware of the fact that liver cooks faster n i used to cook it as long as the meat , so it used to get a bit hard ..... i came to know about it on Ushnish's blog that liver should be cooked just for 5-7 minutes ( i cooked it for 15 minutes here ) to retain it's texture.

Keeping that in mind i added liver in the curry in the last phase of cooking and even marinated the liver separately....this is a tried and tested recipe which i saw on TV some years back when i was a new meat eater , the recipe is simple and at that time a new meat eater n a reluctant cook could do it well and the result was very encouraging.........needless to say it has been repeated quite often ........

Along the time i have tweaked the recipe according to our liking .....i use only the coriander stems to avoid making it green n for a greater coriander taste , also i have minimized the use of oil ....the recipe needs more oil because there is no water used during cooking n the meat sticks to the base of kadai , but i keep sprinkling water in between to prevent this , also i have added slit green chillies to it as the recipe does not use any chillies in it ...i add them in the end so they don't give the curry any flavor or heat , but they are yummy when a piece of roti is used to wrap it n mop the scant gravy........

ingredients...

mutton 500 gm ( i used with bone but the recipe specifies boneless )
100 gm coriander leaves ( i used the stems only )
1 tbsp black pepper whole
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 inch piece of ginger
15 flakes of garlic ( indian ones )
lemon juice 1 tbsp
ghee or oil 1 tbsp ( the recipe specifies 1/2 cup )
10 slit green chillies ( not used in the original recipe)
ginger julienne 1 tbsp

procedure...

Apart from mutton , green chillies , pepper powder , ginger julienne  and oil .....grind everything into a fine paste and keep aside..

The recipe requires the mutton pieces to be pounded with a hammer , i do not follow that........it's already dead man !!  aur mat maaro usko !!

Marinate the meat ( i marinated the liver pieces separately )  into the paste for an hour or more if you wish ( may be overnight in the fridge)...

 Heat oil in a heavy base kadai ( i used my cast iron one )  and dunk all the meat into it , stir and cook on very low heat till cooked .....i cooked for 50 minutes , turning and stirring every 15 -20 minutes and sprinkling 1/4 cup of water each time i stirred .......after 35 minutes of cooking i added the liver pieces and cooked till done .......sprinkle the pepper powder , half the ginger julienne and slit green chillies  , mix well and keep covered for 10 minutes...

And yes , the liver pieces were good this way...i am going to do it always...

It's ready to eat with roti or naan or any kind of flat bread....serve garnished with the remaining ginger julienne.....i love those ginger sticks with the gravy.......and those green chilies too , i picked them all and wanted more of them....any one out there who likes green chilies like this ??

Enjoy a healthy mutton recipe......do you know that the stems of coriander are good for improving you cholesterol profile ??
 
See i fixed the problem with mutton...100 gm coriander stems with 500 gm mutton.......do not think about cholesterol now..........what say....

kaleji masala dhaniye wala

Mutton liver is called kaleji in Uttar Pradesh and it is cooked as a dryish curry mostly to be enjoyed with parathas ....mutton liver has a distinct taste of it's own and does not soak much flavor it seems....at least i am in this impression till now , actually the reason is , i myself do not like liver pieces much ....but the husband is very fond of kaleji.....the dry liver roast is a common recipe we usually make at home but since i want some more flavor into the otherwise boring kaleji , i do include some intense flavor in the form of green coriander...other herbs may work well too but with a strong n hot masala curry i love the intensity of green coriander .......... to make the green coriander flavor more intense i choose mature coriander plants for such curry and use the roots and stems during frying the masala and the leaves for garnish.......this way the kaleji masala is transformed to another level altogether.......

ingredients......

mutton liver 300 gm
onions finely chopped 1/4 cup
ginger garlic paste 3 tbsp
hot red chilly powder 2 tsp or as per taste
turmeric powder 2 tsp
everyday curry powder 2 tbsp ( any north indian curry powder can be used according to your taste)
special garam masala powder 1.5 tsp ( this powder is very aromatic and gives good results , do not substitute if possible)
coriander greens ( mature) 150 gm
lemon juice 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp
whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
whole dry red chillies 2 nos.

procedure.....

Clean the coriander greens and chop them keeping the stems and roots separate from the leaves ...take care to chop the roots n stems very finely or make a coarse paste ...keep the leaves aside , coarsely choppes for garnish  or last minute addition as i did....

Now heat oil in a thick base kadai and throw in the cumin seeds to splutter....add the dry red chillies too...

Quickly throw in the chopped onions and let them brown on medium heat , then mix in the ginger garlic paste and the powders with a tbsp of water and keep stirring till the aroma of roasted spices starts wafting through...

Add the liver pieces , coat them well with the masala and keep stirring to cook from all sides.....sprinkle some water and cover to cook............it may take about 20 minutes till it's almost done.......

This is the time to add the coriander roots n stems ...mix them well with the liver n masala , turn the flame to lowest and let the flavors settle in while cooking slowly ....for about 10 minutes....add some water if want to keep a little gravy as i did ....

Open the lid, sprinkle all the coriander leaves and lemon juice , mix lightly , cover again and put off the flame....let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving....

The powerful aroma of coriander greens makes this masala gravy very very tempting and the essential oils of the coriander greens which are more concentrated in the roots and stems are capable to penetrate the liver pieces as well, making it more appetizing for a person like me who tries to avoid kaleji otherwise...

We enjoyed it with plain boiled rice and some tomatoes n onion rings on side......yummy...