Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Mirchi etc ;)

Precisely! because when mirchis make an appearance, everything else becomes etc! (sorry Pel, that was really tough to resist) :-D. Its all about mirchis this months, folks :)). As i wondered if i would be able to participate in this month's JFI, i simultaneously made plans of having a quick dinner.....i was home quite late, again! And then, news flash, how about using mirchis as a key ingredient to spice up a quick meal!! I got home and.....what did i do? Jazzed up a simple parantha with gorgeous looking Anaheim chillies and even got the energy to dish up a delicious daal with chillies for my lunch tomorrow :)). I can see the wink-wink, folks, Musical makes paranthas and kadhis with everything :-D.



So these two quick recipes go to the very creative Nandita (of Saffron Trail fame) who is hosting this month's JFI:chillies, a lovely blog event created by dear Indira (Mahanandi).

On to the food.....

Mirchi-pudina-cheese parantha:

We need:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • 3 big Anaheim chillies (chopped fine)
  • 1 tbsp. dried Pudina leaves (crushed)
  • Water to make a dough
  • Fresh mozzarella cheese for filling
  • Ghee for frying

Make a dough with whole wheat, salt, chillies and pudina leaves. Roll the paranthas and fill them out as shown here. Fry on the griddle with lil' bit ghee. Serve hot with plain dahi for a nice filling breakfast, lunch or dinner.

As for variations: Try dried Rosemary or Oregano :). Try some of your other favorite cheese variety. And trust me, this parantha wouldn't taste the same without MIRCHI :-D. If you want to make a kulcha with these ingredients, simply make the dough with curds instead and let it rest for 2 hrs. or so. Knead again and proceed to make the kulchas-which are paranthas from raised dough.

Masoor daal with mirchi:

This is my friend MD's all time favorite daal and is based on her Bengali recipe :).


We need:

  • 1 cup masoor daal
  • 1/2 tsp. panch-phoron
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped (my addition)
  • 1 small tomato (chopped, optional)
  • 6-7 green Thai chillies (slit) or 2 big Anaheim chillies(chopped into 1" pieces)
  • 1 tsp. oil
  • A pinch of turmeric (not more)
  • Salt to taste

Pressure cook the masoor daal for 2-3 whistles. For the tadka, spultter the panch-phoron (mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds). Add the ginger and chillies, saute' and add the tomatoes, followed by the turmeric. Cook 2-3 minutes and add to the daal. Stir the tadka in, add salt and bring the daal to boil.

Enjoy with some plain boiled rice :).

37 comments:

Tee said...

These sure are two hot recipes ;)
I loved your parathas...never tried making them with fresh mozarella, must be tasting outrageous! :)

Nupur said...

I second Tee: Outrageous is the only way to describe spicy parathas stuffed with melting stretchy mozzarella! I have to make this as a treat for V!

Suganya said...

And you say that you were late and dint have time. Look at yr entries, Wow! I have stuffed my kulchas with cottage cheese, but yrs is pizzanthas ;)

evolvingtastes said...

Not just Musical, but all Punjs makes parathas with anything, and that is a very good thing. Accha, what would gramma say about Cheese in parathas? And another question - are paneer stuffed parathas traditional or modern?

Saju said...

these are great recipe, Musical. Parathas with Mozzarella and Dal....... all i can say is YUM!

Vanamala Hebbar said...

Hi
I loved your parathas recipe...hot hot!!! :)

musical said...

Tee:

I love the word "hot", they are hot indeed :-D. more so, because i love my weekend breakfasts spicy, so i'll make the same paranthas this weekend :)).

Nupur:

Outrageous, he he, i agree too, mirchis can do that ;). I hope V enjoys it :).

musical said...

Suganya:

Paranthas an khichdis are my standard quick fixes :). and the mirchis in parantha gave me extar boost to make some daal :). I remember your leek and cottage cheese kulchas, and i loved them! "Pizzaranthas", now that totally cracked me up :)).

Evolovingtastes:

I agree, Punjus just make paranthas with everything, fresh stuff, left overs, you name it! Grandma may not like the idea of using "cheese" or "vilayati paneer"-but once she tastes it, she'll start using it herself :). Most Grandmas are very adaptive to new things. Paneer paranthas have recently become traditional (in past 60-70 years or so.....), the origin i guess was using left over burji to make a parantha.

Saju:

Thank you, dear :). You are generous :). Hope you'll enjoy these.

musical said...

Vanamala:

Welcome to my lil' corner.....and thanks a ton for the warm words :).

Poonam said...

Thats a thoughtful combination! Never had mozzarella cheese stuffed into parathas! And that too spicy..Phew!

Sia said...

u call making paratas n dal quick fix???? u r tooooooooooooo much:)

evolvingtastes said...

Musical, it just occurred to me that my previous comment could have sounded flippant, and I wanted to assure it wasn't meant to be! I know you wouldn't think so, but wanted to let you know anyway.

FH said...

Oh baby!! Mozzarella parathas!! I am moving in with you!!:D
Really a great recipe and to dip that in golden Moong dal,that's the limit!! Great entry M!

musical said...

Poonam:

Thanks dear! Paranthas with cheese are just delish, you must try them sometime :).

Sia:

It is! believe me- while the tawa is heating, you make the dough-and you have a parantha in the next 5 minutes. Ofcourse, if you making them for a big group, its a different thing. but for one person, it is a quick fix :).

musical said...

Evolvingtastes:

No sweetie, your comment was cute :). No worries (but i guess you are quite like me, and watch your words a lot!)-cheers :).

Ashakka:

Anytime, dear! I am waiting :). I am glas you like these ideas. When is your eye-surgey-wish you the best for the same. hugs :).

Pelicano said...

Um...er....uh....etc?!!!! :-D Nice post...oregano or rosemary eh? Hmmmm....

The paranthas look very tempting Musical, o' obvious chile-head. ;-) The dhal, divine; I've never had panch phoran with dhal before, but this recipe looks easy and tasty, but mostly I'm wracking my brain right now to try and dream up a last-minute entry for the JFI...tomorrow? Oh dear... I'll be awake all night if I do!

musical said...

Pel:

I bet you are tempted by Mirchi etc ;). He he, you know my love for rosemary :-D. i put it in anything and everything ;). Try the daal, dear-you'll love it. Its a really quick one to make. No much chopping, dicing etc :).

Burn the midnight oil.....am sure something good is gonna' come out of the sleep deprvide culinary (ad)ventures :).

Sharmi said...

those spices in the dal and the parathas hmmmmm I cam feel the warmth and aroma through your pics Surili!
the parantha looks out of this world!!

musical said...

Hey Sharmi,

You are really sweet :). If only the computers were so advanced to actually let us truly benefit from all those wonderful RCI thaalis :). i truly wish there would be a way to embed aromas and tastes in a post.....just like one embeds audios and videos :)).

Sig said...

so you just whipped those out, huh? :)You are amazing...
I could eat anything if you put some spice in it, but here you have cheese and chilis in paranthas... wow, just yum girl... :)

musical said...

Hey Sig,

Thanks :)). Chillies and Chesse, i know, as if one of them was not sinful enough :-D. oh! and you love spicy too? i love me some company :)).

Richa said...

hey, the paratha looks too inviting, i'm inviting myself over :) par ek naal mera ki hoga :) massor dal is such a delite

Priyanka said...

Those are some really spicy parathas... m trying to lose weight or would have tried it out with the mozarella...:) But i will sure try out the dal

Bong Mom said...

Good to see my favourite dal here :) Mirchi laagi...

musical said...

Richa:

Aa jao ji, tussin jinne paranthe kaho bana deyange :). paranthas with chai, that would be fun! and yes, i love masoor daal :).

Priyanka:

Sure, do try the daal. and try the paranthas when you've reached your target :).

Sandeepa:

Aajkal kahan hain aap? Busy busy? i love the "mirchi lagi" statement ;).

Mishmash ! said...

Musical my dear, you saying making parantha is quick for you...ahem....I am thinking of rolling chappathi's for dinner and also thinking of alternate options :))) Chili parantha is cool idea, but does the cheese mellow down the heat?

Shn

musical said...

He he, Shn, that was cute :). Well, cheese mellows the mirchi, just a lil' bit, the mirchi smell and taste is still good! I use stronger chillies for this, so it stays fine.

Coffee said...

Now thats one hell of a combination!!! Mirchi.. phudina.. cheese! What will I not give for them! :)

I am one lazy bum when it comes to rolling anything.. and look at you... coming home late and still have all the energy to cook up a paratha!

musical said...

Coffee:

"What will i not give for them"

that humungous display of pickles and preserves from your blog :-D they go well with paranthas ;)

You are lazy when it come to rolling? yeah sure, and still we have MBP: lets' roll :))

Thank you, Coffee! all i need is a great cup of coffee and i'll make as many paranthas as you want :).

Anonymous said...

I'll make you gallons and gallons of Coffee - oops! I mean coffee. ;-)

I might give your parathas a roll this weekend. I like the idea of melted mozzarella cheese inside a paratha.

musical said...

Hey Manisha,

Even a cup is good enough :). I love the taste of melted cheese (dreams.....).

enjoy,
musical.

sunita said...

I don't mind parathas every day...provided someone makes them for me ;)...loved your recipes..and they're really making me hungry now.

musical said...

Hey Sunita,

Thanks, dear! I would love someone making them for me too! Ah, the days when Mom was there :).

Pelicano said...

Forget the dhal! :-)
I really can't stop thinking about these paranthes, Musical... the combo of cheese and green chiles- you MUST have tried jalapeno poppers by now, yes?

Despite the rolling part, despite trying to shed a few pounds, these are easier and healthier than the poppers; plus I'd get that same "fix"...yep. I'll be making these. Or should I go out for a few drinks? Chile-cheese paranthes....drinks...paranthes...hmmmmm Tough decision! ;-)

musical said...

Hey Pel:

Yup, i have tried them with jalapenos! he he, you trying to shed pounds ;). is it even possible while food-blogging :-D. jokes apart, try them as chapatis and use skim mozzarella, in case you are into weight watching :).

forget the drinks, enjoy a guilt free chapati snack :).

Viji said...

These parathas are inviting musical. A must try item. Will try some time. The dhal is perfect combo for this spicy parathas. Very nice. Viji

musical said...

Hey Viji:

Thanks (blush)! Do try these, if you like it hot, you'll love them!

enjoy,
musical.