Bibha Kumar

Hi, I am Bibha Kumar your host for the mid-morning show on every Friday between 10 and 11.

In my show I mainly talk about foods and look at it from different angles to raise awareness for a healthy lifestyle in the community. Important interviews are arranged with the experts who provide their insight regarding diet and nutrition. There are also interviews with the people of various organisations that deal with foods and the lifestyle.

I originally come from India so naturally I love Hindi songs. However living in the UK for a long time I have developed a liking for western music as well. I like the melodious songs mostly with good lyrics and that is what you can hear in my show.

As I love cooking both Asian and western dishes, the dish of the day is naturally a regular feature in my show. If it is difficult for you to note down the recipes given in the show I can put my recipes on the website for you. I do hope you try these dishes. If you do, please let me know how you like them. My email is info@wfmradio.org

I am a vegetarian but my family is not. So for them, I do cook the non-veggie foods. They seem to love the foods I cook. My avocado dip is very popular among my family and friends. My daughters call it my signature dish which I am sharing here with you.

Keep listening.

Bibha's Recipes

At last the wait is over. Here are some of my own recipes (mainly Indian), which are already included in my previous shows that is Friday’s mid- morning show between 10 and 11am.

There are several ways to make the same dish, but here are the recipes how I make them and I have tried to make them easy for you as well.

If you have any trouble understanding the recipes please don’t be hesitant to keep in touch with me on info@wfmradio.org. However, if you try them and like them then do please let me know the same way that is info@wfmradio.org. I would also like you to feel free to ask me, on the same email address, any Indian dish which you want to learn; I would be more than happy to try to tell you.

I am a vegetarian but I do cook non-veg. for my family. Though I can’t taste them for seasonings but my family love my cooking and it is a biggest encouragement for me to cook well. I hope you like them too.

Avocado dip
Tandoori chicken
Butter Chicken
Simple chicken curry
Palak and paneer(spinach and paneer)
Stir fried rice with chicken and vegetables
Vegetable cutlets
Strawberry salsa
Brownies (gluten free)
Rob's Bread Recipe
Paneer (How to make)
Sweetcorn Paratha
Cornflakes with an Indian touch
Aubergine Yogurt Dip
Prawn Curry in a Mustard Tomato sauce

Here is my signature dish:
Avocado dip

• 1 avocado medium ripe
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled
• 2 green chilies
• 4-6 tblsp plain low fat yogurt
• 2 tblsp lime juice
• Salt according to your taste

Method:

Cut the avocado into two halves. Take the stone out. Scoop out the flesh into a chopper with cloves of garlic, chilies, salt, lime juice and yogurt and blend them together. No need to put any water as yogurt helps the blade to move. Blend it till it is smooth. Your finger licking avocado dip is ready.

Always taste the food and adjust the salt and lime juice according to your taste.

You can eat it with snacks or with main meals, either way you will love it.

Tandoori chicken

First of all I would like to explain what does ‘tandoori’ mean? In India chefs use big-big clay-ovens in the restaurants, which is called ‘tandoor oven.,’ this tandoor oven is heated with charcoals or woods. The heat inside builds up to such an extent that small whole chicken, skewered and thrust into it, cooks in about ten minutes. This fierce heat scales the juices of the bird and keeps it moist. When the marinated chicken is cooked this way then the result is quite spectacular.

But at home we don’t have the tandoor oven so we can use an ordinary oven, preheated to its maximum temperature. Instead of cooking a whole chicken we can use serving size pieces. For example---- legs that are cut into two pieces and breast that are quartered. The cooking time is not 10 minutes because home ovens do not get as hot as tandoor. Still breasts cook in about 15—20 minutes and legs in 20-25 minutes.

For tandoori chicken the ingredients you will need are:

Six pieces of chicken thigh, which you get at the super markets.

You can also use leg portions (the drumsticks) or the combination of two.

Skin and clean them first and leave them a side in a colander to drain all the water.

1tsp of salt

2 tsp of ginger pest which you can make by peeling the fresh ginger and blending it in the blender or you can also use the grated ginger.

2tsps of grated garlic pest.

Juice of one whole lime or lemon

1tsp turmeric powder

1tsp chilli powder

1tsp garam masala

1 cup of plain yogurt

8tablesp of cooking oil

Preheated oven on maximum temperature

Method:

Take a big bowl and put all the spices, salt, lemon juice, oil and yogurt into it and with the spoon mix them together nicely so that it can become like a nice yellowish pest. You can try and taste this spice mixture and adjust the salt and lemon juice according to your taste. Now put the washed and strained chicken pieces into this spice mixture. Now mix everything together nicely so that every chicken piece is coated with the spice mixture. Now cover it and leave it a side for 10 minutes at least. Though it is more flavourful if it is marinated overnight in the fridge. But if you are in a hurry you can cook it immediately.

Now after leaving it for marinating take an oven proof flat dish in which you can spread these chicken pieces in one layer. Now put this tray into the preheated oven for 35 minutes then turn the chicken once and bake it further for about 20 minutes. Now switch off the oven and leave it for further 5 minutes.

Now take it out of the oven after 5 minutes and it can be served just the way it is with naan bread and salad.

Off course you can eat the tandoori chicken just the way it comes out of the oven. However it can also be transformed into makhanni chicken or butter chicken without much effort. It is done by smoothing it with a rich-cream tomato sauce. Both dishes are excellent for dinner parties. The best thing is that the most of the work can be done a day ahead of time.

Butter Chicken

For this you will need:

Ingredients:--

1tsp of ginger paste or grated ginger

1tsp garlic paste or grated garlic

1 medium onion finely diced

264ml double cream

2oz of butter

2tbsp cooking oil

1tsp chilli powder

1tsp turmeric powder

1tsp coriander powder

1tsp ground black pepper

For 6 leg pieces, you will need one small can of chopped tomato.

1tsp garam masala powder or if you don’t have ground garam masala then you can use whole cloves 3-4 and 3-4 green cardamom.

Half a teasp. Salt remember tandoori chicken already had salt in it. And anyway you can always adjust the salt later on.

A handful of coriander leaves, it is optional to garnish the dish in the end.

Method:

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan heat the oil and butter together on a medium flame. Now put the diced onion into it and fry it till it is brown. Now put the garlic and ginger into it fry a little then put all the spices except the garam masala. And fry a little, on a low flame. Now put the chopped tinned tomato into it and fry on a medium flame. When it stars leaving the oils from the sides it means it is time for put the cream into it and mix them well and let it cook on a slow flame for two minutes. Now you will have a thick smooth rich creamy tomato sauce, very buttery. Now put the prepared tandoori chicken with all its oil and marinated cooked spices into this sauce while the sauce is being cooked on a slow flame. Now stir the chicken into this creamy sauce and let it cook for two minutes just to heat the chicken through. Now put the garam masala and the salt into it and let it cook for a minute and switch the cooker off. Your home made butter chicken is ready. Adjust the salt and chilli according to you taste. Now you put this into a serving dish and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

It can be eaten with plain rice or fresh naan. It is very tasty. Actually I don’t know the taste myself because I am a vegetarian but whenever I cook for my family everybody licks their fingers and my children say yumm yumm mum. That is how I know it is very tasty.

For four people you will need :

2ib of chicken with bone, cut into 2inch pieces, skinned and washed.

2 large onions roughly sliced

2inch ginger peeled and grated or paste

4 cloves of garlic grated or paste.

½ cup plain yogurt

1tsp turmeric

1tsp chilli powder

4tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground black pepper

1tsp garam masala or 4 cloves, 4 green cardamom, 1inch cinnamon stick and 2 bay leaves.

Salt according to your taste

Oil 8tabsp and 2 cups of water

method:

Heat a wide sauce pan and put the oil. Normally, garam masala should be put in the end when the dish is ready for the flavour but if you don’t have it then you should put the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves in the hot oil in the beginning for its full flavour. However you can put these spices into the dish at any stage of the cooking it does not matter really.

Chick pea curry for 4 people you will need Ingrediants; 115 gms dry chick peas 1 medium onion finely chopped 1/2 cup of chopped tin tomatoes 2 tablspoons of lime juice 2 green chillis 1/2 bunch corriander leaves 2 inches fresh ginger 1tsp chilli powder a pinch of garam masala powder(don't worry if you don't have it, couple of whole cloves and a bay leaf will do) 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 to 1 tsp turmeric powder salt to taste 6-8 tabsp cooking oil method: first wash and soak the chick peas overnight. in the morning cook it in the same water till they are soft (you can use tinned chick peas in a hurry). heat a saucepan. put the oil into it and when hot put the onion and fry till it is brown. now put all the spices, ginger paste, salt and tin tomatoes and fry them(covering it and stirring it from time to time) till the sauce leaves the oil. now put the strained chick peas into it and put the same water according to the thickness of the gravy you want to have. now cover it and let it cook on medium flame for another 3-4 minutes. now put the garam masala powder in the end and the lime juice. garnish it with chopped green chilis and chopped coriander leaves.

Palak and paneer(spinach and paneer).
paneer is indian cheese

For two people you will need;

Ingredients:

250gms of spinach washed and drained.

1Ib of paneer cut into ½ an inch to 1 inch cubes deep fried light golden brown. It has to be paneer which is Indian chese and it is available very easily in any asian grocery shops and even in all big supermarkets.

In the superstores you find it near dairy products. On the packets the word paneer is written so you can’t miss it. You can’t use any other chese that is for sure.

So you will need 250gms of spinach and 1Ib of paneer cubed and fried.

For the curry or the sauce you will need:--

1 small onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic peeled and grated

1 inch of ginger peeled and grated

Salt according to your taste

½ teasp chilli powder

½ tsp black pepper ground

1tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 bay leaves

4 green cardamom

4 cloves

½ of tin tomatoes mashed

6tblsp of cooking oil.

Well, don’t be discouraged about all these ingredients. These are very easily available. They might be in your kitchen cupboards because you love Indian food and you might have been experimenting them at home. All these ingredients are important to flavour the dish.

Anyway lets see how to cook it.

In a hot pan wilt the spinach and liquidize them, take the help of water if you need to, make past and keep it aside.

Now in a sauce pan put the oil, when it is hot put the whole spices they are bay leaves, cloves and cardamom. When they are brown wich takes a second then put the chopped onions into it and fry them till golden brown. It takes only a few minutes.

Now put grated garlic and ginger into it and fry for a second or two now put all the powdered spices and fry for a second then add the smooth pulp of tin tomatoes with salt and fry it till it leaves the oil.

Now put the spinach puree which you have kept aside. And stir it with all the fried spices nicely. Now pour a cup of boiled water into it with the paneer cubes. Cover it and simmer the flame for 5-7 minutes and your palak paneer is ready. You can eat it with plain rice or with chapatti or naan.

Stir fried rice with chicken and vegetables.

For two portions you will need

1 cup basmati rice washed

Two chicken breasts cut into strips

1 red capsicum cut into strips

1green capsicum cut into strips

1yellow capsicum cut into strips

Salt according to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1tsp chilli powder

2 cloves of garlic grated

Method

First of all cook the rice by boiling it into two cups of water. As soon as the rice starts boiling, cover it and slow down the flame of the cooker and let it cook for 7-8 minutes. And your rice is ready.

In another pan, if you have a wok it is better. Anyway put the oil into the pan heat it and put the clove, cinnamon and cumin seeds. Immediately put the sliced onion into it. fry it til it is lightly brown. Now put the chicken into it and fry it for 5-7 minutes. The chicken will change the clour. Now put the salt intois and the chilli poder with the garlic and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Now put all the vegetables into the pan, cover it and fry for further 5-7 minutes. Then mix the cooked rice into it and fry it for 3-4 minutes. That is it, now your stirfried rice with chicken and vegetable is ready.

It is very healthy food for children. It is easy and tasty

Vegetable cutlets

For 8 cutlets:

You will need;

Ingredients:

2 big potatoes boiled and mashed

1 cup cauliflower florets boiled and mashed

1cup peas, frozen or fresh either boiled and mashed

1 cup diced carrot boiled and mashed

1 cup broccoli florets boiled and mashed

2tblsp boiled corn and mashed

1tsp turmeric powder

1tsp chilli powder

Salt according to your taste

2tsp ginger paste

2tsp garlic paste

1tabsp lemon juice

And 4tablsp gram flower if not you can use 4tblsp corn flower for binding all the mashed vegetables together.

You can also boil all the green vegetables together and mash them together with the masher.

You will also need some oil for shallow frying.

Method:

In a big bowl mix the mash potatoes and mashed green vegetables together with the salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, lemon juice and corn flower or gram flower. Mix them well together.

Now make 8 balls and flatten them a little bit with the palm of your hand and with the help of the dry corn flower. Now it is best to keep these flatten balls into the fridz before shallow frying them. However you don’t have time then you can fry them immediately even.

To fry them, heat the frying pan. Now put 2tblsp oil and spread it with the back of the spoon all over in the frying pan. Now fry 4 flatten balls at a time. Turn them when one side is brown and crispy and when both sides are nice and brown take them out on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. You can fry another lot of flatten balls in the same way. Your vegetable cutlet is ready.

You don’t have to cook them a lot as everything is already boiled. It just has to be nice, brown and crispy. It is very tasty and filling and what’s more it’s a perfect dish for 5 a day. You can eat it with chutney or sauce.

Strawberry salsa

It takes 10 minutes to prepare and it needs 30 minutes to stand that’s all. Here is the recipe:--The ingredients are:

1 punnet of strawberries, diced

Balsamic vinegar according to your taste

Whole red currants according to taste

Mint leaves according to taste, chopped

Black pepper ground according to your test

Method

• In a bowl, mix together the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, red currants and mint leaves.
  2. Stir together well and set aside for 30 minutes before serving.

Your strawberry salsa is ready.

Brownies (gluten free)

First of all you will need a baking tray 9in by 13in.

The ingredients you will need are:

3/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cup Gluten Free plain flour
1 cup chopped nuts (if desired)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease the baking tray and lightly sprinkle a little bit of the cocoa powder (instead of flour). In a large sauce pan, melt margarine or butter with rest of the cocoa powder over low heat, stirring constantly or you can also put the cocoa powder and butter in a bowl, stick it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, until the butter is melted. Now stir with a fork until it's mostly smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Blend in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in remaining ingredients then spread it in the prepared tray.

Bake at 325F and check after 20-25 minutes. Consider them done when tooth pick or butter knife is stuck in the middle to check for doneness and comes out a little moist. It should be slightly gooey in the middle and somewhat cake-like edges. It's safe to say that they will not be done before 20 minutes unless your oven really cooks on the hot side. Let it cool and cut it into small square pieces. Your gluten free brownies are ready to eat.

Rob’s Bread Recipe 

1 ½ lbs Strong White Organic Bread Flour

½ lb Organic Wholemeal Flour

1 ½ desert spoons Dried Yeast (not fast action)

1 pint water

1 flat desert spoon Salt 

Put an ovenproof mixing bowl in the oven at 75 degrees.

Put ½ pint of warm water in a measuring jug and dissolve 2 teaspoons of sugar in it.

Add the yeast to the water and mix in thoroughly.

Leave this for about 15 mins or until the active yeast has risen to the top of the jug.

Take the bowl out of the oven and put into it the flour and the salt mixing well and creating a well in the middle.

Into the well pour the yeast mixture and the other ½ pint of warm water.

Leave this to allow the yeast to activate further, approximately 15 mins.

Mix the flour and yeast mixture till a dough is achieved.

Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead it thoroughly. Kneading is best done by taking the outside edge of the lump of dough with the heel of the palm and fold it into the centre. Continue kneading until a satisfactorily elastic dough has been achieved (usually about 10 mins).

Split the dough into 2 even pieces and give each one a further kneading before placing the pieces in two separate well greased 1 lb bread tins.

Bake the bread in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins.

Turn the bread out onto a cake wire.

Allow to cool.

Eat!

How to make Paneer

For this you will need:

Ingredients:

2trs of milk, you can use any milk but full fat milk is better for the texture of the paneer.

½ cup of yogurt the sour the better if not you can use 2-3 tabsps os lemon juice.

You will also need a cheese cloth to strain the cheese that’s all

Now let’s see how to make it:

In a heavy sauce pan boil the milk then put the flam on medium and stir in the yogurt a tblsp at a time. Slowly you will see that milk will curdle. Keep stirring till you can see the milk solids separating. Now switch off the cooker and leave the curdled milk for about 5 minutes to sit. The solid bits are paneer but they are not as solid yet. For that they have to be cool down and every single drop of liquid has to be squeezed out.

Now let’s see how to do that:

In the kitchen sink put a cheese cloth over a clean and deep bowl and pour the whole thing from the saucepan into the cheese cloth in order to strain the paneer.

Now pick up the cheese clothe squeeze it gently but firmly with the paneer in it. Now put the bundle of cheese onto a flat surface may be chopping board where it is safe and put a plate on top of the bundle then something heavy on top of the plate. I fill another saucepan with cold water to make it heavy and put the heavy pan on top of cheese and leave it for half an hour to an hour so that not a single drop of water is left in the paneer which is very very important. If you don’t squeeze all the water paneer will crumble in the cooking which you don’t want.

Afterwards take it out of the cheese cloth and you will have a solid home made paneer. You will be so proud of yourself. It has no additives no preservatives. You know it is good because you have made it yourself.

Sweetcorn paratha

It is an Indian dish. Sweetcorn paratha is spiced flat breads cooked with a filling of seetcorn mixture. Paratha is a chapatti type of dish but fried. It can be a snack or it can be eaten as a main meal. It is not very difficult to make and it is very tasty and filling. If you can make chapatti you can be able to make paratha as well.

It takes 30 minutes to prepare and 1o minutes to cook. So lets see the ingredients:

For 4-6 servings, you will need:

400g wholemeal flour

3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying

Salt

600ml water

flour, for dusting

For the filling:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/3 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp ground Asafoetida

3-4 green chillies, finely chopped

1 tsp ground Coriander

250g fresh or frozen sweetcorn kernels, cooked and mashed

Salt

1 tsp Garam masala

Method

1. Place the flour, oil and salt in a large bowl and slowly mix in the water until the mixture forms a dough. Knead until smooth. Cover the dough with a clean tea-towel and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Now make the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the cumin seeds, asafoetida and green chillies. Fry, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Add the coriander, mashed sweetcorn and add the salt and garam masala, mixing well. Cook gently, stirring now and then, for 5 minutes.

4. Divide the dough into small balls. Lightly coat each dough ball with flour.
5. Roll the dough balls out forming thin flat breads or parathas, about 6-9cm round.
6. Heat a griddle pan until hot. Brush a paratha with a little oil and place on the griddle. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the corn mixture to the middle of the paratha.

7. Once the paratha has cooked underneath, turn over and cook on the other side until golden brown. Serve at once.
8. Repeat the process until all the remaining parathas and filling have been used up.

I hope you try this dish. Don’t expect perfection first time. Remember practice makes people perfect. The more you will cook the more you will be better at it.

My recipes are on our website now. You just have to log onto www.wfmradio.org. then click on to presenters then click onto my photo or onto my name that is bibha kumar and you have reached there. Try them and make your favourite Indian food at home and enjoy it.

Corn cakes with Indian touch

Two corn cobs husk removed

400gms potatoes

3tsp cooking oil

2tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 sweet red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

Salt according to taste

Coriander leaves finely chopped

Little bit plain flour for coating

These are the ingredients

Now let’s see the method how to make sweet corn cakes:

Cut the potatoes into pieces and boil them till tender. Drain and mash.

Now boil corncob for about 8-10 minutes and let it cool. Remove the kernels with a sharp knife.

Now heat 1tbsp oil in a pan. Add the ginger, pepper and spring onions and corn and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the corn, ginger, pepper and spring onions to the potato. Season and mix it well with the chopped coriander leaves.

Now put 2tblsps of plain flour on a plate, shape potato mixture into 8 cakes and coat with flour, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Now heat remaining oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the cakes for 4-5 minutes each side until crisp and golden. Your corn cakes with Indian touch is ready. Serve with any sauce.

Aubergine yogurt dip

This dish is made in Middle East as well as in India. I am going to tell you aubergine yogurt dip with Indian touch. It is a very easy dip. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook. Lets see the ingredients first: for 4 Servings: Ingredients:

2 large aubergines

1 tsp Olive oil

4 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp Salt

160g natural yogurt

4 tsp chopped fresh coriander leaves to garnish

2 green chillies chopped

2 tsp fresh lime juice

Now lets see the method, how to make aubergine yogurt dip:

First of all Prick the aubergines.with a fork. Grill the aubergines or roast them in a hot oven (preheated to 200°C/gas 6) for 20 minutes, turning frequently until their skin is charred on all sides.
2. Set the charred aubergines aside to cool, then peel.
3. Finely chop the aubergine flesh and place it in a mixing bowl. Add in the olive oil, garlic, salt, chopped green chillies yogurt and lime juice and mix together well.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with bread

Prawn curry in mustard and tomato sauce.

For 4 servings you will need;

800 gms of fresh water king prawns. You can use any prawns but tiger prawns are bigger, they taste good and look good too. It is very easily available in all the supermarkets. Specially in asian grocery shops.

800gms king prawns shelled, washed and well drained.

2tbsp mustard powder

1tsp turmeric powder

3tsp chilli powder

1tbsp coriander powder

4 cloves of garlic paste

Salt according to your taste

I can of Tin tomato chopped

2tbsp lime juice

8tblsp oil

½ cup boiled water

Now how to make it (method)

In a large bowl mix the lemon or lime juice in the prawns and leave it a side to marinate.

In another bowl mix all the spices including garlic paste with the water and make a thick paste.

Now heat a medium sized saucepan and put the oil into it and after it is hot put the mustered seeds, fenugreek seeds and the whole chilli broken into two pieces. Immediately put the thick paste made out of powdered spices into the hot oil. And fry it on a low flam for couple of minutes. Now put chopped tomatoes into the pan with the salt. Now keep frying on a medium flame till it leaves the oil around the pan. It means that spices are fried just right. Now put all the marinated prawns with the lemon juice and mix it with the spices by stirring on a high flame. Soon prawns will turn pink and it will also leave some water, which will mix into the spices and make thick gravy or sauce.

Your prawn curry in mustard and tomato sauce is ready. You should not cook the prawns for a long time otherwise it becomes tuff and chewy which is not good. It cooks very quickly. So as soon as it turns pink it is ready that is the sign.

You can eat it with plain rice or naan.