Tindora Curry

Hi Friends, Sorry for the long silence. I have been so busy that I have not had any time to update my blog. Though I have been cooking and clicking away!

A very happy belated Ganesha Chaturthi to all my dear blogger friends and to all my readers. Hope you guys had a lovely celebration and enjoyed all the wonderful food. We had a good Pooja at home and a nice celebration in our temple here. We had a “Rath Yatra” in the temple to the chants of “Ganapati Bappa Moriya” and lots of dancing, singing bhajans and the breaking of coconuts! It felt nice to pray, celebrate and enjoy the delicious feast cooked by volunteers! A full course meal of Maharashtrian food was served.. Puri, Usal, Palak Dal, Masale Bhaat, Koshimbir, Raita, Modak and some other sweets! Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me and could not capture any pictures. So much for the ‘Bhakti and Bhukti (Indira’s term)’ post I wanted to write about!

Anyways, over the last week I tried a slightly different way of making Tindora curry and had not had any time to blog the recipe, so here goes….

Tindora Curry
Chop the Tindora (Gherkins) into small rounds or lengthwise. Chop ½ an onion into cubes. For seasoning, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, hing and curry leaves. When the dals turn golden yellow, add the chopped onions and sauté. Then add the chopped Tindora, ¼ tsp of Haldi or Turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Add about ¼ cup of water. Close with a lid and cook until all the water is evaporated. Meanwhile, make a coarse powder of a handful of Roasted gram (chutney dal), some roasted red chillies, roasted dhaniya and roasted urad dal. Once the Tindora is cooked, add this powder, some grated coconut and mix well. Serve hot with Rice and Dal or Sambar.

Tindora Curry


Tindora Curry served with Rice and Okra Gravy

The Independence Day Food Parade and my non-Entry!

August 15th, the day of India’s Independence. And what more befitting than a Food parade of its various cuisines from various parts of the country! Dear friends, Indira of Mahanandi was kind enough to host this beautiful parade of dishes from various parts of the country. And all the participants.. I must commend their extensive effort in making such delicious and lovely dishes!
As for me, life as usual has been hectic. What with work, the kids, my husband working late hours, my blog and a zillion other activities, I was not in time for the Food parade. But I had taken pictures of my dish and I decided to post it anyway. Actually, I was in such a hurry that the pictures are not that great, but it will get my point across :-)
When Indira said Food parade, I thought of so many dishes. Being a cross breed between a Tamilian and a Telugite and living in Karnataka, I couldn’t decide on what I really wanted to make. My neighbor made it easier for me! She’s pregnant and she asked me if I could make my hallmark Peanut chutney (atleast that’s what I like to believe!) for her. So I invited her home for dinner.. a dinner of Masala Dosa that is a speciality of Karnataka specifically Mysore and Bangalore.
My favorite place to eat Masala Dosa in Bangalore is this small joint called “Sahyadri”. They make the best Masala Dosa’s I have tasted. The Dosa’s are crisp and thick, smeared on the inside with Red Hot Chutney, stuffed with delicious Potato Curry (called Potato Palya), served on the side with piping hot Sambar and fresh Coconut chutney! And to the benefit of the customer’s taste buds the chef adds a dollop of fresh butter atop the Dosa, which sizzles down and melts on the hot Dosa. Mouth watering? Mine too :-)
Here’s how I make my Masala Dosa. It’s not exactly the Sahyadri Masala Dosa but I can guarantee you that it is delicious!

Delicious Masala DosaFor the Dosa, refer to my Recipe here.


Peanut Coconut Chutney

For my Peanut Coconut Chutney refer to my Recipe here . You can serve the Dosa with plain Coconut chutney. Just omit the Peanuts in the above recipe and you’ll be good to go.


Potato Curry

For the Potato Curry: Boil about 4 potatoes in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Peel and mash roughly. Keep aside. Chop 1 big Onion lengthwise. Chop a few green chillies lengthwise. You’ll need some chopped ginger and curry leaves. Cashews halves are optional. Heat some oil in a pan. Season with mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal. Add the chopped onions, green chilies, curry leaves, cashews and ginger. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add a pinch of turmeric or haldi. Add about ½ cup of water. Add salt to taste. After about 2 minutes add the mashed Potato and mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Keep aside to serve with Masala Dosa.
For the Red Chutney: Peel one big pod of garlic. Mince in a mixer or blender with about 15 dry red chilies. Keep aside.


Masala Dosa, served with Peanut Coconut Chutney, smeared with Red Chutney and stuffed with Potato Curry.

To Assemble the Dosa: Make one Dosa. When the Dosa is cooked smear a teaspoonful of Red Chutney on the inside of the Dosa. Place a ladleful of the Potato Curry inside the Dosa. Roll both ends of the Dosa in to cover the Potato Curry. Serve on a plate with Chutney on the side. Serve hot!


One more Look...Masala Dosa!

Happy Independence Day

I wish all my fellow Indians and my Indian Blog Readers a very Happy Independence Day. August 15th 1947, the day India was liberated, the day India received her identity and the day India got her freedom. All of us are our proud of our country and her achievements through these years. Today, if India stands tall and proud, it is because of our strength, our pride and our hard work. Jai Hind everyone.

Weekend Blogging!

Hi Friends!
I spent most of today cleaning and organizing my kitchen. It has been quite some time since my kitchen cabinets needed a makeover :-) And as usual, I am so busy blogging or cooking for my blog that I have not found the time to do that. But unfortunately, my cabinets were up to the point where things were falling out if I opened them (just kidding!). So anyways, today was the day.
But before I show you guys what I accomplished, I just want to share with you guys a beautiful gift that I received. One of my friend's here gifted me with this wonderful picture of Vridanban Radhe Krishna. I have placed it in my kitchen so that I can use it for my daily offering of food as and when I make it fresh! The word in Telugu is Naivedyam (or any South Indian language).

Vrindaban Radhe Krishna
Then I started with my new Masala Dabba (also called Anjana Potti in Tamil). I am a big Tupperware fan and when I saw this Masala dabba in the Tupperware-India catalog I just had to have it! My friend N was kind enough to buy me one when she visited India. So I filled my new Masala Dabba, and here it is!


Masala Dabba


Masala Dabba

And then I got down to serious business. I organized all my kitchen cabinets and managed to get a few pictures before my kids started bringing down the roof with all their commotion!
Here are the pictures!

Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchen Cabinet

Kitchen Cabinet

Egg Masala Chaaru

Sundays at home back in India were always lazy, relaxed and uneventful. Food was always the focus. Right from when I was little, my mom used to spend Sundays making squashes (fruit juice concentrates), pickles, cakes and other delicacies that she had learnt from a cookery class she used to attend. And then Sundays were also days when Dad would bring home packets of hot steaming idlis with chutney or Masala Dosa with chutney from nearby cafes. And yet again, Sundays were days when a special Egg Chaaru (or Egg Curry) would make its presence on the table. Our family has been a vegetarian family for the most part, but my Granddad and Dad introduced us kids to the Incredible, Edible Egg! (Indira of Mahanandi's line - and her amusing story about Puffy P Egg here).
So Sundays, were lazy. It started off with an elaborate hair wash routine with Shikakai. Then came the routine of lazing in the sun and drying long locks of hair. And then after the whole morning had gone by at about 2 in the afternoon when our tummies would make their presence known, we kids would go down for lunch - to a satisfying meal of rice and Egg Masala Chaaru.
This chaaru was my grandad's speciality! And yes, the men in our home cook awesome dishes. My granddad and Dad are wonderful in the kitchen. Looks like my brother did not get that gene! And of course my husband is too spoilt by - none other than yours truly!
Ok, coming back to Egg Chaaru. This wonderful mix of spices, fresh coconut and tomatoes, along with boiled Eggs served with Rice is pure heaven!

Egg Masala Chaaru

Ingredients:
4 Hard boiled Eggs - Shelled
1/2 Onion - Chopped lengthwise
1 Tomato - Chopped into Cubes

For the Masala:
1 cup Fresh grated Coconut
1 tsp Khus Khus or poppy seeds
1/2 chopped tomato
1 tsp peeled Garlic
1 tsp peeled ginger
1/4 Onion - chopped roughly
1 small piece cinnamon
3 cloves
a few sprigs cilantro
3 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tsp Dhaniya Powder

Grind the above ingredients along with some water into a smooth paste and keep aside.

Method:
In a pan, heat some oil. Season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the chopped onions and saute for a few minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and sautes until the tomatoes are pulpy. Then add the ground masala paste, about 1 cup water and salt to taste. Boil for about 10 minutes on medium flame. Meanwhile peel the hard boiled eggs. Slit them in between and then add them to the boiling gravy. Boil until oil separates to the sides. Serve hot with rice and ghee.

Egg Masala Chaaru with Rice

Weekend Blogging - Trying out recipes!

I have been busy trying out some recipes from some other food blogs lately. My recent tryout was the Beerakaya, Carrot and Potato Koora from Indira of Mahanandi's homepage.
She has some classic, unique recipes! And surprisingly most of them are so easy to make. We loved this recipe of hers and it is now going to be a regular at my home. Thanks Indira!

Beerkaya Carrot Potato Koora

Needle Magic

Hey Dear Friends,

I am proud to introduce you all to my mom. Her name is Indira Reddy. Born in a traditional South Indian conservative Tamilian family, she was left to fend for herself at a very young age. She was independent and persistant and achieved success very young. She joined the State Bank Of India I think when she was 19 or 20. There she met my Dad. It was love at first sight! But it took some time for the reserved shy dad of mine to approach my mom and finally propose to her. And the rest is history! Now we are here and my parents have been married for 32 years.
My mom has been a banker by profession most of her life and recently took Voluntary retirement so she could enjoy life's other joys and her hobbies. She has immense creative talent. She loves to stitch and embroider, she is a wonderful singer trained in classical music from a young age and she is an excellent cook (even though she will say "not better than you" which is not true!).
So anyways, I am proud to say that without being tech savvy she has mastered her way around the internet and has created her own little blog.
Do check it out if u get a chance. Indira's Needlemagic.
She has done many a wonderful embroidery on my sarees and my daughters clothes. Will post some more pictures when I get a chance.
Have a great day everyone!