A Simple Rajasthani Meal

Rajasthan the princely state, known for its fiery, delicious cuisine is a popular tourist spot and is the beautiful land of royal cities such Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur. It’s been a while, but what I remember of my visit to Rajasthan is the Hawa Mahal – the Palace of the winds. The Hawa Mahal is a huge beautiful palace structure made of pink sand stone with numerous windows and balconies.

Source: MapsofWorld.com

I also remember the innumerable camels in this desert land, camels beautifully adorned with tinkling bells and thick colorfully embroidered runners around their back to serve as a seat for visiting tourists. I remember getting on to the camel’s back a little scared but also remember how comfortable it felt and how easily the camel walked, swaying side to side. I also remember visiting the Amber Fort, the white marbled palace, where the décor, the ornamented walls and the many beautiful mirrors of the palace were stunning beyond words.
See Pavan Gupta’s beautiful, captivating pictures of Amber Fort and colorful Rajasthan here.

And coming back to the reason for this post… Rajasthani Food is unique and fiery in taste. The ever famous Dal Bati – which is spicy lentils and dumplings made of flour served with ghee or clarified butter, and Churma – ground wheat flour cooked with ghee and sugar served with Bajre ki Roti – Roti made of Bajra flour, is the daily staple of Rajasthani’s. Not to mention the gatte ki sabzi and innumerable sweets such as malpua, Balushahi etc. All this and more can usually be eaten in any Rajasthani style restaurant.
But to me a home-cooked simple Rajasthani meal is made of Dal (Cooked Lentils), Chaawal (Rice), Sabji (Curry) and Roti.
While I was growing up, a Rajasthani family lived on the 2nd floor of my maternal home in Bangalore. Prem and Bimal, were a wonderful couple that were very hospitable and very friendly. I literally lived in their house. Prem Bhabiji as I used to call her, was wonderful company. She constantly entertained me with her wonderful stories of Rajasthan and her life there and her wonderful home cooked rajasthani food. Life has just happened and I have lost touch with them. Not sure where they are, but if anyone from the Bansali family is reading this, please get in touch with me. I would love to here from you guys!
Prem Bhabiji used to make this simple home cooked combination all the time, a combination of Roti, Dal, Chaawal, Papad ki Sabzi ( Curry made of Papad or Crepes) and Aloo Matar ki Sabzi (Curry made with Potato and Peas). Everything was usually dabbed with generous amounts of ghee and was always served with a roasted papad on the side.
In her memory, I tried to recreate this combination at home this weekend. I can say that I did pretty darn good as far as taste was concerned! I’m sure she would be proud of me.
Hope you guys enjoy this simple home-cooked Rajasthani meal! And as always if you do try it, let me know, I’ll be thrilled to here from you guys!

A Simple Rajasthani Meal


Clockwise from top:Dal or Spicy Lentils, Papad ki Sabzi, Chaawal or Rice, Roti and Aloo Matar Sabzi.

Tadka Dal (Spicy Lentils seasoned to perfection)


Tadka Dal


Dal Chaawal - Spicy Dal served with Rice

You will need:
1 cup Toor Dal (split Gram Dal)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
a pinch of Garam Masala Powder
Salt to taste
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

For Seasoning:
1 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
1 tsp Cumin seeds or Jeera

Method:
In a pressure cooker, cook the Toor Dal with a pinch of Turmeric and about 4 cups of water. Cook for 3 whistles or until fully done. Allow to cool. When the pressure has cooled off, open the cooker and mash the dal lightly with a ladel. In a small seasoning pan, heat the ghee, add the cumin seeds, a 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and the chilli powder. Add this seasoning to the dal mixture. Add salt and garam masala and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes until well blended. Add about 1/2 cup water if the dal is too thick. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Papad Ki Sabzi (Tangy curry made with papad)

Papad Ki Sabzi


Papad ki Sabzi - One more look

You will need:
2 Papads - Broken in pieces (Prem always used authentic Bikaneri Papad, but I just used Lijjat Pepper Papad - available in most Indian stores)
1 cup Homemade Curds
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Dhaniya Powder or Coriander Powder
a pinch of Hing or Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds or Jeera
2 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter
Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan, heat the ghee. Add the cumin seeds and all the dry powders except the salt. Then add the homemade curds and mix well. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes on a medium flame. Then add the salt and the broken pieces of papad. Mix well and cook for about 3 more minutes. If you think the curry is to thick add just about 1/4 cup of water and mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with roti.

Aloo Matar Ki Sabzi (Spicy Potato and Peas Curry)

Aloo Matar ki Sabzi


Aloo Matar Sabzi - One more look!

You will need:
4 Potatoes - Peeled and Washed
1 cup Green Peas (Fresh or Frozen is good)
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Dhaniya Powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Ghee or Clarified Butter

Method:
Peel, Wash and Chop the Potatoes into cubes. In a pressure pan or pressure cooker, heat the ghee. Add the cumin seeds, then the green peas. Then add all the dry powders and mix well. Saute for about a minute. Then add the chopped potato cubes. Add salt, about 2 cups of water and mix well. Close with the lid and cook the mixture for about 1 whistle. Allow the pressure to cool. Open the pan, mix well and cook some mroe if needed on a open pan. Garnish with chopped Cilantro and serve hot.

And finally, for the rice, I just cooked Basmati Rice on stovetop seeasoned with 1 tbsp of ghee and cumin seeds and salt. Cook until done and serve hot. I served the Rajasthani meal with a side of sliced onions and green chillies. Eaten traditionally this way, the onions and green chillies add a zest and flavor to the meal!

Onions and Green Chillies on the side


Our simple Rajasthani Meal

Hope you guys enjoyed the simple meal. It was fun sharing some memories and cooking a fast simple Rajasthani meal.

Keerai Sundal

One more in the series of healthy sides, is my mom's Keerai Sundal - Keerai meaning Greens in Tamil and Sundal - a dish usually prepared during festival times mostly with a variety of beans and lentils, a more lucid term used for anything that is seasoned with South Indian seasonings or popu and garnished with fresh coconut gratings. A super simple recipe, very nutritious and tastes great with chapathi or rice. Mom made this Keerai Sundal with Thotakura (also called Amaranth leaves or Red Spinach, Thandu Keerai in Tamil). I usually dont find this variety of spinach at my local Indian Grocer. I got lucky this time. I love these greens for they cook so easily and can be used in many dishes.
This dish is made with Thotakura and split Moong Dal. A perfect combination of protein and vitamins packed all in one dish.

Keerai Sundal

Keerai Sundal

You will need:
2 bunches Red Spinach or Thotakura
1/2 cup Split Yellow Moong Lentils
Salt to taste

For Seasoning:
2 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Channa Dal
a pinch of hing or Asafoetida
a few curry leaves
3 Green Chillies chopped fine

For Garnishing:
1 tbsp grated Fresh coconut (optional)

Method:
Wash the spinach leaves and chop fine. You may save the stem to make a delicious Sambar or kootu or just use it in this dish.
In a pan, boil the moong dal with about 2 cups of water until the moong dal is about 3/4 th cooked. Keep aside.
In a pan, heat the oil and season with mustard seeds, dals, curry leaves, hing and green chillies. Add the chopped spinach, add salt and mix well. Add about 1/2 cup water and cover with a lid. Cook until the water evaporates. I just use the water from the boiled dal. Add the cooked dal, stir well until almost dry. Add the grated fresh coconut and serve hot with chapathis or Rice.

Keerai Sundal - one more look!
Hope you guys enjoyed this simple nutrition packed recipe. Thanks for stopping by.

Patoli - An Andhra Tradition

Patoli with Chikudukaya (Broad Beans)
Patoli, a typical Coastal Andhra dish is traditionally made with dals, chillies and seasonings. It can be eaten as a snack or served with rice. Innovation has devised patoli with a variety of vegetables. It is usually made with green beans or plantains (aratikaaya). On the lines of the Tamilian Paruppu Usili, Patoli is a tasty side dish that is nutritious and wholesome. It can be served with rice or chapathis.Here I am using Broad beans aka Chikudukaya in Telugu along with the dal mixture to create magic for the taste buds.
You will need:

For the dal mixture:
½ cup channa dal
¼ cup Moong dal
6 red chillies
a small piece of ginger
¼ tsp jeera

Soak the above dals in water for about ½ hour. Drain. Combine the dals and the rest of the above ingredients and gring to a coarse paste in a mixer. Make little balls and steam in an idli pan or a regular dish for about 10 minutes.

Dal mixture ready to be steamed

Steamed Dal lumpsFor the Patoli:
4 cups Chopped Chikudukaya or Broad Beans (you may substitute this with chopped green beans, chopped Aratikaaya or plantain or chopped cluster beans or gorchikudukaya or mattikaya)
1 onion - chopped fine
1 pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut

Chopped Broad BeansFor the seasoning:
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp channa dal
a few curry leaves

Method:In a pan, heat the oil. Season with mustard seeds and the dals. Add the curry leaves and saute for a minute. Then add the chopped onions and saute till soft. Then add the chopped vegetable. Add a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well. Add about 1/2 cup of water and cook covered with a lid until tender or until all the water has evaporated.Meanwhile, crumble the dal lumps into a coarse powder. In another pan, heat some oil. Add the crumbled dal lumps and saute, stirring in between for about 10 minutes on a medium flame. The dal mixture should be cripy a bit at this point.Once the vegetable is cooked, add the sauteed dal mixture and mix well. Leave on stovetop for about 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh grated coconut and serve hot.

Patoli

Patoli served with Rice and Sambar

This is one of my entries to the RCI- Andhra event.

Potato Parade

When I found out that the lovely Vaishali of Happy Burp is hosting “Jhihva for Potatoes” for the month of Febuary, I was excited! Potato –that’s an easy vegetable to cook with. There are recipes galore, both Indian and International that make use of this versatile bulb.
Everyone at our home loves Potatoes. What’s not to love about it? It cooks easy, tastes delicious no matter how you cook it and is easily available in most parts of the world!
So without much ado let’s get to the reason for this Post…Potato Recipes!

Potato-Methi Masala Curry


Potato and Methi (Fresh Fenugreek Leaves) – what a perfect combination! Fenugreek leaves have this slightly bitter taste and the humble potato combined with it dulls this effect and gives this curry a rich, exotic creamy flavor that tastes great as a side to chapathis or even with rice. This curry is different from the other aloo methi recipes I have come across. I learnt how to make this curry from my dear grandmother.
She mostly combined traditional masala’s with regular vegetables to make them delicious and authentic. Try them and you’ll surely thank my grandmother for this.

For the curry:
2 Potatoes – Washed, Peeled, Boiled and chopped into cubes. I usually cook my potatoes with some water in the microwave for about 6 minutes.
1 big bunch Fresh Methi Leaves – Wash and chop fine.
1 small Onion – Chopped fine
1 medium Tomato – Chopped into cubes
Salt to taste

For the Masala:
½ cup grated Fresh Coconut
1 clove garlic
5 green chillies
2 cloves
1 small piece cinnamon

Grind the above into a smooth paste with some water. Keep aside.

For the seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
some curry leaves
a pinch of turmeric powder

To make the curry:
In a pan heat oil, add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped onions and sauté until light brown. Then add the chopped methi leaves, some salt and about ½ cup water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the cooked potatoes, the ground masala paste, chopped tomatoes and some more salt if needed. Mix well. Cover with a lid and cook until all the water has evaporated. Stir in between. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

My next Dish is Sabudaana Khicdi.. This simple dish is the traditional dish made on days when the Hindu’s fast from most grains and beans. I make this dish whenever we feel like eating it! No fasting in our home, we are pretty poor when it comes to following religious fasts!
Almost everyone makes Sabudaana Khichdi. It is a Maharashtrian dish that is delicious, bland and chewy. Sabudaana are white, pearly rounds that are hard when dry and are soft and chewy when cooked. They are made from the sap of the tapioca tree. Read more about Sabudaana here.
My way of making sabudaana khichdi varies each time. But I have started to follow this recipe mostly, a recipe I learnt from Radhika .. a friend of mine from whom I have learnt many recipes. She loves giving me these recipes but acts like I am bothering her all the time! But I know .. she loves the attention :-)
Ok, now on to the recipe…

Sabudaana Khichdi

2 Cups Dry Sabudaana (Wash 2 or 3 times in a colander. Drain all the water. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle some water and cover with a lid. Keep covered for about 3 hours and keep sprinkling some water and mixing the sabudaana evenly a couple of times in between). The recipe itself is simple, prep time takes a little bit!

2 Potatoes – Peeled and grated. Then keep the grated potato in some water. When you are ready to make the sabudaana, drain all the water well from the potato and use.
1 cup Whole Peanuts – Roasted and ground into a coarse powder. (You may leave the peel on if u want or u can get rid of it after roasting).

1 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
A few drops of fresh lime juice
Chopped Cilantro for garnishing

For seasoning:
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Jeera or cumin seeds
A few curry leaves
3 green chillies – Chopped fine

To make the Khichdi:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and the jeera. When the mustard splutters, add the remaining seasoning ingredients. Sauté for a minute. Then add the grated potato and mix well. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring in between, making sure the potato does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Then add the soaked sabudaana, salt and sugar and mix well. Cook for about 5 to minutes stirring gently in between. When the sabudaana turns translucent, add the coarsely ground peanut powder and mix well. Add the lime juice and mix well. Serve hot garnished with chopped cilantro and grated coconut (optional).

And finally for a simple, traditional Karnataka Dish… Potato Palya. Potato Palya or Potato Curry is a perfect side for Puri, Masala Dosa or even Chapathis. I even use Potato palya as a filler in sandwiches when I have leftovers!

Potato Palya

To make this simple dish you need:
3 Large Potatoes – Boiled, Peeled and roughly mashed. Mash with your hands, since a masher usually mashes it into a very creamy paste, that is usually best for mashed potatoes with biscuits and gravy!
1 Large Onion – chopped lengthwise
3 green chillies – slit lengthwise
a few curry leaves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For the seasoning:
2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Channa dal
1 tsp Urad dal
¼ tsp Asafoetida or hing

To make the Potato Palya:
In a pan, heat the oil. Add seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters, add the chopped chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and the onions and sauté until the onions are translucent. Then add the turmeric powder and the roughly mashed potato and salt. Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a few drops of lime juice (optional) and serve hot with puris, chapathis or dosa.

Do check out some more Potato Recipes from my Masala Kitchen:

Potato Fry

Cabbage Potato Curry

and

Ragda Patties

These are my entries to the "Jhihva for Potato" parade at Vaishali's Happy Burp. Enjoy the Parade dear friends and dont forget to leave me a note! I would love to hear from all you wonderful readers. Cheers.

Weekend Cooking and More

Hey you wonderful readers out there.. Just a little game to challenge your smart brains! What do you think this vegetable is? Care to guess???

All you ghost readers out there, C'mon you can take a guess now.. Can't you???

Update on Feb 13, 2007

And the winner is.... sra, Priya and other wonderful bloggers! It is indeed Daikon Radish or White Radish as we know it. It looks so close to a Potato fry does'nt it?

Before I blog the recipe, I have to tell you guys this story. When I was a teenager (that was many eons back!) my parents and us kids (me and my brother) visited Delhi. On our visit we stayed at a Corporate Guest House (that belonged to one of my mom's friend). These Guest Houses are like 'Service Apartments' as we now know it in India. It is a neat, fully furnished apartment which usually has a caretaker and a cook. And on this visit, the cook at that apartment (I dont remember his name) dished out these wonderful dishes. You can imagine, if I remember it all these years later, then it sure must have been good ;-) He was this 'Bihari babu' who spoke Hindi with the Bihari twang. So anyways, one night he made rotis, muli ki sabji (radish curry), chaawal (white rice) and dal for dinner . We were all so hungry that we gorged up all the rotis and all the chaawal that he made for us and wanted more! He was aghast and amazed at how much rice we South Indians ate :-)

Anyways, this Radish Sabji is an attempt at creating the same sabji he made years back. The only difference is that he had both the radish and the radish leaves in his curry. I did not have any radish leaves with me.

Its quite simple actually. Peel, Wash and chop the radish fine. Then in a pan with some oil, season with Jeera (Cumin seeds) and some turmeric powder and Asafoetida (hing). Add the chopped radish pieces. Add red chilli powder, dhania powder and salt. Add about 1/2 cup water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Open and let all the water evaporate. In the end add a pinch of garam masala and some chopped cilantro if you want. Fry until slightly roasted. Serve hot with Rotis or Chapathis.

This weekend, I was on a cooking spree. Do you guys do this sometimes? Every now and then, I bring out all my recipe books - I have a ton of these. I pour through them, ogle at the pictures, drool , spend about 2 hours on them and then I shut them and put them back. I'm very picky about the recipes I try. I keep thinking I want to try many but I cannot gather enough motivation to do so... Its just me!

Anyway, this weekend was different. I decided that I must try something. I poured through the books and then finally settled on one - Diwani Handi Sabzi ... Its a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe. It looked delicious and seemed simple yet rich.

So I got out my ingredients and cutting board and look at what happened!

I made some small improvisations... Here's how I made it:

Vegetables: Potatoes-2 - Peeled, Washed and Chopped into cubes

Carrots - 2 - Washed, Peeled and choppe dinto cubes, Green Beans - 1 cup chopped, Green Peas - 1/2 cup, Green Choliya (Green Fresh Channa) - 1/2 cup, 1/2 a bunch Methi leaves chopped fine, 1/2 bunch cilantro or coriander leaves chopped fine.

1 Oinion - Slit lengthwise

1 cup Sour Curds

2 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream

1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

2 Green chillies - Slit Lengthwise

2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

Salt to taste

Method:

A handi - "A handi is a round potlike vessel, with a neck narrower than the base. It may be made of metal or in earthenware. It must be heatproof though. If not available use a deep heavy saucepan". [Source: www.bawarchi.com].

Heat some oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a handi or a heavy bottomed pan. Add the chopped onions and saute until light brown. Then add the chopped green chillies and the ginger-garlic paste. Saute for about 2 minutes. Then add the yogurt and cook for about 5 minutes stirring constantly. Then add the chopped veggies, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Add about 1 cup water and the heavy whipping cream. Cover with a lid and cook until all the veggies are tender. Then add the chopped methi leaves and the chopped cilantro. Mix well and cook for a few more minutes. Serve hot with Rotis or Rice.

The Diwani Handi Sabzi is my entry to lovely Nupur of One Hot Stove's "A to Z of Indian Vegetables" for the Feb 17th deadline.

And finally, here's what we had for Lunch:

Clockwise: Hot Rotis, Diwani Handi Sabzi, Peas Pulav and Radish Sabzi.

Have a great Valentine's day friends!

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

Snippet of Life and The day's Curry

Hi Everybody,

Have you guys ever been amazed at the questions a 4 year old can ask you? The things they talk about can really make your head reel. Not to mention the many lessons you learn from your kids! My 4 year old is a non-stop talker! She can talk from the moment she wakes up until she falls asleep at night (after we threaten her a couple of times that if she does not sleep then she is going to be in trouble).
So anyway, here's a small snippet of conversation that we had the other day.
I had just picked up my kids from school and was driving back home.

Her: Mom?

Me: Not paying attention...

Her: Mom....(more persistently)!

Me: Hmmm...

Her: Mommy! (screaming)

Me: What Isha?

Her: What number will I be when I be all the numbers?

My 2 year old: (she just began talking full sentences a couple of weeks back. She usually does not understand the conversation, but wants to make a point!) Yeah Akka. Thats right!

Me: (Perplexed and smiling!) What do you mean Ishu?

Her: I mean, I am 4 now.. So what number will I be when I be all the numbers? (Giving me a look like.. you are so dumb..you cannot understand a simple question like this!)

Me: Hmmm There are lots and lots of numbers Ish, you'll be all the big numbers!

Her: Hmm ok then will I be 100, then 200 and then 300 and then 400....

Me: Yeah, sure!

Her: When you be 400 I will take care of you ok...

Me: Ok Ishu. Thank you (smiling and touched).

Her: (she was then looking out of the window, thinking up her next question!)

Hope that little snippet of life made you smile.

And to my recipe for today. Simple Cabbage Kobbari Koora. This simple dish is made in most homes. Cabbage an easily available vegetable, nutritious and easy to cook. I like to serve this Koora with Rice and some pappu or Sambar. Hope you guys enjoy this recipe.

Cabbage Kobbari Koora

Ingredients:

1 head Cabbage - Washed and Chopped into cubes or shredded

1/2 cup Fresh Grated Coconut

Salt to taste

Chopped Cilantro or Coriander leaves for garnishing

For Seasoning:

1 tbsp Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Channa Dal

1/2 tsp Urad dal

2 green chillies - chopped fine

1 dry red chilli - broken into bits

1 pinch Hing or Asafoetida

a few curry leaves

Method:

1. In a pan, heat the oil. Season with Mustard seeds. When the seeds spluttter, add the urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, hing and green chillies. Saute for 1 minute.

2. Then add the chopped cabbage. Add salt. Mix well. Then add about 1/4 cup water and cook on a medium flame with a lid. Half way through, open the lid and allow all the water to evaporate.

3. I like my cabbage a little crunchy so I usually just sprinkle water and allow the cabbage to cook in its own moisture. If you use this method, make sure you stir the cabbage on and off and dont let it get burnt.

4. Once all the water evaporates, garnish with fresh grated coconut and chopped cilantro.

5. Serve hot with Rice and Dal or Pappu.

Cabbage Kobbari Koora

Carrot Poriyal

Delicious and Nutritious Carrot Poriyal

Like any other busy parent, my days are filled with the routine and mundane chores of life. But I have no complaints. I love being busy even though some days I wish I could slow down a little. Today was one of those hectic days. Like I have mentioned before, I usually plan ahead for meals. With this in mind I had boiled a few extra potatoes yesterday when I made potato curry and saved them in the fridge so that I could make some Aloo Parathas for dinner tonight. Not to mention that nowadays all my food planning revolves around what I want to blog about next. I am so addicted to this blog thing! I am always thinking about what to blog next, how to make my blog better, take better pictures etc. etc.
So anyways, I had all this planned when I got a phone call from a friend of mine S. S called to tell me that another good friend M and her family were on their way back from India, after a month long vacation, today and plans were in place to have them picked up from the airport etc. etc. And then we discussed about how tired and hungry they might be. S was busy this evening with a dinner invitation she had to attend and I thought about how I could be useful at this time. I decided that I am going to make dinner for M and her family.
So in the evening I came back home and looked at how much Aloo I had saved. Just enough to probably make 6 parathas – not good enough! Ok so what next ? I rummaged through my fridge and dished out a Daikon Radish (Mooli) and a 2 lb bag of carrots. Ok, I would have to change my plans. I am not cooking 2 separate meals!
So I decided, it was going to be a night of comfort food – my comfort food ! Mulangi Sambar with Hot Rice and Carrot Koora or Carrot Poriyal on the side. Sounds appetizing? Hope you guys try this combination and enjoy the recipes.
Ingredients:
6 Carrots – Chopped into Cubes
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Fresh Grated Coconut for garnishing

For Seasoning:
2 tsp Oil
1 pinch of Asafoetida or Hing
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 Green chillies – Finely Chopped
a few curry leaves


Method:
1. In a pan, heat the oil. Season with mustard seeds. When the mustard splutters, add the urad dal, hing, curry leaves and green chillies.
2. Then add the chopped carrots and mix well.
3. Stir in the salt and mix well.
4. Add about ¾ cup water, cover with a lid and cook until all the water evaporates.
5. Open and sauté until the curry is dry.
6. Garnish with fresh grated coconut and serve hot as a side to rice and sambar.

Hot Rice with Radish Sambar and Carrot Poriyal

Recipe for Radish or Mulangi or Mooli Sambar coming up soon!

Plantain Masala Curry

Our town, a mid-sized town in the Midwest boasts of atleast 4000 to 5000 Indian families. And to support these families, we have 3 Indian Grocery stores and several other Asian and Tropical Markets.
I shop primarily at two of those stores - just because of convenience and also because of competitive prices. Every Wednesday, I diligently make the trip to one of the stores to buy my fresh Indian vegetables for the week. Tindora or Dondakaaya, Guvar, Lauki or Sorakai, Ridge Gourd or Beerakai, Arbi or Chemadumpa, Methi Leaves, Bitter Gourd or Kakarakaya or Haagalkay, Eggplants and Plantain or Aratikaya are some of the vegetables I usually buy. Seasonally we get Mangoes, Totakoora or Red Spinach andGreen Eggplants.
This week one of my purchases were green, hard plantains. This kind of plantains are excellent for curries or even for platain chips. I decided that Plantain curry it was for dinner. I improvised a little bit one the curry we usually make at home, back in India. I added soaked and boiled green peas (vatana) to the curry. And what a transformation! It changed the texture and taste. It was delicious and a great side to layered plain parathas and also tasted good with rice the next day in our lunch boxes.
Hope you guys all enjoy this recipe.

Plantain Masala Curry

Ingredients:
2 Raw Green Plantains - Peeled and Chopped into semi circles. [See picture below]
1 cup Soaked and drained green Peas (Soak peas overnight. If not available you may use fresh green peas, or just omit them).
1 medium sized onion - Chopped into cubes
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
3 tbsp Oil

For the Masala:
1 cup grated Fresh Coconut
1 inch cinnamon
4 cloves
1 clove Garlic
6 Green chillies
a few sprigs cilantro
Grind the above Masala in a mixer to a smooth paste and keep aside.

For Seasoning:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
a few curry leaves

Method:
1. In a saucepan add the soaked peas, enough water and boil for about 20 minutes (or until done) on the stove on medium to high heat. Once they are cooked, drain and keep aside.
2. Peel the plantains. Chop them into desired shape. I usually, chop them in to semicircles. Once you chop them store them in a dish containing cold water. Soak them in the cold water. This will ensure that they do not brown.
3. In a pan, heat the oil. Season. First add the mustard seeds, allow them to splutter then add the urad dal and curry leaves.
4. After a minute, add the chopped onions and saute them until they are transclucent.
5. Then drain the chopped plantain pieces and add them to the sauteed onions. Add the turmeric powder and salt and mix well.
6. Pour about 1/2 cup of water, close with a lid and cook the plantain until half done, stirring in between gently.
7. Half way through add the ground masala paste, the boiled peas and mix well. Cover again and cook until the raw smell of the masala is gone or until oil leaves the sides.
8. You may dribble some oil in the end and roast for a few more minutes until the curry is slightly dry.
9. Serve hot with chapathis or parathas.

Plantain Masala Curry

Cabbage Potato Koora

Cabbage and Potato is a unique and delicious combination. Cabbage - a leafy vegetable, a rich source of Vitamin C in its raw or slightly cooked state. Potato - a starchy vegetable, rich in Vitamin B6 which is otherwise hard to get and a storehouse of minerals. Cooked properly these two vegetables can provide the best of health benefits. This simple and easy dish I learnt to make from my friend Roohi who is always looking for quick fixes. She just hates to spend too much time in the kitchen. In our college days, she cooked the most delicious yet simple meals in our hostel room. Cabbage -Aloo Sabji with rice was one of my favourites of her cooking. I have improvised a little to suite our chapathi eating lifestyle. Hope you guys enjoy this easy recipe.

Simple and Delicious Cabbage Potato Curry

Ingredients :
1 head Cabbage - Chopped lengthwise
2 Potatoes - Peeled, Cubed and Boiled (I usually cook it in the microwave with some water for about 8 minutes).
1 Medium Onion - Chopped lengthwise
1 small Tomato - Chopped Lengthwise
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Dhaniya Powder
Salt to taste
Chopped Cilantro for garnishing

For seasoning:2 tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Method:
1. In a pan heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds and the chopped onions. Saute until the onions are light brown.
2. Then add the chopped cabbage and the dry powders. Mix well. Add the salt and mix.
3. Sprinkle a little water and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes in a medium flame.
4. Halfway through add the chopped Tomato and mix well.
5. Cook without the lid until all the water evaporates.
6. Drain the Boiled Potato and add to the above curry. Mix well. Saute for about 5 minutes on a medium to low flame.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves and serve hot with Chapathis.

Eggplant Fry

Eggplant or Brinjals (also called Aubergines) are available in a variety of shapes and colors. The most common Indian variety available here in the US are the small purple round eggplants and the long purple Eggplants (available in the Indian stores). American grocers usually carry the big huge purple eggplants that serve great for Baingan Bharta, a traditional North Indian Eggplant dish. Other types of eggplant available in India are the long green variety and the small round green variety, both tender and buttery to taste when cooked. This versatile vegetable is rich in Iron and can be cooked in many ways.
I learnt how to make this dish from my Mom. It is my favorite among all the Eggplant dishes. It is traditional to Tamilian cuisine and is called “Katrikaa Podi Poriyal” which literally translates to Eggplant Curry made with a Powder. This dry roasted curry tastes delicious as a side to Rice with Dal, Sambar or Rasam. Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much my family does.


Fresh Eggplants

Ingredients:

8 to 10 Eggplants (Brinjals – Small round or long purple or green will be good)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

For the dry powder:
1/2 cup urad dal
1/2 cup channa dal
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 cup dhaniya seeds (coriander seeds)
10 to 12 Dry red chillies
1 tsp asafoetida (hing)

For seasoning:
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
½ tsp Channa Dal
A few sprigs Curry leaves


Podi for Eggplant Fry



Method:

To make the powder: Dry roast the ingredients for the powder separately. The dals should be roasted on medium flame until light brown. Combine all of them and grind to a smooth powder.
To make the fry: Chop the eggplant into long pieces and store in cold water. Otherwise they will become brown on the outside. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. After they spultter add the urad dal, channa dal and curry leaves. Drain the water from the Eggplant and add to the seasoning. Add salt and sauté gently stirring in between until the pieces are tender. Roast on medium flame until dry or for 10 minutes. Then add 3 to 4 tsp of the dry powder and mix well. Serve hot with rice and dal or Sambar.
Additional Info:
The remaining powder can be stored in an airtight container for later use. You can make this dish by using raw banana or fresh methi or fenugreek leaves instead of eggplant/brinjal.

Eggplant Fry - In the Process

Delicious Eggplant Fry

Potato Curry

The humble Potato. This vegetable can be transformed into a variety of dishes. It has a place in almost all cuisines of the world. A most liked vegetable, easy to cook and tasty even with just a pinch of salt and a hint of butter. My favourite way to cook this vegetable the Indian way is to make a roasted dry curry with just the right amount of chilli powder and salt. This dish serves as a great side to rice and dal, chapathi, puri or even just plain rice.

Ingredients:
5 or 6 Potatoes (Boiled, peeled and cubed)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Salt to taste

For Seasoning:
4 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustrad seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
a few curry leaves
a pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)

Method:
1. Cook the Potatoes in a pressure cooker. Cool Peel and chop into cubes.

Boiled, Peeled and Cubed Potatoes

2. In a pan, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter. Then add the urad dal, hing, curry leaves and the bolied, chopped potato cubes.
3. Add Salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Mix gently until all the potato cubes are well coated.
4. On medium heat, roast the potato curry stirring gently in between until all cubes are well roasted. Drizzle oil on and off if needed.
5. If roasted patiently (takes atleast 1/2 hour) the potatoes will be nice and crispy.
6. Serve hot with rice and dal.

Potato with seasoning and dry powders

Delicious Potato Fry along with Rice and Dal