Thursday, July 31, 2008

Dry Gobi (Cauliflower) with Spring Onions

First, I would like to thank Valarmathi of Simple and Yummy Recipes, for passing me the Blogging Friends Forever award. I am so excited about receiving the award again, and all the friends I have made, and will make through this blog! I would love to pass this award to all the bloggers who visit and continue to encourage me to keep posting...

To begin with the Cauliflower with Spring Onions (scallion, green onion, salad onion), this is the first time I made something with spring onions. I never knew what to do with them, and was quite lost when R bought a pack when he shopped for groceries one weekend. I did google for recipes, but was more confused with all the results which were alien to me (I don't make salads! Yeah, not a healthy eater).

Thankfully, R had also bought cauliflower, and I decided I'd just chop those spring onions into whatever I would make with the cauliflower. I normally use onions, and therefore, it was easy to substitute them with the spring onions, including the green leaves. To make Dry Gobi with Spring Onions, you will need:

Gobi/ Cauliflower - 4-5 cups of evenly broken florets

When cooking, the outer leaves and thick stalks are removed, leaving only the florets. The leaves are also edible, but are most often discarded. The florets should be broken into similar-sized pieces so they are cooked evenly. After eight minutes of steaming, or five minutes of boiling, the florets should be soft, but not mushy (depending on size). Stirring while cooking can break the florets into smaller, uneven pieces. - Wikipedia

Spring Onions - chopped - about 2 cups
Tomatoes - chopped - 3 large
Green chilly - sliced - 1
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp/ 3-4 medium sized cloves
Lemon - 1/2 slice
Coriander leaves - chopped - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 2 cups
Salt - to taste


Method:
  • After breaking the washed cauliflower florets into similar-sized pieces, boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan, remove from stove, add the cauliflower pieces, squeeze the lemon juice over it, add about a tsp of salt, mix well, and leave covered for 30 minutes.
Note: This does not cook the cauliflower. This helps to clean the cauliflower, and retain the white colour of the cauliflower.
  • Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped spring onions, ginger, garlic, green chilly, and tomatoes
  • Mix well, and toss in all the powders except pepper and garam masala
  • Keep covered, and cook on low flame until tomatoes are cooked, stirring in between

  • Drain the water completely from the cauliflower pieces, and add them to the tomato-spring onion mixture
  • Add the garam masala powder, pepper, and salt to taste and mix well, taking care not to break the cauliflower
  • Leave this to cook for another 5-10 minutes, covered and on low flame, until the cauliflower pieces are cooked well, but not mushy
  • Garnish with chopped coriander leaves


Serve with chapathi/ roti

Below, I have a picture of the same dish prepared with normal onions, instead of spring onions. As you will notice, the cauliflower became a little mushy and broken in this one:D

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Pal Payasam, and Tagged Again!

I decided today that I would celebrate a month of blogging with Pal Payasam (Milk Porridge?). I generally avoid preparation of sweets at home (my standard special-occasion sweet or dessert is semiya/ vermicelli payasam), and this seemed to be the tastier alternative, though time-consuming!


To make the Pal Payasam in the picture, you will need:

Rice - 2 cups
Milk - 5-6 cups
Ghee - 3 tbsp (I love cow ghee, especially in sweets! If you are health conscious, use less ghee, or a healthier alternative - I wouldn't know what, though :-( )

If you pre-cook the rice, and use the cooked rice in the payasam you will require less milk. However, the taste and flavour of the payasam is best if you use only milk to cook the rice. The 1:2 ratio of rice:water will not work here. The type of rice depends on you - boiled or raw rice, brown or white or basmati rice, etc. I have not tried it with all varieties either, so I cannot comment. I suppose (and hope) you could make this with all varieties too! But, make sure you have enough milk to cook the rice in it, as rice varieties differ in time taken to cook.

Cashew - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Cloves - 1 tbsp
Cardamom pods - 1 tbsp - crushed
Sugar - 1 cup (OR to taste, I do not like too much sweet and try to restrict the use of sugar!)

Method:

  • Heat ghee on low flame in a pan and roast the raisins and cashews and cardamom and cloves, and keep aside
  • Wash the rice really well, soak in warm water for 30 minutes
  • Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan, and when it begins to boil, add the rice and stir well
  • Keep on low flame and leave to cook uncovered with every-5-minute-check-and-stir process until the rice is cooked and soft (just grab a spoon, dig a few grains of rice out and chew)
  • Add sugar and the ghee with the roasted mixture, and keep stirring slowly for about 5 minutes on low flame
  • Remove and keep aside to cool, half-covered

Serve warm, or chill and serve later, depending on your choice of hot or cold dessert


Tagged Again

Rekha of Rekha's Kitchen has tagged me. Thank you, Rekha! I have already done this, you can read through my answers.

Monday, July 28, 2008

A Month Old, The 30th Post, And An Award


Hi friends!

I am so happy and excited to say that this blog has lasted a month. For all the veterans and regular bloggers out there, this must sound like a joke, but believe me, this is a huge achievement for a procrastinator like me! I have started many blogs before, and they always died within a week, because I was lazy to post. I am glad I am posting here today!

Coincidentally, this is the 30th post, and I feel elated to announce an award too!

Thanks to Sripriya of Srikar's Kitchen and Rashmi of En Vittu Virundhu for passing the Blogging Friends Forever award to me.

This award inspires me to continue blogging and make friends with all the fellow bloggers (in the foodie blog world atleast).


The following rules apply to this award:

1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

Pl Note: But for the rules of this award, I would have loved to pass this to every single person who has visited my blog and left a note or two...

I am passing this to:

Priti of Indian Khana
Sireesha of Mom's Recipes
and
Cynthia of Tastes Like Home, from Barbados, who is a new visitor to my blog

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Pomegranate Juice and Magic Lamp!

I have recovered from the cold and cough that I was suffering from the last few days, and though it has started raining again, the humid atmosphere made me want to have a nice refreshing drink. I had gone out to buy fruits just yesterday and found really nice pomegranates. Picked two large ones, and decided to make a really nice drink.

I was inspired by Usha's watermelon and ginger combo at Samaikalam Vanga, and decided to use honey instead of sugar.



To make the Pomegranate Juice (serves two) you will need:

Pomegranate - 1 large - separate the red arils - as explained below:

"After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the red arils is simplified by performing this task in a bowl of water, whereby arils sink and pulp floats. " - Wikipedia

Ginger - medium sized, peeled and cut - 1
Honey - 2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Ice cubes - 5-6

Method:
  • Blend all the ingredients except ice cubes, strain well, and serve with the ice cubes


This drink goes to a lot of events:

The Return of the Genie

Cooking Station first passed the Magic Lamp of Luck to me.

Then, Sireesha of Mom's Recipes passed the Magic Lamp of Luck.

Now, Priti of Indian Khana has passed the Magic Lamp of Luck to me. I am three times lucky!:-) Thank you Soumya, Lakshmi, Sireesha, and Priti

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!

* Start Copy Here*

1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.

2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!

3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.

4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!

1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-FunFierceFabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-PinayWAHM 184-Rusin Roundup 185-Sweet Temptation 186-Lynn's Chic Spot 187-Kai Kriye 188-LiLo n StiTcH 189-Lights and Shade 190-Easycrafts 191-Ideasmoney 192-My creations 193-Sukanya-hobbiesandcrafts 194-My Kraft 195-Adam: @geNda iNsPiRaSi 196-The Working Mom 197-My Touch Of Heaven 198-Her Name is N.O.Y. 199-Fida Abbott 200-Hesitant Wife's Blog 201-Blogging For Fun 202-Paint Your Life 203-Spicybugz World 204-Colin From Life 205-Ramblings of The Phat 206-AngelBaby from Your Caring Angels 207-Creative Saga 208-Indian Khana 209-Me and My Kitchen 210-Mom's Recipies 211-Mom's Cooking 212-Cooking Station 213-Simple Indian Food 214-Rekha's Kitchen 215-YOU Next!

* End Copy Here*

I would like to pass the Magic Lamp of Luck to:

Nags of Edile Garden

Sripriya of Srikar's Kitchen

Sameera of Foodiiee

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Chembu/ Arabi - Buttermilk Sabji, and Tag 2

Ever since I read this post by Sunshinemom, I have been wishing to lay my hands on Arabi (Taro corms/ Colocasia / Chembu in Malayalam/ Chemadampa in Telugu), and post this recipe.

Vegetable shopping is reserved for weekends at my place and I had to be patient. This recipe is a variation of my mother's; she makes it a full-fledged gravy curry with coconut as a base, while I like it without the gravy, or rather semi-dry, if I can call it that. In my version, I also omit the coconut.

To make the Arabi Sabji seen in the picture, you will need:

Arabi - washed (better scrubbed with a vegetable scrub brush) - 1/2 kg

Buttermilk - 1/4 cup (Not the very thin buttermilk got after adding water; just blend 2-3 tbsp of fresh curd with less amount of water for 3-5 minutes and separate cream on top, if any)

Green chilly - sliced - 1
Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Methi/ Fenugreek seeds powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/4-1/2 tsp (per taste)
Coconut - grated - 1/2 cup (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method Without Coconut:

  • Steam the washed arabi in a steamer (or along with rice, if using rice cooker) until knife-tender (I always use a knife for this purpose!) and leave to cool and dry
  • Peel the skin, and cut into slightly thick circles, and mix the pieces in the buttermilk with salt
  • Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, toss in the curry leaves, green chilly, ginger-garlic paste, and turmeric, jeera, methi powders
  • Roast the powders on low flame for a minute, and add the vegetable in buttermilk
  • Keep stirring on low flame until semi-wet/ dry, without separating
  • Sprinkle the pepper on top and leave on hot stove until serving time

Method With coconut:

  • Grind the grated coconut along with turmeric, jeera, methi powders
  • After tempering mustard seeds in oil, and adding curry leaves, green chilly, ginger-garlic paste, add the coconut paste and stir well
  • Add the steamed, peeled, and cut vegetable into the paste, mix well and leave covered for 3-5 minutes
  • Finally, add the buttermilk (if you wish to have more gravy curry, use 1/2 cup buttermilk), and stir until slight boil on low flame, without the buttermilk separating
  • You can add pepper at the end to the curry

Serve with rice, chapathi

Wait, there's more! I have been tagged twice in the same week.

Rashmi has tagged me.

Before I get to the Qs and answer them, the rules for this tag are as follows:

"At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 or 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answers."

1.What was I doing ten years ago?
A. Studying in college as a second year engineering student!

2. Five things on Today's "To do" list
A. Decide what to make for breakfast tomorrow, Organise daughter's room and cupboard (again!), Call a friend, Read the recent copy of Outlook, and Publish this post!

3.I am addicted to :
A. Rice, I can't sleep without eating a little rice at night!; Checking my email, orkut, and this blog atleast twice a day

4.Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
A. Travel the world, buy books and read, and put rest of the money in a bank

5. Places I have lived:
A. Kannur, Muscat, Trivandrum (if stay in hostel for 3 months is living!), Hyderabad, Mumbai

I would like to pass on this tag to Bharti, Illatharasi, Purva, Valarmathi, and Vegetable Platter.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Another Gourd and Curd, and Tag 1

Hmm, I can't seem to be getting enough of gourds, and they seem to be perennial vegetables here. This time, it is bitter gourd that gets the honor, although I have mentioned before that I am not very fond of the vegetable. However, R loves bitter gourd, or Karela (Hindi), and prefers to have it every Sunday at lunch.

I will slightly digress here, to address the tag, else I will forget! A_and_N has tagged me, and I would like to pass this tag to Priti and Swati. Responses at the end of this post.

Getting back to the bitter gourd, I guess we all know that it is a healthy vegetable, and recommended for diabetics. To prepare Bitter Gourd with Curd, you will need:

Bitter Gourd - cut round as below - 3-4 cups


For marination, grind the following into a paste:

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilly - 1
Ginger - peeled and chopped - 2 tbsp
Garlic - peeled - 4-5 medium sized cloves

Also, salt - to taste


For seasoning -

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Hing/ Asafoetida - a pinch
Oil - 3-4 tbsp

Final step - 3 tbsp of fresh curd

Method:

  • Mix the bitter gourd pieces with the paste and salt and leave aside for 15-20 minutes
  • Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan and temper the mustard seeds and curry leaves along with asafeotida
  • Lay the bittergourd pieces slowly in the pan and cover the pan
  • Let this cook for 10 minutes on low flame
  • Take a flat ladle and turn over the pieces, and leave to cook for another 10 minutes, covered
  • Turn off the flame, add the 3 tbsp of curd evenly on top of the cooked vegetable and spread with flat ladle on top
  • Leave the vessel on the hot stove, until time to serve
Serve with rice

Tag Time

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?

Sarkar Raj (We are AB fans! Before this, Bhoothnath)

2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?

Selected Fiction - Manoj Das

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

Monopoly

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE

Outlook, The Week, Outlook Traveller, Vanitha and Arogya Masika (Malayalam)

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?

Smell of earth after fresh rain, Amma's food-Sambhar, Neyyappam (Vishu), Aviyal (for Sadya), Vegetable Biriyani, Sardine fish curry, etc...

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

My daughter singing 'Are You Sleeping' in the bath tub, her payal which lets me know what she's up to and where she is in the house!

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

When you know someone's lied/lying to you deliberately!

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

What to make for breakfast and tiffin for my daughter!

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

Chat bandi/restaurant, and McDonald's at times

10) FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? Ans. Not sure...

11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT—’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY

Travel the world, buy more books and read, and put the rest in a bank

12) DO U DRIVE FAST? Ans. No, I am scared to drive!

13) DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Ans. No

14) STORMS–COOL OR SCARY? Ans. Scary

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Ans. None of my own!

16) FAVOURITE DRINK? Ans. Mango/ Orange juice

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD

Read all the books I have bought and learn painting

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Ans. No (I don't eat broccoli)

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Ans. Brown (Brunette!)

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?

Kannur, Muscat, Trivandrum (if stay in hostel for 3 months is living!), Hyderabad, Mumbai

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Ans. Tennis

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

A_and_N: The most delightful cooking-inclined newly wed couple I have come across:-)

23) WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?

Currently, 8 cartons of books lying unpacked, because of lack of space in Mumbai apartment

24) WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?? Ans. Yes, taller
25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL? Ans. Morning Person

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP? Ans. Neither!

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX? Ans. At Home...

28) FAVOURITE PIE? Ans. Apple Pie

29) FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR? Ans. Chocolate

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Priti

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Palak Paratha

I love leafy vegetables, and try to include them in my diet as much as possible. Palak (Spinach) is such a rich source of iron, and instead of making Dal Palak or Spinach Thoran, I try to make parathas occasionally. This time, I was in a hurry, and decided to try and make them as quickly as possible.

This is what I used to make the Palak Paratha:

Palak - finely chopped - 4 cups
Wheat flour/ Atta - 2 cups
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp (for palak); per taste (for roti)
Salt - to taste

Method:

  • Heat oil in a kadai, and add the jeera powder, red chilly powder, ginger, palak and salt, and stir well for 2 minutes
  • Leave to cook and when the colour of the palak changes and water from the vegetable evapourates, leave to cool
  • Take a mixing bowl and knead the flour with the palak and keep aside (Do not add water, you can add more salt per taste)
  • Heat the griddle, sprinkle oil and spread with the flat ladle
  • Make small balls with the dough and start rolling them with a rolling pin, using oil if you wish to
  • Cook both sides of the flattened rolls using oil per requirement, and store in a hot pot

I am a little sceptical about using oil, so I did not use oil while kneading, and while rolling them flat. They were still soft and tasty. The parathas definitely taste better with more oil, I can't deny that!

My six parathas were ready in about 30 minutes from start to finish!

Serve with pickle/ chutney/ youghurt/ raita

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Teasle Gourd (Kakrol) and Carrot Subji

There are some vegetables I dislike (bitter gourd), and some that I simply love (bhindi!). There are some I don't have any feeling for; either way it doesn't matter. The teasle gourd or kakrol is one such vegetable. I was introduced to it only after I got married. I first saw it in the sabji mandi near my house in Hyderabad, years ago. R wanted to know if I knew how to make it, and I replied in the negative. Ever since that day, whenever R buys vegetables (once in a while) he gets his favorites like Arabi, Bitter Gourd, Kakrol.


He calls it Ghee Karela. It is like a smaller version of the bitter gourd, but don't know if it is supposed to have ghee-like properties, or if it is due to the ghee-like colour on one side of the vegetable. Anyway, I have never been able to make it the way R likes it. I try something of my own, or like with this dish, ask my mother what I could possibly do to make it tasty. I really liked the result, and so did R, though he did complain that it is not what he was expecting.

To make the subji in the above picture, you will need:

Teasle Gourd - cut into cubes (deseed as much as possible) - 2 cups
Carrots - cut into cubes - 1 cup
Onions - chopped - 2
Green chilly - sliced - 1
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

  • Steam cook the teasle gourd and carrots together
  • Mix the powders, ginger paste, salt, and lemon juice into the vegetables and leave for 30 minutes
  • Heat oil in pan, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves and green chilly
  • Saute the onions in this pan until light brown
  • Add the vegetables and stir fry well for 5 - 10 minutes

Serve with hot rice

P.S. I would really love to get more recipes with this vegetable, and especially ones with gravy.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Lauki Soup

I was inspired to put up this post today (despite my recent post of Ribbed Gourd Thoran yesterday) by the post for Dal Lauki by Priti. This is the first time I am going to be participating for an event in the blogosphere.

I hope my entry to VoW-Vegetable of the Week-Bottle Gourd is accepted. The first thing I did was check the rules, and go through Pooja's blog for the last date to send in the entries. I am so glad today is 14th July, and I did not miss the last date.


It so happened that I had made Lauki Soup on Friday, 11th July, for my daughter's birthday. She loves vegetable soup, and it being her birthday, I made her favorite dishes (sambhar, bhindi, soup, payasam) only. I always take pictures of the dishes I make, so it is useful for a blog entry later:-), and I am so happy I can now post it here, as part of the event.

You will need:

Lauki - peeled and cut into large cubes (no need to deseed) - 1 large bottle gourd or 4 cups
Onion - chopped - 1
Tomatoes - chopped - 2
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tbsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves - chopped - to garnish
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp - a pinch (for colour)
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp (for colour too)
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • Pressure cook the bottle gourd pieces, onion, tomato, ginger, garlic into with 1.5 cups of water (3-4 whistles)
  • Cool and grind the same (with any water left) along with the powders and salt in the mixer
  • Pour into a pan and heat on low flame to a light boil and keep stirring
  • Add pepper and garnish with coriander leaves
Serve hot in soup bowl

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Thalorikka (Ribbed Gourd) Thoran

Gourds are so healthy, and full of fibre. I love the ribbed gourd vegetable, and usually make it with Dal. Very rarely do I make it as a dry subji, but this time, I wanted to try something different.

You will need:

Ribbed Gourd - washed, peeled and cut into cubes - 3 cups
Onions - chopped - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - finely chopped - 1 cup
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Pepper - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Coconut - grated - 1/2 cup (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • Boil the cut vegetable in 1 cup of water in a covered pan on low flame
  • When the vegetable is cooked and dry, heat oil in a separate pan, and temper the mustard seeds
  • Add the onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute until the onions turn light brown
  • Mix the tomatoes, and keep covered on low flame until tomatoes are cooked
  • Add the cooked gourd vegetable, stir well, add pepper and leave for 5 minutes
  • If adding coconut, grind it into a paste with jeera powder and add at this stage
Serve hot with rice/ roti

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Beetroot Rasam

I remember, as a child I used to love the Chokanna Cheera (Red Thotakora/ Red Spinach) thoran with rice. The colour of the rice would become bright pink/ purple (not 'red' - one of those minomers - the vegetable itself not being 'red'!) and sometimes the tongue too would be pink after eating it. I love that colour, and the same effect is achieved with Beetroot.

At home, Amma always uses beetroot in vegetable soup, mixed vegetable curry, vegetable korma, vegetable biriyani etc., but never did beetroot get the honour of ruling the dish. Let me confess, I learnt to make beetroot rasam from another of my roommates (and yes, during the good old days).

Unfortunately, the pictures that I took of the Beetroot Rasam did not turn out well. Here are two that turned out better than all the pictures I clicked:




You will need:

Beetroot - peeled and grated - 3 cups

Green chilly - sliced - 1

Ginger - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp

Water - 3 cups

Tamarind paste/ Tomato puree/ Lime juice - 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Rasam powder - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves - chopped (optional)

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing/ Asafeotida - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

  • In a heavy-bottomed pan, boil the grated beetroot with water and salt for 10-15 minutes on low flame, until the water level is reduced to half
  • Heat oil in pan, temper the mustard seeds and curry leaves
  • Add ginger, green chillies, and on low flame, roast the powders for a minute
  • Add the tamaring paste or tomato puree and stir well for 5 minutes. If using lime juice, please do not add now
  • Mix this well with the boiling beetroot, cover the vessel and boil for another 5 minutes on low flame
  • If using lime juice, add the lime juice after removing the dish from the stove and mix well
  • Garnish with coriander leaves

Serve with rice

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Dal Roti

Being tired of the normal Dal curries, but wishing to include it in my diet, I thought of using it in making rotis quite accidentally. The toor dal being cooked for Sambhar got slightly burnt at the bottom of the vessel, and I managed to salvage the remaining. Since I did not want to make curry out of it, as it may give a burnt taste, I decided to make rotis out of it. One of my roomies (during the good old days when we were eligible spinsters living together and cooking) used to make rotis out of left over dal curry. This is how I made the dal rotis.

You will need:

Dal - cooked and mashed - 1 cup
Wheat flour/ Atta - 2 cups
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Methi powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

  • Knead the atta along with all the ingredients, cover and keep aside for 30 minutes
  • Heat the griddle and start rolling out small round portions of the dough with a rolling pin
  • If you wish to add oil, as you would while making parathas, feel free to do so
  • Make the rotis on the griddle, and again add 1/4 tsp oil, if you wish to

Serve hot with Yam Masala or any other vegetable side dish

Yam Masala (Chena Masala)

Yam is one vegetable that I prefer to avoid in general, especially because of the allergic reactions caused by it. However, with phulkas all nights for dinner, I find myself wondering what different and palatable side dish I can prepare. This time around, I happened to get cut yam from the supermarket, which meant I didn't have to worry about cutting them myself. The picture shows the yam masala that I prepared to go with Dal Roti (recipe later).



You will need:

Yam - cut into cubes - 3 cups
Green chilly - 1
Onions - chopped - 1 cup
Tomatoes - chopped - 2 cups
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - chopped (optional)

Method:

  • Pressure cook the cut yam pieces
  • Heat oil in pan and saute the onions along with ginger garlic paste and sliced green chilly
  • Add the tomatoes after the onions turn light brown and cover the pan
  • Remove cover after 5 minutes, add the powders and the cut yam and stir well
  • Add salt to taste and cook for 10 minutes on low flame adding 1/2 cup of water if necessary
  • Garnish with chopped coriander

Serve with hot chapathis/rotis/phulkas

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Bread Aloo Sev chat

Now, I really don't know if I can call this a chat item, but I have no option. Anyway, this snack, which I prepared as an evening snack on Sunday is courtsey the potatoes that were leftover after boiling them for the Aloo Methi.

There was wheat bread too, and I just improvised again, when R asked for a snack in the evening. It was raining outside, and I too felt like having something a little spicier, than what we normally have.

Things you need:

Wheat bread - cut into small pieces - 4-5 slices

Potatoes - boiled, peeled, and sliced - 3

Onions - finely chopped - 2

Green chilly - 1

Ginger paste - 2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Sev or bhujia - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - chopped - 1/4 cup

Lemon - 1/2

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

  • Heat oil in pan, and sautee the onions with the green chilly and ginger paste
  • Add the potatoes and all the powders and mix
  • Mix the bread with salt into the pan and keep stir frying on low flame
  • Add pepper, and squeeze the lemon slice evenly over the mixture
  • Garnish with the sev/ bhujia, and the coriander leaves

If you have imli chutney or paani, you can add that too to the dish

Serve hot with tomato sauce

Curd Rice with Cherries

Curd had not been a favourite with me since childhood, and I usually like to make buttermilk and all the buttermilk curries, or just drink buttermilk with added sugar. However, R loves curd, and has to end the mid-day meal whenever he's at home with curd rice. He also enjoys it more with a fruit, preferably a banana, mango, pomegranates, papaya, or sweet melon.

If very little rice is leftover, I usually make curd rice (it is best made fresh), as that is enough to serve one person. This time around, I did not have any fruits other than oranges and cherries at home, and decided to serve the curd rice with cherries, as in the picture.


Die-hard fans of curd rice may not like this quick-fix and un-authentic recipe for curd rice, but please bear with me. This is just last-minute improvisation.

Things you will need:

Rice - 1 cup
Curd - fresh and not sour - 3/4 cup
Milk - boiled, lukewarm - 1/4 cup
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/4 tsp
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Green chilly - 1
Coriander leaves - chopped - 2-3 tsp (optional)
Ginger paste - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste

This is the way I made the curd rice:
  • Mix the curd in the rice very well with salt, add milk and stir and keep aside (This can be done a few hours, 2-3 hrs, before serving time)
  • Heat oil in pan, temper mustard seeds, green chilly, ginger, curry leaves, and asafoetida
  • Mix well with the rice, and add pepper
  • Garnish with coriander leaves
Serve with cherries (or any fruit)

Dal Palak curry

Yes, two leaf curries in the same day! It was a leafy affair this sunday, because I happened to buy both Methi and Palak on Saturday. I did not want to waste them away in the refrigerator until I got to them over the week, so I decided to make Aloo Methi and Dal Palak (and yes, my blog posts are belated entries!). I had the Aloo Methi and Dal Palak with the rotis, while my daughter loved the Dal Palak with rice, and picked out the potatoes from the Aloo Methi served on her plate.

You will need:

Palak (Spinach) - 3-4 cups

Dal (lentils) - 1 cup

Onions - chopped - 1 (optional)

Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp

Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Jeera powder - 2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

  • Pressure cook the lentils along with the onions, ginger and garlic, and mash the mixture
  • Heat oil in pan, add the turmeric, red chilly, jeera powders
  • Immediately toss the palak in the pan with salt, mix well, and cook covered for 5 minutes
  • Remove the lid, add mashed lentils and mix with the palak

Serve hot with chapathis/rice

Amla Subji

Nellikka (Amla or Indian Gooseberry) is normally used in pickles only by my mother, and I had bought a kilo of them with just that intention-make pickle of out it. However, I realized it's going to be tedious to make pickle, and instead decided to make something different from it. I really enjoyed the Amla subji (as I'd like to call it) with hot rice.

You will need:

Amla - 1 kilo

Onions - finely chopped - 2 large ones (optional)

Ginger-Garlic-1 Green chilly paste - 2tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 2 strands

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Red chilly powder - 2 tsp

Methi powder - 3 tsp

Corainder powder - 1 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Hing (Asafoetida) - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Mehtod:

  • Pressure cook the amla for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water
  • De-seed the Amla and cut into 4 pieces each
  • Heat oil in a pan, temper mustard seeds and curry leaves
  • Add the ginger-garlic-green chilly paste and onions
  • Keep the flame on sim, and add the turmeric, red chilly, coriander, methi, jeera powders and stir well until slightly fried
  • Mix the Amla along with any water left after boiling and salt
  • Keep on flame until water dries, and temper again with hing

Serve with hot rice

Aloo Methi

While making rotis or chapathis for dinner, I am always inclined to choose dal (lentils) or some gourd vegetable (dhoodhi/bootle gourd, ribbed gourd etc) to go with it. I would also have made dal methi, but I so wanted to make Aloo Methi and this is the way the picture turned out:

To make Aloo Methi (Potato-Fenugreek Leaves), you need:

Potatoes - boiled, peeled, and sliced into 4 each - 3
Methi leaves - chopped - 4-5 cups
Onions - chopped - 1 cup
Green chilly - sliced - 1
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2tbsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (Cumin seeds) powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
  • Heat oil in a kadai, temper mustard seeds, and add the onions
  • After the onions turn light brown, ad the ginger, garlic, green chilly, turmeric, red chilly, jeera, and coriander powder
  • Mix the chopped methi leaves well along with salt, and cook covered on low flame for 5 min
  • Remove lid, and add the sliced potato pieces
  • Mix well, and let the water from the methi leaves dry up
  • Add the garam masala and stir well
Serve with hot rotis/chapathis

Godambu Rava Upma

I have already posted the recipe for Rava Upma with grated carrot. The picture shows the same dish made with Godambu Rava (Semolina).