Crab Curry

Here is the recipe for Crab curry.

Ingredients:

Crab - medium sized - 12 - with the legs, cleaned and cut

Onions - 3 - finely chopped

Tomatoes - 3 - finely chopped

Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2-3inch sized/ 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 1/2 cup

For the masala paste:

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp (optional)

Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

Red chillies - 3-4 (or more depending on taste)

Black pepper - 1tsp

Water - 2tbsp

For tempering/ garnish:

Onions - 1 whole chopped lengthwise

Coriander leaves - chopped

Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Dry roast all the ingredients for the masala paste, let cool, and grind to a smooth paste with little water and keep aside

• In a wide bottomed pan mix the chopped onions and tomatoes, ginger and crab and a little water and leave to boil until crab is cooked (You will get a lovely smell of the crab meat and can check with a fork or knife if the meat is soft enough). Add water in between if you want lots of gravy with the curry, else let it be semi dry

• Add the masala and mix well by tossing with two ladles and keep covered on low flame and cook for another 5 minutes, increase the flame and then let it simmer for another 2 minutes before you turn off

• Keep a tadka pan and heat the oil, add the onions and let it caramelize into a dark brown, pour it on top of the curry and also garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve with rice/ chapathi

Prawn Curry

This was another dish prepared along with the Brinjal Masala for lunch, the recipe being Amma's and the cook being me. Normally, I prefer prawns fried. However, we wanted something interesting to go with rice for lunch that everyone would like, and prawn curry seemed the best option. 

To make the Prawn Curry seen in the picture, you will need:

Prawns - deveined - 1/2 kg

Onion - finely chopped - 2 large

Tomatoes - finely chopped - 3 large

Ginger -  peeled and pounded - 2 tbsp 

Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp 

Green chilly - 1 - sliced

For the marinade:

Salt - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

For the paste:

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Roasted coriander powder - 1 tsp

Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 whole lemon (optional)

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Marinade the prawns in salt, turmeric, red chilly powder and keep aside for 15-20 min
• In a pan, heat a tbsp of oil, saute 3/4 of the onions with ginger, garlic, green chilly
• Add the tomatoes after the onions are done and cook
• Meanwhile, boil the prawns with one cup of water, and cook covered over medium heat
• Grind the grated coconut, red chilly powder, cumin seeds, roasted coriander powder, to a smooth paste
  
• Add the paste to the cooked prawns, mix well, and cook on medium heat for another 5 minutes
  
• In a tadka pan, heat the oil and add the remaining 1/4 of the chopped onions and lightly stir until light brown
• Add the onions to the dish, then add the lemon juice and mix well

Note: You may increase the red chilly powder quantity if you like the curry to be spicy. But if you have children who are gonna eat the dish and have a share of the prawns in the curry like A did, I suggest you keep the spice level low. Also, I mentioned that the lemon juice is optional because the tomatoes will add a tanginess to the curry. If you prefer more tanginess, the juice extract of a lemon-sized ball of tamarind can be used as a substitute for lemon, however, it should be added along with the paste and cooked.

Serve with hot rice/ chapathi

Raw Mango-Moong Dal Curry

As a child, I always looked forward to the summer season; mainly the summer vacation which brought with it all the flavours of the season, especially mangoes! My mouth waters at the thought of the raw mangoes we instant-pickled and ate, or the ripe ones we tore apart with our teeth and licked the juice running down our fingers-all freshly plucked out of the numerous mango trees scattered in my grandmother's enormous backyard. Those memories will always be cherished.

At home, Amma always uses raw mangoes in a lot of dishes, raw mango and coconut chutney, fish curries with mango and coconut gravy etc. After Vishu, I wanted to use the raw mangoes I had picked out for the Kani and was wondering what to do with them, since A does not like coconut chutney much (sad, but true!). So I decided to make Mango Dal with Moong Dal with it and adding the bottlegourd vegetable too.



To make the Raw Mango-Moon Dal Curry seen in the picture, you will need:

Moong Dal - 2 cups
Raw Mango - peeled, chopped large
Bottlegourd/ Dhoodhi - peeled, deseeded, cubed - 1 cup
Onion - chopped - 1 (optional)

Coconut - grated - 1/2 cup
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tsp
Green chilly - sliced - 1 small
Coriander seeds powder - roasted - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds powder - roasted - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Asafeotida/ Hing - 1/4 tsp/ a pinch
Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste



Method:

• Wash the moong dal well and soak for about 15 minutes
• In a pressure cooker, add dal, bottlegourd pieces and chopped onion with enough water and boil for 2-3 whistles
• While it cools, grind raw mango pieces, grated coconut, green chilly and ginger along with the powders and salt into a smooth paste
• Mix the paste into the cooked moong dal and bottlegourd vegetable and adjust consistency with water and bring to boil on low flame
• Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil with hing and season the curry
  

Serve with rice. It also goes well with chapathi if made thick.

Yellow 'Sambar'

As soon as I noticed that FIC at Sunshinemom's Tongueticklers is going yellow this month as a tribute to the Spring season, I knew what I would post: my daughter's most favourite curry after the quintessential South Indian Sambar, which she calls Yellow 'Sambar.' The main reason that she loves this curry is because it has her most loved vegetable in it, okra/ lady finger/ bhindi/ vendaykka.

While everyone in my family knows this curry by the name 'Moru Curry,' and we do have different versions of this curry with different vegetables, I have also started calling this curry Yellow Sambar now. At home, me and my brothers always loved to have this curry with rice/ dosa/ puttu, and still do! Since my mother is with us for a few days, A was lucky to have this curry made by Amma, her Ammamma.



What always amazes me is the fact that this curry acquires its yellow colour only because of the little bit of turmeric/ haldi/ manjal powder that is added to it. Devoid of it, I would not have been posting this now!

(I had some raw manjal and dried turmeric sticks, and wanted to take a picture of them for this post!)

To make the Yellow 'Sambar'/ Vendaykka Moru Curry seen in the pictures, you will need:

Vendaykka - cut into cubes - 1 cup
Tomatoes - chopped - 2
Onions - chopped - 1
Coconut - grated - 1/2 cup
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp
Green chilly - 1 or 2 - sliced
Buttermilk - 2 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste


Method:

• In a heavy bottomed pan, boil the chopped onions, tomatoes, okra, green chillies along with salt and half the turmeric powder in half cup of water, and leave to cook covered
  
• Grind grated coconut, cumin seeds, ginger and remaining turmeric to a smooth paste and mix well with buttermilk (you can just run them together in a large jar on the mixer)
  
• When the vegetables are cooked (ensure that the okra pieces are not over-cooked and don't worry about them getting stikcy/slimy, they don't!), add the buttermilk with the coconut paste, stir slowly over low flame
• Just when the curry begins to bubble, take it off the heat and stir a little more (if the heat is more, the curry might curdle)
• Heat oil in a tadka pan, splutter mustard seeds along with curry leaves and season the curry

Serve with hot rice/ dosa/ puttu


The Vendaykka Moru Curry/ Yellow Sambar goes to FIC - Yellow at Sunshinemom's Tongueticklers

White Chickpeas Curry

White chickpeas are a favorite at home, much more than the desi black chana. I have previously posted Masala Chana and Kootu Curry, both with black chickpeas. White Chickpeas Curry, as seen in the picture, is prepared very often to go with chapatis at dinner or with dosa/ puris in the morning.

To prepare, you will need:

White chickpeas - 2 cups
Tomatoes - chopped - 3-4 large
Onions - chopped - 2 medium sized
Ginger - chopped and pounded - 2 tbsp
Garlic - chopped and pounded - 2-3 cloves
Note: you may use about 3-4 tsps of ginger garlic paste, if not using fresh ginger and garlic
Curd - 1/2 cup fresh (not very sour)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp (add more if you prefer hot)
Roasted Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 1 tbsp
Roasted Coriander seeds powder - 2 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - chopped, for garnishing
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Soak the chickpeas overnight/ 5-6 hrs and cook in pressure cooker for two whistles
• Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions, ginger, garlic and stir well
• Add the chopped tomatoes once the onions are done, and cook covered for 2-3 minutes
• Mix the turmeric, red chilly, jeera, coriander powders along with a little salt and leave covered on low flame for 5 minutes until tomatoes are cooked
• Add the chickpeas and stir well adjusting the consistency with little amount of boiled water
• Mix the curd and garam masala with salt to taste and cook on low flame for 3-5 minutes
• Garnish with chopped coriander leaves

Serve with hot phulkas/ chapathis/puris/ dosa

Everytime I wanted to participate in the very popular event for the love of legumes, I ended up missing them. This time, I decided to post as soon as I noticed that the Seventh Helping of My Legume Love Affair is being hosted by Srivalli at Cooking 4 all Seasons.

This event is the brain child of The Well-Seasoned Cook Susan, and you can view the host line-up here. This curry is my entry to the My Legume Love Affair, Seventh Helping event.

Update: Thanks to Madhuram of Eggless Cooking, I am sending this curry to the JFI Chickpeas event hosted at Sometime Foodie this month.


JFI is a monthly online food event focusing on natural and Indian ingredients started by Indira of Mahanandi.

My 'Freshest' Post

Normally, we prefer to have dinner between 8 and 8:30 pm, but after moving to Mumbai, dinner time is delayed 30 minutes further, and we finish eating by 9:00 pm only. Today, I had finished basic preparations for dinner before going out in the evening. There were two raw mangoes in the fridge and 4 potatoes lying unused for more than a week, and I wanted to make use of them. The easiest choice that came to my mind was raw mango chutney with aloo roti**, and plain old simple dal. I added the ingredients for the mango chutney in the mixer, pressure-cooked two cups of dal for 3-4 whistles, got the mashed potato and wheat flour dough ready, and decided to complete the dishes after returning home 'fresh'-in-time for dinner.

We are out. Phone rings. R says, "I am at a chicken shop. Shall I get a Kg?" My memory bell rings. 'Oh no. I had asked him to buy chicken if possible.' I say, "OK."

We are back home at 8 and R, by 8:15 pm, with the chicken. "So late, do you want me to make the chicken now?" My daughter A, who has recently taken to chicken, thanks to her friends, starts chanting, "I want chicken and mammam, I want chicken and mammam*" in a very familiar nursery rhyme tune. "OK. Give me an hour."

I wash the chicken with water and the '5-second lime and salt' way, as explained by Cynthia of Tastes Like Home, and proceed to marinade, stopping midway while peeling ginger with the thought - 'Why not use my raw mango mixture to marinade with curd?' - and grab fresh curd from the fridge. Well, you can read the recipes below, but I ended up making mango chicken and aloo roti** with dal for dinner.

The reason I mentioned time of dinner etc. in the beginning: While the chicken was marinad-ing(?) for 30 minutes, I made the tomato-onion-masala base for the gravy, and aloo roti, and we sat for dinner at 9:30 pm. We finished by about 10:00 pm, and I cleared up and put A to sleep by 11:00pm, and started this post, very 'fresh' from the whole unplanned-but-pleasant mango chicken curry experience. My first chicken dish prepared at home after 15 and odd months!

Mango Chicken Curry

Things you will need:
Chicken pieces - 1 kg in all
For the Mango Marinade Mixture
Raw Mangoes - 2 meidum-sized - peeled and cubed
Curd - 3 tbsp - fresh
Ginger - 2 large - peeled and cubed
Garlic cloves - 3-4 large - peeled and cubed
Green chilly - 1 large - chopped
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
Jeera Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Methi powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 2 tsp
For the tomato-onion gravy
Tomatoes - 2 large - finely chopped
Onions - 4 large - finely chopped
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp OR to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Grind the mango mixture

• Add it to the curd and mix well
• Mix the washed, pat-dried chicken pieces in the mango-curd mixture and leep aside for 30 minutes


• Grind half the chopped onions and half the chopped tomatoes together into a paste
• Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add half the chopped onions, stir well until light brown
• Add the coriander, garam masala, pepper and salt, and mix well for a few minutes
• Add the remaining half of the chopped tomatoes, and cook covered for 2-3 minutes
• Add the tomato-onion paste and bring to boil
• Add the chicken marinade and mix well

• Keep covered and leave to cook, occasionally mixing in between
• After 15-20 minutes adjust the salt and add more chilly/ garam masala to taste, and check if the meat is knife-tender but not breaking up
• Remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves (I didn't have:-()

Aloo Roti**

Things you will need:

Wheat flour/ Atta - 3 cups
Potatoes - 4 medium-sized - boiled, peeled, mashed
Roasted Jeera/ Cumin seeds powder - 2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Knead all the ingredients together into a dough without adding water, and use oil only to ensure your hands are not sticky and keep it aside

• When you are ready to make the rotis, make small balls out of the dough, and start rolling out with a rolling pin
• Heat a griddle and start baking the rotis

• When one side is done, turn the roti over and bake the other side

I served these with the Mango Chicken Curry, as below

The Mango Chicken Curry goes to Srilekha's "Chicken" event at Me a My Kitchen.

Note:
*Mammam - a term used for food or meals for children. At home, it is rice for A.
** Aloo Roti - I can never make Aloo Parathas. Because I am incapable of using the mashed potato and masala balls as a filling to a rolled out dough base and roll them out without getting the entire place messy with the filling bursting out from the sides. I prefer to knead the boiled, peeled and mashed potatoes (ensuring there is no water) into the wheat flour and prepare them the normal roti way, and therefore, call it aloo roti.

If your mangoes are sour enough, you may skip using tomatoes, and follow the recipe. If you do not like the bite of onion pieces in the gravy, use only onion paste

"Back with a Breeze"

I remember reading ages ago, while doing follow-up reading on 'Gone with the Wind,' that Margaret Mitchell retorted to requests for a sequel to her book with "What shall I call it, 'Back with a Breeze'?" Well, I felt like using the phrase for today's post title because I am back, and in great spirits!

Dear friends, I sincerely apologize for my absence from the blogosphere, and for not visiting your blogs. I was slightly indisposed and was unable to post on my blog or participate in the many wonderful events that were held the past month. I have missed reading all your blogs! I promise to visit all your blogs, catch up with the event round-ups, and also collect the awards that my blogger friends have passed as soon as I read all the comments to my previous post. I thank each and every one of you for the kind words and support you have been giving me.

Though my parents could not stay back to celebrate Onam with us, my elder brother was able to visit us on Onam day and partake of the Onam Sadya that I prepared. I would love to share the pictures of the Pookalam (flower carpet), and the Ona-Sadya, as seen below.

Inside the house, on Onam day

Outside the house, at the entrance of the main door, the day before Onam

Ona-Sadya

I am so glad that I can still participate (I hope) in the Festive Food Event for Onam Celebration hosted by Priyanka of Asan Khana.

Though I prepared Puli-Inji, Cabbage Thoran, Avial, Kootu Curry, Pacchadi, Sambar, and Pappdam (I wanted to prepare Olan, Kaalan, and Erissery too, but couldn't), the recipe that I would like to submit for the Festive Food: Onam Celebration event is that of Kootu Curry. Unfortunately, I do not have separate pictures of the dishes, and have to make do with a cropped image of the Kootu Curry from the Sadya.

Things you will need:

Chena/ Yam/ Suran - 2 cups - cut into cubes
Nendra Kaya/ Plantain - 1 cup - cut into cubes (of the Nendra variety
Black Chana/ Kadala/ Chick peas - 1 1/2 cups - soaked overnight
Water - 2 cups
Ginger - 2 tbsp - peeled and pounded
Coconut - grated - 1 1/2 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1 tbsp - roasted
Pepper - 1 tbsp
Red Chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands

Method:

• Pressue cook the cut chena and nendra kaya along with kadala and ginger (2 whistles)
• Coarse grind 1 cup of coconut along with turmeric, red chilly, and jeera
• Mix this into the cooked vegetable and peas mixture, and add pepper
• Temper mustard seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves, and roast the remaining 1/2 cup coconut in this until brown
• Season the dish with the above mixture

Serve for Sadya, or with rice and chapathi on normal days

Parwal (Pointed Gourd) Sambar

Yet another gourd! I can't help it, I am a gourd-eater. I was introduced to the Pointed Gourd (Parwal/ Potol in Hindi/ Bengali) only after I got married, just like the Teasle Gourd. R prefers to have it with potato as a curry, or sautéed.

In an effort to make my little one eat all vegetables (and become a true member of the gourd-eating family), I try to make what she likes best - Sambar! Of course, I can't ever think of making bitter-gourd sambar. Since my 3 year old ate the parwal pieces in this sambar, I feel confident enough to post this.

To make the Parwal Sambar seen in the picture you will need:

Toor Dal - 1 cup
Parwal - 4-5 medium sized - sliced, deseeded, and quartered
Water - 3 cups
Tomatoes - 3 medium sized - quartered
Onion - 1 large - chopped
Green chilly - 1 - sliced
Ginger - 1/2 tsp - peeled and pounded
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp (OR lemon juice from 1 whole lemon)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Hing/ Asafeotida - a pinch/ 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - chopped (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook the toor dal along with chopped onions, tomatoes, parwal pieces, green chilly, and ginger
• If using tamarind paste, add the tamarind paste at this stage, mix well, add salt to-taste and boil for a minute. Add the sambar powder and mix well
• If using lemon juice, just add salt to taste along with the sambar powder and boil for a minute
• Add water to adjust the thickness or consistency according to your preference and allow to simmer on low flame
• Heat oil in a tadka pan, temper the mustard seeds, add hing, curry leaves, and turmeric and red chilly powder at the very end
• Add this to the sambar, and stir well without breaking the parwal pieces
• Garnish with coriander leaves
  

Another view

Serve with rice.

Note: I avoid the use of tamarind as much as possible. I add more tomatoes and use lemon juice as a substitute. I also do not use red chillies in the seasoning/ tadka process.

Bitter Gourd Masala - Curry Mela

I keep forgetting about events, and even though I read others' entries in their blogs and leave a comment, I never remember that I too can participate and should start thinking of something suitable for the event while cooking. I have missed quite a few, and was reminded by comments for the Cauliflower with Spring Onions post, that Curry Mela is on at Cooking 4 All Seasons hosted by Srivalli.

Considering that most of my daily-meal curries are lentil based (I make Sambar almost every day for my daughter who won't eat Dosa/ Idli/ Rice without it), I was not sure what curry to make, that I could also submit for the event. I did not want to submit Moru (Buttermilk) based curries, and I already have a post on Moru Curry.

As mentioned earlier, there is always one Bitter Gourd dish on the Sunday lunch menu. Yesterday, when I was washing the bitter gourd vegetable, my mother's Bitter Gourd Masala curry came to my mind, and I decided to try my hand at it. A quick phone call (long-distance! :-() and a few jots on my kitchen post-it, and I was good to go.



To make the Bitter Gourd Masala in the picture, you will need:

Bitter Gourd - washed, deseeded, and cut into rectagular pieces - 5 cups
Tamarind paste - 1/2 - 1 cup (depending on taste preference)
Onion - peeled and chopped - 1 large/ 1/2 cup (optional)
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 2 tbsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 1 tbsp
Pepper - a pinch
Hing/ Asafeotida - a pinch or 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Water - 2-3 cups
Oil - 4 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the Masala:
Grated coconut - 2 cups
Red Chillies - 2-3 depending on size
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Jeera/ Cumin powder - 1tbsp

Method:

• Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai, add the red chillies and grated coconut until the coconut turns light brown. I used coconut pieces, cut into small cubes, instead of grated coconut
• Add the turmeric, coriander powder and jeera powder, mix well and roast until coconut turns dark brown and keep aside

• Pressure cook the bitter gourd along with the chopped onions, ginger, garlic, and a pinch of salt with adequate water

• Grind the roasted coconut mixture into a think, smooth paste. While grinding it helps to add a pinch or two of salt, as the coconut gets ground faster
• In the pressure cooker pan, which already has the cooked bitter gourd, add the tamarind paste along with salt, and bring to boil on low flame
• Now, mix the ground coconut masala into the curry and stir well
• Keep on low flame and allow to simmer
• Heat 2 tsp in the tadka pan, temper the mustard seeds and curry leaves along with hing and pepper, and season the curry with this mixture

Serve hot with rice. We had it with Beans-Carrot pulao and a subji as seen in the picture below.

Though the curry did not turn out to have the delightful dark brown colour as my mother's (which I later found out to be the result of not roasting the coconut and powders well enough), the following exchange at the lunch table laid my fears to rest: "Not as good as Amma's," I said, and R replied, "Stop comparing every dish you make with your mothers'! This is really tasty."

This is my entry to Curry Mela at Cooking 4 All Seasons

Note: I wanted to mention about Srivalli's Food Blog List many posts ago, but forgot. If you have a food blog and would like to feature in the list, please visit here. I have also added a link to the list on my blog.

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.

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

Moru (Buttermilk) Curry

Buttermilk can be used as a base for gravy curries, and Moru curry can be made with different vegetables or without. Usually, yam and plantain, carrot and drumstick, tomato and potato, tomato and okra, tomotao and onions are the combination of vegetables used by my mother. The ingredients tpo differ depending on the vegetables, for instance, for the yam and plantain version, pepper is used, for carrot and drumstick version, more methi is added, while for the tomato and okra version, more jeera is added.

I usually make the simple tomato onion version with the caramelized onions as seasoning, but all the other versions are seasoned the typical way with spluttered mustard seeds and curry leaves. Things you need to prepare the moru curry seen in the picture:


Buttermilk - 1 cup (low-fat skimmed milk used to make curd, and beaten in the mixer with a cup of water, remove cream)
Tomatoes - each sliced into 4 pieces - 3
Chopped onions - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup (to season)
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 1tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder - 1/2 tsp
Methi (fenugreek) powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chilly - sliced - 1
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

With coconut:

• Make a paste of coconut, jeera powder, turmeric powder, chilly powder, methi powder, and ginger
• Boil the tomatoes and onions in a pan until cooked
• Add the coconut paste first and keep stirring on low flame until the mixture begins to boil

Without coconut:

• Boil the tomatoes, onions, ginger, and mix the powders well
• Add buttermilk and keep stirring on low flame for a few minutes
• Heat the oil in a pan and caramelize the onions
• Add curry leaves to the caramelized onions
• Season the curry

Serve with hot rice

More fish - Pomfret Curry

Pomfret fish is really tasty, and can be prepared in a variety of methods. The version that I will describe now is also used to make Mackarel curry.


Ingredients:

Pomphret - Medium sized pieces - 1/2 kg
Ginger - peeled and pounded - 1 tsp
Garlic - peeled and pounded - 3-5 cloves
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Pepper - freshly ground - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand (optional)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Water - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Add a cup of water to the fish pieces in the earthen bowl (preferable, but if you do not have one, you may use normal cooking pan) along with ginger, garlic, salt, turmeric, red chilly powder, and bring to boil on medium flame.
• Lower the flame and ensure that the fish is cooked
• Add pepper
• Add oil OR splutter mustard seeds in oil, add curry leaves and season the dish

Serve with rice, chapathi, puttu or dosa.

Cherupayar (Green Gram) Curry

Cherupayar or Green Gram curry is usually served with Puttu/ Dosa/ Bread for breakfast, with rice gruel for lunch, and with chapathis for dinner by my mother (not 3 times a day, though!). I love it with Puttu and Bread the most.

The ingredients for the curry seen in the picture are:

Cherupayar or Green Gram - 1 cup

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Curry leaves - one strand

Chopped onion - 1

Ginger paste - 1 tsp (optional)

Garlic - 2-3 cloves (optional)

Turmeric and Red Chilly powder

Jeera or Cummin powder

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook the green gram along with ginger and garlic and onion
• Heat pan, add oil and splutter mustard seeds
• Add the curry leaves, turmeric, chilly and jeera powder
• Immediately add the contents from the pressure pan
• Mix the grated coconut, stir well, and bring to boil

Serve hot with bread, dosa, chapathi, or rice gruel

Simple meal for lunch

After the breakfast of Dosa and chutney, I was so bored watching TV and playing puzzles with my daughter, that I decided to help Amma in the kitchen today. When I suggested I will help her wash the dishes, she said that I might as well decide what to prepare for lunch.
I opened the refrigerator to find kaya (plantain-1) and payar (yardlong beans-100 gms), and washed and cut them into small pieces. To make the kaya-payar thoran seen in the picture, you will also need:

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Add the finely cut kaya and payar pieces into a kadai with 1 cup of water and bring to boil
• Add turmeric, chilly powder and salt
• Cover the kadai and let the water dry
• Add grated coconut and curry leaves along with 1 tsp of oil

You may season with mustard seeds spluttered in oil along with the curry leaves

Serve with Rice/ Chapathi

The most common gravy curries made by Amma are Sambhar, different vegetable curries with Moru (buttermilk) and coconut as base, masala curries, curries with puli etc.

As I was given the option to choose, I decided to make a simple daal curry. Daal or lentil is rich in protein and easy to cook. Of the many varieties of daal, yellow daal is used in sambhar, and that is what I chose to make today, along with tomatoes.

To make Tomato-Daal you will need:

Yellow daal - 2 cups
Tomatoes chopped - 3
Ginger chopped - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green chilly - 1
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp Oil - 1 tsp

Method:

• Pessure cook the yellow daal, chopped tomatoes, green chilly, crushed ginger-garlic paste with 2 cups of water
• After 4-5 whistles over medium flame, allow the cooker to cool down
• Heat a pan on low flame, and add the turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder, and jeera powder to it.
• Remove immediately, open the cooker, and add the powder mixture.
• Turn on the flame and stir the mixture well, adding boiled water to make a smooth curry.
• Add salt to taste
• Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves to the oil heated in a pan
• Season with coriander leaves, if you wish

Serve with Rice/ Chapathi