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).