Coriander chutney

There are so many different ways of making coriander chutney. This is one recipe that I tried recently, which is adapted from mint chutney recipe in 'Dakshin' cookbook with some minor changes. It is a very good combination with idli, dosa or even rice. The amount of chilies in this recipe can be adjusted to suit individual taste. I prefer this chutney to be on the spicier side

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbsp
Dry red chili - 1
Green chilies - 3
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Roasted peanuts - 1 tbsp
Tamarind extract - from a marble sized piece
Oil
Salt - to taste

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves

Method:

- Fry green chilies and chopped coriander leaves in half a tsp oil for couple of minutes
- Keep this aside and then fry urad dal, mustard seeds, red chili and hing in the same pan
- Grind the fried ingredients with coconut, peanuts, tamarind and salt
- Season with urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves

Baby potatoes in gravy

Even though I always have baby potatoes on hand, I do not try to cook them this way. But yesterday, I was in a mood to cook something different with the colorful potatoes I had and 'Aloo Dum' came to my mind. But since I did not cook this in 'dum' style, technically this does not fit the name. Whatever the name be, it was well appreciated in my family (Sorry that the photo of finished dish does not do justice to the taste!). Here is my version of this tasty side dish.

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes - 12
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Kitchen king masala - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper crushed - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1
Cashews - 6
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 2 cloves
Canned tomato sauce - 1 small can
Sugar - 1 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Kasoori methi - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

- Pressure cook the potatoes and peel them
- In a nonstick pan, heat a tbsp of oil and add the peeled potatoes
- Add cumin powder, crushed pepper powder and salt. Keep stirring for a few minutes till they get medium roasted on all sides
- Remove potatoes from the pan and keep aside
- Now heat a tbsp of oil and fry sliced onion, ginger, garlic and cashews for 5 mins. Grind a fine paste out of this mixture
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry this paste till oil leaves the sides
- Add the tomato sauce and sugar and fry for 5 minutes
- Add the remaining dry masala powders and some more salt. Fry for few more minutes
- Add the milk and water to adjust the consistency. Once it starts boiling, add the potatoes. Add kasoori methi
- Simmer for five minutes. Serve with chapathi or naan

Seeme badanekai palya

Seeme badanekai (also called as chow-chow, chayote squash etc.) is a bland veggie, which I do not use much at home. But last week when I did not find many fresh vegetables in store, thought of trying something out with this. So here comes a recipe which is a mishmash of couple of other dry subzis that I usually make

Ingredients:

Seeme badanekai - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Dhal powder (777 brand) - 1 tbsp
Besan - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp


Seasoning:
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves

Method:

- Heat oil in a nonstick pan and add seasoning. When it splutters, add curry leaves

- Add diced vegetable and stir fry for couple of minutes

- Then add turmeric and chili powders along with salt. Let it fry for few more minutes. No need to add any water since the vegetable itself is quite succulent

- When it looks half cooked, add the dhal powder and besan. Keep stirring in between to prevent sticking. Let it cook well this way

- Serve hot with chapathi or rice as a side dish

Badam Burfi

My mom made this burfi few days ago to satisfy my pregnancy craving. I noticed that this is very similar to the recipe posted by Roopa of My Chow Chow Bath. Check Roopa's version here






Ingredients:

Almonds - 2 cups
Milk - 3 cups (approximate)
Sugar - 3 cups
Ghee - 3/4 cup

Method:

- Microwave almonds for about 3-4 minutes on high in water
- Peel and grind them into a fine paste using milk (as required by your blender)
- Heat a heavy bottomed nonstick pan and add almond paste, remaining milk, ghee and sugar
- Keep stirring till the mixture forms a lump and starts leaving the sides of the pan
- Grease a steel plate with ghee and pour the mixture
- After couple of minutes mark them into required shapes and make pieces

Combo meal - 1

One of the common meals that I make at home involves couple or more side dishes served with chapathi or rice. I think it would be good to showcase such recipes together in one spot.

Here is the first one in this series: Stuffed eggplant and potato, Badanekai gojju and Beetroot palya. I served these with homemade chapathis

Badanekai gojju

Ingredients:

Eggplant (Badanekai) - 1 big sized
Onion - 1 small sized
Green chilies - 4
Tamarind pulp - from a small lime sized piece
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - for garnish

For seasoning:

Oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Hing
Curry leaves

Method:

- Roast the eggplant on flame/grill/oven. If you are in a hurry, just pressure cook it, even though it doesn't get the roasted flavor
- Peel and mash the cooked eggplant
- Add chopped onion, salt, tamarind pulp and chopped green chilies
- Add seasoning and garnish with cilantro
- Best if served fresh with chapathi or rice since raw onions are added in this dish

Beetroot palya

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 3
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

For seasoning:

Oil

Urad dal - 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves

Method:

- Clean and pressure cook the whole beetroots

- Once cooled, peel and chop them into dices. Precooking the beets makes this easier and faster

- Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning except curry leaves

- When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and chopped beets

- Add salt, turmeric and chili powders. Mix well and let it heat thoroughly

- Serve with chapathi or rice

Stuffed eggplant and potato

Ingredients:

Small eggplants - 8
Small red potatoes - 8

For the masala:

Shredded dry coconut - 2 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chilies - 4 (or depending on your preference)
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Saunf - 1/4 tsp

Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp
Chopped onion - 1
Coriander leaves (cilantro) - for garnish

Method:

- Clean eggplants and potatoes. Half cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker
- Make 2 slits in all of them without separating them
- Dry roast coconut and sesame. Then roast rest of the ingredients for masala in oil
- Grind the masala into a paste and add turmeric powder, amchur and salt. Mix well
- Stuff the paste into slits made in eggplants and potatoes
- Heat oil and fry chopped onion till translucent
- Add remaining masala if any and stir for a minute
- Add the veggies and mix well. Add some water and cover the pan
- Let it cook with stirring in between
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with chapathi

Snacks - From my mom's kitchen

Here is a glimpse of a spread of homemade snacks my mom got from India this time. I have tried to translate some of the names from kannada.







Clockwise from left:

Balekai chips (Raw plantain chips)
Halasinakai chips (Raw jackfruit chips)
Sakkare berati (Raw plantain chips with jaggery coating)
Karakaddi (Besan sev)
Mysore pak (Besan sweet)
Chakkuli
Undlakaalu (Fried snack made from pickled raw jackfruit in brine)
Thukdi (similar to Mathri)
Boondi Laddu


In the center:

Kayi holige (Puranpoli made with coconut and jaggery)

Mixed Vegetables with Gravy

A tasty and quick way to serve various veggies with puri or chapathi

Ingredients:

Green beans - 10 to 15
Carrot - 1
Potato - 1
Cauliflower - few florets
Paneer - 10 to 15 pieces
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Shahi paneer masala - 1 tsp
Kasoori methi - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Water - to adjust consistency
Cream - optional to finish
Oil

For the masala:
Onion - 1 medium sized
Tomato - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 1 clove
Cashew - 8 to 10

Method:

- Microwave cashew with some water for a minute. Drain and keep aside
- Heat oil in a pan and add sliced onion, ginger and garlic. After it turns light brown, add the tomato and cashew. Stir for a few minutes till the tomato gets soft
- Let the above mixture cool little bit. Grind into a fine paste using a blender
- Meanwhile, cut the veggies and steam in a pressure cooker without the whistle for about 5 minutes
- Heat oil in a pan and add the ground paste. Fry for 3-4 minutes
- Add turmeric powder, chili powder and shahi paneer masala. After few minutes, add milk and let it boil
- Crush the kasoori methi between your palms and add it to the gravy
- Now add the steam-cooked veggies, diced paneer pieces and salt
- Mix well and adjust the consistency using water
- Let it boil for couple of minutes. Finish with cream if using it
- Serve this curry with puri or chapathi

Radish Palya

Radish is one vegetable which I have not relished much in the past, until my friend Anuja introduced me to cooking it this way. I have replaced common white radish with the tiny red ones that we get here.

Ingredients:

Red radish - 2 bunches
Green chilies - 3 (or depending on how hot you prefer)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil, Mustard seeds and Hing for tempering
Lime juice - to taste
Salt - to taste

Method:

- Separate radish from the bunches and wash properly
- Chop them into fine pieces along with the chilies. I used a chopper for convenience
- Heat oil and add mustard seeds and hing
- When the tempering splutters, add turmeric powder and the chopped mixture
- Add salt and mix well
- Let it cook with pan uncovered. Do not add any water
- Finally squeeze some lime/lemon juice
- Serve it hot as a side dish with chapathi

Sorekai Kadubu

Sorekai (bottle gourd) kadubu or kottige is a traditional breakfast menu item from south kanara in Karnataka state. Here is how my mom always made it in our home. This kind of kadubu is usually steamed in banana leaves, but I have used nonstick aluminum foil since we don't get banana leaves here.

Ingredients:

Bottlegourd (Sorekai) - 1 medium sized
Sona masoori rice - 4 cups
Salt - to taste

Method:

- Wash and soak rice in water for about 4-5 hours
- Peel the bottlegourd and grate or make thin juliennes using a mandoline slicer
- Grind the rice into a thick smooth paste. This should not be watery
- Mix in the bottlegourd and salt
- Place water in a steamer (or dhokla cooker) and let it heat
- Meanwhile, take a rectangle pice of nonstick aluminum foil and pour 2 small ladle of batter and fold it from all the 4 sides
- Keep it inside the steamer. Repeat with remaining batter
- Steam for about 30 mins in high heat
- Remove foil covers from kadubu pieces
- Serve hot with ghee, grated jaggery and red chili chutney

Soy Pulao

Hi to all foodies out there.

This is my first attempt at a blog and first recipe here. Hope you all like it!

The original recipe for Soy Pulao is by Shireen, a friend of ours in India. I have just tried to alter it slightly to suit our taste.

Ingredients:

Soy nuggets - 3/4 cup
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Water - 3 and 3/4 cups
Frozen green peas - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized, diced
Ginger paste - 3/4 tsp
Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Bay leaves - 2
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon stick - 1 small piece

Method:

- Wash the rice and soak for about 20 minutes
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker (I used Hawkins nonstick pressure cooker)
- Add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves
- When they are heated through, add onion and fry till they turn medium brown
- Add ginger and garlic pastes and stir for a minute
- Lower the heat slightly and add turmeric and chili powders
- Add in the soy nuggets and fry for a minute
- Drain the rice and fry it for a couple of minutes with the rest
- Add the peas, salt and water to cook the rice
- Close the pressure cooker and let the rice cook (duration will depend on your cooker)
- Serve hot with raita or plain yogurt