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