Hare Moong ki Kadhi

 

Ingredients:

Full moong ( green gram) – 1 cup

Ghee – 3 tbsp

Curd – 2 cups

Besan ( Chickpea flour) – 4 tbsp

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Red chili powder – 1 tsp

Oil – ½ tbsp

Fenugreek (Methi) seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Ajwain seeds – ½ tsp

Seasoning

Mustard – ½ tsp

Garlic cloves – few sliced

Ginger – ¼” sliced

Red chilies – 2 nos

Curry leaves – few

Soak the moong overnight

Place in pressure cooker with sufficient water, ghee and cook till tender and not mushy

(approx. 3 min after the pressure builds up)

 Place curd in a bowl, add the besan, turmeric powder, chili powder and whisk well.  To it add 4 cups of water.

 In a pan, heat oil ( mustard oil is preferred, or use any vegetable oil)

Add the spices – methi seeds, jeera, ajwain.  Allow jeera to brown

Then pour in the dahi-besan mixture

Allow to simmer till then mixture thickens and raw taste of besan is eliminated.

Add the cooked moong and salt to taste.

Simmer a little longer.

Season with ghee, mustard, sliced garlic and ginger, red chilies and curry leaves.

Serve with hot rice and roasted pappad. 

Recipe source – Saransh Goila – Instagram ( 18 Oct’24) – also on his youtube channel

 

Methi Mattar Malai

 

Ingredients

Methi leaves – 2 cups - cleaned and chopped

Green peas ( fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup 

Onion – 1 – slice onion

Green chilie – to taste

Ginger – a small piece

Garlic – a few cloves

Cashewnuts – about 8-10 ( more will only make it tastier)

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Cardamom – 1

Pepper – optional – or a few

Cinnamon stick – 1 small

Cloves – 1

Garam masala powder – pinch

Dhania powder – 1 tsp or dhania seeds that may be added when sauteing the other ingredients.

Fennel seeds - ¼ tsp 

Salt to taste

Oil

Butter ( optional)

Cream – About 2-3 tbsp.

Wash methi well.  Chop. Sprinkle salt over it for some time.  This helps reduces a bit of the bitterness.  Rinse, drain and keep in colander.

Heat a pan.  Add about a tbsp of oil, add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, sauté.

Then add the ginger- garlic, followed by sliced onions, green chili and fennel seeds.  Once the onions turn transparent, add the cashew, some water and cook for a few minutes till slightly soft.  Take off fire.  Cool.

Transfer to a mixie jar and blend to a smooth purée

 

Heat the pan again. 

Melt butter or add oil.  

Add methi leaves, and sauté for about 5 mins. 

Stir in the ground masala paste.

Add peas and continue to sauté

Add water, cover the pan and allow the peas to cook

Simmer till the gravy is thickened

Add salt to taste.

Finally add the cream and mix

The dish is ready to be served.

Recipe sourced from Swathi’s Recipes

 

 

 

Mysore Rasam

 

Recipe credit - Viju

Ingredients

Tuvar dal ( Red gram) – 3 tbsps of cooked dal

Tamarind – lime sized ball or a heaped tsp of tamarind paste

Tomato – 1 medium

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Asafoetida ( hing) – large pinch

Salt to taste 

For rasam powder

Oil – 1 tsp

Coriander ( dhania) seeds – 1 tbsp

Bengal gram (channa) dal – 1 tbsp

Red chilies – 6

Grated coconut – 1-2 tbsp

Seasoning

Oil/Ghee

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves

Jaggery – small piece ( optional)

Soak a small ball of tamarind in warm water. 

Strain.

If using tamarind paste, mix with a cup of water.

Chop the tomato and add to the tamarind water

Bring to boil.

Add salt, turmeric and hing

Meanwhile make the rasam powder.

Take oil, add the dal, dhania seeds, red chilies, till slightly brown and the grated coconut and toast a bit.

Grind with a little water to a slightly coarse paste.

 Once the tamarind water mixture has boiled well and the raw flavour of tamarind goes away add the paste and give it a boil and simmer for a while, till the paste is cooked.

Add the cooked tuvar dal, jaggery and salt.  Add enough water to make it like a nice flowing rasam. 

 Season with ghee, mustard, cumin.  Garnish with coriander leaves.

 

Raw Plantain Podimas

 

Ingredients 

Green Plantain – 3

For the powder

Oil – 1 tbsp

Channa (Bengal gram) dal – 1 tbsp

Urad ( Black gram) dal – 1 tbsp

Dhania ( coriander seeds) – 2 tbsp

Red chilies – 6-8

Hing (asafoetida) – Large pinch

Seasoning and curry preparation

Oil – 3tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a sprig.

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Grated coconut – ½ cup

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander for garnish

Cut the plantain into 2 or 3 depending on the length and size. Do not peel. Put in boiling water.  The skin will discolour.  Keep till it is cooked ( check with fork) but let it not be mushy. 

Peel and then grate the plantain.  Keep aside.

 To prepare the spice powder, take oil in a pan.  (Coconut oil can be used for extra flavour)

Add the dals, dhania seeds, red chilies

Toast lightly. Add the hing.  

Make a fine powder.

Take oil in a pan.  Heat.  Add urad dal, mustard seeds, when it splutters, add curry leaves and turmeric powder.

Add the spice powder followed by the grated coconut and turmeric

Then the grated plantain and salt to taste.

Sauté till slightly brown.

Add the chopped coriander as garnish. 

Serve with hot rice and rasam. 

Recipe source : Vazhakai Kara Podimas – From Insta -  Jayantimami_samayal (26 Nov 2024)

 

Shahi Kurma Gravy Recipe

Pic source - mentioned below

* If ready fried onions, tomato paste is used, there is no chopping to be done and making the gravy is a breeze

Ingredients:

Onions 2 big - sliced

Tomato paste – 3-4 tbsp

Whole garam masala – 2 cloves, 1”cinnamon stick, few pepper corns,2 cardamom

Thick curd -1/4 cup

Cashewnut – 8-10

Dhania powder – 1 tsp

Jeera powder ½ tsp

Turmeric powder

Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp

Kashmiri chili powder – as required

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tsp

Kasuri methi – 1 tbsp

Cream – 2tbsp

Oil – A generous amount.

Ideally used ready fried onions.

Otherwise fry sliced onions in a decent amount of water so that it is evenly browned.

Grind fried onion, curd, cashewnuts to a fine paste.

In a pan, take oil, add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper corns, sauté

Add ginger garlic paste. Sauté

Add the tomato paste.  Stir and cook till it thickens a bit and turns a deeper colour.

Add in the dhania, jeera, turmeric and Kashmiri chili powder

Now add the cashew-onion-tomato paste.  Sauté

Pour in a small cup of water and allow it to simmer well till the gravy comes together to the right consistency.

Add salt to taste.

Add the garam masala powder and  kasuri methi to the gravy, mix

Use cream for garnish.

This gravy can be used for paneer, eggs, chicken.  

Recipe source - Foodies Food Court – Instagram ( 21 Dec’2024) .  She also has a youtube channel.  Recipe online is Shahi Egg Korma.  I have made it with Egg and Paneer.  I cannot find my picture, the one here is from the source mentioned above.  I will replace the picture with my own.  

Vegetable Sagu

 

                                                

 Ingredients

Grated coconut – a cup

Onion – 1 large or 2 small - chopped

Whole spices – 2 cloves, small piece cinnamon, 1 cardamom 

Vegetables – carrot, beans, potato, peas – diced. 

Cashewnuts – 6 

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp 

Corriander leaves – a bunch

Green chillies -2-3 as per spice tolerance

Poppy seeds – 1 tsp

Fennel seeds/ Somph – 1 spoon

Jeera (Cumin seeds) – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder

Curry leaves - few

Oil

Salt to taste

 

Make a paste of coconut, half the onions, green chilies, coriander leaves, cashew, ginger-garlic paste, whole garam masala and poppy seeds.  ( All this is raw)

Take oil in a pan/cooker

Add jeera, sauté onions – till it turns transparent, add in the curry leaves, turmeric powder

Then the diced vegetables, the paste and salt to taste

Pour in some water and cook till vegetables are done and gravy is fairly thick. 

Serve.

 (Recipe from Suman Ranganath Insta (22 Dec 2024).  Youtube channel – Sumanranganath1995)

Chicken Katsu

Recipe Source - https://www.wagamama.com/cook/curries/chicken-katsu-curry

Pic courtesy - S who made this dish and gave it a good rating.

Ingredients 

Rice  Cooked

Chicken breasts - skinless - 2                        

Plain flour - 50g

Eggs - 2 lightly beaten

Oil - 75 ml

Salad leaves  - 40 g

For sauce

Katsu paste - 120 g

Coconut milk - 120 ml 

OR

Make paste from scratch 

Vegetable oil - 2-3 tbsp

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Garlic clove - 1 crushed

Ginger - 1" peeled and grated

Turmeric - 1 tsp 

Curry powder - 2 heaped tbsp 

Plain flour - 1 tbsp

Stock - 300 ml - can use either chicken or veg

Coconut milk - 100 ml

Light soya sauce - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

If you are using readymade paste - just add 120 g paste and 120 ml coconut milk to a pot.  Stir. Heat and bring to a simmer.  

From scratch - 

A little oil. 

Soften the onion, garlic, ginger and add curry powder, turmeric

Keep it on medium heat. 

Add flour  and cook for a minute with the spices.

Add the stock in, slowly and follow it with coconut milk, a pinch of sugar, salt to taste and a dash of the soya sauce. 

Strain through a sieve to make it a smooth gravy. 

Preparing the chicken

Split chicken fillets in half.  Coat in flour.  

Soak in beaten egg.  Dip in breadcrumbs making sure all sides of chicken are covered with it. 

Put in a pan with oil and cook till golden brown. 

Serving Suggestion 

Slice chicken into lengths and plate it next to hot rice.

Serve a portion of salad, or wok-fried greens. 

And place a bowl of sauce to drench the chicken. 

Kadi Chawal ( without pakoras)

 Kadi is a curd-chickpea (besan) flour mixture.  A number of things can be added to it to make it more flavourful.  This is a simple version that is a change from the common kadi that is made with chickpea dumplings ( pakoras/pakodis). It is light and delicious. 

 Recipe is from Chef Kunal Kapoor's instagram account.     Image is also from Chef Kunal's Instagram - will replace it soon with my picture.  

  

Ingredients

Curd  - 1 ½ cup

Besan – 4 tbsp

Green chilies – chopped – 2 nos

Ginger – chopped – ¼”

Chilie powder- to taste

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Salt

Water – 5 cups

Seasoning

Oil – 3 tbsp

Mustard- 1 tsp

Bay leaves – 2

Jeera – 2 tsp

Dhania seeds – 2 tbsp

Red chilies – 3nos

Methi seeds – ½ tsp

Hing

Onions – sliced 1 cup

Garnish

Ghee – 2tbsp

Chilie powder – to taste.

Coriander leaves - chopped

Take curd in a bowl

Add besan, green chilies, ginger, chilie powder, turmeric, salt – mix with a whisk

Add water and mix well. 

In a pan, add oil, the seasoning, the onion and then allow it to turn transparent.

Add the curd mixture

Cook for 15-20 minutes or till the besan is cooked and the mixture thickens

In a seasoning pan heat ghee and add the chilie powder, take off fire and add to kadi. Garnish with coriander leaves

Serve with hot rice.

 

Nankhatai - Indian shortbread cookies

S made these amazing Nankhatai for Christmas.  As kids, we got to eat them a couple of times in a year, when my grandfather sent them by parcel all the way from Mangalore. We knew them then as Narayan Katar, don't ask me why they were called that! The transportation by lorry took a long, long time, but well worth the wait.  The recipe link is from Ruchik Randap, and S made only slight modifications.

Ingredients:  Makes 16 medium ones/ 20-22 smaller ones

Maida or APF - 150 gms
Powdered Sugar - 125 gms  (granulated sugar that is powdered)
Melted Ghee - 100 gms
Salt - 1/8 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Optional
Few strands of saffron, Cardamom powder if you like the flavour

Take the melted ghee (ensure that it is not too hot) in a bowl and add powdered sugar gradually, little at a time, till well mixed.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt.
Add to the ghee and sugar mixture.
Blend it well.
If the mixture is paste like add a bit of flour.  It should be kneading consistency.
Lightly knead the dough till smooth.  Place in bowl, cover with clingfilm and keep aside 4 hours.
The dough might become firmer now.  If so, gently knead and make it soft and pliable.
Preheat oven to 180 fan
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Divide dough into equal sized portions.  Roll each portion to a ball and gently flatten the sides (only).  The centre should be like a raised dome. This will enable the cracks to form on surface.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes.  Keep checking. Do not over bake or brown .
Remove from oven and let them cool on tray for another 15 minutes, after which they can be gently transferred to a wire rack till cool.

Store in airtight container.

Jaffa Loaf

This is a easy cake recipe from the BBC Good Food.  It had good reviews and I made a few changes more because I ran short of a few ingredients.  The family loved it.  Do try it !

The original recipe is here.  The changes I made are in italics at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients:

Butter - softened - 140 g
Self raising flour - 200 g
Baking powder -  1 1/2 tsp
Golden caster sugar - 200 g
Eggs - 3
Milk - 6 tbsp
Finely grated zest of Orange - 1

Topping
Orange juice - 3 tbsp
Golden caster sugar - 50g
Dark chocolate - 50 g

Butter and line the base of a loaf tin.  Oven set at 180C

Place ingredients for the cake in a bowl - butter, self raising flour, baking powder, caster sugar, eggs, milk and zest.

Beat with hand whisk or a wooden spoon for 3-5 mins till light and fluffy. 

Spoon into the prepared tin and level the top.

Place in oven 40-50 mins till golden brown and done.

As the cake is baking heat the orange juice and sugar gently, till the sugar is dissolved.

Cake with the orange marmalade topping

Once the cake is done, remove from oven and spoon the orange mixture on it.  Leave it in the tin till it cools. Then remove and keep on wire rack.

Prepare the chocolate.  Place in bowl and melt over simmering water or in a microwave as per instructions on the pack.

Drizzle over cake and leave to set. 

My changes

I had salted butter.  I used 100 g ( ran short of butter) and 40 g of refined oil
Since I used salted butter, I used plain flour instead of self raising flour.  Take a cup of plain flour, add  1 1/2 tsp baking powder and omitted the salt)
Additional baking powder as per the recipe wasalso added
I used zest and a teaspoon of candied peel
Instead of orange juice, I used orange marmalade for the additional peel that it contained to which a little water was added and gently heated till it dissolved.  Poked a few holes in the cake and allowed it to seep inside and also coated the surface.
Plain chocolate was used instead of dark chocolate and I did not drizzle it but applied it to coat the top.