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)

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.

 

Sindhi Kadhi

I had this at a restaurant well known for the Sindhi cuisine. For me, kadhi has always been a yoghurt based gravy and this one had none.  It was tangy and tasty.  A search online led me to Sindhi Rasoi  and the chickpea flour based gravy with a whole lot of vegetables turned out delicious.  Just what you should have with a bowl of rice.  And surprisingly while it may not be the traditional accompaniment, it was good with roti too. Also, as Alka states, this is a dish that can be made in large quantities, ideal when you have guests.

Ingredients

Cluster beans - few - cut digit size
Potatoes - 2 - in cubes
Ladies finger ( okra) - finger length - 8-9 - slit and fry in a little oil
Drumstick - 1-2 nos - digit size
Cauliflower florets - few
Bottle gourd - - few pieces

Gram flour (besan) - 2 tbsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek (methi) seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin (jeera) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Green chilies - 2-3 nos
Ginger - a small piece
Tomatoes - 2-3 nos ( grated)
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

In a pressure cooker * heat a little oil add curry leaves, mustard, cumin, fenugreek seeds.  Allow the mustard to splutter

Add gram flour and cook on low flame with constant stirring, as the flour turns brown, do not burn, add chili powder, grated tomatoes, keep mixing. Add water if required at this stage.

Add turmeric powder, ginger, green chilies and salt.  Close the cooker .  Let it come to full pressure and then simmer for ten minutes under pressure.

Allow to cool.  Open the cooker.  Add all vegetables except the okra and once again bring to full pressure and take off heat.

Now add the fried okra and tamarind paste.  Simmer for a few minutes till raw taste is gone.

Garnish with coriander and serve with hot rice.


*This can also be made in a thick bottomed pan

Black Eyed Peas Stew - A vegetarian twist to a Goan/Portugese Feijoada

It is thought that every Portugese colony has their local version of Feijoada.  The original is a bean/meat stew.  feijão in Portugese is beans.  This is a spicy, tangy dish with black eyed peas, but it can be substituted with any other bean.  I saw it on Archana's kitchen and just loved the look of it.  And I was not disappointed.  It makes the use of tomato, tamarind and lime, that can add to the tanginess, and one is best advised to check before you add the lime as the finishing touch.

Ingredients:

Black eyed peas - About 100g
Onions - 2 large - sliced
Garlic - 4 large pods - finely chopped
Ginger - 1" - chopped
Tomato - 2 nos - of which a fine purée is extracted 
Coconut milk - 200 ml
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - to taste
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
Lime juice - to taste
Oil -  2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Wash, cook black eyed peas.  Make sure they are soft but not mashed.
Make a purée of tomatoes by quartering them and put in blender without water if you wish to make it fresh.  I used a readymade store bought one.

Take a pan.  Heat oil. Add the sliced onions. Sauté till they just begin to brown. Add the ginger and garlic.  Saute for a few more minutes

Add the powders - red chili, turmeric, coriander, cumin. Sauté.

Now, the tomato purée and continue cooking till the mixture is well blended.

Add the cooked black eyed peas.  Mix well.  Add the salt.

Follow this with coconut milk.  Add little water if required to bring it to the required consistency.

Simmer.

Add grated jaggery and tamaring paste.  Simmer for another five minutes.

Taste and check for salt, tanginess and spice and adjust accordingly.

Add a dash of lime juice and garnish with coriander leaves.  

Enjoy ! 

Lauki (Bottle Gourd) Masala

Bottle gourd can be a boring vegetable.  It is bland and has so much water content.  But I realise that this can be used to your advantage.  Add spices, various ingredients, steam, fry or whatever and it can take these  flavours and be transformed to a new dish.  I looked up a few recipes of Vah Chef and came up with this one. And the masala/gravy can be used with almost any other vegetable.

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd pieces - 2 cups

Peanuts - 2-3 tbsp
Til / Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Dry coconut / copra- 1-2 tbsp
Onions - 1 large
Tomato - 2 **
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Kashmiri Chili powder - 1-2  tsp ( or normal chili powder)
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp *
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish
Salt to taste


Roast the peanuts and when done, add the til for just a few seconds.
Cool add the copra and blend to a fine powder.

Sauté onion in a little oil.  When tender add the tomatoes and saute till mushy
Grind to a fine paste

Heat a pan, add the rest of the oil.
And the cumin seeds.  Allow to brown a bit
Followed by the ginger garlic paste. 
Add the chopped bottle gourd pieces and turmeric.  Cook till just soft.

Add the ground paste, powder, salt, chili powder.
Add water till required consistency of gravy is attained.
Simmer till the spices blend 
Add the garam masala powder.
Mix

Remove and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve.
You can have it with  any rice or wheat product.

* I added Chinese five spice powder instead of garam masala .  It adds a special flavour.  It has these five spices, black pepper, fennel, Star anise, cloves and cinnamon.
**You can also add some tomato pulp if you want the gravy to be more tart/sour

Paneer Makhani

I bookmarked the recipe that I found at Edible Garden.  It is meant to be a microwave preparation.  However, I found the recipe involved mixing ingredients every two minutes and thought it might just be simpler making it on the stove top.  And it was !  And guess what - no use of cream.

Ingredients:
Paneer - 150 gms - cut into cubes
Tomato - 1 large - chopped
Ginger - 1" chopped fine
Butter /Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Tomato sauce/ketchup - 1 tsp
White melon seeds - 1 tbsp ( I used almonds - blanched )
Kasuri methi -large pinch
Milk - 1/4 to 1/2  cup
Sugar - a big pinch
Chilie powder - to taste
Salt - to taste

Soak almonds or melon seeds in warm water.  In case of almonds, I removed the skins

Heat a pan, add the chopped tomatoes and ginger with a quarter cup of water.  Once the tomatoes are softened, cool, and then grind to a fine pulp

Heat the pan once again, add the ghee and oil, followed by salt, chilie, garam masala.
Mix well
Add the tomato pulp and a spoon of tomato ketchup
Mix away.
If required add a little water and let it simmer

Meanwhile grind the melon seeds / almonds.  One may even substitute with cashew nuts.  Make a smooth paste with a little water

Add this to the tomato mixture
Followed by kasuri methi ( dried mint leaves).  The mixture will thicken.
Now add the paneer cubes
And the milk - add sufficient quantity - so you may not need to add all of it

Simmer.
Remove from heat.
Garnish with ginger julienne

The gravy will thicken as it cools.  Keep that in mind.

Very simple and very tasty !

Tomato Salan ( Tomato in a tasty gravy )

Another dish from Vah Chef  modified slightly.  While this is meant to have whole tomatoes, I have chopped them since I did not have the smaller sized ones.  It has a nice peanut - sesame seed gravy - very Hyderabadi style of cooking.  A great side dish for a pulao.  And can be had with rotis too.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 2 large ones ( or about 4 nos smallish* ones )
Onion - 1 - sliced
Chillie powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - pinch
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Red chilies - 2 nos
Kalonji  - 1/4 tsp ( optional )
Methi ( fenugreek ) seeds - few
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chilies - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 bunch finely chopped
Mint leaves - 1/2 bunch chopped
Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup or use 1 tbsp of tamarind paste
Jaggery - 1 small piece
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

To grind -
Coconut powder - 1 tbsp
Peanuts - 1 tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry roast peanuts, just as they start turning brown, add the sesame seeds, and then the coconut powder or grated coconut.

Grind to a fine powder first and then add some water and make it a thin paste

Heat oil, add mustard. Allow to splutter,  then the cumin seeds, red chilies, methi seeds, kalonji.  ˈSauté
Add sliced onion, salt, curry leaves. Cook till onions brown 
Add the ginger garlic paste - Sauté - till the raw smell is gone
Then the turmeric, chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, sliced green chilies
Followed by the masala paste

Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. 
Add the chopped greens, tamarind juice, jaggery, salt to taste.
Now the chopped tomatoes.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes

Serve with vegetable rice, biryani, roti, puri....

* If you are using small tomatoes  cut off the top and the base of the tomato.  Squeeze the juice gently retaining the shape of the tomatoes.  And then put in the whole tomatoes into the simmering gravy

Bottle Gourd with Moong dal and gram

A Vahrevah Chef recipe.  A simple dish with moong/mung dal ( split green gram  ) and louki.  I had some sprouted green gram and I thought I could give a 'healthier' twist by combining the dal and the whole gram to make the curry.  And it turned out just fine.  What can be more comforting than a plate of hot rice and this dal ?  You can have it with rotis too.. which is what we did for dinner .

Ingredients:
Mung dal - split green gram - 1/4 cup
Whole mung - whole green gram - sprouted - 1/4 cup
Bottle gourd - peeled, de-seeded, small cubes - 3/4 cup

Onion  finely chopped- 1
Tomato chopped - 1 large
Green chilies - 1-2 nos
Garlic - 4 cloves
Ginger - 1/2 " chopped
Chili powder - 1 tsp or to taste
Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - asafoetida - big pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Pressure cook the dal and the sprouted gram till soft.  Keep aside

In a pan, heat the oil
Add the mustard - allow to splutter
Add cumin, chopped onion, curry leaves, garlic, ginger, hing
Sauté till onions turn transparent

Then add the chopped bottle gourd, tomatoes and green chilies
Mix well.
Add a little water.  Cover and allow to cook till the bottle gourd is just tender.

Add the chili and coriander powder, salt.  Simmer
Add the cooked dal.  Simmer for a while till well blended.

Remove from heat and serve with hot rice / rotis

Milagu (Pepper) Poricha Kootu

This kootu can be made with most vegetables. I only had cucumber that I used and it tasted good.  A dish made with moong dal ( split green gram pulse), that has a nice peppery taste.  This recipe is from Life with Spices.

Ingredients:

Cucumber - 1 large - peel, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds
Moong dal - 1/2 cup ( pressure cook till soft and mushy - mash well)
Asafoetida (hing) - large pinch
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp for seasoning
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds

Roast and grind to a coarse powder:

Black gram dhal ( urad) - 1 tbsp
Pepper seeds, black - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 3 nos ( dry)
Coconut - 2 tbsp

Cut the cucumber into medium sized cubes.
Heat oil.  Add the mustard seeds, once it splutters add the curry leaves.
Then the cucumber, some water and turmeric.  Cook till slightly tender.  Do not overcook
Add the mashed moong dal and salt.
Mix well, and then the ground masala powder.  Simmer till well blended
Add water if required to bring to the right consistency.
Take off fire.  Serve with hot rice.

Jeera (Cumin) Rasam

I am always on the lookout for different rasam recipes since we make it so often at home.  And this one (Jeeraga Rasam ) on Spices and Aroma seemed interesting since it did not involve cooking of the pulse/dal.   A spice powder that can be made and stored to make this tasty rasam in quick time for a meal in a hurry.

                                             
Ingredients:
For the spice powder - Use these proportions and make larger quantity .  I prepared half the amount  and made the rasam.  I still have another portion that I can use !

Cumin seeds (Jeera ) 1/4 cup
Red gram dal (tuvar dal) - 1/4 cup
Coriander seeds (dhania) - 1/2 cup
Red chiles (dry) - 4-6

Dry roast all these ingredients and make a fine powder.  Store in a clean dry jar.

Making of rasam:
Ghee / Oil - 1 tbsp ( for better flavour use ghee - this is applicable for any rasam )
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - a large pinch
Curry leaves - many
Ginger - finely chopped - 1"
Tomato - medium - 1 - finely chopped
Jeeraga rasam powder - 2-3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilie powder - 1 tsp (optional) - I did not use it
Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp ( or soak lemon sized in warm water and get a thick extract)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - garnish
Water - at least 2-3 cups

Take a vessel.  Heat the ghee.  Add the mustard, and allow  to splutter.
Then the jeera, asaofetida.  Sauté
Follow with curry leaves and chopped ginger.  Sauté again
Add the turmeric powder, jeeraga rasam powder, red chilie powder
Sauté
Add the tamarind powder and salt.
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
Garnish with coriander
Serve with hot rice.

Enjoy.

Methi Malai Peas & Potato Curry

This is a curry inspired by the Methi Mushroom curry on Veg Recipes of India.  V hates mushrooms.  The curry looked delicious.  I had some cream readily available and so I substituted it for the yogurt in the recipe. And peas and potato for the mushrooms  :-(   but nevertheless this was tasty too

Ingredients:

Peas - 100 gms

Potato - 1 large - boiled

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp 

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Cream - 4 tbsp

Methi leaves - 1 bunch - clean and finely chop

Onion - 1 diced 

Tomato - 2 nos - or use 3 tbsp of purée

 Green chilies - 2 nos - paste

Garlic-Ginger - paste - 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - whole - use cinammon (1"), cloves (2), cardamom (1-2)

Oil - 1 -2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Heat oil. 

Add the whole garam masala.  Sauté 

Then the diced onions.  Allow to brown slowly. 

Followed by the green chilie - ginger garlic paste.  Sauté for a minute

Now add chopped tomatoes or the purée

Allow the tomatoes to get soft and mushy

Once that is done, add the turmeric, chilie and coriander powder.  

Stir and allow to simmer till the oil separates and the masala comes together 

Add the peas and boiled potato cubes and finely chopped methi leaves

Sauté 

Pour in 1/2 cup water.  Add salt to taste.  Cover and allow to simmer and cook.

Now stir in the cream and serve.

Can be had with roti.  I had it as a side dish with vegetable rice. Whatever was left, I had it plain :-)

Horsegram Saaru and Curry - Kulitha Saaru ani Upkari

Actually I went looking for Whole Masoor, and but ended up buying the wrong gram - the horse gram.  But this is a gram I knew I had eaten before and googled to find exactly what I was looking for at Aayis Recipes.  She mentions ( that was told to us as kids too) that this gram was generally fed to cattle, and is supposed to be very nutritious.  She does calls it a 'winter food', but I have always had it only in summer, since that was the only time we went to Udupi.  If I am not mistaken we would drive down all the way to Coondapur to pick up the thickened gravy of the water in which the gram was cooked.

Well, it was a nice journey back in time and we enjoyed it... and here is how it is made

But first - apologies for the pictures.  And you can figure out that I used the same spoon to pour the food into the containers ( which was part of the lunch box) - and so you will find coconut in the saaru and a piece of onion in the curry!!  Will replace with better pictures the next time I make it - I still have half a packet left.

Ingredients
1 cup horse gram - washed, soaked overnight and pressure cooked in three times the water for 5 whistles - or about 8 minutes on simmer after the first whistle

You will now have cooked gram in a whole lot of water.

The water will be used for the saaru and the gram for the Upkari or Curry

The Saaru
Horse gram broth
Green chilies - approx 2 nos - slit
Onion - 1/2 chopped
Garlic - 1 large clove - chopped
A little crushed cooked horse gram - this is for thickening the saaru ( optional)
Salt to taste
Oil or ghee for seasoning - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - few

Heat the broth, salt, chilies, onion.  Bring to boil and allow to simmer for about 8-10 minutes
Remove from heat.
Season with oil/ghee. garlic ( allow to brown) and curry leaves
This is a nice almost thin soup with a lot of flavour

Curry
Boiled horse gram
Coconut - grated 2 tbsp
Green chilies - 3-4 nos
Asafoetida - big pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning ( preferably coconut oil)
Red chilies (optional)

Take a wok.
Add the oil, asafoetida and the curry leaves/red chilies ( optional)
Add the cooked gram, salt green chilies, and grated coconut.
Mix well.
Keep for a few minutes, remove from heat

Have with hot rice.

Supposedly good for arthritis - joint pains.   

Dosakaya (yellow cucumber) Pappu

A lentil preparation with the yellow cucumber.  A favourite with the people of Andhra.  It's strange that a simple dish even with the same ingredients tastes different when made by different people.  It took me a while to get this dal right.  And I think it is time to record it here.  The picture is not great , but nevertheless...

Ingredients -
Tuvar (red gram dal) - 1/2 cup
Yellow cucumber - 1 small - peel, de-seed and cut int 1/2" pieces
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 medium
Green chilies - 2-3 slit lengthwise
Ginger - 1/4" piece finely chopped
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Seasoning
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (cumin) 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida - large pinch
Garlic - 2-3 pods chopped
Red chilies - 1-2
Curry leaves - few

Pressure cook the tuvar dal till soft with turmeric
Take a wok, add oil and the seasonings.
When the mustard crackles add the onion, tomato, green chilies, ginger.  sauté 

Add the cucumber pieces, salt, water and simmer till the pieces are just cooked and soft but not mushy

Add the dal.  Mix well.

Simmer for a couple of minutes and take off stove and serve  hot.

It has a nice unusual taste because of the cucumber and is just great with hot rice.

Gongura Pappu - Dal with sorrel leaves

Don't go by the picture.  It quite looks like any other dal.  But this is different.  Gongura leaves are very, very Andhra - like their Avakayya pickle.  And non-vegetarians in this part of the world will swear that Gongura Mutton cannot be matched.  And what about the gongura pickle?  For now, we stick to the dal preparation.  Gongura leaves have an inherent sourness.  And the need to add any other souring agent is optional and in most  cases not necessary.

A colleague got some nice fresh gongura leaves plucked off a farm.  And all it took was a call to my friend K who gave me the recipe.

Ingredients:

Red gram dal - Tuvar - 1/2 cup - pressure cook till soft

Gongura leaves - remove from stem, wash well, chop fine - 1 1/2 cup

Garlic pods - 4-5 - chopped fine, or leave whole

Onion - 1 medium - sliced

Green chilies - 2 nos - finely chopped

Chilie powder - 1/2 - 1  tbsp ( as per spice tolerance)

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder  - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - generous pinch

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Black gram dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves 

Oil for seasoning - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Take a wok.

Heat the oil. Add the mustard, cummin - allow to splutter

Add the black gram (urad) dal, asafoetida and the curry leaves

Now add the onion, garlic, green chilies -  sauté

Add the chopped gongura leaves, and the turmeric, coriander, chilie powder

Sprinkle a little water if required - and keep covered for about 5 minutes.  This also gets rid of the sliminess of the leaf.

Now add the cooked dal and salt.  Bring to required consistency with water.

Simmer.

Serve.  The tangy taste of the dal is really nice.

Chettinad Thakkali Kozhambu

This recipe is from Tickling Palates.  I guess it was the picture of the dish that had me planning to make it the very day that I came across the post. I thought I had made note of all the ingredients that were required and started off to make it, when I realised that I had forgotten to pick up the shallots from the supermarket.  I decided to go ahead with the dish anyway and I think that ingredient might have added heaps of flavour to the prepared dish.  Despite that, the dish was appreciated. It had the hint of cinamon, a touch of coconut, the subtle flavour of fennel. A Hyderabad tomato salan with a chettinad twist?

( the dish did not have the brilliant red colour of Tasty Palate - a bit of Kashmiri Mirch could have done the trick )

Ingredients:
Tomatoes – 4 medium - chop to small pieces
Garlic - 8 pods - chop fine
Cinnamon - 1" 
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp - taste and add a little more if required
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 - 3 tbsp

Paste - 1
Shallots - 15 nos ( I used ordinary onions - 2 medium) - try and stick to the shallots

Paste - 2
Coconut - fresh - 3-4 tbsp
Fennel seeds ( saunf) - 1/2 tsp
Corriander (dhania ) seeds - 1 tsp
Chilie powder - to taste - approx 2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 7-8

Proceed with the making of the dish 
1. Onion paste - sauté the onions till they are slightly brown and grind to a fine paste and keep aside
2. Roast the coriander, fenel.  Grind along with fresh coconut, cashew and chilie powder with a little water. Keep aside

3. Heat oil, add cumin allow to brown slightly
4. Add the cinnamon, and chopped garlic, sauté, and the curry leaves.
5. Add the coconut paste, sauté
6. Add the onion paste - continue to sauté
7. Now add the tomato and simmer till they soften
8. Add the tamarind paste and salt. 
9. Simmer for about 10 minutes
10 Remove from heat, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Dal with Greens - another one!

A recipe with another type of pulse - split mung beans - and another type of greens that is called Thotakura in Telugu - Amaranth leaves.  It was a good dish - different from the usual spinach dal that I generally make

Moong Dal – ½ cup
Amaranth leaves (Thotakura) – 1 bunch
Onion, medium -1 diced
Ttomato – 1  chopped
Green chilies- diced finely
Ginger – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – to taste
Ghee/oil for seasoning
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Mustard and cumin seeds ¼ tsp each
Salt to taste

Cook Moong dal till just soft – I put it in the cooker and switched it off as soon as the whistle blew so that it did not get mushy

In a pan, take the oil ( ghee for a better taste), add the cumin and mustard.  Wait till mustard splutters

Add chopped greens, green chilies, ginger, and onions.   Simmer for a while till the onions get transparent.

Add the chopped tomatoes. Keep on simmer for another 5 minutes .

Add the chili powder, turmeric and salt to taste

Add the cooked dal. And some water to get it to the right consistency.  Simmer till it all gets well blended.  Bring to a boil. And remove off the heat.

Serve with roti or hot rice

Recipe from Mitho Limdo   

Soya granules kofta curry - (Non Fried)

 This is a modified meat ball curry that I saw in an issue of Good Housekeeping.  Non vegetarians can substitute the soya granules with minced meat.  I also used ready mixes wherever available.  So it seemed quite simple.

Ingredients:

For the kofta

Soya granules - 250 gms

Turmeric powder -1 tsp 

Egg - 1 - beaten ( you will need only half of it)

Bread - 2 slices, dipped in water and squeezed dry

Green chillies - according to taste- 1or 2 finely chopped

Garlic - 2 - finely chopped

Ginger - 1/2" finely chopped 

(or like I did, simply use ginger-garlic paste)

Coriander leaves - finely chopped

Mint - finely chopped ( few) - optional.

Salt to taste.

For the curry:

Onion - 1 chopped

Tomatoes - chopped

Ginger-garlic - paste 1 tsp

( I used an onion and also used Maggi Bhuna Masala - which has onion, tomatoes, ginger garlic )

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Coconut milk - 3 tbsp ( I did not use it - but it would add to the taste)

First the faux meat balls:

Heat water.

Soak the granules in it for about 15 mins

Squeeze dry and keep aside.

Add all the other ingredients except the egg.

Once mixed well, slowly add just enough egg to bind the mixture.

The mixture should be moist but firm.

Make balls of the mixture and keep on a plate ( under the fan) for about 1/2 hour to dry out.

It is essential that the koftas do not disintegrate in the gravy. So to be on the safe side, after 20 minutes of 'drying', I just popped the plate into the microwave for a minute.

For the curry -

Heat oil, add onion, fry a while.

Add the Bhuna Masala or chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste and allow to simmer till it forms a thickhish gravy.

Add the masala powder and salt.

Slowly slide in the koftas.

Simmer, partially covered till the koftas are cooked.

At this point, you may add the coconut milk and remove from fire.

Garnish and serve.

                                  

It was good to taste. And what I especially liked was that it did not involve frying of the 'meat ball' and seemed a healthier option.

PS - Do something with the remaining beaten egg.

Spinach Kadi

I found this recipe here.

Not a very good picture.  But let it not put you off.  The Kadi was nice and tasty.

Chickpea Flour ( Besan )  - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 1 cup
Spinach - 1 bunch
Cumin (jeera) - 1 tsp
Ajwain - pinch ( the recipe called for fennel seed ( saunf), but I add this by mistake, but it tasted good.
Mustard - 1 tsp
Hing ( asafoetida) - a large pinch
Red chlies - dry - 2
Green chilie - 1- according to taste
Kasoori Methi- 1 tsp ( loved the taste and flavour it added)
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp or more according to taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil -2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Clean the spinach well.  Cut roughly.  Microwave for about 3-5 minutes with green chili.
Mash the cooked spinach.

Take the thick yogurt and beat well.
Add besan and some water and beat till smooth.
Heat oil
Season with cumin, ajwain, mustard, asafoetida, broken red chili and curry leaves.
When the mustard starts spluttering, add the spinach
Lower heat and add the yogurt mixture slowly.
Crush 1 tsp of Kasoori methi between your palms and add .
Add the turmeic, chilie powder, salt.  Mix well.
Add sufficient water and simmer for about 10-15 minutes till the chickpea flour is cooked and the raw flavour is not there anymore.
Serve with Rice / Kichadi

Veg Hotchpotch

A Hotchpotch - is said to be a stew or soup of veggies or meat.  A jumbled mixture. This is only with vegetables and a little cooked dal.   I picked up whatever there was in the refrigerator - and some readymade masalas.  

Ingredients
Veggies - Shallots, Capsicum, Potato, Tomato, Carrots - one of each

Maggi Bhuna Masala - 1 pack - this is essentially a paste of sautéd onion, tomato and salt.

Maggi Veggie magic cube - 1  ( did it add to the taste?  not sure) - optional
Moong dal ( green gram split ) - cooked - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 pods
Raw mango - 1 small piece ( optional)
Coriander (dhania) powder - 1 tbsp
Chilie powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Curry leaves few.

Take a wok.  Heat oil.
Add the mustard and wait till it splutters.
And the curry leaves. sauté
Add the shallots, sauté till slightly brown
Add the vegetables. Some water and cook till just tender.
Then add the cooked dal and a pack of Maggi Bhuna Masala and the veggie cube
I had a little piece of raw mango which I added and it gave a tanginess to the dish ( optional)
Add the powders - turmeric, dhania, chillie
Add salt if required.

Serve with hot rice or roti.