Methi Malai Mutter Revisited

Dear All,

I am back with another one of my favorite recipes ie Methi Malai Mutter! I have learnt this recipe from my mom who obviously is the best cook in the world (as per me all the moms are the best cook!!!) The recipe is absolutely simple and can be made within 20 mins..yes you heard it right...provided you have all the stuff handy :D

Bhindo Do Pyaza in a very different style!!

Dear All,

“So few people eat okra (more radishes are grown in this country) that it never even makes it onto the lists of Top 10 hated foods.”

- Julia Reed

Okra/Bhindi/Lady Finger's was not on my list of favorite vegetable until recently. Bhindi Do Pyaza is a famous North Indian dish where okra is cooked along with almost equal amount of onions. Okra is slit in half and cooked on slow heat with very minimum spices. This way of cooking brings out the crunchiness in okras which blends well with the taste of onions and together its an delicious combination best served with rotis or phulkas. 

I personally havent met many people who dislike bhindi well I am one of them! Its true I am not a big fan of okras. While growing up my mom tried all different ways to make okra either stuffed or with onions but somehow I never liked it. Recently while doing grocery shopping my roommate picked up 1kg of okra...dear oh dear were the only words which came out of my mouth. She loves okras in any form, I dont know why always two opposite people are forced to stay together by nature, nah dont get me wrong she is adorable but completely opposite to me! Thats the reason why she is one of my closest friend. 

Ok before I bore you guys to death, lets get back to today's special. Bhindi Do Pyaza but cooked with khoya! Exactly my reaction when i first heard it..Okra with khoya? Hmmm now thats something different isnt it? Addition of khoya or mava as we call it increases the richness and taste of this dish, it takes the dish to completely different level .If you love Bhindi Do Pyaza you got to try this recipe! I promise you will ask for more just like we did :D

Bhindi Do Pyaza with Khoya
Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients:-
1/2 kg Okra, washed, dried, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup mava/khoya
1 big onion, finely sliced
1 big tomato, finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
2 small cinnamon sticks
3 cardamon pods
2 bay leaf
2 cloves
1 dry red chili broken
a pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar

Procedure:-

• Heat oil in a pan, add in cloves, cinnamon, cardamon pods, bay leaf, red chilli and asafoetida.
• Now add in onion and tomatoes and saute for 5 mins until onions have become soft.
• Now add in okras and rest of spices and mix well.
• Cover and cook for 15 to 20 mins, dont forget to sprinkle some water in between if okra starts sticking to the pan.
• Finally add in mava/khoya and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 mins.
• Serve hot with rotis or phulkas.
• Enjoy!

Dudhi Chana Nu Shaak - A Gujarati Speciality (Bottlegourd and Bengal gram curry)

Dear All,

I know I have been away for quite some time, but now I am back!! Taking a break was never my decision, neither was i lazy but right now there is just too much on my plate to handle. December being the month of marriages for the next three weekends i'll be busy attending marriages and other wedding functions. I love all the "rasams and rivaaz" that take place during the wedding, all the colorful decorations, the mehendi rasam and how can we forget dandiya :-) Family functions are also the occassions where all the singles in the family are targetted especially if you have crossed the average age of getting married which is again defined by the society :-((( It just doesnt stop here, even after you get married they'll be behind you to start a family..ah well I can dedicate a whole post on this!!  December is also the month of my birthday, when is it? any special plans? you'll come to know :-)

Lets get back to today's recipe, Dudhi Chana Nu Shaak is very common in every gujarati household. During my school days mom used to prepare this along with Kadhi every wednesday. Dont know what was with wednesday but i remember enjoying it to the very last bite. There is a saying in gujarati "Dudhi khaaiye toh Budhi aave" which literally means "If you eat Bottlegourd than you'll get good brains". The best part is that it doesnt take much time to prepare, you can put everything in the cooker and it will be ready in less than 10 mins, dont believe me? scroll down and try out for yourself :-)

Dudhi Chana Nu Shaak
(Bottlegourd and Bengal gram curry)
Ingredients: Serves 2 to 3
500 gms dudhi, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Chana dal, washed
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
a generous pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 cup of water

Procedure:-

• Heat the oil in cooker, add in  mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder.
• As soon as the seeds start to splutter add in cubed bottlegourd pieces and the rest of the masalas (salt, sugar, red chilli, cumin and coriander powder)
• Saute for around a min.
• Now add in the chana dal and water (IMP - Bottlegourd leaves lots of water so be careful while adding water.)
• Mix well and pressure cook it for 5 to 6 whistles.
• Serve hot with rotis or chapatis.

Can any curry be more simpler? Do try out and let me know your experience. Wishing you all a very happy and pleasant weekend, enjoy, relax and have fun :-) Till next time tia!!

Guvar Dhokli Nu Shaak - A Gujarati Delicacy (Cluster Beans Curry)

Dear All,

A dear friend of mine sent me a message "We all are part of a puzzle of someone else's life. You many never know where you fit in, but someone else's life may never be complete without you !!" How true is this? When we look back in past, we meet many people and as we meet them their lives get connected to ours. Sometimes we find them as our friends, colleagues, bosses etc I truly believe that we learn something from our each interaction. We learn and feel every emotion happiness, anger, trust, courage, patience. All this is very important for us to become a better human being and truly enriches our lives. I am not sure if I am part of a puzzle of someone else's life but I sure know that I will try to fit in :-)

Todays dish is long pending, it was initially requested by Sangeeta and I had promised her I will post the recipe very soon. Due to unavailability of cluster beans in swiss i couldnt post the recipe earlier. Guvar Dhokli Nu Shaak as said in gujarati is one of my favorite curries to an extent where i can eat this all alone without rotis and believe me its very tasty and fulfilling. I am sure every gujarati must have tasted this atleast once in their life. Its very regular in my house and is enjoyed by all. I would urge everyone to try out this dish once and experience the difference :-)

Recipe Source: My Mom

Ingredients:

250 gms Cluster Beans chopped (Guvar)

a generoud pinch of asafoetida (Hing)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp oil

For Dhoklis:

1 cup chickpea flour (Besan)

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

a pinch of baking soda

2 - 3 tbsp oil

Procedure:-

• To make dhoklis, mix everything together and make a smooth dough. Avoid adding water to the dough and use more oil if required.
• Make small round balls and flatten them with your hands. Remove 4 to 5 dhoklis and keep them aside.
• In a pan heat about a tsp of oil, add in asafoetida, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter.
• Now add in the cluster beans, washed and chopped. Add rest of the masalas and 1/2 cup of water.
• Cover and cook for 7 to 8  mins.
• Once 90% done, slowly add in all the dhoklis one by one. Cover and cook for another 5 mins.
• Smash the dhoklis which we had kept aside and stir in the curry, add in water if required. This helps to make the curry thick in consistency.
• Make sure you donot frequently stir the curry as it may break the dhoklis.
• Serve immediately with hot rotis.

Weekend if very near so here's wishing you all a very happy and relaxing weekend. See you all next week.

This dish is off to Flavors Of Gujarat event by Nayna

Corn Capsicum Masala with Gulab Jamuns for ICC

Dear All,

Hows everyone doing? I hope the sun is shining bright in your side of the world :-)  This post is little late but better late than never right? For this months Indian Cooking Challenge Srivalli chose Gulab Jamuns, one of the most favorite indian sweet of all time. This was also the first time I prepared gulab jamuns using khoya and they turned out to be simply melt in mouth type! Making khoya at home is little time consuming but if you use ready made khoya than making gulab jamuns at home is so very easy and quite simple too.

Recipe for Gulab Jamuns:
1 cup khoya (250 gms)
1/2 cup maida (all purpose flour)
1 pinch of baking soda
Oil/Ghee for frying

Recipe for Sugar Syrup:
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of water
few saffron strands
4 Cardamon pods
2 tsp of rose water

Procedure for Gulab Jaums:

• For jamuns, mix khoya, maida and baking soda together. Knead together and make small balls.
• For sugar syrup, heat together all the ingredients and let is simmer for 10 mins until one thread consistency is reached.
• Deep fry the jamuns on low heat so that they are cooked evenly.
• Remove and drain excess oil on paper towels.
• Add the jamuns in sugar syrup and let them soak in syrup for 3 to 4 hours. You can also keep them over night.
• Serve warm and to top it up add a dollop of vanilla ice cream :-)

Winter has already started here, its the time of the year for shawls and pullovers, good old morning walks have returned. Its the time of the year when you feel lazy and getting up early in the morning sounds like climbing a mountain. Its also the time when we crave for something warm and welcoming especially during the nights. On one such chilly evening I prepared Corn Capsicum Masala a perfect combo with rotis and pickle.

Ingredients for Corn Capsicum Masala:
1 cup sweet corn (200 gms)
2 medium green capsicum, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, quatered
2 medium onions, quatered
2 green chillies
1 tsp ginger paste
1 - 2 tsp fresh cream (malai can also be used)
1 - 2 tsp oil
2 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 - 2 tsp sugar
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste


Procedure:

• Grind together tomatoes, onions, green chillies and ginger paste with very little water into a smooth paste.
• Heat oil in a pan, add in bay leaves, cinnamon stick and tomato-onion paste. Fry for 3 to 4 mins until raw smell of onion disappears.
• Now add in the masalas, capsicum and sweet corn. Add little water if required.
• Cover and cook for 10 to 15 mins until well cooked. Make sure you have enough water so that the curry doesnt get burnt.
• Just before serving add in fresh cream and give a quick turn.
• Serve warm with hot rotis or phulkas.

Mix vegetables with grated coconut

Dear All,

Hope everyone had a wonderful time this diwali. This was my first diwali after 3 yrs which i celebrated with my family and friends so was very much special. Things are very much settled down here so now you'll see me active. I have already started dropping by my fellow friends blogs but still i have lots to catch up, so please dont mind if I am a little late.

The recipe I present you today is a very simple one and is perfect with rotis or phulkas. The most important ingredients here is grated coconut. I have always loved the taste of coconut in curries and dry veggies, it not only enhances the taste but also gives a unique flavor which is sure seduce your tastebuds. The combination of veggie I have used are carrots, green beans and green peas but you can use any combination.

Ingredients :-
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup green beans chopped
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 big onion finely sliced
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 medium green chillies finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 tbsp coriander finely chopped

Procedure :-

• Heat oil in a nonstick pan, add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies and onions.
• Saute onions for 2 to 3 mins until soft.
• Add in the veggies, cumin powder, salt, turmeric powder, sugar and grated coconut.
• Cover and cook on slow to medium gar for 25 to 30 mins, DONOT add water, the vegetables need to get cooked in steam itself.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander on top and serve hot with rotis or phulkas.
• Enjoy!!

In past few weeks many of my blogger buddies have passed awards to me, I thank you all for your love and support. I will acknowledge the awards very soon!

Badami Hariyali

Last weekend we had a farewell party for one of our close friends. It was a potluck party and i took kesar pista rasmalai and this deliciously sinful curry. Initially i thought of making Methi Malai Mutter as its a breeze to make and tastes rich but as i started making i realized i was out of cashews which is the key to make the curry rich and creamy. In such crisis what does one do? Think out of the box..so i put on my thinking cap and thought of various alternatives, after all it was question of 20 empty stomachs :) Few years earlier at one of our family gatherings i had tasted a mix veg curry made with almond paste and it was pretty darn good. So I made few changes to my methi malai mutter and came up with Badami Hariyali. You must have guessed why the name badami, the gravy is made with skinned almonds with onions and as i have used only green vegetables so the word hariyali :)

Verdict? It was fantastic, everybody loved it, few of them also asked me for the recipe and it was over in no time! I would consider this as a BIG hit. Its perfect with naan and phulkas or you can even enjoy it with pulav or jeera rice, whichever way you choose you will surely crave for more!

This is my entry to OriginalRecipes event by Lori.

Ingredients:

5 big white onions, quatered

3-4 green chillies

1/2 cup almonds skinned

2 tsp ginger paste

1/3 cup fresh coriander leaves

1/2 cup methi leaves finely chopped (I used dried ones)

1 cup green beans, chopped boiled

1 cup frozen green peas

2 tbsp fresh cream

2-3 tsp sugar

1 tsp cumin powder

2 bay leaf

2 whole star anise

2 tbsp of oil

Salt to taste

Some fresh crumbled paneer for garnishing

Procedure:

• Grind together almonds, onions, coriander leaves, green chillies and ginger paste with little water into a smooth fine paste.
• In a big vessel heat oil along with star anise and bay leaf for about a min.
• Now add in the onion and almond paste and fry for 2 to 3 mins until the raw onion smell disappears.
• Now add in methi leaves, green peas, salt, sugar and cumin powder and cook for 7 to 8 mins.
• Add the boiled green beans with fresh cream and cook for another 2 to 3 mins.
• Adjust salt and sugar as required.
• Drizzle little cream on top and garnish with fresh crumbled paneer.
• Serve hot with naan and enjoy this creamy and rich goodness!

Luv

Creamy Butter Beans and Green Peas

Let me start by wishing you all a very Happy Independence Day! Today India celebrates her 63rd Independence Day. As children this day is always remembered as a holiday from school, buying national flags and showing them off on your cars, singing national anthem, watching the flag hosting and eating sweets. I have some really special memories attached with this day, back home our residential complex celebrates independence day every year in our building garden. Every year on this day national anthem and other patriotic songs are played from morning 7 am. I remember waking up hearing them :) Light snacks and a packet of Frooti is distributed later on to all the children. Small small children sing patriotic songs and give speeches on indian history. Later on we watch the flag hosting ceremony on the national DD channel, my dad never misses this parade and always insist we too watch along with him. Childrens and students from overall states of india perform in the parade by dancing, singing, sports etc. If you havent watched this parade as yet, i request you to please watch it next time as the efforts taken by the students is worth while and i salute them for their talent! The co-ordination and consistency between the performers is remarkable!

Now coming on to today's recipe, i had seen this recipe at Meeta's blog and immediately bookmarked it. In gujarati butter beans are also known as "Vaal" and usually cooked with usual masalas in a curry style. I loved the idea of making them with cream and I am so glad it came out delicious. I have made few changes to the recipe and used green peas instead of leaks. Its simple and creamy dish and you can enjoy it as a side dish with roti or rice or even have it all by itself.

Sending this to Viki's event Side Dishes for Chapathi and to MLLA 14 hosted by Susan this month.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter beans (lima beans) soaked in water overnight

1 medium onion minced

1/2 cup frozen green peas

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

2 tbsp cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

fresh coriander or parsley for garnishing

1 cup water as required

Procedure:

• Heat oil and butter in a pan, add in minced onions and saute for 2 mins.
• Now add in butter beans, salt, pepper and enough water to cover the beans.
• Cover the cook on medium-slow heat for 15 to 20 mins.
• Beans will be halfway cooked, now throw in green peas and fresh cream.
• Again cover and cook for 5 to 6 mins , until butter beans are soft and creamy.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.

Once again wishing you all a very Happy 63rd Independence Day!

Luv,

Dahi Bhindi (Lady Finger in Creamy Yogurt Gravy)

I dont remember when i fell in love with okra but I am glad i did. Okra/Bhindi/Lady Finger is one of the few vegetable which is loved by everyone, i have not seen a single person who doesnt like okra. Personally i love okra stir fried with onions, serve them hot with rotis drizzled with ghee and its perfect and satifying meal. Just thinking of it makes me drool!! Today I am going to share a recipe of okra in creamy yogurt gravy. This is one of my favorite curries and if you love okra then you got to try this. I had first tasted this dish few years back at a friends house and fell for it. Over the years i have prepared this many times and always makes me want more! The taste is very much similar to Kadhi which i have posted earlier with addition of crispy okra pieces. The challenge here is to make sure you donot curdle the curd. Serve hot with little ghee drizzled and its perfect for rice or roti. The recipe below serves 4. Ingredients: 1/2 kg Okra washed,dried and chopped in 1 inch pieces 2 onions chopped finely 1 cup curd beaten 1 tbsp fresh cream (optional) 1 tsp sugar or jaggery powder 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp amchur powder 1 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp garam masala or kitchen king masala Salt to taste Ghee and Coriander leaves for garnishing For Tempering: 2 tsp oil 1 tsp urad dal 2 dry red chillies broken 1 tsp cumin seeds 5-6 curry leaves a pinch of Asafoetida/hing 1 bay leaf

Procedure:

• In a pan heat 1 tsp oil and add the chopped okras, cover them on medium heat until light browned and crispy on the edges. Turn off the heat and keep aside.
• In another pan heat 2 tsp oil for tempering, add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies, hing, curry leaves and bay leaf. As soon as the urad dal starts getting light brown in color add in the chopped onions and fry them until translucent.
• Add in the cooked okra pieces along with the rest of the masalas. Add few tbsp of water and cook for few mins.
• Lower the heat and add in the well beaten curd and fresh cream and mix well. Again you can add few tbsp of water to achieve the required consistency.
• Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and drizzle some ghee, serve hot with rice or roti.

Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry) for T&T

Chickpeas are one of my favorite. Fully loaded with proteins chickpeas are very versatile too. You can create lots of dishes right from snacks, rice, curries, soups, dips and even salads. So when i saw this delicious Chana Masala on HookedOnHeat which is the blog featuring on Tried and Tasted event for this month i couldnt resist my self and recreated this dish. I must say Meena has wonderful collection of indian dishes, few of them which i had forgotten and reminded me of old memories. There are so many dishes which i have bookmarked and cant wait to try. I just heard that Meena is writing a cookbook which will be out in 2010. I wish Meena all the very best for the book! Now for the recipe, I have simply followed meena's version as i very much prepare it in the similar way, the only change i made was to puree tomatoes and onions together and i also doubled the recipe. Sending this to Tried & Tasted : Hooked On Heat event guest hosted by Kits Chow, originally started by Zlamushka. Also sending this to My Legume Love Affair MLLA:12 guest hosted at Annarasa this month, mastermind of Susan.

Pooja and Nithya both have passed "One Lovely Blog Award" to me, thank you so much gals, I love your blog too :) Passing this award to just 10 pals is difficult and not fair as i love all my pals blogs...so I am passing this award to all of them who are following me, check out my side bar for the same, please do accept the award gals and spread the love!!

Ingredients: 2 cups chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked 2 large onions quatered 2 large tomatoes quatered 2 green chillies 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp chana masala powder 1/2 tsp garam masala Salt to taste 1 tbsp oil Onion rings and coriander leaves to garnish

Procedure:

• Puree the tomatoes, onions and green chillies together in a blender until smooth.
• Heat oil, add in cumin seeds, as soon as the seeds start to splutter add in ginger paste and cook for few seconds.
• Add in the tomato and onion paste and all the masalas and little water, cover and cook for 7 to 8 mins until raw smell of onions disappears.
• Now add in the cooked chickpeas, cover and again cook the curry for 5 to 8 mins until thick enough.
• Garnish with sliced onions and coriander leaves, serve hot with bhatura or puris.

Jain Vegetable Makhanwala, an award and a QUESTION

Being Gujarati I am very much familiar with Jain cuisine, though m not jain but i do have lots of friends who are, infact majority of my gujarati friends are jain. Jain cuisine is purely vegetarian without potatoes, onions and garlic. My food is incomplete without onions, i use them in almost every dish especially gravy based curries so making jain gravy based curry is always a challenge but not impossible. For today's post I have made simple and creamy Jain Vegetable Makhanwala. The curry is delicious and i didnt even feel that something was amiss, it was perfect. Do try this out and experience for yourself.

Ann from Happy and Healthy Cooking as passed "One Lovely Blog Award", my dear I am so touched and honored, thank you so much for thinking of me. I am passing this award to all my blogger pals, please accept and keep spreading love!!!

Now for the question...I have been trying to decide on which to take Blogher or Foodbuzz advertising from a long time now..still havnt figured out..I have seen majority of you have Foodbuzz advertisements featuring on your blogs and some of you also have Blogher. I would request you all to share your experiences with each, if you have tried both, which one do you prefer and why, this will really be helpful for new comers. Please leave your comments or you can also email me. Sending this dish to RCI:Jain Cuisine, guest hosted by PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds, an event started by Lakshmi of VeggieCuisine.

Ingredients: 1 cup boiled vegetables (cauliflower, peas, capsisum, french beans) 3 medium tomatoes quatered 2 green chillies 1 tsp ginger paste 10-12 cashewnuts 1 tbsp poppy seads (khus khus) 1 tbsp oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 bay leaf 2 dry red chillies broken 3 cloves 3-4 cardamon crushed 3-4 whole pepper 1 pinch of Asafoetida 2 tbsp fresh cream 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp pav bhaji masala 1 tsp sugar Salt to taste Procedure:

• Grind together tomatoes, cashewnuts, poppy seeds, green chillies and ginger paste into a fine paste preferrably without water.
• Heat oil, add in cumin seeds, cloves, dry red chillies, bay leaf, cardamons, asafoetida and whole peppers.
• As seeds start to splutter, add in the tomato paste and cook for 2 mins.
• Now add in turmeric, garam masala, pav bhaji masala, salt, sugar and fresh cream.
• Cook for 5 to 6 mins on medium heat, add little water if required.
• Now add in the boiled veggies and cover and cook for another 2 mins.
• Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Brinjal Potato Green Peas Curry

This is one of the most simple and commonly prepared curry at home, along with roti this meal is one of the most satisfying dish ever. In my school days i never liked brinjals, when my mom used to prepare Baigan ka bharta at home i never used to eat. Once during one of the christmas holidays we went to visit my aunt in gujarat in a small town named Anand, there first time I tasted brinjal. It was cold winter night and we group of 1o to 12 people were sitting at a dhaba and enjoying the night with bonfire. My mom had ordered baigan bharta and bajre ki roti which in my eyes was "yukkk", at that age we dont really go for nutritious food, do we? As usual my mom insisted to taste it....oh well it was cold and i was very very hungry so took one bite and i absolutely loved it, i thought why didnt i ever taste this before? From that day onwards i have never said no to brinjal. I love them in all forms..roasted, fried, curried or stuffed, they always taste wonderful!!!

Ingredients:

1 medium brinjal diced

2 medium potato diced

1/2 cup green peas

3-4 tbsp fresh grated coconut

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

a generous pinch of Asafoetida(hing)

2 bay leaf

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

Procedure:

• In a vessel, heat oil, add in cumin seeds, mustard seeds and bay leaf. When seeds start to splutter, add in asafoetida and brinjals and potatoes.
• Now add in salt, sugar, turmeric, red chilli, cumin and coriander powders and very little water and mix well.
• Cover and cook for 7-8 mins until potatoes and brinjals are half cooked.
• Now add in grated coconut and green peas and again cook for another 5 to 7 mins or until cooked.
• Before serving add in chopped cilantro and mix well.
• Serve hot with roti.

Corn Palak (Sweet Corn with Spinach)

HMMM It was thursday afternoon when it all started....while surfing i saw this yummy picture of palak paneer on one of the food sites, though I am not a BIG fan of palak but i do like it in gravy dishes. I wanted to go home and make palak paneer that moment itself...you know how cravings are....so i patiently waited till the clock ticked 6 and immediately ran out of office to buy some fresh spinach leaves. Being very fussy as I am I really dont like the taste of frozen vegetables, i always prefer fresh ones. Unfortunately fresh spinach's are not available everywhere here.....people usually use the frozen cubes. As i was walking towards the supermarket I was praying that i get some fresh spinach today. I didnt have much hope as I was already late...shops get closed by 6 here and very few shops are open till 7 or 8, even if you find them open most of the fresh leafy veggies are already gone.  As i reached the counter i saw there was only one BIG bunch of baby spinach leaves left and I immediately grabbed it...i felt as if i found a treasure :) an aged guy standing next to me gave me a look as if I am crazy, I gave him a big smile..m sure i must have :))....in all my excitement i didnt even notice that the bunch which i had bought was very very BIG, i guess lots of spinach recipes coming up in my future posts :) 

Hmmm one down and one more to go....paneer....again i didnt want to use the frozen paneer....they are not fresh and the one which we get here are hard as a rock, whereas I prefer homemade paneer are soft with melt in mouth texture. Well making paneer was absolutely out of question as it will require lot of time and i didnt really have so much patience...so not giving up i made this dish using sweet corns. The dish came out very well, i simply followed my mom's tips on spices and the result was creamy and delicious curry. Perfect for nan, roti and parathas. I simply adore this recipe because of its simplicity and taste :)) It just took me under 30 mins to prepare this yummy dish :)

Sending corn palak to SWC- Cooking with greens event guest hosted by Sowmya of Creative Saga, mastermind of Laksmi. This dish is also off to WYF : Quick Meals hosted by EC.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh spinach leaves

2 medium onions squared

2 medium tomatoes squared

1 cup sweet corn (i used canned)

3 medium green chiilies

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp oil

1 tsp fresh cream for garnishing

Procedure:

• Blanch the spinach in hot water for about 8 - 10 mins, until the leaves become soft.
• Grind together onions, tomato, green chillies with very little water to make a smooth paste.
• Heat the oil in a pan, add in ginger paste, saute for few seconds, now add in the onion-tomato paste, salt, sugar and turmeric powder.
• Cook the gravy for about 5 to 7 mins until the raw taste of onion disappears.
• Now add in the sweet corn kernels and simmer for about 3 to 4 mins.
• Grind the blanched spinach into smooth paste.
• Just before serving, add the spinach paste in the gravy and simmer for about 2 mins.
• Adust the salt and sugar according to taste.
• Garnish with fresh cream or malai and serve hot with nan, roti or parathas.

Sweet Potato, Cauliflower and Spring Onion Curry

After making sweet potato chips which i posted few days back, you can find the post here, i still had one sweet potato left in the fridge which was screaming to be used. I also had a big cauliflower and few spring onion sticks which i had bought on last weekend. I prefer to buy fresh veggies as in summer there are high chances of veggies getting spoiled if we store them for a longer period. I did not follow any recipe but created my own, for which i am really happy as the curry turned out to very very tasty...... :))

I served the curry with plain jeera rice and the combination was awesome...i definately will be making this again.

Ingredients:

1 big sweet potato chopped 

1 cup cauliflower florets

2 spring onion stick chopped finely

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

1 tbsp oil

2 dry red chilli broken into 2

1 piece of cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp nigella(onion) seeds

2 bay leaf

2 - 3 star anise

2 - 3 cardamons broken (elaichi)

a generous pinch of asafoetida

Procedure:

• In a saucepan, heat the oil, add in cumin seeds, nigella seeds, bay leaf, cloves, cardamons, star anise , cinnamon and red chillis.
• As soon as the seeds start to splutter add in a pinch of asafoetida.
• Now add in the chopped sweet potatoes and cauliflower florets.
• Cook for about a min.
• Now add in turmeric, red chilli, cumin and coriander powders. Also add in salt and sugar. Mix well.
• Add little water, cover and cook for about 7 - 8 mins, until half way cooked.
• Now add in the chopped srping onions (leave some for garnishing).
• Cover and cook again for another 8 mins or until done.
• Garnish with chopped srping onions and serve hot with jeera rice, enjoy!!!!

Tried and Tasted - Cabbage in Chana Dal Sauce

When Tried and Tasted event was announced by Aparna, I wasnt familiar with Lisa's blog. Once i started to browse her blog i really got hooked on to it, she has wonderful collection of vegetarian recipes. I love the different combination of veggies and pulses she uses in her daily cooking. I have already bookmarked many of her wonderful dishes which i would love to try. For this event i tried her Cabbage in crumbly Chana Dal Sauce. The original recipe can be found here.

I have followed Lisa's recipe exactly with just one change where i have also added chopped onions to the curry. I absolutely loved this dish, it goes very well with plain rice or roti. Chana dal along with mild spices gives lovely taste, not too spicy just perfect :) My dish turned out to be more of a curry rather than dry vegetable, probably i added little more water. Sending this to Tried and Tasted :Lisa's Kitchen guest hosted by Aparna an event started by Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen

Ingredients:

For Chana Dal sauce: 1/2 chana dal

3 dry red chillies

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1 tsp olive oil

For Cabbage curry:

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 onion chopped finely

1 tsp urad dal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4-6 curry leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste finely chopped coriander for garnishing

Procedure:

• Soak chana dal in water for about 4 to 5 hours.
• Grind together chana dal, asafoetida, red chillies and salt in a crumbly paste.
• In a pan heat the olive oil, fry the chana dal paste for about few mins, add little water if required.
• In a seperate pan, heat oil add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds start to splutter, add in chopped onions and saute for about 2 mins.
• Now add in the cabbage, salt and turmeric powder.
• Add in the chana dal sauce with little water in the cabbage mixture. Cover & cook for about 10 - 12 mins on medium heat or until cooked.
• Keep stirring in the middle to make sure the curry doesnt stick to the pan.
• Serve hot with plain rice or rotis.

Bell Pepper and Onions in creamy cashewnut gravy

It was dinner time and there were no veggies in my pantry. I had few potatoes, onions and bell peppers. Oh damn!! i thought, should have done my grocery shopping on the weekend...so i did some random mixing and BAM!!! I got this wonderful rich and creamy dish, which I absolutely loved. I have used bell peppers and onions for this dish, i left out potatoes as i dont prefer potatoes in a curry dish. The gravy i made using cashewnuts , onions along with roasted chana dal. Next time i may add in some baby corns and paneer to give it a more rich taste. The recipe below serves 4 people. This dish is off to Lets Go Nuts Cashewnuts hosted by Poornima of Tasty Treats and to Aquadaze of ServedWithLove

Ingredients:

1 Bell Pepper chopped into cubes

2 medium onions chopped

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp corainder powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp sugar

pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)

Salt to taste

Cilantro for garnishing

For Gravy:

2 onions cut into 4 pieces each

50 gms cashewnuts

2 tbsp roasted chana dal

2-3 green chillies chopped

1 tsp ginger paste

Procedure:

• For gravy, grind together all the ingredients with little water into a smooth paste, keep aside.
• In a non stick pan heat oil, add in cumin seeds and asafoetida, when cumin seeds starts to splutter add in the gravy mixture.
• Now add chopped onions, bell peppers, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, corainder powder, garam masala , salt and sugar. Add enough water as chana dal absorbs lot of water and we want to make sure the gravy does not get burnt.
• Cover and cook for 15 to 20 mins on medium heat or until the onions and bell peppers are cooked. Keep stirring in middle just to be sure that the gravy doesnt stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water if required.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with paratha or rice.

Paneer Methi Malai Mutter

                                            

One of the most things i miss staying away from home is food made by my mom, she cooks the most amazing dishes in the world, recently when i had been home she cooked all my favorite dishes, love you mom and miss you, so here is one of my favorite dish Methi Malai Mutter with a twist of paneer. The recipe is very simple and uses least number of spices but still is very rich in taste. Its Perfect for special occasions or dinner parties. The gravy is unique blend of cashewnuts and onions. This recipe yields serving for 4 people. Ingredients:

1 cup washed and finely cut Methi (Fenugreek leaves) 1 cup green peas (I used frozen) 1 cup paneer (Cottage cheese) cubed in small pieces 2 tbsp fresh cream or Malai 1 tsp salt or according to your taste 1-2 tsp sugar

1 pinch baking soda (Optional)

Ingredients for gravy:

100 gms cashewnuts

2 large onions cut into 4 pieces each

2-3 green chillies

1 tsp ginger paste

Ingredients for tempering:

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 pinch asafoetida

2 Bay Leaf Procedure:

• Blend onions, cashewnuts, green chillies and ginger paste along with little water in mixer grinder into fine paste.
• Deep Fry paneer pieces and soak them into cold water for few minutes, this will remove the excess oil from paneer and make them soft.

• Heat oil in seperate pan, add cumin seeds and asafoetida and bay leaf, add the cashewnuts and onion gravy and cook it for few minutes.

• Add methi (fenugreek leaves), mutter (green peas), salt, sugar(sugar is basically added to remove the bitterness of Methi) and little baking soda and cook for about 15 to 20 mins on slow heat, until peas and methi are cooked. You can add salt and sugar more according to your taste.

• Add fresh cream and let it cook for few mins.

• In the end add paneer and again cook for a min.

• Garnish with fresh cream and enjoy this rich dish with Nan or Paratha.