Noodles

There are many ways of making noodles but I have used one of the simplest ways with no elaborate spices, just basic spices and vegetables. Sharing with you one of the easiest ways of making noodles (no, not Maggi). I used Hakka Noodles in this case.

INGREDIENTS

2 onions cut lengthwise

1 carrot cut lengthwise

1 bell pepper cut lengthwise

1 cup sliced mushrooms

chopped green chillies

1/2 cup cabbage chopped finely

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

 salt to taste

3 tsp olive oil.

1 packet Hakka Noodles

METHOD

1) Chop onions lengthwise. Fry it in a big tawa using 2 tsp oil. Once it gets translucent, add carrot, mushrooms, bell pepper, green chillies Sauté well.

2) In another pan add noodles in water and let it get cooked, Once done, strain with a filter and add 1 tsp olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking. Saute well.

3) In the first pan add chopped cabbage, soy sauce, shredded ginger, salt (very less since soy sauce also has salt in it) and mix well. Add chilly sauce (optional), vinegar and more soy sauce in case necessary.

4) Once vegetables get 80% cooked, add noodles and mix well. Then switch off the flame.

NOTE: Cook Veggies in high flame. You may also add vegetables like peas, green beans but cook them well.

WaterMelon-Orange juice

This takes no time and has that refreshing zing to the boring sugary watermelon syrup. For this you need

Ingredients

2 cups or more of chopped watermelon

2 oranges

1 tsp sugar (optional)

Method

1) Grind the chopped water melon in a mixie. Filter the seeds and extract the juice.

2) Extract the juice of orange using citrus juicer. Mix and serve immediately.

NOTE: You may add a few ice cubes too after your water melon juice is done. Just add the juice in the mixie alongwith ice cubes and run it for a few seconds. Be sure to add a bit of sugar too since the ice cubes are likely to dilute the sweetness of juice.

Sauteed Mushroom

Sautéed mushrooms is a perfect midnight snack since it is quick, easy and tasty. 

For this you need

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms ( or as more or less you eat)

1/2 tsp pepper

salt to taste

1/2 tsp lemon

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

grated parmesan cheese for seasoning 

 Method

1) Slice mushrooms thinly. Now take a pan and add olive oil. Saute mushrooms well in oil until it gets cooked. Add oregano, basil and salt to it. (Add less salt since mushrooms tend to shrink).

2) Add pepper. Once it gets cooked, switch off the flame. Season with lemon and parmesan cheese and enjoy while it is still warm.

ChakkaraI pongal/ sweet aval

When you prepare sweets, be assured of one thing. Any sweet using rice or rice powder or puffed rice will be a sure shot hit. Sweet aval in this case too is no exception. All you need is

jaggery- 1 and a quarter cups
Ghee 1 tbsp
Aval - 2 cups
Kishmish- 10-12
Cardamom - 1/3 tsp
Water 2 cups
grated coconut - 2 tbsp
sweetened coconut flakes - 1 tsp to season
Broken cashew nuts- 10

METHOD

1) Powder the jaggery and keep it in water until it gets dissolved. There may be some impurities floating on top. Remove it with a spoon.

2) Now put the jaggery mixture on flame. Keep it on medium flame.

3) Once jaggery water gets hot, add grated coconut and keep it for a while until the coconut soaks all jaggery.

4) Clean the puffed rice in water. Sprinkle some water on the puffed rice and keep it so 2 mts. Then add the same to the coconut jaggery mixture. Simmer the flame. Keep stirring well to avoid the bottom of the pan from being burnt. Add 1/2 tsp ghee. Once rice soaks all the water, add cardamom powder.

5) Fry some cashew nuts and kishmish in remaining ghee and season it to the pongal. Add some sweetened coconut flakes to give that zing to your sweet dish.

Brown rice pudding/ Pal Paysam

Serve it as a warm Paysam on a festival or a dessert on a summer day instead of ice-cream, this dish will win hearts. Also, if you are very worried about intake of carbohydrates and white rice, this chewy short grain brown rice is a pretty good idea. Although this takes a lot of time to make, I have tried to reduce the time by dividing work and doing it simultaneously.

For this you need

1/2 cup short grain brown rice

3 cups water

3 cups whole milk

12 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Kishmish

1 tsp ghee

Method

1) Take a pan. Add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of milk. Keep it to boil. Once it starts boiling, add  4 tsp sugar and brown grain rice. Keep stirring and lower the flame. Brown rice takes a long time to get cooked. Keep checking if it is cooked every now and then. The mixture slowly thickens and brown rice gels well with the mixture.This takes approx one and a half hours to two hours.

2) In another pan, add two cups of milk and 8 tsp sugar and let it boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and let it boil for a while.  Keep stirring every now and then to ensure that the bottom of the pan does not get burnt. Let it boil continuously until it starts getting creamish- brownish in colour. (It thickens up and is like the milkmaid consistency). This would easily take 1 and a 1/2 hours.

3) Once done, mix them both and switch off the flame. Keep it aside.

4) Fry some Kishmish in ghee and season it alongwith cardamom powder to the pudding.

5) Cool the pudding  to the room temperature and keep it in the fridge. Enjoy chilled brown pudding as a dessert.

Aviyal

Avial is an authentic recipe of Kerala.... there are various ways but I am sharing one version of it which is very near authentic. You may use a variation like peas, beans, carrots.  It is pretty simple to prepare and you do not need too many ingredients. For this you need

Ingredients

1 raw banana cut into strips

1/3 eggplant cut into strips

1 cup white pumpkin cut into strips

1 tsp coconut oil

salt to taste

4 tbsp thick curd

3 green chillies

a few curry leaves

1 cup water

5 tbsp coconut flakes

Cooked drumsticks (optional)

Method

1) Take a pan. Add some water and salt. Add chopped raw banana when the water starts boiling.

2) Once it gets slightly cooked, add cut eggplant.

3) Add chopped pumpkin after eggplant gets 30% cooked.

4) Grind green chillies and coconut with curd in a mixie. Add this mixture once the vegetables are completely cooked and let it get cooked for 1 minute. When you are adding this to the cooked mixture, ensure that there is no water. If there is water, drain it away. Curd by itself carries some liquid some this will make the gravy more watery.

5)  Season with chopped curry leaves and 1 tsp coconut oil. 

Have it warm with your favourite sambar or rasam. It compliments it very well. There is a variation for this dish. To make it watery, you can add more water while cooking which makes it suitable for having it with rice. Also, while grinding curd, coconut and green chillies, you could add cumin seeds to it. 

Palak Koottu

Simple and tasty recipe, this is one of the best Koottu you could ever have with less ingredients.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry moong daal which is cooked using pressure cooker

One whole bunch of spinach washed and chopped

2 green chillies slit

water for cooking spinach

salt to taste

For roasting and grinding

1 tsp cooking oil

2 whole red chillies

1/2 tsp urad dal

1/2 tsp chana daal

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

3 tbsp coconut flakes

1 tomato chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Seasoning

Curry leaves,

urad dal

mustard seeds

one whole red chilly

Method

1) Pressure cook moong daal until it gets cooked completely.

2) Boil water. Wash and cut spinach and once done, add it to the boiling water and cook with the lid open. Once done drain away excess water.

3) In another pan, add some oil. Add all the ingredients except tomatoes and coconut. Once they start browning a bit, add chopped tomatoes. Once it fries well, add coconut and fry it till coconut flakes turn slightly brown. Switch off the flame and keep it aside to cool down.

4) Once the ingredients cool down, grind them in a mixie using a little bit of water.

5)  Add cooked  daal in the pan that has cooked spinach in it. Add the ground mixture to the pan. Add some salt to taste and cool well until the gravy starts boiling.

6) For seasoning, add some curry leaves. In a small pan, add urad dal, mustard seeds, whole red chilly and add them to the daal.

Serve hot with rice.

Capsicum Raita

Do not have to many veggies for Raita? You can make an excellent Raita out of just Bell pepper. Make this as a perfect side dish for Biryani, fried rice, rice and sambar or even with chappati.

Ingredients

2 Bell pepper, chopped into small pieces.

salt

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 Urad dal seeds

1 green chilly chopped

Hing (most important)

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 cups of curd

Method

1) Take some oil. Add mustard seeds and once it starts crackling add urad dal and chopped green chilly. Do not let urad dal brown too much. It may get burnt fast.

2) Add capsicum, hing and salt and fry until the capsicum loses a bit of its crunch but not completely.

2) Once done, keep it to cool and add curd slowly - a little at a time. Mix it well. Serve chilled.

Ven Pongal

High on nutrition, this dish is often considered as a quickie tiffin or breakfast. It needs minimum seasoning, and yet is quite flavorful, thanks to ghee and pepper. For this you need

Serves - 2 people

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of rice

1 cup moong daal

salt

pepper powder

7-8 pods of whole pepper

2 tbp ghee

8-10 pieces of broken cashewnuts(broken into halves).

cumin seeds

a few sprigs of curry leaves

5 cups of water

METHOD

1) Take a vessel. Add rice and moong daal. Now wash it well in water.

2) Take a pressure cooker. Add washed rice, moong daal and 5 cups of water. Add salt and cover it with a lid. Cook upto 2 or 3 whistles ( depends upon pressure cooker though). Once you remove the pan, the cooked rice and moong dal must be slightly mashed up.

3) Take another pan. Fry broken cashewnuts in 1 tsp ghee. Keep the fried cashews aside.

4) In the same frying pan, add the remaining ghee. Add some cumin seeds. Add whole pepper, curry  leaves and once they begin to crackle, add the cooked rice and moong daal. Mix it well. At this point of time you can check for salt. You may even add some more ghee if you want to.

5) Stir it for half a  minute and remove from fire. You may sprinkle just a bit (not too much) of pepper powder on top and serve hot with chutney, sambar or Gojju.

Noone Vankaya / Stuffed eggplant gravy

Noone Vankaya or Nuna Vankaya or stuffed eggplant is the gravy version of its cousin Gutti Vankaya .It tasts best with Jowar rotti or Jaloda rotti .It always reminds me to Kamath yatriniva's jolada rotti!At home we love to combine Noone vankaya with rava rotti or rice.Try this yummy stuffed eggplant today!

Noone Vankaya or Nuna Vankaya recipe:

3 tbsp oil

1 sprig curry leaves

1 pound small brinjals / eggplant

1 medium onion , sliced lengthwise.

1/4 cup tamarind juice

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp crushed Jaggery

1 tbps chopped cilantro

For stuffing

1 tsp oil

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tsp Coriander seeds

3 tbps sesame seeds
3 tbps Groundnuts

3 tbps grated Coconut

8 Red Chillies
4 cloves of Garlic
salt to taste.

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and roast cumin, coriander ,groundnuts, seasame seeds and red chillies.

2. Transfer it to a cool plate\bowl and let it cool.

3. Grind the roasted mixture along with coconut, garlic to a fine powder. Do not add water.The mixture should be dry.

4. Transfer the mixture to a cup.

5. Slit the eggplants into 4 , from the round end to about 3/4 the way up so as to retain the stalk.

6. Stuff the powder in between the eggplant and gently press.

7. In a pressure cooker heat oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves.

8. Fry onions till they are 1/2 done.

9. Add Stuffed eggplants and fry them till they start turning golden brown. Make sure you roll around the eggplant so that it cooks evenly.

10. Add the remaining or left over stuffing powder (if you have any).

11. Add tamarind juice and cook for about for 3 minutes.

12. Add about 1 cup water and close the cooker lid.

13. Wait for 1 whistle and switch off the stove.

14. Once the cooker cools down and the steam has escaped, remove the lid , add jaggery and stir.

15. Garnish with cilantro.

16. Serve hot with rice or chapati or any rotti .

Note:

1.You can use coriander and cumin powder in place of Coriander and cumin seeds.

2.Make sure you don't of lot of water content before you pressure cook or your eggplants might end up mashy.

Channa Masala \Garbanzo beans masala

Channa masala or chole is one of the easiest and a very popular dish. Frankly it doesn't need an entry in a blog! But I feel my recipe book looks incomplete without this addition.

Punjabi Channa Masala Recipe

1 pound Dry garbanzo beans / Kabuli channa

1 tbps oil

2 medium Onion

1 Tomato (optional)

1/2 cup Tomato paste ( not tomato puree)

3 tbps Channa masala

1 tsp Turmeric

Method:

1. Soak the Channa overnight or atleast 8 hrs.

2. Pressure cook the Channa and salt up to 2 whistles.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies .

4. Add chopped onions and fry onions till golden brown.

6. Add Turmeric and Channa masala , fry for about a minute .

5. Add chopped tomato and tomato paste and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes.

6. Add salt and 1/2 cup water or as required if you need a gravy.

7. Add boiled channa and simmer for 15 minutes so that the channa absorbs the masala .

8. Serve hot with Bathura , poori or rice.

Note:

1.You can use 2 garbanzo beans cans instead of dry garbanzo beans.If you do then skip 1st two steps and proceed with the 3rd step.

Tomato Rasam

The king of all rasams. Imagine the clear water floating on top which when savoured gives a tangy, sour spicy flavour that pleases every sense of yours. Eat it with rice and pappad or drink it as a soup. It teases your taste buds. Here is the step by step procedure and ingredients needed to prepare this delicious form of food.

Ingredients

Two tomatoes chopped into four pieces.

Turmeric powder

hing or asafoetida

2 slit green chillies

1 small lemon size tamarind soaked in hot water

salt to taste

1 teaspoon full rasam powder (if not available take 1 tsp sambar powder and  add 1/4 tsp pepper powder and  1/4 tsp coriander powder)

1 tsp ghee

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

1/3 tsp jeera seeds

1 red chilly

1 cup water

a  handful of tur daal pressure cooked in 4 cups of water.

few sprigs of coriander leaves chopped

Method

1) Soak some tamarind in hot water. Let it stay so for a few minutes until the water is of room temperature and you are easily able to squeeze out tamarind water.

2) Take one cup of water. Add salt, turmeric powder, slit green chillies, asafoetida and chopped tomatoes. Squeeze the tamarind and add tamarind water to it.

3) Now add rasam powder, and once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and cover it paritally. Wait for the quantity to turn into half.

4) Once the quantity reduces to half, add cooked toor dal along with toor daal water that was used for cooking. If it appears to be too thick, add one cup of cold water and simmer the flame to the lowest.

5) A lather like formation would form on the top of rasam, that means it is ready. Switch off the flame immediately. Never let it boil the second time else that would spoil the taste.

6) For seasoning, take one tsp ghee in a small vessel. Add mustard seeds and once it crackles add whole red chilly, cumin seeds and hing. Add the seasoning to the rasam alongwith chopped coriander  leaves. Serve hot.

Vatta Kozhambu

This gives you the feeling of comfort food especially with its spicy, tangy taste and aromatic character that makes us remember our home. I have added onions but you need not add onions. You may add some vegetables like seetaphal too. Some people also add potatoes although I am not too fond of it.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

mustard seeds

10 methi dana/ fenugreek seeds

2 red chillies

dried vattral

pinch of asafoetida

curry leaves

1/4 turmeric powder

1 tsp sambar powder

salt to taste

1/2 lemon size tamarind immersed in a cup of hot water

1 tsp rice powder dissolved in a few tsp of water

1 small onion (optional) sliced lengthwise

1tsp toor daal

METHOD

1) In a frying pan add some oil. Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, toor daal, dried Vattral, asafoetida. Fry them on medium flame. 

2) You can at this point of time add sliced onions and then fry them well. Once they are fried, add turmeric powder, sambar powder and fry for  few seconds stirring continuously. Turn off the heat or transfer the pan to another stove which has not been used.

3) Now add the tamarind juice which is extracted from squeezing out tamarind. Switch on the flame. Let the mixture boil for 15 mts. Once done, add rice powder that was dissolved in water. This brings the thickness. 

4) Fry some vattral in oil until it changes colour and turns crispy but not very dark. 

5) Season the kozhambu with curry leaves and vattral. Serve it hot with rice or have it as a side dish with curd rice.

Aata Halwa/ Wheat Halwa

This is not a South Indian Godumai or wheat halwa. That takes a lot of time. But this halwa hardly takes more than 15 mts of preparing it. It also tastes pretty good. Here is the recipe

Ingredients

Wheat - 1 cup

Ghee - 1/3 of a cup ( or more)

Water - 2 cups

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cardamom and dry fruits like kajoo and kishmish to taste

pinch of colour (optional)

Method

1) In a pan, add sugar and water and keep it for boiling.

2) In another pan, add 1 tsp ghee and once it melts, add dry fruits to it and fry without burning it. Keep the dry fruits aside once done. Take the same pan, add 1/3 cup of ghee and once it melts, add wheat flour to it. Fry on a low flame until the wheat turns brown and looks well coated with ghee. Keep stirring or it would start getting burnt. Switch off the flame.

4) Once water starts boiling on the other pan, add it the boiling water to the pan that has wheat. Keep stirring well until it thickens. Keep the flame low throughout. Add colour to it (optional).

5) Season with a pinch of cardamom and dry fruits and serve immediately.

Note

~ Wheat tends to get sticky very soon. So you must decide when to remove the halwa from the pan. Do not let it become too thick. Remove it from the pan when it just starts to thicken and yet loose.

~ you can add more ghee if you want to make it tastier.

Lemon rice

You do not have time to cut and cook vegetables. You have some leftover rice. You want to prepare something fast. Perhaps one of the simplest answer to these thoughts are lemon rice.  All you need is

Ingredients

Juices of 2 lemons (or more)

2 red chillies broken into halves

Pinch of asafoetida

1/ 4 cup roasted ground nuts

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

2 small chopped green chillies (optional)

1 tsp chana daal

salt to taste

1 cup of cooked rice

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp cooking oil

8-10 Curry leaves

Method

1) Take a pan. Add 2 tbsp oil. Once it gets hot, add mustard seeds.

2) Add chana daal, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves, groundnut, turmeric powder and asafoetida.

3) Add rice to it and mix it well. Add some salt to it. Switch off the flame.

4)  Once the rice cools down a bit, add the lemon juice and mix well. You may check for salt now.

5) Serve warm with Paapad (Appalam)

NOTE:

If groundnuts are not roasted, roast it well beforehand and then use it for the lemon rice. 

Cucumber Raita

Cucumber raita is perhaps one of the most popular raitas ever made. It goes well with roti or rice, veg or non-veg and is a perfect accompaniment to dry subzi or spicy biryani. This quick dish does not take more than 5 mts of preparation.

Ingredients

2 cucumbers

1/2 tsp cumin seed powder (dry roast cumin seeds and grind into powder)
3 tbsp curd/yogurt
salt to taste
chopped coriander leaves
1 green chilly chopped
1/2 tsp chat masala



Method

1) Grate the cucumbers. Add curd, salt, roasted cumin powder and chopped green chillies

2) Season with chat masala and coriander leaves. Serve chilled especially one a summer.



NOTE: If you are preparing it with any south indian dish, do not use roasted cumin powder or chaat masala. Instead, make a seasoning that has mustard seeds, urad daal and a pinch of hing and add it to the raita.

Tomato Chutney

Aloo Subzi (without onions)

Aloo subzi has never stolen the limelight for being the tastiest dish but has stood out as a superb option for comfort food. Keep it as a side dish with poori or with rotis, this dish is perfect when you are very hungry or must go on a long journey by walk. For this you need,

Ingredients

4 potatoes boiled

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder

2 green chillies chopped

1/4 tsp red chilly powder

1 inch ginger chopped finely

3 tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp sambar powder (trust me, this works)

 a pinch of hing

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Jeera seeds

1 tsp cooking oil

1 cup of water

Method

1) Take a pan. Add 1 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add cumin seeds.

2) Add green chillies, ginger, tomatoes and turmeric powder. Fry them well.

3) Meanwhile, mash the boiled potatoes with your fingers or with the help of a potato masher.

4) Once the tomatoes get cooked, add mashed potatoes.

5) Add salt, chilly powder, sambar powder, hing and water. Stir well.

6) Keep it in low flame and close it with a lid. Once it gets cooked,  switch off the flame and serve hot with rotis or puris.

Peanut Chutney / Kallekaya chutney

I will bet that peanut lovers are in for a treat. If you are a peanut lover wether it is a raw/fried peanuts or peanutbutter, Kallekaya chutney is going to be on top of your list next time you think of chutney! This is my hubby's favorite side for Idlis, dosas and chapathi. At home we prepare slightly different from this recipe , this one is inspired from Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada). Since the discovery of this recipe we have liked no other! Try this nutty chutney today.

Kallekaya chutney recipe:

1 cup peanuts

1 tbps tamrind juice

3 green chillies

1/2 tsp oil

salt

For seasoning

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 pinch Hing

Method

1 . Heat oil in a pan and add peanuts. Roast the peanuts for couple of minutes or till the peanuts are slightly brown.

2. Transfer the peanuts to a cup and let it cool.

3. Grind peanuts, salt, tamarind juice and green chillies.

4. In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds , hing and cumin seeds till they sputter.

5. Serve with Idli , dosa or chapathi.

Note:

If the chutney is little sour for your taste add very little Jaggery to adjust to your taste.

Peanut/ groundnut Chutney

Sometimes, simple things are easily underestimated. Peanut chutney is probably a lesser known chutney as compared to coconut or mint chutney. I must confess that this is one of the easiest, quickest and definitely tastiest chutneys that goes well with idli, dosa and even pongal especially when it peanut is already available as dry roasted. To make this, you need very less ingredients.

Ingredients

1 tsp Dhania seeds

5-6 peppercorns

2 red chillies broken into halves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup roasted peanuts.

Salt to taste

1 tsp cooking oil

 a few tsp of water for grinding

For Seasoning

5-6 curry leaves

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp urad dal

2 red chillies

Method

1) Roast in oil some Dhaniya seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns and broken red chillies. Once they get roasted keep them in a plate for cooling.

2) Grind the cooled mixture alongwith the roasted peanuts using a bit of water every now and then until they become a thick paste. Add salt to taste.

3) For seasoning, take a tsp oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves. Once urad dal seeds turn slightly brown, add it to the paste. Your chutney is ready.  

Aloo Achari

Can one be disappointed with Potatoes? Never. It is one of the few vegetables for which we would be searching for new ways to prepare. Aaloo achari was one of the few dishes that I wanted to try the moment I saw its pictures. Achar is nothing but pickle. Bringing the flavour of pickle is what this dish is all about. This dish is heavily inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor's aloo achari recipe. For this you need

10-12 Baby potatoes or 4 medium sized potatoes partially boiled (you can microwave it for a few mts too)
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp Saunf
3 red chillies or to taste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of Turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice.
3 tbsp cooking oil.
1 tsp ginger garlic paste


Method
1) Grind the fenugreek seeds, red chilly, saunf into a coarse powder.

2) Partially boil potatoes. Now in a pan, add oil and then add cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, and potatoes. Fry till one side gets nice and crispy. Keep the flame low throughout.

3) Now add turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste and add the masala which you made by grinding spices. Add salt to taste and vinegar.(if you have vinegar and not lemon).

4) Ensure that the potatoes are coated properly by the powder. Cook it at low flame. Serve it as an accompaniment with rotis and daal.

Paavakkai Pitla

Bitter gourd is not a very tasty vegetable, but if used properly will bring a  new taste to the dishes. For this you need

Ingredients

3 karela/ Bitter gourd chopped (in round slices)

 small lemon size tamarind

3 tbsp fried coconut

3/4th cup Tuvar dal

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

fry in oil and Grind into paste

1 tsp chana dal

1 tsp urad dal

3 red chillies

Pinch of asafoetida

1/3 tsp ground pepper

 For Seasoning

Fried coconut scraps

Kadipatta/ curry leaves

Method

1) Roast the chopped bitter gourd in a pan with some oil and salt. Fry it well till it gets properly cooked. Keep it aside.

2) Cook Tuvar dal in a pressure cooker.

3) Fry in oil chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, asafoetida and pepper. Grind it.

4) Soak tamarind in warm water. After a while, discard the pulp after squeezing the juice out. Keep the tamarind juice in a pan with turmeric powder and asafoetida. Let it start boiling.

5) Once it starts boiling, add cooked bitter gourd and cooked tuvar dal. Add salt. Let the flame be low and let it start boiling.

6) Fry in oil some coconut scraps until it turns light brown. Add it and curry leaves to the dish. Serve hot with rice.

Pav Bhaji - Anytime, Anywhere

Seldom is one's better half good at cooking. Seldom would you find him beat you in a particular dish. And rarely would you enjoy watching him sharing the recipe with rest of the world. My husband's exceptionally good dish - Paav bhaji. It is tough to resist the temptation of having paav bhaji. Enjoy it with crispy paav and you are sure to have you stomach filled with great dish and heart filled with content (forget calories for one day). This dish needs a bit of patience, but is worth trying since the results would be great. Since my better half has excelled in the recipe, he is going to share with you the preparation in his own words :)

Ingredients:

·         3 Roma tomatoes

·         3 – 4 potatoes

·         1 medium size egg plant

·         1 medium size cauliflower

·         2 medium size onions or 3 small onions.

·         7 cloves of garlic

·         Pav-Bhaji Masala

·         Green chillies

·         Lemon juice

·         Vegetable oil

·         Ginger as per taste

·         Pav or soft white burger buns

·         Salted butter

·         Peas

·         cilantro

Method.

1) Wash and peel skins of potatoes, and egg plant. Dice them.

2) Wash and dice the cauliflower

    

3) Pressure cook the potatoes, eggplant and cauliflower – usually 5 – 6 whistles

     

4) While the vegetables are being cooked in the pressure cooker the gravy can be made – for the gravy finely chop onions, mince garlic and grate ginger. Finely chop tomatoes – tomato skin can be removed if you do not like it.

5) In a wok (kadhai) heat 2 tbsp of oil

6) When the oil heats up add the chopped onions, fry till they turn brown – salt can be added to expedite the process

7) Once the onions turn light brown add the minced garlic and fry for 3 minutes, the garlic will also turn golden brown

8) It is now time to add the tomatoes, keep stirring at regular occasions.

9) Wash peas and set them in a microwave safe bowl with water for 3 minutes. They will be partially boiled.

10) Remove the microwave safe dish and strain the water.

11) Keep an eye on the gravy, make sure it doesn’t burn, keep stirring.

12) If the pressure cooker has clocked 5 -6 whistles then it is time to turn it off and remove from the heat.

13) While the pressure cooker cools down you can simmer the gravy, if the tomato in the gravy starts to leave oil, then it is time to lower the heat.

14) Open the pressure cooker and strain all the water.

15) Now mash all vegetables – potatoes, egg plant and cauliflower and mix to make it a smooth paste

16) Toss these mashed vegetables in the wok on top of the gravy, 

17) Add the peas

18) Increase the stove heat 

19) Add 3 tea spoons of pav bhaji masala (you may increase or decrease this based on how much flavour you need), one table spoon of red chilly powder, chopped green chillies and half a cake of salted butter.

20) The red chillies powder should bring a nice colour to the bhaji. 

21) Add salt as per taste and keep checking the taste while this cooks, add salt or red chili powder to make up for taste as per your requirement.

22) Simmer and cook for a few minutes

24) On another stove, place a flat pan and start heating it, add a spoon of butter and lightly fry the the pav or burger buns on it, so that they have a golden brown texture, no need to fry the entire pav.

Your Pav-bhaji is ready, before serving and once the bhaji is removed from flame, squeeze some lemon juice on it. Serve with cilantro and raw onions.