Tomato Saaru(The Traditional Konkani Style)
Konkani tomato saaru is prepared unlike the regular rasam, wherein, we use tuvar dal as the main ingredient. This particular recipe contains coconut and other ingredients to add thickness to the saaru(indian soup). The saaru has in it, a variety of spices in the right proportion, which, because of their nutritive value, keep the digestive system in order and also give a wonderful flavour to the concoction. You could savour it by mixing it with rice or drink it up like an appetizer. Do try it out and give me your feedback!
Ingredients Used:
Methi(Fenugreek seeds)- 4-5
Jeera(Cumin seeds) Double the quantity of methi seeds- use the discretion of your eyes. It does not have to be the exact amount in number.
Coriander seeds(Four times the quantity of Jeera seeds)- i.e., about a handful.
Red chillies- 4-6.
Tamarind- about the size of a small lemon.
Grated coconut- 2-3 tablespoons.
Tomatoes- 3 of medium size.
Sugar or jaggery- 1 and a 1/2 tsp.
Ghee- 2 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Curry leaves- 1 sprig.
Salt and asafoetida to taste
Coriander leaves, for garnishing.
Time taken: 20 minutes
Serving Size: 4-6 people
Method of Preparation:
Roast the methi, jeera and coriander seed in a small pan with very little oil, on low flame, till the spices give out their aroma. Roast the red chillies in the very same pan until they turn light brown and appear to be a little crispy. Doing this should not take you more than half a minute. Take care that the red chillies do not turn black(get burnt). To this, add a pinch of hing or asafoetida. Wait to cool. In the meanwhile, puree the tomatoes in a blender and transfer it into the container in which you plan to prepare the rasam. Add some water depending on how thick you want the rasam to turn out. Then, grind the roasted spices along with the coconut grating and tamarind to a fine paste. Pour this into the tomato water and add salt+sugar. Sugar could be replaced with jaggery for authentic taste. Bring to boil on high flame and then simmer the flame to cook for 10 minutes. The final touches are given to this yummy rasam by sputtering mustard seeds in ghee and adding curry leaves as well as hing into it and seasoning the rasam with the mix. Garnish with coriander leaves....
Labels: . quick, Chatpat, Easy, Jhatpat, Konkani, Rasam, recipe, saaru, Tasty, Tomato Saaru
Avarekayi Kurma
Avarekayi is the Kannada name given to Lilva beans or what commonly called 'Papdi' in North India. Avarekayi being a seasonal bean is available for relishing in its fresh form during the winter months, mainly December and January. Being a rich source of proteins, it is used in usli, upma and saaru(kurma being one of its type). Kurma could be eaten with Chapati as well as rice.Time Taken: 30-35 minutes
Serves about 3-4 people.Ingredients Used:250 gm Lilva beans
1 medium sized potato(optional)
2 clove buds and 2 cinnamon sticks
2 red chillies and 2 green chillies
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 medium sized onions
5-6 garlic cloves
1/4 inch ginger
1 1/2 medium sized tomatoes
1 handful of grated coconut
2 tsp refined oil/ghee
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Take the cleaned avarekayi seeds in a cooker container, add some water and salt to it and pressure cook it to one whistle. While the cooker cools down, chop onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes and tomatoes. Heat a little oil in a kadai and add cloves and cinnamon to it. Then, add the green chillies, chopped onions, garlic and ginger and fry until its rawness goes away. Add red chilly powder as well as turmeric powder and stir for a minute. Keep it aside in a bowl. Now, fry red chillies in the same kadai and roast grated coconut till light brown. Mix this with the fried onions and wait till it cools enough so that it could be ground in a mixer into a paste.
Next, take some oil/ghee in the same kadai and toss in the chopped(medium sized cubes) potatoes so that they get cooked. Add half a cup of water and required amount of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. To this, add the finely ground paste and check for salt. Puree the finely chopped tomatoes in the mixer and pour it into the masala Add water depending on how thick you want the curry to be. Stir well and boil the masala. Then, cook the kurma on low flame for around 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
Note: The same curry could be prepared using fresh green peas also.Peas or avarekayi could be replaced with halved boiled eggs to make egg kurma(the only difference being that, egg is added towards the end of the cooking)
Labels: Avarekayi, Chatpat, Chatpat. quick, curry, Easy, egg kurma, green peas, Jhatpat, kurma, Lilva, One dish meal, Papdi, recipes, saaru, saru, Tasty
Cauliflower Fry
Cauliflower Fry/Talaasan is a dry curry item which goes well with Chapatis. The preparation is very easy and it tastes best in combination with potatoes. I love the way my mom makes it. My friends used to love this as well, when i would take it for lunch, during my school days.
Time taken:20 minutes
Serves about 3 people
Ingredients Used:
1 large cauliflower
1 medium sized potato
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
3-4 curry leaves
2-3 pinches of asafoetida/hing
3-4 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:
Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets and clean it by keeping it in a bowl containing a little salt and turmeric(to remove worms if any) for about 5 minutes. Cut potatoes into either lengthy finger chips sized pieces or medium sized thin cubes. Take oil in a heated kadai/pan and sputter mustard seeds in it. Then add jeera and curry leaves and wait for them to crackle. Next, add all the powders mentioned above and toss in the cleaned cauliflower and potato pieces. Add salt as required and cook coverd on a medium flame until it is done, with very little /no water.
Labels: cauliflower, Chatpat. quick, curry, dry sabzi, Easy, fry, Gobi, Jhatpat, One dish meal, phool gobi, talaasan, Tasty
Aloo Bhindi
Are you the kind that likes tangy and chat kind of taste in your curries? Then you are bound to like this variety of Aloo Bhindi which is prepared the North Indian way. A close college pal of mine used to bring it very often in her lunch box and i used to end up finishing most of it. Although i didn't know how to prepare it then, experience did teach me to imagine what must have gone into it to give it that wonderful taste. Tastes very good with Rotis/Parathas.
Time Taken: 20-25 minutes
Serves about 3 people
Ingredients Used:
1/2 kg ladies finger(washed and wiped dry)
2 medium sized potatoes
1 medium sized onion(optional)
1/4 tsp cumin seeds and turmeric powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp red chilly powder or 2-3 green chillies1 pinch each of both chat masala and garam masala
Salt to taste
4-5 tsp cooking oil
Method of Preparation:
Chop ladies finger and potatoes into medium sized chunks and keep them aside. Take oil in a kadai/frying pan and warm it. Crackle jeera/cumin seeds in it. If you are planning to use onions, then fry chopped onions until they turn reddish. Then, add all the powders mentioned above except the chat masala and garam masala. Stir for a few seconds. Toss in the chopped vegetables along with required amount of salt. Stir well and fry on medium flame until cooked with lid of the pan covered. Add chat masala and garam masala towards the end of your cooking so that their flavour is not lost.
Note: Use your discretion while adding salt because chat masala also contains salt in it. You wouldn't want your end result to be too salty .
Labels: aaloo, Aloo, Bhindi, Chatpat, Chatpat. quick, curry, dry sabzi, Easy, Jhatpat, ladies fingers, Potato, sabji, subji, Tasty
Guvar(Cluster Beans)Curry
I have noticed that many people don't like cluster beans. Preparing its curry in the style mentioned below, almost nullifies the weird taste that guvar gives in curries made using it the normal way. Being one of the important sources of proteins, it could be included atleast once in a while in our diet, to substitute the normal beans. The first time I had this dish was at my sister's place, where, the cook had prepared it along with rotis for our meal. We all loved it...
Time taken: 20-25 minutes
Serves 2 people.
Ingredients Used:
1/2 a kg cluster beans
1 medium sized onion
1 medium sized tomato
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a sprinkle of turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander powder
a pinch of garam masala(optional)
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:
Destring the cluster beans and cut them into small pieces. In a cooker, take 2 tsp oil and warm it. Crackle cumin and mustard seeds in the oil and add finely chopped onion and garlic. When they turn pink, add the powders(except garam masala) mentioned above and stir for a few seconds. Then, add finely chopped tomato and let it form a gravy sort of a mix. Finally, toss in washed and chopped cluster beans, 1/10 cup water and pressure cook(till 1 whistle) with required amount of salt and a pinch of garam masala if you wish. Wait for the cooker to cool down and savour with hot hot rotis.
Labels: Chatpat, Chatpat. quick, cluster beans, dry curry, dry sabzi, Easy, Guvar, Jhatpat, Tasty
Pappu(Telugu style dal)
Pappu means dal or lentil in telugu language. This curry is very aromatic and tastes wonderful with rice. Goes well with roti or Indian bread. You could prepare this curry with or without green leafy vegetables like spinach/dill/. My friend Avani who hails from Hyderabad taught me how to prepare it. The very look at this dish makes you feel like you're eating something nutritious.Time Taken: 25-30 minutesServes about 4 people.Ingredients Used:4 handfuls of tuvar dal
a small handful of chana dal
(optional)1 bunch of spinach /or a little bit of dill and/or any other greens you use
(optional)1 medium sized tomato.
4-5 spicy green chillies
1 medium sized onion
one big garlic pod
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp oil/ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of jeera/cumin seeds
1-2 dry red chillies
3/4 tsp tamarind concentrate/paste.
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Wash both the dals in a pressure cooker container and add chopped onion, half the garlic quantity mentioned (thinly cut) and finely chopped leafy veggies, tomatoes and green chillies in it. Add the turmeric powder and enough water to soak the ingredients. Take 1 cup water in the cooker and place the container in it. Close the lid and pressure cook the dal well. While the cooker cools down, take a cooking pot and warm up some oil/ghee(whichever you prefer). Sputter mustard seeds and cumin in it. Add red chillies and stir for a few seconds until they turn dark red/brownish. Then, grate the remaining peeled garlic into it. Stir it a couple of times until it turns pinkish. Next, add the cooked dal mix to this along with some salt. Boil well for 5 minutes. Add tamarind as per your requirement and cook for another couple of minutes. Tasty Dal is all yours now!!
Labels: Chatpat. quick, Dal, Easy, Jhatpat, Palak, Pappu, Spinach, Tasty, telugu style
Avocado Sauce
Avocado is the English name for what is commonly called butterfruit owing to its taste resembling that of butter. While the usual practise of eating this 'very nutritious' fruit is to scoop out the soft fleshy part (when ripened), mash it and mix it with sugar, here is another recipe which has Hispanic origin(also called Guacamole sauce). While the Mexicans use it in their cuisines as a sauce along with other ingredients, i prepare it as a dressing(similar to ranch or thousand island etc etc) for regular garden salads to make it more intertesting and less boring in taste. A must try for those who are on a weight losing spree.Serves about 2-3 people.
Ingredients Used:2 ripened medium sized avocados
4-5 tsp yogurt
1/6th of a medium sized onion
1/4 of a garlic clove
1/2 a tomato
Salt and lemon to taste
Method of Preparation:Choose
avocados which are really soft and have darkened skin(blackish brown). If they are hard and green in colour, keep them for a day or two until they ripen. Then, peel and deseed them. Mash the pulp finely with either a wide based spoon or a mixer. To this, add yogurt, lemon, very finely chopped onion, tomato, grated garlic and salt(Mexicans use what is called garlic salt as a substitute). Enjoy with plain salad containing carrots, lettuce, cabbage etc.
Note:Make sure that the amount of garlic and onion used is just right, for, otherwise, it would make the sauce very pungent and repulsive. .Labels: Avocado, butterfruit, Chatpat, Chatpat. quick, dressing, dry salad, Easy, garlic sauce, Guacamole, Indian, Jhatpat, mexican, tasty.
Cabbage Rice(Bhath)
Cabbage Rice or cabbage bhath is a coconut based rice item. My aunt who is an awesome cook used to prepare this while we were kids. It was very much in demand then, especially when we had get-togethers. Years later, I asked her for its recipe in order to break the monotony of the usual rice items. It is now a regular item at our place. Hubby loves it! P.S: Mixer is a pre-requisite to prepare this item.Time Taken: 30 minutesServes about 4 people.Ingredients Used:1/3 of a medium sized cabbage
2 medium sized onions
1/2 a coconut(grated)
2 buds of clove
4-5 pieces of 1 inch sized cinnamon
One big handful of coriander seeds
5-6 red chillies
Tamarind(1/2 a lemon size)
Cooked rice (enough to serve about 3 people)
1 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 curry leaves
2-3 tsp cooking oil
Method of Preparation:Chop onions and cabbage finely. In a cooking pan, take oil and warm it. In this, sputter mustard seeds with curry leaves. Add the onions and fry till light brown. Add chopped cabbage and salt to it. In the meanwhile, dry roast cloves, cinnamon and coriander seeds and grind them in a mixer along with red chillies, grated coconut and tamarind. Once the cabbage in the pan is almost cooked, add the ground paste to it and cook for a 5 minutes. Once the mix is cooked well, add cooled cooked rice to it. Garnish with coriander leaves if required. Cabbage rice is ready to serve.
Labels: bath, Bhath, Cabbage, Chatpat, Chatpat. quick, coconut based, Easy, Jhatpat, One dish meal, Paththa gobi, Rice, tasty.
Beerakayi Chutney(Ridgegourd Chutney)
Ridgegourd (Beerakai in telugu and heerekai in kannada) chutney is prepared in different ways in various regions of South India. Since it is a little spicy by nature, it tastes excellent with plain rice. With this item in your meal, you do not really need any other side dish. Learnt to prepare it from a telugu friend who is a very good cook. Thanks Pushpanjali! This is one of the tastiest dishes i've ever had.
Time Taken: 20-25 minutes.
Serves about 2-3 people.
Ingredients Required:
1 large sized ridgegourd.
4-5 spicy green chillies.
2 cloves of garlic.
Half a tsp tamarind paste concentrate.
Quarter cup of coriander leaves.
2 tsp grated coconut.
Half tsp refined oil.
Half tsp mustard seeds.
2-4 curry leaves.
Half tsp urad dal
4 green chillies
Salt to taste.
Method of Preparation:
Wash the ridgegourd well. Chop it into 2-3 big chunks and cook it with its peel/skin in a cooker along with slit green chillies and half a cup of water. When the ridgegourd chilly mix cools down a little, grind it along with raw garlic, tamarind, coriander leaves, grated coconut and salt into a thick, smooth paste using a mixer. Then, in a pan, warm up a little oil. Sputter mustard seeds and curry leaves in this oil. Add urad dal and red chillies(cut into halves) and stir with a ladle until the dal turns light brown. Pour in the chutney now and cook till a boil.
Labels: Beerakayi, Chatpat, Chutney, Jhatpat, Ridgegourd, Spicy, Telugu
Methi Salad
Methi or Fenugreek salad is a very healthy addition to your meal. It is very tasty at the same time. Am documenting it right now while i'm on vacation to India at my mom's place. We have prepared it for lunch and i cannot believe that there is absolutely no bitterness in the salad. While amma usually uses lemon for sourness in this recipe, today, she has added tomatoes along with lemon. So, what you want to use is your choice. Both taste different and are good in their own way.Serves about 4-5 peopleTime taken: 10-15 minutes.
Ingredients Used:1 big bunch of Methi/Fenugreek leaves
2 small onions
1 tomato(optional)
a big squeeze of lemon juice
a handful of grated coconut
1-2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves
1-2 spicy green chillies
a dash of asafoetida.
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Wash methi leaves well chop them finely. Put it in a salad bowl and add finely chopped onions, tomatoes(if you want to), grated coconut, lemon juice and salt. Then, in a small frying pan, warm up oil. Sputter mustard seeds. In this, add curry leaves, asafoetida and finely chopped green chillies. Add this seasoning to the salad mix and eat fresh.
Labels: Chatpat. quick, dry salad, Easy, fenugreek, Healthy, Jhatpat, kosumbari, Methi, Salad, Tasty
Kerala-Style Sambar
I used to always wonder how sambar tasted so different in every state of south India, until i got to know people from these cultures. The sambar recipe I have here was learnt from my friend's Keralite room mate who had invited us for dinner one day and had it in her menu. It is amazing how we can add or omit one or two spices in the very same basic recipe to give it a totally different taste. Kerala sambar has a very distinct aroma and taste and we all love it at our place. My little one in particular, takes an extra helping whenever I make it. Do try it out and give your comments.Time Taken: About 30 minutes
Serves about 4 people.Ingredients Used:4-5 handfuls of Tuvar/Toor Dal
1 large tomato
One handful each of beans, carrot, tindora, drumstick pieces or
any other vegetable you would like to add.
One potato
2-3 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A sprig of curry leaves
a pinch of hing/asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp chilly powder
2 1/2 tsp sambar powder
Tamarind(about 2/3 rd the size of a small lemon)
3-4 sambar onions(when not present, use 1 medium sized normal onion)
A handful of chopped coriander leaves.
Salt to taste.
Method of Preparation:Take about a tumbler full of water and pour it into a pressure cooker. Place it on a heated stove and place a cooker vessel containing washed tuvar dal and chopped tomatoes into it. With the whistle on, cook to about 2-3 whistles on medium high flame.In the meanwhile, chop whatever veggies you have into medium sized pieces and keep aside.
Next, in a cooking pot, warm oil and sputter mustard seeds along with curry leaves. Add hing, turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and sambar powder. Mix with a ladle for about a minute. To this, add all the washed and cut veggies and cook until it is almost done using half to one bowl of water and covering the lid of the pot.
Add a little salt now so that the veggies take up salt as well as masala.While you are waiting for the veggies to cook and dal to cool, chop sambar onions finely and fry it in a kadai till it turns golden brown, using very little oil.
Mash tomatoes in the cooked dal and pour it into the cooking pot having the veggies. Add more water and salt as per your
requirement and boil the veggies completely. Mix tamarind paste and boil for another minute. Remove from the stove and add the fried onion. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Labels: Chatpat., Easy, Jhatpat, Kerala, Malayalam style, Malyali sambar, quick, Tasty
Methi Bhaajji
Methi bhaajji is one of the best things you could do with fenugreek leaves. Goes very well with Chapathis. My mom makes it very often at our place since it is not only an easy recipe but also very good for health. I remember that i used to hate methi as a kid because of its bitterness. Later, as years went by, aamma started using more onions and tomatoes in her original curry to reduce the wierd taste that methi leaves behind at the end of every bite(although most methi lovers like it for that very reason). Ever since, i've loved this dish too. Try it if you don't like methi and you'll know what i mean.
Ingredients Used:
1 big bunch of methi/fenugreek leaves
4 medium or 2 very large onions
3 tomatoes
1/8th tsp pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2-3 tsp refined oil
Salt to taste.
Serves about 2-3 people.
Time Taken: 20-25 minutes.
Method of Preparation:
Cut onions finely and put them into a heated kadai/cooking pan with oil in it. Stir fry till the onions turn pinkish in colour. Now, add turmeric powder and red chilly powder. Then, toss in finely diced tomatoes. Cook for a minute or two. In the meanwhile, wash methi leaves thoroughly and chop it on a cutting board(need not be fine). Add salt, Mix this well in the masala prepared. Using very little water and closing the lid of the pan, cook it on medium flame until done, ensuring that the curry doesn't have any water, for, that would make it gross in terms of appearance and taste. Serve hot with phulkas/chapatis.
Labels: Bhaaji, bhaajji, Chatpat, curry, dry, Easy, fenugreek, Jhatpat, Methi, quick, sabzi, Tasty
Cabbage Raita
Raita is nothing but any curd based salad which goes well (as a side dish) with rice items like Pulav/Fried rice/Biryani/Jeera Rice. It could be used as a substitute for plain yogurt in meals especially because it derives extra nutrient value from the veggies added to it. Cabbage Raita, as the name itself suggests, has cabbage as its main ingredient. Learnt it from akka who had eaten it at her office food court. So far, all those who have eaten it have loved it. Time Taken: Approximately 15 minutes.Serves about 3-4 peopleIngredients Used:One quarter of a medium sized cabbage
One large onion
3 green chillies
1 tsp Jeera/cumin seeds
3-4 tablespoons of curd/plain yogurt
2 tsp oil
Water as required.
Method of Preparation:Wash the cabbage and chop it into thin and lengthy pieces(about 2 inch length).
Chop onions too in the same way. Cut green chillies finely. Warm oil in a cooking pan and add jeera to it. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the green chillies and stir a couple of times. Then, add onions and fry until they just start changing colour. Toss in the chopped cabbage and stir for a few more minutes till the cabbage is half cooked(it should retain its crispiness at the same time). Add salt now and wait for it to cool. Then, mix this in dahi/curd/yogurt and add water depending on how thick you want it to be. Check for salt. Garnish with coriander leaves if required and serve.
Note: This type of raita could be prepared with Bhindi/ladies finger/okra as well. However, we need to remember to use a little more oil and fry it a little longer so that okra becomes crispy loses its stickiness. Some even deep fry the bhindi to make it easier Labels: Cabbage, Chatpat, curd, dahi, Jhatpat, mosru bajji, Paththa gobi, Raita, Salad, side dish, yogurt
Spinach(Palak) Rice
When you don't know what to do with that big bunch of spinach which is lying in the fridge and are out of ideas, here's an option to explore. Sneaking in spinach this way ensures that those who don't like spinach eat it and benefit from it. Can be eaten with or without raita. As a matter of fact, it tastes better without raita. Time taken: 25-30 minutesServes about 4-5 peopleIngredients used:4-5 tsp butter/ghee(oil for diet conscious ppl)
2 medium sized pieces of cinnamon
2 clove buds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 green chillies
1 medium sized onion
5-6 garlic cloves
1/4 inch ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric powder(optional)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 1/2 large cups of Basmati rice
3 large cups of water.
1 large bunch of spinach.
1/2 cup of fresh/frozen green peas
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Take ghee in a heated cooker and add cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Stir for half a minute. Add jeera(cumin) Then, chop green chillies and add it to the whole masala. After it appears kind of crispy, add onion and garlic which are both cut lengthwise and fry till they turn golden brown. To this, add the basmati rice and roast till it loses its transparency and appears white in colour. Add all the powders/masalas mentioned above and mix for a minute. Then, pour in the water and add finely chopped spinach and salt. Now, grate the ginger from the top, add the peas and stir well. Close the cooker and cook on medium high flame with the whistle on, until it gives out one whistle. Then, reduce the temp of the stove to low medium flame for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the gas now and wait till the cooker cools.
Note: Adding turmeric here is optional and the rice gets a greenish natural white tinge in the absence of turmeric.Labels: Chatpat, Easy, Jhatpat, One dish meal, Palak, Pulao., Pulav, quick, Spinach, Tasty
Bataate Saung(Potato Song)
This particular variety of 'Bataate saung' does not contain coconut. The very colour of this tangy and spicy curry is enough to tempt you. This recipe is a slightly modified version of the bataate song that my mom used to prepare. Bataate song is eaten with rice, chapathi and as a side dish alongside dal and rice. Try mixing it with dal if you happen to have prepared dal that day. The best thing about this curry is that, it doesn't need too many ingredients and can be prepared on just any day when you haven't rationed your kitchen enough. Time Taken:20-25 minutesServes about 3-4 peopleIngredients Required:3 medium sized potatoes
1 very large/2 medium sized onions
2 tomatoes
1/2 tsp tamarind paste/tamarind water made from a small lemon sized piece of tamarind.
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1-2 tsp red chilly powder(depending on how hot you want it)
1/2 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp garam masala powder(in my version of it)
3-4 tsp oil
Salt to taste.
Method of Preparation:Boil Potatoes in a cooker. While you're waiting for the potatoes to get ready, Take oil in a cooking pan and heat it. Chop onions into large squares and toss them in. Fry till slightly brown. Then, add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder and mix with a ladle for a minute. Then, add finely chopped tomatoes and tamarind paste. Cook for two to three minutes. Peel off 2 of the boiled potatoes and cut them into cubes which are about the size of the onion squares. Add the garam masala and salt now. Grate the last potato into the curry to make it gravy-like. Pour in about 1 1/2 glasses of water or more depending on the desired amount of thickness in the curry. Cook to a good boil so as to ensure that the potato has absorbed enough salt. Isn't this easy??? Enjoy!
Labels: Bataate, Chatpat, curry, Easy, Gravy, Jhatpat, Konkani, Modified, Potato, quick, Saung, Song, Tasty
Ragi Dosa with Spicy Peanut Chutney
Ragi/Millet Dosa with peanut chutney is a combination which is very tasty and very very healthy. Ragi is a staple crop of Karnataka and perhaps Andhra Pradesh as well. People who eat it in their everyday meal are supposed to have a very strong physical constitution. Yes, I know the colour of Ragi dosa is very scary(that was my reaction when i first saw it) but i'm quite sure that you would love to eat it. This has quite an exquisite taste especially with the peanut chutney alongside. Learnt to prepare the dosa from my mom and the chutney from my close friend. Time Taken: 20-25 minutesServes about 2- 3 peopleIngredients Used:For the Dosa:3-4 tablespoons of Ragi/Millet flour.
6-8 tablespoons of water(depending on how thick you want the dosa)
1 cup of finely chopped onions
4-5 green chillies
1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
a few coriander leaves
Salt as required.
For the Spicy Chutney:5-6 green chillies
Half a tsp tamarind paste
One clove of raw garlic
1/2 a bunch of coriander leaves
One handful of roasted peanuts
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:Take water in a bowl. Mix ragi flour to a smooth consistency along with salt in this water. Add the onions, chillies and coriander leaves(all finely chopped) and the cumin seeds to this batter. Heat a skillet and make thin pancakes/dosas using this batter,on medium flame making sure you cook both the sides well.
For the chutney, fry the green chillies in a little oil. Grind it along with the ingredients provided under the chutney category in a mixer/blender into a smooth paste adding 1/4-1/2 a cup of water. The chutney is ready.
It is customary(but not mandatory) to spread some finely chopped raw onions on the dosas while eating- that is, if you like raw onions.
Note: Those of you who get a chance to visit 'Dosa Camp' at 3rd Block Jayanagar, Bangalore in the evenings, please don't forget to savour it.
Labels: Chatpat, Chutney, Dosa, Jhatpat, Kannada, Millet, One dish meal, Peanut, Ragi, Spicy, Telugu
Veggie Cutlet
Vegetable Cutlet reminds me of summer holidays during my childhood when my mom would prepare one tasty snack everyday. This used to be one of the most favourite snacks I used to enjoy with my siblings and cousins. To this day, I relish it everytime it is prepared.Time Taken: 30-40 minutes.
Serves about 4 peopleIngredients Used:4 medium sized potatoes
2 medium sized onions
1/4 inch ginger
7-8 french beans
1/2 cup of sweet peas
1/2 of a medium sized beetroot
2/3rd of a large carrot
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Bread crumbs or rava for the coating.
Oil-as required.
Method of Preparation:Cook potatoes(cut into halves) in a pressure cooker with a little water. In the meanwhile, chop all the vegetables very finely and keep aside. Then, in a cooking pan, warm up oil and fry the onions until golden brown. Grate ginger into this and add red chilly powder. Toss in the rest of the finely chopped veggies along with peas and cook with closed lid taking just the required amount of water and salt. When it is almost done, add garam masala powder and some of the coriander leaves. Stir for a minute or two.
Deskin the cooked potatoes and mash it. Mix this with the veggie mix prepared. Do not use water anytime because the cutlet mix should be dry, else it will be difficult to make balls. Check for salt and roll this mix with your palm into evenly sized balls(each about the size of a medium sized lemon). Flatten these balls into oval/round/heart shaped cutlets-whatever you prefer . Take bread crumbs/rava(fine semolina) in a plate and coat each side of the cutlet with it by touching each side on to the surface. Shallow fry all these cutlets on a heated skillet/tava/griddle(medium heat)-the bigger the griddle the better since you don't have do too many rounds of frying. Pour a little oil around each cutlet and ensure that each side turns golden brown(the entire frying process should take around 15-20 minutes). Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with tomato ketchup/tamarind+chilly chutney.
Labels: Chatpat, Cutlet, Jhatpat, North Indian, One dish meal, Snack, Vegetable, Veggie
Beans Talaasan(Fry)
When you're bored of preparing the same old curry with beans, this is one easy way to try something different. Talaasan(with reference to dry curries) in konkani means something that is shallow fried in oil. This curry takes a little more oil than usual if it needs to taste good.Time Taken: 20-25 minutes.
Serves about 2-3 people.
Ingredients Used:1/2 kg of French Beans
5-6 cloves of garlic
2 red chillies
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp oil
Method of Preparation:Wash the french beans and destring(defibre)it. If frozen slit beans are available you could use them as well. Cut each bean into one half and slit it longitudinally-it should look like what is given in the picture. Then, in a shallow bottomed pan, take oil and warm it. To this, add the red chillies cut into halves and slit garlic pieces. Stir for a minute. Then, add the red chilly powder and salt followed by french beans. Cover and cook on medium/low flame until done with very little or no water. Beans Talaasan goes very well with dal rice and as a dry sabzi with chapathi.
Labels: Beans, Chatpat, curry, Frenchbeans, fry, Jhatpat, Konkani, sabzi, talaasan
Simple Egg Curry
This is my mom’s recipe. It requires a lot of ingredients, but its very simple to prepare. Tastes best with rice.
Time taken: 35-40 minutes
Serves about 3 people
Ingredients required:
4 large white eggs
2 medium sized onions sliced
2 small tomatoes sliced
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1-inch ginger chopped
4 dry red chillies
1 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 Tsp coriander seeds (dhaniya seeds)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3-4 peppercorns
5 –6 cashew nuts
1 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
3 cloves
1-inch cinnamon
4 Tsp grated coconut
Handful of coriander leaves chopped
2 Tsp heavy cream (milk can be used instead)
2 Tsp kasuri methi (optional)
4 Tsp of oil
salt for taste
Method of preparation:
Take about 3 liters of water in a large vessel and bring it to a boil. Add the eggs with the shells on and let it boil uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes. Once this is done, switch off the gas and cover the vessel for 5 minutes. Drain and peel the eggs, cut it into half and keep aside. To save time, the gravy can be prepared when the eggs are being boiled. Heat 3 Tsp of oil, add jeera and let it crackle. Now add cloves and cinnamon and fry for about 30 seconds. Now add coriander seeds, peppercorns, poppy seeds, cashew nuts and fry for another 30 seconds, now add onions, garlic and ginger. Fry till the onions turn translucent. Now add tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are mashed properly. Then add red chillies and coconut and fry till the coconut starts turning brownish. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes. Now add coriander leaves and fry for about a minute. Switch off the fire and transfer this mixture to a large plate so that it cools down to the room temperature soon. As soon as the mixture cools down , grind it to a paste with a blender using very little or no water.
Now take the remaining oil in the same vessel in which the mixture for the gravy was fried and add the paste. Once it starts boiling, add cream and kasoori methi. Add a glass of water and bring the gravy to boil. More water can be added as per your required consistency. Now add the eggs and simmer for about 2 minutes on low flame. The egg curry is done.
Labels: Anda, Chatpat, curry, Easy, Egg, Gravy, Indian, Jhatpat, quick, Simple
Pasta in spinach sauce
My friend’s son loves pasta. So she keeps on doing experiments on it. And most of her experiments results in a very tasty dish. I particularly like this version of hers as it is easy to make and also nutritious. This dish is made with whole wheat pasta, but the normal pasta can be used instead.
Serves about 3-4 people
Time taken :40 minutes
Ingredients required:
500 gms of whole wheat pasta
2 medium sized onions sliced
5 green chillies slit
1 large tomato sliced
1 big bunch of spinach (palak) cleaned and chopped
2 to 3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp of dried parsley (fresh leaves can be used)
1 tsp of dried oregano
(NOTE: If you don’t have parsley or oregano, just use chopped coriander leaves or methi leaves)
salt to taste
5 Tsp oil
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese (any other type of cheese will do)
Method of preparation:
Pasta:
In a big vessel, take 3 litres of water and bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling add 2 Tsp oil and salt to it. Then add the pasta and cook uncovered for about 8 to 10 minutes or till done. Don’t overcook it. Once done drain it and keep aside. To save time , when the pasta is being cooked, you can start making the spinach sauce.
Spinach sauce:
Take 3 Tsp oil in kadai. Fry the onions and minced garlic till the onions turn translucent. Now add tomatoes, spinach, and green chillies and fry till the tomatoes are mashed properly. Remove from the gas and let it cool to room temperature. Make a puree of this mixture in a mixer/blender. Now add the parsley ,oregano and salt . The spinach sauce is ready.
Now mix this puree with the cooked pasta.
In a baking dish, spread this pasta mixture . Spread a layer of cheese over the pasta till it covers it fully. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Bake the pasta for about 10 to 15 minutes or till the cheese melts. Pasta in spinach sauce is ready.
Labels: Chatpat, Jhatpat, Pasta, Sauce, Spinach, Tasty
