Arhar Palak ki dal

Hi Readers,

This is my other recipe on Christmas eve. Dal palak is a common recipe in my house hold. I usually make Dal palak by pressure cooking Dal and palak and adding a tampering of Cumin and garlic to it. However, this time, I have made the same following a Nita Mehta recipe of it. It is a nice detailed variations with spices, flavor and aroma to the simple Dal palak recipe.

Nice recipe for occasions, I would not make it every day as it uses lots of ghee.

Ingredients :- 

1 cup Arhar or Toor Dal

3 bunches of Spinach washed and chopped

3 cups water

salt to taste

1 tbsp turmeric power

1/2 tea spoon finely chopped ginger

1/2 tea spoon finely chopped garlic

1 green chili chopped

Tampering :- 

1 medium tomato chopped

1 medium onion chopped

3 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1/2 tbsp red chili powder

1/2 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tbsp amchur powder

Method:- 

In a pressure cooker add Toor dal, chopped spinach and water. Add turmeric powder, salt, chopped ginger, garlic and green chili. Pressure cook in medium flame till 1 whistle. Now, reduce flame and cook in simmer for another 6 to 7 mins. Keep aside. Take a tampering vessel. Heat it, add ghee.When ghee is sufficiently hot, add cumin seeds, Onion. When onion is fried add tomato, garam masala, coriander powder, amchur powder and red chili powder. When tomato is done, add the tampering mixture to Dal. Serve hot with steamed rice. 

Subz Hyderabadi

Hi Readers,

I am back again with another Indian recipe. This is a mix vegetable curry cooked in curd based gravy and sprinkled with a spice mixture that gives its authentic aroma. I tried this recipe for the first time on Christmas eve. Well, my husband(one who tastes everything that I make and is best critic for me) liked it very much. Winter is best season for this curry as all ingredients are available fresh in this season.

Lets now have a look at the recipe.

Ingredients :- 

Carrots - 2 medium size- chopped roughly

10 -15 french beans - Chopped 

1 medium long brinjal or eggplant  - slit in middle and then cut into 1/2 inch size

1 medium size potato - cubed

1 cup green peas

10 -15 florets of cauliflower

Gravy :- 

3 medium onions finely chopped

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

1 cup Curd whisked

1 tbsp turmeric powder

1/2 tbsp red chili powder

2 dry red chili 

2 bay leafs

Oil for frying

salt to taste

Powdered Ingredient :- 

2 Cardamom or Chhoti elaichi

3 to 4 clove or Laung

1 inch Cinnamon or Dalchini

1 tbsp Saha Jeera or Big Cumin seeds

Method :- 

Heat Oil in a pan. Fry all the vegetables( potatoes at a time, similarly other vegetables one by one) except peas and keep aside. Boil peas and keep aside. Now in a pan take 1 tbsp oil. Add bay leaf & dry red chili, when it starts to change colour, add Onions and fry till it turns pink. Add ginger and garlic paste and cook for 2 to 3 mins. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and mix it well, sprinkle little water if it sticks to bottom. Make a paste. Add fried vegetables, 1 cup whisked curd and cook over medium low flame. Add water if required. Add salt and cook till all vegetables are done. Sprinkle powdered spices and serve hot with Chapati, nan or steamed rice.

Note :- In above recipe I have added about 50 gm of Paneer cubes. The authentic recipe do not have paneers,however, adding paneer do not make in changes to the aroma and flavor of recipe. 

Stuffed Bitter Gourd or Karela

Hi Readers,

Despite the bitter taste of Bitter Gourd or Karela, it is usually a favorite vegetable for most Indian's. I like the Karela crispy fries made along with potatoes. Though, stuffed Karela is not my favorite, it is one of the favorite dish of my husband. So, yes Karela or bitter gourd finds a  place in my kitchen quiet often.

I am not providing you the ingredients for this recipe below, because I am going to provide few different types of stuffing. The common & major ingredient is whole Karela or bitter gourd. For the stuffing, depending upon the number and size of Bitter gourd, please adjust the quantity of ingredients. So, here goes the recipe for you.

Halve whole karelas lengthwise in the middle. Wash and boil in water, adding salt and haldi. Discard the excess water.
When a little cool, scoop out the middle seedy portion from the boiled karela pieces to make space for the stuffing.
Fill the stuffings* into each half of boiled karela. Heat a little oil on a flat non-stick frying pan and fry the stuffed karelas on low fire  - first on karela side and then on stuffing side. Press lightly on each stuffed karela while frying the stuffing side to flatten it as much as possible. Fry till nicely brown. Serve as side dish with rice.

*Variations of Stuffing :
1 : Heat mustard oil – add finely chopped onion. Fry a bit and add mashed boiled potato, salt, red chilli powder. Fry well on sim stirring the mash till it leaves a nice fried aroma and turns brownish.
2 : Heat oil. Add mashed potato, salt, red chilli powder. Fry a little. Add a bit of mustard-garlic-haldi paste and fry well.
3.   Mix together besan, chopped onion, chopped green chilli, salt to taste and a few drops of mustard oil and use this as stuffing.
Variation :  Boil Karelas whole, adding salt and haldi. Take out, cool and make half slit on the body of each boiled karela – in the middle portion on one side. Scoop out the seedy interior and stuff with any of the above three stuffings.
4:Heat oil. Saute onion, green chilli, garlic – all finely chopped. Fry a little. Add crushed badi . Mix well and fry. Use this as stuffing inside the whole karela.
5: Heat mustard oil, add mustard and garlic paste,add hali, salt and red chili powder. Cook till water is removed, take care not to over cook, mustard paste turns bitter if over cooked. Fill in the stuffing and fry the Bitter gourd again over medium flame.
Dust the stuffed whole karelas with a sprinkle of rice flour/cornflour and fry on pan nicely, rolling all over. Or deep fry.
Stuffed Karelas are great accompaniments with plain rice.

Achaari Bhindi

Hi Readers,

Here is another dish made from Bhindi. This is a good one, is easy to make and has a distinct flavor of Achaar. Therefore, it is called Achaari Bhindi. Some people, do add in tamarind or achaar to get this flavor, but here I have added Kalanji, Fennel and Amchur powder that gives a Achaar like taste. It has more tomato content to give that tingling sour taste.

Ingredients:- 
500 gm lady fingers (bhindi)
1 tsp ginger paste, ½ tsp red chilli powder
1 Onion finely chopped
3 to 4 flakes of garlic finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger finely chopped
1 tsp dhania powder
½ tsp amchoor, ½ tsp garam masala
¾ tsp salt, or to taste
2 tomatoes - chopped finely
1 tsp lemon juice
ACHAARI SPICES
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp fennel (saunf)
½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
½ tsp onion seeds (kalonji), 2 tbsp oil

Method :- 
Wash bhindi and wipe dry. Now cut the bhindi lengthwise from the middle making 2 thin pieces.
Grease the non stick tawa. Place the bhindi pieces on it. Sprinkle 1 tbsp oil and mix well. Fry the bhindi till it is almost done, keeping the color intact. Remove and keep aside.In another pan put 2 tbsp oil,  and all the achaari spices, followed by onion,garlic and ginger cook till raw smell is removed. Add tomatoes and other dry powders and cook till it starts to separate oil. Add the bhindi, to achari spices .Mix well. Cook till bhindi is done, serve hot with roti or chapati.

Phool Makhane ki sabzi

Hi Readers,

This is a common traditional curry prepared with Phool Makhane(puffed lotus seeds). Usually, Makhane is used to prepare Makane ki kheer during fasting. This is a easy to make curry that turns out be tasty and different. I had tried to make this for the first time, when My Dad was here. He got a packet of Makhane, thinking it is similar to pop-corn. That day for dinner I made this curry along with Chapati. It turned out to be a tasty and different dish. My Dad liked it. So, here goes the recipe for your use.

Ingredients :- 

Makhana  1 1/2 cups 

Matar or Green Peas 1 cup

Tomatoes  2 or 3 Chopped 

Onions 2 medium size chopped

Dhania Powder 1/2 tbsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste         1/2 tbsp

Red Chili Powder

Green chilies 3 or 4

Garam Masala 1/2 tea spoon

Cashew Nuts  10 t0 12 pieces

Resins     10 to 12 pieces

Cumin seeds  1 tbsp

Dhania leaves

Vegetable oil

Salt

Method :- 

Put two spoons of vegetable oil in a kadai and heat on medium fire.

When the oil becomes hot, add makhana and saute till the makhanas become a little brittle.

Remove from fire and allow it to cool. Add cumin seeds to remaining oil. When it starts to splutter, add chopped onions and fry till it turns pink. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 5 mins till the raw smell is removed. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for another 2 to 3 mins. Add green peas, cover and cook till peas are half cooked. Add coriander powder, red chili powder and little water.

Add makhanas, split cashew nuts, resins, green chilies slit length-wise,  stir and  cook till all the ingredients get properly mixed. 

Add water and cook till done.

Add garam masala powder and remove from fire.

Pour in a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. When finished the curry should be thick.

Gatte ki kadhi

Hi Readers,

I am back again with more recipes from my kitchen. My dad was here, and I just gave all my time to him. I was literally away from all sorts of social sites, just checked and did my office work. Now, that he returned back, .I am back to my normal schedule. Well, in the meanwhile I had been trying new recipes, I have taken pictures but yes sis not get time to blog.

Today, I will start with a Rajasthani dish, Gatte ki Kadhi. Kadhi is made in same way as I had described in Dahi Kadhi Pakora. Kadhi is a thick gravy made by blending gram flour with curd and simmering it gently. Here, I have added Besan Gatte one of the Rajasthani food, that is made of gram flour dough.

Ingredients :- 

Gatte :- 

1 1/2 cup gram flour(besan) 

1 tbsp curd

a pinch of baking soda

3/4 tbsp carom seeds(ajwain)

3/4 tbsp coriander seeds( dhania)

1 tbsp anardana

2 tbsp oil

1 green chilli chopped

1 tbsp green coriander finely chopped

1 tbsp salt to taste

Kadhi :- 

2 cups curd

2 tbsp gram flour(besan)

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1/2 tbsp fennel

a pich asafoetida

5 to 6 Curry leaves

1 tbsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp red chili powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

Method :- 

Mix all ingredients for gatte together and knead a hard dough using about 4 to 5 tbsp water. Shape the dough into long cylinders. Boil water in a thick bottpmed vessel. When water starts to boil, add gatte cylinders and boil till they turn yellowish white. Remove and keep them aside. Cut them into 1 inch long pieces. For Kadhi mix the curd and besan. Add turmeric and salt. Simmer this and keep stirring so that curd does not separate water. When this liquid thickens and starts boiling add the Gatte pieces. Now, in a tampering vessel, take 2 tbsp oil and heat it. When its sufficiently hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fennel and wait till it starts to splutter. Add asafoetida, curry leaves , red chili and remove from heat. Add this tampering mixture to Kadhi and serve with rice or roti.