Fried Onion chutney

This used to be my mom's favorite chutney, she would invariably make this chutney everytime she make bhakri(jowar rotis). This is a very quick and tasty chutney, goes very well with rotis.

Ingredients:
Onion(red or yellow) - 1 large, diced
Peanuts - 1/4 cup, roasted
Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp or to taste
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, when hot enough add onion and fry till light golden in color and then take it out in a bowl. Grind peanuts to powder, add tamarind, cumin seeds, salt and chilli powder and grind to a paste. Add this paste to the fried onion and mix well. In a small pan heat 1 tbsp oil, when hot enough add mustard seeds and turmeric powder. Take off the heat as soon as the mustard seeds start spluttering and pour it over the chutney. Mix well and serve with rotis.

Rice with Black-eyed peas

I recently saw a cup of boiled black-eyed peas in the refrigerator and thought maybe I could make some kind of rice with it and what followed was this creation which was absolutely tasty.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 Cup Cooked
Black eyed peas - 1/2 cup cooked
Onion - 1, chopped
Carrot - 1 medium, peeled and chopped
Fresh Coconut - 2 tbsp
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Oil- 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera Seed - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilies - 2, chopped finely
salt - to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a kadai, when hot enough, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chillies, turmeric and then add onions, fry till the onions get light golden in color. Now add carrots and cook till the carrots get a little soft. Add cooked rice, black eyed peas, salt, lemon juice, fresh coconut, mix well and serve hot with any chutney or pickle.

Pav Bhaji

We had our Independence Day celebrations recently(delayed because of the unavailability of school hall) and so every year for Independence Day we have a food mela. The ladies from our Indian community cook various food items and then we have tickets per plate. This year I was told to make 16 quarts of Pav Bhaji(4 of us were doing the Pav Bhaji). So then I said ok and then got to get all the veggies required for the bhaji and then the night before I chopped them to cook the next day. But then I realised that I didn't have enough Pav Bhaji masala(usually I use Everest Pav Bhaji masala), so then I decided that I would go ahead and make the masala fresh, though I had never tried making pav bhaji masala before. So what turned out the next day was the most delicious pav bhaji I ever ate and I vowed that if I have to preplan and make the Pav Bhaji I would do the masala fresh. Well the Pav bhaji masala can be made way ahead of time and can be stored for later. Here comes my Pav Bhaji with fresh homemade masala.

Pav Bhaji Masala Ingredients:
Coriander - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chillies - 5-6
Cumin - 1tbsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tbsp
Amchoor Powder - 1 tbsp
Bay leaves - 4
Cloves - 8
Dry Ginger - 1 inch piece
Star Anise - 2
Black Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Lightly roast all the above ingredients except the amchoor powdder and then grind into a fine powder and then add the amchoor powder. Mix well and store it in an air-tight container and use whenever needed. Inspired by the One Hot Stove blog, except i didn't add the chat masala like the blog says.

Now comes the Pav Bhaji:
Cauliflower - wash and grate about 1 small cauliflower
Potatoes - 3 medium, boiled, peeled and mashed lightly(you might want to leave some potato pieces in there, alternately you can chop them finely)
Bell pepper - 2 medium, chopped finely
Carrots - 3 medium, peeled and grated
Green beans - finely chopped about 2 cups
Green peas(fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 4, finely chopped
Ginger paste or finely grated - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste or finely grated - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
salt - to taste
Butter - 1 tbsp
Hamburger buns or dinner rolls
Butter to spread on the rolls
Fresh coriander - finely chopped for garnish

Method: Heat oil in a heavy pan, when hot enough add ginger and garlic paste, fry about 1 minute, add green beans and cook for 5 mins. Now add carrots, bell pepper, turmeric powder, mix well and cover and cook for about 5 mins. When the carrots and bell pepper turn soft, add cauliflower, green peas and tomatoes and cook for another 15 mins. When all the vegetables look soft enough add boiled or chopped potatoes, add 2 cups of water, add salt and pav bhaji masala and let it all boil on medium flame, be careful because at this point the bhaji will be spluttering all over the place. If you have a masher keep mashing the vegetables(I suggest not to use the blender or food processor, because then you will end up with a gooey vegetable). Adjust the salt and masala according to your taste and then just before you turn off the heat, add the butter mix well and cover. Garnish with fresh coriander before you serve the pav bhaji with dinner rolls or buns.

Just a few suggestions to enjoy the pav bhaji better:
* I don't like the pav bhaji too mashed up, I like to taste the vegetables in the pav bhaji. So you can suit the vegetables to your taste.
* I usually am generous using the butter to heat up the buns, but you can really skimp on the butter if you are very health conscious.
* Serve up the Pav Bhaji with some thin finely chopped red onions and lime, really spikes the taste.
* Some people like to add lots of onions and potatoes in the Pav Bhaji, two reasons I don't add onions and don't add too much potatoes. One, I feel onions give a sweetish taste to the dish and I don't like my Pav Bhaji to be sweet. Two, nobody in our house likes potatoes much, so I try to keep the potatoes to minimum and add up on the other veggies.

Bitter Gourd with Bean sprouts

Its been a long time since I'be posted anything, not that I'm not cooking these days, its just that life had gotten a little busy. Now I'm back to my blogging and with great recipes to share with you all. It was one of those days when you don't know what to cook and there aren't many vegetables on hand. So I opened my refrigerator to find a couple of bittergourds and some sprouts waiting to be eaten. I thought of doing a medley and so here it comes Bitter Gourd and sprouts curry.

Ingredients:
BitterGourd(bitter melon or hagalkayi) - 3, finely chopped
Bean Sprouts - 1 cup, steamed or pressure cook
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Tamarind - 1 lime size, soaked in warm water
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin powder(jeera powder) - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 2 Slit lengthwise
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder(Dhaniya powder) - 1/2 tsp
Fresh or dry coconut - 1 tbsp for garnishing
Fresh cilantro for garnish
salt to taste
oil 1 tbsp

Method:
Cut bittermelon into thin slices and apply 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of turmeric, mix well and cover and keep it aside for about 2 hrs. In the meantime steam or pressure cook sprouts till they get just soft. After two hours squeeze out all the water from the bittermelon and fry them in 1/2 tbsp oil till they get crispy. Take them out of the pan and to the same pan add 1/2 tbsp oil, when hot enough add mustard seeds, green chillies and chopped onions. Fry till the onions turn brown in color, now add bitter melon, steamed sprouts, red chilli powder, jeera powder, dhaniya powder, turmeric powder, salt, and tamarind pulp. Cover and let cook on low flame for about 5 min. Garnish with coconut and fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot with chapatis.

Grilled Veggie Panini

Lately I've been serious about losing some weight seriously, so I've been on the lookout for some healthy, low-fat recipes. In the process I've started using my Cuisinart Griddle Express to the maximum and have been grilling all my veggies for pasta and soups with Pam canola oil spray. Today was one of the days when I didn't feel like eating the traditional indian food, roti and subzi and hence I thought I could use some veggies in my refrigerator, grill them and make some sandwiches. Luckily I had some coriander chutney(I'll soon the post the recipe for that) which went well with the sandwiches, because we just can't anything without some spice in it. And tadaa, we had wonderful, healthy and low-fat sandwiches for dinner. So, that's what i'm going to post today and hope you all will like it too. You could do many variations in the sandwich to suit your palate.


Grilled Veggie Panini

I gave the name panini because I had grilled the sandwiches like they do with the paninis, and so you can use any kind of bread you like to get the effect. If you dont have the grill you can use a non-stick pan to grill the veggies, u just dont get those grill effect, but the taste would be the same.
Ingredients:
For Grilled Veggies:
Japanese Eggplant - 1 sliced into long diagonal pieces
Zuchini - 1, sliced diagonally
Avocado - 1/2, sliced into long thin pieces(save the other 1/2 for something else)
Heat the grill and lay down the eggplant and zuchini slices, spray some oil, turn over and spray oil again. When they are brown enough take them out on a plate and then spread the avocado pieces spray some oil and cook just a little so the avocados are just tender. Don't let the veggies get too mushy.
For the topping:
Tomato - 1 large, sliced into thin rounds
Lettuce - few leaves
Cheese slices(I use the jalapeno pepper kind to get some spicy taste, u can use any kind you like)
Coriander chutney - to spread on the bread
Bread slices - 6

Method:
Spray the bread slices lightly with the oil and lay them on a plate spray side down. On one slice of the bread layer cheese, eggplant, zuchini, tomato and lettuce. On the other slice spread some coriander chutney depending on your spice level and cover this slice on the slice with veggies. Now carefully place the sandwich on the grill and press the grill a bit so the bread gets a little compressed. Grill till you see the bread browning, carefully take it onto a plate and slice it into triangles and serve hot. But just be careful while slicing the sandwich as it would be very hot just off the grill, you may want to wait a few seconds, but don't wait too long, else you would end up with a cold sandwich. Enjoy!

Heerekayi Rasa Palya(Beerakaya koora, chinese okra gravy)

The ever so enjoyed vegetable in all parts of India, here in US its called Chinese Okra and is available in asian markets. Lately I have been experimenting a bit with this vegetable and have come out with this delicious gravy vegetable that goes well with chapathi or rice.

Ingredients:
Chinese okra - 1 medium, rough edges peeled(save for gravy), quartered and cut into large pieces
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Whole Dhaniya - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1tbsp
Green chillies - 2, cut into small pieces(or more to taste)
Tamarind pulp - 1 tbsp
Brown sugar or jaggery - 1 tbsp(optional, some people don't like the sweetish taste)
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 oinch
Curry leaves - 5-6

Method:
In a small non-stick pan, heat 1/2 tbsp oil, when hot enough add chana dal and urad dal, fry till light golden in color, add methi seeds, mustard seeds, jeera seeds, dhaniya seeds and fry another minute, don't let the dals burn, add sesame seeds. Just when the sesame seeds start spluttering add green chillies and the peel of okra that you have been saving all the while, wondering what to do with that, and cover and cook till the okra peel and green chillies get soft. Let it cool. In the meantime, in another deep cooking pot, add 1 tbsp oil, when hot add curry leaves and a pinch of turmeric, add the chinese okra pieces, mix well and cover for 2-5 min. While the okra is cooking grind the above fried dal and green chillies with tamarind pulp and a little water to get a fine paste. When they are a little soft add salt and the ground masala paste and cook for another 5 min. Enjoy with chapathi or hot rice.

Shahi Tukda

It was just one of those days when you want to have some simple dessert and easy to fix. Well I was thinking of something that I had not made in a long long time. It was a bit too much with calories and fat, but hey you can splurge once in a while. So I made this Hyderabadi(since I come from Hyderabad) dish made out of bread, well don't confuse this with double ka meetha, which is also made out of bread, but Double ka meetha is soaked in sugar syrup and is baked afterwards to give a distinct flavor. Someday I'll also post Double ka meetha so you will know the difference. I don't want to confuse you guys, so right now just enjoy the Shahi Tukda, and I don't know how it came up with this name, maybe because its so rich that in those days only the kings or rich moghuls could afford to eat this.

Ingredients:

Wheat bread or white bread - 6 slices, cut the edges and cut into triangles
Whole Milk - 6 cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee(Clarified butter) - 2 tbsp
Pistachios - 2 tbsp, thinly sliced

Method:
In a wide thick bottomed pan boil milk, stirring continuously till it gets to about 4 cups, add condensed milk and boil another 10 min, add cardamom powder and let it sit. While the milk is boiling, in a non-stick pan heat ghee and when the ghee is hot enough, don't let it smoke, shallow fry the bread pieces, drain in the pan while taking them out, these bread pieces should be golden but not deep brown. Arrange the bread slices in a serving tray and when you are ready to serve pour over the milk and garnish with pistachios. Enjoy!