Black & White Wednesday - Oh, It is HOT!

Without these beauties, I am lost! Yes, I am a chilli lover. What about you?

My entry for dear Susan’s Black and White Wednesday, where we paint our blogs with monochrome food related photos every week. Isn’t it such a lovely and unique food blog event?!

Bharwan Mirch ka Achaar | Stuffed Red Chilli Pepper Pickle Recipe

Bharwan Mirch ka Achaar

We Indian’s LOVE our pickles. Period.

I know I should stop here but I just can’t stop leave it when the topic in question is one of my most favourite things. Given a choice, I am among those who can rant on for hours and also end up writing PhD thesis on the subject of pickles. My love for pickle is talking point among my loved ones who know my weakness for this irresistible treats. When God created me, he forgot to give me sweet tooth. Instead I was blessed with a taste bud that swirls around doing Tango when it meets its love, irresistible spicy pickle. I know that there are many people out there who are just like me, who love pickles more than any sweet desserts and delights.

Spicy Tomato Chutney/Relish Recipe for Tomato Lovers

Spicy Tomato Chutney/Relish

I know, I know, I know!!!

I know it’s been raining “Tomato and Tomahto” here in Monsoon Spice but I did warm you well in advance! With baskets after baskets of tomatoes coming from our little veggie patch, I am left with no option but to cook and enjoy them as much as we can. I have made few jars of pickles and chutneys which we can enjoy in coming winter but there are yet more to be preserved in a form of jams and purees for quick fix curries.

Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna: Recreating Forgotten Taste...

Coconut-Mango Pulihara

Last week of March and just a day away from 2 months summer break. Yes, it was the day before my last exam and every year we had same exam to write, Moral Science!!! I always felt that it had to be some immoral and sadist person’s way of making us kids suffer one more day in the name of exams. Yes, Moral science paper which was not at all counted in the final exam valuation. So there was no question of studying! We kids were all excited about 2 long months of sun, mangoes, ice creams and candies, meeting our cousins (more like a bunch of monkey soldiers from Ramayana), lazy afternoons, swim in a stream and late nights.

The day before last exam was also the day where our home buzzed with excitement and non-stop ringing of telephones from our cousins. “Don’t forget to pack your cricket bat and wickets”, said one cousin to my brother. “And bring along that new board games too”, screamed another cousin of mine. “Did you pack your piggy bank for Goli Sodas and ice candies? I have 58 rupees 75 paisa in my piggy bank”, I whispered to my sister in excitement. “And Amma promised that she will give us 20 rupees each when we go to Grandma’s place”, said my chuckling brother.

At last it was the day which we all were eagerly looking forward to. We were too excited to even sleep in the previous night thinking what if we overslept and no one woke us! We surprised our parents by getting up from bed without any alarm and got ready in lightening speed. After quick breakfast, we went through our list of things-to-pack, making sure that we have not left anything behind. Then the waiting game began….

Every five minutes we would look at the clock and then look out on the road for the sign of military green jeep. Our three year old brother continued to stare at the clock without batting his eyelids to make sure that the big hand in clock is moving towards 12 while the small one was at 10. Just when the clock was about to strike ten, we saw a giant green jeep coming towards our house and we would start waving both our hands, screaming at top of our voice to make sure that our uncle noticed all three devils. We never wanted to take risk as what if he at that time suffers from short-term memory loss and drives away!

Every time our uncle came to pick us and along with him were my cousins whom he had picked from their home on the way. Without giving him much time to think about the weeks of torture he will have to face, we would pressure him to take us to Ajji’s home even before he could finish his coffee made by his elder sister, making him choke on the Chakkuli’s that he was busy stuffing his mouth with. Within few minutes we would dump our bags on second rows of seats and jumped into the back of this giant of jeep that served also served as boot for carrying gunny bags filled with Areca nuts, rice and Cocoa from farm. That place was our favourite place to play cards, board games and also house-house game. A thick blanket with green and black checks was spread on a 5 feet by 5 feet boot and we six cousins sat on it spreading tiny stainless steel kitchen toys. While some pretended to be mothers, others were their husbands and kids. While the husbands and kids went to school by jumping to second and front rows of seats, mothers of the family busied themselves with cooking and gossiping! Thus the game went on till we travelled for 3 hours and at last reached our granny’s place.

Those blissful days of fun and frolic…. The days of innocence and carefree spirits… Ah! The magical world of childhood where few rupees were more precious than today’s millions of rupees!!! The simple days where drinking Goli Soda and licking the ice cream running down on your arms were the ultimate pleasures any kid ever wanted!!! The carefree days where seat belts in vehicles were unheard of and two or three wounds on knees were considered too small an issue to even look at!!! I can give up everything to live those days again!

As the nostalgia hits me hard again, I try to loosen the knots of my memories to weave the beautiful days of my childhood… While my mind is busily knitting the colourful days, my hands pick up the ingredients to create a long forgotten recipe from my grand ma’s kitchen. While my mind pictures the retro coloured visuals of one of my favourite childhood favourites, my taste buds, along with my nose join my fingers in typing a familiar name quickly on Google search. And voila, with in few minutes I come across this recipe which very much sounds and looks like the one I have in my mind. Thanks to Mika, I was able to recreate the taste from my childhood which I had thought was buried with the death of my grandma. I found the same taste and aroma of my Ajji’s Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna in Mika’s recipe for Mango Rice and it was indeed as refreshing and tantalising as I remembered it to be.

Coconut-Mango Pulihara

Sweet Coconut, sour mangoes, spicy green chillies and pungent mustards, a flavour sensation in true sense! Crunch from the Tadka and peanuts is just added bonus to this unbelievably simple and delicious Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna. Only thing I missed was the small bowl prepared using banana leaves that would fit nicely between our small hands. My granny made these parcels of Coconut-Mango Pulihara in fresh banana leaves tied with threads made using banana stems and put it in a basket made using thick base leaves of areca nut plants along with small bowls made using banana leaves whenever we kids left for our trip to nearby ponds or hills. Can you think of any other better way of saving mother earth and better bio-degradable bags and plates? The heavenly smell of coconut-mango-chilli-mustard mixed with fresh smelling banana leaves is something I will never be able to put it into words. It is something that one has to experience to know exactly what I mean! If you are lucky enough to get some fresh, sour mangoes make it at once and experience the true flavour of simple ingredients. And if you are really-really lucky enough to get fresh banana leaves, just serve this warm Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna in it to take a small trip to heaven!

Coconut, Mango, Green Chillies & Mustard Powder for Coconut-Mango Pulihara

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Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna (Rice flavoured with ground mixture of fresh Coconut, Green Mango and Mustard Powder)

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins (If using leftover Rice) - 30 mins (If using fresh Rice)
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: The Green Jackfruit
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: Serve as it is or with any Raita/Yogurt and Tender Mango Pickle

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Ingredients:

1½ cups Rice (Preferably Sona Masuri or Basmati)
1 cup Fresh Coconut Pieces or ¾ packed cup grated Coconut
1-1½ cups Green Raw Mango Pieces (you can peel the skin if needed)
3-5 Green Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
2 tsp Mustard Seeds, ground to Powder using coffee grinder or Pestle & Mortar
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Sugar (Optional but recommended)
¼ cup Roasted Peanuts or Cashews
1-2 tsp Fresh Lime/Lemon Juice (optional, use it if the mangoes are not sour enough)
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Urad Dal
1 tbsp Channa Dal
2 Dry Red Chillies, halved
Few Curry Leaves
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1-2 tbsp Ghee or Oil

Coconut-Mango Pulihara

Method:

Cook rice using 1:2 ratios of rice and water. Once cooked, separate each grain with a help of fork and keep it aside to cool. The best rice is usually the leftovers from previous day’s dinner or lunch.
Take coconut pieces, mango pieces and green chillies in a food processor or mixer and pulse it to get roughly ground paste without adding any water. You should get bits and pieces of coconut, mangoes and chilli when you eat this rice. Keep this mixture aside.
Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Sauté till dals turn golden brown.
Mix in ground coconut-mango-green chilli mixture, mustard powder, turmeric powder and sugar and give it a good toss for 2-3 mins and switch off the flame. Remember not to over cook this ground mixture as you want to retain the raw sour taste of mangoes. Add lime or lemon juice, if using, and salt to taste and mix well.
Mix in cooked rice and toasted peanuts or cashews and give it a good toss so that every grain of rice is coated well with ground mixture. Serve this delicious Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna hot as it is or with yogurt or any raita and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo Palak: Green Indulgence

Aloo Palak

Ever since we came back from our adventurous trip to north Wales (more of it in coming posts, hopefully!), we have hardly been entering our kitchen except for heating the food in microwave. Simple Dal and Rasams is all we managed to cook when it became too agonising to even lift a spoon after all those adventurous sports. Well, all that climbing, biking, and walking seemed like a good way of relaxing at that time, but at present I can’t help but think that we may have overdone it when I try to walk without limping with back and leg pain!

Tired of eating same dal and rasams with rice for last few days, we set out into making something of a treat to ourselves to cheer our taste buds. With few sad looking potatoes in a pantry and a bag of wilted baby spinach on the verge of committing suicide if it was not used in a day or two, I decided to cook much loved Punjabi dish called Aloo Palak. Aloo Palak, delicious gravy of spinach with tender potatoes doesn’t need any introduction. For me Aloo Palak is a dish which serves as a benchmark for many good cooks/chefs at home and restaurants. Like many other recipes in India, Aloo Palak can also be cooked in many ways using as little as 5 ingredients to as many as dozens of ingredients. Sometime you will be served Aloo Palak in a gravy form or simple stir fried form. But whatever way it’s been cooked or served, it remains to be one of the most loved Indian foods among many foodies.

I have been cooking this dish for around 3 years and at last I can say that we have found the recipe which we love the most. The base gravy is little thick due to addition of cashews which not only thickens the gravy but gives it little nutty and wonderful taste. With cashews, I add wee bit of dried fenugreek leaves which gives it very pleasant bitter taste along with extraordinary aroma and flavour it imparts. Both these ingredients are optional, and I don’t think they are used in a traditional recipe of Aloo Palak. But at the same time, these two ingredients add that oomph factor to my recipe of Aloo Palak. So try this recipe when you want to cook little different Aloo Palak and enjoy the whole goodness of greens this winter.

Baby Spinach and Potatoes for Aloo Palak

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Aloo Palak (Potatoes in delicious Spinach Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
5-6 packed cups of Spinach, washed, drained and roughly chopped
3 medium Potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, chopped and cooked with salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, roughly chopped (Optional)
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
5-7 Cashew Nuts
3-5 Green Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
2 Green Cardamoms
2 Cloves
1 tsp Sugar
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tbsp Lime Juice
½ tbsp Kauri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional)
1+½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1+½ tbsp Oil/Ghee
Salt to taste

Aloo Palak

Method:

Heat about ½ tbsp of oil in a pan and add cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves. Sauté it for few seconds and add ½ tsp of cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start to sizzle and turn golden red, add cashews and green chillies. Sauté it on medium flame till cashews turn light golden brown in colour.
Mix in roughly chopped spinach, sugar and cover the lid. Cook this spinach cover for few minutes on a medium heat till it is wilted. If needed sprinkle little water in between to avoid them sticking to the pan. Cool the mixture and grind it to smooth paste with mint leaves adding as little water as possible. Keep aside this mixture till required.
Heat ½ tbsp of oil in the same pan and remaining cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle, add finely chopped onion and sauté it for a minute. Now add ginger-garlic paste and sauté it till the raw smell disappears, about a minute. Mix in chopped tomatoes and sauté till it becomes pulpy.
Add kitchen king masala, garam masala and kasuri methi and keep stirring till nice aroma of masala fills the kitchen, about a minute. Mix in ground spinach paste and add about 1- 1½ cups of water and salt to taste. Let it cook on a low to medium flame for about ten minutes.
Add cooked potato pieces and amchur powder to spinach gravy and mix well. Cook for another 5-10 minutes so that potato absorbs all the flavours. Serve this Aloo Palak with any Indian bread of your choice and enjoy.

Akki Rotti with Dill-Coconut Chutney: Dill Se...

Akki Rotti with Dill-Coconut Chutney

Pretty to look at with vibrating green colours, herbs add lot of flavour, aroma and colour to any food. Few pretty green leaves floating on soups and carefully placed on top of salad or curries, they do brighten up even the simplest food. But does that mean their sole purpose it to serve as a garnish which you can pick and keep aside while eating?

Ayurveda, an ancient science of healthy living, has always emphasised on using fresh herbs everyday. Knowingly or unknowingly, we have been following this ancient wisdom on day to day basis. Any Indian kitchen is incomplete without herbs stored safely in a refrigerator or pots of fresh herbs sitting pretty on kitchen windowsill. Herbs are indispensable in my kitchen and I usually end up adding extra handful of herbs in almost all the food I cook.


When I thought about different herbs used in everyday dish, I realised there are just few which make regular appearance. Curry leaves, coriander, mint and fenugreek are the most important ones that are used in almost all the recipes and basil, chives, rosemary and thyme makes few guest appearances now and then. Given my love for herbs I felt I am yet to discover the true potential of every herb which is easily available throughout the year. So here I am, on my way to taste and discover more herbs used in day to day cooking.


My first stop was at our regualr Asian grocery store to buy fresh bunch of Dill. Dill is more commonly known as Dill Weed and has feathery appearance. The fresh dill leaves has fragrant lemon and anise aroma and it tastes like mixture of parsley and anise. High in iron content, dill is available as fresh, dry and in seeds form. Dill is also one of the main herbs used in Karnataka in many recipes. So it was a safe bet to start my journey of rediscovering herbs. One the most loved food which features dill as the main ingredient is Akki Rotti, pan fried Indian bread made using rice flour. I have posted my mother’s recipe of Masala Akki Rotti sometime back and it was one of the most loved and referred recipes on Monsoon Spice. It is gluten free and also vegan and more importantly very healthy and delicious breakfast idea. First time I tasted Akki Rotti made using Dill and Avare KaLu/Surti Papdi Lilva was when I was doing my post graduation in Bangalore. Bangaloreans love Avare KaLu and use them in many recipes. Palya, Saaru, Sambar are the few to name but Akki Rotti with Avare KaLu tops my list of favourites. Coconut, avare kaLu, green chillies, onion and dill mixed with rice flour and directly patted on hot griddle was instant hit with me from day one. Crisp Akki Rotties with little note of sweetness from coconut and lilva, crunch from onions, citrus-y flavour from dill and touch of spiciness from fresh green chillies is one tasty affair which is hard not to notice. Served with just a dollop of freshly churned Butter or Coconut Chuteny/Brinjal Palya/Gojju, this is one meal that is hard to resist. Serve this to anyone who is not fond of dill and see them falling in love with it.

Ingredients for Akki Rotti

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Akki Rotti with Dill & Surti Papdi Lilva (Rice Flat Bread flavoured with Dill and Surti Papdi Lilva)

Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 6-7 medium Rotties

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Ingredients:
2-2½ cups Rice Flour
¼ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen (Optional but recommended)
½ - ¾ cups Surti Papdi Lilva/Avare KaaLu (I used canned ones. If using fresh or frozen boil them in salted water for around 5 minutes and drain or use as it is)
¼ cup Dill, finely chopped
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2-4 Green Chillies, finely sliced (Adjust acc to taste)
1½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1-2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
Warm water for kneading

Akki Rotti

Method:

Add finely chopped onion, green chillies, dill, fresh/frozen coconut, surti papdi, cumin seeds, oil and salt to taste to rice flour and mix well. Now add warm water, little at a time, and mix well to form dough. This dough should smooth and easy to pat directly on tawa/griddle. Alternatively, bring 2½-3 cups of water to boil and add mixed dry contents to it. Give it a gentle stir. Switch off the flame and cover the vessel. When covered, the steam from hot water helps in getting smooth dough. When dough is cool enough to handle, add oil to it and kneed the dough for few minutes.
The best way to make these rotties is to pat them directly on hot tawa/griddle. Trust me, its much easier than it sounds.
Take large lemon sized balls and place them in a centre of tawa. Pat them with fingers to form a ½ cm thick circle. Place that tawa on flame. Add little oil or ghee to the edges of rotti. Cover and cook the rotties for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat till brown spots start to appear on its surface. Flip it around and cook for another minute or two.
Invert the tawa/griddle and place it under cold running water for few seconds to cook it off slightly before you continue to proceed with patting the dough. Dip fingers in cold water to help in patting thin roties.
Serve these rotties with any Coconut Chutney or Gojju or Playa or Badane Ennegai and enjoy.

Akki Rotti with Dill-Coconut Chutney

I served my Akki Rotti with Dill & Coconut Chutney which I learnt from my Amma. Surprisingly Dill in this chutney tastes little bit like Mango chutney. Don’t you believe me? Then try this for yourself and see. This is my entry for FIC-Green, a unique event by Sunshinemom.

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Dill-Coconut Chutney
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 3-5
Recipe Source: Amma

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Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp Dill weed, chopped
1 cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
2-3 Green Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
½ inch Ginger, peeled
1 small marble sized Tamarind Pulp
Salt to taste

Dill-Coconut Chutney

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a mixer jar or food processor and grind to smooth paste adding little water at time.
Serve with Dosa, Idli or Rotti and enjoy.

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Note:

Not too fond of Dill? Replace it with coriander leaves in both the recipes for different flavour.
Keep a bowl of cold water next to you while patting the roties on tawa. This helps in even patting.

Dahi Batata Puri: Yeh Dil Maange More...

Dahi Batata Puri

It's a beautiful evening with chirping birds flying back to their warm nests. Sun is setting behind the mountains. It looks like he is on his way to meet his lover as the sky is blushes with beautiful red. All of sudden the dimly lit street starts buzzing. People start arriving in large numbers, almost like devotees make pilgrimage to their favourite temples. Just like in any temples you can see people standing in a long queue waiting eagerly for their turn. To me it seems like a never ending queue as I wait eagerly, my patience threatening to fly out of the window. My tummy starts grumbling as my eyes are seduced by the sight of people gorging on platefuls of delicious looking items. My nose seems to have lost in aromatic world of spices and herbs. I stand there drooling non-stop which would easily solve any water issues. Yes, the queue is moving fast now… I am behind just two people now… now just one. The guy before me orders for one plate of Bhel Puri and another plate of Masala Puri. Oh the sweet torture. It’s my turn now… What am I going to have? Is it Bhel or Pani Puri? May be I should have Masala Puri today. Wait, Dahi Batata Puri which that fat guy stuffing in his mouth looks so good. The GaaDi-walah looks at me and asks me what I want to have… At last I make up my mind and ask for plate of Dahi Batata Puri. I look at him as he quickly whips up sinfully delicious looking plate of my favourite Chaat with fascination. First he arranges a plateful of puri and then he starts stuffing it with potato filling and then quickly adds colourful chutneys. Then he starts filling each puri with a spoonful of spiced yogurt. Finally he sprinkles few pieces of red onions and sev… “Bhaiyya, put little extra sev for me!”, I almost plead. He smiles and adds extra handful of sev and there it is… All mine… Mine, mine, mine… He extends my plate of Chaat… It’s almost within my reach and I extend my hand…

Tringggggggggg…………. What, where, how??? It’s a dream!!! It’s just a %&*$ dream!!! Not again, why oh God! Why me!!! Why are you punishing me like this?

God shouts back at me, “Because it’s your fault that you had to choose Street Food for food blogging event. Now repent. Why blame me?”…

Oh yes, this is what happens when you host any blog events. You don’t know when you will get hunger attack as the entries fill in your mail box any time of the day. If it’s close to lunch or dinner time, then you are finished!!! Imagine opening your mailbox just when you had to skip your breakfast because you forgot to set your alarm clock on a very important day at work, and find these delicious, mouth watering, drool-worthy entries there. Do I need to say anymore? Since I announced Street Food theme for this month’s MBP, I have been getting lots of nightmares like this every night. There was only one way to get rid of it and that’s what I did this weekend.

This plate of Dahi Batata Puri is a result of my non-stop nightmares I am getting since past few weeks. To be precise, from the day I announced Street Food for MBP. I have been trying very hard to avoid deep fried puries but failed miserably in the end. Well, you can’t call it exactly junk food. It uses vegetables, greens, and importantly good dose of yogurt. So in my opinion, its healthy food all the way and I am sure most of you will agree with me ;) We used store bought puries and there were 30 of them… and all of them are gone now. It was our lunch yesterday and we skipped our dinner at night ;)

I can’t say it is as good as the ones you get on street carts in India but it was tasty nevertheless. Well, beggars can’t be choosers! This recipe is from my Amma who makes excellent Chaats (second next to the Chaatwalah Bhaiyya! I hope she is not reading this post ;). We licked our plates clean and were confused which plate was washed and which were not washed (Ok, bad joke ;). We have got little extra chutney left in refrigerate which we are going to use tonight. Oh yes, we are having Bhelpuri for dinner as the puries are over and cant make another batch of Dahi Batata Puri or Masala Puri. Off this plate of Dahi Batata Puri goes to gorgeous Sig for her JFI-Tamarind (just on time), dear Dee's Herb Mania-Mint and to bubbly Siri for her Frozen Yogurt. Enjoy girls…

Dahi Batata Puri

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Dahi Batata Puri (Chaat, famous street food of India where puffed puries are stuffed with potato, sweet-spicy-mint chutney and fresh yogurt)
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 2-6 (difficult to say)

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Ingredients:
20-30 Puffed deep fried Puris (store bought or home made)
½ - ¾ cups Sev
1 Red Onion, finely chopped

For Potato-Peas Filling:
1 large Potato, cooked, peeled and diced into small pieces
½ cup Green Peas, cooked (or use cooked Kabuli Channa (Garbanzo)/Moong Sprouts)
½ tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:
1 lemon sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in water
6-8 Dates, pitted
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
4-6 tbsp Jaggary (adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

For Green Mint Chutney:
1 packed cup Mint Leaves
½ packed cup Coriander Leaves
4-6 Green Chillies (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Tamarind Paste
Salt to taste

For Spicy Red Chutney:
10 Dry Red Chillies
2-3 Garlic flakes
1 small Tomato (Optional, it helps in grinding teh chillies to smooth paste)
½ tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste

For Curd/Yogurt Filling:
3 cups Yogurt, beaten till smooth
1 tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tbsp Sugar
Big Pinch of Salt

Ingredients for Dahi Batata Puri: Potato-Peas Filling, Sev, Red Onion, Spicy Red Chutney, Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney, Green Mint Chutney, Spiced Yogurt, Puri

Method:
For Potato Filling:
First prepare the potato filling. Heat a pan and add cumin seeds to it and dry roast for a minute. Then add cooked diced potatoes, green peas, garam masala, turmeric, salt to taste. Sauté on medium flame for a minute or two and keep it aside.

For Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:
Grind all ingredients listed to very smooth paste adding very little water at time. This paste should be little thick not runny.

For Green Mint Chutney:
Grind all the ingredients listed to smooth paste adding very little water at time. Adjust the number of green chillies according to taste. I personally like little hot. Make sure that the chutney is not very watery.

For Spicy Red Chutney:
Grind all the ingredients to very smooth paste adding very little water at time. If you find it difficult to grind, add small tomato (tip learnt from my favourite Chaatwalah).

For Curd/Yogurt Filling:
Beat the curd/yogurt till its smooth without any lumps. Now mix in powdered roasted cumin, sugar and salt to taste.

To Assemble the Dahi Batata Puri:

Arrange 6-9 puris in a plate, making small opening on top of each puri big enough to add the fillings.
First fill each puri with a tsp of Potato-Green Peas filling. Add one or 2 tsp of yogurt filling. Then fill it with ¼-½ tsp of all three chutneys. Drizzle over little more of yogurt filling and then sprinkle chopped red onion and sev on each puri.
Serve this delicious plate of Dahi Batata Puri immediately as if kept for long it will become soggy. Remember to use your finger to eat it not with spoon and enjoy this finger-licking-ly delicious Chaat.

This one is for you...

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Reminder: MBP-Street Food (Last Call...)

MBP-Street Food ends on 30th of June, 2008. Start patrolling the blogs and cook your favourite Street Food that your tummy begs and heart desires and spread link love.

Deadline: 30th June, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

Stuffed Chillies

Err… Yeah!!! Yet another “Stuffed” recipe from me. I am stuffing my tummy with stuffed stuffs. I can’t understand my recent obsession with stuffing any vegetables on sight. After trying stuffing Baingan, Bhendi, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, I did the ultimate stuffing. {~Applause~} Here comes my Stuffed Chillies. I cross my heart and promise, no more stuffed stuffs for another month;)

Well, looking at my increasing waistline my hubby at last openly asked me to stay away from stuffing my tummy. Alas… Till now I some how managed to act innocent to all subtle hints I was getting from him. Do you have any idea that you foodies are partially responsible for my increasing waistline? First you lure me with nice description, then tempt me with mouth watering pictures and brainwash me with your sweet guidelines as how easy and quick it is to make.

Stuffed Chillies

Well, I am here to take revenge!!! Revenge on every food blogger buddies for making me gain few extra pounds with in a month’s time. My revenge is not sweet. It’s scorchingly hot and sinfully delicious. {~Devilish Grin~} When you try one you will crave for more. The more, the merrier;)

Stuffed Chillies

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Stuffed Chillies
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-25 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
4-6 Jalapenos or any medium thick skinned Chillies
2 Potatoes
1 cup Gram flour/Besan
1 tbsp Rice Flour
A pinch of Cooking Soda (optional)
1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
Salt to Taste
Oil for Deep Frying

Stuffed Chillies

Method:
Slit the chilli along one side using small knife.
Remove the seeds and white part inside the chilli. If you prefer spicy ones then leave the seeds as they are.
Peel the potatoes and chop them into large chunks. Cook them in salted water and mash them thoroughly.
Make small balls of mashed potatoes and stuff them tightly inside the chilli and keep them aside.
Make thick batter of gram flour, rice flour, cooking soda, chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, amchur and salt using enough water. Make sure that there are no lumps left in the batter.
You can mix about a tbsp of hot oil into the batter which will help to reduce the amount of oil absorbed during deep frying.
Dip stuffed chillies in batter and coat all the sides.
Deep fry them in heated oil till they turn crisp and golden brown in colour.
Serve sizzling hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney or dips of your choice.

Stuffed Chillies

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Variations:
You can add garam masala or any other spices like chilli powder, turmeric powder, amchur, jeera powder etc to mashed potatoes for making it spicier.
Add grated cheese or paneer to mashed potatoes for extra richness.
Check for some more delicious stuffed chillies here, here and here.

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Stuffed Chillies

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Did You Know?
Chillis are loaded with vitamin A, a potent antioxidant and boost to the immune system. As the pods mature and darken, high quantities of vitamin C are gradually replaced with beta carotene and the capsaicin levels are at their highest. Due to these capsaicin levels, some believe that eating chillis may have an extra thermic affect, temporarily speeding up the metabolic rate, hence burning off calories at a faster rate. Whatever, you certainly do sweat and actually cool down in hot climates as sweat evaporates. Your nose runs, your head clears ... you can breathe! And with that extra flow of saliva, the gastric juices also flow. The alkaloids from the capsaicin stimulate the action of stomach and intestine improving the whole digestion process!
(Source: www.chillisgalore.co.uk)

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Stuffed Chillies

Pineapple Menaskai

I love to eat fresh pineapple. It is sweet, juicy, healthy and delicious. When Maheshwari of Beyond The Usual chose this tropical fruit for this month’s AFAM I was overjoyed. With it came the confusion as what to cook. I didn’t want to cook any sweet dish of pineapple as most of my blogger buddies have cooked almost all the recipes available. So here I am with my recipe of Pineapple Menaskai which is my all time favourite dish.
Menaskai is a sweet, tangy and spicy side dish which is usually served during any family functions and weddings in my native. The main 3 ingredients in menaskai are coconut, red dry chillies and jaggery and depending on seasonal availability, bitter gourd or mango or pineapple are used to make it.

Pineapple Menaskai

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Pineapple Menaskai
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
2 cups Pineapple
¾ cup Coconut
2 tbsp Sesame
4-5 Dry Red Chillies
1 marble sized Tamarind
1-2 tbsp Jaggery
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard
1 Dry Red Chillies
Few Curry Leaves

Pineapple Menaskai

Method:
Peel the outer skin of pineapple and dice them into 1 cm squares.
Cook them with 1½ cups of water, tamarind, jaggery and salt to taste.
Cook pineapple till it becomes soft in medium flame.
In a mean while, take a pan and dry roast sesame till it turns golden and keep it aside.
Take a tbsp of oil and sauté broken red chilli and grated coconut till it turns golden.
Grind this coconut, red chilli and sesame to smooth paste adding little water.
Add this ground paste to cooked pineapple and mix well.
Cook this in a medium flame till the gravy starts to boil.
Reduce the flame and cook for further 4-5 minutes till gravy starts thickening.
Season it with mustard, curry leaves and broken red chillies.
Serve hot with rice and enjoy.

Pineapple Menaskai

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Tips:
You can substitute pineapple with bitter gourd or medium ripe mangoes also.
If you are making bitter gourd menaskai, increase the amount of tamarind to lime sized balls to tamper its bitterness.
Adjust the sweetness and spiciness according to your taste.

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Pineapple Menaskai

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Did You Know?
First called “anana”, a Carribean word for “excellent fruit”, the name “pineapple” came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pinecone with flesh like an apple.
The Spanish explorers thought pineapples looked like pinecones, so they called them "Pina." The English added "apple" to associate it with juicy delectable fruits.
Of all the New World discoveries of Columbus, pineapples were the fruits that caused the biggest stir back home.
In a Caribbean rite of manhood, barefoot youths ran through pineapple plantings and were expected to bear the resulting wounds without protest.
Caribbean Indians placed pineapples or pineapple crowns outside the entrances of their homes to symbolize friendship and hospitality.
(Source: www.dole5aday.com)

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Pineapple Menaskai

Ugadi Habbada Haardika Shubashayagalu

Wishing You and Your Family A Happy Ugadi

(Image Source: www.alochana.org)

Majjige Menasu/Balaka (Dahi Mirchi)

This is one of the many traditional recipes which rules the kitchen cabinets during rainy days and wintry nights in South India. The place where I come from has very hot summers and wild monsoon rains. Every summer, eating cartons of golden mangoes and spending most of our time at our grandma’s place, I have grown up with watching my Amma and grandma prepare hundreds of Happala (Papadam), Sendige and Majjige Menasu which is also called as Balaka. It's a bit of pain to prepare these munchies in scorching heat. But, at the same time very rewarding in heavy monsoon days. The simple pleasure of munching sweet and spicy Papadams with a hot cup of coffee, while rain drops danceing to the tunes of heavy thunders are some of best days of my life.

Thud… Coming back to reality, here is a HOT recipe for preparing Balakas (Dahi Mirchi). This is for all who love spicy chillies especially for my dear friend Dilip who is crazy about chillies(Checkout his hot chilli recipes here).

Majjige Menasu served with Rice & Dal

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Majjige Menasu/Balaka
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: -

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Ingredients:
10-20 Green Chillies
2 cups Sour Buttermilk
2-3 tsp Salt

Majjige Menasu

Method:
Mix salt to the sour buttermilk in a wide pan and keep aside.
Take a toothpick and make small hole at one side of the green chillies (don’t remove the seeds and stem).
Arrange the green chillies in butter milk in such a way that they are completely immersed in them.
Keep them uncovered for minimum 3 days.
After 3-4 days, arrange them in a wide plate and sun dry.
It usually takes 2-3 days to lose all the moisture in them.
Once again immerse them in sour buttermilk for a day and again sun dry them till they lose all the moisture.
Notice the change in colour from green to silky cream with a tinge of green.
Store the preserved chillies in air tight container.
When required, deep fry them till they turn slight golden brown and serve with plain rice and dal/yogurt.

Majjige Menasu served with Rice & Dal

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Did You Know?
The hottest chilli on Earth is Indian, claim four scientists. They say that the pepper called Naga Jolokia from the north-eastern area of Assam where it is grown has beaten the Mexican Red Savina Habanero, widely-acclaimed as the hottest.
(Source: http://www.chillisgalore.co.uk/pages/chilli_facts.html)

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Majjige Menasu

Genasale (Coconut+Jaggery stuffed Rice Cakes) and 3 Things MEME

Well friends, at last I am over (not entirely) with jetlag and homesickness. Thought I will start my new year's blog entry with our all time favourite Genasale aka Kai Kadabu (Kai means Coconut in Kannada) which is very well known and loved dish in Karnataka, especially in South Canara. It’s so much loved back in India that its one of the main Prasad offered to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
It is one of the easiest recipes and requires very less preparation and ingredients. So not wasting much of your time I’ll straight away come to the point.

Genasale Served with Coconut-chilly chutney and Ghee

Ingredients:
2 Cups Rice
2 Cups grated Fresh Coconut
¾ Cup Jaggery (according to taste)
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Salt to taste
Few Banana Leaves

Genasale

Method:
Soak rice in water for 1-2 hours and them grind to smooth batter with salt and enough water. The batter should be of pouring consistency.

In a bowl mix grated coconut, jaggery powder, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Mix them well. You can add more jaggery if you like.

Take a banana leaf and spread the batter thinly.

To this spread the coconut mixture evenly covering the batter well.

Fold the leaf like hand kerchief (as shown above).

Place them in a steamer and steam cook them for 10 minutes in high flame and another 20-30 minutes in medium flame.

Traditional Steamer

Let them cool down a bit before you serve. Serve them with dash of Ghee and Spicy Coconut Chilli Chutney.

Kai Genasale/Kai Kadabu

3 THINGS MEME:

Thank you Seema and Pooja for tagging me for 3 Things MEME..

3 Things that scare me:
Being alone
Rats
Losing loved ones

3 people who make me laugh:
Homer Simpson from "The Simpsons"
My little sis and hubby with their PJs
My Appa and Amma with their debates ;)

3 Things I love:
First rain and the smell of earth
Shopping
Long walks (Usually when I go out for shopping it also becomes long walks)

3 Things I hate:
Messy house
Mean and cruel people
Abuse in any form and mean.

3 Things I don't understand:
Finance Subjects
Spanish, Greek, German, French…
Some PJ’s cracked by my hubby

3 Things on my desk:
Laptop
Flowers
Cell Phone

3 Things I am doing right now:
Listening to music
Waiting for my hubby to return from his office
Thinking what to cook for dinner

3 Things I want to do before I die:
Bake tiered cake
Learn as many languages as possible
Learn pottery

3 Things I can do:
Watch boring movies till “The End”
Become a kid with kids and watch cartoon with them at streach
Listen (means actually listen) to anything my family and friends want to say

3 Things one should listen to:
Your loved ones
Music, any music which cheers you
Good advice which can make you a better person

3 Things I would never want to listen to:
Weather reports (Always give wrong info, but i still listen ;)
Liers
Nonsense

3 Favourite foods:
Masala Dosa
Ganji (Boiled rice)
Pickles, lots of them

3 beverages I drink regularly:
Water
Orange Juice
Butter milk/ Curds

3 TV shows I watched as a kid:
Udaan
Ramayan
Tom and Jerry Cartoons

3 books I read as a kid:
Amar Chitra Katha
Nancy Drew
Tinkle (I still have got shelf full of them)

3 of my dearest friends whom I would like to tag for this meme:
I guess most of my blog buddies have already been tagged...
So no point in tagging again:) Will check everyone's blog at leisure and tag..

Thanks to Seema and Pooja once again... I enjoyed writing this MEME...