Curry Leaves Chutney Powder: An Aromatic Affair!

Curry Leaves Chutney Powder

“What are they?” asked British lady standing right next to me in Asian grocery store.
“Its curry leaves”, I replied.
“Oh! So curry powder is made from these leaves then?”

I just met another person who thinks curry powder is made from curry leaves or some part of its tree and I am sure that there are many more like her who thinks the same! I, along with my friends here in BC and many other food bloggers, have been stressing that there is nothing called “Curry Powder” in Indian cuisine. Now that I have told that curry leaves are not used in making curry powder, shall we go one step ahead and explore the fragrant routine of discovering how curry leaves are used in Indian cuisine?

The Curry Tree or Karivepallai or Kadipatta (Scientific name: Murraya koenigii) is a tropical to sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae, which is native to India. It produces the leaves known as Curry leaves or Sweet Neem leaves.

The small and narrow leaves somewhat resemble the leaves of the Neem tree; therefore they are also referred to as Karuveppilai (translated to Black Neem leaf) in Tamil and Malayalam, Karu/Kari meaning black, ilai meaning leaves and veppilai meaning Neem leaf. In the Kannada language it is known as Kari BEvu and Karivepaku in Telugu, again translating to the same meaning Black Neem leaf. Other names include Kari Patta (Hindi), which probably is a corrupt translation of Karuveppilai, noroxingha (Assamese), Bhursunga Patra (Oriya), Kadhi Patta (Marathi), Mithho Limdo (Gujarati) and Karapincha (Sinhalese).

(Source: Wiki)

Curry leaves are aromatic and hence used as one of the main ingredients in tadka/tempering for most of South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisines. Although it is a most loved ingredient for seasonings in the south Indian culinary world, its use doesn’t limit to this. The fresh aromatic leaves are used to make wet chutney, chutney powders, spice blends etc. They are also used for many medicinal purposes as an antidiabetic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-hypercholesterolemic etc. My grandmother never got tired of saying how good these leaves are for lustrous and glossy hair when consumed in fresh/raw form! And trust me when I say that our Grandmothers never lie when it comes to curry leaves!

Many good Asian grocery shops sell good bunch of fresh curry leaves and some also sell them as frozen or in dried form. Although you can use these frozen or dry curry leaves, their aroma and flavour is much mellow when compared to the heady aroma of fresh curry leaves. When these curry leaves are added to hot oil, along with other seasonings ingredients, the heady aroma of released from these leaves is something that you need to experience on your own as it is way too difficult to express in few words! These leaves infuse their flavour to any dish they touch and make their presence felt.

Today’s recipe features Curry Leaves in lead role and not just as a cameo! This recipe of Curry Leaves Chutney Powder is made from one of my favourite cookbooks: Cooking at Home with Pedatha. In South India, any traditional meal is incomplete without Pickles and/or Chutney Podi. For all who are short of time, pickles and podis are nothing short of saviours! For a quick fix meal, all that is needed is some steamed rice, ghee (Indian clarified butter), some papads and pickle or podi of your choice and voila, you have one delicious meal to savour!

This Curry Leaves Chutney Powder is one of my favourite condiments to have with some crisp Dosa or fluffy and spongy Idli or simple steam cooked rice and chilled curds/yogurt. The recipe is simple and straight forward! All you need is a bunch of curry leaves, few lentils and whole spices. Roast them all in few teaspoons of oil and grind them to coarse powder along with tamarind for that tangy flavour. And in few minutes you have this aromatic, spicy, tangy, protein rich Podi that could be simply stored for a month or two!!! As and when needed, take one or two spoonfuls of this powder and mix them with a bowl of hot/warm rice, papad, ghee or a bowl of yogurt and you have this delicious meal ready in a jiffy. Life can’t get much simpler than this!

Roasted Ingredients for Curry Leaves Chutney Powder

---

Curry Leaves Chutney Powder (Spicy, tangy & aromatic blend of Curry Leaves, Lentils, Spices & Tamarind)

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Makes: Around 1 cup of Chutney Powder
Shelf Life: 2-3 months when refrigerated
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner
Recipe Source: Cooking at Home with Pedatha

---

Ingredients:
2 cups Fresh Curry Leaves, loosely packed
8-10 Dry Red Chillies, about 3 inch long and stalks removed
1 small Lime sized Tamarind Pulp
1 tsp powdered Hing/Asafoetida
2 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils
2 tsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
1 tsp Jaggery/Sugar (Optional)
2-4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Curry Leaves Chutney Powder

Method:

Remove curry leaves from its stalk and rinse them clean. Wipe them dry using kitchen towel and keep them aside till needed.
Heat a wide pan on medium flame and dry roast urad dal and channa dal, separately, till they turn golden brown and keep them aside.
In a same pan, add hing and roast on low heat for half a minute and keep it aside along roasted lentils.
Add about 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan and when it is heated add curry leaves. Roast these curry leaves on medium heat till they turn crisp but retain that lovely green colour, about 3-5 mins. Keep it aside.
In a same pan, add dried red chillies and roast for around half a minute to minute. Make sure that you don’t roast the chillies too much and turn black. Keep it aside along with other ingredients.
Next add tamarind pulp in a pan and roast for around 45 seconds. Keep it aside to cool.
Once all the ingredients have cooled enough, transfer them into dry mixer or food processor jar and grind to fine or coarse powder according to your preference.
Transfer ground powder into dry and clean jar. Pop it in refrigerator for longer shelf life. You can serve this delicious Curry Leaves Chutney Podi/Powder with Dosa, Idli or steamed rice and enjoy.

Serving Suggestion:

Take a teaspoon or two of Curry Leaves Chutney Powder and mix them with a bowl of steam cooked rice, topped with ghee and some Papads. Or mix this Chutney powder with a bowl of rice and yogurt.
You can also serve it as a side dish with Dosa or Idli, topped with a dollop of Ghee or oil.

---

Special Notes/Tips:

Make sure that the curry leaves are washed, rinsed and dried thoroughly before frying them as the moisture will reduce the shelf life of this chutney powder.
(This post is reproduced from Beyond Curries. While you are enjoying this Curry Leaves Chutney Pwder, don't forget to take a quick peek at my Diwali post on Beyond Curries where something sweet is waiting for you. Yes, you heard me right. We are having Sabudana Payasa/Kheer for dessert.)

Continue Reading...

Bisi Bele Bhath & Potato Raita: Simple Pleasures of Life

Roasted Spices for Bisi Bele Bhath Masala

Past month has been really hectic in terms of professional and personal terms. So hectic that I missed seeing the daffodil and tulip bulbs that we had planted last year sprout (is that the right word?). I missed noticing how the temperature has been slowly rising to double digits. I missed hearing birds chirping happily in our back garden. I missed to notice that it’s not pitch dark when I leave to my office and when I come back to home from work. I missed so many things till yesterday when I bent to pick the coins that had fallen from my hands and saw these lovely, delicate purple and yellow Crocuses beaming happily at sun.

Yes, spring is in the air… little early perhaps but it is almost there! I stopped on the track to admire those little beauties for a while before rushing to finish my work. The delicate petals of Crocus were fluttering in cool breeze and they looked like a small, happy kids playing in a park, the radiance on their face competing with that of the sun god! The little flowers looked like a bunch of happy kids, their smile so infectious that you can’t help but smile and laugh with them. I just spent few minutes admiring them and I felt good, really good for that matter!(Now you know the reason behind my template make over. It reflects my mood... Cheerful and alive!) Don’t you think its little pleasures like this that uplifts our spirit and makes us happy?

And Bisi Bele Huli Anna or Bisi Bele Bhath or BBB is one such thing that falls into small pleasures of life! Bisi Bele Bhath is a classic rice dish from Karnataka and one of the most loved comfort food. Bisi Bele Huli Anna may not be the pretty, photogenic dish but the its taste more than compensates for everything. It has got heat from that lovely roasted spice powder, hint of sweetness from jaggery, and tangy note from tamarind. But most importantly it is one pot of rice and lentil medley packed with proteins. I usually make fresh batch of Bisi Bele Bhath masala powder but you can also use store bought ones (MTR being the next best thing to homemade). Serve BBB with Raita or Chips/Papad and see your loved ones falling in love with this classic, down to earth dish. This is my humble entry for Susan’s lovely event My Legume Love Affair.

Bisi Bele Bhath

Print This Recipe

---

Bisi Bele Bhath Masala Powder

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 5 mins
Makes: About ¾ cup
Shelf Life: 1-1½ months when stored in an air tight container and refrigerated
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium to Hot

---

Ingredients:
½ cup Desiccated Coconut (unsweetened variety)
½ - 1 tsp Black Peppers
¼ tsp Methi/Fenugreek Seeds
2 inches Cinnamon Stick
4 cloves
1 small Peanut sized Nutmeg
2 Mace (I didn’t have any)
2 tbsp Urad Dal/Split black Lentils
1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
10-12 Dry Red Chillies (I used combination of Byadagi and normal spicy ones for colour and heat)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
1½ tsp Coriander Seeds
½ tsp Turmeric Powder

Bisi Bele Bhath Masala Powder

Method:

Heat the pan and add all the ingredients except desiccated coconut and turmeric. Dry roast them on low heat till the lentils turn light golden brown in colour and the spices are aromatic. Transfer these roasted spices into a dry coffee grinder or mixer and wait till they are completely cooled.
Once cooled, mix in desiccated coconut and grind them to fine powder. Store this aromatic Bisi Bele Bhath Masala powder in a dry, air tight container and keep refrigerated and use as and when required. The shelf life of this powder is about one to one and half months.

Bisi Bele Bhath

Print This Recipe

---

Bisi Bele Bhath/Bisi Bele Huli Anna (Rice and Lentil medley cooked with mixed vegetables and roasted spice powder)

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 6-8
Recipe Source: Amma
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Raita or with Ghee & Papad/Chips

---

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice (I prefer Sona Masuri. You can also use Basmati rice)
1 cup Toor Dal/Red Lentils
4-6 cups Mixed Vegetables, cut into bite sized pieces (I used Carrots, French Beans, Green Peas, Cauliflower, Potato and Sweet Corn)
1 large Onion, thinly sliced
1 large Lime sized Tamarind Pulp, soaked in warm water and juice extracted (Adjust acc to taste)
1-2 tbsp Jaggery
2-3 tbsp (If using store bought) or ¼ - ½ cup Bisi Bele Bhath Masala (if using home made), adjust acc to taste
½ - 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
Few Cashew Nuts, roasted in little Ghee
Salt to taste
Little Ghee for serving

For Tadka:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils
1 tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
1-2 Dry Red Chillies, halved
2 springs of Curry Leaves
¼ - ½ tsp Hing
2-3 tbsp Oil or Ghee or combination of both

Method:

Although you can cook rice, lentils and vegetables together I follow my mom’s recipe where all three are cooked separately. Traditionally, rice, lentils and vegetables are cooked separately and then mixed together. I find cooking them separately gives it more taste than putting them all in one pot and cooking. I usually cook my rice in microwave and pressure cook vegetables and dal in two separate bowls. This works well for me. You can also mix vegetables with rice and cook them together and later mix them with cooked lentils.
Wash rice and lentils separately till water turns clear. Add 4 cups of water to rice and cook it in microwave bowl for 20 minutes. If using pressure cooker, then 2 whistles is enough.
Add 2-2 ½ cups of water to dal along with few drops of water and turmeric powder. Cook this dal in a pressure cooker along with vegetables (with little salt) for 2-3 whistles till lentils are cooked well. I usually add more water when cooking the vegetables as I like the veggies to be little mushy and blend well with rice and lentils. And the excess water from cooked vegetables is used in BBB for little runny texture.
While the rice, vegetables and lentils are cooked, make tamarind puree, bisi bele bhath powder, and slice the onions.
Once the dal is cooked mash it with a potato masher. Don’t worry if it is too watery. Keep mashed dal, cooked rice and vegetables aside till needed.
Heat oil or ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add urad dal, channa dal, hing, broken red chillies and curry leaves. Saute till lentils turn golden brown.
Next add sliced onions and sauté till they turn light golden brown in colour. Mix in mashed dal, tamarind juice, BBB masala powder and jaggery and bring them to gentle boil, about 3 mins.
Then add cooked rice and vegetables along with excess water and mix them well. Make sure that the BBB is runny by adding little more water if needed. Adjust the salt.
Mix in fried cashews and serve piping hot with little Ghee and papad/chips and cold Raita and enjoy this heavenly bowl of goodness.

You can serve any type of Raita or just plain yogurt with BBB. But my favourite Raita to be served along BBB is Aloo/Potato Raita. It is refreshing and unbelievably simple to make. Unlike most raitas, Potato Raita uses cooked vegetable and here it is boiled potatoes (obliviously!). The creamy yogurt gently mixed with this root vegetable along with sweet onion, hot green chillies and aromatic Tadka is one helluva of flavour explosion in mouth. And when served with hot BBB… Well, why don’t you try it for yourself and see!

Potato Raita

Print This Recipe

---

Potato/Aloo Raita

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Amma
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or flavoured/steam cooked rice

---

Ingredients:

1 large potato, cooked, peeled and cut into small pieces
½ -1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
1 small Green chilli, finely chopped (Optional)
Pinch of Red Chilli Powder, for garnishing
1 tsp coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 cups of Yogurt (mixed with ½-1 cup of water if it is too thick)
Salt to taste

For Tadka:
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli
Few Curry Leaves
Very small pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Oil

Method:

Mix in yogurt, cooked potato pieces, coriander leaves, chopped chilli, and salt to taste.
Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add hing, dry red chilli and curry leaves. Saute for few seconds and then transfer the Tadka to raita and mix well.
Chill the Potato Raita in fridge till required and serve it along BBB sprinkled with little chilli powder on top.

Continue Reading...

Pineapple Rasam to Tantalise your Taste Buds...

Pineapple Rasam

Rasams rule our dinner menu’s in winters and for that matter, even in summers. Gently steamed bowl of rice and a ladleful of spicy and tangy Rasam with crunchy Papadams top my comfort food category. This is a type of food which can lift your mood and sooth your spirit. This is a type of food that warms your heart and takes you down the wonderful memory lane.

Talking of Rasams or Saaru as we call in Kannada, you will be amazed to find hundreds of recipes of making it with different ingredients. While Tomato Rasam is my favourite one, Lemon, Coconut, Horse gram, Kokum etc are few more varieties of Rasams I enjoy quite often. Apart from these, there is one more Rasam that my Amma used to cook for us when she was short of time and ingredients. And that one is Pineapple Rasam which my mother had learnt from her sister.

My Chikkamma’s recipe of Pineapple Rasam is very simple, uses very few ingredients and quick to make. It is one of the best examples of using fruits in savoury recipes. I make it quite often when I am feeling bit too lazy to cook lentils and chop vegetables. Few cups of fresh or canned Pineapple cubes cooked along ginger and green chillies for spiciness, tamarind pulp for tingling sourness and jaggery or palm sugar for sweet note is a tingling sensation of three flavours to your taste buds. Addition of Rasam Powder makes this simple Rasam more flavoursome and redefines the simplicity in cooking. Yes, you don’t need basketful of ingredients and cup full of spices to cook something exciting and exotic. Just handful of ingredients and pinches of spices is enough to tantalise your senses and touch your soul.

Pineapple and Rasam Powder for Pineapple Rasam

Print This Recipe

---

Pineapple Rasam (Sweet, Sour and Spicy Pineapple Soup)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Chikkamma, my Aunt
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With steam cooked rice and papad

---

Ingredients:
2-3 cups Pineapple, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1-2 Green Chilli, slit (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Ginger, crushed and finely chopped
½ - 1 tbsp Rasam Powder, homemade or store bought (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Tamarind Paste or 1 small marble sized Tamarind Pulp
½-1 tbsp Jaggery or Palm Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
5 Black Pepper Corns, crushed (Optional)
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tbsp Ghee or Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
Few Curry Leaves

Pineapple Rasam

Method:

Take 4 cups of water in a pan and add rasam powder, jaggery and tamarind extract to it. Bring this to gentle boil over medium heat.
Now add cubed pineapple pieces along with slit green chillies, ginger, turmeric powder, crushed peppercorns and salt to taste. Simmer the heat and cook it covered for 10 mins. Remove the lid and bring this rasam to a boil and cook it for another 2-3 mins.
Mean while heat ghee/oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, halved red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Roast the spices till they are fragrant, for about 1 minute.
Transfer the tadka/tempering to the rasam.
Add finely chopped coriander leaves and cover the pan and let it rest for 5 more minute for all the flavours to blend well. Serve hot with steam cooked white rice and Papadams and enjoy.

---

Notes:

• Sometimes I add a cup of cooked dal water while making this Rasam.
• Puree a cupful of Pineapple cubes and add this juice while making the Rasam to get distinct pineapple flavour in gravy.
• Use Sambar Powder if you are out of Rasam Powder or skip using the Rasam Powder and add chilli powder, coriander powder and jeera powder in it's place.

On other note, my office work has kept me away from replying to your comments, mails and blog-hopping. Hopefully I should be able to post recipes and blog-hop regularly from next month. So friends, please bear with me for a while.
And do hop to dear Sailu's blog for my article on Exploring Udupi-Mangalorean Street Foods, part of her wonderful series of Indian Food Trail.

Continue Reading...

Banana Appam: Sweet Treats for Festival of Lights

Sweet Banana Appams

First and foremost,
Wishing you all a very happy Deepavali.
May this festival of lights bring happiness and prosperity to you and your loved ones.

I hope you all are having a wonderful time celebrating Diwali with your friends and family. As for us, it’s another working day with deadlines to meet and usual grind. So we are enjoying quite Diwali with long day at office and simple dal and rice for lunch and dinner :) These days by the time I reach home I feel physically and emotionally drained after staring long and hard at the jumble of codes on screen and breaking my head in trying to figure out that small bit of code responsible for creating havoc in the main system. No wonder I prefer to snuggle under the blanket with warm bowl of soup and toast than actually stand in front of stove for hours together cooking an elaborate meals for the festival. Ahem, it’s not like I used to cook elaborate meals before ;) No wonder weekends have become real luxuries for us and are spent either reading books or watching some movies and sleeping till noon. When it comes to kitchen part, we have been cooking very simple food these days and we have been cooking everything in bulk which lasts for 3-4 days. It helps a lot when you come home exhausted and want to eat some home cooked food immediately.

I had no plans of cooking anything for Diwali this time. But somehow I got caught with the festival spirit while I talked to my Amma, Atte and sister who were busy making their menu for this festival of lights. I made up my mind to make something as long as it doesn’t exceed half an hour of cooking time and first thing that came to my mind was the sweet Appams that my mother makes. Last summer during our short trip to India, I had purchased the non-stick Appam pan which I had tucked on top shelf and it has been acquiring dust since then. With in a minute I washed and soaked two cups of rice in water for an hour and went on to finish few chapters from the novel I was reading. Then it was just the matter of using two poor looking bananas which were on the last stage of their life, a cup of powdered jaggery, few pinches of cardamoms to ground rice paste and voila, the smooth batter for Banana Appams was ready with in few minutes. With small ladle of batter poured on every hole of appam pan with a touch of Ghee for flavour, I was left with two dozens of small, sweet Banana Appams to enjoy for this Diwali. The aroma of sweet jaggery, bananas and cardamom wafting from my kitchen sure made me feel festive and transported me back to my home back in India. And off this goes to four events, Sweet Vegan hosted by Vaishali where Ghee can be substituted with oil, JFI-Festival Treats guest hosted by dear Valli, Sweet Celebrations at Aparna’s space where she is celebrating her first blog anniversary and WYF-Party Foods hosted by EC.

Sweet Banana Appams

Print This Recipe

---

Banana Appams (Sweet Rice Cakes with Banana, Jaggery and Cardamom)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Makes: 20-25 small Appams

---

Ingredients:
2 cups Rice, washed and soaked in water for 1-2 hours
1 cup Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
½ cup fresh/frozen Coconut
½ tsp Green Cardamom Powder
2 very ripe Bananas, peeled and roughly chopped
A pinch of Salt
Little Oil or Ghee

Sweet Banana Appams

Method:

Grind rice to smooth paste adding very little water in which it is soaked. Now add jaggery, grated coconut, bananas and cardamom powder, pinch of salt and pulse the mixer till all the ingredients blend well.
Let this batter rest for at least 15 minutes for all the flavours to blend well before you proceed to next step.
Now either you can deep fry or use Appam pan to make these Banana Appams. If using Appam pan, grease the Appam pan with little ghee and heat it on medium flame.
Pour the batter into each hole and cover the pan with a lid and let it cook on low-medium heat on both sides till it turns golden brown and cooked through.
Serve it hot with any spicy Chutney or hot Tomato Ketchup or as it is and enjoy.

Sweet Banana Appams

---

Notes:

If deep frying, make sure the paste is thicker. And if using Appam pan, the batter can be little thinner, of pancake consistency.
I used non-stick Appam pan and it hardly required any oil of ghee due to coconut used which releases its natural oil when cooked. If using iron pan, make sure that you grease it properly.

Continue Reading...

Banana Blossom Patrode: Try Something New and Delicious!

Banana Blossom Patrode

Mangaloreans love two things, one coconut and another curry leaves. Between these two there is another vegetable/fruit which is indispensable to us and it's plantain or banana. Most of the houses in South Canara, even with small garden, will have one coconut tree and a banana tree along with wildly grown Curry plant swinging to cool evening breeze. I grew up with three banana plants in the backyard and hundreds of them in our estate. So it is no surprise that I have tasted almost everything cooked from its stem, fruit and even its flower/blossom using banana leaves as organic and bio-degradable plates.

I have had tasted many recipes using Banana Blossoms ranging from simple stir-fries to delicious Chutneys cooked by my Amma, aunts and Ajji. Our recent summer trip to India I was first time introduced one very novel dish by my mother in law and that dish is Banana Blossom Patrode. Last year during casual chat with my MIL she mentioned about making Patrode/Patra using Banana Blossom and like any foodie I was totally intrigued and couldn’t wait to try it. In spite of being really busy with the last minute wedding preparation of my BIL’s, my Atte managed to cook this for me. And to my surprise it turned out to be one of the very best foods I have ever tasted. I have been craving for this Patrode ever since we came back from India but never got around to make this as Banana Blossom is not easily available at my neck of woods and I was not very sure if I will be able to manage chop them in a right way and cook without any problem.

During our recent trip to down under (nope, not Aussie ;) I couldn’t resist from buying two banana blossoms in hope of making patrode. And boy, did I manage to cook it beautifully or what!!! Traditionally Patrode is made using Taro/Colacasia Leaves by spreading spicy paste on their surface, rolling and then cooked to perfection using a steamer. Same spicy batter is used here but banana blossom is used in place of taro leaves and no rolling is involved. This was the first time I have ever used Banana Blossom in cooking without any help from my mother or MIL and I was really proud with the end result. Except for laborious cleaning and chopping of banana blossom, this is really a very simple recipe and can be cooked very quickly. To top it all, it can be simply stored in a freezer for months together. Banana Blossom Patrode is spicy with mild note of sweet and tanginess from dry red chillies, tamarind, coconut and jaggery used; a taste which is hard to resist and even harder to forget. Without further delay let me give you step by step instructions on how to make Banana Blossom Patrode and please make sure that you go through the instructions carefully before cooking it. I am sening it to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging guest hosted by Zorra & initiated by dear Kalyn.

Banana Blossom & Florets

Print This Recipe

---

Banana Blossom Patrode (Steam cooked & Pan fried Spicy Rice Cakes made using Banana Blossoms)

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooing Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: MIL

---

Ingredients:
1 Banana Blossom
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Oil, preferably Coconut Oil
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
10-12 Curry Leaves, finely chopped

Grind to thick Batter (Dosa batter consistency):
2 cups Rice, washed and soaked overnight for about 8-10 hrs
½ packed cup Coconut, fresh/frozen/dried
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
½ -¾ tbsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Medium lime sized Tamarind Pulp (Adjust acc to taste)
6-8 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
1 inch cube Jaggery
Salt to taste

Banana Blossom Patrode- Before Steaming

Method:

Drain water from rice and grind it to smooth batter by adding water and all the ingredients listed above. Make sure that you have little thick batter than that of dosa batter consistency. Adjust tamarind, chillies and jaggery according to your preference.
Now comes the little tricky bit of chopping the banana flower. First apply 1 tbsp of coconut oil to your palm and rub well. Applying oil to your palms help in preventing the sticky sap oozing from banana blossom to your hand which leaves nasty black colour for few days. Remove the outer tougher covering and discard, around 2-4 outer tough skins. In my case I had to remove two outer skins. Don’t discard the florets. Now chop this banana flower and florets into very fine pieces.
Usually these chopped pieces are soaked in very sour butter milk to prevent from discolouring. In spite of doing so it discolours to some extent. So you can simply skip this step as we will be mixing them in the prepared batter.
Add 2-3 tbsp of Coconut oil and mix them well. This way you can easily separate layers which otherwise would be sticking to one another.
Now add this chopped banana flower, finely chopped onion, turmeric and chopped curry leaves to the ground batter and mix well.
Here comes the important step of steaming. You can either use usual Idli stand or flat bottomed vessel and steam cook them in a streamer or pressure cooker without putting its weight. Or another best way is to wrap it in banana leaves and steam cook it, same way as Genasale. I have used Tatte-Idli Stand. Grease the plates with oil and pour the batter with ladle into each plate. Place each plate back in the stand and steam cook in pressure cook or Idli steamer or Steamer for about 20-30 minutes till cooked properly.
Let it cool for 5 minutes before opening the lid. Remove cooked Patrode from plates and cut them into desired shapes. You can serve it with Ghee/Coconut oil or proceed to next step.
Heat tawa/griddle and place cut Patrode pieces on it. Add a tsp of Oil/Ghee for each piece and cook on both the sides for about 2 minutes till nice brown spots starts to appear on the surface.
Serve it immediately with or without any chutney or plain tomato ketchup and enjoy. It tastes best when roasted with Ghee/Coconut Oil.

Banana Blossom Patrode- After Steam cooked and Pan fried

---

Notes:

Banana Blossom or Banana Heart grows on the end of long stem holding cluster of Bananas and this deep cherry red blossom is id considered as one of the delicacy in southern Indian states, both when cooked or eaten raw. Banana blossom has layers of tightly packed reddish flaps which wrap around rows of creamy florets with black stigma. Usually this black, hard stigma and transparent covering on every floret is removed as they are difficult to cook. I skipped this step as the steaming process helps in cooking them thoroughly. You can go ahead and remove them or just leave them as they are.
Try to stick to the amount of Tamarind and Jaggery used as they helps in mellowing the bitter taste of Banana Blossoms and spicy red chillies. If using old tamarind, reduce the quantity by ¾ th of the original quantity.
To steam cook, add about water depending on the size of pressure cooker you use. In my case I had to add about 2½ cups of water (about 1½-2 inches). Place the Idli stand and cover the lid without putting its weight and steam cook for about 20-30 mins.
The left over Patrode pieces can be stored in zip lock bag once they are completely cooled and can be frozen for about 1-2 months in freezer. When needed heat then in microwave (don’t thaw) and then roast them on tawa with ghee/oil and serve.

Continue Reading...

Dudhi-Aloo Masala: What's Your Favourite?

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

6 months back: Mushrooms
4 months back: Bell Peppers
2 months back: Baby Corns
A month back: Fenugreek Leaves
At present: Dudhi/Sorekai/Bottle Gourd

Well, these were the vegetables which ruled our kitchen in the past few months. As I have a short span of memory, I can’t think beyond 6 months as which vegetables played centre role in everyday cooking. You see there is nothing normal in our household, ahem, except us if we can say so;) If we are to fall hard for particular vegetable, we end up cooking it almost day and night till we are tired of it. This obsession of our lasts at the maximum for 2 months and then again we fall in love with some other vegetable and the saga continues.

Our latest obsession is Bottle Gourd and poor gourd is undergoing various operations in our lab, err, kitchen for the past 2 months. Curry, stuffed, fried, chutney, dessert etc etc… you name it and we have tried them all and we are still in love with this unpretentious squash. What I love about this veggie is the way in which it simply compliments and blends with any other vegetable or lentils or spices and yet leaves lasting impression on your taste buds.

This time I decided to pair Dudhi with very much loved Tuber and cook in very delicious tomato gravy. Not wanting to cook with usual Garam Masala, I opted for Sambar Powder giving it a Southern Indian make-over. And it turned out to be one of the most delicious curries I have ever made. I chose to cook it in a pressure cooker to save energy as well as time and within no time this curry was ready to serve with Chapatti out from freezer. Make it in a large quantity as it tastes best on the next day when all the flavours blend well. Cook it little or more but cook for sure as this is one simple yet delicious treat which sure to please you and your loved ones. Off this goes to Lore’s Original Recipe event where she invites the bloggers to send your own creations.

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

Print This Recipe

---

Dudhi-Aloo Masala (Bottle Gourd & Potatoes simmered in tangy Tomato Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6

---

Ingredients:
1 medium Bottle Gourd/Sorekai/Lauki, peeled, deseeded and diced into 1 inch cubes
2 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 can chopped Tomato/3 large Tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped
2-3 Garlic Cloves, finely sliced
1-2 tbsp Sambar Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering/Tadka:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil

Dudhi-Aloo Masala

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds. When it starts to pop and splutter add cumin seeds, dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté on medium flame till jeera turns light brown.
Now add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion turns light golden brown, about 3 mins.
Mix in sambar powder and sauté it for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns pulpy, about 3 mins.
Add 3-4 cups of water, turmeric powder, jaggery, chilli powder and tamarind paste. Increase the heat and bring the water to boil, about 3 minutes.
Mix in cubed potatoes and bottle gourd and reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 12-15 minutes or 2 whistles till the vegetables are cooked to tender.
Once the pressure is released, open the lid and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with Poori, Chapatti or steamed Rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

---

Notes:

Substitute Sambar Powder with 1- 1½ tsp Garam Masala for different flavour.
Same way, you can also substitute Tamarind with Amchur/Dry Mango Powder.
Replace Bottle Gourd with Zucchini/Courgette or Yellow Cucumber or any other Squash for different taste.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, make sure that you use cooked potatoes instead of directly adding raw one as cooked ones will reduce the time in cooking. And also make sure you chop the vegetables to bite sized pieces for fast cooking.
This curry tastes superb the next day. So make sure you have cooked enough to have it on next day.

Continue Reading...

Serving Crazy with Lauki & Kala Channa Curry

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

Have you read Amulya Malladi’s “Serving Crazy with Curry”? It is a story of protagonist, Devi, who is fired from her job at Silicon Valley and is suffering from a miscarriage. Tired with the way her life is leading Devi attempts to commit suicide and consequently is brought to her parents' home to recuperate and be looked after. The novel describes the tensions and frustrations, triumphs and tribulations within Veturi family. What happens next is nothing less of a Bollywood movie. After moving to her parents home Devi refuses to talk with anyone and channels all her emotions into cooking elaborate meals. She sprinkles more chilli when she is angry, cook sour food when she is sad and she churns sweets when she is happy. She uses unusual ingredients, as in non-traditionally Indian ones and yet succeeds in cooking extraordinary dishes that pleasantly surprises her family. What happens in the end is something you need to read yourself.

Although I am not much impressed with the novel, I enjoyed reading Devi’s bold character when she takes in charge of kitchen and starts to appreciate her mother who otherwise was portrayed by her as nosy, intrusive and Desi inspite of spending half of her life in other part of the globe. It is Devi’s cooking which prompts her family to initiate honest conversation with one another making them closer than ever before. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in reading something different and the bonus is every chapter ends with Devi’s culinary creations.

Few days back I was in a mood to create my own curry instead of following some recipe book or something which we had already tasted. The result was this delicious Lauki-Kala Channa Curry. Instead of adding cubed Bottle Gourds to curry base and cooking it, I sliced them to half-moon discs and pan fried them in batches till they turned golden brown. Then I simmered them in tangy and spicy tomato gravy till they were cooked to perfection. Don’t be shocked to see unusual use of ingredients like Curry leaves used in almost all the South Indian recipes and Kasuri Methi which adds extra flavour for any North Indian dish. And there are also tamarind, jaggery and garam masala. I used Kala Channa to much loved Kabuli Channa as I like its rustic and earthy flavour and it beautifully complimented the Bottle Gourd. But what I loved the most is the way in which all these ingredients blend together harmoniously and deliver extraordinary taste which tickled our taste buds. There is nothing like feeling of ecstasy when you create something from scratch and it is much appreciated and loved by your loved ones. Pure bliss!
This recipe is on its way to Lore's Original Recipe event.

Print This Recipe

---

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry (Bottle gourd and Black chickpeas cooked in spicy and tangy Tomato gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6

---

Ingredients:
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 medium Bottle Gourd (approx 4-5 cups)
1 can Black Chickpeas or 1 cup Dry Black Chickpeas cooked in pressure cooker
1 large Potato, cooked, peeled and roughly mashed
1 can Chopped Tomatoes or 3 Large Tomatoes, pureed
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional but recommended)
½ tbsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar (to balance the tartness of Tomatoes)
1 tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Kashmiri/Deghi Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Few Fresh Curry Leaves

Bottle Gours, Kala Channa & Tomatoes

Bottle Gourd Slices -Before & After Pan Frying

Method:

Trim the ends of Dudhi/Lauki/bottle gourd and peel it with a vegetable peeler. Slit it length-wise in middle so that you are left with two long pieces. With a help of a spoon, scoop out the seeds and the surrounding spongy mass carefully so that you are left with two dudhi ‘boats’. I left the seeds as they were very tender. Cut them into 1 cm slices as shown in the picture.
Heat a tbsp of oil in a flat pan and arrange bottle gourd slices so that they fir in single layer. Cook them on both the sides till they turn golden brown in colour and place them in a kitchen towel till required. Do it in batches so that you have evenly fried bottle gourd pieces. This step is purely optional. Skip this step if you wish.
Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add hing, cumin and curry leaves. Sauté it on medium flame till cumin starts to brown, about 30 seconds.
Mix in finely chopped onion and sauté it on medium flame till it turns golden brown, about 2 mins. Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, kasuri methi and garam masala and sauté it on low flame for about 30 seconds.
Pour in pureed tomatoes and mix well. Add jaggery and tamarind and mix well. Cook this at medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add cooked kala channa, fried dudhi and mashed potatoes and mix well. Mix in salt to taste and add about cup of water. Simmer and cook the curry, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 mins till dudhi is cooked properly and flavours blend well.
Serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander leaves if desired, with Chapatti or Rice and enjoy. Tastes better the next day.

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

---

Reminder for JFI-Soya:

I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

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

P.S: I will be away for next 5 days on short break to make most of the last remaining bits of British Summer and hence will not be able to respond to your e-mails and queries. I will get back to you as soon as we come back from holidays.
Till then, Happy Cooking and Blogging :)

Cheers
Sia

Continue Reading...

Cooking with Love: Huli-Menasina Kodhel

Huli-Menasina Kodhel

Ajji, my paternal grandma was the most beautiful lady I have had ever seen. Whenever I think of her, the aroma of fragrant Jasmine wafts away which she would wear on her scented oiled hair combed back in a knotted bun. Most of the times she was seen wearing silk sarees with half a dozen of green and red glass bangles in between lovely gold bangles. While the brightest of bright shade of Kumkum on her forehead always reminded me of bright shining sun, the sparkling diamond studs on her ears and nose reminded me of twinkling stars. Her eyes heavily lined with Kaadige (Kohl/Kajal) would twinkle with all the love and kindness and her beautiful smile would spread warmth in our heart. No wonder my Ajja (paternal Grandfather) fell in love with her the moment he met her when he was just 20 and she was at tender age of 16. Amma always would recall how much they were in love even after 50 years of marriage when she joined our large joint family as third daughter-in-law and she was warmly welcomed as a daughter by her in laws.

Although I don’t remember much about my Ajji, as I was just 5 years old when she left this world, I do remember two things as clearly as if it was only yesterday, one is my Ajji’s cooking and second is every weekend oil bathing sessions. Unlike these days, bathrooms were separate from main house building. We had this huge bathroom built with thick red mud walls and thatched roofs at some distance from the main house. The sun light coming from small wooden windows would compete with the sparkling lights from kerosene lamps. Outside the bathroom there was big granite stone stand used for washing the cloths. The other side of the bathroom had a huge water well which was used for washing and bathing. The bathroom floor was made of thick, rough, unpolished granite stone and had thatched grass roof with wooden beams. At one corner of the bathroom was this huge (I mean really huge) Copper pot fitted to thick mud wood-burning stove and only the mouth of this round pot was visible from outside. Gallons of water filled to the brim from water well next to the bathroom was heated from the bottom by burning the wood which would make the dark bathroom steamy and smoky and lightly aromatic.

Although we had dozens of domestic helps and maids at home, Ajji would never leave a chance to give us the oil bath every weekend. First she would change from her silk saree to light cotton one. She would apply warm scented oil on our body and hair and give a thorough massage for at least half an hour starting from head to toe. I would always doze off by this time. Then she would take us to steaming bathroom and make us sit on wooden stool. First she would wash our hair with natural herbal shampoo made using Shikakai and then apply herbal conditioner made from Dasavala (Hibiscus) flowers and leaves. Then she would wash off the oil with a mixture of Gram flour and water rubbing vigorously. By this time we would be content and half asleep. After towelling us dry she would take us to main house to our recreational room on first floor of the house to dry our hair with the Saambhrani Dhoop (Dry leaves of Sambhrani being sprinkled on burning coal in a large clay container and is covered with cane basket). This aromatic, warm smoke of Sambhrani would slowly dry our hair so that we wouldn't catch cold.

And then came our weekend lunch time. Green plantain leaves would look like some artist’s palette with colourful dishes adorning them from top to bottom with every kid’s favourite dishes. After a heavy lunch cooked by our Amma, Aunties and Ajji, there was no way we could keep our eyes open. With heavy eyelids we would straight get into our kids room and I bet our mother’s would have been happy to see us naughty ones to doze off leaving them enough free time to take nap in the afternoon. Even today I just have to close my eyes to see my Ajji smiling at us, ready with platter full of munchies when we would get up from our nap and ready to go out for playing. Memories of her face, her smile, her soft, wrinkled hands, her bright, sparkling eyes, her perfume, our weekend oil baths, and her delicious food is very fresh in my heart.

One of my favourite food memories from my Ajji’s kitchen is Huli-Menasina Kodhel. It’s a typical Udupi-Managalorean curry made using very few ingredients and its one of the finest example as how simple food cooked with very few ingredients can taste utterly delicious. While Byadagi Menasu gives that fiery red colour with kick of spiciness, tamarind gives it much needed tang. Coconut and Jaggery makes it creamy, a hint of sweetness and pungent Garlic tadka takes it to another level of taste. Huli-Menasina Kodhel is usually made using Yellow Cucumber or Tindora/Tondekai or combination of both and is a very special dish for me, from my native. Coming from a Brahmin family who followed very strict vegetarian diet, we kids would imagine that Tondekai/Tindora as fish and annoy our elders. Ajji would laugh at our wild imaginations and made sure to cook this Kodhel during weekends for our pleasure. Even now when I cook this Kodhel, I can’t help but think of my blissful childhood days with dozens of cousins. I am sending this special dish to this month’s Jihva for Love which is guest hosted by Jigyasa and Pratibha who have started this beautiful blog A Tribute to Pedatha.

Print This Recipe

---

Huli Menasina Kodhel (Mangalorean Recipe for Tindoras cooked in Coconut, Tamarind and Chilli Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 5-6

---

Ingredients:

5-6 cups Tindora/Tondekai, trimmed and halved
1 tbsp Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For Ground Masala:
4-6 Dry Red Chilli, preferably Bydagi/Kashmiri Chilli (Adjust acc to taste)
1 big marble sized Tamarind Pulp
¾ -1 cup Coconut, fresh/frozen
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds

For Tempering:
6-8 Garlic Cloves, sliced
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
Few Curry leaves
½ tbsp Oil, preferably Coconut Oil

Tindora/Tondekai

Method:
Take a pan with 3-4 cups of water and bring them to gentle boil. Meanwhile, wash, dry and trim the ends of tindora and halve them horizontally.
Add these tindora pieces into boiling water along with jaggery, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook uncovered on a medium flame for around 10-15 minutes till they are half cooked.
Grind coconut with tamarind, dry red byadagi chillies and cumin seeds to smooth water adding little water at time.
Add this ground paste to cooked tindora and mix well. Cook on a medium to low heat for about 10-15 minutes and bring the curry to gentle boil and turn of the heat. Adjust the seasoning as per taste.
Heat oil in a pan and add garlic slices to it. Sauté till garlic turns golden yellow in colour. Add mustard seeds, dry red chilli and curry leaves and sauté. Once the mustard seeds starts to pop and splutter transfer the tempering to Kodhel and mix well.
Serve this Huli-Menasina Kodhel with steamed rice or Dosa or Idli and enjoy.

Huli-Menasina Kodhel

---

Note:

The bright red beautiful colour of the curry is due to special type of Chilli used called Byadagi Chillies. They are milder in compared to other chillies and gives beautiful red colour to the curry.
Use Dosekai/Yello Cucumber in place of Tindora or mix both the vegetables in equal quantity and follow the same recipe.
Garlic is a must for this Kodhel as it gives Kodhel wonderful flavour.

Continue Reading...

Cooking with the Queen: Bendekai Gojju

Bendekai Gojju

Ladies Finger… such an elegant name for Okra/Bhindi. Considered as the queen of vegetables with its slender shape and crown on top, it is one of my favourite vegetable to cook with. Not many people prefer it because of its sliminess. When cut into pieces this queen likes to cling to anything it touches, knife, chopping board, your fingers. Well, no wonder that it’s not everyone’s favourite vegetable to deal with, especially the person who is in charge of the kitchen. Who would really want to deal with this slimy vegetable when you have so many other wonderful vegetables to choose from? It will be me and millions others like me who simply love this vegetables in spite of its clinging nature. The reason behind this is the taste which lingers for long hours. Okra is one vegetable that absorbs all the wonderful flavours of spices and transforms into smooth, silky in texture and unbelievable taste still maintaining its crisp crunch. When cooked to perfection, you will not hear any grumblings or see that ugly frowns or much of resistance from the same people who just moments ago were not very fond of it.

One such dish which undoubtedly is loved by most people is Bendekai/Bhindi/Okra Gojju. Gojju is a classic Kannadiga dish cooked for everyday meal. The recipe varies from one part of the state to another and hence don’t be surprised if you come across other recipes using whole different ingredients and cooking style. This is my Aunt’s recipe which is different from the way my Amma makes it. Crisp, fried okra is simmered in the delicious gravy of tamarind, coconut, jaggary and chilli is everything one can ask for.

Is it spicy? Yes, it is.
Is it sour? Yes, it is.
Is it sweet? Yes, it is.
And is it delicious? You bet…

I am posting this recipe for Archana, one of the readers of Monsoon Spice who wants to introduce Bendekai/Bendekaayi Gojju to her hubby. Archana, I hope you both enjoy this Gojju.

Print This Recipe

---

Bendekai Gojju (Okra/Bhindi in Tangy & Spicy Coconut Gravy)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-5

---

Ingredients:

15-20 tender Okra/Bhindi
2 Green Chillies, slit (Adjust acc to taste)
1 lemon sized Tamarind Pulp/1 tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust acc to taste)
1 lemon sized Jaggary (Adjust acc to taste)
¾ cups Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
1 tbsp Oil

For Spice Powder:
4-6 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Black Peppercorns (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal
½ tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram
A big Pinch of Methi Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida

For Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
A big pinch Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp Oil

Ground Spice Powder for Gojju

Method:
Wash the Okra and dry thoroughly using a clean dry cloth. Make sure that all the moisture is removed. This is important step when using Okra in cooking to reduce its sliminess. Once they are dried, cut them into ½ inch rounds using dry knife and keep them aside.
Soak tamarind pulp in a cup of warm water for about 10 mins. Squeeze out the tamarind pulp and discard the seeds. Keep this squeezed tamarind puree aside.
Dry roast all the spices listed, from dry red chillies to hing on a low flame till they are lightly browned. Takes about 2-4 mins of time. Cool the spices and grind them to smooth paste with coconut adding very little water.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when it is hot add cut okras. Sauté them continuously at medium to high flame till okra turns brown and retains its crispiness. Usually it takes around 5-7 mins.
Once the okras have turns crisp and brown, add tamarind puree, slit chillies if using and mix well. Add about 1 cup of water, salt and jaggary and let it simmer for about 3-4 mins.
Now add ground paste and mix well. Depending on the required consistency of gravy add water and mix well. Cook uncovered on a medium to low heat for about 5-10 mins till all the flavours blend well and small bubbles start to appear.
Remove Gojju from flame. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When mustard starts to pop and splutter transfer this tadka/tempering into Gojju and mix well. Cover and let it sit for about 10 mins for the flavours to blend well.
Serve this tangy, sweet and spicy Bendekai Gojju with plain steamed white rice and enjoy. You can serve this hot or cold depending on your preference.

Roasted Spices for Gojju

---

Note:

Beginners, always remember not to wash the okra once it is cut into pieces (been there, done that).
To reduce the sliminess of Okra, clean the knife and cutting board in between with kitchen towel or napkin.
Stir fry okra at medium to high temperature till it turns brown and crisp. This way the okra will not be gooey with slime.
When using frozen Okra, thaw and wipe it using kitchen towel. Preheat the oven at around 250 deg C. Line the baking tray with baking sheet or simply spray it with cooking spray. Spread it on a baking tray in single layer and bake it for about 5-10 minutes. I picked this tip from here and it works very well.

Continue Reading...

Bitter Love: Bitter Gourd Saaru & Chips

Bitter Gourd Marinated in Salt

Bitter gourd, either you love it or hate it. I have seen many people who initially hated this bitter, odd looking vegetable and lately fall in love with it. It takes many meals over years to develop a taste for Hagalakai, as we call it. But there are some who still don't seem to come in terms with this vegetable even after they have had upgraded their wardrobe from sneakers to tailor-made pants;) Unlike my siblings, who are still struggling to acquire taste for this vegetable, I have grown up appreciating its rich bitter and pungent flavour for some strange reasons which are unknown to me. I was always a picky eater as a kid and my love for this bitter vegetable was unsolved mystery to my parents. Every fortnight my Amma made it a point to cook some bitter vegetables and bitter gourd always topped the list. We always had bumper crop of bitter gourd growing in backyard and hence there was no chance of Appa pretending to have amnesia when asked to buy them. The vegetable is reported to be a blood purifier, digestion enhancer and stimulating agent of liver. And now when your read how good Bitter Gourd is for your health, all grown-up and mature ME (!!!???) can’t ignore it right? No fat chance!

When my sister and brother would run a mile at the bare mention of this vegetable, I would happily lick my plate clean whenever Amma made Bitter Gourd dish. One such recipe from my mother’s large collection is Hagalakai Saaru, roughly translated as Bitter Gourd Rasam where bitter taste of Bitter Gourd is lightly concealed with the sweet Jaggary, sour Tamarind and spicy blend of spices. This mixture of five flavours- bitter, sweet, sour, salty and spicy defines the taste of life in a bowl. I love to eat this lightly bitter, spicy, tangy, sweet Saaru with aromatic Basmati rice with a dollop of Ghee and Tender Mango Pickle.

Print This Recipe

---

Bitter Gourd Saaru
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-5

---

Ingredients:
2 medium Bitter Gourd
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
½ tbsp Garlic, finely chopped (Optional)
2 Green Chilli, slit
½ inch Ginger, crushed and chopped
1 small Lime sized Tamarind
1-2 tbsp Jaggery (Adjust acc to taste)
½ - 1 tbsp Rasam Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Chilli Powder (Optional)
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Oil

Bitter Gourd Saaru

Method:
Cut thin round slices of bitter gourd, about 1 packed cup, and add little salt to it. Mix well and keep it aside for at least 30 mins. This way the bitter taste of bitter gourd will be released from them.
After 30 minutes or so squeeze as much of water as possible from these bitter gourd slices. Wash them with cold water and drain and keep aside.
Mean while, soak tamarind in hot water for about 10 minutes and extract its juice and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add halved dry red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for few seconds.
Mix chopped onion, garlic and sauté on medium flame till they leave raw smell and lightly browned.
Add slit green chillies, bitter gourd slices, ginger and mix well. Keep sautéing for about 5 minutes till bitter gourd turns light brown.
Mix in tamarind juice, about 1 cup of water, jaggery, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to gentle boil at medium flame.
If required add more water and add rasam powder and red chilli powder. Check for the seasoning and make changes according to taste. Cook on a low to medium flame for another 5 minutes and bring it to boil.
Switch off the flame and add chopped coriander leaves. Cover and let it sit for about 10 mins for the flavours to blend well. Serve hot with steaming bowl of rice and pickle and enjoy this bitter goodness.

Another recipe I tried over weekend was Kay’s No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips. Being a bitter gourd fanatic I couldn’t resist trying this recipe which is not just simple to make but also uses very less oil and not much work is involved. I made little changes to the ingredients used and simply followed her recipe. Thank you Kay for this wonderful recipe. Try them to see how good they are.

Bitter Gourd Slices Marinated with Spices

Print This Recipe

---

No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

---

Ingredients:
2 Bitter Gourds
1-2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder (adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
Salt to taste

No Fry Bitter Gourd Chips

Method:
Slice bitter gourd to thin round slices using mandolin or knife.
Mix in oil, chilli powder, turmeric powder, amchur and salt and marinate for at least half an hour.
Pre-heat the oven at 375 F. Arrange the slices neatly in rows, on a foil covered baking tray and bake it in a middle rack of the oven for about 10 mins. Place the tray on top rack for 3-5 mins so that chips becomes crisp and brown or else broil them. Watch them closely and make sure that they don’t get burned.
That’s it. Serve bitter gourd chips with Rice and Rasam and enjoy.

Continue Reading...