Aloo Lobia & A Quick Note on RCI

Aloo Lobia

No rants, no ramblings, and none of my usual long posts today. All I want to share today is a quick recipe I created over the weekend.

Before I do that there is one more thing I want to mention quickly. It’s regarding RCI round-up. My initial plan was to post the round-up in first week of August. But due to heavy workload and some personal workload I haven’t had any time to sit and work on it. So my sincere apologies for the delay and I am hoping to post the round up in a week or two. Please bear with me this time! With over 80 entries, this edition of RCI-Udupi & Mangalore is going to be one bumper bonanza and I want to do full justice to it.

And now coming back to today’s recipe of Aloo Lobia, this recipe is something I came up during one busy weekend (yeah, even weekends are busy these days). I wanted to cook something good and comfort food as I was craving for some carbs by the end of the day after working non-stop. At that same time I didn’t want to spend more than 5 mins in front of a stove. One quick thinking and pairing black eyed peas and potato seemed like a good combination. And voila, it was better than good! An aromatic Tadka of cumin and curry leaves followed by cooking sweet onions and then a can of chopped tomatoes didn’t take more than few mins. By the time the ground spices were added and cooked along tomatoes, I was ready with cubed potatoes and rinsed black eyed peas. I literally dumped everything in a pressure cooker and left it cook on medium flame. While I stretched my feet with my favourite novel, the aroma of Aloo Lobia curry tickled my nose and then my stomach was giving all the signals for a delicious meal to look forward to. And it indeed turned out to be one delicious meal where I enjoyed this creamy Aloo Lobia with frozen chapattis and Krish enjoyed with Jeera Rice.

Black Eyed Peas, Potatoes & Tomatoes for Aloo Lobia

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Aloo Lobia (Spicy Potatoes and Black Eyed Peas Curry)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
3 medium Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
¾-1 cup Lobia/Black Eyed Peas/Alasande KaLu, washed and soaked in water till needed
1 large Onion, finely chopped
3 large/1 can Tomato, chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1-2 Green Chillies, slit
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
½-1 tbsp Jaggery/Palm Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
1 tbsp Sambar/Rasam Powder or use 1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp each Coriander & Cumin Powders
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2 springs Curry Leaves
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

Special Utensils:
A Pressure Cooker

Aloo Lobia

Method:
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, add hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for few seconds.
Add finely chopped onions and cook till they turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and fry for a minute.
Mix in chopped tomatoes or canned tomatoes and cook till they are pulpy and release their juice, about 3 minutes.
Add all the spice powders (sambar/rasam powder, coriander and cumin powder and turmeric powder) along with tamarind paste, jaggery and salt to taste and mix well. Cook on medium heat for a minute.
Now add 3-4 cups of boiling water and bring the whole mixture to gentle boil, about 3 minutes.
Mix in cubed potatoes and soaked black eyed peas and cover the lid. Place the weight on lid and cook for 2-3 whistles or 12-15 minutes on medium flame. Let the pressure be released completely before opening the lid.
Serve this delicious Aloo Lobia with any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice and enjoy!

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Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce: What is Your Current Obsession?

Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce

Regular readers of my blog will know how obsessed I can get over few things. Ever since I moved to this country, weather has been one of the biggest obsessions of my life. Surprisingly, I am not going to talk about weather today (there is no point in nagging and repeating same things, is it?). But I am going rant on my other obsession in my life! Yeah, you guessed it right. Let’s talk about food! (What you had in mind?;)

I easily get obsessed with one food item at time. If I am start liking one vegetable at one point, then I continue to cook and experiment with same vegetable till I really get tired of it! If one day I chop and cook them, next time you will find the grated form of that veggie. At one time I may stuff that vegetable with aromatic spices and other time I may use it as a stuffing for some other vegetable. Sounds little crazy? Thankfully my ‘much’ better half is not a fussy eater and he doesn’t mind eating them as long as it tastes good!

Like vegetables or fruits, these days I am obsessed with ingredients and right now I am experimenting and dissecting Peanuts! Yes, good old peanuts. After using it in Capsicum Masala Rice and Rhengan Reveya, I seem to have fallen head over heels in love with Peanuts! And why not? They are good as they and get better when they are roasted! But trust me when I say they taste best when they are used as powder form in cooking! This simple looking guy transforms every dish into nutty and flavourful affair! And to prove that again I am presenting you Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce.

Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce

This Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce may look very imposing and complex dish! But trust me my friends, it is one of the easiest recipe that you can cook to impress your family and friends. I have used simple mashed potato spiced with aromatic spice powders as a filling for bell peppers. And the Peanut Sauce that we have here can be cooked by even the novice cook! Don’t shy away looking at the long ingredient list. If you look through them carefully, you will realise that the most of the ingredients used are easily and readily available. So what are you waiting for? Why not try this delicious spicy potato stuffed bell peppers served in delicious, nutty and creamy gravy of peanuts and see how your loved ones lick their plate clean? :) Well, now that you know about my current obsession, how about telling me yours? I am sending this delicious Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce to dear EC's WYF-Side Dish event.

Spicy Potato Stuffed Capsicum before cooking

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Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce (Spiced Potato Stuffed Capsicum in creamy Peanut Sauce)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-35 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or with flavoured/steam cooked Rice

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Ingredients:
For Stuffed Capsicum:
6 medium Bell Peppers/Capsicum
3 large Potatoes, washed, peeled, cooked and mashed well
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or Juice of ½ Limes
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds/Jeera
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
½ + 2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Peanut Sauce:
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
½ cup Roasted Peanut, ground to powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tbsp Lime Juice
½ tbsp Jaggery/Palm Sugar/Sugar
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce

Method:

For Stuffed Capsicum:
Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. Sauté till cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red. Add finely chopped onion and sauté till it turns translucent, about 2 mins, on medium flame. Add ginger-garlic paste and kasuri methi and sauté till raw smell disappears, about 2 mins.
Mix in mashed potatoes and all spice powder along with salt to taste and mix them well. Switch off the flame and let this potato mixture cool.
Cut top of capsicum, about 1 cm, and scoop out seeds and membrane so that you are left with capsicum cups for stuffing. Stuff each capsicum with potato filling.
Next heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and arrange capsicum in single layer. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium flame. Open the lid and turn the capsicum around so that it is cooked from all the sides. You will see that its skin is wilted and charred marks start to appear when cooked. Over all it will take 15-20 minutes to cook thoroughly on medium flame. Once cooked, keep it on aside on a plate lined with kitchen towel/paper.

For Peanut Gravy:
Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions. Sauté it on medium flame for about 2 minutes and then add ginger-garlic paste. Cook for another 2 minutes till raw smell of GG paste disappears.
Next add coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric powder and cook for half a minute. Add about 2 cups of boiling water and bring the whole mixture to gentle boil.
Mix in peanut power along with amchur, jaggery and salt to taste. Keep stirring till the gravy starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes. If you think the gravy is too thick, add about ½ cup of water.
Switch off the flame and arrange stuffed capsicums. Serve this delicious Stuffed Capsicum in Peanut Sauce, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves, with any Indian Flat Breads or flavoured Rice and enjoy!

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Rhengan Reveya: Rural, Rustic Charm!

Rhengan Reveya

Will it be called too much of bragging if I were to say I cook very mean Indian food?
Will it be called blowing your own horn, little too loudly perhaps, if I am to say I cook better than the chefs at well known Indian curry houses?
Will I be kicked out from the restaurant for asking the chefs to change their career because they failed to cook one decent pot of rice?
Err, will I be?

I think I am in trouble! Who am I kidding; I am in deep $h1t!!! It is becoming difficult for me not to compare the food served in Indian restaurants with the ones I make at home. Most the restaurants have standard vegetarian menu of Aloo Gobi, Aloo Palak, Palak Paneer, Paneer Makhani, Channa Masala, Malai Kofta and some lentil dishes. And I cook all these at home with less oil, less fat and more flavour! Over 3 years of testing and experimenting in my small 10X8 feet kitchen, I feel I can give good competition when it comes to making most of the Indian foods served in restaurants. And there are times when I can’t help but compare the food they serve and feel I cook better than that! I am my worst critic and yet I feel this way. You have no idea how miserable I feel when faced with situations like this where I end up twisting my nose and giving lectures as what is missing or what went wrong with that bowl of food!

The problem is food menu in any restaurants is limited few items which anyone can cook better at home provided you have right ingredients and know how to use them. We can’t blame westerners if they think that Indian cuisine begins and ends with ‘Curry’. Think about it! One country, more than forty languages, over 1500 dialects, hundreds of festivals, 28 states and 7 union territories and yet first thing that comes to mind when you talk of Indian food is ‘Curry’! It can’t get more ironic than this, can it?

India is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi ethnic society as you will find that every state with its own traditions, culture, lifestyle, and food is no exception. Then why limit your menu to just handful of things? It’s not like people like only those foods. I am sure they will enjoy tasting different regional cooking that not only tastes wonderful but also healthier. I have seen my western friends relishing simple lemon rice and mango rice with raitas. I have seen that content look on their face when they are served fluffy and soft Idli with coconut chutney. And it didn’t take long for them to fall in love with lightly spiced Kichidi when served with pickle, yogurt and papads. Yes, if given choice and chance I am sure that everyone will enjoy discovering regional cuisines of India.

Among so many curry houses, we have very few favourites who have unique food items listed in their menu. One among them is a small vegetarian Guajarati restaurant that serves authentic regional cuisine to its customers. This restaurant is run by family members of four and mother and daughter in law team is in charge of kitchen. This is the only restaurant that we visit almost every month for their simple yet delicious Gujarati Thai that has selection of one starter, two vegetarian sides with Pulkas, Dal with rice or Kichidi with Kadhi, roasted papad, and dessert (either plain or mango Shrikand). We have been visiting this place since one year yet we are not tired of eating same food! The main reason is it tastes more like home food prepared by someone who really cares for you. Yes, it’s like any food prepared by your mother or grandmother who keep in mind to cook food that not only tastes great but it is lot healthier and good for you. The food served there is simple, rustic and without any frills in a friendly environment with great service. I am really thrilled to find one restaurant that serves exceptional food at reasonable price and leave you feeling satisfied and content!!!

One such lovely food served there is Rhengan Reveya which is a simple and rustic stuffed baby aubergine and potato satay. When asked for the recipe, Kaushi, the mother in charge of kitchen, gave me this rough recipe of this traditional Gujarati dish which involves skilful marinating and stuffing of baby aubergine and potatoes with ground spices and peanuts. After few trial and errors I have successfully managed to create Rhengan Reveya that same tastes very close to what is cooked by dear Kaushi. Kaushi says you need lot of patience when it comes to master the art of creating a truly scrumptious dish of Rhengan Reveya, or any food for that matter, to bring out all the delicate flavours of a traditional satay marinade and follow the delicate cooking procedures involved in creating this magic! I totally agree with her!!! If you are looking for cooking and eating authentic, rustic and delicious Gujarati food then this recipe of Rhengan Reveya is definitely for you. Don’t get daunted by the long list of ingredients as it is really one simple dish that doesn’t take more than 20 minutes of your cooking time. I highly recommend this dish of Baby Aubergine and Potatoes if you love this king of vegetables for its amazing texture and phenomenal taste when cooked right!

Groud Peanuts & Spices for Stuffing

Stuffed Baby Eggplants & Potatoes for Rhengan Reveya

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Rhengan Reveya (Baby Aubergine and Potato Satay, rustic food from Gujarat)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: Kaushi
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner to Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or with flavoured/steam cooked Rice

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Ingredients:
8-10 Baby Purple Eggplants, washed, dried
8-10 Baby Potatoes or 2 medium Potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida

For the Stuffing & Marinating:
1/3 cup Roasted Peanuts, ground to fine powder
¾-1 tbsp Roasted Coriander Powder
½-¾ tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1-1½ tsp Red Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
1-2 tsp Sugar
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida (Optional)
1 inch Ginger, peeled and grated
3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Rhengan Reveya

Method:

Grind roasted peanuts to fine powder and transfer it into a mixing bowl. Mix in all dry spice powders one by one. Next add grated ginger, finely chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste and oil and mix them well. You will get a crumbling mixture. Keep it aside till needed.
Make ‘+’ marked slits ¾th way on baby eggplants keeping their stems intact. Stuff the eggplants with prepared mixture. Make sure that you don’t break the eggplants while stuffing. Once you have stuffed all the eggplants with mixture, add chopped potatoes to remaining stuffing and mix well so that potatoes are coated well. Mix eggplants with potatoes and keep them aside to marinate for 5-10 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, mix in stuffed eggplants and potatoes. Add about 1-1½ cups of boiling water and cover the lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook undisturbed for 5 mins.
Open the lid after 5 mins and gentle mix all the vegetables. Add little more water if needed and cover and cook again for 10-15 minutes, mixing in between, till both eggplants and potatoes are cooked though.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with steam cooked rice or Roties and enjoy this rustic, delicious Rhengan Reveya.

Rhengan Reveya

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Notes:

For this batch of Rhengan Reveya I went on to prepare freshly roasted and ground coriander and cumin powder and without any doubt they tasted amazing when combined with other ingredients for stuffing. So I would strongly recommend you to prepare fresh batch of coriander and cumin powder if you have enough time and see the whole world of difference it makes when it comes to flavour and aroma. Just lightly dry roast them on low heat for 1-2 minutes to bring out their heady aroma and grind them to fine powder once cooled completely.

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Creamy Aloo-Capsicum Curry: A Delicious Beginning

Creamy Aloo-Capsicum Curry

Happy new year everybody! I know I am albeit late in wishing and replying to all those lovely wishes through emails and comments but I guess it’s better late than never. So how did you all celebrate your new year?

I am sure your New Year celebration must have been much better than ours. You see waiting to board flight in airport and sitting in those not-so-comfortable metal chairs is not exactly the best way to say good bye to 2008 and welcome 2009. But that is life… Once in a while it is fine to accept the fact that things may not go the way you want them to be!

Actually it was not that bad as much as I want to portray it. The last day of 2008 was spent doing the things I love the most, with my family eating Gol Gappas and delicious Chaats on the streets of Namma Bengaluru. Is there a better way to say good bye to 2008? Nah… And we welcomed 2009 in a lovely café cum restaurant in all new and spunky Bengaluru International Airport by enjoying delicious bowl of Plum Tomato Soup and Grilled Mediterranean Vegetable Sandwich.

Coming to cooking part, I have not been cooking lately as much as I would like to due to lack of interest in cooking. I am blaming my mom and mom-in-law for spoiling me with delicious food everyday of our most enjoyable holiday. I am feeling kind of lost in my own kitchen here after 35 days of pampering. And coming back from 30+ degrees of glorious sunshine to -8 degrees of cold waves is not exactly lifting my mood. I would have gone hibernating happily for few more days if not for some threatening mails and messages from some of you to spam my mailbox and comment section which are already suffocating with overdose of spam messages! Nada, no chance of spamming me anymore :P

Although my blog draft is overflowing with last year’s recipes, I decided against posting them. Common, it’s New Year and I didn’t want to serve leftovers for my readers. So I cooked this delicious, creamy Aloo and Capsicum Curry following my Amma’s recipe which she had cooked for us when we were in India. The ingredients are the common ones that is used in almost all the curry recipes but the cooking technique is little different. And taste-wise it is totally different from the usual curries that I make often. Crunchy, sweet peppers and all time favourite spuds cooked in creamy gravy is a delight in every way and was perfect balm with Cumin/Jeera Rice to sooth my homesickness.

Creamy Aloo-Capsicum Curry

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Creamy Aloo-Capsicum Curry (Delicious, creamy and colourful curry of Potatoes and coloured Peppers)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: Amma

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Ingredients:
3 medium Potatoes, cooked, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 medium Peppers/Capsicums of any colour, cut into 1 inch squares
1 large/2 medium Onions, finely chopped
1 can chopped Tomatoes or 3 large and juicy Tomatoes, cubed
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
½ cup Coriander Leaves (including stems)
2 Green Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
6-8 Cashew Nuts
1 tsp Garam Masala (Adjust acc to taste)
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional but recommended)
1 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tbsp Lemon Juice (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Optional but recommended)
1 tsp Sugar
1½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Creamy Aloo-Capsicum Curry

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When it starts to sizzle and turn reddish brown, add finely chopped onions and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 3 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it cool slightly.
Grind half of sautéed onions, cubed tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chillies and cashew nuts to a smooth paste without adding any water.
Switch on the gas and add ginger garlic paste and kasuri methi to half of sautéed onions. Cook it for another 1-2 minutes till raw smell of the paste disappears.
Now add ground paste and cook on medium heat till oil separates from the paste and it becomes little dry, about 5-6 mins. Add garam masala, kitchen king masala, sugar and salt to taste and mix well.
Mix in 1½ cups of water along with chopped peppers and boiled and cubed potatoes. Reduce the heat and cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and adjust the seasonings and add little more water if needed.
Add finely chopped coriander leaves and cook for another 2-3 minutes till all the flavours blend well. Remember not to over cook the peppers and it tastes best when it just half cooked and retains its crunch.
Serve it hot with any flavoured rice or Indian flat breads and enjoy this creamy delight.

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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.

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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Care for Some Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat?!

Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat

Inside a small restaurant with double glazed window you will find a number of posters of Bollywood stars smiling at you. There are small granite tables with pickle and chutney trays on top and matching red velvet cushioned chairs. Large framed photograph of Guru Nanak is hung just above the cashier’s desk and a small table fan is rotating gently. The aroma of food being cooked inside the kitchen is intoxicating and people are busy savouring plates of Naans, Curries, Chaats, Indian sweets & Kebabs. Come out of the restaurant you will find women in colourful saris and salwar kameez, men wearing colourful turbans and kurtas, pavement food stalls selling Samosas, Chaats and Jalebi, small shops selling mobile phones and bright fabrics in rainbow colours hanging in shop fronts. Add to this the Bhangra music and sweet smell of incense and spices is in the air. Am I in India?

Welcome to Mini India in London a.k.a Southall. For one moment you will forget that you are in West London and feel you are walking on the streets of any Indian market. No one can be blamed for getting confused as you can hardly see any Goora face among all Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshis. Chandini Chowk, Apna Baazar, Garam Chai, Pooja Ghar, Jalebi Junction etc are the few of hundreds of Restaurants, Spice shops, Chat shops in Southall. It is a food Mecca for people like us staying away from home as the food smells and tastes very close to what we find back home. Ranging from south Indian Idli and Dosa served on Banana leaves to North Indian Chaats and Naans served on road side, you will find almost all the colour and flavours of India. So if you are visiting London, don’t miss our own Mini India.

Having eaten (read stuffed or hogged) varieties of Chaats till we could hardly move our sweet seats, surprisingly we were craving for more Chaat after we came back home. So we set to create same magic in our kitchen with something we could make very quickly. And thankfully we had made Chole for dinner two days back and we had enough quantity of 3 delicious chutneys (Spicy Red Chilli Chutney, Green Mint Chutney & Sweet Date-Tamarind Chutney) stocked from our previous weeks Chaat party. So we set to create Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat by making fresh batch of Aloo Tikkis. I made Tikkis with just boiled potatoes and few spices and with in no time hot, sweet and spicy batch of Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat were ready to please our taste buds. If preparing every thing from scratch it might take more time and effort but trust me when I say it’s worth all the hard work. I am giving here detailed recipes for Aloo Tikki, Chole and all the chutneys used to make this delicious Chaat. Make it during leisure and enjoy. And don’t forget to make big batch of aloo tikkies as you can easily freeze them and when ever heart desires. This delicious plate of much loved Indian street food makes its way to Lucy of Nurish Me who is gust hosting My Legume Love Affair-Third Helping started by dear Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook. So without any delay, here we go…

Plate of Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat

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Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat (Potato cutlets served with spiced chickpeas and delicious chutneys and topped with onion and crunchy Sev)

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 30-35 mins
Serves: 4-6

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Ingredients:
For Chole:
1 cup White Chickpeas/Kabuli Channa, soaked over night and cooked or 1 can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but recommended)
Salt to taste

Ground to Smooth Paste:
For Onion Paste:
1 large Onion, roughly chopped
½ inch Cinnamon stick
2 Green Cardamoms
2 Cloves
½ inch Ginger, peeled
3 cloves of Garlic

For Tomato Paste:
3 large juicy Tomatoes/1 can chopped Tomato
2-3 Green Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
1-2 tbsp Tomato Paste (Optional)

Bowl of Chole

For Aloo Tikki:
3 large Potatoes
½-¾ cup Bread Crumbs/2-3 Bread Slices
½ tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Roasted Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Coriander Powder
1 tbsp Corn Flour (Adjust acc to requirement)
Salt to taste
Little Oil, for pan frying

Aloo Tikki with Chutneys

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 the 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 Black Salt/Kaala Namak or Salt

Other Ingredients:
1 medium Red Onion, chopped
½-1 cup Sev
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped

Plate of Aloo Tikki-Chole Chaat

Method:
For Chole:

Heat oil in a pan and add hing and cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle, mix in onion paste. Keep stirring at medium heat till the onion paste turns light golden brown and becomes little dry, about 6-8 mins.
Add garam masala, kitchen king masala, kasuri methi and stir for few seconds. Now mix in tomato paste, amchur powder, and salt to taste. Cook the gravy in medium heat, for about 5-7 mins, stirring in between.
Mix in cooked chickpeas and add about a cup of water. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring in between. Add more water if needed and adjust the seasonings.
Garnish with coriander leaves and it is ready to be served.

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.

For Aloo Tikki:

Cook potato till tender, peel and mash well. Keep it aside till it is slightly cooled.
If using bread slices, dip the slices in cold water and squeeze to remove the water. Crumble them with hands and add to the mashed potatoes. If using bread crumbs, directly mix with mashed potatoes.
Mix in garam masala, roasted cumin seeds and powder, coriander powder, salt to taste and corn flour and combine well. Adjust the corn flour as per requirement as it helps in holding the shape of tikkies while frying.
Make a small lemon sized balls and press them down. Shape them into round or oval shape (about 1 cm thick round or oval tikkies).
Heat tawa/griddle and place tikkies on it. Add about 1 tsp of oil for each tikkies and fry them on medium to low heat on both the sides till they turn golden brown. Repeat till you have cooked all the tikkies and place them in a paper napkin to remove excess oil. Alternatively you can also bake the tikkies till they turn gold and crisp on both the sides.

How to Assemble and Serve:

Place 2-3 Aloo Tikkies on serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of Chole. On top of it, drizzle spoonfuls of Spicy Red Chutney, Sweet Date-Tamarind Chutney, Green Mint-Coriander Chutney & Spiced Yogurt. Now add spoonfuls of chopped red onion, Sev and chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately.

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Notes:

Store leftover Aloo Tikkies in zip lock bag and freeze it upto a month. When needed place them on hot griddle or oven and cook till it is heated through on both the sides.
You can also freeze the chutneys upto a month.

Other Chatakdar Chaats to tempt you

• Dahi Batata Puri
• Kutchi Dabeli

See another variation of Aloo Tikki

• Peas stuffed Aloo Tikki

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A Campaign to Heal & Some Olan

Dear Valli of Cooking 4 All Seasons is my blog friend and since past few days we have become really close by exchanging long e-mails every other day. Mother of three adorable kids and full-time working woman, she is a good representative of modern Indian woman. Recently she mailed me about Anita Lakshmi, 28 years old with two small children, who is been diagnosed with Coronary Artery disease. Coming from an economically disadvantage family they are struggling to raise money for her surgery.

In Valli’s own words,
The darkest hour is just before the dawn. When in despair, you wait fervently, praying that night passes away quickly. Waiting for the hope to peep in. Wishing that ray of hope, to guide you away from difficulties. But for some unfortunate souls, hope never comes their way. They desperately wish that night never passes, for they don't have help, no means to get away from their difficulties. They, with heavy heart want to forget, slumbering the night away, wishing everything is fine.

Valli has undertaken a fundraising drive to help Lakshmi and the target is to raise enough money for her operation and other costs. To achieve this we need to raise about 15,000 US dollars by 15th September, 2008. Lakshmi desperately needs to be operated within 5-6 months and she needs all our support, in every possible ways.

Few blogger friends have offered to give away exciting raffle prizes for this cause. One lucky winner will get a copy of this wonderful book called “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule” from me. The bidding amount to win this prize from me is $25 and it will be shipped to USA and UK residents only. You can read raving reviews of this book here and here.



Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule
A sweet and sassy guide to baking everyone's favourite treat without using any animal products. This unique cookbook contains over 50 recipes for cupcakes and frostings some innovative, some classics with beautiful full colour photographs.
Bid amount: US $25
Code: Sia_Vegan Cupcake
Shipping: USA and UK only
Book Reviews: Here & Here

Please click the chip-in button to make your donations and be assured it is a secure transaction through Pay Pal and goes directly to Lakshmi’s account. Once you get the confirmation mail from Pay Pal, please forward that mail to Valli at lakshmi[dot]fundraising[at]gmail[dot]com and don’t forget to mention your choice of raffle prize, bidding amount, and location. You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser and also by spreading the word. Please find more information and also updates at Valli’s site. Contributors list will be updated HERE. Check what others have offered for Raffle prizes HERE.

To add this Chip-In button to your site, click on “Copy” within the widget. Copy and paste the code generated on your posts or sidebar.

This month lovely Zlamushka is featuring one of my favourite blogs, Jugalbandits oops, Jugalbandi for her Tried & Tasted event ;) I didn’t want to miss this chance of cooking something from their witty, humorous, and wonderful blog. These two are nature lovers, small time farmers (he he..look at the fresh produce from their backyards), health conscious, wonderful bakers and brilliant photographers. Visiting their blog is a pure joy, enriching and uplifting. One of these days I am sure to get caught by my boss for reading their blog during office hours as most of their new posts show up on my feeder at this time and I simply can’t resist reading it then and there. Bee and Jai, its pleasure knowing you two through your blog and I hope you continue with your Jugalbandi for many more years.

The recipe I chose to cook from their blog is Olan. I was looking for simple and quick recipe which also uses very few ingredients and Olan was one such recipe. First time I tasted this when I visited my close friend’s house in Calicut and her mom served us this delicious coconut stew with Black eyed peas and Winter Melon/Ash Gourd with Idiyappams or Rice Noodles. The aroma wafting from big terracotta pot in which it was cooked was intoxicating and the taste of it still lingers. Wonder why it took this long for me to cook it. Better be late than never.

I almost followed their recipe to T but used British Cucumber in place of Ash gourd as I didn’t have any. The idea to use Cucumber is from our lovely Punjabi Kudi, Musical, who had mentioned it in the comment section. I was not sure if she was mentioning Yellow Cucumber which is what we usually use in cooking or usual Cucumber we get here. I peeled the cucumber and deseed before adding them and to my surprise it tasted almost like Yellow Cucumber and very close to Ash Gourd. And I also cooked potato and beans together in a pressure cooker to save gas energy. I made it in large quantity and the leftovers we had on next day tasted much better than the one on first day. Will I be making this again? You bet. Thank you, Bee and Jai for this delicious recipe and this is on its way to Zlamushka’s T&T event.

Olan - Coconut Based Stew from Kerala

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Olan (Coconut based Stew with Black Eyed Peas and Cucumber from Kerala)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Source: Jugalbandi

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Ingredients:
1 cup Black Eyed Beans/Alasande Beeja
1 large Potato, peeled and halved
½ British Cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cut into bite size pieces (Original recipe calls for Ash Gourd/Winter Melon or Yellow Pumpkin)
4-5 Green Chillies, slit
1 can (approx 1½ cups) Coconut Milk (I used canned ones. Feel free to use fresh one)
2 strings of Fresh Curry Leaves
1 tbsp Coconut Oil (Optional)
Salt to taste

Olan - Coconut Based Stew from Kerala

Method:

Wash and place beans in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water. To this add halved potatoes and little salt and cook covered for 15 mins or 1 whistle. Alternatively you can cook the beans and potatoes separately on vessels till they are cooked. Once the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker lid and dice potatoes into bite sized pieces. Keep them aside.
In a sauce pan, bring 2 cups of water to boil. To this add cooked potatoes, diced cucumber and also slit green chillies. Cover and cook for 5-7 mins until the vegetables are tender.
Add coconut milk to the pan and gently stir in under low heat.
Now add cooked beans and curry leaves and mix well. Allow the beans to heat through by stirring at low flame for 2-3 mins.
Switch off the flame and mix a tbsp of coconut oil. You can skip adding the oil but it sure adds more flavour. Cover and let it rest for 10 mins for all the flavour to blend well.
Serve this delicious Olan with Rice Noodles or Rosematta Rice or just plain steamed rice and enjoy. It tastes better the next day.

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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.
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Aloo-Methi Paratha: My Never Ending Love Affair

Aloo-Methi Paratha

Grocery shopping is never simple, at least in our case! Reason? Oh, the usual one!!! I feel like a kid lost in candy shop. I am one of those nut cases who spend more than required time gazing, touching, picking, thinking, re-picking, re-thinking, re-picking all those vegetables and fruits and even canned tomatoes till people waiting behind me start to throw darts from their eyes, fire from their mouth and are about to run their cart over me. Every time it’s a same story, go for just few ingredients and end up buying a cart load. I have no idea how we end up with bagful of things when we all wanted to buy was just a bar of soap or bag of potatoes!!! I say to myself, just last time but in the end we leave the supermarket with few extra bags and few extra pounds (wish it was weight!!!) lighter. Well, this is what being expected from me when you do weekly or fortnightly shopping at supermarkets. Well, Krish says he can’t take the high risk of taking me for grocery shopping on weekends when he can watch his favourite sports on telly. Men!!!

Few weeks back something different happened. I was looking for a bunch of indispensable coriander leaves at herbs sections and found out they were moved to different aisle. Just when I was about to get annoyed I spotted something which made me almost scream with joy. There it was, one whole shelf filled with Indian greens and vegetables. Bottle gourd, Okra, Bitter gourd, Plantains, Palak, Methi, Sugarcane and big bunches of Coriander and Mint leaves unlike the usual few stings. And to top it all they had even stocked Curry leaves. I did a virtual cartwheel with joy and pushed my cart at record speed towards them like a horse with a carrot dangling in front of it. And I did another virtual happy dancing when I saw 2 for a pound offer for all green leafy vegetables. 2 big bunches of palak, another two bunches of fresh methi leaves and big bunch of coriander, curry and mint leaves were picked at lightening speed.

For next few days we had marathon cooking series of Aloo Palak, Dal Palak, Aloo Methi, Methi Matar Malai, Methi Dal and still were left with half bunch of Methi. Not wanting to cook another curry we decided to make stack of hot and delicious Aloo-Methi Paratha. Oh yes! I am still in honeymoon period when it comes to stuffing and rolling parathas since I made first batch of Aloo-Peas Parathas few months ago. And every time I stuff and roll them I feel giddy with joy of getting evenly stuffed and perfectly shaped parathas.

This time I kept the filling very simple and minimal. Few green chillies for heat, amchur powder for tanginess, and cumin for fragrance is all I needed. Hing is added for digesting starchy potato. All these ingredients complimented little bitter fenugreek leaves and creamy potatoes. Served with a bowl of creamy Yogurt and spicy Garlic Pickle, it was one very fulfilling and delicious rainy and gloomy weekend brunch. Off my stack of Aloo-Methi Parathas go to dear Latha who is guest hosting this month’s WBB-Combi Breakfast initiated by lovely Nandita and also to dear Redchilli who is guest hosting Herb Mania-Fenugreek initiated by Dee.

Wishing all my fellow Indian bloggers a very Happy Independence Day... Jai Hind.

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Aloo-Methi Paratha (Indian Flatbread stuffed with mashed Potatoes and aromatic Fenugreek Leaves)
Prep Time: 10-20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 Medium Sized Parathas

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Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour (I used Pillsbury Chakki Atta)
2 tbsp Yogurt
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 packed cups of Methi Leaves, picked, washed and chopped
2 large Potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed well
2-3 Green Chillies, very finely chopped
½ tsp Amchur Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds, roasted
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Aloo-Methi Stuffing

Method:
For the Dough:

Sieve atta and mix in salt, yogurt.
Slowly add warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Filling:

Mix in chopped green chillies, dry mango powder, roasted cumin seeds, salt to taste with chopped methi/fenugreek leaves and mashed potatoes. Make sure the filling is lump free as it will be easier to stuff and roll the paratha without the filling oozing from the sides.
Make equal lemon sized balls and keep them aside till needed.

For the Paratha:

Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place one aloo-methi ball in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on hot griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked well and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Aloo-Methi Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo-Methi Paratha

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Notes:

Before mashing the potatoes let them cool completely. This way the filling will remain dry and filling will not ooze out from covering.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed without leaving any lumps. This helps in rolling the parathas with even surface.
The leftover parathas can easily be frozen. To do this, cut few square sheets of butter paper or baking sheet of equal size so that it covers the paratha well. Place a paratha on one sheet and cover it with another square sheet. Place another on top of it and repeat till all the parathas are over. Place this in a large zip lock bag and store it in a freezer. It is better to write the date on which the parathas were cooked. I usually use them by one month.

Other Stuffed Paratha recipes blogged so far

• Aloo-Peas Paratha
• Mooli/Radish Paratha
• Gobi/Cauliflower Paratha
• Zucchini/Courgette Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

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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.
Continue Reading...

Is That My Green Thumb: Dabeli

Dabeli

Grow Your Own a.k.a. GYO is a twice-a-month blogging event that celebrates the foods we grow ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products is a brainchild of Andrea who blogs at Andrea’s Recipes. This fortnight it is being guest hosted by dynamic Jugalbandi’s Jai and Bee.

Here comes the problem. Well, it’s another food blog event and the rules are quite straightforward. You might ask me what exactly the problem is. For the last couple of weeks every blogger is showing off their gardening talents. Well, after all its summer and everyone seems to be growing something or the other in their vegetable patch resembling football stadium or snooker table and some even managed to grow in their small sized balconies and containers. I went through all these blogger’s posts with dozens of photographs of their summer bounty and admired their skills.

Then the realization hit me hard!!! All we had grown in a small patch of our backyard is few flowering plants and mind you they were not from seeds we had sown!! We just bought few plants from weekend farmer’s market and just planted them. Now its not that we are lazy (Ok, little bit). The reasons for not growing our own summer vegetable and fruits bounty are many. First and most important of all is the unpredictable weather. Just when we had cleaned our vegetable patch from all those wild weeds (my goodness, they have very strong and had deep roots), slugs and snails (they are so yuck!), it started to rain cats and dogs. After 2-3 weeks of these heavy summer rains the vegetable patch was filled with new bounty of weeds and snails and we didn’t fancy cooking those Dandelions in soups and stews and being a vegetarians eating those snails were unimaginable ;) So again we cleared our veggie patch and again it started to rain!!! We ended up planting few plants of Geranium, roses, lavenders. Second reason, our work schedule. Leaving to work at 7 in the morning and coming back at 7 in the evening doesn’t give much time to spend time in gardening during weekdays. Next reason is the visits to our vegetable patch by unwanted guests. You see some way or the other many cats in our neighborhood feel that it’s their birth right to come and empty their stomachs in our vegetable patch. We have 6 different cats coming and leaving behind their smelly trails. Sometimes we do wonder how roasted and grilled cats taste, just like Manisha. (Ok, I am kidding big time;)

With all these problems, we did manage to grow few herbs in pots. Some mint leaves are growing wildly and we are making good use of it in summer drinks. We have two curry plants donated by our close friends. And we have successfully grown a big pot of coriander leaves. I have been using them in most of the curries as garnishes. And Bee did say coriander used as garnishes can make it to the event. Thank you Bee, my coriander garnish is what I am sending you for GYO. This time its Dabeli garnished with fresh corianders from our garden makes its grand entrance for Jugalbandi’s GYO event.

Dabeli or Katchi Dabeli or Double Roti is a street food mostly originated in Kutchi/Gujarat and very popular street food sold in Mumbai/Bombay. In my engineering days I survived eating these Dabeli for my lunch and sometimes for dinner from our campus Bakery. It is also known as Kutchi Dabeli or Double Roti and uses a special spice blend called Dabeli Masala. When I hosted MBP-Street Food, I had many Dabeli entries and I couldn’t wait to try my favorite street food. When I received Raghavan Iyer’s 660 Curries book for my birthday, I was rejoiced to see detailed recipe for Dabeli with its spice blend.

In Raghavan’s own words,

"Maharashtrian’s are very creative when it comes to combining multiple sources of carbohydrates in the same dish. This curry-in-a-bun is love at first bite-topped with luscious-red, juicy-tart pomegranate seeds. It’s really a cinch to make as a do-ahead dish. Just lay everything out in a bowls assembly-line style, in the same order as they go into the bun, and folks can help themselves by making their own. Those ho-hum taco parties will make a run for the border."

I made Dabeli Masala by strictly following Raghavan’s recipe and then assembled the Dabeli according to our taste. So without any delay, I made these wonderful street food and relived my college days:) Straight this goes to Jugalbandi’s for their GYO.

Kutchi Dabeli

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Dabeli (Spiced Potato & Pomegranate Sandwiches)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Makes: 4-6
Recipe Source: 660 Curries

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Ingredients:
For Dabeli Masala:
1 tsp Whole Clove (about 4-5)
½ tsp Fennel Seeds
½ tsp Black Peppers
½ tsp Coriander Seeds
4 dried Red Chilies (Thai or Cayenne), stems removed (I used Byadagi Chilies)
4 blades of Mace or ¼ tsp Ground Mace (I omitted it as I didn’t have any)
2-3 Whole Star Anie
1-2 Dried Bay Leaves
Seeds from 1-2 Black Cardamom Pods
½ tsp Ground Ginger (You will get them in any Asian stores)
Pinch of Turmeric Powder

For the Filling:
3 large Potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold), peeled, boiled and mashed
1 small Onion, finely chopped (Optional)
1 tbsp Dabeli Masala
1 tsp Sugar Powder
½ tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For the Sauces:
Recipe calls for just Sweet & Sour Date-Tamarind Chutney and Green Mint-Coriander Chutny but I also used Spicy Red Chutney.

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 the chilies to smooth paste)
½ tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Salt to taste

For Assembling the Sandwiches:
4-6 Ladi Pav/Burger Buns
Butter for Spreading
Seeds from 1 small Pomegranate
½ cup Spicy Roasted Peanuts (I used plain ones)
1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
½ cup Sev (Gram flour noodles, deep fried. You will find them in any Asian stores)
1-2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped

Spices for Dabeli Masala

Method:

For Dabeli Masala:

The above ingredients make about 2 tbsp of Dabeli Masala. Place all the ingredients in a spice blender or coffee grinder and grind to fine powder. Store it in an air tight container till needed. I will last for 2 months.

For Potato Filling:

Combine mashed potatoes, dabeli masala, salt and sugar and mix well.
Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion if using (adding onion is optional but I remember having it in the dabeli potato filling back in my campus bakery). Sauté it on medium heat till onions turn golden, about 2-3 mins.
Mix in spiced potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are warmed and the spices are cooked, 5-6 mins. Keep this potato mixture 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 chilies 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 favorite Chaatwalah).

To Assemble Dabeli:

Heat a griddle or skillet over a medium heat. Cut the ladi-pav or sandwich bun in centre and apply little butter on cut side. Place this bun, buttered side down, on a skillet and cook until they are browned, 1-2 mins. Remove the bunds from griddle and keep aside.
To make the sandwich, first spread a tsp each of date-tamarind sauce, mint-coriander chutney and spicy red chutney. You can adjust these chutneys depending on your taste.
Next, place 1/6th of Spiced Potato. You can make a medium lime sized potato balls and pat it a bit and place it on the bun.
Sprinkle a tbsp of juicy pomegranate seeds, followed by a tbsp of roasted peanuts, ½ tbsp finely chopped red onion and a tbsp of Sev.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves on top and then cover it with the other half of bun and serve them.

Dabeli

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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 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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