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

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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

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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.

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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.)

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Soutekai Rotti: From Coastal Town...

Soutekai Rotti

As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.
~Buddy Hackett

And it was the same for me, well, most of the times! My Amma’s principle was very simple when it came to eating; respect the food that has been cooked for you. If you don’t like what is cooked for whole family then you as cook something yourself or go hungry! She would gently but firmly ask us to try every vegetable or fruits before saying no to them. Well, when I think of it now I can’t help but agree to her point as many a times what I thought to be uneatable turned out to be one of the tastiest foods I have ever tasted! Yeah, yeah… Mothers know best!

In spite of being stubborn and fussy eater for most of my childhood, my parents always made sure that my fussiness remained within four walls of our home as I was expected to behave and eat properly when we visited our friends and family! My Amma is known for her wonderful culinary skills among our family and friends. Her kitchen is a magical wonderland where she churns one pot of delicious food after another with ease and, of course, love! While everyone licked their plates clean, praising my amma’s culinary ingenuity, I for some strange reasons preferred and liked whatever my aunts or mom’s friends cooked! For me the simple dal or rasams cooked by them would always taste better than my amma’s cooking! As wise people rightly say “Ghar ki murgi dal barabar”, for some of us everything tastes better that is not home cooked!!!

And the saga would have continued if not for moving away from home and staying at hostel. First few days of hostel life was wonderful… if you don’t like what’s cooked in hostel mess, just hop to nearest restaurant and order your favourite food! Samosas or pizzas for breakfast? No problem… Big tub of ice cream for lunch? Go ahead… Gol gappa, Bhel puri or cups after cups of Cappuccinos for dinner? Who is stopping you????

Except, my stomach who stopped me and went on a strike after I put it into series of tortures! That was when I realised the true value of home cooked meals, especially the ones cooked by my mother. I learnt my lesson soon and started appreciating everything cooked by our loved ones. So my dear readers, if you are one of those lucky ones who are blessed to enjoy home cooked meals, especially cooked by your mother or loved ones, enjoy while you can! Trust me, nothing in this world can ever come close to the lovely food cooked by your mother or loved one that not only tastes delicious but is high in nutrition and love which is good for your health, heart and soul…

Apart from mom's cooking, other thing I missed after coming to UK is some familiar vegetables that are exclusive to Indian cooking. One such vegetable was Yellow Cucumber, also called as Dosakai in Telugu and Soutekai in Kannada. Few months back one giant Asian supermarket was launched in close by town and we have been fortunate to find some authentic south Indian vegetables and fruits on fresh vegetable and fruits section. Although these yellow cucumbers cost a bomb, I feel fortunate to get them fresh and readily available whenever my heart desires to eat something I grew up eating (and sometime hating!!! Now I know better!). These yellow cucumbers are generally spherical in shape and have shades of yellow & green coloured skin. It is commonly added in Sambar (Thick lentil soup with vegetable), Daal (Lentil soup) and also in making Pickles and Chutney. There is one another recipe from my native that makes the best use of this cucumber and it is called Soutekai Rotti.

Soutekai Rotti

The following recipe for Soutekai Rotti comes from my mom-in-law who makes one the best Soutekai Rotti which is quite different from what my Ajji and Amma make back at home. While my Ajji and Amma would grate the cucumber, my Atte grinds them along with rice soaked in water along with some spices. Lightly dry roasted coriander seeds, cumin seeds add heady aroma to the Rotti when cooked and the dry roasted red chillies gives this rotti a spicy twist. Handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped red onions and curry leaves lends some crunch, aroma and flavour to this already delicious rotti and ground fresh coconut simply enhances the flavour and takes the taste level to new height! If you are lucky enough to get hold of this yellow cucumber, give this recipe a try and see your heart, stomach and soul falling in love with this simple, delightful recipe! This goes to RCI: Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine hosted by yours truly.

Soutekai Rotti drizzled with Honey

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Soutekai Rotti (Spiced Yellow Cucumber Flat Bread)
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 4-6 mins per Rotti
Makes: 12-15
Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium to hot
Serving Suggestion: Usually it doesn’t need any accompaniment but you can serve with Honey or any Chutney of your choice
Recipe Source: MIL

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Ingredients:
1 medium Yellow Cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into rough 1 inch cubes
2½ cups Rice, washed, rinsed and soaked in water for 4-6 hours
½ - ¾ cup fresh/frozen grated Coconut
½ golf sized Tamarind Pulp or ½ tbsp Tamarind Paste
1 large Red Onion, finely chopped
¼ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2 springs Curry Leaves, cut into thin stripes
Salt to taste

To Dry Roast:
1½ - 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
5-7 Dry Red Chillies, stalks removed and cut into 1 inch pieces (Adjust acc to taste)
½-1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds

Other Ingredients:
Little Ghee/Oil for frying

Special Utensils:
Preferably cast iron tawa or you can use non-stick tawa/griddle
Lid to cover tawa/griddle
Spatula

Sliced Yellow Cucumber

Method:
For Rotti Batter:
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies on medium flame till the spices turn light golden red in colour, about 2 minutes. Let it cool slightly.
Transfer soaked rice, roasted spices, tamarind pulp/paste and cucumber cubes into a food processor or mixer grinder and grind them to thick batter (consistency should be that of an Idli batter) adding little water at time. Do this in 2-3 batches for better result. Transfer the contents into a large vessel and leave it covered on a warm place over night for the batter to ferment.
Next morning, grind coconut to fine paste adding very little water and add this to the prepared, fermented batter and mix well.
Also add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and coriander leaves along with salt to taste and mix them well. Let it rest for 20-30 minutes for the flavours to blend well before proceeding to make Rotti.

Proceed to make Rotti:
The best type of griddle or tawa for making this rotti is cast iron as it not only gives crisp texture to the rotti but also gives it a distinct taste. If you don’t have cast iron tawa then you can use normal non-stick griddle or pan.
Heat cast iron tawa/griddle on medium to high flame. Drizzle a tsp or two of oil and grease the tawa well. To grease the tawa, fold the paper towel into a wad and dip it into a bowl of cooking oil. Gently squeeze the wad to remove excess oil and rub it all over the griddle to grease it. Or, cut peeled onion in half. Pour a tsp of oil in the centre of griddle and use halved onion and rub it all over the griddle. Back in my native, we use dried yellow pumpkin stem to grease the griddle.
When tawa is hot enough reduce the heat to medium. Take about ¾ cup of batter in a ladle and pour it on the centre of tawa. Spread this batter into thick circle, of about 6-7 inch in diameter and about ¾-1 cm thick, with back of the ladle.
Cover the griddle with lid and let cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes.
Open the lid and drizzle a tsp or more of oil/Ghee on the surface of Rotti and also around its edges and let it cook for another minute till its upper surface is cooked well (it should look cooked and shouldn’t be soft or runny).
Using wooden (for non-stick griddle) or metal (for cast iron griddle) spatula, carefully remove the Rotti from griddle and flip it. Ideally, the cooked surface should have turned golden brown in colour and crisp. Allow other side to cook for a minute or two after flipping.
Once cooked on both sides, transfer the Rotti to clean and dry plate.
Repeat the same procedure to make Rotti. Grease the griddle (if using cast-iron tawa), pour the batter, spread it in circular motion, cover and cook, drizzle oil/ghee, flip and cook and serve!
Serve this spicy and delicious Soutekai Rotti as it is as it usually doesn’t require any side dish. I like to dip in little honey and eat or you can also serve some chutney of your choice and enjoy!

Soutekai Rotti

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Notes:

It is best to serve Soutekai Rotti immediately as soon as they are taken out from tawa to enjoy the crisp and delicious Rotti.
You can also make a stack of Rotti and serve later, just like pancakes. Just ensure to keep the Rottis warm till you serve them in a closed dish. However, these Rottis will not be as crisp as the ones you serve immediately.

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Reminder for RCI: Udupi & Managlorean Cuisine

After exploring many states and regions around our beloved motherland, this month I am honoured to take you all to my native land to sample and devour one of the finest cuisines. The RCI for the month of July’09 is RCI-Udupi & Mangalorean Cuisine! Let's explore the hidden gems of beautiful temple town of Udupi and gorgeous coastal city of Mangalore all this month.

Deadline: 31st July, 2009

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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Thai Yellow Curry: Sunshine in Bowl to Lift Your Spirit...

Thai Yellow Curry

“How do they taste? They taste like more.”
-H.L. Mencken

And that’s exactly how I feel when ever I am served real good Thai food. I like everything about Thai cuisine; the ingredients used, its flavour, the way it’s cooked, the fresh herbs and aromatic spices and above all the way it tastes. And another reason for my love affair with Thai food is the use of coconut in most of the recipes. A typical Mangalorean girl that I am, my heart skips a beat and makes me do cartwheels in air whenever I find this favourite ingredient of mine in any recipe.

Since the day we have had come back from our India trip, we haven’t been cooking anything elaborate in our tiny kitchen. Although we would like to blame our mothers for spoiling us by not letting us cook in their kitchen, it was plain laziness that has kept us away from pots and pans. All these days we have been satisfying ourselves with soups and breads and simple dal/rasam and rice. But it didn’t take much longer for stomachs to start grumbling for something exotic and our taste buds to crave for something packed with flavours.

It’s not easy to tackle the situation when you are faced with laziness and desire to eat something delicious. And to add to our misery we stumbled upon some really delicious looking Thai Curries on one of the cookery shows. Did we have any choice left? Na…da… So it was decided on simple Thai menu for the day and of course for the blog also ;)

With typical cold and grey winter days and sun god gone missing for days together we were left with no choice but to create this sunshine in a bowl to lift our mood and spirit. We chose to cook this delicious bowl of Thai Yellow Curry and served it with fragrant Thai Jasmine Rice which resembled the snow flakes that had turned our neck of woods into snow kingdom. The colourful and delightful vegetables cooked in creamy and sweet coconut milk and flavoursome curry paste made using freshest of herbs and spices is sure to bowled any foodie’s heart and soul. Thai Yellow Curry is my entry for AWED-Thai event hosted by dear DK at Culinary Bazaar.

Thai Yellow Curry

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Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 2 mins for roasting the spices
Makes: 1 big Cup
Shelf Life: 1 month when refrigerated or 1 day if kept outside
Recipe Source: Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott
Recipe Level: Easy
Spice Level: Medium

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Ingredients:
1 medium Onion, peeled and quartered
8-10 finger length Dry Red Chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 mins
1½ inch Ginger or Galangal
1 cup Coriander Leaves, including its root and stems
4-6 Large Garlic Flakes
1 tbsp Lemongrass Paste or 3 stalks of Lemongrass, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
½ tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Curry Powder (I used Kitchen King Powder)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tsp Salt

Spices to Roast and Ground to Powder:
1½ tbsp Coriander Seeds
½ tbsp Cumin Seeds
10 Black or White Pepper Corns

Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Method:

Heat a pan and dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds and pepper on slow flame till they change colour and are aromatic, about 2 minutes. Transfer them to clean bowl and let them cool completely. With a help of coffee grinder or mortar and pestle grind them to fine powder.
Add this powder to all the ingredients listed above and grind them to smooth paste adding little water at time. Make sure that you add water only when it is required to get fairly thick and smooth paste.
You can store this paste in an air tight container and refrigerate for upto one month and use as and when needed.

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Veg Thai Yellow Curry

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner to Intermediary
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With Jasmine Rice or Basmati Rice

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Ingredients:
5-6 cups of Mixed Vegetables of your choice cut into bite size pieces (I have used half each of Red/Yellow/Orange Peppers, 1 medium Potato, 1 medium Carrot, 5 Baby Corns, Few French Beans, 5 Button Mushrooms, and Green Peas)
1 medium Onion or 4 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
1 can Coconut Milk or 2-3 cups of Coconut Milk
2-3 cups of Vegetable Stock or Water
2-3 tbsp Yellow Curry Paste
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves, thinly cut
1-2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
Coriander leaves of Spring Onion Greens for garnishing
Salt to taste

Thai Yellow Curry

Method:

Heat a heavy bottomed pan and empty 1/3rd of Coconut milk in a pan. Stir this coconut milk on medium heat till its sweet fragrance is released and starts to thicken, about 4-5 minutes, in a medium flame.
Now add 2-3 tbsp of Yellow Curry Paste and stir well. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes till the curry paste blends well with the coconut milk and its raw smell disappears. Add the vegetables and spring onions to it and mix them well so that each piece is coated with coconut and curry paste mixture.
Mix in vegetable stock or water, remaining coconut milk, Soya sauce, kaffir lime leaves if using, brown sugar and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Open the lid and adjust the seasonings. Simmer the heat and let it cook uncovered for another 5 minutes till the vegetables are cooked to tender. Make sure that the vegetables are not overcooked and retain their crunch.
Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and greens of spring onion and serve with aromatic bowl of Jasmine Rice and enjoy.

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Notes:

Other Thai recipes blogged so far,

• Jasmine Rice Soup with Mushrooms, Green Onions & Crispy Garlic
• Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu
• Thai Jasmine Rice
• Veg Thai Red Curry
• Veg & Tofu Thai Green Curry
  

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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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Dondakaya Vepudu: What's in a Name?

Dondakaya Vepudu

What’s in a name?
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…
~ William Shakespeare

But TonDekai and BenDekai taste different and even smell different…

For those who don’t know what I am blabbering about, TonDekai and BenDekai are the names for Tindora/Ivy Gourd and Okra/Ladies finger respectively in Kannada. Growing up back in India, I always got confused between these two vegetables. Whenever my Amma asked me to buy TonDekai from vegetable shop, I ended up getting BenDekai and vice versa. Reason? Confusion in names, between single Kannada letters!!! For a girl who always won prizes in memory games, these two vegetable names were source of frustration and irritation. I would go to nearby shop and stare endlessly at these two vegetables trying to recall which one did Amma asked me to buy. Is it BenDekai or TonDekai? TonDekai or BenDekai??? B or T? T or B? TB, TB, TB, Tuberculosis???

If rose is a rose is a rose is rose,
Then TonDekai is a TonDekai is a Tondekai is a TonDekai
And BenDekai is a BenDekai is a BenDekai is a BenDekai
~ With due respect to Gertrude Stein

At last I decided to do something about it. I decided to call Ivy Gourd as Man’s toes. Well, if Okra could be named as ladies finger for its appearance then Ivy Gourd very much looked like Man’s toes to me. Hence then onwards I asked Amma if she was planning to cook ladies finger or man’s toes for dinner! Sounds funny but was not that amusing for guests who were shocked when I told them they will be served man’s toes curry with Roti for lunch ;) Well, at last I was forced to remember their name as my parents were not very keen to develop the reputation of cooking and serving man’s toes for their unassuming friends.

Growing up I always loved Ivy gourd, even when I was one rebellious teen. There was the time when my dad grew TonDekai in backyard. This tropical vine would give beautiful white flowers which grew into crunchy green fruits with thousands of small seeds in them. Eating young raw ivy gourd was one of my favourite pass times and I continued to religiously eat them till one day my Ajji told me it’s not good for memory cells. I am still not sure if there is any truth behind it or it was one of the tricks of my granny for to keep me away from eating all tender ivy gourds before they could be used in cooking. If you haven’t tasted this very young ivy gourd then I suggest you to do so when you get a chance. It is crunchy and totally delicious. Well, I wouldn’t suggest the same for mature ones.

My favourite way to cook Ivy gourd is stir fried with cashews, simple stir fry and Mangalorean Huli-Menasina Kodhel. Amma also makes simple Tindora Rice which I will post sometime soon. Recently I was looking for some new recipes to cook with Ivy Gourd and I stumbled upon Sailu’s blog where she has posted a simple recipe of Tindora stir fry with Peanuts called Dondakaya Vepudu. There I also saw a list of common names in different languages by which ivy gourds are known. TinDora, TenDli, TonDekai, Ivy Gourd, DonDakayi, Kovaikai, etc … I have come across all these names for Tindora but did you know it is also called as Gentleman’s toes? Now my name of Man’s Toes for TonDekai doesn’t sound too alien ;) coming back to the recipe, this is a popular Andhra style stir-fry from her Amma where the sliced Tindora is cooked with a tempering of fresh curry leaves and mustard seeds and then mixed with aromatic powder of roasted peanuts, dry red chillies and cumin seeds. One look at her photographs of the final dish I was all set to create this magic in my kitchen. I almost followed her recipe but tweaked little extra ingredients in tadka/tempering, along with roasted peanuts, which we normally use in Kannadiga Palya or stir-fries to add extra crunch. With in no time this delicious stir fry was ready to be devoured with steaming bowl of white rice and simple Tadka Dal. Next day I served it with fresh Chapatti and small bowl of Yogurt and the plate was licked clean. Thank you Sailu, for posting this delicious recipe which has become our family favourite and will again be cooked shortly.

Dondakaya Vepudu

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Dondakaya Vepudu (Ivy Gourd stir fried with roasted spices and peanuts)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4
Recipe Source: Sailu’s Food

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Ingredients:
20-25 Ivy Gourds, ends trimmed, slit vertically length wise into two pieces and again sliced into thin long strips
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts, for garnishing
Salt to taste

To be Roasted & Coarsely Powdered:
Few drops of Oil
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2-3 Dry Red Chillies, stalk removed and deseeded if needed (Adjust acc to taste)
1½-2 tbsp roasted Peanuts

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils (Optional)
½ tbsp Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram (Optional)
1-2 Dry Red Chillies
Few Curry Leaves
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Oil

Method:

Heat few drops of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle and turn light brown, add red chillies and sauté it for another 10-15 seconds on medium flame. Turn off the heat and let the spices cool. Add these roasted spices with roasted peanuts and grind into coarse powder. Keep it aside till needed.
Heat oil in a same pan and add mustard seeds to it. When it starts to pop and splutter, add channa dal, urad dal, broken red chilli and sauté till dals turns light golden brown. Mix in hing and curry leaves and stir till nice aroma comes out, about 10-15 seconds on medium flame.
Add the sliced ivy gourds and mix well. Mix in turmeric powder and salt to taste. Sauté it continuously on medium heat for about 4-5 mins, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and cover and cook for another 5-7 mins, stirring in between. Make sure that you don’t over cook the gourds as it should retain its crunch.
Mix in ground powder and combine well. Cook on reduced heat for another 2-3 mins till all the flavours blend well.
Garnish with roasted peanuts and serve hot with steaming bowl of rice/chapatti, dal/rasam/sambar and enjoy.

Dondakaya Vepudu

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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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Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok Steamed Spinach & Quinoa: Try Something New

Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa

I don’t have anything to rant today other than give you one wonderful recipe I tried from gorgeous blog Vegan Yum Yum. This is one of my favourite blog where Lolo posts vegan recipes which make my eyes pop and I almost end-up licking my laptop screen. This blog has most tempting pictures of Vegan food which makes you drop all the things at once and rush to your kitchen to start cooking straight away. Not only that, you will be surprised to see so many ways of cooking vegan food without compromising taste factor. You will find an array of vegan food from appetizers to desserts including varieties of baked goodies to satisfy your cravings. Her Knitted Cupcakes are the best ever cupcakes I have ever seen or come across. Go check it for yourself and feast on her drool-worthy pictures. I have already tried two recipes from this wonderful blog and highly satisfied with the end result.

Today I am posting Lolo’s recipe of Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Collard and Quinoa. This was the first time we bought quinoa and cooked at home. So Lolo’s recipe sounded something what we could try for first time. Another thing that got our full attention was the process of “dry frying” the Tofu as till date we had either used them as they are or simply pan fried them with little oil. So we were eager to test and taste quinoa and ‘dry fry’ tofu. Unlike Lolo I used Baby Spinach instead of Collards and made few modifications to the original recipe to our liking. Other change is in the ingredients used in Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce. We added little extra chilli flakes as we felt the sauce was little mild for our liking and also added a small spoonful of chilli sauce. And we replaced Tamari with Teriyaki sauce as we didn’t have it in our pantry. We also reduced the amount of lime zest used and instead increased the amount of lime juice from original recipe. And addition of ginger again was to our preference.

The sauce was easy to put together and was very flavourful. It formed a nice glaze on dry fried tofu and was a real pretty sight. Over all I can easily say that Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa was one flavoursome, nutritious, pretty and very healthy meal which we devoured without complaining. I am not sure if I have left a thank you note at Lolo’s blog. Lolo, I want to thank you for this wonderful recipe which has become our family favourite. This is my entry for JFI-Soya hosted by yours truly and dearest Pooja's Theme of the Week-Saffron, White & Green in spirit of my beautiful country's Independence Day celebration. And this is also my contribution for Melissa's Let it Grain-Quinoa event which showcases this lovely grain this whole month.

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Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4
Recipe Source: Vegan Yum Yum

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Ingredients:
1 block firm Tofu

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce:
3 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce (or just use Soya Sauce)
6-8 Mint Leaves, thinly chopped
2 tsp Chilli Flakes (adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Chilli Sauce
1 clove of Garlic, crushed and very finely chopped
½ inch Ginger, very finely chopped
2 tbsp Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
¼ zest of the Lime
¼ tsp Salt

For Wok Steamed Spinach:
2-3 packed cups of Baby Spinach
A big pinch of Salt
1 tsp Lime Juice

For Spiced Quinoa:
¾ cup Quinoa, rinsed in cool water and drained
¼ zest Lime
½ tbsp Lime Juice
2 Green Cardamom, lightly crushed
½ inch Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf
¼ tsp Salt
1-1¼ cups Water

Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce

Dry Fried Tofu glazed with Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce

Method:

For Spiced Quinoa:
Combine all the ingredients listed under Spiced Quinoa in a thick bottomed pot with tight fitting lid. Bring it to a boil, then cover the lid and reduce the flame to low. Cook undisturbed for around 15-20 mins and turn off the heat. Let it sit covered for about 10 mins so that the steam is retained.

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce:
Meanwhile, prepare the Sweet Chilli-Lime Sauce by combining all the ingredients listed. Whisk the sauce till all the sugar and salt is dissolved and keep it aside.

For Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu:
Cut Tofu into bite sized pieces of desired shape and set aside.
Heat flat bottomed non-stick pan or good iron pan and arrange the tofu so that it fits in single layer. If not then do it in batches. I used good non stick pan in order to “dry fry” tofu without using any oil.
Spread out the tofu in a pan and with a help of spatula press the tofu. The liquid from tofu will squeeze out and boil away, and the tofu will start turning golden colour. The more water evaporates, the sturdier the tofu will be and that’s exactly what we want. Remember not to press the tofu too hard initially to prevent tofu from breaking.
After several minutes, flip the tofu over and repeat the same method. After 10 mins or so you will be left with dry fired golden tofu pieces. Now you can either proceed with the next step or wok steam the spinach.
To finish the Tofu, bring the pan back to stove if it’s not already very hot. Now add the sauce you prepared and let it bubble up. Switch off the heat and let the sauce reduce and form a glaze. Make sure that the sauce is bubbling up nicely before you switch off the heat.

For Wok Steamed Spinach:
Stack the spinach leaves one above the other and roll them. Slice the roll into 1 inch segments. Repeat same procedure till you get 2-3 tightly packed cups of Spinach.
Heat wok and add spinach, lime juice and salt. You can add about a tbsp of water if required. Cover and cook for 1-2 mins. Remember you don’t need to cook it thoroughly. I like my greens to be little raw and crunchy.

To Assemble:
Place cooked spiced Quinoa on a serving dish and arrange steamed spinach on top. Arrange sweet chilli-lime Tofu on a bed of Quinoa and Spinach and drizzle any left over sauce on top of it. Serve it immediately and enjoy.

Sweet Chilli-Lime Tofu with Wok steamed Spinach & Quinoa

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Note:
Other Tofu recipes to feast on

• Palak Tofu
• Tofu Stuffed Kulcha
• Veg & Tofu Thai Green Curry
• Tome Yum Soup with Mushroom & Tofu

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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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Dahi Batata Puri: Yeh Dil Maange More...

Dahi Batata Puri

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dahi Batata Puri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To Assemble the Dahi Batata Puri:

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

This one is for you...

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

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

Deadline: 30th June, 2008

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

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

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

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

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

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

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

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Simplicity in Cooking: Raw Mango Kodhel

Mango Kodhel

Simplicity in cooking is something I am learning these days. It’s not necessary for you to add all the spices and more ingredients to cook delicious food. There were times when I couldn’t think of cooking without adding onions, tomatoes and garlic with minimum half a dozen of spices to jazz it up. With time I feel more confident in choosing just few spices that is right for the main vegetables. In other words I don’t panic and hop around when I have to use just few ingredients to cook something exceptionally delicious. These days I am seeing different me when it comes to cooking. I have stopped harassing the vegetables with extra handful of herbs and suffocating them with overdose of spices. I see dramatic change in my style of cooking. It’s like seeing mirror image of my mother who always cooks exceptionally great food with just few ingredients. Well, I may never be able to reach her standard of cooking but I am on my way of becoming at least one decent cook.

Such simplicity in cooking is very common when it comes to Udupi-Mangalorean cuisine. Everyday food is cooked with very few ingredients and lots of love and coconut. Coconut is the heart of this region’s cuisine and you will find most of the recipes using it in one form or other. Don’t be surprised to see people getting little carried away when it comes to Coconut be it coconut oil, gratings, desiccated coconut, coconut milk and even coconut water. Coconut not only dazzles any dish it touches but also gives it very distinct flavour by easily complimenting any vegetables, herbs and spices it is blended with.

One such recipe is Kodhel or Kodheal, a coconut based curry from Mangalore. Recipe is quite simple and straightforward, vegetables cooked with a ground paste of fresh coconut and few handfuls of spices. Sounds simple isn’t it? But the taste is unforgettable. Every time I make Kodhel it tastes different when used with different vegetables. From humble vegetables to royal fruits, the choice of main ingredient is many. This time I made summer special and my all time favourite Raw Mango Kodhel using Totapuri Mango which is a best choice for this recipe. Don’t fret if you don’t find Totapuri mangoes. Instead go for those mangoes which have mild sweet note with sourness. The rich and vibrant golden red colour of the gravy comes from special type of dry red chillies called Byadagi Menasu/Chilli which comes from Byadagi region in North Karnataka and is a must for Managlorean cuisine. This Raw Mango Kodhel where sweet and sour Totapuri mangoes are cooked in lightly spiced coconut gravy is delight to every foodie’s senses. And off this goes to Suganya who is guest hosting this month’s AFAM-Coconut. Oh yes, Coconut is really a fruit and like many of you I too learnt it recently.

Print This Recipe

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Raw Mango Kodhel (Raw Mangoes cooked in Mangalorean Coconut Gravy)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 large Totapuri Mango, cut into 1 inch cubes (no need to peel its skin)
1-1½ inch cube of Jaggery
Salt to taste

For Ground Paste:
¾ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen
4-5 Dry Red Chillies (I used Byadagi, adjust acc to taste)
1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Urad Dal
Big pinch of Methi/Fenugreek Seeds
1 small marble size Tamarind (adjust acc to taste, if mangoes are quite sour them omit it)

For Tempering:
1 tbsp Oil (preferably Coconut oil)
1 tsp Black Mustard Seeds
1 dry Red Chilli, halved
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves

Ingredients(clockwise): Raw Mango, Jaggery, Tamarind, Roasted Spices & Coconut

Method:

Cook cubed mango pieces in 3-3½ cups of water adding jaggery and salt to taste for between 7-10 mins on a medium flame. Make sure that the mangoes are just cooked and its peel change to dirty green colour.
Mean while, dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chillies, urad dal and methi seeds for about 1 min in a medium flame till they turn light brown in colour and gives out nice aroma. Grind these roasted spices with coconut, tamarind pulp and just enough water to very smooth paste.
Add this ground paste to mango pieces and mix well. Add little water if needed to get required consitancy of base gravy. Cook this mixture for another 5-7 minutes and bring it to gentle boil.
Heat oil in a tadka pan and add mustard, dry red chillies, hing and curry leaves. Transfer this tempering to the curry when mustard starts to pop and splutter. Mix well and cover and keep it aside covered for about 10 mins for all the flavours to blend well. Serve this delicious Raw Mango Kodhel with Rosematta or Basmati Rice or with Dosa and Idli and enjoy.

Raw Mango Kodhel

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Notes:

While cooking mangoes make sure that you don’t over cook them as it is important for mangoes to retain their shape and not become mushy.
Don’t cook for too long once you add ground mixture of coconut.
This Kodhel tastes great the next day when all the flavours are blended well.

Other mango recipes blogged so far

• Spicy Mango Chutney/Pickle
• Raw mango Spinach Dal
• Aamras
• Mango-Coconut Chutney
• Uppu Mavina Kai Palya (Mangoes in brine stir fry)
• Uppu Mavina Kai Gojju
• Mango Rice

Thanks to dear Skribles of Food with a Pinch of Love (for Nice Matters & Good Chant Blog) and lovely Happy Cook of My Kitchen Treasures (for Arte y Pico) for passing me these awards. I am honored and feel cherished girls :)

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Reminder:

MBP-Street Food ends on 24th of June, 2008. Start patrolling the blogs and cook your favourite Street Food that your tummy begs and heart desires and spread link love.

Deadline: 24th June, 2008

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

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

Continue Reading...