Quick Onion & Capsicum/Pepper Subji: Quick, Simple, Delicious & Healthy too!!!

Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji

Quick – tick.
Simple – tick.
Delicious – tick.
Healthy – tick.

Wondering what am I talking about?

Recipe, of course! These days whenever I cook I go through these four pointers. I am looking for the recipes which quick to cook so that it saves lot of my time in doing rather something more important. And it should also be rather simple as I am trying to use very little ingredients so that the taste of main ingredient or the star ingredient is not chocked to death by hundreds of other ingredients and spices. Since I believe you can cook tasty and delicious food in spite of the recipe being quick and simple one I look out for those recipes that sound promising to produce the same result. Last but not the least, the health factor and I am, well, very conscious about it and try to make sure that the ingredients retains its nutrition and are not overly cooked all the time.

So when my dear friend Alka posted recipe of Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji on our group blog Beyond Curries, I knew I had to cook and taste!!! This recipe of Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji uses few ingredients and could be prepared in flat 15 minutes time. And it’s not only delicious but also healthy as it is a quick stir fry and not overly cooked for hours making it loose all its nutrition. And the bonus is its pretty to look at :) Who in their right mind can ignore this blissful delight! Well, not me ;) So dear readers please give this quick stir fry a try and let me know if you think the same. While you are enjoying this quick capsicum recipe, take a look at my post on pearly delight of Sagu/Sabudana Kichidi at Beyond Curries :)

Coloured Bell Peppers for Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji

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Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji (Quick stir fry of Bell Peppers and Onion)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 10-12 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With Chapatti or Rice and Dal
Recipe Inspiration: Beyond Curries

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Ingredients:
3 Capsicums/Bell Peppers, cut into 1 inch squares
1 large Onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium Tomatoes, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, slit
½-1 tsp Garam Masala/Kitchen King Masala
1 tsp Coriander Powder
A pinch of Haldi/Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Sugar
Salt to taste

For Tadka:
1 tsp Jeera
½ tbsp Oil

Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When cumin sizzles and turns golden red in colour.
Mix in chopped onions and green chillies and sauté till onion turn light golden in colour.
Add chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, turmeric, sugar and garam masala/kitchen king masala and cook for 3-5 minutes till tomatoes are cooked through.
Add chopped capsicums/bell peppers and sauté for 4-6 minutes so that it is lightly cooked yet retains its crunch.
Switch off the gas and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve this Quick Onion & Capsicum Subji with Chapatti or rice and enjoy!

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Tinda Palak & RCI Reminder

Tinda Palak

Hello friends, how are you all? I know it’s been quite some time since I last updated my blog. But series of heavy work load and not that great health has kept me away from blogging and cooking for all these days.

Now that I am slowly recovering from one bad case of hay fever and cold, I decided to do something that always cheered me. Yup, you guessed it right; cooking and blogging. But for some strange reason today I feel that I am literally dragging myself here to post recipe! And trust me, I am not feeling good about it. I am seriously considering taking one long break from blogging (well, can’t retire from kitchen so easily!) if the same feelings persists. May be it’s time I took some time away from blogging and recharged my creative cells on other hobbies that I loved before I started blogging… So don't get surprise if I to got MIA for next few days or weeks!!!

Till I decide my next step let me share this simple recipe of Tinda Palak. This little green cuties came back home after our last trip to Asian grocery. Since I had already paired them with Chickpeas for Tinda Chole, I decided to pair them with fresh bunch of protein rich Indian Spinach. This lightly spiced dry curry of Tinda Palak took new tasty twist when sprinkled with Amchur powder or dry mango powder and we both ended up having one satisfied tummy and big smile on our face. If you want to serve something mild, simple and packed with nutrition, then this is the recipe for you. Give it a try if you can get hold of these little beauties called Punjabi Tinda or Indian Baby Pumpkins and see your taste buds dancing to its tune!

Ingredients for Tinda Palak

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Tinda Palak (Spicy Punjabi Tinda and Spinach Curry)
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 5-6
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
3-4 medium Punjabi Tinda, peeled and cut into ¾ inch pieces
1 bunch Palak/Spinach Leaves, leaves plucked, washed and cut into thin stripes
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
½ tbsp Sugar
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
¼-½ tbsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¾-1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 2 tbsp Lime Juice

For Tadka:
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 Dry Red Chilli, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp Oil

Special Utensils:
Heavy bottomed pan or Kadai/Wok with lid

Tinda Palak

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, add dry red chilli pieces and hing. Sauté them for few seconds.
Next, add chopped onions and cook till they turn light golden brown, about 3 minutes, on medium flame.
Mix in tomatoes and cook till they turn pulpy and release their juice, about 2-3 minutes.
Add all the spices listed above (garam masala, kitchen king masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder and dry mango powder) along with sugar and salt to taste and mix well. Let it cook for a minute or two.
Mix in Punjabi Tinda pieces and add about ½ cup of water. Cover the lid and let it cook for another 6-8 minutes on medium flame till they turn fork tender.
Add spinach and give it a good stir. Sprinkle little water if needed and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes till the vegetables are cooked thoroughly.
If adding lemon/lime juice, add it just before turning off the flame and mix well.
Serve this delicious Tinda Palak with any Indian flat bread or rice of your choice and enjoy!

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Reminder for RCI: Udupi & Managlorean Cuisine
Last 3 days left!!!

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.

PS: If you have not received any reply to your emails within 3 days of mailing it, please email me again your entries with all the required details. For some strange reasons many RCI entries have been landing in my spam folder and although I have rescued almost all the entries from my spam folder there may be the chance of it getting deleted by mistake. My sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this.

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Gobi ka Kheema: The art of 'ahem' Seduction!!!

Gobi ka Kheema

Curly haired, little pot bellied, fair and of course handsome! He was there again that night surrounded by his family and friends. I tried to move away from his sight before he could see me and rushed to move past him. But alas, that was not to happen and he was beside me in within few seconds.

“Take me home with you tonight” he whispered into my ears.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea” I said and tried to move away from him.
“Why not? Don’t you fancy me anymore?” he pleaded.
“Err, something of that sort” I said without looking into his eyes.
“Please tell me, what is it that you don’t like about me is?” he demanded!
“Well, there are quite many things I don’t like about you and I don’t think you would like to them in front of your family and friends”, I said.
“I don’t care about anything or anyone. All I want is to know the reasons as why you have been avoiding me since last two months! Please, be considerate!” he pleaded again.
“OK, if it this is what you want hear!” I took deep breath.
“Yes! I am tired of seeing you avoiding me whenever we are in same room and I can’t help but see you favouring that new guy in block!” he said.
“I don’t like how inconsiderate you are when it comes to sharing space. Remember last time you came home with me? You occupied so much of space in my tiny home without even considering what others may think or feel!” I blurted.
“Oh! I am sorry about that. I will try not to occupy too much of space and be friendly with others from now on” he said trying to hide his smile.
“I have never been fond of you. Remember the days when we were kids? You would visit our home at least once a week and make my life miserable as my mother favoured you always?” I said, bit to loudly perhaps.
“Is it? I knew your mom was fond of me. I remember her telling one of your aunts how pleasant little boy I am and always doing right! But I never knew you were jealous of me”, he said sounding almost relieved.
“I was not jealous! It’s just that you never smelled nice like others. Well, to tell you frankly I think you stink a lot”, I shouted back.
“What??? Come again! I stink?” he shouted back.
“We stink?” shouted all his family members in chorus, who were eavesdropping all along and pretending to be busy with their own affairs.
“Yes, that is the main reason why I have been avoiding you. I tried to like you but your stench that comes from miles makes me run away from you” I told him and his family who didn’t look that friendly anymore.
“That’s because you don’t know how to use me like her. Why not take few tips from her as how one should treat me with respect/dignity that I deserve? Learn from her how to cook me not just slaughter me with overdose of spices and other unnecessary ingredients. And more importantly, learn to appreciate the health benefits you get from me. After doing all this if you still think I am not good enough for you then we will end our relationship. So, how about taking me home tonight?”

And I took him home that night and yes, he won!!! He wooed me and seduced me that night. He looked good, he tasted better and more importantly he smelled divine!

Gobi ka Kheema

Thank to dear Ashwini for her brilliant recipe for Gobi ka Kheema, I am ‘kind’ of cauliflower convert now! For someone who tries to avoid cooking and eating cauliflower as much as possible, I must say that this recipe is a keeper! The secret is pan frying the grated cauliflower till they turn golden brown and then cooking them with very few ingredients. And oh boy! It smelled and tasted divine. The aroma of sautéed grated cauliflower was something that I didn’t expect! I was even considering of opening all the doors and windows open, in spite of outside temperature close to freezing point, just to make sure that our home wouldn’t smell like some dead rat! ;) But surprise, surprise!!! It smelled divine! (Did I say divine again?) Gobi ka Kheema is definitely one of the best Cauliflower dishes I have ever tasted and I don’t know how to say this, I will be making this again tonight ;)

P.S: Before some of you ask, I seriously don’t fancy any curly haired or little pot bellied men ;) So please, don’t start teasing me!

Grated Cauliflower for Gobi ka Kheema

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Gobi ka Kheema (Grated Cauliflower cooked with sweet Green Peas and spiced Tomato puree)
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: Food for Thought

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Recipe Level: Medium
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or with flavoured/steam cooked Rice

Ingredients:
1 medium Cauliflower
½ cup Green Peas (I used frozen)
2 medium Onions, grated or finely chopped or pulsed in a blender
2-3 Tomatoes, blanched and pureed *
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1-2 Bay Leaves
¾ tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder (I used Kashmiri Chilli Powder)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Gobi ka Kheema

Method:

Clean the cauliflower and separate it into large florets. Grate them coarsely by hand or using food processor.
Next, heat about 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add grated cauliflower to it. Sauté it on medium flame for 8-10 minutes till they start to turn golden brown. Keep it aside till needed.
Heat another tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, hing and bay leaves to it. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red in colour, add onion and ginger-garlic paste and stir fry them till raw smell from onions and GG paste disappears and onions turn light golden brown.
Reduce the heat and mix in tomato puree. Add chilli powder, garam masala, green peas and salt to taste and mix well. Let the gravy simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Mix in sautéed cauliflower and adjust the seasonings. Cook for another 5-7 minutes on reduced heat and ensure that cauliflower is coated well with spices.
Serve this delicious Gobi ka Kheema, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves, with any Indian flat breads or Rotis and enjoy.

Spiced Tomato Puree

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Note:

* You can simply use blanched and pureed tomatoes for this recipe or use this recipe that I made following Ashwini’s recipe for this delicious and aromatic tomato puree. All you need for this Tomato Puree is 3-4 roughly chopped Tomatoes, 2-3 Green Cardamoms, 2-3 Cloves, 1-2 Bay Leaves (Optional), 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste, and 2-3 slit Green Chillies. Place all these ingredients in a stockpot along with 1-2 cups of water and cook it on reduced heat till tomato is reduced to pulp (about 10 minutes). Discard whole spices and green chillies and let it cool. Now either you can mash the pulp and strain the puree into another pan or simply pulse in your food processor. Transfer this puree into a stock pot and add about 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi, salt to taste and little cream if desired and bring it to a gentle boil. That’s it!!! Let it cool and pour it into ice cube moulds and pop them in your freezer. Once frozen, remove from moulds and store it in zip lock bag and use them as and when needed. I have started using them quite a lot in curries, gravies and even I have replaced vegetable stock cubes with this healthy homemade spiced tomato puree.

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Bhindi Do Pyaza: Say No to Slimy Okra!

Bhindi Do Pyaza

What happens when you balance laptop in one hand, cloths basket in another hand, two coffee mugs dangling from fingers?
Well, nothing!
And imagine same scenario and you are climbing down the stairs, looking back and chatting away to glory?

Now we are talking!!! The result of such silly and stupid thing is you end up tumbling down from top stairs to bottom and then end up either with broken bones or severe back pain! That’s what happens when you are not watching your steps!!! Thankfully I didn’t end up with broken bones but suffered enough from back pain and bruises for few days! Never in my life had I felt good about those excess fat around hips ;) That’s the only reason I am walking (hopping/jumping is the right word in my case) without clutches or wheelchair today!

Since I was strictly kept away from kitchen or even getting up from bed/sofa (how boring!), TH was in charge of cooking. So here is my Sous chef, totally in control of everything and cooking one delicious dish after another, not only impressed me immensely with his cooking skill but also giving some tough challenge in kitchen. Looking at the way he’s been cooking storms in kitchen, I am having serious doubt about him starting his own food blog ;) Don’t you believe me? Then how about these crispy and delicious Bhindi Do Pyaza cooked by my much better half?

Bhindi Do Pyaza is a simple stir fry of Okras and Onions with just few spices. It’s one of the simple dishes which can give very tough competition to any complex dish. Flavour wise, the combination of crunchy okras and sweet onions can blow you away when cooked right! Only thing that you need to do is stir fry the okras in very high heat, adding right amount of oil and you will be surprised to see how crisp they turns out! So are you ready to say good bye to gooey, mushy okras and welcome this queen of vegetables with a very big hand? Shall we start the party?

Bhindi Do Pyaza

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Bhindi Do Pyaza (Simple yet delicious crispy stir fried slivers of Okra and Onion)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
25-30 Okras, washed, dried and slit vertically and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 medium Onions, thinly sliced
2-4 Green Chillies, slit (adjust acc to taste)
1 inch Ginger, finely chopped or grated
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
½ tsp Kalonji/Nigella Seeds (Optional)
2+1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Bhindi Do Pyaza

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and add sliced okra to it. Stir fry on high flame till brown spots start to appear on sliced okra and its sliminess is reduced. It will take good 4-5 minutes for the okra to cook through yet retaining its colour and crispiness. Transfer the stir fried okra to dry plate lined with kitchen/paper towel.
Heat tbsp oil in a same pan and add kalonji and jeera seeds. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn golden red in colour, add sliced onions, green chillies and finely chopped ginger and stir fry till onions turns translucent. Add turmeric powder and stir fry till onions turn golden brown.
Mix in okra, lime juice and salt to taste and continue to stir fry for another 2-3 minutes for all the flavours to blend well.
Serve this delicious Bhindi Do Pyaza with some curry/dal and rice/chapatti and enjoy.

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Notes:

Few tips for those who find it difficult to cut, and cook those slimy Okras.
Always choose young and tender okras. The best ones are the ones that get easily snapped when you bend the tail end of the pod.
Make sure that you dry the Okra completely after washing them in water. Either spread them on kitchen towel in single layer and leave it for few hours or pat them dry with dry kitchen papers/towels. It is a must that the okras are dried properly if you don’t like them go slimy.
Next while chopping them; make sure that you have dry chopping board and knife. Keep dry kitchen paper next to you and clean the slime from knife using it whenever needed.
I have tried stir frying the okra with very little oil and ended up with really slimy okras. So then onwards I usually use little more oil than normal and cook it on a very high heat. This way the okras not only get cooked fast and retain their crispiness, but also any moisture in them disappears at high heat. And you will be surprised to see how the sliminess is reduced in short period of time.

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Masala Bhindi: Going Nuts!

Masala Bhindi

There are so many things happening around me, so many things that I want to write and so many thoughts to share. But today I feel like I have run out of words. May be I’ll be able to do it once I clear my mind and focus on just one thing at a time. But I am not sure when this going to happen! :)

So, al I am going to write about is food and just food, till I bounce back with some old stories, some sweet memories, some crabby bites and whole lot of rants. Today’s recipe is something I tried few days back, it’s Masala Bhindi. It was another hectic day at office and I was seriously not in a very good mood to cook anything, let alone chop vegetables and grind spice powder. But the thought of good food and wasting big bagful of Okras that I bought for ridiculous price were enough to dive into a long process of washing, cleaning, drying and chopping slimy Okras. First I thought of making simple Bhindi Do Pyaz (recipe to come soon) but later changed my mind when I saw a cup of roasted Peanuts sitting not-so-happily in pantry. It was few days back when I had roasted these peanuts to make Coconut-Mango Pulihara/Chitranna and I wanted to finish them as soon as possible.

Peanut with Okra? Sweet okras stir fried with crunchy roasted peanuts. The idea was enough to make me go nuts and with in few mins I was roasted few basic spices along with my favourite lentils to make a spice powder. Along with spices I thought of roasting white Sesames which is not much used in my recipes. Last week I had bought big bag of Indian red Onions (also called curry onions) from Indian grocery shop. It is quite expensive when compared with the usual white onions we get from supermarket but it tastes way too better than white ones. So I picked the biggest one I could find in that 5 kg gunny bag as I like the taste of fried onions. Except for cleaning, drying and chopping of okras, it took me very little time to make this Masala Bhindi. When served with Chapatti, Rice and Dal I felt it was worth all those efforts I put into cooking after one hell of the day! The sweet taste of okra and onion was perfectly in sync with roasted spice powder, peanuts and sesame. Try this recipe if you are tired of same old Bhindi Fry or Bhindi Masala and discover the nutty combination ;)

Roasted Spice Powder, Okras & Peanuts for Masala Bhindi

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Bhindi Masala (Stir fried Okra and Red Onion spiced with ground roasted spices, Peanuts and Sesame)
Prep Time: 10-15 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
25-30 small and tender Okras (about 8-10 cups), trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large Red Indian Onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
¼ cup Roasted Peanuts
1 Roasted white Sesame Seeds
Juice of ¼ - ½ Lime (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

For Spice Powder:
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
½ tbsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
¼ tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils
2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts
½ tbsp Roasted white Sesame
3-5 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)

For Tadka:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
A big Pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

Masala Bhindi

Method:

Dry roast cumin, hing, channa dal, urad dal and red chillies in a pan till the lentils turn golden brown and aromatic. Let them cool and combine with roasted peanuts and sesame. Grind them all into a fine powder using coffee grinder or mixer. Keep it aside till needed.
Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan and add chopped okras to it. Cook them on high heat, stirring continuously, till okras turn crisp and brown spots start to appear. It usually takes around 5-7 minutes. Transfer these fried okras into a plate lined with kitchen towel.
Next heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves to it. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, add thinly sliced onion and finely chopped garlic. Sauté continuously till onions turn golden brown, about 2-3 mins.
Mix in turmeric and ground spices and toss them well. Make sure that the spices are evenly distributed among onions. Now add fried okras, salt to taste and mix well. Cook them for two more minutes making sure that the spices have coated every piece of okra.
Switch off the pan and mix in lime juice, roasted peanuts and sesame and toss well. Serve this delicious Masala Bhindi with Rice/Chapatti and Dal and enjoy.

Masala Bhindi

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Notes:

Few tips for those who find it difficult to cut, and cook those slimy Okras.
Always choose young and tender okras. The best ones are the ones that get easily snapped when you bend the tail end of the pod.
Make sure that you dry the Okra completely after washing them in water. Either spread them on kitchen towel in single layer and leave it for few hours or pat them dry with dry kitchen papers/towels. It is a must that the okras are dried properly if you don’t like them go slimy.
Next while chopping them, make sure that you have dry chopping board and knife. Keep dry kitchen paper next to you and clean the slime from knife using it whenever needed.
I have tried stir frying the okra with very little oil and ended up with really slimy okras. So then onwards I usually use little more oil than normal and cook it on a very high heat. This way the okras not only get cooked fast and retain their crispiness, but also any moisture in them disappears at high heat. And you will be surprised to see how the sliminess is reduced in short period of time.

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Lobia-Mushrooms & rants on "Some" Campaigns

Lobia Mushroom

Am I a feminist? Hell, No.
Am I liberal in my thoughts and deeds? Oh, yes.

Hear me loud and clear! I am not a feminist but I do consider myself liberal. Not hard to digest this fact as I am born and bought up in the world’s biggest democratic country and I have always been thought by my parents to stand for what I think is right and never get scared of opposing something which I feel absolute bulls%$t. I have been accused of being too feminist for my thoughts and actions by some people who hardly know me. Do I really care about it? Nada… Do I know what feminist really means? I think I know. And no, I don’t belong to the category of people who link them with bra burning. But if it to believe that the feminist are women who are fighting for their rights to be treated equal among other members of the society, especially men then I don’t think I belong to that category. It is because I believe and I know it for sure that I have been treated and seen as equal by every individual in my life who matter to me the most. So the question of fighting for something that I already have doesn’t make any sense to me!

Why all this rant you may ask! The reason is the Pink Chaddi campaign!!! Yup, you heard me right. The whole idea which I found silly, childish, and to some extent bit gross! For those who are unaware of this campaign, this a campaign to send pink undergarments to goons of Sri Rama Sena who have self appointed them selves as moral police in India, especially in Karnataka to protect and preserve the Indian culture from being tarnished by modern Indian women. They are the same people who barged into a pub in my native Mangalore and shamelessly molested and then beaten the girls in a pub for going against Indian “culture”!!! Wow, how brilliantly they have demonstrated the Indian “culture” to the whole world! So this is the campaign by the women to assert their rights on the eve of Valentine’s Day by sending their pink underwear these goons of Sri Rama Sena. Nothing is wrong with fighting for your right but hello, why would anyone want to send their underwear to these good-for-nothing goons?

Now let me come to the point that has been bothering me for few days. Why pink chaddi? Is pink undergarment is the symbol of feminity or womanhood? You must be kidding right? Why not something else? Why not perfumes to clear their sticking thoughts? Why not pink dupatta that they can tie to a ceiling fan and hang themselves? Why not hand kerchief to wipe clean their minds? Why not send them safety pins to burst their ego? And why not send them 2009’s calendars to show which century they are living in? Why not pink ribbons to tie to their, ahem, tails? After all they call themselves members of Sri Rama Sena and we all know that Ram’s Sena was consisted of Vanaras (monkeys). Why not pink rose or pink flower for that matter? Why not chappal or sandals that is considered as most insulting thing in India (Remember, even Bush and Chinese PM’s were not spared)? We women who have never hesitated to take our sandals from our feet in lightening speed when it becomes necessary to protect ourselves from lechers. But will we be able to do the same with our undergarment without hesitating? I wonder…. And I can’t help but ask this again “Why pink chaddi”? And most importantly, why are you calling yourself loose and forward? Is it only loose and forward women who visit pubs? I am sorry, but you have lost me here.

Sorry, dear friends. Although I fully support the reason and thought behind this campaign I will not part with my pink underwear even if I have one. Why would I want to spend my hard earned money on buying some pink panties with lace or no lace and send it to some strangers? Hell, isn’t it the whole point of wearing undergarment is to cover yourself with dignity? And even if I decide to gift my chaddis, it would be to my husband as I consider it to be too intimate gift to give. I simply can’t fathom the idea of sending my pretty undies to some goons like Pramod Mutalik and his Goonda Sena who doesn’t even wear one! For one, I find this idea of sending pink chaddi to be funny than serious. And for second, these goons don’t deserve to get any kind of publicity because that is what they want and got when they went for pub thrashing. They wanted all media attention at first place when they attacked those girls in Mangalore pub and knowing all those buffoons on TV and Radio they got more publicity than they ever dreamt of. With in few hours whole country came to know about the existence of Sri Rama Sena and with in few days it was known to the whole world.

So your Pink Chaddi campaign is just adding good dose of spices and Tadka to their existence and I have no desire to assist them in PR. This is the easiest possible way for these Goonda’s to become “somebody” from being “nobody” and do you think they deserve this kind of publicity? We have seen enough of these dramas where these politicians have tried to divide us based on caste, religion and region. I don’t wish to be a part of another sick game of dividing the society based on gender. I believe in living in a world of dignity and treated with respect for what I am, rather based on my caste, region, religion or gender for that matter. No one can just come and tell me that I can’t dress the way I like or drink and eat what I want or can’t be with the person I love. If some men feel that way then they really need some serious help. What are they scared of? Are they scared of the women working along them? Doing things what they do? Behaving the way they do? If the answers to these questions are yes, then they surely need some serious help. And I don’t believe that your pink undergarment or condoms are going to help them in their journey of discovery!

Lobia Mushroom with Chapatti

That’s it folks. I am done with it and feel much better now. And I know most of my blog readers come for recipes and not for my rants. Don’t worry my friends; I am not going to disappoint you. Today I have one of the simplest recipes for you which uses very few and basic ingredients. This recipe of Lobia Mushroom is adapted from my favourite cookbook, 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. Nutty black eyed peas stir fried along meaty mushrooms and fresh herbs ginger and coriander leaves has no fancy ingredients. But that’s what makes this Lobia Mushroom interesting and special. The taste is simply earthy, fresh and wholesome. I served mine along with Dal and Chapatti on busy weekday for dinner and had it with toasted wholemeal bread on next day for lunch.

Lobia & Mushrooms

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Lobia Mushroom (Black eyed Peas with sautéed Mushrooms)

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: 660 Curries
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Low
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:

1 cup Black Eyed Peas
2-3 cups of Mushrooms, sliced (I used Button Mushrooms)
1 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder or combination of Paprika and Chilli Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 inch Ginger, grated or finely chopped
¼ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped (use it’s stems also)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds (Optional, as original recipe doesn’t use it)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Again optional)
1 tbsp Oil (Original recipe calls for 2 tbsp)
Salt to taste

Lobia Mushroom

Method:

Wash blacked eyed peas properly and place them in a pressure cooker. Add 3 cups of water and bring it to boil. Skim the foam formed and closed the lid. Cook for 15-20 mins on medium heat till the beans are cooked thoroughly. Let the pressure release completely before opening the lid.
Mean while, heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing to it. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn reddish brown, add sliced mushrooms and mix well. Stir fry it continuously till mushrooms start to brown and cooked well. Mix in chilli powder, grated ginger, coriander leaves and salt to taste. Cook for another minute or two for the spices to blend well.
Now add cooked beans and mix well. Adjust the seasonings and cook for another minute or two. Serve Lobia Mushroom hot with bread or rice or chapatti and enjoy.

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PS: Just when I finished writing this post, I came to know about the existence of another campaign called Pink Condom Campaign where the campaigners are urging people to send pink condoms to pink chaddi campaigners. Now I wonder how many other pink or other coloured campaigns will be initiated to oppose other campaigns. This whole thing is turning out be nothing but a circus, but at least circus is entertaining to some extent!!!

PPS: You are welcome to write your thoughts as I have expressed mine. I have said all I wanted and please don’t expect me to further argue or debate on this topic. And special message to “special” readers, offensive comments will not be entertained and will be deleted then and there.

PPPS: I have intentionally not linked those campaign websites. You can Google search with key words if you want to read more about these two “pink” campaigns.

PPPPS: If you really want to be a part of some meaningful campaign then why not visit www.helpgaurav.com and help Gaurav Tandon and his family to raise money for his operation? Gaurav, 34 year old working in an IT firm in Mumbai was diagnosed with AML (a type of blood cancer) in November and needs to get his Bone Marrow Transplant done as soon as possible. His wife Anuradha and his friends and well wishers are trying to raise a fund of Rs. 1.5 Cr (approx: 333,000 US dollars) for his operation. Please visit his website to get more information and contribute. Thanks Dibs for bringing this to my notice.

Have a lovely weekend, friends. I leave you all with this beautiful video.

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Kasuri Methiwale Gobi ki Subji/Subzi: Sweet Romance

Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Ki Subji

Tall, dark and handsome…
Rich, powerful and charismatic…
Beautiful, fair and simple…
Young, virgins and innocents…

You don’t need to appoint detectives from Scotland Yard to figure out what I am talking about. This is how almost all the heroes and heroines of Mills & Boon novels. For all those people who are twitching their nose in disgust at the mention of M&B, did you know it’s been a whole century since Mills and Boon began publishing? Yes, 100 years of romance and romance alone and surprisingly even now at 21st century it has vast readership by selling 130 million books a year in 26 different languages. And did you also know that the company turnover is over £21 million and it has 1,600 writers dedicated to writing romantic novels?

The documentary on BBC channel on a Century of Romance: Mills & Boon triggered the memories of my teen days when I read first M&B book which was stuck in between Hardly Boys and Nancy Drew novels I was addicted to. It was the story of rich, powerful business man falling in love with a pretty secretary of his. And since then I have had read hundreds of similar stories with the same storyline with almost similar characters. The men are always rich, handsome and powerful millionaires or billionaires who are either successful business men or doctors or Arabian sheikhs or business tycoons with a smile that would set every (submissive) female specie’s heart ablaze.

I have lost the count of numer of times I have had read M&B novels, tucked safely in between thick text books of logistics or graphic designing, at boring college lectures. They were notoriously famous among girls as the books were small enough to hide comfortably between any texts books which almost resembled large print oxford dictionaries and dream of their prince charming between coding and programming. Since the book was small with 40 to 50 thousand words, it was easy to finish in a session or two. Well, you don’t need to use your mind when you read M&B novels, just turn pages and finish it and pass it on. Ever wondered why these books were so famous? Do share your stories and thoughts with us :)

Moving on to recipe part, I have different things to romance these days, food and cooking. What did you think? Tsk, tsk… Anyways, I have been seen lately romancing with Dudhi which ruled our kitchen for the past few months and also other vegetables which make regular appearance in our kitchen. But Gobi/Cauliflower is one vegetable which I buy reluctantly, mainly it stinks!!! Did I say that? Hmmm… It does stick when over cooked and I know you too know that!!! Even when I buy Gobi I disguise it among other vegetables, especially I like to pair it with potatoes which makes it much bearable. And I absolutely hate over-cooked cauliflower. But this time hubby dear was particular about cooking it alone without pairing with other veggies. Well, it took me more than one week to think and decide and by yesterday I was almost ready to give up and cook Aloo-Gobi if not for very intriguing recipe posted by dear Indira of Mahanandi.

Indira’s recipe of Gobi Kasuri Methi with Raisins sounded too interesting to be ignored. Kasuri methi rules my kitchen and I usually buy big packs of it from India instead of buying here which hardly gives any flavour. So I was all set to try this recipe and with in few minutes I was chopping cauliflower into medium florets. My recipe of Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subji/Subzi uses three main ingredients cauliflower, kasuri methi and raisins used by Indira but my recipe is slightly different from the original. I skipped coconut and added little bit of garam masala and aamchur powder. And I also used fresh ginger and garlic along with sweet onions and tart tomatoes. While kasuri methi gives a mild, pleasantly bitter taste, sultanas soaked up in spicy tomato gravy gives it a nice sweet bite to this absolutely delicious Subzi/Subji. Thank you Indira for this delicious inspiration and I am packing this bowl of delicious Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subji/Subzi to dear Zu for her T&T-Mahanandi event.

Cauliflower, Kasuri Methi & Sultanas

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Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Subzi/Subji (Sweet and Spicy Cauliflower Curry cooked with pleasantly bitter Dried Fenugreek Leaves and sweet Sultanas)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Inspiration: Mahanandi

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Ingredients:

1 medium Cauliflower, cut into medium florets
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 can or 3 large Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 inch Ginger, peeled & finely chopped
3-4 large Garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ cup Sultanas or Raisins
1 tbsp Kauri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
½ - 1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ - 1 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but recommended)
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Ki Subji

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and hing. When cumin starts to sizzle and change golden red, add finely chopped ginger and garlic and sauté them for about 30 seconds. Then add finely chopped onions and sauté till they turn golden brown, about 2-3 mins.
Mix in kasuri methi, garam masala, kitchen king masala and turmeric powder and fry for half a minute. Add canned chopped tomatoes or finely chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium flame till they turn pulpy.
Now add ½ - 1 cup of water, salt to taste and aamchur powder and mix well. Mix in cauliflower florets and cover the lid. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes on medium flame, stirring in between, till cauliflower is almost cooked.
Uncover and mix in sultanas or golden raisins and let it simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and serve the delicious Kasuri Methiwala Gobi Curry with any Indian Breads or steaming bowl of Rice and enjoy.

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Baby Brinjal Masala Palya: Simply Delicious

Baby Brinjal Masala Palya

What happens when someone hosts 3 blog events back to back, creating a hatrick!!!
She checks her mail box religiously every morning as soon as she gets up only to realise it’s all over… At last!!!

Not that I have had any second thoughts about hosting the events. In fact I loved being a gracious, ahem, hostess and making sure all my guests were enjoying the party. Well, they were the best parties I have ever hosted, I think! But in the end I did have this small voice in my head shouting I might have over done it this time. I kind of mixed up with the dates and committed myself to host events before I could realise I was about to host three much loved blog events back to back. With ever increasing workload with two new and very important projects to work on, I was literally walking on a tight rope balancing work on my left hand, home on right hand and blog events on my head ;) So no more parties for few more months but you are very welcome to come here and have some home food :)

Talking of home food, I have been cooking some simple foods these days. Not many ingredients and no complex techniques. I have been experimenting with few spices, tweaking here and there till I am satisfied with the end result. One such recipe is Stir Fried Baby Green Brinjals or Baby Geen Brinjal Masala Palya. Recent trip to down south, I bought few lovely green baby brinjals which are otherwise not available in my neck of woods. The speciality of these brinjals is that they have thin lovely green skin with lots of seeds within. They take very little time to cook compared to the purple baby eggplants and taste oh-so-wonderful. I didn’t want them to over cook so the option of stuffing them was out of the window. After thinking for a while I opted to slice them and stir fry with just few spices which would bring out the flavour of these green beauties.

The recipe is inspired by recent post of Dondakaya Vepudu but with my own twist. I have used same ingredients for the spice blend but also added few other ingredients to give it little smoky and complex flavours. Addition to cumin, dry red chillies and roasted peanuts, I also added garlic, tamarind and little jaggery. The result was simply delicious where I ended up eating half the content right from the pan. The pungent garlic, sweet jaggery, sour tamarind and smoky dry red chillies were pure pleasure to be experienced. And the best part was hubby dear is allergic to eggplants, so I had it all for myself;) You can try same spice blend with other vegetables like Ivy Gourd/Tindora or even purple eggplants and I am sure it will taste equally good.

Baby Brinjals

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Green Brinjal Masala Palya (Baby Green Brinjal/Eggplants stir fried with roasted spices)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
6-8 Baby Green Brinjals, washed and towel dried
2-3 Garlic Flakes, finely sliced
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

For Tempering/Tadka:
1-1½ tbsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¾ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Channa Dal/Split Bengal Gram
½ tbsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram
2 Dry Red Chillies
Big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
Few Curry Leaves

To be Roasted & Ground to Fine Powder:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
5-6 Dry Red Chillies, stems removed and halved (Adjust acc to taste. I used Byadagi Chillies)
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1½ -2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts, skins removed or leave it as it is
1 small marble sized Tamarind Pulp/½ tsp Tamarind Paste
1 tsp Jaggery/Brown sugar

Baby Brinjal Masala Palya

Method:

Remove the stems of baby brinjals and cut it vertically in the middle. Slice each halves into 1 cm slices. Place the sliced brinjals in a vessel filled with cold water till required. Immersing brinjals in cold water helps in preventing discolouration.
To make spice powder, heat few drops of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, halved chilles and finely chopped garlic. Roast them in low heat for a minute till garlic turns light brown and cumin seeds too turn light brown. Let it cool down a bit before you proceed to next step.
Place them in a mixer along with roasted peanuts, tamarind pulp and jaggery and grind into fine powder without adding any water. Keep this aside till needed.
Heat oil in a same pan and add channa dal, urad dal, mustard, dry red chillies and hing. Sauté it on medium flame till mustard starts to pop and splutter.
Now add cumin seeds, sliced garlic and curry leaves and sauté till cumin, dal and garlic turns light golden brown.
Drain water from sliced brinjal pieces and add them to the pan. Increase the heat and stir fry them continously for about 5 mins. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste and give it a good stir for another 5 mins.
Mix spice blend and stir fry for another 3-5 mins till all the flavours blend well and brinjal pieces are cooked to tender.
Serve this delicious stir fry with steaming bowl of Rice/Chapatti and Rasam/Dal/Plain Yogurt and enjoy.

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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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Bheja Fry? No, it's Bhindi Fry

Bhindi Fry

I have a crown yet I am not the king
You cut my crown and feet off with a fling

I carry lots of eggs, yet I nothing but a veggie
Even with all that I am thin and long not podgy

I am green and I am gooey
If u don't pay attention, I will make your dish go mushy and chewy

I do good to your health and to your brain
Which is what your elders told you without refrain

Now its up to you to think and guess
To who I am ...Cos I am good too and no less.

(Source: riddle from Siri and DK’s Open Sesame event)

How well the Bhendi/Bhindi/Okra/Bendekai is described by these two dear girls :) This slimy vegetable tops my list of favourite vegetable. Once you know how to handle this gooey goodness, you are sure to fall in love with it (it was true in my case, can't talk for others :). I like my bhindi cooked in a very simple way without much frills. It’s very common in our home to have minimum of two side dishes along with Rice or Roties for dinner and I give full credit to my Amma and MIL for spoiling us when we were kids.

With hectic schedule at work place it's become a habit to reach home at late evenings. During these times and days there are few recipes which come to my rescue that not only take few minutes to cook but also taste delicious. One such recipe is Bhindi Fry which is served in almost every Indian Restaurants and Takeaways. Other than it being my favourite dish to order at restaurants, I love to cook it at home on regular basis. Sometimes it’s best to apply KISS (short for Keep It Simple and Straightforward) principle when it comes to cooking and Bhindi Fry is a fine example for it (Aha… now you know why I mentioned Bheja Fry in my post title ;).

My recipe for Bhindi fry is quite simple and straight forward where fresh okra is pan fried with onion and tomatoes and few spices. While the onion gives it a crunch, tomato imparts little sour note. The spices used are minimal to keep natural sweetness of the bhindi/okra intact. Well, I never said you need to compromise on taste department even when the recipe calls for few minutes of your time. Cook this Bhindi Fry when you don’t have much time to spend in your kitchen and also when ever you feel like eating something light yet delicious.

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Bhindi Fry (Okra pan fried with onion and spices)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:

15-20 tender Bhindi/Okra, washed, towel dried and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small Onion, finely chopped
1 large Tomato, finely chopped (Optional but recommended)
1-2 green chillies, slit (adjust acc to taste)
3-4 Garlic flakes, finely chopped
½ inch Ginger, finely chopped
½ tsp Turmeric
½-1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1-2 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
½ tsp Sugar (Optional)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Oil
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Okra/Bhindi/Bendekai

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add okra/bhindi to it. Sauté them on high to medium flame continuously till the sliminess is reduced and they start to brown. It should take around 5-8 minutes in total.
In another pan heat 1 tsp of oil and add cumin seeds to it. When they sizzle, add finely chopped onion. Sauté the onion till it turns translucent.
Now add slit green chilli, finely chopped garlic and ginger and sauté till onion turns golden brown in colour.
Mix in garam masala and turmeric powder and sauté for another minute till you get nice aroma of spices.
Add finely chopped tomatoes, sugar if using and cook on a medium flame for about a minute or two. I like the tomatoes little undercooked. If you prefer, you can cook for little longer till the tomato releases its juice and becomes pulpy.
Mix in amchur or lime juice, fried okra, and salt to taste and keep stirring for another 3-5 minutes till all the flavours blend well.
Serve this garnished with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy with chapatti or rice.

Bhindi Fry

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Notes:
Other Bhindi/Okra recipes blogged so far

• Bedekai Gojju
• Fried Okra/Bhindi Dal
• Fried Okra Palya
• Okra Raita
• Bhindi Fry in Yogurt
• Stuffed Bhindi/Okra

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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.

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Some Like it Hot: Mushroom Chettinad

Spicy & Tangy Mushroom Chettinad

Aunt S: Are you sure this is what you want to eat.
Me: Absolutely. This looks like a spicy dish. This is exactly what I want to eat. I am tired of eating tasteless hostel food.
Aunt S: This one is really spicy. Do you think you can handle it?
Me: That’s what my taste buds are begging for after eating bland food all these days. Please Aunt S. Cook this one for me.
Aunt S: Ok, as you wish. Then don’t blame me later for not warning you.
Me: ~chuckles~ I am not a kid anymore. In two year’s time even our government will give me my voter’s card!!!
Aunt S: ~smiling~ As you wish dear niece.

It's Lunch time & lunch is served.

Aunt S: Sia, are you OK? Your nose just turned red.
Me: Of course Aunt S. It’s just that I have little cold!
Aunt S: ~trying to hide her smile~ Oh, then why are you crying?
Me: ~wiping her eyes~ He he… I am not crying. It’s just that I miss Amma and just realised how you both look alike and cook in a same way.
Aunt S: ~trying hard not to laugh~ That’s very sweet of you. Let me serve you little more of this dish you like so much.
Me: I read some where that too much of spicy food is not good for our health. Don’t you think everything should be eaten in moderate? Can I have another glass of water please?
Aunt S: ~chuckles~ That’s right. Spicy food is not good for kids. But you just said that you are not a kid any more and grown ups can handle this kind of spicy food.
Me: Oh yes, I looooooooove Spicy food. I am just worried about uncle as he is missing such a wonderful dish. I don’t want to end up licking the dish clean and disappoint him!
Aunt S: ~laughs out loud~ OK dear, we don’t want to disappoint uncle. Is there anything you would like to eat?
Me: How about that ice cream you said you bought for me? And also your special Shrikhand?

That was the day I was introduced to fiery, hot and spicy Chettinad Cuisine by my Aunt S. That day she made spicy Garlic Kulumbu on my request and it was like fire exploding in my mouth and then in my tummy. The flavours just hit you hard and you are left with smoke coming out of your mouth! First it hits your tongue and then you can feel it sharply spreading to your stomach. I would be lying if say it was love at first bite. It took me quite few years to actually enjoy this fiery hot Chettinad Cuisine. Little high dose of red chillies, peppercorns with tamarind gives it very unique flavour.

Although predominantly Chettinad cuisine is famous for its non-veg fair, it has good collection of Vegetarian menu to choose from. With a spice blend of ginger, garlic, mint, dry red chilly, cumin, curry leaves and ‘king of spices’ peppercorns it is something you need to try to experience the real pleasure of flavours bursting in your mouth. One favourite of mine is Mushroom Chettinad which my Aunt made quite often. Chewy mushrooms cooked with fiery dry chillies and a pepper corn is sure to win every spicy food lover’s heart. While the roasted channa dal gives it a nutty flavour, tamarind gives it tangy punch and flavourful mustard and curry leaves temper just makes it finger licking good. I followed recipe from this site which very much looks like what Nupur has posted. Increase or reduce the chilli and peppercorn depending on your spice scale you can handle. But boy, do I like it hot it or what!!! I am sending this to Lisa and Holler's No Croutons Required and this month's theme is Mushrooms.

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Mushroom Chettinad (Spicy, Tangy Mushroom Curry from Chettinad)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
12-14 Mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used Button Mushrooms)
¾-1 tsp Tamarind Paste
2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For Spice Powder:
1 tbsp Channa Dal (Split Yellow Peas)
3-4 Dry Red Chillies, halved (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Black Pepper Corns (Adjust acc to taste)

For Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
1 tsp Oil

Roasted Spices for Mushroom Chettinad

Method:

Wash, pat dry and chop mushrooms into bite sized pieces and keep them aside.
Dry roast channa dal, dry red chillies and peppercorns in a skillet on a low-medium flame till dal turns golden brown (Approx 2 mins). Cool and grind them to smooth powder and keep aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop and splutter, add curry leaves and sauté for few seconds.
Now mix in chopped mushrooms and sauté on medium heat. When they start to sweat add salt to taste, ground spice powder and mix well. Sauté gently on a medium flame for 1-2 minutes making sure that spice mixture doesn’t stick to bottom of the pan.
Add tamarind paste and sprinkle little water if necessary and mix well. Cook for another minute or so on medium flame sautéing in between.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Chapatti or plain steamed Rice or stuff it bewteen bread for spicy sandwich and enjoy.

Mushroom Chettinad

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Note:

Other way to serve this spicy mushroom dish is to layer in between whole wheat bread with salad greens and serve as one spicy sandwich. The spicy, meaty mushrooms goes very well with crisp salad green and bread and makes one complete, satisfying meal.

Other Spicy and Tangy Chettinad Recipes blogged in Monsoon Spice are

• Chettinad Garlic Kulambu
• Chettinad Tomato Kulambu

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Bhindi Fry in Yogurt

Weird, quirky, out of the world, unusual name hah? I don’t blame you… The name Bhindi Fry in Yogurt is the name we kept for our Accidental Diva. After working my ass off in office trying to figure out where I went wrong with some thousand lines code, no wonder my brain was on curfew. There was a bag of lovely tender okra which was sitting in one corner of refrigerator for more than a week and before it starts rotting I wanted to cook something out of it. I hate to waste things especially food. All I could think of cooking was simple Stuffed Bhindi. With my brain cells going haywire, I absentmindedly chopped half of Bhindi’s before it dawned upon me I am supposed to slit them for Stuffed Bhindi. And before I could do anything my better half was ready with the ground masala for stuffing the okra. The only solution which came to my rescue was my Hubby Dear who is an expert in fixing things ;) The end result was Bhindi Fry. Just when I thought all’s well which ends well, I ended up adding yogurt to Bhindi Fry where I actually wanted to add yogurt to grated Cucumber for making Raita. To our utter surprise our Accidental Diva-Bhindi Fry in Yogurt turned out absolutely fantabulous. Crispy bhindi and crunchy onion cooked with spicy masala and sweet yogurt turned out really delicious. The name may sound little quirky but taste was unbelievable. May be next time I when my brain is half dead I hope I get as lucky as this time;)
I am sending this to my gorgeous friend Trupti's Spring Fling which is all about cooking with family or friends. Here is our Accidental Diva for you sweetie;)

Bhindi Fry in Yogurt

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Bhindi Fry in Yogurt
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
15-20 Okra/Ladies finger/Bhindi, chopped into 1cm pieces
1 large Onion, chopped finely
1 tbsp Sambar Masala
3 tbsp Grated Coconut
½ tbsp Tamarind Paste/Dry Mango Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
3-4 tbsp thick Yogurt
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2 tbsp Oil
A Pinch of Hing/Asafetida
Few Curry Leaves
Salt to taste

Bhindi Fry in Yogurt

Method:
Grind grated coconut, sambar powder, tamarind paste, turmeric powder and salt (according to taste) into a smooth paste adding little water.
Mix this ground mixture with finely chopped onion and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add jeera, curry leaves and hing.
Sauté it till jeera starts to pop and splutter.
Now add cut okra and sauté it continuously at medium-high flame for about 8-10 minutes till okra turns crisp and brown.
To this add mixed ground masala and quater cup of water and mix well.
Cook this covered in a low-medium flame for about 5 minutes, checking in between so that the masala don’t stick to the pan.
Open the lid and add little more water if required and cook for further 1-2 minutes at low flame so that the okra retains its crispiness.
Switch off the gas and add yogurt and mix well.
Serve it hot garnished with chopped coriander leaves with chapatti or rice and dal.

Bhindi Fry in Yogurt

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Did You Know?
Okra is native to tropical areas of Africa, and was cultivated in Egypt in the 12th century.
Okra is a species of the Hibiscus genus (Hibiscus esculentus) and a member of the mallow family (Malvaceae).
Lady's Fingers is another name for okra. This name only dates back to the early 20th century, and originally applied to a small variety of okra.
Okra, when it's cut, releases a sticky substance that has thickening properties. This substance is useful in soups and stews.
(Source: www.foodreference.com)

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Bhindi Fry in Yogurt

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