Bisi Bele Bhath & Potato Raita: Simple Pleasures of Life

Roasted Spices for Bisi Bele Bhath Masala

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

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

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

Bisi Bele Bhath

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Bisi Bele Bhath Masala Powder

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

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

Bisi Bele Bhath Masala Powder

Method:

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

Bisi Bele Bhath

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

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

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

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

Method:

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

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

Potato Raita

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Potato/Aloo Raita

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

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Ingredients:

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

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

Method:

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

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Breadfruit Song/Saung: Sing Along...

Breadfruit Song/Saung

“Akka, look at the sun I made for you”, said my kid brother who had lost his first milk tooth just few days back, smiling radiantly with deep dimple on his right cheek. There it was, bright orange sun with bunny teeth that almost resembled like amoeba I was drawing in my science homework book.

“That’s beautiful. Thank you dear… Amma…” I screamed, “Have you seen my maths homework book? I can’t find it in my bag”.

“Akka, see I drew your picture too”, said my brother, pointing to the stick figure with two ponytails with gaudy red ribbons. I looked at it in horror, no not because of gaudy red ribbons, but it was my maths homework book which I had been looking for since half an hour which now looked like M.F. Husain’s canvas with amoebas, sea weeds, and skeletons dancing around. The tears were welling in my eyes, and it was tears of blood. It didn’t take too long for little devil to realise what he had done. It was not the first time he was knee deep in trouble for displaying his artistic skills in his two elder sister’s class notes and homework books. Unlike my little sister who never thought twice to send him back with red finger prints on his back, I was Gandhiji’s follower when it came to punishing my brother. And importantly I didn’t want to be grounded for one week for hitting defenceless, poor little siblings even when they drew moustache on my face with permanent marker while I slept. Well, I did take full revenge by sticking long, bushy tail to their skirt and shorts but for now we shall keep this secret between us, OK? I tell ya, it’s not easy being an eldest in the family of major trouble makers.

So there was this amoeba, oops, sun with bunny teeth, stick portrait of yours truly with gaudy ribbons and few butterflies and birds suspended from God-only-knows-what-things; all artistically drawn using Camlin crayons, my own crayons which my dad had gifted for my birthday. Now not only I was left with my homework book full of my brother’s drawings but also broken crayons. It was no ordinary 12 coloured crayons but beautifully packed (yellow box I think) 48 different coloured crayons which I had proudly showed (more of a show off) to my class and enjoyed watching them twist their nose with envy. I didn’t know what hurt me more, ruined homework book or crayons. And the fact that my math teacher who adored my brother to bits didn’t help either. I knew she would simply accuse me for not being careful with my books and she wouldn’t like me pointing finger at this little fella who without any iota of doubt could beat Sherlock Holms hands down when it came to solving the case of hidden, out-of-your-reach, big-no-no books of mine!

That was the day where I almost lost my temper and was overpowered by violent waves urging me to spank the little devil responsible for my colour blindness. He too must have got the whiff of devil in me waking up as by the time I could lift my hand he had dashed out the room at lightening speed. For next half an hour I searched every nook and corner of the house; under the bed and tables, inside the cupboards, inside dark pantry and kitchen cabinets, every possible place where 4 year old guy could easily hide. It took me another quarter of an hour to search every bush and pots in our garden but I couldn’t find my brother anywhere. By then I almost forgot the reason for my anger and was getting panicky about my missing kid brother. The headlines on next day’s news paper and news channels were flashing in my mind, “4 year gone missing due to abusive and malicious elder sister”. I closed my eyes and prayed to every possible 3 millions of God and Goddess and also began with “Hail Mary’s and Our Father” by crossing my fingers for extra prayer effect and looked up at the sky to see if God was listening to my prayers. And yes, he was there and listening to all my prayers! No, not God but my 4 year old kid brother perched on top of Breadfruit tree, with toothless grin. Holly molly!!! I have no idea how 4 years old managed to climb the tree, and I made a mental note for my next science article on Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution”.

After another quick thank you’s to all 3 million Gods plus Jesus and Virgin Mary, I promised my brother that I will not beat him to purple. Yet, it didn’t look like he had any plans of climbing down, not because he didn’t want to but simply he couldn’t. Although he had successfully managed to climb the tree without breaking his leg or hurting himself, little brat had no idea how to get down. After few minutes and after good earfuls of scolding from my panicky mother and father, my brother was at last standing on ground in one piece. The tight hug with sloppy kisses from him was the one that stopped everyone screaming at each other and spread the smile of relief…. And if you are thinking they lived happily ever after, then think again!!! It was one of the thousands of panic attacks that our parents had to go through because of us, three toofani siblings.

And if you are wondering about my brother’s budding artistic talent then let me tell you that it took good long 8 years for my brother to finally restrict his handiwork to his own drawing books. At last my homework and note books along with every wall in our house could take a breath of relief from inches of crayons that suffocated them for years. And it took us quite sometime to get used to the clean walls and books without colourful pictorials that covered every inch, except for ceilings (thank God for that!).

I don’t have to explain this sudden gush of childhood memories that had flooded this post. Whenever I see a Breadfruit or Gujje (DeGujje in Tulu), my mind automatically switches to the day when my 4 years old kid brother had climbed the Breadfruit tree that we had in our small garden. My heart begins to sing the songs of wonderful, mischievous childhood. And to complete that song with a delicious dish today I am posting the recipe from my native, Mangalore. This is Breadfruit Song/Saung… This fiery, utterly delicious dish is usually made using Potatoes. But Breadfruit which is very common in my native is also used when it’s in season. Rubbery Breadfruit transforms into a melt in mouth delight when cooked in mouth watering gravy of chillies, coconut, tamarind and spices. You can’t help but lick your fingers clean when you taste this. If you don’t get breadfruit, try it with potatoes and they will taste equally delicious. So come along and sing a Song with me….

Breadfruit Song/Saung

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Breadfruit Song/Saung (Buttery Breadfruit cooked in fiery Coconut and Tamarind Gravy, a Konkani Delicacy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Recipe Source: Home Spices

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Ingredients:
¼ of large Breadfruit, peeled, cored and diced into 1-1½ inch pieces
1 large Onion, finely chopped
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
1-2 tsp Jaggery/Brown Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

To roast and ground to smooth paste:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Coriander Seeds
6-8 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste. Preferably Byadagi/Kashmiri Chillies)
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 large Garlic clove
1+ ½ medium marble sized Tamarind Pulp or 1-1½ tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust acc to taste)
¾ cup grated Coconut, fresh/frozen

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 Dry Red Chilli, halved
A big pinch Hing/Asafoetida
2 springs of Curry Leaves
½ tbsp Oil (preferably Coconut oil)

Breadfruit Song/Saung

Method:

Cook bread fruit with ½ marble sized tamarind pulp, jaggery, turmeric and salt to taste, in enough water till it is cooked through, about 10-13 minutes.
Meanwhile, dry roast cumin seeds, coriander seeds, dry red chillies and hing till the spices turn light golden red and are aromatic, about 1 minute, on medium flame. Let it cool completely. Now add this with 1 marble sized tamarind pulp, coconut and garlic clove and grind to smooth paste adding little water at time.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When mustard starts to pop and splutter, add cumin seeds, hing, broken red chilli and curry leaves. Sauté till cumin turns golden brown.
Now add finely chopped onions and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 2 minutes, on medium flame. Mix in ground masala-coconut paste and keep stirring till it becomes little dry, about 3-4 minutes.
Now add ½-1 cup of water and cooked breadfruit and mix well. Simmer and let it cook for another 10 minutes so that all the flavours blend well. Add little more water if you need more of gravy and adjust the seasonings.
Serve hot with plain Rosematta rice or white rice or with Chapatti and enjoy. It tastes better next day.

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Notes:

Replace breadfruit with potatoes and follow the same ingredients and instructions.
If over cooked, breadfruit can become mushy. So keep an eye on it while cooking.

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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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Serving Crazy with Lauki & Kala Channa Curry

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bottle Gours, Kala Channa & Tomatoes

Bottle Gourd Slices -Before & After Pan Frying

Method:

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

Lauki-Kala Channa Curry

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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.

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

Cheers
Sia

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Is That My Green Thumb: Dabeli

Dabeli

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

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

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

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

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

In Raghavan’s own words,

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

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

Kutchi Dabeli

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spices for Dabeli Masala

Method:

For Dabeli Masala:

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

For Potato Filling:

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

For Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:

Grind all ingredients listed to very smooth paste adding very little water at time. This paste should be little thick not runny.

For Green Mint Chutney:

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

For Spicy Red Chutney:

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

To Assemble Dabeli:

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

Dabeli

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Reminder: WBB-Summer Feast

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

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

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

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

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Cooking with Love: Huli-Menasina Kodhel

Huli-Menasina Kodhel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ingredients:

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

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

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

Tindora/Tondekai

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

Huli-Menasina Kodhel

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Note:

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

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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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Cooking with the Queen: Bendekai Gojju

Bendekai Gojju

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

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

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

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

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

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Ingredients:

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

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

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

Ground Spice Powder for Gojju

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

Roasted Spices for Gojju

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Note:

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

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