Stuffed Brinjal
Typical Andhra dish, they call it "Guthi Vankaya Kura". It is a semi dry gravy dish,which goes well with plain hot rice.
Cuisine: Andhra
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 3 to 4 persons
Ingredients:
Brinjal: 1/4 kg
Onion: 2 nos
Tomato: 2 nos
Salt as per taste
Oil: 3 table spoons
Water as needed
For Stuffing:
Khaskhas: 2 tea spoons
Sesame Seeds: 2 tea spoons
Redd chilli: 4 nos
Tamarind: a marble size
Peanuts: 2 tea spoons
Method:
1. Wash the brinjals well and cut in one end and stalk intact and immerse it in water. Chop the onions and keep.
2. Dry roast sesame seeds, khaskhas and groundnut one by one and in thee end slightly toss the red chillies and tamarind.
3. Grind the roasted ingredients into coarse paste or powder.
4. Gently stuff the powder in the slits of the brinjal and keep it aside.
5. Place a pan and pour 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it.
6. Place the stuffed brinjals in the pan and toss it till the brinjal changes its colour to light brown.
7. Take it out and keep aside.
8. In the same pan, add the chopped onions and saute till it becomes translucent.
9. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it reaches mushy consistency.
10. Now add the tossed brinjal and saute it. Sprinkle some water and let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
11. Pour oil in between and wait till all the oil floats on the top.
12. Switch off and transfer it to a serving bowl.
13. Serve it hot with plain hot rice or as side dish to any rice.
Dahi Papdi Chaat
Dahi- Curd or Yogurt, papdi- crispy fried wafer using maida.It is traditional street food, very famous in North India. Its a mouth-watering snack, where in a single bite you can enjoy various tastes like sweetness, sourness, spiciness, etc and the chilled yogurt.
Dahi papdi chat is favorite for my husband and y nephew. I made this chaat several times, now after many experiments, I am posting it in my blog.
Cuisine: North Indian Chaats
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For Papdi:
Maida: 1 cup
Cheroti rava: 1 tablespoon
Salt: as per taste
Ajwain: a pinch
water as needed
Oil for frying
For Chaat:
Boiled Potato: 2 nos
Onions finely chopped: 1 no
Chaat masala: 1 teaspoon
Tamarind chutney: 2 tea spoons
Mint chutney: 2 table spoons
Well beaten curd: 1 cup
Sev or Ompodi: 2 table spoons (Optional)
Coriander leaves finely chopped: 2 tea spoons (Optional)
Method:
1. Take 1 cup of maida in a wide bowl, add cheroti rava, salt, ajwain and mix well.
2. Sprinkle water little by little and knead it into soft dough. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
3. Take a marble sized portion of the dough and roll out into thin papdi's, prick it with fork, so that it will not puff while frying.
4. Place a kadai on the stove and heat enough for frying.
5. Heat oil over medium flame, when the oil is hot, drop in papdi's 3 to 4 at a time.
6. Fry till it becomes golden brown, drain excess oil and take it out.
7. Cool it completely and store it in a air tight container.
8. Noe boil the potatoes and mash it. Keep it ready.
9. Add chopped onions, chaat masala t the mashed potato and mix well.
10. Beat the curd and keep, make the chutneys and keep.
Assembling papdi chaat:
1. Take the papdi and spread the potato mixture evenly over it and add imli chutney and mint chutney. 2.Pour the beaten curd evenly over all the assembled papdi's and garnish it with sev and coriander. 3.Serve immediately.
Note:
1 Curd should be chilled ie, refrigerated.
2. I have already posted imli and green chutney recipe in my earlier posts ( Vada Pav).
Beetroot Halwa
Just like how carrot halwa is famous in north India, beetroot halwa is famous in tamil households. My Mother used to prepare this for her Sister-in-law during her pregnancy, as it increases hemoglobin level.
I learnt this recipe from my mom, to give it to my elder sister carrying her child then. My mothers recipe is simple with just three ingredients beetroot, sugar and ghee, but I add little khoa to this to add little extra taste.
Cuisine: South Indian Ratio
Preparation Time: 10 minutes Beetroot: Sugar
Cooking Time: 15 minutes 1: 1/2
Ingredients:
Grated beetroot: 2 nos or 2 cups
Sugar: 1 cup
Ghee: 1/4 cup
Crushed or Pounded Cardamom: 2 nos
Unsweetened Khoa: 2 table spoons
Cashews & Raisins: 1 table spoon (Optional)
Water: 1/4 cup
Method:
1. Clean the beetroot and peel off the skin and grate it. Keep it aside.
2. Pound the cardamoms and keep it ready.
3. Crumble the khoa and let it be in room temperature.
4. Place a pan and add 2 tea spoons of ghee and heat it, when it is hot, add the cashews and raisins and fry till it becomes golden brown.
5. To it, add the grated beetroot and saute it well till the raw flavor of beetroot goes off.
6. Add 1/4 cup of water and let it cool, when all the water is absorbed, add the sugar and cook.
7. Now ad unsweetened khoa and mix thoroughly, so that no lumps are framed.
8. Add the fried cashews and pounded cardamoms and mix well.
9. When the mixture reaches a semi-solid state, put off the flame.
10. Transfer it to serving bowl and serve it hot.
Note:
1. It may stay well for 2 to 3 days when refrigerated.
2. Taste best while hot.
Homemade Strawberry Jam
I never knew that strawberries are grown in India too, until we visited Munnar in 2011. Because of its packing, I always thought that it was imported. When we went to Mattupati Dam, Munnar, we saw vendors selling strawberries.
At Kannan Devan tea board Munnar, there were stalls selling varieties of green tea, masala tea, etc and chocolates, jellies and jams. We bought strawberry jam, it was not like regular jam, it had fruit pulps and was very yummy. After having tasted it, I derived this recipe.
Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 250 gms
Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries: 200 gms
Sugar: 50 gms
Lemon Juice: 2 tea spoons
Water: 3 tea spoons (Optional)
Method:
1. Wash the strawberries well in running water and roughly cut into pieces.
2. Place a pan on the stove over medium flame.
3. When it is hot, add the strawberries and keep on stirring till it becomes mushy.
4. If you want, add water in this stage, otherwise skip it.
5. Add the sugar and stir well till it thickens.
6. Put off the flame, when it becomes semi solid.
7. Add lemon juice and mix well. Let it cool.
8. Transfer it to a clean container and store in refrigerator.
Note:
1. It stays well for a month.
Thakkali Sambar or Tomato Sambar
This sambar is an exclusive recipe of my husband's paternal grandmother (Seshamma). This has been passed on to three generations. This is a tiffen sambar, which goes very well with idli, dosa and puri. This is favorite among kids, ie my son and his nephews, with this sambar these kids tend to eat more dosa's or idli's. So once in a while we make it at home and enjoy seeing the kids relishing the food.
As the name implies, you need lot of tomatoes, since the tomato prices has come down(currently), this is the ideal season to make it.
Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 to 5 persons
Ingredients:
Tomato: 1/4 kg or 4 big ones
Onion: 1 no big
Curry leaves: a few nos
Coriander leaves: 1 teaspoon
App purpose chilli powder: 1 & 1/2 tea spoons
Turmeric powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Salt as needed
Asofotedia: 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek seed: 1/2 teaspoon (Optional)
Water: 3 cups
Oil as needed
Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
For Grinding:
Grated coconut: 2 table spoons
Garlic: 4 to 5 pods
Fried gram: 1 table spoon
water as needed
Method:
1. Wash the tomatoes well and chopp it well. Keep it aside.
2. Chop the onions and keep it, wash curry leaves, coriander leaves and keep it ready.
3. Place a pan and heat it over high flame, add 2 tea spoons of oil, when the oil is hot add mustard seed and allow it to splutter, then add fenugreek seeds.
4. Add the chopped onions and fry till it becomes translucent.
5. Then add tomatoes and cook till it becomes mushy, add chilli powder and salt. Mix it well.
6. Add 3 cups of water and let it boil.
7. In the meantime grind a smooth fine paste of the ingredients mentioned for grinding using a mixie.
8. Now simmer the flame and add the ground paste and stir well. Keep on stirring so that no lumps are formed.
9. Let it boil for 6 to 7 minutes.
10. Add asofotedia, mix well and let it boil for 2 more minutes.
11. Add chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves and put off the flame.
12. Transfer it to a serving bowl.
13. Enjoy it with dosa.
Note:
1. Make sure to simmer the flame, while adding the fried gram, coconut, garlic paste and also keep on stirring it since fried gram tends to form lumps.
Methi Malai Matter Paneer
Yet another Punjabi subzi, this dish is mildly spicy and slightly sweet, yet very flavourful. It goes well with rotis and phulkas. Traditional fresh cream and butter is added to make this gravy rich and creamy. But I added unsweetened khoa to this, the taste was simply yummy and similar to the original recipe.
Cuisine: Punjabi/ North Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Yields: Serves 4
Ingredients:
Peas or Matter: 1 cup
Paneer: 100 gms
Ginger garlic paste: 1 teaspoon
Unsweetened Khoa: 50 gms
Kasuri methi: 1 & 1/2 tea spoons
or
Fresh methi leaves: 1/4 cup tightly packed
Finely chopped onion: 1 no + 1 no
Green chilli: 2 nos
Cashews: 10 to 12 nos
Coriander chopped: 1 teaspoon
Shah jeera: 1 teaspoon
Oil: 2 tea spoons
Method:
1. Cut the onion roughly into cubes and take a sauce pan, add 2 cups of water, add the onions, green chillies. Let it boil for 2 minutes.
2. Take the onions and green chillies, cool it to room temperature and grind to a fine smooth paste.
3. Cut paneer into cubes, de-shell the peas and keep. Finely chop the remaining onion.
4. Soak cashews in water for 10 minutes and grind it to smooth paste. Crumble khoa using your finger and keep it aside.
5. Place a pan or kadai on the stove over medium flame, add oil when it is hot, add shah jeera and ginger garlic paste. Fry it till the raw smell goes off.
6. Add chopped onions and fry it till it becomes translucent.
7. Now add the ground paste of onions and fry till the oil floats on the top.
8. Add the peas and stir, add 1 cup of water and let it boil.
9. When the peas is cooked, add paneer and let it boil for a few minutes.
10. Add the crumbled khoa and add 1/2 cup of water. Stir well.
11. Now add the cashew paste and cook till the raw flavour of cashews goes off.
12. Add crushed kasuri methi and close it with a lid and led it simmer for 5 minutes.
13. Add chopped coriander and transfer it to a serving bowl.
14. It goes well with roti;s, phulkas or jeera rice or pulao.
Note:
For ginger garlic paste, it is 1 inch piece of ginger with 6 to 7 pods of garlic.
Pineapple Pudding
or
Pineapple Kesari
Pineapple has an unique smell, which is liked and disliked by many. Pineapple can not be consumed raw, it has to be boiled in sugar syrup and can be eaten - discarding syrup. Eating raw pineapple may cause itching in the tongue.
So whenever I buy pineapple, I used to boil it in sugar syrup for about 15 minutes, cool it and then refrigerate.
Selecting a Pineapple:
The pineapple should be firm. It will give a little to firm pressure. The pineapple should be heavy for its size.
How to Cut:
1. Place the pineapple on its side, use a cutting board, cut the crown and the stem off, using a sharp knife cut them both off about a half inch.
2. Stand the pineapple up on the end, slice the skin off the sides, going from top to bottom. Cut as thinly as possibly.
3. Remove the eye spots, eye spots will all line up in diagonal rows on the pineapple. Cut a V shaped groove along the diagonal line to remove each set of eye spots. The remaining flesh is ready for cutting now.
4. Cut the pineapples into circles. Lay the peeled pineapple on its side and cut slices around 3/4 inch thick.
5. Depending on the quantity of slices, add sugar, water and boil it for 15 minutes.
For Example: 10 slices, 1/2 cup sugar, 1& 1/2 cup water or till it immerses the pineapple slices.
6. Drain the water and store it after it has cooled down completely.
7. Keep it refrigerated.
Pineapple kesari is commonly served in marriages as a classic sweet in the breakfast menu. If you are diet conscious avoid ghee, but ghee adds flavour and taste.
Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Yields: Serves 4
Ingredients:
Pineapple slices finely chopped: 1/4 cup
Rava or Sooji: 1 cup
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Yellow food colour or Turmeric: 1/4 teaspoon
Cooking Oil: 2 tea spoons
Ghee: 2 table spoons
Cardamom: 2 pods crushed (Optional)
Cashew: 8 to 10 nos
Raisins: a few (Optional)
water: 1 & 1/4 cup
Method:
1. Take a heavy bottomed pan or kadai, place it on the big burner over high flame.
2. Pour the rava and dry roast the rava till aroma comes, be careful not to burn it.
3. Take it out and pour in a plate to cool.
4. In the same pan, add 1 & 1/4 cup of water and heat it, add food colour now.
5. When the water is about to boil, simmer the flame and gently add the rava slowly and at the same time stir well so that no lumps are formed.
6. Let it cook. When the rava is completely cooked, add sugar. The sugar will melt and the kesari will become flowy.
7. Add pineapple chunks and add 1 table spoon of ghee and 2 tea spoons of oil and mixwell.
8. Close it with a lid. Let it cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
9. Place a small pan, add 1 table spoon of ghee. When it is hot, add cashews and fry till it becomes golden brown. Put off the flame and add this to the kesari and mix well.
10. Transfer the pineapple kesari to a serving bowl. Serve it hot.
