Bottle Gourd With Lentils

This is a bottle gourd curry made with three types of lentils and some aromatics. I would actually like to show you the beautiful coriander flower used for decorating the dish. When I watch the Masterchef show, I love the way George delicately decorates the dish with all edible flowers with his famous tiny tweezer. I wish i had access to so many teeeny weeny edible flowers, so I could use the too.

Ingredients

1)
2 cups of bottle gourd chopped into small squares

2)
1/4 cup split pigeon pea lentil
1/4 cup split green gram lentil
1/4 cup split bengal gram lentil
All the above washed and ready to pressure cook

3)
1 tspoon finely chopped garlic
1 onion finely chopped
3 green chillies slit
1 small tomato chopped into small pieces
A pinch of asafoetida, a small spoon of turmeric powder

4)
A dash of lime juice, a sprig of fresh coriander for the topping, 6 cloves of garlic chopped into pieces.

Mix ingredients 1, 2, 3 together, put in two cups of water, a pinch of asafoetida, a small spoon of turmeric powder and pressure cook to three whistles.

Now for the tempering take little oil in a deep bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add asafoetida, turmeric, add the chopped garlic, let it turn golden brown, add the pressure cooked ingredients, salt to taste, mix well, give it a boil, garnish with chopped coriander. eat with rice or roti.

Tarkari Padartha

A Mangalorean vegetable delicacy which I ate at ITC Dakshin. This is eaten with Rotti, Appam or Rice. Tastes equally amazing with all three!! I Enjoyed the dish so much that I learnt to make it and now I am sharing the recipe with all of you.

100 gms of french beans
100 gms of carrots
100 gms of cauliflower
100 gms of baby potatoes peeled
50 gms of peas peeled
All the above should be cleaned and diced into medium sized pieces except the peas and baby potatoes. Boiled and kept ready.

1 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup paste made of soaked cashews

1 small spoon of chilli powder
1 tspoon full of coriander powder

For tempering you need oil, mustard seeds, asefotida, turmeric powder

Method
In a deep bottomed pan take oil, add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add asefotida, turmeric powder and then add the tomato paste and the cashew paste, let it cook well, cover and cook for a while, then add all the vegetables, the powders, salt to taste and cook covered to a nice boil.

Now for the final touch, a tempering with either clarified butter or coconut oil whatever is preferred, hea

t and add some curry leaves, 2/3 green chillies chopped, fry well and add on top of the ready vegetable.

                                               
                                      Vegetable made of elephant's foot yam and purple yam
                             Ingredients 
                           200 gms of purple yam
                           1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut
                           Salt to taste
                           4  green chillies chopped
                            Small bunch of coriander finely chopped
                           1 tspoon of split black gram lentil 
                             
                           Method
                          First wash the yams thoroughly, chop into medium sized cubes and par boil them in a deep bottomed vessel. Drain and keep aside. Take coconut oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, once they splutter add turmeric powder, asafoetida and then the lentil, let the lentil become light brown then add the green chilli, sautee for a bit and now add the boiled yam, salt the coconut and give it a nice mix and lastly add the chopped coriander. goes well roti, curry rice and also curd rice.
                                            

Stuffed Lady Finger

Ingredients step wise

Step 1
1/2 kilo of selected small lady fingers, cleaned and slit in the centre without splitting it into two

Step 2
3 onions chopped fine
1 tspoon of ginger garlic paste
1 spoon of cumin powder
1/2 spoon of amchur powder
Salt to taste
1 tspoon of chilli powder

Step 3
2 onions finely chopped
1 tspoon ginger garlic paste
1 tspoon garam masala
2 tspoons of tamarind paste
2 tspoons of coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tspoon chilli powder

Method to get the the lady fingers ready

In a pan put some oil, chopped onion,ginger garlic paste, sautee till brown, add rest of the step 2 ingredients, mix and sautee for a bi, cool it down and fill this mixture into the ladies finger one by one. Take oil in a pan and sautee these carefully till almost done and keep ready.

Now in another pan take little oil, add chopped onion, ginger garlic paste, sautee till golden brown, add the rest of the step three ingredients, once the mixture is well cooked, add the stuffed ladies finger and sautee for sometime careful not to break the stuffed lady fingers. Garnish with chopped coriander, serve with paratha or phulka as per your choice.

Green Peas And Broccoli

Ingredients
1/2 kilo of broccoli, medium sized florets removed and washed in warm water
1/4 kilo of green peas
1/2 cup freshly scraped coconut
3 green chillies chopped
Salt to taste
Oil, mustard seeds, turmeric and asafoetida for the tempering

Method
In a kadhai take oil, add mustard seeds, let them splutter then add asafoetida and turmeric powder, chopped green chillies, now add the green peas and broccoli, sprinkle water, add salt and the scraped coconut, cook covered. See that the veggies cook in the steam of the water added, check at intervals and keep adding water if dry.do not overcook, let the florets remain firm but cooked and moist. Tastes best with hot phulkas.

Appe Made Of Multi Lentils And Rice With Coconut ChutneyThis makes for a tasty South Indian breakfast or midtime snack.

Ingredients
1 cup rice
1/2 cup Split black lentil
1/2 cup split pigeon lentil
1/2 cup split bengal gram lentil, soaked for about two to three hours, ground to a fine paste, the batter should be of idli consistency. kept overnight will give you soft fluffy appe.

1/2 cup plain oats
1/4 cup semolina
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon of pepper powder
2 onions finely chopped
oconut chutney.Small bunch fresh coriander finely chopped
These should be added the next morning about half an hour before making them in the appe pan.

Now heat the appe pan, pour little little oil in each depression, pour the batter with a small spoon. Cover cook for a while, flip and cook with a sprinkle of oil to a golden brown colour. Savour with coconut chutney.