Whole Green Gram Curry With Mint And Garlic
A curry made with a lots of garlic cloves and lots of fresh mint. Can be eaten with phulkas, parathas, rice too. The taste of the caramelized garlic and the fried mint brings a new zest to the dish.
Ingredients
2 cups of whole green gram pressure cooked to three whistles or as per your pressure cooker
20 cloves of garlic
A handful of mint leaves
1 tspn chilli powder
1 tspn of amla poedre
Salt as required
Garnish either with extra fresh mint or fresh coriander
Method
In a pan take some oil add mustard seeds let them splutter, add turmeric and asafoetida. Add all the garlic cloves and fry them till crisp, now add the gram, all the other ingredients adjust the water and let it boil on simmer till you get the required curry consistency. Garnish with fresh mint leaves or coriander leaves. The dish is ready to serve.
Potato Carrot Patties
Simple yet tasty, crisp and spicy. this is an ideal tea time snack. Made with easily available simple ingredients.
Ingredients
For pressure cooking to 2 whistles using as less water as possible
3 potatoes grated
2 carrots grated
Additional Ingredients
Salt to taste
1 tbspn of chilli powder to taste
Lime squeeze to taste
1 tspn cumin powder
Small bunch of coriander chopped
3 tbsp of flour of corn which is used for making makke ki roti
Method
In a large bowl take the pressure cooked ingredients after draining out all the water, mix the rest of the ingredients to make a nice mixture, make equal sized balls, shape them into patties, shallow fry them on a pan with a little oil. Make them golden crisp on both sides and enjoy the delicacy on a rainy evening with adrakwali chai.
Tomato Gojju
Tomato Gojju is what we called it in Kannada. It can be called a chutney or a sauce, can be eaten with chapati or phulka. In the south it is eaten with dosas. The addition of onion makes it even more tasty though I personally prefer it made only with tomatoes. The slight crunch and the sweetness of the jaggery and onions, the sourness from the tomatoes and the spice from the saar masala makes the dish a treat!! Here goes my recipe, infact my Ajji's recipe. Hers was the tastiest one I have ever eaten in my life. I could never bring the punch that she brought in certain dishes. Miss her immensely for all those specialities!!
Ingredients
3 tomatoes chopped finely
3 onions chopped into small squares
Small bunch coriander chopped into small squares
Salt to taste
1/4 cup grated jaggery
1 tspn saar masala (my recipe on my page added previously)
1 tspn chilli powder
Method
In a pan take oil add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and then the onions, let them turn golden, add all the rest of the ingredients, mix well, let them become mushy and well cooked, do not cover and cook since we do not want any water in the recipe. Once done transfer into a serving bowl ad coriander for garnishing. Serve hot with chapati, phulka and dahi bhat that is curd rice.
Baby Aubergine Potato Curry
A spicy curry which can be eaten with roti, bhakri or rice. Made with baby aubergines. Should be made with freshly bought ones else they wont cook well. Here goes my recipe.
Ingredients
12-14 baby aubergines or brinjals given a slit on either side, each slit should be on the opposite direction taking care to see that it does not go too deep. Note: The aubergines need to be kept in water refrigerated for about an hour after splitting so they open up well.
2 potatoes chopped into medium sized squares
3 onions chopped fine
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tspn of ginger garlic pounded
1 tspn chilli powder
2 tspns of goda masala
1/2 tspn sugar
1 tspn lime juice
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing
in a pan take oil, addthe potatoes and aubergines, add 1/2 cup water, 1 tspn goda masala, salt and 1/2 spn of chilli powder, cook coverd till almost done. Remove and keep aside.
In the same pan take some oil add onions, saute till golden, add the ginger garlic, let it turn light brown, add the tomatoes, the remaining masala, chilli powder, salt to taste and also the sugar. Now wait for it to become a mushy mix, tomatoes should get well mixed, at this stage you can add the potatoes and aubergines. Add water as required, cover and cook till well done. transfer to a serving bowl, decorate with freshly chopped coriander. Your dish is ready to be savoured.
Bread Upma
Bread Upma is what we call this all time dish, it usually is liked by all. Some variations and additions have been made by me but the main recipe is the regular one. This normally should be made with stale bread so that it does not become sticky. Ayi made it the best. Fresh bread does not bring out the right taste. So here goes the way I prepared it.....
Ingredients
6 slices of brown whole wheat bread, preferably a day old, broken by hand into very tiny pieces
3 onions chopped into medium sized squares
1 mud sized tomato chopped into small pieces
4 green chillies chopped
A sprig of curryleaves
Salt to taste
1/2 tspn of sugar
1 ladle of milk
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut for the garnish
Method
in a pan take some oil and add mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, now add the chillies, curry leaves, wait for a bit, add the chopped onions, drizzle little salt, saute till golden, add the tomatoes, now add the bread, salt to taste...note that bread already is salty and we added salt to the onions so add carefully, sugar, lime juice and the ladle of milk to give it the softness. stir to mix well, keep for about four to five minutes. transfer to a serving bowl. serve garnished with coconut and coriander. Some people like sev too for garnishing. This is an all time dish, can be eaten anytime of the day.
Batatavada.....
Topped With Kat Misal
Batatavada is the favourite of every Mumbaikar, a quick snack available at every nook and corner of the metro. All stratas of society would have definitely eaten this tongue tickler at some point of time, if the person denies, then he is not telling you the truth!! Just joking, anyway, there are variations to this dish too, like the vada tucked inside a pav with chutneys, it becomes the special vada pav. My husband likes the combination of vada with kat misal, the misal is a pulse curry, extremely spicy, eaten with every bite of the vada, mixed with mixed farsaan, some coriander and chopped onion with a dash of lime squeezed on it. Here goes the way I made the super spicy Usal for the Misal.....
Ingredients for the Misal
1 cup of matki/turkish gram /moth beans sprouted and pressure cooked to 2 whistles
For the Gravy you need to grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste
8 cloves of garlic
3 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon
1/2 a spoon black pepper corns
4 green chillies
1 inch of ginger
2 chopped onions
1/2 cup of grated dry coconut
Few sprigs of coriander
Salt, lemon juice to be added later as per taste
Fresh coriander chopped for garnishing
Method
In a kadhai or a pan take some oil, add the ground paste, cook till the oil leaves the paste, add some salt, some lemon juice, the sprouted gram, add 3 cups of water, wait till it boils well, transfer into a serving bowl and make a platter as shown in my picture above. The second picture shows some mirchi bhaji which I love and made as an accompaniment. Now mix the mixed farsaan, chopped onion, coriander into the curry, your misal is ready and eat each vada morsel along with the misal. you have a choice of adding chopped chilli and a dash of lime while eating.
Honey Chilli Baby Potatoes
Potatoes are an all time favourite of all. I am not too fond of them though unless the vegetable is the one eaten with pooris or the crisp sauteed type which is a common dish among Maharashtrians, the french fries which I love, specially the ones with herbs and truffle oil!! The baby potatoes made into a dry starter kind is what I enjoy. I have tried a new way of making them, sharing the same with all of you ......here goes the way I made them as an accompaniment with the Egg Schezwan Fried Rice. The dish gets a black and shiny, crisp texture and tastes awesome.
Ingredients
250 gms of baby potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into fours, squares to be precise
2 tbspns of soy sauce
10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tspns of ginger crushed
1 tspn of white pepper pounded freshly
1 tspn of chilli powder or adjust as per taste
2 tspns of flour of corn (makki ka aata) used for makki di roti
Salt to be used sparingly since the soy sauce has enough amount of salt
2 tbspns of olive oil
1 tspn of honey
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander to be added two minutes before taking the dish off the fire
Method
In a pan take live oil, add garlic, saute till golden brown, add the ginger and saute, now add the potatoes, mix well, add the rest of the ingredients except the honey, once the potatoes look fully coated, add the honey and the coriander. Now wait till the flour of the corn is coated on all the potatoes and they start to look crisp. The dish is done and can be had a s a starter or to go with any Chinese preparation. We relish it with phulkas also.
