Lunch Menu-1: Karnataka Thali

 

Hi!

My regular readers would know that I’m married into a Kannadiga family. Though my husband loves trying new cuisines and all the kinds of food that I experiment with, his soul lies in the home style Karnataka food. I ensure to provide him his favourite food once in a while.

It was one of such days that I cooked most of his favourite food and served it on his platter. They are very simple preparations but very high on taste and flavour and the best part is that they complement each other well and also make a wholesome meal that has all the components for a balanced diet.

Served on the plate are Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi which is a recipe very popular in my in laws family made using finely sliced potatoes. Then there is Maatvaadi Palya which is a North Karnataka preparation made using Fresh fenugreek/Methi leaves. There’s Jeerige Kattu as the lentil preparation which goes well with both the curries.

 

Rice, which is staple food for South Indians goes well with all the three and to add more crunch their are deep fried papads to complete the Thali. A little ghee on top of the rice and this combination is so delectable. My husband loved the Thali and was beaming with joy. When I shared the pic with my BIL, he was absolutely J.

This Thali is gluten free as there are no wheat products used in any preparation. If ghee is not put on the rice, it’s a completely dairy free, vegan preparation too.

Try the combination and treat your family with Karnataka delicacies.

लहसुनी टिंडली | Garlicky Ivy Gourd Curry | Step Wise

Hi All!!

After posting a simple home style lotus stem curry, I’m posting yet another simple curry which can be made for the regular cooking. This makes use of the humble Ivy Gourd also called Coccinia or टिंडोरा which is a tropical vine. At many places it’s believed that if you eat this vegetable you lose your intelligence. It’s definitely a superstition and I can personally vouch for this gourd, as I’ve been eating this since my childhood, I have lost no intelligence till now .

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Stuffed Bitter Gourd With A Bengal Gram Filling | चना दाल वाले भरवां करेले | Step Wise | No Onion-Ginger-Garlic Preparation

Hello!

I’m back again with a vegetable which is not liked by many people and this time again I’m posting a stuffed version and that too using chana besan (Chickpea Flour) but used in an unprocessed form i.e, I’m using the lentils. In my previous version posted here years back, I had used the chickpea flour as well as the Bengal gram and Split black gram. Other than the Bengal Gram, the ingredients used in making both the fillings are quite different.

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Okra-Fenugreek Leaves Dry Curry

Hi!!

Bhindi and Methi, yes! You heard right. I know it’s an unusual combination but believe me it’s absolutely worth it. Okra is abundantly available these days and Methi/fenugreek is slowly eloping from the market, so when I got hold of a bunch of fresh looking Methi, I could not resist myself. We all love methi and I love Okra too and I look forward trying new recipes with both the vegetables.

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गोभी कीमा| Minced Spicy Cauliflower | Step Wise | The Winner of January’s ‘ONLY’ Event Giveaway

Hi!
Here I’m with an interesting and tasty post today which is just apt for people who would like to enjoy the non-veg specialties the veggie way. This is a fuss free curry which I personally feel tastes best with paav or even naan.
I use this curry to make stuffed buns too. The buns are filling and amazingly tasty.

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Multi Purpose Daal Palak ..Dry Version

 

Hi all!

Go Green is the slogan for winter with so many greens available abundantly. Today I’m posting a healthy version of daal/curry. I’m using both names, daal and curry as it is made using lentils and greens. The version that I have made is a dry one but the same after adding more water can be made as a daal too and can be had with rice. The dry version tastes best with bread, paav, phulka or can be used as a filling to make sandwich too which I did, and one can check the post here.

It is very tasty as has no extravagantly used spices. It has natural flavours of the spinach, lentils and the other added veggies. The version I’ve made has more of a Noth Indian touch but the same curry can be given a South Indian touch by adding Curry leaves and Asafoetida (heeng) during tempering.

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Watermelon White’s/ Rind’s Jhunka, Step by Step

Hi!

Today I’m posting a very healthy and tasty recipe which is just perfect for this summer. With the temperatures soaring over 40C, the body dehydrates easily and one fruit that helps prevent that is, Watermelon. After eating the juicy flesh, one is always left with the rind which has an inner soft white part and outer hard green part.

The watermelon rind is normally discarded but I must tell you, it is very rich in minerals and obviously water too, being a part of the fruit.This semi-dry curry makes use of the white part which is just below the red portion, is juicy and fibrous without the sweetness. So, this curry is a good source of adding dietary fiber to your food and the best part is it’s low calorie too. This curry makes good use of a part which otherwise people normally throw. So, it’s a preparation made, best out of waste.

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Hariyali Chana Masala

Hi All!

Like my previous post of Lentil  & Spinach Sandwich, I’m posting yet again a combination of protein and greens in a very tasty ‘Avatar’. My family loves the chickpeas and that makes it easy for me to give the kid an additional dose of protein in an easy and many ways.

I was once again greedy while picking the greens from the vegetable mart. The fresh green leaves attract me so much that I’m tempted to buy them at once. And once I’ve bought them, I’m in a hurry to finish them before they perish. This curry was concocted in a hurry in order to finish a lot of greens.

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Aloo Gadde Hurda Uperi..Karnataka Style Stir Fried Potatoes

Scene1

It's her first day after marriage in her new home and she is midst a new family  where every one is trying to make her feel comfortable and saying nice things to her. There are kids playing in the house and MIL and her co-sister cooking breakfast in the kitchen assisted by her own co-sisters. FIL is watching news on TV and inspite of such normal activities happening around her she is feeling lost and left out. She sits in a corner observing everyone and suddenly notices that her younger brother in law is sitting on a sofa chair with a chopping board and knife and next to him are almost 6-7 kg of potatoes soaked in water. He would remove a potato, clean and wipe it and then meticulously cut thin slices. She wonders, why is he spending so much time cutting thin slices at such a slow pace with so much of patience. Hesitantly, she asks him why are you cutting them? The reply she gets was a simple sentence 'for making Hurda Uperi'.

She is not able to understand the word and with a confused face looks towards her MIL for an explanation, the explanation comes but from MIL's co-sister. The new bride is informed that the dish is a family favorite made using the potatoes and all family members fight, so that they get to cut the potatoes. The bride is satisfied to an extent but not completely. She relishes the preparation during lunch  along with rice and Jeerige Kattu and her husband explains her later on that Aloo Gadde means Potatoes, Hurda means fried and Uperi means slices in Kannda. After given an explanation, she keeps wondering, how difficult the preparation would be...?

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Dungaar Baingan Bharta..for a finger licking experience

Hi All!!

I love watching cookery shows, especially the ones which are presented by chefs. When the chefs present a show, not only do I learn new recipes but more than that, I’m always interested in the quick tips and tricks suggested by them especially for enhancing flavour.

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Ghol Bhaaji/ Doddagonni Soppu

 

Today I’m posting a very simple curry straight from Maharashtra. I had tasted this the first time when I had visited my father’s uncle in Nagpur and had completely fallen for it. Ghol is a green vegetable which resembles methi(fenugreek) leaves but are slightly thicker and has no bitterness. It has thick and succulent reddish green stems and the vegetable has a nice earthy flavour. It is called Kulfa in Hindi, Pachiri in Tamil and Purslane or Pigweed in English.

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Four Recipes & A Book Review- Master Chef India Cook Book by Pankaj Bhadouria

Hi All.

2010 was when Master Chef  India was aired for the first time. It was a huge platform  for people passionate about food, to show their hidden talent to the entire nation. So many people from different walks of life tried their luck to get into this competition/reality show and only the very talented could make it to the top twelve. These involved home cooks, strugglers, college going students, a few corporates and amongst them was also Pankaj who had quit her many years of teaching job to participate here, so there was quite a lot on stake…

The entire journey of Master Chef  India was fun and lot of learning, though quite melodramatic at times unlike Master Chef Australia, but I guess all Indian reality shows have a lot of melodrama in it to gain TRP. Millions of the viewers watching the show laughed and cried along with the participants. People had their own favourites and I had mine too. I loved  to watch Radhicka, Zebi, Smitha, Jaynandan and Pankaj  cooking. But in heart of hearts I prayed that either Pankaj or Jayanandan should win as they were not only talented but  both of them needed the title badly as Jaya would have got a direction in his life and Pankaj because she took a big challenge by quitting her job of 16yrs and I surely could relate myself  easily with her..

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Smoked–Cottage Cheese Stuffed Okra

Hi Friends!
How are you all doing?

Days here are becoming hot and dull. Kitchen is steaming and working in the kitchen at times is a nightmare with temperature hitting 43C. I did envy Sanjeev Kapoor while watching Khana Khazana when he mentioned that his kitchen is air conditioned and I so desperately want to have an AC in my kitchen. I must confess my all rooms are air conditioned which I feel is not a luxury and more a necessity,  but to have an AC in the kitchen is still a luxury for me and hopefully I will have that too sometime….

Workload is gradually becoming less and hopefully in a few days I will be chirping in all the blogs leaving my comments making everyone feel that I’m alive again till then bear with me…

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Raw Papaya Jhunka and The CSN Giveaway Winner Is..

Hi friends!

First of all let me thank all my blogger friends and others who sent in their best wishes for my son’s well being on the FB. He is much better and in less pain, though complete recuperation will take as much as six months. Meanwhile have arranged for a scribe so that he can take his exams. I have not been able to check all your posts for a while due to this emergency at home, will surely try to peep in as and when possible.

The jhunka is a traditional preparation of Maharashtra and Karnataka made using the gram flour. The authentic Jhunka makes use of onions but here I have tried to innovate a new preparation using the raw papaya. I must say this was a quick preparation and tasted really good. No one can make out that there’s papaya going into the preparation…..

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Maatavaadi Palya

Hi!

Last few days were not very healthy for me, was not keeping well and my spirits were generally low. I did not feel like reading blogs as my eyes would hurt on trying that. The only thing I opened was my mails and my blog to moderate comments and then shut down my laptop. I would order out food for everyone and generally spend time taking rest and teaching the younger one Mathematics  and Science as he has to appear for his National Olympiads. But prior to falling sick I had bought my first batch of fenugreek greens of this winter and I was surely looking forward to cooking it. I had sorted and washed the leaves then dried and stored in the refrigerator to use them. As I did not cook for a few days so the day I started cooking I wanted to use the leaves before they got spoilt.

This particular version of fenugreek is a big hit in my family and is S’s favorite. We normally eat this with soft rice and saaru/rasam as a combination. It is quick to make, extremely tasty and takes no time to get over. It is a dry curry and should be  cooked with more oil else it tastes very dry. Oil provides it the softness that it can be mixed with plain rice and be eaten.

Ingredients

3 cups of finely chopped fenugreek leaves

5-6 green chilies finely chopped

1 tbsp of urad-chana dal mix

1 tsp mustard seeds

3-4 tbsp oil

5-6 tbsp of gram flour/ besan

salt to taste

Method

Heat oil and mustard followed by urad-chana dal mix.

Once the dals turn golden brown in color add the green chilies and saute for a few seconds.

Add the chopped greens and salt to taste, mix.

Cover and cook till half done. Sprinkle the gram flour and mix completely.

Cover and cook on low flame till cooked completely.

This tastes good either way hot or cold.

Crispy Colocasia

Hi friends!

In my attempt to make my day to day vegetables more interesting and to bring about a variation I tried this. This is a very simple to try preparation and goes very well with parathas or with some daal and rice.

The preparation hardly has an technicalities in it except that one has to take precaution that the colocasia is not overcooked. It’s a simple to try recipe made with minimum spices and to add more flavour it is cooked in mustard oil. For people who do not enjoy eating this oil, they could use any vegetable oil. It is a Jain recipe so uses no onion or garlic.

Ingredients

about 500-600gms Colocasia

mustard oil for cooking

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida

salt to taste

To be mixed together

2 tsp red chili pwd

3/4 tsp turmeric pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tbsp amchoor pwd

1 tbsp cumin pwd

1/2 tsp rock salt

Method

Pressure cook the colocasia for one whistle, peel and keep aside. Flatten each piece of colocasia by pressing between the two palms.

Heat about 3-4 tbsp oil in  a flat pan and add the mustard seeds, followed by cumin and fennel. Add some asafetida.

Now arrange the flattened pieces in the pan and sprinkle some salt over it.

Spread half the spice mix on the top and then turn the pieces and cook on low flame till the bottom side turns crisp.Now spread the remaining spice mix over the colocasia and turn it again so that the other side can be cooked till crisp.

 

Once crisp from both the sides serve hot along with rice and lentils.

Sending it to Divya's 'Show me your curry' event.

Restaurant Style Bhindi Do Pyaaza

Hi Friends.

We all crave to eat in restaurant once in a while and wish to make similar food at home. Whenever I like any dish I try to understand the flavors and ingredients gone into it and surely do some ‘Mind Cooking’ and then try making it at home. Many a times I am successful and sometimes I am not.

I had bhindi do pyaaza long time back in a restaurant and I loved it, now this was ages back but that flavor surely had set somewhere in my mind. Recently, I did some mind cooking with this preparation and then tried it in my kitchen and was quite happy with the end result. I was surely very close to what I had liked so thought of sharing it with all of you.

Bhindi or Lady’s Finger/Okra is a vegetable liked by many and this used to be my favorite vegetable during childhood days. During summer holidays when I used to visit my grandmother, she used to pluck fresh Okra from her garden everyday and cook it for me. Over a period of time I tried many other vegetables but Okra surely has a special place in my heart for all the fond memories associated with it.

So this recipe is surely an attraction for all Okra/Bhindi and spice lovers . As far as Do Pyaaza is concerned, Pyaaz means onion, so when the onion is used in a double quantity than normal it is called Do Pyaaza. So, bhindi do pyaaza is a version of Okra with lots of onions…

Ingredients

5 cups sliced okra

3 large onions sliced

1 small tomato

1/2-3/4 cup yogurt

3 green chilies chopped

2 tbsp poppy seed paste

3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

a mix of ghee and oil for cooking

salt to taste

Spices-

1 tsp kashmiri mirch

1/2 tsp lal mirch

1/2  tsp turmeric pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp tandoori masala

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2tsp amchoor pwd

1/2 tsp anardana pwd

Method

Heat oil and add ginger- garlic paste, saute it till the raw smell disappears.

Add the sliced onions and green chilies and saute till the onions get a light brownish color.

Add the sliced okra and salt to taste, cook till half done.

 

In the curds mix all spices.

Mix the spiced curds in the half done Okra. Keep the flame low.

 

Mix the poppy paste and cook the okra completely.

 

Add sliced tomatoes and mix thoroughly.

 

Serve hot with Ajwain paratha or Naan.

As you all know that I have started a new event series called “ONLY”. I am inviting fellow bloggers to host it. The details about the event and the themes of next few months are provided here, pls check it out and in case you are interested in hosting it email me to cookingoodfood@gmail.com

Sending it to Divya's 'Show me your curry' event.

A Very Tasty Fenugreek and Eggplant Bharta

Not everybody likes eggplant but at my place everyone enjoys eating all the varieties of eggplant. The eggplant used for making Bharta (mash) is large and almost round in shape and is dark purple in colour. See the picture here .

Every house has their own version of making Baingan ka Bharta ( bharit in marathi ). Bharit means something mashed. One can roast the vegetable first or steam cook it before mashing. Even the eggplant can be either roasted or steamed before mashing but the taste imparted by the eggplant is distinctly different in both the methods.  I always insert garlic in the eggplant while roasting, this imparts a very unusual burnt garlic flavour to the eggplant.

We personally like the roasted version as we enjoy the smoky taste in the eggplant. The steamed version is good for making Raita which I will post sometime.

Yesterday, when I decided to make Bharta, I wanted to bring in some additional flavor to the eggplant. I was searching things in my freezer when my hand landed on a small bag of frozen methi (fenugreek leaves) which I had very conveniently forgotten was existing in the fridge.

Instantly I knew what I wanted to do to my eggplant. I also have made a big batch of frozen peas which really comes out handy for cooking. You can check out how I made the frozen peas in my other blog Kitchen-Basics.

I must admit that a blend of methi (fenugreek) and baingan tastes very unusual. It's a must try if you like experimenting with flavors.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants(roasted)

1 large onion-chopped

2 medium tomatoes-chopped

3-4 tbsp chopped methi (fenugreek leaves)

a small handful of peas

2 green chillies

6-8 pods garlic

an inch of ginger

1-2 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

salt to taste

oil to cook

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)

chopped cilantro

Method

Put a drop of oil on the eggplant and spread it on the entire surface . Make 2 small incisions on each eggplant and insert a garlic pod in it, then roast it on the gas burner (this infuses the flavor of garlic well in the eggplant)

Once the eggplant is roasted, cool it and then immerse it in a container filled with water and peel the burnt top layer( Peeling in water makes the process simpler) then mash it.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let them splutter.

Add the finely chopped onions, saute till light brown.

Grate ginger and 2 pods of garlic and add it to the onions and saute till the raw smell disappears.

Add green chillies, tomatoes, salt and cook till oil separates.

Now put turmeric, red chili, coriander powder and saute.

Add peas and methi and cook on high flame till the bitter smell of methi disappears and it has blended well in the tomato base.

Put mashed eggplant, cilantro and mix well. Cook for 3-4 mins .

Sprinkle garam masala,  mix and switch off the flame. (I did not add it this time )

I am extremely happy with my Futura pan, it completely separates the oil from the curry. Which pan do you use?
Sending this Crispy Bottle Gourd Peel Chutney to Nithu’s “Best Out Of waste event”.

Mind Cooking by my Dear Husband

Hi Friends.

One might wonder why this title for an egg curry, let me explain. Yesterday night my husband suddenly had a desire to have an egg curry and he asked me do we have some eggs left, and he got an answer ‘yes’. He said I want to do some MIND COOKING, I kept wondering what’s that? As I have mentioned I do keep some chopped vegetables ready in my refrigerator, so he had some handy chopped onions and green chilies to use. I helped him in the kitchen by chopping some tomatoes  and boiling the eggs. While cooking he explained me what he meant by MIND COOKING.

The mind suddenly conjures up a taste that it wants to eat. Once a desired taste builds up   then head keeps working trying to put together a cocktail of spices, which  is likely to result in the desired taste that the tongue was seeking. So the ultimate measure of success of any such foray into the kitchen depends on how close the end result was to the original desire. Since in any case the original desire, the process or the end result are not based on/ comparable to any known recipe. 

Now DH’s  tongue was asking for a particular taste which he said will taste some what like a thick, tangy kerala curry devoid of coconut but with loads of curry leaves  in it and he had a feeling that it will go well with appams or idiappams. So, the skeptical me, while he was cooking  kept asking him that he has hardly used any spices and we should have used more finely chopped onions..but he said that he would have preferred more coarsely chopped onions. To tell you truly I was not too sure whether I would love the end product and might have to search for something else to eat but gladly nothing of that happened, I enjoyed the curry and as he suggested this would taste brilliant with appam. The salt in the curry was on a little higher side which got compensated by the bland eggs but his MIND COOKING was SUCCESSFUL, he got the flavour and the consistency which he had aspired for!

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Aloo-Posto..a bengali delicacy, a few reposts

Hi! When I read RV has announced the theme of Think Spice as Poppy Seeds, I knew I have a perfect entry for the same. I had made this preparation for S’s birthday in a complete jiffy but it came out so well that S mentioned to me that it’s better than what we ate in “Oh Calcutta”. For people who do not know about Oh Calcutta, let me tell you that it is one of the most renowned Bengali Restaurants.

Before I tell you the recipe let me tell you some thing more about Aloo- Posto. It is pronounced as Aloo-Poshto, is a very popular dish from West Bengal and is popularly served in marriages along with Poori/Luchhi or steamed rice.This is a dry recipe in which the potatoes are cooked in Poppy paste and has very mild flavors. I have read various versions of this preparation where people add bayleaf, panch phoron etc, but I have always preferred only Nigella seeds over them.

  I had this for the first time at a Bengali friend’s place. That time I forgot about the preparation completely and then tasted it again in “oh calcutta” which had opened in my neighbourhood in Andheri during my stay in Mumbai about 4yrs back. S who has been a big fan of Bengali food took me out for dinner there and that’s when I had aloo-posto and luchhi. To tell you truly I was not at all impressed with this preparation there and kept wondering what’s so special about it. But as you know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, I attempted making this at home for him and over a period of time have mastered the preparation and has become one of ‘OUR FAVORITES’.

Ingredients

5-6 medium sized potatoes

4-5 tbsp poppy seeds

6-7 green chilies

1/2 tsp nigella seeds/ kalonji

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/8 tsp turmeric pwd

mustard oil + sunflower oil for cooking

salt to taste

Method

Peel and wash the potatoes and cube them.

Soak poppy seeds in 1/2 glass of water for an hour. Drain the water and grind the poppy in a coffee blender ( I used my stone pestle and mortar).

Add 1/2 tsp mustard and grind it with the poppy.

Chop the green chilies and add it to the poppy paste and grind it coarsely along with it.

Heat the mix of oils and add in Nigella seeds followed by the turmeric. Put in the cubed potatoes and mix properly. Cover and cook till half done.

Put in the poppy paste, salt to taste and a glass of water. Mix properly. Cover and cook till done. The water prevents the poppy sticking to the base plus it helps the poppy to coat the potatoes properly and does not make the curry too dry.

Serve hot with steamed rice/ Pooris.

Sending this to RV and Sunita’s  Think Spice- Think Poppy Seeds .

I am also re-posting my Okra in Poppy and Sesame and Churma Laddoo for the event.