Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Zunkha, Jhunkha, Pitla (Maharashtra)

Ingredients
  • 1 medium sized potato cut to small pieces
  • 1 medium sized onion chopped fine
  • 1/2 inch ginger, cleaned and grated
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1 small lemon
  • Coriander (dhania) leaves chopped fine
  • Green chillies or red chilli powder - to taste
  • Salt - to taste
  • Besan (chickpea flour) - 2-3 tbsp (make a fine paste in some water)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Mustard Seeds
  • Hing
  • Chana dal - 1 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1 tsp
  • Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

  1. Heat oil in a kadai (wok)
  2. Add mustard seeds.
  3. When the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add Hing.
  4. Add urad dal and chana dal.
  5. When they turn brown, add curry leaves and green chillies.
  6. After 20 seconds of stir frying, add onions and ginger.
  7. Cook till onions are translucent.
  8. Add potatoes, a little salt and turmeric, and cover and cook till potatoes are done.
  9. Add two cups water, and salt (to taste)
  10. Blend in the besan paste.
  11. Cook till the froth disappears or till you feel it is done. (Taste, Taste!)
  12. Garnish with lemon juice and shredded coriander leaves.

Goes well with both rotis and rice.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Gawar (cluster beans, chaulekayi) sabzi

If this doesn't get Gawar going into your mouth, nothing will!
Ingredients
  • Gawar (cluster beans) - 1/4 kilo
  • Onions - 2 small
  • Tomatoes - 2 small
  • Curry leaves
  • Tamarind paste - 1 to 1/2 tbsp
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • Oil - 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  • Methi ke daane (Fenugreek Seeds) - 5 seeds
  • Jeera - 1 tsp
  • Hing (Asafetida) - 1 pinch
  • Salt - to taste
  • Red chilli powder - to taste
  • 6-7 bhakar waadis (if you don't have it, dry roast peanuts, sesame seeds, red chillies, and 2 red chillies, and blend them to a coarse powder)

Procedure

  1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
  2. Add mustard seeds. After they stop spluttering, add jeera (cumin seeds), methi ke daane, and Hing.
  3. Add curry leaves and stir fry for 20 seconds.
  4. Add Onions and stir fry till golden brown.
  5. Add tomatoes and stir till tomatoes are done.
  6. Add tamarind paste and turmeric powder and cook till the raw paste of tamarind paste goes away.
  7. Add one cup water, salt, and red chilli powder, and cook for three whistles.
  8. After the pressure cooker cools down, remove lid, and mix in the ground bhakar waadi mixture.

Goes best with rotis or phulkas although you can eat it with rice too.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tendli (Tondekayi) bhaat - Konkan recipe

If you are a rice lover from the coast, you'll love this dish!

For the pressure cooker:
Tendli (1/4 kilo) - Slit each tendli lengthwise into four pieces.
Rice - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 2 tbsp (or to taste)
13/4-2 cups water
Salt (to taste)
Masala
2 tbsp coriander seeds
5-6 fenugreek (methi) seeds
4 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
4 red chillies (byadgi/kashmiri/low spice variety)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp roasted gram (chana)
1 tsp urad dal
1/4 cup grated coconut
Seasoning
1 tsp chanal dal
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp groundnut
1 pinch Hing
Coriander leaves finely chopped.
Procedure
  1. Dry roast the masala in a kadai or frying pan, and grind it without using water to a coarse mixture.
  2. In a pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp oil. When hot, add tendli and stir fry for two minutes. Add tamarind paste, and roast till the raw tamarind smell goes away.
  3. Add washed rice, water, salt, and pressure cook for two whistles. Allow to cool.
  4. After pressure cooker cools, remove the lid, and allow the rice to lose the water content.
  5. Add the masala, ghee (1 tbsp - optional), and mix.
  6. In a Kadai, add oil. When hot, add the Channa dal, hing, and wait till channa dal turns golden brown. Add groundnuts, and roast them. Add curry leaves.
  7. Add the seasoning to the rice.
  8. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Best served with plain curd.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Paneer Pasanda

Slightly tedious but the end result is mind blowing!

Making the Paneer
Cut 200 gm Paneer into cubes
Make paste of 1 tbsp maida + 1 tbsp cornflour + salt
Coat paneer with paste and deep fry.
In the same oil, deep fry cashewnuts and keep aside.

Masala
Dry roast the following : 1 tbsp coriander seeds + 1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus) + 1/2 tbsp Jeera + 1/2 tbsp kalongi seeds. + 1 cinnamon stick + 3 cloves
Add the roasted mixture to 1 cup coconut + 1 inch grated ginger + 2 cut onions + 4 cloves garlic + 1 cup cut coriander leaves + fried cashewnuts.
Grind all the ingredients to a pase using minimum water.

Tomato Puree
Boil two tomatoes in water. Peel skin and make a paste.

Procedure
  1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in kadai
  2. Add paste and cook on low flame till oil separates (15 minutes)
  3. Add tomato puree and cook on low flame for 10 minutes.
  4. Add salt.
  5. Add panneer and cook for a minute
  6. Add fresh cream and mix.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Aate jo Chilro

Ingredients
  • 1 cup gehun ka aata (wheat flour)
  • 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  • A few sprigs of coriander (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 green chillies (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • Water to get a batter consistency
  • Oil
  • Salt

Procedure

  1. Mix all ingredients with water except oil, and make batter ensuring that there are no lumps. The consistency should be the same as that for idli/dosa.
  2. Heat a griddle (tava) and drizzle some oil.
  3. Take a ladleful of batter and spread it on the griddle. Thickness should be more than that for dosa (more like uttappam)
  4. Pour oil on the sides, and shallow fry till golden brown on one side.
  5. Flip and cook the other side too.
  6. Remove from tawa when they are crisp and done.

Serve with curd/chutney.

Besan ka cheela

Minimum effort, and ideal for breakfast - much better than eating Maggi every day.
Indredients
  • Besan - 1 cup
  • Tomato chopped very fine - 1 medium sized
  • Onion chopped very fine - 1
  • Coriander leaves (dhania leaf)
  • Salt
  • Green chillies chopped very fine
  • Ginger chopped very fine

Procedure

  1. Sift besan
  2. Add all the vegetables and salt and mix well
  3. Add water to pouring consistency
  4. Take a ladleful of batter and spread on a heated tava.. Add oil on the sides.
  5. Cook on both sides until done

Best eaten with chutney or curd.

Dahi Wada

The ideal starter when you have someone over for dinner

For the vada
1 cup urad dal soaked overnight
salt
zeera
fine sooji rawa
For the seasoning
Jeera powder
Red chilli powder
Coriander leaves
Imli Chutney
Sweetened and chilled curd

Procedure (for the vada)
  1. Grind the dal to a smooth vaste using minimum water (half cup)
  2. Add salt and jeera (cumin) seeds
  3. Add sooji (optional) and keep aside for 3 hours.
  4. Take tablespoonfuls of the batter and deep fry till golden brown.
  5. Transfer to a plate with absorbent paper.
  6. Soak the vadas in cold water, and squeeze out the water gently.
  7. Arrange them in a bowl.

Seasoning

  • Add the chilled curd over the vadas.
  • Add jeera powder and red chilli powder
  • (optional) Add chaat masala
  • Spread Tamarind chutney (boil tamarind paste and jaggery. Cool and add roasted jeera powder, garam masala, red chilli powder.)
  • Garnish with coriander and ginger (Optional)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Kadi Pakodi

My all time favorite recipe. I wonder how I forgot to post the recipe for this earlier.

For the pakodis:
  • Cut potoates, onions, and ginger real fine, and mix them well.
  • Add finely cut coriander and green chillies, and mix well.
  • Add salt, amchur powder (optional), and mix well.
  • Add water and besan till you get a binding consistency. You should be able to spoon it without the ingredients dropping off.
  • Deep fry in oil and keep aside.

For the kadi:

  • Make a batter 1 parts besan, 4 parts buttermilk, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder.
  • In a kadai, add 2 tblspoon oil.
  • Add jeera, kalongi, fenugreek seeds, hing.
  • Add the batter.
  • Cook till the froth disappears.
  • Add the pakodis just before serving so that they don't soak all the kadi.

Best had with Khichdi:

  • 3/4 cup rice, 1/4 cup moong daal
  • 21/2 cups water
  • Salt
  • Cook the above ingredients in a pressure cooker.
  • After it is cooked, add a dollop of ghee.