Red Chowli / Cowpeas Sukka in Instantpot

Today when I opened the fridge to see what I could cook for lunch, I was pleasantly surprised. There was nothing out there except a bunch of tomatoes. How did I forget about getting groceries? Not to worry when you have pulses in the pantry, right?
Now to think of what pulses to cook. Man, cooking is fun, but thinking of what to cook is stressful. I would love for a genie to decide a menu (simple for everyday cooking and elaborate when we have guests) and I wouldn't mind cooking all the stuff.
I saw these cute cowpeas staring at me through their container. It had been a while since I cooked these beauties. So, today finally it was their turn. I am sure they were ecstatic to be out of the container to fulfill their duty of feeding the humans - okay, I am just imagining things now. Well, I do possess a great imagination power and it is known to my family and close friends. 

Generally these pulses need to be soaked for atleast 8 hours before cooking. But, since I decided at 10 Am to cook lunch with these, I had a little over 2 hours to soak and get them ready. So, in came my handy electric kettle. I just boiled water in it and soaked the cowpeas in that boiling water for 2 hours. I got nicely soaked cowpeas in that time. I have done this for a lot of other pulses too. It sure helps.

Ingredients

2 cups cowpeas
1 cup chopped onion (I used 1 big onion)
1 cup chopped tomato (I used 1 big tomato)
10 garlic cloves (crushed using mortar and pester)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
10 to 12 curry leaves
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used fresh shredded coconut - you can use frozen ones too)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons red chilli powder (you can add more if you like it hot)
2 teaspoons coriander cumin powder (Dhania Jeera Powder)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek powder
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon sugar/jaggery
salt to taste
chopped cilantro and shredded coconut for garnish

Method

Wash the cowpeas and put about 5 cups of water and soak them for 7 to 8 hours. Once soaked, they will plump up. Drain the water and keep aside.
With the Isntantpot (IP ) in saute mode, add the coconut oil. When it gets hot add the mustard seeds and let them crackle. Then add the cumin seeds and sesame seeds along with the curry leaves. After about 15 to 20 seconds add the crushed garlic and stir the mixture lightly. Add the chopped onions and half teaspoon salt. Let the onions turn a nice golden. You will need to keep stirring during this process. Then add the chopped tomatoes along with turmeric, chilli powder, coriander cumin powder, pepper powder, fenugreek powder, asafoetida and mix well. Add the cowpeas to the mixture along with the shredded coconut and mix well. Add 1 to 1and 1/2 cup water (I added enough water to cover the cowpeas). Cancel saute mode. Cover the lid with the vent sealed and manual for 30 minutes. After its done quick release. This will be a dry curry with very little to no liquid/gravy. Open and see if the beans are cooked. If they are then add salt to taste and about 1/2 teaspoon sugar or jaggery. Mix well with a light hand. Garnish with cilantro and shredded coconut and serve wit chappatis, appam or dal and rice.

Note - this can be cooked on the stovetop too. You would want to cook the cowpeas in the pressure cooker for about 4 whistles. Drain any water it may have after cooking. In a karahi, add the oil and follow everything to get the onion and tomato and spice mixture. To this add the cooked cowpeas, salt and sugar and about 1/4 cup water and mix well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes before garnishing with cilantro and shredded coconut.

Laziz Chole - (Chickpea Curry)

Ingredients

For Chole
1 cup dried chickpeas
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon eno (baking soda works too)
2 tablespoons ghee (oil can be used too)
1 onion - chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
10 cloves garlic - chopped
1 inch ginger - chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 teaspoon chaat masala
Chopped cilantro for garnish
slit green chilis for garnish (Optional)

For Masala Powder (Coarse Powder)
5 kashmiri chilis (add more or less as per spice level wanted)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 inch cinnamon

Method

Soak the dried chickpeas in 5 cups water for 8 to 10 hours. Drain the water and let it sit aside.
Dry roast the ingredients listed in the masala powder section and grind them to a coarse powder.
I used my instantpot to cook these chole. So, on saute mode, add the ghee. Once it gets hot, add the cumin and the nigella seeds. Now add the chopped onions and fry till they turn a golden color. Add the tomatoes and the ginger and garlic. Mix well, till the raw smell goes away, about 5 minutes. To this add turmeric powder and the coarse masala and mix well. Add the soaked chickpeas and 2 cups water. Add salt to taste and the eno salt. Mix well. Close the lid and go to manual setting, high pressure with vent sealed and time it to 20 minutes with a natural release of the pressure. Open the lid. Add more water if you want a little thin gravy. Add chaat masala and give it a good stir.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and slit green chilis and serve with kulcha, naan, chappati, bread or steamed rice.

Note - This can be cooked in a pressure cooker too. Everything is the same. Cook it for 3 whistles and you have chole ready.

Moong & Udad Dal Koftas in a Coconut Sauce

I met Anu (Anupama) Rao at a party - her bindaas nature and her totally infectious smile and her jokes were what made us bond as friends that evening. Little did I know that this is the same Anu who writes the beautiful blog Allergy Foodie. I was thrilled and it felt like I had met a celebrity - I guess, I mentioned it to her when we connected on facebook. Needless to say - shes become a friend.

She planned to have a allergy friendly cookout along with 4 food bloggers from around  in the warmth of her kitchen in the evening today  (19 April). Sadly, I am not going to be a part of it, due to health reasons. But, I wanted to make a contribution.

Anu had given each of us a list of what we need to avoid. Here is the list that was provided to us.

• Wheat (including oats, spelt, barley)
• Tree nuts (Almond, cashew, pistachios, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts etc.)
• Peanuts
• Dairy (Milk, Yogurt, Cheese) 
• Soy
• Eggs
• Fish
• Shell Fish
• Mustard
• Poppy seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Chick Peas (Chana daal,  besan etc.)

Well, my thinking cap came out of the closet and I started to think of the ingredients I could use to make something tasty and allergy friendly. After a lot of this and that and again a this and that - I finally came up with the idea of a kofta curry that could be made with whole moong (green gram) and whole udad (black gram) in a rich coconut milk based curry that is infused with fresh ground spices and fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves. I hope this meets the criteria - will wait for a verdict from Anu.

Ingredients

2 medium potatoes - boiled and mashed
1 teaspoon ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups chopped  fresh fenugreek leaves (methi)
1 and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons kashmiri chili powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar or grated jaggery
1 can coconut milk
2 cups water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
salt to taste
oil for deep frying the koftas

Soaked in enough water for 12 hours

1/2 cup whole moong (green gram)
1/2 cup whole udad (black gram)

For fresh ground spice mixture

1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
2 teaspoons coriander seeds (akha dhania)
2 green cardamoms (elaichi)
5 cloves (lavang)
1/2 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
5 kabab chini/nagkesar (cobra saffron)

Method

Dry roast all the spices mentioned in the 'to grind' section and then grind them to a coarse powder, make two parts of it and keep them aside.
Coarsely grind the soaked moong and udad and add in the mashed potatoes and half cup of chopped onions. Then add one portion of the ground spice, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, asafoetida and 1/2 teaspoon salt (you can add more or less as per preference or taste). Mix everything well. Heat oil in a karahi for deep frying. When it gets hot - put the flame on a medium and make balls of the dal mixture and fry them till they are nice and crispy on the outside - it should take about 5 to 7 minutes for 6 balls at a time. Drain them on a paper towel and let them sit aside to cool.
In a saucepan, add the coconut oil. When it gets hot, add the remaining chopped onions and fry till they turn a nice golden color. Add the ginger paste and the garlic paste and saute for about a minute till the raw smell goes away. Add the chopped fenugreek leaves and mix well till all the leaves are wilted and give a nice fenugreeky (if such a name exists) smell. Add the 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, chilli powder, the other portion of the spice mixture, salt to taste and mix well. Get the saucepan off the heat and add the coconut milk and stir very well. Add 2 cups of water and mix well. Get the saucepan back on the flame and cover it and let the mixture come to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and bring it to a simmer - add the kofta balls to the sauce. Cover and let the sauce and koftas mix and mingle on the simmer for about 10 minutes. Kofta curry is ready.
You can have it with Rice, Rotis (allergy friendly ones) OR as we did it - we served the kofta on a bed of boiled rice noodles ........ my husband called it a very fancy way of eating your 'Dal & Chawal'

Haleem (Khichda) in Slow Cooker

I never had haleem in my life - yeah yeah yeah! I never had haleem in my life untill today when we made it at home. I always wanted to make this since we purchased a slow cooker/crockpot. I never got to making it............. blame it on a lot of things.
I saw a post from Shruti (a friend I made on facebook) on her blog about a vegetarian haleem, the recipe is here - and I wanted to cook it and eat it ever since. Finally over the weekend, we went to the halal shop and got some 'mutton' and today on this rainy and cold day we had this yummm stuff for dinner along with some yogurt and cucumber/onion salad. The aroma of the spices, the onions friend in ghee and ofcorse the cooked haleem takes you right to heaven.

It is indeed a very rich preparation with all that ghee (clarified butter) and those pulses/dals and those exotic spices. But, at the same time, it is a complete meal packed with proteins and some carbohydrates too. All this one pot meal needs as an accompaniment is some salad and yogurt.
I did not follow any recipe here. Just added all the dals and the cracked wheat and the mutton along with onions, tomatoes and the likes and slow cooked it for almost 9 hours.
The spice mixture did have a spice that was used by Shruti - its called kabab chini or nagkesar or cobra saffron. I just made the spice mixture as I make it for most of the Indian food that I cook at home.
Since it was cooked in the slow cooker - the effort seemed minimal too.
This can surely be cooked in the pressure cooker too. Ofcorse it will cook faster there  and not take 9 hours like the slow cooker - but then, there is something else about slow cooking which makes it very special.

Ingredients

1 pound mutton (boneless pieces)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons yogurt
2 onions - sliced
1 tomato - roughly chopped
11 garlic cloves - grated
1 inch ginger - grated
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 teaspoons kashimiri chili powder (more or less as per taste)
4 teaspoons dhaina jeera powder (coriander and cumin powder)
1/4 cup quick oats (I used Quaker oats)
2 teaspoons salt (more or less as per taste)
5 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup ghee
1 onion - thinly sliced
cilantro for garnish

to grind
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
4 green cardamom pods
7 cloves
1 black cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
4 nagkesar/kabab chini
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

to soak
1/4 cup moong dal (split green gram)
1/4 cup tuvar dal (split pigeon peas)
1/4 cup masoor dal (split red lentils)
1/4 cup chana dal (split chick peas)
1/4 cup udad dal (split black gram)
1/2 cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup quinoa

Method

Marinate the mutton pieces with the yogurt and the turmeric and let it sit for atleast 2 hours - overnight is best.
Wash the ingredients under the 'to soak' heading about 4 times and then add enough water and let them soak for 2 hours.
Dry roast the ingredients under the 'to grid' heading untill a nice aroma comes about. Let it cool and then grind it to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
In a karahi, add the 1/4 cup oil. When it gets hot, add the 2 onions and fry till they get a nice golden brown. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes till the raw smell of the garlic disappears.
Get the crockpot/slow cooker started - Put in the onions and the ginger garlic first. Add the mutton pieces next along with the chopped tomatoes. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhania jeera powder the ground spice mixture. Now add the soaked dals and cracked wheat. Add 5 cups of water and give it a nice mix with a spoon to get all the powders mixed well with the water. Put the crockpot on high for 5 hours and cover it.
After 5 hours, the dal and wheat  will have cooked and the meat will be tender. With a hand mixer/blender, blend the mixture well till you get a nice porridge consistency. If the mixture is very thick, add about half cup of water and mix well. Now add oats and salt and mix it again. Put the crockpot on low this time and cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours.
In the meantime, fry the 1 onion that is thinly sliced in the 1/4 cup of ghee untill it is brown and crispy. Keep it aside.After 3 to 4 hours of slow cooking on low, the haleem is ready. Check it for salt or spice and add according to your liking.
To serve Haleem - take a serving in a bowl, add a teaspoon (you can add more if you like) of the ghee in which the onions were fried, garnish with chopped cilantro and fried onions - serve with a side of salad and yogurt.

This recipe yielded 7 servings of Haleem.

Haleem is essentially made with beef or mutton - but, it can be made with chicken too. You can also make a vegetarian version by adding veggies like carrots, potatoes, beans, bell peppers along with some soy nuggets (nutella).

Rajma Palak - Simple Recipe

Something that I do very regularly at my place is soaking pulses like rajma (red kidney beans), alsande (black eyed peas), kale vatane (Black peas), safed vatana (white peas), kabuli chana (chickpeas), kulith (horsegram) and the likes. I generally soak all these pulses at one time and then after 12 hours of soaking, they are transferred to different different containers and are kept in the freezer when I need to cook them. This way, I do not need to remember to soak them the previous night, and I can make some pulses when I feel like it.
This Rajma was in my freezer for over 4 weeks. Yesterday, I had no vegetables in the fridge and did not know what to cook before my lil one came back from school. Well, suddenly I remembered the rajma in the freezer and thought of making a curry.
Now Rajma - well................... its a ritual to cook it the way a punjabi aunty thought me. It takes quite a bit of effort and love. I did not have the time for efforts - but, there was loads of love. Hence made this jhatpat rajma the way my mom always made it for us. Just added spinach to get some veggies into it too.
Verdit - kiddo loved it - she had it for lunch as well as dinner.

Ingredients

1 cup rajma (red kidney beans) - soaked for atleast 12 hours
1 onion - roughly chopped
1 tomato - roughly chopped
2 cups water
1 teaspoon mustard oil (use can use any other oil)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 tablespoon butter/ghee/oil
7 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder (you can add more if you like)
2 teaspoons meat masala (I used everest meat masala) - the masala does not contain meat
2 cups baby spinach - roughly chopped
salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker add the soaked and drained kidney beans, water, onions, tomatoes, turmeric, asafoetida and mustard oil. Pressure cook it for about 5 whistles. Let it stand untill the pressure cooker releases its pressure.
One you open the pressure cooker, use the back of your ladle and just mash the bottom of the cooked kidney beans a couple of times to mash just a few of them.
In a saucepan, add the butter/ghee/oil. When it gets hot, add the chopped garlic and let it sizzle - be careful not to burn the garlic. To this add the rajma mixture - be very careful as it will splutter - add the rajma very very slowly. Add the chopped spinach, the meat masala, chilli powder and salt to taste. Let the mixture come to a boil, then cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve with Rotis or Rice.

DaliToy - Simple Dal

Dalitoy is a staple in almost all konkani homes. I can eat rice and this dal all through the year. You need nothing else - just maybe papad and pickle or some chutney - if you love fish....... well, fried fish goes amazing with this dal.

There are various ways of making this humble stuff. Its nothing but yellow pigeon peas (Tuvar Dal) thats pressure cooked - and then a tempering of mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves is all that is to it. Not to forget the salt to taste. I added a few extra ingredients - something that my grandma used to do to just enhance the taste a bit more. It still remains that same simple dalitoy.

Ingredients

1 cup dried split pigeon peas (Tuvar Dal/Toor Dal)
3 cups water
1/2 inch ginger
1 teaspoon oil
2 teaspoons ghee/coconut oil (you can use any other oil too)
1 green chilli - slit in the middle
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 to 7 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
chopped cilantro for garnish

Method

Wash and rinse the pigeon peas very well. Then add 3 cups of water, turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon oil and chopped ginger and pressure cook them untill you get 4 to 5 whistles. Once the pressure is released, open the cooker and mash the cooked dal.
In a karahi or saucepan, add the 2 teaspoons ghee/oil. Once it gets hoe, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cumin and the chilli and curry leaves and let it all splutter for about 5 seconds. Then add the asafoetida and the cooked and mashed dal - be careful when you do this and the dal will splutter, add the dal into the tadka/tempering very very slowly. Add sugar and salt to taste and let the mixture come to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and savor with rice and accompaniments of your choice.

Goan Style Masoor Amti

Every Goan or Manglorean house will always have something cooked with a coconut based gravy. Food somehow seems incomplete without that special ingredient. The method of cooking remains the same as some ingredients may change from households to households. But, this food is amazing and gives you a feel of home away from home.
I learnt to cook this food from my Mom. Well, I have changed my style a little bit from hers - but, the basics still remain the same. We do not cook this kind of food everyday at home and hence it has become a delicacy whenever we make it.

Ingredients

I cup masoor (whole red lentils)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 big onion

7 cloves garlic

1/2 inch ginger piece

1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste

2 tablespoons coconut oil (you ca use any other oil - but coconut oil works best)

5 kashmiri chilis (you can add more to make it spicy or less to make it less spicy)

2 tablespoons whole corinader seeds (akha dhania)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

salt to taste

Method

Soak the masoor in 3 to 4 cups of water for about 4 to 6 hours. Wash the soaked masoor well and drain it. In a saucepan add 2 cups of water, the turmeric powder, the asafoetida and the soaked and drained masoor and let this mixture come to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is to get the masoor cooked.
In a karahi - dry roast the whole coriander seeds and the kashmiri chilis for about 2 minutes. Remove them onto a plate. Now add the coconut oil to the karahi, add the chopped onions and garlic and fry till the onions become a nice golden color. Add the ginger and mix well. Now add the tamarind paste, the garam masala and the coconut and let this mixture roast for about 5 minutes - stir it continuously and do not let it burn. Add dry roasted corinader seeds and the kashmiri chillis to this mixture and let it cool.
Add a cup of water and grind this mixture to a fine paste. You can a little more water to ease the grinding - but, be careful not to make it too watery.
Add this mixture to the cooked masoor - you can use the same saucepan or use another one. Bring this mixture to a boil. Add salt as per taste.
Serve hot with steamed rice, chappatis or Dosas - even our humble bread tastes good with this. I serve it with some yogurt too.
I served this curry with waffle dosas (well, thats dosas made in a waffle iron).
Waffle dosas is something that I had seen on pinterest and a few blogs too. Its an interesting way to get your kids to eat the Indian dosas as the American waffles :)

Palak ani Dalichi Vatun Amti - Coconut based Dal curry with Spinach

I follow the blog monsoonspice and love all that Sia has to say there. Her writing is wonderful and the person reading it just does not wish to stop. I also like all her pictures - she is an amazing photographer. Her recipes are simple and tasty. 

The other day she posted a dal recipe also called ambat in Konkani - the link for which is here. This is a staple in konkani households. Infact, I cook this dal atleast once a week and I make it with spinach, malabar spinach, dill, fresh fenugreek leaves, red amaranth leaves - I have even used raddish with its leaves in this dal. We love the use of coconut in our cooking - thats the konkani blood in me and my husband speaking.

Her post made me realise that such staple and simple things which are everyday food we savor and eat can also be a part of the blog and they indeed should be there. I thank her for making me realise this.

My palak Amti/Ambat is very similar to how she cooked - except that I grind the onion along with the coconut and chillies. But, this is simple yummy food with steamed rice and poppadoms and the humble lime pickle. We savor this Amti/Ambat with fried fish too. 

Ingredients

2 cups roughly chopped baby spinach
1 cup toor dal
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 cloves garlic (optional)
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 to 3 dried red chillies (I used 2 byadgi and 1 kashmiri) - you can use more if you like
1 tablespoon coriander seeds (akha Dhania)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
4 to 5 curry leaves
1 tablespoon coconut oil (you can use olive oil, groundnut oil or canola oil too)

Method

Wash the dal well, add 2 cups of water, the asafoetida and turmeric, spinach and a few drops of oil and pressure cook the dal untill 3 whistles. Release the pressure and mash the dal with the back of a spoon and let it stand.
Mix together grated coconut, roughly chopped onion, garlic, dried red cillies, tamarind paste and coriander seeds in a blender, add about 1/4 cup water and blend this mixture to a fine paste. If the mixture becomes too dry and difficult to blend, add 2 tablespoons water at a time and blend again.
In a kadai/saucepan, take the coocnut oil, when it gets hot, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter, now add the curry leaves and let them saute for about 10 second. Now add the dal and the blended spice mixture and mix well. Add salt to taste and let this mixture boil. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for about a 15 minutes to half hour.
Serve with boiled white rice and poppadoms. This goes well with hot and soft phulkas too.

Masoor dal with panch poran seasoning

Ingredients

1 cup masoor dal (the red/orange colored lentils)
1 onion - thinly sliced
1 dried red chilli
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons panch poran
2 tablespoon mustard oil (I used vegetable oil)
salt to taste

Method

Wash the lentil in warm water about 4 times. Add 2 cups of water and the turmeric powder and pressure cook the lentils for about 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, mash the cooked dal and keep aside.
In a sauce pan, add the oil. When it gets hot, bring the heat to a medium and add the panch poran and let the mustard splutter, be careful not to burn it. Add the dried red chilli and sauce for 10 to 20 seconds till it puffs up. Add the sliced onions and fry till they turn a nice golden color. To this add the cooked dal and salt and let the mixture come to a boil. Garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy with warm white basmati rice.

Mix Dal & Legumes Vada

Who does not like fried food - At my home, we love fried stuff. Its just not something we make on a daily basis. Frying foods is done once in 3 to 4 months at my place. Was kinda tired of doing the same pakodas or moong vadas, medu vadas, dal vadas etc. Thought of making something different - Used all the pulses that I could lay my hands on in the pantry and made these mix dal vadas. They turned out pretty good I must say - we enjoyed eating them. Also, felt less guilty indulging in fried stuff - as it had lots of different dals and legumes in it ;)

Ingredients

2 cups of the following dals/pulses/legumes/beans
you can add any other pulses/beans/legumes/dal of your choice
tuvar dal
channa dal
kabuli channa (chick peas)
black eyed peas
rajma
black channa
safed vatana
moong
matki
masoor 
1 medium onions - finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
6 to 7 garlic cloves - finely grated
2 green chilis - chopped
salt to taste
a pinch of asafoetida
oil for frying

Method

Soak all the dals & legumes for 6 to 7 hours in water. They will puff up and become soft. Then coarsely grind it without adding any water. To this ground mixture, add the chopped onions, grated garlic, chopped cilantro, asafoetida and salt and mix well.
Take a tablespoon of the mixture in your hands and make a pattie of it and deep fry in hot oil on medium till its nice and golden brown.
Serve with tomato ketchup or with mint chutney along with tea or coffee.
yummy treat on a rainy or snowy day :)

Blackened Tilapia/Tiger Shrimps with roasted cauliflower and quinoa salsa

Blackened Tilapia and Salmon have been a favorite with us. Everytime we visit a restaurant that serves fish - this has been once of the most ordered items. Our kiddo also loves this dish and savors every bite. The spices and the color make it very appetizing and the heat is something that an Indian palate will always appreciate - ofcorse the heat can be altered by just adjusting the black pepper powder and the red pepper powder (chilli powder).

since this has been a favorite on the restaurant menus for us - thought of giving it a try at home. searched the net for various recipes - finally mixed and matched from various sites and came up with the spice blend that looked good to my eyes. The end result was good too (",)

Ingredients

Blackening Spice Mix

for
4 tilapia fillets (frozen ones that I had thawed)
10 tiger shrimps

1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon rosemary
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon black pepper powder
1/2 tablespoon red pepper powder (chilli powder)
1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon salt
Pam - oil spray

Roasted Cauliflower

1 bunch cauliflower - cut into florets
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon coriander and cumin powder
salt to taste
Pam - oil spray

Quinoa Salsa

1 cup quinoa
1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen) - thawed and steamed
2 cups veg stock
1 avacado - finely chopped
1 tomato - finely chopped
1 white onion - finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno - seeded and devined - finely minced
juice of one lemon
salt to taste

Method

Blackened Tilapia/Tiger Shrimps

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a grinder and blend together till the rosemary, thyme and oregano are a fine powder.
Dab the mixture on the fish fillets and the shrimps and cover and let it marinate for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Line a tray with aluminium foil - spray pam and put the fish and the shrimps on it and bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Put it on broil for 5 minutes and take it off the oven - cover and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Fish/Shrimps are ready to eat.

Roasted Cauliflower

cut the cauliflower into florets. Clean in running water. Dry well and mix the paprika, turmeric, salt and corainader and cumin powder - cover all the florets in the dry spice mix. Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and spray Pam - bake it in a 350 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes till cauliflowers are tender yet firm.
Roasted cauliflower is ready.

Quinoa Salsa

Cook the 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups of stock in a microwave. Microwave on high for 4 minutes - then mix it and microwave gain for 4 minutes. Let the quinoa stand for a minute or two - it is done. Add the corn, tomatoes, onions, avacado, jalapeno, lemon juice, cilantro and salt. Mix well and let it stand for about half hour before its ready.

Dhansak

Dhansak - well, the name itself says it - Dhan means grains and sak mans leafy veggies. This is a Parsi delicacy and it is traditionally cooked with goat meat - but, you can cook it with chicken too. The lentils and leafy veggies make it healthy and the meat adds to the glory. Traditionally this is cooked with split masoor dal (the orange colored dal) - but, I have made some variations here to suit my taste buds :)

Ingredients

1 pound mutton (goat meat) - cubed into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup of curds
1/2 cup split moong dal
1/2 cup split masoor dal
1/2 cup tuvar dal
1/4 cup channa dal
1/4 cup udad dal
1 bunch fenugreek leaves
1 bunch dill leaves
1 cup chopped spinach
1 cup cubed pumpkin pieces
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium tomato chopped
7 to 8 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 inch ginger shopped
2 teaspoons ghee (clarified Butter)
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon dhansak masala (I used everest brand)
2 teaspoons dhania jeera powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder (you can add more if you want it spicy)
salt to taste

Method

Marinate the meat in salt, ginger garlic paste and curds and let it sit for 2 hours. Then add some oil to a pressure cooker and add the meat pieces there and cook for about 4 whistles. The meat should be cooked tender by then. If not then cook for another 2 whistles. Remove it into a bowl and let it sit.

Clean the pressure cooker well. Wash the grains atleast four times in water and keep aside. Chop all the green veggies. Now add the ghee. To this add the chopped onions and garlic and saute till the onions turn golden. Then add the tomatoes and the ginger and cook till the ghee leaves the side of the cooker. add all the chopped greens and the pumpkin and mix well. To this add all the grains and mix well. Add the dhania jeera powder, dhansak masala, turmeric powder, chilli powder and add 3 cups of water. Cover and let it cook for about 3 whistles. Once that is done, use a potato masher or a  buttermilk churner and churn the dal and veggies mixture. Add salt and check for seasonings - if you wish to add more masala or more chilli powder you can do that now. If the dal is too thick you can add some water. Add the cooked meat pieces to this mixture and let it simmer uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes. garnish with chopped cilantro.

Traditionally this is eaten with brown basmati rice - but, can be served with white rice, naan or even bread.

Chole Bhature

My husband loves Chole Bhature in veg food. He is a hard core non-veg eater (I am sure you have guessed it from the entries on the blog - most of it is non-veg). The other day he was returning from a trip and it being a Thursday, I was not going to cook any non-veg food - so he asked me to make Chole Bhature.

Ingredients

For Chole

1 cup kabuli chana - dry garbanzo beans

1 cup water

2 teaspoons tea powder OR 2 tea bags

2 medium onions - finely chopped

6 to 7 cloves garlic - finely chopped

1 medium tomato - finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 inch ginger - finely grated

1 teaspoon cumin

4 tablesoons oil

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons chole masala (I used everest masala)

salt as per taste

For Bhature

2 cups all purpose flour (Maida)

4 tablespoons of semolina (Rawa)

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 teaspoon yeast OR 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup warm water (if using yeast)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

oil for frying

Method

For Chole

Heat the 1 cup of water and when it comes to a boil, add the tea/teabags - let it boil for about 2 minutes. Strain this water and add it to the kabuli chana/garbanzo beans. Add more water till the water covers all the beans. Let it soak for 5 to 6 hours. Tea is added to the chana to get the dark color - it does not change the taste.

In a pressure cooker - add the chana with the tea water. Add another cup of water, turmeric powder, a pinch of salt and let it cook under pressure until 3 whistles. Once the pressure is released, check the chana for doneness. Take a ladelful of chana in a bowl and crush it into a fine paste and then add it back to the boiled chana - this is done to give the chole curry some thickness.

In a karahi - add 4 tablespoons of oil. When it gets hot - add the cumin seeds and the chopped garlic. Be careful not to burnt he garlic. Immediately add the chopped onions and fry till they turn golden brown. Now add the tomatoes, ginger and the chopped corinader. Mix well till the mixture leaves the sides of the karahi. Now add the chilli powder and the chana masala and salt as per taste. Mix this well till everything is incorporated. Now add the boiled chana and mix well. Add water only if needed - or as per your desire of curry consistency. Cover and let it simmer on medium low flame for about 15 minutes.

Chole is ready to be served with bhature, raita and chopped onions.

For Bhature

If using yeast - then in 1/4 cup of warm water, add the yeast and let it sit for about 1/2 hour.

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients (do not use baking powder if you are using yeast). Add the yogurt and the yeast mixture and mix well. Add water only if required to get a soft pliable dough. Cover it with a damp muslin cloth/kitchen tissue and let this mixture sit for about 2 hours in a warm and dark place.

Heat oil in a karahi. Make small balls of the dough and roll them into round or tear shaped flats and fry in the hot oil till golden brown.

Serve hot with chole.

We even like bhature with tandoori chicken - makes a yummy and sinful combination.

Usal Pav

We had a potluck lunch a few days ago - and we had this awesome usal made by a dear friend. Loved it a lot. Thanks Vandu - for the lovely usal and the recipe.

Unlike Misal which is a maharastrian delicacy - Usal is comon in Karnataka.

Ingredients

1 cup safed vatana (dried yellow peas) - soaked overnight

1 medium onion - chopped

1 medium tomato - chopped

2 green chillis - chopped

2 teaspoons shredded coconut

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

6 to 7 Red chillis - I used Byadgi Mirchi

2 teaspoons Tamarind Paste

salt to taste

2 tablespoons of oil

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 tablespoons lemon juice

For Garnish

Hot Mix

chopped onions

chopped cilantro

Method

In a pressure cooker - cook the soaked vatana along with the onions, tomatoes and green chillis and two cups of water for 3 whistles.

Grid to a fine paste the shredded coconut, coriander seeds, red chillis and the tamarind paste. Add a little water if required.

In a karahi - add the two tablespoons of oil. Then mix the pressure cooked vatanas and the ground mixture. Add salt, lemon juice and garam masala and bring it to a boil.

In a bowl, garnish it with chopped onions, chopped cilantro, hot mix and serve with pav (burger buns, bombay pav, potato buns)

Masoor Usal

Ingredients

1 cup sabut masoor (lentils)
1 medium onion - chopped
1 tomato - chopped
6 cloves garlic - chopped
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon dhania jeera powder
a pinch of turmeric
1 teaspoon kashimiri chilli powder
salt to taste
1 tablespoon oil

Method

wash and soak the massor for atleat 3 hours. In a karahi, add the oil. When it gets hot, add the mustard. Once the mustard starts to splutter, add the cumin. Immediately add the garlic and the onions. Fry till the onions are transparent. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, dhania jeera powder, garam masala powder and the tomatoes and mix well. To this mixture add the soaked masoor and 3 cups of water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Check if the lentils are cooked. If the are not cooked - then cover and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice, rotis or even bread.

Mooga Randai (Moong Curry)

Ingredients

1 cup sprouted moong

1 medium onion

2 to 3 cloves garlic

2 to 3 dried red chills ( you can alter as per your need of spice)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 teaspoon paprika powder

salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil

7 to 8 curry leaves

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Method

In a blender, add the coconut, roughly chopped onion, garlic, red chillies, coriander seeds and paprika powder and make a smooth paste of it.

In a kadhai add oil. When it gets hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the cumin and the curry leaves and in 5 to 10 seconds add the sprouted moong. add some water and cover and cook on medium flame for 10 to 15 minutes.

Then add the coconut mixture to the moong in the kadhai and mix well. add salt to taste. Bring this mixture to a boil and check if the moong has been cooked. If not, then cover and cook till the moong gets cooked through.

Serve this with hot steaming rice or chappatis.