Category Archives: Food

Recipes: Pune Style Maharashtrian Misal

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Misal is probably a quessiantial Maharashtrian dish, you will find it in every corner of the state and each city, town or district has their own variation of this dish. Misal pav consists of usal which is a spicy curry usually made from moth beans, which I think is called haricot beans and pavwhich is a type of an Indian bread roll. The final dish is topped with farsan which are dry snacks or sev, onions, lemon and coriander. It is served as a breakfast dish, as a snack and also as a full meal.

I have been wanting to try and make this for the longest time, but somehow the fact that this is quite a lengthy recipe to make always put me off. Then one Sunday, I finally decided to make it. I read up a few recipes and then did it my own way. Traditionally Misal is made with sprouted green gram or sprouted brown gram, but I decided to make this more healthy by incorporating many dried beans and also since this was a fairly last minute decision, I did not sprout the beans and just soaked them in water. The version I have made is in the Pune style which incorporates poha or flattened rice flakes, while the Nashik version is usually spicy and served with pav, curd, chopped coriander and onion.

Pune Style Maharashtrian Misal

Ingredients:

For the Usal

  • 1.5 – 2 cups mixed dried beans soaked in water overnight (I used a mixture of dried chickpeas, dried black-eyed peas, dried green peas, dried black beans and black chickpeas, but you can use what you have in the kitchen)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 5-8 curry leaves
  • 2 medium sized onions, chopped finely
  • 3-4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
  • Kashmiri red chilli powder to taste
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida powder

For the dry masala paste

  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 7-8 pepper corns
  • 5-6 dried red chillies
  • 1 inch piece of cinammom
  • 4-5 cloves
  • ¼ cup dessicated coconut

For the wet masala paste

  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 1 bulb garlic, peeled
  • 1 inch piece ginger

For the poha

  • 1 cup poha or flattened rice flakes
  • ¼ tsp plus a pinch turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp oil

To serve

  • 2-3 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 cup mixed farsan
  • Date Tamarind chutney (optional)
  • Green Coriander chutney (optional)
  • 1 cup beaten yoghurt mixed with rock salt

Method:

  • Cook the soaked dals in a pressure cooker with a bit of salt and cook till the beans are soft, but not overcooked. Let it cool and keep aside. Don’t drain the water it has been cooked in.

For the dry masala

  • In a dry pan, heat the masala ingredients except the coconut and let them brown.
  • When the dry spices become brown and start to emit an aroma, add the desiccated coconut and continue stirring until the coconut becomes crisp and brown and loses its moisture.
  • Remove from the flame and keep aside till it becomes cool.
  • Then grind it to a fine powder and keep aside. If there is any left over after using it for the usal, you can use it to spice other stir fries.

For the wet masala

  • Grind together the ginger, garlic and onion to a smooth paste and keep aside.

For the Poha

  • Wash the poha in running water till it softens and then let the water drain.
  • Add some salt and the sugar plus a pinch of turmeric powder and mix well. Keep aside.
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and let the mustard crackle. Next add the curry leaves and let the leaves become crisp.
  • Then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¼ tsp asafoetida powder and stir for a few seconds.
  • Then add the finely chopped onions and a pinch of salt and let the onions soften.
  • When the onions soften and become translucent, add the soaked poha and mix well.
  • Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove into a serving dish and keep aside.

For the Usal

  • Heat oil in a large pan and when the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds and let it crackle.
  • When the mustard seeds crackle, add the curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida and let the curry leaves crisp up.
  • Then add the finely chopped onions and let it cook for a while.
  • When the onions are translucent, add the wet masala paste and let it cook for a while.
  • Add the finely chopped tomatoes and cover and cook till the tomatoes become mushy and disintegrate.
  • Now add about 3-4 tbsps of the dry masala (or as much as you want) and then add the cooked beans along with the water it was cooked in.
  • Add in the dry spice powders – cumin powder, coriander powder as well as salt and cook covered for about five minutes.
  • Add in the tamarind paste and about 1 to 2 cups of water (you can make this as thick or thin as you like it) and continue cooking covered for about 10 minutes more.
  • Cover and keep aside till it’s time to assemble it.

To assemble the Misal Pav and Dahi Misal

  • In a bowl, layer some poha and pour in some usal above the poha.
  • Top with some of the onions and potatoes and finally add some farsan on top of it.
  • Add some of the green and tamarind chutney if you want and also a squeeze of lime.
  • You can eat it as it is or with some pav or bread.
  • To make dahi missal after you top the farsan, add some of the prepared yoghurt and tp with the chutneys and then eat as it is.

It’s a tad long to make and takes time, but the taste is totally worth it!

Recipes: Roasted Root Vegetables and Couscous Salad with Feta Cheese

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A few weeks back, fed up with making the same type of food all the time, I decided to look around to see if there was something I could make. Even if S and the children didn’t mind eating the same kind of food, I was not interested in making the food! I had some beetroots in my fridge plus some couscous and thought of roasting them and combining them together. I looked around and found this recipe by Blondelish which I liked and so decided to adapt. I decided to use more than beets and make this into a root vegetable salad. It was super yummy and exceeded my expectations and this is something I will definitely make it again. The addition of the feta cheese elevated the salad and was quite filling because of the couscous.

Roasted Root Vegetables and Couscous Salad with Feta Cheese

Ingredients:
½ cup couscous
2 medium sized beetroots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 small bag of baby greens
1 small feta cheese package
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp honey
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
10-12 raw almonds
10-12 raw walnuts

Method:
Pour the couscous in a large pot and heat water in a kettle and when the water is boiling, cover the couscous with the boiling water, cover and keep for about 20-30 minutes. After the couscous has absorbed all the water, fluff it with a fork and lightly salt and pepper to it. I would also recommend pouring water which has salt already added to it so the couscous gets lightly salted.
In an oven-safe tray, make sections with aluminium foil, so that the beetroot does not stain the other vegetables.
In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, honey, olive oil and lemon juice and whisk until smooth to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the vegetables individually and spread them evenly in the tray.
Roast the vegetables for about 30 minutes at 220 degrees celcius, stirring inbetween to make sure the vegetables are evenly cooked.
Wash and dry the salad greens and keep aside. Chop the feta cheese Into small pieces or crumble them in a plate and keep aside.
In a small dry pan, dry roast some walnuts and almonds and keep aside.
In a large serving bowl, layer the salad greens as the bottommost layer. On top of this, layer the couscous and then the roasted vegetables.
Pour any leftover dressing on top of this and check for seasoning.
Either crumble the feta cheese over the vegetables or cut the cheese into tiny pieces and sprinkle over the salad. Add the almonds and walnuts and serve.

This was seriously yummy and the children also loved it. I have already started getting requests to make this again.

Recipes: Matar Paneer

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A dish you find in pretty much every Indian restaurant, Matar Paneer, which means Peas and Paneer, is a yummy dish from the state of Punjab which has fresh or frozen green peas and cottage cheese or Paneer in a smooth onion tomato gravy, spiced with garam masala. Usually served with Indian flatbreads like rotis, you can also have it with steamed rice.

One Sunday, bored of making the same old dishes, I decided to make a super easy mater paneer. This version, which may not be the most authentic version, is very easy and doesn’t take much time to make. I used frozen peas, but if you have fresh peas, the dish will be even better.

Matar Paneer

Ingredients:
– 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
– 1 cup frozen paneer, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes and then drained
– 2 medium sized onions, chopped roughly
– 4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped roughly
– 1 bulb garlic, peeled
– 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
– 10-12 almonds
– 2 tsp cumin seeds
– 1 tsp ajwain or caraway seeds
– 1 tbsp coriander seeds
– 2 cloves
– 2 cardamom pods
– ¼ tsp turmeric powder
– 1 tsp red chilli powder
– 1 tsp cumin powder
– 1 tsp coriander powder
– 1 tsp garam masala powder
– 1 tbsp kasuri methi
– Salt to taste
– 2 tbsp ghee or oil
– Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
– Heat 1 tbsp ghee or oil in a pan and when it is warm, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them pop.
– Then add the ajwain seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and cardamom pods and stir for a couple of seconds.
– Now add the almonds and stir for a minute or two. Then add the garlic and ginger one by one and stir between adding the next ingredient.
– When everything is stirred well, add the onions and stir until the onions are translucent.
– Then add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and stir until the tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy. Switch off the flame and let this cool.
– When completely cool, blend together into a smooth paste.
– In a separate pan, heat the balance ghee or oil and the balance cumin seeds and let the seeds pop
– Then add the frozen peas and the turmeric powder and some salt and cover and cook on a low to medium flame until the peas are around 80% cooked.
– Add in the blended masala paste and then the powder masalas – red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and let it come to a rolling boil.
– At this point, add in the soaked and drained paneer and salt to taste. Add the garam masala powder and crush the kasuri methi in the palms of your hands and sprinkle it over the gravy.
– Let everything come to a nice boil and put the flame on a simmer and cook for 10 minutes more. Thin it if needed at this point.
– Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any rotis or rice. I served it with a simple jeera rice made with basmati rice.

Recipes: Spinach Dal Medley

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Dals are an integral part of an Indian household and whether it is a south Indian Sambar or a plain dal from Punjab, every state, in fact every household has some type of dal preparation which is unique to themselves. I usually make dal at least twice or thrice a week and sometimes when I can’t think of something to make, I just throw something together, hoping what ends up is something edible. This dal was the result of one of those experimentations. I had some spinach which was starting to go bad and so decided to make this power packed protein and iron filled dal. The other good thing about this recipe is that it is a one pot recipe!

Spinach Dal Medley

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped spinach
2 tbsp each of the following dals – toor dal, yellow moong dal, orange masoor dal and chana dal
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
1 tbsp ghee or oil

Method:
Wash the dals thoroughly and soak in hot water for 10 minutes. Wash the spinach thoroughly to remove all the dirt it may have.
In the pressure cooker, heat the ghee or oil and and when the fat warms up, add the cumin seeds and let the seeds pop.
After the cumin seeds pop, add in the ginger-garlic paste and stir for a couple of seconds. Now add the finely chopped onions and stir until the onions turn translucent.
Now add thechopped and washed spinach and let it wilt.
Then add the washed dals and stir for a bit. Add enough water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles.
When the pressure reduces, open the cooker and put it on the gas again and stir well.
Add the tamarind paste, salt and red chilli powder as well as the garam masala powder and stir well and also check for seasoning.
Let the dal come to a nice rolling boil. If it is too thick for your liking, thin it as per your taste.
Serve hot over steamed rice with a stir fried vegetable of your choice. This also makes for a very tasty spinach lentil soup.

Recipes: Mixed Pumpkin Poritcha Kozambu

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Tamil Brahmin cooking is generally considered to be quite healthy and satvik. In our everyday cooking, onions and garlic are generally not used and there are people even today who can’t stand the smell of garlic being cooked. My grandmother is one of them. When we make anything with garlic, she generally leaves the kitchen and in fact goes to the room furthest away from the kitchen so the smell does not bother her.

A Poritcha Kozambu is something like a stew which is made by cooking a mixture of vegetables with a paste made of coconut, urad dal and peppercorns and some cooked dal. I had some yellow and orange pumpkin left over when I made some Avial and these were too little to make something with just one of them. So I decided to combine the two to make a fusion kozambu and kootu out of the two vegetables. Generally pumpkins are not used for a poritcha kozambu but this recipe was a huge success. I loved it as did S and the children and this recipe will find its way to my cooking repertoire and I will make it often.

Mixed Pumpkin Poritcha Kozambu

Ingredients:
½ yellow pumpkin, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
½ white pumpkin, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup toor dal,
½ tsp turmeric powder
3 tbsp coconut
1 tsp broken urad dal
3-4 dried red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Wash the toor dal and soak in hot water for 10 minutes. Then pressure cook the dal with ¼ tsp turmeric powder until it is soft and mushy. Once the pressure reduces and you are able to open the cooker, mash the dal well and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a small skillet and when it warms up, add the cumin seeds, dried red chillies, urad dal, and pepper corns and fry till the urad dal changes colour to a nice brown. Then add the grated coconut and stir constantly until the coconut is brown and completely devoid of water. Keep aside and let it cool.
When the coconut is cool, grind it completely to a smooth paste using water as needed.
In the same pan, add the chopped pumpkins, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and some salt and cook until the pumpkins are about 70% cooked.
When the pumpkins are cooked, but still have a bite to them, add the mashed dal and the coconut paste and stir well.
Add the tamarind paste and check for seasoning. Let it boil for about 5-7 minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot over steamed rice and a stir fried vegetable of your choice.