Category Archives: Recipes

Recipes: Stir-fry Potatoes

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2A couple of weeks back when S’ cousins came home for dinner, I had made this potato dish which was inspired by the simple potato stir-fry from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This is a very simple dish to make but is slightly heavy on the masalas used. It was super yummy and since then BB & GG have been asking me to keep making this. This dish is a keeper and goes very well with any rice and dal combination as well as with any roti or Indian flatbread. When I make it for lunch, BB also takes it with him to school, as a filling for a sandwich.

1Potato Stir-fry, UP inspired

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium sized potatoes, scrubbed and washed well
  • 2-3 tbsps oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp ajwain seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • ½ to 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Amchur or dry mango powder
  • ½ tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ½ tsp garam masala powder

Method:

  • Wash and scrub the potatoes well. Then slice them into thick slices and then cut vertically into 1 inch sticks and slice the sticks finely. Wash well and keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat the oil and when the oil is warm, put the dry masalas one by one – cumin seeds, then fennel seeds, caraway seeds and stir for a couple of seconds. Then add the salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, dry mango powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir for a few seconds.
  • Then add the potatoes and stir and mix well so that the masalas mix well with the potatoes.
  • Cover and cook on a low flame for around 10-15 minutes or until it is almost done.
  • At this point, add the garam masala powder, stir well and cover to cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Check for seasoning and switch off the flame.
  • Enjoy the potato stir-fry with rice or any flat bread

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Recipes: Bhindi Do Pyaza aka Okra Onion Gravy

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img_0254I’ve always seen Bhindi Do Pyaza in restaurant menus and have eaten it before also, but I’ve always wondered at the dish’s name and how they make it. Every restaurant has their own recipes and so this has been different in each restaurant I’ve eaten too.

The other day, fed up with cooking almost the same dishes every day and also facing rapidly diminishing refrigerator contents, I decided to make this, albeit slightly differently to go with a peas and corn pulao. Usually this recipe will be more dry than a gravy at restaurants, but since I was serving this with rice, decided to make it with a red tomato gravy. Bhindi Do Pyaza was a hit and everyone loved it and this will become part of our usual menu.

img_0251Bhindi Do Pyaza

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kg bhindi or okra, washed and dried completely
  • 4-5 onions, cut into half and sliced finely lengthwise
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp onion seeds
  • 2-3 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Make small x cuts in the top and bottom of each tomato and keep aside. Take some water in a pan and when the water starts boiling, put the tomatoes top down and let them cook. Keep an eye on them and turn occasionally.
  • In the meantime, cut the okra into 1 inch pieces.
  • Heat around 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, put the okras to fry. Stir occasionally, shake the pan if needed. Cook the okras till they are three quarters done and remove from the pan and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add the cumin and onion seeds and fry for a couple of seconds. Then add the ginger and stir for a minute. Next add the onions and fry them till they become translucent and start to brown.
  • When the tomatoes are done, remove them from the water, peel the skin away and blend the pulp into a smooth paste.
  • When the onions start to brown, add the dry spices one by one – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin power and and a bit of salt.
  • If the mixture is very dry and starts to burn, add some of the water which you boiled the tomatoes.
  • When the mixture is completely cooked, add the fried okra and cook for a few minutes.
  • Now add the tomato paste and check for seasoning. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of garam masala if you want here.
  • Let the dish cook till it starts  bubbling and at this point, reduce the flame and let it cook for another 5 minutes. If you need to add water, use the water you used to boil the tomatoes. When you have the consistency you want, switch off the flame.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with a flatbread or rice of your choice.

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Recipe: Chow Chow Ginger Chutney

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Chow chow or Chayote is a very versatile vegetable, one which takes on the flavour of the ingredients that you use to enhance it. I make a chow chow chutney which BB loves, but this time I added some ginger to it, to add some kick to the chutney. This went very well with rava idlis which I made and will go well with other south Indian dishes like idlis and dosai.

Chow Chow Ginger Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 chow chow or chayote
  • 1 cup grated coconut
  • 1-2 inch piece of ginger, for peeled
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • 1 tsp chana dal
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 6-7 dried red chillies
  • 1 small lime sized ball of tamarind
  • 1 tsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Peel the chayote and remove the inner seeds. Chop them into small bite-sized pieces and keep aside
  • In a pan heat oil and when warm, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the urad dal and chana dal.
  • Add the dried red chillies and let it brown slightly. Add the ginger and let it brown for a few seconds. Add the tamarind and let it cook for a couple of seconds.
  • Now add the chopped chayote and a bit of salt and let it cook till the chayote has completely cooked.
  • Remove from the flame and keep aside and let it cool completely.
  • In a blender, blend the chayote with the coconut and blend well till it becomes a smooth paste. Add salt if needed.
  • Serve with any bread, flatbread or idli, dosai etc.

 

Recipe: Pooshnikai Kootu aka Ash Gourd Stew

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Another typical tambram food, which I made for the first time for the sumangali pooja. This was really good with a medley of tastes. A keeper which I plan to make often.

Pooshnikai Kootu aka Ash Gourd Stew

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Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized pooshnikai or as gourd, chopped into small pieces with the seeds and fibres removed
  • 3/4 cup toor dal or red gram dal, cooked with a pinch of turmeric till mushy
  • 1/3 cup chana dal or bengal gram dal, cooked with a pinch of turmeric
  • 2 tsps coriander seeds
  • 1.5 tsps bengal gram dal
  • 6-8 dried red chillies
  • 4-5 tbsps grated coconut
  • a lime sized ball of tamarind, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and the pulp squeezed and the juice removed and kept aside. Alternatively use 2-3 tsps of tamarind paste
  • 2 tsps oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal or black gram dal
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • In a large pan, take the chopped ash gourd and cook it with just enough water to cover the vegetable. Add some salt and turmeric powder.
  • When the ash gourd is half cooked, add the juice of the tamarind and let it cook till the raw smell of the tamarind goes away.
  • In the meantime, in another pan, with 1 tsp oil, fry the bengal gram dal,  coriander seeds, dried red chillies and the coconut until the coconut looses all it’s moisture and becomes dry. Blend this coconut mixture into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water if needed to do this.
  • When the ash gourd is cooked, add the cooked toor dal to the ash gourd and let it mix well. Bring it to a boil and then add the blended coconut paste and let it boil for around 5 minutes
  • In a seperate pan, heat the balance oil and when warm, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and red chillies and stir for a few seconds till the urad dal is brown the curry leaves are crisp.
  • Season the kootu with this and remove from the gas. Serve hot with a rice of your choice or any flatbread.

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Recipe: Pudalangai Kootu aka Snake Gourd Stew

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This is a typical tambram recipe which is made in perhaps every household at some point or the other. But surprisingly I had never made it before and so when I had to make it for the Sumangali pooja, I had to rely on my tambram cooking bible – Cook and See by Meenakshi Ammal. I am reproducing the recipe as it is published. Even though I was cooking it for the first time, it was yummy and I realised, I actually liked it a lot.

This recipe is pretty standard for a kootu, in that it has the vegetable, some dal and a coconut spice blend. What was different was that instead of chillies, the coconut was blended with black peppercorn, which made the difference in taste.

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Pudalangai Kootu or Snakegourd Stew

Ingredients:

  • 2 snake gourds
  • 1 cup moong dal, washed and cooked with a pinch of turmeric powder till it is mushy
  • 4-5 tbsps grated coconut
  • 1.5 tsps peppercorns
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split urad dal
  • 2-3 dried red chillies
  • 4-5 curry leaves
  • salt to taste

Method:

  • To chop the snake gourd, slit it lengthwise first and remove all the seeds and fibre from inside. Then cut it in half lengthwise and then into thin slices horizontally.
  • In a pan cook the snake gourd with minimum water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and some salt.
  • While the snake gourd is cooking, in a blender, blend the coconut, peppercorns and cumin seeds to a fine paste and keep aside.
  • When the snake gourd is cooked, but still keeping its shape, add the cooked dal to it and mix gently. Now add the coconut paste and add a bit of water if needed. Kootus are generally thick, but you can adjust the thickness of the dish as you like.
  • Check for salt and when it comes to a rolling boil, let it boil for five minutes and switch off the gas.
  • In a smaller pan, heat the oil and when it becomes warm, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and dried red chillies and let the dal brown and the curry leaves become crisp. Pour this seasoning into the kootu and serve hot as an accompaniment to rice.

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