Tag Archives: Food

Recipes: Bhindi Masala or Okra (Ladies Finger) in a Tomato Gravy

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Bhindi or Ladies Finger is one of my favourite vegetables. When fried right, it is crisp and super yummy. I remember my grandmother’s telling us to eat this vegetable when we were young saying that eating this vegetable will improve your brain. Though I have no idea if this is true or just an old wives tale, it did ensure that this became one of my favourite vegetables ever.

Okra is scientifically known as Abelmoschus esculentus, and it might have originated in parts of Western Africa and Asia. It has been cultivated since the 12th century BC. While researching on the benefits of Ladies Finger for this post, I realised that this unassuming vegetable actually has many benefits. Bhindi has one of the richest sources of potassium, folic acid, vitamins B and C, calcium, and fibre. Okra alleviates asthma, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart, manages diabetes, boosts your immune system, improves vision, prevents kidney diseases and is a very good addition for pregnant women to eat.

A note of warning though, this recipe does use more oil than usual, so keep that in mind while making it. If you are on a diet, this recipe is probably not for you. This version of bhindi masala is made using a modified basic Punjabi gravy.

Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

  • 20-25 ladies fingers, washed and completely dried
  • 1 large and 1 medium sized onion
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes
  • 8-10 garlic pods
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 6-8 pieces of cashewnuts
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp dry mango powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 3-4 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Make sure the ladies fingers are completely dry. Then top and tail them and cut them into one inch pieces. Keep wiping your knife with a kitchen towel to remove all the slime from the seeds of the okra. Keep aside.
  • Chop the large onion vertically into long thin slices and keep aside.
  • In a blender, blend the ginger, garlic, the medium sized onion, tomatoes and cashewnuts into a fio a fine paste. Keep aside.
  • Heat the oil in a pan and when it is hot, add the okra in batches along with a pinch of salt and let it cook. The okra should turn dark green and crisp. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, with the balance oil, add the cumin seeds and when the seeds pop, add the sliced onions. Stir and let the onions become translucent.
  • When the onions become translucent, add in the blended gravy and let it come to a rolling boil. Add in the spices – salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and raw mango powder and let it simmer for around 5-10 minutes.
  • Add water to thin the gravy to the consistency you want. Add in the garam masala powder and check for seasoning and add what seems to be missing.
  • Add in the fried ladies finger and give it a simmer and switch off the flame after garnishing with the finely chopped coriander leaves.
  • If you don’t have access to dry mango powder, you can substitute it with 1 tsp lemon juice. Add the lemon juice at the very end, just after you switch off the flame.

This goes very well with both Indian flatbreads and even rice.

Recipes: Chettinad Style Shallots and Baby Potatoes Curry

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Chettinad is a region located mainly in the Sivaganga district ruled by Ramnad kingdom of Pandya Nadu and has a small portion extending into the Pudukottai District of Chola Nadu in Tamil Nadu, India. This region is also home to the Nattukottai Chettiars or Nagarathar who are a prosperous prosperous banking and business community and many in this community have migrated to various parts of south and southeast Asia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The region is associated with gorgeous and palatial homes as well as a lip-smacking spicy cuisine.

I used to make a shallots and baby potatoes curry from Sanjeev Kapoor many years back, so last week when I found myself with both shallots and baby potatoes in the house, I decided to try to make this curry, but this time tried a spin on the classic chettinad masala. Now this is not an authentic masala as I only used a fraction of the ingredients usually used, but the result was equally yummy and the whole curry disappeared in no time!

This recipe can also be made with normal onions and potatoes, just cut them up to the size of shallots and baby potatoes and you can continue to make it the same way.

Chettinad Style Shallots and Baby Potatoes Curry

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup shallots, peeled
  • 1 cup baby potatoes, washed and scrubbed
  • 1 green capsicum, cut into 1 inch squares
  • ¼ tsp black peppercorns
  • ½ tsp fennel seeds
  • ½ tsp coriander seeds
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 4-6 dried red chillies
  • 4-6 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat a pan on low-medium flame and when the pan becomes warm, add all the whole spices – pepper corns, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and the dried red chillies and dry roast them till they are crisp, but not burnt. You should be able to smell the fragrance of the spices. Switch off the gas and when cool, transfer to a spice blender and blend to a fine powder.
  • Cut those shallots which are big into half or quarters and keep the others as they are. Do the same with the scrubbed potatoes. Those which are big can be halved or quartered. Cut the green bell pepper or capsicum also into the same size pieces. The intention is to keep all pieces roughly the same size so they cook at the same time. Keep everything aside.
  • In the same pan, heat the oil and when the oil is warm, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, tear the curry leaves and add it to the oil. Stir for a couple of seconds and then add the turmeric powder.
  • Now add the shallots and stir for a few minutes. When the shallots start to turn translucent, add the capsicum and baby potatoes and cook covered until they are 50% done.
  • At that point, add salt and the ground masala and stir well, making sure to coat all pieces of shallots, baby potatoes and capsicum with the masala.
  • Let the vegetables cook completely and when done, serve hot as part of any south Indian meal.

Enjoy a delicious and yummy curry!

Recipes: Chickpea Salad

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Another salad which was a huge hit at home. Again, a super easy salad which can be put together in less than 10 minutes.

I used black chickpeas in this recipe, but you can use the normal chickpeas. I used the dried chickpeas which I cooked after soaking, but you can use the canned version if that is easier.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried chickpeas (I used black chickpeas in this recipe)
  • 2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 medium sized potato, boiled, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 medium sized red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

  • Soak the dried chickpeas in water for 6-8 hours (or overnight), drain and cook in a pressure cooker till the chickpeas are soft and mash when pressed.
  • Drain the chickpeas and let it cool.
  • In a large serving dish, mix together the chickpeas, all the chopped vegetables and coriander leaves and mix well.
  • Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper just before serving, mix well and serve.
  • This is a yummy dish when you eat it cold and is wonderful in warm summer days.

Recipes: Veg Jaipuri

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I have been wanting to make this recipe for a while now and was searching for a good recipe to play with when I came across this recipe from Sanjeev Kapoor’s website. I mostly adhered to his recipe, but to make it healthier, omited khoya or dried evaporated milk solids and fresh cream, but instead used a low fat home made yoghurt to replace the cream.

Veg Jaipuri

Ingredients:

  • 2 cup chopped mixed vegetables (I used cauliflowers, potatoes, frozen peas, french beans and green bell peppers, but you can use others also to give it more colour)
  • 1 cup frozen paneer
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 6-8 cashew nuts
  • 4 green chillies
  • a few strands saffron
  • 3 medium sized onions, chopped finely
  • 5-6 pods garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 2-3 large tomatoes, chopped finely
  • 1/2 cup beaten plain yoghurt
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tbsp raisins
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

  • Chop the vegetables into bit sized pieces. Soak the paneer in hot water for 20-30 minutes, then chop them into bit sized pieces and keep aside.
  • Heat a pan and when warm, add one tbsp ghee and sauté the coriander seeds, cashewnuts and green chilliesfor two minutes. Grind all of this with saffron into a smooth paste.
  • In another smaller blender, blend together the ginger and garlic into a smooth paste and keep aside.
  • Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. Sauté the onions till they turn translucent. Add the the ginger-garlic paste and stir for a few minutes till they turn light golden in colour. Add tomatoes and garam masala powder and cook till the tomatoes are pulpy.
  • Add the chopped vegetables, salt, the ground paste, raisins and one cup of water and simmer for five to seven minutes.
  • When almost done, add the beaten yoghurt and the paneer and let it come to a slow simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes and switch off the gas.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any Indian bread or rice.

Recipes: Carrot & Radish Salad

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I have been eating a lot of salads these days and try to make different salads so that we don’t get bored of eating the same thing every day.

I tend to use radishes a lot. Radishes are packed with nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants and are a great addition to your daily salads.

Radish contains phytochemicals that have anti-carcinogenic properties. Additionally, they have vitamin C which helps keep your body and cells healthy. They also have anti-hypertensive properties that help control hypertension or high blood pressure because of the potassium in it. Radishes are low on the glycemic index and high in fibre so it a great vegetable to incorporate for diabetics. Radishes are powerful when it comes to eliminating toxins. This helps keep your liver and stomach in mint condition.

Traditional thinking does say that people with diabetes should not eat carrots, but that is not really correct. Currently carrots have a GI of 41, which is not too bad and is at a moderate level. Carrots are full of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium.

This is a very easy salad to make, and takes just 10 mins to prep. Just remember to dress the salad just before eating as it becomes very soggy when the radish releases its waters when it comes in contact with salt.

Carrot and Radish Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium sized carrots
  • 1 medium sized radish
  • 6 cashew nuts
  • 6 almonds
  • 4 walnuts
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Handful of coriander leaves
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

  • Grate the carrots and radish and mix it together in a bowl.
  • Finely chop the coriander leaves and add this to the grated carrots and radish and mix it together.
  • Cover and refrigerate until its time to serve.
  • Chop the nuts into very small pieces and dry roast them in a dry pan until they are crisp and slightly brown.
  • In the same pan, add the sesame seeds when the nuts are almost crisp and stir until the sesame starts to pop. Let it cool and keep aside.
  • When you want to serve, prepare the dressing by mixing together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper into a smooth emulsion.
  • Drizzle the dressing on the salad and sprinkle the crisp nuts and sesame seeds and serve immediately.