Tag Archives: Main Course

Recipe: Vendakkai Puli Kozambu aka Okra Tamarind Stew

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A typical recipe from the Tamil heartlands, this is a hearty, though slightly spicy and sour stew which goes very well with rice. This is not a typical tambram recipe. It’s quite funny that while I love garlic and love it in most north Indian sabzis, for some reason, probably due to my tambram genes, I can’t stand it in typical south Indian food. While the original recipe calls for whole garlic pods in the kozambu or stew, I ground it along with the other spices. I served it with brown rice and a stir fried vegetable and loved it. Here’s the recipe which I tweaked!

Vendakkai Puli Kozambu aka Okra Tamarind Stew

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Ingredients:

  • 1 lime-sized ball of tamarind, soaked in warm water for 15-20 minutes, then squeezed to get the water, which will be used. Alternatively, use 1-2 tsp of tamarind paste which can be brought in any Indian store.
  • 1 cup ladies finger or okra, cut into 1 inch circles
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsps gingelly oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • Salt to taste

To be ground into a paste:

  • 8-10 garlic cloves
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 5-6 dried red chillies
  • 1/4 cup coconut
  • 2 tsps oil

Method:

  • In a pan, take the oil (not the gingelly oil) and fry in the following order the spices: coriander seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and dried chilli. Stir each spice for a few seconds before adding the next spice.
  • Next add the garlic and let it become slightly golden, then the onions and let it become translucent and last the tomatoes.
  • Add a tsp of salt to help the tomatoes to lose water and become slight mushy. In the end, add the coconut and let it cook a while. Once it has cooked around five minutes, switch off the gas and let it cool completely. Once cool, blend it to a fine paste.
  • In another pan, add the gingelly oil and fry the ladies finger/okra until it cooks and becomes crisp. Remove from the gas and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, with the balance oil, add the mustard seeds and then chopped onions.
  • When the onions become translucent, put in the blended paste and stir for a few seconds. Now add the tamarind juice and let it come to a boil.
  • Add the crisp ladies finger/okra and salt to taste and let the stew boil  for 10 minutes.
  • The stew is done when the oil floats to the top.
  • Enjoy with rice and a vegetable of your choice!

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Recipe: Aloo Matar Paneer aka Potatoes, Peas and Paneer

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BB loves Paneer and will ask for it to be added to any and all vegetables at any given chance. On Saturday, when we had to go to to the hospital so GG & BB could meet their new cousin, I wanted to make dinner at home before we left, so that once we’re back, we can eat. The most obvious choice would be roti and a sabzi. I made a traditional Punjabi dish, but with a twist that R suggested which really took it up a notch. Try it, especially with the addition of this totally unexpected ingredient!

Aloo Matar Paneer

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Ingredients:

  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into small pieces
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen paneer, thawed in hot water for 10-15 minutes

For the gravy

  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
  • 4-5 dried red chillies (or fresh if you have them)
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp Garam masala powder
  • 1-2 tsps Kasuri Methi
  • A handful  of chopped spinach leaves, washed well to remove any residue dirt
  • 2 tbsps oil

Method:

  •  Chop the potatoes, and put the paneer in a bowl of hot water to thaw and soften.
  • Once the paneer is soft, cut them into smaller pieces.
  • In a pan, heat up 1 tbsp oil and once the oil is warmed, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and carom seeds in that order. Let each pop for a few seconds before adding the next one in.
  • Then add in the garlic and ginger, stirring a few minutes each time.
  • Once the garlic is slightly brown, add the onions and stir, letting it become translucent.
  • Next add the washed spinach and let it wilt.
  • Add the tomatoes next and a pinch of salt to help cook. The tomatoes need to break down completely and become mushy. At this point switch off the gas, let this cool and once cool, blend it to a smooth paste.
  • In the same pan, add the balance oil and once warm, put the potatoes in to cook. Add the turmeric powder here and let it coat the potatoes. Cover and add a few drops of water to help it cook. When it is halfway cooked, add the peas and let it cook.
  • When the potatoes and peas are three quarters cooked, add the blended paste and some water to bring it to the consistency you like.
  • Once the whole mixture is bubbling away, add the paneer pieces to this.
  • Check for salt and add the garam masala and if you want, add a tsp or two of ghee, this really makes the dish look as if you’ve cooked the whole thing in ghee!
  • Once the gravy has attained the consistency you want, switch off the gas and enjoy hot and tasty Aloo Matar Paneer.

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Recipes: Roasted Vegetables, Indian Style

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Usually, Sundays, which is R’s weekly off is the one day in the week when I can cook what I want. Usually the Sunday lunch is some variation of an Indian meal – a rice or roti dish with a gravy dish and some salad or raita to accompany it.

This weekend, I was bored of cooking the same old food, week after week and so decided to do something different. I decided to pair a soup with some roasted vegetables and then to kick it up a notch, I decided to make it with an Indian twist. So here’s some roasted vegetables, cooked in Indian style and with Indian spices!

Roasted Vegetables, Indian Style

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Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
  • 1 capsicum (any colour) chopped into large pieces
  • 20 baby potatoes, chopped into half or quarters (depending on size)
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, chopped into large pieces
  • 2-3 carrots, chopped into large pieces
  • 2 onions, chopped into large pieces
  • 2-3 tbsps Oil

Spice Mixture

  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsps cumin seed powder
  • 1 tsp coriander seed powder
  • 2 tsps dried methi (kasoori methi)
  • 2 tsps dried mint powder
  • 2 tsp chats chat masala
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius (392 degree Farenheit)
  • Mix the spices into a powder and keep aside.
  • Chop all the vegetables into bite-sized pieces, wash, dry and put into a large utensil which should be large enough to mix well.
  • Pour enough of the spice mixture and oil and mix the spices into the chopped vegetables, ensuring that every piece is coated with the spice and oil mixture.
  • Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil and pour the coated vegetables into it. Make sure the vegetables are even in the tray.
  • When the oven is heated, bake the vegetables for approximately between 40 – 60 minutes, depending on how crisp you want it or how much the quantity is. I found a full shallow tray of root vegetables needed 60 minutes while other vegetables were done in less than 40 minutes.
  • Let it cool and enjoy!

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I paired this with my carrot, coriander and pumpkin soup and it was a hit! We had this for both meals and nobody missed having rice or rotis with this meal!

Recipe: Rajma

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Another Punjabi dish which is is probably not as well known as it’s cousin Chole, but just as ubiquitous everywhere. This is a protein rich dish and is super yum with jeera (cumin) rice

The way I make it is inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe. I remember seeing him make this on television many many years back and started making it the same way. Over the years it’s been tweaked, so does this make it an original recipe?

Punjabi Rajma

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Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried kidney beans, soaked in water overnight
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1-2 tsps red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsps rajma masala
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash the rajma thoroughly and cook it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles till it becomes soft. You can also cook it without pressure, in a pan, but it will take quite long.
  • Chop the onions and tomatoes and peel the garlic and ginger and chop them into pieces.
  • Heat oil in a pan and when warm, put in the cumin seeds. When it starts popping, add the garlic, ginger and stir for a few minutes. Then add the onions and stir and cook till they turns translucent.
  • Add the tomatoes next and a tsp of salt to help the tomatoes start watering. Let the tomatoes cook till they are mushy and well cooked.
  • Switch off the gas and let it cool completely. When cool, blend it till it becomes a smooth puree.
  • In the same pan, pour this puree and let it boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the cooked kidney beans, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and rajma powder. Check for salt and add more if needed.
  • Let this cook well and once the whole mixture is nice and thick, switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves
  • Enjoy piping hot Rajma with Cumin (Jeera) rice, Rotis or Nan.

Tips:

  • You can put a pinch of baking powder/soda while soaking the kidney beans overnight. This will soften it up. Remember to wash it well before cooking it to remove all traces of the baking powder/soda
  • You can buy ready-made rajma masala at any Indian store. I prefer to use the Everest brand, but you can use any that is available or the one that tickles your taste buds.

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Recipe: Mixed Vegetable Koftas in Red Gravy

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Last week S asked for some koftas for lunch. You could call Koftas a kind of Indian meatballs which are made with both meat as well as vegetables mixed with spices. Normally when asked for these labour intensive dishes, my usual answer is a no, but I decided to make them this time. I usually prepare these with potatoes, but for some reason didn’t want to that day. I decided to experiment and that experiment was a huge success, hence this blog post. These koftas, though labour and time intensive are extremely versatile and you could have them as part of your main course, as a snack or even made into veggie burgers! You’ll be glad you tried them….

Mixed Vegetable Koftas in Red Gravy

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Ingredients:

For the Koftas:

  • 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflowers, French beans, carrots, peas, corn and cabbage. You could use some of these, all or even experiment with your own version)
  • 1 cup frozen paneer
  • 2 cups Breadcrumbs (may need slightly more or less, depending on the wetness of the paste)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 – 2 tsps red chilli powder (add more or less depending on the intensity of the chilli and your tolerance level)
  • 2 tsps Amchur powder (dry mango powder, can omit if not available, though it gives a nice tanginess to the kofta)
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for deep frying

For the Red Gravy

  • 2 tbps oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped roughly
  • 3 medium tomatoes, chopped roughly
  • 1 medium carrot, chopped
  • 1/3 of orange pumpkin, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup skimmed milk
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 4-5 garlic pods
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp carom seeds
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

For the koftas

  • In a large pressure cooker, cook the chopped vegetables with minimum water for about 4 whistles. Let the pressure reduce completely, remove from the cooker and drain all the water completely.
  • In a largish dish put the frozen paneer and cover with hot water. This will soften the paneer and when soft enough to press with your fingers, drain the water completely. Keep the water to use for the gravy.
  • Once the vegetables are cool enough to touch and the water has drained away, using your hands or a potato masher, mash up the vegetables so that it resembles a dough. At the point, squeeze out the water from the paneer and crumble it, adding it to the paste.
  • Add salt to taste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, amchur powder and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs a cup at a time and try to make balls. If the mixture is able to retain the shape of the ball without crumbling or sticking to your hand, the koftas are ready to be fried. Keep this aside while you start on the gravy.
  • Make the required number of koftas and fry on a medium flame till the outside is nice, crisp and brown. Drain on kitchen paper. You need not cook the inside too much as it is already cooked. Keep it aside till it is time to serve.

For the Gravy

  • In a pan, heat 1 tsp oil and fry the following, stirring for a couple of seconds each before you add the next ingredient – cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, carom seeds, chillies, ginger and finally the garlic.
  • Next add the chopped onions, fry for a few minutes, then put in the carrots and pumpkin, frying each for a couple of minutes before adding the next one.
    When the vegetables start softening, add the tomatoes and add a tsp of salt to allow the vegetable to sweat and cook. When the tomatoes are cooked and the vegetables soft, remove from the fire.
  • Let it cool and then zap it in a blender. You can use the paneer water here as it has all the goodness of paneer.
  • Once cool, in a clean pan, heat the balance 1 tsp oil, and when warm, pour the blended mixture and let it boil. If the mixture if thick, add some milk or cream (if you want to make it rich) to thin it.
  • When it starts boiling, check for salt and add the garam masala. Give it a quick boil and switch off the gas.

Assembling the dish

  • When it’s time to serve, heat the gravy and add the koftas to the gravy, garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Tips and Notes:

  • You can make the koftas as a teatime snack. I even made these into patties and served as veggie burgers. They were delicious!
  • Do not assemble the dish in advance as the koftas tend to absorb the gravy, so make them separately and assemble when it’s time to serve.
  • Instead of milk, you could do a combination of milk and cream in the gravy to make it richer. At the stage of frying the onions and spices, a handful of cashewnuts could also be added to increase the richness of the gravy.
  • I also felt that if the gravy was thinned with milk, you could also drink it as a soup. Just increase the amount of carrots and pumpkin and it’s quite similar to my Coriander Carrot Pumpkin Soup.

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The Koftas made as patty for a delicious Veggie Burger!

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