Tag Archives: Recipe

Ven Pongal

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During Navratri, I do not use either onion or garlic in my cooking and so finding different things to make daily is a bit of a challenge. After all, how many days can one make idli and dosa? Having two (actually make that three) fussy eaters in the house does not help.

I made Ven Pongal yesterday. This is a traditional South Indian breakfast dish which is incredibly filling. There are two versions of Ven Pongal – a sweet version called Sakara Pongal which is generally used as a neividhyam (offering) to God and the savoury version called Ven Pongal.This has a creamy buttery taste and it is traditionally served with coconut chutney. Here is my version of Ven Pongal.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice

1 cup moong dal

2 tbsps ghee

2 tbsps broken pieces of cashewnuts

a small bunch of curry leaves

2 green chillies, chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

1 tsp pepper powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

Method:

In a pressure cooker, dry roast the moong dal for a few minutes till it lightly browns and a nice aroma is released. Then add the rice, water and salt and cook it for around 4 whistles or till it is finely cooked. Once the steam is released, open the cooker and mix well. At this point, check for the salt and add more, if needed.

In another small pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashewnuts till they are crisp and brown. Drain them and put them into the rice/lentil mixture and using the same ghee fry the cumin seeds, pepper corns, curry leaves, ginger, green chillies and pepper powder for a few seconds. Then add this to the rice, mix well and serve hot. I served this with coconut chutney.

Kadhi

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One of my favourite things to make when I can’t think of anything else to make is Gujarati Kadhi. This dish comes from the western state of Gujarat and was taught to me by a friend in college – M. The recipe has undergone many changes in the years that I’ve been making it. Kadhi can also be drunk as a yoghurt soup. The taste is a bit sour with slightly sweet undertone.

Ingredients:

2 cups slightly sour yoghurt

2 tablespoons gram flour (besan)

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp cumin seed powder (jeera powder)

1 tsp coriander seed powder (dhaniya powder)

2 green chillies, cut into big pieces and slightly smashed

2 inch piece ginger cut into fairly big chunks and slightly smashed

3 cups of water

For the tempering

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

a handful of curry leaves

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)

2 dried red chillies, broken

coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

In a big vessel, beat the yoghurt well and keep aside. In another smaller bowl take the besan and add the spices (salt, sugar, chilli powder, coriander seed powder, cumin seed powder) and beat well. Mix this with the yoghurt, adding water to make the consistency. Now add the ginger and green chillies. Leave it aside for about 10 minutes, this will allow the flavours to blend in well. Now put it on the gas and let it simmer for another 10 minutes making sure that gas is low and the mixture does not come to a rolling boil. When it starts boiling switch off the gas. In another small skillet, heat the oil and put the mustard in first. When it starts sputtering, put in the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and the dried red chillies. Stir it for a couple of seconds and then put the whole mixture into the kadhi. Garnish with coriander leaves and eat hot with rice or rotis or even drink it like a soup!

Navratri Chick pea Sundal

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Yesterday GG & BB had a small concert in a nearby temple where they, along with their group mates sang one song the Lingashtakam. It was so cute seeing them sing it. I have recorded it and would love to put it here, but you the rules….Instead here is S.P. Balasubramanian singing the same song

 

Anyways, the temple has Sundal as one of the prasadams and so I also wanted to make it at home. It’s very easy and a very traditional Navratri offering.

Chickpea Sundal

Ingredients:

1 cup dry chick peas (Chole), soaked in water overnight, then pressure-cooked for about 4-5 whistles till it is soft

1 tsp oil

t tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp black gram dal or urad dal

a handful of curry leaves

half a tsp of green chilli paste

3 dried red chillies, broken

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

2 tbsps dessicated cocounut

Salt to taste

coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

In a pan, heat oil and put the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the urad dal and the asafoetida. Now add the dried red chillies, curry leaves and green chilli paste. Stir for a few seconds and add the pressure-cooked chole along with salt. Stir again for a couple of seconds and then add the dessicated coconut. Stir well and switch off the gas, add the coriander leaves and serve.

Minestrone Soup

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I love minestrone soup. This is my to-go soup when I am in a soupy mood. This is very easy to make and is virtually fat-free with the wholesome goodness of vegetables & beans.

I made this soup on Sunday and BB just loved it. He ate it with almost everything I cooked this weekend.

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Ingredients:

  • A handful of dry kidney beans, soaked overnight and pressure cooked till soft
  • Half cup each of chopped vegetables ( you can use any combination, I used a combination of carrots, green peppers, cabbage, spinach and potatoes). Just avoid vegetables like ladies fingers etc which turn to mush when boiled
  • 1 tsp finely chopped garlic
  • 1-2 tsps of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 handful of macaroni (I used fusili)
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes
  • Half a tin of tomato paste
  • Seasoning like Italian herbs, salt, red chilli powder, cumin seed powder

Method:
Heat the EVOO and put the chopped garlic in and let it brown slightly. Then add the onions and saute till it turns translucent. After that add the chopped vegetables and saute it for a while. Add the kidney beans and the seasoning now and turn it around a couple of times to mix it well. Next add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and add about a cup of water and let it boil. Once the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer till the vegetables are almost cooked. This should be around 20 minutes. When the vegetables are almost cooked, throw in the macaroni and let it cook till al dente. Check for taste and take it off the gas. If at this point, you feel the soup is too thick, add in some water before you check for seasoning. Enjoy…

Tamarind Potato Curry

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It’s food time today. I like to cook – the more exotic and different the better! But at the same time, I am incapable of following a recipe exactly as it is written in a book or website – I have to make some changes to it (itchy fingers I guess)!

I used to make a sweet- sour potato curry long time ago, but didn’t exactly remember the ingredients needed or the way to make it. So I decided to turn to my trusty Internet. While surfing I found an Afghani recipe somewhat similar to what I was looking for and as usual meddled with it to make it all mine. The end result was tasty, albeit a bit sour for my taste. The next time I make this, I’ll go a bit more easy on the tamarind. Unfortunately I do not have a photograph for this as it was all eaten up before I thought of blogging about it, but here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
A small piece of jaggary
A small piece of tamarind, (about the size of a marble) soaked in water for 20 minutes and extracted
Salt to taste
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp oil (I used an olive-canola blend)
1 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of turmeric

Heat oil and when it is hot enough, put the cumin seeds in it. When the seeds start sputtering, add in the turmeric powder and stir for a few seconds.

Now add the onions and stir till it becomes slightly translucent. Then put in the Ginger pieces and stir for a few seconds. Now add the potato pieces, chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Stir well and cover, stirring occasionally.

When the potato is about three quarters cooked, add in the tamarind extract, salt and jaggary. Cook covered till the potato is tender and the sauce has thickened to coat the potatoes.

Switch off the gas qnd serve hot garnished with coriander leaves. This was yummy with rotis.