Tag Archives: Recipes

Methi Makkai Mattar or Fenugreek Leaves, Sweet Corn and Peas in Gravy

Posted on by
Reply

I had some frozen Methi lying in my fridge and was thinking about how to use it when am idea popped into my head and would not leave. So last week, I decided to try something and just hoped for the best. Luckily for me, the recipe turned out fine and was actually quite good, if I may say so. So here’s the latest experiment from my kitchen.

Methi Makkai Matar or Fenugreek leaves, Sweet Corn and Peas in a Gravy

Ingredients:

  • 1 small cup frozen or fresh methi leaves
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh sweet corn
  • 1 cup frozen or fresh green peas
  • 2 medium sized onions
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes, chppped
  • 5-6 pods of garlic, peeled
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
  • 3-4 red chillies (I used the small ones, you can also use green chillies)
  • 10 pieces of whole cashew nuts
  • 10 pieces of almonds
  • 4-6 tbsp yoghurt
  • 4 pieces of clove
  • 4 pieces of cardamom
  • 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ajwain or carom seeds
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 4-5 tsp oil

Method:

  • Defrost the frozen vegetables (if using) and lightly cook them in a microwave till they are soft.
  • If you don’t have access to a microwave, then pour boiling water over the frozen corn and peas for 20 minutes, drain and keep aside. Let the frozen methi defrost and keep aside.
  • If you are using fresh methi, pluck and chop the leaves and keep aside.
  • Slice the onions and keep aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes and keep aside. Peel the ginger and garlic and keep aside.
  • In a pan, heat about 3-4 tsp of oil and when the oil warms, add the sliced onions and let it brown. We want the onions to caramelise and become brown.
  • When the onions are about 80% brown, move the onions to the sides of the pan and in the same oil, add the whole spices – 1 tsp cumin seeds, coriander seeds, carom seeds, cloves and cardamom and let them pop.
  • Then add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute. Then add the chopped onions and let the tomatoes cook and become pulpy. Switch off the gas and let it cool. Move this to a blender and when fully cool, blend to a smooth paste, adding water if needed.
  • In the same pan, add the balance oil and heat it. When the oil warms, add the remaining cumin seeds and let it pop.
  • Then add the methi leaves and stir for a few minutes. After that, add the corn and peas and salt to taste.
  • Cover and cook until the vegetables are almost done, stirring often.
  • When the vegetables are almost done, add the blended paste and stir.
  • Add some water to thin (but not too much) and then the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.
  • In the same blender, whisk the yoghurt well and add it to the gravy.
  • Check for seasoning and add what’s missing.
  • Add the garam masala powder and let it boil on a low to medium flame for 5 minutes
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with an Indian bread or even plain rice.

Keerai Sambar or Spinach Sambar

Posted on by
Reply

Everyone knows how healthy spinach is. A low calorie vegetable, the spinach is consiidered a superfood and green vegetables like the spinach are very good for skin, hair and bone health. Spinach is a great source of iron and one cup of raw spinach contains as much as 0.81 gm of iron. Spinach is low in carbs but high in insoluble fiber. Spinach also packs high amounts of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium.

I usually make Spinach Dal, Mor Keerai or even Spinach Rice, but never really tried trying spinach as a sambar. Earlier this week, when making lunch where the other dishes were south Indian, I decided to make spinach sambar as opposed to a dal which was what the children were asking for just so all the dishes were south Indian. The resultant sambar was super yum and it even cooked faster than the usual sambar.

Spinach or Keerai Sambar

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups spinach, washed and chopped roughly
  • 2 medium sized onions, chopped into big pieces
  • 1 gooseberry size tamarind, soaked in hot water for 20-30 minutes
  • 1 cup toor dar, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1/4 tsp asafoetida
  • 1 tsp jaggery
  • 2 tsp sambar powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp oil

Method:

  • Cook the toor dal in a pressure cooker or on the stove top till it is cooked and mushy. Beat it well till it becomes a homogenous mass, adding water if it is too thick. Keep aside.
  • Mash and seive the soaked tamarind and thin it till it is at the sourness you like. Keep aside.
  • Heat the oil in a pan and when warm, add the mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add the asafoetida and stir for a few seconds.
  • Now add the chopped onions and stir until they are translucent.
  • When the onions are translucent and soft, add the chopped spinach and let them wilt.
  • When the spinach is wilted, add in the prepared tamarind water and then add the salt, sambar powder and jaggery and let it cook for around 5-7 minutes.
  • When the spinach and onions and completely cooked and the raw smell of tamarind goes away, add the cooked dal to the sambar.
  • Check for seasoning and add what needs to be added. Let the sambar cook for another five minutes and then switch off the flame.
  • Serve hot with a south Indian meal of rice and a stir fry curry.

Notes:

  • If you don’t have access to tamarind pulp, you can also buy tamarind paste which you should get in any Indian store. Use 1-2 tsp (as per your taste)
  • Instead of spinach, you can use any greens for this recipe

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.