Aloo methi matar curry

I made this recipe specially for mom since she does not eat chicken and chicken was the main side-dish for the lunch party. Mom liked it (the rest of us were pure non-veg that day and refused to eat it :-)) and asked for the recipe. So here it is:

http://jellybelly-shanavi.blogspot.com/2010/11/aloo-methi-matar-with-paneer.html

I made a couple of changes to the recipe:

1. I had no paneer, so omitted it.
2. I did not have half and half, so substituted a mixture of milk and cream that formed on top of the milk (just mixed them both together with a whisk).
3. I did not have fresh methi, so substituted it with about 1.5 tbsp of Kasoori Methi.
4. I lightly sauteed the potatoes before adding it to the curry.

Egg biryani

This recipe proves that tasty biryani need not always involve hours of labor over a hot stove:

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/02/egg-biryani.html

I skipped the fake chicken, the soya chunks and the carom seeds (did not have any of these on hand). I added two slit green chillis when sauteing the onions and cooked the biryani in an electric  rice cooker. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. The end result was fragrant and a tasty change from regular biryani.

I will update this post when I try this recipe with real chicken.

Kulfi

Who would have thought kulfi could be this easy to make?

http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2010/02/i-dream-of-summer-pistachio-kulfi.html

I did not read through the ingredient list carefully and thus forgot to buy the cream. But the kulfi still came out great. Seriously, what's there to not like in the rest of the ingredients?

BTW, make sure you like the flavor of rose water if you plan to use it instead of saffron. I tried rose water the second time I tried this recipe, and did not care for it too much.

I used popsicle molds to set the kulfi and each one made a delicious after-dinner treat.

Raw banana (vazhakkai) curry

I cook raw banana in a limited number of ways, the favorite of which is puli-kuzhambu, the spicy, tangy sauce which goes so well with rice. However, I was looking for recipes which would go well with rotis. Googling lead me to this:

http://cooks-hideout.blogspot.com/2010/06/aratikaya-kura-raw-banana-curry.html

It sounded yummy and when I made it, it tasted yummy too. The only changes I made were to reduce the tamarind for the initial boiling phase and eliminate the tamarind entirely from the poriyal powder since I thought less tangy would taste better with rotis. I also made the dish slightly liquidy rather than completely dry, again because that would go better with rotis.

Sooji (rava/semolina) dhokla with Coriander/Cilantro (green) chutney

This recipe is easy to make, tastes good and the ingredients can be put together at short notice.

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/04/01/dhokla-suji-semolina/

Sooji Dhokla

Notes:
1. I used baking soda instead of Eno salt as I did not want to add yet another jar of stuff to the pantry just to make one dish. The end recipe was still spongy and soft.
2. If using baking soda, make sure it is fresh - old baking soda will not do its job and will also add a weird taste to the end result (trust me, I know).
3. Resting the batter for about 15 minutes or so itself gives good results.
4. A pressure cooker without weight can be used to steam. Steam for about 15 minutes after the steam first appears.
5. I added curry leaves to the end seasoning and also reduced the amount of oil used to about 1 tbsp.
6. The amount of yogurt in the recipe must exactly match the amount of sooji. Do not try substituting water for any portion of the yogurt unless you want to end up with an inedible, liquid mess (sadly, experience speaks here).

This recipe for coriander (green) chutney went along well with the dhokla:

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/02/04/cilantro-chutney/

Amla (nellikkai / gooseberry) juice

The dermatologist said amla is a very good body cleanser and drinking amla juice every morning has great effects on the skin. I have no idea how much this is true but amla in general has several good properties. No harm drinking amla juice, right?

Because amla is so tart, I thought it would take a lot of sugar to make the juice sweet. Thus, I decided to make a spicy drink instead.

Ingredients (makes about 4 glasses):
3 medium-sized amla
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tsp chat powder or jaljira powder
4 glasses water

Method:
1. Wash the amla and make cuts on it reaching till the seed (this makes it easier to remove the flesh later). No need to de-seed.
2. Place the amla in a microwaveable dish, cover with water and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Keep aside to cool.
3. Remove the flesh from the cooled amla and discard the seeds.
4. Blend the amla in a mixie along with asafoetida and chat/jaljira powder into a very fine paste, adding a little water if necessary.
5. Stir the amla mixture into the rest of the water.
6. Chill in the refrigerator.
7. Stir the entire contents again before pouring into individual glasses to serve.

This makes a cool, refreshing and healthy drink.

Garlic Green Beans

This dish has a lengthy recipe but is actually quite easy to make. It is a nice change from the usual poriyal.

Ingredients (makes enough for two):
1/4 kg green beans:
2 medium onions
6 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Slice the onions fairly thin. Toss the onions with 1/2 tsp of Olive oil and spread the sliced onions in a thin layer on a greased oven proof dish.
2. Roast the onions in an oven heated to 200 C till the edges of the onions begin to turn brown (about 15-25 minutes, check frequently to avoid burning). Keep aside.
3. Destring and cut the green beans into 1" slices. Sprinkle some salt over it and steam in the microwave on high until almost cooked (about 8 minutes). Keep aside.
4. Coat a pan with olive oil and keep on stove with medium heat.
5. Chop the garlic fine, add it to the pan, turn down the heat and stir fry till garlic starts turning golden.
6. Add in the steamed beans and stir fry.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Cover and cook on low heat till the beans is cooked through (you might want to add a little bit of water to the pan before covering in case the beans start to burn).
9. Turn off the heat and stir in the roasted onions from Step 3.

Serve hot with rotis and dal.

Stuffed ladies finger (okra)

I made stuffed okra following ingredients/method from two sources:

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/vegetables/stuffed-bhindi.html
http://kajaldreams.blogspot.com/2007/08/bharwa-bhindi-bharela-bhinda-stuffed.html

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients (makes enough for two)

1/2 kg ladies finger
1 tbsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp garlic paste
2 broken dry red chillies
Enough oil to coat bottom of a wide pan

For stuffing:
2 tbsp gram flour (besan)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp ground fennel seeds
1/4 tsp chat powder
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp lemon juice (can increase or decrease to taste)
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method
1. Mix all the stuffing ingredients. It will form a crumbly mixture.
2. Wash the ladies finger and dry with a kitchen towel.
3. Chop off the ends of the ladies finger and make a vertical sideways slit (see the second link above to get an idea of what this means).
4. Stuff the ladies finger with the masala from step 1. This is a fairly easy process. Save the excess stuffing.
5. Arrange the stuffed okra in a microwaveable steaming vessel and steam on high for 10 minutes.
6. Coat the base of a wide pan with oil and place on the stove with medium heat.
7. Add the jeera and the mustard seeds and wait for it to crackle.
8. Add the broken red chillies followed by the garlic paste.
9. Stir fry the garlic till the raw smell disappears. Do not let it burn.
10. Gently add the steamed ladies fingers to the pan and gently stir so that the veggie gets coated with the garlic.
11. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes till okra is crispy.
12. Add the remaining stuffing to the pan, mix well and continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes.
13. Cover for a minute and turn off stove.
14. Serve immediately with rotis or rice. Make sure you have dal or raita as well to accompany rotis as this is a dry dish.

Potato (aloo) capsicum curry

This is a simple recipe which nevertheless makes a tasty side dish for rotis:

http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/aloo-capsicum.php

As other commenters have noted, after frying the onions, add the potatoes, cover and let cook for a while on low heat  for about 10 minutes or so. Then make sure the potatoes are almost cooked before adding the capsicum pieces and following the rest of the recipe.

Also, one fairly-big capsicum and one medium potato with the makes enough side-dish for two.