Kerala Sambhar

I recently visited my husband's native place in Kerala. I fell in love all over again with the place (Kerala is so beautiful!) and with the cooking as well - yummm! Though it was fresh fish-galore at most meal times, sambhar also made an appearance at times. I really liked the sambhar - it was like a cross between the normal Tamil sambhar and arachuvitta sambhar and so asked for the recipe. Here it is, as gleaned by me through an interpreter (some of S's relatives only speak Malayalam).

Kerala Sambhar

Ingredients
(Try to use coconut oil wherever the recipe calls for oil if you like the taste. It really adds to the dish)

For the masala paste:
2 peppercorns
1 pinch methi seeds
1 pinch jeera seeds
10 curry leaves
2-3 shallots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1.5 tbsp grated coconut
A few pinches asafoetida

Roast all the above ingredients in a little oil and grind to a fine paste with a little water.

Extract 1 small lemon-sized ball of tamarind  in 2 cups water.

Add the masala paste to the tamarind extract and set aside.

For the sambhar:
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 medium tomato, chopped fine
1.5 cups chopped sambhar veggies (okra, pumpkin, carrot etc - Kerala sambhar can include *any* vegetable including raw bananas)
1 slit green chili
3 heaped tsp coriander powder
1 heaped tsp chili powder
1/2 cup tur dal
1/4 tsp turmeric
Water
Oil
Salt

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch asafoetida
5 torn curry leaves
Oil

Method:
1. Pressure cook the tur dal with 1.5 cups water and the turmeric. When it cools down, mash completely and add 1 more cup water. Set aside.
2. In a wide bottomed pan, add a little oil and toss in the slit green chili and onions. Once the onions change color, add in the tomatoes and salt. Cook well till tomatoes are mashed.
3.  Add in the chopped sambhar veggies, coriander and chili powder and mix well. Cover and cook till the veggies are almost cooked.
4. Now add in the dal-water mixture to the cooked veggies.  Bring to boil and then reduce flame. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
5. Add in the tamarind-masala mixture. Mix well, bring to a boil and then reduce flame. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
6. In a different small pan, add in oil and the mustard seeds. When they pop, toss in the hing and the curry leaves. Mix well and add to the boiling sambhar liquid.
7. Turn off heat and cover the sambhar dish with the lid. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes.
8. Adjust for salt and server hot with rice or idlis or dosa.

Like I said, yummy!

Pav Bhaji

S is usually not a fan of north Indian food (I am). However, pav bhaji (pav is the bread and bhaji refers to the veggie side dish) is an exception. Both of us enjoy it. I picked up a lovely recipe from here. The prep time is on the higher side since there is so much chopping to do. But the delicious end result and the high veggie quotient of the dish makes it worthwhile.

Here is my slightly adapted version of the recipe.

Pav Bhaji 

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients (enough for 5-6 people):
1 medium capsicum, minced
4 medium tomatoes, boiled, peel discarded, and pureed in a mixer
1 medium cauliflower, roughly chopped into florets
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes.
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into cubes
15 green beans, stringed and chpped into small pieces
1/2 cup green peas, (cooked for 5 mins if raw, or just defrost if frozen)
1.5 tbsp pav bhaji masala
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1.5 tbsp butter (add more if you are up to it - the end result will taste even better)
1 long green chili, slit and chopped into six pieces
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pressure cook the cauliflower, potatoes, carrot and green beans with turmeric and just enough water to cover. Once the pressure comes down, mash the veggies using a dal masher (or the back of a wide serving spoon).
2. In a wide pan, add enough oil to coat. Add in the green chili pieces and the ginger garlic paste. Stir fry till the ginger-garlic paste starts losing its raw smell.
3. Add in the capsicum pieces, salt and continue to stir fry till the capsicum is cooked through. You can use a dal-masher to mash the pieces if you would like the bhaji's consistency to be very smooth smooth
4. Add the peas and mix well.
5. Add in the pav bhaji masala, red chili powder and garam masala and stir fry for a few seconds.
6. Add in the tomato puree and butter, mix well. Close the dish and let it cook for 5 minutes till the raw smell of tomatoes is gone.
7. Now add in the mashed veggies from step one and mix well. Add a little water if necessary (the bhaji should not be runny so take care)
8. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Adjust for salt and serve hot with toasted pav.

Notes:
1. Cauliflower,capsicums and potatoes are the only "must have" vegetables. You can omit the rest if you don't have them.
2. To toast pav, heat butter (or olive oil or butter substitute - basically, some kind of fat, else the pav bhaji Gods will curse you :-P) on a skillet, place the pav so that it is coated with butter and toast.
3. Before serving the bhaji, you can add chopped onions as a garnish. A lemon wedge can also be served on the side.
4. The bhaji reheats very well. So feel free to cook it beforehand. It also survives overnight in the fridge and tastes great the next day.
5. If you like the bhaji to be spicier increase the amount of pav bhaji masala you use.

Masala pori (Spicy puffed rice)

This is a light and tasty snack for the times when your mouth feels jobless (this is a direct translation of the Tamil phrase "vaai chumma irukuthu") and wants something to munch on.

Masala pori (spicy puffed rice)

Masala Pori

Ingredients
Puffed rice (pori) 6-8 cups
12 big cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup peanuts, roasted without oil
1/2 cup fried gram (pottukadalai), roasted without oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 sprigs of curry leaves
12 dried red chillis, broken (do not discard the seeds)
Oil
Salt to taste

Method
1. Place a big pan on medium heat and add just enough oil to roast the red chilis and garlic.
2. Add the chilis and garlic and fry lightly till the garlic just begins to change color.
3. Add in the curry leaves and continue frying till the curry leaves turn crisp (do not let the garlic burn).
4. Add in salt, fried gram and peanuts. Mix well.
5. Add in the turmeric and fry for a couple of seconds (be careful, turmeric burns easily and tastes bitter when burnt).
6. Immediately start adding in the puffed rice a little at a time, mixing well after each addition.
7. When all the puffed rice has been added in, stirring every minute or so, continue heating on medium till the puffed rice has turned crispy and is coated well with the turmeric (you should be able to see the yellow tinge).
8. Adjust for salt.
9. Cool completely and store in an air-tight container. It will stay crisp for a couple of days.

Ginger apple cucumber salad

This recipe is adapted from here. Though the picture below does not look all that appealing, the salad was pretty tasty (and yeah, my usual refrain, healthy too). The lightly fried onion forms a wonderful contrast with the raw ingredients and the flavors come together nicely in your mouth.

Ginger apple cucumber salad

Ingredients (enough for two as a starter, or for one as the entree at lunch)

2 medium sized cucumbers, peeled
1 medium apple, peeled
1" ginger piece, grated
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2/3 tbsp vinegar diluted with 1/3 tbsp water
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted without oil
1.5 tsp sunflower oil (or any other flavorless oil)
Salt to taste

Method
1. Vertically cut the cucumbers into four pieces each. Deseed them and slice into thin pieces using a mandolin slicer or a knife. Do the same for the apple. Mix both and set aside in a bowl.
2. Add the grated ginger, honey and salt to the vinegar and mix well.
3. Add the above dressing to the cucumber and apple. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. When ready to serve the salad, add the oil to a pan. add the onion and saute well till the onion starts to look cooked..
5. Now add in the turmeric and a little salt and continue sauteing the onion till the tips begin to change color. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
6. Remove the cucumber-apple mixture from the refrigerator and drain any accumulated liquid.
7. Mix the onion with the rest of the salad ingredients. Adjust for salt.
8. Top with the toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Notes
1. You can substitute toasted sesame seeds with sliced almonds.
2. Raisins added in should also be good.

Stuffed Eggplant (Brinjal / Kathirikkai)

Here is a super-duper easy  version of stuffed eggplant:

http://kowthas.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/stuffed-eggplant-andhra-style/

All you need is the stuffing powder, a microwaveable dish and as many minutes as the number of egg-plants. Cool! Be very careful when you remove the clingwrap off your dish though - getting burns from the escaping steam is a very real possibility.

Nine beans kuzhambu (or kurma perhaps)

So, I bought this packet of 9 beans (combination of beige garbanzo, dark brown garbanzo, green garbanzo, green vatana, yellow vatana, rajma etc) because I liked the concept. Well, liking concept is one thing, but coming up with recipes is another. So the packet adorned my shelf for quite some time till I spotted it a couple of days ago and decided to soak it . Recipe ideas will come on its own, no?

Well, when the time to cook came, I still had no idea what to do once I had boiled the beans. So I decided to add ingredients as I went. To my surprise, the end result was surprisingly tasty. Only complaint, if any, was that it had a taste that would complement rice based tiffins (like dosa, idli, appam etc) better than wheat based (like rotis, parathas etc) ones. Oh well, I just had the kuzhambu with dosas. Yumm.

Nine beans kuzhambu

Ingredients (makes enough for 4-5 people):
Nine beans - 1 cup (soak them in water for at least 24 hours since they have rajma, notoriously hard to soften).
2 Big (black) cardamoms, crushed (omit if unavailable - do not substitute with green cardamom unless you like the flavor)
A few pinches hing
1.5 tsp salt

Pressure cook the beans with cardamom, hing, salt and water for 18 minutes after the first whistle sounds. Drain and set aside.

Seasoning
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
2 green chillis (grind it into a paste along with the ginger and garlic)
4 medium onions, chopped fine
2 tomatoes, ground into a paste
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 heaped tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1.5 tbsp kuzhambu chili powder (I like the Aachi brand)
2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
Water
Salt



For tempering
1 tsp fennel seeds (sombu)
3 sprigs of curry leaves
1 pinch hing
Oil

Method:
1. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a pressure cooker (or any other wide bottom vessel). Add in the fennel seeds. When they sizzle, add in the hing and the curry leaves. Let it crackle.
2. Toss in the ginger-garlic-green-chilli paste and stir fry for 15 seconds or till lightly cooked. Take care to not let it burn.
3. Add in the onions and salt and stir fry till onions turn pink.
4. Add in the ground tomatoes and mix well.
5. Add in the masala powders and stir till well-mixed with the onions and tomatoes.
6. Add in the cooked beans and 3.5 cups water. Mix well.
7. Cover the pressure cooker (if using) with lid and pressure cook for 5 minutes after the first whistle. If using a pan, simmer for 15 minutes or until the kuzhambu has reached the consistency you like.
8. Once pressure has come down, open the cooker, check the kuzhambu for salt. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot with dosa or idli or appam or any rice-based tiffin item.


Notes:
1. Adjust the quantity of green chilis, red chili powder and kuzhambu chili powder based on your spice tolerance level.
2. I suppose the kuzhambu will taste fine with lesser than nine beans also :-).
3. If the kuzhambu is too liquidy after it comes out of the pressure cooker, boil it again till it reaches the consistency you like.

Podalangai (snake gourd) koottu

I can't believe I did not know how to make this dish till a few months ago. I always thought koottu involved using coconut and being the health conscious person that I am, I did not make koottu on a regular basis to avoid using coconut. Then, I was cooking in my mom's kitchen one day and she taught me how to make koottu (a vegetable side dish with gravy) without coconut. It tastes surprisingly good and is also super easy to make as it involves very minimal monitoring once on the stove.

So, these days, this has become my go to dish of choice when I do not have too much time to cook but would still like to eat a filling, healthy and tasty meal. Thus, my fridge's veggie drawer is now stocked with either podalangai (snake gourd) or chow-chow (chayote), both of which make good koottu.

Enough with the blah-blah and on to the recipe:

Podalangai Koottu

Podalangai Koottu

Ingredients (2 servings):
1 medium podalangai, white fleshy interior removed and chopped into pieces
1/2 cup moong dal, washed and soaked for about 10  minutes
1 medium onion, chopped
Water
Salt

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chilis, broken (can be less or more depending upon your taste
A pinch asafoetida
2 sprigs of curry leaves, torn
Oil

Method:
1. Take about a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Place on stove on medium heat and add mustard seeds and red chilis. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and curry leaves in quick succession.
2. Toss in the onion pieces and a little salt and fry till the onion changes color.
3. Add in the soaked moong dal and enough water to cover and boil for about 5-10 minutes, till the moong dal is half-cooked.
4. Now, add in the podalangai pieces and stir well with the moong dal. Add some more water. Remember that you need enough water to cook the veggie as well as the dal - so be a little generous with the water.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, till the veggie is done and the gravy has reached the consistency you like.
6. Adjust for salt.

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:
1. As I said earlier, chow chow can be used instead of podalangai. In fact, any veggie with high water content can be used (pumpkin, bottle gourd etc).
2. The moong dal should not cooked to a complete mush. The koottu tastes best when you are still able to just about taste the moong dal grains (cooked through but still slightly distinct).
2. To get the traditional kootu taste, grind a little fresh coconut with a little jeera and green chilis (adjust the red chili quantity accordingly). Add to the above dish towards the end and cook for about 5 minutes.

Carrot soup with peas

This recipe comes from mom who in turn got it from some magazine a long time ago. This carrot soup is perhaps my favorite vegetable soup. It only adds to its likeability factor that it takes only minimal time and effort to make.

Ingredients (2 big bowls of soup or about 4 cups of soup):
3-4 medium carrots, cut into rounds
1/2 cup peas
1 onion, chopped fine
1.5 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp butter
Milk 2 cups (skimmed is okay)
Water
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Add enough water to carrots in a dish to just cover them. Pressure cook for 7 minutes. Cool and grind into a fine puree with sufficient water.
2. If using fresh peas, add enough water to cover peas, then cook in microwave on high for about 7 minutes. If using frozen, just defrost peas.
3. On a stove, place a soup pan, add the butter and when it starts to melt, add in the onions. Add salt and fry onions till they begin to change color. Onions should be cooked but not to a crisp. Add pepper and stir.
4. Add corn flour to the onions and stir so that the flour mixture is well distributed.
5. Add in the milk a little at a time and stir so no lumps are formed. Bring milk to a boil once you have finished adding both the cups of milk.
6. Lower heat, add the carrot puree, mix well. Add sufficient water till the soup is at a consistency you like.
7. Add in the peas.
8. Bring the entire mixture to a boil, then let simmer for about 10 minutes.
9. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Serve hot with a side of toast. Or you can top with croutons. Use a dollop of butter on top for a buttery flavor.

Notes:
1. You can use 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter for the initial stir frying of carrots or substitute butter with olive oil completely.
2. You can add a boiled potato and grind it along with the carrot puree for a slightly different taste.

Mixed vegetable curry

Another vegetable curry recipe.
http://www.sailusfood.com/2010/10/28/mixed-vegetable-curry/
Both S and I enjoyed it.  I pretty much followed the same recipe with a few minor modifications. Here is my recipe:

Mixed Vegetable Curry:

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, peeled and cubed
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
25 french beans, chop into 1″ pieces
3/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 large onion, finely chopped2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tomatoes, blanch, peel and crush
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 cups water
salt to taste

To Grind:
1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1″ cinnamon stick
1 tbsp grated coconut
Roast the above with no oil

Roast with a little oil:
3 red chilies

Grind all of the above to a smooth paste.

For seasoning:
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp oil
2 green chilis, slit
2-3 sprigs curry leaves, torn

Method:

1. In a little oil in a wide base non-stick pan, add the seasoning ingredients. First the chillis and then the fennel seeds. When you get a nice aroma, add the curry leaves.
2. After curry leaves crackle, add the ginger-garlic paste and stir fry for 10 seconds. Do not let it burn.
3. Add the onions and salt and stir fry till the onions change color.
4. Add in the vegetables (other than tomato), the turmeric and a little water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are almost done.
5. Now add in the masala paste and crushed tomatoes. Add in the rest of the water, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. Add in the amchur and kitchen king masala, mix well, bring to a boil again and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes till the mixture has reached the consitency you want
7. Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes:
1. You can use cauliflower as one of the vegetables. As usual, it is upto you to decide what vegetables and in what proportion you want them.
2. You can substitute the coconut with about 7-8 cashew nuts for a different taste.

Serve hot with rotis.

Vegetable Jalfrezi

I found this recipe in Woman's Era magazine and bookmarked it (or rather photographed it with my phone) just because it had a whole lot of veggies in it without the usual kurma base. The prep work is the time consuming part, the cooking is quite easy. The end result made for a healthy and satisfying meal. Here is how I made it:

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Ingredients
1 green chili, chopped fine
1/2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced fine
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2/3 cup green beans, chopped into 1" pieces
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into sticks
1/3 cup fresh peas
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 capsicum, cut into long strips
1 tsp red chili powder
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp aamchur powder
3 tbsp curd, beaten
A handful of coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil
A little water

Method
1. Coat base of a pan with oil. Toss in the ginger, garlic and green chilis and fry for a few seconds. Add in the onions, salt and fry till the onions turn light golden.
2. Add the carrots, potatoes, potatoes, peas. Add in all the spices (chili, coriander, jeera and aamchur powders) and mix well. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of water on top of the veggies, cover the pan and let the veggies cook till they are almost done (tender-crisp).
3. Add in the tomatoes, mix well, let cook covered for 3 minutes.
4. Add in the capsicum, mix well and let cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add in the curd, mix well and cook on high flame till the liquid from the curd has evaporated.
6. Adjust salt, garnish with coriander leaves and take off heat.

Serve hot with rotis and raitha.

Notes:
1. You can use other kurma veggies like cauliflower too. The ratio and combo of veggies is upto you. However,capsicum is a must.

Paneer Kathi Rolls

I have liked most versions of kathi rolls and have been wanting to try them out at home. I found this recipe and then found reference to another recipe in the comments section of the first recipe. So I came up with a kathi rolls recipe which was a combo of the two. The end result was quite tasty while being high on the health quotient. Here it is:

Paneer Kathi Rolls

Ingredients (makes 4 kathi rolls with generous stuffing):


Marinate
1/4 cup low fat curds, beaten
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp garlic  paste
1/4 tsp besan
1/2 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Mix the above ingredients well. To this add:
1 cup medium-small cubed paneer
1/2 cup finely chopped deseeded tomato


Mix well and keep aside for at least 10 minutes.

Vegetables
1 Medium capsicum chopped into medium sized cubes
1 medium onion peeled and chopped into medium sized cubes
 
Salad
1 medium onion cut into thin slices
1 long green chilli, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small carrot shredded into large shreds (use the big-holed side of the grater)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Mix together the onion, green chilis and vinegar. Keep aside for at least 10 minutes. Just before using, pour out any remaining liquid vinegar, pick out and toss the green chili pieces. Add in the carrot, cilantro and salt, mix well and use.

For the roll
4 ready-made whole-wheat chapathis

Other ingredients
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat a non-stick pan on high and pour in enough oil to coat the  base of the pan. Add in onions, capsicum, a little bit of salt (remember the marinade has salt so don't go overboard) and stir fry till they start changing color along the edges.
2. Add in the paneer-tomato marinade and stir fry on high-heat for 2-3 minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking till the raw smell of the spices has disappeared and the paneer starts getting a nice brown crust on it. This can take about 10-15 minutes. You just need to stir it from time to time. Lower heat further if you think the dish is beginning to burn. Check for salt and keep aside.
3. Time to assemble! Heat both sides of the chapathi on a tawa. Place it on a plate.  Place the paneer filling across the diameter of the chapathi. Top it with the salad.
4. Roll the kathi roll and serve hot with tomato ketchup on the side.

Notes:
1. For efficient time utilization, follow this order of cooking: marinate the paneer and tomato first and keep aside. Then chop the onion and capsicum and start cooking them. By the time they are cooked, the paneer mix will be ready to add in. While the entire mixture is cooking, chop the onions for the salad and marinate it in vinegar. Finally work on the carrots and cilantro for the salad. By the time the salad is done, the paneer mix will be ready as well and hey presto, everything required for assembly is ready!
2. The filling can be made before hand. Just reheat it before assembly. Do not make the salad too much in advance else it will lose its freshness.
3. Instead of whole-wheat chapathis, you can use maida parathas to get a more professional taste (of course, you lose the benefits of whole-wheat flour then).