Dum aloo

Dum aloo is a versatile recipe which can be made in different styles.

Kashmiri dum aloo don't have curd, onion, garlic,yet it tastes delicious.

While Punjabi style is quite interesting.

Here I have created my own style of making dum aloo with less spices and more flavours. 

I have not peeled the tender aloos, I like the skin on and the crunch it gives to the dish when roasted in mustard oil, Bengali style.

You can peel the potatoes and deep fry if you like.

(Today's recipe, I have peeled the potatoes and halved them.)

Dum aloo, (baby potatoes cooked in gravy)

Ingredients

20 small potatoes, boiled, poked  and cut into halves.(you can peel if you want, in today's recipe, I peeled them)

Dry masalas 

2 teaspoon dum aloo powder ( I use sunrise powder)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon amchoor powder

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

Salt as required

For the masala

2 medium onions chopped, make a coarse puree

2 tomatoes chopped, make a  coarse puree

A small piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

2 green chilies

For tempering

3 tablespoon mustard oil

1 inch cinnamon stick

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

10 peppercorns crushed

1/4 teaspoon jeera

For garnish

A small bunch of coriander leaves chopped.

Method

* Wash, cook and poke holes in baby potatoes with skewers, toothpick or fork. Cut them into halves.

* Pour mustard oil and roast potatoes till golden brown. Add turmeric, salt, jeera and coriander powder. Mix well.

* Make coarse puree of onion and tomato separately, we will add them in different stages of cooking.

* In a pan pour mustard oil, let it become hot, add jeera, fennel seeds, cloves, crushed cardamom,  crushed peppercorns. 

* Once they release aroma, add onion coarse puree and cook until it's golden brown.

* Add all dry masalas, cook for a minute, add tomato coarse puree. Mix well, cook in medium flame for about 4 minutes, add coriander leaves. 

*You can cook it for further 3 minutes in high flame, let it release mustard oil. 

* At this stage we will add roasted potatoes. Add salt if required. Mix well, we will add water about 1 cup. And bring to boil for about 5 minutes.

*Off stove, garnish with coriander leaves.

* Serve with any Indian bread, pulao,jeera rice of your choice.

Notes

You can add two tablespoons of cream or cashew nuts paste for  thickening. But I have skipped this step.

*You can add thick yogurt if you want to the dish.

Egg Masala(dry)

Egg Masala is one of the favourite dish made at home for children. A lovely dish my mother used to make. My children are very fond of this dish and request me to cook it.

The recipe is very simple with a  few ingredients. You can increase the quantity of ingredients and eggs for your guests, if you want to surprise them with this delicious dish.

It's a dry masala dish, you will enjoy making it.

Egg Masala

Ingredients

3 eggs

2 medium onions

5-6 garlic pods

A small bunch of coriander leaves

2 small green chillies

One small piece ginger

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

Salt as required

1tablespoon peanut oil/ghee

1/2 teaspoon jeera/cumin

Method

*Boil eggs, peel and keep aside.

*Wash, peel and chop ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves, onion and garlic.

*In a heated pan pour oil add jeera and let it splutter.

*Add chopped onion and garlic,cook for a while.

*Add ginger, green chilies. Cook further.

*Add dry masalas like jeera powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and red chilli powder. Mix well.

*Add coriander leaves.

*It's now time to add the boiled eggs, saute for a while,this step prevent eggs from breaking.

* Cut the eggs, further roll the masalas into it. Off stove.

*Serve with Kerala parotha,roti or rice. Your children will enjoy this dish and keep asking you to make it!

*Please try, comment and share.

 

Lentils and vegetables soup

Winters are the best time of the year for us, we enjoy the cold foggy mornings and delicious soups as lunch or dinner.

Sharing with you a simple recipe for lentils and veggies soup which we relish.

Lentils and vegetables soup

1/4 cup moong dal (with or without the outer skin)

2 tablespoon moong/chana,rajma sprouts

1 carrot chopped

1 tomato chopped

1/2 cup shelled peas

One small piece ginger

2 non spicy green chillies

2-3 pods of garlic (optional)

10 crushed peppercorns

2 cloves

1 star annise

10 -15 baby potatoes, slit into halves( you can substitute potatoes with beetroot, pumpkin,cabbage,greens or any vegetable of your choice)

Method

*Wash and soak moong dal for 20 minutes. Strain and keep aside.

#Wash and peel vegetables, cut into desired shape.

*Shell out green peas.

*Wash, peel and grate ginger.

* Wash and cut green chilies.

*Pour oil, I use olive oil, saute garlic, green chillies, crushed peppercorns,clove, star annise,add rest of the vegetables, sprouts,lentils and peas.

*Pour 5 cups of water,add salt, close lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles.

*Serve with toasted bread or roasted pappad. It's quite filling and delicious.

Rice rava kozhakkattai served with rasam

Rice rava lentils kozhakkattai served with rasam.

Steaming the kozhakkattai

Rolling and placing on the steamer.

Roll the hot dough

It looks like this when all the ingredients are cooked in water water.

Roasted rice rava, lentils.

Roasting the rice rava

Roasted letils, avarakkai,red chilli all together.

Adding powdered letils to avarakkai

The smallest glass which I use for measuring

It's that tiny!

Avarakkalu coarsely grounded

Roasted lentils coarsely grounded in the small mixer jar.

Follow me on instagram

Follow me on instagram for a sneak peek into my kitchen as I create dishes from scratch! That includes hand pounding the masalas, roasting, grinding,grating, chopping and lot more!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKWlOqDlTlH/?igshid=1ctntz01grwv2

Mixed beans and vegetables rice

Making lunch with the freshly bought peas and avarakkai, I went out for a long walk today morning, picked up greens and some veggies.

The fun in cooking with freshly picked vegetables and greens is something I love to do.

Here is such an interesting recipe which I know you too will enjoy.

Mixed vegetables,beans rice

Ingredients

1 cup shelled peas

1 cup avarakkai/ hyacinth beans

1 cup sweet corn

1 carrot chopped

2 green chillies chopped

A small piece of grated ginger

1 small cup basmati rice

3 small cups of water

1/4 cup of mint/pudina chopped

For seasoning

1 teaspoon peanut oil

2 crushed cloves

A small piece star annise

1 inch long cinnamon stick

1 dry red chilli

1/2: teaspoon of jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1/2: teaspoon feenel seeds

Salt as required

Method

#Wash and keep the basmati rice for half an hour.

#Wash, peel and keep aside all beans, peas and carrots.

#Wash and chop mint leaves.

#In a heated pressure cooker,pour oil, add spices.

#Add chopped carrot, green peas, avarakkai, green chillies,ginger, sweet corn and mix in. Toss them gently.

#Add basmati rice, turmeric powder,coriander powder, jeera powder,red chilli powder and finally chopped mint leaves.

#Add water and mix well, close the lid and  pressure cook for 1 whistle.

Serve with raitha, chana masala and pickle.

Buttermilk with herbs

I enjoy buttermilk when we add curry leaves, green chilies,ginger,salt 

Today I made a delicious buttermilk, with home grown karpooravalli/omavalli, curry leaves, mint leaves.

A mid-morning snack.

Buttermilk (Sambharam)

7-8 karpooravalli/omavalli leaves

2 strings curry leaves

A small bunch of mint leaves

2 non spicy green chillies

One small piece of grated ginger

1/2 lemon juice

500 grams yogurt/curd

1/2'teaspoon jeera powder

Method

* Wash and cut the herbs.

*Peel and crush the ginger

*Slit the green chilies

*In mixer add 250 grams of curd, add herbs,ginger and other spices. Run the mixer on pulse mode for a few seconds, add the  balance curd, water, lemon juice, salt, jeera powder, blend it.

* Serve the buttermilk in tall glass. 

* It's an essential part of our daily diet. You will like it and the best part you can serve it as a welcome drink to your guests.

*Please try like and comment.

Here are the benefits of buttermilk.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/buttermilk

Baigun Bhaja with Amla, green chilies chutney

It's very rare for us to get this greenish,purplish variety of brinjal/ aubergine.

Today while buying vegetables the subjiwala told me that he got them from Calcutta and you will like this one. The speciality of this particular variety is it has less seeds.

I grabbed the two which were left and as soon as reached home I had the urge to try my favourite baigun bhaja. The biggest challenge is this dish require a lot of oil, and here I am aiming to have low calorie diet!

Nevertheless,I washed and cut the baigun into circles.

Here is the recipe

Baigun bhaja

Ingredients

1 large baingan,/brinjal/aubergine

1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon of heeng powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoon of olive oil/peanut oil/mustard oil

1/4 lemon squzzed

Method

*Wash, cut the brinjal into large thick circles. Keep aside.

* Pour oil in a large pan. Carefully place cut pieces of baigun/aubergine.

* Cook in medium flame, flip and cook both sides until mild brownish.

*Sprinkle red chilli powder, salt and heeng powder on top of the cooked baigun, flip and repeat. 

* Once both sides turn into golden brown remove from pan and squeeze kemon extract. 

*Serve with amla/gooseberry and green chilies chutney. They add the special touch to the dish. I seved it as a snack, you can serve it with rice. It's very delicious!

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Amla and green chilies chutney

Ingredients

3-4 good fresh Amlas/gooseberries

5-6 green chilies ( I used non spicy green chilies)

Salt as required

1/2 lemon juice

Method

* Wash and cut all the gooseberries. Put them in the small mixer jar.

*Remove the stem from green chillies and place them in the small mixer jar. Add a little salt and lemon juice.

*In pulse mode make a coarse chutney. It has a beautiful jade colour. The green chilies I used were non spicy.

*Serve with baigun bhaja. You will experience different flavours burst in your mouth when you eat these two delicious combination of food. 

Variation in the masala

Baigun bhaja 2

I have added a few more spices and ingredients to the brinjal slices and marinated for 10 minutes before placing them on the griddle.

Ingredients

Two large brinjal, I used the green one. - thick slices

Turmeric -1/2 teaspoon

Salt - 1 teaspoon

Besan - 2 tablespoons

Rice flour - 1 tablespoon

Kalonji -1/2 teaspoon

Ajwain - 1/2 teaspoon

Dhaniya powder -1 teaspoon

Jeera powder -1 teaspoon

Amchur -1 teaspoon

Gingly oil -2 tablespoons

Method

In a large bowl add all the ingredients and mix well, coat all the brinjal slices with the other ingredients and spices, adding oil will help the ingredients to get stuck with the brinjal like a thin coat of masalas.

Leave it to marinate for 10 minutes.

In a large pan pour oil of your choice I used peanut oil, you can use mustard oil if you like it's flavour.

Once oil is just warm place the brinjal slices one by one, spread in the entire pan. 

Allow it to cook, once done, flip to the other side. Shallow fry till golden brown.

Repeat the procedure until all the brinjal slices are roasted.

Serve with chutney of your choice.