Narthangai oorugai (Citron Pickle)

Narathangai oorugai (citron pickle)

I think it's the most loved delicacy in any iyer home.  I bought a few yesterday. Good old days when I used to help Amma in making narathangai. Amma makes it very different from what I make. Amma used to squeeze the juice from each narathangai and fill turmeric and salt. Then it's spread in a big muram and kept in the sunlight for about one or two weeks. Every day as we keep it the juice will be poured on top of the narathangai. Once it's completely dried we used to store it in big jadi. It will last for more than an year.

The recipe I make is very simple.

Ingredients

Fresh narthangai - 18 nos.

Rock salt - 3 cups

Turmeric - 3 teaspoons

Roasted crushed fenugreek - 2 tsp

Method of preparation

Wash and cut narthangai into thin long slices. Measure and add rock salt. The proportion is 8:1. Add turmeric, fenugreek and Mix well. Keep it for about three weeks time. Mix everyday.

By this time you will notice the narthangai is very soft and juicy.  Remove from the big jadi and keep preserving in small clean bottles in the refrigerator for longer shelf life.

Tibetan Thukpa (Vegetable noodle soup)

Tibetan Thukpa. The yummy noodle soup.

Ingredients

Vegetable noodles - 1 pkt
Baby onion a few
Big onion -1
Potato one medium
Beans - a few
Carrot - 1
Bell peppers - 1/2 in each color
Long bean - 2
Spinach a small bunch
Coriander leaves a few
Clove - 3
Elachi - 3
Cinnamon 1 small piece
Ginger a small piece
Green chili two
Garlic a few
Coriander powder a small tsp
Jeera powder 1/2 tsp
Knor noodles/rice masala 1/2 tsp
Olive/mustard oil - 2 tbsp
Soya sauce 1 tsp
Green chili sauce 1 tsp

Method of preparation

* Wash peel and chop vegetables lengthwise. Chop spinach into small pieces. Chop ginger,garlic and green chili into small pieces.

* Cook noodles in enough water till soft drain excess water.

In a heated pan add oil whole spices like elachi, clove,cinnamon. Allow the spices to release aroma. Add ginger, green chili and garlic. Saute for a while. Add small and big onion. Toss and wait for it to become translucent. Add chopped vegetables. Allow them to cook in high flame. Now add turmeric, coriander and jeera powder. Mix well. Add chopped spinach and add two cups of water. Let it cook till vegetables are soft. Gently add cooked noodles. Adjust salt. Off stove and add a tsp soya sauce and green chili sauce. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot.

BAIGAN BHURTHA (PUNJABI CUISINE)

Hello,

Happy father day and Happy yoga day today. Let me share few more simple dishes from North India. This baigan is from my terrace garden. Fresh and soft one. 

Home grown garden fresh brinjal. 

Baigan bhurtha(PUNJABI CUISINE)

Ingredients

Baigan - 1 large
Big onion - 1
Ripe red tomato - 2
Green chili - 3
Ginger a large piece
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard -1/2 tsp
Jeera -1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves a few
Curry leaves crushed

Method of Preparation

Wash and clean the Baigan and apply oil on the outer skin. Keep it directly on the burner. Cook it in medium flame. You will notice the as sides are roasted and the outer skin is burnt. Turn on the other side. I cook all four sides and the bottom. Off and remove from fire. Let it cool down.

Chop all the other vegetables ginger and chilli into fine pieces. Peel off Baigan and chop or smash.

Use a thick bottom pan pour oil and add mustard allow it to crackle. Now add jeera. Saute for a few seconds. Now add chopped onion, green chili, ginger, and tomato. Cook in high flame stirring it occasionally. Let it cook and oil gets separated. Now add chopped Baigan, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Cook fie another 5 minutes in slow flame. Garnish with crushed curry and chopped coriander leaves. Add a pinch of garam masala.

Serve as a side dish for rice or phulkas.

Mixed Vegetables Roti Roll (for Lunch Box)

A simple and quick veggie roti roll.

Yet another interesting and quick roti roll for kids. You can try this for school lunch. Its healthy, quick and I am sure children will love it.

• Ingredients

• Long bean (payar) a few
• Onion one
• Tomato one
• Yellow or red bell pepper one
• Carrot one 
• Cut all vegetables into two inch long thin slice.
• Salt a little
• Pepper powder crushed a little
• Tomato ketchup 2 tsp
• Olive oil 2 tsp

• Method of Preparation

• In a heated pan add onion saute till soft, add rest of the vegetables. Toss and add salt, pepper mix well. Finally add tomato ketchup. Let the vegetables cook for a while absorbing all the sweet mild ketchup and juice released from the vegetables. Off the stove. Roll out a few phukla. Stuff the phulkas with a table spoon full of prepared filling. Roll and serve hot.
• You can slice cucumber and stuff inside along with the filling.

Chinese fried rice and chilli paneer gravy

Hello,

Today I made Chinese rice with lots of vegetables. I know how difficult it is for every mother all over the world to make children eat nutritious vegetables. Its very tough job. In fact kids make big fuss over veggies. But few dishes you can try where your child will relish and enjoy the crunchy tasty vegetables and enjoy eating without much difficulty. 

Chinese fried rice

Ingredients

Basmathi rice - 1 small cup

onion - 1

green chilli - 2

ginger a small piece

garlic - 2 pods

carrot - 2

beans - 5

cabbage - 50 grams

celery leaves - a few

clove - 2

cinnamon a small piece

capsicum - 1/2

green chilli sauce - 1/2 tsp

soy sauce - 1 tsp

salt as required

crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and keep the basmathi rice aside for 20 minutes. In a large pan pour water allow it to boil add basmathi rice and cook till soft and long. Drain excess water, spread in a tray.  Trim and chop all vegetables, chilli and ginger into very small pieces. In a heated kadai pour olive oil/sunflower oil add clove, cinnamon and allow it to release its delicious aroma. Now add onion, garlic, chilli and ginger, sauté for a while. Add rest of the vegetables one by one and sauté. Allow the vegetables to cook in high lame. Add crushed pepper, soy sauce, green chilli sauce and celery leaves.  Cook till the vegetables are well cooked and crunchy. Now add prepared basmathi rice adjust salt and mix gently. Serve hot with Chilli Paneer  gravy.

Chilli Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Gravy

Ingredients

Paneer - 200 grams

corn starch - 2 spoon(add two cups of water )

ginger a small piece

green chilli 2

spring onion - a few

garlic - 2 pods

Paneer miracle masala - 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

Wash and cut small cubes out of Paneer. Add a little salt and crushed pepper and roast it in a frying pan till golden brown. Keep aside. In a thick bottom pan add a little olive oil add chopped garlic, ginger and green chilli. Sauté for a while. Now add corn starch mixed with water. Make sure you mix it well and no lumps are there. Allow the mixture to boil stir well. As the corn starch  will make it very thick.. Add a tea spoon of Chinese Paneer miracle masala and stir further, Now add a little soy sauce and add roasted paneer. Allow it to mix well. Sprinkle spring onion and serve hot with prepared chinese fried rice.  

Bread Pakoda evening snack for kids

A quick snack for children. Use fresh bread for this Pakoda. I have used atta (whole wheat) bread,

Bread pakoda/bajji. Evening snack for children.

Ingredients

Bread slice - 5 to 6
Besan - 1 cup
Chat masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Salt as required
Oil for frying

Method of preparation

Cut bread into four. In a bowl add besan and rest of the ingredients. Add water n make a thick batter. In a heated kadai pour enough oil for frying. Adjust the flame. Keep the frying oil in medium heat dip each bread piece in batter and fry till golden brown. 

Serve hot with tomato ketchup/coriander pudina chutney.

Whole Tuwar Dal

Whole tuvar dal. Trying a new recipe. Its first time. Fingers crossed. Surprisingly the dish turned out to be very tasty. 

Whole tuvar dal 

Soak and cook in pressure cooker

Onion tomato masala

Tuvar dal masala 

Ingredients

Tuvar dal - 150 gram 
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1 large
Green chilli - 2
Ginger a large piece
Dhaniya powder - 1 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala -1/4 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Clove - 1
Jeera -1/4 tsp
Bay leaves - 1

Method of preparation

Soak and pressure cook tuvar dal by adding turmeric and salt.  

Chop onion, tomato, ginger and chilli. Grind and keep aside.

In a pressure pan pour ghee or oil add jeera, bay leaves one clove. Let the jeera release its aroma now add onion paste and saute till it release oil. Add cooked tuvar dal. Add all the dry masala powders and pressure cook for two whislte. Remove and pour in a serving bowl. Garnish with coriander leaves.   Serve hot with freshly made phulkas or basmathi rice.