Mixed Veg Korma | Vegetable Kurma Recipe : Karnataka Style Mixed Veg Sagu Recipe

This one is one of the simplest kurma recipe ever. This doesn't call for the cinnamon, clove and other garam masala spices. It's very unique and tastes awesome. Do try it and let me know.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients: 
Mixed vegetables : 3 cups (cut into strips or cubes), refer notes
Salt: As needed
Turmeric: 2 big pinches, divided use
Water: To boil the vegetables
Tomatoes: 2-3 nos
Oil: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
Onion: 2 tbsp, finely chopped, optional
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp, or to taste
Kitchen king masala: 1 tsp
Milk: 1/4 cup

For the spice paste:
Cashew nuts: 2 tbsp, refer notes
Poppy seeds | gasgase: 2 tsp
Sesame seeds | yellu | til : 2 tsp
Cilantro: 1/4 cup (use it with the stem)
Green chili: 2 nos
Grated coconut: 2 tbsp
Onion: 1 small or 1/4th cup, roughly chopped
Ginger: 1/2 inch
Garlic: 1 large clove or 3-4 small ones

Method:

Soak the cashew nuts and poppy seeds in water for 30-45 mins.
Add about 1 cup of water, salt and a pinch of turmeric to the chopped vegetables. Boil the vegetables until they are cooked and yet firm.

Make a smooth paste of poppy seeds, cashew nuts and sesame seeds.
To that paste, add grated coconut, green chili, coriander leaves, onion, ginger and garlic. Add little water and make a smooth spice paste.

Heat oil in a wok or sauce pan. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
When seeds crackle, add the curry leaves and finely chopped onion. Saute till the onion becomes translucent and cooked.
To the same pan, add the spice paste and a pinch of turmeric. Cook the spice paste on a low-medium heat for 5 mins. This is to ensure that the spices are properly cooked and there is no raw smell. Keep stirring as the spice paste thickens very fast and can burn easily.
Meantime, make a puree out of the tomatoes. You could blanch the tomatoes, if needed. I normally do not blanch it for this recipe.
When the spices are cooked, throw in the red chili powder and mix.
Add the tomato puree and cook further for 3-4 mins. Ensure the tomatoes are properly cooked.
To this, add the boiled vegetables along with the water. Adjust the salt. Add kitchen king masala and milk.

Boil the kurma for another 7-10 mins until the spices are well blended with the vegetables.
Serve the kurma hot with roti, poori, chapathi or rice.

Notes:
The vegetables that I normally use are green beans (French beans), carrots, potato, chayote squash, and green peas or any other legumes.
Instead of cashew nuts, you could use almond meal or putani/daliya (roasted channa dal).
I have an another vegetable saagu recipe here.

Heerekai Chutney | Ridge gourd Chutney | Thurai Chutney | Beerakaya Pachadi : South Indian Chutney Recipe

Wishing all my readers a very happy and a prosperous new year. Hope you all have a wonderful year.

The first week of  2015 was eventful. We hosted a Vishnu Sahasranama Chanting on 1st Jan at our house. I cooked palahara and the chanting went as planned. The very next morning, I got a call from my sis and bro. They informed me that our grand mom(mom's mom) passed away. I was heartbroken and speechless. I could not control my emotions. I will not write more as I can go on for hours about my relationship with her. RIP ajji is all I say.

Now back to the recipe.

Heerekai Chutney is a very simple and flavorful chutney that can be cooked under 20 mins. And the best part is, you can use the skin of the ridge gourd too for this chutney.

Preparation Time: 3 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Roughly chopped ridge gourd: 1 cup, with the skin
Green chilies: 3-4 nos, refer notes
Tamarind : 1/2 tsp, tightly packed
Salt: As needed
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Jaggery or brown sugar: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a small pinch
Curry leaves: 3-4 nos, torn
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Water: As needed
Grated coconut: 1/2 cup, fresh or frozen, refer notes

For tempering:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp, refer notes
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Urad dal | Black gram dal: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: a pinch
Curry leaves: 2 nos, torn

Method:
Add the ridge gourd, green chilies, tamarind, jaggery, curry leaves, asafoetida, coriander leaves, and turmeric to a sauce pan.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables and boil until the vegetables are tender and cooked. Turn off the heat.

Allow the mixture to cool. Once cool, grind it along with the coconut to make a smooth paste.
Scoop out the paste on to a serving bowl.

Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a small sauce pan. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add the black gram dal and roast till the dal turns golden brown. Throw in the curry leaves and when leaves wilt, add the asafoetida and turn off the heat.
Pour the tempering over the scooped chutney.
Mix well and serve it with chapathi/poori/rice or roti.

Notes:

• Instead of fresh or frozen coconut, you could use dry coconut powder that is available at Indian stores.
• I have used Serrano peppers and Indian green chilies for this chutney. 
• If you do not wish to use coconut oil, you could use any other cooking oil of your choice.
• Do not add too much water to cook the ridge gourd. Just add enough water so that you could use the boiled vegetable water for making the smooth paste. In that case, you don't waste any boiled vegetable water which is filled with nutrition and flavor.

Alasande Kalu Palak Soppina Huli | Spinach and Black eyed peas Sambar | Legumes Curry : Without coconut

When I posted the ragi mudde recipe, some of you asked for another classic huli/sambar recipe that goes very well with the mudde. That is the kaalin huli or soppu kaalin huli (legumes curry!). So, thought of posting the recipe ASAP.

Update: Do you remember that we decided to eat healthy? Here is an update on it. I did not reduce much.., may be because I was not into junk foods any way. But, my better half reduced 16 pounds just by eating healthy!!! He did not even exercise. He is very happy about it & wants to continue for couple of more months :)

Back to the recipe.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
Black eyed peas: 3/4 cup
Mixed beans: 1 tbsp, optional (refer notes)
Spinach leaves: About 4 cups, finely chopped
Toor dal/Pigeon peas: a fistful
Sambar powder: 2 tsp, refer notes
Menthyada hittu/Mixed lentils powder: 1 tsp, refer notes
Thick Tamarind Extract: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 2 big pinches, divided use
Salt: As needed
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

Method:
Soak the mixed beans & black eyed beans in enough water overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours.

Drain & rinse the beans in running water. Add the toor dal, beans & turmeric powder to a pressure cooker. Add about 3 cups or more of water to the beans & pressure cook the beans for 4-5 whistles. If cooking in a stock pot, boil till the toor dal is over cooked & mushy, while the beans are cooked & soft.
Allow the pressure cooker to release the steam.
Meanwhile, add the finely chopped spinach & little water to a medium sized sauce pan.Add turmeric to the spinach & cook the spinach until it is soft. Spinach gets cooked very fast, say about 5 mins.

Add the salt, tamarind extract & boil again for couple of more minutes.
Add the sambar powder, lentils powder & mix well.

Drain the excess water from the cooked beans (if any). Do not add more water to cook the beans, add about 1 inch of water to the pressure cooker. That way you are retaining the nutrition & not discarding the boiled water.
Pour in the cooked beans + lentils to the spinach mixture. Throw in the torn curry leaves.
Boil it on a medium heat for 15 mins. Boiling in medium heat would allow the beans to absorb the salt, spice & sourness from the gravy.

Once the sambar has boiled enough, remove it from the heat & keep it covered.
Prepare the tempering. In a small pan, add the oil. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When seeds splatter, turn off the heat & add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, pour the tempering over the sambar prepared. Cover the sambar immediately. This will ensure the aroma of the tempering is held inside the sambar & enhances the taste of the sambar.

Notes:

• Add the mixed beans to this sambar is optional. I had this 15 bean soup mixture at home & hence used it a little. 
• You could use any store bought sambar powder to make this sambar. 
• The lentils powder or the menthyada hittu is used to make the sambar thicker. If you do not have this lentils powder, you could use 2 tsp of hurigadale pudi (putani powder or roasted channa dal powder) to make the sambar thick.
• Other greens like amaranth leaves, harive soppu, fenugreek leaves could be used to make this sambar. 

Sutta badanekai bajji | Sutta badane gojju | South Indian Smoked eggplant Curry : Vegan eggplant side dish

.................a South Indian baingan bharta or Smoked eggplant curry!

This sutta badanekai gojju is my mom-in-law's recipe. She makes it often to go with rice. It uses very less ingredients and yet tastes delicious! It is quite healthy too. This could be used as a side dish to rice, roti, phulka or akki rotti.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: An hour for smoking the eggplant
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:
One large eggplant: about 1 pound
Finely chopped red onion: 1/2 cup
Finely chopped green chilli: 4-5 nos
Brown sugar/jaggery/bella: 1 tbsp
Tamarind water: 1/4th cup (extract from a small lime sized taramind)
Salt: As needed

For tempering:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-5 nos, torn
Hing/Asafoetida: a big pinch

Method:
Wash the eggplant & pat dry. Prick the eggplant using a knife at several places. Roast the eggplant on a stove top or in an oven. I normally roast it in the preheated oven at 375‭⁰F for about an hour.
Let it cool. Once cool, peel the skin & finely chop the flesh of the eggplant.

Add the chopped onion, green chilli, jaggery, tamarind water, salt to the chopped eggplant.

Get your hands dirty now. Mash the whole thing thoroughly until the spices mix well.

Let it sit aside for 30 mins for the flavors to develop.
Prepare the tempering. Heat the oil, once hot, drop in the mustard seeds & curry leaves. When the leaves wilt, add the asafoetida & turn off the heat.
Pour the tempering over the eggplant mixture. Mix well & serve.

Notes:

• You could roast the eggplant on the stove top. Stove top method of roasting the eggplant takes much less time than roasting in the oven.
• I do not add coriander leaves to this curry recipe as I do not want any other herbs to overpower this dish.

Bendekai Gojju | South Indian Bhindi Curry | Indian Okra Sauce: Karnataka Recipes

...Okra in a sweet, sour 'n' spicy sauce....

Tender, fresh, light green colored, smooth skinned & small sized okra always tempt me to buy them. I'm also lucky to get fresh okra in the nearest Indian stores here. My son loves bhindi/okra & he always tempts me to buy them. He used to love the bhindi besan & nothing else from okra. This time I convinced him for this gojju & told him that it is amma's classic gojju recipe. He loved every bit of it. In the coming months, it will be only bendekai gojju at my home & you know why ;)

Bendekai gojju / Bendekayi gojju is a Karnataka specialty. It is spicy, sweet n sour & blends beautifully with the stir fried okra. Each & every member of my family/extended family prepare this gojju & I haven't heard from any of them not liking it.. Some love to eat them with akki rotti, some with white rice & some more with chapathi/roti. I love to eat them with all of them.

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Serves: 2-3 

Ingredients:

Okra/Ladies Finger/Bendekai : 1 lb (around half a kilo)
Oil: 1 tbsp
Brown sugar/Jaggery/bella: medium lime sized
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp*
Salt: As needed 

For the spice paste:

Oil: 1/2 tsp

Gram dal /Channa dal /Kadalebele : 1 tbsp

Black gram dal/ Urad dal/Uddinabele : 1/2 tbsp

Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
Green chilies: 4 nos
Coriander leaves: 1/4th cup, tightly packed
Grated coconut: 1/4th cup, fresh or frozen

For the tempering:
Oil: 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 4-6 nos, torn

Method:
Chop the okra into thin slices.(about 1/4th of an inch). If you are handling the okra for the first time, refer to the notes below before doing anything. It is that important!!

For the spice paste:
Heat the oil in a small pan. When the oil is hot, throw in the channa dal & urad dal. When they turn light brown, add the sesame seeds & broken green chilies. Turn off the heat after 30-40 secs. Let it cool.

Throw in the coriander leaves, grated coconut & the roasted dal + green chilies to a food processor jar. Add  about 2-3 tbsp water & grind it to a smooth paste.
In a broad pan, add oil & saute/stir fry the okra slices on a medium-high heat until the okra is soft & crunchy.
Transfer the fried okra to a bowl.

Take another sauce pan, to prepare the gojju. Heat oil. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds & curry leaves to it.

When seeds crackle & leaves wilt, scoop in the spice paste, add the salt, jaggery, tamarind extract, and add around half a cup of water to it. Cook on a low-medium heat until the raw smell of the jaggery & tamarind disappears.

Throw in the fried okra to the sauce & boil it on a medium heat. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.

Serve it hot with rice, roti or akki rotti.

Notes:

• As okra is used in a sauce, it is very crucial to remove the slime from the okra. Below are some tips to remove the slime from the okra. 
• Never cut a wet okra. Keep the chopping board, knife & the okra completely dry. 
• After washing the okra, dry them on a kitchen towel & wipe them all dry again before using. 
• Use a broad pan to saute the okra. Add more oil & saute it on a high heat to remove the slime & keep the okra crisp. 
• Adding a pinch of amchur powder/mango powder (easily available at Indian Stores) while sauteing the okra does the trick of removing the slime too.
• My other tips on how to remove the slime could be found here. 
• Adjust the consistency of the sauce as preferred by your family. 

Sambandha | Indian Mixed Vegetable Medley: Karnataka Recipes

Weather is getting colder as days are passing. I am all excited to watch my first snow & at the same time a bit scared too. Currently enjoying the fall to the fullest. My throat keeps itching for something hot/warm these days. The last couple of months, I have literally stopped making the amazing tambuli. Hence for a change on a warmer day, I made this sambandha/gojju/bajji. It is a great side dish for boiled rice.

The literal meaning of sambandha (in Kannada) is relationship. I don't know how this dish got the name "Sambandha". Is it because, it binds many vegetables together :p You could add any vegetable to this dish & it always turns yummy!

Pardon the poor images. Will try to get better pictures next time!

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins

Recipe Source: Mother-in-law.
Ingredients: (For around 3 cups of the gojju)
Vegetables used:

• 2 inch zucchini
• 1 tomato
• 2 inch ridge gourd ( no need to peel the skin)
• 2 tbsp chow chow
• a fistful spinach leaves
• 1/4th medium carrot
• 1/2 potato, peeled
• 1 small piece of red pepper/capsicum
• 4 green chillies
• 5 nos of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• Salt: 1 tsp, more or less
• Turmeric powder: a big pinch
• Tamarind extract: 1 tsp, thick
• Jaggery: 1 tsp
• Asafoetida: a big pinch.
• Grated coconut: 3 tbsp, fresh or frozen
• Water: 1 cup, more or less

Method:

Dice all the vegetables. Add water & turmeric powder to the vegetables. Cook it on a medium-high heat uncovered until all the vegetables are soft. (Takes about 10 mins).
Add salt, tamarind extract, jaggery, asafoetida, to the cooked vegetables & continue boiling the vegetables for another 5 minutes on low-medium heat.Finally add the grated coconut & turn off the heat.
Allow the vegetables to come to room temperature.
Once cool, make a coarse paste of the cooked vegetables. Scoop it out & serve!

Notes:

• Any quick cooking vegetable could be added to make this dish. Some other options would be brinjal, ivy gourd, broccoli, any squash, green apple etc.
• Do not add onion, ginger or garlic to this as these will over power the flavor of this gojju!

Green Peas Masala: Side dish for poori/roti/paratha.

Lots of travel happening this summer !!  Had been to New York last weekend; came back tanned & tired! Though the trip was fun, the summer heat drained us to the core. Btw, New York, as rightly said, is a food lovers paradise. We were delighted that there was so many vegetarian options. I tried NY Style Pizza, Pretzels, Gelato & their bagels. After coming back from New York, we went to food coma! I cooked only basic meal with minimum varieties for the next 3-4 days. 

Time to stop my ramblings & get back to the recipe now! The Green Peas Masala is a great side dish for roti, poori or paratha (or for that matter any of the Indian breads).

Preparation Time: 15 mins

Cooking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
Frozen green peas: 2 cups
Oil: 1.5 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Kitchen king masala: 1 tsp
Amchur powder/Mango powder: a big pinch, optional

Salt: According to taste


For spice paste:
Soaked almonds: 6-8 nos
Onion: 1 medium sized
Green chillies: 2-3 nos
Tomato: 2 nos
Coriander leaves: 1/4th cup, roughly chopped
Poppy seeds/Gasagase: 1 tsp
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece
Garlic: 2 pods

Method:

Make a smooth paste of all the ingredients mentioned for the spice paste. Add enough water to make a smooth paste. Keep it aside.

Heat the oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When seeds turn golden brown, pour in the spice paste. Cook on a medium heat until the raw smell of the paste vanishes. (Takes about 7-10 mins). 

Keep stirring in between to avoid burning of the spice paste. 
Add the salt, chilli powder, amchur powder & kitchen king masala to the cooked spice paste & cook again for a couple of minutes.
Meantime, thaw the green peas.  
Add half a cup of water & throw in the green peas.Cook on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
Remove from heat. Serve it hot with any Indian bread. 

** I served the green peas masala with methi poori


Notes:

• This recipe tastes best with dried peas. Soak 1 cup of dried peas in water for 4-6 hours. Drain the water. Pressure cook the peas by adding water, salt & turmeric powder. Use this cooked peas instead of frozen peas. One cup dried peas yield 2 cups of cooked peas. The dried peas will not be sweetish like the frozen or the fresh ones!
• Green peas could be replaced with other beans to make a similar curry. 

Sui/Butternut Squash Stew: Beginner Series

How do you feel when somebody calls you or mails you to get the recipe of a dish that he/she had tasted 5 years back? That is what I did to my hubby's aunt for the Sui recipe!I happened to eat Sui, a South Canara dish made with pumpkins many years before at my hubby's aunt's place. I loved it so much & after few days I completely forgot about it. After around five long years, I recalled about that dish & immediately called his aunt for the recipe. She was kind enough to give the recipe. I have made this many times after getting the recipe from her.

Don't go by the complicated name. Sui is a very simple yet amazingly flavorful dish. It is a perfect example of less is more! I do not know why it is called so. May be I should check with her again! 

Generally Sui is made with pumpkin, but I replaced with Butternut Squash.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash: 3 cups, 1 inch cubed (peeled & de-seeded)

Water: 2 cups
Jaggery/Brown sugar: 1 to 1.5 tsp

Salt: According to taste

For spice paste:

Coconut: 3/4th cup
Raw rice: 1 tsp, optional (I did not add any!)

Cumin seeds: 1.5 tsp

Green chillies: 2-3 nos
For tempering:
Cooking oil: 1 tsp, preferably coconut oil
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: a sting
Asafoetida/Hing: a pinch
For garnish:
Coriander leaves/cilantro: 1 tbsp, finely chopped (optional)

Method:

Boil the cubed squash in 2 cups of water. Cook until tender & yet firm.

Meantime, make a fine paste of the ingredients mentioned for the spice paste. Add few tablespoons of water to make a smooth paste.

When the squash is almost done, add in the spice paste, salt & jaggery.

Reduce the heat to medium & cook for another 5-7 mins, until the flavors set in. Remove from heat.
Prepare the tempering. Add oil to a small sauce pan, when oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds followed by curry leaves. When leaves turn crisp, turn off the heat & add the asafoetida. Pour this tempering over the stew prepared & cover the stew with a lid. This is to ensure that the aroma of the tempering is held inside the stew

Let is sit for a minute or two. 
Garnish with coriander leaves & serve with rice or roti.

Notes:

• Adjust the consistency of the stew according to your needs.
• Rice is added for the spice paste to make the stew thick.
• If you feel the stew has turned thin, add 1.5 teaspoons of rice flour to 2 tbsp of water. Mix thoroughly & add it to the boiling stew. Reduced the heat to low & cook for another couple of minutes.