Dal palak (Spinach & Lentils Curry)

Our family has switched to greens (a lot of them) these days. I get very fresh Chinese spinach (phuay leng), sharp spinach, round spinach, Malabar spinach, red vege (a variation of Malabar spinach), amaranth leaves in the local supermarkets. This being an added advantage for me, I need not run around places to look for greens. I am happy to cook green leafy vegetables 4 days a week!!

I used Chinese Spinach to prepare dal palak (you can use the normal Indian palak too) & the taste was impressive. I’m going to prepare this often as everyone was very happy eating it.

Ingredients:
1 cup masoor dal (you could use normal toor dal too)
1 bunch spinach (I used 250gms packet)
½ tsp grated ginger
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
2 green chilli pods (chopped)
1 tsp dhania powder/coriander seeds powder
½ tsp chilli powder/paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp milk cream (optional, I used nestle cream got from local market here)
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
Salt according to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped cilantro



Method:

• Wash the spinach well, drain out the water & pressure cook the leaves for 1 whistle (don’t add any water while cooking).
• Pressure cook the pigeon pea until soft (may be 2-3 whistles)
• Prepare a puree out of the cooked spinach without adding any water.
• Take a broad pan, add oil to it. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds crackle, add ginger, green chillies & finely chopped onion.
• Fry the onions till they turn golden brown. Add cooked lentils, spinach puree, salt, coriander seeds powder, chilli powder, garam masala & mix well.
• Allow the whole mixture to boil. Add cream & mix well.
• Turn off the flame, add lemon juice & garnish it with coriander leaves.
• Serve it hot with phulkas, naan or rice.
  

Paper Plain Dosa

I was introduced to Ramya’s "Mane Adige" recently & was really happy to see her recipes & the presentation she does for all her dishes. The recipe that attracted me most was her paper plain dosa. I immediately noted down the ingredients & prepared it in a couple of days.

At my home, I prepare different types of dosas 3-4 days a week. This recipe got from Ramya was too good to resist. I have decided to prepare them once in 15 days atleast ;)

I’m writing the ingredients here again for my reference.

Ingredients:
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
¼ cup channa dal
2 tbsp beaten rice
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds/methi seeds (Original recipe had 2 tbsp, I have used only 1 here)
Salt according to taste

Method:

• Soak all the above mentioned ingredients (except salt) for 4-5 hours.
• Prepare the batter by grinding the ingredients into a smooth paste. The batter should be like milkshake.
• Let the batter get fermented for 8-10 hours.
• Add salt to the batter, mix well & prepare dosas
  

In the above picture, you can see a pile of dosas prepared using the Mane Adige’s recipe.
I’m sending this recipe to "Easy Breezy Breakfast" event hosted by Simple Indian Food

Heerekayi Tambli (Luffa in yogurt sauce)

By now, it would be clear for all of you that, I use curd/yogurt to prepare lots and lots of dishes. We love eating yogurt in any form. Also, as I previously mentioned in one of the posts that, thin yogurt is said to have a cooling effect on the body & is very beneficial in tropical countries like Singapore. The situation for me is like.., ರೋಗಿ ಬಯಸಿದ್ದು ಹಾಲು ಅನ್ನ, ವೈದ್ಯ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಹಾಲು ಅನ್ನ (Kannada proverb). The meaning of this is.., you ask for it & you get it (Please forgive my bad translation skills)

I enjoy preparing & eating atleast one variety of tambli (Yogurt sauce) every week. Tambli is such an easy preparation & it can well be prepared within 15-20mins. Not only easy to cook, but also packed with nutrition & tastes heaven.

You can find more information about ಹೀರೇಕಾಯಿ/ridged gourd here or in wikipedia

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped ridged gourd(use tender ones for preparing)
1-2 green chillies
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeerige
3tbsp cup grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
1.5 cups thin butter-milk/yogurt
salt according to taste

For tempering:
1 tsp ghee/clarified butter
a generous pinch of asafoetida
4-6 curry leaves
1 broken red chilli (optional)

Method:

• Grind together the ridged gourd, cumin seeds, green chillies, grated coconut using the buttermilk to a smooth paste.
• Mix this paste, salt with the remaining butter-milk.
• Prepare the tempering in a separate pan. Add ghee to a pan, when ghee is hot, add mustard seeds, when mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, broken red chilli & finally add asafoetida.
• Pour this tempering on the yogurt sauce prepared.
• Mix well & serve it with rice.

Note :

1. Ridged gourd can be used with the skin, there is no need to peel & discard the skin.
2. If ridged gourd is not very tender, then cook it until soft by adding little water & then use the cooked ridged gourd to prepare the above recipe

Huli or Gojju avalakki (Beaten Rice in Tamarind Sauce)

One more beaten rice recipe that can be prepared & consumed on Ekadashi (11th day of new moon or full moon). On this day, our holy books advise us to observe fast. Scientifically also, it is good to fast once in 15 days as it helps to detoxify & cleanse our body. So, as part of this year’s resolution, I thought of observing fast on Ekadashi. Beaten rice, saabudana could be consumed on such days, that is why I normally prepare huli avalakki, avalakki bhath, avalakki oggarane, mosaru avalakki on such days.

Needless to mention, yesterday was ekadashi & it was huli avalakki or gojju avalakki at our home. For me gojju avalakki is literally, mix gojju with avalakki & it is ready. My granny & my mom prepare awesome gojju (puliyogere mixture). I just use the same thing for preparing this dish. For people who don’t get that puliyogere mix, they could buy MTR or for that matter any puliyogere mix & prepare.

Language Translations:
Kannada : Avalakki
English : Beaten Rice
Hindi : poha
Tamil/Malayalam : aval
Telugu: atukulu
Tulu : Bajil


(PS: In the above taken picture, I have skipped making the beaten rice a course rawa part as my blender was out of order & prepared without breaking the beaten rice)

Ingredients:
2 cups beaten rice
1 tsp seesame seeds
1 tbsp puliyogere gojju or 1.5 tbsp puliyogere pudi
1 cup water
3 tbsp grated dry coconut/copra/kobbari
Salt according to taste.

For tempering:
1 tbsp oil
8-10 cashewnuts (optional)
1 tbsp groundnuts
1 tsp urad dal/black gram dal
½ tsp mustard seeds
6-8 curry leaves
1-2 broken red chilli
Generous pinch of hing

Method:

• Wash the beaten rice 2-3 times thoroughly in water. Drain the water immediately & spread it on a broad plate (Water should be removed as much as possible, else it would become soggy).
• Once the beaten rice becomes completely dry, make a very coarse ( big rawa like mixture) of the same (each grain should just be broken into 2-3 pieces) The broken poha should look like cracked wheat.
• Add salt, puliyogere mixture, 1.5 cups of water to a bowl & mix it well.
• Sprinkle this water over the broken beaten rice. Mix it well. Repeat the procedure until the beaten rice is 80% moist. Let it soak for 5-10mins (ensure that the whole mixture donot become soggy). Add 1-2 tsps of the mixed water (if required)
• Meantime, dry roast the seesame seeds & make a coarse powder of it. This could be also added as is (so choice of adding the seesame powder or seesame as is, is individual’s choice)
• Prepare the tempering. Heat oil in a pan, when oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal & fry till it turns golden brown. Add peanuts, cashewnuts & fry till they are golden brown. Add broken red chilli, curry leaves & hing.
• Pour this tempering on the soaked beaten rice.
• Add seesame seeds, dry coconut.
• Mix well & serve it.
  

alas!!, how can I forget the award I received from AniSheetu of "sweety-mykitchen".Thanks a lot, these awards mean a lot to me. I'm happy to pass these awards to Smitha of kannadacuisine, Deesha of VegetablePlatter , Notyet100 of asankhana, Ramya of maneadige, LG of TasteOfMysore

Pumpkin Idli

Yesterday when I went for vegetable shopping, I found very attractive bright yellow pumpkins in the market & got 1 whole pumpkin without even thinking what to prepare. After coming home, started to look for pumpkin recipes, found pumpkin idli in various blogs. When I looked at the ingredients & the quantity of pumpkin used, I found each blog mentioning varied amount & it was drastically different. So, decided not to experiment just by searching.

Next option was to call my mom or mom-in-law to get some recipes. I called my mom, told her that I have large amount of pumpkin with me & asked her for recipes. The first item, she mentioned was pumpkin idli. I asked my mom, if she was sure about the measurements & ingredients because I don’t remember my mom preparing it for many years & not only that she sometimes tells andaju mele hakamma. (meaning.., do some approximation & add the ingredients).But this time, she was quite sure about the measurements & I just followed her instructions. It was mouth-watering, colorful & filled with nutrition.

Ingredients:

2 cups grated pumpkin
1 cup idli rawa/semolina (donot use the upma rawa for this)
1/4th cup grated coconut
1 tbsp channa dal (soaked in water)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/cilantro
Salt according to taste (add less quantity than added for normal idli/dosa batter)
1 drop of oil on each idli mould.

Method:

• Mix together all the above mentioned ingredients (except oil). Don’t add any water, just mix everything thoroughly & keep it aside for 30 mins.
  

• Batter wouldnot be like normal idli batter, it would be just a mixture types. (Grated pumpkin would look predominantly as rawa gets mixed well with it).


• Grease the idli plates with oil. Drop a spoonful of this mixture on the idli plate & spread it (don’t press it hard to spread), gently spread it on the idli mould.


• Steam cook these idlis for 15 minutes. Serve it hot with chutney of your choice or just ghee (clarified butter).
  

We relished this on Sunday morning with ghee.
I’m sending this recipe to the ‘FIC-Yellow’ hosted by Sunshine mom of Tongue Ticklers.

Methi Matar Malai (Fenugreek-peas curry)

After seeing methi matar malai’s recipe in Smitha’s blog, my taste buds complained for not tasting it for a long time. The reason behind 'not tasting' is the availability of methi leaves here. I have never found nice methi here. From past 8 months, I have not prepared anything with Indian methi leaves!!! I substitute dou miao(available in NTUC) for methi, but I don’t get the authentic taste that I used to get in India. But, i thought..ok, let's be fair with dou miao...lets try methi matar malai with this and then, I can comment.I prepared methi matar malai using dou miao & it was not that bad…., but again not the authentic Indian taste.., what to do.., had to compromise with dou miao.

BTW, Dou Miao is a Mandrin word and is snow peas shoots. It is widely used in salads, sandwich etc.

Ingredients:
1 packet dow miow or 1 bunch methi leaves
1 cup green peas/batani/matar
½ cup thick curd (curd should not be very sour)
1 tbsp cashewnuts (soaked in water)
1 tsp khus-khus/poppy seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp kasoori methi
½ tsp dhania powder
½ tsp jeera powder/cumin seeds powder
½ tsp amchur powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 onion (finely chopped)
Salt according to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:

• Make a fine paste of cashew nuts & poppy seeds.
• Heat a small pan, add thick curd (I used Nestle set curd), cashew nut & poppy seeds paste. Keep the flame very low & keep stirring it. This would yield you thick white gravy once you cook for about 5 minutes. Allow it to cool.
• Heat oil in a broad pan, when oil is hot, add ginger-garlic paste & sauté until the raw smell disappears.
• Add onions & sauté till onion turns golden brown.
• Add chopped methi leaves & green peas. Saute these in oil for a minute.
• Add little water & cook the methi leaves & green peas till soft.
• Now, add chilli powder, salt, dhania powder, cumin seeds powder, amchur powder, kasuri methi & mix well.
• Add the white gravy prepared (curd, cashew nut-poppy seeds mixture).Mix it well, add garam masala & cook again for 3-5 mins on slow flame.
• Garnish it with coriander. I like to add little lemon juice too.., as I like it a bit more tangy (anyways, it is your choice)
• Serve it hot with phulkas or paranthas.

Vegetable Pulao

I was staying as a PG (paying guest) during my graduation days & my PG aunt used to serve us pulao as breakfast in the mornings to keep our tummy filled till noon. She was a very nice lady & she used to serve us as if we were her own children. Not to forget she was a very good chef & her native was Puttur/Kundapur (I don’t remember exactly). It was those graduation days when I was first introduced to the south canara food. I tasted pathrode, many varieties of dosas at her home. Oh! I can talk about my PG aunt for hours. We shall talk more about her sometime later. Now, I intend to cut it short & let you all know the vegetable pulao recipe learnt by her.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped vegetables (cauliflower, potatoes, French beans, carrots, peas, corn etc)
2 cups basmati rice
1 medium sized onion sliced
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp powdered cinnamon
4 cloves
3 cardamom
2 bay leaves
3 green chilies slit
Salt according to taste.
3 tbsp butter/ghee/oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
4 cups water

Method:

• Heat butter in a broad pan.
• When butter is hot, add cumin seeds & mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add bay leaves, powdered cinnamon, cardamom, cloves & fry for 20-30 secs
• Add ginger-garlic paste & sauté well. Add onions & fry till onion turns golden brown.
• Add green chillies, chopped vegetables & mix well. Allow the vegetables to be cooked in butter for sometime (Keep stirring to avoid the vegetables from sticking to the pan & getting burnt).
• Add water, salt & bring the mixture to a boil (Simmer the flame to ensure vegetables are cooked & soft)
• Meantime, wash the basmati rice & soak it. Drain the water & just keep the wet basmati rice. (If you soak in water for long time, the grains break & pulao would become sticky).
• When water starts boiling, add basmati rice & cover the lid to ensure proper cooking of the rice.
• Mix the rice in between only once. When the grains are separate & all water evaporates, turn of the flame & keep the pulao covered for a minute.
• Mix the pulao gently & serve it hot with a spicy raitha.