Plantain Stem Raita or vazhathandu Raita

Vazhzathandu or plantain stem is one of my favourite veggies.
I love this in either raita or just simple stir fry with coconut.
Even kootu is said to be very tasty, but I have never tried it.
It rich in dietary fibre, so more reasons to eat at least once a week.
My grand mother used to cook it to perfection, even now I miss her food.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:
Plantain Stem - 1 medium size,
Salt,
Yogurt - 1/2 cup.

To be Ground to Paste:
Coconut - 1 cup,
Green chillies - 4-5,
Cumin - 1 teaspoon.

For tempering:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch,
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig.

Method:
Cut the outer part of plantain stem, until you get white firm stem.
Cut them into roundels, carefully removing the fibre from your index finger.
Chop them into small pieces and drown them in sour buttermilk or lemon juice squeezed water to avoid darkening of the plantain stem.
Once the plantain stem is chopped cook them in boiling water with little salt until completely cooked and drain water and keep aside.
Ground the ingredients under grinding table.
First grind coconut with little water to fine paste and then add cumin and green chillies to coarse paste.
In a medium broad pan , bring ground paste and plantain stem to boil.
Switch off the flame. Add Yogurt and adjust the salt.
Temper with ingredients under the tempering table.

Rajma

Rajma or red kidney beans  in gravy is one of the family favourite.
Love to have this with hot steamed rice and some raw roundels of onions.
My kids fight with each other to have the last bit of it.
Very satisfying, comforting rajma chaval.
I do with lot of variations, depending on the mood of the day while cooking rajma chaval.
Today I am  posting a very basic rajma recipe, but with lot of flavours.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:
Rajma or Red Kidney Beans - 250 grams(soaked for 6-8hours),
Oil - 1 tablespoon,
Cumin - 1 teaspoon,
Onion - 1 large,
Ginger - 1 inch,
Garlic - 2-3 cloves,
Tomatoes - 3-4 medium sized,
Mint - 1 tablespoon chopped.

Dry Spices:
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Salt.

Method:
Pressure cook red kidney beans with enough salt and water.
Grind onion, ginger and garlic  into fine paste without water and keep aside.
Boil tomatoes in hot water, until you are able to remove the skin, cool, remove the skin and puree it and keep aside.
In a medium broad sauce pan heat oil, add cumin.
When cumin crackles add ground onion, ginger and garlic paste.
Fry in medium low heat until the mixture turns pink in colour and fat leaves the sides.
Add tomato puree and allow to boil until the tomatoes are cooked and the raw smell evaporates.(approximately 4 minutes)
Add all the dry spices except for garam masala powder.
Fry the dry spices for couple of minutes.
Add cooked rajma with the cooked  liqueur.
Add Garam masala powder and cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
Finally add chopped mint and serve with hot steamed rice.

Note:
If you find beans cooked stock is more, save some and add it later if required.
The longer it simmers, it tastes better.
If you do not have mint, you can either add kasoori methi or fresh finely chopped coriander.
Take care while adding salt as kidney beans is also cooked with salt.

Milagu Kuzhambhu or Pepper Sambhar

This is one of my favourite sambhar for those lazy cold nights.
I have two different recipes.
One of my granny's and other my mil.
Today I am posting my grand mother's recipe.
Basic ingredients though remain same but my mother in law adds cooked dal, coconut and coriander leaves while grinding and also she uses only pepper(no red chillies) and no tamarind pulp.
Any way I will post her recipe sometime later in detail with pictures.

Ingredients:
Tamarind - 1 medium lemon size, soaked in warm water and juice extracted,
Jaggery - 1 small marble size,
Salt.

To Temper:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch,
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig,

To Roast and Grind:
Chana Dal - 2 teaspoon,
Coriander seeds - 11/2 teaspoons,
Urad dal - 3/4 teaspoon,
Red Chillies - 1,
Pepper - 1 teaspoon,
Curry Leaves - 5-8 leaves,
Asafoetida- a pinch,
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon.

Method:
Dry roast ingredients, except turmeric, under roast and grind table, until dals are evenly browned.
Cool and grind to fine powder with turmeric and keep aside.
In a kadai add oil and heat it.
Add mustard seeds, once it crackles add asafoetida and curry leaves.
Add tamarind juice, salt and jaggery.
Boil until you get nice blended aroma of jaggery and tamarind (approximately 2-3 minutes).
Add the ground powder and boil until you get sambhar consistency or medium thickness.
Enjoy with steamed rice.

Note:
While adding ground powder, take care not to form lumps.
 If you are not confident mix water with ground powder to make a paste and then pour to the sambhar.
If the sambhar becomes thin, mix a teaspoon of rice flour in water and add to sambhar and give it a boil and serve. 

Saagu for Poori

This is a very yummy tasty saagu recipe, just the restaurant style.
IT is very common saagu given with poori in all the restaurants in Bangalore Mysore.
It can also be used as an accompaniment with chapathi, paratha or rawa idly.
Tastes very yummy and can made very quickly.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:
Oil - 2 teaspoon,
Onion - 1 large finely chopped,
Tomatoes - 2-3 medium finely chopped,
Mixed Vegetables - 250 grams(French beans, carrot, potato, cauliflower..),
Green Peas - 1 fistful,
Salt.

To Grind:
Cinnamon - 1 inch,
Cloves - 5,
Fried gram - 1 tablespoon,
Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Poppy Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Coconut grated - 1/2 cup,
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon,
Green Chillies - 8-10,
Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon,
Ginger - 1 inch,
Garlic - 2-3 cloves.

Method:
Grind the ingredients under the grinding table to smooth paste and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker heat oil.
Add chopped onion and fry until pink.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry until mushy.
Add veggies and fry for a minute.
Add ground paste and salt.
Add 1/2 cup hot water.
Pressure cook for 1 whistle.
Allow to cool and mix well and serve hot with poori, chapathi or even ghee rice.

Note:
Take care not to cook vegetables too much.
Take a small pressure cooker as to reduce the cooking time.
Alternatively you can steam cook the veggies and add after frying the ground masala.
Fry masala, when it smells heavenly add cooked veggies and add water to adjust the consistency.
Add green chillies according to your taste and sharpness of green chillies.

 

Paneer Pakoda

Paneer is very favourite in my family.
My son loves paneer in all form of sabjis and also in pulao and biryanis.
Though he doesn't like deep fried stuff, but when it comes to paneer, he loves paneer pakoda.

Now coming to the recipe:
Ingredients:
Paneer - 250 grams,

For Batter:
Gram flour or Besan - 1 cup,
Rice flour - 1 tablespoon,
Corn flour - 1 teaspoon,
Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric powder - a pinch,
Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Soda Bi carbonate - a pinch,
Salt.

Oil for deep frying.

Method:
If you are using store bought paneer, thaw them in warm water until it is fried in the batter.
Mix the ingredients under batter table into medium thick consistency batter.
Heat the oil for frying.
Squeeze the water from paneer.
Dip in the batter and deep fry evenly, until golden brown.
Remove them on a tissue paper to drain excess oil.
Sprinkle chat masala and serve.

Note:
Instead of cumin you can add carom seeds or ajwain.
Make sure that you squeezed the water well from paneer, before dipping in the batter, else it will make batter too watery.
 

Aloo Bonda

During my school days I used love the fried snacks when I come back from school.
But now I don't like it as much I used to when I was little, might be because  I have become a bit more conscious of health and also I don't reuse the oil once used.
I have to throw, so I completely avoid frying.
But my little daughter loves fried stuff, so sometimes I make it for her.
I do fried stuff only when I have guests, so that it will be shared with the guests and don't end up eating a lot more of them.
Though this bonda has potato stuffing, yet completely different from vada pav, vada stuffing. Will post it some other time.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:

For Batter:

Besan or Gram flour - 1 cup,
Rice flour - 1 table spoon,
Salt,
Turmeric powder - a pinch,
Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Cooking Soda or soda Bi carbonate - a pinch,
Water.

For Stuffing:
Potato - 2 medium,
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Mustard - 1/2 teaspoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch,
Chana Dal - 1/2 teaspoon,
Green Chillies - 2-3 finely chopped,
Curry leaves - 6-8 leaves chopped,
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon,
Lemon juice - 2 teaspoon,
Chopped Coriander - 1 teaspoon,
Salt.
Oil for frying.

Method:
Boil potatoes with salt.
Once cooked, peel the skin and mash them and keep aside.
In a pan heat oil. Add mustard and asafoetida.
Add chana dal and fry until light brown.
Add green chillies and curry leaves.
Add turmeric powder.
Add cooked and mashed potato.
Mix well and adjust the salt.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and coriander.
Mix well and keep aside to cool.
Meantime  mix all the ingredients under the batter table to make a thick batter.
Heat oil for frying.
Make balls of potato mixture to medium size balls.
To make sure oil is properly heated, check by dropping very little batter into the oil.
If the batter comes up immediately, then it is ready to fry.
Dip potato balls in the batter, take care to coat the potato balls very well, drop in the oil slowly.
Turn the heat to medium and fry the bondas all round to even brown colour by occasionally turning them.
Drain excess oil on a tissue paper and enjoy with chutney and coffee or tea.

Note:
Take care the batter to be thick, otherwise it might not coat the potato balls evenly.
If you wish, you can add 1 medium onion chopped before adding potato.
Fry until soft and then add potato.



 

Rice Semia Upma

I always like rice base dishes, like rice semolina upma, rice flour rotti or even rice semia or vermicelli.
I used do this rice vermicelli like any other upma with onion and vegetables, until I tasted in a udupi restaurant.
It is on the highway between Bangalore and Mysore. I don't remember the name of the restaurant as it was very long back, when I was in India and used to travel frequently from Bangalore to Mysore.
But When I tasted it for the first time, my taste buds just opened up so instantly, even the third plate was not enough to satisfy me.
After that every trip to Mysore Bangalore was incomplete without this upma.
After moving out of India, I used to crave for it and then decided to make it as the taste was still lingering in my mouth.
After making and tasting, I was happy as it tasted almost the same.
My affinity towards udupi cuisine might be because of the food I used to have in sudha aunty's kitchen.
I was soo used to it and loved it every time. Though in my family, they never use coconut oil in their cooking, I love the taste and aroma of it.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:
Rice Vermicelli - 250 grams,
Salt,
Sugar - 1 tablespoon,
Lemon juice - 1 table spoon,
Coconut grated - 2 tablespoon,
Oil - 2 teaspoon,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Asafoetida - a pinch,
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon,
Cashew - 15-20 broken,
Green chillies - 5-6 chopped finely,
Curry leaves - 10-15 leaves,
Coriander - 1 tablespoon chopped finely,
Coconut oil - 1 tablespoon.

Method:
Cook rice vermicelli in lot of boiling water with enough salt and a teaspoon of oil.
Once vermicelli is cooked, drain water and pour enough cold water immediately to stop further cooking.
In a broad pan heat oil, add mustard and hing.
Once the mustard splutters, add urad dal and cashew.
Once dal turns pink, add green chillies and curry leaves.
Remove from flame and add cooked vermicelli.
Mix gently, not to make the vermicelli mushy.
Adjust the salt, remember that salt was added while cooking the vermicelli.
Add sugar.
Now bring back to low heat and just warm it. Remove from heat.
Add coconut and chopped coriander and mix well.
Finally add coconut oil for that extra flavour and enjoy this wonderful rice vermicelli.

Note:
Coconut oil adds extra flavour and taste to the upma,  but it is completely up to your taste.
Again adding sugar is also completely up to your taste, but  I liked the sweet taste of the vermicelli.
You can serve this vermicelli upma with chutney of your choice.