Mushroom curry

Mushroom happens to be one of my favorite vegetables. This is one of the many ways i indulge in mushrooms!!

Mushrooms 1 pack (chopped into chunks)

Panner (optional ) 100 gms

Onion 1 small

Garlic 3 pods

Ginger 1/4''

Cloves 4

Cinnamon small piece (about 1/6'')

Salt

Yogurt 1 tablespoon

Tomato paste 1/2 table spoon

Butter 4 tablespoons

Cilantro/Coriander 1/4 cup

Dhania 1/2 tablespoon

Chilly powder 1/2 to 2 tablespoons

Turmeric 1 teaspoon

Jeera

Grind onion, ginger garlic cloves and Cinnamon into a smooth paste. Heat butter in a pot. Drop some jeera and wait for it to crackle. Stir in the ground spice and cook till fat floats on top. Mix in the powders and the tomato paste. Toss the mushroom chunks and add about 1/4 cup of water to bring everything together. Toss in toasted panner if using. Stir in the yogurt and bring it to a boil. Finish with some fresh coriander. Serve hot with Roti, Naan or any other Indian flat breads...

Jolada Rotti Ennegai Junka

When my tongue craves for some comfort food, Jolada Rotti, Ennegai and Junka never fails me.This is something that is not my traditional food. But i grew fond of it because of our wonderful neighbour who hails from north-Karnataka where this is a typical comfort food. I had to reconstruct her recipies for i did not have any options. Besides Indian restaurants here dont sell things like these at all..They serve something more fancy like Shaam Savera which is pathetic compared to this traditional meal.

Ennegai

There are obviously various versions of this dish which is popular through out Karnataka. My mother's recipe is distinctly differnet from that of our north kannadiga neighbours.. I used to like both so i sort of combined both the recipes to make my own version. Here it is.

Indian egg plant (small round purple egg plants /brinjals are they are known in India) 5
Oil
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves

For the spice paste
Onion 1 small
Garlic 4 pods
Ginger 1/2 '' piece
Cloves 4
Cinammon 1/4 ''
Cilantro 1/4 cup chopped
Chilly powder 1-3 tablespoons
Dhania powder 1 tablespoon
Garam masala 1 teaspoon
Turmeric 1 teaspoon
Tomato paste 1 tablespoon
Coconut 2 tablespoon
Toasted peanuts 2 tablespoons


Method:

Cut the Egg-plants into quarters while keeping them intact at the top. So that the Egg plant spreads out into 4 quarters but still joined at the top. Grind the spices to a smooth paste. Stuff the spice mixture into the eggpant. Heat oil in a wide mouthed pot. Drop the mustard seeds and the curry leaves. When they stop spluttering, drop the egg plants. Arrange them in a single file making sure that they do not get steamed but roast in the hot oil. Turn sides to cook all around and throughly. Add some water if you need a little gravy (Like i always do.. i simple adore the gravy in this dish) And serve hot with Jolada Rotti.

RR Style Chilly Chicken

Back home in Bangalore one of the most popular cuisines is the Andhra-styled cuisine. There are tons and tons of Andhra style hotels through out Bangalore.... My firm belief is like any other style this is also highly influenced by the local culinary tradition. For hard core non-vegetarians, Andhra style means spicy chicken and mutton dishes. My husband's favorite joint happened to be a very popular hotel called RR somewhere near Church Street Bangalore..I myself have never been there. Nor have i ever tasted its famous chicken. But i was able to reproduce my own version of the dish based on my husband's inputs.. The wonderful taste-master he is, i was able to reproduce it pretty close...(that's what his verdict was!!!!)

Chicken (boneless thigh 1 to 2'' cubes) 1 lb
Green chillies 10
Long hot peppers 5
coriander leaves 1/2 cup
mint 2 tablespoon (chopped)
Garlic 4 small cloves
Ginger 1/2 '' piece
Clove 5-6
Cinnamon 1/2''
lemon juice
pepper 1/2 tablespoon
Oil for deep frying
Method

• Combine lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss the chicken cubes in the lemon juice marinade and sit it for at least 30 minutes. Pat it dry. Deep fry the cubes in hot oil till golden brown.
• Grind coriander, mint, green chillies,ginger, garlic, cloves and cinnamon to a smooth paste.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Drop the slit long hot peppers and saute for a minute. When the spluttering stops add the ground spices. Keep stirring once in a while for 7 minutes.
• Drop the fried chicken pieces and simmer for 30 minutes till well done and gravy is just thick enough to coat the chicken.

Mutter panner

My father job took us to various parts of India! One such place was Punjab that too at a time when angels feared to tread there..But our stay there was pretty good. The best part about Amritsar (thats where we lived) was the food and the Darbar Sahiba (commonly known as The Golden Temple) I was still in my high school but that did not dampen me to learn punjabi dishes from our matronly land lady. In fact the first dish i ever learned to make was Palak panner...And i have always fallen in love with punjabi food. For me it is the comfort food along with the normal south karnataka food that i later picked up...

Here is a version of mutter panner thats so widely consumed in the north and that too with relish! i love it too.. In fact i had mutter panner twice this day..like always i m gonna eat till i finish it!

Ingredients

Peas 1 cup

Panner 150 grams

Onion 1 medium

Tomato paste 1 table spoon

Garlic 4 small cloves

Ginger 1/2 "

Cloves 4

Jeera 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon a small piece

Chilly pwder 1/2 tablespoon

Corriander powder 1/2 tablespoon

Turmeric 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala 1/2 tablespoon

Oil 3 tablespoon

Butter 3 tablespoon

Corriander (Cilantro) chopped

Salt to taste

Grind onion, garlic, ginger, clove and cinnamon into a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and drop the jeera. Mix in the ground onion etc into it and fry till fragrant. Stir in the chilly powder, corriander powder and turmeric and cook till the rawness of the spices is gone.Throw in the Tomato Paste.

Heat oil in another pan when hot drop the Panner cubes(i prefer smaller cubes 2cm*2cm*2cm)

sear the Panner on all sides and cool.

Now add the peas into the masala and a little water if the masala paste is too thick. Cook for 5 minutes. Mix the panner and cook covered for 5-10 minutes more. Stir occassionally but be very gentle as to not to break the panner. Finally drop the butter and fresh corriander and serve hot with Chapatis and pooris.

Great cooks blog roll!!

Well.. this week has been a bit busy for me to try new things in my kitchen! but then i became a member of the great cooks blog roll!!!
i m so very glad and i m sure being a part of a big community is gonna be fun!

Gobi Manchuri

One of the few changes in the street food senario during my growing-up years was the evolution of Gobi Manchuri. Now ubiquitous street food was early on a preserve of fancy hotels. I remember we used to go to this restaurant called "The Hut" on M.G.Road in Tumkur to get our dose of gobi manchuri!! what ever its actual name is we have called it thus and it remains so. This particular dish is supposed to have originated in the kitchens of Tangra- in calcutta where the Chinese settlers had their restaurants. I don't know its journey to south-Indian kitchens. But by late eighties and early nineties i was pretty familiar with these Chinese dishes as i knew Masala-Dose!During those years when i was still in school my tongue used to crave of Gobi manchuri and we could not go out to eat as often. So that motivated me to try making this snack in my mother's kitchen. After various disasters i came to perfect a recipe that suited my family and my palate. Last night i made it again after a long time. Here is the recipe.

Cauliflower florets banched in salted water 1/2 lb

Corn flour (corn starch) 1/4 cup

All purpose flour (Maida) 2 heaping tablespoon

Dark Soya sauce a few dashes

pepper powder

salt

chilly powder (optional)

For the sauce:

Tomato ketchup (Indian brands maggi/ kisans works better than american brands like heinz)Garlic fine chopped 1/2 tablespoon

Onion fine chopped 1/2 tablespoon

Green chillies fine chopped 1/2 table spoon

Soy sauce a few dashes

Salt

Coriander (Cilantro)

Salt

Oil

Method

Mix corn starch, maida, salt pepper and soy sauce. Make a thick batter with enough water. The batter should resemble the Bajji batter. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry it till golden brown. (If you desire a rich golden brown color mix in a couple of teaspoons of kashmiri chilly powder in the batter) Set aside.

To prepare the sauce, heat oil in a pan. Saute garlic onions and green chillies on very high heat till fragrant. (It should smell like Chinese food stalls!!!!) mix in the tomato ketchup, chilly sauce and the soy sauce. Adjust salt and the heat. Stir in the chopped corinader. Keep stirring constantly. Once the sauce is all combined, toss the fried cauliflower florets and make sure it is all evenly coated. remove from heat and serve hot...Enjoy

P.S: A recipes call for ajinomoto or MSG. I have used it before and found that taste does not alter significantly if it is omitted given its adverse impact on our health. It should be remembered that MSG is just a flavor enhancer and has no taste of its own. Since we cook on small scale it is better to do without it altogether.

Brussel sprouts ennegai

Ennegai is something very kannadiga covets for. Its a delicacy. Generally made of Egg plants, it is versatile enough to make it with brussel sprouts and capsicum

We will need,

Brussel sprouts 10 numbers
Onion 1 medium
Tomato 1 small
Chilly powder 1 tablespoon
Dhania powder 1 tablespoon
Garam masala 1 teaspoon
salt
Garlic and Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
Oil
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Corriander

Method

• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard, curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and onion. Stir in the spice powders and salt, fry for a couple of minutes. Stir in a quarter cup of water. Cook till the water is all evaporated. Set it aside.
• Prepare the brussel sprouts. Clean and make two cuts on to the brussel sprout diving a sprout into quarters but the ends still hold on.
• Stuff the sprouts with the masala filling. Heat some more oil in a pan and drop all the stuffed sprouts and cook covered. finish with corriander. It goes well with chapati and dosas.

Dal

Nothing can be as satisfing as a simple meal of dal and rice.. Here is my version of this delicious dal...

We will need,

Toor dal 1/2 cup

Garlic 3 small cloves

Dry red chillies 4-5

Ghee 1 tablespoon

Roasted cummin powder 2 teaspoons

Corriander 3 tablespoons

Curry leaves 4

Hing

Mustard seeds 1 tespoon

Salt

Method

•  Wash the dal in several changes of water. Combine the dal with about 2 cups of water and pressure cook till soft.
• Heat ghee in a pan add mustard, hing dry chillies, curry leaves and crushed garlic cook for a few minutes. 
• Pour the seasoned ghee over the cooked dal. Stir to mix well. Simmer the dal mixture. Add the roasted cummin powder, salt and corrinader.
• Serve it hot with some rice.

Fish Biriyani

Yesterday me and my husband felt like eating a biriyani. Did not feel like eating veggie biriyani cos i had made it a couple of days back.. Chicken was ruled out cos that means i will have to make something for my self, though my husband would have loved it...so we decided to give fish a try.


I had a couple of tilapia fillets lying in the freezer so that was about it i conjured up some mouth watering fish biriyani... i urge everyone to try this. Its simple and heavenly!!!

Basmati Rice 1 cup

Tilapia 1 big fillet

Onion

Garlic and ginger paste 1 1/2 tablespoon

Green chillies 6-7

Cloves 5-6

Cinnamon 1/4'

Cardamon 2

fennel seeds 1 teaspoon

Star anise 1

Turmeric

Corriander 1 big bunch

Mint 1 small bunch

Egg 2(optional)

Shrimp 4 cooked large(Optional)

Oil

Method

Make a marinade for the fish by mixing some oil, salt and chilly powder. Heat a tawa and sear the fish on both sides and set aside. Soak the rice for half an hour and cook it with a little less than 2 cups of water till it is almost cooked about 80%, set aside.

Grind the green chillies, turmeric, mint, corriander, cloves and cinnamon to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a Pot with a thick bottom and tight fitting lid. Drop cardamon pods, star anise, fennel seeds and chopped onion. Saute till fragrant. Mix in the green chilly paste. Cook till the oil floats on top. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and stream the egg into the pot scrambling it in the process. Fold in gently the semi-cooked rice into the spice mixture. Adjust salt. Place the seared fish fillet on top and cover. Cook on low heat for about 15-20 minutes till rice is fully cooked.

Garnish with a few cooked large shrimp and serve it with lemon juice.

Its a delicious dish and i m sure its worth all the efforts...

Fish Curry

Fish is such an interesting food, so versatile and of course people either absolutely adore fish or abhore fish.. I belong to nowhere and my partiality depends on how well the fish is cooked. My cousin happens to be a wonderful cook when it comes to Fish and i will gobble up a couple of pieces if she has cooked it!


Unlike my Bengali and Malayali friends, i am not a born fish eater..my first tryst with fish i can remember is from the Dasara exhibition in Mysore where the fishery department used to have a stall. My father used to get me fried mackerels and feed me careful least i fiddle with the thorns. I also remember how my mother used to get repulsive at the very smell of fish being a pure vegetarian. My actual love affair started when my cousin settled in Kerala and learnt the prepare wonderful dishes that were not smelly but aromatic and lovely...


This curry that tastes better as it gets older. In fact this curry and the aroma of the curry reminds me of Andhra Bhavan in Delhi. As a student in delhi Andhra bhavan was the most inexpensive south Indian restuarant. Their fish curry was excellent, the curry so much better than the pieces of thorny fish.

Fish ( I used tilapia, least smelly therefore most convinient.) 1 Lb cut into pieces

sesame seeds 1 tablespoon

fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon

Dry coconut 1 tabelspooon

chilly powder 1 tablespoon

dry chillies 3-4

Dhania powder 1/2 tablespoon

Garam masala 1 teaspoon

curry leaves 5-6

mustard

oil

onion medium chopped

tamarind extract 1/2 tablespoon

Salt

Ginger garlic paste 1/5 tablespoons

cloves 4

cinnamon small piece

Corriander leaves

Method

• Clean fish pat it dry. (If using a robust fish like king fish, sword fish, the fish can be marinated in a paste of oil chilly powder, ginger garlic paste and salt.
• Toast sesame seeds, fenugreek seeds and coconut one after the other and grind it into a smooth paste with little water along with cloves and cinnamon.
• Heat oil in a pot. (earthern pots make very good fish curry but any non stick pot would do)
• Combine mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry chillies. Drop the chopped onion, a pinch of salt and ginger garlic paste. saute till they are golden brown. 
• Add the coconut paste and fry till aromatic. Mix the tamarind extract with 3 cups of water and mix it into the aromatic paste. 
• When the mixture comes to a boil and oil starts floating on top, drop the fish pieces. Cover for 5-8 minutes. Sprinkles garam masala, corriander and salt. Do not stir the curry the fish will break. Shake the pot gently instead. Cook for a few more minutes and let the curry sit for at least for a couple of hours before serving.

Mosaru shaale/ Spiced Yogurt

There are days when we find that the curds has turned too sour to be eaten with plain rice.. This recipe comes handy on such days. This is a pretty old recipe and my paternal grandmom has managed to keep it alive. Though the frequency of eating it has declined.
Last week it so happend in my kitchen that i forgot to keep the curds (yogurt) back in the refrigerator after my lunch. Having sat on the dining table through the afternoon, the curd was a bit too tart for my husband's palate. So i dished this simple and quick curry.




We will need,

Curds (yogurt) preferably sour 2 cups

Corriander a small bunch

Garlic 1 clove

Ginger 1/4 ' (this is my addition to my granny's recipe)

Pepper corns 4-6

Green Chillies 2-3

Coconut 2-4 tablespoons
Salt

Method

1. Grind all ingredients except the curd in a blender into a smooth paste.
2. Whisk in the curds and blend it well till well combined. 
3. Adjust for salt. No need to boil it. Serve it cold with hot steaming rice.

Cauliflower Palya/ Spiced Cauliflower

I had a wonderful neighbour here in Milford..R...She is a very sweet lady and as long as she was in the neighbourhood, we used to have a lot of fun, we used to have pot-luck parties, luncheons at each others..man i miss those noons...On one such luncheon, she had made this yummy cauliflower subzee along with poori.The taste still lingers on.. here is my take on it.

Califlower florets( i use the frozen variety cos of convenience) 1 lb

Onion 1 medium chopped

Tomato 1 medium chopped

Green Chillies 3-4

Sambar powder (Huli pudi)

Salt

Oil

Mustard seeds

Jeera

Hing

Curry leaves

Corriander leaves(cilantro)

Method

Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add mustard, jeera, hing, curry leaves and green chillies. Drop the chopped onions and salt to soften the onions. Once the onion is slightly brown, add the sambar powder. Follow it with tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are mushy. Add half a cup of water and the cauliflower florets, Cook covered till done. If there still remains some moisture, cook for a few more minutes uncovered. finish with corriander leaves.

Capsicum Bajji

Today for the first time my husband cooked something for me in more than two years of wedded life. I liked it so much. I should confess it was very professional. It reminded me of V.V.Puram food street...

Here is his recipe.

Capicum 2

Chickpea flour (Besan) 1/2 cup

Rice flour 1 table spoon

Chilly powder

baking powder

Salt

oil

Method

Mix chickpea flour,rice flour, chilly powder, salt, baking powder and a tablespoon of hot oil. combine enough water to make a thick batter. Cut capcicum into long strips an inch wide. Dip the pieces into the batter and dry it in hot oil till it is golden brown and crisp.

I loved it just like that. But the street food of Karnataka requires it to be served with a small salad of finely chopped onions, tomatoes, carrots, chilly powder and a dash of chat masala!

I am throughly impressed by the husband's cullinary skills. Would love to taste more of it..

The Travel Food Festival

I am finicky when it comes to food. Food while traveling was my nightmares. While studying in Delhi, i had to undertake long train journeys from my home- Bangalore to Delhi...the good old Karnataka Express. Though the pantry on board served a decent fare i was not the one to be satiated. I experimented with a lot of recipes that could last for the whole of 42 hours (even in the peak of sultry North-Indian summers). Here are a few of my regular 'train foods'. These foods not only tickled my taste buds but also lasted well. (In fact the achari baigan lasts for more than 3 days if careful) I generally roll individual portions in aluminum foil for each planned meal. This minimizes the chance of contamination and food spoilage.

Methi Roti and Aloo Subzee

For the Methi Roti:

Whole Wheat Flour 4 cups
Fresh Fenugreek Leaves ½ a cup
Kosher Salt
Oil 3 tablespoons
Curds 1 tablespoon

Method:
Combine the flour with all other ingredients and water to knead into a tight dough. Pinch small balls from the dough and roll out rotis. Cook on a Tawa applying oil liberally on both sides. Set aside and cool.


Aloo Subzi

Potatoes 1/2 lb
Chilly powder 1 tablespoon
Dhania 1 tablespoon
Turmeric ½ teaspoon
Amchoor ½ tablespoon
Garam Masala ½ tablespoon
Salt
Oil ¾ cup
Jeera

Method
Wash and cut potatoes into cubes. Heat oil in a non-stick pot, add jeera followed by the potatoes. Sprinkle salt, lower the heat and cover. When the potatoes are half done sprinkle all the dry spices and toss well to coat. Cook till potatoes are tender and the moisture is evaporated.

Achari Baigan

Eggplant (Indian variety) ½ lb
Chilly powder 1 tablespoon
Dhania 1 Tablespoon
Amchoor ½ teaspoon
Garam Masla ½ tablespoon
Jeera
Hing
Oil for deep frying

MethodCube Eggplant and deep fry till stiff but not brown. (Brown tends to be bitter). Drain it on a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Heat about a table spoon oil in a kadai. Add Jeera and Hing add the fried eggplant pieces and all the spices, toss well to coat. Stir fry for a few minutes till thoroughly warmed. Set aside to cool before packing

Prawns my style

Prawns or Shrimps as they are known in the US is not very common in interior Karnataka. Of course the coastal Karnataka has plenty of it, where they are generally simmered in thick coconut and spice gravies. I like mine a little lighter and of course for me recipes should be easier. Here is a easy way to cook prawns without compromising on the taste..

Prawns/shrimp 10 large
garlic 1 big clove minced
Pepper powder
salt
Coriander (Cilantro) 1 cup chopped
oil 2 tablespoons
Garam Masala 1 pinch

Heat oil in a pan. Saute minced garlic of about 10 sec and no longer. Arrange the prawns in a single layer in the pan. Add salt, pepper, garam masala and Coriander. Increase the heat and do not stir the prawns till they turn pink. Turn them once and finish cooking on the other side or till all the liquid is evaporated. Serve on a bed of steaming rice.

Moolangi/Radish/Daikon Palya

I love these red radishes. I was not familiar with this variety when i was in India. Here in America, they are very common and are one of the prettiest vegetables on the shelf. I generally make chutney out of these which is also yummy but today i was in no mood for a chutney so i turned it into a palya. (palya refers to a vegetable side-dish) My husband liked it so i felt like sharing the recipe.

Red radishes 1 pack
green chillies 2 slit vertically
curry leaves 3-4
oil
mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon
hing
Channa Dal 1 tea spoon
Urad Dal 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala 1 pinch
salt
Corriander(cilantro)

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seed, hing, curry leaves, channa dal, urad dal and cook for 30 sec. Drop the green chillies, followed by chopped radish. Adjust salt and toss in the garam masala and cook covered. finish with cilantro.

Bendekayi Gojju/ Spiced Okra

Okra I say is my favorite food..When i say 'food' I mean vegetables, fruits, desserts (except chocolate; it is in a league of its own) et al. Bendekai aka Okra in America is commonly called Lady's finger! I thought I knew my bit on the American way of naming things, Okra, Eggplant, Cookies, Trucks, Closet as kid- Thanks to the column in The Hindu  -"Know your English".Well imagine my shock when i was told that lady finger in America meant a sort of cracker!

Nevertheless, this curry has been a favorite since i was a kid. I remember my maternal grandmother's absolutely yummy bendekai gojju.. Ammaji as I call her used to make absolutely heavenly Bendekai Gojju. Most of time I did sneak into her kitchen right after school and demand her for something. She always had something for me and my sister neatly tucked up on the upper selves lest the cat-bandit tried to sample it. Most of the time it would be some fruit, may be some sweet or sometimes when my grand father was in the mood it would be homemade icy-ice cream. Of course the ice cream would come out of the refrigerator.
But on the days she made Bendekai Gojju, it would be just Bendekai Gojju. My rumbling tummy and my twitching nose could make out from miles that it felt like Bendekai Gojju. I then used to demand for just the gojju,in a big bowl no rice nothing, just the gojju/ curry and end up licking the bowl in the alley way that lead to the Backyard (licking obviously invited my grandmother's wrath ! She is one of those very orthodox types). Finally a couple of years back i sat with my grandmother and noted down all her recipes. I am sure i missed out a lot of them given that her recipe index is oral!!Here is the yummy bendekai gojju i covet so much.

We will need,


Okra(lady's finger) 3/4 lb
coconut grated 1 cup
onion 1 small
jaggery (or brown sugar) about 11/2tablespoon (or a piece of jaggery the size of a lime)
tamarind extract 1/2 tablespoon
salt
Sambar Powder (Huli pudi) 2 tablespoons
corriander( cilantro)
curry leaves 5-6
mustard 1/2 teaspoon
Hing 1 big pinch
Ghee /Clarified butter 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat a thick bottomed pan to high. Drop the chopped okra. Sear it till the okra looses its stickiness and becomes a little charred. Do not turn it often. The undisturbed it sits the faster it chars. Alternately grease some butter on a cookie sheet, toss the chopped Okras and pop it under the broiler till it is no longer slimy.
• Chop onions and toast it in a pan till it becomes slightly brown. Set it aside to cool. Combine coconut, the toasted onion, jaggery, Sambar powder, tamarind and cilantro in a blender and grind it into a smooth paste.
• Heat ghee/vegetable oil in a thick bottomed pot. Add the mustard, curry leaves and hing. 
• Once it stops spluttering add the ground masala. 
• Cook till fragrant (about 15 minutes, it is always better to cook it longer than leaving it raw if you are not sure) Gently fold the okra, adjust salt and serve it with steaming rice.

Zucchini Palya/ Sauteed Zucchini

Zucchini still remains an exotic vegetable for me. We never had it back home. Though there is a vegetable called Torri in North India that resembles Zucchini, we south Indians are rather not too familiar with it. I avoided it for a long time, because i used to hate Torri back in my hostel days in Delhi. Recently i got an opportunity to taste the vegetable, at a Thai restaurant. I liked it. There were no fireworks, but it was a decent enough vegetable to adorn the table once a week... (Not more than that for me) I got a small zucchini and prepared a Palya out of it and my husband liked it! here is the recipe

Zucchini 1 small
chilly powder 1 tea spoon
turmeric 1 tea spoon
Corriander powder 1 teaspoon
Amchoor (Dry mango powder) 1/2 teaspoon
Garam Masala 1/2 teaspoon
Hing (optional)
Oil
Jeera
curry leaves
cilantro
salt

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Drop the jeera, curry leaves and hing. Once the spluttering stops, drop the chopped Zucchini and toss. Add salt and saute for a a few more minutes. Once the vegetable starts to get tender add all the spices and mix well. Reduce the heat and cook till done. Finish with chopped cilantro.

Kumbalakai Palya/ Sauteed Butternut Squash

It is a tradition in my family to have a vegetable in the form of Palya for every meal. Not only is it healthy but also very very tasty. The regularity of the palya in every meal makes every vegetable indispensable. So we end up making the palya out of every available vegetable. Here in the United States, many vegetables that I grew up eating in India is often not available. So this set set me on a quest to put as many local vegetables to use as possible. The Indian pumpkin is something i miss here. I tried the butternut squash. Initially it was hard getting through to the flesh; the skin as it happens is pretty tough. Once I got though the chopping part, it was a breeze. Here is the recipe.

We will need,

Butternut Squash 1 small
Kadale Bele (Channa Dal) 1 teaspoon
Uddina Bele (Urad Dal) 1 teaspoon
Jeera 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Hing 1 pinch
Curry leaves 4-5
Green Chillies 2-4
Oil 2 tablespoon
Corriander/Cilantro
Coconut (optional)
Salt

Method:

• Peeling butternut squash is a problem. Take a sharp Knife and cut both the ends of the squash. Stand it on one of the ends vertically. Run the knife on the skin shaving all of it wasting as little of the flesh as possible. 
• Chop the squash into bite size pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan. Drop the mustard, hing, jeera and both the dals. Drop the slit green chillies and the chopped butternut squash,season it with salt and coconut. Cover and cook till the squash is tender. Keep checking every 5 minutes. It should be done in about 12 minutes. 
• Finish with corriander.