Bendekayi Huli Gojju

Deepavali is just round the corner. Wishing you all and your families a very happy Deepavali. This year as usual most of my Deepavali 'tindi' is ready. Just Kajjaya needs to be fried. I will update my Deepavali thali very shortly. Like I said in my previous posts and all my posts at this time of the year, this is my favorite part of the year. It is all about feasting, celebrating with friends and family and a whole lot of cooking. What is there to not love about it! I ending cooking the entire weekend. I was physically tired after standing at a stretch for hours. But at the end of the day I was so happy that I was able to finish everything that I had in mind. The tediousness only added to the festive mood. That is how you should end up feeling on a festival. In fact when I was young and my mom would work crazy during festivals like these, I would ask her to stop being so crazy. Back then my point was if you cannot relax what is the whole point of a holiday? But now I sort of get what she was up to. Now I really do not feel festive if I did not do my share of shopping-cleaning-cooking and getting tired routine. That is what festivals are all about.

Now for some Bendekayi..Bendekayi aka Okra aka Lady's finger is my favorite vegetable. I love them in all form. Bendi-do-Pyaza, Tawa-Bhindi, Bindi-Masala, Bendekayi gojju, chutney, raita, anything and everything! So when ever I find good Bendekayi, I am sure to buy some. This time around I was in a playful mood and tried something slightly different from my usual favorites.

We will need,

Bendekayi/Bendhi 1 lb cleaned and trimmed
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/4 tsp
Hing a dash
Ginger grated 1/2 tsp
Green chillies 4-5 (adjust according to taste)
Dhania powder 1/2 tsp
Tamarind extract 3/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat ghee in a saute pan. Throw in the mustard seeds, Jeera and hing. Once they splutter, throw in the green chillies and the ginger. Saute for a brief second 
• Throw in the Bendi. Saute till the stickiness disapper. Keep moving the Bhendi on medium high flame.
• Once the Bendi is no longer sticky, throw in the chilli powder and dhania powder. Saute for a few seconds and then stir in the tamarind extract along with 1/4 cup of water. Stir well and cook to reduce the water a bit. 
• Adjust salt and remove from heat once the Bhendi is slightly tender. Serve hot with rice /roti.

Sorekayi Kofta Curry

Navrati to Deepavali is all about eating! It is another thing that to me eating well is a very big part of living well. But this time of the year is all about reckless and guilt free eating. But then it is also challenging to cook something different from our traditional recipes because during Navratri we usually resort to abstaining from consuming onions and garlic. Our typical Huli, Saaru,Chitranna, Bisibelebhath, Vangibath fit this bill and they are my go-to recipes during festivals. But then there are days when I feel like making something different but still fit the no-onion-garlic bill. I had to work around a bit but Kofta curry turned out very well without onions or garlic.Not as rich as it is normally but just enough to make the table festive. Here it is.

We will need,

For the Koftas,
Sorekayi/Lauki 2 medium (grated)
Chickpea flour 3-4 tbsp
Red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
Dill chopped 2-3 tbsp
Jeera a generous pinch
Oil to deep fry

For the curry,
Peanut oil /Ghee 2-3 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/42 tsp
Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
Cardamon (big) 1
Green Cardamon 2-3
Dhania powder 2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Jeera Powder 1 tsp
Tomatoes 5 medium
Cashews 1/4 cup
Green chillies 5-6 (to taste)
Garam masala a pinch
Salt and lemon juice to taste

Method:

• Sprinkle some salt on the lauki and place the salted lauki in a colander to drain the excess water. Squeeze the lauki to get rid of excess water.
• Combine the tomatoes, cashews and green chillies in a blender and blend till smooth. Reserve.
•  For the curry, heat oil in a thick bottom pot. Throw in the whole spices and once they stop crackling, throw in the turmeric, Dhania powder and Jeera powder. Stir for a few seconds and then pour in the tomato paste and enough water for the gravy (about 2-3 cups). Bring it to a gentle boil and simmer till the curry is fragrant.
• Meantime prepare the Koftas. Combine the lauki with all other ingredients for the kofta except the oil and mix gently. Take two tablespoon fulls of the mixture and pat then into the shape of Kofta. 
• Heat oil in a Wok and deep fry the prepared koftas. Remove once the koftas are brown and drain them on paper towel. 
•  To finish the curry, sprinkle the garam masala and adjust salt and lemon juice. While the curry is still warm, place the koftas and serve immediately.  Serve it with raita and Jeera rice or Jeera-Carnberry rice (recipe coming up shortly).