Pav Bhaji (without Potatoes)

Hmmm... What is Pav Bhaji doing on Kannadacuisine? I was actually thinking if I should post this recipe at all. Well there is nothing Kannada about Pav-Bhaji, but then there is nothing Kannada about Rasmalai or Dum Aloo either. But Rasmalai and Dum Aloo was cooked by me, a thorough bred Kannadiga. Well, if Rasmalai can make an appearance on Kannadacuisine, Pav Bhaji can very well. So there we go.

Pav Bhaji presented a peculiar problem in my Kannadiga kitchen. For starters, potato is a huge star here and we Kannadigas particularly the older generation have always been suspicious of potatoes. My grand mother never ate them and hardly cooked them because they were 'Vata' inducing and therefore bad for her arthritic knees. But for the occasional  Masale Dose or Aloogadde Bele Huli, potatoes were pretty much banned in her house and mine as well :)
For some reason, the worm in my mind tells me that my gut is not meant to digest potatoes. The fact that Sabarmati Hostel mess in JNU goaded a truck load of potatoes down my throat in the four years I was a resident does not do any good to my already shaky relationship with potatoes. So I had to eliminate potatoes from this recipe.

The second peculiar problem was the Pav itself. Bread back home is associated with fever! Though my more progressive English-minded father preferred to have his bread with eggs and butter, bread largely meant that some one was under the weather. So I had to make it a little more interesting on that ground as well.

The third peculiar problem was to balance the 'bread' factor with loads of vegetables in the Bhaji.
After putting all these problems in the pot and stirring my magic wand, I had ..... bingo Pav Bhaji on my tables. So here it goes.

 We will need,

Cauliflower florets 2 cups
Carrot 1 big chopped
Green Beans a generous handful chopped
(Optional, Zucchini, Peas, Bell Peppers :Vegetables in all about 4 cups chopped)

For the Masala:
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Hing a generous dash +a generous dash

Onion 1 medium minced
Chilly Powder 1/2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Dhania powder 1.5 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Jeera Powder 1 tsp
Garlic powder a generous pinch
Amchoor Powder 1 tsp
Tomatoes 3 medium chopped
Salt to taste
Sugar a 1 tsp

To Serve :
Fresh butter
Bread of choice (I used Italian onion bread just to make it a little more interesting)
Lemon wedges and chopped onion

Method:

• Wash all the vegetables in running water and drain well. Place them in a pressure cooker along with a dash of Hing and 3/4 cup water. Cook till the vegetables are tender. (One whistle on my Pressure Cooker) Set it aside.
• Heat the ghee in a Kadai. Throw in the mustard and Hing. Once they stop spluttering, throw in minced onion. Saute till golden brown.
•  Throw in all the spice powders and saute for a brief 15 seconds. Throw in the tomatoes. Stir well and cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook till the masala is fragrant. 
• Meantime, when the pressure cooker is cool enough to open, remove the cooked vegetables into a wide mouth bowl and mash it with a wooden spoon /Masher.
• Pour the vegetable cooking stock into the masala and stir in the mashed vegetables into the masala as well. Adjust salt and sugar. Simmer and mash till the dish comes together. Finish with a big dollop of butter though entirely optional.
• Serve with lemon wedges, chopped onion and bread of choice

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Life has changed beyond recognition in the past three decades or so. No one imagined what the dual power of Manmohan Singh's Economic liberalization and the internet boom was to become. Now with the smart phone in everybody's hand life has changed in the east as well as the west. When I came to the States last decade, we used to travel with actual maps in hand. When wee did take the wrong exit and boy o boy, all hell would break loose especially because we did mostly make wrong moves in the confusing concrete jungle called New York City. It used to be soooo difficult to get back on track with just the maps on hand. Now with the GPS life is so much more easy, got lost? fine re-route automatically. Hey we now have GPS signals under Lincoln tunnel and Holland tunnel as well! (blaah!! Delhi Metro has cellphone signals under Chandni Chowk....  Not really sure if NYC metro has caught up. It has been ages since I rode the metro the last time)

Life back in India has changed much drastically. It is not just about little conveniences any more. It is about leap and bounds, the change in the way we think. Every time I go back to Bangalore I notice so many restaurants, eateries etc. Karnataka never really had that culture of eating out like say the extent I saw in foodie cities like Amritsar, Delhi and Lucknow. I assume smaller towns too had that culture. Back in the 1990s when my father was posted in Amritsar, we were surprised to see our neighbors buying sweets/Mithai from the sweet shop even on the occasion of say Diwali and other festivals.  Our friends would be surprised to see that my mother could make Gulab Jamoon (out of the pack!!) at home. "You make everything from scratch, we get everything from the bazaar"..they did always say. Also the culture of street food was widely prevalent. People driving in cars (that was a big deal in early 1990s) stopping to grab a quick bite on one of the street side 'thela' was a common sight. That was not as simple in south Karnataka. Road side shacks were mostly for those who could not afford to eat Dose/Idli at the nearest restaurant/Phalahara Mandira. The most we could get from such shacks was assorted Bhajji's which papa would get from some place quite far from where we lived in Mysore ocassionally to add to the meal Amma had already prepared. I was particularly fond of the Egg Bonda. But that shack opened only during the evenings, sort of patronized by people who had had a couple of drinks or more. My grandparents never ate street food. My mother till date is rather suspicious of street food. Despite the time she has spent in the northern heartland, she is still a very much Vidyarthi Bhavan/Janta hotel types.
But our generation went on the become something else. Now eating out is a part of life style. We are very well exposed to different culinary tradition, we are open to trying out new things, we try new restaurants and try to replicate dishes we liked there at home. Despite the dust and the sweat, we still love our street food.Things have changed, changed quite a lot.

To summarize the change, Sunny boy loves Sashimi! while my mother could not get herself to eat an absolutely vegetarian avocado roll with wasabi and ginger pickle to boot! I am somewhere in the middle.
Strangely enough Sunny boy finds Canola oil smelly and yucky while a perfectly smelly fish curry smells just good. Good for me though, fish being a whole food canola oil is mostly GMO, that story for another day, now for some Jalfrezi, something I love in one of the restaurants here and tried to replicate.

We will need,

Mixed vegetables (Green Beans, Carrots, Broccoli, Bell peppers) cleaned and cut into big chunks3 cups ( keep the veggies separate)
Peanut oil 1/4 cup (yes that is a lot)
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Fennel 1/4 seeds
Ginger match stick cut 1"
Onion 1 small sliced
Green Chillies 5-10 as preferred
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Dhania power 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
Tomatoes 2 chopped
Panner 1/2 cup cubed

Garam Masala
Sugar 1 tsp
Juice from half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Steam vegetables separately till they are half cooked. They should still remain most of their crunch.
• Heat oil in a Kadai. Throw in the cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Once they splutter, throw in half the ginger, saute for a few seconds and follow it with onions.Saute.
• Once the onions change color, throw in the green chillies and the spice powders. Keep stirring making sure the spiced would not burn. Once the spices are fragrant, throw in the tomatoes.
• Cook tomatoes till they are pulpy and the oil separates from the mixture. Now throw in the Panner toss gently in the spices.
• After a minute or two, throw in the remaining vegetables, Garam Masala, sugar, remainng ginger, salt, lemon juice and pepper. 
• Give it a gentle toss.Cook for a few more minutes till the vegetables are a little more tender. Remove from heat.
• Shift the Jalfrezi immediately from the hot Kadai because the hot Kadai will otherwise continue to cook the dish and the vegetables will become mushy by the time it is served. (I had this problem several times and I hate mushy vegetables in a Jalfrezi)
• Serve with Roti and dal

Palak Panner

I love Palak Panner, Saag Panner all those green dishes with Panner in it.  Unlike the buttery greasy versions, Palak Panner can be made with very less fat but taste heavenly. I make this dish quite a few ways but this is the simplest version,  my erstwhile land lady taught me decades ago. This was probably the first dish I learned to cook. At first I used to find it daunting,  getting the Palak to be vibrant green, not the sloppy,gloomy brownish mush it turns into if overcooked. But not I can dish it out in my sleep. These days I make it quite often because it is healthy and Sunny boy refuses most vegetables but is ok with this one. Also dishing out this one for parties is easy as this one scales up easily. Besides everyone loves Palak Panner.
The temperatures being what they are right now, it is the perfect time to ladle bowl fulls of Palak Panner and mop it up with warm tandoori rotis! Add a dollop of cultured butter and it is a piece of heaven on dinner table.  Tandoori roti is for another day. For now it is Palak Panner.

We will need,  (This recipe makes a ton. Good for Potlucks and dinner parties. I would say it serves at least 8-10)

Spinach (tender ones preferred 2.5 lbs
Panner 1 lb
Peanut oil 2 tsp (optional)
Green chillies 6-8 (adjust according to taste)
Onion 1 large
Garlic 4-5 cloves
Ginger 1.5" piece
Ghee 2 tbsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder 2 tsp

Jeera Powder 2 tsp
Black pepper powder 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp (yes that is a lot)
Fresh cream up to 1/4 cup (optional)
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Method:

• Wash the Spinach and zap it in microwave, high for 3-4 minutes till the greens are wilted but still vibrant green. Remove from the microwave, allow it to slightly cool down and grind it into a puree.
• It using ready made Panner, heat the oil in a heavy skillet and fry the Panner till golden in colour on all sides. If using home made Panner, this step can be skipped. The deal is Panner that has been sitting on the store shelf is rather sad tasting but once it is fried, it makes it little lively. Fresh Panner is delicate and needs nothing but tossing right at the end.
• Combine the onions, chillies, garlic and ginger in a blender and puree it adding a little water if necessary. 
• Heat the ghee in a thick bottom pot. Throw in the jeera. Once it stops spluttering, throw in the onion paste and the dhania-jeera powder.Cook till the paste smells fragrant, about 15 minutes. Add water periodically and make sure the mixture does not burn.
• Once the mixture is fragrant, throw in the Palak puree. Reduce heat and bring it up to a gentle boil. 
• Fold in the Panner and Garam Masala. Adjust salt  and lemon juice. 
• Stir in the cream if using. Milk can be substituted for cream as well and I do most of time. 
• Remove from heat and serve hot with tandoori rotis. This dish freezes well (save the cream/ milk, and add it after reheating) and can be frozen for months. It can also be refrigerated and reheated in the microwave.

Capscium Masala

Sunny boy started school. He is having a tough time. He cries all the while, right when I hand him over at the school till the time I pick him up.It is so hard. I feel like crying my heart out and I did. I hate myself for putting that my precious little boy into such hardship. Many times I did consider pulling him out of school even if it has just been four short days with an hour session each. But somewhere down inside there is an urge to do the right thing, may be a little painful but give him some time to adjust to the strange world called school. Every night before I slip into sleep, I tell myself, O.K, just tomorrow, just one more day let me send him to school and what if he comes home happy and full of stories to tell me about his school, his teacher,his new friends.What if he likes it today....

Otherwise, I am still busy with family visiting from India and the other day we picked some peppers from a farm. They were lovely, fresh and colorful. I dished out some Capsicum Masala  along with Rawa Rotti. Everybody loved it.

We will need,

Peppers/ capsicum  1lb diced
Peanut oil 1/4 cup
Jeera 1/2 tsp

Onions 2 medium
Garlic 5 cloves
Garlic 1"
Chiili powder 1 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Dhania powder 2 tsp
Jeera powder 2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4  tsp
Tomatoes 2 medium
Almonds 6-8
Garam Masala 1/4 tsp
Butter 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt to taste

Method:

• Combine onions, garlic and ginger in a blender along with a little water and pulse till smooth.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom wok. Toss in the Jeera when the oil is hot. Once the Jeera stops sizzling, add the onion paste carefully, not to splatter the mixture all over.
• Stir the mixture and cook it till the raw smell disappear, about 15 minutes. 
• Meantime, blend the almonds and tomatoes into a smooth paste  and set it aside.
• Once the onion mixture is cooked, throw in the turmeric, chilli powder, Dhania powder and the Jeera powder. Stir well add a few tbsps of water if the mixture is too dry. Cook till the oil floats on top and the mixture is fragrant.
• Pour in the tomato mixture and stir well. Simmer and cook till the mixture is homogenous about 10-15  minutes.
• Throw in the diced capsicum and salt and cook for 5-10 minutes till the capsicum is slightly tender but very well crisp. Throw in the butter at the end if using. (I love the butter)
• Serve hot with a bread of choice.

Aloo Vadi

Last month was a busy month. We had a family reunion and it was a lot of cooking, cleaning and traveling. Sunny boy started school this week too. Poor little Sunny boy, he is not liking school much, keeps crying till I go there to pick him up.It feels so bad to leave him crying there. Sometimes I feel I should just get him off the school and let him play at home with me. But then I will have to bite the bullet sometime, if not today tomorrow or next year. I am confused and  Sunny boy crying makes it even worse. I only hope he feels better soon. I just feel like hugging him close to me, and keep him there forever.

This one again from my days at Amritsar. During the lean summer months, fresh vegetables are hard to come by. It is during that time that such innovative use to pantry staples becomes imperative.

We will need,

Vadi also called Badi 1.5 cups
Potatoes 2 medium diced
Brinjal 1 small diced
Peanut oil 3 tbsp + Sunflower oil to deep fry
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Fennel 1/2 tsp
Onion 1 small
Tomato 1 medium
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder 1 tsp (adjust  according to taste)
Dhania powder 2 tsp
Jeera Powder 2 tsp
Garam masala  a generous pinch
Fresh coriander  a handful
Salt to taste

Method:

• Break the Vadi into bite size pieces and deep fry them in hot oil. Remove and drain it on paper towels. Set it aside.
•  Heat the peanut oil in a wok and throw in the mustard seeds, Jeera and the fennel. Once they stop spluttering throw in the onion. 
• When the onions are translucent add the potatoes. Add a pinch of salt, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, till the potatoes are ever so slightly tender but not all the way cooked. 
• Now throw in the remaining spices and saute till the raw smell of the spices disappear. 
• Add the eggplant, tomatoes and the deep fried Vadi along with a little water, cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked and the spices are well blended.
• Adjust salt and finish with the fresh coriander. 

Aloo Bhendi/ Spicy Potato & Okra

Lady's finger aka Okra is my all time favorite vegetable. I know it is a slimy little thingie, but I have grown to love it in all forms... except the boiled version. It is perennial vegetable back home in Karnataka. So we always had the required supply at the market. I discovered its seasonality during my years in Delhi. It is a winter vegetable there and our miserly hostel mess used to serve us this vegetable only during winters. When ever they made Bhendi, it was my feast.. .I should say it was never Bhendi alone, it was Aloo Bendhi. Loads of aloo and a few bhendi peeping from in between. Because I used to be the first to go to the mess, I had this option of asking for more bhendi and less aloo. Our 'bhaiyyaji'- the cook in charge of serving that day would mostly oblige, after all I was one of the few hazzle free senior citizen of 'Sabarmati'. However pathetic the other food was, I still miss a few good things our mess provided us and Aloo bhendi is definitely one of them. I always wondered why Bhendi tasted so different in our mess, till one day one of the cooks revealed the secret. Deep frying...
Last week I suddenly started craving for Aloo bhendi the way they made it back in 'Sabarmati' hostel! So here it is.



Serves 4 ||  Calories per serving  275 Kcl | Protein 5.5 gm |  fat 14 gm || Fiber 7.52 gm |

Okra 1 lb
Potatoes 2 big
Oil to deep fry + 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder 1 tsp
Dhania powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Cumin ground 1/2 tsp
Coriander fresh 1/4 cup
Onion 1 big
Tomato 1 big
Garam Masala 1/4 tsp
Lime juice
Salt to taste.

Method:

1. Wash the Okras and spread it out to dry for at least an hour. That way it will be a lot less slimy.
   
2. Trim the tops and tails of the okra and cut it into 2.5" pieces. Chop the potatoes into one inch cubes.
   
3. Heat oil in a pot. Once it is hot enough, gently lower okra pieces and fry till done but still bright green in colour about 3 minutes or so. Drain it on a paper towel
4. Deep fry potatoes and drain them on a paper towel.
5. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a wok. Throw in diced onions. Cook till the onions are light brown, that is a tab more brown than say if it were golden!
   
6. Add all the spice powders, toss well and throw in the diced tomato. If the tomato are not juicy enough, add about 1/4 cup of water. Simmer till the tomato breaks down. Now throw in the fried okras and potatoes. Sprinkle some water, and cover with a tight fitting lid.
   
7. Once the potatoes of tender and breaks down between two fingers, adjust the salt, throw in the garam masala and turn off the heat.
8. Sprinkle the coriander and lime juice and serve hot with Phulka and a raita. We had it with Bajra phulka, raita and Bharwan Karela... It was a yummy meal.

Sarson Da Saag/ Spiced Mustard Greens

Winter conjures up some images in my vacant head, reminds me of North India, the chills, the smell the tandoor on our erstwhile neighbour's courtyard. (The little boy in their house was called 'Lovely' which I used to find very amusing!) Also some special dishes like Sarson da Saag, Makhai di Rotti and markets teaming with fresh peas, cauliflower and eggplants. Back then when we were in Amritsar, peas and caulifower used to become so cheap in winters that we could afford to eat them for the entire year. I remember getting peas for as little as Rs 2/ kilo and it was definitely not 1964! it was very much late 1990s. The converse is true for summers. Hardly any fresh vibrant vegetable in the market, most of veggies looked sad and of course extremely pricy as high as Rs 35 per kilo. May be that is why my father likes winter so much. Not to mention the Lodhri festival, where bon fires are lit on streets and we kids used to go and throw in some sesame seeds into the fire and eat a lot of Chikkis, Papa used to have a few drinks with our neighbour (ever heard of Patiala peg?, that it was) after the merry making, it was 'come back home' to dream of all chikkis and the hiss of burning sesame seeds.
Amongst all the wintery favorites in Punjab, probably Sarson da Saag will top the list. We all love it too. Besides, it is rather simple a dish with a lot of nutrition and flavours packed in. It goes best with Makhai di rotti, but then chapatis will do too. We had it with oodles of butter and Makhai di rotti



We will need

Mustard Greens 1 lb
Onion 1 medium diced
Ginger 1/4" grated
Garlic 3 cloves (big cloves grated , yes it is sort of garlicy because it is a winter dish)
Kashmiri Chilly powder 2 tsp
Coriander ground 1 tsp
Cummin ground 1 tsp
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Salt
Tomato 1 small chopped
Oil 1 tbsp
Butter 3 tbsp
Jeera

Method:

• Wash chop the mustard greens.Microwave it for a minute or two till it wilts down slightly
• Heat oil and butter in a pan. Drop the jeera. Follow it with onions, ginger and garlic. Saute till the onions are traslucent.
• Add the chilly powder, dhania powder, jeera powder along the tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are mushy and oil oozes from the mixture.
• Now combine the wilted greens, adjust salt.
  
• Cook till the greens are soft but still bright green in colour. Finish with Garam masala.
  
• Serve hot with Corn rotti and extra wads of butter. If you prefer to make it figure friendly, just omit the butter, but the taste will not quite be the same

This recipe goes to the Monthly Mingle 29- Healthy Family Dinner hosted by Meeta

I am hoping, families love their greens!Especially the little ones

Methi Mutter Malai/ Creamed Spinach & Peas

Growing up with siblings is so wonderful. Me and my sister like all other siblings share a special bond. We have had our days, fights, managed to break ladles and knives during the hottest of fights but then after all said and done, she is still just a little kid with big eyes. She will remain that way long after she had had her kids and grand kids.It is just the distance that getting older brings in between us that I definitely do not like. I would give my world to go back to those days when me and her were confidants in crime, whether it was pinching coins from mom's Goddess Lakshmi Hundi-piggy bank or eating dirty ice candy on stealth. I do wonder if she remembers any of those, but I for sure remember one incident that even today as I write gives me goose pimples.About 20 years ago, we lived in Mysore the city of palaces and there was a saw mill right next to our house, very close to Mysore palace. We often used to go there and play in the saw dust and the trolley which shoves heavy lumber onto the sharp huge blades. The trolley could be moved by steering a lever on the dock. It used to be fun. One of us would sit on the trolley mostly my sister because she was too small to steer the lever and if our other play mates were around I would join her and some body else would steer us all. Most of the times we used to be there well after school and therefore the saw mill would be closed with the blades safely removed. On one day, it was just me and my sister and we both went there just like any other day and I sat her on the trolley, started to steer it. I did not realize that the blades were very much in place and I kept steering. When my sister was about a feet and a half from the blades, some one came it and yelled at me to stop. Gosh! I stop and I have goose pimples all over. Boy!! What was i ever thinking when I was doing it all.. What a monkey was I...
I cannot but thank god that nothing untoward happened that day, otherwise.......
I could not have had the wonderful Methi Mutter Malai ever in my life. Lol

She is a awesome cook and this dish is probably her master piece. I tried to extract the recipe from her but I suspect there is at least one key ingredient that she is hiding from me for, however much I try, it simply is not like what she makes. Never mind, this version too is really good. I had a lot of guests the other day and everyone liked it. Very easy recipe to scale up as well...



You will need,

Peas 2 cups
Methi leaves frozen 3 cubes
Onion 1 medium
Garlic 3 cloves
Ginger 1/2"
Heavy Cream 1/2 cup
Turmeric a pinch
Chilly powder 2 tsp (Adjust according to taste)
Dhania powder 2 tbsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 3 tbsp
Jeera 1 tsp

Method:

• Wash the peas, thaw the Methi cubes and wring out excess moisture out of the Methi.
• Grind onions, garlic and ginger into a smooth paste.
  
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Drop Jeera into the hot oil. Once it stops spluttering, add the onion paste. Stir well to combine and cook the mixture till it is golden in color and oil starts to ooze out.
  
• Mix in the Chilly powder, Dhania powder, Turmeric. Stir well to combine, gently toss everything a couple of times making sure it does not stick to the bottom.
  
• Stir in the peas and methi. Add about 1/4 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  
• Reduce heat, gently mix in the cream and garam masala. Adjust salt.
• Simmer for a few more minutes till the flavors are all combined.
  
• Remove from heat and serve hot with Roti/Poori or any other breads.We had it with pooris and it was delicious.

This recipe goes out to the epic My Legume Love Affair- Seventh Helping hosted this time by our beloved Srivalli, initiated by the Well Seasoned Cook-Susan




Indeed I do not need to emphasize my love for legumes!Do I?

Dum Aloo and Jeera Rice

Threw a small party for my honey on his birthday. We had around ten people for dinner. So designing a menu was pretty difficult, it had to be special, he had to be scalable ( to make in large quantities) and a crowd pleaser!thought for a long time before settling on Dum Aloo and Jeera Rice.It was a hit indeed.Now it is going to be on my party foods for ever. It is very time consuming but it is definitely worth all the time and effort. To get a head start ( i did not do this and ended up spending 3 hours at the stove!) start with the gravy, once the onion goes into the pot, start frying up the potatoes; So that the potatoes and the gravy will get done almost at the same time.



Potatoes cut into 1.5" pieces 4 large (I did six pieces per head and it worked well)
Tomatoes 2 ground to a smooth paste
Onions 1 large minced
Garlic 3 cloves (big) ground to a smooth paste
ginger about 1" ground to a smooth paste
Cashews 1/4 cup ground to a smooth paste
Chilly powder 2 tbsp (mine is not too hot, so adjust accordingly)
Dhania powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala 1/4 tsp
Kasuri Methi or Coriander a handful
Yogurt 1 cup
Heavy cream 1/4 cup
Bay leaf 1
Cardamom 2
Cloves 4
Cinnamon 1/2"
Jeera 1 tsp
Star Anise 1
Oil to deep fry + 3 tbsp
Salt

Note: During my hostel days, our cooks used to prepare excellent Dum Aloo. I had asked for the recipe, though the ingredients are similar, they had suggested piercing the potatoes with a fork before frying. ( At the mess they had something like a metal brush with sharp nails done to it) I did not do it. I am not sure if this method enhances the taste of the dish. I will try it next time i make :)

Method:

• Soak the cut potato pieces in water till it is ready to be fried. Once the oil is hot enough, remove potatoes from water, pat it dry with a paper towel. Gently nudge them into the hot oil using a heat proof spatula.
• Fry the potatoes till golden brown. They do not need to be cooked throughly. Remove,set aside. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
  
• For the gravy, add 3 tbsp oil in a pot. Drop the bay leaf, anise, clove, cinnamon and Jeera.
  
• Follow it with minced onion. Cook till almost brown. It almost took me about 20 minutes to get there!
  
• Now stir in the ginger paste, garlic paste, chilly powder, Dhania powder and turmeric into the onion. Stir for a few minute and add the tomato puree. Cover and cook till the raw smell of the masala disappear.
  
• Stir in the cashew paste. Cook for a few more minutes, taking care that the mixture would not burn. It burns very easily at this stage.
• Once oil starts oozing from the mixture, reduce heat to the lowest. Whisk the yogurt once and slowly stream into the mixture stirring continuously. Make sure the mixture is well combined. Cover and bring it to a boil. Simmer.
  
• Now gently slide the fried potatoes into the simmering gravy. Cover and cook till the potatoes are soft and crumbles if gently pressed between fingers.
  
• Adjust salt, gently add the cream, sprinkle garam masala and finish with either Kasuri Methi or coriander. If using Kasuri Methi, cook the gravy for a few more minutes with the Kasuri Methi so as to infuse the flavour very well.
• Serve hot with Jeera rice.

Jeera Rice

Basmati rice 3 cups
Raisins 1/2 cup
Jeera 1 tbsp
Onions 2 large diced
Coriander 1 big bunch
Ghee 2 tbsp
Water a little over 5 cups
Salt

Method:

• Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes.
• Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan. Add Jeera, once it splutters, add the onions. Cook till the onions are brown at the edges.
• Drop the raisins (Well I am not sure if traditional Jeera rice recipe calls for raisins, but this was for a party and I wanted it to be rich. This ingredient is of course optional)
• Stir till the raisins plum up.
  
• Now add water and adjust salt.
  
• Once the water starts boiling gently mix in the rice. Cover and cook.
• When almost done stir in the coriander. Cook till the rice is completely done
• Serve hot with Dum Aloo..
  

Malai Kofta/ Curried Cheese Dumplings

Last week a friend of ours went back to India, so we were hosting a send off party. I had to cook something fancy and elaborate, what better than Malai Kofta, besides my husband loves it! So the menu was Malai Kofta and Jeera Rice.



For the kofta
Mixed vegetables 1/2 cup
Potatos 1/4 cup
Panner 1/4 cup
Dhania powder 1 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder 1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala 1 pinch
Salt
Coriander leaves chopped 1/4 cup
Corn flour 1/2 tbsp
Oil for deep frying

Method
Microware the mixed vegetable and chopped potatoes for 5 minutes on high till the vegetables are partly cooked. It can also be cooked on the stove top till crisp tender. Set it aside to cool.
Grate panner and set it aside. Mash the mixed vegetables once cool enough to handle. Alternately it can be pulsed in a food processor and drain excess moisture by squeezing the mixture. I like the vegetable mixture to be slightly chunky, something like dal vada.
Combine the grated paneer and other ingredients to make a tight dough. Pinch about a tablespoon from the dough to form small balls, slightly flatten it out with the tips of your fingers.

Heat oil in a pot. Deep fry the koftas and set it aside.

For the Gravy

onion 1 small
tomato paste 1 tbsp
Garlic 2
Ginger 1/4"
Chilly power 2 tsp
Dhania 2 tbsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala 1/5 tsp
Heavy cream or Half and Half 1/2 cup ( I use half and half,it is slightly healthier!!)
Salt
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard
Jeera


Method:

Grind to paste ginger, garlic and onions. Heat the ghee in a thick bottom pan. Drop mustard and jeera, once they splutter combine the ground onion paste. Cook the mixture till oil floats on top. Stir in the chilly powder, dhania powder, turmeric, tomato paste and a cup of water stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer. Mix in the cream/half and half. Simmer gently. Adjust salt. Gently place the koftas in the simmering gravy. Sprinkle the garam masala. Simmer for 5-7 minutes and serve hot with Jeera rice.

Bhindi Do Pyasa

Bhindi Do Pyasa is one of my favorite foods of all time.. Not all Bhindi Do Pyasas (BDP) are born equal... of all the BDP i have tasted the best was undoubtedly the one at Inchara! Puttenalli/ J.P.Nagar. The restaurant has come a long way from being a sort of family Dhaba to an expensive fancy restaurant.. Back in the days when dinner for two still did cost about Rs 300, we were there almost every week end.. right next to the pool. I have a special place in my heart for the restaurant.. That were we spend most of our courtship!!! Dinning, drinking and getting lost in each other's eyes!! Boy!!! those were the most romantic of all my life too!! May be the correlation between BDP and Courtship is great!!! If someone could second my opinion. Romance apart, i had an irresistible urge the other day...so tried recreating the dish in my kitchen....the results though not as fabulous as the one served at Inchara, was definitely better than those served in many restaurants... Here is what i did...

We will need,


Bhindi/Bendekai/ Okra/Lady's Finger 1 lb
Onions (preferably red) 3/4 lb
Chilly powder 2 tsp and above
Dhania powder 2 tsp
Garam Masala 1/2 tsp
Salt
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Oil 1 tsp +3 tbsp
Fresh Corriander chopped
Hung Curds/ thick yogurt up to 1/2 cup

Method:

• Wash, dry the Bhindis. Make sure it is completely dry otherwise the bhindi gets sort of sticky; dice and set it aside.
• Heat a 1 tsp oil in a wok. Toss the diced bhindi and fry till the stickiness is gone and the bhindi is charred on the edges. Set it aside. 
• Heat oil in another pot, drop the jeera, and the onion. Cook till the onion is soft. Mix the bhindi, chilly powder, dhania powder and the garam masala.
• Cook covered till the raw smell of the masala is gone, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low. Mix in the yogurt, stir and adjust salt.. Finish with fresh coriander. Do not boil after adding the yogurt, it will curdle.

Enjoy with Phulkas!

Aloo Gobi

I love Aloo Gobi... my love for this dish has its roots in my stay in Punjab as a kid. Well Aloo that is potato and Gobi which is cauliflower might just be the post popular vegetables in the whole of northern plains! And I am not complaining about it.. Aloo.... may be a second thought .. but Gobi .. i am gonna eat it all. I love cauliflower. I remember back in those days when we were in Punjab- Amritsar to be precise, cauliflowers were mostly available during winter, and were dirt cheap during the winter. Summer.. it used to be so rare and so pricey we also went without it!!! It has remained a favorite for many years. If time were to be a criteria, aloo gobi will definitely stay of the list of my favorites!

Potatoes 2 (i use Maine potatoes, somehow they cook faster and are much softer compared to say the Idaho potatoes.)
Cauliflower 1 small head, cleaned, florets separates.
Chilly powder 1 tbsp
dhania powder 1/2 tbsp
Amchoor powder 1 tsp
Garam Masala 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tbsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Turmeric a generous pinch
fresh Coriander chopped 2 tbsp
tomato 1 (optional)

Method:

• Clean potatoes and chop them approximately the size of the cauliflower florets.
• Heat oil in a thick pan(preferably with a lid). Drop the cumin. Once it stops spluttering add the potatoes and the cauliflower. 
• Maine potatoes cook in the same time as cauliflower but other potatoes might take longer. If using other potatoes, saute the potatoes for about 10 minutes before adding the cauliflower florets. 
• Mix in all the spices, salt and tomato if using. Cover and cook till the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle the coriander and remove from heat.

Serve it with fresh Phulkas...

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.