Lobia and Potato Masala Recipe

Lobia or jurga as it's called in my in-laws place end up most of the time as lobia masala or some time I pair it up with any other vegetables.  This time paired lobia with classic potato to make a dry curry. This goes well with roti/paratha or great with rasam rice.  I have mashed potato since I wanted lobia to be blend well with potato but if you wish you can just chop boiled potato and add.  You can use this recipe to make roti wrap perfect for kids lunch box.  

I also used panch phoran in this recipe which created magic, basically I have anything with panch phoran it's always enhance taste of any dish, I have give list of spices used in panch phoran just add equal amount of all spices to make your very own panch phoran, store and use as required.  

Ingredients for Lobia & Potato Masala

Lobia/Black Eyed Beans /Jurga - 1 Cup
Potato - 2 large
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cardamom - 1
Cloves- 2
Onion - 1 large
Tomato - 1 large
Green Chili - 2
Oil - 1 tbsp
Asafetida/Hing - A Pinch
Panch phoran - 2 tsp
Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder  - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt - To Taste
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Panch Phoran ~ Equal portion of below spices
Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds/Rai - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds/Saunf -  1/2 tsp
Fenugreek/Methi -1/2 tsp
Nigella/Onion Seeds/Kalonji - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Soak lobia over night, rinse in water and pressure cook with little water, salt, bay leaf, cinnamon  cardamom, cloves for 3 whistles along with potato, discard all the garam masala once cooked.  

2. Peel and mash boiled potato.
3. Chop onion, tomato, chilli.
4. In a pan heat oil add hing, panchphoran and saute until splutter. Add ginger-garlic and saute until brown, add onion, chilli cook until onion becomes soft.
5. Add chilli, turmeric, coriander powders and cook for a minute.
6. Add tomato and cook until mashed for 3-4 minutes.
7. Now add poato, lobia, salt, garam masla, mix well and cook for 5 minutes in medium flame, stirring in intervals.  Garnish with cilantro.

Serve warm with roti or rice.

Have a nice day ~~

Lauki Badi Sabzi

Lauki or bottle gourd is one of those vegetables which I started to like now, usually I settle myself with lauki dal a easy and quick way to include bottle gourd in our diet and sometimes the simple lauki sabji which does well with rice or roti.   I had half of bottle gourd with me I decided to add badi along to make a sabji, a wonderful combination results in a tasty side dish perfect for again rice or roti, sambar, rasam, dal.  If you don’t have badi/wadi with you replace it with soya chunks/meal maker something similar to lauki soya sabzi I posted before but this will be dry version, just remember to boil and squeeze water from soya chunks before using it.  So let’s check out our recipe of the day….

Ingredients for Lauki Badi Sabzi [Serves 3-4]

Bottle gourd/Lauki - 1 medium size [2 1/2 cups chopped]
Badi/Wadi - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 [ 1/2 Cups chopped]
Green Chilies - 5-6
Minced Ginger-garlic - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Milk - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Cilantro - 1 tbsp [chopped]
Water - Around 1/2 cup if required

Method:

1. Wash, peel, de-seed and chop bottle gourd in small pieces.  I make small pieces so it’s gets cooked faster and also I don’t like to bite on large pieces !
2. Wash and chop green chilies, tomato and cilantro.  Freshly mince garlic and ginger.

3. In a wok heat 1 tbsp oil add badi/wadi and sauté until golden brown in medium to slow heat, don’t do in high heat as it may get badi burnt.  Transfer into a bowl and keep aside.

~ As these badi is small & soft it will get cooked quickly so I didn’t soak them in water, if you going to use big or hard types badi/wadithen after frying in oil soak them in hot water until required to use in sabji/curry.

4. In the same wok add remaining oil, cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Add ginger garlic and green chilies & sauté until golden brown,  add chopped bottle gourd/lauki mix well.

5. Cook in medium flame for 8-10 minutes or until bottle gourd becomes soft, add turmeric and coriander seeds powder and mix.
6. Add tomato and cook for 2 minutes or until tomato gets mashed.

7. Now add fried badi/wadi, stir gently let it cook for a minute, add salt and stir.

8. Add milk and stir gently, cook for another 2 minutes until curry becomes dry and oil separates.  Garnish with cilantro and off flame.

Our lauki wadi sabzi is ready ...

Have a nice day ~~

Cluster Beans Stir Fry | Kothavarangai Poriyal

I never used to like cluster beans known as gawwarfali in hindi and kothavarangai in tamil.  In our house only my elder sister used to like this and my mom would make this once in a while for her, that day rest of us will be very upset.  But things changes isn't it? so when DH started to bring cluster beans I had no choice but to to cook and most of the time I do stir fry mostly without coconut and started to eat this nice vegetable.  In my in-laws place they make garwaarfali-aloo sabzi, it's very north style of preparing cluster beans, I should post that some time.   I make this poriyal the most easy way - no onion, no garlic and it goes well with dal/sambar/rasam just with anything.  If you don’t like cluster beans then try this way of preparing this poriyal/thoran and you sure going to like it.  So let’s check out the recipe.

Ingredients:

Cluster Beans/Gawaarfali/Kothavarangai - 250gms [ 2 cups chopped]
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
For Tempering
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds -1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Method:
1. Wash and chop cluster beans into small pieces like in picture below. Add little salt & sprinkle water, pressure cook for 2 whistles or microwave for 10 minutes.

2.  In a pan heat oil and add tempering ingredients - cumin, mustard seeds and allow to splutter.  Add urad dal, curry leaves and roast until golden brown.
3. Add cluster beans and cook in medium flame for 5 minutes, stir in intervals.  If need add few drops of water to cook it well.

4. Add red chili, turmeric powders and salt, mix well and cook for 2 minutes.  Add coconut, mix and cook for 2 more minutes or until poriyal becomes dry.

Our simple and super easy cluster beans stir fry recipe is ready.

Have a nice day ~~

Muttakos Kootu | Cabbage Kootu Recipe

Cabbage Kootu is one of favorite recipe because it’s very simple to make and taste wonderful with sambar, rasam or with any dal tadka or I like to eat with just plain steamed rice too.  The fact that DH also like this kootu very much makes my life easy and I do cabbage kootu once in a while,  there are many ways of doing this kootu or gravy but I prefer this way of not very much gravy type & with minimum ingredients, it taste much delicious than these pictures.   If you haven’t tried cabbage kootu yet then you should give it a try it’s good change from usual cabbage stir fry and it can be done in less than 15 minutes.   Some people add more of mung dal, turmeric, coconut, onion if you wish you can add that but as I said I like this simple, quick version.  There’s no step vise pictures for this recipe as that particular Saturday I was cooking storm with dal, rasam, dry soya bean kurma and few other things.

Ingredients
Cabbage Chopped - 2 Cups
Mung Dal - 2 tbsp
Green Chilies - 3
Salt - to taste
Water - 3/4 Cup
For Tempering
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Dry Red Chili - 1
Asafetida/Hing - a pinch

Method

1.  Wash and chop cabbage and green chilies (I used fresh red chilli), wash and soak mung dal for 10 minutes.
2.  In a wok or pan add mung dal with water and cook until dal get’s cooked, if required add more water.
3. When the dal gets soft add cabbage, green chilies and cook until cabbage becomes soft and almost no water remains.  Adjust salt if required. 
4. In a seperate pan prepare tempering, heat oil, add asafetida mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.  Now add urad dal, curry leaves and red chilli sauté until urad dal becomes golden brown.  Pour seasoning over prepared kootu, mix and serve.
That’s all our kootu is ready, simple right? 

Variations ~
~ You can add 1/2 tsp turmeric along with dal and cook.
~ If you want to add coconut, add grated 2 tbsp coconut after cabbage gets cooked and then add tempering.
~ You can use onion, prepare tempering, add 1 chopped onion saute until light brown and add with kootu.
~ You can also pressure cook dal and cabbage together, this mash the cabbage which I don’t like personally so I don’t do that. 
~ If you want little gravy type kootu then add more water while cooking cabbage and dal.

Have a nice day ~~

Kundru Aur Badi Sabzi

Now that Diwali is also finished back to usual routine and guess it must be same with most of you too.  After all those diwali sweets, snacks and heavy cooking let’s get back to something easy and quick.  As I said in my Tindora Dal post, I try to find new ways of cooking kundru/tindora and this recipe is one such try.   Pair together tindora and small badi, badi or wadi or wadiyan is sun dried lentil dumplings and popular all over India with different names.  My in-laws makes so many different kind of badi (as we call it), wadiyan is makes a great combination with just anything and everything. More on badi perhaps in a later post and I will try to post too how it’s made too, now back to our simple sabzi of the day.

Ingredients:

Tindora/Kundru - 1 Cup [sliced]
Badi/Wadi - 1/4 Cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Green Chilies - 2
Oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/4  tsp
Garlic Minced - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 tbsp [crushed]
Water - 1/4 cup or as required
Salt - to taste

Method:

1.  Wash and cut kundru in to 4 pieces. Chop onion, tomato and green chilies.
2.  In a wok or pan heat oil, add cumin and fennel seeds allow to crack.  Add garlic and saute, now add chopped onion and green chilli and fry until translucent.  Add sliced kundru/tindora and sauté for 2 minutes.

3. Now add badi and stir gently, cook until tindora gets tender.

4. Add turmeric, coriander seeds and red chilli powder mix well and cook for a minute.

5. Add chopped tomatoes and cook covered until tomato gets mash.  Add salt to taste and crushed kasoori methi (if using), cook for a minute.

Our simple stir fry is ready.

Notes ~

~ You can replace badi with soya chunks, cook soya chunks for 4 minutes in microwave or boil in water, squeeze water and add.
~ If you are using big size badi/vadi then you have to fry badi in hot oil and soak in warm water and then use. 

Have a nice day ~~

Vratwale Aloo Puri | Navratri Vrat Recipes

Vrat Ke Aloo Puri is popular recipe during fasting other than sabudana khichdi.  Puri generally made with Singara (Water Chestnut) or Kuttu (buckwheat) flour, as these two flours are eligible to eat during fasting.   Looks wise these puri may not score point as they are dark in color and not really appealing to eyes but it taste delicious.  Potato is added to make the dough as it’s difficult to make dough only of singhara or kuttu atta, not only during fasting but try this any day for a change from usual poori.  


Vratwale Aloo is simple potato stir fry without onion, garlic etc.  In this recipe we need lots of cumin which bring wonderful flavor to the dish along with crushed coriander seeds which takes this simple aloo sabji to new level.  Try this once and you will make this again and again, this recipe is very good for party or get-together as it’s very quick and simple but taste very good.  I generally do this every now and then not only for fasting.   This Alu sabzi is good combo with plain paratha for lunch box, which we used to have. 

Recipe for Vratwale Aloo

Ingredients:

Boiled Potato - 4  [large]
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds/Dhaniya - 1 tbsp
Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Dry Mango Powder/Amchur - 2 tsp [or lemon juice 1 tbsp]
Water - 1-2 tbsp
Sendha Namak/Rock Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Boil, peel and chop potatoes. 
2. Dry roast coriander seeds and crust it in  mortar and pestle or mixer.


3. In a pan or wok heat oil and ghee, add cumin seeds and allow it to crack, now add crushed coriander seeds and mix.  Now add chopped potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes.


4. Add chili powder, cumin powder, dry mango powder, salt and mix everything well.

5. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tbsp water and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve warm with singhara or kutu puri.

Recipe for Singhara Ki Puri

Ingredients:

Singhara Atta/Water Chestnut Flour - 1 Cup/100gms
Boiled Potato - 2 [medium size]
Green Chili Paste - 1 tsp
Sendha Namak - To Taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - As needed
Oil - To Deep Fry

Method:

1. Boil, peel and mash potatoes.
2. In a bowl add singhara flour, mashed potatoes, green chili paste, sendha namak,  1 tbsp oil &  mix everything.  Add water in small quantity and make a soft pitiable dough just like we do for poori and keep aside for 15 minutes.
~ Be careful with water as we are using potato, add only in small quantity


3. Divide the dough in equal parts and roll in to medium size puri.
There are 2 ways of doing it.
~ You can grease a ziplock bag or plastic sheet with oil and pat dough with hand to make poori.  Keep a bowl of water near and dip hands in intervals, it helps in patting easily.

~ Or, grease a plastic sheet/ziplock bag keep the dough keep another greased plastic sheet on top and now roll  gently using roller, remove top sheet and use a cookie cuter or any small bowl/katori to cut the puri into round shape, though cutting is optional if you have made decent round puri.  This process takes little time so I generally don’t cut but just directly roll the puri between sheets and fry. 

4. Heat oil in a wok, gently lift the puri from sheet and drop in hot oil. Gently press puri with laddle to puff it up.  Fry both sides until light golden brown.


Repeat same for rest. 


Serve hot with aloo sabji or aloo raita.  A fruit salad on side makes it a complete meal. 


 Variations ~

For Aloo Sabji
~ Replace red chili powder with 1/2 tsp of pepper powder if you don’t eat chili powder during fast and dry mango powder with lemon juice. 
~ Ghee enhance the taste so try not to skip it but you can replace it with oil.
For Singhara Puri
~ In dough you can add 1/2 tsp pepper powder and 2 tbsp chopped cilantro for extra flavor. 
~ You can do same puri with Kutu Atta/Buckwheat flour.
~ You can also make this as paratha instead of poori.
~ Prepare the dough only when you are ready to fry puris, other wise salt and potato will ooze water and make the dough soggy. 
~ If you are making this in large quantity, you can prepare the dough in small portions and fry puri to be on safer side, generally I don’t do that, I just make the dough one time.
~ All your puris may not puff, it’s normal so don’t worry about that 

Have a nice day ~~

Aloo Bhindi Bhujiya (Fry) | How to make Aloo Bhindi Sabzi | Side dish for Paratha

Aloo Bhindi Bhujiya, aloo bhindi fry, sukke aloo bhindi or aloo bhindi sabzi whatever we may call it but this is one of the best bhindi (okra) recipe. It's our family favourite and if anything that we love with bhindi then that is this bhindi aloo fry from childhood. This simple side dish use to be our regular lunch box along with ajwain paratha. It's very simple and easy and pleases kids very well.

Pumpkin Dry Curry | Kaddu Ki Sabzi North India Style

I got introduced to pumpkin after marriage, DH started to bring pumpkin/kaddu and he makes good curry/sabji in few styles.  I wanted to blog this for so long and this time I decided to take few clicks before I dig-in .  This is first time I made kumhara/kaddu in a very simple method, though the peeling of Indian pumpkin is difficult as the skin is hard but then it’s worth it.  Sweet and sour this curry taste good with anything, we had with plain rice and dal, a simple and satisfying meal.

Ingredients: [Serves 4 people]
Pumpkin/Butternut Squash/Kaddu/ - 300gms
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 Large
Green Chillies - 3
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp [1 tsp if you like spicy]
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Amchur/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste



Method:
1. Wash, peel and chop pumpkin in bite size pieces, peel and slice onion, chop green chillies.
2. In a pan or wok heat oil, add cumin and fennel seeds and allow it to crack.  Add green chillies, ginger-garlic, curry leaves and sauté for 30 seconds.
3. Add onion and sauté until onion becomes light pink, add pumpkin pieces and mix well.  Cook for 5-7 minutes in slow flame. 
4. Add red chilli, coriander seeds and turmeric powder and stir.  Cover and cook for 2 minutes. 
5. Now add salt, garam masala and amchur powder and mix everything well, cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until pumpkin is cooked well. 
Serve with roti/parata or pulav.



Have a nice day ~~