Kathrikkai Rasavangi | Eggplant in Tangy Gravy

 Wishing Everyone Happy Tamil New Year

There was a time I didn't use to like eggplant but that was then, now a days mostly I eat eggplant once a week.  I never knew when I fell in love with eggplant, so when I see some interesting eggplant recipe in blogs I try and most of time loves it.    

 Ingredients:

Eggplant - 5-6 [I used one long Japanese eggplant]

Pigeon Pea/Toor Dal - 1 cup [Cooked]
Tamarind Water - 1/2 cup

Sambhar Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Jaggery - 1/2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 1 Cup

Curry Leaves - few

For Spice Powder 

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies -2 [if using long one, 4 if using round variety]

Coconut - 2tbsp grated

Method:

1. Wash and cut the eggplant in long/lengthwise and soak in water.

2. Soak tamarind in little water for 10-15 minutes and extract the juice, keep aside.

3. In a wok or pan heat 1tsp of oil and roast channa, urad dal, red chili and coriander seeds until golden brown.  Once all the ingredient gets cool grind with coconut into fine powder.

4. In the same pan heat remaining oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds and let it crack.  Add eggplant and sauté for 2 minutes.

5. Add sambhar and turmeric powder mix well, add tamarind water, salt and cook for 7-8 minutes or until eggplant gets cooked.  

6. Now add cooked dal and grounded spice powder, mix well.   Add 1/2 or 1 cup of water and bring it boil. [Add water depending on how you like your rasavangi to be, I added 1 cup of water.]

7.   Now add jaggery and mix well.  Adjust salt if required and off the flame.  Add curry leaves and let the rasavangi sit for 5-10 minutes.

Serve warm with rice, I also made broccoli stir fry. 

Note:
~ Try not to skip jaggery, that's add good taste.
~ You can use leftover dal, it saves time and great way to use leftover.
~ Eat while rasavangi it's hot/warm.

 Have good day ~~

Vada Kari | Lentil Curry

Vada Kari, Vada Curry, Vadai Curry or Vade Curry whatever we may call it but it's the same curry which is just delicious infused with spices.  I love vade curry, a delicacy in Chennai but its pity that now a days it's so difficult to get this wonderful dish in Chennai restaurants or udupi hotels.  Few of the upudi hotels still server this wonderful dish but one has to go there early morning, so why not make of our own and enjoy? It's a simple recipe only list of ingredients may look long but then it's quite simple, lot of people use leftover masala vada to make this & you can do the same.

 

Ingredients:

For Vadai

Channa Dal - 1 cup

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chiles - 2

Ginger - 1 tsp chopped [optional]

Onion -1/2

Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Salt - to taste

Water - 1-2 tbsp [if required]

Oil - To brush pan

For Curry

Oil - 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf - 1

Clove - 2

Cinnamon - 1" pieces

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tps

Onion - 1 large

Tomato - 2 large

Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp [or ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp]

Green Chilies - 2

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coconut - 1/4 cup grated

Salt - to taste

Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped

Water - 2-3 cups

Method:

1. Wash and soak channa dal either for 2-4 hours or overnight.  Chop onion, tomato, and cilantro, slit the chilies and keep aside.

2. Wash, drain all the water from soaked dal and grind coarse with fennel seeds, ginger, chilies.  Add 1 tbsp of water only if required.  

3.With the grinded mixture add 1/2 chopped onion, cilantro, salt and mix well.

4. Heat a skillet or pan, brush oil and make small adai of dal mixture, drizzle little oil and cook both sides until brown.  Don't worry about the shape, it's not we are focusing on.  Do the same for remaining dal mixture.

[To make the adai use small amount of dal mixture and spread over tawa, wet hand with water so it will be easy to spread the mixture]  

5. Meanwhile we can start making the gravy, in pan heat oil, add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seeds allow it to crack.  Add ginger-garlic, onion and green chilies sauté until onion becomes pink, add all the spice powder and mix well.

6.  Add chopped tomato, cook with lid until tomato mash well, add salt and 2-3 cups water; bring it to good boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  

7. Once all the adai done, tire them into small pieces and add in to the curry mix gently.   

8. Grind coconut with little water in to smooth paste and add to the curry, mix carefully, adjust salt if required.  Simmer for 5 more minutes and off the flame. Garnish with cilantro.  

If the vade curry kept for long time the dal mixture will absorb all the gravy so have it while it's warm with dosa/ idly or even with roti it goes well. 

 
And this goes to Srivalli's Breakfast Mela.

Have a good day ~~

Beets and Carrot Juice

Lot of you asked me about the drink I posted along with Palak Dhokla well it's a pity simple drink but works wonder specially during these summer days.  Since palak dhokla was prepared on the world cup finals day, I wanted to make some drink to sip during the match.   I made this juice to suit my taste bud; you can modify it according to yours :)

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1 medium size

Carrot - 2 medium size

Ginger - 1" piece [optional]

Lemon Juice - to taste

Rock Salt/Salt - to taste

Cilantro/Mint/Lemon Wedges - For garnishing

Water - As required

Optional:

Cumin Powder and/or Chaat Masala

Method:

1. Wash and peel beetroot, carrot, ginger and chop into chunks.

2. In a mixer or blender add beets, carrot, ginger, salt and blend until everything become smooth puree add water as required.

3.  Strain the juice if you prefer add lemon juice and more water if required.  Adjust salt if required.

~Now how much water is depends on how you like your juice to be. You can add upto 1 litre of water; just add more of lemon and salt.

Garnish with lemon/Cilantro or Mint, serve chill or with ice.  Enjoy the drink and it's better to consume it on the same day. I also added chaat masala and it taste good.  

Note:

One can do lot of variations

1. Add an apple to make it ABC juice

2. You can also add half of cucumber 

3. Instead of salt you can add sugar or honey

4. Ignore the ginger if you don't like

Enjoy your day ~~

Sabudana Kheer | Tapioca ~ Sago Pudding

 

India WON the match ...Yahh of course we all know this but hurray how exciting is this, still can't believe it.  Once again it was awesome game along with facebook friends whom makes the game more exciting.  So as we decide to post something on Saturday for which I did Palak Dhokla, here again we decided a post to celebrate the victory and sweet comes first in mind once we think about celebration isn't it? 

Palak Dhokla

So you all are ready to watch the finals today?  I'm all geared up too and before that this post is coming as during Ind Pak match I had lot of fun in facebook watching the match together and commenting with other bloggers friends and decide to cook something up n post for the finals to munch on and enjoy the game.  We call it Chak De India event :)

I never ate palak dhokla before but was try for a long time and today seems to be perfect day it's one the quick, simple, tasty, healthy and filling snack to enjoy with game :)

 Ingredients:

Spinach/Palak -1 bunch [makes 1 cup puree]

Chickpeas Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Semolina/Suji - 1tbsp

Yoghurt/Curd - 1/2 Cup

Green Chillies -2

Ginger - 1" piece

Oil - 2tsp + for greasing

Cooking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Eno/fruit salt - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste 

Water - if required

Cilantro - for garnishing [optional]

For Tempering

Oil - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Green Chillies - 4 slit

Curry Leaves - few 

Method:

1. Clean and blanch spinach and grind to smooth puree with green chillies and ginger, keep aside.

 2. In a bowl mix chickpeas flour, soda, salt, suji and curd and make a smooth paste.

3. Add spinach puree, oil, lemon juice and mix well, if required add little water to make thick pouring consistency batter with no lumps.

4. Prepare a steamer or steam water in pressure cooker and grease a bowl or plate with oil.

5. Mix well eno salt with batter, pour in grease bowl and steam for 15-20 minutes or until a fork/toothpick comes out clean.  Do not put whistle on the cooker lid.

6. Meanwhile prepare tempering, heat oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds once it starts to crack add slit green chillies, curry leaves and sauté for a minute off the flame.

7.  Take out the dhokla once it slight cool to handle and remove from the bowl, pour the tempering over it and cut in desire shape.

Serve with green chutney and enjoy the dhokla 

 I also made this drink to sip and enjoy the game :)

 Have good day :)

Savoury Barley Cookies

More than sweet I like savoury cookies and the fact that it goes well with tea/coffee is only plus point so when I saw Barley Buttermilk Biscuits in Gayathri blog I decided to give a try as I had to open my barley flour packet :).   I started my work but only to realize I didn't few things mention in the recipe .:( but then that didn't stop me from trying it and I came up with my own.  These is one of those most simple and quick cookie which taste good and spicy, avoid chili powder if you don't like spicy stuff or making for kids.  Also these cookies are towards the crunchy side and not soft, if you want soft cookies then add butter :).    Thanks to Gayathri for sharing such wonderful recipe. 

Ingredients:

Barley Flour - 1/2 cup

Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup

All Purpose Flour - 1/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1/4 tsp

Garlic Powder - 1/2 tsp [optional]

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp [optional]

Kasoori Methi - 1 tsp 

Butter - 2 tbsp [ I used olive oil]

Buttermilk/Milk - 1/3cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Sieve together all the flours, baking, cumin, garlic, chili powders and salt and preheat the oven to 180C/356F.

2. Meanwhile roast kasoori methi for a mintues and crush with your palms and add in the flour mix.

3. Add butter or oil and mix well until flour becomes crumbles. 

4. Add milk and make a soft and smooth dough.  Try not to have any cracks, add more milk if required.  

5. Roll into thin layer and cut in desire shape with a cookie cutter.   You can keep the thickness to 1/4cm, I prefer to have thin cookies.

6. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Keep eye on oven after 15 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire rack and store in air tight container.

The cookies are real crispy and stays the same for weeks.  As said add 1/4 C butter if you wish to have it softer.   

Enjoy with tea or coffee, dip or dunk :)

And this goes to to WWC- Barley For Breakfast hosted by Priya and started by Sanjeetha

Lauki Soya Sabji | Bottlegourd and Soya Nuggets Curry

Most of the time I wonder what to cook as I want to prepare something simple and fast, one of these days it happen to me again though I thought of many things but somehow I was not getting in to the mood and then I remembered I had to open soya nuggets pack which I brought recently plus I had fresh bottle gourd. So I thought of adding both together to make a sabji though I was bit skeptical in the beginning about the combo but then I went ahead and it came out well, since then it become a regular dish at home  I like the curry very much and since I made in pressure cooker the soya chunks were cooked so nicely, soaking up gravy well and making it juicy and soft.  Here am sharing with you guys this recipe ..perhaps you might like this combo and enjoy as much as I do. 

Sending this to Nivedita's Only Original Recipes, a event started by Pari.

Ingredients:

Lauki/Bottlegourd - 1 1/2 Cup chopped

Soya Nuggets - 1/2 Cup

Onion - 1 medium

Green Chillies - 2

Ginger - 1 tsp chopped

Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped - divided

Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Dry Red Chili - 1

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 1.5- 2 Cups

Method:

1. Soak soya chunks in boiling water with little salt for 10-15 minutes, alternatively you can microwave water for 2minutes and soak the soya chunks. 

2. After 10-15 minutes grain the water, rinse 2-3 times under tap and squeeze chunks to remove excess water.

3. Finely chop onion, green chilies, ginger.  Peel and chop bottle gourd in bite size pieces.

4. In a pressure cooker heat oil, add asafoetida, dry red chili, cumin seeds and let it crack.  Add ginger and saute for 30 seconds, add onion and saute until it gets pink. 

5. Now add bottlegroud pieces and saute for 2 minute.  Add soya chunks, turmeric, red chili, coriander and garam masala powders and stir well cook for a minute. 

6. Add 1-2 cups of water, salt, amchur powder, 1 tbsp of chopped cilantro & give a stir.  Adjust salt n spices if required, close cooker lid and pressure cook for 1-2 whistles.

[If you are using Futura then cook until cooker starts steaming, it will be start steaming in 3-4 minutes.

I added 1.5 Cups of water]

Garnish with remaining cilantro and serve with rice or roti it goes well with both.

Note:

1. If you wish to have little thick gravy then add 1/2 tbsp of corn flour mix in little water before closing the cooker lid.   I personally don't like to add corn flour in any curry.

2. You can add one chopped tomato and exclude dry mango powder.

3. You can also add garlic.

4.You can prepare this curry in pan instead of pressure cooker, just cook until bottle gourd becomes tender. 

Have nice day ~~

Tandoori Chicken

I have blogged Tandoori Chicken and Tandoori Chicken on Stove Top, but this is a little different recipe which I followed from Saptha Blog.. This one I prepared on popular demand for a get together and it goes without saying everyone loves it :).  

I was getting late & clicked the picture in hurry; couldn't real take proper pictures so kindly excuse that but rest assure it's a wonderful recipe.  Thanks to Saptha for posting this simple and wonderful recipe,  Saptha also have tandoori masala recipe in her space, check that out if you want to make home made one ...here I use readymade masala.  

 Ingredients:

Chicken - 1/2 kg

Tandoori Masala - 8 tbsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste - 6 tbsp

Thick Curd - 1/2 cup

Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup

Butter - for brushing

Salt - to taste 

Method:

1.  Clean, wash and slit the chicken pieces.

2. In a large bowl/plate mix tandoori masala, ginger-garlic paste, curd, lemon juice, salt and stir well.  Now add the chicken pieces and mix everything well (if required adjust salt, lemon and tandoori masala).   Marinate for 3-4 hours or keep over night in fridge.

3. Preheat the oven in grill settings, meanwhile brush the chicken pieces with butter and grill at 250C for 45-50 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.  Brush again with little butter on top

OR use normal oven settings at 250C, brush chicken with butter; line on a foiled baking tray and cook for 15 minutes, turn to other side & brush with butter cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.  Take out the tray and brush again with little butter.

Serve warm with green chutney, chopped onion and lemon.  Enjoy the feast. 

Enjoy your day ~~

Green Chutney | Chaat Chutney

Green chutney or also known as chaat chutney and I'm sure most of you love this chutney or at least I do, I can simply have this chutney with anything and everything and indeed this one is very versatile goes well with any chips, papad, chaat, vada, tikki or even with idly/dosa.  It also works great as sandwich spread  or base.  

Ingredients:

Cilantro - 1 cup

Mint Leaves - 1 cup

Green Chilies - 4

Onion - 1 small

Garlic - 2 pods large or 4 small pods

Chaat Masala - 2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

1.  Clean, wash and roughly chop cilantro and mint leaves.

2. Chop onion in medium size chunks; grind all the ingredients to smooth paste.  Adjust salt n lemon juice if required.

Store in a clean, air tight container, refrigerate and it stays good for 2-3 weeks.

Normally I don't add water and just keep as thick paste so it's works good for sandwich base and add little water as and when required for other purpose like I did to have along with Sabudana Vada.

Sending this to Krithi's Event Herbs & Flowers - Coriander, a event started by PJ


Have a good day ~~

Thandai | Spiced Nutty Milk

Wishing All Readers Happy Holi

Holi bring colour, fun in life and to celebrate Holi food is not left behind..gujiyas, malpua and thandai are the most famous food.  My mom use to make gujiyas, malpua, dahi vada and so many other things.  And I manage to make only thandai and happy to share with you guys this simple but delicious recipe, as most of the recipes; thandai also made in few different ways.   One can use fresh rose petals but since I didn't had any with me so I used rose water and you must add peppercorn as gives kick to this drink.  

Ingredients:

Milk - 500ml

Sugar - 4 tbsp or according to taste

Almonds - 10

Cashews - 10

Pistachios - 5[chopped for garnishing]

Green Cardamoms - 4

Black Peppercorns - 2 tsp

Poppy Seeds - 2 tsp

Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1 tbsp

Rose Water - 2 tbsp

Saffron - few strands 

Water - 2 cups 

Method:

1. Soak almonds and cashews in water for 4-5 hours or over night.

2. In a pan roast poppy seeds, peppercorns, cardamoms and fennel seeds for 2-3 minutes and grind into fine powder.

3. Peel the almonds and grind with cashews into smooth paste, add little water if required. 

4.  Now add the spice mixture with little water and blend until creamy.  

5. Meanwhile bring the milk to boil, add sugar and simmer until sugar dissolves.  Also add 4-5 saffron strands.  Now let the milk cool down completely.  

6.  Strain mixture through a fine strainer or cheesecloth.  Grind leftover spice mixture from the strainer with 1/2 cup of water until creamy and strain again.  

7.  Add milk to the spice mixture and stir well.  Now add rose water and mix well.

Serve with crush ice.

Or refrigerate for 4-5 hours/ over night and serve chill with pista, almonds garnishing on top.  Enjoy the thandai and holi.

 Have a good day ~~