Vendakkai Thair Pachadi (Ladies finger Raita)

Who doesn't LOVE this dish! I would wait for special occasions like weddings and loved the pachadis they made.So absolutely delicious.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan.
Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp chana daal
1/2 tsp urad daal
few curry leaves
1 red chilli
2 pinches hing


Add 6-8 ladies finger chopped.


Fry well till the ladies finger is cooked .


Transfer it to a bowl.Add a pinch of salt.
Add 1 cup of yogurt.Chill in fridge for a while and enjoy with sambar rice.

Pineapple Rasam

I love eating fresh sliced pineapples coated with chilli powder. It tastes so yummy and I can never have enough.This time, I decided to make Pineapple Rasam and this is my first time making it.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup toor daal pressure cooked
2 tsp tamarind paste
1 tsp salt
3 slices pineapple cut
juice of pineapple

Spice powder
2 tsp oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp hing
2-3 dry red chillies
1 tsp chana daal (bengal gram)

Tempering:
2 tsp ghee
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 dry red chilli
1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Heat oil for spice powder in a pan.
Add the ingredients for the powder and fry till the spices are fragrant and the daal turns golden brown.
Remove from heat and grind into a fine powder.

Add tamarind paste in 3 cups of water in a pan.
Add salt, spice powder and simmer till the tamarind smell disappears about 10 mins.

Mix in the cooked daal.
Add more water if rasam is too thick and give it a good boil.

Stir in the pineapple and its juice.

Remove from heat.

Heat ghee for tempering in a small pan.
Add the remaining ingredients.
When the mustard starts spluttering, add the contents into the rasam.

Serve hot with plain rice.

Cabbage kootu

Love this Cabbage kootu. It in itself is an entire dish. So flavorful and so easy to make.I make this dish very often and for me it comes inside one of my comfort food categories.My mom makes this very often too and I can eat it with rotis, rice or just a big bowl of it by itself especially on cold days.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage chopped
1/4 cup split moong daal

Grind:
3 green chillies
1/4 cup coconut
1 tsp cumin seeds
water

Seasoning:
2 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp bengal gram daal (chana daal)
2 pinches Asafoetida/ hing
5-6 curry leaves
1 red chilli cut into 2


Method:

Pressure cook the cabbage and the daal for 3 whistles.
In the meantime , grind the chillies ,coconut, cumin seeds adding water to a paste.

Combine the ground mixture and the cabbage and daal in a pan.
Add salt
Bring to a boil and switch off the gas.

Heat oil in a small pan for the seasoning.
Add ingredients for seasoning and saute till the daal turns golden.

Add to the kootu.

Enjoy hot with rice and pappad.

Stuffed Paratha

I love to eat parathas dipped in yogurt and pickle but lately have been lazy and making do with store bought frozen ones. Everytime I feel the need to snack, I pick out a couple of parathas and accompany them with either yogurt or plain old tomato ketchup. So when I saw the Hara Bhara paratha in the Chef In You blog, I decided to try it out .This is my version.

Ingredients:
For the paratha:
3 cups chappati flour
water
salt
1 bunch spinach
1 cup yogurt

For the stuffing:
1/2 head of cauliflower steamed
1 potato steamed, peeled and mashed
2 cups paneer grated
1/4 bunch coriander leaves chopped
2 green chillies chopped
Grind the coriander and green chillies.(That way you won't get pieces of spicy chillies on your tongue)
salt
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder

Method:
For the Paratha:
Grind the spinach with the yogurt in a blender.


Knead in a dough adding salt and water if required.
Cover with a wet cloth or tissue for 15 minutes.



In the meanwhile, make the stuffing:
In a mixing bowl, add the steamed cauliflower, mashed boiled potatoes and grated paneer.
To that add the coriander and green chilli mixture.
Add salt and blend together by hand.


Heat a pan.
Roll out the paratha .
Place a ball of stuffing in the middle.


Close the stuffing with the paratha and pinch it.


Flatten the stuffed ball with your hand.
Sprinkle flour as you need and flatten it into a round shape.
I find it easier to use my hand than a rolling pin just because it is easier to judge the stuffing inside and spread it evenly.



Place the paratha on the hot pan and cook it for a few minutes on either side.
Brush with ghee and flip it over.


Enjoy hot with yogurt and pickle of your choice.

Ragda Patties

I've been meaning to make Ragda patties since forever but somehow it didn't happen till this morning. All charged up since soaking for the ragda last night, I couldn't wait for this morning to come. Does that say how much I love chaat.. The chaat place near my home in India used to deliver at home only after 4 p.m and I was always their first customer calling to place an order on the dot at 4. Me and my brother used to order our usual favorites and I am so glad that itty bitty place is still around and every time I go home, I enjoy my chaat like I never left.Sigh, I so miss home.

Ingredients:

For the Ragda:
3/4th cup white vatana (dried white peas)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida/hing
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil

For the patties:
2 cups boiled, peeled and mashed Potatoes
2 tsp cornflour
1/4 tsp Turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste ( I ground 3 green chillies and a small chunk of ginger in the spice mixer)
2 tsp ghee for cooking

Dry Red Masala:
2 tbsp chilli powder
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp black salt
1 tbsp salt
Mix together in a bowl

For serving
3/4 cup meetha/sweet chutney
1/3 cup teekha/spicy chutney

4 tsp Wet Garlic chutney (geela lasoon chutney):
1 cup peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
3 tbsp red chilli powder
salt to taste.Makes 3/4 cup.

1 tsp dry red masala (recipe above)
8 tbsp nylon sev (available in the Indian stores)
4 tbsp finely chopped onions

For the garnish:
4 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

For the ragda:
Soak the white peas overnight or at least 6-8 hrs.


Drain the peas and add 2 cups of water.
Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles.

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
Add the hing, turmeric, peas, salt and 1 cup water and mash the peas lightly, using the back of a spoon.

Simmer for 10 mins or till it thickens and keep aside.

For the patties:
Combine the potatoes, cornflour, turmeric and ginger-green chilli paste and salt in a mixing bowl.Mix well.

Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions and shape each into a flat round.


Cook each patties on a griddle using 1/4 tsp ghee till they turn brown on each side.




How to serve:
Place 2 ladles of hot ragda on a plate.
Add 3 tbsp meetha chutney, 1 tbsp teekha chutney.
To that sprinkle 1 tsp lasoon chutney and 1/4 tsp dry red masala and mix lightly.

Flatten 2 patties and place on the ragda mixture.

Sprinkle 2 tbsp sev, i tbsp onions and serve immediately with 1 tsp coriander.


Enjoy !

Paneer Tikka Masala

I'm loving my weekends! The main reason is my dear husband is all enthusiastic to get cooking. I am getting pampered and I ain't complaining..:) Today lunch is Paneer Tikka Masala and Jeera Peas Pulav. The entire house is filled with this amazing aroma and I can't wait to gobble everything up.

Ingredients:
1 ladle Ghee/clarified butter
2 Red Onions sliced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp grated fresh garlic
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (add more if you need)
1 can tomato paste
water
1 tsp salt
5 cups yogurt
paneer cut 1/2" long
coriander leaves chopped

Method:
Heat Ghee in a pan.
Add the sliced onion and caramelize it till dark brown.

Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cumin, turmeric,garam masala, red chilli and salt

Add the canned tomato paste and dilute it with 2 cups of water.

Add the yogurt and the paneer.

Cook on high flame for 20 minutes.Keep stirring.

Take off the gas.Garnish with coriander and serve with rice.

Maharashtrian Kadhi

This Sunday was such a break for me from cooking. We decided to meet up at our cousin's place for dinner and it became a sort of potluck dinner. Our cousin is a very enthusiastic cook and tries out various recipes and the dishes always come out so delicious.He made Alu Gobi Adraki and Palak Paneer. Amazing!! and We carried my hubby's Maharashtrian kadhi and Moru Sambar . My contribution was that I made the Puris . Suffice to say, it was a feast for us.



Ingredients:
4 tbsp Chickpea flour/ Besan
3 cups yogurt
Salt
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 green chillies slit
1 pinch Asafoetida/ hing
4-6 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:
Combine the besan and yogurt thoroughly in a deep pan.
Add 2 cups water ,salt to taste and Turmeric powder.
Cook over low heat stirring continuously.

Heat oil in a separate pan and add the mustard seeds.
When the seeds begin to splutter, add the ginger garlic paste, hing and curry leaves.
Cook for a minute and pour the sizzling spices into the kadhi.

Mix well and cook, stirring continuously over low heat until the kadhi has thickened slightly.

Remove from heat and serve, garnished with coriander leaves.
Thank you Sanjeev Kapoor for your amazing recipe.