Rajasthani beans curry

Last sunday I was in no mood to cook. But this recipe posted on the Facebook page "Chef At Large" by Mr.Narendra Gupta - "Gwarfali ki Rajasthani subzi" had to be tried. It sounded sooo easy. And when I made it, the house was filled with the most appetising aroma.

Original recipe had used 'kothamara' (gowraphalli / cluster beans) , I used 'kovakka' (tindora) instead. Feel free to try out this recipe with 'achinga' (string beans) too.

Ingredients:
String Beans or Cluster beans or Tindora - cut into 2 inch long pieces - 1 cup
Curd - 1 cup
salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic crushed - 4 cloves
oil - 2 tbsp
Ajwain / Carom seed / ayamodakam - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaf for garnish.

Method:
Mix together the curd, crushed garlic, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder.
Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Splutter the ajwain and add the curd mixture. It will curdle almost immediately. Boil for 1 minute and add the vegetables in with 1/2 cup water.
Pressure cook - 1 whistle for string beans and cluster beans; 2 whistles for the tindola.
When the pressure goes, open and serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Rice Cutlet

If you have left over rice, try this.
I have 2 inspirations for this recipe - Vazhapoo cutlet and Pongal.
As in Pongal , I have omitted turmeric powder, used jeera, pepper and moong dal.
The potato, adding a dal variety, onion, green chilli, ginger, garlic and garam masala is from the vazhapoo cutlet. As is the pan frying!

Ingredients:
Left over rice - 1 1/2 cup
Moong dal / cheru parippu - 1/2 cup, washed and soaked in water for 1/2 hr
Onion - 1 large, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Garlic - 2 cloves , chopped fine
Green chilli - 2 , chopped fine
Curry leaf - 1 or 2 sprigs, chopped
Potato - 1 large or 2 medium, diced
Carrot - 1 medium , grated
Salt
Turmeric powder
Pepper - 1 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Bread crumbs - 1 large cup
Oil - 2 tbsp + extra for pan frying

Recipe:
Start boiling the moong dal and when it is nearly cooked add the potato.

 Heat the oil and fry the onion, green chilly, ginger, garlic and curry leaf.

Once the onion turns translucent, add the grated carrot.

Fry for 1 minute and add the cooked potato and dal and all the water.

Next add the rice.

Next the spices and salt.

Mix well and keep covered. 

Once it cools down, mash.

Make patties and coat with bread crumbs.

Pan fry before serving.

Serve hot. Enjoy.

Vazhapoo / Banana Flower Cutlet

Vazhapoo in tamil is Kodappan in Malayalam is Banana Flower in English! It is highly nutritious. Health Benefits Galore!!

I have had Vazhapoo thoran, but never as cutlet. When my brother ordered it as appetizer in Hotel "Crowne Plaza", we were very skeptical.
It tasted so good that I asked the chef for it's recipe. And he was kind enough to email me the same the next day.
Following is my version of this mouth watering dish. The best part is these cutlets are shallow fried.

Recipe Courtesy : Chandan Singh, Sous Chef, Crowne Plaza, Cochin

Ingredients:
Banana Flower chopped -100 gms
Potato - 1 large , peeled and chopped into small cubes
Chana dal / Kadala parippu - 1/2 cup washed and soaked in water for 1/2 hr
Onion - 1 large, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, grated / chopped fine
Garlic - 3 cloves, grated / chopped fine
Green chilly - 2 , chopped
Curry leaf - 1 sprig , torn
Chilli powder - 3/4 tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
salt
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Oil (pref Coconut) - 2 tbsp
Bread crumbs to coat

Boil channa dal in plenty of water and when it is half cooked add the chopped potato.

Heat oil and fry the ginger, garlic, green chilly, curry leaf and onion till onion becomes translucent.

Add the powders - chilly, turmeric and coriander. See I have NOT ADDED salt or garam masala.

After a minute add the banana flower and cook covered with 2 tbsp of water.

Drain all the excessive water from the cooked dal and potato. Add this cooked potato and dal to the cutlet mixture.

Mix well. Add the salt and garam masala. Mix this in and turn off flame.

Mash every thing well and see to it that the mixture is dry.

If you feel that the mixture is not dry, add some bread crumbs and mix well.

Divide into small balls and flatten into cutlets.Roll in the bread crumbs and keep aside till serving time.
At this point, if you wish to freeze, you can freeze. Use aluminiun foil between layer to prevent sticking.

Shallow fry just before serving.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Baigan Michi ka salaan

Salaan is served with Biriyani and I know it is a hyderabad speciality. It can be made with both Brinjal and Bhajji / Bhavnagri Chilli. I have made this dish once with both the ingredients. I must add that the Bhavnagri Chilli makes the salaan VERY spicy.

The base recipe is from the youtube video by Vahrevaah

But the whole process took a LONG time. So I changed the steps and sort of condensed everything, so that this curry can be made in about 15 - 20 minutes. The base recipe is the same, just the process involved is different. But really, after making a Biriyani, who wants to stay for long inside the kitchen?

Ingredients: 

Ground nuts - 1 tbsp

Til seeds - 1 tbsp

Coconut - 1 tbsp

Brinjal - 3 small, quartered (or) Bhajji chilli - 2 , deseeded and cut into thick rounds

Tamarind - 1 small ball of 1 cm radius , soak in water and remove juice

salt

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Jeera / cumin powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Onion - 1 medium, sliced long 

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Green chilli - 1, slit

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Curd - 1/2 cup

Jaggery -1 tbsp

(Optional) mint and coriander leaf - 2 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Methi seeds / Fenugreek - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Dry Red chili  - 2 , broken

Method:

Take a thick bottomed kadai and dry fry first the til seeds. Keep aside.

Then dry fry the groundnuts and coconut.

Mix these 3 - til, ground nut and coconut together. Cool and powder.

In the same kadai, heat the 2 tbsp of oil.

Splutter the mustard, jeera, methi seeds and red chilli.

Add the onion and ginger garlic paste.

When the onion starts browning, add the brinjal / chilli and fry till it gets blisters. 

Reduce flame. Add the curry leaf and all the powders - salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and jeera powder.

Fry for 1 minute till the raw smell goes.

Add the tamarind pulp, slit green chilli and cook covered on a low flame till the vegetables get soft.

Add the powdered til, groundnut and coconut to this and continue cooking.

The curry will thicken.

Add the beaten curd, jaggery and mix well.

Boil this for 1 minute and garnish with the mint coriander leaf.

Serve with Baluchi Biriyani or Kozhikode Vegetable Biriyani.

Japanese soupy noodles with tofu

Easy, quick and healthy.

Again a Good Food recipe. So easy to make and so tasty.
A great dinner idea!

The original recipe had used immature soyabeans or edamame. As I had no edamame beans, so I used just the green peas.

Also I had no asparagus that was replaced with broccoli.

I have also added chili sauce which was not there in original recipe.

Recipe courtesy : Good Food magazine, April 2014 issue

Ingredients:

Tofu - 200 gm, cut into big squares

Salt

Pepper - 1 tsp

Corn flour - 2 tbsp

Oil - 3 tbsp

Water - 1 liter

Soy sauce - 3 tbsp

Vinegar - 2 tbsp

Chili sauce - 1 tbsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Ginger - 1 tbsp grated

Green peas - 5 tbsp

Broccoli - 1 small

Noodles - 2 cups

Garnish:

Spring onion - 1, chopped

Green chili - 1 , seeds removed and julienned

Coriander leaf - 3 tbsp

Method:

Mix together the corn flour, salt and pepper (no water, just dry powders).
Rub this on the cubed tofu.
Pan fry this in a flat pan using the oil till crisp. Keep aside.

Boil the water with soya sauce, vinegar, chilli sauce, ginger and sugar.

Once it boils, add in the broccoli , peas and noodles.

When the noodles gets cooked, serve the soupy mixture in bowls, topped with the garnish and and 2-3 pieces of tofu.

Arancini

Made with left over Risotto

Rice balls stuffed with mozzarella cheese and deep fried.

This is served with Tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

Risotto

Mozzarella Cheese

Corn flour mixed with water to form a thick syrup

Bread crumbs

Oil for deep frying

Mash the risotto well.

Take a small handful of risotto and start forming a ball.

Stuff each ball with a piece of cheese and cover well on all sides.

Dip each ball in the corn flour slurry and then roll in the bread crumbs.

Deep fry on a medium flame.

Serve with Tomato sauce.

Avil vilayichathu / sweet poha

Avil / flattened rice / poha is very healthy and sweetened avil is supposed to be Lord Krishna's favorite.

The story goes that Sudama / Kuchela , a childhood friend of Lord Krishna was living in utter poverty and decided to visit Him to seek favours.

But being very poor Kuchela's wife could find only some flattened rice at home to gift The Lord. She packed this as a present.

Lord Krishna and his wife Rukmini, relished the avil and bestowed Sudama with many riches.

Today is Lord Krishna's birthday.

What better way to celebrate his kindness than by preparing sweet Avil?

Ingredients:

Avil / poha / flattened rice - 1 cup

Jaggery / sharkara - 3/4 cup

Coconut - 1/2 cup packed tight

Cardamom - 2

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Til seeds / Ellu - 1/2 tbsp

Cashewnuts broken - 1 tbsp

Pottu kadala / roasted gram dal - 1/2 tbsp

Heat ghee and first fry cashewnuts till golden brown and keep aside.

In the same ghee, next fry the pottu kadala and keep aside.

Fry the avil next. It will shrink considerably.You will find that all the ghee has been absorbed by the avil. Keep this aside.

Add the til seeds to the hot pan and when it pops move this also. 

Heat 1 cup water and add the jaggery. Melt and sieve.

To this sieved liquid jaggery add the coconut and ground cardamom.

Heat till all the water gets nearly evaporated.

Then add the fried avil.

Mix thoroughly and add the fried cashewnuts, til and pottu kadala.

Cool and store in air tight container.

This stays fresh outside for 2 days and when refridgerated for upto a week.

Since the coconut is fresh, it gets a stale smell after 2 days.