Cabbage Sabji with Roasted Besan April 24, 2008

Mom makes cabbage sabji, in a million ways. But this one is my personal favorite. Anyone, who I introduce it to, loves it.
The preparation is flexible. It tastes great, even if you replace the cabbage with green peppers or spring onions.

Ingredients:
- Sliced Cabbage
- One Medium Sized Onion (finely chopped)
- 1/3rd cup of Besan (chana flour)
- 3 Medium Sized Cloves of Garlic (ground to a paste)
- Turmeric
- Chilli Powder (slightly more than half a teaspoon)
- Cilantro (Coriander) to garnish
- Oil (1 tablespoon)
- Asefotida (1 pinch)
- Mustard Seeds
- Jeera seeds

Method:
1. Heat a vessel on Medium Low
2. Roast the Besan, until it changes color. Note: Besan turns black-and-brown, if you don’t monitor it closely. Your nose and the color, should tell you when besan is done.
3. Remove the besan and keep it aside
4. Now heat the vessel on Medium, and add oil to it
5. Once the oil is hot, add asefotida, mustard seeds and jeera
6. When the seeds splutter, add onion and cook till it is translucent
7. Add garlic paste, and saute for one minute
8. Now add the chilli powder, and saute it for one minute. (Remember to add a slightly larger quantity of chilli powder than you would, for the same amount of cabbage vegetable. The additional kick of the spice will be dulled by the addition of roasted besan in the end.)
9. Follow with the shredded cabbage and cook. Note: Do not add water while the cabbage is cooking. The cabbage becomes soggy and unpalatable. If need be, sprinkle water on the preparation.
10. Add salt, when the cabbage shrinks
11. Finally fold in the roasted besan. Sprinkle a little water on the top, so that it mixes well with the cabbage.
12. Reduce the flame to Medium Low, and let it hang on the heat for two minutes.
13. Garnish with chopped Cilantro

Lo and behold! The tastiest version of cabbage sabji is ready, to be eaten.
This vegetable has such a wonderful flavor of its own, that you can team it up with kadhi, or plain daal, or even curd rice for that matter.

Methi Wali Machi April 14, 2008

I am a big fan of Sanjeev Kapoor. Engineering preparation leave (PL) time was the perfect time to catch up on Sanjeev Kapoor’s shows. They would play on Zee TV from 11.30 – 12.00 in the morning on weekdays. And boy! I would be ready for a break by that time, having started with my studies at 6AM.

Overall I like food which can be prepared with items from your kitchen pantry; not the ones for which you absolutely have to buy some exotic item (or items) from the grocery shop. I think Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipes fit my requirement.

I tried a modified version on Sanjeev Kapoor’s Methi Wali Machi a few weeks back, and it turned out great!

Ingredients:
- Tilapia package with 3 cutlets
- Diced Onion (1)
- Ginger (one inch cube)
- Garlic (two medium sized cloves)
- Green Chilies (2)
- Tomatoes (1)
- Kasuri Methi (Two spoons)
- Amchur Powder (Half a spoon)
- One Lime
- Turmeric (1/3 tea spoon)
- Olive Oil (two table spoons)

Method for preparation:
1. Cut the tilapia cutlets into two inch size pieces
2. Marinate with lemon juice and salt (You can do this before you start cooking. By the time you are ready to add the Tilapia, it would have marinated sufficiently)
3. Make a paste of ginger and garlic
4. In a flat skillet add two table spoons of olive oil, and heat on Medium setting
5. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and ginger garlic paste
6. Add onions, and cook till they are translucent
7. Add tomatoes, turmeric, sliced green clilies and leave it on for two minutes
8. Add amchur powder, one cup of water and salt
9. Once the water boils, add tilapia and kasuri methi
10. Cook till tilapia changes color

Note: Unless I am making a dry preparation, I prefer to cover my skillet with its lid, while the dish is cooking. According to Mom, it serves two purposes:
1. prevents unnecessary desiccation
2. efficiently utilizes the energy from the steam, so that the dish cooks faster.

Try this Methi Wali Machi, with steaming rice and daal. It’s fantastic! I bet you will become a Sanjeev Kapoor fan, if you aren’t one already!

Stuffed Bhindi April 9, 2008

This is dad’s speciality. The stuffing is fantastic and can be used with baingan (small eggplant) or boiled eggs. Like Rachael Ray says “Its really a method that you are learning here. You can mix it up as you like! Get creative!”

Ingredients
- Bhindi (okra)

For the stuffing:
- Vaatan
- Finely chopped onion (2 medium sized)
- Finely chopped tomatoes (2 medium sized Roma tomatoes)
- Finely chopped coriander leaves (one hand full)
- Chilli Powder (half teaspoon)
- Salt
- Garam masala (1/4th teaspoon)
- Jaggery (one tablespoon)

Method:
1. Pour oil in a vessel
2. Once the oil is heated, add onions
3. Cover and cook till the onions are soft
4. Add vaatan and chilli powder. Cook for two to four minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, salt, garam masala, jaggery, chopped coriander leaves and salt
6. Cook till the stuffing is soft

Preparation for Stuffed Bhindi:
1. Remove the ends of the Bhindi
2. Split the bhindi longitudinally, making sure that it is not split into two parts
3. Put the stuffing in the bhindi

Traditional Method for Cooking the Stuffed Bhendi:
1. Put a pan with a large base on the stove, on medium heat
2. Coat the pan with olive oil
3. Lay the stuffed Bhindi on the pan, such that it is spread out in one layer
4. Cover the pan and cook
5. Turn the heat down a notch, after 10 minutes
6. Keep an eye on the Bhindi and turn gently, if required
7. The Bhendi will change color when it cooks. The dish takes about 30 mins to cook.

We had invited Pooja and P for lunch, past Sunday. I think they enjoyed the dish, and so did B and I.

Not-so-conventional method of cooking:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 420 degrees
2. Coat a pan with aluminium foil, and spray with Canola/Olive oil
3. Lay the bhindi on the pan
4. Spray olive oil on the top
5. Bake for 20 – 30 mins
(I am going to follow the baking method from now on; its an easy don’t-need-to-stand-near-the-stove method, and allows me to do other things while the Bhindi is taking care of itself. And the taste as compatred to the traditional method was retained. K and RS will vouch for the taste.)

Note: B was really careful with the Bhindi, making sure it did not break while splicing it. If you are not a very careful cook, just split the Bhindi into two halves, and toss it in with the stuffing. It will be equally tasty

Enjoy the Stuffed Bhindi with hot parathas, and curd; alternatively with rice and daal.

Vaatan April 8, 2008

This ground mixture of sautéed dry coconut and onions is a great addition to any sabji. Tastes great with a non-vegetarian curry, stuffed vegetables, and anything you can think of.

Ingredients:

- Three table spoons dry coconut

- Half a medium sized onion

- Oil (1 spoon)

Method:

1. Gently roast the dry coconut in a small vessel, till it turns light brown, and empty into a mixer

2. Slice the onion into longitudinal pieces 

3. Add oil to the vessel. Once the oil is hot add sliced onion. Sauté till it turns translucent, and empty it to the mixer

4. Add 1/4th cup water to the mixer, and grind the dry coconut and onions until it is a smooth paste.

The vaatan is ready to be added to your recipe.

 

Adai April 4, 2008

My hubby is a Tamilian. I love trying out traditional South Indian dishes that I think will delight him. I know this Adai recipe from Earth Vegan did!

http://earthvegan.blogspot.com/2008/02/golden-delicious-adai.html

Velavni April 3, 2008

I think Grandmother’s have the innate ability to find a use for everything, and do not believe in wastage. I am surprised with my grandmother’s ideas time and again. Even with limited knowledge of Science, she manages to come up with fantastic cooking ideas that make use of the last bit of nutrition in food. Sticking to the principle of ’No Wastage’, this Velavni is a hot favorite in my household.  

The base material for the preparation is a by-product of Puran Poli. This classic recipe is a perfect spicy antidote to the sweet puran poli. 

Materials needed:

- Stew drained from cooked chana daal (for the puran poli)

- Buttermilk

- Puran (mixture of cooked chana daal, jaggery, powdered nutmeg and elaichi)

- Chilli Powder

- Kokum (3 – 4)

- Garam Masala Powder

- Salt to Taste

For tempering (tadka)

- Oil

- Asefotida

- Mustard 

- Jira

- Minced Garlic  

- Kadipatta

Process:

1. Mix the stew with buttermilk. Add chilli powder and salt.

2. Heat oil in a vessel, add asefotida, musturd and jira, when the oil is hot. Add garlic and kadipatta.   

3. Add the stew to the vessel

4. When it gets heated, add a dollop of puran and kokum and two pinches of garam masala powder.

Lo and behold, the tangy and spicy-n-sweet velavni is ready, to be savored with Puran Poli or hot rice.

Veggie Burgers April 2, 2008

Courtesy: Mom

I love to cook mom’s recipes; and am not satisfied until they taste just the way she makes them. These veggie burgers take approximately an hour to make, and everyone will just love them! The smell of ginger garlic from the burgers and the fresh salad material piled between the bread, makes it a wonderful combination of flavor and nutrition.  

Ingredients:

- 2 Russet Potatoes (or 4 Medium Sized Golden Potatoes)

- Half Cup of Green Peas

- Half Cup of Green Beans (cut to size of Green Peas)

- Ginger (3/4th of an inch)

- Garlic (2 huge cloves, or 3 small cloves)

- Half Slice of Bread (White/Honey Wheat/Wheat)

- Salt

- Chili Powder

- Breadcrumbs / Sooji (semolina/rava)

Method:

1. Boil the potatoes and mash them to form a paste

2. Pour one table spoon of Olive Oil in a small vessel, and saute the peas. Add salt and some chili powder, after they cook.

3. Do the same with the cut green beans. (You may need to cook the green beans a bit longer than the green peas)

4. Crush the ginger and garlic to form a smooth paste.

5. Run the bread through the food processor chopping blade, to form coarse crumbs.

4. Mix the potatoes with salt, chili powder (about 1/4th of a tea spoon), green peas, green beans, the bread (which is processed through the food processor) and ginger-garlic paste.

5. Divide the mixture into six parts for the patties. Shape the individual parts into patties, and coat with breadcrumbs (or sooji).

6. Heat a large pan on Medium High.

7. Spray some oil over the pan and set the patties on the pan, making sure there is sufficient wiggle room to turn the patties around.

8. Cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side (or till they are brown).

Enjoy these veggie burgers with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, finely chopped cabbage in sour cream, salt and pepper, loaded between sesame bread! Mmmmm … delicious!