Aloo Sabji - Rajasthani Style

One of the easiest sidedish to make is aloo subji/potato stir fry and it is prepared in several ways in different parts of India. In southern part, it's stir fried and blended with coconut and in north it'xs sprinkled with garam masalas.
This time I tried a authentic rajasthani style aloo sabji with yogurt and gram flour. It tastes bit sour because of yogurt.

 

Ingredients:
2 big Potatoes/Aloo (peeled, boiled and cut into cubes)
1 cup Yogurt beaten
1 tsp Besan/Gram flour
1 tsp roasted Coriender-Cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

Tempering:
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Kalonji/ Onion seeds
2 Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
1 Bay leaf
Oil
1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder

In a bowl mix gram flour and yogurt.keep aside
Heat a 2 tbsp of oil in heavy saucepan, Add mustard seeds, when it splutters add cumin, fennel, kalonji, cloves, cinnamon , bay leaf and asatoetida powder and saute for few seconds.
Add gramflour-yogurt mixture and bring to boil.
Now, add the cut potatoes/aloo and salt mix well and add 1/2 cup water, cover and cook in a low flame for 5-10 mins or until it's combine
It's ideal for rotis and chapathis  

Tindoora in Coconut gravy - South-Indian style

Ingredients:
20-25 Tindoora
small lemon size Tamarind
1 tsp Jaggery
Salt to taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
Gravy:
1 1/2 tsp Coriender seeds
1tsp Black gram
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Seasme seeds
4-5 Red chilies
1/2 cup coconut grated
1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder

Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Black gram
2 Red chilies
Few curry leaves

• In a pestle and mortor punch the tindooras
• Boil the water in a heavy pot, add turmeric powder, few curry leaves(keep half aside for garnishing)  and tindooras, cover and cook in low flame until the tindooras are soft and tender.
• Meanwhile, dry roast the ingredients from gravy list except coconut. Grind with coconut by adding water to fine paste.
• Once the tindoora are cooked add tamarind paste, salt to taste, jaggery and ground paste. Mix well and cook in low flame for 15-20 mins or until combine.
• Laslty, heat a small pan add 2 tsp oil, mustard seeds, black gram, chilies and asafoetida powder, when mustard seeds splutters mix it with gravy.
• Garnish with leftover curry leaves.
• Serve with hot white rice.

Mushroom Biryani

Off lately, biryani is becoming a sunday treat for us. After trying out various method, I'm stick to the traditional way of cooking in low flame with tight sealed for about 60-90 minutes gives biryani a nice aromatic flavour.  

Ingredients:
8-9 Mushrooms cut into slices
2 cups Basmati Rice
1 Onion sliced
2 Tomato finely chopped
2 Bay leaf
1 cup Coconut milk
1 tsp Sindhi biryani masala
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
Ghee or Oil
2 tsp Lemon juice
Salt - to taste
few Coriander leaves finely chopped
few Mint leaves finely chopped
7-8 paneer cubes
2 bread cut into cubes

Paste :
1 tsp Fennel seeds
2 inch Cinnamon stick
4 Cloves
4-5 Green chilies
1 inch Ginger
2 Garlic

Sealing:
wheat flour dough(Wheat flour depends on the size of pan I used 2 cups of wheat flour and water to make a dough)

• Soak the rice in water for 30 mins. Grind the ginger, garlic, green chilies, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds to fine paste by adding little water.
• Heat ghee or Oil in a heavy saucepan. Add bay leaf and fry for a minute. Add sliced onion and fry till it turns into golden brown in color.
• Add ground paste, biryani masala, turmeric and fry till raw smell goes off.
• Add chopped tomatoes and salt cover and cook for 2-3 mins or until the tomatoes are smashed Stir occasionally.
• Add Mushroom pieces and fry until it becomes soft  Add Chopped Coriander and Mint leaves and cook until it is combine.
• Then add soaked basmati rice and fry for 2 to 3 minutes or till the water evaporates from the rice. 
• Add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of coconut milk(for biryani water measurement is 1 cup rice =1 1/2 cups of water)salt and lemon juice.
• Cover the lid and seal the dough thoroughly around the pan and cook in low medium flame for 60-90mins.
• Meanwhile, shallow fry the bread cubes and paneer cubes.Once the biryani is cooked granish it with paneer and bread cubes.

Serve with raita.

Cucumber Chutney

This recipe is from cookbook "Cooking at home with Pedatha. An authentic recipe of Andhra. The blend of tamarind, flavour of sesame seeds powder with cucumber gives a petulant taste. It goes well with chapathis.rotis and dosas.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cucumber peeled and chopped in 1inch long and 1/2 inch cube
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder 
• 2 tsp Sambar powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Sesame seeds  
• 1 tbsp Jaggery
• 3 tbspTamarind pulp
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Coriender leaves for garnish  

Tempering:

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black gram
• 2 red chilies
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder
• few curry leaves 

• Dry roast the sesame seeds and grind to fine powder. keep aside
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium saucepan, add mustard seeds when it splutters add black gram,curry leaves, red chilies and asafortida powder.
• Add chopped cucumber and saute for min, add turmeric, tamarind, sambar powder, sesame seeds powder, jaggery. Cover and cook in a low flame until the cucumber are tender.
• Laslty, add the salt, mix well and granish with finely chopped coriender leaves.

Kiwifruit Pistacho Bread

I have been looking for Kiwifruit recipes on web and found this one interesting and simple. I made this with little of variation by adding nutty kutty pistachos and a desi touch by adding cardamom powder. It tastes bit sour-sweet with wonderful caradamom aroma.

5-6 med. ripe kiwi fruits
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped pistachos
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Wash and peel the fruit. Chop finely  to make 1 1/2 cups.
Heat a pan add chopped fruit and sugar.
Bring to a boil, stirring until fruit loses some of its color. Allow to cool.
Beat eggs and oil well.
 Blend together flour, baking powder and salt.
Add the baking soda to cooked kiwi mixture. Stir until bubbles form.
Add this to the egg mixture and then add flour mixture, Pistachos and cardamom powder to it.
Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour the mixture into a well greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees about 55 minutes.
Cool in pan 10 minutes and turn out onto wire rack.

Enjoy when its warm or at room temperature.

Bitter Gourd fry

Because of it's bitterness, for some it's a favourite and for some it's not.
From Health standpoint, consuming of cooked bittermelon reduces risk of diabetics, bloodpressure and diffferent kinds of cancer.

Ingredients:
4 Bitter Gourd
1 Onion sliced
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder or depending on your taste
1 tbsp coriender powder
2 tbsp fennel seeds crushed
oil to fry
Salt

Peel the bittergourd and wash thoroughly. Cut in to round thin slices and add salt, mix and keep aside for about 3 hours.
Wash out thoroughly again and squeeze out excess water.
Heat the oil and fry the bittergourd unitl golden.
In a medium saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil add sliced onions and saute it until golden. Now, mix all the masala and salt as required and saute for a min.
Lastly, add fried bittergourd mix well, cover and cook for 4-5 mins in low flame.

It goes well with curd rice.