Potato Curry

 I have already posted an easy potato curry but this is one is even more easier and tastes different.

Potato Curry

Ingredients

1. Potatoes cut into bug cubes - 2 medium

2. Green chilly sliced - 2 number

3. Ginger sliced - a small piece(Optional)

4. Garlic chopped - a tspn (Optional)

5. Onion sliced - 2 small ones 

6. Mustard, dried chilly, curry leaves - as required

7. Coconut powder - 2 tablespoon dissolved in warm water

8. Pepper powder - 1 tspn

8. Garam masala - 1 tspn (Optional)

Method

Place the potatoes, green chilies, half of the sliced onion and ginger in a pressure cooker with 1 cup of water. Adjust the cooking time as per the pressure cooker. (Instapot - 10 minutes). Meanwhile, splutter the mustard seeds along with the red chilly and curry leaves.. Sauté the remaining onions along with the garlic and then add the pepper powder. Once the potato is done, smash it up a little leaving a few cubes intact and add the coconut milk. Mix this with the sautéed ingredients and finally add the garam masala. The original recipe did not have the ingredients marked optional. So you can try both ways. I prefer this one.

 Enjoy!

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka curry

Discovered another very tasty way to eat this vegetable which many hate. Have already posted another recipe that was my mother's favorite and mine too. But this one is going to be a regular since the bitterness is minimal or even absent.

This is my lunchbox today.. 

Bitter gourd curry / Pavakka Curry

Ingredients

1. Bitter gourd sliced lengthwise - 1 cup (1 medium bitter gourd)

2- Onion sliced - 1 medium

3. Green Chilly sliced - 2

4. Ginger sliced - 1 inch

4. Coriander powder - 1 or more tspn

6. Chilly powder - 2 tspn

7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn

8. Curry leaves - a bunch

9. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

10. Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tspn

11. Tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup of water 

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil and add the mustard and fenugreek seeds. After it splutters, add the onion, ginger and chilly and sauté until soft. Now add the powders and sauté for a few seconds before adding the sliced bitter gourd. Fry for a while and then add a cup of water. Let it cook until done. Now add the tamarind water and let the curry boil for some more time. You can adjust the water if you need more. Finally add the curry leaves and enjoy with rice.

Vegetables in curd

Invented another easy and tasty vegetable curry for poori, chappathi etc.

Ingredients

1. Cubed mixed vegetables - 1 or more cup

2. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn

3. Sliced onion - 1

4. Chilly and coriander powder - 1 tspn each

5. Garam masala and turmeric powder- 1/2 tspn each

6. Curd - 2 tbspn

7. Gram powder - 2 tbspn

8. Coriander leaves - 2 tbspn

9. Kasoori methi - 1 tbspn

10. Sliced garlic - 3 cloves

Method

Heat one tbspn of oil and fry cumin seeds. Once fried, saute onion and garlic for a few minutes and add the powders and fry for a few seconds. Now add the vegetables and 2 cups of water. Once almost cooked, add the gram powder. Boil until the raw taste leaves. Now add the curd and cook for a while. Add more water if necessary. Finally add the coriander and methi leaves and swutch off the stove after a minute.

Enjoy!

Brinjal Pachadi

Realized that I am yet to post one of my favourite pachadi recipe which my mother used to prepare. I now make this frequently and it is very tasty.

Brinjal Pachadi

Ingredients

1.Brinjal sliced in circles - 1 or 2 depending on the size (immerse the sliced brinjals in water and wash well)

For the marinade 

1. Chilly powder - 2 tspn
2. Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
4. Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tspn
4- Salt as per taste

Adjust the above according to the amount of brinjal. Shallow fry the brinjal until well browned.

To prepare the curd

1- Onion - 1 number
2. Green Chilly - 1 or 2 depending on your taste
3. Ginger  a good size

Chop the above and mix into the curd with enough salt. Now add the fried brinjal and mix well.

The pachadi is ready.

Tomato Rice

Another recipe to save.

Tomato Rice

Ingredients

1. Rice - 3/4 to 1 cup
2. Onion thinly sliced - a small one
3. Ginger chopped - 1 tspn
4. Green chilly sliced - 3 nos.
5. Tomato chopped - 3 Nos.
6. Chilly Pdr - 1 tspn
7. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn
8.Garam MAsala - 1/2 tspn
9. Asafoetida - a pinch
10. Curry leaves and coriander leaves - a few
9. Whole urad dal and channa dal - 1 tspn each

Method

Boil rice with enough salt and keep aside. In a pan, take 3 tablespoon of oil (gingelly oil is best) and fry both the dal. Saute onion and green chilly. Add the powders and fry for a few seconds and then add the chopped tomatoes.  Fry until it becomes soft. Add the leaves and the rice. Fry for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pongal

Recently read an article which said that Keralites are now eating more carb than protein. I think one is consuming more quantity of rice and have almost discarded vegetable preparations like curry, thoran and mezhukkuparatty. Even the breakfast like puttu used to be more of kadala curry or payar thoran. Carbohydrates are essential but protein is needed too. This brings me to my recipe : Pongal. It is a late entrant to my kitchen and I am regretting the same since it is so easy to prepare this tasty and nutritious item. Though I have tasted pongal before it was only when my colleague prepared and shared it along with the recipe that I realized it is an easy and tasty one. Recently I had pongal from the Saravana outlet here in Kuwait and found that mine is not that bad! Think there are different ways to prepare pongal but this is a basic recipe.

Pongal

Ingredients

1.      Rice – ½ cup

2.      Split Moong Dal – ½ cup

3.      Water – 3 cups

4.      Jeera(whole or crushed) – 1 tspn

5.      Pepper (whole or crushed) – 1 tspn

6.      Curry leaves – a bunch

7.      Ghee or oil for frying (the more the better)

Cook rice and dal with enough salt in a pressure cooker for two whistles or boil until it is well cooked. Meanwhile take a pan and heat ghee. Add jeera, pepper and curry leaves. Fry them until the jeera is browned. (You can add green chilly and ginger like upuma, but am yet to try it) Add this to the cooked rice and dal and mix well. It is ready to eat!

You can also fry cashew nuts for the extra crunch.

Green Gram Dosa/ Pesarattu

Have no idea if this is an authentic recipe(found different versions online) since I have tasted this dosa only from my own kitchen. But it is an easy one and nutritious too and also while the normal/sadha dosa needs overnight fermentation, this one needs no such long term planning. The other day I returned from work and only then remembered this recipe. Since most recipes ask for 6-8 hours of soaking I used water that was slightly hot. (The tap water is hot enough out here currently). I left it thus for more than an hour and then grinded it. Since it is just two of us right now, the batter was enough for dinner and for breakfast the next day.

Ingredients

1. Green Gram Dal - 1 cup
2. Raw Rice - 2 Tbsp. (I have used both rice and rice powder)
3. Ginger - 2 inch piece
4. Green Chilly - 3 nos.
5. Cumin - 2 tsp.
6. Onion - 3 nos. (you can either grind it or cut it into small pieces)
7. Salt - to taste

Method

Wash and soak the rice and dal either overnight or for minimum 2 hours. Grind it smoothly along with ginger, green chilly and onions. Add enough water while grinding to reach the right consistency of dosa. Add enough salt and the batter is ready to be made into dosas. It comes out as thin and crispy like normal dosas and can be had with chutney/sambar. One can also add finely cut coriander leaves for extra flavor.

 

Vegetable Stew

For Appam and Chappathi, I normally make a vegetable curry (with boiled eggs). It can be the stew which is white in color since there is no chilly/turmeric/coriander powders or the one where all these powders are added. The one below is the white one or the stew. One can also add whole cashew nuts or grind the cashew nuts to make a richer stew. Tomato can be added for an extra taste.

Ingredients

1. Mixed vegetables (beans, potato, carrot, peas) - 2 cups

 

2. Onion sliced lengthwise - 1 number

3. Finely sliced ginger and garlic  - 1 tblspn each

 

4. Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 5 or more as per your taste

 

5. Coconut powder - 3 + 1 Tbspn or 1 cup grated coconut

 

6. Cloves - 2 number

 

7. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

 

8. Cardamom - 2 pods

 

9. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

 

10. Oil (Coconut preferable) - 2 Tbspn

 

11. Tomato cut into small cubes - 1 number (optional)

 

12. Cashew nuts - 6 or more (optional)

 

13. Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn

 

14. Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn

 

15. Salt to taste

 

 

Method

 

Clean and cut the vegetable into medium, equal-sized pieces. If using coconut, extract the milk and keep the first extraction separate. Heat the oil and add the whole spices, once the smell is released, add the sliced onion and curry leaves. Sauté it until transparent. Now add the vegetables along with the coconut extract or 3 tbspn of coconut powder along with 2 cups of water. Once the vegetables are almost cooked, one can add the tomato and cashew paste. The cashew paste will thicken the stew so one should adjust the water accordingly. Add the remaining coconut powder mixed in water or the first extract of coconut milk along with the pepper and garam masala. Heat it briefly without boiling over and remove from fire.

 

Enjoy! 

 

 

Mint Pulav with Potatoes

This is another easy but a very mild rice recipe. Maybe it is the cumin but it settles on your stomach pretty well.

Ingredients

 

1. Dry roasted cumin seeds coarsely crushed - 2 teaspoons (or more if you don't mind the taste)

2. Onion thinly sliced - 1 small
3. Potato, peeled and cubed - 1
4. Minced/grated ginger - 1 Tbspn
5. Green chilly minced/cut finely - 1 or more as per your taste
6. Uncooked Basmati rice soaked in water for minimum 15 minutes- 1 1/4 cups

7. 1/4 cup of min leaves crushed or cut
8. Water - 2 1/4 cups

Method

Dry roast the cumin and crush it coarsely. Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion until brown. Saute ginger and green chilly for a few minutes and then add potato and half the mint along with a teaspoon and half of cumin. Saute for a while. Add the drained rice and fry it for a minute before adding water. Add enough salt (1teaspoon) and close the lid when water boils. Leave it thus in low fire for 10-15 minutes. Stir the rice gently after adding water to avoid breaking the rice. Sprinkle the remaining cumin and mint on top before you serve.

Enjoy!

 

 

Green Gram Curry

Another simple but tasty curry for chappathi/nan/bead etc.

Ingredients

1- Green gram - 1 cup (soak it in water for a few hours)
2- Ginger, finely chopped - 1 + 1 tspn
3- Chilly Powder - 1 tspn
4- Cinnamon and Cardamom powder - 1tspn
5- Fried onions (either small or big) - 1/4 cup
6- Green Chilly chopped - 1 tspn
7- Cream - 50 ml
8- Chopped coriander leaves - a bunch

Method

Boil the green gram along with a teaspoon of ginger, chilly powder and salt until cooked. Add the fried onions, remaining ginger and green chilly. Let it boil a little while. Now add the cream and finally garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Good to eat!

 

Amla Pickle

This pickle was born after my search for the following pickle recipe.

It was given to me by my colleague from Tamil Nadu (Nagapattinam) and the taste was too good! Even since I tasted it, I kept searching online for the recipe but never came across it. Since it was a locally made pickle there was no way I could purchase it too. But the ingredients does give a clue and that is when I chanced upon a similar recipe but without dried vegetables. The dried vegetables will have to wait until the sun is hot again here in Kuwait after the current Winter season!

Amla/ Gooseberry Pickle

Ingredients

1. Amla - 500 gm
2. Chilly - 30 numbers (I used the less hot variant)
3. Fenugreek - 2 tbspn
4. Mustard - 2 tbspn (leave 1/2 tspn aside)
5. Turmeric powder - 1 tbspn
6. Gingelly Oil (Sesame Oil) - 1/2 cup
7. Salt - 1 tbspn
8. Tamarind - rolled up to the size of an Amla fruit (2 tblspn?)


Method

Wash, wipe dry and de-seed amla. Ground it coarsely in your grinder and keep aside. Dry roast items 2-7 and once cooled, powder it well. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water. Heat the gingelly oil and crackle 1/2 teaspoon mustard. Once mustard starts popping, saute the ground amla for five minutes. Now add the ground spices and saute for a few more minutes. Add the tamarind pulp and let the whole thing simmer until oil starts to separate. Make sure you stir it occasionally to avoid burning it.

The pickle is ready and it is almost as good as the bottled one! But the search continues for the original recipe.. :)

Bitter Gourd cooked with Coconut / Pavakka pattichathe

Bitter gourd makes an appearance rarely in most households unless a doctor orders one to have it! But even this bitter but healthy vegetable has it's fans. Have never asked my mother whether she cooked this vegetable out of love or for it's healthiness. But I used to enjoy this simple thoran/pattichathu which she used to cook.

Bitter gourd cooked with coconut/ പാവയ്ക്കാ പറ്റിച്ചത്

Ingredients:

1.Bitter Gourd - 2 thinly sliced (roughly 2 cups depending on the size)
2. Small onions/cheriya ulli - 5 or 6 nos sliced thin (you can also use one big onion)
4. Green chilly - 3 sliced lengthwise
5. Kokum - 1 nos
6. Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup 
7. Coconut oil - 1 or 2 tspn
8. Curry leaves - a few
9. Salt - 1/2 tspn

Method

Wash the bitter gourd well and cut it lengthwise to remove the seeds (don't wash it again since it will retain water).  Slice thinly and place it in the vessel along with ingredients 2 - 6. Let it get cooked covered, in low heat. Stir it occasionally ensuring that it does not burn. You can add salt in between. The moisture from the vegetable is enough to cook, so there is no need to add any water. Once it is cooked,  switch off the heat and add the coconut oil and the curry leaves. Stir it well to let the aroma and taste seep in. Cover it and leave it for a while. Enjoy!

A Quick Vegetable/Egg Curry

As mentioned earlier, I do not like to spend too much time in the kitchen and always prefer recipes that are not time consuming. Most of my recipes are thus but last Saturday I needed an extra easy one since my daughter had extra classes in the morning and being a holiday, I overslept. Having frozen vegetables and egg is a plus point during such times. A pressure cooker also comes handy and it ensures that you lose less nutrients.

And being an egg family, most vegetable curries end up with a few eggs! I have a microwaveable appliance which lets me boil eggs while the curry is cooking.

This is where the eggs get cooked while inside the Microwave Oven

Quick Vegetable/Egg Curry

Ingredients

1. Frozen vegetable mix - 1 and 1/2 cup
2. Potato - one medium (cut into big cubes)
3. Tomato - one medium sliced
4. Crushed Garlic and Ginger - 1 tbspn
5. Chilly powder - 1 tspn
6. Coriander powder - 1 tbspn
7. Garam Masala powder - 1 tspn
8. Pepper powder - 1/2 tspn
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
11. Coconut powder - 2 to 3 tbspn
12. Green Chilly - 2 sliced
13. Small onions - 4 sliced 
14. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn
15. Curry Leaves - a few

Method

Take a pressure cooker and add a tablespoon of oil. Saute the crushed garlic/ginger until the raw smell leaves. Add the rest of the ingredients except 14&15 with one and half cup of water and enough salt. Close the cooker and turn the heat on high until the first whistle. Leave it on simmer for 5 minutes and switch off the flame. 

Heat a tablespoon of oil and let the mustard crackle. Add the sliced onions and curry leaves and fry until brown. Open the pressure cooker (make sure it has cooled down or cool it by holding the bottom of the cooker under the tap water) and add the seasoned oil. The curry is ready in less than 15 minutes! Now enjoy with chapatti or bread.

Mumbai Street Sandwich

Since I am yet to taste the same from Mumbai, thought I shall try and make it myself. It is a very healthy sandwich and one can make it even more healthier by substituting brown bread for white. Since ours is an "egg loving" family, I could not avoid it! But what is a healthy breakfast without an egg? Wink! Actually eggs were not a daily affair while growing up. It only became an everyday affair after I got married to an egg crazy individual. Initially I tried to cut down on it but then I realized that it is not an easy job. But those having cholesterol might as well restrict the intake of eggs. For the time being both me and hubby have kept this fiend at the border. 

Eggs can also satiate your hunger. Recently I cut down on eggs to reduce my weight and realized that I was hungrier and always managed to find something to quell it. The result was that I gained weight. Now I am back to eating eggs. Hubby always cites the example of his grandfather who lived (in Kuttanadu) to a ripe age and for whom one or more duck's egg was a must. Guess the duck's egg is healthier than the hen's since it is able to find a whole range of healthy food either in the rice fields or in the backwaters of Kerala. Unlike earlier, the eggs that we get now is that of the broiler chicken fed in captivity.

I adapted the recipe from Spicy Cookery. 

Mumbai Street Sandwich

Ingredients:

• Bread slices – 4nos
• Tomato – 1no (cut into rings)
• Onion – 1no (cut into rings)
• Potato – 1no (cooked & cut into rings)
• Coriander chutney – 4tbsp
• Eggs - 2 cut into rounds (optional)

Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:

• Coriander/ Dhaniya leaves – 1/4 cup

• Grated coconut – 1/2 cup

• Green Chilies – 1 nos

• Ginger – small piece 

• Small onion/ shallots/ cheruulli – 2 nos

• Curd - 1 Tbs  (optional, I used this instead of water to grind)

• Salt – as per taste.

Method:

• Wash the coriander leaves thoroughly. Don’t remove the stems.

• In a mixer, grind all the above ingredients except coriander leaves to fine paste.

• Then add coriander leaves to it & grind properly. 

• Coriander chutney is ready to serve. Preserve the chutney in refrigerator in an air tight container.

 Method:

• Cut sides of the bread slices (4slices). Spread coriander chutney 1tbsp on inner side of 1 bread slice.
• Place 2pieces of onion rings, 2pieces of tomato rings and 2pieces of cooked potato rings and egg pieces over spread coriander chutney.
• Take the 2nd bread slice. Spread coriander chutney 1tbsp on one side of bread slice.
• Place the spread coriander chutney part of bread slice over the vegetables.
• Place it in a toaster & toast bread till both sides of the bread slice turns slightly brown in color or on a pan until both sides are slightly browned.

Black Eyed Beans Curry

Finally I bought a packet of Black Eyed Beans to try the recipe where I used Fava beans. It turned out good.

Black Eyed Beans Curry

Ingredients

1- Black Eyed Beans - 2 cups
2- Small onions - 10
3- Coriander Powder - 1 tbspn
4- Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tspn
5- Chilly Powder - 2 tbspn (adjust as per your tolerance level)
6- Cumin and Saunf seeds - 1 tspn each
7- Asafoetida - 1 tspn
8- Big onion - 2 medium
9- Tomato - 2
10- Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup or 3 tbsnpn coconut powder
11- Cury leaves - enough
12 - Tamarind paste - 1 tbspn
13. Cream - 1 or 1 Tbspn

Method

Soak the beans in water for 4-5 hours and pressure cook it for 10-15 minutes. Grind tomato, Onion and Saunf seeds and set aside. If you are using shredded coconut, grind the same and set aside. Heat enough oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry the cumin seeds along with the asafoetida. Add chopped onions and fry until browned. Fry the ground mixture of tomato/onion/saunf until oil leaves the side. Add the beans and salt and fry for a minute. Now add the powders and fry for a while. Add the turmeric paste with enough water and once it boils, add the ground coconut or coconut powder and boil until the curry has thickened to your taste. Garnish with the cream and coriander leaves.

Enjoy with rice or chappathi.

Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe

This side dish goes well with Kanji or rice gruel. It is also fine with your rice meal. It is full of proteins.

Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe

Ingredients

1. Stir Fried Red Cow Peas / Vanpayar Ularthiyathe - 2 cups soaked in water for 1 hour
2. Small onions - 8
3. Garlic - 4 cloves
5. Red Chilly - 3
6. Curry leaves - a few
7. Mustard seeds - 1 tspn

Method

Either pressure cook the peas (with 2 cups of water)  for 2 whistles or boil until it is cooked. Crush ingredients 2-6 and set aside. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add the crushed ingredients and fry until brown. Now add the cooked peas with enough salt and fry until it is dry.

Enjoy!

Fava Beans Curry

The original recipe called for Black Eyed Beans or the White Beans but since I had only Fava Beans I used it. It turned out good except that it can be a slightly bitter but anything bitter is always good for your health! :)

Fava Beans / Black Eyed Beans Curry

Ingredients

1- Fava Beans or Black Eyed Beans - 2 cups
2- Small onions - 10
3- Coriander Powder - 1 tbspn
4- Turmeric Powder - 3/4 tspn
5- Chilly Powder - 2 tbspn (adjust as per your tolerance level)
6- Cumin and Saunf seeds - 1 tspn each
7- Asafoetida - 1 tspn
8- Big onion - 2 medium
9- Tomato - 2
10- Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup or 3 tbsnpn coconut powder
11- Cury leaves - enough
12 - Tamarind paste - 1 tbspn

Method

Soak the beans in water for 4-5 hours and pressure cook it for 10-15 minutes. Grind tomato, Onion and Saunf seeds and set aside. If you are using shredded coconut, grind the same and set aside. Heat enough oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Fry the cumin seeds along with the asafoetida. Add chopped onions and fry until browned. Fry the ground mixture of tomato/onion/saunf until oil leaves the side. Add the beans and salt and fry for a minute. Now add the powders and fry for a while. Add the turmeric paste with enough water and once it boils, add the ground coconut or coconut powder and boil until the curry has thickened to your taste.

Enjoy with rice or chappathi.

Yam and Red Cow Peas Cooked in Coconut / Chena Vanpayar Thenga Aracha Curry

I still have the Yam that Hubby brought from Kerala. Last time when I made Mezhukkuparatty with it, I cut a few into cubes and froze it for later use. This is the first time I have done so and wondered how frozen yam would behave. (It behaved well :))

Chena Vanpayar Thenga Aracha Curry

Ingredients

1. Yam (Chena) cut into cubes - 1 cup
2. Red Cow Peas (Vanpayar) soaked in water for 30 minutes or more - 1/2 cup
3. Chilly powder and Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn each

To Grind:
4. Coconut - 1/2 cup
5. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
6. Green Chilly - 2 nos.
7. Shallots or small onions - 5 nos.
8. Ginger - a small piece

Method

Either pressure cook or boil the yam with the powders. Mash it a little and add the ground paste. Let it boil for a few minutes. Temper it with fried mustard sees, shallots, curry leaves and chilly flakes in coconut oil.

Enjoy with rice.

Banana Flower Stir Fry / Vazha Koombe Thoran

Once upon a time in Kerala, Carrots, Beans, Cabbage, Beetroot and such vegetables were unknown except in the high ranges. Housewives in Kerala took a tour around her backyard and came up with vegetables that would be transformed into nutrient packed "Thoran", "Mezhukkuperatty", Curries etc. There would be leaves from the drumstick tree, yam, spinach, stem of the yam plant: the choice was numerous. But now the backyard is forgotten and the TV has taken much of the spare time of every housewife. But the increasing fear of pesticides in vegetables has forced many to return to the old ways. I hear that the banana flower is now sold at a good price for those who don't have it their backyard. 

Talking about health benefits, banana blossom is beneficial for pregnant women, also very high in fibre. They contain saponins, which lower LDL ("Bad" cholesterol) and boost immunity.

So says Chef Shane who now works in Vietnam where banana flowers are used in salads and other preparations. He has many recipes with the banana flower.

Preparing this dish is easy if you know how to cut this "koombe" very fine or in malayalam we call it "kothi ariyuka". Have seen experts in this field and since I have always used the cutting board this art has never been practised. And now that one has food processors everything can be done in a jiffy.

Banana Flower Stir Fry / Vazha Koombe Thoran

Ingredients

1. Banana Flower / Vazha Koombe - 1 or 2 depending on the size

2. Garlic - 2 cloves

3. Small onions - 6

4. Green Chilly - 3 or 4 depending on your tolerance

5. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tspn

Method

Cut the banana flower finely.

 Apply a little coconut oil on your palms and rub the cut mixture. This will pull the "kara" or the zap out. Mince the rest of the ingredients (leave some onions for tempering) in a food processor or your mortar and pestle. Mix everything and let it cook. Don't add any water but stir it occasionally until it is cooked thoroughly. Temper with mustard seeds, onions, curry leaves. 

Paneer Peas Masala

Have always enjoyed this dish in the restaurant but was yet to try it at home. Now I did and it is going to be a frequent one for sure. The recipe courtesy goes to Maria of Maria's Menu. The original recipe calls for poppy seeds which is a banned item here in Kuwait.

Ingredients

1.       Paneer – 250 gms

2.       Peas – ½ cup (I used frozen peas)

3.       Onion – 2 medium, chopped finely

4.       Crushed/grated ginger and garlic – 1½ – 2 tsp, each

5.       Chilli powder – 2 tsp

6.       Coriander powder – 2- 21/2 tsp

7.       Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

8.       Garam masala – ½ -1 tsp

9.       Tomato – 1-2 medium, pureed

10.   Kasuri methi – ½ tbsp

11.   Jeera – ¼ tsp

12.   Cashew nut or Almonds –2 tbsp

13.   Salt

14.   Oil

15.   Coriander leaves

Method

Soak cashew nut 2 tbsp hot water for 10-15 mins. Grind them to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera. Add onion and fry till it becomes golden brown in colour. Add grated/crushed ginger and garlic. Cook for 2-3 mins, till the raw smell goes. Add the masala powders. Cook for 2-3 mins. Add pureed tomato, salt and kasuri methi. Mix well. When oil starts appearing, add paneer and peas. Mix well. Add 1.5 cups hot water. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat. Cover and cook till the gravy thickens. Add ¼ -1/2 cup hot water to cashew poppy paste. Mix well and add to the curry. Stir and let it cook for 3-5 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and remove from fire. 

The dish was lip smacking and the entire family enjoyed it!