Sprouted Moong Aloo Methi

I saw this recipe a while back in a magazine. This can be served with roti, rice or dosai.

Ingredients:

Medium potatoes	2
Fresh Methi (Fenugreek)	1 bunch
Sprouted Moong bean	1/2 cup
Small onion, chopped	1
Sambar Powder	1.5 tsp.
Turmeric	1/4 tsp.
Cumin seeds	1 tsp.
Mustard seeds	1 tsp.
Urad dal	1 tsp.
Salt
Oil

Method:

1. Peel and dice the potatoes into cubes. Discard the root of the methi and pick the leaves of the stem. Wash in cold running water. Chop it coarsely. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds and let it sizzle. Add onion; stir-fry till it become translucent.
3. Add methi leaves; stir-fry a couple of minutes. Add potatoes, moong sprouts; stir-fry 2 minutes. Cover partially and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add sambar powder, turmeric and salt; stir-fry 1 minute. Cover partially and cook till the potatoes and the moong sprouts are tender.
   Serve warm with rice or roti or dosa.

Aloo Gobi

I have been trying Raghavan Iyer’s recipes recently. This recipe is from his book: Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking by Raghavan Iyer. I slightly changed the original recipe to suit our taste.

This is very easy to make (the ingredients list is long), takes not more than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

Medium head cauliflower, seperated into flowerets	1
Medium Potato, cut into 2 inch cubes	2
Chopped Ginger	2 tbsp.
Garlic cloves, chopped	5
Medium Onion, chopped	1
Cumin seeds	1 tsp.
Kasuri methi	1/4 cup
Cilantro, chopped	1/4 cup
Corriander powder	1 tbsp.
Cumin powder	1 tsp.
Turmeric	1/4 tsp.
Red Chilli powder	3/4 tsp.
Medium Tomato, chopped	2
Salt
Oil	1 tbsp.
Water	1 cup

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and let it sizzle.
2. Add onion, garlic and ginger; stir-fry till the onion is translucent.
3. Add potatoes; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
4. Add cauliflower, kasuri methi, cilantro, cumin powder, corriander powder, red chilli powder and salt; stir fry 2 minutes.
5. Stir in water. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in tomatoes. Cook 2 – 3 minutes or until the tomatoes are hot.

Serve warm with rice or chapati.

Notes: Over stirring the cauliflower will tend to make them mushy.

Vedi kathirikkai kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Medium Brinjal	5
Large Onion, chopped	1/2
Grated Coconut	2 tbsp.
Sambar Powder	1.5 tsp.
Turmeric	1/4 tsp.
Tomato, chopped	1
Oil
Salt
Water	1/2 cup

To Season:

Mustard Seeds	1/2 tsp.
Urad Dal	1/2 tsp.
Asafoetida	A pinch
Oil

Method:

1. Grind coconut and half of the chopped onion together; Mix the sambar powder, salt and turmeric to the ground paste.
2. Slit the brinjals lengthwise into four (leave the base intact); Stuff the brinjals with half of the prepared paste. Save the rest of the paste in a separate bowl.
3. Heat 2 tsp. of oil in a pan on medium heat; Place the stuffed brinjals and cover the pan with a lid. Cook the brinjals till the outer layer is slightly roasted. Make sure to keep turning them in between to ensure even cooking. Transfer this to a bowl and keep this aside.
4. Heat a tsp. of oil in a pressure cooker, add the onion and fry till it becomes translucent. Add the tomato and the reserved paste. Fry till the raw smell of the paste goes away.
5. Add the roasted brinjals and water. Cook this for 1 whistle on medium heat. Remove the cooker from the heat and take the pressure off by placing the cooker under running tap water.
6. Heat a tsp. of oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds, urad dal. When it starts to splutter, add the asafoetida. Then pour the seasoning onto the kuzhambu.

Serve warm with rice.

Mung Bean Tadka

Ingredients:

Mung Bean, soaked overnight	1 cup
Tomato, chopped	1 no.
Medium Onion, chopped	1 no.
Sambar Powder	1 1/2 tsp
Garlic cloves, chopped	2
Ginger, chopped	1/2 inch
Corriander leaves, chopped	Few
Oil
Salt

To Season:

Mustard Seeds	1/2 tsp
Urad dal	1/2 tsp
Curry leaves	Few
Asafoetida	A pinch
Oil

Method:

1. Pressure cook the mung bean on medium heat for 1 whistle; remove from heat and take the steam off by placing the cooker under running tap water; transfer this to a bowl and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in the pressure cooker and fry the onions, garlic and ginger.
3. Fry the tomatoes for a minute; Add the sambar powder and fry till the raw smell goes away.
4. Add a few tbsp of water and let it come to a boil.
5. Add the cooked mung bean, salt and some more water (if needed); simmer the heat for 10 minutes.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafoetida.
7. Add this seasoning, corriander leaves into the moong bean, mix well; Turn off the heat.

Serve warm with chapati or rice.

Ridge Guard/Peerkangai Peel Chutney

This is my version of this chutney.

Ingredients:

Medium Peerkangai	2
Grated Coconut	2 tbsp
Urad Dal	2 tsp
Red Chilli	3
Salt

To Season:

Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal	1/2 tsp each
Red Chilli, broke into 3-4 pieces	1
Curry leaves (optional)	Few
Oil

Method:

1. Wash and peel the skin of peerkangai; chop them roughly.
2. In a small pan add 1/2 tsp of oil; roast the urad dal and red chilli until the urad dal turns golden; keep this aside.
3. In the same pan, fry the peerkangai peel on medium heat till it wilts – this would take approximately 3-5 mins.
4. Grind this with the coconut, urad dal and red chilli with little water; transfer the ground chutney to a bowl.
5. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilli, curry leaves; Add this to the ground chutney.

Serve with idli or dosa.

Ambika’s Apple-Carrot-Ginger Chutney

I landed on Ambika’s blog when I was looking for a pizza dough recipe. I bookmarked her Apple-Carrot-Ginger Chutney recipe the moment I saw that on her blog. I did skip a couple of ingredients to suit my taste other than that I pretty much followed her recipe.

Ingredients:

Medium Apple	2
Carrot, diced finely	1
Small Onion, chopped	1/2
Ginger, chopped	1 inch
Red Chilli flakes (optional)	1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder	1 tsp
Turmeric	1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil
Apple Juice (optional)	1/2 cup

To Season:

Mustard Seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds	1/2 tsp
Urad Dal	1/2 tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Oil

Method:

1. Peel and core the apples; chop them finely.
2. Heat oil in pan; add mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, asafoetida.
3. Add the onion, ginger and fry for a minute.
4. Now add the carrots into this and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the apples, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and give a good stir; Add the apple juice now (if you are using).
6. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for another 25 minutes; keep stirring once in a while.

I served this with Chapati. Me and my husband both liked it. I have saved some in the refrigerator to have with dosai tomorrow. For step by step pictures, please check here.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients:

Semiya	1 cup
Water	1 cup
Milk (I used 2%)	1.5 cups
Sugar	1/2 cup
Powdered Cardamom	1 tsp
Ghee/Butter	1.5 tbsp
Cashews, Raisins	Few

Method:

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp of ghee in a pan on medium heat; fry the cashews and raisins to golden brown; remove them in to a bowl.
2. Heat the rest of the ghee and roast the semiya to golden brown.
3. Add the water and simmer the heat; when the semiya is half-cooked, add the milk, cardamom powder, sugar.
4. After 5 minutes, add the fried cashews, raisins into the payasam and turn off the heat.

Serve warm.

Notes: The payasam will thicken after it sits some time. In that case add some warm milk (as needed), combine well and serve.

Beans Poriyal

Beans is one of the vegetables we get all time of the year here. This is a regular vegetable in our home. Making this poriyal is super easy.

Ingredients:

Beans, cut into small pieces	30 – 35 nos.
Onion, chopped	1/2 no. medium
Red Chillies	3 nos.
Coconut, grated	2 tbsp
Mustard seeds, urad dal	1/2 tsp each
Cumin Seeds	1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves (optional)	1 sprig
Asafoetida	a pinch
Salt
Oil

Method:

1.  Pressure cook the cut beans with little salt and a couple of tbsp of water in medium heat for 1 whistle. Remove from the heat and take the steam  off immediately by placing the hot pressure cooker (with the lid on) under running cold water.

2. Transfer the cooked beans into a strainer and keep it aside.

3. Grind the coconut and red chillies together without water.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida.

5. Add the onions and fry till it becomes translucent.

6. Add the cooked beans and the ground coconut-red chilli and give it a good stir.

7. Add salt if needed at this point. Cover with a lid and keep it in the heat for another 3-5 mins.

Serve warm with rice or chapati.

Note: When serving this with chapati, add same amount of fennel seeds instead of the cumin seeds for a different taste – grind the coconut and red chilli with  fennel seeds.

Carrot Kheer

Ingredients:

Carrots, diced	4 large nos.
Milk (I used 2%)	4 cups
Cardamom powder	1/2 tsp
Badam powder	2 tsp
Butter	1/2 tbsp
Sugar	6 tbsp or more
Pista, chopped (for garnish)	A few

Method:

1. Pressure cook the carrots till they are soft.
2. Butter a deep heavy bottomed sauce pan and heat it on medium heat.
3. Boil the milk and let the milk to reduce to 2.5 cups – make sure to keep stirring the milk in between.
4. In the meantime, puree the cooked carrots in a blender.
5. Add the pureed carrots, sugar, cardamom powder, badam powder into the milk. Mix until everything blends together.
6. Take off from heat and let it cool for sometime.
7. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Sprinkle the chopped pista on the top and serve cold.

Sarkkarai Pongal

Today is the first day of the tamil month Thai (to be pronounced as Thy). The people in Tamil Nadu, India celebrate this day as “Thai Pongal”. For more information on this please check this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_Pongal .

I made this pongal today in the morning. Coming to the recipe, traditionally back home people make this pongal in a new clay or vengala paanai. But my version is a shortcut – made in a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

Basmati/Raw Rice	3/4 cup
Moong Dal	1/4 cup
Dark Brown Sugar	1.5 cups
Ghee	2 tbsp + 1 tsp
Water	2 1/4 cups
Milk	1/4 cup
Cardamom Powder	3/4 tsp
Cashews	15 nos.
Raisins	10 nos.

Method:

1. Wash the rice and dal atleast three times with water. Pressure cook the rice and dal with water (Let it go for 1 whistle on high heat then turn the heat to medium and wait for 3 more whistles). Switch off the heat and keep the cooker aside.
2. Heat a tbsp of ghee in a deep sauce pan in low-medium heat. Make sure that the pan is coated well with ghee.
3. Add the cooked rice+dal with milk and mash it well with a strong ladle.
4. Add the brown sugar cup by cup stirring continuously to make sure that no lumps are formed.
5. Add the cardamom powder at this point.
6. Heat a tsp of ghee in a small pan and fry the cashews and raisins to golden brown. Pour this on to the pongal.
7. Pour the remaining ghee into the pongal and give a good stir.

Note: Traditionally people make pongal with Raw rice. Since I didnt have raw rice on hand, I went ahead and substituted with basmati rice. I didnt find any difference.