Roti Kapda Aur Makaan

Batate Song/ Potato in rich spicy gravy

2007-08-23T19:19:00.001-07:00

The name says it all. Potato in Spicy gravy. Very famous among the konkani's, there are different ways of making this dish. Mine is awfully simple. All u need is a pressure cooker and a few ingredients. Enjoy!

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 15 min

Ingredients:
1 cup of toor dal (yellow Lentils)

4- Potatoes,
2- Tomatoes diced (you substitute this with 1 can diced tomato)
1- Onion chopped
1- spoon of red chilly powder
1/2- spoon of turmeric powder

Method:
1 Heat 4 Tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and red chilly
powder and turmeric. Add onions to this and fry until
the onions turn soft.

2 Add tomatoes to this and cook till it softens.

3 Now add potatoes and Toor dal and stir it well.
Add salt as per taste and 3 cups of water. Close the
lid of the pressure cooker and let it cook for 3 whistles.

4 Mash the potatoes as desired using a wooden spatula.
Serve with rice.

COOK'S TIP: you can add fresh coriander leaves
just before serving.

Pumpkin Stew (Val -Val)

2007-07-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Val-Val is a traditional Konkani dish that is normally served with rice.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 20min

Ingredients:
2 cups of vegetables
( cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots, potatoes, ..etc)

1 cup of yellow pumpkin (acorn squash)
2 green chilly

1 can of coconut milk

Method
1 Cut all the vegetables into equal cubes and boil for
about 4 minutes in 1 cup salted water. Cook on low
flame.Add the pumpkin cubes and green chillies.
Continue boiling the vegetables for about 3 minutes.

2 Stir in the coconut milk.

3 Heat oil in a second pan, add mustard and cumin
seeds. When they begin to pop, add curry leaves.

4 Add this seasoning to the cooked stew

5 Serve with white rice and Papad.

Methi- Onion Sannapolo ( Yellow Lentil & Rice-pancakes)

2007-07-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is a kind of Pancake from South India. It is made up of ground lentils and rice. Can be eated with rice or simply dipped in garlic chutney or sambar. This pancake is ussually cooked on low flame for a longer period or time.

SERVES: 4 (12 pankcakes)
COOKING TIME: 60 min

Ingredients:
1 cup of soaked rice

2 cups of soaked yellow lentil (toor Dal)

1/2 cup of shreded coconut

1 cup of cut fenugreek leaves (methi)
1 Medium sized onion chopped finely

Method:
1 Place the above Ingredients in a food processor
and blend into a coarse paste. Add 1 red chilli
and small piece of tamrind while blending.

2 Stir in salt, chopped onions and fenugreek
leaves

3 Heat the frying pan for a couple of minutes
smear with oil and gently spread the batter.
Each pancake can be about 4-5in dia and about
1/2in thick.

3 Turn over and cook for another minute.
Serve hot with rice or with chutney.

COOK'S TIP: You can add green chillies in step 2
to make it a little more spicy.

Chana/ Chickpeas Masala (Garbanzo in tomato sauce)

2007-07-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Chana Masala, is one of my favorite dishes. Chana/ chick pea's ussually blends in very well and adds to the taste of any curry. This quick and easy recipe can be eaten with rice, or roti's. Even better eaten with Batura - deep fried bread made up of wheat flour.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 30min

Ingredients:
2 Tomatoes
Handfull of coriander (cilantro) leaves

Garlic Pods, Green chill and Ginger as per taste

1 Onion (chopped)

2 cans of chickpeas or 1 cup of dried chickpeas.
Soak the chickpeas overnight, boil it for about
35 min or Pressure cook it as per instructions.

Method:
1 In a blender add 1/2 the cut tomatoes,
remaining coriender leaves, garlic pods, ginger,
green chilli, and 1/4th cup of cooked chickpeas
and blend it into a paste.

2 In a deep wok heat vegetable oil and fry onions
and a few coriender leaves.

3 Add the paste to the fried onions and keep stiring.
Add the remaining tomatoes. Add salt as per taste.
Pour about 1/2 cup water and bring it to boil on low heat.

4 Add the cooked chickpeas, cover the pan and
let it cook for about 10 min.

5 You can also use this mix in between bread and
make a Chickpeas Sandwich.

COOK'S TIP: You can also add Potatoes to this dish.

Potato Rasam (Batate Paje-upkari)

2007-07-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

Potatoes ussually blend very well with any kind of dish and imparts a fabulous flavor. Batate Paje-upkari is yet another South Indian Dish. The name as we call it in Konkani. A good substitute instead of our regular Dal.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 30min

Ingredients:
3 Potatoes
2 Green Chillies

2 Red chillies
1 spoon full of mustard seeds
few curry leaves

1/2 spoon of Asofedita (hing)

Method:
1 In a deep dish or a large pan, heat oil over medium
heat. When Oil gets hot add red chillies and mustard
seeds. Wait for the mustard seeds to sputter and then
add the curry leaves

2 Mash the boiled potatoes and add this to the
fried spices

3 Add about 2 to 3 cups of water and the Asofidita
to this mix and bring it to boil on reduced heat
for about 10 minutes.

Serve with hot white rice.

COOKS TIP: Pour a spoon full of Butter in step 3
just before serving to enhance the taste

Fenugreek Leaves Roti (Methi Roti)- Method I

2007-07-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Methi Roti is a variation of chapati. Chapati are made out of wholewheat and are cooked on hot girddle. As the name suggests this chapati has Fenugreek leaves as its prime ingredient. A very healthy option for breakfast or lunch.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 20min

Ingredients:
Bunch of fenugreek leaves
(washed and cut into small pieces)
3/4 cup water
1-1/2 cup wholewheat flour
1/2 spoon of turmeric powder
1/2 spoon red chilli powder
salt as per taste

Method:
1 In a wide bottom bowl add turmeric powder,
red chilli powder, salt and water. To this
liquid add the methi leaves (fenugreek leaves).

2 Stir this with a spoon and slowly add the atta
(whole wheat flour)

3 Keep mixing with your hands to form a dough

4 When the dough is ready, make around 15 small
balls and roll it out flat. Fry these with a little oil on
a dry hot girdle.

Serve with yogurt sauce or spicy pickle.

COOKS TIP: You can add a spoon full of oil in
step 1 to make the roti's a little crispy.

Green Long Beans fry

2007-06-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

Curry Leaves and Red chillies are the most important ingredients when you cook south Indian food. This recipe is a simple and a quick one. You can find green long beans in any local Indian store.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 30min

Ingredients:
1 bundle of Green long beans
1/2 -spoon on mustard
1/2 spoon of oil
1 fried red chillie
few curry leaves

Method:
1 Wash and cut the beans into 1" - 1-1/2" long

2 In a shallow pan, heat oil and fry mustard and
red chilli. Add curry leaves when the mustard
seeds start sputtering.

3 Add the green long beans and salt as per taste
and fry for a few minutes.

Serve with white rice and dal, or roti's

COOKS TIPS: You can add freshly grated coconut
just before serving.

Peppery Pasta with Parmesan cheese

2007-06-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

A very simple Pasta dish. One of my Turkish friends made this for us as a midnight snack. Although he used macaroni. Absolutely loved it. I bet you will enjoy it too.

SERVES: 3
COOKING TIME: 10min

Ingredients:
1 cup each of boiled Penne and Bowtie Pasta
(boil it with 3 spoons of olive oil and salt according to taste)

6-7 Garlic pods, Crushed red pepper and Oregano

Method:
1 In a medium deep non stick pan, add 2 Tsp full of olive oil.
When the oil is heated add freshly grated the garlic,
crushed red pepper and Oregano to it.
Keep frying these ingredients till it turns a little crisp.

2 Add the cooked Pasta to this mix.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese just before serving.

COOKS TIP: Add fried pinenuts to give a nutty flavor.

Bean sprouts pankcakes (Pesarettu)

2007-06-17T17:23:00.001-07:00

One of my close friends shared this recipe with me. She says its a very famous dish in Hydrabad India. I was amazed with the taste of this dish. A very good substitution for people who are bored of eating raw sprouts. Includes just about two ingredients. Can be eaten with white rice and yogurt, or with garlic chutney.

SERVES: 2

Ingredients:
2 cups Bean sprouts

2-3 Green Chillies (or 1 jalapeno pepper)

Method:
1 Grind the above ingredients into a coarse paste.
Set aside for 1/2 hour.

2 On a non stick pan, pour the batter in a circular
motion, just like making pancakes.
Put a little butter and turn it upside down.
This will make the pesarettu crispy.

3 Serve with yogurt sauce or garlic chutney.

COOKS TIP:
Add chopped onions and ginger in step 2.

Spiced Lentils cooked with Spinach (Palak Dal)

2007-06-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

A great dish for all spinach lovers. This can also be substituted as a soup. Spinach cooked with toor dal makes for a wholesome healthy dish. A very simple and delicious dish which can be served with with rice or roti's. A salad made up of raw onion rings and sliced green chillies will add an extra flavor to this meal.

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 30min

Ingredients:
2 cups Toor Dal (Yellow Lentil's)

1 Medium sized Onion- cut into small pieces

2 medium sized - Tomatoes diced

1 Tsp of Cumin Seeds, Gharam Masala Powder,
Turmeric Powder, Sambar Powder

1/2 bag of frozen spinach (defrosted)

Method:
1 Fry Onions in 3 tbspn full of oil.
Add tomatoes, Cumin Seeds, Gharam Masala Powder,
Turmeric Powder, Sambar Powder.
Cook till soft.

2 Add Spinach and cook for about 5 minutes

3 In the mean time boil Toor dal till tender (about 20 minute)
Or steam it in a pressure cooker

4 Add this cooked Toor dal to the spinach mix prepared earlier

5 Serve hot with Roti's (Indian bread) or plain boiled Rice.

COOKS TIP:
Add 1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriender (cilantro) leaves just before serving.

Eggplant Rice

2007-06-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

This recipe calls for purple eggplant. Adding a variety of vegetables can enrich the flavor of this dish. The groundnuts and cashewnuts add a crispy touch to this dish. This can be also eaten with yogurt. Takes about 20 minutes to cook and tastes delicious!

SERVES: 4
COOKING TIME: 20min

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp of Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp of Chana Dal ( Gram Dal),
1 tsp of Ground nuts and 2 tsp of Cashew nuts.

1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder, 1 tsp of Sambar powder and
1-1/2 tsp of Vangi bath powder (preferably MTR)

Cubes of Egg plant (according to taste)

Peas and Carrots ( you can use vegetables of your choice)

2 cups of boiled and cooked White Rice

Method:
1 Fry the Mustard seeds, Chana Dal ( Gram Dal), Ground nuts
and Cashew nuts in about 2 spoons of oil or butter, until it turns
golden brown.

2 Add the vegetables, salt, Turmeric powder, Sambar
powderand Vangi bath powder. Fry till the eggplant pieces
are soft. Add a little water and let it cook.

3 Add rice when the vegetables are cooked.

COOKS TIP:
To enhance to flavor add a spoon full of butter just before serving.

Green Peppers in Coconut Sauce

2007-06-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

A good ol' recipe for Green Pepper lovers; My mom uses other vegetables along with green peppers, but I prefer it this ways. Especially if you love the wonderful smell of fried green peppers!

SERVES: 2
COOKING TIME: 20min

Ingredients:

Tamarind , 3-4 Red chillies

1 tsp of Urad Dal (white lentil) and Coriander Seeds

5 tsp of Grated Coconut

Grind the above ingredients into a coarse paste

3 medium sized Green Peppers (washed and cut into long slices)

Method:
1 Fry Green Pepper in oil along with cumin seeds and salt.

2 When Green Pepper turns a little soft add the coconut paste.
Add one cup of water. Cover the pan and let it cook for 10 min.

3 Serve with Pulka's (indian wheat bread) or White Rice.

COOKS TIP:
You can squeeze half a lemon just before serving to make it zesty.