Aloo Gobi Curry

Ingredients
Aloo
Gobi florets
Onion, chopped into big pieces - 1 or 2
Tomato - 1 or 2
ginger garlic crushed/paste - 1/2 table spoon
Oil - 4-5 table spoons
Red chilli powder - add it according to your taste
Garam Masala - 1 table spoon
Kasoori Methi - a pinch
Coriander powder (optional) - 1/2 table spoon
Salt to taste
Kothimeeru (Coriander) to sprinkle at last.

Method of preparation
1. Take a vessel, add oil to it. Let it heat up and add cumin seeds to it. Add chopped onions, crushed ginger garlic or paste and let it fry for a minute or until onions turn golden brown.

2. Add Aloo and Gobi to it with pinch of turmeric, red chilli powder, Garam masala and let it stand for 5 minutes covered. Try to mix in between so that the curry do not stick to the pot/vessel. If you feel it starts sticking then add 1/2 cup of water to it.

3. Add chopped Tomato's, Salt, kasoori methi, coriander powder and mix well. Add little water and let it stand for some more time until all veggies are cooked.

4. Add Chopped and washed Coriander leaves to the curry and serve hot either with roti or rice.

Spring Onion Tomato Dal

This is one of my favourite. I never forget to get spring onions when I go for grocery shopping. Here is the recipe for it.

Ingredients:

Spring Onions chopped - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 medium
Turmeric - a pinch
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 table spoon or
Green chillies - 2
Jeera(Cumin Seeds) - 1 table spoon
Tamarind/Tamarind paste - small piece for sour taste or 1/2 table spoon (Optional)
Garlic cloves chopped - 2 (Optional)
Oil for tadka
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Cook dal in your way after adding a pinch of turmeric and cumin seeds, tamarind piece (optional) and tomato also.
2. Take a vessel, add oil to it. After oil is heated add garlic (optional), green chillies. Then add the chopped and cleaned spring onions to it.
3. Let the spring onions be lightly fried. If we add dal before the spring onions are fried, the raw smell remains intact and does not go away. After the spring onions are fried, add the dal.
4. Then add salt, red chilli powder (if needed), stir it. After it is mixed thoroughly , your dal is ready to serve and eat.

Happy Holidays

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all....... Hope you will all have a blast.

Coconut Chutney

This is a simple recipe which can be made instantly but still tastes delicious. Ofcourse, the hardest part will be to cut coconut into pieces. I use the frozen ones sometimes to avoid that pain.

Ingredients
Coconut pieces (scraped or small pieces)
Green chillies
red chillies (optional)
Tamarind - little to get the sour taste
urad dal
Oil
Salt to taste

For garnishing:
Kothimeeru - Coriander leaves
Tadka (Oil heated and then add mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves)

Method of preparation

1. Make the coconut pieces ready by either scraping the coconut or by cutting the coconut into small pieces.

2. Do the tadka now, by heating oil in a small bowl and add mustard seeds. After mustard seeds splutter, add Jeera, urad dal, red chillies, and tamarind also and switch off the stove.

3. Grind the coconut, green chillies, salt and half of the tadka(add all the tamarind in the tadka while grinding). If needed add water in between.

4. Take the coarsely grinded paste into a bowl, then garnish with remaining tadka and chopped coriander leaves. Your coconut chutney is ready.

This tastes good with all the south indian tiffins or with rice.

Tamarind chaaru or pachi chaaru

This is one of the simple and easy to make dish. This item goes good with any dal & rice, or with papukaya(with any curry).



Ingredients
Tamarind - Lemon size
Onions - chopped into small pieces
Green chillies - chopped into small pieces
Cilantro (Coriander)
Salt to taste

Tadka:
Oil
Mustard Seeds
sesame seeds
Curry leaves (Optional)
Asafoetida (Optional)

Method of preparation
1. Soak tamarind for 1/2 hour or you can microwave for 1 minute and remove the pulp. Add enough water. Remember it might become too soar if you make it thick. So add enough water.

2. Add chopped onions, green chillies and salt to the above.

3. Now take a small vessel/bowl for tadka. Add oil and let it heat. Now add mustard seeds and let it splutter. add sesame seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida. switch off and add the tadka to the chaaru made on step 2.

Your chaaru is ready.

Terminology:
Tadka - Popu, talimpu, ponee(Telugu)
Coriander - Kothimeeru (Telugu)
Curry leaves - Karivepaaku (Telugu)
Tamarind - Chinthapandu (Telugu)

Recipes from my village ...

Gummadikaya Barada (can make it with Dosakaya also):
Update: The recipe of this curry is at following location:
http://myindiancooking.blogspot.com/2010/12/gummadikaya-barada.html







Muddakura
The recipe is at following location:
http://myindiancooking.blogspot.com/2009/03/muddakura.html


Pachi chaaru or chintapandu chaaru
Update: This recipe is at the following url:
http://myindiancooking.blogspot.com/2008/09/chinthapandutamarind-chaaru-or-pachi.html

Brinjal/Eggplant Bhaji

I dont know what others call, but at our place because of influence of Maharastra we call it as Vankaya Bhaji. Following is hte recipe. Previously I published recipe by heating it in a kadai. This time I tried it with the burning on stove. The taste of original is marvelous. Nothing can beat it. So here is the recipe

Ingredients
American eggplant or any fat eggplant
oil
Onions chopped
Green chillies
Salt to taste
Tomato chopped - Optional
Tadka (oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and red chillies)

Method of preparation
1. Apply oil to the brinjal and let it be on the stove. As the skin turns different color, slowly move the brinjal to other side. Do this until the whole brinjal skin turns different and it becomes soft.

2. Remove the skin of the brinjal and take out the gujju (inside part) in a bowl or serving dish.

3. Add chopped onions, tomatos green chillies and salt to taste.

4. Add tadka on top and mix all the above.


Terminology

Vankaya - Eggplant, Brinjal

Special food on Janmashtami

Mirchi Bajji:
Vankaya Pachadi:
Thali on Janmashtami:

French cut green beans curry

Simple and tasty to eat. I love the french cut green beans in frozen section, we get in stores like Giant, safeway, shoppers or some asian stores. They are thin and a little long. They taste wonderful and here is the simple recipe to make it fast and eat.

Ingredients
French cut green beans
Tomato
Oil
Jeera (Cumin Seeds)
Chana dal - 2 table spoons
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder
Turmeric - 1/2 table spoon or less
Optional:
Onions
Grated Coconut (I used the frozen one we get in indian stores, you can use fresh also).
Cilantro (for garnishing)

Method of Preparation

1. Take the french cut green beans and put it under water so that all the extra ice gets melts away.

2. Take a kadai, add oil to it. Add Jeera after the oil is heated.

3. Add chana dal to it. Add Onions (if you want to ). After they turn golden, add the beans.

4. Add turmeric, red chilli powder. Cover it and let it stand for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add Salt, tomatos to it and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

6. Add coconut, let it leave the smell of raw coconut and then turn off the heat.

7. Garnish it with Coriander leaves (Cilantro) and serve.

This curry is good with both Rice and roti.

In my opinion, this curry tastes good than the normal beans curry we cook. So try it and let me know how you feel.

Recipes with Mango Pulp

Hi all

I know a few recipes with mango pulp which I would like to share with you all. Hope you like it too. One of them is Mango Milk Shake, and other is a sweet.

You can get Mango pulp tins in any Indian store or International grocery store. So try them at your conveniance and enjoy.

Mango Milk Shake: I love milk shakes, it has the goodness of milk and the flavor you want. I generally make milk shakes at home whenever I have fruits. So I shall post more milk shake varieties as and when I get do them from now.

Mango Pulp Sweet: is ready in 5 minutes. This is very useful, when you have unexpected guests or when you wish to eat sweet and do not have patience to spend more time cooking or making something. All you need to do is have the things ready at home. and most of them you might have them at home :). So try it and enjoy. Do tell me how it is !!!

Mango Milk Shake

Ingredients
Mango pulp
Sugar
Milk ( of your choice, I prefer 1% milk)
Icecream (any flavor, I used Kaju Draksha)
Elaichi powder - a pinch (optional)

Method of Preparation
Blend Mango pulp, Sugar, milk, ice cream in a blender/ smoothie maker. If you like you can also add a little crushed ice to the above. Add the Elaichi powder and then serve chilled. You can also optionally blend in few cashews if you like.

Mango Pulp Sweet, Ready in 5 minutes

Ingredients
Mango pulp - 1 tin
Whipped Cream - 1 box (big) or 2 small ones
Condensed Milk (Optional - I did not include this in my later on makes)
Fruit Cocktail tin - 1 - 2 tins (depends on if you want more fruit pieces)

Method of Preparation
Mix the mango pulp, whipped cream, condensed milk together. After they are mixed, drain the fruit cocktail tin, clean them and then add them to above mix. Serve chilled.



Tip: Try adding more whipped cream to get rich, creamier and wonderful taste. I know people would worry about fat content, but you can try with non-fat things also. Try using non-fat condensed milk, fat free whipped cream. This is just for our satisfaction that we are intaking less fat.

Mixture/Chudva & Maida Sweet

Chudva/Mixture
Ingredients
Thick Poha
Peanuts
Chick Peas (putnalu)
Cashews (Optional)
Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Garlic (smashed and fried , optional)
Optional
Sev and Boondi

Method of preparation
1. Heat oil and deep fry the thick poha. Also deep fry peanuts, chick peas (putnalu), cashews.
2. Put everything in a paper towel so that it can soak the extra oil.
3. Add red chilli powder, salt to taste, smashed garlic.
Your chudva/Mixture is ready.

Maida Sweet

Ingredients
Maida
Ghee
Sugar
Oil

Method of preparation
1. Make the sugar syrup by mixing sugar and water in equal ratios or as less water as possible. Sugar syrup should be strong.
2. Mix maida, hot oil, a little salt. Make it like a poori or chapati mix.
3. Take small rolls and make roti or chapati from it.
4. Cut the middle part in lines by keeping the ends and circle intact. Roll it as shown below.
5. Deep fry the above in oil. Then take the fried thing and dip it in the sugar syrup.


6. Sprinkle cardammon powder on top and enjoy the sweet.

Pav Bhaji

This is a very famous, healthy and lovely item of India. I love this item and do it quite often at home. Ofcourse, the mazaa of eating it on the chat place is totally different experiance. Now-a-days they also do serve this as an appetizer at marriages. So here goes the recipe I use.

Ingredients
Pav/Bread - Toasted in butter or Ghee
Onions
Oil
Tomatos
Pav Bhaji Masala (I love everest masala, but if not available then I use Badshah)
Salt to taste
Red Chilli Powder

Vegetables I used:
Cabbage (Very less)
Cauliflower
Potato
Peas
Carrot
Green Beans (if possible)

Things to add from top or garnish
Tamarind chutney
Curd
Onions Chopped (very small)
Lime/Lime Juice
Kothimeeru (Coriander)

Method of preparation
1. Heat all the vegetables in a pressure cooker/ or any other way you like by adding water.

2. Strain the water and keep vegetables aside. (you can save some water for later use in the pav bhaji. The water from which is from this is very healthy, since it has all the healthy content like proteins and vitamins.)



3. Put a bowl or kadai on stove top and add a little oil to it.

4. Add Onions and after they turn golden brown add tomato's to it.


5. Add the Pav bhaji masala, Salt and red chilli powder according to your taste. (Add extra even for the vegetables that you are going to mix). Spices can be adjusted to your taste at any point from here, until you switch off the stove.


6. Add the cooked vegetables to above and mash them with masher.


7. After the ingredients are mixed up well, adjust the spices.


Toasting the bread:





Serve in a plate with a little curd and tamarind chutney on it. Also spread little lime juice and onions and garnish with coriander before serving. Serve with Pav that is toasted with butter or ghee.



Have it when it is hot. It tastes superb.... almost equal to tela taste

Allam Pachadi/Ginger Pickle

Ingredients
Ginger (Allam) - Small quanity (around 50 grams)
Tamarind (Chintapandu)
Jaggery (bellam)
Red chillies (endu mirapakayalu)
Dhania (dhaniyalu)
Urad dal (Minapapappu)
Mustard Seeds (aavalu)
Oil
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation
1. Grind the ginger, jaggery, tamarind with very little water.

2. Add little oil and fry red chillies, dhania, fenugreek seeds, urad dal.

3. Add the above and grind with the process at step # 1. Add salt to taste.

2. Do tadka/popu with little oil and then add mustard seeds.

3. Let it splutter and add urad dal, red chillies, curry leaves and decorate on top.

This chutney is a good combination for dosa, pesarattu.

Mixed Vegetable Avakaya (Pickle)

Ingredients
Cauliflower
Carrot
Tindora
Keera
Tomato
or any vegetable combination you like
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder
Mustard seeds powder
Methi powder
lime juice

For Tadka
Red Chillies
Oil
Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Curry leaves

Method of preparation
1. chop all the vegetables in very small size.

2. Add red chilli powder, salt to taste, Mustard seeds powder, methi powder, lime juice.

3. Do tadka with the ingredients mentioned and add it to the above mixture.

4. Let the mixture stand for 4 hours (marinate) and have it with hot rice .

Poha Upma

Well well well... This is my favourite Indian Tiffin, made jhatpat, when hungry. Although the pics following indicate a little wet poha upma, but it is generally har dana seperate, meaning in telugu we call it as viriviriga. Now lets see the procedure.

One thing to note, if you like it to come close or like in the format of the photos, then add a little water extra(sprinkle more water) otherwise just sprinkle water so that the poha gets a little damp thats all.

I am very fond of vegetables in any item (I feel that would be more healthy than eating just upma), but most of the vegetables are optional except onions. So try it and let me know how it comes !!!

Ingredients
Poha ( Think is preferable since it does not get damp easily, if using thin then put very little water)
Onion
Green Chillies
Peanuts (optional)
Cashews (optional)
Cauliflower florets
Beans
Carrot
Tomato
Salt to taste
Fresh Coriander
Oil

Method of preparation
1. Take a kadai/pan and add oil to it. Let it heat and add mustard seeds,after they splutter add Jeera.

2. Add onion, green chillies to the above and let it turn golden brown. Add turmeric.

3. Add all the vegetables and let them cook. Add salt to taste, for poha also. Add peanuts and cashews if you want to add them.



4. Now take poha and sprinkle water on it. Water should make the poha a little wet but it should not loose its phool phool nature. Add the poha and mix well.

5. Garnish with coriander at the end. Poha upma is ready to serve.




Enjoy Poha upma with any pickle, preferably Tomato or Lime pickle and with Yogurt.

Tindora Curry/Dondakaya Curry

I used Frozen tindora for this recipe, I think it will taste good even cooked with fresh tindora's.

Ingredients
Dondakaya (Tindora) - 2 packets
Onion - 2 medium sized
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil
Salt to taste
Red Chilli Powder - Adjust to your spice level
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon or even less

For preparing paste:
Coconut
Red Chillies
Jeera
Dhania (Coriander Seeds)
Peanuts - very few
Chana Dal
Tamarind paste

Method of Preparation
1. Take a kadai and add oil to it. After oil is heated, add mustard seeds and let it splutter.

2. Add chopped onions and Tindora at the same time.



3. Add turmeric and let it cook. After 5 minutes add salt to it and let the tindoras cook well.



4. Meanwhile take a small pan and fry all the ingredients under paste (except tamarind paste) for a minute or two or until the coconut looses its raw smell.



5. Grind the paste ingredients along with tamarind paste with little water.

6. Once Tindora is done add above paste to the cooked tindora and let it fry for 5 - 10 minutes or until it is mingled well. You can add more water it you want it to be a little liquidish. Your Tindora Curry is ready.

Happy Sriramanavami

Hi all,

Happy Srirama navami to all of you.

Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients
All purpose floor(Maida)
Corn Floor
Cauliflower(Gobi)
Onions
Ginger Garlic and Green Chilli Paste
Tomato Ketchup
Soy Sauce
Capsicum - chopped lengthwise(optional)
Garlic Slices (Optional)

Method of preparation
1. Make the cauliflower into small florets. put the florets in water and Microwave it, until they are half cooked.

2. Mix the all purpose floor, corn floor(very less quantity), Ginger Garlic and chilli paste and Salt in a bowl
(Note: More quantity of the corn floor makes it much crispy).

3. Make the above mixture a batter by adding water.

4.Heat Oil in a deep pan. Dip the Cauliflower in the above batter and deep fry until they are golden brown.



5. Take another vessel/pan. Put a small quantity of oil and let it heat.

6. Add the onions(long cut slices), capcicum(long cut slices),Garlic (long cut) and Chilli(long cut) and fry it for some time.



7. Add Soyasause and Tomato Ketchup to the above. Mix it well.




8. Add the Florets to the above, and toss. Garnish it with the Spring onions.

Tasty Gobi Manchurian is ready. Serve hot as appetizer along with your favourite red or green sause.

Challa Pulusu

This is one of very famous dish of our place Manthani.

Ingredients
Buttermilk(pulladi, Sour)
Ghee
Green chillis
Mustard seeds
Jeera
Asafoetida (Hing)
Curry Leaves
Ginger
Besan flour
Coriander
(Bhendi,Drumsticks and Radish are optional)

Method of Preparation
1. First mix 2 spoons of besan with buttermilk well(without solid balls).

 2. Take kadai and add 1 to 2 table spoons of ghee.

3. After ghee is heated , add mustard seeds.

4. Wait till mustard seeds pop then add jeera, chilli and grated ginger and 2 whole elaichi (cardommom), curry leaves. Add vegetables(optional).

5. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Then add the buttermilk mixture to it and boil for 10 minutes until it starts boiling.

6. Add salt and garnish with coriander.

Note: Shall post some pics soon.