Happy NewYear

Wishing you all a Very Happy & Prosperous NewYear 2007

kobbari pachadi (coconut chutney)

If there is any one statement that can, in a nutshell, describe the Andhra kitchen, it is: Andhra food is hot! Local legend say there was once a severe famine in the area and all that grew, and grew well, were chillies – red chillies, famous in a place called Guntur in Andhra. So people made as many dishes as possible with chillies….more info here

Andhra meal is not complete with out a pickle, popularly called as pachadi. Andhra is popular with its different types of avvakayalu(pickles) which stay from few months up to a year. In addition, Andhra house holds are also popular for instant pickles. We call it roju vari pachadulu (day- to-day pickles), these pickles should be used in max 2 to 3 days.

One such is the kobbari pachadi. All the ingredients used here are raw. This was one of my favourite pachadi which my mom used to make. I definitely miss that flavor here in U.S. My mom used to grind this pachadi in a mortar. You can use the mixer or food processor, just make sure to grind the coconut coarsely.

 This is my entry to Ashwini’s Jihva for coconut

Ingredients:

• fresh coconut - half
• green chillies-4 to 5
• a small red onion-1/2
• tamarind juice- few teaspoons
• curry leaves

Procedure:

Break the coconut and use half of it. Cut the coconut in to small chunks.

Grind the chillies, coconut, tamarind juice and salt coarsely. Make sure not to make a paste out of it.

Now add some chopped onion and just give a pulse. You should still be able to see some chunks of onion.

Do the popu or tadka with ( 2 tsps oil, few mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp chana dal, cumin seeds, 1 dry red chillie and curry leaves)

Add the tadka to the coconut chutney and enjoy with some hot rice.

Note: Adjust the chilies and tamarind juice according to your taste.

 Recipe: amma

Mushroom tofu curry

Mushroom and tofu are two of the best ingredients i enjoy in the Chinese and Thai cuisine. So, thought why not use these together in our Indian cooking. After little bit of research in the net i came up with this recipe.

Tofu (bean curd), is a food of chinese origin made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. Tofu is low in calories and high in protein and iron. Like wise mushrooms are high in fiber, protein and has lot of vitamins and as well as minerals to it.

I used the button mushrooms (often called the white mushrooms) and used the firm tofu for frying. I squeezed off the excess water in the tofu with some paper towel and deep fried them.

Ingredients:

1. white or button mushrooms- 1 pound
2. firm tofu (cut in to quarter inch pieces and deep fried)- 1/2 pound
3. frozen green peas- 1/4th cup
4. medium onion- 2
5. green chillie- 1
6. ginger garlic paste- 1/4th tsp
7. cashew (grind to a smooth paste with some water)- 1/4th cup
8. large tomato- 1
9. tomato paste- 2 tsps
10. coriander (dhania) powder- 1/4th tsp
11. garam masala- 1/4 th tsp
12. red chillie powder- 1/2 to 1 tsp
13. green cardamom and cloves (grind it using a mortar)- 2 each
14. cinnamon stick- 1/2 stick
15. cilantro (coriander)
16. lemon juice and salt

Procedure:

•  Cut each mushroom to four pieces and keep it on a side.
•  Now in a skillet add four tsps of oil, cinnamon stick, green chillie and onion. Cook until onion becomes soft, then add the ginger garlic paste and the dry spices (marked 10 through 13).
• Cook just for a minute and then add the tomato paste,chopped tomato and half a tsp of salt. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add the cashew paste with one cup of water and another half teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil.
• Add the mushrooms, green peas and simmer the curry for ten minutes in med-low heat.
• At last taste, re-season it and add the fried tofu with chopped cilantro and some lemon juice.
• Let the curry sit for ten minutes before serving, it helps all the ingredients to blend and come together.
• Serve the mushroom tofu curry with nan or paratha and some onion and lemon on the side.

 

Green moong dal sprout salad

Food is a very important part of any holiday, family get together or any kind of celebration. Especially during this holiday season, it is very hard to resist on all these yummy food we are surrounded by.  But just to balance it out and most of all for health reasons, its important to incorporate salads in our meals.

Green moong dal sprout salad is a very refreshing and healthy salad. Dal when sprouted turn out to be sweeter and this combo goes well with cucumbers, lemon and green chillie.

Having a doctor at home, who always reminds me how important the veggies and salads are in our diet, I make it a point to make salads often.

Making the sprouts:

Soak the green moon dal overnight with lots of water.

Next day morning, drain all the water, cover the dal with lid and keep them in warm place.

In  1 1 /2 to 2 days, the sprouts will be ready. Keep them in the refrigerator and use as required.

Making the salad:

• sprouted green moong dal- 1 cup
• cucumber- 1/2 (finely chop them)
• a small carrot grated
• two pieces of cauliflower florets grated
• lemon juice
• green chilles -2 (finely chopped)
• cilantro

Mix the sprouts, cucumbers,carrot and cauliflower with some salt, lemon juice and cilantro.

Now do the tadka with 1 tsp oil, few mustard seeds, few cumin(jeera) seeds, a pinch of hing and the chopped green chillies.

Add the tadka to the sprout mixture and enjoy this refreshing and healthy salad.

                     Sprouted green moong dal

Recipe: Suma vadeena

Click here for another version of this sprout salad

Mango curry (Mamidikaya koora)

 

Mango, truly is a king of fruits . India is the home for the largest production of mangos in the world. It is said that, an Indian consumes about 11 kilos of this fruit every year. It does play an important part in the Indian cuisine- It can be served either as a dessert, a pickle, chutney, curry or even as a luscious milk shake. 

Today i would like to share this mango curry (called mamdikaya koora in Andhra Pradesh) with you all. The mango i used was little sweet and little tangy. The combination of ginger, coconut and spices goes very well with the mango.

Ingredients:

1. med sized mangos- 2
2. dry or fresh coconut- 3tsps
3. dry red chillies- 4
4. a tiny piece of ginger
5. cumin(jeera) and coriander seeds(dania) - 1 tsp each
6. few curry leaves
7. cilantro and salt
8. Jagger/ sugar- 1/4th tsp(optional)

Procedure:

Grind the ingredients labeled from two through five with some water.

Wash and peel the mangos in to half inch cubes as shown above.

Take a skillet and do the tadka ( 4tsps oil, few mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1/2 tsp urad dal, 1 dry red chillie, few curry leaves and a pinch of hing)

Now add the cubed mangoes with half a teaspoon of salt, half cup of water and let the mango cook for few minutes.

When the mango is about seventy percent cooked through add the ground mixture, salt and  one cup of water. Let it simmer for another ten minutes till everything comes together.

At the end taste and reseason accordingly with some chopped cilantro on the top.

Serve this sweet and tangy mango curry with chapathi.

Note: Depending upon the type of mango you get, it can be either sweet, sour or just perfect. If its little sour, add some jaggery/ sugar. If its too sweet, add some tamarind juice to it.

The mango i used was neither too sweet nor sour. So i omitted both tamarind and jaggery.

maamidikaya koora (mango curry) with chapathi

Recipe adopted from a family friend

Aloo bonda

Aloo filling:

• med potato-2
• large onion-1
• green chillies-5
• few curry leaves
• cilantro
• lemon juice and salt

1. Cook the potato in micro wave for good five minutes. Peel the skin, and mash the potatoe leaving just few chunks.
2. In a skillet do the popu by adding 4 tsps of oil, few mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal, 1/2 tsp urad dal, a pinch of hing and few curry leaves.
3. Now add the finely chopped green chillies, and onion with some turmeric.
4. Once the onion is soft add the mashed potatoe, salt, lemon juice and salt.
5. Just cook for another five minutes and turn of the stove.
6. When the aloo mixture is warm enough to handle, make small round balls out of it.

For the batter:

( Makes about 20 bondas)

• besan(gram flour)- 2 cups
• rice flour- 3 tbsps
• red chillie powder- 3/4th tsp
• cumin powder-1/2 tsp
• hot oil- 3tbsps
• salt

Mix all the above ingredients with water and hot oil. The consistency should be towards the thicker side.

Frying:

In a skillet add oil , make sure only about sixty percent of the skillet is filled with oil. If there’s too much oil, when you fry the bonda there is a good chance that oil will spill out.

Take the aloo balls, dip them in the batter and fry at medium-high heat until golden brown.

Serve the aloo bonda with garlic and date chutney.

         Aloo bonda, Mirapakaya bajji and Onion pakoda

Vangi bath (Eggplant rice)

The cuisine of Karnataka has some interesting and unique dishes . To name a few- Bisibele Bath, Saaru, Vangi Bath, Khara Bath, Akki Rotti, Ragi mudde and uppittu. Though these dishes are made in all parts of India, I still  feel these have very unique flavor and taste when eaten in Karnataka.

I came to know more about Karnataka cuisine only after i got married to Venkatesh.  Among the dishes mentioned above, i make bisebele bath and vangi bath more often. The great thing about making the bisebela bath and vangi bath is, the pre made spice powder. Having this masala powder handy makes these dishes very simple in making and most of all less time consuming. I generally get the home made masala powder made by my co-sister from India. This masala powder can be easily found in any Indian grocery store.

Note: In my in-laws house, we use the same masala powder for both bisebele bath and vangi bath.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice (uncooked)
• 6 small brinjals or 1 medium italian egg plant
• 2 tsp vangi bath powder
• curry leaves
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• salt

Procedure:

Cook the rice with 2 cups of water.

Cut the brinjals 1/2 inch lenght wise. For reference see the picture below.

Take a large non-stick skillet put 3 tbsps of oil, few mustard seeds, few curry leaves and then add the brinjal with some salt. Cook till the brinjal becomes tender. Now add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp vangi bath powder and just cook for a minute and then turn of the stove.

After five minutes remove the brinjal mixture from the skillet and place in a plate. Now in the same skillet put the rice with 3 tsps of oil, 1 tsp of vangi bath powder,1/2 tsp of salt and lemon juice. Gently mix all the ingredients, with out breaking the rice.

Once the spices are well incorporated in the rice, add the brinjal mixture to the rice and mix it well. Taste and reseason accordingly.

Its ok to add the oil and vangi bath powder directly to the rice. The hot rice takes away the raw smell from the oil and also cooks the spice powder. This trick is something i learned from my sister in-law.

                                           Cooked brinjal

Mixing oil, vangi bath powder, lemon juice and salt to the rice

                                            Vangi bath

Recipe: Venkatesh’s family

Vangi bath masala powder:

(I got this recipe from a cook book)

• chana dal- 3 tsp
• urad dal- 3 tsp
• fenugreek (methi seeds)- about 4 seeds
• dry coconut- 3 tsps
• red chillies- 5 to 6
• jeera (cumin)- 1 tsp
• coriander seeds- 1 tsp
• cloves- 2
• cardamom- 1
• cinammon stick- a small piece

Fry all the above ingredients in 1 tsp oil. Grind to a smooth paste and use 2 tsps of this mixtue for the vangi bath.

Collard greens & black chick peas sambar

Collard greens is a member of the cabbage family. The leaves are thicker and slightly bitter. I make sambar using collard greens and black chick peas (called kala chana in Hindi). Comparatively, its a healthy sambar because the peas have high protein level and a good source of potassium and the greens are rich in calcium.

                      dry chick peas (kala chana) and collard greens

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup toor dal
• 1/4 cup of dry chick peas (soaked over night)
• 1 bunch of collard greens
• 1 tomato
• 1 tsp of chopped onion
• 1 tbsp of coconut ( dry or fresh)
• 1 to 1 1/2 tsp sambar powder
• 1/4tsp jaggery/sugar
• lemon juice and salt

Procedure:

Soak the dry chick peas over night, or atleast few hours before cooking.

Pressure cook the toor dal, dry chick peas, collard greens (chopped fine) and tomato with two cups of water till soft.

In a mixer add the onion, coconut and sambar powder with little bit of water and grind to a smooth paste.

Now take a skillet do the popu or tadka ( 1 tsp oil, few mustard leaves, few curry leaves and a pinch of hing). Add the onion, coconut mixture and cook for five minutes. This takes away the raw smell of the onion. Now add the cooked dal mixture with some salt,  jaggery/sugar and lemon juice. Reduce it for another ten minutes and serve with rice.

                 collard greens pulusu(sambar) with white rice

Recipe: Venkatesh’s family

Mango salsa

Mango salsa, a light refreshing snack which goes well with the nachos. I like the color combo of this salsa - light yellow from the mango, green from the bell pepper and red from the onion. I generally make this salsa in summer when the mango’s are peak in their taste, texture and flavor.

Few months back, I made this salsa for a small get-together. It was an instant hit. I adopted this recipe from our own Sanjeev kapoor. Make sure the mango is not too hard, nor too soft. It must be somewhere in between. I didnot have Jalapeno peppers, so I used the green chillies. I removed the seeds and the vein, and chopped up pretty fine.

Ingredients:

• 1 green mango
• 1/2 green bell pepper (capsicum)
• 1/4th of med red onion
• 4 med green chillies (seeds and vein removed) or Jalapeno peppers
• cilantro (coriander leaves)
• lemon juice
• black pepper and salt.

Procedure:

1. Chop the mango into small chunks, like shown in the picture.
2. Chop the bell pepper, onion, cilantro and green chillie pretty fine.
3. Mix all the above ingredienst with some salt, crushed black pepper and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
4. Let this salsa sit for few minutes, before serving. This helps all the ingredients to blend together and release some of its juices.
5. Serve with nachos or any kind of chips you have handy.

                           Mango salsa with nachos

Recipe: Adopted from Sanjeev kapoor

Mocha Frappuccino

       

The cool and refreshing taste of a starbucks frappuccino beverage is a mocha frappuccino. Mocha flavored frappuccino is a rich and creamy chocolate-coffee drink. For someone who likes chocolate and coffee , having these two together is heaven.

Recently my nephew Neil made this drink and i just loved it. He even dressed up this drink with some whipping cream, chocolate syrup on the top and garnished with berry’s. He then said common attayya (aunt) take the picture. I always see a chef in him, with so many creative ideas. Just like Venkatesh( his uncle) he is going to be a doctor and both love to cook and experiment their food. Way to go Neil !

Chocolate is some thing i just cant take my hands off. Now having chocolate as a cold drink, what’s not to like about.

Procedure:

I am not writing the exact proportions of the ingredients, because this drink can be whipped up according to your taste.

• espresso or any type of coffee, cold
• whipping cream
• chocolate syrup
• crushed ice
• garnish with berry’s (optional)

In a blender combine all the above ingredients until the ice is crushed completely and the mixture is smooth.  While serving top it of with some whipping cream and chocolate syrup.

       

                                        Mocha frappuccino

Recipe: Neil