Aloo Paratha

I have started making a lot more rotis these days to try and reduce the rice intake. So, in order to try something different, I tried making aaloo parathas today. To my suprise they came out exceptionally well! I had them with Maggi's sweet and hot sauce and some thick yoghurt. Here is what I ended up making. I hope you try it sometime too!

Ingredients
150-200 gms Wheat flour (or as needed)

Enough water to make the dough

Salt to taste

5-6 medium sized potatoes

2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (finely chopped)

4-5 green chillies

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste (optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup oil, ghee or butter




Method

1. Knead a semi-soft dough with wheat flour,sufficient water and salt to taste.

2. Boil the potatoes and mash them when still hot.

3. Add finely chopped coriander leaves,green chillies, garlic and ginger paste,cumin seeds,lime juice and salt to taste. Mix well.

4. Divide the potato mixture into equal rounds. Similarly do the sames with the dough.Roll out the portion of the dough into a small chapati,spread a tsp of oil evenly on the rolled out chapati,place a portion of the potato mixture in the centre of the chapati.

5. Gather the edges to make a round flat peda. Lightly dust the surface with flour and roll out the peda into six-inch parathas.

6. On a hot griddle roast both sides of the paratha till they turn a shade of golden. Grease with ghee,oil or butter.

7. Serve hot with plain curds,slices of onions and tomatoes,green chillies,lemon wedges,green mint chutney and mango pickle.



That's it!



..ShaKri..

Rice Idli - Debut attempt

Idlis are popular breakfast dishes in India, specially in South India. Everything from taTTe idli (plate idli) to rava idli is served in every restaurant across the southern peninsula of the country. That said, given the connections of my ethnic roots there, it took me a decade to actually try and make idlis. I am not really sure why but I never got around to making them. Maybe it was because they are not as easy to make as say corn flakes or toast, for instance. But nevertheless I did buy an idli plate setting a few days ago and this seemed like the perfect weekend to try it out. Here is the result of my debut attempt. Special thanks to my friend Pratibha for teaching me how to make the batter for this dhideer idli recipe!

Method

1) Soak a mixture of 3/4 cup Urad daal + 2 Tablespoons Chana daal + 1 teaspoon Methi seeds in water for about 3-4 hours.

2) Grind the contents of 1) in a blender and gradually add to it 1 cup worth of rice flour. Grind again so that they all mix well together.

3) Now keep this batter in a warm place overnight. The idea is that it ferments properly.

4) In the morning, just before breakfast that is, smear oil/ghee on the idli plate holders and pour in the batter depending on how many you wish. I went with 2 plates (small ones) so I ended up with 8 idlis.

5) Steam cook them in a cooker or a vessel with boiling water and cover it. After about 15 minutes of proper steaming, your idlis are ready!

6) Scrape them out carefully with a spoon and have them with maybe a chutney or as I did, with my favorite hagalkai gojju. :)


Cheers,
ShaKri

Tomato Rice

Growing up in India one of the popular lunch/dinner dishes I was used to was the Tomato Rice baath dish. In fact a lot of the restaurants also serve this dish in Bangalore. That said, I tried it out with a slightly different dash by adding some peanuts and onions. Giving below the result which is absolutely divine to taste along with spicy daal paalak. I hope you also try the same and like it as much as I did! Enjoy!

Basic ingredients

Basmati rice: 1 cup

Tomatoes: two medium, chopped, with juice

Onions(optional): one, fine chopped (I used 1 chopped red onion)

Salt and lime juice to taste

Coriander leaves for garnishing(optional)

For seasoning

mustard seeds: one teaspoon

urad dal: one teaspoon

chana dal: 1/2 teaspoon

red chillies: 3-5 depending on how hot you like it

peanuts: 1/2 cup

curry leaves: 6 or 7

hing/asafoetida: a pinch

turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp

For the masala

one tablespoon coriander seeds

one tablespoon chana dal

one tablespoon white sesame seeds

4 or 5 red chilllies

1/2 teaspoon or less methi (fenugreek) seeds

Method

1. Cook the rice and separate the grains so that they are light to feel.

2. Heat oil in wok and add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, asafoetida, red chillis and curry leaves. Just when the mustard starts popping, add peanuts and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the turmeric powder and if using onions, add and fry the onions till translucent. Add the tomatoes and the juice from the tomatoes, and cook on medium-low flame.

3. In the meantime, dry roast the masala ingredients, adding the fenugreek after the others have roasted for a few minutes. Cool after they are golden brown and powder in a blender, or add a little water and blend into a thick paste.

4. When the raw smell of tomatoes is replaced by a cooked aroma, lower the flame, and add the blended masala, adding very little water if the mixture is too thick. The gravy should not be watery but a thick paste.

5. Add the salt, rice and mix well. You can also add lime juice and garnish with coriander.

..ShaKri..

Capsicum Upma

The item I decided to document today is considered a great breakfast dish in India. While I do understand this is a fairly simple one to make, I still wanted to write about it since it came out pretty well. I did not have coriander leaves to add towards the end but when you do try it, please ensure that finely chopped coriander leaves are also added. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup rawa (semolina)

2 medium sized capsicums

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsps curry leaves

1 tomato

1 green chilli

small piece of ginger

a pinch of asafoetida(hing)

1-2 tsp turmeric powder (some people prefer vangibath masala or garam masala too)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tsp salt

Finely chopped coriander - optional



Method

1) Roast(without oil) the rawa on low flame till it turns a little golden.

2) Chop the tomatoes and capsicum into small pieces.

3) Chop the ginger into strips and slit the green chilli length-wise.

4) Heat a little oil in a kadaiAdd mustard seeds and asafoetida.

5) When the mustard splutters, add the slit green chilli, curry leaves and ginger.

6) Add capsicum pieces and fry for a 2-3 mins.

7) Now add 1 cup water, chopped tomatoes and the turmeric powder.

8) Once the water starts boiling, add salt and the roasted rawa.

9) Stir so that no lumps are formed Add more water if needed

10)Once its done, switch off the stove and add the lemon juice.

11)Garnish with finely chopped coriander if needed.



..ShaKri..

Spicy Tomato Chutney

I wasn't really in the mood for some big dishes today as I had managed to cook up a late Capsicum Upma (recipe coming soon!) so I chose to have a paratha and curd rice with some tomato chutney. I have tried this sort of chutney just once before and I must say, it came out great yet again. This chutney goes well with anything so do try it out sometime!

Ingredients
Ripe Tomatoes - 6
Urad dal - 1 Tbsp
Methi Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 Tbsp
Curry leaves - a few (chopped in half)
Dry Red Chillies - 3-4
Hing - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 Tbsp
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 Tbsps



Method
1. Heat the oil in a pan. Once it is hot add to it the mustard seeds,urad dal, methi seeds, hing, red chillies and curry leaves. Mix well.
2. To the mixture now add chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat until tomatoes are well done.
3. Now add the red chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and sugar to this mixture. Again, mix well and reduce the heat.
4. That's it! If you want no tomato lumps then chop the tomatoes real fine. I prefer mine with pieces of tomato that I can bite into, hence I made larger chunks when adding. Now cool and have it with any main dish of your choice.


Cheers!



..ShaKri..

Aloo Karela vegetable

Those of you who know me will know that I am a HUGE fan of karela (hAgalakAyi). In fact legend has it that I used to eat it raw when I was a kid! That said, there have been very few instances where I have tried to experiment with this divine vegetable in something other than the traditional gojju. Given my colorful palatte for various flavors, I decided to make another equally yummy dish by combining it with potato this time. The result was - to say the least -awesome. I think I suddenly like this dish better than gojju! I intend to try the Bengali dish shukto next. I shall let you know if it comes out well. ;) For now, please enjoy Aloo Karela.

Ingredients

1. Karela (Bitter Gourd) - 3-4 pieces chopped well.
2. Potato - 1-2 chopped into small pieces.
3. Onion - 1
4. Green Chillies - 3-4
5. Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
7. Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Sugar (as per resistance to bitterness)
9. Oil
10. Salt to taste



Method
1. Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan.
2. Once the oil is hot put the onions, green chillies, karela and potato to the pan.
3. Mix well, cover and cook on low flame until karela turns light brown.
4. Once the vegetables are well cooked add the masala powders and mix well.
5. Now add the sugar and mix well. The sweetness part of it is optional and based on your taste level.
6. Cook for a few more minutes and add salt to taste.

That's it! You can now enjoy the vegetable with chapatis or rice. A great side dish for any day! :)


Cheers,

ShaKri