PUMPKIN CURRY | PUMPKIN SAMBAR For Idli,Dosa,Rice etc

This recipe of Sambar doe not have any sort of Dal or Lentil.It tastes heavenly and tastes good with Idli/Sambar/Rice/Roti.It tastes even better when eaten just as it is.Very easy to make with less preparations.

INGREDIENS:

1. Red Pumpkin Puree - 2 Cups (To make it - Take out the seeds and pressure cook it with skin.When it cools down, take out and smash it well.
2. Tomato Puree - 3/4 Cup. Click here for recipe of Tomato Puree
3. One Big Onion - Chopped
4. Glarlic cloves - 2 (chopped)
5. Oil - 4 Tbsp
6. Mustard and Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp each
7. Hing and Turmaric Powder - 1/2 Tsp each
8. Black gram Split/Urad Dal - 1 Tbasp
9. Dry Red Chilles - 2
10. Curry Leaves - 8 to 10
11. Cumin and Coriander Powder - 1 Tbsp each
12. Curry Powder - 2 Tbsp (I used the brought from SPROUTS).You can use of your choice.
13. Red Chilly Powder - 1 Tsp
14. Salt ToTaste
15. Cilantro for Garnishing

STEPS : 

• Heat the Oil.Add Urad Dal to it.When it starts to crackle,add Mustard and Cumin Seeds,Hing,Turmaric Powder,Curry Leaves and Red Chillies.
• Now,add Onions,Salt and let it cook.Once Onions are cooked, add Cumin and Coriancer Powder,Red Chilly Powder,Curry Powder and let the mixture fry for a minute or two.Make sure it does not get burnt.
• Now add Tomato Puree and let everything cook.Until,you see that oil is released.
• Now add Pumpkin Puree,water(around 2 cups) and let it cook on a medium flame for around 10 minutes.
• Garnish with Cilantro.
• It is ready to be served with any main course.
  

TIPS: 

• You can use the water that was used to cook Pumpkin
• You can decide the thickness of gravy according to how you like.

नाचणी सत्व | रागी सत्व | Ragi Malt |Ragi Satwa |Finger Millet Malt

Ragi is a nutrition rich grain.It is a good source of Calcium and Iron.Also, Ragi is a GLUTEN FREE grain. Ragi Stava is a very famos and regularly used powder for energy boosting.It is mainly given to kids and aged people to stay energised.But it is good for everybody.Also, used to recover from weakness.

Basically it is powder of sprouted Ragi.And it can be used in various ways.
NOTE: Ragi Malt and Ragi flour are NOT THE SAME.

TIME REQUIRED : It takes around 48 to 72 hours including soaking,sprouting and fianlly making the powder.

INGREDIENTS :

1. 1 Cup Ragi grain or Ragi Whole
2. 1 TeaSpoon Ghee or Clarified Butter.
   

STEPS :

• First, make sure that Ragi does not have any impurities like small stones.
• Then soak in the water for 10 to 15 hours.
• Take out all the water.
• Then Take a big plate.Spread the cheese clothe or khadi (Cotton) clothe and transfer the soaked ragi.
• Now tie the clothe and use the ramainig clothe for coveing the ragi.This helps ragi get the warmth needed for sprouting.spinkle little water over all the clothe.
• Keep in a vessel and and keep this vessel and leave it for around 24 hours atleast to get the good sprouts.
  
• You can also keep the vessel in the Oven as there is less chance of reaching the cold.
• After it is sprouted, spread the Ragi srpouts on paper for Drying.make sure you dry it in the shade.That means, do not keep in patio on in the sunlight.Give 5 to 6 hours for drying.
  

• Sprouted Ragi after completely dried in the below photo.
  
• In a Pan, add Ghee or Clarified butter.Keep Heat on madium Flame and transfer the dried Ragi Sprouts to the pan.Start sautéeing slowly.After few minutes you will start to feel the aroma of roasted Ragi.
• Roast it for 15 to 20 minutes or until you see the color has been changed to dark brown.
• Let it cool down.You can spread on the paper again to cool down as seen in the photo below.
  
• Then grind it to the powder.
• This Powder can be used with jaggery or Sugar to make the malt.
  

TIPS : 

• Time taken for Srouting may vary.
• Also, make sure you take the vessel out of Oven before in case you need to start the heat in Oven

NO OIL PADWAL BHAJI USING SLOW COOKER | पडवळ भाजी | SNAKE GOURD BHAJI WITH SLOW COOK METHOD

The title says everthing.No oil required to make this Bhaji/Subji.I have used AROMA Rice cooker that has "Slow Cook" Option in it.

INGREDIENTS :

1. Padawal - 2 Small size, cut into thin rings.
   
2. Maharshtrian Masala Paste - 1 Cup. Click here for the RECIPE
   
3. Salt to Taste
4. Water - 1 Cup

STEPS

• Transfer Padwal,Masala,Salt and Water to the container.
  
• Choose the option "Slow Cook"
• By the time it beeps,your subji is all set to be served.
• Mix well and have with Chapti/Rice etc.
  

TIPS : 

• You will see oil at the end.It is because of peanuts and coocnut in the Masala.
• Garnish with Cilantro.

CHUTNEY PODI - KIDS FRIENDLY

      "Podi" means powder.This Chutney podi in simple words is "Powdered lentils" with Red chillies and Curry leaves.It is a seasoning full of nutrients.
       BUT!!! The recipe I am going to share does not contain Red Chillies at all and is definitely a great option for keeds.It tastes tangy and sweet because of Tamarind and Coconut in it.
This is used as seasoning for Idli,Dosa.Also goes perfect with Rice,Chapati,Uppit/Upma.Pohe,Oats and anthing you like.

INGREDIENTS:

1. Chana Dal or Chickpea Split - 1/2 Cup
2. Urad Dal or Black Gram Split(skinless) - 1/2 Cup
3. Dry Coconut - 1/2 Cup
4. Curry Leaves - 1/2 Cup
5. Tamarind - 1Tsp
6. Salt to Taste
7. Sugar - 1 Tsp (Optional)
8. Oil - 2 Tsp (1 Tsp each Dal)

STEPS:

• With a little oil dry roast Both the Dals,Curry leaves,Coconut Powder and Tamarind.
• Roasting Coconut - No need to add oil as Coconut has oil in it.Only think to take care about is,do not over heat the pan you are roasting.Try to keep it below medium flame or else Coconut can over rost resulting in bitter taste.
• Roasting Tamarind - When all the ingredients are roasted and transfered to differnt container,Just put the flame off the pan and add tamarind.Just keep flipping for a minute or two.The heat remaining in pan is enough to raost it.
• Once the mixture cools down,add Salt and Sugar.
•  Grind everything well until you get the texture you want for Chutney.
• You can grind it to smooth Powder or you can have it Coarse.
• With little Ghee or Oil, it makes a very tasty and refreshing Seasoning.
• Can also be used dry.
  

TIPS:

• You can always add Dry Red Chillies if you like.I have not added it because this Podi is mainly for Kids.
• Mix with Cream Cheese and make delicious and healthy Cream Cheese Sandwich.

PEPPER VEGETABLES

I prepared Pepper Chicken following "Vahchef's" recipe but with little modifications and loved it very much.When I had guests come for dinner who were purely vegetarians, I thought of making pepper gravy but with vegetables.And guess what.....it turned out amazing and stole the dinner show.

Here I am,presenting this spicy,hot,tangy Pepper Vegetables.Vegetables cooked in tomato gravy that has Pepper as main ingredient.You are going to love it.

INGREDIENTS:

1. MARINATION : Hung yogurt (4 Tbsp), salt and Turmeric Powder (1/2 Tsp)
2. French beans - 2/3 Cup (Chopped)
3. Carrots - 2/3 Cup (Chopped)
4. Bell Pepper/Capsicum - 2/3 Cup (Chopped)
5. Onions - 2/3 Cup (Chopped)
6. Oil - 3 Tbsp
7. Pepper Powder or Coarse Pepper - 1 Tbsp
8. Fennel Seeds - 1 Tbsp (Crushed)
9. Curry Leaves - 3 stems 
   
10. FOR GRAVY

• One onion - Chopped
• 4 Medium size Tomatoes - Chopped
  
• Oil - 3 Tbsp
• Mustard and Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp each
• Asafoetida and Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp each
• Coriander and Cumin Powder - 1 Tsp each
• Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 Tsp (Optional)
• Garam Masala - 2 Tbsp
• Salt

STEPS: 

• Mix the Hung yogurt,Turmeric Powder and sal.Marinate the chopped vegetables(2,3,4,5) in this mixture,cover and let it marinate for atleast 3 to 4 hours in fridge (I kept over night)
  
• MAKING GRAVY - In a pan, heat the oil.To that,add Mustard and Cumin Seeds.Once they crackle, add Onions,Asafoetida,Turmeric Powder and Salt.Mix it well and let Onions fry.

Once Onions are nearly fried, add Garam Masala,Coriander and Cumin Powder and Sautee for a minute.Now that all the spices are well fried in the oil, add Chopped Tomatoes. and let all the ingredients cook very well.Cover the lid and let it cook.

Let this mixture cool down completely.Then,transfer it to the blender and make a fine Purée out of it.Gravy is ready.

• In a pan (You can use the same pan that was used earlier to make gravy), add oil.
• Add Crushed Fennel Seeds,Pepper and Curry Leaves.Let them fry.You will feel nice aroma.
• To that,add marinated Vegetables.
• Keep on stirring the vegetables and let them fry on the oil.Do not cover the lid or else vegetables will lose the crunchy texture.Let them cook until you see that marinated yogurt is cooked well.
• Now add the Gravy to it.Add some water,Close the lid and let it cook for around 7 to 10 minutes on a medium heat.
• If you think, gravy is watery, let it cook for few more minutes without the lid.
• Pepper Vegetables is ready to Serve with Rice,Chapati.It even tastes awesome with Tandoori roti and Naan too.
• It is hot,spicy,tangy and utterly tasty.

TIPS:

• You can add more Pepper powder while cooking if you need.
  

PAALAK RICE |SPINACH RICE |पालक भात

This is a very convenient way to make kids and those who hate Spinach eat Spinach.Very easy,simple and healthy with minimum ingredients.Ideal in winters,lazy weekends.

Time : 15 minutes (Time needed to cook rice is not included)
Serving - 2 to 3 People ideally but I am not responsible if your loved one eats all because he/she might fall in love with it :D

INGREDIENTS :

1. Uncooked Rice - 1 Cup
2. Raw Spinach/Palak Purée - 2 Cup (Has to be thick like ketchup)
   
3. Gralic minced or crushed - 2 Tsp
4. Crushed Pepper - 1/2 TSP (I have used moderate amount considering kids )
5. Cashews - 8 to 10 cut in to half or as you like (I did not use them),OPTIONAL
6. Salt for Taste
7. Oil - 3 Tbsp

STEPS:

•  COOKING RICE : It is up to you to decide the texture of rice depending upon who is going to eat (Like kids or elderly person or you are making it for party).How I did is, washed the rice,added 1 Tbsp olive oli,and mixed well.Then I added 2 cups of water and cooked in Rice Cooker.
• Let cooked rice cool down.By that time,we can prepare the Palak Purée.
• Make the raw Palak Purée in blender.It should not be too watery.
• In a shallow pan, add 2 Tbsp of Oil.To that add Garlic,Salt and Purée.Mix it well and close the lid.
• Keep it on medium flame.Let it cook.At the same time water starts evaporating making Purée thick as you see in the picture below.
  
• To that add Pepper and transfer the rice.Now,keep the flame low.
• Star mixing Rice and Purée gently.It takes little time and patience.Make sure Palak spread evenly everywhere.
• Again close the lid and let it cook for 5 - 10 minutes on low flame.This allows the aroma to blend in rice and make it perfect.
• Serve hot.It tastes nice as it is but you can eat with any gravy or ghee.

TIPS

• Do not use narrow pan.Use the shallow one so that it will be easier to mix.
• You can change the quantity of Paalak and Pepper according to your taste.

QUICK CHUTNEY FOR IDLI / DOSA / VADA / PAKODA

Yes!!!!! It just takes not more than five minutes to prepare.And believe me, taste is just heavenly.
 Let us see how to prepare this.

The following measurement makes around 4 bowls(Standard Size) of chutney and depending upon the consistency.

Ingredients :

1. Grated Dry Coconut - 1 Cup (Now a days, it is easily available in the market)
2. Green chillies - 2, chopped (No need to be chopped finely)
3. Garlic Cloves - 2 to 3
4. Gingler - 1/2 inch ,chopped
5. Salt to taste
6. Sugar - 1 Tea Spoon (Optional)
7. Buttermilk - 2 Cups
8. Oil - 1 Table spoon
9. For Tadka - Cumin Seeds and Mustard seeds (1/2 Tea Spoon each),Udad Daal or Split Black Gram(1 Tea spoon), Asafoetida and Turmeric powder (1/4 Tea Speen each), 2 Dried red chillies.

 STEPS :

• Except buttermilk and Oil, Transfer all the ingredients to grinder and grind well and transfer this dry chutney to a bowl.
• To this add the butter milk.Depending upon the consistency of chuteny you prefer, you can adjust the quantity of buttermilk.Mix it well.At this point, chuteny is ready but without Tadka
• In a pan, heat the oil.First add Mustard and Cumin seeds.After they start to splutter,add Udad daal and let fry on low heat.Flame should be low to just medium, because we do not want Udad daal to over burn.The Cruchy daal adds very nice aroma to this chutney
• Put down the flame and Hing or Asafoetida,Turmeric and Dry chillies immediately and stir with spoon.Using this technique will save Hing,Turmeric and Chillies from over burning.
• Pour this Tadka on the Chutney and mix well.
• Chutney is ready to serve with Idli,Dosa,Vada etc.The tangy taste of curd is what makes this chutney so special

TIPS :

• You can serve withou tadka too.But, Tadka adds nice flavor :)
• If butter milk is not ready, just do this : After you take out chutney from the grinder, add yogurt or curd,some water and blend it and add it to the chutney
• If you are curd lover,you can just blend the curd without water and add to this Chutney

PEPPER RASSAM - Quick Version

Rassam is a mouth watering curry.With white plain rise, it really gives heavenly feeling.Rassam has been my all time favorite curry.I have tried to come up with quicker version here.The efforts are very less while making this Rassam.May be ingredients look more in number, but process is very easy and quick.

 

The following measurement serves 2 -3 people sufficiently

Ingredients : 

1. 2 Tomatoes (boiled or pressure cooked)
2. Oil for tadka - 3 Table spoon
3. Things to go in oil - Mustard and Cumin seeds( 1 tea spoon each), hing and turmeric powder (1/2 tea spoon each),Curry leaves (5-6)
4. Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves
5. Green chillies - 3-4
6. Pepper seeds - 10
7. Salt to taste
8. Tamarind paste - 1 table spoon
9. jaggery - a chunk of 1 inch. 

Steps :

• Smash the bolied Tomatoes well.No need to strain out.
• Heat the oil on medium flame and add mustard seeds,Cumin seeds,hing and turmeric. Once they are fried,add the smashed tomatoes and fry well for around 5 to7 minutes.
• To this add around 6 cups of water and let it boil.
• Now, Grind the garlic,green chillies and pepper together.Add this mixture to the rassam along with salt,tamarind and jaggery.
• Close the lid for around 5 minutes.After 5 minutes take out the kid and let it cook for another 15 minutes.
• If needed, add some more water as this rassam is supposed to be watery and not thick curry.

TIPS:

• If you do not want to add green chillies,you can add 1 teas spoon of red chilli powder in oil
• You can adjust the quantity of green chilli, red chilli powder and pepper according to the taste you want.
• You can skip tamarind if you want to.

MEDU VADA/ UDDIN VADA

A crispy Indian doughnut.A south Indian dish loved by all over India.Very easy and quick to make.

 

With following quantity of Ingredients,6-8 Vadas are prepared depending up on size. 

Ingredients :

1. Udad Daal (Split Black Gram)/Udidachi dal(Marathi)/Uddin Bele(Kannada) - 1 Cup
2. Green chillies - 1
3. Dry Coconut flakes - 1/2 cup
4. Crushed Pepper - 1/2 tea spoon
5. Ginger paste or crushed - 1/2 tea spoon
6. Salt to taste
7. Cut Onions  1/2 Cup (Adding Onions is optional)
8. Cumin Seeds - 1 Tea spoon 
9. Baking Soda - 1/4 tea spoon
10. Oil to fry - 250 Mls.

Steps : 

• Soak the Dal in water for around 4 hours.
• Drain the water and transfer dal to Grinder.Do not add water as Dal already has water in it.Grind it well
• Your batter should be thick.To that add Cut Green chillies,Dry coconut flakes,Crushed peppers,Ginger,Salt,Onions,Cumin seeds,Baking Soda and mix well.
• Heat the oil in a pan on medium flame.Take dough ball on your palms of around 2 inch diameter.Shake your palm so that ball is little flattened,,make a hole at the center and let it slip into the oil slowly to fry.
• Fry on medium flame.Your Vada are ready having nice golden browm color.

TIPS : 

• Do not add water while grinding.Your batter should be as thick as possible or else, vadas do not hold good shape neither in hands nor in vada maker.
• Do not hold dough on your finger as marks of fingers remain on dough even after fried and this spoils texture of the vadas.While transferring to oil, make sure dough remains for as less time as possible on your fingers to avoid the marks of fingers.