Tomato Rice

I needed a quick fix lunch for my 1 year old who goes to day care now. And if you are working and have to send lunch box with your kid to school, the need to cook quick, but healthy meals is the perhaps the most pressing item on your list. This led me to search for one-pot healthy meals. I am in no way a innovator when it comes to cooking. Tried and tested is what I believe in and my mom suggested Tomato Rice. This recipe is courtesy to her. Both me and my son enjoyed the meal!

Ingredients:

Rice
Ghee
Ginger garlic paste
Carrots - cut in to small pieces
Peas - cut in to small pieces
Beans - cut in to small pieces
Any other vegetables - cut in to small pieces
Tomato - blended in to a puree
Salt to taste

Process:

1. Cook rice separately and keep aside
2. In a pan, add ghee. 
3. Once hot, add ginger garlic paste and stir for few seconds.
4. Then add the carrots, peas, beans, and other veggies and fry for 3-4 mins.
5. Then add the blended tomato purée in to pan and stir.
6. Let it stay till the raw taste is gone. Stir occasionally.
7. Now add the made rice, and salt and mix well.
8. Serve hot! 

Parwal/Patal Besan Fry - Pointed Gourd

Someone who isn't very enthusiastic about spending a lot of time in kitchen after a long day at work, I appreciate all the quick recipes my mom taught me. The Patal besan fry is one such dish. The best part of it is, because of its softness, it can be taken with both rice and roti. This can also serve as a quick side dish during an elaborate dinner.

Ingredients:

Patal/Parwal/Pointed Gourd - Washed and cut in the middle to allow stuffing.
Besan - One cup
Jeera - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt
Red chilli powder
Oil

Process:

1. Mix all except patal in a bowl. Add oil in it and keep mixing till it is stays together. 
2. Stuff the mixture along the split in the patal.
3. Heat a generous helping of oil in a container.
4. Once hot, add the stuffed patals in the oil and let it cook.
5. Once the patals are start getting brown, sprinkle the rest of the mixture on top of it and mix.
6. Cook covered. Sprinkle water occasionally and cook covered till the patals are soft.
7. Serve hot with chapati or rice.

Pumpkin Curry - Gummudikaya Korra

Once in a while, it is  nice to have a curry on the sweeter side and pumpkin is a natural for that. I love this particular curry, because not only is it tasty with a mix of spice and sugar, it is super easy and quick to make. I love to eat it with rice!

Ingredients

Pumpkin - Cut in cubes

Channa dal - 1 tbsp

Urad dal - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - tbsp

Dry Red Chilli - 2 in number or according to taste

Asafoetida - a pinch

Sugar

Oil

Salt to taste

Process

1. Heat oil in a container
2. Once hot, put the channa dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, and red chilli in it.
3. Once they start spurting, add the pumpkin and mix.
4. Add half a cup water, salt and sugar. Make it sweet according to your preference.
5. Cook covered till pumpkin is tender.
6. Serve hot with rice.

Aloo-Gajar-Matar Subzi (Peas Carrot Potato Curry)

Potato is a universal favorite and it has been a  favorite of mine since childhood. Even today, when I go home, I crave for just one thing - simple potato fry. But we know it is not the ideal food if you are watching your weight. My husband insists there is potato in every curry I make. Now that is not possible always, but whenever it is I try to make it healthy. So, I made potato-carrot-peas curry (aloo-gajar-matar) which not only has the taste of potato(aloo) but also the goodness of carrot(gajar) and peas(matar). Gajar is optional but it brings a good color to the curry.


Ingredients:
5-6 Boiled potatoes in salt and lightly smashed
1/2 cup green peas (matar)
1/2 cup carrots cut in to small pieces (gajar)
1 big onion copped
1 big tomato chopped
2 green chillis chopped
1/4 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
coriander leaves


Process:
Heat oil in a pan and put the cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the garlic, ginger paste and green chillis. Stir for few seconds.
Then add the onions and mix well. Once they get transparent, add the coriander powder and mix well.
Add the tomatoes then along with the turmeric powder and half of chilli powder. When the oil starts separating, add the carrots and mix well. Sprinkle a bit of water so that carrots can start getting cooked.
After about 3-4 minutes, add the potatoes and green peas. Add the salt and rest of the chilli powder and mix well. Add 1 cup water. Cover the vessel and let it cook. 
Keep stirring ocassionally. When the curry is thick or according to your liking, add the garam masala and mix well.
Garnish it with coriander leaves and turn off the heat. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Lemon and Lentil Rasam

After I shifted to South India I have taken a great liking for the tangy and spicy Rasam. Born and brought up in the eastern part on India I never had the opportunity to taste this tangy elixir in its true form and hence had never developed a taste for this so popular dish. But today being in the south for the past 6 years and having tried my hands and mastered a part of the South Indian cuisine, I definitely place Rasam in my top 5 comfort foods. And when down with flu, it becomes the only comfort food for me J

Across the four southern states, Rasam is prepared differently in different places. If I have to list down the variety of Rasam recipes I know, I can almost list out at-least 10 of them!!!

Yesterday I prepared Lemon and Lentil Rasam and here’s the recipe….

Ingredients

½ cup Toor Dal
1 tbs tamarind paste
2 tbs lime juice
2 tps rasam powder
4 pods of garlic chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
1 tps pepper
10-12 curry leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves
Oil for tempering

Process

Pressure cook the dal along with Rasam powder, tamarind, salt and turmeric powder.
Grind the boiled dal to a fine paste and add thrice the amount of water to it and put it boil again.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds and peppercorns and let them splutter. Follow it with curry leaves.
Add the chopped ginger and garlic and stir till they are give out their pungent aroma.
Add the tempering to the boiling dal and mix well.
Add the chopped coriander leaves and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes till it reduced to 3/4^th of the amount so that the flavour of the tempering gets into the Rasam.
Add the lime juice at the end and simmer for another 2 minutes.

Cauliflower Pepper Mix Curry

I love the vegetable section of retail superstores.The color, the fresh smell of veggies attract me to them and I usually end up buying vegetables that I don't know how to cook. But I buy them anyway because they look so good. That is what I did this weekend when I picked the colorful pepper trio - red, yellow and orange pepper! See some very colorful pictures of them here and you would know why. :)
I was disappointed to find that I did not really find any recipe that included all three. I decided to go the traditional way and make a mix vegetable curry.


Ingredients
2 tsb vegetable oil
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup red pepper pieces
1/2 cup yellow pepper pieces
1/2 cup orange pepper pieces (you can use green pepper also)
1 cup potato cut in to cubes
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 big onion chopped
1 big tomato chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/2 garam masala
coriander leaves


Process:
Heat oil in the cooking vessel. When hot, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter.
Add the ginger paste and stir for few seconds. Then add the onion in it. Stir to mix it with ginger.
After couple of minutes, add garlic paste and mix properly. Add the coriander powder to the onion and mix. Stir regularly till the onion is brown in color.
Add the tomato to the mix and stir well. When the tomato starts cooking, add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and mix well. Add a bit of water to make it a paste.
Once the tomato is cooked and the contents look like a paste, add all the vegetables in it. Mix properly to coat them with the paste. Add salt, water and mix well. Do not add too much water. It should be added only to help the vegetables soak the flavor. Cook with a lid covered.
Stir the vegetables at regular intervals till they become soft. 
Once soft, add the garam masala and mix well. You can add the coriander leaves at this point and cover the lid. Let it cook for couple of minutes and turn off the fire.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Gobi Masala - Without Onion

There are times when the unthinkable happens. Like missing onions at home. Yes, it happens and it happened with me today. I had no onions, no potatoes and as if God planned it, I just had cauliflower and tomato as my main ingredients. Then I thought it would be a great experiment which my friends, has been very successful. Presenting Gobi masala without onions. 


Ingredients
4 cup Cauliflower florets - cut and soaked in turmeric water
4 Tbs Tomato puree - or thickly blended
3 green chillies
1 inch ginger
4 cloves garlic
Turmeric Powder
Chilli Powder
Coriander Powder
Salt
Coriander Leaves for garnishing


Process
Put oil in a pan and let is heat. Put the cauliflower florets and fry them till lightly brown. Remove and keep it aside.
Make a paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies.
Heat oil in the same pan and put the ginger-garlic-green chillies paste in it. Stir while it gets sauted.
Then add the tomato puree or paste and mix it properly.
Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix properly.
Wait till the paste cooks and oil separates from the mixture. Then add the cauliflower florets. Mix it properly and add a cup of water. 
Keep a lid and let it soften. 
When the cauliflowers are softened according to your preference, add the coriander leaves and mix. Keep it on heat for couple of more minutes.
Turn off the heat and serve hot with rice.

Aloo Fry - Andhra Style

Andhra food is known for its tangy flavor and simplicity and this recipe is just that. A simple potato fry with typical Andhra tempering (called "Popu" in Telugu) and little lemon juice that is a regular in most Andhra homes. It is very simple to make and can be enjoyed by one and all.


Ingredients
4 medium sized boiled potatoes with salt and turmeric
3 green chillies cut in to pieces
1/2 inch ginger finely chopped (can use readymade ginger paste)
1 tsb lemon juice
For tempering (popu):
1 tsp Urad dal
1 tsp Chana dal
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Pinch of Asafetida/Hing


Process:
Put oil in a pan and let it heat. Add the tempering ingredients in it. Let the mustard seeds pop. Add the hing.
Then put the chopped ginger and green chillies and stir for few seconds.
Add the boiled potatoes and mix the mixture properly.
Add salt according to taste.
After 3-4 minutes, add the lemon juice and mix properly.
Leave it for another couple of minutes and then put off the fire.
Serve hot with phulkas or rice.

Healthy Tikha Khatta Gobi

Ingredients:
Gobi (Cauliflower) - florets
Matar
carrots - small pieces
cumin seeds
Asafoetida
ginger paste/finely minced (optional)
turmeric powder
chilli powder
green chillies - min 2 and cut in small pieces
tomatoes finely chopped
Coriander Powder
Coriander leaves - dhania patta


Process
Heat oil in a pan.
Once heated, put cumin seeds and let them splutter
Add asafoetida and green chillies and combine for few seconds
Add the vegetables, salt and turmeric powder and combine. Let it cook for 4-5 mins while stirring at regular intervals
Add the finely chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and coriander powder and mix properly. Let it cook for 3-4 mins till the tomatoe mixes properly with the vegetables.
Add little water and mix properly so that the cauliflowers and carrots can cook. Cover it with a lid and stir occasionally.
Once cooked, add coriander leaves, mix it and keep it covered for a minute.
Put off the fire and serve with hot chapatis or with rice.