Tava Pulao

I have grown up eating freshly cooked food for every meal. Leftovers were really not preferred and I guess after once you get the estimate of cooking for the number of people right, you land up with less left-overs. The freezer to microwave concept never existed at home and I am not too fond of it myself. But wasting food has always been discouraged, so if there are left-overs, then its creatively modified or had as is, but it cannot go waste.

On a regular day, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, specially in the mornings starting at 5.30am. First breakfast for my son, then his lunch to be packed. Their school is very particular and only home cooked food is allowed, no packeted food, and they prefer rotis and a sabji with some fruits. Then it breakfast for TH and me, we are not big on cereals and oats, so its usually a typical Indian breakfast with poha, upma, dosa, idli, parathas.
Lunch, evening snack for my son and dinner for all of us. So that makes it about 6 times in a day.



I hadn't heard of this tava pulao till TH had it from one of the street food stalls in Bombay / Mumbai many years back. The thelas or food stalls that usually make pav bhaji in the evenings, dish up this tava pulao for lunch near the crowded office areas of the Fort area in Bombay. The vegetables and the masala used in Pav bhaji are cooked on the tava and then the cooked rice is added to it. Lots of butter and some clang-clanging of mixing the rice with the masala are you are handed over this plate of hot delicious rice.

We are typically rice-eaters and I am consciously trying to cut down our rice intake at nights. I had some left over rice from lunch, a few veggies stocked up and some pav bhaji masala that has been languishing in the pantry, waiting to be used.
I do make pav bhaji but it isn't that often and I prefer to use up these masalas soon enough, definitely before its expiry date.
I remembered TH's description of that tava pulao and decided to convert this left-over rice



Its really tasty because of the pav bhaji masala. A squeeze of lemon juice and a little butter add a lot to this dish. Served with some raita and you have a complete meal in about 10 mins.

Tava Pulao

What you need -

2 cups cooked rice
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 capsicum
(Add more vegetables if you like)
1/2 cup shelled peas
1-2 tsp pav bhaji masala
1/2 a lemon
coriander leaves to garnish
1 tbsp butter

What you do with it -

Chop the capsicum, onions and tomatoes
Boil the peas with a little salt for 5 mins
Heat a little oil in a kadhai/wok or a deep tava/pan
Add the onions and fry for 2-3 mins on a high flame
Add the tomatoes, capsicum and peas
Add the pav bhaji masala and salt and 2-3 tbsp water
Once the vegetables are almost cooked, add the rice
Stir well ad then add the butter
Fry for 2-3 mins
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over it and garnish with coriander leaves
Serve hot with raita / curds

Raw Mango Rice / Mangai Ogaray - Southern Flavours by Chandra Padmanabhan

I had got 'Southern Flavours', a book by Chandra Padmanabhan as part of the book review program by blogadda in the last week of January.
I would have loved to cook from the book and then write the review, but since the review had to come up in a week's time, and I was going to have a lot of my relatives coming over in two days time, I decided to write the review just based on what I read



I was honestly not very happy with writing a review of a cookbook, without cooking anything from it, so I got down to making quite a few things from the book - Pandigai Mor Kolambu, Kancheepuram idli, Thenga thuvyal and Masala vade, which turned out really good. As it usually happens, either the pictures didn't come out alright in the evening light, or the family was too hungry to make them wait before I took pictures, so it didn't make its way here

I made this mangai ogaray or raw mango rice, which according to the author, is from the Hebbar Iyengar community of Karnataka, a recipe she learnt from her sister-in-law.
The mustard seeds ground with the coconut and raw mango gave it a sharp, tangy flavour, which worked really well, a different taste from I've had so far\

I will post more of what I make from the book, but in the meanwhile, do give this a try...



Mangai Ogaray
Recipe Source - Southern Flavours by Chandra Padmanabhan

What you need -

1 cup long grained rice (I used basmati)
1.5 cups grated raw mango - I used 2 medium sized ones and grated with the skin on
4 tbsp raw peanuts
salt to taste
1 sprig curry leaves

Spice paste -
1.5 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder / hing
4-6 red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 tbsp grated fresh coconut

Tempering -
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp split Bengal gram / chana dal
1 red chilli, halved

What you do with it -

Cook the rice and spread on a platter to cool (I added 1/2 tsp salt while cooking the rice)
Combine all the ingredients for the spice paste. Add half the grated mango and grind to a fine paste. Set aside
Heat oil for tempering in a pan. Add the ingredients for tempering in the order given
Fry over moderate heat. Add peanuts and fry for 2-3 mins
Add the remaining grated raw mango and cook till its tender
Stir in the spice paste and cook for 3-4 mins, till its fragrant
Remove from heat
Add salt and curry leaves to the rice and stir in the spiced mango masala, gently, till it blends well
Serve at room temperature
I served it with a raita and masala vadas

Rainy weekend and some Bisi Bele Bhath

Ahmedabad has had some very unexpected showers over the last few weeks. Over the last two years here, the monsoon has ranged from 2 hours to 2 days, but this time, its been over 2 weeks !!
Sunday was one more of those downpour days...It has definately cooled down the place a lot, but the city is just not equipped to handle the rains, the roads are flooded and stepping out of the house for anything is a big mess...



This is the view from my balcony - an otherwise empty piece of land which has become a mini lake and had a buffalo enjoying a sunday swim !!

Rains again this Sunday meant our usual weekend meal out was out of the question..
I didnt want to go out to even buy the basic vegetables...Had to make do with what I had...TH was back after a few days of travelling out on work and he always prefers some simple home food...



Miri had gifted me this book 'Cooking at home with Pedatha', when she was here in Feb and though I have been reading it up and admiring all those lovely pictures, I always planned, but somehow never landed making anything from this book.

The bisi bele hulianna / bisi bele bhath was definately on my list and it sounded perfect for a sunday lunch. Plus since its a one pot meal, you dont have to think up of too much to go with it... Cucumber raita and some garlic vadiyos/ vadams /crispies and we were all set...



I've always liked bisi bele and really like eating it hot with lots of boondi and raita...The flavours were so good and reminded me of this place in Bangalore from where we had packed this a few times...'Nammoora', a small place in South Bangalore, which only parcels food and expects you to bring the boxes along..Their bisi bele bhath is to die for..

This tasted almost as good...
Thank you Miri, this book is a real treasure...

What you need -

1 heaped cup uncooked rice
1 level cup split red gram (tur dal)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 large onion
1 medium potato
1 medium carrot
7-8 french beans (I didnt have these)
1 green capsicum (my addition)
1 long brinjal (my addition)
3 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 slit green chillies
10-12 curry leaves
4-6 tbsps ghee (ok, i used 2-3 tsps)
2-3 tbsp oil
salt to taste

The 1st powder
1/2 cp bengal gram (chana dal)
1/4 cup split black gram (urad dal)
1/4 coriander seeds
6-7 red chillies
3 sticks cinnamon
4 cloves

The 2nd powder (this one rocks !!)
1/2 cup grated dry coconut (kopra / kobri)
1/4 cup coriander leaves

Tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
6-8 cashewnuts (my addition)

What you do with it -

Pressure cook the rice in 3 cups water till soft
Pressure cook the turdal in 3 cups water with a little turmeric. Churn and set aside
Chop the vegetables into bite-sized peces
For the 1st powder, dry roast the grams and coriander seeds separately, until deep brown. Heat 2 tsp oil and roast the red chillies. Grind these with the cinnamon and cloves to a fine powder
For the 2nd powder, wash the coriander leaves and pat dry. Roast the dry coconut until golden brown. Grind along with coriander leaves, without adding any water
In a large wok, heat the remaining oil for tempering,dd the ingredients under tempering and when the cashenuts turns brownish, add the vegetables
Cover and cook, adding a little water if necessary
Mix together the tamarind pulp, 1st powder and the cooked dal in 1 cup of water and make a smooth paste. Add this to the vegetables and cook for 2-3 mins. Here, Pedatha suggests adding some sugar. I added 1 tbsp grated jaggery
Add the cooked rice, green chillies, curry leaves and salt and stir for another 5 mins
Just before taking it off the heat, add the 2nd powder and ghee
Stir well and serve hot with vadams/ crispies and a raita

Thai style Noodles

On one of the quieter tree-lined streets in Bangalore, there was this really beautiful restaurant called 'Spiga'. It was a really pretty house and the informal atmosphere made the whole experience so much nicer.
They had an interesting menu, with a few options from various cuisines
I am a big fan of Thai food and invariably ordered that when I went there and it was simply perfect every single time

The street is now busier and is more like a high-fashion street with all Indian and global designers having a showroom there and Spiga has closed down
The good news is that they have opened their restaurant in another area in bangalore, the bad news is that I dont live there anymore *sob*



In memory of all the lip-smacking food i have had at Spiga, I made this Thai style noodles for dinner last night.
I found brocolli and coloured peppers here and I knew I had to make this. I made a little red curry paste, added peanuts, got the veggies together and made a little red curry out of it. Added a bit of soy sauce, sugar, chillies and noodles and it tasted real good, almost as good as the one from Spiga...



What you need -

1/2 cup peanuts
2 tsps soy sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup brocolli florets
2 coloured capsicums
1 onion
1/2 cup chopped spring onions
chilli flakes
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

(You can add tofu or mushrooms to this)

For the paste -

4 red chillies
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch piece ginger
1/2 tsp lemon rind
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 onion

What you do with it -

Roast the peanuts and crush them into small pieces
Chop the peppers lengthwise. Wash and keep aside
Chop the onion into large pieces lengthwise

Cook the noodles as per the instructions
I dropped it in how water with a little salt, for about 5 mins
Drain water. Add a tsp of oil and spread it in a large plate to avoid it getting all sticky

Soak the chillies in warm water for about 10 mins
Put thru a blender all the other ingredients under 'For the paste'
Add half the roasted peanuts and blend one more time

In a large deep pan, add the paste and fry, adding a little oil
Add sugar and salt
Add the onions, capsicums and brocolli
Add the soy sauce and stir on high heat
Lower the heat and add the coconut milk
Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 mins

To serve, place the noodles in a plate and spoon the curry over it
Garnish with roasted peanuts and spring onions

Burmese Khow Suey

There were a lot of Indians living in Burma and had to leave everything behind and flee during the war. Ma's older sister's husband's family was one of them. They left a lot behind, but carried back many memories and a bit of the Burmese culture and cuisine.Living in a different place always adds so much to your cuisine, if you are open to it.

This recipe for Khow Suey is from this aunt and may have got Indianised along the way, but its a nice blend of veggies and noodles with coconut milk.



Simple, quick and delicious with the creamy coconut milk, the tangy lemon and the crunchy vegetables.
To serve this, place the coconut curry in one bowl, the noodles in another and have all the garnishes in separate bowls. You can serve the noodles first, then pour the curry over it. Garnishes can be added as per individual tastes



For variation, add chicken to the curry, or keep halved boiled eggs as part of the garnish
For an all vegetarian / vegan version, make the curry using only vegetables.
Here, I used carrots and coloured peppers / capsicums in the curry. The garnishes are spring onions, coriander leaves, lemon wedges and chillies in vinegar

Burmese Khow Suey

What you need -

1-2 capsicums (coloured ones make the dish pretty)
2 carrots
1 onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1" piece ginger
3-4 green chillies
4-5 stalks of spring onions
3 eggs
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 pkt noodles (thinner the better)
coconut milk from 1 coconut / 1 can ready coconut milk / coconut cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chickpea flour / besan

What you do with it -

Grind together the onions, garlic, green chillies and ginger
Chop carrots and capsicum lengthwise into thin strips
Slice the spring onions
Hard boil the eggs. Peel and quarter
Boil water with a little salt in a large pot.
Drop in the noodles and keep for 5-6 mins, or as per the packet instructions
Drain the noodles and set aside
Fry the onion paste in a large pan till the raw smell goes away
Add in the capsicum and carrot
Add a little oil and stir on high heat till the carrots are almost done
Add in the salt, turmeric powder and coconut milk and the chickpea flour mixed in a little water
Simmer till done
Serve noodles first. Pour the coconut milk with veggies over the noodles
Place the boiled eggs over it
Garnish with spring onions, coriander leaves, lime wedges and chillies in vinegar

Mushroom Spinach Biryani

I am not very orthodox with my cooking, but I realised that I am a little boring and conventional sometimes. I like all kinds of cuisines and love to experiment, but somehow tend to stick to some basic combinations.

When I was working in Bangalore, there were these caterers at office who made sabjis of the wierdest combinations of vegetables and I decided I didnt like it even before I tasted it.
There used to be chana with beetroot, brinjal with okra - not really bad, but like I told you, the idea of combining two ingredients which didnt fall in my category of 'good combinations' was a bad idea !! They, of course, did it just because they had it in stock and not with the intent of making us taste new combinations !!

Mushroom and spinach always seemed like a very 'quiche' combination, or something that would go with pasta or some sauces and cheese, basically I never imagined it in an Indian food context.
But I once saw this recipe for a spinach and mushroom pulav and thought it actually was a pretty interesting combination.



I tried a biryani version with this combination and it turn out pretty good
The problem is that when I make pulav, it always needs a side dish - a raita wouldn't do, cos the pulav is generally not so spicy, but with this biryani, a salad or raita was just fine !

What you need -

2 cups mushroom
2 cups basmati/long grain rice
1.5 cup chopped spinach
2 onions
1 tomato
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fennel seeds
1" stick cinnamon
3-4 cloves
3-4 green chillies
4 cloves garlic
1/2" piece ginger
1 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp salt

What you do with it -

Grind to a paste the fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, green chillies and pepper corns
Soak the rice for about 20-30 mins
Chop onions length-wise and the tomato into small pieces
Wash and quarter the mushrooms
Wash and chop the spinach

Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a large pan
Add the bayleaf and onion and fry till onion turns brown
Add spinach and mushroom and saute till the spinach changes colour and mushrooms shrink in size
Add the ground paste and fry till raw smell goes away
Add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes soft

Add the soaked basmati rice and fry for 2 to 3 minutes
Add 3 cups of water and a tsp of salt
Cover and cook till done

Spicy Chilli Garlic Noodles

One of the first 'outside' food my son had was noodles, from this really nice Chinese takeaway place in Bangalore. It was Indianized of course, but really awesome food.

We realised that this was a great option for us to have a meal in peace - he would sit in his chair with his plate of noodles and pick up each one and try getting it into his mouth. His clothes, the high-chair, the plate and the floor had noodles all over, but it was hilarious watching him do it with such sincerity.
When he was little, he had real pouty lips and they got even more pouty, like a little snout, when he tried concentrating on something and it was a real sight watching him pick and eat the noodles with such focussed concentration



I've been making noodles at home pretty often since then and I prefer him having it at home, cos the MSG (ajinomoto) they add in most dishes in Chinese restaurants is something I am not comfortable with. There are different views on whether MSG is good for your health or not, but I personally prefer to keep it away from my cooking, especially for my son.

Made a simple chilli garlic noodles and a chilli-less version for my son and he still seems to enjoy eating his noodles. I think its the process of eating it that fascinates him more that the noodles itself !

What you need -

2 packets noodles (I used egg noodles)
2-3 capsicums
a handful of beans
3 carrots
1/2 cabbage
6 pods garlic
3 red chillies
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed pepper

What you do with it -

Bring a big pot of water to boil with a little salt and a drop of oil
Add the noodles and keep on medium flame till done
Drain the water from the noodles and add a tsp of sesame oil to prevent the noodles from getting all sticky
Chop the capsicum, beans, carrot and cabbage lengthwise
In a wok, add a tsp of oil and heat. Break the red chillies into long pieces and add to the oil. Turn off the heat and allow the red chillies to soak in the oil for about 8-10 mins. Remove the chillies from the oil and discard
Heat the wok with oil again and add sliced garlic to it
Add the capsicum, cabbage, carrot and beans and stir on high heat till it is almost done
Add vinegar, salt and pepper and stir for 2-3 mins
Add the cooked noodles and stir in the soy sauce
Stir and blend the soy sauce for 2 mins

Vegetarian Massaman Curry with Burnt Garlic Rice

There is this really nice cookery show called 'Good Food', hosted by the very elegant Seema Chandra which is telecast on NDTV, and now NDTV Good Times. Its also shown as part of a package called 'Active cooking' which is provided by one of the leading DTH service providers here in India. It features 6-9 new recipes everyday and runs thru the day, which is a big help for me !!

I always enjoyed this show and was hooked to it - am sure the guys noticed and they quickly made it into a pay channel, and like you can imagine, I promptly subscribed to it.
They have interesting recipes from all across the globe and I love the ones hosted by Seema Chandra. She visits interesting people, the ambassadors of various countries in India, celebrities, authors of cook books, even politicians, and asks them to cook up something



On one such show, I saw this Massaman curry, which looked pretty much Thai, but I thought it sounded more Indonesian, perhaps because of the 'Massaman'. It had spices and coconut milk and that totally suits my palate. The recipe is from the show - this was by a chef from a leading restaurant in Delhi, and this little info here is from Wikipedia, when I googled to confirm if it was actually Thai or, Indonesian like I imagined.

"Massaman curry is a Thai dish that is Muslim in origin. It is most commonly made with beef, but can also be made with duck or chicken.

The flavoring for Massaman curry is called Massaman curry paste (nam prik kaeng masaman). The dish usually contains coconut milk, roasted peanuts, potatoes, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, palm sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind sauce. Muslim, and later Portuguese, traders brought spices such as turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, cloves and nutmeg from the Middle East and India to the south coast of Thailand.
The name Massaman is thought to be derived from the word "Musulman", the older form of the word "Muslim"."

It really has an interesting combination of spices - I made a vegetarian version with yellow capsicum and broccoli and I made a burnt garlic basil rice with it.

Update: Asha said I could send this to the Vegan Thai event being hosted by Priya this month. This event features cuisines across continents every month, all Vegan, and is the brainchild of Vaishali of Holy Cow.
Thanks Asha. Priya, this is all yours...

What you need -

Massaman Curry Paste

5 red chillies
rind of 1/2 lemon
1 onions
6 pods garlic
2 tsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
2 cloves
4 peppercorns
2 tbsp coriander seeds
seeds of 2 black cardamoms
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Massaman curry

2 yellow capsicums / bell peppers
1 medium sized broccoli
(You can use baby corn, potatoes also)
2 cups coconut milk
rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp jamarind juice
1 black cardamom
1 cup roasted and crushed peanuts
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1.5 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil

Burnt garlic and Basil rice

1.5 cups rice
5-6 pods garlic
2 tbsp basil leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

What you do with it -

For the Massaman curry paste, just grind all the ingredients in a blender

Chop the capsicum into bite-sized pieces and the broccoli into florets
Heat oil in a large pan and add the massaman curry paste and turmeric powder
Fry for 2-3 mins and add the capsicums and broccoli and stir fry for another 3-4 mins
Add coconut milk and all ingredients except peanuts and the lemon rind
Cook on low heat for 3-4 mins and then add the crushed peanuts and lemon rind
Stir and allow to cook for 2 mins

Chop the garlic lengthwise
In a deep bottomed pan, add the oil and fry the garlic in it till it turns brown
Add basil leaves, rice and salt
Stir for 2-3 mins
Add water, cover and cook on a medium flame till done
Should take about 15 mins

Corn and Methi Pulao

There was this really nice restaurant called Bombay Post in the Indiranagar area of Bangalore. The decor was very Bollywood, with pictures of movie stars and old movie posters adorning the walls there. Nice old Hindi film music generally playing in the background, though people trying to talk above the music, always created a bit of a din.



This place was one of standard ones for team lunches and one of the places where I met up with my friend from college, for our 'weekly lunches', at least thats what we hoped it would be, but we did try and meet up at least once a month.
Very very nice food, though during our lunches, the food really did not matter, it was more to chat up non-stop, share our woes about the men in our lives, gossip a bit and generally have a good time.

This one pulao we had there was really nice - it did have a fancier name though and had fried paneer instead of corn, but when I made this pulao the other day it reminded me a lot of the one from Bombay Post. This one's for you Maya...

What you need -

2 onions
2 tomatoes
1/2 cup curd
1 bay leaf
1" stick dalchini
3 cardamoms
5 cloves
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 cup fresh methi leaves
2 cups corn
2 cups basmati rice

Masala -

2 green chillies
1 small piece ginger
5 cloves garlic
1/2 tomato
1/2 tsp chilli powder

What you do with it -

Soak the basmati rice in water for about 30 mins
Chop onions lengthwise
Chop the tomatoes
Grind together all the ingredients listed under Masala, to a smooth paste
In a large kadai / handi, heat 2 tsp of oil
Add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and fry for 2 mins
Then add the ginger-chilli-garlic paste and fry for 3-4 mins
Add onions and fry till the onions are slightly brown
Add tomatoes and fry till they get a bit squishy
Then beat the curd till its smooth and add it to the kadai with the chilli powder
Stir and heat till the oil starts separating
Add the soaked rice, methi, corn and salt into the kadai
Fry for 5 mins and then add water
Cover and cook on medium flame
Should get done in about 12-15 mins
Or it can be cooked in the microwave or a pressure cooker

Sunday lunch : Dhansak, brown rice and veg kebabs

We were in Bombay for a wedding last May and my cousin had raved about this lovely Iranian restaurant called Britannia in South Bombay
She had said the food was awesome and the people who ran the place were even more awesome !! The restaurant is open only for lunch and only on weekdays because the owner believes in spending evenings and dinners with his family. I thought it was so nice that someone believed that it was more valuable to spend time with family as opposed to making more money by keeping it open for dinners.
Very basic and functional, but packed every day because of the authentic Parsi food they serve, this place is a little treasure of a restaurant.

The berry pulav here is simply fantastic, very fragrant and mildly spiced - an absolute must if you visit this place. The "patra-ni-machi" fish wrapped in banana leaf is another amazing creation here and of course the eternal Parsi favourite of dhansak and brown rice.
Not really a place for vegetarians, but believe me, its worth converting for this one meal here..

Last Sunday, I was all set to spend the entire morning cooking for lunch and since S was away at work (even on a Sunday *grrr*), I had all the time. Decided on a dhansak, brown rice and veg kebabs.
The picture does not do justice to how great this finally turned out - it was really fragrant and even S, who can be a hard core non vegetarian, said it was really authentic, but of course added that the lamb kebabs were the only thing missing !!




Recipe for the brown rice and dhansak adapted from parsionline.com


What you need -

For the dhansak

Dhansak masala
4 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger
4 dry red chilies
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 inch piece cinnamon stick
2 cardamoms, peeled
4 black peppercorns

2 medium onions, finely sliced
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp jeera powder
1/2 cup tur dal
1/2 cup moong dal
1/2 cup masoor dal
(You could use 1 and 1/2 cup of tur dal and skip the other dals)
2 small brinjals (i used the purple round ones)
100 gms piece of red pumpkin cut into 4 pieces
A few sprigs of fresh methi leaves / spinach
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp grated jaggery
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil/ ghee

For the brown rice -

2 cups basmati rice
2 onions, finely sliced
4 tsp sugar
2 pieces cinnamon sticks of 2 inches each
6 cloves
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp oil / ghee

For the kebabs -

3 raw bananas
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 small onion chopped fine
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ajwain
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 cup bread crumbs
2 bread slices (optional)

What you do with it -

Dhansak -

Grind together all the ingredients mentioned for dhansak masala
(Try and do this instead of using ready powder - its really worth the effort)
Heat oil or ghee in a deep pan and fry onion in it till brown.
Add masala paste, tumeric powder and cumin and coriander powder and cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes
Add the 3 dals, brinjal, methi/spinach leaves and mix well
Add 6 cups water and salt and boil
Cover and cook on a slow fire
Soak tamarind pulp in 1/3 cup and extract pulp
Mash the dal as much as possible
Add tamarind juice and jaggery to the dal and cook on slow fire for 10 minutes Add a little more water if it is too thick
Garnish with fried onion and chopped coriander leaves

Brown rice -

Soak the rice in water for 1/2 hour
Heat oil or ghee in a pan and fry onion in it till brown
Remove pan from fire and drain excess oil
Put sugar in a small pan and heat over a low flame till its dark brown
Add two tbsp of water to the sugar to form brown caramelized liquid
Place pan with fried onion back on fire, drain water from rice and add to onion
Stir and allow to cook for 5 minutes or more till rice is nicely fried
Add caramel water and cook 4 or 5 minutes till rice is well blended
Add cinnamon stick, cloves, salt and 3 1/2 cups water
Bring to boil, then cover, lower flame and continue cooking till water is absorbed and rice is cooked
Sprinkle some fried onion over rice before serving


Kebabs -

Peel the raw bananas and steam till they are soft
I had two bread slices, so soaked these in water and drained it
Mash the raw bananas and add all other ingredients except the bread crumbs
Make round pattie shaped or kebab shaped pieces
Roll in the bread crumbs and shallo fry in a pan with oil

Tacos with kidney beans, Salsa and Rice

People in Ahmedabad simply love eating out. I said the same about Bangalore, but here the queues outside every type of restaurant, especially on weekends is simply mind boggling.

Be it a Gurarati thali, Punjabi, Multi Cusine, South Indian, every single restaurant has people pouring in.
This city is largely vegetarian (the first vegetarian Pizza Hut is in Ahmedabad !!) but there are some really nice non vegetarian joints too.


Pic taken much later with slight changes to the recipe and made mango salsa instead of a tomato salsa

Mexican food is one such favorite here and almost every dish has kidney beans (rajma) with a lot of ketchup in it.
I know it doesnt sound exactly tempting, but it actually can taste good, like I discovered.
I must admit I havent had too much of that here, but decided on making my vegetarian Mexican dinner tonight.
Turned out quite delicious and didnt leave you with that stuffed feeling...

Here's my Mexican dinner - Tacos with kidney beans, Salsa and Rice

Tacos

What you need -

12 Taco shells (got the ones made out of corn here)

2 cups kidney beans (soaked overnight and cooked)

2 large tomatoes pureed

3 cloves garlic

1 onion chopped

oregano, salt and pepper to taste

chilli garlic sauce

1 big cup shredded cabbage, green bell pepper, onion

3 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 cup grated cheese

What you do with it -

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, onion and fry for a while

Add the tomato puree, oregano, salt and pepper

Add the kidney beans and mash a bit

Cook till done

On the taco shells, spread a tsp of the tomato ketchup and chilli garlic sauce

Then add a layer of the kidney bean mash

Sprinkle the shredded cabbage, green bell pepper and onion

Top with grated cheese

Salsa Sauce

What you need -

2 large tomatoes chopped fine

1 onion chopped fine

1 cucumber chooped fine

1/2 green bell pepper chopped fine

2 green chillies chopped fine

salt and pepper

juice of 1 lemon

few coriander leaves chopped

1 tbsp tomato ketchp

1 tbsp chilli garlic sauce

What you do with it -

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and keep in the refrigerator

Rice

What you need -

1 cup long grained rice

4 cloves garlic

2 onions chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1/2 cup shelled corn

1 large green bell pepper chopped

3 red chillies cut fine

1 big green chilli

oregano, salt, pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

What you do with it -

In a large deep bottomed, add the olive oil and then the chopped red chillies

Add garlic, onions and rice

Fry till the rice turns golden

Add green bell pepper and fry for 3-4 mins

Add tomatoes, corn, salt, pepper and oregano and the green chilli

Add one cup of vegetable broth (or water, if broth is not available)

Cover and cook till done

Sending this recipe to Harvest - the festival of Rice hosted by Sudeshna
Serve tacos with rice and salsa