Back again : Red Bell Pepper Chutney

Oh my god! Its been almost 2 years since I last posted. I realized this only after seeing the date of my last post.

Well,in reality though, two years have actually passed away like a flash. Its not that I have not been cooking or experimenting. Just that, as K was growing up into a naughty toddler, updating my blog or taking snaps of what I made was put into the backburner. Now that he has started going to school, I get to sit back, put my feet up and rejuvenate for a good 2 hrs. And thus the renewed energy to focus on my blog:)

So I am back with red bell pepper chutney that goes well with idlis, dosas, roti and even rice. I found this recipe on vahchef some time back and since i forgot to bookmark it I lost track of it. I went with whatever I remembered reading but nevertheless it tasted quite good. So here's the recipe:

Red Bell Pepper - 1 (Big)
Tomato - 1 (Small)
Salt
Turmeric powder
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Hing - 1 small piece
Red Chilli - 1 or 2 (Depends on how spicy you want it to be)
Peanuts - 2 tbsps
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp
Jaggery - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsps


Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds. Add hing, chillies, peanuts and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes.

Cut Red bell pepper and tomato into small pieces. Cook them covered with salt and turmeric till they are well cooked (Indication : Bell pepper and tomato is mixed up well and most water is evaporated)

In a blender add fried mustard, hing, chillies and peanuts mixture and grind (without adding water) till they are coarsely grounded.

Add tamarind and jaggery. Blend them again. Then add the cooked bellpepper & tomato mixture and blend again.

Check and adjust the salt if needed.

You can also finely chop up coriander leaves for a nice flavor.

Onam Ashamshagal - A mini lunch

My heartfelt Onam wishes to all fellow malayali's in the blogosphere. Since my father hails from palakkad, I am half keralite. Nonetheless, onam is celebrated with equal grandeur at our place.

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala and is also celebrated to welcome King Mahabali - the most beloved king of kerala. It is believed that on this day his soul visits Kerala. To welcome him, ladies draw colorful flower patterns (pookalam) and prepare variety of dishes with 'Avial' and 'Paladaprathaman' topping the must have list.

One onam event that I enjoy the most is 'Kaikotti kali'. This event is usually held in a Guruvayoorapan temple near our place. It's a kind of group dance where women attired in the traditional gold bordered saree, dance around a pookalam & vilakku, clapping their hands to a song in rhythmic manner. Sometimes the first round of dance is performed by little girls in beautiful pavadas (a traditional skirt & blouse).

This year I couldnt cook much as I had to devote substantial time to little K's morning activities. And since it was only me and mother in law for lunch, I managed a rather mini 'saddhi' with a pumpkin sambhar, raw mango carrot salad, flat beans subzi and dates payasam.

Raw mango & Carrot salad:

Carrot (Grated) - 3 small

Raw Mango (Skinned & Grated) - 1

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 3 to 4

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Mix grated carrot & raw mango. Add salt to taste. Temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.

Flat beans (Papdi) Subzi:

Flat beans - 2 cups (finely chopped)

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Black gram dal - 1/4 tsp

Chana Dal - 1/4 tsp

For the powder:

Chana Dal - 2 tbsp

Red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - 2 to 3

Dry coconut - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

In a pot splutter mustard seeds, add all the dals and chopped flat beans. Cover the pot with a vessel containing little water. Meanwhile for making the powder, roast all the ingredients (except dry coconut) in very little oil. Dry grind the same with dry coconut into fine powder. Once the beans is cooked, remove the vessel and leave the pot on slow fire till all the water evaporates. Once the beans is relatively dry, add the powder & mix well.

Dates Payasam:

Dates - 10 to 12

Ghee - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tbsp (alternatively jaggery can be used)

Milk - 1 cup

Fresh Cream - 1/2 cup

Cardomom powder - a pinch

Preparation:

Soak dates in warm water for about half an hour. Grind them into a smooth paste. Heat a non stick pan, melt ghee and add the dates paste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Thereafter switch off the gas. Add sugar, milk, fresh cream and cardomom powder (I added the pod). Mix well and refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Give this a try...very simple but healthy meal.

Green Sandwich Chutney

This chutney is my daily dose of iron intake. I had read somewhere that two tablespoons of green chutney daily will take care of one's daily iron requirements. So I make this chutney regularly, refrigerate and ensure that i have the recommended dosage :-)

Although I have titled it as sandwich chutney, this goes along well with anything - idlis, dosas, chapati's, bread etc.

I usually make this chutney a little less spicy so that i can have a larger portion. However you can add a couple of more chillies if you intend to use it as a 'sandwich spread' as you would also spread butter (which reduces the spiciness).

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves - 1 bunch

Mint leaves - 1 cup

Groundnuts (Unroasted) - A handful

Garlic pods - 3 to 4

Green chillies - 2

Lemon - 1 (medium sized)

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Clean and wash coriander and mint leaves. In a mixer / blender add groundnuts, garlic pods, chillies, juice from the lemon, sugar and salt. Grind coarsely. Add the washed leaves and blend till the chutney is smooth.

Here's another closeup...

Go green, stay healthy...

Bajra Dosa

For those of you bored of eating the regular dosa, this 'health dosa' can be made in a jiffy besides providing all the health benefits of Bajra.

Bajra (also known as Pearl Millet /Black millet/ Small millets) is comparitively high in protein and also has good amino acids balance (source - wikipedia).

Ingredients:

Whole Black Lentils (Urad Dal) - 1 cup (soaked overnight)

Bajra flour - 3 cups

Grind the soaked lentils in smooth paste. Mix the bajra flour. Add water so that it attains the dosa batter consistency. Add salt to taste. Spread the batter on a pan. Add oil and roast.

Serve with chutney.

Vegetable Makhanwala

Well, here it is... 'Vegetable Makhanwala'. I also would call it 'Avial' of North Indian Cusine due to its whitish look and the medley of vegetables.

I picked up this recipe from my mom primarily cause I like the taste and way it looks. The one's that i have had in the restaurants have less of cream & more of red tomato gravy. I prefer that it to look like its name - 'full of makhan (cream)'.

The ingredients list goes as follows:

Onions - 2

Garlic - 2 to 3

Green chillies - 2

Tomato - 1

Carrots - 1/2 cup (cut lengthwise)

French Beans - 1/2 cup (cut lengthwise)

Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Potatoes - 1/2 cup (cut lengthwise)

Bell pepper - 1/2 cup(cut lengthwise)

Fresh cream - 100 gms

Milk - 1 cup

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

1. Pressure cook the vegetables except bellpepper for 2 whistles.

2. Blend tomato and set aside.

3. Blend onion, garlic and green chillies.

4. Heat oil in a pan. Fry onion-garlic-chillies paste. Add bellpepper pieces. Add turmeric & red chilli powder.

5. Add blended tomato & stir.

6. After a few seconds, add cooked vegetables & stir.

7. Add fresh cream, milk and mix well.

Few points:

1. You can increase the quantity of tomatoes if you want the gravy to look on the reddish side.

2. You can garnish the above dish with fried cashews, almonds & raisins.

3. The quantity of cream is on the higher side but it tastes really creamy (Doesn't matter if it's an occassional indulgence :-))

Golpapdi

Here's another dessert from the land of Gujarat. Of late, I have been making lot of desserts and most of them for the first time. Golpapdi is one such dish. I have always enjoyed those made by my gujarati neighbours. Its a perfect tea time snack - mildly sweet and slightly crunchy like a cookie.

I picked this recipe from Tarla Dalal's baby cookbook. According to her, its always a hit with teething babies (I havent tried it on little K yet. These days he tries to gum every possible stuff - from his toys, our shoulders to my big toe!).

Golpapdi is full of energy, carbohydrates, calcium, iron and Vitamin A. Beware of the quantity of ghee though :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup

Ghee - 3/4 cup (unmelted)

Jaggery - 1 cup (grated)

Cardamom (Elaichi) powder - 1/4 tsp

Dessicated coconut - 1 tsp (Optional)

Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

1. Grease a thali / plate / tray with ghee. Sprinkle poppy seeds and set aside.

2. Melt ghee in a pan. Add whole wheat flour. Stir till the mixture turns golden brown in color and loses its raw smell.

3. Remove from flame. Add jaggery, cardamom powder and dessicated coconut. Stir well immediately.

4. Once it mixes well (and jaggery melts) pour it into the greased thali and spread it evenly with the help of a ladle or base of a small bowl.

5. Cut into diamond shaped pieces while still warm.

6. Store in air tight container.

Semiya Kheer

'Rain rain go to Spain' or wherever - was how i greeted the rain gods early this monsoon. Come on, I didnt want to miss those evening walks with hubby and little K. Besides K was just beginning to get a hang of what dogs look like, how trees sway and how my momma drools at the sight of the cake shop...LOL

Well, eventually the rains did an about turn and mumbaites writhed like a fish out of water with daily powercuts and watercuts. My hubby used to glare at me everytime he had to bathe in cold water. Oh come on, it can't be because of me.

And yes finally the good news. It had been pouring since the last three days only for people (and news channels) to wonder whether there will be a encore of 26/7. Alas! men will be men.

This weekend, the weather had become extremely pleasant. It was raining through out and the temperature suddenly dipped. I remembered my school / college days when the only thing I loved to do when it rained was to sit by the window, put on warm clothes, sip chai and read a book. Now I had no time to stand and stare (or eat!) for we had guests over and I was busy making tea & onion bhajiyas (That's another story, another post).

Late in the evening I craved for something sweet. Kheer perhaps...warm and mildly sweet...to sit by the window, stare and eat. I chanced upon the vermicilli packet in the pantry and quickly got into the task.

Here's what you need....(serve size- 3)

Vermicilli - 50 gms

Milk - 1/2 litre

Sugar - 5 tbsps

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Few saffron strands

Almonds, Cashews, Pistas - slivered

Fry the slivered dry fruits in ghee and set aside. Fry vermicilli in ghee till golden brown. Add milk little by little till the vermicilli is completly cooked. Switch off the gas and then add sugar. Garnish with saffron strands and dry fruits.

Few points:

1. This method is for those who love thick, creamy kheer. If you like the consistency to be more watery then you can cook the vermicilli in water and then add to the milk.

2. The reason behind adding sugar after removing the vessel from the flame is that, sometimes (in rare cases) the milk might curdle. Anyways, since the kheer will be hot, sugar will dissolve.

3. You can add more sugar as per your taste. I like my kheer to be mildly sweet.

4. You can also add raisins to the above list of dry fruits ( I am not too fond of raisins in kheer)