Weekend Cooking

I've decided to start a new post section for Weekend Cooking. I usually try to cook a complete meal on Friday nights and Saturdays. The rest of the days it usually ends up being curry and roti, after a long day at work. Here is my first plate...



I made..
1. White Rice
2. Mango Dal (not pictured)
3. Simple Potato Curry (see below for the recipe)
4. Tomato Chutney (bought it in India)
5. Tomato Rasam
6. Curd/Yogurt (not pictured)
7. Papad (not pictured)

These can, of course, also be made on the week days, but I usually don't have the time or energy to make them :)

For the simple Potato Curry

INGREDIENTS

2 medium Potatoes - finely cubed
Turmeric
Salt
Red Chilli Powder
Oil

TADKA

Mustard Seeds
Jeera
Channa Dal
Urid Dal
Hing

PROCEDURE

Optional: Microwave the chopped potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl, this will help decrease the cooking time.
At the same time, heat some oil in a cooking pan and add the tadka ingredients. Now add in the cooked potato pieces, a pinch of turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. Fry the pieces until they are a little brown and take it off heat. Ready to serve.

Mango Dal / Mamidikaya Pappu

Dal!!!! What a wonderful dish and so easy to make on those week days when you are tired from work and don't have the energy to stand at the stove. It is even easier with a pressure cooker, since you can just cook your rice and dal at the same time in about 10 minutes.



INGREDIENTS

1 Mango -- using a peeler, discard the outer green layer of the mango and scrap around the center of the mango, until you have thin shavings of the entire mango.
1 cup Toor Dal
1 1/2 cups Water
Turmeric
Red Chilli Powder (you can use 3 or 4 green chillies instead too)
Salt
Cilantro/Coriander

TADKA -- can be excluded if you don't want any tadka.

Mustard Seeds
Jeera
Channa Dal
2 Red Chillies
Hing
Oil

PROCEDURE

In a pressure cooker safe dish, wash the dal well and add in the mango shavings.
If you want to use green chillies add them now as well.
Add the water and a pinch of turmeric. Pressure cook the dal for about 3 whistles (the same time as it takes for you to cook rice).
Once the cooker has cooled, remove the dal dish and add salt and red chilli powder (if using).
In a separate tadka pan, heat about 1 tbsp of oil and add all of the other tadka ingredients. when the dal browns and the mustard seeds splutter, add the tadka to the dal and mix everything well.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with Rice or Roti

Rajma/Red Kidney Beans Curry

Wow...I just can't believe I've been gone so long from the blogging work. I need to get back on track. I have a lot of recipes to post, but I just couldn't find the time to upload them to my computer. Will try to be more disciplined now.

Rajma is a very versatile curry, it's great with roti and puri, but it can be eaten just as well with plain rice or rice dishes like pulao or biryani. It's great for parties, but simple enough to make for a night at home.

Here's my simple attempt at it...I buy store bought red kidney beans with no salt added. The no salt added is very important, unless you can remember that when it's time for you to add salt to your curry.
You can also buy the regular dry kidney beans and just soak them overnight.



INGREDIENTS

1 can Red Kidney Beans (well washed, I don't like the taste of the canned juices, so I wash mine really well)
1/2 finely chopped Onion
2 tbsp Tomato Paste (can be home made or store bought, I buy the Hunts Tomato Paste)
Salt
Red Chilli Powder
Garam Masala
Dhania (Coriander/Cilantro) Powder
1 1/2 cup Water
Oil

PROCEDURE

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat about 3 tbsp of oil. Add in the chopped onion and let them soften.
Now add in the tomato paste, water, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala, dhania powder and stir well until there are no lumps. Add in the beans.
Cover and let the curry come to a boil (on medium-low heat).

Done!!!! So, easy for such a famous dish.

Serving suggestion:

In a bowl, top the rajma with some more chopped onion and fresh chopped coriander with a side of a lime wedge. Serve with roti, puri, rice, anything you want!

M. I. A

Wow! I can't believe I haven't blogged much for the month of February. I've just been really busy with work, but I have a lot of pictures and recipes to upload.

Stay tuned....

I'm so excited Slumdog won all those awards at the oscars! That movie totally deserved it!

Arbi/Chamagadda/Taro Root Curry

I just love this stuff!! It's too bad we can only get it a few months out of the year. It's so easy to make into different varieties too. This is my all time favorite recipe with Arbi.



INGREDIENTS

6 Arbi
Red Chilli Powder
Turmeric
Salt
Oil

TADKA

Mustard Seeds
Jeera
Urid Dal
Channa Dal
Red Chillies

PROCEDURE

Boil the arbi in a pressure cooker until soft. You can also do this on a stove top or in the microwave. Peel off the skin and set aside.
In a pan, heat about 3 tbsp of oil and add in the tadka ingredients. When the dal browns and the mustard seeds splutter, add in the boiled arbi pieces. Break it up a little bit with your fingers. It will mash as it heats.
Add in the turmeric, salt and red chilli powder. Mix well.
You are all set to serve this with rice or roti.

NOTE: If you don't like mashed arbi, you can boil the arbi the night before, peel and refrigerate the pieces. The next day, chop as desired and fry until they are brown.

Simple Cooking -- Tomato Rasam

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not much of a fan for tomatoes. There's very few things I'll eat tomatoes in it. At the same time, I love rasam, but I always have to make sure I don't get any tomatoes in my rice. So, here's what I do....I use tomato paste, doesn't make a difference in the taste!!!

INGREDIENTS

2 big spoonfuls Tomato Paste -- I used the regular kind from Hunt's, but any kind will do
3 cups Water
3 to 4 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Tamarind Juice
2 to 3 tsp Rasam Powder
a pinch Turmeric
Salt
Red Chilli Powder
Oil

TADKA

Mustard Seeds
Jeera
Red Chillies
Hing

PROCEDURE

In a pan, heat oil and add in the tadka ingredients, when the mustard seeds splutter, add in the curry leaves, tomato paste and water. Mix well until there are no lumps.
Add in tamarind juice, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder, and rasam masala.
Let the rasam come to a boil and you are ready to serve! Garnish with a little bit of coriander leaves if you'd like.
Tastes great with rice.

NOTE: I buy ready made tamarind paste from the Indian store and just mix it with a little bit of water, until it is runny. Otherwise, you can use fresh tamarind and soak it in water for a little bit and sqeeze out the juice.

Tindora Curry

Mmmmmm.....Tindora...you can call this my second favorite vegetable. My first, of course, being Potato. I usually make a fry, but this time I thought I'll try something different. So, I just put in everything I could find, but let me tell you, it was delicious!



INGREDIENTS

about 50 Tindora -- cut any way you like, I made rounds
1/2 medium Onion -- finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
3 tbsp Dry Ground Coconut
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 tbsp Garam Masala Powder
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tbsp Oil

TADKA

1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/8 tsp Jeera
1/2 tsp Urid Dal
1/2 tsp Channa Dal

PROCEDURE

In a pan, heat oil and add in the tadka ingredients.
When the mustard seeds splutter, add in onion and ginger-garlic paste.
When the onion softens, add in the tindora pieces and let it cook until they soften.
Now add in turmeric, salt, garam masala and red chilli powder. Mix well.
Mix in the coconut and you are done!

NOTE: I meant to add only 2 tbsp of Garam Masala, but probably about 3 tbsp fell out of the packet. Nevertheless, it still tasted great. So, you can increase or decrease the spices based on your taste.