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.