White Pumpkin and Garbanzo Kootu

Gosh I miss this space so much! Its been a long time since I've been here and updated you with what's cooking in my kitchen. If any of you want to give me a good Christmas gift, give me a clone of myself so I could make that one post a recipe every other day. 

The holidays are already here and I still can't believe the year is almost up. Where did the time go? 

My little one turned one last month and it seems like she was just born. She is completely mobile now..so you can imagine how my life has become. She seems to be climbing on everything and everywhere. Anything that is inside a cabinet at her level is thrown out all the time. She seems to especially love the noise with which metal hits the wood floor. Yes, my life is noisy and messy but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. 

This recipe is for a simple side dish to go with rotis or even to mix with rice. My mom makes this quite often for us. If there's a veggie that can be made into a kootu, we'd have kootu that day. Some kootu's have cooked daal in them and some don't. This is of the latter variety. And that make this an easy recipe with not much prep work needed. 

Start with some white pumpkin - I miss the fresh cut wedges that are available back in India. This is how we get them here. Little blocks wrapped in plastic with a bar code and price on top.

Remove all the seeds and cut the veggie into small chunks.

Also, get the channa ready. I used a canned version which does not require any soaking. If you are using the dried version, it will need to be soaked and pressure cooked first...which makes this a little more difficult recipe.. all I use to measure difficulty is to see how many dishes you'll have to clean at the end of cooking!

In a small pan, add about 1 tsp of oil and let it heat up. When the oil is hot, add 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds and a few fresh curry leaves.

Add the chopped pumpkin pieces in and fry for a min. Then add a pinch of turmeric and salt and then add water enough to cover the veggies.

Add the soft garbanzo to the pan along with the pumkin. Mix well and let this cook together until the pumpkin pieces are tender and soft.

While that is cooking, let's make the seasoning paste. This is what is going to add all the flavor in the kootu.

Dry roast all these ingredients below until the aroma wafts out and then add them to a mixer to make a paste.

Channa Daal - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 2 tsps
Methi Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies - dried - about 2-3
Grated Coconut - about 1 heaped tsp

Grind everything together with a little water to make a smooth paste.

Once the pumpkin is cooked tender, add the paste to the kootu and mix well.

Let this cook in simmer for about 5 mins.

To top off with a tadka, add a tsp of ghee and when its hot, add some Shah Jeera or regular jeera to the ghee and 1 or 2 red chillies and 1/4 tsp of whole urad. As soon as it sizzles, pour on top of kootu and mix well.

And its ready for you now. Are you ready for it?

Enjoy. Peace Out!

Dum Aloo

Potatoes are one of the most universally liked comforting food that nature has provided the human race. There is some kind of a potato intensive recipe in every part of the world - the Europeans love their fish & chips, the Italians love their Gnocchi, the Indians love their samosas and of course the Americans love their mashed potatoes and as a special mention, where ever there is a Mc Donalds in this world, all the people going there love their french fries! If mama potatoes are this famous, baby potatoes are not far off. At least us Indians know the true value of a tender moist cooked baby potato simmered in a tomaty yogurty gravy - let's just take a moment and thank who ever discovered this little delicacy called Dum Aloo. May God Bless you and may you always find potatoes where ever you are.

It used to be a struggle a few years back finding little baby potatoes in our local indian stores here - the kind perfect for Dum Aloo. Thanks to the new frozen food culture, a pack of baby potatoes are just at a cold shelf door distance. I wish they were a little more tinier but hey, at least we have the easy option now.

If you're using the frozen pack, just wash them once well and pat dry with a paper towel.

Some suggest to prick a few holes in the potatoes to they cook well inside. But really, this is so painful to with tiny potatoes. I have to confess I started doing it and then gave up mid way. And I don't think it made a difference. So, if you really want to hire your kid and give them the job - let them earn their dinner. But make sure they don't break them apart poking all the way.

Move the dry potatoes to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle some salt over the potatoes and let this sit for about 10 -15 mins.

Dry roast all these following ingredients -

Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Coriander Seeds  - 1-2 tbsp
Black pepper - a few

When cooled down, grind to a coarse powder and set aside.

In a wide pan, add a couple of tsp of oil and when hot, add all these below -

Fresh Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped into bits
Fresh Garlic - a couple of pieces chopped roughly
Green Chillies - 2-3 or more if you like it spicy
Onions - about 1 cup chopped into bits

Fry all the above until the onions are cooked and are translucent. Move to a blender and blend into a smooth paste.

Next, chop up about 3-4 tomatoes and fry in a tsp of oil and cook well until they are soft and don't have the raw smell of tomatoes anymore. Move to a blender and blend into a smooth paste and set aside.

And here comes the sinful part. Deep Frying. Of the Potatoes. Paula Deen just smiled.

And yes, a few are missing already. Blame it on whoever stands to your left. That way its not you.

In a small mixing bowl, take 1 cup of yogurt. Add all of these below -

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
The fresh ground coriander -cumin seed powder above - half the quantity
Salt - 1 tsp to taste

Whisk everything together well.

Chop half an onion into really small bits.

In a clean pan (just rinse the one you used for the onions and tomatoes), add 2 tbsp of butter or ghee. Come on, let's just make Paula Deen really happy here. Add a couple of bay leaves and then add the finely chopped onions. Saute for a min until the onions turn translucent.

Now, add the onion paste that we prepared above. Fry for a few mins until most of the water evaporates.

While its cooking, add the remaining of the fresh ground coriander-cumin seed masala to the onion paste. Mix well and cook together.

Then, add the fresh made tomato paste and stir together well making sure they onion and tomatoes mix into a smooth paste.

Add a little bit more of the turmeric and red chilli powder. Let this cook for about 5-8 mins until boiling.

Now, reduce the heat and add the yogurt mixture. Let this cook on simmer for another 5-8 mins.

Add the delicious deep fried baby potatoes to the gravy. At least, whatever is left of it. Mix well and cook together for a couple of mins.

Finally, for a kick, add a pinch of cardamom powder. This really adds a subtle flavor to the already wonderful dish.

Finally, add some crushed kasoori methi to the potatoes for more added flavor.

And you're done. Can you see how the gravy thickens wonderfully and can you also see how every step I go, the potato count goes down - still blame the person on your left.

Serve hot with rotis or parathas. Or even with some hot jeera rice and daal. And thank nature one more time for potatoes.

Enjoy. Peace Out!

Bhindi Aloo Fry

How many of you believe in food being the astrologer of life? For eg, eating a lot of carrots make your eyes healthy. Eating a lot of Spinach makes you strong. And eating a lot of okra makes you a math whiz. These might be true. But for a fact, I know that I ate okra probably every single day of my school days because it was my favorite veggie at that time. And not because I wanted to become a math whiz. Maybe my mom was desperate and thought maybe my math skills would finally improve. But, all that okra and I'm no math whiz yet. And the modern gadgets come all built in with a calculator and I find myself quite often trying to calculate tip on a restaurant bill using one of those very helpful icons on my phone. How come I can't just add a 15% tip and divide the total bill by four people. I can try. It might be the waiter's lucky day as I'm sure to mess up and pay him a lot more!

Anyways, jumping from my horrible math skills to the much better recipe here, this is a classic and simple Bhindi Aloo sabji recipe. But, the twist here is that the okra is not pan fried but broiled to provide a perfect consistency. I recently learned this from my friend Indu when I had gone to her place and she had the most perfectly done okra sabji - crisp and yet low on the oil. And I was surprised to hear that she broils it in an oven. What a neat idea. 

Also, the thing with the okra here in the US is that they are not as great and tender as the ones available back in India. They are usually much more short and stout and have an extra level of gooeyness inside. So, try to chop them finely and they usually turn up a big mushy sabji. The biggest advantage to broiling the okra is that you don't have to deal with any goo at all. And you also end up using a lot less oil than pan frying the veggie. Just a couple of sprays of Pam on top of the veggie and in the oven it goes. 30 mins later you end up with a crisp perfectly done okra fry. 

Wash some fresh okra and let it dry a little. 

Chop into little bits. Foil up a baking sheet and spray on some Pam or brush a little with oil. Fill the sheet with the cut okra and spray a couple of spritz of oil. Sprinkle a little salt on top and pop this in a pre heated oven at 350F for about 25-30 mins and use the broil setting and not just the baking setting. Check in after 20 mins to make sure that they are not done yet and you can give it a gentle mix to make sure that all sides get done evenly. 

Meanwhile, chop up all these ingredients -

Onions - 1 medium chopped into small bits
Ginger - about 1 inch chopped finely
Green Chilli - chopped finely about 1-2
Garlic (optional) - as much as you can take
Tomatoes - 1-2 chopped roughly
Potatoes - cut into small bits

In a wide pan, add about 1 tsp oil. Add 1/2 tsp mustard  seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. Then, add in the onions, ginger and green chilli and saute for a min.

When the onions are done, add in the tomatoes and fry for a min. 

Then add the potatoes in. The potatoes can also be broiled similar to the okra. Or they can pre steamed in the microwave for about 4-5 mins so they are a little soft and don't take a long time cooking.

Season the veggies with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and a little coriander powder. Mix well and cook for about 5-10 mins or until the potatoes are done tender.

Checking back on the okra and they look perfectly done.

Move the cooked okra and mix with rest of the veggies and mix well so the flavors mix completely. Cook for about 2 mins. Switch off and you're done!

Serve hot with rotis or rice and daal. These work great as a filling for a wrap too. Easy and handy wrap.

This might not help you with math but will provide you a satisfying dinner. And then you can use all that happiness to learn math if you want to. 

Enjoy. Peace out!

Kadai Paneer

Hello Everybody!!!

I've been MIA for a few days now. Its just been a very eventful past few days - both good and not so good. One of the best things that happened in the last few days was that Nags from Edible Garden was here visiting me. She is such a delight to spend time with me and we were like two long lost friends chatting away and shopping and eating all the time! I had an absolute wonderful time with her and can't wait for our next meet up! There were a lot of surprised people who learnt that we've never actually met each other before. Nags - you are a goofy fun person and I loved all the fun we had over the weekend. And just so you know, I started my diet after you left - need to make up for all that we ate! 

We did eat out most of the time. But, I prepared a few meals at home as well. Our dinner one night was this Kadai Paneer, Daal and Rotis. Nags absolutely loved the colorful peppers we have in our markets here and so we decided to make some kadai paneer with fresh red, green and yellow peppers. And also super fresh homemade paneer. 

And for the ultimate flavorful kadai vegetables, the secret lies in the masala .The fresher the masala, the tastier the veggies are. And so it starts with this. 

Dry roast these ingredients separately without any oil and when a nice aroma wafts out, move them to a plate. 

I used all these below - 

About 1/4 cup of fresh coriander seeds (Dhaniya)

Half of a 1/4 cup of fresh cumin seeds (Jeera)

Fresh Cinnamon - 2 to 3 small pieces of either the flat or the rolled cinnamon sticks

Fresh Cloves - 4-5 individual pieces

Black Pepper - about 1/2 tsp

Dried Red Chillies - about 2-3

Cardamom seeds - a pinch, either fresh peeled or fresh ground powder 

After dry roasting all the above ingredients individually, grind all together into a coarse powder. This will be the fresh masala for the veggies and the paneer.

And the next step is to make the tomato-onion gravy for the kadai paneer. I like my kadai paneer not floating in gravy but just coated with a little moistness. And this kind of a thick paste like gravy works perfect for this dish.

For the gravy -

Fresh Garlic - 3-4 pieces
Fresh Ginger - chopped - about 1 tsp
Chopped onions - about 1/2 cup
Chopped juicy tomatoes - about 1 cup

Move the onion-tomato mixture to a small blender and blend into a smooth paste. 

And now to make the Paneer.

This is a new recipe that I've been following for the last few times I made Paneer. This recipe was given to me by a friend Kavitha. She mentioned that she makes Paneer like this and its one of the best ways and gives the softest paneer. I agree whole heartedly with her now! Thanks Kavitha for this recipe!!

Heat up a whole gallon of milk and get it to almost a boiling point. Switch it off and immediately pour one 1 quart (32oz) of buttermilk little by little and keep stirring. You'll see the whey separating from the curdled paneer. Strain the paneer and try to take out as much whey as you can by squeezing out the paneer in a muslin cloth or a cotton towel.

Move the strained paneer to a food processor and process it until the consistency turns smooth and soft.

Move the paneer to a flat plate with raised edges preferably and press down even just using a flat spatula or even the palm of your hands. Let this sit for some time. If you can make the paneer earlier, let this sit for about an hour or two. I made it just then and hence did not let it sit much - maybe only about 5-10 mins. Using a knife, cut into small square any other shape you prefer.

Meanwhile, also chop up your favorite bell peppers and some onions into big chunks.

Saute each veggie separately in a tsp of oil. Cook for a couple of mins and then add a pinch of salt to taste and then add about 1 tsp of the fresh masala prepared as above.

Cook the onions first. Add 2-3 bay leaves with the onions for an extra flavor.

Then, cook the bell peppers one color at a time till they are quickly sauteed - they should still hold a little crispness and not be completely soft or mushed up.

Also, cut up a couple of tomatoes into long pieces and saute the same way and add the masala.

Lastly, fry the paneer separately and add all these flavoring below -

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a few pinches
Fresh ground masala - 1 1/2 tsps
Kasoori Methi - take about 1 tsp and rub them between your fingers before adding them to the paneer - this releases the flavor much better than just adding directly
Red Chilli powder - about 1 tsp

Fry the paneer pieces for a few mins till you see a few of them crisping up on the bottom and sides. Remove and place on top of the peppers.

Lastly, add the tomato onion paste made before and cook for a couple of mins. Add a pinch of turmeric and a pinch of red chilli powder and a little salt to taste just for this paste.

So, here are the veggies - all the grilled peppers at the bottom and then the sauteed paneer on the top.

Finally add the tomato paste to the veggies and paneer.

And using a fork, gently toss them around so that the veggies, paneer and the sauce all mix up well.

 And there people, is a juicy and tasty Kadai Paneer.

We all absolutely loved the fresh flavors of the Kadai Paneer. Serve hot with rotis or parathas or even as a side with some rice and daal. 

If you have big tortillas, just roll these up and eat as a wrap. Perfect lunch.

Enjoy. Peace Out.

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