Navratan Kurma

Navratan Kurma

The list of ingredients is long but you can add or leave out some veggies. This yummy vegetable is enjoyed by young and old. Serve it with rotis, naan or even pao!!

This is my today’s post under Kid’s anniversary special for blogging marathon.

Navratan Kurma

Ingredients:

• 100 grms carrots
• 100 grms peas
• 100 grms French beans
• 100 grms cauliflower
• 100 grms potatoes
• 100 grms paneer
• 1 tblspn+ 4 tblspn cashew nuts
• 1 tblspn pineapple
• ½ capsicum
• 1 large onion, crushed
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tblspn of cream (approx)
•  2 tblspn curds
• 3 tomatoes, crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp haldi/turmeric powder
• ½ tsp garam masala

Method:

• Chop the vegetables in cubes.
• Boil the peas, steam and blanch the carrots, French beans and cauliflower.
• Grind 4 tblspn cashew nuts with the milk to a smooth paste.
• Heat oil and fry the cashew nuts, potatoes and paneer individually. Drain on a tissue and set aside.
• Fry the onion till golden.
• Add the tomatoes and ginger garlic paste. Cook till the oil separates.
• Add the cashew nut paste and fry for 5 minutes.
• Add the chilli powder, salt, haldi/turmeric, garam masala and curds.
• Cook till oil separates. Add the vegetables and paneer add ½ cup water and cook till the gravy thickens.
• Serve hot garnished with dhania/ coriander leaves.
• Serves good with rotis, naan we all love it with Goan Pao or Unne.

Navratan Kurma

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 45

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Pakke Pakke Tamatar/ Ripe Stuffed Cherry Tomato

In the book Vegetarian Fare at Taj there are delicious pictures some of them are doable at home some need a lot of thought process for substitutes but the pictures are wow so very delicious!  One such a dish is Kacche Pakke Tamatar!

The others that I have already attempted are VendakaiMelugu Peretti, Waal/Long Beans in Butter Garlic Sauce, Wok Fried Lotus Stemsand Assorted Veggies in Honey Chilli Sauce, Zunka Bhakar , Idli~ Old Wine in a New Bottle! Slowly plan to attempt them all.

I could not get kacche cherry tamatar, which is raw cherry tomatoes and so I made it as a pakke pakke tamatar.  You could use 1 cup of raw  cherry and 1 cup of ripe tomatoes. 

Vendakai Melugu Peretti or Spicy Fried Okra

Vendakai Melugu Peretti or Spicy Fried Okra

In my search for the Blogging Marathon recipes I think all my bookmarks had reached an all time low and I was very happy.

Finally had some clearance.

One discovery during this search was Vendakai Melugu Peretti or Spicy Fried Okra from the book “The Taj Magzine.” Needless to say this yummy dish will feature on my menu regularly! 

How about you?

Update on my bookmark list after the marathon its longer than before!

Vegetable Stew~Indian State Kerala

Vegetable Stew~Indian State Kerala

Today on day 14 we are at  Kerala  so let us explore cuisine from here.

The cuisine of Kerala is rich due to its history, geography, demography and culture of the land. Kerala cuisine has a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and red meat.

Kerala Gods own country evokes thoughts of food and coconut. According to Wikipedia

“Coconuts grow in abundance in Kerala, and consequently, coconut kernel, (sliced or grated) coconut cream and coconut milk are widely used in dishes for thickening and flavouring. Kerala's long coastline, numerous rivers and backwater networks, and strong fishing industry have contributed to many sea and river food based dishes. Rice and cassava (Tapioca) form the staple food of Kerala. All main dishes are made with them and served along with Kootan; the side dishes which may be made from vegetables, meat, fish or a mix of all of them. The main dish for lunch and dinner is boiled rice. The Kerala breakfast shows a rich variety; the main dishes for which are made from rice flour, or fresh or dried cassava. Owing to the weather and the availability of spices, the Kerala cuisine is richly spicy especially the hot ones -chilli, black pepper, cardamom,  cloves,  ginger and cinnamon.”

Labra~ Indian State Assam

Labra  Assamese Cuisine

Today on day 3 of  the Blogging Marathon let’s stop at Assam!

Think Assam and think Assam tea!! The delicious brew that wakes me up and gets me going!  

So is Assam all about tea only?

 No Assam (Asom, Axom) is a state of India in the north-eastern region. Its capital is Dispur, located within the municipal area of Guwahati city. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra and the Barak river valleys along with the Karbi Anglong and the North Cachar Hills. Assam is surrounded by six of the other Seven Sister States. Geographically Assam and these states are connected to the rest of India via a narrow strip of land in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or "Chicken's Neck".

Assam is rich in culture, ethnic groups, languages/dialects spoken and literature. It is known for Assam tea, large and old petroleum resources (the first oil reserves of India were discovered in Assam in the late 19th century), Assam silk and for its rich biodiversity. Assam has successfully conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the tiger and numerous species of birds, and it provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant. It is becoming an increasingly popular destination for wildlife tourism, and Kaziranga and Manas are both World Heritage Sites. Assam was also known for its Sal tree forests and forest products, much depleted now. A land of high rainfall, Assam is endowed with lush greenery and the mighty river Brahmaputra, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a unique hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment.

Me I am interested in the cuisine of Assam as Assamese cuisine is still obscure.

"Assamese style of cooking that is a confluence of cooking habits of the hills that favour  fermentation  and  drying  as  forms of food preservation and those from the plains that provide fresh vegetables and abundance of fish from its many rivers and ponds;  the staple food here is rice.

Assamese cooking is a mixture of different indigenous styles with considerable regional variations and some external influences. The cuisine is characterized by very little use of spices, little cooking over fire and strong flavours due mainly to the use of endemic exotic fruits and vegetables that are either fresh, dried or fermented.

Typically, an Assamese plate would contain bhaat (rice) with dal (lentils), masor jool (fish curry), with mangso (meat curry) or xaak and bhaji (herbs and vegetables).

Rice is one of the main dishes in Assam, and variety of different rice are grown and eaten in different ways, roasted, grounded, boiled or just soaked. Fish curries made of rou, illish, or chitol are the most favourite. If not a curry, simply fried fish. Birds like ducks and pigeon are also used in dishes. Pork and Mutton dishes are mainly popular among the younger generation.

Another favourite combination can be looci (puffed bread), a curry which can be vegetarian or non-vegetarian, and asar (pickle).

Two main characteristic of a traditional meal in Assam are Khar and Tenga. A class of dishes named after the main ingredient Khar and a sour dish is aTenga.

Khorisa (bamboo shoot) are used at times for flavours in curries. They also can be preserved and made into pickles. Koldil (Banana Flower) and Squash are also cooked into delicious sabji's.

The food is usually served in bell metal utensils.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Hydrababi Dum Biryani ~Indian State Andhra Pradesh

Vegetable Dum Biryani ~Andhra Pradesh

So this is the first in the series of Blogging Indian States where we are blogging non-stop on Indian States.

So let us begin with the first state Andhra Pradesh!

It has been in the news these days with the partitioning of the state and both the opposers and supporters making headlines.

My father was posted to set up the Zonal Office there in Hyderabad and this was in the year 1988, the year I got married! I visited the places around but could not move around much as it was the time when the Babri masjid was broken and there were riots. Hubby, I and my sister were unaware about the riots, we were visiting Golconda Fort! Wow it was an adventure when we finally managed to reach home!

Food in Andhra Pradesh is amazing …. It’s called Telugu cuisine after the language spoken in Andhra Pradesh!

Pepper Bhindi.

My brother asked me if I knew if how to make pepper bhindi that Amma used to make. Bhindi being Lady finger or Orka! And it was something that they had eaten in a Indo-Chinese restaurant in Goa.

Since I had never eaten it, yes it was something she made after I was married off I was at a loss. When we discussed it he told me there are onions and bhindi in it. The bhindi was cut lengthwise and there was pepper and soya sauce in it.

Caldin ~A Goan Catholic Veggie

You have heard me rant quite a bit that the Goans do eat veggies contrary to the popular view. Of course the veggies are few but they are tasty. My view of all the veggies was that they are all covered with masala in the Goan way.  How wrong can a person be!! Even after staying in Goa for 25 years I am still uncovering dishes, vegetarian mind you.

I was chatting with my friend Judy and happened to ask her what Caldin is. Caldin is traditionally a Goans Catholic veg dish. It means ‘in a gravy.’  

  Surprised? Even I was quite amazed.

I did ask her quite rudely, I might add, Catholics and veggies. Her reply was quite a revelation. We cannot eat meat all the time dear, she said we feel the need to eat veggies too. Of course the veggies used in Caldin are like cauliflower, lady finger, potatoes quite a few but we do eat them.

She did share the recipe with me. Not content that night we went out for dinner and Apeksha n I ordered Caldin and enjoyed it.

Now since I did not have all the veggies at hand thanks to the fact that I had not done my weekly shopping I had to make do. So my Caldin had only cauliflower and some tired looking carrots! And still the caldin was appreciated.

Ingredients:

To grind:

• A small knob of Ginger
•  4 cloves garlic
•  ½ tsp Coriander seeds
•  2 Green chillies
•  ¼ tsp Haldi
•  ¼ tsp jeera
•  ¼ cup coconut

For the coconut milk:

•  1 coconut grated

Rest of the ingredients:

•  4 cups mixed vegetables
•  3 medium onions, finely chopped
•  2 tomatoes, finely chopped
•  A lemon sized ball of tamarind
•  Oil
•  Salt

Method:

1. First extract coconut milk on e thin and one thick. In case you need here is how.
2.  In thin milk soak the tamarind.
3.  Grind all the ingredients under to grind heading to a fine paste using a little water.
4.   Fry onion till translucent add the tomatoes and fry till they are softer.
5. Add the ground masala fry on a low flame.
6.  Add the thin coconut milk. Add veggies, salt & boil covered till the veggies are par-boiled.
7. Add the thick juice. Cook till done.
8. Serve with steamed rice or rotis. The Goans will prefer it with pav or uno.

Linking this to Julies's Event Garlic and Spice Guest Hosted by Vidya

All rights reserved on photographs and written content are copy-written @The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen!! unless mentioned. Please Ask First
 

Pumpkin Stir Fry

What do you do when you have no veggies but pumpkin?

In my place no one eats pumpkin, especially the red one. I just do not know why. I have tried all sorts of way making this veggie in sambhar, a veggie. No sir… they all turn up their noses at it and the poor gourd has become quite upset.

So coming back to the original question what to cook? I have only pumpkin.

Tinda Stuffed with Paneer and Mint~ Dedicated to Mom

 I decided to make tinda and started to make Tinda Do piyaza that I had seen here.

However as I started long lost memories of how we, that is we siblings, hated this vegetable as kids swamped me. We always fought with my mother when we saw this vegetable. But in the sweltering heat of Nagpur and Akola where we spent our childhood in the summer very few vegetables were available. One was Gola Bhaji and other dhemsa or tinda. Poor mom had nothing to make, she must have been so frustrated…

Tomato Gralic and Onion Chutney with Paneer

I am sorry that I could not post my Blog Hop on 11^th April as I had migraine and could not work. In fact today is the only day that I have done some work, barely managed to cook. Please accept my sincere apologies.

With this as the rules of Blog Hop say I will not be able to participate anymore so this is a bye bye from me. I really enjoyed myself and had a great time. I will definitely join in the next round of Blog Hop.

Coming to Blog Hop recipe Week #16 recipe I was paired with Sona of Spill the Spices. 

Triple Schezwan ~Guest Post

When Nupur asked me to guest post for her I was honoured, pleased & proud that I have finally arrived.

Arrived on the blogging scene!! Yea!!!!

From the time I stated my place as an online  diary for my experiments, where my brother kept on pestering me to post pictures to now that is quite a journey.

From the few tremulous steps where my brother kept on guiding me every step to now (he does check out things for me, answers my queries, why should I search when he can easily answer).I have become more independent I don’t follow his suggestions at all!! Ha-ha!! His ideas are wonderful but I do not have the time to put them in practice immediately will work on them slowly.

Do check out Nupur’s place for my recipe here.

Is that all? No,do check out Nupur’s U K Rasoi where she chronicles her travels as she says “mediocre to food lover”, my current favourites  to name a few are

Scrambled cauliflower stir fry

Paneer masladaar

Brown rice idli

Herb Polenta with chili tomato

Not to say anything about her beautiful pictures.

Thanks Nupur  it was a pleasure.

Bitter Gourd ~Flavours of Nepal

I am guilty of not sending my entries to events.

 Not attending to my e mails regularly in short I am not organised.

About the first thing I did this month was getting this veggie ready and today I am posting it in great hurry on the last day. Thank God it is a leap year.

This is my entry to Nupur’s Flavours of Nepal.

I love karela/bitter gourd/bitter melon/hagalkai/karla. So what best can I cook when I found this site when I Google for the recipes.

The original recipe is here and here is mine.

Black & white Wednesday with Cauliflower in Tomato Gravy

Cauliflower one veggie we make often!  The versatility of the veggie is such that it can   be made into a quick stir fry for chapatti& rice, or fried for a snack or make into a pickle with a slight shift in ingredients. Each has its own charm, Own following!!

So when Priyaof Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes, announced the veggie of the month as cauliflower to be hosted by Tiffincarriersantiques.blogspot.com I knew I would be sending my entry here.

I would like to send this entry that my SIL &  I had long long ago copied from somewhere.

Ingredients:

 1 medium sized Cauliflower cut in bite size florets

Oil for frying

 For the Gravy:

2 big or 3 medium sized onions

3-4 tomatoes

6 flakes garlic

1”piece of ginger

½ tsp Coriander powder

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp amchur powder

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp pav bhaji masala

½ cup milk(for low fat version else use fresh  cream)

 A few springs of coriander

Method:

1.    Soak the cauliflower in water and salt for about 10 minutes.

2.   Drain it and with a little water and salt cover with a lid and par boil the cauliflower. Say about 5 minutes or till you get the aroma of boiled cauliflower. (2 minutes in the microwave).

3.   Drain the cauliflower, reserve the water and dry the florets on kitchen napkin.

4.   Heat the oil and deep fry the florets till golden brown, drain. Keep aside.

5.   As you are frying grind the onion pieces in the mixer with garlic, ginger and the coriander leaves.

6.   In a separate kadhai/wok with a little oil fry the ground onion till the raw smell goes. Now add the crushed tomatoes. Stir fry till the water evaporates and the oil starts coming out.

7.   Add all the dry masala and fry till you get a nice aroma.

8.   Now add the cauliflower, stir. Add the milk. Adjust the seasonings use some of the reserved water for adjusting the thickness of the gravy.

9.    Bring to a boil. Garnish with chopped coriander.

10.  Serve with chapatti, naan.

   

Linking this to Black & White Wednesday too!

Archana
Do check out my event and send me your entries..

Drumsticks/ Shevgya che Shenga /Nuggekai/ Shango Curry

Just imagine your friend asks for something and since it is not readily available you decide to give it later and then you forget…!!

Unforgivable!!

This is exactly what I have done but I hope my friend Mythreyi does forgive me!!

She had posted some drumstick recipes and wanted some more of curry recipes with them. Drumsticks/ Shevga che shenga  /Nuggekai/ Shango as they are know in English/ Marathi/ Kannada/ Konkani  are a rich source of calcium and potassium. Read about it here.

I was quite surprised that I had not posted this curry that I make often. In my mom’s place it is used only in sambhar, my mother-in-law used in kadhi, I have not made the kadhi yet but will try it out soon. 

This recipe is what my friends’ mom used to make and since the kids loved it I copied it.  You can as in the original recipe add prawns which taste yummy but I am clueless about cooking them.  You are the expert if you are using prawns but I will guarantee the taste!

The Ingredients are simple:

5 drumsticks, chopped the size about 2 knuckles

½ a coconut, freshly grated

1 tsp rasam powder or sambhar powder (adjust as per taste)

A small ball of tamarind

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp chilli powder

3 cloves garlic (optional)

1 small ball of jaggery

1 tsp oil

Mustard

Hing/asafoetida

Salt

Coriander

Method:

1.       Place the drumsticks in a wide vessel use just enough water to cover all the drumsticks mix salt. Cover and par boil.

2.       Meanwhile grind the coconut, the masala powder, tamarind, turmeric, chilli powder, garlic (if used) and jaggery to a very fine paste using little water. Many times I grind the masala only after I have boiled the drumsticks and I use the water from the drumsticks only.

3.       Pour over the masala over the drumstick and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings.

4.       In a small pan heat the oil, splutter mustard, then hing/asafoetida.

5.       Pour over the drumstick curry. Cook till the drumsticks are done.

6.       Serve with steaming hot rice.

  

Drumsticks Curry

Archana

Capsicum Stuffed with Tofu and White Sauce~Lets Go Stuffing Series

 The event Let’s Get Stuffed Series started by Vatsala and hosted by me is constantly at the back of my mind and I am thinking of new ways of stuffing Capsicum or Bell peppers.  Thanks Vatsala else I would be thinking only of potatoes stuffed in capsicum. If I could type as fast as I think I would have filled reams and reams of net space with my drafts.  J

I had made white sauce thinking I will make some pasta but then the circumstances changed and I was left holding the white sauce. Rather than dump it in the freezer I decided to stuff capsicum with it. A bit radical but yes I did stuff them and yes we all loved it!

Ingredients:

6 capsicums 

2 tea cups White Sauce 

200 grms tofu

1 tsp oregano

1 basil leaf (dried), crushed

2 tblspn tomato sauce(optional)

1 pinch of nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp Pepper, ground

Salt

Coriander

Olive oil 

Method:

1.        To make white sauce here is the link, you can make it this way ,with Maida/all purpose flour/refined flour to get a creamy white sauce, but in my hunt to make food healthy and delicious I have started substituting the Maida with whole wheat flour. Of course it is no longer white but reddish but I like it this way for I know it is healthier and the best part is the family does not notice any difference.

2.         Meanwhile toast the tofu on a non-stick  pan.

3.        Add the toasted tofu , coriander ,tomato sauce  nutmeg powder, salt and pepper to the white sauce.

4.        Cut 6 capsicum lengthwise and cleared all the veins and the seeds. (Next time I will smear a drop of oil and pinch of salt and a pinch of oregano inside the capsicum to give it a flavour).

5.        Then add the sauce mixture in the capsicum. You could sprinkle oregano and dried basil as I have and dot the capsicum with 2 drops of olive oil.

Grill it in the oven with both the grills on for 10 minutes or till the capsium changes colour and the sauce is appears cooked.

Enjoy it by itself as my elder kid did it or with roti as we did it.

P.S. The amount of white sauce will depend on the size of the capsicum.

You can also add grated cheese before grilling . I plain forgot.

In the last picture I tried roasting the capsicum on the gas in a kadhai .  I did not much like the texture of the sauce. I am open to all suggestions  the right side one is roasted in the kadhai.

Linking this to Vatsala's Event , hosted by me The Let's Go Stuffing Series.

And to Lubna's Joy from Fasting to Feasting-IV

Capsicum Stuffed with Tofu and White Sauce~Lets Go Stuffing Series

Archana