Aloo Mutter Soya Sabzi

The husband and I tasted Aloo Mutter and Soya Sabzi for the first time at Delhi, and we both fell in love with it. I tried making it at home today, and the result was extremely good. Everyone in the family loved it. :)

Ingredients (for 2 people):

4 medium-sized tomatoes
2 small onions
6-7 cloves of garlic (peeled)
Salt to taste
A few coriander leaves, finely chopped
Red chilli powder to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Hing to taste
Kitchen King/Garam Masala/Sabzi Masala to taste
A little oil
A few mustard seeds
A 1-inch long piece of ginger, peeled
1 small cup of shelled green peas
4-5 potatoes, peeled and chopped into large pieces
A handful of soya chunks

Method:

1. Boil some water in a pan and add salt in it. Add the soya chunks to the boiling water. Let them cook for about 5 minutes. Then, take the pan off heat and drain the water from the soya chunks. Wash them with cold water, and squeeze them to remove every trace of excess water. Keep aside.
2. Chop the tomatoes, ginger, onions and garlic. Grind them to a paste in a mixer, without adding water. Keep aside.
3. Heat a little oil in a pressure cooker and add some mustard seeds. After they splutter, add some hing to taste.
4. Add the tomato gravy to the kadhai and let it cook for a while, till the raw smell leaves it.
5. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and masala to taste and mix well. Cook for a while.
6. Add the shelled peas and chopped potatoes and mix well, so that they are coated completely with the gravy.
7. Add the soya chunks and mix well. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes.
8. Add more water if required, and close the pressure cooker lid. Let it cook for about 3 whistles.
9. After the steam escapes, add the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice to taste. Mix well.

Serve hot with parathas or roti.

Pineapple Salad

I found the recipe for a very different kind of Pineapple Salad on Kavya's food blog, and thought I would like it. I tried it out, without the spinach (palak), and I loved it. Here's the recipe I used, which is just a slight modification of the one at Kavya's blog.

Ingredients:

Pineapple:1 cup(Julienne cut)
Tomato Ketchup:2 spns
Salt:To Taste
Chilli Powder:To Taste
Sugar/Honey:1 spn
Seaseme Seeds:2 spns(dry roasted)
Lemon Juice:1 spn

Method:

1.In a mixing bowl add tomato ketchup,salt,chilli powder,lemon juice,seaseme seeds(save little for garnishing),sugar/honey and mix well.
2.Now add the cut pineapple and mix well. Keep it aside for 5 minutes and then serve. Garnish it with seaseme seeds before serving.

Manathankalikkai Vettalkozhambu

This is one of my most favourite dishes in the world. The recipe was passed on to me by mommy dearest. :)

Ingredients:

1. A lemon-sized ball of tamarind
2. Salt to taste
3. Oil for tadka
4. Some manathankalikkai vetthal (I don't know the English word for this)
5. Sambar powder to taste
6. Jaggery for taste
7. A few curry leaves
8. Mustard seeds for tadka
9. Rice flour/ Wheat flour (optional)
10.Red chilli powder to taste
11. Methi seeds for tadka
12. Hing powder to taste
13. Turmeric powder to taste

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind in water for a while, and extract a thick paste out of it, adding water if necessary.
2. Heat a little oil in a kadhai and add hing powder and mustard seeds. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter, and add methi seeds. Allow to cook for a while.
3. Add the manathankalikkai vetthal and cook for a while, till they become a little soft.
4. Add the tamarind extract, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder and jaggery to taste. Cook on a medium flame till the raw smell goes away.
5. Once it starts to thicken, add the curry leaves and mix well.
6. If it is too watery, mix the rice flour/ wheat flour in a little water and add to the kozhambu. Mix well and cook for a while.
7. Take off from heat once it starts boiling.

Notes:

1) This kozhambu can be made with vegetables like kotthavarangai, onions and ladies finger, too. If using them, just substitute the manathankalikkai vetthal in the above recipe with the vegetable of your choice. The rest of the steps in the recipe will remain the same.
2) We use sambar powder made at home, the recipe for which I will be posting sometime soon.

Grape Thokku

I had these black grapes that the better half got, which turned out to be extremely sour. I decided to try out something new with the sour grapes, and to my surprise, it turned out amazingly well. Everyone loved it!! Sour grapes are not so bad, after all! :)

I am submitting this entry for the Complete My Thali Contest at Jagruti's blog!



Ingredients:

A bowl of seedless red grapes (if they are with seeds, de-seed them)
Salt to taste
A piece of ginger
2 green chillies
Hing to taste
Sugar to taste
Methi seeds to taste
Oil for tadka
Turmeric powder to taste
Mustard seeds

Method:

1) Grind the grapes in a mixer to a paste, without adding water.
2) Remove the peel from the ginger. Grind the ginger and green chillies to a paste in mixer.
3) In a pan, heat some oil. Add hing powder, methi seeds and mustard seeds. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter.
4) Add the green chillies-ginger paste and cook for a while.
5) When it starts changing colour, add the grapes paste.
6) Add salt, sugar and turmeric powder to taste.
7) Cook it on low flame,stirring well, till the paste starts to thicken. Take off from gas when cooked well.

Tastes well with parotas, chappatis and rice items.

Mango-neem pacchadi

Ingredients (for 2 people)

1) A little oil

2) Mustard seeds

3) 1-2 dry, red chillies

4) 2 raw mangoes, peeled and grated

5) Fresh/dry neem flowers

6) Jaggery to taste

7) Salt to taste

Method:

1) Heat the oil in a kadhai, and add the mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter. Then break the dry, red chillies into pieces and add. Fry it for a short while.

2) Add the grated mango and neem flowers. Roast for a while.

3) Add some water, cover the kadhai with a plate and cook till the mango becomes soft. Cook till the mixture is in the form of a watery lump.

4) Add a pinch of salt, and crushed jaggery to taste. Mix well till the jaggery dissolves.

Traditionally made in Tamilian households on the eve of Tamil New Year, this Pacchadi is a mixture of sweet, sour, bitter, and hot - symbolising the way life should be, with a little bit of each. It can be eaten either hot or cold.

Bombay chutney

Ingredients: (for 2 people)



1) 1/2 medium-sized cup besan

2) Salt to taste

3) 2 green chillies

4) Curd for mixing

5) A 1-inch long piece of ginger

6) Turmeric powder

7) Mustard seeds

8) 8-10 cloves of garlic


Method:



1) Take off the skin from the garlic and ginger. Cut the green chillies into large pieces. Dry grind chillies, garlic and ginger in mixer to make a paste. Keep aside.

2) Mix some curd in the besan and add salt and turmeric powder to taste. Keep aside. It should be neither too thick nor too thin.

3) Heat some oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter.

4) Add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste and stir for some time.

5) Add the besan paste, and add water/curd as required.

6) Cook for 5-7 minutes on low flame.



This chutney can be eaten with paranthas, dosas or chappatis. Best used hot.

PS: I don't know where this recipe got its name from. It is called Bombay Chutney at our place and has been passed on through generations. :)