Beetroot Lassi Jaisi Koyi Nahin

I have never had a violent dislike for any vegetable. However, the beetroot comes closest to this. The part sweetness and hint of bitterness, don’t appeal. Also the colour is a serious put off. Not that I don’t like the colour on clothes, just that the colour of beetroot completely overwhelms other ingredients. However, a drink with beetroot when recommended by the boss caught my attention. Basically it had buttermilk and hing, both of which appeal to me.

It turned out to be surprisingly good to taste. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 small size beetroot
1 small sized green chilli
1 sprig of curry leaves
Hing
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds
Oil for tadka
Curd – 2 cups
Water – 1.5 cups

Method
Take a little oil in a karhai. Pop a handful of mustard seeds. Add hing, green chillies and chopped curry leaves. Add the chopped beetroot into it and sauté it for three minutes. Remove from pan and let it cool. Grind it a little coarse. Add the butter milk, water and salt and blend well. Serve it chilled.

Refreshing and wholesome.

Nombu Adai

There are a number of festivals that we celebrate, which are both annoying and fun at the same time. I find Nombu one such festival.

It is partly irritating that you need to wear that yellow thread to demonstrate your love and hunt out your nine yards sari also. But it is fun because of the nombu adais, consumed with generous generous helpings of butter. Calories did you say?!

Salted Adai

Ingredients
Rice Flour – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Green chili – 2
Chopped Ginger – of a small piece
Curry leaves
Hing – to taste
Coriander leaves
Cooked lobia – 1 tbsp
Coconut pieces – 1 tbsp
Channa Dal – 1 tsp
Urad Dal – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil and put channa dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. Then add chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Pour two cups of water and add the cooked lobia, coconut pieces, hing and salt. When the water starts boiling mix the roasted rice flour and cook well. Let it cool for a while. Then take a small ball sized portion of the batter and make it into flat and round adais. Then steam it and serve it with butter.

Sweet Adai

Ingredients
Rice Flour – 1 cup
Jaggery – ¾ cup
Lobia (red variety) – 1 tbsp
Elaichi powder – ¼ tsp
Water – 2 cups
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Coconut pieces – 1 tbsp

Method
Roast the rice flour for ten minutes. Cook and keep the lobia separately. Take a kadai and put the jaggery and water and let it boil. Strain the syrup to remove any dirt. Put the strained liquid back on the stove. When it starts boiling add the cooked lobia, coconut pieces and roasted rice flour. Cook till it becomes thick dough. Add the elaichi powder, mix well. Let it cool for a while. Then take small ball sized portions of the batter and make it into flat and round adais. Then steam it and serve it with butter.

Oh well, long live them husbands!

Stuffed Snake Gourd

When I was growing up we lived in colonies where there was a lot of entertaining that we needed to do. And there was a constant need to improvise and dole out new stuff. A must in each menu was some kind of a stuffed vegetable. If there was a vegetable, one tried to see if we can stuff it with potatoes. It could pass off as something reasonably exotic and effort intensive. A favourite in this stuffed family, is the snake gourd one. Yes, it sounds bizarre, but tastes divine. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Snake Gourd – ½ kg
For the filling
Potatoes – 3 Numbers
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Jeera – 1/2/ tsp
Amchur – ½ tsp or juice of half a lemon
Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Rice flour – 2 tbsp
Oil for shallow frying

Method

Cut the snake gourd into one inch thick rings. Remove the seeds. Boil it in
water with haldi and salt. Let it boil for ten minutes and then drain the water
and keep aside,

For the filling
Boil the potatoes. Peel the skin and
mash well. Add salt, red chilli powder, jeer and amchur and mix it well,

Stuff each ring of snake gourd with the potato mixture. Coat both sides
with rice flour and toast the same in a tawa.

Your stuffed snake gourd is done. Amazingly simple and great to taste. Works well served with rice and dal. Also makes for an interesting starter.

And yes, Happy Holi!

Sweet Tooth!

How many variants of milk burfi do you suppose exist? On last count, close to a million it would seem. I love the versatility of this ingredient – from soaps to cream to Ganeshas, everyone wants a piece of the action. I love my milk based sweets – from Payesh, to Rasogulllas, to Kalakand – it all works for me.

Of all the dry fruits, the one that has fascinated me the most has been figs. As children, the fact that it came tied in a rope like thing gave this a rather raw and rustic feel. I also loved the texture when one bit into it, soft and crunchy.

Imagine my happiness when both these ingredients combined. Of course, a milk burfi by any other name etc. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
Milk – ½ litre
Figs – 4 numbers
Sugar – 1 and ¼ cup
Ghee – 5 tablespoon
Rava – ¼ teaspoon
Besan – ¼ teaspoon

Method
Heat 1 tablespoon Ghee and roast the besan and rava. Chop the figs into small pieces. Boil milk, sugar with roasted rava and besan. Add chopped figs. Stir continuously and add the rest of the ghee till the mixtures begins to leave the side of the vessel. Switch off the gas and stir till it becomes thick. Spread on a greased plate. Cool and cut into pieces.

I like them as generous large pieces, saves the effort of having to eat multiple numbers of them!

Foodies Unite!

Ah this!

Makes me want to make my own list...

Hai Hai Mirchi

After the somewhat attempt at health, time for some sin. Growing up in the cool climes of Northern India meant that there were certain types of food that made an entry into our homes come winter. From the heat inducing Rewari and Gazak, to the mouth watering tribute to red carrots aka gajar ka halwa, to the sarso da saag, etc.

Winters usually meant great vegetables - the red carrots, the big fat green peas, the shiny white and almost sweet raddish, to the fabulously flavored methi. Inevitably most of the cooking centered around these vegetables. A yearly ritual followed was the preparation of – Vegetable Pickles.

Like every home, we took our pickles very seriously, be it the North Indian variety, the Gujju variety or the South Indian Avakai! Getting the right pickle was a skill, to get the right quantity of salt, oil and spice. Also important was the texture, and that is one place that the vegetable pickle is brilliant in. The texture is perfect – a hint of crunchiness, but soft enough and doesn’t bother by getting stuck between your teeth.

It being that time of the year again, massive vegetable pickle preparation at home was initiated. Here is the recipe!

Vegetable Pickle

Ingredients
Chopped Vegetables – 1 Kg (Cut into one and a half inches rectangular pieces)
Carrot, Radish, Peas, Beans and Cauliflower
Green chillies – 50 grams (Also slit and half an inch piece)
Ginger – 50 grams (Also cut into half an inch rectangular pieces)
Salt – 100 grams
Turmeric Powder – ½ teaspoon
Chilli Powder – 50 grams
Raw Mustard Powder – 50 grams
Hing Powder – 1 teaspoon
Methi Powder – 2 teaspoon (roast the methi and powder it)
Lime Juice of 10 lemons
Gingeley Oil – 1 cup
Preservative: Sodium Benzoate – ¼ teaspoon

Method
Wash the chopped vegetables and tie the vegetables in a muslin cloth to dry it. Steam or microwave for about 5 minutes. Then spread the vegetables out in the sun for about an hour. Mix all the masalas. Heat oil and fry the chillies and ginger. Let it cool for a while. Mix the vegetables, masala, the fried green chillies and ginger and lemon juice. Mix the preservative in one teaspoon of lukewarm water and add it to the pickle and bottle it. This pickle can be kept for more than six months.

Best served with paratha and a cup of curd.

Who says vegetables are for cows?

Love them, hate them but you can’t really ignore them! And how many times have you cringed at the thought of that concoction called – Mixed Vegetable Curry that any self respecting restaurant doles out. But here is a recipe, also known as Sindhi Kadi (sans any curd though) which is rather wholesome and tastes nice too!

Here is the recipe for all of you.

Mixed Vegetable with Besan Curry

Ingredients
Beans - 5 or 6 numbers
Cauliflower – 4 or 5 flowers pieces
Peas – little
Red Pumpkin – a small bit
Potato – 1
Tomato -1
Besan – 1 tablespoon
Ghee – 1 tea spoon
Oil – 2 tea spoon
One table spoon tamarind pulp
Red Chiili Powder – 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Dhania Powder – 1 teaspoon
Haldi Powder a pinch

Method
Cut all the vegetables into small rectangle slices. In a pressure pan, heat oil and ghee, roast the besan in it. Now add all the vegetables including tomato and roast it for a while. Add the vegetables in order of time that they require for cooking. Now add 2 glasses of water to it. Also add the spices and seasoning viz. haldi, salt, chilli powder, dhania powder and tamarind pulp. Pressure cook till one whistle sound and switch it off. Garnish with coriander leaves and is best served with rice. Though chapatti fine too.

On that healthy note, here is to a good year and great health!