Guess.....

Can you guess the star ingredient in this kootu curry?

It is a rather unusual ingredient.....well, unusual to me, as I have never seen it being used before. If I say anything more, it will make guessing that much easier.
So, until I reveal the answer, keep guessing.
Once I do, I am sure there will be someone who will tell me that they make this exactly the same way but until then.....I'll enjoy my bubble and bask in the glory of having come up with something original.

Sev Usal

This is a wonderfully hearty and lip smackingly good dish - the recipe of which I learned from my SIL in Gujarat. It is very simple to make and at the same time, will keep people coming back for more. A hot bowl of this sev usal is a great way to warm yourself up on a cold, winter night.

What you need:
Soaked peas - 2 cups (I used sprouted peas as I had them on hand. )
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Sev, finely chopped onions and corriander - for topping
Grind together:
Cardamom - 5 pods
Clove - 5
Onion - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Tomato - 2

Add 3 cups of water to the peas and cook in a pressure cooker. Once the steam has settled, open the lid and add the ground masala to the cooked peas. Add salt, garam masala and two cups of water. Let it boil for 20-25 minutes on a low flame until the raw smell goes away. The final product should be quite watery. So use your judgement and add water as required.
While serving:
This is usually eaten with bread/pav. Ladle out a bowl-ful of the hot usal. Top with generous helpings of finely chopped onion, corriander and sev. The usal will thicken up a bit once you add all the toppings. Scoop up the usal with bread/pav or alternately eat spoonfuls of the usal and bread. Either way, you are bound to enjoy your meal.

This is my entry to Spicy Treat's First event - Show me your hits and to Srav's Dish for loved ones.

Onion chutney with a twist

I hate mixing up flavours that are best enjoyed separately. I know there are umpteen people who go gaga over hot gulab jamuns served with a scoop of vanilla ichttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife cream. I am not one of them. I enjoy both, but give them to me in different bowls, please. The same goes for gajar ka halwa and ice cream. I cannot stomach the two together, though my stomach has ample space to accommodate the two separately.
By now I am sure you are wondering where on earth I am going with this argument. Well, it so happens that Kalyani sent me a mail about a month back asking if I would be interested in participating in Magic Mingle - a challenge where we have to use two given ingredients to create a dish. The combo chosen for the first mingle is Cinnamon and Chillies. Ever since she revealed the first two magic ingredients, I've been racking my brain - trying to think of a way in which I can use these two together. I had to get out of my comfort zone to even think of using cinnamon in a spicy dish. I definitely knew that I did not want to make a pulao/biriyani as this is the one dish which I like and usually make where this combo rules the roost. It definitely had to be something new.
I came up with this recipe as I was peeling some sambar onions with the intention of using it for a chutney to go with rotis. The thought of adding cinnamon to it is something that only a fellow blogger wanting to create something new for an event will understand.
What you need:
Shallots/pearl onion/sambar onion - 1 cup, peeled
Red chilli - 3 (adjust to taste
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Jaggery - a small piece
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Grind the onions and red chilli to a smooth paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When they pop, reduce the heat and add the ground paste, salt, cinnamon and jaggery. Stir well. Cook until the raw smell of the mixture goes away, stirring every now and then.
Enjoy!!!
Note : None of the photos that I have of this chutney look very appetising. Hence, they are not shared here.

Beginning the year with a book review

The new year has brought in its wake a resolve in me to eat healthy. No.....no, I am not dieting. I don't think I can ever do that......but I have included(it's the same as saying resolved to include, right?) more fruits, greens, sprouts and veggies in my diet. A few days into the New Year, I received a mail from blogadda asking if I would be interested in reviewing Bhanu Hajratwala's Gujarati Kitchen. Not one to miss out on a chance like that, I immediately clicked Reply and said Yes.

The book arrived neatly packed, and promptly delivered. At first look, it looks like a simple, no-frills, no-nonsense cook book. It begins with a......hold your breath......20 page introduction of the author, including 2 pages filled with photographs. Though long, I found the introduction well written and quite interesting to read. I don't think I've ever read so much about the life of any other cook book author.
The section after the intro contains General tips for the budding cook - ranging from cooking times, preparing and washing ingredients, and deep frying to sprouting. The basic pantry ingredients, and utensils used in Gujarati cooking are also explained briefly.
The magic of Gujarati cooking lies int he blending of spices.....and the author gives us the recipes of some basic spice blends. What I really liked is how she has, after the recipe, told us what quantities of ingredients can be used to make just enough for a single use.
The recipe in the book are categorized into Veg & non-veg starters, veg and non-veg main dishes, breads, rice, accompaniments with rice, sweets, chutneys, pickles, tea time snacks and mukhwas (mouth fresheners).
All the recipes are written in an easy-to-follow manner. The one thing that could be improved on is the pictures in the book. All the pictures are grouped together just before the start of the relevant section. For eg, just before the recipes of main dishes, there are two pages containing photos of different main dishes. I feel that it would have been better if the photo had been on the same page as the recipe.
To me, a cook book review can never be complete without cooking something from its pages. The dish I chose to cook from this book is called Bhaji ne vatananu shaak(Spinach and green peas curry).

What you need:
Spinach - 2 bunches, cleaned and chopped coarsely (roughly 6 cups)
Fresh green peas - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a few generous sprinklings
Oil - 2 tsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Salt - to taste
Grind together:
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Fresh turmeric - 1 inch piece (I grew my own....YAY!!!)
Garlic - 6 cloves
Green chilli - 3 (adjust to taste)
Amchur powder - 1 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds and heat until they start to brown. Sprinkle asafoetida and stir for a few seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Now add the ground masala. Stir well for 2 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, peas, and salt. Mix well. Add about 1/4 cups of water, cover and cook until the peas soften. If you find that the curry still has water left in it, remove the lid and heat until all the moisture evaporates
Serve with roti/rice.
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Aloo bhaji

The last day of blogging marathon#11 has me cooking a very simple, quick and easy to make dish from Bihar. The recipe is from USMasala.

What you need:
Potato - 1 large, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick fingers
Oil - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida/Hing - a generous sprinkling
Dry red chilli - 1, broken into pieces
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Saunf/Fennel - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek/methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Nigella seeds/kalonji - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin,fennel,fenugreek,mustard and nigella seeds. Together, equal quantities of these five spices make for a heady and aromatic combination and the mix is called panchphoran in both Bengali and Bihari cuisine. When the seeds start to pop, sprinkle hing, add the red chilli and stir. Now add in the potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. If necessary, sprinkle some water, cover and cook till done.
Serve hot with roti/puri/rice.
Verdict : Quick and easy to put together, this is just my kind of recipe. The shape and the slight crunch when you bite into it makes me think of this as an Indian version of French Fries.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Aloo tamatar ki subzi

A very simple, yet hearty sabzi, a bowl of this with some hot, puffed up puris is sure to warm you up on a cold, winter night.

What you need:
Potato - 4 large, boiled, peeled and chopped
Tomato - 3, medium, cut into large chunks
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Hing/asafoetida - a generous sprinkling
Salt - to taste

Take the chopped tomatoes in a microwave safe bowl. Add just enough water to cover the tomato pieces and microwave for 3-4 minutes or until cooked.
Take some oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds to it. When the seeds start to pop, add in a generous sprinkling of asafoetida. Stir in the potatoes. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, amchur and salt. Mix well. Now add in the cooked tomatoes with the water in which it was cooked. Add in an extra cup of water and let it boil for 10-15 minutes until the sabzi thickens.
Serve hot with puri/roti.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11

Pittha

Pittha is similar to the South Indian kozhakattai/modak and to the Tibetan momos. It has an outer cover made of rice flour/maida/wheat flour and an inner stuffing made of ground dal and spices. This is cooked in boiling water to make a soft on the outside and bursting with flavour inside snack.

What you need:
For the outer cover - Atta kneaded as you would for rotis (Maida/ rice flour is more commonly used. However, I chose to use atta)

For the filling:
Chana dal - 1 cup, soaked for 3 hours in plenty of water
Onion - 1 large
Green chillies - 2 or 3
Garlic - 4 cloves
Ginger - a small piece
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

Drain water from the chana dal. Add green chillies, garlic, ginger, onion and turmeric powder to it. Grind to a coarse paste without adding any water. To this, add the garam masala, amchur and salt. Mix well.

Pinch out a small ball of atta. Roll it into a circle. Place some filling inside the cirlce.

Fold one side over the other to make a semi circle. Press down with a fork on the edges to make a beautiful pattern.

Bring 7-8 cups of water to a rolling boil in a large kadai. I used my pressure cooker. Drop 3 or four of the stuffed pitthas into the boiling water. It will sink down when dropped in, but will soon rise to the top. Once it rises to the top, reduce the flame to medium and let it cook for 5-7 minutes. You will know it is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let it cool. Cut each pittha into two pieces. Heat some oil in a pan. Add some mustard seeds to it When the seeds pop, pour this season over the prepared pitthas. Mix well. Serve with green chutney and tamarind chutney.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11