Muringakkai puli kuzhambu (Drumsticks cooked in a tangy tamarind base)

This is another simple, every day meal that we love. Most South Indians tend to love the tanginess that tamarind lends to any dish. I am no exception. Drumsticks grow in abundance in my parents' home. When I lived there, I couldn't care less for this vegetable. Now that I have access only to frozen drumsticks, and on rare occasions, fresh ones which don't match up to the robust flavor of home-grown Indian drumsticks. I miss those little things that I took for granted. This kuzhambu makes use of frozen drumsticks and frozen pearl onions which I buy as a matter of convenience, not non-availability of fresh ones. It is similar to vathal kuzhambu. The main difference between the two is that this one uses fresh vegetables whereas vathal kuzhambu makes use of sun dried vegetables and berries.
Do check out my earlier posts on vathal kuzhambu and the making of sundried sundakka vathal.

What you need:
Tamarind - Lemon sized ball soaked in enough hot water to yield two cups of extract
Oil (preferably sesame) - 2 tbsp.
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Pearl onions - 8-10
Drumsticks - 8-10 pieces if using frozen (2, chopped if using fresh)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - a generous sprinkling
Salt

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the dals. When they start to redden, add mustard seeds, methi seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard pops, add pearl onions and saute till pink. Add tamarind extract, drumstick pieces, asafoetida, turmeric, salt and sambar powder. Stir well and let it come to a boil. Boil on low flame for a few minutes to allow the gravy to thicken. If you feel that it is too watery, it can be thickened by adding rice paste which is made by adding one teaspoon of rice flour to water to make a thick paste. This rice paste can be stirred into the kuzhambu, with constant stirring.
Serve the kuzhambu hot with rice and a dollop of ghee or sesame oil.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Pizza sauce

A good pizza sauce is a vital ingredient for any good pizza. A robust sauce, few toppings and lots and lots of cheese is the way pizza has been popularized throughout the US. I usually like my pizzas with a good helping of pizza sauce and lots of vegetables, but tend to go easy on the cheese. Here is how I make my pizza sauce.

What you need:
Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Tomato - 5 or 6 large, juicy ones, chopped
Basil - a handful, chopped (I used fresh basil. It can be substituted with dried basil)
Italian seasoning - a few generous sprinkles
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilli flakes - to taste

Heat oil. Saute garlic in it. Then add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and cook covered over a low flame until the tomatoes are well cooked and mushy and the sauce reaches the desired thickness. You can choose to blend the sauce if you like it smooth. I like mine chunky and have left it as it is.
Once completely cooled, this can be refrigerated and will stay good for up to a week.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#82

Peas pulao

One pot dishes are my favorite kind. A few veggies, some form of protein and carbs, a few spices and seasonings - all thrown into one pot - that's all it takes to make this pulao. On days when you aren't inspired enough to create something that takes more than 10 minutes of time and effort, this kind of dish is there to the rescue. Having frozen green peas on hand makes it even easier.

What you need:
Basmati rice - 1 cup (soaked in water for 30 minutes and drained)
Green peas - 1 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup (optional  - can be substituted with a cup of water)
Water - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 chopped fine
Ginger - a small piece
Green chilli - 3 or 4
Garlic - 4 cloves
Butter - 3 tbsp.
Cardamom - 2
Clove - 5
Cinnamon - a small piece
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Biriyani masala - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt
Sliced almonds - a few, to garnish

Melt butter in your pressure cooker. Add cardamom, clove, cinnamon and bay leaf. Saute on low flame till fragrant. Grind the ginger, chilli and garlic to a coarse paste without adding any water. Add this into the cooker and saute. Mix in the sliced onions and fry till translucent. Add the green peas, biriyani masala, salt, drained rice, coconut milk and water. Close the cooker and cook till one whistle. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Once the pressure settles, serve hot with raita.

This is my third post for Week 2 of Blogging Marathon #72 under the theme vegetarian dinners.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Puri masala

The weather here in Minnesota is getting colder by the day. Today, I drove through roads where I was not able to see the lines that mark the lanes or distinguish between the sidewalk and the road. This kind of weather makes me long for tea that is spiced with ginger and cardamom and deep fried snacks. Puris make an appearance at our dinner table on days like this. My favorite accompaniment for puris is this simple yet very flavorful potato masala that is served in restaurants in South India. With just a few ingredients and a bit of your time and supervision, you can make this curry which you cannot go wrong with.

What you need:
Potato - 3 or 4, medium sized (boiled, peeled and mashed)
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Green chillies - 3 or 4, slit into half vertically
Ginger - a small piece, chopped fine
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp. (* See note)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Salt - to taste
Juice of half a lemon

Heat oil in a pan. Add chana dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the slit green chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Saute a bit and then add the chopped onion. Saute on a low flame until the onions turn translucent.  Add turmeric powder and the mashed potatoes. Mix well and stir in a cup of water and salt as per your taste. Let it boil for a few minutes until the masala thickens. Switch off the heat and mix in the lemon juice.

Serve hot with puris.

Note : * I am partial to coconut oil and think that it imparts a characteristic flavor to this masala. However, any oil will serve the purpose.

This is my entry to the second week of Blogging Marathon #72, under the theme Vegetarian dinners.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Basic chocolate cake (No egg - uses egg replacer)

A basic chocolate cake recipe is a must have in every baker's repertoire. This recipe is one that I use frequently as the base for my cakes. It tastes great as it is, and even better dressed up with whipped cream, ganache or chocolate buttercream. With a few modifications, it can also be turned into a delicious black forest cake.

Basic chocolate cake frosted with chocolate buttercream

What you need : (Makes one 8 inch cake)

Cake flour - 3/4 cup

Sugar - 1 cup
Cocoa powder - 4 tbsp. (heaped)
Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Ener-G egg replacer powder - 1.5 tsp (Mix this powder with 2 tbsp. of warm water and blend till frothy)
Oil - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/4 cup
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease and line an 8 inch round cake pan with parchment paper.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add in the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Let it cool in the pan and once completely cooled, slice and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

I am beginning this year by participating in the Blogging Marathon. This week, I will be posting recipes under the theme Kids' Delight - Cakes and Cookies.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM
This recipe also goes to Kids' delight event hosted by Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen and run by Srivalli – Spice Your Life!

Mixed vegetable salad with a tangy spicy dressing

Of the three salads that I've made for Blogging Marathon #58, this one is my favourite. Loaded with colorful vegetables and crunchy toasted peanuts, this salad hits the right notes with a dressing that is tangy, spicy and mildly sweet.

What you need :
Cucumber - 1, peeled and cut into long, thin strips
Carrot - 1, cut into thin long strips
Tomato - 1, cut into thin strips
Onion - 1/2 of a small one, sliced fine
Capsicum - different colors - sliced thin and long, 1/4 cup
Corriander - a handful, chopped fine
Salt - to taste

For the dressing :  (This dressing, in my opinion, is the best part of this salad. Make sure to spoon plenty of dressing over each individual serving of salad)


Tamarind - a gooseberry sized ball soaked in water. Extract 1/3 cup of thick juice from the soaked tamarind
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp

Mix the tamarind extract, sugar and chilli powder in a large bowl. Stir till sugar dissolves.
Add all the other ingredients to this and mix well.
Toast a handful of peanuts in half a spoon of oil. Add this to the salad and toss. Serve immediately to retain the crunch of the peanuts.

Apple pear walnut salad

For the second day of Blogging Marathon #58, I have a fruit and nut salad. This was relished as an after school snack by my daughter. The walnuts and apples provide a crunch to the salad and are the perfect foil to the soft, ripe pear. Lemon in the dressing gives the salad a slight tanginess which, I feel, sets of the sweetness of the fruit perfectly.

What you need :
Apple - 1, chopped
Pear - 1, chopped
Walnuts - a handful, toasted and chopped into large chunks

For the dressing :
Honey - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - to taste (I extracted juice from about 1/4 of a lemon)

Mix all the ingredients for the salad and the dressing together. Serve immediately or chilled.
Enjoy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Chick peas salad

I am not much of a salad person. Though I could eat a well put together salad as part of a meal, it can never be a meal by itself in my household. I am hoping to develop a liking for salads through Blogging Marathon #58 where, for the first week, I have deliberately chosen to cook and showcase salads.
The first in the series is a simple yet hearty and substantial chick pea salad with a yogurt dressing that is a reflection of my love for chaas (spiced buttermilk).

What you need:
Chick peas - 1 cup soaked overnight and cooked
Onion - 1 small, chopped fine
Potato - 1, cooked, peeled and diced
Corriander and mint leaves - a few, chopped
Black salt (kala namak) - to taste
Juice of half a lemon

For the dressing :
Thick yogurt - 1/2 cup (Greek yogurt or hung curd works best for this)
Salt
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the salad. Add in as much of the dressing as you like. Mix well to combine.
Enjoy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Keerai thoran - Red amaranth stir fry

Sometimes, the most mundane of things can help bring forth the most pleasant memories. Very often, it is not the thing itself that we crave, but the fond memories associated with it that the heart yearns for.
I recently learned this profound truth when I spotted red amaranth leaves in the local farmers' market. While I have always loved the simple, earthy taste of a stir fry made with these leaves, it is only now, in the wake of having recently lost my grandmother, that I have realized how closely tied in this leaf is to my memories of her.

Some of my earliest memories as a child include her, impeccably dressed in her nine yards madisar podavai, walking to our front yard with a plate filled with tiny black seedlings. I would assist her in scattering these seeds around our coconut trees and then sprinkling water over them. I would check and water the seeds in the days to follow,my entire child's being thrilled to see the tiny shoots sprouting out of the ground. A few weeks down the line, my grandmother would harvest her crop of red keerai (red amaranth/malabar spinach) and hand them over to my mother to be cleaned and chopped. Once that was done, she would put her cheena chatti (wok) on the stove, heat some coconut oil in it, put in a simple seasoning of broken red chilli, urad dal and mustard seeds and then the chopped spinach leaves. These would cook remarkably quickly  in their own steam on a low flame. A garnish of grated coconut ground with green chillies was the final touch she added to the dish and then, knowing that this was my favourite way of eating it, she would mix it up with hot rice and ghee on a plate and hand it to me.
I now know that it is not the dish alone that I am so fond of, but the heaping helping of love with which it was made and served that I long for.

What you need:
Amaranth leaves/malabar spinach - 1 bunch (Any variety of leafy greens can be used but I am partial to the red amaranth leaves that grow particularly well in Kerala)
Oil - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Broken red chilli - 2
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup ground coarsely with 1 green chilli
Salt

Wash the leaves well and chop finely. Heat oil in a pan. Season with dal, mustard and red chilli. When the seeds start to pop, reduce the flame to low and stir in the chopped leaves and salt. Cover and let it cook in its own steam until wilted. Add in the ground coconut. Stir well and heat uncovered until the moisture evaporates.
Serve with hot rice and ghee.

Potato podimas

Potato is an almost universal favourite among vegetables. Chips, fries, a simple potato roast or this equally simple podimas - it sure is one vegetable that is hard to resist. A podimas is a simple stir fry of mashed potatoes tempered with some spices and topped with a dash of lemon juice. Anyone who has grown up in a Kerala Iyer household will be able to attest to the fact that this, with rasam and pappadam, is a much loved meal.

What you need:
Potato - 2 large baking potatoes or 4 medium sized, boiled, peeled and mashed
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger - 1 tbsp, julienned
Curry leaves - a few
Juice of half a lemon

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds pop, reduce the heat and add the chilli and ginger. Saute for a minute and add the mashed potato, salt and turmeric powder. Mix well and heat for at least 5 minutes. Switch off heat. Add lemon juice and stir to mix well.
Enjoy!!!

Variation : Leave out the lemon juice and add 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut to the podimas.

Cheppankizhangu/Arbi/Colcasia roast

Sometimes, a simple stir fry can make all the difference to a meal. It can elevate the otherwise regular meal and make people reach out for second and even third helpings. This arbi/colocasia roast does exactly that.

What you need :
Arbi - 6 or 7, medium sized, cooked, peeled and diced
Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp (adjust to taste)
Rice flour - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Take the cooked, peeled and diced colcasia in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle flour, red chilli powder and salt over it and mix well. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the seeds pop, add the colocasia, stir well and then let it get roasted on a low flame. Do not stir too much. Let each side brown for at least ten minutes, adding the remaining oil, a tablespoon at a time, every time you turn the arbi around. To be well roasted with a nice brown and crunchy crust, the arbi takes about 45 minutes on a  low flame. Serve with rice and sambar. I paired this with my ulli (pearl onion) sambar for a wonderfully satisfying meal.

Tomato soup

I have always been partial to tomato based soups. Though I have been making different kinds of soups this winter, the best, according to me, is this simple tomato soup. Vine ripened, juicy tomatoes give it a rich color and tang, which is balanced by the spice from black peppers and sweetness from the carrot.

What you need :
Tomato - 4 large, red, ripe and juicy - chopped
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Black peppercorns - 10-12
Carrot - 1, grated
Butter
Almonds - 8-10
Salt - to taste
Spring onion greens - a little, chopped, to garnish
Water

Heat butter in a thick bottomed sauce pan. I used a pressure cooker for the entire process. Add the black pepper and fry for a few seconds. Stir in the onions and saute on low flame until pink. Add the carrots and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, almonds and salt. Saute until the tomatoes soften. Add 2 cups of water. Close the pressure cooker and let it cook till one whistle. Once the steam settles and the mixture cools down, blend in a blender until smooth. Heat until it reaches desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve hot.
This is my first post for Week 3 of Blogging Marathon #47 under the theme Cooking from the menu card of a restaurant - the restaurant of my choice being Puranmal.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 47 

Carrot payasam / carrot kheer

No feast in India is complete without a dessert. In a typical Kerala sadya (feast), dessert takes on the form of payasam/kheer. Palada pradhaman, arguably, is the best dessert from my home state.
This year, for Onam, I wanted to try something different and that is how this carrot payasam took shape in my kitchen. Having tasted it a few times before, I relied on my taste buds and memory to recreate it.

What you need :
Carrot - 3, washed, peeled and cut into large pieces
Milk - 3 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup *
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp (or 3 pods of cardamom)
Almonds - 8-10

Take 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of water in a pressure cooker. Add the carrots and almonds to it and cook until one whistle. Then reduce the flame to low and cook for another five minutes. Once the pressure settles, let it cool and then grind to a smooth paste. Set aside. Boil the remaining milk in a saucepan. Add sugar and cardamom. Once it boils, switch of heat and let it cool slightly. Add the carrot mixture to the slightly cooled milk and heat for a few minutes on low. Garnish with some slivered almonds.
This tastes great both warm and chilled. It is a quick and simple recipe to have on hand when a craving for something sweet strikes or when unexpected guests make an appearance.

Note : Do not add the carrot mixture to boiling hot milk as the milk may curdle. Also, do not boil the milk after adding the carrot puree to it.
* If you like your desserts  super sweet, you may need to add more than half a cup of sugar. I would suggest starting with half a cup and then, adding more if you feel it is required.

Olan - a Kerala sadya staple

A few months back, the blog turned eight, and as has been usual for a while now, this particular milestone went unnoticed. Around the same time, I also moved (AGAIN) back to the US of A and so, for the past few months, have been going through an almost endless cycle of packing, shipping, unpacking, and setting up house. I have cooked a lot of unconventional interesting food, but for some reason , I find that  though my drafts folder is crowded with pictures of my experiments, the task of sitting down and typing is something that I keep postponing until I forget how I made a particular dish.
Recently, I was asked for Onam sadya recipes and that is when I realized that there are a lot of simple must-haves in a traditional  Kerala feast that I have not posted here. Olan is one such dish. Easy to make, with a simple yet profound taste, this dish features on almost all sadyas (feasts). Peeled ash gourd is diced into thin squares and then cooked with black eyed beans, green chillies, salt and a dash of coconut milk to create this much loved dish.

Olan

What you need :
Ash gourd - peeled and cut into medium sized thin squares - 2 cups
Black eyed beans - 1/4 cup (either the red variety or the white can be used)
Green chilli - 2 or 3, slit lengthwise
Curry leaves - a few sprigs
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Coconut milk - 3 tbsp (optional)
Salt - to taste

Soak the beans in water for at least an hour. Cook until one whistle. The beans should be cooked through but not mushy. Take the sliced ash gourd in a sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover the slices. Add the slit green chillies and salt. Cover and cook over a medium flame until just cooked. Add the cooked beans and boil for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk, if using. Stir well and switch off the heat. Add curry leaves and coconut oil. Do not stir at this time. Cover and keep aside for at least 10-15 minutes so that the aroma of the oil and the curry leaves blends into the dish. 

Mix well before serving.

Cooking with kids - pizza

A while back, I posted a simple pizza sauce recipe. The pizza that I made using that sauce never got posted. Like I have said in the pizza sauce post, the inspiration for the sauce came from a book that the little girl and I read. After making the sauce, I cut up some of her favourite veggies and gave her free rein in assembling everything on a ready made pizza base. A few minutes in the oven - and we had a healthy and colourful pizza ready.

What you need:
Pizza base - 1
Pizza sauce (recipe here)
Veggies of your choice - sliced and lightly steam cooked (I have used sprouts, baby corn and capsicum)
Grated cheese - for topping

Spread the pizza sauce evenly and generously on the base. Arrange the sliced veggies on top of that in a single layer. The veggies should be cooked but still crunchy. Top with grated cheese. Cook in the microwave at 80% power for 8-10 minutes or until the grated cheese melts.

This is my second post for this week's blogging marathon themed on Kids' delight - Evening snacks.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 17 
This post goes to Radhika's Let's cook - Kid's special

Bajra Vermicelli Upma

Cooking in summer is all about spending as little time as possible in the hot kitchen. It is about making one pot meals that are nutritious, filling and quick to make. This bajra(pearl millet) vermicelli upma is one such dish that can be made with minimal effort.

What you need:
Bajra (pearl millet) vermicelli - 1 pkt (180 gms)
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger - a one inch piece, julienned
Sprouted green peas - cooked, 1/4 cup
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Broken Urad dal -  1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a handful

Soak the vermicelli in plenty of water for a minute. Drain and transfer to a perforated pan. Steam cook for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the urad and mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the curry leaves, green chilli and ginger. Saute on low heat for a minute. Add the peanuts and fry till they start to brown. Now add the onion and saute till translucent. Stir in the green peas and heat for a minute. Add the cooked vermicelli and salt. Stir well and heat for a minute or two.
Serve hot with pickle and curd or with any chutney of your choice.

Note : If you live in or are visiting Coimbatore, Bajra vermicelli is available in Kannan Department Store, which also stocks other varieties like Wheat vermicelli and tomato vermicelli. The tomato vermicelli tastes really good too. 
Veggies like carrot, beans, potatoes can be added to the upma to make it more nutritious. My little one love peas and I happened to have sprouted green peas on hand which is why it has been added.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other marathoners doing BM#16.
This post goes to Smitha who is hosting Kids' Delight this month 

Cucumber snake

Making children eat nutritious food is a humongous task. Here is a fun way to get your kids involved in making something that looks interesting....and since they "made" it, they will be tempted to eat it too.

What you need:
Cucumber slices - cut into half moons (cut a circle and then cut it into half)

Arrange cucumber slices as shown in the picture. Cut two thin slivers of tomato to make a forked tongue and use a pepper corn for the eye. That's it.....sprinkle some salt on it if your kiddo likes it that way, stand back and enjoy the glee on their face.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other marathoners doing BM#16.
This post goes to Smitha who is hosting Kids' Delight this month

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.

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

Peanut chutney

Peanuts (called Verkadalai in Tamil and kappalandi in Malayalam) are a store house of protein.
This chutney using peanuts is very simple and quick to put together. It requires only 4 ingredients including salt and is thick, creamy and mild tasting. It goes really well with dosa/idli.

What you need:
Peanuts/groundnuts - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 3 (adjust to taste)
Curry leaves - a few
Salt

Either dry roast or roast in half a teaspoon of oil,the red chillies and curry leaves. Then reduce the flame and fry groundnuts until they are well roasted. Let it cool. Add salt and blend until smooth.
This, along with adai was our dinner tonight.
Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing BM#5 along with me  Curry in a hurry under 30 min: Aarthi, Divya, Me, Kaveri, Pavani,Seven Days of Indian Sweets:Gayathri, Priya Suresh,Seven Days of Microwave Meals: Monika,Seven Days of Regional Specials:Harini, Vaishali, Suma, PJ Seven Days of Colorful Dishes Kid's Special: KalyaniSummer Coolers: Jayasree, Kamalika, Srivalli