Dosakaya Pappu - (Cucumber Dal)

Dal is a very important in almost every andhra family. They form a very important source of protein in vegetarian diet especially. Pappu with dosakaya tastes really good and yummy.

Ingredients:


1 cup of Toor dal/kandi pappu
1 Dosakaya
1 small sized Onion, cut into pieces
4 to 5 Green chillies, cut into pieces
1 lemon sized Tamarind, soaked in a cup of water
few Coriander leaves
a pinch of Turmeric
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
1 tbsp of Oil
1/2 tsp of each Mustard seeds, Cumin seeds
2 to 3 Garlic florets
few red Chilli pieces
few Curry leaves
Hinge, if u prefer

Method:

It is very important to select a good dosakaya, if you want your dal to taste really good. Select one which is raw and yellow. When you touch, it should not be too soft. Now wash and cut the dosakaya into pieces without peeling the skin. Also do not de-seed it. The dal absorbs the taste of dosakaya so well, if you don't peel and leave the seeds. Wash toor dal and mix with dosakaya, onion and green chilli pieces. Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook for about 4 whistles.

Let it cool and take the dal out, add turmeric, salt, mix well and cook on medium flame for about 10 minutes. Add little water if required. While mixing, take care that you do not mash the dosakaya too much. Now take the soaked tamarind and squeeze the juice and add it to the dal and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until you get your preferred consistency. Turn off the flame and prepare the seasoning. Heat oil on low flame, add garlic first and fry for half a minute and then add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, red chilli pieces and finally hinge one by one. Turn off the flame and add it to the dal and mix well. Sprinkle with few coriander leaves on top. Your dal is ready and it is best enjoyed with rice.

Mamidikaya Menthi Mukkalu

Raw Mango Pickle with Fenugreek seeds

Summer in india is the season for mangoes. Here in the USA we can enjoy the mangoes throughout the year although we may not get very sour raw mangoes. Though all of us have so many recipes with mango, let me share this traditional recipe with you all. Also this is my recipe for the RCI Andhra event.

Ingredients:

One raw Mango
Fenugreek seeds/menthulu, 2 tsp
Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
Jeera, 1 tsp
Red chillis, 5
Salt to taste

For seasoning
Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
Jeera, 1/2 tsp
Hinge/Asafoetida, 1/4 tsp
Oil, 3 tsp
Few Curry leaves

Method:
Take a pan and fry mustard seeds, jeera, red chilli, fenugreek seeds with just few drops of oil. Fry until you get the aroma of the spices. Allow them to cool and then grind them to powder in a spice/coffee grinder and keep the mixture aside. Peel and cut the raw mango into small pieces. To this add the above ground mixture and salt. Now prepare the seasoning. Add oil in a pan, allow it to heat and then add the mustard seeds, jeera. Allow them to splutter and then add the curry leaves and hinge. Pour this on the above mango pieces mixture and mix them well. You can relish exact taste of this menthi mukkalu after 4 or 5 hours you prepare it based on the sourness of the mango. This is because the fenugreek seeds take some time to stick to the mango pieces. This goes very well with rice. The storage life of this is around a week at room temperature but if you refrigerate it can be stored for even longer time. I prefer making them frequently instead of refrigerating for a long time. Enjoy the menthi mukkalu in rice with a spoon of fresh hot ghee.

Recipe for the RCI Andhra event.

Tomato Perugu Pachadi

Seasoned Tomato in Yogurt

Andhra cuisine is very famous for 'pachadi'. In most of the traditional families without pachadi the meal is not complete, even today. My mother-in-law is a great expert in making these chutney's and i learnt this recipe from her.

Ingredients:

One big sized Tomato
Two Green chillies
Two tbsp of oil
Yogurt, 2 cups
Few Coriander leaves

For seasoning
Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
Jeera, 1/2 tsp
Hinge/Asafoetida, 1/4 tsp
Few Curry leaves

Method:

Cut the tomatoes and chillies into small pieces. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the cut tomatoes and chillies, mix them well with oil and cover with a lid. Cook them on medium flame and after a few minutes, add salt and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off the stove once they are soft enough like a paste. Keep the paste aside and allow it to cool completely. Now take the yogurt and beat it well and then add the above cooked tomato paste to the yogurt and mix well. Finally season the the yogurt mixture with mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves with another tablespoon of oil. You can optionally add the hinge/Asafoetida to the seasoning after the seeds splutter. Remember the secret of this recipe is the hinge in the seasoning. But if you don't really like hinge, then you need not use it. This tastes very good and goes very well with rice. Even people who do not prefer yogurt will love this perugu chutney.

This is my entry forRCI Andhra event

Sauteed Cabbage - Indian style

Recently I started using cabbage in different ways. Today i am going to present with a simple recipe which is very easy to cook and takes very minimum time. Yet it tastes great and goes very well with roti or rice. I make this curry along with rotis for quick lunch many times.

Ingredients

Shredded Cabbage 3 cups
One medium sized Onion, sliced into thin pieces
Green chillies 4, cut into small pieces
Few Curry leaves
Chopped garlic 1 tbsp
Shajeera (Caraway Seeds) powder, 1 tsp
Dhania powder, 1 tsp
Red chilli powder, 2 tsp
Jeera and Mustard seeds together 1 tsp for seasoning
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method


Take a wide frying pan heat oil. Add garlic, jeera, mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow them to splutter for about 10 seconds. Now add onions, green chilli pieces and then fry for a minute. Finally add the shredded cabbage and mix well with onions. Cover the lid and fry for 10 min on low flame. Please keep in mind that the cabbage should be half cooked for this curry to turn delicious. Now remove the lid, mix well again and then cook for another 5 minutes without lid. Now add salt, red chilli, dhania and shajeera powders. Mix well and fry for another 5 minutes so that the cabbage absorbs the flavor of the shajeera well. The sauteed cabbage is ready and it goes well with rotis and even rice. Very simple right!!! I am sure you all will like it.

Pav Bhaji

Chats are my all time favourites. I can never say no to chats be it any time of the day. Hyderabad is a place wherein you find a chat bhandar in every nook and corner. pani puri, dahi puri, samosa ragda wow so many. I do not want to think of them now as i am obsessed to the taste of chats. I feel that the best chat is available only in the road side bandis.

This weekend I made pav-bhaji. Pav bhaji tastes great, healthy and satiates your appetite well. When i used to enjoy this in India i never knew how they made this. Rather I should say I never thought of how it was made. Later when I learned the recipe, I felt it was very simple and easy to make even for a starter in cooking.
Lets see how to prepare simple tasty pav bhaji.

Ingredients:


Potatoes, 2 medium sized, peeled and cut into small pieces
Shredded Cabbage, 1 cup
Carrot, 6 inches long, cut into small pieces
Shredded Green pepper, 1/2 cup
Onion, 1 medium sized, cut into small pieces
Tomato, 1 medium sized, cut into small pieces
Ginger garlic paste, 1 tbsp
Pav-bjahi masala, 3 tbsp (You can use any brand, I used Badshah)
Red chilli powder, 2 tsp
Dhania powder, 1tsp
Jeera powder, 1/2 tsp
Oil, 4 tbsp
Butter, 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

Pressure cook Potatoes, cabbage and carrot in about 5 cups of water. You need not take pain to count the whistles, softer the better. Allow it to cool and mash them into smooth paste and keep them aside. Do not drain the water.

Now take a big kadai and add oil and heat it for a minute. Add the ginger garlic paste and onion pieces. Fry for a minute and then add the shredded green peppers and tomatoes pieces. Mix them well and cover with a lid. After 5 minutes add the pav-bhaji masala, red chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder and salt. Place the lid and fry for 5 minutes on low flame. This will allow the vegetables absorb the flavor well. Now mix the mashed vegetables, mix well and cover the lid and cook for at lest 20 minutes on a medium flame. Make sure you place the lid on the kadai otherwise it will scatter all over the stove and you need to clean the big mess later. Mix it once in a while so that it is cooked evenly. Once you see the thick and even consistency turn off the stove. Finally add the butter on top of the curry and place the lid. Your bhaji is ready.

The other part is toasting the pav. The pav is good when it is hot. So you can make them once the curry is done. You can buy the pav from any indian store or hot breads chain. If it is not available you can use butter or potato rolls from any american food store. Cut the pavs into halves. Heat a pan and fry the pav on both sides until they turn brown. Use a small amount of butter or margarine for frying. Now your pav bhaji is ready. Serve it hot with small onion pieces and few coriander leaves. Add few drops of lemon to the onions for great taste.

Baby Potatoes in Methi Sauce

This weekend I prepared a delicious curry with baby potatoes and fresh methi. I am going to share the recipe with you all below. Potatoes can be cooked in many ways and i am sure all the ways turn out be very good. I have decided to cook in a healthy and nutritious way and so combined with with the greens.


Ingredients:

Baby Potatoes 12 to 15
One medium sized Onion
Oil 5 Tbsp
Heavy or light whipping Cream 1 cup
Salt to taste

Grind the following to a fine paste

Methi leaves 1 cup
One small Onion
Ginger 1/2 inch
Garlic 2 pods
Green chillies 8
Few Coriander leaves
Cinnamon 1/4 inch
Cloves 4
Cardamom 2
Cashew nuts 6
Water 1/2 cup

Method:
First boil or pressure cook baby potatoes with skin. If you use pressure cooker cook them until 3 whistles. Otherwise boil them for 10 minutes. Let them cool, then remove the skin and set aside. Now take the onion and cut it into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan, onions and fry them until they are translucent. Then add the potatoes and fry them for 5 minutes. Now add the ground paste, mix well and cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes on medium flame. Add salt to your taste and then cook for another 5 minutes. Its time to add the cream, once the color starts to change. The curry goes very well with heavy cream rather than light one. But if you are really fat concerned, you may use light whipping cream or even half and half. My choice is heavy cream for this curry as i would want to get a rich gravy. Add the cream and then cook for another 10 to 15 minutes with occasional stirring. Your delicious curry is ready and you can serve hot with naan or rotis.

Indo Chinese Noodles

Weekends generally i do not prefer to eat normal routine food. We have been eating a lot of oily and masala stuff for a long time, so i thought of eating something healthy and nutritious yet delicious. I decided to make chinese noodles this time. When it comes to noodles, my preferred choice is always indo chinese fried style. You must really go for it to give a try, if you are a fan of noodles.

Recipe:

Ingredients

One small packet of chinese Noodles. You can get it from any where like safeway, target, walmart etc
2 cups of Shredded vegetables (carrot, green pepper and cabbage)
1/2 cup Spring onion, cut into small pieces
2 Garlic pods diced
3 Green chillies cut into small pieces
2 tbsp Green chilli sauce
1 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Aji-no-moto(MSG)
3 tbsp Oil
4 cups of Water
Salt to taste



Method

Take a big non-stick vessel and boil 4 cups water. Once
the water starts to boil add the noodles and allow them to cook for
5-8 minutes. Noodles should be half done, so do not cook them too soft.
Turn off the flame and drain the water fully and allow the noodles to dry completely for about 10 minutes. Toss the noodles with a table spoon of oil so that the noodles do not stick to each other.

Now heat the frying pan on high flame and add the remaining oil.
To this add the diced garlic and green chillies and fry them for a minute.
Once you get the aroma of the garlic, add the shredded vegetables and fry them for 5 minutes on high flame. We can enjoy the good taste of vegetables and keep the nutritious values, only if they are half cooked. Now add green chilli sauce, soy sauce and aji-no-moto and then fry for 2 minutes. This smell reminds me of the road side chinese food stalls in India. Some people do not like aji-no-moto for various reasons, but i feel you can get the real taste of chinese noodles only when this critical ingredient is added. Finally add salt and mix them well so that salts gets evenly distributed. Add the dried noodles and fry them well on high flame for about 5 to 8 minutes. The noodles have to be fried until they are dry and do not stick to the bottom of the frying pan.



Your chinese noodles are ready. Serve them hot.