French Green Beans in Garlic Sauce

Serves Four

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound french green beans, tips and tails removed
  
• salt to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
  
• 10 cloves of garlic - minced finely
  
• 1 tea spoon sugar
  
• 2 table spoons oil
• 2 table spoons soy sauce
• 1 dried red chili crushed coarsely
  

How to :

1. Blanch the green beans by boiling in hot water for 3 minutes and then shocking in ice cold water.
   
2. In a non-stick deep pot - add the oil and let it heat.
   
3. Now add the garlic and let it cook for a couple of minutes till it starts to turn red.
   
4. Add the vinegar, salt, sugar, soy sauce and the crushed red chili.
5. Cook for a few minutes till everything is mixed evenly.
6. Now add the french beans and cook in the open for 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestion

• Serve with chowmein, lomein or Chinese fried rice
  

Green Garlic Chutney

Courtesy Anjana Kumar (aka Mummy, Mumma, Ma) - and termed Dynamite by her

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Garlic Chives snipped finely
  
• Salt to taste
  
• 10 green chillies
  
• 1 tablespoon Mustard Oil
  
• 4 small tamarind pieces - soaked and softened in 1 cup water
  

Steps

• Grind the Garlic chives, salt, green chillies and the tamarind paste together into a smooth chutney.
  
• Now add the mustard oil and mix it well in the chutney
  
• Refrigerate in a plastic container - it stays for months.
  

Poha (Spicy Rice Flakes)

Serves Two

Ingredients

• Curry leaves
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
  
• Potato - 1 medium, chopped into small pieces
  
• 1 big Onion - chopped
  
• 1 big Tomato - chopped
  
• 3 green chillies - chopped finely
  
• Oil
• Salt to taste
  
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 and 1/2 cup thick rice flakes - soaked for a few minutes and then drained of water
  
• 20 Peanuts - roasted and crushed coarsely
  
• 1/2 cup chopped Coriander
  

How to :

1. In a non-stick deep pot - add the oil and let the cumin, mustard oil and curry leaves sputter.
   
2. Add the potatoes and cook till the potatoes are golden red.
   
3. Add the chopped onions now and cook and cover till the potatoes are soft and onions are translucent.
   
4. Now add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies and salt and cook covered for 5 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.
   
5. Now add the turmeric powder and cook for two more minutes.
   
6. Now add the rice flakes and mix it evenly and cook for a few minutes more.
7. Now add the crushed peanuts and mix.
   
8. Finally add the chopped coriander. Cook for a minute and ready to serve.
   
9. Best served with green coriander or garlic chutney
   

Aloo Gobhi Masala

Ingredients

• Potato - 2 medium, cut into 6 pc. each
• 1 Cauliflower
• 3 Bay Leaf
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Seed Powder
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 cup Cooking Oil
• 2 cups Water
• 7 pc, slit into half Green Chili
• 1 large finely cut Tomato
• 1/2 inch, grated Ginger
• 1 tsp Ghee
• 1 tbsp Coconut

Steps

1. Cut the cauliflower flowerets into big to medium sizes. Wash it and keep it aside. Cut the potaoes into cubes and stab with toothpick.
2. Add a pinch of salt and turmeric to the potato cubes and cauliflower pieces and leave to dry a little
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and deep fry the potatoes till golden red. Keep it aside.
4. Then fry the cauliflower in the same oil till it gets light brown. Keep it aside.
5. Grind cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, two bay leaves, three green chili and coconut with little water to a fine paste.
6. Add oil to a pot and add Bay leaf and cumin seeds. Fry for 1 minute in medium heat.
7. Add the ground masala paste and four green chili Cook for a couple of minutes.
8. Add tomato pieces and cook for a minute. Add 1 teaspoon ghee and garam masala and cook till well fried.
9. Add the fried cauliflower, potatoes, silted green chilies, salt, and rest of water. Bring it to boil. Reduce heat and cook till the potatoes are properly cooked. Serve with hot rice or chapatti.

Addai

Courtesy - Venkat's mom


Ingredients:


For grinding :

Chana Daal - 2 cups
Tuvar Daal - 1 cup
Hing (Asafoetida) - 1 tsp.
Curry Leaves - 5-6
Ginger - small piece
Salt
Rice Rava - 1 cup

For topping :

Onion - 1, finely chopped
Green Chillies - chopped finely
Cumin seeds - 1 tblsp.
Coriander - finely chopped

How to :

* Soak both the lentils together for a couple of hours or overnight.
* Grind the lentils, ginger, hing, salt, curry leaves in the blender with minimum water.
* Add the rice rava to the ground dough and some water to make it a thick batter.
* On a non stick shallow pan - put a ladle full of the batter and spread it. It will be a thick crepe.
* Sprinkle coriander, cumin, onion and chillies on each adai on the crepes. Put oil around the edges and cover it for 1 minute on high flame.
* Let it cook till it looks red on the edges for crispy adai. Now flip it and let the other side cook.
* Repeat the steps above till your batter is finished.
* Serve with peanut chutney or mint chutney.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients

• 1 Teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 3-4 Full dried red chillies
  
• 3-4 Fresh green chilies
• 1 medium-sized piece fresh ginger
• 1 small onion
• 2 small pieces of Dried Tamarind
• Handful of curry leaves
• Pinch of Hing
  
• Small cup of peanuts
  
• Black/Rock Salt (Kaala Namak)
• 1 Tablespoon oil
  
• Salt

Steps

• Soften dried tamarind pieces in warm water. Alternatively use tamarind paste.
• In a shallow pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil and add the dried red chillies, cumin, curry leaves and mustard seeds.
  
• When the mustard starts to sputter - add the peanut and roast till peanuts are lightly red. Add the hing now and remove from heat.
  
• In a blender grind onion, garlic, fresh green chillies, tamarind paste and salt with minimum water.
• Add the roasted peanut, dried red chillies, cumin, curry leaves and mustard seeds in the blender and blend all the contents to a smooth paste.
  
• Ready to be served with dosa, adai or fritters.
  

Kela Pua (Banana Fritters)

Courtesy Nani/Anjana Kumar (aka mummy)

Ingredients:

• 3 over-ripe bananas
• Handful of raisins
• 3-4 dried dates - soaked overnight
  
• Dried coconut shavings
• Handful of chopped walnuts/pecans
• Half cup Flour or wheat flour
  
• Milk (for measurements see below)
  
• Jaggery or brown sugar (to taste)
• Teaspoon of Sauf (Aniseed)

How to:

• Soak dried dates to soften them - easier to chop.
  
• Mash the bananas in a big bowl till there are no big lumps.
  
• Add sauf, raisins, walnuts/pecans, cocunut shavings, jaggery/sugar.
• Pour in the flour gradually, mixing it well to form a consistent batter - prevent formation of lumps.
  
• Pour a little milk to make the batter just enough to keep it thick. The consistency could be similar to a thick batter used for Uttapa or pancakes.
• Take a shallow pan and coat the pan evenly with a few drops of oil (to prevent the batter from sticking)
• Pour the batter (in small circles) into the pan to cook for around 2-3 minutes - on both sides - till it is reddish brown.
  

How to serve this dish:

This recipe comes from Central India and is native to the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. The dish is traditionally sweet and accompanied with spicy pickles (like Chilli pickles or other spicy accompainments). This dish can make a good breakfast dish or can serve as a nice tea time snack.

The recipe:

This recipe has been developed by Ms. Ibha Kumar (the author of this blog). While we encourage you to use this dish for personal use, no part of this recipe or minor alterations can be published in any form (in print or electronic media) without the express consent of the author and must accompany a full reference of the author and the blog.

Pindi Chole

Ingredients:


1 cup chickpeas ( kabuli chana)
1 tea bag or 1 tbsp black tea leaves tied in a cheesecloth
21/2-inch ginger, 3/4th of it shredded finely for garnish
2-3 tbsp oil
2 onions chopped
2 tsp garlic, finely crushed
2 green chilies, sliced
3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 - 1tsp red chili powder or as per taste
Salt To Taste
1/2 tsp garam masala
finely chopped coriander leaves

How to :

* Soak Chole in water overnight or for about 6 hr.
* Cook the chole with salt, tea leaves and enough water in the cooker for about 20 minutes or till fully done.
* Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid.
* Finely chop the remaining ginger. Heat oil and sauté onions till golden, then add garlic and chopped ginger and green chilies. Sauté for 5 minutes.
* Add tomatoes, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili powder and sauté over low heat until the oil separates.
* Add chole, the reserved cooking liquid, salt and half of the coriander leaves. Simmer, uncovered until the liquid has been absorbed.
* Add a pinch of garam masala and serve pindi chana sprinkled with the remaining garam masala, coriander leaves and shredded ginger.