Chole Pulao - Chickpeas Rice

The credits for this recipe has to go to my Husband. He comes up with these new ideas when he is bored of eating the same stuff again and again and I have to find a way to execute them. By the time Friday comes I'm hunting for vegetables in the refrigerator (and I'm too lazy to go grocery shopping on Fridays!). I kept asking my husband to  suggest something and he came up with this...Chole Pulao. It was an experimental recipe meant to be tried only on my sweet Hubby, but since it turned out so good I'm sharing with you all! ;) Go ahead and try it out!! This one's quick and easy..I promise!



Ingredients:

• Chole/chickpeas - 1 cup, soaked for atleast 5-6 hrs
• Basmati Rice - 2 cups, cooked (it is best if rice grains are not sticking to each other)*
• Onion - 1 medium, thinly sliced
• Tomato - 1 big, finely chopped
• Jeera/cumin seeds - 1-2 tsp
• Turmeric - 1 tsp
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Kitchen King Masala - 2 tbsp*
• Salt - to taste
• Cilantro - to garnish
• Lemon juice - to taste
• Cooking oil - 2 Tbsp

Procedure:

• Cook the chickpeas in pressure cooker for not more than 2 whistles. We don't want the chickpeas to be too soft.
• In a frying pan/kadhai, add oil.
• Once oil has heated up, add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add turmeric and ginger-garlic paste.
• Now add onion slices and sauté for a few mins until the onions turn translucent.
• Add tomato and sauté until the raw aroma of tomato disappears.
• Add the cooked chickpeas and Kitchen King masala and mix well. Make sure you don't break the chickpeas.
• Add salt and cooked rice and mix thoroughly.
• Take off the stove and add a dash of lemon juice.
• Garish with cilantro and serve hot with raita.

*Note:

• You can cook rice in an electric cooker or microwave to make sure grains are separate.
• If cooking in pressure cooker, soak the basmati rice for 10 mins in water and then cook. Adding very little oil/ghee makes them cook separately.
• You can use any variety of rice instead of Basmati rice.
• You can use Garam Masala instead of Kitchen King Masala.

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Bendekayi Gojju - Okra in Coconut Gravy

My Amma is an expert at these. The variety of huLi, gojju and palyas she makes is endless. Bendekayi gojju is one of the gojjus she makes very frequently(and needless to say it is her recipe I'm sharing here). I love bendekayi (okra) for its unique taste. It blends really well into South Indian cuisine as it does with North Indian.

Some people hesitate to use this veggie due to its sliminess when cut and sautéed. And the science behind it is a little complex. But if you're like me you'd love to know! Just like aloe vera, the leaves and pods of Okra produce a slimy substance known as mucilage. It

's viscosity increases when heat is applied. So that's why it's a messy deal to cut and cook Okra. But the good part of it is that okra is rich in vitamin K and C which is good for you! And leaving aside all the boring nutrition facts, this gojju is as delicious as it can get. So go ahead and give it a try for all the healthy and tasty reasons! ;)

Ingredients:

• Bendekayi/ Okra - 15-20 okras, cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Use fresh ones whenever possible. Can use frozen too.
• Cooking oil - 2-3 tbsp
• Curry leaves - 2-3 leaves
• Tamarind/ tamarind paste - rinse a golf ball sized tamarind in half a cup of warm water and squeeze out the pulp and use. If using tamarind paste, use about 2 tbsp.
• Jaggery - 1 tbspFor the masala to grind:
• Fresh/frozen Coconut - grated, 3/4 of a cup
• Uddina bele/urad dal - 1 tbsp
• Kadle bele/channa dal - 1 tbsp
• Byadagi mensinakayi/ red chillies - about 2-3 (or depending on your spice level)
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
• Ingu/heeng/asafetida - a pinch
• Methi seeds - 1 tsp
• Palya pudi/ vangibath powder - 1-2 tbsp(depending on your spice level)
• Salt - as needed

Procedure:

• In a frying pan/wok, pour the oil and add the cut up okra pieces and curry leaves.

• Sauté the okra on high flame for 6-8 mins. Make sure you don't char them.

• The Okra will look slimy, but continue to sauté and it will reduce.

• Turn down the flame and add the tamarind pulp to the okra. If you are using tamarind paste, mix it with a little water and pour over the okra.
• Add jaggery at this point and continue cooking.

• Meanwhile in another pan, dry roast the ingredients under masala except for coconut.

• Grind the dry roasted masala with coconut to a chutney like consistency. Use water for grinding as needed.
• Add the ground masala to the okra and mix well. Add water to adjust consistency.

• Add salt according to your taste. Cook for 4-5 mins and serve hot.

Notes:

• To reduce the sliminess, pat dry the okra with paper/kitchen towel after washing them but before cutting them.
• The gojju tastes best with rice, it makes a great side with roti/chapati/phulkas too.

Nuchinunde - Steamed Lentil/Dal Dumplings

This is an authentic Karnataka breakfast/brunch/lunch item. It's loaded with proteins because of the dals. My Amma would make this on Nagarapanchami (without the onions, ofcourse!). I'd never eaten it then thinking it was boring food. For a long time, she never made it on any other day too. One Saturday, Appa insisted he wanted Nuchinunde and so Amma had to make it the next day. She added onions to it since it was no festive day. The onions give that special taste to it and that did the trick. I started loving these yummy and nutritious dumplings from then! Like my Appa, I suddenly started craving for nuchinunde one rainy day. It was also a potluck in a friends place and I was wondering what I could take that was different and unique. All I had to do was call Amma for the recipe and realized it is so very simple to make. I could not take a picture of the steamed nuchinunde because I took it the potluck and it was over in minutes. I promise I will post a picture the next time I make it(I'm pretty sure I will be making it very soon!).

Ingredients:

• Togari bele/Toor dal - 1 cup, soaked overnight
• Kadle bele/ Channa Dal - a little less than half a cup, soaked overnight along with Toor dal
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Ginger - 1 inch, grated
• Cilantro - a few sprigs, chopped
• Black pepper and cumin powder - powder both together, 1/2 tbsp
• Green chillies - about 5(depending on spice level needed)
• Salt - to taste
• Coconut - 2 Tbsp, small pieces (I ran out of coconut pieces, so I added grated coconut)

Procedure:

• Carefully pour out as much water as possible from the toor dal and channa dal.
• Grind the dals together without adding any water. Make sure you grind it to a coarse consistency and NOT a smooth paste.

• To the ground dal, add finely chopped onion, coconut, green chillies, ginger, black pepper and cumin powder, cilantro and salt.

• Mix all the ingredients well.
• Make small golf sized balls(as shown here) and place them in greased idly plates.

• Place the idly stand in a pressure cooker and cook in steam for about 10-12 min.
• Remove the nuchinunde from the idly plates and serve hot with coconut chutney.

Microwave Doodh Peda

Back in the 90s, any relative coming home would definitely bring me banana chips, Sapota (Chikoo) fruit and Nandini Doodh Peda! All my favorite things!! Although I have never been a big fan of sweets, Nandini Doodh Peda had just enough sweet for my taste.

My Mom makes Doodh Peda using a traditional recipe (takes too much time and patience), but I'm too lazy for it. My Mother-in-law had this recipe for a quick and easy Doodh Peda. Five simple ingredients and less than 5 minutes is all you need for this one!

Ingredients:

• Instant Dry Milk/Milk Powder (low fat) - 2 cups
• Condensed milk(sweetened and fat free) - 1 can (14oz)
• Ghee - 2 Tbsp (can use butter too)
• Cardamom/Elaichi powder - 1 tsp
• Cut Almond pieces - a few (for garnishing)

Procedure:

• Grease a plate with a little ghee and keep it aside.
• Take the rest of the ghee in a microwave safe bowl.
• To this, add the condensed milk and milk powder little by little and mix thoroughly.
• Once the mixture gets a uniform consistency, place it on high in the microwave for 1 minute.
• Take out the bowl and give it a good mix and put it back in the microwave for another minute.
• Repeat above steps one more time.
• Add cardamom powder to the mixture and let it cool.
• When the mixture is warm enough to handle with your bare hands, apply some ghee to your hands and make small balls.
• Press the center of the peda with some cut almonds and place it on the greased plate.

Aloo (potato) palya

This is a super simple recipe. It can be used in many dishes like masala dosa, aloo buns, sandwiches or can be served as a side with rice/rotis.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 3 medium sized
• Onion - 1 medium sized, chopped
• Green chillies - 3, chopped (depending on how spicy you want it to be)
• Curry leaves - a few
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida/heeng - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
• Cilantro - to garnish

Procedure:

• Peel the potatoes and cook them in a pressure cooker with sufficient water.
• Once cool, mash the potatoes and keep it aside.
• In a wok/kadhai, pour in the oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds.
• As soon as the mustard seeds splutter, add the turmeric powder, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and chopped onion.
• Saute for a few mins until the onions turn translucent.
• Add the mashed potatoes and salt and mix well.
• Garnish with cilantro.

Low Fat Aloo (Potato) Buns

Bangalore. On a typical rainy monsoon day. Iyengar bakery. What do all these remind you of? Yes, Iyengar bakery special...Aloo Bun!! Every Saturday my parents would go to buy vegetables for the week and on their way back home was an Iyengar bakery. They would get an Aloo bun and a honey cake for me from there. Oh, how I miss those days! My mouth is watering and I am a little teary eyed at the same time thinking of it.

I learnt this recipe from various sources including a friend who runs a bakery! I love the fact that it needs so little oil, no eggs, no butter at all. So here it is for you to try.

Ingredients:

For the bun crust -

• All purpose flour (APF)/maida - 3 cups
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Salt -  3/4 tsp
• Yeast - 2 & 1/2 tbsp (I used active dry type)
• Milk - 1/4 cup + 1tbsp (for brushing on top)
• Vegetable/Olive oil - 3 tbsp
• Water - as needed

For the potato filling/aloo palya -

• Potatoes - 3 medium sized
• Onion - 1 medium sized
• Green chillies - 3, chopped
• Curry leaves - a few
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida/Heeng - a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Vegetable/Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Cilantro - to garnish

Procedure:

• Heat up the milk to lukewarm temperature. If the milk is too hot, the yeast will be killed.
• Add the sugar, salt and yeast to the milk and mix well.
• Take the flour in a mixing bowl. Add oil, above mixture and water to the flour and knead well. This dough will not be like chapati/roti dough. It might be a little sticky and it's ok that way.
• Cover the dough with food wrap for an hour.
• In the meantime, prepare the potato filling using the recipe here.
• Let the filling cool down, then divide it into 8 equal parts.
• In an hour, the dough should have raised well and doubled in size (almost).
• Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.
• Knead the dough softly again and make 8 equal sized balls.
• Take each ball in hand, press slightly. Place a part of the potato filling in it and fold in the dough from all sides.
• Place each bun (with the folded side facing down) on a well greased baking tray.
• Mix 1 tbsp of milk with little oil. Brush each bun with this mixture.
• Keep the baking tray in the oven and bake for 15-20 mins (approximately).
• The buns are ready when you see the crust turning golden brown.
• Enjoy the hot aloo/potato buns with your evening tea.

Mango icecream

Summer is here!!! Mangoes are the ideal treat for summer. Oh wait, icecream is too! Hmmm..how about a mango icecream so you get best of both the worlds? This recipe is inspired by the well known website www.showmethecurry.com , but with a slight twist. It's a very simple recipe.

Ingredients:

Ripe mango - 2 (or you can use a can of mango puree)
Non-fat sweetened condensed milk - 1 14oz can
Whipped cream - 1 box (I used cool whip, bring it close to room temperature before using in the recipe)
Cardamom powder - about 2 tsp
Saffron - a few strands
Pieces of mango - a few
Cashewnuts/almonds/pistachio - 2 tbsp (optional)

The mixture looks like this before going into the freezer.

Procedure:

• Squeeze out the pulp from the mangoes and keep it aside. Skip this step if you are using mango puree.
• Puree the pulp in a mixture so it gets a uniform texture.
• In a big bowl, mix in the mango puree (from previous steps or the canned mango puree), condensed milk and whipped cream.
• Give it a good mix so all three ingredients have blended well.
• Throw in the cardamom powder and the saffron. Mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a container with a lid and put it in the freezer for about an hour.
• After an hour, mix the icecream lightly and add the mango pieces. You can also add in the nuts at this time.
• Put it back in the freezer for a couple hours more.
• Your mango icecream is ready to be served.

Pictures of the end product coming soon! :)