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.

 Follow me also on my new blog address here.

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.