Jalapeno Peppers Curry ~ My version of Mirchi Ka Salan

I had couple of other things in mind for the 'J' event. Even then, I ended up preparing a dish which I never heard of or I should say, I never dreamt of preparing and consuming.
I am not a great fan of peppers and am scared even to eat the mirchi bajjis. So, when I thought of preparing something with Jalapeno peppers, I was sure the entire THING would land up in my husband's plate, who is a great fan of store bought green chilli pickles. I asked him beforehand, whether he was going to eat something prepared with jalapeno peppers and he answered affirmatively.
After tackling the issue of who gets to eat it, then came the question of what I am going to prepare with them? I was not sure about stuffing them, because of their small size. So, I had to drop the idea of mirchi bajjis. Some one's comment about mirchi ka salan about my other post, popped before my eyes. I had no idea what it was and had to google for the recipe. The search proved me once again how ignorant I am about Indian food and how diversified and vibrant, Indian cuisines are. Mirch ka salan sounded interesting, delicious except for the chillies part.
Still, it was decided that Jalapeno peppers Curry would be sent for the 'J' event of Nupur's A - Z Indian vegetables.
Then, I had to concoct my own version of the salan recipe to suit my tastes, as no two recipes were similar on the internet. I experimented and the end product was superb in taste (though I ate the gravy and chillies were finished my husband in installments. Even my 5 year old liked the gravy). The only amendment in future preparations (yes, there are going to be future preparations) would be replacing jalapeno peppers by banana peppers. I underestimated the hotness of jalapenos.

Ingredients required for the gravy:
Peanuts - 2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 2 Tbsp
Grated, dry, unsweetened coconut - 2 Tbsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 Tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Heat a small pan and dry fry each ingredient individually till it turns light brown and starts to emit aroma. Cool them and grind into a fine mixture. Collect the mixture and keep aside.

Ingredients:
Jalapeno Peppers - 12
Oil - 4 Tbsp
A big Onion - Chopped fine
Jeera / Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind extract - 1 tsp
Salt - Accordingly
Chillie Powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Water - As needed for the gravy

Method:
Choose a dozen, vibrant, green colored Jalapeno Peepers. Remove the stalks, wash the peppers and wipe them dry. Make a slit along the side of the pepper, keeping the base intact so that it is not split into two pieces. Remove the seeds carefully with the knife, to lessen the hotness of the peppers.
Heat oil in a Karhai / pan and fry peppers till you notice white spots all over them. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Add cumin seeds, ginger, and turmeric powder to the same oil. I have omitted garlic. If using, add at this stage. Fry for a few seconds and add onion. Fry the onion pieces till they turn translucent.
Then add the above ground mixture, and fry for a minute. Add tamarind extract, salt and any chillie powder, if needed. Add water as required to form a gravy. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with basmati rice or rotis and keep a pitcher of ice cold water ready. :-)

Note: Try using Indian variety green chillies instead of jalapeno peppers for an authentic version of Mirchi Ka Salan.

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Erra Karam Dosa

I think everyone has fond memories related to food. Food has the power to bring back memories attached to your childhood or the place where you grew up or the person who prepared the dish so lovingly or any other thing associated to it, which are always pleasant. Erra karam dosa is one such dish to my husband, which draws him back to his childhood and his town. In fact he calls them Ramakkka dosalu, by the name of the person who used to prepare and sell them in his neighborhood, when he was a kid.
 
There is a sort of family business run by women, going on for years in smaller towns around Andhra Pradesh. Women sitting under thatched roofs, in front of their homes or on streets prepare and sell simple, South Indian breakfasts in the mornings to the long queue of customers. I feel, they take off the burden from busy moms and come to their rescue (at least a few times, when moms could afford). The breakfast dishes are neither fancy things sold at restaurants nor elaborate in menu. Instead they are simple dishes like dosas, idlis etc, which are tastier, cheaper and remind us of home made dishes. These places have a few, simple wooden benches and tables for the people who would like to eat there or You would get the food packed in leaves, specially meant for the purpose and then wrapped in (News)paper, if you are taking the stuff home.

Erra karam dosa is one such lovely breakfast dish served at these places. Though these dosas are prepared at our home, I have began associating these dosas with the above said places, because of my husband's nickname for them. These dosas are speciality of rayalaseema region in Andhra. Erra Karam represents the red colored chillie paste used in the dish. The crisp, golden colored dosas are smeared with onion - chillie paste and roasted chickpea powder and served with chutney.

Preparation of erra karam:
Ingredients:
Medium sized onions - 6
Chillie powder - 1tsp
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Also add garlic if you like.

Method:
Peel the skins of the onions and chop onions into large chunks.
Grind the onions, chillie powder and salt into a fine paste using water if required.
Heat oil in a pan, add the ground mixture to it and fry it till the raw smell of the onions disappear and the mixture becomes thicker.

Preparation of pappula podi / daliya powder:
Grind 1/2 cup of pappulu/daliya/roasted chickpeas and 1/4 tsp of salt into a fine powder.





Ingredients for the dosa batter:
2 cups rice
1/2 cup urad dal / skinned black gram
1 handful of chana dal
1 - 2 Tbsp poha / beaten rice flakes
1 tsp methi seeds
Salt to taste

Method:
* Add all the ingredients to a big pot and wash them thoroughly twice with water. Soak them in plenty of water for 3 - 4 hours. The water level should be such that the ingredients should be immersed in water through out the soaking period. 
* After the soaking period, throw away the water used for soaking the rice mixture. Grind the rice mixture in an electric grinder / blender into a smooth batter using water as needed. The consistency of the batter should be not runny. 
* Collect the batter into a big container, add salt and mix well. The batter quantity will increase after the fermentation process and so keeping that in mind, select a container big enough to store the batter. Allow the batter to ferment for 10 - 12 hours in a warm place. If you live in a hot, humid place the fermentation takes lesser time.
* I usually soak the ingredients during afternoon and grind them in evening. I leave the batter container covered, in my convection oven with the light on and allow it to ferment overnight. Dosa batter would be ready for breakfast.

Ingredients needed to prepare erra karam dosas:
Dosa batter
Erra Karam
Daliya powder
Oil




Making dosas:
Heat a tawa / griddle. When you sprinkle a few drops of water on the griddle, the water should sizzle and evaporate. This means the griddle is ready. 
Pour a ladle full of batter on the griddle and spread it into a thin circle with the help of the backside of the ladle. Take ½ tsp of oil and spread around the edges of the circle / dosa. Cook on low - medium flame until the lower side turns golden brown. Flip the dosa and again spread some oil around dosa and let it sit for a minute or less so that it is brown on the other side too. 
Now again flip it, take a spoon of erra karam and spread on the dosa uniformly, sprinkle some daliya powder and put a little oil on the powder. Fold the dosa and let it cook on both sides for a few seconds. 
Remove the dosa with a spatula. Repeat the process with the remaining batter. You can just eat the dosas as it is or serve with chutney.

Note: 
The quantities I mentioned here are good for six people. You can reduce the quantities according to your needs.

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Imli Ke Paththon Ka Dal ~ Chinta Chiguru Pappu

After our move, certain foods have become nostalgic memories. They are like long last friends. We yearn for them, pine for them. They take the center stage, especially if some body is visiting from India. They acquire the status of eagerly awaited guests. When we can get hold of at least a few things, they instantly become precious commodities. Recently my husband's 'blink and miss' kind of India trip resulted in a bounty of food items sent lovingly by both my mother and mother in law. So, there are going to be a few postings related to them.
First of all, I must thank my dear MIL for sending me chinta chiguru / tender tamarind leaves / imli ke paththe. She got some tender tamarind leaves from one of her relatives. She saved some exclusively for me and sent along with my husband. My MIL who is a great fan of fresh greens prepares various kinds of dishes with them. The first thing which pops up when I think of greens is naturally, the famous Andhra 'Pappu' or dal. So, I prepared chinta chiguru pappu. Like sambars, they don't need spicy powders and they are not watery. Only the minimum amount of water needed to cook the dal is used and of course the basic flavors (as in any Indian dals) are prominently present. My mom even though ate this in her childhood, she never prepared this at our home and so, I tasted this first time when my MIL prepared this.

Usually tender, green, tamarind leaves are used to make the pappu. But by the time they reached me, they turned into dry leaves, almost half of them powdered. It made the dal look darker instead of being light green in color though the taste and flavor remained the same. The tamarind leaves are sour and you don't need any tamarind to make this dal.
For 'I' event, 'Imli Ke Paththon Ka Dal' - My another entry for Nupur's A - Z event.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1/2 Cup
Tamarind leaves - A little less than 3/4 cup
Small sized, medium hot, green chillies, slit lengthwise - 4
Salt - Accordingly
Chillie powder - Accordingly
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - According to your taste
A few curry leaves

• Usually toor dal doesn't cook well with sour tamarind leaves. So, I cooked toordal and the tamarind leaves separately, till done. You can cook the tamarind leaves and green chillies in a microwave with water as you do any other vegetable. Cook dal with turmeric powder in a pressure cooker for 2 -3 whistles. After the valve pressure is gone, remove the lid and mash the dal with the back of the ladle. If you don't have a pressure cooker, cook dal in a big pot with plenty of water on low - medium flame till it turns soft.
• Mix the cooked dal and tamarind leaves, add salt and chillie powders according to your taste. Cook it on a low flame for a few minutes.
• Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves. Turn off the stove when mustard seeds start to splutter. Add this tadka mixture to the dal / pappu. Stir all the dal once and close the lid. Let it sit for a few minutes so that all the flavors are infused into the dal / pappu.
• Serve hot with rice and ghee.

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Idli Upma

The delicious idli upma is a combination of two ultimate, south Indian breakfasts, the idlis and the upma. The leftover idlis from the breakfast are cleverly utilised to make an evening snack. Depending upon the time and energy levels, this upma can be prepared simple by just adding some seasoning or more nutritious by adding vegetables, nuts, etc. When we were kids, we used to like this upma more compared to idlis. :-)
I for Idli upma - My entry for Nupur's A - Z vegetable event.

Six left over idlis can yield a good, hefty snack for two people.
Ingredients required :
Idlis - 6
Vegetables of your choice, chopped - 1/2 cup (I added onion, carrot & capsicum)
Oil - As needed to fry the vegetables
Salt - As needed (Remember that idlis are already salt added)
Green chillies, finely chopped - 2 or 3
Ginger, finely chopped - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Chanadal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - A few
A few cashews (optional)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Crumble the idlis with your hands into small bits and keep it aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, chanadal and ginger. When mustard seeds start to splutter and chanadal turn red, add chillies, cashews, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Fry for a few seconds and add the vegetables if using.
Lower the heat and cook the vegetables till they turn tender with stirring in between. Then add crumbled bits of upma, salt and stir once again. Let it cook for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring in between to avoid sticking. Remove and serve hot with some pickle or chutney.
You can squeeze some lemon juice before serving, if you wish.

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Hagalakayi Gojju

Gojjus are sweet and spicy dishes from Karnataka, the southern state of India, where I grew up. Gojjus are prepared with certain vegetables and the name of the gojju indicates with what it has been prepared. Usually the vegetable is cooked in sour, sweet and spicy gravy which goes well with rice or rotis. It is simple to make and tastes just delicious. The only key is just adding all the flavors at the right amount.
This recipe is my mom's. She doesn't use all the spices that go into a traditional gojju recipe and keeps it simple.
H for " Hagalakayi Gojju" - My entry for Nupur's A - Z Vegetable event. Hagalakayi is the Kannada word for bitter gourd and is the vegetable used in this Gojju.

Ingredients:

I prepared using these measurements which were perfect for me. Adjust the ingredients according to your taste. You can use frozen bitter gourd as well.

One bitter gourd / hagalakayi, chopped into small pieces

Roasted chick peas / daliya - 2 Tbsp

Dry coconut grated - 1 Tbsp

Water - 1 & 1/2 cups

Tamarind paste (Extracted thick) - 1 Tbsp

Jaggery powdered - 2.5 or 3 Tbsp

Chillie Powder - 1.5 tsp

Oil - 1 Tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing - less than 1 /4 tsp

Curry Leaves - Few

Salt

Grind daliya and dry grated coconut into a fine powder using a mixer / blender.

Soak a big marble sized tamarind in water till you are able to squeeze the thick pulp. Alternatively, add some water to the tamarind in a bowl and put it in microwave for a couple of minutes. Let it cool. Then extract the thick pulp.

Heat oil in a small pan / wok and add mustard seeds , hing and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add bitter gourd pieces, stir once, turn down the flame and close the lid. Let it fry on a low flame till they turn tender. Then add the daliya - coconut powder, tamarind extract, chillie powder, jaggery powder, salt and water. Increase the flame and cook it till it comes to a boiling point. Then again lower the heat cook for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove. The gojju would have turned thicker by this time.

Serve hot with rice / rotis.

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Eggplant Curry With Gravy

My eggplant dishes are always like a poor belle. This time, I thought of giving them a gorgeous makeover and my SIL who is around, came to my rescue. The beautiful oval shaped, purple eggplants ended up being part of a wonderful dish, appealing both to our eyes and palate. It is going to be a permanent addition on my recipe list and is going to be devoured, countless times from now on. Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Brinjals / Eggplants (Small sized) - 10

Chopped Onions - 1 cup

Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Sesame seeds - 2 Tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 10

Cinnamon - a small piece

Clove - 1

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind paste - 2 tsp

Salt - Accordingly

Oil

• Heat 2 tsp of oil in a small pan and fry the onions on low flame till they turn golden brown. Remove and cool the fried onions.
• Dry fry the peanuts and sesame seeds individually till they turn golden brown.
• Dry fry the coriander seeds, red chillies, cinnamon and clove till the coriander seeds turn golden brown. Cool the mixture.
• Now grind the onion, peanuts, sesame seeds, coriander seeds, chillies, cinnamon, clove and tamarind paste. This mixture is used to stuff the eggplants and for the gravy.
• Wash the eggplants and wipe them dry. Remove the stalks. Leaving the base intact, cut crosswise twice (plus shaped cuts). Stuff the above mixture into the eggplants as much as it can hold.
• Take a wok / pan and carefully place all the stuffed eggplants and spray with oil. Or pour oil on them and move the eggplants in such a way that they are uniformly coated with it. Put the pan with the eggplants on medium flame and keep rotating them so that they cook uniformly. Cook till the skins start to discolor through out. Don't cook till they turn mushy. Turn off the stove.
• Take a pressure cooker (or you can use the vessel that fits into the cooker) and arrange these eggplants and pour the remaining (stuffing) mixture and add salt, accordingly. Let it cook till you hear one whistle. Turn off the stove. Remove after the valve pressure is released. Stir once and serve hot with rice or rotis.
• Alternatively if you don't have a pressure cooker, cook in a wok / pan till the eggplants turn tender.

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Gajar Ka Kheer ~ Carrot Payasam

When Nupur invited the fellow bloggers to participate in the A - Z Vegetable event, I wanted to utilize this opportunity to showcase at least a glimpse of the versatility of Indian cuisine using vegetables. We Indians, known to the world as curry loving brigade use vegetables not only to prepare curries but countless varieties of other delicacies in our kitchens.
Today for the 'G' event, I am using the vegetable Gajar (Hindi) / Gajjari (Kannada). I am posting a recipe for Gajar ka kheer or Carrot payasam. Recipe source is my mom as usual. This delicious dessert is prepared using the juicy, orange carrots as the name suggests. It's flavor is enhanced by the nuts added to the carrots and is just delectable. This is very popular in our family as gajar ka halwa in Hindi movies.

Ingredients:
Carrots, peeled and chopped into medium sized pieces - 1 & 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Almonds - 20
Cashews - 20
Raisins - 20
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Cook carrots till tender either in a pressure cooker or microwave with a cup of milk. Let it cool.
Grind the carrots and milk mixture with almonds, cashews and raisins in a blender till smooth.
(My mom usually prepares this mixture with less milk and stores in refrigerator. She adds milk and sugar whenever needed).
Dissolve the sugar in the remaining milk. Add this and the cardamom powder to the ground mixture. Adjust the milk and sugar to suit your taste.
Serve chilled.

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Lemon Pickle

You find it hard to prepare most of the Indian pickles, once you are outside of India. It is not easy to create the same magic that has been happening in Indian kitchens for ages, mainly because of the availability factor. With lemons, it is a different story. Compared to other vegetables / fruits used to prepare pickles, lemons are widely available and are cheap. Preparation of lemon pickle is easy and hasslefree.
The only two things important are picking juicy, bright yellow, thin skinned lemons without blemishes and taking care to use DRY utensils / work surface through out the process to increase the pickle's shelf life (like any other pickle). No trace of water anywhere is the key for not getting the pickle spoiled.

Ingredients:
Lemons - 12
Salt - 6 Tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1-2 tsp

We used seven lemons for the pieces and five lemons for the juice.
Wash and wipe the lemons dry. This step is very important as said above. Take a lemon and chop into four wedges by cutting lengthwise twice. Then chop each wedge into two. So, you would end up with 8 pieces by cutting each lemon. Repeat the same with the other six lemons.


Now about the five lemons meant for juice. It is better if they are at room temperature. Roll each lemon on counter top or any hard surface with your palm for atleast 30 seconds. Cut these lemons crosswise and squeeze all the juice. If possible, remove the seeds.
Take a big, dry bowl and put the cut lemon pieces in it. Add salt and turmeric powder and mix well. Pour the squeezed lemon juice into it and again stir.

Collect this in a ceramic or glass jar/ bottle and tightly close the lid.
Let it remain for 4-6 weeks. Yes, 4-6 weeks. We need to be patient about this. But keep stirring once or twice every alternate day. You must be able to keep on moving the contents in the jar from bottom to top so that all the lemon pieces are marinated uniformly in its own juice.
After about 6 weeks, the lemon pieces would be tender enough to eat. Though they would be softer as time passes.

We call this uppu nimmakaya (salty lemon pickle). This forms the basis for the hot lemon pickle. It also can be eaten as a side dish. We preserve this salty, sour lemon pickle to eat with especially yogurt rice. The combination of a bowl of curd / yogurt rice and this mouthwatering lemon pickle is extremely delicious.

HOT LEMON PICKLE:
To go with rice and ghee or rotis, we prepare the hot lemon pickle using the above pickle. We usually prepare the hot pickle in a small quantity so that we can have it fresh prepared whenever we need it.

Ingredients:
Lemon pickle (above) - 1 cup
Chillie powder - 1.5 tsp or accordingly
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - A few pinches

Take the sour lemon pickle in a bowl and add the chillie powder.
Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When mustard seeds start to splutter, turn off the stove and let it cool down completely.
Add this oil mixture to the lemon and chillie powder and mix well.
Serve with rice or rotis.

Note:
Adjust the quantity of salt as needed.
Like any other Indian pickle, this one also need no refrigeration.

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Pindi Miriyam

This recipe comes from my Mother in law's kitchen. My sister in law is presently visiting us and I prepared it following her instructions. Pindi miriyam, a simple and delicious side dish from Andhra can be eaten with rice or rice and plain dal. Snake gourd in this recipe can be replaced with bottle gourd or chayote. The spicy powder and the milk form a creamy, tastier base for the vegetable used in this dish.

Ingredients:

Snake gourd, fine chopped - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1 Tbsp

Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Red chillie - 1

Coconut grated (Fresh or dry) - 1/4 cup

Rice - 1 tbsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt - Accordingly

For Tadka:

Oil - 1-2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - A few

Method:

Cook the snake gourd pieces with water. Drain the water and collect the cooked snake gourd in a bowl. Add salt to it.

Heat the oil in a small pan and fry peppercorns, cuminseeds, uraddal, rice, coconut and red chillie till the urad dal turn red. Let it cool and then grind it into a fine powder. Add this powder to the snake gourd pieces.

Do the tadka. Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and a few curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, remove and add the tadka mixture to the snake gourd pieces.

Heat and cool the milk.

When the snake gourd mixture cools down, add the milk and stir.

Serve with rice.

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Semolina - Vermicelli Upma / Rava - Semiya Upma

What is the breakfast dish that can be prepared in a jiffy in the Kitchen?
What do you prepare when you have unexpected guests?
Which is the one dish that have not changed with ages and can beat any of its counter parts in a wedding breakfast?
What comes to your rescue when you are short of time/ eneergy and want to eat something decent?
What is the dish that you can eat for either breakfast, lunch or dinner?

If you are in India and a South Indian like me, the probable answers for all these questions would be Upma. Though traditionally it is made of rava, upma is being now made with various other ingredients like vermicilli, cracked wheat, cornmeal, couscous etc. (After those wedding chefs), the best upma I have eaten is my mom's. She prepares even the simple upma lovingly adding all the veggies and most importantly it's perfect, Goldilocks style. It is neither dry nor mushy.

Ingredients:
Semolina / Rava - 1 cup, (heaped)
Vermicilli / Semiya - 1 cup (heaped)
Finely chopped vegetables - 2 cups
Ginger grated - 1 tsp
Green chillies, finely chopped - 4 -6 (Depending upon the spiciness)
Salt - 3 tsp
Water - 4 cups
Oil - 3 Tbsp
Mustard seeds / Rai - 1 tsp
Bengal gram / Chana dal - 1 tsp
Skinned Black gram / Urad dal - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds / Jeera -1 tsp
Curry leaves - A few
Cashews - As many as you need (Optional)


Note:
I actually used the measuring cup which comes with the rice cooker. So, I used 2 cups each of rava and semiya and 7 cups of water. I measured them again and giving you the american standard measurements. Why I am trying to give the measurements is because this gives you the perfect upma. I don't like the gooey, mushy stuff served in the name of upma.
I used onions, potatoes, carrots, green peas, French beans and chayote for the vegetables.

Method:
Dry fry the rava and semiya individually on slow - medium flame till the rava turns light brown and semiya turns golden brown. If you omit this part, the upma would be lumpy.
Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan / wok. Add mustard seeds, chanadal, urad dal and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter and the dals turn red, add cashews, chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds and add the chopped vegetables. Cover the pan with a lid and turn down the flame to the lowest.
Keep stirring in between till the vegetables are cooked. I usually check whether the green beans have become tender. If they are tender, all the other vegetables would have been automatically done.
Add the water and salt. Now increase the flame and let the water boil. When it comes to rolling boil, lower or turn off the stove and add rava and semiya. I usually turn off the stove to avoid the hot mixture spluttering on me. Stir properly (without any lumps) and turn on the stove again. Cover the pan again with lid and let it cook for a few minutes till it is done. Keep stirring in between. Switch off the stove. Serve hot with chutney or chutney powder or daliya powder.


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