Dum Bhindi

Dum Bhindi is an Awadhi (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awadh) dish. Regal, nawabi, delish & easy to make :)


You'll need:


- 1/2 kg lady fingers/okra
- 250gm tomatoes
- 150gm capsicums (personally, I hate capsicum :| but since the recipe demands it)
- 2 large onions
- 1/4tsp chili powder
- 1/4tsp turmeric powder
- 150m cooking oil
- Mustard oil
- Salt to taste


1. First things first - wash the lady fingers & dry them well. Then, cut off their tops, chop the lady fingers evenly & keep aside.


2. Now, coarsely chop the tomatoes, capsicums & onions.


3. Heat the cooking oil in a kadhai & deep fry the lady fingers. Do this a handful at a time, till they are partly cooed. Then drain them & keep aside.


4. Now, reduce the quantity in the kadhai by half. And add the onions & saute them till they turn to golden-pink.


5. To this, add this tomatoes & capsicums, and saute for 5 min. After this, add the lady fingers, chili powder, turmeric powder & salt - and blend them well.


Now here's the tricky part - cover the kadhai with a lid, and seal it with dough. If you can, place some charcoal on it.


6. Once you've sealed the kadhai, reduce the flame to simmer level and cook for 15min. And don't forget to serve piping hot with off-the-tava chapatis!!

Brinjal & Potato Gothsu

Serves: 5

Cooking Time: 20 min

Vanakkam!! Potato dish after ages, eh? :P

B&P G is a tangy, saucy dish from Tamil Nadu, and can be wolfed down either with chapatis or steamed rice.

You'll need:

* 250gm brinjals

* 1 big potato

* 4 small tomatoes

* 2 onions

* 5 green chilies

* 2 tbsp cooking oil

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp turmeric powder

* 1 tsp mustard seeds

* curry leaves
* coriander leaves

Here's how:

1. First of, chop the tomatoes, onions & chilies. Then peel the potato & dice it into small cubes. Followed by dicing the brinjals into small pieces.

2. Then, heat the oil in a pressure cooker & add the mustard seeds. Once you see it sputtering, add the onions & chilies, and saute.

3. Now, add the brinjals, potato, tomatoes, curry leaves, salt & turmeric powder, followed by 1.5 cups of water. Then, shut the lid of the cooker and let it cook for 8 min.

4. Once the time is up, mash the mixture in the cooker with a ladle or spatula, into a thick consistency.

5. Finally, sprinkle coriander leaves & serve :)

Steamed Momo

The momo (or mog mog) :D is somewhat of a steamed bun, and actually originated from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and more so, Sikkim. In fact, some say that momos are a tad similar to the buuz from Mongolia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buuz I just keep tripping on its name :P


Momos are normally steamed or fried, and stuffing usually consists of either meat or veggies or cheese and even Snickers or Mars! (the sweet version is limited to Nepal, though).


But since this is a veg blog and I like to keep it simple, :P here's my experience/recipe on steaming momos!!


Since making momos is slightly tricky, I've tried to improvise with pictures while I cooked, so it becomes easier to understand to process :)


Gather the following for the dough:


* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 tbsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 3/4 cups water


For the filling, you'll need:


* 3 cups finely shredded cabbage 
Note: Ensure that is really is shredded finely, as momos are relatively tiny in size and need to accommodate a number of fillings.

* 1/2 large onion, finely diced
* 1 small grated carrot
* 1 tbsp minced ginger
* 1.5 tsp salt
* 1/4 cup cooking oil


1. First, mix the ingredients for the dough. Put 1/4 cup of the water then knead well.

2. Add another 1/4 cup and knead again for several minutes. Then put the remaining 1/4 cup (one tbsp at a time - should be around 4 times), and keep kneading in between.
Note: In case your dough is dry, add more water. And in case it is sticky, add more flour. Just make sure the dough is nice & stiff.


3. Once kneaded, cover the dough & set it aside for half and hour.


4. While the dough sits, put the cabbage, onion & carrot in a large bowl. Now, heat the oil in a pan, and add it to this veggies' bowl.


5. Stir the oil into the veggies immediately so as to coat them well; and continue stirring to soften the veggies. Add salt, keep stirring, then set aside.


All this would have taken you half an hour. Time to return to the dough.


6. Tear off a handful of dough and roll between your hands,  like a hot dog shape. Pinch and twist the end of the dough, tearing off about 1 tbsp worth, and put the piece back in the bowl.

7. Keep doing this till you have gotten through all of the dough
Note: Try your best to make the pieces of the same size, for obvious reasons :P 


8. Once you have torn all of the dough into pieces, go back through them and roll them between your hands to smoothen them out. Now would be a good time to checking for any pieces that are too large or too small; you can adjust as necessary :P


9. When you are finally done, the dough balls should look like this -

Time to roll out the dough balls. Keep your chakla-belan (flat circular rolling board-rolling pin) & and a small bowl of flour (to smother each dough ball around in) ready.


10. Start rolling each dough ball into thin chapatis, about 3-3.5 inch in diameter.

Now, for the stuffing.


11. Place one chapati on your palm and place 1 tbsp of the filing into its center.

Now, for the folding. I do have a warning, though - I may not be able to explain it too well, but what the heck I'll try :|


12. There are 2 ways in which you can do it - round style (non veg) or half moon (veg). They are mostly similar, except that in the round style, you crimp in a circular motion and for the half moon, you crimp in a straight line i.e. one side gets crimped before pinching it together to join it with the other half.


Made sense? See I told you I may not be able to explain it!!

Finally, it is time to steam these babies. If you have the momo maker,  excellent. Else you can even use an idly stand and place it in a pressure cooker. Whatever apparatus you use, ensure to use cooking spray, so that the momos don't stick.


13. Once the momos have been placed in the apparatus, steam them for 15 min. In case after 15 min also the momos are sticky,  steam them for a few more minutes.


14. Voila Steaming momos are ready to be belted with tomato chutney - which is nothing but pureed tomatoes, chopped onions & green chilies, and salt.


Smack!

Churma Laddoo

Khama ghani!! (That's 'hello' in Rajasthan) :) Earlier this month, I was at Jodhpur for a dear friend's wedding reception, and got a chance to sink my teeth into churma laddoos. Yum!


So basically, am giving into my cravings here :P


For making CL, you'll need:


- 200 gm wheat flour 

- 400 gm ghee 
- 100 gm khoya/mawa 
- 200 gm grounded sugar
- 50 gm finely chopped soaked almonds
- 4 small cardamoms
- 1 inch dalchini

1. Sabse pehle, melt 150 gm of the ghee in a kadhai and mix it with the wheat flour; and make a stiff dough using very little water.

Note: Make sure the dough is stiff else the laddoos won't turn out crisp.

2. Now, heat the remaining of the ghee, and fry it on a low flame till it turns golden brown.

3. Then, once this mixture cools down, churn it in a grinder. Now add the khoya to it.

4. In another kadhai, add a tbsp of ghee, cardamoms & dalchini. Then, add the above mixture and fry for a minute.

5. After this cools, add the sugar & almonds. And mix well, of course :P

You can make about 20 laddoos with this quantity. And remember, this isn't play dough :P CL can be enjoyed for nearly 10 days, if kept in an airtight box. Yenjoy!!

Dal Maharani

Presenting, straight Punjab ke dil se, Dal Maharani!! *drum roll*


To whip up the leguminous queen :P you'll need:

* 1/4 cup rajma 
* 1/4 cup whole urad dal 
* 1/4 cup chana dal 
* 1 chopped onion
* 2 chopped tomatoes
* 3 sliced green chilies
* 1/2 inch grated ginger
* Salt to taste 
* 1 pinch turmeric powder 
* 1 tsp red chili powder 
* Coriander leaves 
* 1 tbsp butter 
* 1/4 cup cream 
* 1/4 tsp cumin seeds 
* 1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Here's the method:

1. First things first - soak the rajma, urad & chana dals overnight. The next day, pressure cook these 3, and mash them a little. Then keep aside.

2. Now, heat the butter in a pan, and add the cumin & mustard seeds, and fry till they begin to spatter. Then, add chilies and ginger.

3. Keep frying, and add the onion & tomatoes. Needless to say, cook till done (obviously; kachcha to utaaroge nahi) :P

4. Then, add the salt, turmeric & red chili powders, and stir well. Now, add the rajma, urad & chana dals and boil for a few minutes.

5. Finally, add the cream & coriander (don't forget to mix well) :P

Voila! Dal Maharani done. Enjoy with tandoori/roomali roti, or even naan!!

Santula

Santula hails from Orissa. It's a gravy dish made from vegetables. And has 2 versions - boiled or fried. And am sharing the recipe of the boiled Santula (weight badh raha hai) :(


You'll need:

- 50gm brinjal

- 50gm potatoes

- 50gm ridge-gourd (torai)

- 50gm raw papaya

Note: Other green or red vegetables may also be used (but not the leafy ones)

- 1 chopped onion

- 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 2 tsp crushed or grated ginger

- 1/2 teaspoon mustard

- 4 green chilies

- 2 tsp refined oil

- 1 cup - boiled milk

- Salt to taste

1. First of, cut all the veggies, medium-size. Then, boil them in a cooking pot; and add salt. 

2. Now, heat the oil in a frying pan, and add mustard when the oil becomes hot. Once the mustard starts crackling, add the onion, garlic & ginger. And fry till they turn brown. 

3. Now, add the chilies and fry some more.

3. Finally, add the veggies and stir. Then add the milk, and cook on simmer flame for 3 minutes. 

Santula done! Have this with tawa-hot chapatis or piping hot rice. Perfect low-fat dish for vegetarians. Bon appetit!