To my surprise & shock, apparently you DO get nenua (ridge gourd) in Bangalore, that too on a day of national shutdown! So here's Bihari style nenua with kaala chana :D You'll need: * 1.5 cups kaala chana, soaked overnight * 1kg peeled nenua * 1 large onion, finely chopped lengthwise * 1/2 tsp jeera * 2 bay leaves * 2 red chilies * 1 tsp turmeric powder * 1 tsp coriander powder * 1/2 tsp jeera powder * 1 tsp red chili powder * Salt to taste * Cooking oil 1. Sabse pehle, pressure cook the chana with 1 tsp salt in 1.5 l of water for 5 min. Just ensure that the chana is a little tender but its shape is still intact; it shouldn't become slush/pulp/mulch :P 2. Now, heat 4 tbsp cooking oil in a kadhai & add jeera & the bay leaves to it. When this begins to sputter, add the onion & saute for a while on a medium flame till the onion turns translucent & pink. 3. Post this, add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, jeera powder & red chili powder & saute for 2 min. Then add the nenua, chana & salt. 4. Now saute this for 5 min, cover & then cook on a low flame till the nenua becomes tender. 5.Once done, take off from the flame. TipToEat: Serve piping hot with off-the-tava rotis. Heaven!
Dosa. Dose. Dosai. Dhosha. Dosay. Dhosai. Tosai. Dvashi. Thosai. Toshay. Staple dish down south (of India) ;) And with variations, and how!! * Quinoa * Moong dal * Chili * Open - chutney powder is spread on it while cooking, before serving, spiced and mashed potato is placed on top. * Onion * Ghee * Butter * Roast * Kerala - a different kind of traditional dosa - small, thick, soft and spongy. More like a pancake and somewhat similar to appam, but dal is used in the batter for appam, and the appam is not flat. * Family roast - :| a long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 ft!! * Paper - a long and very thin, delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 ft. And my favorite among dosas :) * Green - stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney. * Thalir - made of Maida and is very soft and delicate, eaten with sugar. * Chow-chow - stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles. * Methi * Cone * Rava * Wheat * Vella - made of jaggery with ghee. * Ragi * Muttai - eggs are added to the regular batter; the word muttai in Tamil means "egg". * Set - a popular dosa in Karnataka, it is cooked only on one side and served in a set of two to three, hence the name. * Benne - similar to masala or set dosa, but smaller in size, it is served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it. * Cabbage * Neer * 70 mm - similar to masala dosa, it is larger, about 60 cm in diameter. * American chopsuey - served with a filling of fried noodles and tomato ketchup. * Uppu puli - made by adding uppu (salt) and puli (tamarind) to the batter, it is a part of Udupi cuisine. But as you all know, the lazy chef will always cook the classics (read: the easiest) :P So, here's Masala Dosa!! You'll need: * 1 tbsp cooking oil * 1 tbsp mustard seeds * 1 tsp chana dal, soaked & drained * 8 curry leaves * 1 tsp chopped green chilies * 1/3 cup sliced onions * 1 1/4 cups boiled, peeled & finely chopped potatoes * 1/2 tsp turmeric powder * Salt to taste * 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves * 2 cups dosa batter (NO I didn't make it from scratch! Am WAY too lazy, remember? Got it fresh from a store) :D * 4 tbsp butter for cooking * 6 tbsp finely chopped onions And here's how: 1. Sabse pehle, heat the cooking oil in a kadhai. Then add the mustard seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the chana dal & saute on a medium flame till it turns light brown in color. 2. Then, add the curry leaves, green chilies & sliced onions, MIX WELL :D & saute on a slow flame for 5 min. 3. Iske baad, add the potatoes, turmeric powder, salt, coriander leaves & again, MIX WELL on a medium flame for a min, while stirring occasionally. Masala is done. Now for the dosa. 4. Heat a non-stick tava, then sprinkle a little water on it. Thoda sizzle hoga then wipe off with a cloth. 5. Now, pour 1/4th of of the batter on the tava & spread with a katori to make a 9" dosa (obviously maine measure nahi kiya) :P Andaaz se kiya. 6. Then, smear 1 tbsp butter & spread 1/4th of the masala evenly over the dosa with a spatula (evenly, my ass :| I think I made continents, not a circle). 7. Iske baad, sprinkle 1.5 tbsp of the chopped onions EVENLY over the dosa till it (dosa) turns brown in color. 8. Tricky Part - fold over while pressing the dosa lightly using the spatula to make a flat roll and cut into 4 equal pieces using sharp edge of the spatula on the tava. 9. Repeat the procedure for the remaining batter & masala. Masala Dosa done!! Serve immediately with sambhar & chutney (whose recipes am not posting) :P
