No-cook chocolate balls

I am planning to make pizza for dinner tonight. This is the first time I will be making pizza at home from scratch and I am pretty excited. Hope it comes out well. For dessert, I wanted to make something simple. Did not feel like baking a cake or making any of our Indian sweets like gajar ka halwa or gulab jamun etc. Then I remembered that Mom once made this yummy dessert with condensed milk and drinking chocolate powder and it required no cooking. It was a long time ago and she had forgotten the recipe but luckily I had it in my recipe collection. The chocolate balls were ready in 10 minutes.

No-cook Chocolate Balls (makes about 20 small balls)

Marie biscuits, 13-15
Condensed milk, 1/2 cup
Drinking chocolate powder, 2 tbsps
Dessicated coconut, about 1/4 cup

Mix the condensed milk and chocolate powder in a bowl. Keep aside. Put the biscuits in a ziploc bag and crush to a coarse powder with a rolling pin. Add this to the condensed milk and mix well. Make into small balls. If the mixture is not thick enough add more crushed biscuits. Roll the balls in dessicated coconut till the coconut sticks onto the ball. Chill or eat as it is.

Upma Kozhukattai with Sambar

When I told K I was making upma kozhukattai for dinner he was confused. Kozhukattai, to him, means the sweet South Indian dish that is filled with coconut and jaggery. Upma is a dish made with rawa and is usually had for breakfast. Upma kozhukattai is steamed rice flour balls and can be served with chutney or sambar. Traditionally, raw rice is soaked, dried and powdered and used for making these kozhukattais. But there is an easier method for making this dish for lazy people like me. I got this recipe from my mom who makes it for breakfast once in a way.

Upma Kozhukattai

 
2 cups idli rawa
1 tbsp bengal gram dal
1 tbsp toovar dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 green chili
 Pinch of asafoetida
1 sprig curry leaves

Soak bengal gram dal and toovar dal in water for 1/2 hour. Drain water, add green chili and grind coarsely. Keep aside. Heat oil in a large kadai. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add asafoetida and curry leaves. To this, add 2 1/2 cups water (you might need to add more water) and salt and bring it to a boil. Keep the flame on sim, and add the ground mixture and the idli rawa slowly, constantly stirring. Keep stirring till all water is absorbed and the resulting mixture does not stick to your fingers, about 5 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Take big handfuls and shape it into ovals. You will get about 16 kozhukattais. Steam for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

For the sambar

I made mixed vegetable sambar to go with the kozhukattai. I am not giving the recipe here but just wanted to share couple of tips with you. When pressure cooking the dal, cut a  tomato into half and add to the dal. Later, peel the skin, mash the tomato and add to the sambar. The sambar comes out thicker this way. Also, add small piece of jaggery to the sambar when adding tamarind.

Corn Egg Curry

This is my go to dish when I am short on time or inspiration. Very simple to make and tastes great!

Corn Egg Curry

1 cup corn (I use frozen)
2 eggs
2 small onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1" ginger, chopped finely
1 green chili, chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp jeera seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
chili powder, to taste
salt, to tatse
oil
chopped coriander leaves, for garnishing

Boil water. Add corn and cook till done to your satisfaction. Drain water and keep aside. In a kadai, heat oil. Add jeera seeds and mustard seeds. When they splutter, add ginger and green chili. Fry for few seconds. Add onions and fry till onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and all the powders and salt and fry till tomatoes are soft. Add corn and fry for couple of minutes. Break the eggs into the pan. Be careful not to break the egg yolk. Cover and cook on simmer for 4-5 minutes or till the eggs are done to your satisfaction. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Coconut Masala Turnips

We make this curry with chayote (chow-chow) traditionally. Since I only had turnips at home, I made this curry with turnips.

Coconut Masala Turnips

3 turnips, peeled and diced
2 tbsps peanuts
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp hing
Oil

For the masala

1/3 cup coconut scrapings
1/2 tsp jeera seeds
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/2 tsp coriander seeds

 Boil turnip, and peanuts with turmeric powder till cooked. Grind to a paste all the ingredients for the masala. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and hing. When urad dal turns brown, add the ground paste and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add little water if necessary. Add the boiled vegetables, and combine well with masala. Fry for a minute or so. Serve hot with rotis.
If you are making this curry with chayote, add 2 carrots.

Shredded Radish, Coconut and Carrot Salad

Another simple and refreshing salad from Yamuna Devi's cookbook.

Shredded Radish, Coconut and Carrot Salad

1/2 cup shredded radishes ( I used white radish but we can also use the round pink ones)
1/3 cup shredded fresh coconut
1/3 cup shredded carrots
salt
1/4 tsp paprika ( I did not have paprika so I added pinch of chili powder to spice up the salad)
2 tbsps chopped fresh corainder
1 tbsp ghee
1/4 tsp ajwain seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

Combine the radish, coconut and carrot in a bowl. Add salt, paprika and coriander leaves. Heat ghee in a saucepan. When it is hot but not smoking, add the ajwain, fennel and cumin seeds and fry until they darken. Pour the seasoning into the salad and toss well.

Cucumber and White Radish Salad

I made this salad today for the first time and absolutely loved it. This recipe is a keeper and I will be making this salad quite often.

Cucumber & White Radish Salad (slightly adapted from Yamuna Devi's cookbook)

 1 medium sized cucumber, peeled and coarsely shredded
1 small white radish, peeled and coarsely shredded
1/4 cup yogurt
12-15 almonds, coarsely powdered
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsps coriander leaves, chopped
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsps dry-roasted white sesame seeds
pinch of chilli powder

Place the shredded cucumber in a strainer and sprinkle with salt. Keep aside for 1/2 hr. Then, drain out excess liquid. Combine the cucumber, radish, yogurt, almonds, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Add the toasted sesame seeds and cumin powder and mix once. Sprinkle chilli powder on top. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Quick Bise Bele Bhat with Beaten Rice

I made this last night for dinner and my daughter loved it. This bhat is cooked with beaten rice (poha) and moong dal and has lot of vegetables.

Bise Bele Bhat

1 1/2 cups beaten rice (poha)
3/4 cup moong dal ( you can use split moong dal or mixture of split moong dal and moong dal with skin)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion
1 tomato
1 cup mixed vegetables (carrot, cauliflower, potato, capsicum)
curry leaves
1 tsp sambar powder/bise bele bhat powder
1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
oil
1 tbsp ghee
salt
fried cashewnuts for garnishing (optional)

Pressure cook moong dal. Wash and soak poha in water for few mintues. Squeeze out excess water and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, burst mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and onion and fry. When transparent, add tomato and fry for few seconds. Add potato and carrot and fry for 2 minutes. Add rest of the vegetables and just enough water for the vegetables to cook. Once all water has evaporated and vegetables are cooked, add sambar powder, turmeric powder and tamarind paste and fry for few minutes. Add moong dal, poha and salt. Mix well. Add ghee and stir once. Garnish with fried cashewnuts.

Methi Mattar Curry

I rarely buy methi leaves as I hate cleaning it and also any dish I make with methi never comes out well.  I made gajar methi subzi couple of times and it was a disaster. But this time I could not resist buying the methi leaves from the market as it looked so fresh (fresh vegetables are a rarity in our area). I spent 2 hours cleaning it and then I spent the next hour looking for an easy recipe. Finally, I decided on the methi mattar malai recipe by Tarla Dalal. The dish came out very well and I will definitely be making it again.

Methi Mattar Curry (adapted from Tarla Dalal's microwave cooking recipes)

1 1/2 cups fenugreek (methi) leaves, chopped

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 cup green peas, boiled

1/2 cup milk

2 tbsps oil

salt to taste

To be ground into a paste

1 onion

1 green chilli

1/2" piece ginger

1 clove garlic

2 tbsps cashewnuts

Wash the chopped fenugreek leaves, add 1/2 tsp of salt and leave aside for 10 minutes. Then, squeeze out the water.  In a pan, heat oil. Add jeera seeds and when it splutters, add fenugreek leaves and fry for 2 minutes. Transfer this to another dish. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, add the prepared paste and fry till raw smell goes. Add the milk, salt, boiled peas, and fenugreek leaves and fry till the gravy thickens. Serve hot with rotis.

Instant Rabdi

My daughter does not like milk and refuses to drink it. Every morning this is the conversation we have:

D, drink your milk
No
D, drink your milk please
Nnnnno
D, DRINK YOUR MILK
Nooooooo
After 40 minutes, "D, FINISH YOUR MILK. RIGHT NOW"

 She likes other milk products though like cheese and yogurt. And she loves desserts like kheer and custard. Oh well, I guess I should be happy that she eats stuff made from milk! I was looking through my recipe books for some quick recipe for her evening snack when I came across this instant rabdi recipe by Tarla Dalal. This can be made in a jiffy. I reduced the sweetness and did not add cornflour as I wanted the rabdi to be liquidy.

Instant Rabdi

 2 cups milk
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup condensed milk
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
5-6 almonds, lightly toasted for garnishing

Boil the milk. Reduce heat, add bread crumbs, condensed milk and cardamom powder and stir for 6-8 minutes. Divide into bowls, and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serve chilled or warm. You can also chop up some dates and raisins and add to the rabdi.

Rajma

An easy half-hour recipe for Rajma adapted from Madhur Jaffrey.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried red kidney beans, preferably a mix of light and dark (I used two 14 oz cans of dark kidney beans)
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 1/4 cups peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes
2 tsps ground corainder
1/4 tsp chilli pwdr
2 tsps ground cumin
1 fresh hot green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp amchoor or 2 tsps fresh lemon juice

Soak the beans overnight and cook. Add the salt to the beans and stir to mix.

Put the oil in a wide medium pot and set over medium high heat. Add the onions. Stir and fry until the onions are a rich, reddish-brown color. Add the garlic and stir a few times, then add the ginger and stir once or twice. Add the tomatoes, coriander, cumin, chilli pwdr, and green chilli. Stir and cook over medium heat for 5 to 6 mins, or until the tomatoes are slightly reduced. Stir in the cooked beans and their liquid as well as the amchoor. Note: If using canned beans, add veg stock instead of water. Turn the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 mins to marry all the flavors. Can mash some of the beans for thicker consistency. Serve hot.

Serves 4 to 6

Muffins, Muffins, Muffins!

I bought a muffin tray but I never used it for 4 years as I was under the impression that it would not fit into my microwave oven. Only last week I realized that all I had to do was turn the tray around and put it inside the oven. Duh!!!! I am on a muffin baking spree now. Started off with the plain muffins. Just google muffin recipes and you will get lot of recipes on the web. I liked this one as it seemed fairly simple to make.

Plain Muffins (makes 12 muffins)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
5 tbsps butter

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Melt the butter and let it cool but do not let it solidify. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add the sugar, milk and vanilla to the eggs. Pour melted butter into the egg mixture little by little and stir till it is all incorporated. Keep a muffin tray ready with paper muffin liners. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix no more than 10 seconds. Do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy and it is allright if there are pockets of dry flour. Pour the batter into the muffin pan and bake immediately for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cheese Olive Muffins (makes 6 mini muffins)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar or any other cheese of your liking)
1/4 cup black olives, chopped finely

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Mix flours, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, oil and buttermilk. Add this to the dry mixture and mix gently until well combined. Mix in cheese and olives. Do not overmix. Pour into the muffin tray and bake for 18-20 minutes. Like my niece says, these muffins are fantastico.

Banana Muffins

Check out this banana muffin recipe from tastypalettes.

Healthy Pancakes

I got this wonderful and easy recipe for pancakes from my sister. Very convenient as you can make the dry mix beforehand and store in an airtight container. Both the flour and dried milk add natural sweetness. The pancakes came out soft and fluffy and were a big hit with K and D.

Whole-wheat pancake mix (Makes 3 cups dry mix, or enough to make 20 pancakes)















1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

In a large bowl combine the whole-wheat and all-purpose flours, dry milk, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the cinnamon, if you like. Store in an airtight container.

Whole-wheat pancakes (Makes 10)

1 1/2 cups pancake mix (see recipe)
1 cup water
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, or more if needed

Maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, or preserves (for serving)

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, water, egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir well. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter. When it begins to bubble, use a 1/4-cup measure to ladle 3 mounds of batter in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes or until the undersides are brown. Flip the pancakes over and cook an additional 1 minute. Transfer pancakes to a warm plate. Repeat with remaining batter, adding butter to the pan when necessary. Stack the pancakes and sprinkle with syrup or confectioners’ sugar, or add a spoonful of preserves.

Spicy coconut milk based vegetable bowl

This dish is inspired by a noodle dish recipe in 101cookbooks.com. The broth was flavorful and aromatic. I added a lot of vegetables to the broth, served it with rice and thus made a meal of it. Delicious.

Spicy coconut milk based vegetable bowl

Mushrooms, sliced – 1 cup
1 Green pepper, julienne
1 Carrot, julienne
1 Onion, sliced
Vegetable stock – 500 ml (I used 2 tablets of maggi vegetable cubes to make 500 ml of stock)
Coconut milk – 400 ml
Juice of 1 lime
Salt
Soy sauce

For the spice paste:

Sriracha - 1 tbsp
Garlic – 1 clove
Ginger – a small lump
Coriander seeds – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Lime rind – ½ tsp
Coriander leaves – a few
Veg oil

Peel the garlic. Peel and shred the ginger. Grind all ingredients of spice paste in to a thick mixture. Add vegetable oil, if necessary.

Heat pan. Add spice paste and fry for couple of minutes. Add onions and fry until translucent. Add all vegetables and salt and stir-fry until vegetables are cooked. Add stock, coconut milk, and a splash of soy sauce. Let it come to a boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle lime juice. Serve hot.

Thai Basil Pasta

I love pasta and make it at least twice a week. I was getting tired of the usual pasta in tomato sauce or pasta in white sauce. Wanted to try something different. Came across this recipe by Tanya Mehta somewhere and it sounded interesting so thought I will give it a shot. I am glad I did. I followed the recipe exactly and the pasta was delicious


Thai Basil Pasta

150 gm spaghetti - boiled
3 tomatoes - blanched
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 cup ready-made coconut milk
1 tsp grated lemon peel or 2-3 lemon leaves-shredded
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Boil water. Add salt and oil. Add spaghetti and cook till al dente. Drain and keep aside. Meanwhile, blanch tomatoes and peel the skin. Chop the peeled tomatoes.
In a pan, heat oil, add tomatoes and garlic and stir constantly until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Add coconut milk, lemon peel, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 2 minutes until sauce is heated well and flavors have blended.
Add spaghetti, toss well. Serve hot.
Tip: While the spaghetti is boiling, prepare the sauce. As soon as the pasta is done, add it to the sauce. Do not leave the cooked spaghetti out for too long.

Ice-Cream cake

I watch Nigella Lawson's show regularly. The other day she made quick ice-cream cake on her show. Very simple and easy to make and your kids will love it. Here is my own version of the ice-cream cake. The basic concept is to mix vanilla ice-cream with biscuits and chocolates. In the original recipe, the cake is served with chocolate and butterscotch sauce but I did not opt for the sauces as I felt the cake was already too rich and sweet.

Ice-cream cake
(Select some chocolates with nuts in them for that extra crunchiness)

400 gms vanilla ice-cream
6 bourbon biscuits
Assorted cadbury chocolates (or any chocolates of your choice)

Keep the ice-cream in the fridge or outside so it softens. Keep ready a springform pan with the bottom and sides lined with clingwrap. Next, crush the biscuits and the chocolates coarsely in a zip lock bag. Keep 2-3 tbsps aside and put the rest in a bowl. Add ice-cream to this and mix well. Pour this into the springform pan and sprinkle the remaining biscuit-chocolate mixture on top. Cover the pan with clingwrap so no air gets inside. Freeze. When you are ready to serve, keep the cake out for 2-3 minutes before cutting.

Paneer in red gravy

I have attempted to make red gravy for curries many times but it has never come out well. It will either be too watery or not red enough. Came across this recipe in one of Nita Mehta's cookery books and the picture looked so good that I had to make it. I am so glad that I did as the dish was scrumptious! The gravy was flavorful with just the right consistency. I followed the recipe closely and modified only couple of steps.

Paneer in Red Gravy

250 gm paneer - cut into 1" cubes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
6 tomatoes
1 tbsp dry fenugreek leaves
2 tsp tomato ketchup
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp oil



Boil tomatoes in water. Cover and cook till tomatoes are soft. Remove skin and cool. Grind the tomatoes to a smooth puree using some of the water if necessary.

Heat oil in a kadhai and add jeera. When it splutters, add ginger-garlic paste. Add the tomato puree and cook till puree turns semi-dry. Add kasoori methi and tomato ketchup. Add coriander powder, garam masala, salt and red chilli powder. Mix well for a few seconds. Cook till the masala turns dry. Add water. Boil. Simmer on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Remove from fire and cool.

Add milk to the cold masala to get a thick curry, mix gently. Heat curry on low flame. Add paneer cubes and keep stirring gently on low flame till just about to boil. Turn off gas.
Serve hot. Just before serving, swirl a tsp of curd or cream over the gravy.

Alternately, you can use tofu instead of paneer.

Spinach Cucumber Peanuts Salad

Sprouts Salad

Crazy about salads

I love salads. Earlier, I used to have a salad and soup day every week and I made it a point to make something new every week. These days my salad just consists of sliced or diced cucumber! It's just that the vegetables we get here are really bad in summer and you don't feel like making salads with it. But no more excuses! I have decided to make salads more frequently with what is available.

Spinach Cucumber Peanuts Salad

Today, I made spinach cucumber peanuts salad. Mom buys lot of Tamil magazines and the special issues usually come with a recipe booklet. She collects them all and I got the salad recipe from one of the booklets. We should actually use boiled peanuts (raw peanuts boiled in salted water) for this salad but since I did not have raw peanuts at home, I used roasted peanuts. The salad was excellent but I am sure it will taste even better with boiled peanuts.


2 cups of spinach, finely chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsps roasted peanuts
For the dressing - juice of 1/2 lime, salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp jeera powder, 1/4 tsp amchur powder

Blanch spinach. Drain and cool. Meanwhile, cut cucumber and tomato into small pieces and mix in a bowl. Add the roasted peanuts and spinach. Add all the ingredients for the dressing to this and mix well. Serve chilled.

Sprouts Salad

Another salad I make frequently is the sprouts salad. The main ingredient is the sprout (duh!) and I change the other ingredients depending on what is available at home. The last time I made it, I used the below ingredients-
1 cup Green sprouts
1/2 cup Frozen Green peas
1/2 cup Frozen Corn
1 Green apple, chopped
1 Cucumber, chopped
For the dressing - juice of 1 lime, olive oil, salt and pepper


Blanch sprouts in hot water for 2 minutes. Blanch peas and corn in hot water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and cool. Add chopped green apple and cucumber to this. Add the ingredients of the dressing and mix well. Serve chilled. Whenever I feel like snacking, I eat this salad and thus try to control my diet.
Variations: 1) Indulge yourself once in a way by tossing in some sev/bhujia.
2) Add pomegranate seeds.

Quick vegetable bhat

Vacation over. After a month, I am back in my kitchen wondering what to make for lunch for K. It is Fri morning and I am feeling a little lazy. Wanted to cook something simple. Made this vegetable bhat; very easy to make and tastes quite good. I served the rice with cucumber raita.















2 cups cooked rice
1 cup chopped vegetables ( I used potato, cabbage, peas, carrot)
1 onion
2 tsps sambar powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil
salt
coriander leaves

Heat oil. Fry onions. Add vegetables and cook till done. Can add a little water if necessary. Add sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Add the cooked rice and mix all ingredients together. Garnish with corinader leaves.
( Can add roasted peanuts also to the rice)

Curry leaves kuzhambu

We hardly get any curry leaves in the area we live in. I never gave these aromatic leaves its proper due and I am being punished for it now.....
I am visiting my parents and curry leaves are in abundance at their place. I add a sprig to every dish mom makes, even if it does not require it! Today, mom made curry leaves kuzhambu. It was delicious and I could not stop eating it.

Curry leaves kuzhambu

For the paste - 2 red chillies, 1 tsp whole black pepper, 1 tsp hing, 2 tsp urad dal, 1 1/2 tsp raw rice, 30 curry leaves (approx. 5 sprigs), 1 1/2 tsp tamarind
For tempering - 2 tbsp gingely oil, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

Roast dry all the ingredients for the paste except tamarind and curry leaves. Add curry leaves & tamarind and turn off gas immediately. Grind to a fine paste. Add very little water.
Dissolve the ground paste in 2 cups water. Add salt. Keep aside.
Heat oil. Add the ingredients for tempering. When the mustard seeds splutter, add dissolved paste and simmer till the kuzhambu thickens.

Ridge gourd masiyal

I love ridge gourd but k does not like it. So I do not get to eat it that often. Whenever I go to my parent's place, I ask my mom to make ridge gourd for me. One of my favorite dishes with ridge gourd is the masiyal. My MIL introduced me to this dish. It is easy to make and very tasty.

Ridge gourd masiyal (serves 4)

4 medium- size ridge gourd, peeled & diced
urad dal, 2 tsp
hing, 1/4 tsp
salt
oil
curry leaves, 1 sprig

Heat oil in a kadai. Add urad dal. When it turns brown, add curry leaves and hing.
Add ridge gourd and salt and cook for 6-8 minutes.

Chutneys

Cabbage chutney

Cabbage ¼ kg, chopped
Oil 4 Tbsp
Tamarind juice ½ cup
Onions 2 big
Fenugreek seeds 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida
Turmeric powder
Garlic
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves

Heat oil. Add chopped cabbage and stir every 2-3 minutes.
After it gets softened keep aside.
Fry all the spices.
Grind spices first, and then add cabbage and tamarind juice. Add salt.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

I have about 10-15 recipes for tomato chutney alone. Amazing how many chutneys one can make with tomato and how different each tastes. Made the instant tomato chutney yesterday after a long time. This chutney goes very well with dosai.

Instant tomato chutney

3 big tomatoes
2 red chillies
1 tsp methi seeds
1 tsp tamarind paste
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp Oil
Mustard seeds
Hing
Salt

Roast chilli, methi seeds and garlic in oil.
Steam tomatoes and remove skin.
Add all ingredients together and blend in mixer for about ½ minute.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai.
Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add hing and the blended tomato mix.
Mix over low fire for 15 minutes, till it thickens and the oil rises to top.




















Tomato chutney

½ kg tomatoes
200 gms sugar
50 gms onion
Ginger
Garlic
Mustard seeds
Red chilli powder
Garam masala powder
Oil
Salt

Grind the onions, ginger & garlic.
Wash & boil tomatoes. Peel & chop them.
Heat oil in a pan & put mustard seeds in it.
When they splutter, put the onion paste and let it fry, stirring all the time.
Now add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
Add sugar, chilli powder, garam masala and salt.
Remove from fire and allow to cool.
Add acetic acid to preserve for a few days.