Vegetable Korma

These days I seem to be making lot of dishes from one hot stove. I like this site a lot. Recipes are simple, measurements exact, and everything comes out well. Also, I love reading Nupur's posts. I liked this vegetable korma because it does not have coconut or cream in it (I usually do not have these ingredients at home). You do need to add cashews and poppy seeds for the richness though. I had all the ingredients at home except poppy seeds and paneer so I made the korma without these two ingredients. Still tasted good.

Vegetable Korma
(adapted from one hot stove)

1 large onion, cut into cubes
2 tomatoes cut into cubes
1 pepper, 1 carrot, 1 potato, cut into cubes
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup tomato puree
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
oil
1/4 cup cashews
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tsp garam masala ( I used store bought garam masala)

Roast the cashews and 1 tbsp poppy seeds (if using) until lighlty brown. Grind to a paste. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions until it starts to brown. Add the green pepper and fry for 2 minutes. Now add the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt. Stir for couple of minutes. Add all the vegetables, tomato, tomato puree, and cashew paste. I wanted lot of gravy, so I added more than 2 cups of water. Simmer on low heat until vegetables are cooked, about 15 minutes. Add dried fenugreek leaves and garam masala, give it one stir and turn off the heat.

Mixed vegetable curry (Chow Chow)

Made this recipe called Chow Chow from one hot stove. Just a medley of veggies with mustard masala paste. Was yummylicious!!! Here's the link http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2010/03/singing-chefs-in-my-kitchen.html

Beetroot Curry

Ma had this beetroot curry at some restaurant. She liked it a lot and tried to make it the same way at home. 

Beetroot Curry

 
4 beetroots, peeled, cut into small pieces and boiled (add salt when boiling)
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustrad seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 tsps coconut
1 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed coarsely (use rolling pin to crush)
oil
salt

Heat oil and add mustard seeds and urad dal. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and coconut and fry for 1-2 minutes on medium flame. Add betroot and stir fry for couple of minutes. Add peanuts and mix well. Serve hot with rice.

Mysore Rasam

Ma made jeera rasam and mysore rasam specially for K when he was sick. I got to taste the mysore rasam and it was yummy!

Mysore Rasam

 

2 tbsps toor dal, pressure cooked

lime size tamarind

turmeric powder pinch

salt

1 tbsp coconut

1 tsp bengal gram dal

1/2 cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp whole black pepper

1-2 red chilies

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

ghee

Dry roast bengal gram dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and pepper. When bengal gram dal is slightly brown, add coconut and fry till coconut is lightly roasted. Cool and grind to a coarse powder. Meanwhile, heat oil in a kadai, burst mustard seeds. Add curry leaves. Add 2 cups tamarind water, turmeric water, salt and let it come to a boil. Add powder and simmer for about 10 minutes. Now add the boiled toor dal and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve hot with rice.

Baingan Achaari

Another recipe from Nita Mehta's zero oil cookbook.

Baingan Achaari

7 eggplants (I used the long, thin purple eggplant)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 sprigs curry leaves
5 ripe tomatoes, chopped finely
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
salt, to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala

Tempering
pinch of hing
1 tsp fennel
1/2 tsp onion seeds (kalonji)
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds

Cut eggplant into half lengthwise and then cut each piece diagonally into two pieces. Sprinkle salt and keep aside for 15 minutes. Wash.
Heat a pan. Add all the tempering ingredients and stir till fenugreek seeds turns brown. Add ginger garlic paste. Stir for a second. Add curry leaves and the chopped tomatoes. Fry till tomatoes are almost dry. Add all the powders and salt. Mix well and then add the eggplants. Cook covered for 15 minutes on medium flame till soft. Serve hot.

Coconut chutney

I made coconut chutney for lunch for K and everyone at his work loved it. He took it with idlis. When I make idlis it always comes out hard. I have tried everything - adding fenugreek seeds, poha, boiled rice but nothing works. Each time, I  gave some excuse or the other - too cold so batter is not fermenting well or boiled rice is not good etc. but I would never admit that I just cannot make soft idlis. K asked me to give up trying but D loves mini idlis so I keep making idlis hoping each time that "this time" the idlis will be perfect. Have not been successful so far. This time I asked Ma to make the batter (secretly hoping that the idlis will turn out hard so my excuses are valid) but what do you know, the idlis came out soft and fluffy! Hmmm, maybe K is right.....

Coconut chutney

1 cup coconut gratings
1-2 green chilis (depending on how spicy you want it)
1" piece ginger
3 tbsps curd
1 sprig curry leaves
mustard seeds
oil
salt, to taste

Grind the coconut, ginger and green chilis with little water to a smooth paste. Empty into a bowl, add curd and salt and mix well. In a small kadai, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add curry leaves. Add this to the chutney.