Indian Cooking Challenge - Kashmiri Dum Aloo

I was almost ready to give this ICC Challenge a miss as I could not find baby potatoes in any nearby store. I think the use of baby potatoes makes this dish extra special and authentic. Fortunately, I found these at Trader Joes today and made this traditional Kashmiri dish this evening. It turned out pretty well. I made a few changes to the original recipe which I have noted below.

Ingredients -
For the Marinade -
12 -13 baby potatoes / even small potatoes
3- 4 nos Kashmiri red chiles - roasted and powdered (I used - 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder)
2 1/2 cups Fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)
1 tsp Ginger powder (I used - 1 tsp minced ginger)
1 tbsp Fennel/aniseed powder
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

For the Masala -
4 tbsps Mustard oil (I used - regular Canola oil)
6 cloves roasted and powdered
A pinch of asafoetida
Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil to deep fry potatoes
1 tsp Cumin seeds, roasted gently and ground into a powder
1 tsp Garam masala
Salt to taste
A cup of firm dough made from flour and water

Method -
1. Wash the potatoes well and poke all over with a fork. Then soak in water for 20 minutes. You can mix a tsp of salt to the water you are going soak the potatoes.
2. Heat a pan with oil for deep frying, Then reduce to medium flame and roast all the potatoes till golden in colour. Drain on a kitchen towel and keep aside
3. In a bowl, add yogurt, chili powder, ginger, cardamom and fennel powders and mix well into a paste. Then add the potatoes to this paste and keep it aside.
4. Heat the mustard/ regular canola oil in another pan, add the clove powder and asafetida and mix well.
5. Then add a half cup of hot water and salt to taste and bring to a boil.
6. To this mix, add in the potato-yoghurt mix, stir thoroughly and cover.
7. To do the dum, seal the edges of the pan's cover with the dough to ensure no steam can escape. Put on the stove, cook on a low flame for 10-15 minutes.
8. Turn off the flame, remove the cover and add the cumin powder and garam masala powder, and cover again quickly. Leave for 5 minutes.

Kansacha Rassa/ Corn Curry

I have been cooking a lot these days, however I just don’t have enough time to keep updating my blog as frequently as I would like to. Sometimes I cook dishes for a particular event and don’t get around to posting it before the deadline :-(. Hopefully, I'll be able to manage work, home, baby and blog more efficiently in the future.

Anyways, few weeks back, I was browsing through my recipe folder when I came across this traditional maharashtrian recipe of corn curry. I immediately decided to make this as D absolutely loves corn and I had some fresh whole corn in the refrigerator that had to be used up. The dish turned out really good …tasted like some delicious chicken/ mutton curry sans the meat.

Ingredients -
3 corn on the cobs
1 large red onion (@ 1cup roughly chopped red onions)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup fresh grated coconut
2 whole dried kashmiri red chillies
2-3 cloves garlic
2 inch piece ginger
1/2 cup chopped cilantro + more for garnishing
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsps oil
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander- cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method -
1. Clean the corn by peeling off the husk and chop them into 3 inch pieces.
2. Add some salt and cook the corn in the pressure cooker.
3. Blend together fresh grated coconut, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro and dried red chillies into a paste.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add hing/ asafoetida,red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
5. Now add the masala paste and fry it till oil separates.
6. Add coriander- cumin powder, garam masala, salt and sugar. Mix well.
7. Add the pressure cooked corn pieces and some water and cook for sometime.
8. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

I'm sending this to TorView's Veggie/ Fruit A Month - Corn event originally started by Priya Mitharwal.

Bharlelya Kandyachi Bhaji/ Stuffed Onion Curry

'Bharlelya Kandyachi Bhaji' is a traditional Maharashtrian dish in which small white onions are stuffed with a sweet and spicy coconut masala. The onions truly shine like a star on their own in this dish with coconut and the goda masala (Mahrashtrian garam masala) being the key ingredients. This extremely flavorful curry goes very well with bhakris, chapatis or even plain dal- rice. This masala can also be used to stuff other veggies such as baby eggplants, potatoes, okras or ivy gourds.

Ingredients -
4 small white onions
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
2 tbsps goda masala/ garam masala
1 tbsp grated jaggery
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Method -
1. Peel the onions and make one vertical and one horizontal slit in the onions taking care not to go all the way through as shown in the picture below.
2. In a bowl, take grated coconut, chopped cilantro, goda/ garam masala, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, jaggery and mix well.
3. Stuff the coconut masala very gently into the onions without breaking them. Save the remaining masala for the gravy.
4. Heat some oil in a pan and add mustard seeds
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add hing/ asafoetida and turmeric.
6. Add the stuffed onions and mix gently. Cover the pan and cook the onions for 7-10 mins turning them occasionally.
7. Add about 3/4 cup of water and remaining masala. Cover and cook for sometime till onions are cooked well.

This goes to Healing Foods -Onions event hosted by Priya for the month of June and started by Siri of Siri's Corner. I'm also sending this to Think Spice - Think Garam Masala event hosted by Sara's Corner for the month of June and started by Sunita of Sunita's World.

Malai Methi Mutter

This is probably the most exotic way of using methi/ fenugreek leaves. The bold flavor of the methi leaves, sweetness from the green peas and the creamy richness of the sauce makes this a truly delightful dish. This is our all time favorite dish and it goes really well with naan or tandoori roti.

Ingredients -
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups finely chopped methi/ fenugreek leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 tsp ginger- garlic paste
3 tsp green chilli paste/ to taste
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt to taste

Method -
1. Heat the oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds.
2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the ginger- garlic paste and fry for sometime.
3. Add green chilli paste and turmeric powder.
4. Add the chopped onions and cook them for sometime until they turn translucent. Add fenugreek leaves and peas and mix well.
5. Then add salt and garam masala powder and mix well.
5. Add the yogurt and cook the gravy for 2-3 minutes by covering the kadhai.
6. Now add the milk, mix well and cook for some more time.
7. Mix in the heavy cream and turn off the stove.

Note - If fresh peas are used, cook them separately before adding to the gravy.

The green from the methi leaves and peas makes this a perfect candidate for Preeti Kashyap's Green Gourmet event. I am also sending this to Susan's 'My Legume Love Affair (MLLA)' event.

Panchamrut

When you think of a traditional Maharashtrian wedding, the picture of a priest chanting the mangalashtak 'Shubh Mangal Sawadhan' immediately comes to mind. A Maharashtrian wedding is a pretty elaborate affair with several customs and traditions starting with the engagement ceremony called 'Sakharpuda' and followed by Kelvan, Haldi, Seemant Puja, Gowrihar Puja, Mangalashtakas, Kanyadan, Saptapadi, Lakshmi Poojan and Griha Pravesh.

At the end of the wedding ceremonies, is the traditional lunch which is attended by all the family members, relatives and friends of the bride and the groom. Traditionally the food is served on freshly washed banana leaves and the guests are seated on wooden planks called 'paat'. The meal is satvik vegetarian without the use of onion and garlic. The food is laid out in a particular order on the banana leaf and each item has a predefined place. A typical maharashtrian wedding thali includes koshimbeer (raita), chutney, varan bhaat toop limbo (dal, rice, ghee and lemon), masale bhaat, panchamrut, aluche phatphate (colocassia leaves), bharli vaangi (stuffed baby eggplants) or batatyachi bhaji (potato bhaji), jalebi or shrikhand- puri or basundi for dessert  followed by the traditional 'vidyache pan' for mukhwas.

Of all the dishes above the one that I havent tried making at home is 'Panchamrut'. Panchamrut indicates the presence of 5 main ingredients in a preparation. This Panchamrut should not be mistaken for the Panchamrut (ghee, honey, sugar, yoghurt aand milk) we make during poojas that is used as teerth. The Panchamrut that I made can either be served as an accompaniment or a main course. It is a sweet, sour and spicy dish with peanuts, sesame seeds and fresh coconut being used as the main ingredients. Few years back, I inherited this Maharashtrian cookbook 'Ruchira' from my MIL. Luckly it did have a simple panchamrut recipe which I followed with some changes. This dish turned out to be lip smacking good. I served this with varan bhaat toop limbu to make a complete Maharashtrian meal.

Ingredients -

1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
3-4 green chillies chopped
2 tsp Maharashtrian goda masala/ kala masala
1/4 tsp asafoetida/ hing
1/4 cup tamarind
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 tbsp jaggery
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method -
1. Dry roast the sesame seeds and peanuts separately and crush them preferably in a mortar pestle into a coarse powder
2. Soak the tamarind into some hot water to make tamarind juice.
3. In a pan, heat some oil. Add mustard seeds
4. When the mustard seeds splutter, add chopped green chillies and asafoetida or hing
5. Add sesame seed powder, crushed peanuts, coconut and mix together.
6. Then add salt, tamarind juice, jaggery and mix well.
7. Let this cook for sometime. Serve this with varan- bhaat, toop limbo

BeNNe Dosa/ Butter Dosa

I first read about BeNNe Dosa on Shilpa's Blog. I have been a regular reader of her blog and especially love all of her mom's traditional Konkani recipes. When I read her interesting post of the crowded restaurant that served these dosas, I immediately wanted to try them out.

"BeNNe" means butter in Kannada. Apparently, this dosa is said to have originated in the Davanagere district of the state of Karnataka. It is prepared by adding liberal doses of butter (Benne) and hence the name. What makes it different than the traditional dosa is the addition of rice flour and maida in addition to rice and urad dal. The rice flour makes it very crispy on the outside and maida gives it some softness. The main ingredient "BeNNe" gives it a nice golden brown color and heavenly aroma. I made a few changes to the dosa batter by adding some methi/ fenugreek seeds and some cooked rice which I usually add for fermentation. I served these dosa's with palya or potato bhaji, coconut chutney and my mom's spicy peanut chutney. I made the potato bhaji following my usual recipe. I made some changes to the chutney. Since I didn’t have dalia on hand, I replaced it with some roasted channa dal, added some tamarind for sourness and also added some cilantro for color. This recipe is a keeper and I'm definitely going to make these dosas very often.



FOR DOSAS
Ingredients -
1 cup urad dal
2 cups dosa rice/ boiled rice (You can also use regular rice)
2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup maida
1 tbsp methi/ fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup cooked rice (optional)
1/8th tea spn baking soda
Butter
Oil
Salt

Method -
1. Soak urad dal and rice separately overnight. Also soak the methi seeds either with the urad dal/ rice.
2. Grind urad dal to a very smooth paste in your blender or wet grinder.
3. Then grind soaked rice to a smooth paste along with some cooked rice.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the rice and urad dal paste.
5. Now add rice flour, maida, water, salt to it and mix well. Do not make the batter too thin.
6. Let it ferment for few hours.
7. Add soda to it and mix well.
8. While making dosas: Heat your dosa pan/ griddle and grease it with some oil when hot.
9. Take some water in a bowl and add 1 tsp of salt to it. Sprinkle this water on the hot pan to get nice golden brown crisp dosa. Repeat the oil and salt water procedure every time you make a dosa.
10. After the water quickly dries out, pour the dosa batter on the pan with the help of your ladle and spread it in circular motion to form a dosa. Again apply some oil on and around the edges of the dosa and cook the dosa till golden brown.
11. Spread some potato bhaji/ palya and butter over the dosa and fold it.

NOTE - Depending on where you live, fermentation of the batter can take anywhere from 6 hrs to coupe of days. I usually leave the batter in my oven and it takes a day for the batter to ferment and rise well. Always let the batter ferment in a relatively large cooking pot or bowl to prevent it from overflowing the pot after fermentation (Has happened to me few times …it wasn’t really fun to clean the oven with the fermented mess :-))

POTATO BHAJI / PALYA
Ingredients -
3 medium sized boiled potatoes (chop/ lightly mash the potatoes while they are still warm)
2 medium sized onions sliced vertically
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds/ jeera
1 tsp split urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
2 dried red chillies broken into pieces
2 tbsp broken cashewnuts (optional)
3-4 green chilies slit in the middle and chopped into pieces
10-12 curry leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp hing
2 -3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter (optional)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp lime/ lemon juice
Chopped cilantro

Method -
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds
2. When the mustard seeds splutter add chana dal and let it roast for sometime. Then add urad dal.
3. When urad dal is lightly fried, add cumin seeds, dried red chillies, hing and turmeric
4. Add cashewnuts and fry till golden brown
5. Add, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies, mix well and fry for sometime
6. Add chopped onions and fry for sometime. Don’t cook the onions too much.
7. Now add salt , sugar and boiled potatoes and mix well. Mash the potatoes some more if needed.
8. Add few tbsps of water and cook the bhaji covered for sometime.
9. Then add lemon/ lime juice and butter and cook for few seconds.
10. Garnish liberally with finely chopped cilantro

COCONUT CHUTNEY -
Ingredients -
1/2 cup dalia (Since I didn’t have Dalia, I used 2 tbsp of chana dal. I roasted the chana dal in 1 tsp of oil on slow flame)
1 cup fresh or frozen coconut
1 tbsp chopped ginger
4-5 green chilies
3-4 sprigs of cilantro
Tamarind to taste
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Method -
Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Add a little water to bring it to required consistency.

Doodhi Bateta Nu Shaak - Bottle Gourd and Potato Curry

"Doodhi Bateta Nu Shaak" is a traditional vegetable curry from Gujarat. I tasted this dish for the first time a few years back when we were invited over for a pooja lunch at a friend's place. Though my friend is from the North, her MIL is a Gujarati and had prepared this simple yet delicious dish as part of the pooja naivedyam (as it is made without onions and garlic). I loved this shaak a lot and immediately requested her for the recipe. She willingly shared her recipe with me and I have been making this curry very often since then.



Ingredients -
1 medium sized doodhi/ Bottle Gourd
2 small boiled potatoes
Oil
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Pinch of hing
Red chilli powder
Turmeric
Dhana jeera powder (coriander and cumin powder)
Cilantro
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Method -
1. Peel the outer skin of the doodhi and chop it into small pieces. Boil the doodhi
pieces with some water till tender
2. Chop 1 boiled potato into small pieces
3. Mash the other potato and add some water to it to make a smooth potato paste
Heat oil in a pan.
4. Then add some mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add some cumin seeds
Add pinch of hing and little turmeric
5. Now add dhana jeera powder and red chilli powder and mix well. Turn off the
stove if needed or add few spoons of water to prevent the spices from burning.
6. Add potato pieces to the pan and mix well. Then add the boiled doodhi pieces and
also the potato paste to the pan. Add salt and sugar to taste and mix well.
7. Now cook the vegetables some more so they absorb the spices and form a delicious
thick gravy. Garnish with cilantro.
8. This shaak tastes best with hot chapattis and some yogurt.