Sweet and savory vegetable cutlets

On one chilly evening, when I cannot feel my feet I stepped into my kitchen opened my refrigerator and wondered what can I do with my beets :)

I gathered few ingredients, pressure cooked some veggies that were readily available and viola!! Yummy sweet and savory cutlets are ready!!

So here goes the recipe, I used the vegetables I had that day.  I boiled potatoes, beet n carrots in a pressure cooker. You can also use cauliflower, green peas, green beans, soya chunks raw plaintain and such vegetables. Add your favorite spices and flavors and make a Patti shapes and just shallow fry..that's it!! 

Sounds easy !! Check out the recipe in detail

Source: My Signature recipe
Prep time: 12 mins
Cooking time: 10-12 mins
Serves:  6 servings

Ingredients
3 potatoes, boiled
2 carrots, boiled
1 small beetroot, boiled
1/4 C corn, boiled

2 bread slices, roughly torn
1/2 t ginger garlic paste
2T chopped cilantro
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne powder, mirchi powder
1/4 t turmeric powder, haldi
1/4 t garam masala
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying
Wide sauce pan or tawa for frying the cutlets
1/4 C rava (semolina) for coating the cutlets

Method

• Boil all the vegetables in pressure cooker by adding little water and salt. Cook till 2 whistles.
• Cool the boiled veggies and mash them together.
• Add all the ingredients as listed till salt.  Make Patti shaped or finger shaped and keep it aside.
• Meanwhile take a wide frying pan/skillet and heat oil so that it covers the entire surface of the pan, if you are using nonstick skillet use less oil.
• Now take rava(semolina) in a plate and coat the prepared Patti's and transfer it to skillet for frying. Shallow fry(tawa fry) on medium heat.
• It takes about 3-4 mins each side and place it on paper towel to soak the excess oil if any.
• Serve hot with ketchup/hot sauce or just snack it.

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The Famous Indian treat ~ Pav Bhaji

This is one of my favorite fast food, love eating on the streets of Mumbai, opposite to VT (now CST) Railway Station during my teenage days. I do even now when we go out for shopping. The flavor, the aroma fills the air around when we walk by any Pav Bhaji stall and surely makes your tummy start grumbling and urging you to munch on! any Indian blog without this recipe is like incomplete. Pav Bhaji was more popular in Northern India, esp Gujarat and Maharashtra and its metropolitan cities. Souther India did not have much hang of it until the last two decades. I remember I once ordered it at some 3 star restaurant in Vizag and it was so aweful! But now things have changed with people moving to all different places they are bringing the food from where they traveled and thus Pav bhaji is southern favorite too!

This is a very scrumptious meal, as it has the bread (carbs), the veggies and butter. All in all a healthy meal and kids wont complain if you cook this daily. To make bhaji, potatoes are mashed on a flat pan called a tava, and made into a thick gravy after adding diced tomatoes, finely grilled onions, green peas, capsicums (green pepper) and other vegetables like cauliflower and carrots. A special blend of spices simply called the pav bhaji masala similar to garam masala is added to this thick gravy. The gravy is then allowed to simmer on the pan for a few minutes and is served hot in a flat dish with a tablespoon of butter on top.

The pav (bread) is roasted on the same pan with an ample amount of butter and a masala (usually chilli powder and salt). The Bhaji is garnished with diced onions and a slice of lemon and served with the pav. We used to make it especially on new Year's eve party along with our neighbours in Kalyan. I know this is frequently made in India and Indians around the world by and no one needs a recipe for this... but still I am blogging about this fabulous meal for my satisfaction and the urge to share this with the world. So if you think this is just another recipe! not my problem!!!

Pav Bhaji

Source: My Own
Prep time:20 mins
Cooking time:20 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 C of boiled potatoes, mashed
½ C cauliflower heads, small
1 C tomatoes, chopped
½ C red onions, chopped finely
½ C green pepper, chopped medium ( I used long green chillies, instead)
½ C green peas, fresh or frozen
2 t Pav Bhaji Masala ( I used Everest brand)
1 tsp paprika powder
6 Bombay Pav or Bread rolls
salt as per taste
oil or butter for cooking
for garnish
1 T cilantro, chopped
¼ C red onions, finely chopped
Lime quarters and Papad

Method

• Boil and mash 4 big potatoes, chop all the veggies and keep aside.
  
• Heat 2tablespoons of oil in a wide saute preferably non-stick one, add chopped onions, pinch of salt and let it fry for 3 mins or till they turn soft and pink. Then add tomatoes, green chillies and fry till the tomatoes are mushy mushy or turning into gravy.
  
• Add the rest of the veggies, cauliflower florets, green peas, green peppers etc(you can use carrots too!) Mix well add 1 cup water and let the cauliflower cook. Cover with a lid and let the Bhaji cook for 10 mins approx on medium high flame.
  
• By now allthe veggies must have cooked well and will turn into gravy like consistency. Quickly add the Pav bhaji masala, paprika powder and salt and mix well till the powders blend into the veggies. If the Bhaji is too dry add little more water and mix well.
• Lastly add 1 tablespoon butter to make it creamy. Meanwhile cut the Pav (bread rolls) into halves and roast it on a pan/griddle with little butter.
• Serve the Bhaji hot, garnish with chopped onions, cilantro and a dash of butter. Serve with fresh butter roasted Pavs and lime quaters.
• Enjoy the celebrations or whatever thats special to you with this sumptuous wholesome meal.

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Bhindi Do pyaza

Another name for "Bhindi" is Okra... and "Do pyaza" denotes presence of double the quantity of onions than that found in any other style of preparation. I love this side dish with rotis and rice, actually goes well with both. When I have fresh Bhindi handy then definitely make this one to go with phulkas. But my version is little unusual, as I am not adding yoghurt(curd) into this recipe, instead I added roasted peanuts, and the verdict!

This is a simple stir fry of Okra and onions with some spices. First and foremost you will need a non stick pan or kadai for cooking this dish and here goes the recipe.

Source: My own
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep time:15 mins
Cooking time: 30-40 mins
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
1 pound (½ kg) fresh Bhindi/okra, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large red onions (almost 2 cups) sliced
1 medium tomato, chopped (yields ½ C)
1 clove of garlic, crusher
1 t chilli powder/paprika
½ t turmeric (haldi)
½ t crushed jeera
handful of roasted peanuts
roughly chopped cilantro
2 T cooking oil
1 t mustard seeds(rai)
1 t cumin
4-5 fresh curry leaves (kadipata)
Salt as per taste
Method:

• First and foremost clean the Bhindi with water, place it on a kitchen towel to drain the excess water and wipe it dry with paper towel.
• Cut the bhindis into one-inch pieces.
  
• Heat ½ teaspoon of oil in a non stick frying pan or kadai and fry bhindis till they are half cooked, about 15 mins. In the end add some salt , turmeric and saute for another minute. Remove from the pan.
• To the same pan add the remaining oil. Heat and add mustard seeds, cumin. When the mustard splatters, add curry leaves and fry it for 10 secs or so.
  
• Then add the sliced onions and little bit of salt to sweat them. Fry onions till they are pink and translucent in color. Now its time to add crushed garlic and tomatoes. Fry till the tomatoes are cooked, for about 8 minutes on medium flame
  
• Then add fried bhindis, chilli powder, crushed cumin. Let all the ingredients mix well and cook in those flavors for about 10-15 mins.
• Lastly add roasted peanuts and chopped cilantro/kothmir leaves. Saute for another 2 mins, check salt and take off the heat.
• Serve hot with rice and dal or rotis and phulkas.

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Udipi Sambhar and Green Beans Gojju

Karnataka Cuisine has always fascinated me because of its rich and healthy ingredients. I had kannadigas and mangaloreans as my neighbours and tasted much of their food as a kid and grown up too. But not older enough to note down their recipes ^_^ I loved their jonna-rottis (jowar rotis/bread), uppit, kosumbari's, thalipit, chutney powders, etc...so on and so forth, half of them I cannot even recollect their names but truly enjoyed eating them.

Nevertheless I didn't have any hands on experience cooking Karnataka cuisine so internet and google were at my rescue. I wanted some good, authentic and common recipes which are also famous in every house from this state and delicious too. Finally after a week long of research I ended up cooking the famous Udipi Sambhar from here and Green Beans Gojju from here. Also you can find my first post when I started this blog was Akki Roti, if you want to see the detailed recipe, click here. I hope you all will enjoy the celebration of this great state Karnataka and its cuisine.


Udipi Sambhar

Click here to see Green Beans Gojju





Source: Adapted from Pachakam
Cuisine: South Indian, Karnataka
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Makes: 5-6 people
Ingredients:
1 cup Red gram dal/toovar dal/kandi pappu
2 cups mixed vegetables of your choice (Drumsticks/Eggplant/Yellow pumpkin, etc diced or cubed)
6-8 whole shallots/madras sambhar onions, peeled
1 plum tomato, cut into large chunks
3-4 green chillies, cut lengthwise-slit
2 tsps tamarind pulp (I used the readymade one here)
1 sprig of curry leaves (optional)
2 tsps of cilantro/coriander chopped
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
1 tbsp jaggery, grated
salt as per taste
for poppu/tadaka:
½ tsp mustard seeds
2-3 dry red chillies/endumirapakayalu ¼ tsp asafoetida
2 tsps cooking oil
Dry roast and grind to fine paste:
2 tsps of black gram dal/minapappu/urad dal
2 tsps of cumin seeds/jeera
3 tsps of coriander seeds
½ tsp of fenugreek seeds/methi
4 dry red chillies/endumirapakayalu
¾ cup fresh or frozen (thawed) grated coconut
water as required to make smooth paste
Method:

1. Cook the dal with a pinch of turmeric and a tsp of oil in a cooker upto 3-4 whistles, mash it and while its still hot/warm and keep as side.
2. Meanwhile heat oil in a deep heavy bottom pan to make the sambhar.
3. Add asafoetida followed by shallots/madras sambhar onions, green chillies and half of the curry leaves off the sprig, and sauté until the onions become transparent and start to leave the juices.
4. Add the vegetables of your choice, tomato pieces and turmeric powder, if not adding any vegetables then add more shallots/madras sambhar onions.
   
5. Cook covered until the vegetables are cooked with enough water to cover the veggies, take care to retain their shape/texture.
6. Once thoroughly cooked add the tamarind pulp and cook covered until the raw smell of the tamarind goes off, approx 5 mins.
7. Add the ground paste, jaggery and salt to taste. Sambhar should not be too thick nor too watery, so add more water if necessary. You will notice that your kitchen is filled with nice aroma of this sambhar.
   
8. Once the mixture comes to a boil add the cooked dal, mix well and check for salt.
9. When the sambhar just begins to boil, switch off the stove. Make sure you don’t boil the sambhar after adding the dal coz the dal will lose its soft texture.

For tempering/poppu/tadka:

• Heat a tsp of oil in a small kadai, add the mustard seeds, when it starts to splutter add the dry red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. fry for a min and pour over the sambhar.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with idlis, dosas, or plain rice.

Note: You may also make this sambhar powder/paste in large quantity without the coconut and store in air-tight container for future use. Just dry roast coconut and grind along with a couple of spoons of this sambar powder whenever needed.

Udipi sambhar with green beans gojju

Green Beans Gojju

Click here to see Udipi Sambhar

Source: Adapted from Payaswini's
Cuisine: South Indian, Karnataka
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Makes: 4-5 people
Ingredients: 1/2 kg or 1 pound green beans, chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 long spring curry leaves (optional)
1-2 tsp tamarind juice (I used 1/2 tsp of store bought tamarind pulp)
1 tsp jaggery, grated
1 tbs oil Salt as per taste
Dry roast and grind to fine paste:
1/2 cup grated, coconut(fresh or frozen)
4 green chillies
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp coriander leaves/cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tbsp bengal gram dal/chana dal
1 tsp sesame seeds/til
Method:

1. In a pan, dry roast the cumin/jeera, bengal gram dal/chana dal, sesame seeds/til until light brown. Grind in the mixie with coconut, green chillies, asafoetida, coriander and little water to a fine paste.
2. Heat oil in a suce pan, add mustard seeds, let it splutter then add chopped beans, turmeric powder and curry leaves.
3. Add water and bring it to boil of cook till the beans turn soft.
4. Then add the grinded paste, tamarind juicer/pulp jaggery and salt.
5. Cook for another 10-15 minutes till the gojju thickens.
6. Serve hot with chapatis, rotis/Indian flat bread or plain rice.
   

Green beans gojju with rice

Food Event: This straight away goes to Asha of Foodie's Hope, Asha is hosting this month's RCI-Karnataka. RCI-Regional Cuisines of India is celebration of various cuisine across India. Each month we get an opportunity to learn, explore and experiment food from different states of India. Of course the thought process was started by Lakshmi K of Veggie Cuisine.Asha dear I am sending here with two entries on RCI, Udipi Sambhar and Green Beans Gojju your way.

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Jeera Aloo -- Crushed Cumin with red skinned Potatoes

Its time to treat the king of spices *CUMIN*. Although the small cumin seed looks rather unassuming, its nutty peppery flavor packs a punch when it comes to adding a nutty and peppery flavor to chili and other Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes as well playing an important role in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine where it is a key component of curry powder. Both whole and ground cumin are available year-round.

Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds, being oblong in shape, longitudinally ridged, and yellow-brown in color. This is not surprising as both cumin and caraway, as well as parsley and dill, belong to the same plant family (Umbelliferae).

Health Benefits : It is probably not just for taste alone that cumin has made it into the stellar ranks of Indian, Middle Eastern and Mexican cooking. This ordinary looking seed is anything but ordinary when it comes to health benefits. It is a very good source of Iron for Energy and Immune Function, cumin seeds benefit the digestive system and also helps in cancer v and stomach and liver tumors. How many of us remember when we have some vomiting sensation or nausea, chew raw cumin seeds to soothe, at least I used to have them like this. More interesting info about Cumin can be found on WHFoods site and on Wikipedia too.

When Sunita of Sunita's world announced the event for Think Spice....think Cumin this Jeera Aloo sounded a perfect entry. I came across this recipe on Khana Khazana by Sanjeev Kapoor a great chef/cook and a lovely host. If you remember the Mother's Day episode, his mother was invited and this was here signature dish. Since then I had been cooking and enjoying this dish. Very quick and simple one to make and happily goes well with rice, biryani, pulao, rotis/Indian flat bread or simply a side dish instead of Mashed Potatoes, why not?

Jeera Aloo - Crushed Cumin with Potatoes

Jeera Aloo

Source: adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana
Cuisine: Punjabi, India
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Makes: 4-5 people
Ingredients:
6 red skinned medium size potatoes, boiled and chopped into 3/4 th inch cubes
1 tsp of cumin seeds/jeera
2 tbsp of cumin seeds/jeera, roasted and crushed coarsely
1 tbsp of coriander seeds/dhaniya, roasted and crushed coarsely
1 tbsp of raw mango powder/amchur
1 tbsp of ground cumin powder/jeera powder
1 tsp of chilli powder/cayenne pepper/mirchi powder
½ tsp of turmeric powder/haldi
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
few curry leaves
salt as per taste
2-3 tbsp of oil
mint /cilantro leaves for garnishing
Method:

1. Pressure cook the potatoes, upto 3 whistles be careful not to over cook them, else they will turn mushy-mushy. Cut them into 3/4th inch cubes and keep aside.
2. Take a deep bottom sauce pan/bartan (hindi word). Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil on a medium flame, yes I am right you have to at least take 2 tablespoons of oil and you will know why we require that much amount, common its better than using 1 slab of butter..hehe!
3. To this add the cumin seeds, let them fry for few seconds, then add the curry leaves, coarsely crushed cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fry for a min- remember do not reduce the heat/flame. You must be seeing foam like thing in your pan don't worry thats nothing but the spices are frying grandly.
4. Now add the cumin powder, raw mango powder/amchur, chilli and turmeric powder and lastly salt.
5. Keep on stirring for a min check the hot and salt levels in the mixture and then add the cubed potatoes, mix well so that all the potato pieces are thoroughly coated with the spice mixture.
6. Garnish with mint/cilantro/coriander leaves and serve hot with rice, rice, biryani, pulao, rotis/Indian flat bread.

Crushed Cumin with red skinned Potatoes

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