Arbi Lajawab

ngredients

250 gms boiled and chopped colocassia (arbi)
1/4 cup curds (dahi)
3/4 tbsp besan (bengal gram flour)
1/2 tbsp ghee
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 tsp ginger-garlic (adrak-lehsun) paste
1/4 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
a few curry leaves (kadi patta)
chilli powder to taste
salt to taste

Method

1. Combine the curds and besan and mix well to make a smooth paste.
2. Add 2 cups of water, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well. Keep aside.
3. Heat ghee in a kadai, add curry leaves and mustard seeds.
4. When the seeds crackle, add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute till the onions turn translucent.
5. Add the arbi pieces and saute for five minutes, till they turn golden brown in colour.
6. Add the curd-gram flour mixture, mix well and simmer till the ghee floats on top and the gravy is thick.
7. Remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapatis, or rice.

Potato and Drumsticks in a Thick Khus Khus Gravy

Serves 4


Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, cubed
1 drumstick, cut into 3" long pieces
1 onion, chopped 
1 large tomato , chopped
5 tbsp khus khus / poppy seeds (soaked in water for 15 mins)
2-3 green chillies
2-3 flakes of garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste) 
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
A pinch of turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing

How I Made It:

1. Grind the soaked khus khus with jeera, coriander, and garlic into a smooth paste. Add water as necessary, the poppy seeds will thicken the mixture. 

2. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds (optional). When they pop (if using) add onions and green chillies and fry until lightly browned. Then add the drumsticks and potato cubes. Add in 2 cups water and mix well. 

3. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the ground khus khus paste, chilli powder, turmeric, and some salt. Mix well. 

4. Throw in the tomatoes and mix. 

The mixture should still be a bit watery for the vegetables to full cook. If it's not, add some more water. Cook covered until the potatoes are soft and the drumsticks are cooked through. Adjust salt. 

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice, roti, nan, or even crusty bread. 

North Indian Beetroot Curry

Green gram(Cheruparippu) - 1/2 cup
Beetroot - 3 nos
(cut into small pieces)
Onion(big) - 1 no
(cut into small pieces)
Tomato - 1 no
(cut into small pieces)
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garlic pods - 4 - 5 nos
Green chillies - 3 - 4 nos
Cumin seeds(Jeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
Rice - 1 tsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp
Salt - As reqd
Coriander leaves for garnishing


Method

1) Heat ghee in a pan or a kadai. 2)Splutter cumin seeds. 3)Add onions and saute, till they turn brown. 4)Add garlic and saute followed by tomatoes and beetroot. 5)Grind together chillies, pepper, rice and some cumin seeds in the mixer grinder. 6)Add the above mixture to the sauteed vegetables. 7)Add sugar. 8)Add salt and cook for 10 - 15 mins or till the beetroot is cooked. 9)Pressure cook dal upto 3 whistles. 10)Add the cooked dal to the cooked vegetables and cook for another 5 mins on a low flame. 11)Transfer the contents to a serving dish. 12)Add lime juice to Beetroot Curry. 13)Garnish Beetroot Curry with coriander leaves. :- Serve Beetroot Curry with rice or rotis.

Methi Thepla

Ingredients:

1 cup Wheat Flour
2 crushed Green Chillies
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Haldi (turmeric)
1 tbsp Ginger & Garlic paste
1 tsp Ajwain 1 pinch Hing
1/2 bunch Methi Leaves
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds powder
Salt to taste
Oil as needed

How to make thepla :

• Put wheat flour in a flat vessel bowl.
• Mix all the ingredients int it including the methi leaves.
• Add 1 tsp oil and knead it. Let it stay for 15 minutes.
• Then make even size small balls of the dough.
• Roll them separately with a rolling pin into a round shape.
• Heat the griddle and roast each of the rolled out theplas one by one.
• First roast one side,turn it upside down.
• Then put 1/2 tsp oil on the turned side and again it upside down.
• Repeat the same with the other side.
• When evenly roasted remove it from griddle.
• Repeat this for all the balls.
• Serve them hot with butter or chutney or curd.

Cauliflower Hummus

Ingredients :

1 small head of cauliflower, chop into big pieces

1 or 2 cloves garlic peeled

15 oz or so chickpeas cooked

1 and 1/2 Tbsp tahini

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1/4 cup parsley

2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp paprika

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1/8 or so water from cooked chickpeas ( or just plain water)

Method:

Boil cauliflower in water for 15 min or until soft

Drain and add with the rest of ingredients to food processor

Puree until smooth

Served chilled with sliced veggies or a healthy cracker of your choice

Black Sesame Porridge : Korean

Ingredients


-180 g (1 cup) non-glutinous rice200 g (1 cup) water 
- 95 g (1 cup) black sesame seeds 400 g (2 cups) water
- 900 g (4½ cups) water
- 6 g (1½ tsp) salt

Preparation

1. Wash the rice and soak in water for 2 hours, drain water on a strainer for 10      min (220 g). 2. Wash the black sesame and drain water on a strainer for 10 min.

Recipe

1. Preheat the frying pan and stir-fry sesame seeds for 40 min. on low heat (90 g). 2. Grind sesame seeds with water in a mixer for 3 min. sieve finely (400 g). 3. Put the rice and water in the mixer, grind it for 2 min. and sieve finely (420 g). 4. Put the ground rice and water in the pot, boil it on high heat for 5 min. with stirring not to be lumped. 5. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium, cover the lid on to be steamed. Boil it for 20 min. with stirring occasionally, add ground black sesame, boil it for 5 min. more. 6. When the porridge is well-done, season with salt. Bring it to a boil once more.

Panchvati Garlic Dal

Ingredients
I used 5 kinds of lentils in the recipe, but you can omit any of them depending on your taste and/or availability of the lentils.

1 cup toor dal (Pigeon-peas or Split Red Gram, yellow colored)
1 cup moong dal (Green Gram or mung Bean, split, without skin, yellow colored)
1/2 cup chana dal (Split, skinless black chickpeas, yellow)
1/2 cup urad dal (Black gram, split and skinless, whitish in color)
1/2 cup masoor dal (Red lentils, Split and skinless, pinkish-red in color)
6-8 cloves of garlic
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup cilantro - chopped, and some more for garnish
1/2 onion - finely chopped
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
3 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp garam masala powder (indian grocery stores should have it)
salt - to taste
lemon juice - to taste
2 tsp black pepper powder
2 green chillies - cut finely

Method
Mix all the dals and pressure cook them with 6 cups of water in a pressure cooker until 5-6 whistles. We want all of them to be thoroughly cooked. Once that is done, remove in a bowl and blend them well in a grinder, spinning for about a minute or so, ensuring that all dal/lentils are broken down and a smooth puree is formed.

Take the chopped coriander and grind it with 1 tsp salt and 2 tbsp water to form a smooth paste.

Now take a pan, add the ghee to it, add the cumin seeds, green chillies and garlic, and saute for a couple of minutes. 


Then add the finely chopped onions and saute again till they turn brownish and glossy.

Next add the garam masala powder, turmeric powder, black pepper and the cilantro paste. 


Now add the lentils and fill up with sufficient water to achieve desired consistency. Mix everything well, then add salt and lemon juice according to your taste, and let it cook covered, for about 10 mins or so. Stir in between to make sure it does not stick to the base of the pan. When it becomes thick and starts boiling, remove from flame.

Transfer the dal or soup to a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped coriander and some more fresh black pepper if desired, and serve hot with Jeera Rice!