Guthi Vankai Koora - Andhra style stuffed brinjal

It has been a while since I blogged - reasons are many - sick, travel, too many other priorities.. but none justified for long absence.. so here I am back on track to start sharing my cooking..

Today I am going to share with you a favorite Brinjal dish I learnt from my telugu friend Jyotsna. It is stuffed Brinjal with spicy mix. However I tried this out without stuffing the masala in the Brinjal.

Guthi Vankai Koora - Stuffed Brinjal

Ingredients
Brinjal - Small Indian style - 1 kg

Peanuts - 1 cup
Bengal Gram (chana dal) - 1/2 cup
Black Gram (Urad dal) - 1/2 cup
Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Coconut (optional) - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 4-5
Salt to taste
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
4-5 Tbsp
MusTa tard Seeds - 1tsp
Curry leamarind paste - 2 Tbsp
Oil -ves - 6-7
Coriander leaves - to garnish

Dry Masala
Dry fry the Bengal gram, Black gram, coriander seeds, red chillies and peanuts and grind them together with salt, asafoetida. Mix the masala with 1 tbsp of tamarind paste. Keep it aside for stuffing the brinjal (Method 1) or to add in the dish (Method 2).
 
Directions
You can do this dish two different ways - stuffed masala or non-stuffed. It is the taste of the masala (groundnut based) that is key signature for this dish. The second method is easier and less time consuming and gives the same taste and flavor as in Method 1. Both deliver same taste to the dish.

Method 1
Slit the brinjal into 4 pieces without cutting the vegetable completely so it is like a opened flower. Fill in the masala inside the brinjal and tie it up with a thread. Take oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once it sputters, you add curry leaves and turmeric, add the Brinjal (stuffed). Mix the 1 tbsp of tamarind paste in 1/2 cup of water along with salt and sprinkle the tamarind water+salt on top of the brinjal and cover the pan. Let the brinjal cook in low heat for 20 min with occasional mixing. Once the brinjal is cooked, garnish with coriander leaves and the dish is ready to serve with hot rice or chapathi.

Method 2
Slit the brinjal into 4 pieces without cutting the vegetable completely so it is like a opened flower. Shallow fry the Brinjal until well cooked and keep it aside.  Take oil in pan (1 Tbsp), add mustard seeds and once it sputters, you add curry leaves and turmeric, add the Brinjal (fried and cooked in oil), add the dry masala and the remaining tamarind paste, salt and mix well. Let the brinjal cook in low heat for 20 min with occasional mixing. Once the brinjal is cooked, garnish with coriander leaves and the dish is ready to serve with hot rice or chapathi.

Puli Aval/Avil (Tamarind Poha/pressed rice)

 

This is a signature dish of my mom-in-law and heard from my husband that it is a Bangalore/Karnataka recipe. Well, it is quite unique in its spice combination and quite easy to make for a snack or a breakfast item. The thing that is different from other Puli Aval recipes is that the Poha is ground and looks more like Upma. My folks at work couldn't guess what it was made with.. they all thought it was made with Bajra grains! 

Puli Aval/Avil (Courtesy: Padma Boovaraghavan)
Ingredients
Ground Aval (Poha) - 2 cups (Grind the poha into a coarse powder in blender)
Tamarind juice -  2 cups (you can use fresh tamarind pulp or tamarind paste)
Peanuts- 1/2 cup (roasted)
Curry Leaves - 4-5
Black gram (Urad dal) - 1 tbsp
Bengal gram (Chana dal) - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - `1 tbsp
Refined oil - 2 Tbsp
Asafoetida - 1 tsp 
Red Chillies - 2-3
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As needed
Rasam powder - 2-3 tsp (Recipe given in below blog)
http://servantlesscooking.blogspot.in/2013/07/poosanikai-mor-kuzhambu-ash-gourd.html


Directions
Grind the poha in a blender into coarse powder. Squeeze the tamarind pulp into 2 cups warm water (1 tennis ball size pulp) or 3-4 tbsp of tamarind paste. Paste varies in its sourness, so the bench mark is to taste the juice and adjusts the taste to one's pallet (like salt). It should not be too sour.

Add the ground poha into the tamarind juice, along with salt and rasam powder. Mix well so it soaks well into the poha. At the same time, take a pan, heat the oil, add the black gram, bengal gram and mustard seeds. Once the seeds sputter, add the curry leaves and red chillies broken into two halves along with curry leaves and asafoetida. Add the roasted peanuts in the end and saute for 1-2 min.

Add the soaked poha into the pan and mix the flavorful, roasted condiments with the poha. Keep the heat at low and mix for 2-3 min. In a separate pan, dry roast the sesame seeds and cumin and grind them together to garnish from the top. Serve hot ...

The dish has the tangyness from the tamarind and has an Upma feel (not like a typical Poha dish). The uniqueness is that it is made quickly with no cooking, the poha gets cooked when soaked in tamarind juice (warm water). My mom in law, pours the hot oil with condiments into the soaked poha and mixes it without cooking the entire mix.

Tips: To make the dish not lumpy, don't soak the poha for too long in tamarind juice and could add more oil. 

Enjoy!

Cheppankizhangu Karamadhu- (Colocasia Curry) - Iyengar style

Colocasia or Taro root family is a common vegetable in many cuisines. I thought it is common only in Chinese and Indian cuisines for I used to get this vegetable in the asian market in US. However, after reading the article in Wikipedia, on this vegetable, I was amazed to find out how popular it is all around the world, especially Brazil, Africa and Hawaii.

In India, it is popular all the way from North to the South. It is usually deep or shallow fried or made into a dish similar to mash potatoes after cooking it well. Due to its astringency, it is usually preferred to be cooked with tamarind (or lemon).

As given in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro

"In other Indian states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, taro corms are known as sivapan-kizhangu (seppankilangu or cheppankilangu), chamagadda, or in coastal Andhra districts as chaama dumpa in Telugu, and it can be cooked in many ways, such as deep fried in oil for a side item with rice, or cooked in a tangy tamarind sauce with spices, onion, and tomato"

I am going to share with you my mother in law's recipe that my husband loves. It is simple to make and is healthier in that it doesn't use that much oil. Also, cooking it so, doesn't bring out much of the astringency you note with the vegetable.

Cheppankizhangu Karamadhu

Ingredients
Cheppankizhangu (Colocasia/Taro root) - 1 kg
Tamarind paste - 2-3 Tbsp
OR Fresh Tamarind - 1/4 cup  
Bengal gram (Chana dal) - 1 Tbsp
Black gram (Urad dal) - 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Turmeric - 1-2 tsp
Red Chilli - 3-4
Asafoetida - 1 tsp 
Oil - 1-2 Tbsp
Curry Leaves - 3-4
Water - 2 cups 

Directions
Wash the Cheppankizhangu well to remove dirt and put into a dish to cook well in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. Add salt and turmeric powder to the root with 1 cup water. In contrary, you can cook it on stove top similarly, but the root needs to become very soft. Pressure pan cooking saves energy and time. 

Peel the skin off the root and cut into pieces. In a pan, heat oil, add the bengal and black gram, and the mustard seeds. Once the seeds sputter add the curry leaves and asafoetida and the red chillies. After the red chillies are saute (10-20 sec), add the cut taro root and tamarind paste dissolved in water (1/2 cup) and mix the entire batch well so the tamarind juice is mixed well with taro root and spices.

You can add 1/2 cup more of water (as needed) along with salt. Let it simmer and cook for 5-10 min in low heat. Serve it hot with Rice as side dish to any lentil soup that is not sour such as plain dal or Kootu or Molagootal (A typical Pallakkad Iyer recipe from Kerala, that I will share shortly).

Tips: If the taro root is cooked too much, it will become a mashed mass (like the one in the photo). If you prefer it as individual pieces, you just cook it less (less whistles in pressure pan), so the individual pieces (cut round) remains in this tamarind soup. The root is slimy and so it appears stringy (natural).

Shepu Paratha (Dill stuffed flat bread)

Dill as a vegetable was introduced to me by my husband who loves using it in making Dill Sambhar as he has grown up eating it in Bangalore where it is quite commonly used. In the US, I am used to buying it as Dill, so when I started shopping in Pune, I used to ask the owner of the corner vegetable market if he had any Dill... He would always smile.. for in Hindi, Dil (with one l) means "Heart", so it is quite funny when I ask him if he had Dil (heart).

Anyway, since two years he knows exactly what I mean by Dill.. and promptly gives me Shepu, commonly known in Maharashtra.  Here is an interesting read on various names of Dill in India.. thought you would love to know and appreciate the diversity of languages that we have in India.

Courtesy: Wikipedia
"In India, dill is known as shepu (शेपू) in Marathi and Konkani, savaa or menthulu in Hindi or soa in Punjabi. In Telugu, it is called methulu and Soa-kura (for herb greens). It is also called sabbasige soppu (ಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು) in Kannada. In Tamil it is known as sada kuppi(சதகுப்பி). In Malayalam, it is ചതകുപ്പ (chathakuppa) or ശതകുപ്പ (sathakuppa). In Sanskrit, this herb is called shatapushpa. In Gujarati, it is known as suva. In India, dill is prepared in the manner of yellow moong dal as a main-course dish. It is considered to have very good antigas properties,so it is used as mukhwas, or an after-meal digestive. It is also traditionally given to mothers immediately after childbirth. In the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, a smaller amount of fresh dill is cooked along with cut potatoes and fresh fenugreek leaves(Hindi आलू-मेथी-सोया). In Manipur, dill, locally known as pakhon, is an essential ingredient of chagem pomba – a traditional Manipuri dish made with fermented soybean and rice".


Puneists cook Shepu as Sukha Bhaji (Dry vegetable curry) with lentils and eat it with Chapathi. Today, I thought I will give a new use for Dill in making a stuffed Paratha similar to any leafy paratha. My maid servant was quite surprised to find me make Dill Paratha for breakfast today, for she never imagined using Dill in this application.. That is where my product development skills and thinking comes of use I guess.. to think out of the box in corporate language:)

So readers.. here is the recipe for Dill Paratha.. which could be used for making any kind of leaf based Paratha - may it be Methi (Fenugreek), Palak (Spinach) or Kothimbir (Cilantro).

Shepu/Dill Paratha/Flat bread

Ingredient
Whole Wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt  - 1-2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala (spicy powder) - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp for dough and as needed during making of the Paratha
Dill/Shepu - Finely chopped - 1 cup

Directions
Making the dough
Add the spices and salt to the flour along with oil and Dill and knead it well into a non-sticky dough. The oil will help remove the stickyness. Add less water than usual as Dill (vegetable) will give some water too. Keep it aside for 30 min or 1 hour covered.

Making the Paratha
Spread a ball of the dough using the bread roll and make a thin and flat bread. Use flour to help the dough not stick while spreading it flat. Take 1 tsp oil on a flat pan and cook the Paratha. Add oil on the sides and cook it well on both sides. Serve hot with Curd or pickle.

In North, people tend to eat it with green chilli and onion to give it the bite. The Paratha was flavorful and similar in consistency to Methi Paratha (thin and flavorful). It truly is a neat snack for the evening..

My little one has it for lunch today..lets see if the lunch box comes back empty..

Puran Poli / Obbattu / Bobbatlu/Boli - South Indian dessert

Puran Poli or Obbatu or Bobbatlu or Boli are various names for the same dessert in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu/Kerala, respectively. It is one of the signature desserts (Must Haves) made during festivals, may it be any New Year (Vishu, Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, Varsha-Porappu) or an occasion to break the fast such as Dwadasi after the fasting on Ekadasi.

It is usually made with tons of ghee (butter) and is loved by kids and adults alike. In Pune, I have seen Puran Poli made so thin like paper and they are huge in size that by folding it four times, it is the size of one roti. It is usually eaten with Aam Ras (Squeezed mango pulp) and Milk.

After my fast on Ekadasi this last Friday, I decided to make this dessert on Saturday morning as "Naivedyam" or offering to God Krishna. I served it with Milk. The recipe is pretty much something I learned from my mother and my in-laws. Being simple in its ingredients, the difficulty is in making the Obbatu.. so I have added photos that will show you how.

Puran Poli/Obbattu/Bobbatlu/Boli
Ingredient
Jaggery - 1 cup
Chana dal (Yellow split pea) - 2 cups
Maida (Refined wheat flour) - 2 cups
Turmeric - 2 tsp
Cardomon - 2-3 pods 
Oil/Ghee - 3-4 tbsp or as needed 
 Water - for dough and cooking as needed.

 

Directions

Making of the Puran/filling

Cook the chana dal in cooker with 3-4 whistles. The dal should not be over cooked. There are two ways of making the Puran (or the sweet filling).

1. I followed this method. Here you add the jaggery and the cooked dal along with cardomon into a blender and grind it into smooth paste by adding enough water.

2.Maharashtrian's follow this method, where in they manually grind the chana dal with help of mortar and pistle or a Chapathi making roll into a fine paste and add the Jaggery later.

In Method 1. Heat a pan and add ghee (1 tbsp) and add the jaggery/chana dal mix into the pan and keep mixing until it becomes hard and reaches a consistency of thick jam - 5 min.

In Method 2. Heat a pan, add ghee (1 tbsp), add the jaggery and let it become watery. Add the chana dal paste and let it cook until it become thick - 5 min.

Keep this Puran aside to make the Poli.

Making the Puran Poli
You definitely need Maida or refined flour rather than the whole wheat flour as the dough needs to pull and expand with the filling and should not break as short strands.

Make a dough with Maida and turmeric (yellow in color). Add 2-3 tbsp of oil in the dough and work the gluten so it stretches well. Art in making the Poli is to take very little dough and more filling, so you get to taste the filling more than the dough.

Spread a thin layer of the dough, add the Puran in the middle and cover it from four sides by the dough into a ball. Spread it gently (very gently) to make a round and thin Poli. If you press too hard, the Poli will break and the filling will ooze out.

 

Alternatively, you can make the Poli as a "Modak" or a "Dumpling" in the sense, you make a cup out of the dough and add the filling in the middle of cup and cover it up with dough and make it a ball. Spread this ball into a thin layer of Poli. After the Poli is spread, heat a flat pan and cook it well with ghee /oil until the flour and filling is well cooked.


Practise makes a man perfect is true for cooking.. This is the first time I made Obbatu on my own (with no parental supervision) and my first Poli was not so great looking (as seen in the picture) with the filling popped out of the dough. I have however, added some more snaps of the Polis I made in succession and you can see that I had perfected in making them round, thinner, uniform in thickness and larger as seen in the last snap... So guys, don't loose heart if your first one doesn't come out to be perfect.. Keep trying and Voila.. you will succeed in becoming the Poli master!   

Serve hot with butter, milk or Mango pulp (Aam Ras)... enjoy!

Sabudana Khichidi (Sago/Javarisi/Tapioca Upma)

This last Friday was Ashada Ekadasi (one of the few Ekadasi that is very auspicious) and almost all of my colleagues and friends were observing fasting. Living with my mom, in-laws and my dad (ISKCON priest), who follow Ekadasi quite well, knew that I am allowed to eat only once in the day and end the fast with a sumptuous meal on Dwadashi (the next day). I could not eat any grains, but could eat anything from the roots, stems, fruits and vegetables. Here in Pune, many eat Sabudana (Javarisi) Khichidi (Upma) as it is from Tapioca root. My kids love this dish as well as they get it routinely in their day care. Just like any Upma, there is an art in making this.. and so here is my side of  the story on how to make this Upma.. or Khichidi..

Sabudana Khichidi

Ingredients
Soaked Sabudana - 3 cups

Peanuts - 1.5 cups
Curry leaves - 2-3
Cumin - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 4-5
Salt to taste
Refined oil or re fried butter (ghee) - 4-5 tbsp

Directions
Soak the sabudana overnight in a strainer. It is important to not soak it completely in water as the starch is lost. You have to rinse it well in water and drain all the water and let it soak in the residual water overnight or over a strainer.

Dry roast the peanuts until well roasted. In a blender add the roasted peanuts, chilli and salt and grind into a coarse powder. 

Take oil in pan and heat it. Add cumin seeds and when it sputters, add the curry leaves and the peanut mix and let it roast in low heat until golden brown for 2-3 min. Add the soaked sabudana into this mix and mix it well so every grain of sabudana is covered with peanut mix. This helps to make it less sticky. Otherwise, the entire thing will stick to each other into one big mass.

Let it roast and cook on low heat for 5-10 min until the whiteness of the sabudana is gone and you see glass transparency (that means the sabudana is cooked).

The khichidi is ready. Mine is a little more dark as I used re fried butter with its black sediment as I ran out of oil. Otherwise, once can make it light brown/white. One can also add red chilli powder instead of green chillies. The peanuts give the dish the signature taste of the Khichidi that you won't get from a regular south indian upma style of cooking.

As it is liked by everyone at home, there were no left overs and everyone enjoyed eating Upwas kha khanna (fasting food).

BTW, I observed complete fast on Ekadashi and only ate boiled potatoes, and sweet potatoes in the night for dinner after Abhishekham of our Laddoo Gopal (Lord Krishna). I ended the fast the next day with Puran Pholi (a dessert) as offering to Lord Krishna.. I will share this recipe in next blog.

 

 

Pav Bhaji - The classic mumbai chat item

My husband loves to eat chat items whether it is on the streets or in a restaurant setting such as Kalyan Bhel in Pune. His love of chat is definitely rubbed off to my kids who love eating any type of chat item, you name it (Pani puri, Bhel Puri, Vada Pav, Pav bhaji, Misal Pav, Aloo tikki, Papdi chat),  that too from a road side vendor - with Pani Puri and Bhel Puri being their favorites.

Pav (type of bread similar to burgen bun) is available in every corner bakery store in Pune is essential to this recipe. The bhaji is a spicy mix of potatoes, onion and tomatoes - quite simple to make. I used to use Burger buns when I was in US instead of Pav, and it used to be a hit among my friends during social gatherings.. especially in Madison..So here you go.. the classic Chat of Mumbai..

Pav Bhaji
Ingredients
Onion - 2 (finelly chopped)
Tomatoes - 5-6
Boiled peas - 1 cups
Boiled potatoes - 4-5 medium size
1/2 cup Coriander leaves - finely chopped
Pav Bhaji Masala (Everest): 2-3 tbsp
OR
Garam Masala - 1-2 Tbsp
Oil - 3-4 Tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Directions

Heat oil and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds, once they sputter, add the onions and let it saute for 2-3 min until brown.
Add tomatoes, and masala powder and let it mix well with the mix
Add the chilli powder and salt and let it cook until oil slicks out. Add the peas and the potatoes and mash them well in the mix with a flat spatula. Let the entire mix cook for 5-10 min in low heat. Add water if needed to bring a thick gravy consistency. Serve hot with Pav (slightly grilled in butter) after garnishing on top with chopped onion and cilantro leaves.