Kitchen-Kollections

Hi all..happy new year to everyone. After a long time i am posting a new recipe and this time its the turn of our good old king of vegetables..i.e Eggplant!! You have to be very careful while picking eggplant..it should not have any brown spots or any holes. Make sure they are fresh and clean. Eggplant if fresh and cooked properly will be very tastier but if not then it will give a bitter taste in the mouth. Its not an apealing vegetable to kids so i have never tried giving my toddler but if there is any version of eggplant which can be given to kids..then do please share. For now, here is the recipe for eggplant curry with ginger. The curry while cooking gives a beautiful aroma which is quite apeatizing.

Ingredients

10 small baby eggplants
1 tbs chopped ginger
1/2 cup diced onion
1 whole green chilli or 2 small thai peppers
1 cup of chopped coriandar
2 tsp tamarind paste mixed with 2 tsp of water

For tempering

1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal

2tbs oil
salt to taste
water
Method

• Wash the eggplants with enough water so that the skin is clean and shiny
• Cut the stalk but don’t remove it. Cut the eggplant lengthwise till the knife just touches the base of the eggplant.Now cut the eggplant from the other side from stalk to the tip of the eggplant. It makes a plus sign and both the sides are open.
• Put all the pieces in salt water and gently wash them. Repeat this process two more times.
• Grind ginger,onion, green chili and coriander into a paste adding little water.
• Take a flat bottom pan, add oil and tempering ingredients.
• Place each eggplant in the pan carefully and keep tossing them till all are well coated with oil. Add salt and cook till eggplants are half cooked.
• I usually sprinkle little water at this stage. Keep the heat at medium. Slow cooking helps here.
• After the eggplants are more than half cooked, add the paste and mix well. Make sure the eggplants don’t break. Gently lift each eggplant and toss around the pan.
• In the end, add the tamarind paste and again mix it carefully. Cook for 5-8 more minutes and switch off the gas. Transfer the curry into a serving bowl and garnish it with finely chopped coriander.

Serve hot with rice!

Happy New Year to everybody. Hope this 2012 brings lot of happiness and prosperity to everyone.

This recipe was a total surprise to me…I generally add potato to other vegetables like cauliflower..brinjal,tomato..or i just fry it as it is..but adding soaked chana dal was new to me. The texture was really crunchy and super delicious. I learnt this unique recipe from my dear MIL..so here it goes! Do try this recipe and share the experience.

Potato dal curry

Ingredients
2 cups diced potato cubes
3/4th cup chana dal or senagapappu
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriandar powder
salt to taste
2 tbs oil

For tempering
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera seeds
1/4 tsp urad dal
10 curry leaves

Method

• Take a deep boiling pan and add water till potato cubes are completely immersed in the water. Add the dal along with the potatoes and let it boil. The potato cubes should be a little hard. Overcooking the potatoes will make the curry paste like and it will ruin the taste.
• Strain the potatoes and dal in a straining pan and let it cool down.
• Take another pan, add oil and the tempering ingredients. Add the potato,dal, red chilli powder, coriandar powder and salt and mix it well. Fry it till the dal turns crispy. Garnish it with chopped coriandar leaves and serve hot with rice or chapatis.

I searched over the web for sabudana recipes..found many but I liked this one the best..I made these vadas for Shivaratri and they came out pretty tasty. So sharing the recipe with everyone.

Ingredients

1/2 cup sabudana soaked for 2 hrs and then drained
1 medium or 2 small potato
1/4th cup rice flour
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 cup chopped coriandar leaves or curry leaves
1/4th cup chopped onion
2 chopped green chillies
Oil for deep frying

Method
 1. Grate the potato and squeeze out the juice. Keep it in a bowl.
2. Add the soaked and drained sabudana, salt, chilli powder, coriandar leaves,onion green chillie, and rice flour. Mix it well so that it becomes stiff dough.
3. Take a small piece of the dough and make a round ball and then flatten it on your palm.
4. Deep fry the pattis till golden brown. Serve hot with peanut chutney or any spicy chutney.

This is one of old recipes..the light mustard flavor in the curry is just amazing.

Ingredients
2 plaintains diced
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
oil
sat

Paste
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp raw rice
1 inch piece of ginger
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/4 cup coriandar leaves

For tempering
1/2 tsp Urad dal or gram dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 green chillies slit
Curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida powder

Method

• Boil the diced plaintains in water with turmeric till done. Strain and keep them aside.
• For the paste, soak rice and mustard seeds in a cup of water for 10 min. Grind along with ginger, coconut and coriandar leaves.
• In a pan, add oil, add the tempering ingredients, green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
• Add the boiled plaintain, paste and salt. Mix well and cook for another 10 minutes and then switch off the gas. Garnish with coriandar leaves and serve hot either with rice or chapathi.

This another version of murrukku made with rice flour and roasted chana dal. Vamu or aijwain adds a wonderful flavor to it and also its good for digestion. My son is teething so he likes to munch on this snack…

Murukku with roasted chana dal

Ingredients
3 cups rice flour
1 cup roasted chana dal powder
1/2 tsp aijwain or vamu
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
3 tbs ghee
1 cup of water
Murukku maker
Oil for deep frying

Method

• Mix all the dry ingredients with a cup of water. The dough should be soft enough to pass through the murukku maker. Make sure to add ghee as it gives a smooth texture to the murukku.
• After mixing the dough, take a portion of the dough and put it into the murukku maker and deep until its light brown.
•  Store in an airtight container. Although it will be good for atleast two weeks but in my home..its finished within no time!!! Its a perfect snack for an afternoon cuppa of tea! enjoy!