Green Peas Stir-fry

Serves - 4
Spice level - 3
Source - Indian home cooking by Suvir Saran & Stephannie

What you would need -

Green Peas (fresh or frozen) - 2 cups
Ginger - 1 & 1/2 tsp finely chopped
Green chilies - 3 or 4 (depending on its hotness)
Dried red chilies - 2 lareg
Hing - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - roasted and grind to fine powder 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

Procedure -

Heat oil in a skillet. Now add cumin seeds and fry till they are golden in color. Next, add dried red chillies and hing and mix for few seconds. Now add ginger and green chillies and fry their raw smell goes off.

Add green peas, salt and 1/2 of the finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Cover the skillet and let the peas cook till they are tender. Keep checking every few mins to prevent the masala from burning.

Add the roasted cumin powder, remaining coriander leaves and lemon juice. Stir well and serve hot.

Bottle Gourd Kaalan

Kaalan, a coconut and yogurt based curry, is a traditional Keralite dish served as a part of Sadhya, the traditional Kerala feast. This curry, it seems is generally made using vegetables like plantains, yam or different types of gourds.

I first read about Kaalan when I visited Mahanandi while searching for some simple bottle gourd recipes. This curry is very simple to make and very easy on the stomach.

Spice level - 3

Serves - 2 to 3
Source - Adapted from Mahanandi

What you would need -
Bottle Gourd (Dudhi/Lauki) - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Green chilies - 3 to 4 (depending on their hotness)
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

For tempering - 
Red chilies - 2 large
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5 to 6

Procedure -

Firstly, grind together coconut, green chilies and 1/2 a tsp of cumin seeds with very little water to a smooth paste.

Next, heat oil in a pan, add all the tempering ingredients mentioned above. Now, add the bottle gourd pieces along with the coconut and green chili paste. Add turmeric, salt and about 1/2 a cup of water. Mix well, close the lid and let the bottle gourd cook on medium flame till they are tender.

Next, reduce the flame, add yogurt and mix well. Turn off the flame, cover the lid and let it sit for few minutes. Serve hot with rice

Avocado Raita

I have been on the lookout for some interesting recipes with Avocado for quite some time now, so, when I saw this recipe in Hari Nayak's My Indian Kitchen book I couldnt stop myself from trying it out.

Serves - 2

Spice level - 2.5
Source - My Indian Kitchen by Hari Nayak

What you would require -

Avocado - 1 ripe
Yogurt - 1& 1/4 cup
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper freshly crushed - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp finely chopped
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Procedure -

First, cut the Avocado lengthwise around the pit. Scoop out the pit and discard it. Scoop out the flesh from the skin with a spoon and cut it into small pieces.

Take curd in a bowl. Add in the avocado pieces, cumin powder, black pepper powder, finely chopped coriander leaves, salt and lemon juice and mix well.

Serve it chilled.



Tomato Rice

Serves - 2
Spice level - 3.5/5
Source - Chef Kurma Das's recipe

What you would need -

Rice - 1 cup
Tomato - 4 large, finely chopped
Green chilly - 2 -3 (depending on their hotness), finely chopped
Curry leaves - 6 to 8
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

For masala -

Dried red chilly - 4 small or 3 large
Coriander seeds - 1tsp
Chana dal - 1tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 5 to 6 seeds
Oil - 1tsp

Procedure -

Cook the rice in double the amount of water.

Heat oil in a pan, add all the ingredients mentioned under For masala except, fenugreek seeds and coconut and saute till they get fragrant and the dals become darker in color. Now, add fenugreek seeds and coconut and saute till the coconuts are nice brown in color. Cool this mixture and then grind them.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when they start popping, add green chillies, curry leaves and hing and saute for a minute.

Next, add the tomatoes and let it cook till they become soft and mushy. Add little salt to speed up the cooking of tomatoes. Now, add the grounded masala, mix well and let it cook for few mins.

Finally add the cooked rice, mix slowly till all the rice grains are nicely coated with the tomato and grounded masala paste. Serve hot with some papad and raita.

Mugachi Usal - Sprouted Moong Dal Stir Fry

Serves - 2
Spice level - 3/5
Source - Adapted from India's Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj

What you would need -

Whole moong dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 cup (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 1 large, slit into halves
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Asafoetida /Hing - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1tbsp

For garnishing -

Dessicated coconut - 1tbsp
Coriander leaves - finely chopped for garnishing
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Procedure -

Soak the whole moong dal overnight in cold water. In the morning, drain the excess water and keep it aside to sprout. Next day, just before cooking, wash them in cold water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when they start bouncing around, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chillies and hing. Next, add onions and salt and fry till the onions are translucent.

Add the sprouted beans along with turmeric and 1 & 1/2 cup of water. Mix well, cover the pan and let it cook on slow heat for about 15 - 20 mins or till the sprouts are cooked properly.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander and coconut. Sprinkle some lemon juice and serve hot with rotis.

Masoor ki Dal - Bengali Style

A very simple recipe which can be easily dished out in absolutely no time. The star of the recipe is the Panch Phoron, which lends this simple dish a very unique taste.

Serves - 4
Spice level - 3/5
Source - India's Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj

What you would need -

Split Masoor Dal - 3/4 cup
Green chillies - 3 (split into halves)
Onion - 3/4 cup chopped
Dried red chillies - 2
Panch Phoron - 1tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2tbsp

Procedure -

Wash the lentils until the water runs clear. Drain them and cook them in a pressure cooker with 1 and 1/2 cups of water, turmeric, salt and green chillies.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add red chillies and then the panch phoron. When they start to turn brown, add the onions and fry till they are translucent.

Add the cooked lentils and around 1 and 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. If required, add more water to get the desired consistency.

Serve hot with rice.

Bhoplyache Bharit (Pumpkin Raita)

Bhopla, Pumpkin in marathi, is one of the very few vegetables that I have despised all thoroughout my childhood. Infact, only recently I have started appreciating and enjoying its taste and also exploring the various options and ways of cooking this vegetable. So recently when I came across this recipe while scanning through Monisha Bharadwaj's Indian Vegetarian Cooking book, I  knew that I had to try it.

This dish goes perfectly well as a side dish with roti as well as rice.

Serves - 3 to 4

Spice level - 3
Source - India's Vegetarian Cooking by Monisha Bharadwaj

What you would need -

Red Pumpkin - 2 cups (peeled and cubed)
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Green chilly - 2 (finely chopped)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Coriander leaves - 3 to 4 sprigs (finely chopped)
Salt to taste

For tempering -

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafetida/ Hing - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

Procedure -

Take a pan, add the pumpkins in it and pour enough water to cover them. Let them cook till they are soft.
Drain the water and mash the pumpkins with a fork.

In a bowl, mix yogurt, salt, green chillies, coriander leaves and sugar. Add the cooked and mashed pumpkin to it and mix well.

Prepare the tempering using the ingredients mentioned under For tempering and pour it over the pumpkin at once. Serve cool.