Gujarati Kadhi ~ Seasoned Buttermilk Soup ~ Buttermilk curry

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If you have never been introduced to Gujarati kadhi in the past, the best way I can describe it to you would be as a light seasoned buttermilk "soup like" dish originating from the western region of India. Even though I refer to it as soup like,  it is actually served more like a dhal and is had with khichdi or along with plain steamed rice.  Of course it can be had like a light soup but the traditional manner in which it is served is with rice or khichdi. Here is the wiki entry for kadhi if you want to read more about it.

Khichdi with kadhi is my favorite"go to" combination for all those times when I am in the mood for some simple, nourishing comfort food. Whether I am back from a trip or just feeling a little harried or rushed, this simple combination never fails to satisfy. As is typical for a lot of dishes from Gujarati cuisine, kadhi too has a touch of sweet, a touch of tart and a touch of spice.If you are looking for a simple, home cooked, no fuss dinner one of these days, give this combination a try, I am sure you will find it immensely satisfying as well:-)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Gujarati Kadhi
1 cup plain yogurt (curds/dahi/thayir) + 1 cup water whisked together (or 2 cups of buttermilk)
yogurt that is slightly tart tastes good in this dish
2 tbsp chick pea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu) mixed with 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/uppu)
3 1/2 tsp grated jaggery (or a couple of tsp of sugar)

Seasoning
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (hari mirch/pachai molagai) cut very fine (or to taste)
1 sliver of ginger minced (adrak/inji)(optional)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (sarson/rai/kadagu)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
a few tbsp of finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/hara dhania/kothamalli) for garnish.

Whisk the yogurt and water together until it is smooth. Mix chick pea flour with water making sure there are no lumps formed. Add this chick pea flour + water to the butter milk and mix well.

Add salt to taste, jaggery, turmeric powder and mix well. Place on low to medium low heat and allow the mixture to heat through.

In a small pan heat oil, add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds begin  to splutter add cumin seeds. When cumin begins to sizzle add green chilies, ginger, and asafoetida powder and stir a few times. Pour this entire mixture on the buttermilk mixture and mix well.
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Once the kadhi begins to froth lightly, take off the heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot over a bed of hot steaming rice, or with hot khichdi or even as a light soup.

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Mixed Vegetable Oatmeal dosai ~ Oat Dosa ~ Savory Indian oat crepes with veggies ~ With Stepwise pictures

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First some art...recently I came across this gallery of paintings online  that blew me away. The paintings are so beautiful and so detailed, I thought some of them looked almost like photos, they are that good. Obviously I could not resist sharing it with my readers, so if you have a minute and enjoy art, do have a peek here and tell me what you think :-) 

Moving on, it's been a while since I posted any type of  oatmeal dosai recipe on this site. The last time I did I think it was this oat ragi recipe. That is because whenever I made dosai in the last couple of months, it has been the non oat  instant dosai types like this one with chick pea flour and this one with wheat flour.  But I started to miss oat dosai and decided to make one with veggies this time.

This dosai turned out quick, colorful and flavorful  Its perfect for light dinners, breakfasts or as anytime snacks.If you have missed making oatmeal dosai too, give this one a try, it may end up becoming a regular menu item in your kitchen :-)





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Ingredients and Method to make Mixed vegetable oatmeal dosai
1 cup raw rice (chawal/ arisi)
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup split black gram lentil (udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
1 large zucchini washed and dried, ends cut off and grated.(optional,see notes)
2 medium carrots washed and dried, ends cut off and grated.(gajar)
4 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste) cut very fine (optional, see notes)
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/kothamalli)
salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
a little sesame oil to shallow fry the dosai

Soak the first three ingredients in sufficient water for 2 to 3 hours. Grind them together in the blender/ mixer in batches adding just enough water to get a smooth and thick batter.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the batter except oil, add a little water if required to get pouring consistency. The batter should not be too runny, a little thick is better. When in doubt err on the side of thicker batter, if needed water can be added later to get the right consistency if required.

Heat a heavy flat pan/ tawa/ griddle on medium heat. When hot, pour a little batter in the center and quickly spread to form a thin circle. Pour a few drops of sesame oil around the circumference of the dosai. When the lower side is evenly golden, flip over and cook the other side until it gets light brownish spots on it.
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Remove and serve hot with chutney of choice/ sambar or molaga podi (spice powder)/ or this flax and peanut powder or can even be had on its own :-)

Proceed with the rest of the batter in the same manner. Unused batter can be stored in the refrigerator and used up in 3 to 4 days. Yield will depend on size and thickness of each dosai (crepe)

Notes:
If you do not have zucchini on hand you can substitute with 1 additional carrot in its place. 

If you are making this dosai for kids/ or do not like green chilies, you can skip it entirely.

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Milaguishyam or Peppery vegetable medley in lentil gravy curry

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Sometimes the most surprising sources end up providing inspiration for recipes or the recipes itself. This is one of those instances....Here is how I got to know about this dish. My mother in law told me that she had started to make poricha kozhambu one day, when one of her neighbors dropped by and suggested that she make milaguishyam instead. She did, loved it and recommended the recipe to me.  I tried it, loved it too and here I am posting this recipe :-)  I had never even heard of such a dish before my mother in law mentioned it, and I don't think she has heard of this before her neighbor mentioned it either. If any of you know more of the history of this dish, do share that information in the comments section, I would love to know more about this....

For those of you familiar with south Indian cuisine, particularly Tamilian cuisine, milaguishyam is somewhat similar to poricha kozhumbu only made a little differently. For those of you unfamiliar with the dishes I mentioned above, this dish can be best described as a vegetable medley in seasoned lentil gravy curry with pepper and coconut added to flavor the dish. 

This curry is really quick and delicious.I know the list of ingredients makes this curry look very daunting, but really it just seems that way. It is pretty simple to make and most of the items required for it are regular pantry items.  One of the nicest things about this curry is that you can make the masala powder well in advance and on the day of making the curry you can just add it and be done. It is also easy to personalize the taste of this curry, use very little masala for a very mild taste and amp it up for more heat. Try this if you are in the mood for a simple south Indian curry and tell me what you think.....




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Ingredients and Method to make Molagaishyam
1/2 cup split pigeon peas ( tur dhal/tuvaram parappu) washed, drained and soaked in water for 30 mins
4 carrots cut into 1/4 inch pieces (yielded 2 cups of pieces)
4 small potatoes peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces (yielded approx 1 heaped cup)
4 large Indian eggplants cut into 1/4 inch pieces (yielded approx 3 cups)
2 sweet potatoes peeled and  cut into 1/4 inch pieces (yielded approx 1 1/2 cups)
or you can use about 7 cups of any combination of similar vegetables (Vegetables like bottle gourd, pumpkin, zucchini, butternut squash and all the ones mentioned above work well in this recipe)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
approx 2 1/2 tbsp (or to taste) of ground masala powder (recipe given below)

For the seasoning
1 tbsp coconut oil (can be substituted with other oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds
7 to 8 curry leaves broken into small pieces
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)
1/2 cup grated fresh or frozen coconut (if frozen thaw to room temperature)

For the masala
1/3 cup split black gram lentil (udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
1/3 cup whole black pepper (kali miri/milagu)
10 dry red chilies (or to taste)

First the masala.....
Dry roast black gram lentil until reddish and remove from heat. Dry roast whole black pepper until aromatic and remove from heat. Dry roast dry red chilies for a few seconds until it turns a little crisp. Remove from heat. Cool all three ingredients to room temperature and powder in a spice grinder until fine. Store in an airtight container and use in this recipe as required. This quantity will yield masala that will be sufficient for making this dish a few times.

For the curry
Soak split pigeon peas in water for 30 minutes. Pressure cook or cook on a stove top until the lentils are soft and mushy. Mash it gently and keep aside.
In a large heavy bottomed pan, add all the vegetables, turmeric powder, salt to taste and water as required (I used approx 3 cups of water) and cook until all the vegetables are evenly cooked.
Add the mashed lentils and masala powder to taste ( I used approx 2 1/2 tbsp) and simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle.

For the seasoning
Heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds . When seeds begin to splutter add asafoetida powder and curry leaves and stir a couple of times. Watch out when adding curry leaves as it causes the oil to splatter slightly, so keep your hands and face away from the oil while doing this. Add grated coconut and roast it to a creamy reddish color, stirring frequently to make sure it does not burn and roasts evenly. Pour this entire seasoning on the curry and allow the curry to simmer for another few minutes.
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Serve hot over a bed of steamed plain rice or for some fusion serve it with phulkas or plain rotis (Indian flatbread)
Serves approximately 3 to 4

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Mixed Vegetable and Mung bean paratha (Stuffed Indian bread)

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Hope you all had a good weekend. Is it just me or does everyone feel like time flies even faster over the weekends than it does the other days. That is how it works for me almost every weekend. One minute it seems like the weekend has just begun and the very next minute it seems like it is Monday morning. In a blink of an eye two days just disappear. Sigh :-(

Anyway getting back to the topic of mixed vegetable paratha with mung bean this is something i came up with the other day for dinner.  I had soaked some mung to make this mung snack, and on an impulse I  decided to use it in the paratha I was planning to make that day. This way I got to add some healthy protein to my dinner and make the paratha much more filling and nutritious. This flavorful , hearty paratha is perfect for dinner/ lunch, and is great for the lunch box as well.

   

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Ingredients and Method to make Mixed vegetable and mung bean paratha
For the dough
2 cups whole wheat flour (atta/ godumai maavu)
salt to taste
2 to 3 tsp oil
approximately 1 1/4 cups of water

For the filling
1/2 cup split mung bean lentil (mung dhal) soaked for 3 to 4 hours
4 small potatoes
1 heaped cup frozen or fresh green peas (if frozen thaw to room temperature) (optional)
2 large carrots grated
salt to taste
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger(optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala (or to taste) (can be substituted with any other curry powder)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves/ kothamalli)
a little oil or clarified butter (ghee/nei) to shallow fry the parathas
a little extra flour to help in rolling out the dough

For the outer cover,
In a large bowl mix together whole wheat flour and salt to taste. Add water a little at a time and knead to make a very soft yet non sticky dough. Add oil and knead some more. Keep this dough covered and let it sit at least 30 minutes before using in recipe.

For the filling
Soak mung bean in sufficient water for 3 to 4 hours. Drain well and cook mung bean until soft with as little water as possible. The mung bean should be a soft thick paste consistency
Cook potatoes with skin. When cool, peal skin and mash coarsely. Keep aside.
Cook the green peas until soft. Keep aside.
Mince ginger and green chilies together using a mortal and pestle or a blender. Keep this aside.
In a large bowl, mix together cooked mung bean, cooked peas, mashed potatoes, grated carrots,salt to taste, minced green chilies+ ginger, garam masala and mix well.Gently mash the vegetables and lentils a little, then add lemon juice and cilantro and mix well again, keep this filling aside

For the paratha

Divide dough into 10 to 12 equal large lemon sized balls. With the help of a little flour roll out dough into a small circle. Place 3 to 3 1/2 tbsp of filling in the center. Pull the ends of the rolled out dough together and press gently to seal the filling inside. With the help of a little more flour, roll out the dough evenly into as thick or thin a circle as you choose.
Heat a griddle/ tawa/ flat pan. When hot place the rolled out dough on it. Allow to cook for a few seconds. Flip over and cook the other side. Apply a few drops of oil or clarified butter around the paratha and on top of it. When the lower side has slight golden brown spots, flip over again and cook the other side until it gets golden brown spots.
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For step by step pictures of the process of making parathas, check out this post.
Remove and serve hot with pickle/ salad/ yogurt/ raita.
Proceed with the rest of the dough and filling in the same manner.
Yielded approximately 10 to 12 parathas

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Microwave Low Fat Crunchy Mung Bean Snack with no oil :-)

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What can be better than a crunchy savory or spicy snack that you can dig into while watching movies, or tv or even at tea time?  The answer to that has to be a crunchy savory snack that is also guilt free, has no oil and is actually healthy. Crunchy snacks, as I have mentioned before, are a weakness of mine. So anytime I get to make something that is crunchy and guilt free, I am happy :-)

The story behind this snack?  I got the idea for this snack from my father in law, he saw something like this being made on a television show and mentioned it to me when we spoke the other day. The second he mentioned that it was made without a drop of oil, I was hooked. I knew that I would be making this asap and I did :-)  This snack was quick, crunchy and tasty. And my favorite part is that it is almost effortless, just soak, drain and cook in the microwave and you have a healthy,  tasty snack.....So if you are wondering what to make for your weekend movie night, maybe you might want to consider this mung bean snack :-)




Here is another pic.........................


 

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Ingredients and Method to make Mung bean snack
1 cup split mung bean lentil without skin ( mung dhal)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (can be substituted with cayenne )
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam) (optional)

Soak split mung bean lentil for 6 to 8 hours in sufficient water. Drain thoroughly.

In a microwave safe bowl, mix together drained mung lentil and all the spices. Place in a microwave and microwave on high heat for18 minutes in 3 minute increments. Keep the bowl uncovered the entire time and make sure to remove and break down lumps if any and stir to get more even cooking every 3 minutes. Also in the last few minutes keep an eye to see that it does not over crisp or burn, remove frequently to check on it in the last few minutes.
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When lentil is crunchy, then it is done , remove, cool to room temperature and store in an air tight container.
Enjoy with tea/ coffee or as an anytime, movie time or teevee time snack :-)

Notes:
Because of varying wattage in each microwave, cooking times will vary in different microwaves. Also if you use a slightly larger or smaller dish, it will also impact the cooking times. So please use the times given in this recipe only as a guide. It may take a little lesser or more time to cook depending on your microwave and your dish.

This snack is off to the Microwave Easy cooking event- Lunch box menu being hosted by Lataji, originally started by Srivalli

This snack is also off to the MLLA-34 event being hosted by Jaya originally started by Susan.

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Cauliflower Chickpeas Curry- Gobi chana curry

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Just as there are days when I look forward to making traditional or tried and tested recipes, there are days when all I want to make is something "different". These are the kinds of days when I tend to get a little experimental and come up with different combinations and see how it works out. Last week this impulse of mine led me to make this curry with cauliflower and chickpeas.

Why cauliflower and chickpeas? Well, quite frankly these two ingredients were available on hand and I thought it might be interesting to combine the two. A quick google search showed me that I was not the only one to think of combining these two ingredients. The most interesting ones that I  looked up were this stew recipe and this curry recipe. I took a little from both the recipes, added a few touches of my own and came up with this cauliflower chick pea curry.

This curry was quick, simple and very flavorful. I served it with plain steamed brown basmati rice,but I am sure this curry would taste just as delicious with Phulkas/ Rotis (Indian flat bread) or even on its own. If you are looking for curry with a "difference" too, give this one a try, I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did....



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Ingredients and Method to make Cauliflower chickpea curry
1 head cauliflower broken into florets
2 medium onions cut fine
2 large tomatoes cut fine (yielded 2 cups of tomato pieces)
2 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans/ chana) (see notes)
1/2 cup coconut milk

3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
2 tbsp oil ( I used coconut oil)
1 inch piece of ginger minced

1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
2 tsp garam masala (can be substituted with any other curry powder)
salt to taste
handful cilantro (coriander leaves) cut fine

Cook chickpeas and keep aside. (see notes for more detail)

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add onions and saute until transparent. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic and stir for a few minutes.

Add tomatoes and stir until it is soft and mushy. Add turmeric powder, garam masala and stir a few times.

Add cauliflower, salt to taste, a little water and allow the cauliflower to cook until almost soft. Add cooked chickpeas, water as required to achieve required consistency and allow the curry to simmer for a few minutes until all the flavors infuse.
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Finally add some coconut milk, mix well and allow to simmer for yet another minute or so. Garnish with finely cut cilantro and serve hot with plain steamed rice or with some crusty bread or even some phulkas/ rotis (Indian flat bread)

Notes:

Soak required amount of chickpeas in sufficient water for 6 to 8 hours. Drain the water, fill with fresh water and cook the beans in the pressure cooker or on the stove top until soft, yet not mushy. Remove and keep aside and use in recipe. If you use canned beans, drain the can, rinse the beans thoroughly and use in the recipe.

This curry is off to the MLLA-34 event being hosted by Jaya originally started by Susan. 

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Bajji Dosai (Savory chick pea flour crepe ) and did you know olive oil could be used for this ?

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Phew,  pretty lengthy title huh? There was just no avoiding it with all the things I needed to say in the title:-) Anyway going back to the question in the title, did you know that olive oil can be used to polish stainless steel appliances. Really I am not kidding, I heard this tip for the first time on a show on HGTV.  I  was thrilled to learn this, especially because it would mean a simple and chemical free way to polish appliances and I could not wait to find out if it really worked the way it was described. Sure enough my stainless steel appliance is now gleaming from the olive oil treatment. Who would have thought it :-)

If any of you are interested in trying this tip, here is how it works. Start with a clean appliance. Take a soft piece of cloth and pour just a drop or two of pure olive oil on it. Apply to the appliance in the direction of the grain and buff slightly when done. For this, a little olive oil goes a long way so there is no need to pour a lot on the cloth. Here is a link I found online for this tip if you want to check it out....

Moving on to the bajji dosai, this recipe, which I got from my father who saw it in a Tamil magazine, has been in my recipe book for a long while now. I tried it once when I first got it and liked it a lot, but somehow this one was forgotten and I never made it again...............that is....... until the other day when I was flipping through my book looking for some inspiration and this recipe just jumped out at me. This time when I made it I modified the recipe slightly, added flax for more nutrition and modified the spices a little for additional flavor.

Bajji refers to a deep fried south Indian snack and this bajji dosai probably got its name because the ingredients used in it are also used in making the batter for the bajji, it tastes similar to bajjis too :-) Now, anything that allows me to indulge in the taste of bajjis without the guilt is a winner in my book :-) This dosai also reminded me a little of the eggless omelette I used to make sometime back. This gluten free dosai is great for breakfasts/ tiffins/ snacks or even light dinners and can be made very quickly. So if you are looking for a quick dosai recipe for this weekend, give this one a try and tell me what you think :-)



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Ingredients and Method to make Bajji Dosai
2 cups Chick pea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu)
1/2 cup rice flour
1 small onion peeled and cut very fine
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine (or to taste)
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam) (optional)
3 heaped tbsp of flax seed meal (powdered flax/ alsi) (optional)
handful of cilantro (coriander leaves/dhania/kothamalli) cut very fine
a little sesame oil to shallow fry the dosai

In a large bowl, mix together chick pea flour, rice flour and salt to taste.Add turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, flax seed meal if using and mix well. Add ginger, green chilies, finely cut onion and mix well.

Add water as required, a little at a time to make a batter that is thicker than buttermilk and is not too runny.  When in doubt always err on the side of a thicker batter as water can always be added just before making dosai if required.
Add finely cut cilantro to the batter and mix well.

Heat a tawa/ heavy flat pan/ griddle on medium  heat. When hot, pour a little batter in a wide circle. If you have made rava dosai in the past, this one needs to be poured on the way you do rava dosai. Quickly spread the batter with a light hand to fill in the gaps and spaces. Pour a few drops of oil around the circumference of the dosai. Allow to cook until the lower side is an even golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side until it begins to have light brownish spots.
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Remove and serve hot with chutney of choice/ sambar or some molaga podi or any combination of these items. Or even just enjoy these on their own they are that flavorful:-)

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Spinach with Peanut curry (Palakachi Patal bhaji)

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Peanuts are one of my favorite items from the bean family, especially cooked peanuts, which always taste a little crunchy, a little soft and very, very delicious. The other day when I planned to make spinach curry, somehow the idea of combining it with peanuts got stuck in my head. I googled to see if there were any recipes made with this combination and sure enough I came across this Maharashtrian curry that really appealed to me. What I really loved about this curry, other than its typically Maharashtrian style of combining a little sweet, a little spice and a little tart was the combination of chick pea lentil, peanuts and spinach, making this a protein filled and healthy curry.

The original recipe called for goda masala (a type of curry powder) that I completely skipped.  The reason for this..........I did not want the flavors of the masala powder to overwhelm the simple flavors from spinach, peanuts and chick pea lentil. I also adapted a few other ingredients from the original recipe to suit our taste and to adjust for availability of ingredients on hand. The result...........was this fabulous curry that I absolutely adored. Perfect for phulkas / rotis or any other Indian themed meal or can be had just by itself...it was that yum :-) 



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Ingredients and Method to make Spinach with Peanut curry
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/2 cup split chick pea lentil (chana dhal/ kadalai parappu)
2 inch piece of tamarind
12 oz spinach leaves (palak)
2 tbsp grated jaggery (gur/gud/vellam)
salt to taste
1 tbsp chick pea flour (besan/ kadalai maavu)
seasoning
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or  to taste)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi /mendiyam)
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Soak raw peanuts and chick pea lentil together in sufficient water for an hour.
Soak tamarind in a little water for about 15 to 20 minutes
Pressure cook peanuts + lentil until soft. Peanuts + lentils can also be cooked on the stove top until soft. Keep this aside.

In a small pan, place spinach, tamarind and some water and allow to cook until soft. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool. Puree spinach + tamarind in a blender until smooth and keep aside.
Heat oil on medium heat in a medium to large heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds. When seeds begin to splutter add fenugreek seeds and stir until it begins to brown. Quickly add green chilies. When they begin to sizzle add asafoetida powder and turmeric powder and quickly stir a few times.
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Add pureed spinach to the seasoning. Pureed spinach splatters when added to the seasoning so make sure to keep a lid handy to close the pan. Next add cooked peanuts and lentil to it. Add salt to taste and grated jaggery and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Finally mix chick pea flour in a little water (I used approximately 1/4 cup) and add the mixture to the spinach curry. Allow to simmer for a few more minutes until the curry begins to thicken slightly. Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis. Or serve as a side dish with any Indian themed meal.

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