Aloo Baingan Sabzi ~ Vegan Eggplant and Potato Curry

Tweet

Every time I travel, I find that  food choices at airports or rather the lack of choices quite frustrating.  I mean yes,  I do find the occasional salad at some restaurant, but for most part the choices are either unhealthy or unappetizing or both :-(  As a result, I find that by the time I reach my destination, especially when I take long haul flights, I start to crave simple comfort foods. Some phulkas/ Indian flat bread and a simple curry or some khichdi and some kadhi feels just blissful after all the unhealthy choices we encountered in our journey. 

Curries such as this aloo baingan are perfect not only for such days but also for weeknights or pretty much anytime you are looking for an easy, healthy and quick side dish for phulkas or even some plain steamed rice and dhal. It is easy enough for anyone to make, even newbies to the kitchen and it is consistently satisfying and delicious :)  

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make aloo baingan

1 large eggplant cut into 3/4 inch cubes ( baingan / katrikai )

1 large potato  peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes ( aloo/ urilakizhangu) ( or 3 medium potatoes )

1 large onion peeled and cut fine (pyaaz / vengayam )

2 medium tomatoes cut fine ( yielded 1 cup of cut pieces) ( tamatar / thakkali)

1 and 1/2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera / jeeragam)

1 tsp ginger garlic paste ( adrak lehsun) 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)

3/4 tsp red chili powder ( or to taste) ( lal mirch/ molagai podi)

1 tsp coriander powder ( dhania powder)

Salt to taste ( namak/ uppu)

Garnish

2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro ( coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli)

Prep all the vegetables and keep aside. Place cubed potatoes and eggplant in a bowl of cool/ room temperature water so that it does not discolor. 

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add cumin seeds/ jeera to it, when the seeds sizzle add onions and sauté until the onions turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste and stir a few times.

Add tomatoes and stir until it softens. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and stir a few times. Add drained potatoes and eggplant, salt to taste and mix well. Cover with a lid and on low heat cook the vegetables. You don't need to add any water as the veggies cook in the steam.

When the veggies are cooked until soft yet retain their shape, remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro/ coriander leaves.

  Serve hot with phulka / rotis / Indian flat bread or even as a side dish with plain steamed rice and dhal. 

 If you are looking for recipes with baingan/ eggplant, here are a few more

Baingan Bharta ~ Vegan Roasted Eggplant Curry

Baingan ki sabzi ~ Eggplant in coconut milk gravy

Methi Baingan  ~ Eggplant with fenugreek curry

Baingan Simla mirch sabzi ~ Eggplant bell pepper curry

Read more ...

Rajasthani style Aloo ki sabzi ~ Dahiwale Aloo ~ Potatoes in yogurt gravy curry

Tweet

Rajasthani cuisine has  been on my " to try" list for some time now. When we travel to India, our family likes to frequent a restaurant that serves Rajasthani food and we always enjoy the experience. When we get home, I always think this is something I would love to make myself , but somehow I never got around to doing it,  that is, until recently.  

This creamy potato curry is one of my first experiments with making Rajasthani cuisine in my home. This is a super simple curry that is perfect for weekdays or whenever you are short of time. Once the potatoes are cooked and cubed, it takes just a few minutes to get ready. The combination of seeds used in this recipe along with the spices impart a delicious flavor that tastes pretty amazing. If a quick, flavorful curry sounds appealing to you give this one a try and enjoy :)

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Dahiwale Aloo (adapted from this recipe )

3 cups of cooked, peeled and cubed potatoes ( aloo) ( about 8 medium sized potatoes)

I cup fresh plain yogurt ( curds/ dahi)

1 Tbsp chick pea flour ( besan)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai)

1 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera)

1 tsp fennel seeds ( saunf)

1/2 tsp onion seeds ( kalonji / nigella)

1 clove (laung)

1 inch thin piece of cinnamon (dalchini)

1 bay leaf ( tej patta)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder ( haldi)

1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) ( lal mirch)

1/2 tsp cumin powder ( jeera pwd)

1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania)

Salt to taste

2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro ( coriander leaves/ hara dhania)

Cook, cool a little, peel and cube potatoes and keep aside.

Place chick pea flour/ besan in a small bowl. Add a little water and make a smooth paste making sure there are no lumps in it. Add plain yogurt/ dahi to it and whisk together until well blended. 

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add mustard seeds to it. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter add cumin, fennel, onion seeds, clove, cinnamon and bay leaf and stir for a few seconds. 

Add yogurt + chickpea flour mixture to it. Then add one cup of water, then add turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.  Cook this mixture on low  heat , stirring frequently until the mixture heats through.

Add cubed potatoes, salt to taste and simmer on low heat stirring frequently for a couple of mins for the flavors to mingle.Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis/ chapathis.

 If you are looking for recipes with potatoes/ aloo/ urilakizhangu, here are a few more

Punjabi Aloo Gobi ~ Potato and cauliflower curry

Aloo ki sabzi ~ Potato Masala ~ Potato gravy curry

Aloo Palak ~ Baked Potatoes in Spinach Gravy Curry

Aloo Chana Chaat ~ Potato and Chickpeas Snack

Read more ...

Mixed vegetable kurma ~ Broccoli peas curry ~ Side dish for phulkas and chapathis

Tweet

Mixed vegetable kurma is an aromatic curry usually served with phulkas/ chapathis / puris. This curry is  found very often in South Indian restaurants and is often categorized simply as sometimes as chapathi kurma or kuruma. Unlike the North Indian korma which does not use coconut but cream to give the curry a creamy texture, the South Indian version uses coconut to give the gravy some texture and creaminess. I have seen some versions of kurma with coconut milk, but I haven't tried that yet.

This version with coconut and spices is my favorite mixed vegetable curry especially for phulkas. It's a very forgiving recipe and you can use any combination of vegetables on hand. Traditionally this curry does not use broccoli but I often use broccoli in this, it blends very well with the rest of the veggies and tastes great too. 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make mixed vegetable kurma

1 cup green peas ( matar)

2 cups broccoli florets ( or cauliflower florets, see notes)

2 med large potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (yielded 2 cups) ( aloo)

2 large carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces (yielded 1 cup)

1 med large red onion cut fine ( pyaaz)

2 large tomatoes cut fine ( yielded 1 and 1/2 cups of pieces)

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp ginger garlic paste ( adrak lehsun )

1 bay leaf ( tej patta) 

1/4 tsp turmeric powder ( haldi) 

1/4 tsp red chili powder ( or to taste) ( lal mirch)

Salt to taste

2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania) for garnish

For the masala paste

1/2 cup grated fresh coconut (nariyal/ thengai ) ( or frozen thawed to room temperature)

1 inch thin stick of cinnamon / dalchini

1 green cardamom / elaichi

2 cloves / laung

1/2 tsp fennel seeds / saunf

1 tsp coriander seeds / dhania

4 Indian or Thai green chilies/ hari mirch ( or to taste)

1 Tbsp broken cashew/ kaju

Grind all the ingredients under masala paste to a smooth paste with a little water. If you are using frozen and thawed to room temperature coconut, use warm water when grinding. Keep this masala paste aside.

Prep all the vegetables. Heat oil on low to medium low heat, in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add ginger garlic paste and stir a few times, add onions and sauté until onions turn translucent. Add bay leaf and stir a couple of times, then add tomatoes and stir until tomatoes turn soft and mushy. 

Add all the vegetables, salt to taste, red chili powder, turmeric powder and mix well. Add water as needed, cover with a lid and allow the vegetable to cook until soft. Add masala paste, add water if needed to achieve required consistency and simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro/ hara dhania and serve hot with phulkas/ chapathis / puris.

Serves approx 4 - 5

Notes:

Instead of potatoes, Broccoli, peas and carrots, you can use 7 cups of any combination of vegetables like cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots, button mushrooms etc.

This recipe can be halved.

 If you are looking for curry recipes here are a few more,

Dudhi/ Lauki sabzi ~ Bottlegourd in peanut gravy curry

Kadai Mushroom/ khumb ki sabzi ~ Vegan Mushroom curry

Tomato Coconut curry ~ Tamatar ki sabzi ~ Thakkali kozhambu

Read more ...

Aloo Chana Chaat ~ Indian snack with chickpeas and potatoes.

Tweet

As I mentioned in this post, chaat refers to wide variety of snacks made with a variety of ingredients like puffed rice, puris (Indian style tortilla chips), many varieties of beans etc. Most use a combination of sweetish dates chutney and spicy cilantro/ coriander chutney that add delicious layers of flavor to the final dish. Chaat dishes are completely customizable and the final taste can be varied to suit the taste of every member of the family. Like it a bit sweetish, add more sweet chutney, like it more spicy add more cilantro chutney, want to skip raw onions go right ahead.

If I had to choose a favorite kind of chaat I would find it very difficult to do so,I find almost all of them tempting. This aloo chana chaat is one of the things I make from time to time. It is one of the easiest chaats to make. It hardly takes any time to put together once the chutneys are ready. Sometimes I make the chutney a day in advance so that on the day that I am making this chaat, I just have to cook the chickpeas and potatoes and I am set, all I have to do mix everything together and enjoy the chaat :) 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Aloo Chana chaat
1 cup cooked chana (chickpeas)
1/2 cup cooked, peeled and diced potatoes (1 medium potato/aloo/urilakizhangu)
2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped onion (1/4 of a medium onion/ pyaaz/vengayam) (optional, see notes)
2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped tomato (1/2 of a medium tomato/tamatar/thakkali) (optional, see notes)
1 to 2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/kothamalli)
This sweet dates/khajur imli chutney as needed
This cilantro (coriander leaves) chutney as needed
salt to taste
chaat masala a pinch (optional, see notes)
nylon sev (fried gram flour thin noodles) as needed  (available in Indian groceries)

Assemble all the ingredients required for the chaat. In a large bowl, add chickpeas, potatoes. Add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, then two chutneys to taste, salt to taste, chaat masala if using, cilantro and gently mix together.

Top with sev and serve immediately.

Serves approx 1. Recipe can be easily doubled or tripled to make more servings.

Notes:
Soak chickpeas overnight and pressure cook until soft for this recipe (about 4 whistles in the pressure cooker, then turn down heat and cook another 3 minutes or so). You can use canned chickpeas too for this recipe, just make sure to rinse thoroughly.

You can cook the potatoes in the pressure cooker too, or in the microwave until it is soft.

The onions and tomatoes are optional, if you do not like the taste or raw onions or tomatoes or do not have one or the other ingredient on hand, you can skip and make the chaat with just chickpeas and potatoes too. 

Read more ...

Potato Masala ~ Potato Gravy Curry ~ Aloo ki subzi ~ With Stepwise pictures

Tweet

Every once in a while when I want to make something super quick as a side dish for phulkas, I make this potato masala curry. This curry is one of R's favorites and he likes it so much that if I told him I plan to make it three times this week he would think I just had the best idea ever :) LOL not that I would ever make such an offer :) But I have to admit this curry tastes pretty delicious and I kind of see why R likes it so much :)

Even though this curry is somewhat similar to this other potato masala curry that I had posted earlier, the addition of tomatoes and the different seasonings alters the taste quite a bit. Like the earlier version, this  curry too can be served with puris or with phulkas or with any kind of flat bread or can be served as a side dish for any Indian meal.

If you are looking for curries with potatoes, you can also check out
Aloo palak ~ Baked potatoes in spinach gravy curry
Aloo matar masala ~ Potato and peas curry
Potato Roti ~ Flat bread with potatoes
Urilakizhangu podimas ~ Mashed potato curry
Aloo paratha ~ Flat bread stuffed with spiced potatoes

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Potato masala
6 medium potatoes (aloo/ batata/ urilakizhangu)
1 medium onion cut fine (pyaaz/vengayam)
2 medium tomatoes cut fine = 1 cup of cut pieces (tamatar/ thakkali)
2 Thai or green chilies slit lengthwise (or to taste) (hara mirch/ pachai molagai)
2 dry red chilies torn into small pieces (or to taste) (lal mirch/molagai vathal)
1/2 tsp grated ginger (adrak/inji)
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson/rai/kadagu)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
salt to taste (namak/uppu)
2 to 3 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro for garnish (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/kothamalli)

Pressure cook potatoes until soft, cool and peel. Cut into 3/4 inch to 1 inch pieces and keep aside.

Prep the other vegetables and seasoning.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds to it, when the seeds begin to splutter add green chilies, red chilies, grated ginger and stir a few times. Add onions and stir until onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes are cooked and soft. Add turmeric powder and stir once or twice.

Add cooked potatoes, salt to taste and water as required to achieve desired consistency and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle. I used approx 1 cup of water.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis/ any kind of flat bread or with puris or as a side dish for any Indian themed meal.

Serves approx 2 to 3

Read more ...

Easy Cauliflower Potato Curry ~ Gujarati style Gobi Aloo Curry ~ Cauliflower batata nu shaak ~ With Stepwise pictures

Tweet

Some of the curries or dishes that I try in my kitchen are ideas that I get from family or friends and sometimes I get the ideas from friends of my family :)  The latter is applicable in this instance :)  I got the idea for this cauliflower curry from my sister in law Anu, who in turn got it from her Gujarati friend. She tried and liked it and mentioned it to me one day. I promptly wrote it down and gave it a try myself...... and I loved it.

The ingredients in this curry are somewhat similar to the ones used in other onion tomato gravy curries, yet adding the tomatoes at the end makes a difference to the texture and taste of the gravy. It has a very light and fresh taste and this curry tastes amazing with some phulkas .  It has the typical combination that I see in so many Gujarati dishes, a little bit of tart, a little bit of  sweet and a little bit of heat. This quick and easy curry is perfect for quick weeknight dinners when you do not want to fuss with something more elaborate, and yet want something nutritious, low fat, healthy and tasty :)

If you are looking for curries with either cauliflower or potatoes or a combination of the two, check out
Punjabi Aloo Gobi
Potato Kara Curry ~ Spiced potato curry
Potato Masala Curry
Cauliflower/ Gobi gravy curry ~ Patal bhaji

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Cauliflower Potato curry
4 cups of cauliflower florets (about 1/2 a head of cauliflower/ gobi )
2 cups of potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (5 medium potatoes/aloo/urilakizhangu)
1 cup of tomatoes cut into small pieces (4 medium tomatoes/tamatar/thakkali)
1 red onion cut fine (pyaaz/vengayam)
1 Tbsp oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds (rai/sarson/kadagu)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
1/2 tsp cumin powder (jeera powder/jeeragam podi)
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder/kothamalli virai podi)
3/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (lal mirch/ molaga podi)
1/2 tsp sugar (shakkar/sakkarai)
salt to taste

3 to 4 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro for garnish (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli)

Prep the vegetables. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter add cumin seeds.

When the cumin seeds sizzle add onions and saute until the onions turn translucent.

Add potatoes and cauliflower, a little bit of salt and turmeric powder and stir well. Lower heat, add a little water, cover with a lid and allow the potatoes and cauliflower to cook until soft. Stir a few times in between to ensure even cooking.

Once the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked and soft, add tomato pieces, cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder, sugar and adjust salt to taste and allow to cook until the tomatoes are soft. Add water as required to achieve required consistency.
 

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with phulkas/ Indian flat bread.

Read more ...