Food Fundas

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Okra dry sabzi / Lady's Finger fry

Portions indicated below serves three.

Ingredients:

Okra (bhindi or lady’s finger): 500 grams
Mustard seeds (kadugu): Quarter teaspoon (about 20 seeds)
South Indian Gun powder (molaga podi): Quarter teaspoon
Red chilly powder: Half teaspoon (if you do not want to use gun powder, increase the red chilli portion to half teaspoon)
Turmeric powder: Quarter teaspoon
Oil: about 5 teaspoons
Salt to taste


Method:
Wash the Okra, wipe with towel to dry, before chopping. Remove both the ends and chop into small pieces (about half-inch per piece). Heat the oil in a heavy bottom (Illupachatti / Kadai) pan. Add turmeric powder followed by mustard seeds. When they start popping, add the chopped vegetable and mix well to ensure oil gets coated well on the okra pieces. Cover the pan. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-5 min with occasional stirring.

Now add spices and salt and mix well. Cook for 7-10 min with occasional stirring. Keep pan covered at all times and flame low.

The stickiness of the okra will go indicating it is cooked.

Serve with rice or chapattis.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Delicious Poricha Kootu (Stew)

This can be made with Snake Gourd/Cabbage/Flat Broad Beans/Cluster Beans

Portions indicated below serves 3. It can be had with Chappatis or Rice

500 grams of any one of the vegetables given above
Around 50 gms of toor dal
4 teaspoons of urad dal
4 red chilly (dry)
10-12 black pepper
Approx 6-7 teaspoons of grated coconut
Half teaspoon of sambar powder
Turmeric power
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida

Part 1

Chop the vegetable fine. Put in vessel and add a glass of water so that the chopped vegetable is slightly immersed (approx 250 ml of water should do the trick).
Add sambar powder, salt to taste (approximately one teaspoon), a little bit of turmeric power and asafoetida. Put the whole mixture onto the flame and keep covered. Simultaneously, put the toor dal in a pressure cooker for cooking.

Part 2 – Preparing the masala

Add 2 teaspoons of Sunflower oil to a pan. To it add urad dal, red chilly, and pepper. Fry for 30 seconds by when the dal will start to turn brown in color and pepper burst.

Beat this mixture in a mixer. Once powdered, add the grated coconut and beat again. You may be required to add a little bit of water to facilitate smooth grinding.

Final Part

Add this mixture to the boiling vegetable and stir. By now the toor day would be ready. Mash the dal and add to mixture. Keep in flame for 2-3 minutes.

Season with curry leaves and mustard.

ps. I take comments seriously. My last post had a comment to have pictures of the dish posted, and here it it :)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Sweet dish in a matter of minutes

Let me start with a sweet dish. Well, one cant classify this as a sweet "dish" per se, its more of a sweet "snack" that is healthy, and more importantly, TASTY

Portions mentioned below will serve two adults
1. One glass of poha. Flattened Rice. "Aval/avul in Tamil" The thick variety. Measure in a glass that will be able to hold 200 ml of liquid.
2. One half portions of milk. i.e. around 300 ml of milk
3. Half glass of Jaggery "gudd in hindi" "Vellam" in Tamil and "Gur" in Bangla
4. Some grated coconut - approx half glass
5. Elachi for seasoning - 3 nos
I am keping all measures in "glass" measurement to be consistent.

Put the poha in a bowl. Mash/grate the Jaggery and put in the same bowl along with the poha. Now add the grated coconut. Heat the milk and add. Garnish with elachi. Stir and keep covered for 5 min. This will allow the poha to become soft and the jaggery to melt and mix. Serve.

We now have a snack that is quick to prepare (max 10 min) and all you health freaks out there, this is one helluva snack.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Intro to the site

I love to eat. Period. This blog is for fellow foodies who have sharpened their taste buds to perfection.

Having moved out of my parents' due to work opportunities, I have been managing my cooking all by myself. This has helped me sharpen my culinary skills.

I will share my ideas, recipes through this forum.

Be sure that we will not be discussing how to make "Maggie" Noodles, how to boil eggs, or how to prepare tea. Coffee - yes, but filter coffee it is gonna be.

Nevertheless, we shall also be looking at easy-to cook, YET tasty items :)

till chow time
Ram

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