Aloo Gobi - dry

“What’s for dinner?”  Some days, I just wish I didn’t have to hear those words.  Coming up with something different to make every night is really tough.  Especially if you haven’t had time to go grocery shopping.

The last couple of weeks I have had parent teacher conferences on Thursdays and so haven’t been able to make it to my Indian store on the day they get vegetables.  I have been improvising by making soups, pasta, chole, pulavs etc.  I also had idli and dosa batter so that we could just make sambar and have that for dinner one night.

I always have potatoes on hand.  If you have read any of my previous posts, you will know that my family loves potatoes.  I also had some cauliflower left - and not much else.  Since both my husband and son love aloo gobi, it meant that I did not have to make two different things for dinner!

I make this a few different ways – sometimes dry and sometimes with a bit of gravy – depending on my mood.  Since I had ghugni, I decided to make this dry.

 

Here is what you need:

• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1” piece ginger, slivered
• ½ large onion, diced
• 3 - 4 green chilies, slit lengthwise
• 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1 tsp. amchur powder (dried mango powder)
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tsp. kasoori methi
• some chopped cilantro for garnish

 

Here is how I made it:

1. Heat oil in a pan.  Add cumin seeds.
2. When the cumin seeds change color, add garlic and ginger. Sauté for about 30 seconds.  Now add the onions.
3. When the onions turn translucent add the green chilies, tomatoes, and salt.  Mix well.
4. When the tomatoes get mushy, take a small bowl with a little bit of water, add all the spices (turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and amchur powder).  Mix well and pour this into the pan.
5. Fry this on medium heat till the spices are well blended and the masala smells great.
6. Add the diced potatoes. Cover and cook for 5 – 7 minutes.
7. Add the cauliflower.  Mix well.  Cover and cook for a few more minutes – maybe another 10 minutes so that the cauliflower and potatoes are cooked but still firm.
8. Take the kasoori methi in the palm of your hand and crush it over the pan.  Mix well.
9. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with rotis.

Mumbai Pav Bhaji – recipe from the back of a box

Even though I had traveled quite a bit while living in India, I had never been to Bombay (that is what it was called when I was still living in India).  I had heard so much about the place - the shopping, the beaches, the food, the people.

On one of our trips to India a while back, we decided to visit my husband’s uncle and aunt (mama and mami).  They have lived in Mumbai forever and had been inviting us to spend time with them – and we decided to take them up on their offer.  

It was a fantastic trip! We had a great time with mama and mami.  He is my husband’s youngest mama and they get along great.  Both my husband and his mama have similar personalities and also have the knack of annoying their wives with very little effort :)

Mama and mami took us around Mumbai and showed us the sights.  We saw the Gateway of India, the Taj Palace Hotel, Marine Drive, Juhu, Versova Beach (my husband insisted on visiting this to see where numerous smuggling scenes have been shot in Hindi movies) and various other attractions.  We even took a ferry ride on the Arabian Sea!  It was a fantastic trip!

Before we left on this trip to India, my friend Swati - who was born and brought up in Mumbai, gave us some tips on things that we have to do and food to try.  On her list were vada pav, dabeli, and Mumbai pav bhaji.

Though mama and mami were a bit apprehensive about letting us try street food on the street, mainly because they didn’t want us to fall sick, we managed to sample some authentic Mumbai street food! 

We had pav bhaji in a decent food stall and vada pav from a street side shop near their house.  I loved the food so much that I decided to pick up some masalas to bring back with me.  One of those was called Mumbai Pav Bhaji Masala (I think it was Everest brand).

When I came back here, I used this masala to make Pav Bhaji.  It came out great!  I just followed the recipe on the back of the box.  We get Mumbai Pav Bhaji Masala in our Indian store now (Badshah brand). I have made this several times and each time, it has been a hit. 

Other than some very slight modifications, I follow the recipe on the back of the box.  I use oil to sauté the onions first and then add butter later in the recipe.  I also don’t add garam masala.  I use veggies I have on hand and tend to use more cauliflower than potatoes.  I don’t grind the veggies, but mash them up with a potato masher.

 

Here is what you need:

• 3 - 4 medium potatoes
• 1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced  (you can add cabbage, peas or other vegetables of your choice)
• 4 tsp. oil
• ½ tsp. hing
• 2 medium onions, chopped fine
• 1 Tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 4 – 6 green chilies, diced
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 3 – 4 cloves
• 2 – 3 Tbsp. Mumbai Pav Bhaji Masala
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tsp. coriander powder
• ½ tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. amchur powder
• 3 Tbsp. butter

Here is how I made it:

1. Boil the potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower (or any other vegetable you are using)
2. Peel the potatoes.  Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a big pot.  Add hing and after a minute add onions.  Sauté for a few minutes till they turn translucent.  Add the ginger garlic paste.  Mix well.
4. Now add green bell peppers.  Sauté for a few more minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, green chilies, cumin seeds, cloves, pav bhaji masala, salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and amchur powder. Mix well.
6. Let this cook for a few minutes till the tomatoes become mushy and all the masalas have blended well.
7. Now add the butter.  After it melts, add the boiled veggies and potatoes (kind of mash up the potatoes while you are adding it to the pot).
8. Mix everything together.  Take a potato masher and mash up the veggies.  Taste and adjust seasoning – adding more pav bhaji masala and salt if necessary.
9. Turn off the heat after about 10 minutes.

To serve

• pav buns
• butter
• finely chopped onions
• chopped cilantro
• lime/lemon wedges 

1. Heat a tawa.  Melt some butter on it and toast the pav buns so that they turn golden brown on both sides.
2. Put these on a plate with a generous ladle full of bhaji (vegetable), garnished with onions, cilantro, and lime/lemon wedges.
3. Enjoy

Vegetables with Panch Phoron (Panch Phoron Chorchori)

Last week, I had one of those days – I did not feel like cooking anything.  It happens once in a while.  I was getting bored with all the regular stuff that I normally make and also did not feel like getting food from outside.

I kept opening my fridge to see what I had – and for inspiration to strike.  I had a little bit of cauliflower, some carrots, one capsicum, couple of white eggplants from my garden, and a handful of beans, also from my garden – not exactly inspiring stuff.

Vegetables with Panch Phoron

I then realized, I had all the ingredients to make Panch Phoron Chorchori – the recipe that introduced me to the Bengali five-spice blend! (See my post on Dal with Panch Phoron, for more information.) I hadn’t made it in ages, and now seemed like the perfect time.  I also got to use up a lot of the left-over vegetables in my fridge! A delicious dinner was ready in just a few minutes.

Note 1: The original recipe calls for red pumpkin and peas.  I did not have either of those at home.  I think you can add any combination of vegetable you have, and it will work well.

Note 2:  The original recipe also asks you to add sugar, but I don’t.  I have included it in the recipe as an optional ingredient.

 

Here is what you need (recipe adapted from Festival Cookbook by Vimala Patil and Monisha Bharadwaj):

(easily serves 3 - 4 people)

• 2 tsp. oil
• 1½ tsp. panch phoron (fenugreek seed, onion or nigella seed, cumin seed, black mustard seed and fennel seed in equal parts)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 red chilies
• 2 green chilies, split lengthwise
• ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
• 2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
• 10 - 12 cauliflower florets
• 1 capsicum, seeded and diced
• 1 carrot, sliced diagonally into ovals
• 5 – 6 beans, cut
• 1 small eggplant, cubed
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp. sugar (optional)
• cilantro for garnish

Here is how I made it:

1. Heat oil.  Add panch phoron, bay leaf, and red chilies.
2. When the mustard seeds sputter, add the green chilies and turmeric.
3. Add the chopped veggies, salt, and sugar (if you are using).
4. Add a cup or so of water, cover and cook on medium-low heat till the veggies are cooked.
5. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with rotis or luchis (pooris made with all purpose flour).

Kerala Style Vegetable Ishtew

I had this ishtew for the first time at a friend’s house in California.  I was pregnant with my first child.  We had gone to visit a close friend, my husband’s college classmate.   It was Christmas time.  Another classmate, originally from Kerala, invited us for Christmas dinner at their place and they made appam and vegetable ishtew.  I was in foodie heaven.  It was an amazing combination and I haven’t forgotten the rich taste of the vegetable stew I had that day.

Kerala Style Vegetable Ishtew

I don’t make it as often as I would like to because of all the bad rap about coconuts.  Coconuts were such a constant in my mom’s kitchen while I was growing up.  My mother in law would also use it regularly.  They would break a coconut every day and use it up in that day’s cooking.  Once I moved to the U.S, I kept hearing about coconut contributing to high cholesterol because of the high saturated fat content and stopped using it.

Now that coconut and coconut oil are back on the good side of healthy eating, I decided to make this stew for my party.  Since I had around 30 people coming, I made idiyappams instead of appams, to go with the stew.  I looked up various recipes online and came up with this hybrid version that works for me.  It tastes much better than it looks in the pictures :)

Here is what you need:

• ½ cup grated coconut
• 4 green chilies
• 1” piece ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 – 4 potatoes, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 1 small cauliflower, separated into florets
• 2 carrots, cut into big chunks
• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp peppercorns
• 1 blade of mace
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (cut onion in half, slice off the head and the root.  Peel the dry outer layers and discard.  Cut into very thin slices parallel to the layers.  Separate the layers.  I learned this technique from Vasu, who used to work in my friend's house)
• salt to taste
• ½” piece of thinly slivered ginger
• 2 green chilies, slit
• few curry leaves
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 can coconut milk

Here is how I made it:

1. Grind the first four ingredients (grated coconut, green chilies, ginger, and garlic) into a smooth paste.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil, add vegetables one at a time and cook them till they are cooked though, but still firm.  Set aside.
3. Heat coconut oil in a big pan. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, and mace. Fry for a few seconds.
4. Add the slivered onions.  Keep frying till the onions are gently browned.
5. Add salt, ginger, green chilies, and curry leaves.  Stir and fry for a few more minutes.
6. Now add the tomatoes and fry till the whole thing gets cooked well (about 10 minutes).
7. Add the ground paste and keep stirring occasionally till all the water gets dried up (another 10 minutes).
8. Now add the coconut milk and reduce the heat to low, because you don’t want the coconut milk to get curdled.
9. When you see small bubbles forming – showing you that the coconut milk is heated through, add the vegetables and mix well.
10. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes on low heat so that the vegetables absorb the spices. Adjust seasoning to taste.
11. Serve hot with idiyappams or appams.

This is a good recipe for the crock pot.  I made the dish in the morning.  When I reached step 9, I refrigerated the gravy.  About an hour or so before people were scheduled to come, I put the coconut gravy and the vegetables in a crock pot and set the heat to low.  The vegetables slowly absorbed all the flavors from the gravy and the stew was perfectly cooked when people were ready to eat.

Oven roasted cauliflower

This is a quick and easy way to make cauliflower.  I make it sometimes for parties because it takes almost no time to prep and the whole thing cooks in the oven freeing up stovetop space for your other dishes.

With my plumbing disaster this morning, I was really glad that I had cauliflower on hand for a quick veggie dish to go with the whole moong dal.

If you have time, you can marinate the cauliflower in the spices for a while.  If not, you can toss the florets with the spices and pop it right into the oven.

Here is what you need:

• 1 big cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tsp. oil
• salt to taste
• 1 – 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp. coriander powder
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. garlic powder

Here is how I make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Wash the florets and set aside
3. In a big bowl, add all the other ingredients.  Mix well.
4. Add the cauliflower florets to the spices and toss well to coat
5. If you have time, let the florets marinate for ½ to 1 hour
6. Spread the florets on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes.
7. Gently turn the florets over, return to the oven and bake for maybe 10 more minutes until the cauliflower is crispy on the outside and cooked well on the inside.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Serve with rotis and rice.