Panjabi Chole/Garbanzo beans in rich onion tomato spice gravy

Punjabi Chole is one of our favorite dishes. As a newlywed, I used to make bhatura (fried bread) to go with the chole but over the years replaced the bhatura with chapatis (flat Indian bread) - the bhatura, although delicious, is a calorie and cholesterol bomb.

My chole has also come a long way. I used to make it by simply sautéing onions and tomatoes with the three basic Indian spices - turmeric powder, chili powder, and coriander powder. Although it was delicious, the chole lacked the deep brownish color that I would see in restaurant chole. I read somewhere that adding tea bags while simmering the chole could give it a brown color, but that didn't appeal to me .

So I stuck to my recipe until I discovered Anita's blog. I love her blog and the way she writes. Her recipes greatly reduce the complexity and are what most Indians make and eat at home. Her Punjabi Chole looked awesome, so I had to give it a try - and I loved it. As it was a bit spicy for me, I played around with the spices. And yes, like Anita says, when you add the spices to the chole, the whole kitchen DOES smell like heaven. While I was making the chole, my older one, who always comes to the kitchen to see what's for dinner, says, "it smells so delicious mama". Thank you Anita!

I use canned Garbanzo beans for the recipe, if the cans are unavailable then soak about 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas overnight.

Ingredients:

Adapted from A Mad Tea Party

Serves 4-6 hungry people

• 822g(the big one) of Garbanzo beans
• 2 large onions chopped
• 4 green chilies chopped
• 1" fresh ginger chopped finely
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
• 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 cup of water

For the masala:

• 1-2 tsp roasted coriander powder or coriander seeds
• 1 tsp anardana (pomegranate seed) powder or amchoor powder
• 1” cinnamon sick
• 2-3 cloves
• 6-8 black peppercorns
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole dry red chillies

Method:

If using dried Kabooli chana (garbanzo beans), soak them over night. Pressure cook them with salt till they are tender. If using cans, drain the can in a colander and rinse it thoroughly.

Roast all the ingredients for the masala except roasted coriander powder and anardhana powder (roast the coriander seeds, if using coriander seeds along with the other spices), in a low flame till they turn a bit brown. Be careful not to burn it, so keep tossing the pan, till the spices turn a dark brown color. Once slightly cool, grind it to a fine powder in a spice grinder/coffee grinder, you could also use a motor or pestle to powder the spices.

Heat the oil in a pot and add the chopped ginger, when it sizzles add the chopped onions and green chilies. Saute it till the onions turn a pinkish brown color. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute it further till the tomatoes break down and turn mushy. Add the round spices, chili powder, tamarind, season it with salt and saute for a minute or so. This is the point where your kitchen smells like heaven. Add around 1/2 a cup of water, let it simmer for a minute or two. Add the garbanzo beans and mix till all the spices and the gravy coats every bean. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let it simmer for a few minutes on a medium flame. At this point if the gravy thickens add some more water. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with bhatura, puri, chapati, parathas or nans.

Also, on a different note, I am trying to organize and change the look of my blog, so please be patient with me. Thanks.

Upma

Upma, pronounced Oop-ma, is usually had for breakfast in southern India. Made from semolina flour, it is a hearty dish with great nutritional value. I make mine with sautéed onions, tomatoes and some veggies (typically peas and chopped carrots but you can add other vegetables like green or red peppers (capsicum), french beans and even tiny florets of broccoli. We usually have Upma for breakfast on weekends. I use coarse semolina flour, available at most Indian grocery stores in the US.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 tsps Oil
• ¼ tsp Black Mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp Urad Dal/lentils (optional)
• ¼ tsp Chana Dal/lentils (optional)
• ¼ Onion chopped fine
• 1" Ginger chopped or grated
• 1/2 Medium size tomato
• 2-4 Green Chili (more of less depending on your spice intake)
• 1 Medium size Carrot quarted and chopped fine
• ½ cup Peas
• 1 ½ cups Coarse Semolina flour (roasted)
• 2 cups Water
• 1-2 tsps Ghee (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Few sprigs of Curry leaves
• Few sprigs of Coriander chopped fine

Method:

Heat the oil in a pot, add the mustard seeds, when it pops add the 2 dals, if using. When the dal sizzles add the chopped onions and chilies and let it sauté till the onions turn translucent (few minutes), add the chopped ginger and a few seconds later add the tomatoes. Let the tomatoes sauté for a bit.

Now, add the chopped carrots and peas. Give it a few minutes, add the curry leaves and chopped coriander. Add the water and salt, cover and let the water boil. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, lower the flame and add the roasted* semolina flour, keep stirring mixing the flour continuously till all the flour has absorbed the water. Turn off the flame and add ghee, if using at this point cover and let sit for a few minutes. Serve hot with Indian pickle or the way I like it, with a dash of lemon juice.

* It is advisable to dry roast the semolina before you add it to the water. To dry roast the semolina, simply put the semolina in a pan and let it warm through without discoloring the semolina.

Variations:

You could use other grains like quinoa or lapsi (cracked wheat) instead of semolina but you will need to cook them before adding it to the veggies.

Asparagus, sundried tomato and olive loaf

This picture is going for Click hosted by Jugalbandi

My husband surprised me a few years ago and as I continue to enjoy it.  I often use the recipes in the "in season" section of the magazine.  This month, asparagus is in season and I happen to be a big fan.  

I love it as thoran/side dish, and in salads or just grilled and garnished with olive oil. Asparagus in bread seemed like a fantastic idea.  So I had to try this recipe as soon as I read it.  

The sundried tomatoes give a lovely tangy, chewy texture to the bread.  Although the recipe called to use Gruyere or Beaufort cheese, I didn't use it, just to cut down the calorie in take. The bread came out really well, and before I knew it, only the crumbs were left.  I did feel that the bread would have been even better with the cheese.  But then my waistline would have to pay the price. :-)

This is lovely with a hot cup of tea/coffee.  Enjoy!  

This recipe is also going to Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes for AFAM - Olives

Ingredients:

• 100ml Olive oil, plus extra for greasing
  
• 250g Asparagus(woody ends removed), each cut into 3 pieces
  
• 200g Self raising flour
  
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
  
• 100 ml milk
  
• handful of black pitted olives
  
• 100g sundried tomatoes roughly chopped
  
• 100g Gruyere or Beaufort, grated
  

Method: 

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5/350F. Oil a loaf tin. Cook the asparagus in salted water for 2 minutes, drain then cool quickly under cold running water. Pat dry. 

In a large bowl, mix the flour and thyme with the seasoning. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, milk and oil stirring all the time to draw the flour into the center. Beat for a minute or so to make a smooth batter. 

Reserve few asparagus tips and few olives.  Add the remaining asparagus, tomatoes, olives and two thirds of the cheese to the batter. Pour into the tin, and put the reserved asparagus and olives on top.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake feels firm to touch and is golden and crusty on top.  Cool for 5 minutes and turn out on a wire rack.

Adapted from BBC GoodFood Magazine

Pasta alla norma - Pasta norma style (with eggplant)

After Indian, the one cuisine that we make a lot at home is Italian. Both my husband and I like to try different Italian sauces and soups.  Jamie Oliver's - Jamie's Italy is one book that we make most of our pasta dishes from.  I almost always have all the ingredients for this pasta recipe in my fridge and pantry.  I love the use of eggplant in this dish as it soaks in the flavors from the tomato sauce. Also, the crumbled dried red chili gives a good kick.  

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large firm eggplant
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 tb sp dried oregano
  
• Optional 1 dried red chili, crumbled
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  
• a large bunch of fresh basil, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved
  
• 1 tsp good herb or white eine vinegar
  
• 2x 400g tins of chopped plum tomatoes
  
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 455g/1 lb dried spaghetti
  
• 150g/5 1/2oz salted ricotta, pecorino or parmesan cheese, grated.
  

Method:

Cut the eggplant to quarters lengthways.  Jamie says - to chuck away the seedy fluffy centers, but I use them. Then cut the eggplant across the length, into finger sized pieces. Get a large non stick pan hot, add a little oil.  Fry the eggplant in batches, adding a lttle extra oil if you need to. Give the eggplant a toss so the oil coats them, then sprinkle dried oregano. Using a pair of tongs, turn the pieces of eggplant until golden on all sides. Do the same with the second batch.  

Note: Since I used the insides of the eggplant, I just needed 1 eggplant for the pasta.

When the eggplants are cooked, add the first batch to the pan - at this point you can add the crumbled dried red chili( I use more then one, as I like it spicy). Turn the heat down and add a little oil, garlic, and basil stalks.  Stir so everything gets cooked, then add the vinegar and tins of tomatoes, which you can whiz up -if they are too chunky.  Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, then taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Tear half the basil leaves, add to the sauce and toss around.

Get your spaghetti into a pan of salted boiling water and cook according to the packet instructions.  When al dente, drain in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water, and put it back into the pan.  Add the Norma sauce and a little of the reserved cooking water and toss together back on heat. Taste the pasta and adjust seasoning, then divide between plates.  Any sauce left on the pan can be spooned over the top.  Sprinkle the remaining basil leaves and grated cheese, and drizzle with olive oil.  

Note: I used grated parmesan cheese.  

This is a really good recipe.

Yam side dish/Suran/Chenna upperi/thoran

Just like my mother, my mother in law is a fantastic cook. Over the years I have learned a lot of great recipes from her. And like me, she is a keen cook and is always trying out new recipes.

I grew up in Mumbai and most of my friends were north Indians. I loved eating north Indian food, be it the yummy street food, Mougali or Punjabi dishes. Other then popular south Indian dishes such as idlis, dosas and appams, I rarely ate south Indian food at restaurants and I didn't really care for rice (especially the naadan(Rose Matta rice/Kuthari) par-boiled rice) or the south Indian side dishes that were made at home. It was too coconuty for me. But after I got married to a guy who loves south Indian food, I started trying out the various south Indian side dishes. I now love the sweet crunchy taste of coconut and the sheer simplicity of these recipes.

I have never seen a better recipe for yam/suran/chenna than the one here. This dish, which my mom in law makes, is so lip smacking good that you wouldn’t want to make yam any other way. The dish gets its sweet taste and crunchiness from the grated coconut and the chopped coconut, its kick from the dry red chilies and its tartness from the touch of lemon. Add a chicken cube and this dish is transformed. The chicken cube changes the dish to a whole new dimension(vegetarians can use vegetable cubes).

*I have used frozen yam, as the Indian grocery store that I go to doesn't have fresh yam. Ideally it is best to make it with fresh yam, but frozen also works. If using fresh yam, you will have to cook it first till just tender. If you are using frozen ones then you can heat the yam in the microwave for a minute or so depending on your microwave.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup Chenna/Suran chopped & cooked*
• 1-cup coconut grated
• 1 chicken/vegetable cube bullion
• 1-cup onions chopped
• ½ tsp Chili powder
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp Oil
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• 2-3 red chilies
• ½ tsp Urad dal
• 3 green chilies
• 1” ginger
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp jeera powder
• ¼ cup coconut chopped
• 1 – 2 tsp of lemon juice
• Curry leaves a sprig

Method:

In a pot, put the oil and add mustard seeds, when they pop add the dry chilies, urad dal & curry leaves (Keep all this ready, otherwise you will burn either the urad dal or the chilies).

Add the chopped onions, green chilies and ginger. Sauté till the onions or translucent.

Add the grated coconut, turmeric, chili, coriander and jeera powder and sauté for a bit.

Add the chenna/suran/yam, sauté and mix well.

Then add the chopped coconut, chicken/veg. cubes (powder the cubes with your hands).

Add lemon juice. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve hot with rice or chappati and dal

Vella Appams/Hoppers

Appams are to Malayalee cuisine what noodles are to Cantonese cuisine. It takes effort and skill to make but it is made by everyone, regardless of social or economic status. You can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with just coconut milk and sugar or with a spicy non-veg curry. As a kid, I liked my appams for breakfast with a ladle of fresh coconut milk and loads of sugar. As a teenager, I would have it with either mutton or chicken stew. The appam batter is made from rice and grated coconut and then kept out to ferment. The edges of appams have these crispy frills and the center is very spongy.

I have seen many recipes for appams online and most of them use yeast as a rising agent. In southern Kerala, they sometimes use toddy instead of yeast. For me, the taste of yeast is too ‘bready,’ which was not how I ate it at home. Instead of yeast, I use baking soda just before I make them. I also put in a handful of leftover cooked rice while grinding the batter.

Traditionally, we use an appam chatti to make the appams. An appam chatti is a small cast iron wok. Appams can also be made in a small non-stick wok; although I must say that the appams made in an appam chatti beat those made in a non-stick wok in terms of taste and the crispiness (which is very important and what makes an appam, an appam).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 cup cooked rice
• ¼ tsp of baking soda
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt to taste

Method:

Wash and drain the rice a few times in water. Soak the rice for 4-5 hours.

Grind

• 3 handful of soaked rice,
• 1 handful of grated coconut,
• 1 handful of cooked rice

in a blender with little water. The ground batter should not be very grainy. Grind all the soaked rice this way, with the coconut and cooked rice. Leave to ferment over night. The batter will increase in quantity. Add the baking soda, sugar and salt.

Grease the cast iron appam chatti lightly with a paper towel. Pour a ladle full of the batter and quickly swirl the chatti so that the batter coats the sides of the appam chatti. Cover the appam chatti. It takes around 3-4 minutes to cook. When the center of the appams have risen and the sides begin to turn a golden brown color, the sides will start to separate from the wok.


The appam is ready and can be taken out of the appam chatti. Serve appams hot with coconut milk and sugar or lovely chicken/mutton stew.

Khandvi

This is one of my favorite teatime snacks, I used to have it at my gujju friends' place when I was growing up in Mumbai. It also used to be my favorite shopping snack, ie, my snack of choice when out shopping.

I tried making Khandvi a few times at home, whenever I craved for it. However, to my disappointment, it was always a big flop. I could get the taste right, but would never be able to roll it. In the end I would eat the shapeless flops as they were.

The key to making Khandvi is to get the batter to the right consistency and to get it to roll (like a Swiss roll). So since this month, Gujrati cuisine is the theme of Regional Cuisine of India (RCI) (hosted by Mythili @ Vindu), I thought this is the perfect time for me to give this yummy dish a try. I started my search online to get the right recipe. I came across this recipe from the easy cook book blog by Preeti and Sachin. I used garlic red chili paste instead of ginger garlic paste.

Khandvi has a soft texture that melts in your mouth. The buttery taste comes from the yogurt; the chili paste gives it a mild kick. The sweet crunchy grated coconut along with the mustard and fresh coriander makes this dish perfect for a teatime snack.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup yogurt
• ¼ cup besan/gram flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp hing/Asaefoetida
• 1 tsp garlic and red chili paste
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Oil

Tempering:

• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• a pinch or two of dried red chili flakes (optional) or few green chilies slit horizontally
  

Garnish:

• 2 tsp grated coconut
• ½ tsp sesame seeds
• Chopped coriander

Method:

Use a balloon whisk to beat the yogurt, water and gram flour. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Grease 2-3 plates or thali’s and keep aside.

Heat the batter in a pot(preferably a non-stick) on a low flame. Stirring continuously (I used my trusty silicone balloon whisk). Stir it for around 7-8 minutes until the batter thickens and starts to coat the whisk.
Spread the mixture on the greased plates in a circular motion (as when you make a dosa). Let it cool. It is important that the mixture should be cool - around 10 minutes. This is where I was impatient and went wrong when I made it earlier and the whole thing flopped.

Roll the Khandvi and cut it in bite size pieces. Arrange them in a serving dish.

Tempering:

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the chili flakes (optional). Turn off the heat and pour over the Khandvi. Garnish with gated coconut, sesame seeds, and chopped coriander.

Murangakkai(drumsticks) Theeyal

Many households in Kerala are self-sufficient when it comes to fruits and vegetables. If you have some land around your house, you are sure to find not only coconut trees, but also trees/plants bearing papaya, guava, jackfruit, gooseberry, mango, chicoo, banana and drumsticks.

Keralites tend to use coconuts in every which way possible. Tender coconut, grated coconut, dried (copra) coconut, coconut oil, coconut milk, etc. The other tree that is used just as much is the Moringa pterygosperma, M. oleifera or otherwise know in Malayalam as Murangakkai (drumstick). This bean is long, and its rigid pod grows on a tree rather than a vine. It's hard, green outer covering is rigid enough to earn its common name of drumstick. Both pods and leaves are relished in Kerala. Drumsticks are delicious when cut into finger lengths and cooked in a spicy gravy.

Theeyal is a traditional Kerala dish, the coconut and spices are roasted and then ground to a paste. You can make Theeyal with any vegetable you prefer. The gravy has the sweetness from the coconut and a slightly sour flavor from the tamarind which balances the kick you get from the dry chilies and peppercorns.

Ingredients:

• 14oz/400g Drumsticks (string & cut into 1 ½ pieces) *
• 200g/7oz Potatoes (cut into quarters)
• 200g/70g Shallots sliced
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 ½ oz Tamarind pulp
• Salt

Masala:

• 1 cup grated coconut
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• ½ tsp peppercorns
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 Dry red chilies
• 1 tbsp Oil

Tempering:

• 1 tbsp Oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 2 Dry red chilies
• Few curry leaves.

Preparation:
Cook the potatoes with a little salt and turmeric powder till they are ¾ cooked. Now add the drumsticks and shallots. Cook till the drumsticks and potatoes are cooked. You may need to add some more water. Keep aside.

Masala:
Heat a pan and dry roast all the ingredients separately over low heat till it emits its own aroma. Transfer to a blender; add a cup of water and pulse to obtain a coarse paste. Remove and keep aside. Heat oil in a pot and stir fry (bhunno) over a medium heat till it acquires gravy of Khoya consistency and completely devoid of moisture. Add this masala to the potato and drumsticks. Bring it to a boil. Stir in the tamarind pulp; bring it to a boil again. Simmer it gently till the potato and drumsticks are cooked. Adjust the seasoning.

Tempering:
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they begin to pop, add the dry red chilies, when their color changes add the curry leaves. Take it off the heat and pour it over the curry. Serve it hot with rice.

* Since I don’t get fresh drumsticks in the Indian/Asian stores here. I have used frozen drumsticks.

Asparagus upperi/thoran/side dish

Asparagus is definitely a new vegetable for us Indians. I had never seen this vegetable until I moved to the US where I had it in restaurants, stir-fried, steamed or grilled. There are not too many recipes that do justice to this vegetable. So I experimented and came up with this side-dish/upperi/thoran. It's made the same way as we make green beans or cabbage in Kerala. The dish comes out beautifully with the sweetness of the grated coconut meeting the mild mustardy and chili flavor from the tempering. It is a simple side-dish, as is typical of most dishes from Kerala. This is my entry to RCI - Kerala hosted by Jyothsna of Curry Bazaar.

When buying Asparagus look for stalks that are rounded, firm stems with deep green and purplish colored tips. The cut ends should not be too woody. Once trimmed and cooked, asparagus loses about half its total weight. While it is not necessary to peel asparagus, you should cut off the fibrous base before cooking. Wash it under cold water to remove any sand or soil residues.

Some facts about Asparagus are:

• The asparagus plant is a member of the lily family, which also includes onions, leeks and garlic.
• The larger the diameter, the better the quality!
• Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which is high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.
• Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.

(more info visit http://www.asparagus.org)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Asparagus, cleaned, chopped(woody base discarded)
  
• ½ an onion chopped
  
• 2-3 green chilies
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 dry red chilies
• few curry leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh coconut or desiccated coconut
• 2 tsps vegetable oil
• Salt to taste

Method
In a pot, heat the oil, and splutter the mustard seeds, add the dried chilies and curry leaves. Add the chopped onion, chilies and the chopped asparagus. Sauté for a few minutes. Add the turmeric and salt. Cook the asparagus uncovered, until crisp-tender, around 3 to 5 minutes. Add the coconut and cook it for another minute or so. Serve hot.

Otada(Malabar crepes)

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture after I rolled the Otada - Otada's just disappeared so quickly as I was making them! :-))

Otada, a thin, soft crepe, is a specialty of the Malabar coast of Northern Kerala. It's usually had for breakfast or served as a quick snack in the evening (especially, when you have an unexpected guest, which happens all the time in India). It is the easiest thing to make. We eat it with sugar and caramelized shallots sautéed in ghee. The hot ghee melting the sugar and the crispy shallots are delicious on the crepe. This recipe makes about 15 Otadas.

Otada batter

Ingredients for the batter.

• 1-cup flour (maida)
• 1-cup water
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 egg
• A pinch of salt.

Method:
Mix the above ingredients well with a balloon whisk. The batter should be of a thin consistency. Keep aside.

For the topping.

• 2 shallots (or more if you like the caramelized onion flavor) chopped fine
• 2-3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)/oil

Method:

Heat the ghee in a small dish, when hot add the shallots and sauté it till they are brown. Keep aside.


To make the Otada.

Pour the Otada batter on a hot non-stick pan. And move your ladle along the batter clockwise (like when you make dosa).

Within a few minutes, the edges of the Otada starts to cook and separate from the pan.

Flipped Otada

Flip the Otada over and cook for a minute or so, it will have small specs of brown color on the flipped side, remove from the pan.

Now to assemble the Otada - Spread a spoon of the caramelized onion and ghee(clarified butter) on the flipped side of the Otada. Sprinkle 1-2 tsp of sugar and roll them or you could also fold them. Serve hot.

Note: Just like a dosa, you HAVE to eat it hot...once it cools down the sugar, ghee and the maida will all stick together and won't taste as good.

Coconut dal okra curry

My husband is the kind who says that he likes simple food. The reality is that it's very hard to please him, as he is a real fusspot. He is more of a vegetarian than a non-vegetarian; he doesn’t like Indian non-vegetarian food, as we tend to boil the meat. But he loves a big piece of steak – medium rare (now, isn’t he weird for an Indian).

In his house, there was (rather still is) always a big pot of Sambar especially for him. If I serve my husband Sambar 365 days a year, he will be the happiest person in this world. After we got married, we continued this 'tradition' of having Sambar every day. Needless to say, it wasn't long - two days - before I was sick of having Sambar. It took a little work, but I've weened him off Sambar. Now, especially on weekends, I try to cook something different, although vegetarian. The base of the curries that I cook on weekends are usually experiments with different kinds of dal (lentils).

Today, I came across this Okra curry recipe from Flavours of the spice coast by Mrs K.M. Mattew. Okra is one of my favorite vegetables. I love it as a suki (dry) sabji with chapatti (an Indian bread). I also love it fried till it’s crispy. The original recipe by Mrs K.M. Mattew is Okra in coconut milk gravy; the only change I made to the recipe was I added Toor dal to it. The dal gives the curry some texture and thickness, which is great on a mountain of rice.


Ingredients.

• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ¼ tsp pepper powder
• ¼ tsp aniseed powder
• ¼ tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 cups okra (washed, dried with a paper towel, cut the top and bottom)
• ¼ cup onions sliced
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1 ½ cups thin coconut milk
• ½ cup thick coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• ½ cup cooked Toor dal
• Few curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a vessel and sauté the okra, till you see small bits of brown color on
them. Keep aside.

In the same vessel sauté the onions, ginger, chilies and curry leaves. Add the spices and sauté till the spices are well incorporated. Pour in the thin coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the cooked dal, okra, salt, and lime juice. When the gravy thickens add the thick coconut milk. You might need to add a bit of water if the gravy thickens too much. Serve hot with rice.

Tomato rasam

There are probably thousands of recipes for tomato rasam online. Some recipes are with crushed tomatoes, some with dal water, with or without coriander seeds, etc. My tomato rasam has a few teaspoons of tomato paste. It gives the rasam a beautiful red color, thickens it a bit and adds to the sour flavor. This is a wonderful spicy/sour/peppery drink that will clear your sinuses for sure!

Ingredients:

• A small lime size piece of tamarind
• 2 cups water
• 1 dry red chili
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp asafoetida
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 button onions or a small piece of onion
• ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 pinch of fenugreek
• Few curry leaves
• 2 tomatoes
• Few sprigs of coriander
• 1 ½ tsp tomato paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Oil

Method:

Dissolve the tamarind in water. In a mortar and pestle or a grinder, crush chili, garlic, onions, peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds.

Heat oil; add asafoetida and the mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds splutter, add the fenugreek seeds. Add the crushed spices and fry a little. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook a little. Pour the tamarind juice, tomato paste and salt. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat; puree it with a hand blender till the tomatoes are crushed and soupy (optional). Garnish it with fresh coriander.