Simple and yummy Egg Curry and my first awards.

Hubby loves egg curries. When in US, eggs were a must have in my refrigerator. I used to make 2 varieties of egg curry. This one is my mil's recipe and gets ready in few minutes itself. It tastes great with Jeera rice or plain rice.

Ingredients
Eggs -4
Coriander Seeds - 2tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Khus Khus - 1 tsp
Lavang/Clove - 1
Cinnamon - small piece
Freid Bedgi Chillies - 3 - 4
Coconut - 3/4th cup grated
Garlic - 1 big or 3-4 small cloves
Onions - 1 medium, chopped
Oil - 4 tsp
Coriander leaves- garnish

Boil eggs, remove shell and keep aside.
Fry coriander seeds, jeera, lavang, khus khus, cinnamon in 1/2 a tsp of oil and grind together with fried red chillies, coconut and garlic.
Heat 2-3 tsp of oil and fry the onions till pink. Then add the ground paste and water to make it into a gravy like consistency. Add salt.
In the mean while make 3-4 small slits on each boiled egg. Take care not to cut it into pieces.m
When the gravy boils add the eggs and garnish with chopped cilantro.
Cook for few more minutes.
Serve with naan or rice.

Aparna of Aps Kitchen and Suparna of Food Fascination have awarded me with these awards.






Thanks a lot Aparna and Suparna for these lovely awards.

Lettuce Saag

I had never used Lettuce in my cooking. I brought it for the first time for making burgers for which I used only 3-4 leaves. I was left with a quite a big lettuce and started searching for recipes. All I could get were salad recipes which we are not very fond of.
Then suddenly I got the idea of using lettuce in place of Sarson in saag. I followed the Sarson ka saag recipe given to me by my NY neighbour ‘D’ aunty and replaced sarson leaves with lettuce. The outcome of the experiment was quite good and my hubby couldn’t even guess that it was lettuce.

Ingredients:
Lettuce – 1
Onion – 1 medium, finely chopped
Garlic – 3 cloves, chopped
Ginger – 1 inch, grated
Green Chillies – 2 finely chopped
Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp
Corn Flour – 2 tsp
Salt
Oil – 3 tsp

Boil water in a big vessel. Dip the lettuce leaves in the boiling water for 5 mins. Till they become soft. Remove the leaves and blend it to a fine paste.
In a pan, take some oil and fry the onions. When the turn translucent add the ginger and garlic. Continue frying till it turns brown. Then add the chopped green chillies and lettuce puree. Add salt and kasuri methi. Give it a boil.
Finally make a paste of corn flour and water and add it to the above. Heat for a minute or two and serve with hot phulkas or makki ki roti.

Note: For Sarson ka Saag use Sarson and Spinach leaves in the proportion 2:1

Palak Paneer (Spinach-Cottage Cheese Combo)

Spinach or Palak is one of the first vegetables i learnt to cook. It is rich source of Iron and Calcium. The cartoon character Popeye is also depicted as eating spinach to grow stronger. Spinach is such a wonder vegetable. But in Mumbai it is mostly grown besides the railway tracks and that is one of the main reasons that people avoid eating it.
When i came to US i felt that we would get some fresh clean spinach here but my assumption proved wrong. When all the other vegetables look fresh and clean i am still not satisfied with the quality of Spinach.
I have also tried the frozen stuff but then they dont taste the same as fresh ones. I have also seen fresh clean baby spinach sold in plastic boxes but these are way too expensive.
So I mostly buy the fresh ones, clean them thoroughly and hope that rest of the germs are killed in the process of cooking.
This dish is originally from Punjab where it is called Saag Paneer. Saag is also refered to Mustard Greens in the dish Sarson ka Saag.
I always like to add some peas whether its Palak Paneer or Aloo Palak. At times I add all three and make Aloo-Palak-Mutter-Paneer or should I say Palak-Aloo-Mutter-Paneer, whichever sounds correct.

Ingredients

Palak/Spinach - 1 bunch
Paneer - 150g, cut in cubes
Frozen Peas - 1/2 cup (optional)
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Garlic - 2 to 3, grated
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Green Chilli - 2
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Kasuri Methi - 1 tbsp, crushed
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - a pinch
Turmeric - pinch
oil - 4 tsp
Salt - as per taste

Remove the stem of spinach and discard. Clean the leaves thoroughly. Heat some water in a large vessel. When it comes to a boil add the spinach leaves. Turn it once or twice. Let it boil for 3-4 mins. Strain it through a sieve and add some cold water. Drain all the water. Grind the leaves with 2 green chillies into a smooth paste adding little water. Keep aside.

In another pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and add the onions. Fry till it becomes slightly golden. Then add the grated ginger and garlic and also the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell goes.
Now add the tomatoes and cook till they turn soft. In the mean while add all the spice powders. Add half a cup of water and mix well. Now add the Spinach puree and the frozen peas (if using) and adjust salt. Add more water if required. Let it boil for 5-10 mins on a low flame.

In a small kadai, heat the reamining 2 tsp of oil and fry the paneer pieces till their edges turn golden. Add it to the gravy and cook for 5 more mins.
Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Note: The entire cooking procedure has to be carried out in an open pan. On covering the pan, the Spinach loses its colour. Also cooking for very long or on a very high flame makes it lose some of its colour. For a thicker consistency fresh cream can be added to the gravy before the final boil.

Viangana Saglen (Egg plant in Coconut Gravy)

Egg plant/Brinjal /Aubergine is called Viangan in Konkani. It comes in 3-4 different shapes and colours. Another variety of brinjal is round, light green in colour and is called Gulla.

Gulla is rarely found in Mumbai though it is very common in my hometown and used to make Gulla bajji.
Both Vaingan and Gulla are also commonly used while making Sambar.
Saglen means whole. In this curry small whole brinjals are used and hence the name.
Compared to others here we get many different vegetables in the Indian grocery stores. But only a few make their way to our home. S loves this dish and so do I. Hence it is one of the most common veggies in our purchase. Sometimes I buy the green Thai eggplants instead of the purple brinjals. They also go very well with this curry. Except for the colour I haven't noticed any change in the taste.

Ingredients

Small variety of brinjals/ Thai egg plant - 8 to10 nos.

For the Coconut Paste
Dessicated Coconut - 2/3 cup
Fenugreek Seeds(Methi) - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp
Dry Red Chillies(Bedgi) - 3
Tamarind - very small piece

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt
Sugar/Jaggery

Remove the stem of the egg plants and make vertical slits in such a way that the bottom is intact.


Heat 1/2 a tsp of oil and fry the methi and coriander seeds. Also fry the red chillies. Grind the methi, coriander, red chillies, coconut, tamarind with little water to a fine paste.
Little salt and a little jaggery(1-2 tsp) can also be added to this paste.
Now add the finely chopped onions to the coconut paste.
Stuff this mixture into the egg plants. Reserve the remaining paste.

Heat the remaining oil and add the mustard seeds. When they sputter add some curry leaves. Now place the egg plants and add the remaining coconut paste. Add about 1/2 a cup of water.


Cover and cook. Keep turning the egg plants so that they are cooked from all sides. Check salt and sugar. Add more if required. Cook till done. Serve with hot rice and dal.



Note : This curry has a sweetish taste. The sugar/jaggery can be reduced if desired.

Gobi Manchurian

Indo-Chinese cuisine has recently gained popularity in the last decade or so.
Gobi Manchurian is one such dish adapted from Chinese seasoning and modified to suit Indian taste buds. It is a favorite among both kids and adults. I have become a great fan of Indo- Chinese cuisine. I have cooked few dishes in this category and plan to try more.

Gobi Manchurian is a dish that I have cooked many a times after marriage. It so happened that once when me and mummy(mil) were going to the Mangalore store we bought a packet of Gobi Manchuri mix(yes it is called Manchuri in our native place). It contained a powder for the Gobi and also a recipe for manchurian. I followed the recipe with minor changes and it was a hit with everyone at home. My hubby who was initially skeptical was the one who enjoyed it the most. My fil who never eats Chinese also complimented my dish.

After that I never purchased the mix and started making it from scratch . I still have that piece of paper with the recipe and all the stains of soya sauce that i have decorated it with. I refer to it everytime i make it. Mummy always says that this dish which requires lots of efforts. But I feel once u keep all the ingredients handy it doesn't take more time than any other dish.

Ingredients:

Gobi(Cauliflower)cut into pieces - 2 cups
Maida/all purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Corn starch - 1/2 cup
Salt
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Garlic - 2 big, grated
Baking soda - pinch (optional)
Orange-red colour (optional)

Clean the gobi and keep aside. Mix all other ingredients with water and form a thick batter. Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the gobi florets in the batter and deep fry. Drain on kitchen towel. Set aside.

For the sauce:
Onions - 2 medium size, chopped
Capsicum - 1 small or half of the big one, chopped
Garlic - 2 chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, chopped or grated
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Green chillies - 1-2 finely chopped, depending on the hotness
Soya Sauce - 2 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2-3 tbsp
Oil - 3tsp
Salt
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Lemon juice

Heat oil and fry onions, garlic, green chillies, ginger and finally capsicum. The capsicum should be crunchy. Then add soya sauce and tomato ketchup and salt. Few min before serving add the fried gobi. Mix it well with the sauces and sprinkle some water (1-2 tbsp) and mix well. Sprinkle lemon juice and mix. Garnish with coriander leaves.


Note: Add red chilli powder or chilli sauce for more spicy flavour. I have used Ching's Dark Soy Sauce in this. This dish gets a nice orange-red colour from the tomato sauce even when food coloring is not used.

Tofu bhurji

TOFU or Bean Curd is a food of Chinese orgin and is made from soy milk. It is low in calories and high in protiens. It looks very similar to paneer. I dont like the taste of tofu as compared to paneer. But considering its health benefits i make this bhurji to incorporate it in our diet. The bhurji tastes similar to egg and paneer bhurji.

Ingredients

Tofu
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Paprika - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Salt
Oil - 2 tsp

Crumble the tofu and keep aside.


Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions. Fry till it turns golden then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a min. Add tomatoes and fry till it becomes soft. In the meanwhile add all the masalas and fry. Then add the tofu and salt and mix properly. Check the taste and adjust the spices. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with chapatis/phulkas.


Note : I used medium variety of tofu for this. I think firm can also be used. It was approximately 150 g.
Egg and paneer bhurji can be made on similar lines.