Rajasthani Aloo Subji

Aloo Baigan

Turai Ki Subzi

Poi Ke Patte Ki Pakoda

Chatpati Gawar Phali (Spicy Cluster Beans/ Chitki)

Ingredients:

1 cup gavar phali

1 tomato

4 cloves of garlic

1" ginger

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp jeera powder

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp kashmiri mirch powder

1/4 tsp haldi

3 tbsp water

salt to taste

Method:

• Cut the cluster beans into 2 inch long pieces. Add salt and microwave covered for 3 minutes. Stir and keep aside.
• Grind the tomato, ginger and garlic into a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a kadai, and jeera and let it crackle. Add the tomato ginger garlic paste and let it cook. Once the tomato leaves the sides of the kadai, add jeera powder, coriander powder, kashmiri mirch powder and haldi. Let the masala cook well.
• Add the cluster beans and 1 tbsp of water and salt. Cover the kadai with a lid and let the cluster bean cook in the masala. Stir occasionally and keep adding 1 tsp of water at a time if required.
• Once the cluster beans are cooked and coated with the masala...its done!!! serve!!!

Tips:

• This is a dry vegetable, its almost like a stir fry vegetable coated with masala.
• You can add sugar to balance the flavours.
• You can temper with mustard seeds and ajwain too.
• You can add whole garlic too, it gives a good flavour.
• You can grate the tomato, ginger and garlic, incase its difficult to grind the tomato, ginger and garlic in the mixie.

Dhokar Dalna

Ingredients:

for the dhoka:

1/2 cup chana dal

1" ginger

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp jeera powder

1/4 tsp haldi

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 1/2 tbsp oil-dal

salt to taste

for the dalna (gravy):

1 elaichi

2 laung

1" dalchini

1 medium onion

5 cloves of garlic

1" ginger

1 large tomato pureed

2 tsp oil

1 tsp coriander powder

3/4 tsp jeera powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp kashmiri mirch

1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 cup water

salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the chana dal for 4-5 hours. After soaking, drain the chana dal, add ginger and grind the dal and ginger. Add coriander powder, jeera powder, haldi powder, red chilli powder and salt to the dal mixture.
• Heat a kadai, add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the ground dal. Once the dal leaves the sides of the kadai, which will take around 5-7 minutes switch off the gas.
• Grease a plate with oil and spread the dal mixture, cut into diamond shaped pieces.
• Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a pan and shallow fry the dal pieces. keep aside the fried dal pieces.
• For the gravy, puree the onion , ginger and garlic in a mixie.
• Heat 2 tsp of oil on medium high flame, add elaichi, laung and dalchini, when they crackle add the onion ginger garlic puree and let it fry.
• Once the onion paste turns light brown in colour, add the tomato puree and fry for a minute.
• Add coriander powder, jeera powder, red chilli powder, kashmiri mirch and let the masala cook well. Cover and cook for 3 mins. Once the gravy leaves the sides of the kadai add 1 1/2 cup of water, sugar and salt and bring it to boil on a medium flame.
• After one boil add the fried dal pieces and give another boil. Switch off the gas and serve.
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Tips:

• Mostly the dal for the dhokas(dal pieces) is finely ground, I however, grind in a mortar and pestle so leave it slightly coarse. However anything ground on a mortar and pestle taste divine, so I don't mind the dal being ground slightly coarsely. You can however grind it to a smooth paste.
• Traditionally people also add potato to this gravy. I do not. You can also add black chana, green peas to this gravy.
• You can even have combination of other dals for the dhokas.
• You can add other spices like nigella seeds, fennel seeds to the dhokas.
• You can also add onion and coriander leaves to the dhokas.
• Becareful when you fry the dhokas, it should not crumble.
• If you want the gravy to be thick you can add cornflour for binding.
• The dhokas can also be added in curd based gravy too, will post the recipe soon.
• You can add cream to the gravy to make it rich. I however prefer it without cream!
• If the dhokas are left in the gravy for too long they tend to absorb the gravy. Hence, if you plan to make this dish well in advance, add the dal pieces at the time of serving and just heat it for sometime.
• This preparation taste good with rice as well as any Indian bread!

Beans Poriyal

Ingredients:

1 cup french beans, cut into 2" long

5 tbsp coconut, grated

1 green chilli, slit into 2

2 tbsp moong dal

pinch of hing

1/2 tsp rai

6-7 leaves of karipatta

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp oil

salt to taste

Method:

• Wash the french beans and cut into 2" long pieces.
• Wash the moong dal and soak in 5 tbsp of water.
• Heat a kadai on a medium high heat, add oil, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the asafoetida powder and karipatta, add the drained moong dal and stir fry.
• When the moong dal begins to change colour, add the french beans and stir well. Add 2 tbsp of water and salt, cover and let the beans and dal cook on steam. Stir occasionally.
• Add the green chillies and cook till the beans are totally cooked.
• Add garam masala powder, coconut, sugar and stir well. Let it cook for 3 minutes.
• Serve hot!

Tips:

• You can also add whole red chillies in the tempering.
• You can use urad dal instead of moong dal.
• You can also use combination of urad and moong dal.
• This recipe does not have onion or garlic. You can also add onion and garlic to this recipe. In such a case you can skip the use of hing.
• You can use coconut oil for this preparation.
• Jeera can also be added in the tempering.
• At any time, if the french beans stick to the kadai add 1 tsp of water at a time.
• Serve this vegetable with rice and dal.

Khatta Meetha Sitaphal (Sweet and Sour Pumpkin)

Ingredients:

1 cup sitaphal/pumpkin/doodhi/kaddu

1 medium sized onion, sliced

1 medium sized tomato, roughly chopped

1 green chilli slit into 2

7-8 leaves of karipatta

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp rai

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1/2 tsp jeera powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp tamarind pulp

salt to taste

2 tbsp water

Method:

• Cut the sitaphal into 1" cube along with the skin.
• Heat a kadai on medium high flame.
• Add oil, add rai. When the rai begins to crackle, add karipatta leaves. Add onion and fry on medium heat till the onion turn light brown in colour.
• Add sitaphal and the tomato and mix well.
• Add the green chilli, haldi powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, sugar and salt and mix well. Add 1 tbsp of water and close the lid and let the sitaphal cook well. Stir occasionally. Add 1 tbsp of water if required.
• Once the sitaphal is almost cooked, add the tamarind pulp and cook for 3 minutes.
• Take the vegetable off the flame and serve!!!

Tips:

• You can add jaggery instead of sugar.
• You can add amchoor powder (dry mango powder) instead of tamarind.
• You can add fenugreek seeds to the tempering.
• You can also add asafoetida.
• The sitaphal should hold its shape even after cooking hence do not overcook the sitaphal.
• Adjust the sugar and tamarind to get the right balance of sweet and sour for this recipe.
• Tis vegetable tastes good with rotis or puris esp. stuffed kachoris!

Varn (Goan Style)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup arhar dal(toor dal)

1/2 cup grated coconut

1 tsp jeera

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1 tsp sugar

1 cup water

salt to taste

for the tempering:

1 tsp ghee

1/2 tsp oil

pinch of hing

7-8 karipatta

1/4 tsp rai

Method:

• Wash the arhar dal and soak for 15 minutes.
• In a pressure cooker add the dal, water, haldi powder and salt and cover with the lid. Cook for one whistle on high and two whistles on sim. Switch off the flame and let the pressure drop by itself.
• In a mixie add the grated coconut, jeera and ground to fine paste. Keep aside.
• Heat a small kadai for tempering, heat ghee and oil on medium high flame. Add the mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the karipatta leaves and hing.
• Add the tempering over the cooked dal. Mix well.
• Add the ground coconut paste to the dal and cook the dal in the uncovered pressure cooker.
• Add sugar and bring to a boil.
• Serve hot with rice!!!

Tips:

• This is my version of the varn. You can add jeera while boiling the dal.
• You may add grated coconut only instead of the ground coconut (and jeera while boiling the dal). However I prefer to add the ground coconut.
• Many do not prefer to give the tempering of rai to this recipe.
• You can add jaggery instead of sugar.
• If you want the consistency of the dal to be thinner, add water along with the coconut.
• You can add 1 tbsp of water while grinding the coconut.
• This is a very light dal and taste fantastic with rice.

Tendli Vangi Masala Bhat (Gherkin and Eggplant Masala Rice)

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

3 baby brinjal (egg plant/ baigan)

6 tendli (kundru/gherkin)

3 baby potatoes

1/2 cup green peas

1 medium onion, sliced

1 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp haldi

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/3 cup grated coconut

2 tbsp coriender leaves finely chopped

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ghee

2 tsp oil

salt to taste

Method:

• Wash rice and soak it in water.
• Slit the brinjal, baby potato and tendli into two keeping the stem (or eye) intact, so that the coconut stuffing can be filled in the slits.
• For the stuffing, to the grated coconut, add coriander powder, jeera powder, haldi, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, sugar and coriander leaves.
• Stuff the coconut stuffing in the brinjal, baby potatoes and tendli.
• In case there is excess of the stuffing, keep it aside.
• Place a presure cooker on a medium high flame, add the oil and ghee. When the oil and ghee is heated, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the onion and mix well and cook for a minute. Place the stuffed brinjal, baby potato and tendli and stir fry gently on medium high flame. Add the green peas and remaining coconut stuffing and gently stir fry.
• Drain the rice and add to the vegetables and mix very gently. Add water and salt, give one good gentle stir and cover the lid of the cooker. Cook on high till one whistle. Turn the gas off. Let the pressure drop by itself.
• Once the pressure drops transfer the rice in a serving dish and serve immediately!
  
  

Tips:

• This rice preparation is a traditional Maharashtrian rice. You can also add peanuts to this recipe. You can also replace green peas with peanuts.
• You can make this preparation as only tendli bhat or even only brinjal bhat.
• You can add hing if you like the taste.
• I do not keep any vessel in the cooker i just cook the rice directly in the cooker hence i give only one whistle on high, which is normally sufficient and makes the rice cook to perfection.
• Mix the stuffed vegetables and rice with a gentle hand otherwise the stuffing may leave the slits and spread and the rice may break.
• You can use only ghee or oil, I prefer to use a combination as ghee gives taste and oil gives the gloss to the food.
• Ghee also has less resistance to heat hence the addition of oil increases its resistance.
• If you do not have baby potatoes, you can use normal potatoes, cut them into thick slices and then slit each slice so as to add the stuffing in the slit.
• You can make this rice preparation for any fasting, avoid onion in that case.
• Serve this rice with curd or have it just like that,it tastes divine!

Cholar Dal Paneer (Chana Dal with Paneer)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chana dal

1/2 cup water

1oo gms paneer

1 medium sized onion, finely grated

1 tomato, finely grated

3 cloves of garlic, finely grated

1" ginger, finely grated

1 green cardamom (elaichi)

1" cinnamon (dalchini)

2 cloves (laung)

1/2 tsp coriander Powder

1/2 tsp jeera powder

1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

3/4 tsp haldi powder

2 1/2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

for garnish

pinch of cardamom powder

pinch of cinnamon powder

Method:

• Wash chana dal and soak it in water, keep aside.
• In a pressure cooker, add chana dal, water, haldi and salt, cover with the lid and light the flame to high. Take one whistle on high flame and three on medium whistle. Turn the gas off and let the pressure drop by itself.
• Cut paneer into cubes.
• Heat a kadai add 1 1/2 tsp of oil add the paneer pieces and shallow fry the paneer pieces till light golden in colour. Transfer on a tissue paper.
• Heat 1 tsp of oil in a kadai, add elaichi, dalchini and laung, when they crackle add onion, ginger and garlic. Let the onion cook till it changes colour.
• Add grated tomato and stir well. Let the tomato cook well. Add jeera powder, coriander powder, salt, kashmiri red chilli powder and mix well.
• Once the masala is cooked add sugar and the cooked dal. Mix gently.
• Add the paneer pieces and garnish with cinnamon powder and cardamom powder.

Tips:

• You can use ghee in this recipe instead of oil, it gives a very distinct and good flavour.
• Paneer pieces can be deep fried.
• Raw paneer pieces can be added, but I prefer to fry the paneer.
• Once the paneer is fried , it can be drained on a tissue paper. Paneer pieces can also be soaked in water (or salt water), it helps keep the paneer soft.
• The chana dal for this recipe should not lose its shape. It should hold its shape hence do not overcook.
• If you soak the dal the cooking time of the dal would be reduced.
• Instead of grated onion you can grind the onion in the mixie. The same applies to tomato, ginger and garlic.
• Ready-made ginger garlic paste can be used instead of fresh ginger and garlic, however, I feel fresh paste give better taste...its healthy too!
• The consistency of this dal is quite thick, it does not have a very thin consistency.
• The recipe given above gives two servings! its a treat for those who love paneer.
• This recipe taste good with any type of roti...you can also have it with rice!!!

Sitaphal Tarkari (Pumpkin Vegetable)

Ingredients:

200 gms sitaphal (pumpkin),cut into big cubes

2 tbsp raw rice

3 tbsp grated fresh coconut

1 tsp oil

1/4 tsp panch phoren

1/4 tsp jeera powder

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp haldi

1/2 tsp sugar

1 green chilli

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

water

Method:

• Wash and soak rice in 5 tbsp of water.
• Soak mustard seeds and green chilli in water for 5-7 mins. Drain and grind to a paste.
• Heat a kadai. Add oil and heat it on a medium low heat, add panch phoren. When the panch phoren crackles add the sitaphal and mix well. Add rice (after draining the water) and mix well.
• Add haldi powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, sugar and salt and mix well.
• Add 3 tbsp of water, cover the kadai with the lid and let it cook on sim. Occasionally stir and keep adding 1 tbsp of water at a time so that the rice is done. Approximately 4-5 tbsp of water would be required.
• Once the rice is almost done, add grated coconut and stir. Cover and cook for 2 mins. Add the mustard and chilli paste. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
• Garnish with eliachi powder and cinnamon powder and serve.

Tips:

• Panch phoren is a mixture of equal quantity of 5 seeds viz: rai (mustard seeds), methi (fenugreek seeds), saunf (fennel seeds), kalonji (nigella seeds) and jeera (cumin seeds).
• In Bengali cuisine rai (mustard seeds) are replaced with radhuni. Radhuni has a peculiar fragrance and imparts its distinct taste and flavour to the food its added to. Since the above recipe is Bengali, you can also add radhuni.
• Mustard paste/ sauce can also be added instead of ground mustard.
• You can grind the mustard in a mortar and pastle.
• The sitaphal should not be peeled, the skin should be retained.
• Do not add all the water together, add the water in parts and cooked covered on sim. Sitaphal (pumpkin) should retain its shape.
• The quantity of green chilli can be altered according to taste.
• The above recipe is for two servings.
• This is an everyday recipe hence is prepared in less quantity of oil, you can increase the quantity of oil if you so desire.