The stars shine down

‘In the deep woods, there was a lonely castle… stood a fair maid amidst the dark, starring at the shining stars…’, as the story continued,

I leaned forward, to grab the first handful of rice, that rested peacefully in my grandmother’s hands, not being touched by my grandfather’s story. I took an indulging and caressing look, I reached out closer, with my eyes and ears on the shining stars, and as I was about to savor it— it vanished. Someone took it. And this time the culprit was my brother. I demanded, next is for me! No, it’s for me -this time it’s my other three sisters. No I— . I am the elder one, and I should be more patient -that’s my grandma. OK. OK. I will wait!

Amidst the splendor and festivity of days, we sometimes have days, rather, nights like this. In the not-much deep woods, there was a lonely castle, and this time—Five of us stood, demanding for more stories and more food, in an open terrain under the starry sky, with few light-flies glittering around us. Our grandparents live in a beautiful village house, surrounded with land full of trees, crops and weeds, as far as we could see. The neighbor next door, we have to walk a mile or two. During holidays and festival times, we— my and my cousin’s family gather to celebrate the season together. The adults will be busy cooking or preparing for the festival.

And for us, it’s a different story. The days were spent wandering through the lands with our grandpa, watching him water the crops, playing in the water, peeping in to the well and much more. As slowly, the sun sets in the horizon, and the little stars twinkle in the sky, our nights would come to a standstill. Each of us have our own bed— rather I should say, a cot made just with the ropes. And we lay them one after other in the open roof outside the house.

Each dinner night, our grandmother brings a big vessel filled with enough rice and the simmered pot of a lavishing eggplant curry, she made earlier in the day. The aromatic smell from that curry arouses all our senses. She makes a big ball of them, and keeps on her hand, just for us to grab and savor it. Nothing tasted much better than that. A love affair, that happened then, will never leave our hearts for the rest of the days to come, and will never compare to the rest of the foods we eat.

The curry was fabulous, and the stories were thoughtful, and the skies were bright. It seemed the stars were listening, as they shined down to nod; and the birds echoed with our grandfather at the end of his each statement.

Days and nights were beautiful and it was meant to be— till life took over;

'Life would be the same forever, with the same food, same love, and same moon, as long as the stars shine down', I thought.

The gods were laughing! And I didn’t hear them do.

Not that I am complaining now. It’s just, the remains of the past are nothing, but dreams happened in real.

Though a part of me long’s for those days, but,

Yet the stars shine down, I still make the curry, I still have the hope of feeding my children, I still believe the moon follows us where ever we go. And still, I vaguely remember the stories to tell them, how the stars shine down.

I’m glad; I can share the story and the curry—

The gods must be smiling!

3/4 cup Green Moongdal whole [dry roasted and soaked overnight]
2 Tomatoes
1 large red onion
2 red chili or more as per taste
2 medium size Eggplants/Brinjal [Optional]
1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 or 3 Curry Leaves
2 tbsp Curry Powder or Sambhar powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp red chili powder[Use only if more you need the dish to be more spicy]
Coriander leaves to garnish
1 tbsp Oil

Pressure cook the moongdal with enough water. Preserve the water and the cooked moongdal.

Blanch one tomato i.e. place the tomato in a vessel and cover with enough water. Boil the water for about 15-20 minutes, till the skin tomato becomes tender and easily peel able. Once done, discard the skin and mash the tomato.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, red chilies and curry leaves and let them splutter. Add the onions and fry till the onion turn slightly brown.

Add the blanched tomato along with the chopped tomato and all spice powders. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, till the tomato is soft and mixed well with the gravy. If adding Eggplants, add now, simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes till the eggplants are tender.

Add the cooked moongdal with the preserved water, adjust the water according to your preference of the curry thickness, however a slight this consistency would be tastier. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or roti.

Sending this recipe to Jo's Mother's Day Event.

Savoring Curry

So, there I stood. Right in the kitchen. I hesitantly took a peep at my pantry. One fat onion was boldly starring at me. And that's it. No tomatoes. No Eggs. No Greens. May be a few leftover vegetables. What could be much worse than your pantry missing few important ingredients, especially tomatoes, especially when your friend is joining you for lunch?

And what could be better than calling mom and asking for suggestions? And what else could be better than the simple mix matches she gives? And so, there I stood. Right in the kitchen. I hesitantly mix matched the ingredients. I was boldly looking at the simply, but enormously savored vegetable curry.

 

VEGETABLE CURRY/KURMA

For Grinding

• 1 small stick Cinnamon
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Cardamom
• 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 small green chili
• 1/2 cup Coconut grated or more
• 1 tbsp Pottukadalai (Split Roast gram dhal)

Grind the above ingredients to smooth paste adding little water or more as required.

For the Kurma

• 1/4 tsp Mustard Seeds
• Curry leaves: 3 or 4.
• 2 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• Onion-1(finely chopped)
• 1 cup Mixed Vegetables [I used 1-Potato ,1- Carrot, and more Beans]
• Water as required
• Coriander leaves (for garnishing)

In a hot pan, add oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions and fry till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Add the vegetables, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, simmer, cover and cook until the vegetables are done.
 
Add the grinded mixture along with water and bring to boil for about 10-15  minutes. Switch off. Garnish with Coriander leaves.[Which my pantry was missing this time:( ]

Can go well with rice, chapathi, or as a soup by itself.

P.S And my friend loved it a lot, so much that she took the left over with her- sparing me the empty vessel :(

Sending this recipe to Cooking with Seed-Cardamom event hosted by Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

Cooking with Love-ly Greens

Upon kind request from my dear husband, I have been cooking all sorts of greens, lately. So much that, I wanted to add greens to all my dishes.

When I googled for a chicken recipe with greens, came across quite a few interesting combination, and finally settled for the one in this page. This recipe seemed very simple and also suited me. I modified a little, well, mostly the method and consistency and tossed in a few additional ingredients.

Methi and Chicken is an authentic hyderabadi recipe. The soft chicken complements the slightly bitter methi well, and the tangy tomato gravy adds an additional taste to this curry.

METHI CHICKEN/MURGH CHICKEN

• Onion - 2 [very finely chopped]
• Tomato - 2 [blend to a coarse paste]
• Fresh Methi leaves - 1 bunch
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2tsp
• Chicken - 0.7 lb - 1 lb.
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder - 1tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1tsp
• Yogurt - 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder - 3tsp or as required.
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 3tbsp
• Coriander leaves - 4-6 stalks.

Wash and marinate the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric powder for 10 minutes.

Take a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil, splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamon, clove and curry leaves. Add the onion and fry till nice brown. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Add cumin powder, coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for 1 minute. Now add the chicken pieces and toss everything to coat the chicken well. Cover and cook for 15 minutes in a low flame, till the chicken is tender.

Now add the methi leaves and cook for another 2 minutes in a medium flame uncovered, till the methi leaves starts to wilt.

Add the tomato puree along with yogurt and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the oil oozes out. Add coriander leaves and switch off.

Note: For the chicken to be tender, after thawing, transfer the chicken to a Ziploc bag. Take a big, nice pestle or any similar tool and beat the chicken on both sides, taking care not to crush the chicken or tear the bag. This helped me especially when I used frozen poultry.

Sending this recipe to the event Served with Love, organized by Gourmet Affair.

Cooking with a Wise Seed

Recently, I have been to many holiday potlucks and dinner treats, served with lots of fabulous and authentic home-cooked foods. The most interesting thing I noted was, though there were great restaurant style recipes and beautiful foods, the ones that attracted the guests were well-styled and foods decorated with innovative and new ideas.

The experience inspired me to style and garnish my food, rather than to serve a delicious food..which looks normal otherwise. And here is my humble attempt in providing a better presentation.

A word about this wise seed, 

Sesame seeds are very nutritious and gives a unique taste when added to certain vegetables and snacks. In Hindu beliefs, these seeds are considered to represent the symbol of immortality, and ancient Ancient Babylon women were said to intake a spoon of sesame seeds soaked in honey daily, to prolong youth and beauty..In recent times, these seeds are enormously used in Ayurveda medicines.... read more from here.

 

 

EGGPLANT/BRINJAL MASALA

• Medium sized Brinjals/EggPlants - 6 [The ones available in Indian Grocers]
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Onion - 2 chopped
• White sesame seeds - 1tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Ginger - 1/2 tsp finely chopped
• Garlic - 1/2 tsp finely chopped
• Dried Red chili -1 or 2
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder -1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 4 or 5
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• Salt to taste

Cut the eggplants into two halves lengthwise.Preheat the Oven to 400F. Place the brinjal in a roasting pan, with the cut sides facing upward. Add about 1/2 cup of water and close the pan tightly with a lid or foil and bake for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a pan heat oil over medium heat, splutter mustard seeds and then add garlic, ginger, red chili, crushed coriander seeds, crushed sesame seeds, cumin seeds and fry till the seeds are lightly brown and the raw smell goes away.

Add the onion and fry till brown. Add the coriander powder and red chili powder and fry for another minute and add the tomatoes and cook till tender.

Remove the eggplant flesh carefully with a spoon and add it to the spice mix. Cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes, until oil separates.

Wipe off the water from the egg plant skins and place them in baking tray lined with foil, sprinkle with little oil, and bake for 10 minutes.

Once done, cool and spoon in the masala. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

The recipe is on its way to Cooking with Sesame seeds, event hosted by Priya of Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes. Also, sending this recipe to Vegetable Marathon event hosted by Anita of Anita's Kitchen.

Something Silky-Palak Paneer

Homemade cheese/paneer in spinach and tomato gravy. Came across lots of different recipes from many wonderful blogs and food websites. I tried two to three times with little bit variations and finally arrived at a perfect taste to suit me. Mostly, the restaurant style accounts for cashew-nut powder and little milk, which makes the dish more silky, but i tried without those two, and it did tasted well.

 

 

PALAK PANEER

• Spinach - 1 bunch fresh or frozen
• Paneer - 10-15 cubes
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Green chili - 1
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil-2tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
• Garlic cloves -2
• Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - a pinch
• Roasted cashew-nut powder - 2 tsp (Optional).

 

Take a pan, add oil, splutter 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, add the whole garlic and green chili. Fry for half a minute. Now add the spinach and cook till tender. Once done, switch off, transfer to a blender and give two or three pulse. Do not grind it to smooth. Set aside.

Drop the tomato in a boiling water. Once the skin is cooked, remove and discard the skin. Grind the tomato along with the coriander leaves and set aside.

Now heat oil in a pan, and shallow fry the paneer cubes, to make it slightly brown on the outer surface. Soak the fried paneer in 1/2 cup warm water to keep it soft and set aside.

Now, use the same pan with oil, splutter the mustard seeds, add onion and fry till tender. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.

Now add the coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Fry for 1 minute.

Add the spinach paste and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato paste along with 1/4 cup of water and cook for 3-4 minutes in medium heat and bring to a smooth consistency. If preferred, you can add cashew-nut powder now along with the paneer cubes and cook for another 1 minute string.

Adjust salt switch off. Sprinkle with garam masala.

Sending this recipe to Healing food event-Spinach  event.

The Taste Comes in Small Bottles

This wonderful bottle gourd curry which is more like a soup, is also a very good combination with rice. Goes well with chapatis and pooris too! Though this dish accounts only for the flesh of the bottle gourd, the skin can also be used for making chutneys, which I will post later.

Gourds are specially know for their moisture content. Bottle gourd is know to be used in simple home treatments for urinary disorders, excessive thirst and even diabetics people consume more of gourds for healthy weight maintenance.  For more details about bottle gourds, read here.

 

 

BOTTLE GOURD CURRY

• 1/2 medium sized Bottle Gourd (Peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes).
• Onion-1 finely chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
• Fresh Ground Pepper - 1tsp
• 1/2 cup water
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• Coconut milk -1/2 cup(Optional)

Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add Onion and fry till brown.

Now add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, ground pepper powder and fry for 1 minute.

Reduce to low-medium heat and add the vegetable and salt.Stir to mix well. Close with a lid and let the vegetable cook for 2-3 minutes.

Once the vegetable is almost cooked, add 1/2 cup water and bring it to boil. Switch off.

Note: If you want the gravy to be thick, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk just before switching off. Adjust salt and red chili powder.

Sending this recipe to Anna’s Cool Finds,  (Weekend Herb Blogging#217) event as listed in Haalo's.

As Rich as Sprouts - Peas Kurma

Fresh homemade sprouts are rich sources of vitamin-c and folate. Sprouts are easy to make and are easily digestible. This healthy south-Indian simple and mild curry recipe is easy to make and goes very well with chapatis and rotis.

 

 

Here is what to do for growing sprouts.

Take about 1/2 cup of dried green peas.

Wash them in water.

Place it in a jar. Add enormous water above the peas level.

Close with any kitchen lid and put it inside the oven.

Leave them overnight.

In the morning, transfer to a colander, drain the water, wash it in running water.

After washing, place it the same glass container, sprinkle with little water.

Now, do not close the lid tightly, make sure the air can go inside the glass.

Leave it for another day in a lightly sunlight lit area .
[Note: Whenever you are in the kitchen, just rinse with enough water, and put back as it was].

Repeat the procedure, as long as you need them to grow.

 

 

SPROUTED PEAS KURMA

• 1/2 cup sprouted Green Peas
• 2 Red Chili Dried or 1 Green Chili
• 1 Onion(finely chopped)
• 1 Tomato(finely chopped)
• 1tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Cardamon
• 1tsp Cumin Seeds
• 1tsp Mustard Seeds
• 5-6 Curry Leaves
• 1/4tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tbsp Coriander powder
• 1/2tsp Red Chili Powder
• Salt to taste.
• Coriander for garnishing.
  

And for grinding

• 1/2 cup Grated Coconut(Fresh or Frozen) 
• 2tbsp Split Roasted Gram(Pottukadalai) 
• 1 tsp Couscous(KasKasa) 
• 1 tsp Fennel Seeds.
• Coriander Leaves removed from 3-4 Stalks.

Add about 1 1/2  cups of water to the sprouts and pressure cook them for 4 whistles. Drain the water and reserve it.

Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and add the curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon and bay leaf. Let it cook in medium heat for through 1 min.

Now add the onions and fry till brown, followed by the ginger garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell goes off.

Add the tomatoes and cook till tender.

Now add the cooked peas along with turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder. Fry for 2 minutes.

Add the coconut paste, with 1/2 cup of the reserved water and add salt. If the gravy appears to be very thick, add some more water.

Bring it boil over medium-high heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

P.S. Do not discard the drained water from the sprouts. You can use it as a stock for any soup. It will increase the flavor and also its highly nutritious.


The recipe is on its way to My Legume Love Affair started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted by Simple Indian Food.