WHAT DO I MAKE...

Here's another post from Hema. Dal Makhani is a crowd pleaser yet there are so many varieties of this Indian delicacy. I wanted to  surprise my hubby with something different today and remembered having urad dal (black lentils) in my  pantry, so that was a start. I managed to keep it heart healthy by cutting down on the usage of butter  and cream, but making sure the taste was intact. As always Google came to my rescue and I have tried so many versions.  To name a few: Adding “dals" (lentils) to a onion + tomato + ginger gravy Slow cook the lentils in onion and tomato and let it turn into a gravy But this particular recipe claimed to be from the chefs at Oberoi and I thought that should be great! So  here we go with my version. I call it  made easy  since it’s a simple 3 step process Cook the dals Cook the gravy Mix the 2 A few tips before you start: The dals soaking calls for overnight or at least 6 hours. I made it simple by letting th...

Looks like I am on a curry spree! One of my favorite cuisines on this planet, even talking about it makes my mouth water...slurp! I suddenly thought about Thai food today and luckily I had all the basic ingredients in my pantry so tonight's dinner was the Thai Red Curry! Aside, I have always been wary of using others' recipes and have had many discussions with my co-blogger and other close friends about copyright and related topics. While we have come across people who steal pictures from the original recipe and claim it as their own (yes, unfortunately such creeps do exist!), I have also seen bloggers who take copyright to a whole new level by picking open fights on blogs and "walls" (we definitely try to stay away from this kind!).I came across a useful  article   today on foodblogforum that talks about recipe-attribution-etiquettes, I thought it might be worth sharing here. After that quick sanity check, back to my red curry :) ...

This was a love-at-first-sight recipe I came across on  foodgawker. Although I was very skeptical about the combination of tastes (sweet, spicy, sour, salt), it looked too good to pass and I had to try it right away! The original recipe is named "curry" and it also looks like one but the final consistency and color of my version was exactly like a morkozhambu and so I served it with rice and a brinjal-onion roast and hence the name change! Mango Morkozhambu Adapted from Nisa's  Cooking Is Easy Mango Ripe mango - 1 big - I picked up mine from Trader Joe's, not sure about the name but the peel was dark green in color! Peel the skin, you should be able to do this with a sharp knife (go slow). Now cut out two bowl shaped pieces from either sides of the seed. Cut each bowl into 6 pieces. Water - 1/2 cup Red chili powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1 tsp Paste Coconut - 1/4 cup Green chilis - 2 Jeera - 2 tsp Red pearl onions - 5 Turmeric powder ...

The traditional South Indian vendakkai roast is probably Madhav's THE most favorite dish and that's all I have made with okra in the last 2.5 years! Today I wanted to try something different (of course, somebody was very disappointed with the idea!) and dahi-bhindi has always been on my list, I remembered a recipe from one of my all time favorites - Monsoon Spice! Hyderabadi Dahi-Bhindi Adapted from Sia's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala @ Monsoon Spice Ingredients: Bhindi/Okra/Vendakkai - 30-40, chopped into 1/2" discs Onion - 1/2 of a medium, finely chopped Tomato - 1/2 of a medium, finely chopped Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp Yogurt - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Seasoning - mustard seeds (1/2tsp), urad daal (1/2 tsp), jeera seeds (1/2 tsp), heeng powder (1/4 tsp), dry red chilis (2, halved), fresh curry leaves (1 sprig) Masalas - Turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, dhania powder, kasuri methi - according to your taste, tamari...

Aloo-Gobi with a hint of kasoori methi!

Mirchi ka Saalan is a traditional Hyderabadi curry and a common accompaniment to the famous Hyderabadi Biryani. It does have tons of South Indian flavors but goes well with roti or pulav! Ingredients: Anaheim peppers - 4 (I have also used Hungarian peppers, they work equally well!) Water - 1/2 - 3/4 cup Cumin seeds - 2 tsp Fenugreek (methi) seeds - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 2 tsp Masalas - coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder (optional) Curry leaves - a few! Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp Jaggery (gud/vellam) - 2 tsp Salt to taste Preparing the peppers De-seed the peppers and cut them into 2" squares. In a non stick pan, heat a tbsp of oil and roast the peppers.  Paste 1 Onion - 1 medium, roughly chopped Tomato - 2 medium, roughly chopped Ginger - 2" piece Garlic - 3 chubby pods! Coconut - 3 tbsp Heat a tbsp of oil and saute ginger, garlic and onions till the onions turn golden brown. Turn off heat and mix in tomatoes and coconut. Let it cool and...

A great combination and I wouldn't have thought of it. I just wanted to use up the excess radish and I started googling a bit and chanced upon this recipe by Sharmi of Neivedyam.  Baingan-Mooli ki subzi Adapted From Sharmi @ Neivedyam Ingredients Radish - 1/2 of a big radish, peeled and cubed Eggplant, small - 6, cubed Onion, medium - 1/2 cut in 1" pieces Tomato, medim - 1 chopped Green peas - 1/2 cup Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp Coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder - 1 tsp each Garam masala powder - 1 tsp salt to taste Cumin seeds - 2 tsp Chopped cporiander leaves for garnish Oil Heat a pan and add oil. Add cumin seeds and then add the onion and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well and add half the turmeric and red chili powder. Add the vegetables and cover till partly cooked. Remove lid and add salt, coriander powder and the other half of turmeric and red chili powder, mix well and sprinkle the tomatoes and peas over and put the lid back on til the vegetables are d...

Ingredients For the stuffing and gravy Group - 1 Coriander seeds (dhaniya) – 1 ½ tsp Chana dal (Kadalai parupu) – 1 ½ tsp Red Chillies (Sigapu neela milagai) – 5 (add more according to taste) Cloves (Krambu) – 5 Urad dal (Ulutham parupu) – ½ tsp Coconut (thengai)– dry or fresh – 2 tsp Curry leaves (karuvepiali)- little Group - 2 Til (Ellu) – 1 tsp Peanut (ver kadalai) – 2 tsp (dry roast- remove skin) (optional – skip if you don't like the flavor) Group - 3 Onion (vengayam) – Half an onion sliced Tomato (Thakkali) – 2 – cubed Garlic (Poondu) – 1 (big size) Ginger (Inji) – a small piece (Make it little big if you like its flavor) Others Turmeric powder (manjal podi) – ½ tsp Salt (uppu)– suit to taste Sugar (chakkarai) ½ tsp (optional) Small to medium sized violet Brinjals (Kathrikai) – 6 Ingredients For the stuffing and gravy Heat Kadai and add the til to it and dry roast it till you get nice aroma Remove from stove and let it cool. Do the same with peanut. Heat a tsp of oil in mediu...

If you have been following the current season of The Next Food Network Star , you definitely know Aarti and you probably also belong to the "majority" that is rooting for her to become the next Star! I have literally been following Aarti (well, online!) ever since the competition started. While she is competing to have her own space in FN she is quite ubiquitous and popular on cyberspace - be it on You Tube or Facebook or through her BLOG - Aarti certainly knows how to Parti with her eat-giggle-repeat mantra!!! So, while she gears up for the big finals this Sunday, I decided to try one of her recipes - Green Chicken Curry (with a vegetarian twist) - definitely a winner!!! Ingredients: Cilantro leaves - 1.5 bunches Mint leaves - 1/2 a bunch Medium red onion - 1 Garlic - 4 pods Ginger - 1.5" piece Salt and fresh ground black pepper Medium red onion - 1/4, finely chopped Extra Firm Tofu - 1/2 a block, cut into 1x1 cubes Turmeric powder, Red chili powder, Dhania powder, ...

  Post # 17 Here's a contribution from Hema - a foodie buddy - one thing that connects us (and I am sure she will concur) is FOOD!!! During a casual chat (most part of which is usually food and recipes) yesterday, I happened to share a potato roast recipe with her and she tried it pronto, with some minor twists. So, read on below for her first contribution to "What's Cooking..." - Thanks Hema!! Ingredients 1. Golden Baby Potatoes - 15-20 2. Red Onion - 1 small - cut into medium length vertical slices 3. Oil - 10 tbsp 3. Urad dal - 1 tbsp 4. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp 5. Garlic cloves - 5, chopped into small pieces For the marinade 1. Yogurt - 1 small cup 2. Garlic cloves 5, chopped into small pieces 3. Spice mix - 1Tbsp (each) of the following spices: Red Chill powder Cumin powder Coriander powder Tumeric powder Garam masala Rasam powder Sambar powder 4. Chopped Coriander - 10Tbsp (You can use some of this for the garnish) Preparation 1. ...

  Post # 13 Serving Size: Posted by: Nitika I tried this recipe in February of 2008 and it came out unexpectedly good. I am not sure if you will dig this 'non-masala' dish as much as I do, but I assure you it is a pleasant change from the regular way of making beans. Here's the recipe: Ingredients : ginger garlic green chillies red pepper a can of red kidney beans shredded carrots 1 big tomato cilantro (driedflakes) cumin seeds salt turmeric olive oil In olive oil, saute cumin seeds, garlic, green chillies (cut length-wise in 1 inch strips), ginger - in that order. Add turmeric and salt. Then add shredded carrots. Cover the pan for a few minutes (5-7) and then add beans and red pepper and tomato (both tomato and pepper cut lengthwise). After stirring a bit, cover the pan and let it cook for another 8-10 minutes. Add cilantro in the end. The dish looks so colorful - deep red from beans, bright red from pepper, green from chillies and that orange-is...

 Post # 9   Posted by: Nitika I should thank my friend Anita here. She introduced me to Ragu sauce (specifically, the Traditional sauce with Chunky Tomatoes, Onions & Garlic) and I use it in all things that need a gravy base, so much so that my husband asks me to make 'chana w/ ragu' or 'rajma w/ ragu' etc., and if he doesn't like a particular curry someday, the first question he asks is, "Did you not add ragu to this?" In this recipe, the one thing that makes it different from your mom's chana is the addition of jaggery in the end. It just takes one magic ingredient to make a world of difference in taste in a dish and I have found it to be gur in this recipe. Anyway, the recipe is as follows. Ingredients: Ragu sauce (traditional-tomato-onion-and- garlic-smooth-pasta-sauce) - 1 cup or more as you like Onion - 1 big red onion tomato -1/2 (optional) green chillies - 3 long ones or several short ones cilantro flakes - 2 tsp basi...