Red lentil puluv

I love cooking with red lentils. They cook really fast and they taste great. This is an easy one pot meal where you mix your dhal, rice and vegetables. It is slightly different from our traditional kichidi which is just dhal and rice for the most part.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 cup rice (If you prefer more dhal then reduce rice to 3/4 cup)
- Mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, peas, potatoes, cauliflower) to suit your taste
- 1 onion thinly sliced
- salt to taste

Seasoning:
- 1 tsp jeera
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
- small piece of cinnamon stick
- few cloves
- 1 anise seed (I love the smell)
- 1 tsp oil
- few drops of ghee
- 1-2 green chilies (Slit into half)
- 1/4 tsp of ginger

Method:

1. Wash and soak the lentils and rice in water for 10 - 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your vegetables. Cut all the vegetables to the same size so they cook easily.
2. In a wide pan pour the oil and ghee. Once it becomes hot add your seasoning ingredients. Wait till they turn slightly brown. Add your ginger and chilies last.
3. Now add the onion. Saute till it becomes slightly limp. Add the rest of vegetables and give them a quick toss.
4. Add the soaked lentils and rice. Mix it all well. Now add water. I start with 2 cups of water. Bring this to a boil and now reduce the stove to a medium heat.
5. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Do not walk away from this. You might need to add some water if you find the rice to be undercooked. Typically I add a 1/2 cup more water.

Remove from the heat, garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with a few drops of ghee for added flavor.

(Note: You can make this dish using your pressure cooker too)

Sending this lovely recipe to My Legume Love affair - MLA#30 hosted by Priay of Mharo Rajasthan Recipes. The event was started by Susan

Preasure Cooker Baingan Bharta/ Eggplant in a spicy tomato sauce

Most of my readers must be familiar with Beingan Bharta. Eggplants are roasted and smashed and this is blend with a flavorful spicy tomato sauce. I typically use my oven to make this as I have an electric stove. I was browsing this site (she has some awesome recipe) when I came across the recipe where she cooks the eggplant in a pressure cooker. I wanted to try it and it was a great hit in my house.

Ingredients :
- 2 big eggplant (I used the big American eggplant)
- 1 big onion chopped
- 2-3 tomatoes chopped
- 1 tsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp garam masala

Seasoning
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp jeera

Method
1. Peal the skin from your eggplant. Cut it in half. In a pressure cooker add some water and the eggplant. Cover and cook for 1 whistle.
2. Meanwhile in a pan pour oil and add the jeera. Once it is brown add your onions. Cook till it really shrinks. This takes at least 10 minutes in a slow heat.
3. Now add tomatoes, chili powder and cook till they become very soft. Let it be on a slow heat for at least 15 minutes
4. Now remove the eggplant. Mash it with a fork. As they are cooked in a preasure cooker they mash very easily. Add this to the pan. The longer you cook the better it tastes. I cooked mine for 45 minutes at a very low heat mixing it periodically.

Garnish and serve it hot with rice or better with roti's or Nan

Sending this to Bookmarked Recipe's hosted by Priya and also to Heart and soul.

Quinoa Eggplant rice

This recipe is a total inspiration from Priya's blog. This one was a brilliant use of the super nutritious quinoa in our traditional cooking. I got her inspiration but I used my mom's method of making this dish. I would have never guessed quinoa to go well with eggplant but this dish was super yummy.

Ingredients :
- 2-3 eggplants cut to bite size pieces(I used the Japanese eggplant)
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- salt to taste

Seasoning :
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dhal
- 1/2 tsp jeera
- pinch of hing
- peanuts (optional)
- curry leaves (0ptional)

Method:
1. Wash the quinoa and then add two measure of water for one measure of quinoa. Microwave it for 20 minutes. The grain will turn into a glossy color. You can fluff this with your fork.
2. In a large pan add the oil and the seasoning ingredients. Once the urad dhal turns brown add your chopped eggplant. Add turmeric and salt and cook till the eggplant becomes soft. Now add the curry masala and mix till the spices coat the eggplant well.
3. Turn the heat down and add the cooked quinoa and mix it well. Use a fork for this other wise the quinoa breaks a lot.

Serve hot with raita or papad.

Sending this recipe to
Bookmark recipes created by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan and and hosted by US masala.
Cooking with whole grains guest hosted by Priya Mitharwal and started by Kiran

Green tomatoes and Eggplant subji

I borrowed this lovely book from the library - 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. He has some very interesting recipes. I am particularly fascinated by his combinations of vegetables. The recipe I am blogging today combines eggplant with raw tomatoes. The tomatoes have a tangy taste to them and when cooked with eggplant it becomes a delicious saucy dish. This is a good way to use up the unripe tomatoes that you might have in your garden.

Ingredients:
- 1 big eggpant (I used the american kind) cut to bite sized pieces
- 4 medium sized unripe tomatoes cut to bite size pieces
- bunch of chopped cilantro leaves
- 3 -4 green chilies
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- salt to taste

Seasoning:
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds

Method:
1. In a pan heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and once it starts to pop add your cumin seeds. Cook till it turns slightly brown.
2. Add the chilies, eggplant, tomatoes and cilantro. Stir-fry them for about 5 minutes. The vegetable should be tender and seared by now.
3. Add the ground corriander powder, cumin powder salt and turmeric. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and cover the pan. Reduce the heat and let it cook for another 10 minutes.
4. Your vegetables will become really tender now. Mash them slightly with a back of a ladle. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes

Serve it hot with rice or roti.

Brown Rice Sambar Sadam

According to about.com Brown rice is simply white rice that has not had the brown-colored bran covering removed. So brown rice is considered a whole grain. One cup of brown rice has 3 1/2 grams of fiber while the same amount of white rice has less than one gram of fiber. Brown rice also contains nutrients like magnesium, manganese, and zinc.

Even after reading and understanding the greatness of brown rice I don't like it too much. I grew up in an Indian household where we ate fluffy soft white rice. For me to give up that and move to brown rice is really hard. So I try all sorts of ways to hide the taste of brown rice. The inspiration for this dish came from Vegi Inspirations and one trick I learnt from her is to soak brown rice for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This makes the rice soft. To enjoy brown rice I convert it to a sambar rice with traditional sambar powder and a some fresh ground masala to top it. With fresh vegetables ( I clear my fridge and add whatever I can find) and the fresh masala this becomes an enjoyable and healthy dinner. For this recipe I used Mahatma Long Grain Brown Rice.



Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 cup moong or thoor dhal (I tried both and they both taste yummy)
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cup chopped vegetables - You can use any type of vegetables (I have used red pepper, beetroot, sweet potato, tomatoes, Raw tomatoes/tomato kai, boiled black eye peas..)
- 1 cup thick tamrind water
- 1 tsp sambar powder
- Salt to taste

Roast and grind
- 2 tsp channa dhal
- 1 tsp methi seeds
- 2-3 red chili
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds

Seasoning:
- 1 tspn oil
- 1 tsp methi seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp hing powder
- 2-3 green chilies
- few curry leaves


Method:
1. Soak the rice and dhal for at least 30 minutes. Pressure cook this till it becomes soft. I microwaved this in 5 cups of water and it took me 40 minutes.
2. In a pan pour oil and fry mustard seeds, hing powder and methi seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter and methi seeds turns color add the chillies, curry leaves and onions. Fry till they become soft.
3. Add tomatoes, and the other vegetables. Fry for a few minutes. Now and the tamarind water, sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for another 5-8 minutes.
4. Now stir in the cooked rice and dhal and boil this mixture in a low flame for 15 minutes. Brown rice is very thick so it takes time for it to cook and mix well.
6. Add the ground masala mixture to this and mix it well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and it should be perfect to serve.

Note: I liked the addition of beetroot and sweet potato as it gives the rice a unique color and flavor. If you don't like this combination you can stick to vegetables like eggplant, okra, peas tomatoes and radish. This is optional but you can add a teaspoon of brown sugar to the dish. It makes the rice spicy, sweet and sour at the same time.

This is my addition to show me your whole grain hosted by Dil Se

Simple brinjal/eggplant curry

This is a simple and healthy curry that you can make if you have some curry powder ready in hand. I have just listed the ingredients. Adjust the quantity according the amount of brinjal/eggplant you have.



Ingredients:
- eggplant
- curry powder
- mustard seeds and urad dhal
- turmeric powder and hing powder
- oil
- salt

Method:
Cut the eggplant into small discs. Add oil in a pan and drop in the mustard and urad dhal. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter add the turmeric and hing powder. After about 10 seconds add the brinjal cover and cook till it becomes soft. Now add the curry powder and mix it well.

Serve it hot with rice and sambar.

Avial

Ingredients:
- 4 cups mixed vegetables chopped into 2 inch pieces
(Some of the vegi we add are ash gourd, snake gourd, potatoes, carrots, beans, valakai(plantain), eggplant/bringal, chow-chow, unripe mango (mankai))
- 1 cup butter milk/ curds
- pich of turmeric
- salt to taste
- 1 tblspn coconut oil (optional)

Grind to paste:
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1 tspn jeera
- 1 tspn rice flour
- small lemon size tamarind softened
- 3 Green chili
- 2 red chili

Method:
1. In a deep vessel add all the vegetables with salt and turmeric. Boil them till they become tender.
2. Add the ground mixture. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Finally add the butter milk/curd. If you need it to be like kulumbu add buttermilk. But if you need it to be like kootu then add curds. Add curry leaves and coconut oil. Simmer it for a few minutes. Make sure it does not boil too much else the buttermilk will start to curdle.

Eggplant Rice

Ingredients:

- 1 cup cooked rice
- 3-4 long purple eggplant chopped to bite size pieces
- 2 tbsp curry podi
- Pinch of turmeric
- Salt to taste

Seasoning ingredients:

- 1/2 tspn Mustard Seeds
- 2 Red Chilies
- 1 tspn Urad dhal
- 1 tspn Channa dhal
- 2 tbspn peanuts (optional)
- Pinch of Hing powder
- Sprig of curry leaves
- 1 tspn oil

Method:

1. In a pan add the oil and add all the seasoning ingredients.

2. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter and the rest of ingredients turns to a golden brown add the chopped eggplant, turmeric and salt. Cook till it is tender. The eggplant should still hold its shape.

3. Add curry powder and rice. Mix it well so all the powder is incorporated well with the rice and eggplant.

Serve it hot with raita or tomato thoku

Poritcha Koottu

Toor (or) Thoor dhal or Pigeon pea is a legume that is used widely in Indian cooking. In my culture we start our lunch with hot rice mixed in with cooked toor dhal and ghee. To know more about this wonderful legume click here.

This is a simple recipe where vegetables are cooked in a freshly ground spice mixture and mixed in with toor dhal to create a complete nutritional wonder. We typically serve this kootu with hot rice.



Ingredients
- 2 cups of mixed vegetables (carrots, Peas, potatoes, beans, brinjal, tomatoes) cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup spinach chopped finely
- 3/4 cup cooked thoor dhal/Pigeon pea
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
- pinch of hing

Roast in a dry pan and grid to a fine powder:
- 1 tbsp urad dhal
- 2-4 red chillies
- 2 teaspoon jeera
- 2 teaspn pepercorns

Seasoning:
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp jeera
- few curry leaves


Method:
1. Boil 3 cups of water and add the ground powder. Add hing, turmeric and salt to it. Let it boil for 2- 3 minutes. This will get rid of the raw smell.
2. Now add the hard vegetable like potatoes,carrots and beans. Once they are half cooked add the rest of vegetables and cook until all the vegetables are tender.
3. Once the vegetables are done add thoor dhal and let it boil for 3-4 minutes at medium heat.
4. Now heat oil in a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add jeera and the hing powder. Fry till they turn brown. Finally add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling koottu.




This recipe finds its way to my legume love affair hosted by mirch masala

Kathrikai Puli Koottu

Ingredients

• 2-3 long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes


• 1 teaspoon sambar powder


• 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)


• 2 tblspn Channa dhal


• 1 teaspoon jaggary or brown sugar


• 2-3 tblspn Coconut


• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric


• 1/4 teaspoon Hing

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds, Urad Dhal, Methi seeds

Method

1. Boil brinjal with salt and turmeric powder till it is half cooked


2. Add tamarind juice, sambar powder to the boiled brinjal


3. Cook for 5 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.


4. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal, Methi seeds hing powder and coconut. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.


5. Finally add jagary or brown sugar to the kootu. Take the kootu off the heat

Use the same method to make bitter gourd (Pavakai) kootu. To get rid of the bitterness soak bitter gourd in water with salt for 1/2 hour. Preasure cook bitter gourd with salt and turmeric. Drain all the water and follow the same steps to make pavakai kootu. This kootu tastes very good with rice.

Pitlai

Ingredients

• 3-4 long long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes


• 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)


• 1 cup soaked Garbanzo beans or Chick peas preasure cooked.


• 1/2 cup thoor dhal preasure cooked


• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric


To fry and grid


• 1 tblspoon oil


• 2 tblspn corriander seeds


• 2 tblspn Channa dhal


• 10 pepper corns


• 5-8 red chillies


• 1 cup cocunut

For thaduka


• Curry leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of Mustard seeds, Methi seeds, Hing

Method

1. Boil brinjal with salt and turmeric powder till it is half cooked


2. Pour oil and fry corriander seeds, channa dhal, pepper corns and red chillies until they are golden brown. Take them out and then add coconut and fry till it is slightly brown. Grind the fired mixture into a coarse paste.


3. Add tamarind juice and chick peas to the boiled brinjal. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes


4. Add the ground mixture and preasure cooked thoor dhal. Let it boil for another 3-5 minutes or till the raw smell goes away.


5. Heat oil a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dhal, Methi seeds hing powder and coconut. Fry till they turn brown. Lastly add curry leaves and immediately add to the boiling kootu.


6. Finally add jagary or brown sugar to the kootu. Take the kootu off the heat


7. If you want to reduce cocounut then add a little bit more thoor dhal.

You can make the same pitali with Potatoes, bitter gourd, tomatillas (Green tomatoes). If you are using bitter gourd soak it for 30 minutes with salt drain the water. Then preasure cook bitter gourd with salt and turmeric and drain the water again. Now follow the same steps. For tomatillas skip tamarind if they are too tangy.

Kotsu

Ingredients
- 2-3 long purple Brinjal (Eggplant) cut into cubes
- 1 medium sized onion (optional)
- 1 lemon sized tamarind (extract the juice in 1 cup water)
- 4 red chilies (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon jaggary or brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
- pinch of hing

Seasoning:
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp channa dhal
- 2-3 tbsp peanuts (optional)
- few curry leaves

Method
1. In a heavy pan add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the channa dhal, hing powder, red chillies and peanuts. I like adding peanuts as they give a crunch to this dish. Fry till they turn slightly brown.
2. Add onions, curry leave and fry till they turn golden brown. Add brinjal and fry for a few minutes. Now pour about a cup of water.
3. Once the vegetable is half cooked add salt and tamarind extract. Cook till it is tender. Mash it a little bit with the back of your spoon. As there is no coconut this step helps blend the dish well. Add brown sugar or jaggary. Simmer for a few minutes and remove from heat.

Garnish with corriander leaves and serve with hot idlis or dosai. This dish comes together very fast and tastes great.