Chama dumpa (taro root) fry

Calling this a fry is not right, because I've only used about 2 tbsp oil (yes!!) for 2 pounds taro. Baking does the trick. Earlier, I blogged about (baked) fried potato curry. Making chama dumpa vepudu (fry) is exactly same as the other recipe with potatoes, with the following differences:

• Taro is cooked prior to baking
• No onions

So, here's the recipe phat-a-phat:

(A)

1. Steam the taro in a pressure cooker until 4 whistles.
2. Leave the taro root to cool and then peel it. Washing the cooked taro in a running drain of cold/tap water will help remove all the heat.
3. Once peeled, wash and cut the taro into medium size pieces. Typically, an average sized chama dumpa sold in US can be pieced into about 10-12parts. Don't cut them too small. Also, steamed taro can be extremely slippery on the hands - so be careful not to let your fingers come in the way of the knife.

or (B):

Start with step 3 above and microwave the taro till they are 80% cooked. If you have a microwave, I suggest you follow method (B). Cooking time is greatly reduced and cutting the taro also becomes easier as its un-cooked and hence not slippery.

After (A) or (B),

1. Bake the taro pieces at about 350F. Don't bake for too long. Only bake until a thin crust forms on the pieces. When left in the oven for a long time, taro becomes dry and hard. Important thing is, you should bake until the sliminess goes away, so that taro becomes easier to work with in the cooking pan. In the traditional way of frying in a pool of oil, taro is fried in batches so that they don't stick to each other. We're skipping this step by baking and then doing a stir fry.
2. Oil + jeera + curry leaves; baked taro+ salt + turmeric; cook with lid covered for 5min; add chilli powder.

To note:

If you're a two-time mealmaker like I am, *DO NOT* fry the baked taro all at once. Doing so makes them absolutely dry for the 2nd time meal and no amount of microwaving can fix it. What I do is, fry half the baked stuff and store the rest in a sealed container. Just before the 2nd meal, I fry them.

Menthikaya pachadi (Sweet and Spicy Mango Pickle)

Surfing the Internet you accidentally land on a page that tells you that you can fly to India for under 1000$ - what's the first thought that pops up in your mind? Parents, Home-Sweet-Home, Family, Weddings, so on & so forth.. An avid Mango lover that I am, the first motivation to grab the ticket and fly home was M.A.N.G.O!!! Oh my!! God only knows how much I miss them here in US. Gone are the days I used to snack on two juicy mangoes everyday, all I can do now is lick the packaged mango pulp from the can. If fruity mangoes are my first love (in May), mango pickles are the second. Avakaya is the famous mango pickle made in the state of Andhra Pradesh. There are several variants of this pickle and each one has its own charm. There's this dialogue from some Telugu movie: "Amma, Avakaya eppudu bore kottaru" which precisely means "You can never get bored of your Mom and also Avakaya".

This year, I'm really lucky to get some freshly prepared Avakaya pickle from India. Last year when I missed the taste of mango pickle in Summer, I asked my mom for the recipe so that I could try it here. "Menthikaya" is a sweeter version of Avakaya which is easier to prepare and also it doesn't require the mango to be too sour. Its a blend of several different tastes just like the Ugadi pachadi (Sour/Mango, Sweet/jaggery, Bitter/Fenugreek powder, Spice and salty) Can be made in less than half an hour and goes well with steamed rice as well as tiffins.

Ingredients:

1. Raw mango (should be sour, okay even if it's moderately sour) - 1
2. Sesame/Gingelly oil - 1/2 cup
3. Jaggery powder- 2 tbsp
4. Chilli powder - atleast 2 tbsp
5. Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tbsp
6. Salt, Turmeric, Mustard seeds and Heeng

Method:

1. Peel the mango. Make sure its completely dry (no water/moisture).
2. Cut the mango into small pieces (see pic below). Trash the seed portion.
3. Add sufficient salt and a pinch of turmeric powder to the pieces and mix them all. Allow the mango pieces to marinate for about 20 min.
4. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds and powder them in a mixer.
5. Take about 1/3 cup oil and heat it in a kadai. Add the powdered jaggery powder and stir continously. Leave it on the flame till the jaggery starts to melt. Leaving it for too long causes the molten jaggery to become hard.
6. Now add the heated jaggery along with the oil to the mango pieces. While its hot, add chilli powder.
7. Fenugreek powder - add little by little, because adding in excess would result in a bitter tasting pickle. To start with just add a pinch.
8. Using the remaining oil, do the tadka with mustard seeds (about a tbsp) and lots of heeng (unlike regular curry tadka).
9. Time-to-taste: Mix all the ingredients really well and taste the syrup. It should be a little bitter, mostly sweet and spicy. Adjust fenugreek/chilli powder/jaggery/salt. I'm sorry about the measurements. Next time, I'll take a note of how much of each ingredient went into the making of the pickle.

Cover the pickle and leave it undisturbed for about half day so that the sourness of the mango pieces seeps into the syrup.

Few clicks:

Ingredients-

After marinating-

End result :)

Rajma masala

A great side dish for roti as well as rice. Method of preparation is very much similar to chole masala.

Ingredients:

1. Rajma beans (washed & soaked for atleast 8hrs) - 1 cup
2. Tomatoes (pureed) - 3 medium sized ones
3. Onion (chopped into small pieces) - 1 large
4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
5. Dhania jeera powder - 1 tbsp
6. Garam masala - 1 tbsp
7. Amchur powder or lemon juice - 1 tbsp
8. Chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Pressure cook the beans with salt until soft.
2. Fry a tbsp of oil, and add the GG paste.
3. Once the paste is fried, add some more oil & fry the onions.
4. Tomato puree goes in next along with a pinch of salt.
5. Once the raw smell of the tomato disappears, add the cooked rajma (along with the water used for cooking the beans).
6. One by one, add dhania-jeera powder, garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric powder, and a spoonful of sugar.
7. If I have rajma curry with chapathi, I like it lemon-y. With rice, rajma made with amchur powder tastes better. If you're using amchur powder, add it now.
8. Stir the contents of the pan and let it cook (with the lid on) on low flame for about 10min.
9. Adjust salt, masalas as desired. Can add lemon juice now (optional).
10. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

In my next post, I'll share my Jeera rice recipe. Till then, bybye!

Sambar with Toor Dal

Sambar is such a popular South Indian dish that people from the rest of India tag southies as Sambarwalas. No offense meant, had their elders fed them Sambar right from childhood, I'm sure they'd grow up loving Sambar as much as we do. Such a healthy & finger-licking dish!

At home, I make Sambar with Toor dal as well as Moong dal. For now, as I only have the former's click - posting Toor dal Sambar for now. Though I didn't cook Sambar this Morning, I somehow felt a sudden craving for it while working on a cold afternoon - it's 58F outside. As I'm in no mood to cook now, thought I'd satisfy my cravings by just looking at a picture of it that I have. If you have seen the Telugu movie "Ahanaa Pellanta', you'd already know that you can satisfy your tummy by merely looking at a mouth-watering dish. :)

No more chit-chat. Heading straight to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Toor dal - 1cup
2. Onion - 1 medium sized
3. Tomato - 1 med. sized
4. Boiler onions (optional) - a handful
5. Sambar Powder - my vote goes to MTR & MDH brands
6. Jaggery (optional) - spoonful
7. Tamarind juice - spoonful
8. Coconut powder (preferably fresh, dessicated is okay too) - spoonful
9. Coriander/cilantro for garnishing
10. Popu/Tadka - Fenugreek seeds, mustard, jeera, curry leaves & heeng

Method:

1. Pressure cook the dal with 2 cups water
2. Take a thick bottomed vessel (so that dal doesn't burn) and add a cup of water. Don't add a lot of water. After adding all the ingredients in Steps 3-5 below, this is how the contents should appear. 
   
   
   Water should just be sufficient to submerge all the ingredients. Not more.
   
3. Add about 1.5 spoonfuls of Sambar powder, tamarind juice, salt, pinch of turmeric powder, half teaspoon chilli powder, and jaggery. 
4. Cut the onions into inch-sized pieces. Also chop the tomato and add them both to the vessel above
5. Peel the boiler onions and add them too
6. Now bring the vessel to a boil. Once water starts boiling, let it continue boiling for 10minutes or so. 
7. Now add the cooked dal and stir all the contents. At this stage, you can taste it & adjust any of the ingredients in Step 3. Particulary salt, tamarind, sambar powder. If you find the sambar too thick, add little more water.
8. Once the sambar starts boiling again, add coconut powder and let it boil for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in between, or else the dal could stick to the bottom and eventually burn.
9. Turn off the gas, and add the popu/tadka
10. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice or Idly.
    
    
    

If the tamarind juice and Sambar powder are added in the right amounts, the end result would turn yummy. You could also add some vegetables like drumsticks, carrot, potato, okra in Step 4. 

Fried potato curry

After cooking for close to 3 years, Today is the day I had my "Aha" moment with Potato. There are hazaar ways of making potato curries, & the deep fry is the one that requires max amount of oil. I, hence, make it as an occasional treat once a month. But today, with the procedure I followed, I could get the same taste with just 2 teaspoons of oil! The trick is to oven-bake the potatoes before frying. Takes time, but you would feel guilt-free after your meal.

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - washed & cubed
2. Onions - cut into small pieces
3. Jeera
4. Curry leaves

Method:

1. Spread a drop of oil on a baking dish and place the cubed potatoes
2. Bake on 400F for about 10minutes
3. Toss the potato pieces and bake for another 5-10minutes. Once done, they should look like this:
   
   
   
   If you actually bite a piece, you'll see that it tastes like those French fries. See, they're already fried & your oil pot isn't empty yet!
   
   
4. Add one tea spn of oil and fry jeera with curry leaves. I add lots of jeera in this step unlike other tadkas I make. You could also call this curry Aloo-jeera.
5. Fry the onions till they turn translucent
6. Add another tea spn of oil & drop the baked potato pieces ( I always add oil in installments otherwise the onions take up all the oil)
7. Salt, chilli powder and turmeric go in next
8. Cook covered for about 5minutes
9. Adjust salt & chilli powder as required

Simple dish, can't really go wrong. An amazing combo for steamed rice.

I actually made Taro root (Chaama dumpa) fry with the same recipe a week ago, & it was as tasty as it could be with so less oil. Shall blog it later. So, girls, start putting your oven to good use! I was always under an impression that oven is only for cake-making, but now, I'm even forcing my mother into buying an oven so as to cut down on the oil intake.

Sending this to the Side dish event

Spinach (palakoora) Dal (pappu)

Here I begin my Dal series...

Since we are vegetarians, dal is our main source of protein. So I make sure I include something made of dal in my cooking everyday. My mom used to make a different dal with each green. But here in the city where I live, we don't have the previlige of getting all those. So, I end up making either tomato dal or spinach dal every week, besides lemon dal and sambar. I don't like my dal to taste masala-y or too spicy, prefer the milder ones. In Telugu, we call it "kammati" pappu. 

There isn't much that goes into the making of Spinach Dal. 

Ingredients:

1. Spinach leaves - washed & chopped
2. Toor dal - cooked
3. Popu/Tadka - urad dal, mustard, jeera, curry leaves, heeng
4. Lemon

Method:

1. Heat a teaspoon of ghee and fry the tadka (I always do ghee-popu for my dals)
2. Fry the chopped spinach leaves till they wilt.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   This is something I learnt from my M-I-L. It helps to retain the nutrients of Spinach. Earlier, I used to pressure cook dal with spinach leaves and then add the popu in the end.
   
    
   
3. Add the cooked dal, salt and chilli powder
4. Few drops of lemon juice and the dal is ready!

An excellent side-dish for both Chapathi & Rice. 

Gutti vankaya curry

Ask any Andhraite what his/her favourite vegetarian curry is. With 80% probability, "Gutti vankaya" would be the answer. Its a stuffed brinjal curry with/without gravy. We love the brinjal/eggplant so much that there's even a film song from a 90's Telugu movie dedicated to it. I feel honored to post the first stanza of this song, with the English translation verbatim :)

Aaha emi ruchi

Aaha, what a taste

Anaraa maimarachi

Come on say it, mesmerized (by the taste)

Rojuu tinnaa mari

Even when eaten everyday

Moze teeranidi

The craving doesn't quench

Taaja kooralalo

Among fresh vegetables

Raja evarandi

Which is the king?

Inkaa cheppaala

Need I say more?

Vankaye nandi

It is Brinjal.

Hows that? 2 more stanzas to the song, but I'm not going to post them here.

As a publicity stunt, the film-makers launched a state-wide cooking competition, and all the Andhra women went on a brinjal marathon, dishing out several recipes with the vegetable :)

The method of preparation of the curry varies from kitchen to kitchen. In my family, it is cooked without the gravy. I prepare it in my mom's style, but use my ma-in-law's curry powder for stuffing the brinjal. I call this the "Universal curry powder" and its a must have in my pantry. Here's how its made.

Curry powder-Ingredients:

1. Channa dal (senaga pappu) - x units
2. Dhania - x/2 units
3. Urad dal (mina pappu) - x/2
4. Peanuts - proportional to the quantity of channa dal
5. Red chillies
   

Heat a little amount of oil and roast all the ingredients. Add some salt and grind the mixture to a fine powder, when cooled.

If you have this powder ready, you can add it to most vegetables to make a delicious curry. Goes well with Cabbage, Beans, Carrot, Potato, and not to forget, the Brinjal. Just fry the veggies with some onions and tadka, and add the curry powder in the end.

With the curry powder ready, I'll go ahead with the actual Brinjal recipe. For my method of preparation, its best to use baby brinjals, as they cook faster.

Ingredients:

1. Baby brinjals
2. Salt
3. Chilli powder
4. Heeng/asafoetida

Method:

1. Add sufficient salt to the curry powder, since it can't be added later.
2. Also add some chilli powder and heeng and mix them all with a small amount of oil.
3. Remove the stalk and wash the brinjals.
4. Carefully slit the brinjal as shown below. One cut on the bottom at the centre and two or more grooves on either sides on the top. The brinjal should not get sliced. The cut should almost go till the other edge, but it should not touch it. Slits are made where the fingers are positioned in the picture.                                                                                                                                                                                                
   
   
5. Stuff the curry powder in each slit made to the brinjal.                                                                                              
   
   
   
   
6. Heat sufficient oil (be a little generous, I'm sure you won't regret) and gently drop each brinjal.
   
7. See that each brinjal is coated with oil on all sides.
8. Cover and cook on low flame for about 20 minutes, tossing the brinjals in between. High flame could burn the vegetable. So be patient, and let them cook till tender. *Do not add water* while they cook. Its going to ruin the taste.
9. Once done, add the leftover curry powder to the pan and gently transfer the contents to a different dish so as not to break the brinjals.

If someone can make this curry every day, I'll be more than happy to eat it. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Sending this entry to the WYF: Side dish Event.