Tawa Chole or Chickpea Stirfry

Making chole the traditional way is usually a long, drawn out process. Today, I was short on time and had some store bought naans handy and made this easy but yummy chickpea dish!

Chickpeas/Chole (cooked): 2 cups
Salt: To Taste
Chana masala (store bought) : 2 tablespoons
Garam Masala: 1 tablespoon
Coriander Powder:  1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp
Paprika/hot chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Pomegranate seed powder (optional) : 1 tsp 
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Ginger, Julienned/cut into thin strips: 1 inch piece
Green Chilli, sliced thin : 1 (optional)
Tomato, chopped: 1 medium

Corriander leaves: to garnish
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Ghee/clarified butter: 4 tablespoons ( I used only about 2, but 4 would be ideal!!)
Ajwain/Carom seeds: 1 tsp (optional)

• If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse the peas. Remove all excess water and place it in a bowl. 
• To this, add all the powders listed in the first part and mix well to combine.
• You will need 2 pans for this. In a larger pan, place the chickpeas and in a smaller one, heat the ghee until it almost smokes. 
• While the ghee is heating, add the chilli, tomato, ginger to the chole and mix. 
• When the ghee starts smoking, add the ajwain (if using) and pour it immediately to the chole.
• Mix well, and let the chole cook in the ghee and spices for about 4-5 minutes. 
• Garnish with corriander leaves when done, and serve it hot with naans/rotis/pita.

How easy what that? 

Aloo Capsicum

Potato: 3 medium to big ones, cubed.
Capsicum: 1 large Cut into bigger chunks
Corriander Seeds: 2 tablespoon
Jeera: 1 tsp
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi: a pinch (optional)
Ginger: 1 inch piece chopped
Salt: to taste
Oil: 1 tsp

-Cut the veggies and keep them ready.
-Heat the oil, add the whole corriander seeds and jeera and let it splutter well.
-Now, add the potato, mix in the red chilli and turmeric and salt.
-Mix for a minute, pour a cup of water and cover and cook for 3-4 minutes.
-When they are half done, add the ginger, capsicum and mix well.
-Stir in between. Add kasuri methi now and mix well.

Chettinad Veg Masala

Boiled Veggies (potato, carrot, beans): 2 cups -> alternatively you can use frozen mixed veggies
Onion: 2 small chopped
Tomato: 1 ripe, chopped
Curry Leaf: a sprig
Cinnamon Stick: 2 pieces
Saunf/fennel seeds: 1 tsp
OIl: 2 tablespoon
Coconut: 1/4 cup
Corriander Powder: 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder: 3/4th tsp (as per taste)
Turmeric: a pinch

-Boil the veggies, drain and set aside.
-Heat the oil, add the saunf and cinnamon sticks.
-Add curry leaf, onions, and saute well.
-Grind the coconut with a little water to a coarse paste and keep it ready. ONLY coconut
-Once onions are done, add the paste, tomato and all the dry masala and salt.
-Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the oil separates from the mixture.
-Add the veggies and mix well. Serve garnished with corriander leaves

Oil-Free, One Pot Dal

OK. So, Going forward, I will have posts of curries/dals for Rotis. Here's an easy peasy dal. :-)

Mung Dal/Tuvar Dal/Masoor Dal: 1.5 cups
Water: 3 cups
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp
Hing: a pinch
Red Chilli Powder: 3/4th tsp
Jeera Powder: 1 tsp (leveled)
Coriander Powder: 1/2 tsp
Ginger: 1 inch piece, grated.
Garlic: 4-5 pods, crushed
Tomato: 1 or 2 crushed
Onion: 1 sliced
Green Chilli: 2-3 slit
Salt to taste

-Mix all of the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Cook for 2-3 whistles.
-Stir, add some lemon juice, coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Product Review: Priya Biryani Paste

Have you ever tried to make biryani from the scratch? I have and it is probably one of the most difficult things to get right. I love Biryani. Having lived in Hyderabad, my love for Biryani has only grown. Here, we do get to buy some killer biryani but it costs £7 a pop. For the last 2 weeks, S has been nagging on and on for Biryani and at the Indian store he found the Priya Paste and brought this home. I was very  very apprehensive. Usually these pastes taste like Vinegar and that's it.

How to make it was pretty straight forward. 2 cups of rice, 2 cups of cauliflower, carrots, beans, peas and potato, 4cups of water, salt, 2 tsp Ghee and 2 tsp of paste into a rice cooker and cook away. While making this, the fragrance was HEAVENLY! I mean, we couldn't wait for this to get cooked.

This tastes EXACTLY like a hyderabadi biryani. If you know Hyderabad House biryani then this is it. I will Definitely recommend this paste for everyone. :-) Go get it.

Vegetable Poha

This is probably one of the healthiest dinners we have had in a while. Very easy too.

Poha/Pawa/Aval: Medium thick: 2 cups.

Cabbage finely chopped: 1 cup
Carrots finely chopped: 1 cup
One potato, cubed
Peas: 1/2 cup.
Onion: 1 medium: finely chopped
Ginger chopped: 1 heaped tablespoon
Green chillies: 2-3 finely chopped.
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig
Lemon: 1
Corriander leaves: to taste
Salt
Hing
Turmeric: 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder: 1 teaspoon
Peanuts/urad dal/chana dal/mustard

--Begin by washing the poha and draining it. This will soften it.
--Before you start chopping everything, cut the potatoes and cook them separately and drain.
--Chop everything and keep it ready. Alternatively, you can pick up stir fry veggies from a store. saves time.
--Heat a wok with some oil.
--add the peanuts, urad dal, chana dal and mustard with curry leaves and let it splutter.
--Now add the green chillies and ginger.
--Add Onions with some hing and salt and allow it to cook.
--Now add the turmeric and red chilli powder and rest of the veggies and potato.
--When everything has combined and shrunk (takes about 5 mins) add the poha.
--Stir well.
--Pour the lemon juice over the poha, adjust seasoning and garnish with corriander. Chances are, you may have to fix the hing and salt at this point.

One Pot Sambar Rice.

Ever had days when you absolutely couldn't bring yourself to spend more than 5 mins next to the stove? Well, I have those days sometimes and the result is this dish AKA Kootan choru. Easy, wont take more than 5 mins prep.

You need a pressure cooker to make this one. So keep one handy before you start.

Potatoes: 2
Onions: 2
Capsicum: 1
Green Chilli: 1
Carrot: 1 (optional) or any veg that goes into a sambar.
Tuvar Dal: 1/2 cup
Rice: 1.5 cups
Tamarind: a lime sized ball, soaked and extracted.
Hing
Turmeric powder
Sambar Powder: 2tablespoons
Salt

Cut the veggies into big chunks and throw into the cooker.
Add the dal, rice, turmeric, hing, salt and sambar powder.
For regular raw rice, you need 3 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. So, for this quantity you need 6-6.5
Measure the tamarind water and for the rest, add plain water.
Cover the cooker. Leave it on until about 4-5 whistles.
Once the cooker has cooled, mix the whole lot and pour a teaspoon of ghee and some corriander leaves.
This is a really healthy, wholesome meal.

Penne in White Sauce.

The easiest way to get this dish done is to use the bottled white sauce. The trouble though, is the presence of eggs in the sauce and a general lack of flavour! Here's what I do to make a nice penne in white sauce.

Penne: 2 cups, Boiled al dente/ just a little under done.
Butter : 2 tablespoons
Flour: 2 tablespoons
Milk: 1.5 cups
Garlic: 2 pods, finely chopped.
Italian Mixed Herbs: 1 tsp
Pepper: 1 tsp

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
Heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic and fry for a few seconds.
Now add the pepper, herbs mix well.
Add the flour and fry for 20 seconds.
Now pour the milk all at once and stir well, until smooth and without lumps.
Bring this to a nice thick consistency.
Put the pasta in this sauce, mix well and move to an ovenproof dish.

You can top this pasta with some sauteed carrots, beans, capsicum and peas.
Again, top with some nice cheese and parmesan.
Bake this for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is golden and delicious.

Monday Lunch- Coconut Rice

Monday Mornings are horrible! There are a zillion things to do around the house and I am always short of time. One of my favourite mixed rice dishes is Coconut Rice. I made this for lunch today and S loved it! Here's the recipe.

Rice: 2 cups: Cooked. Use Sona Masuri if you can.
Oil: 1 tablespoon
Mustard Seeds, Urad Dal, Chana Dal, Red Chillies, Curry leaves : Generous Quantities
Hing/Asafoetida/Perumkayam: A big pinch
Coconut: Grated: 1-1.5 cups

Cook the rice and keep it aside.
Now do a tadka with all ingredients except the coconut, add it to the cooked rice.
Now dry roast the coconut until you get a nice aroma and is lightly brown.
Add this also to the rice.
Mix well, adjust the salt and serve hot.

I made a simple dal to go with this today. It was a good combo.

Simple Aloo Curry

I crave for potatoes sometimes. And I can't be bothered to spend hours in the kitchen over anything, except of course, Baking! Here's the recipe to a quick aloo dish that someone cooked for me when I was living in Delhi and which I Love with some rotis.

Potatoes: 3 Chopped into big pieces and cooked. Or, use some baby potatoes.
Corriander Powder: 2 tea spoons
Cumin Powder: 2 tea spoons
Garlic Cloves: 3-4 chopped/paste
Tomato : 1 or 2 Chopped fine or pureed
Tamarind Pulp: 1 tbsp
Oil: 2 tablespoons
Salt
Corriander leaves

Cook the potatoes and let them drain.

Heat a pan, pour the oil in, add the corriander powder,cumin powder, garlic cloves,tomatoes, tamarind pulp and salt. Yes. Everything in at the same time.

Cook the lot on a low flame for about 10 minutes or until you can see the oil on the surface.

If you think the curry is too sour, add a tsp of sugar.

Now add the potatoes, coat them with the gravy and cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Keep stirring so you dont burn the gravy.

Garnish with corriander leaves.