South Indian Style- Peanut Baingan/Eggplant

 

This is new version of eggplant, I ever made and tasted, but I have some of the ingredients used in south Indian cooking. When I bought this week to try something with this, I never found any recipes for green eggplant other than green bharta, which I don’t want to try. So I created my own version, I hope you will like it too like my family loved it.

Ingredients

1. 5 green round Eggplant/ Baingan cut in ¼ inch slices

2. One Onion (chopped roughly)

3. One tomato diced

4. 3-4 green chilies (according to you, you can also opt for dry red chilies)

5. 3-4 garlic cloves

6. ½ cup of peanut

7. 2 tbsp or 8-10 leaves of kaddipatta / curry leaves

8. 1 tsp of cumin seeds

9. 1 tsp of fennel / sauf seeds

10. ½ tsp of fenugreek seeds

11. ½ tsp of coriander seeds

12. Salt to taste

13. 1 tbsp of imli / tamarind concentrate

14. Oil

15. ½ tps pf turmeric, red chili powder, cumin and amchoor / mango powder each

Directions

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add slices of eggplant in it.

2. Stir fry them till both the sides are slightly brown.

3. Take them out and keep them aside in a bowl.

4. In the same pan add little bit oil again and add onion garlic and green chilies and saute them till light golden.

5. Add peanuts and curry leaves also now and keep on shaking the pan, so that they don’t burn.

6. Now with a spoon just shift all the onion aside and add the dry spices, let them stand for 2 minutes and then mix with onion mixture.

7. Now mix in the tomatoes and let the mixture cook for 5 minutes.

8. Add all the dry spices now, salt, red chili powder, turmeric, mango and cumin powder and cook for another 2 minutes. Let it cool down and take off the heat.

9. In a mixing bowl or cup add tamarind concentrate in little water.

10. In a mixer/grinder add the onion/peanut masala with tamarind water and blend it really well. The mixture will be turned out as little grainy, but this is what you are looking for.

11. Add the mixture in same pan and cook with ½ cup of water. Bring it to boil.

12. Add the sliced green eggplant and let it cook in low heat for 5-8 minutes.

13. Serve with hot roti or parantha , naan or rice.

- enjoy

Chitra

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:- 1. 2 cups of cooked rice 2. 1 cup of peanuts 3. 2 red whole dry chilies 4. 2 green chilies 5. 1 tbsp of urad daal 6. 1 tbsp of chana daal 7. ½ cup of fresh lemon juice 8. 2 tsp of turmeric powder 9. Salt to taste 10. 7 curry leaves 11. 1 tbsp of black mustard seeds 12. Oil Method:- 1. In a non stick pan, add 2 tbsp of oil. 2. When the oil is really hot add mustard seeds and dry red chilies, wait till they splutter. 3. Add both the daals’ and green chilies. 4. Now add peanuts and sauté them till they run golden brown. Then add curry leaves. 5. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. 6. After that add rice and mix them well carefully. Don’t overdo that they mash. 7. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice. And mix it well with two spoons or spatula. 8. Serve hot or cold with any type of chutney.   -Chitra

Stuffed Rava Idli

Ingredients:- 1. 2 Cups of Rava MTR Idli Mix 2. 1 cup of curd 3. 1 cup of water For stuffing:- 1. 2 boiled potatoes peeled and mashed 2. ½ cup of green peas 3. Salt and Red chili powder to taste and 1 tsp of turmeric powder 4. 1tbsp of oil 5. 1tsp of zeera/cumin seeds and 1 tsp of black mustard/sarso seeds 6. 1 cup of Haldiram moong daal mixture 7. 1 cup of chopped onion 8. 3 green chilies chopped 9. 1 cup of fresh dhaniya/cilantro/corriander leaves 10. 2 tbsp of mango/lemon pickle For Peanut Chutney:- 1. 1 cup of peanuts 2. ½ tomato chopped 3. ½ onion chopped 4. 2 green chilies chopped 5. 1 whole dry red chili 6. 1 tbsp of oil 7. 1 tsp of black mustard seeds 8. 3 curry leaves 9. Salt and red chili powder to taste 10. ½ tbsp of tamarind paste dissolved in 2 tbsp of water For Onion and Tomato Chutney 1. ½ cup of scrapped coconut 2. 2 tomatoes chopped 3. 1 cup of pearl onions 4. 2 whole dry red chilies 5. Salt and red chili powder to taste 6. 1 tbsp of chana daal and urad daal 7. ½ tsp of Asafoetida/hing powder 8. 7 curry leaves 9. oil Directions:- 1. Here I have included two different types of filling for stuffed Idli’s, there can be various stuffing for idlis. 2. For stuffing one, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan, add cumin and mustard seeds. 3. When they splutter add ½ cup of chopped onions and 1 tbsp of green chilies. 4. Add salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder and add peas. 5. As soon as onion and peas turns golden brown add potatoes and mix well. 6. Cook for five minutes and remove from heat to cool down. 7. Add half chopped dhaniya leaves to it. 8. For stuffing two, there is no cooking required. In a bowl add chopped onions, green chilies and fresh cilantro. Add Moong daal to it and mix well. Add little salt according taste if required. 9. Mash or chop finely Mango/lemon pickle in a separate bowl and then add it to moong daal mixture. 10. Mix well and your second stuffing is ready. 11. Now prepare the MTR Idli mixture according to instructions by adding curd and water and mixing it well. 12. Leave aside and grease the idli pan with oil or butter. 13. Now add half of idli mixture to the idli pan. In half of the idli add stuffing one and in other half add second stuffing. 14. Now pour other half of idli mixture to cover the stuffing. 15. Cook them as required till then prepare both chutneys. 16. For Peanut chutney: - In a small sauce pan, add oil and add raw red chilies. Add Peanuts, and stir till they turn golden brown, add tomato and onions and green chilies. Cook them till the raw flavor disappears. Turn off the heat. Put them in blender, and blend with tamarind water. Now in same sauce pan add oil and mustard seeds, when they splutter add curry leaves, salt and red chili powder cook for one more minute. Transfer peanut mixture in serving bowl. Put the mustard seeds and curry leaves over the pureed mixture. 17. For Tomato and Onion chutney:-In a small sauce pan, add oil and add raw red chilies. Add onions. Cook them till the raw flavor disappears add both the daal and green chilies. When they turn little brown add tomato, cook it for five more minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the scrapped coconut and onion and tomato mixture, in blender to puree. In same sauce pan add oil and mustard seeds, when they splutter add curry leaves, salt, hing and red chili powder cook for one more minute. Transfer the onion and tomato puree in serving bowl. Put the mustard seeds and curry leaves over the pureed mixture. 18. Serve hot idli’s with chutney. Mix all idlis together so that it comes as surprise to everyone or serve them separately.

Chicken Vindaloo

Ingredients

1. 3 chicken Breasts chopped in bite size pieces

2. 3 tbsp of lemon juice

3. 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar

4. 2 onions chopped finely

5. 2 tbsp of garlic and ginger paste

6. Salt to taste

7. 1 tsp of coriander powder

8. ½ tsp of cayenne pepper

9. 1 tsp of red chili powder

10. 5 tsp of garam masala

11. 1 tsp of cumin

12. ½ tsp of mustard seeds

13. ½ tsp of cumin seeds

14. ½ tsp of cinnamon

15. 1 bay leaf

16. 2 cloves

17. Oil

18. Coriander / cilantro / dhaniya leaves to garnish

Directions

1. In a large plastic bowl or zip lock bag add lemon juice, vinegar, one chopped onion, all the spices and shake it well.

2. Now add the chicken pieces and marinade and leave it overnight or for 4 hrs minimum.

3. In a non stick pan add 2 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil .

4. Now add chopped onion.

5. When they turn pink add ginger and garlic paste.

6. Cook for 3 minutes and add salt.

7. Add the marinated chicken and cook until the chicken is cooked with lid closed on low heat. Stir in between so that chicken does not stick.

8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve in fancy kadai with rice or laccha paratha.

-Chitra

Sambar and Rice

 

 

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of tuar / arhaar daal soaked in water for 30 minutes.

2. Salt to taste

3. Different vegetables 3 cups ( carrots,beans, brinjal, kadu, petha, tori, plantain (hara kela), potato, okra /bhindi)

4. 1 Onion chopped

5. 1 big red tomato chopped

6. Salt to taste

7. 4 tbsp of sambar masala (any brand)

8. 1 ½ of amchoor / mango powder

9. 1 cup of kadi pata

10. 2 cups of plain white boiled Rice ( while boiling rice add 2 tsp of lemon juice)

11. 1 tbsp of sarso seeds

12. 2 whole lal mirch / red chili

13. Water

14. Oil

Directions

1. If you don’t have sambar masala you can make your own by roasting some dry spices. Take ½ cup coriander seeds, ¼ cup cumin seeds, ¼ cup chana daal (large split yellow lentils), ¼ cup urad daal (black gram), ¼ cup fenugreek seeds, ¼ cup black peppercorns, ¼ cup dry red chilli flakes, ¼ cup grated dessicated coconut, ¼ cup mustard seeds, 20 dried curry leaves, 2 tbsp tumeric powder, 2 tsp asafetida powder. Roast all the ingredients except the asafetida on a hot griddle till they begin to release their aroma. Cool on a tray. Add the asafetida and grind into a fine powder. Store in an air-tight container.

2. Boil the daal in pressure cooker or pan till it is turned into soup with pinch of salt and turmeric powder and ½ tsp of oil.

3. In the mean time boil water with 1 tsp of salt and add your vegetables to it. Boil them until they are cooked.

4. Till the vegetables are cooking make tadka for sambar. Add oil in non stick tadka pan add sarso seeds, when they splutter add kadi pata, whole lal mirch. Cook for 1 minute and add onions. When the onions turn golden brown add tomato and sambar masala, salt and amchoor powder.

5. Now add vegetables and tadka to the daal . Cook for 10 minutes.

6. Serve hot with white rice with onion rings dipped in lemon.

-enjoy Chitra