Bhutti / Spicy Coconut Curry

Bhutti is a spicy Mangalorean curry made with the following combinations- mushroom, cabbage and cauliflower and potato, cabbage and potato, cauliflower and potato, potato, ivy gourd or tendli. I made it with cauliflower and potato combination in the photo. It is usually served with the bland dalithoy or dal. 

Ingredients 
3 cups chopped cauliflower and potato (you can select the vegetable quantity as desired)
3 medium onions
1 cup grated coconut
6-7 red chilies (byadgi or kashmiri with mild pungency prefered) 
1 teaspoon tamarind paste or 1/4 lemon sized tamarind
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
4 tablespoons oil (preferably coconut oil)
salt for taste

Method 

Fry the coriander seeds on low flame for 3-4 minutes till it is slightly heated. Take care so that it should not change color to brown. Grind the coconut, tamarind, chilies and coriander into a coarse paste. Traditionally, the coriander seeds are put in the end of the grinding process and only a pulse or two is run to ensure that the coriander is very coarsely ground. The paste should be ground with as little water as possible into a thick paste.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions. Fry onion till transparant and ensure that it does not turn brown or caramelize. Add the cauliflower and cook covered. the cauliflower should be half cooked and not be mushy. Add the ground coconut paste and get the curry to a boil on very low flame for around 10-15 minutes. Serve hot with rice and dal. 

Breadfruit Fritter / Jeev Kadgi Phodi

Bread Fruit fritters is considered a delicacy in Konkani households. Fritters, bhajiya and upkari (sabzi) is made from this bread fruit. Both fritters and sabzi are had as tea time snacks with tea or kasaya. Click here to see how bread fruit looks. 

Ingredients 

bread fruit

besan or gram flour 1/2- 1 cup as needed

pinch of heeng or asafetida

red pepper powder for taste

salt for taste

oil for frying

Method 

Cut the breadfruit depending on how many fritters you are preparing and keep the remaining part in the refrigerator. Skin the bread fruit and slice it as shown in the below picture. The central stem which extends into the fruit should be also removed.

Apply salt, red chili powder to the bread fruit slices and keep aside for 15-20 minutes. 

Mix water with the gram flour to make a thick paste of idli atta consistency. Add salt, asafoetida to the gram flour paste as per desired taste. Dip the bead fruit slices in the gram paste and fry it in hot oil on both sides till done. Serve hot as snacks or as a side dish with meals. 

Ridge Gourd Stir Fry/ Gosale Upkari

Ridge gourd or turai is a very healthy vegetable and is very cooling for the body. We make a very simple sabzi or upkari which is served with dal or sambar.

In this photo: Dal, Rice, Ghosale Upkari and plain Odi

Ingredients 
2-3 medium sized ridge gourds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 green chili 
2 dried red chili or byadgi chili
3 tables grated coconut
1 tablespoon coconut oil or any other oil
salt for taste


Method

Peel the ridge gourd and chop it into 2 cm pieces. Heat oil in the pan and add mustard. When the mustard splutters add the red chili and slit green chili. Fry for a minute. Add the cut bottle gourd and saute it for a minute. Add 1/4 cup water and cook covered till the bottle gourd is soft. Add salt for taste and garnish with grated coconut. Serve hot with dal and rice. 

Quinoa Khichdi/ Quinoa Stirfry with Peanuts

I make Quinoa Khichidi or Quinoa Upma very often for breakfasts. Come Spring and we feel very hungry whole day. I even wake up hungry and crave for a heavy breakfast. Wish I had a robot who could keep a variety of breakfast items ready for us every morning! Wishes apart, thats why my last post was about breakfast too.

I was introduced to Quinoa a few months back at a salad bar and I became quite inquisitive about this grain which tasted great and felt light on the stomach. I researched more on the internet and came across many recipes. I tried to make salad with a lemon dressing, but it tasted very bland to me. And that is when I decided to try to make Indian style recipes. I tried to make pulao like khichidi, but the quinoa got crushed and mushy when I mixed it with the vegetables and the dal. That is when I decided to make this lighter flavor version which retains the actual flavor of Quinoa while still making it spicy. 

Ingredients 
1 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup peanuts
3 tablespoon chopped cilantro or coriander leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds or jeera
1 medium potato (boiled, peeled and chopped into cubes)
2-3 green chilies or as per taste
5-6 curry leaves or karipatta(washed)
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil

Method 

Roast the peanuts on medium flame. Coarsely powder them. I put them in the mixer and give a pulse or two to get a coarse powder. I usually don't skin the roasted peanuts as I feel the brown skin is healthy, but they can be skinned if desired.

Boil 1/2 cups of water and put quinoa in it. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook covered on low flame till the quinoa soaks up all the water. If you feel the quinoa is still not soft, you may add 1/4 cup more water. 

Once cooked mix in sugar and peanut powder and keep aside. 

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Stir for a second and add curry leaves and finely chopped green chilies. Add the cubed potato and sprinkle red chili powder. Stir the potato well so that is coated with all the spices. Add the quinoa and mix well with the potatoes. Adjust the sugar and salt as per taste. Season the khichidi with lemon juice and coriander leaves. Serve hot. 

Gardudde Ambat / Bottlegourd in Coconut Sauce

Ambat is a Manglorean curry which consists of the basic Masolu and vegetables. Masolu is a thick paste made with grated coconut, tamarind and dry red chiles.

Ambat may or may not contain lentils. Moong ambat, takka ambat consists of plain masolu or gravy. While others like valli ambat have toor dal or pigeon peas. I find the ones with lentils more healthier as less coconut is used to prepare the gravy. 

During religious festivals ambat is prepared with mustard and curry leaves seasoning. Some of the ones I have earlier posted are Mooga randayi/Ambat, karate ambat and takka ambat. Some ambat curries are seasoned with fried garlic while others are seasoned with fried onion. Valli ambat and papaya ambat are such curry. Another famous ambat is cauliflower and peas ambat which I will post later. 

Ingredients 
1 medium bottle gourd
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup toor dal or pigeon peas
1 teaspoon coconut oil or any other oil
salt for taste

For the gravy or Masolu:
1/2 cup coconut
1 inch piece of tamarind
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
5-6 byadgi chili or red chilies or as desired

Method
Peel the bottle gourd and chop it into one inch pieces. Pressure cook the bottle gourd with toor dal, onions, salt and 2 cups of water. Cook till the toor dal is well done. Stir the toor dal and vegetable with a ladle till the lentil is all mushy.
Fry the red chilies in a pan till they are crisp. Finely grind the red chilies along with grated coconut, tamarind, turmeric adding as little water as possible. Add this paste to the lentils and mix well. Add water as per desired consistency and get it to a boil. Fry the remaining chopped onion in the coconut oil till it is golden brown. Season the curry with the onions. Serve hot with rice.

Stir Fried Colorful Chinese Rice with Nine Jems

This colorful chinese rice is a great treat during the cold windy winters. It is extremely healthy option as there so many vegetables go in preparing the stir fry. We usually buy vegetables from our local farmers market at Mountain View. Any vegetables available on hand can be used to make the stir fried chinese rice. But I buy vegetables in little quantities, like 4-5 beans, few flat peas and like wise for the stir fry. 

I use at least nine different vegetable to make this rice and hence the explosion of colors. This rice is a hit with the kids and is a great way to make children eat their vegetables. I have used carrots and red bell pepper for the red color. Green bell pepper, beans, peas and brocoli for the green color. Corn for the yellow color. Apart from this I also use cauliflower, onion and eggplant, cabbage and spring onions. 

Ingredients 
2 cups of rice (I use basmati)
1 medium onion (sliced)
half a piece of red and green bell pepper (julienne) 
2 bunches of spring onions
two - four tablespoons of chopped vegetables available on hand (choose from cauliflower, brocoli, cabbage, carrot, peas, corn, eggplant, beans )
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoon red chili sauce or optionally tomato ketchup
oil for frying 
2 chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
salt and pepper for taste


Method 
Wash the rice well and cook it in 3 1/2 cups or water till it is 3/4 Th done. I usually pressure cook the rice. Heat oil (as required) in a pan and stir fry all the vegetables (excluding the onion, spring onions and bell pepper) on high heat. Keep aside. 
Add 3 tablespoon oil in another pan and add the ginger garlic pieces. Fry for a minute on high flame and add chopped chilies. Add sliced julienned bell pepper and sliced onions and stir well. Lower the flame and add soy sauce, red chili sauce and vinegar. Mix the rice and stir fried vegetables well with the sauce. Adjust salt and pepper. Garnish with finely chopped spring onions and cook till the rice is hot. Serve immediately.

Raw Mango Sabzi

Vegetable Pulao, Masoor Dal and Mango Sabzi

I found great quality raw mangoes at my Indian grocery store this year. The mangoes were very sour like their Indian counterparts, so I made pickles, mango rice and this sabzi many times during this summer season. This khatti chutney or sabzi if you call it makes a great combination with bland dal or varan.

Ingredients  

1 raw mango

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4-5 methi seeds
1 teaspoon kalonji seeds or onion seeds

1/2 -1 cup cup jaggery or as desired

1 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
1/2 teaspoon haldi power

1 teaspoon oil

salt for taste

Method 
Cut the raw mango into 2cm cubes. Remove the mango seed and discard it. Heat oil in a pan and add methi seeds. Fry for a minute and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds pop add kalonji seeds, haldi and red chili powder. Stir for a minute and add the cut raw mango. Cover and cook till the raw mango is soft. Add jaggery and salt and cook till the jaggery is mixed well with the mango. Serve hot.

Pathrado / Konkani Patra / Colocasia or Taro Leaf rolls

Patrado is a Konkani delicacy made with Taro leaves or Patharade paan. It is found in abundance during the rainy season and is grown in backyard kitchen gardens in south India. People in Hawaii also consume  lot of taro leaves and the leaves grow there in abundance all year round due to the unique climate.In Bay area you can find taro leaves occasionally at Indian stores. Taro leaves are available year round at the San Francisco farmer's market and at King's Seafood in Sunnyvale. 

There are various different recipes for making pathrado. I use 100% moong dal for the stuffing. Other variations are 1) 100 % whole moong 2) 75% whole moong or moong dal and 25 % rice 3) 50 % toor dal and 50 % rice 4) 50 % chana dal and 50% rice 5) 25 % chana dal 25 % moong dal and 50 % rice. My mom would prepare it with chana dal and rice in the past but of late she prepares it with moong dal and rice as moong is much lighter on the tummy than chana dal. 

Taro leaves can cause itching in the hands while handling them due to the calcium oxalate. This can be avoided by rubbing hands with tamarind juice before handling taro leaves. I didn't get any itching while handling the ones from King's Seafood though I cannot say the same about the ones we get in India. Pathrado is also garnished with coconut oil to prevent itching in the throat. The secret to tasty pathrado also lies in using tender or young taro leaves as opposed to larger taro leaves.

Pathrado makes a great combination with rice and bland dal or dalitoy. When I was a kid I would relish it with "duddh-sheet" (milk mixed with rice in Konkani). These are the photos from when my mom made pathrado during my last India trip. 

 

Ingredients
10-15 patra leaves

2 cups moong dal or use the pulse and rice combination mentioned above

1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate or half lemon sized piece of tamarind

1 tablespoon jaggery or gur

1 cup grated coconut

pinch of asafoetida

10-15 byadgi red chilies or as per taste

salt for taste

coconut oil for garnishing

Method

Wash and soak moong dal or the desired pulse-rice combination for 4-5 hours. Roast the red chilies on slow flame till crisp. Take care not to burn the chilies. Wash and clean the taro leaves. Gently remove the veins found on back of these leaves with a sharp knife. 

Drain the soaked moong dal  or the pulse-rice combination you are using, and grind it into a smooth paste with jaggery, tamarind, coconut, asafoetida and red chilies.  use as little water as possible to make a paste of thicker consistency. Add salt as per taste.

To make the pathrado take the pathrado leaf and keep it back side up on a plate or "taat" in Konkani. Spread the paste on the leaf.



 If the leaf is small you can keep two leaves side by side.




Keep adding leaves and spreading the mixture until you have around 6-8 leaves depending on the size. The idea is to use as many leaves as possible, but also keep room to fold the leaves into a roll.

When the second set of leaves are added on the lower set place them upside down (see the above photo and the one below). It helps to roll the leaves with ease.







 When the mixture has been spread on the leaves it is time to roll the pathrado. First roll the sides towards the center.

 

Then roll it from bottom to top.





 Place the roll in a steamer (Pedavan in Konkani) or the pathrado can be steamed in a pressure cooker without using the weigh.




Steam it for around 25-30 minutes till it is well cooked. Undercooked pathrado can cause itching in the throat. Cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices and garnish well with coconut oil. 




Remaining pathrado can be shallow fried the next day with rice powder mixed with chili powder. This makes great pathrado phodi.

Spring Onion Stirfry/ Zhunka

Zhunka can be prepared with many vegetables like methi or fenugreek, cabbage, carrots, spring onions and onions. I got a couple of bundles of spring onion from my local grocery store and planned to make this dish. The base is made of besan or chick pea flour which is rich in protein. The process involves partially cooking the vegetables and then coating them well with chickpea flour. The vegetables are then cooked to perfection along with the chick pea flour. In Maharashtra it is also called poor man's dish as the ingredients are readily available at low cost and the nutrition content is also very high. It goes very well with roti, but traditionally people have it with bhaktri or millet (Jowar/Bajri) rotis. 

I also use non-stick utensils to make zunka as it is easier to cook chick pea flour. If cooked in traditional iron or steel pans the chick pea flour sticks to the bottom and gets burnt and the flour on the top half doesn't cook well. 

Ingredients 

3 cups chopped spring onions

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

4-5 cloves of garlic (around 3 tablespoons)

4 finely chopped green chillies or as per taste

1 cup besan or chick pea flour

1 tablespoon jaggery

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

pinch of asafoetida

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4-5 curry leaves or karipatta 

salt for taste

1 tablespoon oil

Method  

Fry the chick pea flour on low flame for 4-8 minutes or till the raw smell goes away. Keep aside to cool down. Crush the ginger and garlic to make a fine paste and keep aside. 

 Heat oil in a non stick pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and asafoetida. Coat the curry leaves well in oil and then add garlic and ginger paste. Fry on low flame till the raw smell goes away and then add chopped green chilies. Cook the chilies for a minute and add chopped onions and saute it for 4-5 minutes. Add the spring onions and cook uncovered for 4-8 minutes till the spring onions are half cooked. and the raw smell is gone. Salt the vegetables as per taste. Add jaggery, red chili powder and turmeric powder and mix well. 

 Now sprinkle the besan in 2-3 batches on the vegetable mixing well each time. Sprinkle few handful of water or as required to make the besan a little moist. Cook covered stirring occasionally to avoid big lumps on besan from forming.

Curd Curry/ Takka Ambat

I tasted this curry at my friend C's home and I got this recipe from her. This ambat is another twist to the normal "Randayi" or coconut curry made in a typical Konkani home. Ambat means "sour" in Konkani and curd is added in the end to give this curry a tangy taste.

Alsando or chawli (long beans), raw banana, magge (also called Konkani cucumber or lemon cucumber), ashgourd (called kuvale in Konkani and petha in Hindi), yam or suran and ghosale (ridge gourd) can be used to make this curry. Which ever vegetable is on hand can be used individually or in a combination with the other vegetable. I used raw banana and long beans to make this curry.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetables cut in cubes (choose from the above mentioned vegetables; I used raw banana and long beans)

 1 cup grated coconut

 1/2 cup curd or yogurt

3-4 red chilies (byadgi or kashmiri chili will give the curry a rich red color)

4 pea-sized piece of tamarind or 1/4th teaspoon tamarind concentrate

1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil or any other oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

5-8 curry leaves or karipatta

1 teaspoon jaggery or gur or 1 teaspoon sugar

Method 

Boil or pressure cook the vegetables in a little amount of water and a pinch of salt. Fry the chilies in 1/2 teaspoon oil. Grind into a fine paste with tamarind, jaggery and coconut using as little water as possible. Mix the paste with the boiled vegetables and get the curry to a boil. Mix curd with water need to get the curry to a desired consistency. Remove any lumps in the curd. Add the curd to the curry and salt the curry as per taste. 

Cook on low flame for another 2-3 minutes. 

Seasoning:

Heat coconut oil in a seasoning pan and add mustard. When the mustard starts to splutter, switch off the gas and add curry leaves. Stir and add it to the curry. Cover the curry for 5 minutes so that the flavor from the seasoning gets infused into the curry. Serve hot with rice. 

Yana's Chicken Hawaiian Salad

This is a recipe inspired by the Chicken Hawaiian salad at Yana's Restaurant in Pune. I have very fond memories of going to Yana's with my office colleague and sometimes with my sister. The sizzlers's at Yana's are out of the world and incomparable to any other sizzler joint. 

This is very simple to prepare the salad, but the sweetness of the pineapple and flavor imparted by the two varieties of bell pepper make a great combination with the chicken. Those who don't eat chicken can substitute it with paneer or tofu.

Ingredients 
4 chicken breast pieces
1  cup mayonnaise
1 cup thick yogurt or curds
1 green pepper or capsicum
1 red pepper or capsicum
1 yellow pepper or capsicum
1 pineapple or add as per taste 
salt for taste
pepper for taste
1 tablespoon sugar (only if the pineapple is not sweet)


Method  

 Cook the chicken breast pieces in water added with little salt. Cool down and cut the chicken into bite size pieces. De-seed the peppers and cut them into elongated stripes. Cut the pineapple into small chunks and mix in sugar if the pineapple is not sweet. Mix yogurt and mayonnaise well. Add the cut peppers, pineapple and chicken pieces. Add salt and pepper as per taste. Serve immediately. 

13 Lentil soup

I found 13 lentils bag at my Oroweat Outlet. I bought this as an adventure to try recipes out of the 13 good lentils. The soup tastes yummy and is a great combination with soft bread loaves. Because of the lentils it is quite a heavy soup and can make a hearty lunch or dinner.



Ingredients
1/2 cup of 13 lentils or any lentils on hand
1 medium onion
1 carrot
3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1 stack of celery
1 medium tomato
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder or red chili powder
1 teaspoon vinegar or as per taste
salt for taste

Method
Wash and soak the lentils for 8-10 hours or overnight. Pressure cook the lentils or cook on a stove top with salt and chopped tomatoes. Add the broth instead of water while cooking the lentils. Heat oilve oil in a pan and add chopped onions. When caramelized, add chopped carrots, celery and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes. Add coriander powder, cumin powder and chili powder. Mix well with the vegetables. Add the boiled lentils and get the soup to a boil. Add water if a more liquidish consistency is desired. Check for salt and mix in vinegar. Serve hot with french loaves.

Chutney Sandwich and a Very Happy 2010

My Wish for You in 2010

May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills.

May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy

May the problems you had, forget your home address!

In simple words ............

May 2010 be the best year of your life!!!

First of all wishing all my fellow bloggers and visitors a very happy, prosperous and safe year 2010. Above is the forward sent to me by my dear aunt Sam Akka and I thought of sharing it with you all. I have been a "happily busy" during the last few days and having a gala time with family and friends. I do have many traditional dishes like pathrado, ambat and koddel in my kitty and hopefully will find a few free moments to post those :)) Mean while I thought of posting my mom's chutney sandwich recipe. It is a recipe she picked up during our stay in Bombay. Bombay is very famous for its fast food and sandwich is one of the popular ones. This is my all time favorite breakfast and has been my favorite tiffin snacks at school and college. My mom makes fresh home made butter every few days and it really enhances the taste of the sandwich. Here is a photo of freshly prepared butter.

Coriander Chutney:

Ingredients

4 peas size ginger root

6-7 lasun or garlic cloves

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 handful coriander leaves (more the better!)

4 pea size piece of tamarind

1 teaspoon jeera

1-2 green chilies or as per taste

1 teaspoon sugar

salt for taste

Method

The above ingredients may be altered to suit one's taste buds ! Grind all the ingredients into a fine & thick paste with very little water.

For the Sandwich:

Take two slices of sandwich bread. Apple butter on one side of the bread slices. Apply chutney on one slice and arrange sliced of tomato, cucumber and potato slices(optional) on the bread.

Place the other slice of bread on the first slice and cut the sandwich into two triangles. Serve immediately to avoid getting soggy.

Paneer Tandoori with Green Masala

I made tandoori paneer a few weeks back for dinner. Lately we have been eating lot of the regular panner dishes with the red- onion + tomato+adrak+lasun masala, so last week I made this green paneer tandoori for a change. The concept is not new to me as I occasionally bake fish or mushrooms coated with this paste.

In the past few weeks I am caught up with work, vacationing and engaged in doing shopping and packing for my upcoming India trip. I have been keeping a close track of posts by my blogger friends but I have not found much time on hand to write and post any of my drafts. In fact I was lucky to see my to do posts in my drafts folder in the nick of time and posted this recipe just few minutes before the event deadline :P. This recipe goes to the JFI:Paneer event. Enjoy the tandoori paneer with basmati rice.


Ingredients
500 gm paneer or Indian cottage cheese
vegetables (I used onions, tomatoes, capsicum)
handful of coriander leaves or as per taste
10-15 mint leaves or as per taste
250 gm curd or yogurt or 150 gm cakka or hung curd
2-3 green chilies or as per taste
1 teaspoon jal jeera powder or chaat masala powder (optional..if you are not using this add a pinch of black pepper to the marinate)
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
1/2 medium sized onion
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
3 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method
If yogurt or curd is used, hang it in a muslin cloth for about an hour to allow the water to drain and to obtain curd of thicker consistency. Chop the vegetables andpaneer into 2 inch pieces. Grind all the ingredients except the curd, vegetables and paneer into a smooth paste. Mix in the hung curd or cakka well with the ground paste. Apply to the vegetables and let it marinate for about 1 hour.



Line the vegetables on a greased pan or on skewers. Bake in a pre-heated oven for around 30-40 minutes at 450 degrees. I baked the paneer for around 20 minutes and the vegetables for longer time.

Pav Bhaji

Pav Bhaji is a very popular street food served especially in the western part of India. I am reposting this post from one of my archives and sending it for the RCI MUMBAI event orgamized by Lakshmi event and Lakshmi. Read more about pav bhaji here.

Ingredients

For Bhaji:
4 medium sized potatoes
1/2 capsicum
1 carrot
1/2 beetroot
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup finely chopped french beans
1 medium onion
3/4 cup tomato paste or 3 tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoon pav bhaji masala (I used Badshah Bombay Pav Bhaji Masala)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 green chilies
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
4 pinches asafoetida or heeng
1 teaspoon chili powder or as per taste
1 tablespoon butter
salt as per taste
oil


Garnishing
1 medium onion
2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds (optional)
chopped coriander leaves or cilantro
lemon
1 teaspoon butter

For Pav
pav slices
butter for frying

Method
Boil the potato till soft. Finely chop the vegetables(carrots, beans, beetroot, peas) and boil them with very little water. Chop onion very finely. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Add heeng, garlic paste and ginger. Add onions, chopped capsicum and finely chopped green chilies. Fry till the onions are light brown. Add tomato paste or chopped tomatoes and fry till the tomato is cooked. Add pav bhaji masala, garam masala, turmeric powder and chili powder. Fry for a minute and add all the vegetables. Cook uncovered till the vegetables are well coated with the masala. Peel and mash the boiled potatoes and add to the bhaji. Add water as per desired consistency. Stir and cook well till. Mash the bhaji with a masher. Add salt for taste and mix in butter.

Fry the pav on both sides with butter on a tava. To serve, garnish the bhaji with finely chopped onions and coriander leaves. Serve with a lemon wedge on the side.


Preparation time: 1 hour
Serves: 3-4

Beetroot Chutney

This is a very simple chutney and a great way to use the nutritious beetroot leaves. I got amazingly fresh beetroot from the farmer's market. I used the tender and fresh leaves to make this chutney. It goes well with roti and rice.

Ingredients
1 cup beetroot leaves (washed and coarsely chopped)
1 medium onion
1 teaspoon urad dal or split and skinned black lentil
1/2 teaspoon chana dal or bengal gram split
2 roasted red chilies
pea size tamarind
1 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method
Put oil in a pan and add the chana dal and urad dal. Roast till light brown. Roast the red chili till crisp. Add finely chopped onion and fry till light brown. Add the beetroot leaves and cook till soft. Grind the leaves with rest of the ingredients into a smooth paste. Serve immediately.

Udupi Sambar / Lentils with Vegetables

Udupi cuisine strictly includes vegetarian recipes as it is part of temple cuisine. The cuisine in this part of the region revolves around fresh vegetables, leaves, pulses and fruits. The rich soil and abundant rainfall in the region helps to support variety of vegetables, grains and fruit crops. The commonly grown vegetables include beans, pumpkin, gourds, ivy gourds, raw bananas, raw jackfruit. Different leaves used are Valli (Malabar Spinach), colocasia, turmeric leaves, banana leaves, curry leaves, coriander leaves, brahmi leaves and many others. Variety of fruits like mango, pineapple, jackfruit, grapes and banana are used to prepare desserts like halwas and main course dishes like sassam. The vegetable is used to its fullest--even skins of ridge gourds, bottle gourds are used to prepare chutney and the skin of raw banana is used to prepare "Upkari" or sabzi. Coconut is used in abundance to prepare chutneys, curries, sweets and in salads like koshimbiris. Mangalorean and Konkani cuisine is also derives lot from Udipi cuisine, but it also includes seafood and meat dishes which contain onion and garlic and are a strict no-no in Udupi cuisine.
Udupi sambar is another kind of sambar which we make at home. I use Madras onions or shallots in this recipe. Onions can be skipped if it is not desired in the sambar. This recipe calls for making the sambar masala from scratch. It has a very different taste and texture than the other sambar recipe which I posted earlier. It goes well with rice, dosa or idli. I am reposting this recipe for the WYF:Specialty food event.

Ingredients
1/2 cup toor dal
1/2 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1 green chili
1 tomato
1 cup chopped vegetables (potato (is a must at my home), lady's finger (okra), eggplant (brinjal), drumstick, cauliflower, ivy gourd (tendli), carrot, beans, pumpkin (squash), ash gourd, bottle gourd, peas -- use just one vegetable or combination of which ever vegetable is available on hand )
15-20 shallots or small red onions (washed and peeled)
1 teaspoon jaggery
3 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Ground Paste:
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon chana dal
1 teaspoon fenugreek or methi seeds
3 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon tuemeric powder
1/4 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
7-8 byadgi red chilies or as per taste
3-4 pepper corns

Seasoning:
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
around 15 curry leaves
coconut oil or any other oil
salt for taste

Method
Fry methi seeds till it is pink. Then fry tor dal and chana dal till it is crisp and light pink in color. Then fry coriander seeds, cumin, pepper corns and red chilies. Add 6 curry leaves and fry till they are crisp. Add the grated coconut and fry on low flame till crisp. Fry all the ingredients on a low or medium flame so that they don't burn. Cool the ingredients and then grind them with little water into a smooth paste.
Boil the toor dal, mash it and keep it aside.
Add 2 tablespoon oil in a pan and add slit green chili. Fry for a minute and then add the onions. Fry for 5-6 minutes and add chopped tomato and vegetables. Fry for 5 minutes and add the tamarind concentrate and jaggery. Add 2 cups of water and cook the vegetables till soft.
Mix the toor dal, the masala paste and the vegetables in a vessel and add desired quantity of water. Salt it as per taste. Get the sambar to a boil. Season the sambar with oil, mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice, dosa or idli.