Bhindi Sabzi/ Bhendi Upkari

Bhindi upkari is another konkani side dish which goes well with daal or spicy sambar/rasam. Upkari in Konkani means a simple side dish served with rice. Select small and tender okra instead of large okras with lots of seeds. In my native place people use fresh okra from vines which grow in the backyard to prepare this side dish. The fresh okra makes a great deal of difference in enhancing the taste of the sabzi. I find similar kind of okra at the Mountain View farmer's market. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 pound okra
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 tablespoon grated coconut
2-3 dried red chilies
1/2 teaspoon urad dal or black skinnedlentils
salt for taste
Method

Cut the tops and bottom of the okra and cut it into 2 centimeter round slices. Heat oil in a pan and and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add urad dal and fry till the urad dal is pink. Break the red chili into 2-3 pieces add red chilies to the seasoning. Fry for half a minute and add okra. Cover and cooked till the okra is cooked. Season with salt as per taste and grated coconut. Serve with rice.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Sarson Ka Saag / Mustard Green Gravy

Sarson ka saag is a very popular recipe from Punjab region in India. Sarson Ka Saag is usually served with Makai Ki Roti or Corn flat bread. Mustard greens are in season now. I usually buy the organic mustard greens from safeway. A great way to consume saag or mustard greens is making sarson ka saag recipe. It is a very easy recipe and can be stored for days. I boil a lot of mustard and spinach enough for two meals. I then freeze the portion enough for one meal for future use. Later, I just defreeze the boiled saag and season it whenever required. I do the same for the organic spinach we buy from costco. Read about the nutritive value of mustard greens here.

Ingredients
4 cups mustard leaves
2 cup palak or spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
3-4 green chilies
1 medium onion chopped
3 tablespoon tomato paste or 2 chopped tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon chopped ginger
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (if desired or as per taste)
2 1/2 tablespoon corn flour (yellow color, not the white corn flour)
4 tablespoon crumbled paneer or cottage cheese ()
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon butter
salt for taste

Method

Wash and boil the mustard greens, green chili, ginger and spinach with very little or no water till soft. Put the boiled ingredients in a blender and give it a pulse or two to make a coarse puree. Alternatively they can be mashed using a masher. Heat butter in a pan and add cumin seeds. Add onion and fry it till light brown. Add the tomato paste or chopped tomato and fry till the tomato is soft. Add the blended green puree. Add turmeric powder, garam masala, paneer, corn flour salt and chili powder for taste. Heat the saag and stir it to remove all the lumps. Cook until the cornflour is cooked and blended well in the saagl. Serve it hot with roti.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Coriander-Mint Chutney

Coriander mint chutney is also called sandwich chutney in India as it is usually used for making sandwiches. This chutney can be had with dhokla or dosa too. You can omit the mint if you don't have it on hand or if you are not a great fan. I usually buy fresh mint from the Indian grocery store and dry it in the hot sun. Then I store it in a air tight container. This stays good for 1-2 months.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped coriander or cilantro leaves. (I love to have a dense flavor of coriander leaves, so I usually add 15-20 strands of the leaf. )
1 tablespoon dried mint leaves or 10-12 fresh mint leaves
small piece of tamarind (size of 2 green peas) or1/8 the teaspoon tamarind concentrate
2-3 green chilies or as per taste
3 tablespoon grated coconut
1/4 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
1-2 cloves of garlic (optional, I don't use garlic only if I am going to serve the chutney with dosas)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt for taste

Method
Wash and chop the mint and coriander coarsely. Grind all the ingredients into a very smooth paste. Serve with dhoklas, dosas or sandwiches. If this is not being used immediately, store it in the fridge. This chutney can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Serves: 5-6

Set Dosa

Set Dosa is also called "musti polo" which literally translates to "fist dosa". The contents are measured by the "fist" and not by "cup" and hence the name. This was one of my favorite tiffin snack during my school and college days. My friends also loved this dosa a lot. This dosa has a unique flavor due to the methi/fenugreek seeds. i don't use boiled or raw rice for this dosa; I use the normal rice which is served with sambar or dal. I served this with coriander-mint chutney. Here is the recipe for set dosa.

Ingredients
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal or split and husked black lentil
1 teaspoon methi/ fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoon jaggery or gur
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
oil for frying

Method

Wash and soak urad dal i plenty of water. Wash rice and methi seeds and soak it separately. Soak both urad dala nd rice for around 4-5 hours. Now grind half of the urad dal finely adding very little water. Then add half of the rice and jaggery to the ground urad dal and grind it as finely as possible. Now repeat the same steps to grind the rest of the urad dal and rice. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix the batter well using your hand. Keep the batter in a warm place for 8-10 hours. The batter will ferment and rise at least 1/4th to 1/8th more than the previous volume. Add water as desired to make it as thick as idli but little thicker than pancake batter. Oil a tava or griddle and heat it. Add a ladle full of the dosa batter and spread it evenly in form of a circle. Cook covered and then flip the dosa to the other side. Now cook uncovered on the other side. Remove the dosa from the griddle and serve it hot with dosa chutney or mint chutney.

Cluster beans sabzi / Gawar Sabzi / Mitkesanga Upkari

My husband loves gavar . We get very nice quality gawar during the summer and fall season. I make both curry and sabzi out of this vegetable. This vegetable needs to be pressure cooked as it takes quite some time to cook in a pan. Read more about gawar here.


Ingredients
400 gm gawar
2 tablespoon grated coconut
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method
Cut both sides of the gawar and chop it into one inch pieces. Add oil in the pressure cooker and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds splutter, add all the powders and fry for a minute. Add gawar, salt and 2 cups water. Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles. Garnish with grated coconut and enjoy the gawar sabzi.


Preparation time: 35 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Carrot Milkshake

Carrot Milkshake is one of my favorite comfort foods. It is low calorie drink and makes a great late morning/afternoon drink when my hunger pangs are at their peak :) The cardamom imparts a wonderful flavor to this drink and it gives the milkshake a distinctive flavor of Gajar Halwa; of course without the guilt of consuming many hundreds of calories. I usually use reduced fat or fat free milk for this milkshake, but whole milk can also be used. This milkshake is a great treat for children who are fussy about drinking milk. I am sending this to roundup organized by Suma and Siri.

Ingredients
1 carrot
1 cup milk (cold or warm as desired)
3-4 cardamom pods
2 almonds soaked in water for 5-6 hours (optional)
1 tablespoon cream (optional/ if you want a richer taste)
1/2 teaspoon honey or 1 teaspoon sugar or as per taste

Method
Trim the ends of the carrot and peel it. Chop it roughly into 4-5 pieces and boil it in very little water till the carrot is soft. I sometimes cook it in the microwave for around 3-4 minutes in 3-4 tablespoon water. Peel the cardamom pods to separate the seeds. Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend well. Serve immediately.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1