Sukhi Gobi Sabzi

We had a very warm winter in the Bay Area this year. It did rain a lot, but it wasn't very cold like the previous years. In the farmer's markets and the grocery stores lay huge heaps of cauliflower -both the baby version and the big headed cauliflower. I take full advantage of the availability of the white crowned vegetable and usually buy 1 or two heads. The baby cauliflowers are great for baking as a whole in dishes like gobi mussalum. Pakodas or bhajiya's made with cauliflower are a lovely treat with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Sukhi gobi sabzi is a great recipe to make on a winter day when the feeling to be a little lazy and relax is heightened than that the other normal sunny days. We also crave for something spicy and tangy; my husband's daily suggestion "Let go out and eat chat" almost tempts me to agree with him. Finally I decide to make something tangy to satisfy the chaat craving and healthy at the same time. Sukhi gobi subzi is a dish perfect solution in such a situation and goes well with chappati or dal chawal.

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower head
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin or jeera seeds
3/4 teaspoon amchur powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method

Wash the cauliflower and cut the florets into large chunks. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Saute for a minute. Add turmeric powder and chili powder. Add the cauliflower florets and saute well. Sprinkle hand full of water if the masala burns at the bottom of the pan. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes. Add garam masala and amchur. Cook for another 5 minutes. Salt the vegetable as per taste. Cook uncovered till the cauliflower is soft but should be crunchy at the same time. The cauliflower should not be cooked till it is mushy. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Jeera Aloo

Jeera Aloo is a great quick to make recipe for tiffins or for mealtimes. This is one of the recipes my mom picked up when we were living in Bhopal. I love this recipe because when ever I make it the whole home fills with the lovely aroma of jeera. This is a great dish to take on picnics or for travels. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
10-12 baby potatoes
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon cumin or jeera seeds
1 teaspoon cumin or jeera powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon amchur or dry mango powder
1/2 teaspoon kasuri methi
2 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method

Wash the potatoes and pressure cook them with 2 inches of water till soft. I usually don't peel the skin, but you can peel the skin if you wish to. Grind coriander seeds and 1 teaspoon jeera into a coarse powder. Heat oil in a pan. Add 1 teaspoon jeera seeds and roast for a minute. Add the coarsely ground coriander, jeera powder and turmeric powder. Roast for a minute. Quarter each potato and add it into the pan. Fry for a minute and add amchur and red chili powder. Add salt for taste. Stir and fry till the potatoes get coated well with the masala.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Malabar Spinach Curry / Valli Randayi / Valli Ambat

My husband and I are great fans of Malabar spinach or "Valli" as we call it in Konkani. We find malabar spinach in the chinese markets or at the Indian stores. Sometimes it is also available at the farmers market. I have seen recipes where this vegetable is just chopped and added to sambar or dal. Due to its deep green color it has similar nutritive value as spinach. Both the stems and leaves are added to the curry. When the curry is prepared, the stem absorbs the flavors of the curry. The stem cannot be completely eaten unless it is very tender. So the stem is just chewed and the fibrous part is discarded, similar to eating drumsticks. Read more about malabar spinach here. 

Masolu is a gravy paste made by finely grinding coconuts, tamarind and dried red chili. In South Canara which consists of Mangalore and Udipi region, turmeric is not added while making coconut curries. In North Canara region which consists of Karwar, Murdeshwar, Ankola, Kumta and other towns, using turmeric while making Masolu is very common. Turmeric being a very good antiseptic and anti inflammatory spice, finds a place in lot of curries and subzi's I prepare at home. 

Ingredients
1 bunch malabar spinach or valli (approximately 4-5 cups chopped malabar spinach. The leaves are chopped into 12 inch pieces. The stems are also used in the curry. Chop the stems into one inch pieces.) 
1 cup magge (Konkani cucumber) or raw papaya (optional)
1/2 cup toor dal or pigeon peas
1 cup coconut
3 red byadgi chilies
small piece of tamarind
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon oil
salt for taste

for seasoning:
6 garlic pods


or
1 medium onion

or
mustard seeds
asafoetida

Method

Wash the malabar spinach and chop it into 1 inch pieces. Chop both the leaves and stems. Pressure cook the papaya or magge and malabar spinach till soft. Pressure cook the toor dal till soft. Saute the coriander seeds for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Grind the coconut, coriander seeds, red chilies and tamarind into a fine paste. Mix the toor dal, spinach and coconut masala in a vessel. Get the curry to boil. 


Season the curry with mustard, turmeric and asafoetida. Optionally, crush the garlic pods and fry them till pink. Or a third variety of seasoning, the finely chopped onion can be fried in a tablespoon of coconut oil till crisp. The onion should be fried on medium or low flame for around 10-15 minutes. The onion should not be allowed to burn or the curry may taste bitter. 


Add any one of the above kind of seasoning to the curry and serve hot with rice.

Jackfruit Idli/ Phansa Idli

I always feel that the jackfruit we find in US lacks the flavor of the jackfruit we get in India. My parents visited me last Fall and my mom got me a concentrated paste made from phanas or jackfruit. She pureed the fruits of a whole jackfruit and then heated the paste with jaggery to make concentrate. I made idli's out of this paste and they made me reminisce the memories of yet special dish back home.

Ingredients
1 cup ripe jackfruit puree
1 cup jaggery or as per taste
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 cup sooji or rava

Method

Mix 1/2 cup water with the puree. Grind the puree with the jaggery and coconut. Fry the rava on low flame till you get a good aroma. Cool down and mix 3/4 cup rava with the puree. Leave it aside for 25 minutes. The rava will expand and will absorb the water from the mixture. The idea is to make a batter which is like the consistency of idli batter...it should not be very thick like chappati atta. Add if more rava is needed.
Steam the idli's in the idli stand. I steamed it in a pedavan which is a traditional steamer used in Konkani households. The advantage is that the idli's are of bigger size and it saves steaming time for me...which means I have to make only one batch as opposed to 3 batches on my small idli stand. Serve the idli's hot with butter or honey.

Wasabi Peas

Recently I have been addicted to Wasabi peas. Wasabi peas are green peas coated with wasabi paste. Wasabi has a more pungent flavor than that of radish. When I tried them the first time, I didn't like it as the spicy flavor irritated my nose and throat. The flavor is like that of a pungent radishy flavor which rises into the nose and the throat. But soon I craved for more of the spicy flavor and now I love them now. It makes such a healthy snack combined with the lot of proteins offered by the peas. Trader's Joe's sells wasabi peas without any artificial color or preservatives. Try it out...You will love it.

Nankhatai / Nankatai / Narayankatar

Nankatai or Narayankatar(in Konkani) is another of the recipes passed on by my grandmom. My grandmom did not have a conventional oven. So she would spread sand(collected from beach and washed thoroughly) evenly in a pressure cooker and keep the narayankatar tray on an elevated vessel inside the oven. The narayankatar would be perfect in shape and taste. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (makes around 25-30 namkatai)
3/4 cup ghee or clarified butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup if you want it less sweet)
2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method
Powder the sugar and mix it well with the ghee. Add cardamom powder and baking powder and mix well. Now stir in flour and knead the flour well into the ghee with your fingers. It is not possible to make a stiff dough like chappati atta, but ensure that the ghee is well assimilated into the flour.

Keep aside for 30 minutes. Now make small circles flattening the dough in your palm. Press it well to shape it into a ball and then a disc.
Bake it in oven at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If you want more brown color, bake for 5-10 minutes longer, but keep checking to see that the bottom of the nankatai does not burn. Let it then rest for one hour on the oven rack till it cools down completely, otherwise the nankatai will crumble. Store in air tight container.