Simple Lunch Menu (4)

Rajma and rice is one of my most favourite food. It is as much a comfort food to me as rasam and rice is. It’s something that I look forward to eat while cooking. I don’t make it very often as my husband is not fond of rajma.

One of my very good friend Suruchi introduced rajma to me. We were neighbours in Muscat. She is from Delhi and was very good in cooking. It was from her that l learnt pakodi khadi, punjabi chole and few more North Indian recipes. And still have those hand written recipes with me.
Though I have made few changes over the years, the credit still goes to her for teaching me these recipes:)

Generally, when I make rajma, I’ll inform my husband the previous day itself so that he will be mentally prepared( I know. It’s too much:)

My daughter loves rajma and my son, though not his favourite is ok with it.

Today’s lunch menu
Rajma
Rice
Cauliflower and Capsicum subzi
Palak( spinach) and walnut salad
Papad
Yogurt

Rajma

Rajma

.

Cauliflower and Capsicum Sabzi

Cauliflower- 1 small
Onions- 2
Tomatoes- 2
Capsicum- 1 big
Ginger- 1 inch
Oil- 1 tbsp
Whole jeera- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1 tsp
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsps
Dry mango powder- 1// tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp

Method

Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets.
Wash, peel and chop onions and ginger.
Wash and chop capsicum and tomatoes.

Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped ginger to the hot oil. Sauté for few mins and add chopped onions. When it turns pink, add cauliflower and stir fry for few mins. Then add chopped capsicum. Mix well, close the pan with a lid and cook till it’s 3/4th cooked,
Now add the chopped tomatoes, all the masala powders, salt to taste and and mix well. Close the pan with a lid and cook till the vegetables are tender.
Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot:)

Palak and Walnut Salad

Chopped Palak( spinach)- 4 cups
Chopped onions- 1/2 cup
Chopped walnuts- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice- 1/2 tsp

Wash and drain this chopped Palak. Cook it on a pan till it becomes dry and bake it in an preheated oven( 250* cel) for 20- 25 mins or till it becomes crisp. Let it cool.
Mix chopped onions, crisp Palak and chopped walnuts well. Add salt, pepper powder and lemon juice, mix well and serve immediately 🙂

Onion Tomato Spicy Chutney

This is a very common and a popular chutney which goes very well with all varieties of idli and dosa.

Ingredients

Onions- 2 medium size
Tomatoes- 2 medium size
Oil- 2 tsp
Ginger- 1 inch
Green chilli- 1
Curry leaves- few
Mustard- 1 tsp
Urad dal( ulundhu) – 2 tsps
Chana dal( kadalai paruppu)- 2 tsps
Red chillies- 4
Hing- a pinch
Salt to taste

Method

Peel, wash and chop onions.
Wash and chop tomatoes, ginger and green chillies.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad, chana dal, ginger, curry leaves, green and red chillies. Sauté for few seconds and add
chopped onions and sauté till it becomes pink. Add the tomatoes and cook till it becomes soft. Take off the gas, cool and grind to a coarse chutney.

Oats, Rava and Palak Idli

As I have mentioned earlier, I have been following Mrs.Mallika Bhadrinath’s recipe for Rava( semolina) Idli for almost 16 years. I have tried many variations and it has always come out well.
And this was no exception:)
Perfect for breakfast as it has good complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Ingredients

Rava( semolina)- 3/4th cup
Oats- 3/4th cup
Chopped palak( spinach)- 1 cup
Yogurt- 1 and 1/4thcup
Oil- 2tbsp
Mustard- 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Chana dal- 1 tsp
Hing- 1/4 th tsp
Cooking soda- 1/8th tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan.
Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad dal, chana dal and hing.Sauté till the dal becomes golden. Add the chopped palak and sauté till it become almost dry.
Switch off the gas. Add rava and oats and mix well.

Now add well beaten yogurt to this and mix well. Let it rest for 10 mins.

Heat water in a steamer. Grease Idli plates and keep it ready.
Once the water starts steaming, add cooking soda to the batter and mix well. Batter will become light and frothy.

Pour the batter into greased Idli plates and steam for 12-15 mins or till done.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot with hot, spicy sambar or chutney:)

Recipe for chutney

Onion Tomato Spicy Chutney

Puri with Ras Aloo( potato)

It’s very rare that puri is made in my home. Strangely,my kids are not very fond of puri, though it’s one of my favourite. It was really a pleasant surprise when my daughter asked me give her puri and aloo for today’s school tiffin as it almost never happens that I make something for myself only:)

Puri

Ingredients

For dough
Whole Wheat flour/atta – 1 cup
Melted ghee – 1 tsp
Sooji/rava – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 2 pinches
salt – as needed
Water – little more than 1/3rd cup

Method

Mix whole wheat flour, ghee, salt and sugar well with your fingers. Add water and knead to a stiff dough.
Rest it for 5-10mins.

Divide to dough into 16 portions.

Roll out the dough into circles of medium thickness. The circle should be uniform in thickness.

While rolling the dough, instead of using flour for dusting, grease the rolling board and the rolling pin with little oil. This will help in rolling the puris uniformly and pertinently it will not leave any residue in the oil while frying.
I had learnt this from my maternal aunt, Indra Mami, long back during my college days:)

Roll out few puris and keep it ready.
Heat oil to deep fry.To check the right temperature of oil,put a small piece of dough.It will rise immediately at the same time it should not be browned.
.Immediately slide the poori and after a second,press it with a slotted ladle.It will puff up well.Flip it carefully and allow it to cook for few seconds till the bubbles cease.

Remove and lower the flame till u drop the next poori .Drain in a tissue paper.Keep the flame high and repeat the same for remaining puris.

Serve hot with aloo subzi or chole:)

Ras Aloo

Ingredients

Potato- 4 medium sized
Onion- 1
Tomato- 2
Oil- 2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1tsp
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Red chilli powder- 3/4th tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Whole jeera- 1 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.

Method.

Wash and peel onion and potatoes.
Chop onion and tomatoes finely.
Dice the potatoes.
Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera. When it starts spluttering, add chopped onions. Sauté till it becomes pink. Add the diced potatoes and sauté for few mins. Now add the chopped tomatoes, turmeric, chilli, jeera and coriander powder and salt to taste. Mix well and cook for few mins. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
Open the cooker when the steam subsides. Slightly mash the potatoes and mix well.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with hot puris:)

Simple Lunch Menu (3)

It was quite a challenge to plan a good menu today as I had very limited quantity and choice of vegetables in the fridge. Apart from onions and tomatoes, I had a small piece of bottle gourd( suraikai in Tamil/ lauki in Hindi), one radish, 2 capsicums, one cucumber and 2 carrots.

Usually, for lunch it will be mostly our traditional South Indian menu. But today, I couldn’t come up with any good South Indian menu with the limited vegetables that I had.
So decided to make bottle gourd and radish paratha, a mixed vegetable gravy using carrot and capsicum, salad and raitha.

Bottle gourd and Radish Paratha
Capsicum and Carrot in Coconut and Peanut Gravy
Cucumber and Pomegranate Raitha
Salad
Tempered Curd Rice
Ginger Pickle
Ghajak( it’s a sweet made of sesame seeds and jaggery. A speciality from Rajasthan)

Bottle gourd and Radish Paratha

Ingredients

Grated bottle gourd- 1 1/2 cups
Grated radish- 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour- 2 1/2 cups
Melted ghee- 1 tsp
Ajwain( omam in Tamil/ dil in English)- 1 tsp
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4th tsp
Dry mango powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste.
Ghee to make the parathas

Method

Mix grated bottle gourd and radish with salt and keep it aside for 15-20 mins.
After 20 mins, squeeze the water from the grated vegetables, drain and keep it aside.

Add whole wheat flour, 1 tsp melted ghee, salt to taste, jeera powder, chilli powder, dry mango powder to the vegetables and knead everything to a smooth dough. If water is required use the water that was drained from the vegetables.

Let the dough rest for 10-15 mins.
Make parathas after 15 mins.
You can make 8-10 parathas.

 

https://anubala29blog.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/bottle-gourd-and-radish-paratha/

Capsicum and carrot in coconut and peanut gravy

Capsicum- 2
Carrot- 2
Onion- 2
Tomato- 3
Oil- 1 tbsp+ 2 tsps
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Dry mango powder- 1/2 tsp
Grated jaggery- 1 tsp

To roast
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Chana dal- 1 tsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Red chillies- 5-6
Peanuts- 1/4th cup
Grated coconut- 1/4th cup
Mustard- 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- few
Hing- 1/8th tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish.

Method

Dice all the vegetables.

Roast urad, chana dal, sesame, jeera, red chillies and peanuts in a tsp of oil. Cool and grind it to a paste along with the grated coconut.

Heat oil in a pan.
Add the diced onions. Sauté till becomes pink. Add the carrots and cook for few mins. Add the capsicum and sauté for few more mins. Now add the tomatoes, salt to taste, turmeric, chilli, jeera, coriander and dry mango powder. Mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover the pan and cook till the vegetables become tender.

Mix the ground the paste with 1 cup of water and add it to the vegetables. Mix well and check the seasoning. Add more water if required. Close the pan again and simmer for 10 mins.

Heat oil. Add mustard. Once it starts spluttering, add curry leaves and hing.
Pour the tempering over the gravy. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with the parathas.

Capsicum and Carrot in Coconut and Peanut gravy

Cucumber and Pomegranate Raitha.

Ingredients

Grated cucumber- 1 cup
Pomegranate- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Roasted jeera powder- 1/4th tsp
Chilli powder- 1/4th tsp
Sugar- 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/4th tsp
Well beaten yogurt- 1 1/2 cups

Mix everything together and serve chilled.

Beans Paruppu Usili

Paruppu Usili is a very traditional Tamil Brahmin recipe. Paruppu usili is a delicacy and one of the important recipes in traditional Tamil Brahmin wedding menus. It’s served for lunch on the muhurtham day.

It’s made with combination of lentils like tuvar dal( pigeon peas/ tuvaram paruppu), chana dal( chick peas/ kadalai paruppu) and a vegetable. French beans, cluster beans( kothavarangai), banana flower ( vaazhai poo) are some of the famous varieties of paruppu usili.

It was my mother in law who taught me this recipe. This has always been big hit with my family and friends. I make this at home every alternate weekend along with vengaya( onion) vatha kuzhambu( spicy tamarind gravy).

I have a made beans paruppu usili today. Unlike the general recipe I do not use a combination of dals. I use only chana dal( kadalai paruppu).

Ingredients

Soaked and drained chana dal- 3 cups
Finely Chopped beans- 2 cups
Red chillies- 4-5
Hing- 1/2 tsp
Oil- 4-5 tbsps
Mustard- 1 tsp
Curry leaves- few
Salt to taste

Method

Steam the beans with little salt till it becomes soft.

Grind the chana dal with salt( to taste), red chillies and hing to a coarse paste. Please ensure that it does not become very smooth. I use a hand blender to grind. It gives the perfect consistency.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add hing and curry leaves. Sauté for a second and then add the ground chana dal. Reduce the flame. Mix well and keep stirring for few mins. Now cover the pan with a lid and cook till the dal is becomes dry and completely cooked. When you touch the dal, it should not be sticky. The big lumpy mass of dal should have become a crunchy crumble.
Now add the steamed beans, mix well, cover the pan again and cook on low flame for 8-10 mins.

Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot or at room temperature with steamed rice, vatha kuzhambu or rasam. It tastes very good with hot rice drizzled with melted ghee too:)

Doily Pancake With Caramelised Bananas

I have seen many video demonstration of pancake art. Anything creative always brightens up my mind and spirit.
I tried to do some pattern using a icing cone. It did not give a satisfying result.
My sister in law who has come here on a holiday brought me the squeeze bottles from US. So, today I tried few patterns. Though it is very simple, it was such a joy to make them:)

Ingredients

Pancake mix- 1 cup
Cocoa powder- 1 tsp
Water as required
Ghee- 6 tsps
Banana- 2
Sugar- 1 tsp
Caramel syrup and almond flakes for garnish.

Method

Mix the pancake mix and water to make a smooth batter. Divide into 2 portions. To one portion add a tsp of cocoa powder and mix well again.
Fill in the squeeze bottles with the batter, one with plain batter and other with cocoa batter.

Heat a pan. Brush it with little ghee. Reduce the flame and make patterns if your choice with both the batter. Drizzle some melted ghee on the pancake.

Once it’s cooked, gently flip over and cook on the other side. Remove and keep it aside.
Similarly make the other pancakes. You can make 4-5, depending on the size and the pattern of the pancake.

On the same pan, add little ghee, sliced bananas, sprinkle some sugar and cook till it becomes golden.

Arrange caramelised bananas on the pancakes, fold the pancake, drizzle some caramel sauce and garnish with almond flakes and serve hot:)

Tricolour Poha Upma

To celebrate the Republic Day of India( 26th January), many food groups in Facebook has intiated virtual food contest. The theme is Tricolour, the colours of the Indian flag for the obvious reason:)

It was breakfast time when I was thinking about this contest. My brother who has come home on a holiday wanted me to make Poha( rice flakes in English/ Aval in Tamil) Upma. Generally I add grated carrots while making Poha upma.
Having the contest in my mind, I thought I’ll make a Tricolour Poha Upma:)

Ingredients

Washed and soaked Poha- 3 cups

For the white portion

Grated coconut- 3 tbsps
Chopped onions- 3 tbsps
Chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp
Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1/4th tsp
Urad dal- 1/2 tsp
Chana dal- 1/2 tsp
Hing- a pinch
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the orange portion

Grated carrots- 6 tbsps
Roasted chana dal- 1 tsp
Red chilli powder- 1/4th tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/8th tsp
Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1/4th tsp
Urad dal- 1/2 tsp
Chana dal- 1/2 tsp
Hing- a pinch
Salt to taste

For the green portion

Chopped capsicum- 4 tbsps
Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
Chopped mint leaves- 1 tbsp
Green chilli- 1
Ginger- 1/2 inch
Lemon juice- 1/2 tsp
Oil- 1 tsp
Mustard- 1/4th tsp
Urad dal- 1/2 tsp
Chana dal- 1/2 tsp
Hing- a pinch
Salt to taste

Method

Divide the Poha into three portions.

For the white portion

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad, chana dal, chopped ginger and hing. Sauté till the dal becomes golden and then add chopped onions and sauté till it becomes pink. Then add one portion of soaked Poha and salt to taste. Mix well and cook for few mins. Add grated coconut, mix well and transfer it to a container and keep it aside.

For the orange portion

Grind 3 tbsps of carrots, chana dal, turmeric and chillil powder, salt to taste to a smooth paste adding little water.

Add this paste to the 2nd portion of the soaked Poha, mix well and let it rest for 5 mins.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad, chana dal and hing. Sauté till the dal becomes golden and then add the remaining grated carrots and sauté for few seconds. Add the orange coloured Poha and sauté on a medium flame for few mins. Transfer to a container and keep aside.

For the green portion

Grind chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves, ginger, green chilli, 1 tbsp of chopped capsicum and salt to taste to a smooth paste.
Add this paste to the last portion of the Poha and mix well. Let it rest for 5 mins.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it starts spluttering, add urad, chana dal and hing. Sauté till the dal becomes golden and then add the remaining chopped capsicum and sauté for a min. Add the green coloured Poha, mix well and sauté for few mins. Add 1/2 tsp lemon juice and mix well. Transfer it to a container and keep aside.

To assemble Tricolour Poha.

Grease a rectangular dish with oil.
First add the orange coloured Poha. Spread it uniformly and press it gently with a spoon to pack it tightly.

Now add the white portion and repeat the process.

Finally add the green portion and repeat the process.

Steam this for 10 mins.
After the steam subsides, take out the container from the steamer. Let it cool for few mins.
Take a serving plate, invert the container on the dish and gently tap to transfer the Poha to the plate.
Garnish with grated carrots, coconut and coriander leaves and serve hot 🙂

Simple Lunch Menu (2)

It’s North Indian cuisine at home today. Though not very elaborate, it’s a wholesome, healthy and easy to make colourful menu:)
Whole wheat and ragi phulkas, Vegetable Jalfrezie, Methi Matar Malai, salad, curd rice ( this is a must at home) and pickle.

Methi Matar Malai

Methi Matar Malai

Vegetable Jalfrezie

Vegetable Jalfrezie

Whole wheat and Ragi Phulkas

Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Ragi flour- 3/4th cup
Salt to taste

Mix both the flour and salt well and knead to smooth pliable dough adding the required amount of water.
Rest it for 15-20 mins and make phulkas.

Bisi bele bhath

Bisi bele bhath is a rice-based dish with its origins in the state of Karnataka, India. Bisi-bele-bhath translates to hot lentil rice in the Kannada language. It is also known as Bisi bele huliyanna which means “hot lentil sour rice”.

If there can be any perfect one pot meal, then it has to be only Bisi bele bhath.
I learnt this recipe during my college days from my sister’s best friend’s mom. They were from Mysore. I have always liked Bisi bele bhath. But I fell in love with this during our stay in Bangalore.
We lived in Bangalore for year. There was a restaurant called Woody’s near our house in J.P Nagar. Have to say that I got to relish the most delicious varieties of dosas and Bisi bele bhath in that restaurant.
After trying for many number of times and playing around with the recipe that I had, I finally could manage to make Woody’s style Bisi Bele Bhath:)

Ingredients

Raw rice- 1 cup
Tuvar dal( tuvaram paruppu- 1/2 cup
Potato- 1( medium size)
Carrot- 1
Beans- 12-15
Grated coconut- 1 cup
Onion- 3 ( medium size)
Tomatoes- 3 ( medium size)
Coriander seeds- 3 tsps
Chana dal- 2 tsps
Urad dal- 2 tsps
Red chilies- 8-10
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek- 1/4th tsp
Cloves- 4
Cinnamon stick- 1 inch
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Grated jaggery- 2 tsps
Tamarind- small lemon sized.
Salt to taste
Oil- 1 tsp
Melted ghee- 4-5tbsps
Chopped cashew nuts- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Hing- 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves- few

Method

Wash the rice well, add 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
Wash and soak dal for 15 mins.
Wash, peel potato and carrot and chop it into cubes. Wash, string and chop beans.
Pressure cook dal and vegetables along with turmeric powder for 3-4 whistles.
Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water for 30 mins. Squeeze and extract the juice.

Chop onions and tomatoes.
In little oil, roast coriander seeds, chana dal, urad dal, jeera, fenugreek, red chillies, 2 cloves and 1/2 inch cinnamon. Cool the masala.
Sauté 1 chopped onion and tomato in little oil.
Grind the roasted spices along with coconut and sautéed onion and tomato to a smooth paste.

Heat a tablespoon of ghee in a pan. Add 2 cloves and 1/2 inch cinnamon stick. Sauté for few seconds and add the remaining chopped onions. Sauté till becomes slightly golden and then add tomatoes. Add salt and cook for few mins. Add the tamarind extract, salt to taste and jaggery and let it cook till the raw smell of tamarind goes.
Now add the cooked dal and vegetables, the ground paste and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and let it simmer.
Now add the cooked and slightly mashed rice to this mixture. Mix very well. Add 1/2 more cup of water. Check the seasonings. Add 3 tbsps of melted ghee and on a low flame, let it cook for 10 mins.

Heat remaining ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add the chopped cashew nuts, curry leaves and hing. Sauté till the nuts turn golden.
Add the tempering to the rice and serve hot with Papad and Raitha:)