karale (कारळे) /Khurasni(खुरसणी)/ Niger seeds chutney and stuffed Bhindi/Okra

Every time I put a photo of the coming soon recipe on My Foodcourt’s FB page the ‘soon’ never happens. The past month has just zoomed past me (the entire half year for that matter!). Both the kids are back to school after a two month long vacation. The little one started going to her ‘new school’, she is very happy that she finally gets to go to her dada’s school 🙂

The  hot sultry summer has given way to a breezy-rainy weather. The Monsoon has also brought with it the much awaited new season’s of Masterchef Australia and White collar – lots of things to look up to; just like this chutney.

I have been meaning to make this chutney for many days but the easy availability of a readymade/mom-made chutney kept me from making it  till now.

The chutney that I am talking about is made from karale (कारळे) / Khurasni (खुरसणी) in Marathi or as I learned from Shruti on the FB page, they are known as Niger seeds in English. More on Niger seeds here.

The seeds are pound with garlic and red chilly powder to make a very tempting fiery chutney usually eaten with bhakri, Roti or hot rice. This chutney is also used as a filling for veggies like brinjal. I did not have brinjals and hence I added the chutney to the filling I made to stuff Bhindi/okra. The result was a fantyastic tasting spicy side dish. The lad kept asking for more and failed to notice the number of Rotis that went into his tummy. 🙂

Here’s the recipe for the Niger Seeds chutney:

1 cup from karale (कारळे) /Khurasni(खुरसणी) or Niger seeds

~ 10-12 garlic pods peeled (you may use less)

2 tsp red chilli powder (you can add more)

Salt to taste

Method:

Lightly roast the Niger seeds for 1-2 minutes (take care not to burn them)

Grind/ pound together all the ingredients to a dry chutney. I started by using a wooden morter and pestle but pounding the seeds to a fine powder was taking time so gave in and used the mixer.

Serve this with hot BhakriRoti/Rice preferably with a drizzle of groundnut oil.

Recipe for stuffed Okra with Niger seed chutney:

10-12 medium sized fresh and tender Bhindi/okra, washed, dried and slit lengthwise

2 tbsp oil

Juice of half a lemon/lime

Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

For the stuffing:

2 medium sized onions peeled and grated

½ cup roasted groundnut powder

4 tsp above Niger seeds chutney

2 tsp Kanda Lasoon masala (optional.I used my mom’s.)

Salt to taste.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing.

Stuff the okra with it.

Heat oil in a wide flat bottom nonstick pan. Add the stuffed bhindi carefully.

Cook for 3-4 minutes without stirring.

Stir carefully.

Cover and cook for the next 3-4 minutes. Add a few drops of lime juice and stir once.

Cook uncovered till done (not very soft or mushy ). If you have the time and the patience cook uncovered all the time stirring only occasionally.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Bhakri,Roti or Rice.

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen has started a  series of photography exercises for amateur food photographers. See last month’s exercise for My Foodcourt here.

The theme for this month’s exercise was ‘Less is More’, which is currently my style of photography. The chutney as well as stuffed Okra/Bhindi  photos above was taken with this theme in mind.Keep it simple is currently my photography mantra too.

Thank you again Aparna for coming out with these simple but helpful themes for the exercise.

Lasooni Methi

Lasooni Methi-a treat for garlic lovers & Methi (fenugreek) lovers. I first had it at one of our favorite local restaurants. Every time we dine there now we ask for Lasooni Methi with gravy (In India most of the curries will have a gravy and without gravy versions, including some Chinese dishes).

Fresh Methi leaves cooked in more onion-less tomato gravy and topped with generous amounts of chopped garlic ! My version of Lasooni Methi has more amount of Methi: less gravy; as against the restaurant version of more gravy: less methi.

Here’s how I made it:

 1 bunch Methi (fenugreek) cleaned, washed and chopped. (Add the tender stalks if you like)

2 large onions chopped

10-12 garlic cloves peeled and chopped

~ 2tbsp tomato puree

½ tsp Garam Masala

½-1 tsp Red chilli powder

¼ tsp sugar (or just a pinch)

½ tsp Cumin seeds

Salt to taste

~5-6 tsp Oil for the

1 tsp Ghee(clarified butter/optional)

Blanch the Methi leaves for ~ 4-5 minutes in as little water as possible along with some salt. Drain and keep aside. Don’t discard the water; it can be used for making rasam or soups.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a wok/ pan. Add ~ 2-3 chopped garlic cloves  and sauté till the onion turns a light brown color.

Cool and grind in a blender to a smooth paste (add 1-2 tsp water if required)

(to save time:alternatively you can directly grind the onion and garlic in the blender to a fine paste without first sautéing and then fry it in oil)

Heat 2-3 tsp oil +1 tsp ghee in the same wok. Add cumin seeds and add the onion paste. Fry well till the paste turns brown (~ 7-8 minutes)

Add the spice; red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric powder and fry for 1 minute more.

Add the tomato puree. Cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the blanched methi leaves.

Mix well. Add salt and pinch of sugar and mix again.

Add ~3/4^th cup water and cook for 2 minutes more or till gravy turns to a slightly thick consistency.

Remove from stove top.

In a small pan heat remaining oil. Add the remaining chopped garlic and fry till light brown. (If you like spicy food you can add chopped green chillies to the oil too)

Add the fried garlic along with the oil to the Methi gravy.

Serve hot with Naan or Tandoori Roti.

Note 1: This recipe demands a generous amount of oil for the tadka and tempering compared to my usual 2 tsp oil; but once in a while I don’t mind pleasing the palate . You can reduce the amount of oil used.

Note 2: For a rich gravy you can also add 2-3 cashenuts to the onions and then grind.

Vegetable Kung Pao

I wanted to make Kung Pao ever since I saw it on Deeba’s blog here. Being a vegetarian I skipped the chicken and used the available vegetables for this quick and easy vegetable Kung Pao.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients: 

8-10 button mushrooms sliced

1 large carrot diced

1 small Red cabbage diced

4 spring onions, white bulbs and green tops cut separately into 1/2″ pieces

1 red/yellow bell pepper, chopped

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

1Tablespoons sherry

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons sugar

2 Tablespoons white-wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

1/3 cup water

2 Tablespoons cooking oil

3/4 cup cashews

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

3-4 garlic cloves, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, water, soy sauce, sherry and cornstarch.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over moderately high heat.

Add the cashews and stirring until light brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the pan.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the garlic & chili flakes. Stir for 2 minutes till fragrant & light pink.

Add the white part of the spring onions, carrot & cabbage and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.

Add the bell pepper and mushroom and cook for a 1-2 minutes more.

Add the soy sauce mixture and the onion greens and simmer for 1-2 minutes Stir in the cashews.

Serve hot over steamed rice.

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

This is a warm up to the 7-day recipe marathon initiated by Nupur, at One Hot Stove. Just making sure I haven’t forgotten writing posts!  Nupur has provided the much needed push for My Foodcourt and hope to reach the finish line, even though I shall be travelling.

Harisa Seasoning was not a very familiar spice to me till recently. My dear brother picked up some free samples for this from a trade fair in Berlin last month. Some Google research and I was tempted to use it immediately; Hit the bulls eye with this recipe for Vegetable Tagine with Harisa. Loved this recipe since I had all the ingredients that were required (a very rare coincidence!).

All the veggies used for this Tagine are in season now. I did not have the traditional ‘Tagine pot’ but slow cooked it on the stove top for the flavours to mingle and the result was a scrumptious spicy-sweet and tangy stew. Traditionally served with couscous, I served this with rice. As usual I tweaked the recipe a little bit to suit our taste.

Here’s the recipe:

Vegetable Tagine with Harisa

2 onions, sliced

½ tsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp sugar

3 tsp Harisa seasoning

a pinch of saffron (optional)

1 tsp cumin seeds (roasted and crushed)

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

250ml vegetable stock or water

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 red pepper, seeded and cubed

1 yellow pepper, seeded and cubed

2 brinjals, cubed

400g chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked

1 tsp dry red chilli powder or pepper (optional)

Salt

2 tsp Oil

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat the oil and fry the onion, ginger-garlic and sugar over a low heat until onions begin to caramelise.

Add harissa powder and spices and cook until fragrant.

Add the veggies, season with salt, Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Serve hot with couscous or rice.

Cauliflower Curry

I am back after a long hiatus (the longest since I started blogging). A short trip to Coorg and then some unavoidable reasons kept me away from the blogoshpere. But now things are under control and I hope I am able to post regularly.

Here’s a very simple and quick Cauliflower curry to make a spicy comeback on My Foodcourt!

The addition of spices like cinnamon and pepper dominate the strong Cauliflower smell. This is one of my favourite ways to cook cauliflower hope you like it too.

 

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Cauliflower Curry recipe

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3 cups cauliflower florets

2 large onions sliced

2 medium sized tomatoes blanched and pureed

2 tsp grated dried coconut

1“cinnamon stick

4-5 peppercorns

4-5 dry red chillies

1 tsp cumene seeds

Salt as per taste

4-5 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds 

Dry roast the Cinnamon, peppercorns, red chillies and cumene. Cool and powder the spices.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and sauté the sliced onions till golden brown.

Add the dried coconut and fry for 2-3 minutes more.Cool and grind to a smooth paste. Add water if necessary.

Add the ground spices to the onion paste and spin one more time. 

Heat remaining oil in a pan.

Add mustard seeds.

Add the onion-spice paste once the mustard seeds splutter.

Fry the onion paste nicely till all the moisture evaporates.

Add the cauliflower florets ,add salt, mix nicely. Add a little water to bring it to a sauce like consistency, cover and cook till the florets become just tender.

Add the tomato puree and cook for some more time.

Serve hot with Chapati. 

Gavarichi Bhaji (Cluster beans curry)

Gavar-Cluster Beans is a popular vegetable in Maharashtra. They are available all year round here for a very modest price.

The only hitch in buying these beans is the time taken to cut them- remove the ends and string them along, pulling the edged fibre. Pluck into small pieces (with hand) at the nodes of the pods.

Tender Green Cluster bean pods spiced up with some Kala/ Goda Masala dish up a delectable curry that can be served with Roti or Rice.

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Gavarichi Bhaji recipe

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2 cups cut Gavar/Cluster beans (cut as mentioned above)

1 onion chopped (optional)

2 tbsp freshly grated coconut

2 tbsp roasted Peanut powder

2 tsp Kala/Goda Masala

2 tsp Red chilly powder

½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

½  tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

3 tsp oil 

Boil the cut beans in little water with salt till just done. Strain the water. Don’t discard the water.

Heat oil in a pan.

Do the tempering. Mustard seeds-cumene seeds-turmeric powder.

Add the chopped onion and fry till it becomes translucent.

Add the gavar beans and fry for a few minutes more.

Add the Masala and red chilly powder. Mix nicely.

Add the peanut powder, coconut mix nicely.

Add a little water (the leftover from cooking the beans).

Cook covered for a few minutes. Serve hot with Chapati or Rice. 

Bendekay (Bhindi/Okra) Gojju

Thank you all of you for your wishes, I am feeling much better now.

South Indian food was restricted to Idli-Sambar-Dosa- chutney- Rasam that was till I got married.

After marriage I learnt so many wonderful recipes from my mother-in-law, not just idli-dosa etc.. but some really nice curries, rice and Rotis.

Ajay’s family hails from Bangalore ;Iyengars settled in Karnataka for generations together (and now he is settled in Maharashtra). It’s a fine blend of Tamilian + Kannadiga cuisine, and now my addition- +Maharashtrian cuisine. So we have some very hybrid recipes cooked in our kitchen!

This is a nice recipe for Bendekay(Bhindi/Okra) Gojju; of course my mother-in-law’s recipe.

Bhindi/ okra is cooked in tamarind pulp along with jaggery and some rasam powder (Malkapudi). It thus has all three tastes; sweet, sour and spicy. This recipe is especially good when you have less amount of Bhindi and more amount of people eating it or when the Bhindi is not very fresh and you need to dress it up! J

 

Bendekay(Bhindi/Okra) Gojju my second entry to Asha’s RCI Karnataka. 

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Bendekay (Bhindi/Okra) Gojju recipe _____________________________________________________ ½ kg Bhindi/okra/ Ladies finger – washed, towel dried, ends removed and chopped into small round discs.~ 1 tbsp tamarind pulp

2 tbsp crushed jaggery

 2 tsp Rasam powder (Malkapudi)

¼ tsp asafoetida (hing) crushed

7-8 fresh curry leaves

½ tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan.

Do the tadka mustard seeds- cumene seeds- turmeric powder and then the curry leaves and asafoetida.

Add the Bhindi and fry nicely. 

Cook for a few minutes and then add the tamarind pulp, jaggery, salt and the Rasam (Malkapudi) powder.

Mix nicely and add little water if the pulp is too thick.

Cook uncovered till the Bhindi is cooked nicely.

Serve hot with Rice of Roti.

 

Ridge Gourd with Jowar-Wheat flour dumplings

I always wonder what keeps My Foodcourt going?

I am not someone who is very good with words , and so the writeup on posts are usually quite small and only occasionally elaborate. My food-photos are ok but not exceptional;I get on an average 5-7 minutes to photograph any of my recipes, before my little one decides it is high time he took charge of the camera!

Then what is it?

Of course I love your feedback and encouragement, the most important thing that keeps me going.

And then there are recipes like these which I love to share with you all! And that’s what I love the most about food-blogging; Posting recipes which you will usually not find documented on the internet or maybe even cookbooks, passed on from one generation to the other, which are very close to my heart and my palate, of course. Usually these are my mom’s or Mom-in-law’s recipes and hence can be called authentic.

This Ridge Gourd with Jowar-wheat flour dumplings is one such recipe- very authentic (since my mom makes it J ) and which you would usually not find on any Hotel menu card or maybe even in any cookbooks.

Dumplings of Jowar flour (sorghum/white millet)-wheat flour spiced with some chillies and ajwain (carom seeds) are cooked along with Ridge gourd. These dumplings just transform the simple, humble Ridge Gourd curry into something very exotic and utterly delicious, not to mention very very healthy. You can substitute Ridge Gourd with Silk Squash (Dodka) or Cluster beans (Gavar) or any such vegetable. 

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Ridge Gourd with Jowar-Wheat Flour dumplings recipe

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 2-3 Ridge gourds lightly peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

2-3 garlic cloves (optional)

2 tsp Red chilli powder

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

3 tsp oil

Salt as per taste

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing 

For the Jowar-Wheat flour dumplings

1 cup Jowar flour

1 cup Wheat flour

2 tsp green chili paste

1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

¼ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For the Jowar-Wheat flour dumplings

Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. It maybe a little sticky but its ok. Shape small lemon sized balls of the dough into cylindrical croquette shaped dumplings. Keep them aside. 

Heat oil in a pan.

Do the tadka (tempering); Mustard seeds-cumene seeds-garlic- turmeric powder.

Fry for a few seconds and add the Ridge gourd pieces.

Add salt and Red chili powder, mix nicely and cook covered till the Ridge gourd is almost half done. Add about ½ cup water.

Place and spread the Jowar-Wheat flour dumplings one by one on top of the Ridge gourd. Do not stir or mix. Cover and cook on low flame till the dumplings are nicely steamed.

Only after the dumplings are properly cooked, stir the curry nicely so that the dumplings and Ridge gourd mix nicely.

Cook for a few more minutes.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Bhakri or Roti. I had it just like that! 

Alu Posta and Khajur Khatta

RCI is a fantastic event started by Lakshmik of Veggie Cuisine– ‘Celebrating the Regional Cuisines of India‘ . It gives us an opportunity to explore the varied cuisines of India.

This month Swapna of Swad is hosting RCI: Oriya.

Searching for Oriya recipes made me realize how little I know about the cuisine from this costal state of India!Swapna was kind enough to provide links to some sites featuring authentic Oriya recipes, which were a great help.

Thank you, Swapna for hosting RCI:Oriya .I have learnt a lot about Oriya Cuisine!

Today I made Alu Posta (Potato in poppy seed curry) and Khajur Khatta– chutney like side dish with Tomato and Dates. 

I followed the recipes for both from here and here.

For the Alu Posta, I did not deep fry the potatoes as required in the original recipe. (I have been indulging in a lot of deep fried eats for the past week and my stomach can’t take it anymore.)

I loved Alu Posta with the potatoes soaked in the poppy flavour.

The Khajur Khatta was an instant hit with my little one, who otherwise is not very fond of sweet taste!

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Alu Posta recipe

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 2 medium sized potato peeled and cubed

2 tbsp spoon of poppy seeds (Khuskhus) soaked in warm water for 15-20 minutes

½ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp Cumene seeds

3 Green Chillies chopped

~ 4 tsp Oil

Salt to taste 

Grind the poppy seeds to a smooth paste using some water.

Heat oil in a Kadai/wok.

Add the mustard seeds and cumene seeds.

Add the potatoes.

Cook covered till the potatoes become soft.

Add the green chillies and fry for a few seconds.

Now add the poppy paste and salt.

Add a little water and mixed nicely.

Serve hot with Roti.   

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Khajur Khatta recipe

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7-8 Dates (Khajur) deseeded

2 medium sized tomato cut into small pieces

2 green chillies chopped into pieces

½  tsp punch-phutana (½ tsp each mustard, cumene, fenugreek,fennel and ajowain/carom seeds)

1 lemon sized ball jaggery

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp of oil

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the punch-phutana and let them  splutter

Add  green chillies.

Add tomato, turmeric powder, salt, dates, jaggery  and mix it properly

Add a little water and cook till tomatoes and Dates become soft. Cook to a thick gravy .

Serve as a side dish with Roti and Alu Posta.  

Dear Anita

Dear Anita, 

You have no idea how your little provocation has unsettled my taste buds for the past week. I have been craving each day for those hot, oily floating balloons from the day you posted them at the Mad Tea party!

Clicking on any random blog on the Food Blog Desam made matters worse. I found myself drooling and ogling at all those sinful puris.

I decided to end my suffering, got up early (inspite of this being a weekend). I did not want anything to come between me and my puris (read my little one). I got up with this ‘Duniya ki koi takat muzhe puri banana se rok nahi sakti’ attitude. (too lengthy to translate in english)

At once I knew, that the sagoo (my mother-in-law’s recipe) would be the right companion to my Puris.

When I inserted the first rolled out round disc into the hot oil my happiness knew no bounds! I felt like a child who was given a bunch of balloons-when the first reddish- brown oily balloon started floating on the oil- gleaming at me, urging me to be eaten!

Thanks to that one provocation, I have managed to over-oil (as in lubricating a vehicle) my mind, body and the camera. Why the camera? – Just to prove that these are actually puris and not Cluris.

Thank you Anita, I had almost forgotten how these soft, hot, homemade puris tasted.. pure bliss – I can’t even remember the last time I made them.

Thank you. 

With lots of Puris and Sagoo

Madhuli

 Puri, Sagoo and Punjabi,Red Chili Pickle for the Puri-Bhaji party 

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Sagoo recipe

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For the gravy:

½ Coconut scrapped

6-7 green chillies chopped

½ bunch fresh coriander leaves

2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus) soaked in warm water for 15 minutes

1” piece Cinnamon

½ “piece ginger chopped

1 onion sliced 

For the Sagoo

1 Onion sliced

2 potatoes cubed

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup French beans chopped 

For the tadka:

2 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumene seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder 

Blend all the ingredients for the gravy to a smooth creamy paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds.Then the cumene seeds and the turmeric powder.

Add the onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes.

Add the vegetables and cook covered till they become tender.

Add the gravy, salt and adjust the water to the required consistency.

Mix nicely, cook for a few minutes more and serve hot with Puris. 

 

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Puri recipe

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Go to A Mad Tea Party on 20^th August and you will get not one but many recipes for Puris.

I made them like this: 

In a bowl take 2 cups of Wheat Flour. Add salt as per taste. Add ½ tsp Turmeric powder. Add 1 tsp Red chilli powder. This type of puri is called Tikhat Mithachi Puri in Marathi. (Tikhat here refers to Red Chili powder and Mith is salt)

Add 1 tbsp hot oil to the Wheat Flour. Knead to a tight dough using water as required.

Make small balls from the dough. Roll out into small round discs.

Heat Oil in a Kadai/Wok. Deep fry the rolled out round disc till they puff up.

 

Turn and fry on the other side till it turns a reddish-brown colour. 

Serve hot with Sagoo

Note: If you want to have Tikhat Mithachi Puri without any accompaniments- Add a tsp of cumene seeds and 1 tsp carom seeds to the Wheat flour before kneading the dough. Follow the rest of the procedure for puris. Roll and Insert these spicy Puris in hot Chai(tea) and eat it immediately..Hmmm..Yummy