Fenugreek leaves and peas curry / Methi Malai Mutter - Version II

Even though we eat frozen ready food maybe once or twice a month, my freezer always has a pack of Methi Malai mutter. That is because my kids love it with kulcha or naan. I had tried to mimic the exact dish and you can read about it here. I took the same recipe, added few spices, subtracted few and made a big change in the recipe to use tomatoes or canned tomato paste rather. Result was amazing and I think I like this new recipe more even though the older one is more kid friendly. This is easy to make and perfect for huge crowds since not much effort is put in making it. This freezes well too.

One Year Back - Hakka Noodles
Two Years Back - Tofu Butter Masala, Whitebread with tangzhong starter
Three Years Back - Eggless Almond Brownies
Ingredients:
Dry green peas - 2 cups soaked for at least 6 hours (Or use about 5 - 6 cups of frozen peas)
Onions - 3 medium chopped into chunks
Tomato paste - 6 Oz can (Or use about 4 large tomatoes)
Fenugreek leaves - 1 bunch cleaned and chopped (discard thick stems)
Oil - 3 TBSP
Garlic - 2 pods crushed
Whole raw almonds - 1/3 cup (Or use cashews)
Cinnamon - 2" stick
Cardamom - 2 whole
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp or to taste (1 tsp is very mild)
Sugar - 1 TBSP (optional, but preferred)
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Ricotta cheese - 1 cup (I used part skim, you can use whole milk or homemade paneer crumbled)

Method:
If using dried peas, pressure cook them in enough water. Set aside. In a pan, heat 1 TBSP of oil. When hot,  add cinnamon, cardamom, almonds, garlic. Let almonds get toasted a bit. Add onions and sprinkle some salt. Let onions wilt. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them into chunks and add it to the onion mixture when onions are cooked. If using canned tomato paste, you can turn off the heat when onions are done. When the tomatoes are cooked, turn off the heat. Let it cool a bit. Take the contents of the pan into a blender and make a puree. You can add a bit of water if required. In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 TBSP of oil. Add fenugreek leaves and stir fry. Let them wilt. Now, add the cooked peas (if using frozen peas, they can be added at this point. No need to thaw) and stir. Add the ground paste and mix well. If you are using the canned tomato paste, you can add that now. Add enough water to get the desired consistency. Add red chilli powder, garam masala, sugar and mix well. Taste for salt and add if necessary. When it comes to a boil and the peas (if using frozen) are cooked, add ricotta cheese. Simmer for few minutes and then turn off the heat. Serve with roti, naan or kulcha. This tastes good with rice also.

Enjoy.

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Chana Masala in Coriander Sauce / Hara Chana

I don't know about you. But I can never tire myself out trying different dishes using legumes. One main reason being their protein richness, other one being I can skip chopping lot of vegetables. If there is something that I do not like in cooking process, it is chopping vegetables. I make the regular Chickpea curry/ Chana Masala which is great for any occasion but involves quite a few steps in making it. I wanted to have another version of the chick peas curry which would be totally different from it but at the same time easy to make and delicious. This is what I came up with. It is easy to make, has no onions or garlic so people who don't eat them have no issues with it and is just delicious.

One Year Back - Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread
Two Years Back - Mango Ice Cream
Ingredients:  (This makes a huge pot, scale it down as per your requirement)
Dry Chickpeas / Kabuli Chana - 3 cups
Tomatoes - 1 large or two small chopped
Oil - 5 -6 TBSP
Cumin - 1 tsp
Coriander Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Amchoor powder / Dry Mango Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

To grind:
Cilantro - 1 bunch cleaned stalk part included (about 2 cups roughly)
Ginger - 1 1/2" piece peeled and chopped roughly
Cashews - 1/3 cup
Green chillies - 10 - 12 or as per taste
Coconut - 1/2 cup grated

Method:
Soak chickpeas in enough water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and add clean water. Add a pinch of salt and pressure cook till soft. When the pressure is released, drain reserving water. Grind all the ingredients given in 'To Grind' section above using enough water to make a smooth paste. In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they splutter add the ground paste and mix. Add salt, coriander cumin powder, amchoor powder and mix. Stir frequently to avoid burning and let it come to a full boil. If the paste is too thick, you can add a little bit of reserved water from cooking the chickpeas. When it comes to a full boil, add tomatoes and mix. From the drained chickpeas, take about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of the cooked chickpeas. Add enough reserved water and grind them in a mixie or food processor. Add the remaining whole chickpeas to the pot and mix. Add the ground chickpeas and mix well. Use the reserved water to get the correct consistency. It should be a bit liquidy since it thickens as it cools. Bring the entire pot to a boil and check for the salt. Adjust if needed and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or roti.

Notes:
If you like your curries to be rich, you could use heavy cream instead of reserved water. I am very sure it would be awesome and creamy. If you are cooking this for a crowd or for a party, try adding about 2 large potatoes cubed into 1/2" pieces. It will not only be great but also you can stretch the buck longer by using potatoes. You could leave out tomatoes if you don't have it. It still will be fine.

Enjoy.

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Tovve / South Indian Dal

Legume/Lentil preparation is almost a daily routine in any Indian kitchen. Be it in the form of Sambar or legume based curry or this simple dal. For some reason, North Indian style preparation of dal is pretty famous every where. People associate dal with garlic, onion, tomatoes. That is not really the case in reality. Every state of India has its own way of preparing dal. This one is from Karnataka where I come from. This is a very simple dish, but very flavorful.

One Year Back - Thomas the train Cake
Two Years Back - Pav Buns
Ingredients: 
Toor Dal / Red Lentils - 1 cup
Water - 2 1/2 - 3 cups
Turmeric - two generous pinches
Salt - to taste
Lime juice - from half a lime
Cilantro - 2 TBSP chopped
Veggies of choice - About 1 - 2 cups of chopped vegetables precooked (I have used about 4 cups of spinach here) optional
Coconut - 3 - 4 TBSP grated

For tempering:
Oil - 2 TBSP divided use
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies - 2 broken
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - Grated about 1 generous TBSP
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 - 1 tsp as per taste
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Asafoetida/hing - generous pinch
Curry leaves - few

Method:
Wash and rinse the lentils. Add water, turmeric and a drop of oil. Pressure cook till soft but not mushy. When the pressure is released, prepare for the tempering - heat the remaining oil in a small saucepan. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add broken red chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida, cumin. When the cumin pops, add grated ginger, black pepper powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder. Add the cooked dal and mix well. Now add the spinach or cooked vegetables, salt and let it simmer. Adjust the water if required. When it comes to a slow boil, check for the salt and adjust. Add coconut, cilantro and mix well. Turn off the heat. After 10 - 15 minutes, add the lime juice and mix well. Serve warm with rice. This can be eaten with chapathi or rotis too.

Notes:
If you use spinach or any other greens like I did, there is no need to precook it. It gets cooked pretty fast unless it is a tough green like kale.

Enjoy.

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Soya Bean Curry

Did you know that I have 39 recipes on this blog that are tagged as 'side dish'? There aren't any that I usually make as a simple stir fry. All of them have some twist to them. That is because of two things. I don't like eating the same stir fry / palya / porial kind every day and the other is due to ideas that I get from around everywhere.

I was watching cooking channel and the show on air was Bal's 'Spice Goddess'. She made egg curry and that inspired me to make this protein rich soya bean curry. I have used the spices as per my wish and you could do the same too. She used chick pea flour to thicken the gravy and I just mashed the beans and added it to do the same.


One Year Back - Dilly Masoor Dal

Ingredients:
Dried Soya beans - 1 cup soaked overnight and pressure cooked till soft
Crushed tomatoes - 1 1/2 cups (Or 3 large tomatoes pureed)
Oil - 3 TBSP
Ginger - 1" piece grated
Long Squash - 1 medium cut fine or shredded (You could use any other squash or potatoes)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder + Cumin powder - 1 tsp (Or 1/2 tsp each)
Turmeric - a big pinch
Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves / Cilantro - chopped 2 TBSP for garnish

Method:
In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add fennel seeds, ginger. Let them get toasted. Add the finely chopped/shredded long squash or vegetable of your choice. Sprinkle some salt, turmeric and mix well. Cover with a lid and let it cook. If you have finely chopped the vegetables, it shouldn't take longer than 5  minutes for them to soften up. Now add the crushed or pureed tomatoes. Mix well. From the cooked soya beans, take about 1/2 cup and mash it with a potato masher. Add that and the rest of the cooked soya beans to the pot. Use water as per the consistency requirement and not all the water that you have used to cook the beans.
Now add all the spice powders, yogurt and stir well to combine. Let the whole thing come to a boil. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm or hot or cold with rotis, chapathis or plain rice.

Note:
You could use any beans of your choice. This one is a nice variation to get that north indian curry taste without adding onions and garlic.

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Rajma Masala / Kidney Beans Curry

Everyone's method of cooking a common dish is different. Dal for example tastes differently when made by different individuals. So does this Rajma masala. It is very similar to dal except, it has more spices and uses rajma or kidney beans. This past weekend, when I had house full of guests, I made this masala but had used yellow eyed beans instead of Rajma. My Sister-in-law was asking what all I had put in there and that made me realize that this curry has too many variations. So, here comes a write up about this masala. You can use any kind of beans instead of kidney beans. Try using lima beans, butter beans, cannellini beans etc.

Ingredients:
Kidney Beans - 1 cup soaked overnight and pressure cooked till very soft (about 3 whistles) Or you could use canned kidney beans.
Red Onions - 2 medium chopped very fine
Tomatoes - 2 medium blanched and pureed or use 1 cup of tomato puree
Oil - 4 TBSP
Garlic - 2 Pods crushed or grated
Ginger - 1/2" piece peeled and grated
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin coriander powder - 1/2 tsp (or use 1/4 tsp of cumin powder and 1/4 tsp of coriander powder)
Turmeric - a big pinch
Salt - to taste
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Amchoor Powder / Dry Mango Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Cilantro - 3 TBSP Chopped

Method:

Bring a pot with enough water to boil the tomatoes. When the water is boiling, drop the tomatoes whole into the water. Let it sit for a minute or two. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and immerse in cold water. Within couple of minutes, the skin will shrink and you will be able to remove the skin easily. Peel the skin off and place in the blender and puree them. Set aside.

 In a pan or skillet, heat oil. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add grated ginger, garlic. Add chopped onions, turmeric and some salt. Let it cook till golden. When the onions are cooked, add tomato puree. Mix well and start adding the powders - red chilli powder, amchoor powder, garam masala, cumin coriander powder. Mix well. Drain the beans reserving water. Add the entire beans reserving about a handful of the cooked beans to the pot. You will need to add the reserved water to thin down to desired consistency. Mash the reserved beans and add it to the pot. Mix well and let it simmer for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasonings if required and garnish with cilantro. Serve with roti, chapathi or rice. If serving with rice, make it a little thinner.

Enjoy!! Pin It

Spinach Corn Curry

Time flies, people change. Kids grow up. I feel like it was yesterday when I held my baby for the first time in  the hospital. She started kindergarten this year. She did go to preschool or nursery school for the past 3 years. So, school is not a new term or environment for her or me. But, all of a sudden things have changed. She would come and ask me for help with something before. My dialogue would be "You are a big girl now, try to do it yourself" (I am not a mean mother, but encourage kids to learn to figure out stuff by themselves. I don't like spoon feeding). She would take help from me anyway. But now, if I offer her help on stuff that I know she can't do by herself, her dialogue is "Mommy, I can do it myself. I am a big girl now." How can going to a different school for 2 days make her a big girl? I don't understand. Do you?
This same child loves corn. I buy corn just for her. Boil it with some salt and sugar and give it to her, she happily eats an entire ear of corn. All of a sudden, she didn't want corn anymore. What is mommy suppose to do with 3 ears of corn sitting on the counter? Make this curry.

Ingredients:
Corn - 3 ears
Tomatoes - 3 small or 2 medium chopped fine
Potatoes - 2 medium peeled and grated (I used the fine grate, but you could use a bigger one if you prefer)
Spinach - 1 lb frozen bag or one bunch fresh spinach chopped.
Oil - 4 TBSP
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 6
Cinnamon - 1/2" stick
Curry Leaves - few
Ginger - 1/2" piece peeled and grated
Turmeric - a big pinch
Salt - to taste
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or per taste
Curry Powder - 1 tsp or to taste (Read Notes)
Lime - 1

Method:
Remove the husk and silk of corn. Boil water in a big stock pot. Add salt to the water and boil the corn in this water till tender. Rinse with cold water and let cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the kernels and set aside. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cloves, ginger and cinnamon. When they are done toasting, add the spinach. Let it wilt.  Add turmeric and salt. Add chopped tomatoes, grated potatoes and enough water and cover with a lid. After about 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir. Add the corn kernels, chilli powder, curry powder. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or till corn is really soft to bite. Adjust the seasonings and if required add some water to thin down the curry. Turn off the heat. Add the juice of the lime. Serve with rice or rotis.

Notes:
Curry powders vary by brand. Some curry powders do not have chilli powder as part of them. Make sure you know what kind of curry powder you are using and adjust the red chilli powder accordingly. You can use garam masala or chaat masala in its place too.

Enjoy!! Pin It

Long Squash Spinach Dal

Can you believe when I tell that there probably are more number of dal recipes than the number of houses in India? They might not differ a lot, but there will be some change or the other. Even in the single house there will be different variations of dal. I make different kinds too. This is one of those recipes which I am posting just for keeping it as a part of the journal. There is nothing special about this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Long squash - 1 medium peeled and cut into chunks
• Red Onions - 3 medium or 2 large cut into chunks
• Tomatoes - 2 small cut finely
• Spinach - 1/2 a bunch fresh or about 1 pound frozen chopped
• Green chillies - 8 - 10 as per taste
• Garlic - 2 pods crushed finely
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece peeled and chopped finely
• Oil - 2 TBSP
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric - a big pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Lime Juice - to taste (optional)

Method:
Cook dal with a little bit of oil and turmeric along with long squash in a pressure cooker with enough water. In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves. When they are almost done, add chopped onions. Add turmeric and some salt and saute till they are cooked. Now, add the spinach and stir. Add tomatoes and let it cook for a minute or two. Add the cooked dal and long squash mixture and mix well. Bring it to a boil adding water if necessary. Check for the seasoning and adjust as per taste. Turn it off and you might squeeze some lime juice if using and mix and serve. Serve with rotis, chapathis or plain rice.

Note: Instead of using green chillies, you could use red chilli powder. Could use ginger garlic paste instead of fresh garlic and ginger to save time. For some reason, I have never liked using ginger garlic paste in my cooking, but is an option.
This goes to Suma's 'Delicious Dals of India' along with my 'Dilly Masoor Dal' and 'Methi Subzi with Split peas'.

Happy Cooking!! Pin It

Dilly Masoor Dal

I feel Masoor dal is one of the ignored lentils at least in south Indian cuisine. If you look here, (you'll have to plug in the amount of dal. To compare make all dals 1 cup and see the results) you'll see that Masoor dal is one of rich in fibers and minerals and pretty low in calories compared so much hyped chana. I have no reservations against any lentils since these are the source of protein for vegetarian Indians. And, these lentils are so forgiving, you can mix match any herb, any spice and they just blend in with them and come out as a new flavor. Here goes my take on dill with masoor dal..

Ingredients:

1. Whole masoor - 1 cup
2. Toor dal - 1/2 cup (You can skip this and increase the masoor and mash part of it)
3. Dill - 1 bunch cleaned and chopped
4. Oil - 2 TBSP
5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
6. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
7. Garlic - 2 pods chopped finely
8. Red onions - 2 big chopped finely
9. Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp or to taste
10. Salt - to taste
11. Lime juice of half a lime
12. Turmeric - a big pinch

Method:
Wash masoor and toor dal together. Pressure cook in enough water with a drop of oil and a small pinch of turmeric till done. In a skillet, heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds, garlic and onion and stir well. Add the remaining turmeric and some salt. Saute till onions are cooked. Add the chopped dill and stir well. Add chilli powder and the cooked masoor toor dal mixture and mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes and adjust the seasonings. Squeeze lime juice. Your dilly masoor dal is ready to be served with rice or rotis.

I would like to send this entry to Susan's 'My Legume Affair'  and to the hosted by EC.


Happy Cooking!! Pin It

Methi Dal - Fenugreek and split green peas dal

Long time back, I used to be a part of Indian food discussion forum, then called forumhub. One of the active members there had a recipe called 'Methiwale kabuli chole - Rajasthani style' or something like that. I had tried that recipe and really liked the way it used methi or fenugreek leaves. I have tried it with various beans and greens but nothing beats the use of methi in it. When I was getting ready to cook lunch, I found that I had a bunch of methi leaves and suddenly I wanted to make it. But, I didn't have any soaked chana and so I tried it with split green peas. Result was a wonderful side dish which went well with roti and rice. So, here it goes.

Ingredients:

1. 1 1/2 cups split green peas soaked in hot water for about 30 minutes and cooked. You can either cook on the stove top or cook in microwave. Don't use the pressure cooker. It will get mushy.
2. 1 bunch of methi leaves cleaned and chopped fine.
3. 1/4 cup of chopped cilanthro.
4. Tomato - 2 big chopped.
5. Green chillies - 7 - 8 or to taste chopped fine.
6. 1/2 an inch piece of ginger - peeled and grated.
7. 1/2 an inch of cinnamon stick.
8. 1/2 tsp of methi seeds
9. 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds.
10. curry leaves - a few
11. Hing - a generous pinch
12. Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp. If using regular tamarind, use 1/2 lime size and extract juice from it.
13. Oil - 3-4 tbsp.
14. Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (optional if you want it spicier)
15. Salt - to taste.
16. Turmeric - a pinch.
    

Method:
Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, hing, methi seeds and cinnamon stick. When the methi seeds are golden brown, add the fenugreek leaves. Add turmeric and some salt and saute it till the leaves wilt about 3 to 4 minutes. Now add chopped tomatoes and cook till they are soft. Add the cooked split peas, tamarind paste/extract and mix well. Add water if necessary and adjust the salt. Garnish with chopped cilanthro. When they start simmering for a couple of minutes, turn off the heat. Serve with Roti, paratha/chapathi or rice.

My tips:
You can make this with any combination of beans and greens. My favorite ones are dill with moong, whole green peas with spinach and methi with kabuli chana.When not using methi, you can use cumin seeds in the place of methi seeds or use both cumin and methi seeds.

I am sending this to susan's "My Legume Love affair". hosted by Sra of "When my soup came alive".

Happy Cooking.

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