Thai Green Curry

I was so bored with the dal, Sambhar so wanted to have some other cuisine. Usually I make Italian cuisine,but this time I did Thai cuisine.

I did not have lemon grass, Galangal etc so I substituted with what was available in my pantry. The taste was still good. In this recipe I will tell what is usually used and what substitution I used.

Ingredients

Coriander Leaves - 1/2 Cup
Pudinah Leaves - 1 Bunch
Green Chillies - 6 Pieces
Onion - 2 (Boiled)
Galangal -  1 inch (I used regular Ginger)
Basil leaves - 1 Handful
Lemon Grass - 1 Tablespoon (I used Lemon Juice)
Garlic pods - 8
Broccoli - 1 Floret
Paneer-1/2 Cup (Added as per my chioce, the original green curry will not have Paneer)
Carrot - 1/2 Cup
Capsicum - 1 cup
Mushroom - 1 cup
Baby Corn - 1 Cup (Boiled, I skipped this as I did not have them)
Coconut Milk -1/2 cup (First Milk - Refer to the tips section of the Coconut Milk Rice Recipe)
Salt - To taste
Butter or Olive oil (I mixed both)

Method

 In a blender, add the boiled onion,basil leaves, garlic coriander leaves,pudinah leaves,green chillies,ginger and grind it into a smooth paste. This can be stored in freezer for 7 - 10 days.

In a pan, add some butter or olive oil. Cook the paste till the Raw flavor is gone. Then add the vegetables (Broccoli,mushroom,carrot,capsicum) and cook.

After few minutes add water and salt and cook for few minutes. After 5-8 minutes of cooking , add the coconut milk.

After adding the coconut do not cook for long, just cook till it boils once.

Then remove it from heat and garnish it with baby corn and some basil leaves. Enjoy it with Thai Red Spicy Rice.

Bottlegourd Tikki

It was on a Sunday when I had quite heavy breakfast and waned to have something refreshing and light, that's when I made this Tikki.

I had this along with freshly Cut Cucumber Salad and Masala Curd. The Cucumber,Curd and Bottlegourd was so refreshing.

I am sending this to Lets brunch on Sundays event organised by Priya. 

Ingredients

Bottle Gourd - 1 Cup (Grated)
Besan/Gram Flour - 2 Tablespoon
Rice Flour - 2 Tablespoon
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Chilli Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Garam masala - 1/4 Teaspoon
Salt and Oil

Method

In a mixing bowl, add add ingredients except oil and mix well. Divide them into equal parts and shape them as tikkis.

Meanwhile, place a pan on the stove. Once the pan is hot, smear some oil and arrange the prepared tikki and cook.

Cook till it is golden brown on both sides.

I had it with Freshly cut cucumber and Curd flavoured with Chaas Masala.


Tips
I did not have any problems in making the tikkis with the above given ingredients. if you have doubt on the consistency add Bread slices or Bread Crumbs. You can also add Besan or rice flour, however I do not prefer it as it makes the tikki heavy and not fluffy.

Raw Banan Cluster beans/Vazhakkai Karamani Upperi

The Raw Banana - cluster beans is an amazing combo. When cooked in this fashion it tastes greats with any Tangy and spicy gravy. In our house we usually make it along with Kathirikkai Karakuzhambhu.

It side dish can be made in a jiffy. The only trick in this dish is to have the right amount of water to cook these vegetables.

Ingredients

Raw Banana - 1
Clusterbeans - 1
Green Chilly - 1 or 2
Coconut Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Salt - To taste

Method

In a pot, boil 3/4 cup of water and bring it to boil.

Meanwhile, Peel off the raw banana skin and cut into cubes and put it in salt water. If you do not put them in water, they tend to become black.

Remove the fiber from the cluster beans and chop them into 1 inches pieces.

Now to the boiling water add the raw banana (drain the water in which it was soaked). I drizzle few drops of coconut oil at this boiling water at this stage. This step is optional.

Once the Raw banana is 75% done (which takes about 6-7 minutes) add the cluster beans.
 and salt.

Cook till the Raw Banana and Cluster beans is completely cooked (it may take 4- 5 minutes).Switch off the stove. By now no water should be left in the pot.

In a tadka pan, add the coconut oil and once the oil is warn add the green chilly and toss for 30 seconds and add this to the cooked vegetables and toss well.

The simple yet delicious Raw Banana Cluster beans upperi is ready.

Cabbage Poriyal with Coconut

I will always have stock of cabbage in my refrigerator. I make them in couple of styles. I make this style with coconut whenever I make Yam kuzhambhu or Brinjal Karakuzhambhu. 

As it is mild in flavor it goes fantastic with the Tangy, spicy Karakuzhambhu.

Ingredients

Cabbage - 2 Cups (Chopped and washed)
Mustard Seed -1/2 Teaspoon
Dry Red Chilly - 3
Coconut - 2-3 Tablespoon (Grated)
Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - Per taste. 

Method

In a kadai, heat the oil and once it is done add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Then add the dr red chilly and cabbage. Saute and cook.

Put the stove to slim, and close the kadai with a lid. This will ensure that the cabbage get cooked, and not over-cooked. This will also give the dish its original flavour. Adding water might actually make it sloppy, and the dish will lose its original flavour. 

However, if you feel that the dish is getting over-burnt, there is no harm is sprinkling some water on the dish.

Once the cabbage is cooked add salt and the coconut and saute for 2-3 minutes. Your cabbage is ready to be served. 

Yam Curry/Sennai Kizhangu Kuzhambhu/Kulambhu

OMG!!The last 2 weeks have been crazy for me. At work and at home, was crazy, with appraisals, more work, Diwali preparation, Guests at home and visiting people.

All this kept me away from the blog. I will try and post the various sweets and savories I made for Diwali in the coming weeks.

This is one of the favorite curry preparation. It tastes good with Dosa or Rice.

Ingredients

Yam - 250 Grams
Onion - 1 (Medium,chopped)
Tomato - 1 (Medium,Chopped)
Chilly powder - 1 Tablespoon
Coriander Powder - 1 Tablespoon
Turmeric - A pinch
Garlic - 6 Pods (Deskinned and roughly mashed)
Tamarind - Lemon Sized soaked in 1 cup of warm water for 15 minutes
Oil -  2 Tablespoon (Gingerly Oil, preferably)
Salt -To taste
Pepper Powder - 1/2 Teaspoon

Method

Clean the yam and wash it nicely. Cut them into slices of 3 inches.

In a pot, take some water, add Turmeric,a small piece of Tamarind and bring it to boil. To this add the cut and sliced Yam. Cook it till the yam is done completely.

Drain the water off and roughly mash the Yam and keep it aside.

In a pot, add oil and onion and cook till it is done. Then add the Tomato and salt and cook till the tomato is cooked well.

Then add the Chilly powder,coriander powder, turmeric, garlic. Saute this for 2-3 minutes.

To this add the Tamarind pulp and cook till the raw flavor of the masala and tamarind is completely gone.

To this, now add the roughly mashed Yam and cook it covered for 5 minutes.

Just before removing from the flame, add the pepper powder.

Notes

• The yam should be completely cooked.
• Do not mash the Yam completely. Just mash it roughly.
• If you have a mud pot, use it for this recipe as it will taste amazing. 
• Adding a tiny bit of tamarind in the water in which yam is cooked will remove the biting tendency of yam.