CHICHINGE CHECHKI (STIR FRIED SNAKE GOURD)

'Chichinge Chechki' is a very delicious and authentic dry curry from Bengali cuisine. In Bengali snake gourd called by 'chechinge'. Snake gourd is a green vegetable, with is rarely used and I have very limited knowled of preparations of snake gourd. I saw this curry in one of my blogger friend's space, modified it a little according to my tastebuds. It is very tasty and healthy, through I used very less oil in it. Mustard, coconut, poppy seeds paste made this curry very flavourful and yummilicious!

INGREDIENTS:
4-5 Snake Gourds (chichinge)
1/2 Cup Grated Coconut (nariyel)
2 tsps Mustard Paste (sarshe bata)
2 tsps Poppy Seeds Paste (posto bata)
1 tsp Green Chilli Paste (hare mirch)
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds (rai/sarshon)
A Pinch of Asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (haldi)
1 tsp Sugar (sakkar/chini)
1-2 tbsps Oil (preferably mustard oil)
1/2 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
Salt to taste (namak)

METHOD:

Lightly scrape the skin of snake gourds. With a sharp knife slit it, remove seeds. Wash and pat dry. Chop snake grourds finely. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds and asafoetida in it. When mustard seed splutters, add chopped snake gourd. Season with turmeric powder and salt.

Fold it for 2 minutes. You can see, snake gourd will release water this moment. So cover and cook it on medium low flame till snack gourd is almost tendered. Keep stirring inbetween.

Now add grated coconut, mustard paste, poppy seeds paste and green chilli paste in it. Mix well. Cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes on low heat.

Add sugar. Mix nicely for a minute. Remove from heat now.

Serve warm with steamed rice and dal and enjoy your lunch.
Recipe Courtesy: Recipe Junction

EGGPLANT POTATO DRY CURRY (MASALA ALOO BAINGAN)

'Eggplant', this versatile veggie is enjoyed in all types of cuisines. I tried out this dry curry with all Indian spices, like North Indian style and it came out fabulous! Simply superb if it is served with chapathi or parathas. Here is the easy but toothsome recipe........

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 kg Medium Sized Eggplants (medium cubed)
250 gm Potato (peeled and diced)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
3-4 Pods of Garlic (minced)
1 tsp Minced Ginger
1/2 Cup Tomato Chopped
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Dried Mango Powder
1/2 tsp Freshly Pounded Garam Masala
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/3 tsp Asafoetida
6-8 Curry Leaves (chopped)
2 tbsps Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves / Cilantro
5 tbsps Mustard oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Heat oil in a deep bottomed frying pan or wok. Add asafoetida, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Saute till mustard seeds crackling and fennel become golden.
Add potato cubes and turmeric powder. Cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Stir inbetween twice.
Now add eggplant cubes, minced ginger and salt in it. Fold nicely. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low heat till the eggplant and potatoes are well cooked.
Add chopped tomatoes and all dry spice powder. Sprinkle little water on the top. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes on low heat.
Switch off the heat now, sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on the top.
Serve with rotis/parathas or dal rice.

CHETTINAD PAKODA KUZHAMBU - SNC CHALLENGE # 9

South vs North Challenge is a concept and brain-child of our lovely friend Divya Pramil of You too can cook. Most of our blogger friends are definitely known about this event. If you are really interested to join SNC, just mail to: divya.pramil@gmail.com. There are two groups in SNC, which are regionally divided into South and North. Every month a member of each group challenged each other with their authentic regional dishes. 

This month Priya Suresh, (who does not require any introduction in this food blogging world) from Priya's Versatile Recipes challenged North team a very authentic Tamil Nadu dish, Chettinad Pakoda Kuzhambu, a savoury curry made in Chettinad style. Where as Chandrani Banerjee Challenged South team a traditional mouthwatering Bengali dessert, Chanar / Paneer Jalebi.

'Chettinad cuisine' is the cuisine of the Chettinad region, which is located Southern part of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Chettinad cuisine is very famous for its unique flavour and use of variety of spices in cooking, specially hot, pungent with pound fresh masalas and coconut. Most of the dishes eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as idlis, dosais, appam, idiyappams and adais. This was my first attempt to make a chettinad veg curry and it came out a truly delish and tasty curry. We can have pakoda itself as a perfect crispy and yummy tea-time snack. Thanks a lot Priya akka for this wonderful and lipsmacking good kuzhambu recipe. Me and my whole family relished this Chettinad delicacy. Truely, we are in love with this amazing veg dish!

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING PAKODAS:
1/2 Cup Chana Dal / Bengal Gram (kadala paruppu)
2-3 nos. Dried Red Chillies
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
A Sprig of Curry Leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

HOW TO MAKE PAKODAS:
Wash and soak Bengal gram for 2 hours. Put soaked dal, dried red chillies, fennel seeds, curry leaves and salt together. Grind with very little waterand make a coarse paste. Set it aside.

Heat oil in a wok for frying. Once hot, take a golf sized ball of pounded mixture and pinch gently a small quantity of this mixture as shapeless pakodas and drop into the hot oil and fry. Fry pakodas until they turns golden brown. Drain the excess oil with a paper towel and set aside.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING GRAVY:
2 Onions (finely chopped)
2 Tomatoes (finely chopped)
2 Green Chillies, cut into slits
6 Pods of Garlic (minced)
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
1/3 tsp Turmeric Powder
Few Sprigs of Coriander Leaves (chopped finely)
3-4 tbsps Oil
Salt to taste

FOR SEASONING:
2 nos. Cloves
2 nos. Green Cardamoms
1" Cinnamon
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
2 Bay Leaves
A Sprig of Curry Leaves

TO GRIND:
1 tsp Poppy Seeds
4 tbsps Grated Coconut
6 nos Cashewnuts
1 tbsp Toasted Chanadal / Dalia (Pottu Kadalai)

HOW TO MAKE GRAVY:
Grind all the ingredients which are given under the list 'to grind' as fine paste by adding 2 tbsps of water. Keep it aside.

Heat oil in wok/kadai, add the whole spices given under 'for seasoning' and fry until they turns brown.

Add chopped onions, green chillies, tomatoes, garlic and salt. Saute till the veggies gets well cooked.

Now the pounded paste to the cooking veggies, fold well and cook in simmer for 2 minutes.

Add 5 cups of water, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder in it. Give a nice stir and cook in medium flame. Close the lid, cook for 5 more minutes. Keep the gravy watery. (Add the water if needed, once you add pakodas, they tend to absorb the gravy and finally no gravy will be left when the pakodas get well cooked in gravy. So keep the gravy enough watery.) Once the oil gets seperates slightly from the gravy, add the pakodas immediately to it. Don't stir the gravy after adding the pakodas, bring boil the gravy once and switch off the stove now. Finally add chopped coriander leaves to the gravy. Give a nice stir now. Switch off the heat.

Serve hot with steamed rice and enjoy this chettinad delicacy!

Sending to Priya akka.

KHATTI MITHI MOONG (SWEET & SOUR MUNGO BEANS)

Moong beans provides very high quality protein, that is rare in most Indian regional cuisine. Whole moong bean is cooked in several ways, but mostly used for making sprouts. Here is a very flavorful and healthy moong bean dry curry, which goes well with rice or roti. No onion and garlic are used super simple to cook, yet tastes great!
Recipe Source & Acknowledgement: Maayeka

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Whole Green Moong Beans
1&1/2 tsps Chopped Ginger
2 tsps Chopped Green Chillies
4 tbsps Sugar
1&1/2 tbsps Dried Mango Powder
1/2 tsp Asafoetida
1&1/2 tsps Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsps Chopped Coriander Leaves
2 tbsps Clarified Butter (ghee)
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Wash and soak moong beans for minumum 1 hour. Pressure cook with 3 cups of water for 4-5 whistles on medium heat or till it cooked well and become soft.
Let is cool down naturally. Open the lid and mash cooked moong beans slightly. Now add 3 cups of warm water in it. Mix all spices, green chillies, sugar, ginger and salt with green moong.
Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, simmer for 15 minutes, keep stirring in between.
Now remove from fire and add chopped coriander and ghee, fold nicely.
Serve with steamed rice or roti.

Sending to: Tried And Tasted - Maayeka & Original Announcement Page & Kitchen Chronicles Announcement Page

Sending to: cookcookandcook & thoushaltcook & The Big Sweet Tooth

Sending to: Priya's Event - Healthy me healthy us

CORN CAPSICUM MASALA

Corn kernals are not only tasty but healthy too. I like to relish it as the form of curry with roti or flavoured rice. It is very easy to make and a delicious curry which I found at Maayeka. It is very flavourful and yummilicious, just try it.

INGREDIENTS:
3 Cups Green Bell Peppers Cubes
1 Cup Corn Kernals
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
3 Tomatoes Chopped
2 tbsps Tomato Puree (or tomato ketchup)
1/4 tsp Asafoetida
1&1/2 tsps Grated Ginger
1 tsp Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
1 tsp Corander Powder
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1.5 tbsps Fresh Cream
2 tbsps Chopped Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Pressure cook corn kernals with a cup of water and a pinch of salt for 2 whistles. Strain and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, when starts crackling, add asafoetida, ginger, salt and tomatoes in it.

Mix well. Cover and cook for few minutes till tomatoes become soft. Now add tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pav bhaji masala and coriander powder. Saute for a minute.

Add boiled corn and capsicum now, fold nicely. Cover and cook till capsicum became slightly cooked and gravy thickens.

Add fresh cream, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Fold well. Turn off the heat now.

Serve with rice, paratha or roti.

Sending to: Tried And Tasted - Maayeka & Original Announcement Page & Kitchen Chronicles Announcement Page

MIX VEGETABLES IN DAL

Recipe Source & Acknowledgement: Homely Food

My mom cooked well this 'paanch misali sabjir dal' or mixed vegetables in dal mainly in Winter season, when vegetables such as carrot, green peas, tomato, green beans, cauliflower are widely available. It is not very spicy or hot, goes well with plain rice. We really bored with making and eating the same dal everyday, so veggies and spices add a variety to the simple dal. 

INGREDIENTS:
1/2  Cup Yellow Lentils (Toovar/Arhar dal)
1 Onion (sliced)
2 Pods of Garlic (crushed)
1 Tomato (chopped)
1 Small Carrot, cut into thin slices
A Handful of Green Peas (frozen)
100 gm Eggplant, cut into medium cubes
8 Green Beans, cut in 1&1/2" pieces
8-10 Okras, trim from both end
2 Green Chillies (chopped)
1 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Mango Powder (amchur)
Chopped Coriander Leaves For Garnishing
Salt to taste
3 tbsps Oil

FOR TEMPERING:
1 Dried Red Chilli
A pinch of Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
1/2 tsp Urad Dal
10 Curry leaves

METHOD:

In a pressure cooker, boil dal and set aside.

Heat oil, add tempering ingredients. 

When they crackle, add onion, crushed garlic, mixed vegetables and tomato in it. Fold well.

Now add all dry spice powder in it. 

Saute for a minute and pour 3/4 cup water in it. Mix nicely. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.

Pour boiled dal along with water in it. Mix thoroughly. Boil for another 3-4 minutes and switch off the heat now.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Serve hot with steamed rice accompanied with fries, pickles or salad.

Sending to: Homely Food Event / Giveaway

Sending to: Taste of the Tropics @ ESHO-BOSHO-AAHARE

Sending to:  Jagruti's Mom's event- Food She Loved