SAUTEED EGGPLANT-TOMATO

Eggplant is my absolute favorite vegetable! One fine morning I saw there was nothing in my pantry except eggplant and tomato. So I started to experiment and explored this recipe. Trust me, it was so flavorful and toothsome that it forced me to make it oftenly. If you thought eggplant is a boring vegetable, you haven't eaten this dish. Try it, you will definitely like it.

INGREDIENTS:
400 gm Eggplants (brinjal/baingan)
300 gm Tomatoes
1 tsp Freshly Pounded Black Pepper powder (kali mirch)
100 gm Onions
2 Green Chillies (as per taste)
1/3 tsp Freshly Pounded Garam Masala
2 tbsps Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves (cilantro)
3 tbsps Oil
1 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
2 tsps Salt

METHOD:

Wash eggplants well. Trim off stem and bottom portion. Cut each in half lengthwise. Slice eggplants in 1/2" thick slices now. Marinate the pieces with 1&1/2 tsps salt.

Place eggplant pieces on a sieve for 30 minutes.

Remove seeds from tomatoes, cut in slices. Cut onions in thin slices and green chillies in slits.

Heat oil and clarified butter in a wok. Add pounded black pepper powder to it. Then add onions to it. Fry till onion gets translucent.

At this time add eggplant slices in it. Mix well. Cover and cook for 4 minutes on medium heat. Stir in between once.

Now add Tomato, green chillies and remaining salt.

Fold nicely. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Keep stirring occassionally.

Add garam masala and sprinkle coriander leaves. Mix well.

Serve immediately with warm chapathi, naan or paratha. This eggplant curry goes excellent on top of basmati rice too for a delicious vegetarian dinner.

SWEET & SOUR TOMATO

'Sweet and Sour' sauce is linked with chinese cuisine and can be found in a number of popular dishes in various ways. Here, it is a easy to prepare tomato recipe, just right to compliment any meal. Sweet and sour tomatoes, an incredibly side dish with full of flavor.  Fish sauce is such an ingredient that does not get used enough except Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tomatoes
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 Pods of Garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp Minced Ginger
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1&1/2 tsps Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
2 tbsps Tomato Ketchup
2 tbsps Sugar
2 tbsps Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves (cilantro)
2 tbsps Fish Sauce (optional)
4 tbsps Oil
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash tomatoes nicely. Drain water completely.

Cut each tomato into cubes. Set aside.

Heat oil in a wok and temper with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Saute for few seconds.

 

When nice aroma comes out, add cubed tomato in it. Mix nicely.

Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and kashmiri red chilli powder in it.

Fold well for a minute or two on low flame.

Now add minced ginger-garlic, fish sauce, sugar and salt. Keep stirring 3 minutes on low heat till spices are well cooked. (Pour little water if required, but be causious tomatoes will not break down or mushy)

Add tomato ketchup now. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and switch off heat.

Serve warm or chill as you wish. Serve as a dip with garlic bread, sausage patties or any types of snacks. It can be accompanied with deep fried chicken, pork or seafood.

 ENJOY!!!

 



Linking to Julie's Flavors of Cuisines - 'Chinese' event

 



VEGETARIAN KEEMA (SOYA GRANULES) CURRY

This is the vegetarian version of minced keema. Me and my hubby both love this soya chunks or granules curry with roti or plain rice, tastes great! Protein rich, delicious curry we made in Indian style. You can cook it exactly like minced meat, but soya is rather tasteless on its own. So need to spice it up a little, enjoy fully...

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Soya Granules (I used Nutrela Brand)
2 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 tsp Garlic paste
2 tsps Ginger Paste
2 Green Chillies (chopped)
2 Medium Potatoes, Peeled and cut into 4 pieces (parboiled)
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Freshly Pounded Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Dry Mango powder
1 Bay Leaf
1/3 tsp Cumin seeds
3-4 Black Peppercorns
1 tbsp Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves
1 Large Tomato (pureed)
1/2 tsp Sugar (for flavor)
1 tsp Clarified Butter + 4 tbsps Oil
Salt to taste
 

METHOD:

Boil soya granules in water for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Drain and wash with cold water. Squeeze the soya granules well to avoid it getting soggy, set aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf and pepper corns in it. Saute for 30 seconds. Add onion in it. Fry till onion gets translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies in it. Fry till onion turns light brown. Add all dry spice powder in it. Stir for about a minute. Pour tomato puree, sugar and salt in it. Saute for another 3 minutes till tomato well mix up with other spices. At this time, add potato pieces and soya granules in it. Keep mixing nicely. Add few drops of water, if the mixture dries up. At this time, add 1/2 cup water in it. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add clarified butter and switch off the heat now.

Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

 

SUNDAY SPECIAL MUTTON CURRY (ROBIBARER MANGSOR JHOL)

Meat on Sundays after a week, it is very common thing for most of the Bengali families in Kolkata and this is a favourite Sunday dish in our family too. This recipe pairs best with hot rice at lunch and with rotis at dinner table.  First thing is to caramelize sugar before cooking, so the total dish will turns in vibrant reddish colour without using of enough red chilli powder. Actually, this dish sends me right back to my mom's kitchen. When it was pressure cooked, hissed and whishtled, the aroma of the curry already wafting in the air intensified, we asked mom several times, 'meal is ready'? Try it out! it is really yummilicious.

INGREDIENTS:
1 kg Mutton (Goat Meat, preferably from back leg with bones)
4 Medium Potatoes, Peeled and Cut into halves
200 gm Thick Sour Curd (Yogurt)
5 Medium Onions, cut into thin slices
Whole Garam masala (2" Cinnamon, 3 Pods of Cardamoms, 3 Cloves, 3-4 Peppercorns, 2 Bay leaves)
1 tsp Sugar
2 tbsps Ginger Paste
12 pods of Garlic (Pasted)
8-10 Green Chillies (chopped)
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala powder (I used cloves, cardamoms & cinnamons)
1 Large Tomato (chopped)
5-6 tbsps (Mustard Oil / Canola Oil / Vegetable Oil)
1 tsp Clarified Butter (ghee-optional)
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Clean and wash mutton pieces properly in little warm water. Drain water completely.

Marinate the mutton pieces with sour curd and little salt. Set aside for 2 hours.

Marinate the potato pieces in little salt and turmeric for 30 mins. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add potato pieces in it. Fry till it turn golden. Remove from oil and set aside.

Add sugar in the same oil. Saute for 30 seconds, now temper with whole garam masala. Saute for 40 seconds, till a nice aroma comes out. Now add onion slices and chopped green chillies in it.

Fry till onion gets translucent. At this time add ginger and garlic paste, fry for 2-3 more minutes, till onion turns light brown.

Add all dry spices (except garam masala powder) and salt now. Fry for another a minute or two.

Now add chopped tomato in it. Fry till tomato gets mushy and spices leaves oil.

Pour marinated mutton on the wok. Fold nicely.

Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Stir occassionally. Cook till mutton and spices leave oil from the sides of the wok.

 
Pour the spicy mutton in a pressure cooker pan, add 2 cups of warm water in it. Pressure cook it till 4 whistles. Let it cool down naturally. Open the lid now followed by adding fried potatoes, garam masala powder and clarified butter in it.

Close the lid again and cook till another two whistles. Switch off heat now. Serve hot with steamed rice, rotis or naan.

Enjoy your Sunday with this toothsome and flavorful mutton curry......

SOJNE PHULER BORA (MORINGA / DRUMSTICK FLOWERS VADA)

Very delicious, simple to make moringa blossom's vada is truelly amazing! It is said that moringa blossom has some medicinal values. It is used at the first sign of cold and it works well against pox. Other than that, moringa flowers contain vital amino acids and are excellent source of calcium and potassium, making them a valuable supplement for nursing mothers. A tea brewed from these flowers named 'moringa tea'. Fresh blossoms can be battered and fried as a delightful snack food. Here is the recipe.....

INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups of Moringa / Drumstick Blossoms (sojne phul)
3-4 tbsps Chickpea Flour (besan)
1 tbsp Rice Flour
1-2 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/3 tsp Black Pepper powder
1/3 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin powder
A Pinch of Sodium bi Carbonate (baking soda)
Salt To Taste
3-4 tbsps Oil for Shallow Fry

METHOD:
Remove soft stems from the blossoms and wash nicely. Drain water from it.

In a flat bowl, combine all ingredients (except oil) with the blossoms.

Mix everything nicely.

Set aside for 1-2 hours. Now it will be little soggy. Now take a small part of mixture and give a shape of a flat ball by using palms.

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Add 3-4 fritters at a time and shallow fry them. Remove the vadas as soon as they turn brown.

Serve hot with dal rice or simply as a tea-time snack.