Bitter Gourd Curry

Ingredients
Bitter Gourd: 2 cups (sliced thin into 3 inch long strips)
Onion: 1 cup (thinly sliced)
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Red chili powder: ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder: ¼ tsp
Dry mango powder: ¼ tsp
Garam masala powder: ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds: ¼ tsp
Salt: To taste
Oil: 3-4 tsp

Bitter gourd curry

Method
Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add fenugreek seeds. Add coriander, chili, turmeric powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add bitter gourd and salt. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes by stirring once in a while. Once the bitter gourd is half done, add the onion and cook till onion is golden brown. Add garam masala and mango powder and stir well. Serve hot with roti.

Kadai Mushroom

Ingredients

Mushrooms: ½ kg

Oil: 3-4 tsp

Dry red chillies: 8-10

Finely chopped onion: ½ cup

Ginger-garlic paste: 7-8 tsp

Garam masala: 2-3 tsp
Kasoori methi: 1 tsp

Tomatoes: ¼ kg

Salt: To taste
Coriander seeds: 2 tsp

Black peppercorns: 1-2 tsp

Slit green chillies: 5-6

Chopped coriander leaves: 2-3 tsp

Method:
Boil tomatoes in water, peel the skin, deseed and chop them. Wash mushrooms and cut each of them into quarter. Dry roast coriander seeds and crush them coarsely. 

Heat oil in a pan and add dry red chillies, onion, ginger-garlic paste and sauté well. Add garam masala, kasoori methi and tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Add mushroom pieces carefully and toss well till the mushrooms are coated well. Add salt, coriander powder, pepper corns, green chillies and sauté. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Spicy and Tangy Tomato Rice

I cannot imagine my life without tomatoes. I use them almost every day in my cooking, besides eating them raw and using them in salads. My mom prepares yummy tomato rice which is spicy and tangy. She used to serve with generous amount of ghee and it used to be mouth-watering. Here’s the recipe for it:

IngredientsRice: ½ kg
Finely chopped onion: 2
Tomatoes: 2-3, pureed
Finely chopped tomatoes: 5-6
Finely chopped green chillies: 5-6

Grated ginger: 2 tsp
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 3-4 tsp
Salt: To taste
Cinnamon: 2 inches
Cloves: 5-6
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1-2 tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

For Seasoning
Mustard seeds: 2-3 tsp
Cumin seeds: 2-3 tsp
Bengal gram: 2-3 tsp
Urad dal: 2-3 tsp
Dry red chillies: 3-4, broken into pieces
Curry leaves: 3-4 springs
Asafoetida: ¼ tsp
Cashew nuts: 4-5 tsp
Ghee: 3-4 tsp
Oil: 3-4 tsp

Method
Cook rice and spread it on a plate to cool. Once it is cooled, add 2-3 tablespoons of ghee and separate each grain with the help of a spoon and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts till golden brown, drain them and keep aside. Heat oil in the same pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add Bengal gram, urad dal, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and broken red chillies. Sauté well till the lentils turn golden brown. Add asafetida and curry leaves and sauté for a few more seconds. Add chopped onion, green chillies and ginger and sauté till onion pieces turn translucent. Then add finely chopped tomatoes, turmeric powder, and red chilli powder and mix well. Cook the mixture till tomatoes release juice, on a medium flame. Add tomato puree, garam masala and salt to taste. Simmer for 5-6 minutes and add the mixture to the rice. Add finely chopped coriander leaves and fried cashews and mix well. Serve tomato rice with yogurt or any raita of your choice.

Note: Cashew nuts can be substituted with peanuts.

Kaayi Holige

Ingredients:

For the filling:
Shredded coconut — 2 cups
Jaggery — 2 big cubes (or sugar — 2cups)
Poppy seeds (kas kas) — 2 tsp
Cardamom — 4 pods

For the outer layer :
Maida — 2 cups
Oil — 1/2 cup
Salt — a pinch

 

Method:

To make the filling, grind the shredded coconut coarsley without adding water. To make jaggery syrup, first boil 1/4th cup of water and add jaggery or sugar to it. Keep boiling on a medium flame till all the jaggery dissolves and starts bubbling. Keep boiling for another minute, add the coconut paste and roasted poppy seeds. Keep stirring till the mixture becomes thick and all the liquid has evaporated. Add cardamom powder. The mixture should have no liquid in it and be hard enough to get the shape of balls. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

To make the outer filling, make the smooth dough of maida adding a pinch of salt with water. It should be in the consistency of chapati dough. Add 1/2 cup oil and mix the dough thourougly so that the oil is completely absorbed. Set aside for 1 hour. The more longer you keep the dough, the more softer it becomes.

To make hoLige, divide the filling and the outer cover into equal number of portions by making balls. Let the filling be bigger than the outer cover. Roll the outer cover into small circle. Place the filling, fold all the sides and cover the filling entirely, like how you do for stuffed parathas. Continue to roll into big cirlce, like a chapati. Heat it on medium flame on a flat griddle with oil/ghee. Serve with a tsp of ghee on top.

Aloo Tikki

Ingredients
Potatoes: 3-4 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Salt: As per taste
Black pepper: ½ tsp


For stuffing
Green peas: ½ cup, cooked well
Ginger: ½ tsp minced
Garam masala: ¼ tsp
Salt: As per taste
Red chili powder: ¼ tsp
Cumin: 1tsp, dry roasted, coarsely grounded
Oil: For frying



Method
Mash the cooked green peas. Add all the stuffing ingredients except oil and mash well. Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and keep aside. Mash the potatoes very finely and add salt and pepper and knead until properly mixed. Divide it also into 10 equal portions. Rub your palms with little oil.  Take each portion of potato mixture and make a ball. Taking one at a time, gently flatten each ball into a round patty of about 1/2-inch thick and place a portion of stuffing in the centre and fold the edges together very finely so that the mixture does not come out. Very gently flatten the stuffed ball into a 2-inch patty. Repeat the procedure for all pieces. Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick pan. Slip in the patties and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding oil if required, on a very low heat. Serve tikkis with tomato sauce or mint chutney.