Radish/ Mooli/ Mullangi Sambar

Thinking what's new about this sambar????? Actually, the sambar is  a regular south Indian sambar. But this time I made this in pressure pan. I have always made sambar in a kadai. My mom is the one who introduced me to this pressure pan style of making sambar. My mom actually does almost 80% of her cooking in pressure pan. This time I tried making sambar in pressure pan and it came out well. Its so easy and you don't have to keep waiting for vegetables to cook, then tamarind water should cook well and then all spices must blend well etc.. etc.. Here, you just saute everything add tamarind water and spices and close the cooker. Thats it. Lets take a detailed look at the preparation....

Ingredients:

Toor Dhal - 1/2 cup

Turmeric - 1 pinch

Tamarind - lime size ball

Sambar powder - 1 tbsp

Red Chilli - 2

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Channa dhal - 1 tsp

Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Curry Leaves - 6-8

Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Cook toor dhal seperately in 1 cup water along with a pinch of turmeric. Make sure the dhal is cooked very well 

Heat oil in pressure pan, add mustard seeds . When it splutters add urad dhal, channa dhal, fenugreek, asafoetida, curry leaves. When it turns golden brown add radish and saute for about 2 mins. 

Now extract tamarind juice for about 1 cup and add it to the pressure pan. Add turmeric, salt sambar powder, and mix well. 

Add cooked toor dhal and mix well. Close the pressure pan and let it cook for 4 sounds. 

Open the pan after the pressure reduces and mix sambar well. If you feel it is diluted, keep it in high flame for 5 mins and it will thicken.  You can adjust the consistency according to your need. 

Garnish with cilantro and serve it with rice or roti. 

Roasted Asparagus

I was browsing through blogs yesterday and I came across Divya's(DilSe) - Roasted Asparagus. Immediately I thought about the asparagus that I bought during the weekend. I took them out and made this roasted asparagus and it came out very well. I followed exactly the same instructions with just one difference. I chopped 3 pods of garlic and put them in olive oil for about 5 mins and then brushed the garlic and oil on the asparagus and sprinkled salt and pepper. Tasted great.. 

The Original recipe is here 

Sending this to US Masala's Bookmarked Tuesday

Chole Bhature

My first attempt to make Chole Bhature on Valentine's day was super hit. I learnt the art of making quick bhature from my cousin Maya. She told me about this Rhodes brand white dinner rolls. It is the closest to the bhature we get in restaurants. We loved it. Its his favorite dish and now I don't think we will ever order Chole bhature in restaurants. Believe me its really good. 

Ingredients:

For Bhature

Rhodes white dinner rolls - 6

Oil - for frying

I am not trying to market any product but just took a picture of this so that our friends get the right product that I used. 

For Chole

Kabuli Channa/ Garbanzo beans - 1 cup soaked overnight and cooked

Shallots - 2 medium size chopped fine ( we can use onion also)

Tomato - 2 pureed

Ginger and garlic- 1 tbps cut finely

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp

Channa Masala - 1 tbps

Oil - 3 -4 tbsp

Potato - 1 medium size, boiled and cut into medium size cubes

For Garnish:

Onion - chopped fine

Cilantro - chopped fine

Lime - cut into cubes

Preparation:

Heat the pan and add oil. When it is hot, add onion and fry until it turns brown. While frying, add pinch of salt to it. It enhances the taste of onion in food and cooks faster. When it is frying, add ginger and garlic. 

Now add tomato puree to the mixture and let it cook until the tomato gets cooked well. We can add red chilli powder and mix well. 

When the tomato is almost cooked, add channa masala, salt and sufficient water and let the whole mixture cook for about ten mins.

When oil seperates, add cooked potatoes and channa and let it cook in the mixture for another ten mins. You can dilute according to your need. 

When it blends well with the potato and channa, remove from heat and garnish with cilantro. 

Bhature:

Make pooris with the rolls and deep fry in a pan heated with oil.

Serve hot bhature with chole and garnish with chopped onion, cilantro and some lime. 

Sending this to Hearth n Soul hosted by Girliechef

Vazhaikaai Roast / Raw Banana Roast

When we were browsing through the veggies section at our market yesterday, my husband saw this fresh vaazhaikai. Immediately he came to me with them, looked at me and said make roast with this tomorrow. I could see the excitement in his eyes when he asked for roast. He was waiting for me to get back after vacation to have proper food.  So thats how I made this today for him. My Valentine Day's special lunch for him ;-) - Radish Sambar, Raw Banana roast, simple salad and papad. This menu is his all time fav :-)

Ingredients:

Raw Banana/ Vaazhaikai - 3 medium size cut into small cubes

Oil - 3 -4 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Mustard - 1 tsps

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 6-8 leaves

Red Chilli powder - 3/4 tbsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:

Heat non stick pan and add oil . When it is hot, add mustard seeds and let splutter. Now add urad dhal, cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida.

When urad dhal turns golden brown add raw banana. Add turmeric, red chilli and mix well. Now add salt and let it cook in medium heat.

Stir occasionally and sprinkle water when necessary so that it gets cooked well. 

Leave it in medium low heat for a while till it turns brown and crispy checking in between to avoid burning the food.

Serve hot with sambar rice, roti. 

See you soon with Radish sambar / Mooli Sambar - pressure cooker method :-)

Vermicelli Pulao

Hi friends, am back from after a long vacation. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!!!! Have been tied up this whole week unpacking. Will catch up with all your updates now :-). Haven't got into the mood of cooking proper course so far. I had this recipe posted for my guest post in Nitu's blog. Thought would just have this one posted here for today and I promise I will be back in a day or two with more dishes. This is the regular Vermicelli upma with a slightly different preparation method. My maternal grandmom told me about this method. It came out really well. My mom and dad had to go out for a function one day. My sister and I stayed at home that day and I made this upma for our dinner. My sisters great contribution (cutting veggies :-) ). Thanks to her...

Ingredients :

Vermicelli - 2 cups

Mixed Veggies - 1 Cup cut lengthwise

Onion - 1 Small cut lengthwise.

Salt - to taste

For seasoning :

Oil - 1tbsps

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 8

Preparation :

Cook Vermicelli like how we cook pasta. Boil water in a pan, add salt and a tbsp oil. When it starts to boil, add vermicelli and let it cook till it becomes tender. Drain the water and keep vermicelli aside.

In a pan, heat oil , add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chilli . Add onions and fry till it caramelizes. Now add veggies, salt and cook till veggies become tender. Sprinkle water when necessary.

When veggies get cooked, add vermicelli and mix everything well.

Vermicelli pulao is ready. Its slightly different because of its process. The taste actually varies slightly. If you need, you could add bay leaf when you are seasoning. It add more flavor to the dish.

See you soon with more!!!!