Pongal

Another quintessential breakfast item of Tamil Nadu. Go to any restaurant for breakfast, and you find this. I am ecstatic that I was able to make this. Delicioso.


Ingredients

Mung/Moong dal - 1 cup
Rice (You can do this with basmasti. I used a variety called "sona masuri') - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
Curry leaves - 8
Asafoetida (optional)- a pinch
Dried Red Chilli - 1-2
Fresh Green Chilli (Thai) -1-2 slit lengthwise
Cashew nuts - 1/4 cup
Ginger : Sliced about 2-3 thin slices
Water - 2.5-3 cups (to cook the rice and moong dal)
Oil - 1tbspn
Butter - 1/2 tbspn (optional)

Method:

1. Wash the moong dal and rice with water. then drain all of the water and let it dry as much as possible (15-20 min air dry).
2. In a saucepan, put the oil. Let it heat up. To this add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, dried red chilli, and pepper corns. Let this pop and crackle and then add the curry leaves, ginger, green chilli, and cashews.
3. After about 1 min, add the dried rice and moong dal. Fry it for about 3-4 minutes (you basically want the raw taste to be roasted out).
4. Add water to cover this and to cook it. Add a dash of butter and salt and let it cook (I use my nifty rice cooker at this step).
5. Eat hot with butter melting at the top. Can pair plantains boiled in salt water alongside this or just regular ripe bananas.

Potato Masala for Masala Dosa

Masala dosas are ridiculously amazing. Dosa is the indian equivalent of crepes (made out of rice). This very delicious and spicy potato and onion mixture is the filling. It is served hot with chutney and sambar. Each place has its take on the masala and this is my mom's. This is the only version *I* love, so that should be good enough for you all.

You can also serve this with Rotis/naans, or basmati rice or even make indian style paninis with it.

Ingredients:

1-2 Boiled potatoes (I used baby small yellow potatoes, red potatoes are too sweet for this dish); chop into cubes
1 small red onion or 1/2 large onion thinly sliced
1.5 tspn black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves (can omit)
1/2 tspn red chilli powder
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
2 pinches of asafoetida (can omit)
1 tspn of Channa dhal (can totally omit) [basically dried and split chickpeas without the seedcoat. TOTALLY not required)
1 tbspn of vegetable oil
1 serrano chilli sliced lengthwise or a couple of jalapenos would work too (can omit entirely)
Salt to taste


Directions

1. In a pan, add the oil and let it heat up. Add mustard seeds, Channa dal, and asafoetida. After about 30 seconds toss in the curry leaves. You should hear a lot of popping and hissing now.

2.Once the popping subsides (don't wait for everything to burn) add in the sliced onions and green chillies. Saute until translucent and cooked. After about 2 minutes of sauteing add the turmeric, red chilli powder, and salt.

3. Once the onion has cooked, add in the rough chopped boiled potatoes and mix and let it cook/heat up. after about 2 minutes your dish should be ready!

optional: garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Cabbage-Coconut Salad / Koshimbiri

Whenever I visit my mother's family (they are big on seafood) this salad is always a side dish. I recently picked up a gigantic cabbage in the market and just had to try this out. It turned out really delicious. I enjoy the crunch and the mild sweetness of raw cabbage and how it works with the red onions and coconut.

Ingredients:

Cabbage, chopped up - 1-1.5 cups
Red Onions, chopped up - 1/2-1 cup.
Grated fresh coconut - 2 tbspns
Fresh thai Green Chillis chopped up finely - 1 (use 1/4-1/2 serrano or jalapeno)
Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped - 1 tbspn or so.
Freshly squeezed lime juice - 1-2 tspn
Salt to taste.

Method:

1. In a bowl mix everything with your hands, really get into it as if you are trying to make some dough. This is to ensure that that the flavors of the cabbage, onions, coconut, cilantro, and chillies intermingle. Tossing a salad works only if the star is your dressing...not in this case.

2. Add the salt and lime juice and lightly toss. I don't like my salad too tangy. I enjoy the taste of the veggies with the coconut quite a lot. Give it a try!

It is generally served as an accompaniment to meals...very delicious with seafood based dishes and rice.

Sweet Pepper Pakoras/ Bajjaes/Fritters

Hmmm hot masala chai and bajjaes at my kuladev temple in Aversa. Hmmm, hot bajjaes alongwith hot rice served with dalithoy....*drool face* Well nothing to it, its a vegetable of your choice (sweet peppers in the picture above) dipped in a savory batter and deep-fried. Often served as an accompaniment or appetizer with or without chutney.

Ingredients

1 cup besan/chick-pea flour
1/2-3/4 cup water (give or take, the batter needs to coat veggies)
1-2 tspn red chilli powder
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
a couple of pinches of asafoetida
salt to taste
1 tbspn corn flour (optional)
Vegetable of your choice: Sweet peppers (onions, cauliflower, eggplant, carrots, squash, sweet potato...anything works, really)
Vegetable oil to deep fry

Method

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients and then slowly add the water in. Too much water, and the coating will fall apart in the hot oil. Mix thoroughly and test out one pepper to see if the batter is seasoned right and if it stays on! If it doesn't add some more besan.

2. Heat oil on medium heat and deep fry coated peppers. Let it brown on both sides and strain on paper towels and serve hot!

Enjoy with a nice cup of masala tea or as is.

Spicy Buttermilk/Lassi

aka Thaak aka Morre. Here is yet another reason why I won't survive as a vegan. If you order a thali or any meal in south India, this is the drink (spicy, I'm sure there are subtle changes) you get with your meal. In the north, you get the sweetened version which is popular in U.S.A.


Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yoghurt (i used fat-free)
4-6 curry leaves
1tbspn chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
1 dried red chilli
1/2 fresh green chilli - sliced (i used serrano, if you think this is insane heat, just you about 2-3 slices)
Ginger - finely chopped or grated 1/2"
Salt to taste
Black Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
1 tspn vegetable oil
Water 1 cup or more.
Asafoetida optional a pinch

Method:

1. In a blender add the yoghurt and water and blend. Depending on how thin or thick you want your buttermilk, add more water.

2. Add the grated ginger, coriander, green chillies, salt to taste, asafoetida.

3. on the stove in a tiny pan (really tiny; or be innovative and use a regular pan, doesn't matter) add the oil and let it heat up. to this add the mustard seeds and red chilli. When the seeds start popping, add the curry leaves and stand back. after about 10 seconds, add this tempered/flavoured hot oil directly to the blended mix and stir.

Strain and serve (or not). Garnish with coriander leaves.

ps: Sorry about the crap pictures.

Spicy Spinach Cake / Pathrodo

Pathrodo. Say that again. brr. Fortunately, this dish is a complete opposite of how it sounds. This is a typical Mangalorean dish. The original dish is made with a specific leaf which is abundantly found in the Southern part of Karnataka. I used to eat this only when I visited with my grandparents and uncle in Mangalore. It was an absolute treat (and still is) whenever I get to eat this when I'm back in India. Anyway my mom, the genius that she is, concocted the same recipe for spinach. It is a little complicated but hey, if I can do it...well, you know how it goes. Oh and it's RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS, in a Konkani way.

Prep time: overnight

Serves 2 (minimum; depends how you eat it ;) )

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor dal/yellow pigeon pea (soaked overnight, uncooked)
1 cup rice (basmati works) (also soaked overnight, uncooked)
5 dried red chillies (i'd stick to 2-3 thai dried red chillies; soaked overnight with the above two)
3/4 tspn Asafoetida
1 tbspn tamarind paste
1/4 cup coconut milk (approx. )
1/2 tbspn vegetable oil
1 tspn black mustard seeds
1-1.5 cups of very roughly chopped spinach (i used baby spinach. just tearing a leaf in half is more than enough. Do not add the stems)
Salt to taste.

You need a food processor for this one..a blender might work as well. you need something with a blade. If you're really retro (try getting one of these...haha. that's what some of my family members used when electricity was shut for the entire day).

Method:

1. Soak dal, rice, and red chillies overnight (12 hours) in water in the same bowl.

2. Strain it and let it dry a little bit (I gave it about 20 minutes).

3. In your food processor add the coconut milk and red chillies. Grind.

4. It will be coarsely ground. To this add the dal and rice and grind. Also add the tamarind paste, asafoetida and salt.

5. It should be a semi-liquid with coarse granules of dal and rice. Grind it until you can no longer tell if it's dal or rice, but you can feel the coarseness with your fingers. taste this to see if it's sufficiently salty. it will be really pungent and strong.

6. Add the spinach to the mix. It's not going to coat very well as you can see in the picture, but that's fine.

7. In a pan, add oil and let it heat up. Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil. Let it pop, crackle and sizzle. at this point add the mixture. Stir it around a little bit on medium low heat (2 minutes), just enough to coat it all with the essence of the mustard seeds.

8. Next transfer it to your pressure cooker (without the weight) or steamer and steam it until it is cooked. If it is gooey and sticks to your toothpick when you poke it, let it cook. It took me about 20-30mins to cook it.

9. Let sit for about 10 mins and then serve!!!

10. If you are obsessed with mustard seeds like me, then do this: after you let it sit, cut it up into bite size pieces. In a pan, heat up some oil (1/2 tbspn oil) and add mustard seeds to it. You know the drill, once it starts jumping all over your pan, add the pieces and just pan fry them on both sides. Serve hot!

Note: It is generally eaten as an accompaniment. My brother enjoys them as is. I eat it rice+ yoghurt or rice+ dal soup (next recipe). SO GOOD.

Also this was my first time ever making it. Epic success.

Atomic Navy Bean Soup - Desi Style

I had such a hard time coming up with a name for this dish in English. This is a Konkani staple. The beans change but the method of preparation is the same. I've tried googling the English names of the beans/lentils that I grew up eating but I wasn't very successful. But that's ok because I haven't seen them in any store here (yes, not even in Little India) except for Mung dal.

The Konkani name is: dhavé (white) Beea (bean/seed) saar upkari or thinglauro saar upkari.

Without further adieu...
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
1 cup of navy beans (I've never tried this out with canned beans...and I won't be trying it out either).
1/2 tbspn vegetable oil
1-2 dried red chillies (Thai chillies will work. break in Half if you dare)
Salt to taste
About 5 whole cloves of garlic, but smashed (Atomic!!)

Method

1. Soak beans overnight in water.

2. Slow cook the beans until done in water (1cup beans to 2 cups of water approx.). I own a pressure cooker and a rice cooker and either of them should work fine. You could also just cook them on the stove at low heat. Make sure there is enough water and add more if it evaporates. Cook it until you can squish it between your thumb and index finger...no al dente nonsense here.

3. Once they are cooked make sure there is enough water to cover it and then some.

4. On the side in a small wok add the oil and let it heat up. To the very hot oil add the red chilli and garlic. It's going to cackle and sizzle and sputter. this is good. Let all the flavors infuse in the oil until garlic turns brown.

5. Then immediately add the hot oil, chilli, and garlic to your beans mix. It's going to make the biggest hissing noise when the oil hits the water, but its sooo much fun! Also dont forget to take some liquid and rinse out the wok with the oil before you throw it into the sink.

6. Stir and add salt.

AND THAT IS IT!!!!

Typically eaten with white rice, some yoghurt, papad and some sort of upkari. This time I paired it with Cauliflower upkari. I'll upload a recipe for that one too. It's a little different from the beetroot recipe that I linked to.

Note: In the pic on the right, I made more than 1 cup worth and added 10 cloves of garlic and a total of 3 red chillies.

Curli Sukke / Crab Masala/ Crab Varuval

The crabs in the picture are not entirely cooked yet

Curli Sukke / Crab Masala/ Crab Varuval

This is a favorite in my family. I am a huge fan of this dish, but with prawns instead. It’s ridiculously tasty and goes well with steamed basmati rice or pitas.

Ingredients- Serves 2

Crabs – 2 →cleaned and cut in half with claws separated [ Just so the masala can infiltrate every possible area of the crab. The size of crabs in India are rather small so you may have to adjust the amount of masala]

Oil (vegetable) – 2tbsp

Onions (red) – 3 (American red onions – 1 would suffice. Indian onions are pretty small!)
Green Chilli peppers (Serrano) – 1
Fresh Coriander (Cilantro) – chopped, for garnish
Indian Red Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Coriander powder – 1tsp
Tamarind paste ***– ½ tsp or you could substitute 1 roma tomato (this is to get tartness)
Salt – to taste

Directions:

1. In a shallow pan/pot add oil and let it heat up.
2. Add the chopped up onions, green chilli, and all the powders (chilli, turmeric, and coriander). Fry until you can see the oil separating out from the masala again.
3. Add the crabs, mix and then add 1-2tbsp water. Add salt (1/2 tsp).
4. Cover and cook on low.
5. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander (Cilantro) leaves.

*** - One can purhase this at any Indian/Asian store. You can also find whole tamarinds in Mexican/South American Markets. In this case you can remove them from their shells, and place them in very little warm water and let is soak for a few hours. Then squeeze as much essence as you can.

Enjoy!

Seasoned Beets / Beetroot Upkari

I grew up in a city called Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. My parents are from the South and North part of Karnataka and our ancestors are from Goa. The food I grew up with was a natural mix of all of the above, mostly Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Konkani cuisine. One can’t really pinpoint what this is, but we have our staples and our variations on someone else’s staples ;)
Rice is an important part of our meal. Our meal consists of, usually, white rice, some sort of a lentil soup/curry to go with the rice or/and yoghurt, and some seasoned and cooked vegetables or greens. To drink, besides water (how boring!), we drink buttermilk/lassi. Indian pickles and fried papads/poppadams/appalam (that is how they are referred to in Tamil Nadu) also may be present. A meal fit for a king, or at least for me.

Today I present to you seasoned beets. In Konkani we call it beetroot upkari (basically, upkari and porriyal = stir-fried vegetable, indian style) and in the regional language here it is called beetroot porriyal. One could eat this as is, or maybe with some white rice and yoghurt.


Beetroot Upkari – Serves 2
Ingredients:

Beetroot – 1 (chopped up) **
Black mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Vegetable oil – 1/2tsp
Serrano Pepper (Green Chilli) – 1
Salt – to taste
Water – enough to cover the beets in your pan
OPTIONAL Asafoetida (hing) – pinch of a pinch of a pinch!

Procedure:

1. In a shallow non-stick pan, add the oil and let it heat up on medium heat. Then add the mustard seeds and allow them to pop and crackle all over the place. This means that the seeds are breaking open to release their flavor into the hot oil.

2. As this is occurring add the Serrano pepper and hing (Halved for us spicy monkeys, but keep whole or remove the seeds if not a big fan of heat. Although in this particular upkari, the sweetness of the beets should offset the excess heat from the chilli pepper).

3. Add the chopped up beats and salt and stir. Then add water such that you cover the beets. Place a lid over your pan and cook until beets are semi-tender, then remove lid and let water evaporate. One can, if they have enough time, just cook them covered on really low heat and the water will evaporate eventually. The amount of water to be added depends on the beets. In India it takes longer for things to cook, we’re not sure why. In America, the beets cook up faster so some experimentation may be required to perfect the amount.

4. Serve hot!

**In California, when we cook this we add in the tender and young leaves of the beets. they have their own unique flavor and contain a lot of fibers. Here in India, they are sold without their leaves.