Mango Rice

It's the mango season! And I got two home-grown raw mangoes from my friend's backyard (no, I did not steal them !). She distributed it to all her friends as they were in abundance. I made Aam Panna of the large one and decided to make mango rice of the other one. I had never tired it before but I was told that the method of preparation is the same as that of lemon rice. So without much ado, I embarked on this new dish. I cooked rice well in advance and since I also had a stock of roasted peanuts, it halved the cooking time. It tasted good but a bit tangy. You can adjust the quantity of the raw mango as per your taste.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice	2 cups
Raw mango (grated)	3/4th cup
Oil	2 tbsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Udad (split black gram) dal	1 tsp
Roasted Peanuts	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	1/4th tsp
Green Chilies (chopped)	1 or 2
Ginger (finely chopped)	1 inch piece
Freshly grated coconut	2 tbsps
Freshly chopped coriander leaves	For garnish
Salt	As per taste

Method:

1. Wash, peel and grate the raw mango. Measure 3/4^th cup and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and udad dal.
3. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering, lower the heat and add the curry leaves and the roasted peanuts.
4. Next add turmeric powder, chopped green chilies and chopped ginger. Saute it for a while.
5. Then add grated raw mango. Give it a stir and let it cook for a few minutes.
6. Now add grated coconut. Mix well.
7. Finally add the cooked rice and salt. Mix well and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
8. Serve hot with fried papads.

Main ingredients

Mustard and Udad dal in a pan of hot oil

Peanuts and curry leaves added to the tempering

Turmeric, chilies and ginger added

Addition of grated raw mango

Freshly grated coconut also added

Finally cooked rice added

Mango rice ready to be served

Mango Rice served with fried Pappads

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time : 10 mins

Serves : 2

Note:

• Rice should be prepared well in advance and cooled thoroughly before preparing this dish to get the best result. Alternatively, you can also use leftover rice.
• You can substitute, cashew-nuts for peanuts.

Palak Raita

Most of us Indians are familiar with the word “raita” but to my surprise, I recently found out that “palak raita” as such is new to some of them. Hence I thought of sharing this side-dish with you all. This is not only easy to prepare but also tastes good with any rice dishes such as pulao, biryani, fried rice or even puliogare to name a few. It's also a good accompaniment to any rotis, phulkas or parathas.

If interested, you can check my other palak (spinach) dishes -  Palak Patradau and Dill and Spinach Curry.

Ingredients:

Palak (Spinach)	A small bunch
Curd (thick)	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
For Tempering:
Oil	1-2 tsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Cummin seeds	1 tsp
Fenugreek (methi) seeds	1 tsp
Dry red chilly	1-2

Method:

1. Pick and wash the fresh palak (spinach). Roughly chop them into chunks. If using steamer, steam them for about 12 mins or if cooking in water, ( use very little water as it leaves its own water) cook till they are wilted.
2. In the meantime, beat or whisk the curds well and keep it aside.
3. When the steamed (or boiled) spinach has cooled down, pour the beaten curds over it.
4. Then add salt and prepare the tempering - Heat oil in the tempering pan and add all the ingredients mentioned under it. When it stops spluttering, switch off the flame and pour the contents on to the spinach and curd mix.
5. Mix well and it is ready to be served.

Main ingredients

Spinach chopped 

Chopped spinach in steamer

Just removed from the steamer

Curd beaten and kept aside

                           

Beaten curd poured over the steamed spinach

Tempering under process

Tempering added to the above mix

Palak Raita ready to be served

                                 

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking time : 15 mins

Seves : 2-3 persons

Note:

• I used one red chilly for tempering. You can use more as per your taste.
• Curd used should not be sour.
• Ideal side-dish during the summers.
• It tastes good when served chilled.

Aamti

During our recent trip to Mumbai, we had the opportunity to taste some authentic Maharastrian dishes. Since I grew up in Mumbai, I am quite fond of their cuisine and while there, I also bought their famous “goda masala” from one of the popular masala shops. For those of you who are not familiar with this masala, it is a special blend of spices, very aromatic, dark brown in colour and gives that special taste to the dish when added. Different regions in Maharashtra have their own version of goda masala. And “Aamti” is incomplete without the goda masala. This dish is a regular fare in most Maharashtrian  homes. In short, I can say with conviction that what “Dalitoy” is to konkanis, “Aamti” is to maharashtrians.

Well, armed with this masala, I started my search for some Maharashtrian recipes from my collection. I found four varieties but chose “Aamti” as I already had boiled toor dal (the main ingredient in this recipe) in the refrigerator and this halved the cooking time to just 10 mins. When it was finally done, I was very happy with result and so was my spouse. Try it out and see it for yourself.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal / Split Pigeon Pea	1 cup
Kokum or Tamarind pulp	3-4 pcs of kokum / 1-2 tsps of tamarind pulp
Jaggery powder	1 tbsp
Green chilies (slit)	2
Goda Masala	2 tsps
Freshly Grated coconut	2 tbsps
Salt	As per taste
Ingredients for tempering:
Oil	1tbsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Hing/asafoetida	A pinch
Curry leaves	1 sprig
For Garnish:
Coriander leaves (chopped)	2 tbsps

Method:

1. Wash and cook the toor dal/split pigeon pea in pressure cooker for 12 mins. Then mash the cooked dal well and keep it aside.
2. If using kokum, soak the pieces in water for about 15 mins. 
3. Heat a saucepan. Add oil and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering, lower the flame, add hing/asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute it for awhile.
4. Next add the mashed dal with a little water, slit green chilies, salt, jaggery powder, goda masala, freshly grated coconut, kokum water/tamarind pulp. Mix well.
5. Finally add more water for desired thickens. Give it a stir and allow it to boil for a few minutes and then switch off the flame.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time : 20 mins

Serves : 3

Note:

• This is generally eaten with rice. Tastes good with rotis/chapattis too.
• Goda masala is available in super markets under different brand names.
• Aamti can also be prepared from Moong dal (split green gram) or Masoor dal (split lentil) too.

Mint Pulao

Mint Pulao needs no introduction. It is an aromatic dish and easy to prepare too.  I had half a bunch of mint which I needed to use before it started losing its freshness. This time I prepared it with a slight variation and hence did not get the green colour that is generally associated with this pulao. But the taste was not compromised.

It so happened that my friend and her spouse paid us a surprise visit while I just finished preparing the pulao. They had a taste of this served with Rajma masala. I was pleased to know that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

Rice	1 cup
Mint leaves	1 cup
Curds	1 cup
Water	2 cups
Ginger	1 inch pc.
Green chilies	1-2 or as per taste
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning ingredients
Oil	1 tbsp
Tejpatta	1
Cloves	2-3
Cinnamon	1 inch pc
Star Anise	1
Cardamom (green)	1 or 2
Black (big) Cardamom	1

Method:

1. Wash the rice and soak it for about an hour.
2. In the meantime, roughly chop green chilies, ginger and mint leaves.
3. Whip the curds well and keep it aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add to it all the ingredients mentioned under “seasoning ingredients”.
5. Keeping the flame low, add chopped ginger, green chilies and chopped mint leaves. Saute it for a while till the mint leaves wilt.
6. Add the whipped curds. Mix well.
7. Finally, add water and salt. Stir well and increase the flame. Allow it to boil. Then lower the flame and cover it with a lid. Let it cook for about 15-20 mins or till done. Remove from flame.
8. Serve hot.

Preparation : 15 mins

Cooking Time : 20 mins

Serves : 2-3 persons

Note:

• I used Sona Masoori Rice. You can use Basmati or any rice of your choice.
• Instead of chopping ginger, green chilies and mint leaves, you can grind these three ingredients to a fine paste and use it in the recipe.
• Left over rice can also be used to prepare this pulao.

Bajre Ki Cheela

Hello friends, Diwali kept me quite busy before, during and even after the festival and with the result, blogging took a back seat. All said and done, we had a wonderful time. I hope you all had a nice Diwali too.

After all the sweets and savoury items that we devoured, I thought its time to eat healthy stuff and one such item that I came across is the Bajre Ki Cheela. I had jotted down this recipe from a TV cookery show. It seemed easy and healthy so tried it for the evening snack. I am glad to say it turned out quite well. And according to my opinion, it tastes best with a dollop of white home-made butter.

Bajra also known as Pearl millet is loaded with nutrients and has enormous health benefits.

Ingredients:

Bajra flour	1 cup
Salt	As per taste
Coconut gratings	1 tbsp
Green chilies (chopped)	1
Coriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp
Curds	3 Tbsps
Oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. In a bowl add bajra flour, salt, coconut gratings, green chilies and chopped coriander leaves.
2. Mix well
3. Finally add curds and blend in to form a thick batter.
4. Take a ladle full of the prepared batter and spread it thickly on a heated skillet/ non-stick pan like a dosa - frying on either sides with a little oil on the edges of the dosa.
5. Remove and serve hot.

Preparation time : 10 mins

Cooking time : 3-4mins for each cheela

Makes : 5-6 cheelas depending upon the size

Note:

• The batter does not spread thinly so do not even try it. Once the pan/skillet is heated, keep the flame low.
• Make small dosas the size of Rawa (semolina) Bhakri or a pancake.
• If your skillet or griddle is large, you can easily make three or four at a time.
• For more info on Bajra or Pearl millet health benefits, see here :http://recipeclout.india-server.com/pearl-millet.html

Airaawat

“Airaawat” is a very tasty chutney and this is not to be confused with the white elephant of Indra ! 

During the recent Ganesh festival celebrations at our ancestral home in Katapady (Udupi district), as usual, I was going around to see what new dishes the cook is churning out this time. He drew my attention to “Airaawat” which was in the process of completion. This was something new to me but looked simple and good. He rattled off the ingredients and the method. I mentally made a note of it. He also told me that there are different versions to this recipe.

So naturally, after the “pooja” and the “aarti” as we all sat for the sumptuous lunch prasad, I was looking forward to this new item to be served. As soon as it was served, I quickly had a taste of it. I loved it! It was a perfect blend of three tastes – sweet, sour and spicy and the crunchiness of the chopped ingredients (ginger, chilies and coriander leaves) leave a wonderful taste in the mouth. Try it out and see it for yourself.

Ingredients

For grinding
Grated Coconut	1/2 cup
Dry red chilies	3-4
Tamarind	1 lemon (small) size ball
Jaggery powder	About 4-5 tsps
Salt	As per taste
For tempering
Oil	1-2 tsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
For Garnishing
Finely chopped coriander leaves	1 small bunch
Finely chopped green chilies	1
Finely chopped fresh ginger	1 inch piece

Method:

1. First grind all the ingredients mentioned under “for grinding” into a fine paste adding very little water. Transfer it into a bowl.
2. Next heat a tempering pan and oil and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts spluttering and the curry leaves. Give it stir and pour the contents into the bowl contiaining the ground paste.
3. Finaly add all the chopped ingredients mentioned under “For Garnish” into the bowl and mix well.
4. Airaawat is now ready to be served.

                                     

Preparation time : 25 mins

Cooking time : about 3-4 mins

Serves : 3-4 persons

Note:

• This can be eaten with idli or dosa or even as an accompaniment to rice and daal or curd rice.
• During the festival, I had this with "Khotto" (Idli made in jackfruit leaves). 
• The chopped items for garnish should be mixed just before serving to preserve the crunchiness of ginger, green chilies and coriander leaves.