Quick Panch-Phoran Fried Rice

The term “panch phoran” means five spices which consist of seeds namely: mustard, cumin, fennel, nigella and fenugreek. These are to be mixed in equal proportions. This mixture is used as tempering in Eastern India for preparation of certain dishes. The blend of these seeds gives out a very pleasant aroma.

I had tried this some time back by tempering left-over rice. It turned out very tasty and each grain of rice was separated from the other. This time however, I tried it again with freshly cooked rice. I should have waited a little longer for the rice to cool completely before preparing the tempering; with the result, the rice appears slightly sticky. However, the taste has not been altered.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice	2 cups
Oil	1-2 tsps
Green chilies	1 or 2 as per taste
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Salt	As per taste
Panch Phoran
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera)	1 tsp
Fennel seeds  (saunf)	1 tsp
Nigella seeds (kalonji)	1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds (methi)	1 tsp
For Garnish
Chopped coriander leaves	1 tbsp
Lime juice	1-2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat a pan or wok (kadai). Add oil and the “panch phoran” ingredients.
2. When they start spluttering, lower the flame and add the green chilies, turmeric and salt. Give it a good stir.
3. Finally add the cooked rice. Stir well for a few minutes and remove from flame.
4. Garnish with lime juice and chopped coriander leaves.
5. Serve hot.                                                  

Ingredients

Tempering is in process

Panch-Phoron Fried Rice - ready

Preparation time: 10 mins.

Cooking time: 5-7 mins.

Serves: 2

Serving Suggestion: It tastes good when served with raita (curd based salad).

Note:

• When using freshly prepared rice, see that the rice is thoroughly cooled.
• I prepared tomato-and-onion raita with this fried rice.

Ripe Banana Gojju (sweet, sour and spicy)

Summer is here! As you all know that during this period, fruits and vegetables if not preserved properly will ripen fast and rot easily. It’s a shame to waste food under any circumstances.

Among the fruits, bananas ripen very fast. And since they are generally not preserved in the refrigerator, the best thing to do is to consume them fast or else they will over-ripe and when that happens, the peels of the banana turn black and the sight of which prevents you from eating it. But now there is a solution! You can prepare this tasty "gojju" from the over-ripened ones too!

This “gojju” is a very common dish among our GSB (Konkani speaking) community. However, there are different variations to it.  I learnt this version from my Mom.

This is served as a side dish. It also tastes good when eaten with phulkas or chapattis. The sweet, sour and spicy combo makes it very appealing. I remember one of my nephews (during his childhood days) who was so fond of this dish that he would allow the bananas to ripen so that “gojju” can be prepared and then he would relish it as a dessert !!

 

 Gojju with phulkas

Ingredients:

Banana (ripened)	1 large
Green chilies (chopped)	1or 2
Water	½ cup
Salt	As per taste
Lime juice	About 11/2 tsps
Seasoning Ingredients:
Ghee (clarified butter)	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Method:

1. In a bowl, place chopped green chilies and salt and roughly crush them.
2. Peel the banana. Cut them directly into the bowl containing the mixture of green chillies and salt.
3. Then with the help of potato masher, mash the banana well into the mixture.
4. Immediately add the lime juice. Next add salt and water and mix well and keep aside.
5. Now prepare the seasoning: In a small pan, heat the ghee on a low flame and add to it the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the curry leaves. Switch off the gas and immediately pour the entire contents onto the prepared banana mixture.
6. Mix well and serve.

  

Preparation time                          : 10 mins

Cooking (for seasoning) time      : 3 mins

Serves                                          : 2

Note:

• The addition of lime juice prevents the banana mash from discoloration and at the same time gives it a nice lemony flavour.
• For seasoning, you can use oil but Ghee is recommended as it gives a nice aroma to the dish.
• You can also use a blender to mash the bananas. Add lime juice while blending it.
• For those with a sweet tooth, can add sugar for that extra sweetness as per their taste. I would recommend jaggery (palm sugar) instead.

Poha (Rice Flakes) Cutlets

Poha/Povu or Rice flakes/Beaten Rice or Avalakki  (as it is known in different languages- Marathi, Konkani, English & Kannada respectively) is available in the market in two varieties – thin one and a thick one. To prepare the cutlets, you need the thin variety.

The thin variety gets soggy very quickly when soaked in water. So instead of soaking it in water directly, place the poha in a strainer (keep a bowl underneath the strainer to collect the water) and pour water over it with one hand and mix it with the other. This way you will reduce your work and get the desired result too.

This snack is easy to prepare and tasty too. It can be easily subsituted for potato cutlets (patties).
You may also be interested in another variation of cutlets made from left over rice,  here.

 Poha Cutlets with Tomato Ketchup

Ingredients:

Poha (Rice Flakes)	1 cup
Gram Flour (Besan)	3-4 tbsps
Onion (chopped)	1 medium
Green chilies (crushed)	2
Coriander leaves (chopped)	1 tbsp
Salt	As per taste
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder	½ tsp
Sugar	A pinch
Oil	For shallow frying
Semolina (fine sooji)	2 tbsps

Method:

1. Wash poha in a strainer till it becomes soft (it takes a minute) and allow the water to drain.
2. Place the drained poha (rice flakes) in a bowl. Add the gram four, together with all the other ingredients (chopped onions, crushed green chilies, salt, turmeric powder, jeera powder and sugar) and knead it into dough.
3. Smear a little oil on your palms while kneading it to avoid the dough sticking to your palm and make small balls and flatten it to form cutlets.
4. Dredge each cutlet in semolina on both sides and keep aside.
5. Now heat a frying pan or skillet (preferable non-stick) and dribble oil on it. When the pan is hot, lower the flame and place the dredged cutlets onto the pan and shallow fry them on both the sides till golden brown. Switch off the gas.
6. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

 

1. Ingredients for Poha cutlets

3.  Poha cutlets ready for frying

2. Poha drained in a strainer

4.  Poha cutlets being shallow fried

                                                                                                                             

Preparation time : 30 mins

Cooking time      : about 10 mins

Makes: 6- 8 cutlets (depending upon the size and shape)

Note:

• Breadcrumbs can be used instead of semolina to dredge the cutlets in before shallow frying.
• These cutlets can also be deep fried.

Spaghetti with Basil & Bell Peppers

This dish is my daughter’s creation and I had absolutely no part in its preparation. The only major part I played is in photographing it and eating it!

When she platted the dish and was in the process of serving, it looked so attractive and tempting, that I could not help but photograph it. And when that was done, I heartily joined everyone in relishing and eating it to our heart's content. It was delicious!

Though this was prepared sometime back, I was not able to post it due to some reason or the other. Anyway, here it is now!

Ingredients

Spaghetti	250 gms.
Bell Peppers	3 (preferably yellow, green & Red)
Tomatoes (ripe)	3  (roughly chopped)
Red onion	1 large sliced
Sugar	1 tsp
Garlic cloves	3 (peeled and crushed)
Fresh Italian basil leaves	A small bunch
Pasta seasoning	1-2 tsps
Jalapeno Peppers	Optional
Pitted olives (black/green)	8-10
Olive oil	3-4 tsps
Dried Red chillies	2 (chopped into flakes with seeds)
Salt	As per taste
Soya Flakes	½ cup

Method :

1. Place dried pasta in large vessel, cover with water according to pack.

    Add salt. Cook according to instructions on pack.

2.While it boils, cut bell pepper into large flat chunks. Discard seeds. Trim fleshy

    white bits off. Place on a grill and over low flame, such that the outer skin starts to

    char (turns black).  Turn them over and after few minutes remove from flame and cut

    off a few bite size pieces for garnish. To retain the smoky taste, don’t peel off the

    blackened bits. Set the rest aside.

3. In pan, add olive oil (not extra virgin - save that for non-cooking uses). Add garlic,

    roughly sliced red onion and the red chilli flakes with seeds for heat.

   Add some sugar to caramelize the onion. When onions start to brown, add the roughly

   chopped tomatoes ( can also place the tomatoes in the oven instead ).

   Add salt to taste (add much less than you normally would). When tomatoes start to

   soften, add remaining grilled peppers ( not the reserved ) and switch off gas.

4. To add protein for vegetarians -

    Place soya flakes in hot water according to instructions on pack,

    squeeze out water and add to ingredients in pan.

   
5. Put all contents of pan into mixer. Add a few olives to the mixer. Whizz for a short

    while.

6. Meanwhile pasta should be al dente (firm but not hard), switch off gas and tip pasta

    into colander (place a large bowl under colander to collect the water) to strain and pour

    chilled water over it (dont delay this or pasta will go soft ). Retain some of the pasta

    water (this is essentially starch with salt, this can be used to add to the sauce instead of water).

7. Now pour mixer contents into pan, place on low heat, add pasta seasoning, add pasta

    liquid / water as required to thicken / thin the sauce. Taste and add salt if needed. Add

    sliced olives or whole if you like to the pan, add jalapenos if using. Add fresh basil

    (chopped into strips). Reserve a few whole leaves for garnish. Switch off gas.

8. To serve, place pasta in bowl, add extra virgin olive oil and toss it to ensure even

    coating. Pour piping hot sauce over pasta and garnish with reserved grilled pepper and

    basil.

Serves: 4

Note :

• For special occasions use the expensive imported Italian pasta (MTR and Bambino are cheaper and faster to cook, but they lose their shape and turn to mush if you are not careful).
• Dont make the mistake of using tulsi or indian basil as a replacement, I have tried this once, it will taste quite strange.
• Use cuban oregano instead (but add it early finely chopped and let it cook through)

Happy Birthday !

2^nd Anniversary of my blog

                                           “The discovery of a new dish

                                           does more for human happiness

                                           than the discovery of a new star.”

                                                                                               - Brillat-Savarin

 

I hope I am able to give you all the happiness that a new dish gives in the way it gives me pleasure when I post a new one.

Time flies so fast! Its celebration time again ! This month is the 2^nd anniversary of my blog. And it is growing each year for which I have to give due credit to all my readers and well wishers.

I also take this opportunity to thank each one of you – all my friends including my blogger friends and those from Facebook, KAF (Konkani Amchi Food), Flickr, food blogs, and last but not the least my close friends and family members without whose help and inputs, all this would not have been possible.

Cheers ! This is my way of saying "Thank you"  with this sweet and sour Mint & Ginger drink ! It is easy to prepare, tasty, and healthy too.

Mint and Ginger Drink

Ingredients :

Mint leaves (1cup), Ginger (11/2” pc), Jaggery/Palm sugar (powdered – 2tsps, lime juice of ½ a lime, chaat masala – 2-3 tsps, Water or club soda – 3 glasses.

Method :

Grind mint leaves, ginger, jaggery, lime juice and a little water to a smooth paste. Place this paste in a jar and add water or club-soda. Finally add chaat masala. Mix well and serve chilled. 

Note : You can use sugar instead of jaggery. Its an ideal summer drink.

Raw Amla (Gooseberry) Chutney

Indian Amla or gooseberry is a pale green fruit. It is round in shape and smooth in texture. This fruit is astringent in taste; when you take a bite of this fruit and as soon as your saliva comes in contact with it, it leaves a sweet taste in your mouth.

However, there is another variety (star gooseberry and in konkani it is known as "Raaj Aavalo") which is smaller in size but very sour to taste. And as kids, we used to eat them with salt and chilly powder and actually relish them! Apparently this variety has no medicinal value.

This recipe was recently given to me by my aunt. It was so simple, that I tried it immediately. It was an instant hit at home. So I thought of sharing this with you all.

As you all know that amlas are a good source of vitamin C and has various health benefits too.

Like all “amchis” (term used for Konkani speaking people) I generally put them in brine (salted water) and use them whenever possible for preparing “Saaru” or “Gojju”. I have observed that amla is now available throughout the year at least in Karnataka.

Amla Chutney

Raw Amlas (Gooseberries)

Ingredients:

Amlas (Gooseberries)	3 medium
Lime juice	1 tsp
Grind together:
Coconut (grated)	1 tbsp
Green chilly	1
Coriander leaves	A small bunch
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning ingredients:
Oil	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Method:

1. Wash the Amlas and pat dry them with a kitchen towel. Grate the amlas in a bowl. Add lime juice to it. Mix well and keep aside. (Discard the seeds of the amlas).
2. Grind together all the four ingredients mentioned above (coconut, chilly, coriander leaves and salt) into a smooth paste.
3. Add this ground paste to the grated amlas and mix well.
4. Heat a small pan. In it add oil, and mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds starts to splutter, add the curry leaves. Remove from flame and pour the contents on to the amla mixture.
5. Mix well and serve.

Note:

This chutney goes well with rice and sambhar or rice and dal or with chapattis too.

It also tastes good in sandwiches.

Link to pictures of Star gooseberry:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toni_uni/sets/72157613777861857/detail/

Mergole - Sweet Potato Paaysu

“Mergole” is the Konkani name for this sweet dish made from the tuber Kananga (Konkani), Ratallu (Marathi) or Sweet Potato (English). This is typically a Manglorean or coastal Karnataka dish.  I wanted to make this simple long forgotten paayasu and hence I had kept a small piece aside (after preparing the “Kananga Daaddau”), so that I can share this simple and tasty and easy to prepare dish.

I have used here the coconut milk pack (less work for the lazy me!) instead of the usual coconut gratings wherein you need to grind it with a little water and then strain the juice to make coconut milk. I do admit though that the fresh coconut milk does make a difference to the taste of the dish especially if one is of the “Jibbe Ruchi”  type of person (generally all Amchis are !).

Ingredients

Sweet Potato (small)	1
Coconut milk	150 ml (11/2 cup)
Jaggery (molasses) powder	3 tbsps  or as per taste
Salt	A pinch
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Cashews (halved & roasted in ghee)-optional	6 (whole)
Raisins (roasted in ghee) - optional	8-10

Method:

1. Wash and skin the sweet potato. Cut it onto small cubes.
2. Steam the cubed bits in a steamer or boil them in a little water till soft. This should take about 20 mins.
3. Add salt, jaggery powder and the coconut milk to the boiled sweet potato bits and bring it to a boil.
4. Finally add the roasted cashews, raisins and cardamom powder. Mix well and remove from flame.
5. Serve hot.

Serves: 2

Sweet Potato - Raw

Sweet Potato - cut into cubes

    

         Note:

• This dish can be served hot or cold. The choice is yours.
• Traditionally the sweet potato is cut into cubes (you may grate it if you wish) and the skin is not removed. Here, I removed it as the skin had lot of blemishes.
• It is advisable to dissolve the powdered jaggery in water and strain it so as to remove any insoluble impurities.

"Haldi Paana Patholi" (Turmeric Leaf Patholi)

“Haldi Paan” is a Konkani word for Turmeric leaf and “Patholi” is the name of the sweet dish that is prepared by using the Haldi paan. These leaves are very aromatic and this aroma is transferred to the sweet dish. The leaves as such are not eaten.

For the konkanis, however, patholi is a delicacy and is a must in the menu during some of our religious functions for eg. “Vyna Puja” (Gauri Puja) &  Chavathi (Ganesh Chaturthi) to name a few. I believe this must have become a norm as the availability of the leaves is in plenty during the monsoon and these festivals are celebrated during the rainy season.

Steaming hot "Patholi"in a platter

Steaming hot patholi just out of steamer

 Haldi Paan with the rice batter and coconut-jaggery filling

Haldi Paan (with the batter and filling inside) folded and ready for steaming

Ingredients:

Turmeric leaves	10 -12
Rice	½ cup or about 100gms
Beaten rice (Poha)	½ cup
Coconut scrapings	¾ cup
Salt	A pinch
Powdered Jaggery (molasses)	2 tbsps
Cardamom powder	1-2 tsps

           

Method :

1. Wash and soak the rice and beaten rice for an hour.
2. Grind this with a tablespoon of coconut scrapings, salt and half a tablespoon of powdered jaggery to a smooth paste without adding any water.
3. Mix the remaining (powdered jaggery, coconut scrapings) and cardamom powder and keep aside.
4. Wash and wipe clean the turmeric leaves and place the leaves with the front side facing upwards.
5. Divide the ground paste into 10 -12 portions (depending on the quantity of turmeric leaves being used)
6. Spread the ground paste thinly onto each leaf.
7. Take little quantity of the jaggery, cardamom & coconut mixture and spread it lengthwise in the centre of the leaf in a straight line and fold the leaf lengthwise.
8. Follow this procedure for all the leaves. Then, gently place these folded leaves (taking care to see that the batter does not come out from the leaf) in a (preheated) cooker or steamer and steam for about 15 mins.
9. When done, remove from the cooker /steamer and serve hot.

Instructions for serving:

Patholi is generally served hot as it is (with the leaf) or the leaf can be peeled off and then served. It is eaten with a dollop of ghee (clarified butter) on top of each patholi (after the leaf has been peeled off) as this enhances its taste.

Note: 

• I used the organic jaggery (dark colour) instead of the usual golden colour jaggery.
• If the steaming of these “patholis” is done in the cooker, remove the whistle of the cooker and steam them as you would do for normal “idlis”.
• Jackfruit patholi is prepared in a slightly different way. The recipe can be found in my earlier posts.

Idli made from "patholi" batter

Since I had fewer Haldi paan, I utilised the leftover batter and the coconut jaggery mixture by making idlis.

I smeared the idli mould with ghee and placed a spoonful of this batter and topped it with the coconut-jaggery mixture and steamed it as I would for the normal idlis. Believe me, it tasted quite good as my hubby gobbled it up in a jiffy!

Quick Raw Mango Recipes

Summer is the season for mangoes. Ripe mangoes are a treat in themselves but raw mangoes has a taste of its own. Just the thought of raw mangoes, makes ones mouth water!

The varieties of recipes that can be prepared with the raw mangoes are endless – pickles, panna, pachadi, chutney etc.

I had one fairly large Totapuri Raw Mango. So I decided to make two dishes (pachadi and chutney) for the price of one! In most south-Indian households there is always a stock of coconut gratings. So these recipes can be done in a jiffy.

 I grated the whole raw mango and kept aside about two heaped tablespoons for making chutney and used the rest for making pachadi.

Raw Mango Pachadi

Ingredients:

Raw Mango	1 medium size
Coconut gratings	½ cup
Green chillies	3
Asafetida	A pinch
Salt	As per taste
Seasoning ingredients
Oil	2 tsps
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig

Method:

1. Wash the raw mango and pat dry it with a clean kitchen towel.
2. Grate the mango either manually or in a food processor.
3. Grind coarsely the coconut gratings along with green chilies, salt and asafetida with a little water. Place the ground mixture in a bowl.
4. To this ground mixture, add the grated mango and mix well.
5. Lastly heat oil in a small pan and add the seasoning ingredients in it. When the mustard seeds stops spluttering, switch off the gas and pour the contents in the mixture of coconut and raw mango gratings. Mix well and serve.

Note: 

• Pachadi is generally used as a side dish. It also goes well with chapattis.
• This is a typical Konkani (GSB community) recipe

Raw Mango Chutney
 

For this you will need – 2 heaped tbsps of grated raw mango, 3tbsps of coconut gratings, a small bunch of washed and cleaned coriander leaves, 5-6 garlic cloves, 2-3 green chilies and Salt.

Grind all these ingredients to a smooth paste. If necessary, you may add a little water while grinding.

Note:

• This chutney tastes excellent with chapattis, as sandwich spread or even with pakodas and  bajjias. It can also be used as a dip.
• Any type of raw mango can be used for making chutney or pachadi.