Flavorful Amaranth Vegetable Curry

Are you looking for a new side dish that is healthy but also quick to prepare ? 

I learned this dish from one of my best friend mom who visits chennai occasionally.The secret of this recipe is the unique blend of spices simmered with amaranth leaves and veggies.This dish is a flavorful accompaniment for rice and even rotis. So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup tightly packed chopped leaves
• 2 small sliced brinjals
• 5 diced ladyfingers
• 1 small lemon sized tamarind pulp
• 1 tbsp oil

To temper

• 1/2 tsp jeera/cummin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 long red chillies
• 1 spring curry leaves
• a pinch of methi/fenugreek seeds

To paste

• 2 tsp soaked rice
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 3 red chillies
• a pinch of hing

Soak rice for 20 minutes and make a fine paste with the other ingredients and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add cummin,mustard and fenugreek seeds, once mustard seeds splutter add red chilli and curry leave and stir nicely. Now all the veggies (brinjal, ladiesfinger and the greens), tamarind pulp,salt and turmeric and mix nicely,add 1/2cup water and cover it and let it cook till veggies become soft.

Once the veggies are cooked add the above prepared paste and let it cook for 5 minutes, check the consistency if it is too thick add little water and let it cook.Once it is done serve hot with rice.

Low Fat Eggless Banana Bread

This is my first cake recipe without eggs and believe me you won’t miss the eggs! With it unique blend of ingredients you can still make a eggless cake that can rock a party.The original recipe was adopted from Jayshris Kitchen who inspired me to try this recipe. I changed it a bit to suit my taste-buds. It came out very well soft, moist with a tender flavor of bananas. Here is the recipe ...

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup wholewheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp tutty fruity
• 1/8 tsp salt

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.Grease the loaf pan and keep aside. Sieve the dry ingredients,wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder together 3 times.

Beat milk and sugar together till sugar dissolves.Add oil,yogurt,mashed banana, vanilla extract and mix nicely.Combine with the above dry ingredients and mix nicely until all lumps dissappear. Pour the batter in a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan upto 3/4 level.Sprinkle some tutty fruity over it. Bake for 50 minutes and test with a toothpick in the very center of the loaf to come out clean.Let it cool on a cooling rack, slice and enjoy.

Note:
1.You can replace brown sugar with normal sugar but it will be more sweeter.
2.Adding cinnamon powder is optional however it gives a good flavor.

Creamy Aloo Palak Gravy

Potato and spinach simmered in milk with some traditional indian spices which make this gravy have a heavenly flavor .If you have some guests at home and want to make something easy,delightful and healthy this would be the ideal choice. It is the perfect accompaniment for roti and rice. So here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced potato
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 bunch palak/spinach
• 1/2 tsp urad dal /
• 1/4 tsp cummin seeds
• 1 cup milk
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp besan / chickpea flour
• salt to taste

Procedure

Mix the besan with the milk and keep aside .

Heat oil in a pan, add cummin seeds, urad dal, green chilli and fry. Add the onions and fry till translucent then add the potato and salt fry till it become tender.

Now add chopped palak stir, then add the milk mixture and mix nicely. And let it cook till palak is done.Serve immediately with roti or rice.

Note: Adding besan to milk will avoid the milk to curdle.

A Besan Sooji Barfi for a Celebration

The celebration of my 200th post seems to coincide with a popular Ranbir Kapoor movie "Barfi"!! This besan sooji barfi will definitely take you to a new high. It is also one of my favorite sweets my mom used to make for me from childhood.

This barfi has a unique chrunchy texture and melts in your mouth effortlessly.I am dedicating the celebration of my 200th post to my mom. Here is the recipe she taught me ...

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
• 1 cup sooji/semolina
• 1/2 cup grated coconut(fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup ghee/clarified butter
• pinch of cooking soda
• 2 crushed cardomon

Procedure

Add a tsp ghee to a plate and spread on the plate completely and keep aside.
Fry coconut,besan,sooji each seperately with a tbsp of ghee and then mix all together and keep aside.

To prepare the syrup take a heavy deep bottom pan dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup water and boil till it has a one thread consistency.

Now add the fried flour mixture prepared earlier to the syrup and begin to stir it well.
Then add ghee slowly spoon by spoon and continue stiring,when adding the last spoon of ghee add the cooking soda and crushed cardomaon and continue stiring.

Once the mixture starts to seperate from the pan bottom stop the process immediately .Spread it in the ghee coated plate equally, immediately cut to desired shape, and let it cool.

Once it cools you can remove it piece by piece and store it.

Note:

• It is very crucial the mixture should not overcook, once it begins to seperate from pan immediately remove from flame otherwise it will crumble to tiny lumps.
•  Adding soda makes it melt faster when you have a bite.
•  To spread the mixture in the plate equally while pouring,tap the plate it continously for mixture to settle equally.
•  It is important to cut the shapes after you pour it into the plate immediately as it wouldnt be possible once it cools.  

Vada Pav The Little Wonder

Vada pav the king of mumbai street food.Pav was introduced to india by the portugese and the combination of vada with pav a invention of maharashtra.The fusion of cultures in your little palm that can be relished with a hot cup of tea.There are many other street foods like pav bhaji, masal pav but vada pav beats them all by its sheer size and prize that can fill you up in a wink.

You can buy the bread/pav in any departmental store or make the pav at home. I preferred to bake it myself.

The total process involves

1. Preparing the vada
2. Preparing the green chutney
3. Preparing the dry garlic chutney
4. Assembling the vada pav

For vada

• 6 medium size boiled potatos
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp garlic chilli paste(4 chillies ,4 garlic flakes)
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp oil
• a pinch of turmeric
• salt to taste

For Batter

• 2 cups gram flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• salt to taste

Procedure
Boil the potatos ,remove skin ,mash them and keep aside.Heat oil in a pan ,add chilli garlic paste and fry for a min then add turmeric and mix it ,add the potato,salt and mix nicely .Now switch off the gas add lemon juice,garlic mix properly and keep aside to cool.

Mix all the ingredients of batter with water into a semi-thick paste and keep aside.

After the potato mixture cools, Divide the potato mixture into equal sized portions, the size of a lemon and flatten it 1 inch thick.Heat oil in a deep fry pan.

Dip the balls in the batter and fry it till golden brown.

For hari/green chutney

• 1 cup cilantro
• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies
• 2 garlic pods
• salt to taste

Make a fine past of above ingredient,check the consistency add water if needed. Hari chutney is ready to use

For Dry garlic chutney

• 1/2 cup grated dry coconut
• 4-5 dry red chillies
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 garlic pods
• salt to taste

Make a fine powder of all the above ingredients.

Assembly of Vada Pav
Ingredients

• 6 pav
• 6 tsp green chutney
• 6 tsp of dry chutney powder
• 6 potato vada
• 3 tbsp chopped onions

Procedure
Cut the pav horizontally to one edge, open and toast it on the inner side.

Sprinkle dry garlic chutney,place the vada on top of it, spread a little green chutney,sprinkle some onion slices and close.

Press lightly and serve.