I first read about this dish when a reader commented about this dish on Indira’s blog sometime last year. I tried to recreate the same in my kitchen and it was amazing and has been a regular. Broccoli is easy to eat for me only when I make this dish!

Ingredients:
————–
2 head of Broccoli or a packet of cut florets
2 medium sized onions
A pinch of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
Oil, Salt to taste

For the Paste :
—————-
1/2 cup of toor dal and chana dal
1×1 piece of ginger
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 green chillies

For the Popu:
—————
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of urad dal
A pinch of Asafoetida/hing
1 red chilli
A few curry leaves

Method:
———
1. Wash and pat dry the broccoli and steam exactly for 6 minutes and remove and place in Ice cold water so that they don’t lose the green color

2 soak the Ingredients for the paste in warm water for at least 15-30 minutes and grind into a coarse paste and place in a pressure cooker and cook without a whistle for 8-10 minutes .

3. Do the Popu /tadka/seasoning in a skillet by heating oil and adding urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, red chilli , curry leaves and hing

4 Add the finely chopped onions and saute until pink, add the steamed broccoli florets, the coarsely ground patoli paste , salt, turmeric and cook until all the ingredients mix well , not more than 5 minutes.

5.Remove and serve hot with rice

According to me Hyderabad is one of India’s finest cities where cultures mix and blend wonderfully. Hyderabad a cosmopolitan city on fast track somehow still retains its leisure. I can still recollect Laad bazaar in my mind’s eye where pearls, the famous hyderabadi glass and stone bangles, the smells of attar and of course Madina hotel which was opened in 1947. Those days we would go shopping for clothes and other goodies near the madina hotel, eat the hyderabadi qabooli with mirchi ka salan and of course the famous sweet double ka meeta and come home happy with bagfuls of goodies and the purse still half full.

Hyderabadi Qabooli is made as dum ka biryani is made, but there are no vegetables used and instead chana dal is used.Onions are used for garnish though.

Ingredients :
————–

1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
1/3 cup of chana dal
1 tsp of finely chopped ginger
1/2 teaspoon og garlic
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
A pinch of turmeric
3 tablespoons of yogurt
1 green chilli finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon of chilli powder
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon of milk
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
A few sprigs of cilantro
Mint leaves for garnish
Oil, Salt to taste.

Method :
———
1. Pick the chana dal. soak in water for at least half hour and cook until the grains are tender and whole
2. Cook the basmati rice in the microwave for 2o minutes or in a rice cooker by adding a pinch of salt and oil so that the grains seperate.
3. In a wok , heat oil and saute the onions until brown and keep aside
4. In the same oil, saute garlic and ginger for a minute and add 1 tablespoon of yogurt first until the water is evaporated, keep adding one tablespoon at a time and add green chilies, garam masala, chili powder,salt to taste, cooked chana dal and saute until the dal is coated with the masala.
5. In a large oven proof baking dish , first layer the rice and then pour this mixture and then again cover with another layer of rice and pour milk and lemon juice.
6. garnish with mint and cilantro and cover first with an aluminium foil and then with the baking dish cover .
7. Pre-heat the oven to 375F and bake the rice and mixture for 15 minutes and the dum qabooli is ready.
8. remove the cover and garnish with the brown onions and serve with your choice of raita or Mirchi Ka salan , the best combination you can ever eat!

Mirchi Ka salan with Bell Peppers :

Well, it was ok to give it a shot with sweet bell peppers . There are 2 reasons I would go for this, I love the combination of sweet and sesame and secondly, it looks beautiful. its not at all hot and spicy. Its a mildly sweet dish.

Ingredients :
————–
3 bell peppers
1 cup roasted and ground sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of roasted and coarsely ground peanuts
1 tablespoon of dessicated coconut
1 medium sized finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon of dhaniya powder
1 tablespoon tamarind juice
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
Oil, salt to taste

For the tadka/popu/seasoning
———————————–
1 teaspoon of Kalonji( nigella seeds)

1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds

Method :
———-
1. De seed the bell peppers and chop into medium sized chunks, heat oil in a wok and fry until crisp and done .
2. In a wok, heat the oil again and add the nigella and cumin seeds and then add the onions and fry until translucent.
3. Add the bell peppers and then add the sesame peanut and the coconut powder, mix well.
4. Add a cup of water, red chili powder, salt to taste and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the tamarind extract and simmer for another 5 minutes
6 . Remove from heat and serve hot.

Vankaya Mudda kura is the simplest of all curries that I can think of. Hassle free and one doesnt have to work towards keep the vankaya intact , in fact it has to be a paste. Comfort food as far as it concerns me and K’s least favourite vegetable. My parents ensured that Vankaya was not on the menu for our wedding. He gave in to eat it because it his mother’s most often cooked and favourite vegetable. My mother’s favourite too,’Cos its the easiest!

Ingredients:
————-
6 purple indian brinjals
1×1 inch ginger piece
3 green chillies
A pinch of turmeric
A pinch of asafoetida
A teaspoon of tamarind extract
Coriander sprigs for garnish
Oil, Salt to taste

For the Popu:
—————
2 teaspoons of Chana dal
1 teaspoon of Urad dal
1 dry red chili
I teaspoon of mustard seeds
A few curry leaves

Heat oil in a skillet and do the popu by adding chana dal. urad dal, red chili, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the mustard sizzles, add the asafoetida and turmeric and and then add the longitudinally cut brinjal pieces.Always preserve the cut brinjal in water and add a pinch of salt. This stops the brinjal from turning black and bitter.Add required salt to the brinjals in the skillet. Then crush the green chilies and ginger in a mortar and add to the brinjals and cook covered for 10-12 minutes. Stir once and add the tamarind extract ,cook for another 5 minutes. The brinjals should become pasty. Remove from heat once done and then garnish with coriander sprigs and serve with rice.

This is a famous Coastal andhra dish and mostly a must on the menu during auspicious occasions. Its made mostly during weddings. Though , I don’t belong to coastal andhra, but this dish is a must in my family and was on my wedding menu for three meals.

The Jackfruit that is used here is young and unripe and there are special knives to scrape the fruit and and the result is “pottu” which looks like shredded cabbage. A young jackfruit is taken , the skin peeled off and then by rubbing your hands and the knife with oil and turmeric and slowly cut and shredded. This is a tedious process but the best curry is produced by following this method.

This is my entry to Nupur’s A-Z Indian vegetables, P, RCI -Andhra Cuisine for Latha’s Masala Magic and Jugalbandi’s Jihva for Ingredients- Jackfruit.

I was lucky to get the canned green jackfruit available in southeast Asian store here and so , I didnt have to go through the tedious process of shredding it.

I bought a can , drained the water and i minced it in the food processor adding a little oil and a pinch of turmeric, so that my hands don’t get sticky while I’m removing the minced jackfruit and mixing with a little more turmeric.

Ingredients:
————–

1 can of young green jackfruit minced in the food processor
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 red chili
1 tablespoon of tamarind extract
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
A pinch of asafoetida
3 green chillies

For the Popu:
—————
1 tablespoon of chana dal
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of urad dal
2 dry red chilies
A few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker, take the jackfruit and enough water to cover it and cook until just one whistle. (I use a hawkins pressure cooker). Let it cool and drain off the water and also squeeze water from the jackfruit. It should be dry. This curry tastes best when dry. Alternatively, if you don’t like the pungent smell, you can soak it in buttermilk instead of water and pressure cook it. This is will get rid of the smell.

Heat oil in a skillet and do the popu/tadka seasoning by adding the chana dal , urad dal, mustard seeds, red chilies. Once the mustard seeds pop , add the curry leaves and the green chillies and then add then add the tamarind extract. Let it simmer until the raw smell of tamarind wears off. Then add the asafoetida and then add the minced, cooked jackfruit and salt. Saute for a while until the water evaporates . Meanwhile in a mortar , grind the mustard seeds and the dry chili adding a little water making it a thick paste. Do not add too much water and make it a loose paste. Add a 2-3 drops of oil and mix well and leave the paste for 5 minutes.

Once the jackfruit blends well with the tamarind and other spices , remove from heat and let it cool for sometime. Once the curry is warm, add the mustard paste , mix and cover immediately with the lid. They say that the mustard paste if added when the curry is hot doesn’t mix well with the jackfruit . Its best to eat this curry 4-5 hours after you cook it as it gives a wonderful taste!

Manthani is a small town village karimnagar and the vegetarians there have a mix of karnataka and maharashtra traditions. Its on the banks of the godavari river and has been a great, hsitorical place to hear stories about. More about Manthani here

My Ammakayya’s(amma’s elder sister) is married into a household belonging to Manthani and lo, we get to eat wonderful dishes some learnt from the elders of her household and some her own creations. A fabulous cook who makes rasam without rasam powder and we wouldn’t simply know unless she tells us and who is always short of some seasoning in her cooking but never fails to impress to serve a hearty , delicious meal filled with love and affection.

An inspirational cook , A mother figure who would make sure one would eat at least a snack when we visit her( No one one can leave the house without eating ), A tribute to her this mother’s day from me and K by making her very special dish.We decided we should do this apart from doing it to our mother’s day special for our mothers.

Barada is very similar to Patoli , but the dals used are a little different.

Ingredients :
————–

3 medium sized Potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium sized onions finely chopped
2 green chillies
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
A pinch of turmeric
Oil, Salt to taste.

For the Masala:
—————–
1/2 cup of chana dal
1 teaspoon of moong dal
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

For the Popu:
—————
1 teaspoon Urad dal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
A pinch of asafoetida
A few curry leaves(optional)
Coriander sprigs for garnish.

Do the Popu/tadka seasoning in the order of Urad dal, mustard seeds, red chilies, asafoetida and then add the turmeric to the oil and then add the Onions. when turmeric is added to the oil and then the veggies are added, it gives a nice colour to the vegetables. Once the onions turn pink, add the cubed pototoes, some salt as required and keep covered and cook for 10 minutes.

As the pototoes are cooking, in a pan, dry roast the chana dal, moong dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and let them cool. Once cool, grind them into a coarse powder and add to the cooked potatoes. You might need to just sprinkle water over the curry so that the powders mix well with the potatoes . Mix well for a minute or two and then remove from heat, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with rice and ghee.