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 :
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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:
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1/2 cup of chana dal
1 teaspoon of moong dal
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

For the Popu:
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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.

I like this curry because it goes really well with rice and roti. As I mentioned earlier this was taught to me by my eldest cousin who is a fabulous cook. She would whip up these dishes and give them exotic names and feed us any time of the day. Cabbage is not an often made curry at home without any reason. I prefer to mix it with other vegetables for colour and a different taste. So I added a chopped carrot, 10-12 string beans, a small potato and finely chopped medium onion, along with a head of a finely chopped cabbage .

For the Popu,
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1 teaspoon of Urad dal
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
2 dry red chilies
2 green chillies slit lengthwise
A few curry leaves.
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
Oil, Salt to taste.
For the Masala :
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1 tablespoon of poppy seeds powdered
1/4 cup of roasted Peanuts coarsely ground
1 teaspoon of dhaniya powder

Do the Popu/tadka/seasoning by heating oil in a skillet and by adding Urad dal, mustard seeds, red chili, green chili, curry leaves in that order one by one. once the curry leaves become crisp, add the onions and saute until they turn pink , add the potatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the carrots, string beans and saute for another 2 minutes . Add the shredded cabbage, add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric, salt to taste and keep covered and cook for another 12-15 minutes or until done.

While cooking the veggies, dry roast the poppy seeds until light brown and grind them separately. Note that they dont mix well and grind properly when other spices. Then grind the peanuts and sprinkle both the powders on the cooked curry. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the masala mixes well. Remove from heat and serve hot with rice or roti.

Colocasia leaves have an acquired taste, at least K wasn’t very happy with eating them , K simply adores arbi roots , assuming that he would like the leaves too, I decided to try this recipe .I love colocasia leaves, because the recipes that I have for these amazing leaves are handed over to amma by her grandmother and amma can still remember the smells and taste of her transforming these dull green leaves into delectable dishes and amma tried to do the same.

I remember amma telling me that she could never get the same taste as her grandmother could whenever she tried cooking these leaves and gave up sometime back. I assume the reason is that my great grandmother used to cook them on a kattala poyi , a couple of wood pieces thrown in to make a stove and always used brass vessels to cook.

The patoli thats made in my household has always had a mixture of toor dal and chana dal in equal quantities.

Ingredients:
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A bunch of colocasia leaves
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 cup chana dal
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 dry red chillies or green chillies

For the Popu:
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1 teaspoon urad dal
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 dry red chili
a pinch of asafoetida
curry leaves

Wash and pat dry the colocasia leaves, remove stems and chop finely. Cook colocasia leaves in 3-4 glasses of water, a pinch of turmeric and salt. on a stove top or microwave. If doing in a microwave, keep covered and microwave for about 6-8 minutes.

Keep 1/2 cup of water from the cooked leaves before straining. Strain the leaves and keep aside.

For the Paste:
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Place the toor dal and chana dal , cumin seeds, red/green chillies in a bowl and keep covered for atleat 20 minutes. Grind into a thick, coarse paste. In a pressure cooker, without the whistle ,cook for 10 minutes this mixture, by adding half a cup of the water remaining from cooked colocasia leaves. Once done. Remove from heat and keep aside.

In a wide skillet, add oil and do the popu/tadkaseasoning by adding urad dal, mustard seeds, 1 dry red chili , a pinch of asafoetida,curry leaves and once the mustard seeds and curry leaves pop add the colocasia leaves and saute for 2 minutes. Add the coarsely ground patoli paste , salt to taste and cook for another 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Serve with hot rice and its yummy!

I do not adore Chikkudukaya , at the same time I don’t hate it too… I remember eating those “half cooked beans” as my mother calls them atleast twice a week with phulkas.These broad beans have been an integral part of our growing years. Its been years since I tasted them as I shared a love hate relationship with them and I refused not to stock my pantry after I moved to another city for career prospects. Now, I get nostalgic living thousands of miles away from home.

However , I could not go through the ordeal of eating only broad beans, so I threw in the favorite vegetable of andhrites, Brinjal, those cute little purple waxy vegetables I adore. I liked the outcome of this curry and I intend to prepare it more often. To my surprise, K, who doesnt remember eating this veggie often. liked it too.

I used frozen broad breans and I’m extremely happy with the lakshmi brand frozen veggies. They look fresh and dont have that odour that many other frozen brands have.

Ingredients:
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1 packet of frozen chikkudukaya
5-6 medium sized round brinjal
1 tablespoon sesame seed powder
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
4 green chillies
A few coriander sprigs
1 tablespoon tamarind extract
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida
A little Jaggery(optional)

For the Popu/tadka/seasoning:
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A teaspoon of mustard seeds
A teaspoon of Urad dal
3 red chillies
Few curry leaves

Method:
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Some people like to boil the beans in salt water and then do the popu/tadka, But for this curry, I did the popu/tadka first, added the beans and brinjal let them cook for a while on a low flame and then added the rest of the Ingredients.

Firstly defrost the broad beans and then cut the brinjals into big longitudinal chunks and don’t forget to put the brinjal pieces in salt water, so that they don’t change colour fast or turn bitter.

I first did the popu, by heating oil in a skillet, added the urad dal, mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves in that order and then add the beans and cooked them for 2 minutes and then added the brinjal. Add the salt, turmeric powder, green chilli powder and cook covered for 5 more minutes. Once they are starting to become tender add the asafoetida powder, crush the green chillies in a mortar and add them too. The reason I added asafoetida later and not in the popu is because when you add the powder to the oil , it loses its flavor and is not very strong. I wanted it to be the taste and flavour to be prominent and that’s why I added it later.

Add salt and cook covered till the vegetables are completely tender. Then add a tablespoon of sesame seed powder, a teaspoon of Jaggery and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the flavors blend. Remove from heat and sprinkle the grated coconut and mix well and serve hot with rice.

This is a wonderful pappu that mom has been making for years and very dear to heart. Reminds me of home and family and makes me nostalgic, but never get tired of making this. I have noticed that we get unripe mangoes all through the year in phoenix and thats a plus! I can make this whenever I want to. I use red chilli flakes for the popu instead of the whole red chilli.

Ingredients:
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4 fistfuls or 1 cup of toor dal
1 bunch of Amaranth Leaves
1 medium sized unripe mango
4 green chillies
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Oil, Salt to taste.

For the Popu/Tadka/seasoning
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A teaspoon of Red chilli flakes
A teaspoon of mustard seeds
A teaspoon of Urad dal
1/4 teaspoon of asafoetida
A few curry leaves

Method:
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Take the Toor dal , Chopped amaranth and unripe mango pieces in a pressure cooker with some turmeric. I’d suggest that the mango cut into big chunks, its one’s choice to either skin it or leave it unskinned. Pressure cooker for 2 whistles and remove from heat and let it cool. In another vessel, heat oil and add the urad dal and let them brown and add the mustard seeds and once they start popping add the chilli flakes, curry leaves and slit green chilli. Saute for a minute and lastly add the asafoetida. Then add the cooked dal and add salt and chilli powder if u want ( I guess 1/2 teaspoon should do) . Let the dal simmer until the flavours blend and remove from heat and serve with rice. I have not added tamarind as I have already added the mango.