Curry With One Masala- Palak Soya Bean Curry

It's been gloomy and rainy for the past few days, somehow I don't feel like doing anything when the sun hides into the clouds and the day becomes gloomy.  No matter how tired and lazy I feel, still  have to fulfill few of my basic instincts, like eating.  I can go on with some take away or some snacks to munch on but that's definitely not going to satisfy the nutritional requirements for my body. 

Black eye peas gravy

I might have over 400 recipes in my blog, but still I have the question of what to cook today almost everyday. There might be a millions of recipes passing through our mind from television shows, Internet or book,  the questions is about ,do I have these ingredients in my pantry,will this recipe suit my family and above all is it easy to cook and how much time does it take.  It's not possible to spend hours and hours in the kitchen everyday.  On special occasions we might cook different recipes and lots of varieties to please our family, but on daily basis, I'm sure everybody will be looking for something easy to cook and less time consuming.

Palak Paneer

Spinach is one of those super vegetable which has to be included in our everyday diet.  We know that spinach is a rich source of iron,apart from that spinach is also rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, magnesium etc.  Including a good amount of spinach in your everyday diet, helps you prevent against certain type of cancer.  It helps builds up your immunity system, Vitamin K - strengthens your bones.  The high amount of Vitamin A- keeps your skin glowing.  When this super vegetable has so much to offer for our body, why don't we include this in our diet and keep our body active and healthy.

Paneer Mutter Masala

Paneer Mutter Masala is again something very special which we would like to order in a restaurant.  Every home cook will have their own version for this gravy with few minor changes.  When it comes to these restaurant special gravies like Butter Chicken, Paneer Makhani etc.

Beans Poriyal

This time I'm not going to say, I'm back after a long time, held up with this or that and so on.  Since this has become my usual routine these days.  Anyways today I have come up with a very simple version of poriyal.

Vazhaipoo Usili for Blog Hop Wednesday

Phew! It's time for blog hopping again, I just can't believe how time flies.  I know almost everybody says this, how quick the time goes, even little kids at the age of 2 and 3 are saying, Oh! I'm busy, don't disturb me.  Whatever I talk to them, come back to me at some point .  Feel like so much to be done in very little time.

Ennai Kathrikai / Fried Brinjals Cooked in Spicy Gravy

It's time for us to Blog Hop again.  If you are  a regular reader here, you should be familiar about this event now. Blog Hop Wednesday is started by Radhika of Tickling Palates,  where we pair with different bloggers and cook from each other's blog.  To have a detailed view about the event please check it here.

Kumbakonam Kadappa ( Potatoes cooked in spicy lentil gravy)

It's time for us to Blog Hop again, this time my pair is Jayasri of Samayal Arai.  If you have look at my recipe index you can notice that there is only very limited recipes in vegetarian gravy, that's because I don't cook much vegetarian gravy. 

Mixed Vegetable Aviyal

This post is exclusively for Blog Hop Wednesday.  Blog Hop Wednesday is a  brand new exciting event started by Radhika of Tickling Palettes.  The concept behind this event is visting our fellow bloggers and trying out new recipes every week.  Radhika has moulded this event in a special manner like forming groups, and each week we choose one of the blogger to try out new recipes.  Hope you got it, if not that's ok, once you start following it, you'll surely get it.  If you are a blogger just jump into the blog hopping with us and have fun.

Aaloo Paratha with Paneer Tikka Masala

After Idli and sambhar, if I have to say I enjoy a vegetarian dish it must be these soft aaloo parathas and any paneer dishes.  This is something which I regularly order in a restaurant.  From blogging I have learnt that this is favourite for many like me.  To be honest I enjoy these paneer recipes much more than chicken.
  Aaloo paratha recipe is somrthing which I prepare even in my earlier days of cooking, when I just started to cook.  It never goes wrong and one good thing about these parathas are they remain just as soft even after a long time, you don't have to reheat it again.  So this is perfect for dinner parties or even picnics.
   Paneer Tikka Masala, I learnt from Vahchef.  I know he must be a favourite chef for many foodies.  I enjoy watching his videos.   A good food picture will tempt the viewers, but to me his videos and the way he explains about the food, makes me to try it immediately.  His recipes are always reliable which is presented very interestingly.  I enjoy a lot watching his online recipe, do check it out.

Aaloo Parathas

Greek Style Layered Dip

Probably last week I saw this recipe in Kevin's blog and the same week I tried it.  It's a very simple recipe with layers of hummus,tzatziki , chopped cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives.  Hummus is a very popular middle eastern dip almost everybody will be familiar with this.  Hummus is made with a blend of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic.  This is generally used as a dip for pitta bread, you can also serve  with fresh cut vegetables.
Tzatziki is again a Greek dip, made with strained yogurt, cucumber and fresh mint leaves. Actually the idea of making a perfect tzatziki I got it from my friend Schmetterling words.  She said to get a perfect tzatziki we have to squeeze out juice from the cucumber completely and a thick greek style yogurt.  Right let's see the ingredients for the layered dip...


Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Serves 2


Ingredients:
For Hummus:
Dried chickpeas- 100 g
Tahini- 1 tbsp
Garlic- 2 cloves
Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
Olive oil- 4 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Tzatziki:
Greek yogurt- 150 ml
Cucumber- 1(10 cm size)
Garlic- 2 cloves
Fresh mint leaves- 2 stalk finely chopped
Salt to taste
For the layers:
Cucumber- 1 ( 10 cm size)
Tomato- 1 medium sized( chopped into cubes)
Feta cheese- 75 g
Black olives- 7 to 8 chopped

Method:
Prepare the hummus:
Soak the dried chickpeas in water for 1 whole night.  The next day  add enough water to the chickpeas until it's completely immersed and pressure cook for upto 4 whistles. Add the cooked chickpeas, tahini, grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt to a food processor.  Grind it to a coarse paste. If it doesn't grind well add some more oil.  Take the hummus and keep it separately.

Prepare the Tzatziki:
Peel and grate the cucumber, press it through a sieve to squeeze out the juice from the cucumber completely. Grate the garlic and chop the mint leaves finely. Mix the yogurt, cucmber, mint, garlic and salt.

Note:
If you can't find Greek yogurt in your place.  Place the normal yogurt in muslin cloth and squeeze out the excess water.

Prepare the layers:
In a wide plate or bowl, first spread the hummus, then tzatziki.  And on top of that add the chopped cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese and olives.

Serve the dip immediately with tortillas or pitta bread.  If you are planning for a party.  Prepare the hummus and tzatziki earlier and put it in your refrigerator.  Just before serving prepare the layers and serve.

Vadacurry with Polenta Idli

Vada Curry

   Vada curry is a traditional South Indian dish which is normally served with idli's , dosas or appams.  Vada curry is usually an vegetarian dish made with lentil fritters which is crumbled and made into an thick spicy gravy. The  recipe which I have given here is with ground meat and lentils, you can also use the same recipe without any meat.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes+ soaking time for lentils
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
For vadai:
Ground meat- 200 g
Chana dhal- 100 g
Dried red chilly- 2
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 5 leaves
Coriander leaves- 1 stalk
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
For the gravy:
Onion- 1 big sized sliced finely
Tomato- 1 big sized chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
Green chilly- 1
Mint Leaves- 1 stalk
Coriander leaves- 2 stalk
Coconut milk- 100 ml
Oil- 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
Cinnamon Stick- 1/2 inch stick
Bay leaves- 1
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 stalk

Method:
Prepare the vadai:
Soak the chana dhal in water for 2 hours.  Grind into a coarse paste along with dried chilly, fennel, curry leaves and coriander leaves.  Add the ground chana dhal along with ground meat, salt and garam masala, mix it well.
Heat oil in a kadai enough for deep frying.  Drop a small portion of mixture in the oil and check if it's hot enough for frying. If the mixture comes to the top sizzling, then the oil is ready to fry.
 Make small patties of the mixture.  Drop 2 to 3 at a time and deep fry until they look golden brown.
Prepare the gravy:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start spluttering, add the seasoning ingredients one by one.  Then add the onion and ginger garlic paste, saute well.  Keep the heat in medium to low, cover the pan and cook until the onion looks completely soft and light brown in colour.  Now add the tomatoes, saute well, cover the pan and cook until the tomatoes go soft.
 Add chilli powder, coriander powder and mix well.  Then add half cup of water and cover the pan, cook in medium heat for 5 minutes.
  Crumble the vadas and add it to the gravy.  Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves and mix well.  Finally add the coconut milk, green chilly and salt to taste.  Let it cook for another 10 minutes until oil separates and floats on top.  Take it off from heat, sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves on top.  Serve warm with idli'd or dosas.

Polenta Idli

   Polenta is made from yellow or white corn meal, which looks very similar to semolina.  This is the exact same version of my usual instant idli's.  You can make plenty of variations to this simple idli like adding different vegetables, adding whole grains etc... Just play with a basic semolina idli recipe.  You can find all my different types of idli's here.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Makes about 25 idli's

Ingredients:
Polenta- 1 cup
Semolina- 1/2 cup
Bulgur wheat- 1/2 cup
Bicarbonate of soda- 3/4 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Yogurt- 2 cups
Seasoning:
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Urad dhal- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Green chilli- 1
Curry leaves- 1 stalk( leaves only chopped)
Coriander leaves- 2 stalk( finely chopped)
Blanched almonds- 5( chopped roughly)
Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, when they start spluttering , add the remaining seasoning ingredients one by one except coriander leaves.  When the nuts turn slightly brown, turn f the heat, add polenta, semolina and bulgur, mix it well.  Add this mixture to the large bowl, add the bicarbonate of soda , salt and turmeric powder, mix it well.
  Then add the chopped coriander leaves and yogurt, mix it well. At this stage the mixture will be quite thick, add about 1/2 to 1 cup of water to make the batter similar to idli batter or semi thick batter consistency.  Grease the idli moulds, fill the moulds with batter and steam it for 5 to 7 minutes until they look fluffy and cooked.
Serve the idli's warm with vada curry or any sambhar or chutney of your choice.



This recipe goes to Twist the Traditional- Idli's by My Innovative Kitchen

Ragi Chapathi's with Tofu Broccoli Masala

Ragi Chapathi

Ragi or finger millet is generally made as porridge and given for babies. It's not just good for babies,it's also healthy for adults since it's rich in amino acid methionine. Methionine helps produce a substance called lecithin, which reduces the cholesterol level in the body, protects the liver and kidney. It is also rich in calcium, protein and good amount of iron. Read more about ragi from here.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Makes about 8 to 10 chapthi's

Ingredients:
Whole meal flour- 1 cup
Ragi flour- 3/4 cup
Ajwain seeds- 1 tsp
Kasuri methi( dry) - 2 tsp crushed
Salt- 1 tsp
Honey- 1 tsp
Olive oil- 2 tsp
Water- to knead the dough( about 3/4 cup)

Ingredients:
Mix the flour, seeds, methi and salt together. Make a well in the center add the honey, oil and water to make a smooth dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Roll it out into 10 to 12 cm diameter circle.
 Heat a non stick pan to high. Cook the chapathi on both sides, until it bubbles and looks lightly brown on top.
You can also apply some oil on top at the end. Serve warm with veg or non veg curries.


Tofu Broccoli Masala

Tofu is nothing but made by coagulating soy milk, something which is very similar to paneer. Since it's made from soy milk, it's rich in calcium but also low in fat. Tofu is good for women who is in menopause since it's rich in calcium, it reduces the bone loss.
  Tofu also reduces the bad cholesterol in the body. There are many different varieties of tofu like silken, firm, dried etc.. Tofu can also be used in ice creams, milkshakes, cakes etc.
 For a very simple version, just crumble the tofu and make it like scrambled eggs or egg burji to have a simple and healthy brunch. Read more about tofu from here.
 I prepared this just like regular paneer butter masala, so you can also substitute with paneer and make this recipe.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:
Tofu- 100 g
Broccoli- 200 g( florets separated)
Onion- 1 medium sized
Tomato- 1 medium sized
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 3/4 tsp
Green chilli- 2
Dried Methi leaves- 1/2 tbsp crushed
Almonds- 5 to 6
Tomato ketchup or Tomato puree- 1/2 tbsp
Milk- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Cube the tofu and toast in a pan with little oil on all sides. Keep them separately. Heat oil in a vessel, add the cumin seeds, gingergarlic paste. Then add the chopped onions and fry until they looks transparent. Then add the tomatoes and fry well until they become completely soft. Add the chilli powder, coriander powder and fry well. Then add about 1 cup of water to this mixture, add the almonds, green chilly, methi leaves and salt. Cover the vessel and cook in medium to low heat until the mixture starts boiling. Switch it off from the flame.
  Let the mixture cool down for a while, then blend it in a blender until looks smooth texture.
  Heat oil in the same vessel, add the ground mixture and allow it to boil in medium to low heat. Then add the tomato puree and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
  Meanwhile prepare the broccoli florets, separate it from the stalk and steam it for 5 minutes. Then wash immediately in cold water to stop cooking..
  Pour the milk to the boiling mixture and let it boil for another 2 minutes. Finally add the tofu, broccoli and garam masala. Cover the pan and keep it in low heat for 2 minutes. Switch it off and take it from heat. Check for the salt.
 Serve warm with roti's or pulav.

Both chapathi's and Tofu broccoli masala goes to my own event Eat Well Live Well, the Tofu broccoli masala goes to Only Green event hosted by Sara's corner originally started by Pari of Foodelicious.

Ragi Chapathi goes to CWS- Ajwain seeds hosted by Kavitha of seasoned and dressed, a event started by Priya's EasyN Tasty Recipes

Punjabi Kadhi

Recently I came across this recipe in so many blogs which tempted me a lot to do. Since I already bookmarked this recipe from Chef in you, I tried her version, which came out really good. DK has described this as it's almost similar to South Indian Moor Kulambu which is totally true.
 Punjabi khadi is nothing but a spicy and tangy buttermilk gravy filled with crispy and spicy pakoras. A famous  vegetarian dish of Punjab.
 With the pakoras in the spicy yogurt gravy was a perfect combination with rice and poppadoms. Although my husband felt that if we add chicken pakoras the taste would have doubled :)
Serves 2
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Recipe adapted from DK of Chef In You

Ingredients:
For the Gravy:
Yogurt- 150 ml/ 6 oz
Besan Flour/ Gram flour- 1 tbsp
Ajwain- 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar a pinch
For the pakoras:
Onion- 1 big sized sliced lenghtways
Dried Fenugreek leaves/ Kasoori Methi- 2 tsp crushed
Besan/ Gram flour- 75 g/ 3 oz
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
For Seasoning:
Cinnamon stick- 1/4 inch
Whole black peppercorns- 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
Grated ginger- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 stalk (only leaves)
Dried red chilly- 1
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Oil- 2 tsp
Oil- for frying the pakoras

Method:
Make the pakoras:
First make the pakoras by mixing all the pakora ingredients in a bowl by adding very little water. The mixture should be similar to that of regular or baji mixture or a sticky fritters mixture.
Heat the oil in a kadai for deep frying. Check the oil is hot by dropping a small amount of mixture in the oil. If it pops up immediately and floats on top of the oil, then the temperature of the oil is right.
Drop small teaspoonful of mixture in the oil and deep fry it until golden brown. Drain from the oil and set aside.
Heat some water in a pan, when the water boils, switch it off. Add the pakoras in the boiling water, take it out after 1 minute. Squeeze the water gently without crumbling the pakoras.
Make the gravy:
To make the gravy, mix all the gravy ingredients in bowl with 250 ml of water. It should resemble like a thin buttermilk. Add the mixture to the pan and bring it to heat in a medium flame. Stir continuously, when it gets heated up and just in the boiling point take it off from heat. Add the pakoras to the gravy.
Heat oil in a pan, add all the seasoning ingredients, when the mustard seeds start spluttering and the red chillies turn brown, pour the seasoning on top of the gravy.
Serve with plain rice a and poppadoms.

This recipe goes to Tried and Tasted hosted by Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes , organized by Laksmi of Kitchen Chronicles, Flavours Of Punjab hosted by Foodelicious started by Nayna and to Bookmarked Recipes by Priya and Aipi.

Eggplant Tamarind Gravy

Eggplant Tamarind Gravy is popularly known as Pulikuzlambu in South India which is used as a side dish with rice. Steamed white rice with this gravy and poppodums goes well with each other. Tamarind is used in most of the South Indian dishes to give a sweet and sour taste. Tamarind is not only popular in India it is also well known in other parts of the world like Kenya, Nigeria ....
 Tamarind also has immense amount of medicinal values like stomach disorders, for general body pain, jaundice, as a blood tonic, skin cleanser and many more. To have a detail study about tamarind click here
Ingredients:
Eggplant- 1
Onion- 1 medium sized finely chopped
Grated fresh coconut- 2 tbsp
Whole Almonds- 5 to 6
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Tamarind- 1 lime size ball soaked in water or Tamarind paste- 1/2 tbsp
Salt as required
Oil-1/2 tbsp
Seasoning:
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal- 1/4 tsp
Methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 stalk
Method:
Grind together the coconut and almonds into a fine paste. Chop the eggplant into cubes and place them in a bowl of water to avoid discolouring. Heat the oil in pan, add the seasoning ingredients, first add the mustard seeds when it starts to splutter add the remaining ingredients one by one. Then add the onion and fry it until it becomes translucent, then add the chopped eggplant without any water, keep the flame in medium to slow and stir well, add the spices and stir again. Cover the pan and cook until the eggplant is softened. Now add the tamarind extract  which is been soaking in water or add the tamarind paste along with one cup of water.
   Stir well and allow it boil, now add the coconut paste, salt and mix well. Cover the pan and let it boil until oil floats on top or boil it for about 10 minutes. Switch off the flame.
Serve the curry warm with white rice and poppodums.
This recipe goes to the event Side Dish Show Down by  Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

This recipe also goes to the event Think Spice Think Fenugreek hosted by Priya originally started by Sunitha.

.

Zesty Orange Pulav

I normally use zest of orange in cakes or sweet for flavouring. The zest of orange gives wonderful aroma in the cake. This time i tried this zest of orange  for rice which turned out really good. This recipe goes to the event Best Out Of Waste by Nithu's kitchen. 

Zest of orange and zest of lemon gives such and wonderful aroma to your food, if you haven't tried so far, start trying now, you'll definitely love it.

Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice-1 1/2 cup
Orange zest grated-1 tsp
Orange peel- 2 inch strip chopped finely
Onion- 1 medium sized sliced finely
Red Pepper-1/2 sliced finely
Peas-1 tbsp
Carrot- 1 medium sized grated
Ginger-1/2 inch grated
Cinnamon stick-1/2 inch
Cinnamon powder-1/2 tsp
Chopped almonds-1/2 tbsp
Ghee or butter-1 tbsp
Juice of 1/2 an orange
Salt as required
Method:
Wash the orange well and wipe it with a clean kitchen towl. Peel a thin strip of orange outer skin using a peeler and chop it finely, also finely grate 1 tsp of orange zest and set it aside.
Heat ghee in a pan, add cinnamon stick, grated ginger,almonds and onion, keep it in medium to low heat and fry it gently until the onion becomes transparent in colour. Now add the vegetables and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, finely add the zest and orange peel, stir well, immediately remove from heat.
Wash the rice well, add the vegetable mixture along with rice, juice of orange and salt to the rice cooker and cook until the rice is cooked.
Serve the rice with vegetable or chicken curries.
Tips:
This is not regarding this recipe, but a beauty secret with orange peel may be most of you are using it already. Peel the orange skin, tear it into small pieces, sun dry it completely, thsi might take even a week  in very hot climate. Blend it into a powder in a blender, mix with honey or yogurt and apply as a facepack, or use it just as a powder to wash the face. It's a very good scrubber. Regular use results in glowing skin, smooth skin.

Banana Flower Fritters

Banana flower fritters is made with chana dhal and banana flower in South India. In South India almost all parts of  banana plant is used for some purpose. The banana leaf is used to serve food  instead of plates.The whole tree itself is used for decoration in weddings.
Banana flower is good for mother feeding women. In Banana flower only the inside white part can be used without any stalks or stigma.After taking out the white part,chop it immediately and put it inside a bowl of buttermilk,so that the colour doesn't change.

Ingredients:
Banana flower chopped-1/2 cup
Chanadhal-1 cup
Green chilli-2
Fennel seeds-1 tsp
Whole dried red chilli-2
Onion chopped finely-1/2 a onion
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Curry leaves-a few spring
Salt as required
Oil for deep frying
Method:
Soak the chana dhal in water for 1 hour,grind it along with cumin,fennel and dried red chilli.Add the chopped banana flower,chopped chillies,curry leaves,onion and salt to the dhal mixture,mix well.
Take small lemon size balls,flatten it and deep fry them in hot oil.The oil should be hot enough when you drop a small portion it should come up immediately.Cook the fritters on both sides until golden brown in colour.
Serve as a snack with chutney or serve with rice and sambar.

Black Eye Bean Kulambu

Kulambu is nothing but Gravy. This gravy style which i have adapted is traditionally made with vatral and called as vatral kulambu.In this recipe i have used blackeye beans alternatively you can also use butter beans are any mix of vegetable. This spicy gravy can be served with rice.

Ingredients:

Toor dhal-2 tsp

Urad dhal-2 tsp

Coriander seeds-2 tsp

Channa dhal-2 tsp

Rice-1 tsp

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Pepper corn-1 tsp

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Red chilli powder-1 tsp

Vendium seeds-1/2 tsp

Tamarind- one lemon size

Curry leaves-a few stalk

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Small onions-5 to 6 sliced lengthwise

Salt-as requied

1 can of black eye bean

Oil-1 tbsp

Method:

Dry fry the dhal,seeds and rice other than mustard seeds.Grind the fried ingredients along with red chilli powder.

Add oil in a pan season with mustard seeds and curry leaves, then add onions and saute it for a while. Now add the ground ingredients and fry it for a while. Now add the tamarind extract,turmeric powder ,black eye bean and salt.

Boil it for about 5 t0 10 minutes. Serve hot with rice.

Simple Spinach Rice

This simple spinach rice is a blend of spinach cooked in mild spices and mixed with cooked basmathi rice.

Ingredients:

Cooked Rice-1 cup

Spinach- 1 cup

Carrot- 1 medium sized

Green chilli-2

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- few leaves( approximately 5 to 6)

Salt- as required

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin and green chilli. Add the spinach and saute for 1 minute, then add the grated carrot , turmeric powder and salt. Cook until the spinach is soft, this will take roughly 2 to 3 minutes.

Mix the spinach mixture with the cooked rice and stir well. Serve it with curry or potato fry.

Poori and Chenna Masala

Poori's

Poori's are husband's favourite, he normally likes to have it with a potato masala, but i have changed it to chenna masala. This is a carbohydrate rich breakfast dish in South India.

The recipe below serves 2 people.

Dough:

Atta which is a chapathi flour or you can also use plain flour or wholemeal flour- 1 1/2 cups

Oil- 2 tsp

Water enough to knead the dough.

Salt - a pinch

Method:

Mix the flour and salt together,then add the oil. Now add the water little by little to make a hard dough, the dough should be tough. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Make small balls out of the dough, flatten it with a rolling pin and fry it in hot oil until they puff up, this will happen in secs,turn it over,drain and do the rest of the poori's.

Tips:

The oil should be really hot for poori's to puff and dough should be tough. To check the temperature of the oil drop a small ball in the oil, it should come immediately up then the oil is ready.

Chenna masala:

Chickpeas-1 can, or dried 1 cup should be soaked in water for overnight and cooked .

Tomato-1

Onion-1

Greenchilli-2

Ginger and garlic paste- 1 tsp

chilli powder- 1 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala-1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

1 small stick of cinnamon

Bay leaf-1

Tea Bag-1

Coriander leaves- a few spring

Method:

Boil the chickpeas with tea bag and bay leaf for 5 min if using canned, if using the dried one boil it until the chickpeas is soft not mushy. Discard the tea bag and bay leaf.Grind 1/2 onion, 1/2 tomato,ginger garlic paste,1/2 tbsp of cooked chickpeas and few coriander leaves.Heat the oil add the cumin and cinnamon, now add finely chopped onion and saute it well, now add the ground paste and remaining 1/2 tomato and turmeric powder mix it well and cook it in medium flame until the raw smell goes, stir it now and then so that it doesn't gets burnt at the bottom. Now add the cooked chickpeas and salt cook itfor 10 mins in medium flame.Serve hot.