Herakayi/Ridge gourd chutney

Ridge gourd also known as "Herekayi" in kannada is extremely rich in dietary fiber and enriched with all the vital elements that include Vit-C, Zinc, Iron, Riboflavin, Magnesium, Thiamin and traces of other minerals.Chutney made from this vegetable is as tasty as it is rich in nutrients.

Ingredients:

1.Ridge gourd / herekayi -1 small or half of big one.

2.green chillies-5 (use more if you want more spicy).

3.coriander leaves-1 small bunch

4.tamarind-1 small piece

5.bengal gram dal-2teaspoons

6.coconut scrapings-1 small cup

7.oil

8.curry leaves-7

9.jaggery-2teaspoons

10.mustard seeds-1/4 teaspoon

11.asfoetida-1pinch

12.salt to taste.

Method of Preparation:

1.Scrape only the rough edges and retain the skin on the ridge gourd.Wash it well and cut it into small cubes.

2.Heat 2teaspoons oil in a wok/frying pan.Saute the bengal gram dal first.Then add green chillies.Add the ridge gourd cubes and saute for two minutes.Add tamarind piece,curry leaves,coriander leaves(washed and chopped).Saute them for another 2 minutes and add half cup water.After the ridge gourd cubes have softened ,switch off the stove and allow the contents to cool.

 

3.Keep the coconut scraping ready.

4.Once the contents of the wok completely cools down, grind this along with the coconut scrapings and jaggery.

5.Grind well to form a smooth texture.

5.Transfer the ground paste to a serving bowl, add required amount of salt and little water(if required) to get your desired consistency.To this, add seasoning of mustard seeds,asfoetida and red chillies (optional).

6.Ridge gourd chutney is now ready to be served.

Serving Tip: Serve with hot rava idlis ,chapathis or dosas.

Vegetable Cutlet

Vegetable cutlet is a yummy and healthy snack liked by people of all age groups.Do not miss out on this !!!

Ingredients:

1.Bread (white and plain)-1pound
2.beans-100gm
3.carrots-1big
4.peas-100grams
5.potatoes-4 medium sized
6.rava(semolina)-1cup
7.rice flour/wheat flour-1cup
8.rusk powder-1cup
9.oil
10.chilly powder-2 teaspoons
11.salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1.Dice the beans and carrots into very small cubes .

2.Boil all the veggies(do not dice the potatoes).Drain out the water and keep aside.

3.Dip 2 or 3 whole bread slices in water, take out immediately and squeeze out the water from the slices with your hands.Repeat the procedure for the entire pound of bread.

4. Mash the boiled potatoes.

5.Mix the beans,carrots and peas with mashed potatoes and some salt.

6. Add the above to the squeezed bread slices, add required amount of salt and chilly powder.

5.Mix the veggies,bread,salt and chilly powder well.keep this bread dough aside.

 6.Powder rusk in a mixer.Take a cup of rava, rice flour/wheat flour(I have used wheat flour), rusk powder.

7.Make small balls of the  bread dough and flatten each ball a little to form a square shape.Now, roll each flattened ball onto the wheat flour, then rusk powder and finally on rava.All these three powders stick to the flattened ball.

8.Heat a shallow frying pan or tava and shallow fry each square piece on both sides with 2 teaspoons of oil . 

9.Cutlets are now ready to be served.

Serving Tip: Serve hot with tomato sauce or coriander/pudina chutney.

Variation: 1.Deep fry instead of shallow fry (tastes better).
                 2. Add grated paneer(cottage cheese) along with the veggies.
      

Paneer Paratha

Ingredients:
wheat flour-4 cups
paneer/cottage cheese-200grams
red chilli powder-1teaspoon
coriander powder-1teaspoon
garam masala-1/4teaspoon
coriander leaves-small bunch
green chillies-2 or 3
cumin seeds-1teaspoon
oil
salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1.Mix wheat flour with enough water,salt to taste and 2tablespoons oil.Knead well to form a smooth dough and keep aside covered for about 30 minutes.

2.Grate paneer.

3.To the grated paneer, add red chilli powder,coriander/dhania powder,garam masala,finely chopped green chillies,finely chopped cilantro,cumin seeds,just a pinch of salt(if it is salted paneer bought from the stores,else add enough salt to taste).Mix well.

4.Make standard chapathi dough balls(little bigger if you want thick parathas).Shape them into cups.Stuff each cup with lemon sized paneer filling and seal it properly on all sides.

5.Roll out into thin or thick parathas(according to your taste).

6.Fry each paratha with little oil/ghee on a pre-heated tava, on both sides.

7.Yummy paneer paratha is now ready to be served.

Serving Tip:1.Serve hot with a dash of butter or ghee on top.
                     2.Serve with any north Indian side dish or just plain thick curds.

Semiya Upma

Ingedients:                                                                                                                              

vegetables-carrots(2),peas(1small cup),beans(200grams),potato(2)

rava semiya-500grams

green chillies-4

coconut-1 small cup

ginger-1 inch piece

coriander leaves/cilantro-1 small bunch

oil(ground nut oil/sunflower oil)- 4 tablespoons

salt(crystals/powder) to taste

mustard seeds-1/2 teaspoon

urd dal-1 teaspoon

bengal gram dal-1 teaspoon

turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon

asafoetida-1/4 teaspoon

curry leaves-8 to 10

Method of preparation:

1.Dice all the vegetables and wash them thoroughly.

2.Cook all the vegetables either in pressure cooker or in an open pan.

3.This is the uncooked semiya that is roasted (readily available).

4.Cut coconut into small pieces.Grind together fried green chillies and coconut pieces in a mixer.

5.Grate ginger and keep aside.

6.Grate coconut and keep aside .

7.Boil about 400ml of water,add the cooked vegetables,ground paste,salt,pinch of turmeric,seasoning of mustard seeds and asafoetida.Add the readily available roasted semiya and keep stirring.

8.Season with urd dal and bengal gram dal.(optional).

9.Add grated coconut on top for better taste and mix well.(optional).

10.Squeeze a few drops of lemon ,garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Tip:.Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Variation:1.Instead of veggies ,make plain semiya and add lots of grated coconut.

2.Use only onions and capsicum instead of all the other vegetables.

Hitakubele khara tavve

Hitakubele is nothing but skin peeled /pressed avarekalu.Avarekalu(hyacinth beans) are first peeled and the seeds are soaked in water for about four hours and the skin of each seed is pressed...quite a tedious task but dish prepared out of these pressed seeds(hitakida bele) is really yummy.Hitakubele khara tavve is one such popular and very tasty dish.

 Ingredients:

1. Hitakubele(skin peeled hyacinth beans)-1/2 kg
2.ground nuts(optional)
3.red chillies
4.coriander seeds
5.black gram(urd dal)
6.cumin seeds(jeera)
7.cinammon
8.asafoetida(hing)
9.coconut
10.poppy seeds(gasagase)
11.mustard seeds
12.oil
13.salt to taste

Method Of Preparation:

1.This is how hitakubele looks...immersed in water.Keep the pressed seeds immersed in water to preserve the moisture.

2. Soak groundnuts overnight or for about two to four hours(depending on the softness required).

3.Pressure cook the hitakubele and ground nuts(for three whistles).Add a pinch of turmeric powder  1 teaspoon oil and enough water before pressure cooking.The picture below shows the pressure cooked hidakbele and ground nuts.

4.These are the spices for grinding.Roast in 2 teaspoons oil ,about 10-12 red chillies(can mix together 4 badige and 6-8 selam/guntur), 4teaspoons coriander seeds, 3teaspoons black gram dal, small piece cinammon, 2teasppons cumin seeds, 1teaspoon poppy seeds.
Tip:can add 2-3 ripened green chillies along with these spices for better taste.

5. Grate or cut coconut into small pieces(1 small cup).                    

6. Grind in a mixer all the above spices along with coconut pieces to form a smooth paste.Add very little water if required.Then add 1 small cup of boiled hitakubele and grind again.This is to get the consistency of dal. 

7. This is the final ground paste. 

8. soak small lemon sized tamarind(less than what we use for regular sambhar) in 1 cup water.

9. Add the ground paste, tamarind extract, salt to taste and sufficient water, just enough to get dal consistency (neither too watery nor too thick).Keep stirring occasionally and allow to cook well so that raw smell is completely removed.Add seasoning of 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida.Simmer for 2-3 minutes.                                                                                 

10. Hidakbele khara tavve is now ready to be served.                                                                                                  

Serving Tip: 1. Mix 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida paste or powder to half cup water and use little of this mixture on the dal while eating.                                                           

2. Serve hot with ghee .Can be used for both rice and chapattis .

                                   

Spinach dal and tomato rasam

Spinach dal can be prepared using only red spinach or both green and red spinach.
Ingredients : green spinach - 2 bunches
                     red spinach - 2bunches
                      toor dal - 3cups
                     tomatoes
                     green chillies
                     red chillies
                     tamarind water
                      mustard seeds
                      asfoetida
                      coriander seeds
                       jeera
                       cilantro(coriander leaves)
                       curry leaves
                       jaggery
                        oil
                        ghee
                       salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Clean and cut 2 bunches of green spinach and 2 bunches of red spinach.In a pressure pan take 3 cups toor dal, cut spinach leaves. To this add 1 tsp oil and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.Pressure cook till the dal is completely done.

2. Meanwhile soak small lemon sized tamarind in water(for both dal and rasam).

 3.Finely chop 2 big tomatoes(or 3 medium sized) and slit 2 0r 3 green chillies.

                  
4. In a kadai, heat 2tbsp oil, splutter mustard seeds, add a pinch of asfoetida, green chillies, 1or 2 red chillies. Add chopped tomatoes and saute well till it softens.Take out the cooked spinach and 3/4 of cooked dal(with out the water) from the pressure pan and add to the seasoning.Add salt to taste and 2tsp tamarind extract.Allow it to cook in medium flame till the spinach and dal blend well.Spinach dal is now ready.

To prepare Rasam, either use rasam powder that is previously made or make fresh powder as follows:
1.For 1 cup of dal, take about 10-11 red chillies(selam),3tbsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp methi seeds,1/4 tsp jeera and roast them with 1tsp oil.

2.Grind the above roasted ingredients along with 2 medium sized tomatoes chopped in a mixer, to form a smooth paste as shown below.

3.Add the ground paste to the remaining 1 cup dal .Add sufficient water, remaining tamarind extract,coriander leaves, salt to taste, 2tsp jaggery and cook well in medium flame for about 15 min.Keep stirring in between.

4.In a separate pan, heat 1tsp of ghee.To this, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and allow them to splutter.Add1/4tsp asfoetida, 1/2 tsp jeera, 5-6 curry leaves and saute .Add this seasoning to the rasam.

Spinach dal and tomato rasam are now ready to be served.

Serving Tip: Serve both dal and rasam hot with piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee to taste yummy.
Add some vegetable curry and 1 cup curd for a complete meal.