Stuffed Okra / Bharwan Bhindi

I found dome nice okra in the store today. So I bought a bag full of them. I made fried okra, okra curry and even put a few of them in sambhar. I was still left with a dozen. So here is how I cooked them.

Ingredients

Besan/gram flour - 2 tbsp

Sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Rasam powder - 2 tbsp

Amchur - 1 tbsp

Roasted nut powder - 1tbsp

Cumin pow - 1 tbsp

Coriander pow - 1 tbsp

Youghurt - 3 tbsp

Steps

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil and make a paste.

2. Make a slit lengthwise to the okra. Take care not to break it open. Remove some of the seeds to make place for the stuffing. Stuff the okra with the prepared paste carefully.

4. To the remaining stuffing, add the seeds from the okra.

5. Heat some oil in a pan and arrange the okra stuffed side up. Cook on medium till the stuffing hardens.

6. Turn the okra and cook on all sides, stuffed side last. Cook till the okra browns. Keep aside.

7. Now add the remaining stuffing to the pan and cook. Add this to the okra and serve.

Serving ideas

If you like this dish dry, do not add the stuffing in step 7. You can top the dish with some fried/sauteed onions.

This dish tastes good on its own. You can also eat it with hot chapathis and sambhar rice.

It can also be had as a finger food with a yoghurt dip.

Tips

Cook the okra on low heat at all times to avoid burning.

For the stuffing, you can also use sambhar powder and coconut powder.

Mixed Flour Roti

When I first started making jowar rotis, I had a tough time with them. They always used to break. So I used a cheat method to make them. I used to mix a little wheat flour so that I could roll them out without any difficulty. Using the same idea here...

Ingredients

Jowar flour - 1/2 cup

Bajra flour - 1/2 cup

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup

Spinach - 1 cup (finely chopped)

Green chillies - 3 (finely chopped)

Cumin - 1 tsp ( coarsely ground)

Oil - 2 tsp

Water

Salt

Steps

1. Mix all the flours well. If possible, sieve them together. Add the remaining ingredients except spinach and knead well. Rest the dough for 15 minutes. Divide into equal portions.

2. Take one portion of dough and roll roll it a little bit. Put some spinach in the center and close it with the rolled out portion. Now roll again into an even and thin roti. Remove any air bubbles by pricking with a fork.

3. Heat a pan and cook the roti on both sides.

Serving ideas

Rub a little butter over the roti and serve with any curry or chutney. These rotis are also good with raita

Meal Today: Mixed Flour Roti with mashed potato-carrot curry

Tips

You can also add chickpea flour to the dough.

If you want to add vegetables to the dough, make sure you add a binding flour like wheat or all purpose flour.

To evenly cook the roti, use a cloth to press down the roti and keep rotating it.

Rava Idli / Cream of wheat Dumplings

I am not a big fan of idlis. Its only when I am ill that I have them. So I do not make the batter often. But one Saturday night, I had a craving for idlis. That's when I made these instant idlis. They are easy to make because there is no grinding etc involved and also taste great.

Ingredients

( Makes about 8 idlis)

Sooji - 1 cup

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 2-3 finely chopped

Chana daal - 1/2 tsp (optional)

soda - 1 pinch

Carrot - 1 small (cubed)

Green onion - 1-2 sprigs

Cashew / peanuts - 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves - 1-2 sprigs

Yogurt - 1 1/2 cups

Water - 1/2 cup

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt

Steps

1. Dry roast sooji till it turns golden brown.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add ginger-garlic paste and green chilies and fry for sometime.

3. Add this to sooji and mix. Also add salt, soda, carrot, green onion, coriander leaves, coconut, yogurt and mix well. Let it rest for 1/2 hr.

4. Grease an idli stand. First put in the garnish you want and then put the mixture on top of it so that when you take out the idlis, the garnish can be seen on the top.

5. Steam for atleast 15min. Remove the idli stand and let it cool for 5 min. Now remove the idlis. Serve hot.

Serving ideas

Serve with sambhar or peanut chutney. You can also sprinkle some roasted chickpea powder on top of the idlis.

Get creative with the garnish. Try to make each idli look different.

Meal today: Rava idli with smoking hot pappu charu

Tips

Adding more yoghurt or oil makes the idlis softer. Take care that the batter is similar in consistency to that of the normal idli batter.

Rest the idlis for a couple of minutes before taking them out of the stand. It makes them easy to remove.

Watermelon -Tomato Soup

Ever heard of a cold soup? I had this Watermelon-Tomato soup at Joe's Restaurant in Watertown. It was different from the usual soups and tasty as well.

Ingredients

Watermelon - 1 cup (cubes)

Tomato - 1 cup (cubes)

Almonds - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Cream - 1 tbsp

Mint / Basil - 1 sprig

Oil

Salt

Steps

Blend all the ingredients together.

Serving ideas

Pour cream on top and serve. I poured the cream like a whirlpool and drew lines with a skewer. Looks like Spiderman is going to love it.

Tips

You can save some chunks of watermelon and tomato and add it to the soup if you like it chunky.

Add a couple of sauteed baby onions and vinegar to add more flavour.

Carrot - Scallion Roti

It is so boring to eat the plain rotis every time. Adding a little bit of something to the dough makes it interesting.

Ingredients

(Makes 4 medium rotis)

Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups

Carrot - 2-3 tbsp (grated)

Scallions/Green onion - 2-3 tbsp (finely chopped)

Green chillies - 2 finely chopped

Oil

Salt

Steps

1. Prepare the dough by mixing the flour first with salt and a dash of oil and then water. Rest it for 15 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into equal sized portions and make small rounds. Take a round of roti dough and roll it out.

3. Sprinkle the grated carrot, scallions and green chillies. Roll it in and seal the edges.

4. Twist the roll of dough and dab with a little oil so that the dough does not break while pressing down. Now wrap it around itself into a flat circle and press down.

5. Dab some dry flour on it and once again roll it out into a roti.

6. Heat a pan and and cook the roti on both sides.

Serving ideas

Serve the rotis hot with a little butter on top along with any dal or curry. It also goes well with raita.

Meal Today: Carrot-scallion rotis with lemon dal

Tips

You can try the same with beetroot, any squash or any leafy vegetables.

Spinach stir fry / Palakura talimpu

Countless moms urge their children to eat greens pointing at Popeye, the sailor. As a child, I used to watch it. I still remember Popeye saying 'I'm Popeye the Sailorman, I'm strong to the finish, cause I eats my spinach, I'm Popeye the Sailorman...' which brings me back to todays recipe -

Ingredients

spinach - 1 bunch chopped

roasted chickpea/putnala pappu powder - 2 tsp

salt

olive oil

For poppu/tadka/tempering:

mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

urad dal - 1 tsp

Garlic - 4-5 cloves grated

Pepper powder - 1/3 tsp

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the cumin seeds and urad dal. Once it turns golden brown add the spinach and mix it so that it gets coated with olive oil. Saute for a minute or two.

2. Add salt, pepper, chickpea powder and garlic. Saute for a couple of more minutes.

Serving ideas

This dish makes an excellent side. It is also good with rice or chapathis.

Meal Today: Mango dal rice with spinach stir fry

Tips

Try not to overcook the spinach. Add garlic at the end to retain the garlicy aroma and flavour.

Use puff pastry to make small rounds or samosas with this as a filling and bake. It tastes good accompanied by tomato salsa and chat masala.

Mexican Omlette

Today, I found nothing in my fridge except some greens and a bell pepper. Feeling lazy to cook, I wanted to whip up something quick but delicious at the same time. A Mexican omlettle is the perfect choice - loaded with a variety of veggies and cheesy, it fills you up for sure.

Ingredients

(Makes 2 omlettes)

Eggs - 4

Potato - 1 finely chopped

Bell Pepper - 1/2 finely Chopped

Spinach - 1 cup finely chopped

Tomato - 2 Chopped

Cilantro - 3-4 sprigs

Green Onion - 2 finely Sliced

Garlic - 3 cloves grated

Milk - 2tbsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Grated cheese - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 3-4 finely chopped

Salt

Oil

Steps

1. Whisk the eggs with milk, salt and pepper.

2. Heat some oil in a pan. Add potatoes and cook with salt and pepper till they turn crisp. Now add the bell pepper and cook till it turns tender but is still crunchy. Add garlic and chillies. Lastly add spinach, cilantro and tomatoes. Cook for a minute and then add the whisked eggs.

3. When the omelette is half cooked, add the grated cheese and fold omelette. Allow it to cook so that the cheese melts.

Serving ideas

Serve with tomato salsa or sour cream.

It is a very good accompaniment to sambhar or rasam rice.

You can place a cooked tortilla/chapathi over the half cooked omlette and press down so that it sticks well. You can roll this up and you have a quick breakfast on the go.

Tips

Adding milk improves the texture of the omlette.

The longer you whisk the eggs, the fluffier your omlette will be.

Cluster bean fry / Matikaya karam

I never liked cluster beans much. But this dish changed my mind. The sweetness of the caramelized onions with the bitterness of the cluster beans is a perfect combination in this dish.

Some info on cluster beans : Cluster bean is a boon for diabetics. It is 90% fiber and helps in lowering the blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Commercially, matured cluster bean seeds are crushed and turned into flour known as guar gum. It is used as a thickening agent in food, paper and textile industries. The thickening power of Cluster Bean is more than 5 times that of Corn Starch.

Ingredients

Cluster beans – 1 1/2 lb

Onion – 1 finely chopped

Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp (optional)

Salt

Oil

Steps

1. Prepare the cluster beans and roughly break them into smaller pieces.

2. Put them in a processor and pulse a couple of times for a few seconds so that they are coarsely chopped but are not turned into paste.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Put the mustard, cumin, ginger-garlic paste and later the onions and fry a little.

4. Add red chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder and mix well.

5. Add the bean mixture along with salt and mix well .

6. Fry them on medium-high till they turn brown. This might take about 30min. Keep mixing at regular intervals.

Serving ideas

Serve with hot rice or chapathis. This also tastes good in a sandwich.

Meal Today: Hot rice with matikaya karam and ulavalu

Tips

This dish requires more oil than others as it takes a long time to brown.

Scrape off the brown bits attached to the pan at regular intervals. It is where the taste lies. Also, after removing the contents to a bowl, you could put rice into the pan and scrape off everything from the pan. It really tastes divine.

The same recipe can be tried out with green peas.

Horsegram snack / Ulava Guggillu

Horse gram is one of the lesser known beans. It was generally used as cattle feed. However, it is consumed as a whole meal by a large population in AP. It is of a great medicinal value for kidney stones and cough.

Ingredients

Horsegram / Ulavalu - 2 cups (boiled)

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Chat Masala - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies - 2 finely chopped

Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Garlic - 2-4 cloves crushed

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt

Steps

1. Soak the lentils overnight

2. Pressure cook and strain the liquid. This can be used to prepare a delicious soup called ulava charu

3. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add urad dal and fry till it turns golden brown. Now add curry leaves, garlic, ginger-garlic paste. Add onions and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Now add all the powders and the boiled ulavalu and mix well.

5. Fry for 2 minutes.

Serving ideas

Serve hot along with raw onions and tomato slices. Drizzle fresh lemon juice on top.

Snack Today: Popu pettina masala ulavalu

Tips

Boiled horsegram does not have much flavour by itself. So feel free to add spices of your choice to add your own brand of flavour.

Those of you with a sweet tooth - like me - can mash the boiled gram along with jaggery. Use ghee on your hands and make small rounds of this mashed mixture.

Horsegram soup / Ulava Charu

Ulava charu is a thick horsegram lentil soup relished especially during winter as it gives heat to the body. Horsegram or Ulavalu are very healthy as they help prevent kidney stones and also provide relief for cough.

Ingredients

Ulavalu - 1 1/2 cups

Tamarind paste - 1/3 cup

Red chilies - 3

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Salt

Chilli powder - 1/3 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/3 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Dry coconut powder - 1 tsp (optional)

Onions - 4-5 button onions (optional)

Garlic - 6-7 cloves crushed

Steps

1. Soak the horsegram overnight.

2. Put the horsegram in a pressure cooker and pour water so that it comes about 4 inches above the gram.

3. Pressure cook.

4. The liquid has an earthy brown color.

Strain the liquid and separate the cooked horsegram. This gram will not have a mushy appearence as compared to other lentils.

5. Take 1/2 cup of cooked dal and blend it into a very smooth paste along with a couple of garlic cloves. The remaining left over dal can be used to make a tasty snack.

6. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pot. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After they splutter throw in the red chillies, curry leaves and garlic. Fry till the garlic turns a little brown.

7. Now add the coconut powder and horsegram paste and cook for a minute.

8. Add the strained liquid and mix well. Also add salt, chilli, pepper, coriander powders and tamarind paste.

9. Let it cook on medium-high for 35-40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serving ideas

Serve with hot rice and a dollop of butter/cream.

Meal today: Ulava Charu

Tips

This dish remains fresh for 10-15 days when stored in refrigerator. Do not use onions or fresh coconut if you intend to store it.

As it rests, this soup becomes thicker. So it is better to make it runny.

The leftover ulavalu can be made into a chutney.