Padma's Recipes: 5/1/09

20 ALOO METHI

Aloo Methi ( Potato/fenugreek leaves stir fry)
To know the benefits of methi leaves and methi seeds click here

Potato - 3 medium ( have used red potato)
Methi leaves - 1 bunch
Onion - 1 small chopped fine
Tomato - 2 small chopped fine
Garlic - 3 or 4 pods
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt as needed
Oil - 2 tbsp

Wash and place the potatoes in a microwavable bowl and cook for 6 minutes... remove and cool ... peel and cut into thick cubes.

Clean and was methi leaves and pat dry. Chop methi leaves when you are frying tomatoes and do not chop them way ahead or they will turn bitter.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add cumin seeds.
Next add chopped onions and fry till light brown. Then add finely chopped ginger and garlic( have chopped it very fine or can use a grater too) and fry till onions turn nice brown and then add chopped tomatoes. Fry till they are mashed and pulpy and also water leaves out from the pan. Now add chopped methi leaves ( roughly/coarsely chopped) and fry till they are cooked well ( will take few minutes). Next add all powders and mix well. Then add boiled and cubed potatoes and fry everything together till they are all blended well and potatoes are soft but not mushy (for another few minutes). Serve as a dry dish with rice or chapathis/rotis.

In case if you want it be in a gravy style then add 1 or 1 1/2 cups of water and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes.

sending this entry to Sowmya of Creative Saga's Cooking with greens event

22 DHAL COCONUT CHUTNEY AND AN AWARD

Dhal Coconut Chutney/ Paruppu Thengai Chutney

This is simple variation as to regular coconut chutney, but it tastes great with idli or dosas. I just wanted to make chutney with coconut and pottu kadalai, just when I checked the pantry did I know that I was out of them. This recipe is similar to paruppu thovayal/thogayal , but I made it in chutney style so did not fry it again after grinding.

Channa dhal - 2 tbsp
Urad dhal - 2 tbsp
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 3 or 4
Tamarind - a small piece
Garlic - 3 pods (optional)
Hing - a pinch
Salt as needed
Oil - 1 tsp

For tempering:
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds and curry leaves - few

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a frying pan and add channa dhal and urad dhal, saute till they are light brown and then add red chillies,garlic, tamarind and hing. Fry for few seconds and remove to cool. Transfer to a mixie along with coconut and salt to grind to a smooth paste. Temper them with tempering ingredients and serve with idli or dosas.

Got this lovely award from Subhie Arun and also got this award few days back from Parita and Dharani which I had not passed on to anybody - now can pass it on to more than 7 without breaking the rules :)

This award comes with the following rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (Only if you like).
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blog

I would like to this award to Lena ,Shubha , Hema , Viki , Homecookedoriyafood , Kittimatti , Nithya , Ushanandini , kalyani , kalai , Rekha's Kitchen , Kitchen Flavors , Suparna , Valarmathi , Sujatha , Dhanya , Srikar's Kitchen , Priti , Usha, Sireesha , Anisheetu

Enjoy :D

22 METHI PALAV/BIRYANI

Methi Palav/Biryani/Pulao

I love greens a lot and that too methi leaves and siru keerai( not sure the english word). Every time I get a bunch of methi leaves, I try a variety of dishes, my favaourite being methi dhal of course. But methi chapathi, methi rice and palav too tastes good and also very healthier. This is my version of methi palav/ biryani . Just had the rice with a simple egg masala. Both tasted great together.

Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cups
Methi leaves - 1 big bunch
Onion - 1 medium chopped
Tomato - 2 chopped fine
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 pods
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Biryani masala powder - 1 tsp
Coconut - 3 tbsp grated (optional)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, marati moggu , bay leaf - all few
Salt as need
Lemon juice - few drops
Oil - 2 tbsp

Wash and soak rice for 15 minutes. Clean,wash and pat dry methi leaves. Keep it aside.

Grind together coconut, garlic, ginger, green chillies and fennel seeds together to a fine thick paste.( I did not add coconut, even then it tasted too good)

In a pan heat oil and add cumin seeds, cinnamon, clove, cardamom , marati moggu and bay leaf. Wait for few seconds and add chopped onions. Fry onions till they nice brown and add the ground paste and saute till the raw smell leaves. Next add chopped tomatoes, fry till they mashed and pulpy . Then add chopped methi leaves ( do not chop the leaves way ahead , or it will turn bitter - I usually chop it when fryin tomatoes, side by side). Fry for few minutes till the leaves are cooked well. Next add all the powders and the washed and drained rice. Saute for a minute and add 3 cups of water, lemon juice and salt. You can at this stage transfer to a rice cooker or if it is in a pressure pan cover and cook for 1 or 2 whistles. I just cooked them directly on stove top - It did not take long- just reduce flame, cover and cook till done. Set aside for 15 minutes and then serve. Enjoy your methi palav/biryani.

22 MASHED SPINACH DHAL

Mashed Spinach Dhal/ Paruppu Keerai Masiyal/Kadaintha paruppu keerai

This dhal tastes too good with paruppu keerai, but in this recipe I have used spinach/palak leaves as only few variety of greens/leaves are available here.

Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
Spinach/Palak - 1 bunch
Onion - 1 small chopped fine
Tomato - 1 or 2 small chopped thick
Garlic - 3 pods
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Salt as needed
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 1 tbsp

Wash and pat dry spinach leaves ... wash toor dhal
In a pressure pan/cooker take toor dhal add 3 cups of water, also add half of onions chopped, garlic and chopped tomatoes... without covering cook for 10 - 12 minutes on high ( I do this coz I want to retain the color of spinach leaves and also the leaves gets cooked very fast and do not want to overcook and discolor them) ... next add all the powder and spinach leaves( you can chop it roughly or add as it )... ( also check if any additional water is needed, if water is drained a lot)...cover and cook for 1 whistle... once cool remove and mash with a churner or take them in a blender/mixie and turn on for just few seconds( just see if it is still hot chances are it will pour out... so let it to cool slightly and turn on few times just for 1 or 2 seconds only, they will get mashed very easily).... add salt and transfer to a serving bowl.

In a small pan/kadai heat oil and add cumin seeds, curry leaves and the remaining chopped onions... fry till nice brown and pour it on the mashed dhal. Tastes good with hot rice.

Sending this entry to Sowmya of Creative Saga's SWC- Cooking with Greens

31 BREAD MANCHURIAN

Bread Manchurian
My son Prithvi loves baby corn manchurian a lot just like me :). I started to prepare baby corn manchurian,but before I could finish frying the whole pieces, 3/4 th of the fried ones got over - mostly eaten by my hubby and son. I had already chopped in onions and other things for making manchurian and ended up doing bread manchurian. I got lot of appreciation by my son, which is very rare( though I try out so many things). He just said "I love bread manchurian".. which made me just smile :)

Bread slice - 5
Corn flour - 4 tbsp
All purpose flour/maida - 2 1/2 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 medium chopped fine
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3 pods ( cut into small pieces)
Ajjinamotto - a pinch ( optional)
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
Red chilli sauce/tomato chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
Green onions - 3 tbsp chopped fine Or
cilantro/coriander leaves - few chopped
Salt as needed
Oil for frying

Cut each bread slice into cubes( may be around 9)... keep it aside. If the bread slices are too moist as we get here... then keep them out of the pack , may be layering on a plate to dry out for sometime.
In a mixing bowl add corn flour, maida, rice flour, little salt, chilli powder(1/2 tbsp) and mix well ... add very little water to make a thick batter in a dropping consistency .... heat oil for deep frying in a kadai /frying pan ....add the bread cubes in small batches ... dip well in the batter and drop them in hot oil ,fry till they are crisp ... remove and repeat for the remaining bread cubes and keep it aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan/kadai and add chopped onions ... fry till golden brown ...next add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute....then add ajjinamotto and garlic pieces ( optional) and chopped green onions...saute for 3 - 4 minutes .... next add little salt, soy sauce, tomato sauce and red chilli sauce and saute once ... immediately add the fried bread cubes and mix lightly .... I did not have green onions so have garnished with cilantro leaves.

Will be on vacation from tomorrow. So posting a recipe before leaving. See you all next week. Have a great weekend :)

20 CHANNA CHAAT/SALAD

Channa Chaat Salad/Channa fruit chaat/salad

Cooked Channa - 2 1/2 cups
Apples - 1 ( cut into pieces)
Grapes - 1 cup( cut into half)( can use mix of green and red grapes)
Cilantro/coriander leaves - few chopped
Pine apple - 1/2 cup chopped into medium chunks
Red onions - 1 small chopped fine( it is optional use only)
lime- 1( extract juice)
salt to taste
Green chillies - 2 chopped fine
Black salt - a pinch
Chaat masala - few sprinkles
Raw mango - ( few pieces if needed)