Aloo -Chana Chaat

Yesterday was yet another day to experiment in my kitchen. I have read about this aloo chat in many books and websites,but have never dared to try it,thinking that the main ingredient was just some boiled potato and so it might be tasting bland. But then,thinking about something instant and delicious to make yesterday I gave it a try but with my own version. All the recipes I have read had just mixing boiled potato with some dry spice powders. But I thought of giving it a change and I took only the base version and made it according to my taste and liking. And ,it was a great success indeed! My friends liked it and one of them made for her husband just immediately after going home. and good to know he liked t too. I was happy to know that.here is the recipe to make it.

for the ingredients,there is no exact procedure on how much you should take you can always add more or less depending on your taste.

Ingredients:

boiled potato cut into cubes

soaked and boiled chana

*add a spoon of salt when boiling chana and potatoes

chopped onion

jeera powder

chat masala

chopped coriander/cilantro

red chilly powder

sev

tamarind chutney

* I always use Knorr brand tamarind sauce for tamarind chutney.I find it very much handy and tasty.I would recommend to buy this. Tamarind sauce is available even in Maggi brand .but I haven’t used this. Tamarind sauce is availabale in any local Indian stores.

grated carrot

curd whipped with half tsp of salt and one teaspoon of sugar

Method:
To make chat,arrange potato pieces in a plate or bowl. Add chick peas and sprinkle 1 tsp of chopped onions. Add one tablespoon of whipped curd. Sprinkle jeera powder,chat masala,red chilly powder. Drizzle tamarind sauce. Garnish with sev,chopped cilantro and grated carrot. Delicious chat is ready

Puliyogare Powder

This is another recipe shared to me by my dear aunty who is my husband’s close friend’s mom. This puliyogare powder makes instant poliyogare which is very satisfying meal.It can be made as a breakfast,brunch or lunch and anytime meal to satisfy a spicy desire.

Puliyogare Powder

Ingredients
coriander seeds 1 cup
chana dal 1/2 cup
urad dal 1/2 cup
red chillies as required
methi seeds – 1/2 spoon
cumin seeds 5 spoons
tamarind big lime sized
sesame seeds – 1/2 cup(optional)
dry grated coconut – 1/2 cup(optional)

Method:

Except coconut,tamarind and salt, roast all the ingredients untill a nice aroma comes. Take off the mixture from heat and let them cool.Once the ingredients are cooled,grind them to a fine powder along with tamarind and coconut.Make sure tamrind is cleaned and deseeded properly. Now to this mixture,add required quantity of groundnuts fried in oil.In the same oil,saute a tea spoon of mustard seeds and curry leaves and add a dash of hing to get a wonderful aroma.
Add this to powder and mix well. Add salt and delicious puliyogare mix is ready to mix with rice.
To eat, mix 2 or more spoons (adjust according to desired taste) powder wtih rice with a spoonful of ghee or oil to ensure it mixes properly and enjoy instant puliyogare.

This is my entry to the RCI Karntaka Cusine hosted by Asha.

Bisi bele bath

I learn’t this recipe from one of my husband’s close friend’s mom in the first year of our marriage. She sent me this recipe through email and ever since I preserved this as a hard copy in my diary. Bisi bele bath is a popular kannadigan rice dish which is very simple to look,cook and yet tasty and delicious to provide a satisfying meal. Before I knew the recipe to make powder,I bought this powder from Indian store .But ,ever since I knew making the powder,i never again bought the powder .

To make bisi bele bath powder,

1 cup urad dal
1 cup chana dal
1/2 cup coriander seeds
red chiliies 20-25(adjust according to taste)
cumin seeds 5 tsps
cloves 5
cinnamon 2-3 small pieces
roast all the above ingredients in a tbsp of oil and make a fine powder after the ingredients are cooled.
This powder can be stored in an air tight jar and can used for 2-3 times or more.

To make bisi bele bath,
Ingredients
1 cup rice
toor dal 1/2 cup
tamrind big lime sized soaked in water
choice of vegetables(potatoes,carrot,green peas,beans)
Popu -> mustard,hing and curry leaves sauted in ghee
Method:
Cook rice wtih 2 cups water till soft and keep aside.Cook dal and veggies till soft.Extract tamrind juice.Make sure you have 2 cups of tamrind juice for 1 cup uncooked rice. Heat a wide ,sturdy pan.Add and saute popu. Add tamarind juice and bring to a boiling point.Now,add all the cooked ingredients(rice,dal and veggies).Let it boil for 2 more mins.Add salt and 5-6 spoons of bisi bele bath powder. top it off with a spoon ghee and serve hot with savories like papad,boondhi or sev. This is my entry for the RCI- karntaka cuisine hosted by Asha.

My friend Ashwini’s recipe for Sambar

My friend Ashwini ,makes a very tasty and delicious sambar. Iam posting this recipe here for Ashwini who wants to share her recipe with everyone. She also wants to give the credit for her speciality dish to her mom ,for passing on the recipe to her.

Making of Sambar Powder:Ashwini says that the secret behind her delicious sambar is freshly ground home made sambar powder. As it hardly takes time,I prefer making it while Iam making sambar. All you need to do is dry roast

1 tsp chana dal

1 tsp urad dal

4/5 dry red chillies(adjust according to your taste and type of chillies )

2 tsps coriander seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp methi seeds

4-5 pepper corns

grated coconut,as much as desired(optional)

and grind to a fine powder or paste by adding water

I follow the same recipe to make sambar powder,except that I don’t use poppy seeds.

To make sambar,

Ingredients:

3 medium sized tomatoes chopped

1 cup bite size chunks of bottle gourd(peeled and deseeded)

1 medium sized onion chopped

1 carrot chopped

1 potato chopped

sambar powder

1 key lime sized tamarind ball soaked in water

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder(optional)

1 cup toor dal cooked soft and mushy

Method:

Pressure cook toor dal and keep aside. Meanwhile,in a wide saucepan add veggies along with 4 cups of water. Let the veggies cook till done. Extract tamarind juice and add to the boiling mixture. Now,add mashed dal,turmeric,salt,redchilly powder,sambar powder. Bring to a boil and season with mustard seeds,cumin,red chillies and curry leaves.Enjoy with hot rice

Masala Papad

I don’t know if this is authentic Punjabi food or not but I remember having these masala papads and ” jaljeera – a cumin flavoured drink” in Punjabi dhabas. This is second recipe for the RCI – Punjabi Cuisine hosted by Richa.

Ingredients:

papad of any size(I used baby papads)

very finely chopped tomato,onion

grated carrot

lemon juice

salt,cumin powder,chat masala powder,red chilly powder

Method:

Mix all the chopped vegetables with salt and lemon juice. roast papad in microwave for 1 minute and sprinkle the vegetable mixture on roasted papad. Season with cumin powder,chat masala and red chilly powder to spice up. Enjoy as a delicous starter by itself or accompany it with any hot soup.

Cardamom – Coconut Jumbos

Ingredients:

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

About 2 tbsps softened butter

1 tsp ghee

2 tsps powdered cardamom

1 tsp baking powder

Method:

Mix all the ingredientsgently to form a stiff dough.Make lemon sized balls and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet atleast 2 inches apart from each other on all sides and bake for 15 minutes at 350F in the oven.

Poha Upma(Atukulu Upma)

This is one of the quickest breakfast I usually make inmy house. Making this upma is very easy and it makes a quick satisfying breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups poha

1 medium onion chopped

1/2″ ginger finely chopped

3 green chillies finely chopped

for popu,1 tsp each chana dal,urad dal,mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds2 tsps oil

Method:

Take a wide skillet.Heat oil and add and toast popu.Add chopped onions,ginger and green chillies.fry till onions are transperent.Meanwhile,wash poha under running water and drain water.Take care not to wash long to avoid poha becoming mushy.Drain water and add this poha to the seasoning or popu.Saute for 2 mins and add salt.

Snake Gourd with Sesame Powder

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped snake gourd

2 tsps sesame powder

popu

2 tsps shredded coconut

Method:

Wash,clean and chop Snake gourd into bite pieces. Add and toast popu and add snake gourd pieces.Cover and cook till 3/4 done.Now add sesame powder,and coconut.Stir and let cook for 2 more minutes.Serve with rice.

Snake Gourd in Yogurt(Potlakayi Perugu Pachchadi)

This is one of those few raitha’s that taste good with plain rice. Bottle Gourd raitha and Snake Gourd raitha are very common in my kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped Snake Gourd

1 cupYogurt

Salt to taste

Popu

Method:

Wash,clean and chop snake gourd into bite size pieces. Cook in microwave for 5 – 7 minutesand drain the water once the gourd is cooked.Add these pieces to whipped yogurt. Add salt and popu and serve with rice.

Sesame Powder

Sesame powder can be had with rice just as itself or can be used to spice up curries. I usually do either ways.Preparing this powder is very easy and it hardly takes any time.

Ingredients:

1 cup white/brown Sesame seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp red chillipowder

salt according to taste

Method:

Dry roast sesame seeds till nice aroma comes or light brown in colour. Once cooled grind to a fine powder along with cumin seeds. Dry roast 1 tsp red chillipowder till one min and add this to the ground sesame powder.Add salt according to taste and preserve in airtight jar. Enjoy with rice with a dollop of ghee or use this powder to spice up anything you love