Tag Archives: vegetarian khana

Tomato Garlic Dal (Lentils cooked with Tomatoes and Garlic)

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Tomato Garlic Dal (Lentils cooked with Tomatoes and Garlic)

Dal is a part of everyday meal in India. It is a preparation of lentils with different spices and vegetables. Dal rice or dal roti is a staple diet of most of the Indian homes. Tomato dal or tamatar ki dal is one of the simplest and common dishes in Indian kitchen. You can call it the Indian comfort food. This dish is simple, tasty, and full of nutrition.

Onion and garlic are kind of banned in my home and that explains my love for these two flavors. I love the burnt garlic flavor in this dal. Plain rice or jeera rice is the best complement for this dal but I like it with hot rotis too.

Tomato Garlic Dal (Lentils cooked with Tomatoes and Garlic)

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 1 cup split pigeon peas (toor/arhar dal) washed and soaked for 15 mins
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 inch piece of ginger grated
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 2 green chillies slit
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic sliced
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes washed and chopped
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • Approximately 3 cups of water for cooking the dal
  • 1-2 cups of water (if required in case the dal is too thick)
  • 2 tsp of ghee/oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves

Recipe

Pressure cook the dal in 3 cups of water with salt for 3-4 whistles. It should be cooked enough to be mashed when you mix it. Once the cooker is cooled, mash the dal and keep aside.

Heat ghee/oil in a kadhai or pan. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, green chillies, and ginger. Cook for 30-40 seconds. Add garlic and cook till the garlic starts browning. Add onions and cook on low flame till onions start browning.

Add tomatoes and salt. Remember the dal already has salt so add salt for tomatoes only. Cook on low flame till tomatoes are cooked and can be mashed with the back of a spoon. Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, and garam masala. Mix well and cook till oil separates.

Add the cooked dal to this and mix well. If the dal is too thick you can add ½ to 1 cup of water. Some people like the dal thick while some enjoy a thinner consistency so add water as per preference.

Check for seasoning and add salt or spice as required. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped coriander and serve with hot rice.

Grilled Bell Peppers and Chick Peas Salad

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Grilled Bell Peppers and Chick Peas Salad

This is a quick, healthy, and filling salad. Chick peas or garbanzo beans are a dieter’s delight. They are rich in fiber, protein, and iron. Mint and lettuce add flavor and crunch to this salad. Grilled veggies give it a nice smoky flavor. Best way to roast or grill the vegetables would be to grill them on a charcoal or normal gas flame directly. You can roast/grill them in an oven too.

This is an ideal evening snack or you can even make it as a side dish for any meal. I prefer to eat this cold as a complete meal instead of a side dish.

Grilled Bell Peppers and Chick Peas Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups boiled chick peas/garbanzo beans
  • ½ red capsicum grilled peeled and chopped
  • ½ green capsicum grilled peeled and chopped
  • ½ tomato grilled, peeled, and chopped
  • ¼ lettuce torn into small pieces
  • 2 tbsp chickpeas mashed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp mint powder
  • ¼ tsp white pepper powder
  • ¼ tsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp basil finely chopped
  • 1tbsp fresh mint leaves finely chopped

Recipe

For the dressing, mix olive oil, salt, mint powder, white pepper powder, lime juice, mashed chick peas, and basil. You can change the quantity of salt and pepper as per taste.

In a bowl mix boiled chickpeas, roasted capsicum, tomato, and lettuce. Pour the dressing and mix thoroughly. Garnish with chopped mint leaves. You can serve this salad warm or chilled.

 

Mixed Vegetable Curry Gujarati Style

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Mixed Vegetable Curry Gujarati Style

This is my mother in law’s signature dish and just like me, almost all my friends love this one. It is a mix vegetable curry with gram flour stuffing and gravy. My mom in law calls is Aakhu shaak (aakhu means whole and shaak is vegetable). This does not involve lot of chopping and cutting. Vegetables are slit, filled with the spice mixture and pressure cooked.

You can make the filling in quantity and keep it in fridge for a month. Once you have the filling ready, this is a very quick recipe to make. Though I have learnt from her to make this dish, I still prefer and make sure to get packs of stuffing made by her.

My mom in law uses Potatoes, Onions, Brinjals, and Green chillies (non-spicy ones) for this curry. Since I don’t like Brinjals, I leave out Brinjals and add Capsicum. As with all the moms, there are no exact measurements for this recipe. All the spices depend on taste. This curry tastes best with rice. You can have it with rotis or hot puris too. The recipe looks long but it is worth the effort.

Mixed Vegetable Curry Gujarati Style

Ingredients

Serves 2-3

  • 2 potatoes
  • 2 onions
  • 1/2 capsicum (cut in big pieces)
  • 2 big green chillies (non-spicy ones)
  • 4-6 curry leaves
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
  • 1 ½ cup water
  • 2 tbsp oil

For Masala

  • ½ cup gram flour (besan)
  • ¼ cup coriander cumin powder
  • 3-4 green chillies
  • 7-8 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 2 table spoon oil (groundnut oil preferred)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

For Masala

Roast the gram flour on very slow flame for 3-4 minutes. Keep mixing it continuously so that it does not burn. Add the coriander cumin powder, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder. Roast further for 1-2 minutes. Over roasting will burn the gram flour so be careful while roasting the masala. Once the masala is roasted remove it from pan immediately and let it cool.

Make a coarse paste of green chilli and garlic. Combine the roasted gram flour and coriander powder, and rest of the masala ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste for spices. You can adjust the chilli powder or sugar based on taste.

For Curry

Peel potatoes and cut them into two pieces and make slits. Don’t cut the potato completely. Create a slit enough to fill some masala. You can check the image above for slits.

Peel onions and make 2 slits. Slit the big green chillies and remove the seeds.

Take little masala; around ¼ tsp and fill the masala into the slits.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add mustard, cumin seeds, curry leaves and let them pop. Add the vegetables and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add 3 tbsb masala and water. Close the lid and cook for 3-4 whistles.

Once cool. Open the cooker and put it on slow flame again. Add 3 tbsp of masala. Mix well and check for taste and consistency of gravy. (The gravy should be thick. You can add little water if it is too thick as gram flour tends to thicken the curry). Taste for spices and make adjustments for salt or spices. Cook for 3-4 mins mixing occasionally.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with hot rice or roti.

Gatte ki Sabji (Gram flour Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

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Gatte ki Sabji (Gram flour Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Gatte ki sabji is one of the most popular dishes of Rajasthani cuisine. There is hardly any marwadi family that doesn’t make this curry. Since the climate in Rajasthan is very hot and dry, fresh vegetables are not available around the year. Many Rajasthani recipes depend on dry ingredients like different types of flours, millet, and beans. Gram flour and buttermilk are the main ingredients of this curry.

Gatte are basically cylindrical rolls of gram flour and other spices mixed into a dough and cooked in boiling water. These can be used for making a dry curry or a sauce-based curry like this one.

Apart from the sabji that is made at my home, I have enjoyed this curry the most at Rajdhani in Bangalore. Their saatpadi and gatta are to die for. I like to eat this with rice or hot puris. There is also a dry version of this curry which I will post some other time. For now, enjoy this mildly spicy and tangy curry. Happy eating!

Gatte ki Sabji (Gram flour Dumplings in Yogurt Sauce)

Ingredients

For kadhi

  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp gram flour (besan)
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida (heeng)
  • 8-10 curry leaves
  • 2 green chillies slit
  • 4 inch piece of ginger grated
  • 2 tsp coriander
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 4 cloves
  • Few fenugreek seeds
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • Salt to taste

For Gatte

  • ¾ cup besan
  • 1tsp red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Few carom seeds
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

Combine all the ingredients for gatte and make a stiff dough adding little water. Divide the dough into equal portions and roll them into cylindrical rolls using your palms.

Boil plenty of water and cook gattas till they float on top. Drain and let them get cool. Cut the gattas into approximately 1 ½ inch pieces and keep aside.

Whisk together buttermilk, gram flour, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, asafoetida, and salt.

Heat oil in a kadhai or a thick bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cloves, and fenugreek seeds. Once the seeds pop, add curry leaves, green chillies, grated ginger, and dry red chillies and sauté for few seconds.

Add the whisked buttermilk mixture and bring to boil while stirring continuously otherwise the kadhi will split. Once the kadhi boils add gattas, reduce the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve with rice or hot puris.

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Dudhi Methi na Muthiya (Steamed Bottle gourd and Fenugreek Dumplings)

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Dudhi Methi na Muthiya (Steamed Bottle gourd and Fenugreek Dumplings)

One of my most favorite Gujarati meal/snack. I call it Gujarati Manchurian. It is an anytime meal for me. I make it for dinner and eat it steamed. Then save the left over muthia and temper it the next morning for breakfast. This is a great tea time snack too.

It is tasty, healthy, and packs in all the health benefits of whole wheat flour, millet (bajra) flour, fenugreek (methi), and bottle gourd (dudhi/lauki). All these ingredients make this a perfect diet snack/meal. Though muthias are tempered after steaming, you can either use less oil for tempering or simply eat them without tempering. They taste equally good.

I prefer to temper them with less oil. It makes the muthia soft and fluffy inside and crispy on the outside.

This is a family recipe again. As any other Gujarati dish, traditionally this too has sugar in it. But my mother in law make this without sugar and I love this version.

I enjoy it with garlic chutney, oil, onions, and some curd. Couple of points to keep in mind while making muthia:

Lauki has high water content so be careful while adding water. Add water only if you find the dough too dry to bind.

You can use left over rice instead of poha. I add poha as it makes the muthia softer compared to rice.

Dudhi Methi na Muthiya (Steamed Bottle gourd and Fenugreek Dumplings)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup millet(bajra) flour
  • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup gram flour (besan)
  •  ½ cup beaten rice (poha)
  • 1 cup fenugreek (methi) leaves chopped
  • 1 cup bottlegourd (lauki/dudhi) grated
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 3 inch piece of ginger
  • 6-7 pods of garlic
  • 3 green chillies
  • ¼ tsp soda
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 3 tsp coriander powder
  • Little water
  • Salt to taste

Tempering

  • 3 dry red chillies
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tbsp ginger, garlic, and green chilli paste
  • 10-15 curry leaves (kadi patta)
  • 2 tbsp sesame (til) seeds
  • 3 tbsp oil

Recipe

Make a coarse paste of ginger, garlic and green chillies. Take a wide bowl/dish combine rest of the things except water. Add very little water at a time and make a dough soft enough to just bind the ingredients together. Do not knead it a lot.

Apply little oil to your palms. Take some dough in your palm and fold your hand to make a fist. This is how you shape muthias (guess this is how it was named since you close it in a mutthi(fist) to make). Make similar rolls with rest of the dough.

Arrange the rolls on a greased sieve and steam them in a steamer for 25-30 mins on a low flame.

Remove and cool slightly. Cut each roll into 2-3 pieces.

Heat oil in a thick and deep pan (kadhai). Add mustard seeds and let them pop. Add curry leaves and dry red chillies. Add ginger, garlic, and green chilli paste and sauté for a minute. Add sesame seeds and sauté for few seconds. Add muthia pieces and mix well. Sauté for 2-3 mins till they start getting little crisp or brown.

Serve with garlic chutney, curd, and onions.

You can eat the muthia without tempering too.  Just dip them in garlic chutney mixed in some yogurt or oil.

 

Jacket Potatoes

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Jacket Potatoes

Jacket potatoes are my favorite weekend meal. I love to be a couch potato on Friday nights with my favorite comfort foods by my side. Jacket potato is one of them. I was introduced to jacket potatoes in Cardiff. One of my friends used to have it as a quick meal. Just bake the potato, slit it into half and add corn and cheese and bake for some more time and done! Sounds good but not exciting and being a south Indian I wanted to add spice to this. Since then I have added numerous fillings to this dish but the most favorite of my fillings is the sweetcorn and capsicum filling.

Russet potatoes are perfect for this dish. They already have a mushy texture and this time I added grated paneer to the filling and it just added to the texture.

I like to top this dish with cheddar cheese but you can experiment with mozzarella or other similar cheese. I experiment a lot with jacket potatoes. Sometimes I lace the potatoes with chilli sauce before adding the fillings. Sometimes I top the potatoes with sour cream. You can even add different herbs to flavor the potatoes.

These jacket potatoes can be enjoyed with tomato sauce or any cream-based dips. I like them with the yogurt and mint dip.

Jacket Potatoes

Ingredients

Makes 8 jacket potatoes

  • 4 large russet potatoes, half boiled with salt
  • ¼ cup sweet corn, boiled
  • ¼ red bell pepper, ¼ green bell pepper, ¼ yellow bell pepper finely chopped
  • 2tbsp grated cottage cheese (paneer)
  • ¼ tsp oregano
  • ¼ tsp chilli flakes
  • ¼ tsp white pepper powder
  • 2 pods garlic
  • 1/4th onion finely chopped
  • 4-5 fresh basil leaves chopped or ¼tsp dried basil
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

Halve each half boiled potato vertically. Slice off a thin round from bottom, so each piece will stand firm. Scoop the potatoes leaving thin wall on sides. Chop the scooped potato and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add garlic, oregano, and chilli flakes. Add onions and sauté for a minute or till the onions are translucent. Add capsicum and sauté for 1-2 mins. Add corn and saute for one minute. Add paneer, salt, pepper powder, basil leaves, and salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the scooped potatoes and mix well till the potatoes are mashed.

Cool the mixture a little. Fill the mixture in the potatoes and top them with grated cheese.

Preheat the oven and bake the potatoes at 200 degrees for 15 minutes or till the cheese on top is slightly browned.

Khatiya Dhokla (Steamed Rice and Lentil Snack)

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Khatiya Dhokla (Steamed Rice and Lentil Snack)

Dhokla is to Gujaratis what pizza is to Italians. It is made in almost all the Gujarati families. Khaman dhokla the fluffy commercial version is more famous around the world but this healthy and nutritious delight has its own fan following.

Most of the families prepare the dhokla flour in advance and use it as required. This flour can be stored up to three months in refrigerator.

The dhokla flour needs to be mixed with sour curd and left over night to ferment. My mother in law uses buttermilk to make the batter. It adds to the softness and tangy taste of the dhokla. Just before steaming the dhokla a tempering (tadka) is added to enhance the flavour and add spice to the dhokla.

There are two ways to enjoy dhoklas. One is to add tempering (the Gujarati way) and eat it with tea and second one is the healthier option to just cut it into piece and eat it with garlic chutney like I do.

Khatiya Dhokla (Steamed Rice and Lentil Snack)

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups dhokla flour
  • 3 cups butter milk
  • 1 ½ tsp salt
  • 2 pinches soda
  • Paste of 2 pods of garlic and 1 green chilli
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • 2-3 dry red chillies broken into pieces
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder for sprinkling
  • 6-8 curry leaves

For Tempering

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 7-8 curry leaves
  • 14 tsp turmeric
  • ¼ tsp red chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Make a batter with dhokla flour, butter milk, and salt and keep it in a warm place overnight to ferment. The batter is ready when it is fermented and you get a sour smell from it. Add garlic and green chilli paste and soda. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, and dry red chillies. Once the seeds pop, pour this mixture over the dhokla batter and cover it for few seconds. Mix well and check for salt.

Grease a thali (plate with high edges) and pour 1/3 of batter. Sprinkle few pinches of red chilli powder and steam it in a steamer for 8-10 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked. The clean skewer rule of cake works for dhokla too. If the skewer comes out clean, dhokla is done. Let it cool slightly and cut into diamond shaped pieces.

Repeat the above step to for the remaining batter. You can make three batches from the batter.

Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve the dhoklas hot with tea and garlic chutney. This is the healthier version of dhoklas.

Another way to eat this is by tempering the dhoklas.

Heat 2tbsp oil in a kadhai. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, dry red chillies, and curry leaves. Once the seeds pop add turmeric and red chilli powder. Mix and immediately add dhoklas and mix well. Cook for 3-4 mins sautéing in between to you see the dhoklas getting slightly browned or crispy on the edges. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve hot with tea and garlic chutney.

 

Dhokla Flour

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Dhokla flour can be prepared in quantity and stored in refrigerator for up to three months. Having this flour handy can help you make dhoklas quickly.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups rice
  • 1 cup chana dal
  • ¼ cup urad dal

Recipe

Grind the ingredients together to make a powder. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to three months and use as required.

Pudina Chutney (Mint Chutney)

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Pudina Chutney (Mint Chutney)

Mint chutney is multipurpose and can be used for various dishes. Spread it on sandwich, add to a bowl of curd to make mint dip, add to chaats, add it to curries to add a minty flavor, use it as a marinade, or serve it with appetizers.

Mint chutney has a shelf life of 7-10 days. It can also be freezed and used later. There are many variations for this chutney as well. You can add onions, garlic, or raw mango.

Make sure to use only the leaves of mint and discard the stalks. Adding lime juice to the chutney while grinding will keep it green.

Pudina Chutney (Mint Chutney)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mint leaves (pudina)
  • 2 cups fresh coriander leaves
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 green chillies
  • 3 tbsp groundnuts
  • 2 inch piece of ginger
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

Combine all ingredients and blend to a smooth paste. Store in an airtight container and use as required.

Kairi Ki Launji (Raw Mango Relish)

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Kairi Ki Launji (Raw Mango Relish)

Kairi ki launji is a raw mango relish which I have relished all my childhood. It is a summer special when raw mangoes are in season. Like any other raw mango dish from Rajasthan, this too is made to shield your body from the intense heat in the desert.

You can use slightly sweeter raw mangoes if you want to use less sugar. Or you can replace sugar with jaggery if you want a healthier version.

This sweet and sour side dish adds magic to any meal. It is quick to cook, requires very few ingredients and you can even store it for 2-3 weeks in refrigerator. You just need to warm it up when you want to eat. This is my family recipe of the Rajasthani favourite kairi ki launji.

Kairi Ki Launji (Raw Mango Relish)

Ingredients

  • 1 medium raw mango peeled and cubed
  • 2 tsp oil
  • ¼ tsp cumin seeds
  • Half of ¼ tsp mustard seeds
  • ¼ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
  • ¼ tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 ½ tsp sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • Salt to taste

Recipe

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or kadhai. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Once the seeds pop, add nigella seeds and fennel seeds. Sauté for few seconds.

Add raw mango, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add water and sugar and cook covered stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes or till the mangoes are cooked and pulpy. Remove and cool and serve with paratha or roti.