Baigan Bhartha with palak and matar / Grilled Eggplant Spinach Dip

Bhartha  makes a good dip be it for chips or chappati . I had a eggplant lying around and charcoal grill was still hot after  weekend chicken barbecue so threw it in. We all roast eggplant in oven but the grilled eggplant had a wonderful smoky flavor and makes the dip more interesting.

Purple Eggplant - 1 big 

Spinach - 1 cup , chopped

Onion - 1/4 cup

Tomato - 1/2 cup, chopped

Peas - 1/4 cup

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Chilli Pw - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Turmeric Pw - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

1. Wash eggplant and prick few holes with knife.

2. Throw eggplant on a grill and cover and cook for 30 -40 minutes.

3. Or keep on a baking sheet and roast at 425 F for 30 -40 minutes.

4. Cool peel the skin and take the pulp and mash it with fork .

5. Heat oil and add ginger garlic paste and onion .

6. Cook till the onion turns golden.

7. Add the turmeric and chilli powder and cook for few seconds.

8. Add tomato and cover and cook till it can be mashed with a spoon.

9. Add spinach and peas and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

10. Add eggplant pulp and cook for another 2 minutes.

11. Add salt and garam masala and mix well and remove from flame.

12. Serve with chips or Chapati

Fish Tikki / Fish Cakes

We had some friends visiting from India staying with us last week . We had a lovely time them with lots sightseeing and shopping . Though i cooked a lot but didn't get a chance to click many pictures or sit on my computer to post anything but now back to my daily routine. I had some pan fried halibut (fish) chop left over from previous day's dinner so thought of using it up for an snack and prepared this tikki.

Pan fried fish flaked - 1 cup , ( i used halibut but any fish or even canned tuna will be good)

Potato - 1/2 cup , boiled and mashed 

Green Onion - 1/4 cup , chopped fine 

Green Chilli - 2 tsp , chopped fine

Ginger - 1 1/2 tsp , chopped fine

Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp

Breadcrumbs - 1 cup

Oil - 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

1. Mix flaked fish, potato , 2 tbsp breadcrumbs, onion, chilli , ginger, coriander leaves and salt.

2. And take a golf ball size mixture in hand and form a tikki ( pattie ).

3. Roll in bread crumbs and keep aside.

4. Heat a heavy bottom skillet and add 2 tbsp oil.

5. Place a few tikkis (patties) in the skillet and cook on both sides till golden.
5. Everything is already cooked so each side will hardly take 2-3 minutes to brown.
7. Serve hot with any sauce of choice and lemon wedges.

Rice Sabudana Muruku

My mom always made rice and urad dal muruku and it is one of my favorite snack till date. When Srivalli  posted rice and sabudana murruku for this months ICC  i was really exited to try a new version of my favorite snack . 

Rice Flour   -  1 cups
Besan flour  - 1/4  cup
Puttukadala/Fried Gram flour - 1/4 cup
Sago - 1/4 cup

Salt to taste
Curd - 25 gms / 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp water
Chile powder - 2  tsp or as per taste

1. Soak sabudana in  curd  for 3 hrs.

2. Mix all the flours, chilli and salt together.

3. Heat 50 gms oil(about 1/4 cup) and add to flour mixture.
4. Add the buttermilk soaked sago slowly.
5. Knead to a roti dough consistency adding water as required.
6. Keep a deep pan on heat and fill half of the vessel with oil.
7. Fill  muruku press with dough.
8. Form the desired shape on an oiled cookie sheet/plate.
9. When oil heats to 340 F ,drop  a few muruku one  at a time into the oil.
10. Cook on both sides till golden on medium flame.
Notes:

•  If you don't have murruku press try cookie press with a piping nozzle.
• I used food processor to make dough.
•  Ensure sago soaks in buttermilk well and is soft or else it will burst  when you press it down in hot oil.
• Cook on medium to ensure even cooking.
• Fried Gram (Chutney dal) flour is made from fried channa dal that is available commercially.

Happy New Year

Kale Junka / Kale cooked with chickpea flour and mild spices.

 Kale is something that my family don't like yet   so i keep trying new recipes . Just yesterday i had some of it lying in the fridge and thought of cooking it in Maharastrian style with besan and everyone seems to have liked it because they ate without any complaints.  If you ask me i myself don't like besan much :) .But since everybody else liked it i thought of recording the recipe .So here is my version of junka. 

Kale  - 4 cup , chopped fine

Hot Green Chilli - 4 , chopped fine

Onion - 1 cup , chopped fine

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp

Besan / Chickpea flour  - 4 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Pw - 1 tsp

Amchur Pw -1 tsp

Cumin Seeds -1/4 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

1. Cook kale with salt ,green chilli and turmeric till tender.

2. Drain and keep aside. (I pressure cook kale with no water)

2. Heat oil and add cumin seeds. Let it crackle.

3. Add onion , ginger garlic paste  and cook .

4. When onion turns translucent add besan and keep stirring.

5. Cook besan till the raw smell vanishes.

6. Add chilli pw and add amchur  and mix well.

7. Add kale and cook mixing now and then till mixture turns to crumble.

8. Serve with dal ,achar and roti.


i am sending this to yasmeen's cruciferious-challenge

Jeera Rasam / Cumin Soup

I love rasam . Rice , rasam  and papadam is a perfect combo for me when weather is little cold or when it is raining. And one day i came across this jeera rasam in Viji Varadharajan's book Samayal and liked it.It uses sambar powder instead of regular rasam powder with a little overdose of jeera. Its a digestive so very good to start a meal like a soup in my case i usually end my meal with rasam and rice. I modified the recipe to suit mine and my family's taste. 

For Rasam:

Water  -  2 cups

Sambar Powder  - 11/2 tsp ( please note  not rasam powder)

Tamarind pulp  -   1 tsp or a marble size  , soaked in hot water.

Toor Dal -  1 tbsp or any split lentil of choice

Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp

For Tempering :

Mustard Seeds  - 1/4 tsp

Cumins Seeds  - 1/4 tsp

Curry Leaves  -  a few

Hing Pw - 1/4 tsp

Dry Red Chilli - 3

Oil - 1 tsp

1. Soak dal and cumin in warm water for 20 minutes.

2. If using tamarind soak it to separately for 20 minutes .

3. Grind dal and cumin with 1/4 cup of water.

4. Mix  dal and cumin paste  in 2 cups of water.

5. Add to it sambar powder, salt and keep on fire.

6. Simmer for 10 minutes and keep aside.

7. Heat oil and add hing and mustard seeds.

8. When mustard pops add cumin , red chilli , curry leaves .

9. Cook for 30 sec and pour over the cumin water.

10. And you are ready to serve.