HAPPY DIWALI

WISH YOU ALL AND YOUR FAMILY A VERY HAPPY DIWALI.

Amara Payar Curry /Guvar Phalli Curry

Amara Payar /Guvar Phalli   like which baigan , you either  like it or hate it . I happen to like it and my family likes it too :). I used a new masala  Fenugreek masala from madhoosfood.wordpress.com for this preparation and loved it.

Fenugreek (Methi )Masala
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Whole Red chili - 4
Dry roast each ingredient  till fragrant and grind it to powder.


Amara Payar/ Gavar Phalli - 1 cup , cut into 2 inch  pieces
Onion - 1/4 cup , chopped
Saunf - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek/ Methi Masala -  1 tbsp ( Or use coriander - 1 tsp , chili - 1/2 tsp)
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Aam Choor  - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Take half a cup of water in a sauce pan.
2. Add amara payar , salt , turmeric .
3. Cook till tender , drain and keep aside.
4. Heat oil and add saunf and cook for 30 secs. 
5. Add onion and cook till onion turns light golden.
6. Add the aam choor, fenugreek masala and garam masala.
7. Add drained amara payar and mix well.
8. Cook for few minutes , till all the masala gets mixed with the vegetable.
9. Serve with roti or paratha.

Ghee Roast and Ridge Gourd Chutney

For blog hop i visited Divya's  blog  DIVYASCOOKBOOK  last week and Jayshri's blog  SAMAYALARAI  this  week and enjoyed reading through their posts. When i saw how to prepare the restaurant style rocket shaped ghee roast i knew what i wanted to try  from divya's collection and then came across the ridge gourd chutney in jayshri's collection thought it would be a wonderful combo with the dosa and every one at home loved it with dosa and even rice.

In the picture chutneys are tomato (red colored) , coconut (white colored), ridge gourd( light brown colored) , chutney podi ( drak brown colored).

Nei (Ghee) RoastRecipe source : DIVYASCOOKBOOK

Idli rice – 3 cups
Urad dal – 1 cup
Methi seeds – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee – as required to make dosas

1. Soak the rice  for 4- 6 hours and dal-methi for 45 minutes separately .
2. Grind to a  smooth paste and mix both together with salt .
3. Keep the batter for fermenting overnight.
4. Place a dosa tawa on flame and make dosas.
5. Spread the dosa as thin as possible and pour a tsp of melted ghee on top.
6. When dosa starts becoming brown and crisp, lower the flame.
7. Cut a radius shaped slit.
8. 
9.  Now remove the dosa and fold it like a cone along the slit and ghee roast is ready.

RIDGE GOURD CORIANDER CHUTNEY

Recipe Source :SAMAYALARAI 

Ridge Gourd  - 1/2 cup peeled, deseeded and cubed

Coriander seeds - 2 tspPearl Onion -  4 , slit into quarters
Red chilies - 2
Channa dal - 2 tsp
Coconut - 2 tbsp grated
Tamarind  a small piece
Salt to taste

1. Heat oil in a deep pan and roast the dal , coriander and red chilies . 
2. Now add the onions and saute till translucent
3. Add the ridge gourd, coconut ,salt and mix well.
4. Cover and cook till gourd is tender .
5. Add the coriander leaves and saute for a second or two.
6. Turn off heat, cool.
7. Blend  the mixture and chutney is ready.

I'm sending this entry to "Blog-Hop-Wednesdays" at tickling palates.

Pomfret kerala style on grill

This summer we wanted to try fish on the grill and thought of using this very famous Indian fish "pomfret". We were able to find it in the local Japanese market. This fleshy fish is really good for grilling. Another fish which i have tried is "trout" and it too works well on the grill.

Fish ( Pomfret)  - 2
Chili Powder(mild for color) - 2 tsp
Chili Powder (hot for taste) - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp or Water - 1 tbsp
Curry Leaves -  a few sprigs
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

1. Clean the fish inside and out and trim all the fins and scale it too.
2. Sprinkle about a tbsp on coarse salt evenly on both sides .
3. Massage the salt well on the fish and wash it  and keep it to drain.
4. Now make few deep slits on both the side of the fish.
5. Mix lemon juice , salt , turmeric , chilli and garam masala well.
6. Now add a tbsp of water or a tbsp oil to the mixture and  mix well.
7. Mix about two spring of curry leaf into the mixture.
8. Massage the mixture on the both sides of the fish.
9. Fill a few curry leaves in each slit on both sides of the fish. 
10. Leave the fish in the refrigerator for few hours to marinate.
11. And grill it or bothe sides on a hot grill.
12. Or heat a pan and add a tbsp of oil  and cook the fish on both sides.
13. Serve the fish with lemon wedges

Sending this to the Kerala kitchen hosted at yummy food.

Pavvaka /Bitter Gourd Curry

A simple bitter gourd curry which is quick to prepare and goes well with rice or roti. Bitter is one taste that we all lack in our diets and is very important to include when ever possible.

Pavvaka/Bitter Gourd - 1 cup ,slit into four and sliced thin

Green Chilli - 2 , slit into half

Curry Leaves - a few 

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Tamarind Pulp - 1 tsp

Jaggery Powder - 1 tsp

Water - 1 1 /2

Salt to taste

For tempering

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Pearl Onion - a few , chopped fine

Curry Leaves - a few

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Powder - 1/4 tsp

Hing Powder - 1/4 tsp

1. Add bitter gourd , green chili , curry leaf, salt , turmeric, tamarind , jaggery and water in a sauce pan.
2. Cook till the bitter gourd slices are fork tender and then get ready for tempering.
3. Heat oil in a pan , add mustard and let it pop.
4. Add curry leaves and onion and cook till onion is golden.
5. Add hing , red chili, coriander powder and cook for a few seconds .
6. And pour over the cooked bitter gourd and simmer for 3- 5 minutes.
7. Finally add the fenugreek powder and remove from fire.
8. And you are ready to serve.