SPICY CRISPY CAULIFLOWER SABZI (a quick recipe)

Got bored with same old recipes to make cauliflower sabzi. I tried gobi manchurian type masala. Turned out to be quite easy and tasty. It is very quick also.

I used:

Cauliflower                                            1 kg.
Garlic                                                     7-8 cloves, finely cut
Green chilies                                         3-4, finely chopped
Coriander leaves                                   about 1/2 cup finely chopped
Salt                                                        1/4 teaspoon
Tomato ketchup                                     1 cup
Oil                                                          1 tablespoon

Method:

Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets. Sprinkle salt and microwave for 2-3 minutes till half cooked, tossing once or twice in between.

Heat oil in a pan.  Add cut garlic and fry till brown. Now add cut chilies, stir and after about 10 seconds and tomato ketchup. Once it starts boiling add florets of cauliflower, mix well and cover with a lid.  After one minute add chopped coriander leaves, turn the contents again, cover with lid and turn off the stove. After about five minutes turn the contents again. The sabzi is ready.  The florets are still crispy and ready to serve.

HAGALKAI PALYA (BITTERGOURD)

This is a variation of the usual North Indian dish, the stuffed bitter gourd. In case  stuffed  bitter gourd  deep fry this after stuffing it with spices. To avoid deep frying, I tried this method. Turned out quite well

Ingredients:

Hagalkai/bitter gourd                          1/4 kg (cut as shown)
Onion                                                   1  big , slit as shown
Amchur powder                                   2 teaspoons
Salt                                                      1 level teaspoon
Red chilli powder                               1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder                                1 pinch

oil                                                           1 tablespoon

Method:

To quicken the process, take cut bitter gourd in a bowl, add salt, mix well and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing once or twice in between.

Now take oil in a thick pan and heat. Add soumph. When it turns golden brown add cut onions and turmeric. Fry for a minute. Add chily powder, mix and add cut bitter gourd and cook without adding water. Fry till cooked . Add amchur powder and mix well. After about a minute, remove from fire.

This tastes better when eaten the next day! The reason is that the hagalkai pieces will have absorbed salt and amchur and the palya will not be very bitter. If you like it bitter, you can eat the same day.

This is a side dish and tastes very well with plain roti and dal.

PANEER SABZI

Dear Shru and Poo,
It is a long time since I posted a recipe. You know that I was busy with so many other things. Just as I was planning to post others from my list, Nanda told me that she has tried most of my recipes which turned out well and that she was waiting for more recipes from me. That made me act soon.

So here it is -one of the easiest and tastiest dishes, which goes well with rotis. All you need to buy is paneer. All other ingredients are mostly available at home. You can buy and store paneer in the freezer for quite some time and it becomes handy in emergency- that is, when you have no time to buy vegetables or when guests arrive unexpectedly or in short notice. So, try this.

Ingredients:

Paneer 200gms (one block cut into 1/2" cubes
Oil or butter 1 tablespoon
Onions 3 (medium sized)
Garlic 3-4 pods
Ginger 1" piece
Tomato 2 medium sized
Tomato puree 3-4 table spoons
Jeera 1 teaspoon
Dhania powder 1/2 teaspoon
Haldi 1 pinch
Red chilli powder /2 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Garam masala 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander leaves 2 tablespoons chopped

Procedure:

Grind together onion, garlic, ginger and tomato into a paste. Let it not be very smooth.
Put oil or butter in a kadai and heat it. Add cumin seeds After it turns brown, add dhania, haldi and mirch and immediately add the ground paste. Fry till raw smell is gone. Add tomato puree and fry for about one minute. Add about 1 cup of water and saslt and bring to boil. Add paneer cubes (many people fry them, but I dont), and boil for 3-4 minutes. Add garam masala and coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis. This quantity serves four.
(There are different varieties of paneer masala where poppy seeds, cashew nuts are used. But I make this in a simple way)

BAINGAN KA BHARTA

Till I got married and went to Bhopal, (35 years ago), I had not heard of this badnekai bharta. This is a North Indian specialty and liked by all. If I am right, it is a special item of the menu when guest come home. I was keen to learn north Indian dishes, {not that I could prepare all south Indian dishes :)} and this is one of the first few things I learnt to make.

The selection of tender badnekai while buying is also very important here. It should be dark purple in colour, should be firm and soft to touch. If it is hard it means that it is ripe, and you find lots of seeds inside and the taste of bharta is spoilt. Moreover take care that there are no holes. Holes are an indication that there are worms inside. May be because unfortunately they spray pesticides nowadays or may be because my ophthalmologist has said I am developing cataract in my eyes, I don't remember to have found worms recently :-).

Badnekai should actually be roasted in kenDa, but nowadays since nobody uses charcoal, you can roast it on a gas flame. The burnt smell gives the bharta the beautiful flavour. You may feel that it is quite a bit of processing. But it is not really so. Once the pulp is ready, the rest is quickly done !

Ingredients:

1 big badnekai (about half a kg)
2 midium onions-finely cut
1 big ripe tomato
1" cube ginger-finely cut or grated
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 teaspoons oil.
salt to taste
procedure:
Smear a little oil on the surface of the badnekai and keep it on the flame. Holding the stalk, rotate it frequently so that it gets roasted all around uniformly. Roast till the badnekai becomes soft. The skin becomes dry and brittle and that is an indication that it is done. Take it off the flame and allow it to cool.

You can see in the picture on the left, how a fully roasted badnekai looks.

Peel off the the skin fully and mash the pulp well.

Now keep a kadai on the stove. Add oil and heat. Add ginger and the cut onions and fry for a minute. Add cut tomatoes and fry till tomato becomes soft.

Add the pulp, salt and mix well. Keep stirring for about two to three minutes and turn of the stove.
Yes, bharta is ready!




This is a side dish with chapathis and serves four, if you have other sabji and/or dal also in the menu.