Aloo Pyaz ki Subzi (Potato and Onion curry)

This Rajasthani delicacy is quite time consuming to make an exceptionally heavy on the tummy. But tastes divine with hot rotis. I'm not going with the original version but using my edited version that is simpler to make.

You need:

1. Potatoes - 2 large
2. Onions - 6-7 small onions and 2 medium onions
3. Tomatoes - 3-4
4. Garlic - 10-15 cloves (you can use less if you want less garlicky flavor)
5. Ginger - 1" piece
6. Green chillies - 1
7. Curd - 1 cup (preferably sour)
8. Black Cardamom (badi ilaichi) - 1
9. Cinnamon (Dalchini) - 1 stick
10. Peppercorns (kali mirch) - 2-3 corns
11. Cloves (laung) - 2-3
12. Salt - to taste
13. Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
14. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
15. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
16. Garam masala - 2 tsp
17. cumin seeds - 1 tsp
18. Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
19. Oil to fry
20. Fresh coriander to garnish

How to:

1. Remove the peel of small onions and make a slit lengthwise
2. Peel potatoes and chop lengthwise in to thick slices (like french fries)
3. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the small onions and potatoes. Keep aside
4. Make fine paste of the medium onions, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic, and ginger in a mixer.
5. Heat 6 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds and temper
6. Add the tomato-onion paste. Cover and cook well for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if needed
7. Tie the cardamom, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns and cloves in a muslin cloth and add to the pan
8. Mix the remaining spices in the curd. Add this to the pan and mix well.
9. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes till the oil leaves sides. Stir occasionally and add water when needed.
10. Remove the muslin cloth of spices.
11. Add the fried potatoes and onions and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
12. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rotis.

Palak Tamatar ki sabzi - Spinach and tomato curry

Coming home after a hectic day and cooking can be quite a pain sometimes. So I mostly try quick fix stuff. This one cooks in a jiffy and is doable for the health buffs too. Just moderate the oil - 'cause I don't.

You need:

• 1 large bowl of washed and chopped spinach
• 1 large tomato - diced
• 1 large onion - finely chopped
• salt to taste
• red chilly powder - 1 tsp (if you like it spicy make it 1 1/2 tsp)
• turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• coriander powder - 1 tsp
• cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• asafoetida - 1 pinch
• Oil - 1 1/2 Tb sp (you can use lesser if you want)

How to:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and temper the cumin seeds
• Add onions and sautee till translucent
• Add chopped spinach and tomato and stir well
• Add all the spices - cover and cook till the spinach and tomatoes are soft and the curry leaves oil at the side. Stir occasionally to avoid it sticking to the pan
• Ready to eat - yummy with hot paranthas

Strawberry Coulis

We shifted to our new place this week and things are pretty much in a test mode; including the fridge. On a shopping spree drooled over some strawberries and bought a couple of packs. Came home to find out that the fridge had decided to go on a strike. So now I was stuck with more strawberries that we could possibly eat in one night and to waste them would be a shame! Decided to experiment a bit and came up with the following that we enjoyed with pancakes the next morning.

You need:

Strawberries - 2 cups - chopped
Sugar - 1/2 cup (will depend on how sweet the strawberries are)
Water - 1 cup
Juice of one lemon

How to:

In a non stick heavy bottomed pan put the strawberries, sugar and water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook till the coulis achieves pouring consistency. Remove from flame and stir in the lemon juice.

Easy peasey!

Quickfix chocolate icing

I did this for a friend's birthday cake. Turned out pretty decent.

You need:

1. Approx 60 g of milk chocolate ( I used Cadbury's)
2. 1 cup of cream ( I used the layer of cream on milk and churned it a bit in the mixer)

How to:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add the cream and mix well. Should be of icing consitency. If you want add a capful of rum. All set to be put on the cake now :)

Pineapple Raita

A nice accompaniment to a heavy meal. Very simple to make.

You need:

• canned pineapple slices - 3
• Thick curd - 600 gms
• Black salt - 1 tsp
• Canned pineapple syrup - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Fresh coriander leaves

How to:

• Tie the curd in a muslin cloth and hang it to let excess water drip
• When the curd is really thick, sieve it through to remove any lumps
• Chop the pineapple slices finely
• Mix the salt, sugar, pineapple syrup, and pineapple slices in the curd
• Serve chilled garnished with fresh coriander

Aloo Tikki (Spicy Potato Fritters)

A tasty evening snack to be enjoyed on a nice rainy day. There are two versions to it, plain tikki and tikki chhole. I am going to write about the plain tikki in this post and follow it up with tikki chhole (ideal for a kitty party) in the next one.

It's fairly easy and quick to make :)

You need

1. 4 large potatoes - boiled
2. Salt to taste
3. 1 cup of Oil for frying
4. Bread crumbs for coating
5. Sweet tamarind chutney
6. Green coriander chutney
7. Red chilly powder to garnish
8. Chaat masala to garnish
9. namkeen (optional)
10. Finely chopped onion (optional)

How to:

1. Grate the potatoes. Add salt and mix well.
2. Shape the potato mixture into round balls and flatten in the middle to make patties
3. Roll in the bread crumbs to give an even coating of crumbs and keep aside
4. Heat the oil on a griddle and deep fry the tikkis in the center of the griddle. As they turn golden move them away from the center and arrange onto the sides. Cook till crisp and serve hot.
5. For serving - Crush the tikki slightly and garnish with sweet tamarind chutney and green coriander chutney. Sprinkle some red chilly powder and chaat masala. Can also add some namkeen and finely chopped onions.

Pav Bhaji

This Mumbai delicacy is easy to make while being a veggie fix for the kids. Just the thing when you want to eat something warm and spicy.

You need:

• 1 large potato - diced into cubes
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables - peas, carrots, cauliflower, beans, capsicum
• 2 large onions - finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes - finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Pav bhaji masala - 3- 4 tbsp (available ready made in the market)
• Salt to taste
• Lemon slices and chopped onion to garnish

How to:

• Boil the potato and mixed vegetables together till soft (one steam in a pressure cooker will do)
• Heat the oil in a deep pan and saute till lightly brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till soft.
• Add the pav bhaji masala, salt and red chilly powder and cook till the oil leaves the sides
• Mash the steamed vegetables well and add to the onion mixture. Mix well and add water if needed to make it a thick paste.
• Add the butter and stir well
• While serving add lemon juice and chopped onion. Serve with lightly roasted Pav ( a kind of bun)