Dum Aaloo (Whole Potatoes)

I have made dum aaloo (whole potatoes in gravy) before, but I wanted to see if I can make it again in a different way this time. So I hunted for recipe online and found a good one by Tarla Dalaal. It required a lot of spices!! I don't think I have ever made anything like this before. It was exciting for me to try this recipe out - and it turned out quite well. This is the first time I felt that something tasted like it would in an Indian restaurant!!

There were also a lot of dry whole spices (which I had hardly ever used in curry! I use the powdered one)

Ingredients:
(For 4 servings - some of the spices shown)

1. 14 Small baby potatoes
2. 3 tbsp oil
3. 2 medium onions
4. 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
5. 1/2 tsp crushed ginger
6. 2-3 green chilli (hotness is on you!)
7. 1 tsp cumin seeds
8. few cloves
9. 2-3 small pieces of cinnamon
10. 1/2 tsp anise seeds
11. 1/2 tsp black peppercorn
12. 2-3 tbsp cashews
13. Salt, pepper to taste
14. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
15. 1 can tomato puree
16. 2 tsp sour cream (I don't usually use cream - but that is what was in the original recipe)
17. 1/2 tsp sugar

The gravy turned out to be quite a lot - so I have frozen half of it.

Process:

1. Wash the potatoes and poke some holes using a fork. Soak in salted water for 20-30 mins.
2. While they are soaking you can make the curry.
3. Cut the onion into small or medium pieces. Add all the ingredients through and blend them in the blender.
4. Add 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and add the blended mixture to the pan and fry until the oil separates out.
5. Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
6. Add the tomato puree and cook for about 15 mins or to make a nice curry. 
7. Add the 1/2 tsp sugar. 
8. Add the 2 tsp sour cream and mix the gravy.  
   
   
   
9. Remove the potatoes and dry them. I broiled the potatoes for 10 mins or so, but the skin was becoming a little burned, so I took them out and fried them in hot oil. To make it easy for people to eat, I took a knife and made some shallow cuts on the skin so it could be cut with a spoon without the potato flying out of the curry.
10. Add the potatoes to the curry and cook for a few minutes (or not...because everything is cooked). 
    
11. Top it off with the cilantro garnish and serve hot.

I served it with naan and rice.  The taste of the dum aaloo was quite amazing! I am going to try this out with vegetable kofta or paneer, especially since I have half the gravy in the freezer!

Cauliflower (rasaydaar - with water)

The most common way of making cauliflower is as a dry vegetable serving, which has no water or gravy.  This one described below, has water in it so it provides for a just a different way to cook the cauliflower.  This recipe does require a little time as there is some frying involved, but the result is the tastiest vegetable of all!

Ingredients (this serves about 5 people)

1. One small head cauliflower 
2. One large potato
3. Small piece of ginger or ginger paste
4. One large tomato diced (optional)
5. Few sprigs of cilantro, chopped to small pieces
6. One third or half cup oil
7. Half tsp cumin seeds
8. One tsp coriander powder
9. 3/4 tsp garam masala
10. Half tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
11. One tsp amchur (dry mango powder) or 1 tsp lemon juice
12. Salt and pepper to taste

Process:

1. Cut the cauliflower into medium pieces (don't make it too small or leave too large)
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1cm wedges.
3. Wash the potatoes and cauliflower with water and drain the water.
4. Take a large pan and pour about 1/5 th cup of oil. Heat the oil and when it is hot, add the potatoes and fry them until they are reddish in color. (Note: the oil can be more - it will just make the vegetable more rich!)
5. Remove the potatoes and keep them on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
6. In the same pan, add one fourth cup of oil and add the cauliflower. Fry these until they are reddish. Try not to overcook them. They should retain their shape and be firm.
7. Remove the cauliflower and keep on a paper towel to remove excess oil. 
8. Note: you can fry the cauliflower and pototoes together, but potatoes fry faster than cauliflower so you have to remove them individually (which is what I do and save myself some time)
9. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil; add half tsp of cumin seeds; 1 tsp of coriander powder and let it get brown.
10. Ones the spices are brown, add the ginger pieces or paste and fry it to give a little brown color. (If you want you can also add small pieces of green peppers if you can handle the hotness!)
11. Add about 3 cups of water, add the cauliflower and pototoes to the pan.
12. Add salt and red chilli to your taste, add the turmeric powder and garam masala.
13. Add the diced tomatoes at this time if you want to. This gives a nice red color to the vegetable in addition to the taste.
14. Boil the mix for about 10 mins. The cauliflower is already cooked when frying, so you should not need to boil for too long. Add more water if needed - as much as you want.
15. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the amchur powder or lemon juice. 
16. When ready to serve: make sure it is hot (although cool is yummy too!), and add the chopped cilantro to garnish.

The vegetable is best enjoyed with paranthas!! And of course you can keep in the fridge and enjoy for 2-3 more days, if you have any left over! 

Cabbage and Peas

Another nice vegetable which if cooked right can be really tasty and flavorful. The nice thing about cabbage is that other vegetables can be added in small quantities to give it more taste, flavor or color.  I add some peas, small pieces of potatoes or grated carrots.  Top it off with cilantro and it tastes awesome!!

Ingredients (serves 4)

1. One small cabbage
2. One third cup of peas, small pieces of potato or/and grated carrots
3. Few sprigs of cilantro chopped in small pieces
4. 2-3 tsp of oil
5. Half tsp cumin seeds
6. Half tsp of turmeric powder (haldi)
7. Salt and red pepper to taste
8. Half tsp garam masala

Process

1. Cut the cabbage in nice long strands (for a good appearance)
2. Wash the cabbage and drain the water.
3. In a large wok add 2-3 tsp of oil; add the cumin until it is brown.
4. Add the cabbage to the cumin in the wok.
5. Add the salt, pepper and turmeric powder.
6. Add the peas or potatoes or carrots at this point.
7. Mix everything and cook on low heat. I try to cook it without any water, the cabbage has enough water in it to cook, but if you want you can add little water as the cabbage is getting cooked.
8. Stir occasionally until the cabbage is to your suitable tender level - some people like it very soft, I like it little firm and brown. It is still cooked but has a different flavor.
9. Once done, garnish with the chopped cilantro and serve.

I enjoy the cabbage as it is (like a snack) or with yogurt, or with rice or parantha.

Vegetable Lasagna

This is not an Indian dish, but it one of my favorites of the Italian dishes. Of course I make the vegetarian kind.  I have never tried the white lasagna - one day.....

Ingredients

1. 8 lasagna noodles
2. 2 cups pasta sauce
3. 1/2 or more onion diced
4. 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic (I bought the chopped-bottled one)
5. 2-3 cups of mixed vegetables (I had bell peppers, carrots, broccoli and spinach)
6. 1 cup ricotta cheese
7. 1 egg
8. 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
9. 2 cups mozzarella cheese
10. 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

Process

1. Break the lasagna into half pieces - I made my lasagna in a medium size pan so I wanted to make sure it fit in that pan.  Boil to cook the lasagna in boiling water. When cooked, wash with cold water.
2. Cut all the vegetables in small pieces and steam them.
3. Dice the onion.
4. In a frying pan pour the oil, add the garlic and onion. Saute them until slightly brown.
5. Add the steamed vegetables and cook for a few minutes.
6. Add the pasta sauce and let cook for 5-10 mins. (Add salt and pepper if you want)
7. In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and 1 egg. Mix it well.
8. In a 9x9 inch baking dish pour a little bit of the sauce/vegetable mixture.
9. Spread one at a time, each lasagna noodle at the bottom of the pan.
10. Add half the ricotta mixture and spread it on the noodles. (Add mozzarella cheese if wanted - I did not - too much fat!)
11. Spread half of the remaining sauce/vegetable mixture on the ricotta cheese.
12. Repeat again with noodles, ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese spreads.
13. Top it off with the mozzarella cheese.
14. I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top of the mozzarella.
15. Bake the lasagna for 40 mins at 375oC in the oven.
16. Take it out and let it cool.
17. Enjoy!!!

Chilli Paneer - Sapna's style

My take on chilli paneer (cheese) is a little different. I don't like all the water that is given out during the cooking of the peppers.  It just makes everything too wet for me. I tried this new recipe to give a new twist: there is no water in the end; the peppers retain their shape AND....I added a new flavor!!

I enjoy this as a snack or with rice...tasty in both cases! And best of all - it is so colorful!

Ingredients

1. 6 medium bell peppers - all colors (I am showing only the red ones in the pictures below - but I have made this using red, yellow and green bell peppers - see picture above). 6 medium peppers makes for about 4-5 servings.
2. 2 medium onions - the red ones give a great color to your dish. (I am showing yellow in this one).
3. Paneer - as much as you like; one cup cubes is what I used. (I buy the pre-made paneer/cheese from the Indian store).
4. 2 tbsp Tandoor masala.
5. 1 tbsp ginger paste.
6. 1 tbsp garlic paste.
7. 1 tbsp chilli paste or 3-4 green chilli peppers (optional).
8. Salt and pepper to taste.
9. 2-3 tbsp olive oil.

Process

1. Wash and cut the peppers in large 2 inch pieces.
2. Cut the onions into large 2 inch pieces.
3. Cut the paneer into small 1 inch cubes.
4. Place all the above in a large bowl; add the oil and Tandoor masala. Mix and let sit for 10 mins or so.  
5. Broil the entire mixture on high for 10-15 mins or until peppers are tender. You may need to stir the mixture under the broil so it does not burn.
6. After its all done - take it out from the broil. (Enjoy the smell!!)
7. In a large pan, add a little oil and fry the garlic paste, ginger paste and chilli peppers. 
8. Once a little brown, add all the peppers/onions/paneer mixture.  Add salt and pepper and stir for about 5 mins or so or until you are satisfied with the look and softness of the peppers/onions.
9. Enjoy it warm!! I also freeze this to enjoy at a later time (I usually end up making soooo much of it!)

Okra

This is a simple and tasty dish. It does not need a lot of spices and as any okra goes, it is high in fiber. I will post another way to cook okra later...its with onions and equally tasty!

Ingredients:

1. Okra - whatever quantity you get is fine, just add the required spices accordingly. The spices below are for about 1 lb (this serves about 4 people)
2. Salt and red pepper - to taste
3. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 
4. 1 tsp ground dried fennel seeds (saunf)
5. 1/2 tsp tumeric powder

Process:

1. Wash and cut bhindi - lengthwise or round - as you wish to eat. (do not wash okra after cutting it)
2. Add 1 tsp oil to frying pan and when hot, add the cumin seeds.
3. Add the okra to the pan.
4. Add salt, red chilli and haldi and mix.  Cover and cook on low to medium heat.
5. Stir occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom.  It cooks very fast, within 10-15 mins.
6. When almost cooked (check with a spoon - the okra should cut easily), add half tsp of ground fennel (saunf) powder. Mix well.
7. Stir the okra in the uncovered pan on high heat to give it a nice roasted flavor. This will also remove any of the slippery texture.  Add little more oil at this step and stir a bit more if you want a roasted and fried type okra.

I eat the okra with parantha (a type of chapathi or naan). You can eat it as a side vegetable with any lentil soup, or with rice.

Gaajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)

Be ready for a little hard work if you want to do this right.

Gaajar ka halwa is one of my favorite deserts! If not made properly, this dish can taste like sweetened boiled carrots. But if made with little effort (and love) this can be a very tasty and flavorful desert. Some measurements I have given here are approximates because it depends on your taste especially the sweetness.  Although I believe if you are making a desert then make it sweet - don't make it such that it seems like a desert but its not really sweet.....

One word of warning - since I find this desert a little labor intensive I make it in large quantity and freeze half of it for later.

Ingredients

1. 5 lbs carrots
2. 4-5 cups of milk (1% or 2%)
3. One 8-10 oz can condensed milk (sweetened/low fat is what I used) or 1/2 cup Khoya or 1/2 cup powder milk
4. One and half cup sugar
5. Half cup or more ghee
6. Raisins, cashews to garnish

Process

1. Wash and grate the carrots. (I love my food processor for this reason!)
2. Add the carrots to a large stir frying pan and start heating. Add the milk.
3. Cook the carrots in the milk. This requires constant stirring otherwise the milk might stick to the bottom of the pan. I love my non stick pan for that reason, no sticking at this step!
4. Keep stirring and cooking until almost all the water has evaporated.  The picture shows that the milk is still not yet evaporated. See the bubbles?
5. Once the carrots start looking a little dry, add the condensed milk (or khoya, or powder milk), which melts in the carrots to make them watery again. Keep stirring and evaporating the water.
6. Add the sugar at this point. Again, sugar will release water, so keep stirring.
7. I start adding the ghee a little bit at a time at this point. 
8. Keep stirring and adding ghee until nice and thick consistency. Taste at this point to make sure the sugar is at your "bliss point".  
9. Keep stirring (bhuno) the halwa; it will turn reddish as it is getting done. At one point the aroma of the halwa will tell you the halwa is ready. 
10. Add the garnishes now and stir in to mix.

The nice thing about this halwa is that since its cooked well it lasts a while, it can be eaten cold or warm (I prefer hot). The more ghee you add in the last steps the richer it becomes and the better it looks. But just adding ghee without the stirring (bhuning) is not going to give flavor.

It is not advisable to overcook it as the halwa becomes hard to eat.

It took me about 3 hrs to make halwa of 5 lbs carrots :-)