Pappu Pulusu - Andhra Food Series

This is the ultimate comfort food as far as I am concerned. Hot steaming rice, a dollop of ghee, pour this dal on top and you have got yourself a perfect meal. Its all very well to want to eat out and try out different foods, but after a while home food is the best.

My mother used to make this the best but I like to think mine is not that far behind in either taste or appearance. Even if I have to say so myself, it is pretty darn delicious!!!!

Try it out and let me know...

INGREDIENTS:


1 cup Toor Dal
1 Large Onion, Sliced
1 Tomato, diced
2 tablespoons Tamarind Extract
2 Green Chillis, sliced

4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped into big pieces.
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
2 Red Chillis
6-8 Curry Leaves
1 teaspoon Coriander Leaves , finely chopped
1 teaspoon Oil
Salt to taste


METHOD:

Soak the Dal for about half an hour.

Pressure cook along with the sliced onions, diced tomatoes, sliced green chillis till cooked.

Mash till onions, tomatoes, dal and chillis are well blended.

Heat oil.

Add the mustard seeds, red chillis, curry leaves and garlic and fry until garlic is well browned.

Pour the cooked dal mixture over this and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Brinjal Peanut Curry

My cook at home comes out with very unusual foods. Sometimes, she makes things for herself, and puts a bit on the table for us to taste. And more often than not, they end up being very tasty and a staple on the dining table.
This is one such dish. I think it is fairly typical of the Nellore region.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 kg Brinjals/Aubergines
2 Onions
2 Tomatoes
2 pods Garlic
50 grams of Roasted Peanut, powdered
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
Few curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste



METHOD:

Chop the onions, tomatoes and garlic finely.

Dice the brinjal into bits and keep in a vessel of water to prevent discoloration.

Heat oil on a medium flame.

Add the mustard seeds.

Once they start crackling, add the garlic and curry leaves.

When garlic has browned nicely, add the onions.

Fry till  it starts getting brown, add the tomatoes and fry till mushy.

Now add the salt and red chilli powder.

Add the brinjal and fry for a few minutes. Add a quarter cup of water and cover.

Check periodically till the the brinjal is cooked well.

Now add the peanut powder, and give one last boil and switch off.

Serve hot with rice or chapatis.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Daily Salad - Kids Favorite

At home, salad is an integral part of each meal. Without fail, we have a raw vegetable salad everyday. 

Fresh vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, fibre and all the goodness which leads to a healthy lifestyle. They offer quantity AND quality and at a low calorie cost. Raw food is nature in its purest form.

Today's theories state that adding a lot of colour to the meal is important. That is,different coloured vegetables add various vitamins and minerals that the body needs. So what I am saying here is the experts believe a plate piled with fruit and vegetables with all the colours of the rainbow will ensure that you eat a wide array of nutrients essential to the body.

I love this salad a LOT and so do my kids. They enjoy it and just go though bowlfuls without a murmur. I first had it at the Gymkhana Club when someone ordered it as a starter. Initially I was take aback, salad for an appetiser??  But it tasted good... And now though I may not actually serve it as an appetiser along with drinks, I most certainly adapted it to make it healthier and tastier. 

It is easy enough to make if you discount the the effort that goes into dicing all the vegetable finely..

INGREDIENTS:


1 Red Capsicum
1 Green Capsicum
1 Yellow Capsicum
1 Tomato
1 small Cucumber
1 Carrot
1/2 cup Peanuts
1/2 cup Corn Niblets
3 Cheese cubes (or 75 grams Cheddar cheese)

Juice of 1/2 Lime
Salt to tatse

METHOD:

Dice the Capsicums, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot finely into even sized bits.

Dice the cheese into bits of the same size.

Mix everything into a serving bowl. Top with the corn and peanuts.

Just before serving. squeeze the lime juice over and season with salt.

Keep chilled until serving.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Sabudana Vada And Rainy Days

Its has been raining on and off here and though we are well into August and September is already peeping round the corner, there seems to be no respite from the heat. The only times it cools down a bit is when it rains. Now rains in my town bring with them not only a much needed drop in temperature but a host of problems as well like traffic snarls, water logging, .... But then I think we welcome the change of weather so much, we are ready to forgive our city anything at that point.

The monsoon set in a couple of months ago for the rest of the country. But in my part of the country we get the retreating monsoon. So it comes a lot later in the year. But the heat sometimes gets too much for even nature to bear and promptly we have some fabulous evening showers.

Now to describe the monsoons in India.... The fabulous musty, earthy fragrance which comes from the dry parched earth, when the first few drops of rains fall just has to be smelt to be believed. The whole garden looks like an emerald green paradise with all the dry dust from the summer getting washed away. The cool cool breeze rushing in , chasing away the heat of the summer months and bringing a freshness to everything. It is the season that everyone really looks forward to.

To come to the point now, dear readers, you need to answer one question of mine. What is the connection between a rainy afternoon and fried food? Samosas, bajjis, pakodas, vadas... The first thing you think of when you see the dark clouds start gathering, is how quickly you can bring the kadai out, the saucepan for a cup of steaming masala chai and a comfortable chair to sit in and enjoy the rains. True? or false? Fried food, tea and monsoons are inseparable and almost a tradition in India. Here I have to say, a very enjoyable and a much cherished tradition.

Now on to the recipe....

Serves 6 ( Makes about 30 medium vadas)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups Sago pearls ( Sabudana)

1 1/2 cups Potato, boiled and mashed

1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts, crushed roughly

2 Green Chillies, minced finely

2-3 tablespoons Coriander leaves , minced

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

METHOD:

Soak the sabudana in water for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and cover with a damp cloth for about 2 hours.

Mix it well with the boiled and mashed potatoes and the roughly crushed peanuts.

Add salt, lemon juice, minced green chillies and the coriander leaves.

Heat oil till smoking hot. Reduce the flame to medium.

For the sabudana mixture in small balls, flatten slightly and deep fry in the oil.

Serve hot.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Vegetable Biryani - A Perfect Sunday Meal

In my opinion, biryani makes for the perfect Sunday lunch. A one dish meal and enough time in the afternoon to change one's persona to that of a beached whale. Sleep for a couple of hours to give the tummy a chance to concentrate and work hard to digest all that food. With all that rich and oily rice intake, there's not much else one can do.

Without further ado, let us get on with the recipe...

From now onwards, I am going to include one very important point that I have been missing out on. The number of people this particular recipe serves. I think that was a big mistake. One I am not sure I can rectify for all the previous posts. But I can at least make a fresh start from now. So here goes...

This is a typical adaptation of the Hyderabadi biryani to suit local tastes and I like to refer to it as the South Indian Biryani.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups or 1/2 kg Basmati Rice

1/2 kilogram Onions, finely sliced

1/2 kilogram Tomatoes, finely sliced

Handful Mint Leaves

300 grams Potatoes, diced

300 grams Beans, diced

300 grams Carrots, diced

Salt to Taste

3 Bayleaves

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

4-5 Cups Coconut Milk

1/2 Lemon Juice

1/4 cup Oil

1 small stick Cinnamon

Masala Paste:

100 grams Ginger

100 grams Garlic

5-6 Green Chillies

12 Cloves

4 inches Cinnamon

6 Pods of Cardamom

METHOD:

Soak the rice in water for about 1/2 an hour.

Heat oil. Add the cinnamon and bay leaves.

When well fried, add the onions.

When the onions start getting brown, add the mint leaves. Fry for a few minutes longer.

Now add the paste and fry well till it is fragrant.

Add tomatoes and cook well till mushy.

Add the diced vegetables and the turmeric powder and the salt.

Fry for about 5-10 minutes.

Mix in the soaked rice, add the coconut milk and cook covered till almost done. When about 80 per cent done, mix well and add the juice of the lemon.

Serve hot with a raita of your choice.

Enjoy!!!!!!!