Tomato & Bottlegourd(Lauki) Peel Chutney/Tomato & Sorakaya(Anapakaya) Pottu(Thokkala) Pachadi

This is yet another delicious and healthy chutney that can be enjoyed with warm rice and ghee or as a side for dosa,idli and rotis/chapatis/parathas.This chutney is very easy to make and delicious to taste.

Let us see how this delicious chutney is made---------

Main Ingredients :

--------------------

Bottlegourd Peel...................from 1medium sized bottlegourd(cleaned and cut)

Tomatoes.............................2 medium size(cut into chunks)

Green Chilly.........................3(to taste)

Dried Mint...........................1/4cup

Seasoning Ingredients :

--------------------------

Sesame Oil............................2tbsp

Red Chilly.............................1(to taste)

Chana Daal...........................1/2tsp

Urad Daal.............................1/2tsp

Mustard Seeds......................1/2tsp

Cumin Seeds.........................1/2tsp
Coriander Seeds....................1tsp

Asafoetida/Hing.....................1/8tsp

Turmeric................................1/8tsp
Garlic Cloves........................2(optional)

Tamarind Paste......................2tsp(to taste)

Salt.......................................to taste

Preparation :

----------------

Place a pan on the stove on medium high heat and add 1tbsp oil.Once the oil heats up add all the seasoning ingredients except tamarind,turmeric and salt.Once the seasoning is ready take it out from the pan and keep it aside.Now add the remaining 1tbsp of oil to the pan and to this hot pan add the slit chilly and the cut bottle gourd peel and let cook for few minutes.

Once the peel is cooked a little, add the cut tomatoes and turmeric and cook for few more minutes till done and switch off the stove.Add tamarind to the warm veggies.

Once the cooked veggies are cooled transfer them  to a blender and add salt ,dry mint and half the seasoning to it and blend well.Remove the blend chutney into a serving bowl and top it with the remaining seasoning.

Delicious Tomato & Bottlegourd Peel Chutney is ready to be served.

Note:
--------
1) In this chutney along with the bottlegourd peel ,I used the soft white pulp with the tender seeds too in the chutney.

2) You can use fresh cilantro or fresh mint instead of dry mint.

This goes to CWF-WF/WV:Tomato Event guest hosted by Sanyukta and started by me .

Bottlegourd and Tomato Rice(Healthy & Lowfat)

Today I am going to share one more healthy and lowfat one pot meal.It is very easy to make and is ready in very less time.This is a combination of bottlegourd and tomato.Most of the time we make chutney with these 2 veggies but this combination for making a flavorful rice is also another great outcome.

Let us start making this recipe-----------------------

Main Ingredients:
-----------------
Ponni Raw Rice.............................1.5cups(uncooked)
Bottlegourd(Med)...........................1/2 piece
Tomatoes........................................3

Seasoning Ingredients :
------------------------
Canola Oil....................................2tbsp
Cumin Seeds................................2tsp
Bay Leaves..................................2
Cashew Nuts...............................1tbsp
Turmeric......................................1/2tsp
Cardamom...................................4
Cloves........................................6
Nutmeg.....................................1/2piece
Cinnamon Stick.........................1(small)
Garam Masala...........................1tbsp
Salt............................................to taste

Garnish :
---------
Cilantro...........................few leaves

Preparation :
-------------
Cook the rice and keep it aside.While the rice is cooling down let us prepare the bottlegourd-tomato masala.Rinse the vegetables and cut them into big chunks .

Place a pan on the stove on med-high heat add oil and let it heat up.Now add cumin seeds,cloves,cardamom,cinnamon stick,bay leaves ,nutmeg and cashews to the oil and fry them till they are golden in color.

Now add finely chopped or grated bottlegourd(do not remove the peel) and turmeric to the spices and fry till the raw smell is gone.

While that is cooking finely chop the tomatoes in the chopper.

Once the bottlegourd is lightly cooked add the chopped tomato to the pan and stir well.Let it cook till the rawness in the tomato is gone.

Once the bottlegourd-tomato mix is well cooked add salt and garam masala to the mix and give a nice stir and let cook for a minute.

Now add the cooked  warm rice to the vegetable mix and stir well.Garnish with cilantro.

Yummy Bottlegourd-Tomato Rice is ready to be served.Can be served as is or with some papad and yogurt.

Try this rice and let me know how you like it.

Note :

--------

1)I did not add any ginger-garlic paste to this rice.

2)Rinse the bottlegourd nicely.Keep the peel of the bottlegourd do not remove it if it nice and tender.Peel has lot of nutrients in it.

I am sending this to CWS- Cardamom Seeds event hosted by Priya.

Tomato-Perugu Pachadi/Tomato-Yogurt Chutney

Andhra Pradesh cuisine is not only famous for it's spicy ,tasty wide range of pickles but chutneys made from fresh vegetables are also a main part of everyday meal.These chutney's can be made in different ways---just with the vegetables,vegetable skin or combination of these cooked vegetables with yogurt.

The chutney's made in combination with yogurt are very refreshing and once again great dishes for the hot weather.Let us go ahead and prepare this simple,yummy,colorful and refreshing Tomato Yogurt Chutney.

Main Ingredients :

-------------------

Tomatoes........................5

Yogurt............................3cups

Green Chillies..................3

Olive Oil..........................3tsp

Seasoning Ingredients :

------------------------

Olive Oil.........................2tsp

Turmeric........................1/2tsp

Mustard Seeds...............1tsp

Cumin Seeds..................1tsp

Chana Daal....................1tsp

Urad Daal......................1tsp

Asafoetida......................pinch

Red Chilly......................1

Salt................................to taste

Curry Leaves.................1sprig

Garnish :

---------

Cilantro...........................few leaves

Preparation :

--------------

Rinse the tomatoes and cut them into small pieces.Now place a pan/vessel on the stove on medium high heat and add 3tsp of olive oil, diced tomatoes and turmeric.Give a nice stir and cover the pan with a lid and let cook.

In between keep stirring so that the tomatoes don't burn.After 5minutes add little salt ,stir well and let the tomatoes cook for 2 more minutes.Now once the tomates are well cooked(not too much watery) and the raw smell is all gone ,switch off the stove.

In an other pan let's prepare the seasoning by adding oil,mustard,chana daal,cumin,urad daal,red chilly and asafoetida.Once the seasoning is nice and golden switch off the stove.

Now take 3cups of yogurt and whisk it(thick buttermilk is okay,but do not dilute the yogurt). Cut the green chillies into small pieces(deseed if you don't ike it spicy).Finely chop the cilantro.

Now while the cooked tomato is still warm add the 3cups of yogurt,cut green chillies,seasoning,curry leaves and cilantro to the tomato.Adjust salt accordingly,as we already added some while the tomato is cooking.

The refreshing Tomato-Perugu Pachadi/Tomato-Yogurt Chutney is ready.This tastes well with hot rice or can be eaten with rotis and parathas as a side dish.

Try it and let me know how you like it.

Bhendi Masala(Okra with Spices)

Indian Cuisine always has a special place in the International Arena.Every region in India has it's own culinary blends for every recipe made.Infact every household has a unique way to make a dish with very simple ,as well as exotic spices.Indian vegetarian cooking in particular is very appealing,colorful ,tasty and exotic.

Today I am going to use Ginger,Garlic,Turmeric,Paprika and also a  blend of aromatic spices(Garam Masala) in my preparation of the okra.Okra is a very healthy,nutrtious,fibre rich vegetable and grows well in warmer climates and is even a drought resistant plant.This is a famous North-Indian dish which is very colorful and tasty.It is a highly preffered dish ordered by the customers in the Indian Restaurants in combination with Roti/Naan/Fried Rice.

Now let's get into the recipe details:

-------------------------------------

I always keep some frozen vegetables handy so that when I am short of time or I run out of fresh vegetables these frozen veggies save my day.Today I am making a quick and easy Bhendi Masala.Today I used frozen okra/bhendi/bendakaya/lady-finger in this dish.This is a pretty simple dish to make with a blend of aromatic spices.Let's get started.........

Main Ingredients :
-------------------
Okra/Bhendi...............1.5lb(frozen)
Onion.........................1(big)
Tomatoes...................2(medium)
Lemon Juice...............2 tsp

Seasoning Ingredients :
-----------------------
Canola Oil..........................1tbsp
Cumin Seeds..................... 1tsp
Turmeric.............................1tsp
Ginger................................1inch
Garlic.................................2(cloves)
GaramMasala Powder........2tsp
Chilli Powder......................2tsp(paprika)
Salt....................................to taste

Garnish :
----------
Cilantro..............................few leaves

Preparation :
--------------
Place a cooking pan on the stove and add 1tbsp of oil to it and turn the stove on high heat(because we are going to add frozen okra and we do not want the temperature of the oil to go down) .

Once the oil is heated up add cumin seeds and then the frozen okra/bhendi to the hot oil and give it a nice stir so that the oil is coated to the okra and continue to cook on high heat for few minutes.

Slowly the okra/bhendi softens and starts to get sticky.Now add the lemon juice to it and give a stir and cover the pan with a lid.Lemon juice gets rid of the stickiness of the okra.

While the okra is cooking ,take the onion and cut it into big chunks.Now reduce the heat to medium-high.Remove the lid from the pan and add the onion chunks and turmeric to the okra and stir it well.

Meanwhile get the mortar and pestle and make a chunky paste of the ginger & garlic and add this paste to the pan of okra .Also add some salt to this ginger-garlic paste & add in the chilly powder and give a nice stir to the vegetables in the pan and continue cooking.

Meanwhile let us cut the tomatoes into big chunks and add them to the pan of okra.Also add the garam-masala & salt as needed(remember that we already added salt to the ginger garlic paste).Give a quick stir to the vegetables and let cook for few more minutes and turn off the stove.It's ready to serve.

Simple & easy to make , hearty & nutritious to taste.This dish goes well with hot jeera rice , peas rice , plain rice , rotis and naans.

Note :
--------

1)Fresh vegetables are always good but sometimes frozen vegetables are also a good option.

2)I use McCormick Paprika chilli powder.It's not at all spicy but gives a good color to the dish.If you are using very spicy chilly powder adjust the chilli powder in the recipe according to your taste.

3)I always use fresh ginger-garlic paste in my cooking ,you can use store bought paste too.

4)I use home made garam-masala powder you can use store bought powder too.

5)Garam Masala Powder is an aromatic blend of various spices like cinnamon,cloves,cardamom,coriander seeds,cumin,nutmeg,poppy seeds,bay leaves and few more.These spices are roasted and ground into a powder which gives a very unique aroma to every dish in which it is used.

6)All these herbs and spices used here give great benefits to the body by promoting good digestion and also the Garam Masala powder and Ginger-Garlic when used in cooking during Winter Season help the body to stay warm.In Summer it is better to use these spices in moderation.

Truth/Myth :

-------------

When we were little if any little kid said 'no' to eating the okra/bhendi curry ,elders in the family used to say that eating the okra helps us improve our mathematical skills.

I am sending this recipe to  Susan(The Well-Seasoned Cook) who is guest hosting the Haalo's Weekend Herb Blogging(WHB #223)  the long-running weekly food blogging event, founded by Kalyn over four years ago.

Simple Tomato-Cucumber Daal

This recipe is for all the newbies in kitchen so that they don't have to worry too much about what to do next.Kind of one-pot dish.

Tomato and Cucumbers are a world-wide favorite.First,I started out to make daal with tomato but I saw that there was half a cucumber in the fridge and added that too.Hence the Tomato-Cucumber Daal recipe.This is a very simple and easy recipe.

Traditionally vegetables and daals(pulses/legumes) are cooked separately and then finally combined and seasoning is added ,that gives us an authentic feel and taste.Well , I am going to break the tradition a bit here and try to speed up the things a little bit as time is a factor these days.Enough talking let's start the recipe.

Main Ingredients :

-------------------

Toor Daal..................1cup

Tomatoes...................2(medium size)

Cucumber..................1/2

Green Chillies.............2

Water.........................3cups

Seasoning :

------------

Mustard Seeds...........1tsp

Cumin Seeds..............1tsp

Red Chilly..................1(broken into 2)

Asafoetida/Hing..........a pinch

Curry Leaves..............1 sprig
Tamarind Pulp............2tsp
Turmeric.....................1tsp

Garlic.........................2 cloves

Oil..............................2tsp

Ghee..........................1 tsp

Salt.............................to taste

Garnish :

---------

Cilantro

Preparation :

--------------

Take toor daal in a steel vessel that can fit in a pressure cooker and rinse it very well till the water is clear.Now soak the daal in water for 15 minutes.Meanwhile let us prep the vegetables.Wash the tomatoes,cucumber,chillies,curry leaves and cilantro.Dice the tomatoes and de-skinned cucumber into small cubes.Slit the chillies and keep them aside.

Now drain the water from the soaked toor daal and add 3cups of water,diced tomato,cucumber and slit chillies to the toor daal.Now to this mix add the turmeric,tamarind and required amount of salt.Once everything is put in the vessel, take the vessel and place it in the pressure cooker and on medium heat cook it for 6 whistles.

Once the pressure in the cooker is down take the vessel with the cooked daal out and place it aside.In a pan add the oil and ghee and once it heats up add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,red chilli,asafoetida(instead of asafoetida you can use chopped garlic in the seasoning) and curry leaves.Once the seasoning is ready add it to the tomato-cucumber daal mixture and let the daal boil for 5 more minutes so that all the flavors blend well.

Switch off the stove and pour the daal into a serving container and garnish with some cilantro.
This daal goes very well with rotis,chapatis,pulkas and hot rice.

Note :
------

1)It is always said that when you add salt and tamarind in the daal and try to pressure cook, the daal will not  be cooked.I disagree with this, as when I am short of time I place all the ingredients together and pressure cook for 6 whistles and the daal is very well done.

2)To make it a one pot dish I take a small pressure pan ,first I add the oil and seasoning then I place the  water,daal,vegetables,turmeric,salt and tamarind.Close the lid and cook for 6 whistles.Ta-Da the entire dish is ready to serve .

3)Some might like to add onions to this dish.You may do so but sweetness of onion will dominate the flavors of tomato and cucumber.

4)I added only 2tsp of tamarind pulp in the daal so that the original flavors of the vegetables are not compromised.If you want it more sour add 2 more spoons of tamarind pulp.

I am sending in this recipe to Cooking Basics Event conducted by Mahimaa of http://www.indianvegetariankitchen.com/2010/02/cooking-basics-event.html