Pumpkin Erissery (Kerala style curry)

I made it for the first time many months ago and did not think much about posting the recipe. A month earlier I was routinely asking my daughter what she wants me to make for lunch. Its a question which comes up every now and then in my house when I am out of ideas on what to make. Imagine my surprise when she says "Amma, make that pumpkin thingy you made long back"! First of all I did not think she would remember a specific dish made once many months ago and second  I did not have pumpkin in the refridgerator. So I took a rain check on it and made her favourite pulav instead.
In keeping with this week's Thanksgiving run-up I decided to bring the vegetable home and make her favorite curry today.

Pumpkin Errisery is really simple to make and turns out into a delicious dish. I think it would be a perfect side dish and looks awesome in the middle of a spread. So make it for a pot luck or party  and get some kudos while taking it easy!

Pumpkin Errisery (Kerala Style Curry)

Servings: 3 cups
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients 

To Boil

4 cups Pumpkin (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Salt to taste
A pinch of turmeric

To Grind

1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 Green Chillies
1/4 cup Coconut

To Temper

1/2 Medium onion or 4-5 Shallots
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Urad dal
2 Red Chillies
8-10 Curry leaves
3 tsp Oil

Garnish

2 tbsp Coconut

Instructions

1. Grind coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds to a coarse mix and keep aside.
2. Boil pumpkins in water till nearly soft along with turmeric and salt. 
3. Add the ground paste to the pumpkins and continue to cook on simmer till pumpkins are well done.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add mustard seeds.
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add red chillies and urad dal and saute for a couple of minutes.
6. Add in onion and saute till transluscent and then put in the curry leaves.
7. Mix well and pour the tempering on top of the cooked pumpkin
8. In the same heavy bottomed vessel fry 2 tbsp of coconut till they are crisp and mix it into the pumpkin curry.
9. Mix well and serve with hot rice or chapathi

Gori Manchurian

Yes, you read it right. There is no spelling mistake in the title of the post. I accidentally made an important discovery which will come in very handy to serve a vegetable which is inherently so dry that it usually gets relegated to second cousin status as compared to beans. Cluster Beans or Gori kayi as it is called in Kannada is a thin and dry variety of beans.
I used to be an extremely fussy eater as a kid and gori kayi was one of the many vegetables that I did not like to eat. Adding to my misery was the abundance of this vegetable in the local market in Hyderabad, thus finding its way to my plate more enough than I would have liked. My mom tried to encourage me in various ways to eat more... well lets just say eat. With gori kayi she found an ally in numbers.She always told me that eating gori kayi would make me really good at math! That was a good reason for me to eat it all up although I might say that 101/100 times I might have got my numbers mixed up! I did hallucinate about pieces of gori kayi making its way up my blood vessels to the math controlling part of my brain.
Coming back to the recipe, it was a fridge clean out session where i discovered a bag of gori kayi and pizza sauce left over from last weekend. The rest as they say is Manchuristory.

Gori Manchurian

Servings: 2 cups
Prep Time: 25 mins   Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

2 cups of Cluster Beans (Gori Kayi in Kannada)
1/2 Medium sized Onion
1/2 cup Toor Dal
1/2 cup Pizza sauce
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of turmeric
3 Green Chillies cut lengthwise
3 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Instructions 

1. Cut cluster beans and onion into small pieces.
2. Wash the toor dal under running water, atleast three times
3. Pressure cook toor dal and cluster beans and keep aside
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add in mustard seeds. 
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add in green chillies and cumin seeds and saute for a minute
6.  Add in onion and saute till transluscent.
7. To this, add the pizza sauce and fry for a few minutes till the raw smell of tomato has gone
8. Mix in the pressure cooked cluster beans and toor dal. Add salt and continue to cook for a few minutes till the first boil.
9. This curry tastes good with roti or chapathi or plain rice. I enjoyed eating it as is!

Instant Pizza sauce

Ingredients

2 Tomatoes / 5 heaped tsps of unfavoured natural tomato paste

2 garlic pods

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp Olive oil or Vegetable oil or Canola oil

Instructions

1. Grind all the ingredients together adding 1 tbsp of water if required

Sweet Potato Curry - Spicy with a hint of sweet

Sweet potato supposedly has lesser calories, more fiber and more nutrients packed in it than the white potato. But as with a lot of vegetables the debate goes on. Debate not withstanding both the spuds are loved by my family The sweetness of the sweet potato is often off-putting for some in my family which forces us to choose the white variety many times but with the right kind of treatment the sweet potato can provide a stiff competition.
Its an easy curry to prepare and goes well with chapathis but I love it most with rasam rice. Great for the lunch box of a picky eater too.

Sweet Potato Curry - Spicy with a hint of sweet

Servings: 2 cups curry
Prep Time: 15mins     Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients 

4 sweet potatoes
1-2 tbsp Jaggery
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
4-5 Green chillies
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Chana Dal
1 tsp Urad Dal
Few Curry leaves
1 bunch Coriander leaves
4 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
3-4 cups Water

Instructions

1. Boil the water, add some salt, turmeric and put in sweet potato halves.
2. When the sweet potato is nearly cooked add in  the jaggery and continue to cook till sweet potato becomes tender to the touch. 
3. Remove the sweet potato halves and peel the skin off and mash it. 
4. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and add mustard seeds
5. When the seeds sputter add the cut green chillies, cumin seeds, chana dal and urad dal and fry for a couple of minutes. 
6. Add in the mashed potatoes and curry leaves and mix well.
7. Adjust the salt as necessary. 
8. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves. 
9. Serve with chapathis or rice. 

Masala Chana Dal with Kale

Kale is a wonderful green. Has an interesting look and a unique taste. I like baby Kale in salads but I usually cook the bigger leaves. Pesto comes out wonderful using Kale as I have tried here. Today for dinner I wanted to make a simple Dal dish using Chana Dal. This particular recipe is credited to my neighbour who had served it to us at dinner on the day we landed in Kansas. I could never forget the taste and is one of my favourite dal dishes since.Its a very simple dish akin to most Dal preparations and goes well with Chapathi or Rice. The vegetable best suited for this Dal is the bottle gourd but since I did not have it handy today, I decided to substitute it with a green. I picked Kale for no bigger reason than that was the first box I laid my hands on in the fridge. I am sure it would work very well with spinach or amaranth.

Masala Chana Dal with Kale

Servings: 2 cups
Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Chana Dal
2 cups cut Kale leaves
1 small Onion
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Garam Masala
2 Green chillies
Salt to taste
3 tsp Oil

Instructions

1. Remove the thick stem portion from the Kale leaves simply by tearing the leaves away from the stem. Wash thoroughly and cut or tear them into smaller size.
2. Boil or steam the washed chana dal till half cooked. I used the pressure cooker and switched off the stove after one whistle.
3. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add cumin seeds to it.
4. Add in green chillies when the cumin seeds sputter and saute for half a minute.
5. Add in turmeric and onions and saute till onions turn transluscent.
6. Saute after adding cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala and then add Kale.
7. Cook till Kale wilts. Add salt at this point
8. Now add the contents of the pan to the boiled/steamed channa dal and boil till cooked. I used the pressure cooker again. I added the pan contents to the half cooked channa dal inside the cooker and cooked till another whistle. 
9. Make sure to not over cook the chana dal so as to mash them all up. The dal dish is done when the lentil retains its shape and is still soft to the touch. 
10. Serve Masala Dal hot with Chapatis or Rice. 

Gori Kayi Curry- North Karnataka style

I happened to taste from my friend's lunch box what was lip smackingly delicious curry and requested him to bring me the recipe for it from his wife! I tried it out this Sunday and it did turn out delicious. It's a very simple dish to make.
Gori (pronounced as gory) Kayi (pronounced as kaayee) is the kannada name given to Cluster beans (pic shown below).

What you need to make Gori Kayi Curry

• Cluster Beans - 1/4 Kilo
• Carrots - 4
  
  The next ingredient turned out to be a toughie in terms of even naming it. I found five different variations of its name and I dont knw which is the right one. I will write below what we call it at home and anyone who knows is welcome to enlighten me for the better! This is an aromatic green leafy vegetable and contributes a unique taste to the dish its in.
• Sapsige Soppu/ Dill (in english) - 4/5 strands
• Thur Dal (type of lentil) - 1 cup (cup you would use for serving in a thali)
• Mustard seeds - 2 tsp (spoon you would use to eat a piece of cake)
• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Red chillies - 2
• Oil - 4 tsp (or maybe 6 if u like)
• Salt

Preparation for making Gori Kayi Curry

• Cut the Dill leaves and keep aside.
• Cut the cluster beans and carrots into small pieces
• Wash the Thur dal
• Put the thur dal in one container.
• Put the cluster beans and carrots into another container.
• Pressure cook these
• Remove from cooker and drain out all the excess water from both the vegetables and dal and keep aside the contents.
  Mash the dal a little more

Method to make Gori Kayi Curry

• Take a heavy bottomed vessel and place it on stove.
• Keeping the flame low add the oil into it. Wait till it becomes more than warm.
• Add the mustard, cumin seeds, turmeric and asafoetida. Wait till mustard splutters.
• Add the red chillies to this and allow it to fry in the mixture.
• Put in the Dill leaves and sautee for a minute.
• Add some water and allow it to cook on simmer till the dill leaves get cooked properly.
• Add in the cooked vegetables into this.
• Add in the mashed dal.
• Add salt.
• Allow everything to cook together for a while.

My fundas

• I did not manage to get Dill leaves on a Sunday morning in the local market. I made this curry without it and it still comes out well. But it would be great with it.
• This curry can be eaten with chapati/ roti/ bread. I ate it with rice+rasam and it was awesome!

Matar Paneer Aluwale

There is nothing like catering to a hungry stomach. So when I got a message from T saying "I'm very hungry" I sprung into action and made him a meal he would love. This is my own recipe and it isnt exactly rocket science but was very yummy!

What you need to make Matar Paneer Aluwale

• Paneer (Cottage Cheese) - 50 gms
• Alu (Potato) - 2 small
• Matar (Peas) - 50 gms
• Onions - 2 small
• Tomatoes - 2 small
• Coriander - 5-6 strands
• Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
• Mustard - 2 tsp
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 5 - 6 pods
• Red Chillies / Green Chillies - 3 big
• Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp

Preparation for making Matar Paneer Aluwale

• Cut all the onions and potatoes into small pieces.
• Cut the paneer into cubes (I like smaller pieces because they absorb the taste of the gravy faster).
• Puree the tomatoes.
• Chop the coriander into very small confetti.
• Cook the potatoes in boiling water with a little salt added to it.
• Cook the peas in boiling water with a little salt added to it.
• Grate the ginger. Mash the garlic pods and make a paste out of these two.

Method to make Matar Paneer Aluwale

• Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and add the oil to it.
• Add mustard and cumin seeds to the heated oil.
• When the mustard starts to splutter add the red chillies to it and also the turmeric.
• Add the onions to this and allow it to cook till it becomes soft.
• Now add the ginger garlic paste and so also the tomato puree. Mix well.
• When it comes to a boil, add the cooked potatoes and peas to it.
• Mix well.
• Now add the paneer to this whole mixture.
• The key to making a dish with paneer is to really allow it to blend with the gravy so its important to keep it cooking for sometime. Ofcourse simmer the flame and allow the whole mixture to cook together.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

My fundas

• Eat hot with chapati like we did and you will appreciate it a lot.

I havent mastered the art of making round chapatis as you can see :)

Paneer Jeerawala

This is my first very OWN recipe and everyone loved it! I almost wanted to call it Paneer Siriwala but that would be a little too ostentatious. I made it for dinner yesterday to go with chapatis (rotis). It not only comes out tasty but is also a low calorie dish. Even though I have a camera phone now I forgot to take a picture of the dish. Next time I will surely remember to!! The preparation took me half an hour on the whole.

What you need to make Paneer jeerawala

• 100 gms paneer
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 2 tsps cumin seeds (jeera)
• Ginger - 1 inch diameter piece
• Garlic - 5-6 pods
• 3 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 tsp red chilly powder
• Salt

Preparation for making Paneer jeerawala

• Cut the paneer into small cubes
• Cook the tomatoes using pressure cooker. Else there is a "safer" :) way. just pierce the tomatoes on all 4 sides (I know I know a tomato is round so where is the side you say? Okay just pierce it all around) and put them in a vessel. Add water to the vessel and allow it to boil. The tomatoes should be cooked in ten minutes.
• Remove the skin of the cooked tomatoes and Puree them in a blender.
• Cut the onions into very tiny pieces. Its easier to use a chopper for this.
• Make the ginger and garlic into a fine paste.

Method to make Paneer jeerawala

• Place a heavy bottomed vessel on the flame and add oil. After it heats a little add the cumin seeds and allow it to splutter. It splutters little.
• Now add turmeric to this.
• Put in the ginger and garlic paste and mix.
• Add chopped onions to this, sautee and wait till it turns soft and is well done.
• Add the red chilly powder and mix.
• Now add the tomato puree to this and allow it to boil.
• Put the paneer cubes in and allow it to slowly blend with the gravy while the whole thing simmers.
• Add required amount of salt.

My fundas

• Eat hot with phulkas (chapatis with no oil smeared while making) and they are yummy.
• Paneer takes a while to soak in the flavours of the gravy that its in so what I did was allow it to simmer while I made the chapatis which was another half an hour.