I am starting this new section 'Indian Cooking Basics 101', where in you can find the basic items that are frequently used in indian cooking. Here you can find the spice powders, pastes, and basic sauces. These are like building blocks of the Indian cuisine. Here goes the first one in the list -- Ginger Garlic Paste.. Indian cooking is incomplete without the mighty GG paste aka GINGER-GARLIC paste. Whether you are making chana masala or biryani , Ginger Garlic paste is a must for authentic Indian flavor. The ginger garlic paste has that earthy taste that raises the flavor quotient of many(Indian) dishes. In almost in every kitchen you will find GG paste stored in large quantities. It is very handy when you have GG paste in store as most of the recipes in indian cuisine calls for this paste. Since it takes time peeling the garlic and ginger , i would like to make a lot at once.

For centuries Ginger and Garlic are the most popular of the home remedies. These when used for cold and flu are considered to be better options than over the counter medicines. Ginger proved to be effective in reducing cold, flu and headaches.

Coming to the garlic, through the regular use of garlic in cooking you can lower LDL cholesterol levels and triglycerides, while increasing the beneficial cholesterol or HDL. A laboratory evidence says that garlic can shrink cancers of the lungs, breasts and skin. Both Ginger and Garlic work similarly in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. With the benefits like these when consumed some will result in ones health surely improving, or being well maintained in many respects.

For Ginger Garlic Paste you need:

• 1 cup of peeled garlic
• 3/4 cup of peeled and chopped ginger
• 3-5 tbsp oil
• a pinch of turmeric

Method of preparation:

• Clean garlic and let it air dry or wipe off the water. Make sure theres no moisture left on the skin after cleaning with water.
• Peel ginger( use spoon for thin peels ) and chop into 1 inch cubes
• Peel garlic cloves and chop into half if they are large
• In a blender add ginger and garlic and grind to a smooth paste
• Add oil instead of water for it to grind easily( if water is added use it in 1-2 days )
  
• Once its done to a fine paste, store in an airtight container

GG paste is just nearly equal amounts of peeled ginger root and garlic grind together to a fine paste using oil and preserved with a pinch of turmeric. You can substitute oil with water, but then the paste wouldnt keep as long. Make sure you store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in the freezer.

Storing in freezer :
When storing it in the freezer if you save the paste as it is in a jar it would become a big blog and would be hard to use a little bit of it. Try this way instead, fill a freezer safe ziploc bag with the ginger garlic paste and pat the bag to make a thin layer of the paste and then freeze, so whenever you want you can just crack it and use.

Tags: Allam vellulli paste, Allam Yellipaya, GG paste

Botanical Garden -- Bellagio, Las Vegas

My favorite way of preparing this dish is making sambar just with this vegetable with toor dal, tamarind and green chillies, which tastes as simple as it sounds. Another simple authentic andhra dish is to make poriyal or stir fry with tadka or talimpu and adding lots of coconut at the end.. This way of cooking chayote squash makes the dish so mild you can just finish the whole bowl without any rice. And another classic recipe is Seemavankaya Noonevankaya Kura( Chayote squash with tamarind and spices ) which is a simple curry cooked with the guthi vankaya( stuffed eggplant / brinjal ) masala and tastes spicy and tangy.

• 1 tsp cumin seeds( jeelakarra)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
  
• 1 tsp urad dal( optional)
• 1 -2 tbsp oil pinch of turmeric
• 5-6 curry leaves ( optional - i didn't have them on hand )

How to prepare seema vankaya kura:

• FYI you can follow the above pictures for step by step procedure
• Peel the squash and chop into 1 inch pieces( you can use the seed i.e pappu too )
• Wash them and keep aside
• Chop each tomato into four pieces and slice green chillies length wise( or chop them )
• In a kadai, heat oil and add the seasonings,once they start to splutter add curry leaves, green chillies and chopped chayote squash
• Stir in some salt and cook it cooked under medium flame
• Keep stirring and at about 5 min check if the squash is cooked yet firm and holding it shape( not mushy ). At this point add tomatoes and cook under high flame for 2-3 mins( tomatoes should not be cooked completely )
• Stir in coriander powder and fry for 1 more min.
• Add chopped cilantro and adjust salt to taste
• Tada your simple spicy chayote squash curry is ready to relish.

Tags: Seema vankaya kura, Bengaluru vankaya tomato kura, Seema vankaya talimpu

Simplicity at its best, peas and raisins did wonders to this rice pilaf! This simple peas and raisins rice dish largely depends on petite peas, raisins, cinnamon, ginger and garlic to deliver that big flavor! This rice pilaf is a perfect display for simple yet flavorful Indian Cooking. Raisins and Cashewnuts paired nicely with this spiced rice pilaf, which added to the surprise sweet bites balancing the spices.




I made this for the first time when i had a pot luck at my work place, i remember last year i made our regular vegetable biriyani with the store bought biriyani masala and i swear everyone where literally asking ' How do you people eat this spciy food everyday?', and you know what i really didnt add any green chillies and added very less masala than usual. But this time my peas and rice pilaf dish is a winner at my work, 99% of them being non indians, i wanted to keep it low on spicyness, yet wanted them to learn that Indian cooking is not just spicy, its packed with flavor from the spices like cumin, coriander, cinnamon, clove, cardamom , ginger, garlic, cilantro, mint etc,,

• 1 cup basmati rice ( i use royal basamati rice from costco or sams, tastes better than tilda basmati rice)
• 1 cup green peas( petite peas are the best for this pulao ) -- There is no need to thaw the frozen peas, as they have enough time to cook along with the rice
• 1 large onion
• 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 4-5 green chillies( optional )
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4-5 cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup golden raisins( golden raisins taste better in this pulao )
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup cashew nuts
• 4-5 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp butter
  

• Soak the rice for 30 min( optional for better results ) and drain in a colander
• In kadai or pan addbutter or ghee and fry the rice until the rice turns into opaque, keep it aside.
• Heat both butter and oil in the same pan and add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf.
• Once they start to release the aroma add ginger garlic paste, fry the paste until the raw smell disappears.
• Add chopped onions and green chillies along with salt
• Once the onions turn into golden hue add the peas and cook for 5 min
• Add the fried raw rice and let the peas masala coat the rice thoroughly

• Cooking with rice cooker:Butter the rice cooker pan or use ghee for it, for doing this In an electric cooker add 1 1/2 cups of water and the peas and rice mixture, it will be done in less than 15 min. Keep it under warm for 5 min and then switch off.Mix the rice pilaf( sometimes it might get burnt at the botttom, just discard )

• Cooking on the stove top: Add 2 cups of water and the fried raw rice to the peas masala bring it to boil and reduce the flame and let the water evaporate, close with teh lid and cook under very low heat for 3-5 more min and check for doneness. Once done, gently fluff the rice and mix bring everything together.
• In a seperate pan add butter cashewnuts and raisins, once the raisins are plump and cashewnuts(kaju) changed to golden brown remove from heat and add to the cooked pilaf.
  
• Add mint and cilantro at the end.

This rice and peas dish is a refreshing change from regular mixed vegetable biryani. I made very
mild channa masala (Spiced chick peas curry ) and raitha( yogurt with onions, cucumber, tomatoes
and cilantro ) to serve along with the peas rice for my coworkers.


This peas and rice pilaf spiced with cinnamon and sweetened with raisins is on its way to Think Spice - Think Cinammon event hosted by Sunitha. Also this will be my entry for AFAM - Dry Fruits hosted by Latha Namrasimham.

Note: Add more green chillies if you can handle the heat, otherwise this dish is perfect with any vegetable curries on the side.

Tags: Pachi batani pulao, Peas, Raisins, Rice pulao, SweeT and spicy pulao