Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

Last weekend, I got my dosa batter and potato curry ready for the breakfast but to my surprise i found that i didn't have a coconut for the chutney... Hmmm what to do, just called mom for her spicy fresh onion chutney. ( Thank god, i atleast had some sweet vidalia onions on hand ). Yep fresh sweet onion chutney with green chillies, tamarind, cilantro and curry leaves is so easy to make and tastes so yummm!! This chutney goes very well with dosa and idly, i never had it with rice. Mom asked me to make this only if the onions do not have strong flavor and too much water. Best option would be either shallots or red onions and Sweet onions would be the next option. Usually mom prefers mortar and pestle for this chutney instead of regular mixer/blender. One tip from mom, run the blender under pulse mode to get chunky texture you get from using mortar and pestle.

Its a known fact that everyone has their own ( family ) recipe for potato fry/aloo curry and i don't think there would be any person in this world who wouldn't love potatoes. Here's my Nanamma's simple spicy aloo fry( potato curry ) recipe which is a delicious way of having potatoes without the added fat and cholesterol from the deep frying. My nanamma is very clever when it comes to cooking, she uses a very little oil for cooking but that doesn't mean any compromise in taste. Oh she makes the best chutneys ( chutney out of every vegetable, you name it!! ). Love you Nanamma!!

• 2 red potatoes
• 1 small onion
• Cilantro for garnishing
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• red chilli powder
• salt
• mustard seeds
• cumin seeds
• curry leaves
• turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala

• Peel the potatoes and chop into very small pieces, and add to water in a bowl and keep it aside to stop any discoloration
• In a kadai or skillet add oil, once heated add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and once they start to crackle add curry leaves followed by potatoes, turmeric and salt.
• Cook it covered under medium heat, once they are half cooked add chopped onion and saute for little longer until everything is cooked properly
• Add red chilli powder, garam masala and adjust salt to taste
• Garnish with cilantro and relish right away!!

This is my second recipe for Thotakura after Thotakura Pappu. This is my husbands favourite recipe since it has been passed down from his mom to me. This is a very nutritious and healthy recipe and it needs very little oil. You can eat the whole bowl of this Amaranth leaves Stir fry even without any rice or chapathi. Yep tastes that good!


You need:

• 4 cups of tightly packed chopped thotakura leaves/amaranth along with tender stalks
• 1 red onion or yellow onion julienned
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp chana dal( Yellow split chick peas )
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• a pinch of turmeric
• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10 curry leaves

• Chop thotakura( amaranth leaves ) very finely. You can chop the tender stalks too but discard the tough stalks( You should remove the stalks skin like you do for beans )
• Bring 1-2cups of water to boil and add chopped amaranth leaves and channa dal
• Cook until the leaves are cooked( TIP: Add 1 tsp of sugar so the leaves retain their green color )
• Drain the leaves thoroughly( You can use the water to make chapathis )
• Heat oil in kadai and add cumin and mustard seeds
• When they start to crackle add curry leaves, turmeric and onions
• Fry onions till golden brown
• Add the boiled thotakura along with chana dal and saute until the the curry looks dry without any water.
• Add chilli powder, salt and sugar and saute 5 more min
• Adjust salt and spice to taste

What would you do with leftover rice? I usually end up having it with some pickle and yogurt. Sometimes i try to use leftover rice to make a complete sumptuous nutritional meal. What could be more nutritious than loading up simple rice with tons of vegetables anf flavoring it up with ginger, garlic and cilantro? I exactly did the same thing with my leftover rice, added an array of vegetables on hand like Carrots, Napa Cabbage, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans, Peppers, Onions, Green Peas etc and jazz it up with Green chillies, Ginger and Garlic.

• 1 cup Basmati rice( i used leftovers )
• 1 tomato chopped
• 2 Carrots cut as discs
• 15 Green beans - french cut
• 1/4 Napa cabbage cut lengthwise
• 1 small Onion - chopped length wise
  
• 1 medium Green Pepper
• 1/2 Red Pepper( i didn't have on hand though, optional )
• 3-4 Green Chillies - chopped
  
• 1 inch Ginger root - chopped
  
• 2 Garlic cloves - chopped
  
• 1/4 cup Green Peas
• 2 tsp Soya Sauce
• 1-2 tbsp oil
  
• Half cucumber( English cucumber )
• Black pepper to taste

• Wash the basmati rice and cook according to package instructions. You can use any rice on hand, i like this basmati long grain rice better though
• Prep all the vegetables, wash, clean. chop and keep aside
• In a kadai / stir fry saute pan heat oil on high heat. Add onions ans saute for 30 sec
• Now add ginger, garlic, green chillies, carrots and beans, stir in some salt too, as salt speeds up the process of cooking
  
• After stir frying for 2 mins, add green pepper and green peas
• Once the veggies are half cooked i.e, veggies should still be crispy yet without the raw smell, add Napa cabbage, tomato, cucumber  and stir fry for a min or so.
• Lower the heat and add cooked rice, ground black pepper and soy sauce
• Add cilantro and adjust salt to taste

A healthy low fat nutritious breakfast commonly found in every south Indian house is the mighty Idly i.e, Steamed cakes made with fermented batter of Lentils and Rice. At our house at least 2-3 days a week Idli would be the breakfast. They were like white, very light and fluffy pillows of nutritional goodness. Oh my grandma makes the best fluffiest and lightest Idlies and they would melt in your mouth right away. I remember she used to steam in copper vessel which was so heavy and thick. She took so much effort by preparing the batter in a bigger mortar and pestle ( Rubbu Rolu ) unlike us using the electric blender or grinder. Love you Grandma.



Coming to this Kanchipuram Idly ( Kanchi Idly ) aka Steamed Vegetable Rice and Lentil Cakes, they are my all time favorite. Onions add crunch, chillies add spice, and cashew nuts add nuttiness and curry leaves add so much flavor to the idlies. Sometimes we used to ask mom to pack these for lunch to school as they taste good even cold unlike the plain Idlies. Vellulli karam( thellagadda karam ) is a garlic, curry laves and cumin flavored red chilli powder which takes minutes to make and goes great with dosa, idly, fried veggies and curries. For us nothing complements these Kanchi idlies better than this vellulli miram.



Ingredients for Kancheepuram Idly:

• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 1 cup idly ravva / uppudu ravva / cream of rice
• 1 carrot grated
• 2 onions chopped
• 4 green chillies
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 inch finely chopped ginger
• chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp chana dal / bengal gram
• 1 tsp urad dal / Black dal
  

Preparation of

• Soak urad dal and cream of rice separately overnight
• Next morning grind urad dal to a very fine paste adding water, the natter should be ground to very smooth batter
  
• Drain off all the liquid from the ravva / cream of rice
• Mix the ground paste and ravva together along with salt( try to use your hands, it helps in fermentation )
• You can make regular plain idlis with this batter otherwise let it ferment for 5 more hours so that it turns out little sour because masala or vegetable idlis taste better when the batter is sour
  
• In a kadai or saute pan do the tempering aka tadka i.e., heat oil and add chana dal, cumin mustard seeds, cashew nuts, urad dal and chana dal. Once they start to pop add curry leaves and mix with the batter
• In the batter add chopped onions, chopped ginger, green chillies and carrot. Mix everything together and pour some batter in the idli moulds and steam cook for 15 - 20 mins. To check for doneness, wet your finger and touch the steamed idlies, if they don't stick to your hands they are done and ready to be served.
  
• Carefully remove the steamed rice and lentil cakes from the moulds with a flat spoon

• 1 cup red chilli powder
• 1/2 cup salt
• 10 curry leaves
• 3-4 garlic cloves with the peel on
• 1 tbsp jeera / cumin seeds

Preparation of Garlic

• In a blender add red chilli powder, jeera / cumin seeds, salt and grind to fine powder
• Add the remaining ingredients i.e, garlic cloves with the peel and curry leaves and grind well
• Do adjust salt and spice to taste. You can store this garlicky chilli spice powder for up to 2 weeks outside and couple of months in refrigerator

• My Legume Love Affair - Ninth Helping (MLLA9) hosted by Laurie started by Susan
• Made For Each Other event hosted by Asvadha
• Eating with the Seasons: February
• Lentils Mela event hosted by Ashwini
• Original Recipe Culinarty Roundup

Black Eyed Peas aka Alasandulu in Telugu are a very good source of Calcium, Protein, Fiber and Folate. Not to mention the Vitamin A found abundant in all lentils and beans.Since folic acid is very essential to pregnant women having a cup of cooked beans at least 3 times a week is a very delicious way to incorporate folate in their diet. Alasandalu / black eyed peas are one of the beans which doesn't require overnight soaking and pre planning. You can either directly pressure cook or soak for couple of hours and then cook. My mom usually makes different kinds of Chundal(Sundal, Usili ) i.e., seasoned beans as they are very good healthy alternative to any fried snacks like chips, pakora etc., These tempered black eyed peas / alasandula guggillu( SUNDAL ) are usually what my dad loves to eat in the evenings. This recipe is directly from moms kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Black eyed peas / Alasandalu / Bobbarlu
  
• 1 small onion
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 lemon
  

For seasoning( Tadka / popu ):

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp minapappu / urad dal
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5-10 curry leaves
  

Preparation:

• Soak black eyed peas/alasandalu for 1-2 hrs and then pressure cook with 2 cups of water( Until the beans are immersed in water )
• Pressure cook for 4 whistles or boil separately until they are cooked and tender( make sure they don't fall apart )
• Drain off the cooked beans ( Preserve the water , ill tell you a sumptuous way of using the liquid )
• In a saute pan heat oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. Once they start to splutter add chopped onions and green chillies along with salt.
• Once the onions are cooked to translucent add the cooked peas and mix together.
• Switch off the heat, add lemon juice and finish it off with cilantro.
  

This healthy protein and fiber rich low fat snack tastes good when its steaming hot. You can wrap this tempered black eyed peas in a chapathi or wheat tortilla along with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for a complete sumptuous low fat healthy nutritious meal perfect anytime of the day!

Note:
Don't throw the leftover water from the drained cooked black eyed peas. Mom makes Rasam(Soup) with some tomatoes, tamarind(optional) and any rasam powder with tadka or above tempering. This soup/rasam taste so earthy .. Try it to believe it!!! I'm sure you will love it!!

I love garnishing my food even if its just some cilantro on the top as i believe we taste the food with our eyes first and then palette. The food should not only be delicious but should be like a feast to your eyes. Garnishing with simple ingredients like curry leaves, cilantro, a slice of lemon, green chillies or red chillies adds so much depth to your dish. The main point is to highlight the ingredient you used. Here i used curry leaves ans lemon slice to hint the viewer about the ingredients inside the dish.

This will be my entry for:

• Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food
• A Healthy Bite hosted by Rachana
• Sunday Snacks - Grab n Go hosted by Pallavi
  
• MY LEGUME LOVE AFFAIR - EIGHTH HELPING hosted by Susan

I can proudly declare my mom makes the second best Dhaniyala Karvepaku karam aka Coriander seeds spice powder after my grandma( moms mom). Mom always makes sure a big packet of this aromatic spice blend to be first in my list of moms homemade goodies from India. Thanks Mom, you are the best!!

Adding curry leaves adds another layer of flavor and aroma to the already mystic divine spice powder.. The nuttiness and the crunch from chana dal and urad dal makes this spice powder compliment well with the soft Idlies. Here's how mom actually makes it .

• In a pan heat oil and chana dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, jeera and red chillies
  
• Once the aroma of the coriander seeds starts to fill up the room and pulses/dals ( chana dal and urad dal ) are turned into golden brown add tamarind, garlic cloves and curry leaves.
• Fry for 30 sec and remove from heat
• Once the spice mixture is cooled, run the roasted spices in a blender( It can be little coarse ) along with salt.

Here i am with my simple sumptuous one pot wonder meal with rice, lentils, beans and vegetables warmed up with some exotic spices making it a wholesome, no-fuss, quick and easy meal , fit for any busy day.. When i say quick it doesn't mean any less in flavor and taste..I made this Nutritious fiber and protein rich Bisibelabath / Vegetable Khichidi by adding everything into my pressure pan and bubble into one simple delicious delight .