Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

We at CurryInKadai, wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year ahead! We wish this new year brings in loads and loads of happiness for everyone.. Ugadi is so important for Andhrites and we start the day with the pooja and then taking Ugadi Pachadi made with Mangoes( new mangoes ), neem flowers, jaggery/sugar, salt, tamarind juice, khus khus( gasagasalu ), putnala pappu etc., Its actually a juice with Shadruchulu.

Today the house will be swamped with family and freinds enjoying a feast with lots of sweets and savories. Mostly comprising of foods made with Mangoes, like Mango Rice, Sweet Mango chutney, etc., Aloo bondas are a definite must at my in laws house for Ugadi. Aloo Bondas are Dumplings made with potatoes and spices and are sumptuous and super easy! These bondas are brimming with flavor from ginger, mint and cilnatro along with nuttiness from almonds and cashew nuts! I bet no one can eat just one!


Ingredients:

How To:

We love mushrooms! Even my 2 year old cant have enough mushrooms sauteed in very little ghee along with her rice. Mushrooms are a very good source of fiber, protein, folate, vitamin C etc., and the best part very low in fat and calories( 1 cup of sliced mushrooms counts upto 15 calories ). I love to add mushrooms in my noodles. pasta, pulaos and curries. Sometimes to make to sound it a bit fancier i would bake these Potato stuffed Mushrooms. Potatoes are spiced with kasuri methi, garam masala and peas, stuffed into Mushrooms and then baked into perfection. These mushroom aloo tikkis are so cute and super easy to make.

I know its not appetizing to eat the same old plain Idli with chutney/sambar everytime.., here i am with an easy and quick crunchy Idli snack and the best part just one pan to use... Serving these crunchy wedges with some chutney or your favorite ketchup would beat any of those fatty fancy appetizers out there.. It works well even with the leftover Idli batter..



You need:

• 6" saute pan
• 2/3 - 1 cup Idly batter ( Click here for the Idly Batter Recipe )
  
• 1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
• 6 curry leaves
• 2 green chillies
• 1 onion finely chopped
  
• 1 small carrot finely grated
  
• chutney or ketchup for serving
• oil

• Heat the saute pan on medium flame
• In the idli batter mix in grated carrot, finely chopped onions, green chillies, cumin seeds and curry leaves
• When the skillet is medium hot, apply oil and spread the batter lightly and dot the edges with oil
• Once the bottom cooks up into crisp golden brown flip and cook on the other side
• Remove from the pan when done, cut into wedges and serve with your favorite chutney or ketchup..

Happy Pongal everyone!! Hope you guys are busy preparing yummy goodies for the festival. First thing that comes to my mind when i think about Sankranthi are the Rangolis( muggulu ). Just after finishing our Half Early exams at school we get 10 holidays and those days were a great fun start in the new year. The very last day of our exams, we pack our luggage and head to grandma's house. I remember the house would be swamped with people( pinni, babai, atha, mama etc., ) uncles, aunts and cousins. During those ten days we make rangolis( muggulu ) everyday, dress pretty and eat good homemade festive food. Grandma used to make a lot of yummy sweets and savouries, like Ariselu( Sweet rice cakes ), Bobbatlu( Sweet lentil Breads ), KajjiKayalu( Fried Sweet with jaggery and lentils ), Paalakayalu( Crispy spicy small rounds ), Pappu Billalu( Crispy rice fritters ), Vada( crispy lentil fritters ), and of course Pongal along with special curries and rice dishes.

Here's a very well known protein packed festive savoury, Dal Vada with Spinach and Cilantro( Lentil Fritters With Spinach and Cilantro) Palakura Kothimeera Minapa Garelu.


You need:

• 1 cup Urad Dal( Minappappu /Black Gram )
• 1 cup tightly packed chopped spinach
• 1 inch ginger root
• Green chillies
• Cilantro
• Cumin seeds
• Oil for frying

• Soak Urad dal for about 4 hours in water
• Once soaked grind the batter to a paste( need not be very smooth, and do not add too much water, just add enough to grind )
• Heat oil for deep frying.
• To the urad dal batter( lentil batter ) add cumin seeds, chopped ginger, chopped spinach, chopped onions, cilantro and salt to taste.
• Drop into oil with a spoon or to make traditional vada( vadai ), use your palms this way. Take a small amount of batter in a ball shape, flatten lightly with fingers and drop it very gently into oil from the edges of the pan.
• My ammamma makes them in a very perfect shape and she dips her hands into water before making each vadai, and this needs of course some experience. Don't panic if you cant get vadas perfectly, its hard for me too to get them in perfect shape and size.
• Fry these vadas on both sides and drain on to paper napkins to remove any excess oil.

• MLLA - 19th Helping event hosted by EC
• CFK - Cooking For Kids hosted by Sara
  
• Food For Seven Stages Of Life 

Ever bored having same old plain idly? How about the leftover idlies? Here comes a simple lip smacking makeover for the leftover idlies, my Cocktail Idly aka Crispy Idly Chaat. I know kids makes faces when you ask them to eat the plain idlies., next time try this recipe and i am sure they leave asking for more. This is not only kid friendly but wonderful with Chai or Hot tea in the evenings.

• First prep up the idlies, onion and tomatoes. Cube idlies, chop up onion and tomato.
• In a kadai / frying pajn heat oil and deep fry cubed idlies, drain them onto paper and keep aside
• In a mixing bowl, add fried idly pieces, onion, tomato, cilantro, red chilli powder, chat masala, salt and lemon juice
• Garnish with cilantro and serve it right away

Any leftover idlies from the morning gets converted to this simple Idly Chaat, and my husband likes it so much, i end up making fresh batch of Idlies exclusive for this Cocktail idly. This is so simple yet bursting with lots of flavor from tomatoes, onions , cilantro and Lime Juice.

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