Dum Aloo

Me without potatoes is like sneakers without laces :D Potatoes rank among the highest in my list of foods and ingredients that I can’t imagine my life without! Almost ever subji that I eat has to have potato in it, like aloo-gobi, aloo-pyaaz, aloo-baigan, aloo-capsicum, aloo-choli and the list goes on.  

However I choose my husband over my love for potatoes and married a ‘Jain’ guy and now having potatoes at home has become a rarity! So whenever I drop by at my mom’s place for my experiments with food, potatoes top the list of must-add ingredients and so last week I decided to indulge in some Dum Aloo, the gorgeous baby potatoes in a rich brown gravy with the tantalizing aroma of spices is a must try for all potato lovers! Hope you enjoy this!

Ingredients:

8-10 baby potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut into halves

2 large onions grinded

2 tomatoes pureed

8-9 whole cashews soaked in water and grinded into a fine paste  

7-8 cloves of garlic grinded

1-2 curry leaves

1 dried red chilly

½ tsp black cumin and mustard seeds

 1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

½ tsp dried kasuri methi

½ tsp turmeric powder  

Salt as per taste

1 tsp cream and a small handful of coriander leaves for garnishing

Oil 

Method:

1.    Heat about 3-4 tbsp of oil in a wok, then add the curry leaves, dried red chilly, cumin and mustard seeds, a pinch of hing, ginger and green chilli paste, once the seeds crackle add the grinded onion and garlic paste to it.

2.    It is really important to fry the onion paste till it turns brownish and the oil starts separating. Once that happens, add to the paste 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, salt as per taste and sauté for about two minutes.

3.    Next add the pureed tomatoes to the gravy and let it cook till the oil separates again. Make sure that you stir it frequently so that the gravy doesn’t burn and stick to the base. Once the oil separates, add the cashew paste to it and again cook till the oil separates

4.    Next add the baby potatoes to the gravy, gently mix so that the potatoes get nicely coated with the gravy. Let it cook for about 5 minutes. Next add about 2 cups of water to the gravy, then add the garam masala powder and kasuri methi to it, mix well. Let it simmer till the gravy gets thickened to your desired consistency.

5.    Once cooked, turn off the heat, add about 1 tsp cream and garnish with coriander leaves. Relish with some parathas or jeera rice!

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are an all time favourite! It’s a good party starter, as the rolls can be prepared beforehand and be frozen, you will just need to fry them before serving it. Spring roll wrappers are easily available in the markets so you can even skip making your own dough and sheets part. A lot of variations can be done in the stuffing of the spring rolls, as per your preference, you can even bake your spring rolls instead of frying. Here I’ve made simple veggie spring rolls, hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

½ cup milk

½ a cabbage shredded

1 carrot shredded

1 large onion thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper thinly sliced

7-8 cloves of garlic minced

1 tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1 tsp Ajino Moto (Chinese salt)
1-2 tsp soya sauce

Salt as per taste

Black pepper powder as per taste

Oil 

Method:

1.    Start by preparing the dough. In a bowl take 1 cup of flour and about half a cup of milk for binding, add to it about 1 tsp of oil and salt as per taste. Bind the dough nicely; the dough shouldn’t be too soft or too hard. Cover it with a wet cloth and keep aside.

2.    Now for the stuffing, take a wok, add to it about 1-2 tbsp of oil, add the minced garlic, ginger and green chilli paste, sauté for a few seconds and then add the sliced onions & bell peppers sauté for a minute, next add the shredded cabbage & carrot. Keep the wok on a high flame so that the veggies get cooked but also retain its crunch, stir continuously to avoid the veggies from burning.

3.    Once the veggies are cooked, add to it salt and black pepper powder as per taste, 1 tsp of Chinese salt and about 1-2 tsp of soya sauce, mix well and then keep the mixture aside for cooling.

4.    Now divide the dough in equal parts, roll out one part of the dough into a flat thin chapatti, cut out the edges of the thin chapatti to give it a square shape. Place about a tbsp of the veggie stuffing in the centre of the square dough sheet, dab some water on the edges, start by folding from the top edge and roll tightly, seal the side edges and press the edges with a fork.  Keep the rolls covered with a wet cloth.

5.    Once all the rolls are ready, heat some oil in a wok, fry the rolls till they turn golden brown. Place the rolls on a kitchen roll, cut into two and serve!

Quick Veg Pulao

Most people are becoming extremely cautious of the food choices that they make and a major leap that calorie conscious people are making is the shift from white rice to brown rice. White rice is basically the refined form of brown rice, in brown rice only the outer husk is removed whereas in white rice the husk, barn and all layers are removed leaving only the endosperm behind. So obviously brown rice is the healthier choice as compared to white rice as the refining process results into nutritional loss.  

I tried looking up the internet to get some idea on whether really is there any major difference between brown and white rice and it seems a lot of experts/health sites etc have very contrasting views on the topic. However from as much I could gather it seems that there isn’t a very major difference between the two specially if your bowl of rice is accompanied with a bowl of veggies or dals etc. even otherwise even though brown rice has a higher nutrient content it seems there isn’t an alarming difference between the calorie contents of brown and white rice.

For foodies like me who do not mind choosing the less healthy options by giving taste a priority would agree that all that said, white rice is more flavoursome in the sense that it blends with and absorbs other flavours more easily. Whereas brown rice needs more cooking time and tends to be chewy and nutty, also it has a limited shelf life as compared to white rice. On days when I am feeling extremely guilty for not being a calorie conscious person I turn to brown rice but otherwise I use white rice just like I’ve done for my easy peasy veg pulav, which is a very simple homely recipe, with mild flavours.

Ingredients:

2 cups boiled rice (preferably long grain rice)

1 medium size carrot diced finely

1 large onion diced finely (or spring onion with its greens)

1 cup finely diced beans

1 capsicum diced finely

1 pinch of cumin seeds

4 - 5 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 - ½ tsp ginger and green chilli paste

1- 1 ½ tsp tandoori masala

Salt as per taste

1 pinch turmeric powder

Oil/butter

6-7 cashews and raisins   

Coriander for garnish 

Method:

1.    Begin with heating about 1 ½ tbsp oil or butter in a wok. Once the oil is heated add the cumin seeds and a pinch of hing (asafoetida). Then add the finely chopped garlic and the diced onions. Once the onion is pinkish and slightly softened, add the ginger and green chilli paste to it.

2.    Next add the finely diced beans, capsicum and carrots, let them cook through, once all the veggies are cooked nicely, lower the flame and add the boiled rice to it and at the same time add salt, tandoori masala and turmeric powder to it. Also add the cashews and raisins.

3.    Gently mix all the veggies, rice and masalas so as to not break or mash the boiled rice. Let it cook for about 2 minutes. Next garnish it with some coriander and cashews and that’s it!