Punjabi Rajma & Channa Masala

Punjabi Rajma & Channa Recipe or Rajma channa masala is a popular North Indian dish that is made very often in Punjabi households. Boiled Red kidney beans are simmered in spicy onion-tomato gravy.

Red Kidney beans are rich in proteins. This is one the healthiest and easiest curry to make. This recipe requires very less ingredients and does not require any special cooking skills or preparation.

Lets get into the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup rajma/red kidney beans & channa, about 200 gms, soaked overnight & boiled

Oil / butter – 2 tbspns

Bay leaf – 1

Onions – 1 small or ½ cup, Chopped finely or food processed

Ginger paste – 1 tspn

Garlic paste – 1 tspn

Turmeric powder – ½ tspn

Red chili powder – 1 ½  tspns

Coriander powder – 1 tspn

Cumin powder – 1 tspn

Tomatoes – 2 medium or 1 cup, pureed

Channa masala powder – ½ tspn

Salt – to taste

Method:

Heat the butter / oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add bay leaf and saute for 30 seconds. Then add chopped onions and sprinkle some salt. Cook the onions till they get light brown in color. Add ginger and garlic paste. Saute for a minute or till the raw smell goes away.

Add tomato puree, Mix well and let it cook. Do stir in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the pan. Cook till all the moisture evaporates and oil starts to leave the sides of the pan.

Add Turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and channa masala. Mix well and cook for a minute.

Now add boiled channa & rajma along with its water. Mix well and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Check the salt and other spices. If gravy is too thick then add some water and bring it to a boil. If gravy to too thin and watery then let it simmer for few more minutes or till you get your desire gravy consistency.

Punjabi Rajma Masala curry is ready to serve. Enjoy with roti / naan or just plain rice.

Nadan Pottichozhicha Mutta Curry/ Poached Egg Curry

                   Nadan Pottichozhicha mutta curry/ Poached Egg Curry– an easy South Indian style curry of poached eggs in a coconut & Tomato based gravy. This egg curry has eggs dropped in a flavorful gravy instead of the usual boiled eggs being added to a curry. The eggs get cooked in the gravy absorbing all the flavors of the curry.

    As we all know eggs are the most nutritious food. Eggs have lots of vitamins, calcium, minerals, in fact it contains a little bit of almost every nutrient we need. Eggs are high in cholesterol, but eating eggs does not make any ill effects on cholesterol in the blood for the majority of people. Including egg at least once in your diet especially for kids makes your diet very healthy.

  This recipe was handed over to me from my Mom, who learned it from one of family friend. During our childhood days my sister and I used to go crazy on this curry. We loved it, especially the way our mom made this curry.

   This simple gravy makes for a complete meal when served with rice as you don’t require any side dish, just some papadum’s are enough. While adding boiled eggs to gravy is more common, I love this version of egg curry where the eggs absorb all the flavors of the curry and taste delicious. Hope you all try this tasty egg curry.

Here's the recipe of Poached Egg curry, something you can whip up in a jiffy. This curry goes very well with Roti, bread, Appam etc

Ingredients:

Eggs- 4nos

Onion – 2 chopped

Tomato – 1 big sized, chopped

Ginger – 1 tsp, finely chopped

Garlic – 1 tsp, finely chopped

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Garam masala powder – ½ tsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig   

Coconut milk – ½ thick(I used store bought one)

Salt – to taste

Coriander leaves – to garnish

        

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add the sliced onion along with curry leaves. Saute the onions till they turn translucent.

Add the ginger & garlic pieces and stir till raw smell goes. Add the coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir for a minute.

Add the chopped tomato and salt, cook till oil separates then add water. When the mixtures starts to boil carefully crack the egg and pour into the boiling mixture.

Do Not stir cover and cook for a minute. Using a spoon carefully take some gravy from the sides and pour on top of the eggs.

When the mixture again starts to boil, pour the coconut milk and shake the pan so that it blends into the mixture. It is better to avoid stirring or else the egg may break.

Switch off the heat as soon as you spot bubbles along the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the garam masala powder on top.  Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Rice, Appams, Roti’s, etc.

Keral Style Aviyal / Kerala Sadya / Mixed Vegetables in coconut and Yogurt

Aviyal is one of the signature dish of Kerala cuisine and no kerala sadya/ feast is complete without aviyal. It is famous for its special flavors and it is a thick mixture of different vegetables, curd and coconut, seasoned with coconut oil and curry leaves. This was not a require dish at home, but my mom would make it atleat once a month.

Here is the recipe for aviyal:

Ingredients:

Ash gourd -3/4 cup
Carrot -1
Drumstick -1
Beans -6-7
Potato -1
Raw plantain -1
Raw Mango - 5-6 medium size pieces
Elephant foot yam -100 grams
Curd -1/2 cup

For grinding
Grated coconut - 1 cup
Cumin seeds /Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Green chilli -3

For seasoning
Coconut oil - 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves – few

Method:

Peel the skin and cut all the vegetables into 2 inch long piece. Since each vegetable needs different time for cooking, I cooked plantain and ash gourd together in a pan separately adding salt needed for that alone. When it is half cooked, add chopped raw mangoes.

Pressure cook the rest of the vegetables adding salt and turmeric powder for 2 whistles. You could also cook in pan. The vegetables should be soft but not mushy(use very less water and cook)

Coarsely grind grated coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds. Keep it aside. When the veggies are ¾th cooked, add the ground paste. Mix well. Cover and cook till the veggies are done and the raw taste of coconut paste is gone.

Add yogurt and mix well. Cook for 1-2 minutes more and just before removing from the gas, add the coconut oil and curry leaves. Serve hot with rice.

Mambazha Pulissery - Kerala Sadhya Recipe / Ripe Mango in a Yogurt Gravy

One of the traditional curry dishes in Kerala is mambazha pulissery, where ripe mangoes are cooked with tangy curd (yogurt) and coconut gravy. This sweet and sour curry is also called 'Pazhamanga curry or Pazhamanga Pulissery' in certain places in Kerala.  It’s an easy to prepare side dish with minimum requirements. The yummy tangy flavor simply makes you yearn for more and more.

Mambazha Pulissery is also a common dish in Kerala sadhya. Traditionally small full mangoes are added to the curry removing the skin, but I prefer adding chunky pieces so that its easy to serve and eat.

Usually this recipe made using ripe nattu manga(Kerala Mangoes), a special variety of mango having a unique smell and small in size. Without much ado let’s look into the ingredients required and how it’s made.

Ingredients:

Mangoes: 2 nos

Sliced green chillies : 3 nos

Chilli powder : 1 tsp

Yogurt/Curd : 8 cups

Coconut(grated) : 2 cups

Cumin seeds : 2 pinch

Coconut oil : 4 tbsp

Mustard : 2 tsp

Dry red chilli : 6 nos

Curry leaves : as needed

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Water : as needed

Salt : as needed

Method:

1. Cut the mango into pieces and boil in water along with turmeric, green chillies, chilli powder and salt.
2. Grind the coconut with the cumin seeds to a fine paste and add this to the boiling mango. Bring this to a boil and take off the flame.
3. Blend the yogurt to make it smooth and add this to the mixture. See to it that the yogurt does not split.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add dry red chilli and curry leaves. Add the above seasoning to the above mango curry and mix well.
5. Serve with rice.

Nadan Beef Curry / Kerala Style Beef Curry

Kerala cuisine is incomplete without a beef curry. This was an all-time favourite dish during our childhood days. Couple of days back I was speaking to my sister through skype and I don’t know from where the thought came about our Mom’s beef curry. She makes wonderful beef curry. It tastes delicious with appam/ghee rice/Parotta. Actually Beef curry could be called as an all-rounder, as you could have ii in breakfast, lunch & dinner. We both decided to make beef curry at our respective kitchens.

Today I am going to share with you my Mom’s beef curry recipe. I am sure you will like it.

Ingredients:

Beef - ½ kg, cleaned and cut into small pieces

Potato - 1 medium, cut & boiled in big cubes

Onion - 2 medium

Ginger & garlic - crushed, 1 tbsp each

Dry red chilli – 2 broken into halves

Chilli powder - ½ tbsp.

Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Meat masala - 1 tsp

Thick coconut milk - ½ - 1 cup

Shallots – 4 to 5 chopped

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Fennel seeds - a pinch

Curry leaves – 7 to 8 leaves

Coconut oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat a wide pan, add chilli powder and coriander powder, slightly warm up the powders in medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the masala powder, otherwise the gravy will taste bitter).
2. Now add this to the washed beef pieces. Add salt, turmeric powder and mix well, such that all the pieces are coated with the masala. Leave this aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. After which transfer the beef pieces to a pressure cooker and add 1 cup water. Close the cooker with lid and cook in a medium heat for 15-2 minutes or till 5-6 whistles are given out.
4. Meanwhile when the beef is getting cooked, heat 3 tbsp of coconut oil in a shallow pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter add fennel seeds, shallots, ginger & garlic, red chilli and salute it.
5. When it changes into golden brown, reduce the heat and add 1 tbsp of meat masala. Mix it well and now add the cooked beef along with the gravy. Increase the heat and allow it to boil.
6. When it starts to boil you could add the boiled potatoes & curry leaves. At this stage check for seasoning, adjust the salt as per requirement. You could add water as per the gravy thickness you desire.
7. Finally add the thick coconut milk and turn off the flame.
8. Our nadan beef curry is ready to be served. You could serve this with Rice, Roti, Naan, Parotta.

Potato Curry Recipe - Easy Kerala Style Potato Curry Recipe

Our today recipe is a Kerala style potato curry. This curry is very easy to prepare and goes well with Roti’s, Idiyappams and Parota.

This is an Ideal dish for beginners / bachelors who want explore the venture into cooking. The recipe requires very less ingredients and less complex steps. It’s impossible to go wrong in this recipe.

Let’s get into the recipe now.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, cubed - 2 medium sized

Onion, chopped - 1 medium sized

Ginger, chopped – 1 tsp

Garlic, chopped – 1 tsp  

Green chillies, slit through the middle - 4-5

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Thick coconut milk - 1/2 cup (optional)

Water - 2 cups

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Curry leaves – garnish

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. To this, add the ginger, garlic and green chillies. Saute for a minute, now add onions, curry leaves and salt and wait for the onions to turn slightly brown.

Reduce the heat; add the turmeric and sauté for 30 seconds. Now add the cubed potatoes and mix well such that the potatoes are coated with the masala. Now add water, increase the heat and wait for it to boil properly. Then reduce the flame and allow it to cook with lid on for 10 - 15 minutes.  

Finally add the coconut milk and wait for it to boil for another 2 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt if required.

Turn off the heat, Hot and creamy potato curry is ready to be served.

Green Peas & Drumstick curry with Roasted Indian spices / Patani & Muringka Varutharacha Curry

Roasted spices curry along with coconut is a famous curry in Kerala. This preparation is generally made with chicken / mutton / meat. But recently I was reading through a blog and I noticed the roasted spices curry made with vegetables. I was quite interested and wanted to try it out.

The curry came out well and it tasted delicious. This curry has the goodness from the vegetables & dal and a rich flavor of roasted spices. I am sure you will want to try this out. Here’s the recipe for this tasty curry.

Ingredients:

Green peas (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup

Drum stick, cut into 4" long pieces – 1 big

Toor dal / pigeon peas - 1/2 cup

Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup

Urad dal - 3 tsp

Black peppercorns – 5 to7 nos

Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies, medium size – 3 to 4 nos

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida / Hing  -  ¼ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves  - 5 to 8 nos

Preparation:

 Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric powder and salt until soft and mushy.

 In another vessel, boil and cook the peas and drumsticks with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, this might take about 5-6 mins.

 Mash the cooked dal a bit and add it to the peas and drumsticks mixture and simmer till it boils.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan and roast the urad dal, red chillies, peppercorn, and cumin seeds until the dal turns golden brown. Cool slightly and grind along with the coconut into a smooth mixture.

Add the ground masala to the peas-dal-drumsticks mixture and bring to boil. Add salt and curry leaves. Continue to simmer until the desired consistency is reached. If too thick, add some water while boiling.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the mustard seeds, when its crackles add asafoetida and remove from heat. Pour this over the boiling gravy.

Serve hot with rice.

[Recipe Courtesy – Edible Garden] 

Mutton Curry - Kerala Style

Mutton Curry  is a simple, yet delicious curry which is easy to put together.  This curry has the flavor of gram masala and richness of coconut milk. This is my favorite recipe when I want to cook a simple non-vegetarian meal for my family.

          The basic recipe for this curry is my Mother's so I know it is good as I grew up eating it. Mom would cook this mutton curry during weekends and everybody at home loved it. Mutton Curry can be served with pulav or rotis; but it even tastes delicious when served with just plain rice and raita ( a yogurt sauce with cumin powder, coriander leaves, pepper powder and some raw vegetables).

Ingredients:

Mutton / Lamb cubes, on the bone  - 750 grams

Oil  - 6 tablespoons

Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tbsp

Garam Masala – 2 tsps

Fennel seeds / Saunf – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Onion, thinly sliced – 4 medium

Tomato, pureed – 2 large

Salt to taste

Fresh Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup

Poppy seeds (khuskhus), soaked - 2 tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste         - 2 tbsp

Curry leaves – 10 to 15 leaves

Coriander leaves, chopped – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

 Wash the mutton pieces and keep it aside. Heat a wide pan, add chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder, slightly warm up the powders for 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the masala powder, otherwise the gravy will taste bitter). Now add this to the washed mutton pieces. Add salt and mix well, such that all the pieces are coated with the masala. Leave this aside for 1 hour after. After which transfer the mutton pieces to a pressure cooker and add 1 cup water. Close the cooker with lid and cook for 20-25 minutes or till 5-6 whistles are given out.

Heat a Cooking pan and add oil, then add mustard seeds and fennel seeds. When it’s crackled add onions and sauté lightly. Meanwhile, grind grated coconut and soaked poppy seeds to a fine paste and keep it aside. When the onion starts to turn golden brown add ginger & garlic paste and gram masala powder, sauté till the raw smell goes off. Now add the pureed tomato and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. 

When the oil starts to ooze out add the cooked mutton pieces along with the water. Allow it to boil. Check seasoning and add salt. After 8 to 9 minutes or when the gravy starts to thicken add curry leaves and ground coconut & poppy seeds paste. Turn of the heat when the gravy starts to bubble. Close the lid and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

This can be serves with rotis, parotas, pulav, ghee rice. 

Madras Sambar

Sambar is a very popular dish made at every household in the southern regions of India. Sambar is a curry based on a broth made with  pigeon peas/ toor dal, spices, vegetables and tamarind. Sambar is reflective of a broad and ancient tradition of lentil-based vegetable curry in southern India. Many regions and families of the Indian subcontinent have developed and maintained their own adaptations of this dish

Ingredients:

Toor dal/ Pigeon peas - 1/2 cup

Salt as required

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Tomato, large - 1 cubed in small pieces

Mixed vegetables cubed - Approx. 1-½ cup

(Drum stick, Eggplant, Carrot, French beans, raddish etc)   

Tamarind pulp - 2 tablespoons

Sambar powder - 1 tablespoon (available in any Indian grocery store)
Coriander leaves to garnish

For Seasoning

Oil / Ghee - 2 tablespoons

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 10-12

Whole red chilies, dry – 3 to 4 nos

Preparation:

Wash and soak dal in about 2 cups of water for 10 minutes or longer. In pressure cooker add soaked dal, about 1 ½ cups of water, salt and turmeric then cook on medium high heat. Cook this for 3 to 4 whistles. Turn off the heat and wait until steam has escaped before opening the pressure cooker.

Meanwhile in another pan cook the mixed vegetables (along with tomato & Onion) with little salt, turmeric and water for 4 to 5mintues or till the vegetables are fully cooked.

The cooked dal should be soft and mushy. Mix dal well such that there are no lumps. Now heat a wider pan or sauce pot, add the mashed dal and boiled vegetables along with water. Add sambar powder and tamarind paste and mix well. Sambar should be thin and have the consistency of soup. If the sambar is thick, add water as needed. Check and add salt if required. Allow it to boil.

Now prepare the seasoning, heat the oil/ghee in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chillies, and curry leaves, and then stir for a few seconds. Pour this seasoning into the boiling dal mixture and turn off the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve Sambar piping hot with Idlis, Vadas or steamed rice.

Egg Curry

Ingredients

    

 For Curry

        Eggs, hard boiled, peeled - 4

        Onion, finely sliced - 1(large)

        Green chilies, slit - 3 lengthwise

        Ginger, finely chopped - 1teaspoon

        Garlic, finely chopped – 1 teaspoon

        Curry leaves - 1 spring

        Tomato, finely chopped - 1(large)

        Turmeric powder

        Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp

        Coriander powder - 2 tsp

        Coconut milk - 3/4 cup

        Black Pepper, coarsely crushed- 1/2 tsp

    

  Tempering

        Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

        Coconut oil - 1 1/2 tbsps

        Curry Leaves - 8 to 10 leaves

   

 Method:

        Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds once its splutter, add sliced onions, curry leaves, ginger, garlic     and green chilies and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. When onion starts turning light brown, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, pepper powder and gram masala. Sauté for a minute. Then add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. When the tomatoes are cooked, add ¾ cup of water to make slightly thick gravy. Check for seasoning and add salt. Allow this to boil. When it boils, reduce the heat and add the coconut milk and mix well. Now add the boiled eggs and cook or a minute

Can be served with appam, idiyapam or roti.

Kerala Style Fish Curry / Meen Curry Kerala Style

This fish curry is the most sought out fish curry at any household in Kerala. This can be made with any type of fish, but the preferred one would be the king fish, seer fish or salmon which has fewer bones.

My husband is quite crazy about this fish curry. Though I knew cooking before marriage, I did not know how to make this fish curry. I learnt this fish curry from my mother-in-law, whose fish curry is my husband’s favorite.

This fish curry does not need much ingredients and it can be made quickly with very less effort. 

Ingredients

   Fish(medium pieces ) – ½ kg

   Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

   Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp

   Ginger & garlic chopped – 1½ tbsp, Small onion – 6-8

   Kashmiri chili powder – 1½ – 2 tbsp

   Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

   Kodumpuli / Gambooge – 2,3 pieces

   Curry leaves

   Salt to taste

   Coconut oil

   Water as required

Method:

Step 1: Soak Kodumpuli / Gambooge in 1 cup water.

Step 2: Layer the fish

Take the Chatti (earthenware) or a pan, in which you have planned to cook the fish. Arrange the fish on the chatti /pan such the bottom of the pan is covered with fish. Now sprinkle the curry leaves, salt and the soaked Kodumpuli / Gambooge on top of the fish.

Step 3: Make the gravy

Heat oil in a kadai or pan add splutter mustard & fenugreek seeds. Now add the thinly sliced shallots, chopped ginger & Garlic are sauté for 3  minutes.  Now reduce the heat and add chilli powder and turmeric powder, fry for a minute and then immediately add half of the water (water used to soak Kodumpuli / Gambooge). Allow it to fry for 2 minutes now add the remaining water and allow it to boil. 

Step 4: Cook the fish

Put the chatti/pan on heat with fish and pour the gravy (made in step 3) on it. Combine well. Make sure that fish pieces do not get broken in the process; it will be safer to rotate the pan to ensure that fish & gravy is mixed well. Add water if required, such the fish is covered with the gravy & cook it in low heat with lid on till the fish is done & gravy becomes thick. (Rotate the chatti/pan in between to help the fish and gravy get mixed well) This will take around 20 -25 minutes on low flame. Serve with rice (Kerala red rice).