Makes 3 generous servings
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan
- Add 0.5tsp of cumin seeds, 2 cloves, half inch cinnamon stick
- When cumin seeds splutter, add 1 large finely chopped onion
- Add salt and saute the onions until light brown
- Add 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic-coriander paste. saute.
- Add 1 green chilly slit lengthwise (can chop too. But I prefer long slit so my son can easily discard it.)
- Add a spring of curry leaves and saute for few seconds
- Add a pinch of turmeric powder
- Add 1 large ripe Tomato – finely chopped
- Saute until oil leaves by the sides
- Add washed and quartered button mushrooms (around 15 or so)
- Fry for a min and add 0.25 cup of water
- Cover and cook for 7 mins
- While it cooks, coarsely crush the following: 3 garlic pods, 0.5tsp of peppercorns, 1tsp of cumin seeds. Use a pestel preferably. Do not fine grind it. It must be very very coarse.
- After the mushroom is done do the following:
- Heat a really wide mouthed pan [I mean it
] - Add a dash of butter and 1 tbsp of oil . You can make it all butter…. but then the ‘cholesterol cop’ inside me, wont let me do that.
- Add the crushed garlic-pepper-cumin coarse masala and fry until raw smell vanishes
- Add few curry leaves and few cilantro leaves
- Add 0.5tsp of red chilly powder, 0.5tsp of coriander powder, 0.25tsp of garam masala pdr
- Qucikly toss the mushroom gravy into this wide pan
- Fry until all the water eaporates and the gravy thickens
- The gravy will be coating the mushrooms real good
- Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve or relish
- This dish tastes heavenly with Rice, Chapathi or any Roti
- You can even beat an egg (or egg white if your ‘cholesterol cop’ is still around) with little soy sauce and scramble it and add to the dish for an extra notch
Filed under: Poriyal
Makes about 3 servings
The simplest of all but delicious recipe
- Scrape the outer skin of 4 long carrots slighlty to remove the dead skin
- Grate the carrots using a grater (It would come to about 3 cups of carrot)
- Heat 1tbsp of oil in a pan
- Temper with 1tsp of mustard seeds, 1tsp of urid dhal, 1tsp of channa dhal, 1tsp of cumin seeds, few curry leaves, a pinch of hing
- Optional: add 1 red chilly
- Add finely chopped onions (half medium size onion)
- Fry until onions turn translucent
- Add salt per taste and 0.5tsp of turmeric powder
- Add the grated carrot
- Fry for 10 mins or until carrot gets tender
- Optional: Add 0.5tsp of red chilly powder
- Optional: Add 1tbsp of grated coconut
- Serve with hot rice and Rasam or curd
Vegetable Stir Fry is my fav in Thai/Chinese cuisines. I always wondered how to cook this dish at home. So long! Today I summoned all my courage and dived in the kitchen to give it a try.
The recipe is a fusion of all the procedures I collected on the web. I tweaked it to my taste and God, it tasted so delicious, I can’t stop eating. I somehow managed to save Tamil a little to taste. Hey, I could make this anytime he wants – it only takes about 10mins.
Ok..before I forget what I did, here is my recipe..And yeah this would make 1 serving. (I wasn’t sure how it would turn out so I made just enough for one person. I should have trusted myself a bit more.)
Make a concoction of the following for the sauce:
1. Stir fry sauce – 0.5tbsp
2. Soy sauce – 1tbsp
3. Rice vinegar – 0.25tbsp
4. Water – 0.5tbsp
5. Chilly paste – 0.25tbsp
6. Pepper powder – 0.5tsp
- In a bowl break an egg (or just egg white) and beat lightly with 0.5tsp of soy sauce and little pepper (This step is optional if you dont like to add eggs)
- Heat the pan to high
- Add 1 tbsp or less oil
- Scramble the egg mixture quickly and transfer to a plate
- In the same pan, fry 2 chopped garlics, 1 green chilly, 0.25 medium size onion chopped into big wedges
- Stir fry all the veges you want in high heat for a about 2 mins or until the veges go aldente (cooked yet crisp)
- I used Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots, Snow Peas, Celery
- Now pour your sauce concoction and stir fry for another min or two
- Finally toss in the Tofu cubes. Give it a quick stir
- Just before you turn off the stove, toss the eggs in and stir once
- Garnish with cilantro
- Serve hot with plain rice or Thai Fried Rice
Tips:
Do not overcook brocoli – it would ruin the dish. Add it at the very last. Carrots take some time to cook. So add that in first.
Enjoy!!
Makes just 1 serving.
- Wash and dry about 20 Okras (lady’s finger)
- Remember to cut off the head and tail
- Slit them lengthwise
- In a hot pan add little oil
- When the oil is hot enough put 1/2tsp of cumin seeds
- When the seeds crackle, saute the okras until they get tender
- Cover and cook. Stir occasionally. Add salt per taste
- When the okras are about half done, add 1/2tsp turmeric powder
- Add 1tsp coriander powder, 1/2tsp chilly powder, 1/4tsp amchur powder
- Stir so the spices aren’t burnt
- Sprinkle drops of water as and when needed
- Cover and cook until the spices are not smelling raw
- Finally add 0.5 tbsp of besan (chana powder) and 1/4tsp of pepper
- Stir for 3 more mins. Again sprinkle water, cover, cook,stir every now and then
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with any roti or curry
RECIPE:
- Pour 2 tsp of oil in a hot kadai
- Temper with cumin seeds and mustards and curry leaves
- Saute chopped onion (1/4) until transparent
- Add salt per taste and little turmeric powder
- Add 10 cut brinjals (egg plant) and suate until they turn tender
- Add 1/2 sp chilly powder and stir well
- When the raw smell subsides, sprinkle 1sp water and cover and cook on medium flame
- Stir occasionally and sprinkle water as and when needed
- When oil oozes out and brinjals are well cooked turn off the stove
- Serve with Rasam / Sambar / Yogurt
- Steam cook Plantain (raw babana / vaazhakkai / valakkai) for 15 min with the jacket on
- Remove the jacket and grate or mash it
- In a hot pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and season with mustard seeds, urad dhal, chana dhal, curry leaves
- Add 1 green chilly slit into 2 halves, 1/4 medium size onion chopped and saute until onions turn transparent
- Add salt per taste and 1/4sp turmeric powder
- Add the grated banana and fry for 2 mins
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot
- It goes well with curd / rasam /sambar
Also called Urulai kilangu Kalyana Varuval. Goes well with Sambar, Rasam or Curd.
The procedure is the same as Valaikai varuval. Use boiled potatoes. This is my mom’s recipe.
For those who wonder what chocho or chayote is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophine
Recipe:
- Dry roast 1 sp chana dal and 1/4 sp fennel seeds (sombu) and fine grind to a powder
- Oil + mustard seeds + curry leaves + onions + 3 chayotes chopped -> fry until tender
- Add chilly powder + turmeric powder + salt per taste
- Add little water , cover and cook
- When the vegetabe is 3/4th cooked add the chana powder
- Mix and cover and cook until the raw smell goes off and the veg is cooked well
- You can add warm water as and when needed to prevent charring
Oil+2 pattai+2 cloves+(3 pearl onions + 3 garlics -> paste) + (turmeric+garam masala+curry powder+fish fry powder -> each quarter spoon or even less) +half spoon chilly powder(aachi) + salt+ chopped cauliflower florets -> fry all until tender. No water at all. Finally spray pepper to taste.
