Basil Tawa Pulav

Another quick recipe from D for a weekend lunch... He is so resourceful in the kitchen that i can't stop admiring! What do you do when the kadai/pan is needed for cooking lunch but it is in the sink unwashed after the breakfast? Of course wash it and use it, right? In case of D, he uses the tawa instead :D And churns out an even better tasting tawa-pulav!

And what do you do when you feel like having a pudina peas pulav, but there is no pudina in the kitchen? Postpone it till you get pudina? Nope! Use the basil that is lying in the fridge instead... that will turn into an all new dish - Basil pulav.

And combine the two together, you have this flavorful, quick and easy Basil tawa-pulav!

This one is from the archives, from the last summer but i'm posting it now that again inspired by the raining of fresh basil in the veggie markets.

Here's the recipe...

Basil Tawa-Pulav

Preparation time: 15 min 

Cooking time: 15 min

Serves: 3-4

Source: D's experiment

Ingredients:

Fresh Basil       - 1 small bunch, cleaned and chopped

Green Peas       - 3/4 - 1 cup

Cooked Rice    - 3 cups (preferably Basmati)

Cooking oil      - 1 Tbsp; Used olive oil

Cumin seeds    - 1 tsp

Cinnamon        - 1” stick, broken into 4-5 pcs

Cloves              - 4-5

Ginger             - 1" cube, grated/ chopped fine
Garlic - 1-2 cloves, chopped fine

Green chilies   - 2-3, adjust according to taste

Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp, adjust according to taste

Salt                  - ~3/4 tsp or as per taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan.. err tawa :) and add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves
• After half a minute, add grated ginger, garlic, slit green chilies and peas. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
• Add chopped basil and sauté till just the rawness disappears
• Sprinkle some salt, pepper powder and mix
• Mix in the cooked rice thoroughly, add more salt if required and fry the rice for a few minutes on the hot tawa
• Serve hot, optionally with any raita

Notes:

• Make the rice with a little less water so that the grains are separate
• Can add onions as well

Ridgegourd-Peel Chutney

When it came to cooking, our grand mothers never threw off the peels, seeds and rinds of so many veggies. They probably knew it that these 'wastes' do contain many nutrients and fiber  in some cases more than the actual veggie or fruit and can be put to better use than dumping it into the trash. And so some very good, amazing tasting delicacies were churned out, disguising the main ingredient so well that everyone who ate it would love the taste and not bother to know what has gone inside!

The same was carried over by my mom and MIL as well and thus it continues with me too! The list is endless, with chutneys made from veggie peels/seeds, dosas with rind of watermelon, methi stalks (recipe soon to follow), gojju with jack fruit seeds, and so on. 

One of my favorites till date is the chutney made from ridge-gourd (heerekai) peel. Mom usually made tovve (dal) with the ridge gourd and the peel was used to make chutney, as an accompaniment. That used to be one of my most favorite meals! She used to make sure that the chutney is ground just a few minutes before meal time so that the roasted lentils that went into it were still crisp in the chutney and gave a nice texture when mixed with hot rice with a spoonful of oil or ghee!! What a combination!!

So, next time you are about to throw off the peel, stop and turn it into a nice delicacy! Here's the recipe...

Heerekai sippe / Ridge gourd peel chutney

Preparation time : 5 min
Cooking time : 5 min
Serves : 4 -6

Ingredients:
Heerekai / Ridge gourd peel - from 1 big or 2 small ones - don't peel too much, just the outer ridges would do
Coconut - 1/2 cup, grated
Dry Red chilies - 5-6, depending on taste
Chana dal / Toor dal - 1 Tbsp
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Tamarind - a small marble sized ball
Coriander and Curry leaves - 1-2 sprigs each
Salt - ½ tsp or as per taste

For Tempering:
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - A few sprigs
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Hing/asafetida - a pinch

Method:
• Roast chana/toor dal, red chilies, curry leaves in a tsp of oil till the lentils change color
• Add the peel to it and continue roasting till the raw smell is gone from the peel
• Let it cool slightly
• Grind the above with all other ingredients, adding a little water. Do not make it into a fine paste - a bit of texture gives a better tasting chutney
• Transfer the ground chutney to a serving bowl
For tempering / tadka:
• Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard and allow to splutter
• Add curry leaves and hing
• Garnish the chutney with tadka

Notes:
• Do not make the chutney too smooth – a little coarse consistency will give a better taste
• Can use chana dal / toor dal or even urad dal or a combination of them

• The chutney tastes good with dosas, rottis too.

Rajma Masala - Dilli wali style!

I had some colleagues in Bangalore who were from Northern parts of India and were cribbing about not finding good North Indian restaurants in Bangalore. Bangalore being a cosmopolitan city, at least in the last decade or so, I can never agree that there are restaurants serving some particular cuisine missing! Especially when the cuisine in question is North Indian - which has been there from the time i was a kid...

But then, it is a natural tendency for people to miss their native cuisine in other parts, as they will be looking for 'that particular taste, aroma and combination' that they are used to from years, and any small change in taste, one is not satisfied. But whereas for other cuisines, we are generally more forgiving - because we are not so used to that taste and small changes does not matter, as long as the dish tastes good on the whole.

Also, we just generalize food as North Indian, whereas that comprises of so many varieties of cuisines from different parts of Northern India... just like someone saying Neer Dosa is South Indian. Well, it is, but if you ask a Kannadiga, they'd say it is Mangalorean, to be precise :)

Well, coming back to Rajma Masala, the colleagues of mine always had high standards for it, and they regarded it as one of the simplest, most common but often spoilt dish! They'd never be satisfied with the quality of Rajma Masala anywhere else but in their homes and in some places in their home towns!

And all said and done, i tasted the Rajma Masala in a restaurant in Delhi when we were there for a visit, and then realized what my colleagues were saying!! It was the best rajma ever i had had!! And i was bent upon learning to make it the same way, taking tips and recipes from them/their wives! 

And now, this version has been certified as almost as good as a Rajma Masala made in Delhi! Here it is...

Rajma Masala

Ingredients:
Rajma (Red kidney Beans) - 1 cup, Soak overnight
Tomato - 3 medium sized
Onion - 2 medium sized
Cloves - 3-4
Cinnamon - 1" pc
Cardamom - 1
Green chilies - 2-3
Ginger - 1” cube
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Garam masala powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red chili powder - ½ - 1 tsp, depending on taste
Jeera powder - ½ tsp
Coriander powder - ½ tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp, as per taste
Sugar - ¼ - ½ tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped

Method:
• Soak rajma overnight in enough water.
• Tie the whole spices - cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in a muslin cloth and drop it into the pressure cooker along with the soaked beans.
• Pressure cook rajma and spices with enough water for 3-4 whistles, and then put it on sim for at least 30 more minutes. At the end of this time, the rajma beans should be cooked soft but not mushy.
• When cool enough to handle, remove the muslin bag and discard along with the spices in it. The beans would have the flavors imparted by now.
• Boil tomatoes in water till tender, cool and make puree
• Heat oil in a pan
• Add chopped onion and sauté for 2 minutes
• Crush ginger and garlic and add the paste and continue to sauté till the onions turn translucent
• Add all the spice powders and mix thoroughly so that no lumps are formed
• Mix in tomato puree, salt and sugar and bring to a gentle boil
• Add the boiled beans, and water if necessary to maintain a gravy consistency
• Let it boil for 5-10 minutes, till the beans absorb the taste and flavors from the gravy
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or rotis.

Notes:
• Cooking for at least 40 minutes ensures the rajma is cooked well - as my Delhi friends insist it should be :D
• The tomatoes can just be crushed well and added too, instead of grinding it to a puree, but i prefer grinding it.