Thai Nam prig pow and vegetable fried rice recipe

I actually can't believe that this is my first Thai recipe on this blog, when it is one my all time favourite cuisines! My husband and I have been to Thailand many times and we have completely fallen in love with the country, cuisine, culture and most of all, the people!

I actually think that this is a very suitable dish to have as my first Thai recipe on blog, simply because It was one of the first dishes that I had on my very first visit to the land of the golden smiles.

What I love about this dish is that this recipe calls for left over rice. So what I always do, is cook double the amount of rice the day before. It then makes for a really good lunch time, or evening meal.
You don't even have to add the veggies if you don't want to, or you have little time to spare.

One thing I would recommend you try although it is definitely not essential, is to make your own nam prig pow paste. The one that you buy from the shop is truly delicious, it is just good to be able to make it according to your own tastes and also you know that there isn't any rubbish going into it. It isn't hard to do, just make sure to do it in advance. I will post my recipe next. Oh I'm sorry, im forgetting to say what nam prig pow is!!!! It is a massively amazing versatile Thai  paste, containing caramelised shallots, garlic, chillies and other ingredients. I don't live very close to an Asian supermarket, so I like to make my own. It will last for about 3 months in an airtight container in the fridge.

Here is the link for the paste recipe below. 😄

Nam prig pow chilli paste recipe

Here is the recipe for nam prig pow fried rice!

2-3 cups of left over rice. Jasmine or basmati is preferable.
1/2 a large white onion,
3 spring onions,
1 carrot
3 or 4 large leaves of Napa cabbage or Chinese leaf
1/2 cup cooked green peas
1/2 large red pepper,
1 large red chilli
3 cloves garlic
Bamboo shoots and water chestnuts just to taste
1 tbs fish sauce,
3 tsp nam prig pow chilli paste.
Lime wedge for seasoning to taste
2-3 eggs. One for frying and popping on the top.

Directions
Prepare everything befor cooking.

1. Julienne the all of the washed vegetables to a uniform size. Just roughly chop the garlic.

2. Heat a tbs of oil into a wok and wait until it reaches smoking point.
3. Add the onions and fry for about a minute before adding the chilli and the garlic.

4. Add the carrots and fry for about a minute, then quickly add the peppers, spring onions, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.add the Chinese leaf at the end and only stir fry for a minute or so.Stir fry until done. Set aside.

5.to the same wok as you were just using, add another 1/2 tbs oil and wait until it reaches smoking point.
6. Add the left over rice and stir fry for a minute or so, but make sure that you break up all of the lumps.
7. Push the rice to one side and break an egg into the pan. Scramble the egg until it is in fairly small pieces.

8. Mix the rice and the egg together and then add the fish sauce and the nam prig pow. Mix everything together really well.

9. Add the vegetables and stir fry everything together for a few minutes. Taste for balance of flavours

10. Heat up another frying pan for the egg. Quickly fry the egg, ensuring that you leave the yolk runny.
 11. Serve the hot rice into bowls or plates and serve the fried egg on top with the wedge of lime.

ENJOY!!!!!

traditional Khichi or khichu recipe ( rice flour dumplings)

I have already posted a recipe for khichi before, but it was a very early recipe of mine and completely improvised. It has always been an all time favourite snack of mine to buy when I go shopping to belgrave road. Another reason why it is a favourite is because it is steamed, so it is a healthy option to the fried snacks. When I have given it to other people, they either love it or hate it, but a word of warning, if you like it, you wont be able to stop eating the stuff. I now make this snack weekly because i find it keeps well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Anyway this is a completely different way of cooking khichi to my last recipe. It has been given to me by my friend who used to work in one of the sweet marts that i like to visit. I am very lucky to share this recipe with you. I was so over joyed when I first cook khichi this way. I hope you will be too! Let me know what you think........ :D

Ingredients:-

1 cup of fine rice flour,
1 tsp cumin seeds,
1/4 tsp asafoetida or hing,
a pinch of turmeric,
1 tsp of fresh green chilli paste,
1/2-3/4 tsp fresh ginger paste,
1/2 tsp papad khar,
around 3/4 tsp salt or to taste.
Fresh green coriander and red chilli flakes.

Directions:-

1. Heat  medium sized pan an the cooker and add 2 1/2 cups of water.
2. Into the water add all of the ingredients except for the rice flour.
3. Bring everything to a boil. once it reaches boiling point, add the rice flour and stir with all of your might! It has to be lump free!
4. Kneed the dough with a wooden spoon or or spatula until it becomes all nice and smooth.
5. Get a large steamer pan heated up and ready. I use one of those steal stack steamers that you cook on the stove top.
6. Transfer the dough into a slightly smaller bowl or plate and spread out so that it is fairly thin. Cover it with cling film to stop the drips from getting in.
7. Pop it into the steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes, giving it a quick stir halfway through.
8. This next step is completely optional, but i think it looks really nice and makes it easy to serve, but you could just transfer it into a suitable bowl.
Leave the khichi to cool so that you can handle it. With lightly oiled hands, scoop up the dough and make little patties. using your thumb or the end of a rolling pin make an indentation in the center. Do this until you have used up all of the dough.
9. Sprinkle fresh green coriander and red chilli flakes and a drizzle of oil (optional)

South Indian Okra in a Yogurt and Coconut sauce.

This is a realy good dish if you need introducing to okra, becuse of the sauce, it is sweet and sour and rich with coconut. It really is so delicious.

I am not exactly sure of this dishes actual name because a friend has kindly given this recipe. My friend is from kerala and is not to sure on how to write in english.

Last week she invited me over for lunch and she had heard about me blogging about real indian food. She said that she could remember me saying one time in her favourite restaurant, that I would've liked to of recreated the thali that we enjoyed on that particular day. She was going to be cooking this dish anyway for her family so she remembered about me :-) Of cause i was overjoyed to receive the invitation and I gladly accepted.

I decided to walk to her house because it was quite a nice day, one of those days where it is cold and crisp, but a nice bright sun. Once I had arrived at the end of her street I could smell her food! It reminded me of one of those cartoons where the hungry animal gets a whiff of some delicious food and floated it the air to follow the scent :-) As i walked up her garden path the fabulous aroma got stronger and stronger and even more delicious. She must have seen me coming to the door, because she opened the door before I could even knock. She greeted me with open arms and said come in, come in! I walked into her kitchen and it was full of her female relatives. They were all busy doing something, Her Mother was grinding some batter for dosa, her sister was kneading some bread, and there was some of her aunts and cousins there too. It was a kind of organised kaos. She called me over to the cooker and firstly asked if they could get me anything to drink. Her aunt gave me a cup of chai (Indian tea) and my friend and I sat down for a chat.
When we had finished our chai she said to me that we should get on, she handed me a pen and paper and she said that as a gift for being a good friend, she was handing me this recipe that had been through her family for a very long time. I could thank enough, but she just kindly replied " just invite me round for tea" I love her so much! Thanks hun! :-)

Here is my friends beautifully simple, South Indian Okra recipe.

Ingredients:-

2 cups of fresh okra, washed and dried, cut into 1/2 inch flowers
1/2 cup of fresh yogurt (dahi)
1/2 cup freshly grated, frozen or desiccated coconut. If you are using desiccated coconut then you should soak in boiled water for about 1/2 hour, reserving the coconut water.
3 tbs oil,
1 tsp mustard seeds,
10-12 curry leaves,
1/2- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder,
1/2 tsp green chilli paste,
water - as required.
salt to taste,
1 1/2- 3 tsp sugar- as per your taste,
fresh green coriander to garnish.


Directions:-

1) Heat some oil in a pan and fry the okra on a low to medium heat until browning at the edges and all of the sliminess has disappeared. Make sure that you don't keep stirring the okra otherwise it will become really slimy and not very nice. Drain on kitchen paper.

2) In a blender, or with a hand blender, mix together the yogurt, red chilli powder, coconut, salt and sugar. Blend until you have a fairly cause paste.

3) Check the seasoning and add sufficient water, but not too much. Test again.

4) Heat a saucepan over a medium to hot heat and add the mustard seeds. Wait until they pop and then add the curry leaves. Let them splutter and then add the okra and sauce.

5) Reheat gently up to boiling point and then serve hot with chapatis and rice, or as part of your favorite thali

Drumstick vegetable, tomato and onion curry.

This is an absolute cracker of a recipe! Drumsticks can be quite a task to find if you do not live near an indian grocery store, but please please buy them if you ever see them because you will not regret it! Not only are they delicious in taste, but texture and health benefits too! Please if you get the chance to google this vegetable please do. This plant could literally save the world! It is an amazing plant. The plant or tree is actually called the moringa tree and most of the plant is edible, when you use the actual stick ( drumstick,) you do not eat the tough outer skin, you scrape out the flesh inside with a spoon or you can suck all the goodness out. I personally prefer to scrape everything out with a spoon and mix in some of the sauce into the mashy goodness. The leaves are very highly nutritious too so again, if you ever get the chance to have these, please do.
What i tend to do if i ever find any is to wash, dry and prepare them and then wrap them up well and pop them into the freezer. The freeze very well.

Anyway here is my version of this delicious dish. Please try and let me know what you think? :-) :-) :-)

Ingredients:-

2-4 young, plump and not damaged in any way drumsticks, washed and cut into 3-6 inch pieces.
1 onion,
3-4 tomatoes,
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
2 cloves
a large pinch of hing,
about 10 curry leaves,
1/2 tsp turmeric,
1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder,
1-2 green chillies,
3/4 tsp ginger paste,
2 tsp sugar, or to taste.
salt to taste,
fresh green coriander to garnish.

Directions:-

1) Boil the drumsticks in slightly salted water for around ten minutes, or until the drumsticks are starting to open. Drain and set aside.

2) Dice the onion and wash and chop the tomato.

3) Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan and once the oil is hot enough, fry the mustard seeds until they pop like popcorn :-)then add the cumin seeds, cloves, hing and curry leaves and let them splutter for a moment before adding the diced onion and some salt.

4) Cook the onions until they are starting to brown at the edges and then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook these down until they are all nice and mushy - like a thick sauce.

5) Then add the turmeric and chilli powder with the sugar and give it a good mix.

6) Add about 1 1/2 cups of boiling water, cover and simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes.

7) Add the drumsticks and simmer on a low heat for another 10 minutes. Be sure to check the water levels because this dish needs to be quite soupy.

8) Check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. Garnish with coriander and serve with gujarati potatoes, gujarati kadhi, with rice and chapatis.

ENJOY!!!! :-)

Aloo Gobi Matar recipe ( potato, cauliflower and pea curry )

This such a great every day curry. It uses basic ingredients that you are definitely going to have already in your kitchen and it is very highly nutritious. The ingredients in this curry are the ones that you use every day, although if you want to have this for a special occasion you can always add a few more special spices.

This curry reminds me of when I first moved out of home and I hadn't really got a clue on how to cook for myself :-) When I used to go to my friends mothers house whom I lived with at the time, used to cook this dish a lot for us. This was to make sure that we were getting a good wholesome meal once a week. Manjula used to serve this dish with Gujarati kadhi and rice with chapati, although this does go with any bread. The last time I cooked this dish, I did it with layered paratha's. Every day I would eat it with chapatis but it really does taste amazing with poories! You should definitely try it!!

Ingredients:-
1 large potato, ( peeled and cubed )
6 nice sized florets of cauliflower, ( washed and boiled )
1-2 tomatoes ( washed and cut into 8th )
1 1/2 cups of green peas,
1/2 tsp garlic paste,
1/2 tsp ginger paste,
1 green chilli,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
a large pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1/2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder,
1 tsp coriander cumin powder,
1 tsp sugar,
salt to taste,
fresh coriander to garnish.

Directions:-

1) Peel and cube the potato and the tomatoes and set aside. Boil the cauliflower.

2) Heat 1 tbs oil in a medium to large pan. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds. Let them pop and then add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida.

3) Let them sizzle for a few seconds and then add the turmeric, chilli powder, salt and tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes for about 3-5 minutes or until just staring to soften.

4) Add the potatoes and the sugar and stir well to coat with all of the spices. poor about a cup of hot water and simmer with the lid on at a very low temperature for about 15 minutes before adding the cauliflower and peas.

5) Simmer for about another 10-15 minutes, or until everything is nice and tender.

6) Check the seasoning and add the coriander.

Serve with kadhi, tomato rasam, rice and your choice of bread. As an extra treat serve with pickle and poppadoms. :-) :-) :-)

Please leave your comments and suggestions as this would make me the happiest person in the world!!! :-) :-) :-)

Idli Sambar Recipe

MMM, the aroma of this dish really is something else!! I really do insist on you making some home made masala powder when you are cooking this dish. I think that it is what makes the difference between home made sambar opposed to restaurant style sambar. Whenever I have eaten restaurant sambar it has always been far too watery and not enough vegetables. To be quite honest all of the restaurant don't really cut the mark for me. I don't want to sound greedy, it's just that there are never enough vegetables and it is always far too thin.... gasp of relief...the rant is over lol :-)

ingredients- For the sambar

To be roasted and then ground into a a fairly coarse powder:-

1-3 dried red chillies,
1 tbs coriander seeds,
1 tsp black mustard seeds,
1 tsp fenugreek seeds,
2 cloves,
2 cardamoms,
a small piece of cinnamon,
1/4- 1/2 tsp black pepper,
1 tsp channa dal,
1 tsp white urad dal,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric

(If you have these spices in powder form then you can add as a short cut but the spices definitely taste better if you use the whole spice.)

1 cup or about 100g toor dal, ( soaked in hot water for at least 1/2 hour in hot water,)
1 white potato, (cubed)
1 red sweet potato, (cubed)
2 carrots peeled and cut into rounds,
a fist-full of washed and trimmed green beans,
2 drumsticks chopped and boiled for bout 10 minutes
3-4 tomatoes puréed,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
about 10-12 curry leaves,
1/2 tsp green chilli paste, or to taste
1 tsp ginger paste,
1 tsp tamarind paste to taste,
1 tbs sugar,
salt to taste,
fresh green coriander.

Directions:-

1) Roast the spices on a low to medium flame until they have turned a shade darker. Leave them aside on a cool plate or bowl to cool down completely. Once they have cooled down, grind them to a fairly coarse powder, but not too coarse.

2) while the spices are cooling, prepare the vegetables and boil or steam until nice and tender. Around ten minutes. Also pressure cook the toor dal for about 4-5 whistles in about 4 cups of water and some salt.

3) In the largest pan you have, heat 2-4 tbs oil and add the mustard seeds. Wait until they pop and then add the cumin seeds and curry leaves.

4) Add the tomato purée, garlic, chilli and ginger paste and cook until you start to see the oil separating from the mixture.

5) Lower the heat to low and add the powdered spices and give it a good stir.

6) Add the dal and give everything a really good mash together until the dal has turned all saucy.

7) Add the cooked veggies and mix well so that the sauce coats everything.

8) Add about 6-8 cups of water and the sugar. This water measurement is a rough measurement. Sambar is supposed to be fairly and soupy, but please, not too thin. Bring to the boil and simmer every thing together for around 20 minutes on a low heat.

9) Check the seasoning and add the tamarind if you think that it needs to be more sour. Remember that it needs to be fairly hot, sour, sweet, salty, so adjust these to your tastes.

Garnish with coriander and serve with idli's or rice. BUT! You really need to try idli once in your life !!! :-)

Saag Aloo (spinach and potato curry)

I know I know!! I hear you say it.... not another potato dish!! I just cant resist them in a curry! I think that I fell in love with the whole spicy potato thing the first time I tried a home made vegetarian thali (which is a large metal plate which has either different sections or bowls containing different things like rice, curry, stir-fry, kadhi, dal, pickles etc. ) All of these combined deliver a really filling balanced meal, a real feast for the eyes and for the stomach!! Any-ways, back to the story!! The first time I had tried this dish was at a Gujarati friends house and her mother had cooked up a feast of lots of different things and this particular dish was my absolute favourite of these little bowls of treasure. I have eaten it so many times since, either at peoples houses or restaurants and I never get tired of it.

One of the things that I like so much about cooking is that you are doing it YOUR WAY!! you can make them completely to your taste (or your families if you have kids!) So I bring you my version of my favourite dinner. I am really quite pleased with the way the photo turned out too :-)

Ingredients:-

serves 4-6

4 large floury potatoes ( Peeled and cubed )
2 bags of freshly prepared spinach,
2 tomatoes washed and roughly chopped,
1 large onion finely chopped (optional)
1 heaped tsp garlic purée,
1 tsp grated ginger,
1-2 green chillies,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
a large pinch hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp turmeric powder,
3/4 tsp kashmiri chilli powder,
1 1/2 tsp coriander cumin powder,
1 tbs finely chopped fenugreek leave or kasuri methi
2 tbs fresh coriander.
2 tsp lemon juice,
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste.
a dollop of butter (optional but delicious)

Directions:-

1)Heat the oil in a large pan. When it is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let them pop and crackle.

2)When they have popped, add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida, fry for a second before adding the onions if you are using. If you are not using onions then you can increase the amount of asafoetida.

3)Stir-fry until the onions turn translucent and then add the ginger, garlic and green chilli and saute for a minute or two without without colouring the garlic.

4)Then add the fresh coriander and methi (fenugreek) leaves and saute until the leaves have wilted

5)Add the tomatoes and cook until all nice and pulpy and some of the moisture has evaporated. Add salt and sugar if you haven't done already.

6)Add the powdered spices and a splash of water and stir in the cubed potato. Stir everything through.

7)In the mean time, prepare the spinach (if you need to) and chop very finely.

8)When the potatoes are just over half way cooked, add the chopped spinach and give it a stir. Cook until the potatoes are nice and tender. Check the seasoning and then add the lemon juice. (you should always keep checking the taste of the food so that you know if you have the right balance of seasoning ingredients.)

9)Adjust the level of salt, sugar and lemon juice if you need to and then sprinkle with fresh coriander.

Serve with dal or kadhi, rice and chapati. :-)

moong dal palak recipe ( spinach moong dal )

Again, this is such a comforting dish. It is essentially very similar to my split green moong dal recipe but with added health benefits of spinach!! Full of iron, full of protein, it is sooooo healthy it is incredible!!! don't let this put you of though with me saying how healthy it is, because it really is equally as yummy!! I promise that I will pop some nice photo's of this dish soon, so watch this space!! :-)

Here it is............

Ingredients:-
1 cup split green moong dal
1-2 cups of washed and chopped spinach. It must be fresh, not frozen or tinned!!
3 cups of water
1 tbs sunflower oil
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 green chilli's
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp kashmiri chilli powder- or to taste.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garam masala
fresh coriander
1 tbs butter ( optional but really nice )

Directions:-

1) Soak dal in boiling water for 1/2 hour - 1 hour if you have time. If you don't have enough time to soak the dal you can always add some more water and cook for another whistle. Drain before cooking.

2) Heat the pressure cooker over a medium heat and add the oil

3) Add the cumin seed and asafoetida and just let them sizzle for a few seconds and then add the green chilli, turmeric and the ginger. Fry again for a few seconds.

4) Add the drained dal, spinach and the salt. Cover and cook for 3-4 whistles.

5) I like to let the steam escape naturally, because this keeps everything cooking slowly, but if you don't have time you can just run the pressure cooker under cold water until all of the pressure is released. Mash everything well with a potato masher.

6) Add the lemon juice, garam massala and the coriander. Mix well test the seasoning
and adjust to your taste.

Serve hot with chapatti's, cacumber ( onions, tomato and cuccumber salad ) and papads. Or plain and simple on it's own!!! UMMMMM

Yellow moong dal (with a difference)

Yellow moong dal has always been one of my favourite dals and there are countless ways to cook this highly nutritious little gem. I have adapted this recipe from a traditional dry version called sukhi dal. I have changed it to suit my taste and methods of cooking because I was never really all that happy with the end result. I definitely prefer this dish to have a sauce, so you definitely can not call this dish sukhi dal. The other ways of cooking this dal is to completely obliterate the dal in a pressure until it is all smooth and silky. So, i just thought that this way would be a nice change, to have the dal retain its shape, but to have a nice gravy too.

So here is my delicious experiment.....

ingredients:-

1 cup yellow moong dal- rinsed and soaked for about 2 hours in hot water,
2-3 tbs oil
1 small onion (optional)
1 heaped tsp garlic purée,
1 tsp ginger paste,
1/2 tsp mustard seed,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
a large pinch of asafoetida,
3-4 curry leaves,
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (recommended to give a nice colour but you can use normal chilli powder)
1 tsp turmeric powder,
1 1/2 - 2 tsp coriander-cumin powder,
2 tsp sugar, or to taste,
1-2 tsp lemon juice, or to taste,
1 tsp salt, or to taste,
fresh green coriander.

Directions:-

1) When the two hours are up, drain the dal and heat the oil in a pan over a medium to hot heat.

2) Add the mustard seeds and cook until the pop before adding the cumin seeds and asafoetida.

3) Take off the heat and add the curry leaves. Fry for just a moment.

4) Add the onions, ginger, garlic and fry over heat until they start turning brown. (That's if you are using them)

5) Add the spices, sugar and about a cup of water. Bring to the boil and then add the moong dal.

6) Turn the heat down to low and cook with a tight fitting lid for about 15 minutes or until cooked.
But BEWARE!! Do not stir the dal until you put in the lemon juice and salt, but even then you only want to fold those ingredients in otherwise it will all turn to mush.

7) Check the seasoning and serve garnished with coriander. It goes really nice with plain boiled basmati rice and Healthy mixed vegetable curry.

Please enjoy and feel free to give advice, comments and experiences.

Aloo masala (versatile potato mixture)

This potato mixture is so versatile, I use it for so many different things like stuffed mirchi bhaji (chilli pakora), aloo paratha, dosa, batata vada etc..
I actually use quite a lot of garlic in this recipe, but you can omit if its not to your taste, but it really does make a difference to the dish because it becomes very mild once it has been cooked down and becomes all scrumptious.

Ingredients:-

1 kg floury potatoes- boiled
About 10 cloves of garlic or a very large tsp of garlic purée,
1-2 green chillies,
about 7 fresh curry leaves,
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 onion diced,
a large pinch asafoetida,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tbs fresh coriander,
1/2 tbs lemon juice or to taste,
1 1/2 tbs oil
salt to taste.

directions:-

1) Heat the oil in a pan over a medium to hot heat and add the mustard seeds. Wait until they pop like popcorn.

2) Add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida and let them sizzle for a second or so before you add the onions. Saute the onions until they are light brown.

3) Add the garlic, chillies and the ginger and stir for a few minutes

4) Add the lemon juice, salt, coriander and the turmeric and give it a quick stir before adding the potato.

5) Mash the potato into the mixture making sure that you leave some chunks of potato.

Test the seasoning to cheek if is your taste and a just if you need to.

Enjoy the countless things you can do with this amazing mixture. On this opportunity i made potato vadas.

Chora nu shaak recipe. (Black eye beans or Lobia)

This is a real comforting, but also a healthy dish to eat. When I cook this dish you can guarantee there will never be any scraps left because it is sooooo good!. It's also a really good dish for the kids to have to because if they like baked beans then they will definitely like this dish. Black eye bean are so so full of goodness to! They are low in calorie's, high in fibre, high in protein so they are excellent for vegetarians, mega high in potassium which is good for the heart and a massive amount of zinc and iron, making them power houses for nutrition! It is also Very delicious so go on! give it a go and let me know what you think. :-) :-) :-)

Ingredients:- Amounts can be doubled for a family.

1 tin of black eye beans,
2 tbs extra mild olive oil or sunflower oil,
1 medium onion - blended,
1 small tin of chopped tomato,
1 heaped tsp garlic paste- or to taste,
1 green chilli - or to taste,
1 tsp ginger paste,
5-6 curry leaves,
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds,
1/4 tsp cumin seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida (hing) - optional,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1/2 tsp red chilli powder or to taste,
1/4 tsp garam masala.
salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
Fresh coriander and spring onions for garnishing.

Directions:-

1) Heat the oil in a medium pan over a medium to hot heat. Then add the mustard seeds and let them pop and crackle.

2) Then add the cumin seeds and asafoetida and let them sizzle.

3) Take off the heat for a moment and add the curry leaves. Give them a stir.

4) Add the onion, garlic, ginger and the green chilli and cook until the onions are just starting to brown.

5) Then add the tinned tomatoes and cook the mixture down until it is a thick paste.

6) Add the spice powders, the sugar and the beans and give it all a good mix to coat the beans well.

7) Add sufficient water and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, then check the seasoning and adjust if you need to.

Serve with rice and chapati's or poori's
Garnish with coriander and spring onions.

Green pea curry ( In a tomato a cashew nut sauce)

This recipe kind of happened by accident really. One day i was making mutter paneer and half way through, when the sauce was done and the pea's had cooked, I tasted some of the curry. I thought and so did my hasband that it was a good and satisfying dish all by it's self, so we disided to eat it as it was and save the paneer for something else. It really was delicious so give it a go yourself!!!!

Ingredients:-

1 1/2 cup of frozen green peas

To be blended together:-

3 tbs cashew nuts - soaked in boiling water 1/2 hour
1 small onion
1 inch fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves

Other:-
2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
3 bay leaves
3 tbs fenugreek leaves (methi)
3 tbs fresh coriander (hari dhania)
220g tin of tomatoes
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2- 1 tsp Punjabi garam masala or normal.
1 tsp sugar (optional)
salt to taste
2 tbs butter
fresh coriander to garnish.

Directions:-

1)Heat the oil in a pan on a medium to high heat.

2)Add the cumin seeds and the hing and stir fry for a for second before adding the bay leaves. Fry for just a moment.

3)Add the onion paste and fry for about 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture has turned a few shades darker.

4)Add the tomatoes and the leaves and cook until all of the tomatoes have mixed into a thick paste and the oil separates.

5)Add a splash of water and also all of the powdered spices. Cook for a minute or so.

6)Add the sugar and salt, mix well. Then add the green peas and cook for a couple of minutes with out a lid, making sure that you give it a little stir to prevent it from sticky.

7)Garnish with coriander.

Serve with naan or chapatis

Tomato Rasam recipe

There really is no better and more comforting side dishes for me. I think the reason why is that it was one of the first REAL Indian dishes that i had tried. It was steaming hot, served on top of fluffy basmati rice with fresh green coriander sprinkled over the top. This was also the first time that i had ever tried fresh coriander too. I had fallen in love instantly with real Indian food and I just wanted more, but I was to polite and shy to ask, as their was a family of three boy's and two adults in the house to feed, so I think that at first they were being polite when they fed me, so I did not ask for more. The lady that cooked this meal for her family was an absolute genius and a complete inspiration to me. I really wish that I took up the many invitations to learn how to cook these spectacular dishes, but of course the situation at the time was difficult to say the least, so like a plum, I never did except the once in a life time opportunity and learn from the best, but we learn from our life experiences and we can only correct them when we realise that we can. Take every opportunity as you can and live life to the full, no mater what your passion is it is achievable even if you know nothing from the start. Here is my attempt of learning from scratch to absolute comfort.

Ingredients:-

4 tbs of red lentils - rinsed, boiled and puréed in a blender. (This is untraditional in this recipe but I think that it add extra flavour and health benefits.)
1 tbs oil and 1 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 dried red chilli's
4-6 cloves
2 green cardamom pods
1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon or cassia bark
1 tsp ginger purée
3/4 tsp garlic purée
1 green chilli
about 10-13 curry leaves
1/4- 1/2 tsp hing (asafoetida)
3 tbs freshly chopped coriander
3-4 medium tomatoes peeled and chopped finely
1/2 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp of home-made rasam powder or to taste.
2 tsp of sugar, or 1 tsp of jaggery
1 tsp of tamarind paste or to taste

Directions:-

1) Heat the oil on a medium heat in a pan and add the mustard seed and wait until they pop.

2) Add the hing and let it sizzle,

2) Then add the cumin seeds, red chilli, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, green chilli, curry leaves and stir for about 30 seconds off the heat to make sure that the mixture does not burn.

3) Then add the fresh coriander and stir fry until the coriander wilts.

4) Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until all nice and pulpy and the oil separates.

5) Add the rest of the powdered spices and cook for another minute.

6) Add the sugar or jaggery and add your desired amount of water. Maybe around 1-2 pints depending on how you like it.

7) Add the tamarind and green coriander, mix and check the seasoning.

Serve as a soup or on top of rice.

Potato and courgette curry (zucchini)

If you are not a fan of the bitterness of an aubergine, but you like the juicy soft texture, then this is the recipe for you!
I think that this dish is a real comforting dish. I love to have this with chapattis chili pickle and garlic pappad.

INGREDIENTS:-

4 white potato
1 large courgette/ zucchini
1 large tomato
1tbs oil
1-2 green chilli's
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger
2 cloves
1/4tsp hing / asafoetida
1/2tsp cumin seeds
1/2tsp black mustard seeds
5-8 curry leaves
1 heaped tsp coriander/cumin powder
1/2tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and coriander to taste

* in a pan heat the oil on a low to medium heat and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
* Add hing and curry leaves, cloves and wait for seeds to crackle.
* add ginger and chilli's and fry for 1 minute.
* add the chopped tomato and fry for 30 seconds.
* add the spices with 1-2 tbs water so that the spices do not burn and stir for 30 seconds or untill the water and oil thickens.
* then add the potato's and stir until well mixed.
* add about 1 cup of water and simmer for ten minutes.
* add the corgette's/zucchini salt and sugar. stir well so that everything is coated.
* simmer untill everything is nice and soft.
* sprinkle on the lemon juice and coriander, stir and serve!!!!! yummy!!

Healthy mixed vegetable curry recipe

This is a really good recipe to do because it uses up all of your left over vegetables, or whatever you have in your fridge. All combinations of vegetables go really well cooked like this so just let your imagination go wild! Oh I forgot to mention that its mega healthy too because it hardly needs any oil! How goods that!

Ingredients:-
( What i used on this occasion )

3-4 tomatoes (chopped)
2 large potatoes (peeled and chopped and put in a bowl of salted water)
1 small sweet potato (peeled and chopped, but slightly larger than the white potato.)
1 aubergine (roughly peeled and chopped(put into a bowl of cold salted water)
5-6 florets of broccoli (par-boiled)
5-6 florets of cauliflower (par-boiled)
a hand full of sugar snap peas (de-stringed)
1 carrot (peeled, chopped and par-boiled)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida or to taste
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 green chilli (chopped into rings)
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder but just use 1/2 normal chilli powder
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 heaped tsp coriander and cumin powder.
1 tsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste
fresh green coriander
1 tbs fenugreek leaves (optional)

Directions:-

1)Heat 1 tbs oil into a large pan and add the cumin seeds, let them pop like pop-corn for about 30 seconds. Then add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida. Give it a quick stir and then ad the tomatoes. Cook them until the are all nice and mushy. This should take about 5-10 minutes

2)Add the garlic, ginger and the chilli's and cook for a few minutes, stirring all of the time to make sure that the bottom does not burn on the heat. You should start to get a really nice aroma from the fresh ingredients and this is the time to add all of the powdered spices and a splash of hot water- but only a splash! Cook the spices on a very low heat for about a minute.

3)Add the fenugreek leaves and some of the fresh coriander. cook until wilted and mix in the sugar and the salt.

4)Drain the potatoes and aubergine, add to the pot and give the mixture a really good mix together. You might need to add a splash of water, cover and cook for 5 or 10 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly done.

5)Add all of the other par-boiled vegetables and mix in carefully to avoid everything breaking up to much. Cover again and cook for about 10-15 min on a low heat, just to let all of the flavors come together.

6)Check that all of the vegetables are cooked through. Oh and don't forget to check the salt and sugar levels. The best curry is the one where the balancing of the flavors are taken into careful consideration. Don't be scared to keep checking the seasoning and that way it wont take you long to learn how to use them.

7)Serve hot with the sprinkled coriander. Tastes really good with naan bread or chapatis.

Tip:-
Use the water from the vegetables to add to your curry. This will replace the vitamins lost in the bar-boiling process.

Khandvi

Oh where do i start with this dish!! I could really go on forever about this melt in you mouth dish!!



This tini little roll of yummy sunshine is probably one of the dishes that sent me on my mammouth quest for indian culinary masterpeices.



I can remember the first time i tryed this dish very vividly. And i will be really honnest with you and tell you that i actually didnt like this dish much. The thing is, i kept on trying it out of polliteness really and it was almost every mouth full tasted better and better!



There was one time when i was invited to an indian wedding to do the brides hair. It was a very important wedding so i insisted on lots of practices. This was definitely in my benifit as i could perfect the brides and hair, but there was a huge bonus! Lots and lots of fabulas food! This is the first time that I really thought Wow! I all of a sudden turned into this khandvi monster!! :-) What I mean is, this dish.... i am obessed about ever since! I dont know what happened to me that day but it was almost like a bolt of lightning, or a spell being cast apon me!!! Ok, Ok, O.T.T i know, but can i really explain how much i now love these amazing Gujarati delicacy's! I could absolutelt go on forever about how much i love these beauties!!!



I am sooo addicted!!!

Ingredients:-

1 cup besan ( chick-pea flour )
3/4 cup of sour yogurt- if it is not that sour you can add a few drops of lemon juice.
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 grean chilli
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups of water
2 tbs oil
Tempering ingredients:-

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
a pinch of hing
about 10 curry leaves
2 tbs oil

Garnishing ingredient:-

grated coconut or desiccated
fresh coriander
red chilli powder

Directions :- Line a long piece of foil out onto the work surface.

1)In a bowl with an electric blender, blend the flour, yogurt, ginger, green chilli, turmeric, hing and water, until you have a smooth lump free batter.

2)Heat 2 tbs oil in a large pan (the larger the better) and add the batter.
TIP:-
You have to keep stirring with a flat spatula and keep the temperature on a low heat. Maybe occasionally you might need to whisk the batter to keep it nice and smooth.

3)After about 10 minutes you can just check the mixture to make sure that the flour is cooked. I usually cook mine for about 15-20 minutes because i use a really low heat, so i would check it after 10 minutes.

4)When the mixture is leaving the sides the batter should be ready for rolling. A really good way to test if it is ready is to smear a small amount onto a plate, let it cool and see if you can roll the khandvi's. If it roll's easily, it is ready to go, BUT, you must work quickly from hear.

5)Blob the batter around the foil and spread evenly with a spatula. The thinner the better, but not quite as thin as so you can see through it.

6)Leave the batter to cool and set. Then with a pizza cutter, cut long thin sections to roll. You may want to tidy the edges to help make the rolling easier.

7)Roll the khandvi's and arrange on a plate.

8)Heat 2 tbs oil in a small frying pan and add the mustard seeds. Fry until they pop and splutter.

9)Then add the asafoetida, let it sizzle and then quickly add the curry leaves and sesame seed, but be careful of the spluttering.

10)Poor the tarka over the khandvi, sprinkle over the coconut, coriander and red chilli powder. Serve.

TIPS:-
1)If the batter is under cooked, it wont roll properly and will taste floury.

2)If it is over cooked it wont roll properly either. But you can always add some water, mix very well and cook again.

3)If the batter is spread too thick onto the foil, it wont spread properly.

4)I don't want to make this sound complicated, but if you spread it to thin it wont roll properly.

5)The perfect batter wouldn't be spread so thin that you can see through it, but only a tiny bit thicker.

Aloo Methi ( potato's and fenugreek leaves )

I really don't know if this recipe is how it should be done, but i can tell you that cooking it to this recipe is soooo good! It is always a winning recipe in our house-hold.

I had first tried this recipe in a resturant and i was hooked imedietly! i had tryed to recreate this recipe with reference and i was never satisfied, so the other night when i had a craving for this i just thought right, i know what flavours i want in this recipe so i am just going to do it!

It was a huge success! Not just with my family, but with my friends too! :-) :-) :-)
HAPPY DAY'S!

Ingreadents:-

4 medium sized potatoes Peeled and cubed
2 medium tomato's chopped
lots of fresh fenugreek- to your taste. I only had frozen methi so i just used a block.
fresh coriander chopped
3 large garlic cloves chopped or puree
1 tsp shedded ginger
pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 chilli powder or to taste ( I used about 1 tsp of kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander-cumin powder
1 tsp sugar
sprinkle of lemon juice
salt

Directions:-

1)Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pan and let it get hot on a medium to hot temperature and add the mustard seeds and cook until the pop and splutter.

2)Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida and let them sizzle for a few moments.

3)Add the ginger and the garlic. Give it a stir for about 30 seconds, and then quickly add the chopped tomatoes. Cook until all nice and pulpy and the oil is separating. ( You may not see the oil seporating as i have only used minimum oil.)

4)Add the rest of the spices with a splash of hot water and cook for a minute or so.

5)Add the chopped and washed fenugreek leaves and some of the fresh coriander and cook until the leaves have wilted.

6)Then add the cubed potatoes and the salt and coat well with the spice mixture. Make sure there is enough water to cook the potatoes but don't add to much water,just a splash, you don't want this dish to have too much sauce.

7)Cover the potatoes and turn down the heat to very low and cook until the potatoes are tender.

8)When the potatoes are nice and tender, sprinkle on the rest of the fresh coriander and sprinkle the lemon juice.

Serve with bread of choice, but i love this with buttered chapattis or naan. It goes very nicely with Gujarati kadhi and rice

Gujarati Kadhi recipe

Yay!!! i have finally updated the photo!!! This picture is better than the last one because i was in a bit of a rush that day.


Any way i shall publish this to you one of my everyday recipe's. It is so soothing and comforting. I find that this dish goes so well with tomato'y dishes like tomato and drumsticks or batata nu shaak.

Ingredients:-

1 cup of yogurt ( dahi )
3 tbs gram flour ( besan )
about 3 cups of water
1-2 green chillies ( hari mirch )
1 tsp grated ginger ( adrak )
1/8 tsp turmeric powder ( haldi )
1 1/2 tsp jaggery or sugar
salt to taste but I use around 1 tsp

Tempering ingredients:-

1/4 tsp mustard seeds ( rai )
1/4 tsp cumin seeds ( jeera )
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 dried red chillies
1/4 tsp hing ( asafoetida )
8-12 curry leaves ( curry patta )
a small piece of cinnamon
4 or 5 cloves
1-2 tbs fresh coriander

Directions:-

1) Sieve the gram flour into a saucepan and add the salt, sugar and turmeric whisk in the yogurt ensuring that there are no lumps.

2) Slowly whisk in the water, 1 cup at a time to ensure that there are no lumps.

3) Add the ginger and green chilli and mix well.

4) Heat the kadhi slowly on a low heat until it has reached boiling point ensuring that you stir CONSTANTLY. This helps to keep the kadhi a nice smooth texture.
Simmer until desired consistency, but just give it a taste to check that the besan is cooked and that the seasoning is to your liking.

5) Heat a small pan over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds.

6) When they start to splutter quickly add the whole spices and the fresh coriander.
Give it a stir for a few seconds on the heat to wilt the coriander and then add to the kadhi.

7) Re-heat just to let all of the spices infuse together and serve as an accompaniment to any meal and rice. Sprinkle with fresh coriander.

Split green moong dal recipe

When i was younger, there was one day when i felt quite ill. This day i had the privilege of one of my friends mums cooking and this was the dish that she cooked.
I think the combination of me feeling completely at ease in her company and her home, and me feeling ill and her feeding me this dish was absolute comfort to me. At the time my pallet was completely western, so the first few mouth-fulls were a new experience for me. The first mouth-full, i wasn't sure, but then i had another mouth-full and then another and then another, until the whole bowl was devoured and i was left feeling like i wanted more!

Since there is no chance of me sampling her food ever again it has been a bit of a mission of mine to re-create a few of those mega comforting dishes like this one. After lots of attempts i think that i have come close to it. Moong dal with spinach was always the closest contender, but then one day when i was feeling a bit under the weather, it just came to me this recipe! so i had to cook it! When i tasted it and adjusted the seasoning slightly i thought THAT'S IT EURICA!!!

So now i have another dish that i comfort eat too! OH NO i don't need another! oh well it doesn't matter with this one, i am aloud it as it is healthy for you!!! :-)

Here it is............

Ingredients:-
1 cup split green moong dal
3 cups of water
1 tbs sunflower oil
1/4 tsp hing
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 green chilli's
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garam massala
fresh coriander
1 tbs butter ( optional but really nice )

Directions:-

1) Soak dal in boiling water for 1/2 hour - 1 hour if you have time. If you don't have enough time to soak the dal you can always add some more water and cook for another whistle. Drain before cooking.

2) Heat the pressure cooker over a medium heat and add the oil

3) Add the cumin seed and asafoetida and just let them sizzle for a few seconds and then add the green chilli, turmeric and the ginger. Fry again for a few seconds.

4) Add the drained dal and the salt. Cover and cook for 3-4 whistles.

5) I like to let the steam escape naturally, because this keeps everything cooking slowly, but if you don't have time you can just run the pressure cooker under cold water until all of the pressure is released. Mash everything well with a potato masher.

6) Add the lemon juice, garam massala and the coriander. Mix well test the seasoning
and adjust to your taste.

Serve hot with chapatti's, cacumber ( onions, tomato and cuccumber salad ) and papads. Or plain and simple on it's own!!! UMMMMM

Batata nu shaak ( Gujarati potato curry )

MMMMMMM!!!! Talk about comfort food! This dish just takes 1/2 hour from start to finish, only uses a few ingredients and you can add whatever else you like to make a variation! How good is that!! It really is one of my dishes that i cook when i need a bit of soothing and comforting. It is an absolute must with poori's on special occasions, but for an everyday shaak it is just as wonderful with chappati's. When i cooked this particular curry i had some okra left over, which i noticed at the last minute so i decided to fry them up and put them in at the last minute which was really nice and different. The shame is that i forgot to take a photo after i had added the okra. We were just too hungry! It was probably at about 10:00 at night knowing me! :-) I find cooking such a relaxation method for me. I start the dinner in plenty of time but i just don't get it done in time! I put this down to me enjoying it too much and just kinda going off on one with it. My husband hates it! I do try, but i just cant help myself. I suppose a bonus of this is he will be ravenous to by the time his dinner is put in front of him, he would love it! :-) This really isn't my prerogative though I promise :-)

Ingredients:-

About 4 medium potato's ( peeled and cubed )
1 large juicy tomato ( washed and cubed )
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 green chilli
1 tbs oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 - 1 tsp cashmere chilli powder to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3/4 tsp coriander - cumin powder
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
about tbs lemon juice
fresh coriander

Directions:-

1) In a hot pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds until they crackle and pop
2) Then add the cumin seeds and asafoetida, take of the heat and fry for about 10 seconds.
3) Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and fry for about 30 seconds.
4) Put back onto the heat and add the tomato's and cook until all nice and mushy and the oil starts to separate
5) Add the spices and a splash of warm water and cook for about a minute or so.
6) Add the chopped potato's and give the whole thing a really good mix to coat all of the potato's with the mixture.
7) Cover simmer on a gentle heat for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and tender.
8) Add the coriander and lemon juice and give it all a good stir, and serve hot.

Variation:-
1) You could add an extra tomato, or vegetables of choice like peas, or cauliflower.
2) it is nice to add some fresh coriander when you add the cumin seeds and asafoetida to the oil and fry.