Unknown

I am back again, this time with a recipe for bottle gourd - black eyed peas curry. This is a simple everyday kind of dish, nothing fancy! Also, I would like to put a disclaimer that it may not impress everybody.So if you don't get that special smile or approval from that special some one after cooking this, please don't blame me :D! Anyways for those who love it, its an easy one that you can whip up on weeknights with chappathi/bread. Some might like it with rice too. We love it all the ways. This is just my idea of cooking this combination, you can make variations with vegetables or legumes or the recipe as you wish :)
Here goes the recipe....
 

Ingredients

Black eyed Peas(karamani) - 1 cup
Bottle Gourd(churanga/lauki) - 2 cups diced
Tomato - 1 big
Green Chillies - 2
Garlic Cloves - 3
Turmeric pdr - 1/2tsp
Red Chilli pdr - 1-2tsp
Coconut Milk - almost 1/2 a can
Salt
Red Chillies/Red Chilli flakes
Mustard - 1 tsp
Shallots - 5
Curry Leaves
Oil

                                                       

Method

  • Soak black eyed peas for 2 hours. From my experience , it gets soft within 1 or 2 hours unlike some other dry beans(kidney beans)..
  • Pressure cook the drained black eyed peas, bottle gourd cubes, tomato, green chilly, garlic, turmeric pdr, red chilli pdr(used Kashmiri here), salt, few curry leaves and water for 2-3 whistles. I had cherry tomatoes with me, so made use of it. You can use whatever is available at hand. 
  • Once the pressure is released, add some coconut milk and mix well and simmer for 5- 10 mins on low heat. I added 1/2 can of coconut milk directly to this( there was water in the pressure cooked mixture) , did not go into the procedure of adding first thin milk and then thick . But you can do that also. Cook on a low heat, and stir it once in a while too...
  • Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and splutter. Then add chopped shallots(the more the better), curry leaves and saute till golden brown and then add red chilli flakes and cook for few secs and then pour this seasoning over the cooked mixture. Done!



                                         


P.S.  I have the habit of using curry leaves stalk as it gives more flavor. But forgot to remove it before taking snaps, so please don't be scared... :D!  Ok, now time for few tips...

  1. Coconut oil will give a special flavor to the curry, but its not a must!
  2. You can use any other squash vegetable instead of bottle gourd. Some of the options are ash gourd, cucumber, zucchini, chow chow, ridge gourd, snake gourd etc. 
  3. You can use other legumes like cow peas, kidney beans, navy beans etc. (Each veg/ legume will impart its own special flavor to this curry)
  4. You can also do the same without bottle gourd and just the black eyed peas.
  5. You can use coconut paste instead of coconut milk. 
  6. Last but not the least, you can avoid the coconut milk also and just season it after pressure cooking as mentioned above. (adding little tamarind might give some extra taste in this method)

Hope you guys will try it and let me know!

~Luv
Resh



Labels: 2 comments | | edit post
Unknown



I have fallen in love again. After all these years, I know it’s not fair to my dear husband. But he has found his new love too - his new Honda VTX bike & and calls her the "soul" rider... So excuse me, am allowed to do some loving of my own!! My new love has been staring and smiling and flirting with me for the past few ranch market visits. But I didn't have the guts to go up and talk. Finally I mustered the courage, went up and talked for a loooong time and then finally decided to bring him home along with me....we couldn’t bear to stay apart for one more moment! Ok, enough of my love B.S.




                                                                                             

I am talking about this new marble/stone coated non stick pan. First of all I love its funky neon green color. Yes, I love a colorful kitchen. Speaking of which, I saw only one color selection for this pan. They should seriously bring it out in lot more colors. Now talking about the good points, it features a cooking surface coated with stone-hard mineral, non-stick interior, heavy-duty aluminum exterior, stainless steel bottom construction and molded, polymer handles (phew…quite a mouthful!). That is, if put in simple words…

  1. Needs very less oil for cooking.
  2. Doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan (unless you are really planning to neglect it!).
  3. Retains a lot of steam and heat and the food gets cooked fast and evenly. (So there, it saves us time and energy!)
  4. Cleans very easily and is dish washer safe (although I prefer to do hand wash only...)
  5. Handle is very comfortable, heat resistant, durable and safe.
  6. Not very heavy like stone wares 


Mine did not come with a lid. But I had tempered glass lids with me, which was a perfect match for the pan (one with the valves and stainless steel edges). It preserves moisture, heat and nutrients and also helps you to get a peek inside without opening up. Ok, now I almost sound like a sales person!




                                

I have been neglecting my other non stick pans for the past few days. I always end up using this one again and again and again and again! Sree took note of my strong affection and emotional attachment for my new love and has promised to get me more (such an understanding husband....buahahaha!).So you guys out there, if you are contemplating on falling in love with this pan, please don't be shy!  I am thinking of getting another one of different size & color soon… :p :p!


~Luv
Resh

Unknown

May you always have walls for winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.......

*************************************************************
Wishing each & everyone a Happy Happy Happy New Year!!!


Here I am back again with belated new year wishes and a recipe post. Hope everyone had a joyful, fun filled, merry xmas and a very happy new year! Donno about you guys, but I have made a huge list of new year resolutions and has stuck it on the wall for me to see everyday and get pangs of guilt later :D. I haven't had a perfect start with these resolutions, anyways hope to do at least few of them! So best of luck to myself and all you guys out there who have a big list of new year resolutions for 2012. Anyways coming back to food, this new year we tried out fried chicken biriyani and marble cake! I always crave for the "KCB(Kairali Chicken Biriyani)" that we used to get from Mangalore, while we were staying there. Whenever hunger strikes and we don't have anything interesting to eat at home, the first thing out of my mouth is "I want KCB"!! My hubby is fed up of this statement...(Of-course he has his own cravings!).So tried to recreate the "beloved" KCB this new year. Though its not the perfect one, I would say it was about 75% successful. For the marble cake, we just followed Martha Stewart's recipe and we both were delighted by the end result. Here are some pics for you guys to drool over(I enjoy doing that ;D)





                                                 
                                        

Now getting back to the recipe of the day. Recently we happened to try Chinese Sichuan cuisine. The first time I tried their cumin lamb(it has a complicated name, but they know it if we just say cumin lamb..), I thought they had Indian chefs in the kitchen. It has this strong cumin flavor and a roasted taste which very well reminds us of the non veg roast dishes we get back in India. I was not a big fan of lamb meat, but now whenever we go there, cumin lamb is always the first in the list of ordered food. The only problem with this is the excess amount of oil used in the dish. So we tried to recreate this recipe in a healthier way in our kitchen, without that layer of oil floating and I am happy to say that the taste was almost 90% close. So here it comes,
                                   


                                          

Ingredients

Sliced Meat(Lamb/Beef) - 1lb
Onion - one med red onion
Bell pepper - red and green (half each)
Jalapeno - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3
Spring Onion - 2
Soy Sauce - 3 tbsp
Chilli Garlic Paste - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies - 6
Cumin powder - 4 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt to Taste
Oil( Olive/Veg)


Method
  • Buy boneless sliced lamb. It should be thin slices/strips. If you are using chicken instead of lamb, take frozen chicken breast pieces and slice it thinly.
  • Marinate the lamb slices with ginger garlic paste, lime juice, salt, soy sauce(2 tbsp), cumin powder(3 tbsp), turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilly flakes and set aside in the fridge for at least one hour.(The longer you keep the better its flavor)
  • Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a non stick pan and fry this marinated meat till its well done and dark brown in color.Set aside.
  • Heat oil, add red chilies and saute few secs till flavor infuses the oil. Then add diced onion, diced bell pepper, diced jalapeno, crushed and minced garlic and finally spring onion whites and saute few mins.
  • Add soy sauce(1 tbsp), chilli garlic sauce and toss well and then add the remaining cumin powder and and mix well and cook few mins till fragrant.
  • Now add the fried and cooked meat , toss well and cook for 5 more mins till its well done, dry and roasted.
  • Garnish with spring onion greens.


                                                   


P.S - The onions and bell pepper shouldn't be cooked very soft. It should have that crunch in it. Adjust the level of salt according to the soy sauce added in the dish. Adjust the level of chillies used according to your spice level. It will have a strong flavor of cumin , hence don't be shy with the cumin powder. You can use your choice of meat, but remember to cut in thin slices. However lamb would bring that authentic taste!


~Luv
Resh



Labels: 5 comments | | edit post