Kathrikkai Rasavangi | Eggplant in Tangy Gravy

 Wishing Everyone Happy Tamil New Year

There was a time I didn't use to like eggplant but that was then, now a days mostly I eat eggplant once a week.  I never knew when I fell in love with eggplant, so when I see some interesting eggplant recipe in blogs I try and most of time loves it.    

 Ingredients:

Eggplant - 5-6 [I used one long Japanese eggplant]

Pigeon Pea/Toor Dal - 1 cup [Cooked]
Tamarind Water - 1/2 cup

Sambhar Powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Jaggery - 1/2 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Water - 1 Cup

Curry Leaves - few

For Spice Powder 

Channa Dal - 1/2 tbsp

Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander Seeds - 1 tbsp

Dry Red Chillies -2 [if using long one, 4 if using round variety]

Coconut - 2tbsp grated

Method:

1. Wash and cut the eggplant in long/lengthwise and soak in water.

2. Soak tamarind in little water for 10-15 minutes and extract the juice, keep aside.

3. In a wok or pan heat 1tsp of oil and roast channa, urad dal, red chili and coriander seeds until golden brown.  Once all the ingredient gets cool grind with coconut into fine powder.

4. In the same pan heat remaining oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds and let it crack.  Add eggplant and sauté for 2 minutes.

5. Add sambhar and turmeric powder mix well, add tamarind water, salt and cook for 7-8 minutes or until eggplant gets cooked.  

6. Now add cooked dal and grounded spice powder, mix well.   Add 1/2 or 1 cup of water and bring it boil. [Add water depending on how you like your rasavangi to be, I added 1 cup of water.]

7.   Now add jaggery and mix well.  Adjust salt if required and off the flame.  Add curry leaves and let the rasavangi sit for 5-10 minutes.

Serve warm with rice, I also made broccoli stir fry. 

Note:
~ Try not to skip jaggery, that's add good taste.
~ You can use leftover dal, it saves time and great way to use leftover.
~ Eat while rasavangi it's hot/warm.

 Have good day ~~

Vada Kari | Lentil Curry

Vada Kari, Vada Curry, Vadai Curry or Vade Curry whatever we may call it but it's the same curry which is just delicious infused with spices.  I love vade curry, a delicacy in Chennai but its pity that now a days it's so difficult to get this wonderful dish in Chennai restaurants or udupi hotels.  Few of the upudi hotels still server this wonderful dish but one has to go there early morning, so why not make of our own and enjoy? It's a simple recipe only list of ingredients may look long but then it's quite simple, lot of people use leftover masala vada to make this & you can do the same.

 

Ingredients:

For Vadai

Channa Dal - 1 cup

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Green Chiles - 2

Ginger - 1 tsp chopped [optional]

Onion -1/2

Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped

Salt - to taste

Water - 1-2 tbsp [if required]

Oil - To brush pan

For Curry

Oil - 1 tbsp

Bay Leaf - 1

Clove - 2

Cinnamon - 1" pieces

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tps

Onion - 1 large

Tomato - 2 large

Minced Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp [or ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp]

Green Chilies - 2

Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp

Coconut - 1/4 cup grated

Salt - to taste

Cilantro - 1 tbsp chopped

Water - 2-3 cups

Method:

1. Wash and soak channa dal either for 2-4 hours or overnight.  Chop onion, tomato, and cilantro, slit the chilies and keep aside.

2. Wash, drain all the water from soaked dal and grind coarse with fennel seeds, ginger, chilies.  Add 1 tbsp of water only if required.  

3.With the grinded mixture add 1/2 chopped onion, cilantro, salt and mix well.

4. Heat a skillet or pan, brush oil and make small adai of dal mixture, drizzle little oil and cook both sides until brown.  Don't worry about the shape, it's not we are focusing on.  Do the same for remaining dal mixture.

[To make the adai use small amount of dal mixture and spread over tawa, wet hand with water so it will be easy to spread the mixture]  

5. Meanwhile we can start making the gravy, in pan heat oil, add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin seeds allow it to crack.  Add ginger-garlic, onion and green chilies sauté until onion becomes pink, add all the spice powder and mix well.

6.  Add chopped tomato, cook with lid until tomato mash well, add salt and 2-3 cups water; bring it to good boil and simmer for 5 minutes.  

7. Once all the adai done, tire them into small pieces and add in to the curry mix gently.   

8. Grind coconut with little water in to smooth paste and add to the curry, mix carefully, adjust salt if required.  Simmer for 5 more minutes and off the flame. Garnish with cilantro.  

If the vade curry kept for long time the dal mixture will absorb all the gravy so have it while it's warm with dosa/ idly or even with roti it goes well. 

 
And this goes to Srivalli's Breakfast Mela.

Have a good day ~~

Beets and Carrot Juice

Lot of you asked me about the drink I posted along with Palak Dhokla well it's a pity simple drink but works wonder specially during these summer days.  Since palak dhokla was prepared on the world cup finals day, I wanted to make some drink to sip during the match.   I made this juice to suit my taste bud; you can modify it according to yours :)

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1 medium size

Carrot - 2 medium size

Ginger - 1" piece [optional]

Lemon Juice - to taste

Rock Salt/Salt - to taste

Cilantro/Mint/Lemon Wedges - For garnishing

Water - As required

Optional:

Cumin Powder and/or Chaat Masala

Method:

1. Wash and peel beetroot, carrot, ginger and chop into chunks.

2. In a mixer or blender add beets, carrot, ginger, salt and blend until everything become smooth puree add water as required.

3.  Strain the juice if you prefer add lemon juice and more water if required.  Adjust salt if required.

~Now how much water is depends on how you like your juice to be. You can add upto 1 litre of water; just add more of lemon and salt.

Garnish with lemon/Cilantro or Mint, serve chill or with ice.  Enjoy the drink and it's better to consume it on the same day. I also added chaat masala and it taste good.  

Note:

One can do lot of variations

1. Add an apple to make it ABC juice

2. You can also add half of cucumber 

3. Instead of salt you can add sugar or honey

4. Ignore the ginger if you don't like

Enjoy your day ~~

Sabudana Kheer | Tapioca ~ Sago Pudding

 

India WON the match ...Yahh of course we all know this but hurray how exciting is this, still can't believe it.  Once again it was awesome game along with facebook friends whom makes the game more exciting.  So as we decide to post something on Saturday for which I did Palak Dhokla, here again we decided a post to celebrate the victory and sweet comes first in mind once we think about celebration isn't it? 

Palak Dhokla

So you all are ready to watch the finals today?  I'm all geared up too and before that this post is coming as during Ind Pak match I had lot of fun in facebook watching the match together and commenting with other bloggers friends and decide to cook something up n post for the finals to munch on and enjoy the game.  We call it Chak De India event :)

I never ate palak dhokla before but was try for a long time and today seems to be perfect day it's one the quick, simple, tasty, healthy and filling snack to enjoy with game :)

 Ingredients:

Spinach/Palak -1 bunch [makes 1 cup puree]

Chickpeas Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Semolina/Suji - 1tbsp

Yoghurt/Curd - 1/2 Cup

Green Chillies -2

Ginger - 1" piece

Oil - 2tsp + for greasing

Cooking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Eno/fruit salt - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste 

Water - if required

Cilantro - for garnishing [optional]

For Tempering

Oil - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Green Chillies - 4 slit

Curry Leaves - few 

Method:

1. Clean and blanch spinach and grind to smooth puree with green chillies and ginger, keep aside.

 2. In a bowl mix chickpeas flour, soda, salt, suji and curd and make a smooth paste.

3. Add spinach puree, oil, lemon juice and mix well, if required add little water to make thick pouring consistency batter with no lumps.

4. Prepare a steamer or steam water in pressure cooker and grease a bowl or plate with oil.

5. Mix well eno salt with batter, pour in grease bowl and steam for 15-20 minutes or until a fork/toothpick comes out clean.  Do not put whistle on the cooker lid.

6. Meanwhile prepare tempering, heat oil add asafoetida, mustard seeds once it starts to crack add slit green chillies, curry leaves and sauté for a minute off the flame.

7.  Take out the dhokla once it slight cool to handle and remove from the bowl, pour the tempering over it and cut in desire shape.

Serve with green chutney and enjoy the dhokla 

 I also made this drink to sip and enjoy the game :)

 Have good day :)