TummyKhush taking a break...

TummyKhush is taking a break . Embarking on a culinary journey to Kerela. Promise to be back with lots of pics and recipes of course. Wish me luck guys :D

#ALOO METHI KI SABZI

I love the sight of fresh green leafy vegetables sold by road side vendors in Bangalore. Sometimes they are so fresh that you can find the damp earth still stuck to the roots. And they always inspire me to try something new. The most commonly made dish in Andhra Pradesh using greens would be dal (Palak dal , Methi dal etc). So I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes using greens. They are not only healthy but also taste good. My most favorite dishes using greens are palak paneer and palak kofta which remind me very much of mom’s cooking. Today when I had methi in the fridge, I decided to make a simple and quick aloo methi sabzi. So here I am sharing the recipe with you.


This recipe would serve 3-4 people.

Here is what you would require:

Methi greens/ menthi kura - 1 big bunch
Potatoes medium sized - 3 to 4.
Oil- for shallow frying potatoes
Jeera/cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Asafetida /hing – 1 pinch
Turmeric- a pinch
Garlic pods – 5 to 6
Green chillies - 2 to 3 chopped to one inch pieces
Curry leaves – 6 to 8
Dhania powder – ¾ tsp (optional)
Salt- to taste
Chilli powder- ½ tsp or according to taste
Coriander leaves – for garnishing.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they splutter add the hing and stir. When aroma of the hing starts emanating, add slightly crushed garlic pods, green chillies and fry. Now add chopped potatoes to it and fry for sometime till they are slightly cooked.

If you are health conscious like me and prefer to use less oil, here is your way out. Boil the potatoes and keep aside before you start the process of cooking. Peel the potatoes and chop into pieces. Add these pieces after garlic and fry. I find this a healthier alternative. It is tasty too.

Once the potatoes are cooked, add the chopped methi leaves to the potatoes and stir. Be careful while stirring as we do not want to mash the potatoes. The pieces need to stay intact.(You can try the chef style of tossing the contents of the pan in the air too. But please be sure not to throw everything down. Else there would be no curry left to eat. Try at your own risk :P)

Add curry leaves and close the pan with a lid. Allow the curry to cook in its own steam for sometime so that all the aromas get infused. You can add little water if necessary. You can also add the dhania powder and turmeric at this stage.

Once you see that the greens have cooked to your satisfaction, add salt, chilli powder and mix well. Check seasoning.

Just before switching off the stove, add chopped coriander.

This dish tastes best with roti or puri but can be eaten with rice too.

Hubby's b'day special lunch pics

What better way to celebrate hubby's birthday than surprise him with a meal of his favourite dishes at home.. So here are the uploaded pics. Couldnt resist taking pics and uploading them... :P . Please do tell me what you think.

First course: Tomato soup with potato chips

2nd course: Puris with Butter Paneer masala and side of roasted papads

 
 
3rd course :Andhra style tempered curd rice with a side of mixed pickle - THE combination
 
 
 
 

Dessert: Custard

 
 

OGGANI BAJJI-BREAKFAST/SNACK DISH

Every region in India has its unique eating habits and recipes depending on the area, region cultural background and other factors. Whenever I go to visit a new place I try to find out the recipes unique to those places. So when we went to hubby’s friends marriage, I found that they had a very unique breakfast recipe which I hadn’t heard of before. Its made using puffed rice and whats more it is eaten with mirchi bajji. Mirchi bajji… first thing in the morning….I don’t know why they don’t get acidity problems. Jokes apart, I tried making that recipe with hubby dear’s help and it came out pretty well and can be safely eaten as an evening snack (even as a breakfast if you are adventurous enough). This breakfast dish is prepared in rayalaseema area of Andhra Pradesh, which is incidentally also famous for its local bomb manufacturing. That probably explains their preference for eating something as spicy as a bomb first thing in the morning.

Oggani Bajji:

This breakfast dish is called oggani bajji…. Oggani referring to the tempered puffed rice and the bajji… well obviously the mirchi bajji. If you love spicy food, this one is definitely for you. This recipe would serve around 3 people.

You would require:

Puffed rice: 4 cups

For tempering:

Oil: 2-3 tbsp
Onion:1 medium chopped finely
Bengal gram dal/senaga pappu/chana dal : 1 tsp
Urad dal/minappa pappu :1 tsp
Mustard seeds/ avalu : ½ tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera : 1 tsp
Dry red chillies : 3-4
Hing/asafetida : ½ tsp
Green chillies : 4-5 or according to taste
Curry leaves : few.
Garlic pods: 5-6(optional)
Turmeric: ½ tsp.
Lemon-1 medium sized
Salt : to taste.
Chutney powder or curry powder of your choice.

Soak the puffed rice in water in which salt has been added for 15-20 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a vessel. You can use any normal steel vessel for this purpose.

Once the oil heats up, add the Bengal gram dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, jeera and hing. Keep stirring.

Add the garlic pods and stir for a minute. Now add the chopped onions and fry for a minute. Add the green chillies and fry.

Add the curry leaves ,turmeric and juice of half a lemon. Add salt to taste. (You can also add lemon juice after adding the onions. This will make the onions crisper)

Now add the drained puff rice, and keep stirring on low flame for 4-5 minutes to make sure that the puffed rice absorbs all the flavours of the tempering and spices.

Check seasoning and add the coriander leaves just before switching off the stove.

Serve with chutney powder of curry powder of your choice and mirchi bajji.

(Looking for a nice mirchi bajji recipe? Watch out this space for a yummy mirchi bajji recipe :P….Coming soon……)

A TRIBUTE

Today I am moving out of my regular turf of writing food blogs to pay my tributes to the victims of Bhopal Gas disaster that shook whole of India and is considered the worst ever industrial disaster. Today it is 25 years since this tragedy struck Bhopal and it is cynical that the subsequent governments havent done anything to support or rehabilitate the victims. The whole are where the disaster occured is completely polluted with chemical residues and the people living there still have to rely on the polluted ground water having no access to other sources of water supply. The victims and their subsequent generations have been disabled with traces of the toxins still found newly born infants. All this happened the culprits who are responsible for this tragedy are roaming free with no action being taken on them. The groups which are fighting for justice are running from pillar to post trying to get some justice for the victims. Lets hope that the victims get justice at some point and the culprits are punished for their acts of cruelty and inhumanity.

My blog today is dedicated to the victims of this tragedy, to pay homage and respects to those who lost their lives and those who are still struggling to live a normal life after being affected by the disaster.... the consequence of the negligence of a few.

May God be with them and help them recover both physically and psychologically.

(Image courtesy:  http://newsx.com/files/images/Bhopal%20Gas%20Tragedy%20-%201.jpg)

#FLAVOURS OF RURAL INDIA

In our pursuit and love for everything fast… fast food…. fast life and everything else we tend to neglect our very roots, our culture and the way in which our parents lived. The elaborate processes involved in making everything from curries to chutneys and powders using motor and pestle… the aromas that wafted in the house when the grinding took place in motor and pestle or other traditional methods. Todays modernization has probably made life easier and quicker but the taste and flavor is never the same. And being born in India, a country with a rich culture, history and heriatage, I am extremely possessive about everything Indian. And so when I got a chance to attend dear hubby’s friend’s wedding in a small town in Andhra Pradesh (a state in India for those who aren’t aware) I was super excited. And then the friend belongs to a small village. So I didn’t miss the chance of capturing typical village scenes in our camera, courtesy my husband. This blog today is more a reflection of the scents and smells of a typical Indian village which still uses age old methods in everyday life in today’s fast and crazy life. Hope you will enjoy this. Please do leave your comments to let me know what you think of this attempt.

An instrument used in farming

getting ready to cook the afternoon lunch for the guests

Making DAL

Making chutney in the tried and tested traditional methods

Band bajas (orchestra) at the marriage

A village house

Indegenous method to drive away mosquitoes... the villager sets fire to some dry grass to create smoke to drive away flies and mosquitoes from his cattle shed.

Election campaigning on the walll hehe

(meaning vote for mr.mallkarjun reddy, symbol gas stove)