Chicken Skewers & Potato Olives Salad

Potato Olives Salad 

Ingredients

• 3 lbs red potatoes, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup chopped green olives with pimentos
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cumin
• 
  

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chopped potatoes and cook for 20 minutes. Allow to cool
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
3. Flavors are best if salad is prepared a few hours ahead of serving.

Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons hot paprika
• 2 teaspoons freshly minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds skinless, chicken breasts

Directions

1.Whisk together yogurt, lemon juice, oil, ginger, salt, smoked paprika, hot paprika, garlic, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in marinade and seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Place in refrigerator and marinate for 4 to 8 hours

Thread chicken tightly onto skewers. Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill skewers until well browned on all sides and center of chicken registers between 160-165°F on an instant read thermometer, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer skewers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve immediately

Potato Rice

 Ingredients Needed

Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Potato - 1 big
Onion - 1/2 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/4 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala - 1/4 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric a pinch
Kasturi Methi few
Coriander leaves
Oil - 1 - 2 tsp
Ghee  1/4 tsp

How to make Aloo Rice

Have precooked rice ready.

Wash and make marks on the potatoes, microw for 6 mins. Once done, add water and peel the skin.

Heat a pan with oil, saute the onion julinnes till it turns brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till it's cooked.

Then add the boiled potatoes and roast well. Sprinkle the salt, pav baji masala, turmeric powder and red chilli powders. Simmer till the potatoes absorb the masalas.

Finally add the rice and combine everything well. Simmer again and saute for couple of mins, sprinkle the kasturi methi and coriander leaves. 

Just before removing the rice, add ghee if your kid likes it.

Palak Aloo Chicken

This recipe is my own invention. Palak or spinach, i love this green vegetable only and only if it is not made in combination with potato. Yes......I do not like to eat aloo-palak at all but love to eat palak-paneer, palak-parantha or saag-chicken. So one day just thought to combine aloo-palak with chicken and must say....its a delightful combination.

So here is my invented recipe...Chicken n Spinach with julienne cut Potatoes OR Aloo-Palak-Chicken.

Ingredients:

• One big bunch of spinach (fresh green ones)
• 1 big sized Potato, sliced thinly
• 1 lbs Chicken, skinned and cubed
• 1 medium sized Tomato (crushed)
• 4-5 Green chillies
• 1 medium size Onion (chopped fine)
• 1 clove Garlic (chopped fine)
• 4 tsp Milk
• 1-2 sticks Cinnamon
• 2-3 Whole cardamoms
• 4-5 Whole cloves
• 1 tsp Whole cumin seeds
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Coriander-Cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp Red Chili powder
• Salt (according to taste)
• 2 tbsp Cooking Oil
• 1 tbsp Ghee/Butter

Method:

1. Wash the spinach, cut them into big pieces. Heat 1/4 tsp oil in a wide skillet. First add green chillies to hot oil, and then add spinach. Turn the heat to medium and cover the skillet. Wait for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the heat. Wait few minutes to cool. Add them to a blender and also a pinch of salt - blend to smooth paste.
2. Heat oil in Kadai/Frying Pan. Fry the thinly sliced potatoes. Keep aside.
3. Add cinnamon, cardomom, cloves, whole red pepper, bay leaves and cumin seeds. As soon as they start sputtering add the chopped onion & garlic. Fry till golden brown.
4. Add red chili powder and Coriander-Cumin powder with 2 tsp water. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle with 1 tbs water. Saute for 4-5 minutes.
6. Add the chicken pieces. Mix well. All the chicken pieces should be completely covered by the masala. Cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes with continous stirring and adding 1 tsp milk at a time.
7. Simmer until the chicken is tender (about 7-8 minutes).
8. Add spinach paste and fried potatoes to the pan.
9. Cook until spinach starts sticking to the pan (about 15 minutes).
10. Remove from heat, add Ghee/butter and cover until ready to serve with rice.

Dum Aloo Channa

Ingredients

• Baby Potatoes - 20-25

To grind for Masala

• Almonds - 10, blanched
• Tomatoes - 1 cup (about 2 medium)
• Ginger - 1 inch
• Garlic - 3 cloves, peeled
• Dry Red Chilies - 4

For the Gravy

• Onions - 1.5 cups (1 large onion)
• Oil - 6 teaspoons (4 tsp for frying potatoes & 2 tsp for gravy)
• Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 teaspoon
• 1 cup boiled channa(white chickpeas)
• Cloves - 2
• Cinnamon - 1 inch
• Cardamom - 2
• Turmeric / Haldi powder - ½ teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon
• Kasuri Methi / Dry fenugreek leaves - 2 teaspoons
• SALT - 3-4 teaspoons (or as per taste)
• Yogurt / Curd - ½ cup (100 ml) (not the thick kind)
• Water - ½ cup (80-100ml) (if required)
• Coriander / Cilantro leaves - for garnish

Instructions

I. Preparing the baby potatoes -

1. Boil & peel the potatoes.
2. Heat a pan & add 4 teaspoons oil to it.
3. Add the potatoes
4. Fry till the potatoes turn golden brown and form a nice crisp layer. (keep an eye on the pan as the potatoes may burn if not tossed regularly)
5. Keep aside

II. For the masala

1. In a blender, take tomatoes, blanched & peeled almonds, ginger, garlic & red chilis. (ingredients mentioned under 'To grind for masala'.
2. Blend to a smooth paste & set aside

III. For the gravy

1. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to a pan
2. Add cumin seeds, clove, cinnamon & cardamom. Sauté for 1-2 minutes
3. Add chopped onions
4. Sauté till they get a golden brown color.
5. Add the ground paste (from above ?)
6. Mix & sauté for 4-5 minutes
7. Add the Salt, Turmeric, Garam Masala & Kasuri Methi
8. Mix well. Let it cook for a minute

IV. Final Step: Getting it all together

1. Add the fried baby potatoes and cooked channa to this mixture and mix once.
2. Add the yogurt/curd
3. Mix well and simmer for around 10 minutes
4. In case the curry is too dry, add a little water.
5. Garnish with coriander / cilantro leaves & serve!

Capsicum Aloo Jhol

I love tangy curries which have a nice spicy kick to them. This simple Nepalese potato capsicum curry has such a wonderful flavoring with the flavors of mustard oil and yogurt.
If you can’t get mustard oil – its okay – though they are available at any Indian Grocery store. This recipe is so great it will work with just about any oil you use.

Ingredients:
1 lb baby potatoes, boiled and chopped into halves (can use regular too)
1 cup of diced tri-colored capsicum (I used green, red and yellow)
2 tbsp. mustard oil
1 tsp rai (black mustard seeds)
1 green chili
Handful of curry leaves
2 plum tomatoes, pureed
1 tsp. haldi (turmeric powder)
1 ½ tsp. dhaniya (coriander powder)
3 tbsp. yogurt
4 cups water
1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat mustard oil in a wok or kadai.
• Add mustard seeds, green chili and curry leaves.
• Stir for two minutes.
• Add pureed tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Add turmeric powder and salt to taste.
• Add 1 ½ tsp. of coriander powder and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add 3 tbsp. of yogurt and stir the mixture for about 10 minutes until it thickens.
• Add 4 cups of water to the gravy and add chopped potatoes.
• Let this mixture simmer uncovered for about 15 – 20 minutes until it thickens.
• Adjust seasonings, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.I served it with Broken wheat Idli Upma

French Beans Aloo Koora

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

• French beans -250 gms
• Potato-2(medium)
• Tomato-2 (medium)
• Curd-1/2 cup
• Water-3/4 cup
• Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds-1/3 tsp
• Asafoetida-1/4 tsp
• Ginger-1 tsp
• Turmeric-1/2 tsp
• Chilli powder-1 tsp
• Coriander powder-1 tsp
• Garam masala-1/3 tsp
• Salt-1 tsp
• OIL-3Tbsp

PROCEDURE -

1. Wash and chop french beans into 1/2 inch size pieces,and peel and cube potatoes
2. Chop ginger and tomatoes into small pieces.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin and mustard seeds.
4. When seeds start crackling add asafoetida and then add chopped tomato and ginger.
5. Add salt and cook till tomato become soft .
6. Now add  beaten curd and all the spices ,stir fry  for a minute .
7. Add chopped beans and potatoes and stir for a minute .
8. Now add 3/4 cup water ,mix and pressure cook on medium flame for 2- 3 whistles or till cooked well (depending on the quality of vegetable)
9. let it cool down completely and then open and cook for few seconds.
10. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Kerala Aviyal(Veg mix in Coconut sauce)

I feel that Avial is Kerala’s version of Ratatouille. It really is a bunch of random vegetables cut up to the same size and shape, layered and cooked. In this version, the vegetables are mixed with crushed coconut and spices and some kind of souring agent – mango, tamarind or yogurt. Most people I know use green mangoes in avial, but personally I hate mangoes in Avial. Yogurt is my preferred souring agent, I have never made it any other way! The vegetables used also vary depending on the availability and personal preferences, but I feel that drumstick is a must have vegetable in Avial. I found fresh drumsticks at the Indian store this time, I’ve always had to settle for the frozen variety before. If you can’t find drumsticks, don’t worry, it tastes pretty good even otherwise. I have listed the vegetables I used, but feel free to use anything else that you can find- like zucchini, squash, yard long beans, yam etc. 

Ingredients

• 1 drumstick
• 2 carrots
• 1 large white potato
• 1 green plantain
• 1 snake gourd
• a few green beans
• 1 eggplant
• 1/2 cup peas
• 6 green chilies, slit (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 3/4th cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 cup sliced shallots
• a few curry leaves
• 2 tbsp oil (coconut oil is the best, I used olive oil)
• 1/2 cup thick yogurt

Method

Split the drumsticks in half  and cut into 1” pieces. Peel the carrots, potatoes and plantain and cut into thin 1” long pieces. Cut the snake gourd and eggplant also into the same size and shape. Break the edges of the green beans and cut into the same size. Split the green chilies in half.
Arrange all the vegetables in a large pan, add the chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and split the green chilies. Add 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp oil. Cover and cook on very low heat till the vegetables are tender. The vegetables should give out some liquid, but check the pan occasionally to make sure there is enough liquid to cook the veggies.
While the vegetables are getting cooked, place the grated coconut, shallots and cumin seeds in a food processor and process it for a few seconds to make a coarse mixture.
Once the vegetables are cooked, add the coconut mixture, curry leaves and the remaining tbsp of oil to the pan, mix gently and cover and cook on low heat for 4 more minutes.
Stir in the yogurt and let it gently heat through for a minute or so. Remove from the heat and serve warm.

Drumstick Potato Puli Kuzhambu(Drumstick Potato in Tamarind Sauce )

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• Drum Stick (cut into 2 inch pieces) – 3-4 nos.
• Potato (cut into long pieces) – 2-3 medium
• Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tbsp
• Red Chili Powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste –
• Panch Phoran (mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek and black cumin seeds) -11/2 tbsp
• Mustard Oil – 2-3 tbsp

Instructions:

• Heat the mustard oil in a pan on medium flame, add panch phoron and fry for 1-2 min.
• Add potato and fry for 3-4 min.
• Add  drumstick fry for 6-7 min.
• Add salt, turmeric powder , red chili powder and 1-2 cups of water.
• Cover and cook for 5-6 min or till the curry becomes little thick
• Serve hot drumstick with potato curry with rice/roti.

Chettinad Style Potato Fry (Urulai Chettinad)

Chettinad Style Potato Fry (Urulai Chettinad)

Baby Potatoes have a special place in my kitchen. They can be cooked in a variety of ways. The most common and often prepared dish is of course Dum Alu . I have also prepared spicy curry with these cuties using red chilli powder and salt . Yet another favourite of mine is tossing the boiled potatoes with butter, salt and pepper powder and serving them with Soup. 
But this recipe of cooking them in chettinadu style with  shallots and  coated with a spicy roasted masala appealed a lot. Sanjeev Kapur's recipe was altered a little and the curry was a super hit!

Ingredients:-

• Baby Potatoes -250gms
• Shallots - 12
• Curry Leaves - few
• Mustard - 1tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Chettinad Style Potato Fry (Urulai Chettinad)

For Dry Roast and Powder:_

• Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
• Red Chillis - 2 to 3
• Black Pepper Corn - 1 tbsp

Method:-
The quantity for the roasted masala can be altered to suit your taste buds. Generally Chettinad style recipes are a little higher on the spicy side. You can grind this powder and store for use in other gravies/curries .
Peel the boiled potatoes and with a toothpick, prick a few holes in each one of them and set aside. This is to ensure that the spices are fully absorbeds by the potatoes.
Dry roast  the ingredients for the masala. 

Cool and pound to a coarse powder.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, shallots and sauté till they turn translucent. 

Add potatoes, stir and add salt. Add the masala powder and mix. Cook over low heat till they turn a delightful golden brown . 

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Baby Aloo in Tamarind-Chilli Sauce (Potato Pulusu)

We lose by generalizing everything. Unity and showing strong front is important but preserving the diversity and maintaining our own uniqueness is also equally important, I think. Indian cuisine is such a broad term. Can anyone say they know all the regional food varieties of India? I guess not. If we don’t talk about our regional cuisine, who will and how would anyone know about the difference in our cooking. I see lot of new Indian food blogs coming up everyday. Generalize to your heart’s content, but don’t be shy to highlight your regional specialties. That would make the recipe more attractive to the readers and give them the feeling they are trying out something unique, in my view.
See, for example, from India - we go to Andhra Pradesh, my home state in India. Though the general term is Andhra cuisine, there are 3 regions (Rayalaseema, Kosta and Telengana) and each region has its own specialties. Lot of diversity out there, even in one state. Example is this recipe. Cooking vegetables like potatoes etc., in tamarind-chilli sauce is the specialty of Kosta (Coastal region) of Andhra. They call this Tamarind-chilli sauce “Pulusu“. It is the base sauce for all kinds of vegetables, in that region. The saying is, “give something to kosta people, particularly the Nellore district, they would find a way to add tamarind to it”.

Baby Aloo in Tamarind-Chilli Sauce (Aloo Pulusu)

The ‘pulusu‘ tastes like as if ‘old western’ kind of faction war happened between tamarind and dried red chillies. To compensate the sourness of tamarind, more hot chillies are added. Unbridled war wages on between these two strong tastes and there is no mediator to calm it down. Thickening agents like coconut or peanut paste are big no or rarely used. The pacifier of course is the poor vegetable that is added. How high this war can go on, which one dominates the taste of ‘pulusu‘ - it all depends on housewife’s mood that day. Imagine sucking on a lime wedge and simultaneously eating a dried red chillie - that’s how this pulusu tastes. You are alerted so prepare it at your own risk.

Recipe:

Baby Aloo in Tamarind-Chilli Sauce (Aloo Pulusu)

8 to 10 baby potatoes
1 medium sized onion and 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes - finely chopped
For sauce:
1 cup of tamarind juice - (medium thick - home made version)
6 dried red chillies+3 garlic cloves+1 teaspoon of cumin - Make a smooth paste of them.
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric and salt to taste
Popu or tadka ingredients:(1tsp of each, cumin, mustard seeds and few curry leaves)

Boil potatoes in water, just until tender. Remove them and strip the outer skin. Prick the potatoes in multiple sites with a fork so that they can absorb the sauce.
In a big pan or kadai - heat one teaspoon of peanut oil. Do the popu or tadka (toast mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves). Saute onions and tomatoes for few minutes until they soften. Stir in red chilli paste; saute it for few minutes until it leaves the raw smell. Add the tamarind juice and another cup of water. Stir in salt and turmeric and also the pricked potatoes. Cover and simmer them for about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring in between. Wait until the sauce reaches the consistency of thick lava. Turn off the heat, and serve the pulusu with chapatis or with rice and ghee.

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

Bitter Gourd (Pavakka) is my favourite vegetable. Simple pavakka mizhukkuvaratti (Bitter Gourd stir fry) is heavenly. I also like making Pitla with it. (Will post recipe for Pitla some other time). My husband also shares my love for Pavakka (thank god for that).

When making Pavakka these days, I am always reminded of an incident that happened a couple of years ago. My now 2.5 year old son was around 8 months at that time. He had started eating solid food - vegetables and fruits in puree form. He used to crawl to us when we were eating food and ask for what we were eating. We used to let him get a lick of the Indian cooked dinner. We were a little scared of giving him all that spicy food at that age. One day the dinner was pavakka and when my husband gave him some mushed pavakka, we were sure he is going to spit it out. But my DS loved it. He kept smacking his lips and asking for more. :-)

I was looking for some different recipe for making Bitter Gourd in other blogs and came across a Bitter Gourd Masala recipe in Priya's website. I made some changes to the recipe and created my version below. Check out the original recipe in her website.

Ingredients

Bitter Gourd 3 finely chopped

Potato 1 big pealed and cut into small cubes

Onion 1 big finely chopped

Ginger, garlic, green chillies all finely chopped

Mustard 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 tsp

Hing

Oil and Salt to taste

For Grinding to a powder

Poppy seeds 1 tsp

Quinoa 1 tsp

Channa dal 1 tbsp

Whole pealed urad dal 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds 1 tsp

Cumin 1 tsp

Red chillies 3

Method of Preparation

1. Dry roast the poppy seeds and quinoa and keep aside.

2. Add a little oil and roast the channa dal and urad dal. When it starts to brown, add the coriander seeds, cumin and red chillies and roast for a minute.

3. Grind all the above into a fine powder.

4. In a pan, add some oil and add the mustard to it.

5. When it sputters, add the turmeric, hing, onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion is browned.

6. Add the bitter gourd and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Then add the potatoes and cook till it is almost done.

8. Add the ground powder and salt and cook till the vegetables are cooked well.

9. Serve with roti or rice. we enjoyed this with roti.

- See more at: http://www.roshniskitchen.com/2011/11/bitter-gourd-and-potatoes-with-twist.html#sthash.5DAkzGoU.dpuf

Bitter Gourd (Pavakka) is my favourite vegetable. Simple pavakka mizhukkuvaratti (Bitter Gourd stir fry) is heavenly. I also like making Pitla with it. (Will post recipe for Pitla some other time). My husband also shares my love for Pavakka (thank god for that).

When making Pavakka these days, I am always reminded of an incident that happened a couple of years ago. My now 2 year old DD was around 8 months at that time. She had started eating solid food - vegetables and fruits in puree form. She used to crawl to us when we were eating food and ask for what we were eating. We used to let her get a lick of the Indian cooked dinner. We were a little scared of giving her all that spicy food at that age. One day the dinner was pavakka and when my Hus gave her some mushed pavakka, we were sure she is going to spit it out. But my DD loved it. She kept smacking her lips and asking for more. :-)


Ingredients

Bitter Gourd 3 finely chopped
Potato 1 big pealed and cut into small cubes
Onion 1 big finely chopped
Ginger, garlic, green chillies all finely chopped
Mustard 1 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Hing

Oil and Salt to taste

For Grinding to a powder
Poppy seeds 1 tsp
Quinoa 1 tsp
Channa dal 1 tbsp
Whole pealed urad dal 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds 1 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Red chillies 3

Method of Preparation

Bitter Gourd and Potatoes with a Twist

1. Dry roast the poppy seeds and quinoa and keep aside.

2. Add a little oil and roast the channa dal and urad dal. When it starts to brown, add the coriander seeds, cumin and red chillies and roast for a minute.

3. Grind all the above into a fine powder.

4. In a pan, add some oil and add the mustard to it.

5. When it sputters, add the turmeric, hing, onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic and sauté till onion is browned.

6. Add the bitter gourd and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Then add the potatoes and cook till it is almost done.

8. Add the ground powder and salt and cook till the vegetables are cooked well.

9. Serve with roti or rice. we enjoyed this with roti.

Aloo Gobi Kurma(Potato Cauliflower with a blend Spices)

Aloo Gobi Kurma

When you have left nothing and unexpected guest arrives at doorstep then try this easy Dhaba style Aloo gobi and believe me your guest would lick their fingers. I usually make this on sudden arrival of guest at dinner and it’s always a hit. Full of spices and aromatics make it really a special curry. Yesterday my Hus's Friend arrived at our home without prior information. We have cauliflower, peas and some Cottage cheese left in the fridge. So we decided to make Dhaba style Aloo gobi and matar . It’s a wonderful thing about being Indian that all family members work like a team on any occasion. And the guest is like God to us. I have to prepare Aloo Gobi. So let’s start the recipe .Yum

Aloo Gobi Kurma(Potato Cauliflower with a blend Spices) ,Veg Kichidi and Zuchinni Raitha

Ingredients:
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium sized Cauliflower , florets about 1/2 kg
3 onions , thinly sliced and separated
6-8 cloves Garlic , minced
5 tomatoes, thinly sliced
6 green chillies
2 teaspoon ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon Asefetida
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves ( Kasuri Methi)
Spices:
2 teaspoon sabji masala ( Normally available in stores)
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 teaspoon coriander powder
3 teaspoon deggi mirch
1 tea on red chilly powder
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon garam masala
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup coriander leaves , chopped
2 tablespoon Clarified butter
Method:
Heat oil for frying in a big wok. Add potatoes , fry till golden , drain on paper towel and keep aside.

In the same oil , fry cauliflower florets till golden , drain and keep aside.

Remove excess oil from wok and leave about 4 tablespoon oil .
Add asefetida , cumin seeds and dried fenugreek leaves. Turnoff the gas stove for 1 minute.

Turn on and keeping the heat low to medium , add minced garlic and grated ginger. Sauté till golden.

Add onion slices and sauté for 5 minute till dark brown in color.

To this add all spices and salt and 1 tablespoon garam masala , stir and add chopped tomatoes and green chillies.
Sauté till oil comes out from edges on medium to high heat with continuous stirring.

When tomatoes are done , add fried potatoes and cauliflower . Mix with spices and aromatics , cook for five minutes.

Remove from heat ,add garam masala , chopped coriander and Clarified butter.
Serve hot with Poori , Naan or Chapati. I made Veg Kichidi with Zucchini Raitha. I was uuuummmmm. .. Try it!!!

Potato fry(Potato Podimas) Tamil nadu style

Potato fry(Potato Podimas) Tamil nadu style

Potato, one of our family favorite vegetable and we love potatoes in any form-curry, fry, kurma, omelette, patties, pakora/fritters etc., This Potato Podimas / Dry curry is one my favorite combo for sambar sadham n lemon rice. Very simple & quick curry that does not involve more spices and tastes great and delicious with everything rice, rotis, bread, variety rice and also u can make bonda with this podimas as filling, Pani puri filling etc., Now to the versatile potato podimas recipe.
 Ingredients (Serves 2 – 3)

1. Potato – 4 small, cut into small cubes (Makes around 2 cups)
2. Oil – 1 tbsp
3. Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
4. Urad dal – 1/2 – 1 tsp
5. Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
6. Sambar powder – Around 1.5 – 2 tsp
7. Salt – To taste

Method

Heat oil at medium heat. Splutter mustard seeds and fry urad dal until golden color. Add potato cubes, turmeric powder and salt. Sprinkle little water and cook covered for about 8 minutes. Open the lid and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until potatoes are 3/4 th done. Add sambar powder and stir-fry until potatoes are done and are roasted well. Serve this spicy and yummy potato fry with curd rice, tomato rice, lemon rice, sambar rice or plain rice, curd, thoran and chammanthi.

Potato Peas Fry(Aloo Matar) and Spring Onion Sambar

Potato Peas Fry(Aloo Matar)

Aloo Matar is a north Indian recipe. This can be prepared as stir fry and also as curry. This is my children’s favorite and I cook this very often. The liking for this started after seeing some cooking oil advertisement in TV (Aloo Matar Aur Bahut Saare Matar) some years back. Fresh green peas gives a lovely taste when cooked with potato.
Potato is known as Urulai Kizhangu in Tamil and as Aloo in Hindi. Green Peas is known as Pachai Pattani in Tamil and as Matar or Mutter in Hindi.
Cooking time: 25 minutes approximately

Ingredients

• Potato – 2 no
• Green peas – 1 cup
• Onion – 1 no
• Tomato – 1 no
• Green chilli – 1 no
• Red chilli powder – ½ tea spoon
• Coriander powder – 1 tea spoon
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tea spoon
• Cumin seeds – ½ tea spoon
• Curry/coriander leaves – few
• Salt – as per taste
• Oil – 2 tea spoon

  Method

  
  
• Chop potato, onion, tomato, green chilli and curry/coriander leaves.
• Heat a pan with oil; add cumin seeds and when cumin seeds splutter well, add chopped onion, curry leaves and green chilli; fry for few minutes.

• When onion is transparent, add chopped tomato and coriander leaves; fry for few seconds and then add green peas.

• Add all dry masala powders, mix well and fry for few seconds.

• When the peas are partially cooked, add chopped potato, ½ cup of water and salt; cover and cook in low flame till potato and onion are cooked soft (if needed sprinkle little water); fry for some more minutes till water evaporates to get a dry veggie.

• Serve hot with rice or chappati.

Tips

• Fresh green peas can also be replaced with frozen peas.

Mango Spring Onion Sambar,Aloo Matar with Rice and Papad

Spring Onions Sambhar:

Ingredients:

Green onion 1 large bunch
Mango 1 small size
Thuvar Dal 1 cup
Onion 1 large
Tomato 1 large
Salt
Turmeric powder 1/4 spoon
Chili powder 1 spoon
Sambar Powder(home made) 1-2 spoons
Tamarind paste 1 spoon
Ghee or oil few spoons
Cilantro leaves to garnish.

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds 1/2 spoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 spoon
Asafoetida 1/4 spoon
Curry leaves few
Ghee/ Oil few spoons.

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add thuvar dal + salt + few spoons of oil+ Mango. Pressure cook till tender. Maybe for 3-6 whistles. Set aside

In a large crock pot, heat ghee. Add onions and fry till it is translucent.

Then add tomatoes and fry till they wilt. Add salt, turmeric and chili powder to this. Fry for about 2 minutes.

Add cooked thuvar dal now. Bring this to boil. Add the chopped green onions plus tamarind paste and sambar powder and cilantro leaves. Cook briefly and remove from heat.

In a separate pan, heat oil and fry the tempering items. Tun this tempered spices over the sambar prepared.

Aloo Gobi Matar Sabzi(Cauliflower Potato Peas Curry)

 Aloo Gobi Matar Sabzi(Cauliflower Potato Peas Curry)

 Aloo Gobi is a popular spicy and flavorful dish made with potatoes and cauliflower.  It is finger-licking delicious and goes very well with rotis, naan, phulkas or any pulao.
Here is the recipe for Aloo Gobi..

Ingredients:

 Aloo Gobi Matar Sabzi(Cauliflower Potato Peas Curry)

• Potatoes - 3 medium size
• Cauliflower - 1/4 kg
• Peas - 1 cup
• Onion - 1
• Tomato - 1
• Ginger/garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chillie powder - 1 tsp
• Jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Bay Leaf - 1
• Salt - As required
• Oil - 3-4 tbl spn

How To Prepare Aloo Gobi Masala:

• Wash and peel potatoes and cut them it into small cubes.  Finely chop onion and tomato and keep aside
• Cut the cauliflower into small florets, wash and blanch them by putting them in boiling water and letting them remain in the water for a few minutes, then drain the water completely.
• Add a little bit of turmeric and salt to the potato cubes and mix well.
• Heat oil in a kadai and fry the potatoes till they are golden brown, remove and keep aside.
• In the same kadai, add a little bit more oil and add bay leaf and finely chopped onion.  Fry till the onions turn light brown.
• Add turmeric and mix well.  Then add ginger-garlic paste, jeera powder, chilli powder, tomatoes and salt and mix well and saute for a few minutes till it gives a good smell.
• Now add the fried potatoes and cauliflower, mix well and add enough water to cover the veggies, close it with a lid and cook on medium flame till the veggies become soft.  Check for salt if required.
• Add garam masala powder mix well and let it cook for a minute more and switch off.
• Try this with rotis, parathas, or any pulao.  Its so delicious!

Potato Cheese Cutlet/Tikki

Potato Cheese Cutlet

Potato Cheese cutlet is a nice juicy cutlet recipe. It is rich in taste. Easy to prepare and easy to eat.
If you find this Potato Cheese Cutlet recipe is useful then please share with your friends. Here we have given list of ingredients and procedure on how to make Potato Cheese Cutlet recipe, so that any one can make this Potato Cheese Cutlet very easily without any experiance on making this recipe. 

Potato Cheese Cutlet

10 Potatoes( Medium size)
259 gms Cheese
1 medium size Onion (chopped)
Corn Flour 2tbsp
Bread Crumbs to coat the cutlets
75 gms. Black Raisins(soak in the water and chopped)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
Fresh Coriander leaves (chopped)
Oil to fry

Potato Cheese Cutlet Recipe Making Procedure

1. wash and Boil the potatoes, mash them and keep it aside and allow them to cool.
2. Grate the cheese, add salt, red chilli powder, garam masala, chopped onion, chopped coriander leaves, black raisins and mashed potatoes.Mix them well.
3. Make medium size balls.
4. Take corn flour into a bowl and bowl add a little water and make it like a semi thick batter.
5. Keep the bread crumbs in a plate.
6. Heat the oil in the frying pan. Dip the potato balls in the batter coat with bread crumbs and deep fry them.Drain them on paper towel.
7. Serve with kecthup or green chutney.

Vegetable Pulao/Pilaf

Vegetable Pulao,Konaseema Kodi kura,Cucumber raitha

Vegetable Pulao

Veg Pulav  is a healthy & delicious one pot meal with spicy vegetables and rice..!!

Basmati rice plays an important role in this rich & exotic rice dish. The flavorful aroma makes this pulav very inviting & makes it a special dish for quick & easy dinner options for parties & get-togethers.

It is best served with raitha..!!! I made Konaseema koodi kura(Chicken curry in andhra style) too!!!!!!

Easy Potato widgets/ Country Potatoes ;)

Easy Potato widgets

Without a doubt, these are the most delicious french fries I’ve ever eaten. Crunchy. Spicy. Easy to make. All french fries need to be cooked twice, so that their interiors are creamy by the time the exteriors are crispy. This recipe par-cooks the potatoes in the microwave (which is also super easy) to greatly reduce the amount of absorbed oil. For intensity, the spices are applied directly to the potatoes rather than relying on the plateful of flour used for dredging. 5-stars.

Potato Bajji/ Urulaikizhangu Bajji

Potato Bajji/ Urulaikizhangu Bajji

Potato Bajji/ Urulaikizhangu Bajji

You can use the same bajji batter recipe to make any kind of bajji like 

plantain bajji( vazhakai bajji), Anaheim pepper bajji( milagai bajji), onion bajji( venkaya bajji), cauliflower bajji and many more.

Bajji batter Ingredients

Bengal gram flour/ Chickpea flour/ Kadalaimavu- 1/2cup

Rice flour/ Arisimavu- 1/4cup

Maida flour/ All purpose flour- 1/4cup

Baking soda- 1/4tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4tsp/ Orange food color- pinch

Red chili powder- 1tsp( +\-)

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

Potato large-2 or Vegetable of your choice. Mine were Potatoes and Plantain

 

Method

Wash the potatoes and slice them into thin rounds using mandolin grater. Pat dry the sliced potato rounds on a kitchen towel. In a large bowl add the bajji batter ingredients and mix well, add required water and make a smooth and semi thick batter( like dosa batter). Heat enough oil in pan to deep fry, when oil is hot, dip the potato slices in the bajji batter( make sure the batter is well coated on the potato slices) and drop it into the hot oil. Fry the potato bajjis on both sides till golden brown. Serve hot potato bajjis with sindhi kadhi or sambar or chutney

 

Sindhi Kadhi

Sindhi Kadhi with Potato bajji/Fritters

Sindhi Kadhi

Sindhi Kadhi is very delicious and nutritious. This tangy Kadhi is made with roasted besan, (gram flour) and mix of vegetables. .Traditionally it is served with rice and also can be served as a soup. But I use it as a side dish for bhajis. .