Potato Tamarind Salad

This is a very simple salad. Got this receipe from a magazine that I browsed through sometime ago. It can be made for Ekadesi also.

Ingredients :

Tamarind Pulp - 11/2 tbsp
Brown Sugar - 75 gm
Cumin - 1 tbsp (ground)
Ginger - Thumbsize Piece, chopped
Baby potatoes- 1 kg
Yoghurt - 3 tbsp
Corriander Leaves - 4 tbsp chopped

Method :

To make the dressing, put the tamarind pulp in a small pan,pour 75 ml boiling water and add the sugar, cumin and ginger. Add salt according to taste.
Simmer, without a lid, until the dressing thickens and becomes syrupy, about 10 - 15 minutes. It should have a pleasant tang. Add extra sugar if needed.
While the tamarind is cooking, bring a large pan of salted water to boil and add the potatoes. Return to boil and cook for 15 minutes until tender.
Drain, then cool slightly before halving them.
Transfer to a big mixing bowl and spoon over the dressing, gently stirring to make sure the potatoes are well coated.
Drizzle over the beaten yoghurt and corriander. Serve warm or at room temparature.

Ekadesi Idly (Moriya/Samo Idly)

This idly is made out of moriya (generally called 'Samo') that we use for ekadesi. These idlies are very simple to prepare. I learned this recipe from one of my senior god sister. I was once talking to her saying that I am bored of dosas for ekhadesi, she immediately gave an answer make idlies. This how I landed on this recipe and now it’s a very regular ekadesi item at home.

Ingredients:

Moriya - 1 cup
Curd - 2 cups
Carrot – 1
Capsicum – 1
Ginger – 1 small piece
Green Chillies - 2.
Curry leaves – a few
Corriander leaves – a small bunch
Salt – as per taste

Method :

Mix the moriya and curd together. Do not add water, the water in the curd itself is sufficient. Next mince the carrot, capsicum, cilantro leaves, curry leaves, green chillies and ginger. Add the minced items to the moriya and curd mixture. Keep it aside for 30 – 45 minutes. Make idlies from this mixture and serve hot with any ekadesi chutney or gravy.

Amrakhand

I was browsing through for the Shrikhand recipe and landed on this one. Amrakhand is nothing but Aam plus Shrikhand where Aam means Mangoes and Shrikhand supposedly means Ambrosia of the Gods. Shrikhand is also the name for a traditional Maharashtrian dessert made from yogurt, nuts and saffron. So this version of Shrikhand which uses Mango as its central taste factor is termed as Amrakhand. In simplest western terminology you can call this Mango Smoothie. It came out very well and we loved it. One added advantage is that you can make this for ekadesi also.

Ingredients:
Curd - 400gms.
Sugar - 5- 6 tbsp
Cardamom - 3.
Few strands of Saffron
Milk – 1 tbsp
1 fresh mango, to make about 1 small cup mango pulp (you can use canned mango pulp too)
1-2 tbsp charoli nuts for garnish
few fresh slices of mangoes for garnish

Method:

Tie curd in a clean muslin cloth overnight. (6-7 hours). Put into a bowl. Powder the sugar and cardamom and mix it with the curd. Rub saffron into 1 tbsp. milk till well broken and dissolved. Keep aside. Beat well till sugar powder has fully dissolved into curd. In case the saffron strands have not dissolved completely, add them along with the milk to the mangoes. Make the pulp and add it to the curd mixture and Mix well. Empty into a glass serving bowl, top with the nuts and mango slices. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Cauliflower in tomato sauce (Ekadhasi recipe)

On the austerity of Ekadhasi - every time I think what to prepare differently .. I tried this cauliflower recipe for the buckwheat dosa it turned out really good. A combination of tomato with few ingredients transform this simple vegetable dish into a delight for the senses.

Ingredients

Cauliflower - 1 whole ( i used small size)
Tomatoes - 5-6
Green chili - 1
Ginger - 1 inch
Cashew nuts - 15 whole
cilantro - 2 tbs
water - 1/cup
salt - as required
oil
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
curry leaves - few strands

Method

In a blender add tomato ,green chili,ginger,cashew, cilantro and process it well. Make it into a smooth paste.
In a wok add oil ,cumin seeds once it started crackle add the curry leaves. Immediately pour the blended gravy in the wok and add water to it.let it boil for sometime. Once the raw smell of the tomato goes add the cauliflower florets in the tomato gravy and salt. let it boil till the cauliflower is cooked. Once the gravy thickens ,sprinkle cilantro and serve it with hot Dosa.

Cauliflower

Home-made simple Potato chips

Potato Chips is a universal snack and its loved by people of all age group. This dish can be served as a appetizer, side dish or a snack. According to the traditional story the original potato chips was created in Saratoga Springs, New York, 1853. In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass produced for home consumption. Potato chips are a predominant part of the snack food market in English-speaking countries and numerous other Western nations.
Now coming to my story, potato chips are my favourite and I was longing for a long time to make them at home. Yesterday was ekadhasi and in our tradition we fast from grains and beans on this particular day. So when I was thinking of making a nice snack without grains and beans, it suddenly stuck me why shouldn't I try to make some potato chips.I thought wow!!..thats a good idea. Although I had watched my mom making potato chips at home during my childhood day, I vaguely remembered the steps. So I googled and found how to make potato chips at home at videojug and was excited to experiment it. My experiments were fruitful.

Ingredients
Russet Potatoes- 2
Oil- 500 ml
salt for seasoning

Method:
Wash and peel the potatoes. Make thin even slices of the potatoes using a mandoline. If you don't have a mandoline, you could us a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife to make thin slices. Pat them dry using a paper towel or line the slices in a cotton cloth and allow them to dry for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in deep pan. Drop the thin slices one by one and fry them on a low-medium heat. Use a slotted spoon to turn the potatoes slices frequently to make sure that the slices are cooked evenly. Once the potato starts turning brown and becomes crip, remove them from the oil using the slotted spoon and transfer it in to a plate with paper towel on it. Leave it for five to ten minutes and then season it with salt.

Vegetable Kurma

This is recipe is from my mom and can be made very quick and easy. We can make this kurma for ekadesi also, just make sure you don’t add kuskus and instead of coriander powder use whole coriander. We at home call this kurma as Vaishnava Kurma as its without onion and garlic. You must have heard from people that kurma will not taste good without onion and garlic. But just give this a try and you will prove that statement wrong.

Ingredients :
For Masala :
Green chilies - 4
Ginger – thumb finger size
Cardamom - 2
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon - 1 piece
Corriander powder – 3 tbsp
Coconut - half
Cashew nuts - 12
Kuskus – 2 tsp
Fennel seeds(Sombu) – 3 tsp
Others :
Cut Vegetables - 2 cups(You can use Carrot, Beans, Paneer, Peas, Potato, Cauliflower, Tofu, Capsicum, Soya)
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Tomato - 2
Corriander leaves – a small bunch
Salt as per taste

Method :

Add all the ingredients listed under the masala section to a mixer and grind it to a fine paste. In a pan add the ghee, heat it and add the bay leaf. Next add the tomato and the vegetables and fry well. Next add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Then add needed quantity of water and salt and allow the kurma to cook, until the raw smell goes and the vegetables are cooked. You have to keep stirring every 5 minutes to make sure the gravy doesn’t stick to the bottom of the vessel. Once ready garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis or parotas. If you want to have it with rice make it a little more watery.

Peanut Chutney

Peanut chutney is a simple chutney and makes great accompainment to idly, dosa, upma and pongal. It is my favorite chutney and I make it very often.. When served with rice it should have a thick consistency and a bit dilute for idlis and dosas . Hot rice, ghee and peanut chutney is like feast for us! Here I have prepared a simple chutney with raw peanuts and you can prepare this during Ekadesi by eliminating mustard,urad dal, Asafoetida .Worth a shot – here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 cup peanuts
5 Red Chillies- adjust to your taste
Tamarind lemon sized
Fresh Coconut - 2 Tbs
Curry Leaves - 4 to 5
Salt to taste
For Seasoning:
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp urad dal (white lentils)
1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds
Asafoetida - a pinch
4 curry leaves
1 tsp Olive oil

Method
Dry roast the peanuts in a pan for few minutes along with Curry leaves,Fresh Grated Coconut,Red Chillies.Turn off the fire when you see the peanuts turn to golden brown color. Cool it down and blend it into a smooth paste by adding little tamarind.Heat oil in a pan. Once the mustard crackles, remove from heat and pour it to the chutney.

Note : I use cumin seeds & curry leaves on Ekadesi for seasoning...

Carrot Halwa/ Gajar Halwa

Halwa is a dense sweet confection served across the Indian subcontinenet. Carrot halwa is one of the most popular traditional Indian dessert. Carrot halwa also known as gajar halwa is made of carrots and cooked with milk, ghee, reduced milk and garnished with dry fruits and nuts. I often make this sweet for ekadashi.
Ingredients
Carrot (grated)- 4 cups
Milk- 4 cups
sugar- 1 cup
ghee- 3 -4 tbsp
broken cashews- 1 tbsp
Raisns- 1 tbsp
blanched almonds- 1 tbsp
pistachio- 1 tsp
cardamom- 1/4 tsp

Preparation:
Fry the dry fruits and nuts in ghee and place it aside. Boil 2 cups of milk in a heavy bottom vessel to make khoa. Boil the remaining 2 cups of milk in a heavy bottom pan. Add the grated carrot in it and cook until the carrot gets cooked and also the milk gets shortened and becomes thick. Keep stirring continuously so that the bottom part is not burnt. Add the khoa and sugar in it and continue stirring until you get a thick consistency.  Add the cardamom and the fried nuts along with ghee and keep stirring for a minute. Remove from heat. You can serve the halwa hot.

Suggestions: Carrot halwa can be served as a topping for ice cream.

Tomato Red Capsicum( Bell pepper) chutney

Chutney is a class of spicy preparation which is usually served as an accompaniment with the main course. Its usually wet have a coarse to fine texture. There are a wide varieties of chutney available in Indian cusine. I tried making chutney with tomatoes and red bell pepper (capsicum).
Ingredients:
Tomatoes- 4
Red capsicum( bell pepper)- 1/2
ginder- 1 inch
green chillies- 2
peanusts- 1 tbsp
cilantro (coriander leaves)- 3 tbsp
cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
oil- 1 tsp
hing/ asafoetida- a pinch
salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan. add cumin sedds. when it cracks add a pinch of hing and peanusts and fry them. then add chopped ginger and green chillies and fry them for a minute. Then add chopped tomatoes and red capsicum( bell pepper). Add salt. Fry them until they become tender. Turn of the heat and allow it to cool. Blend them and serve with Buckwheat dosa.

Note: Since I made this chutney on ekadhasi I have not done the seasoning. On non ekadhasi days I used to tamper the chutney with mustad seeds, urad dal a pinch of hing (asafoetida) and curry leaves. This chutney goes well with any kind of dosas or idly.

Green Chutney/Cilantro chutney

Coriander/Cilantro flavored chutney which is great for tikkas,sandwich spreads,Pakoras,Dhokla and samosa and its a Ekadhasi recipe too.

Ingredients

Cilantro - 2 bunch ( washed and chopped )

Nuts - Hand full of Cashews/Almond/Pistachio/Walnut ( Any two Optional /four also you can add)

Ginger - 1 inch

Green chillies - 1

Salt As per taste

Lime Juice - Two drops

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a blender and grind into a smooth paste. Add lime juice at the end. The green chutney is ready to serve.

Potato Tikki / Potato Fritters

Sometimes I think ekadhasi is the best day of all , when i get to make recipes like this. This tikki recipe has long list of ingredients but simple to make!! You can enjoy these tikkis with tomato soup and chutneys.

Ingredients

Potato - 4 ( boiled and grated )

Panner - 1/4 cup ( grated)

Cauliflower - 1/4 cup ( grated)

Cilantro leaves - a fistful ( chopped finely)

Cabbage- a fistful (chopped finely)

Cashews - 10

Sago/Sabudhana - 1/4 cup ( soak it for long hours and add them dry)

Ginger - 1/4 tsp ( grated)

Quinoa - 2 tbs

Hing - 2 Pinch (Grain free)

Whipping cream - 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Masala

Coriander seeds - 2tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pepper corns - 6

Fennel seeds-1/4 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

Cloves-2

Cardamom - 1

Poppy seeds - 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 2

Method

Blend the masala finely by using blender. In a hot pan add oil followed by hing/asafoetida, cabbage, cashews. Combine the boiled potatoes,grated paneer, cauliflower,sago,cilantro, cabbage mixture, ginger,blended masala salt ,quinoa and whipping cream in a bowl. Mix well. Roll the tikkis in between the palms of your hands in such a way there are no cracks on the surface. Press firmly on the top to make flat tikkis. Shallow fry on both the sides in a hot oil pan until golden brown in color.

Paneer Capsicum Masala

This Paneer Capsicum masala was my experimaental dish for last ekadhasi. On  every ekadhasi I fast from grains. Hence I dont use any powder or masala that I get from the grocery stores for ekadhasi because it would be mixed with wheat flour. I made this dish for buckwheat dosa and it came out really well.

Ingredients:
Paneer- 200 grams
Capsicum(bell pepper)- 2, big, (green/ red/ yellow/ purple)
Tomatoes- 2, medium size
Green chillies- 2
corriander seeds- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds/ jeera- 1 tsp
black jeera/ kaali jeera- 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds/ saunf- 1/4 tsp
cinamon stick- 2 (1 inch)
cloves- 2
cardamom powder- a pinch
bay leaf- 1
ginger- 1 inch
Kasuri methi/ dry fenugreek leaves- 1 tbsp
oil- 1 tbsp
salt to taste
cilantro/ corriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

Grate the paneer and chop the capsicum and tomatoes finely. Make a paste of the green chillies and ginger. In a pan dry roast the cumin and corriander seeds and grind it to powder. Heat oil in a pan and add the black jeera and fenel seeds, when it cracks add cinamon sticks, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom powder and ginger chilli paste and fry them and then add the chopped tomatoes and fry them until they become tender and becomes a thick paste. Add the capsicum and fry until they become tender an then finally add paneer and salt and fry them until the paneer is cooked. Finally add kasuri methi and saute it. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Sending this recipe to SUBMIT YOUR RECIPES hosted by Srilekha from Me and My Kitchen.