Vegetable Jalfrezi

Jalfrezi is Indian version of Chinese stir-fry made with marinated vegetables and curry spices. For Jalfrezi, the vegetables must be dense, neither starchy nor watery. Potatoes and Peas are starchy, Spinach is watery. It is cooked with green chillies, with the result that a jalfrezi can range in heat from a medium dish to a very hot one. (source: Wikipedia)

Vegetables that are blanched can be used. Vegetables that need to be blanched are Cauliflower, String beans, Carrots, Broccoli. To blanch vegetables, bring water to a boil add vegetables, cook for 10- 12 minutes, drain immediately and pour cold water over the vegetables to stop further cooking.

4 - 5 Zucchini's
2 Green Peppers (or any colour peppers)
2 Carrots
2 Jalapenos
3 Onions
4 Garlic Pods
1" Ginger
Handful Cherry Tomatoes
Coriander
Lemon juice

Cut vegetables in thin long stripes and marinate in 2 tsp of oil with salt and pepper. Slit or cut cheery tomatoes in half, cut jalapenos into think long stripes and remove seeds to reduce heat. Grate garlic and ginger.

Take 2 tsp of oil in a wok/skillet add 1/4 tsp jeera and saute' onions and jalapeno stripes till they caramelize. Then add grated ginger and garlic. Fry for a few minutes and then add the marinated vegetables, salt and fry in medium heat for 5 - 6 minutes. Then add tomatoes on the top.

In a bowl mix 1/2 tsp cumin-coriander, 1/2 tsp amchur, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, a pinch of turmeric and add a tsp of besam, mix well and add to the skillet. Fry for a few minutes remove from flame add lemon juice and chopped coriander.

This is spicy vegetable dish that can be eaten with rice or rotti.

Instant Rava Dosa

This is an ideal item for those days when we have to question ourselves "What's for lunch/dinner?". An instant dosa that can be mixed up using regular flours and that needs no fermentation. A dosa carving that can be fulfilled Instantly! So, measure up the flours and get ready to use your hands - a trick that works with this dosa!

1 cup Rice flour
1 cup Bombay rava - Sooji
1/2 cup All purpose flour - Maida
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1 tsp jeera
5 -6 Green Chilies
1" Ginger
Few Curry Leaves

Chop green chilies and ginger into small pieces. Cut curry leaves also into small pieces. Roughly ground pepper or whole pepper corns can also be used according to preference.

Mix all the above things in a vessel and add salt. Using your hand squeeze the essence of the ginger and chilies and add water liberally, mix the batter till the consistency of light butter milk is reached. Batter is ready to be made into dosa's, no fermentation is required.

Ideal to use a dosa/pancake griddle. Dosa pan also be used, clear the stove top of all other items and heat a dosa pan.

Using your hand, take handfuls and sprinkle on a hot skillet gently, filling the whole pan, cover holes lightly. Pour 2 tsp of oil or ghee around the dosa and in the middle and leave for a couple of minutes to roast. There would be no need to turn the dosa on the other side.

I would like to share a trick my sister told me years ago with dosa's and pan's. Use a wet paper towel to wipe the pan real clean after removing each dosa before the next one. Don't have to grease the pan before pouring the batter, add a tsp of oil after it has settled on the pan. It has worked for me all these years, see if it works for you.

Imagine dosa in 3 parts, fold the first and 3rd part on to the middle part and remove from the pan.

If you feel the dosa has come a little thick, add some more water and try again.

This dosa does not need a side dish. Fresh curd with salt, lemon juice and coriander would be a good side dish.

Pesarattu Masala Kura

Authentic to Andhra cooking, pesarattu masala kura has a very unique taste. This is my mother-in-law's recipe, and without a doubt, one of my husband's favourite! It might be frightening to follow a lengthy procedure and on top of it pesarattu itself can be eaten as is with rice. So, why bother? But, making peasrattu for this is easier as they should be made thick without worrying about the shape and very easy to saute'. Why not try it next time when you have some leftover pesarattu?

For Pesarattu
2 cups Whole Green Moong dal - Pesallu
Hand full Raw Rice
4 Green Chilies
1" Ginger
1 tsp jeera

Mix and soak dal and rice over night. Grind along with chilies, ginger and jeera to a nice batter using water and salt as required.

This batter does not need fermenting and is ready to be made into pesarattu after grinding.

Grease a dosa pan with oil and pour the batter in circles spreading evenly and thick (thicker than a regular pesarattu) with the ladle.

Add a tsp of oil so that it can be removed easily from the pan. Turn it the other side and let roast.

Remove and stack on a plate. Let cool and cut into diamonds with a sharp knife and set aside.

For the Saute'
4 Onions
Hand full cherry Tomatoes - Optional
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp Garam masala
Coriander

Take 4 tsp oil in a skillet and saute onions. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a few minutes. Then add some salt and garam masala. (I used home made garam masala, please refer to Garam masala in pickles and powders)

Now add cut pesarattu pieces, chopped coriander, cherry tomatoes and mix well. Fry for a few minutes and remove from flame.

This is a good side dish with white rice or jeera rice.

French Beans Fry

Quick and easy vegetable dish that comes in handy during time crunch. These are available in regular grocery stores.

1 bag French Beans
2 Potatoes - Optional

Heat a non stick skillet and do not add oil. Cut open the frozen vegetable bag and drop it in the hot skillet. This is a trick to fry any frozen vegetable (washing of frozen vegetable is an individual choice) the moisture in the vegetable will be absorbed by the heat while it is being cooked. Once the vegetable has dried then add oil as required and salt.

Peel and cut potatoes into thin long strips and cook with salt in the microven. Drain water and add to the skillet.Fry till they are nicely done and add red chili powder.

Serve as a side dish with rice or rotti.

Chitti Boorelu - Karam Boorelu

These are soft and spongy inside and crispy outside. The blend of all the items, specially green chili, ginger with curd and flour gives it that special taste. They donot absorb too much oil and fry pretty fast. Make a great evening snack.

2 cups Atta - Godhuma pindi
2 cups Rice flour
2 cups Sour curd
Chili-ginger paste
Green Chilies - Optional
½ tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Jeera
Hing

Mix all the above with salt and water as required. The dough should be like chapati dough, soft enough without excess water. Let it ferment for 5 – 6 hours. Spicy lovers can add chopped chilies also.

Heat oil in a kadai (I personally prefer a traditional concave shape kadai for maximum usage of space with less oil) and never let the oil be screaming hot! It burns the first batch.

Drop a spoon of hot oil in the dough and mix well, this will make the fried item light. A pinch of cooking or baking soda can also be used.

Wet your palm in bowl of water, pick a hand full of batter in the hand and gently drop as small balls in the oil. Keep turning back and forth so it will not burn.

Once they all turn golden yellow remove from the oil. Place them on paper towels so the excess oil is absorbed.

Artipuvvu kura - Banana Flower

Banana flower is considered as a delicacy in South Indian. I am giving a very authentic dish here with ariti puvvu. Making the flower ready to cook is laborious but the real cooking of the dish is very simple.

Yet another Southern delicacy is Jack fruit kura, panasakaye kura. The cooking method is same for both. To chop panasakaye to fine pieces is an art done very skillfully with a razor sharp knife. But, I have an alternate method; will post that when I prepare it. For now, let see how to make ariti puvvu kura.

1 Banana Flower - Ariti puvvu
2 – 3 Green Chilies
1” Ginger
Few Curry Leaves
Few Pindi vadiyams – Kura vadiyams Optional
2 tsp Peanuts
2 tsp Tamarind Pulp
1 tsp mustard powder - Avapindi
½ tsp Sesame powder - Nuvupodi
¼ tsp Red chili Powder

To make Avapindi:
Dry grind mustard seeds in a mixer to make a soft powder, this is called avapindi or mustard powder and dry fry and grind sesame seeds to make sesame powder, this is called nuvvupodi. These powders have good shelf life, make in advance and store in Ziploc bags in the freezer or in air tight container. Or.

Take 1tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of sesame seeds and 1 red chili in a mixer and grind using 5 tsp of water to a smooth paste.

Cooking with banana flower has a very laborious cleaning process. Grease your palms with oil before working on the florets. The pod oozes sticky sap which is very tough to remove from your hands and clothes.

Remove and discard flap and remove each bunch of florets from the pod and gently rub the tip of the florets holding on to the base. Each flower in the cluster will contain one hard and long stigma, pluck and remove the stigma, leaving the other parts of the flower.

Repeat the procedure until the layers of the pod can no longer be separated easily. In the center of the pod there is a pale colored pod which looks like a conch. It has a slight bitter taste can be eaten raw or in salads. You can also add it to the dish, finely chopping then along with the florets.

Now chop all the cleaned florets and roughly grind them and immerse the rough paste in a bowl of cold water. Clean them thoroughly at least 4 – 5 times. Using a drainer, drain the water, gently press and squeeze all the excess water and cook with salt and water in a pressure cooker or in a skillet. Drain the water and keep aside.

Take 4 tsp of oil in a skillet and fry peanuts and pindi vadiyams first, remove and in the same oil make tadka with ½ tsp urad dal, ½ tsp chenna dal, ¼ tsp jeera, ¼ tsp mustard seeds, hing. Then add chopped green chilies, ginger and curry leaves.

In a bowl add 1 tsp mustard powder, 1 tsp sesame powder, ¼ tsp red chili powder and mix well with 4 or 5 tsp of water.

Add the vegetable to the skillet. Add 2 tsp tamarind pulp and mix well. Let cook for a few minutes, remove from flame and add the above mixture and mix well. Test for salt and adjust seasonings.

Garnish with small vadiyams called pindi vadiyams before serving. While re-heating sprinkle some water and heat so the kura will be soft.

Aritipuvvu kura - Banana Flower

Ariti Puvvu.


Remove the stigmas of each flower in the flowrets.


Center piece is edible.


Dry grind the pieces and then wash well with water, removes tartness.


Cook with salt and turmeric in water.



Make tadka and add the cooked vegetable.