Soya Vegetable Pulav....

Yesterday I made Soya Vegetable Pulav at home. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Cumin seeds: A pinch
2. Cinnamon - One stick
3. Cloves - 3-4
4. Cardamom - 3
5. Black raisin - a few
6. Bayleaves
7. Cashew nuts: a few
8. Green chilli - One sliced horizontally
9. Onion chopped - half a cup
10. Potato cut into cubes - 1
11. Beans chopped - half a cup
12. Carrot chopped - half a cup
13. Cauliflower - half a cup
14. Olive Oil
15. Ghee
16. Soya chunks - One cup
17. Pulav rice: One cup
18. Salt to taste 
19. Mint leaves: A few

Steps:

1. Boil Soya chunks in water till they become fluffy. Quickly drain the water and press the chunks till all the water is removed from them 
2. Fry the chunks in olive oil till they are golden brown. Keep aside
3. In  a pressure pan, pour olive oil and ghee and heat
4. Once oil is heated, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle
5. Add Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Raisin, Bay Leaves, cashew nuts and mix them till cashew is golden brown
6. Add chilly
7. Add the onions and stir the mix till Onions turn golden brown. 
8. Add the remaining vegetables and Soya chunks and mix for two minutes. 
9. Pour water till it covers the vegetables
10. Add salt and stir till it is dissolved
11. Add rice and mint leaves
12. Mix thoroughly and keep the pan closed and with the weight on top. 
13. Heat in medium flame for three whistles
14. Switch off the stove and wait for 15 minutes.
15. Open the pan and viola ! your pulav is ready

After I made it, the quality check was done by my hyper demanding son. He gave his stamp of approval. 

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 12: Black Chana (Kadala) Curry, Kerala Style

Check out this link

Vegetable a la carte...

I believe that every man should learn how to prepare his favorite food.

Even though I am a good cook, I like cooking (check out all the blog posts in this section.) and I cook regularly, I must confess that I did not follow this basic advice that I gratuitously disburse to others.

Being from the state of Kerala, my favorite food item is 'Puttu' (Prepared by mixing rice powder and coconut and steaming the same in a special vessel) and 'Kadala Curry' (described in this recipe). I never learned how to prepare 'Kadala Curry'.

Puttu with Kadala Curry - Kerala

The reason I did not learn to prepare Kadala (black chana dal) Curry till now is that the preparation is a bit messy. I prefer to cut all the vegetables, fry a bit of onion and tomato in Oil along with Masala, mix the vegetables, pour some water and cook it is medium heat for about 15 minutes. And the vegetable fry is ready. 

Unlike this, the Kadala curry has four steps. Step 1 is boiling Kadala, step 2 is frying a mix of coconut and stuff, Step 3 is grinding the fried mix and Step 4 is to add the ground paste to the boiled Kadala. boil the mix and finally add garnishing....It is messy.

But I like Kadala Curry. I cannot go on pretending to be a cook and not knowing how to prepare Kadala Curry. I had to do something about it.

So I checked up the recipe in You tube and here is my Kadala Curry recipe. This tastes best with Puttu made from 'Brahmins Puttu Podi'

Part 1: Boil the Kadala

Black Chana Dal

Ingredients

1. Kadala (Black Chana Dal) - 50 Gram
2. Onion Chopped - 1 cups
3. Garlic Powder - 1/2 tea spoon
4. Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tea spoon
5. Salt to taste
6. Water

Preparation

1. Soak the Kadala in water for about 12 hours
2. Add all the ingredients in a Pressure Cooker and Boil for about 10 Whistles
3. Switch off the heater and allow to cool

Step 2: Prepare the Paste

Ingredients

1. Oil - 1 table spoon
2. Grated Coconut - 1/4 Cup
3. Chopped Onion - 1/2 Cup
4. Cinnamon Stick - 1/2 inch long
5. Coriander Seed - 2 tea spoon
6. Coriander Powder - 1 tea spoon
7. Fennel seed ('Perum Jeerakam' in Malayalam and 'Saunf' in Hindi) 1 teaspoon

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a frying pan.
2. Add coconut, onion, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks and fennel seeds
3. Fry till coconut turns golden brown
4. Add coriander powder and fry for one minute
5. Switch off the heater and allow the mix to cool.

Step 3 Grind

1. Once the above mix (prepared in step 2) is cool, grind the same in a grinder to a fine paste. Add water as necessary.

Step 4. Mix and Boil

Ingredients

1. Chopped Tomato - 1 tomato chopped (Optional)
2. Garam Masala - 1 tea spoon

   

   Masher

Preparation

1. Add the above mix to the boiled chana
2. Add tomatoes
3. Boil for about 5 minutes. 
4. Mash the mix using a Masher to get a good consistency
5. Add Garam Masala
6. Boil for another 5 minutes
7. Switch the heater off and keep aside

Step 5: Garnish

Ingredients

1. Oil - 1 table spoon
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tea spoon
3. Dried Red chilli - 2-3 numbers
4. Curry Leaves - 5-6 leaves washed thoroughly

Preparation

1. Heat Oil in a Frying Pan
2. Add mustard till it cracles
3. Add Red Chilli
4. Add Curry Leaves
5. Once the garnish is ready, add it to the masala prepared in Step 4 above.

Your Kadala Curry is ready. 

Smells heavenly, doesn't it?

Enjoy with Puttu...

PS: I ate it with Puttu. It tasted heavenly. It was as if I had arrived as a Cook. By preparing Kadala Curry, I had climbed the ultimate 'Cook Mountain'. That it tasted just like my mom would have made added to my glow and satisfaction. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have arrived as a cook.

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 10: Kabuli Chana(Chole) Masala (Chikpeas Maasala)

Today is day 10 of my project '30 Days, 30 Veggies'. Today we are going to prepare Chikpea Masala.

What is Chikpea? See the image below.

Chikpea is also known as Kabuli Chana and is famously used to prepare Hummus. Chikpea Masala is a very tasty veg preparation and it goes great with Puris and Chapathis. You can also eat it with Rice and Dal.

Or you can eat it solo.

Many options, so many options !!

See image of Puri and Chapathi  with Kabuli Chana (Chole)below. Both are made of Wheat Flour.

Chapathi Chole

Poori Chole

Looks Yummy, don't they?

Unlike other preparations in this series, which can be prepared using common household ingredients, you will need Chana (Chole) masala to prepare this. The good news is that this is a very common masala, easily obtained in any Indian store.

In addition to it being tasty, Chana masala has the added advantage of being healthy.

So here goes.

Ingredients / Preparation

1. Kabuli Chana / Chole / Chikpea: 1 cup

• Sock the Chikpea overnight. 
• In the morning, wash it and boil it in a pressure cooker. Drain and keep aside

2. Oil, 2 table spoonful
3. Finely chopped onion, 1 Cup
4. Ginger Garlic Paste, 1 tea spoonful

• Heat oil in a frying pan
• Add Onion and Ginger Garlic Paste and Saute till onion turns golden brown

5. Dhania / Coriander Powder: 1 tea spoonful
6. Red Chilli Powder: 1 tea spoonful
7. Chana / Chole Masala: 1 Table spoonful
8. Chopped Tomato: 1 Cup
9. Salt to taste
10. Water, 3 Table Spoonful
11. Dhania (Coriander / Cilantro) leaves, chopped, for Garnishing.

• Add Dhania, Red Chilli and Masala to the Sauted Onion.
• Fry for about 2 minutes in medium flame, till the smell of raw masala is replaced by smell of fried masala
• Add tomato and fry for another 2 minutes
• Add the boiled Chikpea (Chana)
• Cook in medium flame for about 10 minutes
• Switch off the stove, top it with Coriander leaves, allow to cool.
• Your Chana masala is ready.

Fun Facts (Nutrition Facts)

30 Days 30 Veggies: Day 9: Baingon / Brinjal / Kathirikai (Eggplant) Fry

This is day 9 of my series. These days are moving very slow. After about 25 days of starting, I am still on Day 9.

You may wonder why this series is moving slow. Shouldn't he be eating some stuff, you may be asking yourself. Does he prepare for 3 days at a time, you may query.

Well there is no secret. When I prepare a Subzi, I prepare it for three times. Night / Morning / Night or Morning / Night / Morning. For preparing these vegetables, I do cut and keep them in the fridge, but end up only cooking a smaller amount than I cooked. So on other days, I prepare vegetables that I have already used in this series. For example, the other day, I made Cabbage Fry, but since I have already written about it on Day 3, I can't use it in this series again.

Yet another reason is that I use potato as a filler. Since this series has decided to leave out Potato, those preparations get missed out. Also note that I prepare good Dal (Lentils). But since Dal is not a vegetable, I cannot use that in this series.

One final point. You can see that most of my preparations are 'Fries'. There are a few reasons why I prepare 'Fries' as a part of the series. First of all, unlike the name suggests, they are not real 'Fries' in the sense of using too much oil. My preparations use very little oil. Second, they cook pretty quickly. Most of my preparations can be done in about 15 minutes. Three, they (my preparations) use commonly available ingredients across the world, for example, 'Coriander Powder', 'Cumin Powder' and 'Haldi' (Turmeric in English and Curcuma in Spanish) are available in Bombay and Bogota. Finally, all the vegetables that I prepare are ok to be cooked alone. They do not need partners, except Onion and Tomato (in certain cases)

Having got this off my chest, I am feeling very happy.

The vegetable of choice today is the good old Brinjal, also known as Eggplant or Aubergine or Berenjena (Espanol). It is also called 'Kathrika' in Malayalam, 'Kathirikai' in Tamil and Beguni in Bengali. 

Let me tell you something. World is divided into two kinds of people. Those who like eggplant and those who don't. I fall into the latter category. I am not a great fan of eggplant. If it were not for this '30 Days, 30 Veggies' project, I don't think I would have touched it with a barge pole. On the other hand, Eggplant cooks fast and cooks well. That is a great boon for a person as hard-pressed for time as I am.

Get the hell into the topic, do I hear you say?

Here goes.

Ingredients.

1. Onion, 1 medium sized, finely chopped

2. Oil, 2 Tablespoonful

3. Ginger - Garlic paste 1 teaspoon

1. Pour oil into a pan. Once the oil is heated, add the onion and the paste. Wait till it turns golden brown

5. Haldi powder, a pinch

6. Coriander Powder, a pinch

7. Green chill, 1 medium, cut small

8. Curry leaves, 4-5

9. Chopped Tomatoes, 1 cup

2. Add the Haldi Powder, Coriander Powder and stir for 2 minutes till the raw smell of masala is replaced with the fried smell

3. Add Green Chilli and Curry leaves and cook for 2 minutes

4. Add Tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes, mixing well.

5. Add a bit of water, 2 Table spoonful or so, and mix thoroughly.

10. Cut Eggplant, 2 cups cut in small

7. Add the Eggplant, mix well and cook in medium heat

8. Cook for 10 minutes. 

9. Your Brinjal fry is ready.

30 Days, 30 Veggies, Day 8: Gobi (Cauliflower) fry

Every warrior has a weapon called 'Brahmastra' in their armory. This is a highly dependable and effective weapon. It can unleash mass destruction (which is 'Effective' for a warrior).

But the problem? A 'Brahmastra' can be used only once.

To know that she has a 'Brahmastra' in her armory is a huge confidence booster for a warrior. It gives her the kick. Since she knows that this can be used only once, she becomes master at using all the other weapons in her armory. She is very careful of when to use her greatest weapon.

For me Gobi Fry is the 'Brahmastra' of the vegetables when it comes to writing this series on 30 Days, 30 Veggies.

I like (or shall I say, Love) Gobi (Cauliflower). Prepared in any form, give me Gobi if you want to see me smile. Gobi in dry form, Gobi with Gravy...I dig them.

Since I like Gobi so much, it is no wonder that I also loves cooking Gobi. Every once in a while, I prepare Gobi Fry. I find it very easy to prepare and quite tasty and healthy too.

Knowing that I can always depend on Gobi Fry to fill this series was a great confidence booster as I embarked on this '30 Days, 30 Veggies' series. I purchased Gobi and preserved it like gold. I forced myself to prepare other vegetable preparations. I ventured into unchartered territory when I prepared 'Yam' fry, 'Cabbage Poriyal' and 'Banana Thoran'. I listed down all the different vegetables that I can cook in 30 days and kept Gobi to the last. It was my Brahmastra. I could prepare it any time.

When I found that the Gobi in my fridge (Short for Refrigerator) was starting to get damaged, I decided to cook Gobi.

Of course it came out well.

Here is the recipe.

1. Jeera (Cumin Seeds), a pinch
2. Garlic (3-4 pods chopped fine)
3. Curry leaves, 4-5
4 Ginger Grated, 1/ 2 teaspoon
5. Oil, 2 Table spoons
6. Cinnamon sticks, 2 small ones

a. Add oil in a pan and allow it to heat.
b. Once it is heated add Jeera and allow to splutter
c. Add all the other ingredients listed above and saute for about 2 minutes in medium heat.

7. Onion, 1/2 cup chopped
8. Tomato, 1.2 cup chopped

d. Add onion to the above mix and keep stirring till Onion turns translucent / Golden Brown
e. Add Tomato and mix thoroughly. Saute for two minutes

9. Haldi Powder, Coriander Powder, Red chilli Powder - Each a pinch
10. Salt to taste

f. Add all the powders and salt and heat for two minutes till the masala (Mix of all of the above) is integrated well. Also the smell of Raw Powder should be replaced by the 'fry' smell

11. Cauliflower, cut fine, 2 Cups
12. Water, 2 Table spoonsful
13. Coriander leaves, chopped, for topping.

g. Add the Cauliflower and a bit (two tablespoons) of water and mix thoroughly
h. Cook covered in medium flame for 10 minutes
i. Gobi Fry is ready. Top it with coriander leaves for good aroma

There goes my Brahmastra !!

What are the health benefits of Gobi?

Here it is

30 Days 30 Veggies: Day7: Banana (Vazhakkai) Thoran

There are four kinds of vegetable preparations specific to my state, Kerala in India.

1. Thoran: This is a dry preparation of vegetables cooked with grated coconut mix. Coconut give a flavour to the vegetables and keep the vegetable cubes separate from each other.

2. Mezhukkupuratti: This tongue twister of a name simply means 'Coverd with oil'. This uses more oil than the thoran and is normally prepared without coconut. Oil covers the vegetables and act as a separator. This is also mostly dry. Check out my recipe for Day 6

3. Upperi: This is pure fry in Oil. These are called 'Chips' in English

4. Koottu: This is a vegetable preparation with gravy. It uses less oil and more water. Normally the vegetables are prepared with lentils and socked in Coconut gravy. Since it uses less oil, it is normally very healthy.

I had some coconut at home and decided to prepare Raw Banana Fry. It was the first time that I was preparing this and it turned out to be pretty good.

Ingredients

1. Raw Bananas: 2 numbers cut into small cubes
2. Haldi (Turmeric) powder: A pinch
3. Salt: To taste.

Boil the above three together till banana turns softish. Drain excess water.

4. Coconut Grated: Two Spoons
5. Cumin seeds: A pinch
6. Ginger: Small piece

Dry grind coarsely these three in a grinder. Keep aside.

7. Onion Chopped: 1/4th of a cup
8. Mustard seeds: A pinch
9. Red Chilli: 2-3 for garnishing
10. Curry leaves: 5-6
11. Oil: 2 Tablespoons
12. Chilly powder

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Once oil is hot add the mustard and let it splutter
3. Add the Red Chilly and the curry leaves and saute for 30 Seconds
4 Add Chopped Onion and and chilly powder (you can also use pepper powder) Saute till Onion turns Golden brown
5. Add the boiled Banana and the Coconut mixture
6. Cook in medium flame for about 10 minutes
7. Banana Thoran is ready to eat !!

30 Days 30 Veggies: Day 6: Chenai Mezhukkupuratti (Yam Fry - Kerala Style)

You can check up My Cook Book for other Single Vegetable Recipes here.

Have you ever had this experience?

You plan to cook some thing. In your mind you have a very clear picture of how your preparation will look and feel once finished. You dream of eating the food, chewing each morsel, enjoying the taste, the smell, the texture,  its feel in your mouth.

You have a clear idea of what you want and how to get there. You saw the video in YouTube where a  was grandma cooking this stuff. It was so easy.

Of course, you can do it.

But.....

As they say, the devil is in the details.

This was my experience as I prepared the Yam Fry. I am sorry that it is a tongue twister of a name for a simple yam preparation. But that is how most of the words are in Malayalam, the language of Kerala.

I had this idea of a Yam Fry where every Yam Cube is separate but integrated from the rest of the preparation. My dream cube will be soft but tender, but not so soft as to blend with the others. It will be crisp. (You wonder how a vegetable can be crisp and soft and tender, you have not seen my mom prepare stuff). Each morsel will tell its own story as it melts in my mouth, how it was a recalcitrant seed, till the farmer caught it and to punish it, sowed it on the earth and added fertilizer and stuff, and how as it became grown up, how it was ashamed of some of the stuff it did as a kid...

Don't look at me like that. All of us have...

But the reality was far from my ideal.

You can read here the recipe that I followed.

This recipe calls for grinding onion and garlic in a mortar and pestle. This was the first time that I was using this and I found it very interesting. Of course, in my M&P, the mix did not grind at all. Like some couple who live together separately, the onion and garlic kind of stayed separate, maintaining their individuality and essence as it were, despite my best attempt at playing a marriage Councillor !!!

One lesson that I learned, though. If the recipe says add two spoons of hot water, there is a reason. You cannot not follow the recipe and add 10 spoons of water and expect that the cooked food will live up to your imagination !. 

At the end of the cooking, the yam cubes were to stay separate, each coated with bit of the 'Masala' and each partially crisp. Mark this, unlike the Onion and Garlic above, the yam cubes were supposed to stay SEPARATE. Is this what I got?

Of course not. Due to the excess amount of water, the Yam cubes lost their individuality. They decided that staying as a cube was not their destiny and that they had to let go of their individuality and become part of the whole. Totally, completely and without reservations.

And that is what I got. Instead of popping individual yam pieces into my mouth, I sort of ended up drinking the whole Yam preparation. Instead of melting in my mouth, the mix decided to help me reduce my effort by melting in the pan itself.

So considerate of you Mr.Yam fry / Mezhukkupuratty / Masala gravy....whatever

One thing I have to say, though. The aroma of the food was divine. 

Ingredients:

1. Yam cubes: Two cups

2. Onion:  1/4th

3. Garlic: 4 Cloves

4. Ginger: 1/2 teaspoon grated

5 Mustard: 1/2 teaspoon

6. Haldi (Turemeric) Powder, Jeera (Cumin) Powder (you should use Fennel Powder, I did not have any), Red Chilly Powder and Black Pepper: A pinch of each

7. Salt to taste

8. Oil: Two spoons

9. Curry Leaves: 5-6

Preparation

1. Semi-Boil the yam in a pressure pan without the weight for about 10 minutes (after the steam starts coming). Once done keep aside

2. Grind Onion, Garlic and Ginger in a Mortar and Pestle

3. Heat a frying pan, add mustard till it crackles, and then add curry leaves

4. Add the ground onion, garlic, ginger mix

5. Fry till the mix turns golden brown

6. Add the powders and cook for two minutes till the masala smell changes

7. Add two spoonfuls of water and mix thoroughly

8. Add yam and salt and mix thoroughly so that each yam piece is coated with the masala

9. Cook for about 5 minutes in medium flame.

10. Your Yam Mezhukkupuratty is ready.

PS: 'Mezhukkupuratty' in Malayalam means 'Covered with Oil'

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 5: Bhindi (Okra / Ladies Finger) Fry

Day 5 is for Lady's finger. Also known as Bhindi in Hindi idioma and 'Vendakkai' in Malayalam and Tamil.

Growing up, it was always a struggle with my mom regarding this vegetable. As per the Indian accumulated knowledge, also known as wisdom, Bhindi is good for intellect and for improving memory. Just like anything good in the world, Bhindi was relatively tasteless.

That may be because there are not many good Bhindi preparations in South India. There is the Bhindi Mezhukupurati, or Bhindi Pachadi and thats it....

When  I started tasting North Indian Bhindi preparations, my opinion about the taste of Bhindi changed. Of course it was still yucky and mushy mushy, but it turned out to be tastier than I thought. The recipe that I am describing below is my version of Bhindi Fry as prepared in North India.

Ingredients.

1. Bhindi, Slit: About two cups
2. Onion Chopped: 1/2 cup
3. Tomato Chopped: 1/2 cup
4. Jeera Powder, Coriander Powder, Haldi Powder, Red Chilly Powder: A pinch of each
5. Salt to taste
6. Oil: Two spoons.

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Add the Chopped Onion and keep stirring till it is golden brown
3. Add tomatos till it mixes nicely with the onion
4. Add all the powders and saute for about three minutes, till the raw smell of the powders are replaced with the smell of masala. Also you will see the mix releasing oil
5. Add the Bhindi and mix very thoroughly. Ensure that masala is spread evenly on all the Bhindi
6. Close the pan and heat on medium flame for about 10 minutes
7. Switch off the stove and top it with Coriander Leaves

The Fry turned out to be tastier than I thought.

Benefits of Bhindi

Check out....

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 4: Capsicum Fry

I love preparing Capsicum. It has this amazing green colour, which gives you the mental satisfaction of having consumed Green Vegetable. Also it is amenable to being part of different preparations including fried in isolation, fried along with Potatos (which gives it good aroma and texture), or fried with Onions and Tomato.

It takes very less time to cook. It is not demanding on you. It doesn't expect you to add it to the frying pan and stand there looking to see if it is burning or not, because it doesn't, you don't have to add water because it moisturizes itself.

It tastes good without cooking (as a salad) or cooked.

I love it.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Capsicum, 3 medium ones, cut into small pieces
Potato, one, cut into small cubes
Onion, one medium sized, finely chopped
Tomato, two small ones or one medium one, finely chopped
Coriander Powder, one tea spoon
Haldi Powder, one teaspoon
Jeera Powder, one teaspoon
Red Chilly Powder, a pinch
Oil, two spoonfuls
Ginger, grated, half a table spoon
Garlic, two to three cloves, cut into small pieces.
Mustard, a pinch

Preparation

1. Heat Oil in a frying pan
2. Add mustard, saute till it splutters
3. Add onions and keep stirring till golden brown
4. Add tomatoes
5. Add Haldi Powder, Jeera Powder, Coriander Powder, Chilly Powder and Salt
6. Add Ginger
7. Saute the mix till combination starts shedding oil. You will be able to see small droplets of oil on the surface of the pan
8. Add Potato and Capsicum and mix thoroughly
9. Cook it in medium flame for about 10 minutes (You can check if Potato is cooked will by trying to cut it with the ladle. If it cuts easily, it means that potato has boiled properly, which means that the Capsicum also has cooked well.
10. Switch off the fire, top it with Coriander Leaves and keep it closed.

Capsicum Fry goes very well with almost any food but I love it with Chappath or Curd Rice.

Checkout google for benefits of Capsicum. I am too tired now.

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 3: Cabbage Poriyal

I find preparing Cabbage very messy. Cabbage is very demanding vegetable. It always need a partner. And also any South Indian Cabbage preparation requires grated coconut.

It is tedious to grate coconuts. Having been from the land of Kerala, which literally mean the 'Land of Coconuts'.I find the grated Coconut available off the shelf in Super Markets lacking in taste and aroma.

Neither will I grate coconuts, nor will I by it Off the Shelf. Talk of Dog in the manger and all that.

If it were not for the fact that I had decided to prepare one different vegetable every day, probably I would not have touched Cabbage with a barge pole.

As it happened, (these things always happen that way only !!) I had all the three ingredients to prepare Cabbage Poriyal, Cabbage, Green Peas and Grated Coconut.

So I said to myself, why not?

There is a Hindi saying, 'Kal kare tho Aaj, Aaj Kare tho Abb', which loosely translated means 'Do not procrastinate'. So, I asked myself, why not?

Here goes my recipe for the Cabbage Poriyal, which means Cabbage Fry. You can read the Tarla Dalal Recipe Here

Ingredients

Cabbage, thinly sliced, two cups
Green Peas, half a handful
Grated Coconut, a bit
Urad Dal, half a tea spoon
Mustard, a pinch
Jeera, a pinch
Curry leaves, a few
Green Chilly, one or two, slit
Salt to taste
Ginger, grated, half a spoon
Oil, a little bit
Haldi Powder, a pinch

Preparation

1. Sock the Green Peas overnight in water so that they are soft in the morning. 
2. Heat the frying pan and add oil
3. Once the oil heats up, add Jeera, Urad Dal , mustard and curry leaves and saute till mustard splutters completely
4. Add Cabbage, mutter, grated coconut, haldi powder, chilly slit, Salt and Ginger (basically dump all the rest) and cook in medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, occasionally stirring.
5. Poriyal is ready !!

It turned out to be better than I thought, There was a good mix of aromas. The aroma of grated coconut, Curry Leaves and Ginger, mixed together is very good.

Health Benefits of Cabbage

Cabbage has a lot of awesome benefits. It is an anti-oxidant which lowers cholesterol in the blood, it has anti-inflammatory properties, it prevents Cancer, it is good for the digestive tract etc. It's nutrients are better preserved if steamed rather than fried.

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 2: Carrot Fry

I like Carrot but I find it difficult to cook.

The problem is that when I was growing up, carrot was an exotic vegetable and was infrequently prepared at home. Carrot was also expensive. My mom used to make three different preparations with Carrot. One, Carrot Fry. Two, Carrot 'Kootu' and three, Carrot Sambar. I liked these recipes, but when it came to cooking Carrot, I could prepare only Carrot Fry and Sambar.

Yet to learn how to prepare 'Kootu'.

I will learn to, I  will learn to

I followed Tarla Dalal closely to prepare this preparation. I did not add 'Methi' since I wanted a Pure Carrot Subzi

Ms.Dalal asked us to cut the Carrots with the skin. She mentions that the peel contains fibre. I did not heed that advice. Having to cook carrot is one thing, but to keep the skin? No way.

(I took the peeled skin, washed it again and prepared Carrot Skin Soup. It was not delicious.)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1. Carrot cubes (finely chopped): 2 Cups
2. Onions, finely chopped: 1/2 cup
3. Cumin Seeds: A bit
4. Oil: two spoonfuls
5. Ginger: Finely grated: A bit
6. 2-3 Garlic cloves
7. 1/2 spoon Haldi (Turmeric)
8. 1/2 spoon Coriander Powder
9. Salt to taste
10. Coriander Leaves a bit.

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in the pan. 
2. Add cumin seeds. wait till they splutter.
3. Add the onions and saute till they are golden brown
4. Add all the rest in the pan
5. Mix thoroughly
6. Heat in Low-Medium Heat for about 10 minutes till the carrots are soft
7. Switch off the heat, top it with Coriander leaves
8. Eat

Folks, the preparation turned out to be very tasty.

Day 2 over, 28 to go.

30 Days, 30 Veggies: Day 1: Beetroot Fry

I was never a big fan of Beetroot. I don't like the taste of Beet, I don't like the feeling of the vegetable in my mouth, I don't like the colour that the vegetables leaves on your hand and on your plate and everywhere else...

At least that is what I thought till I started preparing Beetroot Fry.

You might wonder why I purchases Beetroot when other vegetables were available. If you are asking this question, it means that you have not been following the daily news about the explosive prices of vegetables here in India. The prices change by the day. Since the expectation is that the price will fall over the next few days, the tendency is to buy the cheaper vegetables available on that day, that too in very less quantities.

Beetroot fitted the bill. Hence Beetroot, here I come.

Why Beetroot?

I couldn't have said it better

Recipe: This recipe is for people who cannot distinguish between their table spoons, tea spoons, sprigs and what else....This is for common man. Not an expert cook.

Ingredients:

1. Beetroot: 3 medium ones, cut into small cubes. 

2. Oil: Two Table Spoons

3. Mustard: a bit

4. Urad Dal: a little bit (Check out in Google for its English Name)

5. Ginger: Some, may be a piece as big as your thumb, grated (Ginger I mean, not you thumb)

6. A dash of Coriander Power and a pinch of Jeera (Cumin) powder and a bit of Haldi (Turmeric) Powder

7. A few curry leaves (5 or 6)

8. One or two green chillies, sliced

9. Salt to taste

10. Onion: One medium sized, chopped fine

12. Tomato: One medium sized, chopped fine

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a Pressure Pan. 

2. Add the mustard and wait till it splutters, then add dal, Curry leaves and Chilly. 

3. Saute in medium heat for about a minute or two. 

4. Add the onion and stir till it turns golden brown

5. Add tomato, ginger, coriander powder, haldi powder and jeera powder and salt

6. Mix thoroughly

7. Once the oil starts coming out, add the beetroot

8. Cook it in pressure pan in medium flame for about 6-7 minutes or till two to three whistles

9. Cook in low heat for another three minutes

10. Once the steam condenses, open the pan mix thoroughly.

For better results, you can add a bit of lime and top it with coriander leaves for better aroma

My impressions.

First of all, try the above recipe at your own risk. Know your spice limit and add chilly accordingly. One good thing is that green chilly, though spicy, is good for health unlike red chilly. In case you don't like green chilly, you could try black pepper, though the colour may change a bit, the aroma will be better.

They say that Beetroot helps build muscles. So true. Though a tiny vegetable, Beetroot is a monster when it comes to being hard. My muscles ached as I struggled to cut the beetroot with a reasonably sharp knife. 

Even thought the vegetable is hard, once cooked it becomes delectably soft and almost like melts in the mouth. Also the flavor of the above combination is just awesome. 

What would I have done differently? None that I can think of. May be I would have added a bit of brown sugar (Gur) to lower the spice effect.

It was also good for the stomach and bowel movement. Naturally. It contains fibers also.

Now that I have eaten Beetroot, that too prepared by me, I am a big fan now. As soon as my thirty days of testing different veggies is completed, I am going to splurge on Beetroot with gay abandon.

I can't wait.

30 Vegetables in 30 Days:

Due to some peculiar circumstances (I found my servant lady stealing money and stuff, and I terminated her services), I am finding that I have to cook food on my own. Since I enjoy cooking, that is not a problem, even though cleaning after cooking is a bit tedious. 

Of course, I also enjoy cleaning the vessels and keeping kitchen neat and clean. So that is not a problem.

However the problem is that I have just about two hours in the morning to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner. I prepare Dosa, Idli or Upma for breakfast, all are easy to cook and doesn't demand your constant presence in front of the fire. Dosa is nothing but South Indian Salted Pancake, Idli is Rice & Lentil Dumplings and Upma is.... Well, Upma is something.

I am not to talk here about Dosa, Idli or Upma. I am here to talk about Vegetables.

I prepare vegetables for both Lunch and Dinner. Since time is a constraint for me, I need to prepare Vegetables for both lunch and dinner in the morning itself. I prepare Veggies, take some to dinner and have the remaining for dinner. 

My vegetable preparation should meet the following four criteria.

1. The food should be palatable

2. The food should be cooked in fire. Salads do not count as vegetable preparation

3. Potato is not counted as a vegetable. Potato preparations, where Potato is the main ingredient, will not be considered

4. It should use only the following spices. Mustard, Jeera, Dhania Powder, Jeera Powder and Turmeric Powder.

5. The preparation should be healthy. Meaning, very less oil

6. The preparation should take less than 15 minutes

Some of you may say that I am talking about the ideal vegetable preparation, that this is not attainable

Let me try.

The other day, I was preparing Beetroot fry. That is when I hit upon this idea.

For the next month, I will prepare 30 different vegetables, one each day. I will write a blog post, for each vegetable preparation. I will write my emotions and feelings as I was preparing the food, I will write the recipe and I will also back link to the source recipe, if I have found the recipe in the web.

Please note that the recipes that I post in this blog are for men. Let me explain.

Women are naturally gifted with cooking skills, it is in their genes. They can easily navigate between table spoons, tea spoons, 5 mls, 10 mls, sprigs, splutter (as in mustard) etc. They also understand the difference between high heat, medium heat and low heat in the gas. Ladies also know the difference between Power Mode and Quick mode in microwave...

Difference between Tawa, Kadai, Ladle and Chipple? No  problem, they know.

Vegetables? Ladies know about all the vegetables in the world, I think. You know Cauliflower, Ladies finger, cabbage, tomato, onion...

Men also know all those vegetables. So there...

Ladies also know about multiple types of these vegetables. They know that there are at least three types of onions, Sambhar Onion, Pink Onion and White Onion. They prefer 'English' carrots to 'Desi' carrots.

Ladies also know about Jinga, Green Chilly long, Green Chilly Small, all kinds of Gourds - bitter, snake etc, yam, jinga, Kundru, arbi, Bartha Brinjal, Small Brinjal, long purple Brinjal, long green Brinjal, pumpkins...

Gosh...

Ladies also know of all spices in the universe. They know of Dhania, Jeera, Aamchur, Red Chilly, Kashmiri Red Chilly, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Garam Masala, Chai Masala...

(Sorry foreigners, I don't have the time to explain all these terms in English to you. Google the words that you do not understand.

Shall I tell you a secret? The fact is that I don't know)

They also know of exotic spices like Jalepano, Oregano, Olives etc. They really know !!!

Men are not like that. Other than the vegetables mentioned above, only thing they know is the difference between pinch, dash, whiff and dollop when it comes to solids and pint and quarter when it comes to liquids.

Which means....

that  the recipes for men should be simple and intuitive, as in teaching kids. That is what I strive to achieve in this project. I will demistify cooking in terms that men understand. 

I will also rank my preparations based on the taste. I will also try to provide the nutritional value of the preparation.

I have already completed three days and three different veggies, Beetroot, Carrot and Cabbage.

Wait for the further posts.