Homemade Uttar Pradesh Garam Masala Powder

This is a very different kind of garam masala that I stumbled across an Indian Mangayar Malar magazine. When I say different, it is because of the spices used in this recipe prioritizing more on black peppercorn and black cardamom as two major ingredients. Furthermore, unusually, it has great amount of Mace or Jathipathiri in Tamil so this contribute to an authentic flavor and taste. This garam masala doesn't have any coriander seeds, and I find it to suit all non vegetarian dishes beautifully. Do give a try and leave your comment below. 

Homemade Uttar Pradesh Garam Masala Powder

INGREDIENTS: 

Black pepper - 100g

Black cardamom - 100g

Dry ginger - 50g

Biryani leaf/bay leaf - 25g

Mace (Jathipathiri) - 25g

Cinnamon - 20g

Cloves - 20g

Black Jeera - 10g

METHOD:

1. In a heated pan with low flame, dry roast all ingredients for 5 minutes. Allow them to cool before grinding into smooth powder. 

2.Transfer that into an air tight container, and keep refrigerated for longer life shelf. 

Thank you

Abby 

Jackfruit, Carrot, Cauliflower and Potato Kurma ( Coconut Milk Gravy)

We made Turkey Berry Biryani and Vegetable Kurma last weekend. You can make coconut milk gravy or Kurma using any vegetables of your choice or even substitute the veggies with chicken or prawn. We had these vegetables left in the fridge, and weekends are the days we try to finish all the remaining vegetables or poultry in the fridge before restocking with fresh produces. It was a rich, creamy kurma with all the goodness of vegetables. I would say this one pot kurma can be eaten with rice, chapati, bread or biryani.

Jackfruit, Carrot, Cauliflower and Potato Kurma

INGREDIENTS: 

Unripe Jackfruit - 1 cup (cut into small chunks)

Carrots - 2

Potatoes - 4

Cauliflower florets - 2 cups

Kurma Paste:

Ginger - 2 inch piece

Garlic  - 10 cloves 

Grated coconut -  1 cup

Fennel seeds  - 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon

Coriander seeds - 1 tablespoon

Black pepper - 1 teaspoon

Green chilies - 3

Dry red chilies - 3

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

To Temper:

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Cloves - 5

Star anise - 1

Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons

METHOD:

1. First, you need to cut the unripe jackfruit into bite size chunks and cook them in boiling hot water with little bit of salt. After the jackfruit have been cooked thoroughly, drain and keep a side. 

2. Boil the potatoes as well. 

3. Wash the cauliflower florets in hot salted water. Drain and keep that aside as well. 

4. Next, we are going to prepare Kurma Masala Paste. To begin with, we add a tablespoon of oil, and start adding all the ingredients under the 'KURMA PASTE' section. We fry them until slightly golden brown. Allow them to cool before grinding into smooth paste by adding some water.

5. Now, in the pan, add two tablespoons of oil, and start tempering all the ingredients given under the 'TO TEMPER' section.

6. Following that, add all the vegetables that have been chopped into bite size pieces. Sauté for a while and immediately add in the masala paste, and some hot water. Remember the Kurma paste has to be diluted with water because we are going to make a gravy.

7. Allow the gravy to cook well till the carrot and cauliflower are soften, and there isn't any raw masala paste smell. It should took approximately about 25 minutes. Lastly, before switching off the flame, give a lavish sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves. 

Thank you

Abby 

Idli Powder- Idli Podi

Idli powder or idli podi is a condiment that we take as a dip when we eat tosai or idli. The powder is mixed with good amount of gingerly oil or Indian cold pressed sesame oil. Do give a try and let me know your comment about it.

Idli Powder/ Idli Podi

INGREDIENTS: 

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

Channa dal - 1/8 cup

White sesame seeds - 2 teaspoons

Dry red chilies - 7 (reduce the chilies if you don't like spicy food)

Curry leaves - 2 handfuls

Asafoetida - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

METHOD:

1. First, dry roast urad dal, channa dal and sesame seeds until aromatic and slightly brown in color.  

dry roasted channa dal, toor dal and sesame seeds

2. The dry red chilies and curry leaves have to be sun dried for longer shelf life and easier grinding process.

Sun dried dry red chilies, curry leaves and fried asafoetida pieces

3. Now, grind chilies, asafoetida and curry leaves until slightly coarse.

4. then, add in roasted urad dal, channa dal, sesame seeds and salt. Grind till it becomes slightly fine powder. Some prefer coarse powder and some like it fine. You can alter this according to your own preference.  

Thank you

Abby 

Chayote and Radish Dal - South Indian Vegetable Kootu

Chayote in English, Chow chow or Bangalore Brinjal in Tamil is a type of vegetable that has prickly or thorny skin that belongs to the gourd family along with melons and cucumbers. It in enriched in vitamin C and full of moisture content that work as a cooling agent just like the white radish. The current heatwave in Malaysia requires us to eat more vegetable with high water content so white radish and Chayote are pretty suitable with the climate that we are dealing with right now. This dish is rather like a soupy dal if diluted with more liquid and called dal curry if it is slightly thicker. Whatever the consistency,  the purpose is to fully utilize the vegetables and it has mild spice flavor. If you want to envelope more broth flavor to the curry, you may add quarter cup of chicken stock. You can improvise according to your level of creativity. 

Chow Chow, Plantain and Radish Dal (South Indian Tri-Vegetable Kootu)

INGREDIENTS: 

Chow chow - 1

White radish - 1

Medium sized red onion - 1

Channa dal or lentils  - 1/4 cup

Yellow moong dal - 1/4 cup

Water - 3 cups

Homemade Tiffin sambar powder -  1 tsp

Turmeric powder  - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

To Temper :

Mustard - 1 tsp

Urad dal- 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red chilies - 2

Curry leaves - a sprig

Asafoetida  - 1/4 tsp

Vegetable oil - 2 tsp

METHOD:

1. First, rinse toor dal and channa dal three times until the water is clear and allow it to soak in the clean water for 10 minutes. 

2. Then, cook the drained dals with 3 cups of water by adding 1/4 tsp of salt and turmeric powder. Allow the dhal to cook until it's nice and soft, but not mushy. The dal has to be firm yet cooked properly. when cooking dhal, you may sometimes find your water boiling really high that it may come to the surface and start over flowing from the pot, so to avoid that, you may need to add half a teaspoon of vegetable oil. 

3. Now, heat a pan by adding two teaspoons of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add all the ingredients under the 'TO TEMPER' section. Allow the mustard to sputter, urad dal to become golden brown. 

4. After the tempering ingredients, now goes in chopped onion, diced chow chow and diced white radish. Chow chow and radish have to be peeled and cut in small chunks. Do be careful while handling chow chow vegetable as it can be full of tiny thorns. 

5. After sautéing the vegetables lightly for 5 minutes, goes in the cooked dal and the dal water as well. Give a quick stir. Let this dal curry to simmer on a low flame until all the vegetable are thoroughly cooked.  

6. The last stage before switching off the flame, add lavish tablespoon of ghee and a teaspoon of homemade tiffin sambar powder to elevate the flavor and aroma of this dish.

7. This dal curry compliments piping rice or chapati. Cooking this dal curry is a breeze and hassle free.

Thank you

Abby 

South Indian Fish Curry - Version 2

There are tons of delicious tasty fish curry recipes on the Internet. I like to keep my fish curry simple and easy and of course never compromise on the taste. Nobody wants to cook for a long time in the kitchen with lots of other works piled nowadays. This second version of South Indian fish curry doesn't require any coconut milk or chili powder. The spiciness comes from the green chilies and the homemade fish curry powder. I have given a link to Homemade fish curry powder that is an easy to do spice powder and a must in our kitchen because the flavor of fish curry will be only prominent and tasty with the use of it. I would never substitute that homemade fish curry powder with the store bought one as it will definitely ruin the authentic flavor of the curry. I know it is time consuming to prepare the spices and blend them into fine powder, but think of fresh, healthy ingredients that go into the powder that will create magic in your curry. It is just a matter of one day process, because I have only given a small batch recipe that you can prepare effortlessly. So. don't panic. Give a try and leave a comment. 

South Indian Fish Curry - Version 2

 INGREDIENTS:

Whiting/ Lady fish/ Kilanga Meen - 400g

Green chilies - 4 to 5 (reduce the number of chilies, if you don't like spicy food)

Curry leaves - a sprig

Medium sized tomato - 2

Medium sized red onion  - 1

Tamarind - small gooseberry size

Salt - to taste

To make paste :

Homemade fish curry powder - 4 tablespoons(follow this link for the curry powder)

https://abbylakshmi.blogspot.com/2021/02/homemade-south-indian-style-fish-curry.html   

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Medium sized red onion  - 1

To Temper :

Fenugreek - 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons

METHOD :

1. Here I have taken Whiting or Lady fish, but you can use any variety of fish. My mother has cleaned them and washed with salt, a tablespoon of rice flour and water. Since, they are small variety, we will keep them whole. The reason to use rice flour or any kind of flour in hand is to remove the fishy smell.    

Whiting/Lady Fish/Kilanga Meen

 

2. Next step is preparing fish masala paste. You will need one medium sized red onion, 4 tablespoons of homemade fish curry powder and turmeric powder. Blend all of them together with some water to form a thick paste. 

3. Heat up a pan, temper fenugreek and fennel seeds until slightly golden brown. 

4. Chuck in diced onion, green chilies and chopped tomatoes and a sprig of curry leaves. Stir all until onion is translucent and tomatoes are slightly mushy. At this stage, I like to add some salt to speed up the sautéing process.

Chopped tomatoes, diced onion and green chilies

5. Here, I have used small gooseberry size of tamarind and squeezed it in one cup of water to extract the juice. Strain the pulp and add the tamarind juice to a clay pot.

6. To the same clay pot, add the fish, masala paste and also tempered ingredients from the pan. So now, we are going to cook the fish curry in this clay pot. The rule of thumb for adding water is make sure your fish is completely submerged in that scrumptious curry pool. The curry should neither be too thick nor watery. Don't add too much of water or else it will become pool of water than curry. 

Tamarind juice, fish masala paste and fish

7. Close the lid while cooking the fish. This should be cooked on low flame for a good 15 minutes. If you further simmer it, then the fish will break. Once the fish is cooked, switch off the flame.

8. Serve hot with anything like rice or chapati. 

Thank you

Abby