Archive for January 2011

Pepper Water (Rasam)

January 28, 2011 Indian Cooking, Indian Vegetarian No comments

Ingredients:

Onions (shallots preferred)– 1 tablespoon (thinly sliced)

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Garlic – 3 pods

Curry leaves – 3 sprigs

Tamarind paste – 1 teaspoon (if using the block of tamarind – a lime sized ball)

Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon

Pepper powder – 1/2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tablespoon

Cumin – 1/2 tablespoon

Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Dry red chilly – 2 

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Water – 2-3 cups (as required)

How to:

Grind the ginger, garlic, 2 sprigs of curry leaves, coriander powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder and cumin seeds to a fine paste.

Take 3 cups of water in a vessel and add the ground masala, the tamarind paste and salt, and let it boil till the liquid reduces to about 2 cups.

Strain the pepper water into a bowl and keep aside.

In a pan add oil and splutter mustard. Sauté the onions, curry leaves and dry red chilly, till the onion becomes golden brown.

Pour this over the pepper water and serve with rice.

Chickpea Curry (Kadala Curry)

January 20, 2011 Indian Cooking, Indian Vegetarian No comments

Ingredients:

Chickpea – 1 cup

Onion – 1 large (chopped)

Shallots – 5-6 (sliced)

Ginger – 1 inch piece (sliced into strips)

Garlic – 3-4 (sliced into strips)

Green chillies – 2-3 (slit)

Coriander powder – 2 tablespoon

Chilly powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Fennel – 1 teaspoon

Pepper – 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cloves – 2-3

Star anise – 1/2

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Coconut chips – 1/4 cup

Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Salt – to taste

How to:

Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Pressure cook the chickpeas for about 15 minutes with salt and enough water to make the gravy.

In a pan dry roast coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fennel for about a minute, remove the pan from the flame add the sliced shallots to it.

Roast the grated coconut in a pan till reddish brown. Let it cool for a while, then grind the roasted masala together with the coconut to form a smooth paste.

In a deep pan add 2 tablespoons oil and splutter the mustard. Add the coconut chips and roast till it turns light brown. Sauté the onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies till they turn golden brown. Add the ground coconut paste and sauté for a few minutes . Add the chickpeas along with the water and bring to a boil. Check the seasoning and add more salt if required. Cook until the gravy thickens a bit.

Remove the pan from flame and serve with puttu or appam.

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