Q IS FOR QUESTIONABLE! QUESTIONABLE SAMBHAR RECIPE BUT DELICIOUS!!!!

Q IS FOR QUESTIONABLE! QUESTIONABLE SAMBHAR RECIPE BUT DELICIOUS!!!
This is not an actual sambhar recipe but the result is definately "sambhar-like" and can be passed off as a very quick sambhar recipe!!!! This recipe came about cause through many many attempts of doing sambhar I could never quite master the true taste of sambhar and having a family that continously requested it I had to come up with an alternative!!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:
250G of drumstick, okra and/or mixed veggies.
1 large onion - diced
1 large tomato -  diced finely
2 green chillies - slit.
Ten curry leaves
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp of coriander/cumin powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of jaggery (you may substitute with sugar)
Small lemon sized piece of tamarind soaked and pulp extracted alternatively 1 tsp of ready made tamaring puree.
salt to taste
To temper: 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
Big pinch of methi seeds (also known as fenegreek seeds)
Few curry leaves
Plus 3 cups of hot water
dash of oil

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and allow to pop and sizzle.
2. Add the fenegreek/methi seeds and the curry leaves and be careful as they will splutter.
3. Add the onion and fry till translucent.
4. Add the veggies and tomato and a pinch of salt.
5. Now add the coriander/cuminpowder and the turmeric and stir to coat the veggies and stop it sticking on the bottom. you may need to add a dash of water to prevent this mix from burning.
6. once the raw smell has gone then add the jaggery and sugar and stir for a few mins.
7. now add 3 cups of hot water and stir well then place lid on and cook over low to medium heat for 10 mins....
8. Serve hot with rice..optional add coriander leaves....

P is for Pachadi

P IS FOR PACHADI.......PINK BEETROOT PACHADI

After a long break from my postings I have decided that I must get back into and inspire myself to delve into the joys and excitement of experimenting and cooking again. So here goes!!!!
 Pachadi is a traditional south indian side dish...Basically it means a pounded side... So versatile, so tasty and a huge variety... if you experiment you can basically turn any veggie and some fruits into a pachadi....and they really are tasty as you adjust to your tastes...if you like spice add more chilli, like tang add more tamarind, like salt well then you guessed it add more salt.....
This particular pachadi is pretty pink beetroot pachadi and tastes really fresh.....add yoghurt to it and turn it into a tasty dip for corn chips or pita...see so very versatile....

WHAT YOU NEED:
1 cup of grated beetroot
1 heaped tsp of ginger garlic paste (you can opt for just ginger if you wish but I am a garlic lover)
3 to 5 green chillies depending on how much a chilli lover you are....I like my pachadi to really pack a punch!
1/4 cup of desicated coconut
salt to taste
10 curry leaves (if have so optional)
1 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of oil
1/4 cup of yoghurt -  this is optional.. you can add or leave out up to you...the yoghurt will thin out and cool down the pachadi making it great as a dip for pita or corn chips....

WHAT YOU DO:
Super simple!
1. Steam or cook the beetroot with a little water.. I also throw in the chilli and ginger garlic paste to the beetroot while it is steaming or cooking to just take the raw edge away...Once cool quickly blend!
2. Mix the coconut and salt into the blended beetroot/chilli mix.
3. Heat oil over medium heat and add the mustard seeds followed by the curry leaf...careful as they will splutter and pop. Once they have popped pour over beetroot mix...Salt to taste and you are done!!!
4. If you wish mix in the yoghurt now for a different take on beetroot pachadi!!!

O IS FOR ONION.....ONION PACHADI

O IS FOR ONION PACHADI
A simple and quick side dish. What is a pachadi though? Basically it is anything that is pounded... often spicy and using either raw or cooked vegetables.. Served in a small amount as a side dish to rice or chapati....Surprisingly delicious...You can use either brown onions or red onions both give their own unique taste..

WHAT YOU NEED:
Onions (depending on how many ppl you are wanting to serve)
Red dried chillies (to taste... If you want mild taste then only use 1 or 2 but if you like it hot go for it and experiment)
Dash of oil (you may need to increase this if you making a large amount but you are only want to just coat the pan)

WHAT YOU DO:
1. Cut onions in half and then finely slice... I like to have long thin strands of onion but again it is up to your preference.
2. Heat the pan and the oil and saute the onions over low heat till they are well cooked.
3. Either serve as is or blitz for a smoother pureed pachadi.... serve with hot rice!!!!! delicious
   

N IS FOR NO FRY VADA

N IS FOR NO FRY VADA
I would not say I am extremely health conscious but when I can I do opt for lighter or healthier options... But deep frying in oil is something that I just dont like to do.. messy, oily etc etc I do however love the deep fried version of vada (when someone else prepares and cleans up... hehe). I have made dahi vada before using a dutch pancake pan (you know the pans with all the half circles in) on the stove top but I happened upon a donut pan and instantly thought... Vada in the oven.... can it be done???????

So you will need a donut baking tray for this recipe or I suppose you could use an electric donut maker appliance too. Easy enough to find in most bakeware or even some cheap shops...The donut bakeware has 12 donut spaces so this recipe yields 12 feel free to dble, triple or even half the recipe to suit demand.

WHAT YOU  NEED:
1 and 1/2 cups of urad dal (this needs to be washed and soaked for about 2 to 3 hours.
4 (more or less to suit taste) green chilllies
1heaped tsp of ginger/garlic paste
4 peppercorns
1 sprig of curry leaves
salt to taste
OPTIONAL: thinly sliced onions, coriander or additional thinly sliced chillies.

WHAT TO DO:
1. Once you have soaked the urad dal for 2 to 3 hours. Grind the urad dal, ginger/garlic paste,pepper, curry leaves with a little water. You need a smooth batter but not runny.
2. Set aside for ten minutes meanwhile heat oven to 170 celcuis and spray pan lighty with oil.
3.Spoon mixture into tray and bake till  lightly golden.
Serve immediately with sambhar, coconut pachadi or whatever you wish.....

M IS FOR MASALA

M IS FOR MASALA
M is for masala..... A versatile spice mix that can be used with a few basic ingrediants and hey presto you get a lovely base for any curried dish which stores well in the fridge or freezer for instant dinners. In this instance I used this base wet masala and added a few potatos and got a yummy potato dinner or you could add hard boiled eggs, mixed vegies or whatever you like....

WHAT YOU NEED: (This will make a huge batch so store what you need for one week in a sealed container in the fridge and the rest in portioned containers in the freezer)

3 kgs of of peeled and sliced brown onions
1 kg of tomatos- chopped (feel free to reduce or increase the amount of tomatos to suit your tastebuds)
About 7 generous tsp of turmeric
500g of ginger (again feel free to adjust to suit your tastebuds)
4 garlic bulbs (roughly 45 cloves of garlic)
4 tbs of salt (again to taste)
3/4 cup to 1 cup of oil (preferable veg or canola)
Optional: 10 green chillis

WHAT YOU DO:
1.  Add  1/2 the oil and over medium heat brown the onions. Add the green chillis now if using and fry for 5 mins more.
2. Add the rest of the oil and all the other ingrediants and stir then cover and simmer till everything break downs and the raw smell leaves..
3. Blend the mix and return to the stove top and simmer for a further 30 mins to an hour on low to medium heat to allow the flavour to develop. (make sure you keep it covered or your kitchen will be covered in red splat marks.)
Now that is done divide into portions about a 1 to 2 cups per portions.

Now for a simple potato curry using this masala

1. In a pan add sme oil and heat.
2. Add 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp of mustard seeds once oil is hot allow too splutter and once the seeds stop splottering add 2 medium chopped potatos. Fry fr 5 mins.
3. Add 1 to 2 cups of the masala mix and mix and cover.
4. Cook till potato is tender and adjust the salt..... Optional: add more chilli and fresh coriander

L IS FOR LAZY!!!! LAZY PAV BHAJI

L IS FOR LAZY VERSION PAV BHAJI!
L is for lazy pav bhaji... Ok Ok Ok not really technically an L dish but for lack of ideas for L...having already done lemon, lime and lentils....L become Lazy!!!!
Pav bhaji is a very popular street dish. Rich and warm vegetables in a tasty gravy smoothered on hot butter rolls!!!!!! YUM and great for a lazy dinner.... Not much in it especially if you use precut frozen or precut fresh vegies.....

WHAT YOU NEED: (SERVES 2)
About four soft bread rolls (the above picture shows bagels but it tastes much better when you use soft hamburger buns)
2 tsp of oil
1 tbs butter for vegie mix and added extra to spread on rolls!!!
3/4 cup peeled and chopped potato (precooked)
1 cup of precut fresh or frozen mixed vegies (Ideally peas, capsicum, cauliflower) (Boiled till just cooked)
1 medium onion (finely diced)
1 and 1/4 cup of chopped tomatos (I used canned to make it even lazier) if using canned reduce to 1 cup.
1/2 tsp of ginger/garlic premade paste
Spices: 1/4 tsp of turmeric
            1/4 tsp of red chilli powder
            Up to 1 tbs of pav bhaji spice mix
            2 dried red chilles (soaked and finely cut)
Optional extras (but recommended) Fresh coriander and fresh lemon wedges...

WHAT TO DO:
1. Heat oil and butter till melted and add the onion. Saute for 5 to 10 mins.
2.Add the dried red chillies followed by the ginger/garlic paste.
3.Now add the tomatoes followed by all the spices...
4. Cook for a further 5 mins on low to medium.
5. Now add the precut precooked veggies and the chopped potato and about 1/4 cup of water and cook for about 5 mins. Now mash!!!!!
6. Add the fresh coriander if using and adjust the salt.
7. Cut the buns in half and spread with butter and toast under the grill or in a medium heat pan till the top is crunchy while leaving middle soft and lush.
8. Spread the veggies mix on top and squeeze a little lemon juice over and devour!!!!!!

C IS FOR CARROT HALVA

C IS FOR CARROT HALVA
Carrot is such a versatile vegetable. Carrot cake, Carrot pickle, Carrot rice, Carrot juice....... so many options and all completely different from the other. Crunchy and healthy or soft and smooth once cooked.
One such delicious dish that can be made from this yummy versatile vegie is Carrot Halva. A sweet dish that can be served warm or cold. With cream or custard or alone.... With nuts and dried fruit or without. See what a versatile vegie this humble carrot is!!!!

WHAT YOU NEED:
2 cups of grated carrot
2 cups of your choice of milk (soy, skimmed, rice, almond etc)
3 tbs of ghee
Sugar to your liking... aprox 1/4 cup but feel free to add more or less
6 cardomon pods (again you can add more or less to your liking)
Fried cashews, raisins, sultanas etc your choice and as much or as little as you like.

WHAT YOU DO:
1. In a large pan heat the milk.
2. As the milk is heating add the ghee to a pan and melt then add the grated carrot and fry for 3 to 5 mins.
3. Add the milk to the fried carrots and keep stirring over low to med heat till the milk is almost fully absorbed.
4. Now add the cardomon and sugar (ajusting amount of sugar to suit).
5. Keep stirring over low heat till throughly combined and suagr has melted into carrot/milk mix.
6. Now add the dried fruit and nuts and stir to evenly distribute.
Enjoy yummy carrot halva