Carrot usili

Finding more and more ways to cook carrot is one of my interests, as we get good quality carrot in all seasons at a very cheaper price here. But including it in our meals needs creativity:) Sometimes I make juice or desserts like carrot halwa or cake. Spicy foods like kuruma, stir fries, fried rice, salad, vegetable briyani , raitha, uthappam dosai, paniyaram can also be done. So whenever I go for a grocery shopping I buy a pack of carrots always. Instead of regular baby-carrots, occasionally I sliver these regular carrots for hubby's snack box too:)
Here is one traditional dal based Indian dish, Usili with carrot. Usili is one of the brilliant Indian recipes to make us get protein rich dals easily. I make usili often with many vegetables, as it is our favorite. Hope you all like this carrot usili too !

Ingredients:
Carrot - 3
sesame oil - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1 tsp
green chilly - 1
curry leaf - 1 sprig
shredded coconut - 1 tbsp

To grind:
Thoor dhal (red gram) - 1/2 cup
dry red chilly - 2
cumin - 1 tsp
sea salt - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing - 1/8 tsp

Method:
Soak dal for 1 hour and grind in a mixie without water along with the other items to a fine paste.
Scoop the dal into idly plates and steam cook for 10 minutes.
Let it get cool completely.
Put it in the mixie again and pulse gently for a few times, so that the cooked dal looks loose.
(We can mash by hands too, but this mixie method will give good looking usili).
In the mean time wash and peel the carrot. cut them into small cubes.
Heat oil in a wok and let mustard splutter.
Then add the curry leaves, split green chilly, chopped carrot and stir fry it.
Cook covered along with very little salt for 5 minutes.
Then add the prepared dal mixture and stir fry it in high flame for few minutes.
Add shredded coconut and switch off.
Carrot usili is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve with kara kulambu + rice or rasam + rice.

Other recipes to cook carrot :
Vegetable uthappam (dosai)
sambar rice
sambar
fresh masala sambar
vegetable briyani
cabbage carrot poriyal
Tri color stir fry
carrot cake
carrot orange juice
Carrot pumpkin cake
carrot halwa 
carrot kuli paniyaram

Shrimp Kebab

Kebabs are always fun food. While chicken kebabs are quite popular, I like different varieties  like fruit kebab, fish kebab also. Here is one kebab for the shrimp lovers.

Shrimp with broccoli and onion Kabab

Ingredients:
Shrimp - 12
onion - 1
broccoli or capsicum or tomato or pineapple - few pieces
lemon- 1/4
skewers - 4
olive oil or butter - few tsp

Masala for marination:
Lemon juice from  1/2 fruit
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
garam masala - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
corn starch - 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:
Soak the skewers in water for 1 hour minimum.
Mix the masalas  in a small bowl.
Clean the shrimp and retain the tail. Marinate the shrimp pieces in the masala for 10 minutes.
Take them out.
In the same time roughly chop the broccoli / capsicum / pineapple / tomato along with onion and mix with left over masala mixture.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg C.
Thread the shrimp and vegetables as per wish.
Arrange  the skewers in baking sheet and drizzle little olive oil or butter over it.
Bake for 10 minutes one side and 3 minutes after flipping to other side.
Take out and squeeze some lemon juice over the kebab.
Shrimp vegetable kabob is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as appetizer or main course.

Brinjal roast

Brinjal roast is another favorite for us. I made this last year using our fresh homegrown eggplant. Try and enjoy this easy side dish.

Ingredients:
Eggplant - 1
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
curry masala powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tbsp per batch

Method:
Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick circles or semi circles.
Keep it in a large mixing bowl.
In a  small bowl mix all ingredients except oil.
Add the masala mixture to the brinjal slices and shake to coat thoroughly.
Keep marinated for 10 minutes.
In a frying pan , heat 1 tbsp oil, then fry a small batch of brinjal slices both sides (almost 1 minute per side).
Take out, repeat and fry all the slices.
Pan roasted brinjal fry is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with sambar rice or curd rice.

Note:
Deep frying these brinjal slices will taste incredible good, but pan roasting is easier.

Senai kilangu paruppu koottu (Suran dal)

Senai kizhangu paruppu koottu / Elephant yam subzi.
I learned this dal curry with senai kilangu through one of the nice lady I met. Packiam amma used to cook lunch and dinner in our house for quite a long time then.  My parents' kitchen is very large and I used to keep a cute little place for my study table there till I finished college. So whenever I want a relaxation or change of mood from my studies on weekends, I would help and learn in kitchen too :) That's how this dal curry entered my recipe collection from one of the sweetest cook Packiam amma.
Before that we used to make a fried senai kilangu  only, but I like this recipe also very much.

Frozen suran

Senai kilangu paruppu koottu / Suran dal curry

A simple lunch: Puli kulambu, suran dal curry, curd, pappad, rice.

Ingredients:
Suran / elephant yam / senai kizhangu - 200 gm
oil - 2 tsp
mustard - 1  tsp
channa dal - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
onion (chopped) - 2 tbsp
Tuvaram paruppu (Toor dal) - 1/2 cup
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
hing - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste

To grind:
Coconut - 3 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp
green chilly - 4

Method: 
1.Wash the dal. Add turmeric powder, hing, 2 cups water. Cook it in pressure cooker till one whistle , reduce heat and cook in medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep aside.
2. In a wok heat 2 tsp oil, add mustard seeds, channa dal and let the mustard crack. Then add chopped onion, curry leaves. Saute till onion turns soft. Cut the yam into small cubes (1 inch size) and add to wok. Pour 1/2 cup water and cook covered.
3. Grind coconut, green chilly, cumin to a coarse paste. After the yam gets cooked (10 minutes), add the masala paste, salt, cooked dal and being to a boil. If desired garnish with finely chopped cilantro and switch off.
Senai kizhangu paruppu koottu is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with rice.

Other ways to cook senai kizhangu:
Senai kilangu stir fry
Erissery
Pongal puli curry

Fish fry with green masala

What will you do, when one of your vegetarian friends is in need of a fish recipe temporarily, that doesn't smell too much? I prepared this new recipe when my friend was in need to include fish diet for the first time for her husband. I showed her to process the fish and the benefits of having it as curry than deep frying. But I knew , eating fried fish is easier for the beginners. My ordinary fried fish would have more fish smell, so she wanted one with more spices and I found this recipe myself:)  On that day we made it with butterfish . Then the next weekend I made it with pompano fish for us. (Butterfish can be made as whole fish fry, by slitting few lines and stuffing it with this masala). We tried tandoori method too, but frying tasted better. Now I am glad that this has became my hubby's favorite too.

Fish marinating in green masala

Ingredients:
Pompano fish or pomfret  (vaaval meen) - 1/2 kg (1 lb)
corn starch or rice flour - 1 tbsp

To grind:
salt - 2 tsp
green chillies - 4
turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
cilantro - 2 handful
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 4 cloves
black pepper - 1 tsp
cumin - 1 tsp

others:
lemon - 1 (juice)

Oil (to deep fry) - 200 ml (1 cup)
(I used corn oil here).

Method:
Wash the fish and remove all the fins and scales by a knife.
Then slice it into thin slices (as shown in photo).

Apply little turmeric powder over the fish and keep aside.

Grind the items given without adding water. If needed add few tsp of lemon juice.
Then mix this with corn flour or corn starch.

Mix the ground masala with the powders and salt given above.

Gently rub the masala over the fish slices(dab some masala inside the fish too)and marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a broad based wok .Fry the fish both sides crispy.

Fish fry is ready! Sprinkle some lemon juice all over the fried fish to jazz up the taste.

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with any rice. The suitable combinations are sambar rice , rasam rice or meen kulambu rice.

Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji can be related to buttery mashed potatoes with an Indian touch. It is one of the popular dishes in North India and will come under 'chaat food' or 'street food' category. It will be typically served with a toasted bun called pav bun (looking like small burger buns).
The base for this curry is always potatoes and in some occasions raw plantain. Also it is noted for its rich butter / ghee flavor. It is one of my most favorites and my neighbor aunty would bring us this yummy gravy often. I used to make this with a readymade powder masala. But here is a recipe for this famous pav bhaji from scratch.

Pav bhajji with little ghee on top.

Pav bhaji is ready !

Tempering for bhajji

Boiled potato and vegetables.

Ingredients:
Boiled potato - 3 or 4
cauliflower - 1 cup
carrot - 1
green peas - 1/2 cup
capsicum - 1/2
onion - 1/2
tomato - 1
ginger - 2 inch
garlic - 3 cloves
green chillies - 3
cilantro - handful
milk - 1 cup (optional)

To powder :
Fennel - 1 tbsp

others:
ghee / butter - 3 tbsp
oil - 3 tbsp
cinnamon - small piece
bay leaf - 1
curry masala powder - 1 tbsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
ghee - few tsp while serving.
lime juice - 2 tbsp

Method:
Pressure cook the potatoes for 3 whistles or in 5 minutes in simmer after 1 whistle.
Put them in cold water and peel immediately. Mash finely using hands or a masher / spatula.
Mean while chop the cauliflower, capsicum, carrot finely and put them in a large wok with 1 cup water or milk. Put green peas also and cook till tender. To this add the mashed potatoes, turmeric powder, salt, garam/ curry masala powder, cumin powder and bring to a boil. Mash with spatula again coarsely, so that all vegetables get mixed very well.
 
Heat oil+butter in a wok and add cinnamon, bay leaf. Then add minced onion and stir fry for  a few seconds. Then add chopped tomato. Saute till oil separates. Finely chop ginger and garlic. Pour this to the boiling vegetables mixture.

Dry roast the fennel and powder it. Add this powder to the boiling mixture. If needed add some more water , so that the curry comes to a thick gravy consistency.

Switch off and mix lime juice, cilantro.

Pav bhaji is ready !

Serving suggestion:
It is traditional to add little ghee on top of the pav bhaji while it is served hot.
Serve with toasted pav buns or any roti.
Raw sliced onion and lemon are kept along with this bhaji.
Tastes good with dosa too.

Note:
My version is a simple pav bhaji recipe  'without pav spice masala mix'. We can find this pav masala easily in any  Indian grocery store (in the masala powder aisle).
If using pav bhaji readymade masala , then  don't add fennel / Sauf powder, cumin powder, curry masala powder. Pav masala has everything together.

Spicy masala dosai

In South India, we make Masala dosai by stuffing the dosa with yellow poori masala. But the masala stuffing varies from city to city. My neighbor aunty (from Gujarat), gave me a spicy masala dosa on a  morning and I totally loved her version. Here is  her version. Enjoy this with sambar and chutney for a  delicious dinner

Potato masala:
Boiled potato - 3
red onion - 1/2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
cilantro - few leaves.
salt - to taste
garam masala / curry masala powder - 3/4 tsp
lemon juice - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
fennel - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tsp per dosai (optional)

Peel the boiled potatoes and mash almost finely.
Heat oil  in a wok, add fennel (sombu). As it gets red, add finely chopped onion. After the onion gets soft, add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Add the turmeric powder, chili powder, curry masala powder and mix for 10 seconds. Then add the mashed potatoes, salt, cilantro and cook covered with handful of water for 5 minutes.
After switching off sprinkle lemon juice and keep aside.

Dosa:
Dosa batter - 2 cup
sesame oil - as per need
ghee - optional

Method:
Heat a dosa tawa. Sprinkle few drops of sesame oil. Soak a clean cloth with water and wipe it off, so that the tawa is completely coated with oil.
Pour a 1/2 cup batter (for a large dosa tawa or lesser for a small tawa).  Spread it in circle to get a medium thick dosa. Drizzle some ghee on top of it. Flip as it gets mild red on one side.
After it gets cooked both sides, take the dosa and keep it on a plate as if the red side remains at bottom. Spread the tomato ketchup over the dosai. Take a scoop of potato masala and spread over it and fold. Masala dosai is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve with sambar and coconut chutney as dinner or any main course meal.

Note for beginners:
It would be laborious to make all these potato masala, dosa batter, sambar , chutney on a single day. I am sure , no Indian would do like that. So I generally make dosa batter ahead and keep refrigerated always.  Potato masal I have mentioned here can be prepared a day before for lunch pack along with chapati or rice. Like wise  sambar can also be saved from lunch. So if we plan ahead it would be easier for us to make this masal dosa for our loving family.