Instant Pot Chana Masala

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Ghee 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

1 onion (finely chopped) 

1 Tablespoons minced garlic 

1 teaspoon ginger 

 

Spice blend: 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder 

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 

1/4 teaspoon garam masala  

 

1-2 cup tomato (diced) 

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight) 

Directions:

1) Soak 1c chickpeas in water overnight 

2) Add 2 Tbs Ghee to Instant Pot on Sautee setting 

3) Add cumin seeds when ghee is hot – they should sizzle for 1 – 2 mins 

4) Add onions and cook for 5 mins 

5) Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 min 

6) Add remaining spices, tomatoes, chickpeas, and 1.5c water 

7) Cancel Sautee. Stir. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the pot. 

8) Put lid on and pressure cook on high for 35 mins 

Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients

1/2 cup peanuts

1 jalapeno, deseeded

1 bunch cilantro, washed and leaves only

1 tsp salt

1 tbs lemon juice

1/2 cup water

Directions

1) Roughly blend the peanuts and set aside.

2) Blend all the other ingredients until smooth, scraping down sides of blender as necessary.

3) Add peanuts back into blender and blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Instant Pot Idli

I've amended my recipe now that I've made this successfully a few times.  The water and dry ingredient amounts and cook times seem reliable now.  I use more water than the recipes I've seen that involve a wet grinder, but it works.  I don't have a wet grinder, and when I tried to make a thick paste in my Vitamix, the blender always overheated and the fermentation never really came out right.  The amounts noted below are the amounts I always use now.

Ingredients
1/2 cup urad dal (the whitish colored skinned and split urad dal, not the whole black kind)
1 cup idli rice (parboiled short grain rice that says "idli" or "idly" on the bag)
1/2 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
1/2 tsp non-iodized salt (I use fine sea salt)
cold water

Directions

1) Put urad dal and methi seeds in one bowl and cover with water.  Put idli rice in another bowl and cover with water.  Let soak at least 6 hours.

2) Rinse urad dal and methi seeds thoroughly.  Add 1/2 cup cold water to a high speed blender and top with urad dal and methi seeds.  Blend into a fine paste. Put dal paste into a bowl.

3) Rinse idli rice thoroughly.  Add 1.5 cups cold water to same high speed blender and top with the idli rice.  Blend.  It will be a lot thinner than the dal paste.  Don't worry about that.  Add to the same bowl as the dal and combine thoroughly.  It should now be about the thickness of a smoothie.

4) Preheat oven to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (this is important because it's usually too cold in my house to ferment things at room temperature).  When oven is preheated, turn it off.  Cover bowl of batter with an oven-safe plate and put it in the warm, off oven with only the oven light on and leave it to ferment over night.

5) Check on the batter the next day.  It won't be ready yet, but that's okay.  Heat the oven back up to 180, turn it off, cover the bowl and put it back in the off oven, and turn the oven light back on.  I end up leaving mine in the oven for about 18 hours total.  Basically I leave it until I'm ready to make dinner.  By then it's foamed up into nearly twice its previous size and smells like idli.  Now add 1/2 tsp of salt and stir it in.     

6) Put 1.5 cups water into Instant Pot and set to "saute" until you can see steam coming off the water.  While waiting for the water to heat (it happens quickly), lightly oil idli molds (I spray them lightly with Pam) and add batter.  I fill the molds so they are each about two-thirds to three-quarters full.

7) Place stack of idli molds into Instant Pot.  I only use four out of the five of my idli mold trays because when I stacked all five, the idli on the top layer clogged up the vent on my Instant Pot.  I just don't take that chance now.  Close lid leaving "venting" on.  Set to "steam" and let cook for 12 minutes (you'll have to set a separate timer for this because the Instant Pot one does not start counting until it reaches high pressure).  Turn off Instant Pot and leave sealed for 10 more minutes (my idli had been a little too wet and not quite done when I opened it as soon as the pressure went down).

8) Open Instant Pot and remove stack of idli molds.  Remove idli with a rubber spatula.  Serve warm with sambar and coconut chutney.  Simran and I also like yogurt with this.  If you use the unsweetened plain cashew yogurt by Forager, the entire meal remains vegan.

Cheap & Lazy Sambar

This is the best way to use up whatever vegetables are taking up space in my home.  Going forward, when I have any sort of vegetable in my fridge or on the counter that looks like it might spoil before I can use it, I think I'll try chopping it up and throwing it in the freezer for a later batch of sambar, much like I do with overripe bananas for kale-berry smoothies.  I haven't thrown a banana away in years and I use them ALL, so if I can do the same with vegetables, that would be great [edited 4/27/2020:  I've been doing this for awhile now, freezing leftover chopped veg for sambar, and it's great -- highly recommend].

I never wrote down the sambar ingredients I used before, so I snapped a picture of the ingredients once I had them in the pot so I wouldn't forget later.  This recipe is so quick and easy and healthy, but I still love the taste and how filling it is, especially now that the cold months are coming.

Ingredients

1) 1 cup red lentils, rinsed (I like red lentils for this because lots of dals require longer cooking and then smashing up whereas red lentils just explode into a mushy stew texture in ten minutes)

2) 1-2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced (or 5-6 baby potatoes, quartered)

3) 1 jalapeno, seeded and split

4) 2 tomatoes, diced

5) 1-2 carrots, diced

6) 1-2 shallots OR 1/2 medium onion, diced

7) Any other vegetables you want to use up.  I used half a diced green bell pepper in the picture.  My next batch will include whatever color bell pepper I have on hand as well as half a cup of cut green beans.  If I have to buy celery for something else this week, I'll include some chopped celery too.

8) 1/2 tbs sambar powder (I use Badshah brand Madras Sambar Masala), for a moderate level of heat

9) 1/2 - 1 tsp turmeric powder

10) salt, to taste

11) Enough water (or broth) to cover all ingredients plus a couple inches (keep in mind the lentils will absorb a lot of it).  Last time I used up a few cups of homemade vegetable broth with the water.  I just found a carton of broth in my fridge I forget I had opened, so I'll use that up this time just to get rid of it.

12) 2 tbs tamarind paste (This is important.  Sameer used to use a bit of sugar when making this, but I think the tamarind paste adds a richer depth of flavor, so I keep a jar of Swad brand tamarind concentrate in the fridge just for this.)


Directions

1) Put ingredients 1-9 in a large pot and cover with the water or broth.

2) Boil for 10 minutes.  (This should be enough time to cook the potatoes and the red lentils, which are the only two ingredients you really have to check doneness on.  If they don't seem done, or if you just have more cooking to do, turn heat to low, cover, and simmer up to an hour.)

3) Stir in tamarind paste and salt to taste.  Serve hot with lazy coconut chutney, cilantro, idli, mendu vada, whatever you like.  If you don't have idli or vada, try pouring your sambar over half a cup of cooked brown basmati rice for a filling, healthy winter lunch.

[Edited 4/20/2021:  I'm making this today and thought I should update my notes.  I always make the broth in the link now in place of the water.  It makes an enormous difference in the flavor.  And I just use the whole batch of broth in the sambar rather than eyeballing or measuring the liquid.  Works well.]

Vegetable Manchow Soup

I just made vegetable manchow soup for the first time, and I really wish I'd had the energy to do this last week when I had the flu.  It is one of my favorite foods for when I'm under the weather.  I'm mostly well now, but I'm also finishing off my second bowl.  I want to save this recipe (original from Veg Recipes of India) and the minor changes I made for next time.

Ingredients
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrots
however many shiitake mushrooms come in a carton (8 oz?), chopped (I don't care how big the carton is -- this is how I cook with mushrooms -- use them all)
1/4 cup green beans, finely chopped (I bought French style green beans from the freezer section and roughly chopped those because it's easy)
1/4 cup (or more) spring onion whites, chopped
half a green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp finely chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic (or garlic paste)
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped (add another for more heat -- 1 yielded a sort of "mild to medium" heat, but one was all I had)
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp black or white pepper powder (I used white pepper and ground a little fresh black pepper over the vegetables while they were sauteeing because that's what I had)
3 cups vegetable stock (I bought no-salt high-end stuff)
2 tbs corn starch dissolved in 2 tbs water
cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (optional -- the cilantro at the store was sparse and wilted, so alas, I have none, but I would use a fistful of it per bowl next time)
1 tbs oil
salt to taste


Directions
1.  Chop all veggies and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in a soup pot and add chopped chiles, ginger, garlic, and onion.
3. Saute for a minute and then add green beans and mushrooms.
4. Stir fry on medium until mushrooms start to brown around the edges.  I also add a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper here to season the vegetables while they're cooking and help the mushrooms cook out any water they are holding.
5. Add shredded carrots, cabbage, and green bell pepper.
6. Stir fry on medium to high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
7.  Add soy sauce and black/white pepper.
8. Add vegetable stock.
9. Allow soup to come to a simmer on medium flame.
10.  While soup is heating up, dissolve the corn starch in water.
11. Add corn starch mixture to the soup and stir to thicken.  Add vinegar and turn off heat.  Season to taste.  Serve hot.

[Edited 8/14/2017: To make this soup oil free, heat up a couple spoonfuls of water first and saute the mushrooms in that.  When they've cooked down a little, add the chiles, ginger, garlic, and onion.  Add more water as necessary to prevent sticking, bearing mind that the vegetables will release water as they cook too.  Saute the remaining vegetables, season, then add the vegetable stock and complete the recipe as described above.]

Vegetable Biryani

I made this dish for the first time last week, and it's really good.  I would make a couple changes from the original recipe, so I incorporated them below.  Fresh or frozen vegetables work equally well.  Go for ease of preparation.  I want to figure out precisely how much liquid is necessary to make this with brown basmati rice too.  Most basmati rice recipes that don't involve adding raisins and other stuff call for 1.5x as much water as rice.  Most brown basmati rice recipes call for 2x as much water as rice.  I think I would try initially using the same water to rice ratio as this recipe calls for, with the understanding that I might have to add a quarter cup of water and steam longer if the rice turns out crunchy the first time around.  Brown rice also takes about 50 minutes to cook, in comparison to 20 minutes for white rice.  I'll amend the amounts and directions when I've had a chance to try it with brown.  I also think the ghee could be reduced by at least a tablespoon without adversely affecting flavor.

Ingredients

For the rice:
3/4 cups basmati rice
1 tablespoon ghee
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
3 whole cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the vegetables: 2 tablespoons ghee
1/4 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons golden raisins
1 1/2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
3 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup sweet corn
3 small new potatoes (about 6 ounces), peeled and quartered
1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup water
2 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons blanched, sliced almonds

Directions:

1.  Make the rice: Place the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Set aside.

2.  Toast the sliced almonds and shredded coconut in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Move them to a plate and set aside. 

 

3.  In a medium-sized pot with tight-fitting lid, melt ghee over medium heat. Add the golden raisins, turmeric, cumin seed, coriander seed, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until toasted, about 1 minute more. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, and steam until the rice is tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

4.  While the rice is cooking, make the vegetables. Melt the butter in the skillet used before with a tight-fitting lid, over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the golden raisins, coriander seed, cumin seed, and cardamom and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining vegetables. Raise the heat to high, pour in the water, and cook, covered, for 4 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender and most of the water has evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes more.

5.  Add the rice to the vegetable mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Season with salt to taste. Divide the vegetable-rice mixture among plates and top with some of the toasted coconut and almonds. Serve immediately.

Dal Makhani

I found this recipe for slow cooker dal makhani on novicehousewife.com.  I just made it for the first time today and wanted to jot down the changes I made (some by accident, some because I didn't have the called for ingredient) because I want to be able to recreate it again.  It is fantastic.  It takes hours and hours in the slow cooker, but it takes very little active work.  The original recipe is at the link.  The version below is what I did today.  The Indian groceries near our house aren't that well stocked or particularly cheap, so I got my dals from Amazon.  My comments are in italics.

I'm not sure how much it would affect the flavor, but if you skipped the ghee (and the milk, or substituted coconut milk), it would be both oil free and vegan.  I'm going to try it at some point since I forgot to include half the ghee in the original recipe the first time I made this and it tasted as good as any dal makhani I've ever had from a restaurant. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup urad saboot (whole unskinned black lentils, also called black matpe beans)
• ½ cup dry red kidney beans
• 2 tbsp channa dal
• 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter -- optional, and I no longer include it)
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste (I use closer to 1/2 tsp)
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup ready made tomato puree (I used my grocery store's canned organic tomato sauce)
• ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 2 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves -- I only noticed as I started cooking that it calls for leaves and I only have dried methi seeds.  I substituted 1/2 tbs methi seeds and the finished product was great.)
• pinch garam masala
• ½ tsp amchur powder (raw mango powder -- can be found in Indian grocery stores)
• ½ tsp black salt (can be found in Indian grocery stores -- I ordered Hawaiian black lava salt from Amazon as that was all I could find.  If it's not the same thing, it doesn't seem to make a difference.)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp onion powder

Grind to paste (I just ran them through a food processor because I am lazy.)

• 2 dry, whole red chillies, preferably Kashmiri red chillies- deseeded and soaked for 10 minutes and then drained (I used dry "japones" from India that I found at my regular grocery store.  I also think it would be reasonable to use chili-ginger-garlic paste as a shortcut for all three ingredients)
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

To Add later

• ½ cup milk mixed with ½ cup cream (I would consider this optional.  I ate an entire bowl of the dal makhani before I got to this step and it was fantastic.  You could also substitute lite coconut milk for a tasty vegan option.)
• 2-3 tbs fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

1. Boil the red kidney beans for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.  
2. While the red kidney beans are boiling, rinse the channa dal and urad saboot.  Add them to the slow cooker.  When the red kidney beans have been boiled and rinsed, add them to the slow cooker too.  Add the ghee, salt, water, and chilli-ginger-garlic paste.  Give a stir, set slow cooker to "low," and cook overnight. 
3. The next morning, mash the lentils a bit and add the tomato puree, kasoori methi, cayenne pepper, roasted cumin powder, nutmeg powder, amchur powder, coriander powder, black salt, and onion powder and let cook on low for another 4-6 hours.  If it starts to dry out or overcook, change slow cooker to "warm" setting until you're ready to eat.
4. Just before serving, add the garam masala powder and if you like the cream and milk, or just milk.
5. Add the chopped cilantro and serve with rice, naan or roti.

 

Lazy Coconut Chutney

This could also be called "I'm not going to the Indian grocery store for this" Coconut Chutney.  I make it with stuff I can easily have on hand whenever I want to make it.  I can't tell the difference between this recipe and the better quality versions I've had, but that's just me.  Don't tell me it's not authentic for whatever reason -- there are tons of authentic recipes on the internet if you feel like going out to buy fresh curry leaves and a coconut right now.

Ingredients
1 cup dried shredded coconut (I keep finely shredded dried coconut on hand in my pantry.  I've also used grated dried coconut from the Indian store, but the finer grating allows the coconut to rehydrate faster and makes for a better texture.)
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (no substitutions)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp vegetable oil
salt to taste (I use about 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use non-fat Greek yogurt because it resembles fresh homemade dahi, which I rarely make.)
1/2 cup water

Directions

1. Stir up ginger, jalapeno, and dried coconut in a small bowl.

2. Stir in yogurt and add water until it's a nice thick-but-pourable sort of consistency.  Add salt to taste.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.  Cover and cook until their popping sounds have slowed down. 

4. Stir oil and mustard seeds into the coconut mixture.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Longer is better -- the coconut needs time to soak up the water.  If it seems too dry when you're ready to serve it, just add more water to adjust consistency. 

Aloo Masala (Curried Stir-Fried Potatoes, or "that spicy potato stuff that's always in dosa")

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, in which he claims the potatoes remain slightly crunchy, which indicates it isn't exactly the stuff I'm used to having in dosa.  I plan to cook mine all the way through and try to make it less spicy than the stuff served in dosa shops, for Simran's sake.

Ingredients
3 tbs neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
1 tbs cumin seeds (optional)
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 lbs all-purpose potatoes, like Yukon Gold, peeled and shredded or minced
1 tbs garam masala or curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne (nope, I'm leaving this out)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions

1. Put the oil in a large nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds if you're using them, fry for 30 seconds, then add half the onion and the potatoes. Add the spice blend along with the salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring or tossing ,until the onion has caramelized and the potatoes are lightly browned, about 10 minutes; the potatoes need not be fully tender.

2. Add the cilantro to the pan, toss one, an transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with the raw onion and serve immediately.

Dosa (From Scratch!)

This recipe comes from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  He does not call it "dosa from scratch," but since everyone I know makes dosa from a box mix, I think this name sums it up better.  Now that I'm less incompetent at making pancakes, I'm hoping I can handle this.  If I can, we'll finally be able to have the long sought-after cheddar cheese and onion dosa that no respectable dosa shop will ever make on request.

Ingredients
1/2 cup white urad dal (dhuli urad)
2 cups basmati rice (you can also substitute brown basmati rice to make it whole grain and an earthier flavor and somewhat chewier texture)
2 to 3 tbs vegetable oil, as needed
Salt

Directions

1. Soak the dal and rice in separate bowls in water to cover for 4 to 6 hours, or overnight if you prefer.

2. Turn your oven to its lowest temperature.  Drain the dal and put it in a blender with a tbs or two of water.  Purée it to a smooth consistency, adding as little additional water as necessary, but enough to allow the machine to do its work. Transfer the purée to a large mixing bowl.

3. Drain the rice and add half of it to the blender (there's no need to clean between batches) with about 1/4 cup water. Again, purée (it won't become as smooth as the dal), adding as little additional water as possible. Repeat with the remaining rice. Add the puréed rice to the dal and stir the two together; the resulting mixture should have the texture of a thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, turn the oven off, and let the batter ferment overnight in the warmed oven.

4. Heat a large rectangular nonstick or cast-iron griddle over medium heat for a full minute before greasing it with a film of oil. Season the dosa batter with a large pinch of salt and stir to incorporate. Use a measuring cup or a ladle to pour 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, then use the bottom of the measuring cup to spread the dough across the pan into a large oval shape not much more than 1/8 inch tick; don't worry if the thickness is inconsistent. (It's the same motion a pizza maker would make -- concentric circles with the bottom of the ladle -- to spread tomato sauce thinly and evenly across pizza dough.)

5. Tiny bubbles will form across the surface of the dough, and the bottom will crisp and turn a deep golden brown in 3 to 5 minute. Use a spatula to loosen the edges of the dosa, then roll it onto itself to make a cylinder and remove it from the griddle. Repeat with the remaining batter, greasing the griddle as necessary. Serve hot.

Milder Chile-Garlic Paste

I found this recipe for chile-garlic paste in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  I love chilli-garlic noodles, but the only chilli-garlic sauce I've seen in stores is insanely spicy.  Even the smell of it literally takes my breath away.  And no matter how little I use, Simran can't eat the finished product.  So I'm making a milder version of chile-garlic paste using a milder chile so that it's heavier on the garlic and not so spicy.  (If this turns out too spicy, I'll cut the amount of chile in half.)

Ingredients
1 cup hot dried red chiles, like red Thai, chile de arbol, pequin, or red New Mexico (I will be using ancho, also known as poblano, because it's one of the mildest chiles and I already have dried ones in the pantry.)
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or distilled vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt, or to taste

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor with 1/4 cup hot water and purée to a smooth paste. Add additional hot water by the tablespoon if the paste is too thick. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 months.

Red Lentil & Squash Curry Stew

I found this recipe on OhSheGlows.com, and it's quite good and very healthy and very cheap to make.  I've adjusted the directions based on the easier, lazier way I make this.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or ghee, if you don't care if it's vegan, or alternately skip the oil altogether)
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp good quality curry powder (or more to taste -- I like Badia's Jamaican style curry powder)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I use low-sodium)
• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 cups cooked butternut squash (I've also used pumpkin, or any sort of winter squash I have on hand -- if you don't want to bother cooking it in advance, add the squash when you add the lentils and cook until tender)
• 1 cup greens of choice
• Fresh grated ginger, to taste (optional)
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt, if using low-sodium broth)

Directions

1. In a large pot, add olive oil (if using -- or ghee, if using that) and chopped onion.  Sautee for about 5 minutes over low-medium heat.  [To avoid using oil, use a non-stick pot or simply let everything cook by boiling in the broth.]

2. Stir in minced garlic and grated ginger (or ginger paste, as I use).  Cook another couple minutes.  Stir in curry powder and broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in cooked butternut squash and greens of choice. Cook over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and add some freshly grated ginger to taste.

Vegetarian Korma

I found this recipe on MyFancyPantry.com.  I love creamy Indian sauces, but I'm not particularly good at making them, so I thought I'd give a new recipe a try.  I plan to make this without the heavy cream and with tofu instead of paneer, but with the ghee the first time around -- and then see about making it vegan at a later date. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp. ghee (substitute with oil if making vegan)
• 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric- divided
• chili powder, to taste (Korma is supposed to be a mild dish)
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 1 tbsp. cumin powder
• 1 medium potato- diced into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/2 c. carrots- sliced
• 1/2 c. broccoli
• 1 c. cauliflower
• 1 c. green beans
• 1 c. mushrooms
• 1/2 c. paneer- diced (substitute tofu if making vegan)
• 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves (fresh or dried)
• 1/2 c. cashew nuts- plus more for garnish
• 1 c. light coconut milk
• 3 c. curry base (Recipe Here)
• 2 heaping tbsp. Coconut  (preferably unsweetened)
• 1 c. water–added 1/2 c. at a time
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp. half & half- to finish (leave this out if making vegan)
• small handful golden raisins- to garnish
• coriander (cilantro) leaves- chopped- to garnish

Directions

• Prepare all vegetables, thaw your curry base, get the blender ready and get ready to make some korma!
• In a large pan, heat 1/2 tbsp of oil and 1/2 tbsp ghee (if using) over med-high heat.  Once the oil gets hot, add 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder, a little chili powder, 2 tsp. garam masala, and 1 tbsp cumin powder.  Stir everything together until it begins to make a paste and the spices are cooked. Add the fenugreek leaves.
• Add the potatoes.  Stir-fry until the potatoes begin to get a little brown—they don’t need to cook all the way through, yet.
• Add all other vegetables and paneer (I usually add them straight from the freezer!) and stir-fry for about 3 minutes.  Add about 1 tsp. salt. Turn off the heat.
• Meanwhile—grab your blender.  Toss in 1/2 cup cashew nuts, 2 tbsp coconut and 1/2 c. water.  Blend until everything looks nice and smooth.
• To the blender, add 1 c. light coconut milk, 3c. curry base and 1 tsp. turmeric powder.  Blend until your gravy looks chunk-free and delicious! Taste it…if you feel it needs more coconut flavor, add a little more coconut and blend again.
• Pour the gravy into the pan with the vegetables.  Add 1/2 c. water into the empty blender and swish it around to loosen up whatever gravy was left behind.  Dump this in the pan too.  Turn the heat to about medium and let the curry simmer until the vegetables are cooked.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Once the vegetables are cooked–tender, but not mushy–toss in 2 tbsp. chopped cashew nuts and a small handful of golden raisins.  Finish with 2 tbsp. half and half (if using)-stir to combine. Garnish with chopped coriander.
• Serve with rice or rotis…and enjoy!

Vegetable Manchurian (Dry or with Gravy)

I found this recipe for Vegetable Manchurian on Sailu's Kitchen.  There are some very useful photos of the different steps on that site too.

Vegetable Manchurian is a favorite dish of both Sameer's and mine.  They're like spicy meatball appetizers, except instead of meat they're made up of vegetables and fried.  They're delicious, and you can serve them dry on a platter with little toothpicks in them if you're having a get-together, or you can make the accompanying gravy and serve them over a bed of rice, as I plan to do.  They tend to be spicy, but you can adjust the heat to your own liking by adjusting the amount of chiles and things containing chiles.

Ingredients
2 cups finely chopped capsicum, cabbage, carrot, beans and spring onion whites (packed cups)
2 tbs all-purpose flour
2 tbs corn starch
1/2 tbs rice flour
1 tbs ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
1/4 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
warm water as required (less than 1/2 cup is needed)
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
For sauce:
1/4 cup spring onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbs finely minced garlic
1/2 tbs finely minced ginger
2 finely chopped green chillis
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (preferably Kashmiri)
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tbs chilli sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 tbs tomato sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
salt as required
1 tbs sesame oil
1 1/2 – 2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves OR spring onion greens

Directions

1. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel.

2. In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, cornflour, rice flour, salt, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, pepper powder, soy sauce, salt and all the finely chopped vegetables. Sprinkle little water to make a thick mixture. Add water little by little and use only as much water as required to form small balls.

3. Carefully place each ball into the hot oil. Do not crowd the vessel. Reduce flame and deep fry the vegetable balls till cooked. Increase the flame towards the end of the cooking process and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove onto absorbent paper and keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a large wok and once the oil is piping hot, add the chopped garlic and stir fry for a few seconds. Add the green chillis and ginger and stir fry on high for a few seconds.

5. Add the whites of spring onions and stir fry on high for 2 minutes, constantly tossing them.

6. Add the vegetable balls and stir fry for another 3 minutes. They should retain their crunch. Reduce to medium heat and add the brown sugar, soya sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add 3-4 tbsps of water and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Toss on high flame for 1-2 mts. Turn off heat. Garnish with the chopped spring onion greens and/or coriander leaves. 

For the Gravy:

1. Mix a tbs of corn starch in a little water. Keep aside.

2. After following step 5 above, add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and add the brown sugar, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chilli sauce and vinegar.

3. Add the corn starch water slowly and keep stirring till it takes a thick gravy like consistency. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat.

4. Add the balls to the gravy at the time of serving. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and/or coriander leaves. 

Chilli Garlic Noodles

After two weeks in a row of trying to get Indo-Chinese takeout and having our plans foiled, I've found a recipe for my favorite dish there.  This recipe comes from Shweta in the Kitchen and looked the tastiest of the ones I saw while browsing the internets.

Ingredients
1 packet of Noodles (I use a 16 oz. box of 100% whole wheat spaghetti noodles)
5-6 small sized spring onion bulbs cut in julienne
Few spring Onions green cut in julienne
1/8 cabbage cut in julienne (I use half a green cabbage.  I shred the whole thing my salad shooter, put half in a sealed container in the fridge for the following week, and rinse the other half in a colander for same day use.  Do NOT rinse the half you plan to store.  Washed cabbage begins to reek almost immediately.  Ask me how I know.)
1 carrot cut in julienne (I use more like 3 carrots, shredded in my salad shooter.)
1/2 green capsicum cut in julienne (I just chop an entire green bell pepper for this.)
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 1/2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce (I make Milder Chile-Garlic paste and use half of it each time I make this dish.  It has almost no heat, so I then add spicy chilli garlic sauce to taste -- about 2 tsp would do for the whole skillet.)
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce (I use at least double this amount and often add more to my plate.)
1-2 tbsp oil for cooking
salt & pepper to taste  

Directions

1. Boil noodles as per package instructions. Drain & soak in cold water for about 5 mins to prevent them from cooking further. Drain & mix with 1 tbsp of oil to prevent them from sticking. Keep aside.  (I am too lazy for this.  I cook the noodles while I cook the veggies, then just toss them into the skillet with the finished veggies.)

2. In a wok, heat some oil & once hot add ginger garlic paste. Saute for a minute & add the spring onions. Saute for a min  again.

3. Now add the green capsicum, carrots & cabbage. Saute till these veggies a partially cooked. Try to retain the crunchiness of these veggies. 

4. Add  chilli garlic sauce, soya sauce, vinegar & salt pepper. Mix well.

5. Add the drained & cooked noodles & mix well till all is well combined.

6. Top it with some spring onions green (reserve half for garnishing) & mix well. Cook for about 1-2 mins. 

[Edited 7/3/13:  It's delicious, but OMG it tastes like burning!  I used about 16 oz of whole wheat spaghetti and reduced the chilli-garlic sauce to 2 tbs, and the level of spice was on par with the spiciest thing I ever ate in India.  I ate everything on the plate and plan to eat the leftovers for lunch, but I had to get up twice to get more water and tissues.  Next time I will reduce the chilli-garlic sauce to 1 tbs and increase garlic paste to 2 tsp.  More veggies wouldn't be bad either, though this amount was comparable to how they do it in restaurants.]

Pav Bhaji

This is my first attempt at making pav bhaji myself and without any help from Sameer or his mom.  I found this recipe on VegRecipesofIndia.com.  I tried this recipe out for the first time last week and it was fantastic.  Even Simran liked it, as long as she had plenty of pav with her bhaji (it was a good level of spice for me, but maybe a bit much for a baby).  The version below is not identical to the original -- it's my version, based on making it slightly less spicy and only using the vegetables I'm used to having in pav bhaji.  The raw red onion on top is KEY when you eat it.  Don't leave it out!

Ingredients

• 2 medium size potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
• 1 large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 cup red and/or green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 to 3 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1 or 2 tbs pav bhaji masala (I prefer 1/2 tbs.)
• 1 tsp chili powder or freshly pounded 1-2 dry deseeded red chilies (I use the former.)
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Amul butter as much you want (I used ghee until I ran out, then regular butter.)
• salt, to taste
• 12 pavs (This time around, I just made white rolls, buttered and toasted lightly in the toaster oven.  Fantastic.)

Directions

1. Boil potatoes and peas until tender.  Add peas near the end since they require less time to cook.  Drain.
2. Mash the vegetables lightly and keep aside.
3. In a pan, add butter.
4. When the butter melts, add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the chopped onions.
5. Fry the onions till they become transparent. Now add the ginger-garlic paste (I had none, so I used ginger paste and a clove of minced garlic this time).
6. Fry till the raw smell of the ginger-garlic paste disappears.
7. Add chopped green chilies and fry for a minute.
8. Add the tomatoes and fry them till they become soft and mushy.
9. Add the chopped bell pepper. Now add the chili powder, turmeric powder and pav bhaji masala.
10. Mix the dry masalas well. Fry for few minutes till the bell peppers become a little soft, but not mushy.
11. Now add the mashed vegetables.
12. Combine the mashed vegetables well with the masala.
13. Add some water. Keep on stirring and let the vegetable simmer for 7-8 minutes. 
14. If the vegetable becomes too dry and then add some more water.
15. When done, garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with chopped onions and chopped lime.
16. While serving, add amul butter to the bhaji and serve with buttered pavs.
17. Slice the pavs.
18. On a flat pan, heat some butter.
19. When the butter melts, keep the pavs on the melted butter so that it absorbs the butter and fry for a minute. (Alternately, if you have a toaster oven, butter the pavs and then toast for about 2 minutes in the toaster oven.  Please note: a toaster oven is NOT the same thing as a toaster).
20. If you want to make the pav crisp, fry for a few more minutes. Serve the pavs hot with the bhaji.