Gujarati Kadhi (yoghurt based sweet and sour white curry)

Kadhi or karhi is a North Indian dish. It is a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour (called Besan in Hindi) to which sour yogurt is added to give it little sour taste. It is often eaten with boiled rice or roti. t is considered a light food. Rajasthani andGujarati kadhi differs from the Uttar Pradesh variety. Traditionally, it is sweeter than the other variants, because sugar or jaggery is added to it, but it can be made without sugar for a more sour taste. The Gujarati kadhi is made preferably from buttermilk as it gives a more smooth texture compared to yogurt.

Gujarati Kadhi is a yogurt based sweet and spicy curry that is simple yet irresistible; it gets the sweetness from jaggery, the spice from cinnamon and the heat from green chillies and lends itself to a pure comfort meal. Kadhi goes well with any vegetable and especially when you have legumes as one of the main dishes. The yogurt-based gravy lightens the protein rich legumes, making you feel light after a meal. It is also traditionally served along with Khichdi together known as Khichdi Kadhi.

Gujarati Kadhi@frenslunchbox.com

Cooking time – 30 minutes

Preparation time 15 minutes

Makes: 3-4 servings


Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons gram flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar powdered
• salt to taste

Ingredients for seasoning

• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida powder
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon
• 3 -4 cloves
• 1 small piece ginger
• 2 slit green chillies
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 8 – 10 curry leaves, finely chopped

buttermilk and gram flour mix@frenslunchbox.com

Method

• Combine buttermilk and gram flour, churn through a hand grinder, until the gram flour completely dissolves in the buttermilk
• Heat ghee and oil in a sauce pan on medium heat; add asafoetida powder, the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Stir in the curry leaves, cinnamon, green chillies, cloves and ginger.
• Gradually, add the buttermilk mixture to the above seasoning and allow the mixture to come to a boil whisking it occasionally.
• Keep whisking it it during the process of boiling makes it a perfect and smooth mixture and prevents any curdling. Turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes.
• Turn off heat and stir in the with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve the Gujarati Kadhi hot along with plain rice

Seasoning Ingredients for Gujarati Kadhi – cumin, mustard seeds, ginger piece, curry leaves,cloves, cinnamon, green chillies and Asfoetida@frenslunchbox.com

Quick tip – If sourness is not there in curd one can add lemon juice or amchur/dry mango powder in the kadhi to make it sweet and sour and a great taste

Vermicelli Upma

Vermicelli upma or seviyan upma is another version of making popular south Indian breakfast recipe of upma. Upma is traditionally made from semolina (suji) but you can also make it with seviyan or vermicelli.

Vermicelli is mostly known and used for making vermicelli kheer or pudding but there are few other recipes where we can use it, For example vermicelli cutlet, dry sweet vermicelli dish or this upma recipe. Seviyan are either made from wheat flour or maida (all purpose flour). I personally recommend and prefer seviyan made from wheat flour as they are healthier than the ones made from maida.

 

Preparation time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 10 minutes

Serves 2 people

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups seviyan or fine whole wheat vermicelli, roasted and kept aside

                   Roasted Vermicelli@frenslunchbox.com

   

• 

  Vermicelli Upma@frenslunchbox.com

  1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

• 9-10 curry leaves
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• a pinch of asafoetida/hing (optional)
• 1 cup water
• salt as required
• 2 tbsp oil or ghee

Methodology

• Roast the vermicelli till browned or you can use ready roasted vermicelli.
• Heat oil or ghee in a pan.
• Add the mustard seeds, urad dal and the cumin. After 10 seconds add the onions and saute till they become brownish in color
• Now add the curry leaves, ginger, green chill and saute till the raw aroma of the ginger goes away.
• Add Asafoetida and stir for a few seconds.
• Add water, salt and let the mixture come to a boil.
• Lower the flame and add the roasted vermicelli.
• Stir and cook the vermicelli till they become soft and all the water is absorbed.
• Serve the  hot vermicelli upma with tomato sauce to make it more tasty

Methi Mutter bhaji (fenugreek leaves and green peas vegetable)

Methi Mutter ki sabzi@ frenslunchbox.com

Methi Mutter bhaji (fenugreek leaves and green peas vegetable)

This one came from SD, during his bachelorhood times, his cook used to often make this recipe and SD would lavishly eat it with roti/chapati. So much so that one day SD recommended that I speak to his cook over the phone and understand how this vegetable is prepared so its partially from my kitchen but wholly a brain child of SD’s cook. Before sharing the ingredients and methodology of this recipe, I did a small research to understand the nutrition value of methi (fenugreek leaves and muter (green peas), here is what I pulled out……

The seeds and leaves of methi (fenugreek) are readily available and widely used in Indian kitchen. They have a strong aroma and a bitter taste. But when used in small quantities they impart flavor to your food. It is commonly used in curries, vegetable dishes, dals and not to forget the mouth-watering methi paratha. But did you know that methi is a rich reservoir of medicinal properties too? Methi contains protein, fibre, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, iron and alkaloids. It also contains a compound diosgenin which has oestrogen-like properties, as well as steroidal saponins. These compounds impart many benefits to methi – from being your beauty product to being an answer to your health problems!

Green peas too have medicinal benefits and I usually call them the green pearls, don’t they resemble pearls, well except the shine and off white color,  I feel peas definitely resemble pearls. We don’t usually think about green peas as an exotic food in terms of nutrient composition—but we should. Because of their sweet taste and starchy texture, we know that green peas must contain some sugar and starch (and they do). But they also contain a unique assortment of health-protective phytonutrients. The unique phytonutrients in green peas also provide us with key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Just one cup of peas contains 44% of your Vitamin K which helps to anchor calcium inside the bones. It’s B vitamins also help to prevent osteoporosis.

So let’s get down on the recipe.

This Recipe serves 2 persons

Preparation time – 30 minutes

Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

 

250 gms methi (fenugreek) leaves (2 bundles) washed and chopped finely

100 gms mutter (green peas) boiled

50 gms coriander leaves chopped finely

1 onion chopped finely

10 garlic cloves grated finely

1 small tomato chopped finely

2 tbsp mustard (sarson) oil

1tsp fennel (saunf) seeds

1tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp (coriander powder)

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp sugar

Salt as per taste

Methodology

• Heat mustard (sarson oil in pan) and add fennel seeds
• Add chopped garlic and onion and sauté on medium flame
• Once the onions turn golden brown, add boiled green peas and the spices haldi, chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala (do not yet add the salt and sugar)
• Add 10 ml water and put the lid on the pan and let the masala get soaked into the peas, remove lid after 5 to 7 minutes
• Once the green peas soak the masala, add the chopped methi and coriander leaves. A quick tip here would be to drain all water from the greens, the vegetable tastes better without a curry form.
• Again put the lid and let the vegetable cook for 10 minutes on low flame. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and now add salt, sugar and chopped tomatoes, don’t turn off that gas knob as yet. Mix the vegetable well  till tomatoes turn pulpy.

Serve hot with roti/naan/chapati

Sooji Halwa (Semolina pudding)

Suji halwa@frenslunchbox.com

Just one of those easy recipes that you can make in a nick of time. Often eaten as a dessert, sooji halwa also is made to offer as prasad in Indian temples. Semolina is a very gritty, coarse type of flour, usually made from wheat however the term is also applied to maize. It contains the nutritious heart (endosperm) of the grain, which is left behind during milling when the finer flour is sifted. Semolina is made from durum wheat, a hard variety of wheat quite unlike the wheat used to make bread. Durum semolina is commonly used in the manufacturing of pasta because of its high gluten content, which gives the pasta its pleasant taste and ensures that it retains its shape during the cooking process.

This low-fat, high carbohydrate food offers a lot of energy along with a variety of other nutrients. It is low in cholesterol and sodium and fairly high in fibre and can be safely incorporated into a well-balanced diet. Semolina is high in protein, very high in complex carbohydrates and fairly high in potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and fibre, with some iron, zinc, manganese and copper.  It is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contains zero trans fatty acids. It is high in vitamin E and contains a fair amount of the B complex vitamins (especially folic acid). Because semolina is made from durum wheat and not the softer wheat that goes into bread, it is digested more slowly and has a low glycemic index, which is good news for people wishing to control or reduce their weight and blood sugar, and especially for diabetics. The high carbohydrate content makes semolina an ideal food for active, energetic people. Especially significant are potassium, which supports good kidney and heart function and the smooth function of other muscles, phosphorus, required by the body to metabolize energy, magnesium for healthy muscles, bones and nerves, calcium for strong bones and zinc to boost the immune system.

Here’s the quick recipe to sooji halwa.

Cooking time – 15 minutes

Preparation time – 10 minutes

# serves 4 pax

Ingredients:

• 1 and a 1/2 cups sooji (rawa/semolina)
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 3/4 cup mixture of cashews (coarsely chopped ) and whole raisins/ sultanas
• 3 cups hot water
• 1/2 cup whole/ full cream milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 pods of green cardamom split open

Preparation:

• Heat a deep pan on a medium heat and when hot add the ghee. When it melts, add the Sooji and mix well.
• Roast the Sooji (stirring frequently) till it begins to turn a very light golden color and give off a faint aroma. The roasted Sooji will have the grainy consistency of wet sand. Now add the cashews and raisins to the Sooji and mix well.
• While you are roasting the Sooji, in a separate pot and on medium heat, bring a mixture of the milk, water, sugar and cardamom to a boil, stirring often.
• When the Sooji is roasted, gently add the water and milk mixture, stirring all the while to prevent lumps from forming. If any do form, make sure to break them with the back of the stirring spoon so you get a smooth paste-like consistency. Cook the mixture till it is thick and begins to come away from the sides of the pan.
• Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool to a warm temperature. Serve now in individual bowls.

Quick tip – a few strands of saffron (kesar) will make the halwa/pudding orange in color. Down south it is called kesari bhaath because of the saffron color.

Rajma (Red kidney beans cooked in onion tomato curry)

Rajma @frenslunchbox.com

Rajma is a popular Indian vegetarian dish consisting of red kidney beans in thick gravy with lots of Indian whole spices and usually served with rice and roti. Although the kidney bean is not of Indian origin, it is a part of regular diet in Northern India. This dish developed after the red kidney bean was brought to the Indian subcontinent from Central Mexico and Guatemala. About 100 grams of boiled Rajma beans contain 140 calories. 5.7 grams of protein, 5.9 grams of fat and nearly 17.8 grams of carbohydrate.

The red kidney bean is actually not of Indian origin but native to the New World – Central Mexico and Guatemala. The Spaniards and the Portuguese brought the bean back to Europe. The dry seeds were most valuable source of protein for sailors, and ships soon carried the kidney bean to Africa and Asia.

In India, Red Kidney beans are soaked for overnight and cooked in rich, thick gravy on slow heat. Slow cooking makes this rich and flavorful in taste. This curry goes best with Rice plater, like Jeera rice or Plain rice.

# this recipe serves 2 persons

Preparation Time – 15 minute (s)

Cooking Time – 30 Minute (s)

• 2 onions finely chopped 

chopped tomatoes@frenslunchbox.com

• 6 garlic cloves finely grated
• 1 Tomato finely chopped
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves)
• 2 tsp salt (as per taste)
• 1 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• 3 tsp coriander powder
• Coriander leaves for garnish
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Rajma Masala (Coriander seeds, dried mango powder, cumin, dried pomegranate seeds, dried ginger, Mint dried, large cardamom seeds)*
  

 

\

*Readymade Rajma masala available in market can be used alternatively as all ingredients may not be available to make Rajma masala at home + it is a bit tedious to make the masala at home

chopped onions@frenslunchbox.com

boiled Rajma@frenslunchbox.com

 

Methodology

Pressure cook red kidney beans in a cooker by adding 450 ml water (up to 6 whistles), keep aside

Heat oil in the cooking pan and add kasuri methi to hot oil

Immediately add onions and garlic, fry till onions become golden brown

Add chopped tomatoes and add salt, coriander powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder and Rajma Masala

Simmer the gravy for 8 – 10 minutes on medium flame

 

Add the Rajma (red kidney beans) to the thick curry. One useful tip here is to retain the water used to pressure cook the beans this will not only add color to the thick curry but also holds good nutritional value

Let the Rajma cook on low flame for 20 minutes. Alternatively you could pressure cook the final Rajma curry (up to 4 – 5 whistles) this will soften the curry.

Take the pan off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves

Serve hot with plain rice/Jeera rice or just Roti (s)

 

Indian Kitchen – A sneak peek

Before I start sharing recipes from my kitchen on this blog, I thought why not put up a glossary of Indian spices and herbs. So here is a complete list which will give you a sneak peek of the Indian spices/nuts/legumes/vegetables/fruits/popular dishes. In a way I shouldn’t be calling it complete as I am a pure vegetarian and the list doesn’t have the non vegetarian and egg -itarian recipes.

Spices and herbs
Asafoedita… Hing Basil, holy… Tulsi Bay leaf… Tej patta Black pepper… Kali mirchi Black/Rock salt… Kala namak Capers… Kachra Caraway seed… Shahi jeera Cardamom, black… Badi elaichi/kali elaichi Cardamom, green… Choti elaichi Carom/thyme Seed… Ajwain Celery seed… Ajmud Cinnamon… Dalchini Cinnamon buds… Naaga keshar Citric acid… Saji ke phool Clove… Laung Coriander powder… Dhania powder/pisa dhania	Coriander seed… Dhania Cloves… Lavang Cumin, black… Kali zeera Cumin seed… Jeera Curry tree/Sweet neem… Kadipatta Dill… Soa sag Fennel seed… Saunf Fenugreek leaf… Kasoori methi Garam masala… Garam masala Ginger… Adrak Ginger, dried… Sonth Licorice powder… Jethmadh Mace… Javitri Mango extract… Camiki Mango powder… Aamchur Mint… Pudina	Molasses/unrefined sugar… Jaggery/gur Mustard oil… Sarson tel Mustard seed yellow… Sarson Mustard seed, brown… Rai Nutmeg… Jaiphal Peppercorns… Kali mirch Pomegranate seed… Anardana Poppy seeds… Khus khus Saffron… Kesar, Zaafraan Saffron pulp… Kesar miri miri Salt… Namak Sesame seed… Til Star anise… Chakra phool Tamarind… Imli Tea… Chai Tumeric… Haldi Vinegar… Sirka White pepper… Safed mirchi

 

Nuts/Legumes/Grains	Vegetables	Fruits
Almond… Badam Black eyes peas… Chawli /lobhia Cashew… Kaju Chickpeas, brown… Chana Chickpeas, green… Hara chana Chickpeas, white… Khabuli chana Gram flour (chickpea)… Besan Maize/corn flour… Makai ka atta Peanuts… Moongphali Pistachios… Pista Puffed rice… Kurmura Red kidney beans… Rajma Red lentils… Masoor Refined/plain flour… Maida Rice… Chawal Semolina… Rava/suji Split Bengal gram… Chana dal Split black gram… Urad dal/kaali dal Split red/yellow gram… Toovar dal/arhar dal Split red lentil… Masoor dal Walnut… Akhrot Vermicelli… Seviyan Wheat… Gehun Wheat flour… Gehun ka atta	Asparagus… Musli/shatwar/sootmooli/halyan Avocado… Makhanphal Bottle gourd… Doodhi Cabbage… Patta gobi Carrot… Gajar Cauliflower… Phool gobi Celery… Doroo Chili, green hot… Hari mirch Chili, red… Lal mirchi Corn on cob… Bhutta Corn, kernel… Makai Corriander, fresh… Dhania Cucumber… Kheera Dillweed… Suvabhaji Egg plant… Brinjal/biangan French beans… Flat beans Garlic… Lahsun Lotus stem… Kamal kakdior/bhien Mustard greens… Sarson Mushrooms… Goochi Okra… Bhindi Olives… Zeetoon/ziatoon Onion… Pyaaz Peas… Matar Pepper, capsicum/bell… Shimla mirch Pepper, yellow… Peeli mirchi Potato… Aloo Pumpkin… Kadhu Radish… Mooli Salad leaves/endives… Gulsuchal Spinach… Palak Sweet potato… Shakarkand Tapioca… Simla aloo Tomato… tamatar Water chestnuts… Shingara	Apple… Seb Appricot, dried… Khumani Banana… Kela Cantelope… Kharbooja Coconut… Naryal Dates… Khajur Figs… Anjeer Grapes… Angoor Guavas… Amrood Jackfruit… Kathal Lemon/Lime… Neembu/nimbu Litchie… Lichee Mango… Aam Mulberry… Shehtooth Muskmelon… Kharbooja Orange… Santra Papaya… Papeeta Pear… Nashpati Pineapple… Ananas Plum… Aloobukara Pomegranate… Anar Raisin/currants… Kishmish Sweet lime… Mosambi Watermelon… Tarbooj, kalingad

 

 

Dairy	Popular Dishes
Butter milk… Mattha/chhaach Clarified butter… Ghee Cottage cheese… Paneer Cream… Malai Curd… Dahi Dried whole milk… Khoya/mawa	Achar… Pickles (any type) Biryani… Spicy rice casserole Dal… A dish prepared with lentils in a spicy gravy Korma… vegetables in a thick, creamy sauce Lassi… A creamy yogurt drink Masala… Spice blend Naan… Flat bread cooked in a tandoor Pakora… Fritter dipped in a spicy batter, usually made with besan Pani… Water Paratha… Flat bread fried on a griddle basted with oil or ghee Poori… Deep-fried bread Pulao… Rice pilaf Roti… Thin bread cooked on a griddle Saag… Any greens palak/methi/sarson Samosa… Triangular flaky pastry stuffed with potatoes filling Tandoor… Clay oven that uses high temperatures Tandoori… Any dish cooked in a tandoor Vegetables… Sabji