Cluster Beans Fry/Goruchikkudu Pappu Koora

An aunt of mine loves to cook. This Koora is what made me her fan. she is the only one in the entire family who makes this simple food and makes us drool and beg for more. I love it and would devour it with  ghee and rice. Today, after months, I decided to make it.
 Here is my version of the good old Andhra Koora. Justice to her cooking and mine is bah....

Cluster Beans Koora

Ingredients

Cluster Beans - 250 gms
Red Chillies - 3
Channa Dal/Bengal Gram - one fist full
Jeera/Cumin - 1 table spoon
Oil - 3 table spoons
Garlic - 3 cloves
Salt - As per taste

Method

• 
  Soak Dal,Chillies,Jeera in water for half hour and then grind them in a mixer,add a little water. The paste should be thick and not running. this(above) is how it should look like.
  
  
  
  Now cut the beans into an inch and pressure cook them without a whistle for about 5 minutes.
  
  
  
  Pound Garlic in the mortar (i love showing off the one i got in my kitchen)
  
  
  
  Take a pan, pour the oil and add garlic,let it fry till brown and not black.
  
  
  
   Add dal paste to the pan and keep stirring it. the main point here is, it should not stick to the pan, a little bit is ok.
  
  
  After about 10 minutes, this is how it will look like. there should not be any raw smell.
  
  
  
   Add the beans to this mixture, cover it with a lid and let it cook for about 7 minutes. I love my veggies crisp. so i give it about 5 minutes. do not forget to add salt here.
  
  
  Voila,Enjoy it with Rice and Go Food Happy
  
  I added a dollop of ghee to it,the place where i come from Andhra, we need our Ghee!
  
  
  "Fat gives things flavor.” 
  ― Julia Child
  
  
  
  

Soya Chunks Curry

As a kid I used to love this curry and my father used to make it every Sunday for me. We vegetarians used to call this our Mean Meat Dish! Here is my version

Soya Chunks Curry

Ingredients

Soya Chunks - half a cup
Onions - 1
Tomatoes - 3
Jeera - half a tea spoon
Oil - 2 tale spoons
Salt - to taste
Sambar Powder - 2 table spoons
Water - As required 
Rice Flour - 2 table spoons*

Method

Boil Water and add Soya Chunks,Let them cook for about 15 min, take them out and make sure you squeeze the water out

Pour oil in a pan and add jeera and then add onions. Fry till the onions are transparent. 

Now add tomatoes to it and wait till the tomatoes become a bit soft.Add salt, as they cook fast and easy.

 Now add Sambar Powder.

Close the lid and let it cook for about 7 minutes.

 Now, mix rice powder in water and mix it in the pan. Make sure that there are no lumps formed.

 Ha ha :) this picture is upside down. Now add the Soya chunks and mix it with the gravy and let it cook for another 10 min.This helps the Soya chunks to soak in the gravy.

This is how the Gravy looks, Have it with Roti or with Jeera rice or bread or just like that. We had it with Jeera Rice

* I normally use rice flour to make the gravy thick. you can use cream or coconut milk instead.

“If you're afraid of butter, use cream.” 
― Julia Child

Jeera Rice

Today is Saturday and that calls fora  lazy lunch. We have lunch at 3 pm on weekends and we have it at a leisure. No table manners, no napkins,no nothings (it is usually the same on weekdays too).

So, today I made Jeera rice and Soya Chunks curry. It was easy and can be made in a few minutes.

Jeera Rice

Ingredients
Rice - 2 and half cups
Jeera - 2 table spoons
Salt - to taste
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon - half a stick
Cloves - 4
Cashew-nuts - 10
Onions - Cut into long thin slices and deep fried*
Water - 5 cups*
Oil and Butter - 2 tea spoons each or more if you like it heavy

Method

Pour oil and butter in a rice cooker or pressure cooker, add Bay leaf,Cinnamon and cloves,let them fry for a bout half a minute.

 Now add Jeera to that and make sure it does not turn Black. Jeera fries fast so be careful.

 Now add rice to it along with water. I soaked the rice before,it cooks faster that way and then add salt.For rice cooker the timing is pretty easy. For pressure cooker wait for three whistles.

Add the Cashew-nuts and Onions and Serve it hot with Gravy. I made Soya chunks Curry.

* You can skip Onions if you want.
* This is crucial, measurement at home is  1 cup rice = 2 cups water. You please add water according to your cooking.

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food” 
― Erma Bombeck

Aloo Bonda

Bonda it is!

Today the weather in Bangalore is rainy,windy and cold. My family and I gorged on Aloo Parathas,there was some mashed potato left from that. So, I decided to make Aloo Bonda or Aloo dumplings. It came out perfect, we had it with tea and some more. Here is the Recipe,hope you enjoy making it just as I did and savor it.

Aloo Bonda

Ingredients for the mash
Potatoes - 3
Green chillies - 1
Coriander leaf -  2 twigs
Ajwain/carrom seed/omam - 1 tea spoon

Ingredients for the Batter
Besan - 1 cup
Salt - as per taste or your requirement
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tea spoon
Water - 2 cups or as per requirement

1. Pressure cook the Potatoes and wait till 5 whistles
2. Once you take them out,run cold water and peel off the skin and mash them
3. Add coriander leaf,green chilles (cut) and Carrom Seeds.
4. Take vessel,put the besan in it,add salt and chilli powder
5. Mix water and make sure it is not too watery, should be more like an in between thick and thin batter.
6. Now, instead of deep frying this, use what we call as paniyarakkal.
   

 this is how it looks like.


How to cook

• Make the mash into round balls
• dip this in the batter
• put oil in the kkal
• put the bonda inside as seen above
• flip it over only when the bottom is fried well
• make sure you don't burn it, the color should be brown and not black :)

                                         Here is what we ate! happy cooking and eat well.

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. Erma Bombeck