Monday 23 June 2014

Curd Rice with a Twist

Curd Rice is famous recipe from southern parts of India and is normally consumed at the end of a meal. This recipe is authentically cooked sans any spices and hence is very light on stomach.

Here I am presenting a little twisted version of it and hope you will enjoy it as an option when you feel like eating light on stomach khichdi.


Ingredients:

  1. Rice - 1 cup
  2. 1 cup boiled american corns 
  3. 2 capsicums finely chopped
  4. curry leaves - 6-8
  5. chana daal - 2 spoon
  6. urad daal (white) - 2 spoons
  7. Ginger finely chopped or grated - 1 spoon
  8. 2 green chilies finely chopped
  9. 2 cup curd
  10. salt to taste
  11. black pepper to taste
  12. mustard seeds - 1 spoon

Serves : 2 people



Method:

  1. Cook rice by boiling them in more that double the amount of water. We need rice to be a little over cooked for this recipe .
  2. When rice is done, then drain them by removing access water and let them cool.
  3. Heat a pan and add 1 spoon oil to it.
  4. When oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
  5. Add urad daal and chana daal to this and let it cook for 2-3 mins.
  6. Add green chilies, curry leaves and ginger to the pan and give a good stir for another 2 mins
  7. Now add boiled corns and capsicum to the pan and stir well. Let this cook for 2 mins and then turn off the flame as we do not want the vegetables to over cook.
  8. Whisk the curd and add it to the rice bowl. Stir well while mashing the rice with spoon.
  9. Add some salt and pepper according to your taste to this and mix again.
  10. Now add the prepared vegetable tampering to the bowl and give one final stir.
  11. This can be consumed as it is or chilled with some chutney or home made pickle.



Sunday 22 June 2014

Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

1. Bhindi or Okra - 1/2 Kg
2. Medium size onions - 4
3. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
4. Coriander powder - 2 tbl spoon
5. Amchoor/dry mango powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
6. Chatt masala - 1/2 tbl spoon
7. Chana masala - 1 tbl spoon
8. Salt to taste
9. Mustard oil - 3 spoon

Serves - 3-4 people


Method:


1. Wash bhindi/okra and dry it properly with a cloth. It should be dried very properly otherwise it secrets a transparent sticky material.
2. Chop dried bhindi in round psc.
3. Chop 4 onions roughly in thick psc.
4. Heat a flat botton pan and add mustard oil to it. Let the oil burn for 3-4 mins or till the time it releases its smell.
5. Add Onions to the oil and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame.
6. Add bhindi tho this and let it cook on slow flame for 10-12 mins. Keep stirring in between.
7. Once the bhindi is a little tender add all the dry spices except salt and mix well. Let it cook for another 3-5 mins.
8. Add salt and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame. Then serve hot with chapatis.


Tips to cook okra :

1. Do not put water in okra.
3. Dry it properly before chopping.
4. Okra is not good for people with kidney stones.

Okra Nutrition (half-cup cooked okra)

  • Calories = 25
  • Dietary Fiber = 2 grams
  • Protein = 1.5 grams
  • Carbohydrates = 5.8 grams
  • Vitamin A = 460 IU
  • Vitamin C = 13 mg
  • Folic acid = 36.5 micrograms
  • Calcium = 50 mg
  • Iron = 0.4 mg
  • Potassium = 256 mg  
  • Magnesium = 46 mg