Spicy Potato Curry

Potatoes with a tint of spicy taste is my favorite, especially with the Indian Bread Chappathi. The spicy touch of red chillies with potatoes is a good combination. I love it with herbs and a tinge of tanginess from tomatoes.

Ingredients

• Potatoes- 6 nos
• Onions  - 2 medium
• Shallots - 6 nos
• Tomato- 1 large
• Garlic   - 4 cloves
• Ginger -  1/2 inch
• Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 3 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Garam Masala
• All spices leaves- 2
• Rambha leaves- 1 large
• Oil

Method

• Peel potatoes and dice them 
• Heat a pressure cooker
• Add oil and add mustard seeds. Pop them.
• Add a pinch of cumin seeds and pop them too
• Add All spices leaves and rambha leaves and saute
• Now add finely chopped onions, shallots, ginger pieces and garlic pieces to the oil and saute till golden brown
• Now add the spices to the pan and saute for 2 min
• Add in the finely chopped tomatoes
• Saute well
• Now add the diced potatoes and a small amount of water for them to cook
• Add in salt and garam masala. Mix well
• Close lid of pressure cooker and cook for 10 to 15 min
• After 10 min open lid and remove the contents to a serving bowl
• Serve hot with Chapattis
• Enjoy!!

Vellarikka Pachadi

Ingredients 

• Cucumber cut into small cubes- 1 cup
• Shallots - 4-5
• Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds powder - a pinch
• Garlic- 2 cloves
• Curd - 1 cup
• Coconut grating - 1/2 cup
• Salt
• Oil
• Curry leaves

Method of Making pachadi with pictures

1. Cut cucumbers into small cubes and add them to a pan

2. Add one chilly, small amount of salt and a bit of water. Close the lid of the pan and cook in slow flame.

3. In a mixer jar, add coconut gratings, musturd seeds (1/4tsp), cumin seed powder (jeera-a pinch), shallots (kochulli - 4 no) and garlic cloves (2nos). Run the mixer and to get a loose consistency, you may add a bit of water.

4. Now add the ground coconut mix to the cooked cucumber pieces

5. Mix the curd well with the cooked cucumber pieces. You may add water. Add salt and make sure you do not add too much of salt. Cook for 2 min in slow flame. Do not allow to boil.

6. Open the lid of the pan 

 7. Now add 1/2 a cup curd to the cooked cucumbers and check salt.

8. Garnish with curry leaves and serve with rice and other vegetable curries.

Garam Masala

Garam Masala gives the spicy touch to any non-vegetarian or vegetarian dish. To make garam masala powder, you need to spend some amount of your quality time, to get the right spices and prepare them the proper manner to spice up any Indian dish.

Ingredients

• Fennel Seeds - 500 gm
• Cinnamon or Karuga Patta - 50gm
• Cloves - 15 nos
• Star Anise- 2
• Mace of Nutmeg- 5 no
• Nutmeg- 1/4
• Poppy seeds- 250 gm

Method

• Heat a pan
• Add fennel seeds, cloves, star anise, mace of nutmeg and nutmeg and dry roast well
• Remove the roasted spices
• To the same pan, add cinnamon and roast separately for 5 min
• Remove from flame
• Now you may roast the poppy seeds in the same manner and keep aside
• When the spices cool down, add them to a mixer jar and grind them to powder
• Store in an air tight container
• You may even roast the spices in microwave. But care should be taken not to roast them too much.

Peanut Salad

Peanut Salad is a quick and easy salad which can do magic during parties. It can serve as a starter or can accompany your main dish. Its simple, tasty and addictive too. Check out the procedure of making this tasty salad and Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• Peanuts- 250 gms 
• Onion- 1 large
• Green chilly - 1
• Vinegar - a dash
• Salt

Method

• Finely chop the onion and green chilly
• In a clean bowl, mix all the ingredients
• Check salt. Make sure you add the right amount of salt.
• Serve and enjoy!!

Egg Curry

Egg curries are usually made when you prefer something tasty within a few minutes. I love making variations of egg curries which is loved by all at home. Usually they go well with Appam, Rotis, Naan and even Rice.

This egg curry is a totally different one that does taste spicy and has all the goodness of coconut milk. Try this out with rotis and make your supper super cool.

Ingredients

• Eggs - 4
• Onions - 4
• Tomatoes - 2 
• Chilly powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder- a pinch
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Coconut Milk- 1/2 -3/4 cup
• Salt
• Oil

Method 

• Full boil eggs, peel the skin
• Make slits on the egg and keep them aside
• Finely chop onions
• Finely chop tomatoes
• Heat a pan and pour some oil
• Add onions and saute till transparent
• Now add Ginger Garlic paste and saute well
• Add Red chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder and saute
• Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute well
• Now add a glass of water to the paste and let it boil
• You may now add some amount of coconut milk to it
• Add salt and let it boil
• Remove the contents in a bowl and arrange the eggs neatly.
• Serve hot with Rotis, Appam or Naan

Aloo Bhindy Sabzi

Aaloo Bhindi Sabzi is a Punjabi dish that is very simple to make and very tasty too. You can prepare this dish within minutes and you simply can resist its yummy taste with rotis.

Ingredients

• Ladies Finger/Bhindi- 300 gms
• Potato - 2 large
• Onions- 2 
• Ginger Garlic Paste- 1/4 tsp
• Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/8 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp
• Dry mango powder (Optional)- a pinch
• Salt
• Oil

Method

• Heat a pan 
• Add oil
• Fry cubed potatoes till they are cooked completely
• Remove from flame when done and remove the excess oil by placing them on a tissue
• In the same oil, fry bhindi pieces till they become light brown in colour
• Remove the fried bhindi after they are fried properly and drain off excess oil by placing them on tissue paper

• In the same oil, add finely chopped onions and saute well till they turn golden brown
• Now you may add Ginger Garlic paste and saute them till it loses the raw smell
• Add Red chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and saute well
• You may now add the finely chopped tomatoes to the spices
• Saute the tomatoes till they cook well
• Now add half a cup of water and allow the tomato mix to boil well

• Now it is time to add the fried potatoes and bhindi to the pan
• Add sufficient salt to it
• Add asafoetida and garam masala too
• The optional ingredient, dry mango powder has to be added at this point. I have avoided it. You may add it if you want to.
• Mix well gently for 1 min
• Serve hot with Rotis

Pulisadam

I remember Pulisadam as a favorite food item in my lunch box when I was a child. Though I loved other lunch box varieties when i was at school, I prefered to choose Pulisadam the most because it did not spill out and spoil my books. Moreover, my Mom used to make the best Pulisadam I had ever tasted in my whole life, so could not resist asking her to make it each time she asked me what I preferred for my lunch breaks.

This tangy rice delicacy is a quick and easy one to make, and I think anyone who prefer rice as their lunch would defenitely fall in love with it.

Ingredients (Serves 1)

• Cooked rice - 3 cups
• Shallots- 5 nos
• Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida powder - 1/8 tsp
• Tamarind paste- 1 tsp
• Salt- Not too much - 1/4 tsp would do. But make sure you check the saltiness before adding it to the rice.
• Water- 1/4 cup
• Mustard seeds- 1/8 tsp
• Curry leaves
• Oil - 1 tsp

Method

• Heat a pan
• Pour oil
• Add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter
• Add finely chopped shallots and saute well
• In a small bowl, add water, chilly powder, asafoetida powder, salt and tamarind paste, and mix well
• Add the tamarind mix to the shallots and allow it to boil
• Now you may add the cooked rice to the pan
• Check salt
• Mix the tamarind mixture to the rice perfectly well
• Now you may close the lid for 5 min
• Serve or pack the rice in a lunch box after 5 min
• Enjoy a tangy lunch with coconut chutney or vegetable thoran.