Bharwa bhindi (Stuffed bhindi/Stuffed Okra)

This is the most famous curry in our marwadi household and this delicacy is so relished that this curry is even  made when we have important events or guest at home. Bharwa or Bharma bhindi means stuffed bhindi made out of basic ingredient like garlic, red chilli powder etc. It is simple and yet yummy yummy. 



Ingredients
Ladies finger (bhindi) approximately 18-20
7-8 cloves of garlic pod
3-4 green chili (optional)
1/4 tbsp turmeric powder
3 tbsp coriander (dhania) powder
3 tbsp chilli powder to taste
1 tbsp dried mango powder (amchur) - optional
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1/4 tbsp hing (asafeotida)
Salt to taste
lLttle water
3 tbsp oil

How I Prepare
1. Wash the bhindi and pat dry them nicely. Make sure no water is seen.
2. Cut both the ends of bhindi, then make a slit in between lengthwise. Make sure not to split the bhindi.
3. Make garlic and green chili paste. To this add turmeric, dhania, red chilli powder, amchur and salt, combine everything into a mix by adding little water. The paste should be thick and not watery.
4. Fill each slit bhindi with the above masala and keep aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add hing, mustard seeds, jeera saute for 30 seconds. Add the stuffed bhindi and left over masala if any.
6. Cover and cook on a slow flame, stirring and turning the bhindi in between.
7. Serve hot with rotis.

Notes
1. If you want more masala, additionally you can add onion while make garlic and green chili paste. Grind everything in smooth paste.
2. This dish don't need any water while cooking. But if feel the curry is burning and needs some then add just 1 or 2 spoons water.

Simple Gobi manchurian

Gobi Manchurian the most loved Indo chinese dish in India and my hubby's all time favorite appetizer. He loves it so much that every time we go to India, this is his first MUST to have dish. Initially I use to think its tough to make it. But I was wrong if you have all the right ingredients handy, this dish is simple and easy to make. Every time I make it, I see a big smile on my hubby's face :) .


Ingredients
1 medium Gobi (Cauliflower)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (Maida) 
1 tbsp Corn Flour
1 tbsp rice flour 
Salt to taste 
1 Chopped green chili 
1 tbsp Garlic Paste
1 tbsp Ginger Paste
1/4 tbsp  pepper powder
Water to make batter.
4-5 big garlic cloves minced into small pieces
1/2 inch ginger minced into small pieces
1/2 cup capsicum cubed (red, green)
3-4 green chilies cut into half
2 tbsp Soya Sauce 
2-3 tbsp Sriracha sauce or tomato Ketchup 
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp Oil
Finely chopped Coriander Leaves 
Finely chopped spring onions leaves

How I Prepare
1. In a mix bowl add maida,  corn flour, rice flour, garlic paste, ginger paste, pepper powder, salt and few drops of  Sriracha sauce or tomato sauce.
2. Slowly add water to the above mix and make a thick batter. 
3. In a frying pan, add oil and heat it up
4. Cut the Gobi into florets and dip them in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.




5. Heat oil in another pan and add the minced ginger & garlic, chopped capsicum and green chili to it.
Saute it for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add Soya sauce, chili sauce, vinegar, sriracha sauce or tomato sauce. Mix it well.
7. Increase the flame and add fried Gobi.Mix it well. Toss it couple of times until gobi is nice and hot.
8. Garnish it with coriander leaves and spring onions and serve it hot.

 I was out of coriander and spring rolls that's the reason my Gobi is missing the garnish :)

Tomato Raitha



Ingredients
2 cups thick yogurt, whisked till smooth
1 large tomato diced into small piece
1 medium onion chopped into small pieces
3/4 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder (Or substitute with 1 green chilli)
1-2 mint leaves chopped fine (this is secret ingredients if added gives raitha a quick flavor)
Few fresh coriander leaves chopped fine
Salt to taste

How I Prepare
1.  Take a large bowl add all ingredients and mix well.
2.  Chill and serve it as side dish.

Tip
1. While peeling onion if you think it's spicy, place it in a freezer for 5-10 minutes and then chop it. This will avoid tears while chopping.

Methi Pulao/Methi Rice

My mother in law taught me this recipe and it's awesome rice item.




Ingredients
2 cups of basmati rice
1 big bunch of methi leaves chopped into small pieces
Fist full of avarekayi (kannada term) known as papdi lilva in hindi
1 large onion cut into thin long slices
1 tomato cut into small cubes
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 inch of ginger
4-5 small green chilies
2 cloves
1 cardamon
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 inch cinnamon stick
1/4 inch of anistar
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoon dhaniya powder (coriander powder)
Fist full of coriander leaves finely chopped
Few strings of mint leaves (optional) finely chopped
Salt to taste
3-4 tbs Oil
2 cup water

How I prepare
1. Wash and soak basmati rice for 30 minutes
2. In a stone pestle or any other pestle add garlic, ginger, green chilies  cloves, cinnamon stick, anistar and crush it nicely into a coarse powder. If you don't have a pestle use mixer to make a coarse paste.
3. Take a pressure cooker, heat up oil in it. Add jeera, bay leaves, cardamon and saute for few seconds then add the above mix and saute it for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add Onions and cook it until translucent. Add avarekayi, methi leaves and saute it for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add tomato, coriander and mint leaves. Cook it for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add Salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhaniya powder and mix everything nicely
7. Add rice to the above mix and fry it for 1 more minute
8. Add water and pressure cook for 2 whistles
9. Serve hot with Raita.

Notes
1. Since the basmati rice is soaked for 30 minutes it needs less water. Adjust the water according to rice you use.
2. I used frozen avarekayi, you can use peas as alternative.

Akki Rotti/Rice flour Roti

Akki rotti is a made using rice flour and is served during breakfast or evening snack item. This dish is unique to state of Karnataka. The preparation of akki rotti is similar to ragi rotti which I posted a while back. I use the same technique as ragi rotti,  spreading the dough directly on the cool pan and then cooking the rotti.


Ingredients
2 cups of rice flour
1 large onion finely chopped
3-4 green chilies finely chopped (add more for more spice)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
Few strings of coriander finely chopped
Few curry leaves roughly torn (optional)
Few teaspoon of grated coconut (optional)
Salt as per taste
Oil to spread on rotti
1 cup of Luke warm water

How I Prepare
1. In a bowl add all the above ingredients expect water and oil. Mix everything nicely few times with your hands. This helps in release the onion water and  releasing its flavor in flour.
2. Add water slowly and knead the mix into a dough. The dough should not be too hard.
3. Divide the dough into small portions.
4. Take a pan, spread little oil into it. Place the dough and start spreading into a thin circle.
5. Place the pan on the stove and cook into medium heat.
6. Once one side is little cooked, turn the roti using spatula and cook other side by applying little oil.
7. Once the other side is cooked, spread oil on turn it again. Oil should be applied both the sides
8. Cook the rotti until it turns into light golden brown color.
9. Serve hot with some chutney or pickle. I served with my garlic chutney/curry. It was awesome

Notes
1. You can add few teaspoon of chopped dill leaves known as sabbsige soppu in kannada and Suva in hindi.





Stuffed Methi Paratha/Methi Puri/Fenugreek leaves Paratha

This is a unique dish which my mom makes it often and it is one of my favorite paratha. I like it more than Aloo paratha.  
Generally with methi/fenugreek leaves thepla (Gujarati flat bread) is made. My mom makes thepla for rajasthan travel as it stays fresh for 3 days. Nothing is more awesome than to eat thepla in train for lunch along with spicy garlic chutney. Thepla is good for picnics too. 

Back to stuffed methi paratha. As I said this paratha has a unique flavor and tastes similar to Kachori (famous Rajasthani snack).


Ingredients
1 bunch of methi leaves
1 cup of besan (chickpeas flour)
3-4 pods of garlic finely chopped
3-4 green chilies (optional) finely chopped 
1 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoon dhaniya powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1/4 teaspoon of Saunf (fennel seeds)
Pinch of asafotedia (hing)
3-4 tbs of oil for stuffing
Few tbs oil while making paratha
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste
Wheat flour mixed like roti dough

How I Prepare
1. In a wide saute pan, add oil and heat up. Once hot add hing, jeera, saunf, curry leaves, garlic, green chilies and saute it for 30-60 seconds. 
2. Lower the flame and add besan flour. Mix it  nicely and saute it for few minutes until the raw smell of besan is gone. Keep stirring and make sure besan doesn't get burnt.



3. Once you get nice aroma of besan, start adding turmeric powder, red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, garam masala and salt as per taste. Mix everything and fry it for couple of minutes.

3. Wash methi leaves and chop it roughly. Add methi leaves to the above mix. The moisture in washed leaves should allow the mix to bind well. If not add few drops of water.

4. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the mix to cook for few minutes. Switch off the stove, remove the lid and allow the mix to cool down.


5. Take roti/wheat dough divide into small portions. Roll out a portion of dough into a small circle, place small ball size mix in the middle of  circle. Wrap a mix with the dough, gathering the edges together. Pinch the edges together to seal, flattening it into a disc and roll it to a size of roti ( 6 inch diameter).
6.  Place the paratha on your heated pan.  Once it is lightly cooked, flip it and let the other side cook complete. Flip it back and oil the paratha. Flip again and oil the other side too. Make sure both the sides is cooked completely before taking out of the pan.
7. Serve it hot with curd/yogurt or pickle.


Horse gram sundal/Kollu Sundal/Kulthi Sundal


Ingredients
2 cup  soaked or sprouted Horsegram
1 medium sized onion
Few curry leaves
1-2 whole red chilli break into half
3-4 green chillies finely chopped (increase it if u want more spicy)
1 teaspoon urad dal
2 teaspoon grated coconut  ( I use frozen)
3-4 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt to taste
1/4 cup water

How I Prepare
1. Pressure cook horsegram with little water and salt. I took 2 whistles. The bean should not be too hard or too mush.

2. Take a pan heat up the oil. Add hing, mustard seeds. Let the seeds splutter. Add urad dal, curry leaves, green chilies and whole red chilli.

3. Saute until the urad dal is golden brown in color.  Add onions, saute them until translucent.

4. Lower the flame,  add cooked gram and salt to taste. Mix everything nicely and cover the pan with lid and cook it for few minutes.

5. Garnish with coriander and coconut. Serve it hot as side dish or salad.

Lahsun Ki Sabzi (Garlic Curry)

Sounds Weird, but its true it's a curry served as side dish. You might have heard of garlic chutney many times but not the sabzi. My mom makes this curry often when she runs out of options and if you are a garlic fan then you will love to eat your roti's with this curry alone. 


Ingredients
2 Pods of garlic, peel the cloves and cut them into small/tiny pieces
2 teaspoon of red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (Hing)
2-3 tbs oil
3-4 teaspoon of water
Salt to taste

How I prepare
1. Take a small pan, heat up the oil in it. Add hing, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and allow the mustard to splutter. Lower the flame and add garlic and saute it for few minutes until the garlic has turned into light golden brown color. Don't allow the garlic to burn.
2. Add all the spices and salt. Add water, mix everything nicely. Allow the mix to cook until the oil separates out from the masala.
3. Serve it with Roti, Dosa or Akki Roti.

Notes
1. The curry stays good for 3-4 days outside and if refrigerated then it's good for few weeks.
2. After emptying the curry, I wipe one Roti not to waste any masala :)

Bharwa Besan Mirchi (Stuffed Mirchi)



Ingredients
5-6 Long green chilies/mirchi
1 cup besan flour (chickpea flour)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhaniya powder)
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon amchur powder
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
4-5 seeds of ajawan seeds
3-4 tbs Oil
1/4 teaspoon Asafeotida (Hing)
1 cup water
Salt to taste


How I Prepare
1. Wash the chilies and pat dry them. Cut in middle and if mirchi's are too long cut them into half. Remove the seeds if you don't want the curry to be spicy.


2. Take a pan, add little oil and roast the besan flour on medium flame until the raw smell is gone.
3. Transfer the besan in the plate and allow it to cool down.
4. Add mustard seeds, turmeric powder, dhaniya powder, red chilli powder, Salt and mix into a paste by adding water. The paste should not be too watery.

5. Fill up all the mirchi with the paste. Keep the left over paste as is.
6. Heat up oil in the pan, once hot add hing, jeera and saute for few seconds.
7. Lower the flame and add the stuffed mirchi and left over paste and toss it slow. Add little water and cover with the lid.
8. On medium flame cook the curry for 15-20 minutes or until the mirchi is completely cooked. Stir it occasionally.

9. Serve it hot with roti's

Notes
1. If  chilies are not spicy, then you can add small green chilies into the besan paste.
2. Don't make the besan paste too thick, once cooked it will be too hard. Paste should be off cake batter consistency.
3. Optionally u can add few drops of lemon juice if amchur powder is not available. If you like it to be little tangy.

Tawa Pulao



Ingredients

2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 cup mixed veggies (cut into small pieces). I used peas, carrot, mixed bell peppers (green, red, orange).
1 medium sized onion cut into small pieces
1 medium sized tomatoes cut into small pieces
2-3 small green chilies cut in half
2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoon pav bhaji masala
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
2-3 tbs Oil
Salt to taste
Coriander for Garnish

How I prepare


1. Heat up oil in a big pan. Add cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste, green chilies and saute it for few seconds.
2. Add onion and cook it until translucent.
3. Add tomatoes, mixed veggies and cook it for 1-2 minutes
4. Add pav bhaji masala, garam masala, red chilli powder and salt and mix everything well. Add few drops of water if required.
5. Close the pan lid and cook the veggies for 4-5 minutes or until tender.
6. Once the veggies are cooked, add rice and mix everything nicely.
7. Close the lid again and cook it for 3-4 minutes more.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it hot with Raita or just squeeze few drops of lemon.

Notes
1. You can use left over rice for the above recipe.
2. Sprinkle few drops of water after mixing the rice, to help keep the rice moist.
3. Make sure the cooked rice is not too soft or mushy.
4. If you are freshly cooking the rice, allow the rice to cool completely. Before mixing it.

Spinach Pulao/Palak Pulao


Ingredients
2 cups of basmati rice
1 big bunch of spinach (I used baby spinach) chopped into small pieces
Fist full of green peas
1 large onion cut into thin long slices
1 tomato cut into small cubes
2-3 garlic cloves
1/2 inch of ginger
4-5 small green chilies
2 cloves
1 cardamon
1-2 bay leaves
1/4 inch cinnamon stick
1/4 inch of anistar
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 1/2 teaspoon dhaniya powder (coriander powder)
Fist full of coriander leaves finely chopped
Few strings of mint leaves (optional) finely chopped
Salt to taste
3-4 tbs Oil
2 cup water

How I prepare
1. Wash and soak basmati rice for 30 minutes
2. In a stone pestle or any other pestle add garlic, ginger, green chilies  cloves, cinnamon stick, anistar and crush it nicely into a coarse powder. If you don't have a pestle use mixer to make a coarse paste.
3. Take a pressure cooker, heat up the oil in it. Add jeera, bay leaf, cardamon and saute for few seconds then add the above mix and saute it for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add Onions and cook it until translucent. Add peas, spinach and saute it for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add tomato, coriander and mint leaves. Cook it for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add Salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhaniya powder and mix everything nicely
7. Add rice to the above mix and fry it for 1 more minute
8. Add water and pressure cook for 2 whistles
9. Serve hot with Raita.

Notes
1. Since the basmati rice is soaked for 30 minutes it needs less water. Adjust the water according to rice you use.
2. The same recipe can be used for making Methi pulao.