VEGETARIAN DISHES

Enjoy The Rustic Flavour of ........

Jowar ( Sorghum ) Flour Bhakri + Homemade Butter + Kadhi+ Red Pumpkin and Gawaarfalli ( Guar beans) and Garlic Chutney....

My mother's Garlic Chutney was a hot favourite with the British Army Officers, my father's colleagues, who called it "Gun Powder". They never had enough of it ! 

Surprisingly though it can be very spicy, they never found it hot and just loved it's taste! 

So do we ! 

Eat it with Dosa,Idli,Uttapam or Parathas or just sprinke it over Potato Sabzi ( Vegetable) or spread it on the cheese slice over a cracker and you will be wanting for more !

Traditionally pounded in the pestle and mortar, its coarse texture gives it a different flavour. 

But today, the mixie grinder has replaced the pestle and mortar. Though the texture looks different, the taste remains the same.

Dry Garlic Chutney Ingredients

GARLIC CHUTNEY

Ingredients

1 Cup dry desicated coconut

1 Cup dry red chillies (whole)

1 Cup unpeeled garlic cloves

1/2 tsp Hing (Asafoetida) 

Salt to taste

NO OIL

Method

Dry roast desiccated coconut in kadhai for 5-7 minutes. Remove and keep aside.

Dry roast dry red chillies in same kadhai for 5-7 minutes. Keep aside.

Dry roast unpeeled garlic cloves in kadhai. Keep aside.

Put all these ingredients including asafoetida (Hing) and salt in grinder and grind to a coarse texture.

Remove and store in dry jar that has an air-tight lid. 

~x~x~x~x~

Red Pumpkin & Gawaarfalli ( Guar Beans)

Ingredients

1 cup Gawaarfalli - broken into medium slice pieces

1cup red pumpkin - diced into medium size pieces

1/4 tsp - Asafoetida

1/2 tsp- cumin seed 

1/2 tsp - mustard seeds 

1 tsp -  curry leaves

1/2 tsp - turmeric powder

1 tsp - chilli powder 

1/2 tsp Oil

Method 

In a Kadhai / wok , heat oil and then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

When they stop spluttering add curry leaves.

Then add Gawaarfali, add turmeric, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt and mix .

Add little water and cook covered for 7-10 min.

When Gavaarfali is half cooked add diced pumpkin and mix

Sprinkle water and mix the two vegetables and stir cook for

 7 - 10 min.  Don't burn it. Add little water and steam cook, covered.  

Note - the pumpkin should neither under cooked nor  overcooked . 

~x~x~x~x~

STUFFED MASALA LADIES' FINGERS

Stuffed Masala Ladies' Fingers (Bhindi or Okra)

INGREDIENTS:

Bhindi / Ladies' Fingers (Okra) – 360 gms

Red Chilli powder – 3 tsps

Haldi – 2 tsp

Coriander powder – 4 tsps

Cummin ( Jeera ) Powder – 4 tsps

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Amchur ( Dry MangoPowder ) – 2 tsps

Hing ( Asafoetida )- 1 tsp dissolved in water

Vegetable oil – 1 tsp enough to mix the masala ie spices

Mustard seeds – 1 to ½ tsp

Lime  - Juice of 1 or 2 lemon

Oil for cooking – 2 tbsps ( slightly more oil is required to cook the Bhindi

Salt to taste

 

Stuffed Masala Ladies' Fingers (Bhindi) and ingredients

METHOD

1. Soak  the Bhindi (LadIies' Fingers) in vinegar and salt for 20 minutes. Then wash and rinse thoroughly under running water.
2. Drain the water thoroughly through a sieve and keep the bhindi aside till water drains.
3. In a big bowl or plate / thali, mix all the dry ingredients mentioned above. Then add the Asafoetida i.e. Hing with water and mix the spices
4. Add little oil and mix masala again.
5. Once the water has drained, cut the top edge and make slits in the centre of the Bhindi but be careful not to slice it fully.
6. Fill the prepared masala in the slit portion of the bhindi and keep aside.
7. Once all the bhindis have been stuffed with the masala, put lime juice on top of the bhindi and keep aside.
8. In a frying pan heat oil well. Then add mustard seeds. Once they stop spluttering add the Bhindi and cook.  DO NOT ADD WATER.
9. Slowly cook the bhindi and when both the masala and bhindi are cooked switch off the gas.

~X~X~X~X~X~

CABBAGE VADIES (SLICES)

Cabbage Vadi ( slices )

INGREDIENTS

Medium Cabbage -1

( if it measures 500gm after slicing into fine strips, follow the spice measurement below )

Increase or decrease the measurement of the spices as per the cabbage weight)

Chilli Powder – 2 tsp or as spice preferred

Turmeric ie Haldi – 1 tsp

Jaggery – 3  tsp

Besan i.e. gram flour  – 9 tbsp ( sieved before adding to cabbage)

Khuskhus – 2 tsp

Coriander Powder – 2 tsp

Cumin  Powder – 2 tsp

Garam Masala – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Water – very little

Ingredients

METHOD :

Sliced Cabbage mixed with Besan and Masalas

Cabbage Mix ready to go into the Steamer

1. Sieve Besan and keep aside.
2. Slice Cabbage finely lengthwise  and wash well . Soak in a little vinegar and water for 10 min and then rinse thoroughly with water and drain in a sieve.
3. After standing for about 5 to 7 mins in sieve add above mentioned spices and mix well with Cabbage . Add  salt to taste.
4. Add the sieved besan to this mixture ensuring that there are no lumps.
5. Add enough besan to bind the Cabbage. After mixing stand for 5-10 minutes to drain water.
6. Then add very little water, just enough to mix the ingredients together and the texture should be binding the cabbage together.
7. If the mixture is not holding together add a lttle more besan and mix to hold the cabbage together.
8. Apply oil to a round steel plate that fits in a steamer and put the cabbage mixture in it. Level the mixture.
9. Steam for 20 – 25 minutes and cool.
10. Open steamer when cool. Turn the cooked cabbage onto a plate . Cut into diamond shape,cool and shallow fry light brown and serve hot

OR 

If you don’t have a steamer or its plate use a round cooker vessel in which you cook rice in the pressure cooker and smear with oil.

1. Take the Cabbage mixture and pat it flat in the vessel. Make it half inch thick. Use two vessels if Cabbage mix is more.
2. Steam in pressure cooker ( without weight ) but put a small steel Katori / bowl on the vent and steam for 25  min.
3.  Remove from Pressure Cooker and cool.
4. Turn the vessel on flat plate and remove the cabbage cake.
5. Then cut into diamond shape and shallow fry light brown and serve hot.
   Preparation time - 20 minutes
   Cooking time - 25  minutes

~x~x~x~x~