Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry

Just like Aloo / Potatoes , Bhindi /Okra/Ladyfinger is also very good option for side dish in the meal. Bhindi can be made in various ways but mostly dry as it gets slimy when left with moisture. I make Bhindi mostly as a side dish with Daal and Rice or With Paratha for morning breakfast.

In this Bhindi recipe I used tomatoes as well for the first time. I was bit skeptical at the first place but since I've bug of experimenting in kitchen, so I just went for it. To compliment moisture from tomatoes I added some gram flour in the dish. Also to avoid Bhindi get slimy or wet while cooking, clean, wash and dry it in advance, so when you are cooking it, it fairly dry.

When I was little, we use to get Bhindi in our lunchboxes with Puri/Paratha. Sometimes on weekend, we ate Bhindi with Dal Rice and Chapati in lunch. Using fresh green chilies, thinly sliced onions and sliced garlic enhances its taste. Crisp the bhindi by shallow frying it a tspoon or so of oil and it will be the best side dish for your meal.

Lets have a look at my way of making "Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry". It's fairly simple recipe like most of my recipes. Not any exotic ingredient , just the everyday ingredients from your kitchen and the dish will be ready for time of Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner. Hope you all will try to make it and let me know how everyone liked it at your home.. Until next time..................., Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Pictorial Method of Making "Tomato Masala Bhindi / Tomato Okra Fry":

Wash bhindi/okra in water thoroughly. Wipe them with a kitchen towel or just spread them on chopping board to allow them to dry naturally.
Cut off the crown and base tip of each bhindi, vertically slice them keeping a width of your choice in thickness. I kept them almost 0.45inch.

Slice Onions thinly,  chop tomatoes finely and cut green chilies very fine.
Heat 1 tblspoon oil in a thick bottomed shallow frying pan.
Add the sliced Okra and fry them until golden n crisp. Take them out on a paper towel lined plate.

Now add sliced onion and green chilies in the same pan with another tablspoon of oil.

Saute onions till they start turning light brown.        

Now add the chopped tomatoes. mix well.        

Now add powdered spices , Turmeric, Coriander, Garam masala, Salt, and Amchur with gram flour in the pan.

Mix the spices and gramflour well. Cook this mix until the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you start to see oil releasing from the sides.

Now add the fried crispy bhindi/okra. Mix well but gently to avoid pressing it too much.
Put the flame on high and fry the Okra and Masalas well to avoid any moisture in the dish.
Don't burn the dish in order to dry the moisture, if starts to burn switch off and take it away from the hot burner.
Once you can't see any moisture in dish, switch off the flame and immediately turn it out in a serving dish.

Garnishing with coriander is optional, as very few people eat Okra with fresh coriander.
Serve Tomato Masala Bhindi as a side dish in any of your meal like with chapatis, dal, rice or may be parathas.

Ingredients:

Okra/Bhindi/Lady finger                         - 500grm
Onion                                                       - 2 medium , thinly sliced
Tomato                                                     - 2 medium , finely chopped
Green Chilies                                            - 2 thinly sliced
Asafetida/Hing                                          - a pinch
Turmeric powder                                       - 1/2 tspoon
Coriander powder                                      - 1 tspoon
Raw Mango Powder/Amchur                    - 1/2 tspoon                                  
Garam masala                                            - 1/2 tspoon
Salt                                                             - to taste
Gram Flour                                                - 2 tblspoon
Oil                                                              - 2 tblspoon


Method:

Wash bhindi/okra in water thoroughly. Wipe them with a kitchen towel or just spread them on chopping board to allow them to dry naturally.
Cut off the crown and base tip of each bhindi, vertically slice them keeping a width of your choice in thickness. I kept them almost 0.45inch.
Slice Onions thinly,  chop tomatoes finely and cut green chilies very fine.
Heat 1 tblspoon oil in a thick bottomed shallow frying pan.
Add the sliced Okra and fry them until golden n crisp. Take them out on a paper towel lined plate.
Now add sliced onion and green chilies in the same pan with another tablspoon of oil and saute them till they start turning light brown.
Now add the chopped tomatoes. mix well.                      
Now add powdered spices , Turmeric, Coriander, Garam masala, Salt, and Amchur with gram flour in the pan.
Mix the spices and gramflour well. Cook this mix until the tomatoes become soft and mushy and you start to see oil releasing from the sides.
Now add the fried crispy bhindi/okra. Mix well but gently to avoid pressing it too much.
Put the flame on high and fry the Okra and Masalas well to avoid any moisture in the dish. Don't burn the dish in order to dry the moisture, if starts to burn switch off and take it away from the hot burner.
Once you can't see any moisture in dish, switch off the flame and immediately turn it out in a serving dish.
Garnishing with coriander is optional, as very few people eat Okra with fresh coriander.
Serve Tomato Masala Bhindi as a side dish in any of your meal like with chapatis, dal, rice or may be parathas.

Thali Menu - 7

Thali (Hindi: थाली) is an Indian meal made up of a selection of various dishes. Thali dishes vary from region to region in South, North East and west India and are usually served in small bowls, called katori, which are placed on a round tray, the actual thali; often a steel plat made with multiple compartments is used. Typical dishes include rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, yoghurt, small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off.

Thalis are sometimes referred to by the regional characteristic of the dishes they contain. For example one may encounter Punjabi thali, Rajasthani thali, Gujarati thali and Maharashtrian thali. In many parts of India, the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish. 

This Thali Menu -7  has Gajar ke Kofte, Baingan Ka Bharta, Boondi Raita, Rice and Roti.

Happy Cooking...Until next time, Saumya

Recipe Links:

Baingan Bharta
Gajar Ke Kofte

Thali Menu -6

Thali (Hindi: थाली) is an Indian meal made up of a selection of various dishes. Thali dishes vary from region to region in South, North East and west India and are usually served in small bowls, called katori, which are placed on a round tray, the actual thali; often a steel plat made with multiple compartments is used. Typical dishes include rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, yoghurt, small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off.

Thalis are sometimes referred to by the regional characteristic of the dishes they contain. For example one may encounter Punjabi thali, Rajasthani thali, Gujarati thali and Maharashtrian thali. In many parts of India, the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish. 

This Thali Menu -6  has Karail, Gobhi Musallam, Bell Pepper and Cucumber Raita, Rice and Aloo Roti.

Happy Cooking...Until next time, Saumya

Recipe Links:

Karail

Gobhi Musallam

Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Biryani, is a rice dish, authentically made with Rice, Nuts, spices and meat/vegetable. In olden days or say the authentic way of making Biryani is using a big clay/aluminium pot, called HANDI.
There are authentically two types of biryani, Pakki and Kacchi. Biryani is served with Raita, Mirchi ka salan, baghare baingan and salad as a side dish.
Biryani can be of any type, such as Daal Biryani, Soya Biryani, Chicken Biryani, Beef Biryani, Egg Biryani, Shrimp Biryani and Fish Biryani. Vegetarian people use choice of mixed vegetables to replace the meat. One more ingredient which is very visible, looks wise and taste wise is Onions. Plenty of fried onions, mint and coriander.

Hyderabadi Biryani is also called the "Kachi Akhni" Biryani. Where, marinated meat/vegetables and the rice are cooked together. Since all ingredients cook together, making a perfect Hyderabadi biryani requires experience to balance the marination time, moisture, heat etc.
Awadhi biryani (aka Lucknowi biryani) lives up to the original persian meaning of the the word Biryani (fry separately) where meat and rice are cooked separately and baked together in last stage of cooking. Lucknowi biryani is cooked mainly with whole garam masala, giving dum from bottom as well as from top.
Sindhi biryani, famous in Pakistan, combines most of the local produce, such as prunes and apricots.
Bombay biryani is very similar to Sindhi and includes potatoes. Bombay biryani is also referred as Bohari biryani. Calcutta biryani is also cooked similar to lucknowi biryani but they use whole boiled potato and kalaunji(Onion seeds) also. This is just one of the many kinds of Biryani that was cooked in Nizam's kitchen long time back.

It has been said that This biryani dish was invented after the mix of Mughal and south indian cuisine back in the times of Nizam, when they ruled Hyderabad. There are variety of Biryani dishes based on Region in India, like Hyderabadi Biryani, Thalassery Biryani, Lucknowi Biryani, Bombay Biryani and so on.....
Here the one I tried to make is called Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani, which was invented at the time of  the rule of Asaf Jah I. This Biryani is known for it's best layering and spice mixes. This Biryani has layers of vegetables and rice, soaked in spices, yogurt and saffron. Some people use Kewra or Rose water to give it another level of aroma.

I've been making several types of Biryani in my Kitchen and believe me friends, when you cook Biryani, your kitchen smells amazing, aromatic and awesome.
I bet you can't resist yourself making this Biryani in your Kitchen. Don't forget to comment below :)  Until next time.......Happy Cooking Friends, Saumya

Ingredients:

To make Rice:
Basmati rice                                      - 2 cups
Green Cardamom                             - 2
Cloves                                               - 2
Cinnamon                                         - 1/2 inch stick
Bay Leaf                                           - 1
Water                                                - 4 cups
Salt

To Prepare Vegetables:
Carrot                                                - 1 peeled and diced
Potato                                                - 1 peeled and diced in small cubes
Green Beans                                      - 1/2 cup chopped
Mushroom                                         - 5-7 chopped
Green Peas                                        - 1/2 cup
Onion                                                - 3 medium sliced
Green Chili                                       - 2 slit in 4
Ginger                                               - 1 tblspoon chopped
Garlic                                                - 1 tblspoon
Ghee/Oil                                           - 4 tblspoon
Black Cumin                                    - 1 tspoon
Black Cardamom                             - 1
Cloves                                              - 4
Cinnamon                                        - 1 inch stick
Bay Leaf                                          - 2
Mace                                               - 1
Star Anise                                       - 1
Coriendar Seeds                             - 1/2 tspoon
Black Pepper                                 - 4-5
Salt                                                - to taste
Yogurt                                           - 1 tblspoon
Turmeric Powder                          - 1 tspoon
Red chilli Powder                         - 1/2 tspoon
Garam Masala                              - 1/2 tspoon
Cashewnuts                                  - 2 tblspoon chopped
Green Raisins                               - 2 tblspoon
Almonds                                       - 2 tblspoon chopped
Fresh Mint                                    - 1/4 cup chopped
Fresh Coriander                            - 1/2 cup chopped

Preparing the Layers:
Yogurt                                          - 2 tblspoon whisked to smooth
Saffron                                         - 4-5 strands
Milk                                             - 1 tblspoon


Method:

Wash the rice thoroughly and soak in water for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes  you can microwave or pressure cook the rice.
You are required to cook the rice till they are 3/4 done.
The rice should not be fully cooked but almost cooked, that you can fluff them after draining the excess water from them, if any left.
I microwaved the rice and cooked it for 12 minutes at full power. Took the extra water out, fluff the rice and kept them aside.
Authentically, biryani is made in the pots, known as handis. But as I do not have access to Handi here, so I made it in my big heavy bottomed deep vessel (Bhagona).
Heat oil/ghee in the vessel.
Add all whole spices: cumin,cardamoms, mace, cloves, cinnamon, coriander,black peppers and bay leaves.  Fry it till start crackling.

Now add the sliced onions. Fry the onions until translucent.

Now add the green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute.

Now add the turmeric,  red chili powder and garam masala. Mix it well.

Now we add the vegetables into the vessel.

Whisk and add 1 tblspoon yogurt into it.

Mix well and add salt into it with 1/2 cup of water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender/cooked.
Now add chopped almonds, raisins and cashewnuts to the cooked vegetables.

At this stage, check the taste of salt, if less add some more to your taste.
Now warm 1 tblspoon of milk.
Add saffron to it, keep it aside to let the mixture cool.

Now whisk and add the yogurt in to this mixture and mix well.

Now pour half of saffron-flavored yogurt, mint and coriander leaves. Mix well with vegetables.
Take half of the vegetables out in a box.

At this time, Put a heavy griddle on the low flame, place your biryani vessel on the griddle.

Now layer half of the cooked rice over the leftover vegetables in the vessel.

Pour the 1/4 of saffron-flavored yoghurt.

Add one more layer of Vegetables, which we took out before.

Spread the layer of remaining rice. Add the remaining yogurt mix.

Place a moist tea-towel on top. Cover with a lid.

Then seal with wheat flour dough or keep a heavy weight on the lid. I could not find anything heavy other than my Dumbbells :) Sounds Dumb but effective :)

Cook for another 20-30 minutes like this. Keep the flame to low at all time to avoid burning your biriyani.
Serve this vegetable biryani with your choice of raita, salad, pickle, papad and side curry.
The best accompaniment with this Biryani is Mirchi ka Salan, Dahi ka Raita and Baghare Baingan which are the traditional way of serving it.

Potato & Peas Kofta Curry

Kofta, are introduced in India by in decades ago in Mughal era. It's shaped like meatballs, sometimes coated and sometimes not then deep fried in the oil. Indian and surrounding countries Koftas are served in a spicy gravy, as the dry version is often known as Kebab.

Koftas can be made with any vegetable or meat. In India, Koftas are normally vegetarian and made with Paneer, Potato, Mix Veggies, Soya Granules, Bottle Gourd and so on. Koftas are served with Paratha, Chapati, Roti and most of the time with steamed Rice.

The name Kofta is originated from greek verb Kopto, which means "minced". Usually in Mughlai and Awadhi meals Koftas were made with minced meats of all sorts, so it's called Kofta.

I always liked Koftas a lot, specially bottlegourd Koftas and potato Koftas. Whenever I'm left with any sort of potato mix, I quickly mix the flour in it, roll them out, deep fry them dung in the gravy and wallah, one of the main dish is ready for lunch or dinner. Easy and quick to make, Koftas are very good addition to the menu, when planning a meal for friends.

Ingredients:

For Koftas:

Boiled Potatoes                 - 3 boiled and mashed
Green Peas                        - 1 cup boiled
Gramflour                         - 4 tblspoon
Salt                                    - To taste
Amchoor                           - 1/2 tspoon + 1/2 Tspoon
Garam Masala                   - 1/2 tspoon + 1/4 tspoon
Red Chilli Powder             - 1/4 tspoon
Oil                                      - for deep frying
Water                                 - for making batter

For Kofta Gravy:

Cumin Seeds                     - 1/4 tspoon
Asafetida/Hing                  - 1 pinch
Black Cardamom              - 1
Cloves                              - 2
Cinnamon                        - 1/2 inch stick
Bay Leaf                          - 1
Onions                             - 2 puree
Garlic                               - 6 cloves puree
Ginger                              - 1 inch puree
Tomatoes                         - 2 large finely chopped/pureed
Turmeric powder             - 1/4 teaspoon
Amchoor powder             - 1/4 teaspoon
coriander powder             - 1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala                  - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt                                   - to taste
Cream/Set Yogurt            - 1 tblspoon
Oil                                    - 1 tblspoon for tempering
Water                               - 2 cup or as per your choice of thickness
Coriander                         - 2 tblspoon finely chopped

Method:

For Kofta balls:

Mash the boiled potatoes in a deep mixing bowl. Add in the boiled peas in it.
Now add salt, 1/2 tspoon amchoor, 1/2 tspoon garam masala, mix it like a dough.
Now make same size round balls out of this mix. I made 15 balls out this quantity.
Once all the balls are shaped, keep them in the fridge for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, add Gramflour, salt, 1/2 tspoon amchoor, 1/4 tspoon Red chili powder, 1/4 tspoon garam masala, mix well.
Now add little water at a time, to make a thick batter, keep it aside.
The consistency of the batter should be like ribbon fall. If you drop the batter from a spoon and it falls in a continuous sting, it's called ribbon fall.
Heat the oil in a deep pan/Karahi.
Take out the potato balls from the fridge and Coat the them into the batter and deep fry them until golden from each side.
Keep the kofta balls aside after frying them to cool them.


For Kofta Gravy:

Grind Onion, garlic and ginger to fine paste.
Also puree the tomatoes. Keep the paste and puree aside and start with the cooking of gravy.
Warm 1 tblspoon oil heavy bottom pan.
Add all the whole spices Cumin, black Cardamom, Cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon and hing to it.
Now lower the flame to slow, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, amchoor powder and salt to the pan.
Mix it well for a second and add onion paste to it.
Cook for 3-5 minutes until the raw smell of onion & garlic goes away.
Once done, add in the tomato puree to it. cook again for 2-3 minutes, covered with a lid.
Now add the 1 tblspoon of set yogurt/cream to the pan and mix it very well while stirring continuously.
Add in the water and let it boil for 5-7 minutes.
Sprinkle some finely chopped coriander on the gravy.
Check the consistency of gravy as per your choice. I keep kofta curry a bit thick else koftas go very soft and fall apart in the gravy. The kofta gravy is ready.

To assemble the koftas and gravy, your just need to take out the gravy in a deep serving bowl and dip the kofta balls into it.
Garnish them with fresh coriander and 1/2 table spoon of cream/yogurt.

Notes:
Make sure you dip the Kofta balls in the gravy only before serving.
Kofta balls get soft if left longer in the gravy and fall apart.
Serve the Koftas with Rice, Chapati or Paratha.

Methi Wala Daal ka Dulha

Daal ka Dulha is a traditional UP and Bhojpuriya delicacy. As the name sounds it's made with Lentils/Daal. Some people use Moong Daal, some use Toor/Arhar Daal to make it. Its an all-in-one recipe like Daal and Roti made together. Tangy and spicy daal contains spiced wheat flour dumplings in it, which makes it a wholesome food.

I love to experiment in my kitchen. When I was little my mum use to make this dish with just flour dumplings with any major changes in the recipe (Which is carried over since decades). Today when I thought to make it, I did add my twist to it.I made wheat flour dumplings with some Fenugreek leaves in them. So that it's not just Daal Roti, Instead it's Daal Roti and Sabzi.

My mum use to add some whole raw mangoes (Peeled) called "Kairi/Amiya" into it in place of tomatoes. In the olden days people never used tomatoes in any daal. Instead the Daal always have had raw / dried mangoes in them to give them the sourness. Me and my siblings use to fight over those cooked sour mangoes in our plates.

Making this dish in my kitchen took me to those golden days of childhood, which we always treasure. I know I do, do you treasure your childhood days?????? I'm sure everyone does.

Here comes another authentic dish from Saumya Ki Rasoi. "Methi Wala Daal ka Dulha / Methi Daal Pithora/ Dal Dhokli / Dal Tikiya" . No matter what you call it at your place, it tastes amazing. I'm sure you will try this and let me know what you think about this. Don't forget to comment below :) Until next time.......Happy Cooking Friends!!!!

Ingredients:

Daal:
Split Yellow Lentil/Tuar Daal       - 1 cup
Tomato                                           - 1 cup chopped
Turmeric powder                         - 1 teaspoon
Amchoor powder                         - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafetida                                        - 1 pinch
Salt                                                - to taste

Dough Dumplings:
Wheat flour                                - 1 cup
Methi Leaves                                 - 1/2 cup chopped
Carom Seeds/Ajwain                     - 1/2 tspoon
Salt                                                 - to taste
Red Chili Powder                           - 1/4 tspoon

Tempering :
Oil / Ghee                                       - 1 tblspoon
Garlic                                         - 5 cloves
Cumin seeds                                 - 1 teaspoon
Whole red Chilli                             - 2
Coriander leaves                         - 2 tblspoon chopped for garnish


Method:

Wash and soak the Toor Daal for about 10 minutes.

Pour Daal into a pressure cooker and add chopped tomato, turmeric powder, asafetida, and salt.

Pressure cook it for about 4 whistles or till the lentils cooked properly and tomatoes are mixed thoroughly.

In a mixing bowl, take flour, carom seeds, salt, red chili powder and Methi leaves.

Add little amount of water to knead the dough. Dough should be stiff but smooth.

Take an tennis size ball from the dough and roll it like a thick chapatti then cut out the desired shapes out of it.

I used my cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes for kids.

Boil 2 glass of water along with 1 teaspoon salt in big pan.

Add the dough shapes in the water and boil them until they float on the water.

Take the shapes out from the water and add it into Daal. Give it another boil.

Heat the tadka pan with oil/ghee and add the chopped garlic, whole red chili and  cumin seeds.

Once garlic starts to turn golden switch off the flame and pour the tadka over Daal ka Dulha.

Garnish with copped coriander.
Serve with some Boondi raita, Pickle and Salad. I'm sure your family will enjoy this Methi Wala Daal ka Dulha.