Tomato Egg Curry

Sundays are usually the only days when we have lunch at home. So we generally have a non-veg dish. That's how it was when I was growing up. We had to have non-veg on Sundays. So I am kinda used to it.

There was a time when I could eat non-veg everyday. But from the time I fell pregnant, I craved for veg food. So everyday we had veg food at home. To make up for it, I used to treat my husband on Sundays to non-veg. Not that he was fussy about it; it made me feel good as I know he likes his non-veg.

On Friday, we went to an Indian / Pakistani restaurant and had our fill of non-veg. But since it was Sunday, I thought I have to make some non-veg. So I decided to make Egg since we were not in a mood to eat meat.

Since we had some friends over for lunch, I used 12 eggs. You can tweak the measurements to your needs.


Ingredients:
10 to 12 Eggs boiled, shelled and incisions made (you can halve the eggs as well.)
2 Onions - finely chopped
12 tbsp Chopped Tomatoes
1.5 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
2 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp Oil
2 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Cumin Seeds
15 - 20 Curry Leaves
Salt to Taste

Method:

1. Add oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the Mustard and Cumin Seeds and let them splutter.
2. Then add the Curry Leaves and fry for a min.
3. Now add the Onions and fry till they turn brown.
4. Add the Ginger Garlic Paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
5. Add the Chopped Tomatoes and fry until the masala comes together.
6. Add the Chilli, Coriander, Cumin and Turmeric Powders and mix well.
7. You can add ½ cup water at this stage if the curry is too dry.
8. Add eggs and boil to desired consistency.
9. Serve with Roti or Rice or Pulao.

Palak Roti

Me being a Telugu (South Indian), I never had Rotis much at home. So for me to learn how to make them was a task. Now, I can say I can make decent (edible) rotis. All thanks to Aayi’s Recipes. She has a pictorial of how to make Rotis / Chapatis. If you want the basics, please refer to her page.


Once I could make rotis / phulkas, I decided to make a variation. I wanted to make spinach rotis. They are healthy and quiet tasty as well. Its also a great way to make kids (small and big alike) eat their spinach. So here’s what I did. The rolling out and cooking is similar to the Phulkas on Aayi’s Recipes.



Ingredients:
100 gm frozen Spinach - cooked in microwave as per instructions and cooled
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
5 to 6 sprigs coriander (leaves and stems)
Salt to taste

For the Rotis:
2 cups Chapati Atta
Warm Milk to knead the dough
A few drops of Oil
Ghee / Oil for cooking (Optional)

Method:

1. Blend the Spinach, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Ginger Garlic Paste, Coriander and salt to a smooth paste. Add water only if needed.
   
2. Add this to the dry Chapati Atta and mix well.
3. Add enough warm milk to knead a soft dough.
4. Cover it in a few drops of oil, wrap it in cling film and let it rest for atleast 20 mins.
5. After it has rested, remove the cling film and knead it for 2 mins again.
6. Now make golf sized balls (I usually get about 8 to 9 balls with 2 cups of atta).
7. Take 1 ball and roll it
8. Fry like a Phulka.
   
9. Once the Phulka is ready, smear it with oil / ghee. Remember, a little goes a long way.
   
10. Serve with curry / curd / pickle

Beetroot Curry

Here I am again taking part in another food blog event.

Healing Foods was started by Siri of Siri's Corner. This month, its hosted by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan's Recipes, the topic being "Beetroot".


When I was a kid, I never liked the "look" of beets. But once I had Beetroot Pulusu and I was hooked onto it after that. When came to the UK, I couldn't find the beets in the supermarkets. I got the pre-cooked and preserved varieties. But not the raw type.

Some one told us about this new Asian shop. I was so excited when I saw the raw beets there. I had to get them and cook. From then, I kept getting beets every now and then.


Ingredients:
1 Kg beetroot - peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces.
2 big onions - chopped finely
5 tbsp chopped tomato
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
10 to 15 curry leaves
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds.
2. When they pop, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.
3. Then add the curry leaves and fry for 1 min.
4. Now add the onions and fry till they turn brown.
5. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears
6. Add the chopped tomato and fry till the curry comes together.
7. Now add the raw spices (Chilli Powder, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder) and salt and mix well.
8. Add the beets and 1/2 cup water. Pressure cook for 3 whistles or till the beetroot is done.
9. If needed, boil uncovered to get the consistency required.

Alu Matar (Potato with Green Peas)

One of the easiest dishes to make to have with chapati. Finishes by the time the chapatis are done. It goes well with rice as well. Its very similar to my Alu Palak. Infact, its the same. Instead of Palak (Spinach), I put in Peas.


Ingredients
3 medium size potatoes - peeled, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp chilli powder (adjust)
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
a handful frozen peas(you can add more)
salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat some oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
2. Once they start spluttering, add the onion and fry it till brown
3. Now add all the dry spices and salt and fry for 2 mins (take care the spices don't burn).
4. Add some water and put the potatoes and the peas.
5. Cook till the potatoes are done. Adjust water as needed.
   
6. Get the desired consistency and take off the stove.
   
7. Serve with roti or rice.

Rice Rava Upma

Another post to another event. Divya is hosting this month's Tried and Tasted.



Tried and Tasted was originally started by Zlamushka. Every month, the host chooses one blog and the participant has to cook any recipe from the blog to enter.

Divya has chosen Raaga for this month. I was amazed how simple yet tasty her recipes seemed. And I wasn't disappointed when I chose her Arisi Upma. It was extremely simple but very tasty.

I like onions in my upma. So here's my version of the recipe (Its the same. I just added onions)


Ingredients
1.5 cups rice rava /idli rava
3.5 cups of water
1 onion - chopped
2 green chillies - slit
2 red chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp ginger paste
10 - 15 curry leaves
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish


Method

1. Heat oil in a pan.
   
2. When hot, add the chana dal and urad dal.
3. When the dal changes colour, add the mustard seeds and asafetida.
4. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the green and red chillies and fry for a min.
5. Now add the curry leaves and the ginger paste and fry for 2 mins.
6. Add the onions and fry till translucent.
7. Now add the rava and fry for 4 - 5 mins.
8. Add the water and bring to boil on med - high.
   
9. Reduce heat and let cook.
10. When the upma is not sticky, its done.
    

Palak Dal - Akkoora Pappu

Another post to another food blog event. Hopefully, I'll take part in more events and keep updating my blog.

Healing Foods was started by Siri of Siri's Corner. This month, its hosted by Divya of Dil Se, the topic being "Spinach".


I like spinach and am glad even my one and half year old son likes it too (atleast he doesn't say no to it).

I am sure many people make Palak Dal in a lot of different ways. Here's my take on it:


Ingredients
300gms Frozen chopped spinach
1 cup toor dal - washed
1 medium sized onion - sliced
5 green chillies - slit length wise
1 tomato - chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garlic paste
lime sized tamarind soaked in water and deseeded.

For the tadka (popu / tiragamata):
2 red chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi / mentulu)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
few curry leaves
2 tbsp vegetable / sunflower oil

Method

1. Pressure cook spinach, toor dal, 3/4 of the onion, green chillies and turmeric powder with 3 cups of water for about 3 whistles (till the toor dal is done). You can blend it if you want it really smooth. I prefer not to.
   
2. In a separate pan, heat the oil and break the red chillies. Add the fenugreek seeds and fry for 30 seconds. Now add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
3. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds - taking care it doesn't burn.
4. Now add the rest of the onion and fry till it starts turning brown. Then add the tomato and cook till its done.
5. Add the tamarind paste and bring to a boil.
6. Add this to the pressure cooker and add the salt.
7. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat.
8. Serve hot with rice.