Karela (Bitter Gourd) peels : side dish

We almost always throw away peels of vegetables, not knowing what to do with them.
Well here is my first post on the series .  If you like bitter gourd then you would love this dish.

Ingredients :
Karela skin                  1 cup
Potato.                       1 large boiled .
Mustard Oil.                 2 -3 tbsp
Mustard seeds               1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds.               1/4 tsp
Onions.                        1/2 cup finely chopped
Red chilly pd.               1 tsp
Turmeric pd.                1/2 tsp
Coriander pd.               1 tsp
Fennel pd.                    2 tsp
Raw mango.                  2 tbsp grated
Salt.                             To taste
Sugar.                           1+  1 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Rub salt on peels and let them sit for 15 min.
2. Boil them for 2-3 min.
3. Drain and mix 1 tsp of sugar and set it aside to cool.
4. Once cool squeeze to remove excess water.
5. Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds .
6. Add fennel seeds , once golden add onions. Fry till slightly brown.
7. Add potato cubes . Fry for a couple of minutes .
8. Now add peels and fry till slightly crisp.
9. Add all spices, sugar, salt and raw mango. Give it a good stir and fry for 2 more min.
10. Remove from gas.
11. Taste and adjust salt.
12. Add more sugar if its too bitter for your taste but remember it will be slightly bitter.
13. Serve with dal rice.

** you can use any vegetable oil if you don't like the flavour of mustard oil.

Bisi Bhele Bhat

Rice and dal cooked together , also known as khichari, has innumerable variations. Each region of India boasts of its own version . Bisi Bhele Bhat is from Karnataka. A beautiful  spicy and tangy combination of Tur dal, rice and vegetables , is perfect for winter afternoons. Tastes best when served hot with a dollop of ghee/ clarified butter , accompanied with yogurt and fried appalams( Crispies ).

Ingredients : for bissi bele bhat

Rice.                                          3/4 cup 150 gms

Tur dal.                                      1/4 cup. 50 gms

 Beans                                       60 gms

Carrot                                        1 large / 100 gms

Cauliflower.                               A few florets

Green peas ( frozen or fresh)      75 gms / 1/2 cup

Tomatoes.                                  2 large / 215 gms. Finely chopped

Salt to taste

Sambar pd                                 6 tsp

Red chilly pd                              1  1/2 tsp

Turmeric pd                               1/2 tsp

Tamarind paste.                         4 -5 tbsp

water.                                        1000ml+250ml

Tempering

Ghee / clarified butter               3 tbsp

Mustard seeds                             1 tsp

Curry leaves                               8 -10

Asafoetida                                  a pinch

 whole red chillies                      1

Cashew pieces                            1/4 cup

Peanuts                                      1/4 cup

Garnishing :

Coriander                                    2 tbsp chopped

Ghee / clarifired butter               As per taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak dal and rice for half an hour.
2. Pressure cook  for 4 whistles with 1000ml. Water, all ingredients mentioned under bissi bele bhat except tamarind paste.
3. When pressure drops , open the cooker add tamarind paste and 250 ml *water. Mix well.
4. Taste and adjust salt. You can add more tamarind paste if you like it tangier.
5. At this time bhat should be mushy and not very thick , if not give one more pressure.

Tempering :

1. Heat ghee/clarified butter in a pan.
2. Add all ingredients mentioned under tempering , in the order in which they are given.
3. When peanuts and cashew nuts start browning , pour the tempering over the bhat. Mix well
4. Garnish with chopped coriander.
5. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee/ clarified butter.

Note:  add more water if bhat is too thick . It tastes better when not thick .



Lemon iced tea

With summers just round the corner I thought of sharing some refreshing coolers with you all.  First in the series is Lemon Iced Tea .

Iced tea has caught up everyone's fancy in last few years. To get a real good glass of iced tea is very difficult but believe me making it at home is no rocket science. 

 

My preparation below gives three glasses

Ingredients : 

Water                  3 1/2 cups

Sugar                   5 tbsp+1tsp

Tea bags              3

Mint leaves          a handful

Lemon juice         6 tsp

Lemon slices        3 for garnish

Ginger paste         1/2 tsp

 

Method :

1. Bring the water to boil and switch off the gas.
2. Add sugar and tea bags. Brew for five min.
3. Remove tea bags.
4. Arrange a mint leaf in each cube of ice tray.
5. Fill it up with brewed tea. Stash it in the freezer.
6. Put a few mint leaves in the remaining tea and keep it in the fridge to chill.

To serve :

1. Take 3 glasses. Put  7 - 8  prepared  cubes in each glass.
2. Take the cold tea from the fridge, add  6 tsp lemon juice to it and  pour it over the ice cubes in the glass.Taste and adjust lemon juice
3. Garnish with mint leaves and a lemon slice.
4. Serve immediately.

Note: part of brewed tea is frozen as cubes coz if plain ice cubes are used to chill the tea , the tea gets diluted. These tea ice cubes maintain the flavour of iced tea till the last sip.

Gajar ka Halwa (Red Carrot Pudding)

Come winters and I wait for the red carrots to hit the market. I just love gajar ka halwa. I am today sharing the traditional way of making it. Though the process is time consuming ( not tedious) , trust me its worth all the effort. Once you make it this way you will never eat store bought gajar ka halwa. 

Please use only red carrots not the orange ones. 

I have used 125 gms of sugar  as I like my halwa to be on the sweeter side but you can start by adding 100  gms first and then add more as per your taste. Remember it will taste sweeter once it is done.

Ingredients:

Carrots Milk Sugar Ghee/clarified butter Cashew nuts broken Almond flakes Pistachio flakes Raisins Cardamom pd

1 kg 2 kg ( 1 kg full cream +1 kg toned ) 125 gms 4 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 tsp

Method:

1. Put the milk to boil in a heavy bottom wok.
2. Wash and peel the carrots.
3. Grate the carrots and pressure cook them for two whistles with half cup of milk.
4. Add boiled carrots to the boiling milk once it has reduced to half. 
5. Continue cooking  on slow heat till almost all the milk has evaporated. Keep stirring regularly to avoid it form sticking to the bottom.
6. Add 100 gms sugar. Once it has melted , taste it  add more sugar as per your taste. 
7. Stir continuously as now the chances of it sticking to the bottom are even more.
8. Continue to cook  till the mix is completely dry.
9. Now add ghee, nuts (keep some for garnishing later) and cardamom pd. Stirring continuously roast  on medium to high heat for a 3-5 minutes.
10. Remove from fire . 
11. Garnish with remaining nuts and serve warm .
12. Once completely cool store in fridge in an air tight container. 
13. Warm it before serving.
14. Stays fresh for 7 - 10 days in the fridge.

Strawberry crumble squares

Till a few years back sourcing strawberries was a difficult task so whatever little we could source , we enjoyed them raw. Now with their availability in abundance , I thought of using them in baking. 

While googling one day I came across this recipe for blueberry crumb bars and that's when I decided to try it with strawberries as I didn't have blueberries . I have made a few changes in the recipe. I have not used the egg. Replaced margarine with butter , added almond meal to flour and topped it with almond flakes. Last but  not the least reduced the quantity proportionately to suit my needs.

The recipe has been adapted from : http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Crumb-Bars/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:

Strawberries	250 gms.
Cornstarch.	2 tsp
Butter cubed.	80 gms
Brown sugar	60 gms
Salt  a pinch
Lemon  zest  of	one lemon
Castor sugar	50 Gms
Castor sugar	50 Gms
APF	150 gms
Almond meal	25 gms
Baking pd	1/4 + 1/8 tsp
Almond flakes	25 gms
Strawberries	250 gms.

Method :

1.       Wash and dry strawberries on a clean kitchen towel.

2.       Cut them into 4.

3.       Sprinkle castor sugar and cornstarch on them and mix lightly.

4.       Keep them aside.

5.       Mix flour,  baking powder and butter using your finger tips, till it looks like  coarse bread crumbs

6.       Add sugar , salt , lemon zest and almond meal.

7.       Mix well, the crumble is now ready.

8.       Grease and line a dish measuring ( l,b,h) 9,5,2 inches.

9.       Spread  half of  the crumble mix  in the prepared dish.

10.   Place strawberries along with their juice over this mix.

11.   Cover the strawberries with the remaining crumble mix.

12.   Sprinkle almond flakes on top.

13.   Bake in a preheated oven at 190 deg. Celsius for  35 to 40 min. Or till top is slightly brown.

14.   Let it cool completely. Refrigerate for a few hours . Cut into squares.