Turnip Greens Dal

Any green leafy vegetable makes a good pair with dal. You can make this similar to how you make palak dal or methi dal. However, turnip greens are slightly tougher than palak.

Ingredients:

• Turnip Greens - 1 bunch ( washed and chopped )
• Toor Dal - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 medium ( chopped )
• Tomatoes - 2 small
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Hing - a pinch
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp

Directions: 

• Pressure cook dal and chopped greens along with 3-4 cups of water.
• Heat ghee in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add hing and curry leaves.
• Saute chopped onions and ginger garlic paste.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook till tender. 
• Add red chili powder, salt, turmeric powder.
• Add the cooked dal and greens into the pan along with the left over water in the cooker.Give it a good mix.
• Cook for 8-10 minutes and adjust salt. Also adjust water depending on the consistency you like.

Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Potato, Carrot, Turnip Greens Mixed Curry

I love mixed vegetables. Nutrients of multiple vegetables in one curry.
I made this curry in pressure cooker. It takes less time and less oil to cook.

Ingredients :

• Turnip Greens - 1 bunch
• Potatoes - 3-4
• Carrots - 2 long ones
• Tomatoes - 2 small
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Salt -to taste
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1 tbsp

Directions : 

• Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Splutter cumin and mustard seeds.
• Saute ginger garlic paste. Add chopped onions and saute till transluscent.
• Add diced tomatoes and cook till done.
• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, garam masala.
• Add peeled and diced potatoes and carrots.
• Add chopped turnip greens.
• Add a couple of cups of water. Cover and pressure cook for about 2 whistles.
• Serve with steaming hot rotis.

Adjust the amount of water accordingly. I like it watery, so I add more water. 

Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Salan

When you talk about Hyderabadi cousine, Biryani and Mirchi ka Salan are to top the list.
The gravy for mirchi ka salan , bagara baingan and tamatar ka salan are all same , just the vegetable in it varies.
I use the big long mirchis ( green banana peppers) for this recipe.

Ingredients :

• Big Chillies ( banana peppers ) - 10-12
• Onion - 2 large
• Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Sesame Seeds - 1/4 cup
• Coconut Powder - 1/2 cup
• Khus Khus ( poppy seeds ) - 1 tbsp
• Ginger Garlic Paste - 1tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
• Tamarind Pulp - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin-Coriander Powder -1 tsp
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 1/2 cup

Directions: 

• Wash and pat dry the chillies. My chillies were too long , so I cut them into halves. But if they are small ones you don't need to. You can slit from one side and deseed them if you want to reduce the heat of the chillies. I don't deseed them, I like it hot. :)

• Dry roast peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut powder, khus khus one by one. Let them cool.
• After cooling grind them all together with very little water. I used the small grinder jar so, I first ground peanuts and later sesame+coconut+khus khus.

• Grind Onions and keep the onion paste ready.
• Heat oil in the pan, and deep fry the green chillies( peppers ) till the blisters form on the skin. Remove on a plate and keep aside.
• In the same oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter.
• Add the onion paste and saute. Add ginger garlic paste and cook till the raw flavour of onion, ginger garlic is gone.
• Now add the peanut paste and the sesame-coconut paste. Mix well. Cook till the mixture starts oozing out oil.
• Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin-coriander powder, salt and mix well.
• Add tamarind pulp, beaten curds and 3-4 cups of water
• Add the fried chillies to the gravy. Mix well and simmer it for half an hour till the oil floats on the top.
• You can garnish with chopped cilantro if you wish.

Serve hot with biryani, pulav, jeera rice or naans.

Broccoli Manchurian

I tried broccoli manchurian just like how I make Cauliflower Manchurian. They turned out good too.

Ingredients :

For dumpling :

• Broccoli Florets
• Cornflour - 1tbsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Chilli Sauce - 1/tbsp
• Ginger paste - 1/2 tbsp
• Water - 1/2 cup

For Sauce :

• Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
• Chilli paste -1 tsp
• Green chillies chopped - 1-2
• Pepper powder - 1 tbsp
• Chopped garlic - 1 tbsp
• Chopped ginger - 1 or 2 tbsp
• Chopped Spring onions -1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Ajinomoto ( optional )
• oil ( sesame preferred ) - 4 tbsp
• Vegetable stock ( for gravy ) - 1 cup
• Cornflour. - 1tbsp

Directions to make the dumplings :

• Mix cornflour in water, add pepper powder, chilli sauce and ginger paste to the mixture.
• No need to add salt as you will have salt in the sauce, however if you wish you can add very little salt to this mixture.
• Dip the broccoli florets into this mixture so that they are coated from all the sides and deep fry them.
• Remove them from oil when they change color to slight reddish brown.

Directions to make sauce :

• In a wok, add sesame oil ( or vegetable oil ), heat it, and add finely chopped ginger, finely chopped garlic.
• Add chopped spring onions, green chillies, black pepper powder, soy sauce, chilli paste, ajinomoto, very little salt.
• The sauce is now ready for manchurian.

To make manchurian :

• Add the broccoli dumplings to the sauce and toss them.
• The sauce should be just enough to coat the dumplings on all the sides .
• Garnish with finely chopped spring onions.

Crispy Poori

To make pooris crispier,  add a little rice flour ( say, 2 tbsp )

to the wheat flour while kneading.

Click here for the recipe of poori 

Oats Roti

Oats , I know, very healthy, low cholestrol, high fibre, etc etc etc.  But what about taste?? I don't like the taste of oats eaten as cereal for breakfast. I have to disguise it to be able to consume.
Hence, I make oats idli, oats dosa , or oats roti, etc. This way i can consume oats without complaining. Making it this way doesn't make much difference to the taste. It almost tastes like a nomal wheat roti.

So here is how I make Oats Rotis.

Ingredients :

• Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
• Rolled Oats - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Oil / Ghee - to sprinkle
• Water - as needed to knead the dough

Directions: 

• Dry roast the oats in a pan. Let it cool and then grind it to a smooth powder.
• In a mixing bowl, take aata ( wheat flour ) , oats powder, salt and knead the dough soft and pliable.
• Make lemon sized balls and brush them with dry flour .
• Roll out each ball into thin discs of approx. 6 inches diameter with the help of a rolling pin.
• Tossing the disc in the dry flour while rolling prevents it from sticking it to the rolling pin.
• Pre heat the tawa ( griddle ) and layout this roti on the hot tawa .
• Cook for about a 30-40 seconds until small bubbles start to form on the top of roti.
• Flip the roti and you will see small brown patches on the roti. After the first flip, sprinkle some oil or ghee on the surface and flip it again after 30 seconds. Sprinkle some more oil/ghee to this surface.
• Cook for 30 more seconds. Roti is done when it looks golden brown from both sides.

Serve with any curry or raita and salad.

Bhindi Raita ( Okra in Curd )

Ingredients :

• Orka ( Bhindi ) - 2 cups
• Yogurt - 2 cups
• Green Chillies - 1 or 2
• Ginger - 1/2 inch
• Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
• Asafoetida ( hing ) - a pinch
• Urad Dal - 1 tsp
• Curry Leaves - 1 spring
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - 4 tbsp for frying bhindis

Directions: 

• Heat oil in a pan and add chopped bhindi. Fry till brown. Remove and keep aside.Let it cool.
• Grind ginger and chillies, make a paste and keep aside.
• Beat the yogurt and add ginger chili paste to it and mix well.
• Add the fried okra into the curd. Add salt to taste.
• For tempering, heat 1 tsp of oil, add mustard seeds, let them crackle. Add urad dal and fry till golden. Add curry leaves and hing.
• Pour this tempering or tadka over the bhindi raita and mix well. 
• Serve as side to roti or even plain toor dal and rice.

Aloo Fry

This is the easiest recipe on earth. Just a simple potato fry with minimum ingredients.
Just fry the potatoes crispy and season with salt and red chili powder. That's it.
The regular potato curry is made adding onions and tomatoes. But this one is just a plain fry which is a good side dish with sambar rice or dal roti.

Well you can add other ingredients such as cumin seeds, coriander powder, cumin powder, amchoor ,etc. to make it more spicy and flavourful . However, you can do without all these as well when you really want to avoid all the masalas.

Ingredients :

• Potatoes ( red or white ) - 3 large
• Salt - to taste
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Hing - a pinch 
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbsp

Directions: 

• Peel and chop the potatoes and soak in water. ( just to save it from turning black )
• Heat oil in a pan, add hing and turmeric powder.
• Throw in the chopped potatoes. Mix well and let it cook on medium heat.
• Do not cover if you want them to turn crispy.
• Keep stirring occasionally making sure the potatoes do not stick to the bottom.
• Season with salt and red chili powder. Mix well. 
• Turn off the heat when potatoes are cooked and crispy and turn beautiful golden.

Serve hot as side to dal-roti or samabr-chawal !!