Sunday, June 22, 2014

Vegetable Salad

Vegetable Spiced Salad / Mayo salad


Ingredients:

Carrots : 2 wedged
Cauliflower or Broccoli : cut into medium size florets. Par-Boiled.
Potatoes : Par-Boiled and wedged.
capsicum : Diced and sauteed
Onion : 1 Large : Diced and sauteed.
Bean sprouts : Handful.
Lemon Juice : 1 Tbsp
Sugar  : 2 pinches.


Mexican Salsa :

Tomatoes : 2 medium size. large diced.
Garlic : 1 clove
Onion : 1 medium sized. Diced.
Coriander seeds : dry roasted.
Green chillies : 1
coriander leaves : 4-5 strings
Salt
Oil : 1 tbsp

For Mayo dressing:

Egg less Mayonnaise : 2 Tbsp
Mint : 1/2 tbsp pasted.
Sugar : 2 pinches

Method :



Spiced Salad :
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Step 1  : Blend the Salsa ingredients into coarsely texture mix. It should look something like given in the below picture.









Step 2 : In a large Mixing bowl, put half portion of the veggies. Toss them in the salsa mix.
Step 3 : Add  Lemon Juice and some sugar.


Enjoy the salad at room temperature.



Mayo salad :
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Step 1 : Mayo Dressing :  Mix the egg less mayo + Sugar  + Mint Paste + 2-3 tbsp of water.

Step 2 : In a Large mixing bowl, take the other half portion of the veggies and toss them with the Mayo dressing.


Step 3 : Refrigerate for 15 to 30 mins.


Enjoy the salad chilled.

Jhunka Wadi

Jhunka Wadi is an absolute favorite dish of the people from North Karnataka. I was blessed to have lived a long part of my life in this place and grown up on such wonderful dishes. Jhunka is a spicy cake dish prepared with Chickpea flour and spices. It is an accompaniment with Hot Jowar Rotis topped with dollops of butter.

Ingredients :

Besan / chickpea flour  : 1 cup
Cumin seeds : 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tbsp
Onion : 1 big medium chopped
Ginger  :  Grated about an Inch
Garlic : 1 Pod , finely chopped
Turmeric powder : 1 Tbsp
Red chilli powder : 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida / Heeng : 2 pinches
Sugar : Optional : 2-3 pinches
Lemon : Juice 1/2 tbsp
Oil for cooking
alt to taste

Garnish : Coriainder Leaves.  Handful chopped.

For tempering :

1 teaspoon sesame seeds
4 to 5 curry leaves
oil





Method:

Step 1: Dissolve the Chikpee flour adding a little water at a time to make a thick batter. Mix in the turmeric powder, lemon juice, heeng, salt and red chilli powder and keep aside.

Step 2: Heat oil in a Deep Wok + add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and allow them to crackle.

Step 3:  Add in the chopped onions, ginger, garlic and saute them until soft and translucent.

Step 4 : Add in the chickpea mixture. cook on low flame and keep stir continuously so as to not form any lumps. Stirring the mixture continuously is the key to this dish. Do not allow the mixture to stick to the Wok bottom.   Keep doing cooking until the whole mixture turn Shiny in Texture.

Step 5 : Turn off the heat and immediately transfer all the contents of wok into a deep Plate or Dish. Spread it evenly using a Spatula. Allow it to cool for about 5 mins.

Step 6 : Using a bread knife, cut into rhombus shaped cakes.

Step 7: Tempering : Heat oil in a tempering pan + Add curry leaves and Sesame seeds. When the curry leaves crackle, Pour the whole mixture on to the Jhunka cakes. Garnish with finely chopped Coriander leaves.


Enjoy Hot with Jowar Rotis or as an accompaniment to Rice & Sambaar.


Mangalore HuLi

Mangalore HuLi is a tangy sambaar prepared traditionally with Pumpkin or a cucumber like watery vegetable called Mangalore Sautekai (in Kannada).  Very popular and healthy dish from Southern Coastal part of Karnataka mostly accompanied with rice.




Ingredients

Toor dal  1 cup
Coriander seeds 2 Tbsp
Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds seeds 2 tbsp
Jeera/ Cummin Seeds 1/4 teaspoon
Dry Red chillies 2-3
Pumpkin : 250 gm : cut into big dices
Grated coconut : 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder : 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves 5-6
Heeng / Asafoetida pinch
salt to taste
Tamarind : Extract 2 -3 tbsp of pulp
Ghee : 2 tbsp.


Method

Step 1: Pressure cook the Daal and keep it aside.

Step 2: Pressure Cook pumpkin to half boil.

Step 3: Soak tamarind in hot water to extract the pulp easily. Keep aside.

Step 4 : Dry roast methi + Coriander seeds +  Red chillies + Jeera. Once they are half roasted, to this add Curry leaves + Grated coconut.

Step 5 : Make a paste : Put all the dry roasted items from Step 4 into a Mixer/ Blender. Make sure the paste is not very fine , but has a good grainy texture. Add 1/4 cup if needed.

Step 6 : In a big Sambaar Wok, Add the cooked dal  and cook for about 5 mins. Add the tamarind Pulp prepared in the step 3.  Cook of medium flame until the Raw smell of the dal and pulp is nuetralized.

Step 7 : Add the half boiled pumpkin + Salt + Turmeric and cook further for 5 mins.

Step 8 : Add the Spice paste prepared in step 5 + 2 pinches of heeng. Boil the whole mixture for about 10 mins. Add 2 Tbsp of Ghee.  And your Mangalore style tangy Pumpkin sambaar is ready.

Traditionally this sambaar is served with steamed plain rice. It is best enjoyed that way.