Poha

Another one of my favorite quick fixes....I totally love Poha, can't say the same for hubby dear but slowly but surely he is becoming a convert. Mainly had for breakfast/ brunch, I sometimes make it for a light dinner too....


This recipe is also my entry for the "Recipes for the rest of us" event started by Ramki. All the measurements can be modified to your requirement.



Ingredients:
Beaten Rice (White)/ Poha - 3 cups
Potato - 2 medium or 4 small (You can add more if you like potatoes like me - but stick to this number if you are having this Poha for Dinner)
Onion - 1 cup chopped small
Lemon - 1 small or 1 1/2 tbsp of Lemon juice
Ginger - 1" piece
Green Chili - 2 sliced
Turmeric Powder - 2 tsp
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - a small bunch
Jeera /Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste




In a saute pan heat oil and add the jeera, ginger, onion and fry till the onions sweat and become pink in color and start to brown. Add salt, turmeric powder, green chili, potatoes and cover and cook till the potatoes are done on low heat.I normally speed up this process by first getting the potatoes done in the microwave while the onions are getting brown, I also put salt with the potatoes. Make sure that the potatoes are cooked just right that they are still soft yet firm enough that they don't crumble on touch.
While this is being done wash the beaten rice and squeeze out the water without crumbling them. Don't leave the rice in water for long - they will disintegrate - 2 quick rinses and you are done.
After the potatoes are done (or in my case ready from the microwave, I drain the potatoes and add) remove the cover and add the beaten rice, raisins and mix well, cover and cook for 1 minute. If you prefer don't cover but make sure you continue to stir until you see the Poha has reduced to less than 1/2 its original size.
Add the lemon juice, stirring at the same time.When you add lemon juice while the Poha is still cooking you will lose some of the juice's sting and also it will help keep the Poha from getting too soggy. Remove from heat and garnish with the coriander leaves.
Serve with a piece of lemon and some lime pickle.

You can also add fried okra slices instead of potatoes.
Generally mustard, urad dal and curry leaves are added as tempering but we just add jeera. Add one or the other ...don't add both.

Poha is available at any Indian grocery store. Look for the white poha...not the translucent one.

Bringal Curry / Eggplant gravy

There are some dishes that are very versatile in the sense they can be had in various ways. Like there are some gravies that go best with rice and not so great with roti or any other type of bread. similarly there are those gravies that go extremely well with roti/chappatis but just don't hit off well with rice. This bringal/ eggplant gravy is a dream come true for any cook who is like me always trying to get the maximum use out of all hard work put in to make a dish :). But not only is it versatile enough for two separate meals, it is a breeze to make; making it very appealing during time crunches I almost always find myself in.

Ingredients:
Small bringal - 1 1/2 cups sliced
Tomato - 1 chopped
Red Onion - finely chopped 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1"
Curry leaves - a few
Green chilli - 1 to 2 depending on preference
Puli vellam / tamarind - lime sized ball or 1 tsp of tamarind paste
Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Malli podi/Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 2 pinches

Gingelly Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Venthiyam/ fenugreek seeds - 3 to 4 seeds
Salt to taste



Wash and slice bringal and put it in salt water and let it remain there until it is ready to be moved to the pan.
Add puli to 3/4 cup of lukewarm water. If you are using tamarind paste you are all set otherwise you will need to soak the tamarind ball for 10 minutes (to speed up microwave for 30 seconds)and then strain the juice.
using a motar and pestle crush the onions, ginger, green chilli & curry leaves. You can also use a grinder and run a single pulse to coarsely crush the four ingredients. Heat a saute pan and add 1 tbsp of gingelly oil to it. It take a little more time to heat up the oil than regular canola oil. Once that is done add the crushed paste to it and saute for a few minutes until the onions start to sweat, about 5 minutes.
Then add the sliced bringal to the pan and fry it for about 5 to 9 minutes. By this time the bringal will be half cooked. Make sure your heat it on low to medium during this time. Once the bringal is half cooked add the chilli powder, malli podi and turmeric powder.
Stir for 2 minutes and add the chopped tomato and salt. After another 2 minutes add the puli vellam and cover and let it boil on low heat. Once it has started to boil and bubble remove the cover and cook it for another 5 minutes until there is very little water left and the gravy becomes thick.
Remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl.
Add the remaining oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, it should be very quick as the pan is already hot and there is very little oil, splutter the mustard seeds and add the venthiyam, urad dal and channa dal. Remove and pour over the gravy.

This dish can be had with roti and it goes very well with hot rice too. Have with potato chips or vattal.

Gingelly oil also know as ellu enna/ or til oil is Sesame seed oil. It has a very distinctive taste and add a lot of flavor on their own to dishes.

The goodness of Eggplant
The goodness of Sesame Seeds

Paruppu Sambhar

This is a very simple sambhar that goes very well with Idli's and Dosai's.

Ingredients
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1/2 , chopped
Tomato - 1
Oil - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves chopped
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Tempering
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Dried Red chilli - 1 to 2
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Curry Leaves - 4 to 5 leaves

Wash the Toor Dal and cook in 1 1/2 cup of water until it can be mashed, this should take about 10 to 15 mins or you could pressure cook it for upto 4 whistles. In the meantime in a saute pan heat oil and add the mustard. Once the mustard splutters add the rest of the tempering ingredients. Now add the chopped onions and tomatoes and cook until the onions are translucent.Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder and after a minute add the Toor Dal and boil for 5 mins. Add salt to taste. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.

Mint Cucumber Raita

This is one of the simplest and quickest Raita you can make.

Ingredients

Cool Yogurt - 1 cup
Cucumber - Cubed 1 cup
Mint powder - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Salt to taste

Remove the seeds from the cucumber before you cube them. To make the mint powder at home dry the mint leaves and powder it coarsely. you can do this ahead of time and use when needed.

In a mixing bowl add cucumber , mint powder. Add the yogurt, salt and a little water and mix well. Add more water if you think the yogurt is still thick.

Raita is ready to be served with hot parathas or biryani.