Thotakura Mutton with Miryala Chaaru

Whenever I was writing a recipe using Maat ki bhaji or Thotakura or Amaranth leaves I have written a lot about how I always missed it. And, missed it, I did. And one of my favorite favorite recipes with Amaranth leaves is with lamb or mutton.
                              This dish is so very delicious and when you pair it with hor white rice and ghee its DE-vine. And ofcourse needless to say it goes very well with plain roti also. So here is the recipe for my favorite thotakura recipe

Maat Ki Bhaji Gosht (Amaranth leaves with mutton)

Thotakura lamb

Ingredients:

1. 1 bunch Amaranth leaves (roots removed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces)
2. 1/2-1 lb lamb or goat meat cut into bite sized pieces
3. 1 medium sized onion sliced
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste
6. 2 green chillies slit

In a pressure cooker at the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the meat , all the spices and fry for 5 minutes . add 1/2 cup water and cover and cook for 2 whistles. After the steam escape, open the cooker and add the washed and drained amaranth leaves and cook for 2 more whistles. After the steam escapes, open the cooker garnish with cilantro and simmer till all excess water evaporates. Serve with rice and Miryala Chaaru

Miryala Chaaru (Tamarind soup with black pepper)



Miryala Chaaru

 Ingredients:

1. 3 cups juice from a small lime sized tamarind
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, coriander powder, fresh ground black pepper
3. 1/4 teaspoon cumin, mustard seeds
4. 2 teaspoons oil
5. 3 dried red chillies broken, few curry leaves

In a pot bring to boil the tamarind juice along with salt, turmeric, coriander powder and black pepper. Boil for 10 minutes. In a pan heat the oil fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a couple of minutes. Add curry leaves and red chillies and fry till they start spluttering. Add this to the tamarind juice and some chopped cilantro and keep boiling for 10 more minutes. Serve

Poblano chili khatta and Pan fried Chicken breast

Today I am a bit tired but I had thawed chicken breasts since morning. So I made the fastest pan seared chicken breast which I know are always the super fast fly-of-the-plate yummy.
               And to go with this chicken fry I made a variation of Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Sallan with Pasilla Chili Pepper or Poblano and it is great. Here is the recipe for your to decide for yourself

Poblano Chilli Khatta (Famous Hyderabadi Sour gravy with Poblano chilies)

Hyderabadi Mirchi ka sallan with Poblano

Ingredients:

1. 1 poblano chili cut into 11/2 inch and 1/2 inch thick pieces
2. 2 cups juice from a small lemon sized tamarind
3. 1/2 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, salt, chilly powder
5. 1-2 green chillies (optional)

Grind to a paste:

1. 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
2. 1 tablespoon coconut powder or 1/2 cup coconut milk
3. 1 medium onion

Heat the oil and fry the cumin till they splutter. Add the poblano and fry till the raw green smell disappears. Add the green chillies if using. Add the ground paste and the tamarind juice and bring to a boil. Add salt and chilly powder and simmer for 15 minutes. garnish with cilantro and serve with rice

Pan Fried Chicken Breast (Simple chicken breast fry with onions and spices)

 Pan fried Chicken

Coconut chutney with Tamarind and Beetroot Fry

Today I am in a mood for totally vegetarian meal or may be I can safely say South Indian Vegetarian meal. I know the coconut chutney is from Andhra and the Beetroot fry may be only from Karnataka as my mom never made it and I was first introduced to this stirfry by one of my close Kannadiga friends's. Supposedly it is a very good postpartum recipe. It is super delicious and super super simple to make and takes less than 10 minutes if you use canned pre-cut beetroot. So here you go

Beetroot Fry (Simple beetroot stirfry)

Beetroot Poopu

Ingredients:

1. 1 can beetroot cut into shoestrings ,drained
2. 1/2 tablespoon oil
3. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, salt
4. 2 dried red chillies
5. few curry leaves

In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds along with dried red chillies and curry leaves and fry till they splutter. Add the drained beetroot pieces, cover and cook on medium high for 7-8 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot fluffy rice or roti

Coconut Chutney with Tamarind (Spicy Coconut dip)

Andhra Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups fresh coconut pieces
2. 1-11/2 cup juice from a small lemon sized tamarind
3. 1 jalapeno or Serrano chilli chopped
4. 1 teaspoon cumin divided
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of urad dal, chana dal (soaked in water for 10 minutes), mustard seeds, asafoetida, salt
6. 1/2 tablespoon oil
7. 1-2 dried red chillies broken
8. few curry leaves
9. 1 garlic pod chopped

In a food processor grind together coconut, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, green chilly and salt with tamarind water into almost a smooth paste. In a pan heat the oil and fry all the remaining things (for tempering) until they start to splutter. Add asafoetida at the end and fry for one more minute. Add this to the top of the coconut chutney. Enjoy with hot fluffy rice or idli or carrot idli or  dosa or Ravva Dosa or Gaarelu 

Gongura Pulihora

Gongura or Sorrel leaves or Ambada is a great leafy vegetable which is used in so many different ways in Indian dishes. This dish is one of those versatile dishes. This is rice with sorrel leaves. This is sour rice and instead of tamarind juice or lemon juice or grated raw mango we used cooked ground sorrel leaves here and it is yummy

Gongura Pulihora (Rice with sour sorrel leaves)

Gongura Pulihora

Ingredients:

1. For Sorrel rice
   1. 2 cups rice cooked and set aside to cool
   2. 1 cup ground sorrel leaves paste
   3. 1 teaspoon each of salt, sugar, sesame seeds
   4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
   5. 2 tablespoons oil
   
   For tempering
   1.1 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal (black gram), chana dal
   2. 3 dried red chillies
   3. few curry leaves
   
   

   For Sorrel leaves paste
   1. In a pressure cooker cook the sorrel leaves with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric for 2 whistles and let cool.
   2. Grind to a fine paste
   
   For Sour Sorrel leaves rice
   In a pan heat the oil and fry chana dal, urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds and dried chilly till the seeds start to crackle. Add sesame seeds, turmeric salt, sugar and curry leaves and fry for a couple of more minutes. Add the sorrel leaves paste and cook for five minutes. Add the cooked rice and mix well. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Let it cool a bit and enjoy

1. Also try Sour rice with raw mango
2.              Sour rice with Tamarind

Maamidi Pulihora

Grated Raw mango

Mamidi Pulihora is one of those seasonal dishes which is delicious. This dish is made with freshly grated green mango so it can be only made in the Mango season. I had this dish for the first time in one of my friend's home and I got hooked onto it. And here is the recipe for you to enjoy

Maamidi Pulihora (Sour rice with raw mango)

Mango Rice

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized raw mango peeled, pitted and grated
2. 2 cups rice cooked
3. 2 tablespoons oil
4. 1 handfull each of cashew pieces, peanuts
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, asafoetida, salt, turmeric, finely chopped ginger
6. 1 teaspoon each of urad dal, chana dal (soaked for 10 minutes), sesame seeds
7. 1 big or 2 green chillies chopped, few curry leaves, 2 dried red chillies
8. Cilantro for garnish

In a pan heat the oil and fry the peanuts for a couple of minutes.  Add cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, cashew pieces and let them splutter. Let them all get fried. Now add rice and grated mango and mix well. cover and simmer on low for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro and let it cool a bit and serve.

Also try Tamarind Rice (Pulihora)

Lamb with lentils and Saffron Pulao

I started searching for lamb dishes with beans and the dish I finally made has a little Persian touch to it and is definitely one of the best lentil dishes I have every eaten. This dish has lentils and lima beans . The original recipe called for Sultanas (I am guessing these are Lima beans...I have seen them somewhere ) . But anyway since I couldn't find Sultana beans I used canned Lima beans and the dish turned out to be great.
                   And I made Saffron Pulao to serve this lamb dish with. This is a bit different from the Saffron Rice I make. And this is equally delicious. So please enjoy a great dinner

Lamb with Lentils (Lamb meat with spicy lentils and beans)

Lamb with beans and lentils

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lamb or goat cut into medium bite size pieces
2. 1/2 cup lentils
3. 1/2 can lima beans drained
4. 1 bay leaf
5. 1 inch cinnamon stick broken
6. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon each of salt and chilly powder
7. 1/2 teaspoon each of turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste
8. 2 tablespoons oil
9. 1 medium onion chopped
10. 1 big or 2 small green chillies slit
11. cilantro for garnishing

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they start turning brown. Add green chillies, cinnamon and bay leaf and fry for a minute. Add lamb and fry for 5 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add all the spices and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup water and cook for 3-4 whistles. At the same time in another pot add the lentils with 2 cups of water and cover and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat for 25-30 minutes until the lentils are cooked through.

               Let all the steam from the pressure cooker escape, open it and add the lentils and lima beans to the pot. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti or Saffron Pulao

Saffron Pulao (Rice cooked with Saffron)

Saffron Rice

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups basmati rice washed and soaked in water for 10 minutes.
2. 1/2 teaspoon saffron crushed
3. 1/2 teaspoon salt
4. 1 cup milk
5. 2 cups water
6. 1 tablespoon oil
7. 1/2 cup sliced red onions

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and fry the onions till they become golden brown. Add the milk and water and salt and bring to a boil. Add saffron and drained rice and simmer on low for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Serve

Thotakura Pappu and Dahi Mirch

Thotakura or Amaranth or Maat ki bhaji or Chawli ki bhaji are the names of my favorite leafy vegetable in different languages. Sometimes when the whole family would go on road trips we would stop at Andhra Meal hotels...I don't know if they still exist because when the Golden Quadrilateral road project was built to connect various cities of India, the road was built to by-pass the villages. So it was also by-passing all the old hotels and meal places.
               Anyway in those hotels my favorite dish was ThotaKura Pappu. This Dal dish I make it either thick or a little thinner consistency with some other side dish. Today I made Bell pepper with yogurt and it was amazing. So here's the recipes

Maat ki Bhaji Dal (Lentils with Amaranth leaves)

Thotakura Pappu

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup toor dal (toasted)
2. 3-4 cups Amaranth leaves chopped along with stems
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, urad dal,mustard seeds, salt, chilly powder , turmeric
5. 1 big or 2 small garlic pods chopped 
6. 1 big or 2 small tomatoes chopped
7. 2 dried red chillies broken
8. Few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker add the dal, tomatoes and leaves along with turmeric with 2 cups water and cook for 4 whistles. Let all the steam escape and open the cooker and mash the dal a little. Add one more cup of water and bring to a boil. In a pan heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds and urad dal along with red chillies and curry leaves for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and fry for one more minute. Add the dal to this and the rest of the ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil. SImmer for 5-7 minutes. garnish with cilantro if desired and serve with hot rice

Dahi Mirch (Capsicum and potato in yogurt gravy)

Dahi Mirch Salan

Ingredients:

1. 1/2 green and 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper cut into cubes
2. 2 medium small potatoes boiled
3. 2 tablespoons oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, turmeric, salt, chilly powder
5. 1/2-3/4 cup plain yogurt beaten
6. 1/2 cup milk
7. 1 heaped teaspoon besan (chickpea flour)
8. 1 teaspoon kasuri methi

Peel the potatoes and mash 1 and set aside. Cut the other potato into small pieces. Heat the oil and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a minute. Add the potato pieces and fry for 5 minutes. Add capsicum or bell pepper and fry for few more minutes. Move them to one side of the pan and add besan to it and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the milk and yogurt mix and mix well. Add chilly powder and turmeric and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Cut the heat. Add salt and kasuri methi stir to combine and serve hot

Sem Phalli Gosht aur Aam ka khatta

Sem ki Phalli or Chikudu kaaya in Telugu or Indian Broad beans or Valor papdi are all the names of an amazing bean vegetable. It is a very versatile Indian vegetable and can be cooked with many other vegetables or meats. Sometimes in India you can buy only their seeds or beans and they are great. Here in the USA you can sometimes find them in the Frozen vegetables section.


Today I made this Indian broad beans with lamb and to go with it a simple but delicious Raw mango Gravy.Try it for yourself and enjoy


Sem Ki Phalli Gosht (Lamb with Indian Broad beans curry)

Sem ki Phalli Gosht

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb Sem ki phalli ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 1/2 lb boneless or bone-in lamb cut into bite size pieces
3. 1 medium small onion sliced
4. 2 green chillies slit
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste
6. 2 tablespoons oil

My mom never used to put any garam masala (the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves) in the meat if it is being mixed into any vegetables and so I do the same. But is totally up to you if you want to put some garam masala in this curry

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till they just start getting browned. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes. Add garam masala now if you want to use it. Add the meat and fry for 5 minutes. Add all the spices and 1/4 cup water and cover and cook for 2-3 whistles. Let the steam escape, add washed sem ki phalli pieces and cook for one more whistles. Let the steam escape, open the cooker and stir to combine and simmer till excess water evaporates and the gravy thickens. Serve with Roti or with white rice and Kairi ka khatta

Kairi Ka Khatta (Spicy Raw mango gravy)

Aam ka Khatta

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium sized raw mango or kairi peeled and chopped into bite size pieces (you can throw the pit or seed else leave some flesh on it and cook it. I love to cook it)
2. 1 tablespoon oil
3. 1/2-3/4 cup sliced onions
4. 2 green chillies slit
5. 1/2 or more teaspoon salt
6. 1/2 teaspoon each if chilly powder, turmeric

In a pressure cooker add the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add the green chillies and fry for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, add about 1-2 cups water and cook for 3 whistles. Let the steam escape and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro, give it a taste test and add salt or more water and adjust it. Serve with hot fluffy rice

Boiled Egg Curry

Long time ago, a certain person name "Hussain" worked as a cook for my dad. And he introduced us to some of the delicious curries of all time. He was a very mellow person and hard working too. At that time my dad used to work in another city from where our family was actually based. So I think we went there to spend two summers and I still remember those lazy afternoons mainly because my dad didn't have TV there and so we kids had to make our imagination work to pass time. I can never forget those days!!!
                But anyway, this is one of his recipes and my all time favorite egg curry recipes. I hope you will like it too

Hussain's Egg Curry (Boiled egg curry with tomato gravy)

Boiled Egg Curry

Ingredients:

1. 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled
2. 1 medium onion chopped
3. 3-4 large ripe tomatoes chopped
4. 1 teaspoon black gram (Urad dal with skin)
5. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, cumin, chilly powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
7. 1 tablespoon oil+ oil for frying the eggs

In a wok or pan heat about 1-2 tablespoons oil and fry the eggs (make some slits in the boiled eggs else they will splutter in your face!) and fry for 5 minutes stirring often. Drain and set aside.

If there is not enough oil, add some more. Add urad dal and cumin and fry till an aroma starts emanating. Add onions and cook till tender. Add tomatoes and cover and cook till pulpy. Add all the ingredients and tomatoes and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti or rice and Rasam

Tuna curry with Refried beans gravy

Now, I had to have a quick dinner ready and I didn't have the patience to prepare any elaborate vegetables. So the best option at such situations is canned things and the two dishes I am making today both make use of canned items and I am serving them with hot fluffy rice cooked in the rice cooker

Bachelor's Tuna Curry (Canned Tuna cooked with onions and tomatoes)

Canned Tuna Curry

Ingredients:

1. 2 cans of tuna packed in water, drained
2. 2 ripe medium sized tomatoes sliced
3. 1 medium small onion sliced
4. 2 tablespoons oil
5. 1 green chilly sliced
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste

In a pan heat the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add green chillies and ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook till they become pulpy. Add all the spices and stir to combine. Add fish and cover and simmer for 5 minutes. garnish with cilantro and serve

Refried Beans Gravy (Quick gravy with re-fried beans and spices)

Re-fried beans gravy

Ingredients:

1. 1 can refried beans
2. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
3. 2 teaspoons oil
4. 1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt
5. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, chilly powder, turmeric, coriander powder
6. 2 dried red chillies broken
7. few curry leaves
8. cilantro for garnishing

In a pan heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds and fry for a minute. Add red chilies and curry leaves and fry till they start spluttering. Add tomato paste and all the other ingredients except refried beans and fry for a few minutes. Add refried beans and mash if there are too many whole beans. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Gently boil for 10 minutes on medium low flame. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamy rice

Biscuits and Gravy

Today being Sunday, is again a day to make some breakfast but I was in no mood to make any Indian breakfast which usually are very time consuming and need your constant attention. But anyway, breakfast has to be made. I has about 1/2 lb ground lamb so I am using it to make gravy with sausage (the ground lamb is the sausage part) for ready to bake Pillsbury's flake biscuits. And even my little one loved it. So here it is, try it when you are short of time but have some ground meat/chicken/turkey at hand


Gravy for Biscuits (Ground lamb in a flour gravy)
Ingredients:

1. 1 cup lightly packed ground lamb/ chicken /turkey or about 1/2 lb
2. 3-4 cups milk
3. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4. 3 tablespoons butter
5. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, fresh ground black pepper



Biscuits and Gravy



Warm baked biscuits

In a pan melt 2 tablespoons butter and fry the ground meat till well done. Drain the meat and set aside. Add the remaining butter and fry the flour by stirring continuously and make sure it doesn' burn. Fry till it starts turning light brown. Add milk a little at a time and stir well to combine. See that no lumps form. Add 3 cups milk and cook for 5 minutes. If the consistency is too thick at a bit more milk or cook a little bit more if it is too thin. Add the meat and salt and pepper, stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot with hot baked biscuits

Purple Cabbage Chana Masala

After coming to the USA I have some vegetables in different colors and I love them. Some of the vegetables I fell in love are purple cabbage, yellow and green cauliflower and my favourite Yellow Watermelon. Oh!!! I was sooo sweet.
Today I am making a regular curry with different colored vegetable and it does taste different. I am not sure what the difference is, but is certainly better tasting

Purple Cabbage Chana Masala (Cabbage and Lentil curry)

Purple cabbage chana masala

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups purple cabbage sliced fine (or a medium small cabbage)
2. 2/3 cup lentils or chana dal soaked in water for 20 minutes.
3. 1 tablespoon oil
4. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, salt, turmeric, chilly powder
5. few curry leaves, 2 dried red chillies broken

In a cooker, add the chana dal and cabbage and turmeric and 1/2 cup water and cook for 2 whistles. Let all the steam escape. heat oil in a pan and add cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies and fry for a minute. Add one finely chopped garlic if desired and fry for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir once and add the cabbage mixture.  Simmer till excess water evaporates. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot hot roti