Maat ki Phalli Khatta

Maat ki Phalli or cluster beans...I have a love hate relationship with them. I really crave them sometimes and sometimes I do not want to even see them. Right now I am going through the "loving it" phase and this is one of my fav recipes.

Maat Ki Phalli Khatta (Cluster beans in tamarind gravy)

Maat ki phalli khatta

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of cluster beans cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 2 cups of juice from a lime sized tamarind
3. 2 tablespoons rice flour
4. 1 tablespoon each of oil, roasted peanuts powder
5. 1/2 cup chopped red onion
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal, turmeric, chopped garlic
7. 2 green chillies
8. few curry leaves

In a pressure cooker add the oil and heat it. Add cumin, urad dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry till they start to splutter. Add onions and fry for 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add cluster beans and fry for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and close the cooker and cook for 3 whistles.

If you are not using cooker then cover and cook for 20 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with white rice and shrimp

Amaranth Shrimp fry (Dry peanut based leafy vegetable and Shrimp fry)

Thota kura Shrimp fry

Ingredients:

1. 2-3 cups chopped Amaranth leaves (Thota kura)
2. 12 oz medium shrimp peeled and deveined
3. 1 cup chopped onions
4. 2 tablespoon oil
5. ½ teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, urad dal, mustard seeds, chopped ginger, chopped garlic
6. 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
7. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast

1. 2 tablespoons peanuts
2. 2 dried red chillies (reduce if you like less spicy)
3. Few curry leaves
4. 1 tablespoon dried coconut
5. 1 teaspoon cumin

Dry roast the ingredients under dry roast and let cool. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and add urad dal and mustard seeds along with broken chillies and curry leave. Fry for a minute. Add chopped onions and fry till they start turning brown. Add ginger and garlic pieces and fry for a minute. Add chopped thota kura and add salt and turmeric and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add shrimp and all the other spices and cook for 10 minutes. Add ground peanut powder and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamy rice

Pasta with Lamb and Mushroom

I started by thinking I will make Cheese steak pasta i.e pasta in white sauce along with lamb but what I ended by making was much more delicious and not as much cheesy. It just flew off the table

Pasta with Lamb and Mushroom

Pasta with Mushroom and Lamb

Ingredients:

1. 1 lb lamb cut into 1 cm pieces
2. 1 tablespoon each of olive oil, butter
3. 8 oz mushrooms sliced
4. 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
5. 1/2 cup chopped onions
6. 2-3 garlic pods chopped fine
7. 1 heaped table spoon flour
8. 1/4 tomato sauce
9. 1 cup each of water, milk
10. 1 chicken bouillon
11. 1/2 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, salt, fresh ground black pepper, oregano, tarragon
12. 2.5 cups of your fav pasta cooked to al dente

Marinate the lamb with 1 little oil, salt and pepper for 20 minutes.

Heat a pan and fry the lamb for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. In the same pan add the rest of the oil and butter and fry the onions till 5 minutes. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add mushrooms and spinach and fry for 6-7 minutes. Scoop them to one side of the pot and add the flour and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato paste and all the rest of the ingredients and and simmer until the pasta is done. Add the drained pasta simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese

Amaranth Mushroom fry

Happy new year every one...It has been one heck of an year 2017. I hope 2018 brings the best of everything for everyone and above all may there be world peace and less people getting dislocated from their homes, no matter what the cause.

Anyway, I got my favorite leafy vegetable when I went to the Indian stores and I wanted to make something which the kids will also eat without fussing because mushroom is their fav. And this dry curry is so delicious, I had to blog it fast before I would forget it. You should try and if possible please let me know.

Amaranth Mushroom fry (Dry peanut based leafy vegetable and mushroom fry)

Thota kura Mushroom fry

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups chopped Amaranth leaves (Thota kura)
2. 8 oz button mushrooms sliced
3. 1/3 cup chopped onions
4. 1 tablespoon oil
5. ½ teaspoon each of salt, turmeric, urad dal, mustard seeds, chopped ginger, chopped garlic
6. 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
7. 2 dried red chillies

Dry roast

1. 2 tablespoons peanuts
2. 2 dried red chillies (reduce if you like less spicy)
3. Few curry leaves
4. 1 tablespoon dried coconut
5. 1 teaspoon cumin

Dry roast the ingredients under dry roast and let cool. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and add urad dal and mustard seeds along with broken chillies and curry leave. Fry for a minute. Add chopped onions and fry till they start turning brown. Add ginger and garlic pieces and fry for a minute. Add chopped thota kura and add salt and turmeric and cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and all the other spices and cook for 10 minutes. Add ground peanut powder and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot steamy rice