Maat ki phalli fry

 Maat ki phalli fry ( stir fried clusters beans with coconut and peanuts)

Maat ki phalli fry

Ingredients 

1. 12 oz frozen clusters beans beans thawed or fresh ends cut and cut into 1-11/2 inch pieces
2. 2 tablespoons oil
3. 1 medium onion chopped fine
4. 2 tablespoons each of besan and grated coconut, roasted peanut powder
5. 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder, chilli powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt (add more to taste), cumin powder, turmeric, mustard seeds
7. Few curry leaves

In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and fry till they start to splutter. Add the onions and fry for 2 minutes, make the flame to be high and add the cluster beans and fry for 10 minutes covered. Stir occasionally.

Add all the spices and mix, reduce the heat to medium add the besan and rest of the ingredients and continue to cook for 5 more minutes . Add coconut and peanut powder stir to combine, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 5 minutes. Add the curry leaves fry for 2 more minutes and enjoy with white rice and dal

Garlic Paneer aur Ambada Dal Chawal

Ambada which is red Sorrel leaves in hindi is one of those sour tart leafy greens which either people love or not so much. I happen to be one of those people, who just loveeeees it. I never miss a chance to get it whenever I find it in the Indian stores. There is another version of the Sorrel leaf rice or Gongura Pulihora which is make quite often. The version I made today is different and its equally delicious.

I served it with Garlic Paneer which can be easily changed to Garlic chilli paneer by adding finely chopped green chillies and bell pepper

Garlic paneer (Indian cottage cheese spicy stir fry)

Garlic Paneer

Ingredients:

1. 1 500 gms block of Paneer, cut into 1 inch cubes
2. 2 tablespoons oil
3. 1 tablespoon each of soya sauce, Chinese chilli garlic paste, white vinegar
4. 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
5. 1 small onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
6. 1/2 teaspoon cumin
7. 1 teaspoon or more finely chopped garlic
8. green onions and cilantro to garnish
9. Few curry leaves and few red chillies

For Marinade:

1. 2 tablespoons corn starch
2. 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, red chilli flakes, ginger garlic paste

Mix the paneer pieces with the marinade items and set it aside for atleast 15 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the paneer until it starts getting slightly browned. Drain and set aside. add the rest of the oil and add the cumin, curry leaves and red chillies. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.

mix soya sauce+ketchup+chilli garlic paste+vinegar+1/4 cup water

Add this mixture to the pan along with paneer and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with green onions and cilantro and enjoy

Ambada Dal Chawal (Rice with Sorrel leaves and split peas)

Ambada Dal chaval

Ingredients:

For Sorrel rice

1. 2 cups rice cooked and set aside to cool

3. 1 teaspoon each of salt, aseofotida, sesame seeds

4. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

5. 2 tablespoons oil

6. 1/2 cup chopped onions

7. 2 cups sorrel leaves

8. 1/3 cup chana dal

9. 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

For tempering

1.1 teaspoon each of cumin, mustard seeds, urad dal (black gram),

2. 3 dried red chillies

3. few curry leaves

For Sorrel leaves paste

1. In a pressure cooker cook the sorrel leaves and chana dal with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric for 4-6 whistles and let cool.

2. Grind to a fine paste

In a pan heat the oil and fry  urad dal, cumin, mustard seeds and dried chilli and curry leaves till the seeds start to crackle. Add ginger and onions and fry for a few minutes. Add sesame seeds, turmeric salt and hing 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

Sem ki phalli Baingan

I can't believe how long it has been that I had this curry. Long ago when I was a little kid my Daadi Ammi used to plant this in my backyard and in the season we ould have loads of Sem ki Phalli or Chikudu kaaya in Telugu i.e Indian Broad beans and its seeds or the "beeng" were me and my father's favourite.

              Even later on when we moved to another city my mom would make this curry with brinjal and it used to be my favourite. But after coming to USA finding fresh Sem ki Phalli in the Indian stores is a rarity. And this time I did and even though they costed like 4 times that of frozen sem I still got it and definetely there is no surpassing the taste of a fresh veggie over frozen

Sem ki Phalli Baingan (Indian broad beans with eggplant curry)

Ingredients:

1. 1/2-3/4 lb Sem ki Phalli ends removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2. 4-5 indian eggplants or about 2 cups cut any eggplant
3. 1 medium tomato (optional)
4. 1 medium small onion sliced thin
5. 2 green chillies slit
6. 2 tablespoons oil
7. 3/4 teaspoon each of salt, chilly powder, turmeric

In a pressure cooker heat the oil and fry the onions till tender. Add green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes. Add brinjal or eggplant and tomato if using and fry for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, 1/4 cup water and cook for 2 whistles or cook in a covered pot for 15-20 minutes until the veggies get cooked. Open the cooker and simmer till excess water evaporates and garnish with cilantro and serve with Any Indian Roti

or serve with Rice and Tomato Rasam