Sooji (semolina) cheela

This is a very quick and delicious breakfast item. I really love the crisp, crunchy bites that goes well with fresh butter, tomato ketchup or coconut chutney.

Ingredients

2 cups Sooji for 6 cheelas

Salt to taste

½ cup grated coconut

1 tbsp finely cut coriander leaves (optional)

1tsp sesame seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

Water

Ghee or oil

Method

-         Mix all the ingredients together into a thick batter.

-         Heat a non stick pan. Remove it from fire, spread a ladleful of batter to a thin round and keep the pan on medium flame.

-         When it is cooked, pour some ghee on the top and turn it upside down to cook the other side.

-         Serve hot.

Mung dal dry preparation

Ingredients:

1 cup mung dal

Salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

A pinch of asafoetida

½ tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1 cup water

Instructions:

-         Wash the dal, drain and keep aside.

-         Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add asafetida and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the dal, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, stir nicely, and add water.

-         Pressure cook for two and a half minutes.

-         Cool and open the pressure and it is ready to be served alone with chutney or ketchup for breakfast or as an accompaniment for steamed rice.

Sweet and sour mango chutney/curry

Ingredients:

3 medium size raw mangoes

1 tbsp oil

A pinch of asafetida

¾ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp aniseeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

Sugar or jaggery, or both

1 small tomato (optional)

Instructions:

-         Wash and clean the mangoes. Cut them into large cubes.

-         Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan; add asafetida, fenugreek seeds and aniseeds. Sauté ( if you are adding tomato, do it now) and add the mango pieces.

-         Stir for a few seconds, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, or jaggery, or both.

-         Let the mangoes cook, it takes about six minutes.

-         Remove from fire, cool and store in a bottle. It will stay for a few days. If you are making chutney, don’t add the tomato.

-         Alternately, you can also add water and cook to make a curry for immediate use. 

Colocasia sabzi

Colocasia is a starchy globular fleshy taproot of aroid family. Its crunchy, underground root is one of the popular edible root vegetables in Malaysia and India. Colocasia has elevated levels of Potassium, which manages blood pressure level as well as reduces the chance of hypertension.  It is abundant with Vitamin B6 that fortifies the immune system of our body, making the body much less susceptible to illnesses.

Ingredients:

250 gms ghuiyan

12 tbsps oil ( mustard oil gives a wonderful flavor)

1tsp ajwain

½ turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp dry mango powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Cut coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

-         Pressure cook the cleaned ghuiyan for 4 minutes. This time will vary depending on the size and type of ghuiyan. Cool, open the cooker and peel the ghuiyan.

-         Take the ghuiyan one by one and flatten it between the palms.

-         Heat oil in a pan, add the ajwain, then all other masala powders.

-         Reduce the flame and add the ghuiyan.

-    Keep shaking the pan in between to make sure all sides of the ghuiyan come in contact with the pan and develop a crust.

-         Remove from the fire, garnish with  cut coriander leaves and serve with chapatis or steamed rice.

Avarakkai (Hyacinth beans or Broad beans), spring onion sabzi

Fresh avarakkai beans make delicious sabzi, which can be a good accompaniment for both chapattis and steamed rice. They should be pressure cooked with at least five times water and salt for five minutes, and the water has to be discarded as they are toxic due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides.

Ingredients:

2 cups of  avarakkai, pressure cooked and drained

1 bunch of spring onions cleaned and chopped

1 tbs oil

1/ tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp dried mango powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Method:

-                          Heat the oil and add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add all the masala powders.

-                          Add the chopped spring onions, salt and stir for a few seconds on high flame.

-                          Reduce the flame and let the spring onions cook, stirring occasionally.

-                          Now add the cooked avarakkai beans and mix well and remove from fire.

Methi and mooli (fenugreek, radish) ka paratha

We make methi ka paratha and mooli ka paratha. Today my husband suggested combining both. It was a successful experiment. It had the predominant taste of fenugreek leaves, with the crunchiness and mild flavor of radish.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups fenugreek leaves separated and washed

¾ cup grated radish

100 gms wheat flour (for 3 parathas)

Salt to taste

½ cup water

Method: 

-         Knead all the ingredients to a smooth dough

-         Divide into three portions

-         Roll them out and roast on a hot thava , flipping to cook both sides and apply ghee on both sides

-         Serve with any curry or raita

Methi and mooli ka paratha with banana raita and aloo matar ki sabzi (potato green peas curry)

Gooseberry pickle

Ingredients:

Gooseberries    - 20

Salt to taste

Oil        - 2 tbsps

Mustard seeds  - ½ tsp

Asafoetida        - a pinch

Powdered fenugreek seeds       - ¼ tsp

Curry leaves     - a few

Turmeric powder          - 1/3 tsp

Red chilli powder          - ½ tsp

Method:

-         Pressure cook gooseberries with a little salt and one cup water. Switch off the gas when the first whistle comes. Cool, open the cooker, drain the goose berries and cool them. Remove the seeds and separate the gooseberries into small portions.

-         Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder to the gooseberries and mix well.

-         Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add asafetida, the curry leaves and after a second, powdered fenugreek seeds. Stir well.

-         Add the gooseberries, mix well, keeping the flame low.

-         Remove from the flame after two three minutes.

-         This can be consumed like a sabzi, and will not remain for many days without refrigeration. 

-     You can add more oil while making, and store in a bottle like pickle, so that the gooseberries are covered with oil. This has long shelf life without refrigeration.