Saru besara, dahi baigana and mixed vegetables: Culinary trip to Orissa and the warm aroma of cumin :)

The title tells you all, doesn't it ;). Has it ever happened to you that you plan days in advance before a certain event that you really want to enjoy, and then suddenly you get all busy and have almost no time to prepare the much planned khana, let alone blog about it :-D. Why o why, does it happen just before the events :-D. What do you do then? Ah! you day dream, cook those delicacies in your dreams, think of them during the bus rise, during lunch time, write imaginary posts in your mind ;). You also try to sneak some time out, get disappointed, etc etc. when that doesn't happen. and you look for simple, quick and yet delicious recipes to come to your rescue! This certainly was my story this week :)). I had been thinking and imagining about RCI:Orissa since the day it was announced.....and now its the 25th, and i am yet to post anything :). Same for my love for Cumin :). But i decided that i won't give up ;). So last night, i went all out: it took a lil' effort, but it was totally worth it :).


So here are the lovely, easy breezy dishes for RCI:Orissa (being hosted this month by dear friend Swapna of Swad. RCI is an event celebrating the myriad lovely regional cuisines of India, conceptualized by the creative Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine), and for Think Spice:Think Cumin, the spicy event at Sunita's World, a brain child of Dar(l)ing Bakerina Sunita :).

As i looked for dishes for RCI, i wanted something that was quick and easy and yet something that would convey the flavors of Oriya Cuisine. So i zeroed on to Saru besara, a yummy taro and mustard based dish and Dahi Baigana, a culinary meeting of eggplant and curds: the result was fantastic! I loved the Dahi Baigana even more, because it boasted of cumin and hence i could take it to two e-potlucks :). Talking of cumin, how about a really easy mixed vegetable preparation, that primarily derives it flavor from cumin? So friends, here goes: my recent tryst with Oriya cooking and enjoying cumin:

Saru besara:


It is a simple dish made out of taro/arbi (saru in Oriya) in a mustard base (the besara). I adapted the recipe from Oriya Kitchen. Here's my version of Saru besara:

We need:

• 6-7 taro roots, peeled and cut into 1" long pieces
• Mustard paste (2 heaped tsp. mustard+ 2 cloves of garlic: ground into a coarse paste)
• 2 tomatoes (cubed)
• Chopped green chillies (to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. Panch phutana (cumin, mustard, fennel, nigella, fenugreek seeds spice mix)
• 1/4 tsp. Turmeric
• Salt to taste
• Oil (1/2 tbsp. for cooking, 1 tsp for tempering)

Peel the taro roots and cut them into 1" long pieces. Microwave these for 4-5 minutes and set aside. In a pan, heat 1/2 tbsp. oil and add the mustard-garlic paste. Saute' for 1-2 minutes and add the taro pieces. Stir fry for about 5-7 minutes till the pieces are slightly toasted/golden brown. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir. Bring to boil and cook on low heat till the gravy thickens. In a small pan, heat oil and splutter the paanch phutana. Add the cut gbreen chillies and saute' for 1/2 a minute. Add this to the besara and cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve hot with chapati or rice :).

Dahi Baigana:



This is one of the favorite combinations in Indian cuisine, this pairing of eggplants and curds :). Sample e.g. Dahiwala baingan bharta, Baingan Boorani, Buzwangun, Kathrikai pachadi etc. This is the delicious Oriya version of this national favorite. I adapted the recipe from Oriya Nari.

We need:

• 2 Japanese or Graffiti or Chinese eggplants or 4 small eggplants(cut into 2" long pieces)
• 1 and 1/2 cup curds (beaten)
• 1/2 tsp each Cumin and mustard (jeera and sorisha)
• 6-8 curry leaves
• 4 green chillies (cut into 1" pieces)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. oil

Beat the curds with some salt and set aside. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the cumin and mustard and add the curry leaves. Stri in the curry leaves. Saute' the cut eggplant pieces with a lil' salt till the eggplants are fried well and the raw look and smell goes away. Add the cooked eggplants to curds, garnish with lil' bit of chopped green chillies and enjoy with rice :).



I have deviated a bit from original recipe here, because i felt stir frying the eggplant with salt and spice instead of deep frying them and later mixing with spices will enhance the taste of eggplants.

The end result for both these recipes was a yummy virtual trip to an Oriya household. During my M.Sc. i had a chance to work in a lab for my summer training where i met many Oriya colleagues. I still remember the taste and aroma of the delicious tiffins i had the pleasure of enjoying :). These closely matched the taste in my memories :).

Now for the simple mixed vegetable jeere wali ;)

This is a quick and easy preparataion and is a regular in my kitchen.

We need:

• Carrots, Cauliflower and Broccoli mixed (i used frozen California style vegetable mix-1 packet) about 1 and 1/2 cup equivalent.
• 1/3 cup green peas
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 small tomato chopped
• Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
  
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. oil

In hot oil, splutter the cumin and saute' the onions. Stir in the mixed vegetables and green peas and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and tomatoes. Stir well, cover and cook on low heat till done. Enjoy with parantha or as a sandwich stuffing. Also works well as a side dish with rice and daal :).



Saru besara and dahi baigana are my contributions for RCI-Orissa at Swapna's corner. I am also sending dahi baigana along with mixed vegetables jeere wali, to Sunita's Think Spice-Think Cumin get together.

Arbi-bataun di sabzi-taro root and eggplants :)

This is just as simple as it sounds, friends. Arbi is taro and bataun is baingan, eggplants, aubergines, brinjals etc etc.....Now, isn't that combo interesting :). I know, i know.....y'all are thinking, hey, wasn't it meant to be aloo-baingan ;). The ever favorite of Punjus, the great spud, needs to take rest sometimes ;). Meanwhile, arbi/arvi or taro-root steps in and how! Aloo-bataun/aloo-baingan or "potatoes and eggplants", with or without wadis, is a classic Punju combo. Equally yummy, but a far less talked about variation is the use of taro with eggplants. Well, that statement is not completely true: it is a rather popular summer time combo in rural Punjab, but not much talked about elsewhere. So here's our chance to talk about it and enjoy it :). And its a very versatile combo too: enjoy it as a simple, mild, tari-wali (gravied) sabzi or a spicy, kicked-up sukki (dry) sabzi. It is usually made with Chinese eggplants (the long eggplants), but you can use any variety available and it would still taste good. So here are the two recipes: for all taro and eggplant lovers to enjoy.....and also as my contribution to RCI:Punjab :). My agenda is clear here :). That is, to blog about Punjabi recipes, that used to be common once upon a time and are fading away, or are not well known outside Punjabi community, or recipes that are only made in specific parts of Punjab, the regional specialities.....last post exemplified a recipe now sorta' extinct, and another one thats typically Punju, but not particularly famous outside Punjab. Why i am doing it? Just my attempt to preserve a bit of my own culinary heritage.....and share it with my friends.



Arbi-bataun sabzi (tari-wali):

We need:

• 1 big eggplant (round) or 4-5 Chinese eggplants or 6-7 small round eggplants
• 7-8 taro roots
• 1/2 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 tomato (chopped)
  
• 1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander seeds
• Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 heaped tsp. Amchoor (mango powder)
  
• 1-2 green chillies (chopped, optional)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp. melted Ghee/Oil
• Chopped cilantro
• A pinch of garam masala (from the red-lobia post)

Wash the eggplants and cut them into 2-inch long pieces (traditional way). Wash and scrape the taro-roots and cut them into 1-2 inch long pieces.

In 1 tsp. hot oil, splutter the cumin and coriander seeds and saute' the onions. Add the cut taro pieces and cook with the onions on high heat for 4-5 minutes to eliminate the stickiness. Alternatively you may bake/toast the taro lightly or microwave the chopped taro for 4-5 minutes. In a separate pan, add the remaining oil and then stir-fry the eggplant pieces for 4-5 minutes. Add these to the taro and stir. Add the copped tomatoes, stir and cook for a cpl. of minutes. Now add the turmeric and chilli powder, followed by salt. Stir again and add 1 and half cup of water. Bring to boil and then cook on low flame till the gravy thickens. Add the chopped green chillies, cilantro and garam masala.

Ready to be served with chapati/phulka, parantha or rice :).

Arbi-bataun sabzi (sukki):

We need:

• 1 big eggplant (round) or 4-5 Chinese eggplants or 6-7 small round eggplants
• 7-8 taro roots
• 1 onion (sliced thin)
• 2 inch piece of ginger and 4-5 garlic cloves (made into paste)
• 1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander seeds
• Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 heaped tsp. Amchoor (mango powder)
  
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp. Oil

Chop the vegetables as in the recipe above. Microwave the taro pieces for 5 minutes. In a pan, heat 1/2 tsp. oil and splutter the seeds. saute the sliced onion on low heat till tender and brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir again. Add the taro pieces and stir. Now add the remaining oil, followed by the eggplant pieces. Stir and cook on high for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, amchoor and salt. Stir and cook on low heat after covering the pan till done. To enjoy, inhale the spicy, yummy aroma, make some rotis or parathas and enjoy with this sabzi and some curds :).

Notes: The gravy sabzi is meant to be mild, if you have another dry sabzi to accompany. in that case you may omit the green chiliies. The dry sabzi is preferably enjoyed as a lip-smacking spicy dish with some chilled dahi/curds (with some salt and black pepper).Talking about dahi, many Punjus enjoy a small katori/vatki/cup of curds with sugar after lunch :)). i am not one of them.....i love my dahi with salt!! For variations, if you are using Chinese eggplants, cut them into rounds. Arbi can also be cut into rounds. Cutting the vegetables differently changes the taste and look of the dish! Makes a lot of difference! Also, you may like to try this recipe with arbi alone (just reduce the amount of onions, or omit them altogether and use hing and dry masala instead). I have tried to minimize the oil requirement here :). Patience is the key here, the eggplants do get cooked in due time, you don't need too much oil :). I mention this, because some households use deep-frying for the dry recipe. On an aside, I prefer using Olive Oil for my cooking. Try it :).

Oh! and the pictures for the dry sabzi have been taken with my camera phone! My camera is not working anymore.....he he, first the internet, now the camera! These pictures are doing no justice to how this dish actually looked!! Hmm, now that i am talking, lemme also tell you that the first recipe was meant to be posted for JFI eggplants as well.....but as i mentioned, internet wasn't helping :). So here it is finally :)).

Hope you'll enjoy this eggplant-taro affair :).