Mothaan di khichdi, Sukke aloo and Paneer di kadhi

Three dishes, so different from each other :). And all three are pretty simply, yet delicious! The first one, a very simple khichdi. Now, this khichdi is the simplest ode to this whole genre of dishes-dal+chawal=khichdi! As simple as this sounds :). Moth/matki and rice cooked together to creamy perfection with just some salt and ghee! Its a lovely meal, and is my favorite since childhood. My Bibiji used to make it a lot.....daal and rice slowly blending together on angeethi (movable earthen stove) and the final taste and aroma would come from moth, ghee and the smoke! Yes, food cooked on slow fire on an earthern stove has that distinct touch.....and sometimes, simple food can be the most delicious :). Anyway, years later, when i was in the hostel, i once wrote a letter to my Mom telling her how much i craved this khichdi. and in her really cute response she wrote, "You've to learn to cook, to eat something delicious". If it were chat, you would see some wink symbols after this ;). So yes, i love this one. I don't have an angeethi or a chullah (fixed earther stove), so i can't get that real smokey flavor, but hey, its still delish :)).

The next one, the sukki aloo sabzi is another quick eat and is a Multani style recipe. Sliced potatoes cooked with dry spices. Yummy and tangy :). The last one, is one of those really old fashioned dishes, sounds quite odd, but is real easy to make and easier to fall in love with. The only pre-requisites: sour curds and freshest possible paneer :). I have had it a few times, long ago.....The memories of this dish were rekindled again during a casual conversation with an acquaintance, who fondly mentioned how his Mom makes the best paneer kadhi :).

So lets start:

Mothaan di khichdi:


We need:

• 1/2 cup moth/matki (soaked 1 hr. in warm water)
• 1/2 cup rice (non-basmati, i used brown rice)
• salt to taste
• a pinch of red chilli powder and garam masala
• 1-2 tsp. ghee

Pressure cook the moth daal in 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups water(4-5 whistles) till its really soft. Add the washed rice and add some more water. Add salt and chilli powders to taste, a tsp. ghee and stir. Pressure cook for another 2-3 whistles. The result should be a liquidy, creamy khichdi.

Bubbling with joy ;)

Blend in the remaining ghee and enjoy with mango pickles, dahi and papad. Occasionally also with raw onions (broken with your fist, pendu/rural style). The khichdi looks gorgeous with its reddish color and tastes great!

Sukke aloo:

We need:

• 2-3 potatoes (sliced into rounds)
• 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. coriander seed powder
• 1/4 tsp. ajwain (ground coarse)
• a pinch of strong heeng/asfoetida
• 1 tsp. sunddh/saunth/dry ginger powder
  
• 1 tsp. amchoor (traditionally its anardana/pomegranate seeds, i was out of it so i used amchoor)
  
• Salt and red chilli powder to taste
• Turmeric
• 1 tsp. oil
• Crushed, dried poodna/pudina/mint leaves or mint leaves powder (to taste)

This is a low-fat adaptation :). The original calls for deep frying potatoes. I usually either bake the slices or stir-fry and then cook with a lil' drizzle of water. So, heat some oil and splutter the cumin seeds, add the rest of the spice powders except amchoor. Add the potato slices and stir on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add amchoor, drizzle enough water, so that the slices do not stick to the pan. Lower the heat and cover to cook till the slices are tender. Don't forget to stir a bit in between. Finally, add the pudina powder or crushed dry leaves and serve hot as a side dish :).



One of the interesting recipes i found on the internet is a coriander take on this classic and involves baking. Its called Multani Aloo (the author says that this dish gets the name from Multani masala, but for some reason doesn't have the masalas like ajwain, heeng and sunddh, which are very popular in Multani food). Paging Rachna :).

Paneer di kadhi:

We need:

• 10-15 cubes of fresh paneer
• 1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (sour preferred)
• 3 tbsp. besan
• 1/4 tsp. each Shah-jeera (black cumin), methi dana (fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (nigella seeds)
  
• a pinch of strong hing
• Turmeric and red chilli-powder (to taste)
• Kasuri methi
• 2 tsp. oil

Prepare the besan-curds mix by first beating the curd smooth and then slowly blending in the besan. Heat 1 tsp. oil and add methi dana and heeng. Add the cubed paneer and stir till the cubes are lightly toasted. If you are using fried paneer then just throw the cubes in and proceed to the next step. Add the turmeric and chilli powder and mix. Reduce the heat to very low and stir in the besan-curds mix slowly. Stir again and add some water and mix thoroughly. Bring this to a boil and cook on low heat till the kadhi thickens. Now with the remaining oil (or melted ghee, if you will) prepare another quick tadka of shah-jeera and kalonji and pour it over the kadhi. Stir in some kasuri methi and garnish with hari-mirch. Enjoy this kadhi hot with rice or pulaav (and if you are like me, even with a sourdough panini sandwich).



Indira posted a recipe with paneer and dahi some time back, and i find it to be a kinder, gentler version of a kadhi. That dish requires addition of beaten dahi in the end and has no besan. Do try that as well, because it is a lovely one :).


So folks, enjoy these yummy dishes :).

And, these dishes are my contribution to RCI: Punjab, an event hosted this month by Richa (As dear as salt) and originally envisaged by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, to celebrate the regional cuisines of India.

Red chard-aloo sabzi, stuffed parantha, palak kadhi and palak-matar-gajar sabzi: JFI greens and WBB

Its spring time, folks. Green is the color everywhere :). Even when its not spring, green color and greens grace our kitchen prominently and very rightly so. Packed with minerals and fiber, they symbolize flavor and health packed in one. So, it no surprise that this month's featured ingredient at JFI is GREENS :). JFI this month is being hosted by Indira (Mahanandi, the founder of JFI) and joins hands with Nandita's Weekend breakfast blogging WBB. I am excited, for i love greens and myself very keenly use greens in breakfast.




I had been wondering for many days as to which greens should i choose for my entry! its really a tough choice, i love them all. Equally confusing was which recipe should i use the greens for! Greens are so versatile that you could dish out a whole meal with greens: soups and starters, main course.....ah! the choices seemed endless. I decided therefore to just head for the grocery store and pick out the first bunch of fresh greens that came my way :) That easy :)). and that green was the pretty, gorgeous looking red chard :). That made it even easier! I use red-chard in Indian cooking in every way possible. And then i also thought to cook something with whatever greens were there in my fridge :). Palak or Spinach was the first thing that i found. Today, i'll share these very simple recipes. So lets enjoy the green cooking: Red chard-aloo sabzi and parantha, followed by palak-kadhi and palak-matar-gajar sabzi.

For the red chard-aloo sabzi, we need:

• 1 bunch red chard (rainbow and regular chard also do equally well)
• 2 small potatoes
• 1 small onion (chopped finely)
• 1/2 tsp. jeera/cumin
• Turmeric (a pinch) and red chilli powder (to taste)
• Salt to taste
• Garam masala (to taste)
• 1 tsp. oil
  

Wash and chop the red chard. Keep the stalks, one can use them to make baked munchies. Wash, peel and chop the potatoes. In hot oil, splutter the jeera and then saute the chopped onions. At this step you can add one small roma tomato (chopped) if you wish to. Now add the chopped greens and potatoes and stir. The huge mass of chopped greens is gonna' become very small when you cook them :). Add a pinch of turmeric and red chilli powder and stir again. Add salt, stir on high heat for about 4-5 minutes. You don't need to add any water, the greens have plenty of water. Cover the pan and cook on low heat till done. Garnish with garam masala and serve hot with phulkas, paranthas or rice n' daal combo. The sabzi looks very pretty with the red and green hues gracing the platter......even the potatoes assumes a pretty red tone.


Did i mention that this is one of the favorite sabzis of my dear friend Golden Girl :). I served this sabzi with chapatis and Masoor daal, cooked in Bengali style (recipe coming up, and that is a favorite of another very dear friend, MD).

But hold on, this is also supposed to be about breakfast, weekend breakfast! so, we aren't done yet :)). And what do we make for breakfast-my favorite, paranthas :)). Paranthas with what, you ask. How about using some of Mom's wisdom and using this delicious sabzi as a filling for paranthas :). Moms love to make stuffed paranthas out of sabzis left over from dinner, and they also know that this surely is one way in which their lil' ones would have their vegetables and greens.

For stuffed paranthas:

Make the dough with whole wheat, salt to taste, ajwain (Carum) and water. Rest the dough for 15-20 minutes. Use the sabzi we prepared (or for that matter any dry sabzi) to make stuffed paranthas, using the two layered style :). Make the sandwich of rolled-out pooris like shown below, dust with flour and roll into a nice parantha. Cook on hot griddle/tawa: i usually fry with a lil' oil or ghee. But the low fat option of just cooking it as a chapati is always there. Enjoy the paranthas with masala chai, achaar, dahi, raita or just by themselves :).



And i see folks, you are all thinking that i am repeating myself.....kadhi again!! for JFI!! how could i not blog about this-it tastes so amazingly good.....palak, amaranth, chard, cilantro.....koi bhi patta chalega ji (any leaves are good)! So, here goes:

Palak kadhi:

• Chopped greens (i used a 9 ounce pack of baby spinach)
• 1/2 onion (chopped long)
• Ginger (chopped, to taste)
• 1 small tomato (chopped, roma tomatoes are good for this)
• 1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (preferably sour)
• 2 and 1/2 tbsp. besan (gram flour)
• /2 tsp. each of jeera and dhaniya (cumin and coriander) seeds
• 1/4 tsp. each of methi-dana (Fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (Nigella seeds)
• Salt to taste
  
• 1 tbsp. oil
• Turmeric and chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp. Garam masala

So, lets heat the oil, spultter the seeds: first the cumin-coriander combo fllowed by kalonji and methi-dana. Saute the onions till golden brown and the saute the ginger. Add the chopped spinach and tomatoes and stir till the greens are cooked a bit and reduce in volume. (Meanwhile, we also prepare the besan-curd mix. Beat the mix well to prevent any clumps). Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt to the cooked green, stir again and cook for 5 minutes more. Now reduce the flame and slowly add the besan-curd mix. Continue stirring to prevent any curdling. Add more water (1/2 cup or so) and bring the kadhi to a boil. Cook on low heat, the kadhi should become a lil' thicker. Garnish with garam masala and serve hot with rice or your choice.


We are still not done, we have to make the palak-matar-gajar (spinach-peas-carrots) sabzi.
We need:

• Chopped spinach (16 ounce pack of spinach)
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 1 big tomato (chopped)
• 1 carrot (chopped)
• 1 cup peas
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin)
• Turmeric and red chilli powder to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. melted ghee
• 1/4 tsp. garam masala

So, to make this quick sabzi, heat ghee, splutter jeera and saute onions. Add tomatoes and stir to cook them till soft. Add the turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir and add the chopped greens. Stir again and add the chopped carrots and peas. Add salt and stir again. Cover and cook till done. Add 1/4 tsp. garam masala and serve hot with phulkas, paranthas or daal-chawal. Makes a great filling for wraps, sandwiches and what else, paranthas :)).


So, be good and have your greens :)

Tamatar soya-wadi di kadhi : JFI tomato

Food blogsopshere is always abuzz with interesting events that serve as a platform to share not just recipes but ideas and conecpts related to food. One such great event is "Jivha for Ingredients", which features one ingredient every month. Conceptualized and brought to the blogosphere by Indira (of the wonderful Mahanandi blog), the event is being hosted this month by RP of My Workshop (another great blog) and features TOMATOES.



Today I'll share a simple, yet very delicious recipe featuring tomatoes. Its a fusion of the classic kadhi with some relatively newer ingredients of Indian cooking. We've all heard about and relished the kadhi classics like "Pakore wali kadhi", "Majjige huli", "Mor Kozhambu" and many many more delicious variations of dahi/curd based gravies from across the different subcultures in India. Punjabis traditionally make two basic varieties of kadhis, the stylish and hearty pakore wali kadhi, which is also the more popular one; and the very sublime kadhi with vegetables.....the latter graced by the presence of a whole variety of veggies and greens. The simplest of these is tamatar wali kadhi :). This curd based delight with tangy tomatoes now takes an interesting turn by including the soya-wadi, popularly known as nutrella/nutri nuggets. These are dried chunks of soy and are quite popular in some cuisines from Northern India. Where did i get this idea from! Well, quite some time ago, while travelling, my Dad sampled soya wadi di kadhi at a Railway Station dhaba! So all thanks to the bhaiya ji at the dhaba :). Anyways, with or without soya wadis, tamatar di kadhi is quick to make and a delish relish :). Here's my recipe for Tamatar soya-wadi di kadhi.

We need:

• 1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (sour preferred)
• 2 and 1/2 tbsp. besan
• 1/4 onion (chopped chunky)
• 2 big, ripe TOMATOES (chopped chunky)
  
• 10-15 soya chunks (soaked in warm water to soften)
  
• Ginger (chopped, to taste)
• 1/2 bell pepper (chopped)
• 1/2 tsp. each of jeera and dhaniya (cumin and coriander) seeds
• 1/4 tsp. each of methi-dana (Fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (Nigella seeds)
• 1 tbsp. oil
• Turmeric and chilli powder
  
• 1/4 tsp. Garam masala
  
• Kasuri Methi (dried methi leaves) and Cilantro (both for garnishing)

Heat oil and splutter jeera, dhaniya, methi-dana and kalonji (in that order). Add onions and saute, followed by ginger and bell-peppers. (While its being saute'd-we must also keep ready the besan-curd mix. For that, beat the curd smooth and slowly add besan, preventing any clumps. We can use buttermilk instead). Now add 1/2 of the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook. Add turmeric and chilli powder (add only 1/4 tsp.turmeric-the color gets darker as we cook). Stir to make the base and add rest of the tomatoes. Reduce the flame and slowly add the curd-besan mix while stirring to prevent curdling. Squeeze out excess water from soaked soya-wadis and add to the kadhi. Add more water and bring to boil. Cook on low heat to allow the kadhi to thicken a bit. Add the kasuri methi and garam masala, cover the pot and let sit for 5 mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.


I served this with matar pulaav. This kadhi looks a lil' orange because of the tomatoes and quite a riot of colors, what with the bell peppers etc added. Methi and cilantro add a distinct aroma.....and no, they don't clash: rather they complement each other very nicely. It works well even if the curd is not that sour because tomatoes provide tangy taste. Also, instead of adding soya-wadis to the kadhi, you might like to add them to the pulaav (Mom often used to make soya-wadi matar pulaav).


Next: Paronthe te achhar :)