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.

The mad, mad tea party with poori-bhaji ;)

Hello everyone :). Am back again! Its been a couple of weeks since i posted anything :)). Ah! there are those days when you just feel tired.....That's when friends come into picture :). With their liveliness, they nudge you out of this tiredness, this slumber-sometimes with an invitation to A MAD TEA PARTY :)). Really, it was an invitation that i could not say no to! There she was, with enticing pictures, wielding the baton, err.....the belan, nudging everyone to get up and enjoy some poori-bhaji :). Ooh, in the last week, i have fried my pooris in two different styles and enjoyed them with three(no less!) delicious bhajis :). A clear case of going overboard? Nah! I made two different doughs-which gave me 8 or so pooris, two of which were snack time savory treats ;). Oh, and before i forget, poori bhaji (or poodi sabzi in my Majha Punjabi accent) to me is a symbol of travel time food-how can i forget the countless pooris i gobbled on Railway Stations and Bus stops on numerous occassions, or the home made poori-aloo and karelas packed for the trip :). So, here is my journey with the pooris and bhaji. Here's to the spirit of the really mad tea party, with countless varieties of poori and sabzis/sagus i have been enjoying this past week!


1. Poori with besan and ajwain with station style aloo bhaji


These pooris have whole wheat flour (3/4 cup), 2 tbsp. besan, 1/2 tsp. ajwain, a lil' bit of salt (to taste) and 1/4 tsp. sugar kneaded into a stiff dough, rolled into small discs and deep fried! Bliss :). The bhaji recipe is even simpler, almost like Anita's classic Railway Station bhaji. For this, we just microwave two potatoes for about 7 minutes, this is equivalent to boiling. Next, we splutter jeera/cumin (1 tsp.) in 1 tsp. oil, add a cpl. of pinches of strong hing/asfoetida and turmeric-then add the peeled, mashed potatoes, followed by 1 glass of water. Add salt to taste, dhania/coriander powder, bring to boil, add chopped green chillies (as much as you want) and a lil' chopped cilantro. I love the aroma of hing here, so i don't use too much cilantro. Hing is really the key spice here-for the authentic Railway Station style bhaji.

2. Same pooris (with red chilli powder added to the dough this time) with some khatte kaddu

Disclaimer: no poori pictures here, i was too hungry to take pictures ;). Really, i LOVE khatte kaddu: so here's the recipe.



We need: Halwa kaddu/pumpkin cut into big chunks (2 cups-i used banana squash for this recipe)-the chunks are put in a microwave bowl and microwaved for 10 minutes after adding 1/4 cup of water. Meanwhile, we heat oil (1 tsp.) in a wok, splutter jeera and kalonji/nigella (1/2 tsp. each), add a pinch of hing, stir in 1 tbsp. chopped ginger and saute', then add turmeric and stir. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil-now we add the microwaved pumpkin and mix-this should be mushy now :). Add salt, red chilli powder (optional) and bring to boil. Stir in the juice of one lemon and add some chopped green chillies.

Enjoy the khatte kaddu with poori, chapati or paranthas :). Oh, and this is almost traditional style khatte kaddu, UP style :). Almost, because nigella is not common in this dish, and the real deal is chunkier. I like mine mushy :)).

3. Achaari Pooris with baingan-mushroom sabzi


The pooris here had masala from a mango pickle-you can pick any pickle and it would be equally yummy. So we roll a poori, spread the masala, bundle it up and roll again. The baingan mushroom sabzi was not made to go with pooris, but when i got back home tired, two pooris and this sabzi were there in the fridge, ready to be devoured ;). And surprisingly, they went very well together. The recipe for the sabzi will show up soon ;). and yes, achaari poori goes well with achaar too :)).

4. Cumin-rosemary tikhi pooris for tea-time


The dough here had the same proportions of whole wheat flour and besan, 1 tbsp. dried rosemary leaves, 1/2 tbsp. jeera and red chilli powder to taste-kneaded into a stiff dough, rolled into small discs and deep fried. While the poori recipes above can have an addition of milk instead of water for kneading the dough, this one needs to be crisp, so this dough uses water. Cumin and rosemary go really well together and this makes a really yummy tea time snack. These pooris are my entry for dear Sunita's spicy event Think Spice: Think Cumin.

Here's another favorite of mine: Vesan wali poori (plain poori, dipped on one side in a besan batter). There are tons of other favorite varieties of aloo-bhaji that i regularly make: my all time favorites Bangalore style potato sagu and hostel mess style sagu (with garlic and tamarind) are a cpl. of them. Boiled potatoes are ready and i will surely post the two recipes sometime soon :).


And now, time to thank the generous buddies who consider this blog worthy of the awards (blush).....our generous hostess Anita recently presented me with the "Thoughtful blogger" and "The power of schmooze" awards-this was soon followed by the "Rocking girl blogger" awards from dear buddies Sharmi and Sia :). All i can say is a huge THANK YOU, dear friends-for supporting this blog in your own special ways.....And since i love a huge number of blogs, who have inspired me with their creations and their thoughts-i pass on the best award to them all that i can: HUGS and LOVE :).

And this event, this rocking mad tea party, the poori-bhaji fiesta is being organized to celebrate the 6oth Anniversary of India's independence. I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts.....To all fellow Indian citizens: we are really lucky to be born in a free country, enjoying the independence, one of the best present our elders gave us. But lets not forget that there's a lot more to do.....also, lets for a moment, think of the first few days of our country's independence, the birth of twins.....which was marked by not hugs and handshakes, but blatant disregard for life and peace.....To everyone: The food bloggers have a unique power, to cut across cultural and regional boundaries and extend a friendly hand.....the desi food blogging community, for example, promotes regional harmony, this is what i call positive regionalism-the food blogs are vital in educating one and all about the multiple facets of Indian cuisine, with all its regional charm! You, my friend, have the power, to promote peace and love-a present this world needs desperately-and you do it so well-and that, dear friend, is the reason YOU ALL ROCK!!

Hugs, love and peace,
musical.

Z for zucchini-paneer sabzi :)

Hello everyone! As usual, i am making an eleventh hour appearnace for the A-Z event :). Z to me signifies a lot more than just the culmination of this wonderful potluck that has been going on at Nupur's place as a weekly tradition.....it signifies hopes and expectations of many more "Zaaykedaar (flavorful)" get togethers in the days to come :). So here's to one of my favorite events :).

Today, i just pair up the crunchy zucchinis with soft paneer to make one of my favorite dishes.

Its simple and its quick! The dish takes inspiration from the traditional pairing of bottle gourd (Al) and paneer (Chaman) in Kashmiri cuisine (paging Anita!). But the preparation style, in this case, is very different.

So here it is:


Zucchini-paneer sabzi:

We need:

• 4 zucchinis (chopped into semi-lunar shape)
  
• 1 cup fresh paneer
• 1/4 tsp. jeera (cumin)
• 2 bunches spring onion (chopped)
• 1 small Roma tomato (optional, i added it for color)
• 1/2 tsp. amchoor/ squeeze of 1/2 lemon (if you like it tangy)
• Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp. oil

Chop the zucchinis in semi-lunar shape (for variation, try 2" long pieces) and set aside. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the cumin. Fry the chopped spring onions and add the paneer and stir till the paneer is toasted a bit (if you are using fried/grilled paneer cubes, then proceed to the next step). Add the zucchinis and stir fry them on high heat till a lil' crisp. Now stir in the tomatoes, add the turmeric, red chilli powder, amchoor and salt.

Stir, reduce the flame and cover to cook till done when the raw vegetable smell goes). Serve hot with chapatis and dahi, or as a side dish with rice and daal. It tastes quite good as a sandwich stuffing too.


Variations: Instead of jeera, use any other seeds like coriander or kalonji/nigella or fresh methi leaves as a flavoring agent.

More fun with zucchinis here and here.

Mirchi etc ;)

Precisely! because when mirchis make an appearance, everything else becomes etc! (sorry Pel, that was really tough to resist) :-D. Its all about mirchis this months, folks :)). As i wondered if i would be able to participate in this month's JFI, i simultaneously made plans of having a quick dinner.....i was home quite late, again! And then, news flash, how about using mirchis as a key ingredient to spice up a quick meal!! I got home and.....what did i do? Jazzed up a simple parantha with gorgeous looking Anaheim chillies and even got the energy to dish up a delicious daal with chillies for my lunch tomorrow :)). I can see the wink-wink, folks, Musical makes paranthas and kadhis with everything :-D.



So these two quick recipes go to the very creative Nandita (of Saffron Trail fame) who is hosting this month's JFI:chillies, a lovely blog event created by dear Indira (Mahanandi).

On to the food.....

Mirchi-pudina-cheese parantha:

We need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• A pinch of salt
• 3 big Anaheim chillies (chopped fine)
• 1 tbsp. dried Pudina leaves (crushed)
• Water to make a dough
• Fresh mozzarella cheese for filling
  
• Ghee for frying

Make a dough with whole wheat, salt, chillies and pudina leaves. Roll the paranthas and fill them out as shown here. Fry on the griddle with lil' bit ghee. Serve hot with plain dahi for a nice filling breakfast, lunch or dinner.

As for variations: Try dried Rosemary or Oregano :). Try some of your other favorite cheese variety. And trust me, this parantha wouldn't taste the same without MIRCHI :-D. If you want to make a kulcha with these ingredients, simply make the dough with curds instead and let it rest for 2 hrs. or so. Knead again and proceed to make the kulchas-which are paranthas from raised dough.

Masoor daal with mirchi:

This is my friend MD's all time favorite daal and is based on her Bengali recipe :).


We need:

• 1 cup masoor daal
• 1/2 tsp. panch-phoron
• 1 inch piece of ginger, chopped (my addition)
• 1 small tomato (chopped, optional)
• 6-7 green Thai chillies (slit) or 2 big Anaheim chillies(chopped into 1" pieces)
• 1 tsp. oil
  
• A pinch of turmeric (not more)
  
• Salt to taste

Pressure cook the masoor daal for 2-3 whistles. For the tadka, spultter the panch-phoron (mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds). Add the ginger and chillies, saute' and add the tomatoes, followed by the turmeric. Cook 2-3 minutes and add to the daal. Stir the tadka in, add salt and bring the daal to boil.

Enjoy with some plain boiled rice :).

Y for Yam with black-beans :)

Yes, Y is for Yam, a name that's been claimed by both Amorphophallus (Suran) and Dioscorea (Sweet potatoes), depending on the place on the globe :). Since where i live, Dioscorea is easily available and is called Yam, i am using this in my recipe (was that a disclaimer?). Now, i do have my thoughts on what we calls Yams here in the US. These are also referred to as sweet potatoes, but to my palette, they are not nearly as sweet and starchy as the desi shakarkand (sweet potatoes)-and i am thrilled about it, because that makes them a perfect replacement for the Amorphophallus (the stuff we call Yam in India)! Today, i am pairing the yams with black-beans, and folks, let it be known, i am thrilled with the outcome :)).

The plus is that if get lazy while making this dish, you'll end up with something good half-way through still (ahem, that was kind of a note to self), he he ;). Feel free to try this with raw plantain, cassava or any starchy vegetables/tubers etc., and yes, that includes potatoes :)). Black beans may be replaced by lobias, fava beans, rajma/kidney beans or chana/garbanzos. And this dish is for the A-Z e-potluck at Nupur's place :).

So, here's the how-to:

We need:

• 1 cup cubed yams
• 1 cup black beans
  
• 5-6 mild green chillies-crushed/equivalent amount of bell peppers-chopped (optional, i used them and love them)
• 1 onion (finely sliced)
• A 2" (atleast) piece of ginger (julienned)
• 1 big, ripe tomato (chopped)
• 1/4 tsp. each shah-jeera (black-cumin) and dhaniya (coriander seeds)
• Turmeric (very little, as a spice) and red chilli powder (if you are not using green chillies or settle for bell-peppers)
  
• Salt to taste
• Amchoor/lime juice to taste (if you like it a lil' tangy)
  
• 1 tsp. oil/melted ghee
• A pinch of garam masala
• Kasuri methi or Chopped Cilantro (for garnish and aroma)

First, lets peel and cube the yams-this may be a lil' difficult. So, we can put the yams in boiling water for a few minutes or microwave the tubers for 2 minutes. After cubing them, we microwave the cubes for 3-4 minutes. While we are doing this, we also have soaked the black beans in warm water (though its not necessary, just pressure cook them an extra cpl. of whistles if you choose not to soak them). These beans are pressure cooked atleast 5 whistles, if soaked before. And the action begins now! We heat the ghee/oil, splutter the jeera and dhania and saute' the onions. This is followed by adding ginger, and after 2-3 minutes adding the chopped tomatoes-all this while we are stirring this stuff :). We now add the crushed green chillies or chopped bell peppers and cook for 2-3 more minutes and then add turmeric and (if using) the red chilli powder and souring agent like amchoor or lime juice. The next step is to add the microwaved yams, stir them in and cook 5 more minutes.


What next? From here, either we choose to cook the black beans and yams together or cook yams for 5 more minutes, add salt to taste, add some cilantro and have it with parantha or chapati or even roll yourself a nice burrito with this sabzi and cooked black beans plus some cheese-or may be a quesadilla :). I did the former (although many a time, i settle for the latter). To do that, we just add the cooked yams to the pressure cooked black beans and simmer on low heat till the gravy thickens. Lets garnish this with cilantro and enjoy! The chunky, cubed, bordering on sweet yams in the luscious dark black beans gravy is just bliss! I had this combo for dinner with chapati and the my lunch next day was a burrito from boiled beans and cooked yams! Or do it like they do here in one Pita place close to where i work: Black beans (and lets add the yams too) and melted cheese with some salad in the pita-to make what they call as a bean wowshi!



There's more yams for you here :). Enjoy the yummy yams, your way!

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.

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 :).