Chachi Ki Kachori Subzi Aur Jalebi | Subah-E-Banaras Aur Banarasi Nashta

Chachi Ki Kachori Subzi Aur Jalebi | Subah-E-Banaras Aur Banarasi Nashta

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Chachi ki dukan at Lanka was famous for the old lady who was fondly called Chachi (aunty). The shop was all about a small team of Chachi, mostly her family members who would churn out subzi and crisp kachoris on one side and hot crisp, syrup dripping jalebis on the other side of a small cramped shop. More of a hole in the wall actually.

Let me explain where exactly this shop is located. Lanka is the 'mall road' equivalent, situated in front of the BHU (Banaras Hindu University) gate and you would find all sorts of fancy restaurants, roadside stalls of samosa, chai, pao bhaji, burger, pakodas and bookshops or student utility shops all in one place. The end of this road branches into three roads leading to Saamne ghaat, Nagwa and Sankatmoachan temple road. When you walk towards Sankatmochan road you see twin shops of kachori and jalebi right at the start of the road. The one that has more people waiting is Chachi's I conclude. The husband confirms as he has grown up in BHU campus.

Another famous shop for kachoris in the morning is Pehelwan ki lassi shop that sells kachori subzi and jalebi in the morning and lassi and lavanglata throughout the day. This shop is located at the start of the road to Nagwa, to your right when you are coming from the university.

We enjoyed this banarasi nashta when we were in Banaras last time. Just wanted to have a taste of this famous kachori subzi aur jalebi made in front of my eyes. And there I was braving the smoke and burnt smell of refined oil, waiting for my kachoris. It was well worth it I would say. For the experience and for the taste as well, just the taste of burnt refined oil kills it for me. I am sure it was fried in dalda (hydrogenated vegetable oil) a couple of decade ago and in desi ghee before that. But ghee is history now for this shop at least. We have had ghee fired kachoris in other places and it makes a marked difference in taste and aroma.

Totally smoked walls, a rickety old table fan that blows air into the giant coal fired oven and a couple of men working in rhythm with a practiced ease. This guy was found rolling out kachoris fast, as if in tandem with the load of kachoris frying in the huge kadhai.

He quickly pinches off dough balls and arranges them on a wooden board, and then starts rolling kachoris fervently. He keeps dunking all the rolled kachoris into the huge kadhai with hot oil and another guy keeps frying the kachoris and arranging them all on a huge sieve.

And once the kachoris become a little colder, they are dunked again in the hot oil to fry them once again. This is the secret behind super crisp kachoris that break into pieces once punctured.

That doesn't mean I love those kachoris. I actually feel nauseous smelling this burning oil but I had to taste it once on the spot and photograph them making the famous kachoris of Banaras. I love kachoris and I hate refined oil that gets burnt in such kadhais and is never changed. Yes I asked them and they confirmed that they never ever change the oil. :-(

They ladle out heaps of kaddu ki subzi in dried leaf donas (disposable leaf bowls) and then arrange the kachoris on paper plates and hand out to the waiting people. Those white paper bags have jalebis in them, someone got them packed to take home.

And believe me there are always a dozen people waiting for these hot kachoris and kaddu ki subzi. I loved the subzi, the kachoris from such shops was never a favorite, but I can eat a couple of them. Hot and crisp and all that jazz.

Killer looks they certainly have. Did you see the jalebis too?

Spirals of jalebi were also being churned out on the other side of this hole in the wall shop. A thick slurry like fermented batter of maida with a hint of besan added is filled in an earthen pot and the batter is dropped in a constant stream in hot oil. Making circular patterns while it flows out. I love this part of making jalebis and was missing doing it myself. Been long time since I made jalebis.

The spirals are fried both sides till they turn golden. Being turned and picked up with the help of tongs.

And then being dunked into a thick sugar syrup. To be quickly weighed down with the help of that huge sieve, so the jalebis soak up the syrup instantly.

After a couple of minutes in the syrup and the juicy crisp jalebis are sieved out from the syrup, the sieves doubles up as the display shelf.

The jalebis fly off the 'shelf' quickly as people are already waiting to get their hands of garam garam jalebis (hot jalebis). Here it is, one portion of the jalebi for the dessert part of the banarasi nashta. Quite a calorie high, inflammatory fats high breakfast it is.

Interestingly, I had never seen this chachi as I would never pass that road in the wee hours when banarasi nashta was being devoured standing in a meditative trans facing this little shop by Chachi. Chachi is no more but I have heard stories about how people would ask her questions to tease her about bad kachoris or a soggy jalebi and she would shower them with choicest abuses in local dialect. It was more of a good breakfast with entertainment thrown in for good measure, as I have heard people saying.

The entertainment came to us in the form of curiosity some people had in our camera. You see we had a good time enjoying this nashta and then walked towards Sankatmochan temple to work out the damage.

Banarasi Kachori Aur Subzi : Ras Wale Alu, Palak Paneer, Kale Chane Aur Kaddu Ki Subzi, Alu Baingan Palak Ki Subzi

Banarasi Kachori Aur Subzi : Ras Wale Alu, Palak Paneer, Kale Chane Aur Kaddu Ki Subzi, Alu Baingan Palak Ki Subzi

 

banarasi kachori aur subzi : ras wale alu, palak paneer, kale chane aur kaddu ki subzi, alu baingan palak ki subzi

Someone asked me about the difference between a poori and kachori and I realised how diverse a kachori can be while answering. How much the kachori has evolved to be a sassy cousin of poori. While poori remained the plain jane, kachori took on to different fashions with different seasons and became matar ki kachori, daal ki kachori, hing kachori, alu ki kachori blah blah blah blah , most of them stuffed kachoris, some of them are softer inside and crisp outside while others are so crisp and dry that they keep well for days.

This banarasi kachori is more of a plain version of a pretentious kachori but packs the same punch when it comes to taste. All spices and the stuffing material is mixed in the dough itself and the kachori are often double fried to ensure a crisp crumbling kind of poori. These are the ones that stay puffed even when cold if you don't crush them. I have shared a recipe of banarasi kachoris here, with ras wale alu and a pumpkin subzi. Sharing a few more subzis again to go with the famous banarasi kachoris.

Banarasi kachori recipe..

The kachori is made with a mix of coarse whole wheat flour and urad daal flour (skinned black bean flour), the dough is made using water that is infused with cumin, hing and ajwain. Just mix a cup of coarsely milled wheat flour with 1/3 cup of urad daal flour or 1/2 cup of soaked urad daal paste, add salt to taste and a tbsp of ghee and rub everything well. Boil 2 cups of water, add a tsp each or cumin and ajwain to it and let it simmer for a minute. Add a pinch of hing, dissolve and let the water cool down. Use this water to knead a firm dough. Use this dough to roll out pooris and fry them all in hot ghee or oil. Hot crisp banarasi kachoris are ready.

Add a bit of red chilly powder or black pepper powder and a little lime juice if you are planning to eat these kachoris without subzi, yes the slightly spiced up kachoris go well with our milky tea.

I served it here with ras wale aloo and a simple palak paneer. This palak paneer used to be more regular when Mithi was younger. It was her favourite subzi, very lightly spiced and creamy in texture.

This version of palak paneer is easier, simpler to cook and less spicy than another version with more rustic spicing. That recipe will be shared some other time.

Palak paneer recipe..

To cook this simple palak paneer, you just have to choose tender spinach leaves with stems or mature spinach leaves only (mature fibrous stems to be discarded) so the resulting spinach puree is creamy and flavourful. Steam about 500 gm spinach either in microwave or in a pan with 2-3 tbsp of water at low flame and take off heat as soon as the leaves get limp and soft. Cool down and puree in the blender, without using any water. Now heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds and wait till they splutter, and then dump the spinach puree in it. Add a pinch of nutmeg powder, 1 tsp black pepper powder and salt to taste and stir and cook the spinach puree till it starts bubbling and puffing. Add 200 gm paneer cubes to the bubbling spinach mix and simmer for about 5 minutes. Adjust consistency by adding a little water. Add 2-3 tbsp fresh cream to finish and serve hot.

The yellow coloured chutney seen in the above thali is the amla chutney I make every season and we love it with almost every meal.

Another very popular subzi with kachoris is the chane aur kaddu ki subzi. It is a simple black chickpeas and pumpkin curry that goes very well with crisp hot kachoris. We use mature orange coloured pumpkin for this subzi and the slightly sweet pumpkin balances well with kale chane lightly spiced up.

Kale chane aur kaddu ki subzi recipe..

Soak 3/4 cup of black chickpeas overnight.

Peel the hard skin of mature pumpkin and cube the flesh in 2 cm dimensions. It should be about 400 gm cubed pumpkin.

Make a coarse paste of ginger, green chilly, whole dry red chilly and some garlic. About 1 tbsp or more ginger, chillies to taste and 2 cloves of garlic to be used.

Heat 1 tbsp of mustard oil in a pressure cooker pan and add a pinch of hing, about 10 grains of fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds nd 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, all together in one go. Let them all splutter and get aromatic, taking care not to burn them.

Add the ginger garlic chilly paste and a tsp of turmeric powder to the hot oil and let the mixture get fried. Take about 15 seconds on medium heat.

Now add the soaked and drained kale chane and mix well. Add salt to taste and the cubed pumpkin, about a cup of water and pressure cook the subzi for about 5 minutes after the first whistle. Cool down, mash the subzi a little, add amchoor powder to taste and serve immediately.
Chopped spinach can be added to the same subzi just before pressure cooking it. It makes the subzi more mushy and yummy.

We enjoyed this kachori subzi meal with a bowl of grated mooli salad on the side. The mooli salad is just grated while radish, some grated ginger, some finely chopped green chillies, salt and lime juice to balance. One of the most frequent winter salad with any meal.

Another very popular subzi to go with the kachoris is this alu baingan aur palak ki subzi, a mushy curry cooked with new baby potatoes, black round brinjal and spinach. The subzi is called alu-bhanta-saag in local dialect and is a much revered subzi for pooris during pooja etc. I often cook this curry with the green aubergines that is growing in the garden right now, but the round ones are perfect for this.

You can make the subzi a bit dry or make it a little coated consistency type.

Recipe of the alu baingan palak ki subzi..

Wash and clean 200 gm baby potatoes and quarter them.

Chop a small round brinjal in cubes. It should be about 200 gm.

Clean, wash and chop 300 gm spinach leaves and keep aside.

Mince or coarsely grind a tbsp of ginger, 4 cloves of garlic and 2 dry red chilies.

Heat 1 tbsp mustard oil in a deep iron or cast iron pan (kadhai) and tip in 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and a generous pinch of hing. Add the coarse paste of ginger etc and the potatoes immediately as the spices turn aromatic. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add a tsp of turmeric powder and the cubed brinjal. Toss and mix, let everything get coated well.

Add the chopped spinach, mix well, add 1/2 a cup of water and cook covered for about 20 minutes or so. Lightly mash the subzi after everything is cooked through. Serve immediately. Though the subzi keeps well in the fridge and can be served after reheating too.

Here I cooked the alu bhanta saag using the round purple brinjals and some Amritsari vadi, the perfect taste of this curry. Yes, you can add about a tbsp of crushed Amritsari vadi along with ginger, garlic and red chilies and let it fry till fragrant and proceed to add other ingredients. This addition makes this curry irresistible.

But alu baingan palak can be made without the badiyan or vadi as well. 

A long post finally, I hope you find it useful when planning meals for the family. Such foods from the hinterland become exotic in urban life, but we do make  away to keep enjoying them frequently.

Tamatar ki Lauki

Tamatar ki Lauki

 

Lauki ki tamatar waali subzi...and how to choose the right bottle gourd..

Someone asked me how to choose a tender Bottle gourd as all of them look the same on the shelf.

Here are a few pointers...

• Look for fresh green stalks like the picture above. The stalks are generally long when the fresh produce arrives in the stock, the sellers keep nipping the dry ends as it goes on drying. So a stale stock would generally have shorter stalk, browned or bruised, indicating the gourd has been plucked long time back.

• The skin of the guards should be shiny green.Not pale green or whitish. It is tender to touch and not very smooth. Note those light ridges on the surface in the picture. These light ridges disappear when the gourd matures and the skin becomes smoother but harder. No wonder it was used for making vessels by the wanderers of older times.. This shape of metal Kamadal is evolved from a round bottle gourd kamandal of older times.

• If you push the skin using your nail, the nail should pierce the skin easily and there should be a pale watery exude ooze out slowly.

• When you peel the gourd with a potato peeler, it slides smoothly over the skin, peeling a thin uniform skin. The mature guard would be harder and the peeler wouldn't slide on it smoothly, resulting in broken peels.

• Last but not the least, freshly plucked and tender Bottle gourds have a fine hairy cover at the base of the stalk. See the picture.

Now when the selection of a fresh tender Bottle gourd has been sorted, let's see a recipe that uses a slightly mature one. With tender edible seeds. Even if you have got a gourd with mature hard seeds, just discard the seeds and peel off a thick layer of skin and cube the flesh to make this curry. Pressure cooking ensures the guard is cooked to become tender. Although the peculiar taste of bottle gourd is lost when it is too mature.

This curry uses the not so tender gourds. See the pan cooked version of a simple Lauki ki subzi here.

 ingredients...

Bottle gourd about 700 gm ( few potato cubes can be added along with it too)
2 large tomatoes about 200 gm
ginger grated 2 tbsp
everyday curry powder 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
red chilly powder 1 tsp or to taste
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure...

Make a smooth paste of all the ingredients together except the bottle gourd. Chopping the tomatoes before blending everything together in a blender would be convenient.

Peel and cube the bottle gourd in large chunks.

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker pan and tip in the tomato and spice paste into it. Add salt and let the paste cook for 2-3 minutes with the lid placed over the pan. Do not lock the lid for this step. Later , open the lid and cook the paste till it gets reduced a bit. Takes about 3-4 minutes more.

Add the Bottle gourd chunks , toss and mix well. Add about 2 cups of water , close the lid and cook till the whistle blows.

If the BG was hard and tough, you would like to cook it on low flame for about 5 minutes after the whistle blows.

Let the pressure release on it's own, open the lid and serve the curry hot. A garnish of fresh green coriander suits this curry very well. I didn't have the greens when I cooked this curry. Don't miss it if you have.

This curry goes well with chapatis and parathas . I like as a dinner soup as well.

Ghar Ka Masala - Curry, Garam and Thanda

Ghar Ka Masala - Curry, Garam and Thanda

 Spices have been a part of Indian cuisine since time immemorial. Spice routes passing through Indian subcontinent brought more variety of spices to India and made Indian spices a part of other cuisines around the globe.

Spices and herbs used as medicine in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and home cooking has always followed the Ayurvedic principles because the nourishing and healing properties of food were identified well. The everyday curries, condiments and even the desserts were made according to seasons and the use of spices kept changing through the year. 

The curries of India are as diverse as it's people and it's landscape. The Kashmiri curries, the Awadhi, the Bengali and the curries of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala are very different from each other. All of these curries developed in those particular regions according to the climate and locally available ingredients. Each of these curries are delectable and very different from each other. These curries are considered therapeutic but most people do not know how they benefit our system, although there is much awareness about the medicinal properties of the spices used in the curries, we need to keep reinforcing it into our everyday cooking. Food is medicine they say.  

Most recipes of Indian curries confirm to the procedures and principles of Ayurveda. In Ayurvedic procedures a herb is boiled with water till reduced slightly in quantity and is called a ' kwaath' or decoction. Like if you boil a handful of Tulsi (Indian holy basil) leaves in 500 ml water till it reduces to 400 ml, the liquid extract is called a 'kwaath' which is digestive, antipyretic, mild analgesic, astringent and much more. When you cook a curry with spices, the extracts of spices come to the food. Simple.

Some spice extracts are water soluble and some are fat soluble, so the curry provides a better extraction with a ghee frying (bhunoeing) of spices first and boiling with water later during cooking. Ghee is considered a good vehicle for herb extracts as it nourishes the tissues and cleanses the intestines.

Apart from ghee, mustard oil, coconut oil, sesame oil and sunflower or safflower oil are used for making different curries and cooking in general.

So if you feel like having a curry for your indigestion you may think of using a pinch of asafoetida, some cumin and black pepper and a liberal dose of ginger into a light curry made with a watery (like guards or squashes) vegetable, tamatar wali lauki is an example. In winters you can opt for the hot spices like dry ginger, black pepper, red chilly peppers, nutmeg, cloves, black cardamom and ajwain (bishop's seeds) etc. while fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, fenugreek etc. are cooling spices. Once you make friends with the spices they will tell you how to choose them for your daily cooking and for different moods. 

The motive is to make it more understandable and common knowledge for everyone that the curries can cure, if you choose the spices judiciously.

Apart from all these spices turmeric is an integral part of curry cooking and is considered to prevent cancer, arthritis and even Alzheimer's. It has antiseptic and healing properties.

Making the curry powders at home is a way to ensure freshness, quality and taste. 

Here are the recipes of few of my curry powders which can be used individually for some curries and together in combinations for some more complex curries. Like sometimes I add a dash of the special garam masala in a curry that has been cooked with everyday curry powder, adding the garam masala in later stages of bhunoeing process works better as the aromas are preserved in the curry better that way.

Everyday curry powder

It has only 4 ingredients and I call it everyday curry powder because it is used for everyday curries mostly. For dry stir-fries, as well as for soupy curries which are light.

ingredients for everyday curry powder
coriander seeds 250 gm
black pepper corns 100 gm
cumin seeds 100 gm
a handful of scissor cut bay leaves

Sun dry the spices completely or using your oven at low temperature (60-70 degree C) and grind together to make a fine powder. Do not roast the spices as their aromatic oil evaporate and the spices loose some of their taste and properties.  

This everyday curry powder can be added to regular everyday subzis, sabut daals, and even rajma and kala chana curries etc.

Aromatic (special) garam masala powder

 
Aromatic garam masala is in fact the Awadhi version of garam masala. 

This is a more complex and aromatic powder which lends a rich feel to the recipe. Use of this powder is occasional in summers but it is used almost daily in winter months and for non vegetarian curries.

ingredients for aromatic garam masala black cardamoms 50 gm
green cardamoms 20 gm
cloves 30 gm
star anise 30 gm
cinnamon 50 gm
one whole nutmeg
mace 4-5 flowers
long peppers (8-10 (optional but recommended during winters)
shahi jeera 10 gm (optional but recommended for meat curries and stews)
kababchini (allspice) 5 gm (optional but recommended for winter curries)
lichen spice (dagad phool) 2-3 shreds (optional but recommended for vegetarian biryani or koftas)

These spices are to be dried like the previous ones and ground in the spice grinder, the color is a deep dark brown which is so aromatic you will fall in love with. You can grind it very fine or a bit coarse. I do not grind it too fine as it looses its aroma very fast once made into fine powder. 
 

Black cumin or shahi jeera and cubeb or kababchini are two very aromatic spices which are used for making special mughlai curies and biryanis too, I keep them in the kitchen whole and use them as required.


There are many more spice mixes like kashmiri masala and pav bhaji masala which keep well for months in airtight containers and are used for making different curries. I generally make these spice powders as and when required. 

Robust (Punjabi) garam masala  

Punjabi garam masala includes dry ginger (sonth) and black peppers and cumin as well. Some recipes even include coriander seeds but then it becomes like an all purpose garam masala that can be used for almost all curries being cooked at home. 

Thanda masala  

Thanda masala includes only coriander and cumin as a base but adds on fennel, tejpatta and some poppy seeds etc for more depth of flavors. Fenugreek seeds, asafoetida (hing) and chilllies are often used as a tempering whenever thanda masala is used in curries. 

Thanda masala is used mostly for light summer curries and the use of mint or coriander leaf paste is also common in these curries. 

More exotic spices like Nagkeshar, Paan ki jad (Betel root), Rose petal powder, Abhrak powder, khas ki jad (Vetiver) are used for recipes recommended by Viadyas and Haqeems, some of these spices make the secret spice mixes that some old khansamas never share with anyone. There is immense lure attached to spices and curries. 

Various varieties of chillies are used in Indian cuisine. Capsaicin found in the chillies is considered therapeutic. Chillies are high in vitamin C (about twice that of citrus fruits), dried chillies are very high in vitamin A, and red chillies are a great source of b-carotene. Chillies have antibacterial qualities, and contain bioflavinoids, anti-oxidants most common in apple juice. (source) 

So when your doctor says not to eat chillies and spices he doesn't know about food and ingredients. It is a common practice in India to advice going off spices and chillies when one is under treatment for any ailment. Modern medicine follows symptomatic treatments and never considers ethnic ways of treatment and prevention of diseases.

Spices show us a better way thankfully as we have grown up on tulsi adrak ka kadha, adrak wali chai and fennel tea.

Keema Matar UP Style

Keema Matar UP Style

Who doesn't like keema matar , minced meat and peas curry ... and who doesn't like meat without fuss ...so here you are with an authentic keema matar . The way it is made in UP kitchens ...

This is a recipe of keema matar by some masterchef I once saw on TV many years ago . I was a vegetarian then and learnt this recipe for the husband .... now i like my nonveg food and this recipe has become the one authentic keema matar in my repertoire ... I have cooked this keema matar for a 40 something get together once and it was the most sought after dish that day....and it is so whenever i cook it even now....
 ( make sure you include some of the mutton fat when cooking this keema matar for a large crowd , big quantities turn out more yummy this way and the curry will be rich too )

I nice fragrant bowl of keema matar , is something like a comfort food for many. I like it with a hot and fluffy naan , fresh out of the oven ... or as i make it on my stove top.

I prefer coarse mince for my keema matar so i have to instruct the butcher specially to make it like this. The coarsely minced keema is better for a dry curry and a fine mince will be better for a gravy like curry , the peas almost floating in a dense gravy....so choose the mince the way you want it. The procedure for the curry will be the same.

I use my home made curry powders for this keema matar , and that makes this curry even more flavorful . If you don't use this spice powder , you can use your own spice mixes if they are close to these powders in flavor...

So here is the step wise procedure ....

Heat oil in a thick base kadai , throw in the cumin seeds . Add the chopped onions after the cumin seeds start spluttering ...After the onions become pinkish , add the ginger garlic paste and fry till everything gets cooked but not browned....

 Add the everyday curry masala , turmeric powder and the red chilly powder ... mix well keeping the flame very low at this point as the powders may get burnt otherwise. Sprinkling a little water while frying the masala will be better if it is getting smoky...Let it fry nicely till aromatic .Add salt to taste.

Add the minced meat , mix well and keep stirring and frying on low heat..The meat starts getting brownish first , the small pieces shrink a bit and then everything gets homogeneous while frying . This step takes about 20 minutes of dry frying ( bhuno) on low flame...

 Add the green peas to the cooking mixture and mix .... adjust salt and add some additional black pepper at this step . Add the special garam masala too . addition of black pepper powder and garam masala at later stage of cooking is done because the aroma is preserved better this way .

Add the curds , mix well and bhuno some more till the mixture turns almost dry again. i normally do not need any cover or lid on the kadai as this is cooked on low flame and is stirred almost all the time . Many things can be done while this curry is cooking a s it takes quite a long time to cook , using finely minced keema minimizes time though...do multitasking as you go...

Now is the time to add the green aromatics... the mint...

Mint is crucial to this recipe as it provides a nice earthy flavor to the curry...chopped green chillies also go with the mint ...It will take just a couple of minutes more on the heat.
Cover lastly and let it rest off heat for a few more minutes..

Serve hot with naans or chapatis....buttered or plain...I like it with plain whole wheat naan...home cooked glory...at it's best...

Let me list the ingredients ...for 3- 4 portions....

keema (minced meat) 300 gm
green peas 200 gm
diced onions 1.5 cup
ginger garlic coarsely pounded 2 tbsp
everyday curry powder 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 2 tsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp or to taste
special garam masala powder 1 tsp

black pepper powder 1/2 tsp
fresh curds 1 cup
chopped mint leaves 1/2 cup
chopped green chillies 1 tbsp ( optional)
ghee 2 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp

The keema matar will see you smiling after all the cooking and stirring you did over the stove top....The aroma of mint leaves is great ... i like mint leaves in my biryani too...just do not cook too much after adding the mint if you like it aromatic , otherwise too the flavor is good...

I make the keema matar kaleji too by this same recipe . I just boil the liver pieces in a separate pan with salt and turmeric . When the liver pieces are soft and done and almost dry in the cooking liquid , add them to the cooked keema matar .... i do it with the leftover keema matar sometimes . Cooking the liver pieces with the curry is not advised as the taste changes a lot.....boiling the liver separately allows the flavors of the keema matar stay well and the liver is having it's own burst of taste when you bite into the pieces....

I do not like mutton liver normally , but with keema matar it can be a good treat . Those nuggets of liver in the keema matar are really delectable...

There is one more variation to this keema matar recipe , a vegetarian version of keema matar . Just use boiled and drained soya granules ( nutrela types) instead of keema and you have a nice quick yummy curry...and this one cooks fast.

enjoy....

Dahi Wali Bhindi (Okra) | Adraki Bhindi

Dahi Wali Bhindi (Okra) | Adraki Bhindi

 The dahi wali bhindi is richer and can be served as a standalone subzi for your dinner chapati , I never tried it with rice but many of you might find it good with rice too. I can eat this subzi on it's own too ...I do that with many vegetables anyways :-)

ingredients...

Bhindi / okra 250 gm (tipped and cut into inch long pieces)
fresh curds 1 cup

fennel powder 2 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
finely chopped ginger 1 tbsp
tomatoes chopped lengthwise 1 cup
green chillies slit lengthwise 2-3 nos.
2 cloves
2-3 petals of star anise
1 small black cardamom or half a fat one

salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure..

Heat the oil in a kadai or pan and tip in the whole spices , wait till they crackle and then tip in the chopped ginger and green chillies .

Wait for a few seconds till the chillies change color and the ginger is fried , throw in the cut bhindi ( okra ) and fry till the bhindi pieces are slightly browned in the corners..

Add the tomatoes and salt to taste and fry till the tomatoes wilt ..

Whip the curds ( at room temperature ) with powdered spices ( fennel and pepper powders ) and some red chilly powder if you like it hot . Pour this mixture over the cooking bhindi , mix well and allow a gentle boil .

Take off heat and keep covered for a couple of minutes for the flavors to blend.

Serve hot with chapatis or as a side dish ...

----------

adraki bhindi or ginger okra stir fried...


ingredients...
okra cut in two pieces and slit lengthwise taking care not to slit all the way 400 gm
ginger julienne 2-3 tbsp or more if you like ginger the way I do
5-6 garlic cloves peeled and slit into two halves
turmeric powder 1 tsp (optional)
black pepper powder 2 tsp or more if you like
amchoor powder 1/2 tsp or to taste
salt to taste
mustard oil or any other oil of your choice 2 tbsp

There are no chillies in the recipe as the heat from ginger and black pepper is quite high, you can throw in a few slit green chillies if you like. Sometimes I use the less hot varieties of green chillies for this stir fry as the flavor of the green chillies enhances the overall taste.

procedure...


Heat oil in  a kadai and tip in the ginger and garlic first. Let the ginger get a little cooked and almost caremalised , the garlic is cut in bigger chunks so it doesn't get browned before the ginger cooks. The ginger just needs to release some flavor in the oil and get fried.

Add the cut okra and toss to fry . Cooking is done on high heat in this case and you have to keep tossing or stirring with a spatula. Do not brown the okra, just a few brownish specks here and there and about 3/4th done okra is what we are aiming for.

Sprinkle the salt and turmeric powder if using, mix in to cook then sprinkle the black pepper powder and toss well to mix. In these 2 minutes the okra cooks some more. Take off heat.

Sprinkle the amchoor powder , mix well and serve hot. You can choose to sprinkle some chaat masala over it  if you like. Its a hot tangy dish and makes a nice side dish for traditional Indian lunch or dinner.

For me it can be a salad too ...Yes, I told you I do that :-)

Bhindi/Okra - Ghee Fried | Kashmiri Masala

Bhindi/Okra - Ghee Fried | Kashmiri Masala

Kashmiri masale wali sookhi bhindi is a very simple and quick preparation. The spice mix is not very authentic Kashmiri but somehow in our family it was know as Kashmiri as it is inspired by Kashmiri masala.

To prepare this Kashmiri masale ki sookhi bhindi, just wash and cut the okras (400 gm) in half, pat dry and keep aside. Heat mustard oil 1 tsp in a deep pan and throw in few whole red chillies and let them change colour. Now add the okras with salt to taste and stir fry on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add 2 tsp of powdered kashmiri masala*, fry till the okra takes a golden hue and it is ready to serve. It may take some 10 minutes to cook this way if using minimal oil like this recipe.

The okra pieces should just be cooked and not browned, it is good this way to preserve the mucilage of okra too as I mentioned above.


to make powdered kashmiri masala*

fennel seeds 1 tbsp
black pepper corns 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
cloves 5 nos.
fenugreek 1/2 tsp
cinnamon 1 inch stick
whole red chillies to taste (you can skip these and add chillies separately to stir fries)

Dry roast all these spices and make a powder along with 8-10 whole red chillies, 1 tbsp dry ginger powder and 1 tbsp of amchoor (dry mango) powder and a pinch of asafoetida. Keep in a airtight container for later use. Just 2 tsp of this powder makes any stir fry hot, spicy and flavorful.

I stock powders of all these spices so I mix the powders and use for convenience. You can do that too if you stock powders of all these spices.

Kashmiri masalae ki sookhi bhindi is one stir fry that can make a meal for me if served with a little grilled chicken or even paneer.

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GHEE FRIED PEPPERY OKRA / BHINDI

tender baby okra is always cooked quickly in my kitchen. This ghee fried peppery okra is the most common and is cooked almost everyday when there is okra growing in the garden. And yet we don;t get bored of it.

We like with either chapatis or daal chawal. It is just fried quickly in ghee, without any tempering on low flame and once the okra pieces look translucent you add the salt and pepper, toss a little bit and serve right away.

Recipe of this ghee fried peppery okra is the quickest...

1 tbsp of ghee for 500 gm bhindi is all cooking fat you need. 
Frying on low flame ensures better frying if using less ghee.
You can always use more ghee and fry quickly on high flame.
Just as the okra gets lightly browned or half cooked, add salt and lots of pepper.
Give it a good toss and it is ready..

I believe some of the best recipes are the most simple ones where the essence and flavor of the main ingredient is preserved. Here it is enhanced by ghee. Try it I am sure you'd love it.

In most north Indian homes bhindi is fried till completely browned. It is not the right way to cook bhindi. The mucilage in okra is good for the digestive gut and should not be destroyed by overcooking it.

Cooking it quickly over high flame with a bit more ghee or on low flame slowly with very little ghee ensures the mucilage is not destroyed and the okra stays good for health, or is not killed by over cooking as I say.

You can use baby okra whole for this ghee fried peppery okra. Just remove the cap and give it a slit if you wish, or chop the okra in small bits if you have long but tender okra.