Dhahi Bhindi With Budweiser The Beer!!!

Dahi Bhindi:

Y’day was a busy day at office. Around four doleful meetings and then I had to wait for around 20 minutes for the city bus. I was very tired but to my surprise; there was some thing back in my mind ; that was rejuvenating me. Hmm as our home was approaching; the tired feeling was slowly vanishing. I did not find; what was that running back of my mind which automatically made me freah and curious and anxious to go home .

I like the walk that I take to home…walking across swagruha foods(I get to see all this yummy food in the display)-then comes a family garments shop(again this beautiful saris and sexy nighties in the display)-then to pass by a juice bandi, I like the aromas of all the fruits-then I step into our colony. This huge gates opened and I see this Huge trees , creepers full flowers welcoming me. I always wonder do trees/plants smile. Because as soon as I enter into the colony gate; I somehow get this feeling that all those Huge trees in dark and silent creepers are welcoming me with a big smile !!! Childish am i??? What ever but I like this feeling. I walk as slow as possible once I reach the colony gate; looking at every tree and sniffing the flower scent as deep as I can.

I open the gate anticipating our owners and their pet to observe and sit reassured that I’m back home. Its an emotional feeling though; they treat us almost like our parents. I went running to the first floor to meet my cousins at our home. Vicky & Vyshu; are like my our best friends. I rushed into kitchen and then back to refrigerator!!! This was the time I realized what was “it” that was making me more energetic.

While browsing through other food blogs; I came across this Dahi bhindhi recipe. I could not wait longer to try it out. I washed the bhindis in the morning itself and wiped them dry with a cotton cloth. As I’ve learned that this would not make the bhindis gummy.

While I was busy in cleaning up the kitchen, vyshu cut the bhindi into small circled thin slices. Navin and Vicky were busy in making omelettez. Omlettez are four accompanying Budweiser J.

Now coming to the recipe we need

1. Ladies Finger/Okra – 20
2. Onion – 1 large
3. Haldi – 1tsp
4. Salt-2-3 tsp
5. Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp
6. Curry Leaves – 10
7. Cilantro or Kothimeer-1/2 bunch
8. Curds-4-5 tbsp (made soft by beating with a spoon)
9. Oil- 4-5 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Take a skillet->heat it and then add the oil
2. Once its hot->add karipattha; and when you are satisfied with chatpat sound of curryleaves add onions
3. once translucent and brown; add haldi
4. add 2-3 tsp of the finely chopped cilantro.
5. Now add okra.
6. Cover with a lid. After 5 minutes; softly turn over the okra.
7. Cover with a lid.
8. Time to time keep tossing the okra.
9. when they become soft; sprinkle few pinches of salt and chilly powder and then toss well.
10. In the mean time; take the curd into a bowl; add the remaining salt and chilly powder to the curd.(This would ensure the salt and chilly powsder is uniformly mixed with okra).
11. Once the okra is soft and you are satisfied with the softness; add the curd to okra.
12. Toss the okras as softly as possible without hardly mixing them with a spoon as they would get mashed over.
13. Let it remain like that without covering; when you observe that oil is emanating out of okra; sprinkle some dhaniya powder and let it remain for two minutes.
14. Switch off the stove.
15. Add finely chopped cilantro over the okra.
16. Don’t take the skillet of f the stove for two minutes.

Serve with Rice or Chapathi.

This was very quick; it just took 20 minutes.

But I was very skeptical about the recipe; as it became gummy anyway; when I switched off the stove. I could see this ewww kind of expression on vyshu’s face. She was more skeptical than. I was more worried; that these drunk men would not eat properly.

We were watching Manmadha movie while these guys were sipping down Budweiser. That’s an ultimate comedy movie. Vyshu and me were muching on the spicy chips that we got from a Gujju store near by. They are very yummy.

When the Budweiser bottles got emptied finally; I arranged plates and stuff for dinner.

Hot rice, ghee, gongura&pandumirapakaaya pachadi, my own okra in dhahi, and the sambhar that I prepared in the morning.

I served rice, pachadi and then ghee. Hot pipin rice with pachadi and ghee was like heaven, we ate so heartily J . Vicky took a scoop of okra…my heart was racing...i was anxious and worried…he exclaimed that the kura is very good…wow!!!!!!! I felt great J nothing could have made me happier y’day than that compliment J

I quickly took a scoop of the curry; and I loved it. Vyshu and Navin too liked it a lot ….

We ended our dinner with curds and sunnunda that our mausi prepared. I love home made sunnundaas.

Soon I’ll post my experiment in making sunnundaa with photos.

Now thatz a promise J

Yet Another Un-Friendly Experience With Toor Dal---Name this Dhal

We’ve been to aunt’s place y’day and she served tomato pappu and prawns. I fell in love with tomato pappu. Today morning I decided to make the same and started out perfectly. But something real bad happened later.

This Toordal which I don’t personally like it so much always gives me a hard time. I keep it on a pressure cook for more than 5 whistles; even then it never gets soft easily. This nasty think has almost spoiled my recipe today.

Procedure for my diverted dal

I took 1 cup of toor dal and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Added a pinch of haldi, 2 tsp of red chlli powder; crushed garlic; soaked tamarind and 1 tomato to the cooker. Now I let more than 8 whistles and then turned off the heat. Happy that I am all set with the dal; once the cooker got cool; I opened the cooker; To my chagrin; it dint yet become soft. So I again set the cooker and put it over a stove. Now since I got mad over the toor dal; I let around 15 whistles. I opened the cooker again with doubled joy than before and to my utmost horror; to see that the dal got burnt and dried.

God saved me; that the whole dal dint get burned. Carefully I picked out the dhal from the outer most surface and it turned out a good quantity for us. I dint understand what to do with it. It was dried up and i cant mash it too. I started getting this nervous feeling (kind of awkward feeling) when you dont get the answer for a question in an examination.I grounded the dal just for less than a minute in a grinder with some water added. Now it became like a paste.

Still wondering what to do with it; I took a vessel; heated it; added this dhal paste to it; added more water to the paste; it almost became like a chaaru. And I let it boil ; still thinking what to do.

Then I took this kadaai; in which I usually do the tampering . Kadaai is a cute little ; iron one; which I took from my mother. Its 25 year old one; and I some how believe that its age and the metal adds taste to the tampering. I added oil in kadaai; once its hot; I added mustard seeds, jeera , haldi; kari pattha and red chillies. Added this tampering to the dhal. Now added some salt and sprinkled dhaniya powder over this.

Still unsure of the dhaal’s taste and still unable to get over the unfriendly feeling over toor dhal ; i went out into the balcony to get some fresh air. Though I decided to eat muesli and milk ; but some how I was feeling more hungry than usual. So decided to take rice and the dhal.

I took rice, dhal and paapad in a plate. Still and with multi folded curiosity I mixed dhal and rice and had it. Wow!!!! It was awesome J

Yea hoooooooooooo , I don’t know what to name it….definitely I cant call it as tomato pappu ; some pappu; I still wonder what to name it J

I served the same to my husband without giving any details or the name of the dhal. He too liked it a lot and then I told him this is a agarwal style of cooking dhal as the taste was more nearer to my sangita aunty’s(a marwari agarwal) dhal which I daily used to consume when she was our neighbour.

If any one has any suggestions of the name that I can give to this dhal do leave u’r comment.

My First Ever Chicken Recipe

Friday was a very tiring day at office and I reached home almost around 9 PM. Naveen; was already at home; and to my surprise he marinated the chicken that was in refrigerator; but since I had no patience/strength to cook the chicken; I delayed it for the next day.

From navin; I learned how he marinated it.

Take Chicken in a large bowl (Kind of besan). Take curd in a bowl; add salt red chilly powder, ginger garlic paste and soya sauce; Mix all this in the curd and make it soft. Now add this to the chicken. Just mixing in the curd is just to make sure that the ingredients mix well and we can spread to the chicken softly.

Now keep this for marination.

My version of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1) Oil.

2) Shajeera.

3) Lawangam.

4) Tez Pattha

5) Haldi

6) Onions ( Finely Chopped)

7) Karipattha (Finely Chopped)

8) Coriander (Finely Chopped)

Procedure:

Take a skillet; add oil to it; once that is hot; add shajeera, Lavangam and tez pattha. Now add Karipathha and Onions; once the onions are translucent add haldi; let the onions become a bit brown. Now add chicken and put the lid. If you want it to be a bit gravy; add little water(bare minimum) and let it simmer. After 15-20 minutes; the chicken will be done. Now garnish with coriander.

Serve hot with Chapathi or Rice.

This is the most simplest chicken recipe; I would post one more ASAP that I learned from my brother Gautham. This was the second time I prepared chicken; going further I would keep you posted more chicken recipes.