Lauki ki sabzi

Lauki or bottle-gourd is a tasteless vegetable. Infamous for being one of the most boring vegetables with a lot of household jokes being cracked about it ( remember the Cadbury's Dairy Milk ad??) , it is predominantly made in the northern parts of India as a side-dish for rotis. But being tasteless renders it as a versatile vegetable which assumes the taste of the masala it is cooked in.
It has never been made by my mother or mother-in-law all these years, but it recently made its entry into our kitchen after my delivery. It is considered helpful for lactation and hence the other name dhoodi.
Like the fate of all gourd vegetables, lauki made its way into becoming kootus all these days, when the tongue demanded a change in taste. I rummaged through the net to find a simple recipe using this vegetable, and here it is.

Ingredients:

1. Lauki/Soraikai - 250 g ( chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)
2. Onion - 1 large ( chopped finely)
3. Tomato - 1 large ( chopped finely)
4. Oil - 1 tbsp.
5. Ghee - 1 tsp. 
6. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
8. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
9. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
10. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.
11. Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp.
12. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. In a cooker, heat oil + ghee and temper with jeera seeds.
2. Add all the masala ( jeera, turmeric, dhania, chilli, hing) powders to this and fry lightly.
3. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn golden brown.
4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are tender.
5. Add chopped lauki and mix well with the onion-tomato masala.
6. Add little water ( around 1/2 cup; not too much since lauki leaves water) and salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
7. Open the cooker and mix well. If there is excess water, cook without lid till desired consistency is reached.
8. Serve with rotis.

Matar Paneer

Ingredients:

1. Fresh shelled peas - 200 g.
2. Paneer ( diced into 1/2 inch cubes) - 200 g
3. Tomatoes - 2-3 large (pureed)
4. Onions - 1 large ( very finely chopped)
5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp.
6. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
7. Bay leaf - 1
8. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.
9. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
10. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
11. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
12. Clove-cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp.
13. Salt - to taste
14. Fresh cream - 1 tbsp.
15. Oil - 6 tsp.
16. Ghee - 2 tsp.
17. Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tsp.

Procedure:

1. In a kadai, heat oil + ghee. Ghee is for flavoring. You can use ghee alone instead of oil if you want a richer flavor.
2. Temper with jeera seeds. Add bay leaf, ginger-garlic paste and clove-cinnamon powder and fry gently for a few seconds.
3. Add chopped onions and saute till they become translucent.
4. Add the peas and saute on low flame till they are tender. The peas should get cooked in oil. 
5. Add the tomato puree to this. Add chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder, turmeric powder, salt. Keep boiling till the raw smell of tomato is gone.
6. Add the paneer pieces to this gravy and cook for a few more minutes so that the paneer pieces absorb the masala. Add a little water if necessary while cooking.
7. Add fresh cream, mix well and remove from flame when the gravy is of the right consistency.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis.

Walnut Blondie

My baking dreams started right from my school days and I should say that all my past experiments with baking have been disastrous! That was a time when we did not have an oven at home and tried to bake cakes in the cooker, or even in the sandwich toaster. Moreover we did not have supermarkets that sold baking ingredients like today, so we would substitute ingredients with readily available stuff. And the biggest limitation was that we tried to do all the baking without egg. Eggless cakes are possible, but we need to substitute egg with skill, not just milkmaid or sprite.
I'm not a regular baker or a good baker or an intuitive baker, but I hope to master the art in due course of time. For the past couple of trials, I have been baking cakes with eggs, and they turn out quite good, although not perfect. Since I do not the understand the chemistry of baking, I do not experiment with the recipes, but follow someone's tried and tested recipe to the T. That works out best when you want to avoid disasters.
I baked a walnut blondie for G's birthday yesterday. A blondie is a brownie without chocolate or so I understand. I'm not a chocolate fan and hence was impressed with the blondie concept. G does not have any preferences when it comes to cakes, so I let myself reign over the choice. Moreover, a blondie/brownie is a safe choice, because the consistency of the core can turn out any way and still meet expectations. If it is fluffy, good. If it is dense and cakey, good. If it is fudgy, better. If it is gooey and chewy, even better. What makes the difference is the ratio of flour to sugar to butter to egg.
With the following measurements, mine turned out dark brown and fudgy inside and a thin layer of light brown crust on the outside.

Ingredients:

1. Maida - 1 cup ( cup here measures 200ml)
2. Brown sugar - 1 cup
3. Baking soda - 1/8 tsp.
4. Baking powder - 1/2 tsp.
5. Egg - 1
6. Butter - 75 g
7. Chopped walnuts - 1/4 cup
8. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp.

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
2. Sift maida, baking powder and baking soda together thrice. 
3. Mix in the chopped walnuts with the flour.
4. In a bowl , melt butter and stir in the brown sugar. Add the egg and vanilla essence to this and beat well. 
5. Add the flour to this little by little and stir in gently.The resultant batter will be much thicker than usual cake batter and will not flow at all, but it will be more moist and sticky than cookie dough.
6. Grease and dust the baking pan ( preferably a square one so that it is easy to cute the slices; i used a heart shaped one because G wanted it for his birthday) and scoop out the cake batter into it to form a one-inch or slightly  thicker layer.
7. Bake for around 30 - 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. It is possible that the inside is still mushy after 35 minutes. That is because of he brown sugar and not a problem as long as it does not stick to the knife.  
8. Cool the cake for around half an hour.The cake will rise to double its height while baking, but will flatten as you cool. It will be dense and not fluffy 

I wish I had got some vanilla ice-cream  and maple syrup to go with this, but had to serve it plain and simple. It tasted good though.

Haalu Saaru

This dish is typically made for bananthis (nursing mothers). My mil made it for me a couple of times after my baby and I tried out the recipe today. Its remarkably simple to make and extremely healthy. It is made even in non-bananthi houses and liked by a lot of people. A large majority though (including my husband) hate the dish, but again, it is an acquired taste. I don't have any qualms about the taste and don't mind it once a week if my baby is gonna get a little more milk.

Ingredients:

1. Flat beans - 250-300 grams
2. Peppercorns - 15-20 (crushed finely). Use less if you do not like pepper spice.
3. Garlic pods - 12-15 (crushed finely)
4. Rice flour - 1 heaped tsp. dissolved in 1/2 cup of water.
5. Boiled milk - 150 ml.
6. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Wash and cut the flat beans into 1 inch pieces. Cook in a pressure cooker with salt and minimal water.
2. In a thick bottomed pan, heat the dissolved rice flour, garlic and pepper, keep stirring and boil till it becomes a thick paste. Add a little more water if required. The consistency should be like sweet corn soup.
3. Add the cooked vegetables and continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add milk and bring to a boil. 
5. Serve hot with plain rice or ragi mudde.

Poondu (Garlic) Rasam

Ingredients:

1. Garlic pods ( crushed ) - 10-12
2. Tomatoes (finely chopped) - 1
3. Tamarind pulp - 1 cup
4. Rasam powder - 1 tsp.
5. Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp.
6. Mustard - 1/4 tsp.
7. Curry leaves (chopped) - 5-6
8. Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) - 1/2 tbsp.
9. Jeera & pepper powder - 1 tsp. (optional, in case rasam powder needs enhancement)
10. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
11. Salt - to taste
12. Ghee - 1 tbsp.

Procedure:

1. In a thick bottomed vessel, heat ghee. Season with mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder.
2. Add garlic and cook till the raw smell of garlic is gone.
3. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes are tender.
4. Add the tamarind pulp, rasam powder and salt. Add the jeera-pepper powder.
5. Boil for 3-5 minutes on medium flame till the raw smell of tamarind is gone.
6. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.

Aloo Matar

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes (Diced into 1/2 inch cubes) - 3 medium sized
2. Green Peas (shelled, fresh or frozen) - 150g
3. Tomatoes (pureed)- 3 large
4. Onion (Finely chopped) - 1 large
5. Oil - 2 tbsp.
6. Ginger-garlic paste - 1 big tsp.
7. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
8. Red chilli powder - 1big tsp.
9. Coriander powder - 1 big tsp.
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
11. Pav bhaji masala powder - 1/2 tsp. (optional)
12. Garam masala powder or clove-cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp.
13. Bay leaf - 1 or 2
14. Salt - to taste 
15. Coriander leaves (Finely chopped) - for garnishing
16. Fresh cream - 1 tbsp. (optional)

Procedure:

1. In a pressure cooker or pressure pan, heat oil, temper with cumin seeds.
2. Add the ginger-garlic paste and bay leaf and fry for a few seconds.
3. Add finely chopped onions and fry till translucent.
4. Add the diced potatoes and saute for a minute or two.
5. Add the peas and saute for minute or two.
6. Add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and stir well. Add the pav bhaji masala powder if you like the flavor.
7. Add the tomato puree and mix well. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes.
8. Add salt and garam masala powder. Stir well. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 whistles.
9. After the steam escapes, stir well, garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream.

Gongura Pachadi

This spicy pachadi/chutney is somewhat like a thogayal, derived from Andhra kitchens.
Gongura is a reddish green sour leaf, with thick red stalks. It is available in most stalls that sell green leafy vegetables. It should be easier to find this variety in areas populated with Telugu crowd since they cannot live without it.
Gongura's native taste is sour. To compensate for the sour taste of gongura, a lot of green chilies will be used in this recipe. Also onions form the bulk of the pachadi.
This recipe was given to me by my friend Vidya.

Ingredients:

1. Gongura - 1 bunch
2. Green chillies - 15 to 20
3. Onions - 3-4 large
4. Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
5. Jeera seeds - 1 tsp.
6. Oil - around 2 tbsp.
7. Mustard - for seasoning
8. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Pluck out only the leaves from the gongura bunch. The red stalk should be avoided.
2. Clean the leaves in water and let it dry on a towel. There should be no water remaining on the leaves.
3. Dry roast the jeera and methi seeds lightly till the flavor emanates. Dry grind them to make a powder.
4. Chop the onions into big chunks ( 1 inch cubes). In around 3 tsp. of oil fry the onions and green chillies lightly till the onions become translucent. Keep them separately.
5. In around 5 tsp. of oil, fry the gongura leaves for a few minutes. The leaves will turn sticky and form one homogeneous pasty ball.
6. Grind together the gongura, green chillies, onions, jeera-methi powder and salt. Do not grind till very smooth. After grinding fine onion pieces should be seen.
7. Season with mustard seeds spluttered in hot oil.

This can be stored for 2 weeks when refrigerated.
To serve, mix a teaspoonful of the pachadi (or more, depending on your taste) to a serving of hot steaming plain rice. Add a dollop of ghee. Mix well and try to keep the rice grains separate even after mixing.