Spicy soya curry…yet another commendable and trendy prototype of South-North cuisine styles’ fusion, combined with moi mediocre culinary skills; well innovated in my humble and safe cooking workplace and effectively tried out on my forever all-supportive family. Thankfully not disappointing them by any means this time round. ;-p

Even though my family has been truly considerate and supportive as regards my frequent “experiments” and the results thereof, the truth is that I’ve always been apprehensive when it comes to revolutionary cooking as I’ve always been taught to adhere to the conventional ways of Kerala cooking. And so, on those days of experimentation and listening of verdicts, there have been a few occasional triumphant smiles on my face when I see my little one devour it with much appreciation; and the frequent contorted looks when it easily finds its way to the garbage. Anyways, this so-called “experiment” quite worked well this time literally forcing me to make it on a frequent basis. Something spicy and healthy to go with a couple of rotis for dinner… Family onto a health spree after recovering from bad health, I guess…. :-)

Coming back to this soya curry, the basic guidelines or the procedure is quite different from my earlier version of soya curry. Unlike the then usage of dry masala powders, I opted to use whole spices to make this curry all the more spicy and aromatic. Moreover, to make the whole process a lot easier, I have used pulverization process instead of sautéing, which definitely saves lots of time and energy. Thanks to the borrowed tips from the cooking web world.

So, here’s how the recipe for a simple and spicy soya curry goes….

You’d require
A cup of Soya chunks
A couple of medium sized Onion
A couple or more of ripe and juicy Tomatoes
A Ginger knob
A few Garlic pods
A couple of Cinnamon sticks (of 1-inch length)
A couple of Cloves
A couple of Cardamoms
A generous pinch of Fennel seeds (Perumjeerakam)
A tbsp of Kashmiri chilly powder
½ tsp of Turmeric powder
2 leveled spoons of Eastern Chicken Masala
½ tsp of Garam masala powder (optional)
Salt – As required
1 - 2 tbsp of Oil
Fresh Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:-
1) Soak the soya chunks in hot water for around 30 minutes or so.
2) Discard the water and squeeze the excess water off the soya chunks and keep it aside. You can also cut it into halves.
3) Grind together onion, ginger, garlic and the whole spices into a fine paste.
4) Heat oil in a pan and sauté the above paste in it.
5) Grind or rather blend the tomatoes in the same grinder.
6) When the onion mixture is sautéed well and the raw smell is gone, add the blend tomatoes into the pan and continue to sauté.
7) When the oil starts to separate from the sides of the pan, add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, chicken masala powder and sauté well further.
8) Add soya chunks followed by salt and enough water and mix well. You can also add a little chopped coriander leaves at this stage.
9) Simmer on low flame until the gravy thickens and the soya chunks are cooked well.
10) Add the garam masala powder and mix well.
11) Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
12) Serve warm with rotis or pulao.

Options available –:

• You can also start the process with a tempering of Cumin seeds to make it more aromatic.
• You can also reduce the quantity of the spices and masala powders accdgly.
• You can also use green chillies while grinding. However, do make sure to reduce the quantity of chilly powder accdgly. But since this would reduce the colour and texture of the dish, I strongly suggest to use chilly powder for best results. And so, though the whole dish has a substantial reddish hue to it, I’m sorry my picture didn’t do total justice at all and lacks that spicy and hot colour. :(
• You can also add in a couple of baby potatoes or hard-boiled eggs and make it all the more wholesome.
• You can even use the base recipe for the gravy to make spicy Egg curry or spicy Mushroom curry.
• You can also add cashew paste to make it more thick and rich.

Labels: For dinner

Dhal-Roti….a combo you’re sure to hear anywhere in India; be it the small clumsy dwellings to affluent classy bungalows or the innumerable petite street hotels to the multi-starred restaurants…a commonly used phrase in Indian cuisine symbolizing its’ sheer simplicity and ethnicity worldwide…. A perfect duo too, holding a very prominent place in Indian cooking menu, soaring high quite invincible at the topmost position on the list and still going sturdy. A fully satisfying dish, showing its eminence especially at lunch/dinner would in fact induce you to a good night sleep after having something simple yet the one that tastes simply great and out of this world…. Something that’d even draw out the native ness in you by bringing out your homeland’s feel, touch and smell in your dreams as well…even if you’re miles apart from it. A rather elongated thinking…isn’t it??? :D

Coming to the topic, Dhal or Lentil curries can be made in fact in quite a different form of varieties…thx to its extreme popularity all over the country and regional cuisines playing an important role in exhibiting an array for us to choose from; the basic procedure remains the same though…. And if you’d ask me to put it in a single line, dhal curry is simply cooked dhal seasoned with salt and chilly powder finally garnished with a tempering and coriander leaves…quite reminding me of those taunting days of being a “struggling cook”, when I too was taught the same conventional recipe to make this simple curry for dinner…. Honestly, the persistent formula that I had been gulping all these days became really monotonous and obviously made me quite averted to it. And thx to the “spice syndrome” too that has inculcated me off late so much so as to urge me again to concoct this rather spicy dish…. And believe me, the results were absolutely not disappointing at all…. :-)

So, here’s how the simple recipe for this really spicy dish goes….

You’d require
A cup of Masoor dhal (Red lentils)
A medium sized Onion
A medium sized Tomato
A couple of Green chillies
Ginger – A small piece (optional)
3 – 4 Garlic pods
1 tsp or more of Kashmiri chilly powder
1 tsp of Sambhar powder (optional)
A pinch of turmeric powder
½ tsp or more of Garam masala powder
1 tsp of Cumin seeds
Whole spices - A Cardamom pod, a Cinnamon stick broken into two, a couple of Cloves, a pinch of fennel seeds and a few black peppercorns
Salt – As required
Ghee/Butter/Oil – 1 - 2 tbsp

Method:-
1)Wash the dhal well and cook it in a vessel till soft and done. You can also pressure cook it upto 1 - 2 whistles as I often do.
2)Chop the onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and green chillies into fine pieces.
3)Heat ghee/butter/oil in a kadai.
4)Crackle cumin seeds followed by the whole spices and stir for a while.
5)Add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and sauté till they turn light brown.
6)Add chopped tomato and sauté till it gets blend well.

7)Add the powders and stir, till the whole thing gets mixed well and you get rid of the raw smell of the powders.
8)Add the cooked dhal along with enough water and salt. Mix well.
9)Add chopped coriander leaves and simmer for a few minutes till you get the desired consistency.

10)When done, remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves.

So, there you are!!! A spicy dish to spice up your dinner is ready in 10 easy steps and that too, within minutes before your table is all set for dinner. However, a word for mild taste buds…. “You can omit the inclusion of the whole spices or reduce it accdgly…” And as for the spice freaks, “Plz ignore the above suggestion and go right ahead with emptying your spice box…” :)

You can make this curry with any type of lentils available like Moong dhal or Sambar dhal etc. But when made with Masoor dhal, it tastes simply heaven. On nutritional aspect too, dhal curries do not disappoint us as they provide us with good and valuable source of protein. Low in fat, high in fiber, vitamins and minerals, inclusion of lentils in daily diet is extremely good for your body. And therefore has been undoubtedly recognized as one of the five healthiest foods.

So, do make yourself a spicy dinner with a really highly spiced curry and be prepared to plunge yourselves into the reminiscent world of your native land and breathe in that fragrance and feel of your native soil and spices. Bon Voyage!!! :-)

And on that farewell note, happy cooking!!!

Labels: For dinner

Ever googled for a vegetable curry recipe?? If it’s “no” for an answer, then pls don’t as you wud be in a world of zillions of recipes leaving you wonder as to which one to choose amongst them. And so, as per one of my friend’s request who was a novice in cooking and had found herself in a dilemma in the above sphere, I decided to help her out and benevolently passed on my simple version of an easy vegetable curry to her. And luckily enough, it was later commented upon as an highly appreciated dish by her better half. Phew!!! Thank God…for saving both of us...especially me…from a most likely embarrassment…. :-)

So, wondering what’s so special about this curry…. Well honestly…absolutely nothing!! :) Except for the fact that this comes very handy on those days when you are too wearied out to cook something very special for dinner and find yourself swearing and finally succumbing to the usual dhal curry…. And what better to make when those taste buds of yours wud be yearning for something very tasty and healthy yet something that can be made in a hurry…to go along with a couple of hot hot rotis…. A perfect duo to complete an appetizing meal!!!

And that’s what gave me the inspiration to make or rather modulate this popular curry accdg to my family tastes and needs. Though the basic guidelines for this recipe follows the one of that of a simple Potato curry, I worked on it and tried to make it more tastier and nutritious by adding other mushy veggies like carrots, peas and beetroots as well…making it quite colorful and appealing to my little one…who as u know like all kids, is quite “allergic” to beetroot and kind. :)

So, here’s how the recipe for this simple curry goes…

You’d require
2 large Potatoes
1 medium sized Beetroot
1 medium sized Carrot
A handful of Green peas
2 small Tomatoes
1 large Onion
1 tsp of chopped Ginger
1 tsp of finely chopped Green chillies
A few Curry leaves
½ tsp of Turmeric powder
1 tsp of Kashmiri chilly powder
1 tsp of Mustard seeds
½ tsp of Cumin seeds (optional)
Oil – As required
Salt – As required

1)Clean well and cut the veggies into halves.
2)Pressure cook the halved potatoes, beetroot and carrot. Peel off the skin and keep it aside.
2)Thaw and cook peas separately. Keep it aside too.
3)Thinly slice onion and tomatoes.
4)Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds ad cumin seeds.
5)Add curry leaves, onion, green chillies and ginger and sauté, till onions turn soft and pink.
6)Add tomatoes and sauté, till it blends well.
7)Add turmeric powder and chilly powder and sauté for a while.
8)Add mashed veggies along with cooked peas and mix well.
9)Add water followed by salt and mix well.
10)Simmer for a few minutes till it’s consistency gets thick.

Easy to cook and light on the ingredients, this dish goes very well with chappathis, pooris, and even appams…. And usually it’s the leftover from the fridge which is in great demand the very next day as it tastes better the next day….:) Another good thing is that it can even be used as a masala stuffing while making dosas….. The crimson colored masala stuffing inside the Ghee roast…quite reminding me of the Masala Dosa you get in “Indian Coffee House”, a very popular restaurant in India. Well, if you are making masala dosas at home, at least you don’t have to peek thru the layers of the dosa trying desperately to find the masala inside as you’d be doing in the hotels….:) Honestly, I have come across such situations many a times before eventually making me go for something else that is hot, spicy and filling. :)

Coming back to the recipe, you can emit any of the above listed veggies or include others of your choice accdg to the availability, your tastes and moods. And again, let me tell you that this is not an authentic recipe for vegetable curry as this dish is one of a kind in Indian cuisine which has undergone different kinds of experimentation since ages. Consequently, people improvised on the same based on their cuisine style to get good outcomes to suit their palates. So, guys, let your imaginations run wild, play around with the spices and cook up something exceptional to contribute to the veg curry recipe world thereby leaving a mark of the magic touch of your hands. Or rather popularly known as “Kaippunyam” in Malayalam…. :) Good luck!!!

So, on that note, happy cooking!!!

Labels: For dinner