Aloo Gobi Gravy Recipe - Potatoes and Cauliflower sautéed in a tomato yoghurt sauce. – My Way

 
There are many forms of comfort food..soups, gratins, a nice hot spicy curry. With the weather still being as cold as it can ever be, I find myself craving for some comfort food. This aloo gobi or Alu Gobi is quite a staple dish on the menu in our home. I make it all year round. Its very simple and quick. My little boy likes it too. He is fond of anything that has “caulifaalaa” in it. Though he isnt very keen on potatoes, they are forgiven because they come along with the “caulifaalaa”!

 

Aloo Gobi Gravy Recipe

Serves 4

1 medium head of cauliflower, cleaned and cut into florets
3-4 medium potatoes, boiled and peeled. Boil them just until done such that they retain shape and do not turn mushy.
1 large onion, chopped fine
3 medium tomatoes, chopped. Alternatively use 1 cup tinned tomatoes
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced fine
1 inch of ginger, grated
1 cup thick yoghurt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp dhania/coriander powder
1 tbsp garam masala or kitchen king masala
1 tsp methi or fenugreek seeds
2 tsp salt, or as per taste
half tsp sugar
1 tbsp kasoori methi
2 tbsp oil + 1 tsp oil
1 lt + half cup water
half tsp turmeric
a few coriander/cilantro leaves, onion rings, lemon wedges, optional, for garnishing

Method -

1. Cook the cauliflower florets in salted 1 lt water until just done. This took me around 2-3 mins. Drain water and keep florets aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, onions and fry until onions turn translucent.
3. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 mins until tomatoes are softened.
4. Add kasoori methi, garam masala or kitchen king masala, dhania/coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric and cook for 3-5 mins until you see the oil separating from the spices.
5. Take out the mixture from the heat and puree it into a smooth paste using a blender.
6. In the same pan, heat a tsp of oil and add methi/fenugreek seeds. Once they splutter, Add the cauliflower and potatoes and sauté for a min or two. Add 1 or 2 pinch of salt.
7. Now add the pureed mixture and remaining salt, sugar, half cup  water and mix well. Bring to boil.
8. Turn off the heat and add yoghurt, mix well and garnish with cilantro, onion rings.
9. Serve with rice or rotis.

Technorati Tags: Indian,Potatoes,Cauliflower

Ranjka – South Indian Red Chilli Chutney

Ranjka  is a north Karnataka specialty, the region where I come from.  It is usually enjoyed with steaming hot rice mixed with a dollop of ghee or simply as an accompaniment to cool curd rice. But best known to be savored with the jowar(Sorghum) flat breads,  jowar bhakri (jolada rotti). It is made with ripened fresh red chillies a.k.a byadgi chillies. Now, I couldnt find these here, so after a lot of running around various super markets, I finally substituted them with cayenne peppers. They have a much greater punch to be used for chutney, So I added a bell pepper to tone down the heat.

 

 

Ranjka – Red Chilli Chutney

Yield - Makes around 200gms

100 gms fresh red chillies
1 large red bell pepper
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp methi/fenugreek seeds
half tsp hing/asafoetida
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp vegetable oil, any neutral one will do. I used  sunflower oil

Method -

1. Heat the oil in a small pan until fuming. Keep aside to cool.
2. Split the red chillies and deseed them with a knife. You may keep the seeds intact of 1 chilli to make it extra spicy.
3. Chop the chillies and the bell pepper coarsely.
4. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds with asafoetida for about 2 mins on low to medium heat.
5. Grind the chillies, pepper, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida with lemon juice, salt into a paste. It need not be a smooth paste. Leave it slightly coarse.
6. Add the heated oil to the ground chutney. Adjust the salt as per your liking.

7. Serve with rotis, rice, parathas etc.

Storage – Can be stored in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for upto 3 weeks.

NOTES –
You can eliminate the red bell pepper completely if you are ok with the spiciness of the chillies. I have used them to tone down the heat of the chillies because I could not find the indian variety of chillies here. If you choose to eliminate the bell pepper, reduce the amount of oil to 1 tbsp and lemon to 1.5  tbsp.
The amount of salt and lemon juice might vary depending on the variety of chillies used. Please adjust as per taste.

Technorati Tags: Karnataka,Indian,condiments,chutney

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

I woke up the other day with sun rays coming across my window. Its quite rare at this time of the year here. You hardly see any daylight until 8 am. It brought a smile on my face. May be spring is just around the corner…I thought. May be I don't have to put on 4 layers of clothing and on the 2 lil ones before we head for a walk. May be I can finally have more daylight making it easier for me to take photos for the blog..Hmm. Nope. Not yet. That sunny day end with snow fall which then went on for another 2 days. Not that I don't like snow. I love it. But with a touch of sunshine!



But for the lil one, doesn't matter if there is sunshine or not..he is happy with snow. He had fun making snow balls with daddy. He pestered daddy to take him sledging. He rolled around in snow as if it were sand!
As far as I am concerned, it turned out all good. I made quinoa soup :-)

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Yield - Serves 2

100 gms or approx 1/2 cup Quinoa
1/4 cup Carrots, diced fine
1/4 cup  beans, chopped fine
700 ml or 3 cups vegetable stock or water
Half an Onion, chopped fine
1 clove of garlic, minced fine
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Pepper powder
Few Parsley leaves for garnishing
2 tbsp Cream
1 tsp vegetable oil

Method:

1. Roast the quinoa on low-medium heat in a pan. It took me around 5-7 mins. Allow it to cool completely.
2. Grind the quinoa to a fine powder.
3. In a saucepan, heat oil on medium heat and add garlic, onion. Once onions are translucent, add the vegetables and cook for 2-3 mins.
4. Add the vegetable stock, salt and bring it to boil.
5. Now lower the heat and add quinoa powder, little at a time stirring continuously with a whisk or spatula.
6. Simmer for 7-10 mins, stirring frequently to ensure that the quinoa does not settle at the bottom of the pan. If you think, the soup has gotten too thick, add some water to loosen the consistency and boil for another 2 mins.
7. Garnish with cream, pepper and parsley and serve hot.

Linking this to Priyas  event Cooking with Seeds - Quinoa/ Ragi  being hosted by Divya at Divyas Culinary Journey.

Technorati Tags: Soups,Healthy

Pasta with Peas And Walnuts Pesto

 
Honestly speaking, I am not a big fan of walnuts. I know, they are healthy and rich in omega 3 fatty benefits etc etc. But they have always been of least preference to me. Especially when used in sweets. Even back in childhood, I never liked them in cakes or sweets etc. 


But now, with motherhood you start to look beyond your likes and dislikes I believe. I am starting to appreciate the benefits and am inclined towards incorporating these nutritious nuts in my children's diet. And give my kids a fair chance to actually liking it instead of passing on my tastes to them. When paired with pasta and peas, it does make it tempting for sure.

Pasta with Peas and Walnuts Pesto

Yeild – Serves4

250 gms green peas, fresh or frozen
400 gms Spaghetti( Penne, fusilli also make good variants)
a litre water for cooking pasta
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 tbsp mascarpone or parmesan cheese
200 ml water or vegetable stock
handful of parsley leaves
handful walnuts chopped coarsely
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp salt
half tsp pepper crushed
grated parmesan cheese for garnish,optional

Method:

1. Cook the pasta in salted water as per manufacturers instructions. Drain water and keep aside.
2. Cook the peas with 1 tsp salt in boiling water for 2 mins and drain. Run the cooked peas under cold water for a minute which helps retain the lovely green colour.
3. Roast the walnuts for 2- 3 mins in a pan until toasty on low-medium heat. Keep aside.
4. Combine  2 tbsp olive oil, onion, garlic, half the green peas and cook for 2 mins on medium heat. Stir in the stock, parsley and mascarpone and grind this mixture along with 3/4th of the toasted walnuts into a paste.
5. Combine the ground pesto and the pasta and return to heat for 2-3 mins. Add salt and pepper. Toss the pasta well so that the pesto is well incorporated.
6. Garnish with remaining peas and walnuts and grated parmesan.




Linking this entry to The Flavours of Italy by Simply Food being hosted by Divya at Divyas Culinary Journey and to

MLLA - My Legume Love Affair being hosted by Lisas Kitchen this time.

MLLA was originally started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and has been popular for many years. Do hop over to the archive that has loads of fresh ideas on using legumes.

Updating this entry to Pasta Please event from Jac of Tinned Tomataoes. For March the theme is homemade pesto and is being hosted by Jen of Blue Kitchen Bakes.

s