Masala Okra is a dish made so that it is not slimy. This is done by cooking the okra till it is slightly crunchy. You have to try it even if you hate Okra.
One of my friends from Minneapolis is from the southern part of the US. She hated okra since the only way she was used to eating it is in the form of gumbo. I had her try the way I cooked it (as outlined in the recipe below) and she loved it. She was surprised that it was not slimy. Okra is one of my favorite vegetable but I do not like it’s slimy texture either. How do you get rid of the sliminess when cooking okra? The most important thing to do is to dry it really well after washing it wipe with a damp cloth or paper towel. The next step is to cook it in the pan before adding any other vegetables or spices other than onion. Cook it till it starts to brown a little. Once that is done, then add spices and tomatoes etc. There are also recipes that are made by frying the okra in oil. I prefer not to fry okra since it soaks up a lot of oil and the dish comes out really oily. I believe that is how you will find them in the Indian restaurants.
Okra cut on both ends.
…continue reading Masala Bhindi (Masala Spiced Okra)
Tags: Entree · Gluten-free · Vegetarian
Pav Bhaji literally means Bread and Vegetables. It is a spicy melange of various vegetables that originated in the streets of Mumbai, India. It is supposed to be a spicy dish.
There is a whole section of Indian cuisine that very few people outside India are familiar with nor have they tasted it. Majority of the Indian restaurants in the US do not carry the food known as street food. There is an amazing and fantastic variety of dishes that come under that umbrella. They are lip smackingly tasty. If you ever been to Bombay (or Mumbai as it is called now), you will notice an array of food places on the streets. They range from Pani Puri (puffed puri with a spicy tamarind broth), Bhel Puri (crushed puris with garbanzo beans, yoghurt, chick pea flour noodles, tamarind and mint chutneys), Samosa (spicy potato and peas wrapped in a wonton wrapper and deep fried), Pav Bhaji, Pakoda and many others.
…continue reading Pav Bhaji (Spicy Vegetable Melange)
Tags: Entree · Vegetarian
The spiced lentil with dumpling recipe is made by cooking the lentils in spices and adding the dumplings made with wheat flour or chappati flour.
This weekend I felt homesick. It has been more than three years since I have been to India to see my family – my parents, sister and relatives. The weather is starting to cool down with rains already on the way in Seattle. It brought back memories of the monsoons in India. When it rains there, it pours, literally. The streets would be flooded with water to the point where everything would close down. We would watch the rains from our classroom windows hoping they would close the school early and let us go home. As kids, we loved the rain. There was just a different feel to the environment around us. We would run around in the rain and make paper boats and let them float in the water puddles on the ground.
Once the school was over, my sister and I would take the rickshaw home. Even though we had a raincoat and umbrella, we would still get wet since the rickshaw would be shared by 5 other kids. When we got home, I could smell the aroma of the food my mom was making for us. She would make us spicy dal (lentil) with dhokli (dumplings) in it. We would devour the food and would instantly warm us. Nothing like eating this recipe on a cold, rainy and bleak day.
In order to make the dough, use white wheat flour (chappati or roti flour is preferable). You should be able to get the chappati or roti flour in any Indian grocery store or you can buy it online
…continue reading Dal Dhokli (Spiced Lentil with Dumplings)
Tags: Dal · Entree · Lentil · Wheat Flour
This dish is made with lentils that are roasted and ground and added to cooked rice along with toasted fresh shredded coconut.
When I used to live in Southern part of India, I use to enjoy eating the various dishes prepared with Coconut. The various dishes are prepared using rice in various forms – rice with lentils used to make various dishes, rice with coconut, rice with tomatoes etc. Today, I have taken a dish from an excellent cookbook called The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood
. It is by Raghavan Iyer, whom I had the pleasure of meeting when I was living in Minneapolis.
You can usually buy either frozen shredded coconut or buy a coconut and shred it yourself. I prefer the first approach as it is a tedious process shredding it yourself.
This dish also uses different varieties of lentils which adds a crunchy texture to the dish. The one on the left is called Urad Dal (split and hulled black lentils) and the one on the right is Chana Dal (yellow split peas).
…continue reading Basmati Rice with Toasted Coconut
Tags: Coconut · Entree · Rice · Vegan
Potato that are cooked with mustard seeds along with other spices. Simple yet tasty dish. Tastes better with bread or Naan bread.
The following recipe is a very simple and quick recipe. It can be eaten with any type of bread like naan, chapati, pita bread etc. This recipe is made with just a few ingredients as shown in the photo below.
You can use Yukon gold or red potatoes or a combination of both.
…continue reading Cumin and Mustard Flavored Potato
Tags: Entree · Gluten-free · Vegan
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