Vegetable Pulav (Bangalore Style):

Vegetable Pulav is very versatile and made in many ways. Each house or family has their own favourite recipes. But this one is found in any small darshini or small eateries in Bangalore. It is a native Bangalore style Pulav which is green in colour due to the usage of Pudina and coriander leaves. It is fried with onion and other masalas and ground to paste. Selection of the vegetable is also unique. With other vegetables, Knol khol, double beans as an added attraction, when compared to normal Pulav. Added to all this, we find deep fried bread croutons.  

Ingredients:

Basmati rice – 3 cups (small steel tumbler)

Beans – 10

Carrot – 1

Knol khol – 2

Green peas – ¾ cup

Double beans – ¾ cup

Lemon – 1

Bread slices – 3

For Masala: (please refer the picture)

Oil – 2 table spoons

Cinnamon – 4 to 5 small pieces

Clove – 4

Cardamom – 2

Black pepper – 10 to 15

Cumin – 1 table spoon

Onion – 2 (medium)

Green chillies – 5 to 8

Ginger – 2-inch piece

Garlic – 12 to 14

Mint / Pudina leaves – 1 fist full

Coriander leaves – 1 fist full

Fresh Coconut – 1 small cup

Seasoning:

Oil – 8 to 10 table spoons

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Bay leaves – 3 half pieces

Marathi moggu – 2

Star anise – 2

Method:

-Wash rice a couple of times, soak and keep aside.

-Wash pudina, coriander leaves, Chop veggies, onions etc. If you are adding double beans and green Peas keep it ready.

-Now prepare ground masala: Take everything under masala and keep it ready by washing or chopping.

-Take one wok, heat oil, drop all the dry spices from cinnamon to cumin.

-Fry onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies when onion becomes transparent add pudina and coriander.

-Fry until it wilts. Add coconut and fry for 2 minutes and switch off the gas.

-Cool, grind into paste by adding very minimum water. Keep aside.

-Now we would move towards the main preparation. It is the time to drain the soaking rice.

-Take one pressure cooker, pour oil for the seasoning, drop all the dry spices from cumin to star anise, fry for 2 minutes.

-Now put all the veggies, green peas, double beans and fry nicely until raw smell vanishes and all the pieces coats with the oil.

-Next comes the turn of adding ground green masala and salt. Fry nicely and lastly add drained rice and fry for couple of minutes.

-Add water (I normally add 1: 2 for Basmati rice or Sona masuri rice) If you are using small grain (Jeera rice) Use 1: 1 ½ ratio for water. Here 1 is rice and 2 or 1 ½ is water.

-Use rice measured cup for water measurement.

-Check for salt and squeeze lemon and close the lid. Cook for 1 whistle and keep it in a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

-During this time, we can prepare bread croutons. Usually bread pieces will be deep fried, drained and added.

But, I normally avoid deep frying and make it like this.

-Take one tawa, drop couple of spoons of ghee or oil, when it is hot, drop the bread pieces and fry for 2 to 4 minutes, until all the bread pieces coats partially and half roasted.

-Now switch off the gas, spread those bread pieces in a baking dish, bake for 20 minutes or until it is crisp in a pre-heated oven or convection microwave at 170-degree C.

-When Pressure relieves, open the cooker lid and mix in bread croutons and mix well. Close the lid and leave for some time to soak all these bread pieces to absorb the aroma.

-Then serve with Onion raita at the side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Veggie Pickle/Gajar, Gobhi aur shalgam ka achar:

Winter vegetables are very juicy, which can be preserved and enjoyed during the off season as well. In Northern India mainly in Punjab, they preserve these veggies by making pickle. I am very much fond of all kinds of pickles right from our traditional non-oily baby mango pickle to Andhra Avakaya and Punjabi mustard oil soaked root vegetables. No meal is complete without pickle. I usually prefer homemade pickles over store bought one and usually stocks lots of varieties for our regular usage. People who know me will surely agree with this. 😀

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In this Pickle we use seasonal Red carrots, radish, cauliflower and Turnip chunks. Which is mixed with assorted spices, salt, jaggery and mustard oil. It is a classic combination with any kind of Indian flat breads.

How I make-

Ingredients:

Carrot – 250 grams (Red or Baby carrots)

Radish – 250 grams

Turnip – 250 grams

Cauliflower – 250 grams

Salt – ½ cup+ 1 table spoon (as needed)

Mustard oil – 50 ml

Refined cooking oil – 50 ml

Garlic cloves – 10

Yellow mustard – 50 grams

Turmeric – 1 + 1 tea spoon

Kashmiri chilli powder – 20 grams

Normal chilli powder – 20 grams

Vinegar – 50 ml

Jaggery – 75 grams

Method:

  • Wash, cut carrots, Radish, Turnip into long pieces.

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  • Remove small florets from cauliflower. Wash and drain.
  • Boil 4 to 6 cups of water in a big vessel. Add 1 table spoon of salt and 1 tea spoon of turmeric.

Ribbet collage 1

  • Blanch cauliflower, radish, Turnip, carrot pieces separately and drain and cool.
  • Spread these on a clean towel and keep it under the sun for 1 to 2 hours to remove all the water content.

Ribbet collage 2

  • If you are keeping and drying it inside the house, please switch on the fan or keep it for long hours, until it is dry.
  • Now keep everything ready for pickle masala and seasoning.
  • Take one thick kadai, pour oil, when it is hot, add garlic and fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

Ribbet collage 3

  • Add crushed yellow mustard, fry for one to two minutes.
  • Immediately add turmeric and dry veggies. Mix nicely.
  • Add both the chilli powders, salt and mix nicely.
  • Then add grated jaggery (I have kept the jaggery piece to show) and vinegar.

Ribbet collage 4

  • Cook until all the masalas and liquid absorb and becomes like a mass.
  • Cool the mixture, store this in a clean, dry glass bottle.
  • It will set in a weeks’ time and one can relish after that period.
  • After it sets, I usually prefer storing it in the fridge to prolong its shelf life.

Eggless Carrot cake:

This flavourful cake happened by chance. I usually make carrot milkshake paste with almonds in the summer. This year I tried this paste by adding pine nuts instead of almonds and it didn’t go very well with my family. To finish off this paste, I tried this by making cake and it was a super-duper hit and it tastes really moist and soft.

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Ingredient:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

All-purpose flour – ½ cup

Fine rawa- ½ cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Baking soda -1 tsp

Sugar – 1 ½ cup

Desiccated coconut – ½ cup

Carrot milkshake paste – 2 cups

Clarified butter/ghee – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Salt- ¼ tsp

Method:

-Sieve all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, fine rawa and baking powder for 2 to three times and keep aside. This is our dry ingredient mixture.

-Beat the wet ingredient like carrot milk shake paste, ghee, sugar.

-Mix in baking soda, salt and desiccated coconut, cardamom powder and beat.

-You will see a frothy texture. This is our ready wet ingredient mixture.

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-Pour wet ingredient to dry ingredient, lightly mix without over doing.

-Bake this in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 40 to 50 minutes.

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-After checking its doneness, remove from the oven, cool and serve.

Carrot and Almond Milkshake:

I usually store this puree in my fridge in summer season. Whenever my kids asks for a milkshake this is such a handy option. So this option acts as a win- win situation for both. Mummy will be happy that, kids are having healthy milkshake and kids will be happy to have a really creamy, fragrant milkshake 😉

pic 1

Ingredients:

Carrot – ½ kg (I have used Delhi Red carrots)

Almonds -15

Method:

  • Wash ,peel and chop the carrots
  • Put these pieces as well as almond in a pressure cooker with sufficient water.
  • Cook for 2 whistles, cool and make puree by using mixer grinder.

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  • This is your basic “Milk shake Puree” to prepare milkshake whenever you want.
  • You can store this “Puree” for 10 days under refrigeration.

For preparing Milkshake:

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  • Take one or two tablespoon of this “Puree”, required amount of sugar and chilled milk and Enjoy.

Mix Vegetable Cutlet:

Exam time and kids were craving for Mangalore style cutlets, like the ones you get in Pabba’s ice cream parlour in Mangalore. My daughter asked me to prepare that same chutney as well. Finally tried my hand in this combo and succeeded. Everyone at home liked and asked me to blog about this yummy snack from Mangalore.

cutlet11

Ingredients:

Potato – 3

Beans – 10

Carrot -1

Beetroot – 1 small

Green peas – ½ cup

Onion – 1 big

Green chillies -5 to 6

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Garlic – 5 to 6

Salt

Garam masala – 2 to 3 tsp (according to taste)

Bread slices – 2 to 3 (whole wheat is fine)

Coriander leaves – 2 table spoon (chopped)

Seasoning: Oil – 2 table Spoon, Mustard – 1 tsp, urad dal – ½ tsp, chana dal -1/2 tsp.

Slurry :– All purpose flour – 1 table spoon and little water

Bread crumbs- to coat

Oil –for deep fry the cutlet

Method:

  • Wash all the veggies, chop beans, carrot and beetroot into bits.
  • Make potato into 4 pieces and cook all these in pressure cooker with sufficient water by adding frozen green peas as well.

cutlet1

  • Cook this for one whistle and switch off the gas.
  • When pressure relieves, open the lid, drain the water and keep the veggies aside.
  • When it becomes cool peel the potato skin and mash.
  • Chop onions, garlic, chillies and curry leaves.

cutlet2

  • Take one kadai; add seasoning ingredients one by one from oil, when it is hot add mustard, then urad and chana dal.
  • When dal becomes red, add chopped curry leaves, garlic, chillies and onions and fry until onion becomes little brown.

collage 1

  • Now add cooked veggie, mashed potato, Garam masala, salt, powdered bread slices and mix nicely until it becomes like a mass.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves and mix nicely. Check for salt and adjust.
  • Now take one cookie cutter, fill the mix to give a shape or make round patty and arrange them in a plate and refrigerate for one hour OR you can keep this in a freezer for 10 minutes while preparing other patties and can proceed.(It will help the patty to firm up a bit)
  • Make maida (all-purpose flour) slurry to dip these patties. It should be little thinner than Dosa batter.

collage2

  • Remove patties from the fridge and dip one by one in the  slurry and roll this in a bread crumbs and this is now ready to deep fry.
  • Heat oil in a kadai, when it is hot, drop these patties one by one and fry until it is brown. Remove from the oil, drain the excess oil and serve this with a mint – coconut chutney and tomato sauce.

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Note:

-You can use whole wheat bread as well.

-You can use the drained water in making curries, Rasam’s or soups.

– If you are using dried peas, please soak it and cook separately in cooker.

– I use Nayak’s brand Garam masala to give authentic taste and is available at all Mangalore stores in Bangalore.