Vatral Kozhumbu: Tamil Comfort Food

Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine has come up with a new event that is close to my heart: Each month, we will be making the food of one region/ state of India. This month, we travel to the Southern tip of India to the state of Tamil Nadu to cook up some delicious Tamil Cuisine. You can take a look at Tamil Nadu at the far South-East tip of India in this map.


The Southern Indian states of India have a wonderful tradition of vegetarian cuisine, and as I am learning to cook, it has been gratifying to replicate the tastes of South Indian food that I have only ever glimpsed in restaurants before. Tamil food is especially close to my heart, because I might not be Tamilian, but I *am* married to one (V has never actually lived in TN, and remains a born-and-bred "bambaiyya", but so what?). My forays into Tamil cuisine have thus far been limited to a regular turnout of idli-sambar and the occasional dish like eggplant rasavangy. I own two cookbooks that I find quite useful as an introduction to Tamil cuisine: Dakshin and Samayal. But really, the most useful way for me to learn more about Tamil cuisine has been through all those wonderful blogs that are written by home cooks who are well-versed in Tamilian cuisine. To give just one example, this post from Priya's blog Sugar and Spice was very helpful in explaining different Tamil preparations.

Today, for the event, I decided to go with a popular Tamil dish called Vatral Kozhambu. Actually, I have heard about this "curry" (for lack of a better word) for years but only tasted it three weeks ago. In graduate school in NYC, when friends would gather together for a meal, the conversation would often turn to discussions of our favorite comfort food. This is not very surprising, because two prominent characteristics of grad students are (a) they are always hungry, and (b) they are stressed-out and tired more often than not. Comfort food takes care of both needs! During these conversations, my half-Tamil friend Revati would invariably sigh and begin talking about vatral kozhumbu. When I would ask her what it was, she would vaguely refer to this "amazing curry...it is basically tamarind and spices....soooo good" etc., and her words would be accompanied by more sighs and nostalgia. I never did figure out exactly what this magic stuff was.

Then, just three weeks ago, our friend H dropped by with a tupperware container of vatral kozhumbu so I could finally taste it. As luck would have it, that was just the time when I had a terrible cold and allergies and was in no state to cook anything at all. That vatral kozhumbu literally sustained me for 2-3 days while I recovered. Mixed in with ghee and steamed rice, with some leftover cauliflower subzi on the side, it tasted like a little bit of heaven and brought back my appetite. I then realized that vatral kozhumbu is the Tamil version of the Marathi pithale: something that can be turned out in a short amount of time with minimal ingredients, and is the ultimate comfort food to those who grow up eating it. I had to learn how to make it!

From what I understand, vatral refers to dried (preserved) vegetables and kozhambu is a general term for a thick liquidy preparation that is eaten with steamed rice. Although the true-blue version calls for certain dried berries that are quite new to me, there are forms of vatral kozhumbu that use onions or other fresh vegetables instead of the berries. I asked H what recipe she used for the amazing stuff she gave me, and it turns out that she used a modified version of a recipe from the beautiful blog Married To A Desi. Many thanks to Kanchana for sharing her recipe! This is how I made it, from Kanchana's recipe, with helpful suggestions from my friend H.

Vatral Kozhambu

1. Make the vatral kozhambu powder: Mix together 2 tbsp each of chana dal, toor dal and urad dal. Add 4-5 whole black peppercorns.

Roast together on low heat until aromatic, and a couple of shades darker (be careful not to burn the stuff). Cool and then grind to a fine powder in a spice blender or coffee grinder. Store in an air-tight container and use as required in the recipe.
2. Make the tamarind paste: In one cup hot water, soak 2 heaped tbsp tamarind for 20 minutes (Ready-made tamarind extract should ideally NOT be used here because it can impart a slightly bitter flavor. Since the dish is based on tamarind, use your favorite brand of tamarind pulp. My personal favorite is actually a Thai brand, which has a lighter color but a sweeter, more well-rounded flavor and a softer, more scoop-able pulp). Squeeze out all the tamarind pulp and discard the solids. You should end up with a cup of thick tamarind juice.
2. In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp sesame oil (this is untoasted sesame oil, different from the one use in Chinese cooking, and is available in stores selling Indian supplies. It is alternatively called "til oil" or "gingelly oil"). Make the tempering with 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp toor dal, 1 tsp urad dal, 4-5 fenugreek seeds (any more and you risk making the dish bitter), pinch of asafoetida and 8-10 curry leaves. Saute for a couple of minutes until the dal turns golden.
3. Now add 1 small onion, cut into half, then sliced thickly. Saute the onion slices until the edges turn golden. H's tip: you could use okra or eggplant or even pieces of papad.
4. Stir in 2 tbsp vatral kozambu powder, 1 tbsp sambar masala, 1 tsp red chili powder and salt to taste. H suggested the use of sambar masala for more flavor without too much heat. Add the tamarind juice and a cup or so of water. Bring the liquid to a boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes or until as thick as you like it. All done!

Vatral Kozambu tastes even better the next day, in my opinion. It can stay well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, making for an instant delicious meal. I mixed some vatral kozumbu with steamed rice and ghee and enjoyed a wonderful lunch, with a side of brussels sprouts poriyal, straight from Krithika's recipe.


Thanks, Lakshmi, for hosting this event. I am learning so much about Tamil cuisine this month from expert home cooks!

Mmm...Mustard Greens!

Alanna is challenging us to try some new vegetables all this month with her Vegetable Contest, so here are my attempts to try some vegetables that are new to my kitchen.

A whole category of vegetables that I have hardly gotten to know are the green leafy vegetables. Apart from spinach (which I love and buy every week) and arugula (which I have just started using in pasta dishes in recent months), I barely use any greens.

It is a real shame, because there is an amazing delicious world out there: from collard greens to kale to Swiss chard. What keeps me from buying more greens? Well, greens are much more fragile than other vegetables like, say, carrots and cauliflower. While our everyday staples can sit in the vegetable crisper for a few days while we get around to cooking them, greens bruise and wilt easily and need to be cooked within a day or two of buying them. Tender greens are sometimes too delicate for the produce sellers too, and in many supermarkets, the greens will look too torn and ragged and I'm just not tempted to buy them. To make a long story short: when you see a bunch of bright, crisp, tender, perfect-looking greens being sold in your supermarket/store/Farmer's market, grab it with both hands and RUN! Well, this weekend, I managed to find just such a perfect bunch of mustard greens, the very first time I got a chance to cook them.

How should I cook them? I had a few options. One highly popular way to cook mustard greens in India is to blend them with spinach and make a delicious Punjabi dish called saag. I also had a recipe jotted down from Vegetarian Times for some yummy-looking garlicky green dumplings, dim-sum style.

But I decided to go with a recipe that was simple and would let me taste the goodness of the greens themselves, and I turned to my favorite resource for such recipes:
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.

Jaffrey has a beautifully simple recipe for Sri Lankan Greens. It calls for very simple ingredients: greens, curry leaves, onion, hot chilies, turmeric, salt and some grated coconut. No other spices, no tempering, nothing. The best part is, this recipe works well for any greens at all, so it is a good one to have in the repertoire for emergency moments when you find a great bunch of greens but don't have too much else in the pantry, or are short on time.

Sri Lankan Mustard Greens

(adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)

1. Take 1 bunch mustard greens.

2. Wash the leaves. Chop them into very thin, long strands (discard any tough stems). You can do this by cutting out stems from a few leaves, then stacking them into a pile and cutting the pile into thin shreds. Jaffrey stresses that no matter what greens you choose to use in this recipe, they should be shredded thinly.

3. Cut 1 medium onion into half, then into strips. In a large skillet, heat a couple of teaspoons of oil on medium heat. Add onion, 8-10 curry leaves and 2-3 fresh chilies (cut into thirds). Use more or less chilies depending on how your preferred level of hotness. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until the edges of the onion start to brown.

4. Now add the shredded greens, 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt to taste. Stir around and mix well until the greens start to wilt.

5. Now lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the greens are cooked and tender. In my case, the leaves were tender and the water clinging to the washed greens was enough to cook the leaves in their own steam. If one uses greens that are a bit tougher, a couple of tablespoons of water may be added to the pan. At the end of cooking, stir 2 tbsp of grated fresh or dried unsweetened coconut into the greens.

The resulting greens were absolutely flavorful without being bitter or harsh in the least. I served the Sri Lankan mustard greens with an egg curry: Eggs cooked in a Sri Lankan Coconut Milk Sauce (recipe from the same book) and some steamed rice, for a wonderful Sri-Lankan themed Sunday night dinner. I love World Vegetarian more and more every day!

This is one side dish that is going to be very versatile: it would go well with any Indian meal (it would be amazing with some simple dal and rice) and could be used creatively in wraps and sandwiches too. I'm so glad I tried mustard greens, and can't wait to eat some again.

L is for Lasuni Dal Palak

The myriad cuisines of India all love their vegetables! Veggies are diced and sliced, grated and mashed, stir-fried and curried into hundreds of vegetable dishes. In this series, the A to Z of Indian Vegetables, we take an alphabetical journey through the various avatars of vegetables relished in Indian cuisine. For each letter, we will make a tasty vegetable dish that illustrates one manner in which vegetables are savored in India.

The "L" of Indian Vegetables

The letter L inspired eighteen luscious Indian flavors!

Let's start off with a bright and cold splash of color. L stands for laal which is the color RED in Hindi and a bunch of other Indian languages. We have two red favorites represented here...

Vee of Past, Present and Me chooses the intensely vivid beet, that vegetable (or is it a food dye?) which will paint your kitchen red if you let it. She cooks some beets and beet greens into a colorful and nutritious (not to mention kid-friendly) Laal Bhajji or red greens!

Manasi of A Cook At Heart uses a more delicately hued vegetable that is popular in many parts of India, lal bhopla, literally, the red pumpkin. Given the round shape of the pumpkin, this poor vegetable is often colloquially used to describe the number "zero" or to refer to "zip zilch nada". Manasi gives the lal bhopla the respect that it deserves and cooks it into a light and tasty Lal Bhoplyachi Bhaji.

The L vegetables...

A very popular vegetable in India is the lauki or bottle gourd, also popularly known as the dudhi. A large vegetable with a mild taste and a high water content, the lauki is widely available in India and lends itself to a variety of preparations, from mild to spicy, from savory to sweet. To convince you of its versatility, we have here a complete meal of four dishes based on the lovely lauki!

First, a tasty appetizer to start off our lauki meal. Richa of As Dear As Salt takes slices of lauki and stuffs them with a flavorful mixture of home-made paneer, potatoes and spices, resulting in a delicious platter of Lauki Bharwa.

Next, a simple, ready-in-a-jiffy entree: Pooja of Creative Pooja makes a traditional Gujarati preparation with the Lauki, stir-frying lauki with split gram and mild spices to make a nutritious and flavorful dish of Lauki Chana-Dal by .

Then, it is time for a rich entree, a lazeez (a delicious-sounding word that indeed means delectable) dish. Ayesha of Experimenting on Taste Buds takes whole lauki, stuffs it with nuts, spices and khoya (khoya is basically milk reduced to its solids, although the bland term "reduced milk" does not even begin to describe it), then cooks the beautiful stuffed lauki in a delicate saffron sauce to make an amazing, rich platter of Lazeez Lauki. For more L goodness, Ayesha serves the dish with lacha paratha, a crispy, layered bread.

I hope everyone saved room for dessert, the final course of the lauki feast! Suma of Veggie Platter cooks grated lauki with ghee, nuts, sugar and cardamom to make a dessert that is beloved and highly popular all over India, Lauki ka Halwa.

The next L vegetable is the Lady's Finger, a decidedly more picturesque term for the long, tapering, elegant vegetable better known as okra! Here, we have a restaurant-style dish, Lady's fingers stir-fried with onions and spices into a golden Lady's Finger Masala by Reena of Spices of Kerala.

The L beans...

The first bean is the beautiful black-eyed pea, often known in India as Lobia/ Lobiya (spell it as you will). Here are two zesty ways to use them.

First, an appetizer recipe. Lobia are tossed together with a variety of appetizing ingredients like onions, boiled potatoes, tamarind chutney and fried goodies to make a big lip-smacking bowl of Lobiya Chaat by Pinki of Desi Fusion Corner.

Then, an entree recipe. Recognizing the rather bland and mild taste of lobia, Musical of Musical's Kitchen jazzes up the beans with green peppers and cooks them into a tasty tomato-onion curry to make a typical Punjabi-style Lobia Shimla.

The next L bean is the Lima bean! Lima beans also have an unfair reputation for being bland and monotonous. Swapna of Swad is about to change all that. She combines lima beans with eggplants (also called brinjal), a culinary match made in heaven, and with the help of a spicy coconut masala, transforms lima beans into a savory curry of Lima Beans with Brinjals.

Next, an L fruit, the Lemon, which often plays a supporting role in our kitchens, but here, takes center-stage with four great recipes...

First, Sheela of Delectable Victuals shows us a way to take leftover cooked rice, add some simple touches of tempering and a generous dose of fresh lemon juice, and transform the rice into some tasty Lemon Rice that looks perfect for summer picnics and road trips.

Next, Ranjani of Eat and Talk makes a delicious breakfast/ brunch dish of Lemon Sevai with simple pantry ingredients like delicate rice noodles, frozen peas and some fresh lemon juice.

Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine gives us another appetizing version of Lemon Sevai, made in typical Tamilian style with a tempering of chilies and curry leaves, garnished with roasted cashews, with lemon juice adding the final tangy note.

Lemon's powers to perk the palate and soothe seasonal coughs and colds is invoked in our next recipe. All kinds of flavorful ingredients- cumin, pepper and tomato- mingle with fresh lemon juice in the Lemon Pepper Tomato Rasam by Sapna of Indian Monsoon. I want to reach into the screen and take a sip right now!

While we are on the subject of sipping something tasty, here are two wonderful drinks that are just right for the upcoming sweltering summer months...

Lassi is a common term for chilled yogurt-based drinks that can range from sweetened versions to spicy, minty ones. Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi take Lassi to a whole new level by blending yogurt with herbs and cucumber into a frothy beverage- a delicious way to drink your vegetables.

Sigma of Live To Eat comes up with a beautiful drink using lemon's cousin, the Lime. She combines lime juice with seasonal blood orange juice to make a thirst-quenching Limeade with Blood Orange- the color of sunset.

We can't talk about L foods without bringing up the beloved Indian sweet treat, the Laddu. Here, these goodies are represented with a recipe for heavenly Laddus with Coconut by Asha of Aroma/Foodie's Hope.

Finally, an anonymous cook known only as Cooker e-mailed a recipe using an L vegetable that was absolutely new to me: Lacinto Kale, also known as Dinosaur Kale, a highly nutritious green leafy vegetable related to the cabbage. In Cooker's own words, "Lacinto Kale??? That was my response a couple years ago. But now, this vegetable has been fully integrated in our Puneri kitchen. From Kale Amti, KaleKoshimbir to Kale Bhaat, we enjoy Kale in all its avataars. Here is a simple, weekend bhaat recipe. Not spicy but very satisfying."

Lacinto Kale Bhaat
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups chopped kale, loosely packed
1 cup carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 mirchi, chopped
1 tbsp dhana-jeera powder (cumin-corriander powder)
2 tsps oil
1 tsp mustard seeds,
Pinch of hinga
½ tsp turmeric
Juice of half (average sized) lemon
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Do the phodni/ tadka (Heat the oil in a kadai. When hot add the mustard seeds, when most of the mustard had sputtered add the hinga and then the turmeric).
2. Add the garlic and mirchi. Let them cook for a minute, don’t let the garlic brown.
3. Add the carrots, stir and put on a lid and let them cook for a few minutes.
4. Add the kale, stir.
5. Add the lemon juice. Put on the lid again and cook for 3-4 minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Add the dhana-jeera powder and salt.
7. Mix in the rice.
Many thanks to Cooker for introducing this vegetable to me and providing a lovely recipe too.

P.S.: Do you love thinking of vegetables by alphabet? I do! Now that the veggie evangelist, Alanna of Veggie Venture, has put up a new alphabet of vegetables. Alanna is also challenging us to try new vegetables this month with a contest. Check it out!

P.P.S.: Last week, I was very dismayed when Swapna pointed out that I had left out her entry from the K round-up. I do try to be very careful about including all entries, and yet this happened...I sincerely apologize for this omission! Please check out her entry in the updated K round-up.

************************************************************
L is for Lasuni Dal Palak: Vegetables with Dal

We are nearing the half-way mark of the A-Z series, so it is exciting to finally reach the letter where I am celebrating the combination of vegetables and beans/lentils in Indian cuisine. Vegetables are delicious by themselves, and dals and lentils need no company to produce a tasty dish, but when the two get together- the combination of beans and vegetables can only be described by the Hindi expression sone pe suhaga, an idiom that is loosely translated as "better than awesome"!

In putting together a well-balanced Indian vegetarian meal, the cook has to make sure to include a protein-rich dish, usually a dal or bean curry, as well as a dish or two of vegetables. All in all, complete Indian meals often call for the investment of time to prepare multiple dishes. Dishes that include combinations of veggies and dals are a two-in-one deal that can save time and effort. As a bonus, the combination also maximizes the nutrients that the body is able to absorb from food. For instance, the Vitamin C that is abundant in many vegetables helps the absorption of iron from beans and lentils.

Some combinations of beans/lentils and vegetables that I know about, that are classics of regional Indian cuisines:
1. Sambar, that tangy and versatile dal found in different avatars in the Southern Indian cuisines. Sambar can be made with single vegetables or combinations of vegetables. In recent years, fellow bloggers have inspired me to try okra sambar and radish sambar, two examples of how tasty and special single-vegetable sambars can be. But I often just made sambar as a fridge-cleaning recipe, using up whatever odds and ends of vegetables I have on end, and the result is always satisfying and nutritious, even if not very authentic!
2. Kootu, a Tamilian dish, which combines lentils and vegetables into a thick curry.
3. Paruppu Usili, another interesting Tamilian dish. Dal/ lentils are ground to a thick paste that is shaped into balls and steamed. Then the steamed lentil balls can be crumbled into several vegetable stir-fry dishes to add an instant boost of protein and flavor.
4. Marathi cuisine has two methods to quickly add dal-power to vegetables. First, soaked chana dal is often added to vegetables as they are cooked into simple stir-fries. I always add chana dal to cabbage and cauliflower, for instance. Second, chickpea powder (besan) is sprinkled on stir-fries of vegetables such as cabbage, spring onions and green peppers.
5. Punjabi dishes of rajma (kidney beans) and chana (chickpeas) often include vegetables such as onion, potato and tomato. Potato gets a bad rap these days, but we often forget that it is a rich source of vitamin C and potassium, and is very nutritious when cooked in such curries.
Any other common dishes than I have forgotten to mention? Please leave a comment on how your favorite dish combines veggies and lentils/beans.

Today, I decided to go with a classic Northern Indian style dal that combines a common dal (toor dal or yellow lentils) with a common vegetable (spinach) and a common spice (garlic) to make a uncommonly delicious dish of lasuni dal palak or "garlicky lentils with spinach"! Garlic, beloved spice of so many cuisines, is called Lasun in Hindi (and Marathi, although pronounced differently). I can't think of many scents more heady and appetizing than the aroma of garlic and spinach being sauteed together. In this dish, I use golden-brown slices of garlic as a garnish. Raw garlic can be quite over-powering, but cooked garlic has a delicate taste all of its own.

Lasuni Dal Palak

(about 4 servings)
1. The prep: Cook 3/4 cup of toor dal. Chop 2 packed cups spinach into strips (I used fresh baby spinach, but frozen spinach could be used too). Chop 4 cloves of garlic into thin slices. Chop another 2-3 cloves of garlic finely. Chop 1 small onion into thin slices. Chop 1 fresh or canned ripe tomato into cubes.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil. On medium heat, gently fry the garlic slices to a pale brown (takes only a few seconds, be careful as garlic burns quickly and becomes bitter). Remove the slices with a slotted spoon and set aside.
3. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds to the oil and let them sizzle. Add the minced garlic and sliced onion. Saute for a few minutes until the onion is lightly browned. Add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chili powder, salt to taste and chopped spinach. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes until the spinach wilts.
4. Stir in the tomato and fry for a minute or two. Add the cooked dal and a cup of water (more or less, depending on how thin or thick you prefer your dal).
5. Add 1 tsp garam masala and simmer the dal for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (don't skip the lemon juice as far as possible- it enhances the taste, plus the Vitamin C from lemon juice helps the body absorb much more iron from plant-based foods like spinach that it can otherwise). Garnish with the reserved fried garlic slices and serve hot.

Variations on a theme
Another recipe for Lasooni Dal Palak from Saffron Trail, and this one is from a real five-star-restaurant chef, no less!

How do you serve this dish?
Make a thicker dal to serve with breads, such as rotis or parathas. Make a thinner dal to serve with steamed rice, with any vegetable stir-fry on the side.

Fellow bloggers have come up with many delicious combinations of lentils/beans with vegetables. Here are some of my favorite finds:
Pacha Sambar from Mahanandi,
Okra Sambar from Masala Magic,
Matki with Green Beans from Happy Burp,
Methi Chana from Food-In The Main,
Mixed Vegetables Kootu from Mysoorean,
Pappu Pulusu from Sailu's Food,

Previously on the A to Z of Indian Vegetables...
A is for Aloo Gobi: North-Indian Stir-Fry
B is for Bharli Mirchi: Stuffed Vegetables
C is for Carrot-Cashew Payasam: Desserts
D is for Dum ki Arbi: Dum Style of Cooking
E is for Egg-Fried Rice: Rice and Vegetables
F is for Foogath: South-Indian Stir-Fry
G is for Gobi Paratha: Vegetables in Breads
H is for Hariyali Tikki: Vegetables in Appetizers
I is for Idli with Vegetables: Vegetables for Breakfast
J is for Jalfrezi Vegetables: Restaurant Style
K is for Kati Roll: Vegetables and Paneer

Weekend Dog Blogging, Weekend Jabber

Ever since my weekends were taken over by the A-Z event, poor Dale (the official mascot) has been unceremoniously booted off the pages of One Hot Stove. He's been rather miffed about it, let me tell you, so here he is!

Dale's life has a singular purpose: To Scout Out New Surfaces To Nap On. Last weekend, we bought a little space-filling rug (a desperate and inexpert effort to decorate a still-bare home) and laid it in the living room just to see what it looked it. Dale scooted right over and made himself comfortable on it within SECONDS! Ever since, it is his new favorite place to nap on. He starts by settling in...pinning back his ears:

ponders his surrounding for a few minutes:

then gives in to gravity, his head sinks to the ground and he slips into slumber; another busy day in the life of a dog!

Oh, Dale has a message: "Hi, Kamini! Woof! I missed you too!" :)

A bit of weekend jabber:
I tried out three recipes from fellow bloggers recently, and loved 'em all...
1. Apple Cake from Nami-Nami. A simple batter with loads of diced apples (I actually used one apple and one red Anjou pear instead of two apples), and a cinnamon-y crumb topping. It made for a delicious brunch cake, moist and fruity. The only problem was that the kids I made it for decided that they did not like fruits in cakes, and painstakingly removed every last bit of fruit before eating the few crumbs that were left behind! Oh, well, I guess you cannot please everyone! The rest of us enjoyed it, and I will certainly be making this cake again. The picture that I took does not do much justice to this cake, but here is a peek at it anyway:

2. A couple of years ago, I had never cooked with, and rarely ate sweet potatoes. Now, I buy them nearly every week and am always looking for new ways to cook them. Sweet potatoes are such a nutritious food that it would be silly not to. Well, I found a great way to use these orange beauties as appetizers: Sweet Potato Tikkis from Is That My Bureka, a recipe that I found via Coffee. This recipe is a keeper, and I followed it pretty closely, only subbing more cashews for the sunflower seeds.
3. Finally, I made a double batch of this delicious Mushroom Masala from Recipe Junction when we had an impromptu dinner with friends. It is totally restaurant-style stuff and just the ticket to satisfy mushroom lovers. Another keeper recipe!

After years of reading blogs the "old-fashioned" way (clicking on links, I mean), I decided that the number of blogs that I wanted to regularly read was getting out of hand, and streamlined it a little by subscribing to the "feeds" instead. I know I am very late coming to the RSS party, but that's me! Here is how I did it: I registered on to Bloglines. There are many alternatives out there...I just went with this one because I quickly saw that it was free, user-friendly and very quick. Once you have your own "page" there, you can add the URLs of all your favorite blogs. Then, every time these blogs are updated, you will see it highlighted in bold and can go read the new post. I *love* it! For one thing, it is efficient, and for another, I am saved from that little pang of disappointment that I feel when I visit my favorite blogs and find that there is no new post for me to read! Now, when I settle down with my first cup of tea every morning, I'm off to bloglines, and then to all the freshly-updated blogs for my daily fix of food-mania.

See you all tomorrow for the L of Indian Vegetables!

Green Blog Project: Methi and Basil

The Green Blog Project is a beautiful and meaningful event started by Inji Pennu of Ginger and Mango. The idea is to inspire food bloggers to grow produce in their own homes and cook with it. This time around, the Winter-Spring leg of the Green Blog Project is being hosted by Mandira of Ahaar.

I have been a silent admirer of the gardening skills of my fellow bloggers. I was awe-struck at the last round-up of the Green Blog Project. You see, I am sorely lacking a green thumb. A few years ago, my friend Revati gave me a trio of African violets as a birthday gift. Three weeks later, one succumbed to my poor care and I hastily relinquished the rest to V's care. In his hands, they thrived and grew and my poor gardening ego took a fall. Then, when I read the announcement for Winter-Spring round-up of this project, I was determined to participate in my own little way and give gardening a fresh start. In the company of bloggers who are far better gardeners, my two little herbs will look quite silly, and I was almost too embarrassed to write this post, but you have to start somewhere, so here I am. The following text is for gardening newbies like me and not meant for more experienced folks!

Methi (Fenugreek) Plant

I used a recycled plastic container as a pot. You need to drill quite a few holes in the bottom of the container for adequate drainage. I used "Scott's potting soil for seed starting". To give the plants a head start, I sprouted the methi seeds before planting them (take store-bought methi seeds, soak overnight in warm water, then drain and place in a damp cheesecloth for 2 days until you see sprouts emerging). Plant the sprouted methi seeds just below the surface of the potting soil, leaving some space between seeds. In my case, about a third of the seeds failed to emerge (a high infant mortality rate!) so plant a few more seeds than you think you need. Keep the plant by a window, keep the soil moist (without over-watering) and within a week or two, you will see saplings emerging! I watched the seeds grow with all the excitement and wonder of a 5-year old growing seeds in her kindergarten science project :)
Now, I find that as the methi stems are growing, they are keeling over from their own weight. Any solutions for that?

Fresh methi is one of my favorite herbs. I think it adds a wonderful pleasantly-bitter flavor when sprinkled on Northern Indian dishes. Baby methi, the kind I have, is hardly bitter at all, but very aromatic. I used some of this methi for two dishes already: I used it as a herb in some Paneer Kati Rolls and added it to potato parathas that I made for brunch last week. My dish for the green blog project is...

Gajar Methi (Carrot-Fenugreek Stir-Fry)

The combination of carrots and fenugreek is a popular North-Indian dish. Sweet carrots and bitter-ish fenugreek complement each other perfectly, and the contrasting colors make for a pretty presentation.

Method: Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 tbsp finely minced onion. Stir for a few minutes until onions are transluscent. Add 2 cups carrots, cut in small dice and 1/2 cup finely minced fresh fenugreek. Add a touch of turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and salt. Stir-fry for a minute, then cover and cook for a few minutes until carrots are just tender. Serve hot with rotis for a delicious and healthy meal!

Basil Plant

I also have a little basil plant that is growing quite well. This, I started with a conventional clay pot and a seed packet. I planted the seeds right away, without any sprouting, according to directions on the packet. Other than the fact that the plants are crowded, this one seems to be doing well.

I'm waiting for the leaves to get bigger before I start plucking and using this basil. Come summer, I know I'm going to use it a lot in omelets, pasta, pizzas and salads!

My next gardening ambitions: to have a chili pepper plant and a curry leaf plant. Since I live in a small apartment with limited space, I am realistic enough to know that I can't grow large quantities of produce. Instead, I would like to grow those herbs and condiments that I use in small quantities, where store-bought sizes are too big for my needs and I could just pluck a few leaves when the need arises. Would anyone care to answer my questions:
1) Can you grow a chili plant from the seeds of store-bought dried red chilies? Any tips on doing that?
2) How do you obtain a curry leaf plant? Any reliable sources out there? Or do you ask your local nursery to order one for you? Do you think a curry leaf plant would survive and thrive indoors in a place like Missouri?
Thanks for the inspiration, everyone, and thanks, Mandira, for hosting! This is a wonderful learning experience for me.

K is for Kati Roll

The myriad cuisines of India all love their vegetables! Veggies are diced and sliced, grated and mashed, stir-fried and curried into hundreds of vegetable dishes. In this series, the A to Z of Indian Vegetables, we take an alphabetical journey through the various avatars of vegetables relished in Indian cuisine. For each letter, we will make a tasty vegetable dish that illustrates one manner in which vegetables are savored in India.



The "K" of Indian Vegetables

The letter K inspired twenty-two appetizing Indian flavors!

The K vegetables today are not vegetables at all :)

Let's start with two rich, delicious and nutritious K unvegetables, one is a fruit and the other, a nut...Khajoor or dates, and Kaju or cashew nuts. These two natural goodies come together in a beautiful sweet treat called Khajoor Kaju Laddu made by Sreelu of Sreelu's Tasty Travels.

Then, we have a fungus masquerading as a vegetable, Kumbh or mushroom. Wild mushrooms are used in some select parts of India, and cultivated mushrooms have just become popular and readily available in the last decade or so. Even so, Indian cuisine has taken to mushrooms eagerly and we have tons of recipe for cooking them Indian-style. Here, Vani of Spiced... shares an easy way to use mushrooms and all the vegetables you have on hand to quickly create a satisfying Kumbh Pulao.

Next, we have a flower, or rather, a part of a flower, imitating a vegetable: the lotus root, known in Hindi as Kamal Kakri. Trust Linda of Out Of The Garden to use this gorgeous root to make a delicious creation...she dips slices of the kamal kakri into batter and fries it into an unusual snack: Kamal Kakri Pakoras.

The next word is a bean rather than a vegetable, Kale chane, translating into "black garbanzo". These are a variety of chickpeas that are smaller and darker than the garbanzo beans that are commonly used. Richa of As Dear As Salt cooks these tiny beans into a delicious tomato-onion based curry called Rase Wale Kale Chane.

K also represents a taste: Khatta in Hindi, meaning "tangy" or "sour". Indian cuisine uses a staggering variety of ingredients to impart a tangy note to so many dishes: tamarind, raw mango, dahi (Indian-style yogurt), tomato, lemon and lime, the list is endless. We have two tangy dishes here...

Richa of As Dear as Salt combines moong and dahi into the simple yet delicious dish called Khattu Mag. This is a Gujarati favorite, Khattu in Gujarati means tangy.

Musical of Musical's Kitchen uses jimikand (a type of Punjabi tubers) and cooks them with a tangy sauce to make Khatte Jimikand, which she then serves with some spicy puris.

Next comes a gorgeous, festive curry, the Korma. A popular restaurant-style dish as well as one made at home for special occasions, kormas are made using many different recipes in different parts of India. Latha of Masala Magic makes her version of Korma with tons of vegetables delicately laced with a cashew-cream sauce .

We now come to a dish that is creamy and comforting, and at the very core of Indian home cooking: Kadhi, a curry or sauce that is based on buttermilk or yogurt. We have four delicious versions of the kadhi...

The first is a version from Sharmi of Neivedyam, who makes a Punjabi Kadi that features golden spinach dumplings swimming in a tangy yogurt sauce, restaurant style.

Another version of kadhi with dumplings comes from Prajakta of Swaypakghar. She makes a Maharashtrian version with little lentil balls that are cooked in yogurt sauce to make these delicious Kadhi Gole.

Next comes an easy, made-in-minutes version of Spinach Kadhi by Tee of Bhaatukli. This is her debut post! Welcome to the food blog world, Tee.

Traditionally, Kadhi is paired with a rice-and-lentils medley called Khichdi. The mere thought of eating a bowl of khichdi-kadhi is enough to put most Indians in a good mood, and it is certainly my all time favorite comfort food. Here, Coffee of My Khazana Of Recipes presents a beautiful step-by-step guide to creating a heart-warming meal of Khichdi and Kadhi right in your own home.

(UPDATED: I am terribly sorry that I inadvertently left out one entry in the original round-up, and this is where I intended to insert it, and somehow forgot at the last minute :( My heartfelt apologies to Swapna!)

Apart from the K ingredients and dishes, an indispensable tool in the Indian kitchen is also a K word: the Indian-style wok, called a Kadhai. The kadhai is very useful for so many different kinds of preparations: frying, stir-frying and much more. Indeed, a particular kind of North-Indian stir-fry (highly popular in restaurants) is named after the kadhai! Swapna of Swad shares a delicious recipe for Kadhai Vegetables, a medley of vegetables in a gorgeous spicy curry.

Coming to an array of regional dishes...

K ingredients:

Kunjulli is Malayalam (language of Kerala) for "shallots". Reena of Spices of Kerala introduces the shallot as the "unsung hero of many of the scrumptious Kerala dishes" and makes a flavorful, traditional curry of eggs with shallots or Kunjulli Mutta.

Kovakkai is Tamil for "ivy gourd" (tendli/ tindora). Sheela of Delectable Victuals uses this tender green vegetable to make her favorite dish, Kovakkai Paruppusili, by sauteeing the ivy gourd with steamed lentils.

Kothimbir is Marathi (language of Maharashtra) for "cilantro". Anjali of Anna Parabrahma mixes a liberal amount of cilantro with chickpea flour to make a steamed cake that is sliced and fried into some golden, savory Kothimbir Vadi.

Kudamilagai is Tamil for "green pepper". Ranjani of Eat and Talk cooks this ever-popular and easily-available vegetable into a delicious stir-fry called Kudamilagai Poriyal.

Kobbarikaya is Telugu (language of Andhra Pradesh) for "coconut". Shivapriya of My Cookbook makes a medley of the "sweet coconut and sour mango" to create a tasty chutney called Kobbarikaya Mamidikaya Pachadi.

Kariveppilai is Tamil for "curry leaves". Revathi of En Ulagam talks about the curry leaf as "n often forgotten ingredient but nevertheless filled with micro-nutrients" and goes on to make a spicy Curry leaves powder that can be mixed with steamed rice for an instant tasty lunch.

Kakdi is Marathi (and also Hindi, although the two words are pronounced slightly differently) for "cucumber". Mahek of Mahek's Kitchen makes a breakfast dish with cucumber that is popular in Goa, a rich and sweet pancakes redolent with cardamom, called Kakdiche Bhakri.

K dishes:

Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi make a Tamil dish called Kootu, literally translating as "combination". Their version of Kootu is a nutritious medley of toor dal and red chard, sprinkled with a crunchy topping of pumpkin seeds.

Asha of Aroma/Foodie's Hope makes a Gujarati dish called Khandvi, which is just about a work of art: batter ladled onto a flat surface, then rolled into a savory delight. Asha presents a step-by-step guide to making tasty home-made Khandvi.

Suma of Veggie Platter makes a dish from Karnataka called Kosumbari. With cool cucumber, soaked moong dal and a sprinkling of herbs and lemon juice, Suma's version of Kosumbari looks like the perfect snack for the hot summer months ahead.

Finally, a regional specialty from a reader, Saylee D., who has her own stock market blogs but this time, wanted to share her Mom's and Grandma's recipe rather than financial advice! She e-mailed a recipe for kanda kairi, two K words that mean "onion" and "raw mango" respectively in Marathi. This is a typical recipe for a mouth-watering relish or quick pickle from the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, or Varhadi as it is referred to. Here is Saylee's recipe, in her own words:

Kanda Kairi

Ingredients:
Kairi or raw mangoes 2
Salt
Ready mango pickle masala (i used k .pra) 3 table spoons
Onion(sliced) 1
Oil 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds
Asafoetida 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric pwd 1 teaspoon
Method:
1. Grate the raw mangoes, put them in bowl, then add the sliced onion to it.
2. Add salt as per your taste, add the mango pickle masala
3. In a saucepan, heat the oil. Temper the oil with the mustard seeds and the pinch of asafoetida. Add the haldi pwd and let it cool.
4. After it has cooled, add it to the above mixture. Mix it properly and the pickle is ready.

**********************************************************
K is for Kati Roll: Vegetables and Paneer

Dairy foods play an important role in Indian cuisine. Dahi (Indian-style yogurt) and ghee (clarified butter) are part of almost any Indian meal. Another milk-derivative that is a prominent part of Northern Indian cuisine is paneer, the only cheese that is indigenous to India. Paneer is easily prepared at home without the use of enzymes like rennet, using souring agents like lime juice to "split" milk (biochemically, to make the milk proteins insoluble and precipitate them by lowering the pH of the milk) and by collecting the resultant solids (mostly the milk protein casein) and pressing them down into cheese cakes.

Paneer, with its mild, milky and pleasant taste, is well-liked by most people. Paneer does not melt on being heated, instead it can fried to give it a golden crunchy crust. With its general appeal, paneer in its various forms is used in many many dishes in Indian cuisine, from curries to desserts. In curries, it is an easy way to add some additional protein to a vegetable-based dish. Often, vegetarian versions of meat curries will substitute fried paneer cubes for the meat. Can tofu be used as a substitute for paneer in Indian dishes? My answer would be, yes and no. Yes, in many cases, you can make the substitution with great results. No, tofu tastes quite different from paneer so you should not expect the results to be identical. I often make a compromise: I save real paneer for special occasions and use tofu for weeknight dinners in place of paneer. If you really manage to squeeze the water out of tofu and then bake/ shallow fry the cubes, it will absorb the sauces better.

For lovers of paneer, a vegetable-paneer curry may often be much more appealing than the vegetable curry alone. Adding paneer is an easy way to make a dish more festive. In this series, I certainly wanted to make one dish with vegetables and paneer, and of the dozens that are out there, I chose one from my favorite food categories, street food! Kati rolls are a creation that takes on different avatars in different parts of India. "Kati" translates as stick, and the idea is just to take a roti or flatbread, stuff it with one of many tasty stuffings, and roll it up into a cigar-shape that makes for easy eating on the run. In NYC, I got hooked onto these kati rolls at the Kati Roll Company in Midtown Manhattan.

This is my super-quick version of paneer kathi rolls. There are three parts to my recipe: (a) the roti. The best way would be to make your own rotis. The street food version uses rotis made from all-purpose flour, but making atta (whole-wheat flour) rotis would be much more nutritious, and just as delicious, I bet. I really had no time the night I made these, and ended up using store-bought whole-wheat tortillas with great results. (b) the filling. I make a spicy dry curry that almost resembles the kadai paneer that you get in restaurants. To this, I add a lot of chaat masala for the spicy and tangy flavor. (c) the crunchy salad, to add a fresh note to the whole thing. I used raw onions and carrots, and lots of herbs: fresh cilantro, and *ta da* fresh methi that I grew myself (the very first time I have ever managed to grow anything at all, so please excuse my out-of-proportion enthusiasm):


This also happens to be a reader-request dish. A reader, Prajakta D., who also lives in Missouri, mailed me some weeks ago asking for a recipe for kati roll. Here it is!

Kati Roll

1. Make the filling: Chop 1 large onion and 1 large green pepper into big cubes. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. On high heat, saute the onion and pepper until slightly browned and blistered. Add 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt to taste. Stir in 1 packet (about a cup or two) paneer cubes (thawed). Stir-fry on medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp kasuri methi and 1 chopped tomato (fresh or canned) and stir-fry for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 tsp chaat masala.

2. Make the salad: Slice a small onion very thinly (I used a mandoline). Cut 1 carrot into thin slivers. I find the taste of raw onion too sharp sometimes, so I marinated this salad for 5-10 minutes with 1 tsp lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt to "cook" the onion a little bit (ceviche-style). Then, add some herbs. I used 2 tbsp minced cilantro and 2 tbsp minced methi or fenugreek leaves (home-grown!). You can add some mint too.

3. Assemble: Heat a tortilla/ roti in a pan. Then place some filling and some salad on the tortilla/ roti, like so:

4. Roll it up, and it's a wrap!
<
Kati rolls are designed to be extremely tasty, and every bite should be a flavor explosion, so if you find that your kati roll tastes too tame, sprinkle additional lemon juice, chaat masala, chili powder or all three until it tastes right.

Variations on a theme
1. Make a mint-cilantro chutney and smear it on the roti before filling it.
2. Make a version with potato: using cubes of boiled potato instead of the paneer.
3. Make an egg version by using a spicy omelet as a filling.

How do you serve this dish?
1. Eat it as a snack in the evening, or serve it as part of a chaat party.
2. Pack it in a lunch box or on a picnic.
3. Cut each roll into little pieces and serve as a tasty appetizer.

Fellow bloggers have come up with many delicious Vegetables and Paneer. Here are some of my favorite finds:
Making Paneer from Mahanandi,
Chili Paneer from Hooked on Heat,
Mutter Paneer from Indian Food Rocks,
Paneer Pepper Jalfrezi from The Spice Who Loved Me,
Methi Chaman from Cook's Hide-out,
Palak Paneer from Sailu's Food,
and one from my own archives:
Paneer Pilaf.

Previously on the A to Z of Indian Vegetables...
A is for Aloo Gobi: North-Indian Stir-Fry
B is for Bharli Mirchi: Stuffed Vegetables
C is for Carrot-Cashew Payasam: Desserts
D is for Dum ki Arbi: Dum Style of Cooking
E is for Egg-Fried Rice: Rice and Vegetables
F is for Foogath: South-Indian Stir-Fry
G is for Gobi Paratha: Vegetables in Breads
H is for Hariyali Tikki: Vegetables in Appetizers
I is for Idli with Vegetables: Vegetables for Breakfast
J is for Jalfrezi Vegetables: Restaurant Style

J is for Jalfrezi Vegetables

The myriad cuisines of India all love their vegetables! Veggies are diced and sliced, grated and mashed, stir-fried and curried into hundreds of vegetable dishes. In this series, the A to Z of Indian Vegetables, we take an alphabetical journey through the various avatars of vegetables relished in Indian cuisine. For each letter, we will make a tasty vegetable dish that illustrates one manner in which vegetables are savored in India.



The "J" of Indian Vegetables

I have been feeling utterly miserable all week! A respiratory double-whammy of a cold plus seasonal allergies has left me a sniveling, slobbering mess, rubbing my poor itchy eyes until I am exhausted. Needless to say, blogging took a back seat all week, but here I am with the Sunday round-up.

Before we get started, two things I wanted to share:
1. The thieves are at it again! A picture from my blog has been stolen by Foodmall and placed on this post. I don't even like that particular picture; but it is mine, and I fume when I see it stolen. Stop the plagiarism, Esther Bardhan in particular and Foodmall in general! A *huge* thank-you to Manisha for bringing it to my attention and writing a comment on the post.

2. On a *much* happier note, I got an e-mail from Swapna S. of Swad, saying that she has designed a button for the A to Z of Indian Vegetables! YAY! You can see it at the top of the post. Please feel free to use the button for entries for this event, if you like! Thanks, Swapna, that was a very sweet thing to do and you brightened my day during a stressful week :)

The letter J inspired thirteen delicious Indian flavors!

Let's start with something hot and spicy: the Jalapeno Pepper, of course! A popular Mexican pepper in the US, it reminds Indians of the mirchis from home. Happily, jalapeno peppers are often mild enough to be used as a vegetable, and we have three spicy recipes using them.

First up, Sreelu of Sreelu's Tasty Travels makes the "perfect fusion food" by dipping canned jalapenos into a spicy batter and frying up some absolutely appetizing Jalapeno Bajjis.

Next, Asha of Aroma/Foodie's Hope gets inspired by her grandmother's green chilli chutney and blends jalapenos, garlic and tamarind into a thick and delicious Jalapeno Chutney.

The third jalapeno recipe is a saucy one! Suma of Veggie Platter makes her very own version of the classic Hyderabadi mirchi ka salan by cooking jalapeno peppers in a rich sauce of peanuts, sesame seeds and coconuts, resulting in a delicious Jalapeno Peppers Curry.

We now come to two more tasty vegetables:

This vegetable is a dark purple beauty: the Japanese Eggplant. Strips of baked eggplant are wrapped around a spicy herb-potato filling and topped with tangy goat cheese, resulting in these awesome Japanese Eggplant Rolls by Sushma of Sunkiran's Recipe Source. What a unique flavor profile!

The next vegetable is a tropical fruit with a distinct and quite indescribable flavor: the Jackfruit. As with many other fruits and vegetables, every part of the jackfruit is enjoyed, even the jackfruit seeds. These large seeds are cooked into a delicious Jackfruit Seeds Dal by Mahek of Love For Cooking.

The next J food is not a vegetable, but a cereal: Jowar, known in English as sorghum. The pearly white grains of sorghum grow well even in regions that are quite dry, and this tasty grain is especially popular in rural India. We have two delicious pancakes made with the jowar flour.

Mahek of Love For Cooking makes a batter with jowar flour, spices and spinach and uses it to make quick pancakes or Jowariche Thalipeth that look golden and oh-so-inviting.

Prajakta of Swaypakghar introduces the traditional jowar bread- jowar bhakri in Marathi- and then makes her own easier version of this bread. She kneads jowar flour, spices and veggies into a smooth dough and rolls it out into some utterly delicious Jwariche Dhapate.

The next J word is another one that works magic for the busy cook: jhatpat, the lovely Hindi word that means quick or in a jiffy! Mandira of Ahaar combines tofu and vegetables in a Jhatpat Sabzi that is also swadisht (delicious) and paushtik (nutritious).

Coming to two regional recipes, using two of my favorite ingredients...

Javvarisi is the Tamil word for my beloved sabudana or sago, pearls of tapioca. In this entry, sago teams with a vegetable medley and is cooked into an unusual and delicious Javvarisi Upma by Sheela of Delectable Victuals.

Jahni is the Oriya (language of Orissa, an Eastern state of India) word for one of my favorite vegetables, the ridge groud. Ridge gourd and potato are cooked with a garlicky poppy seed paste into a flavorful Jahni Alu Posta by Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi.

J also stands for Jalfrezi, a method for stir-frying! This turned out to the most popular entry, and we have four variations of vegetable curries cooked in this style (including my own)...

First up, Swapna of Swad makes a classic version of Jalfrezi Paneer by combining cubes of paneer and vegetables in a festive curry.

Next, Richa of As Dear As Salt makes her own version of Jalfrezie using a colorful medley of vegetables, garnished with some paneer.

Then, Manasi of A Cook At Heart shares a version called Jalfry that she learnt in a Punjabi cooking class, no less!

Finally, better late than never, Linda of Out Of The Garden uses that special gift called *sheer creativity* yet again and makes an amazing Jackfruit Sambar using crispy store-bought Jackfruit chips!!

*******************************************************
J is for Jalfrezi Vegetables: Restaurant Style

Read the menu from any Indian restaurant, from Delhi to Durban to Detroit, and chances are good that you will wonder if they are franchises of a chain. They will likely feature the same vegetable curries and the same rice preparations. Indian restaurant food tends to be a little one-dimensional, featuring so-called Punjabi cuisine (inspired by Punjabi dishes, but having lost all resemblance to Punjabi home cooking), but with a over-generous use of fats and spices, so that everything on your plate tends to look like an oil slick. The truth is, Indian cuisine *is* coming into its own on the global arena, and in many cities around the world, you will see South Indian restaurants, and some Gujarati thali places, and so on.

Having said that, I ate quite a bit of typical Indian restaurant food growing up, and from time to time, I utterly crave it! Those curries are featured on thousands of restaurant menus for a reason- they are tasty, and crowd-pleasing! These are the foods that people remember and long for, and if you manage to make a dish taste as good as a restaurant can, you will be a hero!

I have been trying to incorporate all my favorite restaurant-style dishes into my cooking repertoire gradually. I love it when I manage to "nail" the taste of a restaurant dish, and I know that I use much less oil and much more vegetables than the "real thing". One of those dishes that I have never seen as part of any home cuisine, but is sure to be featured in restaurant menus, is Vegetable Jalfrezi. The origins of this dish are murky, but it seems that jalfrezi is a method of cooking rather than the name of a particular dish. It translates as hot stir-fry and is probably derived from the Mughal style of cooking.

I like vegetable jalfrezi because unlike most other restaurant-style curries, it is rather dry, with the vegetables crunchy and tender rather than over-cooked and drowning in a sauce. I adapted my version from the very same recipe that Swapna has posted. I had no paneer on hand, so I used more vegetables instead. To my mind, restaurant-style jalfrezi always has vegetables that are prepped into long cuts, like matchsticks and juliennes. I also remember jalfrezi as being sweet and sour and spicy, and added some pineapple cubes for the extra sweetness. The addition of pineapple cubes to different curries is another Indian-restaurant trick! As a child, I adored the pineapple and would root around to find all the cubes in the serving dish. On to the recipe...

Jalfrezi Vegetables

(serves about 4, adapted from a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe)
1. Cut the vegetables: 2 cups cauliflower florets, 1 green pepper (capsicum) into long fat slices, 1 medium onion, halved then cut into long fat slices, handful of green beans, cut into thirds, 1 carrot, cut into thin sticks. Cut ginger into julienne, about 1 tbsp.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Saute 1 tsp cumin seeds and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add onions and saute until lightly browned around the edges. Add 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chili powder and stir for a few seconds.
4. Add the vegetables, and 1/4 cup pineapple cubes (frozen or canned, optional).
5. Add 2 tbsp white vinegar, salt to taste, 1/4 cup tomato puree and 1 tsp garam masala. Stir-fry on medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender. Garnish with some cilantro and ginger strips and serve hot!

Variations on a theme
Add some crispy fried cubes of tofu or paneer for a more festive and protein-rich version.

How do you serve this dish?
This dish can be served as part of a North Indian buffet or a home-made restaurant style meal with other North-Indian dishes. Serve with with steamed Basmati rice, or with flat-breads like naan or paratha.

Fellow bloggers have come up with many delicious home-cooked versions of vegetable dishes that are restaurant favorites. Here are some of my favorite finds:
Mattar Paneer from My Dhaba,
Mushroom Masala from Recipe Junction,
Bhindi Masala from Saffron Trail,
Methi Matar Malai from Keep Trying,
Palak Paneer from My Treasure...My Pleasure,
Aloo Chole from Mahanandi.

Previously on the A to Z of Indian Vegetables...
A is for Aloo Gobi: North-Indian Stir-Fry
B is for Bharli Mirchi: Stuffed Vegetables
C is for Carrot-Cashew Payasam: Desserts
D is for Dum ki Arbi: Dum Style of Cooking
E is for Egg-Fried Rice: Rice and Vegetables
F is for Foogath: South-Indian Stir-Fry
G is for Gobi Paratha: Vegetables in Breads
H is for Hariyali Tikki: Vegetables in Appetizers
I is for Idli with Vegetables: Vegetables for Breakfast

We have family visiting us next week, so I don't think I will be able to post much during that time. I shall see you next Sunday for the K of Indian Vegetables. Looking forward to all sorts of delicious K entries (finally, a pretty easy letter!) and please feel free to use the lovely button that Swapna designed!

I is for Idli with Vegetables

The myriad cuisines of India all love their vegetables! Veggies are diced and sliced, grated and mashed, stir-fried and curried into hundreds of vegetable dishes. In this series, the A to Z of Indian Vegetables, we take an alphabetical journey through the various avatars of vegetables relished in Indian cuisine. For each letter, we will make a tasty vegetable dish that illustrates one manner in which vegetables are savored in India.

The "I" of Indian Vegetables

The letter I inspired twelve incredible Indian flavors! It is a difficult letter to come up with foods for, and I'm so amazed at the creativity of the participants. When I complained about the lack of I vegetables to V, he immediately said, "Well, there is iceberg lettuce. You could make iceberg lettuce wrapped around some grilled paneer tikka or something". Hmm...I don't give the man enough credit :) I was amused and impressed all at the same time.

To start off, two I vegetables...

First up, the tapering, crunchy, fluorescent green Italian Peppers, also called Cubanelle peppers. New food blogger Sapna of Indian Monsoon cooks these Italian Peppers, Indian Style in a delightful stir-fry using both chickpea flour and peanuts to add panache to the dish. Read the post to find out why she would call these peppers salad mirch in India!

Next comes Imli or tamarind. Many cuisines prize the fruit of the tamarind tree for its tangy pulp that is used to flavor everything from the Indonesian pad thai to Indian chaats to Worchestershire sauce! But Suma of Veggie Platter takes it one step ahead. She uses the *leaves* of the tamarind tree (imli ke paththe in Hindi) and makes a delicious and tangy Imli ke Paththon ki Dal.

Sandeepa of Bong Mom's Cookbook writes a beautiful description of her childhood memories surrounding Imli, and combines raw tamarind with raw papaya to make a sweet-'n-sour Papaya Tamarind Chutney.

Up ahead, we have a complete brunch buffet, for one of India's most popular breakfast foods is an "I" food, the Idli. The most well-known idli starts with a fermented batter of ural dal (split black lentils) and rice, steamed to perfection in little molds. Here we have four different veggie-fied variations of the ever-beloved idli!

A popular variation of the idli is the rava idli, also called the instant idli because it does not require fermentation, made with semolina/rava/cream of wheat. Asha of Aroma/Foodie's Hope tweaks the recipe by adding chana dal, carrots and green peas, and cooks up some colorful and nutritious Idlis with Chana Dal and Vegetables.

Usually, idlis are made with a big batch of batter, and it is quite common to have some left over. What do you do with them? Here are two innovative ideas for recycling those leftover idlis into tasty preparations!

Suma of Veggie Platter takes the bland steamed idlis and jazzes them up with some vegetables, nuts and seasoning to make a delicious Idli Upma.

A very innovative use of leftover idlis is Idli Manchurian by Swapna of Swad. Small squares of idlis are batter-fried, then dipped into a green pepper-green onion sauce in the typical tasty style of Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine.

Remember Prajakta, who mailed in her entry for green tomato chutney last week? This week, lo and behold, she has her very own food blog, called "swaypakghar" (the Marathi word for kitchen)! So here we have Prajakta of Swaypakghar using the Idli Rava, ground rice that is typically used for making idli batter, to make delicious savory pancakes called Idli Rawyache Appe.

Let's not forget that I also represents a magic word in the dictionary of the busy cook: Instant! Don't get me wrong; I am completely willing to make time-consuming and involved dishes, but every so often, life gets busy and demands that we have some "instant" recipes tucked away in our repertoire. The pressure cooker is one reliable route for instant (not to mention fuel-saving and nutrient-conserving) meal prep. Richa of As Dear As Salt shares a delicious recipe for Instant Pineapple Jam (complete with a Marathi transliteration) using only pantry ingredients and a short amount of time!

And now for four regional specialties...

Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi come up with a beautiful bowl of Istu, a creamy coconut-based vegetable curry. You probably guessed it, but Istu is the Malalayam (the language of Kerala) version of the English word "stew"!

Sheela of Delectable Victuals makes her favorite comfort food, Idi Chakkai. She explains that Idi Chakkai translates as "pounded jackfruit" and this milk curry of tender raw jackfruit certainly looks comforting to me!

Sigma of Live To Eat also goes back to her roots in Kerela and talks about Ilaneer, which means tender coconut water in Malayalam. If you have ever tasted the tender drink from the coconut, you know that it is a little taste of heaven! Sigma mixes up the tender coconut water into a sweet and refresing Ilaneer Drink that looks just perfect for the summer months ahead!

Linda of Out Of The Garden does some clever culinary research and found that irulli means "onion" in Tamil! She promptly goes on to mix some Indian flavors into the New England classic combination of apples and onions and comes up with a delicious dish of Fried Onions and Apples!

************************************************************
I is for Idli with Vegetables: Vegetables for Breakfast

Breakfast is certainly my favorite meal. In stark contrast to those folks who are loathe to consume anything more solid than a cup of coffee before noon, I can put away vast quantities of food at six in the morning. And it does not have to be traditional breakfast fare either, leftover dinner suits me just fine. But I do have one picky issue: I don't really like sweet foods for breakfast. Lucky for me, traditional Indian breakfasts fit all my criteria: they tend to be both heavy and savory.

Since we are all trying to eat several servings of vegetables through the day, I love the idea of eating vegetables at breakfast to give a head-start to the day's veggie consumption. Traditional Indian breakfast dishes do offer plenty of ways to do this. Here are some examples of breakfast eaten in different parts of India:

In the North of India, a predominantly bread-eating region, you are likely to find parathas for breakfast. We talked about parathas quite a bit during the gobi paratha post. Parathas stuffed with vegetables (potatoes, cauliflower, mixed vegetables) are served with yogurt and a spicy tangy pickle. If you were to chop up some salad vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, carrot, radish, onion) and stir in some yogurt and cumin to make a raita, the combination of stuffed paratha and raita is both filling and nutritious!

In the South of India, breakfast is dominated by foods made with a fermented batter of urad dal and rice: idlis, dosas and all their delicious variations. Typically, these will be served with a coconut chutney and sambar, an aromatic dal with vegetables. In my mind, the fluffy steamed idlis served with a vegetable sambar represent one of the most wholesome breakfast foods on this planet. This combination has very little added fat, but is packed with nutrition and taste. I really wanted to make idlis for this segment (and I confess, it was about the only "I" food I could come up with), and googled vegetable idli. The recipe that follows is pure experimentation based on ideas gleaned from a variety of recipes online.

Tiny diced vegetables are sauteed lightly, then sandwiched between dollops of idli batter and steamed. The result is a colorful and tasty variation to the idli. I think the presence of tiny dots of colorful veggies would make this idli quite appealing to little ones. A word of warning to first-time idli-makers: idli, at least soft and fluffy ones, may need a combination of luck and experience to perfect. The exact consistency of idli batter is crucial, and nearly impossible to describe in words. I use my mom's idli recipe for the proportions, but tips from Dakshin helped me a lot in creating soft idlis.

Stuffed Idlis

(makes about 32 idlis, serves 6-8)
1. Make the filling: heat 1 tsp oil, then temper with 1 tsp cumin seeds. Add 1 cup mixed finely diced vegetables (I used boiled potato, carrot, red pepper, green beans) and saute for a few minutes until barely tender. Season with salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Set the filling aside.
2. Soak 1 cup urad dal overnight in warm water. Drain it (catch the soaking liquid in a bowl) and place it in the bowl of a food processor along with 1 tsp fenugreek seeds. Process the urad dal to a very fine paste, adding some of the soaking liquid if required. It should be very thick.
3. Soak 2 cups idli rava (a special sort of cream-of-rice) for 30 minutes in warm water. Drain most of the water.
4. Mix the urad dal paste, soaked idli rava and 1 tsp salt until well combined. Cover and leave in a warm spot to ferment (I usually need 10-15 hours).
5. When the batter appears fluffy and risen, you are ready to steam the idlis.
6. Grease the idli molds using non-stick spray. Do not mix the batter at all, but scoop it gently into the idli molds. The bubbles trapped in the batter will make the idlis fluffy, so be gentle. To make stuffed idlis, put a half-scoop of batter to cover the bottom of the idli mold. Add a tsp of vegetable filling, then cover with another-half scoop of batter. The picture shows the first half of the batter topped with the filling (in the ugly yellow light of my kitchen).

7. Steam the idlis for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes clean.


Variations on a theme
1. This potato-Stuffed Idli from Foodlovers looks delicious!
2. You can, of course, omit the vegetable stuffing and make plain idlis. Try halving steamed idlis and sandwiching them with some vegetable filling or a chutney.

How do you serve this dish?
1. Traditionally, idlis are served with sambar. See sambar recipes from bloggers: Annita, Manisha, Chaipani, and me.

Fellow bloggers have come up with many delicious ways of sneaking in vegetables for breakfast. Here are some of my favorite finds:
Dalia Ravivar from A Mad Tea Party,
Veggie Poha from The Daily Tiffin,
Vegetable Uthappam from Sailu's Food,
Besan ka Cheela from Sugar and Spice,
Methi Matar Paratha from Keep Trying,
Cucumber Pancakes from Food For Thought,

Previously on the A to Z of Indian Vegetables...
A is for Aloo Gobi: North-Indian Stir-Fry
B is for Bharli Mirchi: Stuffed Vegetables
C is for Carrot-Cashew Payasam: Desserts
D is for Dum ki Arbi: Dum Style of Cooking
E is for Egg-Fried Rice: Rice and Vegetables
F is for Foogath: South-Indian Stir-Fry
G is for Gobi Paratha: Vegetables in Breads
H is for Hariyali Tikki: Vegetables in Appetizers