Stuffed Snake Gourd Curry - Pudalangai Curry

Serves 3
Snake Gourd is a very nutritious vegetable.I usually use it to make Sambar or Dhal .Weekends are when I usually try out new dishes,cause that's when I get at least an hour of undisturbed cooking time with Hubby taking care of little girl. So this weekend i was left with a snake gourd and decided to try out one of Tarla Dalal's recipes.It turned out tastier than we expected. I've stuffed the snake gourd with Corn & Mint,you can replace the corn with mashed potatoes or paneer. Similarly the Mint leaves can be replaced with Fenugreek leaves or Palak. Fresh and tender snake gourds work best for this recipe.The gravy is extremely creamy and delicious and you could also use it for preparing other Kofta curries.



Ingredients:
Snake gourd - one  medium one
For the Stuffing :
Boiled Corn - 4 tbsp
Grated coconut - 4 tsp
Mint leaves - leaves from 8 big sprigs.(chopped finely)
Coriander leaves - 3 sprigs(chopped finely)
Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt  as needed
oil -  for shallow frying.
For the Gravy:
Tomatoes - 2 big
Besan/Chickpea flour - 1 heaped tbsp
Cloves - 1
Bay leaf - 1 small one
Whole black pepper corns  - 5 - 6
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 3/4 tsp( you can add more)
Cashew nuts - 5 -6
Kasoori methi - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 4-5 sprigs(chopped finely)
Boiled Milk - 1/2 cup
oil - 1 tbsp
salt as needed

Method:
For the Snake Gourd:
-Clean the snake gourd,scrape the skin slightly with a knife.Cut the snake gourd into 2 - 3 inch pieces and slit them on one side.Scoop out the pulp& the seeds from inside the snake gourd.Boil the snake gourd in a pot of hot water with salt,till they are cooked.Drain the water and remove the snake gourd.
-Pulse the corn along with the coconut,sambar powder and fennel powder in a blender for just 2-3 sec,until it's just crushed and everything is combined.Transfer the contents of the blender to a bowl.
-Add the mint leaves,coriander leaves and salt to the mixture and mix well.Stuff the mixture inside the slit snake gourd.Secure them with toothpicks to hold the mixture in place.
-To a broad pan add oil around 3 -4 tbsp and when it heats up add the stuffed snake gourds.Let them cook on medium flame on one side until they are golden brown.Remove the toothpicks and gently turn them to cook on the other side too,around 8 minutes on each side.

For the Gravy:

-Grind the tomatoes to a fine paste.

-Boil the cashew nuts in 1/4 cup of water until it becomes soft.Cool and grind to a fine paste.

-Heat oil in a pan,when it heats up splutter the cloves, bay leaf,cumin seeds and whole pepper corns.

-Now add the besan and saute on a low flame until it slightly changes color and releases a nice aroma,around 4-5 minutes.

-Add the tomato paste,red chilli powder,turmeric powder and mix well.Let it cook for another 5 minutes or until it starts oozing out oil.Add 3/4 cup of water,cashew nut paste and salt.Mix well and let it boil for another 4-5 minutes on a low to medium flame.Check for salt.Add more water if you feel that the gravy is very thick.

-Add any left over stuffing and the snake gourd and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes.

-Add the milk,coriander leaves and kasoori methi and mix well.Let if cook for another 3 -4 minutes.Done !

Sending this to :
Soul Food Show & Summer special & Walk through Memory lane and Gayathri's page & Dish name starts with S

Soul Food show & Giveaway @ Viji's space.

Viji of 'Virunthu unna vaanga' is celebrating her blog's first birthday on May 4th(that's quite a milestone) with  a giveaway.Just another 3 more days to go,I'm a late entry:) So check out her blog,she has some wonderful recipes and very creative crafts.

 !

Cauliflower Pepper Fry

Serves 3
Cauliflower is an extremely flavorful vegetable.My mom makes a very spicy fry out of it and I simple love it.When I initially started to cook I assumed that it would be very easy to prepare any cauliflower dish. But surprisingly I could never get any cauliflower dish to taste right unless I deep fried it,so I would only make fritters or Gobi Manchurian out of it. It took me almost 3 years of cooking to get it right:-)This is a pure South India recipe that I found  in a magazine and it turned out very tasty. Freshly ground pepper powder heightens the flavor of this dish.



Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 1/2 a big one,10 - 15 florets
Onion - 1 big
Tomato - 2 medium ones
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - a sprig
Salt - as needed

To dry roast and grind:
Whole pepper corns - 1/2 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 4 - 5 leaves



Method:
- Chop the onion and tomatoes finely.
-In a vessel add warm water and little salt,soak the cauliflower in it and let it stay immersed for 10 minutes.Remove the cauliflower and clean it well under running water.Then break the bigger florets into smaller ones.
-In a pan add the pepper corns,fennel seeds and curry leaves and dry roast on a low flame,until they turn crisp.Grind to a fine powder in a blender
- Add the oil to the pan, when it heats up splutter the curry leaves.Then add the onion and saute until they turn translucent.Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 3-4 minutes.
-Add the cauliflower florets and turmeric powder.Saute on a low flame for  5 - 7 minutes.
-Add the coriander powder,red chilli powder,tomatoes and salt.Saute for 3-4 minutes until everything is well mixed.Cover with a lid and cook on low flame for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is done. Keep stirring in between to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel.
-Open the lid and increase the flame to medium and saute for another 4 -5 minutes.Finally add the ground pepper powder mixture and stir well .Saute for another 2-3 minutes.

Eggplant/Brinjal and Apple stir fry

Serves 3
This is an an authentic Kashmiri recipe that I found in a travel book .I have never come across this combination before and was reluctant to try it out initially.As a south Indian ,I can only pair up eggplants or brinjal with Drumstick,they are like made for each other and taste great.But this combination was really delightful,the whole dish as such uses very little spices and still tastes yum.This makes a great side dish for rice with any spicy gravy or rotis. You could even find yourself munching it like a snack !

You'll need:
 Brinjal - 3 big
or Eggplant - 1/2 a big one
Apple - 1 big
Fennel powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder or paprika - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Hing/asafetida -  a pinch
Mustard oil or sesame oil - 3-4 tbsp

Method:
-Cut each brinjal lengthwise into 8 pieces.Core the apples and cut each lengthwise into 8 pieces.
-Mix the fennel powder,salt,red chilli powder and turmeric powder with 1 tbsp of water to make a smooth paste.
-In a large frying pan add the oil and when it heats up add the hing.Place the apple pieces such that they don't overlap each other and are lying in a single layer.Cook them on a medium flame until they turn slightly brown at the edges on both the sides,about 5 minutes on one side and turn them over and cook for another  5 -6 minutes.Remove them from the oil and set aside in a plate.
-Add the sliced brinjal to the same pan,placing them all in a single layer and cooking them on both sides just like the apple.

-Once the brinjal looks brown on both the sides add the fried apples to the pan and the spice paste and mix very gently .
-Cook the mixture on a low heat for 10 - 15 minutes,turning the pieces over gently so that they don't break.

Note:
-Use hard & tart apples for this dish.

Sending this to Healthy Stir fries Event

Sending this to 'Only Traditional Recipes' Guest hosted at 'Jiya's Delicacies' and  Pari's space...

Garam Masala Powder

A beautiful mixture of several spices that perk up every dish.A simple powder that lets you know that an Indian family stays in a building ;).Many times when Hubby & I go for a stroll just the aroma of a dish cooked with this powder would make us smile at each other & we'd say ' that's for sure an Indian'. Every family would have its own recipe for this powder and it definitely adds a unique flavor to the dish.I prefer making this at home as it definitely tastes and smells better than the store bought ones.I find that sometimes sprinkling a pinch on a dish just before serving makes it very aromatic & tempting.Well ,how many times have we tried out dishes just because they smell great :) There are many versions of this powder,this is just the way I make it.I usually make it in small batches so that the aroma stays intact !

Ingredients:
Cardamoms - 20
Cloves - 20
Bay leaves - 3 big
Star Anise - 7-8
Mace/Javitri - 7 - 8 pieces
Cinnamon - 3 big sticks
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Poppy Seeds - 1 tbsp
Whole Pepper Corns - 2 tsp
Dry Ginger Powder - 1 tsp or Dry ginger(chukku) - a small piece

Method:
-Dry roast all the Ingredients together on a low flame for 8 - 10 minutes or until they turn a little crisp & a shade dark.Be careful to not burn any of the spices.

-Grind in a blender to a fine powder.Store in an airtight container.Stays good for 2 months.

Sending this to 'Homemade spices : Store to bowl'

Chocolate cupcake

Makes 10
This cupcake would be the chocolate lover`s favorite.I simply love chocolates in every form ,be it cakes or ice creams .I'm the  kind of person who can spoon up half a bottle of nutella in no time:)I love baking ,both the process and the output. But the amount of sugar and butter and the calories involved keeps me from baking more often.How I wish this thing called calories just din't exist :-)  This cupcake recipe calls for little sugar and no butter.It's still very soft and moist and extremely chocolaty!

Ingredients:

Baking Chocolate - 170 g
Double Cream - 120 ml
Fine Sugar - 50 g - 1/4 cup
All purpose Flour - 50 g -1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Eggs - 3 medium
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate Chips - 225 g

Method:
-For melting the cream and chocolate in a double-boiler: Fill  quarter of a vessel with water.Place another smaller vessel in it such that it`s bottom doesn't touch the water.Place the broken pieces of chocolate and the cream in the smaller vessel.Let the water heat up on medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until the chocolate is fully melted.Remove from the stove and stir well until the chocolate and cream are well combined.
-Sift together the baking powder and the flour.
-Beat the sugar,eggs and vanilla essence for 5 minutes on medium until it turns a little thick and lemon yellow in color.
-Add the melted chocolate cream mixture and beat for 20 seconds on medium.
-Add the flour,baking soda and chocolate chips beat on low for 10 seconds then on medium for another 10 seconds.
-Preheat the oven to 175°C.
-Fill 10 muffin cups with the batter until they are a little more than 3/4th full and bake at 175°C for 30 minutes.

Note:
-The chocolate chips can be replaced with grated chocolate.
-These cupcakes taste even greater the next day  and hold good for more than 3 days.









Sending this to MJDelights

Egg Aviyal

Serves 3
My mom hails from a town on the border of Kerala & Tamil Nadu ,hence Kerala cuisine has a strong influence on both my granny & mom's cooking.Whenever I visited my Granny for holidays as a kid ,Aviyal was almost  like served every day or every other day .I used to be astonished with the amount of coconut used in everything, even dosas were served with coconut scrapings generously sprinkled on them.In Chennai coconuts are treated like a luxury :)they either are made into chutneys or only go into special preparations.I watched this recipe on a cooking show before a few years and has slowly become a favorite  It tastes a little different form the authentic Aviyal recipe and can be prepared very easily !



Ingredients :
Eggs - 2 (hardboiled)
Drumstick - 1 big
Carrot - 1 big
Potatoes - 2 medium
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 2 slit
Coconut milk - 1/4 cup or coconut milk powder - 3 tbsp
Thick curd - 2 tbsp
Coconut oil - 1-2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Method:
-Hard boil the eggs, remove the shell and cut each one lengthwise into 4 pieces.Clean the potatoes and cut them lengthwise.Clean and cut the drumstick into 2" pieces.Clean the carrot and chop it lengthwise into 1" pieces.Beat the 2 tbsp of curd with a fork for a minute.
-In  a pressure cooker, add the potatoes,drumstick,carrot,turmeric powder,green chillies,cumin seeds ,little salt and 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.Pressure cook for 1 whistle on medium flame .Alternatively you can also boil the veggies in a covered vessel adding little water,until everything is just cooked and not mushy.
-I used coconut milk powder,if using it ,mix 3 tablespoons of coconut milk powder with 1/4 cup of hot water.
-Add the coconut milk to the pressure cooked veggies along with its water.Add the cut egg pieces and mix well.Let it cook for  3-4 minutes .Add the curd and mix well.Let if cook for just 2 -3 minutes.Remove from the stove and check for salt.
-Heat the coconut oil in a pan and splutter the curry leaves & mustard seeds.Add the tempering to the mixture and mix once more.Done !