Coleslaw

Coleslaw is not something I make regularly. I never actively disliked them but never went looking for it either. In most places that serves non-Indian food coleslaw is always there and I usually take a look at it and pass it over or occasionally taste with a good dash of hot sauce.

I had a bit too many fresh cabbages and coleslaw was for some reason coleslaw came to mind and the next was kimchi. But kimchi is still on the to-do list. Most people think of cabbages as stinky and sometimes they sure do have a smeel. But like every other vegetable they get an odor once they start to age. And in cabbages the smell is a bit more prominent.

Cabbages are easy enough to grow. But in the winter when there is a dearth of food for all the creatures and they graviate towards something that is available and like it is the practice around here we shared them with mice, voles, rats and god knows what else. So once they have had their share we get to eat a few :(

Freshly harvested cabbage - 2021

Fresh cabbages on the other hand, don't have any smell other than a fresh crisp smell. In fact they are crunchy, crispy and delicious and I am guessing that is the first step to a good coleslaw :) The recipe is quite simple. Normally mayonnaise is used in making coleslaw of which I am not a big fan of. These days you can find mayonnaise that is made with Avocado oil which is another option. I used a mixture of yogurt and sour cream.

Shred cabbage and carrots. Get the yogurt, sour cream and the condiments in a bowl.
Whisk together the yogurt, sour cream adn condiments. Add it to the shredded vegetables and mix it in well.

Coleslaw
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:5 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3 cups of shredded cabbage
2. 1 cups shredded carrot
3. 3/4 cup of plain yogurt preferably whole milk yogurt (or mayonnaise if you prefer)
4. 1/2 cup of sour cream
5. 3/4 - 1 tbsp of hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
6. 3 tsp of honey mustard
7. 1 tsp of mustard powder
8. salt to taste

Method

In a wide mouthed bowl add the yogurt, sour cream and the rest of the ingredients other than the shredded vegetables.

Whisk the yogurt with the rest of the ingredients till it is smooth.

Gently mix in the shredded vegetables.

Perefect side for any meal. So if you get hold of fresh cabbages give this a try. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Podalangai kola urundai - Spicy Snake Gourd Fried Balls

Every year I rediscover vegetables that I have known forever in a new way. This year it was snake gourd. Something about home grown vegetables that makes it taste far better than anything in the store. Every year a certain vegetable does much better than the others. Maybe it is the seed or weather I am never able to tell why. So last summer it was snake gourds. I had to figure out several ways to eat this vegetable. A friend mentioned this recipe and when it comes to fried stuff who has the will power to resist?

Once the snake gourd is cooked especially when they are pan roasted they get a sweet taste and you eat them like you would roasted potatoes :) I rotuinely make sambhar, poriyal, kootu with snake gourd so this was a fried special.

In a blender roughly chop the snake gourd and remove the water by squeezing and add the ground roasted chickpea flour, grated ginger and garlic, finely chopped onions, green chilies and salt.
Make small lime sized balls and set aside. Set oil to heat in a wok.
Fry them in batches and drain them on paper napkins.

Podalangai kola urundai
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 4 medium sized snake gourd grated or minced in a food processor - about 5 cups
2. 4 cloves of garlic - finely minced
3. 2 inch piece of ginger grated
4. 5 green chilies minced
5. 2 tsp cumin powder
6. 2 tsp pepper powder
7. 1/2 tbsp red chili powder (if needed)
8. 1/2 cup of
9. 2 tsp garam masala powder
10. 1 cup of roasted chick pea (pottukadalai/dahlia) powdered
11. salt to taste
12. Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Squeeze the grated snake gourd and extract the excess liquid from the snake gourd, once it is fairly dry mix in the other ingredients.
2. Make small lime sized balls.
3. Heat oil in a wide sized pan/wok/kadai and when hot,
4. Add the balls one by one and fry tiil golden brown.
5. Drain them on paper towels.

Serve with ketchup.

These are great as a snack or a side in a meal. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Vegetable Manchurian with home made tomato sauce

I was never a big fan of watching youtube videos but the last couple of covid years changed all that. While some people went out and bought puppies I became a YouTube addict. It started with watching videos on permaculture and farming and which led to YouTube recommending me similar videos which is how I chanced upon this channel called "Crazy for Indian Food" and saw this recipe for Vegetable Manchurian. It was the time of the year when I had some freshly harvested cabbage and tomatoes that I had frozen from the summer. This is the best manchurian I ever tasted. I am not really fond of the quantity of corn flour that is usually added to the manchurian. In this recipe a combination of corn and wheat flour were used.

Good quality tomatoes are require to male the all purpose tomato sauce, which is used both in the manchurian and the fried rice. I used a combination of cabbage and some multicolored carrots that I had picked up at the store. You can add any vegetables that can be shredded and do not end up being too soggy.

For a full meal, the same manchurian sauce can be used to make fried rice. Precook the rice and mix it with the sauce.
Now on to the recipe in pictures for the manchurian.

Shred the cabbage and carrots. Add wheat flour, salt. pepper and corn starch.
Mix in the flour with just the moisture present in the vegetables. Do not add extra water.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the vegetable balls in batches.
In a wok add oil and when hot add onions and chopped jalapeno, saute and add the cabbage. Once the cabbage is softened add the tomato sauce.
Add in the vegetable balls and mix into the sauce.

While machurian is the star of the recipe, the tomato sauce has an equally important role to play in it. Like mentioned earlier the quality and the ripeness of the tomatoes matters much. I tend to make fried food during winter and fresh tomatoes are hard to find but the tomatoes I had frozen during the summer adequately serves the purpose. While it is not fresh of the vine tomatoes, it still locks in the taste :)

Vegetable Manchurian with home made tomato sauce
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Cooking Time:50 minutes
Ingredients
For the sauce

1. 10-15 medium sized ripe tomatoes
2. 1/4 cup of finely chopped onions
3. 2 tsp of grated ginger
4. 1 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
5. 4 Jalapeno chilies (or any medium spice green chilies)
6. salt to taste
7. 2-3 tsp of oil

For the Manchurian

1. 4 cups of shredded cabbage + 1/2 cup of cabbage
2. 1 cup of shredded carrots (or any other vegetable of choice like broccoli or cauliflower)
3. 1/2 cup of thinly sliced onions
4. 1/4 cup of corn flour
5. 1/3 - 1/2 cup of wheat flour
6. salt to taste
7. 3-4 tsp of pepper powder or to taste

Method

For the sauce
1. In a wok/kadai/wide mouthed pan add 2 tsp of oil and when hot add the chopped onions and chopped jalapenos and when it becomes translucent add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute more.
2. Now add in the tomatoes and continue till it reduces to a fairly thick consistency.
3. Add salt and pepper powder and mix it in. Taste and add more if needed.

For the Manchurian

1. Set a wide mouthed pan with oil for deep frying.
2. Add the shredded cabbage, carrot, pepper powder, salt, corn flour and wheat flour and mix it well with the tip of the fingers so the flour is evenly coated.
3. Make small round balls, fry them in batches and set them aside.
4. In a wide mouthed pan, add oil and when hot add the thinly sliced onions and when translucent add saute till the cabbage becomes soft.
5. Add 1/4 cup or required amount of the sauce and the rquired number of the fried manchurian balls and mix in them well.

For the Fried Rice

1. In an instant pot or pressure cooker, cook rice with a 2 tsp of oil and salt. Once cooked fluff with a fork and set aside.
2. To this add the sauce and mix it in gently.
3. Add some roasted vegetables on top. I added some roasted broccoli.

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