Coimbatore to Srinagar - Seventh Stop - Jaipur - Rajathani Layered Veg Biryani - Jodhpuri Kabuli Recipe

The next stop on the virtual journey was in the beautiful city of Jaipur. Rajasthan - the culture, the foods, the architecture, the harsh conditions in which people live all make the place utterly fascinating. I am so glad that DH set out on this journey. The Indian culinary portfolio is so vast that is almost impossible to cover everything in one life time.

While I have barely scratched the surface of Kongu Foods and Tamilnadu foods so it is absolutely impossible to travel around India and even begin to master the recipes from the rest of India. But I think we are fortunate to have this array of delicacies - from the rustic to the sophisticated to enjoy from various parts of India.

The ingredients are all familiar but the manner in which they are combined and cooked is what makes them specialities of a region. Take this recipe for example, all familiar ingredients but the way it is put together is very different making it familiar but yet different tasting.

DH cooked the dish from this blog VegeCravings here. The recipe consists of cooking the rice, shallow frying the vegetables followed by cooking them in a yogurt based gravy and then layering and cooking it. Makes it a meal fit for the maharajahs :)

Recipe in pictures,

Vegetables that are used in the recipe.
Spices and shallow frying the vegetables.
Steam the rice and complete the shallow frying of the vegetables.
Steam the rice and complete the shallow frying of the vegetables.
Prepare the gravy for the vegetables and start layering.
Finish the layering.

There are several different steps to making this recipe, some of these can be done side by side. Although the ingredient list looks very elaborate, it is fairly straight forward.

Rajasthani Layered Veg Biryani
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of rice
2. 1 cup of yogurt
3. 1 cup of sliced onions
4. 1/2 cup of tomatoes
5. 4 garlic cloves
6. 2 inch piece of ginger
7. 2-3 green chilies
8. salt to taste
9. 2-3 tbsp of oil
10. 2 tbsp ghee
11. 2 potatoes
12. 2-3 carrots
13. 1/2 medium cauliflower
14. 1/2 cup of peas
15. 2 slices of bread - diced into cubes
16. 1/4 cup of cashews
17. seasonings: bay leaves and 1 tsp cumin seeds
Whole Spices
18. 1 tsp pepper corns
19. 2-3 cardamoms
20. 3-4 cloves
21. a small 1 inch piece of cinnamon
Spice Powders
22. 1 tsp of turmeric powder
23. 2 tsp coriander powder
24. 2 tsp red chili powder

Method

1. Wash and cook the rice till it is almost cooked, fluff it up and set it aside.
2. Cut and prepare the vegetables, slice the potatoes into rounds, dice the carrots and chop the cauliflower.
3. Slice the onions, peel and mince the ginger, garlic and green chilies.
4. Coarsely grind the whole spices and set aside.
5. Heat a pan with the ghee and roast the cashews and set aside.
6. Add a bit of oil to the ghee, roast the potatoes till it starts to turn brown and set aside. (control the instinct to eat all the roasted potatoes)
7. Add the diced carrots and roast them and set aside, followed by the cauliflower, roast it and set aside.
8. Add the diced bread and roast it and set aside.
9. In the same pan add the bay leaves, cumin seeds and when browned add the onions and saute till they are browned.
10. Add the minced ginger, garlic and green chilies and saute them for 2-3 minutes.
11. Add the spice powders,salt and the coarsely ground spices and mix it well.
12. Add the whisked yogurt and add it to the spices and mix it well.
13. Add the roasted vegetables and mix it into the yogurt sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes and set aside.
14. Now on to layering the dish,
15. Add a layer of cooked rice to a baked dish, followed by a layer of the yogurt gravy with vegetables.
16. Add another layer of rice and gravy. Now top the gravy with coriander leaves, choppe onions, tomatoes and cashews.
17. Preheat the oven to 325F, and bake for about 10 minutes till heated through.
Mix and serve.

A fantasitc dish if you ask me. Serve with some raita. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Kale Chutney - Kale Thovaiyal or Thogayal Recipe

I hope all of you hanging in there. What has worked for me personally is to not watch the news. If you live in the so you know what I am talking about. I have avoided drinking bleach, Lysol and shining ultra violet rays down my gut :)

This is a time for looking inward mostly (what else is there you all ask? True!) and eat good food - by good I mean simple but healthy, exercise and try to listen to positive things. I am not trying to sound cheerful in this time of anxiety, lockdown fatigue and in general a sense of loss but staying positive helps you overcome this situation. Not easy as it seems and there are certainly down days. Listen to or reading articles where people are talking positive things most certainly helps.

I am shameless when it comes to food. I dream of food all the time. Yes! Along with this cones a great sense of gratefulness that I can afford to do so. I try not to listen to politicians who have absolutely no clue, especially here in the US.

It does not hurt to have access to farm fresh produce. This enables us to eat healthy and also reminds us every single day that we as human beings need to be connected to the earth and respect it. I am not sure how it is for you all. We have not gone restaurants for a good 3 months now. We ordered pizza once a couple of weeks ago but during this whole time we have had simple foods and it has not been boring. I cannot imagine wanting to eat pizza or a restaurant meal every single day. Simple foods satiate you. I can't say that of these junky meal foods. They make me thirsty at night and want to drink bottle loads of water. Who wants that? While I feel bad for the workers who have lost their jobs I am not sure having a business model around feeding people bad food is a good thing? Maybe change the kind of food that is served? I am glad I don't have to make that decision.

Spring time is great for greens. The greens grown when the weather is still cold are sweeter than their summer time counterparts. While all these years I normally stir fry kale or use them in dals and sambhar. A friend suggested making a thick chutney or thogayal as it is called. I am not turning back. Absolutely delicious. With a very few ingredients it can't be simpler. This recipe can be made with any greens you have on hand, amaranth, manthakkali (nightshade), radish greens, spinach or swiss chard. Each one will bring a slightly different taste but all good.

Recipe in pictures,

In a sauté pan, add oil, add the urad dal, coriander seeds, cumin and peppercorn. Let the dal turn brown.
Add the green chilies, sauté for a minute and add the leaves and sauté till they wilt.
Transfer the contents to a blender jar and add the grated coconut.
Let cool and blend to a coarse paste.

The health benefits of greens are many so if you get hold of any greens try to make this chutney.

Kale Chutney - Kale Thovaiyal
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3-4 cups of loosely packed kale
2. 1/2 tbsp. urad dal
3. 4-5 green chilies
4. 1/4 tsp of coriander seeds
5. a few pepper corns
6. a pinch of cumin seeds
7. small grape size piece of tamarind
8. salt to taste
9. 1 tbsp. of fresh or grated coconut
10. 1 tbsp. of roasted peanuts (optional)
11. 2 tsp of oil

Method

1. In a wide mouthed pan add oil, add the urad dal, coriander seeds, pepper corn and cumin seeds. When the urad dal starts to brown add in the green chilies sauté for a couple of minutes.
2. Add in the kale leaves and sauté till they wilt (about 4-5 minutes). Add the tamarind and salt.
3. When the leaves are completely cooked add the coconut and peanuts if using.
4. Sauté for a minute and then turn off the heat.
5. Let cool and transfer to a blender and blend to a coarse paste without adding any water.

The chutney is great with steamed rice or even with idli and dosai.

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Zucchini Bread with nuts and chocolate chips - Farm to Plate

I have always tried to grow Zucchini but by the time the fruit starts to come the squash borer does its thing and kills off the stem from the inside so it looks almost like the the plants rotted from inside. So this time lucky for me the borer kept itself away. I was blessed with a good amount of fruit. Bear with me while I repeat myself here. There is nothing like fresh produce. The best place to get these delicious delights are at your local farms. For the lucky few who either grow them in your garden or have access to a CSA or a farm you know what I am talking about.

I find it extremely hard to follow recipes. I always improvise. I do this even if I know that with baking it is best to stick to the recipe. The first time I made this zucchini bread I added a bit too much zucchini than needed and ended up with a moist texture which was fine after a few minutes in the toaster but it did not look like bread. So after having learned my lesson for the umpteenth time I decided to stick to the recipe. It was a good idea that I did. The zucchini bread was delicious. I have grated and froze zucchini for enjoyment over the winter when everything in the store is dull and tasteless.

Farm fresh eggs makes everything taste good and with the vibrant yellow color it is a delight for any baked product. This is a simple recipe that I found on Simply Recipes - Zucchini Bread. I don't like adding spices to my bread so did not add the cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger powders. Chocolate chips are a great addition to the bread and the kids like so I add them.

Before the summer is out, if you can get your hands on some good zucchini, give this bread a try. I use whole wheat white flour and for this recipe I ran out of the whole wheat flour, so i used half and half of sieved chapathi flour.

Homegrown Zucchini


Farm Fresh Eggs

The recipe in pictures,

Whisk the egg till nice and frothy. Add the sugar and vanilla to the egg mixture. Whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Add the melted butter and grated zucchini to the egg mixture. Add the nuts and chocolate chips.
Transfer the mixture to a baking pan.
Transfer the mixture to a baking pan and bake in a preheated 350F for 50 minutes or till the skewer inserted comes out clean.

Zucchini Bread
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3 cups of grated zucchini
2. 3 cups of whole wheat white flour(1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour + 1 1/2 cups of chapathi flour)
3. 2 large eggs
4. 5 tbsp butter(i used salted butter)
5. 2 tsp Vanilla extract
6. 3/4 cup of sugar (I used raw cane sugar)
7. 1 cup of roasted chopped pecans
8. 1 cup of chocolate chips
9. 1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
10. 1 tsp baking powder
11. 1 tsp baking soda

Method

1. In a sauce melt the butter and cool it to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5 baking pan.
3. Drain the grated zucchini on a colander or squeeze most of the liquid out by hand.
4. Take eggs in a bowl and beat with an egg beater till nice and bubbly. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix it in.
5. Add in the drained zucchini and melted butter.
6. In a mixing bowl take the flour,baking soda, baking powder and salt if using and whisk them together.
7. Add the flour to the beaten egg mixture a little at a time. Using a spatula mix all the flour. The batter should be fairly thick.
8. Add the nuts and the chocolate chips and mix it in.
9. Transfer the batter to the baking pan. Bake for 50 minutes till a skewer inserted comes out clean.
10. Cool and then cut into thin slices. Stays fresh for 3-4 days on the counter top.

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Ridge Gourd Saute with Peanuts - Farm to Plate

Lots of friends have asked why I don't grow onions and garlic. So last fall I planted some garlic and onion bulbs on a trial basis to see how they do and when to harvest. From theory to practice. The garlic bulbs have to be planted in the Fall with enough warmth for the bulbs to sprout. Once the cold hits they go into dormancy during the winter months and starts growing again in spring. According to another friend who is a lot more experienced farmer than me told me that the garlic and onion should be harvested on summer solstice. I delayed harvesting because of some other unavoidable work. There is always a lot unavoidable work like that in the farm. Anyway the week delay did not cause major damage to the onions and garlic but I have learned after a season of hard work growing them, time needs to be set aside for harvesting on time however busy.

So when the first Ridge Gourds of the season were harvested and as luck would have it a friend sent this recipe that she had tried and really liked. So with farm grown onions, garlic, green chilies and ridge gourd this recipe came to be. Very simple but oh so good.

Here is the recipe in pictures,

Chop the ridge gourd, onions, garlic and green chilies. In a saute pan add oil and add fennel seeds and chopped garlic, onion and green chilies.
Sauté till the onions are translucent, add the ridge gourd and turmeric powder, sauté for a minute and cover with a lid.
After 3-4 minutes, open the lid and add the sambhar powder and salt. Coarsely powder the roasted peanuts.
Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the peanuts and turn off the heat.

Tastes great with rice or as a side dish.

Ridge Gourd Saute with Peanuts
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 Medium sized Ridge Gourds, the thicker skin peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
2. 6-8 shallots chopped or a 1/4 cup of chopped red onions
3. 3-4 garlic cloves diced
4. 4 green chilies slit and seeds removed (adjust according to heat)
5. 2 tsp sambhar powder
6. 1 tsp turmeric powder
7. 1/3 cup of coarsely crushed roasted peanuts
8. seasonings: fennel seeds
9. 2 tsp oil

Method

1. In a saute pan, add the fennel seeds followed by the onions, garlic and green chilies, saute till the onions are translucent.
2. Add in the cubed ridge gourd and turmeric powder, mix and cover with a lid and cook for about 3-4 minutes, the ridge gourd will send out moisture.
3. Now open the lid, the gourd should be cooked by now, add salt, sambhar powder and mix. Sauté for another2-3 minutes or so.
4. Sprinkle the crushed peanuts mix and turn off the heat.
Serve with rice.

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