Gongura Chicken with Bell Pepper

Gardening like everything else is an addiction. Once you have experienced the pleasure of growing something the heady feeling is something you can't let go. I have never heard of Gongura till about 10 years ago and then my neighbor who had it growing and offered me some and I was hooked. So this summer I attempted to grow them. Un-fussy and easy to grow with production all summer long if you harvest them the right way to encourage leaf growth.

While the usual staples have been to make chutney - which is by far our favorite, I have used it in sambhar or dal. I have also added them to Gongura Egg curry like you would mint or coriander leaves. With an abundance of fresh Gongura leaves wanted to give something different a go and tried this Gongura chicken which was very tasty.

Wash, cut into bite sizes cubes and clean the chicken and marinate in some yogurt and salt. Chop the vegetables and keep ready.
Saute the ingredients for the masala, cool and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat a thick bottomed pan and heat oil and add the seasonings. Add in the onions and saute till they start to slightly turn brown. Add the tomatoes and saute till it gets mushy.
Add in the chicken and saute till it starts to get a little pink. Add in the bell pepper and saute for a minute or two.
Add in the blended paste, chili powder and about 1 cup of water. Let it cook on medium heat till the gravy thickens.

Depending on the amount of gravy required reduce or increase the amount of water added.

Gongura Chicken with Bell Pepper
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 lb chicken (I used thighs with bones cut into bite sized pieces)
2. 1/2 cup of finely minced onion
3. 1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes
4. 2 cups (or more) of bell pepper cut into bite sized pieces
5. 1 Potato sliced (optional, I did not add it
6. 1/2 tbsp red chili powder
7. salt to taste
8. 2 tsp oil
9. seasonings: curry leaves, cumin seeds and fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp each, few cloves, small stick of cinnamon
10. 3 tsp turmeric powder
For Masala Paste
11. 3/4 cup of onion chopped
12. 3-4 garlic cloves
13. 1 inch of ginger
14. about 2 handful Gongura leaves
15. about 1 handful coriander leaves
16. 1 tbsp of grated fresh or frozen coconut
17. 3-6 green chilies (as per taste)

Method

1. Marinate the washed and cut chicken in yogurt and salt.
2. To prepare the masala paste heat a saute pan with oil and add the onions and saute till the onions becomes translucent. Add the garlic,green chilies and ginger and saute for a minute more.
3. Add the gongura and coriander leaves and saute till they wilt.
4. Add in the coconut and saute for a minute.
5. Transfer to a blender and blend to a paste and set aside.
6. In a wide mouthed pan add oil and add the seasonings followed by the onions and saute till they start to brown.
7. Add in the tomatoes and saute till they become mushy.
8. Add in the chicken and saute till they start to get pink. Add in the bell pepper and saute for a minute more.
9. Add in the blended paste, chili powder along with a cup of water and salt and cook for another 10-12 minutes or till the gravy thickens and the chicken is fully cooked.

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Vellai Poosanikai Halwa - Kasi Halwa - Ash Gourd Halwa - Diwali Recipe

This white pumpkin halwa is something I have wanted to make for a long time now. Kept postponing because of non-availability of white pumpkin. I have seen slices of white pumpkin in the Indian grocery stores but never a whole pumpkin. So what is one to do? Try growing it of course which I successfully did this summer. The plant grows big long vines and I had about 2 of the them which gave about 12 pumpkins in total. The dry hot summer and my lack of regular watering kept the number to a minimum or we would have had more than we could handle.

These white pumpkins are great for mor kuzhamu, thayir kuzhambu and sambhar of course but I would say they were meant for making halwa.
I also froze some of it for use later in the winter months. I am not sure if you can freeze raw pumpkins but par boil them with a pinch of turmeric and then drain the water and freeze for later use.

For making halwa you need fresh mature pumpkins. Young pumpkins release too much water but don't be deterred by it. You can hand grate the pumpkin or use a food processor. I tried both ways and I prefer the hand grating method better.

If you have about 6 cups of grated and liquid squeezed out pumpkin you will get about 3 cups of halwa.

Clean the pumpkin and mince it finely using a food processor or grate using a fine grater.
Use a cheese cloth to strain the water from the grated pumpkin.
Texture are slightly different when using a food processor and grater.
Add ghee to a thick bottomed pan and add in the grated pumpkin and saute. Heat about 1/2 of the water and bring it to a boil.
Add the water to the sauteed pumpkin and let it cook till the pumpkin is soft. Add teh sugar and let it come to a boil.
Let the pumpkin and sugar cook in medium heat till it thickens. Add the saffron and ghee.
Roast the cashews in a bit of ghee. The mixture will come together as it cooks. Add the cardamom powder and mix together.

Vellai Poosanikkai Halwa - Kasi Halwa - Ash Gourd Halwa
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1/2 White Pumpkin peeled, seeds removed and grated and water squeezed out (about 6 cups)
2. 3 cups of raw sugar
3. 1 tsp of lemon juice (optional)
4. few strands of saffron
5. 1 tsp of cardamom + 1/2 tsp sugar powdered
6. 2 tbsp of ghee (optional)
7. 1/4 cup of raw cashews broken

Method

1. Grate or use a food processor to chop the pumpkin very fine. Use a fine cheese cloth and strain out as much of the water as possible from the grated pumpkin. Measure about 6 cups of the pumpkin. Do not discard the water.
2. In a thick bottomed pot add 2 tsp of ghee and then add the squeezed pumpkin. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
3. In a sauce pan heat about half of the squeezed water and when it comes to a boil add to the sauteed pumpkin just enough to cover the pumpkin.
4. Let the pumpkin cook it is becomes soft and fully cooked (takes about 8-10 minutes).
5. Add in the sugar, reduce the heat to medium and let it come to a boil. Add the lemon juice on the side to avoid the sugar from getting crystallized.
6. In a sauce pan add some ghee and roast the cashews and set aside.
7. Keep stirring so the pumpkin sugar mixture does not stick to the bottom.
8. After about 20 minutes or so the moisture should start evaporating and the mixture will come together. Add some ghee at this stage along with the saffron.
9. Cook till the mixture stars to get shiny and thick, add the cardamom powder and the roasted cashews. Mix and turn off the heat. Remove the pan from the stove and set aside till it cools down and store in a glass or stainless steel container.
10. Note:The halwa should stay well outside for a good 2 weeks and in the refrigerator for a month. It is a good sweet to freeze.
11. The water squeezed from the pumpkin can be used for drinking.
12. I used raw sugar so the halwa is dark orange in color.
13. If you used food processor to mince the pumpkin, right after you add the sugar use a hand blender to break down the pumpkin further if it is still grainy.

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