Sarson wali bhindi (okra/ladyfinger in mustard gravy)

No ‘northi’ or ‘bong’ (sorry m taking the privilege of using these abbr, but no offence to anyone) food incomplete without the smell of mustard spluttering the hot mustard oil or the intoxicating aroma wafting from the mustard gravy simmering away on the stove. This dainty looking spice is no less than Midas that lend a whole new meaning to any veggie it is cooked with. I almost drool every time I think about the potatoes in spicy mustard gravy (used for fish) that will satisfy any fish lover at least for some time or the pungent lauki raita with mustard paste.

Hubby dear loves okra/bhindi fry (well! I should be happy and not frowning like I m now). My predicament lies in the fact that hubby dear doesn’t like okra swimming in a gravy and I was bored of making the same old bhindi fry every alternate day. Why? Huh! He stuffed the refrigerator with 1 kg of okra because he thought that the quality and the price were hard to give a miss. No wonder he is a stocks and shares enthusiast. I kept postponing or rather ignoring the okras lying in the veggie box but how long. Can’t let them rot in one corner just because I was too lazy to make something new out of them. I dragged myself in search of my cell phone. All thanks to my little one who likes to send all the consonants and vowels to my friends and I have to explain everyone of them the next day. I realised I was already frowning when I dialled my mom’s number. But the next 10 minutes was just a happy flashback of one of my favourite okra in mustard gravy. Oh how much I loved my mom and of course the okra.........I was deliriously happy and tried to plant a forceful kiss on my daughter’s cheeks but was met with the same frown stolen from my face. Never mind. I can handle anything just to eat that curry....

Well if you think I m going too over the board types with this curry then I beg your pardon. Mustard is definitely an acquired taste but there is no harm in giving a slight kicks and a whack to your taste buds once in a while.

                                                                                                       photo by neetu

 Ingredients:

500 grms okra

3 medium potatoes

1 onion sliced

2-3 slit green chillies

2 tbs lime juice

Oil for cooking

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

For mustard paste

2 tbs mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds (can use powder)

½ tsp coriander seeds (can use powder)

2-3 whole red chillies (can use powder)

1 tsp black peppercorns

8-10 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

1 medium bay leaf

Method: 

photo by neetu

Wash the veggies. Cut the okra in 1 inch pieces. Cube the potatoes.

Make a fine paste of the spices. As mustard takes a little longer to grind, you can first grind the dry spices like all the seeds, peppercorn, red chillies and bay leaf in the grinder. Later add the wet spices like ginger and garlic along with 2 tbs of water. See if you require more water. The paste should be smooth.

Now heat some oil in kadai. Add the orka and sauté on high flame first and medium later till the edges get a nice brown colour. Be gentle. Nobody prefers mashed okras. After 5 minutes the stickiness will disappear. Take out and keep aside. In the same kadai add little oil (1 tsp) and fry the potatoes on medium flame till they get some colour.

                                                                             photo by neetu

In the same kadai put 1 tbs of mustard oil and heat it. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter properly till it releases an aroma. Add the green chillies. Sauté. Add the mustard paste. Mix. Add salt and turmeric and mix. Cover for 2 min. Add 2 tbs water and mix. Cover for 5 min. You will see the oil rising from the sides of the kadai. It’s times to add the sauted veggies and 1 cup of water. Let the gravy simmer for 2-3 minutes. Check if the potatoes are done. Keep the consistency according to your wish. Add lime juice but only after putting off the flame. Serve with rice or chapattis.

photo by neetu

Tips:

You can use powders but I like to use whole spices and then grind them fresh. Trust me the effort really pays off in the end. Be careful not to burn the mustard paste while frying. It will taste bitter. Also, the amount of mustard will be determined how pungent the flavour should be. I love them so don’t mind even if it’s on the extra side. It is better to chose slightly matured bhindi as the tender ones might end up in a pulp while frying or simmering but avoid those chewy or hard fibrous ones. The lime juice in the end really perks up the dish so don’t forget about it.

Well! I think I have scared you enough so better be off to some cooking.

Lauki chilka bhaji (bottlegourd peel stir fry)

This unusual recipe has plenty of emotions attached as it was introduced to me by none other than my mom-in-law.One fine day, right after marriage, she served me this stir fry and asked me to guess the ingredients. Though I was given a lecture and a crash course in cooking by mom, I had no idea whatsoever about this form of a humble lauki present right infront of me. Forget about all the logic and reasoning, the idea of using or rather utilising the peel of a bottlegourd wouldn't have occurred to me even in my wildest of imagination. I knew that doctors asked to cook veggies mostly alongwith their peel but we seldom practice that. Right? So here was my new venture as cook into new household and a new teacher, my mother-in-law. Though I differ from her in every style of my cooking, I respect her skills and never bother to play around the recipe much. Mothers' knows best you see.

                                                                   photo by Neetu N

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped peel of bottlegourd

1 cup finely chopped or sliced potatoes

1 cup sliced onion

2-3 slit green chillies

1 tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

1 tbs oil

Method:

                                                                            photo by Neetu N

Heat oil in the pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add green chillies and sauté till it gets a nice colour. Add sliced onion. Saute till golden brown. Add the chopped peel and chopped potatoes. Mix. Cover for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and turmeric. Mix. Cover for 5 minutes. Check if the potatoes have turned soft. Mix well. Serve with a dash of lime and ginger juliens. This a great side dish served alongwith rice and dal or parathas.

Tips: The lauki should be very tender (without seeds; see pic) and as fresh as possible. Stale gourds give a bitter flavour. The peel of matured lauki(seeds are hard) is not very soft enough for this dish. In order to avoid the peel from becoming dark, soak the peels in water and then chop them finely. You may or may not peel the potatoes in this dish. I like them with skin provided you wash them well.

Bhindi ki sabji (okra/ladyfinger curry)

Bhindi has been one of my favorite veggies since childhood. Most of us like the bhindi fry and has been an integral part of any Indian menu. But sometimes a bit of change is always welcome. I remember mom preparing this lovely bhindi curry usually for dinner and I used to hog extra rotis with it. The thin gravy makes it lighter on the tummy and good for those who try to avoid heavy spices during dinner. Its the best version of Indian stew and that too with bhindi. Go on, try it friends...

                                                                                                    photo by Neetu N

Ingredients:

2-3 cups bhindi diced (1inch)

1 cup cubed potato (2 medium)

2 cups tomatoes (2 medium)

2-3 slit green chillies

1 tsp chopped ginger

2 tbs crushed garlic

2 onions medium sliced                               

1tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1tsp black pepper powder

                                                                             photo by Neetu N

1tbs sabji masala/ curry powder

2 tbs oil

Salt to taste

Method:

Heat 1 tbs of oil in a pan and toss the bhindi on high flame till the edges are brown. Do not leave it unattended. Tossing on high flame will give colour, flavour and reduces the stickiness. Keep aside. Add the remaining oil the same pan and heat. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add slit green chillies and chopped ginger. Sauté for few seconds till they get some colour. Add sliced onion and sauté on low flame. Cover. After about 2 minutes, add chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic, salt, turmeric and the curry powder. Mix. Cover. After 5 minutes you will see the tomatoes are soft and masala is cooked. Now add potatoes and mix. Cover for 5 minutes. Add sauted bhindi and black pepper powder. Mix. Add 2 cups of water and cover. Let it simmer till the potatoes get cooked. Serve with roti or parantha.

Tips          

Bhindi should be tender. Mature ones are more fibrous and hard to chew. They are good for sambhar but for curry it is better to go for tender ones.

·         You can add water for the gravy according to your preference. I like thinner gravy as it goes well with rice too. If you find the gravy is very thin after cooking, mash some of the cooked potatoes from the curry itself and add them back into the curry.

Kadhi-Badi (curd based gravy with fried dumplings)

Fasting is just another way of paying your respects to the almighty in north India especially Bihar and UP. Be it the auspicious chhath puja, durga puja, shivratri, teej, jeetiya or janmashtami. I have grown up watching my mom observe fasts and break it the next morning and how...with choicest of curries and fritters adorning our plates and tummy as well. Well! the fast did not mean much to us other than waiting for the next day for the sumptuous meal. One of the common dish is kadhi-badi, a curd based gravy with fried besan dumplings. Every household has their own version of kadhi-wadi recipe and are tasty in any form.

I had planned a lot this teej but my daughter caught cold and I decided to give a miss to the other side dishes and was content with simple kadhi-badi-chawal combo which is delicious on any given point of time and even the next day. Hope you enjoy this someday....and thank me for this post.

                                                                photo by Neetu Narayan

Ingredients:

For the kadhi

1 cup curd (sour if possible)

1 tbs besan

1 tbs of ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp black pepper powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp  turmeric powder

1tsp red chilli powder

1-2 slit green chillies

Green coriander leaves for garnishing

Salt to taste

For badi

1 cup of besan

1 tsp of carom(ajwain) seeds

½ tsp of onion(kalongi) seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbs chopped onion (1 medium)

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

For tempering

1 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 whole dry red chillies

Few sprigs of curry leaves

1 tbs oil

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients of badi except oil and make a thick paste with water and leave it aside for 15 minutes. For kadhi, mix together curd, besan, salt and spices and 2 cups of water. Beat well for 5 minutes so that no lumps remain and is smooth. You can add more water if you prefer thin gravy.

Method:

For tempering, heat oil in a bigger vessel. Add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add whole red chillies and sauté till they release an aroma. Add curry leaves. Now add the kadhi mix. Add slit green chillies and let it simmer on low flame for 15 minutes. In the meanwhile, deep fry the badi batter into small dumplings. I keep them small as they absorb the gravy fast. Put the badi in the kadhi gravy that is simmering away. Cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with green coriander leaves. Serve with rice.