Methi carrot subji

Life is different when you have a cook. You know that she can make only a couple of dishes, and you just rotate them as best as you can. But when decide to take over cooking responsibilities, you want to innovate as often as you can. And it is fun. Specially when you come up with something your family really likes. This was one of those.

Ingredients:

Carrot- 250 gms, diced

Methi leaves- 1/2 bunch, washed, de-stemmed and chopped

Mustard oil- 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Haldi pwd- 1/2 tsp

Hing- a pinch

Kasoori methi- 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the mustard oil, and when it is really hot, reduce the flame and add the jeera. When the jeera stops spluttering, add garlic and hing and fry till the raw smell goes. Add carrots, and fry on a low flame for 2-3 minutes. Add all the other ingredients, cover and let it cook till carrots are soft.

Arbi Lajawab, with curds

I am not particularly fond of arbi, but the hubby claims to like it a lot, so I am constantly looking for ways to make it more palatable. This recipe looked interesting, and though the arbi was as slimy as it always is, I'll probably make it again, because I did like it.

500 gms boiled and choped arbi

1/2 cup curds
1 1/2 tbsp besan
1 tbsp ghee

2 finely chopped onions

2 tsp ginger-garlicpaste
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp haldi powder
a few curry leaves
chilli powder to taste
salt to taste

MethodCombine the curds and besan and mix well to make a smooth paste.
Add 2 cups of water, salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well. Keep aside.
Heat ghee in a kadai, add curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When the seeds crackle, add the onions and ginger-garlic paste and saute till the onions turn translucent.
Add the arbi pieces and saute for five minutes, till they turn golden brown in colour.
Add the curd-gram flour mixture, mix well and simmer till the ghee floats on top and the gravy is thick.
Remove from flame and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with chapatis, or rice.

Dal Tadka

We love dal tadka, and I have often tried to replicate it at home. This seemed like an amazing recipe, and though it was nice, it still wasn't dal tadka the way restaurants make it.

1/2 cup tur dal
1/2 cup masoor dal
1 or 2 green chilies, chopped or slit lengthwise
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 medium size tomato, chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
2 cups water
1 tsp kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
1 or 2 tbsp cream (optional)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
salt as required

for the tempering/tadka

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin
5-6 garlic cloves
2-3 red chilies
a generous pinch of hing

Method

Rinse the dals, add chopped onions, tomato, green chilies, ginger, asafoetida & turmeric powder along with the dals in a pressure cooker.
Add salt and two cups water, mix well and pressure cook the dals for 15 minutes till done.
Once well cooked then beat the dal with a churner or a wooden spoon till well mashed and creamy.
Add some water to get the desired consistency and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Once the desired consistency is reached, add cream (optional), crushed kasuri methi & chopped coriander leaves and switch off the fire.
Mix well, check salt, cover the dal with a lid.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and fry them. Add red chilies, asafoetida and chopped garlic. Once the garlic gets browned pour the entire tempering along with the oil into the dal.

Kofta curry

When I was a kid we had a grove of papaya trees in the backyard, so I grew up on kofta curry. Now that raw papayas are no longer plenty, my mother uses lauki instead. This is her recipe- perfectly tailored to our tastes (or were our tastes tailored to meet her recipe). My only contribution is in making it "healthier"- I don't deep fry the koftas- a tip I picked up from Gauri Shirke.

For the kofta
One medium lauki, peeled, de-seeded and grated
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 cup besan
Red chilli powder to taste

For the gravy
2 medium onions chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp curd

Preparation
Fry the onions in 2 tsp oil till light brown, add tomatos and ginger-garlic paste, dry masalas and fry on very low flame till onions turn dark brown.
Cook for 2 minutes, add curd and water till desired consistency.
Cook for another minute, take off the flame.

Grate the lauki, keep aside for about 10 minutes and squeeze out the water.
Add ginger-garlic paste, salt and besan. Knead well.
Make small balls, press them to flatten.
On a non-stick frying pan, sprinkle 1 tsp water, and shallow fry koftas on a low flame till brown.

Add koftas to the curry, and bring to boil once.

Methi malai muttar

I made this once in Delhi about six years back, after getting the recipe from an Aunty. Loved it, but for some strange reason, never made it again. Till I was reminded of the dish when I had it at a wedding recently. Wasn't sure if I remembered it correctly, but google helped me get it right, and here it is.

Pluck the leaves of one big bunch of methi (1 C), wash and chop into pieces. Blanche, by dropping the leaves into boiled water for 2-3 minutes; drain and let it dry.
Fry 2 small onions sliced, 1 inch piece of ginger grated, and 1 green chilli in a bit of oil till onion turns transparent. Let it cool, then blend it along with 7-8 cashewnuts till smooth.
Heat about 1 tbsp oil, throw in 1 tsp jeera, 2-3 tej patta and 1 inch piece of cinnamon. When the jeera changes colour, add the blanched methi leaves and 1 cup shelled peas, and cook on low heat till the methi leaves start releasing water. Cover, and cook till the peas are almost done. Add the onion paste, salt to taste, and fry for 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat, add 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup milk, and heat with constant stirring till it starts boiling. Turn off heat, cover, and let it cook in its own steam for a few minutes.

- You can add kasuri methi, but I didn't yesterday.
- The first time I made it, I used 1 C milk, but wanted to make it with cream this time.
- Don't skip the cashewnuts, because that keeps the milk from curdling/ breaking
- tomatoes and garam masala make an appearance in some recipes, but not in this one.