Gobi-gajar-shalgam achar

One of my most vivid memories of the first week as a new bride in my marital home is of breakfast. Thankfully, those were the days before size zero brides, and I had no qualms about wolfing down steaming hot stuffed paratas with gobi-gajar-shalgam achar. Seeing their "Madrasi" bride tuck into the typically Punjabi breakfast must also have reassured my in-laws about my ability to fit into a new culture.
Unfortunately, however, that was the first and last time I got to eat gobi-gajar-shalgam achar. My mother-in-law didn't make it herself, and the stuff you got at restaurants was at best a poor attempt at replicating the classic dish.
This winter, I was determined to attempt the recipe myself, and before I could change my mind, bought the ingredients, and even cut the vegetables and kept them to dry. It was easier than I expected, and I wonder why I never attempted it all this while.

1 Kg vegetables (a mix of cauliflower florets, carrot slices, turnip cubes)
65 gms mustard seeds
65 gms salt
150 gms jaggery
150 gms mustard oil
150 gms vinegar
5 tsp Garam masala
100 gms ginger-garlic paste
25 gms red chili pwdr

Method:
Cut the vegetables, and leave them out to dry for 6 hours (I put them in a preheated oven with the heat off).
Heat the mustard oil, let the mustard seeds splutter.
Add the vegetables, fry the vegetables lightly and keep aside.
In the same oil, add ginger-garlic paste, and saute till the raw taste goes.
Meanwhile, heat the vinegar in a pan, add the jaggery, and stir on a low heat till the jaggery dissolves completely. Turn off the fire, and let it cool down.
Mix all the ingredients, including the dry masala. Pour into a sterilized jar, cover the mouth with a piece of cloth, and keep in the sun for a week.

Snake gourd stuffed with mixed pulses

Leftovers! How I hate them. At every mealtime, when just that little bit of something or the other gets left over, I despair. Do I throw it out, despite the fact that millions of people across the world are starving. Or do I shove them in the fridge, even though I know I am unlikely ever to consume them.
Which is why, I love those recipes where leftovers get a makeover.

2 snake gourds
1/2 cup leftover dal, thickened (you can even mix different dals before thickening them)
Oil for shallow frying

Method:
Wash the snake gourds and roughly scrape the skin. Make s slit along the vertical line, remove the seeds, and cut into 2 inch pieces.
Stuff the pieces with thickened dal, and shallow fry.
Serve with rotis.
You can also sprinkle with sev or chopped onions.

Appam and Istew, with sweetened coconut milk

Here is a picture of the complete meal, and one I was quite satisfied with.

Appams

Istew

Sweetened coconut milk- mix grated jaggery with coconut milk till completely dissolved and add cardamom powder for flavouring.

Mixed vegetable quick kootu

We Tamilians love a balanced diet at every meal, so what better than if you can combine proteins and vitamins in the same dish? Mixed vegetable kootu is a stable lunch item for my mother, and while I don't swear by it the way she does, I have to admit it makes cooking easy on hot summer days.

250 gms carrots diced
100 gms potatoes cut into small pieces
1 measure dhuli moong dal
1/3 tsp haldi powder
1 tsp sambar powder
Salt per taste

For tempering
Mustard seeds
Jeera seeds
Urad dal
A pinch of hing
Curry leaves
Cooking oil

Method
Put the cut vegetables, green gram dal and turmeric powder in a pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover the vegetables. Pressure cook for two to three whistles.
After few minutes, remove the lid from the cooker and slightly mash the vegetables.
Heat the oil, temper with mustard seeds. When it stops popping, add urad dha, jeera, hing, curry leaves and fry for about half a minute. Add sambar powder and immediately add the cooked vegetables.
Add salt and mix well.
Serve hot with chappatis.