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.

Pav bhaaji- a light version for winter

The kids and I love pav bhaaji and I make it pretty often with the hubby is traveling. This time, since the vegetables were so fresh and colourful, I made a slightly lighter version than normal, which we all loved just as much as we do the more conventional version. Will make this more often at least in winter.

3 medium size potatoes
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup peas
1 large onion – finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 each of red and yellow bell pepper
1 tbsp pav bhaji masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp vinegar
salt
Butter

Method
Boil all the vegetables except onions and capsicum in a pressure cooker. Mash lightly and keep aside (I boiled the peas and carrots separately, so I could keep them more chunky)
In a pan, heat some butter, add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the chopped onions and fry till transparent.
Add chopped bell peppers, and fry for a minute or two.
Add the pav bhaji masala, and tomato puree, and fry for few minutes till the peppers become a little soft.
Add the mashed vegetables.
Combine the mashed vegetables well with the masala. Add the vinegar.
Add some water. Keep on stirring and let the vegetable simmer for 7-8 minutes.
If the vegetable becomes too dry and then add some more water.
Serve with ladi pavs fried in butter, or home made pull apart bread rolls.

Nimona

Till a week back, I hadn't even heard of something called Nimona. But within a week, three people posted different versions of it, and since I just love green peas, I had to try it out. It being the start of the holidays, I got the kids to help me shell the peas, and before I knew it, we had enough to go (and more).

Loved the dish, and am definitely making it again soon.

1 cup shelled Peas, puréed/mashed in Sil-batta.
1 large Potato, cubed.
3 tbsp vadi
2 Tomatoes, chopped fine

2 Onions, finely chopped.
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste.
Chillie powder

Salt

Garam masala

Haldi

Hing
Mustard oil
Sabut Jeera, Tej Patta for tempering.

Method:
Heat mustard oil in a pan, and sauté wadis and Potaotes till done. Keep aside.
In the remaining Oil, add Jeera, Bay leaf, Onion, Ginger-Garlic paste, and sauté till golden brown.
Add the Tomato purée, Chillie powder, Salt, Garam masala, Haldi and Hing

Sauté till it releases Oil, and add the Peas. Add some water and cook till done.
Add the Potaotes and wadi, and cook further for a few minutes.
Serve hot with rotis.

Roast veggies

I had a whole bunch of vegetables in the fridge, and instead of making the usual curry with them, decided to attempt something new. The older one liked it, because it reminded him of roast chicken, but nobody else had anything to say, so this is the first and last time I make it. Pity, because it was nice, in a very different sort of way.

Mixed vegetables cut into equal sized pieces (I used beans, carrots, peas, and potatoes)

2 tbsps soya sauce
1 tbsps Worcesterchire sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
oil

Saute the vegetables on low heat for a few minutes.
Add the soya sauce, the Worcestershire sauce, chilli powder and salt, mix well, and keep cooking till the vegetables are well coked.
Add the honey, stir well.
Check for seasonings before searving.

Pav bhaaji

The first time I made pav bhaaji, it was a hit and miss effort. I used to like some of the pav bhaaji's you got in Bombay, but not all of them, and was pleasantly surprised when I got it right the first time. The trick, I am certain, was in the Pav Bhaaji masala- because I might vary all the other proportions, but as long as I get that right, it works out great.
Luckily for me, the kids love it too, so I end up making it on most days when the kids are home for lunch.

Pressure cook 3 large potatoes (I chop them into eight parts, before putting them in the cooker, so they take the same time to get done as the rest of the vegetables), AND
Pressure cook 1 carrot (diced), 4-6 florets of cauliflower, 15-20 beans, a handful of shelled peas
Heat some oil in a pan, temper with jeera. When jeera starts spluttering, add 1 chopped onion and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, and fry on low heat till onions start turning transparent.
Add 1 chopped tomato, salt to taste, red chilli powder and (Everest) pav bhaaji masala, and stir till tomatoes get done.
Throw in the vegetables and the (peeled) potatoes, and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes, mashing with the back of the spoon as you do so. Add 1 cap full of vinegar and a blob of butter (optional). Stir and take off the flame.

Serve with chopped onions, and pav fried in butter*

* - Slit the pavs in half, put a huge blob of butter on the tava, and fry both sides till brown.