Lunch Box - Oct 10

Lemon Rice, Peas and Cauliflower with Ginger, Fried Boiled Egg

Beetroot rice, Mushroom and Peas, Chhundo pickle

Khichdi, Spicy Tondli, Papad, Gud

Tondli / Kundru / Ivy Gourd with Chickpea powder

Adapted from http://www.sailusfood.com/2010/09/29/dondakaya-pappula-podi-ivy-gourd-with-spiced-chickpea-powder/

Tondli / Ivy Gourd - 25 pieces, ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 4 pieces
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 6
Green Chilli - 4
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Turmeric - a pinch
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

For Spicy Chickpea Powder, slow roast the following spices and ground to a fine powder:
Grated Dry Coconut - 1 tbsp
Garlic Cloves - 1
Dry Red Chillies - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Roasted chickpeas / Dalia - 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch

Heat oil in a pan and temper with cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies.

Add the chopped onion and fry till transparent.

Then add the tongli slices, reduce to low flame and cover and cook, stirring once in a while, for atleast 20 minutes till the tondlis are half done.

Add salt, turmeric and coriander powder and cover and cook again till all the moisture is evaporated and the tondlis look wrinkled. Then add the spice powder, mix well  and cook uncovered for 5 minutes more.

Peas & Cauliflower with Ginger

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into small florets
Peas - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 2 tsp, grated
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Green chillies - 2
Olive Oil

Aamchur (mango powder) - 1 tsp
Salt

Make a paste of ginger, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, red chilli powder and quarter cup of water and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and temper with cumin seeds, hing and green chillies. Add the spice paste and cook on low fire till the water evaporates and the paste becomes oily.

Add cauliflower florets, peas and salt and toss well with the spices. Cover and cook till the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle water in between if required. Once the vegetables are cooked, mix the aamchur powder and cook for a minute. Serve hot.

Mushroom with Peas

Sliced Button Mushroom - 2 cups
Frozen Peas - 1 cup
Tomato - 1, chopped
Ginger - 2 tsp. grated
Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Kastoori Methi) - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 4. finely chopped
Turmeric - a pinch
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Clean the sliced mushroom with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside.

Temper with cumin seeds and chopped green chillies.Add chopped tomato, ginger, coriander powder, turmeric. Cook till the tomatoes are soft.

Add mushroom and peas and cook till the mushrooms are half done. Add salt and the fenugreek leaves and cook till all the water is dried up and oil begins to appear on the sides of the pan.

Sqeeze lemon juice on top and serve hot.

Have tried the same recipe with Cremini Mushrooms and they have come out well.

Beetroot Rice

Brown Rice - 1 cup

Beetroot - 2

Olive Oil
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Whole dried red chilli - 4
Urad Dal - 3 tbsp, soak in water for atleast 30 minutes
Curry Leaves - 8
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Dessicated Coconut - 1 tbsp

Mix the washed rice with 2 cups of water and a little salt in a pan. Put three and a half cups of water in the ricecooker insert and place the pan in the insert. Cook till done. Remove and spread on a plate to cool.

Cook the beetroot as per the recipe http://madhurrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/10/beetroot-stir-fry.html

Mix with the rice and serve hot.

Beetroot Stir Fry

Beetroot - 2
Olive Oil
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Whole dried red chilli - 4
Urad Dal - 3 tbsp, preferably soak in water for atleast 30 minutes

Curry Leaves - 8
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Dessicated Coconut - 1 tbsp

Wash the beets and steam cook them in the ricecooker with 3 cups of water. When cooled, grate the beets in the grater.

Heat oil in a pan. Temper with mustard seeds and whole red chillies. Add the drained urad dal and fry till they are light brown. Add the grated beets and rest of the ingredients. Tossing the ingredients continuosly, cook for 10 minutes on medium high flame. Serve with dal and brown rice.

Tangy South Indian Eggplant / Kara Kuzhambu

Adapted from http://ahomemakersdiary.blogspot.com/2010/10/kara-kuzhambu-and-tomato-daal-to-tickle.html

Peanut Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Green Chilli - 4, slit

Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp
Jaggery grated - 1 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Red Potato - 1/2, cut in cubes
Butternut Squash - 1/5, cut in cubes
Eggplant - 1/2 of medium sized eggplant, cut lengthwise, size should be bigger than pumpkin cubes
Both potato and squash together should be half of the total quantity of eggplant.
Pearl Onion - 10
Tomato - 1/2, chopped into 8 pieces

Make a paste of tamarind, jaggery, turmeric, sambar and coriander powder with half cup of water. Keep aside.

Heat oil, temper with mustard seeds. Then add green chilli, pearl onions, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves. Cook till the onions become lightly caramelised.

Add the vegetables and salt and toss gently on medium high heat till they are half cooked. Mix tomatoes and spice mix and cover and cook on low heat till done. The dish should have a little gravy. Serve with brown rice, roasted papad and tomato dal.

Dalia Khichdi

Dalia / Broken Wheat - 1 cup
Moong Dal (Yellow lentils)- 1/2 cup
Masoor Dal(Red lentils) - 1/2 cup
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Cardamom - 4
Cinnamon - 2
Cloves - 6
Bayleaf - 1
Onion - 1/2, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Garlic - 2 pods, grated
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 4, chopped finely
Salt
Turmeric - a pinch
Roasted cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Frozen green peas - 1/2 cup

Dry roast the dalia in an iron skillet for 5 minutes. Keep aside. Wash the lentils and drain well. Mix them together and dry roast them in the skillet till the moong dal changes color slightly and you get aroma of the roasted dals.

Heat oil and temper with cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bayleaf and chopped green chillies. Add the chopped onion and fry till transparent.

Then add the grated ginger and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes more.

Now mix the dalia and the lentils along with turmeric, red chilli, cumin and coriander powder. Add salt. Mix the frozen peas and 6 cups of water. Cook in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles after full pressure is reached or alternatively, pour the entire mixture in a rice cooker pan. Put 4 cups of water in the rice cooker insert, lower the pan in the insert and cook till done.

The khichdi should have a little liquid in it and should not be too dry. Serve with roasted papad and alu bhaja (stir fried potatoes).

Roasted Moong Dal Halwa

Yellow Moong Dal - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Turbinado Sugar - 3/4th cup
Water - 3 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/4th tsp
Raisins
Cashewnuts/Slivered Almonds

Wash the moong dal and drain well. Let it air dry on a plate for half an hour. Roast the washed dal in an iron skillet, stirring continuously, on low fire till it changes color and becomes light brown. Grind the dal into a powder.

Heat ghee in an iron pan and add the moong dal powder. Roast on low fire. In the meantime, boil 3 cups of water. Add the boiling water to the roasted dal and cook stirring continuously till all the water is absorbed. Add sugar, cardamom powder and the dry fruits. Cook till the mixture becomes almost dry. Serve warm.


 Adapted from  http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2008/10/moong-dal-halwa.html

Carrot Peas Stir Fry

Carrots - 2, chopped into very small pieces
Peas- 1/2 cup
Roasted Chana Dal - 2 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 5
Green Chillies - 4
Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Garlic - 1 tsp, grated
Mustard seeds - 1/4th tsp
Olive Oil

Heat oil in a skillet and temper with mustard seeds, chopped green chillies, curry leaves. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a minute. Add the carrots and cook till half done. Then add peas and roasted dal. Cook till the vegetables are done.

Ven Pongal

Adapted from http://hubpages.com/hub/Andhra-Style-Pongal-Recipe

Brown Rice - 3/4 cup
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Black Peppercorns - 10
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch (optional)
Salt

Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Green Chili / Dried Red Chili - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10
Cashewnuts - a handful

Wash the rice and soak it, prefarably overnight, in a little water.

Dry roast the moong dal in a skillet on slow fire. Remove when it changes color and becomes aromatic, wash it and keep aside. Mix washed rice, roasted dal, peppercorns, cumin seeds, turmeric(if using), salt and cook in ricecooker with 2 cups of water. Remove and spread on a plate to cool.

Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds, hing, green chillies, curry leaves and cashewnuts. Cook till the cashews become light brown. Add the cooked rice dal mixture to the ghee, toss for a minute and remove from heat.

Cauliflower & Peas with Roasted Cumin

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into very small florets
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 4, chopped
Olive Oil
Turmeric - a pinch
Fresh Roasted and ground cumin powder - 2 tsp
Cilantro - handful, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet and temper with cumin seeds and green chillies. Add the cauliflower florets, salt and turmeric and cook stirring frequently. Sprinkle a little water if the florets stick to the pan.

When the cauliflowers are half done, add the peas. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add cilantro and cumin powder. Toss for a few minutes more on high heat and serve hot.

Chana Dal Pulao

Adapted from http://simplyspicy.blogspot.com/2008/05/chana-dal-pulao.html

Brown Rice - 1 cup, washed
Chana dal - 1/2 cup, washed
Shahjeera - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 big stick
Black Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 5
Bayleaf - 1
Peppercorns - 10
Ghee -  2 tsp
Salt
Sugar

Heat ghee in a pan. Temper with shahjeera, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bayleaf, peppercorns. Fry till you get a nice aroma of the spices.

Mix the chana dal and cook for a few minutes. Then mix the washed rice and cook for a few minutes more.

Add salt and sugar and 13/4th cup water and transfer to a rice cooker pan.

Insert the pan in the rice cooker with 31/2 cups water and cook till done. Remove the whole spices, fluff with fork and serve.

Stir Fry Carrots

Adapted from http://indosungod.blogspot.com/2010/09/grated-carrot-stir-fry-carrot-poriyal.html

Carrots - 2, grated
Olive Oil
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4th tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4th seeds
Green Chillies - 2, chopped
Curry leaves - 4
Onion - 1/4, chopped
Salt
Shredded Coconut - 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the urad dal and fry for a couple of minutes.

Then add mustard seeds and once the seeds begin to pop, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chilli.

After a minute put the chopped onion and cook till translucent.

Add the grated carrots, salt and coconut and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Sprinkle lemon juice on top and serve.

Karaishutir Kachuri

For the stuffing:
Frozen green peas - 1 lb
Green Chili - 2
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Hing - a few pinches


Roasted ground cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Fennel Powder - 1 tsp
Oil
Sugar
Salt



For the kachuri:
Whole wheat flour - 2 cups or an equal mix of APF and WWF
Oil - 3 tsp
Salt
Water

Oil for deep frying



Blend the peas with green chili and ginger in a blender. Remove and keep aside. In a pan heat oil. Add hing and the green peas paste. Then add cumin powder, fennel powder salt and cook stirring constantly till the water dries up and the mixture changes color and becomes a little dryish. Check for seasoning. Cool the mixture.



Mix the oil and salt with the flour well and knead into a soft dough using sufficient water.

Make small balls of the dough and fill them with the peas mixture. Seal them well and roll them into puris using a little oil if needed. Deep fry the kochuries.


Alternatively, make slightly bigger balls of the dough, fill them with the peas mixture and roll them like paratha and cook in a skillet with a little oil.