February, 2021 - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Banana Raita

Posted on February 2, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This sweet, tangy banana Raita can be served along with a meal or eaten as a meal. Bananas are a good source of potassium and curds are rich in calcium along with being a probiotic. On days that I am not particularly hungry, I have it as a meal instead of making it into a smoothie. I loved this recipe which was shared by my friend Ambratha Shenoy.

Ingredients:

2 elaichi bananas sliced fine

250 ml / one cup thick curd/ yoghurt

1 green chilly minced

1 tsp sugar

Salt

For the tempering:

1 tsp Ghee/ clarified butter

1/2 a tsp of mustard

1 Byadgi chilly broken into two

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Whisk the curd well. Add salt and sugar to the minced chilly and crush it. Tip it into the curds. Add the sliced bananas and mix well. Heat the ghee in a pan. Drop in the mustard and after it splutters add the broken red chilly. Toss, drop in the curry leaves and pour the seasoning into the Banana Raita. Mix well and chill for a while.

This quantity serves three when served as an accompaniment.

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Garlic chutney-2

Posted on February 2, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This garlic chutney is so fragrant and tasty. You can have it as an accompaniment with rice, with Roti or even slather it on bread. This recipe was shared by my friend Sreeja Shenoy and this is a must try.

Ingredients:

1/2 of a large coconut

15 cloves of garlic

7 Guntur and 7 Byadgi chillies roasted in a little oil

A tbsp of tamarind paste

One sprig of curry leaves

Salt

One tbsp Ghee/ clarified butter

Method:

Heat the ghee in a pan. Drop in the garlic and roast to a deep golden brown. Add the curry leaves, saute and drop in the grated coconut. Saute for a couple of minutes on a gentle flame. Those using chilly powder instead of roasted red chillies may add the chilly powder ( around 2 tbsps) now. Switch off and allow the mixture to cool a bit. Add tamarind and salt and grind to a fine paste without adding any water. I have added a little to facilitate grinding in the mixer jar. Remove and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

This quantity serves a family of four.

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Pumpkin Valval

Posted on February 1, 2021July 19, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

Valval or Yogiratna is one of the favourites of the GSB community. It is what Undiyu is to a Gujarati, sheera poori to a Maharashtrian or a Makki di roti sarson da saag to a Punjabi. Usually a variety of vegetables are cooked in coconut milk and finally seasoned. This particular recipe is one which my friend Vidya Shenoy shared and it makes use only of one vegetable. It is as delicious as the one where a variety are used.

Ingredients:

500 gms Pumpkin deskinned and chopped into cubes of two inches

6 green chillies slit

Coconut milk of one coconut

1 tsp rice flour

Salt

Recipe link to the extraction of coconut milk is given at the end of the recipe.

For the tempering:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 heaped tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds

2 sprigs curry leaves

Method:

Tip the green chillies, pumpkin pieces and salt into the thin coconut milk and cook al dente. Pumpkin easily disintegrates so it should not be allowed to cook completely. Once the pumpkin is 75 percent cooked, pour in the thick coconut milk . Mix the rice flour in a little water, stir and tip it into the boiling Valval. . Lower heat. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the cumin seeds and after they splutter add the curry leaves. Drop the seasoning into the Valval. Switch off, cover and keep aside for about fifteen minutes for the flavours to infuse. Goes well with rice.

Serves a family of four.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/extraction-of-coconut-milk/

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Lemon and Coriander soup

Posted on February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

A nice tangy and flavourful soup for a cold wintery evening. The recipe was shared by my friend Vijaya Nair. One can use vegetables of choice. I have used those which I had on hand. The two main ingredients are lemon and coriander which impart their flavour to this soup.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of finely chopped carrots

1/4 cup of finely shredded cabbage

1/ 2 cup finely chopped onions

4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 inch piece of ginger grated

2 green chillies minced

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1 tbsp butter

Salt

For the slurry:

A slurry is paste made of flour and water . Here it is cornflour.

1 tbsp corn flour

1/4 th glass of water

For the garnish:

2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves

Juice of one large lemon or as per taste.

Method:

Tip in the butter, green chillies, garlic and ginger into a pan. Saute for a minute. Drop in the onions and salt. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Drop in the cabbage and carrots and saute for two more minutes. Add four glasses of water. Bring it to a boil, lower heat and add the pepper powder. Allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes. In the meantime make a slurry of corn flour and water. Take care to see that there are no lumps in the slurry. Drop it into the simmering soup. Allow it to boil for a couple of minutes. Switch off. Add the coriander leaves and lemon juice. Cover and allow the soup to stand for a couple of minutes for the flavours to infuse. Serve hot.

Serves four.

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Urad and Broken wheat Idli

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

I had been wanting to try out these Idlis for a long time but somehow or the other it never materialized. The other day my friend Veena Nayak had posted them and they looked so delicious that I finally tried them out. I have used the finer variety of broken wheat as the larger one which is used in desserts is quite grainy. This idli is a blessing in disguise on days when one wants to avoid rice and it is a no fermentation idli.

Ingredients:

250 gms Urad dal/ split black gram

5O0 gms of Lapsi Rava/ broken wheat/ Bulgar wheat

Salt

Method:

Wash and soak the urad dal for four to five hours. Soak the Broken wheat an hour before you start grinding the Urad dal. Grind the Urad dal in the wet grinder for half an hour adding a little water at a time to get a batter of dropping consistency. Remove and add salt. Squeeze all the water from the broken wheat and add it to the urad batter. Mix thoroughly and keep aside for ten minutes. Keep the idli vessel to boil. Grease tiny katoris ( bowls) with oil. Give the batter a thorough mix again and pour it into the greased katori. Steam them in the Idli vessel for ten minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Remove from flame, allow to cool slightly before de moulding them. Serve with chutney and Sambhar.

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Restaurant style chutney

Posted on February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

The recipe of this restaurant style chutney was shared by my friend Smitha Pai. Goes well with all kinds of Dosas and Idli. This is a chutney typically made in South Karnataka in India.

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted Bengal gram/ Daalia/ Puttani

1/4 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds

1/2 cup grated coconut

6 mint leaves

3 cloves of garlic

5 curry leaves

A couple of sprigs of coriander

5 green chillies or more if required

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

Salt

For tempering:

1 tbsp oil

1tsp mustard

1 tsp urad dal/ split black gram

1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

Powder the roasted gram. Drop in the grated coconut, green chillies, Jeera, garlic ,curry, mint and coriander leaves, salt and tamarind paste. Grind fine by adding a little water. Tip it into a bowl. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard and after it splutters add the urad dal. Once it turns golden brown drop in the curry leaves. Pour the seasoning into the chutney. Mix and adjust consistency by adding water as required.

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Milk Parathas

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

I normally bind the Paratha dough with water and a tsp of Ghee. Tried out the recipe shared by my friend Mukherjee Mala of binding it with milk and adding some Kasuri methi and ajwain to it. It’s turned out extremely fragrant and delicious.

Ingredients:

250 gms wheat flour

2 tsps oil

1/2 a tsp of Ajwain/ carom seeds

1 tbsp Kasuri methi

Salt

Milk enough to bind the dough

Ghee/ clarified butter to roast the Parathas

Method:

Gently crush the Ajwain and Kasuri methi with your palms and tip them into a bowl. This helps in releasing their fragrance. Add salt and half a cup of lukewarm milk. Add the wheat flour and bind a soft dough. Add more milk if required while binding. Add the oil and knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Cover and keep aside for about fifteen minutes. Knead the dough again for a minute and make ten balls of the dough. Roll out a ball into a circle of three inches diameter and apply half a tsp of Ghee on it. Fold it into half and again apply a little ghee. Fold it again into a triangle and roll out into a triangular shaped Paratha. Finish off similarly with the remaining balls of dough. Heat a tava/ skillet. Brush it with Ghee. Gently place the Paratha on the hot skillet and brush ghee on top. Roast to a golden brown. Flip and roast on the other side too. Serve hot with curd/ yoghurt and a subzi.

This proportion makes ten Parathas

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Okra stir-fry-2

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is a simple yet delicious recipe of the stir fry that my friend Swati Sule shared with me. It goes well with Chapati or with Dal rice. It’s the addition of a pinch of sugar that gives the stir fry it’s unique taste.

Ingredients:

250 gms of Okra/ Bhindi

A large pinch of turmeric

Salt

1/2 tsp of sugar

For the tempering:

2 tbsps oil

1 tsp Jeera/ cumin seeds

1/2 a tsp of mustard seeds

3 spicy green chillies slit

Method:

Wash and snip both the ends of the okra. Chop them fine as shown in the picture. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard and after it crackles drop in the cumin seeds. Immediately add the slit green chillies and toss. Drop in the chopped okra, turmeric, sugar and salt. Mix gently and keep tossing on a gentle flame till done. Serve hot.

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Urad and Wheat flour Dosa

Posted on February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

This is a healthier version of the Urad and Maida/ all purpose flour dosa. Thank-you dear Mitha Arun Hegde for the wonderful recipe. The only change I made is in the increase of wheat flour, as I use the wet grinder to grind the urad batter. Urad dal ground in a wet grinder doubles in volume as compared to when it is ground in a mixer. The beauty of this dosa is that it can be spread thick like a pancake or thin and crisp. Both taste delicious. You can serve it with a chutney of your choice, but tastes really good with a coconut chutney. Recipe link to the chutney is given below.

Ingredients:

1cup of Urad dal/ Split black gram

3 cups of wheat flour

Salt

Ghee or oil to roast the dosa

Method:

Tip the Urad dal and the wheat flour in separate containers . Wash the urad dal and soak it for about four to five hours. Add about one and a half litres of water to the wheat flour , mix well and keep it aside. Allow it to stand undisturbed. Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste in the wet grinder adding a little water at a time to make a thick batter . Remove, add salt, mix well and allow to ferment for around ten to twelve hours. Gently open the lid of the container containing the wheat flour. You will find that the wheat flour has settled to the bottom . Drain all the water from the wheat flour. Be careful while doing so as any water left behind can make the dosa batter watery. Mix the wheat flour with the urad batter. Thoroughly whisk the batter. Heat a tava/ skillet. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread it in concentric circles to a diameter of eight to ten inches depending on the size of the skillet to make a thin and crispy dosa. Drizzle with oil or ghee. Allow it to roast and turn a nice shade of golden brown. Flip, roast and serve. To make a dosa which is soft and porous, pour a ladleful of the batter onto a hot tava and spread as thick as you would a pancake. Just five to six inches in diameter. Drizzle with ghee or oil, cover and allow to roast. Flip and roast for a few seconds on the other side too. Generally soft dosas need no roasting on the top side as they are covered and cooked. Serve hot with a coconut chutney.

Makes 15 dosas.

https://vinayasculinarydelights.com/coconut-chutney-recipe-3/

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Roasted FoxNuts/ Phool Makhana

Posted on February 1, 2021 by vinayaprabhu2

These are nothing but puffed lotus seeds or fox nuts. They are the simplest snack to prepare when one is hungry. Highly nutritive and extremely delicious.

Why is it so easy to make?
Most of the hard work for this dish is done by the people collecting the lotus seeds in Bihar and some parts of Northern India. First is the laborious process of collection of seeds. Next they are cleaned and stored. Post this is gradation and getting the white puff at a certain temperature. That’s the reason for it being a little pricey.

Ingredients:

50 gms Phool Makhana

2 tbsps Ghee/ clarified butter

Pepper and salt as required

Method:

Heat the ghee in a pan Drop in the Phool Makhana and sprinkle the pepper and salt. Keep roasting on a very gentle flame till they are crisp. Takes just five minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container.

This portion serves three.

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