Vinaya's Culinary Delights - Authentic Vegetarian Cuisine

Cauliflower Delight Recipe

Posted on March 15, 2018July 25, 2018 by vinaya

The sight of the fresh and luscious Cauliflower is simply tantalizing!!! Everyone in the family is fond of it, be it fritters, a simple stir fry, an Ambat or even a North Indian Aloo Gobhi. I had decided to make a Gobhi Paratha, and then realized that there was a bowl of peas lying in the freezer. So……. instead of the Paratha I made Rotis and rustled up a subzi which was loved by all. Hence the name Cauliflower Delight.

Ingredients :

300 gms Cauliflower
2 large potatoes
1 bowl of peas
2 large onions
10 medium sized garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger
2 tsps chilly powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsps Coriander powder
1tsp Garam masala
2 tomatoes
Coriander leaves
1tsp jeera/Cumin seeds
5 tbsps oil

Method :

Chop the Cauliflower and potatoes into bite sized pieces. Slice the onions. Chop the tomatoes. Crush the garlic, and grate the ginger. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the jeera. After it splutters add the onions, ginger and garlic. Roast till the onions turn translucent. Drop in the potatoes, peas and salt. Sprinkle water and cook on a gentle flame, till three fourth done. Add the Cauliflower, chilly, turmeric and coriander powder. Mix well. Sprinkle water and when the Cauliflower is three fourth done add the tomatoes. Cover and cook. When the tomatoes have turned mushy add the garam masala. Toss for a few minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Roti.

Eggplant/Brinjal Masala Curry Recipe

Posted on March 14, 2018 by vinaya

This simple Eggplant Masala Curry is a family favourite. The only Masalas used in here are chilly powder and turmeric, thus keeping the flavours of all the vegetables intact. Goes well with Rotis and even with bread.

Ingredients :

250 gms Eggplant /Brinjal
2 large potatoes
2 large onions
3 tomatoes
I heaped tsp chilly powder
A large pinch of turmeric powder
Salt
Coriander leaves
3 tbsps oil
1 tsp mustard

Method :

Chop the Eggplant into bite sized pieces. Cube the potatoes and slice the onions. Chop the tomatoes and coriander leaves fine. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard and after it splutters add the onions. Roast till translucent. Add the Eggplant, potatoes and salt. Toss for a couple of minutes and then add a glass of water. When half cooked add the salt and tomatoes. Cook till done. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Idli Pakora Recipe

Posted on March 13, 2018 by vinaya

Idli Pakora is a simple and delicious option to put leftover Idlis to good use. The Pakora is nice and fluffy inside and crisp on the outside. It can be served with a mint chutney or with tomato ketchup. I love mine as is, as the batter has all the spices added to it.

Ingredients :

6 Idlis
100 gms Besan/Chickpea flour
50 gms Rice flour
2 green chillies
Hing/asafoetida as per taste
A large pinch of ajwain /caraway seeds
1/2 tsp chilly powder
1/2 onion
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil for frying the Pakora

Method :

Cut the Idli into bite sized pieces. Keep aside. Crush the green chillies coarsely. Chop the coriander leaves and onions fine and tip them into a bowl. Add the ajwain, chilly powder, salt and hing. Add the Besan and rice flour. Add a little water at a time to make a semi thick batter. Mix well and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil has reached the right temperature dip around five pieces of Idli into the batter. Drop them into the oil. Deep fry to a rich golden brown. Drain on tissue paper and serve hot with mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

Black, Green and Bengal Gram Dosa/Crepe Recipe

Posted on March 13, 2018 by vinaya

A healthy, protein rich option to the dosa is this Black, Green and Bengal Gram Dosa. No fermentation process involved, though it needs to be soaked for a good 5-6 hours to facilitate grinding. It can be enjoyed with home made butter as it is spiced up with Green chillies and ginger. I love mine with chutney which has not been seasoned or with pickle.

Ingredients :

200 gms Urad dal/black gram dal
250 gms Moong dal/Green gram dal
250 gms Chana dal/Bengal Gram Dal
18 green chillies
3 inch piece of ginger
A Kidney bean sized piece of hing/asafoetida
9 sprigs curry leaves
Salt
Oil or ghee/clarified butter for roasting the dosa.

Method :

Wash and soak the dals for 5-6 hours. Grind them non stop for half an hour in the wet grinder to a smooth batter with water just enough to give you a pouring consistency. Crush green chillies, hing and ginger coarsely and, add to the batter. Chop curry leaves fine. Tip them into the batter along with salt. Mix thoroughly. Heat a tava/skillet. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread it thinly to cover the skillet. Drizzle with oil or ghee. Allow to roast for a couple of minutes and then flip it over. Roast the other side too, to a rich golden brown. Serve with chutney or butter. The recipe for chutney can be found under the catagory, ‘Chutneys’ of this website.

Note: the proportion of green chillies and ginger is for those using the wet grinder. If using a blender or mixer cut them down into exactly half the quantity mentioned above. The batter increases to double the volume when, ground in the wet grinder as compared to the mixer. This dosa is not fermented.

Potato and Tomato Gozzu Recipe

Posted on March 12, 2018March 12, 2018 by vinaya

A simple yet delicious accompaniment to Rice or Rotis, the Potato and tomato gozzu is best served at room temperature. A dish which is traditionally served with Kanji/Rice gruel, it can be made by garnishing with or without raw onions.

Ingredients :

2 large potatoes peeled, washed and sliced thinly.
5 medium sized tomatoes chopped into large chunks
5 green chillies minced
Hing/asafoetida
Salt
1 medium sized onion minced
1 tbsp coconut oil
1tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dal/black gram dal
2 sprigs curry leaves

Method :

Cook the potato and tomato together. After it is done, discard the peel of the Tomato and mash the Tomato and potato together. Crush the green chillies, hing and salt and add it along with the finely chopped onion to the gozzu. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add a spoon of mustard and after it splutters add a spoon of urad dal. Toss till it is golden brown. Drop in two sprigs of curry leaves. Toss and season the gozzu with it. Mix well and serve with dal rice or roti.

Besan/Gram Flour and Vegetable Kadhi Recipe

Posted on March 10, 2018 by vinaya

This Gram flour and vegetable Kadhi goes well with both Rice or Pulao. Though in a Kadhi vegetables of choice are used, I prefer making one with potato, carrot and drumstick. One can even eat it as a soup.

Ingredients :

1 carrot
2 potatoes
1 drumstick
100 gms Besan/Gram Flour/Chickpea flour
2 tbsps ghee/clarified butter
5 tbsps oil
2 tsps jeera/Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp methi/Fenugreek seeds
4 sprigs curry leaves
6 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
1 tbsp tamarind paste
A pinch of turmeric powder

Method :

Deskin the carrot and potato and wash them thoroughly. Chop lengthwise. Chop the Drumstick into bite sized pieces. Grate the ginger. Slit the green chillies. Cook all the vegetables with salt and keep aside. Heat the oil and ghee mixture. Add the jeera and methi. After the jeera stops crackling drop in the curry leaves, green chillies and ginger. Toss. Add the Besan and roast on a slow flame to a deep golden brown. Add the turmeric powder. Toss. Add the cooked vegetables and pour in as much water as required to make a gravy like consistency. Add the tamarind paste. Adjust salt and boil well. Serve with rice, pulao or as a soup.

Ivygourd/ Tendle Ambat Recipe

Posted on March 9, 2018 by vinaya

Ivygourd Ambat is one of the most delicious amongst the Ambats made by the Konkani community of Mangalore in India. An Ambat is basically a preparation made of a vegetable of choice in a coconut gravy seasoned with onions. One or more vegetables may be used depending upon the family’s preference. Today I have added a couple of drumsticks, Cashews and potatoes along with the ivygourd to enhance the taste.

Ingredients :

200 gms ivygourd
1 large potato
4 onions
A fistful of cashewnuts
1 drumstick
1/4 of a large coconut grated
12 roasted red chillies
1 heaped tsp tamarind paste
100gms toor dal/Pigeon peas
Salt
3 tbsps Coconut oil

Method :

Pressure cook the toor dal. Chop two of the onions very fine. Keep aside. Chop the ivygourd, drumstick, potatoes and the remaining two onions into bite sized pieces and pressure cook to only one whistle along with the cashewnut. Grind the grated coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind to a fine paste. Drop the cooked dal, vegetables and the ground masala into a pan. Add salt and adjust to a pouring consistency by adding water. Boil well. Heat oil. Add the finely chopped onions and toast to a rich golden brown. Tip the seasoning into the Ambat. Boil and keep aside for half an hour for the flavours to infuse before consuming.

Note: Pressure cook the vegetables to only one whistle as over cooking makes them mushy. Alternatively the open pan method too can be adopted to cook them.

Beetroot Juice Recipe

Posted on March 7, 2018July 25, 2018 by vinaya

The Beetroot juice that I am posting today is flavoured with lemon, a couple of green chillies and a sprinkling of coriander leaves. Beet on its own is sweet, so addition of fruits only increases the sugar content of the juice.

Ingredients :

2 large Beetroots
2 green chillies or as per taste
Juice of one lemon
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method :

Deskin the Beetroots and wash them thoroughly. Chop them into thin slices and juice them along with the chopped green chillies in a juicer. Tip the pulp into a bowl. Do not use a mixer to juice, as the heat causes the enzymes to break down. Add two glasses of water. Mix thoroughly. Strain. Add lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Urad vada/ Biscuit Ambado / Black gram dumplings Recipe

Posted on March 6, 2018March 6, 2018 by vinaya

Biscuit Ambado is a Mangalorean delicacy served particularly during breakfast at weddings and religious get togethers. I do gorge on them once in a while as they are simply irresistible. Since it is a deep fried preparation, the healthier option would be Appo made of the same batter in an Appam pan. It is served with a coconut chutney which is flavoured either with Asafoetida or ginger.

Ingredients :

250 gms Urad dal/Black gram dal
3 tbsps rice flour
6 green chillies
A big Chickpea sized piece of Hing /asafoetida
2 inch piece of ginger
8 sprigs of curry leaves
A small fistful of coconut slivers
1/2 tsp pepper ground extremely coarse
Salt
Oil for frying

Method :

Soak the urad dal for five hours. Drain and grind to a smooth thick batter without adding water in the wet grinder. Those of you using the mixer will need to sprinkle a little water to facilitate grinding. Tip into a bowl. Grind the ginger, green chillies and hing coarsely. Add it to the batter along with the coarsely ground pepper, slivers of coconut, salt and finely chopped curry leaves. Add the rice flour and mix thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in tiny dumplings of the batter into the hot oil, and fry to a rich golden yellow. Remove, drain on a tissue and serve hot with coconut chutney. You can access the recipe for chutney under the catagory ‘Variety of Chutneys’ of this website.

Note: Always drop in a small dumpling of the batter to check the temperature of the oil. It should rise to the top immediately. If it doesn’t, wait for the oil to heat. Dumplings fried in underheated oil result in greasy Biscuit Ambado.

Chandramandal / Tangy Tamarind and Coriander leaf chutney Recipe

Posted on March 4, 2018 by vinaya

Chandramandal is a tangy, sweet and spicy chutney which is popularly served at temples in the South. The difference between the Coriander Gozzu made by Mangaloreans and Chandramandal is that ginger is boiled, along with tamarind and jaggery while making the latter. All in all a great accompaniment to Rotis or Rice. Can be served as a dip too.

Ingredients :

A tennis sized ball of tamarind
150 gms jaggery
5 green chilles
2 inch piece of ginger
1tsp mustard
1tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
A small bunch of coriander leaves
2 sprigs of curry leaves
Salt

Method :

Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract pulp. Alternatively you can also use the ready paste that is available. Grate the ginger and chop the green chillies fine. Boil the jaggery, tamarind pulp, ginger and green chillies together till it reaches the consistency of a thick chutney. Heat ghee. Add the mustard. After it splutters add the curry leaves. Drop the seasoning into the Chandramandal . Add finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve when cool.