Simple Tindora Fry

Today my dearest hubby came back from a 2 week long business trip :). He loves dondakaya/tindora, so I made a very simple side dish using tindora. The dish was an excellent side dish with palak methi pappu. 

Ingredients:

Tindora/Dondakaya - 2 cups, sliced length wise

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric Powder - a pinch

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add mustard seeds, after they splutter add cumin seeds. Then add the chopped tindora/dondakaya, tuermeric powder and mix well.

2. Cook covered on medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Stir in between.

3. Add ginger garlic paste, chilli powder and salt, mix well, sprinkle a little water, if required. Cook covered for another 8-10 minutes, stirring in between.

4. After the tindora is cooked through, cook uncovered for 5-8 minutes. Take off heat.

5. Serve the tasty simple tindora fry with hot steamed rice. 

Quick Eggplant Stir Fry

Nothing fancy to write about this recipe :). Made this quick eggplant stir fry last week, when I was rushing to get things done.

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 1, large, diced

Tomato - 1, large, finely chopped

Onion - 1, medium sized, roughly chopped
Curry Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - As per taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After they start spluttering, add chopped onions and fry till they become transparent.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and fry till they become soft. Add the diced eggplant, fry and cook covered for 5 minutes.
3. Add salt, curry powder, chilli powder and mix well. Cook covered till the eggplant is cooked.
4. Serve the quick eggplant stir fry with steamed rice or rotis.

Quick Mushroom Stir Fry

If you have cleaned and cut mushrooms, this recipe is a breeze through. All you need is a couple of spoons of diced tomatoes and cilantro.

Ingredients:
Mushrooms - 11/2 cup, cleaned and cut
Tomatoes - 1 small, finely diced
Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped/crushed
Curry Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Salt - As per taste
Oil - 2 tsp


Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and cook till they become soft.
2. Add the chopped mushrooms, curry powder and cook till the mushrooms are half done.
3. Add the crushed cilantro, mix well and cook till the water from the mushrooms evaporates.
4. Serve the quick mushroom stir fry with rotis and enjoy.

Banana Peppers Potato Fry

Banana peppers are widely available in most of the grocery stores here in US. Back in India, my mom used to make a simple banana peppers fry by adding roasted chana dal/daliya/poppula podi. Today I made a spice mix and used it to add flavor to the dish. I also added potatoes to it, you can even avoid using potatoes and make this dish using only the banana peppers. The banana peppers i used were a little spicy, so I added a little amount of chilli powder, it is better to taste the peppers while they are being cooked before adding chilli powder to the dish.

Ingredients:

Banana Peppers - 5, slit them open, discard seeds, finely chop them

Potatoes - 2, medium sized, finely diced

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp(adjust according to spice levels)

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - As per taste

For the Spice Mix:

Bengal Gram/Urad dal - 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Chana Dal - 1 tsp

Fenugreek Seeds - 8

- Dry roast all the ingredients, cool them and grind them

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan, add cumin seeds, after they start spluttering, add the chopped potatoes and banana peppers. Mix well, add a little salt and cover the lid.

2. Keep stirring in between, if needed sprinkle a little water.

3. Once the peppers and potatoes are 3/4 th cooked, add the ground spice mix, chilli powder and mix well.

4. Adjust the salt and cook covered till the potatoes and banana peppers are completely cooked through.

5. Serve the banana peppers potato fry with steamed rice or rotis.

Chayote/Bangalore Vankaya Fry

Today I made a very simple chayote fry and it turned out to be an instant hit. The addition of peanut powder accentuates the taste of chayote.

Ingredients:
Chayote - 2, medium sized, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
Onion - 1, small sized, finely chopped
Garlic - 3 large pods, finely chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Coriander/Cilantro - 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Roasted Peanut Powder - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds, once they splutter add the chopped onions and garlic. Fry till the onions become translucent.
2. Add the chopped chayote, turmeric powder and salt, mix well and cook covered. Stir in between.
3. Once the chayote is half cooked add the chopped chillies and cilantro, mix well and cook covered.
4. Once the chayote is cooked through, add the peanut powder, mix well and adjust the salt.
5. Serve the Chayote/Bangalore vankaya curry with steamed rice or rotis.

Dill Potato Stir Fry

My fascination with dill seems to be growing by the day. Here I am with one more recipe using dill leaves. A healthy and very simple potato stir fry with a hint of dill.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 3 medium sized, peeled and diced
Dill Leaves - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 11/2 tsp
Salt - As per taste

Method of Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add the diced potatoes.
2. Fry for a minute and cook covered till the potatoes are cooked through and turn slight brown(keep stirring in between).
3. Add the chopped dill leaves and fry for a minute.
4. Add the chili powder and salt, fry for 2 more minutes.
5. Serve the Dill Potato Stir Fry as a side dish with Rice or Roti.

Beans Talimpu

Fresh tender beans talimpu with hot rice is a perfect combination. There are a lot of ways in which beans talimpu can be made. Today I made using roasted chana dal/putnala pappu, the same way my mom makes at home.

Ingredients:

Beans - 1 pound (appx 1/2 kilo) (chopped and steamed)

Onions - 1 medium sized, roughly chopped

Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp(preferably fresh)

Grind to Powder:

Roasted Chana Dal/Putnala Pappu - 1/2 cup

Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp

Garlic - 1, roughly chopped

Salt - 1/2 tsp

For the Tempering:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 4-5

Method of Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, curry leaves. Once the seeds splutter add the onions and fry till the onions become translucent.

2. Add the steamed beans and some salt. Cook for 5 minutes

3. Add the shredded coconut and the roasted chana dal powder, mix well, adjust the salt and cook for 5 more minutes.

4. Serve the beans talimpu with warm rice or rotis.