Tag: Potato

Aloo Pyaaz Paratha

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This post is me paying homage to my Punjabi genes. What’s more Punjabi than a butter laden Aloo Paratha ?

They also happen to be part of my favourite childhood memories. Mum used to give us different types of parathas for school lunches. This was a way my mum used to incorporate vegetables in our diet. The most common fillings were curried potatoes, carrot mint, gram flour pickle, paneer (cottage cheese), mix vegetable. I have even had lauki (bottle gourd) bhurjee paratha. Yep! that’s how creative she got once.

Quick note to self – Should share my grandma’s recipe for Lauki Bhurjee!

It’s amazing that how after all these years as a kid fussing over these and looking at these menu options as annoying. Life takes a full circle and here I am, reminiscing and longing for those same old things. How I crave these in my office lunch.

My mum has a grin on her face when I Skype her and say that I miss those methi theplas (Thin Fenugreek Flatbreads) and Gobi (Cauliflower) parathas she makes. I insist she feed me these when I go back home.

So when mum was the gobi parathas and methi thepla making queen, I found the best aloo parathas made by Bahadur Bhaiya. He is a star when it comes to making these flaky pockets of joy.

Doused with butter and relished with mango pickle and cold yoghurt, this meal is what epicurean dreams are made of. See here:

Paratha

Think I got carried away, ask any one hailing from Punjab and they would tell you how critical it is to find an eatery or a person who dishes out delicious parathas.

No trip of ours to Delhi is complete without a visit to the epic “Parathane Wali Galli” in Old Dilli. It’s a ritual me and Sahil follow religiously, we have to go to Old Dilli for a paratha breakfast.

There gorge on aloo pyaaz parathas, papad parathas (yes! there is such a thing), bedmi aloo, Daulat ki Chaat, Jalebi with Rabdi, Malai Kulfi Falooda and the works!

Ahh! Just the mere mention of these delicacies make me salivate. Let’s move on to the recipe.

Ingredients
Makes : 6 Parathas

For Stuffing:
3 potatoes boiled and mashed
1 large onion finely chopped
1 brunch spring onion stems finely chopped
Handful of finely chopped fresh coriander / mint
1 tsp carrom seeds
1 1/2 tsp anardana powder
2 green chillies finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (optional)
1 tsp chaat masala
Salt to taste

For Parathas:
Whole wheat dough
Canola oil for frying

For the stuffing, boil potatoes in salted water. Peel them and proceed to mash the potatoes with help of a fork once they have cooled down.

Mashed Potatoes

Add all the dry spices, onion, green chilly, coriander, mint to the mashed potatoes and mix them well.

Aloo Paratha 1

Make small balls from the rested wheat dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface.

Aloo Paratha 2

Add the potato stuffing in the centre, seal the dough ball and flatten it out.

Aloo Paratha 3

Aloo Paratha 5

You could also use your finger tips to flatten the dough ball.

Aloo Paratha 4 5

Heat a tawa, lightly brush some oil on the surface and place the rolled out paratha on the tawa.

Cook it well on one side and flip over, brush some oil on both the sides and edges as you allow the paratha to get a even brown color.

Aloo Paratha

Serve straight from the tawa to the plate with a generous dollop of butter, mango pickle, mint chutney, pickled onions and raita.

Aloo Paratha 4

That’s how butter soaked the paratha is for husband extraordinaire Sahil.

Until next time happy cooking!

Aloo Jeera – Potatoes with Cumin

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Some days you crave the same old good old classic home cooked recipe! Aloo Jeera or potatoes tempered with cumin seeds and spices are a staple side dish in most Punjabi households.

I guess potatoes find their place place in every pantry. I even go through some of my own “can’t-do-without-my-aloo” days. My Punjabi genes dominating, I set one such evening post work to settle for a simple dinner of Dal Tadka tempered with rai and jeera, Jeera Rice and Aloo Jeera.

Thali

Err! Isn’t this too much of cumin for one evening ? I know I must be high on cumin!

I vividly remember this fine evening as I roasted cumin, the entire house smelled divine. I had some lovely Indian classical instrumental music playing in the background, sipping chai along the way, I ground the freshly roasted cumin and couldn’t help but add that on to every thing I set to cook eventually.

Aloo Sabzi

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 large potatoes diced & parboiled
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
Salt to taste
Handful of parsley finely chopped

In a wok, heat some oil. Add green chillies, mustard seeds and cumin seeds to the same and let it sizzle.

Now add the ginger followed by potatoes and the dry spices.

Cook until the potatoes have softened and have a roasted texture.

Add lemon juice and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

Voila! My dinner table looked lovely. Until next time happy cooking.

Aloo Mutter – Potatoes & Pea Stew

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Simple meals are sometime the trickiest to create. Many a days all you are left with is limited pantry staples. That for me would be canned chickpeas, herbs, dried pasta, potatoes, ginger, garlic, onion and tomatoes.

Either one of these said ingredients needs to be replenished, in order for me to make the run to the supermarket. These days my run to the supermarket is slightly different, I mostly visit the Fruits and Vegetable Market.

It gives me immense pleasure to get the fresh produce straight from the market, not your fancy farmer’s market setup but very economical. I have made some friends with a few stall owners who provide me with their freshest produce of the day. One stall owner Mehran whom we visit for buying greens and herbs, keeps stock of basil and spinach handy for me. He knows I visit Saturdays.

I have successfully been able to slash my grocery budget substantially. Moving on to the recipe of home style Aloo Mutter served with Jeera Rice and yogurt.

Aloo Mutter

Cooking Time : 25 minutes
Ingredients

3 tsp canola oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp carrom seeds
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 onions finely chopped
300 ml tomato puree / 2 tomatoes finely chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas thawed
2 cups diced potatoes
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chaat masala
3 cups water
Salt to taste
Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped to garnish

In a pressure cooker, heat some oil, add cumin seeds.

Let it splutter, add carom seeds followed by onions. Once cooked, add minced ginger and garlic and tomatoes, cook them well.

Add dry spices, salt and then the potatoes to the mix. Blend well, add water as required.

Close the lid and pressure cook until there are 2-3 whistles. Uncover after a while and garnish with some freshly chopped coriander.

Aloo Mutter1

Serve with fluffy rotis or Jeera Rice. Until next time happy cooking!

Pav Bhaji

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Pav Bhaji

Mumbai monsoons have arrived, said my dad with a chuckle and that we had a long chat reminiscing about how I used to love jumping in puddles of water as a kid when it used to rain! Given the opportunity, I still do 😛

We discussed how the average Mumbaikar’s idea of a good monsoon outing is visiting Juhu beach, eating gola, also known as chuski or shaved ice on a stick submerged in flavored food colored water and downing plates of bhel puri, dahi batata puri and of course the iconic Juhu beach Pav Bhaji.

We got nostalgic about our picnics there when I was a kid, the scary fall I had when horse riding or making sand castles. They were good fun times!

If you visit Mumbai, it is an important to-do in travel iternarary. Over the years the place has been very crowded and now it’s been many years I have not visited Juhu beach. I prefer Worli Seaface instead for the quiet there and listening to the waves!

Below is my take on the Pav Bhaji!

Prep Time : 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients
6 medium potatoes boiled and mashed
1/2 cup green peas
1 1/2 cup caulifower florets
2 green chillies finely chopped (optional)
5 tsp canola oil
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
3 cloves garlic finely grated
6 tomatoes finely chopped
50 ml tomato paste
1 large capsicum finely chopped
2 1/2 tsp pav bhaji masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
5-6 tsp butter
Coriander leaves for garnish
A few wedges of lemon

In a pressure cooker, boil the potatoes in salted water. Once cooled, mash them with a potato masher or with a fork. Set it aside.

Cauliflower - Peas Mash

In a pot, blanch caulifower florets and peas and give them a cold bath once out.

Cauliflower - Peas Mash 1

In a food processor, just blend them together to bread crumb consistency. Do not add any water to the blender. Set it aside.

Pav Bhaji - Prep

The key to making great pay bhaji is being sorted with the prep beforehand. The dish comes together quickly this way.

Let get started!

Traditionally, bhaji is cooked on a flat disc shaped iron tawa (griddle) but I had to do with a humble kadhai in my rental kitchen.

Pav Bhaji2

In a kadhai, heat some oil and add green chillies. Once it sizzles, add the ginger and garlic followed by the onions and cook them until they are translucent.

Pav Bhaji 3

Please note traditionally not many people use green chillies in the pav bhaji and use red chill paste instead. I did not have red chillies on hand and hence went for green chillies.

Pav Bhaji5

To the onions, add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Once mushy, add tomato paste, it lends a good consistency to the mix and also gives a deep red color. Cook them well.

Pav Bhaji6

Add chopped capsicum, sautee for a while and add the cauliflower and peas to the mixture.

Add pav bhaji masala, coriander powder, red chilly powder, turmeric and salt to taste. Blend the ingredients well with some water.

Add mashed potato to the mixture and mix well. Keep adding water to the mixture as required.

Add dollops of butter and season well with salt, let it simmer for a while. Usually I use Lurpark or Ellie & Vier butter but for pav bhaji I bring out Amul butter.

Amul butter is just synonymous with Juhu beach style pav bhaji and is like a staple ingredient in every kitchen when making pav bhaji or maybe just me!

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and some more butter.

Prepare this dish when you feel like indulging and need not worry about the pav maska maar ke! (Indian bread with extra butter)

To have the pav with the bhaji, on a tawa just add butter and roast the pav in the buttery goodness for a few minutes until they have evenly browned.

Pav

You can buy good pav at the bakery section of Lulu or even try the portuguese rolls available at Waitrose.

Serve with dollops of butter on the side, lemon wedges and finely chopped onion.

Pav Bhaji1

I hope you relish this as much as I did. Until next time, happy cooking! 🙂

Vrat Wali Kadhi

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In continuation with last few posts on food to be eaten during fasts, here’s a recipe for Kadhi. Kadhi is a North Indian dish made with buttermilk and tempered with spices.

Everyone has a different approach to making kadhi, here’s how I make it. I like the consistency to be really thick. Unlike the usual kadhi made with gram flour, since I made this during Navratris, this one is with rajgira flour and added peanut powder to give the kadhi a smooth creamy texture.

Kadhi

Prep Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup full fat yoghurt
4-5 cups water
3 tsp rajgira aata / Amarnath grain flour
1/4 cup powdered penut powder
5 tsp oil
10 curry leaves
2 green chillies finely chopped
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
a pinch of turmeric (optional)
Rock salt to taste

In a bowl, whisk yoghurt and add rajgira flour and rock salt to taste with water and mix well.

Add turmeric if you use turmeric during fasting.

On medium heat, take oil in a wok and add cumin seeds followed by curry leaves and green chillies. Let them sizzle for a minute.

Add peanut powder and roast it well on low heat for 2 minutes.

Add coriander and cumin powder and mix it well.

Add the yoghurt mixture to the wok and keep stirring it till the mixture thickens.

This should take 10-15 minutes. Take off heat and serve with rajgira roti and potato sabzi.

I once had 2 boiled potatoes on hand. I just diced them and shallow fried on a pan, seasoned them and added the potatoes to this kadhi. The result was good enough!

Garnish with roasted cumin powder and serve with a smile!

Rajgira Roti

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I am sharing the recipe for the very simple to make Rajgira roti / flatbread. It is again recipe which can be had while you are fasting.

Rajgira is also known as Amarnath grain flour. In Dubai, the flour is easily available in Al Adil supermarkets.

Rajgira Roti

Serves : 4

Ingredients
3 large potatoes boiled and mashed
2 cups rajgira aata / Amarnath grain flour
2 tsp roasted peanut powde
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp carrom seeds
1 tsp finely chopped green chillies (optional)
1 tsp cumin powder
Water as required
1 tsp oil

Boil potatoes in salted water. Ensure to use rock salt since it is a fasting recipe.

Let the potatoes cool for a while and then just mash them with a fork.

Add rajgira flour, peanut powder, coriander powder, green chillies, carrom seeds, cumin powder and mix well.

Use some water as need be and bind the dough. It should be a stiff dough.

Add oil once the dough is come together and knead for a bit.

Rajgira Roti

Let the dough rest for 10-15 mins. The texture of the dough is too crumbly hence you would not get perfectly round rotis.

Make small balls of the dough and flatten it out on a well floured surface.

On a hot tawa (Indian griddle) cook the roti on each side on medium heat for a few minutes.

You will be required to brush the roti with a little oil so that it does not stick to the tawa.

Once the roti has acquired a nice brown even color, take off heat.

Serve with Vrat Kadhi or Potato Sabzi.

Aloo Ki Sabzi – Spicy Potato Curry

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Potatoes are such a versatile ingredient to work with. From making Fries, patties, hash browns to making Pav Bhaji, you can adapt this crop to whatever catches your fancy.

For a simple weekend lunch, I made this spicy and tangy potato curry and served it with some chapatis. A quick assorted salad and raita on the side make it a complete meal.

Serves : 4
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 large potatoes boiled and cubes
1 large onion finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies broken in half
8-9 curry leaves
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1 cup water
4 tsp tomato paste
Salt to taste
4 tsp canola oil
Handful of fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Let them cool and peel the outer skin, chop the boiled potatoes in cubes.

Heat oil in a wok, add cumin and mustard seeds. Once they start to crackle, add red chillies and curry leaves.

Let them sizzle for a while, add ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute until the raw flavor diminishes.

Add onions and cook them until they are translucent.

Add tomatoes and cook them for a few minutes.

Add tomato paste to this mixture and cook until it leaves out a ring of oil on the sides of the wok.

Masala1

Add all the dry masalas to this mixture and cook for a minute.

Add boiled potatoes and let it stand in the mixture so that it absorbs the masalas well.

Masala

Slowly add water to the potato mixture, you can choose to use less or more water as per the consistency desired for the gravy.

Cover the wok and let the curry cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring the mixture.

Take it off the heat and garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Spicy Potato Curry

Serve this with rotis or rice as per your preference.