Spinach gravy with Yogurt (पालकाचे अळण)

Servings: 3 people

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup toor dal, cooked

2 cups spinach, blanched

1 cup yogurt or buttermilk

2 tbsp gram flour or besan

7-8 garlic cloves

chilli powder

Salt as per taste

Seasoning:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard

a pinch of asafeotida

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

5-6 curry leaves

4-5 red chillies

Procedure:

Combine together blanched spinach with cooked dal  and mix well. Keep this aside. In a bowl, add yogurt and one cup water. Whisk it together into buttermilk. Add gram flour to buttermilk and mix it together until all lumps are removed. 

Heat a kadhai and add oil. Once the oil is heated, add asafoetida and garlic cloves. Stir fry the garlic cloves until they turn brown. Now add dal and spinach mixture. Add salt and chilli powder. Cook for a minute. Next add buttermilk and gram flour mixture. Stir it together. If the mixture is too thick, add more water till you get batter consistency. This mixture will thicken up on cooking. Adjust water as per the gravy consistency. Keep stirring the mixture continuously on medium flame. After about 5-7 minutes gram flour will get cooked. Turn off the heat.

You can do a second seasoning on this gravy to enhance the flavors. For seasoning, use mustard, asafoetida, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and a few red chilies. If you do not plan to do second seasoning, add all these ingredients during the initial seasoning itself.

This gravy goes well with rice or chapati. Instead of spinach, you can also use fenugreek (मेथी) leaves.

Mushroom Masala ( अळंबीची भाजी )

I started enjoying mushrooms recently. I have not experimented much with mushrooms yet, this is the only dish I cook. All these years, I never cooked them, for some reason, I thought they were heavy to digest. I remember eating mushroom flavored dish in a restaurant long back and having a tummy upset. Ever since then, I did not have mushrooms, even while ordering a dish at a restaurant, I would specifically ask them not to add mushrooms!
I am trying to cut dairy and oil from my diet, relying solely on plant based food to get all the nourishment. While doing grocery shopping, my husband picked mushrooms few months back, and I thought, "why not give it another try?"

So here I am, enjoying mushroom gravy now :)

I have used water based seasoning for this recipe, you can use oil instead, if you want to.

Ingredients:
6-8 white mushrooms, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp garam masala,
salt as per taste,
jaggery as per taste (optional)
coriander leaves for garnish

for grinding:
1/4 cup grated coconut,
a handful of cashew nuts, soaked
1/2 tsp jeera,


for seasoning:
2 tbsp water,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida,
1/2 tsp cumin or jeera,
1/2 tsp turmeric,
5-6 curry leaves
3-4 green chillies,
1/2 tsp grated ginger,
10-15 cashew nut pieces,

Serving: 2-3 people

In a heated kadhai (pan) add water for the seasoning. When the water starts bubbling up, add mustard seeds, asafoetida and jeera. Let it simmer for a minute. Add rest of the seasoning ingredients and cover it with lid for another minute. Now add chopped onion and mix well. Let it cook for 2 minutes, covering the pan with lid. Next, add diced tomatoes and stir. Let the tomatoes cook for 5 minutes. Add garam masala and sliced mushrooms. Cook for few more minutes. Next add salt, jaggery as per your taste and let the gravy simmer for some time until mushrooms are almost cooked.
Grind together coconut, cashew nuts and jeera with little bit of water to form a chutney consistency mixture. Add this coconut mixture to the simmering gravy. Adjust water in the gravy to get the required consistency. Simmer for 8-10 minutes. The curry will thicken with coconut and cashew paste mixture.

Enjoy this curry as a side dish or with rice or chapati. It goes well with bread too.

Colocacia Leaves gravy (अळूचं फतफतं / तेरं)

This is a popular Maharashtrian gravy, prepared especially during festivals. In Goa, we call this dish tera (तेरं). A simple, nutritious and tasty gravy dish.

Servings: 4-5 people

Ingredients:
2-3 medium sized colocasia leaves, finely cut, about 2 cups of chopped leaves
1/2 cup radish, finely cut
1/4 cup toor or yellow dal
a handful of peanuts
1 1/2 tsp of garam masala
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
2 tsp besan or chickpea flour
1 tsp red chili powder
1 1/2 tsp jaggery or as per taste
salt as per taste

For seasoning:
1/2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Soak peanuts in water for an hour. Soak tamarind in water for an hour and extract tamarind pulp out of it. Next, finely chop colocasia leaves and stem and radish. Wash toor (yellow) dal. Add colocasia leaves, radish and soaked peanuts to the washed dal. Add sufficient water and pressure cook for upto 3 whistles. While dal and other ingredients are getting cooked, dilue besan flour with water. Use very little water to make the besan flour paste. Keep it aside.

Once the dal is cooked and cooled down a bit, you can do the seasoning. In a heated kadhai, add oil and keep the stove on low flame. Once the oil is heated, add all the seasoning ingredients one by one. Next add cooked dal and colocasia mixture. Add red chilli powder, garam masala and tamarind pulp. Add salt and jaggery to the simmering gravy. Next add besan paste, stirring the curry while adding the paste. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Colocasia leaves gravy is ready to serve. It goes well with rice or jowar, bajra, ragi or rice bhakri (millet flatbread)

Tomato Saar (टोमेटोचे सार)

Ingredients:
3 medium sized tomatoes, cut into large pieces
1/2 inch ginger
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2-3 green chillies
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp jaggery (optional)
salt as per taste
5-6 coriander leaves

Servings: 4 people

In a flat vessel, boil tomato pieces, ginger and garlic cloves. Add about 2 cups of water. Boil for about 7-8 minutes till tomatoes turn soft. Let it cool for some time.

Grind together all the ingredients along with boiled tomato, garlic and ginger. On a gas stove, simmer this mixture for 10 minutes. Add jaggery while boiling the gravy. Adjust jaggery based on the sourness of the tomatoes. Add about 1 cup of water while boiling to adjust the consistency of the gravy.

This gravy tastes very good with rice or chapati or bhakri. It also can be served as hot soup.

Bhogichi Bhaji (भोगीची भाजी)

 Bhogi marks the beginning of Uttarayan. It is celebrated one day before Makar Sankranti. A special vegetable preparation is made on Bhogi day. I learnt this recipe from one of my friends.

Ingredients:
1/4 kg variety of beans - Field beans (पावटा), Green peas (मटार), Valor beans (पापडी), Green chickpeas (हरभरा)
2 small brinjal, diced (वांगी)
1 large potato, diced (बटाटा)
1 carrot, diced (गाजर)
6-8 jujube berry (बोरं )

Masala:
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup grated coconut or dried coconut
1/2 tbsp roasted groundnut powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp tamarind pulp (soak tamarind for half an hour and make the pulp)
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste
2 tsp mustard
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (A little more than usual)

Servings: 4-5 people

Dry roast sesame seeds and grated coconut. After it cools down, grind together in a mixer. Clean all the beans and wash thoroughly. In a large kadhai, heat oil and do the regular seasoning with mustard seeds, asafoedtida and turmeric powder. Now add carrots and all the beans and stir well. Let it steam for 1-2 minutes. Now add brinjal and potato and stir fry. Add sufficient water (around 1 cup) for cooking the vegetables. Along with water, add salt, jaggery, garam masala, sesame-coconut powder, groundnut powder, tamarind pulp. Adjust the water for required consistency of the gravy. It tastes good as dry vegetable as well as gravy. Cook it for 10-15 minutes until all vegetables are cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve this vegetable with hot Bajri bhakri with a dollop of homemade butter.

Thai coconut Curry (थाई करी)

I love thai food, the curries, salads, starters and peanut sauce ! I searched thai recipes on the net, but each of the recipe used fish sauce or some other non vegetarian condiment. After a while, I gave up searching and thought it is best to eat thai in a restaurant.

I was discussing thai food with my aunt. She told me an amazing recipe for thai coconut curry. She is vegetarian like me. She said she modified the ingredients to suit her taste.

Ingredients:

5-6 lemongrass leaves

1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic-chilli paste

1/2 cup broccoli florests, chopped

1/2 cup babycorn, sliced

1/2 cup paneer cubes (optional)

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup capsicum

2 cups coconut, grated

1 tbsp coconut milk powder (for added flavor)

salt as per taste

For seasoning:

2 tsp oil

Servings: 

4-5 people

Prepare lemongrass paste by adding little water. Strain the paste and keep aside. Adjust the chillies in the ginger-garlic-chilli paste to suit your taste buds. Extract coconut milk from the grated coconut, about 1 1/2 - 2 cups. In a kadhai, heat oil and saute ginger-garlic-chilli paste. Once the paste is stir fried, add vegetables of your choice. Cook for few minutes. Add lemongrass paste and salt. Add little water to cook the vegetables. Once the vegetables are slightly cooked, add coconut milk. In a bowl, dissolve coconut milk powder in sufficient water. Add this mixture to the kadhai. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Do not overcook it. Serve with hot steaming fragrant rice. 

Mixed Vegetable Gravy (भाज्यांचा रस्सा)

My daughter wanted to have potato gravy. I didnt have cauliflower, peas etc that are needed for potato gravy of her choice. I modified it a bit to make mixed vegetable gravy. You can add any vegetables of your choice. This gravy is made without using onion or garlic.

Ingredients:
4 medium sized potatoes, chunk sized pieces
1 large carrot, bite sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, bite sized pieces
3 small eggplants, bite sized pieces
2 capsicum, bite sized pieces
1 tbsp tamarind juice
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste
1 1/2 tbsp groundnut powder
finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder

For Seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves
4-5 fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

In a large kadhai, heat oil for seasoning. Add mustard, fenugreek seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Next add tomatoe pieces and stir well. Cover with lid and let it steam for a minute. Once the tomatoes have turned soft, add the remaining vegetables and stir well. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Now add garam masala and chilli powder and tamarind juice. Add about a cup of water and let the vegetables cook well. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and jaggery and stir well. Once all the vegetables are cooked, after about 5-7 minutes, add groundnut powder for a thicker consistency. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: You can add green chillies instead of red chilli powder. You can use coriander and cummin seeds powder instead of garam masala.