Kale greens with besan flour (पीठ पेरून हिरव्या केलची भाजी)

I tried cooking kale greens using Maharashtrian or Marathi ways. I used besan or chickpea flour with kale greens.

Ingredients:

1 bunch Kale greens (about 10-12 leaves),

1 small onion, vertically sliced

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1 1/2 tsp olive oil or any cooking oil

salt as per taste

1 1/2 tbsp besan or chickpea flour

Wash kale leaves thoroughly and drain the water. Cut the thick stems from the kale greens and chop the leaves into smaller chunks. 

Heat a kadhai on the gas stove. Add olive oil once the kadhai is hot. Add garlic cloves and sliced onion and saute them until onion is golden or brown. Next add kale greens and give it a good stir. Cook kale greens in 1 cup of water. Add chilly powder and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Now sprinkle besan or chickpea flour and mix well. With closed lid, let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. 

Kale greens vegetable can be served with Chapati or with rice as a side dish. 

Capsicum Besan Vegetable (पीठ पेरून सिमला मिरची)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg capsicum,
1/2 onion, vertically sliced
1/2 cup chana dal  or Besan flour,
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

For Seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
2-3 green chillies, vertically sliced
salt as per taste
1 tsp of jaggery (optional)

Servings: 3 people

Cut capsicum into medium sized pieces. Discard the seeds of the capsicum. Cut onion vertically. In a hot pan, add oil. Season with mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, green chillies. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Next add capsicum pieces. Mix well. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and jaggery (optional). Stir well and cook on low flame for another 5 minutes. Now sprinkle chana dal or Besan flour and mix well until the capsicum is uniformly coated with besan flour. If the vegetable looks very dry after adding besan flour, add about 1/2 tsp of oil to the pan.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the besan flour is cooked, stirring a few times in between to avoid burning the vegetable.

Serve with chapati or rice and dal as a side dish.

Bittergourd Vegetable (कारल्याची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg bitter gourds,
1 1/2 tsp garam masala,
1/2 tsp chili powder,
1 1/4 tsp tamarind pulp, extracted from soaked tamarind
1/4 cup peanut powder,
freshly grated coconut for garnish

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil, (a little more than regular quantity)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
4-5 fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Servings:
3-4 people

Clean bitter gourds by cutting it into half and scoop the seeds out by inserting a knife in the core and turning it in circular fashion. Clean the outer skin by smoothing the rough surface. Cut bitter gourd into round 1" pieces.  Sprinkle some salt over these pieces and cover it with lid. Leave it for 20 minutes. After about 20 minutes, the bitter gourd pieces will turn soft and watery. squeeze the water out of these pieces. This takes away bitterness of the gourd to some extent.

In a kadhai, heat oil and season with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder. Add bittergourd pieces to the seasoning and mix well.

Cauliflower Carrot Vegetable (फ्लॉवर-गाजर भाजी)

Ingredients:
1 cup cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup carrots, diced
little bit of ginger, julienne
1/2 tsp of cumin-coriander powder
salt as per taste
1/4 cup freshly grated coconut
1 tsp lemon juice

For seasoning:
1 1/2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
7-8 curry leaves
2 chillies, cut
1/2 tsp turmeric

Servings: 4 people

In a kadhai, heat oil for seasoning. Once the oil is heated, add mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida. Once the mustard seeds start spluttering, add curry leaves, chillies and turmeric. Give it a stir. Now add cauliflower florets and carrots. Mix well. Add little bit of water and cover with lid. Add salt, cumin-coriander powder, grated coconut and ginger. Let it cook on low flame for 5-10 minutes until the carrots and cauliflower is cooked. Add lemon juice once the vegetable is cooked and ready to serve.

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.

Alu Methi Bhaji (मेथी बटाट्याची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1 cup of methi or fenugreek leaves, finely cut
1 large boiled potato, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste
a small piece of jaggery as per taste (optional)

For seasoning:
1 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Servings:
3 people

Heat oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, and turmeric powder. Add chopped onion and stir fry till golden brown. Now add methi leaves and mix well. In about 1-2 minutes, the methi leaves will reduce in volume. Now add boiled potato wedges and mix well. Add garam masala, chilli powder, salt, jaggery and little water to the kadhai. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Alu methi is ready for serving.

Stuffed Bittergourd (भरलेलं कारलं)

Stuffed bittergourd is one of my favourite preparation of this vegetable. I found this recipe here and decided to try it out. I normally use coconut and groundnut based stuffing. I will make a separate entry for that recipe next time I make it.

Ingredients:
1/4 kg karela or bittergourd (5-6 small ones)

For stuffing:
1 medium sized onion
1/2 cup dry coconut
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tamarind pieces, soaked in water
jaggery as per taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric

Servings:
3 people

 Wash the bittergourds thoroughly and give a vertical slit along the vertical line. Do not cut into two pieces. Remove the seeds inside the gourd. Sprinkle salt over the slit bittergourds, mixing them well and leave them aside for 1/2 hour.

In a kadhai, dry roast dry coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds separately. Once it is cooled down, grind it together with all other ingredients listed for stuffing. Make a thick paste for the stuffing.

Stuff karelas with the stuffing and tie a thread around to keep it together. Heat oil in the pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida and haldi. Next add the stuffed karelas and stir them to coat with oil. Add the remaining paste to the pan. Add sufficient water and cover it with lid. After about 5-7 minutes, turn the karelas over. Again cover with lid and let it cook for another 7-8 minutes.

I carved the inside of an onion and stuffed it with leftover stuffing paste and added it to the pan while cooking karelas.

Suran Bhaji (सुरणाची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg Suran or Yam
1/4 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 red chillies
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt as per taste
little bit of jaggery as per taste (optional)
grated coconut for garnish

Serving: 2 people

Peel the skin off the yam and make wedges. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, cumin seeds and red chillies. Fry chillies for a minute and then add suran wedges. Stir fry and add about 1/2 cup of water to let it cook. Cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Add garam masala, salt and jaggery. Stir and cover with lid. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the wedges are cooked well. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Spring Onion Bhaji (कांदा पातीची भाजी)

Ingredients:
Spring Onion/Kanda paat 1 bunch - chopped
 1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste
Freshly grated coconut for garnish

For Seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Servings:
3 people

Wash and cut spring onion. In a kadhai, heat oil and add mustard to it. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida. Now add chopped spring onion and turmeric. Stir well and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. The spring onion will get cooked. Next add garam masala, chilli powder and salt and jaggery. Stir well and simmer until the jaggery is dissolved and masala, chilli powder are mixed well in the vegetable. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Optionally, you can add about 1 tbsp of gram flour or besan once the vegetable is cooked and mix well. Simmer for 2 minutes. Garnish with coconut before serving.

French Beans vegetable (फरसबीची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg french beans, cleaned and chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp chilli powder (or as per taste)
salt
jaggery
1 tbsp groundnut powder

For seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of jeera
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

In a kadhai, heat oil. Add mustard seeds to the oil. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add a pinch of asafoetida, jeera and turmeric powder. Now add the cut pieces of french beans. Stir well and cover it with lid. After 2 minutes, the beans will soften a bit. Next add garam masala and chilli powder, stir well. Add little water to cook the beans. Cover with lid. After 5 minutes, the beans will be cooked well. Season with salt and jaggery and stir well. Cover again with lid. After 2-3 minutes, add groundnut powder and mix well. Let it simmer for a minute. Turn the heater off. Garnish with freshly grated coconut and/or coriander leaves.

You can optionally add potato to this vegetable. Add cut potato to the kadhai after the seasoning, and before adding french beans.

Paneer butter masala (पनीर बटर मसाला)

This is my daughter's favourite dish. Every time I get paneer from the store, she asks me to make this dish. I found a simple recipe for paneer butter masala at this site. It is quick and easy.

Ingredients:
200 gms of paneer cubed
3 medium sized tomatoes pureed
1 1/2 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup cashewnuts soaked
1 tsp of garam masala
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
1/2 tsp of butter and oil for frying
coriander leaves for garnish
fresh cream for garnish (optional)
Salt as per taste

Serves:
3 people

Add butter and oil to the kadhai. Add 1-2 bay leaves and shallow fry paneer cubes. Keep them aside once done. In the same kadhai, fry ginger garlic paste. Next add tomato puree and stir fry until it leaves oil from the side. Now add red chilli powder and garam masala. Grind the soaked cashew nuts to form a paste. Add this paste to the kadhai and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until it leaves oil from the side. Now add about 1 cup of water to the curry. Add sale and stir the curry well. Let it simmer for some time till the curry thickens a bit. Finally add fried paneer cubes and simmer for a minute. Garnish with fresh cream and chopped coriander leaves.