VEGETABLE CASHEW MASALA

Hi All,

Hope you all had a great weekend. On my side, it was busy as my daughter's Birthday is coming up so, running here and there making all the arrangements and purchases for the party. The recipe that I am posting is straight from my mother's kitchen. She is an awesome cook and the best part is that she makes it look so easy. This one is again a side dish for Roti's and Chapathi's and its called


CASHEW MASALA

INGREDIENTS

MIXED VEGETABLES: POTATOES, PEAS, CARROTS, CAULIFLOWER, BELL PEPPERS ( Half a cup each, overall 2-3 cups)
OIL
SALT AS REQUIRED
TURMERIC POWDER : A PINCH

FOR THE GRAVY

TOMATO: 1 BIG OR 2 SMALLCASHEWS : AROUND 15 SOAKED IN WATER FOR 10 MINS
RED CHILLI'S: 4-5
CORIANDER SEEDS: 4 TSP
CORIANDER LEAVES: A HANDFUL
GINGER: 1 TBSP OR 1 SMALL PIECE
GARLIC: 1-2 CLOVES
CUMIN SEEDS/JEERA : 1/2 TSP

Vegetable Cashew Masala

MAKING

Cut all the vegetables into small cubes and boil them with a little bit of salt and turmeric powder until soft and set aside. Grind all the Masala ingredients with the Tomato in the blender into a nice smooth paste (chutney consistency).

Take a kadai, pour a Tsp of oil. Add some Mustard seeds. Once it splutters, pour in the masala paste and stir them for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell of the masala is gone. Finally, add all the boiled vegetables with a little bit of salt and stir them again for 5 minutes. Switch off the gas once the vegetables have mixed well with the gravy . Granish with a blob of butter on top and your delicious Cashew masala is ready to serve..

TOMATO CHUTNEY

Hi all,

Hope you all had a great weekend. So, Last week I had made Uthappam with the left over maavu/batter and so came up with it but then again it required a side dish. The best thing about Maavu/Batter is that you can make Idli, then dosa and if theres any leftovers, we can make delicious Uthappam. The best side dish in my opinion, for this is Tomato chutney so that's the recipe I am going to share today. Its easy to make and simple yet works very well with Uthappam's, Dosas and the likes ...

TOMATO CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS

TOMATO : 2
DRY RED CHILLIES: 3
GINGER : 1 SMALL PIECE
CURRY LEAVES : 10-12
COCONUT GRATED : 2-3 TBSP
MUSTARD SEEDS :1/2 TSP
OIL
SALT AS REQUIRED


Tomato Chutney

MAKING

Fry red chillies, curry leaves and Ginger in a tsp of oil until light brown and add the tomatoes. In a Blender/Mixer, add the above fried ingredients with coconut and salt and grind them into a nice pasts. Finally, season it with spluttered mustard seeds and curry leaves. Serve at room temperature with hot Uthappam's or freshly made Dosa's...Enjoy

Variations: You can add a couple of small oinions for flavor. Fry it along with the red chillies, ginger and curry leaves and grind along with the rest mentioned above.

PALAK-GAAJAR MASALA

Hi All,

Thank you all for the wonderful and encouraging response to my blog, really appreciate it. So, decided to make Chapathi's the other day and you know, its always a struggle to come up with different Side- dishes for it frequently. In an utter indecisive state, thought of making a side dish that I had seen on TV. This side dish comes from the state of Uttar Pradesh. The interesting thing about the dish is the making because its different and you will see that when you read the making instructions. So, here it goes. I have decided to name it

PALAK-GAAJAR MASALA

INGREDIENTS

ONIONS: 1
TOMATO PUREE : 1/2 CUP OR 1/2 TOMATO
PALAK/SPINACH : 1/2 CUP (BLANCHED)
CARROT: 1/2 CUP (BOILED)
PEAS: 1/2 CUP (BOILED)
BAY LEAF: 1
CARDAMOM : 2
DHANIA POWDER/CORIANDER POWDER: 1 TSP
RED CHILLI POWDER : 1 TSP
SALT AS REQUIRED
GHEE : 2 TBSP
FRESH CREAM : 2 TBSP



Palak-Gaajar Masala

MAKING

Firstly, Boil the Onions in water and grind into a nice paste. Also boil all the vegetables and keep them aside. Take a pan, add 2 tbsp Ghee, bay leaf, and cardamom.When its hot, add the onion paste and stir them until you see the oil separating and to take out the raw smell of the onions. Now, add some Chilli powder and Dhania powder and stir for a a few seconds before adding the tomato puree/tomato and again cook them until the oil separates from the pan. Add salt and  finally add the boiled/blanched vegetables and cook till the veggies have blended well with the rest of the gravy. Garnish it with fresh cream and serve hot with rotis/naan's. Trust me, its delicious.

VARIATIONS: You can also add vegetables like corn/beans if you want. You can blanch the spinach by cooking it in hot water and making it soft.Not too much as spinach cooks fast so just until it becomes soft. The dish would be milder and not so high on the spicy side. Do try it.