Subru Uncle S French Beans Aloo Ki Bhaji French Beans Pot Food

SUBRU UNCLE'S TOOR KI DAL(SINDHI STYLE) DAD, MOM AND I LOVE AND

Steps:

• Pressure cook the lentils (toor dal) in a pressure cooker alongwith 6 cups of water until the lentils are tender.
• Heat oil in a pot on medium-high flame.
• Once its hot, add mustard seeds, methi seeds and cumin seeds.
• Allow to splutter and crackle.
• Once they stop doing so, add in the curry leaves and ginger.
• Stir-fry for 5 minutes until the raw smell of ginger is gone.
• Add asafoetida powder and continue to stir-fry for another 5-7 minutes.
• Toss in the green chillies, mix well and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Then add in the tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water to cook the tomatoes.
• Mix well and cook on high flame until the tomatoes are softened.
• Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
• Mix well.
• Extract tamarind pulp from tamarind to use as tamarind water.
• To do this, soak about 3 inches piece of tamarind in 1 cup of hot water.
• Squeeze to extract the tamarind pulp and let it mix with the water to form'tamarind water' (that's what I call it).
• There is no need to pass this through a strainer- use it directly!
• Measure out 2/3 cup of tamarind water in a cup and add this tamarind water to the tomato mixture.
• Mix well and allow it to cook on medium-high flame for 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, open the pressure cooker (by this time the lentils will be tender and the whistle would have blown) and with the help of a beater/mashing tool (we use what we call a'mandira' in Hindi. This is a long wooden spoon with a round base that we use for mashing lentils, bananas, etc), in round circular motions, mash the lentils completely, until they mix with the water in which they were being cooked.
• Now add 5 cups of water alongwith the lentil and water mixture that was used to cook the lentils. Add the tamarind-tomato mixture, mixing gracefully, as you sing your favourite kitchen song side-by-side!
• Allow this to come to a boil.
• Lower flame and cook for 10 more minutes on a simmer.
• Remove from flame and serve immediately with cooked long-grain white Basmati rice.
• Serve hot (we serve it immediately because it doesn't taste very good once it gets cold) alongwith low-fat plain yogurt on the side for a complete wonderful Asian-Indian meal in rice and lentil curry heaven!
• My brother, Manav, says that my wud-be hubby is a lucky man cos I'll cook this for him and oh my, my bro adores this curry!
• Please note: If you have a sore throat, a running nose, fever, cough and cold, then PLEASE omit the tamarind altogether because using tamarind juice in this recipe when you have a bad throat, will only make your throat worse. This curry cooks awesome even without the tamarind juice. Enjoy!

SUBRU UNCLE'S SAI BHAJI (SPINACH THE SINDHI WAY)

Steps:

• 1. Buy 1 kg of spinach leaves and wash them thoroughly. Separate the leaves from the stalks. Chop the leaves finely to make 7 1/2 cups approximately of chopped spinach leaves.
• 2. Take channa dal in a bowl. Clean it to remove stones, dirt, etc. Wash it thoroughly and then soak it in plenty of water for 20 minutes. Drain before using for preparation.
• 3. Heat oil in a pot/pressure cooker.
• 4. Once it is hot, add cumin seeds and allow to crackle.
• 5. Once the cumin seeds stop crackling, add chopped ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for a few minutes or until the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.
• 6. Fold in chopped onions and chopped green chillies. Stir-fry until browned.
• 7. Add all the spice powders i.e. turmeric, red chilli and corriander powders.
• 8. Now add the drained channa dal. Mix well and stir-fry for five minutes on medium heat.
• 9. Fold in the cubed potatoes. Mix well and allow them to cook for 5 minutes.
• 10. Next add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook on medium-high flame until softened.
• 11. Fold in the chopped spinach leaves, ambut chukka and fresh dill leaves. Mix thoroughly.
• 12. Add salt to taste and a cup of water. Mix well.
• 13. Cover and allow to pressure cook for upto 4 whistles. If you are cooking this in a pot, then cover the pot and allow to cook on medium-high flame for about 45 minutes or until this appears to be very mushy.
• 14. Remove from heat and mash well. A good way to do this is to mash from all sides to the center gradually.
• 15. Mix in 1/2 cup of water.
• 16. Remove from flame and serve hot with Brown rice pulao.

ALOO BEANS (FRENCH BEANS AND POTATOES PUNJABI STYLE)

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add the cumin seeds, garam masala and ground cardamom and stir-fry 10 seconds more.
• Add the potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, salt and water. Bring to a boil and then drop to medium heat. Cover with a lid and cook for 9 minutes, stirring once a minute.
• Add the beans to the pot and cook until they are tender, stirring once a minute (5 minutes).
• Serve immediately.

SUBRU UNCLE'S SEVEN MIX VEGGIES DISH MADE FOR DIWALI DINNER

Steps:

• Boil the beans and potatoes in a pot of water. Drain and keep aside for the time being to be used in the recipe later.
• Put the garlic cloves, piece of ginger, cumin seeds, the bunch of fresh corrainder leaves and a little water in a mixer. Process until a smooth and strong smelling green marinade is obtained. Uncover and keep aside to be used later in the recipe.
• Heat oil in a wok.
• Once hot, add cumin seeds and allow to splutter.
• Once they stop spluttering, fold in the onions and stri fry until browned.
• Now add the marinade (paste) prepared in the mixer earlier and allow it to come to a boil.
• Lower flame, add the tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water.
• Increase heat and allow to cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes become slightly mushy.
• Now, heat 2 tbsps. of oil in a pot.
• Add the carrots and allow to cook on either side. Once the carrots are lightly browned, remove from heat and keep aside.
• Likewise, one at a time, add all the vegetables i.e. boiled and drained beans, peas, potatoes and cauliflower. Stir fry lightly until the veggies are lightly browned and remove from the pot.
• Now add all the fried veggies to the wok containing the tomato and marinade mixture. You may add a little water if you feel necessary to allow the veggies to cook.
• Lower heat to medium flame and allow to cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir the veggies every 3 minutes to ensure they do not stick to the bottom of the wok.
• Add corriander leaves for garnish.
• Remove from heat and serve hot with rotis or Indian flatbreads and a dollop of yoghurt or fresh cream on the side.
• Enjoy!