Subru Uncles Sai Bhaji Spinach The Sindhi Way Food

A RAMCHANDANI SPECIAL: SUBRU UNCLE'S TRADITIONAL SINDHI CURRY MO

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes in plenty of water until tender, drain and keep aside.
• In the meantime, heat oil in a pot.
• Add fenugreek (methi) seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Once it stops crackling and turns lightly golden brown, add cumin seeds and allow to crackle.
• Once it stops crackling, add 10-15 fresh curry leaves, green chillies and ginger.
• Mix well and stir-fry until the raw smell of ginger is gone.
• This takes about 5 minutes.
• Then add gramflour and stir-fry it for 20 minutes, mixing it continuously, on low flame, until it is no longer raw taste-wise.
• (Note: Use 5 tsps. heaped of gramflour).
• Add the remaining 10 fresh curry leaves alongwith asafoetida powder.
• Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes on high flame.
• Stir in water, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
• Add tomatoes, yam and flat Indian beans (guavar).
• Bring to a boil.
• Lower flame, add 4 tsps.
• of salt and mix well.
• Allow the curry to come to a boil twice (two times) again.
• In the meantime, soak the ladyfinger with 1 tsp.
• of salt in 1 cup of tamarind water (see the following steps to know how to make it).
• Bring this to a boil.
• This step is done so as to ensure that the ladyfinger will not break while cooking in the curry.
• (This is a special tip passed on to me from Subru uncle!).
• Add all the chopped vegetables now alongwith the ladyfinger mixture (add the water as well in which you boiled the ladyfinger), mix well and boil for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, soak about 3 inches of tamarind in 1 cup of hot water and squeeze out the pulp from the tamarind as nicely as you can.
• Measure out 1 cup of this pulp.
• This pulp is what I call'tamarind water'.
• Note that the consistency of this tamarind water should be such that it consists more of tamarind and less of water.
• Now add this tamarind water to the curry.
• Boil for 30 minutes.
• Remove from flame, garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with cooked long-grain Basmati rice and/or low-fat plain yogurt for a complete meal in Asian-Indian curry and veggie food heaven!
• Please note: When we prepare this curry at home (every Friday for lunch this is a staple in my home!), we do not use carrots and white pumpkin, that's why I have mentioned these as optional ingredients.
• You can use them if you wish to.
• ENJOY!

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!

SAIBHAJI(SPINACH WITH LENTIL)-A CLASSIC INDIAN(SINDHI) DISH.

Steps:

• In A Bowl mix chanadal with 2 cups water rinse dal using your hand to get rid of any starch or residue on dal two to three times changing and rinsing out the water.Than let it soak in 2 cups water for 30 minutes.Set it aside.
• Grease A stockpot bottom with 2 teaspoon oil,spread a layer of onions,top with a layer of just chanadal(Not the Water),top that with layer of diced tomatoes,repeat layers until finished.Add Ginger,Cayenne pepper or Serrano chillies,salt,turmeric powder and thawed spinach and Dill(if you are using it).Add the water in which dal (Lentils)was soaked,add more water if needed to bring water level just above the level of ingredients.Cover cook on medium high for 35-40 minutes.
• Uncover the pot give a thorough stir,check if lentil is so tender that it could be mashed easily,if not add water if needed,stir cook for another 10-15 minutes on medium heat.Uncover,using a whisk mash every thing gently not to make a paste just to crumble lentil a bit.Taste add salt,pepper if needed,add mango powder or lime juice,mix it well,lower the heat to low.
• In a frying pan heat the remaining 2 teaspoon oil on medium high,add garlic.
• stirring until garlic golden brown but not burnt(As burnt garlic will give bitter taste),add it to the main dish,stir,heat it covered half way on medium high heat until water has evaporated. Serve with Basmati Rice,Chapati with side of peeled and sliced radishes.(In India we seve it with Muli).

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.

SUBRU UNCLE'S PAO-BHAJI

Steps:

• Boil the first seven ingredients(that is, all the veggies), covered, in a very large pot for 30 minutes on high flame or until they are extremely soft (they should be so soft that they break at the slightest touch).
• In the meantime while the veggies are kept to boil, heat 4 tbsps. of oil in a very large sized pot.
• Add 2 tsps. of cumin seeds when the oil is hot.
• Allow the seeds to crackle.
• Once they stop crackling, add ginger, garlic, onion and green chilli.
• Stir-fry on high flame until the masala becomes very dry and starts leaving the sides of the pan (When it is so dry that it appears almost black in colour, that means it is ready. DO NOT burn it, keep stir-frying continuously until it gets very very dry).
• Add pav-bhaji masala powder and turmeric powder to the onion-ginger mixture in the pot.
• Mix well and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Remove this pot from flame.
• By now, the veggies would have become extremely soft.
• Remove from flame and with the help of a pounding stone (known as"mandira" in Hindi), mash the veggies extremely well.
• Add the mashed veggies mixture to the prepared masala in the very large pot.
• Stir in a little over 1/4 cup of water.
• Mix well.
• Garnish with corriander leaves, onion rings, ginger juliennes and 2 lemons (halved).
• Serve hot (we like to have it immediately once it's ready) with pao (that's the actual accompaniment to this vegetarian dish) or with white bread or brown bread or parathas (this will go very well with my Pudina/Mint Parathas) or cooked long-grain Basmati rice.
• Enjoy!