Veg Fried Rice

One terrific combo for most of the Indo-Chinese dishes is a fried Rice..be it Chicken, Seafood, Mixed, Veg or if you are an eggetarian, you mind the addition of egg in your version of Veg fried rice..Adding egg sure enhances the flavour of the dish. I made this fried rice go with my crab Manchurian for which I posted recipe earlier.

Ingredients:
4 - 6 Cups Cooked Rice(Preferably Basmati)
1 Egg -optional(omit if u are strict Vegetarian)
2 tsp cooking oil
5 Thai or regular Green Chillies Chopped.
1 big Onion cut length wise
2 Tbsp fresh ginger garlic paste or use freshly chopped

2 Cups choice of chopped veggies (Carrots, Cabbage, Green Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower)

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
A pinch of Ajinomoto(optional)
Salt to taste
Spring onions chopped, one half to add while frying and the other for garnishing.

Procedure:

In a wide pan, heat oil, sizzle green chillies.
Add Onions and cook till Onions are little cooked and crispy
Add ginger garlic paste and saute'
Add half of spring onions and saute'
Now add the Chopped veggies, some salt and stir the veggies till crispy and cooked, for 5 -7 mins or so,
Now make space in the pan to beat an and make it into scramble, adding enough salt for the egg.
Once the scramble egg is fried mix it with the rest of veggies.
Add ajinomoto if using.

Now add the cooked plain rice along with soy sauce.

Add enough salt again and mix well.
Garnish with spring onions if desired and remove from heat.


Enjoy with any Chinese preparation delicacy..

Okra in Special Masala

--aka Bendakaya Miriyalu Vepudu/Vendakkai Milagu Poriyal/Bhindi Kala Mirch Masala--
And we did it!!! Cheers to Indians all over the world. Oh!! what a win it was!!! From a losing state at one point to a stylish unbeaten finish showing the world that we are champions and proving that dedication and determination along with God's will can always give us success with dignity. India, you earned and deserved this Victory. Yes it was not an ordinary win as it comes with a morale "No matter how tough the situation is, though you may have to face a storm, "Never give up", keep trying till you reach your goal" As NDTV says we will be celebrating this happiness not a week or a month but may be for the whole year and perhaps be talking about it till the next world cup. LOL!!!
Well! though we may not want our world cup fever to fade, IPL is round the corner to take us cricket fans to a next swing.

Coming to the recipe today, inspired by my cousin in US who suggested me to blog veg recipes for the Lenten days, I'm going vegan for this month. And my very first one is this Special Masala Okra.For those of us who subscribe or stream Sun TV Tamil, must be regular viewers of Guinness record holder Chef Jacob's "Aha Enna Rusi" program, which airs Saturday afternoons. This recipe is a courtesy from their local kitchen segment. They actually called it Okra Pepper Masala Fry.

Different spices like, garlic, red chillies, black pepper, coriander along with channa dhal are ground coarse to make a special masala for this green veggie packed with nutrients. Then it is add to the tempered okra and cooked till done.
Special masala : Grind the following into a smooth powder
1 Tbsp Channa dhal
1 Tbsp - Coriander seeds
1 Tbsp - black pepper seeds/powder
4-5 Red chillies
4-5 Garlic cloves

Others :
1 Tbsp - Gingely/Sesame/Vegetable Oil
1 Lb - Okra/Ladies Finger, Mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp - Turmeric powder
Procedure :
Wash okra and pat them dry with a towel.
Remove ends and cut into one and a quarter inch pieces.
Keep aside.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok/pan and allow oil, mustard seeds to splutter.
Now add cut okra, fry a little.
Add turmeric powder and mix.
Now add salt and the special masala and fry till okra is cooked but still crunchy.
Enjoy with hot rice and sambar or roti.

Shallots in Tangy Stew or Small Onion Gravy

--AKA Sambar Vengayam kuzhambu/Chinna Ullipaya Pulusu--

Continuing the `Pulusu` special..this shallot gravy is yet another creation from my mom, which she use to frequent in my childhood. As a practise, I usually add shallots when I make sambar, but once in a while for a change I manage to make this spicy tangy onion gravy. The sweetness of  tendorly caramalized shallots is complimented by spice of red chilly powder and sour of  tamarind juice. The result one aromatic gravy that you can`t wait but to gobble with rice.

I must mention though, that the best sides for this gravy with plain rice are Boiled Stir fried Eggs, Fried dried salt Fish or if you don`t have them handy, our keeper papads/appalam would do. So friends and readers who have not yet attempted this south Indian, Andhra special gravy, don`t forget to pick a small bag of shallots when you grocer next, in an Indian/Asian store and try it for a change.


The recipe is no different from a regular tamarind gravy/pulusu/kuzhambu recipe. It more an idea of making the gravy with the main ingredient as the whole shallots.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb or  a small pkt of Shallots/sambar vengayam/chinna ullipayalu
1 Tbsp - oil
1/2 Tsp - Onion seeds/Kalonji
3-4 Green Chillies
10-12 Curry leaves
2 Tbsp -Tomato Puree
1 tsp - Red Chilly powder
1 tsp - Cumin powder
1 tsp - Coriander powder
Soak Lemon size Tamarind/Puli/Chintapandu ball in 2 cups hot water
Finely chopped coriander leaves - a small bunch

Method :
In a pan or kadai, add oil, when heated add Onion seeds.
Fry a little and then add the green chillies, shallots, curry leaves and keep stirring till onions turn their color.
Now add the tomato puree and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes.
Add all the masala powders, mix and cook another 2 minutes or till the mixture leaves the container.


Now squeeze the Tamarind/Puli juice from the soaked tamarind & water into the cooking mixture.
Mix this well and bring it boil,
Once the gravy seems to attain a good consistency add the coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Cabbage Pepper Tomato Curry

AKA Cabbage Miriyalu-Tamata Kura/Moottagose Milagu-Takali Kuttu
I am happy that I like this cancer fighting vegetable "Cabbage".
It is such a versatile vegetable that can be added in other soups as toppings, fried rice, made into a curry, added with some other ingredient to make a stir fry, used to make fritters, used in stews, pureed to make cabbage soup, make rolls and the list goes on.

Some south Indian cabbage dishes that I'm used to are, Cabbage with Coconut stir fry(Cabbaggee Kobbari), Cabbage with Spicy Pickle chutney(Cabbagee Karam), Cabbage with Channa Dhall (Cabbaggee Chennaga pappu), Cabbage Tomato(Cabbagee Tomata) whose one step up is the Cabbage Pepper Tomato Curry. Hope to blog some in the list in the near future.

Growing up never ate much when amma prepared any type of cabbage curry. It was always one of Aunt's and Granny's preparation of cabbage curry I preferred. This is one unique way Granny use to cook this vegetable. I have no clue how she thought of adding black pepper to a tomato based dish. But it works exemplary. Totally gives a new flavour to the regular Cabbage tomato curry.


Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1 half (chopped)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1 small
Green Chillies - 3 slit
Curry leaves - 8
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 3-4 or Tomato Puree/Crushed Tomato - 1 cup
or Tomato Paste 3-4 Tbsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - a small bunch

Procedure:
Add oil in a heated Kadai/Skillet, allow mustard to splutter and then add cut onions, green chillies, curry leaves and saute till onions turn slightly brown.
Add radish, chilly powder, salt, and mix well to give an even coat of all ingredients.
Sprinkle some water and cover with lid to cook the cabbage in the steam for about 15- 20 minutes. Keep mixing periodically and sprinkle more water if required.
Once the cabbage is almost cooked add the tomato puree, mix well.
Cook for another 5-7 minutes or till cabbage absorbs the tomato flavour.
Now add generous amount of black pepper powder and mix.
Add finely chopped coriander leaves just before removing from heat.
Serve this with rice or roti,