Breakfast day 2: Sabudana khichdi

After hubby's favorite, its time for my all time favorite! This is one item which I can never get tired of eating. During first few months of my pregnancy I had developed an aversion to food with sabudana being an exception. I used to crave for warm sabudana khichdi and guess that's the reason my lil one loves it too-'Mumma, I like rolling, rolling bery much...:)'

As with poha, the first characteristics of a good sabudana khichdi is the same-
-Should be soft, must melt in your mouth but cannot be mushy
-Should have that quintessential  sweet and sour taste
-Should not be dry or chewy

The key to making just the right khichdi is how you soak it. Soak in a wide flat bottomed vessel. Water level should be just half an inch above the sabudana level.

Ingredients:

1 and a half cup of sabudana

2-3 green chillies-chopped
Medium sized potato-finely chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts- crushed (peanuts with skin are preferred as they give a nice brown color to khichdi)
Oil/ghee- 1 tblsp
jira- 1tsp
sugar- 3 tsp
black pepper - to taste
ginger-1 inch grated
salt to test
Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves-chopped (for garnishing)
Lemon juice-to taste

Method:

1. Wash sabudana and soak in water overnight. 
2. Heat oil in a wide bottomed pan, add jeera.
3. Add green chillies, saute for few seconds, then add finely chopped potatoes and some salt. Saute for few minutes till they are soft.
4. If using potatoes add at this point, cover and cook till they are soft.
5. Lower the heat, add crushed peanuts, sabudana, salt, sugar and black pepper.
6. Saute for few minutes and turn off the heat.
7. Squeeze some fresh lemon and garnish with cilantro.

Breakfast day 1: Poha

I start this series with Poha of course, being married to an Indori its hard to think of any other most popular morning meal :)

An ideal poha -

• -should be soft, but not mushy.
• -should have flavor, but not spicy.
• -should have crunch but should not be over crowded.

There are number of ways people make poha, I am presenting the simplest and quickest method.

 

Poha in its most pristine form!!!
 

Ingredients:

2 cups thick poha

1/2 cup red onion -chopped(save some for garnishing)
2-3 green chillies-chopped
half of a medium sized potato-chopped (optional)
1 tblsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
sugar- 2 tsp
salt to test
Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves-chopped (for garnishing)
Lemon juice-to taste

Method:

1. Wash poha in running water in a wide flat bottomed dish. After straining the water add a little(2-3 tablespoons of water) and keep it aside. (The key to making soft poha is to let it soak in a little water, this will not make poha mushy but will help it to absorb water and get softer)
2. Heat oil in a wide bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and let it sputter. (Do not substitute mustard seeds for jira, also make sure oil is hot enough before you add the seeds)
3. Add green chillies, sautee for few seconds, then add onion and some salt. Sautee for few minutes till onions lose the crunch.
4. If using potatoes add at this point, cover and cook till they are soft.
5. Lower the heat, add poha, salt and sugar, mix well.
6. Cover the pan, turn off the burner and let poha sit for few minutes. The steam inside will make all the flavors combine and the trapped steam will keep the poha soft.
7. Squeeze some fresh lemon on poha and garnish with cilantro, chopped red onion and spicy sev.

Notes:

• Red onion is the most ideal to cook and garnish on poha. I find white and yellow onion totally tasteless, colorless and without any texture.
• Do not overcrowd your poha with potatoes, peanuts, corn, anardaana. Using only one of the crunch items should be enough.

The ultimate secret of making a good Breakfast: LESS IS MORE

On popular demand, starting the breakfast series on the blog. Its no secret that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But with busy lifestyle, these days more and more people are bending towards cereal or butter toasts in the morning.

Fortunately (or unfortunately ;)) hubby is very sentimental for a good hot breakfast. My mom also used to make great items daily morning.

Its a myth that hot breakfast takes lot of time. You can fix a good one in less than 15 min because the good thing about this meal is "LESS IS MORE."

Do not overcrowd the breakfast items with too many spices or other ingredients. Keep it simple.

There is no compulsion to use all the spices in your kitchen every time you cook. Save your coriander powder, garam masala, chilli powder for more complex meals of the day.

In the morning, stomach does not need all the spicy stuff, all it needs is some inviting, hot mini meal which will keep you full till lunch.

Presenting 7 great items for all of your week, now it shouldn't be that difficult to fix that yummy nummy morning treat :)

Mirch ki subzi (Long Green pepper sautee)

Time for a super easy Marwari subzi. I have used long green peppers for this, alternatively green bell pepper can also be used.

 

Ingredients:

 

3 long green peppers(or 3 bell pepper)- finely chopped

Oil - 1 tbsp.

Mustard seeds (Rai) – 1 tsp

Asafoetida (Hing) – 1 pinch

Turmeric (Haldi) – ¼ tsp

Green chili – thinly sliced (optional)

Salt - to taste

Chick pea flour (besan) – 1 tblsp
 

 

Method:

   

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame.
2. Add Mustard Seeds and let them sputter.
3. Add Asafoetida, Turmeric, and Green Chili.
4. Add peppers, salt and sautee for a minute.
5. Cover and cook for about 4-5 min on low-medium flame.
6. Uncover and add chickpea flour, sautee for 3-4 minutes or until the raw aroma of flour is gone.
7. Turn off the burner, your subzi is ready! 

Chopped chilies

Long green chilly pepper




Patta gobi ki sabzi (Cabbage sautee)

Taking a break from curries, here is a simple cabbage subzi. I like cooking cabbage in South Indian style, it is so simple yet so delicious. A great break from north indian spices to indulge in the aroma of coconut and curry leaves.

 

Ingredients:

 

Cabbage - 4 cups finely chopped

1/4 Red onion- finely chopped

Oil - 1 tbsp.

Mustard seeds (Rai) – 1 tsp

Asafoetida (Hing) – 1 pinch

Turmeric (Haldi) – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

1 inch Ginger – grated

Red chili [whole] – 1 or 2, to taste

Green chili – thinly sliced, to taste

Salt - to taste

Fresh shredded coconut or coconut powder – 2 tsp

 

Method:

   

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame.
2. Add Mustard Seeds and let them sputter.
3. Add Asafoetida, Turmeric, Red Chili, Curry Leaves and Green Chili.
4. Add onion and sautee for 2 minutes.
5. Add Cabbage and salt and mix well.
6. Cover and cook for about 4-5 min on low-medium flame.
7. Uncover and cook for a minute to dry any liquid.
8. Turn off the burner, add coconut and grated ginger, mix well.  

Notes: Coconut should always be added after turning off the flame, it does not need any cooking.
Also adding ginger in the last step gives lot of aroma and retains the juices from ginger.

 

  

Palak Paneer (Spinach and cottage cheese curry)

This curry is one of my hubby's favorites! Also the credit goes to this recipe for creating a curry base.
Since I do not use any store brought spice mix for this curry, it was very difficult to bring out the flavors in spinach. Finally I succeeded by using the curry base.

Serves 4-
Ingredients

3 cups of spinach leaves
8 ounce paneer cut in desired shape (I cut in thin triangle shapes)
2 teaspoon besan (chickpea flour)
2 tablespoon curry base
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin)
1 inch dalchini (cinnamon stick )
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoon kasuri methi (Dried fenugreek leaves-optional)
2 green chillies (optional)
salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash spinach and boil in a cup of water. 
2. Once completely cooled, blend in a coarse paste. 1-2 quick pulses should be enough. Do not over blend.
3. Heat oil in a flat bottomed pan on medium flame.
4. Now add cumin, cinnamon stick, green chilies and spinach paste.
5. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes, add some water for the right consistency.
6. Mix chickpea flour in a small bowl with little cold water. Add this in the simmering spinach.
7. Let the chickpea flour cook for another 2-3 minutes and add curry base.
8. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes on low flame.
9. Add paneer triangles, salt and stop the burner.
10. Your hot and satisfying palak paneer is ready, garnish with grated paneer.

Notes: As mentioned in previous recipes keep the flame low while simmering the curry. Nothing can beat slow cooking for combining the flavors together.

I usually cut the pieces in small triangles as consistently as possible

 

Rajma (Red kidney bean curry)

The next curry in the curry series is - Rajma (Red kidney bean) Masala.
Rajma chawal (curry -rice) is one of the comfort foods in northern India. Its so delicious and packed with protein!
You will be amazed at how similar this recipe is to the chole recipe. That's the trick of Indian cooking, some ingredients here and there, and you can create a whole new burst of flavor with so little effort :)

Serves 4-
Ingredients:

1 cup Rajma (red kidney beans) (alternatively 2 cans of kidney beans)
2 tablespoon curry base
2 badi elaichi (black cardamom)
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin)
1 inch dalchini (cinnamon stick )
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoon kasuri methi (Dried fenugreek leaves-optional)
1 tablespoon Everest Rajma masala (this spice mix can be found at Indian store)
2 green chillies (optional)
salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak Kidney beans overnight in a big mixing bowl.
2. Strain the water in the morning, add beans in pressure cooker with twice the amount of water.
3. Add turmeric and 2 teaspoon salt, give 6-7 whistles on medium flame.
4. You can skip the above steps and use canned kidney beans (2 cans would suffice for this recipe)
5. Once the cooker is cooled down, transfer the beans in another bowl, rinse the cooker and add oil on medium flame.
6. Now add cumin, black cardamom, cinnamon stick and curry base. If you are using green chillies add that too.
7. Since the curry base is already fried, no need to sauté
8. Add rajma masala, kasuri methi  and sauté for a minute.
9. Now add the boiled kidney beans with water and salt. You can add water as per the consistency desired.
10. Cover the cooker with lid and give 2 whistles on a low flame, this will take about half an hour since its cooking slowly.
11. Your hot and spicy rajma masala is ready.
12. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with naan or rice.

Notes: The advantage of slow cooking is that the curry does not get thicker with time.
You can make this curry a even day ahead before serving, the taste intensifies if made a few hours earlier before eating.