Moong daal pakodas with coconut chutney

Fried items have always been my favorites, but pakodas have been my all-time favorites. A cup of tea and a hot plate of pakodas is a perfect combination on a rainy day!

Ingredients for pakodas:

• 1 cup moong daal (green or yellow, I had used green split moong daal)
• 1/4 cup urad daal
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp ajwain seeds
• 1/4 cup finely chopped corainder
• 2 tsps ginger-garlic-green chilli paste
• salt to taste
• oil for frying
  

Effort: 45 mins

Serves: 2 persons




- Soak the daals in water for about 5-6 hours
- Grind to a smooth paste with minimal amount of water
- Mix cumin seeds, ajwain seeds, corainder, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and salt
- Heat oil in a frying pan, and make small pakodas and fry till golden brown










Ingredients for coconut chutney:

• 1 cup fresh coconut pieces
• 3 tsps cumin seeds
• 1 inch ginger piece
• 1/2 cup fresh groundnuts
• 1 cup coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup curd
• 4-5 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp sugar
  
• salt to taste
• few drops of lemon
  

Effort: 10 mins

- Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste
- You can vary the green chillies depending on your preference
- Store in fridge in an air tight container. The chutney lasts for 4-5 days

Grilled eggplant with fenugreek (Methi-Vangyachh bhareet)

Baingan bharta dish, made from roasted eggplant on coal pieces, tastes superb. You get a half-burnt taste which is really unique. Try it next time you go for a barbeque, grill the eggplant, mash it and mix it in already cooked onion-tomato mixture.

Ingredients:

• 1 Eggplant
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup fresh fenugreek leaves (do not chop fenugreek, it will make the bhartaa bitter. You can use 1 handsful of crushed kasuri methi if you cant get fresh fenugreek)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp green chilli paste
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves
• oil for tempering
• chopped coriander for garnishing
• salt for taste
  

Effort: 45 mins

Serves: 2 persons

- Grill the eggplant in the oven at 150C for 30 mins
- Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds start crackling, add aestofotida, curry leaves, ginger-garlic paste and green chilli paste
- Stir fry for a minute, add onions and cook till onions are golden brown
- Add tomatoes and garam masala. Cook till the tomatoes are soft. If you are using fresh fenugreek, add them with tomatoes. If you use dried fenugreek, you can add those after the tomatoes are cooked
- Peel the grilled eggplant and mash it using a potato masher
- Add mashed eggplant to the onion tomato mix. Cook for a few minutes. Remember not to add salt at this stage because eggplant tends to become watery because of the salt
- Turn off the gas and then add salt and mix well
- Garnish with coriander and serve hot with bhakris (bhakri is a Maharastrian bread, staple diet in Maharashtra. Unfortunately, I dunno how to make bhakris, but I plan to learn from my granny next time I visit India!)

Thanks to my cousin who introduced me to the cooking blog - "One Hot Stove", which is hosting the Maharashtrian cuisine for the RCI contest

Kadhi with pasta

Kadhi is a common Indian preparation, but I was amazed to taste 4-5 different versions of Kadhi. The Marathi and Gujju kadhi is very similar in taste, but the Sindhi, Punjabi and Marwari kadhi tastes very different. I haven't yet tasted the South Indian version of kadhi, but I have heard from one of my friends that in South Indian kadhi, besan is not used, instead rice powder is used. Change one ingredient and you can adapt the taste to suit a different Indian community :)

Coming back to kadhi business, kadhi with pasta sounds like a fusion, and most of my friends who have tasted my kadhi find the pasta in the kadhi very interesting. I dunno my Mom's source of kadhi-pasta combination. But all my life I have had home-made kadhi with pasta instead of pakodas.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups curd
• 2 tbsps besan
• 1/2 cup pasta -(I generally add rigate or riccioli)
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
  
• 2 tsps green chillies-ginger-garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 4-5 pepper balls
• 3-4 cloves
• oil for tempering
• freshly chopped coriander
  
• pinch of sugar
• salt to taste
  

Effort: 30 mins

Serves: 4 persons

- Boil the pasta with salt and a bit of olive oil, so that it doesn't stick
- Mix curd with equal amount of water, add besan and stir well such that there are no lumps
- Heat oil in a kadai, once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, pepper balls and cloves. When the mustard balls start crackling, add a pinch of asafoetida. Add ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and stir for a min
- Pour the curd-besan mixture, add turmeric powder, dhania-jeera powder and methi seeds
- After 5-10 mins, add pasta and salt and a pinch of sugar
- Let the mixture boil thoroughly till you can see water separating from the curd
- Garnish with lots of finely chopped coriander and serve hot with rice