BEETROOT PALLYA (BEETROOT SABZI)

 Hello....

In this post today I would be sharing with you a vegetable prep that is not only healthy but yummilicious too.... 

Vegetables are cooked this way mostly down south, which helps the preparation to retain the essence of the vegetable by all means... It cooks in steam with a lil water which means the nutrients are not disturbed in any way.... 

Every vegetable like human beings have their own essence & THAT MUST NEVER BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM... It is a crime to do that.... Vegetables have their own scent & taste along with the nutrients they brag about which is essential for humans in its original form.... When they are just fried with masala the outcome is a veg prep that has lost the essence of the vegetable cooked.... No scent... no taste.... for it has all been encroached by the other ingredients....

So lemme share this beautiful & simple preparation... BEETROOT PALLYA/SABZI...

Ingredients:

TO STEAM COOK

Beetroots - 3 (finely chopped)

Onion - 1 sliced fine

Green Chilly - 3 slit lengthwise

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt To Taste

Water - 1/4 cup for the beet is high in water

Fresh Grated Coconut - 1 tbsp

FOR TEMPERING

Coconut Oil - 2 tsp (specifically for its aroma)

Asafoetida (hing) - 1/4 tsp

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chilli  - 2 (broken)

Garlic Cloves - 2 (crushed)

Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Method :

1) As shown in the collage below, chop your beet into tiny pieces than lazy big chunks for the prep directly... That allows you to get the right taste of the veggie....

(This Electric Mini Chopper or grinder is such a blessing in the kitchen... You do not need to drain out your energy on chopping few real hard vegetables.... Just cut few chunks & add in & press the button to run & VOILA CHOPPED 😍)

2) Keep emptying the chopped vegetable into the wok in which you would be cooking your preparation.... 

3) Once done with all the chunks, place the sliced onions + slit green chillies + salt + turmeric powder +water... (Do not add much water for the beet releases water & as you await for the water to get evaporated you would lose the rich red colour of the beet....) 

4) Cover the lid & allow it to cook on low flame.... 

Do not overcook.. Cooking Time takes not longer than 5 minutes.... Stir the content & You would see that the water has evaporated which would mean that your beet is cooked as much as it should.... Turn Off The Flame....

5) Now garnish it with the grated coconut & cover the lid again....

6) Heat your tempering wok & once hot add in the oil... & then add the mustard seeds & cover... allowing it to splutter comfortably without messing your counter.... (MUSTARD SEEDS need to splutter up well & it's very important.... You do not wanna chew the seeds otherwise) 

7) Once done add in the other tempering ingredients one by one.... Urad dal + asafoetida + broken red chilly + crushed garlic cloves + curry leaves & turn off the flame

8) Do not burn the seasoning.... enjoy the divine aroma of seasoning & empty it all on the beetroot prep....

9) Mix it well & Your Beetroot Pallya/sabzi ready.... 

It is the best side dish with roti/chapati AND of course white rice + rasam/curd

Try preparing all your veggies in the similar manner AND YOU/YOUR KIDS WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH VEGETABLES.... That is how exactly I fell for them.... My mom is a very good cook & everything she prepared is divinity 🙏 

NOTE : Vegetables with less water content may need more water to be cooked.... Remember that & add water accordingly... Rest? It's the same steps.... Follow... Cook.... Relish!

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!

NEER DOSA (MANGALORE CUISINE)

Hello...

Back with a preparation that is my personal favorite to break my fast... BREAKFAST 😍😎😋

An authentic cuisine that is popular in the coastal region.... Originally a Mangalorean Preparation is loved by the coastal belt...

So here is NEER DOSA for you....

Ingredients:

Raw Rice (any) - 4-5 cups

Grated Coconut - 2 cups (Optional)

Salt To Taste

Water as required

Oil as required (preferably Coconut Oil)

Method:

1) Wash the rice & soak it overnight

2) Drain out the water completely in the morning when you are ready to grind the rice into batter... Or you can also just sieve a handful of rice depending on the rounds your mixer grinder & its jar would take to grind the batter...

(Do not add much water while you grind... Keep the batter approximately thick so that you can store it in the refrigerator & use the required quantity only, before your meal with the required amount of water to make these thin crepes....)

3) Take a portion of the rice & add into the mixie jar along with a reasonable quantity of grated coconut if using, along with the required amount of water to make a fine paste

4) Empty the batter into a bowl that you would use to store in the refrigerator....

5) Repeat steps 3&4 until all the rice & coconut is consumed & transformed into thick batter....

6) Now transfer the required amount of batter from the bowl to another that you would now use to prepare your dosas....

7) Add in salt as per taste & generous amount of water that would help you make thin dosas & mix well.... Now pour a ladle of thin batter on a nonstick pan... The consistency should be thin enough to be poured & cooked; but not very thin cuz then it would just be water with no batter to form the dosas.... 

8) Heat your pan well on high flame & then rub a spoon of coconut oil or any other edible oil you use on the pan... (MIX THE BATTER WELL BEFORE EVERY POUR...) Now pour the batter to make a netted dosa filling in the gaps too... reduce the flame to medium & cover it with a lid...

9) Allow it to cook for 3-4 minutes or until you would see the edges of the dosa crisp enough to leave the pan

10) Do not flip it over... Just fold it into half & place it in a open plate for it to cool down.... Else they would stick to each other turning into a lump while you pull them out.... 

11) After it cools quarter fold it & shift it to the serving bowl/plate

12) Repeat 8&9 until you tummy is satisfied...

13) Serve it with Stew/Chutney

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!

HAPPY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY KUKU

 Hello....

Happy Anniversary #Kuku 💖

It's our 22nd anniversary to day & it's just me & my memories... To reminisce... To write... To journal.... To blog....

It used to be a day of celebrations.... Now it's just another day with it's beauty shut behind me.... for not a day goes by when I do not bleed in pain...

Haven't been sleeping well after you have gone Kuku.... I don't understand why but I forever await to see or hear from or feel you... but i guess am not all that blessed...

When I curse  The Almighty in distress #Gunda makes me understand about the life I was blessed with you & I calm down....

He's there but he isn't you....

Forever Love You💓

Drowning

In emotions

Is when I find

The words to set

Sail into my heart for

Disembarkation on a canvas;

Storm stirred

Ocean is where

I live with the world

That has fallen apart

Awaiting the embarkation of

The divine grace that

Has left the space distorted

Like a color smudged canvas!

Miss You Forever Kuku 😢

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!

APPAM/APPA

 Hello...

Posted the make how for Vegetable Stew sometime back.... 

So here I am again, to share with you the make how for Appam that is a pair heaven made... You must savor it to know it....

Let's get on to the MAKE HOW of APPAM....

So....

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 3 cups

Grated Coconut - 1 cup

Coconut Water - One whole (better refrigerated with lil sugar & salt added before hand, cuz it then ferments well)

Cooked Rice - 1 cup

Salt To Taste

Sugar To Taste

Method

1) Wash & Soak the raw rice for 5-6 hours

2) Then grind the rice in a mixer grinder in batches... Add a portion of rice + Coconut + Coconut Water as much as required to grind it into a smooth batter....

3) Empty the batter into an utensil & work on your next batch of rice

4) When you work on your final batch add the cooked rice + salt + sugar & grind into a fine paste & add it to the rest of the batter

5) Beat Mix well the batter & close the lid & keep it aside in a warm place overnight for it to ferment

6) By morning you would see your batter has fermented well & is ready for its job...

7) In a preheated appam wok  add a ladle of the batter & swirl it around for an even spread allowing the rest to settle in the bottom....

8) On medium flame cook the appam until the sides leave the wok & seem ready to be removed

9) Your yummy appams are ready to be savored with the vegetable stew you prepared...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 😋 

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!

AUTHENTIC VEGETABLE STEW

 Hello Again...

This is one of my favorite preparation from Kerala Cuisine... The Stew!

Jump To Recipe

Then it could be vegetable stew or chicken stew or mutton stew.... Here I am sharing with you the vegetable stew I had prepared for dinner while in Ranchi... The best part of any stew is it complements ONLY a rice preparation in particular as a side dish... It does not go well with even cooked rice for that matter.... May be cuz the cooked rice is unable to absorb the curry of the stew well in order to enhance the flavors of the stew.... which rice preparations do... the ones prepared with batter.... For example Dosa & appa/appam... I personally haven't tried it with Idli, hence unsure of vouching for it.... If gotten an opportunity do try & share it with me too or vice versa.... :)

So let us now get on with the recipe to this yummiliciously divine prep....

Ingredients

Vegetables : any veggies of your choice

Carrots - 1 cubed

Beans - 4-5 slant cut

Peas - 1/2 cup

Potato - 1 thin sliced

Coconut Milk - 2 PORTIONS (store bought OR freshly squeezed)

{What Matters is you would need 1 portion of thick coconut milk in its original form & 1 portion that has been diluted with water which is a natural outcome when fresh ground & squeezed}

Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp (main ingredient after coconut milk of course)

Onion - 1 slit lengthwise

Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Ginger - 1" finely chopped

Coriander Leaves - 1/2 tbsp fine chopped

Cinnamon - 1"

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Salt To Taste

For Paste

Poppy Seeds - 2 tsps

Green Chillies - 5-6

Broken Cashews - 2 tbsp

Roasted Chana Dal - 1 tbsp

Cardamom - 2

Cloves - 2

Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp

Method

1) Par boil the veggies... Following TICKLING PALATES I tried doing that in microwave & indeed it helped me get just what I wanted... for about 2-3 minutes... you want them to be cooked as well as crunchy between your teeth....

2) Grind the ingredients under paste with a lil water to fine paste

3) Heat a wok/pan & add in the coconut oil when hot... Then add fennel seeds + cinnamon & then add chopped ginger & curry leaves out of its sprig & saute for a minute

4) Now add onions & saute until translucent ONLY...

5) Now add the paste & stir at regular intervals so that the mixture does not stick to the wok... 

6) Add the par boiled veggies & saute for a minute & then add the diluted portion of coconut milk + salt & cook for 5 minutes...

7) Now add the thick portion of coconut milk & cook covered for a minute

8) Turn off the flame & garnish with chopped coriander leaves... Keep aside covered so that the flavors blend well...

9) Enjoy hot with appams/dosa

The flavors make the preparation very divine that you would close your eyes relishing it on your taste buds.... That is exactly what happened with me.... I just went on with sharing & relishing that I completely forgot to click pics of the prep neatly served... 😈

Yet here's one.... for a sneak peek 👀

Recipe Card :

Below is a video for a quick guide... 

*** EDITED ON FEB 2,2025 TO ADD VIDEO, RECIPE CARD, FEW PICTURES * INFO ***

1) Vegetables must be parboiled before use with lil salt. Do not drain the water once done.

2) Add the same water with lil coconut milk to add in the flavor as you boil your veggies with the masala mixture 

AND/OR

3) For the diluted coconut milk u may just add a lil coconut milk to the same water you rinse your mixie jar with after you have grounded the paste

Had served a guest who was home & she kept licking her fingers after taking a second serve of just the stew.... It is so heavenly to taste....

Planning on getting the people of Ranchi to taste it too... sometime sooner hopefully.... ✌

UNTIL NEXT, KEEP THE FAITH!!!