Poha | A perfect breakfast with flavorsome moistened rice flakes

I cannot compromise with food and its tastes. It has to be utterly good. Even the simplest of recipes get a twist in my kitchen and undergo a complete overhauling.Aaah!! That's me! Food is sacred! Its taste has to be nothing else but BEST!

Healthy food sounds so boring, isn't it? Yes they do, but its up-to to us to make them taste good, look attractive and at the same time maintain the health quotient. Pohas, a dish from Maharashtra is a much-favorite perennial breakfast recipe at my home. Light, healthy and totally yummy to the core.

 

The ingredients are very basic and easily available and the dish gets ready in less than 20 minutes. So for a hurried married working woman (which i am :P ), this dish comes out as a saviour. Saves time and at the same time pleases my Mr.P as well. Oh! He seems to have fallen in love with my Poha recipe now. And its only on his request that i make this at my place, which has become so often now. 

The fluffiness of moist poha and the burst of flavors - spiciness, tanginess and sweetness at the same time, take my version of poha to a different level all together.

Try it and you will for sure start making this often too.

Ingredients:-

2 cups - Rice Flakes (Chivda)

1 finely chopped onion

1 big sized potato (cut in cubes, blanched)

1/3 cup green peas (blanched)

5 tbsp - Peanuts 

1 green chilli (finely chopped)

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Garam masala

Salt to taste

Pinch of Sugar

Juice of 1 lemon

Oil for cooking

Sprig of curry leaves (chop the curry leaves, if needed)

Chopped coriander, for garnish

Steps to follow:- 

1. Thoroughly wash the rice flakes in a colander under running water and let it rest for sometime, till the excess water drains out.

2. Heat a wok and add some oil in it.

3. Throw in the black mustard seeds and curry leaves in the oil and let them crackle.

4. Add onions and green chilli and saute for 2-3 mins.

5. Now add chopped potatoes and blanched peas and let them cook for a min or two.

6. Add turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli powder and mix well.

7. Now mix in the moistened rice flakes and mix vigorously.

8. Add salt and garam masala.

NOTE: Poha should not be dry so incase you feel it is, add in some oil.

9. Lid for 2-3 minutes and simmer the flame.

10. In a separate wok, add 1 tsp oil, and add the peanuts.

11. Shallow fry the peanuts until light brown in color. 

12. Once done, unlid the pan and throw in the peanuts as well along with some chopped coriander.

13. Add some sugar and finally squeeze in the lemon juice. Mix well.

14. Lid the pan again and turn off the flame.

15. Serve after 5 mins topped with Haldiram's Aloo bhujia or besan sev.

 Poha makes a simple yet delicious breakfast accompanied with a hot ginger tea, especially in winter months. A light and healthy meal packed with nutrition from rice flakes and peanuts.

Sindhi Tomato Kadhi..my little twist to the traditional affair!

I am a principled person.  A true fun loving, jovial & a crazy being who has a deeper side of character residing within her. I value ethics more than anything. Its not just a perception but a religion which i sacredly follow. Yes i do...Indeed! Its something that's completely intrinsic of my persona. A nature that has evolved over years of maturation in undulated trajectory of life. I have learnt to be calm & controlled when at the zenith of success and grasped from my failures, that mistakes acknowledged must not be repeated. Trust, Life's all about learning. 

I live to learn new things. Embarked on the journey called Life, I crave to widen my knowledge & share my findings with people around. That's my purpose of being here! One of the poems which i had studied years back and is undoubtedly my favorite , aptly sums up my philosophy of Life.

I am a part of all that I have met;Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades, For ever and forever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life.

Were all too little, and of one to me. Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,

And this gray spirit yearning in desire, To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.  - Ulysses, By Alfred Lord Tennyson 

My mom's my Guru! I remember her tell me always 'There is no age bar when it comes to learning. Hamesha bas koshish karo ki kuch naya seekho aur aage badho. Main aaj bhi seekhne ki ichcha aur koshish karti hoon'. The guiding star who has taught me and made me learn the right things that essential for the perfect proud living sans any sham. Maa, I love you! I am truly blessed to have you.

Today's post is a dedication to my yearning over new avenues..new learnings..Cooking is very dear to me and i desire to create varied delicacies irrespective of the region or culture. Right attitude to learn! Not caught up in any kind of inhibitions. So, this time i have ventured into 'Sindhi Tomato Kadhi' preparation, something that i had years years ago..and just once. Did not get fortunate enough to savor it again, though i was always on a look out for a right source of information for the recipe, yet it took me so long to find the perfect recipe from a perfect source (True that, i am a finicky person when it comes to recipes especially). Cooking is a delight and i don't venture into any new stuff (ofcourse i innovate and experiment but then sometimes one needs to have ones fundas straight, to start off at least) until i know that the recipe reads perfect and is relevant to my needs and whims. :) 

Neelam, a dear friend in one of my FB groups promptly posted the recipe on my request and guess what, i could not wait to try it! The very same day, it was all cooked, ready and served with a bit of hanky panky to the original share. My dearest husband was taken up by a storm with the flavors and aromas...Aaahhh! a sigh of satisfaction!!

Ingredients:-

1 Cup Tomato Puree
3 tbsp Besan
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds  (methi seeds)
Sprigs of curry leaves
1 drumstick (cut into 2 inch piece lengthwise)
7-8 lady's finger (cut into 1 inch piece lengthwise)
2 potatoes (cut into big cubes)
1 big carrot (peeled and cut into 1/4 inch discs)
1-1/2 tbsp tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 - 2 finely chopped green chillies
Spices needed - Turmeric, coriander powder, red chilli, salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying
2 tbsp Oil for tempering the kadhi 
3 cups water
Coriander for garnish

Steps to follow:-

Tomato puree

Boil some water in a pan and put 7-8 tomatoes in it and blanch till soft & supple. Turn off the gas once done. Let it cool. Once they have cooled down, peel off their skin and blitz till the fine texture. Further you can seive the puree to ensure the seeds get removed. [I do it coz my husband suffers from stone troubles :( ] Your tomato puree is now ready to be used. 

Tip: I prepare  4-5 cups of tomato puree in advance and keep it in the freezer for future use. It does not turn rancid and comes handy while cooking in a jiffy!

1. In a kadhai take pour in the oil for deep  frying.
2. Separately deep fry all the veggies - Potatoes, Carrots, Drumsticks, Lady's Finger.
3. Transfer the deep fried veggies to a tissue paper so that any extra oil get drained
4. Now in another pan, pour oil for tempering. 
5. Throw in cumin, fenugreek and asafoetida.
6. Once the spices start to crackle, simmer the flame and add besan.
7. At this step you to keep a constant vigil and stir continuously else the besan may burn.
8. Once the besan turn pale yellowish brown in color and emits nutty fragrance, add in turmeric, coriander, red chilli and some salt.
9. Stir once more.
10. Now add the tomato puree.

NOTE: While adding the tomato puree, you have to ensure that besan gets evenly dissolved in tomato and there are no lumps. I had a bit tough time here. I resorted to the below two tricks.

• Add the tomato puree little by little and give a stir after every addition.
• If the lumps are visible after adding the puree, pick up a whisk and with a gentle hand whisk the mixture.         

11. Once tomato puree is fully added to the besan, roast the mixture for another 5-7 minutes so that the slight rawness of the tomatoes goes away.
12. Now add water to the mixture and give it a stir twice or thrice.
13. The flame should be on high and you have to constantly stir so that nothing spills out of the pan.
14. After one boil let the kadhi simmer for another 5-10 mins on low flame.
15. While the kadhi is simmering, in another pan, add some oil (1 tsp only since your veggies are already deep fried)
16. Add curry leaves, garlic, ginger, green chillies.
17. Saute on a high flame with pan 3-4 inch above the gas stove. 

NOTE: Keep it 3-4 inches above the flame else the high heat will further burn the deep fried veggies. I would here recommend not to use the spatula but toss and twirl the pan with hands

18. keeping the flame on high, add all the deep fried veggies
19. Add some turmeric, coriander, red chilli and some salt (You have put salt in kadhi as well so keep that in mind)
20. A good swirl after the spice and your veggies are ready to get dipped in the pool of tomato curry
21. Add the veggie mix to the kadhi and lid for 5-7 mins coz drumsticks might need some more time to become soft.
22. Unlid the pan, check the doneness of drumsticks, if all done, let the kadhi now simmer on low flame till it becomes a bit thick in consistency. (This would take another 10-12 mins)
23. Once the required consistency is achieved, turn off the gas.
24. Add the tamarind pulp and chopped coriander.
25. Lid the pan again and let it rest for 5-7 more mins.

Serve with hot rice and cucumber salad.

A must try for all those who can never get tired of learning and truly enjoy the magic of cooking!

Lemony Lemon Rice...My one hot-pot meal

I am a rice freak. Its a staple food in all my meals. Guess i have inherited this genetically from my parents. Our family meals are incomplete if there is no chawal-dal (rice & curry). 

And then there are days when my husband and i both prefer to have some rice preparation for dinner specifically. Quicker, as its done in a matter of few whistles and tastier coz it calls for plenty of condiments along with it, that are easily available in every household! With rice preparations all you need is some salad, pickle and poppadom for some crunchy munchy taste and once all is set, there can be no match to this divine combination. Oooo! Waah! Kya baat..i am drooling on the thought itself. I think this defines my love for it, honestly.

I have mastered the various well-known rice combos (a statement from my hubby dear) of northern part of India, kadhi-rice, rajma-rice or chole-rice. All tried and tasted plenty of times. So today i attempted a southern flavor of rice in my North Indian kitchen, & guess what! I conquered it!!! My husband who is not a great rice lover happily finished more than half of it!!!! 

Whaoo! The feeling is amazing..I guess more than ingredients of the recipe what matters the most is the love that you put in the food you cook. 

I love my kitchen and all that i cook there with so much care. Today i celebrated the feeling of love for my love of cooking and of course the love for rice with my one hot pot meal recipe of lemon rice with some pickled onion curd (recipe shared in the end) to enhance the sourness further. 

Its super duper easy and i have, as always, made a slight twist to it. Old habits die hard! So here's a super quick twisted lemon rice..completely my way. 

Ingredients:-

1.5 cup rice

1 tbsp urad dal (skinned & split)

1 tbsp channa dal

1 tsp Asafoetida 

2 tsp Haldi

2 tsp Coriander powder

Few springs of curry leaves

1 tsp of black mustard seeds

3-4 dried red chillies (broken into halves)

1/4 cup peanuts

Juice of 2 lemons

Finely chopped coriander for garnish

3 tbsp mustard oil

Salt to taste

For my twist include - handful of raisins, 2 tsp of sambar powder (i used homemade)

Raisins to balance the sourness from lemons n pickled curd. Trust this twist was worth it.

Steps to follow:-

1. Soak the rice in water for an hour or two.

2. Once soaked completely, boil the rice with minimum water (uptil the level of dipped rice or 1/2 inch above) upto 1-2 whistle and then turn off the heat. 

NOTE: Do not cook it for more whistles else the rice grains will stick to each other and will not be flaky.

3. Once the rice is cooked, transfer it to a broad plate and let it cook. Give it good swirl, ensuring that rice grains are not sticky.

4. Heat a wok and pour in the oil.

5. Throw in the urad dal, chana dal and peanuts. Ensure that the flame is medium. (Constant saute is needed at this stage else the chances are that the contents might burn)

6. Once the dals emanate their aroma, they are roasted well at that point.

7. Simmer the gas and add curry leaves, mustard seeds, asafoetida, dried red chillies. Toss for a minute or two.

8. Add haldi, coriander powder, salt and sambar masala and raisins. Swirl the pan well so that everything gets mixed well.

9. Add the rice and vigorously toss the contents. The rice should after thorough tossing should become yellow in color.

10. Lid for 3-4 minutes.

11. Unlid the pan, toss one more time and turn off the gas.

12. Add the lemon juice and toss for some more time.

NOTE: Lemon juice should be added only once the gas is turned off.

13. Sprinkle some coriander and serve with appalams and pickled onion curd.

Pickled Onion Curd: Finely chop some onions and green chillies and squeeze in good amount of lemon juice so that the onions and green chillies are completely soaked in the juice. Refrigerate this for 3-4 hours. Meantime, whisk some curd and add black salt, powdered roasted cumin and some freshly ground (in mortar & pestle) mint leaves. After 3-4 hrs or whenever the dinner is to be served, add the onion-green chilli pickled mixture to the whisked curd. Serve chilled along with lemon rice or any other dish. 

Enjoy this dish with your loved ones on of those laid back days when you just feel like relaxing and treating yourself with some comfort food.