Dal with Tomatoes - Spicy

This dish is perhaps the most cherished in vegetarian Indian cooking. Its simple to make and tastes great.

Ingredients:

Toor dal/kandi pappu -- 1 cup
Tomatoes -- 2
Onion -- 1
Small Green Chilies -- 6-7
Turmeric Powder -- 1 pinch
Salt to taste
Tamarind -- cherry size / 1inch piece soaked in 1/4th cup hot water
Cilantro for garnishing

For Seasoning:

Oil -- 1 table spoon
Garlic -- 2 pods crushed
Dry red chili -- 2 no.
Curry leaves -- 5 no.
asafotida/inguva -- 1 pinch
black gram -- 1/2 tea spoon
Chana gram -- 1/4 tea spoon
mustard seeds/aavaalu -- 1/4 tea spoon
cumin seeds/jeera -- 1/2 tea spoon

Method of Preparation:

1. Wash the Toor dal/kandi pappu and add 2 cups water and keep it a side in a pressure cooker.
2. Chop the onion, tomatoes and cut the chilies into length wise and add them to the toor dal in the cooker with a pinch of turmeric and pressure cook until 3 wistles.
4. When it is cooled off, take the lid out and add the tamarind extract to it with required salt and cook for 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
5. In another little pan do the seasoning by adding little oil. When the oil is hot add all the ingredients under seasoning and turn off the stove.
6. Add this seasoning mixture to the cooked dal in the pressure cooker and garnish with cilantro.

Shrimp Curry – Spicy Andhra Style

Fresh shrimp will be best for making this dish.

Ingredients

Raw shrimp -- 2lbs
Onions -- 2
Green Chilies---3-4
Tomato------ ½ a slice
Curry Leaves -- 6 leaves
Turmeric Powder -- a pinch
Red Chili Powder -- 2 and 1/2 tea spoons
Salt to tasteOil -- 2 table spoon
Masala Paste -- 2 table spoons

Ingredients for cleaning the shrimp

Yogurt -- 2 tea spoon
Turmeric Powder -- 1 tea spoon
Salt -- 1 tea spoon

Method of preparation

1. First take the shells out of the raw shrimp. Easy process is to put the shrimp in hot water, so the shells come out easily. You can also use cooked shrimp instead.
2. Clean the shrimp with curd, turmeric powder, salt and wash until the raw smell goes away and put it a side.
3. Take a cooking pot and heat oil on medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions, green chilies, tomatoes, curry leaves and cover with lid.
4. Stir occasionally so that the onions do not burn. When the mixture turns soft, add the shrimp to it with a pinch of turmeric and allow it to cook till the water is completely gone.
5. Then add salt as required and red chili powder and stir it for a couple of minutes and add 2 cups of water and let it boil for 10 minutes.
6. When you think the shrimp is almost cooked then add the masala paste to it and cook covered till the gravy becomes thick.
7. Immediately following this, empty into a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro and serve with hot rice or rotis.

Fish Curry – Spicy Andhra Style

Fresh cat fish will be best for making this dish.

Ingredients

1. Fish -- 1 lb cut in thin slices
2. Onions -- 2 no

3. Green Chilies -- 4 no

4. Curry Leaves -- 7

5. Red Chili Powder -- 2 teaspoons

6. Turmeric Powder -- 1/2 teaspoon

7. Tamarind -- Lemon size ball soaked in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes

8. Salt to taste

9. Masala Paste – 1 ½ tablespoon

10. Oil 1/2 cup as non-vegetarian curries taste good with sufficient oil

11. Cilantro---2strings

Method of preparation

1. First, clean the fish with 2 teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and a table spoon curd.

2. Now take a cooking pot and put the clean fish pieces in it and add ½ cup oil, chopped green chilies, onions, curry leaves, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons red chili powder and salt to taste.

3. Extract the pulp from the soaked tamarind and add it to the fish in the cooking pot. You can add little more water to extract the pulp completely.

4. Place cooking pot on the stove on a medium flame and allow it to cook till half way.

5. When it is half way done and boiling add 1 and ½ tablespoons of masala paste and let the gravy thicken and turn the stove off.

6. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.

Corn Patties

Fresh frozen corn is used for making corn patties.

Ingredients:

1. Sweet Corn – 2 cups (no need to boil)
2. Putnalu pappu (roasted gram) -- 3/4cup
3. Jeera (cumin) -- 1/2 teaspoon
4. Green chilies -- 4-5 no
5. Chili sauce -- 1 teaspoon
6. Salt to taste
7. Coriander -- 5 strings
8. Maida (all purpose flour) -- 2 table spoons
9. Masala paste -- 1½ teaspoon
10. Oil as and when required

Method of preparation

1. First grind the putnalu pappu (roasted gram), jeera and chilies chopped into small pieces with enough salt and 3 coriander strings into powder (fine powder is not required).

2. To this powder add the chili sauce, masala paste and sweet corn and grind again.

3. Do not add any water as it does not have to be a fine paste.

4. Add chopped cilantro and mix well.

5. Use a medium sized non-stick pan and heat it and add 4 teaspoons of oil each time you are make a round of patties.

6. When the oil is hot spread it on completely and start making patties.

7. Take a tea spoon full of the Pattie dough and spread on the pan in the shape of small patties. You can spread like 5-6 patties in one round. Do not burn them as they may change the taste too.

Note: You can also deep fry them in oil like vadas.

Indian Beans with Tomato

Chikkudu kaya or Val Papdi is referred to as Indian beans. Frozen Indian beans are used for preparing this recipe.

Ingredients:

1. Indian Beans – 2 cups
2. Vegetable Oil – 3 teaspoons
3. Tomato – 1 medium sized
4. Onion – 1 medium sized
5. Green Chilies – 2 to 3 or add as you like
6. Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
7. salt as required
8. Curry leaves – 6
9. Cilantro – 3 full strings

Seasoning (Popu)
- Chana Dal - ¼ teaspoon
- Urad Dal – ¼ teaspoon
- Cumin Seeds – a pinch
- Mustard Seeds – ¼ teaspoon
- Dried Red Chilies – 1 should be broken to 2 or 3 pieces


Method of preparation

Boil the Indian beans with 3 cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt in the microwave for 15 minutes.
While the beans are cooking, finely chop the onion, tomato and green chilies.
Use a deep pot to cook the Indian beans curry.
Put the pot on the stove and heat 3 teaspoons of oil. When the oil is hot add the seasoning to the hot oil.
When the mustard seeds start spluttering add the curry leaves, chopped onion, green chilies and tomato pieces.
Let this cook until the onion and tomato turn soft.
Drain any water remaining with the cooked Indian beans and add to cooking onion, tomato and green chilies. Keep stirring until they are mixed well.
Add a big pinch of turmeric powder and a teaspoon full of red chili powder and salt as required, mix it well and put the lid on the pot.
Allow it to cook on medium heat for five minutes, and add a cup of water and mix well. Keep the lid closed.
When the mixture starts to bubble up and boil well, add one table spoon of masala paste. When the curry becomes thick turn the stove off, and empty it into a nice serving dish, and add finely chopped cilantro as garnish.

Masala Paste

This recipe is for creating the masala paste for all non-vegetarian or vegetarian dishes that require masala. This paste substitutes for garam masala powder. I learnt this from my mother. Masala paste is very easy to make and can stay in the refrigerator for several weeks, if stored properly in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

1. Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyalu) -- ½ cup
2. Cloves (Lavangalu) -- 2 teaspoons
3. Cinnamon (Dalchina Chekka) -- 1 inch piece
4. Poppy Seeds (Gasagasalu) -- 1 teaspoon
5. Black Pepper Corns -- ½ teaspoon
6. Cardamom (Yalukalu) -- 2 cloves
7. Ginger -- 2 inch piece cut into small pieces
8. Garlic -- 4 big pods
9. Coconut Powder -- 2 teaspoons

Method of preparation

Fry gasagasalu and black pepper together in a small pan until the gasagasalu turn light brown. Do not over roast them or add any oil to them.
Grind all ingredients listed including the roasted gasagasalu and black pepper corns.
Add a little water as you grind to make a fine paste. Masala paste is ready to use.
Store in an air tight container and refrigerate it. You can add as your taste permits to the dish you plan to cook.

Indian Spices in English and Indian languages

Spices represent sweet smelling and sharp tasting substances used for flavoring and are the main ingredients for any tasty food. The use of spices has been steadily increasing all over the world due to increasing migration of Indian community into countries and newly developed taste for Indian delicacies. Apart from whole spices, India exports lot of ground and ready to use spices to the world and is one of the major exporter of spices in the world. India has been the world's most favorite spice land since the beginning of civilization.