Aanapakaya Thotakura Kadala Pulusu –Bottle Gourd and Amaranth stems stew

Anapakaya pulusu is a frequent lunch item growing up. It’s an easy to make side dish with simple flavors. Thotakura kadalu give added taste and texture along with nutrition. Bottle gourd and amaranth stems are cooked in tamarind water with blended onion and coriander powder. This pulusu is quite watery, it is just a little thicker than rasam. Tampering added at the end gives it a great aroma.

Ingredients:
3 cups 2 X 2 inch bottle gourd pieces
1 cup 2 inch length amaranth stems
1 small onion blended
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 green chilies slit (adjust to taste)
3 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp turmeric
Walnut sized ball of tamarind
1 X 1 inch cube of jaggery or 2 tsp of sugar
Salt to taste

Tampering:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp fenugreek
1 dry red chili broken
1 garlic pod mashed
Spring of curry leaves

Soak tamarind and squeeze the pulp. Add water and make about 4 to 5 cups of tamarind water.

Place all the ingredients except the ones under tampering in a pressure cooker. Add the tamarind water and pressure cook just long enough for the bottle gourd pieces to cook. If the bottle gourd is tender one whistle is adequate.

Heat oil in a pan, add mashed garlic followed by the rest of the tampering ingredients. When mustard starts to pop, add it to the pulusu.

Goes well with rice n plain dal or rice n tomato dal.

Gongura Mutton

Gongura, without which an authentic Andhra meal is considered incomplete, is rarely found here in US. In the last couple of years it is found during summer months in Indian stores. I never pass on gongura if I find it. It is one of my favorite greens. Besides being a rich source of iron and anti oxidants it has a wonderful sour taste.

Gongura mutton is a very popular Andhra recipe. Gongura when cooked with tender mutton, enhances the taste of the mutton to a new degree.


Ingredients:

2 lbs mutton
2 onions chopped
6 – 8 cups of chopped gongura leaves
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste)
¼ tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Garam Masala:

6 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cardamoms
4 tsp coriander seeds

Tampering:

½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 red chili broken
Curry leaves


Make a fine powder of all the ingredients under garam masala.

In a pressure cooker place mutton, ginger garlic paste, powdered garam masala, red chili powder, turmeric, salt, 1 tbsp of oil and ¼ cup of water.

Pressure cook until the mutton is cooked. Time varies depending on the quality of the mutton.

In a separate pan, heat oil, add tampering, when the mustard starts to pop, add onions and sauté till they are transparent.

Add gongura leaves and sauté for few minutes until the leaves change color and are half cooked.

Now add the pressure cooked mutton to the pan.

Simmer 12 – 15 minutes till the flavors are blended well.

Tastes wonderful with rice or roti.

Beerakaya Pacchadi --Ridge Gourd Chutney

Ridge gourd a delicate delicious vegetable is a regular at my home. This pacchadi is made along with skin making it rich in fiber. Ridge gourd is sautéed and blended coarsely with roasted urad dal, mustard, cumin and fenugreek. Sesame seeds add a unique flavor, green and red chilies add the needed spice. Sourness from tamarind makes this a mouth watering dish.

Ingredients:
4 – 5 medium size ridge gourd cut into small pieces with skin
1 tsp tamarind paste or gooseberry sized tamarind soaked in warm water
1 tbsp oil

2 flakes of garlic chopped
5 – 6 green chilies (adjust to taste)
4 red chilies (adjust to taste)
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp fenugreek
2 tsp split black gram
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp oil

For Sesoning:
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp urad
1 red chili
Curry leaves

Dry roast sesame seeds until they get a light brown hue. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add garlic and green chilies followed by red chilies, cumin, fenugreek and black gram. Sauté till they are well roasted. Set aside and let it cool.

Heat oil and add the chopped ridge gourd. Sauté until it looses its rawness. Set aside and let it cool.

Blend sesame into a fine powder, blend the rest of the roasted spices.

Add tamarind and blend.

Make a coarse paste of the ridge gourd pieces and mix everything together.

Add salt to taste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add seasoning. When the mustard starts to pop add the seasoning to the pacchadi.

Tips: Sesame seeds can be replaced with 2 tsps of channa dal. Channa dal can be roasted along with urad dal.

Eat it with hot rice and ghee (optional) and you will enjoy every bite.

Carrot Mango Curry

Mango is my favorite in all forms. During summer it finds its way into most of my recipes. Today’s recipe is a simple carrot curry, with an additional ingredient mango to give it a new twist. The sweetness of carrot combined with tanginess of mango with added spice from chilies makes this a dish exploding with flavors.

Ingredients:
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped raw mango pieces
2 green chilies slit
Salt to taste
¼ tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil

For Seasoning:
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp Cumin
1 tsp urad dal
1 red chili broken
Few curry leaves

Heat oil in a sauce pan, add seasoning.

When mustard starts to pop add onions and green chilies.

Saute for a min or two, add carrots. Stir on medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Add mango pieces, saute for couple more minutes.

Add turmeric and salt. Let it simmer covered on low flame until the mango pieces are just soft but not mushy.

The crispness of the carrot and the softness of the mango makes you relish every bite.

Spicy Shrimp Curry

This shrimp curry has been a regular dish in my home all my life. It is one of my most favorite dishes. Shrimp are simmered in freshly ground spices, ginger garlic and onion. Tamarind adds the extra zing to an already flavor packed dish. Spice lovers can be generous with chili powder, it complements the shrimp very well.

For this recipe I prefer fresh shell on shrimp to frozen ones. Most of my recipes have freshly ground spices. It may seem tedious to many but if you have a good blender, the couple extra minutes you spend to make fresh masala is well worth it.

This is a great dish for family dinners or when you have company, it is sure to draw many praises

Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh shell on shrimp
1 onion coarsely blend
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
Pulp from lemon sized tamarind ball
3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

For garam masala:
10 cloves
2 inch cinnamon
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds

For seasoning:
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp fenugreek
1 red chili
Curry leaves

De shell and de vein the shrimp. Clean them thoroughly.

Place shrimp in a saucepan along with 2 tsp of oil, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp salt.

Cook on medium to high flame until the shrimp curl and loose the transparent look. Set it aside.

Grind masala into fine powder, mix it with ginger garlic paste and coarsely blend onion. Set is aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a sauce pan, add seasoning followed by masala ginger garlic and onion. Sauté for 5 to 10 mins until the onion looses its raw smell. Add turmeric, chili powder and salt.

Add the semi cooked shrimp, sauté for few more minutes.

Add tamarind and let it simmer on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the oil separates.

This shrimp curry when eaten with steaming hot rice, each and every bite is a pure joy.

Tips: A tbsp of home made yogurt and tsp of salt can aid you further in cleaning the shrimp.
For grinding the masala start with a clean dry jar, grind dry masala followed by ginger garlic and then onion. The whole process takes just few mintues and you will end up with only one jar to clean. I use sumeet with its smallest jar for this job.

Mirchi Ka Saalan --with Bell Peppers

Mirchi ka saalan is one of the culinary delights evolved in the kitchens of Nizams. It is a great accompaniment to the ever famous hyderabadi biryani.

Peppers simmered in peanut sauce with a touch of sourness from tamarind makes an intriguing dish. The coriander, cumin, sesame and coconut add a vibrant taste and rich texture.



You can choose from the wide array of peppers like Anaheim chili, banana pepper, bell pepper, Fresno pepper, jalapeno pepper, poblano pepper, Serrano pepper depending on how hot you like it.

I used a green and a red bell pepper, the mildest of all. Choose a pepper with thick skin. I recommend jalapenos if you enjoy spicy food. The spice level goes up my multiple notches with jalapenos.

Ingredeints:
2 bellpeppers cut into 1 inch squares
1 onion chopped, sautéed and coarsely ground
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
Juice extracted from walnut sized tamarind ball or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste

Roast and grind:
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp peanuts
½ tsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp dry coconut powder or fresh grated coconut
2 red chilies

For Seasoning:
1 tsp cumin
1 red chili
Curry leaves

Heat oil in a pan, sauté bell peppers with a pinch of salt for two minutes on relatively high heat, stirring constantly. Do not let the peppers wilt or loose color. Remove form pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Mix the ground masala, ground onion and ginger garlic paste.

In the same heated pan now at medium heat add seasoning followed by the mixed paste. Sauté for few mintues. Peanuts tend to stick to the bottom, stir often. Add chili powder, turmeric and salt. Sauté for couple more minutes.

Add tamarind juice or tamarind paste along with half cup water. Bring it to a boil.

Add bell peppers and also water (if required) to get the right consistency. Gravy should not be too thick or too watery.

Let it simmer for 8 to 10 mintues. Remove from heat when the bell peppers are just about cooked. Do not let them get mushy.

Enjoy it with biryani or naan.

Tips: Onions have to be sautéed until they aquire a brown hue. But do not let them burn. While roasting masala remember to add coconut at the end. I grind masala followed by ginger garlic and then onion in the same jar.

Anapakaya Perugu Kura --Bottle Gourd in Yogurt Sauce

I have always been fascinated by yogurt based curries. The rich creamy texture of yogurt with a chili and coconut flavor is an absolute delight. Bottle gourd with its mild taste and high water content, though thought as a bland veggie by many has a great ability to absorb the flavors of spices and other ingredients it is cooked with.

When I came across bottle gourd cooked in yogurt sauce http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2006/07/19/bottle-gourd-in-yogurt-kaalan/ on Indira’s blog I had to try it right away. This turned out to be a perfectly delicious dish with very few ingredients.

Thank You Indira for a wonderful recipe.


Ingredients:
1 small bottle gourd cut into ½ inch cubes or about 2 - 3 cups
1 to 1 ½ cups of yogurt
3 green chilies
2 tbsp of grated coconut
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil

For Seasoning
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
1 red chili
Curry leaves

Grind coconut and green chilies into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard followed by cumin red chilies and curry leaves.

When mustard starts to pop add bottle gourd pieces, sauté for 2 minutes, add turmeric salt and coconut green chili paste.

Sauté for couple more minutes, then add ¼ to ½ cup water and cook covered on medium to low heat.

When the bottle gourd pieces are tender remove from heat and stir in the yogurt.

Let it sit covered for few minutes before serving.

Serve it with hot rice and you are sure to polish your plates.

Tips: I made few adjustments to the quantities of ingredients to suit my taste. I recommend all of you the same, especially with green chilies.