Pavakkai Pitlai (Bittergourd Coconut Curry)

Blogging Marathon# 61: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Meal Ideas

Dish: Bittergourd Pitlai

My theme for this week's Blogging marathon is probably one of my favorite. It is 'Meal Ideas', Valli wants us to showcase a complete meal even if that means sharing just one recipe. Coming up with a plan for a meal is quite an exercise for the brain which is why most of us try to delegate the task to the family by asking, 'what do you want to eat today?' I am one of those people who will ask this question and then reject almost everything that is being requested, only on very rare occasions a suggestion is actually cooked. But I don't fail to ask the question ;-)

Coming from south India, most of our meals revolve around rice, so for the next 3 days, I'm going to share some interesting meal ideas with rice as one of the component.

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Kashmiri Mini Thali - Roti, Dum Aloo, Apple Chutney and Saffron Rice

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 8: Kashmir -- Kashmiri Roti with Dum Aloo, Doon Chetin & Kashmiri Yellow Rice

After seeing my marathon buddies make amazing thalis, I made a mini Kashmiri thali for today's mega marathon. Thanks to Valli's and Vaishali's Kashmiri posts for the inspiration. I picked the recipes from their thalis to make mine. Here's what I made:

• Kashmiri Roti (recipe follows)
• Kashmiri Dum Aloo
• Kashmiri Kesari Rice
• Doon Chetin (Apple Chutney)

Kashmiri roti is a very flavorful recipe with spices that are added right into the dough. It is kneaded with milk instead of water to make soft and delicious rotis. Served with Kashmiri Dum Aloo, these rotis tasted simply amazing.

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Xalapa (Mexico) -- Vegetarian Mexican Brunch (Huevos Rancheros with Black beans)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: X for Xalapa -- Mexico

Dish: Vegetarian Mexican Brunch -- Black bean Huevos Rancheros, Spicy Home Fries & Sangrita

Today we are going to Xalapa, Mexico. Technically ther are no countries starting with X, so as a group it was decided that we pick a place that starts with X and then make a dish from that place or the country it belongs to. 'X' is the only alphabet that I didn't have a country or dish planned. First I decided to a place in Spain, but then I didn't want to miss the opportunity to cook from my favorite Mexican cuisine, so ended up with Xalapa, Mexico.
Another factor that made me want to do Mexican is Bobby Flay's Mexican brunch that he made on Cooking Channel. Every he made looked so good that I wanted to recreate the whole meal at home. Huevos Rancheros has been on my to-make list forever, so this gave me an opportunity to try it.

Huevos Rancheros or 'rancher's eggs' is a popular breakfast dish that has eggs and is traditionally served on rural Mexican farms. This dish consists of fried eggs served over fried corn tortillas and topped with tomato-chili sauce.

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Turkey -- Turkish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days

Country: T for Turkey

Dishes: Bulgur Pilaf, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Zucchini Fritters & Knafeh
We are going to Turkey today. One of my girl friend is from Turkey and after tasting their food many times, I knew I have to try those recipes for the BM. I even bothered her on vacation and asked her to suggest some Turkish dishes that I could try. Sweet heart that she is, she sent me links to recipes that I could try. So thanks to my dear friend, I have a yummy and filling Turkish meal today.
The first time I ever had Turkish meal was at a Turkish restaurant where one of my ex-colleagues had her daughter's first birthday party. I don't really remember what we ate that day, but I clearly remember enjoying everything that was served to us.
Here's a glimpse of Turkish brunch that we had at a Turkish restaurant for my birthday this year. We had Simit (famous Turkish bread) sandwich with French fries and in the second picture is the typical breakfast dishes like cheese, jelly, egg, olives etc that are eaten in Turkey.

After that I was lucky enough to enjoy home cooked dishes made by my lovely Turkish friend and her mom. Their dishes are simple but they are exotically flavored with rose water or orange blossom water like in this Baklava. Mint and parsley are used extensively making the dishes taste fresh and delicious.

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Sweden -- Swedish Vegetarian Meal (Recipes)

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: S for Sweden

Dishes: Swedish Sandwich Cake (Smörgåstårta), Raggmunk (Potato Pancakes), Broccoli Soup & Christmas Porridge
We are going to Sweden today.It is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. Two of my brothers-in-law live there now. We went to Sweden 5 years ago and had a chance to visit Stockholm (Capital of Sweden) and Gothenburg. It is a beautiful country and we had a great time there. Good thing about visiting a new country, not as a tourist but as a guest is that we got a chance to see the country more up close. We went to couple of grocery stores with my BIL's family that I'm sure we would have skipped if we were tourists.

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Russia -- A Simple Vegetarian Russian Meal

BM# 44: A-Z Cooking Series -- Around the World in 30 days
Country: R for Russia

Dishes: Borscht (Russian Beet & Veggie Soup), Tomato & Cucumber Salad, Salad Olivier
We are going to Russia today. Russia is a country in northern Eurasia. Russia has over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous people in Russia. Ethnic Russians with their Slavic traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture and so on. My knowledge of Russia was from the Russian folktale books that we used to read as kids. My dad used to buy these books at book exhibitions and we also had a subscription to a kids magazione called 'Mischa'. My mom still has those books and my son loved reading them while we were in India.
Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries and honey. I wanted to bake the famous Russian Black bread, but I wasn't sure if there will be any takers for it at home. Pirozhki and Blini were also on my to-make list but never materialized.

This meal was not actually on my initial plan, but the amazing meals that Varada & Pradnya have been making for the BM inspired me to make a meal too. So here I am with a few Russian dishes that can be served for a meal.

I decided on trying simple, easy-to-make dishes form Russia and here is what I made:

• Borscht -- Russian Beet & Veggie Soup
• Salad Olivier -- Russian Potato Salad
• Tomato & Cucumber Salad
• Russian Honey Cake 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44.

An InLinkz Link-up

A Vegetarian Indian Thali

Blogging Marathon# 40: Week 4/ Day 3
Theme: Bookmarked recipes from BM# 39
Dish: Indian Thali

So for the last day of the marathon, I created a thali with some of the recipes that I bookmarked from last month's mega marathon. Indian thali usually consists of a Bread, Rice dish, a dry curry, a gravy curry, chutney and something sweet to end the meal. 

Most of the dishes in this thali are from the North Eastern states of India. To be honest, I had no idea about the eating habits or the popular dishes from any of the North Eastern states. Thanks to the research that all of the marathoners have done last month, I know a lot more about these cuisines now. I also wanted to make this black rice pudding from Nagaland for dessert, but I made this thali for myself and I wasn't motivated enough to make a dessert and also I was tooooo full after eating this meal. buuurp!!

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Vegetarian Himachal Pradesh Thali

Blogging Marathon# 40: Week 4/ Day 2
Theme: Bookmarked recipes from BM# 39
Dish: Himachal Pradesh Thali

Day 2 of the marathon and today we are travelling to Himachal Pradesh all the way in Northern India. This is one of the states that I had bookmarked a lot of recipes and figured its better to feature them all in a thali. All the dishes are very simple to make and it took me a little over 1 hour to make them. My  husband was not too thrilled with this since the channa madra had yogurt and the nashpati ki subzi is on the sweet side. I should have thought about it, but well that was that. I on the other hand enjoyed all the dishes.

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Simple Vegetarian Tamil Nadu Thali

Blogging Marathon# 40: Week 4/ Day 1
Theme: Bookmarked recipes from BM# 39
Dish: Tamil Nadu Thali

Today we are starting the final week of blogging marathon# 40. After posting the unused posts from last month's mega marathon, this week's theme is still related to the mega marathon. I'm going to post the bookmarked recipes from my fellow marathoners for the next 3 days.
Mega marathon was sure mega in lots of different ways -- mega research, mega posts, mega yapping on Whatsapp and then mega bookmarked posts after the marathon itself. I had bookmarked a lot of dishes, which I'm sure I will not be able to get to if not for this theme. After seeing so many amazing thalis during the marathon, I'm kind of obsessed with the thali concept. So for the next 3 days, I decided to do 3 thalis with bookmarked recipes.
For the first day, I have a very simple thali from Tamil Nadu. Initially I was planning to make an elaborate thalis like the ones Sandhya & Nalini posted. But one the day I planned to cook, one dish after the other got dropped out of the list and in the end it was an extremely simple thali with everyday dishes. In case you are wondering what I took off the list, I planned to make masala vada/ paruppu vadai, sundal and a lentil based dessert.

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Kanchipuram Idli & Kara Chutney (Breakfast Thali from Tamil Nadu)

The month long mega marathon is still lingering in the air and I have quite a few posts in the drafts that I made and could not post. So here we are with a breakfast mini thali from Tamil Nadu that I wanted to post for Tamil Nadu, but changed and did this Chettinad Vegetarian Biryani.

Kanchipuram idli has been on my to-make list for a very very long time. I think I saw the recipe in a Telugu newspaper many many years ago and it stayed in my head, though it wasn't until very recently. I jotted it down for Tamil Nadu, but with the winter lingering around a little too long, I wasn't sure if the batter would rise. I waited till it started to get a little warm again to make the idlis. It took me 48 hours for the batter to ferment and the idlis turned out fluffy and delicious.

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Rajasthan -- Lunch Thali

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 24
State: Rajasthan
Dish: Rajasthani Lunch Thali

Today we are going to the 'Land of Kings or Land of Kingdoms', Rajasthan, previously known as Rajputana. It is India's largest state by area and is located on the north western side of India. The main geographic features of Rajasthan are the Thar desert and the Aravalli Range. The northwestern region of Rajasthan is generally sandy and dry because of the Thar desert. The Aravalli range and the lands east and southeast of the range are generally more fertile and better watered.
When I think of Rajasthan, I think of the beautiful forts, palaces, colorful outfits and the colorful outfits. Like the many states I mentioned, my dad went to Rajasthan too for work years ago and brought us back lot of beautiful dress materials (for salwar kameez) and bed sheets. I still have a couple of dresses that I don't wear often, but kept them for the memories and colors -- the one you see in the background is from way back when :-)
Cuisine: Rajasthani cuisine is very rich much like its culture. It is a splendid array of colorful, spicy and unique dishes. The Rajasthani platter is a gastronomic delight and if you have been to a Rajasthani restaurant you will know the amount of food they serve and the number of dishes/ courses they have -- that is one belt bursting feast indeed.
Rajasthani cooking is influenced by the availability of ingredients in this arid region and the lifestyle of its inhabitants. Food that lasts for several days and that can be eaten without heating is preferred. Scarcity of water and green vegetables have all had their effects on the cooking.
Specialties: Churma, Gujia, Ghevar, Dal, Baati, Kachori etc.

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An Ayurvedic Meal (Thali)

With the ongoing BM mega marathon, thalis have become quite popular among our BM group. I wish I had more time to make thalis for some of the states. But it is what it is, so I decided to make a thali for Cooking from Cookbook Challenge instead. Today's thali is an Ayurvedic Thali from Sukham Ayu.

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Gujarat -- Mini Thali

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 8
State: Gujarat
Dish: Mini Gujarati Thali

Gujarat is a state in the North-Western coast of India. It is known locally as Jewel of the West. Gujarat is the home of many many freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, successful entreprenuers like Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance Industries), Azim Premji (Wipro Limited) and Jamsetji Tata. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India.

Cuisine: Gujarat is primarily a vegetarian cuisine due to the influence of Jain vegetarianism and traditional Hinduism. When i think of Gujarat, I think of the wide variety of dishes they have. There are so many snack items, so many breads, so many of everything. Gujaratis travel with bags full of snacks wherever they go and most of them are probably homemade. Adding a little sugar or jaggery to some of the dishes is common in Gujarat, the sweet flavor is believed to neutralize the slightly bland taste of the vegetables. Sweets (desserts) are extremely popular too in Gujarat.

Staple Food: Wheat, Rice, Lentils

Specialties: There are hundreds of Gujarati specialties, here are a few: Handvo, Muthia, Patra, Undhiyu, Khandvi, Dhokla, Kachori so on and so on.

Today's Dish(es): I wanted to try more than one dish from this amazing cuisine and with the time I had, I made a mini thali with simple and everyday Gujarati dishes. I have some good Gujarati friends and was lucky enough to enjoy their delicious home cooked dishes. Most of the dishes look so simple to make, but they are tricky and need some practice to make them perfect like Khandvi, Dhokla, Handvo etc.

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Punjabi Thali for RCI-Punjab

I finally made it before the dead line for the RCI-Punjab event hosted this time around by Richa of As Dear As Salt. I thought I was on top of it till the 15^th of this month and never realized it’s already the 23^rd.

So here is my Punjabi thali (in Anti-Clockwise direction) Tandoori Naan, Jeera Rice, Tandoori Gobhi, Paneer Makhmali and Mango milk shake.

Both the curry recipes are adapted from Tarla Dalal’s Swadisht Subzi recipe series. I served the curries with store-bought Tandoori naans and jeera rice (sautéed cumin (jeera), caraway seeds (Shah jeera), bay leaves and green chilies in 1 tsp oil and mixed this with rice).

For dessert I made thick mango shake instead of mango lassi, because my husband is not a big fan of yogurt and lassis. For the milk shake, I blended chunks of fresh mango with light cream and sugar till light and fluffy.

On the whole, this is not a very heart healthy thali, but definitely delicious and satisfying. (A 30 minute work-out might help you with the guilt)

Tandoori Gobhi

This can be served as a side dish for rotis, chapathis and naans or as an appetizer (with less gravy). This dish is my new favorite. All the masalas (spices) blend so well that it tasted nothing like I imagined and my husband didn’t even notice the yogurt.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower (Gobhi) – 1 small, cut into florets
Onion – 1 medium, thinly sliced
Green peppers – 1 medium, thinly sliced (I used half green, half red)
Cumin seeds – 1tsp
Salt – to taste

For marinade:
Yogurt – ½ cup, beaten
Besan (Chickpea flour) – 3 tbsp
Chili powder – 1 tsp
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Garlic paste – 2 tsp
Kasoori Methi – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp

Method:

• Microwave cauliflower in some water for 3-4 minutes or parboil on stove top.
  
• Mix all the ingredients for marinade thoroughly. Add cauliflower florets and leave for at least 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 tsp oil, add cumin seeds and after they splutter, add onions and peppers and sauté till transparent about 8-10 minutes.
  
• Add cauliflower along with the marinade and cook for 7-8 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked through. Season with salt and serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.
  

Paneer Makhmali

Slightly different take on our regular paneer recipe and tasted awesome with naan and rice.

Ingredients:
Paneer – 3 cups, cubed
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Tomato puree – 2 tbsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Milk – 1/4 cup (I used light cream)
Salt – to taste

For the marinade:
Mint leaves – 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves – 2 cups
Green chilies – 3-4
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 3 tsp
Cashews – ¼ cup
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients for the marinade into a thick paste with little water.
  
• Marinate paneer pieces in this mixture for at least 15 minutes.
  
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan; add onions and sauté till pink. Add tomato puree and 1/4 cup water, cook covered for about 5 minutes.
  
• Slide in the paneer pieces and cook for 8-10 minutes.
  
• Add milk (or cream) and cook on medium low flame till the milk cooks and evaporates.
• Add garam masala and season with salt. Remove from heat and serve immediately.