Kovakka or Tindora Fry

Another dry curry!
Tindora is something common and cheap, back home. I do find a lot of them even here. Are you bored of making the same old fry using salt and chilli? Here I come with 2 variations. Simple yet yummy.

Variation 1

Ingredients:

Tindora- 20 nos

Shallots (small onions)- 10

Red chillies - 2

Oil - 1 table spoon

Mustard - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method :

1. Cut the tindora length wise into thin strips.

2. Fry the shallots and red chillies in a teaspoon of oil, grind and keep it aside.

3. Heat the oil, temper the mustard and add the tindora.

4. After it gets slightly cooked, add salt and the ground paste.

5. Fry them well and the curry is ready to serve. Goes well with rice.

Variation 2

Ingredients:
Tindora- 20 nos (sliced length wise)
Red Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 table spoon
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil and season with jeera.

2. Add the chilli powder and tindora in that order.

3. After it gets cooked, mix the salt and pav bhaji masala. This does the trick and gives a north Indian flavor which makes it suitable for rotis.

Tip : You can also mix half a cup of boiled channa. Ofkors remember to adjust salt and chilli accordingly.

Aloo fry

which is something different from the normal pan fried potatoes. The masala used is similar to that used for dum aloo. This is in a dry form and maybe you can vary this to make a dum aloo gravy. I will try that soon and post it. This goes well with roti, rice and typical south indian gravies also - a welcoming change.Ingredients:
Baby Potatoes 1/2 kg
pepper 1 tsp
dhania seeds 1tsp
Garlic 4
Ginger 1 big piece
Red chilli powder 2 tsp
Haldi 1/2 tsp
Jeera 2 tsp
Spice powder - Cardomom,cinnamon,cloves 2 each fried over a dry tawa and powdered
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Coriander to garnish

Method:
1) Pressure cook the potatoes
2) Peal and prick the potatoes with a fork
3) Grind pepper,Dhania seeds,garlic and ginger to a fine paste
4) Smear the potatoes with salt,turmeric,chilli powder,the ground paste and keep aside
5) Heat oil and season with jeera
6) Fry the potatoes till golden brown
7) Add the spice powder and garnish with chopped coriander

Great side dish for more kozhambu and my mouth is watering as I write this :P

Pumpkin Puli Pachadi (sour gravy)

This is a dish from palakkad regularly made at home. Pumpkins can be substituted by lady's finger. Generally it is made using either of the two.

Ingredients:

yellow pumpkin chopped into pieces - 1 cup

tamarind paste - 1 tsp or tamarind extract from a lemon-size ball

coconut - 1 tablespoon

mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp

Green Chillies - 4

Urad dhall - 1 tsp

Coconut oil - 1 tsp

salt to taste

Coriander to Garnish

Method:
1) Boil the yellow pumpkin with 2 cups water till soft

2) Add the tamarind paste and salt. Check for the water content and add some more if required 3) Grind cocount,half a tsp mustard(Hold the rest for seasoning) and green chillies into a smooth paste

4) Add the paste and boil till frothy(Don't boil too much after adding coconut)

5) Temper the mustard and fry the urad dhall in the oil and season the gravy

6) Garnish with chopped coriander

Panner Butter Masala

Paneer Butter Masala is a rich, creamy and yet spicy preparation of paneer in a tomato gravy . It is basically a punjabi dish and anyone would crave for it. Though it looks and sounds a bit complicated with so many ingredients, it is a relatively easy preparation and you can make it restaurant-like so quickly.

Ingredients:

Onions - 1/4 kg

Tomatoes - 1/4 kg

Paneer cubes - 1 cup

Khus khus and cashew paste 2 tablespoons

Dry powders
Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Chilli powder 2 tsp

Dhaniya powder 2 tsp

Garam Masala powder 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Spice powder

(To be fried in oil and powdered)

cardomom, cinnamon, cloves 4 each

For Frying

Oil 1 tablespoon

Butter 1 tablespoon

For seasoning

Jeera 2 tsp

Bay leaves 2 to 3

Coriander 1/2 bunch

Kasoori methi a pinch

For garnishing

Fresh Cream 1 table spoon

Method:

1. Heat oil and butter and season with jeera and bay leaves.

2. Fry the chopped onions till dark brown

3. Now add khus khus cashew paste and fry well.

4. Add the dry powders

5. Mix well and add the grated tomatoes

6. Add salt and simmer till the oil comes out

7. Add about 2 cups water and panner cubes

8. Sprinkle the spice powder and chopped coriander

9. Decorate with cream and serve hot.

Tips:

1. It is gud to add grated tomatoes to give a nice texture.

2. Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) really does the trick. Try to add them without fail to give a nice aroma and flavor

3. Home made paneer recipe : Raw milk - 1 litre ; Sour curd-1 cup; Lime juice

Boil the milk and add curd and lime juice.

Stir till the whey water is clear

Strain in a thin cloth

Place a weight on the top and keep for sometime.

( I have always used ready-made paneer and I find it equally good. If you could invest so much time and patience, try this :) )

Veg Cutlet

Ingredients:

Beans 100g

Peas 100g

Carrots 100g

Potatoes 1/4 kg

Onions 1 finely chopped

Green chillies 6

Ginger 1 small piece

Dhania powder 2 tsp

Chilli powder 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves 1 bunch

Oil 2 tsp

Method :

1. Wash and cut veg into very fine pieces

2. Pressure cook the veg and potatoes separately without water(Jus fill the cooker vessel with water and place the veg in a small vessel without water. The idea is to have minimum moisture)

3. Chop onions,green chillies and ginger finely

4. Heat oil in a pan and season with jeera

5. Add the chopped onions, chillies and ginger and fry till pink in color and tender

6. Add the mashed potatoes, cooked veg, salt, dry powders and the chopped coriander.

7. Mix well and keep aside

8. When cool, divide into small portions

9. Shape the cutlet,dip in maida batter roll over powdered rusk and shallow fry.

Tips:

1. You may also use egg white instead of maida batter to coat the cutlets

2. You can make the cutlets beforehand and shallow fry it just before serving. This way you can serve them as starters for parties.

3. Shallow frying is better than deep frying since the latter will make the cutlets soggy and this way u also get to eat less oil. :P

4. The cutlet must be hard and dry before frying to have it intact. I generally coat the cutlet with powdered rusk twice or thrice to achieve this.

Sending this to Sunday Snacks - chaats hosted by pallavi.