Kwik Fix Series # 9 - Okra hot & sour gravy

Don't get perplexed by the post title. The recipe is 100% South-Indian and I have just renamed vendaikka(okra) puli(sour/tamarind) kozhambu (soup/gravy), thus for the benefit of non-Tamils.

This is a real hot and tangy kozhambu to go with hot-hot rice and a papad/quick curry. Ideal for the people in Northern hemisphere, now, with the advent of winter. This is a such a quick recipe and bachelor friendly meaning, it uses common ingredients from your kitchen and does not require any special kitchen appliance including mixer/blender.

The typical iyer vetha kozhambu is also prepared in the similar way except that, there are no tomatoes/onions in a typical vetha kozhambu and we add some sun-dried fries like sun-berries.
You can also make it with just drumstick/onion/egg plant/bitter gourd. Sometimes, a teaspoon of toor dhall is added while seasoning to compensate for the lack of lentils ( like in sambar).

Kara kozhambu is also similar to this and a little coconut milk is added as a last step and boiled for a min.

Puli kozhambu/vetha kozhambu/kara kozhambu, all refers to this simple gravy sans lentils.

I have added onions, tomatoes and okra in my kozhambu.
You can add brinjals in the place of okra, shallots in place of normal onions or replace everything by just drumsticks. Really lip smacking for cold weathers.

Ingredients:

Onions - cut length wise, a handful
Tomato - 1, blanched, skin removed and mashed. Or, you can simply chop them, fine.
Okra- cut into 1.5 '' pieces
Tamarind pulp extracted from lemon size tamarind or 2 tsp tamarind paste dissolved in 1 cup water.
Red chilli powder or sambar powder - 1 tsp ( I used kashmiri chilli powder for a bright color)
Red chillies 2 broken into pieces
Curry leaves - a few
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
Fenugreek/vendayam/methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Sesame oil 1 tablespoon (Tastes best with sesame oil)
Hing a pinch

Method:
1) Take a thick bottomed vessel, heat the oil, season the ingredients. When the mustard pops, add onions and red chillies. Fry till light brown.
2) Add okra and fry for 2 min. Add the tomato pulp or chopped tomatoes.
3) Cook for a min and add the tamarind extract. Add salt, chilli powder and curry leaves.
4) Boil till the oil separates and serve hot with rice.

Tips:
1. If you think it is watery, mix a little rice flour in a tsp of water and add to the kozhambu.
2. If you wish to add coconut milk, add as a final step and boil for less than a minute.
3. This gravy has a way too much oil, chillies and tamarind which is not a very healthy option.
So, don't eat this often due to the simplicity of the recipe. As a healthier variation, you can cut down the tamarind paste a bit and add a little lime juice at the end.

Kwik Fix Series # 8 - Grilled Paneer & Carrot Sandwich

The weather is getting colder here and I had no mood to cook anything elaborate for lunch, today. As you all know, that is when a recipe for my kwik fix series originates. Normally, I am a person who is least interested in eating bread. I always try to add an Indian touch to it. Just yesterday, checked the round-up of snacks with bread at Priya's blog, here. Inspired, here I come up with my own version of sandwich. One good thing about this is, you can serve this any time of the day. Will taste good even for lunch boxes. You can also use your left over curries from lunch/dinner. Another great thing is, the filling is concealed and hence people can enjoy the sandwich without the feeling of what went into it. That ofkors excludes us, the cook who knows what all went into it. ;) But anyway, we are foodies and we don't say no to anything. :D

As I said earlier, you can use your leftover curries as a filling for your sandwiches. If you have leftover filling after making this sandwich, you can use it up as a stuffing for your parathas.

Ingredients:
Bread - 4 slices
Grated Paneer & Grated carrot - equal parts - about 1 cup
Chopped Onion - a handful
Chopped green chillies - 2
Green Chutney - 4 tsp (I used my leftover mint- coriander chutney)
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder & chilli powder - 1/2 tsp each
Chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
Butter - 1 tsp plus a little to spread on the slices

Method:
1) Heat 1 tsp butter, season with jeera. Fry the onions and green chillies till tender. Add the grated paneer and carrots. Saute well. Add salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Fry for a min, switch off and add cilantro.


2) Cut the corners of the bread. Apply a little butter on one slice. Apply green chutney and place a little paneer filling. Spread it evenly. Do the same for another slice. Place one slice on top of another such that the paneer filling is sandwiched in between the slices. Repeat the same for another set. Apply a very little butter on top and bottom of the sandwich.

3) Grill the sandwiches in a toaster or cook both the sides on a tawa. Grilling on a toaster gives a better effect since the edges are effectively sealed.



Serve hot with tomato ketchup and potato wafers.



Variation:
1) If you want to reduce the calories, replace paneer with grated cabbage or cauliflower.
2) Substitute paneer with boiled and mashed potatoes.
3) You can used ground spinach for green chutney. Grind a handful of spinach with a green chilli and spread it over the bread. Spinach requires very little/no cooking time.
4) Can use any leftover curry from lunch. If you don't have time to make a green chutney, spread a little maggi masala ketchup.

You can come up with umpteen variations depending on the time of the day and the end-users (kids or adults) (:D)

Sending this to kid's delight event at Srivalli's blog.

Kwik Fix Series # 7 - Lemon Rice

Next recipe that gets to feature in my kwik fix series is Lemon Rice. It is so basic for a South Indian that I can hear some of you exclaiming "huh! recipe for lemon rice!". It is such an easy breezy recipe and I would like to post it in my space for the benefit of those who have not heard of it , so far. If you perform a survey on South Indian lunch boxes on any given day, I am positive that every alternate box would carry lemon rice. Okay! If not 50% at least 25%; trust me. As a child, I was always thrilled to carry this with potato fry.

If you have leftover rice, you can make this in a jiffy. Season the rice and squeeze in some lemon juice, you are ready to go!

Though I call it a simple recipe, I feel it needs utmost perfection. I don't like my rice oily or with a dark yellow color. I have added minimal oil, just right amount of turmeric for the perfect bright yellow color and as an end result got a juicy lemon rice. Perfect for lunch boxes!

Ingredients:
Cooked rice - 1 cup (Bring down the rice to room temperature, spread the rice without sticking to each other)
Green chillies - 2 medium chopped
Curry leaves - 5
Mustard - 2 tsp
Channa dhal - 1 tsp
Urad dhal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - half to one tsp
Lemon - 1
Salt to taste
Hing a pinch

Method:

1) Take a small seasoning pan, heat the oil. Add hing, channa dhal, urad dhall and mustard. When the mustard pops, switch off the gas.
2) Remove the pan, add chillies, turmeric and curry leaves in that order. The heat in the pan is enough to cook the chillies.
3) Add salt to the rice and pour the seasoning. Mix well.
4) Squeeze in the lemon juice, without the seeds. Have a check on the amount of juice. If you are using a real juicy one, squeeze in half a lemon, taste once and then add more juice to taste.
5) Close the rice for half an hour for the juices to blend.
Serve with potato wafers or my fiery hot potato fry. Any spicy curry will go well with this rice.

Tip: You can add peanuts or cashews with the seasoning.

I have seen people making this in a different way. After seasoning, add the rice to the pan with the heat still on, mix well, switch off and then squeeze in the juice.