Jahni Aalu Posto

Orissa cuisine is totally new to me.. And I didnt know what to cook for Swapna's RCI Orissa Cuisine.. Firstly I settled down with rasgullas from Puri temple.. But ek se mera kya hoga :D So decided to try another recipe and went on for Jahni Aalu Posto using recipe posted here.. And it came out to be amazingly tasty.. Loved this simple and lovely dish.. Not much of a hassle to cook and tastes is different from the normal sabjis.. This will be a regular dish at my place now :) That is what you need to do when you get minimal Indian vegetables here and cannot repeat the same dish for more than twice a month :D Here's the recipe for a simple yet lovely dish from the Orissa Cuisine

Jahni Aalu Posto

Preparation Time:

20-25 mins

Serves:

2

What you need:

3 medium sized Ridge Gourd (Jahni/Dodka/Turiya)
2 Potatoes
2 tbsp Poppy Seeds
5-6 cloves of Garlic
3 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Panch Phuran seeds (fennel,fenugreek, mustard,cumin and nigella/black onion seeds mixed in equal amounts)
2 tbsp Oil
Salt as required

How to proceed:

1) Peel and dice Ridge gourd and Potatoes
2) Soak poppy seeds in warm water for 10-15 mins
3) Heat oil in a pan, add panch phoran and chopped green chillies
4) When the seeds start spluttering, add turmeric and salt
5) Saute for 5-10 secs and then add the chopped vegetables
6) Let the vegetables cook
7) Grind soaked poppy seeds and garlic to a smooth paste
8) Cook the vegetables for 10-12 minutes and then add the poppy seeds-garlic paste
9) Cook for another 5 mins till vegetables are done
10) Serve hot with rotis!

Aalo Gobhi

The simplest stir fry Punjabi sabji for RCI Punjabi Cuisine- Aalo Gobhi.. The other stir-fry Punjabi sabjis like aalo matar, aalo simla, gobhi matar, bhindi aalo etc. can be prepared on the same lines as this recipe! Aalo Gobhi is a simple sabji of potatoes and cauliflower. So simple that my husband loving cooks it for me on weekends :) Ready to be served in 15 mins and goes well with flat bread and rotis!

Aalo Gobhi

Preparation time:

15-20 mins

Serves:

2-3 ppl

What you need:

½ kg Cauliflower
3-4 Potatoes
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
2-3 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Corriander powder
2 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

How to proceed:

1) Chop Cauliflower and potatoes in medium sized pieces
2) Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida
3) When mustard seeds start spluttering, add all the spices and mix well
4) Now add chopped aalo and gobi and mix well
5) Cover and cook. Do not add water, let the vegetables cook in their own water
6) Stir at intervals till the potatoes are cooked and become soft (not mushy)
7) Add salt, mix well and turn off heat
8) (Optional) Add a dash of Lemon and serve hot with rotis

Potato Wafers

Summer time in India is time for ladies to prepare their year long stock of pickles and walawan.. Walawan is the category of things made which need to be sun dried. I remember mom making potato wafers, different papads and kurdais during summer time.. Our job as kids used to be to sit on the terrace to keep a watch on the birds that try feasting on these delicacies when they are left for drying :D Little did mom realise that we used to be the real birds feasting on them :) Especially the kurdais made from wheat flour coz they tasted awesome when half dry.. Mom used to have different prepataion for fasting food and for normal days as wells! Fasting preparations usually consisted of potato wafers, potato kees, sabudana papad and subudana babata kurdai/chakli.. Wafers used to be my favourite and I decided to try some last week as I had a bag of potatoes lying around. So here's one of my favourite fasting food- Potato Wafers- for "W of Indian Vegetables." I am glad I made these last week as I really enjoyed eating these yesterday during my Thursday fast :) Thats the advantage of fasting.. lots of yummy foods :D

Making Potato wafers is a bit lengthy process.. But once well prepared and dried, these can be stored for about year! So its just worth the efforts taken. Instead of deep frying in oil (the traditional way), these can be sprayed and baked in microwave as well! Take care while drying them.. If they are stored without proper drying, they can be spoilt by fungus.. So better check that the weather is gonna be sunny for the next 5-6 days before taking up this task ;)

Potato Wafers

Preparation time:

4-5 days

Makes:

Short snack for 1

What you need:

3 medium sized Potatoes (preferably flat and long)
Salt
Oil to fry
Red chilli powder
Hardware- Mandoline

How to proceed:

1) Peel potatoes and make chips using the wavy side of mandoline, or the plain one if you like it plain.. My opinion-the wavy ones look n feel good :D
2) Boil these in water with 1-2 tsp Oil for 4-5 mins
3) Now drain off water and hold the chips under cold water
4) Place the chips separately on a plastic sheet and dry in sunn for 4-5 days, flipping sides twice a day
5) When they are totally dry, store in an air tight container
6) Deep fry in oil, drain excess oil on kitchen towels and sprinkle with red chilli powder and salt or eat plain

Aalu Paratha

The first food item that comes to mind when talking of Punjabi food is Paratha. Parathas are stuffed breads, available in different flavours, depending on the ingredients of the stuffing, most famous being the Aalu Paratha. Aalu Paratha is stuffed bread with stuffing prepared from boiled potatoes. Back in Pune, one of the most famous joint for lajawaab(tasty) parathe is "Chaitanya Paratha" on FC Road. Lately they started another branch in Kothrud which is gaining even more popularity. The parathas served here are priced at Rs. 25-30 and are pretty affordable as one paratha serves as a meal. These paratahs are served with dahi(yoghurt), pyaaz(onion), achaar(pickles) and a yummy dollop of makkhan(Indian butter) which melts on these hot paratahs.. No wonder its always crowded on weekdays and noon time as well! Another famous joint is "Nandu's" on Dhole Patil road,but I had been there just once and always prefer Chaitanya for locality and some other reasons (my friends know better ;) )

Aalu Parathas serve a heavy breakfast as well as filling one-dish meals. Quick and easy to prepare, here's aalu paratha for RCI Punjabi Cuisine.

Aalu Paratha

Makes:

6 parathas

What you need:

For the cover:
2 cup Wheat flour (Atta)
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
Water

For the filling:
4 Potatoes boiled
4-5 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
3-4 cloves of Garlic
2-3 tsp Ajwain seeds
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2-3 strands of Corriander, finely chopped
Salt

How to proceed:

For the cover:
1) Mix all ingredients and knead into soft dough
2) Keep aside for 15-20 mins

For the filling:
1) Mash potatoes
2) Put chillies, ginger and garlic in blender and blend to a paste, add this to mashed potatoes
3) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
4) Divide the filling into 4-5 parts as desired [these should be of size same as dough]

Putting it all together:
1)Divide the dough into 4-5 parts. [the size of each part should be nearly same to size of part of each filling]
2) Roll the dough to diameter of approx 4 inches
3) Put the stuffing/filling in the middle and get the ends of dough together and close so that the filling does not come out
4) Roll the parathas to size 7-8 inch in diameter using wheat flour
5) Roast on hot girdle on both sides till brown using oil/ghee/butter
6) Serve hot wit raitas, curd or pickles!

I served aalo parathas with koshimbir/raita and tomato sabji

Batata Rassa

Rassa Bhaaji is sabji in Maharshtrian meal where the gravy is very thin. Batata Rassa is a wet sabji from potato with thin gravy which I'll be posting for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine! I didnt get to spend time with my in laws after marriage.. So I cant really say much about dishes and cooking style at my in laws.. This is my husband's recipe and so I had to post it! :) Hence this is probably the only recipe that I learnt from my laws :D Enjoy this spicy batata rassa with hot rice once and you would surely give it another try!

Batata Rassa

What you need:

2-3 Potatoes,diced
1 inch Ginger
3-4 cloves Garlic
1/2 cup dry Cocunut, grated
1/4 cup Corriander
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 tsp Goda Masala
1-2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/3 cup Peanut Powder(roasted)

Salt
Oil
Water

How to proceed:

1) Add ginger, garlic, corriander and cocunut to mixer and prepare a smooth paste
2) Heat 4-5 tsp Oil and add mustard and cumin seeds to it
3) When mustard seeds start spluttering, add asafoetida and paste to it
4) Fry the paste till it turns golden brown
5) Now add goda masala, red chilli powder and turmeric, mix well
6) Add diced Potatoes and saute for 5-7 mins
7) Now add 2-3 cups water (as desired) and let potatoes are cooked
8) Add salt and cook till oil comes up and forms a layer (This might seem too oily but its that way :) This oil is called Tarri/Tawang in Marathi)
9) Now add peanut powder and let cook for another 5 mins
10) If potatoes are still uncooked, cover and cook for some more time
11) Serve hot with rice, bhakris or chapatis!

Vada Pav

Some foods are close to the heart not due to the taste, but due to the memories associated with them. For me, Vada Pav falls in the category of food that always takes me back to college days. This post is dedicated to my dear college friends: Shill, Saii, Megh, Poo and Ridd! All 6 of us enjoyed our 4 years of Engineering together in a girls college.. Its exactly 3 years down the line that we left college.. Kisiko yaad bhi hai ki 21st-22nd June ko hamare project evaluation tha?? One thing we all loved was the Vada Pav at the college canteen. It was one of the best vada pav I have tasted.. Priced at just 4 rupees then, it used to be our regular favourite snack after 2-3 hours of lectures and boring practicles. Though we had decided that after college when we start earning, we would drop in college sometime to have vada pav together, the day never came.. Everyone got busy in their lives and some shifted to other city. Though 4 of us worked in the same company, we didn’t get a chance to go back to college together, now that we had found new joints near office. But sometime later we came to know that the caterer in the college canteen had changed and the new caterer was not so good.. so now we are just left with the memories of the vada pav and all the 4 years we spent together in that canteen eating mostly vada pav :) To cherish those memories, I made vada pav today and decided to post it.. So here’s our favourite snack gals.. toot pado ;) Also its Ridd’s bday today and Poo’s bday 4 days down the line.. Wish u a very happy birthday sweeties.. hope you have gr8 time with ur dearest….. Btw, Ridd those chillies are specially for you.. remember you used to be the only one who used to eat all those 7-8 hot chillies that we got with these 5-6 vada pavs :P And since Megh is in India, I know you will plan to meet up.. And I am the only one who’ll be left out :(( Do miss me :(

For fellow bloggers.. here’s some background about vada pav/wada pav.. It can also be called Indian Burger. :) It is a famous snack in Maharashtra, where vada made from potato (batata wada) is placed in a special type of bread called “pav” and is served with some chutney and chilli. The batata vadas are prepared using mashed potatoes, onions and some fresh spicy ginger, garlic and chillies. They are then coated with besan/chickpea flour and fried.. Pav can be replaced with any other bread (except sweet one) or vada can be eaten alone, provided its hot n fresh!

In Pune and Mumbai, vada pav is mostly sold on roadside thelas/joints. The most famous chain in Pune for vada pav is “Joshi Wadewale!” My personal opinion, the vada pav at the thelas taste equally good.. There’s one such thela in Kothrud area, opposite Jagruti sweets.. Its popularity is proved by the crowd there which seems to be competing to get their share! :D 2-3 vada pav’s can substitute a full meal for me :) So here’s vada pav which goes for (obvi) “RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine”, “V of Indian Vegetables” and “WBB #12- Spice it up!”

Vada Pav

What you need:

4-5 Potatoes, boiled
1 Onion, finely chopped
5-6 Green Chillies
3 cloves Garlic
1 inch Ginger
5-6 Curry leaves
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 tsp Turmeric

11/2 cups Besan/Chickpea Flour
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Sodium Bicarb

Water
Salt
Oil for Frying

How to proceed:

1) Mash boiled potatoes, grind garlic, ginger and green chillies to a paste
2) Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a pan, add curry leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida.
3) When mustard seeds start spluttering, add the paste and sauté for 30 sec
4) Now add onion and fry till it turns brown
5) Add turmeric and mashed potatoes and mix well. Add salt as desired
6) Cook covered for 5-7 mins and leave aside to cool
7) When mixture cools, make small balls and flatten them a bit
8) Make batter by adding water to besan; add red chilli powder, turmeric, soda and salt to it.
9) Heat oil in a pan. Dip the balls in batter and slide in hot oil
10) Deep fry on both sides. Fry on medium gas to cook it evenly.
11) Serve hot with some chutney and green chillies

* I served this dish with dry shengdana chutney and fried salted chillies. I also applied some sweet tamarind chutney to one pav.. its the way I like it :)

Batatyachi Bhaaji

Presenting the most simple and adorable Maharashtrian bhaaji (sabji) for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine-Batatyachi bhaaji aka Potato Sabji. This too falls in the dry sabjis category of Maharashtrian food and can be sub classified as paratleli bhaaji. (stir fry vegetables)

Most people (of my generation) know this as the picnic food! :) Potato Bhaaji is quick and simple to prepare and a favorite among kids who usually hate eating other vegetables. Puri-Batatyachi Bhaaji used to be my tiffin for picnics for many years in school. It’s probably the first sabji that I learnt to cook and hence my favorite :)

If you cook the potatoes for long time without stirring, a brownish crisp coating forms over the potatoes at the base. In Marathi, this is called “kharpus bhaajna/karapna”, a typical stage of frying between proper frying/roasting and burning. If I have enough time for cooking, I purposely try to attain this stage to eat the crispy part just because I love its taste. The crispy part is called “kharad” and is mostly associated with Khichdi (Rice cooked with moong dal) and dry stir fry sabjis!

This bhaaji does not contain Onion, Ginger or Garlic. Hence it remains good (and even smells good) for long time even in hot weather conditions and is the perfect picnic food!

Batatyachi Bhaaji

What you need:

3 big Potatoes, boiled
1-2 tsp Sugar (preferably powdered)
Salt to taste
2 strands of Curry leaves
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Turmeric
3-4 Green Chillies, chopped
4-5 strands of Corriander
2 tbsp Oil

How to proceed:

1) Dice the boiled potatoes
2) Sprinkle sugar and salt (as required) over the potatoes and mix well so that the potato cubes are coated with sugar and salt. Leave aside for 5 mins
3) Heat oil in a skillet. Add curry leaves and mustard seeds
4) When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add chopped chillies and turmeric powder
5) Now add the potatoes and mix well
6) Cover and cook for 5-10 mins. Keep stirring at intervals
7) Garnish with corriander and serve wth puris/chapattis