Mahanandi

Jeelakarra Karam (Cumin and Chillies)

Jeelakarra Karam is a type of highly aromatic masala powder with cumin and chillies from Andhra Pradesh, Bharath.

Recipe:

Quarter cup - cumin
10 to 12 red chillies - small round type shown above
2 to 4 garlic cloves - roughly chopped
Quarter teaspoon - salt

Take cumin in a spice grinder and grind to fine powder. Add red chillies, garlic and salt to powdered cumin. Grind to smooth without adding water. Remove and store in a clean jar.

Dry saute style curries with brinjals, potatoes and tindora greatly benefit by the addition of flavorful and smoky Jeelakarra Karam.

Recipe source: Amma, Nandyala.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Amma & Authentic Andhra, Dried Red Chillies, Herbs and Spices, Cumin (Jeelakarra) (Friday June 29, 2007 at 9:50 pm- permalink)
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Matar Paneer with Fresh Summer Peas

Plump and firm, fresh peas of summer are a sight to behold. Bouncing out of pods, with that smooth pearly finish in pleasant green and warm sheen, they seem fit for a necklace rather than that endless pit we call stomach.

After the classic south Indian style Guggullu, the next best recipe with freshly shelled peas is the famous north Indian specialty called “Matar Paneer”. Matar means Peas in Hindi language. There are so many different ways to prepare this recipe. Mass produced for buffet, the much-maligned style with frozen peas is sadly how most people get acquainted with matar paneer. Over-cooked in overtly-spiced sauces, poor peas and paneer would evoke pity instead of poignant piquancy. Even the hardcore buffet connoisseurs can’t help but pass the peas. Thus punished, the curry remains in the pan, to spend the night in refrigerator feeling the onion raita’s aroma, all to face another day of reheating and rejection. The sob story of restaurant style matar paneer is truly pull-at-the-heartstrings, tearjerker of bollywood.

In contrast, the home-style version is an Indian housewife’s summer romance with sweet peas. It’s a joyous celebration of nature’s bounty. Fresh cow or buffalo milk churned to paneer, a cup of peas freshly shelled from the pods, few tomatoes plucked from the vines - if you stop and think for a minute, it’s easy to imagine how the recipe originated and the reason it got so famous. A treat for dulled taste buds as well as a sight for sore eyes, fresh peas of summer make matar paneer a pleasure to savor.

Peas, Paneer, Tomatoes and Cashews ~ Ingredients for Matar Paneer

Recipe:

1 cup fresh shelled peas
½ cup each - paneer cubes and roasted cashews
4 tomatoes and 1 onion - finely sliced
1 tablespoon - ginger, garlic and cilantro (GGC) paste
1 tablespoon - clove,cinnamon,coriander and cumin (CCCC) powder
½ tsp each - salt and turmeric (or to taste)
¼ tsp - chilli powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon oil

Grind roasted cashews to fine powder in a mixer or spice grinder.

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add and saute finely chopped onions till translucent. Add the GGC paste, cook for few seconds. Next, tomatoes turn. Cook them till they turn to mush when pressed with the back of spoon. After spoon-mushing tomatoe pieces, stir in cashew powder, CCCC powder, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Also green peas and paneer cubes. Add about a cup of water. Mix and simmer covered for about five to ten minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Enjoy with rice, parathas or chapatis.

Matar Paneer with Parathas and Cucumber Raita ~ Enjoying the Goodness of Seasonal Vegetables

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Paneer, Tomato, Cashews, Peas (Bataani) (Thursday June 28, 2007 at 9:02 pm- permalink)
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Sautéed Sprouts ~ Moong, Moth & Red Chori

Tiranga Sprouts: Moong, Moth and Red Chori Bean Sprouts

Sprouts for breakfast is still a solution for early morning hunger in Bharat’s many “long-life” rural villages, where they are considered essential to good health and longevity. One of the few people in the world to start off the day with sprouts, Bharatiya - the old world kind, point to the fact that sprouts are quick and easy to prepare. For our grandparents, the hearty ruchi of filling sprouts was as appetizing as that of bagel and bread for many of our generation. Even today, my grandparents and in-laws start the day with sprouts. Their explanation is that sprouts offer abundant nourishment, stamina and energy that last all morning. It is also well known fact that sprouts aid to digestion and assimilation.

Among all legume and lentil sprouts, the moong beans make the popular choice. Mellow and subtly sweet, freshly sprouted moong beans are easy to like and easy to digest. Equally good are moth (Matki) and red chori bean sprouts. Together, in three vibrant colors, the Tiranga sprouts make a very satisfying snack or meal.

Vijay and I, we both are big fans of Tiranga sprouts. Vijay goes for raw; I on the other hand prefer when they are lightly sautéed and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The oil-less sautéing imparts a heartwarming sweet aroma and makes them an irresistible kind of snack for me.

Sautéing the Sprouts in an Iron Skillet

Method:

Half cup each - freshly sprouted moong, moth and red chori beans
Half teaspoon each - salt and pepper
Iron Skillet and 5 minutes of your time

Heat an iron skillet or kadai on medium flame.
Place the sprouted beans.
Saute them continuously mixing for about five minutes.
Turn off the heat, when they are still soft yet crunchy.
(Avoid prolonged saute. It makes them extremely crispy, which in turn would cause hard dental workout and we don’t want that.)
Sprinkle salt and pepper. Mix and serve hot.
Lemon juice, finely chopped onions etc can be added if desired.

Sautéed Sprouts with Salt and Pepper ~ An Heartwarming Snack

Notes:
Tirangā – तिरंगा (Hindi) = Tri Color (English)
Moong, Moth and Red Chori beans are available in Indian grocery.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Moong Dal (whole), Red Beans (Chori), Sprouts (Molakalu), Moth (Desi Chori) (Tuesday June 26, 2007 at 9:58 pm- permalink)
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Ruchira ~ Cookbook Review and Recipe Sprouted Beans Usal

Ruchira by Kamalabai Ogale

“Ruchira ~ Selected Maharashtrian Vegetarian Recipes” by Kamalabai Ogale is a sweet little cookbook that I have been using for just over a year. The cookbook is an English translation of 25-year old original by the same name “Ruchira” in Marathi language.

Ruchira is chock full of honest content. A total of 94 recipes in 11 categories, nearly all recipes are within reach of competent home cooks. Many recipes are quite simple to prepare, the instructions are easy to follow and the rewards are great. The difference is not in the dishes offered, but in the ingredients and how the Marathas use them. The text should be read first to get a feel for the Maharashtrian cooking. Then head for the kitchen to cook one of the divine recipes. Next to going to Maratha heartland, Ruchira offers a great way to treat ourselves to cooking real Marathi way.

If you are looking for a book that will teach you to cook the best Maharashtrian food, then I will definitely recommend Ruchira. It’s a precious little gem!

Sprouted Moong, Moth and Red Chori Beans

“Sprouted Beans Usal” from Ruchira cookbook has become one of my favorite recipes. What makes this recipe standout from our own Nandyala style moog bean curry recipe is the addition of kala masala, and jaggery. Subtly spiced and well balanced, I’ve become a loyal fan of sprouted beans usal.

Recipe:

Grind to Paste:
5 peeled garlic cloves, 8-10 green chillies (small, Indian type), 1 teaspoon cumin and two to four tablespoons of grated fresh coconut.

Heat and Simmer:
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a big saucepan.
Add one cup each - moong, moth and red chori sprouted beans.
Add about three cups of water.
Cover and simmer the beans, until they reach fall-apart stage.

Add and Mix:
To the cooked beans, add the ground paste.
Also a tablespoon each- kala masala and powdered jaggery and
Half teaspoon each - turmeric and salt.
Mix and simmer another five minutes.
If the Usal(curry) looks too dry, add about half cup of water.

Popu or Tadka Touch:
While the beans are simmering with spices, do the tadka in a small pan.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Add and toast few fresh curry leaves, pinch of cumin, mustard seeds and asafetida. (This technique is called popu or tadka.)
Add the tadka to the sprouted beans. Mix and turnoff the heat.
Sprouted beans usal tastes great with chapatis/rotis/parathas.

Sprouted Beans Usal with Paratha ~ From Maratha Heartland to Our Home
My Entry to RCI~Maharashtra hosted by Nupur of One Hot Stove

Notes:
Thanks for this lovely gift Veena!
I’ve prepared Kala Masala following the recipe outlined here.
Ruchira Available at Aggarwaloverseas.com
Recommend “Ruchira” to local libraries.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Moong Dal (whole), Red Beans (Chori), Reviews: Cookbooks, Sprouts (Molakalu), Moth (Desi Chori) (Monday June 25, 2007 at 7:08 pm- permalink)
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Moong, Moth and Red Chori Bean Sprouts

Series of Sprouts ~ Tiranga Sprouts

Moong Beans, Moth Beans and Red Chori Beans ~ for This Week’s Indian Kitchen

Moong Beans - Green colored beans
Moth Beans - Brown colored beans. Available in Indian stores.
Red Chori Beans - Reddish-brown colored beans, smaller than adzuki (chori) and Rajma beans. Available in Indian stores (packet label - “Red or Desi Chori”).

Moong, moth and red chori - three beans, three different colors, but they are similar in size and almost in taste. Very fast and reliable sprouters, they produce delightful looking sprouts that taste mellow and crisply sweet. Consumed raw, curried or dal’ed, the sprouts of moong-moth-red chori combination make a perfect meal any time of the day.

Moong, Moth and Red Chori ~ After a Day of Soaking in Water

Soak moong, moth and red chori beans in water overnight.
Drain and gather them in a loosely woven cotton cloth.
Tie a knot and hang the cloth at a kitchen window or warm area in the house.
Keep the cloth moist by spraying water at regular intervals.
Because they are similar in size, the sprouts make an appearance at the same time, usually within a day.
When the sprouts grow to the size of beans, remove and enjoy raw or curried.

Moong, Moth and Red Chori Sprouts ~ To Start the Day off Mellow

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Moong Dal (whole), Red Beans (Chori), Indian Ingredients, Indian Kitchen, Sprouts (Molakalu), Moth (Desi Chori) (Sunday June 24, 2007 at 11:12 pm- permalink)
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Snoqualmie Falls ~ Weekend Seattle Blogging

Seattle and surrounding areas are studded with spectacular waterfalls. The volcanic Cascade Mountains, glaciers and year round rainfall - the result is 1266 well documented Washington state waterfalls. We wanted to see at least few that are near to us. That’s what we did during our short summer break last week.

The first one in our list was Snoqualmie Falls (map). 25 miles east of Seattle, Snoqualmie River cascades 270 feet through an impressive, “u” shaped rock gorge. This is Snoqualmie Falls, one of the Washington state’s most popular scenic attractions. It’s about a 30 minute drive from our home. We had visited the falls on a week day, still the place had a healthy amount of visitors. Weekends must attract big crowds during summer times. The falls and the surrounding area has well maintained look. Few steps from car parking lot, there is an observation platform (upper deck) that offers an outstanding view of the falls. Perched on the overlook to the falls there is a lodge, a restaurant, gift shop and few picnic tables in a small park like setting, all very near to the observation deck and car parking lot.

There is also a river trail. It’s a pleasant half-mile walk through trees and open slopes, ending with a fantastic bird’s eye view of the falls. There is a small power plant near the base and behind it is a somewhat hidden wooden walkway. Don’t miss this part of the trail and follow the signs. A short boardwalk leads to another observation platform (lower deck), which offers great views of how the thundering falls turn to roaring rapids to gentle river flow.

Snoqualmie Falls is a peaceful place to spend a summer afternoon. We very much enjoyed our visit to this falls.

Here are some photos of Snoqualmie falls and Snoqualmie valley wild flowers.

Snoqualmie Waterfalls ~ View From Upper Observation Deck

Snoqualmie Waterfalls ~ View From Lower Observation Deck

Roaring Rapids ~ Snoqualmie River

Wild Flower in Snoqualmie Valley

Pretty Flower From the Valley

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Zen (Personal), Seattle (Saturday June 23, 2007 at 12:12 pm- permalink)
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Recipe List

This is the list of recipes that I blogged from March 26th 2005 to April 30th 2007 on Mahanandi. I hope you enjoy browsing the list while I am on a mini summer break. See you again on Saturday June 23rd. Take care!

Browsing, buying and prepping the ingredients. Planning and preparing the recipes and meals. Plating and photographing the end result. Putting it all into words and photo plus recipe editing. Publishing and people interacting. 2 years, 260 recipes and 2000 food photographs.
My hobby and my passion. My work in a list form: