Karakuzhambu

This recipe if from my friend R who is great at cooking traditional South Indian food. The thing is I have not tasted her Karakuzhambu, but I asked her for this recipe since I knew that it would be good. Well, her other dishes are, so I made sure this was on my blog :)
I have this strong attraction for South Indian food these days, that all these traditional cooking is taking main stage in everyday food. I am so glad R shared the recipe with me, this is one of the best kuzhambu I have tasted. Somehow reminded me of the "Grand Sweets" Karakuzhambu that they have in Chennai. Only even better.
She asked me to add either manathakkali or sundakka vathal, but I added both since I had it. The "Grand Sweets" version has both too. This recipe calls for a lot of heat, so if it does not suit you, then you may adjust it according to your palate.



Karakuzhambu

Ingredients:

Small onion - 1 cup
Garlic cloves - about 12
Curry leaves - A sprig
Red chillies - 3
Mustard - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/2 tsp
Manathakkali vathal - 1 tbsp
Sundakka vathal - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp(more if you can take more heat)
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Sesame Oil - 3-4 tbsp
Tamarind extract taken from a lemon sized ball
Salt - To taste

Method:

In a pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds.
Once the mustard starts to splutter, add the red chillies and curry leaves. Add the sundakka and manathakkali vathal. After they get roasted, add the small onion and garlic cloves.
Then add salt, coriander powder and chilly powder.
When everything starts to get nicely sauteed, add the tamarind extract of about 4 cups taken from a lemon sized tamarind. You could alternatively used tamarind extract, but it may not give the same result.
Let the kuzhambu boil down and reduce a little in volume. It took me about 10-15 min on medium flame.
Add the asafoetida finally and boil for a minute more. Turn off heat.



Serve with hot steaming rice. It tasted even better the next day.

Beetroot Biriyani/Pulao with Black Beans Raita

My mom always has had rave reviews about this particular kind of rice called "Seeraga Samba."
She tells me that this rice has a very aromatic quality to it just like basmati rice and is also very flavorful. It is extremely cute to look at, kind of like baby basmati.
If you are not able to find this at your store under the name of "Seeraga Samba" or "Kalijira", you could use the regular white basmati rice. It shouldn't make that big of a difference. The grated beets add a lovely pinkish red hue to the rice grains. I tried not to add any other vegetable just to keep the color intact.
It looks beautiful when it is done, like the tiny grains just blushed!

The raita was something I decided to make with the pulao when I started planning this meal. Keeping the beans crunchy is key to making this raita. Mushy beans and yogurt is not what I would recommend. Finish off with some cilantro for some fresh flavor.



Beetroot Biriyani/Pulao with Black Beans Raita

Beetroot Biriyani/Pulao:

Ingredients:

Seeraga Samba rice - 2cups
Water - 3 cups
Clove - 3
Cinnamon stick - 2-3
Cardamom Pod - 3
Star Anise - 1
Beetroot - 2 cups (grated and packed)
Shallots/Onions - 1 cup chopped
Tomato - 1/2 cup chopped
Chilly powder - 2 tsp (or to taste)
Green chillies - 2 small slit
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
Grind to a paste:
Garlic - 6-8 pods
Ginger - 2 tbsp roughly chopped
Shallots - 2 tbsp roughly chopped
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Method:

Grind the ginger, garlic, shallots and fennel seeds to a paste and set aside. Do not add water.

In a large pan, add 2 tbsp oil, and add the washed and thoroughly drained rice. Sauté till the grains turn opaque. Turn off heat and cool. At this point I add the rice to the rice cooker and use the same pan for making the masala.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same pan, add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom and green chillies.
Add the ground ginger-garlic paste and sauté well till the raw smell is gone.
Then add the chopped shallots, followed by the tomatoes. Once they are halfway cooked, add the grated beets and mix well. Allow to cook till the beets soften. Finish off with salt and chilly powder.

Now add this beets masala to the rice. Add 3 cups of water, and let the rice cooker do its thing. If you are using a pressure cooker, cook for about 20 minutes or two whistles. Do not overmix after it is done.





Black Beans Raita:



Ingredients:

Dried Black Beans - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Shallots - 1/2 cup
Cilantro/Coriander - 1/4 cup chopped
Salt - to taste

Method:

Soak the black beans overnight in some water. Pressure cook the beans for about 15 min or 2 whistles depending on your cooker. It should not get mushy, it should still have a bite to it.
Drain water, rinse with cold water till the water runs clear.
Add yogurt, shallots, cilantro, salt and mix well. Garnish with a little more chopped cilantro and serve with biriyani or any kind of rice.

Eggplant in coco-peanut curry

Many thanks to Curry Leaf for passing me the "Good job" award. I deeply appreciate it. And yes, I am passing it on today after a long time. And I am doing it in style! :p
I have written a one (well maybe two!) lines about the person who I am passing on the award to. I hope to follow this tradition each time I pass an award (don't beat me up if I don't!). I think it makes it more meaningful. What say?
So, if you are looking for the awards, scroll right down to the end of the post. But before that, may I interest you in my recipe? Please? Remember, I write a food blog? Hello?

This recipe landed from a picnic table onto my kitchen. I like gravies and curries, a lot, but sadly I don't make them as much as I would like to. One of my friends made it for a potluck picnic and all I heard was everybody rave about it. Now, I had to taste it myself to give it my verdict.
After spending a few minutes walking around the table and a few greedy glances later I ended up with my mouth stuffed with it, it was the best curry I had tasted in a long time. It was not that spicy and the medley of coconut and peanuts makes it one of the best curries I had discovered. My friend was gracious enough to share the recipe with me promptly, and many thanks to that, I am able to share it with you now.
What is more refreshing is that... it doesn't have that tomato base which graces every Indian curry/masala. Now, that is what I call a welcome change.

Eggplant in coco-peanut curry

Ingredients:

To saute Eggplants:
Eggplants/Brinjal - 6-8 medium
Salt - To taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

For the curry:
Red onions - 2 medium
Red chillies - 4-5 depending on the heat level you prefer
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Blanched peanuts - 2 cups
Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Sesame seeds - 3 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder - If you need more heat, add 1/2 tsp
Salt - To taste
Olive oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Roast the eggplant in oil, as it starts to become tender, add the salt, turmeric and saute well. Set aside when done.

In the same pan, add oil, then add the cumin seeds.
Now add the red chillies, and the onions and saute till onions are translucent.
Set this aside as well.

Again, in the same pan, add peanuts to a tad bit of oil and saute till lightly golden.



Now the assembly part.

In a blender, add the sauteed onion & red chillies, peanuts (cooled), coconut, sesame seeds and a pinch of salt and grind with a little water till it reaches a paste-like consistency.



Take a tablespoon of oil in a pan, and add the paste and fry for about 5 to 10 min, just until it all comes together as one flavor.
Add turmeric and chilly powder to it, and saute for another couple of minutes.

Then add the eggplant, cover and let it cook on very low heat for about 10 minutes.

Your Eggplant in peanut and coconut curry is ready! It goes really well with plain rice or maybe even Mint chutney rotis.



Now, lets talk some "awards", shall we?



I would love to pass on the "Good Job" award to a few of my amazing fellow bloggers, in no particular order:

Suma Rajesh of Suma's Cuisine - I did try your microwave banana halwa. It was yum'o. It wasn't as pretty as yours as I did not shape them, but you get two thumbs up for ease and taste. Your recipe rocks!

Priya of Akshayapatram - You are one of the first blogs (what seems like so long ago) I came across and have looked up to when I was thinking of starting one of my own, I think I have mentioned this to you, haven't I? ;)

Rajeswari of Rak's Kitchen - I admire her way of clearly presenting the recipe. She lists every little procedure step-wise with pictures. Now, that is a lot of work, and she does it well.

Pearlsoffeast - I am still drooling over your chewy apricot and oats cookies. You did a great job with it, and the pictures in all of your posts is just incredible.

Madhuram of Eggless Cooking - She was the first blogger (apart from friends) who tried one of my recipes and gave me an encouraging feedback for it. Coming from her (being an awesome cook), I spent the rest of my day reeling in happiness.

Srikar's Kitchen - She is one of the first people to give a feedback on all of my posts most of the time, and I really appreciate it. That puts some pressure on you now, doesn't it? That is exactly what I am aiming for! He he he.

Rachel of Tangerine's kitchen- We happened to discover each other's blog only recently, but she has just inspired me with some really good dishes which I hope to make justice to some day :)

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy

First things first, Usha of Veg Inspirations bestowed upon me two awards, which is sitting pretty smugly on my sidebar (like she says) :) Thanks Usha for thinking about me and my blog.

Now getting back to the post. This dish was born purely out of desperation. I had a huge mound of baby-bella mushrooms sitting in my fridge for a few days - thanks to Costco for the not so small portions of veggies they sell.
Baby-bella or cremini as they are popularly called are baby portobellas, and have a satisfying chunky bite to it, and is my favorite kind of mushroom, and works well with Indian curries and gravies.
And for the spice, I just cant seem to get enough of the smoky cumin flavor these days. They find their way into all of my dishes. For this dish, it is the dominant spice. So if you haven't tried cumin, this is a good place to start.

Mushroom & Chick peas in spicy cumin-coconut gravy (That is a mouthful)

Ingredients:

Baby-bellas/Creminis - 5-6 cups sliced
Chick peas/Garbanzo/Channa - 2-3 cups
Red onion - 1 cup chopped
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Coconut milk - 1 cup (I used the "Lite" coconut milk that comes in a can)
Cumin powder - 3 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Ginger - An inch grated
Cloves - 2
Bay leaf - 2
Salt - To taste
Extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbsp
Chopped green onions - To garnish
Cilantro - To garnish



Method:

In a pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and throw in the bay leaf, garlic, ginger, & cloves. Let it fry for a minute or so.

Add the onions and saute till translucent, and add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are half cooked, add the tomato paste and cook for another two minutes.

Now add the cumin powder, pepper, coriander, salt & chilly powder and saute for another two minutes.

Add the chick peas/channa. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Do not add water. The mushrooms will take care of that eventually.

When the gravy comes together, add the coconut milk and simmer for a minute or so.
Turn off heat immediately, garnish with green onions/cilanto, and serve hot.
It is a good side-dish for rice, dosai, rotis & naan. Remember, it is not a very thin gravy dish, so pair accordingly.



I am sending this recipe to Srivalli's Curry mela event, she has been a dear to accommodate my entry a wee bit late.
Also sending this to Sunita's Think Spice event and since it is my original recipe, I though why not send it to the Original recipe event by Lore. I just knew about Lore's event, and amazingly this is a month-round event, so anyone could submit recipes anytime. This is right up my alley.