Quick Thai Yellow curry

My last entry for food during pregnancy hosted by simpeindianfood. I think the readers would just get tired. But if there are any pregnant women reading this………please keep an eye on this blog cause most of the stuff I write here is going to be food for pregnant women. I am in my last trimester and soon there will be common and not so common recipes eaten postpartum:).

I love Thai food and the curries come out as delicious as the restaurant even at home. The secret ingredient is the readymade curry pastes I get from my Chinese or Oriental stores. Readymade pastes are extremely convenient as one does have to worry about having galangal and kaafir lime leaves etc. at home all the time and one one can churn out delicious curries when one desires. It is also a delicious way of incorporating tofu in the diet. Since I am a vegetarian I am always looking ways to eat tofu and eggs these days.

Yellow curry is the least favorite of mine but a big fav with hubby dear(its closest in taste to Indian curries, according to him) . And since, yellow curry paste was the only one I had on hand yesterday night……..we had yellow curry and rice for dinner.

The Recipe:

• Oil 1 tsp.
• Yellow curry paste 1 Tbsp.
• Soya sauce 1 Tbsp.
• Coconut milk 1/2 cup if using full fat or 3/4 cup if using lite
• Potato 1 chopped
• Shallots 2 (Red onion can be substituted) chopped coarse and big
• Tofu Extra firm 2 slabs cut in blocks
• Fresh basil 1 Tbsp.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the curry paste lightly. Add soya sauce and coconut milk. Add the potato, shallots and tofu and cover the wok. Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer. The curry is done when the potatoes have softened (in about 10 -15 min’s). One can add vegetables of choice in this curry though we like it plain with potato and onions. Check the salt in the curry, if desired, add more soya sauce at this stage. Add fresh basil if you have them on hand. Sometimes, I even like a tsp. of lime juice in the curry but that’s completely on the kind of taste a person has. Quick spicy yellow curry is ready! Goes best with jasmine rice although nothing beats steaming basmati rice in my house:).

Yellow Curry, Rice and Sambal Oelek………spicy dinner in minutes:)

Moong Ki Daal

Another addition to my staple meals. Washed Moong ki daal or Split green gram without skin was always sick peoples food for me as I was growing up. I wanted arhar/toor/pigeon pea lentils on my plate every afternoon. How boring can that be. Ah, but my Mother would make all varieties of lentils nevertheless and I had to eat or go hungry. Wonder when but I really started liking her version of moong daal by the time I was a teenager.

Moong daal (washed), tomato and Coriander leaves

Very simple to make. This is my second entry to food during pregnancy hosted by simpeindianfood. Just hearsay maybe but after my son was born, I had eaten a lot of moong dal , just like soup to aid lactation. More than anything, it would help fill me up with something nutritious as I would be always hungry those days:).

The recipe:

• Moong Daal 1 cup
• Oil 1/2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric/Haldi 1/2 tsp.
• Tomato 1 big chopped small
• water 3 cups
• Salt to taste

Tempering:

• Asafoetida 1/4 tsp.
• Cumin seeds 2 tsp.
• Chilli powder 1/2 tsp.
• Oil/Ghee 2 tsp.

Garnish:

• Cilantro/Coriander/Dhaniya leaves 1/2 a bunch chopped fine

I always like to temper my daals before I put the daal in the pan. So first heat the 1/2  tsp. oil  in a pan and add cumin seeds and turmeric. Once they start to to brown a little, add the moong daal and 3 cups of water. Add the tomato and salt. Now cook the daal without covering for 30-40 min’s on medium flame. Keep stirring in between to avoid the daal from settling at the bottom and getting burnt. The idea is not to mush the daal too much and that is why its not covered. Daal when ready, is tender but not mashed and consistency is thin. In case the daal thickens, please add some water. This moong ki daal tastes great when it is of watery consistency.

The main thing is the final tempering. Heat oil or ghee (ah! if you can indulge;) ) and add 2 tsp. cumin seeds, chilli powder and asafoetida. Add it to the hot daal and cover the daal for a couple of minutes so that the vapors stay in the daal. Add coriander leaves and enjoy! Cilantro adds a lot of flavor to this daal.

Moong ki Daal

Very simple to make but tastes really good. Moong ki daal goes best with hot fresh rotis and also with rice.

Moong ki daal, mixed vegetables and roti……tasty, simple meal

This is the only way I enjoyed eating Moong ki daal until I came across Indira’s beerakayapesara-pappu-kootu. This is a very different taste of moong daal but delicious. So, go ahead and enjoy moong ki daal.

Choco-Makhana for Jihva for Chocolate

Choco-Makhana

I was determined that I will not participate in jihva this time around. No more indulging in sweets….and that too just because I want to blog about it. Yes, I can’t come up with a recipe with chocolate that does not have sugar in it. But blogging is too tempting……..wonder what the motivation is …….No, my idea is not to impress and wow. I just want to participate. It just tingles the creative nerve and forces me to think out of the box. That’s where all the satisfaction comes from. So, here I am, finally with a recipe for Jihva for Chocolate hosted by Deepz. Jihva for ingredients was started by Indira of Mahanandi fame and since I am a big fan of hers, that is another reason to participate;).

Makhanas are a big favorite of mine. Specially since my Mother in Law brought some really huge, puffed up ones from India. You can get them in Indian grocery stores here in the US but the ones from India are really bigger and without blemish. Makhana/Phool Makhana /(Euryale ferox)/Gordon nut is relished in Bihar and also in Uttar Pradesh. I always remember my Mother getting these packed from her mother’s place to enjoy year round. Some really informative sites on makhanas is nifindia.org and makhanawet.com. After reading these, did I realize what a difficult job it is to get makhanas on our plate and so the high price is justified.

Makhanas

So, let me tell you of  this heavenly choco-makhana recipe I came up with which needs 2-3 basic ingredients and 10 minutes maximum to make. My favorite baking chocolate is Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate baking bar. It really is smooth and rich. If one really is indulging, ghiradelli is quite a favorite. Please do not use chocolate morsels for this as they do melt well because of lesser fat content.

The Recipe:

• Makhana 1 cup
• Baking Chocolate 1 oz.
• Golden raisins 1/4 cup

Makhanas need to be made crisp. The traditional method is to fry it in pure ghee or stir fry in a little ghee. I have found that microwaving it makes it quite crisp without any added fat. I like to microwave it 1 minute at a time and then check. Wouldn’t want them burnt in any way. These choco-makhanas would taste good only if the makhanas are quite crisp.

Spread a parchment paper sheet or even aluminum foil works fine for this on a baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate squares in a microwave proof bowl. I do it 30 seconds at a time and then stir cause it melts quite quickly.  That’s it, we are done:). Add the makhanas to the melted chocolate, mix well and spread on the prepared baking sheet. Try to separate the makhanas after they get coated well with the chocolate. I like to clean the melted chocolate with raisins and spread it as well in the plate. Leave them for an hour or so and then choco-makhanas can be scraped off and filled in an airtight container. This way, these should stay crisp for at least a week. Makes a great gift as well. The picture does not do justice but the taste is superb!

Enjoy: Choco-Makhana

New Year Shots and Rassedaar Lauki

Its difficult to live in Michigan and not fall in love with nature. When we moved from the bay area in California to Michigan , it was scary. Most other students who were then leaving this beautiful University town would say that they are glad to leave the snow behind as they had grown tired of it. But three winters here and I still look forward to the ground turning pure white…….as if defining the color white for me. The trees still, frozen, laden with white. Let me not start poetry and prose here……..but its difficult you see……..

A lot of people can complain that so much snow isn’t really conducive to driving around and partying all night. But, we enjoyed a fantastic home made 6 course meal, good music and just being us in this lovely weather…..yay:)!!

Anyway…why am I digressing…………mine is a food blog! So, yesterday’s efforts at cooking left me a little exhausted today. Well! third trimester of pregnancy is certainly slowing me down a little now. So, this morning, I decided to indulge in easy, quick, pure comfort food for me………Rassedaar Lauki. The humble Opu (as called here in the USA) or bottle gourd does not get its due most often. We usually don’t make it for company……unless we make koftas out it and dress it in so much masala that lauki/ghiya gets lost somewhere. I have an unusual memory of Lauki, different from most people…….I think. My father has always been careful about what he ate and so rassedaar lauki would be made at least 2 times a week in my house. My mother would also find it very easy to cook when she would return from work. I would really get tired of eating it. Why is it that masala, onion, garlic is used so sparingly in my house……why is it like a Sunday treat. Today, I am grateful to my parents for helping me eat right. Now, I crave the same simple food after every heavy meal.

The humble Lauki/ Opu/Bottle Gourd

This is my first entry to food-during-pregnancy-event hosted by simpleindianfood. I think its quite an interesting concept……….specially for me, right. Everything I make should be included……..right:)) ? Bottle gourd is also good for pregnant women because of its high water and fiber content. It also helps in relieving constipation.

The Recipe:

• Lauki/Bottle gourd/Opu 1 medium
• Tomatoes 2 medium
• Ginger root  1/2 tsp. minced (optional)
• Oil 1/4 tsp.
• Asafetida/Heeng 1/4 tsp.
• Cumin seeds/Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp.
• red chilli powder 1/4 tsp.
• salt to taste.
• Coriander/Cilantro leaves for garnish 1/2 bunch

Oh! What would I do without a pressure cooker? Ok, I can’t do much, I accept. This can be made in a wok/kadhai also but it would take a little longer to cook. In case, you have to use the wok, add tomatoes after the bottle gourd has softened.

Chop the opu and tomatoes. Heat the pressure cooker and add the oil to it. Add heeng, jeera, turmeric, red chilli powder and ginger. Let the cumin seeds pop a little and then add the chopped vegetables. Add salt to taste and two cups of water. Close the pressure cooker and let it work while you catch up on another food blog:). After two whistles, the bottle gourd is ready. Let the pressure cooker cool and then garnish the bottle gourd with lots of chopped cilantro leaves. You could adjust the amount of liquid in this stew to your liking but traditionally it has a fair amount of rassa (liquid). Its this easy to make it but the taste is really delicious. Traditionally, it goes best with hot paranthas but I like it with roti, rice or even plain.

Rassedaar Lauki

Edit July 15 2008:
I tried but I could not get bottle gourd this month. I am submitting this posted recipe to Vegetable of the week-Bottle Gourd hosted by Pooja of My Creative Ideas. Thanks for the opportunity to resubmit Pooja.

Happy New Year!!

नव वर्ष की शुभ कामनाएं !!
Happy New Year!!