Soya Aloo ki Sabji (Fresh Dill and Potatoes dry curry)

Soya Aloo ki Sabji

In Hindi, Dill is called soya.  Wonder why, huh. Anyway, fresh dill is quite a favorite with me. The most common preparation in my house is the one with potatoes as the picture says. Another great snack is when you mix dill with rice flour and coconut, make small flatbreads and pan fry. Sindhi Sai Bhaji needs Soya. Another most common use in north Indian homes is to knead it with whole wheat flour and make paranthas/flatbreads with it. And yes, it pairs pretty well with Methi/Fenugreek leaves too. The husband loves salmon with a side of dill dip.

Soya Aloo ki Sabji: (2 servings)

• Potatoes 1 large or two medium chopped
• Fresh Dill/soya 1/2 bunch cut fine
• Ginger 1/2 ” piece minced or grated
• Green chilli 1 cut fine
• Oil 1 tsp.
• Asafoetida 1/4 tsp.
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera 1/2 tsp.
• Turmeric powder/ haldi 1/2 tsp.
• Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp.
• Coriander powder/Dhaniya 1/2 tsp.
• Dry mango powder/ amchur 1/2 tsp.
• Garam Masala 1/4 tsp.

A cast iron skillet is great to cook potatoes in. It gives the potatoes a great crust which makes the dish delicious, so use it to cook the potatoes in if you can. Heat the skillet and add oil. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder to the oil.

When you hear the sizzling sound, add the green chilli and ginger. Saute briefly for 30 seconds and then add the potatoes and the dill. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the skillet. Let it cook like that for 15-20 minutes till the potatoes look like they are done. You can stir a couple of times in between.

Lastly add dry mango powder and the garam masala. Mix well with a light hand. And soya aloo ki sabji is ready. This makes a fabulous side dish, whether with lentil soup or even a spicy curry. Its delicious to just snack on them too:). Tastes great with rotis, paranthas or even rice.

Simple lunch: Soya Aloo ki sabji, daal, yogurt and rotis

I forgot to mention that we lost power for almost 34 hours last week. It was a nightmare, I had to heat milk on a candle for my son in my apartment. After 2 meals outside, we were tired of eating out and guess what, we fired our charcoal grill for an impromptu BBQ on 3rd July. The son was craving regular roti sabji………….so I realized I could cook up an entire Indian meal on our small grill. It was just fantastic……tandoori rotis and Rajma………..and potatoes with dill:).

Just mix all  the ingredients listed above in an aluminum foil. Make a sort of a pocket which holds all the ingredients and close it. Put it directly among the coals. In 15 -20 minutes, the potatoes are ready! You will open up to an aroma of asafoetida when you open the packet. Some may not like that but in a few minutes, the smell reduces and then the potatoes taste really good. This is on its way to Joelen’s Culinary adventures Grilled recipes.

This is also on its way to Sweetnick’s ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday cause this is certainly antioxidant rich:).

Rainy Day Pyaaz ki Sabji……for Jihva for Ingredients……Onions

Finally made it to writing another post. Just in time for Jihva for Ingredients hosted by radhiskitchen AND talking about rainy days in the middle of winter!

Goes way back to my childhood days when frozen vegetables were completely unheard of. Buying fresh vegetables from a sabjiwala/sabjiwali was the norm in India. Those days a household could be out of vegetables after a heavy rain or just because all the sabjiwala gang was out watching an Amitabh Bachchan  movie the previous night. That was indeed a rainy day!!

Ok, so no fresh vegetables at home, so? Mom had to think of something quick. I distinctly remember this happening to my mother and she prepared a delightful dry sabji from just small onions. This is a quick delicious recipe and I am so glad that I could reproduce it as my mother had made. My parents have tried my version here and since they found it good too, I am quite confident that it will be liked by people who try this one with such few ingredients.

The Recipe: (For 3 people, 1 serving)

• Oil 2 tsp.
• Shallots/small onions are preferable  10-12 peeled and halved
• Ginger 1″ piece minced or grated
• Tomato 1/2 chopped fine or 2 Tbsp. Tomato paste
• Yogurt 1 Tbsp.
• Turmeric 2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds 2 tsp.
• Red chilli powder 1 tsp.
• Coriander( Dhaniya) powder 1 Tbsp.
• Garam Masala 2 tsp.
• Amchur( Dry Mango)  Powder 1 tsp.
• salt  to taste

The list looks big but this one is really quick.

Shallots

Shallots all cleaned up and ready to be dressed with ginger and masalas

Heat the oil in a wok or pan.  Add the shallots and saute them on medium heat till they start to change color to light pink.  Take the shallots out of the pan. Add all the other ingredients other than the amchur powder and fry them in  the residual oil of the pan. When the masalas start to dry a little, add the shallots. Reduce the flame to low medium and cover the pan.  Add a Tbsp. of water if the sabji seems too dry. When the shallots have become tender, add amchur powder. The sabji is ready!

This is really a delightful, easy and spicy curry. It requires a curry with gravy or daal to accompany it. Tastes great with Paranthas, rotis or rice.

Delicious Lunch: Rotis, Pyaaz ki sabji and Daal

Mentioned in IndiWo which is a highly addicting e-magazine.