ಬೆಂಡೆಕಾಯಿ ಗೊಜ್ಜು /Okra in Green Sauce & MEME

We love Okra and one of our favorite dish is Okra Gojju. I love to cook it coz it goes well with rice/chapati/rotti. You have one side dish that is versatile, which translates to less cooking :D phew..can come out of the kitchen quickly. Here you go with the recipe :

You need the following:
okra/bhindi - 250g (wash, wipe and cut into half inch pieces)
onions - 1 large, cubed into small pieces

For Green Sauce you need:
Pottukadalai/roasted chanadal/huridakadale-1 fistful
Green Chillies-5
Grated Coconut-4tbsp
Coriander leaves-1 fistful
Coriander Seeds-1/2tbsp(fried/roasted on a pan)
Salt

Other ingrediants:
Tamarind Juice-2tbsp, Jaggery
Oil, mustard, curry leaves, pinch of turmeric for tampering

Heat oil in a wide non stick pan and add tampering ingrediants. Add okra pieces and fry them till okra does not stick to each other anymore. Add onions and sautee for a min and add water.
Allow to cok okra. It takes 5-8mins for okra to soften.
Blend sauce ingrediants into a smoothpaste with enough water. Do not add more water it might result in watery gojju which is not desired.
Add this green sauce to cooked okra. Add salt, tamarind juice. Use jaggery to adjust flavors. Bring them to boil. Let it cool down for 5 mins before you serve with rice/chapathi/rotti.
Enjoy!!!!

Long Before Annu of Annu's Kitchen had tagged me for a MEME. Here are 5 facts about ME n ME only!!

1. I never worked in the area which I studied for 6 yrs. Though my area of work is a distant relative of my degree.. :D

2. I love to watch Tom n Jerry shows... so I am a good companion to my 5yr old for T&J shows.

3. I put on 7 kilos in less than a month after graduation and now I am struggling hard to reduce 17kgs!!!!! I just cannot resist the site of good food....

4. I am known for doubling my work in the kitchen..ehehhe..I get tempted to cook, eat n serve

5. 5 places I have lived in 1. Mandya 2. Chitradurga 3. Ranchi 4. GandhiNagar (Guj) 5. Singapore

I would like to tag my fellow bloggers in Singapore for MEME :

1. Sowmya of Creative Saga

2. Kamini of Pranic Food

3. Raks of Raks Kitchen

4. Coffee of Spice Cafe

5. Nupur of Cinnamon Hut

I would like to tag few other International bloggers :

TBC of The Budding Cook

Ramya of Mane Adige

Any other's who are interested to take up are welcome... :)

Tangy n Spicy Rice and CLICK Metal

When my hubby wears Chef's hat, he loves to prepare tangy rice. He is glued to the taste of this dish/rice from many years and also an emotional attachment with the dish coz it is 'amma' made. I am sure lots of us have this sentiment. This is posted on behalf of my not-so-regular chef at home. Try it to know its taste.... Here you go with the recipe:

Ingredients:
Rice - 1cup (any variety except basmati)
Onion -1 big (Chopped into medium sized pieces)
Tamarind Paste/juice - 3tbsp
Bella/Jaggery - to adjust the taste
Sambar Powder - 1tbsp (home made preffered, adjust according to your taste)
Salt
Water to cook Rice
Tampering Ingredients :
Oil - 3tsp
Mustard Seeds -1tsp
Kadalekaalu/Kaala Chana - 1tbsp
Kadalebele/Chanadal -1tsp (optional)
Uddinabele/Uraddal-1tsp
Curry Leaves

This is a one pot meal so, you can prepare this directly in the cooker.

Heat the cooker pan, add oil. Do tampering according to the order of ingredients mentioned above. Note : fry kalachana for few seconds till it becomes crisp, dals should turn golden brown.

Add Chooped onions, sautéed till they are translucent. Sambar powder, tamarind juice, salt goes next into the pan. Water goes next. Bring it to boil on high flame. Taste the water, adjust flavors accordingly using jaggery/salt etc.

Fry Rice in a wide skillet till it is slightly bowned, and let it cool. Wash it. Add it into the boiling water. Cover the lid of the cooker and cook in medium flame for 3 whistles. Frying the rice makes the rice grains fall apart.

Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy the tangy n spicy rice hotttt...

'CLICK'- METAL
I have never been able to submit any photos in time for CLICK or I must say I lack creativity while I take pictures. I am sending my lamp under the name 'Nanda Deepa' which means a lamp which gives light 24*7, 365 days nonstop. Usually ever house has a lamp which they worship, here is our lamp for 'CLICK'-Metal event.

Stuffed Brinjals-Indira's Way

Few days ago I bought small green brinjals. I liked Indira's way of preparing stuffed brinjals. She had used green variety of brinjals to cook stuffed brinjal curry. Just follow her method to make this yummy tasting dish. You may want to reduce the number of chillies from her recipe if you are not used to eating a 'chillified' dish. I made them with akki rotti. Here is how it looked :

To see a larger pic click here

Potato Sticks

Potato Sticks/Aloo Bhujia/Fries/......there are many synonyms for the same dish. Potato sticks falls into the category where SIA rightly says 'one of many'. There are different recipes for making potato sticks. It is raining here in Singapore and all I would crave for is for some hot n spicy snack with a cup of coffee.. perfect(?) to celebrate rainy season. This my entry to SIA's Ode to Potato event.

Potato Sticks :
Cut potatoes length wise. Fry them in a non stick pan with 5 tsp of oil. When potato sticks no longer stick to each other, season it with a mixture of salt+Coriander Powder(1/2 tsp)+Jeera Powder(<1/2tsp)

Barley and Pancake/Dosa - health food

Barley is a versatile cereal grain. Its versatility allows us to pour in our creativity and cook something which suits our pallete.

There has been an increased awareness about health, healthy eating/diet these days. And we all are well aware of the fact that barley is a 'high fibre' grain. There are many health benefits of barley and I wish to share few of them.

1. Low Glycemic Index : Barley is a lowest glycemic grain. It has GI less than oatmeal. Pearl barley has a GI of 22. You can refer the GI index table at http://www.glycemicindex.com/ . It is beneficial to include in diet for diabetics and weight watchers.

2. High Fibre Content : Barley is rich in soluble fibre. Soluble fibre breaks down as it passes though the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to high cholesterol. There is some evidence that soluble fibre may lessen heart disease risks by reducing the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream.

Soluble fibre may help control blood sugar by delaying gastric (stomach) emptying, retarding the entry of glucose into the bloodstream and lessening the postprandial (post-meal) rise in blood sugar.

3. Cardiovascular Disorder and Post Menopausal Women

Eating a serving of whole grains, such as barley, at least 6 times each week is a good idea, especially for postmenopausal women with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

4. Barley reduces the risk of colon cancer

For people worried about colon cancer risk, barley packs a double punch by providing the fiber needed to minimize the amount of time cancer-causing substances spend in contact with colon cells, plus being a very good source of selenium, which has been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer significantly.

All the above information are fished from internet, and you can refer following websites to know more :

1. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/archives/H/usda934.html

2. http://www.diabetes.ca/section_about/fibre.asp

3. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=127

GI of dosa is 55 in one study and 77 in the other. As I have said earlier, GI of a finished product is the combination of all the ingrediants. I believe that addition of barley to dosa would have reduced the GI. Goodness of eating barley in a way it is liked by all members of the family brings joy to cooking. Here you go with the recipe :

Parboiled Rice : 1/2 cup

Raw Rice (any rice like ponni, brown rice) : 1 cup

Urad Dal 1/2 cup

Barley: 1/2 cup

Fenugreek Seeds : 1tsp

Method :

1. Soak all ingrediants for 5 hours.

2.Grind urad dal till it is smooth and frothy.

3.Grind rice, barley and fenugreek seeds to smooth paste (I keep it a bit grainy)

4. Add salt and leave it to ferment in a tightly closed container for about 8 hrs

5. Pour a ladle full of batter on hot non stick tava / girdle. You can roast both the sides of pancake/dosa. remove it when the side facing the girdle is brown.

6. Remove and serve hot with cocnut chutney.

7. I have topped my dosa with vegetables and cheese to suit my little one's taste. Good way to make children eat vegetables!! two-in-one benefit! what say?

Enjoy your healthy dosa!!

Other healthy dosa's on Taste of Mysore :

Brown Rice Uttappam

This delicious Barley Dosa goes to Sri Who is hosting 'DOSA MELA' Do send your tasty crispy dosa's to her!!