Charred tomato, green chillies Smitten, Gingery-Skinned-Potatoes

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Rustic old ways. Memories. Earthen. So real. And so inspiring.

When baskety mornings weave unreal dreams. And the thoughts enough to fill the day with shimmery senses.

When the sunlight playing hide n seek in the early morning hours, lure you to wake up to reality mixed with bitter, sweet hopes..waves of emotions that almost give you a headache, a hangover…that can only be cured as the day passes by with assuring and reassuring moments as the clock ticks by…

Now, coming back to the post..if you want to taste something real different and comforting.. this is the simple recipe to go for.

Charring has such a rusticness and burst of flavours  attached to it. Isn’t it? Never tried. Its never too late!

For this recipe take two big fresh tomatoes and put them over fire. Place it over your gastop directly which is the easiest  to do in an ordinary town kitchen.

Till the pulp goes all charred and charcolish. Aah.. the words itself now blend with the aroma that fills up the room.

Do the same with three to four green chillies. The green chillies should have heat in them to add to the flavours.

Green chilies and tomatoes..charred make for an impactful flavour together.

Parellel, parboil few potatoes with their skins on and some salt sprinkled while boiling them!

Once  the tomatoes and green chillies are ready.. heat a pan and drizzle some mustard oil till smoky!

Mustard oil adds to the real punch of flavours too here!

Add lots of grated ginger (about 2 tbsp) and stir fry on high heat with lotsa chopped coriander leaves.

Stir till they almost turn brownish. Add the tomatoes and mash them with a masher.

And chopped charred green chillies. Lower heat and stir for few secs.

Add the potatoes and mix them up well. Let the potatoes be stirred for atleast 2 to 3 minutes till it almost gets that roasted texture. Add some turmeric powder and salt. Throw in just a pinch of sugar.

Stir and then add very little water. Cover and let cook in slowly for another 10 minutes.

Squeeze some lemon on top.

The goodness of these charred veggies will beg for you to have these with your loved ones amidst a lot of greenery and love and conversations of fond memories! So, have it with steamed rice sprinkled with mustard oil (blissful combination of rice and raw mustard oil) and bites of raw diced onions sprinkled with some salt, lemon and raw chilly powder. Assuring you an unsophisticatedly lovely, charry, smoky, earthy, rustic, heavenly experience!

Do let me know!

Instant Basil pesto & red chilly Zucchini, Bellpeppers Veg

Watching the sunlight seep in secretly and undeclared into the kitchen can fill ones heart to brim.

Also a trip to the greens and sunsets to the town outskirts, had added a craving for something green and unique!

The idea popped up for some Sunshine and smiles and colours. And something instant.

I was a fan of basil pesto from the day I had Pasta in basil pesto with garnish of pinenuts and cherry tomatoes.

I had ordered these ready made pestos after confirming their quality just for such a Situation! 😉

Basil Pesto and red chilly dip. The ancient Romans ate a paste called moretum, which was made by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together.Basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, likely originated in India and was first domesticated there. (Source: wikipedia)

Red Chilly Dip ingredients!

Pesto is traditionally prepared in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle. First, garlic and pine nuts are placed in the mortar and reduced to a cream,then the washed and dried basil leaves are added with coarse salt and ground to a creamy consistency. Only then is a mix of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino added. To help incorporate the cheese a little extra-virgin olive oil is added. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), covered by a layer of extra-virgin olive oil, pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week, and can be frozen for later use. (Source: wikipedia)

This recipe is good for a different menu in the middle of the week and a fresh change to the taste palate. NOT MUNDANE. No NO!

1) To prepare these unique yummies cut one zucchini, two yellow and red bell peppers and one small cauliflower into square half cubes.

2) Add one tbsp oil (olive/sesame or refined) into a preheated pan

3)Once smoky hot, add the zucchinis. Stir on high heat for 30 secs.

4)Now add the bellpeppers and cauliflower florets. Stir on high heat for another minute

5)Reduce heat, cover for a minute

6) Remove the lid to add two tbsp of basil pesto and two tbsp of red chilly dip with a dollop of tomato ketchup or puree

7)Stir to let it all cuddle up well with each other with sprinkle of salt and black pepper

7)Add chopped fresh parsley and cover for another minute with a squeeze of lemon on top

And that’s ready to serve !

Serve with raw onions and lemon and flat bread or rice of your choice

The zucchini, also known as a courgette, has origins which can be traced back more than 9,000 years to Mexico. Zucchini is a type of summer squash. They’re available in green and yellow varieties. Both have soft, succulent flesh. Zucchini is an excellent source of vitamin C, and provides some beta carotene and folate. Select firm zucchini with glossy skin. Store in an sealed plastic bag in the crisper for up to three days. (Source: taste.com.au)

Participated in an interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Colourful basic mix veg recipe

Well, its a beautiful morning and loved the colours on the sky…the untouched guitar still added music to the room silently…music of thoughts…

and then the mind wanders  on to whatever colourful was there in the fridge.. orange, green, white, brown….
You open the fridge and you wonder what to cook really! What today…
Sometimes just mix and match the veggies you have got with you..

The recipe I share today with almost realtime images and videos is easy, simple and colourful. Flavours of basic Indian spices. The process can be replicated with any of the other available dishes and you have a handy dish ready anyday, anytime.

Pick some Cauliflowers (phulgobhi), carrots (gajar), potato (aloo), capsicums (shimla mirch),and fresh coriander leaves .

Blanch the cauliflower by putting them in boiling water for a minute and transferring into a bowl of icecold water. Strain them dry.

VEGGIES from the street food sabziwala

Dice the veggies into whatever shape you like. I was in hurry so I went for diced square medium sized ones.

Preheat a deep pan for a minute. Add one tablespoon oil in a deep pan. Let it heat on medium flame. Add pinch of cumin seeds and mustard seeds (saabut jeera and rai).

Once they start spluttering, add the veggies except the tender colourful capsicum.

After say 5 mins of stirring it gently on high heat, lower the heat. Add, a pinch of turmeric powder (haldi), one big tsp of coriander powder (dhaniya powder), red chilly powder (laal mirchi), and pinch of garam masala.With it throw in freshly grated ginder of about half tsp.

Add the capsicums in the end . Stir for half a minute. Add the coriander leaves. Squeeze in half a lemon and some water (1/4th of a medium coffee cup)

Cover the lid and let cook slowly for 7 to 8 mins.

And we are done! 🙂

Enjoy with hot rotis/naan/steamed of any form of rice.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/107334583016582356159/posts/At8WSFppbuA?pid=6054318457185009970&oid=107334583016582356159&authkey=CJKP3fWa8uP31QE

Participated in the interactive forum Fiesta Friday hosted at http://thenovicegardener.wordpress.com/

Soothing Tender Cauliflowers in red tomato gravy

Sometimes you wonder how else to use the same old veggies every week. A slight twist adds that dimension of freshness to food and adds up to variety to probably a mundane menu.

Cauliflowers taste great when cooked the right way.

For this recipe, cut cauliflowers to medium forest tree shaped pieces. Not too tiny.

Cook them in boiling water for a minute and transfer to a bowl of ice cold water for five minutes. Drain them dry. Marinate these with some turmeric and black pepper.

In a pan,add one tbsp refined sunflower or groundnut oil. Add pinch of cumin seeds. Add one tsp of grated ginger and let it cook for half a minute.

For 250 gms of cauliflowers, use fresh puree of 4 tomatoes.

Add the puree now and let it simmer with pinch of turmeric, generous amount of coriander leaves, two tbsp chopped green chilly, half tsp red chilly powder, salt. Once the puree starts oozing the oil, add a cup of warm water to it and simmer slowly. Add pinch of sugar.

In a deep frying pan, add enough oil and deep fry the cut cauliflowers pieces gently till slightly golden brown. Add these to the puree and cook for another one minute.

The gravy is ready  to be had with flat breads or steamed rice.

image source: google | healthyfoodforliving.com