Easy Potato Fry | Urulakizhangu Upperi | Easy Potato Stir fry

Today's post is a very simple recipe. I do not even have to post it here, it's that simple. But it's a very favourite side dish of mine and one among the first dishes that I learnt to make. So I thought I should post it :) All of you would have your own variants of potato fry. Deeps' family never make a upperi/poriyal out of potato. They use it only in kurma,olan and for potato masala for poori. And that too they do no eat the whole pieces of potato,only the mashed part is had. For me, potato is one of my fav veggie ! And Deeps also loves this fry and enjoys it with pulissery. Now even Dhruv has started eating this. He picks it up from our plate and eats on his own ;) So off to the recipe.. 

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

I Used:

Potato	-	2-3 medium sized (cut into small cubes)
Coconut Oil	-	3 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Curry leaves	-	1 sprig
Red Chilly powder (refer notes)	-	2 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Peel the potatoes. Rinse them well and cut them into small cubes

2. In a pan, heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard and curry leaves. Add the cubed potatoes. Give a nice stir so that the oil coats well into the potatoes

3. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt. Give a nice stir so that the masala is coated evenly on the potatoes

4. Now close the pan and allow the potatoes to get cooked. I do not sprinkle/add water. I allow them to cook in their own steam. This allows the potatoes to be crisp and not get soggy 

5. Stir occasionally so that they do not get burnt or stick to the pan. Do not get very stingy on the oil here as that is the what will make the potatoes crisp ! 

Serve with bisebella bath or curd rice or sambar rice or rasam sadam as you prefer !

Notes:

• You can use sambar powder instead of red chilly powder or can use a combination of red chilly powder and coriander powder. You can even use any meat masala powder or chat masala as per your taste and preference. Make sure that you saute and cook the potatoes well until the raw smell of any masala is gone

Cheers,

Chitz

Malabar Style Meen Curry | North Kerala Fish Curry | Kerala Fish Gravy without coconut

North Kerala Style Sardine Fish cooked with pounded shallots, tomatoes and tamarind pulp

This is one gravy that is a family favorite and is devoured by all very happily especially with kappa (tapioca). Now I'm wondering why it took so long for me to post it here :) Maybe I was waiting for a manchatti (earthen vessel) to get a decent & authentic looking pic. Now that is another way of flaunting my new manchatti ;) We were planning to buy one for a long time but the frequent location changes and the difficulty of finding a good potter and a vessel delayed it. And finally it's here !

Ad back to the recipe, this is a hot and tangy fish curry that can be had with rice (esp. matta) and kappa puzhungiyathu (boiled and mashed tapioca) and even idly (I like that combo but not Deeps ;)) The chilly and tamarind ratio that I have used here is in accordance with the taste buds of the family. You can always adjust them to suit your preferences. This recipe does not call for coconut. Do try out and let me know how it turned out !

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Fish (I used sardines)	-	½ kg
Small Onions/Shallots	-	25-30 nos (Mine were really small)
Tomato	-	1 no
Tamarind	-	A goosberry sized
Ginger	-	An inch piece
Garlic	-	4-5 nos
Red Chilly powder	-	2 tbsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	-	1 tsp
Coconut Oil	-	2-3 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed
Curry leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Clean the fish and cut them into small pieces as required. Add little salt and turmeric powder and keep aside 

2. Soak tamarind in 1.5 - 2 cups of warm water and leave aside for 15-20 minutes. After that extract the pulp out of it and keep aside

3. Peel the shallots, ginger and garlic. Chop the ginger roughly to small pieces. Grind the shallots, ginger and garlic coarsely in a mixer. Just a pulse or two is sufficient. Do not make a paste.

4. Chop the tomatoes to 6-8 pieces. Similar to the shallots, grind them also coarsely in a mixer

5. In a bowl, take the red chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Add 2-3 tbsp water and make a paste and keep aside.

6. In an earthen vessel/kadai/pan, heat the coconut oil. Splutter mustard and fenugreek. Take care not to burn. 

7. Now add the coarsely ground shallots and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes till they turn slightly brown

8. Now add the masala paste and saute. Let the raw smell of the masala go away. Saute occasionally so that it does not get burnt

9. Once done add the coarsely ground tomatoes and saute. Let it cook for around 2-3 minutes

10. Then add the curry leaves. And then the tamarind pulp. Check salt and add if required

11. Let it come to a boil. Now reduce the flame and add the fish pieces. Let it cook for about 10-12 minutes (as required for the fish) and the gravy reduces to a thick consistency as required. Lastly add a tbsp of coconut oil and remove from flame 

Serve with rice, pappad and fish fry ! 

Cheers,

Chitz

Easy Capsicum Sabzi for Chapathi | Capsicum Stirfry | Kudamilagai Poriyal

I have been cooking and trying some really good recipes and bakes for a while now. But Dhruv and my Cuemath classes keeps me busy and away from the blog for a long while. I do regret that but when I think of the beautiful times and memories I'm making with Dhruv, I feel that's ok :) This time can never be retrieved and I do not want to regret that in my future. You do agree with me on that right :) 

So, you all know that I try on a lot of veggies and mostly sticky to 'easy to make' and 'tasty ones'! And in that regard, this is a very easy stir fry with capsicum and tastes absolutely awesome with phulkas or rotis. It is a bit sweet as sugar is added to retain the color of the capsicum. You can omit it if you do not like that taste. Easy to make and even one who doesn't eat capsicum is sure to like this simple sabzi :)

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Capsicum	-	1 no (medium - big sized)
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized)
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Soya sauce (optional)	-	½ tsp (substitute with lemon juice if need)
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the capsicum in water and cut them into two. De-seed the capsicum and remove the white inner portion (optional). Then cut the capsicum into cubes. Also cut the onion into cubes

2. In a pan heat oil. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Take care not to burn the cumin seeds

3. Add the cubed onions and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes till they turn transparent

4. Now add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of goes off

5. Now add the capsicum and saute. Leave it for a minute or two. 

6. Then add the sugar and give a nice stir. 

7. Close the pan and cook till the capsicum is done (another minute or so). It will not take long for the capsicum to cook. It is better to leave it crunchy as the flavor and taste is best then

8. Before switching off the flame, add the soya sauce (can substitute with lemon juice) and give a quick stir. The sabzi is ready to be devoured !

Cheers,
Chitz

Chembu Thandu Kootan | Chembin Thandu Parippu Curry | Chemin Thandu Puli Curry

Colocassia Stalks cooked in dal, tamarind and coconut

So this is kinda continuation post from the last one. This is the gravy that I was talking about in the last post 'Chembila Upperi'. This gravy is slightly tangy (depends on how you prefer to adjust the tanginess, recipe calls for very little tamarind) and all the more dal flavoured. I paired this up with the chembu ila upperi. You can choose any other spicy or hot or subtle side dish as potato fry or kovakka fry or just plain rice, pickle and pappad. This is very easy to make. Just the soaking of the tamarind and dal is gonna take a while. Rest is breeze.. Do try this out when you get hold of some chembu ila and you are sure gonna thank me later ! 

My other spinach recipes are Cheera Parippu Curry, Chembila Upperi, Sirukeerai Paruppu Masiyal, Vallarai keerai Poriyal, Palak Paneer, Cheera Thalippu & Cheera Thoran

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Chembin Thandu/Colocassia Stalks	-	10 stalks
Toor Dal	-	2-3 tbsp
Tamarind	-	A small blueberry sized (1 tsp tightly packed)
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	-	2 tsp
Coriander powder	-	2 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed

To Grind:

Grated Coconut - ¼ cup (2 tbsp) Cumin Seeds - ¼ tsp To Temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp Mustard - ½ tsp Fenugreek - ¼ tsp Curry leaves - 1-2 sprigs

The Way:

1. Remove the stalks (thandu) from the colocassia (chembu ila) leaves. Peel off the fibre (naaru)  from the stalks. Just use a knife to pull the fibre. Then chop the stalks and keep aside.



2. Soak tamarind in water (I used close to 1 cup water) for 20-30 minutes. Extract the pulp and keep aside.

3. Grind coconut and cumin seeds with a little water (2-3 tbsp) and keep the paste aside.

4. Soak toor dal in water for around 20-30 minutes. you can also cook directly, but soaking helps to cook faster and also it blends smoothly when mashed after cooking. 

5. Then pressure cook the dal for 4-5 whistles.

6. Once cooked, add the chopped stalks, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt and pressure cook again for 1 more whistle. The stalks cook fast. So no need to cook for more than a whistle. 

7.Now add the tamarind pulp and allow it to boil for a minute or two.

8. Then add the ground coconut-paste and give a stir. Allow it to boil for 2-3 minutes and then switch off flame.

9. In another tadka pan/kadai heat oil. Splutter mustard and fenugreek.

10. Add broken red chillies and curry leaves. Add the tempering to the gravy and serve.

Cheers,
Chitz

Chembila Thoran | Chembin Ila Upperi | Colocassia Leaves Stirfry

Hello pals ! If you are wondering where I got hold of some chembu ila here in Pune, it is nowhere else but in Big Basket. I was very excited and bought some immediately. Deeps' aunt prepares upperi out of this and makes a gravy also out of the stalks (thandu). So I too set about to make the same. It is very simple to make this upperi/thoran as it takes very little time. These leaves get cooked really fast and there is no need to add/sprinkle water. This should be cooked in steam. It tastes like a variety of spinach only, more closer to the taste of drumstick leaves. So if you get hold of some of these, do try out this recipe!

My other spinach recipes are Cheera Parippu Curry, Chembin Thandu Parippu Curry, Sirukeerai Paruppu Masiyal, Vallarai keerai Poriyal, Palak Paneer, Cheera Thalippu & Cheera Thoran

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

I Used:

Oil	-	2 tbsp
Colocassia Leaves/Chembin Ila	-	10 nos
Shallots/Cheriya Ulli	-	15-18 nos
Red Chilly	-	2 nos
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the leaves in water and remove the stalks (thandu). Chop the leaves like you chop any spinach (cheera). Peel the shallots (cheriyulli) and slice them round.

2. Heat oil in a pan/kadai. Add the chopped shallots, broken red chillies and salt. Saute well. The shallots should turn slightly brown in colour.

3. Once the shallots change colour, add the chopped chembu leaves. Give a stir. Do not add water. Instead the leaves should cook in the steam. So close the pan and cook. Open the lid and stir occasionally. This leaves get cooked quickly, in about 5-7 minutes. So take care not to burn. 

Serve with rice and a gravy of your choice !

Cheers,

Chitz