Amar Chitra Katha

I got these for my nephew, but ended up reading them in about 15 minutes. They brought back some wonderful memories of my childhood. :) Like the 1st Tinkel that was published, the binded copies of amar chitra kathas and these beautiful illustrations :)

Bhindi Masala Strips -

If there could be a quick side dish, then this is it. The dish is super easy/quick/tasty too. Here is what you need -

Bhindi or Okra - 20 pieces (slit length wise - remember to keep the top and the bottom of the bhindi intact and make sure they are not slit all the way)

Spices - salt, chilly powder, cumin powder, garam masala, coriander powder
Vegetable Oil to shallow fry the bhindi (as required)

And that's all we need, now how do you make these strips -

1.In a large bowl combine all the spices and taste a little to see if the salt is enough.
2.Now stuff the bhindi really well with the spice powder.
3.In a flat non-stick pan heat the oil (add as much or as less as you require).
4.After the oil heats up, add your bhindi and cover it with a lid for exactly 1 minute (enough for the bhindi to cook). If you leave the lid on for long, the bhindi is going to turn all soggy and that's NOT what you want.
5.Now remove the lid and continue to fry them in medium heat. Keep a close watch over them, as they can easily get burnt.
6.Keep turning the bhindi and make sure they don't get burnt or stick to the pan.
Remove them from the pan once all the sides are done.
7.Slide in the next bath of bhindis, most probably you wont need to add extra oil as the oil from the first batch should remain.

After all the sides are fried, remove them and eat the with rice/chapati or parathas :)

Raw banana kofta balls

I wanted to show you what the kofta balls look like before they were added to the curd gravy :) Enjoyyy

Raw banana Kofta

Since every other day there is either amavasai or pournami or something else in between.. it isn't always that you can use onion/garlic in a bramin household when you cook. So here is a dish, which will make sure you don't even miss the onion n garlic taste.

Raw banana Kofta -
Ingredients - Raw banana (peeled & boiled 2 nos), 1 1/2 cup curd, water 1/2 cup, garam masala, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, ginger and 3-4 green chillies (finely chopped), salt, jeera, asofodita, cumin and dhaniya powder, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves.

Procedure -
1. In a big bowl mash the raw bananas, ginger, 2 green chillies, garam masala, cumin and dhaniya powder, salt, turmeric powder.
2.Now make them into small balls or flat cutlet shaped circles.
3.You can deep fry or shallow fry these balls.. i chose to shallow fry (cos they r healthier)
4.Drain the oil in a tissue paper and keep them aside.
5.In a pan add oil and jeera, now add then green chillies, ginger, turmeric powder, salt, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and saute till brown.
5.Immediately add half a cup of water and after 2 mins add 1 and 1/2 cups of curd and stir well for a few minutes in low flame
6.Add the kofta balls and serve with coriander leaves...

- This came out really really well.. this is the first time i've tried a kofta recipe.. that too with raw banana.. and as time passes the kofta balls don't melt and mix with the gravy.. they really absorb the taste well and remain solid.. its darn easy, fast and really tasty!! A must try i would say! the best part is that it doesn't have too much oil in it either (as you aren't deep frying as you would in usual kofta recipes), so it is healthy.

Baby Potatoes in Yougurt Gravy

So I've been cooking a lot lately.. & thought I'll share with u some of these delicious Indian dishes :P (that's me drooling)

What you'll need -

Baby potatoes (one kg - i used 3/4th kg)
Green chillies - 3 large ones slit
One cup fresh curd
Olive/vegetable Oil - 2 tsb
Spices - jeera(cumin seeds), mustard seeds,cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt, chilly powder, garam masala, coriander powder

How you'll be cooking -
1. Boil the potatoes and make sure they are not too soft
2.Let them cool a bit. Now you can peel them and pierce them with a fork.
3.In a big bowl add all the spices to the baby potatoes and mix them well, and let them marinate for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure the spices coat the potatoes really well. (you can add some oil at this stage to blend them better)
4.In a pan, add the oil and add the mustard, jeera and slit chillies, now after they splutter, add the baby potatoes and roast them a bit for about 8-10 minutes in low or medium flame.
5.After they are well roasted add the curd and stir thoroughly.
6.Now let the gravy simmer for a bit and add freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice/phulka/nan...

I am a huge fan of jeera and green chillies. There are very few dishes that i don't use them in :)
p.s i promise to put up better cooking pictures soon :)