Vani's Yum Yum Capsicum onion gojju / Bell pepper and onion thick curry

I love authentic Karnataka food and so I often browse some kannadiga's blogs for recipes. I wanted to eat something tangy and spicy and then I found this recipe from the blog Mysoorean by Vani , a blog I frequently visit . I have tried few of her recipes and I should say they tasted awesome. She is a very good cook . I have also tried to accommodate her method of cooking into my recipe ( Example I already had the recipe for Bisi Bele Bath but it was too complex , I read Vani's version of BBB and her method of cooking and I felt it was very easy . I adopted her method of cooking since then and to my suprise I did not have to comprise with the taste . My version of BBB was also good.) Thanks to Vani for her recipes and especially this gojju . I finished most of the gojju while tasting and there was nothing much left even for the photo and my poor hubby got the last bit of the gojju and could not even relish it much. I promised to prepare for him again and hopefully the next time also I don't end of tasting the entire quantity of gojju .

I served this with chappati for my husband as he is on diet . Not being a huge fan of chappatis , I ate it with white rice. I felt it tasted very good with rice.

For the recipe visit Vani's Mysoorean blog.

Thanks Vani once again.

Simple Noodle

This is the basic type of noodles. Its easy and simple to make . Its ready within 20 mins. Noodles is such a versatile and complete dish. Noodles can be made dry or wet with gravy or can be very tasteful in chinese noodle soups. Any type of veggies can be added.

Ingredients

Any quantity and any type of vegetables can be added but I have added

200g noodles (any fresh or dried) I used wholewheat noodles.

1 julienne carrot

1/4 cabbage shredded

6-7 babycorn sliced lengthwise

1 large onion chopped

1 tbsp ginger - garlic- chilli paste

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp rapseed oil

handful cilantro chopped for garnishing (optional)

Method

Heat rapseed oil in a wok . Stir fry onions ,giner - garlic - chilli paste , babycorn, carrot and cabbage. Then add soy sauce and noodles. Put off the flame and add toasted sesame oil and garnish with chopped cilantro. If you feel the noodles are bland , you can add more soy sauce.

Aubergine and green beans curry

I always bring home free food magazines from superstores. They have lots of good recipes . I even browse non veg recipes as well and substitute meat with soya chunks or tofu or just exclude meat from the recipe. I even substitute all non veg stocks with veg stock. This recipe was in January 2008 ASDA magazine. I had tried this earlier and was very delicious. You can make it dry and eat as a side dish or make curry with lots of gravy.

Ingredients
2 aubergines cubed
1 onion sliced
1 tomato chpped
handful of frozen beans (if using fresh ones then topped and tailed)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

Method
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook till they pop. Add onions and saute for a minute till they start turning brown. Add aubergine , salt and cook for 3 minutes. Add turmeric , corainder powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder. Mix and stir well. Add 250 ml water (you could add more water for gravy or little water for dry side dish). Add tomato and green beans. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Vegan Celery Red Pepper Risotto

Ingredients
1 cup arborio rice
1 litre vegetable stock (I used just 1 stock cube)
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 large pods garlic finely chopped
1/2 red pepper finely chopped
1 celery stick finely chopped
1/4 cup soya milk
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soya margarine / spread
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper powder
few saffron strand to garnish (optional)

Method
Heat oil and melt butter together in a saucepan . Add onion and garlic . Saute till it starts turning brown . Now add celery and red pepper and stir for a minute or 2. Add rice and stir for a minute more . Now start adding stock little by little and keep stirring till the stock is absorbed and then again add more stock and stir . Repeat till all the stock is added . Add milk , salt and black pepper . Cover and simmer for 5 - 10 mins or till the rice is tender . Occasionally give a stir. The whole process of cooking risotto would take about 30 mins. Ladddle hot steaming risotto in a bowl and garnish with saffron strands.

Wholewheat Penne with mushroom and tomato sauce

Ingredients
300 gms wholewheat penne
1 carrot cut into strips
1 large onions chopped into strips
2 large tomatoes chunked
3 tbsp tomato puree
3 garlic pods finely chopped
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
10 -15 mushrooms chopped
1 tbsp oil, preferably olive oil
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper powder

Method
Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the packet ( cook the pasta in 1 litre of water , drain and wash under cold water to remove extra starch and also it helps separate the pastas from each other ).

Heat oil in a large pan . Saute onion and when they start turning brown , add garlic and saute till the garlic starts browning. Add carrots and cook for 5 mins.Now add mushroom and coo till they sweat , add water if the mushrooms starts sticking to the pan. Now add tomatoes and tomato puree dissolved in 1 cup water. Add salt and pepper powder. Cover and cook till the tomatoes are tender and mushy. This could take about 10 mins. Add dried herbs and the pasta. Mix them and let the pasta heat for 5 mins . Keep stirring to avoid any sticking to the pan. Add water if the sauce is too dry to coat all the pasta. Serve with vegan parmesan (optional), I have not added.

Tips
You can add as many vegetables and as much as you like (peppers , baby corn, zucchini , sweetcorn , aubergine , sun dried tomatoes)
You can even add vegan sausages , seiatin . (I added Redwood's Ham style vegan Cheatin cut into thin strips while serving).

Vegetable Biryani

This is quiet a nutritious dish. This is very commonly served during parties, potlucks and wedding in India. You can add variety of veggies and make it more colorful and appetizing . This can be prepared very quickly and without any effort. This recipe was given to me by my ex colleague Sudha Baliga. She is a great cook. Thanks to her for this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients

5 -6 garlic pods chopped finely
1 medium sized cinnamon stick (equal to length of your index finger) powdered
3 -4 cloves powdered
2 cardamom powdered
3 onions chopped
1 tbsp red chilli powder
pinch of turmeric
thumb sized ginger piece finely chopped
1 cup of mixed veggies chopped (I used tomatoes, beans, carrots, peas, sweetcorn)
1 1/2 cup rice preferable basmati rice
pinch of sugar (optional)
1 tsp salt
3 cups water (for every one part of rice 2 parts of water should be added)
2 tbsp oil

Method

the spices can be powdered together or the whole spices with whole garlic pods and whole ginger can be ground in a blender. The latter saves time and effort. Heat oil in a pan and add the powdered spices and garlic and ginger and saute it for 1/2 a minute or you can add the ground spices with garlic and ginger and then saute it till you get the fragrance or aroma of the spices. Add the chopped onions and saute it till reddish brown . Now add washed rice and saute it for a minute or 2 and then add chopped veggies , roast them for a minute or wo . Now add chilli powder , turmeric, salt , sugar and water. Cook for 15 - 20 mins or till the rice is completely cooked and tender. At this point you can add more water if required. This is ready to be served with raita .