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 Thai Curry

This recipe is for the "Its a Vegan World - Thai"




Ingredients

For curry paste
1 inch ginger piece
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
1 mild green chilly
1 tsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp soya sauce (optional)
2 lime juices

For curry
1 carrot chunked
1/2 red pepper chunked
1/2 green pepper chunked
3 asparagus chunked
5 -6 mange-touts
349 gms firm tofu (this can be replaced with soya chunks also)
1/2 onion sliced
50 gms coconut cream
1 cup of hot water
handful of coriander chopped
1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp salt

Method

For Paste
Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it into a smooth paste , add little water if necessary.

For Curry
Heat oil , sauté onions till they start to brown. Now add the curry paste , saute for a minute . Add vegetables , creamed coconut, salt and hot water. Bring to boil , add kaffir lime leaf and simmer it for 20 -2 5 mins or till all the veggies are tender and cooked. Garnish with corainder leaves. Serve with hot steamed white rice.

Note : While making this curry you can use as many vegetables as you like and the quantity of each vegetable can be as much as you like.

Red Kidney Beans and Yam Curry

Ingredients

1 can of cooked red kidney beans
100g yam chopped and cooked or 1 can of cooked yam
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
6-7 garlic pods crushed
2 cups water

For masala

3 tbsp grated coconut

3 dry red chillies

1 tsp tamarind juice

Method

For masala
Grind all the masala ingredients with lttle water to a smooth paste.

For curry
Mix masala, kidney beans, yam, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer and cook for 10 mins. Meanwhile heat oil in a small pan and add garlic and saute them till they carmelise. Add this garlic to the curry . Serve this with steaming hot white rice.

Sprouted moong beans curry for rotis/ tortillas

Bean sprouts are rich in proteins and are commonly used in Chinese and Japanese cuisines. They are also added in stir fries to boost the protein. Bean sprouts are also used in Indian cuisines. It is used to make curries and side dish for rotis. But the sprouts used in India are just 1 - 2 days sprouts unlike Chinese who use largely sprouted beans.

Ingredients

1 cup moong beans sprouted and cooked
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp sambhar powder / curry powder
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
4 garlic cloves finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp turmeric

Method

Heat oil in a sauce pan , add mustard seeds. After they splutter , add cumin seeds, curry leaves, onions and garlic. Saute it for 5 mins or till the onions start turning brown. Add tomato and cook till they are mushy. Now add turmeric, salt, curry / sambhar powder and chilli powder. Add 1/4 cup water if required. Cover and cook for 10 - 15mins . Serve this on a bed of rice or with tortillas or naans.

Moong Beans with green beans curry

Ingredients

1 cup dry moong beans or 2 cups canned beans

1/2 cup chopped beans

1 tsp salt

For masala

3 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp tamarind juice

3 -4 dry red chillies

a pinch of mustard seeds

a pinch of fenugreek seeds

a pinch of turmeric

For seasoning

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

Method

For dry moong beans, you need to soak them overnight and following morning cooked them with 4 - 5 cups of water in pressure cooker for 30 mins. The cooker should not be opened immediately after 30 mins. Allow it to stand for atleast 30 mins. If the beans are not cooked then cook them again for another 15 - 30 mins.

Grind the masala ingredients with little water to a smooth paste. Add this to the cooked moong beans with salt . Add 2 cups water if using canned beans. Bring to boil and simmer it for 10 mins.

Take oil in a small pan . Add mustard seeds to the hot oil, after spluttering add curry leaves and immediately put off the flame. Add this seasoning to the moong beans and masala mixture. Serve this with white or brown rice.

Dal and Roti

This is a very simple and common dish eaten in north india. And lately it has been quiet a popular dish even in south india and a cheap one too. During my college days , I would crave to eat this and pull a friend of mine to a near by fast food outlet and eat it. It was just 10 Rs per plate and I relished every bite of it and even eat from my friends plate . I tried this at home but the taste was never the same. I miss my food outlets in India.

Ingredients for Dal

1 cup cooked channa dal
a pinch of asafoetida
a pinch of turmeric
2 tsp ginger paste or finely minced ginger
2 -3 green chillies slit
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

Method

Heat oil in a saucepan and when the oil is hot, add cumin seeds. When the seeds stop spluttering add asafoetida, turmeric , ginger and gren chillies. Saute it for half a minute and then add cooked channa dal and about 1/4 cup of water and salt. Bring this to boil and cook the dal further till they are very tender and are easily mashed when taken between the fingers and crushed. This is ideally served with chappatis and rotis.

Marrow curry (Konkani style ambath)

Ingredients

1 marrow chunked without the hard skin
1 onion finely chopped
3 tbsp grated coconut
1 tsp tamarind juice
3 roasted dry red chillies
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup red lentils / toor dal cooked and mashed
1 cup water
1 tsp oil

Method

Prepare the masala by grinding coconut , tamarind juice and red chillies with little water. In a pot add lentils , masala , marrow , salt and water and cook till the marrow is tender . Meanwhile heat oil in a small pan and when the oil is hot add onions and caramelize them . Add this to the pot above and the curry is ready to be served.

adzuki beans and yam curry

Forgive my photography skills.

Ingredients

For Curry

1 cup dry adzuki beans soaked overnight

1 can of cooked yam or about 100g of yam chopped into chunks

6-7 garlic cloves crushed

1 tsp salt

1 cup water

2 tsp oil

For masala

3 tbsp grated coconut

3 dry red chillies

1 tsp tamarind juice

Method

For Masala
Grind coconut, dry red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste.

For Curry

Cook the adzuki beans and 100g of chopped yam (if using cooked yam then it should be added to cooked beans separately). Add the masala to the cooked adzuki beans and yam . Add 1 cup water and salt bring to boil. Now simmer for 10 mins. This has to be tempered . For tempering heat oil in a small pan and add crushed garlic and caramelize the garlic and then add to the above mixture. Serve this with hot white rice.

Bamboo shoot and black eye beans curry

Bamboo shoots is commonly used in Chinese stir fries. This is added to curries and spicy pancakes in our community. This is very rare and expensive vegetable found in India so its considered as a delicacy. I was overwhelmed to see cans of bamboo shoots in supermarkets. Authentic Konkani bamboo shoot curry is prepared using sprouted moong beans or just cooked moong beans. The method remains the same. For any dry beans you buy, it should be soaked overnight and pressure cooked the next day.

Ingredients

200g / 1 tin of cooked black eye beans/ sprouted moong beans

100g /1 small tin of cooked bamboo shoots.

3 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric

a pinch of fenugreek seeds

1 tsp oil

1 sprig curry leaves

4 dry red chillies

1 tsp tamarind juice

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

Method

prepare the masala by grinding cocnut, red chillies, tamarind juice, turmeric, fenugreek seeds and 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and little water . Grind it into a smooth paste. Mix masala, black eye beans , bamboo shoots , water and salt. Bring this mixture to a boil and simmer it for 10 mins. Meanwhile prepare the tempering by heating oil , to this add rest of the mustard seeds , when this stops spluttering add curry leaves. Now pour this tempering into the curry . This is ready to be served.

Sambhar / Curry (South Indian Style)

This is a curry / Sambhar recipe was given to me by my mother in law. This picture is taken from sambhar prepared by her. She is an amazing cook . She has different versions of Sambhar and believe me all her versions are slurp...... She , along with father in law, came to UK about 30 years ago , a period when she didn't know cooking and to compliment her disadvantage , there were not many vegetable options and no curry powders, no indian spices but meat was in surplus. Being a strict Indian vegetarian, she had to learn to make curry powders and also suit her taste to English vegetables. Fortunately , she was successful in doing so and her experiments passed and she became a star of our family. Well this curry has Indian vegetables but there are some variations for my English readers. (courtesy mother in law)

Ingredients

3/4 cup toor dal cooked

1 large onions

1 large tomato

2 large potatoes cubed

1 tsp tamarind juice

For masala

lilttle oil

2 tbsp corrainder seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

1/4 inch cinnamon

1 tsp methi / fenugreek seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp channa dal

1 tbsp urad dal

1 tbsp uncooked rice

2 tbsp shredded coconut or desiccated coconut

pinch of hing / asafoetida

1 tsp turmeric

5 -6 dry red chillies

4 -5 curry leaves

Method

Dry roast all the masala ingredients separately on low heat except methi / fenugreek seeds which has to be roasted in little oil till you can smell the aroma. Grind all of these with little water in to a smooth paste.

Cook the veggies , when its half cooked, add toor dal and ground masala, tamarind juice and salt (1 1/2 tsp ). Cover and cook till the veggies are soft and tender. Serve this with rice or idli.

Variations

Different vegetables or different combinations of vegetables can be used. Aubergines / Celery / Okra / Runner beans / Mange touts / any coloured Peppers / Baby corns / Frozen mixed vegetables except cauliflowers / Green peas. For any of these vegetables , onion and tomato are added. Green peas can be added separately or in combination with potato, beans or mange touts.

Mooli / Radish Curry ( Ambath , Konkani style)

Many people dislike radish for its odd smell. But trust me this curry will change your opinion about radish. Radish leaves are also edible and can be used to make tasty side dishes.

Ingredients

1 mooli / 15 radish cut into medium sized round pieces .

3 tbsp dry roasted red chillies

1 tsp tamarind juice

3 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp salt

1 small onion finely chopped

1 tsp oil

1 small tomato chopped coarsely

1/2 cup red lentils

Method

Cook lentils , radish , onion and tomato together. Grind coconut, tamarind, red chillies into a paste and add this to the cooked vegetables above. Bring to boil and simmer it for 5 min. To temper this heat oil and saute onions till it caramelizes. Add this to the incomplete curry. Serve this with hot rice.

Spinach Curry ( Ambath in Konkani Style)

This is the most favorite curry for the members of my family especially my husband. This picture above is Methi leaves / Fenugreek leaves curry and the recipe for this is below in Variations.

Ingredients

2 cups chopped spinach / 5 blocks frozen Tesco spinach

1 medium tomato

1 small onion finely chopped

3 tbsp grated coconut

2 - 3 dry red chillies (roasted)

1 tsp tamarind juice

2 tsp oil

1/2 cup red lentils

Method

Cook lentils, spinach , tomato and half of the chopped onions. Meanwhile grind coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste. When the lentils are cooked , add the paste and bring to boil and further cook for 5 mins. Now this curry should be tempered , heat oil and saute the rest of the onions till they are dark brown. Add this to the curry above. Serve it with chapatis or rice.

Tadka or tempering can be added when the curry is still cooking or after the curry is cooked.

Variation

Methi leaves curry is prepared in the same way but instead on onions for tadka , you need 1 tsp oil heated to 1 tsp mustard seeds and 4 - 5 curry leaves are to be added. No onions are added for this curry.

Spinach and Lentil

This dish is very healthy and simple . This can be cooked on the days when you want a break from cooking because it doesn't take much of your time.

Ingredients

2 cups of chopped spinach / 5 blocks of frozen Tesco spinach.

1 cup of red lentils

1 medium sized onion roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic roughly chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

5 - 6 slit green chillies

1 large tomato cut into chunks

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 red chillies

1 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Add spinach (frozen ones can also be added directly from freezer , need not be defrosted), lentils, garlic, cumin seeds, green chillies, onion and tomato in a pressure cooker. Cook for 10 mins. Now this needs tempering, heat oil and add mustard seeds. After it stops spluttering, add red chillies, saute it for 1 min . Add this tempering and salt and cook it for 2 -3 mins . Serve this with rotis, naan , pitta bread or hot rice.

Money saving tip

I prefer frozen spinach as this available throughout the year and I saw this was cheaper than the fresh ones. I buy fresh ones only if there is an offer cheaper than frozen ones. Actually frozen vegetables contain more nutrients than the fresh ones as these are frozen when there are very fresh. But with beans, dry beans also contains the same nutrients as the frozen one. So soaking beans and cooking them also gives the same nutrients. Because drying process just dehydrates the seeds but doesn't remove its nutrients instead these nutrients become concentrated .

Beans Soup ( Saaru , Konkani style)

This is not a proper soup . It is in between soup and curry or a curry with thin consistency. This is easy to prepare and very healthy too. This can be prepared using any kind of beans.

Ingredients

100 gms chickpeas / brown chickpeas / moong beans / horse gram / black eye beans / kidney beans / moth beans. ( Sprouted beans can also be used. )

2 tsp oil

5 - 6 cloves garlic crushed

2 - 3 dry red chillies

1 tsp salt

3 cups water

Method

Soak the beans overnight and cook them with the 3 cups of water. Cook for 20 - 25 mins in a pressure cooker. Now add salt and bring to boil . Meanwhile prepare for "Tadka" , heat oil in a small pan and add garlic and saute it till its golden brown. Note that it should be cooked in a medium flame . Now add chillies and saute it for 1 min . Add this to the cooked beans. This can be just consumed like a soup ( but its quiet spicy) or can be served with rice.

OR

The tempering or tadka can be changed. Heat 1 tsp oil , add 1 tsp mustard seeds. After it stops spluttering add 2 - 3 dry red chillies and then a sprig of curry leaves.

Money saving tip

Instead of buying frozen or canned beans, buy dry beans . Soak them and then pressure cook them the following morning. By adopting this method , you are not only saving money but also eating freshly cooked beans which is much more tastier .

Beans Curry (Indian Konkani style)

Ingredients:

200 gms of dry butter beans / pinto beans / green peas

1 medium potato chopped into bite size chunks

3 tbsp grated coconut

2-3 dry red chillies (this is available in any indian store). This has to be roasted.

1 tsp tamarind juice (extract juice from the pulp using hot water or use 1 tsp tamarind powder)

1/2 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 tsp salt

2 cups water

1 tsp oil

Method :

Soak the butter beans overnight and pressure cook it along with potatoes for 15 mins. Meanwhile grind grated coconut , red chillies and tamarind juice into a fine smooth paste. Add this paste and salt to the above cooked beans and potatoes . To this add half of the chopped onions and water. Bring this to boil and simmer it for 10 mins. the curry is ready but still incomplete without a "Tadka" or tempering and for this in another small pan heat oil and add the rest of the chopped onions and saute it till its dark brown. Add this to the curry. Serve this with hot white rice.

Money saving tip : You can buy long grain rice instead of basmati. For curries long grain rice are the best. Basmati is used mainly for pulao/pilaf/pulav. Supermarket' s basic brand is also ideal for curries.