Brown poha with the husk on Poha Cheora Chira

Bag of husk-on poha aka chira in Bengali

Cooked poha studded with potatoes, onions, peanuts, curry leaves, green chiles, and cilantro.

I wanted to note this find: I got husk-on brown poha at a Bangladeshi market. I used my regular poha recipe. But I had to wash this poha well to remove the gritty chaff and soak it for 45 minutes. (I experimented to reach my conclusion on the soaking time.)

It came out well. The poha itself was nutty, as brown rice typically is. I still like white poha better. But this is a good high fiber option.

Karela in Dry Masala

To prepare the karela:
Select 5-6 small, dark green karelas. Slice them into thin coin-like circles, popping out and discarding any hard seeds. Fill a deep bowl with 1 tablespoon of salt and one teaspoon of turmeric and add in your karela coins. Soak for 20 mins-1 hour. Strain karela, rinse with water, and squeeze. Lay on a paper towel to dry out a bit.

Ingredients:
Prepared karela coins
3 tbs oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
6 fresh curry leaves
1 tbs ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp crushed ginger, 1 tsp crushed garlic)
1/2 small onion, sliced
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chile powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
pinch of garam masala
1 heaping tsp dried mango powder (amchoor)
pinch of salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 chopped fresh green chiles
2-3 tbs chopped cilantro

Method:
In 3 tbs oil on high heat: fry cumin seeds, add in curry leaves, added ginger-garlic paste, and onion, then when onion was soft and ginger-garlic browning, add in coriander powder, cumin powder, red chile, and turmeric. Quickly tossed in the karela coins then stir fry them for a minute to coat in spices. Cover and cook on medium low heat, stirring every 5-7 minutes.  When the karela are soft, uncover and turn up the heat for a little while and dried up the moisture and browned them a bit. Last, add in a tiny pinch of garam masala and a big pinch of amchoor, salt and a tiny bit of sugar then some fresh green chiles. Stir fry for a minute more or so to steam the chiles. Turn off the flame and stir in cilantro.
Serve with chapati or roti.

Chaat at home: Bhel Puri, Dahi Puri, Papri Chaat plus chutneys

Chaat...how to explain what chaat is? It is a genre of hot and sour crunchy snack foods. How do you explain chaat to someone who has never had it before?

In Dubai, we have a lot of chaat places. Not all of it is fabulous. Stale crunchies, overly seasoned or flavorless chutneys, a chaat mixer who robotically throws ingredients together, not caring to balance the flavors---it all lends to bad chaat. But some chaat places are consistently amazing. You cannot pass them by without stopping for a plate of gol gappe or dahi puri even if you have just had a meal. Eating great chaat is like having an explosive festival of flavor and texture in your mouth. I adore chaat. If I hadn't married my Pakistani husband, my life might be void of chaat. I may never have heard of the yummy stuff. Perish the thought!

In the des, chaat can be one of those foods that poses a high risk to the tummy for non-locals. For sanitary reasons, or for reasons of ritual purity, there are many desis who prefer to make chaat at home as well. My Gujarati neighbors employ a Maharaj (Brahmin cook) who prepares fresh chaat or Gujarati farsaans for them on a daily basis. In a Western country, you may live somewhere that there is no chaat house, or where the chaat isn't that great. So, it is useful to know how to make chaat at home. I actually prepared these recipes and did a demo on home made chaat for my school. It went really well. I hope you have as much success with the recipes.

Here are some recipes and ideas:
*I use Shan Chaat Masala as my chaat masala blend.

In order to give the hot, sweet, and sour flavors to most chaat dishes, you have to use a green chutney and a sweet chutney. Many chaat dishes also require yoghurt, which you may choose to lightly season. Many English and American people think chutney means a fruit sauce, but chutney is really any kind of dipping sauce. Green chutney is mainly cilantro and can have mint. Sweet chutney is usually made of tamarind or dehydrated dates, or a combination of the two. My dear cooking teacher showed me a way to make sweet chutney with mango powder (amchoor), although this is not her exact recipe (she uses roasted cumin and red chile powder in addition to chaat masala). Before I got her recipe, I was soaking and straining tamarind and pitting dates and boiling and straining and boiling and straining. What a headache. Now, I just boil the mango powder, fuss free.

Green Chutney
Ingredients:
1 bunch cilantro chopped  (about 2 loosely packed cups)
½ bunch mint leaves (about 1 loosely packed cup)
1-2 green chilies
½ piece bell pepper
½ small onion
3 tbs lemon juice
3 tsp sugar
Salt 1 heaping tsp or to Taste

How to make green chutney :
Blitz all ingredients thoroughly in a blender to make a paste. If you own a desi style grinder like this one, this is superior to a blender. Add a little water if required.

Sweet Chutney
In Dubai we get bags of gur cut into 100 gram chunks. They are about the size of a large American lemon. I hope these are available in the US, too. I don't want to deal with that giant block of gur. If that is all you have. Soften briefly in the microwave and cut off and weigh 200 grams.

Ingredients:
200 grams (two large chunks) jaggery sugar (Gur)
1 tbs mango powder
1 cup water
1 tsp chaat masala or to taste (I use Shan brand)
¼ tsp salt or to taste

How to make sweet chutney:
Boil jaggery sugar and mango powder together in water until the sugar melts. Keep boiling for about 5 minutes or until it thickens, stirring in the salt and chaat masala. You can make a double batch of this chutney and keep it in the fridge for a month to use as needed. I serve this chutney with any kabaab, chaat, or dahi baray

*This chutney contains no tamarind. If you prefer the mild, smokey flavor of tamarind as opposed the the sharp tartness of mango powder, omit the tbs of mango powder and in place of that use 1 tbs tamarind concentrated pulp...the seedless brick in the clear plastic wrap, not the terrible one in the jar.


Yoghurt for Chaat
4 cups yoghurt
1 tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp sugar or to taste


Three Types of Chaat to Try at Home
I do not make my puris, bhel/murmura, sev, etc. at home. That is beyond my cooking skill level. All of this can be bought pre-packaged at any Indo-Pak grocer. Haldiram's and Bikanerwala are excellent brands. Bhel puri mixes usually come with chutneys, too. Throw those away. Those chutneys are terrible and full of preservatives. Use the fresh recipes provided above.

Bhel Puri
Ingredients:
Pre-packaged Bhel Puri Mix – 3 cups
Potato-1/4 up boiled, peeled, and cubed
Whole green Mung beans- 2 tbs boiled
Chickpeas-1/4 cup cooked
Onion – 2 tbs, finely chopped
Sour green Mango – 2 tbs, finely chopped (optional, you can subsitute tart green apple for this, too)
Cilantro – 2 tbs, finely chopped
Green Chiles – 2-3 should suffice, use less for less heat
Sweet Chutney – 6 tbs or to taste
Green Chutney – 3 tbs or to taste

Method:
In a medium bowl, mix together bhel mix, onions, potato, chickpeas, mung beans. and sour green mango, cilantro and green chiles. Add sweet chutney and green chutney (you can adjust the amount suggested here according to your taste). Mix well and serve immediately. You just eat this stuff with a spoon. Yum!

Dahi Puri
Ingredients:
Pani Puri shells– 1 bag from Indian store
Potato – 1 medium cut into cubes
Chick peas – 1/4 cup cooked
Whole mung beans – ¼ cup cooked
Onion – 2 tbs finely chopped
Cilantro – 5 sprigs (finely chopped)
Yogurt – 1/2 cup (well beaten)
Chaat Masala – to taste
Salt – to taste
Red Chile Powder – to taste
Fresh green chiles- 1-2 chopped finely
Green Chutney – 1 tbs or to taste
Sweet Chutney – 2 tbs or to taste
Fine (Thin) Sev – 1/2 cup

Method:
Punch a small hole on top of each of the pani puri shell and place them in a plate. Stuff the puri shells with a little bit of the following: Potato, chick peas, mung beans, and onion. Spoon a little (to taste) green chutney and sweet chutney into the puri shells. Spoon some yogurt into the puri shells and then all around them. Sprinkle with chaat masala, salt, red chile powder and cilantro. Garnish with more sev and some chopped green chile slices. Drizzle green and sweet chutney on top.


Papri Chaat
Ingredients:
Paapri – 1 bag or 20-25 flat puris/paapri from Indian store
Potato – 1 small sized, boiled, peeled & cut into cubes
Chickpeas - 1/4 cup, cooked
Mung beans- 2 tbs cooked (soak for one hour then boil for 20 minutes and strain)
Onion – 2 tbs, finely chopped
Sour green mango- 2 tbs cut in cubes (optional, or substitute with tart green apple)
Fresh green chile- 1-2 chopped (or to taste)
Yoghurt – 3/4 cup, seasoned with salt and sugar and well beaten
Chaat Masala - to garnish
Green Chutney – 2 tbs or to taste
Sweet Chutney- 3 tbs or to taste
Thin Sev – 1/2 cup

Method:
Lay papri chips out on a plate. Sprinkle potatoes, onions, mung beans, chick peas, and green mango (optional) over the layer of papri. Drizzle yoghurt over the papri. Sprinkle a dash of chaat masala. Pour Green Chutney and Sweet Chutney on top to taste. Last, sprinkle thin sev and chopped green chiles as a garnish.


All chaats that contain crunchy ingredients should be served immediately to avoid going soggy.

Low Fat Gobhi Bhaja - Oven Roasted Cauliflower Desi Style

In Bengali cuisine, vegetables like eggplant, potato, and cauliflower are spiced and lightly doused in chickpea flour (besan) or perhaps rice flour, and then deep fried (bhaja means fry). These tasty morsels are served at the start of or as an accompaniment to a meal. Begun bhaja (eggplant) is most famous, but any vegetable that does well when roasted can make for a faux bhaja in the oven.

In the interest of health, I have devised this oven-roast bhaja recipe. You can do the same thing with potatoes or eggplant in place of cauliflower, but be sure to adjust the cooking time. Traditionally, the veg would be fried in mustard oil. You can use that if you like, but I have used olive oil.

First prepare the cauliflower: 1 head of cauliflower, washed cut into bite sized florets, and set in a colander to strain until comletely dry. You must completely dry the cauliflower because any moisture left on it will prevent your faux bhaja from becoming crispy.

Set oven on highest heat setting, and prepare a cookie sheet/baking tray with a layer of aluminium foil.

Since cauliflower varies in size, I suggest that you adjust the ingredients slightly for a large or small head to ensure adequate seasoning. The recipe below is for a medium-ish cauliflower:

1 heaping tsp or so sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp red chile powder
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs chickpea flour (besan)
1 pinch of chaat masala

In a large mixing bowl, pour oil onto dried cauliflower florets. Toss in all of the other ingredients except for the chickpea flour and the chaat masala. Mix well so that the florets are well coated in seasonings and oil. Now add the chickpea flour and mix again to coat. Transfer cauliflower florets to baking tray and put in oven for 25 minutes or so, until the cauliflower is cooked but still slightly crunchy, and it looks crispy and golden brown on the edges. The brown crispy bits are amazing!

Remove from oven, sprinkle with chaat masala, and serve hot.

Strained Yoghurt Delights

In desi English, strained yoghurt is called hung curd. It is another desi ingredient that you can do lots with. Use it in place of sour cream, or as a base ingredient for dips and spreads. What an amazing substance it is...and you don't have to strain yourself to make it :-P . But how ever do you make it? Start out with some yoghurt, a strainer, a dish to simultaneously hold the strainer and catch the water which separates from the yoghurt, and some kind of thin cloth. For the cloth you can use a very well worn cloth kitchen towel or even a thick, high quality paper kitchen towel, as pictured above. You just lay the cloth into the strainer, prop strainer on top of dish, and dump in some yoghurt. Place this in the fridge and let it strain for about 3 hours or overnight. Seeing the liquid accumulate beneath my strainer gives me a sense of self-satisfaction, though it is a completely effortless procedure to strain. You can make strained yoghurt with full fat or low fat yoghurt.

Now you've strained your yoghurt. What are you gonna do with it? How about...

Yummy Mint Dip


I got this idea from a lovely cooking class I attended. The instructor showed us several dip recipes for strained yoghurt, and after experimenting, I have decided to create my own.

1 cup strained yoghurt

1 heaping tbs dried mint

1 clove of garlic

1/2 tsp or so salt or to taste

1 tsp white vinegar

1 heaping tsp chile flakes (you can use chile powder but it will turn your dip pinkish)

1 tsp honey OR plain sugar OR Splenda

1 tbs sugar free peanut butter (crunchy or pasty is fine)

Take your garlic clove and put it in a small microwaveable bowl of water. Put in the microwave and nuke for 1 minute. Remove the garlic clove from the water and mash it into the strained yoghurt. (Microwaving the garlic reduces its strength and prevents your dip from having an overpowering raw garlic taste) Add in all of the other ingredients and mix very well. Serve as a dip for chips, celery sticks, carrot sticks, etc, or use it in place of mayonnaise on a sandwich.

Sri Khand

Sri Khand is a dessert. I usually associate it with Gujaratis, but I think these days it is widely enjoyed by people of many communities, and you can enjoy it, too because it is killer easy to make. It is silky and somehow light and rich at the same time.

2 cup strained yoghurt (make sure it is very fresh yoghurt and not sour)

2.5 tbs sugar

10 strands of saffron soaked in 1 tbs milk (just add to milk and allow to soak for a few minutes)

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

for garnish: Roasted almond slivers and pistachios, a few strands of saffron

Whip all of the ingredients into the strained yoghurt. Whip for a while to ensure that the sugar completely dissolves. Pour into a serving dish and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Before serving, garnish with the almonds and pistachios and a few more strands of saffron if you like. Dish out into small dessert bowls, or even eat it with hot puris.

In both recipes, low fat yoghurt and Splenda can be used.

Matar Pullao Pea Pilaf

This recipe is for a delicious and mild tasting pea pullao. People of my husband's U.P. origin Pakistani background eat mild pullaos such as this for Sunday lunch with raita and pickles.

Rinse and soak 1.5 cups high quality basmati rice for ten minutes. In the meanwhile:

Ingredients:

1.5 cups rinsed and soaked basmati rice

1.25 cups frozen peas

1 tbs ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp green chile paste (you can puree the ginger, garlic, and chiles together)

4-5 whole dried red chiles

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 pieces of cinnamon bark, about 1 inch each stick

7 cloves

2 big black cardamom (bari elaichi)

1 tsp lemon/lime juice

salt to taste, about 1 tbs

2 tbs oil

1 tbs ghee

3 cups water

Heat oil and ghee. On a high flame: Add in dried red chiles and stir them around for a moment. Toss in all of the whole spices. Once these sizzle, add in ginger, garlic, and green chile paste. Let the aromatic pastes turn golden (ensure it does not burn). Immediately pour in 2 cups of water. Remove the dried red chiles and set aside to use later as a garnish. Add in the lemon/lime juice and salt. Add in the soaked strained rice. Add in the remaining cup of water. Use this to ensure that all of the grains of soaked rice go into the pot during the transfer from their soaking vessel if you need to. Allow this to come to a boil. When it boils properly, add in the frozen peas. Allow it to boil again. Cover, then lower the heat to the lowest setting. Cook covered for 17-20 minutes. After this time, briefly open the pot to let excess steam escape, then recover and allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes with the flame off. After 10 minutes, fluff the rice gently with a fork.

Garnish with the fried dried red chiles, which people who want a little heat can eat along with the mild pullao. You should have a lightly seasoned, fluffy, emerald studded pea pullao. Serve with plain yoghurt or raita. Matar pullao can be eaten as a main dish, but also goes well with all types of curries.

Chicken Nihari

I love nihari. Nihari is tradionally a breakfast food. "Nahaar" means day in Arabic, the language of origin of the word nihari. Nihari is a food to start the day with, a morning food to give energy throughout the day. It is eaten with naan in most places, but in Indian Hyderabad it is eaten with the deliciously light and flakey Hyderabadi style paratha. (Nihari recipes vary by region, and niharis of Hyderabad are a bit different than North Indian-Pakistani niharis as well.) Nihari is tradionally made with beef in North India. These days, there are mutton and chicken niharis as well. Nihari is said to be originally from the city of Old Dehli, but outside of its birthplace of India, in neighboring Pakistan, nihari has taken on a life of its own as one of the signature dishes of Pakistani cuisine. In India it is hard to find a dish of nihari at a restaurant, usually a specialty nihari restaurant, after late morning. It is still considered a breakfast food. Nihari is expensive to make at home for common folk, so it is very often bought by the plate at specialty nihari houses. In Pakistan, some people do keep the breakfast tradition. But nihari is more often consumed at any time of day. It is a festive and rich dish associated with Ramadan and Eid.

I will say it again. I love nihari. But, I have been interested in cooking on the lighter side of Pakistani and Indian cuisine, so I had been trying to create a perfect, full bodied chicken nihari since chicken is much lower in fat and calories than beef. I have experimented a bit with online recipes. I have finally settled with a delicious self-created recipe which I am very proud of, and which I hope you will like.

Ingredients:

1 whole skinless chicken, bone in, cut into 12 pieces

1/2 lb of chicken stock cuts, such as necks, backs, and wings

1 onion finely sliced (one American yellow onion or 2-3 small desi pink onions)

2-3 Indian bay leaves (tez patta)

3 pieces of whole black cardamom

1 inch piece of whole cinnamon

6 whole cloves

1 heaping tsp garlic paste

1 heaping tsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp Kashmiri chile powder (or more to taste)

2 tsp ground coriander powder

1 cup whipped yoghurt

4 cups of water

1 tsp white flour (maida)

2 tsp ground chickpea flour (besan)

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp freshly ground anise seed powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground green cardamom powder

salt to taste (about 1.5 tsps)

1/4 cup oil

2 tbs oil for thickening flours

Garnish: lemon wedges, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped green chiles, ginger cut into match stick sized slivers

Heat oil and brown the chicken pieces (but not the chicken stock pieces) and remove from oil. Set aside. Heat oil again and in bay leaves, cinnamon piece, black cardamom, and cloves. Once the bay leaves begin to change color, brown the onion by first frying on high heat, then lowering the heat until the slices become crisp and golden brown. Alternatively you can use pre-browned onions. Towards the end of the browning process, stir in the garlic and ginger paste and let this turn golden. Turn up the heat and add in the previously browned chicken pieces, and then the turmeric, chile powder, and coriander powder. Stir for a few moments. Now lower the heat and add in the yoghurt. (you lower the heat to prevent curdling of the yoghurt) Mix well, add in the salt, and stir fry for about 7 minutes on medium heat until the oil rises to the top of the yoghurt. Now add in the chicken stock pieces. Stir to coat with the masala mixture, then turn up the heat and add in the water. Allow the pot to boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Once the chicken is done, turn off the heat. Remove the meaty non-stock pieces from the pot and set them aside. Now, without removing the stock pieces, return the pot to a boil and boil on high heat for 10-15 minutes to remove extra water, thicken the gravy, and make the stock rich. When this step is done, you will have about 2.5 cups of gravy. Strain this gravy. You can pick the meat off of the stock pieces and use them for sandwiches laster. Aside from that, all of the spices have done their job, and any undissolved shredds of onion have given off enough of their flavor, and the chicken bones have lent their taste to the gravy. So throw it all away. Keep the gravy ready to use on the side. You can also pour off some of the oil that rises to the top of this gravy. Add water if you have boiled off too much water and have less than 2.5 cups of gravy. Now, heat a clean pan and add in 2 tbs oil. Stir in the white flour and chickpea flour and use a whisk to move this around and smooth out lumps, allowing it to sizzle in the oil and cook through for a minute. Do not allow this to burn. Slowly, 2 tbs at a time, pour in the gravy, continously whisking to avoid lumps. When you have poured in about 1 cup of gravy, go ahead and fully pour in the rest all at once. Allow this to come to a boil to thicken it. Add in the garam masala, anise seed powder, and cardamom powder. Stir this in well. Now re-add the chicken pieces you set aside earlier. Lower heat and keep covered on a very low flame for about 5 minutes. You can also allow this dish to rest a bit and re-heat gently later to allow the flavors to gel for longer.

Decorate with a little of the green garnishes and the match stick ginger, but also serve the garnishes, as well as lemon wedges, on the table with the nihari. Each diner should squeeze in her/his own lemon juice, just a few drops per serving, and add on more of whichever garnishes they like. Eat with whole grain naan to be extra healthy!

Potato with Okra: Aloo bhindi masala

Many goras don't like okra because it comes out slimy. The desi methods of cooking okra can circumvent slimyness. The key is allowing the okra to fully dry after washing. Moisture will bring out the okra slime. Another key is to avoid tossing the okra around too much. Try to avoid moving it too much with the spatula, and the slime will not seep out. Below I mention four methods for cooking okra for a bhindi masala, from deep frying (ideal but unhealthy, to sautee-ing, to cooking in the gravy (some mushiness will occur), to a low fat microwave steam to saute method. The main recipe is something I picked up/adapted from my dear friend Gehana, who does cooking classes in Dubai...see side bar link for more info.

For the okra:

Wash bhindi and allow to air dry. It should be very dry, then make a small slit in each piece and cut the bhindi in two pieces.

If you want the bhindi perfect, no mushyness, cook the bhindi by deep frying till crispy looking (starting to look a bit golden on the sides) and set aside.

You can also gently pan fry in nonstick, covering and sprinkling water until done, without moving them in the pan too much so the sticky slime doesn't come out. They should be about 3/4 cooked if you do the pan method. Set aside.

There is also a way to steam okra in the microwave and then gently saute. You wash and allow to completely dry, clean, and cut the okra. Then you put it in a microwave safe dish with the top of the dish covered in slightly ajar saran wrap. Microwave on high for 4-5 mins. Then you have to allow the okra to completly cool. Then you heat a pan and add 1 tsp or so oil. I have tried with fat free cooking spray but didn't get the best results. Anyhow, you then sautee just to give the okra some crispyness and color. Then you would add it to the cooked masala for 5 mins on low heat.
I have done this with masala stuffed okra and also just plain sprinkled with some pan roasted spices. It works well and I can't say that the taste is as fabulous as deep fried, but it is definately good for something low fat.


The potatoes

For the potatoes: cut about the same size as the bhindi slices, which you can also fry separately and add in at the end, or pan saute, or also cook in the masala.


For the masala:

In a food processor add:
1 onion
4 pieces garlic
1 inch chunk ginger
3 fresh green chiles
2 medium tomatoes
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder,
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chile powder
1/2 tsp dried mango powder

Grind all of these ingredients together for your masala.

Heat 2-3 tbs oil in pan, fry the masala paste until the moisture evaporates, adding salt to taste shortly after you add the masala to the pan. When the oil has risen to the top of the masala and it is a thick paste but not fully dry, add the bhindi and lower heat and cook for about five minutes more.


All in one pan method:

You can also cook the potatoes and bhindi in the pan with the masala, but they will get a bit mushy. Some people like it that way though, so it is up to you. For this, cook the masala for a few minutes to dry it up a bit. Then add in the raw potatoes, sautee, and cover for 5 minutes, sprinking a little water. After 5 minutes of cooking the potatoes, add in the okra, stir once well to mix it into the masala, sprinking a little water. Lower heat and cover, steaming on low heat for about 20 minutes. Every five minutes or so, you should open the lid, sprinkle some water around the pan, and shake the pan gently to move the potatoes and okra. Cook until potatoes are tender and by then okra will be done, too.

Garnish:

What ever method you use, garnish with a pinch of freshly ground whole green cardamom.

Tip:

This generic masala paste can be used with many other vegetable combinations: peas and potato, peas and paneer, cauliflour, pea and carrot, and so forth. The options are endless.

Sprouted Mung Bean with Tarka

I just loooove me some sprouted mung beans. See here to watch a video on how to sprout your own mung beans at home. The link leads to the wonderful website Show Me the Curry, which I highly recommend perusing.

Now, once you have sprouted your mung beans, you must know what to do with them. Here is a lovely South Indian-ish recipe.

3 cups sprouted mung beans

Boil water (about 5 cups) on the stove. Add the raw sprouted mung beans. Allow the water to return to a boil, and boil for about 10 minutes. The skins will separate from the mung beans and float to the top of the boil. Skim them off, taking care not to discard any lentils. Get as many as you can, but if there are some left, no worries. More healthy fiber for you. Strain and set aside.

3 tbs oil
1 tsp crushed minced ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asofetida
1 fresh green chile finely chopped

4 fresh green chiles slit open
4 whole dried red chiles emptied of seeds and cut into wedges

6 fresh curry leaves
pinch of haldi

1 tsp cumin powder

1tsp red chile powder
1/4 cup water on hand

boiled strained mung beans (see above)

+/- 1 tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp or so lemon juice
2 tbs chopped cilantro

Heat oil. Fry slit green chiles in oil till they color a little and their outer membranes peel away from their skin a bit. Remove from oil and set aside on a kitchen paper towel. Returning to the hot oil, add in cumin seeds and allow to color. Add in mustard seeds and red chile wedges and when the mustard seeds pop, toss in asofetida. Quickly add in the curry leaves and ginger. Stir till ginger colors.  Pour in  1/4 cup water if you need to prevent any burning. Add in the red chile powder, haldi, and cumin powder. Stir for a moment, then add in the boiled sprouted mung beans. Toss well in oil, then add in the salt. Stir for a few minutes on high heat to infuse the mung beans with the seasoned oil. Lower heat and allow it to cook covered for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice, then chopped cilantro.

Serve with chapattis and fried slit green chiles on the side.

Sprouted Mung Bean Salad

For this salad you have to know how to sprout mung beans. I found this video at the wonderful site Show Me the Curry (I love this site...they have loads of great recipes!!!) which will explain to you how to do this. It is so very easy and simple, and once you know, you will become and addict of sprouted legume salads and curries. Here is one such simple salad.

You need:

3 cups sprouted mung beans

Boil water, submerge the sprouted mung beans, and branch briefly by allowing the water to return to a boil, bubble for a minute or so, and then straining the mung beans. It is okay if the skin and mung beans separate. The mung beans should still be crunchy and raw, not mushy. You've just tenderized them a bit so that they will be easier on the ole digestive system.

You will mix the sprouted mung beans with any medley of colorful vegetables and/or fruit. In the pic above I used blanched baby corn chopped into small rounds, cherry tomatoes halves, chopped carrots, and fresh pomegranite seeds. This is what I had in the fridge that day, so that is what went it. Use about 1/4 cup or so of each ingredient.

I have also used: chopped jalapenos, dried soaked pomegranite seeds, chopped apples, chopped bell peppers, chopped cucumbers, peanuts, chopped blanched water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, walnuts, the list could go on and on. Whatever you throw in should create a crunchy combo of color and flavor. I usually add in some basic salad type veggies, plus something tangy and sour like the green apple or pomegranite.

For the dressing:

1 very small tooth of garlic crushed
1 pinch coursely ground black pepper
1 pinch of salt (taste for salt when you have finished combining your salad ingredients
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbs pomegranite molasses
or
1 tsp of sugar

Mix well and pour on top of your salad. Taste and adjust for salt, sugar or what have you (some lemons are more sour than others so you always have to check).

Basic mixed vegetable: Mixed sabzi

The trick here is that in this dish, the veggies steam on a bed of onion, garlic, and ginger. There is no stirring involved. Let me explain.

Ingredients:

3 tbs oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 onion chopped finely

1 tbs ginger paste

1 tbs garlic paste

1 tsp green chile paste or finely chopped green chiles

2-3 small potatoes cut into wedges. I don't peel but desis tend to prefer peeled.

1 carrot peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

1 cup green beans cleaned and chopped into one inch pieces, such as french beans, gawaar beans, sem, phalian, a mix, or as you like

1 medium head of cauliflower, florets prepared for cooking

1/2 cup fresh tomato roughly pureed (1 large or two small tomatoes roughly blitzed in chopper)

1 heaping tsp salt or to taste

1 tsp mango powder (amchoor)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp or more red chile powder

1 tbs cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 heaping tsp of any good curry powder or Kitchen King Masala that you like

1 tbs dried fenugreek leaves

1/4 cup frozen peas

garnish: roughly chopped fresh green chile and chopped cilantro

optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds

Heat oil in deep pot (must have a lid) and add cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add in onions. Stir fry these until they become translucent. Add in ginger garlic paste and chopped green chiles. Stir to mix well and allow to sizzle. Now add potatoes. Do not stir, add in carrots, beans, and then cauliflower, each one in a layer roughly on top of each other in the pot. Pour in the tomato puree all around the sides of the pot. Now add the salt, mango powder, red chile powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Be sure to distribute these spices and the salt pretty evenly over the top layer of veggies. The heat should still be high at this point. Cover the pot, turn down the heat to medium, and keep covered for 25 minutes or so. Test a potato by sticking a fork in it and when it is done, all the veg will be done. Notice that you haven't stirred the veggies at all yet. The onion ginger garlic paste mixture had acted as a beg to the rest of the vegetables, and it slowely caramelizes below them on the medium flame. The tomato puree acts as a flavor agent but also provides moisture so the edges of the bottom of the pot doesn't burn. The moisture within the vegetables themselves also aids the steaming process. It is so simple and easy, no stirring and "bhunofying" until your arm falls off. Turn off the heat. Now add the green peas, curry powder, and dried fenugreek leaves. Keep the lid on for 5 more minutes to allow the peas to steam. Now keep the lid a jar on top of the pot for about 5 more minutes to let everything settle. It is now time to mix everything. Mix and stir well. Add the garnishes. Serve with hot rice and chapattis. Above pic is without garnishes added.

I learned a version of this dish from my excellent cooking teacher, Gehana (see her blog linked in the side bar). She also adds whipped yoghurt and has a few other options. This is a Sindhi style "seyel bhaji" and the no-stir technique is special to that region. Her version is the best, I have just simplified it a bit to be a no-brainer, extra simple home style vegetable dish.

Trying to keep it light? Try chicken chappli kababs

Authentic chappli kababs are made with beef or mutton, are full of extra fat mixed into the ground meat, and are shallow fried in large flat "chappal" sized pieces. I do these ground chicken chappli kababs in a patty shape and freeze them to take out for when I don't feel like cooking, or to serve guests.

1 lbs ground chicken

3 tbs chickpea flour (aka besan)

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp red chile flakes

1 tsp whole coriander pods (roast in dry pan to toast for one moment)

1 tbs dried pomegranite seeds ground to a powder

2 finely chopped spring onions

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 chopped tomato (try to keep out the wet pulp of the tomato, if the mince meat mixture gets too wet, just add a tad more ground chickpea flour)

1-2 chopped green chiles

1 cup cilantro finely chopped

1 tsp ghee or butter (as an alternative to the hunk of dumbey ki charbi !fat of the long earred lamb's tail! that would be in your real Peshawari kabab mixture!!!)

salt to taste

Mix all of these ingredients together. Allow the mixture to sit for about 30 minutes to bind. Shape into patties and shallow fry in a tiny drop of oil. You can literally pour in a teaspoon of oil and use a paper towel to spread it all over your pan if you use a non-stick frying pan. Traditionally these are shallow fried in quite a bit of oil, though. For a party you could press a slice of tomato into each patty and give it a flatter, more irregular shape like an authentic chappli kabab.