Dhaba style preparations are always a treat for palates,… sizzling tandoori, kebabs and smoky masalas..literally makes us addicted to Punjabi food. Here's an easy preparation for one such dish…Green peas cooked in rich tomato gravy with special blend of Punjabi spices. Certain authentic Punjabi spices are very rare, not easily available in market, so have to come up with an easy solution. My quick pick was Chole masala, which has got a strong blend of all the punjabli spices and suits well for this recipe.
Upkari is a term used for any stir fry dishes in Konkani. This dish would be primarily made with any one veggie with the combination of potatoes. Here I've made an attempt to combine cabbage with potatoes, lightly tempered, well seasoned with soft channa dal and garnished with fresh grated coconut.
Here is an easy tasty preparation to include Bitter Gourd in our meal.
Bitter gourd – English / Pavakkai – Tamil / Karela – Hindi / Kakara Kaaya – Telugu / Kaipakka – Malayalam / Hagala Kayi – Kannada
Simple homestyle lemon flavoured rasam.
Taro Root (Sepang kizhangu / Chepankizhangu in Tamil / Arvi in Hindi / Chama Dumpa Vepudu / Chaama Dumpa in Telugu / Chamadumpalu Fry / Kilangu / Colacasia)
Home style cauliflower potato fry.
Andhra style Indian broad beans curry. Chikkudu Kaya (Indian Broad Beans) Kura (Curry).
Indian Broad Beans ( Avarakkai in Tamil / Chikkudu kaya in Telugu / Sem in Hindi / Avarekayi in Kannada / Avara in Malayalam )
Ridge gourd (Peerkangai ) cooked in tomato onion gravy. (Peerkankai Curry / Beera Kaaya curry / Beerakaya Curry / Ghiya Tori / Nerua / Turai / Heeray Kayi / Luffa)
Baingan means Brinjal / Eggplant / Aubergine and Bharta means Mashed. Baingan Bharta (Mashed Eggplant ) is a punjabi dish, prepared in unique way. Roasting in clay oven is the secret to make this dish to get that special aroma.
Baigan Bharta / Baigan ka Bharta /Baingan ka Bhartha / Mashed eggplant / Baigan Bhurta
Swiss Chard also known as silver beet is a leafy vegetable tastes similar to Spinach. My local farmers market use to over flow with these and everytime I use to hesitate to pick a bunch, just for the fear of not knowning how to incorporate this in our Indian cooking. But now, after little exploration, found a way to include this in our meal. I have used green gram to make this lentil curry and to my surprise, it turned good.