Cabbage buthi

This is one of my favorite dishes, and its very versatile meaning you can add different vegetables and use the same masala for the base. By and large for butti we use cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach with cashews combo etc. If using cabbage or cauliflower, potatoes are also used as a combo. In the masala raw coriander/dhania is used along with fresh coconut, red chillies & tamarind so the entire masala is rich and fragrant.

Every one in my household likes this recipe a lot and I make it quite often. It’s usually served along side rice and dal or even chapattis!



Ingredients:

3 to 4 cups cabbage cleaned and chopped.
1 large onion chopped.
1 small potato chopped to small pieces


For masala:

½ cups of fresh coconut
5 to 6 fried red chillies (add more if you want it spicy)
¼ tsp tamarind concentrate
2 tsp Coriander seeds
salt to taste
oil for cooking.

Method:

1. Chop the cabbage, potatoes & onions.

2. Heat oil in a kadai or deep skillet and add the chopped onions and sauté till translucent. Follow with cabbage and potatoes and fry all this for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add about ¼ cups of water cover the lid and cook. (Make sure in between if it needs more water to cook) Add salt once it’s cooked and mix well.

3. Whilst the veggies are cooking, in a blender add in the coconut, red chillies, and tamarind & coriander seeds and grind all these ingredients with little water to a fine paste.

4. Add the masala to the veggies and little water; mix it all together so that the masala incorporates with the vegetables. Cover again and cook further till the masala is cooked. Adjust the spice & salt one last time.

5. Serve with rice & Dali toy or rotis.

Chane Usli

This is one of my favorite dish, its easy to prepare and also nutritious. Usli is nothing but a simple stir fry with few ingredients and they are so tasty. They can be eaten as a snack or even served as a side dish. Usli can be prepared using any kind of legumes that includes beans, peas, lentils and are very versatile to cook. Be it soups, stir fries or curries they taste yum. Legumes are low in fat and high in protein, iron and magnesium and they are low in cholesterol and can be a healthy substitute for vegetarians. I like mine a little sweet so I add brown sugar/jaggery, a little hint of sweetness makes it even more tasty.

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpeas/kabuli chana soaked overnight Or use canned ones.(you can use any kind f legumes)
½ tsp mustard seeds
4 to 5 curry leaves
2 green chillies slit
1 red chilli
¼ tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp coconut gratings
1 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp brown sugar/jaggery(optional)

Method:

1.Wash the chick peas and pressure cook them for about 7 to 8 whistles until they are cooked, drain the water. You can use canned ones too, if using canned ones drain the water and rinse in running water for about a minute.

2.Heat oil in a pan/kadai, when hot add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter add curry leaves, green chillies and red chilli and fry on a medium flame for about a minute.

3.Add the cooked chana/chickpeas and the coconut gratings and mix well. Add little bit of water(less than ½ cup), salt and brown sugar/jaggery and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

4.Add asafoetida and mix well, cover and let it stand for about a minute or two. Turn off the heat.

5.Serve as a side dish or just a snack.

Okra in coconut sauce/Benda Alle piyavu

This is one such vegetable I never cook too often mainly because of the slimy texture it has, which many people dislike. But nevertheless it’s still a popular and much loved by lot a of people. I have used fresh Okra for this particular recipe, you can use frozen ones too. However, fresh ones are great in this recipe. Alle Piyava sagle is a semi dry curry/dish .Alle/Ginger and Piyavu/Onion sauted till soft along with Okra and cooked in a luscious coconut sauce is so aromatic and tasty. The combination of onion and ginger pieces imparts a nice and appetizing aroma and it equally complements with the Okra making it even more pleasing. This dish is made spicy and often served with rice.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups of okra cut into 2 cm long
3 green chillies slit
1 tsp chopped ginger pieces
1 medium onion chopped length wise.
Salt to taste
3 to 4 tsp cooking oil

For masala:
¾ cup coconut gratings
5 to 6 fried red chillies
¼ tsp tamarind concentrate

Method:

1. Firstly blend the coconut gratings, red chillies, tamarind to a smooth fine paste with little water.

2.Wash the okra and pat them with a paper towel or clean linen. Cut them into 2 cm long pieces and set aside.

3.Heat oil in a kadai or deep skillet, add the chopped onions, green chillies and chopped ginger pieces. Saute the onions till translucent.

3.Now add the cut Okra pieces and fry for couple minutes. If it releases any slimy juice then add a little lemon juice or tamarind juice, this will reduce the chance of sliminess.

4.Add the ground masala, salt and mix everything well, add little water and cook till the okra is tender. Adjust the consistency by adding little water to make thick gravy.

5.Serve along side rice and Dali toy or rotis.

P.S: Adding good amount of tamarind will also stop the okra from being slimy.

Plagiarism-when does this end?

Hello Blogger friends,

I am not at all happy to come up with a post like this but unfortunately I have to. It is really sad and utterly shocking to see how people lift contents from your website, post it else where without seeking any permission.
I was reading about content lifting, plagiarism all this while and just felt helpless for all those fellow food bloggers whose hard-work and effort were being stolen/lifted. Now I am a victim of it too. Last night I simply tried pasting my blog's URL into Copyscape and was shocked to see this.
Looks like this person 'supriyakrishna' is lifting recipes, description and posting on this public forum. He/She has copied my Egg Pakora/fritter recipe to the 't'. I cannot believe how somebody can do this.So when I started browsing that site it has more recipes and I am sure it is somebody else's hard work and effort.

Thanks,
Anu

Joyful greens:Stir fried Broccoli

This is another easy recipe that is quick and also healthy by all means. Broccoli is packed with all the goodness like essential phytonutrients, anti-oxidants, vitamins etc., which are very good for health. It has a distinct flavor much like cauliflower, cabbage, and they belong to the cabbage family. The vibrant green color is so inviting and when sauteed with garlic and onions it makes it even more tasty. I can eat a bowl of this dish and it makes a meal by itself.



Ingredients:

1 small onion chopped into length wise pieces
4 garlic cloves crushed
3 cups Broccoli florets(cleaned and washed)
4 tsp Olive oil
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper

Method:

1. Heat Olive oil in a non stick pan, when oil is hot add the crushed garlic pieces and fry till they are light golden in color.

2. Now add the onion pieces and fry till they are translucent on a medium heat. Add salt and fry for a minute or two.

3. Add the broccoli florets and the black pepper and stir fry on high flame just until they start turning vibrant green(until they are steamed) may be roughly about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and turn off the heat and set it aside.

4. Serve hot with rice and rasam/dal or just by itself.

P.S: Do not over fry or cook the broccoli florets because they would loose all the nutritional value.