Capsicum, Peanut & Besan Sabji

The dry arid regions of gujarat grow little except perhaps green chillies of various sizes. This ingenious sabzi combines pantry staples like peanuts and besan, with these green chillies or capsicum here to create a really delicious sabji. Use different colored capsicums for vibrant dish.

This recipe is from the book Easy indian cooking by Suneeta Vaswani. I highly recommend it for the various sabzis and other vegetarian dishes. More from the same book soon.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chickpea flour(besan)
4 lbs green capsicum or mix of colors
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tsp coriander pwd
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup coarsely crushed roasted peanuts

1. In a heavy skillet over low heat, toast chickpea flour, stirring constantly to prevent burning until lightly browned and aromatic, 3- 4 minutes . Set aside.
You can put this on the stove over low heat while you cut the vegetables.Parallel processing rocks!!

2. Cut bell peppers into 11/2 inch pieces, discarding stems , seeds and membranes
I also added half an onion for onion crazy H.

3. In a large sauce pan heat oil over medium high heat, Saute peppers until softened.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, salt and sugar. Mix well. Saute for 2 minutes longer. Sprinkle besan on top of peppers . Do not mix.
The mixture of coriander and jeera is distinctly gujarati - called dhana jeeru powder.

5. Reduce heat to low. Cook, covered until peppers are very soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir to mix. Remove from heat and sprinkle with crushed peanuts if using. Whenever I buy raw peanuts from the Indian store, I roast them in the oven at 425 F for about 8 minutes or until you can smell the peanuts smell and store it. Comes in handy whenever you need roasted peanuts.Here the dish is already seasoned with sugar but I highly recommend the gujju style of finishing vegetables with a pinch of sugar, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Brightens the whole dish.



You can also visit suneeta vaswani at her website
http://www.suneetavaswani.com/

JFI Chickpea: Logo & Bataka Sev Farsan

India is the largest grower in the world. Chickpeas are grown in the drier regions of India - namely UP , MP, Rajasthan, AP, Maharashtra (source: http://www.crnindia.com/commodity/chickpea.html)

Gujarat has a rich tradition of snacks - called Farsan- which to me seems wholly dominated by chickpea flour or besan. Examples in the photo montage above are( from left to right and top to bottom)Sev,Boondi,Gaanthia, Fafda, Khaman, Khandvi and an aloo bonda pretending to be a Dakor Gota! This variety of chickpea flour snacks arises perhaps from Gujarat's dry, arid climate which emphasized staples over fresh fruits and vegetables.

My mom is particularly partial to the phulwadi- also made from besan. A typical gujarati breakfast consists of perhaps one warm dish like Bataka Poha accompanied by strong sweet tea and many of these very farsan doing double duty. We used to have fafda and jalebi on dussehra morning 4 o clock just after finishing 6 hours of garba.

This post's recipe, Bataka Sev is Sev made from Potatoes and Besan.It is from a book called Aneri Vangio by Nayna Shah. Loosely translated Aneri vangio means Different Dishes. I just learnt recently that this is kind of like the Samaithu paar for newly married Gujarati girls.


Bataka Sev:
1 Potato boiled, and chilled in the fridge for abt 24 hrs(no baking potatoes or small new potatoes- they are too waxy)
abt 2 tbsp Besan
salt
hing
red chilli pwd
pinch of clove & cinnamon powder


Grate the potato finely. Add all the seasonings. Add just as much besan to make a round ball of dough. Use an Acchu or Press to extrude the sev and deep fry in hot oil until the bubbles die down.


































































This is a quick logo that I came up with for JFI Chickpea, Please feel free to use it in any size that you prefer.








The first montage was made from these sources.
Photo credits:
1. Khandvi
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khandvi.jpg
2. Fafda
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chiragkpatel/278779630
3. Khaman
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khaman.jpg
4. Gaanthia
http://picasaweb.google.com/aviral.bansal/Girnar#5032560184875677234
5. Sev
http://www.desisweet.com/images/SEV%20MILD%20FIN%20SM.jpg

Ghau na fada ne Dudhi na Muthia

Muthias are a much blogged about Gujarati snack / light meal. I am a gujju @ heart so I love Muthias- they are steamed , they have a good proportion of veggies to carbs, they are tasty!In this version, my mom uses Ghau na fada or cracked wheat, which is different from other recipes in the blogosphere. Cracked wheat is less processed than flour and provides some bite,texture and fibre to this recipe.

The only thing you have to be careful in this recipe is the proportion of Cracked wheat to veggies. Too much and your muthias will be very very hard.

Ingredients:
2 cups grated dudhi or bottlegourd
1 cups cracked wheat or ghau na fada
1/2 cup Besan or Kadala maavu
3 cloves of garlic(large)
1 green chilli

For the seasoning:
1 tsp mustard
pinch asofoetida
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
Coriander Leaves
Method:
Grate the Bottlegourd. Add a tsp of salt and leave it alone for ten to fifteen minutes. Water will leech out of the Dudhi. Now add the Besan, Ghau na fada or cracked wheat, Garlic, Green chilli and salt if needed. Now shape into a log and steam for fifteen minutes as shown in the picture.

Open the steamer vessel and let the Muthias cool down for another fifteen minutes. If you try to cut them while hot ,they will break.

Add oil to a wide and shallow vessel. When hot, add the mustard. After the mustard pops, add the sesame seeds, muthia, red chilli powder and turmeric in that order. Saute for two to three minutes or until the turmeric does not smell raw.

Turn off the heat and add the salt, sugar, lemon juice and coriander leaves.

You could also try a Muthia Recipe from other Blogs:
1. Jugalbandis Mystery Veggie Muthia
2. Kajals Dudhi na Muthia
3. Mansi's Palak and Dudhi Muthia
4. Meeras Microwave Muthia
5. Coffee Mixed Vegetable Muthias

VoW Bharela Karela: Mango stuffed Bittergourd

I HATE Bittergourd / Pavakka / Karela. Or did, until I tried my Mothers recipe for Stuffed Karela. I had not eaten it for a good fifteen years, until Pooja's VoW Bittergourd event forced me to try it again.

But the things I do for Vow, sigh. Pooja owes me big time!

So I called up my mom to get the actual recipe, and she was ecstatic that I was making it. It is amusing that I now voluntarily make and eat the things my mom used to have to twist my arm to even try.

I tried it. And surprisingly enough....liked it! If a karela hater like me can be converted, I am sure karela enthusiasts will love this recipe.

So here it is.





















BHARELA KARELA:
I only had the heart to try out the recipe for two karelas, so please scale up as necessary.

1/2 unripe mango, peeled and roughly grated
1/4 small onion, finely sliced in long
1 tsp saunf
2 tsp dhana jeeru powder ( equal amounts of dhania and jeera , toasted and powdered)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp red chilli powder or to taste
2 tsp Besan/ kadala maavu
salt

First,take a knife/ peeler and remove the outer rough skin. Then slit the karelas along its length. Remove the seeds. At this point, add salt, the turmeric and half the red chilli powder to the karela. Rub it in and let it rest for about half an hour or so. This should draw out some of the bitter juices.

Prepare the mango and onion, and saute in a pan with a little oil with the red chilli powder, dhana jeeru and saunf until cooked through.Cool.

Add the besan to this mixture and stuff the two halves of the karela and join them together again. My mother used to tie it up using a string. I was too lazy so I just placed the stuffed karelas in a pan with a little oil and fried them up.

The verdict:
The tangy sourness of the mango is really good in counteracting the bitterness of the karela. Next time I would steam the stuffed karelas in an idli steamer or microwave it for five minutes before frying it. That would make it a little easier to bite. Also feel free to increase the quantity of the saunf seeds- they refresh the mouth very well too.

















So Pooja, heres one for you!