Mixed Vegetables and Punjabi Wadi Curry

I spotted some Punjabi wadis in my local Indian grocers. Wadis are dry lentil cakes, the ones I bought contain: lentil flour, coriander, cumin, salt, black pepper, sodium bicarbonate, huskless blackeye beans and crushed chillies. Don’t they sound tasty?



Anyway I searched the web for recipes and found many amongst my fellow bloggers, all of whom have lots of info on their blogs, so I won’t repeat it.
Mika of The Green Jackfruit
Indira in Mahanandi
Asha from Foodies Hope on her Aroma blog
Anita of A Mad Tea Party
Indosungod in Daily Musing
Musical’s Kitchen



Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 aubergine; cut in batons
2 courgettes; cut in batons
5 mushrooms; sliced
1 green pepper; cut in long strips
3 small potatoes; cut like chips
4 5 large tomatoes; blanched, peeled and liquidised
1/4 tspn tumeric
salt to taste

Method
1. Heat the oil, and fry the wadis until, you can smell the spicy aroma.
2. Add all the vegetabes, stir fry for a few minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, mix until all the vegetables are coated.
4. Add the tumeric and salt, mix
5. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potaotes are cooked.
Serve with chapati
Verdict: very tasty, the wadi were soft and chewy, with peppercorns which were very hot.

Spicy Eggy Bread

Bee and Jai have got me going with the eggciting egg ideas. This is not an entry for CLICK. Just a simple breakfast

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 tbspn milk
1 pinch salt .
2 slices white bread
1/2 tsp very finely minced green chillies
1 tbspn chopped coriander leaves
1 tbspn oil (for cooking) .
salt & black pepper


Method
1. Beat the milk, eggs, salt, pepper, green chillies and coriander, a large shallow bowl.
2. Heat the 1 tspn of oil in a frying pan
3. Cut the bread into half and place all of it in the egg mixture, coat both sides, let the bread soak up all the egg.
4. Place the bread in the frying pan, let it cook until brown, flip and cook the other side.
Serve

Chilli Harvest from our only Chilli Plant

Sunday breakfast with a cup o' joe

Voting taking place now, take a look at Jugalbundi Click

When I was little, we only used to get eggs in school holidays or Sundays. We would to sing “Rujah mujah, mayai khenji mujah!” Which means something like: It’s holidays, fun-days, how great it is, we get to eat eggs. Apart from mayai which means eggs in Swahilli, the rest of the rhyme is in kuctchi. We lived in an extended family group; my four brothers and sisters and my four cousins and I used to sit round in a circle, on low stools called patla, and be fed egg and paratha by my Mom or my Aunts. One mouthful at a time each per round of 9 open mouths. The eggs were so tasty in those days, they were the amazing days, time for bonding for us siblings and cousins. When we got older we got an egg each! I remember eating the egg white first with my puris or paratha and saving the yolk till the end.
Anyway, I still have eggs only on Sundays or holidays. This is last Sunday’s breakfast. “Mayai ne mani” or eggs and chapattis.
This is my entry for Bee and Jai’s Click event

Mutton Biryani - East African Style

Eid ul Fitr Lunch. Eid Mubarak to everyone, I hope you had a great day.
In response to Sunita's request, this is too is my entry for Sunita's Think Spice Event.


Ingredients

Mutton Masala
2 lb mutton on the bone cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup yogurt
2 inches ginger; grated
6 cloves garlic; minced
5 chillies minced
1/2 tspn saffron
8 large tomatoes (blanched, peeled and liquidised)
12 small potatoes (extra oil to fry)
2 tablespn oil
2 sticks cinamon,
4 pods cardomom,
5 cloves; 1/2 spn cumin seeds
8 medium onions; minced fine in a food processor
2 tspn coriander/cumin powder
1/2 tspn tumeric
1 tspn garam masala
salt to taste
Rice
3 cups basmati rice; washed well; and soaked in water for 30 mins
1 tbspn oil
1 tspn cumin
1/2 tspn saffron soaked in a little warm water
salt to taste

Method
1. Marinate the mutton in yogurt, garlic, ginger, green chillis, half the tomatoes and saffron overnight if possible; minimum of 2 hours.
2. Deep fry the potatoes, these don't have to be cooked through, as long as the surface is sealed.
3. Pressure cook the mutton, or boil until tender.
3. Heat the oil in a pan, add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves; cumin seeds, cook for about 3 minutes, the cloves and cardamom should have puffed up
4. Add the onions and fry until they are a rich golden brown, this is the most important for biryani masala. You can buy prefried onions if you want - available in Indian shops.
5. Add the other half of tomatoes, cook for about 5 minutes, add the tumeric, cumin/coriander powders.
6. Add the cooked mutton and the potatoes, mix, making sure that meat and potatoes are coated with the tomato/onion sauce. Cook for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the rice, add 1 and ½ cups of water per cup of rice for 15 minutes,
Heat some oil in a frying pan, add the cumin, pour the oil and cumin mixture on the rice
Pour the saffron and water mixture on the rice

This is an East African style Biryani, the meat curry and rice are kept separate. Serve the rice on a large platter with the meat sauce place on the top.

Seviyan / Sweet Vermicelli

It was Eid yesterday, and we had the traditional Seviyan and papad for breakfast. This is my entry for Sunita's Think Spice Event. This month is is Saffron.



Ingredients
2 tablespoon ghee / butter (can be omited to make for a healthier option; just dry roast)
200gm roasted vermicelli
1 1/2 cup hot water (milk can be used)
1/4 teaspoon saffron; soaked in hot water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoon golden raisons
½ cup sliced almonds
¼ cup sliced pistachios
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom



1. Heat the ghee in a large saucepan, add the vermicelli and fry until golden brown.
2. Add the water and the saffron, mix and cook for a few minuites
3. Add the sugar, raisons, nuts and cardamom.
4. Turn the heat down and cook for a further 15 minutes.
5. All the liquid should be absorbed.

Traditionally seviyan is served with spicy papad or papadom

Recipes I can't wait to try

• Vindie from Passionate about Baking’s Achari Chicken
• Mavila’s of Mavilla Kitchen’s Vellarika Palinkuri
• Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi’s Peach Lassi with Saffron