bonellilou

           Couple of weeks back, I had bought some green grapes, but they turned out to be too sour that we couldn't eat them as such. I had to do something with it or it would finally find its way to the garbage bin. I have tasted grapes along with pineapples in pachadis, but I had never tasted anything with just grapes alone. Somehow, even before I started searching the web, the word gojju got stuck in my mind, so I browsed only for grapes gojju, and finally settled down with this recipe here, of course I made a few changes to suit our taste. The gojju tasted sweet, sour and spicy at the same time and went very well with white rice..

Need To Have

• Green Grapes - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5 - 10
• Jaggery - 1 + 1/2 teaspoon

To Grind

• Chana Dal/Bengal Gram - 2 teaspoons
• Urad Dal/Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 6
• Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds - 3 teaspoons
• Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup

Method


          Roast the chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and when it's almost roasted, add the sesame seeds at the end, roast and remove. Cool and grind them with the grated coconut into a fine paste along with some water and keep.


          Heat some oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts sputtering, add the asafoetida followed by the curry leaves. Mix it for a few seconds, then add the green grapes and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add about a cup of water and salt, cover and cook till the grapes turn tender.


          Add the ground paste, bring it to a boil and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the jaggery, cook for 2 more minutes, garnish with more curry leaves and remove.


Note
The grapes give the sourness ( pulipu instead of tamarind ) to the dish.
The amount of jaggery varies according to the sourness of the grapes.
The final consistency should be like that of a slightly thick gravy, so adjust water according to that.

           Vazhaithandu/Banana Stem, when I see a good one in the market, I never fail to buy it, but there are only a couple of dishes that I do with it, a pachadi, poriyal and this kootu. It's a simple dish, once you're done with cleaning and chopping the banana stem ( you can checkout here to see how to chop vazhaithandu ). Usually kootu has vegetables and cooked dal/lentils, but we don't add lentils in this kootu, but yoghurt/curd. Vazhaithandu Kootu goes very well with rice and a spicy kuzhambu/curry..

Need To Have

• Chopped Vazhaithandu/Banana Stem - 2 cups
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilly - 1
• Curry Leaves - 10
• Yogurt/Curd - 11/2 cup
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
• Cashews - 4
• Chana Dal - 2 teaspoons
• Green Chillies - 2
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Method


          Roast the chana dal, fenugreek seeds and the green chillies in a little oil, then grind it along with the coconut and cashews into a fine paste and keep. Cook the chopped vazhaithandu/banana stem with about 1/2 cup of water and salt.


          Once it's cooked, add the ground paste, mix, then add the yogurt and turmeric, bring it to a boil and remove.


          Heat a little oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering, add the dried red chilly and asafoetida, followed by the curry leaves, remove and add it to the cooked kootu and serve.


Note
If you like the flavor of coconut oil, then you can use it.
Vazthaithandu takes about 5 to 7 minutes to cook. 

          Avial, again another favorite, usually served in restaurants along with adai. But whenever I made Avial at home, I usually liked to eat it with rice along with some pappads. But then later, I started liking this other combination too, lemon rice and Avial. This is a simple dish, cooked vegetables in a coconut and yogurt based gravy and seasoned with coconut oil. Here, I have used drumsticks, raw banana along with carrots, brinjal and broad beans ( avarakkai ). But there are days, when I had cooked Avial with only carrots, beans and potatoes alone and still it was delicious..

Need To Have

• Raw Plantain - 1 medium, peeled and diced
• Potato - 1 medium, peeled and diced
• Diced Carrots - 1/2 cup
• Broad Beans/Avarakkai - 1 cup
• Small Brinjals/Eggplant - 3, diced
• Drumsticks - 2 medium sized, cut into 2" pieces
• Curd/Yogurt - 1 cup
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Coconut Oil for seasoning

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 cup
• Green Chillies - 4
• Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1 teaspoon

Method


          Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind ', add the curd, blend it along with the ground ingredients, remove and keep.


          Take all the vegetables, add some water and cover and cook till done. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the coconut and curd mixture, simmer it for 3 to 4 minutes and remove.


          Heat some coconut oil, add the curry leaves, then add it to the cooked vegetables. Remove and serve it warm.


Note
Some drumsticks might take a little longer to cook than the other vegetables, in that case, cook it first, then halfway through, add all the other vegetableas and cook.
You can also add beans, elephant yam, chayote ( chow- chow ), colocasia, white pumpkin.
Also don't grind the coconut into a fine paste, it should be ground into a coarse paste.
If you don't like coconut oil, you can use regular oil, but coconut oil gives a unique flavor.
The final consistency should not be watery, you can use a little sour cream, to make it a little richer, also can add even another 1/2 cup of coconut too, but I like to keep it to about 1 cup.

          Vegetable Sagu, the first time I had this with rava idlis was so many years back, of course, back then, I didn't know anything about vegetable sagu, but I just loved it with the rava idlis. It's a simple and easy dish, mixed vegetables are cooked with some freshly ground masala paste and seasoned with ghee. Though we can serve the idlis with regular chutneys, I personally feel that they go very well with this vegetable sagu, and of course we can serve the sagu with rotis, parottas and dosas too..

Need To Have

• Chopped Green Beans - 1 cup
• Chopped Carrots - 1 cup
• Potatoes - 2 medium, chopped
• Green Peas - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Ghee - 1 tablespoon
• Bay Leaf - 1 big
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons to garnish
• Salt to taste

To Grind 

• Chopped Coriander - 1 cup
• Coconut - 1/2 cup
• Poppy Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Fennel Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cardamom - 2
• Cloves - 4
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Green Chillies - 4 to 5
• Onion - 1 small, chopped
• Ginger - 1 teaspoon, chopped

Method


          Cook together the green beans, carrots, potatoes, green peas and tomato along with some salt and water.


          In the meantime, grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '.


          Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables along with turmeric powder and if needed some more salt and water. Mix and cook for 5 to 7 minutes and remove. Heat the ghee, add the bay leaf, once it sizzles add it to the cooked vegetables and garnish with the chopped coriander.


Note
You can use up to 1 cup of grated coconut, but I prefer to keep it to 1/2 cup.

          I make paneer at home, at least once in 2 weeks, since my daughter likes it very much and mostly instead of doing a curry with paneer alone, I cook it along with some vegetable. I usually add capsicum, peas, spinach or even cabbage, this time I wanted to try it with eggplant/brinjal. Sauteing the eggplant and then mixing in paneer pieces would have worked too, but I made a curry with grilled and mashed eggplant and paneer. At home, we like the smoky flavor from the grilled eggplant, if you don't like it then peel, cook and mash the eggplant. The curry was delicious with a nice flavor, we had it with rotis but it would go very well with naans or even with some light pilaf..

Need To Have

• Big Eggplant/Brinjal - 1 medium
• Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese - 200 gm, cubed
• Onions - 2 big, chopped
• Garlic - 4 cloves, grated
• Tomatoes - 2 medium, chopped
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 11/2 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves - 2 atblespoons
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Method


          Roast the eggplant directly on fire till the skin is charred completely, cool it, then peel the skin and mash the eggplant and keep.


          Shallow fry the paneer pieces in a little oil, remove and keep.


          Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the chopped onion and grated garlic. Saute till the onions turn pink and the garlic gives a nice smell, then add the tomatoes, kasuri methi and saute for a minute.


          Add the turmeric powder, chilly and coriander powders and salt and saute till the tomatoes break down and become mushy, then add the mashed eggplant and mix.


          Add about 1 cup of water and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the paneer pieces, garam masala and cook for another 5 minutes, garnish with some more kasuri methi, remove and serve.


Note
Don't over fry the paneer pieces, they'll turn tough.
You can add some fresh cream at the end to make the curry richer. 

          Another cuisine that I like is the Thai Cuisine, though, being a vegetarian, I can taste only very few dishes, I love their Red Curry, Green Curry and Pad Thai. We can make these curries at home, we get readymade Red Curry and Green Curry Paste, but, for today I have made the red curry paste from scratch. Apart from the spices that we use in the Indian kitchen, there are a few ingredients that are unique to this curry, lemon grass, galangal, kafir lime leaves and basil leaves. I got the lemon grass and basil leaves, but was unlucky with the galangal and kafir lime leaves, but I replaced them with ginger and grated lemon zest respectively. The curry turned out awesome and tasted very good with plain rice..

Need To Have

• Green Beans - 11/2" pieces, 1/2 cup
• Carrots - 11/2" pieces, 1/2 cup
• Zucchini - 1 small, diced
• Red Pepper/Capsicum - 1/2, diced
• Yellow Pepper/Capsicum - 1/2, diced
• Button Mushrooms - 7 medium, sliced
• Green Brinjals/Eggplants - 2 small, sliced
• Baby Corn - 6, sliced 
• Garlic - 3 small cloves, chopped
• Coconut Milk - 200 ml
• Tofu - 1 cup
• Fresh Basil - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Palm Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
• Soy Sauce - 1 tablespoon
• Lemon Zest - from 2 small lemons
• Thai Chilly/ Bird's Eye Chilly - 1 sliced

For The Red Curry Paste

• Chopped Shallots - 1/4 cup
• Garlic - 5 small cloves
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Dried Red Chillies - 5
• White Pepper Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Lemon Grass - 1/4 cup
• Coriander Leaves Stems - about 1/4 cup

Method


          Grind together all the ingredients given for the Red Curry Paste.


          Toast the tofu pieces in a little oil, remove and keep.


           Cook together the yellow and red peppers, zucchini, brinjals, carrots, baby corn and green beans, when they are just cooked, add the mushrooms and cook for a minute or two and remove.


          Heat some oil, add the chopped garlic and saute till they turn golden, then add the red curry paste and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.


          Add the lemon zest and mix for till the mixture becomes dry and you get a nice aroma.


          Add the cooked vegetables and about 11/2 cup of water, cook for a minute.


          Add the coconut milk, bring it to a slow boil, add the tofu pieces, followed by the palm sugar, soy sauce and basil leaves. Finally add the bird's eye chilly and remove.


Note
We can add broccoli and yellow squash too.
I have used extra firm tofu.
We can use less spicy chillies like byadgi chillies, that way, we'll use more chillies and that gives a nice color to the curry.
Don't overcook the vegetables.
I have used coconut milk that comes in tetrapaks.
My curry was medium spicy, if you want it more spicy, you can grind the bird's eye chilly also and add.

          Poori Urulaikizhangu, whenever I make pooris ( which is not often ), this is the side dish that I make with it. Though we can serve pooris with chana masala and kurmas, in my house this is a favorite. This is an easy dish, the flavors are very simple and there is not much oil or cream or coconut in this dish, so it's light and delicious with the deep fried pooris..

Need To Have

• Mashed Potatoes - 2 cups
• Onions - 2 medium, sliced
• Chana Dal/Bengal Gram - 1 tablespoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Ginger - 1" piece, grated
• Green Chilly - 2 or 3, depending on the spiciness
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10 to 15
• Chopped Coriander Leaves - 2 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

Method


          Boil, peel and coarsely mash the potatoes and keep. Heat some oil, add chana dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, ginger and curry leaves followed by the onions and saute it till it turns pink.


          Then add the potatoes, and mix, then add the turmeric powder, about 2 cups of water and salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and switch off..


Note
You can add a handful of fresh or frozen green peas to the curry.
The consistency should neither be very thick or very thin.
Once you add the potatoes, slightly mash it with the back of the laddle.
Onions give the taste to the dish, so don't leave it out.
You can add 1 or 2 teaspoons of besan flour/kadalai maavu, mixed with water, this makes the curry thick, but I usually don't add it, mashing the potatoes makes the curry thick.

          Lasooni Palak/Garlicky Spinach, as the name suggests has loads of garlic in it and we all know that spinach and garlic go together very well. I have made a puree with the spinach and then cooked it with garlic and other spices and then again finally garnished with some more garlic. It goes very well with rotis, naans or even with mild pilafs, if you like spinach and garlic, then you'll love this delicious curry..

Need To Have

• Spinach/Palak - 2 bunches
• Garlic - 20 cloves, chopped finely
• Onion - 1 medium, chopped
• Tomato - 1 small, chopped
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curd/Yogurt - 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

Method


          Clean and blanch the spinach and make a puree with it, it came to about 1 cup.


          Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the onions and half of the chopped garlic and saute till the garlic turns golden. Next add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilly and coriander powders and salt and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy.


          Add the curd and keep sauteing till the curd is well mixed with the tomatoes.


          Now add the pureed spinach, mix it well and cook it for 5 to 6 minutes and remove.


          Heat a little oil, add the remaining garlic and saute till it turns golden and add it to the cooked spinach.


Note
To blanch the spinach, add it to boiling water, leave it for a minute, remove and add immediately to really cold or ice-cold water.
For a richer curry you can mix in some fresh cream at the end.

          Parwal/Potol/Pointed Gourd, we don't use it much in South Indian cooking, but I have seen it widely used in North Indian curries. I have already made Potol Posto, a Bengali dish with this vegetable, this is the second curry that I made with it. I have added some potatoes along with parwal and cooked them in a fresh masala paste, this curry would go very well as a side dish for rotis, naans and pilafs..

Need To Have

• Parwals/Pointed Gourds - 8, peeled and sliced
• Baby Potatoes - 15, peeled and diced
• Tomato - 1, chopped
• Cloves - 3
• Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon
• Curd/Yogurt - 1 tablespoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Onion - 1 medium
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cashews - 4
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon

Method


          Peel and dice the parwal, heat some oil, add the pieces and saute them for about 5 to 7 minutes till you start getting some brown spots.


          Then add the diced potatoes and saute for another 5 to 7 minutes till the potatoes turn golden.


          Grind together all the ingredients given under 'to grind' into a fine paste.


          Heat some oil in a pressure pan, add the cloves, once it starts sizzling, add the tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes, then add the paste and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, till the raw smell goes away.


          Then add the garam masala and curd and saute till the curd is well mixed, now add the sauteed vegetables.


          Add about 11/2 cup of water and salt, close the lid of the pressure pan, cook till one whistle, then reduce the heat and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes and switch off. When the pressure is fully gone, open the lid and add the chopped coriander, mix and serve.


Note
While sauteing the masala paste, if it sticks to the pan, add a little water and keep sauteing till the raw smell goes away.
If you can't find parwal, we can use other vegetables like beans, tindora, eggplant or just even with the potatoes only.
Can do the cooking in a regular pan too, just cover and cook.