Kerala Thoran with Green beans & Chioggia Beetroots. {Indian sattvik vegetable Stir fry for every day meals.}

I cook green beans stir fry at least three four times a week, mostly  Kerala style stir fry known as Thoran. I always add few other veggies  with beans. I got Chioggia beets from  Whole foods Market, they are not sold in other grocery stores here. This is my first time to cook with Chioggia beets. These beets have originated in Chioggia, an Italian coastal town near Venice, Italy.  They have beautiful  unique contrasting rings of dark pink, light pink and white color. They are also know as Bull's eye Beet / Candy stripe Beet.  Good  feature of these beets is, they don't bleed like regular beets but their beautiful bold  pink color fades away after cooking. They are very sweet and mild in flavor. When I make green beans and betroot thoran I  pre-boil beets, drain stock then combine  it with cooked  green beans  to avoid green beans from getting all  dark red. For Chioggia beetroots I can skip pre-boiling step. This stir fry was cooked for Sunday lunch, I prepared quick Kadhi to go with rice and stir fry. Scroll down to check recipe for preparing quick Kadhi. 

Simple Sunday Lunch -  Rice-Kadhi-Sabzi.

Ingredients :
Serves 3 people

• Green beans -   sliced into 1 cm pieces, yield 2.5 cups
• 1 medium size Chioggia Beet - peel skin, cut into 1 cm dices, yield around 1 Cup. (you can use regular beetroot.)
• 7-8 - curry leaves
• 1/2 Cup - fresh grated coconut
• 1/4 Cup - finely chopped cilantro

Tempering Ingredients

• 1/2  T.spoon - Mustard seeds
• 1 Tb.spoon - skinless urad daal (splitted or whole gota type.)
• 1/2 T.spoon - Turmeric
• 2 pinches - Hing / Asafoetida
• 7-8 curry leaves 
• 1 Green chili - finely chopped
• 1 Tb.spoon oil - preferably use coconut oil.

How to cook Kerala Thoran with Green beans and Chioggia beets :

1. Snap both the ends of green beans, thoroughly wash under running water. Hold 10-15 green beans together in left hand over cutting board  and slice into 1 cm size pieces.
2. Chop out both the ends of Chioggia beats, peel the skin, rinse under water. Make 1 cm thick slices. Stack 2-3 slices together and cut into 1 cm size cubes.
3. Heat a medium size skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, when hot first add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, wait until seeds start to crack, quickly cover with lid, wait for 15-20 seconds or until frequency of cracking slows down, then add curry leaves, chopped green chilies. saute for 15 seconds. Next add half tsp turmeric powder, 2 pinches Hing and 1 tbsp Urad  dal, stir continuously for 10-15 seconds or  until urad dal slightly changes its  shade, Don't wait too long, once dal turns light  brown, quickly add  chopped green beans, stir well with Tadka.
4. Over medium heat saute green beans for 3-4 minutes. Now add diced  Chioggia Beets, continue to saute over medium heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring often.
5. Reduce heat to medium low, add 1/4 cup water, sprinkle salt, continue cooking until all water evaporates. Now add remaining 7-8 curry leaves, stir and cook some more time until beans and beets get tender, this step will take about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle half the quantity of fresh grated coconut and chopped cilantro, mix well. shut off the heat
6. Before serving garnish with remaining fresh coconut and cilantro. Serve with  warm rice, Roti or enjoy bowl full of Thoran just like salad.

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How to make Kadhi ?

Kadhi is  curry  made by tempering  yogurt with  various seeds, spices and herbs, little besan flour is used to get thick, creamy texture and enhanced flavor.

Ingredients :
Serves 2 people

• 1 Cup Yogurt mixed with 1/4 cup water.
• 2 Tb.spoon - besan flour
• 8-10 - curry leaves
• 1 Green chili - finely chopped
• Ginger - 1 inch piece, minced finely.
• 2-3 Garlic cloves - sliced lengthwise
• 1/2 T.spoon - Cumin seeds
• 1/4 T.spoon - methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
• 1/4 T.spoon -Turmeric powder
• 2 pinches - asafoetida (Hing)
• 1/2 T.spoon - sugar 

1. Mix 1 Cup Yogurt with 2 tbsp besan flour, little salt and 1/4 cup water. Thoroughly whisk to get  lump free smooth  yogurt consistency.  You may add little more water to have desired consistency. Keep it aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small size pot, don't heat  too much. I have tempered with cumin seeds so average hot temperature is fine, they should sizzle as soon as you drop in but should not get dark instantly. If you are using mustard seeds then oil needs to be heated  more. First drop  1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp methi seeds,  allow to sizzle for 15-20 seconds.
3. Next add minced ginger, sliced garlic, chopped chillies, and curry leaves. Stir all well and saute for one minute over medium high heat.  Lastly  add 2 pinches of hing and  1/4 tsp turmeric powder, stir for 15-20 seconds.
4. Now add yogurt Besan mixture, stir well. Cook over medium heat until yogurt softly starts to boil. Taste and adjust salt, add  1/2  tsp sugar. Reduce heat to low, allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes. Serve warm over rice or eat with roti or enjoy as soup in a bowl.

Check three top garnished semi-circle slices of Chioggia Beetroot

 for its original color, after cooking bright red, pink color fades to white, orange and light yellow.

Spicy Home style Indian chicken curry for weeknight dinner, made with fresh home ground chicken curry Masala blend. {Chicken curry and Roti Meal}

This chicken curry was made for one  weeknight dinner. It was just basic Indian chicken curry but the  profile of mix and match of fresh ground spice blend and addition of some canned coconut milk made this chicken curry worth sharing on blog and repeating in future. I saved some curry to take images next day, after taking images for the blog post I savored  this chicken curry and roti for my lunch. Extra thick rolled Roti in image is made with American whole wheat flour which is more coarse and full of natural wheat flavor. This home made roti makes a delicious and wholesome match with home style chicken curry.

Hand rolled, fully puffed American whole wheat flour Roti.

Ingredients : 
Curry Quantity is good for 4 people.

• 2 whole boneless and skinless chicken breasts - (1.5 lbs) cut into one inch cubes.
• 2 large onions - finely chopped, 3cups heaped quantity. (I used one Red and one Yellow)
• 3-4 Roma tomatoes - diced (2.5 cups yield)
• 3 inch piece -Ginger coarsely crushed
• 7-8 - large Garlic cloves coarsely crushed
• 1 cup - chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 T.spoon - Red chili powder
• Coconut milk - 3/4 cup. (try to use all natural, I used Renuka brand.)
• 2 Tb.spoon - oil

Spice blend

• 1 Tb.spoon - corriander seeds
• 1/2 T.spoon - shahijeera
• 1 T.spoon - fennel seeds
• 6 - cloves
• 1 T.spoon - whole black peppers
• 1 star anise - small size flower
• 1/2 inch square - cinnamon piece
• 1 Bay leaf - 2 inch long
• 6-7 inch long - Guajillo chilies or 4-5 bedgi chilies or you may use Kashmiri chili powder for color.

Cut dry chilies into very small pieces, Combine all above spices and chili pieces  in a spice grinder bowl, grind them to a  fine powder.

Method for preparing HomeStyle Indian Chicken Curry.

1. Clean chicken breasts, pat dry, cut into one inch cubes. Marinate with little salt, keep it aside.You can use your choice of  chicken pieces or whole chicken cut up, give more cooking time for bone in large size chicken pieces also increase onion quantity with one cup.
2. Combine ginger and garlic in a small blender jar, grind to a coarse mixture. Alternatively you can grate it by using microplane.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a thick gauge pot. (3-4 quart size) Add chopped onions, increase heat to high,  fry the onions stirring continuously  for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to saute onions, now stirring at some intervals. This will take around 8-10 minutes to soften the onions. Now add coarse crushed mixture of ginger and garlic, mix-saute for one minute.
4. Next add ground spice blend, mix well, saute over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes. If mixture sticks to the bottom and gets dry, sprinkle little water and continue to saute.
5. Add salt marinated chicken pieces, mix well. Cover with lid, cook over medium low heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring few times.
6. Now add half the quantity of diced tomatoes, salt, 3/4 cup water and 1 tsp red chili powder,  mix all well, cover with lid and  continue to cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring at some interval. (spice blend has 1 tsp of black pepper which brings good heat, skip adding red chili powder if you want medium hot curry.)
7. Stir in remaining chopped tomatoes, 3/4 cup coconut milk, little chopped cilantro, mix well, check and adjust salt level, cook over medium heat without covering the lid for 7-8 minutes. If you want thick gravy then cook over high heat for few more minutes, stirring often until  you have achieved the desired  gravy consistency. Finally add remaining chopped cilantro and shut off the heat. Cover with lid, allow to rest one hour before serving. You can serve this chicken curry over rice or eat with roti.

Home style spice laden Indian Chicken Curry.

Chicken Curry Roti Lunch.

Curry cooked on 19th,March..published on 17th May,2013.

Four Whole spices tempered Dal made with split skin on Urad dal, Quinoa, split skinless masoor Dal and Barley. {Grain & Legume Mix Dal - Year round Indian comfort food}

I cooked  mix lentil Dal on the first day of the new year with mixture of black urad dal, Masoor dal, Quinoa and Barley. This Mix Dal is  prepared in pressure pan. Distinct  feature of this dal preparation is, use of four whole Indian spices (khada Masala) for  tempering. I skipped using ground masala powder. This versatile Dal recipe serves multiple meals like Dal, Khichdi and Soup.

Ingredients :

• 3/4 Cup - Skin-on split Urad Dal (Black gram Dal)
• 5 Tb.spoon- skinless split Masoor Dal (Orange lentil)
• 5 Tb.spoon- Quinoa
• 5 Tb.spoon- Barley (quick cooking type or pearl barley)
• 1 small size onion - finely chopped (1 cup yield)
• 7-8 big size garlic cloves - slice lengthwise each clove in 4-5 pieces.
• 1 Tb.spoon Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves) 
• 1/2 T.spoon - Turmeric powder
• 2 Roma tomatoes - diced
• 2 inch - piece of ginger, finely grated
• 2 Green chilies - finely chopped
• 1 cup - chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tb.spoon oil + 1 Tb.spoon oil

Whole spices for Tadka/Tempering

• 4 cloves
• 1/2 T.spoon - shahijeera
• 1 T.spoon - whole black peppers
• 1 Bay leaf - 3 inch long

Method of Preparing Dal/ Mix Grain-Lentil Curry

1. Combine Urad dal, masoor Dal, quinoa, quick cooking barley in a big size bowl, fill with water and thoroughly massage mixture between palms, drain all murky water. Repeat until water gets clear,  drain keep it aside. (In absence of quick cooking barley use pearl barley but you will need to soak in the water for at least one  hour.)
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pressure pan / pressure cooker, (3 quart or bigger size) don't let oil temperature to reach smoking point. First add bay leaf, followed by 4 cloves and 1 tsp whole black peppers, stir and sizzle for 20-30 seconds. Now add shahijeera, sizzle for 15 seconds. Quickly add chopped onions, saute over medium heat for 7-8 minutes or until they turn soft and transparent. Add sliced garlic, chopped green chilies, 1 tbsp Kasuri methi, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, saute for 1 minute. (Refer image-A cooking step below)
3. Now add rinsed Urad dal-Masoor Dal-Quinoa-Barley, saute for 2-3 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Add salt and 4 cups water, when it starts to boil, (refer image-C) close pressure pan lid, allow to cook over medium high heat for 6-7 minutes. Once steam is built up inside pressure pan, reduce the heat to medium. Allow to blow quick 2-3 whistles. Quickly reduce heat to low and continue cooking for another 6-7 minutes. (Some pressure pans give short 5 second whistles, in such cases  you may continue cooking over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, wait until it blows short 5 seconds whistles at least 10-12 times, then reduce flames to medium low and further  cook for 6-7 minutes. Shut off the heat and let pressure pan cool.
4. Once you open the lid, you will find all water has evaporated and Mixture of legumes  is well cooked. (Check images-D below) If you want to enjoy some wholesome Khichdi, take out some portion at this stage, enjoy by adding warm creamy milk and melted ghee.
5. My pressure pan was small so I have to take another pot to cook Dal. If you are using 4 quart and bigger size pressure cooker you can do this step in a small pan and pour tomato ginger mixture  in pressure cooker. Heat 1 tbsp oil in minimum 4 quart heavy gauge pot. Add grated ginger, saute for 1 minute, quickly add diced Roma tomatoes. Saute over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
6. Now add cooked Dal mixture, 2 cups water. Mix all well. Check and adjust salt level. You may increase or decrease water quantity as per your desired  consistency. Add fresh chopped cilantro, simmer over medium low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring at intervals. Serve with hot  rice, roti or enjoy as soup by drizzling spoonful of  melted ghee or extra virgin olive oil.

Few Images captured while preparing Dal in pressure pan.

[Image-A] Sauteing 4 whole spices, onions, garlic in pressure pan.

[Image-B] Mixing rinsed Dals to sauteed Spice and onion base.

[Image-C] Dal starts boiling, time to close pressure pan lid.

[Image-D] Perfectly pressure pan cooked legumes and grains.

Canned Navy beans Curry with Beetroots and freshTomatoes. Infused with Hara Dhania/Cilantro and tempered with Jeera/cumin.

One weekend in August  I made this quick canned navy beans curry/usal  for lunch. I infused it with cilantro by using finely chopped stems and leaves, also added few pre-boiled beetroot chunks, generous quantity of fresh roma tomatoes. Finally tempered it with cumin Tadka. Few enhancements made this canned navy beans curry colorful, interesting and healthy.

Ingredients :

• 1 Can  of  Navy beans - drain off can liquid and thoroughly rinse beans.
• 1 medium size onion - finely chopped
• 3 small Roma Tomatoes - cut into small dice.
• 3/4 cup diced and pre-boiled beetroot pieces
• 1.5 inch piece of ginger - coarsely crushed
• 2 green chilies - finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic - coarsely crushed
• 1 Cup tightly packed chopped Hara Dhania / Cilantro leaves
• 2 Tb.spoon - very finely chopped cilantro stems
• 1 Tb.spoon - oil + 1 T.spoon for tempering
• 1 T.spoon Jeera / cumin seeds
• 1/2  T.spoon - your most favorite pre-ground masala powder.
• 2-3 cups water

Method for cooking Navy beans curry / Usal :

1. Thoroughly rinse the navy beans of their  can juice. Drain and Keep it aside.
2. Cut one small size beetroot into 1 cm size cubes, 3/4 cup yield. Place cubes in a bowl with water, add little salt and boil for 6 minutes in microwave. Drain out liquid. (save it or just drink it up.)
3. Combine ginger, garlic, green chilies - crush to coarse texture without adding water, alternatively you may chop chilies and use microplane grater to grate ginger and garlic.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Fry onions until they turn transparent, about 6-7 minutes. Add crushed mixture of ginger-garlic-green chilies, saute for 1 minute.
5. Then add chopped tomatoes (reserve half cup quantity for later use) and  2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro stems. Continue to saute for 3-4 minutes until tomatoes turn soft.
6. Now add 1/2 tsp masala powder of your choice, saute for one minute then add pre-boiled  beetroot cubes along with drained navy beans. Add 1.5 cup water and allow it to simmer over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add reserved chopped tomatoes, add salt, adjust curry consistency by adding little more water. Sprinkle half the quantity of  chopped hara dhania / cilantro. Continue to simmer covered for 6-7 minutes.Reduce heat to low and prepare Tadka.
8. Tempering/Tadka - Heat 1 tsp oil in a tiny pan, don't heat too much. Test heat by adding 4-5 cumin seeds, if they sizzle and don't get quickly too dark means oil is hot enough. Add one tsp jeera/ cumin seeds, sizzle for 15-20 seconds. Once they slightly turn darker; quickly pour tempering over curry. Add  one ladle full of curry in tempering pan, swirl around and pour back to the curry pot. Mix well, continue to simmer over  medium low heat for 2-3 minutes. Shut off the heat. Garnish with remaining chopped cilantro before serving  with rice or roti or enjoy as a soup with dollop of butter, Ghee or extra virgin olive oil.

Navy Beans curry with beetroot and tomatoes.

Curried Navy Beans.

Spicy shrimp curry with Sichuan peppers and Black peppers...Recipe with Indo-Chinese Twist - Schezwan Prawns with Garlic Tadka.

Fresh wild caught shrimps from NC coast were put on sale at local  grocery super market for $6.99 lbs. which are otherwise priced @ 15$ per lbs. They don't sell them regularly so very few times we get to enjoy wild caught shrimp, rest of the time farm grown prawns/shrimps  are available. I made spicy shrimp curry with Indo-Chinese twist. I have used whole sichuan peppers but cooked this curry in Indian manner, completed cooking with garlic tadka.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lbs - Ex. large 10 shrimp (I used wild caught from NC coast, any type of raw shrimp is ok.)
• 1 large size onion - finely chopped
• 8-10 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 medium size tomato - diced (1 cup yield)
• 2-3 whole dry red chilies - cut into 1 inch size pieces ( 5-6 pieces)
• 1 Tb.spoon sesame oil + 1 T.spoon for Garlic tadka/tempering.
• 1 T.spoon - chili oil (optional - in absence you can increase sesame oil quantity in garlic tadka.)
• 1 T.spoon - red chili powder
• 20-25 whole sichuan peppers
• 1 T.spoon - whole black peppers
• 1 Tb.spoon - soy sauce
• 1 Tb.spoon - Vinegar
• 1/2 T.spoon - tapioca flour or Rice flour or cornstarch
• Any herb of your choice to garnish.

Cooking Method :

1. Clean and devein shrimp. Very lightly marinate with salt.
2. Combine black peppers and sichuan peppers - grind to fine powder.
3. Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a medium size saute pan. Add pieces of  dry red chilies, sizzle for 15-20 seconds or until chili color picks little darker shade. Add chopped onions, saute for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until onions turn soft.
4. Add black pepper and sichuan pepper ground  powder, 1 tsp red chili powder - mix well, saute for 2 minutes over medium low heat. If mixture gets too dry, spray little water.
5. Place marinated shrimp into the saute pan, increase heat to medium high. Mix well with onion-pepper mixture. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Add 1-2  tbsp water if mixture sticks to pan bottom.
6. Now Pour in 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp red chili oil  and 1 tbsp vinegar. Stir and mix well.
7. Add diced tomatoes - continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes on medium low heat covering with lid.
8. I kept thick gravy because this is very spicy dense curry, little is enough with roti or rice. You may add little water when you add diced tomatoes and to thicken the gravy add 1/2 tsp tapioca flour or rice flour or cornstarch dissolved in water. I had added 1/2 cup water and sprinkled little tapioca flour to get thick gravy. Check salt level,  add if necessary. I didn't add salt because soy sauce made it enough salty.
9. Finally heat 1 tsp oil in a small saute pan or tadka pan. Add lengthwise sliced garlic.Stir fry for 30-40 seconds until they turn slightly brown.  Take off the pan from heat, pour it  over shrimp curry. Mix well, garnish with your choice of herb. Enjoy with rice or roti. If you want to skip Garlic tadka / tempering step then add garlic after you finish sauteing onions, stir fry for one minute before adding pepper powder.

Note : Vegetarians can try this recipe with baby potatoes, Nutrela soy chunks, mix blend of frozen or fresh vegetables also this curry will taste great with any variety of koftas.This is very spicy curry, if you need mild heat  then skip adding red chili power and reduce quantity of dry red chilies.

Spicy Kadhai Chicken Curry with Chinese sauces and Banana peppers...Simple Rice & Chicken curry Dinner.

This quick Chinese style Kadhai Chicken curry  I cooked for dinner in March.  There were two banana peppers in the fridge that instantly reminded me of Tri Pepper chicken curry served in one of the local Chinese restaurant. Tri pepper is the combination of  Sichuan pepper corns, banana peppers and whole red chilies. This curry recipe was inspired by the restaurant served Tri pepper chicken. It took little over  half an hour to cook this curry. When I was done cooking, curry in Kadhai looked tempting  that prompted me to pick camera and take picture. It was last minute thought to note this recipe to share in the blog. Try this recipe when you seriously crave for some spicy Chinese chicken curry.
Note - Published on 3rd August.

Chicken curry rice dinner enjoyed on 15th March.

Ingredients :

• 1 lbs - skinless-boneless chicken thighs cut into 1/2 inch small nuggets.(any other chicken portion is fine but keep it in small chunks form.)
• 2 banana peppers - 6-7 inch long - cut into 1 inch pieces.
• One large onion - cut half lengthwise and  finely chop rest.
•  7-8 garlic cloves - finely minced
• 2-3 Tb.spoon - oil
• 1 Tb.spoon - black bean sauce
• 1 Tb.spoon -  teriyaki sauce
• 1 Tb.spoon - vinegar
• 1 T.spoon - soy sauce
• 1 Tb.spoon - Marsala wine
• 1 T.spoon - black pepper powder
• 1 T.spoon - red chili powder
• 1 T.spoon - crushed dry basil  or half cup fresh chopped basil leaves.( Fresh basil is better)
• 1 T.spoon - tapioca flour or replace with 1 T.spoon corn starch.

Method for Cooking Chinese Kadai Chicken Curry :

1. Marinate chicken nuggets in 1 tbsp marsala wine + 1 tsp soy sauce for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in small kadhai or saute pan. Add cut banana peppers in two batches, stir fry / roast each batch on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes until pepper skin is slightly charred. Taste little banana pepper for hotness. If it is hot then I suggest you to skip adding red chili powder and reduce quantity of black pepper powder too.  Drain roasted banana peppers  on paper towel.
3. In the same pan if required add 1 tsp oil,  stir fry onions for about 7-8 minutes until they get soft.
4. Add finely minced garlic, saute for one minute.
5. Add 1 tbsp black bean sauce, 1 tbsp Teriyaki sauce. Mix well.
6. Now add marinated chicken pieces. Discard liquid created from marination. Saute over high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
7. Sprinkle 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp black pepper powder, 1 tsp red chili powder, basil. Combine well, cover saute pan with lid and allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Check  there is  enough liquid in the pan, if necessary add 2-3 tbsp water. Stir at regular intervals.
8. Next add roasted banana peppers. Stir gently to combine with chicken and gravy.
9. Add half cup water, sprinkle 1 tsp tapioca flour. (If you are using corn starch / corn flour, prepare paste by adding 1 tbsp water in 1 tsp corn starch) Stir and mix well. Check and adjust seasonings. Throw in some more fresh chopped basil leaves.  Leave it to simmer for 6-7 minutes over medium heat. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Note : This is quite flexible curry. Combination of banana peppers and chicken is the essence of this curry. It is o.k to skip few sauces. If you don't like sweetness in chicken curry then skip Teriyaki sauce because that brings mild sweetness to the dish. In absence of wine use vinegar to marinate chicken. If you are skipping one or two sauces then increase little soy sauce quantity. Taste and adjust soy sauce quantity as you cook. I didn't use salt in this curry because all these Chinese sauces have high sodium content.

Simple Dinner of Kadhai chicken curry and Rice.

Kadhai chicken Curry in chinese sauces.

Indian Chicken curry with freshly ground Garam masala spices in combination with Chinese Sichuan peppercorns.

Chicken curries cooked on week days are generally based on  routine recipes but this time my instincts landed on using few unusual exotic garam masala spices and adding Chinese sichuan peppers to Garam masala blend. Recently I got whole sichuan peppercorns from local Asian grocery store. In shape and fragrance they are  similar to  Indian  spice called Tirphal. Have you ever tried chewing single raw sichuan pepper ? It is very unusual sensational experience that lasts for 15 minutes. I dropped one single sichuan pepper in my mouth, took first bite and instantly it kicked off strong tickling and numbing  sensation. It  made me very uncomfortable,  also stimulated vomiting sensation. It is  not spicy at all but it strongly affects tongue with weird multiple sensations. In order to calm down effect I ate teaspoon full ghee and coconut milk, drank cold water but no effect. It lasted around 15 minutes then slowly I felt better. This made me more curious about using Szechuan  peppers in Indian cooking. Surprisingly when used in curries they change complete chemistry and bring addictive taste. (Read Note) I used mild dose so no deep tongue numbing effect but curry was aromatic. Now Sichuan peppercorns  are part of my Garam masala pantry.

Note: Curry cooked on 10th, Feb..published on 12th April.

Ingredients :

• 2 lb - Chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes (whole chicken with bone in pieces is much better.)
• 2 large onions - finely chopped (3 heaped cups yield)
• 2 inch - Ginger piece crushed to coarse texture
• 7-8 Garlic cloves - crushed to coarse texture
• 1/2 cup - Fresh chopped cilantro
• 2 Tb.spoon cooking oil
• 2 inch long - Cinnamon
• 2 inch long - Bay leaf
• 1 Tb.spoon - Kashmiri or good red colored chili powder or grind 5-6 byadgi chillies with below given spice blend.

Spices for Home ground Garam Masala spice blend :

• 1 heaped T.spoon - corriander seeds
• 1 heaped T.spoon - fennel seeds
• 1 T.spoon - Cumin
• 8 cloves
• 1/2 star anise - 3-4 petals
• 5-6 Kabab chini
• 5-6 Nagkeshar
• 12-15 whole sichuan peppercorns (you can add few more for  strong kick)

Combine all above spices and grind into a fine powder.
[T.spoon = teaspoon]

Outer ring - Fennel seeds, corraider seeds, cumin seeds

Inner ring - Nagkeshar, Kabab chini, Star anise, cloves.

Center-from top - Sichuan peppers, bay leaf, cinnamon stick.

Method for preparing Curry :

1. Marinate chicken lightly with salt. Cover and keep it aside.
2. Combine ginger and garlic - grind  to dry coarse texture.
3. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a thick bottomed pot ( 3-4 quart size ) Drop in cinnamon stick and bay leaf, sizzle for 15-20 seconds. Add finely chopped onions in the pot, saute over medium heat until they get transparent and soft, about  8-9 minutes.
4. Now add dry coarse mixture of  fresh ginger and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes over  medium low heat.
5. Then add home ground  Garam masala spice blend. (save 1 tsp for later stage) Mix well, saute for 2-3 minutes over medium low heat.
6. Partly puree onion-spice mixture by using immersion blender, before blending move  cinnamon stick and bay leaf to one side of the pot. In absence of immersion blender scoop out half onion-spice mixture and grind to fine paste, add it back to the pot.
7. Now add salt marinated chicken pieces, red chilli powder, salt. Combine well, turn the  heat to medium low, cover with lid and allow to cook for 8-9 minutes. Make sure pot has enough steam water generated and meat is  not sticking to the bottom, stir occasionally.
8. Sprinkle in  reserved one tsp spice blend mixture, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves. Taste and adjust salt level. I kept thick gravy but if you wish to have more gravy then at this point add 1 cup water. Cover with lid and continue to simmer over medium heat for another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Lower down heat to low, remove lid, continue simmering for 7-8 minutes. Shut off the heat. Add remaining chopped cilantro.  Let curry rest for few hours before serving warm with rice or roti.

Note :  I used sichuan peppers for the first time so added only 15 peppercorns. It brought mild aroma and taste. You can add 10-12 more for deeper effect that means you will be getting after taste sensation mostly on the tip of your tongue for few hours. You may not like to eat raw sichuan peppers  but relishing sichuan pepper infused curries is very different experience. Peppercorns  are powdered and roasted while cooking also combination of onion+Garam masala further reduces intensity of szechuan peppers. In my observation when they are used in Chinese cooking with lot of whole red chilies and chili oil, intensity is felt stronger. Sichuan pepper infused chinese curries are  very tasty and addictive. 

This curry will taste better if you cook with whole chicken or  red chicken meat pieces. You can  expand your imaginations to cook various vegetarian and non-veg curries with sichuan peppers. I have  cooked  sweet and sour Baingan/Vangi/Eggplant subji, it was super delicious.

Images of Whole sichuan peppercorns, clusters and seeds of sichuan peppercorns.

Indian Chicken curry infused with chinese szechuan peppers.

French Green Lentil Curry / Dahl with Fresh Green Peanuts. (Quick Pressure Cooker Lentil Curry / Dal)

Every day Dal cooking needs some variation. I let my instincts decide what combination of lentils and beans to use.  Green peanuts with shell were in season. I got them from local Indian grocery store. Peanuts were extra large, fresh, crunchy and milky.  In Indian cooking peanuts add nice taste and texture to various curries and sabjis. I  paired  shelled green peanuts  with French green lentils, used minimal garam masala spices and made this curry / Dal.  This is simple and quick  "One whistle pressure cooker curry/ Dahl". It tastes absolutely delicious with meals or can be enjoyed as a soup.

Rice and shrimp curry, Snake gourd+beetroot stir fry, French green lentil dahl.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup - French green lentils - picked and thoroughly rinsed.
• 3/4 cup - fresh  shelled raw green peanuts  (during off season soak regular peanuts in water for 8 hours)
• 1 medium size onion - finely chopped
• 4-5 - Fresh garlic cloves
• 1.5 inch piece of ginger
• 2-3 Green chilies
• 1/2 T.spoon - Turmeric powder
• 1 tiny bay leaf - 2 inch long
• 2 cloves (lavang)
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon
• 1 T.spoon - corriander seeds - grind to fine powder
• 1/2 T.spoon - cumin seeds - grind to fine powder
• 1 Tb.spoon - oil
• 1/2 cup - fresh chopped cilantro
• 5-6 cups water

 Method for preparing lentil  and Green peanut curry in Pressure cooker.

1. Check for any stone particles in French green lentil then thoroughly rinse in water. Shell green peanuts, rinse in water. Combine both in a bowl, cover with water - keep it aside. No prior soaking is required.
2. Combine garlic, ginger, green chilies in a small blender jar,  ground to coarse mixture. Alternatively You can chop green chilies and use microplane grater to grate ginger and garlic.
3. Combine 1 tsp corriander + 1/2 tsp cumin - grind to fine powder.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker / pressure pan. (minimum 3 quart size). Add two cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick - allow to sizzle for 25-30 seconds. Quickly add chopped onions, saute for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until onions turn soft and transparent.
5. Now add coarsely ground ginger-garlic-green chili mixture, turmeric powder - mix and saute for 1 minute.
6. Add corriander-cumin powder, French Green lentils and green peanuts.*Check image below* Mix and stir fry for 2 minutes over medium low heat, then add 4 cups of water. Add salt and let it simmer. Once it starts to boil, place pressure cooker lid. Remove or lift whistle while you close the lid. Once you secure and lock pressure cooker lid put back whistle. Maintain medium heat. After it blows first whistle, reduce heat to low, allow dal to simmer for 7-8 minutes. shut off the heat. Allow it to cool.
7. When the hissing pressure sound calms downs, open the lid. Add  chopped cilantro, one cup or more water to adjust dal consistency. Check and adjust salt seasoning. Start heat on, continue to simmer for about 6-7 minutes over medium heat. Shut off the heat.  Serve with rice / roti or enjoy as a soup by adding  dollop of butter on top or drizzle some Ghee.

Picture taken during cooking step No. 6

Tazaa Moongfali / Kacche Shengdane and French Green Lentils

Kerala Delicacy - Kappa with Cilantro Fish curry.

Tapioca/Kappa and fish curry combination is a  very  popular staple dish  of Kerala and is regularly cooked   in my kitchen. Recently we are not getting good quality Tapioca, each time half the quantity is wasted due to stained and porous texture. This time I was lucky to get very fresh Tapioca from local Mexican store. I cooked kappa stir fry and fish curry. Instead of cooking fish curry in Kerala style, I cooked  Cilantro fish curry. I used less spices and packed this curry with lots of cilantro, use of coconut paste gave thick and creamy texture to the curry. This is delicious curry for cilantro lovers.

Ingredients :-

• Surmai (Spanish mackerel / Seer Fish/ ayakura) - 10-12  small pieces. (any other fish is fine)
• 1 medium onion - finely chopped.
• 5-6 fresh garlic cloves
• 1.5 inch - fresh ginger piece
• 4-5 green chilies
• 20-25 cilantro stalks/stems - 2 inch long
• 2 Cups tightly packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves + 1/2 cup extra - finely chopped  for final garnish.
• 1 Cup lightly packed fresh grated coconut or use 1/2 Cup coconut milk.
• 1/2 T.spoon - turmeric 
• 1 Tb.spoon oil

Spices

• 1 Tsp corriander seeds
• 1 Tsp cumin seeds
• 3 cloves
• 1.5 inch long - bay leaf

Grind above four spices to fine powder.

Method of Preparing Cilantro Surmai Curry.

1. Grind one cup fresh coconut with one cup chopped cilantro to fine paste by adding 1 cup water. Keep it aside. If you are using coconut milk, mix finely chopped one cup cilantro in the coconut milk.
2. Combine Garlic, ginger, green chilies, cilantro stalks, 1 cup packed fresh chopped cilantro.( ingredients marked in Green color) Finely crush/ coarse dry paste to prepare base for Cilantro Green Masala (Hara Masala/ Hirva Masala). You may add 1-2 tablespoon water while grinding if needed. Keep it aside.
3. Marinate  Surmai pieces with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon above Cilantro Green Masala and very little salt.Keep it aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium size saute pan.(not bigger than 8" diameter) Add finely chopped onions, saute over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add powdered spices - saute for one minute.
5. Now add crushed green masala paste, stir fry for one minute.
6. Place all marinated surmai pieces in the pan and gently mix-coat with onion, green masala base.Sprinkle little salt. Cover the lid and allow to cook over medium low heat for 4-5 minutes. Make sure there is little moisture in the pan, you may add 1-2 tablespoon water before closing the lid.
7. Pour in 3/4 of the coconut-cilantro paste. Mix well, Check salt level. Cover the lid and let it simmer for 7-8 minutes at medium low heat.
8. Remove the lid, gently turn around surmai pieces. Add remaining coconut-cilantro paste, remaining half cup  extra fine chopped cilantro. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Shut off the heat and let curry sit for half an hour before serving it warm with Kappa/rice/roti.

Note : You can cook veggies, tofu, Paneer,Lentils and beans in the same Green cilantro Masala base. Check earlier blogged cilantro infused Buckwheat+moongbean+quinoa curry.

Cilantro infused Surmai fish curry

Kappa Stir fry Recipe :-

Earlier I have blogged recipe for Tapioca/Kappa curry. I have cooked this tapioca  stir fry based on  the same recipe,  only change I made is, cooked  more dry Kappa stir fry.

Recipe :- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a thick gauge pot. Sizzle mustard seeds for 20 seconds. Add  10-12 curry leaves,   1 teaspoon turmeric powder and  3-4 chopped green chilies, saute for 40 seconds. Add  one cup heaped chopped onions; saute for 5-6 minutes over  medium heat. Add 4 cups chunks (1 inch chunks) of tapioca, sprinkle salt. mix well - saute on high heat for 3-4 minutes stirring often with wooden spoon. Now add 1.5 cup water, 2 tablespoon fresh grated coconut.(For genuine Kerala flavor add 1 teaspoon coconut oil at this stage.This is optional.) Once water starts to boil, lower the heat to medium - cook covered  for 10-12 minutes. Do stir occasionally to avoid burning tapioca at bottom. Remove lid and over  medium low heat cook until all water has evaporated. Finally add 6-7 roughly chopped curry leaves, half cup fresh grated coconut. Adjust salt level.  Mix well . Put the lid back, Shut off the heat, let it sit for ten minutes. Serve warm with fish curry or enjoy tapioca stir fry  in a bowl.

Kappa/Cassava stir fry

Kappa and Meen curry

Buckwheat, Split-skin-on Moong Dal and Quinoa Curry infused with Cilantro (Hara Dhania), enriched with Chayote cubes.

Different varieties of  Lentils/Beans/grains  are my favorite cooking ingredients. They contain protein, vitamins, minerals, fibers so it gives me great cooking satisfaction. Every time I let my instincts decide to pick the combination, this time -- "Quinoa, Split moong Dal, Buckwheat" got paired up. I further enriched it with chayote chunks. No Garam masala  is used except one single bay leaf to go with generously used  fresh cilantro (हरा धनिया) and at the end I gave Cumin Tadka. This is tasty, healthy  wholesome vegan-gluten free curry.

Ingredients :-

• 1 Cup finely chopped onions
• 1.5 inch ginger piece - finely crushed
• 5-6 garlic cloves - finely crushed
• 3-4 green chilies - finely crushed
• 1 Bay leaf ( 3 inch long)
• 1 chayote squash - peel skin, remove seed, cut in half an inch cubes ( known as chow chow, Bangalore brinjal, Bangalore Kathirikai)
• 1/2 Cup -  split green moong dal with skin
• 1/2 Cup - Quinoa
• 1/2 Cup - Buckwheat groats
• 1 Tb.spoon oil + 1 Tspoon oil for Tadka/Vaghar/Phodni/tempering
• 1 heaped T.spoon Jeera (cumin)
• 2 Cups  - fresh finely crushed cilantro (Use small mixer jar) + some chopped cilantro for garnish
• 6 Cups water

Cooking Process :-

1. Wash-Rinse split moong beans, soak in water and keep it aside. Mix Quinoa and buckwheat, rinse together until water runs clear, drain water and keep it aside.
2. Combine ginger+garlic+green chilies+ 1 cup chopped cilantro  in a small blender jar;  finely crush without adding water.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in pressure cooker/ pressure pan, (This curry/dahl can be cooked in stock pot too) add 1 bay leaf, sizzle for 15 seconds  then add chopped onions - saute for 5-6 minutes until they turn soft and translucent. Add crushed ginger-garlic-green chilies-cilantro  mixture - saute for one minute.
4. Now add only split moong beans and cubed chayote squash with 4 cups water, Simmer it on high heat for 10 minutes without putting  pressure cooker lid.
5. Add rinsed quinoa+buckwheat, salt and two more cups of water. Once it starts boiling close pressure cooker/pan lid and place whistle. Reduce flames to medium. Once it builds enough pressure inside cooker and ready to blow first whistle reduce the heat to lowest setting. Allow one whistle and shut off the heat in 2-3 minutes.
6. Once pressure cooker completely cools down, open the lid and check the consistency. You may add little water if you find it too thick. If you add water then again simmer for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.
7. Final Tempering :- In a small skillet heat 1 teaspoon oil, just hot not smoking hot. Add one heaped teaspoon cumin seeds; sizzle for 15 seconds or until cumin seeds slightly get dark in color and get aromatic..quickly shut off the heat and add one cup finely crushed cilantro in tadka oil, stir-saute well for 30 seconds and quickly pour over cooked curry.  This additional one cup finely crushed cilantro sauteed in Tadka oil will bring green glow and  flavor the curry with  intense cilantro aroma. Before serving garnish with few more chopped fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy with rice and roti or as a wholesome thick soup.

Note :-  I cooked this curry in prestige junior supreme pressure pan, 2 liter size was a bit congested too cook so use bigger  than 3 liter size pressure cooker. For cooking this curry in pot use at least 4 quart size pot.

For one more Indian style Quinoa recipe - "Quinoa Spicy pulao with samo rice" Click

This picture is taken after cooking step No.4,  before closing pressure cooker lid.

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