I haven't been cooking for too long, although as far as I can remember I have been venturing into the kitchen once in a while to cook up something when the fancy would catch me. But way back then, it didn't really matter how it turned out as a couple of enthusiastic souls viz my father and Sunny, my dog would eat it up, not sure if they said a prayer before eating it. And of course the cleaning up was never my concern.
Since then I have come a long way and now cooking is a very serious affair as two souls depend on it. But luckily, Master Chef Australia to start with and a couple of other food related programmes on Fox traveller have taken the whole food related experience to a different level for me, so much so that now cooking is a matter of great pleasure.
Here are a few of my favourites and they are all easy to cook. I haven't listed out the ingredients and its quantity but spices is generally about 1 table spoon. Add half a table spoon of Chilli powder and supplement this after tasting, the same goes for salt. Onions and tomatoes lend not just taste to the dish but also volume and so any No. is OK really. Oil is almost always just 2 Tsps, add some more if you wish.
Rasam:
Drink it by itself on a cold day or mix it with boiled rice. This, when drunk hot, is excellent for any throat ailment.
Wash firm red tomatoes and put it in boiling water for 5 minutes. Once it cools down the skin can be easily removed. Grind the de-skinned tomatoes once cool. If its still difficult to peel then the tomatoes need to go back into the boiling water for a while longer.
Heat pan, add couple of spoons of oil, then add mustard to the hot oil, followed by asofiotida. The mustards should splutter, only then will it float on the rasam and it will splutter if the oil is hot enough. Add green chilli, ginger and garlic - all crushed together. Add the tomato paste and dilute it to preferred consistency. Add salt, rasam powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and pepper powder. Let it boil for 5 minutes. While turning off the heat, add chopped coriander leaves.
Rasam powder is in itself a mixture of lot of spices, shallow fried and ground. So if you are working without the rasam powder, no worries, just add a bit more of the coriander powder, cumin powder, pepper powder and the rasam should be OK.
Pasta:
This is the Indianised version of Pasta, the Italian version really does not use these many different spices and thus the taste of the principal spice used comes through. This is a meal in itself, or eat it between meals.
Buy a packet of any pasta, there is quite a variety to choose from. Buying in an Indian market, the variety is limited though and mainly restricted to 'screw-shaped' Fusilli, 'bent tube-shaped' macaroni, 'straight-tubes-cut-diagonally-at-ends-shaped' penne, 'sea-shell-shaped' conchiglie.
Heat water in a pan/bowl and put the pasta in a colander (if have one) (a vessel with holes) and dip it into the water as it boils and leave it for about 8-10 minutes. The pasta has to be a tad undercooked as it also cooks a little with the onion and tomato base. We Indians prefer to cook our food all the way, but the traditional pasta eaters like to cook so its shape remains intact when mixed into the base and the individual pasta remain that way. Once its cooked, the pasta needs to put into cold water to stop the further cooking, you can happily forget to do this.
Simultaneously, heat a pan, put in oil, mustard, cumin, chili-ginger-garlic crushed together. Breath in the heavenly aroma as they cook, then zap yourself out of your reverie before they burn in the pan and add in chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes / tomato puree (prepared the same way as for rasam) and while it starts to simmer add the spices of cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and a bit of sugar. Add in the cooked pasta, let it cook for a couple of minutes and its ready to eat. Add a little ketchup to balance the flavour.
Lime rice:
This is an all time favourite addition to a meal. Quick and easy to make. Eat this mixed with boiled rice.
Chop a few onions, the entire volume of this dish comes from onions, so more the rice you want to mix it into, more the onions required. Heat a pan, add oil, splutter mustard, add vertically split green chillies, for about 1 glass of rice a couple of chillies. The heat differs between chillies, regions and sizes, so err on the side of caution. After a couple of minutes, add onions and a little salt so the onions cook faster. Close the pan but keep checking and stirring it once every couple of minutes. Add in turmeric powder and salt, cook for another minute while the onion takes in the taste of salt. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Ideally add lime to rice directly and then add this paste and mix it. Taste it and add salt/lime to get the taste just right as it suits your taste buds.
Lime rice paste can be made a little differently by adding capsicum after onions. Or raw mango can be added instead of lime.
Veggies:
The perfect accompaniment with chapati/phulka/bread.
This is the same recipe for any of these vegetables - capsicum, carrot, ridge gourd, carrot, snake gourd, bottle gourd, beet root and a host of others. The cooking time for each is different so keep checking while it cooks.
Heat pan, add oil, splutter mustard and/or cumin, urad dal for crunch, ginger-garlic crushed together. After a minute, add onions and a little salt. Close the pan but keep checking and stirring it once every couple of minutes. Add the vegetable and mix well so the vegetable gets coated with oil. Let it cook till almost tender. Vegetables like gourds release water as they cook so usually there is no need to add in water to help it cook. But if required, add in water else the vegetable wouldn't cook, but burn. When almost tender, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder and salt, cook for another minute while the vegetable takes in the taste of all the spices. Peanut powder added with the spices enhances the taste of the vegetable.
Dal/Lentils:
This is a comfort food. Like the veggie eat with chapati/phulka/bread or mix it with rice.
First chose your lentil -
Toor dal/togari bele/toram parappu/pigeon peas - south Indian sambar is made of this.
Yellow split Mung dal/hesaru bele - used in the spicy pongal.
Masur dal/Pink lentils - used in North Indian dal's - a favourite of mine.
Urad dal/Split Black lentil/uddin bele - this is what goes into dosa and vada. Used in the almost all of my recipes right after mustard to give that crunch. This is a black lentil and when de-husked is white in colour.
Mung bean/herasa kalu/non-dehusked mung dal - green in colour - soak overnight, sprout it by keeping it in a wet cloth for a few hours and use it like a vegetable.
You could make dal with just split Mung dal or mix the first 3 dals together. In the pressure cooker, a couple of spoons of oil, splutter mustard/cumin. Then the ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped green chilly and then chopped tomatoes/puree, after this comes to a boil, add in the spices - turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and tiny bit of chilly powder, remember there is already chillies in this. Then add in the washed dal, close the lid and cook it till a couple of whistles. Remember de-husked lentils cooks faster than whole lentils. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just cook it over low flame as long as it takes to become tender. This is the traditional way of cooking and in most of cuisines food is still cooked like this which brings out the best taste.
Soup:
Pan-heat oil-mustard-onions-carrots-potatoes-tomato puree-once it comes to a boil-add in spices of turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder and salt. Once tender, grind the whole thing and drink it up garnished with coriander leaves and a sprinkle of pepper powder if desired.
Bisibelebath:
This is a traditional Karnataka dish which translates to 'Hot lentil rice'. This is made of rice and Toor dal. In a cooker, add oil, splutter mustard, Cinnamon stick, caraway seeds (shahi jeera-for taste), a few pods of cloves. Add in onions and saute. After a couple of minutes, add in carrots, beans, tomatoes, capsicum and peas. Now add the spices of coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt and Bisibelebath powder which again is essentially all spices ground together, so in case you don't have this increase the proportion of the other spices. Put in some cashew nuts. Add in rice and dal. almost in the proportion of 5:1. In fact too many ingredients in this, if you are missing out on any, don't stress yourself too much. My mother also adds in tamarind extract (boil tamarind in water and squeeze out of its pulp) I don't. Give it 4 whistles at the least, taste it and add in any spice that's lacking. Eat this hot with finely cut tomatoes added to curd with salt.
A few tips in general:
- Slow cooking is the best.
- Forget the non-stick pans, they are full of chemicals, stick to the good old kadai.
- Add lime juice only after the heat is turned off, else it turns bitter.
- When spices, especially turmeric powder is added, ensure there is sufficient moisture in the dish, else it will burn
- Do not use Extra virgin olive oil (EVOL) for any of the above cooking as these cooking require the oil to be heated to high levels and the EVOL smoke point (temperature at which there is chemical change and oxygen radicals are generated which can cause cancer) is very low. So where EVOL is very healthy to be eaten raw, cooking with it is not a good option. Use EVOL for adding to any cooked item to increase the taste, sheen and health quotient.
Heat water in a pan/bowl and put the pasta in a colander (if have one) (a vessel with holes) and dip it into the water as it boils and leave it for about 8-10 minutes. The pasta has to be a tad undercooked as it also cooks a little with the onion and tomato base. We Indians prefer to cook our food all the way, but the traditional pasta eaters like to cook so its shape remains intact when mixed into the base and the individual pasta remain that way. Once its cooked, the pasta needs to put into cold water to stop the further cooking, you can happily forget to do this.
Simultaneously, heat a pan, put in oil, mustard, cumin, chili-ginger-garlic crushed together. Breath in the heavenly aroma as they cook, then zap yourself out of your reverie before they burn in the pan and add in chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes / tomato puree (prepared the same way as for rasam) and while it starts to simmer add the spices of cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt and a bit of sugar. Add in the cooked pasta, let it cook for a couple of minutes and its ready to eat. Add a little ketchup to balance the flavour.
Lime rice:
This is an all time favourite addition to a meal. Quick and easy to make. Eat this mixed with boiled rice.
Chop a few onions, the entire volume of this dish comes from onions, so more the rice you want to mix it into, more the onions required. Heat a pan, add oil, splutter mustard, add vertically split green chillies, for about 1 glass of rice a couple of chillies. The heat differs between chillies, regions and sizes, so err on the side of caution. After a couple of minutes, add onions and a little salt so the onions cook faster. Close the pan but keep checking and stirring it once every couple of minutes. Add in turmeric powder and salt, cook for another minute while the onion takes in the taste of salt. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Ideally add lime to rice directly and then add this paste and mix it. Taste it and add salt/lime to get the taste just right as it suits your taste buds.
Lime rice paste can be made a little differently by adding capsicum after onions. Or raw mango can be added instead of lime.
Veggies:
The perfect accompaniment with chapati/phulka/bread.
This is the same recipe for any of these vegetables - capsicum, carrot, ridge gourd, carrot, snake gourd, bottle gourd, beet root and a host of others. The cooking time for each is different so keep checking while it cooks.
Heat pan, add oil, splutter mustard and/or cumin, urad dal for crunch, ginger-garlic crushed together. After a minute, add onions and a little salt. Close the pan but keep checking and stirring it once every couple of minutes. Add the vegetable and mix well so the vegetable gets coated with oil. Let it cook till almost tender. Vegetables like gourds release water as they cook so usually there is no need to add in water to help it cook. But if required, add in water else the vegetable wouldn't cook, but burn. When almost tender, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chili powder and salt, cook for another minute while the vegetable takes in the taste of all the spices. Peanut powder added with the spices enhances the taste of the vegetable.
Dal/Lentils:
This is a comfort food. Like the veggie eat with chapati/phulka/bread or mix it with rice.
First chose your lentil -
Toor dal/togari bele/toram parappu/pigeon peas - south Indian sambar is made of this.
Yellow split Mung dal/hesaru bele - used in the spicy pongal.
Masur dal/Pink lentils - used in North Indian dal's - a favourite of mine.
Urad dal/Split Black lentil/uddin bele - this is what goes into dosa and vada. Used in the almost all of my recipes right after mustard to give that crunch. This is a black lentil and when de-husked is white in colour.
Mung bean/herasa kalu/non-dehusked mung dal - green in colour - soak overnight, sprout it by keeping it in a wet cloth for a few hours and use it like a vegetable.
You could make dal with just split Mung dal or mix the first 3 dals together. In the pressure cooker, a couple of spoons of oil, splutter mustard/cumin. Then the ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped green chilly and then chopped tomatoes/puree, after this comes to a boil, add in the spices - turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and tiny bit of chilly powder, remember there is already chillies in this. Then add in the washed dal, close the lid and cook it till a couple of whistles. Remember de-husked lentils cooks faster than whole lentils. If you don't have a pressure cooker, just cook it over low flame as long as it takes to become tender. This is the traditional way of cooking and in most of cuisines food is still cooked like this which brings out the best taste.
Soup:
Pan-heat oil-mustard-onions-carrots-potatoes-tomato puree-once it comes to a boil-add in spices of turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder and salt. Once tender, grind the whole thing and drink it up garnished with coriander leaves and a sprinkle of pepper powder if desired.
Bisibelebath:
This is a traditional Karnataka dish which translates to 'Hot lentil rice'. This is made of rice and Toor dal. In a cooker, add oil, splutter mustard, Cinnamon stick, caraway seeds (shahi jeera-for taste), a few pods of cloves. Add in onions and saute. After a couple of minutes, add in carrots, beans, tomatoes, capsicum and peas. Now add the spices of coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt and Bisibelebath powder which again is essentially all spices ground together, so in case you don't have this increase the proportion of the other spices. Put in some cashew nuts. Add in rice and dal. almost in the proportion of 5:1. In fact too many ingredients in this, if you are missing out on any, don't stress yourself too much. My mother also adds in tamarind extract (boil tamarind in water and squeeze out of its pulp) I don't. Give it 4 whistles at the least, taste it and add in any spice that's lacking. Eat this hot with finely cut tomatoes added to curd with salt.
A few tips in general:
- Slow cooking is the best.
- Forget the non-stick pans, they are full of chemicals, stick to the good old kadai.
- Add lime juice only after the heat is turned off, else it turns bitter.
- When spices, especially turmeric powder is added, ensure there is sufficient moisture in the dish, else it will burn
- Do not use Extra virgin olive oil (EVOL) for any of the above cooking as these cooking require the oil to be heated to high levels and the EVOL smoke point (temperature at which there is chemical change and oxygen radicals are generated which can cause cancer) is very low. So where EVOL is very healthy to be eaten raw, cooking with it is not a good option. Use EVOL for adding to any cooked item to increase the taste, sheen and health quotient.
