Pav Bhaji-Indian Street Food!

Shortly after we arrived in India, we began big fans of pav bhaji.  It's our Indian sloppy joe. : ) And because it is, we eat it with a slice of cheese on it. :)  (At least, I grew up eating sloppy joes with cheese...)

Pav Bhaji
3 small potatoes
1 small head of cauliflower
2 carrots
Handful of fresh peas (200 grams)
1 onion, chopped
1 t. garlic paste
2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 T. pav bhaji masala
1/4 t. chili powder
1/2 t. salt
Fresh cilantro
8 pavs (dinner rolls)
Cheese slices, optional

Chop the potatoes, cauliflower, and carrots, and place it all with the peas in the pressure cooker.  Add about a 1/2 c. of water and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 t. oil in a skillet.  Add the garlic paste and fry a minute.  Add the onions and fry till soft.  Add the tomatoes and fry until softened.  Once the vegetables are done, drain water if there's a lot, you want a little bit, but not more than 1-2 tablespoons.  Mash the veggies with a potato masher until, well, mashed. :)   Add the mashed vegetables to the onion and tomato mixture.  Add the pav bhaji masala, chili powder and salt.  Stir to combine and cook until no longer soupy, but holds together. Turn the heat off and add the chopped cilantro.

Next, slice the pavs in half.  Throw some butter on your tawa, and grill each tawa until nice and brown on the inside.

Eat 'em up! :)  

Aloo Shimla Mirch (Potatoes and Green Peppers)

One of our favorite lunches for our helper to cook, even though I taught her how we like it! :)

Aloo Shimla Mirch

6 potatoes

2-3 green peppers, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 t. cumin seeds

1 T. dania (coriander powder)

1/4 t. turmeric

3/4 t. salt

1 1/2 t. garam masala

1/4 t. pepper

Peel and cut the potatoes into bite size pieces.  Boil until soft to the bite, but still hold their shape.  Drain the water off and keep aside. 

Heat 1-2 T. oil in a wok.  Add cumin seed and saute till it starts popping and smelling great!  Add chopped garlic, onion, and green pepper.  Saute 5-7 minutes till pepper is softening.  Add potatoes and stir fry, with a bit more oil if necessary.  Then add dania, turmeric, salt and pepper, and about 1-2 T. water.  Stir to combine and coat.  Last, add garam masala and stir to coat, adding a bit of water as needed to get a good consistency.  Serve with chapatis. 

Indian Lunch Ideas

I have a house helper who cooks lunch for us. I think this is an indispensable thing for me as I'm homeschooling, since there are no quick and easy lunches here besides PB&J and grilled cheese.  We want a little more variety than that. :)  

It has taken us some time, though, to figure out a good variety of Indian meals we all like that we can have for lunch.  Here's a list of some of our favorite meals to have our helper make for us! I usually do subji (veggies) and chapati (wheat flat bread) on M-W-F and Daal Chawal (lentils/beans and rice) on T-Th.  Just to change it up! :) 

Subji and Chapati:

-Bindi Masala: Sauteed okra with tomatoes and onions

-Aloo Shimla Mirch: Potatoes and green peppers sauteed with spices (We like it dry, no gravy)

-Aloo Gobi: Potatoes and cauliflower with onions and tomatoes

-Aloo Parantha: We like this just by itself.  Our helper made the best paranthas we've ever had. I can post the recipe if anyone wants it.

-Loki Masala: loki is a long pale gourd that looks kind of like a zucchini when it's cut, but cooks totally differently.  We like this with lots of onions, tomatoes, and dania powder.

-Kajar Mattar: carrots and peas sauteed in spices

-Bund Gobi Mattar: cabbage and peas

Daal/Chawal:

-Lobia Masala: black eyed peas in a tomato-y gravy

-Rajma Masala: kidney beans or pinto beans (or a mix) in a tomato gravy

-Channa Masala: chick peas (we like to eat this with Puris, deep fried wheat bread)

-Mixed Daal: pretty self explanatory.  

This is just off the top of my head. I'll come back and add to this if I think of anything else we really like.  I'll try to post the recipes for some of these things in the coming weeks as well.  

Daal Makhani

Here's another Indian recipe, daal makhani. This is my absolute favorite daal! Wonder why, with all the cream and butter! : )

Dal Makhani

1 cup black lentils (kaali sabut dal)

1/2 cup red kidney beans (rajma) (Pressure cook dals together for about 45 minutes)

2 T. ghee

1 t. cumin seeds

2 big onions, finely chopped

1 t. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder

1/2 t. turmeric powder

salt to taste

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped

¼ cup butter

1+ tsp garam masala powder

2-3 tbsp malai (fresh cream)

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Pre-heat ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add cumin seeds and let them saute for a minute or two. Add the chopped onions and sauté the onions till pink.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 3-4 mts. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and combine.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5-6 mts. Now add the pressure cooked dals along with a cup of water and mix well till they are well coated with the masala mixture. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add water if necessary to get the consistency you'd like.
Add butter, combine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add malai and garam masala and mix well. Serve with hot rotis or steamed rice.

Paneer Butter Masala

Living in South Asia, I think it's a good idea to have a handle on at least a few traditional South Asian recipes. Friends and neighbors here are always so impressed that I'm even trying to make Indian food! Here's one of our favorite recipes... (I usually double this recipe to feed our family served with rice). You can also substitute chicken for the paneer if you'd like, just don't soak it in water after you cook it.

Paneer Butter Masala

250 g. paneer

2 big onions

1 T. ginger garlic paste

1 t. red chilli powder (I usually do about 1/4 teaspoon)

3 big ripe tomatoes

1 t. coriander powder

Pinch of huldi (turmeric)

½ t. kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Garam masala powder(about 2-3 teaspoons?)

Salt to taste

3 T. butter

2 T. fresh cream

Cube and sauté paneer in a T. of ghee til golden brown. You want them to be nice and crispy, like this. If they loose water as they're cooking, just let it cook off... eventually they'll start to brown. Remove into a dish and add a cup of hoter water to the fried cubes and let them sit in it for 5 minutes. Then drain the water and keep aside.

Blanch the onions for ten minutes and then puree. Blanch tomatoes as well, remove skins and puree. I usually just do this together, throw them all in a big pot and boil for a few minutes to get the cooking started. Them remove and peel them all. Puree the onions first, then the tomatoes.

Heat 2 T. of butter in a pan, add the onion paste and sauté til brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for three minutes. Add chilli powder and combine, followed by the cashew paste and combine.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi, coriander powder, huldi, garam masala, and salt. Stir and let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add 1 cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan, paranthas or simple steamed white rice.