baby potatoes in yoghurt gravy

Potatoes are my Achilles heel,  especially if they have come in contact with hot oil. This dish made from the ubiquitous spud manages to combine divine taste with very little oil. 

For it, I looked up a few recipes that popped up on googling, and then did my own thing. 
 

Recipe: 
 
Ingredients
Parboiled baby potatoes (alternatively use fully boiled potatoes, if that is what you prefer)
 
For marinade: 
curd/yogurt
ginger-garlic-green chilli paste 
salt 
dash of garam masala 
one teaspoon Kasuri methi 
 
For tadka: a broken red chilli, Hing(Asafoetida), Cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric powder and oil.
 
Method
Stab the parboiled potatoes with fork to make holes. 
Mix together all the marinade ingredients and soak the potatoes in the mix for half an hour.
In a kadai/wok, make the tadka. 
Add the coated potatoes. (Keep any extra marinade aside.)
Cook covered, on slow heat till potatoes are cooked from inside. 
Add the remaining marinade and cook for a minute or two.
Serve warm with rotis or rice.


Note: If you're interested in tadka and how to make it, read more here.

Crispy sweet sour Alu wadi

This alu wadi is a typical snack made in Marathi homes. (Alu: Colacasia or edible Arum leaves; Patra in Gujarati). It is fried, crispy and much more tasty than the ones you find in food stores or restaurants these days.

Given below are the steps to make this delicious snack.

What you need is some alu leaves that are meant for making wadi. These you can get from the market. Wash and pat them dry.

The bowl to the left in the first picture. contains Besan ie chana daal flour, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Half a teaspoon of turmeric is enough for three tablespoons of besan. The remaining ingredients are according to taste.

The second bowl contains Tamarind Sweet chutney. Jaggery is used in substantial quantity rather than sugar for the sweetness.  The Besan is mixed with this liquid chutney to form a stiff batter which will stick on as shown in the picture.

 

The above leaf bundle is pressure cooked. One whistle is usually enough. It can also be steamed. 

 The above wedges are deep fried.

 

Enjoy! 

A quick vegetable soup

Friend needed a recipe for a vegetable soup,so here goes. This is a delicious soup with chunky veggie pieces that you can eat. Healthy and works well as a full meal for dinner.

How to: 

Chop cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, in whatever shape and size you prefer. 

Add water and boil till veggies are cooked but not mushy. 

Add some mashed boiled potato to thicken soup. 

Add cooked sweet corn and peas if you have them. 

Add some crushed garlic and black pepper, salt and sugar to taste. 

Your soup is ready to eat.

Note: You can add a little milk to the soup or grated cheese on top to make it richer. I also love it with a squeeze of fresh lemon!