Qorma Baamia

Baamia is nothing but our bhindi/okra in Afghan. 'Qorma Baamia' - Baby Okra cooked in rich tomato-onion puree! We had this gravy a few weeks back at Afghani Restaurant, and it was finger-licking good.

We are Okra-Lovers!!! I love experimenting on this versatile vegetable - Okra (bhindi) every now n then... I tried Achaari Bhindi, Dahi Bhindi, Paneer Stuffed Bhindi, Stir-fried Bhindi n many more!!! But so far, I never imagined myself cooking bhindi in gravy directly :P Tried to make a ditto copy of the dish for dinner & BINGO! It was as good as that restaurant served...

Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

500 gm Baby Okra (Bhindi)

2 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

1 Ripen Tomato

1 Big Onion

2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup

1 tsp Kasoori Methi

2 tsp Pomegranate (Anaardana) Powder

1 tsp Red Chilly Powder

1 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1 cup Hot Water

2 tsp Cooking Oil

Salt, to taste

METHOD:

- Wash and pat dry baby okra with a kitchen towel. (Thaw baby okra if frozen)

- Trim them from top (remove the cap of okra) and end points.

- Roughly cut tomato, onion into cubes and make a smooth paste in mixture jar.

- Heat oil in a deep-pan and add ginger-garlic paste.

- Mix tomato-onion paste along with hot water into it and cook for around 2 mins.

- Add baby okra (bhindi) and salt, turmeric powder. Mix everything well and cover with a lid.

- Cook it for 12-15 mins till they are soft and tender.

- Add rest of all spices into it with tomato ketchup and stir well. Cook for 2 more mins.

- Transfer it to as serving bowl and garnish with coriander leaves. 

- Ready to serve with any sort of paratha or naan!!!

SJ's NOTE:

- A smooth gravy is required for this subzi so add water as required.

- It's traditionally served with 'Afghani Naan', recipe for which will be posted soon :) 

- Find the recipes for many other roti/paratha/bread @ 

http://myownfoodcourt.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Breads

Linking this dish to Arthi's Curries n Gravies Event:

Afghani Daal

We had been at Afghani Restaurant named 'Afghan Village' 3-4 times before! I loved each vegetarian dish they have on their menu! Every single dish had its own mild sweet yet distinct flavors... with amazing aroma :)

Thought of replicating the same dishes in-house this week! We had 'Daal & Naan' as an entrée - served with Afghani Bread! Yes... they serve any entrée with their bread n main-course with a plate of shiny, short-grained rice :) 

Here you go with the recipe of a simple, aromatic n protein-rich 'Daal with Brown Lentils'!!!

Makes: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 can Brown Lentils
1 Garlic Clove (minced)
1/2 tsp Chopped Green Chillies
1 Chopped Onion (medium in size)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Pomegranate (Anaardana) Powder
Salt, to taste
2 tsp Cooking Oil

METHOD:

- Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, hing.
- Once it crackles, add chopped onions, green chillies and minced garlic. Saute it for 30 sec.
- Drain and rinse brown lentils and add it into the pan. Add 2-3 tbsp of hot water in it to form a thick gravy.
- Add all the spices and mix well. Cook for 5 mins till .
- Garnish with coriander leaves and drizzle lemon juice before serving it!

SJ's NOTE:

- Best to serve as a side dish with Indian meal!

2-Seeds Crackers

It's about something that accompanies our cuppa tea at the best! Savory crackers with two of the most flavorful seeds widely used in Indian spices...

• Fennel Seeds
• Sesame Seeds

You know what, even if I make a jar full of these crackers, it hardly lasts for more than 3 days!!! We keep munching them anytime, especially when they are baked :) Yes... I preferred making a baked version rather than deep-frying them! Enjoy these yummy, light and super-aromatic "2-Seeds Crackers" with a cup of tea :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Plain Flour
½ cup Wheat Flour

2 tbsp Butter (Chilled & chopped)

2 tsp Fennel seeds (palm-crushed)

2 tsp Sesame seeds

½ tsp Black Pepper Powder

Salt, to taste

Ice water, as required

Cooking oil spray

METHOD:

- Mix plain flour, wheat flour and butter to form fine crumbles.

- Add fennel seeds, sesame seeds, black pepper powder and salt into it and mix well.

- Knead a medium-soft dough using ice-water.

- Cover it with lid or plastic wrap and keep aside for 10 mins.

- Divide it into 3-4 portions and roll them out with 2 mm thickness.

- Cut them using your favorite cookie-cutter :)

- Arrange all of them on a lined baking tray and bake them for around 15-20 mins till they are crisp in texture and golden-brown in color.

- Cool them to the room temp and store!

SJ's NOTE:

- Reason behind using ice-water for kneading dough is to make these crackers crisp.

- Crushed pepper corns can be used instead of black pepper powder :)

- You can simply put a wax (baking) paper or grease a baking tray to line it!

Dalwada

Yesterday only we saw the news of 'Monsoon in India' on one of the Indian news channels here! And while talking to family, they all talked about mouth-watering munching - 'Dalwada', something that's very well-known monsoon bites!!! And on my husband's special demand, I made them right in the evening :P

Though nothing can beat the one I used to have at 'Dalwada at Gujarat College', my version was nearly the same (except the difference in using chillies). Try out this easy to follow recipe of yummyyyyy rainy-season munching! :)

Makes: 25-30

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Mung Dal with skin (Green Gram)

1 fistful Chana Dal (Bengal Gram)

1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

1 tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves

A pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)

1/8 tsp Baking Soda

Salt, to taste

METHOD:

- Wash and soak both dal in plenty of water for around 4-5 hours.

- Drain and rinse with fresh water and grind them coarsely using food processor or mixer grinder. Add a little water only if required. 

- Transfer them to a big bowl and rest of all ingredients into it (except baking soda).

- Mix it well and add baking soda just before you start frying. Whisk the batter well.

- Heat oil in a deep-frying pan and put a tablespoon full of batter 6-7 times in one batch.

- Deep-fry them till they are crisp and brown in color. Take them out on absorbent paper to drain excess water and keep them crunchy.

- Serve hot with onion juliennes, fried green chillies and a cuppa tea :)

SJ's NOTE:

- I can't have too much spicy food, so I avoid using green chillies totally. You can add finely chopped green chillies in batter according to your taste.

- Soak onion juliennes in a little salt and lemon juice for a while before serving!