Fried Bitter Gourd (Karela) ... A variation (করোলা ভাজা, টক নোনতা)

It was the Sunday before Eid and I was not really looking forward to dragging myself to office when the rest of Mumbai seemed to be jubilant about an extended weekend. Ek Tha Tiger at Paradise was to be the Sunday evening excitement with Peter, Sumit and Doyal.

Since Doyal would be coming all the way to Mahim from Bhandup, it was only fitting that I cook a meal for her to save her the hassle of making lunch before landing up.

I ducked into the fridge and realized that Karela was among the vegetable du jour (since I'd struck a deal with the veggie vendor  earlier on Saturday).

Washed well, the seeds quickly got removed out and discarded...

I sliced the karela/করলা and then quartered them into little bits

Next I added salt (and later a little water to soak the bits) 

I drained the salt water after half and hour and gave a bits a squeeze before heating a couple of table spoons of oil in the non-stick and tossing the lot it. The salt seeps into the karela and negates part of the bitterness and enhances the flavour as well.

I wanted an alternative to deep frying (since I wanted the karela nice and crisp), so I put the  flame on sim and slowly let the karela bits crisp. 

I constantly tossed the bits around so that they are uniformly browned.  Just before they are done, they start to look browned like this...

Once done, I set the crispy and already-interesting-tasting karela bits aside..

While they bits were frying, I took an onion and a couple of tomatoes

The onions, I cut up into slivers and the tomatoes into small slices. I also took a half inch piece of ginger and ground it in the pestle and mortar.

 

Next came the old favourite, paanch phoron...

I splashed a little mustard oil (সর্ষের তেল) and put in the paanch phoron and ginger to sputter and release the heavenly aroma..

Next, the onion slivers joined the phorni (ফোড়ন or फोड़नी)... 

Once the onions were a little 'glassy', the tomatoes went in as well...

Dhania Powder

I added a little dhania powder (ধনের গুড়ো) to the mix and slow cooked them for a few minutes...

Once, all this was well assimilated, I added a little amchur (আমচুর/आम्चुर or dried raw mango powder). This was intended to add a curious little tang and negate the remaining bitterness of the karela.

Then of course the pre-fried bits got added and I quickly moved the mix around in the pan to coat the karela bits with the mixture, taking care that the crispness remained as far as possible.

A few seconds later I was done with the fried karela start to the meal...

Quick Tomato Carrot Stir Fry with Soya Sauce

This is one for the morning when I am loathe to cook and yet I want something that helps the taste-buds as the lunchtime beckons.


I started with a medium sized onion (about and inch and a half in diameter). This quickly got chopped into four and then another slice through the middle. A quick slap with the palm gave me little pieces that would add texture to the dish. A few cloves of Chinese garlic (easy to peel) got gently smashed by the blade and then roughly chopped next.

A couple of smallish tomatoes got chopped next

The carrot take a while to dice but once done I popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften them while everything else got started.

The garlic went into the hot oil and quickly started getting caramelized...

The onions went in next and got tossed around briefly to coat them with the oil to get the garlicky flavour on them but not too cooked since I wanted them to retain the crunch.

And then the tomatoes joined in while the microwave started beeping to remind me that the carrots were ready...

After adding the carrot I put in a wee bit of dark soy sauce to add some salt and the overpowering taste of soy...

A little shake and a minute later my lunch was all ready to be packed into my trusty Tupperware lunchbox.

Muli Tomato Palak

I'd impulsively bought a lot of palak (spinach) and mooli (radish) when I'd gone veggie shopping. I woke up and wondered what to  do with the combo. So...

I took some tej patta (bay leaves), whole dried red chillies, a pinch of haldi and a fair bit of ajwain (which has the  fancy carom seeds or mistaken as bishop's weed across the ocean in the West).

I sliced a few tomatoes, grated a large mooli....

... and chopped a large bunch of palak as well...

... and realized that I was looking at a veritable flag of Italy ... :)

I dunked all the masala and oil into my trusty non-stick pan and waited for things to sputter. I decided to do this instead of adding the masala to hot oil, since I wanted the oil to get more of the aroma as it heated with the masala for longer than it would otherwise.

I put in all the veggies together and simmered in a covered pan, stirring once in between.

Then I got ready to pack and leave for office while the last bit of cooking happened... Quick and easy morning cooking :)

Palak Corn with Tomato

Waking up groggy on a Monday morning after a late night is a serious incentive to go straight back to sleep. 
However, I had to get my ass off to office AND feed myself some lunch. Hmm...
I'd bought some palak from Nerul on my way to Peter's place, so, I quickly washed and chopped it up and defrosted some corn for 30 sec.


A couple of cloves of garlic, a little nub of ginger, and a longer suffering tomato sputtered together with the corn for a few minutes and then I quickly put in the palak and got ready for office...

I packed my lunch box and off I went to office...

Lauki ka sabzi... (attempt 01)

Now this one takes 20min to make and 10min to chop. I got home tired yesterday and had this lauki (bottle gourd) lounging in the. I quick chop chop later I threw in whole jeera and chopped tomatoes and few cloves of garlic in the pan with some oil.


I added the haldi and the lauki then played with the cat... And... the curry was done. :D

Cholay Palak

I met my favourite 'leafy veggy seller' in Mahim bazaar today on my way back home after meeting Peter. Since it was evident that sales had not been good, I felt sorry for the guy and bought two bunches of palak (spinach) just as he was shutting shop and starting on his way back.


I came back and remembered that I had soaked cholay (chick peas or garbanzo beans). So I started by putting out some spices. I tried a different combo that would have a "sweetish" taste with a jhal/tikha/fiery undertone...

I had soaked 250gm of chickpeas. After a day of soaking in the fridge, they now weighed in at 526gm after draining the excess water.
I kept the water and the soaked chickpeas aside for the while...

I ground the roasted whole spices in the pestle and mortar ...

Next I tended to the tomatoes, ginger, and garlic...

 A few whirrs in the grinder and I had some ginger-garlic paste

I added this and the ground spices to the tomatoes and  puréed the mix a bit to work everything in.

Till I got it to this consistency...

I added this to the chickpeas and added the water that I had set aside from the soaking phase of the chickpeas and used it to wash down the remains of the purée from the grinder. I pressure cooked the mix for about 20 minutes (four whistles). I did not want too much liquid for the next stage and wanted to save some gas as well. 


So, I turned of the gas and let the chickpeas cook in the pressure cooker while I worked on the palak...


I thought that there was a lot of palak and I wanted the cholay to dominate, So I took one and a half bunch and roughly chopped the palak, leaving quite a few large bits in. I prefer palak that you can feel while you eat instead of the green paste that you get in restaurants when they serve you anything made with palak.

The ginger and garlic went into the oil with a few bay leaves (tej patta)

I wanted to taste the ginger even after I'd cooked things through, so I did not bhunno it too much, besides I wanted the palak to absorb the garlicky-gingery taste, and lose its own intrincic typical 'acridity' in the process... Anyways, then, the palak joined the ginger and garlic.

I par-cooked the palak till it wilted just a little bit and started releasing water...

I then added the chick peas (cholay) from the pressure cooker and let everything cook and combine.

I covered everything and let things cook till it looked like this...

The cooked cholay and palak

Now, it is 1 AM, the cat has woken up to try and play with the chapptis while I eat 'dinner'... Hmmm.


The morning update... Now this is how the leftovers look in my lunch box :)