Ajawain Leaves aka Doddapatre Soppu Chutney

 (From Banu's Cookbook)

The plant that these leaves are a part of is also known as the 'Indian Borage,' which is also called the ajwain plant sometimes. The leaves of this plant are the real stars. They are bright green in color and are broad and pulpy. The reason these leaves are known as ajwain leaves, despite being a part of a completely different plant, is that they have a smell that is similar to that of carom seeds. This is known as "Doddapatre" or "Sambhar" Soppu in Kannada. 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp channa daal
2 tbsp ural daal
1 tsp jeera seeds|
2-3 red chillies

25-30 Ajwain leaves
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
2 tbsp Tamarind paste
2 tbsp jaggery
salt to taste

For Seasonining:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad daal
curry leaves a few
Oil for cooking and seasoning

Method:

1. Dry roast channa daal, urad daal, sesame seeds, jeera and red chillies until it is golden brown. Set it aside.
2. Wash the ajwain leaves well so that there no dirt and bugs, let it dry for some time. Chop the leaves roughly.
3. In a pan, heat a tsp of oil, add the chopped ajwain leaves and sauté for a few minutes until you see the leaves soften and leave some water. 
4. In a blender / grinder - add the roasted daals, grated coconut, tamarind paste, jaggery and salt and blend it well.
5. Now to this add the sauted and cooled ajwain leaves and pulse it a few times. Do not grind the leaves into a smooth paste. 
6. Heat some oil, add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add urad daal and curry leaves. Add the seasoning to Chutney
7. Enjoy the Chutney with hot rice and ghee. 

Notes:

1. You can use more or less ajwain leaves per your taste and same goes to red chillies.
2. You can use your choice of red chillies, green chillies or even whole peppercorns. 
3. You can add garlic if you so like, but I feel like in this chutney it will take away the taste from the ajwain leaves. 

Lauki aka Bottlegourd aka Doodhi Paratha

 (From Banu's cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Lauki - Peeled and cut into small pieces.

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 Tsp Red Chilli powder

1/2 Tsp Chaat Powder

2.5 cups of Wheat Flour

2 Tsp of Ajwain Seeds

Salt to Taste

2 Tbsp of Oil

Oil for Cooking

Method:

1. In a pan, heat a little bit of oil, add the chopped Lauki Pieces and let them cook on medium low fire. Once they are almost done, add a bit of salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and chaat powder. Mix well and saute for a few more minutes. 

2. Lauki has lot of water in it, so you do not have to add any extra water to cook the lauki.  Let the cooked lauki cool down. Make it into paste in the blender or food processor without any extra water. 

3. To this paste, add dry wheat flour, a bit more salt, Ajwain seeds and 2 tbsp of Oil and mix well until it is all incorporated and you get a smooth kneaded dough. I did not need to add any water to make the dough, just the paste was sufficient. But if you feel like you need some water, add it in very little by little, almost with a tea spoon. It is very easy to add more water and you will end up with a very water dough. 

4. Spread some oil on the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.

5. Heat the Griddle. Make lemon sized balls from the dough and roll it out. Cook it on the Griddle on both sides with a bit of oil. You can use ghee as well to cook the paratha.

6. Serve it hot with some pickle and raita. 

Notes:

1. If the lauki is very tender, you do not have to remove the seeds. Just peel and chop. If you feel like the seeds are hard, then you can remove it.

2. You can add additional seasoning to Lauki per your like, like Amchur powder or Jeera Powder etc.

3. The paste though thick looking is more than sufficient to form a good dough. So be careful with adding more water to make the dough. 

Tindora Masala Rice in Instant Pot

(From Banu's Cookbook)



Ingredients:

2 Cups of Basmati Rice - Washed and soaked for 10-15 mins.
2-3 Cups of Vertically sliced Tindora (I used Frozen Tindora 12 oz pack)
1 Cup of Green Peas (I used Frozen)
1 Large Onion Chopped lengthwise
1 Can of Coconut Milk (I used 13.5 oz can)
3-4 Tbsp of Vangibhath powder (I used MTR)
Salt to Taste
Ghee for Sauteeing
1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder
1 Tbsp of Channa Daal for Seasoning
1 Tbsp of Urad Daal for Seasoning
2 tsp of Mustard seeds for Seasoning
A few curry leaves for Seasoning
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

Method:

1. Put the Instant pot on Saute Mode. Once it is hot, add ghee. Add mustard seeds.
2. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add channa daal, urad daal and curry leaves. Saute for a few mins until daals turn golden brown.
3. Add chopped onion and saute until onion turns pinkish brown. About 5-7 minutes.
4. Now add the Tindora and Peas, turmeric powder and saute well until the Tindora is almost cooked.  Add Vangibhath powder and mix well and saute just for minute. At this point the whole masala and vegetable will burn quickly, so keep sauteing it and do not leave it unattended.
5. Drain and add the rice to Instant pot along with coconut milk. Mix well.
6. Now add 2.5 cups of water to the mix and mix it all well. Water should be about 1 inch over the rice mixture. This way you can adjust the water.
7. Add salt and mix it all well, scraping the bottom of the instant pot. Close the lid, put the vent to sealing. Cancel Saute mode and chose rice mode. By default this should be 12 mins on low pressure.
8. Once the rice mode is done, let it release pressure naturally. Be careful when you are opening the lid as there can be water condensation there that you do not want falling on the rice.
9. Take a fork and poke and rake the rice a bit to release any steam that is still lurking. Add chopped cilantro for garnishing.
10. Serve it hot with some yogurt, raita and/or papad.

Notes:
1. Do not add too much coconut oil as the rice will become sticky and a bit gooey.
2. Do not over soak the rice as it will become mushy.
3. You can use Fresh or Frozen Tindora. I used Frozen because they are easy and I always have them handy.

Eggplant Curry

(From Banu's Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3 Medium Sized Long Purple Eggplants - diced into cubes (see image at the end of the post)
1 Medium Onion - Chopped
Oil for Cooking
2 Tbsp of Jaggery
Salt to Taste
1 tsp of Turmeric powder
Mustard Seeds and Jeera for Seasoning
Hing for Seasoning
Curry leaves for seasoning
Chopped Cilantro for Garnishing

For the Masala:
2 Tbsp of Coriander Seeds
2 Tbsp of Urad Daal
4-5 Red Chilies (adjust according to your spice levels)
1 Cup - Fresh or Frozen / Thawed Grated Coconut
2 tbsp of Tamarind Paste

Method:
1. Heat a pan, add some oil and add hing and mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add Jeera. Then add the chopped onion and saute for 5-6 minutes until onion becomes transparent.
2. Now add the chopped Egg Plant to this and cook it covered on low to medium heat for 10 mins or so. I normally chop the eggplant when the onions are about to be done and each chopped eggplant directly into the pan. But if you are chopping them in advance, keep them in a bowl of water to prevent discoloration and add them after straining them from the water.
3. While egg plant is cooking, saute all the ingredients for the Masala except coconut and Tamarind paste. You can add a few drops of oil to help you with sauteing or do dry saute. Once the coriander seeds and urad daal become golden brown, take it off the fire and let it cool.
4. Now grind this into a smooth paste with coconut and tamarind paste.
5. Check and see if the eggplant is almost cooked. To this add the ground paste, turmeric, salt and jaggery and mix well.
6. Let it cook on low fire for 5-10 mins until all the ingredients are well blended and eggplant has had time to absorb the flavors.
7. Switch off the fire and garnish with Chopped Cilantro. Serve it hot with Chapathi or Rice.

Desperate Minestrone Soup in Instant Pot

(From Banu's Cookbook)

This recipe is exactly what the title says. Desperate Recipe when I have not done grocery shopping and I am scavenging my refrigerator and pantry. Two Fresh Ingredients that I am missing for this recipe are Spinach and Zucchini. These two add really good flavors to the soup.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 small Onions chopped fine
1 Carrot Diced
1 15 oz can of Red Kidney Beans
1 15 oz can of Great Northern Beans
1 15 oz can of cut green Italian beans
1 15 oz can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 tsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp of Basil
1 tsp of Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp of Oregano
1 tsp of Crushed Black Pepper
A bit of Pink Himalayan taste (just a little bit for flavor)
Frozen Spinach
4-5 cups of Vegetable Broth
1 cup of Shell Pasta (or any small pasta suitable for soup)
1-2 tsp of Olive Oil

Method:

1. Switch on instant pot and put it on Saute Mode. Once it shows On, add the olive oil. To this add the chopped onion and diced carrots. Saute well for 5-6 mins until the onion turns translucent.
2. Now add the seasonings and saute a bit more.
3. Add the drained and rinsed beans, Italian beans, fire roasted tomatoes, frozen spinach, pasta and the broth. Mix it well.
4. Switch off the saute mode. Put it in Manual/Pressure cook mode and cooking time is 5 mins.
5. After the cooking time is done. Do a quick release of pressure otherwise the pasta might get overcooked.
6. Mix it well and serve it hot with some grated Parmesan cheese and crushed black pepper.


 Notes:

1. I had Trader Joes Organic Vegetable Broth - 32 Fl Oz or 1 Qt - which was around 4 Cups.
2. My Frozen Spinach was from Indian store and it was in kind of cubes, so I put two cube of it.
3. I had Great Northern Beans but Cannellini beans also works very well.
4. Please have some PATIENCE as it takes time to build up pressure and release pressure as well as there is a lot of liquid in the instant pot. I did it in my 8 qt IP and it took around 3 mins to completely release the pressure.