Sindhi Rasoi

Post Diwali ,after loads of huffing puffing ,it was time to relax and enjoy my Son’s Winter vacation.With no morning chaos, no hurries & no worries of packing tiffins and budging kiddie,Life was bliss !

But as we all know,happiness is short lived,so no sooner i started enjoying lazy afternoons, my son announced his boredom and with the demands  of  some more computer games(some ?? ) ,few more outings, and some more window shopping in malls. Apart from visits to park and making home his cricket ground , he complained of unavailability of amusements .

So when my sister and her family (in laws) planned a picnic to Mumbai ,i couldn’t help but scream with Joy ! It was a memorable day ,since kids (4 of them) enjoyed the rides in Trains,bus,rickshaws and taxis all in one day. We actually travelled for more hours as compared to time spend on picnic spots like Gateway of India and Juhu beach

As a person i had been to those places many times. While strolling at a beach , hand in hand with spouse,feeling rejuvenated by fresh breeze might be a wonderful experience in the past , but Jumping and inviting glares from people for  freaking  shrieks as the waves approach you ,laughing and giggling with kids is altogether different genre of happiness .

Though we packed many snacks when we started our picnic , by the time we reached last spot i.e Juhu beach, our food supplies were as exhausted as we . And trust me , when i say that we binged upon the sweets and savouries ,chaats and faloodas ,served at multiple coulourful, brightly lit stalls at Juhu beach.I personally cursed the Paani puri there ,coz despite of being world famous as Bombay chaat ,the paanipuris at juhu beach were not even close to the taste of those that we get here ,near our home.The paani was hot (here we get refreshingly cool paani) and the hot ragda in paanipuri spoiled my appetite .

The noodles were yummy, so was falooda but the Tawa Pulao was truly a winner . In my attempt to keep the kids occupied before the snacks arrive ,i failed to watch how the stall owner ,made the pulao .But a morsel of that yummy preparation and i knew what will be the next agenda in my kitchen .We were in great hurry to catch the train ,so i couldn’t wait to watch the next round of making that pulao .

So the next day it has to be my experimental day ,and following my instincts along with the lingering taste of  last night’s binge ,i tried to make the pulao ,sans Tawa (griddle) .As it is not possible to make that quantity of rice on regular griddle ,so i made it in pan. So you can also rename this recipe as PAN PULAO

Tawa Pulao

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice(I used regular non basmati variety) 1 cup
• Tomato 1
• Green chillies 2-3
• Onion 1
• Chopped vegetables like a capsicum,a carrot, few beans,few florets of cauliflower,few shelled  and boiled peas etc
• Khada Garam masala like a Tejpatta, few whole black peppers, 1 Star aniseed, 2 Cloves etc
• Ginger crushed
• Salt as per taste
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
• Oil 2 tspn (or less)

Method:

• Pick and rinse rice for few times with water,till water runs clear
• Soak the rice for 15 minutes if using basmati ,otherwise for half hour
• Now boil the rice with water and salt and cook it until almost done.But beware not to overcook it
• Let the rice cool off completely.You can spread the cooked rice in colander or big plate
• Meanwhile in a pan or kadai(whichever bigger in size) take some oil, heat it, and add whole garam masala.
• Keep stirring it for few seconds,then add chopped onion and crushed ginger
• Saute till onion turns translucent
• Add chopped vegetables EXCLUDING CAPSICUM (this is important , since we need capsicum to be crunchy as it gives altogether different flavour to final dish as compared to cooked capsicum)
• Saute them,  add some salt ( be cautious since there is already salt in rice) ,turmeric powder,chopped green chillies , tomato and let the vegetables cook a bit (do not over cook them)
• If the whole mixture appears to be very dry , then sprinkle some water (a spoon or two) and mix
• Now add boiled (and cooled) rice and mix very gently so as not to break the grains.Now add chopped capsicum
• Let it cook on DUM . Keep a griddle (yahooo … i used tawa even if for name sake) on flame and place the pan over it,put the flame on sim ,cover the pan with a plate and keep some heavy utensil above it
• As the rice absorbs the flavors of vegetables and spices ,your Tawa pulao is getting ready to be dressed up with fresh coriander leaves , mint leaves ,few drops of lemon juice and to be served with crunchy papads/ curd / Raita or any vegetable Curry .

This steaming hot pulao is reaching Srivalli of Cooking4all seasons ,who is hosting yet another event, RIce Mela

Today we observed Ekadashi Fast???? I can’t call it Fast, coz it was feast instead ! A heavy Doda (Flatbread) with Potato curry could not be a Fasting food for me, but it was surely Yummy !

Ekadashi  means  the eleventh lunar day (Tithi) of the shukla (bright) or krishna (dark) paksha (fortnight) of every lunar month in the Hindu calendar (Panchang)(Wikipedia)

Today is Vadi Ghyaras or Badi Ekadashi ,and we Sindhis observe it with exuberance,avoiding Grains for whole day and including  in our diet , foods like potato, Sago, Sweet potato, Dates , peanuts,and instead of using wheat flour ,Flours of Sauri ,singhara etc are used to make puris or Dodo(thick flatbread)

So here is a Typical Sindhi Ekadashi Food,which consists of Potato in watery curry ,relished with Dodo made from Sauri Flour.

Non Sindhis would obviously ask me what is sauri,and i can only tell that it is also known as Bagar(Don’t know how it is spelt).Any one Who can share more information on this,kindly put up in comment box or do mail me at sindhirasoi@gmail.com

Anyways coming to the recipe,here it goes:

For Potato curry:

Ingredients:

• Potato 2
• Sauri flour  1 spoon
• Tamarind water 3-4 spoons or as required
• salt
• Black pepper powder 2 pinches
• Green chillies 1
• oil 1 spoon
• water 2 cups

Method:

• Soak tamarind in half cup of water for about 15 min,mash it properly ,discard the pulp
• Now in a pressure cooker add 1 spoon of oil,and mix a spoonful of Sauri flour and roast it till slight change in colour is observed
• Add water(mix well to avoid lumps) ,salt,black pepper powder and potato cubes( You can add  boiled kamalkakdi too)tamarind water,green chillies and mix them properly.Close the lid of cooker and wait for 2 whistles
• later check the consistency of gravy and adjust accordingly.This curry is supposed to be watery
• This preparation is relished during Fast of ekadashi along with gyarsi doda(Thick rotis made from singhare ka atta)

Ghyarsi Dodo:

Ingredients:

• Sauri Flour( one cup for one dodo)
• Salt
• Black pepper(crushed or powdered) 2 pinch
• Oil 2 tspn
• Mashed boiled potato 1

Method:

• Take a cupful of sauri flour,and mix all ingredients.Add a little amount of water and make a soft dough
• Now grease a hot griddle(tawa) and gently pat the dough rolling  in circular motion with palm of your hands,till a thickness of paratha is achieved(since this is bit tricky,an easy way out is to take a clean polythene bag,cut open it ,and lay on kitchen platform.Now sprinlke some atta on this polythene sheet and place the dough,then gently pat it till a circular roti shape is achieved,and carefully pick it up and place on greased and hot griddle
• Pour a little of oil and let it cook on medium flame till small brown patches appear .Toss and cook on other side too
• Enjoy it hot with ghyarsi bhaji or with curd
• Kindly note that this dough tend to get watery and impossible to handle if kept for some time.So knead the flour and immediately make dodo from that.Even if you knead large quantity of it …like say about 5 flatbreads,by the time you finish cooking 3,the rest of dough will turn difficult- to -handle -type.So in that case knead little amount of flour at one Go .And repeat the kneading procedure for rest of Dodas

PS:After lots of RESEARCHING on Net,and going through comments and mails of dear visitors ,i finally came to conclusion  that Sauri is SOMA ,VARAI or bhagar or junglee rice,or Little Millet.You will get complete info at Thecookscottage and here

And now that i am sure what GRAIN it is ,i can gleefully send this Entry to Challenge , a wonderful event by Veda of Iyengar’s kitchen

The Festive season is gone,but it took some time for the feeling to sink in ! So till then i kept cooking some more sinful food in my Rasoi. Pakora curry being one of them,i enjoy making this ,coz ; it is so easy and handy when miraculously your refrigerator is free from wilting/dying/decaying vegetables.So during such phase i have few options to cook,other than dal and rice.And since this recipe calls for the simple ingredients that are generally available in pantry,this is a quick fix dish for catering unexpected guests !

Pakora Curry

Ingredients for Pakora:

• 11/2  cup gram flour
• 1 small onion(chopped)
• Coriander leaves(chopped)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp annardana( Dry pomegranate seeds)
• 1 tsp Coriander seeds(akkha dhaniya)
• 2-3 Green chillies(finely chopped)
• Salt to taste
• Red chilli powder as per taste
• A pinch of baking soda
• Water

OTHER Ingredients:

• Oil for frying

For curry:

• Mustard seeds 1/2 tspn
• Curry leaves 5-6
• Turmeric powder 1/4 tspn or less
• Coriander powder 2 tspn
• Red chilly powder 1/4 tspn(adjust according to taste)/or chopped green chilly -1
• Salt for curry

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients listed under Pakora section,till a batter of medium consistency is obtained
• Heat the oil in frying pan or kadai,and slide in ,spoonful of the above batter,one by one in hot oil
• Fry the pakora on medium to low heat till almost done
• Then take out the pakoras,break them into two or three pieces(depending about the size of original pakora) and fry them again on medium to high heat till crisp golden brown in color.Let them cool on absorbent paper or tissue towels
• You can make a healthy version from this batter by shallow frying  small pancakes(chilra) on griddle(Tawa).For that just take a spoonful of the same batter and spread it in circular motion,making small discs/pancakes/chilra.Drizzle some oil before tossing them and then cook again on another side, on low flame till brown patches appear on surface of pancake
• For curry ,heat 1tspn of  oil in a pan or kadai and add curry leaves and mustard seeds and allow them to splutter
• Add turmeric powder ,coriander powder,red chilly powder,and saute for  few seconds
• Add about a glass of water,very little salt and bring it to boil
• Let it simmer for few minutes till rawness of Masala is gone.You may need to add some more water.But remember the curry should be watery as pakora  do absorb water
• JUST BEFORE SERVING,Heat the curry,add pakora(only as many as you need to serve) and let them simmer just for few seconds or else they will turn soggy.You can also heat the curry till boiling point,and pour it over pakoras directly in serving bowl
• Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with Rotis ASAP

Now Time to Pat my back again….

Vibaas of Delectable vegetarian Recipes has passed on  Good Job Award to me

And Vidhas of Appetizing Recipes had honored me with  an Inspiration Award

Since i had already got both of these awards and passed on to fellow bloggers,I will just acknowledge dear vibaas and vidhas ,and Thank them for thinking about me while passing on these wonderful awards.You both are doing a great job and i admire all the efforts you put in ,for sharing your lovely recipes with all of us !

Before the invasion of Paneer(cottage cheese) in Sindhi kitchens,Bhee or Lotus stem or kamalkakdi enjoyed the Numero Uno position ,where festive food was concerned.Bhee and Dingri(mushrooms) were supposed to be food for family functions,marriage ceremonies,festivals etc,when nonveg was restricted .

Here is an information about Lotus stem that i collected from few wonderful sites and i am quoting them word by word !

Lotus roots(or stem) nourishes the blood, removes blood stasis and improves blood circulation.Consuming the lotus root also helps your liver function effectively. It is highly lauded for strengthening the heart, stomach and spleen. Apparently, drinking uncooked lotus juice can stop internal bleeding and clear “heat” , while the cooked lotus root can treat anemia from heavy menstruation and promote greater energy.(source:The feastcrusade )

The underground(underwater) stem contains moisture 83.80 %, protein 2.70 % , fats 0.11% , starch 9.25 % , sucrose o.41 % and calcium. Vitamin B, vitamin C and aspirin (2 %) are also present in it(source Ayushveda)

The rhizome itself can be eaten raw, or cooked with other vegetables. Its chambers can be stuffed; it can be battered for frying, whole or in slices, finely shredded and squeezed, its juice can be made into a rich, creamy tea that acts to relieve congestion of the sinuses, lungs and intestines. The rhizomes are also dried and ground into a powder to create a somewhat less effective (and much less tasty) tea that is available in most Asian markets.It could be pickled,chips could be sundried and later fried ,it could be baked etc etc.

If you live in an urban area with an Asian market, don’t fail to look for this special food.  Look for a firm, pinkish or grayish root. It should NOT have dark spots on it, or soft spots. When sliced, the channels should NOT be ringed with a dark brown or black lining: that is a sign that the root is old and past its usefulness. . In an Asian market, the roots are boxed and wrapped in newspapers or straw, in a cool place, and they remain quite healthy for quite a while that way.(source  Geocites)

Bhee(bhain or bhein)Paalak

Ingredients

• Lotus stem(kamalkakdi or bhee) 1/4 kg
• Spinach  1/2kg
• Onions 2 medium sized
• Tomatoes 3
• Ginger
• Garlic  10-12  cloves
• whole Garam masala(Tejpatta 1,cloves -2,daalchini 1/2 inch  stick)
• Green chillies 3 -4
• Salt as per taste
• Coriander powder 1 tspn
• Turmeric powder 1/2 tspn
• Oil 3 tspn

Method:

• Wash,peel and cut lotus stem into thin slanted slices
• Peel and cut onion and grind it along with ginger ,garlic,whole garammasala
• Take  some oil in pressure cooker and add onion paste
• Fry it till light pink in colour and add pureed tomatoes along with green chillies
• Add some salt ,turmeric powder and coriander powder
• Add chopped spinach and mix properly
• Add little amount of water ,close the lid and wait for 3 whistles of cooker
• Now add lotus stem pieces and saute properly for atleast 3 minutes
• Add some more water ,close the lid and wait for atleast 3 whistles .later check whether bhee is cooked or not,or else cook it further accordingly
• Note:Depending upon the quality of lotus stem,number of whistles required varies,so another option is to boil the bhee first in salted water and then add into spinach and put on the low flame till bhee absorbs the flavour of spinach

Other Related posts:

Bhee ji Tikki

Paneer paalak