You Need:

• Green chilies – 100 grams (about 25 of the Indian variety)
• Besan (gram flour) – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Lime juice – 1/2 tablespoon
• Salt – 3/4 teaspoon (adjust to taste)
• Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Nigella seeds – 1/2 teaspoon [buy here]
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch [buy here]
• Mustard oil – 1 tablespoon

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How To Make Green Chili Fry:

Clean and wipe the green chilies absolutely dry.

Make a vertical slit in each chili.

Crush the mustard seeds coarsely.

In a pan, heat a tablespoon of mustard oil to smoking point.

To the hot oil, add asafoetida powder, nigella seeds and coarsely crushed mustard seeds. Set the heat to low, and let the seeds splutter for a few seconds.

Toss the green chilies in salt, and add them to the hot spiced oil. Move the chilies around so that they are coated evenly in the oil.

Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes, tossing the chilies every other minute.

Uncover the pan, scatter besan over the chilies. Stir and cook till the besan has soaked up the oil and browned.

Add lime juice, stir again and turn off the heat. When the green chili fry cools to room temperature, transfer to a clean, dry, non-reactive container.

Let bhuni hari mirch sit for at least a few hours before serving.

Bhuni hari mirch stays good for 2-3 days at room temperature, longer if refrigerated.

Notes:

You might want to deseed the green chilies before cooking, to lessen the heat. Wear gloves when handling hot chilies!

Here are a few more hot sides for you to try: tomato pickle in mustard oil and vinegar, jhatpat achari gajar, green chili pickle.

The post Bhuni Hari Mirch: Green Chili Fry appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You might ask if red capsicum can be replaced with green or yellow in this curry. I’ve often substituted red with green, just because green capsicum is more accessible and affordable. But this replacement alters the taste. Since capsicum / bell pepper is the recipe’s primary ingredient with very few add-ons to cloak its flavor, the juicier/milder variety (that’s red) works better. I haven’t tried making this curry with yellow capsicum yet – if you try it, let me know if it fared.

You Need:

• Onions – 2
• Red capsicum (bell pepper) – 2
• Tomatoes – 2
• Salt – to taste
• Red chili flakes – 1 teaspoon
• Nigella seeds – 1 teaspoon [buy here]
• Garlic – 4 cloves
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons

How To Make Red Capsicum Curry:

Peel and chop garlic into tiny pieces.

Peel and cut onions into approx 2-cm cubes: halve, then place the flat surface of each half down. Cut through the center horizontally, then thick slices vertically.

Core and deseed the red capsicum. Cut into approx 2-cm cubes: halve, then place the flat surface of each half down. Chop any way you like into large pieces.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, add nigella seeds, follow with chopped garlic. When the garlic turns golden, sliced onions and red chili flakes.

Sauté the onions on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, or till translucent. Then add chopped red capsicum and tomatoes. Add salt to taste.

Cook, stirring regularly, for another 6-7 minutes on medium-high flame, or till the capsicum is cooked to your liking. I like the capsicum to retain some crunch.

Red capsicum curry is ready.

Serve with any type of bread. My meal below: chapatis, cucumber raita, channa masala and red bell capsicum curry.

Notes:

Looking for more capsicum / bell pepper recipes? Check out:

The post Red Capsicum Curry for Rushed Days appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You Need:

• Green capsicum – 2
• Cherry tomatoes – 1 cup
• Shallots – 6*
• Make-ahead tomato masala – 3 tablespoons**
• Tomato ketchup – 2 teaspoons: I used Maggi tomato ketchup
• Salt – to taste
• Nigella seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Butter – 1 teaspoon

*If you don’t have shallots on hand, substitute with 1 large red onion.

**For this recipe, I used butter as the cooking medium for tomato masala instead of ghee.

How To Make Capsicum Cherry Tomato Curry:

Peel and cut off the ends of shallots. Retain whole. (If using red onion instead, peel and cube into large pieces.)

Core the green capsicum. Chop into large pieces.

Prick a clean hole through each cherry tomato.

Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Add nigella seeds, fry for a few seconds, stirring to avoid burning the butter. Add shallots/onion cubes and cook till translucent.

Add tomato masala, a cup of water and bring to a boil. Stir in the ketchup. Set heat to medium, add cherry tomatoes and simmer for 2 minutes. The hole that we pricked would help the tomatoes soak in the spices. Add capsicum pieces next and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. Pour in water if the curry gets too dry for your liking.

Cook till the capsicum has softened and the cherry tomatoes have plumped up with the curry or burst and released their juices. I simmer for about 10 minutes after adding the capsicum.

Once done, remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve capsicum cherry tomato curry hot with chapatis.

Notes:

The post Capsicum Cherry Tomato Curry appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

You could deep fry the onions for a crunchier texture, or you could go for a leisurely low-flame sauté. I went the sauté way.

You Need:

• Onions – 3 large
• Peanuts – 1/2 cup
• Sesame seeds – 1 tablespoon
• Dry red chilies – 3
• Salt – to taste
• Nigella seeds – 3/4 teaspoon
• Oil – 1 tablespoon

How To Make Spiced Fried Onions:

1. Make the masala

Take a thick-bottomed flat pan. Place it on low heat.

Dry roast each of these ingredients one at a time in the pan, and set aside to cool:

• 1/2 cup of peanuts, stirring occasionally, till the skin takes on a darker hue.
• a tablespoon of sesame seeds, till they turn golden and give off a lovely aroma.
• 3 dry red chilies, till they turn a deeper red and fragrant.

When all the ingredients cool, place them in the grinder with salt.

Grind the peanuts, sesame, red chili and salt together.

Tip: Do not grind peanuts and sesame too long, unless you want to end up with homemade peanut butter!

2. Sauté the onions

Peel and slice onions into thin rings of half-moons.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, add nigella seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions.

Sauté the onions on medium flame.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, or till the onions turn translucent/golden.

You could continue to cook longer till the onions are more uniformly brown; for me, a slight crunch with the edges turning golden works fine.

3. Put it all together

Tip the ground masala of peanuts, sesame and dry red chilies into the pan of frying onions.

Switch off the heat. Mix well so that the masala coats the fried onions evenly.

Serve spiced fried onions on the side with chapatis and dal.

Old pic:

Meal below: chapatis, dal tadka, spiced fried onions, potato wedges, dahi, fresh tomato slices

Notes:

Looking for more recipes starring onions? Try quick tasty onion fry, slender green eggplant with onions, ridge gourd onion chutney.

Enjoyed the peanut-sesame flavor? Check out these dishes too that use this nutty combo: beans with crushed peanuts and sesame, bharwan bhindi, peanut sesame rice.

The post Spiced Fried Onions appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

I most often use the fat purple eggplant for bharta, but on long workdays the whole roasting process seems too labor-intensive and I want to make a curry that moves from kitchen to dinner table quickly. This no-onion-no-garlic recipe is a godsend on such days.

You Need:

• Round purple eggplant – 1, medium
• Tomatoes – 2 large
• Curry leaves – 10
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Jaggery – 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
• Salt – to taste
• Green chili – 1
• Coarsely ground fenugreek seeds (methi kuria) – 1/3 teaspoon
• Nigella seeds – 1/3 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Peanut oil – 1/2 tablespoon

How To Make Eggplant Tomato Curry:

Quarter the eggplant lengthwise, then slice it into 1/3cm thin pieces. Chop tomatoes roughly into similar-sized chunks. Chop the green chili finely.

In a wide shallow dish, submerge eggplant slices in salted water  for 30 minutes. This will remove the eggplant’s bitterness.

Drain, rinse the eggplant slices and place on absorbent paper just before they’re ready to cook.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. When hot, set heat to low and add mustard seeds, nigella seeds and coarsely ground fenugreek seeds in quick succession.

When the mustard seeds have spluttered and fenugreek seeds turned color (this will take just a few seconds) add curry leaves and green chili. Stir and follow with tomato and eggplant slices.

Sprinkle turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.

Cook the vegetables covered on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add jaggery (if using) and cook uncovered till the eggplant is soft but does not turn mushy.

Eggplant tomato curry is ready.

Meal in the picture below: pomegranate raita, chayote stew, eggplant tomato curry, chapatis, fresh carrot sticks.

[Old pic] In the picture below: eggplant tomato curry with chapatis and moong dal salad.

Notes:

Looking for more eggplant recipes? Try baingan bhaja, eggplant radish leaves curry, eggplant ginger chutney, masala-coated eggplant fry.

The post Eggplant Tomato Curry appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

This is a frequent weekday dinner dish for me, and not just for its ease of chopping and cooking. Nothing perks one up at the end of a stress-filled workday as a vibrantly colored dinner!

Capsicum tomato sauté pairs well with flatbread spiced Indian style, visually as well as gustatorily [ha, I have been looking for a chance to use this word :-)]. That you also get the dish to the dining table in a really short time is an added bonus.

You Need:

• Capsicum (bell peppers) – 2
• Tomatoes – 2 (pick firm ones)
• Onions – 2
• Ginger – 1/2 inch stick
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Green chili – 1
• Salt – to taste
• Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder – a pinch
• Nigella seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Olive oil – 2 teaspoons
• Coriander leaves – for garnishing

How To Make Capsicum Tomato Saute:

Peel onions, ginger and garlic and place in a grinder.

Grind along with green chili into paste.

Core, top and roughlu slice capsicum into thick strips.

Slice tomatoes into similar-sized pieces.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. When hot, add nigella seeds and let them sizzle.

After 20 seconds, add onion-ginger-garlic-chili paste.

Cook on medium heat; move the paste around whenever it begins to stick to the pan.

After about 5 minutes, the onion-ginger-garlic-chili paste would have turned light golden. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and mix well. Allow to cook another 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Sprinkle a few drops of water if it begins to turn too dry.

Toss in capsicum. Sauté on high flame for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add tomato slices next. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes or till done as you like it.

Capsicum tomato sauté is ready.

Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with parathas.

Meal below: Capsicum tomato saute served alongside spinach dal tadka, cucumber pomegranate salad, dahi, potato chutney, chapatis.

Notes:

Try other quick vegetable recipes:

The post Capsicum Tomato Saute appeared first on The Steaming Pot.

Does this “criminal wastage” bother you?

You can’t beat geometry. But you can pack parathas in your square lunchbox without an inch of space going waste. Let me show you how.

What solid shape fits best into a square lunchbox?

That’s right – a square.

So ditch the round. Make parathas square.

How To Make Square Parathas:

For 5-inch square parathas:

1. Knead the paratha dough as you would for any layered parathas. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

2. Pluck a golf-sized ball of dough – a little more than you’d use for a regular chapati. Roll it out into a disk as thin as you can. If you can go upto a disk size 8-inch in diameter, nothing like it.

Make strong strokes towards the edge of the disk, gentle towards the centre.

3. Smear the disk surface with a little butter. Fold it symmetrically into a square shape: the top and bottom flaps first, then the left and right.

4. Press the folded ends close and sprinkle some dry flour on both sides. Brush away excess flour. Keep the smooth side face up, folded side down touching the rolling surface.

5. Now the crucial part – retaining the square shape while rolling. Place the rolling pin parallel to the edge. Roll with firm, deliberate strokes in a single direction only – either up or down. No multiple, random movements. The folded square should elongate into a rectangle. Turn it at a 90-degree angle and repeat. Continue till you reach a 5-inch length on both edges.

If you do it right, this should take no more than 4-5 strokes each on either edge.

Didn’t get it quite right? Don’t worry, you can fix it! After you’re done with rolling, use your fingers to fix misshapen edges. Pull the stubborn bit that refused to stretch, push back that extension jutting out from the straight edge. Pinch the corners pointy. There’s your square :)

6. Put a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Place the rolled-out square paratha in the center. When little brown spots begin to form, turn it around. Spread a little butter, press and rotate gently with a spatula. Repeat the same with the other side. When both sides are cooked evenly, your paratha is ready to eat.

Remove onto tissue paper to absorb excess oil.

Serve parathas with raita/pickle/curry. Or pack the stack snugly into your square lunchbox.

What’s In The Paratha Dough?

So you noticed it isn’t plain atta. I’ll tell you what it is in my next post. Keep a watch :).

[Update: Nisha was on the right track – it’s palak paratha.]

The post Dabba Chaukore Aur Paratha Gol? Bahut Nainsafi Hai! appeared first on The Steaming Pot.