#vegan – Latha's Ladle

Lemon Pickle

Lemon pickle differs from each state or even regions in India. This is the traditional south-indian style recipe with minimum ingredients. This can be eaten with rice, bread, upma and chapatis.

Ingredients:

Lemon (750 gm)
Salt (7 tsp)
Mustard Seeds (2 tsp)
Oil (Sesame, 1/2 cup)
Turmeric Powder (1 tsp)
Red Chili Powder (1/4 cup)
Methi [Fenugreek] Seeds (1 tsp)
Hing (cake, 3-4 pieces or powder 1 tsp)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1kg

Cuisine: Indian

Method:

Wash, dry and cut lemons into small pieces.
Add salt and mix well.
Rest for two to three days and mix every 24 hours.
Add red chili and turmeric powder.
In a shallow skillet add methi seeds and hing cakes.
Dry roast till hing doubles and crisps up and methi seeds till red
Grind to a fine powder and add along with the red chili powder and turmeric.
In the same skillet add oil and mustard seeds.
Wait for the seeds to splutter.
Wait until the oil cools down.
Add to the lemon mixture and mix well.
Store in a clean, dry jar .
Refrigerate once the pickle is done.

Step by step pictures of the recipe:

Add the spluttered mustard seeeds and mix well.

Notes:

Instead of malta lemons lime or small Indian lemons can also be used.
If the lemons are not juicy, extract juice from 4-5 lemons and add to the mixture before adding salt.
After refrigerating the pickle take out the jar onve a week and mix well to avoid getting spoilt.
It remains good for 6 months to one year.

Yam And Sweet Potato Curry

#vegan, North Indian Gravy, South Indian Curry

Yam and sweet potato curry is a very delicious, simple and easy to make recipe. I used tomatoes as a base for the gravy but legumes can also be substituted for tomatoes.

Ingredients:

Yam (cubes, 1/2 cup)
Brinjal (cubes, 1/2 cup)
Carrots (cubes, 1/2 cup)
Tomato (Puree, 1 1/2 cups)
Green Chili (chopped, fine, 1)
Sweet Potato (cubes, 1/2 cup)
Coriander Powder (2 tsp)
Turmeric Powder (1/2 tsp)
Red Chili Powder (Kashmiri, 1 1/2 tsp)
Oil (4 tsp)
Ghee (1 tsp)
Salt (to taste)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Total time: 55 minutes

Category: Lunch \ Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 3

Method:

Add oil and jeera to a pressure cooker.
Add chopped green chilies, coriander, turmeric and red chili powders.
Cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomato puree, salt and chopped cilantro and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Cook till the oil separated from the gravy and Stir occasionally to prevent from burning.
Add cubed yam, carrots, sweet potatoes and brinjal.
Add half a cup of water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
Garnish with ghee and chopped cilantro.

Step by Step Pictures of the recipe:

Add oil, jeera, and chopped green chilies.

Notes:

Finely Chopped tomatoes can be substituted for puree.
All the spice powders should be sauteed constantly. Burnt spices will spoil the taste.
Cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods can be added along with jeera.

Falafel is a popular Middle Eastern food made with chickpeas, spices and herbs. My children fondly relish falafels with pita bread. The taste of falafel differs from country to country but the basic ingredients are chick peas, parsley and cumin powder that are same everywhere. Falafel can be baked or fried but authentic falafel is fried.

Ingredients:

Chick Peas (1/2 cup)
Cilantro (1/2 cup)
Parsley (1/2 cup)
Onion (chopped, 1/2 cup)
Cumin powder (1/2 tsp)
Pepper Powder (1/2 tsp)
Red Chili Powder (kashmiri, 1 1/2 tsp)
Sesame Seeds (2 tsp)
Salt (to taste)
Oil (to fry)
Baking Soda (1/2 tsp)
Bread Crumbs (2 tsp)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

Category: Breakfast \ Lunch \ Dinner

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Yield: 12

Method:

Wash and soak chickpeas for 8-10 hours.
Strain the water and set aside.

To Grind:

In a food processor add parsley, cilantro and onion and grind to a coarse consistency.
Add soaked chiskpeas, red chili, pepper, cumin powder, salt and baking soda and use the pulse setting to grind to a coarse consistency.
When it is done add bread crumbs and sesame seeds and run on pulse setting for 5-7 seconds.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix well.
Cover the mixture with a cling film or a plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Form the mixture either into balls or use any small bowl and fill in 2 teaspoons of mixture.
Flip upside down on a plate. Place the uncooked falafels on a plate before deep frying.
Heat oil in a pan and gently lower the discs or balls.
Allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip to cook on the other side.
Fry till they turn crisp or brown.

Step by step pictures of the recipe:

Grind parsley, cilantro and onions to a coarse consistency.

Grind soaked chickpeas, chili, pepper, cumin powder, salt and baking soda to a coarse consistency.

Notes:

Use a strainer to filter the chickpeas from water. Before grinding there should not be any water.
For grinding either food processor or a mixer can be used. The batter should be coarse.
The mixture should hold together nicely and not fall apart.
Sesame is optional.
Ice cream scoop can be used to make balls.
Falafel mold is available in the market and that can be used too.

Idli Milagai Podi

#vegan, South Indian, South Indian Podis

Idli \ Dosai milagai podi is a dry condiment served with idli, dosa, roti and also for bread. Ghee or sesame oil is used to make a paste and used as a dip. The consistency is dry and coarse and shelf life is for four to six months. We love this in our family to eat with bread and rice even.

Ingredients:

Urad Dal (Black Gram] (whole, 100 gm or 1/2 cup)
Til [Sesame] (seeds, white, 30 gm or 1/4 cup)
Red Chilies (Kashmiri, 3/4 cup or 25 gm)
Hing [Asafoetida] (cake, 2 pieces)
Red Chilies (3/4 cup or 25 gm)
Coconut/Any oil (2 tsp)
Salt (to taste)

Cook time: 15 minutes

Category: Lunch \ Dinner \ Breakfast

Cuisine: South Indian

Yield: 250 gm

Method:

Heat a shallow or deep skillet to medium and add urad Dal (black gram].
Dry roast for 7-9 minutes or till golden. Constant stirring is required while roasting.
Set aside and in the same skillet add til [sesame] seeds and dry roast until it splutters. Set aside when the splutter sound subsides.
In the same skillet add oil and hing [asafoetida] cakes and wait for those to double and crisp up.
Set aside and add red chilies (kashmiri) and sautee for 2-3 minutes.
Set aside the kashmiri chilies and add red chilies and sautee for 2-3 minutes.
Let the ingredients cool completely before grinding.

Step by step pictures of the recipe:

Dry roast urad dal till golden and set aside.

Roast both the chilies with little oil and set aside.

Grind the red chilies, hing and salt to a nice powder.

Coarse grind urad dal and sesame seeds.and mix the ground ingredients.

Notes:

While dry roasting stir constantly to prevent burning.
While roasting sesame seeds they pop up or splutter switch off the flame and transfer immediately to a bowl.
We can use either black or white sesame seeds. The black seeds are dehulled and rich in flavor and taste compared to white.
The aroma of coconut oil is preferred than other oil.

Paruppu Urundai [Lentil Dumplings] Rasam

#vegan, Healthy, Rasam, South Indian

Paruppu urundai rasam is not a very common dish like paruppu urundai mor kuzhambu or urundai kuzhambu. Paruppu urundai rasam is my husband’s favorite dish. In our family we make during the weekends and this is one of our special recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

Toor Dal [Pigeon Peas] (split, 1/2 cup)
Red Chilies (4)
Sambar Powder (1 tsp)
Mustard Seeds (1 tsp)
Tomato (chopped, 3/4 cup)
Tamarind (a gooseberry size)
Jeera [Cumin Seeds] (1/2 tsp)
Green Chili (1/2)
Ghee (1 tsp)
Salt (to taste)
Ginger (a small piece)
Turmeric Powder (1/2 tsp)
Cilantro (chopped, fine, 4 tsp)
Hing [Asafoetida] (cake, a small piece)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Category: Lunch \ Dinner

Cuisine: South Indian

Serves: 4

METHOD:

RECIPE FOR PARUPPU URUNDAI [LENTIL DUMPLINGS]

Wash and soak toor dal [pigeon peas] for 45 minutes. Add red chilies and hing [asafoetida] along with toor dal.
Strain the water, add salt and grind to a coarse consistency.
Save the water.
Form the mixture into balls of a small lemon size.
Grease a plate with oil and steam on a low flame for 10 minutes.

PARUPPU URUNDAI RASAM RECIPE:

Soak tamarind in water for 30 minutes and extract the juice.
In a pan add one cup of tamarind juice and one cup of plain water and bring it to boil.
Add chopped tomatoes, sambar powder, turmeric powder, green chili, salt and cilantro.
Cook until the raw smell of sambar powder is substituted with good aroma.
Add the saved water.
Add the steamed paruppu urundai [dumplings] one at a time and cook till the urundais start floating.

FOR TEMPERING:

Heat a shallow skillet and add ghee and mustard seeds.
Wait for the seeds to splutter and then add jeera.
Switch off the flame and add the hot mixture to rasam.

Step by step pictures of the recipe:

Wash and soak lentils, red chilies and hing for 45 minutes.

Strain the water and add the ingredients to a grinder bowl and add salt.

Grind to a coarse consistency. Grease a plate with little oil.

Add tamarind water, chopped tomatoes, sambar powder, turmeric powder, salt and chopped cilantro.

Cook for 10 minutes then add the saved water and dumplings to the rasam. Cook until the dumplings float.

Add ghee and mustard seeds to a skillet. Wait for the seeds to splutter and add jeera.

Add the hot mixture to the rasam and garnish with chopped cilantro.

NOTES:

Tamarind pulp can be diluted and added.
Hing powder can be substituted for hing cake.
Dumplings can be dusted with rice flour and added to rasam instead of steaming but this method requires lot of practice and skill. When dumplings are steamed they won’t break.
While steaming open and check if it is soft as also cooked.
Dumplings can be added in two batches. Wait for the first batch of the dumplings to float. After they started floating check there is enough water and then add the second batch.
Beginners strain the lentils using a strainer instead of directly adding it to the grinder bowl. If the lentils are grinded with water it becomes soft and chances of breaking is more.
As soon as you add jeera stop the flame. jeera gets burnt fast and spoils the smell of rasam.
For sambar powder recipe please check my channel and I have given the link in the description of the video.

Low-Carb Stuffed Okra [Bharwa Bhindi]

#vegan, Low-Crab, North indian, North Indian Curry, South Indian, South Indian Curry

Okra is a very popular vegetable in India. All the children in our family love okra stir fry, stuffed okra and okra sambar. Stuffed okra goes well with chapati, bread, naan, paratha and rice.

Ingredients:

Baby Okra (250 gm)
Cumin powder (1/8 cup)
Coriander Powder (1/8 cup)
Onions (chopped, 1/2 cup)
Turmeric Powder (1/2 tsp)
Red Chili Powder (kashmiri, 2 1/2 tsp)
Salt (to taste)
Oil (8 tsp)

Cook time: 40 minutes

Cuisine: North \ South Indian

Category: Lunch \ Dinner

Serves: 2

Method:

Recipe for Stuffing:

In a bowl add coriander, cumin, red chili powder and salt.
Mix all the powders and add 2 teaspoons of oil.
After adding oil mix again.

Stuffed Okra recipe:

Cut off the crown of okras.
Make a vertical slit and fill the okras with the spice mixture.
Refrigerate for 10 hours.
In a deep skillet add oil, chopped onions and turmeric powder.
Add salt only for the onions.[Remember already added salt for the okras]
Place the okras gently and flip every 4-5 minutes until they are cooked.
It should be cooked uncovered and on a low heat.
Avoid flipping the okras too often to keep the stuffing intact.
Add leftover spice mixture if needed.
Cook until okras absorb all the flavors of spices, and crispy.

Step by step pictures of the recipe:

Add coriander, red chili, cumin powder and salt in a bowl.

Cut the crown off and make a vertical slit.

Flip the okras gently and cook the spices are absorbed and crispy.

NOTES:

Short and stout okras are preferred for this recipe.
Wash the okras and dry using a kitchen towel.
While placing the okras lay in a single layer in the skillet.
Garam masala can be added to the spice mixture.
Be careful while making a slit. Do not cut the way through. If the okras are long make a long slit and cut it into half.
I used heavy bottom cast iron skillet but non-stick pan can be substituted for the iron one.