khade masale wala kaddu ...pumpkin curry tempered with whole spices...

Here i am with another vegetarian recipe , a Banaras special again . There can be nothing more Banarasi than a poori - kaddu ki subzi platter ... Jalebi is missing here but that has been a long forgotten promise i made to someone. I will come back to the spirals of jalebi as soon as i come out of the concentric spirals called life...

Back to the kaddu ki subzi . There are many kaddu or pumpking subzi recipes on this blog and this one is another mushy gooyi warmth to dunk your crisp poori in , sans onion garlic this time .

ingredients...
 For two generous helpings

Kaddu ( pumpkin ) 250 gm

 ripe yellow fleshed pumpkin is more suited for this subzi , the hard skin removed
whole red chillies 5 nos. or according to the heat level you want
cinnamon stick 1 inch long
green cardamom 1 no.
black cardamom 1 small pod
cloves 2-3
star anise 4-5 petals
black pepper corns 1 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
asafoetida a pinch
turmeric powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tsp

procedure...

Chop the pumpkin in batons or cubes after peeling the hard skin.

Crush the green and black cardamoms just so it remains within the skin and yet the seeds are crushed.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker , add asafoetida and as soon as the asafoetida fluffs up add all the other whole spices . Wait till the whole spices are popping , dunk in the pumpkin pieces salt and turmeric powder . Toss to mix properly.

Add half a cup of water , cover and cook under pressure for 2 minutes. If using a regular pan it needs to be covered and cooked for about 10 minutes till soft and mushy.

A little amchoor powder can be added if so desired . I do not add any souring agent with whole spices here , but it is optional . Also i used a lot of dried red chillies but did not break them open , it adds a nice earthy flavor to the curry when the chillies are browned in the oil and there is not much heat as the seeds are not exposed to the cooking liquids. If you need a hotter curry you can break open the chillies in your bowl and mix.

Tastes heavenly with hot and crisp pooris , usually a sunday brunch at our place . I like this subzi with chapatis too and it makes a nice low fat meal with any flat bread.

After a piece of Banaras in this platter i will tell you about the uttar pradesh festival going on in Dilli Haat these days . We enjoyed the food of Banaras and Lucknow in the open air stalls there and it was a great experience . The authentic UP taste of chaats and the non veg kormas and kebaabs is so different from anything available here , even in the old lanes of purani Dilli .

Kashi Chaat bhandar from Banaras has put up a stall there and we enjoyed the golgappe and tamatar ki chaat . I have promised someone this tamatar ki chaat for a long time and i intend to come with that in my next post and i hope i do not procrastinate this time .... I find a lot of contentment when friends and readers have that kind of faith to try my recipes and tell me how it became a family favorite ....that gives me the drive to start again with my pots n pans and the camera ... you know what ..i do this part very enthusiastically , that is cooking has been my interest for a long time ......but when it comes to posting , i am a little neck withdrawn turtle...

sarson wala baingan fry | baingan ka tarua from Bihar

Baingan is eggplant or brinjal as it is commonly called in the north of India. I find this vegetable very very versatile, especially I love the way Italians treat this mushy lovely vegetable. I have tried brinjals with mozzarella and that's a combination so weird for us Indians and yet so yummy. But I am not talking about a cheesy baingan here.

It is all about a desi recipe today, which originates from Bihar or may be with some Bengali influence.  I learnt it from a family of laborers who used to stay in our compound when our home was being constructed. They used to call it baingan ka tarua and the same name was adopted by my family for the love of funny and unusual names.

A mustard based brinjal curry is called as Lafda in my family and I don't know why. You get the picture.

Actually I keep prying into the kitchens of just anybody to see how they cook. Even now I keep asking my maids how do they cook a particular thing and if they include a particular healthy ingredient or use a healthy oil peculiar to their area. What milk they consume and what kind of spices they use and all such small concerns that I have.

I spotted this recipe when the family of Muslim laborers from Bihar were living in the half constructed parts of our home when it was under construction in 1987-88. They would have a bath after the day's hard work, go to the market to bring vegetables and cook their food on leftover wood scrap from making the doors etc. Their meals used to be like a feast even if they had frugal resources. They would cook daal, subzi, raita and chutney everything with the rice and thick hand patted rotis.

They were the happiest when they cooked and always ate their food with happy sounds of laughter. 

Sometimes they would cook for all of us and their moti roti, mutton curry, kale chane ki ghugni and Baingan ka tarua became our favourite too. I remember how just two of those moti rotis were enough for the whole family of us 5 siblings and parents. Nobody could eat more than a quarter of that humongous smoky moti roti.

I still make that roti with baingan ka chokha and a thick peeli daal but it lacks the smoky flavor of fire wood.

It is a simple fry made with the round large variety of brinjals. Large brinjals are used because their pulp is softer and more flavorful for such a fry. Also because they make larger slices.

To choose the best round brinjals, look for light weight shiny skinned large brinjals. Light weight brinjals never have mature seeds and get buttery when cooked.

ingredients...
( serves two as a side )

 One large round shaped brinjal
black mustard seeds 1.5 tbsp
white rice 2 tsp
green chillies 3-4 nos.
garlic cloves 6-8 or more
turmeric powder 1 tsp
amchoor powder 2 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil to shallow fry .... about 2 tbsp

Procedure...

Make a paste of all the ingredients except the brinjal and oil.

Slice the brinjal into 1.5 - 2 cm thick roundels.

Heat a skillet or flat base kadhai with a little mustard oil.

Dip the brinjal slices into the paste and shallow fry them both sides till brown and crisp on the surface. Keeping the flame low helps. The slices will remain mushy inside. 

Repeat with all the slices and serve hot as a side dish with any meal of the day. Scrape any masala sticking to the skillet as this crumb tastes yummy and you will end up picking every single bit of it...

The rice in the masala paste makes it crisp on the surface while it remains mushy inside, a very interesting texture when served hot.

A hot , tangy and slightly tingling taste of mustard makes it a very interesting dish, you will see it disappearing from the platter very fast, even baingan haters would take second helpings (if they are not allergic to brinjals and mustard oil like two of my extended family members) and you'd see yourself smiling.

They are great for kathi rolls and I do that very often with the leftovers, although leftovers is a rare incident with these. With very thin slices of onion it tastes yummy inside an instant kathi roll.

Enjoy...