Baked Potatoes Wedges with Kräuter-Quark

Sunny boy is in bed sleeping, finally, after my third attempt after he got up and came out of the room everytime, I have hung the last round of clothes on the clothes horse, and now I'm sitting with the laptop on my knees. Hubby, after giving up on TV and going through some of our old CDs has put a CD of Sade in the player and I just can't stop moving my shoulders to the rhythm of it. LOL!
I knew that it was going to be a potato day, or should I say, a potato evening. I had bought a new packet of floury potatoes though I had not finished off my previous batch of (waxy) potatoes. So, I knew before I forget it and have to throw away these organic potatoes, better make something. I was going through this cookbook on potatoes (I always drool at the pictures in this one) this weekend when I came across this picture of Creole potatoes wedges and I realised that I haven't made baked potatoes since quite a while now.
So, when the time came to start preparing food in the evening sunny boy came asking to help me. I was happy as he had not been showing much interest lately with helping me prepare food like before. Cutting potatoes is one of his hobbys. :) But, unfortunately he has had two bad experiences with cutting up his finger with the potato peeler, so he didn't want to do that part. I think, at three I don't really expect him to be an expert, but he does a wonderful job at cutting the potatoes with a (comparatively-) sharp table knife. The only problem is to prevent him from keep cutting the vegetable into smaller and smaller pieces. LOL!

I wanted to make a simple dish with only very few spices but still, it had to be flavourful. To achieve this I just choose to add rosemary and used olive oil and the problem was solved. Simple, don't you agree?
I also chose to make a "Kräuter-Quark" with it. Typically Kräuter-quark is eaten with "Pellkartoffeln" (potatoes boiled with skin) as a complete main course dish here. But I feel it goes well with all types of potato dishes. It is simple to make, a quick fix and healthy at that.

Here are a few points I wished to put down here ( simple, dry facts) on potatoes:
Potatoes are high in carbohydrates which is mainly present in the form of starch. These tubers are the storage organs of the plants which are produced in response to decreasing day lengths. Starch is a typical form of carbohydrate energy reserves of plants and is composed of two main molecules: amylose and amylopectin. Both in turn are composed of one monomer sugar molecule - glucose. Amylose is a straight chain of glucose molecules while amylopectin branched. Depending on the ratio of amylose and amylopectin the potatoes are classified as floury or waxy or somewhere in between like I come across some varieties which are classified as "vorwiegend" ( predominantly) waxy here. Higher the amylopectin(branched) the more waxy the potato is, i.e., it does not fall apart while cooking and keeps its shape unlike the floury variety.
Personally I like floury potatoes a lot because of their floury texture once cooked through. Since they aren't as easily available as the waxy ones everywhere I'm always happy when I have them.
So, here comes the recipe:

Baked potatoes with Kräuter-Quark

Recipe by PG of My Kitchen Stories


Ingredients:

Baked Potatoes:
10-12 small to medium potatoes*, washed, scrubbed or peeled and cut into 4-6 long wedges
1 large organic red bell pepper, washed, seeded and cut into large pieces
200 g small crimini mushrooms (brown), cleaned, and if required, halved or quartered
2 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thick wedges
4-5 small / thin garlic cloves, sliced into thick long pieces
5-6 sprigs rosemary, coarsely broken into large pieces
salt and pepper (optionally chilli pepper) to taste
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I used it mixed with cold pressed rapeseed oil this time)

Kräuter-Quark:
250 g Quark
50 g yoghurt (optional)
50 g heavy cream
a few tbsp parsely, chopped (or herbs of choice; I used frozen parsely)
salt and pepper (optionally chilli pepper) to taste

Method:

• In a good sized baking dish mix all the ingredients for the baked potatoes together and bake in a preheatedoven at 210°C (190°C convection) till done
• for the first 30 to 40 minutes of baking cover with a baking sheet
• mix everything once in between
• bake further uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes or until done
• for the Kräuter-Quark mix all the ingredients together with a small whisk untill a smooth and creamy texture appears and store in the fridge until served
  
• serve the potatoes withthe quark and maybe a warm bread to accompany it

*I had used in addition to the waxy potatoes a couple of the floury potatoes I mentioned in the beginning of this postand found that both the varieties tasted good in this combination.

By the time the potatoes were done, the kitchen was filled with the wonderful aroma of baked potatoes. We were hungry but nowhere near like my son this time. I have honestly never seen my son eat so much in one go. He ate three servings and didn't leave anything behind (except for onion and bell peppers, of course!). And I know this wouldn't have happened if he hadn't liked it. It really was delicious. I was more than satisfied with the results. All three of us enjoyed the meal.
I'm two days too late in posting this as I didn't get the time to post the pictures. Now that I'm done, I'm sending this to Meeta's Monthly Mingle at WFLH which is being guest hosted by Michelle at her What's Cooking Blog. I think this qualifies well for a Healthy Family Dinner.
Just in time!

A hearty dinner with fish and potato casserole and the sustainable seafood event

Eating fish in a sustainable way, without a bad conscience? Yes, it is possible. But, no, it isn't an easy task.
Not, once you know what is happening with the seas, how they are being overfished and what ways are being used to destroy the marine ecosystems. The news is everywhere, but somehow nobody seems to care. Atleast not the governments. It is all left to the individual to decide what they want to do.
I had been reading about fishes being overfished since many years now. But, since we weren't such big fish eaters, I didn't bother. And when we did buy, we bought these cultured trouts (German: Forelle) from the fish shop, baked them with some vegetables and wine in the oven and that's it. But, with time I learned that frozen fish is as good, still it was rare that we bought fish. And the couple of fish names I got to know through the newspapers, I started avoiding them. I rememeber some, like Atlantic cod (Kableau), or the halibuts (Heilbutt) and the hakes (Seehecht) and the European plaice (Scholle). And then I got a baby. And to put it simply, we started eating fish more often. We bought that which was offered in the cold shelves of supermarkets, usually Redfish (Rotbarsch) or Alaska pollock (Alaska-Seelachs) and also Zander (closely related to perch) and salmons sometimes.
So, if you are well informed about the state of the oceans and their (over-)fishing, then there is nothing so great about it. But, then you assume that the governments must be taking required steps and doing controls etc. What a fool I was. My sister in law expressed her concerns about it once when we had gone out for dinner. That was about a couple of years back. So, I checked the greenpeace website, as she also said to have this information from them. And I actually found a list of fishes to avoid. But, then the whole thing started for me, where I got to know more and more about these reports and I saw and read more and more and went into more details adn the more i read the more horrified I was. In a way, I shouldn't have been surprised. What else does one expect, fish eating has almost become like a trend. Being more healthy and the exquisiteness associated with them and now we can all afford everything, we don't need to be rich to eat fish or meat every day if we want. But, when you look deeper into the matter - you don't have to look so deep, though- the moment you get to know of the methods of fishing being used, you don't have to think long to realise the the huge impact of these on the oceans and the ecosystems in them. Wonder what is left of that now, after we have been ruthlessly, and I really mean it - ruthlessly, overfishing the oceans. So, I'm not surprised that my SIL has stopped eating fish.
I haven't stopped it. I am still in a phase where I am trying to figure out a way to combine both: of taking up my responsibility and not waiting for the others to do it, and at the same time being able to do something as simple as eating fish now ans then.
Since I have got to know of this and realised it, we have reduce eating fish a lot. Also, because Rishab gets his "healthy" portion in the kindergarten (Now, don't ask me what fish they eat there, I don't know and I am not in a postion yet to question them, not yet atleast). But, still the urge to eat it is there and I do want to know what and how I can do it to be able to eat fish without a bad conscinece. Initially I thought it is going to be simple, just leave out the ones you want, but then the more I looked the more difficult it became. We love shrimps or prawns and I still have to figure out which one are Ok, if there are any. As for warm water prawns , they are not Ok. And I was happy to know that the cold water shrimps (Pandalus borealis) I can buy here are a good choice, but I'm not so sure any more. It is not so easy to get the right information ans noby seems to care. All the restaurents, the canteens and the whole market. All the endangered stocks of fishes are being exploited and nobody seems to care. I would love to get hold of a good German source about it.
I think I have written enough. This post was my vent to my thoughts. But, before I end this I also want to give you the information i have been able to collect here at my blog. This post was meant to be shorter and now I would finally write about the recipe I want to post here.
I had initially planned to make something else and I ended up making this, something totally different, another one of my experimenst which worked out!
I wanted to make "Rotkohl" with this not-so-red pointed cabbage. It is a variety which looks like cross between red cabbage and a pointed (green) cabbage. I'm not sure of "pointed cabbage" is the correct name, this is how we call this variety of cabbage here, which in my opinion tastes much like the Indian variety than does the "traditonal" German white ones.
I wanted to bake the potatoes with some broccoli pieces in a white sauce and in addition have a red cabbage side dish, as it is traditonally made with apples. I had choosen a recipe from Le Cordon Bleu: Vegetables (the German version of it), a series of books brought out by the cooking school Le Cordon Bleu. It is a simple but tasty recipe I liked immediately. But, then one thing led to the other and I decided to modify and bake this preparation along with the potatoes.

Potato Red Cabbage Casserole
with Pan fried Fish (see below)

Ingredients:

6 small potatoes, peeled and cut into 5 mm (1/5th inch) thick round slices
1/2 broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 red cabbage, quartered and thinly sliced (I used a pointed cabbage variety)
salt to taste
1 large red onion, halved vertically and thinly sliced
1 cooking apple, thinly sliced into small pieces
1 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar, depending on its strength and to your taste

White sauce:
30 g butter (about 2 heaped tbsp)
30 g all purpose flour (about 2 heaped tbsp)
300 ml milk (or soya milk)
100 ml water (or the broth of the potatoes)
1 1/2 tsp vegetable broth (powder)
1/2 tsp salt , or to taste
1 tbsp soya cream (17% fat)
chilli powder or black (or white) pepper


Method:

• Cook the potatoes in water for 15 minutes on medium heat, they should not be cooked through
  
• Cook the broccoli and red cabbage⁽¹⁾ slices for 3-5 minutes⁽²⁾ till they are slightly tender (not cooked through)
  
• In the meantime heat butter in a fry pan on medium heat and add the onion slices and stir
• Add the apples and cook both till they begin to take a nice brown colour, reduce heat if required and then set aside
• Prepare white sauce :
• melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in the flour
  
• stir till it is roasted without turning brown⁽³⁾ and has a nice aroma and throws bubbles
• remove from heat and while whisking add milk,
  
• keep whisking, add water and the vegetable broth powder
• whisk till you have a smooth mixture
• put it back on the heat and cook on high heat while stirring with the whisk till it starts boiling
  
• reduce heat to medium or medium low so that it keeps throwing bubbles
  
• cook for another 3 minutes while whisking
  
• it will thicken, add the soya sauce and stir
  
• remove from heat and check the salt and add pepper or chili powder to taste, set aside
  
• Remove the vegetables and place in a bowl, add the vinegar and mix carefully to get back the red/pink colour of the cabbage
  
• Remove the potatoes and place in a colander to let drip and then place in a baking casserole porcelein baking dish
  
• Layer the vegetables over the potatoes, followed by the fried onion and apples
• and pour the sauce ovet it
• bake in a preheated oven at 165°C (150°C convection) for 20-30 mnutes till it gets a nice brown colour on top
• serve warm with fish or meat of choice or just eat wit some bread⁽⁴⁾
  

NOTE:
the quantity of vegetables can be increased and it can be baked with a layer of grataed cheese of choice on top

1. the red cabbage on adding to hot water turns violett, but it will get back its colour the moment vinegar is added to it.
   
2. Blanching the vegetables together with the potatoes saves energy, but they can also be cooked / blanched separately
   
3. Roast the flour in butter on medium low heat so that it does not turn brown, but remains whitish yellow
4. If it is to be use as a vegetarian meal:
• the quantity of vegetables can be increased
  
• and it can be baked with a layer of grated cheese of choice

Pan Fried Fish:
for 3 servings

Ingredients:
3-4 Fish filets (I used frozen MSC certified Alaska Pollock)
juice of one lemon
salt
pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten (optional)- I left out this step
2-3 tbsp all purpose flour
olive oil for frying

Method:

• To fry the fish, thaw it, wash it once and pat dry.
• Then let it marinate in the lemonjuice, salt and pepper.
• Before starting to fry the fish, dip in the egg (I left out this step) and then roll the fish filets in the flour on a large plate to coat them properly.
• heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium heat.
• Place the fish filets in the pan and cover with a lid
• After a few minutes change sides,
• Be careful not to break the pieces, if the fish sticks to the base, reduce heat if required
• Cook for another few minutes untill you get a nice brown colour
• Don't cook for too long as it will get dry otherwise.
• Serve with a lemon wedges to sprinckle on it.

Enjoy it while it is still warm and juicy! Guten Appetit!

Now, hubby is not a very big fan of white sauces, but just as I had guessed the fried onion and apples had given so much flavour to the casserole that he appreciated it a lot and sonny boy was picking out the onions lie always, whenever he saw any large pieces, even though I had tried to slice them really fine. This made a wonderful combination with the fish. The slightly sweet and a hint of sourness from the white wine vinegar in the casserole and the fish with the thin brown crust was wonderful.
This one goes to a very special event "Teach a Man to Fish" at Jacqueline's wonderful blog The Leather District Gourmet. I am really happy to be able to take part in this event. I had seen the one from last year and it was good to see others who think like oneself. I'm really looking forward to this years round up.

This is my packet of MSC certified Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)

Pumpkin baked with Potatoes

Yesterday, it was a Sunday and I saw this lovely red organic Hokkaido pumpkin lying in my vegetable basket for much too long. With pumpkins you always take it easy. You buy when you see something nice and let it rest there with its other friends in the basket , thinking "it has time...."as you want to prepare something nice on a weekend when you have more time at hand". Now, I felt, it really was time and I also knew what I wanted to make.
Hubby dear was playing with Rishab or, so to say, giving in to all his demands of " Now...we'll do this ...." and a while later "..now let's read a book...this one of Rabe Socke..." So, I had the peace of mind to prepare the meal and many more things I had planned for the day. For me to be able to spend time in the kitchen at length undisturbed has become a luxury, now that sonny boy also requires his attention and I always loved to be in the kitchen, especially on weekends, as that was the best way I could relax... to cook a nice meal and enjoy it. Earlier I didn't have the time to cook so often like I do now, but the fun factor has still not gone and now blogging has surely added the icing on the cake.
Since I had chosen a recipe which has almost become like our family recipe, there wasn't much thought I had to give while preparing it. It just comes from the heart. You know what I mean...? I came up to it without referring to any recipes or books (blogs were unknown to me then). I have created it entirely trusting my own instincts and after trying to get a feel for the new fruit (variety) which it was then. Ever since the recipe has remained more or less constant with only a few small variations depending on my mood. As, this is our family favorite and we love to eat it this way every year in Autumn.
So, this time I did not put whole coriander seeds, but ground them in my coffee mill. And used a small bunch of fresh thyme leaves which I think go quite well with the Indian spices. Though, dried fenugreek leaves taste splendid with the pumpkin. And I always have pumpkin nuts and I somehow feel they should not be missing in the dish either.

Ingredients:

1 large Hokkaido pumpkin, seeds removed and cut into small pieces
6 potatoes, washed, peeled and cut into thick long slices / wedges
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, optional
2 large cloves garlic, grated or thinly sliced
2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or chopped fine
2-3 large tomatoes, sliced
1 tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried herbs like thyme or dried fenugreek leaves
3 tsp salt, or to taste
4-6 tbsp olive oil

Roast separately:
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds,
2 tbsp coriander seeds,
1 tsp cumin,
6 cloves
2 star anise and
2-3 black cardamoms,
2 red chillies (or to taste),
10 peppercorns

Method:

• Roast the whole spices one by one and, clean and cut the vegetables.
• Mix all the ingredients together in a large porcelain baking dish
• Bake for 1 hour in a preheated oven at 175°C (160°C Convection)
• In between, take out and mix the vegetables
• At the end check if the potatoes are done with a fork, if not extend time as required to up to 20 minutes or until done
  

Both of us just love this very nutty flavour of Hokkaido and its smooth texture as compared to other pumpkin varieties and this fruit stays quite high in our list of favorite vegetables. And this time it was no different.
We ate this pumpkin with some Arabic whole wheat flat breads (they are just like Indian rotis) which hubby had bought at a shop in the city centre. We had made them warm on a cast iron pan before eating. But, this is also a perfect side to a nice pan fried fish or chicken breast. A bowl of fresh green salad would have made it even more better, but we were happy with it alone this time, as we had already had large portions of fruit salad I had made as a small midday snack for us.
Now that I am writing this post, I'm thinking that I haven't tried using pumpkin seed oil which I have been wanting to since a while now. But, I could imagine that a green salad with white wine vinegar vinaigrette with a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil must be a perfect match to it. I really have to get a small bottle and try it.
This one goes to Sensational sides at Meeta's What's for lunch Honey being hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments this time.

And I'm sending this off to another wonderful event World Food Day created and being co-hosted by Val of More than Burnt Toast and Ivy of Kopiaste.


Update:
This recipe also goes to the AFAM Event started by Maheswari at Beyond the Usual and being hosted this month by Madhuram of Egglesscooking.com.

Yummy Soya nuggets Curry!

I loved soya nuggets as a child. These munchy chewy chunks of soya and the flavour of the spicy curry coming out of it evey time you bit onto the chunks. It was thorough pleasure. It was one of my favorites. I had made them here before, but the only soya nuggets I always found were these no-name packets from the chinese shops, which never turned out good somehow. They would very often remain hard in the middle despite my frying them before. And hubby disliked them totally. But, then I recently discovered organic soya nuggets here which were much better. Though smaller and irregular shaped, but much softer in texture after cooking. I still didn't make them so often, as hubby did not appreciate them so much despite that.
Recently I was going through a new blog I came upon : Tongueticklers with lovely photos and lovely recipes. And I found a recipe with soya nuggets there, which looked so good that I had to try it once. As I personally feel soya nuggets are a good way of compensating for the needed proteins. And I rahter have a vegetarian option than always having to cook chicken for that.

So, here is how I made it:

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients:

1 cup green beans
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

Ground to a paste:
1 large garlic, chopped coarsely
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped coarsely
1 red onion, chopped coarsely

2 large tomatoes, pureed

2 generous handfuls soya nuggets (about a cup and a half)
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch crushed asafoetida
1/2 tsp each ground corinader and cumin seeds
3/4th tsp turmeric
1 pinch red chilli powder

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Method:

• Clean and cut the begetables
• Prepare the onion-garlic-ginger paste and the tomato puree
  
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large sauce pan (I used a pressure cooker) and roast the soyanuggets on medium heat till the take a light brown colour, stirring with a wooden paddle in between
• Take out the soya nuggets and set aside
• Heat 2 more tbsp oil into the pan and add the spices : cumin seeds, and asafoetida, stir once and add the rest of the ground spices. stir
  
• Add quickly the onion-garlic ginger paste, stir on medium heat till the moisture reduces and it starts to turn brown
• Add the chopped beans and potatoes, stir for short on medium heat
• add the soya nuggets and the tomato puree, stir
• add water and salt, stir
• If using the pressure cooker (European), then close the lid and wait till the whistle comes and reduce heat to little less than medium (on a ceramic cooktop) and switch off the gas after 5 minutes
• If using a regular pan, then cook till the potatoes are tender and the green beans are soft and no more green (otherwise they are toxic), stirring in between
• Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves along with bread or warm rice

Now, you might ask, what did hubby say. No, he didn't complain and infact said that it tasted very good. And that is a very very very good compliment! :D And my son enjoyed it too, which isn't always the case now a days. He is getting finikier by the day. And since I had pureed the onions, he enjoyed it even more.
So, sunshinemon, thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe!

Note: Typically this is eaten with Indian flatbreads, like roti, paranthas or puri, or warm basmati rice, but tastes excellent with Oriental or Turkish flat breads and as good with just any of the different varieties of different European breads, toasted or plain, like baugette or brown and black breads or the typical British breads.

Fenugreek Puris

This is another creation of mine which is a result of my fenugreeek fever! - Thanks to Redchillies event! ;)
After making puris the last time (fenugreeek fever) successfully, I felt like making them again and my family agreed readily too. As, this might be the last time that I make puris this year. So, this time i trie the idea i had in my mind of adding kasuri methi, dried fenugreek leaves, into the dough. This is something I have tried a number of times with paranthas, but never with puris. Well, I make them only once a year, if at all.

This time I had made the dough a bit softer, which made it more difficult to roll them out as easily like the last time. Typically the puri dough contains some oil and is stiffer than a roti dough, both were not the case this time. But, these were no less delicious than we made the last time, and we relished them to the full. Rishab was munching on them just like that.

Methi Puri

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour or whole wheat atta ( I used whole wheat flour and whole grain missa atta* in the ratio 2/3 and 1/3)
1/5 tsp turmeric
2-3 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1 tsp ajwain
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil (I left it out)
1 pinch red chilli powder
water
* whole grain Missa Atta: whole channa (with skin) and whole barley in rougly 2:1 proportions.

Method:
see my last post on Urd daal puris for details

• mix all the ingredients for puri thoroughly
• add water slowly and knead into a stiff dough and keep aside for 20 to 30 minutes
  
• heat about 600 ml of oil in a wok or deep frying pan for frying the puris on high heat, reduce to about medium-high later, if required
  
• In the meantime make small round balls out of the dough
• flatten them with your fingertips using some oil and roll out round, uniform and thin puris with a rolling pin and using drops of oil when required on a clean and smooth surface
  
• deep fry in hot oil and take out with a skimmer and let drip on two layers of kitchen roll before serving

Aloo subzi

Ingredients:
4 large potatoes, boiled with skin from the day before, peeled and cut into small pieces or as per taste
1 large onion, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large pinch crushed asafoetida
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 pinch red chilli powder
1-2 tbsp rapeseed oil
salt to taste

Method:

• heat oil in a fry pan and add cumin and asafoestida, sothat they splutter, stir once
  
• Immidiately add the chopped onion and ginger, stir
  
• add turmeric and coriander seeds powder and sautè everything till onion are golden brown in colour
• Add the potatoes and stir fry, adding the chilli powder and salt after a while as well, till done
• serve with rotis, paranthas or puris
  

Guten Appetit! As you would say it here, or to put it simply: ENJOY!

This is my second entry to Redchillies' Herb mania- Fenugreek!

Puri Aloo: Indian fried bread with spicy potato curry

Puri Aloo. Just the name of it makes my mouth water. The memories of the lovely street food of Uttar Pradesh and many other places where we accompanied our parents on pilgrimages. The steaming hot puffed balls of puri and daal-katchauris, fried at many places in ghee, and the flavours of spicey mathwan aloo ki sabzi. Served with hot mixed- or mango pickes and Indian style onion, tomato and cucumber salad. What else can you ask for! It was total bliss for me and my sisters as children. We enjoyed these meals to the full. My mom made them at home too, though on occasions like some festivals which we always looked forward to, not only becaue of the food , but the food was always the big attraction!

It is summer time here and I had been wanting to fullfill my craving for fried Indian food, be it pakoras or puris before the summers are over. I have made pakoras already this summer and now it was time to make puris as well. As in the winters you can't open the windows like you can now and none of us at home like the fried and oily smell in the house, which is not healthy either. I had bought a bottle of sunflower oil just for this purpose and kept it aside, so that I can be spontaneous enough for frying. But, somehow my craving for it wasn't as big.
Not until I saw these beautiful puris on Jai and Bees Jugalbandi and the lovely combination with aloo bhaji , or mathwan aloo as I know them from my home. And the use of nigella seeds in the puri and the idea of kneading the urad daal into the dough was as great. Now, why spend hours filling the katchauri when it is that easy to make them so delicious. I knew, I had to make them that very day. I guess, had it not been for Zlamushka's monthy event, I would have probably never noticed this recipe.
Their recipe called for soaking the urad daal for some time, but I had no time for that, as it was already afternoon. But then, I remembered that my sister had told me about her making urd daal katchauris by grinding the skinned urd daal in her coffee mill which had turned out great. So, I had my solution to the problem.

So, here it goes, my version of the lovely recipe from Jugalbandi which I modified slightly as it was required and partly on a whim...

Ingredients:

Urd daal Puri:

1/2 cup skinned black gram, ground into a fine powder with a coffee mill /dry grinder
2 cups whole wheat flour or whole wheat atta ( I used whole wheat flour and whole grain missa atta* in the ratio 2/3 and 1/3)
1/5 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, ground
1 tsp ajwain (as a replacement for nigella seeds, which I don't have right now and couldn't find them locally here)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 pinch red chilli powder
water

* whole grain Missa Atta: whole channa (with skin) and whole barley in rougly 2:1 proportions, My father got it grounded from the local mill right in front of him, got them double packed in small packets and gave them to me before we left India.

Method:

• mix all the ingredients for puri thoroughly
• add water slowly and knead into a stiff dough and keep aside for 20 to 30 minutes
  
• heat about 600 ml of oil in a wok or deep frying pan for frying the puris on high heat, reduce to about medium-high later, if required
  
• In the meantime make small round balls out of the dough
• flatten them with your fingertips using some oil and roll out round, uniform and thin puris with a rolling pin and using drops of oil when required on a clean and smooth surface
  
• deep fry in hot oil and take out with a skimmer and let drip on two layers of kitchen roll before serving
• Eat when still warm
• If made in advance, store in an airtight container and warm slightly before eating on a pan or in the microwave for a few seconds

How to get the puris right :

• If the oil is not hot enough, the puris will not puff up.
  
• To promote a uniform puffing of puris, keep the skimmer on top of the puri in oil as soon as it comes up on the surface, especially when using a ceramic or electric cooktop.
• turn it around as soon as it puffs up and take out after a few seconds
• if the oil is too hot the puris will become brown too fast
• here a video on making puris at about.com

Mathwan Aloo (Aloo Bhaji):

4-5 large potatoes, washed, scrubbed clean and boiled (I used a floury potato variety)
2 tbsp oil or ghee (I used both)
1 tsp ajwain (mustard seeds were then on my list of things to buy from the Indian shop)
1 large pinch crushed asafoetida
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds, ground
2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1 inch (2 cm) piece ginger, scraped and grated
1/2 cup natural yoghurt (I used soya yoghurt)
1 pinch red chilli powder
1 tsp salt

Method:

• boil and peel the potatoes when still hot. Wash them once quickly in cold water before peeling them
• heat oil+ or ghee in a deep saucepan, add ajwain, it should immediately start spluttering (check if the oil is hot enough by first adding one seed into the oil), add asafoetida, ground fenugreek seeds, ground coriander seeds and grated ginger, stir to still they start smelling good (be quick and careful not to burn them!)
  
• add potatoes and crush them lightly with the wooden spoon or spatula and stir to coat them with the spices
• add the yoghurt and stir further
• add fenugreek, chilli powder, salt and water, and cook on low heat till the potatoes take the flavour of the spices
  
• serve with hot puris and as per choice with sides like achaar and chutneys

This was a lovely combination. The flavour of kasuri methi in the aloo gave it a very good "pepp", as we call it here - "liveliness" is one good translation. It was a good decision and the gentle flavour of methi seeds also added to the flavour. Now, this is something I have learned from my mom, who regularly used ground meethi seeds in daals.
Now, if I have a favorite Indian leafy vegetable then it is Fenugreek, methi as it is called in Hindi. And my liking for it has grown with time as it is imossible to get it here in any form except as Kasuri Methi (a variety of dried Fenugreek). Well, better than nothing. I stuffed myslef with Methi when I went to India this year. But I still crave for the flavour of fresh methi. Next year I plan to try out growing my own methi in my kitchen garden, but then that is another chapter of the book, as these summers are slowly coming to an end and the sun God has been playing games, or should I say peek-a-boo with us this time much too often.

So, I keep a good stock of Kasuri methi in my pantry. Lately I had been seeing the bottle every time I would open the door and realised that I hadn't used it since a while, but it was never the right moment to use it. But, thanks to the Fenugreek herb mania at Redchillies I read about a few days ago, it is on my mind all the time and I am discovering new ways to use dried Fenugreek and the seeds in many dishes, like here too.

So, this is my entry for Redchillies' Herb mania- Fenugreek!

And of course also to Zlamushka's monthly event Tried and Tasted where the blog of the month is none other than Jai and Bee's Jugalbandi.

Bhune Aloo

I did not plan to put this up here, but this turned out so good, that I had to. And the best part is that I used so few spices with such good results. This is possible much more easily in summers here when the spring onions are growing locally and the green leaves of the spring onions are really juicy and tender.

Ingredients:

4 potatoes (medium to large), washed, peeled, diced
1 bunch of spring onions, cleaned, washed and chopped, the grens as well
1 -2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
chille powder to taste ( I added only a pinch, for my son)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp Amchur (a wonderful combination with spring onion)
1 tbsp Lime juice

Method:

• Wash and peel the potatoes, dice and soak in little water to prevent them from turing brown
  
• chop the cleaned and washed spring onion. The white into thin rings and the green into 1 cm rings
• Depending on if you use a nonstick or a steel pan, heat 1 or 2 tbsp oil on high flame.
• Reduce heat and add cumin, turmeric, and potaoes one after the other and stir immediately.
• Let cook on medium heat, stirring regularly. add a table spoon of water if required now and then
• After the potatoes are almost done, add the spring onion, the rest of the spices and salt and mix.
• Let cook further till done.
  
• Add lime juice and stirr.
  

Tips:
To get a nice brown colour on the potatoes,

• the cooking should be done slowly on medium heat and do not stirr too often.
• and enough oil should be present to prevent sticking.
  
• The potatoes should have been washed in water before, as the extra starch is washed off this way.

Broccoli Parantha with Raita

This is a healthy recipe for children and adults alike. It demands a bit of preparation in advance, otherwise it is easy.

Raita shown in the picture here is nothing but stirred yoghurt with some salt (kala namak) and roasted cumin powder (bhuna jeera). You can add chopped coriander leaves and fresh or dried mint leaves to it. Or make any of the endless variants you like.

Broccoli Parantha:
Dough:
Atta (chapati flour),
1/2 Broccoli cut into small pieces, or left over broccoli sabzi (vegetable) from the day before(or even better broccoli soup),
salt and Spices for the dough (e.g. ajwain, salt, chilli, dhania powder, fennel seed powder, etc.),
1 tsp. lemon/lime juice.

Filling:
2-3 large Boiled potatoes (boiled with skin and peeled-can be done a day before and kept in the fridge),
Spices for the filling (e.g., chilli, 1/2" ginger-grated, dhania powder, fennel seed powder, kala namak /black salt),
Coriander leaves (cilantro),
Mustard oil for frying/baking (very healthy - rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially omega 3 fatty acids).

Steps:
1. Either use the leftover broccoli sabzi from the day before, or steam half a broccoli in half a cup of water till tender but still fresh green. Add lemon juice and puree it with a (hand-) mixer.
2. Knead a soft dough with the broccoli, salt and spices as per desire.
3. Mash potatoes with salt and spices. Add coriander leaves.
4. Roll out paranthas with the potato filling. Here is one link if you want to know how.
5. Fry them in mustard oil on a cast iron tawa (griddle).
6. Serve with Raita.

Tips:
1. Wash the cooked Broccoli with cold water to prevent it from cooking further and loosing its fresh green colour.
2. Cook potatoes in the skin (healthier) a day before. Can be done for the broccoli as well, just add some fresh lime/lemon juice to it. Store in the fridge.