Banana stem curry(dry) Aratidhoota Koora

Ingredients

2 cups Banana stem (finely chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies (slit length wise)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split black gram dal/urad dal (husked)
2-3 red chillies
handful of curry leaves
a dash of asafoetida

Preparation

It is a little difficult to clean the banana stem. I learnt it from my mom:) Remove the outer fiberous layer of the banana stem. May be 2 or more layers may be that way. Cut the banana stem in round circular slices. Then cut the slices into smaller pieces. While cutting you can make out the hard pieces to discard.
Drop the soft and crisp banana stem pieces in turmeric water so that they do not turn dark in colour.
Heat a pan, add oil and temper with the given ingredients. To the tempering add green chillies and banana stem pieces after draining the water completely.
Also add turmeric powder, salt, grated coconut and mix well.
Cover with lid and cook for 12-15 minutes on low heat. Check to see if the pieces have cooked completely. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Chilli Cauliflower

Ingredients

2 cups Cauliflower
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Preparation

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash well. In a pan bring 3 cups of water to boil and add the cauliflower. Half cook the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and set aside. In a bowl add rice flour, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, fennel seeds, salt, masala powder and mix well. To this rice flour mixture add the cauliflower florets and sprinkle some water just to wet the whole mixture. Mix well so that the rice flour paste coats all the florets. The mixture should be just as thick as pakodi mix, not watery.
Leave the mixture aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Deep fry the cauliflower florets and serve hot with chutney or ketchup!!

Saffron Vegetable Pulao

When ever there is no time to cook elaborate lunch and kids are almost hungry what we do is, drop some ingredients in the cooker and make a pulao. That's what happens with me too but this time with saffron and nuts!

Ingredients

3 cups Biryani rice (Jeera samba rice)or Basmati rice
2 cups sliced onions
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 green chillies slit into two
2 tbsp ghee
2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 big bay leaf
4-5 cloves
1/2 tsp garam masala
10-12 Saffron strands
10-12 mint leaves
2 tbsp cashew nuts
2 tsp raisins
1/2 cup peas
3 tbsp beans finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped vegetables of your choice like carrots or cauliflower
salt to taste
coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation

In a pressure pan heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter, add bayleaf,cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cashew nuts, raisins and fry for 30 seconds or till you smell the aroma. To this add onions,green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and saute well for a minute. To this mixture add mint leaves, peas, beans, other vegetables of your choice, garam masala, salt and saute again. Wash the rice and add it to the pan. I used biryani rice which is found in the name of Jeeraga samba rice. If not basmati rice can be used. Saute the rice on medium flame along with all the vegetables for a minute. Now add 3 and half cups of water for biryani rice. For basmati rice 6 cups of water. Also add 2 tbsp ghee, saffron strands and pressure cook for 3 whistles. When the pressure is off, garnish the Pulao with fresh coriander leaves and serve with raita.



I have tried many recipes from Dear Rak's blog and here are some

Jangiri/ Imarti From Raks Kitchen



Rasmalai from Raks kitchen



Brinjal Chutney



Sending all Raks recipes to Blogger's Marathon event hosted by Jayasri