Bitter gourd and Potato sambar

Bitter gourd and Potato sambar

Ingredients

1 cup of tamarind juice (prepared by soaking tamarind in water and later on squeezing it)
300 gms of finely chopped bitter gourd
4 medium-size potatoes, chopped into medium-size pieces
100 gms of split pigeon peas (lentils)

1 tablespoon of oil

1 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1-2 tablespoon of chilli powder
1/2 tablespoon of mustard seeds
2-3 tablespoon of sambar powder
A pinch of asafoetida

Salt as needed

Procedure

1. Cook the chopped bitter gourd and the chopped potatoes. Cook the split pigeon peas and retain any excess water after cooking.
2. Boil the tamarind juice till it loses the raw smell. Add the cooked lentils and the cooked vegetables to the tamarind juice. Add the turmeric powder to the mixture too.
3. Let the mixture boil for 2-3 minutes (simmer). Add the sambar powder and the chilli powder.
4. Simmer for 2 more minutes and remove the vessel of the stove.
5. Seasoning. Heat the oil in a small utensil (spatula), add the mustard seeds and the asafoetida to the oil. As soon as the mustard seeds starts to burst, add the mixture to the other vessel.
6. Mix well so that the seasoning gets distributed equally in the mixture. 

7. Serves 6 persons.

Options

1. You can skip the chilli powder.
2. Write to me if you want the recipe of the sambar powder.
3. As the name says, bitter gourd could be very bitter. To get rid of the taste, you can add unrefined cane-sugar to the tamarind juice at the beginning.
4. You can skip the potatoes.
5. You can add onions..
6. You can replace asafoetida with finely chopped garlic.

Potato and Green beans fry

Potato and Green beans fry

Ingredients

1 medium-size onion, chopped into long pieces
3 medium-size potatoes, chopped into medium-size pieces
500 gms of green beans, chopped into small pieces

5-6 tablespoons of oil (preferably olive or sunflower)

1/2 tablespoon of turmeric powder
1-2 tablespoon of chilli powder
2 tablespoon of split chick peas
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds

Salt as needed

Procedure

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and the split chick peas. Add the turmeric powder.
2. When the mixture is slightly fried, add the chopped onions to it.
3. When the onions are slightly fried, add the chopped potatoes and the chopped beans. Keep frying till all the vegetables are cooked and fried. (How to know this - a potato is cooked when a spoon can cut it into pieces and a green bean is cooked when its colour turns to oily green as in the picture)
4. At this point add the salt as needed and the chilli powder. Fry it for 2-3 minutes.

5. Serves 6 persons.

Options

1. You can skip the chilli powder and replace it with an Indian spicy powder like Vangibath powder or Ennegai powder. (Write to me if you want the recipes of the two.)
2. You can skip the chilli powder or any other powder altogether.
3. You can skip the green beans. Such a fry is served with an Indian pancake called Dosa, especially Masala Dosa.
4. You can skip the onions altogether or replace it with garlic.
5. If you are in a hurry, you can cook the potatoes and the green beans before you fry them.

Cold beetroot soup with leek

Cold beetroot soup with leek

A couple of months ago, I was in Poland with a very close friend of mine, "The Boss". I tasted a cold beetroot soup called Chlodnik (pronounced hwodnik). Here comes my recipe for the same.

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons of oil (preferably olive)

1/3 cup of finely chopped beetroots.
1/3 a cup of finely chopped leek
1/2 cup of Yoghurt
Chopped red chillies for topping (optional)
Some chopped scallions
Salt as needed

Procedure

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. When the oil is hot, add the chopped beetroots and half of the chopped leek. Fry till the mixture becomes a little soft. 

2. Add 1/2 a cup of water to the mixture and boil it for 5-10 mins till the vegetables get cooked finely.
3. Let mixture cool down. Add the rest of the chopped leek and the chopped scallions.
4. Add half of the yoghurt to the mixture. Store it in a refrigerator for an hour or two. Don't freeze it.
5. Remove from the refrigerator. Add the rest of the yoghurt to the mixture.
6. Add salt as needed.
7. Before serving, add the chopped red chillies and some chopped scallions as toppings.
8. Serves 6 persons.

Options

1. You can use sour cream, soured milk or kefir instead of
2. You can add goat cheese or cream as a topping.
3. You can use spring onions or welsh onions instead of leek.
4. You can add a boiled egg (as pointed out by "The Boss") or a baked potato without the skin.
5. As pointed out by "The Boss", you can add slices of tender cucumber.