Spicy Potato Curry - For Rice

Spicy Potato Curry, I prepare this dish, whenever i am in short of vegetables and in need of curry with lots of kaaram. If you have tasted the chettinaad dishes. their main spice ingredient would be the Pepper..but it will be a hidden spice, dominated spice would be of red chili's. In same way, I have added Pepper powder here.

Spicy Potato Curry Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins 

Cooking Time: 20 mins  
Serves: 2
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Type: Curry

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 (peel the skin and cut into big chunks)
Red onion - 1 (medium size) - chopped very finely
Tomatoes - 2 - chopped very finely
Garlic - 3 cloves
Tamarind - a small lemon sized
Butter - 2 tsp's

For Tempering:

Sesame oil - 4 tbsp's
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red chilly - 3
Curry leaves - 10

List of Powder's:

Turmeric Powder - a pinch
Chilly Powder / Sambhar powder / Kuzhambu milagaai thool - 1 tbsp
Corriander Powder - 2 tbsp's
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves Powder - 2 tsp's (Optional)
Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of warm water for about 10 mins. then squeeze the tamarind pulp out and get the tamarind water ready.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat 4 tbsp's of oil. add mustard. when it crack's add fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, garlic, red chilly and asafoetida powder. fry them for few seconds till the garlic gets sauteed.

Now add finely chopped onions, saute them till they turn translucent. add finely chopped tomatoes. saute the tomatoes along with onions, till they mix up along. You got to saute for at least 3-4 minutes, till they mix up.

Add salt to taste and all the powder's mentioned in the order. fry them well for 2 mins, till the oil comes out on the sides of the pan.

Now add chopped potatoes and mix them well with the masala's.

Add tamarind water and mix well with the potatoes. close the pan with its lid. let the flame be low so that the potatoes get cooked in.

After 5 minutes, open the lid, add the butter mix the curry well. add little water, as per the consistency you require and mix well. close the lid.

After 5 minutes, the potatoes would have cooked. you can check that by inserting a knife into the potato. if the potatoes are not cooked, cook for another 5-10 minutes and remove from flame. Now the spicy potato curry is ready.

Trying to please Non-Vegan's with some spicy stuff's with vegetables alone is little difficult. but with the above dish, i am sure you can certainly impress them with the spiciness evolving in this dish.

Notes:

* The differences in the above recipe are, Potatoes getting cooked in the masala gravy. so you can expect tasty potatoes.

* Adding curry leaves powder will give you a secret taste..you can't sort it out.

* Instead of one red onion, add 10 finely chopped small onions. it will give a good taste to the curry.

Try this curry, i am sure this will become your favorite. do let me know how you and your family liked!

I got a very bad habit of doing every thing in the last minute. here this Spicy Potato Curry goes to The Potato Feast hosted By DK of Culinary Bazaar & ODE to Potato hosted by Dear Sia of Monsoon Spice. Now This Curry also leaves to RCI - Kongunadu, hosted by dear Priya.

Tofu Pad Thai - Rice Noodles with Tofu

It's my second Thai Food post in this month, Iam enjoying cooking Thai Food and i really love it's unique flavourfull taste. This Noodles amazes by its taste and its topping's. As the original version call for shrimp / chicken, for vegetarians, it can be substituted with Tofu / Paneer(Cottage Cheese). I also tried it with egg's and loved it. To Prepare this Pad Thai, first you got to have some bean sprouts - so prepare the sprouts before in hand. Then You need to have Pad Thai Sauce, its just easy to make. and Rice Noodles is another main ingredient. I luckily happened to find Rice Noodles - Rice Vermicelli at Nut's & Spice's store.

Ingredients for Pad Thai Sauce: (Vegetarian Pad Thai Sauce)

1. Tamarind - small lemon size soaked in 1 cup warm water / Tamarind Paste - 2 tbsp diluted in a cup of water.

2. Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp

3. Chilli Powder / Cayenne Pepper Powdere / Red Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsp's

4. Palm Sugar /Brown Sugar - 2 tsp's

5. Worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp

6. Salt - 1/2 tbsp

Let the Tamarind get soaked in a cup of warm water for 5 minutes. Then squeeze the pulp out.
Now mix all the other ingredients along with Tamarind water and heat them in a pan. Let it boil for about 5 minutes and start thickening. Remove it from the pan to a cup and let it cool.

Depending on the thickness, you get about 5 - 6 tbsp's of sauce with the above ingredients.

The sauce will be very spicy, tangy, sweety, but when you add this to noodles, it will all mingle up and give you a nice taste.


How to Prepare Tofu Pad Thai:


Bean Sprouts - 1 cup

Roasted Peanuts - 1 cup

Lemon Grass - 1/4 cup (chopped) - Spring Onions cal also be used.

Chilli Flakes - 2 tbsp's

Lemon Wedges - 4

Tofu - 50 gms



Shallots / Small Onion's - 5

Garlic - 4



Rice Noodles - 75 gms ( i used Rice Vermicelli)

Oil - 2 tbsp's

Pad Thai Sauce - 2 tbsp's

Salt to Taste.


Get Ready First: (as its cooking time is less, first get ready with ingredients)

Soak the Rice Noodles in warm water for about 5 minutes and Drain them. Leave them aside for 5 minutes after drained.

Though the noodles was little crisp after soaking and draining, when i started to cook along with sauce, it became soft.


1. Wash the Bean Sprouts and keep aside.

2. Roast the Peanuts(without skin) and cut them into small pieces. I just crushed them in my Mixie using pulse button.

3. Grind 5 Dry Red chilli's into flakes in your mixie.

4. If your Tofu is freezed, put it in warm water for 5 minutes and slice them into cubes.

5. Mince the shallots or finely chop them.

6. Chop the Garlic Finely.

7. Prepare the Pad Thai Sauce.

Starting to Cook:


1. Heat Oil in a Wok / Pan. Add the Garlic and Shallots and bit of salt and fry till they turn translucent.

2. Now add the Tofu Cubes and fry them, till the edges get browned.

3. Now add the soaked and drained rice noodles to the Wok / Pan and stir well. (let the flame be slow)

4. Add the Pad thai sauce and stir well along with the noodles. add a little bit of salt (as the sauce has salt already) and mix well.

5. Now add the Lemon Grass, Bean Sprouts, Chopped Peanuts.

6. Stir well and remove from flame.

Now Serve it with some chilli flakes, chopped peanuts and lemon wedges on side.

We loved it so much. The peanuts and sprouts gave a crunchy taste to the spicy noodles.

I found this one serving of pad thai costing 170rs. in a restaurant nearby our home. In stores Rice Noodles costs around 35rs. and iam sure the other all ingredients are easily available in home. also its easy to make.

Kezhvaragu Murungai Keerai Adai / Finger Millet Roti

I was searching for my favourite childhood adai recipe and found at Nirmala's blog. But i could'nt get drumstick leaves/murungai ilai, all these days to try this adai, Thanks to our Apartment Security Guard, for he managed to get me few bunches of drumstick leaves yesterday. I remember my AVVA(Kollu Paati) preparing this for evening snack, and we will be served this adai very hot with stone ground coconut chutney. It used to taste great, as my grandmom use lots of oil to prepare this adai. I prepared this Adai Today and enjoyed the memories associated with the adai and my mom and grandmom.

Iam now sending this Ragi Adai for Meeta's Monthly Mingle-Heirloom, hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi. also the the above picture is my entry for Click-Heirloom.

How to Prepare?

(Yields about 6 adai/roti)

* Have one Cup of Kezhvaragu maavu / Ragi Flour / Finger Millet Flour, Sieve it, add a little bit of salt to taste and keep it aside.

* Chop one Red Onion and 2 Green Chilli's Finely. (If you have Mormilagaai, crush it and use instead of green chilli's for special taste.)

* Take half a cup of Drumstick leaves and keep aside.

* In a Kadaai/ Pan, Heat a tbsp of oil, add 1 tsp of mustard and let it pop, add 1 tsp of split urad dal and weight till it gets golden in colour. Now add the chopped onions and green chilli's, bit of salt and saute them till the onions turn translucent. Now add the Washed Drumstick Leaves and fry them for a minute till they start shrinking.

* Now add the onion-drumstick mix in the kadai to the ragi flour and mix well.

* Add 5 tsp's of water and mix well, till the dough is soft and come togeather into a shape. form the dough into small lemon size ball's.

* Now Heat a Griddle or Tawa.

* Have a Ziplock cover / Banana Leaf. Apply a tsp of oil over it. and keep a small ball sized dough and pat it with your palm. Now pat them evenly on all sides with your finger's, so that the adai is thin and evenly spread.

Adai Patted with Fingers ready to go on tawa.

* Now just put the Banana Leaf / Ziplock cover with adai facing the tawa, over the Hot Tawa and slowly remove the cover/ leaf, leaving the adai over the tawa. Its little complicated step, but you will learn it while doing.

* Cook the adai in slow flame and cook it on either side, it takes 4-5 minutes to get cooked evenly.

Enjoy the Adai / roti Hot with Coconut Chutney.

Iam sending this Ragi Rotti, which is healthy packed with Ragi and Drumstick leaves to Radhika's event Food for Seven Stages of Life - Pregnancy, which is co-hosted with Sudeshna.