Shakambari-Vegetables unlimited

This is a delicious dish & can be prepared as a kuzambu or slightly thick as a side dish. Though any keerai can be used, red keerai is specially tasty for this.
If the mangoes are not sour:

Add 1 tsp tamarind paste
Or
Sour curds can be added.

Chopped greens - 4 cups

Chopped mangoes - 1 cup

Slit green chillies - 2-3 (to taste)

Grind to a paste:

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Jeera - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 1-2 (if you prefer spicy)

Curds - 1 cup (or less)

To garnish - curry leaves dipped in coconut oil.

Boil greens + mangoes + green chillies till soft & cooked (one whistle is ideal)

Add salt & lightly mash.

Add the ground paste & simmer for 3-4 mts.

Add curds & switch off.

Stir for a minute to blend well.

Garnish. Goes best with hot rice+ghee, papad & a roast curry.
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Cooked sweet corn kernels - 2 cups

Methi leaves - ¾ cup

To temper:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

Beat together:

Curds - ½ cup

Besan - 2 tsp

Hali

Boil together in 1 cup of milk for 10 mts & grind to paste:

Onions, chooped - ¾ cup

Chopped cashews - 2 tbsp

Garlic - 4,5 pcs

Ginger - 1”

Green chillies - 2,3 (more to taste)

Heat oil & temper as given.

Add methis leaves & sauté for 4-5 mts.

Add curd-basan mixture & the ground paste .

Next add corn, salt & simmer for a few mts till gravy thixckens.

Serve with rotis or pulaos.
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For this,cutting potatoes into uniform size wedges (big or small) or cubes is important.
Wash the cut potatoes several times in water to remove the starch completely & drain.
To 3 cups of cut vegetables, add 1&1/2 tsp chilli powder (or a little more), salt, hing, haldi & 2 tbsp of oil & mix well. Any dry herb like oregano etccan be addedoptionally.
Transfer to a flat baking dish & bake at 220 deg C for 40 mts, stirring thoroughly twice, to make sure that all pieces are uniformly roasted.
Timing varies wih ovens, please remember!
This is an easy method and the raw potato gets cooked very well.
This is one size:
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Small squares;
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Long wedges: with herb added!
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Broccoli Kurma - a less common dish with broccoli. TD

Boiled broccoli pieces - 1 ½ cups

Boiled green peas - ½ cup

Crumbled paneer - ½ cup

Oil + ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp

Cloves, cinnamon, cardamom - 2 pieces, each

Chopped onions - ½ cup

Pureed tomato - 1 cup

Red chilli powder & Jeera powder - 1 tsp each

Salt, haldi

Malai or butter - 1 tbsp (optional)

Melt oil +ghee.

Saute, Cloves, cinnamon, cardamom for a few secs.

Add onions & sauté till glossy.

Add tomato puree & spice powders.

Cover & simmer for 10 mts.

Add vegetables, paneer and salt.

Cook till all ingredients are well blended.

Garnish with malai & serve with parathas or jeera rice.
broccoli kurma .jpg

Potatoes - 1/2 kg

Oil - 3-4 tbsp (not less)

Salt

Roast in 1 tsp oil & powder a little coarsely;

Red chillies - 4-5

Gram dhal & daniya - each 2 level tbsp

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp (add last & switch off)

Boil potatoes correctly - they should be boiled well, but firm & not soft. Then the curry will become mushy.Peel & cube.

Heat oil & temper 1 tsp mustard seeds.

Add cubed potatoes, salt & asmuch of he powder as you find necessary.

Mix & saute on a low flame till crisp & brown.
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Select fresh brinjals & cut into long segments.

To powder coarse;

Red chillies - 3-4 (or to taste)

Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp

To temper:

Oil - 1 tbsp

Red chillies - 2

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Salt & haldi

Heat oil in a pressure pan & temper as given.

Add washed & freshly drained brinjal pieces, haldi & salt.

The moisture in the brinjal is sufficient usually. If at all, add 2 tsp water.

Cover & keep the weight.

Switch off on the first whistle.

Open in 5 mtes & if there is even little water,evaporate by heating the pan for 3-4 mts more.

Add the coarsely powdered red chilli-peanut mixture & sauté till uniformly mixed.

This can be left plain or curryma powder added as well.
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I watched this recipe on a TV show, with green chillies. Since the variety of chillies we get here is very hot, I tried with bajji chillies.

Bajji chillies - 250 gms

Tomatoes - 250 gms

Tamarind paste - 1 tbsp (or to taste)

Chilli powder - 2-3 tsp

Salt

Oil - 2 tbsp

Cut chillies & tomatoes as shown below.
mandi-1.jpg
Heat oil & sauté chillies.

They must shrink well; then add tomatoes.

Add salt & chilli powder & lighly fry till cooked.

Add tamarind paste wih just sufficient water & simmer.

mandi-2.jpg
Switch off when you get the required consistency.
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serve hot.
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Serve with any tiffin or curd rice. Here I haver served with vattayappam.
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I learnt this from a Gujarathi friend who belongs to Surat, but lives in Madurai.

Boil together without water ( or MW Hi for 5 mts)

Onions - 3

Tomatoes - 5

And liquidise.

Mince fine:

Green chill - 1

Ginger - 1 “

Garlic pieces - 2,3

Steamed lauki - 1 cup

Chopped paneer - 1 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Methi seeds - ½ tsp

Cloves - 2,3

Cinnamon - 1“

Pepper - ½-1 tsp

Red chilli powder - ½ tsp

Dhaniya powder - tsp

Methi powder - ½ tsp

Hing, haldi

In a pressure pan, add oil & temper as given.

Add all spice powders & simmer for a while.

Add the tomato-onion mixture, boiled lauki & panner.

Add salt, cover & cook for one whistle.

Open & garnish with coriander leaves.

Goes well with rotis.

lauki-paneer delite.JPG

Friends, I am posting this recipe in a hurry because I want you all to try it before the 'red pumpkin' season is over. This tastes best with red, ripe pumpkin.This is a mildly sweet curry and used to be a 'must' item in kalyana sappadu years back, but alas, now,no more!

Cut the red pumpkin into big 1' cubes.

Cubes - 2 cups

Sugar - 2 bsp (or to taste)

Rice flour - 1 tsp

Coconut - 2 tbsp

Salt

To temper:

Ghee + oil - 1 tbsp

Red chillies - 1-2

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Cashewnuts - 7, 8

Curry leaves - few

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Cook cubes with just 2 bsp water & haldi for one whistle or till soft.

Lightly mash, adding sugar, rice flour, salt & coconut.

In another kadai, temper as given, add he vegetables & saute for few mtes.

The sweet lwevel is your option.Goes best with a spicy vathakuzambu!
kalyana halwa curry.jpg

You can use any greens for this method.
Onions are optional. Small onions taste better.
Adding coconut at the end is also optional.
This is also called Keerai Sundal.
Chop greens very fine, wash VERY THOROUGLY & REPEATEDLY. Drain the water completely. Using
Salad Spinner
is ideal.

Chopped greens - 3 cups

Coconut - 1-2 tbsp

Salt

To temper:

Oil - 2 tsp

Musard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 2 tsp

Red chillies, broken - 2-3

Finely chopped onions - 2-3 tbsp

Temper,add greens, keep covered for a few mtes.

Open add salt & when dry, switch off. Adding a tsp of sugar is optional.
Add coconut.

Hing - 1/4 tsp

The photos are self-explanatory! This goes with phulkas along with a dhal. This also goes well with sambar or any kuzambu.
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