Potato Masala Instant pot

Potato masala or more commonly addressed as poori masala is very simple side dish from Tamil Nadu. it goes well with poori, chappathi and drier version used as filling inside masal dosai. This dish is inspired by the OPOS technique, but cooked in the instant pot. I have blogged a couple of OPOS recipes here and if you are interested in learning about, please check out OPOS on you tube.

Let us get to the making the dish now. I used Yukon Gold potatoes and did not bother to peel the skin. If you don't like the skin of the potatoes, please peel and then proceed with the steps.

Get Ready ( serves 3-4)

• 2 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, washed and cut into large chunks
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 green chilies slit
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled & julienne
• a few  sprigs of curry leaves

•  cilantro to garnish
• 1-2 cloves of garlic (I did not use garlic)
• 1/4- 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp sunflower oil
•  1 tsp mustard seeds 
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp chana dal
•  1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• A pinch of asafoetida
•  2 tsp salt or per taste
•  1 tbsp lemon juice

Go

• Plug in the instant pot and turn on saute  function, add oil
• Once hot appears, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chanal dal, asafetida curry leaves and do the initial tempering

• Add the onions, green chili, ginger and saute covered for 2 mins
• Add the potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup water.

• Press cancel to stop saute function
• Press manual or pressure cook on IP mini and set the time to 4 mins
• Cover with the lid and sealing position
• Do a Quick Pressure release 7 mins after the initial cooking of 4 mins is done

• Take a potato masher and mash everything coarsely in the pot.

• If too thick add water as per your desired consistency
• adjust salt and spices.
• Press saute and let it boil for 1-2 mins. Add lime juice, cilantro, cancel saute and keep it warm.

Serve with poori, chapathi, paratha or any mixed variety rice.

Arachuvitta Sambar Instant Pot

I recently posted my views and experience about an Instant Pot. You can check it out HERE
Today, I am presenting a simple, tasty sambar made with pearl onions or chinna vengayam. My kids love these pearl onions and call them baby onions. I used to buy fresh ones them in a bag, but it takes a long time to peel them. As, I my kids eat a lot of these onions, I use the frozen ones available from Trader Joe's.


This is for those who don't know much about sambar. In the south, you have 2 main types of sambar. The first one is called " podi potta sambar" which literally means sambar  made with pre ground spice powder. The next one is a " arachu vitta sambar" which means roasted and freshly ground masala sambar. One can add any vegetables to be in this sambar. But traditionally people use, onions, moringa or drumsticks, egg plant, okra etc.

There was a recent article on pubmed which showed there is les chances of developing dementia at older age if you eat sambar every day! So, all my friends make sambar and keep your memory cells.

I made  this pearl onion arachu vitta sambar over the weekend to go with hot fluffy idlis. My kids enjoyed it thoroughly and am hoping you all will too. This is a very easy recipe and I used precooked toor dal. If you don't have pre cooked dal, just wash & soak toor dal in water for about 20 mins and directly add to the recipe.

Get Ready:

To Roast and grind

• 2 tbsp Coriander seeds ( dhania)
• 2 Tbsp Channa dal
• 1/4 tsp methi seeds/ fenugreek
• 3 -4 red chillies ( depending on your spice level)
• 1/4 cup thawed dessicated coconut
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder

To Temper/ tadka

• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• a few sprigs of curry leaves or kariveppilai

For the sambar

• 1  cup pearl onions
•  1/2 Roma tomato chopped
• 1/4 carrot cut into pieces
• a small marble sized tamarind ,soaked in 1/4 cup water and juice extracted
• 4 tbsp cooked toor dal ( if dry use 1/4 cup)
• 2 tsp salt or per taste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• a small piece of jaggery ( optional)
• 1/2 cup water
• cilantro to garnish

Go

• On the stove top, take a pan add a tsp of oil & roast all the ingredients under roast and grind except coconut and asafoetida powder till golden and aromatic.
  
• Let it cool. grind the roasted ingredients with coconut and asafoetida with water to a smooth paste. Set this aside.

Ground masala with water

• Plug in the IP, turn on saute mode.
• Add the coconut oil, once hot, add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.

• Add the curry leaves.
• Add the pearl onions and saute for a few mins.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, carrots and saute for a min.

• Add the tamarind extract, turmeric powder, salt, jaggery &the ground paste and mix. Check for salt level and adjust as per taste.

tamarind extract and cooked toor dal

• Add 1/4  cup of water.

ground coconut masala paste added

• Press cancel on IP
• Press Pressure cook on you mini ( manual on regular IP) and reduce the time to 6 mins.  ( use 8 mins if using uncooked dal)
• Close the IP with the vent on the sealing position.
• You will notice the IP will start counting down from 6 once it attains full pressure and the metal prong pops up.
• Once it is cooked for 8 mins, the IP will go on to display L00. wait for natural pressure release and open the IP

• Your sambar is ready. Mix well. if very watery, let in simmer on saute for a few mins. But the sambar will thicken naturally once it is cool. if too thick add a little hot water and simmer till the desired consistency is reached.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve piping hot. It goes well with Idli, dosa, pongal or just to mix with rice and eat.

Sothi / Sodhi

Sodhi / sothi is a very popular dish from the region of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu. It is also pretty well known among the srilankan Tamils. It is very simple to make, extremely flavorful and goes well in idiyappam, dosa, rice, chapthai and puttu. There are many variations depending on the region and every household may have their own recipe of which vegetables to add etc. The first time I tasted Sothi was at a Srilankan Tamil friend's house in London in the late 90's. She served it with idiyappam and it was so yummy.

I found this receive from Chitra Murali's kitchen and tried it today. Here is the recipe!Fresh coconut milk would taste the better, but I did not want to do all the work and used the canned one. There is no oil used in this recipe. The list of ingredients may be long, but they are very simple,easily found in a pantry and it is one pot cooking.

Get Ready

• 1 medium potato, peeled, washed and cut into cubes
• 1 small red onion sliced
• 1 tomato chopped
• 3-4 green chili slit lengthwise ( adjust as per taste)
• Few curry leaves torn
• Lots of cilantro
•  1 can of coconut milk ( I used Arroy D brand here in the US)
• Cinnamon stick broken into 2 inch pieces x2
• 1 tsp saunf / somber  crushed with a mortar & pestle
• 1 tsp coriander powder / dhania powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1-1/2 tsp of salt as per taste
• juice from 1/4 th of lemon

Go

• In a large vessel, add the cinnamon stick, onion ,chopped potato, tomatoes, green chilli, curry leaves, cilantro.

• Add 1/4 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup of water. ( equivalent of 2nd and third milk if taken from a real coconut)
• Add the crushed saunf, coriander powder, turmeric powder.
• Keep the pan of medium flame and let the coconut milk water mixture boil till the potato is half done.
• Add salt at this point as per taste and cook till the potatoes are done.

• Now add another 1/4  to 1/2 cup of thick coconut milk, depending on what consistency you want the sothi to be.

• Let the whole mix come just to a boil.
• Turn the heat off and add the lemon juice.
• Garnish with more cilantro and serve.

Tips:

adding the saunf and cinnamon gives an amazing fragrance to this curry.

You can make this thinner with more water and drink as a soup.

Tastes best with idiyappam. I served it with puttu for dinner today.

Dahi Aaloo / Potatoes in Yogurt Gravy

I  make potato curry in 2 or 3 ways, a simple dry roast, with onions and peas or as stew with coconut milk. I had heard about potatoes in yogurt but never tasted it. I recently tried this potatoes in yogurt gravy and it was pretty good. The flavors of ginger, green chilli  and yogurt was very refreshing. My husband liked it a lot as well and commented multiple times, it is good.

Here is the recipe


Get Ready

 3 medium sized potatoes boiled, peeled and crumbled
1/2 onion thinly sliced
2 green chillies slit lengthwise ( increase if you need more heat)
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp asafetida powder/ perungayam
Salt to taste
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp besan / kadalai mavu
2 tsp oil
1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
A few sprigs of curry leaves
Cilantro for garnish
Water as required

Go

Set the potatoes
Add the besan to the yogurt and whisk well till there are no lumps. Set aside
In a pan, add oil and add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
Add the curry leaves, asafetida, onion ,green chil, ginger and turmeric powder and sauté till the onions are translucent.
Add the crumbled potatoes, little salt, reduce heat and sauté for 1-2 mins
Add the yogurt with besan to the potatoes and  gently stir, but continuously so the yogurt does not curdle.
If the gravy gets too thick add little water to the required consistency of the gravy.
Let it cook for 1-2 mins. Adjust salt as per taste.
Turn the heat off.
Garnish with cilantro.


Serve with phulkas, parathas or rice.

Mambazha koottan / Mango Curry

Here I am today with a very easy Kerala style koottan. It tastes wonderful with rice, idli, dosa. The addition of fresh coconut with roasted fenugreek seeds gives a wonderful aroma. The key to add flavor to this dish is the roasting of the fenugreek seeds to the right perfection. If you roast them too little or too much the koottan will taste bitter or burnt.


Get Ready

• 1/2 cup chopped mango with skin
• 1.5 cups water
• pinch of turmeric
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp vendhayam / fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp ulutham paruppu / urad dal
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds/ dhaniya
• 1.5 red chilli
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1tsp oil
• 2 tbsp beaten yogurt ( whisk regular yogurt, sour one works the best)

To temper

• 1/2 tsp kadugu/ mustard seeds
• 1/4 red chilli
• few curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp coconut oil

Go

• In a pan add a tsp of regular oil, add the vendhayam, dhaniya, red chillies and roast them on medium flame till the the vendhayam get dark brown or pops. turn the heat off and set it aside to cool.

• Once cooled, add the grated coconut, a little asafoetida, a little water and grind it to a smooth paste in a blender. set aside.

• In a vessel, add 1 cup of water, the chopped mango, turmeric powder, salt and cook till the mango is soft.

• Add the ground coconut paste and the beaten curd. adjust salt as per taste.
• Add a little water if your koottan is too thick.

• Let it cook till the koottan starts frothing in the sides.
• Remove from heat.
• In a small pan, add the coconut oil and do the tempering with mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chilli and pour it on the koottan.

Mambazha koottan is ready to be enjoyed!

If you use raw mango add a little jaggery as it it will enhance the taste. One can use, small onions, drumstick, squash, winter melon to make this koottan

Moong Dal with Dill leaves

Dill is a herb that I have not cooked with at all. It has an earthy, lemony fragrance. I have tasted in dips served at parties. I read online that it could be one herb either you love it or hate it. Recently one of my friends had used dill in vada and it tasted pretty good. So, I thought let me try it with moong dal, as it is one easy dish that you cannot go wrong.

My family loved it and I will be using it again in my cooking.

I have never seen this in Tamil Nadu, however my kannada and marathi neighbors seem to use it a lot!

So, here is the recipe. I used a pressure cooker, but you can cook in a pan as well. It just takes a little more time.

Get Ready:

• 1/2 cup moong dal ( yellow spilt one) wash and soak in water for 20 mins
• 1/2 bunch of Dill leaves, washed, stem separated and chopped
• 1 green chilli slit
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 medium roma tomato chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1-1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp sambar powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/4 tsp sugar ( optional)
• 1 tsp Lemon juice 
• 1-2 cups of water

For tempering:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing

Go:

• In a small pressure cooker/ pan add the oil, ghee.

• Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle. Add the hing and saute for few secs.
• Add the onion, tomatoes,ginger, green chilli and fry till the onions are transparent.

• Add the chopped dill leaves and fry for a 1-2 mins.

• Add the dal, turmeric powder, 1 cup of water, salt to taste, sambar powder and mix.

• Cover the cooker and cook for 2-3 whistles.
• Once cool, open the pressure cooker. mash the daal with the back of your spoon.
• Check salt and adjust accordingly.
• If dal is too thick,add water to your desired consistency. I added 1 cup more.
• Turn the heat on and let it come to a boil. 
• As it comes to a boil, add the garam masala powder and switch off the flame.
• Squeeze the lemon juice and mix.

Serve with phulkas with a drop of ghee on top and it tastes wonderful and so comforting.

Adding a bit of sugar and lemon juice brings out a great flavor to the simple dal.

Paneer Butter Masala ( Restaurant Style)

Paneer Butter Masala, a very popular dish for "Naan Bread" and other rice dishes all over the globe. It is pretty rich and comforting to eat on a cold day. I have adapted the recipe from Chef Harpal Singh . I recently made this for a potluck party and was enjoyed avidly by all. It is not hard to make at all. The amount that I have blogged will serve about 15 people, but you can always halve the recipe.

The butter and the cashews in the dish gives the extra creamy silky texture for the dish. I used the canned tomato sauce as i was making for a larger crowd.

Get Ready: ( serves 15)

• 1 package of paneer ( 16 oz, available at most Indian stores in the US)
• 2.5 large roma tomatoes cut into medium sized chunks ( they can be big chunks as it will be blended)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 1 large red chilli
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 1 tsp crushed garlic ( optional)
• 1 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup cashews soaked in warm water
• 1/4 cup half and half or cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp Kasoori methi, dry roasted
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp honey ( optional)
•  salt to taste

Go:

• Keep the Paneer at room temperature and cut them into desired shapes. I cut them as medium thin long rectangles. Add boiling water to the paneer and let them soak for few mins. This makes them very soft as we don't get fresh ones here. if you make paneer at home skip this step.

• Soak the cashews in warm water for 30 mins
• In a pan, add a little oil and saute the onions, red chilli,  chopped tomatoes, ginger and garlic till the onions are translucent and the raw smell of garlic goes away.

• Once cooled, add the soaked cashews to the sauted onion and tomato mix and blend into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• In a pan add the butter and little oil ( learnt that this helps to prevent the butter from burning).  let the butter melt. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.

• Now add the blended cashew onion mixture and the canned tomato sauce.

• Cover your pan, as it starts boiling, otherwise you have to clean all the red tomato splashes.
• Add the red chilli powder, salt to taste, cover and cook stirring in between till the oil starts to separate at the sides.

• Check for salt and other spices. cover and let it cook on low flame for a few mins
• Crush the kasoori methi between your palms and add it to the gravy. Add the honey.
• Drain the water from the paneer and add the paneer to the gravy.

• Toss them all gently, adjust salt as needed and cover the pan.
• Cook for a few mins on very low heat.
•  Add half and half or cream to the desired consistency of your gravy.

Transfer to a bowl and enjoy with naan, chapathi or pulav.

Paneer and Bell Pepper Curry

Bell peppers are every where in the supermarkets and here is a best way to make use of them. I have made this curry with no onion and garlic and using ingredients that was in my pantry that day. This curry has a rich gravy, not with cream or butter though! cashews/ almonds give a nice texture to this yummy curry. If you are using frozen paneer cubes, just soak them in hot water for few mins before adding it to the gravy. it makes them soft.

 Give it a try and I am sure you and your family will like it. Did I tell you, it is super easy to make.

Get Ready

• Paneer cubes 1/2 cup
• Bell pepper 3 colors ( I used red, orange and green)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• A pinch of asafetida/ hing
• 1 tsp Cumin powder
• 1 tsp Coriander pwder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp kasoori methi
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp oil
• cilantro for garnish
• water as needed

To Grind

• 3 Roma tomatoes,chopped
• 1 red chilli ( i did not have green chili)
• 1tbsp grated ginger
• 1/3 cup cashews or sliced almonds soaked in water for few mins ( i had only almonds)
• 1/4 tsp khus khus/ poppy seeds (optional)

Go:

• Grind the ingredients under to grind and set aside
• In a pan, add oil. when hot add the cumin/ jeera and let it sizzle.

• Add the kassori methi, crushing the dry leaves in between your finger to the oil and saute for a few secs.

• Add the ground masala and saute till the raw smell goes, for a few secs.
• Add the  turmeric powder, asafetida, red chilli powder, salt, and saute for few secs. 
• Add the chopped bell pepper. Toss them all well.

• Reduce flame, cover, sprinkle some water and let it cook for about 5-7 mins. If it is too dry, add very little water. Add the cumin and coriander powder.

• When the bell pepper is partially cooked, add the paneer, Adjust salt, or heat as per taste. If you need more heat add chilli powder or garam masala optionally at that time.

• Add a little water as needed for the consistency of your gravy.
• Cover, simmer and cook for another 5-7 mins till the masala incorporates in the paneer.
• Turn the heat off. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with chapathi/ poori/ pead pulao or any mixed vegetable rice.

Variations:

I have not used any onion or garlic in this recipe. If you wish, you can add them and am sure it would taste wonderful.
Left overs tastes good with bread toast