Subru Uncles Pao Bhaji Recipes

SUBRU UNCLE'S DELICIOUS S. INDIAN SAMBAR VEG CURRY WE ALL LOVE

Steps:

• Prepare the tamarind pulp by first soaking a few pieces of tamarind in 1-1/2 cups of hot water.
• Squeeze the tamarind pieces as well as you can and allow the tamarind pulp (juice) to mix into the hot water.
• Once you have squeezed out half a cup, transfer this to a pot.
• Note that the consistency of the tamarind pulp should be such that you have more tamarind pulp and less water.
• Add the chopped ladyfinger to the pot.
• Allow to boil for 5 minutes.
• This is a neat trick Subru uncle's taught me.
• By doing this, the sticky fluid that comes out of the ladyfinger will not come out.
• Remove from heat and keep aside.
• Now, take a large pot in which you will be preparing the sambar.
• Heat the pot on medium-high flame.
• Once its hot, pour 3 cups of water in it.
• Add the drained toor dal (yellow lentils) and mix well.
• Add garlic and mix well.
• Allow it to boil well (for about 15 minutes).
• Lower flame and add all the chopped and diced vegetables to the boiling lentils (toor dal).
• Mix in turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, salt and Sambar masala powder.
• Fold in the chopped tomatoes.
• Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook until the tomatoes are softened and the veggies are tender.
• In the meantime, prepare the seasoning.
• For this, heat oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium-high flame.
• Once it's hot, add mustard seeds, methi seeds and cumin seeds.
• Allow to crackle and splutter.
• Once this stops, add curry leaves, green chillies and whole red chillies to the pan.
• Mix well and stir-fry for 2 minutes on medium flame.
• Remove the pan from heat.
• Add this seasoning to the sambar.
• Mix well, cook on simmer for 5 minutes and serve this wonderful curry immediately (hot) with cooked long-grain Basmati white rice and low-fat plain yogurt, if required.

SUBRU UNCLE'S DELICIOUS SPICY S.INDIAN RASAM CURRY WE LOVE

Steps:

• With the help of a pestle, pound ginger, garlic and whole black peppercorns in a mortar as nicely as you can until the peppercorns are completely crushed and the ginger and garlic are completely softened.
• Keep aside.
• Extract tamarind pulp out of tamarind by soaking 4-5 one-inch sized pieces in 1 1/2 cups of hot water.
• Press these tamarind pieces to squeeze out the juice/pulp out of the tamarind.
• Transfer the tamarind pulp in a clean bowl.
• Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pot on medium-high flame.
• When its hot, add mustard seeds, methi seeds and cumin seeds.
• Allow to splutter and crackle.
• Once it stops spluttering and crackling, add curry leaves and green chillies.
• Stir-fry for a minute or two.
• Then add the whole red chillies and stir-fry for another minute.
• Add the above prepared ginger-garlic-black peppercorns mixture to the pot.
• Mix well.
• Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and corriander powder.
• Mix well and continue to stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Put the chopped tomatoes in a bowl and crush them as tightly as you can between the palms of your hands.
• Squeeze them as well as you can to extract the juice/pulp out of them.
• Now add the crushed tomatoes alongwith the juice squeezed out.
• Mix well, add 1/4 cup of water and cook on high flame so as to allow the tomatoes to soften quickly.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Then add the boiled toor dal water (or 3 cups of plain water if you are using that).
• Stir well and bring to a boil.
• Lower flame, then add about 7 cups more of water.
• You can add upto 3-4 cups more also, if required.
• Mix well and allow it to boil for 15 minutes.
• Then add tamarind pulp and stir well.
• Boil for 10-15 more minutes.
• Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot as a soup on its own or as a lentil curry to serve over rice with/without plain low-fat yogurt on the side.

SUBRU UNCLE'S TOOR KI DAL(SINDHI STYLE) DAD, MOM AND I LOVE AND

Steps:

• Pressure cook the lentils (toor dal) in a pressure cooker alongwith 6 cups of water until the lentils are tender.
• Heat oil in a pot on medium-high flame.
• Once its hot, add mustard seeds, methi seeds and cumin seeds.
• Allow to splutter and crackle.
• Once they stop doing so, add in the curry leaves and ginger.
• Stir-fry for 5 minutes until the raw smell of ginger is gone.
• Add asafoetida powder and continue to stir-fry for another 5-7 minutes.
• Toss in the green chillies, mix well and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Then add in the tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water to cook the tomatoes.
• Mix well and cook on high flame until the tomatoes are softened.
• Add salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
• Mix well.
• Extract tamarind pulp from tamarind to use as tamarind water.
• To do this, soak about 3 inches piece of tamarind in 1 cup of hot water.
• Squeeze to extract the tamarind pulp and let it mix with the water to form'tamarind water' (that's what I call it).
• There is no need to pass this through a strainer- use it directly!
• Measure out 2/3 cup of tamarind water in a cup and add this tamarind water to the tomato mixture.
• Mix well and allow it to cook on medium-high flame for 5 minutes.
• In the meantime, open the pressure cooker (by this time the lentils will be tender and the whistle would have blown) and with the help of a beater/mashing tool (we use what we call a'mandira' in Hindi. This is a long wooden spoon with a round base that we use for mashing lentils, bananas, etc), in round circular motions, mash the lentils completely, until they mix with the water in which they were being cooked.
• Now add 5 cups of water alongwith the lentil and water mixture that was used to cook the lentils. Add the tamarind-tomato mixture, mixing gracefully, as you sing your favourite kitchen song side-by-side!
• Allow this to come to a boil.
• Lower flame and cook for 10 more minutes on a simmer.
• Remove from flame and serve immediately with cooked long-grain white Basmati rice.
• Serve hot (we serve it immediately because it doesn't taste very good once it gets cold) alongwith low-fat plain yogurt on the side for a complete wonderful Asian-Indian meal in rice and lentil curry heaven!
• My brother, Manav, says that my wud-be hubby is a lucky man cos I'll cook this for him and oh my, my bro adores this curry!
• Please note: If you have a sore throat, a running nose, fever, cough and cold, then PLEASE omit the tamarind altogether because using tamarind juice in this recipe when you have a bad throat, will only make your throat worse. This curry cooks awesome even without the tamarind juice. Enjoy!

SUBRU UNCLE'S SAI BHAJI (SPINACH THE SINDHI WAY)

Steps:

• 1. Buy 1 kg of spinach leaves and wash them thoroughly. Separate the leaves from the stalks. Chop the leaves finely to make 7 1/2 cups approximately of chopped spinach leaves.
• 2. Take channa dal in a bowl. Clean it to remove stones, dirt, etc. Wash it thoroughly and then soak it in plenty of water for 20 minutes. Drain before using for preparation.
• 3. Heat oil in a pot/pressure cooker.
• 4. Once it is hot, add cumin seeds and allow to crackle.
• 5. Once the cumin seeds stop crackling, add chopped ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for a few minutes or until the raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone.
• 6. Fold in chopped onions and chopped green chillies. Stir-fry until browned.
• 7. Add all the spice powders i.e. turmeric, red chilli and corriander powders.
• 8. Now add the drained channa dal. Mix well and stir-fry for five minutes on medium heat.
• 9. Fold in the cubed potatoes. Mix well and allow them to cook for 5 minutes.
• 10. Next add the chopped tomatoes and mix well. Cook on medium-high flame until softened.
• 11. Fold in the chopped spinach leaves, ambut chukka and fresh dill leaves. Mix thoroughly.
• 12. Add salt to taste and a cup of water. Mix well.
• 13. Cover and allow to pressure cook for upto 4 whistles. If you are cooking this in a pot, then cover the pot and allow to cook on medium-high flame for about 45 minutes or until this appears to be very mushy.
• 14. Remove from heat and mash well. A good way to do this is to mash from all sides to the center gradually.
• 15. Mix in 1/2 cup of water.
• 16. Remove from flame and serve hot with Brown rice pulao.

SUBRU UNCLE'S PAO-BHAJI

Steps:

• Boil the first seven ingredients(that is, all the veggies), covered, in a very large pot for 30 minutes on high flame or until they are extremely soft (they should be so soft that they break at the slightest touch).
• In the meantime while the veggies are kept to boil, heat 4 tbsps. of oil in a very large sized pot.
• Add 2 tsps. of cumin seeds when the oil is hot.
• Allow the seeds to crackle.
• Once they stop crackling, add ginger, garlic, onion and green chilli.
• Stir-fry on high flame until the masala becomes very dry and starts leaving the sides of the pan (When it is so dry that it appears almost black in colour, that means it is ready. DO NOT burn it, keep stir-frying continuously until it gets very very dry).
• Add pav-bhaji masala powder and turmeric powder to the onion-ginger mixture in the pot.
• Mix well and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Remove this pot from flame.
• By now, the veggies would have become extremely soft.
• Remove from flame and with the help of a pounding stone (known as"mandira" in Hindi), mash the veggies extremely well.
• Add the mashed veggies mixture to the prepared masala in the very large pot.
• Stir in a little over 1/4 cup of water.
• Mix well.
• Garnish with corriander leaves, onion rings, ginger juliennes and 2 lemons (halved).
• Serve hot (we like to have it immediately once it's ready) with pao (that's the actual accompaniment to this vegetarian dish) or with white bread or brown bread or parathas (this will go very well with my Pudina/Mint Parathas) or cooked long-grain Basmati rice.
• Enjoy!