Barlela karle (Stuffed bitter gourd)

It's been long time I have wrote anything on this page.. So once again starting the journey of my favorite passion with stuffed karela.  This dish will make you fall in love with karelas over and over again. Even my tiny tot can tolerate the bitterness of karela. And it's divine taste takes me to a different world altogether. Since I got request from many of my friends for the receipe I thought of posting it here. 

I had written a step by step procedure.  It might look as a lengthy process but believe me it is not. So here we go...... 

Ingredients 

Bitter gourd- 5 to 7(I have chosen small ones) 

Onion - 1 finely chopped
Garlic - 4 to 5 cloves crushed 

Roasted besan -  2 tbsp

Roasted peanuts  -  2 tbsp

Roasted dry coconut (grated)  2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida (heeng pd) -  3 pinch 

Turmeric pd -  1tsp

Kashmiri chilli pd - 1 tsp 

Jeera pd -  1 tsp 

Coriander pd -  1 tsp
Garam masala  -  1 tsp
Fennel pd( perinjeeragam pd) -  1 tsp 

Amchur pd - 1 tsp / Tamarind 

Jaggery -   2 tbsp

Salt as required 

Procedure 

Wash the karela and wipe them dry. I have chosen really small tender ones which are available here in Mumbai.. But you can even do this with the long ones.. 

Now using a peeler gently peel off the skin of all the karelas and collect it in a plate.

Gently cut the karela along the length on one side and flesh out the seeds and the mesh.

Add some  salt to the peeled skin mix well and keep aside.
Add salt to the collected flesh and seeds, keep aside.
Rub some salt gently inside the karela and keep aside for half an hour.

Now after half hour, squeeze off the excess water from the skin, flesh and also squeeze the karela gently.

Now heat a pan and add besan or kadala parippu podi/channa dal pd and roast it on low fire till it gives a light brown color.

Remove and keep it in a plate.
In the same pan,  dry roast grated dry coconut.  If you do not have dry coconut then you can even add fresh grated coconut.  Do not burn it. Remove and keep aside.

I  already had stored  peanuts roasted and powdered.  If you don't have it, then roast the peanuts too, separate the skin and grind it to coarse powder.

Now pour 2tbspn refined oil and add Cumin seeds.

Once they splutter add heeng and crushed garlic and give a stir.

Then add finely chopped onion.  Once they turn light brown, lower the flame and add all the spices one by one - turmeric pd, Kashmiri chilli pd, Coriander pd, Jeera pd, Fennel pd, garam masala pd and sauté well for two minutes.

Add the peeled skin and the flesh and seeds of the karela.

Then add Amchur pd. If you don't have it add tamarind 2 to 3 small pieces. Add salt carefully as we had already put salt before. Add Roasted coconut, besan and peanut powder.   Finally add grated jaggery.  Give a stir.  Remove from fire.

Let it cool.  Grind it coarsely.
You can check the taste of this masala at this point and add salt, jaggery or tamarind whichever required. This masala itself tastes divine.
Fill the inside of each karela with the masala.

Pour oil.  Add Cumin seeds,  and keep on low flame.  Add heeng,   haldi pd, chilli pd,  and stir. (This is completely optional)

 Place the karelas into the oil and shallow fry from all sides till it is brown and cooked on all sides.

You can tie the karelas with a thread and deep fry them too. You can garnish with some fresh grated coconut.

Tips 

If the karela is long you can cut it into small cylindrical pieces, stuff the masala and tie with a thread. 

If you are falling short of time, you can simply remove the seeds and keep it aside.. Finely chop the karela, put salt and squeeze off the excess water after some time.. Follow the same procedure until the stuffing with seeds.  Grind coarsely. Heat pan add add chopped karela and fry for few minutes. Add the ground paste. Mix well and cook.  This should also taste equally divine.... 

So what are you waiting for. Include this veggie too in your favorite list. 

Ulli sambhar...!! (Simplest Sambhar)

Ingredients:
Toor Dal- 1 cup
Pearl onions/cheriya ulli - 10 whole
tomato - 2 to 3 chopped
coriander pd - 1 tsp
red chilly pd - 1 tsp
turmeric pd - 1/2 tsp
sambhar pd - 3 tsp
asofoetida/heeng/kayam - 1/2 tsp
water - 3 cups
tamarind 1 lemon size soaked in water
curry leaves
coriander leaves
oil
salt
dry red chillies -2 to 3

Method:
Pressure cook toor dal with enough water upto 3 whistles. Keep it aside.
In a kadai, saute whole pearl onions in 1 tbsp oil. Add a pinch of salt to it which helps the onion to cook fast. Saute well till onion turns transparent and light pink. Add chopped tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes turns soft and mushy and is cooked. Add this mixture to the cooked toor dal and keep the pressure cooker on fire. Add 1tsp red chilly pd, 1/2 tsp turmeric pd, 1 tsp coriander pd, 3 tsp sambhar pd, 2 pinch of heeng(asafoetida), salt, coriander leaves, tamarind water and cook for another 2 whistles. Turn off the gas and let it cool.
In a small fry pan put 2 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds, let it splutter. Off the gas, throw in curry leaves and whole red chillies and a pinch of asofoetida. Mix well and pour this in sambhar. Cover with lid. Serve with rice.

Seena's thenga chammanthi/coconut chutney as side dish for rice!!!

My good friend Seena was kind enough to let me know her secret receipe...she rarely gets into the kitchen !! Unfortunately, she has to handle cooking woes as her mom is away..But I tried this receipe of hers...and believe me ..she should be a wonderful cook!!!

Seenu, I will be waiting for more receipe of yours.

Ingredients:
grated coconut - 1 cup
a bit of jeera - 1 tsp
dry whole red chillies - 2 or 3 depending upon how hot u want it to be!!
ginger - 1 inch piece
garlic - 1 or 2 pod
curry leaves - 1 sprig
tamarind - 1 small lemon size
pearl onion - 1
salt to taste
coconut oil - 1tsp
water - to grind
Method:
Take a small frying pan and put very little oil and roast the whole red chillies.. Dont burn them.
Now in a grinder, grind these red chillies along with grated coconut, cumin seeds(jeera), ginger, garlic, curry leaves, tamarind, pearl onions, salt and just enough water to grind it to a coarse paste. Mix with 1 tsp coconut oil and serve it with hot kanji or rice..

Stuffed Eggplant...Vazhuthiningya nirachathu...

Ingredients:
Brinjal(eggplant)- 5 small violet ones with the tail.
onion - 1 big finely chopped
grated coconut - 1/4 cup (u can also u dry coconut)
green chilly - 1
groundnut - 2 tbsp
red chilly pd -1 tsp
turmeric pd - 1/2 tsp
coriander pd - 1 tsp
mutton masala - 1tsp
coriander leaves - 1/4 cup finely chopped
salt - to taste
oil - 2 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
asafoetida- a pinch
water - 1/4 cup

Method:
Take 3/4th of the quantity of chopped onions and saute it in a little oil till it turns light brown. Keep this onion aside for cooling. Now roast the coconut for a while till it turns light brown. Keep this aside.
Now grind this sauted onion, roasted coconut, green chilly, red chilly pd, turmeric pd, coriander pd, mutton masala(chicken masala), groundnut, salt, coriander leaves with little water to a smooth paste.
Clean the small brinjals.Slit each eggplant lengthwise from top towards stem but don't cut all the way through. Make another cut perpendicular to the first cut without going all the way through the stem. Now soak these eggplants in water with a pinch of turmeric added to it. Take each eggplant and fill the slits with the masala. After this some masala will still be left over.

Heat a kadai/pan. Put some oil and splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds and a pinch of hing/asofoetida/kayam. Add the remaining 1/4 part of chopped onions and saute till it becomes light pink. Lower the heat. Now release each of the stuffed eggplant into this and cover with lid and cook for five mins. Lift the pan and stir gently and add the remaining masala with 1 cup water( or as required for the gravy) and cover with lid and cook for 15 to 20 mins till done. Make sure you stir occassionally and turn the eggplants so that it gets cooked from all sides. Add enough water for the gravy( I generally add water to the mixie after removing the masala and use this water in the gravy). Also check the salt. Once u get a thick gravy and the eggplant is done remove from fire and serve hot with chappati.


Some people also add tamarind pulp, and a little jaggery while grinding masala which gives a sweet sour taste.

Sambhar!!

Puttu and Kadala curry..!

Ingredients:

To roast:

coconut - 3/4 cup grated
fennel seeds(perinjeeragam) - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
red chilly pd - 1 tsp
coriander pd(mallipodi/dhaniya pd)- 1 tsp
cinnamon - 1 or 2 sticks

To cook:

Black chickpeas/kadala - 1 cup soaked overnight
onion - 1 small finely chopped
green chillies - 2 slit in the middle
turmeric pd - a pinch
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
salt as per taste
water - 2cups
coconut oil- as needed



Method:

Pressure cook kadala in 2 cups water with a pinch of turmeric pd till soft. It may require 6 to 7 whistles.When cooked drain the excess water. Dont throw away this water as we can use this while making the curry.

In a kadai, put 1 tsp coconut oil and add grated coconut. Also add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds and cinnamon sticks. Roast this till it turns light brown on low flame. You will get a nice aroma of the fennel seeds and cinnamon. Then add red chilly powder and coriander pd and once again roast for five mins till it turns reddish brown. Remove from fire and set aside to cool. When it cools grind it into fine smooth paste. You can use the water from boiled chickpeas while grinding it.

In the same kadai, put 2 tsp coconut oil, splutter some mustard seeds and add finely chopped onion. Saute well till the onion turns light brown. Add some fresh curry leaves. Now add the drained chickpeas/kadala into it stir well. Put some stalk(water from drained kadala) into it till it covers kadala completely. Add salt as per taste and let it cook for 5 mins. Now add the grinded paste to it, mix well and bring it to boil. Remove from fire and serve with hot puttu.


For making puttu:

Rice flour - 2cups (Heat rice flour in a kadai for 5 mins with constant stirring and cool it)
pearl onions -2 thinly sliced
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
water as required
grated coconut - 1 cup

Take 2 cups of rice flour in a vessel. Now you have to moist the flour adding water slowly little by little. It is very important to note only enough water to wet the flour be added, and that too slowly. It should be a moist coarse mixture. Add cumins seeds and thinly sliced pearl onions(optional) and little salt and mix well with hand.

Now take a puttu kutti(traditional utensil) to make puttu. Take enough water in the pot and let it boil. Once steam starts coming take the detachable portion. Insert the perforated lid first, add a thin layer of grated coconut and then add the rice flour till the top. And again layer the top with grated coconut and cover with the perforated lid. You can even layer in between with grated coconut. Keep this on the pot and let it cook on steam for 10 mins. Once it is cooked remove and push the puttu into the plate from the bottom of the puttu kutti with a rod making sure it doesnt get broken.

If traditional puttu kutti is nt available what you can do is make chiratta puttu i.e puttu in coconut shell. For this all you need is the coconut shell with the three eyes. Break one of the eyes of the shell. Wash and dry the inside well. Then take a pressure cooker and keep enough water in it. Close the lid properly. Make sure u dont put the whistler on it. Let the steam come out of the nozzle. Now take the coconut shell. Hold it with your middle finger closing the open hole from the bottom. Fill it with little grated coconut. Then put the rice flour. Leave little space on top and here you can layer it once again with grated coconut. Now carefully bring it near the nozzle and remove your finger and insert it carefully on the nozzle without dropping the flour from the hole. With some practise you will get it right. The steam will pass through the flour and it will help it cook. After 10 mins with the help of a cloth remove it from nozzle and empty it on plate. Repeat the procedure to make the next puttu till you finish with the flour. Make sure you have enough water in the cooker or else the cooker will get burnt. Once I got one of my cooker burnt completely as I didnt notice the amount of water inside. Also while trying to insert the coconut shell with flour on the nozzle keep your face away as initially when the steam passes through the flour, some flour powder may be blown out to give way for steam to pass!

Mushroom curry!

Ingredients:

Mushroom - 2 cups long sliced
onion - 1 long sliced
ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
tomato - 1 finely chopped
tomato ketchup/puree - 2 tbsp
chicken/mutton masala - 1 tsp
red chilly pd - 1 tsp
turmeric pd - 1/4 tsp
coriander pd - 1 tsp
coriander leaves - finely chopped
oil
salt

Method:

Take a kadai/pan and put 2 tbsp oil. Add 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste and saute for few mins. Then add onion finely chopped and again saute till it turns light brown. Add red chilly pd, turmeric pd, coriander pd, chicken/mutton masala and saute till the raw smell goes. Add tomato finely chopped and again stir till the tomato is cooked and the oil begins to leave the side. At this stage add the sliced mushrooms and mix well. Add salt and tomato ketchup and again mix well. Close the pan with a lid and cook on low flame. Mushroom releases enough water but if you need you can add little water so that it doesnt burnt. Cook for ten mins and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves when finished. Remove from fire and serve with roti/rice.