Gutti Vankaaya kura (Stuffed Brinjal Curry)

Gutti Vankaaya Kura is Andhra's special vegetarian dish...liked by kids, big kids and non-andhrites<taking it for granted>. Even Maharastrians have their version of Stuffed brinjal (Bharla Vaang). Tasty dish...consumes a bit more time than usual...but worth the time spent as it makes the tongue do an extra work on fingers before water wash ;-). 

When one gets used with hand and tongue measurements, it becomes really hard to prefix numbers in front of the ingredients....but still trying my best for others to try this dish....

Ingredients:   

• 8 Brinjals (eggplants)
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• One medium sized Onion
• 10 garlic cloves
• 10 curry laves
• 1 or 2 dry chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera) 
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad daal
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder(or as per your tastebuds)
• 1 tsp dhaniya powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• Lemon sized tamarind

• Salt
• Hing(Asafoetida)

For the Powder:

• 4 tbsp peanuts
• 2 red chillies

• 3 tbsp chana daal
• 3 tbsp urad daal
• 1 tbsp whole dhaniya (coriander seeds)
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• Salt

Preparation:   
In a kadai or frying pan, roast peanuts and red chillies. After cooling, make smooth powder and keep it aside.

Now roast chana daal and ural daal. After sometime add whole dhaniya seeds and then add sesame seeds at the end. Make a smooth powder and add it to the peanut powder.

 

Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder and grated coconut to the above powder and mix them well.

Now cut each brinjal into four sections lengthwise without cutting off the stem. Gently fill the stuffing inside the brinjals.  Keep the remaining powder for the gravy. 

Heat oil in a pan, add pinch of hing, mustard seeds, ural daal, jeera, curry leaves, red chillies and crushed garlic. 

Then add onion and fry for sometime. Add tomatoes until they become tender.

Add brinjals and fry them on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes. 

 

Gently turn the brinjals to the other side with a spatula and fry them for another 5 to 10 minutes. I prefer to use my hand so as not to disturb the sleeping brinjals. Anyways, you got to be gentle with the brinjals.... otherwise they may burst into pieces to show their anger :-).

In a bowl, mix the remaining powder with tamarind water and pour it into the pan. Add turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, chilli powder and dhaniya powder. Gently mix the gravy... be gentle with the brinjals. Cook at medium heat, turn the brinjals from time to time until they are cooked. 

Add ghee at the end and cook for 5 more minutes. Gutti vankaaya kura is ready to serve....

Ponganalu

Crunchy outer layer, easy grip, no mess with chutney and absolutely no need of a plate to stick in one place.... makes Ponganam my all time favorite....just take it and go...once done..come back for another round....until the count fills the tummy. And with the Multipurpose Dosa batter, it's just a matter of preparing tadka(seasoning). 

And all you need is Ponganala pennam (ponganala skillet). I love the traditional stone skillet ...got mine from Tamilnadu.... courtesy of my dear Appa. You can try iron or non-stick skillets too...but food cooked on stone has different flavor ;-).

Ingredients:   

• Dosa batter (for around 20 ponganalu)
• One medium sized Onion
• 10 garlic cloves
• 10 curry laves
• Few springs of Coriander leaves(cilantro)
• 1 or 2 dry chillies
• Salt
• 2 tsp Cumin seeds(jeera) 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• Soaked Chana daal
• 2 tbsp oil

Preparation:   

Heat oil in a Kadai and then add jeera, finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, curry leaves, dry chillies and chana daal. Fry till onions turn bit brown and then add turmeric powder, salt and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Add seasoning to the batter and mix well.

While preparing the seasoning, heat the Ponganala skillet. Add few drops of oil in each impression and spread it with a spoon. Now add ladleful of the batter in each impression. 

Cover the skillet with lid and cook on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and lift each Ponganam with a spoon and turn it to the opposite side to cook.   

When the Ponganalu are properly cooked, they come out easily and it's more fun to let the kids lift them <be careful with the hot skillet>...and watch them smiling as they pop out :-).   

You can try it with chutney of your choice. But if you are lazy or don't have time...just toss them directly into your mouth ;-).

Cold drink

With hot summer and soaring temperatures in India, all we want is a cold drink to beat the heat. I know, when we talk about cold drinks, the first thing that comes to mind are those soft drinks that fill the refrigerator. OK, I'm not talking about Pepsi or Coke on kid's blog ;-)....they hardly make our refrigerator. If you already saw the pictures on the post, you guessed it right, it is the refreshing and healthy Buttermilk.

It hardly takes 10 minutes to prepare and makes everyone crave for it to break the heat bubbles on the head. My kids love it...if it's not ready, they patiently wait and watch how their mommy prepares and fills the glass for them to gulp. Try it for yourself....

Ingredients:   

• 3 or 4 cups home made curd/yogurt
• Coriander leaves
• 1/2 or 1 Green chilli (optional)
• Salt
• 2 tbsp Cumin seeds(jeera) 
• 1 inch Ginger
• And of course the precious cold water

Yummy....home made curd:

More green chillies in the plate are to make it picture perfect. Measurements are as per user discretion ;-).

Preparation:   

Make paste of ginger, jeera, green chilli and coriander leaves with little bit water. Add curd, salt and more water and run the mixer for few more seconds. Strain the buttermilk.

 

Refrigerate the buttermilk and serve it whenever you want.

 

Drinking chilled butter milk is a treat in summer and much better than soft drinks. Click on the link to know more healthy facts about buttermilk Why Drink Buttermilk?

So..are you ready to beat the heat in a healthy way?

Mini Veg Uthappam

Next item on my list with Dosa batter is Uthappam. Usually Uthappam is famous with Onions and Tomatoes.

Rather than making Onion and Tomato Uthappam all the time, I add Broccoli, Carrot, Mushroom and baby Corn to make it more interesting and healthy for kids.

 

Preparation   

After spreading Dosa batter on the pan, cover it up with lid for sometime.

Add a coat of Chutney and then, add a layer of vegetables. Add oil/Ghee and cook on both sides and serve it hot...sorry, serve it warm for kids ;-).

You can try with other vegetables as per your kid's choice. As Uthappam is bit heavy, try mini uttappams or if it is big, cut it with Pizza cutter.

Make it more fun for kids...you can even try smiley faces. btw, my daughter took an extra step of cutting the vegetables and decorating the Uthappam.

I can't leave this post without a link to Broccoli's health benefits. Do add Broccoli (if you get it) to your diet.

Pappula podi (Bhuna chana powder)

This is one of the quick and easy powder that goes well with Dosa, Upma, Capsicum fry, Borugula (puffed rice) upma and many more. It hardly takes 5 minutes to prepare with the following ingredients:

• 1 cup pappulu
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder or as per your taste
• Salt
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 5 garlic cloves unpeeled

You can add dry coconut or skip garlic. I prefer unpeeled garlic as it saves time, keeps the fiber and tastes great...better option than eating raw garlic alone or taking garlic supplements ;-). But if you believe in Viswamitra's trisanku swarga and don't eat garlic, then simply skip it. Grind all the ingredients in mixer or food processor. Olaaaa....powder is ready to eat.

And here is the picture borrowed from Mini Dosa.

Sarson Ka Saag with Paneer/Tofu

This is one of my favorite Punjabi dish and my first choice to go with Tandoori roti, even though Makki ki roti is its true companion. I love the color and taste. To make it kids friendly, add Paneer or Tofu. 

Ingredients:  

• 2 bunches Sarson ka saag  (green mustard)
• 1 bunch Spinach
• 1 medium size Onion
• One large size Tomato
• 2 tbp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• 3 tbp makki ka atta (maize flour)
• 3 tbp ghee
• 3 green chillies
• Paneer/Tofu cubes 

Preparation:   

Wash and clean the greens, chop them, add 2/3 green chillies and boil in 2 cups of  water until cooked. Please don't pressure cook the green vegetables.

In the mean time, shallow fry Paneer/Tofu cubes in oil and keep them aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add onions, ginger garlic paste and fry for sometime. Then add tomatoes and fry until tomato pieces become soft. Add makki ki atta and stir for some more time. You can also add paste (makki ki atta and water) instead of powder directly.

Note: You can skip Tomatoes, but I don't mind throwing some antioxidants. If you are worried about Kidney stones with Tomato and Spinach combination, do skip tomatoes.

Grind the green vegetables and make a rough paste. Make sure not to over paste the greens. Add the paste to pan and stir fry. Add chilli powder, garam masala, salt and fried Paneer/Tofu at the end. Add butter or ghee and serve with Rotis.

Also check out Mini Dosa for kids....

Mini Dosa

OK.. Dosa batter is waiting for me to put Dosas on the blog. Most of the Indians know how to prepare Dosa... but I'm adding the instructions to make the blog post complete for others:

• I use multipurpose Dosa batter for preparing Dosa, Uttappam, Idli, Masala Dosa and Ponganaalu.
• As the consistency of the batter is bit think, take the batter in a bowl, add little bit water and mix it well.
• Heat non-stick tawa and pour half a ladle of batter in the center and then spread it with the back of the ladle. Spread it from inside to the outside. 

• To make Dosa interesting for kids, make it small. Kids love mini Dosas over regular Dosas. This is a small trick to attract kid's attention.
• I don't like giving crispy Dosas to kids as they hardly fill their tummy. So make it bit thicker than regular Dosa. Instead of using too much oil, cover the Dosa for one minute. 
• Uncover Dosa and then add little bit oil or Ghee.

• When the dosa is red, turn the dosa and cook on the other side. 

 

• Dosa is ready!!

My kids love Dosa with Pappula podi (baked chana daal powder). It hardly takes any time to prepare and it's my favorite too. I use ghee for kids and Olive oil for big kids.

 

If there is chutney, spread the chutney over dosa. This makes it less messy for kids and keeps the plate clean for us to wash ;-).