Brown Lentils With Courgette

  A reader friend of 'Abhiruchi', Suniti Sharma had requested for recipes using courgette. Looking at her post, another reader friend of 'Abhiruchi', Hema Vaidya had sent me this recipe. I am delighted to see the spread of 'Abhiruchi' family in this way!!
    So today, I am giving the recipe for 'Brown Lentils With Courgette'. Courgette is one of those vegetables which doesn't have any distinct taste of it's own. But when mixed with other veggies in stir fries or soups, it tastes amazing.
     Courgette gets cooked very quickly. So we need to be careful while cooking with courgette because it easily loses it's texture if overcooked.
Ingredients and Recipe-
Brown Lentils 1 cup
Courgette 1
Onion 1
Tomato 1
Garlic Cloves 3-4
Ginger 1" piece
Green chilly 1
Oil 2 tbsp
Garam Masala Powder 1 tsp
For tempering- Mustard seeds,Cumin seeds, Turmeric, Red chilly powder and Salt as per taste

1) First of all, wash the brown lentils and soak in the water for half an hour.
2)Finely chop Onion,tomato, garlic and ginger.
3) Cut Courgette into medium sized pieces.
4)Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds to it.
5) When the seeds start crackling, add ginger and garlic and saute till it turns golden brow.
6)Now add the finely chopped onion and saute till it becomes translucent.
7) Add chopped tomatoes and courgette and mix well.
8) Now add garam masala powder and red chilly powder.
9) Now add the soaked brown lentils and let it cook for 7-8 minutes.
10) Cook the lentils till al  dente and add a slit green chilly to it, cover and cook on sim for further 6-7 minutes.
11) When the lentils are completely cooked, add salt and garnish with chopped coriander.
     The consistency of this dish should be quite thick than normal Daal. It goes very well with Rice, Roti or Paratha.

   Suniti, I hope you enjoy this recipe and Hematai, thanks a lot for sharing such a nice recipe!!

Baingan Ka Bharta (Aubergine Curry)

                          It was a cold morning today after such a lovely weather we had so far this year. I had to remind myself that autumn is really here now.

        Being an ardent foodie, I always link the weather to the seasonal food. This cold weather reminded me of Baingan ka Bharta and Baajre ki Roti ( Aubergine curry and Millet flat bread popularly consumed in India during winters).
        When I think of Baingan ka Bharta, the first thing that comes to my mind is the lovely smell of roasted aubergine. But, there are so many different versions of making Bharta in India and the notable thing is they all taste quite good.
       The recipe of Baingan ka Bharta that I am going to share today is Punjabi style. I had it at a Punjabi friend's place years ago and since then it is one of the family favourites. This recipe doesn't require the roasting of the aubergine on the open flame and hence, saves us from the tedious job of cleaning the cooking range afterwards.

Ingredients and Recipe-
Aubergine 1
Red Onion 1 large
Tomato 1 large
Green chillies 1-2
Ginger 1" piece
Oil 2 tbsp
Coriander Powder 1 tsp
Salt and Red chilly powder as per taste
Coriander for garnishing
Mustard seeds,Cumin seeds,Asafoetida and Curry leaves for tempering

1)First, slice the aubergine in 3-4 thick slices and pressure cook it for 2-3 whistles.
2)Once, the steam is escaped, take it out and mash well.
3)Finely chop onion and tomato and also green chillies and ginger.
4)Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves serially.Once the seeds start crackling, add green chilly and ginger pieces to it and stir well.
5)Now sweat the chopped onion and then add chopped tomatoes. Mix well and let it cook for 3-4 minutes.
6)Now add mashed aubergine and mix well.
7) Add red chilly powder,salt,coriander powder and mix well.
8) Yummy Baingan ka Bharta is ready. Garnish it with lots of coriander or spring onion on the top and serve it with Jowar/ Bajra Roti or Chapati!!

One Month Journey

Hi Friends,
It's been a month now that I have published my blog for the first time. I must admit to you all how much I am enjoying this journey.
 Most of the recipes that I have published so far are the ones which I have been making in my house for ages. But now that I have started to publish them here, I am making them from a totally different perspective. Drafting the blogpost and taking the pictures being one of my favourite parts and I am enjoying every bit of it.
            I would like to thank all of you for the great response you are giving to my blog. So many people have told me personally, emailed me or messaged me saying they have tried the dish and it was a big hit in their house. These comments are inspiring me to become even more adventurous in terms of food and try new recipes.
           Please let me know if you have any suggestions or recommendations in terms of recipes. If you have tried any of the recipes, take a picture and send it me; I would love to publish that here.
        Here is the statistic of the blog for a month. Good to see that the audience is not only from the obvious countries, but also from countries like Poland,Switzerland,Sweden,Germany.

        Please continue showering your affection in the future too and of course keep treating the palates of yourself and your loved ones :)