Vaishnu Bhaji|Curry without Onion and Garlic

Alka Keswani — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 14:13:26 +0000

Allow me to share some interesting food facts related to Sindhi people. I may be wrong in certain observations, so do correct me if you disagree. In general, Sindhis are divided into various types when it comes to food preferences. a) Those who eat non veg. food, be it goat meat, fish, eggs, chicken etc. b) Those who avoid non veg. food on some particular days like, Tuesdays, Fridays, ekadashi, satnarayan etc depending on their personal beliefs. c) Those who satiate their meat cravings at restaurants or buffet parties because nonveg. food is barred from their homes. d) Those who won’t eat meat or eggs per se, but won’t mind egg based cakes, desserts etc. e) Those who follow strict vegetarian diet are mostly known as Vaishnu (Veshnu) or vegetarian. Most of the staunch vegetarians won’t consume any products containing eggs, gelatin, rennet, lard etc. The void created (if any) by the absence of meaty flavor or texture in their curries or biryani is filled with textured vegetable proteins (Soya chunks and granules). The soya granules that look and ( to some extent) taste like minced meat is widely used in curries or samosa stuffing or even in stuffed potato patties. The elder generation called Mutton as ‘b^aeyreen bhaji’ (b^aeyreen means ‘from outside’, bhaji = subzi), because goat meat was not a native food of Sindhi community. It was adapted from non Sindhi (Muslim/ Arab) community.Many vegetarian Sindhis use the word Veshnu (Vaishnu) for any vegetarian dish, while some refer the Nutrela (Soya granules) curry as veshnu bhaji (curry). After breaking any fast, Sindhi people consume vegetarian food that is devoid of onion and garlic. By rule the food served to Brahmins during Shradh and Navratra, all the sympathy meals and the food consumed by the followers of Chaliha fast etc is cooked without onion and garlic. The recipe that I am going to share today is also known as Vaishnu bhaji. The term vaishnu is inspired from the word Vaishnav, and as many of you might be aware that the Vaishnavs cook their food sans onion and garlic. So the following recipe has a base of tomato, flavored with the spices like cinnamon, cardamon, clove and some powdered spices. Print Vaishnu Bhaji|Curry without Onion and Garlic Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 35 mins A no onion, no garlic , mixed vegetable curry with fragrant spices Ingredients 3 tomatoes 100 gm Paneer 1 Carrot ¾ cup Phoolpatasha (Makhane or Fox seeds) Handful of shelled peas 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 inch long piece of Cinnamon 1 green cardamom 2 Cloves 1 Kamaal Patt (Tej Patta) 2-3 green chillies ½ inch piece of ginger ½ tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp Kasuri methi ½ tsp garam masala powder ½ tsp kashmiri laal mirch ( or any red chilli powder, adjust the quantity according to the chillies used) Salt as per taste 2 tsp cream or ¼ cup milk (optional) 4-5 cashews soaked in warm water 1 tsp butter 1 tbsp vegetable oil Fresh coriander leaves for garnish Some oil to fry vegetables Method Blanch tomatoes and blend to make a puree. (I had to grate the tomatoes due to load shedding crisis, hence the texture of the gravy was not very smooth.) Heat butter and oil in a pan (or kadhai ) and add Kamaal Patt (Tej Patta), followed by cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Add Cumin seeds and wait till seeds change color. Add pounded ginger (or use ½ tsp of ginger paste), pounded green chilies and then add the grated or pureed tomatoes and lower the flame to minimum. Cover the pan with a lid and let the tomato cook for a while. Keep a check on water content of the gravy and add some water if needed. Meanwhile, peel the carrot and cut in cubes. In another pan, heat some oil and fry carrots on low flame till soft. Do not let the carrot turn brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add some salt to paneer cubes and fry in batches, till light brown. Keep this aside too. Fry fox seeds till the seeds change to a darker shade. Coming back to the tomato gravy, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and cook well till the oil leaves the sides of pan. Add around 2-3 cups of water, salt, garam masala powder, kasuri methi and cook further for 2 minutes. If using fresh peas, blanch till soft. If using frozen peas, just add as it is, in the tomato gravy, along with paneer, carrot, phoolpatasha. Blend the milk/ cream and soaked cashews to make a smooth paste. Add this paste to curry and simmer the curry for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves before serving. Goes well with steamed rice and roti. 3.2.2925

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Macroli Phoolpatasha Aloo Curry~Lotus Seeds,Macaroni and Potato Curry

Alka Keswani — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:53:18 +0000

Macaronis got infused in Sindhi Cuisine long back and still remains a hot favorite amongst us. The traditional Sindhi style of Onion Curry combined with the macaronis and Potatoes and dried lily seeds (Phool makhana or Phool Patasha), when served with traditional bhugha chhanwaran (Sindhi Style rice), make up a hearty meal. Today’s recipe is slightly different from the way Sindhis generally make a curry. Instead of browning onions, I made a paste of onions along with some other ingredients which was then cooked and flavored with herbs and spices. A style, highly inspired from Soybean nuggets curry recipe from here. I tried it with soybean nuggets and it turned out to be awesome, so I went ahead and experimented it with Macaronis and phoolpatashas and it goes without saying that it was finger-lickingly good…Give it a shot! But before jumping to the recipe of the day, let me share some of my childhood memories associated with lotus seeds. Fresh pods of lotus seeds were abundantly available during Monsoon, and as a kid I used to love to munch upon the fresh lotus seeds. After ages, I recently stumbled upon the fresh lotus pods and of course was smitten by the green seeds. Just take a look ! Fresh Green lotus seeds in Lotus pod, called Pabhoore or Dhodi in Sindhi The irresistible greens…So fresh ! Lotus seeds peeled and sliced The phool batasha or makhane are the dried lily seeds used in Curries and also in Kheer. For years I, along with many others, assumed Makhana to be Lotus pods but then thanks to Sangeeta Khanna, I came to know that those are actually seeds of a different lily, Euryale ferox! And now the recipe……. Print Macroli Phoolpatasha Aloo Curry~Lotus Seeds,Macaroni and Potato Curry Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins A Sindhi Style Curry with Macaronis , potato and lotus seeds Ingredients Onions 3 Tomato 1 large sized, grated Green chillies 2-3 Ginger 1 inch piece Garlic 3-4 cloves Curd/yogurt 2-3 tsp (adjust curd and tomato ratio to suit your palate) Oil 1 tbsp Kamaal Patt (Tej Patta) 1 Black cardamom 1 Clove 1 Potatoes 2 large Macaronis ½ cup Dried lotus seeds ½ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Coriander powder ½ -1 tsp Garam masala powder few pinches Kasoori methi and kitchen king masala( just one pinch each..optional) Water to adjust consistency of gravy Coriander leaves for garnishing Method Blend in food processor or mixie, peeled and sliced onions along with curd, ginger, garlic and some salt to make a smooth paste. Peel and cut potatoes into large chunks, rinse well with water and add some salt. Keep these aside for a while. Add some water if they tend to turn black. Take 1 tbsp of oil in a pressure cooker and heat it. Add Kamaal Patt (Tej Patta), clove, black cardamom and saute for few seconds. Add the onion paste and mix well. Keep stirring and sprinkle some drops of water if the mixture tends to stick to the bottom of the pressure cooker. Cook it till the paste turns golden brown in color, but make sure that it isn't charred. Keep sprinkling some water drops to avoid burning. Now add grated tomatoes,chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, coriander powder and mix well on high heat, till the tomatoes are cooked. Add the potatoes and around one cup of water and mix well. Close the lid of pressure cooker and cook the curry till pressure is released once ( One whistle). Put off the burner and wait till the pressure subsides. Now add the Macaronis and lotus seeds (Note: some prefer to dry roast the seeds before adding to curry, while others deep fry, some soaks these in water before adding to curry. But I like to cook them in curry directly....make your choice 🙂 ) and adjust the salt (There is already some salt in onion paste and potatoes, so be careful while adding more salt for macaronis and lotus seeds). Sprinkle a dash of kasoori methi and kitchen king (optional) and some garam masala powder and add about one more cup of water. Close the lid of cooker and cook further for one more whistle or you can cook it without the lid, on high flame till macaronis and lotus seeds are Al dente (Just cooked). Adjust the consistency of gravy and garnish with coriander leaves Serve it with Bhugha Chaanwaran, a typical Sindhi Style of Rice and enjoy the heavenly taste. 2.2.1

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Vaishnu Bhaji|Curry without Onion and Garlic

Macroli Phoolpatasha Aloo Curry~Lotus Seeds,Macaroni and Potato Curry