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Raanh/Chauran ~AlifBe~24

Alka Keswani — Sun, 30 May 2021 06:42:57 +0000

As mentioned many times in the AlifBe series, the 52 letters of Sindhi Alphabet are divisible into 16 shape groups and so far four shape groups are done and dusted! For the recap of the alphabets covered so far, please check this list! In the 5th shape group there are three letters and the first one in this group isر in Arabic Sindhi, र in Devanagari, while in Roman Sindhi it is R as in Ratnagiri/Rajasthan etc. And the corresponding Sindhi dish is Raanh, also called Chauran and Chawli for AlifBe of Sindhi Food #24 Raanh or Black eyed beans are often a part of Prasad in Sindhi temples. Simply boiled with salt and water till soft, Raanh are distributed with Kanau (Karao or Kada Prasad) or with Suji jo seero (Semolina halwa). In many Sindhi homes, Raanh are made in tomato gravy and you can find its recipe here! But personally I like these beans cooked in the typical Sindhi style Onion Tomato gravy, with no other overpowering ingredients like garlic or garam masala powder. I am often asked about how to make a homogenous ‘daag^ waari ras‘ (gravy) without using a blender. ‘Daag^‘ here means a brown coloured gravy that Sindhis use as a base to cook many Sindhi style curries and let me demystify the ‘daag^‘ today! To cook a perfect ‘Daag^ waari ras‘: 1) Make sure that you are using sufficient fat(ghee/oil)…not too much, but just sufficient enough to help proper sautéing of onions. If you use very little oil the onions will stick to the bottom of the pan/cooker and may get burnt or turn crisp. We want perfectly browned but yet soft onions. If you use more than needed fat, the oil will float in the curry and may not to be acceptable to health conscious people. Here is a tip: Add sufficient oil initially, cook onions till brown and then drain out the oil. Re-use it in a day or so to cook another onion based curry. 2) Never allow onions to turn crisp. Crispier onions affect the texture of the final dish as the gravy would look chunkier and not smooth. Make sure that onions are not burnt. Even few burnt bits can turn gravy bitter. 3) Do not blend the gravy using a blender. Always whisk it with a wooden whisker if you want the typical Sindhi flavors of the dish. 4) Once onions and tomatoes are cooked well, add vegetables/meat/chickpeas/Soya chunks etc and bhuno it well till oil separates out (no need to bhuno black eyed beans). Keep sprinkling some water if the contents start sticking to the bottom of the vessel. 5) Add some water to make the gravy and cook vegetables/meat/beans etc first on high flame and then always simmer the curry on low flame, preferably under pressure (Mostly pressure cooker is used to make Daag^ waari ras i.e gravy). 6) You can add Akha garam masala at the beginning or can add some garam masala powder while bhunoing and some, towards the end of cooking process. Hope this helps! If you have any doubts or troubles while cooking any Sindhi food, do let me know via comments and I will make sure to discuss it with you! Here is the recipe: Print Raanh ~AlifBe~24 Raanh or Black eyed Beans cooked in onion tomato gravy! Ingredients Raanh (Black Eyed Beans) 1 cup Onions 2 Tomatoes 2 Green chillies 2-3 (As per taste) Ginger 1 inch piece Salt Turmeric powder ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 tbsp Oil 2 tbsp Method Pick, rinse several times with water and soak Raanh in water for 6-8 hours. Later discard the water if it is frothy and rinse 1-2 times again. In a pressure cooker heat 2 tbsp of oil, add chopped onions and ginger. Cook onions on medium to low flame, till brown. Add chopped tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric powder and little salt to facilitate softening of tomatoes. Mix well and allow tomatoes to turn mushy. Add about 1 cup of water and close the lid of pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles. Put off the flame and let the pressure subside! Open the lid, whisk the mixture properly with a wooden whisk (Mandhiyaro). Add soaked beans and some salt along with a tbsp of coriander powder and mix properly. Add some water (about 2 cups) and again close the lid and wait for a whistle of cooker. Put the flame on lowest and allow beans to cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Comparatively fresh beans that are soaked well, tend to soften by then. Else cook a little longer. Once cooked, adjust the consistency of gravy, if needed and serve it garnished with coriander leaves. Goes well with white steamed or boiled rice and/or rotis! 3.5.3251 Signing off with this short video about how to write in Arabic Sindhi!

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A Tale Of Two Curries ~Part Two

Alka Keswani — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:49:29 +0000

Sorry folks, I know I took way too much of time to finish this tale. But then better late than never, isn’t it? Now without any Blah Blah (Oh how much I dislike this expression of relief on your face upon hearing this ! ) let’s jump over to the Recipe Recap: Hubby and myself preferred the Raanh in two different curries. After cooking Black Eyed Beans or Raanh in Tomato base curry for Dear Hubby, I went ahead to treat my taste buds with Raanh in Onion Based Curry. Print A Tale Of Two Curries ~Part Two Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins Serves: 2-3 An easy Indian curry recipe of Black eyed beans Ingredients Raanh (Black Eyed Beans) 1 cup Onions 2 Tomatoes 2 small sized Green chillies 2-3 (As per taste) Ginger a tiny piece Salt Turmeric powder ¼ tsp( a bit less) Coriander Powder ½ tsp Oil 1 tbsp (or less) Method Pick, rinse several times with water and soak Raanh in water for 6-8 hours Later discard the water if it is frothy and rinse 1-2 times again In a pressure cooker add 1 tbsp of oil and add chopped onions Keep stirring at intervals till onions turn brownish in colour Add chopped tomatoes,finely chopped ginger, green chillies, turmeric powder and coriander powder Mix well till tomato gets cooked, add about 1 cup of water and close the lid of pressure cooker and wait for 3 whistles Put off the gas and let the cooker cool down Open the lid, whisk the mixture properly with the wooden whisk (Mandhiyaro) Note: If you wish, then after the onions get browned, you can grind it along with tomatoes and chillies and then cook this mixture.That way the chunks of onions will not be visible in curry, since many prefer smooth gravies Add soaked beans and salt and mix properly .Add some water (about 2 cups) and again close the lid and wait for 2-4 whistles( Yeah that will be the variation of cooking time needed for beans depending upon quality and soaking time). The beans generally take longer time to cook in onion gravy than tomato gravies (My observation). So better check out after 2 whistles and decide how much more the beans need to be cooked Adjust the consistency of gravy and serve it garnished with coriander leaves Goes well with white steamed rice but i served it with some Rotis and tomato+cucumber+onion salad 2.2.1

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Mine Vs.Yours~A Tale of Two Curries

Alka Keswani — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:21:32 +0000

Before you visualize a fight here, between two cooks (chefs), let me assure you to relax. Its just one of those usual arguments between My better half (he is on lesser side of that half, since I outweigh him in kilograms, not that I am proud of it, still…..) and me about deciding the way, a particular veggie or legume or anything else in that matter, will be cooked on weekends. Now those who are thinking that HIS way would mean anything like HIM cooking a meal, then just forget it. It’s always me cooking for him, and that too his way and again before anyone paints a picture like Ablah Naari ( Helpless, suffering woman), then kindly note I do not even remotely fit into that category ! On the contrary I belong to those shrewd class of Homo sapiens, who would not allow anyone in her Kitchen (fearing a mess) and then moan about being not helped by anyone.My hubby calls it “Assaulting from both sides” (lol), and Man…I am pretty good at this 😉 So when last weekend we were discussing the menu (with his eyes, ears and mind occupied with his Laptop) and me babbling at his back, out of the blue he suggested Black Eyed Beans or Raanh as we call it in Sindhi. After I soaked beans (though these SHOULD be soaked for about eight hours, I did it for just 3 and half) , my hubby said that he would like to eat those in tomato base curry. Shocked to hear that, I thought of overlooking his suggestion and to make it MY WAY(Onion based gravy). But knowing that he wont like it my way and I wont, his way (A very common situation between us…who said opposites attract…did I???) I got generous and end up making it in both ways , a thing I seldom do ( mostly I go ahead with my preference, obviously since its me who is gonna cook) Do I need to talk about the Nutritional facts of the Lobia or B-E-B or Raanh ? Check it out here if you are doubtful ! Now my ramblings have already occupied too much of space here, so today lets check out one recipe ,while the other one will follow in PART 2 of this saga 🙂 I do not want to confuse you all, so here I will be giving recipe that would serve 2 Hungry Adults, though actually I divided the ingredients in two halves to make two ways of curries. Didn’t got my point??….Ah no big deal, I don’t make sense many of times ! Today’s Recipe is of Raanh in Tomato based curry . Print Lobia or Black Eyed beans in Tomato gravy Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins Serves: 2 Lobia or Black Eyed beans cooked in Tomato gravy Ingredients Black Eyed Beans 1 cup Ripe Tomatoes 2 Medium sized Green chillies 2-3 Ginger a bit Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp (or less) Potato 1 (optional) Coriander Powder ½ tsp Cumin Seeds 1 tsp Curry leaves 4-5 Oil 1tbsp Method Pick, Rinse for several times and then soak beans for eight hours(or over night) Rinse again if you see frothy layer after soaking with some fresh water In a pressure cooker, add 1 tsp of oil and add cumin seeds and Curry leaves(optional) After the seeds splutter add grated or pureed Tomatoes, pounded ginger(or even a paste) turmeric and coriander powder, chopped green chillies and saute till tomato is cooked(leaves oil from sides), say for about 2-4 minutes Add the soaked Beans , peeled and diced potato cubes and salt and mix properly (but do not mix too much, An Old Wives Tale says that stirring beans {Bhuno-ing} too much before cooking, makes them hard...Do not know the fact though) Add water much above the level of beans, and close the lid of cooker wait till 2-3 whistles, depending upon the quality and hours of soaking, it would take anywhere between 3-6 whistles for cooking beans) To avoid Overcooking, its better to check out every time after two whistles of pressure cooker Adjust the consistency of gravy and seasoning and garnish with coriander leaves Tastes equally good with plain steamed rice or Rotis (Whole Wheat Flatbreads) 2.2.1 If you are still interested in another way of making Lobia, do visit again , my Virtual Rasoi.I am sure you won’t be disappointed 🙂

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