Vegetarian recipes Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Beeh Sawa Basar| Lotus stem And Spring Onions Curry

Alka Keswani — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 10:34:28 +0000

Beeh Sawa Basar (Lotus stem and Spring onions curry) There is a dish in Sindhi cuisine named Sawa basar patata i.e Spring onions and Potatoes Curry and though it is loved by many, I somehow find the texture and flavour of the curry to be very unappetising. A similar dish is cooked using Beeh (Lotus stem) and Spring onions. When cooked in a pressure cooker, the peculiar over-powering flavours of spring onion greens and slightly slimy, mushy texture is not something that I like and hence I seldom made that curry. Later, I learnt many variations of the recipe from the people I interacted with and I did find some better ways to cook with Spring onions. I intend to share the varying recipes on the blog. For now let me share this stir fried Beeh Sawa Basar (Kamal Kakdi aur hare pyaz ki subzi) or the Lotus stem and Spring Onion Curry that gets done in a jiffy, provided you have a stock of pre boiled lotus stems. Print Beeh Sawa Basar| Lotus stem And Spring Onions Curry Easy Stir-fry cooked with Spring onions and boiled Lotus stem Ingredients Spring Onions 1 Bunch Tomato 1 Large Green Chillies 1-2 Lotus stem 150 Gm (Cut in 1 inch thick slants and boiled till soft) Turmeric Powder ½ tsp Coriander Powder 1 Tbsp Salt to taste Oil 1 tbsp Garam Masala,a pinch (Optional) Method Clean and boil lotus stem in a pressure cooker (with salt and water)till soft.To read about how to cut, clean and boil the stem, check this link! Drain and keep aside. Chop one bunch of spring onions (white and green part separately). In a kadai/Pan, add 1 tbsp oil, and sauté onion whites till slightly pink. Add 1 large tomato and green chillies, chopped. Add a little salt and turmeric powder and cook covered till tomato is mushy. Add boiled lotus stem (make sure it is soft to bite). Add 1 tbsp coriander powder and some salt, if needed and cook on high heat for 3- 4 minutes stirring frequently. Add some green part of spring onions and reserve some for garnish. Cook for 2 minutes. You can add a fat pinch of garam masala too. Garnish with the reserved onion greens and enjoy the delicious dish with some Dal Rice and Roti. 3.5.3251 Need more recipes of Lotus stem (Kamalkakdi)? Check below! Check the recipe here! Sindhi Beeh Tikki, Kamalakakdi Tikki! Check the recipe here Suhanjhre mein Beeh (Lotus stems cooked with drumstick flowers or Moringa Flowers! Find the recipe here!

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Qeeme Jo Lolo (Veg.) For AlifBe ~35

Alka Keswani — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 10:55:49 +0000

The name of the dish i.e Qeeme Jo Lolo, is very misleading. Let me break down the details in a simpler way! The Name (s)! Qeeme Jo Lolo is also known as Qeema Macaroni cake, Qeema Macaroni pudding and TalleBadhi The Dish A mix of cooked minced meat and macrolyun (macaroni/elbow pasta) binded with beaten eggs, steamed/baked/tawa cooked is called Qeeme Jo Lolo. The confusions 1) The jaggery sweetened Lolo that is made for Puja rituals is called Lolo/Mitho Lolo. I always wondered why some call it Mitho (sweet) Lolo as Lolo is always sweet. But now I know the reason. A lolo in Sindhi to English dictionary is defined as a ‘cake’, something that is baked, not necessarily in an oven. Even a Phulka in Sindhi dictionary is defined as a thin cake. This meat and pasta bake is called Qeeme Jo Lolo because it is a baked dish/savory cake. 2) Another name for this dish is Tallebadhi, which again, is actually a name of Sindhi sweet dish (mithai) made from besan and syrup. I am not sure if it is about the way the contents of both the dishes ‘set’ after cooking. 3) While it is very easy to replace minced meat with soya granules to make a vegetarian version of this dish, it was a challenge to figure out the substitute of eggs in this dish. Honestly speaking I was totally clueless when someone asked me about the Keema Macaroni cake, around 5 years ago. Though the person claimed it to be a traditional dish cooked by his grand-mom and aunts as well, I was not convinced. Then around 2-3 years ago, more and more discussions about this dish started happening in my FB group; SindhiRasoi and thanks to Sundri Hingorani, Surender Nandwani, Shobha Keshwani and many others, I got to understand basics of this dish and came to know that it is indeed being made by many elderly in Sindhi community since the era when many Indian communities were not aware of the pasta. Sindhi community is business oriented. We believe that our ancestors travelled across the seas even during Indus Valley Civilisation (Thanks to the excavation of Mohen jo Dharo). Sindhis tend to get influenced, very easily from their surroundings, where ever they shift their base or travel to, be it the local food, culture, mannerisms, faith and beliefs, spiritual leaders, language etc and seamlessly integrate it in their own culture. Many a times it results into the dilution of their own culture, in weakening of their own roots, but then it is what it is! So the Sindhi travellers perhaps brought the Macaroni (Was it from US or UK or HongKong? Not sure!) with them and the ever accommodating Sindhis added the firangi pasta to the traditional tomato gravies/onion tomato based gravies, pairing it with potatoes/peas/Makhana and turning it into a very desi Macrolyun Phoolpatasha curry. You can check its recipe here ! It is a traditional recipe, being cooked since the pre partition era and our grandmothers too used to relish it. I kid you not! So perhaps some Sindhis (I am told that the credit goes to Bhaiband Sindhis) got inspired by the Meat loaf/ Casserole recipes from the West and came up with this ‘Qeeme Jo Lolo’! How did they make it when there were no conventional ovens in homes, then? Well, they either took the preparation to the local bakery (a practise still followed in some rural areas) and got it baked or they steamed it at home, like the Dhokla. Later many Sindhis used to bake stuff in that Round Oven that was popular in early eighties in India. The above picture is from Nag’s blog; Edible Garden, shared here with due permission! The steamed Qeeme Jo lolo is often cut and shallow fried or toasted on Tawa again for an extra oomph though not everyone does that. Video Recipe of Qeeme Jo Lolo (Veg) As mentioned above I got to learn basic guidelines of the dish from the group members and we even figured out the meatless version but what was challenging was to find a substitute of eggs here. Since many Sindhis don’t consume even the eggs. Normally 6-8 eggs are used for around half a kg of minced meat. I tried to replace it with bread crumbs along with cornflour slurry but was not happy with the flavors and texture. I discussed it with many people, including Aparna of MyDiverseKithchen fame who often bake eggless/egg free dishes and she suggested trying a mix of cornflour, besan, mashed potatoes, chickpeas etc for eggless binding. After many trials I had the Eureka moment. Well, gramflour and maida batter is often used to make veg Omelette (Cheela/Chilra/Pancake) as a street food and I first came across such a recipe a few years ago courtesy @CookingShooking, a popular youtube channel! The besan and maida mix along with bread crumbs worked really well in this recipe. Of course the texture and flavours wouldn’t match with the meat and eggs version of Qeeme Jo Lolo but this one was good enough to bake when you want to eat this dish but need to avoid meat/eggs. And why did I pick a non vegetarian recipe for the 35th alphabet in AlifBe series only to make a vegetarian version of it? Well, I had to pick this particular recipe because the 35th letter in Arabic Sindhi alphabet is ق i.e क़ in Devanagari and Q/K in Roman Sindhi. And since this alphabet is used for words of non Sindhi origin only, there is no Sindhi Veg dish starting with this alphabet. Hence Qeeme Jo lolo, the vegetarian version, it is! Print Qeeme Jo Lolo (Veg.) For AlifBe ~35 Qeeme Jo Lolo (Veg.) is a Sindhi style version of meat and pasta casserole dish. Ingredients For Soya Curry: 1 Cup Soya Granules 2 Onions 3 Tomatoes 2 Green Chillies 3-5 Garlic cloves 1 " Ginger ½ tbsp Turmeric ½ tbsp Red chilli Powder 2 tsp Coriander Powder 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 3 tbsp Oil 2 Bay Leaves 1 Black cardamom Salt to Taste For Macaroni ½ cup Elbow pasta ½ tbsp Salt Water to boil the pasta For Eggless binding ½ cup Gram flour ¼ cup Maida 2 pinches Baking soda ½ tsp Red chilli powder ¼ tsp Turmeric (optional) 150 ml Water (a little more or less) Salt As per taste Method Soak Soya granules in hot water for 20 minutes. Squeeze, drain, rinse, squeeze, drain and repeat a few times. Finally squeeze the granules well and keep aside. In a pressure cooker, heat 3 tbsp oil and add cumin seeds, black cardamom and bay leaves. Add pounded ginger garlic and cook till faint brown. Add chopped onions and continue to cook on the medium flame, stirring frequently. When onions turn brown, add red chilli powder, grated tomatoes, chopped chillies, little of salt (we will add some salt again, later) and mix well. Cook tomatoes for 2 minutes and then add soya granules (squeezed well). Add some more salt and coriander powder and mix well. Close the pressure cooker with the lid. Wait for two whistles. When the pressure subsides, continue cooking the soya curry on high flame, bhunoing it well, till oil separates out. Garnish with coriander leaves. You can use a tsp. of garam masala powder too for enhanced flavors. Soya granules' curry is ready. Keep aside till further use. Boil Macaroni with salt in sufficient water till soft. Drain and keep aside. Can season it with some black pepper powder. To make the binding (egg substitute), mix besan with maida, add baking soda (can use baking powder), salt, red chilli powder and some turmeric (optional but recommended. I didn't use any and hence the color was paler). Gradually add water (may need around 140-150 ml) to make a free flowing lump free batter. The batter is thinner than that used for pakore or pancake. In a large mixing bowl, mix Soya curry, macaroni and half of the batter and mix well. Pour the contents in a greased baking pan (if baking) or in a greased thali (Plate with rim) if you plan to steam the dish. Flatten the mix well to make the surface as even as possible. Pour the remaining batter over it. If baking, then bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 20 minutes or till the batter is well cooked. You can steam the way Dhokla is steamed, using a steamer/Idli maker. The time require may vary from 20-30 minutes. When done, slice the Qeeme Jo lolo and serve it with mint coriander chutney or with ketchup/sauce of your choice. Many like to toast the steamed Qeeme Jo Lolo. For that, once the QJL is steamed well, cut it into square/diamond shape and cook on a heated tawa with little oil/ghee, till nice brown. 3.5.3251 And in case you are interested to learn how to read and write in Arabic Sindhi, you can check my Youtube channel

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Kuneh Ja Beeh|Steamed Lotus stem Chaat

Alka Keswani — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 19:32:28 +0000

Apart from the quintessential Papad, pickle, Kadhi and Saibhaji, Sindhis are well known for their love for the lotus stem and they are the most avid eaters of this slightly nutty, mildly sweet, crunchy stem. Their insatiable appetite for Beeh is the reason that lotus stems are particularly found in markets in and around Sindhi populated areas. Beeh (Lotus stem), dhodhee/Pabhora (lotus seeds) and Lohr (corm) are the parts of Lotus plant that Sindhis eat with great relish. While our Beeh paalak is bit similar to Kashmiri Nadru paalak (Paalak nadir) and our gravy based beeh curries are similar to Punjabi curries, Sindhis use lotus stem in many unique ways too. For example; Beeh is added in potato tikkis or is stuffed, batter-coated and fried to make signature Beeh tikki (pakora). Beeh jyun kachryun i.e sun-dried lotus stems are very popular in our cuisine and the flash fried Kachryun can turn the humble dal chaawal into a satiating meal. Lotus stem is also pickled in a typical Sindhi pickle base of chili powder and vinegar. Suanhjro Ain beeh (drumstick flowers with lotus stem) and Suandhro beeh (dried tender drumsticks with lotus stem) are some lesser known but delicious and highly nutritious recipes of Sindhi cuisine. The fresh seeds of lotus pods are snacked upon (raw) while the corm of lotus, known as Lohr is boiled, peeled, pepped up with salt and freshly ground black pepper powder and is served with tangy mint coriander chutney. Lohr or Lotus corm The most traditional way of cooking lotus stem is in a clay pot, till soft and starchy, served with a dash of spicy mint coriander chutney. This chaat, known as Kuneh ja beeh (Kunoh means the clay or earthen pot ), the pride of Sindhi cuisine, is now almost a lost recipe. The lotus stem is cleaned thoroughly, cut in pieces, salted and steamed (not boiled) in an inverted clay pot, for hours, till the stem is soft and stringy. Kuneh Ja Beeh The above mentioned method of cooking ensures a great texture and the clay pot enhances the earthy flavors of beeh. Since this method requires cooking for long hours, I tried a different way to steam lotus stem, which is explained in the recipe section. If you have a better way to do this, please do share your method in the comments section 🙂 This is one of the most famous chaat from pre partition era and I remember eating this few decades ago. Around Diwali, a person carrying a huge matka containing lotus stem and a small steel container filled with chutney, along with the pouches filled with various spices like rock salt, black pepper powder and red chilli powder along with amchoor powder that would fit in the neck of the clay pot, used to move around streets. Halting wherever he got some customers, he used to pull out the snugly fitted container and spice pouches from the pot and would pick out some perfectly cooked kuneh ja beeh, plonk on a piece of newspaper, on which he would sprinkle the spices like the magical pixie dust, in varying proportions, as per the customer’s demand. Few spoons of spicy green chutney would provide the required kick and a very nutritious chaat would warm our souls on those early winter days. Print Kuneh Ja Beeh|Steamed Lotus stem Chaat Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Steamed lotus stem served with green chutney Ingredients Lotus stem 250 gm Salt For garnish Rock salt (powdered) a pinch or so Amchoor powder Black pepper powder Red chili powder Mint coriander chutney Method Clean lotus stem and cut into 2 inch long pieces. Place the pieces in an airtight steel box that can easily be put inside pressure cooker. Add salt to the lotus stem and cover it with a cling film. Place the lid of the container and immerse it in pressure cooker that is filled with water till ¾ of its capacity. Close the lid of pressure cooker and cook the Beeh till really soft and stringy. It took 30 whistles of pressure cooker (or around 40 minutes or so of cooking under pressure on low flame) for the Beeh to cook to perfection. Ideally it should be more stringy but I was running out of the time so couldn't let it cook for more time. Take the Beeh out from the container and add rock salt, some salt, pepper, chilli powder and toss it well. Put the spiced up bhee in the hot clay pot, cover it with a lid and place the pot on a hot griddle. Cook on low flame for 5-10 minutes to let the clay infuse some earthiness in the lotus stem. You can keep pouring some water on griddle to ensure that the lotus stem stays moist and does not stick to the bottom of clay pot. Skip this whole process (cooking in clay pot) if you wish so. Serve hot with a sprinkle of amchoor powder and a dash of spicy green mint coriander chutney. 3.5.3251

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Suandhro Ain Beeh |Dried tender drumsticks with lotus stem

Alka Keswani — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 19:03:52 +0000

It seems like ages since I last shared a recipe here ! Life appears to be like a calender being flipped crazily, changing moments into days, days into weeks and weeks into months! And when life seems like a mad rush of events, I tend to switch off my mind towards what’s happening around and distill my thoughts to get a clear picture and a focused vision. That’s what was happening around in past few months and hence the hiatus! But at the back end some really exciting projects came into my way and I tried to give my best to each of them. Stay connected to know all about those projects, related to Sindhi cuisine ! Now lets talk about today’s recipe….Suandhro Ain Beeh (Dried Tender drumsticks with lotus stem) curry is a traditional Sindhi curry. If you haven’t tasted it before, chances are that the flavors wont excite your palate in the maiden attempt. But gradually the taste sinks in and you will probably start craving for this earthy flavored curry, in course of time. From its appearance, Suandhro looks strikingly similar to Rajasthani Sangri (Khejri, Prosopis Cineraria) . Not very sure if both are same, but then the little information that we have on internet, suggests that Sangri is called Kandi in Sindh and it is probably different from Suandhro. The ‘research’ is on, and I will update you all if i reach to any other conclusion. So for now, assuming that Suandhro refers to dried (very) tender drumsticks, lets head towards the recipe. Print Suandhro Ain Beeh |Dried tender drumsticks with lotus stem Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 3 Suandhro Ain Beeh (Dried tender drumsticks and Lotus stem) is a Sindhi style curry with earthy flavors, spiked with Garam masala powder and black pepper powder Ingredients Suandhro (Dried Tender Drumsticks) 1 cup Lotus stem 100-150 gm Onion 2 small Tomatoes 2 small Curd 2 heaped tsp Ginger 1'' piece Green chilies 2 (or as many preferred) Turmeric powder ½ tsp Coriander powder 1 heaped tsp Garam masala powder ¾ tsp Freshly ground black pepper powder ¾ tsp (or less) Salt Oil 1tbsp Method Rinse well and soak Suandhro for 6 hours. Pressure cook it with some water till 3-4 whistles of pressure cooker. Cool and drain water. You can use this water to cook the curry further or discard it if you want to tone down the bitter flavors. You can cut off the soaking time if you have microwave. Just take a microwave safe bowl, put rinsed Suandhro and pour about 2 cups of water. Microwave this on 'High' for around 6 minutes or till the dried suandhro swell up well and then pressure cook it as explained above. Similarly, clean and prepare lotus stem. Here again thoroughly wash the stem and get rid of the mud. Cut it into ½ inch thick slants.The pores of stem, if still muddy, could be cleaned with tooth picks, or soak them in warm water and hold them under running tap for few seconds to wash away any residual mud. Pressure cook stem pieces with some salt and water for 3-4 whistles of cooker.Depending upon the quality and thickness the cooking time varies. The beeh is supposed to be done when it pass the skewer test.(Pierce a tooth pick or tip of knife, and it should easily slide in). Drain beeh and keep aside. Now in a pressure cooker, pour 1 tbsp oil and add chopped onions. Saute till light brown in colour. Add chopped tomatoes, ginger, green chillies, curd and mix well. Cook on high heat . Add the drained Suandhro , salt, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Cook well till all the moisture evaporates and tomatoes are cooked well. In this process the swelled up suandhro will now look like mashed stuff. Finally add cooked beeh, garam masala powder and black pepper powder. Add around ½ cup of warm water and close the lid of pressure cooker. Lower the flame and let the curry cook under pressure, on low flame, for around 10 minutes or so. This curry is generally of a semi dry to dry consistency. Garnish with coriander leaves and some more black pepper and serve it with roti or steamed rice. Notes Suandhro is generally available in Kiryana stores or Pasari shops , especially the ones in Sindhi dominated areas like Ulhasnagar, Chembur (Mumbai) Pune etc. 2.2.6

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Bhindi Basar Patata~Okra with Potatoes in Onion Base

Alka Keswani — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:52:33 +0000

Do you believe in Astrology? Do you believe in Daily/Weekly Horoscopes/Predictions ? No, I ain’t gonna start an Anti- Astrology debate or whatsoever for now (or am I?? Who Knows?? I can’t foresee future). It’s just that my Daily forecast for today says that I am gonna outsmart myself today with some great writings …Me ?? Forget great one, on the contrary, from past few days I am facing the most dreaded situation for a blogger….. A Blogger’s (writer’s) Block ! Few Days back one newspaper said for my sun sign that i will enjoy a leisurely day, while actually it was one of the most Hectic days of all 🙁 Other day , one of those Fortune Tellers at a News Channel predicted that i will be lucky enough to be surprised by a beautiful gift (and since my birthday was around, I actually wanted to believe it…lol). But surprised I was, with unexpected expenses on the same day and though I waited hopelessly till night, not even a teeny weeny gift came my way 🙁 Sometimes you wish to believe those predictions that sound positive or beneficial for you, like one day there was a prediction for my sunsign that I will gain tremendous support from my mate, and do I need to tell you what happened bang on that day?? Yeah you guessed it right…we fought over silliest of issues. A prediction said that I will enjoy a very sound health on a particular day, and poor me, my day started with terribly Low blood pressure, Headache and sore throat, all at one time . Few years back, I unnecessarily plunged into a serious debate between two of my close friends, going by a prediction for me on that particular day, that I will play a pivotal role in solving a crisis. Well, their differences did got sort out later, but I lost two of my friends each accusing me of supporting the other one 🙁 It’s not that I always got to bear a negative outcome . Once, someone said that I am at risk of failing in my up coming exams while I was in my degree college . I lost my sleep for few days pondering over it, and also promised myself to study hard so as to prove that one wrong. But then as all of you, by now , know, how fickle minded I am, I simply got back to my Take-it-easy attitude, after burning the midnight oil for few days(nights). And still managed to score better in those exams, than the previous ones And before you wonder why I am all into predictions today, well I have a reason. On a lazy summer afternoon, when I just finished cooking a darn simple veggie dish and some humble Khichdee , my son (who had an eye on what I was chopping and cooking) PREDICTED that its gonna be one boring Lunch today. Grrrrrr…But do I sound like those who will accept defeat that easily ? Do I look like one,who will give in to the predictions and accept the fate as it comes?? Nahhhhhh I try my best , not to succumb to these forecasts, and though I do fail many times, I still believe in the saying “It’s Better to try and fail than failing to try “ So I just played a treasure hunt game with my refrigerator, found some Black Gulabjamuns (kala jamun) and Rabri , placed the Khichdee in a bowl to give it a cake shape( I generally do this to take a pic of rice, but My kid is sort of fascinated by such rice cakes ), a sliced carrot, all served in Exclusively- reserved- for taking- food -shots- for -my- blog-Tablewares , my son was one giggling kid by the end of lunch time Here’s the recipe of simple Okra (bhindi) with potato in onion base Print Bhindi Basar Patata~Okra with Potatoes in Onion Base Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 2-3 Easy recipe of Okra and potato in onion base. Ingredients Bhindi (Okra/Lady's Finger ) ¼ kg Potato 1 Onions 3 Green chillies 2-3 Ginger (1/2 inch knob)finely chopped Tomato 1 large sized Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Coriander powder ½ tsp Garam masala powder few pinches Oil 1 tbsp Method Wash and pat dry bhindi, trim the heads off and cut these in about 1 inch pieces (Note :Its good to slit the bhindi and then cut, to rule out any presence of worms or spoilage inside) Peel , cut potato in cubes and rinse with water. Drain, add some salt and keep aside for 3-4 minutes Fry Bhindi on high flame till slightly dark Drain on tissue paper and then add little salt Rinse potatoes again and fry till almost done Heat some oil in a pan and add chopped onions, Saute till it softens Add chopped tomato, green chillies, ginger,dry masalas, and salt (Remember there is already some salt in okra and potatoes) and stir fry till tomato is cooked properly Add fried potatoes and okra, mix well, add a spoonful of water and let it simmer for about 3-4 min Garnish with coriander, and serve with Phulkas or steamed rice or Khichdee (Plain rice cooked along with handful of split green moong dal beans) 2.2.1 That’s all for today folks, and I am leaving you with this bowl of Black Gulab jamuns and a glass of Hot Rabri …Enjoy……

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