Beerakaya Thokku Annam | Ridgegourd Peel Mixed Rice

I am getting back to Cooking with Cookbook Challenge after couple of weeks. Even with all plannings, we sometime face unexpected things and you are left with no choice but to stop doing something. I faced such a situation and even though I wanted to be prepared, I couldn't do it.

So getting back to doing this after a gap and am glad I am getting back with a healthy, interesting rice dish. Interesting I say because one would not expect such a combination to happen. When Amma made this for the first time, she sort of gave us a riddle. She wanted us to decipher what went in. The mixed rice was very delicious and all, yet we couldn't point out clearly on what all went in!

Ridge gourd is quite a frequent vegetable at home. We make a pappu, a kura with it. Apart from the regular Thokku with the peel, infact I have two chutneys made with the ridgegourd peel

Before even going into checking out how to make the various dishes with this vegetable, check out how to peel a Ridgegourd.

Beerakaya Pappu
Beerakaya Kura
Beerakaya Vepudu

Beerakaya Thokku Pachadi 1
Beerakaya Thokku Pachadi 2

Beerakaya Thokku Annam

Ingredients Needed:

For the Beerakaya Thokku

Beerakai peel along with flesh - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 2 -3 nos
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

For making the Rice

Cooked Rice - 1 1/2 cup
Beerakaya Thokku
Garlic - 3 - 4 cloves
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilis - 2 -3 nos
Curry leaves handful
Oil - 2 tbsp

How to make the Beerakaya Thokku Annam

Have cooked rice ready.

To make the paste

Wash, peel the ridgegourd and include some flesh along with the peel as well.

Heat a non stick pan with a tsp oil, add cumin seeds, then add chopped green chilies, then add chopped coriander leaves, then add peel.

Fry well till it's fried well. Let it cool. Then grind to a smooth paste.

To make the Rice

Heat a pan with oil, add curry leaves, garlic, mustard seeds, red chilies, cumin seeds, saute well.

Then add the ground ridge gourd paste, and combine everything well. Cook for couple of minutes.

Now add cooked rice and gently mix well.

Serve with papad

fry well and then mix cooked rice

This goes for the July Week 4, Cooking from Cookbook Challenge  Group.

Alasandalu Curry without Tomato ~ Lunch Box Series : LBS#82

For today's Cooking from Cookbook, I am going to share a new series that we have taken on ourselves. We refer to Amma and myself. Its a challenge to cook gravies, side dishes for both Rice and Roti, without using Tomatoes. 

Today's recipe is Black Eyed Peas Gravy without Tomato. Black Eyed Peas is called Alasandalu/ Bobbarlu in Telugu, Lobia in Hindi and Karamani in Tamil. Many years ago I started a series on ingredients and this was one of the main lentils that I did. 

Alasandalu are a staple ingredient in Andhra cuisine and especially in our household, its very frequently prepared. While the beans or the fresh pods are cooked as a vegetable in Tamil Nadu, the fresh and dried seeds are used in gravies in Andhra. So being used to both the cuisines, we use it in different ways.

Coming to the challenge, for allergy reasons, we have to avoid including Tomato in the diet for our family member. Cooking without Onion or without Tomato sounded just so much of a challenge for us. I simply can't imagine cooking anything without either of these two.

As always I asked Amma for ideas and we had to literally ponder on this for a while, before we could develop recipes that are tasty yet prepared without Tomato. We now prepare Rasam with just Tamarind, dal and Sambar without tomato, the sour factor being just Tamarind.

Then came the question of making side dishes for Rotis. This naturally meant experimenting again. Amma remembered couple of dishes that her Mom used to make. Those days, she said, they hardly used tomato. 

Based on those couple of dishes, we developed some more. So in this series, I will be sharing some of the recipes that turned out so delicious and we didn't even miss our Tomato.

Alasandalu Curry without Tomato

Ingredients Needed:

Alasandalu - Fresh or dried - 1 cup
Potato - 1 medium
Onions - 2 medium
Garlic crushed - 4 cloves
Clove - 1
Cinnamon - 1"
Curry leaves handful
Green Chilies - 2
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

For the paste

Fresh Coconut - 3 tbsp
Garlic - 3 -4 cloves

How to make the Alasandalu Curry without Tomato

If using dried beans, soak overnight. Change water and pressure cook with enough water, along with potato cubes. Keep it aside for the pressure to fall down.

Grind coconut along with garlic to a smooth paste.

Heat a non stick kadai with oil, add curry leaves, green chilies, cloves, cinnamon, and crushed garlic. Saute well.

Then add finely chopped onions, saute till it changes colour.

Now add the ground masala and all the spice powders along with the boiled beans and potato. Cover with lid and cook for 10 mins.

Then add water as required and bring to boil.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice or roti.

I have served it with both Rice and Roti and it makes a very delicious subji.

 Notes:

If using fresh black eyed peas, you can simply wash and pressure cook for a whistle. Dried beans will take couple of whistles.

If you want to avoid potato, you can simply leave it off.

This goes for the August Week 3, Cooking from Cookbook Challenge  Group.

Vankaya Chukka Kura | Chukkakura Vankaya Vepudu ~ Lunch Box Series : LBS#81

Recently when my sil visited us, she got along some five different varieties of greens. She gets excellent good quality greens at throw away price and makes greens related dishes almost four times a four. With grown up kids, she doesn't have any problem of picky eaters. However when I myself don't gel so well with it, I tend to avoid making, though I love it when eating.

Some of the greens were beyond my understanding and so packed it off to Amma. She told me that all the greens are very popular in Andhra and the dishes are famous in terms of traditional methods and for their health benefits. Of course, off late all are moving towards healthy eating habits and including greens in their diet has become a norm.

Whatever reasons, I was happy that I got to enjoy another traditional Andhra dish. The greens used in this dish is called Chukka Kura. While leaves are Aakku in Telugu, all edible greens are called kura/koora. So this greens are paired with Brinjal. Brinjal in general is a favorite vegetable for the Telugus and it makes a great combination with the greens in this dish.

The dish is a dry saute, served with dal or sambar for lunch. I took it for my lunch along with Rotis. The other greens recipe will follow for next week. Anyway I had a wonderful meal with these two dishes.I read on the Internet that this greens is also called as Khatta Palak. Wish I had clicked a picture before cooking it.

Vankaya Chukka Kura

Ingredients Needed:

Brinjal - 250 gms
Chukka Kura - 1 bunch
Onions - 1 medium
Ginger Garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Green Chilies - 2 nos
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder a pinch
Chili powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp

How to make the Vankaya Chukka Kura

Wash and chop the leaves, keep it aside. Cut brinjal into julienne.

Heat a pan with oil, saute onions till they turn colour, then add ginger garlic paste, saute well.

Now add green chilies, brinjal pieces, combine everything well. Add salt and turmeric, cover with lid and simmer for 5 mins.

Now add Red chili powder, chukka kura, coriander powder and cumin powder. Combine and simmer for 5 mins.

Keep stirring and cook for 5 mins.

Notes

This dish cooks only till the brinjal is cooked, the leaves are quite tender and gets cooked fast.


This goes for the June Week 4, Cooking from Cookbook Challenge  Group.