Zaiqa

My mint pot is brimming with fresh mint in abundance. I was thinking of ways to use up those fragrant leaves in ways possible. And what better way to enjoy its freshness than in a salad.

Mint growing profusely in pot outdoors on deck

Canned beans are a pantry staple for me. I use them frequently in soups and salads. During this season of outdoor barbecues, this no-cook, colorful, quick to throw together and crowd pleasing salad makes for a great entree. You can also serve this salad during Ramadan at Iftaar, or as a light lunch along with boiled eggs if you desire.

Substitute the red kidney beans with whatever beans you like, for example: chickpeas, black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, lima beans, black eye beans, etc or a can of mixed beans.

Minty Bean Salad
Serves: 4

Canned Red Kidney Beans – a 175 ml can
Tomato – 1, medium, finely chopped
Fresh Mint leaves – 1/2 cup, tightly packed, finely chopped
Red onion – 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Juice of a Lime
Small Green Chilli – 2, finely chopped
Black pepper powder and Salt – to taste

Refreshing Minty Bean Salad

Method:

Drain and rinse the canned beans in a colander to remove excess sodium. In a mixing bowl add the drained beans along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Let it sit for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Shake it every now and then. Serve it chilled.

Note: You can also use dried beans if you desire which you will have to soak overnight and then boil till tender the next day.

And here’s one question for all my readers. What do you all usually prepare using fresh Mint/Pudinah leaves. If you have any interesting recipes, please send them to me. I would love to try.

Luv,
Mona

My love for Kulfa ki bhaji is beyond words. I adore the earthy taste of this succulent green leafy vegetable that is also a weed and rich in omega-3-fats and vitamins. It has thick and spongy leaves, and reddish stems, both of which are edible.

Names of this green leafy vegetable in other languages:

Portulaca Oleracea L. (Purtulacaceae)
English: Purslane, Garden purslane, Pigweed, Hogweed
Hindi: Khulpha, Khursa,
Bengali: Lunia, Bara Lunia
Maharashtrian: Ghol
Tamil: Pachiri
Gujarati: Luni bhaji
Telugu: Gangapaayala, Peddapaayala, Payala kura, Peddapaavila aaku koora, Goli Kura
Kannada: Doddagoni Soppu
Arabic: Ba’le, Bakli, Farfhin, Arnuba, Bighal, Barabra (Maghrib), Rijl, Rujila, Al-hamqa, Al-baqla, Badalqa, Kharqa
Armenian: Perper
Urdu: Kulfa ki bhaji
Greek: Glystiritha, Andrakln
Italian: Portulaca, Porcellana, Perchjazza (Bari, Apulia)
Spanish: Verdolaga
French: Pourpier potager
Turkish: Semizotu, Temizlik (Aksaray Province)

source: Wikipedia Commons

I was in Saudi Arabia the last month to visit the two holy mosques of Makkah and Madinah alhamdulillah, which must explain my absense from the blogosphere. To my surprise,I discovered Jeddah has become a mini version of Hyderabad. There are meat markets there that sell fresh Lamb meat from Hyderabad, lambs are I suppose shipped from Hyderabad/India/Pakistan and then slaughtered in Jeddah. And many restaurants that specialize in Hyderabadi food. I was amazed but equally happy. Also the fruit and vegetable market of Jeddah also called as the Halaqa is the biggest I have ever seen with so much variety of fresh produce that Jeddah is a foodies paradise for sure. (Susie’s Jeddah Vegetable and Fruit Market Album)

source: Wikipedia Commons

At the Halaqa there, I bought and alhamdulillah enjoyed many fresh fruits and vegetables which are otherwise not that easily available here in Toronto. The following is my mother in laws recipe. Succulent purslane leaves are cooked along with meat and the resulting dish is simply superb.

Kulfa Gosht – Chunks of Lamb in a succulent and spicy Purslane leaves mash

Ingredients:

Canola oil – 3 tbsp
Onion – 2, small, sliced
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Tomato – 2, small, diced
Red chilli powder – 2 1/2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Lamb meat with bone – 650 gms
Green chillies – 4-6, chopped
Kulfa ki bhaji/Purslane plants – 4 big bunches

Kulfa Gosht – Chunks of Lamb in a succulent and spicy Purslane leaves mash

Method:

1. Chop off and discard the roots, tough stem ends and any yellow flowers of the purslane plant. Use the tender stalks as well as the leaves and chop them roughly.
2. In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour oil as soon as it warms up and add the sliced onion and fry until lightly browned. Add ginger garlic paste and fry along for a minute. Add red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder and diced tomatoes. Mix well. Add the meat and green chillies and stir to mix. Let cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add water to cover the meat and also add the chopped purslane leaves. Cover with the lid and pressure cook until the meat is tender. Uncover and let it cook for a while. Serve along with warm parathas.

Luv,
Mona

I do not fancy a day or two old left over plain rice for meals. Plain rice keeps well in the refrigerator for almost a week if stored in an air tight container. And it is convenient for working people. But I am not fond of stored left over rice. Fresh cooked rice tastes so much better. However there are days when there is leftover rice and you do not know what to do with it. My Ammi makes sun dried rice crackers using the day old rice just like the dal ki badiyan and they used to be so yummy. Unfortunately the weather here in Toronto does not always favor it. So I make an another of my Ammi’s speciality. Spicy and lemony Tala hua Chawal. Serve this chawal warm at breakfast or as a mid day meal.

Tala Hua Chawal – Recycled Spicy Rice

Ingredients:

Leftover plain Rice (1 day old) – 2 cups
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice – 3-4 tbsp

Method:

In a non stick skillet at medium high heat pour in oil and as soon as it warms up add the mustard seeds and ginger garlic paste and stir fry until the ginger garlic paste turns golden brown and the seeds begin to pop. Immediately add the curry leaves, red chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder. As they splutter, add a few splashes of water and add the 2 cups rice. Mix well. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the rice is well mixed. Pour lemon juice and cover with a lid. Remove with a lid and serve warm.

Enjoy Tala hua Chawal along with Khadi dal or on its own.

***

A few days back, I was finally able to get my hands on a teeny weeny Curry leaf plant. It was quite costly but I couldnt resist buying it since I had been searching it from the past few years. Since it is almost spring, I transplanted the baby plant to a deeper pot and added manure to it as the fertilizer. It is now sitting in front of a large window in my house. Alhamdulillah it is growing nicely and I hope it will continue to flourish and hopefully will provide me soon with a fresh constant supply of curry leaves for my cooking purpose.

On an another note, hubby dear had gifted me a sewing machine this last Eid-ul-Adha, something that I had wanted since long. Sewing is an another favorite hobby of mine, so I have been doing a few sewing projects lately. There are a lot of interesting and clearly explained projects shared by very talented sewists on their blogs. Inshallah I will update my blog with projects that I will be doing.

I wanted to share with you all this project that had caught my attention a few days back, and it turned out pretty good. I used hubby’s old t-shirt and a time-worn kitchen towel instead of the chenille sock and I got 3 reusable swiffer mop pads. I plan to use them to wipe my kitchen floor and when they are soiled, just wash them and they are again good to go. How convenient is that.

Luv,
Mona

The weather seems to be slowly turning into spring. It will still be a month atleast until I can see sprouts of new life budding on trees. Uptil then, it is nice to see layers of snow gradually melting away revealing the ground which has been covered up since long.

Changing weather means illnesses and I fell prey to it as well. I was down with flu a few days back and I am slowly recovering now. I was craving for something spicy as well as nourishing and comforting. My Ammi’s Murgh Kali Mirch was what I prepared and enjoyed along with warm Naan.

The chicken in allowed to slow cook on low heat in its own juices in a spicy black pepper, tomato and fried onion sauce until it is so soft, the meat falls off the bone. There is no need to add water during the entire process. A heavy bottomed saucepan will be perfect for this preparation.

Murgh Kali Mirch – Chicken Slow Cooked in Black Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

Chicken – 1, whole, skinned, washed and cut into pieces
Canola oil – 3 tbsp
Onion – 2, medium sized, diced
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 2, small, finely chopped
Curry leaves – 3 sprigs
Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Tomato – 1, large, chopped
Fresh black pepper powder – 1 1/4 tsp
Cilantro – 3 tbsp, chopped, for garnish

Method:

In a large saucepan or a dutch oven at medium high heat pour oil and as soon as it warms up add the diced onions. Stir fry the onions until they are golden brown in color. Simmer and add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and curry leaves. In a minute add red chilli powder, salt and turmeric powder. Mix and add the chopped tomatoes. Cover with a  lid and let it cook until the tomatoes are soft. There is no need to add any water. Once the tomatoes are soft add the chicken pieces and and mix well. Cover with the lid and let it cook for 15 minutes. The chicken will slow cook in its own juices, again there is no need to add any water. Open the lid and add the fresh black pepper powder. Mix well. Cover again and let it cook for 30 minutes. Give it a stir once in between. Let it cook until the chicken has released a lot of juices and the meat falls off the bone. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve along with Naan or Rice.

Luv,
Mona

Sambar is a delicious richly flavored lentil and vegetable stew, native to South India. Many versions of sambar exist, and each one is just as delicious as the other one. The key for a flavorful sambar is a good sambar masala. Like there exists many versions of garam masala powder, similarly every South Indian household has their own version of the sambar masala. I have always only used the ready made MDH Sambar masala powder that is easily available in stores. But I really loved Padma’s Sambar and since then I have only been using her sambar masala to favor mine. I was so glad to discover the right sambar masala for me.

Idli served along with Sambar

Warm Sambar is a delicious accompaniment to South Indian classics like idli, wada, dosa, or just along with plain simple rice, etc. Today I have made Okra Sambar because I had only okra at hand, but the mixed vegetable sambar is the conventional and most delicious. The addition of a variety of vegetables add their own flavor to the spicy and aromatic sambar. Tamarind is the traditional souring ingredient used, but if unavailable you can use lemon juice.

Sambar – Spicy Lentil and Mixed Vegetables Stew
Adapted from here

Ingredients:

Toor dal – 1 cup
Tomato – 1, large, chopped
Green chillies – 4, chopped
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Canola oil – 3 1/2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 3/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – 3/4 tsp
Dry red chillies – 4, each broken into half
Curry leaves – 3 sprigs
Mixed Vegetables – 2 cups (chopped/cubed: brinjal, potato, taro root, bottle guard, radish, zucchini, okra, drumsticks, french beans, carrot, pumpkin, beetroot, etc; peeled & whole pearl onions/shallots; cauliflower or brocolli florets) (I used only okra – 340 gms) (also I did not have shallots so I used 1 large sliced onion instead)
Thick Tamarind pulp – 5 tbsp
Jaggery/gud – 1 tbsp, grated
Cilantro – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Salt – to taste
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Sambar masala:
2 tsps of bengal gram/chana dal
2 tsps of black gram/urad dal
2 tsps of cumin seeds/zeera
3 tsps of coriander seeds/dhaniya
½ tsp black peppercorns/kali mirch
½ tsp of fenugreek seeds/methi
4 dry red chillies/sukhi lal mirch
¾ cup dry desiccated coconut/khopra

Delicious Warm Sambar

Method:

1. In a non stick frying pan dry roast all the spices separately under the heading sambar masala until they are just a few shades darker. Transfer all the roasted spices to a spice grinder and add a little water and grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside. This is the sambar masala.
2. Wash toor dal in several changes of water. Soak it overnight or for 2-3 hours in surplus fresh cool water. Drain, and wash in several changes of water. Add the washed and soaked toor dal to a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 tbsp oil, chopped tomato, green chillies, turmeric powder and 3 cups of water. Close the lid and pressure cook until the dal is mushy. Using a whisk or a dal ghotni or an immersion blender, blend the dal into a paste. Keep aside.
3. In a large saucepan at medium high heat, add the remaining oil. As soon as it is warm, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they begin to crackle add the curry leaves and dry red chillies. (If you do not have pearl onions or shallots in hand, add the sliced onions and sauté them until they are pink). Immediately add the prepared mixed vegetables and mix well. Add salt and red chilli powder. Lower the heat to medium and pour in two cups of water. Cover with a lid and let cook until the vegetables are tender crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the tamarind paste and grated jaggery. Now add the toor dal paste prepared earlier along with chopped cilantro and sambar masala. Mix well. Add water to give it a thin consistency. Half cover with a lid and allow it simmer for around 15 minutes more until the vegetables are soft and a good aroma fills your kitchen. Stir frequently and well, as the toor dal tend to sink to the bottom and stick. Serve warm along with plain rice, or dosa, or idli, or wada.

Luv,
Mona