Raw Banana Stir Fry (Kaaya Upperi)

Raw banana with smashed shallots and chili, sautéed in some coconut oil… Love to have that with some curd and rice.

Buy raw bananas, any type. Usually in India, we get bananas that are used only for cooking. We call it ‘ponthan kaaya’, they are short and stout and is not good to eat when ripe. That is they are less sweet. So we cook them.

Anyway you can use the same for any raw banana.

Scrape the skin of lightly. Do not take the whole skin. Dip them in turmeric water (a little turmeric powder added to water) to avoid discoloration and to get rid of the sap while cutting.

Cook 3 cups of bananas diced into half inch squares in 2 cups of water with enough salt and ¼ tsp turmeric powder.

Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil, sauté crushed shallots and a sprig of curry leaves, 4 green chilies, and add the cooked bananas. Sauté them well and smash it lightly. Instead of green chilies, you can add crushed whole pepper.

I have seen some add a tinge of asafoetida. I don’t, so you needn’t :-)

I would say coconut oil is a must for upperi/mezhukkupuratti (stir fry in English) like this, since the coconut oil gives the dish a very unique flavor and taste.

Serve with rice or roti.

why Why why?

I am just testing out this post to see whether it will appear on Taste of India. I wrote three posts this week, scheduled them to be posted on a certain date and time using bloggers new schedule your posts magic. The posts appear or publish at the exact time, but somehow Taste of India never picks it up?

It appears on Reader, if it appears on Reader, why wont the feed be picked up?
hmm......

why Why why

Will this appear?

Tsk Tsk...Oh those readers who will miss this great treasure cove of Ginger and Mango recipes..... It is not about me you know, it is all about you, you, you :) (3 times would make anything sound true) ;)

Mutton Curry

It is very difficult to get good mutton in U.S if you don’t know the right places. The difficulty being most Americans does not eat mutton. Usually Middle-Eastern, or Hyderabadi shops or Muslim shop owners carry good fresh mutton.

Remember the Seinfeld episode where his girl friend feeds him mutton and he chews and puts them into his coat pocket and Elaine being chased by the street dogs?

Mutton is a little harder, chewier and so most Americans dislike them. So you don’t find them in the grocery stores normally and available only at the ethnic stores. Mutton is not Lamb. Lamb is what you normally get here. But once if you are accustomed to mutton, it is a tiny chance you would like lamb and vice versa. Lamb is from the sheep and mutton is from goat – both very different animals.

However there has been an increase in mutton production in U.S, as there has been an increase in immigrant population who prefers mutton. Maybe the stores will start to carry them and you don’t have to go in search of this meat at ethnic stores.

We have goat farms here and we can even choose the goat and they would kill and prepare it for us. So we are lucky to get the freshest of the fresh. I usually buy one whole goat and divide the meat and store it in my freezer.

If you have a choice, buy the leg part of the mutton.

For 4 cups of cleaned mutton, mix 1 cup of coarsely chopped onion, ¼ cup of ginger garlic crushed, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1 coarsely chopped tomato, 2 tsp of coriander powder, 2 tsp of meat masala powder, 1 tsp of chili powder, ½ tsp of turmeric, enough salt.

Mix well and marinate and keep aside for half an hour and then cook them in a pressure cooker or in a pot. If using pressure cooker, you need to know mutton in U.S takes more time to cook than beef. Usually in India it is the other way, beef takes time to cook. This is what I have normally seen in U.S. It takes the time to cook toor dal in a pressure cooker. Do not add water. The water from the meat will cook the mutton.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil, sauté 1 sprig of curry leaves, sauté and brown 1 cup thinly diced onion, add the cooked mutton and mix and boil in medium heat until the curry thickens to your preferred consistency.

Serve with rice or roti.

Country Style Ribs Fry

Haven’t you seen the country style pork ribs at stores in U.S? Ever bought them? I love them more than the spareribs. They are an easy party dish, cheaper and fattier, more pieces and a party favorite.

Buy country style ribs with the bone and divide each piece into three.

Marinate them in a paste of curd, chili powder, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, onion, salt, turmeric powder and a little bit of sugar.

Deep fry them in hot vegetable oil. It takes a little extra time to fry them. So make sure you start frying them early.

Serve as an appetizer or side dish.

Mashed Bittergourd and Potatoes

Don’t like bittergourd? Add them to potatoes. Yes, bittergourd and potato is a spectacular combination. Like one big happy family they cling on to each other sharing the sweetness and the bitterness. This is one great way to make all those bitterphobic kids and grownups to have a little iron in their food and to welcome bitter gourd, the nutrient rich gourd into your dinner plate.



Bitter grourd. Deseed and remove all the inner pulp. Cut into one inch pieces – 2 cups

Potatoes peeled and cut into one inch pieces – 2 cups

Boil them together with 2 cups of water, 1 tsp of chili powder, a little salt and ½ tsp of turmeric. When cooked mash the lightly.


Now heat 2 tsp oil, splutter mustard seeds, 1 sprig of curry leaves.
Sauté 1 crushed garlic pod with 1 cup of diced onion and 1/2 cup of diced tomato. Saute well.

Add the mashed potato bittergourd mixture and sauté for 5 minutes.

Serve with rice or roti.

Psst...If anyone asks why the potato has a slight bitter taste, you can exaplin to them that those potatoes are from the mountains of MachuPichu and the soil there turns them a little mineraly richly bitter and that they are having a taste of real MachuPichu…. Oh What all one has to do to get some iron in their food.

Simple Potato Curry

Puris and potato curry for a Sunday brunch, for a train journey, as a friend drops by – it is the simplest and the best.

I am yet to find a pantry that doesn’t store potatoes. With around five thousand varieties, you get them in any part of the World. Imagine a World where there were no potatoes? Well, ask the Irish about the Potato Famine.

Cultivated some 7000 years ago in Peru, they are the quintessential food for many countries. Do you know in some of the old U.S stealth submarines, all they could store were potatoes and the soldiers ate them day after day, night after night which kept them alive.

It is only after moving to U.S, I knew people just eat them as main meal, the baked potato dish. The very first day in U.S, someone at the table ordered potato skins and I was like, Whaaat?? I just pick them up at the grocery like onions without even thinking and put them in everything. And finally when they are too many, I make the ever simple, ever delicious potato curry.

Peel and dice them small like this. 2 cups

3 green chilies
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Onions diced thin – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder -/12 tsp.
Salt
Peas cooked (2 tbsp) – optional

Heat 2 tsp oil, splutter ½ tsp mustard seeds, add the curry leaves, diced green chilies and onion and sauté well. Then add the potatoes, add ½ tsp turmeric powder and add 1 cup of water and cook in low flame. When almost cooked, add the cooked peas. Add salt to adjust taste.

When cooked, mash them lightly if you like it that way.

Serve with puris.

Hurray, a neat win!

No I am not talking about Democratic Primaries, but about my $43.06 this week! :-)


Do you remember me? Yes, I am cash. I know I am not popular around here with that cute little plastic thingie you all carry around to swipe. But let me tell y’all something, I am the real one with a capital r.

So girls, guess what. I just impressed myself. Gave myself a pat on my back! Imagine I cut down my weekly grocery purchase to a $43.06.

How I did it? Read on…

Though I didn’t plan what to make, I thought of buying vegetables that can be made both as curry and as a side dish. Making something in curry form means I can feed more people with less stuff. I asked around and found that the Wal-mart and Publix near the Indian stores are much cheaper than where I live. Also, CVS has a better deal on milk.

I decided I am going to go only to one Indian store this week. Also, I relaxed and took my time to shop around. Otherwise I will be in a hurry and won’t even look what the price is. I have this major problem, i.e. if I see something as $2.99, in my mind it gets registered as 2 dollar. In fact, it is 3 dollars. I just don’t see that extra dollar. So how much ever I calculate, the final bill would turn out to be much bigger. That is what always happens.

I bought vegetables only for one week, planning as I examined at the price of each of them and I had taken last weeks receipt with me, so I had a clear idea what each costs at different stores. For eg; bananas costs lesser at Publix. Green beans cost lesser at Publix. But tomatoes, onion etc cost more at Publix than Walmart. Indian stores carry the red onions which costs much lesser than both Publix or Walmart. This way I made sure I checked the price of each item before buying.

Now I know if I take my credit cards, I would splurge. So I took only 50 dollars with me and left the cards in the car. My plan was to aim for a 40$. I kept the extra 10$ as a buffer. That’s what made this whole thing a success. The cash thing! So I calculated each item before loading the cart. This way, it is much better to keep a check on yourself.

That’s a total savings of $24.34 from last week. Hurray!!!

In recent developments, last week President Bush declared during a speech that it was because Indians are eating more these days, food prices around the globe are peaking. Well Mr. President, I am an Indian living in U.S and I cut down my grocery bill. How about you Sir, cutting down some of that spending?

(Data shows U.S consumes five times more. Well, who cares about statistics and data?)

Why you might ask? Why save a twenty dollar? There is a big reason for me. It will clearly show how much I waste and how much I could save. Remember a 20$ might not be big deal for you per week, but it could feed a child here or here.

Now, dont you girls out there wanna beat me? C'mon. Compare your bills and let us have some fun!