Rajma - Curried Red Kidney Beans

Welcome Spring. !!! Finally Spring is here and I hope you are enjoying the great weather as much as we are here in Philadelphia. My son had his Spring break and so I took a short blogging break as well. The highlight of my break was that I got to see in person none other than President Obama himself and I'm still in that happy and excited phase. He was rallying for his health reform bill at the George Mason University in Virginia and since we were visiting some friends there it was a perfect opportunity to hear his speech first hand. I was impressed and since I have been and still am a great fan of President Obama , this was a great occasion for me. So thought about sharing this with my blogpals. Hope I'm not sounding boastful..LOL...
Here is a proof I was there, Moi posing for the Big Event!!!!. This only took a few seconds and I did listen to the President for the entire time except when clicking a few pictures...

Alright lets get down to the Recipe part of the post. Today's recipe is one of our favorites at out house. Its Rajma or Red Kidney Beans. Best combination to enjoy Rajma is with Chawal(Rice). Rajma-Chawal is comfort food to me and I'm sure there are many more who will agree with me. This Recipe was requested by one of my friend's daughter Richa, who really encourages me a lot by her feedback and she is also very passionate about cooking and trying out recipes on her. Stay tuned for her recipe in tomorrow's post. So, Dear Richa This is for you ......

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Rajma/Red Kidney beans
• 1 cup onion puree
• 1 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 black cardamom
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• salt to taste
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped Cilantro

You could substitute 1 cup dried Red Kidney beans for two 14 0z cans of Red Kidney beans. For the onion puree I don't grind it too fine, its like a finely grated texture. You could even just grate the onions.

Preparation :

• Wash the Rajma/kidney beans and soak them in about 4-5 cups water overnight.
• Pressure cook the Rajma with enough water(4-5 cups), turmeric and salt for upto 4 whistles or until cooked. If you were to use canned Rajma/Red Kidney beans you would skip this step. Just wash the canned beans in a colander and discard the stock(canned liquid).
• Heat oil in a pan. Add the Bay leaves and cardamom.
• Next add the onion paste. Saute the onion till it becomes golden brown .
• Add the garlic/ginger paste. Saute for about 2 minutes and then add the tomato puree. Fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add the red chilli powder and the cumin-cilantro powder. Let it cook until the oil leaves the surface (about 5-6 minutes). Now add the Rajma/Red kidney beans with the liquid and let it simmer covered for about 10-12 minutes. (At this step you could add a little water if you think the consistency is too thick and adjust the salt).
• Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro leaves and serve with rice. Enjoy my comfort food- Rajma Chawal with plain Yogurt or Boondi Raita.
• This recipe serves 4.

Tomato Chutney

This is a repost. Its one of my earlier posts when very few or sometimes nobody read my blog. So its about time this one sees the light of day and gets some acknowlegement. Also of late I have been involved in so many things and could not devote time to my dear blog which I love and visit my blogpals. To make things worse my laptop died on me leaving me helpless and many pictures are inaccessible on its hard disk. Hopefully can retreive them and can continue blogging regularly. If not I'm trying to be comfortable on my hubby's computer. Also thanks a ton for your love and support and for enquiring about my whereabouts... Till then enjoy this Tomato Chutney recipe.

Tomatoes are an integral part of indian Cuisine. They are high in Vitamin C and a good source of Vitamin A. There are researches being done that show that cooking Tomatoes for example, may enhance the nutrients, providing you with more health benefits than eating raw tomatoes. They say that more of the phytochemical lycopene is absorbed by the body from cooked tomatoes — such as canned tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce — than from fresh. Also when lycopene is combined with a small amount of fat, absorption is even better, making olive oil and tomato sauce a perfect and healthy combination. So this proves that tomato chutney is good for you and its very easy and quick to make. You could serve it with parathas , as a side dish, with dosa or idli .

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 5-6 big fresh tomatoes
• 1-2 green chillies
• 4 gloves of garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin-coriander powder
• salt as required
• a pinch of Asofoetida (hing)
• Olive oil

Preparation. 1. Finely Chop all the vegetables. 2. Heat oil. Add Mustard seeds and asofoetida. Allow the mustard seeds to splutter. 3. Add Onions and fry till golden brown. 4. Add Garlic and ginger and fry for a minute. 5. Add the tomatoes , green chillies and all the dry spices (turmeric,red chilli,cumin-coriander powder,salt). 6. Cook on medium flame till the oil leaves the surface. 7. Ready to be served.

Red Cabbage Stir-Fry

Cabbage(Red/Green) is often an overlooked vegetable. But after knowing about the many health benefits maybe we could make some room for the humble Cabbage in our lives as well. It is such an abundant and inexpensive vegetable

Some benefits of including cabbage in our diet.

• They are a very good source of fiber to begin with.
• Loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6 and Manganese.
• They have Shown to have anti-cancer properties.
• Optimize Your Cells' Detoxification / Cleansing Ability.
• Promote Gastrointestinal Health.
• Promote Women's Health.
• Peptic Ulcer Treatment.
• Red Cabbage Is Protective against Alzheimer's Disease.
• Provide significant cardiovascular benefits as well.

For more detailed information about the above mentioned health benefits, kindly read here.

Ingredients :

• 1 head of Red Cabbage chopped/shredded
• 1 cup shelled frozen peas (optional)
• 2-3 green chillies slit lenghtwise
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 1" piece of ginger finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin-cilantro powder
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan/kadai. Keep the flame on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add ginger and curry leaves. Saute for about a minute and add green chillies. Add the shredded red cabbage, turmeric powder, red chilli powder,cumin-cilantro powder and salt. Mix it well.
2. Now cook this uncovered on low flame. Do not add any water. Keep stirring occasionally. When its almost cooked add the frozen peas and keep it on medium to high flame. When you see the peas are cooked . Add the fresh lemon juice and mix well.
3. Red Cabbage Stir-fry is ready to be served as a side dish with Rice and Dal or as the main dish served with hot phulkas/Roti and Raita.