Banana Chilly Curry / Malu Miris

I bought some banana peppers for making Milagai Bajji and had a few left. One of my  blogger friend, also my lovable Akka suggested this  Sri Lankan recipe. Its so quick and delicious. Give it a try! :) 

Ingredients

Banana peppers/ Bajji milagai - 6

Onion -1 

Garlic - 2 cloves

Few curry leaves

Chilli Flakes - 21/2 teaspoons (adjust to taste)

Turmeric powder - 1/8teaspoon

Tamarind paste - 1/2tablespoon (or) Thick tamarind water - 3tablespoons

Salt

Sugar -1/2teaspoon

Oil

Method

Wash, pat dry the chillies and slice them. 

Slice the onions thinly. 

Combine the chillies, onion, curry leaves and turmeric in a bowl.

Heat oil in a pan, add the chilli flakes and crushed garlic. 

Saute for 30 seconds, add the chillies -onion-curry leaves and turmeric. Add the thick tamarind extract too. 

Add enough salt and sugar, toss everything well. Close the pan with a lid and cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until the peppers are cooked.

Serve as a side dish for rice or roti. Personally this goes well with rice and plain dal. 

Recipe Source : HERE , As the author quotes, "///Banana chilli or pepper is called malu miris in Singhalese because ‘malu’ means cooking/side dish and ‘miris’ mean chilli, so it’s translates to the ‘cooking chilli’. ///" :)

 I have altered the recipe a little bit according to my convenience. :) 

Aaloo Paratha

Ingredients

Aatta/Whole wheat flour- 2cups

Oil - 2teaspoons

Salt 

Water 

For stuffing

Boiled potatoes - 31/2 [Refer the pictorial..sorry about the measurements!! ;)]

Onion, finely chopped -1

Green chilly, finely chopped -1

Ginger, finely chopped - 1teaspoon

Chopped cilantro - 1tablespoon 

Chilly powder - 1/2teaspoon 

Coriander powder - 1/2teaspoon

Salt 

Oil 

To crush

Coriander seeds - 1teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1teaspoon

Method

Combine the aatta, salt and water, make a soft dough. Finally add 2 teaspoons oil, knead well. Keep it covered at least for 30 minutes.

Peel the skin of the potatoes and mash them well. Alternatively you can grate them too. 

Chop the onions, green chilly and ginger. 

Crush the cumin and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle .

Heat oil in a pan, once its hot add the crushed seeds and let them brown slightly.

Then add the chopped onion, ginger and green chilly. Sauté for  2-3 minutes. Now add the salt and chilly-turmeric- coriander powders, give it a quick mix. 

Add the grated potato and mix it well.

Switch off the stove, add the chopped cilantro and let it cool.

Make lemon sized balls out of the dough. Make the potato stuffing also as same size balls.
Slightly flatten the dough ball, keep the stuffing, gather the edges and seal it carefully. Flatten it slightly, dip in in dry flour and keep it aside.

Likewise do the rest of the dough. 

Roll each stuffed paratha balls gently, dusting with dry flour.
Heat a griddle, add cook the paratha. Add little oil, and cook on both sides.

Tasty aloo paratha is ready to serve. Serve along with plain yogurt and some pickle.

Goes well for trips too. 

Cauliflower & Broccoli Stir fry

This curry can be made only with Cauliflower or the combination of broccoli and cauliflower. Either way, it tastes good. Perfect quick fix when you run out of tomatoes in hand and looking for some dish for roti or rice.

Ingredients

Cauliflower and broccoli florets - 11/2cups

Pepper powder- 1/2teaspoon

Fennel seed powder - 1/2 teaspoon 

Onion (chopped) -3 tablespoons

Desiccated coconut - 11/2 tablespoons

Green chilly -1

Few curry leaves

Mustard seeds - 1/2teaspoon

Channa dal & Urad dal - 1/2teaspoon each

Sugar - 1/2teaspoon (optional)

Salt

Oil 

To Grind 

Almonds -10

Small piece of ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic 

Method 

Soak the almonds in warm water for about an hour. Then peel the skin, and grind it as a fine paste with ginger and garlic. Keep it aside. 

Make the pepper powder and fennel seeds powder and keep it ready.

Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. Let them pop up, add the channa dal and urad dal and fry until they turn golden in color. Add the chopped onion, slit green chilly and curry leaves. 

Saute for few minutes, until onion slightly changes in color. Now add the almond paste and cook until the raw smell goes off.

Add the veggies with pepper powder and fennel powder, salt. 

Sprinkle little water, close the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes in high flame.

Add the sugar (optional) and coconut, give it a quick stir and put off the flame. 

Delicious cauliflower and broccoli curry is ready. The veggie should be crunchy, so keep the flame in high and keep an eye. 

Quick Radish Sambar

If you are looking for some quick fix in a hurry or tired to cook an elaborate lunch, here is the solution. This quick sambar will be handy and ready in 15-20 minutes. :) It goes well with rice as well as idli and dosa. 

Ingredients

Toor dal / Thuvaram paruppu - 1/4cup

Radish (peeled,sliced) -1/2cup 

Onion (sliced) - 3 tablespoons

Tomato (chopped0 -2 (medium size)

Small piece of tamarind 

Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon

Sambar powder -2 teaspoons 

Salt 

Sugar -1/2teaspoon (or) a small piece of jaggery  [optional]

To temper

Oil 

Mustard seeds -1/2teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2teaspoon

Generous pinch of Hing/asafoetida

Red chilly -1

Few curry leaves & Cilantro

Method

Combine all the items in the ingredient list in a small pressure cooker. Add about a cup to 11/4cups of water. 

Here is another look..dal, veggie, onion, tomato, tamarind, turmeric powder and sambar powder, salt, sugar all in the cooker. :) 

Cook for one or 2 whistle in medium flame. Let the pressure suppress by itself. Make the tempering and pour it over the sambar and garnish with cilantro.

Tasty sambar is ready to go with rice.

If you want to serve it with tiffin items, increase the water quantity little bit.