Spicy Brinjal and Potato Stir Fry

Brinjal is one of my favourite vegetables. Growing up in the hillstation Valparai we had our own patch of vegetable garden and we used have plump brinjal / eggplants that tasted totally out of the world ( i would say) in a simple sambar or in a stir fry or a bhajji. This is my mother's recipe...trying to use the brinjal in different ways and so a spicy one with lots of pepper.

Beef & Potato Roast (Kerala Style)

Roast in the Kerala perspective means a preparation with thick gravy. Hence we have the varieties like chicken roast, egg roast, beef roast, duck roast and mutton roast. Well it is really hard to find a vegetable roast and i dunno if there are any...Anyway the roast gravy is usually made of lots of onion and tomato. Since beef is an inevitable part in a Christian home in Kerala there are many beef recipes indeed. Beef in coconut milk, Beef curry with coconut chunks, Beef chops, Beef Ularthiyathu and the list goes on. The standard beef curry which my mother prepares is a beef and potato curry with coconut milk. When I got married, the beef preparation and generally all the meat preparation was totally different at my in-laws. There was no coconut milk in any meat preparation other than for the stew. 

This is is a recipe which is my husband's favorite and needless to say this is the way my mother in law prepares beef on Sundays. 

Usually fresh garam masala is prepared for the beef curry. The recipe for garam masala is as follows:

to prepare the garam masala

cloves - 6

cinnamon - 1 inch piece

cardamom - 6 medium

fennel seeds - 1 heaped tsp or 1 1/2 tsp

poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp

pepper corns  -  1 1/2 tsp

Blade of mace - 1/2 (optional)

nutmeg - 1/2 cm piece (optional)

Lightly heat the above (other than the poppy seeds) and grind it to a fine powder.

ingredients to boil the beef

beef - 1 kg

potato, (peeled and immersed in water for 15 mins) - 3 medium

small onions, crushed - 10
green chillies, crushed - 4 or less (adjust to taste)
ginger, crushed - 3/4 inch piece
garlic, crushed - 12
tomatoes cubed - 2 medium
curry leaves - 3 sprigs

chilly powder - 2 tsp
turmeric - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1tbsp
garam masala - use half of the garam masala from the above mentioned quantity.
salt - to taste

method to boil beef

Heat a pressure cooker in medium flame and add the coconut oil. Immediately add the crushed onion, green chilly, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Stir for one minute. Add the chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt. Stir for few seconds. Add the washed and cubed meat. Stir well. Add the tomatoes and whole potatoes. Stir and put the lid on and cook till done (8 whistle for the usual pressure cooker).Open the lid and cut the potatoes into four or eight. Keep it aside.

This recipe requires double tempering.

ingredients for the tempering

coconut oil - 2-3 tbsp
garlic - 6 cloves, finely chopped
ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped
onion, sliced - 3 medium sized
curry leaves - 1 sprig
garam masala - the other half of the 1/2 of the above quantity
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly powder - 1 - 1 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Heat a clay pot or a wide pan and add the coconut oil. Add the garlic till golden brown. In medium heat, add the onion and salt and saute till golden brown. Add the ginger and curry leaf and stir for few seconds. Add the turmeric, chilly powder and garam masala. Saute till the raw aroma is gone. Add the cooked meat and potatoes. Stir well and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. Serve hot with rice, appam, peshawari naan, meat puttu or even a stuffed paratha or kashmiri paratha. Enjoy!

Click here for other beef recipe in this blog

Eggplant & Potato Vindaloo

Vindaloo or Vindalho is essentially a recipe used to prepare meat. Vindaloo means cooked with wine and garlic. Since white wine is not commonly available in India vinegar is used in the preparation. I tried this eggplant and potato vindaloo to introduce the taste to vegetarian readers. I should confess this tasted better than the meat vindaloo. 

The dish is slight fiery and pungent. Please adjust the quantity of chilly powder to suit your taste. Also, the quantity of cumin, fenugreek and mustard should be in the right proportion otherwise the dish will have a bad taste.

the recipe

Eggplant / Brinjal - 250 gms

Potato - 250 gms

ingredients for the mustard paste

Small onion - 5 or Onion - 1/2

Garlic - 3  cloves

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Cumin - 1 generous pinch

Fenugreek seeds - 1 pinch

Vinegar - 2 tbsp

Tomato - 2 medium

other ingredients

Small onion - 5 or Onion, chopped - 1/2

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Sugar - 3/4 tsp

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

the method

Cut the potato and eggplant into cubes. Parboil the potatoes and keep it aside. Rub salt on the eggplant and keep it aside. This will take away the bitterness from the veggie. Wash it after 10 - 15 minutes.

Grind the ingredients for the mustard paste into a smooth paste (add adequate water to grind).

Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion. When translucent add turmeric. Add the eggplant and saute for a minute. Add the chillie powder and mix well. Pour the mustard paste and add the parboiled potatoes. Add salt and pepper powder. Add 1/4 cup water if need be.Stir well and let it boil. Simmer till the veggies have cooked. The consistency of vindaloo is a thick gravy. If there is more water, turn to high heat and let the water evaporate. Add sugar, mix well and turn off heat. Serve with rice or serve as you please.

the recipe goes to the event  Healthy Lunchbox Ideas - Brinjal/Aubergine hosted by Priya event started by Kalyani

Potato Wedges

the recipe

Potato – 250 gms

Pepper powder – ½ - ¾ tsp

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tbsp

the method

Cut the potato into wedges. Boil water in a pan. Place the wedges in the water with a little salt and parboil. This takes about 5 minutes. Drain the water.

Heat oil in a pan (preferably a flat pan) and add the parboiled potato wedges. Add salt. Stir till all the sides have become light golden brown. Season with pepper powder and mix well. Can be snacked or served as starters with mayonnaise.