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What's Cooking? Indian recipes
P.S. Lakshmi Rao, a retired banker, has a passion for cooking. Her friends and family enjoy her culinary delights. Lakshmi is a long time Atlanta resident.

<<What's Cooking? Main

Kitchen Classics


Vegetable Soup (Mukkala Pulusu)

2 lbs kalabasa squash seeded, peeled, and cut in to 2 inch pieces 
1- 5 inch long sweet potato or yam wash and peel, cut into 1/2 inch
circles
1 Indian or Italian eggplant cut into 2-inch pieces
White opo squash peeled and cut into 2 inch squares- about 2 cups
2 long green chilies cut into three pieces.
1 stem of curry leaves
Large lemon size tamarind soaked- extract juice with water to
make 6 cups of liquid.
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp brown sugar or to taste
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 cup water
Wash first four vegetables in a colander. Put them in a large 6 qt sauce pan: pour the liquid in to the pan. Add green chilies; curry leaves, salt and turmeric. Cook on high for 3
minutes. Reduce the heat to medium Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender. Make sure the vegetables are not cooked too soft. While the vegetables are half done prepare popu.

Tadka

1 tsp oil
10 or 15 methi seeds
1 tsp red mustard seeds
2 red dry chilies (break them in to three pieces each)
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 or 2 pinches of hing (asafoetida)

Heat oil in a small dish. Add methi seeds and fry until golden brown. Add mustard seeds and fry till they start to pop. Add red chili pieces, cumin seeds and hing. Add spices to the soup. Mix rice flour with 1/2 cup water and mix into the pulusu. You can taste the soup at this point and add tamarind juice, salt, brown sugar and water if the soup is too thick. Cook soup for 2 or 3 minutes longer and remove from the heat.
Note:You can adjust the tamarind, salt and sugar to your taste. 
Suggestion: Few mango pieces, two drumsticks cut into 3 inch pieces in season can be added.

Please do not use any other vegetables because they can change the taste and flavor. Serve with white rice or chapati or drink like soup.

This soup (pulusu) is a must in all auspicious functions in Andhra Pradesh. 



Stuffed Tindora

30 tindoras (dondakayas) washed

Make two slits length wise from the top of each dondakaya without cutting through. 
Place all dondakayas in a microwavable dish in single layer. Mix 1/2 a teaspoon of salt with 1/4 cup water, sprinkle the salted water on dondakayas and cover the dish with a lid or saran wrap.
Microwave for 3 minutes. Take the cover being careful not to let the steam burn your hands. Turn dondakyas around, cover and microwave for 3 more minutes. If there is not enough water after first three minutes, sprinkle some more water. Remove from the oven, remove the cover and let dondakayas cool. Meanwhile make the following onion stuffing.

2 small sweet onions chopped
3 dried red chilies 
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed 
1 table spoon oil

Fill mini food processor with chopped onions, chilies, salt and cumin seeds and chop them fine. Stuff each dondakaya with little onion mixture without breaking them. Brush all the dondakayas with oil and place them in a single layer in non-stick flat frying pan. Fry them in low heat turning them once or twice. Spoon little more oil if necessary. Since dondakayas are already half cooked and onion mixture has moisture, they don’t need too much oil.

Note: Since the microwave ovens come with different powers, you must watch that the vegetables are not overcooked or burned.



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