Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Aloo Gobi Methi Tuk



I know, I know...I disappeared without warning! Whew the last few days of the year that went by had been eventful as far as I can say. Niki was to fly home the day after her finals of the semester.
We were all set and the heavens decided to send terrible amount of snow to New York that they had to close Kennedy for a while. My smart daughter, not wanting to be stranded in an unknown city, refused to board her flight in Kansas. She lost precious number of her holidays trying to jump on to the immediate available seat on the only one Airline that flies to this country direct.
I had to make few trips to the local Emirates office to reschedule our bookings to India made earlier in line with her visit.
Finally I did make a truly flying visit to Chennai and after a short but very happy time home, came back. Niki stayed here until the 10th. Between us we cooked and baked and did all sorts of things. The house seems a bit vacant and I decided to put aside the lethargy and ennui I was giving myself in to. So, here I am, with all of you wonderful people sharing my woes and joys.
Did you all enjoy the holidays? Any New Year resolutions? Me...??? I never keep up, so best not to make any resolutions. However, I hope to look after my blog with not much neglect and to keep writing to all of you. If that sounds like a resolution, may I correct you...it is a promise I make to myself.

Coming to the recipe of today, one of my favourite Tarla Dalal recipes. I love the vegetables that go into this dish. While in Bahrain, we had asmall vegetable patch next to my kitchen. Through the winter months, under the tending care of the gardeners I used to grow cauliflowers, cabbages, methi, green chillies, carrots, radishes and tomatoes in that 6 yard square patch. Right from September to March of the next year this small garden will yield its fullest. And between April and July we grew okras and brinjals.
With so much fresh produce, I thoroughly enjoyed making many dishes that included these veggies.

Today's recipe combines nicely methi leaves and cauliflower combined with potatoes to make a very relishable side dish. It is a dry curry with not much of spice.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes peeled and cut in wedges
1&1/2 cups cauliflower florets cut slightly big
1 cup fenugreek (methi) leaves separated
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1&1/2 teaspoon ginger and green chilli paste
2 teaspoons chaat masala
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
Other ingredients:
Few tablespoons oil to saute' the cauliflower and potatoes


Method:
(As per the original recipe, the potatoes and cauliflower need to be deep fried. I saute' them in a wide non-stick pan until they are well roasted.)
Microwave cook potatoes for 3 minutes. They shall be cooked, yet hard.
Place cauliflower florets in boiling water to which salt is added and allow to stand for few minutes until they are boiled.
Clean methi leaves and saute' them in some oil until they are crisp. Keep aside.
In a wide non-stick pan heat oil and add the cumin seeds. Allow them to splutter and add the ginger-chilli paste. Saute' for two- three minutes. Add more oil and drop the potatoes and cauliflower. Add the salt and cook on slow fire roasting them wella s they cook.
When they are crisp and well roasted, add the already crisp methi leaves and the chaat masala. Mix well and take off the fire.
Serve hot as a dry side dish with any meal.

30 comments:

  1. Good to see you back :-)Happy New Year !!!This would make a perfect side dish for chappati..:-)

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  2. Very nice, hope u had a nice time with your daughter.
    Your dish could go really well with my tea now, much tempting :)

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  3. The curry looks and sounds delightful ! I am glad you had a good time with Niki and in Chennai :-)

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  4. Should be hard for a while without ur daugh! I made yest aloo gobi but used the dry methi leaves- looks and sounds perfect.
    Wish U a wonderful Year :)

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  5. Lovely combo. Perfect with rotis. How are doing Lata?.
    Happy pongal/Sankaranthi wishes to you and your family.

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  6. Nice combination..Looks yummy and delicious...

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  7. I'm glad you could finally make it, Lata ji & welcome back! I've been lagging behind in catching up too and am getting there slowly :-). Great to see you posting again. I do have a couple of resolutions this year, but will tell you what they are once I've achieved something :-).

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  8. Hi Lataji. Wish u a happy 2010.
    It's so good to read that u spent good time with ur daughter and managed a small trip.
    Coming to the recipe, I make this in winter and anything with methi is most welcome.

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  9. Warm welcome and lovely vegetables. I love to have these type of vegetables which r my favourite too.

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  10. Nice to see you after the break..

    The combination of veggies along with the spices makes it flavorful. Sounds delicious.

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  11. Aloo gobi looks yummmm :)

    So it looks like you had a nice hols.. :) its really nice to see you back with a good post. I had a good newyear too and no resolutions just like you. :)

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  12. Welcome back Lata , nice to c you again. Nice to read ur trip and vacation. Now Myself feel like going to India...mmmmm lets c. The fried veggies and combo is looking awesome.

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  13. nice curry..methi must be adding flavour and smell to it

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  14. Welcome back Latha(akka) :-)
    Nice to know that you had a nice time with your daughter. I guessed that you might have come to India on vacation..The dry curry looks fantastic..I too love tarla dalal's recipes..

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  15. Welcome back Lataji..I was so happy to see your post in my reader after a long time.. I understand, the vacuum created after the loved ones move on to their own place.. it is terrible and takes a while to get over it..But I always try to cheer myself looking forward for the next occasion I am going to meet them!

    Aloo Gobi Methi..Wah what a combo! Perfect dry dish for rotis..A quick question, will kasoori methi impart the same taste to the dish as the fresh ones?

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  16. Delicious sabzi, nice to know that you a great time with ur daughter, its will be hard for some days with ur dearest one na..

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  17. I am sure this tastes great,all the ingredients are my favorite,right from the veggies till chaat masala!

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  18. Looks fantastic, welcome back and glad you had a good time back home.

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  19. Nice Combo of Aloo,Methi&Gobi.I drool for this combo anytime.

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  20. Welcome back Lata - I'm sure you made the best use of the limited time with your family - the snow storms do cause havoc. I'm glad it turned out all well.

    The sabji looks great - perfect to just pick out with a fork and munch!

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  21. You have such a lovely space! I really like stir-fries with rotis, and this aloo-methi-gobi is simply superb!

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  22. nice yummy subji..nice to know you had a good time ..all is well that ends well..

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  23. A warm welcome back to the blogging space. Good to know ur happy times with Niki and also in Chennai :):) An interesting and tasty recipe which would go well with garam rotis.

    Chitchat
    http://chitchatcrossroads.blogspot.com/

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  24. Welcome back Lataji. Happy pongal. nice combo , i have never tried methi wiht gobi, surely giea a try, looks tempting.

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  25. Happy Pongal! :)
    It must be really hard now that Niki has left.. she must miss home a lot too.

    This curry looks very good and the chaat masala must be a nice touch.

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  26. A very delicious recipe and very good as a side dish. Anything with methi leaves is fine for me.

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  27. Looks yummy...I feel like making some of this right away! I will def try it soon...thanks for sharing :)

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Hello,
Welcome and thank you for taking time to drop by.
I appreciate your valuable comments and tips.
I sincerely hope to improve with them.
Hope we shall interact often.
Thanks once again,
Lata Raja.