Best of 60's - Jukebox - 1 - Non Stop Bollywood Old Hits (1960-1969)

Carnatic music: some of my favorite vocalists

Remembering of Ustad Bismillah Khan | Classical Instrumental Music Box

A spicy, tangy capsicum curry

Sick of eating the same old veggies? Try something different - Mirchi Ka Saalan. This spicy, tangy dish is best eaten with hot Chapatis (Indian flatbread) or Parathas (layered Indian flatbread).

Ingredients:

• 4 large capsicums (green bell peppers) or banana peppers
• 1/3 cup dessicated coconut
• 1/3 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 2 tbsps ginger paste
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 3 green chillies (reduce for less heat)
• 5-6 tbsps ghee/ vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• Golf ball-sized lump of tamarind - soak in hot water and extract pulp
• Salt to taste
• Fresh chopped coriander to garnish

Preparation:

• If you are using green bell peppers, quarter them.
• Grind the coconut, peanuts, sesame, green chillies and ginger to a smooth paste in a food processor. Keep aside for later use.
• Shallow-fry the peppers in the ghee/ oil till done. Remove and keep aside on paper towels.
• In the same oil, fry the coconut paste for 15 minutes (on a medium flame). Stir frequently to prevent from sticking to the pan or burning.
• Now add the yogurt and mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tamarind pulp and mix. Season with salt to taste.
• Add enough warm water to make a little gravy and mix well.
• Allow the gravy to come to a boil, simmer and add the fried peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve with hot Chapatis (Indian flatbread) orParathas (layered Indian flatbread).

STUFFED REDCHILLI PICKLE

This pickle from North India's Uttar Pradesh sounds fiery but it is a classic case of more bark than bite! The best part is, it's easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg large red chillies
• 2 cups mustard oil
• 2 tbsps mustard seeds
• 3 tbsps cumin seeds
• 2 tbsps aniseed/fennelseeds
• 5 dry red chillies
• 8-10 tbsps mustard powder
• 4 tbsps raw mango powder
• 15 tbsps salt
• Juice of 5 limes
• 1 tsp asafetida

Preparation:

• Wash and thoroughly dry the chillies. Trim the stems.
• Slit the chillies upto just under the stem. Do not cut right throught them. Scoop out all the inner flesh and seeds and discard. Oil your hands a bit before you do this and you'll save yourself from the chillies' burn!
• Roast the dry red chillies, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and aniseed/fennel seeds on a slow fire. Cool and grind coarsely.
• Mix with the mustard powder, raw mango powder and salt. Add the lime juice to this mix to make a thick paste.
• Stuff each chilli well with the paste.
• Put the chillies in a dry, wide-mouthed glass pickling jar (the glass should be able to withstand hot tempratures).
• Heat the mustard oil in a pan and when very hot add the asafetida and immediately turn off the fire.
• Pour this oil over the chillies in the jar.
• Seal the jar and keep it out in the sun for a week to ten days. The longer you keep it out in the sun the better the pickle tastes! Shake gently each day to make sure the oil coats the chillies well.
• Serve with plain chapati (flatbread) or rice.

MIRACULOUS MYSTIC

pH Miracle - Dr. Robert Young

Paneer Pepper Butter Masala - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com (+playlist)

Shahjahani Dal by Tarla Dalal (+playlist)

Different types of chutnies for South Indian Breakfast (+playlist)

Shahi Mushroom Masala

Fish Curry (How to get rid of Fishy smell?)

Fish Curry

Palak Subji & Dahi Gosht

Quick to make and good to eat is the perfect caption for Palak Ki Subzi! This is a tasty vegetable dish and it is full of good nutrients too. Palak Ki Subzi takes just about 10 minutes to make!

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches spinach (approximately 1 lb or 500 gms)
• 2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 dry red chillies broken into 1" bits
• 8-10 cloves of garlic chopped very fine
• 1 large onion sliced very thin
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder (reduce if you want less heat)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp raw mango powder (amchoor)
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Chop off the stems on the spinach close to the roots and throw roots away. Wash the spinach very well under running water till absolutely clean.
• Drain fully (use a salad spinner if necessary) and then chop coarsely. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a deep pan on a medium flame. When hot, add the cumin seeds and cook till they stop spluttering. Now add the dry red chilli and allow to cook for 30 seconds or till darker.
• Add the finely chopped garlic and fry till it starts to turn a pale golden color. Now add the onions and fry till soft.
• Add the spinach and mix well. Cook uncovered till the spinach wilts slightly.
• Add all the spices and salt to taste. Stir well to mix all ingredients. Cook for another 3-4 minutes and turn fire off.
• Serve hot with a lentil dish like Masala Daal and Chapatis (for a vegetarian meal) or Dahi Gosht (lamb in yoghurt sauce) and Chapatis (for a non-vegetarian meal).

Non-vegetarian dishes to serve Palak Ki Subzi with...

• Dahi Gosht
• Rogan Josh
• Chicken Curry
• DAHI GOSHT
• A thick, creamy North-Indian curry best eaten with rice and a green salad.

  Prep Time: 45 minutes

  Cook Time: 30 minutes

  Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

  Ingredients:

  • 500 gms boneless leg of lamb, cubed
  • 500 gms yoghurt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 3 tbsps each of garlic and ginger paste
  • Green chillies to taste, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsps vegetable, sunflower or canola oil
  • 2 medium-sized onions, sliced
  • 3 tbsps garam masala (see recipe below)
  • 3 tsps coriander powder
  • 3 tsps cumin powder
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 500 gm can of diced tomatoes
  • 500 ml lamb stock
  • 3 tbsps finely chopped mint leaves
  • 3 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 1” piece of ginger, julienned

  Preparation:

  • Mix salt, pepper, yoghurt, turmeric powder, half the ginger and garlic pastes and green chillies together.
  • Marinate the lamb in this mixture for 30 minutes.
  • Heat oil in a deep pan and fry onions and remaining ginger and garlic pastes till fragrant.
  • Add the tomatoes, cumin powder, bay leaves, coriander powder and garam masala and continue to fry till the oil separates from the mixture.
  • Add the marinated lamb and cook till most of the liquid has evaporated. Pour in the lamb stock and cook till the meat is tender.
  • Adjust seasoning if needed.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander and mint and juliennes of ginger and serve.

Tomato Rice

Of South Indian origin, tangy Tomato Rice makes a great one-dish meal. Serve it with poppadums.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked Basmati rice (you can also use leftover rice)
• 4 large ripe tomatoes cut into cubes
• 2 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 large onion chopped fine
• 2 green chillies slit lengthwise
• 1" piece of ginger grated
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

• Heat the oil in a deep pan and add the mustard seeds and green chillies. When they stop spluttering add the onion and fry till soft.
• Add the tomato and ginger and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy.
• Add the coriander, cumin and garam masala powders, salt to taste and mix well. Cook on a low flame for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Turn off the fire and add the rice. Mix well.
• Serve with poppadums.

Goan type pork preparation

Hot and tangy, this iconic dish is from the heart of beautiful Goa on India's western coast. Eat it with plain boiled rice or Jeera Rice and a leafy green salad.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pork cut into 1" cubes with all the fat removed
• 8 tbsps Vindaloo Masala paste
• 2 large onions chopped fine
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp palm/brown sugar or maple syrup
• 2" stick of cinnamon
• 6 cloves
• 3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• Water

Preparation:

• Coat the pork well with the vindaloo masala paste. Allow it to marinate for a minimum of 24 hours.
• Heat the oil and fry the onions till golden. Add the ginger paste, cinnamon and cloves and fry for a minute.
• Add the palm sugar and stir well.
• Add the meat only (leave behind marinade paste/liquid for later) and brown well.
• Add the paste/liquid that the meat was marinated in, now. Add a cup of water and salt to taste.
• Stir well, reduce flame and cook till pork is tender.
• Serve with plain boiled rice or Jeera Rice.
• vindaloo masala paste
• This spicy Goan (Goa is on the western Indian coast) masala paste is typically used as the base in a pork curry but tastes just as good with chicken. This recipe makes enough Vindaloo paste to prepare a dish that serves 4.

  Ingredients:

  • 2 large onions chopped
  • 1 tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 4 dry red chillies, toasted
  • 2 tsps coriander seeds, toasted
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted
  • 6-8 black peppercorns
  • White vinegar

  Preparation:

  • Put all the ingredients except vinegar into a food processor.
  • Add the vinegar a little at a time, to grind the ingredients into a thick smooth paste.
  • Use immediately or store in a clean, dry container, in the refrigerator.
  • JEERA RICE
  • A tasty variation on plain boiled rice, this can be made two ways - by total absorption of water by the rice or by draining the water from it. The latter gets rid of all the starch and is therefore preferred for obvious reasons.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup Basmati rice (a long grain Indian rice)
    • 3 cups water
    • Salt to taste
    • 2 tbsps vegtable, sunflower or canola oil/ghee
    • 1 large onion chopped fine
    • 2 tsps cumin seeds
    • 1/2 cup water
    • Coriander leaves to garnish

    Preparation:

    • Wash the Basmati rice well in running water.
    • Add the 3 cups of water and salt to taste to the rice and set it up to boil.
    • Once the rice is almost cooked (test a few grains often to check - they will feel soft on the outside but very slightly hard on the inside), remove from fire and drain the water by straining the rice through a sieve or colander. Set aside.
    • In another pan, heat the oil/ghee till hot and add onions.
    • Fry till light brown and then add the cumin seeds. The seeds will splutter and sizzle to show they are done.
    • Now add the rice and stir well.
    • Add 1/2 a cup of water to the rice and cover.
    • Simmer till all the water dries up.
    • Allow the rice to stand for another 2-3 minutes and then serve garnished with coriander leaves.

Indian Chicken Curry

Dahi wala Chicken - www.veenaskitchen.com

Lagan ka murg - Hyderabadi chicken curry

Lamb Kofta Curry

Transcript:Lamb Kofta Curry

Hi, I’m Roblé for About.com. Today I’m going to show you how to make an Indian curry. It’s called a Kofta Curry. I am preparing it with lamb to make a Lamb Kofta Curry. Here we go.

Ingredients for Lamb Kofta Curry

Here are our ingredients for the sauce.

• 1 quart tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 cup cashew butter
• 1/2 cup red onion (small dice)
• kosher salt
• vegetable oil

Mix Ingredients for Sauce

So, here we have a pan over medium heat. For the first step we want to drizzle and a little bit of oil. And secondly, add in our onions. I’m going to stir those around and sweat them in the oil. I’m going to add in a little more oil. I’m going to let the sweat poured about a minute and a half. 

Next we are going to add in a tablespoon of the ginger garlic paste. Mix this around in here for about a minute or so. Next, we are going to add in all 4 of our dry spices. I’m going to let that go for a little while here. Now I’m going to add in the tomato puree. Add in the cashew paste. Let’s mix everything in and bring this back up to a simmer. 

We have brought ourselves back up to a simmer. Let’s cover it and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Check it every few minutes or so to make sure that it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pot and make sure that your flame is down as low as possible. Feel free to add a little bit of water if the sauce gets a little bit too thick for your liking. 15 minutes later, the sauce is cooked. I went to season it with a nice couple pinches of salt. Stir it in. Now on to the meatballs.

Ingredients for Meatballs


 Here are the ingredients for the meatballs.

• 1 pound ground lamb
• vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup red onion (small dice)
• 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
• 2 serrano of chilies (minced)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Kosher salt

Combine Ingredients into a Bowl

So, very simply, what you want to do is combine everything into a bowl. You want to season the mixture with salt. I’m going to get in here with a rubber spatula and mix everything together.

Form Meatballs and Cook

Next, you want to take your meat mixture and form it right into a nice little meatball. Keep making meatballs until all the meat is used. We have a griddle. It is hot at 350°. Drizzle a little bit of oil in there. Now were going to start to sear our meatballs. Let’s let these brown all around. Just roll them around a little bit. They're already brown on one side. 

I just want to roll them around and let them sear. The fork is actually a much better tool for this so I switched. So you see our meatballs are nicely browned. Turn the heat down to 250°. If you are cooking on the stove top, turn the heat down to medium.

Add in the Lamb Kofta Currey Sauce

I’m going to add in the sauce. Now the meatballs are not cooked all the way through. I’m going to let them cook in the sauce. The flavors from the meatballs and the sauce will marry. Let them cook for 10 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through. 

10 minutes later and our meatballs are cooked all the way through. We can turn off the heat. Here is your land cost of curry served over rice. 

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web@about.com

Aloo Palak Pulao (Potato Spinach Pulao) (+playlist)

Maniratnam All Time Musical Hits | Jukebox | Birthday Special

Telugu Lyricist Anantha Sriram Popular Songs | Jukebox (+playlist)

French Fries (Restaurant Recipe)

Orange Chicken-How To Make Orange Chicken-How To Cook Orange Chicken Rec...

Recipes for Newly Married - Gayatrivantillu (playlist)

Recipes for Newly Married - Gayatrivantillu (playlist)

Palak Paneer Traditional Indian Food - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Indian Chicken Tikka

Masala Khumb (Mushrooms)

Kadai Mushroom

Mushroom fry - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Capsicum Masala Rice - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Dum Aloo - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Spicy aloo curry (potato curry) by crazy4veggie.com

Potato Curry with Yogurt Gravy by Manjula

recipes (playlist)

Traditional Tamilian Dishes - Pongal Recipe

BBC Queen Victoria's Children - Episode One: The Best Laid Plan (Documen...

Chicken 65

Dum Ka Chicken - Chicken Cooked in Traditional Method of Cooking - By Va...

Fast Food (playlist)

sabudana vada - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Partition (Full Movie, Eng 2007) A Thought-provoking story based on Part...

Egg Masala

Saoji Maharashtrian Egg Curry - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com

Aloo Palak Biryani - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com

mysore bonda (playlist)

Ven Pongal - South Indian Ghee Khichdi Recipe - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com

Ven Pongal - South Indian Ghee Khichdi Recipe - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com

Authentic Mysore Bisibele Bath Powder

Bisibele Bath

Bisi Bele Bath - Sambhar Sadam - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Sambhar sadam

Charu Podi - Rasam Powder

Vegetable Kurma (Microwave)

Beetroot kurma - By Vahchef @ vahrehvah.com

Beetroot Chutney- By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Beetroot Curry - By Vahchef @ Vahrehvah.com

Beans Curry- Andhra Recipes - Telugu Vantalu

Special Sambar-Gayathri Vantillu

Sambar is made in four stages:

• Dal Preparation
• Vegetable Preparation
• Sambar Masala Paste Preparation
• Final Preparation

Due to the You tube’s limitation, I had to restrict the narration of the recipe to 10 minutes. I could cover important aspects of Sambar making in the video clip. However, here the text of the recipe is discussed in detail.

Dal Preparation:

• Pigeon Peas – 1 Cup (100ml Cup)
• Onions – 2 (Medium Sized)
• Oil – 5tsps

Take pigeon peas in a bowl and wash them with water. Add water to the washed dal and keep this bowl aside. Peel the onions and cut them into thin slices. Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the sliced onions and fry till they turn golden brown in color. Add these fried onions to the dal and place this bowl in a pressure cooker and cook. When the pressure is fully developed in the pressure cooker and it is about to whistle, lower the flame and cook the dal for 15 minutes. Remove the dal bowl from the cooker after it is cooled completely. Churn or grind the dal till smooth and keep it aside.

Vegetable Preparation:

• Potatoes – 1 Big (120gms)
• Onions – 2 (Medium Sized)
• Pumpkin – 200gms
• Bottle Gourd – 200gms
• Tomatoes – 5 (350gms)
• Chopped Coriander – 3tbsps
• Salt to Taste
• Turmeric Powder – 1/4tsp

Wash the potato and peel the skin. Cut the potato into medium sized cubes. Peel the skin of onions and slice them length wise. Wash and clean the pumpkin and bottle gourd. Remove the skin and seeds of the pumpkin and bottle gourd. Chop the removed skins and keep it aside along with the seeds. Wash clean and cut the tomatoes into medium sized cubes and keep them aside.Take a microwave safe bowl and add the cut vegetables other than tomatoes. Add some water to the vegetables and place this bowl in a microwave oven and cover the bowl partially. Cook the vegetables on high power for 5 minutes. Stir the vegetables once with a spoon and again cook on low (30%) power for 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from oven after allowing 5 minutes standing time.

Paste Preparation:

• Coriander Seeds – 1 1/2tsps
• Bengal Gram – 1tsp
• Black Gram – 3/4tsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1/2tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds – 7 Seeds
• Red Chilies – 8
• Coconut Pieces – 1 Cup (100ml Cup)
• Tamarind – Big Gooseberry Sized
• Grated Jaggery – 3tbsps 
•  Oil - 1tsp

Take tamarind into a microwave safe bowl and add some water. Cook this tamarind on microwave high for 45 seconds or till it reaches a boil. Keep this tamarind aside for cooling. Break red chilies into small pieces. Place all the dry ingredients in a plate. Heat a pan and add oil to it. When oil is hot add the dry ingredients and fry on low flame stirring continuously. Fry till the seeds start changing color. Take these fried ingredients in a mixie jar and add coconut pieces, pumpkin seeds, bottle gourd seeds, chopped peels of pumpkin and bottle gourd, cooked tamarind, grated jaggery and some water. Grind the ingredients to a smooth and fine paste. When rubbed between fingers the paste should be felt smooth. It needs a bit of patience to make it smooth.

Final Preparation:

Sambar is a king recipe which demands the biggest vessel for being simmered till all the tastes get cross blended. Hence, take a broad vessel (a big kadhai) and add tomato pieces and some water. Cook the tomatoes till they are three- fourths done. Now add the cooked vegetables, cooked dal, prepared paste and some water. Mix all the ingredients well and cook till it reaches a boil. Lower the flame and cook for 5 more minutes. Now season the Sambar.

Seasoning:

• Oil – 3tsps
• Ghee – 1tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds – 5 Seeds
• Mustard Seeds – 1tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1tsp
• Red Chilies – 2 (Broken into pieces)
• Curry Leaves – Few
• Asafoetida – 1/8tsp

Heat a pan and add oil to it. Add ghee to the oil and heat it. Add fenugreek seeds and fry for a while. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds splutter. Now add the red chili pieces, curry leaves and asafoetida.

When all the ingredients are fried well, add this seasoning to the boiling sambar and mix well. Transfer the contents to serving bowls and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain rice or with IdliOr with Dosa Or with Utappam etc…

Points to Notice:

Adding fried onions to the dal and cooking the dal gives a special flavor and sweetness to the sambar.

Try not to remove the skins of the vegetables used in the preparation of sambar. If removing skins chop the peels and grind them along with the paste ingredients as shown in the movie. All Vitamins lie just beneath the skin of the vegetable—so do not throw away the skins. Instead use the peels innovatively. No one will come to know, unless and until you disclose, about the peels you have ground in the masala. When the peels are ground and added the thickness of sambar increases. So to balance the consistency, add water. Remember to adjust salt for more water you are adding. Taste to check water and salt.

I prefer to grind the ingredients and make a paste fresh rather than using sambar powders. If prepared this way your sambarwill always be a hit.

If you wish to do less quantity of sambar, divide the ground paste into portions and store it in airtight packs in deep freezer. It will last for nearly a month without losing the taste.

If possible try to cover the vessel as soon as you add the seasoning to the prepared sambar—that way the flavor of the seasoning gets mixed well with the sambar.

Do not worry about the thickness of the sambar as the thickness is due to the peels and seeds of pumpkin and bottle gourd.

Variation:

To reduce the thickness you may reduce the dal from 100 ml cup to 75 to 50 as per your taste.

Cook KANDA (Elephant Foot) and grind it to a fine paste. Add this to the sambar and reduce dal quantity. It is just a variation without any change in the taste—as KANDA is good for ladies suffering from menstrual problems.

You can also add other vegetables like cucumber, ash gourd, radish,drumsticks etc to the list. Reduce the quantities of potatoes, bottle gourd and pumpkin to balance the vegetables.

Add the gourd peels and gourd seeds to the paste while grinding. Here gourd means bottle gourd, ash gourd and also pumpkin. As all Vitamins lie just beneath the skin of the vegetable it is advisable to eat the skins too. If it is not possible to cook the vegetables with skins, then grind them into a paste and add to the sambar. This way we get the required fiber also. Until you disclose no one will come to know what seeds and peels have gone into it.

At times, some people increase one vegetable quantity, compared to or excluding other vegetables of potatoes, bottle gourd and pumpkin. Example say radish, then it becomes radish sambar.

Those of you who want a Restaurant flavor of the Sambar may crush two cloves of garlic and add it while boiling and remove it while serving. It should leave a tinge only. Don’t be tempted to grind it with masala, else it would dominate all other spices.

Critical steps not to be forgotten:

1. Adding fried onions to the dal and cooking.

2. Making the masala paste as smooth as possible. Coconut should not be visible in the masala paste. Serve hotsambar garnished with coriander leaves. Sambar is a wholesome food. Looks Great and Tastes Great.

Andhra Recipes - Telugu Vantalu - Sambar

CHARU-Gayathri Vantillu

Charu Podi:

Ingredients:

• Pigeon Peas – 3/4Cup (50ml Cup)
• Coriander Seeds – 1 Cup (50ml Cup)
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Black Pepper – 1tsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1/4tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 3/4tsp

Procedure:

Take pigeon peas on a paper plate & microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Add coriander seeds, black pepper, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Mix all the seeds with a spoon and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Stir again with a spoon and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Cool the roasted ingredients for a while and finely powder them in a mixer grinder. Store the charu podi in an airtight jar.

Charu:

Ingredients:

• Tomatoes – 3 (200gms)
• Drumsticks – 2
• Water – 600ml
• Sugar – 1/2tsp
• Turmeric Powder – 1/8tsp
• Salt to Taste
• Tamarind – marble Sized
• Red Chilies – 2
• Fenugreek Seeds – 4 Seeds
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2tsp
• Cumin Seeds – 1/2tsp
• Curry Leaves – Few
• Asafoetida – 1/8tsp
• Ghee – 1tbsp
• Charu Podi – 1tsp
• Chopped Coriander – 2tbsps

(Online Conversion utility to convert Gms to Cups & Temperatures etc)

Preparations:

Wash and clean tomatoes. Chop one tomato into small pieces and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the chopped tomato on high power for one minute stirring once after 30 seconds. Cut the remaining 2 tomatoes into big pieces and keep aside. Wash drumsticks and cut them into finger length pieces. Take the cut drumstick pieces into a microwave safe bowl and add some water. Microwave the drumsticks on high power for one minute, stir once and again microwave on high power for one more minute. After one minute standing time remove the drumstick bowl from oven. Take tamarind into a microwave safe bowl, add some water and soak for some time. Microwave tamarind for 30 seconds, cool it and grind it to a fine paste. Break red chilies into pieces and keep them aside.

Method:

Take 600ml water in a bowl and heat it. Add sugar, salt, turmeric powder and tomato pieces to the water and let it boil. When the tomato pieces are three-fourths done, add the cooked tomato and tamarind paste. Stir with a spoon and add cooked drumsticks. Let the charu boil for a while and add charupodi and mix. As soon as we add the charupodi the charu at once boils. Season the charu.

For seasoning heat a pan and add ghee to it. When ghee is hot add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry till the seeds splutter and add red chili pieces, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add this seasoning to the charu and immediately cover the vessel. After few minutes transfer charu to a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with plain rice and muddapappu.

Points to Remember:

In this recipe we are cooking one tomato till soft so that the sourness gets mixed with the charu. We are adding the remaining tomatoes to the charu by cutting them into big pieces. Some like to see, feel and eat pieces of tomatoes. Those who are interested can mash these tomatoes while eating to get extra sourness.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C & Vitamin A and drumsticks have Multi-Vitamins and are known for controlling mal-nutrition among poor children. When we add these vegetables to the charu that flavor is something special which cannot be described in words but can be felt by smelling it.

After adding charupodi to the charu observe the water comes to boil as soon as the charupodi gets mixed with water. So use a deep vessel while preparing this charu to avoid spillage of charu after adding charupodi.

Seasoning the charu with ghee fills the space with a nice aroma.

Charu is a good appetizer. When a person is suffering from cold, sore throat or fever Charu is the right food to be served which gives relief to the patient. It is light on stomach and taste buds enjoy the sour taste of Charu.