Bendekai Palya ( Okra)

Bendekai or Okra or Lady's finger is supposed to increase your memory. I dont know, if thats true scientifically, but thats what was told when we were young kids. Probably a trick to make us eat the bendekai. But it was good one as we always finished it.

Ingredients:
Onion - 2
Tomato - 2
Bebdekai/Okra - 1 lb/500 gm
Chilli powder - 1tsp (adjust according to palate)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Sugar/Jaggery - 1tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp ( if using fresh tamarind, soak a lemon sized tamarind in hot water 
                                   and squeeze to get the juice)
Salt to taste
Mustard for seasoning
Coriander for garnishing

1. In a pan, season the mustard in oil. Add Ginger & Onions to the pan and fry for 2-3 mins.


2. Add the bendekai/okra and fry until the stickness goes away and its starting to cook. ( 4-5mins)

3. Add turmeric, chilli powder, tomatoes, tamarind juice & little water if its dry and cook them on medium heat until the tomatoes are done. Add salt & jaggery and simmer on low for the veggies to absorb salt(3mins)



4. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with Akki roti or chapathis.

Red Cabbage Palya

Ingredients:

Thinly sliced Red Cabbage

Green chillies - 3

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 3 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Salt

Directions:
1. Heat some oil in a pan, splutter mustard, then add green chillies as shown below2. Add the thinly sliced red cabbage and let it cook for 4-5 mins

3. Add garam masala, red chilli powder, salt and let it cook for another 3-4 mins.

4. Add coriander leaves and mix. 

Enjoy the red cabbage palya as a sidedish with rice or rotis.

Beet Root Palya

Beet Root Palya

Ingredients:
Beet root - 3
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Green Chillies - 6
Curry leaves - 10
Oil for tadka
Ginger (grated) - 1/2tsp
Coriander Leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Grate the beet roots.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and wait for it to splutter.

3. Add channa dal, fry until it turns slight brown. (make sure not to burn it)

4. Add ginger pieces, green chillies, curry leaves and fry for a min.

5. Add chopped onions and fry for 2-3 mins.
6. Add grated beet root and fry for 2 mins.

7. Add salt to taste, cover and cook for 5-8 mins on low flame and stir the contents in between.

8. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Enjoy the side dish.

Cabbage-Channa Palya

Cabbage Chickpeas Palya

Wow! its spring time now and weekend on top of that. Should be the best days but weather was not on our side this time. Its cloudy, chillier to venture outside. Thought having a Bengaluru oota for lunch. I was in the process of making tomato bhajji and the only veggie which was still sitting in the fridge was Cabbage. Last time I made cabbage with chickpeas, R's friend's family enjoyed it. So here is the side dish from today's lunch.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1/2

Chickpeas - 1 cup

Capsicum - 1 optional (Bell Pepper)

Green chillies - 2

Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 Tblsp

Kasuri methi - 2 tsp

Coriander for garnishing

Salt for taste

Directions:

1. Chop cabbage & capsicum and cook chickpeas if not using canned one.

2. Heat oil in a big pan.

3. Add mustard, slit green chillies ginger and fry for 30 secs.

4. Add chopped cabbage and fry for 5 mins.

5. Add capsicum and fry for another 5 mins.

6. Next add turmeric, chilli powder, kasuri methi and masala powder.

7. Add cooked chickpeas, salt and stir the mixture and let it cook on low flame for another 5 mins.

8. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Cabbage Peas palya

Cabbage Peas palya

This was one of the side dish, I had prepared when we had friends for dinner. This recipe is for Dee, who searched for this recipe on this lemon spice kitchen.

Ingredients

Cabbage - 3 cup

Peas - 1 cup

Oil - 3 tsp

Mustard - 1tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Kasuri Methi - 2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp ( increase if need more spice)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves - 10 stalks

Salt to taste.

Directions

1. Heat oil and add mustard and cumin seeds.

2. Add the frozen peas or cooked peas and fry for 5 mins.

3. Add red chilli powder and turmeric.

4. Add the chopped cabbage and fry for few mins.

5. Add salt and kasuri methi and let it cook on slow heat for 8 mins.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Thondekai Palya

Thondekai which is known as tindli/tinda in hindi is R's favourite, when it is prepared in palya. Palya is a side dish that is dry and no gravy. As a kid, I used to call it as mini cucumber. One of the dry palya which is easy to prepare. It goes well as side-dish with rice and sambar or with chapathi.
Everytime I cook this, I alternate the way I cut this veggie. This time it was sliced horizontally. If I cut it horizontally R asks "Oh I like it vertically". If cut vertically then its opposite. So I alternate everytime and this time convinced him that, last time I had cut it vertically.

Ingredients:

Thondekayi or Tindli - 1/2 pound

Urad Dal - 1tsp

Channa Dal - 1 tsp

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Green Chillies - 4

Curry leaves - 10

Coconut grated/powder - 1Tblsp

Oil for tadka

Ginger (grated) - 1/2tsp

Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the thondekai either vertically or horizontally.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and wait for it to splutter.

3. Add channa dal and urad dal, fry until it turns slight brown. (make sure not to burn it)

4. Add ginger pieces, green chillies, curry leaves and fry for a min.

5. Add thondekai slices and fry for 2 mins.

6. Add salt to taste, cover and cook for 5-8 mins on low flame. (In betwen stir the contents, sometimes it can stick to the bottom and get burnt)

7. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut

Enjoy the side dish.

Seemebadnekai Palya

Seemebadnekai Palya ( Chao chao / Lanku / Chayote) 

Seemebadnekai is called chayote squash, I guess that's a spanish word, I am not sure. In India the bottom part is kind of elongated but in US it kind of fits into your palm.

Any vegetable back in my days would become a candidate for our tarkari saru. You know kids, they hate every vegetable. I was no exception..as a kid I never liked this vegetable as it feels soft and jelly when boiled in saru. I was hesitant when Mom made palya out of seemebadnekai to go with chapathi. I thought she must be kidding that we will like it. Hmm..to our surprise I liked it. Here goes the promotion of seemebadnekai from tarkari saru to palya forever in my recipe list.

Ingredients:
Seemebadnekai - 2
Mustard - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 6
Curry leaves - 10
Coconut grated/powder - 1Tblsp
Oil for tadka
Ginger (grated) - 1/2tsp
Coriander Leaves for garnishing
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Slice the seemebadnekai into small cubes.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and wait for it to splutter.

3. Add channa dal and urad dal, fry until it turns slight brown.

4. Add ginger pieces, green chillies, curry leaves and fry for a min.

5. Add seemebadnekai cubes and fry for 2 mins.

6. Add salt to taste, cover and cook for 5-8 mins on low flame. ( This veggie holds enough water to cook, so no need to add water)

7. Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut powder.

Enjoy the side dish.

French Beans Palya

Beans Palya

Still snowing today and what better way to spend time at home. TV, movie or cooking.

Had made channa chole, thought of making a simple veggie sidedish. French cut beans gives that wholesome veggie feeling.

Ingredients
Frozen French (string)beans – 300 gms
Onion sliced – 1 big
Tomatoes – 2
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Mustard – ½ tsp
Dry Red Chili - 1
Salt to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in a pan, do tadka of mustard seeds and dry red chili.
Fry onions and when translucent add, string beans and let it cook for 10 mins
Add tomatoes, chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric and salt to taste.

Cook for another 5 mins.

Garnish with coriander.