Broken Wheat Pongal

Ingredients

1 cup broken wheat (dry roasted)
1/2 cup split yellow moong Dal
2 cups fresh chopped spinach
1 tsp oil/Ghee
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp grated ginger
1 to 2 green/dry red chillies (Adjust to your taste)
pinch of asafoetida
1 Tbsp cashew nuts (optional)
few curry leaves (optional)
salt to taste
Method

1) Wash Broken sheat and Moong Dal with water, drain and keep aside.
2) Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and once they crack add pepper corns, cashew nuts and fry for few seconds. if you have roasted caswhews you can add them at the end.

3) Add green chillies, grated ginger, asafoetida, curry leaves and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chopped spinach and fry for another 2 mins.

4) Add the Wheat and Dal Mixture, salt and 4 cups of water and cook until it is completely cooked. You can cook also use the pressure cooker to cook this.

Server Hot with any pickle/Yogurt

Bitter Guard (Kaakarakaaya) Fry

Ingredients

3 Cups Bitter gourd (sliced into rounds)
2 Tbsps tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 Tbsp Oil
2 medium onions sliced
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
pinch of methi powder (fenugreek seeds powder)
salt to taste

For seasoning/tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida/Inguva
few curry leaves
Method
1) Mix tamarind paste with some water and turmeric powder and cook Bitter gourd until they are 3/4th cooked, Drain and keep aside. This may take 10 mins

2) Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add asafoetida, curry leaves and fry for few seconds and then add onions and fry until they turn light brown

3) Add chilli, coriander and methi powders, salt and mix well. Add the cooked bitter gourd pieces and stir-fry until they are cooked completely. Adjust s


Serve hot with Steamed rice or Rotis.

Bitter Gourd with Riped Mango

Ingredients
4 to 5 medium Bitter gourd chopped
1 large onion chopped
3 medium tomatoes chopped
1 large riped mango, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ginger finely chopped
1 tsp garlic finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
few curry leaves
1 Tbsp oil
salt to taste


Method

1) Cook chopped Bittergourd and onion with 1/2 cup of water, turmeric powder and salt until they are tender. which takes around 10mins.

2) Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and once they splutter add curry leavess, ginger-garlic and fry for few seconds.

3) Add the cooked Bitter gourd, tomatoes and mango, chilli powder and garam masala. Mix the ingredients and cook in low heat until the ingredients are combined well.


serve hot with Roti/Steamed Rice

Stuffed BitterGourd Curry

I am trying to change my eating habits for good health and also to reduce weight so trying healthy vegetables. I made this curry last night and it was not tasting that much bitter. Not sure if the bitter gourd itself is having less bitterness or the style of making it made difference. Anyway I was able to eat comfortably.
Here are the medicinal benefits of Bitter guard
Ingredients

6 to 7 medium sized Bitter Gourd(cut each into 2 pieces at the center and remove seeds)
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

For Curry Paste

1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp redchilli powder (adjust to your spice leve)
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
3 to 4 cloves of garlic
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped tomatoes
little bit of tamarind
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
piece of ginger
salt to taste
Method

1) Gring all the ingredients for the paste into paste and stuff the BitterGourd with the paste. Keep the remaining paste aside.

2) Heat 1 Tbsp oil, splutter mustard seeds and add stuffed Bittergourd and fry in low heat until they turn brown. This may take 30 mins or more and you need to turn the bitter gourd in between so that it will cook all the sides. You don't have to stir many times since it is in low heat only but make sure not to burn it :-)

you can do other work by keeping this and it is better to fry at low heat for long time.

3) Once the veggies turn brown add the remaining paste and fry upto 5 mins

Server Hot with Rice or Chapathi.

Next time I will try this in microwave and see how it goes because we don't have to keep monitoring incase of microwave.