Kunduri Bhaja - Aau eka pakhala saathi

-

Come summer and its always "pakhala bhata" for lunch. What can we do? We Odiyas are crazy about pakhala, the poor man's staple food. Hee Hee Hee.. thats such a big joke now, because big restaurants like Grand Hotel in Puri (Puri Jagannath) also serve Pakhala with delicacies that we dream of...

Here is one more bhaja (or hash as we say it in English) which goes very well with Pakhala bhata. Add some dahi into the rice+water mix and enjoy with this quick and easy kunduri bhaja.

Here are the ingredients
  • Kundru (1/2 Lb) cut into longitudinal slices.
  • 1 tea spoon Panch shoran
  • 1 tea spoon turmeric
  • 1 tea spoon red chill powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 table spoon Mustard paste {mustard seeds + garlic + green chilies}
  • Oil (as needed)
How you do it?
  • Heat oil and add turmeric.
  • When oil is hot, add the panch phoran and let it splutter.
  • Then add the kundru slices + salt and cook with the cover on. Fry regularly so that the veggies do not stick to the pan.
  • After the veggies are a little tender, add the mustard paste + red chilly powder and cover again.
  • Fry for 10 -15 mins or until the veggies are done.
  • Garnish with chopped green coriander leaves and serve with pakhala. 

If you are not a pakhala eater (which probably means you are not Odiya) this dish can be eaten with Roti/Paratha or Dal+Rice. Latter being the better choice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free Almond Flour Mango Cake

-
Image
 Here's my take on the Gluten Free mango Cake.... There's not a story behind it other than the fact that I am trying to reduce sugar & gluten in my diet due to the health reasons & this cake gave me everything that I need for those late evening sweet cravings without feeling guilty or sad or having to plan extra time on the treadmill the next day.  This cake is made from almond flour so it's on the denser side & not entirely fluffy BUT it is soft & makes for an awesome tea time accompaniment.  Here's what I used... Wet ingredients 1 cup mango puree 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter) Dry ingredients 2.5 cups of Almond flour 2 tsp baking powder Process First mix all the wet ingredients in a clean bowl using a wire whisk Then add in the baking powder & almond flour Mix nicely using a spatula - DO NOT USE Wire whisk  Transfer the contents to a greased 10 inch round cake tin Bake until tooth-pick comes out clean on 325 F for ab
Read more

Chicken Patra Poda

-
Image
 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!.  Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning & spe
Read more

Chicken Besara

-
Image
We odiyas have grown up with the idea of mustard paste being added to cook fish & shrimp & veggies.. but never ever had I imagined that I could use the same concept (little tricked & changed of course to fit the bill) for chicken too.. It was a fine Saturday mid-day when the craving of having something non-veg spicy came into my mind (errrr.. my stomach..) .. The freezer had some chicken drummets from store.. which were shrieking out to be used... And just a few days back.. I had seen a post somewhere about using mustard paste with chicken gravy.. I thought I should totally try it... This was new to me..and I must confess the gravy was a super hit... we ate double the amount of white rice .. and saved some for later too.. Everyone who loves chicken and mustard paste should totally try this.. and Enjoy with white fluffy rice.. :) What I used Around 1.5 Lbs of chicken drummets (small chicken legs) 2 table spoons of black & yellow mustard seeds 1 table spoon o
Read more