Spinach and Mushroom delight!

Getting bored of the daily daal, chaawal, roti, sabzi, I decided to churn out something different! Racked my brains and collected some veggies from the refrigerator, and baked this wonderful dish. It would go supremely well with plain steamed rice, but we had it last night with a crazy combo of veg. dimsums :))
Nevertheless it tasted wonderful, give it a try. You can change some vegz. and add others, if you want.

Spinach and Mushroom delight-

Preparation Time: 15 minutes approx.     Cooking time: 20 minutes  Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Potato layer-
Boiled and mashed potatoes- 4 (medium)
Green chillies- 2 (chopped)
Lemon juice- 2 teaspoon
Salt- as per taste
Mix all the above ingredients thoroughly.

Spinach layer-

Chopped Spinach- 4 teacups
Tender corn- 100 grams
Chopped onion- 1 large
Green coriander chopped- 4 tablespoons
Green chillies (chopped into very thin slices)- 2
Chopped Tomato- 1 large
Tomato purée- 1/2 cup
Light butter or cooking oil- 1 tablespoon
Salt- as per taste

Top layer-
Button mushrooms- 2 cups (200 grams) - thinly sliced
Cottage cheese- 200 grams (grated)
Tomatoes- 2 ( thick rings)
Fresh Cream (optional) - 1 teaspoon

Method-

 Heat the light butter in a pan or kadhaai, fry the onions in it for a couple of minutes on medium heat. Now add the green chillies and coriander and cook this for another minute.
  Mix the chopped tomatoes, stir for a few minutes and then add the spinach, tender corn and tomato purée. Sprinkle some salt and allow this to cook for some minutes.
 Meanwhile,take a greased baking dish and spread the potato layer, evenly in it. Now pour the spinach- preparation on it. Sprinkle some sliced mushrooms on the spinach layer, and then spread the grated cottage cheese on it. Again, place the left-over mushroom slices on the cheese, along with the tomato rings.
 Pre-heat the oven at 230 degree Centigrade (450 degree F) and then place the greased dish in it for approx. 20 minutes ( switch off earlier, if you find that the cheese is turning browner than you like).

Serve piping hot with steamed rice or garlic bread sticks!

NI version Aloo Posto.......Potato-poppy seeds curry

Any Bengali worth her/his salt will vouch for aloo-posto as being THE dish. Well, here I present my version of the same (hence the NI.....North Indian!!)
Come to think of it, Poppy-Potato or Potato-Poppy sounds like such a cute name for a dish! However, the richness lies not only in the name, but also in the superb taste.....
Here we go:

 Aloo Posto aka Potato- poppy seeds curry

Ingredients:
Potatoes- 4 large ( cubed)
Poppy seeds- 7 tablespoons roasted poppy seeds

Cooking oil (preferably mustard) - 1 tablespoon
Green chillies- 2

Chopped green coriander- 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds- ½ teaspoon

Panch Phoran- 2 teaspoon*

Salt- to taste

Water- 125 ml

*(Panch Phoran:

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds/methi seeds
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds/kalonji

Mix this evenly in a dry vessel, and use 2 teaspoon of it for this recipe. The rest can be stored in an airtight container.)

Method:

Soak the roasted poppy seeds, in a cup of warm water for about 45-60 minutes. Thereafter, sieve the water out and make a paste of the soaked seeds, in a blender or mixer.

As mentioned earlier, cube the potatoes into half-inch cubes.

Slit the green chillies in the middle and keep aside.

Heat the oil, in a wok or heavy - based kadhai. Now, add the cumin seeds and panch-phoran seeds; when they start spluttering, add the slit green chillies and fry all this for about a minute on medium flame.

Add the cubed potatoes to this and toss-fry for 2-3 minutes. After this, add the poppy seed paste and 125 ml water to the potatoes etc. Mix well, sprinkle the salt, and allow it to cook. When it starts simmering, reduce the flame to low and cover completely with a lid. Stir occasionally, and cook till potatoes become tender. In-between, if necessary, sprinkle some water on the potatoes, so that the poppy and potatoes do not get burnt or stick to the wok.

As soon as you notice, that the potatoes have become tender, switch off the flame/ heat and garnish with chopped green coriander.

Serve hot with steamed rice!!

Tofu, Black Beans and Mushrooms – Jugalbandi

Tofu, Black Beans and Mushrooms – Jugalbandi

Hot and balmy summer days, can be pretty stifling, especially when you are simply bored with your daily meals-menu. Oh! For the whiff of the moisture laden monsoon breeze…….

Well, nothing can be done about that….but I am sure this recipe will tickle your taste-buds, and it will surely be a chart-topper at your home, for quite some time!

Have this as an accompaniment with rice or rumali-rotis or noodles.

Ingredients:

Tofu (not soft or silken variety)- 200 grams and cut into cubes

Olive oil/ vegetable oil- 3 tablespoons

Garlic cloves (thinly sliced) - 3

Garlic stems/tender leaves (chopped) - 1 tablespoon

Spring onion bulbs (thinly sliced rings) – 2

Ginger paste- ¼ teaspoon

Fresh Spinach (chopped)- 2 cups

Rice vinegar/white vinegar- 1 tablespoon

Mushroom oyster sauce- ¼ cup

Dark Soy sauce- 1 tablespoon

Water- 1 cup

Dried Shiitake mushrooms- 2 cups

Fermented Black Beans- ¼ cup

Method:

In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil over slightly high heat. After a couple of minutes add the garlic stem- chopping, spring onions and garlic slices. Stir for about half a minute. In a cup mix the mushroom oyster sauce with half of the water. Now, gently add the black beans, tofu-cubes and the water- mushroom oyster sauce mix. Allow this to come to a boil and then cover and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the cover and add the ginger paste, dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and the left-over water. Allow to cook for a minute and then stir in the dried shiitake mushrooms. Spread a layer of the chopped fresh spinach on the vegetables and tofu. Cover with a lid and allow cooking for 8-10 minutes, on a very low flame, until the vegetables and mushroom become tender.

 Serve hot with rice or noodles or rumali-rotis.

Cauliflower - Carrots-Baby Corn in Tomato base.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets - 2 cups
Orange Carrots diced- 1 cup
Baby corn - 6 ( cut into rings or thin slices)
Onion thickly sliced - 1 large onion
Tomato purée - 2 cups
Mustard oil - 1 tablespoon
Salt - 1/4 th teaspoon or as desired.
Green coriander sprigs for garnishing.

Method:
In a heavy- bottom pan ( kadhai), heat the mustard oil and then add the onion slices. Cook the onions on a high flame for a couple of minutes, then reduce the flame and let the onion slices turn a darkish brown (not black!). Now add the cauliflower florets, baby corn and carrots and sauté them for a few minutes.Sprinkle salt on the vegetables and then add the tomato purée to it. Allow this to simmer on a low flame till the gravy thickens and the vegetables are coated with the gravy.
Chop the green coriander and sprinkle on the veggies.

Can be served with steaming hot plain rice!