Gooseberry side dish

gooseberry side

1. Boil and cook a few gooseberries till soft and firm.It can also be done in the pressure cooker.
2. Remove the seeds to discard and separate the segments. 
3. Take a pan and add a little oil. Add a little hing (asafoetida), mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a few red chilies and curry leaves.
4. Wait till the mustard splutter and add the green chillies and the gooseberry pieces.
5. Add salt, coriander powder, sugar and a pinch of turmeric powder and balance the taste.

Onion Pakoras

1. Slice onions.
2. Mix them in Besan/chickpea flour in a bowl.
3. Add salt, cumin seeds/jeera, finely chopped green chilies, finely chopped coriander and curry leaves and a spoon of rice flour.
4. Add very little water to make a tight dough.The flour should be able to bind all the onions. Too much of dough and too little onions will make the pakoras dense.
5. Take little uneven portions of the dough and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.
6. Can be served with any tangy dip.

A simple puffed rice snack

puffed rice snack

• Heat half a spoon of oil and roast 1 spoon of raw skinned peanuts.
• Add a spoon of puffed bengal gram and fry quickly and then  add the puffed rice and toss everything for less than a minute on a low flame.
• Add salt and a little chilly powder.
• Cool the mixture in a big bowl.
• Chop onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves finely.
• Mix the tomatoes and onions in the mixture.
• Adding chat masala, a few drops of lemon juice and sev is optional.
• Garnish with the coriander.

Aloo fry

Potato fry .image released into the public domain by author Madhavi.

• Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker. They should be cooked but firm.
• Cool, peel and dice them.
• Refrigerate the exposed pieces for half an hour.
• Heat a wok and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the pieces when the oil is hot. Toss the pieces and sprinkle salt on them. Roast them on a slow flame stirring them occasionally.
• Turn off the flame when the pieces have a few crispy edges to them and are golden brown.
• Add red chilly powder and coriander powder, stir and serve.

A sweet potato side dish

sweet potato curry -image released into the public domain by author Madhavi.

• Wash, peel and dice the sweet potatoes.
• Boil the pieces immediately  till soft and tender with very little water in a wok.
• Keep the pieces aside when done.
• Heat 1 spoon of oil in a pan. Add hing(asafoetida),  bengal gram dal, urad dal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds in the same order. Stir the mixture well and add dry red chilies. The lentils should have turned to a golden brown color. Add the curry leaves.
• Then add the sweet potato pieces and toss the entire mixture for less than a minute.
• Season with salt and turmeric powder.
• Turn off the flame.
• A dash of lemon juice will add a zing to the curry.