Bottle gourd Manchurian/Lauki Manchurian (repost)

I was inspired by this Manchurian recipe ever since I saw it in a TV channel demonstrated by Mrs.Mallika Badrinath. It was an all time favourite for my kids then.I used to offer them as an incentive, after my full busy  working week on a weekend.When bottlegourd was bought in my home it means Manchurian dish will follow.Seriously I never tried making anything else with it.I have not tried Manchurian with mixed vegetables or Gobi.Though it takes long time for this dish to be ready, it tastes yummy and it will be finished in no time.

INGREDIENTS FOR VEGETABLE BALLS

Bottle gourd	1 medium size
Plain f lour/Maida	1-2 cups
Greenchilli and ginger paste	2 tsp
Onion chopped	1/2 cup
Salt	To taste
Oil	For frying

METHOD

Peel, cut and grate bottlegourd.Add a tsp of salt and leave for 5 min.

Squeeze and drain excess water and take  this in a bowl.

Add flour ,green chilli paste, chopped onion and salt and mix to make a dough.

The measure of flour given is adjustable and you can  feel the dough texture while mixing.You can add more or reduce.

Make balls to desired size and keep.

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry adding few balls at a time.Remove and place them on a kitchen towel.

Now the sauce should be prepared for these balls to soak in it.

The manchurian can be prepared dry with just enough sauce or as a wet one by making a gravy.

The method for the sauce preparation is the same for both.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRAVY

Onion (finely chopped)	1 cup
ginger and garlic paste	1 tsp
white pepper powder	1 tsp
worcestershire  sauce	2 tsp
soy sauce	2 tsp
red chilli sauce	2 tsp
vinegar	1tsp
corn flour	1 tblsp
garlic (finey chopped)	2 tsp
green chillies (finely chopped)	2 tsp
Salt	to taste
Sugar	1 tsp
Oil	2 tblsp

METHOD

Heat oil in a sauce pan,add a teaspoon of sugar and wait till it turns burn.Do not turn with spatula.

Now add chopped onion and mix. If Ajino motto is used add it and fry on high heat.
Put back flame on medium.Add ginger garlic paste and saute.

Add little salt, white pepper powder and mix.

Keep the sauces ready.Take each sauce as per measure mentioned and mix them with little water(few spoons) and add one after the other.

Finally take corn flour in a bowl and mix with 1 1/2 glass water and mix well.

Pour this into the pan and give a quick stir.

Wait till glazy texture is formed and put off flame.

Now drop the fried balls in this sauce and mix well.

If a gravy consistency is required more of onion can be added and corn slurry can be increased.

Garnish with fried garlic pieces and fried green chillies.

I am sending this recipe to Ramya's ABC series- Gourds Event.

ABC Series : Gourds @ Ramya's Recipe

Bottle gourd gravy/Sorakkai gravy/lauki masala

This side dish made with a single vegetable in a gravy form goes very well as a side dish for rotis and also rice.

INGREDIENTS

Bottle gourd/lauki/sorakaya	1 small size
Onion	1 No
Tomato	1 No
Toor dhal/Red gram	1 tblsp
Sesame seeds/Thill	1 Heaped tblsp
Red chillies	4 No
Coriander seeds	1 tsp
Fennel seeds/Saunf	1 tsp
Roasted peanuts or Dry coconut	1/2 cup
Garlic	2 cloves
Turmeric powder/Haldi	1/2 tsp
Oil	2 tsp
Salt	To taste

METHOD

Peel and cut bottle gourd into bite size cubes. Dice onion and  finely chop tomato and keep.

In a cup of water cook bottle gourd adding turmeric powder and salt till done but not very soft. Do not drain water.

Dry roast toor dhal,red chillies,coriander seeds,fennel seeds,sesame seeds,grated dry coconut and also garlic.

When cool first powder toor dhal and (roasted) peanuts and remove. Then powder coriander seeds, fennels seeds, red chilli and garlic. Finally add roasted thill/sesame seeds and coconut (if using instead of peanuts).

Heat oil in a pan add onion and saute,then add tomato and cook for a while.

Add this to cooked bottle gourd and also add powdered ingredients and mix well and bring to boil. Add salt and adjust consistency. Tasty side dish is ready to serve.

I am sending this recipe to Ramya's  ABC series - Gourds Event.

http://ramyasrecipe.blogspot.in/2012/05/abc-series-gourds.html

New Year Eve with Vegetable Biryani

May there be moments of joy...
Love of family and friends...
Rays of sucess...
To brighten your days of the New Year....
                                                             Happy New Year to all.
There cannot be a happier moment when you spend the last day of the year bidding good bye to 2011 and  welcoming  the dawn of the New year with your near and dear.  We had one such memorable day, of course with the gala food preparation. The year 2011 was a remarkable year for me, both as a blogger and a mother cooking variety of dishes and sharing it with my fellow bloggers and  staying with my family members and  making them happy with tasty food which I tried following the blogs.

Salad, Pulkas, Panchrathan Dal

Mini Samosas

Panchrathan Dal

Steamed corn, Vegetable Biryani  and Fruit salad for Desert (hidden behind )

The items in the menu for the dinner were all tried and tasted several times. Only one recipe for the main course was tried for the first time by me after viewing it in a local TV channel. I am happy to share it here.
It is the popular Vegetable biryani, a Hyderabad special.
Two weeks of this new year has passed with  devine Margazhi month chanting Thirupavai in the early hours and there after  pongal celebrations.  I am sure this recipe will be interesting to try though most of you would have prepared in different method.  Thanks to Aks-e rasoi programme.

INGREDIENTS

Basmathi rice	2 cups
Salt	3 tsp
Bay leaf	1 no
Cinnamon	1” piece
Pepper	4 nos
Cardamom	2 nos
Lavang/cloves	2 nos
Lime juice	½ tsp
Water	7 cups

For Kurma

Cooked vegetables- carrot, green peas, beans and cauliflower florets	2 ½ cups
Onion	2 nos
Ghee	1 tsp
Star anise	1
Cinnamon	1” piece
Green cardamom	2 nos
Black cardamom	1 no
Cloves	3 nos
Pepper	6 nos
Cumin	½ tsp
Mace	little
Ginger	1 tsp
Garlic	1 tsp
Cumin powder	½ tsp
Red chilli powder	½ tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Biryani Masala	¼ tsp
Water	¼ cup + ½ cup
Tomato puree	2 tblsp
Curd	¼ cup
Grated coconut	1 tblsp
Cashew nuts powder	1 tblsp
Milk	¼ cup
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	1 tblsp
Fried onion or badam slices	½ cup
Orange food color	pinch

METHOD

Cooking basmathi rice in a right texture is important in the preparation of biryani . To acheive each grain cooked separate, lime juice is used. Care should be taken to cook the rice 80 to 90% done, as the final process requires baking the rice in oven or the process of DUM to be followed on stove top. 

Assemble the ingredients given in the first table to cook rice. Cut the vegetables and cook and keep ready. Finely chop onion and keep. Keep all the other ingredients ready to prepare the kurma. When all the ingredients are kept ready ( as the list is long) half the work is done. You can process cooking rice in one stove and make kurma in another burner. 

Heat 7 cups of water in a big heavy bottomed vessel. Add salt, bay leaf, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, cloves and bring to boil.Add lime juice. Add rinsed and drained basmathi rice and cook. When 80% is done remove and drain. Cool it in a wide plate.

While the rice is cooking the kurma can be done. In a pan melt ghee and add the whole masala one after the other in the order given. First star anise, then cinnamon, cardamom green and black, cloves, pepper, cumin, mace and fry. Add finely chopped onion and fry till light brown. Grate the ginger piece  and garlic directly into the pan. Add salt, cumin powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and biryani masala and mix adding 1/4 cup water. Add tomato pureee and mix.  Now add the cooked vegetables. In a bowl take curd and beat well. Add grated coconut, cashew powder and mix well. Pour this on vegetables and mix well. add 1/2 cup of water and mix well. Put off stove.

Now the rice and kurma should be combined. Grease a bowl with ghee first. Spread a layer of rice then vegetable kurma. Sprinkle orange food color and fried onion. Repeat the process of spreading rice and kurma. Spread mint and chopped coriander leaves and pour the milk evenly all around the bowl . Sprinkle fried almond slices and cover with aluminium foil and bake for 20 minutes in a pre heated oven.

The biryani is ready to serve. Spoon the biryani vertically with a spatula, with the layers of rice and kurma in tact . It tastes superb with raita as a side dish.