Lamb curry with sweet potatoes

Lamb curry with sweet potatoes 

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 2 hrs 30 min

Ingredients

* 450 g lean lamb shoulder or leg of lamb, cut into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes

* 2 tbsp oil

* 1 red onion, peeled and sliced

* 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped or crushed

* 1 x 2.5cm/1inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated

* 1 tsp turmeric

* 3 tbsp garam masala

* 400 g canned chopped tomatoes

* 200 ml lamb stock

* 3 green chillies

* 1 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

* ½ limes, juiced

* large handful of freshly chopped coriander

* Black mustard seeds, to garnish

Preparation

* Heat half the oil in a large non-stick pan and brown the lamb in batches for 3-4 minutes. Spoon into a 1.2L/2pint heatproofcasserole dish.

* Add the remaining oil to the same pan and cook the onion, garlic, ginger and spices for 3-4 minutes or until soft and golden. Spoon into the casserole dish.

* Add the tomatoes, stock and chillies (if used). Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 2-2½ hours or until the lamb is tender, stirring occasionally. Season if required.

* 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time add the potato and lime juice. Garnish with the coriander and black mustard seeds and serve with basmati rice, naan bread and a selection of Indian relishes.

Ponnaganti aaku koora

Ponnaganti aaku is a leafy vegetable mainly available in South India. These leaves are rich source of iron.

Ingredients:

Ponnaganti aaku(finely chopped) – 3cups
Redgram – 2table spoons
Mustard seeds – 1/4th teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1/4th teaspoon
Red chilli(splits)  – 2
Curry leaves-5
Salt – to taste
Turmeric powder (haldi) – a pinch
Asafoetida(hing) – a pinch 
Oil-2 table spoons

Procedure:

Take a thick bottomed kadai cook redgram till it is half boiled, drain the excess water.
In a separate kadai heat oil add a pinch of asafoetida, put mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and red cillies.
Once they start splutter add chopped ponnaganti aaku, salt, turmeric powder. Sprinkle a little water. Cook for 10 minutes or till leaves cooked. Add half boiled red gram to it. Cook for 2 more minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Potato curry/ Aloo Kura in Andhra style

Ingredients:

Potatoes –3medium sized (peeled and cut into small pieces)
Onions-3 medium sized (sliced)
Green chillies(small)  – 4(sliced)
Salt – to taste
Turmeric – a pinch
Mustard seeds – 1/4th teaspoon
Cumin seeds – 1/4th teaspoon
Oil – 2 table spoons
Water-1cup
Besan-2table spoons

Procedure:

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan, put mustard seeds, cumin seeds when they pop add onions, green chillies and potatoes fry them for 3 minutes. Add salt and turmeric powder. Add 1 cup of water and allow it to boil. Mix well besan with little water so that no lumps were left with.
When potatoes smoothen add besan mix into the curry.
This curry can be taken with poories and also Dosas.

Gutti vaMkaya kura(stuffed brinjal)

vaMkaya is known as brinjal. It is the king of all vegetables. We can make so many varieties of curries with brinjal. This stuffed brinjal is one variety among them.

Preparing this curry is involved a huge process but the taste is good. Once anybody taste this recipe will not leave it.

Ingredients for curry for five: 
Brinjal (small round ones)-10 (each one can have 2 brinjal)
Salt – to taste
Oil-2tbsp
Curry powder-3tbsp (need to prepare separately)

Procedure for curry:

slit
Slit the brinjal into four parts as shown in the above picture. Add salt and little oil to the powder.

stuffing the powder
Stuff the prepared curry powder into it.  Heat oil in a wok and put all the stuffed brinjals in it. Add a spoonful of water and a pinch of salt so that the skin of the brinjals will not burn. Close the fry pan with a tight lid. 

Cook for 15minutes or till the brinjals turn soft. This curry can be taken with hot rice.

Kandha bachchali kuura(a curry of yam and purslane leaves)

Ingredients:

Bachchali kuura(purslane leaves) – 300grms

Kanda (yam) – 200grms

Salt – to taste

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Asafoetida-a pinch

Mustard seeds – 1tbsp

Red chili powder – 1/2tbsp

Til – 1/4tbsp

Rice – 1tbsp

Oil – 1tbsp

Mustard seeds-1/4tsp

Red chilies-2

Black gram-1/2tsp

Curry leaves-5 or 6

Procedure:

Kanda or Yam

Bachchali kura 

Soak rice in little water. Pressure cook yam or kanda with a little water. Make a smooth paste of mustard seeds, soaked rice, chili powder and til.  In fry pan heat oil add mustard seeds, black gram, red chilies and curry leaves. Allow them to pop then add bachchali kura or purslane leaves. Add salt and turmeric powder and add a little water. Allow it to cook. 

Kanda Bachchali kura

Once the bachchali kura boiled add cooked kanda. Allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Now add smooth paste of mustard seeds, soaked rice, chili powder and til to it. Again allow it to boil for 5 minutes.

Arati davva kuura(banana stem curry)

Arati davva kuura(banana stem curry) 

Banana stem looks like this. It is a rich source of fiber and good for kidney. This curry is very tasty also. We can also make different recipes with the banana stem.

Ingredients:

Arati davva or duta(Banana stem)-1piece of 1/4mtr length.

Split Green gram(pesara pappu)-1/2 cup(half cooked)

Oil-2tbsp

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Cumin seeds-1tsp

Red chilies-2 splited

Green chilies-2 finely chopped

Black gram-1tsp

Salt-to taste

Turmeric powder-a pinch

Asafoetida-a pinch

curry leaves-5or 6

Preparation:

To prepare this curry we have to cut the stem very carefully. This stem is round in shape, we have to slice it and take out the hair like material. Then we have to chop the sliced stem. We have to put these pieces into thin buttermilk otherwise they will turn to black. Pressure cook the arati davva for three vigils. Drain out the excess water and squeeze.

Boil the split green gram till they become soft. Heat oil in a kadai add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram, red chilies and green chilies. Fry them till they splutter. Add asafoetida, curry leaves and cooked arati davva. Let the wetness also dry out then add half cooked green gram to it. Add salt and turmeric powder. Let it cook  for some more time so that the water and wetness in the curry will dry out.

Kakarakai pulla bellam(bitter gourd with jaggery)

Kakarakai pulla bellam(bitter gourd with jaggery)

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd-1/2kg

Tamarind pulp-2tbsp

Jaggery-2tbsp

Oil-1tbsp

Salt-to taste

Red chilli powder-1tsp

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Cumin seeds-1tsp

Black gram-1tsp

Bengal gram-1tsp

Red chilies-2(split into pieces)

Til powder-2tbsp

Curry leaves-5 or 6

Preparation:

Cut the bitter gourd into thick round pieces. Pressure cook them with tamarind. To reduce the bitterness in them we have to cook them with the tamarind.

Pour oil in a kadai. Heat oil; add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram, bengal gram, curry leaves and red chilies. When they started sputter add 2tbsp tamarind pulp and add 2tbsp jaggery. Allow it to cook for 2 minutes. Once tamarind pulp started boiling add bitter gourd pieces and cover it for 5 minutes. Allow the bitter gourd pieces to boil in tamarind and jaggery juice. So they will take the taste of tamarind and jaggery. Now sprinkle til powder.

Arati puvvu kuura

Ingredients:

Arati puvvu (banana flower)-one

Red gram-1cup

Onion-1 large (chopped)

Curry leaves-5 or 6

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Red chilies-2 split into pieces

Oil-1tbsp

Salt –to taste

Turmeric powder-1tsp

Asafoetida-a pinch

Preparation:

Preparation of this curry involves a laborious process. But the taste is good. 

The banana flower pod or banana blossom will have layers of tightly packed flaps. These flaps are wrapped around rows of thin stemmed flowers.

As we open each flap, a row of florets appear.

Separate the cluster and each flower in the cluster has a hard and long stigma with a transparent covering.

We have to take out the stigma and transparent covering from the flower.

 

This stigma and transparent covering have a bitter taste. 

If we add these to the curry, even that turns bitter. 

As we peel off the flower, the number of stigmas and transparent coverings comes down.

Repeat the procedure till  the layers of the pod cannot be removed. 

Cut the florets into small pieces. Put this in the buttermilk so that it would not turn into black shade. 
Soak red gram for one hour. Pressure cook the florets up to three whistles.

Heat oil in a kadai or pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies. Add onions and fry them till they turn soft. Add soaked red gram, add turmeric and little water and cover the pan with lid till the red gram gets cooked or becomes soft.
Now, add cooked floret pieces and salt. Allow it to cook for five minutes. Let the excess water get dried. Now it is ready to serve.