GRAVY
Indian gravy recipes are found to go well with Indian breads like roti, naan or poori and rice dishes like briyani and fried rice. Indian gravies have a regional bend and are available as south India gravy, Punjabi gravy, gujarati gravy and north Indian gravy. Most of the Indian gravies are very spicy.
Any Indian meal is incomplete without a gravy to go with. Indian gravies are said to be thick when compared to any other gravy in the world and the secret is the addition of ground onions, tomatoes and coriander seeds or powder. Indian gravies can be both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Indian gravy is said to be the basic sauce for all Indian dishes, much like the tomato or chilly sauce used elsewhere.
ALOO CHOPS MASALA
Ingredients
- 500g big size potatoes
- 3g garam masala
- Small piece ginger
- 1/4 cup grated coconut
- 6 green chilies
- 1/2 tsp pepper corns
- 2 bunches mint leaves
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 100g oil
- Salt to taste
- 150g tomatoes
- A pinch of turmeric
Method
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into two pieces lengthwise and soak in salt water for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a pan, fry garam masala and chopped ginger for few minutes.
- Then add potato pieces, turmeric and cook till they are tender.
- Now add coconut, green chilies, pepper corns, mint leaves paste, salt and cook for another 10 minutes.
- When the masala gets tender, add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
- When the gravy is done, sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.
ALOO KI BHAAJI
Ingredients
- 700g potatoes
- 6 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 3 red chilies
- A pinch of fenugreek seeds
- 225g onions, finely sliced
- 2 green chilies, sliced lengthwise (and de seeded if milder flavor is preferred)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 25g chopped coriander leaves
Method
- Boil the potatoes, peel and dice them evenly when cooled.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a wide shallow pan and season with mustard seeds.
- When they splutter, add red chilies and fenugreek seeds and immediately follow with the onions and green chilies.
- Fry the onions for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Add turmeric, potatoes and salt. Stir-fry gently until the potatoes are heated through or for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and sprinkle over the coriander leaves.
- Serve with plain rice or puris.
ALOO MUTTER
Ingredients
- 1 lb.Carrots peeled and thinly grated and sauteed in ghee
- Half and Half 1 pint
- Sugar to taste sugar
- 4 Cardamom pods ground
- Raisins handful
- Cashew nuts handful
- Ghee
Method
- Heat ghee in a pan and saute onion, garlic over medium heat till golden.
- Add cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon and stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, coriander powder, tomatoes, salt and mix well.
- Add potatoes & peas. Pour in water & bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover the pan & simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.
- Garnish with coriander leaves & serve hot.
ALOO PALAK
Ingredients
- 300g palak (spinach)
- 4 garlic flakes
- 1" ginger piece
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 green chilies, chopped
- 150g aloo (potatoes)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander and cumin powder
- 1 tbsp fresh cream
- Salt to taste
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Method
- Boil spinach with garlic, ginger, onions, green chilies. Blend them to a fine puree and keep aside.
- Cut potatoes into cubes and boil with salt and turmeric. When boiled, keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a pan, fry cumin seeds along with spinach-onion paste and let it boil for few minutes.
- Now add the boiled potatoes, garam masala, coriander-cumin powder and water if needed. Boil for few minutes till the potatoes absorb the flavor.
- Season with fresh cream if desired.
- Serve hot with hot naans or rice.
AVIYAL
Ingredients
- 3 cups mixed vegetables (cauliflower, French beans, drumsticks, potatoes, capsicum)
- 1 cup white squash, cubed
- 4 green chilies
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 4 tsp coriander leaves
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 red chilies
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/8 tsp black gram
- A pinch of Asafoetida
- Salt to taste
Method
- Boil the vegetables in 1 cup of water until they are tender. Keep aside.
- Mix yogurt, sugar, cumin seeds, grated coconut, turmeric, salt, coriander leaves, a cup of water and blend them to a fine paste.
- Heat 2tbsp of oil and fry the ground paste for few minutes. Add the boiled vegetables along with green chilies and simmer the contents for 10 minutes.
- Stir frequently that yogurt does not stick at the bottom. Remove from heat and keep aside.
- In a wide skillet, heat oil on medium, add dry red chilies, mustard seeds, black gram, curry leaves, asafoetida and add to the vegetables.
- Cook for a minute and remove from heat.
- Serve with parathas or plain white rice.
BABY POTATOES IN SPICY GRAVY
Ingredients
-
1/2 kg baby potatoes, boiled & peeled
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- Few curry leaves
- 1/2 cup ghee or butter
- Salt to taste
-
2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 small onions, chopped
- 1" ginger
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- 6-8 cashew nuts
- 2-3 green chilies
- 2 tsp red chili powder
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric and curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
For the curry:
For the masala paste:
Method
- Mix the ingredients of masala paste and blend to fine paste.
- Heat ghee in a pan, fry the ground paste and curry leaves.
- When it starts giving a sweet aroma, add lemon juice and mix in the boiled potatoes.
- Fry for few more minutes, add 3/4 cup water and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot with any fried rice.
BAINGAN MASALA
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg small long-shaped brinjals (baingan)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 6 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small garlic clove
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp cumin Seeds
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 cup methi leaves (fenugreek)
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- Oil for frying
- 1 1/2 tsp vinegar
- 4 tbsp ghee or butter
Method
- Cut brinjals into half from the middle and fry them in oil.
- Brinjals are not to be fried for long, so take them out and keep aside.
- Take some ghee in a pan and put in chopped onions, garlic, cumin seeds, methi leaves, curry leaves, salt & black pepper to taste, red chili powder and turmeric.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes and put in fried brinjals and chopped tomatoes
- Put in a little of water to make gravy and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the gravy gets thickened.
- Add vinegar to it and keep it for a while before serving.
BHAGARA BAINGAN
Ingredients
- 1/4 kg small brinjal (baingan)
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2-3 onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds (fry a little)
- 1 tbsp grated coconut
- 1 tbsp roasted groundnuts
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1-2 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- Salt to taste
- 4-5 tbsp oil
Method
- Slit brinjals from both the sides without cutting it completely.
- Make a smooth paste of sesame seeds, roasted peanuts and grated coconut.
- Heat a pan, pour 2 tbsp of oil in it and fry the brinjals until they become soft and keep aside.
- Pour the rest of the oil in the pan and heat it. Add ginger garlic paste, chopped onions and fry until the onions turn light brown.
- Add the masala paste. Fry for a minute and keep stirring. Now add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and mix well.
- Then add the tamarind pulp, salt and stir well. Now add the fried brinjals, cover the pan with a lid and cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes or until the brinjals are completely cooked.
- Add the chopped coriander and serve hot with chapaties or plain rice.
BHAGARA TOMATO
Ingredients
- 500g tomatoes
- 50g peanuts
- 50g sesame seeds
- 50g dry coconut
- 50g onions
- 50g tamarind
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp mustard, fenugreek & onion seeds
- 1 bunch curry leaves
- 75g oil
- Salt to taste
Method
- Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, coconut in a dry pan and blend to a smooth paste.
- Heat oil in the same pan, fry mustard, fenugreek and onion seeds for a minute.
- Then add curry leaves, chopped onions and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Now add ground paste, chili powder, turmeric and fry until the oil in the pan separates.
- Later add tamarind water and salt. Make long strips on tomatoes with a knife and add to the tamarind water.
- Cook until the tomatoes get tender and gravy should thicken.
- Remove from heat and serve with fried rice with cilantro on it.
BRINJAL BHURATA
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg big eggplants
- 25g garlic
- 100g tomatoes
- 20g green chilies
- 100g onions
- 1 bunch cilantro
- A pinch of turmeric
- 1 lemon
- Salt to taste
- 50g oil
- 25g Bengal gram
- 25g black gram
- 15g mustard seeds
Method
- Apply oil to the eggplants and make few strips with a knife.
- Cut the garlic and green chilies finely into slices and stuff them in the eggplant strips.
- Cook the eggplant on the flame until the outer layer becomes black. Remove the black layer and mash the eggplant.
- Heat oil in a pan, season with mustard seeds, grams and add chopped onions. Fry until they turn into brown color.
- Then add green chilies, tomatoes, salt, turmeric and cook for 5-6 minutes.
- When the tomatoes gets fried, add mashed eggplants and mix well.
- To this, add chopped cilantro, lemon juice and remove from heat.
- Serve with chapathis or puris.