Mustard Potatoes

Don't you love the taste of raw mustard? I do. I've used it a lot in my cooking. I simply love that pungency and a little bit of a hot, spicy taste. Its delicious.

Now, if you put that and potatoes together, there can be nothing wrong with it!

Here's a lovely Bengali dish with some raw mustard, mustard seeds, mustard oil and potatoes. It's really really good. It makes a great side with rice or rotis/ chapatis.



Bengali Mustard Potatoes

(the original recipe is from a paper I've torn out of a magazine ages ago and only recently found. I have no idea which magazine this is from, so can't credit the source)

4-5 tsp Mustard Seeds
8 Potatoes, scrubbed and cut into pieces
3 Tomatoes, chopped
4 tbsp Mustard Oil
Kasundi (a special Bengali mustard paste. Its available at specialty stores) (optional), to taste.
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder, or to taste
10-12 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 cups Water
Salt, to taste

Crush the mustard seeds in a mortar and pestle or really with any heavy object.

In a deep pan, heat the mustard oil, add the garlic cloves and stir fry until the garlic is a golden brown. Add the crushed mustard and turn the heat to low. Allow to cook for a minute or two. Keep stirring and don't allow the mustard to burn. Add the potatoes wedges. Mix thoroughly to coat.

Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, kasundi, salt and water. Cook covered on medium heat till potatoes are cooked and tender, about 25-30 minutes,

Serve warm with rice or rotis.

If you like this, you'll also like Mustard Curry and Mustard Chutney, on this blog.

Fried Green Tomatoes

I've heard so much about fried green tomatoes, but have never eaten them. Well, now I have. I didn't love it, it was a little too sour for me and the kids. We made a bhajji (vegetables fried in a thin batter) out of it. I did use the green tomatoes to make other stuff, like sambar, and loved that. But, no, the fried green tomatoes were not for me!

Fried Green Tomatoes

5-6 Green Tomatoes, cut into discs
Oil, for deep frying

Batter
1 cup Gram Flour
1/2 cup Rice Flour
A pinch of Asafoetida
A pinch of Salt
A pinch of Red Chilli Powder
Water, enough to make a batter.

First heat the oil in a deep pan. Make a batter with all the batter ingredients.

Dip the tomato slices in the batter until thinly coated. Slowly lower a few at a time into the hot oil. Flip after a minute, and fry until cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-towel lined plate. Repeat until you've fried all the tomatoes.

Serve hot with ketchup or a spicy chutney.

(Shown here with Kale chips. The little brown discs are the green tomato bhajjis)

Simple Rasam

When I wanted a quick rasam and didn't have time to grind my own spice powders and stew over the tamarind, I would use this easy recipe. The rasam still tastes great, but you spent half the time making it!



Easy Rasam
1/2 cup Moong Dal, cooked with turmeric and salt
1 tsp Rasam Powder (available in Indian stores. If you want to make your own, here's a nice video!)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 pinch Asoefetida
3 Tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
3-4 Curry Leaves
1 clove Garlic
2 tbsp Cilantro Leaves, for garnish

Heat about 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan, add the cumin, asoefetida and tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are mushy. Add the rasam powder and enough water to cook the tomatoes (about 2 cups). Add the cooked dal.

For the seasoning, heat some oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and garlic clove. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the seasoning to the rasam. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve hot with cooked rice.

Other rasams on this blog: Mysore Rasam and Beetroot Rasam.

Tomato Rice

The rice, delicately flavored with fresh tomatoes and spices, is lovely just as it is. Or served with a little bit of thick yogurt. A huge favorite in our family, we need to have this every once in a while as simple comfort food.


Tomato Rice

1 cup Basmati Rice
1.5 cups Water
2 Tomatoes, blanched, skinned and ground
1 Onion, sliced fine
2 Green Chillies, chopped fine
1" piece Ginger or 1 tsp Ginger Paste
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Cloves
2 Cardamom pods

Grind the ginger, garlic, cloves and cardamom and keep aside.

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add the onion, chillies, ground spices and stir fry well, until the raw smell of the spices goes away, about 5-6 minutes. Add the tomato paste, water (enough water to cook the rice, taking into account the water from the tomatoes - about 1.5 cups), salt and mix well.

Cook until rice is done. Fluff with a fork. Simple and delicious spiced rice.

This is off to my dear friend, Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers for Food in Colours: Red.