Sweet n Sour Pumpkin

I was wondering what to prepare as the side dish for the dal and rice at dinner. A trip to the fridge didn't generate much excitement, there was just a piece of pumpkin! I had learnt khatta meetha sitaphal long time back, thought of trying it out.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin - 250 gm
Lime juice - 4-5 tsp OR tamarind water - 4-5 tsp OR aamchur powder - 3-4 tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cummin OR Fennel seeds - one pinch - for seasoning
Generous dose of finely chopped Corriander leaves - for garnishing

Method:
Skin, wash and cut the pumpkin in big chunky pieces.
Heat oil and add seasoning.
Add pumpkin pieces, salt, sugar and the souring agent and mix well.
Add a little water, cover it and let it simmer for about 2 mins.
Once the pumpkin is boiled add the corriander leaves, mix well.
You can either smash the pumpkin or leave the pieces as it is.
Serve with rice or roti.

Note: Using tamarind water or aamchur will darken the colour of the dish, lime juice keeps the colour of pumpkin intact.

Tam-Tam

Herez another cool drink recipe that can be served in a jiffy and is pretty cool as well! I had this at a friends place and it was very refreshing.
Ingredients:
Tamarind [Imli] water
Salt to taste
Sugar - 3-4 table spoons
Chat masala - 1 tea spoon
How to make it:
Tamarind water - soak a few pods of tamarind into a cup of water for about 20-30 mins.
In a tumbler add tamarind water, salt and sugar and mix well. Divide the liquid into two glasses and fill them up with chilled water. Add 1/2 tea spoon chat masala into each glass. If you want you can garnish the drink with mint leaves. Serve chilled.

Note: you can adjust the quantity of ingredients to your taste.

Cuculade!

Chennai summer makes you run for any kind of cold liquid. The constant desire for newer tastes had driven me last week to combine whatever was available in the kitchen to create a cool drink. It wasn't bad for the first try :) Here is how I prepared it:

You Need:

Half of a medium sized Cucumber - de-seeded (for two glasses)
Mint [Pudina] leaves - 4/5
Sugar - 4 table spoon OR Salt to taste

How to prepare:

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender.
Add soda and ice cubes.

Garnish with a mint leaf and serve cold.

Note: If you like ginger you can add a little to the mix for the zing taste!

Cheers!!!

Posto Coconut 'Tok'

Here is another Posto delicacy - easy to make and great companion for a hot summer day meal...its called tok in Bengali - there are various kinds of toks :) will talk about the others at some other point of time!
Things needed:
Posto or Poppy seeds - 2-3 table spoons
Grated Coconut - half cup
Tamarind water - half cup
Sugar 3 to 4 table spoons
Salt to taste
How to prepare:
Soak posto for 15-20 mins so that you get a smooth paste
Combine all the ingredients in a mixie and grind well. Add a little water and mix well.
You can adjust the consistency of the dessert according to your taste - but remember to add more sugar/salt if you add more water to it!
Chill and serve after a meal.

Aloo Posto

Couple of weeks back a friend asked, "What is posto?" I described to her what it is and she was happy to know that its used for special veg dishes...well if you are still wondering, posto is the Bengali word for poppy seeds.
Here is the Aloo Posto recipe [got it over phone from Mom :) ]
Vegetable:
Medium size potato - 4-5
Spices:
Posto - 3 table spoon
Kalonji [Fennel] seeds - 1 pinch
Cummin powder - 1 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 th tea spoon
Red chilli powder - to taste
Garam masala - 1/4th tea spoon
Bay leaves [tej patta] - 1 or 2
Salt to taste
Grated Coconut [optional] - 1/4 of tea cup
Refined or mustard oil - 2 table spoon
Ghee - 1 tea spoon
How to prepare:
Peel, clean and cut the potatoes in halves [big chunky pieces]
Soak posto for 15-20 mins then grind into a paste - soaking makes it easy to grind in a mixie [add coconut while grinding]
Heat 2 spoons of oil a pan, add kalonji seeds and bay leaves to it.
Add the posto paste, cummin, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Fry well. Add a little water if it sticks to the pan :)
Once the masala starts to separate from the oil add the potato chunks and mix well.
Add 1/2 cup water, cover and let it simmer for 2-3 mins.
Once the potatoes are boiled the dish is almost ready. Add water if you want more gravy.
Add the garam masala and ghee for flavor.
Your Aloo posto is ready to eat.
This goes well with plain rice or poori.