Zucchini Yoghurt Salad -Turkish style Raitha

The heat during day time is so intense that we need cold raithas or desserts.Rather than spring I feel summer is fast approaching.So rather than going for elaborate meals raithas are more preferable for me.Ofcourse I make other sides for rice/breads but end up eating the raithas more. This is a simple zucchini raitha Turkish style (also known as Yoğurtlu Kabak Salatası ) from AlmostTurkish. I had one zucchini and I used the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients:
Zucchini: 1 :optionally peeled and coarsely grated.
Thick yoghurt: 1/2 -1 cup depending on taste
Olive oil: 1-2 tsp
Garlic: 1 small clove grated/minced
Walnuts: handful: chopped/crushed/halved
Fresh/Frozen Dill: 1-2 tbsp as per taste
Fresh /Dried mint: 1tbsp :as per taste and adjust with dill.
Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Optioally peel zucchini (I did,very lighly)and grate it in  a bowl.Squeeze and remove the excess juice.

Heat olive oil in a pan,add the squeezed zucchini and cook till tender stirring occassionally. This takes few minutes only. Remove  from heat and allow to cool.

In a big bowl,mix well grated garlic and yoghurt. To this garlicky yoghurt,stir in the cooled zucchini,herbs,walnuts and salt & pepper.

Mix well and serve chilled.

A simple and fuss free raitha. You can adjust the herbs as per taste. I had used frozen dill and fresh mint and I prefered mint more. You can also adjust the quantity or thickness of the curd and use it as a spread or topping. This is a saviour during hot summer and a bit different from the regular no-cook raithas we normally use.

And it vanished in minutes.......................



Bademjan Pollo & Mast o' Khiar - Persian Eggplant Rice & Cucumber Dip

Persian cuisine or Iranian cuisine is diverse like the Indian cuisine.Each province has its own way or style of cooking and there are a variety of herbs and rices and other side dishes most of which are with meat.I have read that Iran is a non friendly state for vegetarians/vegan. but I have come across rice dishes where meat is actually optional as well. Pollow or pollo  is Iranian pulao or pilaf as it is also known in UK/Europe. It can be made with rice along with variety of herbs and vegetables.Here rice is cooked in a broth along with veggies/meat and based on the veggies and meat added there are several types of pollos.

I was searching for eggplant recipe when I found this recipe for Bademjan Pollo. This is the only site where I have seen this  recipe and it was meat free. I am not sure whether it is an authentic dish,but surely veggies are added to pollos.The recipe had lots of oil involved which I have reduced or kept to minimum and have made it slightly my way. I served it with mast o khiar a simple yoghurt -cucumber raitha albeit Iranian style. I have looked through several sites for the dip  and they have the same simple basic  recipe as that of raitha.

Bademjan Pollo (Iranian rice with Eggplant)
Eggplant or Bademjan  is like 'potato of Iran'and there are several eggplant dishes but with meat a well.You can have it in dips,sides,main etc and this is a simple main course where it is folded into rice.

Ingredients:
Eggplant: 1 cup cubed

Veg Oil: 2-3 tbsp + 4 tbsp

Onion: 1 chopped thin

Basmati Rice: 1 cup
Tomato: 3-4 medium
Salt & Pepper: as per taste


Dried Dill weed: 1-2 tsp

Preparation:

Cube the eggplant into bite size pieces and salt it. Let it sit for atleast half an hour when it lets out the bitterness. After atleast 30 minutes,squeeze the eggplant pieces and drain them on paper towels.Chop the onion into long thin pieces. Blanch the tomatoes in hot water and peel and chop them into small pieces.

Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a thick bottomed pan,add in oniion and saute till it starts to brown. Add in rice and stir till it starts to brown and dry.Make sure there is enough oil for this.Add in the blanched,peeled and chopped tomatoes,salt ,pepper and enough water as needed to cook the rice. Bring to a boil,reduce,cover and cook till rice is (almost) done.This depends on the cooking time of basmati used.

Meanwhile heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in another pan. Add in the drained eggplant pieces and saute till they start to brown. Drain them on paper towels for removing excess oil.

Once the rice is almost done, fold in the eggplant pieces. Sprinkle dill and mix well.Cover the dish with a lid wrapped in towel and steam for about 10-15 minutes till the flavours blend.

What I did was,I folded the eggplant pieces when rice was almost cooked,then transferred everything to a smaller dish,covered with a lid and put the dish in a pressure cooker /steamer and steamer it for about 5-10 minutes till everything gets blended and cooked.This is my way rather than the mentioned Iranian way.

Serve the rice with cucumber dip or raitha.

Mast o Khiar- Iranian Yoghurt & Cucumber Dip

This is s simple dip or raitha as we can say,where seedless cucumbers are mixed into thick yoghurt spiced with salt,pepper and dried mint. The name literally translates to yoghurt (mast) and cucumber (khiar - remeber it is called kheera in Hindi).Normally Persian cucumbers are used which are similar to seedless ones.

Ingredients:
Cucumber : 1 preferbly seedless,though any thing will do.

Yoghurt:1 cup + as needed
Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Dried Mint: 1 tbsp or more.

Preparation:
Dice the cucumber into small bite size pieces optionally peeling and deseeding it.

Take yoghurt in a bowl,add in the salt,pepper and dried mint. Mix well. Fold in the cucumber pieces.Adjust the salt and seasonings and serve with pita or rice (as I did) or chips/crackers as a dip.You can even see pictorial representation of this here.



The combo was perfect. The rice was hearty. The taste was excellent as with any spiced rice and the way of making was interesting as well. The dip reeked of mint which I had added more,but it was refreshing.Hearty meal from Iran it is.

I hope Sweet Artichoke accepts the combo  for AWED : Iran, an event by DK.



Bengali Cuisine/Bangla Ranna

Bengal has a varied cuisine as does most states of India.Be it the rice dishes,sweetmeats like mishti doi or fish dishes.Its variety of vegetarian dishes is also a gastronomer's delight.It is said that there are several courses of items even in a modest Bengal household.Here I am trying to present a simple Bengali thali with Khichidi/khichuri, Doi Begun and Subz Bhaja.

Khichidi/Khichuri

This is actually vegetables and spices cooked with rice and moong dal/yellow split lentils,similar to Pulao.I used this recipe as a base but adjusted it as per taste and availability of items.This is simple and easy to prepare pulao dish and tastes great with or without raita.

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice: 1 cup
Moong Dal: 3/4 cup
Vegetables: 1 cup mixed (Potatoes,peas,beans,carrot,cauliflower etc)
Onion: 1 medium
Ginger:1 inch piece
Garlic: 1 clove
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt:as per taste

Spices to be crushed:
Bayleaves: 1 or 2 small leaves
Jeera:1/2tsp
Cardamom:1/2tsp
Cinnamon: 1/2 tsp
Clove:1/2 tsp

Garnish:
Coriander leaves
Ghee(optional)

Preparation:

Roast moong dal till it turns lightly brown.Wash and soak the rice.Chop onions finely .Crush/mince garlic and ginger or paste them.Crush the spices.

Heat oil in a pan,add jeera,bayleaf and other crushed spices and saute.When it splutters,add chopped onion and minced ginger and garlic and slit chillies.As the onion turns brown,add the cubed veggies and turmeric and salt and mix well till the veggies are coated well.Add dal and rice and mix well.Add enough water and cook till done.Add more water in between if needed and when done garnish with coriander leaves and ghee.

Doi Begun /Eggplant Raita
This is a simple eggplant raita.I found several versions and found one that was easy to make and modified it.

Ingredients:

Eggplant: 1 small
Yoghurt: 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder:1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:

Cube the eggplant pieces and apply salt.Leave them in the colander for about 15 minutes to remove the bitterness.Squeeze the eggplant pieces carefully and place them on a greased baking sheet.Mix in half turmeric and chilli powders on the eggplant pieces and drizzle little oil on top.Bake for 12 minutes on a pre heated oven at 475F for 12-15 minutes.Once done,allow to cool for a few minutes and mix in with remaining spice powders,little salt and yoghurt.Serve chilled with the rice/pulao.

Subz Bhaja/Vegetable fritters

I found that Khichuri/Khichidi is always accompanied by vegetable fritters.I found this recipe and modified as per items available in my pantry

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 1tbspn
All purpose flour:2 tbspn
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Onion seeds/kalonji: 1/4 tsp
Mixed vegetables:1/2 cup(I used spinach and potatoes)
Salt:as per taste

Preparation:

Mix flours,salt,chilli powder and onion seeds into a thick batter.You can also use grm flour/besan instead of all purpose flour and even avoid rice flour.I have added rice flour as it gives crispiness to the dish.Chop the vegetables-slice the potatoes and chop the leafy vegetables .Marinate them in the batter and deep fry in hot oil.Serve as a snack or a side dish with Khichuri.

It was a delicious meal,but you know what,I am still reeling under Sia's magic, so past few weekends I am trying out thali meals from other Indian states.But Thank GOD,its not International!.To be honest,I was a bit sceptical about Khichuri,because Bengali is something that I have not tasted except for rasgullas,but once I inhaled the aroma wafting from the pan,I started working on other accompaniments.

Sending this simple Bengali thali to SWC:Bengal hosted by Sowmya of CookingStation and Laksmi of tasteofMysore,Hope you enjoy this too.

Carrot Raita

This is a typical konkani preparation.The only difference in method is people in Karnataka add sprouts to it and call it a Kosumbari whereas Konkanis in Kerala especially Trivandrum areas add curd and use this raita as a side dish in lunch.This dish beats the summer heat.

Ingredients:
Carrots-2 medium
Green chilly-1 chopped
Coconut scraped- 1/2 tsp
Curryleaves- few
Salt -as per taste
Curd/Thick buttermilk-1/2 cup

Seasoning:
Red chilly- 1medium chopped
Methi seeds-1/4 tsp
Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:
Scrap and chop the carrots into 1/2 inch long thin pieces.(This chopping into correct size is important. It improves the appearance and thereby the appetite).In a bowl add chopped carrots,coconut scraped,salt, chopped greenchilly and curryleaves.Mix well.Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard.As it splutters, add red chilly pieces and methi seeds. Stirfry and add the carrot mixture.Saute till the raw smell of carrot goes.Turn off the gas and let the mixture cool. Once cooled add the curd/thick buttermilk, adjust the salt and serve chilled.

This is my entry to JFI-Frozen Yoghurt hosted by Siri's corner

Potato Raita -Potato in Curd

This is my favourite potato dish.Actually I like anything with potatoes.I can have it as an any time snack.This is one dish I do not want to experiment with as I love it as it is and is simple to prepare.

Ingredients:
Potato-1 big boiled

Green chilly-1 medium

salt- as per taste

yogurt/thick buttermilk- 1 cup

seasoning:

curry leaves-few

mustard-1 tsp

jeera- 1/2 tsp

Preparation:
Boil,peel and mash potato.To this add chopped green chilles and salt. Mix well. Add the curd/butter milk.If the mix is thick you can add little water and mix well.Season with mustard, jeera and curry leaves.Serve.This can be served as a side dish to any meal or even as a dip with dosa.

This dish can also be prepared with gooseberry,if you do not like potatoes.You boil the gooseberry, de seed them and follow the above recipe. It is good for stomach as well.