Indigenous Recipes

Amaranth recipe:

Amaranth is a multi-purpose crop. The tender leaves and shoots of the amaranth plant are relished as a green vegetable. In the hills, the grains are popped and mixed with milk and sugar to make kheer , or without milk- halwa. The roasted and partially popped grains are milled into flour and used to make rotis or, fried in oil to make pooris or crisp pakoras.

Amaranth cutlet:

Ingredients: 1 cup amaranth popped, 4 -5 boiled potatoes, peanuts, coriander leaves, green chillies, oil, salt.

Method: Boil and smash potatoes. Add popped amaranth and peanuts, finely chopped chillies and coriander leaves and salt to taste. Heat the frying pan and grease it well. Shape into round and press it in the form of a cutlet and fry it. It can be even deepfried in a karai.

Serve hot with green chutney.

Jhangora Uppma:

Ingredients: 1 cup Jhangora, 50 gms peanut, 1Onion, 2 carrots, 8-10 beans, 4 green chilli, curry leaves, ¼ teaspoon rai, oil, salt, 1 lemon.

Method: Roast Jhangora and steam it. In a Karai heat oil add rai, curry leaves and chopped onion. When the onion turns golden brown add finely chopped carrots, beans, peas, green chillies and roasted peanut. Cook till they become tender and then add the steamed jhangora. Add salt and mix well. Squeeze lemon and garnish with coriander leaves.Serve hot with chutney or sauce.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Ragi recipe: Ragi cooked with a little milk and sugar, it is a tasty an easily digested breakfast cereal for babies.

Ragi Dosa:

Ingredients: 1 portion urad dal washed, 1 portion rice, 3 portion ragi flour, 1 onion, chopped chillies, oil, salt.

Method: Soak the urad dal and rice for four hours. Grind to a smooth paste. Add ragi flour and salt and blend into smooth batter and leave overnight to ferment. The next day heat a tawa or a frying pan and grease it well. Pour a ladleful of the batter into it and spread onwards. So that the edge would be quite thin. The center may be left soft , and sprinkled with chopped onions, chillies. Pour a spoon of the oil all around and cook on a medium flame till the edge crisp. Remove the dosa carefully and serve hot with coconut chutney, sambhar or vegetable korma.

Cooking time: approx. 30 seconds (for one dosa).

Colourful Rice Salad:

The rice has to be soaked for one hours before cooking and the cooking time is approximately 40 minutes.

Ingredients: 2 cup cooked rice, ½ cup each of the following finely chopped vegetables (raw or steamed), Green Capsicum, Red Capsicum, Broccoli /cabbage, Carrots, Cucumber, Radishes.

Method: Mix all the ingredients well. Add vinaigrette dressing to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Cooking time: approx. 35-40 minutes.

Kasturi rice recipe:

Ingredients: 2 cups Kasturi rice, ¼ saffron threads, 2 bay leaves, 3 cardamom pods, cracked, 4 – 5 cloves, 2 tablespoon rose water, 1cup sugar (Jaggery can be a substitute) , ½ cup ghee (butter may be substituted)

Method: Boil the rice leaving it little raw. In a small bowl put saffron, rose water and cardamom. In 1 ½ cup of water add sugar, saffron threads and prepare a sugar syrup. Add the syrup to the rice and mix it well at low flame. In a karai heat the ghee and add curry leaves, cardamom, cloves and pour it on the rice and sprinkle the rose water on top.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Erusheri:

Ingredients: arhar dal, fresh coconut grinded & powdered, Onion, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds, curry leaves, salt.

Method: Dry grind jeera, onion, coconut and prepare a paste. Boil arhar dal and drain water and keep seperately. In a karai heat coconut oil and add mustard seed, sliced onion, grated coconut. When the coconut turns brown add the dry arhar dal and the grinded paste and salt. Mix well add dal water if required add more water and heat it. Serve hot.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Rajma Recipe:

Ingredients: 250 gms Rajma 1 onion, 3 –4 cloves garlic, ground cumin, 2-3 chopped tomatoes, 3-4 tbsp curd, coriander leaves, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Method: Boil the Rajma. In a Karai heat oil and fry onion, crushed garlic till it turns golden brown. Add the ground cumin and stir in low heat for 2 minutes. Add the sliced tomatoes, beans, salt and pepper to taste in the pan and stir occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and add the yogurt one tablespoon after each 2 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Cooking time: 45 minutes.

Basic Prepared Mustard Sauce:

Blend 2 tablespoons or more Navdanya dry mustard powder with a little water till creamy. Add ½ cup heavy cream, salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar to taste. The taste improves with keeping.

Can be used for preparing thousand Island dressing. Remoulade Sauce, tartare Sauce, etc. In most recipes, can substitute dry mustard by doubling the quantity required.

Cold Mustard Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons grated onion
1tablespoon prepared mustard sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 to 2 hard boiled egg yolks
(1 tablespoon cream - optional
Salt and Sugar to taste

Blend all ingredients. Good with cold meats and fish as a relish.

Low Calorie Island Dressing:

¾ cup tarragon vinegar
1 can tomato soup
1 minced clove of garlic
2 tablespoon finely chopped dill
2 tablespoon finely chopped celery
2 tablespoon finely chopped parley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Combine in a screw-top jar.