Capsicum & Onion Gojju for VOW-JFI-Bell Peppers

Baby Update First: Little M is getting bigger every day (she'll be 2 in a couple months). Now she has started speaking decipherable sentences. She says "I this" for something she wants, "I no this' if she doesn't want something & "I no no" when she doesn't know. She uses words & sentences in context too, for the most part. But her favorite sentence " I no no what to do" is used randomly, like when I ask her "what is Ginger doing?" or tell her "let's go to the park" or just because she feels like saying it! I don't know where she has heard that or what she thinks it means but it always gets us laughing! :) I speak with her in Kannada and the wonderful lady who takes care of her during the day speaks to her in Telugu but she talks a lot in English, that from interacting with other kids for only about 3 hours a day! She is a lot of fun. Of course it is a whole different story when it's oota time (time to eat) coz she is one fussy kid then!

Speaking of food, Capsicum & Onion Gojju is my entry for JFI-Bell Peppers, hosted by my buddy Pooja of Creative Ideas this month. Jihva was a concept created by Indira of Mahanandi. Thank you both!

2 Green Peppers (chopped)
2 medium sized onions (chopped)
1 tsp tamarind paste (dissolved in 1/2 cup water)
1 tbsp jaggery (or brown sugar)
Salt to taste

Grind to paste with a little water:
1 cup coconut shreds
1 tsp raw rice (to help in grinding the coconut)
3-4 green chillies
2 tsp saarina pudi (rasam powder)
1 heaped tsp roasted sesame seeds (optional)
a pinch of hing

For Tempering:
Oil, Mustard seeds, hing, turmeric powder & curry leaves

Heat oil & make the tadka. Add onions & peppers & fry for a few minutes. Add the tamarind water & salt. Cover & cook on low heat until well cooked. Add the ground paste, more salt if needed and mix well. Bring to a boil and the gojju is done!

I normally make this gojju this way but one time I did add peanuts since I did not have enough coconut. It gave a different, though nice, flavor. Do try that as a variation as well.

Other gojjus from me: Eggplant & Capsicum Gojju and Apple gojju.

Technorati Tags: Indian Food, Food, Bell Pepper, Curry, Capsicum

Mango Salad & Mango Poha

I love mangoes and could not wait for the mango season to arrive, when I was little! There was a gaadi-wala in front of my school, who sold thothapuri mango slices dusted with salt & red chilly powder. It used to be so good!! Even though I find Indian variety mangoes at my desi grocer, they are not quite the same as the ones I remember from yore. And the raw mangoes I get here are not even a wee bit sour & are almost flavorless. Enough of griping about this. I know you don't get any mangoes in some places, so I'll try to be happy that I get something at least! :)

Here's how I made the mango salad. Chopped raw mango, red onion, green pepper & tomatoes. Tossed them in a vinaigrette made of olive oil, red wine vinegar, cumin powder, sugar, salt & pepper. Finished with chopped cilantro. Simple, huh?



For the Mango poha, did a tadka of rai, haldi & hing in canola oil. Fried chopped green chillies, grated ginger & onions in the tadka oil. Added the chopped raw mango, salt, a little water & cooked on low until done. Tossed in the washed poha along with salt, coconut shreds and chopped cilantro. I also added lime juice to give the poha some sourness since the raw mango did not quite cut it (I guess that says it all, huh? OK, here I go complaining again!)



This goes to Arundati of Escapades who is hosting WBB#22 with May Mango Madness as the theme. Thanks, Arundati, for choosing a great breakfast theme and for hosting this event! Thanks also to Nandita, who started the popular WBB event.


Technorati Tags: Indian Food, Food, Breakfast, Salad, Mango