Whole Moong Curry 1

Ingredients:

For oil tempering - peanut oil, black mustard seeds, and turmeric
Whole moong beans - 1 cup soaked and cooked
Ghati Masala - 1 tsp (or Chili powder - 1/4 tsp or to your taste)
Tomato - 1 large cut into small pieces
Garlic cloves - 7- 8 cut lengthwise
Curry Leaves - 10 to 12 or 1 branch
Salt to taste.
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tbs

Recipe:

Heat pan and add 2 tsp peanut oil.
Prepare oil tempering and add garlic.
Let garlic cook until lightly brown.
Add curry leaves and then add cut tomato.
Add 1 tsp ghati masala or chili powder.
Add cooked moong beans and salt to taste.
Mix well and add water if necessary and cook more until right consistency has reached.
Sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve as a side dish with Indian bread, or rice.

Notes:

1) Serve with roti (bhakari) and freshly cut onion wedges.
2) This is a rustic dish and is made during rainy season.
3) I don't add any sugar in this recipe (most of the savory recipes in Maharashtrian cooking has sweet, salty and sourness balanced).
4) You can substitute moong beans with any other beans like black eyed peas, lentils, green/white peas, black or red kidney beans.

Ghati Masala

Ingredients:

Onions - 3 medium
Garlic cloves - 1/4 cup - 2 whole garlic pods
Red hot chili peppers - 250 grams
Dry coconut pieces - 100 grams or from 1/2 coconut
Black peppercorns - 50 grams
Coriander seeds - 50 grams
Cumin seeds - 25 grams
Shahajeera (black cumin seeds) - 25 grams
Cloves - 25 grams
Cinnamon - 25 grams
Green ilaichi - 25 grams
Poppy seeds (khaskhas) - 25 grams
Star anise (chakriphool) - 2
Black ilaichi ( badi ilaichi) - 2
Whole nutmeg - 2
Mace - 3 Tb
Salt - 1 Tb
Peanut oil to shallow fry - 5 Tb

Recipe:

Add 1 Tb oil each time in a wok and fry ingredients with following order and remove them to a bowl.

1) Start with cloves, cinnamon and black peppercorn ( be careful with them as peppercorn and cloves can splatter and can cause burns)
2) coconut pieces until golden
3) Remove stems from red chilis and fry them. Remove them to a bowl and add salt to them.
4) Fry onion until it becomes golden in color and crisp.
5) Fry rest of the ingredients except cumin, poppy seeds and garlic (don't fry these 3 ingredients)

Once all the ingredients are fried, mix them well and grind them in a blender/mixer and store the masala in a tight lid glass jar.  Store it in a freezer so that it won't go rancid and will last for many months.
Just take out enough every time that will last for few days in your spice box.

Notes: 

1) Every family has their own masala recipe in India. This recipe is my family recipe. It came from My mom's mom, my maternal grandmother (Mrs. Pramodini Joshi) to my mom (Mrs. Sheela Datar) and now to me.
2) I use this masala only in rustic dishes.

4) Glossary of Spices & Condiments - Indian Names
http://www.syvum.com/recipes/indian/glosss1.html

5) What is asafoetida?   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asafoetida

Cauliflower Salad 2

Ingredients:

For oil tempering - 2 tsp peanut oil, black mustard seeds, green chilis
Cauliflower - 1 cup - grated coarse
Green chilis - 1 cut into pieces
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or to your taste)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste.
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tb

Recipe:

Grate cauliflower.
Prepare oil tempering and add chilis to it. Let chilis fry for few seconds.
Add it to cauliflower.
Add 2-3 Tb peanut powder, chili powder, sugar and salt to taste.
Add 1 tsp fresh lemon juice. Mix well.
Adjust salt, sugar, lemon juice to your taste.
Remove it to a serving dish and sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve as a side dish with Indian bread, or rice.

Notes:

1) You can also add 2-3 Tb fresh grated coconut.
2) You can add 1/2 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp cumin powder as a variation.
3) You can add 3-4 Tb sprouted moong beans as a variation.

Cauliflower Salad 1

Ingredients:

For ghee tempering - ghee and cumin seeds
Cauliflower - 1 cup - cut into pieces about 1/2" -1" size
Green chilis - 1 cut into pieces
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or to your taste)
Salt to taste.
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tb

Recipe:

Cut cauliflower into smaller pieces.
Boil 3 cups of water and add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.
Add cauliflower and cook it for 4-5 minutes.
Drain water and transfer cauliflower to a bowl.
Prepare ghee tempering and add chilis to it. Let chilis fry for few seconds.
Add it to cauliflower.
Add 2-3 Tb peanut powder, chili powder and salt to taste.
Add 1 tsp fresh lemon juice. Mix well.
Remove it to a serving dish and sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve as a side dish with Indian bread, or rice.

Notes:

1) You can also add 2-3 Tb fresh grated coconut.

Eggplant Bhaji with Besan Flour

Ingredients:

For oil tempering - peanut oil, black mustard seeds, turmeric, hing powder
Tender eggplant - 1 cup - cut into pieces about 1.5" - 2" size.
Besan flour - 3-4 Tb - sieve it so it has no lumps
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp (or to your taste)
Salt to taste.
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tb

Recipe:

Cut eggplant into smaller pieces and soak them in salted (1/2 tsp salt) water for 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse. This will remove bitterness from the eggplants.
Heat pan and add 3-4 tsp peanut oil (will need more oil as eggplant absorbs oil).
Prepare oil tempering and add eggplant pieces. Stir well.
Add salt. Let the eggplant get cooked on medium high heat stirring occasionally (sprinkle water if necessary).
When eggplant is cooked, add chili powder and besan flour and mix well. Let the besan coat eggplant.
Turn heat to medium low and cook for 2-3 minutes until besan gets cooked.
Keep stirring as besan can burn easily.
Remove it to a serving dish and sprinkle with cilantro.
Serve as a side dish with Indian bread, or rice.

Notes:

1) Adding hing powder is essential as eggplants and besan create gas.
2) You can add 1/2 tsp cumin powder after you add chili powder as a variation.
3) You can leave besan flour out and add 1/2 tsp black masala as a variation.
4) Use this recipe for spring onions, bell peppers, any chopped leafy vegetable like spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, collard greens, cabbage, zuccini and so on.
5) I prefer to use Japanese eggplants as they are tender and have fewer seeds.

Simple Cauliflower Bhaji 2

Ingredients:

Cauliflwer - 2 cups cut cauliflower - small flowers ( 1" - 1.5" size)
For oil tempering - peanut oil, black mustard seeds, turmeric
Chili powder - 1/4 tsp (or to your taste)
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Brown sugar - 1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Chopped cilantro leaves - 2-3 Tbs
Freshly grated coconut - 3-4 Tbs

Recipe:

Heat pan and add 2 tsp peanut oil.
Prepare oil tempering.
Add cauliflower. Stir well.
Add  1/4 cup water + salt + brown sugar + chili powder + cumin powder. Mix well.
Keep heat on medium and let the cauliflower get cooked stirring occasionally.
It should not be mushy and all the water should be gone.
Sprinkle with cilantro and coconut.
Serve as a side dish with Indian bread, or rice

Notes:

1) Vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower have strong pungent smell which can be tamed by cumin.
2) I don't use hing powder or garlic as they both have  strong smells as well.
3) I don't use cover/lid when I cook tender cauliflower as it can get mushy.