Zucchini Besan Sabji (No Onion No Garlic) - Jain Friendly Recipes

Confession: for the longest time, I thought zucchini was another type of cucumber that's only used in raita and salads. I didn't even know the Indian name for zucchini, having never seen this vegetable in Kerala or even Hyderabad.

It seems it's actually a fruit, not a vegetable, and is closely related to ridge gourd (torai or tura in Hindi) and beerakay in telugu.

Anyway, I wanted try an Indian recipe with Zucchini and went with the easiest option - a quick and simple sabji with besan. Also check out Indian potato fry (no onion, no garlic), yam fry, and sesame tofu recipe.

This is a no-onion no-garlic recipe.

Zucchini Besan Sabji
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, peeled, washed and cut into small cubes
3 tbsp of besan / Bengal gram flour
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/8 tsp of hing / asafoetida
1 tsp of rice flour (optional)
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds / jeera
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
2 strands of curry leaves

Instructions:

1. Add the besan, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, rice flour (if using), and hing to the cubed zucchini. Mix well with fingertips until the zucchini pieces are well coated in the mixture. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and jeera. When they mustard pops and the jeera sizzles, add the curry leaves and the zucchini mixture.

3. Mix well until the zucchini pieces are coated in oil. Cook on low flame, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are cooked and pulpy. If you don't peel the zucchini, the pieces will hold their shape and will be firmer, so it's up to you how you want it to turn out.

That's it!

Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis / rotis. How do you cook Zucchinis the Indian way? Share your recipes if any!

6 Must-Try Kerala Christmas Recipes

Having grown up in a Christian-dominated society, I grew up with a lot of influence from the religion. I studied in a Christian School (no matter what the headmistress says now, it was a Christian School, we sang hymns at Monday assembly and said "Our Father" every morning before classes), almost all of my parents' friends were Catholics, I used to find more peace in Kurisupally, a church that was closer to my home than Thirunakkara Sivan Temple. This is not to say I favour one religion over the other, I ended up turning agnostic. Ironic, I know.

Anyway, this post was not to talk about my religious preferences, but to talk about Swapna Chechy and her blog - Swapna's Cuisine. Swapna Chechy is a childhood friend of my sister's. She is probably familiar to most of you since she has been an avid food blogger for the past couple years. Her cooking distinctly reminds me of my childhood, of sneaking in homemade wine when I was 8, eating bitter, rum-soaked raisins by the fistful at 10, and the sugar rush from all the Christmas cakes, both homemade and otherwise, that would flood into our home starting the first week of December well into the New Year.

Here are 6 Christmas Recipes from Swapna's Cuisine that I highly recommend. Check out my version of Kerala plum cake recipe if you'd like.

Milk Liquer

Chicken Balls

Vellayappam (or Paalappam if you prefer that)

Meat Ball Curry

Vegetable Stew (Ishtoo)

Kerala Plum Cake (Christmas Fruit Cake)

Not sure if I will have time this year to make any Christmas cookies and cakes but I will be home at the time so I am sure there will be no shortage of Christmas Fruit Cake!

Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe - Mini Kozhukattai - Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesh Chaturthi Recipe

Ammini (also called Mini or Mani) Kozhukkattai is not something I grew up eating. The sweet vella kozhukattai was often made and a favourite in our house but amma just made plain kozhukkattai with the leftover modak cover dough (without the jaggery filling), which we ate with chutney podi or just as-is.

                               

It's my sis who made this once with the leftover modak covering flour and it was instant love for me. She dismissed it a simple snack that she often makes but it was delicious. I tried it for the first time with the leftover flour after making kozhukattai for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe
Makes about 20-25 small balls
Serves 2 as a snack

Ingredients:

For the kozhukattai:
1/2 cup rice flour
~ 3/4 cup water (adjust amount while making)
1/2 tsp salt
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hing powder / perungaayam
1/2 tsp split urad dal / ulutham paruppu
2 dry red chillies, halved
2-3 tbsp grated coconut
A few curry leaves
A pinch of salt

How to Make Mini Kozhukkattai:

1. Bring 1/2 cup water to boil with the salt also added in. Once it boils, remove from fire and add the 1/2 cup rice flour in, mixing as you do so. Make sure no lumps are formed and mix well until you get a soft dough that's similar in consistency to chapati dough (it won't be stretchy though). Start with 1/2 cup water and keep adding a few drops as you mix until you get the desired consistency. Depending on the type of rice flour and humidity, etc, you will need different amounts of water. Let this mixture cool down a bit until you can handle it. Don't let it cool completely, or else the rice dough will become dry.

2. Make into small marble-sized balls and place in a steamer without overlapping.

3. Steam for about 10 minutes until the kozhukattai is cooked and glossy. Don't overcook, otherwise it becomes rubbery.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the rest of the ingredients under the "for tempering" list and fry for a minute until the hing lets out a nice aroma and the red chillies glisten.

5. Add the steamed kozhukattai in, stir well, and remove from fire.

Serve hot with a cup of tea. Mini Kozhukattai are a nice tea-time snack and a great South Indian Tamil recipe for Vinayaka Chaturthi or Ganesh Chaturthi.

For Mini Kozhukattai recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati, please use the Google Translate drop down in the top right sidebar of this website.

Moong Usal Recipe - How to Make Moong Usal Dry Version

Moong usal is a popular Maharashtrian vegetarian dish. The usal is served along with pav, a similar combination to the even more popular pav bhaji. I am not claiming this recipe is an authentic version since I got it from a food-based book written by a non-Indian. The usual usal recipes I see are all gravy-based and have a lot more ingredients than my simple version but since the first time I made this usal, I have been cooking it this way and serving it with roti, rice, or even on its own. Since I don't like the taste of raw sprouts in salads and such, this is a great alternative, and a method which doesn't compromise the nutrition in moong sprouts.

Typically, usal is made with maki or moth bean sprouts. Using moong sprouts for usal is also not uncommon so I decided to go ahead and do just that. I also learnt from the book that Misal is Usal with has been spiced up a bit more and made into a kind of chaat. I really need to try making some misal at home too, a dish that I have only tried once when I visited TH's aunt in Mumbai many years ago.

Some other recipes you may be interested in:
Soya chunks biryani with sprouts
Pesarattu recipe
Moong dal tadka
Vada pav recipe
How to make pav

Moong Usal Recipe

Adapted from Ginger and Ganesh
Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups moong bean sprouts
1 cup onions, sliced
1/2 cup of cubed tomato
1" piece of ginger, grated
2-3 flakes of garlic, minced
1 tsp amchoor (dry mango powder) or 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1-2 green chillies, chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (or garam masala / goda masala)
1 tsp grated jaggery or brown sugar
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oil and add the onions and green chillies. Saute until the onions have turned a light brown.
2. Add the minced ginger and garlic and fry until the raw smell disappears - about a minute.
3. Now add the coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, and salt, and jaggery or sugar. Fry for another minute.
4. Add the sprouted moong dal and chopped tomato along with the amchoor. Add some water and cook on low flame covered for 8-10 mins.
5. When the beans have turned plump and soft, add the garam masala and garnish with chopped coriander.
6. Cook in open pan until the water has more or less evaporated and you have a dry dish. Adjust salt and amchoor as needed.

Step by step pictures to make Usal:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the sliced onions and green chillies.

 

 Saute until the onions turn a golden brown.

Now add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant (about 1 minute). Make sure the flame is medium-low to prevent burning.

Next, add the chilli powder, coriander, turmeric, amchoor, jaggery or brown sugar, and some salt. 

Mix well and fry for 30 seconds for the spices to get roasted well.

Now add the sprouts and chopped tomatoes. 

Mix well so the masala coats the sprouts well.

Add about 1/2 cup water. 

 Cook covered for 5 minutes or so or until the moong sprouts are cooked soft.

Now add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Mix again.

Cook for a bit longer until the excess water, if any, is fully absorbed. Taste test to make sure there's enough salt.

Serve usal hot with steamed rice and some gravy or pav.

Notes:

- You can pressure cook the sprouted beans until soft and then follow the rest of the recipe

- Use some tamarind paste or lemon juice if you don't have amchoor in hand (amchoor is dried mango powder, used to add sourness to dishes)

- Omit red chilli powder if you can't tolerate much heat in dishes

- The tomatoes are optional