Rongi / Lobhia / White kidney beans(small)

Well call it what you like, this is one of my favorite dished. Absolutely rich in protein, easy and fast to cook, tastes delicious, smells delicious and brightens up my day :)

So here you go :) What we need: 

1. White kidney beans (small)/ Lobhiya or Rongi - 250-300 gm soaked in water for around 30-45 min

2. Water

3. Onions - 1 large shredded into fine cubes

4. Tomatoes - 3 - cut into small cubes

5. Frying vegetable oil - 2-3 tbsp

6. Coriander (fresh) - 4 twigs cut into small pieces

7. Salt, to taste

8. Red Chilli - 1 tsp

9. Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

10. Kitchen King Masala (optional) - 1/2 tsp

11. Bay Leaf - 1

12. Black whole pepper - 4

13. Cumin Seeds - 1.5 tsp

14. Turmeric - 2 tsp

15. Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Making it is even easier. Take a pressure cooker and add the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add cumin seeds, Bay leaf and black whole pepper. Let the whole spices splinter. Once done, add the chopped onions and fry till dark brown. Now add the tomatoes and stir fry on medium heat till the mixture leaves oil. Now add the turmeric, salt, red chilli, garam masala, coriander powder and kitchen king masala. Stir nicely. Add the soaked Rongi with the water into the spice mixture. I usually keep enough water where the Rongi is at least an inch submerged in the water. 

Now close the pressure cooker and cook it for 4 whistles. Keep the cooker closed unless all the steam inside hasn't finished. 

Once there is no steam left in the cooker, open and add the chopped coriander. 

Serve hot with rice or chapatis. Hope you like the dish as much as I do :-) 

Tip: Some people like to add fresh lime juice to Rongi at the end. So if you have a sour tooth, go for it!!! 

Dahi Vada/Dahi Bhalle

I think these days I am in a mood of procrastinating making food from scratch, and I attribute all the laziness to lack of time as all my time goes to the MBA. 

:D Well so I made Dahi Bhalle this time using the Gits Mix for Dahi Vada. 



So here is what I used: 
Gits Mix for Dahi Vada - 1 pack
Salt, to Taste
Tamarind - 10-20gram
Sugar - 2 tsp
Yogurt (Curd) Natural
Red Pepper - to taste
Fresh Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder - 2 tbsp

To make: 

For Vada (Bhalle): I followed the water measurement and recipe from Gits as it is. Then I soaked the final Bhalle in water for 5 sec to stain the excess oil. At this stage, I quickly take them out and press with my palm to ensure that no water stays back. 

Finally laid down 6-7 pieces in a tray.

For the curd, I beat the curd into a uniform consistency and add salt to it as per taste. 

For the tamarind, I soaked the tamarind in a bowl of water for 15-20 minutes. Post that, the tamarind becomes soft and I removed the seeds. Then I added salt, sugar, red pepper and 1 tbsp roasted cumin seeds powder to it. 

To serve: I pulled back the tray with bhalle, covered them nicely with beaten yogurt and finally splashed the tamarind chutney all over. 

So we are ready to go. Bon appetite! 

Fried vegetable rice

It has been a long time since I wrote a blog, and looks like today I was craving to get a small break from the MBA. :-) 

So I left my MBA books and the change management paper I am working on, and landed in my favorite spot - my little kitchen. Copenhagen is all covered with snow today, and somehow after the morning swim in the wonderful Valby Vand-Kuturehuset (The water culture house), I didn't feel like eating something very heavy. 

So I decided to cook some fried rice, and loved the final dish. 

Here is what I used: 

1. Two bowls of boiled basmati rice (I don't like rice that sticks, so I boil them in loose water and then sieve away the extra water) 

2. 3-4 tablespoon frying oil

3. 1/2 Zucchini chopped into small cubes

4. 1/2 Green Bell Pepper chopped into small cubes

5. 1/2 Red Bell Pepper chopped into small cubes

6. 1 onion chopped into small cubes

7. 2 table spoon finely chopped ginger

8. 8-10 olives chopped into small cubes

9. Salt, to taste

10. Red Pepper, to taste

11. Garam Masala (optional), 1 tsp

12. Mustard Seeds (I like to use the small mustard seeds or Raee)

13. 5 Black Pepper seeds 

And here is how I made it in less than 10 minutes :-) [MBA certainly has taken away all my time]

So here we go. I took a pan and heated the oil. Added the black pepper seeds and mustard seeds and let them splutter. Once done, I added the onions and fried them till they were dark brown. Now I added all the other vegetables and fried till the zucchini starts getting a bit translucent. 

At this stage I added the salt, red pepper and garam masala, and mixed it well making sure that it doesn't become a paste or get crushed. Finally added the boiled rice and mixed nicely again ensuring that it doesn't get crushed. 

And hey I am done and I have actually finished eating now. 

Thanks for reading this. I am so happy to get some part of my life back in this little break that I just had. Now I will get back to MBA studies. 

På gensyn igen :) - I mean see you again soon.