Healthy least oily Tomato Pickle

Tomato pickle

Pickles make regular appearance in the dining table and are most welcome guests. They have an intrinsic property to make a most dull platter of food look enticing and change the taste to mouthwatering. We Indians are blessed with different variety of food because of the diversity in weather, culture and eating habits of people of different part of our country. Tomato soup, ketchup, sauce etc. are well known as frequently used form of tomato but tomato pickle? It was a surprise to me in late seventies, when I had tomato pickle at my friends place while doing Ph.D. and wondered how the lady converted tomatoes to such innovative yum tasting pickle have. Later when I got married tips from my Andhrite friends and habit of experimenting in the kitchen resulted in this less oily healthy pickle.

 I love having it not only with rice and chapatti but love  using it for making sandwich also. My family loves having curd and rice with tangy spicy Tomato pickle.

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Cooking Time: 45 min

Servings  500 gm. pickle.

Materials Required for Making Tomato Pickle:

• 500 gm. Red Ripe Fleshy Tomatoes

• 100 gm. Tamarind

• 100 gm. Jaggery

• 50 gm. Salt

• 25 gm. Red chili powder

• 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 tea spoon Chana dal

• 1 Tea spoon Dhuli Urd dal ( Urd dal without green / black cover)

• 15-20Whole Red chilies

Spices for seasoning

• 50 ml. Cooking oil (Ground nut oil / sesame oil / soya oil / olive oil/ Mustard oil)

• 1/4Teaspoon Asafoetida powder

• 5-10 Kadi Patta (Curry leaves)

• 4 Teaspoon Mustard seeds

• 10 ml. Vinegar

Directions For Masking Tomato Pickle:

• Wash and dry tomatoes nicely.

• Cut tomatoes thin long pieces.

Tomato pieces for Pickle

• Take thinly cut pieces of tomatoes in a glass / stainless steel container and mix 25 gm. salt and 1 tea spoon turmeric powder in the tomato.

• If the pickle is being made in hot weather / summers then cut and mix salt and turmeric in night cover and leave overnight but if pickle is being made in cold weather / winters then cut and mix salt and turmeric in morning cover and leave for 24 hrs.

After 24 hrs of soaking Juices squeezed from tomato pieces

• Sieve the juices and squeeze the tomato pieces by pressing between the palms.

• Mix the squeezed juice to the sieved juice.

• Keep the squeezed tomato pieces under the s8un for drying on a stainless plate / plastic sheet / glass plate for 4-5 hrs. when the temperature is high ( 40 ^o C or more), 7-8 hrs. in winters when the temperature is 30^o C – 35^oC.

Tomato pieces kept under the sun for drying after squeezing the juices

• Clean the tamarind of the seeds and soak cleaned tamarind and whole red chilies in the tomato juices for 5-6 hrs.  under the sun.

Tamarind and whole red chilli soaking in tomato juices under the sun

• Tomato pieces will become semi dry and the tamarind will soak the juices of tomato and become soft.

Tomato pieces drying under the sun

Dried Tomato Pieces

• Blend the soaked tamarind and chilies to pulp along with juices. Keep extra juices aside.

Juice from tomato pieces , chilies and Tamarind pulp

• Take oil in a thick bottom wok (I always cook in anodized / non-stick wok / pans) and heat on high flame.

• When the oil is smoking hot lower the flame and add mustard seeds. Mustard seeds will splutter immediately.

• Add chana dal and urd dal and cook on low flame till touch of pink starts coming on them.

• Add 4-5 whole red chilies and kadi patta.

• Cook for 30 seconds.

• 

Seasoning getting ready for pickle

Add Asafoetida and immediately add semi dried tomato pieces.

Ready for Tomato pieces to be added

• Stir and mix spices and tomato pieces nicely. Cook with continuous stirring for 3-4 minutes on low flame.

Tomato pieces added to the seasoning

• Add the mixture of tamarind pulp and tomato juices.

Tomato juice left after making pulp of the soaked tamarind added

After 10 min of cooking 

• Mix nicely and cook for 3-4 minutes.

• Add

• Salt red chili powder

• Jaggery

• Mix and cook with regular stirring till all juices are absorbed and the pickle starts leaving the edges of wok.

• Add vinegar and mix nicely.

• Cook again for one minute with continuous stirring.

• Switch off the gas and let the pickle cool without covering the wok.

Pickle ready for bottling

• Store the cooled tomato pickle in a dry glass bottle.

Tomato Pickle

• Enjoy the Tomato pickle with Dosa/ Pesarattu / Idli / da-chawal / mutton or chicken biryan / Stuffed paranthas.It goes well with all vegetarian and non- vegetarian foods.

Tips:

• Do not dry the tomato pieces so much that they become hard.

• Remove the seeds and hard cover of tamarind before soaking in tomato juices.

• Preferably used fruit based vinegar rather than synthetic vinegar because fruit based vinegar has nutritional values.

• Pound /cut the jaggery before adding to the pickle it will dissolve faster.

• Always break whole red chili before adding to oil otherwise it may burst and cause accident.

• Tomato taken for pickling should be fleshier. Lesser fleshy and more juicy the tomato will require more cooking time and hard work.

• Jaggery, salt and red chili powder can be increased or decreased according to the taste.

• Always add red chili powder in small amounts and check the taste for hotness before adding all  said amount of chili powder. The grade of hotness for chili powder differs from one chili powder brand to other and homemade chili powder may have altogether different degree of hotness.

Suggested Variations:

• Peeled whole or sliced garlic can be added to the pickle just before adding the vinegar.

Ready to be bottled

• Grated 4-5 cm. piece of ginger can be added to the oil after adding kadi patta and cooked till the foam due to the moisture of ginger stops coming from oil. Then the semi dried tomato pieces can be added.

• Sugar / brown sugar can be taken in the absence of jaggery.

Mooli Ka parantha /मूली पराठा (Radish stuffed Pan Fried Indian Flat Bread)

Mooli Paratha

Mooli (Radish) Paratha of the dough made of flour and Grated Radish (mooli) 

Stuffed parathas are the fast food of Northern India which are not only good to taste but provide nutrition also. Thus making these Indian fast food different than the other fast foods which provide calories and fats but very less other nutrients. Vegetable or dal stuffed parathas used to be regular feature in our school lunch box because they were easy to be packed and convenient for us to roll in a napkin and eat fast so that we Have maximum time for playing during lunch break. In my house stuffed parathas are welcome be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I consider myself very lucky because in less labor I can satiate not only the hunger but also the taste buds of my family.

Preparation Time: 30 min.

Cooking Time: 45 min

Servings: 10 parathas

Ingredients Required for Making Mooli Paratha:

• 200 g. Whole wheat Flour

• 2 Large Radishes (Mooli)

Mooli (Radish)

• 2 Green Chilies

• 3-4 Sprigs of Fresh Green Coriander

• 1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder (Optional)

• 1/2Teaspoon Caraway Seeds

• Salt to taste

• Water for making dough

• Olive oil / Ghee / Any cooking oil

Direction for Making Dough for Paratha:

• Take wheat flour and 1/2Teaspoon salt in a big plate or bowl.

• Add water in little portion and keep on mixing and kneading.

• Knead the dough till soft pliable dough is obtained. (Roughly 150 ml. water will be required).

• If the dough is hard add little water and knead till soft dough is obtained.

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2012/12/making-dough-for-roti-and-paratha-dough.html

Directions for making Mooli Filling For Mooli Paratha:

• Remove the leaves from Radishes. (Mooli)

• Wash the mooli nicely to remove all dirt attached to it.

Mooli (Radish) scraped cleaned

• Grate washed mooli.

Grated Mooli

• Wash the sprigs of fresh coriander. Drain water from it and cut finely.

• Cut green chili finely.

• Tame 500ml. water in a big pan, Add 1 tea spoon of salt in the water.

• Boil the salt and water mixture.

• When water starts boiling add grated mooli in it.

• Cook till grated mooli becomes soft to touch and changes color.(Approximately 5 min.)

• Remove the container from the gas and drain all water from boiled grated mooli.

Boiled grated Mooli

Boiled Mooli being sieved for removing water and allowed to cool

• Let the drained boiled grated mooli cool.

• Take the grated and boiled Mooli in a cloth and squeeze maximum water from boiled grated mooli.

• In a bowl take

• Boiled grated mooli from which all water has been squeezed.

• Finely cut coriander.

• Finely cut green chilies.

• Ajwain

• Red chili powder

• Red Chili powder

• Salt

• Mix nicely to make a uniform mixture.

Spices with boiled Mooli (radish)

• Filling for mooli paratha is ready.

Mooli mix for Mooli stuffed Paratha

Direction for Making Mooli Paratha:

• Heat the tawa on high flame and when hot reduce the flame.

• Divide the dough to 5 parts.

• Make round ball form one part.

Dough ball for mooli paratha

• Sprinkle dry flour on your dough ball and rolling board.

• Roll the dough ball to 3 cm. diameter round.

Dough ball flattened and mooli mix kept for filling

• Put 3-4 teaspoons of filling in the center of the rolled dough.

Mooli mix being stuffed

• Close the edges and seal nicely by pressing them together.

Rolled dough ball  dough stuffed with mooli mix and edges sealed

• Press between your palms to flatten the sealed dough roll stuffed with the mooli filling.

Mooli mix stuffed in wheat flour dough ball and flattened

• Sprinkle dry flour on the board and the filled dough cup and roll it to 4-5 cm. diameters round.

Mooli stuffed dough ball rolled for making paratha

• Sprinkle 2-3 drops of oil on the hot tawa and spread it on the tawa.

• Place the rolled filled paratha on the hot tawa and cook on low flame till golden spots start appearing on the side touching the tawa.

Mooli stuffed Parartha being pan fried

• Flip and cook the other side also till golden spot start appearing.

• Spread 1/2Teaspoon oil / ghee on the paratha and flip it.

• Press the paratha with a spatula and cook for 30 sec.

• Apply oil / ghee on the other side also.

• Flip it, press with spatula and cook for 30 sec.

Mooli stuffed Paratha cooked on both sides

• Crisp, soft yummy mooli paratha is ready.

Mooli (Radish) stuffed Paratha

• Take it out on a serving plate and serve hot paratha with curd, pickle, chutney.

 Repeat the same with rest of the dough also.

Serve the parathas with pickles/chutney/curd

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/spicy-mixed-vegetable-pickle-less-oily.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/tangy-mango-pickle-maharashra-style.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/mango-pickle-north-indian-style.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html

Tips:

• Squeeze maximum water from boiled mooli.

• Add salt just before you want to make paratha. If you will add salt beforehand then the filling will become watery and difficult to fill and roll the paratha.

• Dough should never be hard else during rolling the filled dough ball the edges will crack and filling will come out.

• Cook the paratha on low or medium flame if cooked on high flame then it will become dark brown color or get burnt from outside and remain uncooked from inside.

Suggested Variations:

• 1 Tea spoon caraway seeds (ajwain) can be added to the flour before making the dough.

• Grated mooli can be added to dough along with the spices and the flour kneaded to dough.

• Once all juices of grated radish are soaked by flour while making the dough then add water in small portions to make soft pliable dough.

Dough with mooli

Dough with mooli mix rolled for making Mooli Paratha

• The dough can be divided to the required number and each part made to ball,rolled to a round of 10-15 cm and cooked on tawa to make a paratha.

Mooli Paratha being made from dough of flour and mooli

Mooli (Radish) Paratha of the dough made of flour and Grated Radish (mooli) 

• To make Mooli Paratha like this is easier and faster.

• Instead of whole wheat flour, 1:1:2 mixture if refined flour, suji / besan, wheat flour or mixed grain flour can be taken.

Chicken Pulav

Chicken pulav is almost similar to chicken biryani, except it is a short cut and when time is less but the family or friends want only non-veg food then this is most convenient. What does it matter if it is a biryani or pulav as far as it is lip smacking. I have lost the count of how many times I have passed chicken pulav as chicken biryani to my children. They lapped it up and were very happy and satiated. Does anything else matter with mother other than broad grin of satisfaction on the children face.!!!!

Preparation Time: 30min.

Cooking Time: 40min.

Servings: Makes 4 large servings.

Ingredients required for making Chicken Pulav:

• 500gm. Dressed Chicken
• 250gm. Rice
• 75gm. Onions
• 1 Tea spoon Garlic Paste
• 1 Tea spoon Ginger Paste
• 1 Green chili
• 1 Tea spoon Red chili Powder
• 1 Tea spoon Garam masala
• 2 Bay leaves
• 4-5 Cloves
• 2-3cm, Cinnamon stick
• 1 Black Cardamom
• 2 Green Cardamom
• 2-3 Petals of Star Aniseed
• Salt to taste
• 50ml Ghee/ cooking oil
• Water

Ingredients required for Marinade:

• 1 Tea spoon Garlic Paste
• 1 Tea spoon Ginger Paste
• 1/4 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 Pinch of Nutmeg Powder
• 3-4 Tea spoons of Thick Curd (50gm. Approx...)

Direction To Marinate Chicken:

• Wash the chicken and drain water completely.
• Mix garlic paste, ginger paste, turmeric powder, nutmeg powder and curd.
• Beat the mix with a spoon/fork to creamy texture them nicely. Marinade is ready.
• Coat the cleaned chicken evenly with the with the marinade and keep aside for 30min.

Direction To Make Chicken Pulav:

• Cut onions into thin slices.
• Take ghee/oil in a pressure cooker and heat on high flame.
• When oil is smoking hot low the gas and add bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamom, star aniseed, cinnamon stick and let them splutter.(just one min. will be required for all of it to be cooked)
• Add onion slices and cook for 4-5 min.
• When onion becomes golden brown add garlic paste and cook for 1-2min.
• Add ginger paste and cook for 1-2min.
• Add marinated chicken and stir to mix chicken and spices in cooker evenly.
• Cook for 5min. with occasional stirring.
• Drain rice and keep water aside.
• Add rice to the cooker and stir to mix properly.
• Add salt, red chili powder, garam masala and mix with gentle stirring.
• Add water which was kept aside after draining the soaked rice.
• Mix by gentle stirring and close the lid of cooker .
• Put the flame of gas on high till the pressure builds in the cooker.
• Lower the flame and cook for 10min.
• Switch off the gas and let the pressure in the cooker subside.
• Remove the pulav in a rice serving plate.
• Garnish with coriander leaves, ring lets of onion and tomatoes or by onion slices fried to golden brown color.

Yummy chicken pulav is ready to be eaten with thick curd/raita, salad, and pickle/chutney and of course papad.

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/07/pahari-kheere-ka-raita-cucumber-and.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/mango-pickle-north-indian-style.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/tangy-mango-pickle-maharashra-style.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/spicy-mixed-vegetable-pickle-less-oily.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/hariyali-chutney-raw-mango-chutney.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html

Tips:

• Wash the chicken properly. If possible by rubbing some lemon juice on the chicken.
• Take thick curd for making marinade.
• The above proportion of water is for Basmati rice, the requirement of water may change with the quality of rice.
• Best results are obtained with Basmati rice.

Suggested Variations:

• Saffola rice is a healthy less starchy rice so it can be taken instead of basmati rice. 
• Ghee can be replaced by olive oil. 

Vegetable Pulav (Rice cooked with vegetables)

Vegetable Pulav

Vegetable pulav is a complete food by itself. Rice when cooked with lots of vegetables makes it very attractive and colorful in appearance. It is a real fun in our family when pulav is being made as my husband loves making pulav for the family, and the minutest details right from the amount of vegetable to cutting them to appropriate size and so on, he looks himself where as I have a fields day and get to enjoy the vegetable pulav without doing any work.!!

Preparation Time: 20min.

Cooking Time: 30min.

Servings: Four large servings

Ingredients required for making Vegetable Pulav:

• 200gm. Rice
• 50gm. French Beans
• 50gm. Carrot
• 2 Medium size Potatoes. (optional)
• 50 – 75gm. Nutrela (soya nuggets, optional)
• 2 medium size Tomatoes
• 50-75gm. Onions
• 1/2 Tea spoon Turmeric Powder
• 3-4 Cloves.
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2-3cm. cinnamon stick
• 5gm. Garam Masala(1 tea spoon approx..)
• 50gm. Ginger- Garlic paste (2-3 tea spoon approx..)
• Salt to taste
• 25ml. Ghee / cooking oil
• Water

Directions to prepare Vegetable Pulav:

• Clean and wash rice
• Soak the washed rice in 250ml. water
• Soak Nutrela for 30min. in water

.

Soaked Nutrela

• Wash and dry all vegetables.
• Cut beans, carrots, into 3-4cm. long thin pieces.

Carrot and French beans cut for Pulav

• Cut onions to thin long pieces.

Onions cut length wise for Pulav

• Cut Tomatoes to pieces.

Tomatoes for pulav

• Take 10ml. Ghee/oil in a pressure cooker and heat it on high flame.
• When the ghee/oil is smoking hot reduce the flame.
• Squeeze water from soaked Nutrela and shallow fry them in oil/ghee.

Carrot, French beans and soaked squeezed nutrela

• Remove Nutrela when they become golden brown and keep aside.
• Add remaining 15ml. of ghee/oil and heat.
• Add bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom and cinnamon stick.
• Cloves will start spluttering and wonderful smell of spices will start coming.
• Add Onion and cook on low flame till they become transparent
• Add Ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 min. with regular stirring.
• Add Potatoes and cook for 2-3 min. with regular stirring..
• Add beans, carrots and cook for 2-3min. with regular stirring.
• Add tomatoes and cook they become soft.
• Add shallow fried Nutrela and mix

.

All vegetables and soaked fried nutrela being cooked

• Drain the soaked rice and keep the water aside.
• Add rice to the cooker and mix with gentle stirring so as the rice, vegetable, spices mixture becomes homogeneous.

Soaked rice added to the vegetable mixture

• Add turmeric powder, salt, garam masala , red chili powder and mix.

Salt, Turmeric powder, Garam masala and Red chili powder added to rice and vegetables

Spices mixed to rice and vegetable mixture

• Add the water kept aside after draining the rice.

Water added to rice, vegetable and spices mixture

• Mix gently.
• Close the lid of cooker and put the flame on high.
• When the pressure is built in the cooker reduce the flame to low and cook for 5 min.
• Switch off the gas and allow the pressure in the cooker to subside.
• Open the cooker and get the first look and wonderful smell of vegetable pulav.

Vegetable Pulav

Take it out on a serving dish and serve with curd/raita, pickle

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/mango-pickle-north-indian-style.html

http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/tangy-mango-pickle-maharashra-style.html

 http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2012/06/spicy-mixed-vegetable-pickle-less-oily.html
 / chutney  http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.com/2011/10/green-coriander-and-mint-chutney.html, salad and roasted papad.
I love eating this pulav with Ghee and pickle.

Vegetable Pulav with Curd, Coriander chutney, Salad and Papad

Tips:-

• Those who do not take onions, garlic can omit it and instead replace onions, garlic with cumin seeds.
• The rice used in the above recipe is Dulhan basmati rice, the requirement of water may vary little with different variety of rice.
• While washing basmati rice wash them in a sieve with running water.
• Do not rub rice with hands as the flavor goes off with vigorous washing.
• If you like spicy food then you can add red chili powder to you taste.
• Do not release he pressure from cooker after switching off the gas let it subside by itself, the flavor of spices will get seeped in rice nicely.

Suggested Variations:

• Cauliflower, Broccoli,Cottage cheese can be also be put in pulav.
• Fresh Peas added to the pulav gives it a very good flavor and color.
• Badi can be fried and added instead of nutrela.

Fried Badi

• Pulav tastes best with basmati rice, but you can choose rice as per your choice.
• For those who for any reason like less oil, can reduce the amount of ghee/oil as per the requirement.