Potato Masala Gravy / Urulaikilangu Masala Kulambu

This is one of the gravies which I learnt from my MIL, took many attempts for me to get the desired taste. As it is my family's favourite, I mostly prepare every week and learned to make the perfect one now. but still I feel her preparation gives some extra taste to the gravy. With the help of her, I am posting all the steps below.



The gravy is a best substitute for any non-veg recipes. You can also simply substitute the potato with chicken/ meat. Click here to see the chicken version.  The non-veg version is easy and you can easily get the taste and it is not that difficult like this gravy. All the ingredients are very important, at the same time you can change the quantity as per taste.

Basic Information:

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:



For Gravy:



Baby potatoes - 15-20 nos, skin removed

Shallots - 1/2 cup, sliced (As I didn't get shallots here, I used Red Onion)

Tomato - 2 nos, small size, chopped

Ginger - a small piece

Garlic - 2 cloves, medium size

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Any vegetable oil - Tablespoon

Gingelly oil - 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 1 string

Mustard seeds and urid dal - 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Water - 1 cup 1/2 cup or as required



For Masala:



Coriander seeds - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons

Dry red chillies - 6 nos

Rice grains - 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tablespoon

Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon

Black pepper - 1/4 teaspoon



Method:



1) In a heavy bottom pan, dry roast the ingredients given for masala.

2) Allow it to cool to room temperature and make a fine powder of it. Keep it aside.

3) Using a mixer, make a paste of ginger and garlic and keep it aside.

4) Wipe off the same pan or in another pan, heat a tablespoon of oil.

5) Add mustard seeds and urid dal when it is hot. Allow it to splutter.

6) Add the onion and the curry leaves and saute till onion turns soft.

7) Add ginger garlic paste(as prepared in step 3) and continue sauteing for a minute or two.

8) Add chopped tomato and saute till it gets mushy.

9) Add the baby potatoes. Add water, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.

10) Reduce the flame to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or till the potatoes get cooked well.

11) Once the potatoes are cooked, add the masala powder(as prepared in step 2) and water. Mix well without any lumps.

12) Cook for another 5-10 minutes in medium flame.

13) Pour in the gingelly oil and increase the flame for a minute and turn of the heat. We usually prepare gravy in slightly thick consistency.

14) Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed white rice.

Note:

1) You can add 1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds and 1 inch cinnamon stick to the masala if you prefer.

2) Increase/ decrease the black pepper and dry red chilli as per your level of spiciness.

3) Instead of baby potato, you can use normal potato. Slice them into cubes and use in gravy.

4) Increase the water quantity as per the desired consistency. You can also mix the masala with water and add to the gravy to avoid lumps.

5) You can also use baby potato with skin if you prefer.

Coconut Almond Truffles

As a first generation American with South Indian roots, I grew up eating coconut. My mom used coconut milk to thicken stews and give body to desserts laden with cardamom and ginger. She tossed shredded coconut into vegetable stir-fries and dumped thin wedges of the fruit into pots of simmering beef to guarantee that every dish we ate had taste and texture. When we traveled to Kerala, I ate banana chips, lentil fritters, and sardines deep-fried in coconut oil. As it turned out, the greatest threats to my safety in India were unruly motorists and falling coconuts.

My mom always made savory pancakes (appam) from rice and fresh coconut milk for us on Easter. I loved watching her select a coconut from the hairy heap at the grocery store, lift it to her ear, and shake it like a musical instrument. If she heard enough water slapping around, it made it into our shopping cart. When we got home, my mom would pull out the large cleaver that all Malayalee immigrants from her generation used to whack apart a whole chicken. She would hold a coconut over the sink in her right hand and wield the cleaver in her left hand with the blunt side facing out. Then with the daring of Evel Knievel and finesse of a Cirque du Soleil performer, she would crack open the coconut with a steady blow and pour the cloudy water in glass. My mom insisted that I drink some. It tasted odd to me, but she had a dreamy expression on her face when she sipped it.

After she cracked the coconut open, my mom would use the cleaver to break its shell into several large pieces (never pulling out the cutting board). Then she would pry out the obstinate flesh with the tip of a sharp knife. The inner flesh was white, but the portion encircled by the shell was covered with a thin brown skin with the bendy quality of linoleum. It had to be scrapped off. My mom would chop the peeled flesh into small chunks and grind it in a blender. I loved to watch the thick milk gush between her fingers as she squeezed the pulp. The whole process was a labor of love.

In second grade, my mom frosted chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing. She dipped them in sweetened shredded coconut to keep them from gooping together the way they had the year before. She delivered them to my classroom and at the appointed time I was allowed to pass them out. Many kids grew silent as they devoured the home baked treats, but others shrieked "Eeeeew, I hate coconut!" or "Coconut, yuck!" That's when I learned that the world can be divided into two camps: those who love coconut and those that hate it. Fortunately, I was a thick-skinned child who coveted coconut. After school, I gobbled up the rejects with a friend before walking home.

COCONUT ALMOND TRUFFLES

Makes about 20

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound (8 ounces) milk chocolate

1/3 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

20 almonds, toasted

INSTRUCTIONS

Chop the chocolate and place it in a medium size bowl.

Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour it over the chocolate.

After a minute, gently stir the chocolate until it is completely melted and looks glossy.

Pour the chocolate in a shallow bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet. Bake until it just starts to turn golden. Cool.

Put the coconut in a shallow bowl.

Chop the almonds in half.

Using the teaspoon from your measuring spoons or a melon baller, scoop out a teaspoon or so of the chocolate. Roll it into a rough ball and push two almond pieces in the center. Roll the chocolate in the palm of your hand to form a shapely ball.

Roll the ball in the coconut to coat. Repeat until you have 20 truffles.

Sourdough

I've carried on discarding and feeding my starter daily, and will continue to do so. It will go in the fridge and just sit there if I don't want to use it for a while,  then it will need feeding for a couple of days to recharge it.

When you are ready to make a loaf here is what to do:

Take 100ml of starter and add 250g bread flour and 275ml of warm water, mix with hands and leave overnight.

Next morning add 300g bread flour 1 tbsp oil and 10g salt, mix and kneed for 10 minutes. Leave for most of the day to rise, it will take longer than an loaf made with yeast.

When the dough has risen to about twice its size knock it down and leave again to prove this time for about 2-3 hours, again it should be double size.

Then place the dough on a heated floured tray into an oven  preheated to 230C. After 15 minutes reduce the heat to 200C and bake for a further 25 minutes.

Here it is: