BANARASI ALOO AND A "POWER" LESS LUNCH!:)

Gingery Banarasi Aloo is my contribution to Sunita from "Sunita's World" blog's "Think Spice..Think.." event.This month's spice is "Ginger". To learn more about ginger click here and my other dish for JFI I made last year, "Ginger Rissoles" is here! Thanks for hosting Sunita!:)



Banaras:
Banaras or Benares, is one of the ancient cities of India. They have their own unique flavorful side dishes which are very simple, mostly served with Poories which are deep fried bread. The city is best known for it's large assortment sweets! They say that Banaras was famous for serving more than 17 kinds of sweets in a single wedding and "Chhppan Bhog" (ie a meal consists of 56 items!) was prepared as an offering for Lord Krishna on the Annakut day!! (These infos are from a book called "Banaras Ki Rasoi")

Banarasi Aloo:
This Potato side dish is one of the Banaras delicacies, with few ingredients but tasty. I think what makes this dish Banarasi is the addition of flavorful Fennel seeds and ginger, I am not sure. Never been to Banaras!:)



You need these:

2 large red waxy potatoes, peeled and cubed into big chunks,2 large red Tomatoes ground to paste, 1" ginger ground or minced, 2 tsp ground Fennel seeds (Saunf),1/2 tsp or more Cayenne powder, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 1 tsp Garam masala, 1tsp Coriander pd, 1/2 tsp cumin pd, 1 tsp Tamarind juice or Amchoor (both Optional),salt, 3 tbsp Cream or half and half, minced Cilantro to garnish.
To season: 1 tbsp mustard oil or any kind of oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, pinch of hing(Asafoetida).

To make Banarasi Aloo:

1. Heat oil in a wide non-stick pan and add hing and mustard seeds. When they sputter, add cubed Potatoes, stir fry until they reddish and half cooked. Add ground ginger, stir for a minute.
2. Add tomatoes, all the spices with tamarind or Amchoor if you are using, stir for a while until you see the gravy leaving the sides of the pan.
3. Add 1/2 cup water, cover and let it cook. Sauce should thicken and coated to Potatoes when it's done.
4. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Take off the heat and add cream and cilantro.

With Naan:



With Paratha:


Banarasi Aloo is traditionally served with Poories but I had Naan and Parathas to serve with!! Enjoy!:)

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A new event called " "Power" less cooking" has been launched by Easy Crafts of "An easy cooking blog" this month. The theme is all about cooking without any "Power" ie electricity or without using electrical devices!! Thanks for hosting EC!:))
My contribution to this event are Indian style Gazpacho and a refreshing beverage of tangy, sweet, and Gingery Sherbet/Panaka!


"Power" less cooking!
This theme stumped me for a while.I am so dependent on my electrical gadgets! Cooking without using any electricity at all, I couldn't think of any dishes other than salads to make without Power. I definitely looking forward to all the entries EC gets, so I will have an idea when I need it.
I remember the one and only time we had lost electricity for 6 days during a Winter Ice storm 2 yrs ago in NC. But we did survive that on the BBQ gas stove we had and frozen food from the grocery store, although we froze almost to death cooking outside!:D
Anyway, here they are. I had made Spanish Gazpacho few month's ago and this time I made Gazpacho with Indian spices and a beverage to go with it. Both don't need any cooking at all! Have fun!:)

Gazpacho with Indian spices and ginger Sherbet!



Gazpacho, Indian style:
Until last week, I used to get a few beautiful red vine ripe Plum, Cherry and Pear tomatoes from my plants which I have used here in this dish. Now, of course they all died after a first Spring frost, giving me loads of green Tomatoes to cook!:)

1. Chop 4-6 Tomatoes into small cubes or any kind of tomatoes you have, put it in a big bowl.
2. Cube peeled and cubed Cucumber, 1 Green Pepper, 1 Jalapeno, 1 Garlic, 1/2 red Onion or sweet Videlia, few cilantro, salt, 1 tsp cumin pd, 1/2 tsp Chaat pd, coarsely ground pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice, add to the bowl.
3. Mix everything gently, cover and leave it on the counter top for atleast an hour.
4. Mix again, serve in a bowl topped with store bought Croutons if you have it in hand.I forgot to add in the photo!!
5. Serve this delicious Gazpacho with refreshing Panaka or Sherbet or Sharbattu as we say in K'taka!:)

Sweet, tangy and gingery Panaka:
A refreshing beverage of Panaka can be made without using any electrical devices! Oops! I added Ice cubes!;P
(Hey, you do get Ice cubes at the grocery store even when you don't have power at home you know! Haha!!)


1. Crush 4 tbsp of Jaggery or Brown sugar, 1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds, a slice or two of fresh ginger by hand in 1/2 cup water until you get a smooth paste.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of water, 2 to 3 tsp of lemon juice to the crushed ingredients, mix well. Strain all this with a strainer to take out all the solids. Adjust the sweet and spice according to your taste.
3. Serve in tall glasses with a slice of lemon and a slice of ginger. Ice Cubes are optional!!;D

Happy Deepavali to all you. Enjoy the festival of lights!!



Have fun!:))