ARUSUVAI AND A KARELA STIR-FRY

Latha N from "The YUM blog" started the "Arusuvai Friendship Chain" in India and Latha from "Masala Magic" continued the Arusuvai friendship chain in USA. Mandira from "Ahaar" passed on the friendship chain to me. It was very nice to receive a "Arusuvai Surprise" from her. Thank you for thinking of me Mandira, I welcome and cherish your friendship as always!:)


Arusuvai:
Arusuvai, as Latha N says "is about sending along a surprise ingredient as a gift to your friends, for them to prepare something tasty with it, share the recipe, and pass on other surprise ingredients to more people.
Arusuvai means six tastes (aru=six, suvai=taste) in Tamizh and is used to refer for Tasty preparation with six tastes - inippu/ thithippu (sweet), orappu/ karam (hot), kassappu (bitter) , pulippu (sour), uppu(salt), tuvarpu (tastes that one gets in raw leaves)".
Beautiful, isn't it? My thanks to both Latha N and Latha for starting and continuing this wonderful friendship chain in India and USA, hope it spreads to Europe and Africa too! :)

My Arusuvai surprise:
We had just come home exhausted from the usual Saturday shopping but on a very unusual rainy, windy day last week and there was this package from Mandira waiting for me which made me smile instantly. I was so thrilled to see the envelope although I knew it was in the mail and was expecting it soon! :)
She has sent me a beautiful card, a pack of most delicious Badam Halwa (Almond Halwa) which gave me a pleasant sugar high for a while and a very fragrant pack of "mystery" masala!
Are you curious to know what it is now or can you guess the powder just by looking at the rice dish? If you have no clue, then click on the link below to find out! ;D
Thank you so much Mandira. We loved the badam halwa and aromatic Mystery powder too. I made a Paneer-rice dish and a egg gravy from your mystery masala, both are yummy as you can see. Hugs to you my friend, my kids say thanks to you as well!
Little note: I had to say "No, thanks" to few blogger friends few months ago when they offered me "Amish bread starter friendship chain", only because I had just gone thru' LASIK surgery and didn't feel up to it since I couldn't focus on nearer thing for the first few weeks. Thanks for thinking of me girls. You will always be my friends regardless, you know that! :)

Here is my Arusuvai "Mystery masala" from Mandira of "Ahaar":

Egg curry with mystery powder:

To make simple but aromatic Egg curry:
Hard boil about 8 eggs, peel and slash each on one side to open slightly. Keep them aside.
This dish serves 4.
1. Heat 2 tbsp oil and 2 tsp of butter, fry 1 large onion, ground to coarse paste for 3 mins, until transculent. Add 2 tsp ground ginger paste, stir fry for a minute, until oil shows on top.
2. Add 1 tbsp or more of "mystery" powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp paprika or Kashmiri chilli pd, salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric. Stir for few seconds.
3. Pour in 2 cups of Tomato sauce, 1 cup of water or chicken stock. Let it simmer on low heat gently until sauce thickens slightly for 15-20 mins. Adjust the salt and heat.
3. When done, add 3 tbsp chopped cilantro and eggs. It tastes better the next day. Serve with rice and salad on the side.

For this rice dish; I followed the same method as Mandira has made it in her blog but added Paneer instead of Fish. For the recipe, check out here.

Delicious "Mystery" Paneer-Saffron Basmati "layered" rice dish! Can you guess the name of this dish now? Okay, it's Paneer Biryani!! :)


Being layered or should I say I "tried" to layer the rice and masala! :D

Aroma was divine in the kitchen while I was making it, thanks Mandira.

Mandira's Biryani Masala:
1" cinnamon, 4 cloves, 3 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom, 1 Bay leaf, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1-2 dry red chilli, 1/4 nutmeg, grated. Roast and powder.

Passing on the Arusuvai:
I have extended my Arusuvai friendship chain to two of my dear blog friends, Maheswari and Vanamala. Thank you for accepting Arusuvai from me girls, hugs to both of you and hope you enjoy my "surprises" too! :)

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Karela stir-fry is my contribution to Pooja of "creative Pooja" blog's "Vegetable of the week" event although it has become monthly event now. She has chosen the yummy "Bitter Gourd/Karela" as her vegetable for this month. Thank you for hosting Pooja!:))



A quick and delicious Bitter gourd stir-fry:

To stir-fry Bitter gourd:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and 1 tbsp butter or ghee. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves, 1-2 dry red chillies.
2. When they are reddish, add in 1 medium finely chopped onion, stir fry until soft, for 2 mins, add in 2-3 garlic, finely chopped.
3. After a minute, put in 2 cups of Bitter gourd or two of them, cleaned and peeled the outer skin slightly, seeded and cut in to 1/2" cubes.Stir this until they are reddish without adding any water.
4. When it's cooked 3/4th way, add 2 tbsp tamarind juice, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder, salt, 1 tsp or more chilli pd, 1 tbsp or more Jaggery or brown sugar. Keep stirring until you see the oil on top.
5. Adjust the taste. When done, it should be hot, sweet, tangy and slightly bitter in the end, a perfect marriage of Arusuvai taste with all flavors explained above!!:)

This stir-fry tastes great with Parathas, dosas or rice rottis. Hope you try.

"Dosa Mela" and another Bitter gourd dish next! Yes, I am rushing with posts so I can squeeze in 2 more before the 20th!! ;D