Aloo Shimla/ Potato Green Pepper Stir Fry

A post after a long Sabbatical. I never got a chance to cook, so I waited till I could to post something.
This is a my Sri's (my DH) all time favorite. He loves the crunchy green peppers. He took me to a very local pubjabi dhaba in Bangalore where he had once tasted this dish. He wanted a similar replica of the same. So here goes my trial and its quite easy.

Things we need

Potatoes - 4 medium ones
Green Pepper/ Capsicum (any colored) -  2
Onions - 2
Cumin Seeds - a spoon
Coriander seeds - coarsely ground
Ginger paste - a little
Turmeric - 1/2 spoon
Aamchur (Dry Mango powder) - 1 spoon
Chilli Powder- 1 spoon
Garam Masala - 1/2 spoon
Sugar - to sprinkle
Coriander leaves- finely chopped to garnish
Salt
Oil - 2 tbs

Julienne the vegetables.(Cut the veggies vertically into not so thin size). Have the potatoes in a bowl with water to prevent them from getting black due to oxidation. In a wide pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds, when it sputters add onions, ginger paste, potatoes and stir fry for 5 mins. then add turmeric powder, chili powder salt. Cover and allow it to cook. Now add, garam masala, aamchur powder, sugar, stir well, Once the potatoes are done,  add the green pepper. I love them crisp, hence I take it off the stove immediately. Garnish with coriander leaves.
A little raw taste of the green pepper is very delectable.

Its wonderful with chapatti or parathas or as a side dish with rice.

Cabbage Usili/ Cabbage lentil curry/ Cabbage Archu kalaral

I thank Lavanya Balaji for this dish. I never knew we can make cabbage usili.  It was simple and much easier than the other veggies.

Ingredients

Toor dal : 1/2 cup

Channa dal : 1/2 cup

Red Chilli : 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric

Mustard seeds

Curry Leaves

Urad dal : 1/4 spoon

Oil

Asafoetida : a pinch

Cabbage - Well chopped

Place the cabbage in a microwave bowl  with a lid, sprinkle little water  and microwave for 7 minutes.

Soak Toor dal, Channa dal for half an hour. Then, grind them coarsly with minimum water after adding salt, red chilli , asafoetida.

Heat 6 spoons of oil in a skillet. When it fumes, add mustard, allow it to spurt and then udad dal, curry leaves roast until the dal is golden brown add the dal mix and turmeric stir thoroughly, close the skillet with a plate and allow it to cook . The mixture separates well like sundal. Add the cooked cabbage to this and mix well. 

That is all to it. This dish takes just 15 minutes including the time taken to cut the cabbage. 

As always I love this with Rasam 

How to make Usili Karamudu. (Paruppu Usili/ Beans Lentils Curry)

How to make Paruppu Usili

Ingredients
Toor dal : 1/2 cup

Channa dal : 1/2 cup

Red Chilli : 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric

Mustard seeds

Urad dal : 1/4 spoon

Asafoetida : a pinch

Oil

Usili can be done with one of the following vegetables : Potalankai (Snake gourd), Beans, Banana flower (vazhai po), Broad beans (avaraikai), kothavarankai (cluster beans).

Preparation

Cut the vegetables and pressure cook them after adding salt and turmeric.

Soak Toor dal, Channa dal for half an hour. Then, grind them coarsly with minimum water after adding salt, red chilli , asafoetida.

Heat 6 spoons of oil in Kadai. When it fumes, add mustard and then udad dal, when they are roasted untill golden brown add the dal mix, stir thoroughly, close the kadai with a plate and allow it to cook (10 to 15 minutes). Keep stirring every 3 minutes.

After the dal gets cooked, add the cooked vegetables, mix well, fry for 5 minutes and remove.

Its ready.

Combination

Mostly taken with Mor Kuzambu. Also good with araicha sathumudhu (Tomato Rasam)