Beetroot & Orange Salad

The inspiration for this interesting salad was from our recent trip to Tanzania. They served this for lunch and we absolutely loved it. The unique blend of the flavors of the sweetness of beetroot and the sour-sweet orange makes this salad quite flavorful. Unfortunately, I did not get the exact receipe from the chef so I trusted my sense of taste and smell to guess the contents. And of course, I added my touch!


Ingredients:
•1beetroot
•1 orange
•1 tbsp olive oil
•Handful fresh coriander

1.Wash the beetroot, scrub to remove any mud. Immerse it in water and boil in microwave for 15-20 mins or until tender. (Cooked beetroot keeps in the fridge for about 3 days, if in a sealed container.) Immerse in cold water and drain. Then slice into small cubes.
2.Peel the orange. Cut it in half. Separate the segments, removing the pips. Or, slice into rounds.
3. Combine the beetroot and orange. Add olive oil and mix well. Add salt and ppper to taste

4.Optional: You may also add finely chopped coriander.

Rajma Curry

The receipe was given by my collegue at work, Rita. She brought Rajma chawal for lunch one day and I totally flipped for it. Thanks a lot to her for sharing the receipe, though I have tried to make it as close to what the receipe says, I maintain that it still is not the same as hers. Anyways, my quest for the perfect rajma continues.

1 cup rajma beans
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 to 8 garlics pods
2 green chilies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
½ teaspoon haldi
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp dhania jeera powder
1 tsp. garam masala
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Wash the rajma seeds and soak in water overnight. Then pressure cook for 30 minutes. Don’t keep in the cooker for too long else they will become soft.
2. Finely chop onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies. Heat oil in a pan, fry the same.and let it brown.
3. When the onions are nearly brown, put in a teaspoon of garam masala and let it brown with the onions and garlic
4. Once the onions are browned, put in all the masalas (turmeric, chilli powder, dhania powders and let it getl golden brown. (Keep the stove on low else the masala will burn)
5. Now add chopped tomatoes and fry for another 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender.
6. Add boiled rajma and salt to the tomato mixture and allow to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Eat with plain white rice or parathas…

Drumstick and Brinjal dry Curry

This a really off-beat dish prepared by Ravi's mom this time on our trip home. We found it quite unique because it combines brinjals, drumsticks and channa, very simple to make and not to mention extremely yummy.

Ingredients:
Tender brinjals
Drumsticks
Cooked channa (optional)
turmeric powder
chilli powder
coriander powder
curry leaves
salt


Preparation:
Drop cut drumsticks in boiling water for 2 minutes, it needs to be just done.
Add vagar items in hot oil, drop the brinjals in, add the powders, stir for a while. Then add the drumsticks. Close the lid and cook until they are done and the flavors mixed well. Open the lid so that the dish becomes slightly dry.
Lastly, you may add channa. Add, salt to taste