Napa cabbage Kimchi

This is one of the sites that I found helpful for the process.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/napa-cabbage-kimchi

You will need a plastic box big enough to fit huge chunks of cabbage like the pic below

Marinating the Napa Cabbage (4hrs) :
Ingredients:
1 Napa Cabbage
rock salt

You will have to cut the cabbage into 4 parts along the length.Then put rock salt on all the layers and let it sit in a bowl for 2 hrs. After 2 hrs reverse the pieces, so that the other side is not left raw, let it soak for another 2 hrs. Now wash the pieces thoroughly 3 times(i dont know why 3 times ..i guess till the excess salt is removed). Watch the video for reference.

Seasoning:
Ingredients:
radish (Watch the video to see how it is cut)
chives (Asian or normal..I used normal ones) - small bunch (the herb portions we normally get in grocery store)
green onions - 5
1 large Korean pear
1 small onion or 1/2 onion if big
5 garlic pods
piece of ginger the size of ur thumb :)
Soy sauce 2 cup
salt
Korean coarse red pepper powder(why korean pepper powder, coz its not too spicy) - 2 cups




Puree pear, onion,garlic and ginger. Add all the other ingredients to this and mix well.
Now coat each layer of the marinated cabbage with this mixture.

Place them in a plastic box and leave it out side for a day or 2 (time to ferment..I left mine for 2 days coz its really cold) and refrigerate for atleast 4 days before using.

They say it lasts for more than a month or 2 but we finished our batch in less than 3 weeks .

Kimchi pancake

Tofu sidedish

Dosakaya pappu(Indian Cucumber with lentils)

Dosakaya Pappu(Indian Cucumber with lentils)

Bitter gourd fry

Bitter gourd fry

Potato curry

Potato curry

Ingredients:

3 Potatoes

1 onion(large)

1 tomatoes(large)

2 green chillis

fresh coriander

1tsp Kasuri methi

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

Seasoning:

3 tsp oil

1tsp mustard seeds

1tsp Jeera

1/2tsp urad dal

1tsp gram dal

4 dry red chilli

curry leaves

Procedure:

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces, boil them and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan add seasoning and fry for few seconds.
3. Now add finely chopped onions and chilli. Fry till onions are transparent.
4. Add tomato pieces , salt , turmeric and paprika. Cover the lid and cook till tomatoes are mushy.
5. Add boiled potato pieces, kasuri methi and 1 cup water to the mixture. Cook it till you get the required consistency . Serve it with Rice, Poori or Chapathi.

Channa masala

Eggplant with coriander (Vankaya koththimeera karam )

Ingredients:

Egg plant

Ginger

Coriander
Green Chilli
Vegetable oil
salt

Directions:

1. Wash and cut eggplant into bite size pieces.
2. Make a paste of coriander , ginger and chilli without adding water.
3. Set the pan on medium flame and add oil. When the oil is hot enough add  eggplant pieces and some salt.Cover the pan with a lid and saute them occasionally, making sure that they don't burn.Saute them  until the eggplant pieces become soft.
4. Now add the spice mixture to it and let it cook for 4-5 minutes.

     Serve this dish with plain rice. 

Gai Lan(Chinese Broccoli) with Hoisin Sauce

I first came across this vegetable in a chinese restaurant called gourmet dumpling house in china town boston. This is an authentic chinese place, well I call it authentic coz the place had a lot of chinese customers. What me and my friends observed was that every table was having a huge serving of green vegetable.  We asked the server what it was and found that it was gai lag , chinese broccoli. It was served with oyster sauce, but I am a vegetarian so I came home and tried it with different combinations that I had in my kitchen. It turned out great and was YUMM... Hope you like it too.

Ingredients:

Gai Lan 

1 garlic cloves 

1-tbsp sesame oil 

1-tbsp Hoisin Sauce

1-tbsp Chilli oil

2- tbsp finely chopped green onion

salt

Directions:

1. Wash and snap the stems of  Gai Lan unto the soft parts of the stem. Cut them into bite size pieces.
2. Blanch the vegetable i.e., put them in pot of boiling water for a 5-6 seconds and immediately transfer them to a bowl of ice cold water (we do this to stop the vegetable from cooking further). Then strain and set aside. OR
   If you don't want to go through the hassle, just sauté the vegetable.
3. In a pan add oil and mashed garlic pieces followed by green onion. Saute them for 3-4 seconds.
4. Add the braised Gai lan , chilli oil and hoisin sauce to it, mix it and remove it immediately.

Serve this dish with plain rice. Do not over cook, it tastes good when crunchy. It has a lot of health benefits as its rich in Vitamins and minerals like A,C, K and Iron. If you are a health buff and crave for healthy nutritious food like me, you should try this one.

Gai Lan with Hoisin Sauce

Korean style bean sprouts Salad

Korean style Mung bean sprouts

Ingredients:

1 cup Mung Bean sprouts 

1 garlic cloves 

1-tbsp sesame oil 

1-tbsp soy sauce

2- tbsp finely chopped green onion
1/2- tbsp Korean hot pepper powder

salt

Directions:

1. Wash and drain mung bean sprouts in cold water and pick out the brownish rotten beans.
2. Put them in pot of boiling water for a minute. Then strain and set aside.(Note: Make sure you don't cook it for too long, it makes  the sprouts soggy)
3. In a bowl add finely chopped garlic clove, sesame oil, soy sauce, green onions, hot pepper power and salt.
4. Add the boiled Mung bean sprouts to the seasoning and mix well.

You can serve it as a side dish with any Asian food you make.

Sorakaya palakura pulusu/ Bottle gourd and spinach stew

Sorakaya palakura pulusu/ Bottle gourd and spinach stew

Palak paneer

Palak Paneer

Gummidikaya pachchi vadiyalu

Gummadi Pachchi Vadiyalu

Ingredients: