Choley and Soya Masala ( 1 tsp Oil recipe )

 IMP - Choley and Soya Masala is an original recipe created by the blogger and has been published for the first time on oriyarasoi.com.


It is not magic that makes food special. Nor it is the use of the most expensive or rare ingredients. Rather, it is that one indispensable ingredient called love and everything else that goes with it. Be it love for that someone special, for good food or even for great company, love is the driving factor behind almost every great meal. Imagine being engulfed by a feeling of inner joy when you see someone mop up every bit of that dish with great pleasure and yet take the time to carefully lick those fingers for any lingering traces of deliciousness. That's love for sure.

But then love takes on different interpretations for different folks. Without going into the intricacies of what is right or wrong T, I choose this Valentine's day to promote a bit of 'self-love'. And what better way of loving oneself than taking small steps for ensuring good health ? I am going to do just that by kicking off the ' 1 tsp oil recipe' series which will let one enjoy those favorite meals without the added guilt pangs and undesirable side effects.

The very first recipe of this series is a protein packed 'Choley and Soya Masala'. Usually people tend to associate 'choley' with copious amounts of oil, spices and some residual heartburn too. This preparation helps eliminate all that. Plus one gets the added benefit of soya protein.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30-35 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 1/2 cup Garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup small soya chunks
• 1 medium sized onion
• 5-6 fat garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 3 tbsp chopped coriander roots 
• 1 large tomato
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder ( use less or more as desired )
• 1 1/2 tsp Tata Sampann Choley Masala
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 boiled potato (optional)
• green chillis for garnishing
• onion rings for garnishing
• lemon juice (optional)

Preparation - Wash and soak the garbanzo beans overnight or for 10-12 hours.

The soya chunks can be soaked in hot water 1-2 hours prior to cooking.

Grind the onion, ginger and garlic together into a smooth paste. The tomato needs to be pureed separately.

Clean the coriander roots thoroughly and chop into very small pieces.

Cooking - Transfer the garbanzo beans to a pressure cooker. Cook with 2 cups water, salt and turmeric for 3-4 whistles. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Squeeze out the water from the soya chunks. Wash them under fresh water 2-3 times before giving a final squeeze.

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker. Add the sugar and keep the flame low.

Once the sugar starts turning light brown, add the cloves and cinnamon. Quickly add the onion, ginger and garlic paste to avoid burning the spices.

Cook till the raw smell goes off.

Now add the tomato puree and cook for 3-4 mins. Add the chili powder, Tata Sampann Choley Masala and a wee bit of turmeric. Cook for 3 mins.

Drain the garbanzo beans and transfer to the cooker along with the soya chunks. Peel the potato and cube it before adding it the contents of the cooker.

Add 1 1/2 cup hot water, salt and the chopped coriander stems before closing the lid. Let it cook for 1 whistle on a low flame.

Serve hot with a dash of lemon juice, slit green chilies and onion rings.

Goes best with rotis or even steamed rice.

Bhee Gobi Masala ( Lotus Stem Curry )

Though lotus stem is one of those vegetables that I had never tasted in Odisha, it has become one of my favorites these days. Though it is somewhat bland with a slight hint of nuttiness, it reminds me strongly of the banana stem that we use in authentic Odia cuisine. Both of them tend to be quite fibrous and need to be cooked with the right combination of spices to make a tasty curry. But even more than the taste ( and it's good looks ), I was sold on the health benefits of this vegetable. It is power-packed with minerals like potassium, phosphorous, copper, zinc, iron and manganese while also being a source of vitamins B6, C, thiamine and pantothenic acid. It is also a good source of dietary fiber and protein. Lotus root is recommended to people suffering from blood pressure, slow bowel movements and also for aiding weight loss.

Being a very popular vegetable with the Sindhi folks, I first started looking up Sindhi preparations with lotus root. And I stumbled upon manyrecipes that belonged to Veitnam or Thailand. Turns out that it's a quite popular vegetable in those parts of the world. But anyways, I finally checked this wonder recipe 'Bhee Alu Vadi Masala' by Nisha Madhulika. Did some adaptations to suit my taste and made the curry. Turned out to be nice and easy.

The only time consuming procedure was cleaning the lotus root. The outer layer needs to be peeled and it should be sliced into thin slanting slices . If the holes inside have some mud sticking to them, soak in hot water for sometime and then clean with a soft brush.

Here's the recipe -

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

• 300 gm lotus root ( cut into thin slanting slices )
• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 small onion
• 5-6 garlic flakes
• 1 1/2 inch ginger
• 1 green chili (optional)
• 2 large tomatoes 
• 50 gm paneer ( I think you can leave this out for a lighter gravy )
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder ( or to taste )
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2-3 pinch garam masala 
• 3 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation - Grind the onion, ginger and garlic into a fine paste. Keep aside.

Then make another paste out of the tomato, paneer and green chili.

Cooking - Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and cook for few mins till raw smell goes off.

Add the tomato-paneer paste and let it cook for a while ( 8-9 mins ) till oil starts to float on the surface. Sprinkle the turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Cook for 3-4 mins.

Finally add the lotus stem slices, cauliflower florets and green peas. Add 1/cup warm water. Close lid and cook covered on medium flame for 1 whistle.

Keep aside till steam escapes. Open lid and garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with rotis/white rice and yellow dal.

Note - The original recipe by Nisha Madhulika had used potatoes and Amritsari Masala Urad dal Vadi. 

Marwadi Bhindi ( or Besanwali Bhindi )

Bhindi or Okra is one of the most versatile vegetables. Available throughout the year and easy to prepare, it is omnipresent in our lunch/dinner menu. From a plain stir fried version to a more dressy stuffed one and even as a sweet-sour gravy, we love it in all forms. But during fasting days, I get into a quandary as most of our odia recipes use garlic along with Bhindi. That's one of the reasons why I am always on the lookout for 'no onion no garlic' recipes.

Surfing through the net, I chanced upon this easy fried Okra recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor. The fragrant chick peas flour and spices coat the okra and form a thick layer of powdery deliciousness over the crisp veggies. It was a hit with the family and I ended up making it three times within the span of five days.

Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients - 

• 15 medium sized okra
• 4 tbsp besan or  chickpea flour
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp amchur
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 2-3 tsp canola oil
• 1 tsp ghee 
• salt to taste
• lemon juice for garnishing
• cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Cut the okra into diagonal pieces.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet. 

Add the okra and fry till crisp. Remove and keep aside.

In the same skillet, add the ghee. Add the besan and fry till fragrant. 

Add the coriander, amchur, chili powder, turmeric and garam masala. Fry for 30 seconds.

Add the okra, sprinkle a few teaspoons of water and fry till the vegetables are evenly coated. Remove from the skillet.

Garnish with lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Serve immediately .