A week back, on this day- Tuesday, I started a new thing on the blogGaram Masala Tuesdays or as someone I know put it GMT (I tell you, these things are not intentional- they just happen 🙂 !). This Tuesday its my second post for Garam Masala Tuesday and even though I have been in no mood of cooking- it has been a 2 1/2 months long break from cooking– but I had to post something today. How can I start something a week back and not live up to the promise!

Since I had to post, and there were no two ways about it, I thought I would make something that would not require too much effort. And, something that I knew V had eaten rarely in the last 2 1/2 months. And something I love quite dearly. So it had to be Dal Makhani.

Dal Makhani is the quintessential Punjabi dish (Punjab is a state in the northern part of India). Dal means lentils and makhani means buttery; so, literally translated dal makhani reads “buttery lentils”. Dal Makhani, butter naan and butter chicken are staple to Punjabi food- the above three and rajma chawal are always top of every Punjabi’s favorite food list.

Dal makhani is a rich, creamy lentil dish that is traditionally cooked on a low simmer for hours in a pureed tomato and butter gravy. Traditionally, the dal was cooked by leaving overnight on burning charcoal. It is also called Maa ki Dal. Though Maa means mother in Hindi,  Maa is also the name given to whole unskinned black lentils and hence the name for the dish.

If you notice, the common thing to most Punjabi dishes is, yes, you guessed it- butter. Ah, butter- utterly butterly delicious butter! Being a north Indian and a hard core Punjabi, now you know the reason behind my affinity to butter and the reason for my tendency to put on weight. Well, tradition is a tough thing to break from and when tradition comes in the form of butter, you know the battle is lost!

There are lot of different versions of this dish but I like this one as its easy and the results are always great. Plus, there is no chopping involved in the recipe I use (that is exactly why I chose to make it today). And requires very little time in the kitchen. It does take 2 hours for the whole preparation but you are not required to be in the kitchen the whole time.  This dish is great even the next day- so feel free to make a day before you plan to serve it. The dish is great both with rice and with Indian flatbreads like chappati/roti or naan.

Note: Some time back I had posted another lentil recipe. It is one of V’s recipe and IT IS GOOOOOD! Do check it out!

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Bhutte ki sabzi: Corn cooked in a spicy onion yogurt gravy | The Novice Housewife

I am starting this new thing- “Garam Masala Tuesdays”. The concept is simple- every week on Tuesday I’ll be posting an Indian recipe and will try to explain it to the best of my knowledge.

Why the name “Garam Masala Tuesday”, you ask?

Well, for a long time, on most of these cooking show challenges, whenever some one is asked to make something Indian, more often than not they add garam masala to give it that Indian touch. That’s how most people outside India view Indian food to be. So thought the name would be apt. But that’s also one misconception that has been going around for a while. In fact, I hardly use garam masala in my cooking- a habit probably I get from my mom, and know a lot of other Indians who do not put garam masala in every dish that they make. Yes, garam masala is integral to Indian food but there is much more to the spices we use than just garam masala. And that’s what I hope to show you.

Bhutte ki sabzi: Corn cooked in a spicy onion yogurt gravy | The Novice Housewife

Well, before coming to US, I had never made anything Indian. Occasionally (and that means once in two years or so) I would cook something continental, and yes, I would bake on and off, but never did I enter the kitchen to cook Indian- nor did I bother to see when someone else was cooking it. Now, a little over  than a year later, I have gone from calling my mom every day to ask the minutest of details on how to cook this vegetable or that gravy to trying exotic Indian dishes of my own.

Not that I have become an expert on Indian cooking- but am learning my way through it and would like to help other people who would like to learn as well. A lot of people , especially where I stay in US, have shown interest in Indian food and so I thought of starting this weekly post on Indian food. Hopefully it would help you all in getting to know Indian food a little better.

Bhutte ki sabzi: Corn cooked in a spicy onion yogurt gravy | The Novice Housewife

A lot of Indian food is made by pure feel. In fact I think it holds for cooking in general, where you change the amount of this spice or that spice according to your own likes and dislikes. Its not like baking which is an exact science. You can play along with the ingredients- so even though I will try and put in the exact amount of what I put in a particular dish, always feel free to change the quantities. And of course, if you are not a fan of the chillies in your food, do reduce the quantity and deseed the chillies so that you get the flavor but not the heat!

For my first Garam Masala Tuesday”, I am posting a recipe my best friend’s mom sent to me right after I got married. Neela aunty used to make this delicious Bhutte ki Sabzi whenever I used to visit my friend B’s house. Bhutta is the Indian name for corn and well, bhuttey ki sabzi,  is a vegetable made from corn. 

Neela aunty knew it was one of my favorite dishes, so more often than not, it would be on the dining table when I was at their place.  She is one of the sweetest Mom I know and one really really good cook. When I got married, she sent me this letter with the recipe.

Note: The recipe calls for ghee- clarified butter. You get ghee in all Indian stores.  In case you can’t find ghee or do not want to buy it for just one recipe, you could substitute with sunflower oil but the results won’t be the exactly the same- ghee  gives a richer and much tastier dish- of course it is more fattening. One could make ghee at home too- but I have not tried doing so yet. When I do I will surely post about it.

You can make this dish with just the corn kernels, but I prefer it on the cob, because sucking on them after the corn has been removed is just so darn yummy (I hope I did not make that sound dirty!).

Bhutte ki sabzi: Corn cooked in a spicy onion yogurt gravy | The Novice Housewife
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This is how my photography was. To be fair, I was using an iPhone and the picture was taken outside on a starry night!

 I know I have been slow with my posts and might be even more slow in the coming few weeks. I am in India and have been traveling a lot, hence the absence. These days I am in Delhi at V’s parents’ place. Delhi has always been home for me. My high school was here, college was here and so was my masters. It feels great to be here- the traffic jams during rains, the millions of people here from all walks of life, the honking of cars, the malls with all my favorite brands, the dhabas and the amazingly delicious food that they serve- its an awesome feeling to be back here.

The other day my friend back in the States mailed me and was telling me about this article she was reading about Delhi and it talked about how many people there are here and it reminded me of this thing my mom told me. Recently, my sister-in-law met this Swedish lady who comes every year to cleanse her system in India. The lady is suffering from cancer and she comes to India for ayurvedic massages and spiritual healing. When my sister-in-law asked her what is it about India that attracts her, she replied- the people- there are so many of them here and it is just so entertaining to watch them. And that’s so true, there is never a dull moment in India. Even while traveling alone in an autorikshaw here, more likely than not the auto guy would put blaring Bollywood music for you, full of beats and a dull journey is made fun! Yes, there are potholes here, letches who make it hell for girls to travel alone, electricity and water issues and overly crowded streets, but once here, its all so magical- much more than just a land of snake charmers!

Coming back to food, I am sure the title would interest most of you. Well, when I say vegetarian fish, its not fish actually. Though lot of people do consider themselves vegetarian even if they eat fish. I know! isn’t a fish a meat too?? Well, I will leave that for the pure vegetarians to debate. The so called “fish” that I talk about here is basically, a short crust pastry dough that is stuffed with some vegetables and shaped like a fish. Its something my mom makes at parties and everyone raves about it- which says a lot because she tends to make 15 odd dishes at a party and if ones shines out in particular- it must be good (and it actually is!).

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