Aloo ke Sanna (A mashed potato preparation with herbs and other flavouring)

Again a very popular Lunch time favorite and considered to be the best accompaniment with Rice alone. Interestingly till half way the preparation style of Sanna is similar to French Croquettes with a difference of addition of Choux Paste in the same. Aloo Sanna could be prepared by two methods, some people prefer adding all herbs and flavourings in raw form while the other method of preparing is just its contrary in which flavourings and herbs are fried well separately and then added to the mashed mixture. Both the preparations are equally popular and liked by all age group.

Ingredients:

• Potato with jacket : 6 medium size.
• Chopped onion: 75 gms
• Chopped garlic: 30 gms
• Chopped slit green chillies: 10 gms
• Turmeric pd: 2 pinches
• Mustard oil/Refined oil : just enough for frying the flavourings.
• Chopped Coriander leves: 15 gms.
• Musturd Seeds:4-5 gms
• Salt : as per taste.

Method : 1

1. Boil potatoes with jacket in order to prevent it from getting soggy, mash and keep it aside ( try to avoid formation of lumps while mashing) .
2. In a separate pan, heat oil add tempering of Musturd seeds and fry onion, garlic, green chillies, with the addition of salt and turmeric, fry till golden brown in color .
3. Mix the fried flavorings with mashed potatoes. Add chopped coriander leaves, check the seasoning and serve with rice as an accompaniment.

Method : 2

1. Additional ingredients:
2. Lemon juice: few drops.
3. Pickle mixture (Achaar ka Masala) : 1 spoon
4. Instead of frying all the flavorings add it directly with the potato paste , add the additional ingredients and mix it well.
5. Serve with rice during lunch.

Jhaua Baigan (Eggplant) ke Khatta Meetha Tarkari (Curry)

This is a very famous preparation of Eggplant (aka Brinjal) in Mithila. I recently had a chance to get a taste of it during my wedding. I liked it so much first time that I requested the person (who cooked it first time) to make it again for my Ek-Bhukt meal. Well this is a simple preparation and adds a different kind of taste to the meal. Those who love eggplant will love it for sure. Jhaua Baigan is the variety of eggplant which is thin and long. There are 3 varieties of this eggplant Green, Viotel and White (in some parts of the world).

Ingredients:

1. EggPlant (Baigan or Brinjal) 500gm (thin and long ones).
2. Tamarind (Imli) 100gm.
3. Jaggery (Gur) 100 gm
4. Cummins (Jeera) powder (1 tbs)
5. Coriander (Dhaniya) Powder (1 tbs)
6. Turmeric (Haldi) Powder (1 tbs)
7. Chilli (Laal Mirch) Powder (1/2 tbs optional)
8. Kitchen King masala (2tbs)

Preparation:

1. Cut Eggplant in half (in length) and then 4 pieces along the length so that they pieces are joined from one end.
2. Soak Tamarind in 250 ml water and leave that for 1 hr so that it is mixed with water. Drain the Tamarind seeds out of the mix and keep the mix aside.

Cooking:

1. Heat oil (mustard oil the best) in Pan for Deep Fry.
2. Deep fry Eggplant for 3-5 mins on medium heat.
3. Keep it aside after frying so that the excess oil is drained.
4. Heat small amount of oil in a separate pan.
5. When the oil is heated use Phoran mix(Panchphoran, Heeng, Tej Patta) etc for Seasonings. This will add some aroma to the food.
6. Add spices mix (Jeera, Dhaniya, Haldi, Mircha, Meat Masala ya Kitchen King (little bit)) to the oil and start mixing.
7. Cook for sometime till spices are cooked properly and do not stick to the pan anymore.
8. Mix Tamarind (soaked one and drained) and Jaggery and cook for 5 mins till starts boiling.
9. Add Egg plant (fried) and cook for another 5 mins.
10. Let the curry settle down and become little thick.
11. Add coriander leaves to that.