Chana Masala | Channa Masala

My notes on the recipe for this dish say beautiful, hot, deep complex layers of flavour. We’ve been making this for many years, so I am not sure how we missed posting the recipe for you.

Chana Masala is a spicy Punjabi dish where chickpeas are simmered in a sauce made with tomatoes and 11 spices that are perfectly balanced to provide an experience of each spice, should you care to be aware of them.

Is it chana or channa? Transliteration of any other script is always contentious around spelling and pronunciation, let alone in India where different languages and scripts abound. For decades I have called it channa but the consensus online now seems to be chana. Here, on my blog, you will see both. Chana from now on, but older recipes will be channa.

BTW, anardana seeds are dried, sour pomegranate seeds, available from your North Indian grocery.

Similar recipes include Turkish Soup with Chickpeas, Roasted Eggplant with Crushed Chickpeas, and Chickpea Fingers with Tomato Salsa.

Browse all of our Punjabi dishes and all of our Chickpea recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Mid Summer dishes.

Achari Gobhi | Cauliflower Cooked with Pickling Spices

Achari means pickling, and achari dishes are made with the same spices that are generally used for pickling vegetables. Using mustard oil gives the cauliflower great colour and favour – grab an Indian Mustard oil at your Indian grocer, or your Supermarket might carry an Australian one. Similar to most achari dishes, amchur is used to give a delicious tang to the dish.

This is a simple sabzi dish to prepare when you feel like eating a chatpata snack.

Are you looking for other Cauliflower dishes? Try South Indian Cauliflower Soup, and Rice and Cauliflower Pilaf.

Similar recipes include Achari Mushrooms.

Browse all of our Cauliflower dishes, all Subzis, and all of our Achari dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials here. Or simply browse our Mid Winter dishes.

Eggplant and Tomatoes | Baingan Tamatar

Today’s recipe is an Indian eggplant dish where eggplants are simmered in a tomato base until tender. It is quite simple to make yet yields a delicious result. Serve it with rice for lunch or with other dishes for an Indian feast.

It is an easy recipe – with few spices. A great recipe for people beginning to cook Indian dishes. Because it is easy, it is an perfect dish to cook for lunch, or even to cook early in the day to use with the evening meal.

Similar dishes include Brinjal Kootu, Eggplant Asadu, Smoky Eggplant and Tomatoes, and  Begun Pora.

Browse all of our Eggplant dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Mid Spring recipes.

Urad Dal with Onions Four Ways

Urad lentils, in all their forms, and one of our favourite lentils, partly because of a dal that we made a long, long time ago. We love it. My daughter and I, at our respective places, still often make that recipe in bulk and freeze it for those busy winter evenings when you just need to grab something from the freezer to avoid ordering pizza or buying bags of chips.

Urad dal needs special handling. It needs long cooking, and is best keep soupy (in my opinion). It is a common dal in North Indian cooking, especially in the Punjab, and goes well with tomatoes, onions, butter, cream and yoghurt.

Mustard Greens with Mooli | Daikon Radish with Mustard Greens

Our local green groceries, run by a cohort of Vietnamese and Middle Eastern families, has recently begun stocking Mustard Greens. So we are making the most of them. Today’s recipe pairs them with daikon, the Japanese white radish that is also used extensively in India. When it is cooked, it loses the intensity of its bite and becomes soft and textural with a slight bitterness that is delightful. Matched with some chilli and the mustardy overtones of these greens, the result is a very morish side dish from India.

Similar recipes include Sarson ka Saag, Sri Lankan Mustard Greens with Coconut, Steamed Mustard Greens with Shiitake and Sambal, South Indian Daikon Dal,  Mooli and Pumkin Curry, and Daikon Salad.

Browse our Mustard Greens recipes and our Radish dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Late Autumn recipes.

We use Australian measurements: 1 tspn = 5ml; 1 Tblspn = 20ml; 1 cup = 250ml.

Asparagus Raita

This raita is a very simple one – the spices are in the tadka rather than layering them as powders in the yoghurt. But my, it is delicious. The recipe was given to me by a Maharashtrian friend who was making it for a special event at their home.  I do love to make recipes that are given to me, as the chain of links formed by people and recipes is something special and important. In days gone, the passing of recipes from person to person was very important – no social media, few books, rare magazines. So word of mouth was the conduit, along with the Saturday paper Ladies Section and locally printed books compiled by Women’s groups.

Enjoy this raita, it is special for several reasons.

Similar recipes include Cucumber Raita, Spring Salad, Pomegranate Raita, Carrot Pachadi, and Bhindi Raita.

Browse all of our Raitas and all of our Asparagus dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Late Autumn recipes.

Sweet Potato Subzi | Shakarkand ki Subzi

We have a little love affair with Sweet Potato going on. This little subzi really hits the spot. Winter + Sweet Potatoes + Spice is a great equation that equals flavour and comfort.

Are you looking for other Sweet Potato dishes? You will like this Sweet and Sour Pumpkin, definitely. Also our Sweet Potato Poriyal. Try Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Figs, and Potato and Sweet Potato Curry.

Are you looking for other Subzi dishes? Try Kohlrabi Subzi, Potato Subzi, and Aloo Palak Subzi.

Browse all of our Sweet Potato recipes here and here. We have a categorised list of our Indian dishes too. Or simply check our easy Winter recipes here and here.

Kanda Poha | Onion Poha | Flattened Rice with Onions

Poha, a steamed and flattened rice (“steamrolled” I call it) is a great base for Indian snacks. In this poha recipe, it is teamed with onions and peanuts. Kanda Poha goes great mid afternoon with a cup of milky sweet tea (chai). Or it can be a great quick supper dish when you arrive just a little too late home from work. Or, as often done in parts of India, it is a great breakfast dish.

There are several thicknesses of poha – Nylon (very thin and crisp), Paper, Thin, Medium, Thick and Dagdi (thick and chewy). This recipe uses medium or thick poha, which you can buy from your Indian grocery. Thick is preferred. Thin poha is not suitable for this dish.

Are you looking for other Poha dishes? Try Kanda Batata Poha, Poha Chaat, Poha with Potatoes and Peanuts, Kolache Poha, and Poha with Banana, Honey and Coconut.

Browse all of our other Poha recipes and all of our Indian recipes. All of our Snacks are here. Or simply explore our easy Early Winter recipes.

Tomato Bharta | Roast Tomato Side Dish or Chutney

Bharta are North Indian (Punjabi) dishes where the main ingredient is roasted and then pureed with spices. The flavours are intensified by the roasting and the resulting dish is spicy and tangy. A commonly known bharta is Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Bharta).

This recipe uses tomatoes and it is amazing. It is great as a dip, served over rice, used as a sauce, or as an accompaniment to any curry. It can be served with dal-rice, kitchari or stuffed parathas. It also goes well with Chapatti, Roti. It has the best taste!

Looking for Bharta recipes? Try Baingan ka Bharta. Also Bengali Eggplant Puree.

See all of our Bharta recipes here. Read all about Indian Chutneys here, and feel free to browse other Indian Chutneys recipes. See Tomato recipes here. Or simply explore all of our Punjabi dishes, our Indian dishes and our Early Autumn recipes.

This recipe can be frozen without the tadka – browse other Autumnal ways of preserving for Winter here.

Golden Rice | Simple Yellow Rice | Simple Turmeric Rice

Turmeric lends a sense of glamour to a rice dish, tinting it deliciously yellow. In this dish, the herbs and spices are subtle and compliment basmati rice’s lovely nutty flavour. It can be eaten with a soup or salad style dish and also goes well with a simple dal and some chutney and pickle.

You can read more about Turmeric here. It really is a wonder spice. If you would like to see some other rice dishes, we have Pepper Cumin Rice,  Lemon Rice, and Mango Rice. For all of our Rice dishes click here.

Browse our different methods for cooking rice. Our especial favourite is Buttery Steamed Rice.

You might also like to try Lazy Spinach Rice, Black Pepper and Cumin Rice, Savoury Rice and Green Pea Pilaf, Potato Subzi and Urad Dal with Tomatoes.

More of Yamuna Devi’s recipes can be found here. Or simply browse all of our easy Mid Autumn dishes.