A delicious gravy that goes perfectly with any roast!
Mushroom Gravy
A delicious gravy to go with your roast or homemade biscuits!
Ingredients
- ½ small onion
- ½ cup button mushrooms (wiped with a moist paper towel and finely chopped)
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- drippings from skillet (strain skillet drippings to remove any whole spices—it is not necessary to do so with the drippings from the roasting pan)
Instructions
- Turn the heat to medium and place a small pan on the stove.
- Add the butter and some drippings to the pan.
- When the butter and fat are heated, add the chopped onions and sauté for 3 minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Now add the mushrooms and let them cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the flour. Cook constantly, stirring, until fragrant and light brown. About 2 minutes.
- Add the beef broth, continually stirring a little at a time, so no lumps form.
- Add the rest of the drippings. Let the gravy cook and thicken. Approximately 7 minutes.
- Pour into a gravy boat to serve with your favorite roast.
Notes
For a gluten-free version, omit the flour and add 1 tablespoon of corn flour mixed into a paste with a bit of water or broth when you add the beef broth.
You can also omit the drippings, but add another tablespoon of butter.
Uppama is a breakfast dish typical in Southern India. Mama, being from the South, meant it was part of her recipe repertoire. Uppama is made out of semolina (rava), and is like a thick dry porridge or grits with onions, nuts, and typical South Indian seasonings.
Rainy days or cold mornings are a clarion call for me to fix Uppama. You can make it in various ways—with sooji (semolina), bread, poha (flattened flakes), and oats. I also make it with leftover Idlis.
Uppama is excellent for breakfast and a wonderful tea time or anytime snack.
Sooji Uppama (Savory Semolina)
Uppama is excellent for breakfast and a wonderful tea time or anytime snack.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine sooji (semolina)
- 1 medium chopped onion
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 medium green chili (stem removed and slit in half or chopped, amount of chili is to your taste)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 sprig curry leaves (approximately 10-12 leaves–available at Indian grocery stores)
- 1 tsp channa dal (split Bengal gram without skin)
- 1 tsp urad dhulli dal (split black gram without skin)
- ½ cup cocktail peanuts (or cashew nuts, or a combination of both (optional))
- 2½ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ lemon (seeds removed)
- 2 tbsp desi ghee or butter
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
Instructions
- Roast the sooji (semolina) in a wok (kadai) or a broad pan.
- Heat the wok on medium heat and pour the sooji into it. Dry roast by stirring the sooji constantly for two minutes till fragrant and slightly brown.
- Remove from heat and pour onto a plate or thali (rimmed steel plate) to cool.
- Wipe the wok or pan of any residual roasted sooji.
- Pour in 2 tablespoons of oil and heat on medium heat.
- When hot( not smoking), add the mustard seed. Let crackle for 30 seconds, then add the curry pata (be careful of it splattering).
- Stir for 30 seconds, and then add the lentils. Stir it.
- Now add the chopped onions. Stir fry until the onions turn translucent. About 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped green chili and stir.
- Now add the water and salt. Do a taste test. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the water to a rolling boil. The water should be slightly salty.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low. Pour in the peanuts and/or cashew nuts (your choice), and stir them.
- Using a spoon or your hand, pour the roasted sooji into the water with one hand while quickly stirring the mixture with the other until you use all the sooji. Stir and mix well.
- To make it easier, you can put the roasted sooji into a measuring jug, so it is easy to pour. Do this quickly, as the sooji immediately absorbs the water and forms lumps.
- Cover and let the sooji steam on low heat for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Uncover the lid and squeeze the juice of the half lemon all over the cooked sooji.
- Add the desi ghee or butter. (Clumps are fine or you can melt the ghee or butter a bit and then add it).
- Stir well, breaking up any sooji lumps. Cover and let rest for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer the uppama to a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
- Uppama can be eaten by itself or with coconut or peanut chutney. I like to top it with extra nuts.
Notes
1. You can buy pre-roasted sooji at the Indian grocery store, which cuts prep time.
2. You can also add peas to the Uppma. Add ½ cup peas when you add the water.
Check out the Glossary section.
This dal curry is made out of the split chickpea (Bengal gram) with the husk removed. I sometimes use this lentil to make a simple soup by seasoning it with sauteed onions, bay leaf, turmeric, and cumin powder.
This dal was a must every time Biryani was fixed at home. To make the dal tastier, Mom would have Cook add the bones left over from the large cut of meat that was chopped up for the Biryani. Since I use boneless meat for the Byriani, I add beef broth to give it a meatier taste, but it also tastes perfectly good just by adding water.
Channa Dal Curry (Split Chick Pea Curry)
A delicious healthy, nutritious lentil dish that you can serve as a main dish or side dish. It goes perfectly with Biriyani, any kind of pilaf, plain boiled rice, or flat bread.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried split chickpea dal (Sort for stones and grit, clean, and rinse. Soak the chickpeas for half an hour)
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 medium onions (chopped fine)
- 1 medium green Serrano chili (chopped very fine)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (or 1 8 oz can tomato sauce)
- 1 tbsp ginger paste (preferably fresh)
- 1 tbsp garlic paste (preferably fresh)
- salt (to taste)
- 4 cups water (or more, depending on the amount of gravy you want)
- 1 tbsp fresh green coriander (finely chopped for garnish)
Whole Spices
- 1 large black cardamom
- 2 medium Bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- 5 peppercorns
Masalas
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp tumeric powder
- ¼ tsp red chili powder (more or less, according to your taste)
Instructions
Preparation
- Sort for stones and grit, and clean, and rinse the chickpeas.
- Soak for half an hour.
To Cook
- Heat oil in a 4-6 quart pot over medium heat.
- Add the whole spices and then add the onions. Sauté until the onions are ¾ brown. Approximately 8-10 minutes.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste, then add all the masalas and stir a few minutes until fragrant. About 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas, water, and tomato paste. Partially cover and cook until nice and tender. Approximately 45 minutes.
- When nearly done, mash some of the lentils against the side of the pot to make a thicker gravy.
- Cook for another 10 minutes.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with about a tablespoon full of fresh chopped cilantro.
Notes
1. You can substitute some of the water with vegetable, beef or chicken broth. Add additional water if necessary to get a thick soupy consistency.
2. You can also serve this dal with Biryani, any kind of pilaf, plain boiled rice, or flat bread.
3. You can boil the dal separately and then add it to the curry masala and let it simmer for 15 minutes to absorb all the flavors.
4. I like to use a pressure cooker to hasten the process.
Street food is famous all over India, and tamarind sauce/chutney called sont is served along with samosas, dahi vada, chaat, allu tikkas, and other savories. Sont is a tangy sweet and sour, spicy sauce. You can turn the spice up or down in it, depending on your taste. While it is readily available at the local “halwai,” the owner of a store that cooks and sells Indian halwa (sweets and savories), it is easy to fix at home.
I modified this recipe from the one I learned from a friend, Mimi. Our husbands were doing a year-long course at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, which was located in the Nilgiri hills in Southern India. Mornings were a fun time for the wives while the husbands attended the course and the kids were at school. The morning coffee/tea parties lead to a lot of recipe exchanges! Our cooks were always happy to let us take over the kitchen.
Sont (Tamarind Sauce)
A tangy sweet and sour, spicy sauce served along with samosas, dahi vada, chaat, allu tikkas, and other savories.
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp tamarind paste (available at Indian grocery stores - see notes)
- ¼ tsp chili powder (or to your taste)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 3 tbsp brown sugar or jaggery
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tbsp chaat masala (available at Indian grocery stores)
- 2 tbsp black salt
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder
Instructions
- All ingredients are to your taste, so feel free to increase or decrease the ingredient accordingly.
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir well until nicely blended and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat a bit and let simmer, occasionally stirring, until the sauce thickens. It should have a consistency a little thinner than ketchup.
- Turn off the heat and allow it to cool, but be sure to stir it a few times while it is cooling, so it doesn't form a film on top.
- Refrigerate when cool.
- Serve cold chutney with chaat, samosas, pakoras, allu tikkas. I also enjoy it with boiled channa or boiled potatoes mixed with yogurt.
Notes
If you do not have tamarind paste, you can use ½ cup of tamarind pulp. Add to a pot with 2½ cups of water, and bring it to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain through a fine sieve. I use my fingers to squeeze out every bit of juice! Discard the pulp and use the strained tamarind liquid.
When I am in a hurry, I add a teaspoon of cornstarch to a quarter cup of water and then add it to the simmering sauce. Stir for about 2-3 minutes until the desired consistency is reached.
I hear the wind rattling the windows. The dark rain clouds hang overhead. I look out of the kitchen window. We are up on the fourth floor of our flat in New Delhi. The monsoons have brought sweet relief from the oppressive summer heat. It seems a good day to fix some Rajma Curry (kidney beans). I love it with white rice and pickle. The cook has the day off. I don’t mind. I love the peace of being in the kitchen by myself. I had soaked the beans the night before. My son is curled up on the couch reading his recently acquired comics. My husband should be home in an hour. I turn my gaze from contemplating the clouds to the kitchen counter and get started.
Rajma (Kidney Beans Curry)
A rich, delicious, healthy kidney bean curry filled with nutritious proteins and nutrients.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rajma (pick, clean, and soak overnight in about 4 cups water)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 medium yellow onions (chopped finely)
- 1 green Serrano chili (to your taste)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (or one 8 oz can of tomato sauce or 3 Roma tomatoes)
- 1 tbsp heaped ginger paste (preferably fresh)
- 1 tbsp heaped garlic paste (preferably fresh)
- 1½ tsp salt (or to your taste)
- 6-7 cups water
Whole Spices
- 1 large black cardamom
- 2 Bay leaves
- 4-5 cloves (or ¼ tsp clove powder)
- 4-5 peppercorns (½ tsp cracked pepper)
Masalas
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp red chili powder (or to your taste)
- 1-2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
Instructions
Overnight Preparation
- Pick, clean, and soak the beans overnight in about 4 cups of water.
To Prepare
- Heat the oil in a 4-6 quart cooking pot or deep saucepan on medium heat.
- Add whole spices, stir for 30 seconds, and now add the onions.
- Sauté until three-quarter brown, about 8 minutes.
- Add all the masalas and sauté for 3 minutes or until the oil starts to surface on the sides of the pan.
- Add the kidney beans, water, and tomato paste. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Boil for 30 minutes, then lower heat and simmer for about another 30 minutes, until nice and tender.
- If the beans are drying out, add more hot water to sustain a nice amount of gravy.
- When nearly done, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to make a thicker gravy. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Pour into a serving dish and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
- Serve with plain boiled rice, any pilaf, or roti. I have even eaten it poured over a plate of noodles!
Notes
You can boil the beans separately and then add them to the curry mix or use them after soaking.
If using a pressure cooker, you can do the tempering, then add the raw-soaked beans and bring it to pressure. Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time. I follow the time given on the chart for beans, but times will vary depending on the heat source and altitude, so I always cook it for less than the time indicated on the manual chart.
A Simple Variation
Boil the soaked beans with a tablespoon of chopped ginger, garlic, and salt. Cook until done. Then temper the beans.
Tempering/Tadka
1 medium onion chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp chili powder or to your taste
¼ tsp garam masala, or to your liking
2-3 tablespoons oil
In a sauté pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions, sauté 4-5 minutes, then add the spice powders and stir for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook for 7-8 minutes, and add the cooked beans. Stir and let simmer for 5 minutes to absorb the flavors of the tadka. Mash a few beans against the side of the pot with the back of the ladle. Stir and simmer for another 2 minutes.
Starter
Main Course
Whole Tandoori Chicken Roast with Mint Yogurt Chutney and Tikka Masala Gravy
French Beans with Indian Seasoning
Mashed Potatoes (Go international with Betty Bossi) with Mushroom Sour Cream Gravy (Thanks to Taste of Home)
Cranberry Sauce (Check out recipes from one of my favorite magazines, Taste of Home)
Breads
Rolls (Your favorite from your local bakery)
Dessert
Drinks
Spiced Chai
Mango Lassi
Sweet Lassi