Showing posts with label Vegetable & Fruit Peels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetable & Fruit Peels. Show all posts

Pea shells curry

मटर  के छिलके की सब्जी 


After a long gap I'm back with another recipe to utilize vegetable peels.



Pea shells curry is an age old recipe popularly made in Rajasthan.
In our marwadi homes you will find at least two different vegetable curries for lunch-- one to be eaten with fulkas(chapati) and the other curry (like madras cucumber, cluster beans, spring onions, tinda, sangri etc. the list goes on) with either bajra(millet), moth. or besan roti(bengal gram flour).
 Fulka and atleast one type of any of the above mentioned rotis is a must for lunch. My dad or father-in-law and sometimes my husband too still follow the same routine. So whenever my dad visits I have to have atleast one veg with fulka and one veg for other flour roti followed by curd and moth khankhara and at last roasted papad. Papad signifies end of a meal.
 Pea shell sabji is also one among the curries traditioanlly eaten with besan ki roti. But for me it tastes as good with fulkas or rice.

To make this veg choose fresh pea shells.its a must. Else your curry is a total failure. You need to peel the peels once again and its a time consuming process. So peel the shells when you have time and store in a refrigerator. Peeling is necessary because there is a thin film underneath the shell which is difficult to chew, We need only the soft flesh from the peels.


 To peel the shells separate the pea-pod into two,  take one part and bend the upper corner and slide it downwards as shown in the pic.


Wash the peels thoroughly.
Being marwadi we prefer it quite oily and spicy but its all upto one's own taste. The quantity of oil or spices can be altered as per one's taste.

ingredients:
1 cup peeled and chopped pea shells
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
a good pinch of asfoetida/hing
1/4 tsp turmeric powder/haldi
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1/4 tsp black onion seeds/kalonji
1/2 tsp dry mango pdr/amchur
1 tsp sugar (optional)
salt to taste

Heat oil in pressure cooker.
Add cumin and kalonji. add hing.
Add the peels along with the turmeric pdr, red chilli powder, corriander powder and salt.
Saute for a min and add about 1/4 cup of water. put the lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
After 5 min when the steam escape from the cooker open it check if the peels are cooked, if not cook a little more. Usually tender ones cook very fast.
Add sugar and amchur powder. sugar is optional, if you like it a little sweet and sour in taste add it else skip. cook for another min. and ready to serve.

Water Melon Rinds curry


This is my another addition in using vegetable and fruit peels. It is a very common practice in Rajasthan to cook watermelon rinds. It is served with bajra roti  and lots of ghee during winter. The rinds can also be dried and stored for upto an year.




for this you need:
2 cups water melon rinds diced
2 tbsp oil
a pinch asfoetida (hing)
1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp corriander seeds powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder(haldi)
1/2 tsp onion seeds/ kalounji
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp dry mango powder(amchur)
salt to taste





Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add hing.
Add kalaunji, turmeric powder, red chili powder, corriander seeds powder along with the rinds. Saute for one minute.
Add 1tbsp of water and salt. You do not have to add more water to cook as the rinds will release their own juices when cooked.
Pressure cook for one whistle.
Remove the lid after the pressure is released from the cooker and switch on the gas again.
Add amchur and if you want to add sugar add it at this stage, adding sugar is your own choice , some like it sweet but I prefer without sugar.
Bring it to a boil and its done.

Ridge-gourd peels chutney



These days the dishes made out of peels are replacing my vegetable curries and I feel proud of myself for minimizing food wastage in this era of high inflation & food shortage.
The credit for this recipe actually goes to my bhabhi, who taught me this recipe & inspired me to make best out of waste.
Wash The ridge gourds (turai) thoroughly before peeling them. If you do not want to cook the vegetable & peels chutney on the same day then you can preserve the peels in an air-tight box or zipper bag for atleast two days.





Peels of 3 medium sized ridge gourd
4 flakes garlic
2 green chillies
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1" piece of coconut
1/2 tsp tamarid paste(optional)
salt to taste

Heat oil and add cumin seeds.
Add the garlic pods, green chilli broken into 2 to 3 pieces and the peels. Saute until the peels are cooked  and soft for about 5 to 6 min.
Remove from the fire and put all the ingredients into a blender & grind into a smooth chutney.
Taste and check for the seasonings. Its a very spicy chutney for all those spice lovers!
If the green chillies are not hot enough you can even add 1/2 tsp of ground pepper to it.
Serve with hot steamed rice.

Cauliflower Stem Cutlets


Cutlets made out of the Cauliflower stems (middle part of green leaves)


1 cup boiled cauliflower stems, mashed
1 potato, mashed
5 to 6 spinach leaves, chopped
1 green chili chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 tsp ginger chopped finely
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
oil to shallow fry

Mix all the ingredients to form a stiff dough. Use more cornflour if too moist. Shape into cutlets and shallow fry in moderately hot oil.

Other related recipes:
Cauliflower leaves curry
Beetroot Cutlets

Cauliflower leaves curry

In the process of minimizing food wastage, I am learning to re-use left-overs, syrups, sauces, chutneys into another recipe and the best part of all this is to use vegetable peels, stems and seeds and make an interesting & tasty dish out of it. This time when I bought a Cauliflower,I used leaves(only the green part torn from the stem in between)  to make a spicy side dish for my plain dal chawal, which everyone loved. I cut the stems into pieces & boiled in a pressure cooker for one whistle with the intention of making vegetable stock, but ended up using the liquid & some of the stems for my sambhar & remaining for cauliflower stem cutlets.



1 cup chopped cauliflower leaves
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
2 tsp ginger-garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp corriander seeds powder
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan, add onions, green chilli and saute until soft, add ginger garlic paste and saute again.
Add all the dry spices and cook for a minute. Now add tomatoes, greens, salt and 1/2 a cup of water
and cook covered for 10 minutes.

serve as a side dish with dal chawal.

Related Recipes:
Cauliflower stem Cutlets