Broccoli-Seasame stir-fry

When I am very young I read about broccoli in English story books.  Most children,  in the books I read,  hate to eat broccoli  and their parents made sure they eat broccoli because it is very good for health. I used to wonder how that vegetable would look !!  I saw broccoli for the first time after I came to Germany. A green coloured cauliflower !!! I tasted it for the first time in mensa (canteen). In canteen they used to serve a cup of boiled broccoli. To tell the truth I hated it on my first encounter itself. Rajender loves this vegetable (thats very strange !!!). He has read that broccoli has many anti-cancer compounds and I am sure that is the reason for his broccoli love :).

 

The scientific name of broccoli is Brassica aleracea. It is rich in cancer fighting phytochemicals and anti-oxidants. Broccoli is high in Vitamin C, K and A. It is also a rich source of dietary fiber. It is also shown to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

I hated broccoli until I found this recipe. Whenever I came across broccoli in grocery shop I felt a sense of guilt running deep inside me.  The first reason for this is,  Rajender loves it and I am not ready to cook it for him and the second reason is,  I am avoiding such a nutritious veggie.  I was sure that Indian way of cooking cannot make this veggie any better. More and more you cook this veggie,  worser it becomes. So I tried to find a non-Indian recipe version for this vegetable (in internet, sorry I do not remember the source) and  here it is for you :

Ingredients :

Broccoli- 1 no

Lime- 1 no

Seasame- 2 tbspns

Red chilli flakes- 1 tspns

Jeera seeds- 1 tspn

Garlic- 2 cloves

Olive oil- 2 tbspns

Method :

Cut broccoli into bite sized pieces as shown in picture. Make thin slices of garlic. Squeeze out the juice from half lime piece. First, steam the broccoli until it is cooked but it should retain its firm texture. The steaming process takes approximately 5-8 minutes. Now heat a pan. Add olive oil. When the oil gets heated add seasame, jeera and sliced garlic. Fry for a few seconds until the seeds splutter and the garlic browns. Add steamed broccoli to this mixture. Simmer the flame and mix everything well. Remove from fire after 3 minutes. Sprinkle lime juice and chilli flakes on it.  Add salt to taste. Broccoli stir-fry will be ready to be served.

Taste enhancing tips for this recipe : Make sure you do not over-cook this vegetable. It must be cooked but should retain its firmness. Steaming is the best option because boiling in water leads to the loss of cancer- protective phytochemicals. Try to retain its bright green colour. If you cook it too much it becomes light green in colour and doesn't look or taste appetizing. Follow the exact recipe. This veggie never mingles well with our Indian spices (my personal opinion), so avoid them. Never discard broccoli stem,  thats the tastiest part.  Happy cooking !!!

Thakkali-ellu chutney/ tomato chutney with seasame/ ramulakaya-nuvvulu chutney

 

 

The origin of this chutney is an interesting story. When I was doing PhD in India we (our labmates) went to a stem cell conference in Hyderabad. That was my first visit to AP and I had no clue at that time that I will marry a person from AP :). The conference was arranged in a five star hotel so there were lots of delicious food. We really had gala time and till now I have never attended such a posh conference. But the dish that mesmerized me was not from that five star hotel. We stayed in a  very normal hotel and in the morning we used to buy idlies from a nearby shop. With that idlies they served a tomato chutney. All the 3 or 4 days we stayed there I would eagerly wait for the breakfast because of that particular chutney. I could never forget that taste. I always had that tomato chutney in my mind. One day I wanted to make that chutney myself by remembering that taste and imagining the ingredients and that is how this chutney originated. Do try it. You will also get caught by its taste. 

Ingredients :

Tomato - 2 nos (ripe and firm ones)

Onion- 1 no 

Garlic- 5 pods

Urid dhal- 1 heaped tbspn

Black seasame seeds- 2 heaped tbspns

Dried red chillies- 6 nos (adjust according to your taste, I like it spicy)

Curry leaves- some 10 leaflets

Turmeric powder- a pinch

Tamarind- size of a small gooseberry (optional) ( If your tomatoes are not sour enough use it when grinding)

Salt to taste

Oil- 2 tbspn

Method :

Heat a pan. Fry urid dhal, black seasame seeds, red chillies and curry leaves until the urid dhal turns brown and emits a nice aroma. Remove from fire. Cut onions and tomato. Peel the garlic pods. Add oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add a pinch of turmeric, onion, tomato and garlic. Saute them until the onions become translucent and the tomato pieces becomes soft. Now add all the items together in a mixer grinder including the required amount of salt and grind them into a paste. Tasty, tasty tomato chutney will be ready to serve. Tastes wonderful with idly, dosa and even with curd rice.

Taste enhancing tips : Do not use white seasame seeds. Use the black one. Take care not to burn the ingredients when frying. Onion, garlic and curry leaf  adds taste to this dish. Happy cooking!!!