The meaning of blogging changed for me ever since I did the Thali meals for Valli’s Thali Mela. I switched to the Thali theme at the last possible minute. So I had one hand in the stove cooking the thali and the other hand in the laptop uploading the pictures and making a hurried post. It was really exhausting since I was not at all prepared and by the time it was over, I was totally washed out.

But little did I know the after effects! Now after doing that theme, I find my mind always thinking of a whole set of food than just one single dish. I was really sorry I had to skip the mini thali theme last month, with the shifting and packing and all that, it would have been too much to handle.

So when my husband forgot to take his lunch box, instead of muttering and sulking, I happily cooked up a few more dishes in small batches and served him as a lavish dinner when he got back from work. It all started off with a simple Aloo Chaat recipe for the ‘Evening Snacks’ theme, but then snowballed into a mini thali itself. Forgot to make a dessert, but will do it the next time hubby forgets his lunch again :)

My camera is still missing, so I borrowed a very old one from my FIL.

Menu:

• Aloo Chaat
• Dry Potato Curry
• Moong Dal Tadka
• Raita : Chopped onions and tomatoes in seasoned yoghurt
• Vegetable Biryani
• Curd Rice : Rice mixed with curd and then seasoned with tempered mustard seeds and red chillies
• Mango Pickle, MIL made
• Pappad

Recipe Source : Tarla Dalal

Ingredients:

• Baby potatoes                         :           16 – 20
• Onion                                          :            1 small
• Tomato                                      :            1 small
• Lemon juice                              :           2 tsp
• Chaat Masala                            :           1 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves                     :          2 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash the potatoes and pressure cook them for 2 whistles or until they are cooked, but firm.
2.  Once the pressure drops, take them out, peel them and keep aside.
3. Chop the onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves. Mix with the potatoes, add the chaat masala and lemon juice.
4. Mix well till everything is combined. Do a taste test and adjust the seasonings per your taste.
5. Refrigerate and serve chilled, decorated with chopped coriander leaves.

Vegetable Biryani (One of the many versions), serves 2-3:

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice                :    1 cup
• Mixed vegetables     :    1 – 1.5 cups (Carrots, beans, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, corn etc)
• Cinnamon sticks       :    1″ piece
• Cloves                           :    2-3
• Ghee                               :  2 tsp + 2 tsp

To grind

• Coriander leaves     :         1 bunch (comes to about 1 – 1.5 cups)
• Mint leaves                :         1 bunch (same as above), stems removed
• Ginger garlic paste  :        2 tsp
• Green chillies            :        3-4, per taste
• Jeera                             :        1 tsp
• Onion                            :        1 (optional)
• Cinnamon stick        :        1″ piece (optional)
• cloves                           :        1-2  (optional)

Method:

1. Wash and soak the basmati rice in 2 cups of water. Let it sit for 10-15 min at least. The longer it sits, the better.
2. Grind the items in the ‘to grind’ list. Keep aside.
3. Wash, peel and cut the vegetables into small cubes of 1″ size. The size is actually one’s own preference.
4. Drain the rice. In a kadai, heat 2 tsp ghee. Fry the rice for 2-3 minutes until it changes colour slightly. Move it to the vessel in which its going to be cooked.
5. In the same kadai, heat the remaining 2 tsp ghee and saute the vegetables for 3-4 minutes. You don’t have to cook it, just letting it coat in ghee for a couple of minutes. Add the ground paste and cook till the raw smell of it disappears. This might take about 5 minutes or so.
6. Add this to the rice. Add salt and two cups of water as well and cook until the rice is done. I do it in the rice cooker. In my pressure cooker, this gets done in 2 whistles, but keep in mind that it might vary from cooker to cooker.
7. Serve with a raita.

Linked to:

• Blogging Marathon 17, under Evening Tiffin theme
• Kid’s Delight, for this month’s theme : Snacks