Meals for mah Bahman

Many Zoroastrians observe a vegetarian diet during Bahman mah which begins on June 15 this year. Whatever the reason — religion, health or compassion — for being vegetarian, we hope readers will enjoy these delicious meat-less dishes. Each one serves four.

(Top row, from l): Soy kababs, Parsi veg pulav, paneer patia; (2nd row): rice chappatis with kora nu salnu, mushroom curry, potatoes and jackfruit, oush-e-brench; (3rd row): cream and berries pudding, green brinjal curry;

SOY KABABS

Soy chunks (1 cup)

Garlic (4 cloves — paste)

Ginger (½ inch — paste)

Green chillies (4 — finely chopped)

Turmeric powder (¼ tsp)

Red chilli powder (½ tsp)

Potatoes (4 medium sized — boiled and mashed)

Coriander (½ cup — finely chopped)

Salt and pepper

Semolina or breadcrumbs (100 g)

Oil (5 tbsp)

Soak soy chunks in hot, salted water for 10 minutes. Rinse, squeeze dry, and coarsely grind in mixer. Add garlic, ginger, green chillies, turmeric, red chilli, potatoes, coriander, salt and pepper. Mix and knead thoroughly. Shape into small balls and roll in semolina or breadcrumbs and shallow fry. Serve as starters or with dhansak.

khatu mithu tambotu

KHATU MITHU TAMBOTU

Ripe, red tomatoes (2 kg)

Oil (1 tbsp)

Turmeric powder (1½ tsp)

Red chilli powder (2 tsp)

Salt

Jaggery (1 cup)

Coriander (1 bunch — chopped)

Stand tomatoes in boiling hot water, skin and chop, or grind them coarsely discarding skin. Heat oil, remove pan from fire and add turmeric and chilli powders so they do not burn. Put pan back on fire and immediately add tomatoes and simmer till the volume reduces by at least 50 percent. Add salt. Stir. Add crumbled jaggery and cook till it melts. Mix in coriander. Serve hot with Parsi style khichri or as an accompaniment to mora dal chawal. It also tastes good with bread or gahu ni rotlis (wheat chappatis).

POTATOES AND JACKFRUIT

Potatoes (2 large)

Jackfruit (1 small — unripe, tender)

Oil (4 tbsp)

Salt

Coriander (1 tsp)

Cumin (2 tsp)

Khus-khus (poppy seeds) (2 tsp)

Dry red chilies (6)

Ginger (1 small piece)

Garlic (6 cloves)

Coconut (1 cup — shredded)

Onion (1 — chopped)

Turmeric powder (1 tsp)

Bay leaf (1)

Peel, cut into cubes and parboil potatoes. Keep aside. Cut and clean jackfruit with a knife frequently dipped in oil. Salt jackfruit pieces and place in pan with just enough water to cover them. Boil until three-quarter done. Grind together coriander, cumin, khus-khus, red chilies, ginger, garlic and coconut. Heat oil and fry onion till golden brown. Add the ground masala, turmeric and bay leaf. Put in jackfruit and potatoes and cook till ready. Serve with rotlis or boiled rice.

KORA NU SALNU

Red pumpkin (500 g — cubed)

Onions (4 — chopped)

Oil (2 tbsp)

Coriander-cumin (dhana-jeeru) powder (½ tsp)

Turmeric powder (½ tsp)

Coriander (4 tbsp — chopped)

Green chillies (4 — slit)

Vinegar (1½ tbsp)

Jaggery (1 tsp — crumbled)

Pressure cook pumpkin in water with salt for five minutes. Keep aside. Heat oil and fry onions till golden brown. Add powders, coriander, chillies and sauté. Add pumpkin and a little water. Just before done, add vinegar and jaggery. Serve with chokha ni rotlis (rice chappatis — knead fine rice flour using boiling hot water, roll out immediately and roast on tawa).

OUSH-E-BRENCH

Chana dal (250 g)

Green moong (250 g — whole)

Black eyed beans (chora) (250 g — tiny)

Oil (3 tbsp)

Onions (4 — chopped)

Spinach leaves (palak bhaji) (½ bunch — chopped)

Ambat-chukka bhaji (1 bunch — chopped)

Dill (shepu bhaji) (2 bunches — chopped)

Rice (1 cup — washed and soaked)

Turmeric powder (½ tsp)

Black pepper powder (2 tsp)

Salt

Pressure cook chana, moong and beans together. Keep aside. Heat two tablespoons oil in a large vessel and fry onions till golden brown. Add greens. Mix well. Add rice, turmeric, water and black pepper. Stir and let cook. Mid-way, add cooked dal mixture, one tablespoon oil and salt to taste. Stir and simmer till broth consistency, but the dal, moong and beans should remain whole. Serve piping hot with lime wedges and more black pepper, if desired.

RED MUSHROOM CURRY

Oil (1 tbsp)

Cumin (1 tbsp)

Garlic (½ bulb)

Red chillies (8 dry)

Coconut (1)

Mushrooms (200 g)

Tamarind (1 tbsp)

Salt

Heat oil and sauté paste of ground cumin, garlic and chillies. Add coconut milk. (Shred coconut, steep in hot water, strain to extract one-and-a-half to two cups of coconut milk.) Add whole, steamed mushrooms and tamarind water. (Steep tamarind in half cup hot water and strain.) Add salt and let it simmer till the mushrooms are fully cooked. Serve with khichri and papad.

GREEN BRINJAL CURRY

Oil (1 tbsp)

Onion (1 – chopped)

Coriander leaves (½ bunch)

Green chillies (4)

Garlic (½ bulb)

Brinjals (6 — medium sized)

Coconut (1)

Salt

Heat oil and fry onion till golden brown. Add ground coriander, chillies and garlic paste. Add brinjals that have been sliced round and shallow fried. Add coconut milk. Add salt and let it simmer for a while. Serve with boiled rice and papad.

PANEER PATIA

Onions (5 big — finely chopped)

Oil (2 tbsp)

Green chillies (3 — slit)

Curry patta (2 sprigs)

Garlic (1 bulb — cleaned and chopped)

Turmeric powder (½ tsp)

Chilli powder (½ tsp)

Coriander powder (½ tsp)

Cumin powder (½ tsp)

Khambati sambhar masala (½ tsp — optional)

Dhansak masala (½ tsp)

Garam masala (½ tsp)

Tomatoes (3 big — skinned and chopped)

Paneer (½ kilo — cubed)

Salt

Coriander (¼ cup — finely chopped)

Chop onions fine and fry in oil along with green chillies, curry patta and garlic till golden brown. Add dry masalas and tomatoes and fry for five minutes without adding water, till oil separates and gravy is formed. Then add paneer and salt and let simmer for another five minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with Parsi style khichri or as an accompaniment to mora dal chawal. The patia could also be served with gahu ni rotlis.

PARSI VEG PULAV

Rice (2 cups — boiled)

Curd (2 cups)

Saffron (5 strands — soaked in hot water)

Soy chunks (½ cup)

Oil (½ cup)

Onions (4 medium)

Potatoes (3 large — boiled and cut into wedges)

Green chillies (3 — slit)

Ginger-garlic paste (2 tbsp)

Turmeric powder (½ tsp)

Chilli powder (½ tsp)

Khambati sambhar masala (½ tsp)

Dhansak masala (½ tsp)

Garam masala (½ tsp)

Mushrooms (1 cup — quartered and steamed)

Paneer (1 cup — cubed)

Coriander (½ bunch — chopped)

Mix one cup rice and one cup curd. Keep aside. Mix one cup rice and saffron. Keep aside. Soak soy chunks in hot water and squeeze dry. Keep aside. Heat oil and fry two sliced onions till golden brown and crispy. Keep aside. Then fry potatoes golden brown. Keep aside. Finely chop two onions. In a big cooking vessel, re-heat oil and fry onions till translucent. Add green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Add turmeric and chilli powders, masalas and sauté. Lower heat and add one cup curd. Then add mushrooms, paneer and soy chunks. Cook on low flame for eight minutes. Mix coriander. Add curd rice as a layer on top without mixing. Over it add saffron rice as another layer. Then place fried potatoes on top. Cover with lid and let it cook on a low flame for 30 minutes. Remove carefully onto serving dish and sprinkle with crispy onions. Serve with raita and papad.

CREAM AND BERRIES PUDDING

Quaker oats (2 tbsp)

Boiling hot water (2 tbsp)

Strawberries (500 g — cleaned)

Whipping cream (½ kg)

Sugar (2 tbsp — or more)

Apple (1 — peeled and diced)

Mix oats with water. Mash strawberries and add. Then add well whipped cream with sugar. Add apple. Mix and chill in fridge for an hour at least. Mix lightly before serving as desert.

Variations

Strawberries can be substituted with raspberries or mulberries.