August 28, 2012

Here is a sampling of recipes from Pakadarpana based on its Hindi translation by Pandit Harihar Prasad Tripathi. More recipes to follow.

Eggplant
Cut eggplant into small pieces and put in hot water. Remove from the water and keep it in a clean vessel. Powder black pepper, cumin and coriander and add to this powder fully ripe tamarind, mango powder and curd. Mix well. Coat the eggplant pieces with this paste. In a separate vessel heat a little ghee and fry the spiced eggplant pieces. Take off the flame and add flowers and camphor for fragrance. Wrap it in areca palm leaves and sauté in hot ghee. Remove them from palm leaves and serve.

Bottle gourd
Cut ripe bottle gourd into square pieces and take out the threads and seeds inside. Wash it and cook with ocean salt. Make a paste of urad dal and mango powder and yogurt and use it to coat the vegetable.  Deep fry it in ghee till golden brown. Powder fenugreek, cumin, mustard, sesame and urad. Add it to the cooked vegetable. Add sliced onions and kayaphal. Temper with coriander in ghee, and add camphor. Add it to fried pieces and sauté. Wrap in areca leaves and deep fry in ghee. Remove the leaves and serve.

Bitter gourd (bitter melon)
Cut off the ends of fresh bitter gourd and cut into equal size pieces. Keep the pieces in a pan and add rock salt and juice of jambiri nimbu (Indian lemon) and cook it covered. Otherwise it will be bitter. Remove from the fire and sauté in fresh ghee. Toast asafetida powder in a pan. Make a powder of pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, and nagkesar. Add this to asafetida. Sprinkle fenugreek powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and box myrtle powder. Add camphor and kasturi for fragrance. Pour cold water on the spice mix, add bitter gourd pieces and cook over low heat. Deep fry the cooked pieces in ghee and serve.

Kadali Banana (a variety of banana)
Peel and cut Kadali banana into pieces. Add water and mung dal and cook. When it is cooked remove from the stove. Add black pepper powder and misri (sweet candy) powder. In another pan heat some ghee and add asafetida. After that add the cooked banana pieces and dal. Mash them slightly. Cover and cook for some more time. Shake the pan while it cooks. Add camphor and flowers for flavor.

Moog Dal:
Rub sesame oil on green gram (whole mung beans) and soak it in sour buttermilk. Leave it to dry in the sun for ten to fifteen days. Grind it coarsely and wrap in a clean cloth. Keep the cloth package inside raw rice for ten to fifteen days. This will remove all moisture. Remove the husk and wash the dal with water. Add turmeric, asafetida and milk and cook it till it is soft. Remove the extra water. Add rock salt. Add camphor add fragrant flowers.