tMiriyala Annam - Pepper Flavored Rice
Did you know that the humble ,shriveled black pepper corn has a great history, status and a glorious past behind it? During its long and fascinating history, black pepper has often been more valuable than gold or precious stones and trade in pepper has been an extraordinarily influential factor in ancient history.When Barbara of Tigers & Strawberries announced the theme "Ancient Spices" for her food event "The Spice is Right" ,the first thought that came to my mind were Seasame Seeds and Black Pepper Corns.Since I had already blogged about sesame seeds in one of my earlier posts "Nuvvulu Annam"(seasame flavored rice),I decided to blog about Black Pepper which is one of the most exotic ancient spice of India after saffron and is known to be the King of all spices.

Aloo Tamatar Subzi (Potato-Tomato Curry)Ingredients:4 medium potatoes (boiled and slightly mash with hand roughly to form small chunks)1 large onion chopped finely3 cloves garlic finely minced1" ginger finely minced1/2 tsp mustard seeds2 dry red chillis10-12 curry leaves2 green chilli slit length wise1 tsp red chilli pwd (adjust according to your choice)1 tbsp coriander pwd1/2 tsp cumin pwd1/4 tsp turmeric pwdsalt to taste3 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped1 1/2 tbsp oilchopped coriander leaves for garnish1 tsp jaggery or sugar (optional)Heat oil in a cooking vessel and add the mustard seeds and let them pop.Now add the red chillis and curry leaves and stir fry for a few seconds till the flavors are released in the oil.Now add onions,ginger and garlic and saute till the onions turn light brown.Add the green chillis and all the pwds.Combine.Add the tomatoes and stir fry till the oil seperates and it gets mushy.Add the potatoes and combine and keep covered with a lid on low heat for 3-4 minutes.Remove lid and cook further for another 3-4 mts stirring once in a while.Add salt and enough water to cover the potatoes.Bring to a boil and let it simmer on low heat till you get the desired curry consistency.Finally add the jaggery/sugar and combine.Turn off heat.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.Serve hot with rotis/chapatis/steamed white rice.This is my entry to Sweetnicks Antioxidant Rich Foods ARF 5 A Day Tuesdays.

Simple,comforting and flavorful – is how I would describe today’s vegetarian dish with overtones of North Indian style of cooking.I learnt this recipe during my college days from one of my numerous North Indian friends who would bring it in her tiffin dabba with rotis.I reminse the days when we would swap our tiffin dabbas and how I'd lap up delicious North Indian fare like stuffed paranthas and chole while my friends would relish our South Indian tiffins like masala dosas,idlis and garellu.I always tried out different combinations of a particular dish(which is new to me) using different spices with recipes like curried baby potatoes and aloo palak and finally settle for one which is suited to my palate in terms of spice and flavor.North Indian cuisine calls for the use of less spice than our Andhra cuisine.If I feel that the flavor of a dish needs to be peped up a bit in terms of spice then I do make a subtle change without playing too much with the ingredients and cooking style of the authentic original recipe.The end result has never been disappointing so far and I always had my family and friends relish the food served to them..:)Aloo Tamatar Sabzi or Curried Potatoes in Tomato Sauce is very simple,everyday dish regularly cooked in many North Indian kitchens.Boiled potatoes are cooked in a spiced gravy of onions and tomatoes and it makes a great curry with rotis and chapatis.I also make this sometimes as an accompaniment to a subtle flavored rice or steamed white rice.