Today we move on to one more state of Eastern India. One among the seven sister states, Meghalaya means abode of clouds in Sanskrit. It shares its boundaries with Bangladesh and Assam. The capitla city is Shillong also known as the Scotland of East. Fish, pork and bamboo shoots are some of the ingredients which feature in so many Meghalaya recipes. When I was going through so many recipes, I had a really hard time choosing a simple recipe with available ingredients. Though we get tinned bamboo stalks here, we are not much comfortable with the taste of bamboo shoots. So I didn't want to buy it again. Then I saw this simple recipe in one of the travel sites. Panch Phoran is the blend of five spices which is very famous in Western and North Western part of India. This uses seeds rather than thier powdered form so the dish will have all the crunchiness of the seeds. Fennel, Mustard, Nigella, Cumin and Fenugreek are the five spices used for making panch phoran. Also called as panch puran, panch phoron, panch putana, this gives a nice flavour to the dish. This is the first time I am using this spice mix and I was surprised by the mild flavour of all the ingredients. Pumpkin was used in the original recipe, but I just skipped it and used only potatoes and egg plant/ brinjal. It made the perfect side dish for the mushroom pulao and we had a wonderful meal..
Ingredients:
Potato-2
Brinjal/ Eggplant-3-4
Oil-2 tbs
Salt-to taste
Fenugreek Seeds-1/2 tsp
Nigella Seeds-1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds-1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds-1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds-1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder-1/2 tsp
Red Chilly Powder-1 tsp
Coriander Leaves-2 tbs
Procedure:
1. Dice potatoes into small cubes. Cut each brinjal into wedges.
2. Heat oil and add the panch phoran mixture.
3. Add the vegetables.
4. Add turmeric, red chilly and salt.
5. Saute on low flame until all the vegetables are cooked. DO not add water.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Labels: Blogging Marathon, EGGPLANT, MEGHALAYA, POTATO, SIDE DISHES
