Tandoori Aloo is a "Tandoori platter" . The word tandoori is the adjective meaning "pertaining to the tandoor" and is used to describe a dish cooked in a tandoor. In India, the tandoor is also known by the name of bhatti. This dish is part of ‘Tandoori Platter’ , which consists of these Tandoori aloo, tandoori paneer, veg seekh kabab, dal makhani, naan, lots of onions , and green chutney. Tandoor is a hindi word which means cooked in oven. Most people seem to think that tandoori is a recipe. Like many of the world’s great dishes this is actually a cooking method that has become synonymous with the food that is prepared. Put simply tandoori is a marinated meat cooked over an intense fire in a tandoor. A tandoor is a clay oven in which a hot fire is build. Marinated meats are lowered into the oven on long metal skewers and cooked in this smoky and extremely hot environment until done.
Typically a tandoor is dug into the ground or built into an enclosure. The real secret is that heat can only escape it through to top. The direct heat of the fire is reflected by the ceramic sides intensifying the heat and creating a cooking environment that easily reaches 500 degrees F. It is buried or enclosed to hold in the heat and to keep anyone from coming in contact with the outside surface.
The marinade used in most any tandoori dish starts with yogurt. As for the spices, tandoori is marinated or rubbed with a great combination of spices. The first thing you will notice is the color. Tandoori dishes are usually very red or very yellow; this depends on the marinade ingredients.In addition to the colors provided by the spices, tandoori is also flavored traditionally with ginger, garlic, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, and garam masala.

The tandoor is used for cooking in Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Transcaucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia as well as India and Bangladesh. You would be surprised to learn , Tandoor type materials were even found in Harappa and Mohen-ja-daro ruins.

The heat for a tandoor was traditionally generated by a charcoal fire or wood fire, burning within the tandoor itself, thus exposing the food to both live-fire, radiant heat cooking, and hot-air, convection cooking. Tandoor is very popular fixture in popular indian restaurants.

Tandoori Aloo is one such recipe and its a punjabi dish. Its a tasty and spicy food which would make one go drool over it.

Ingredients:
250 grams baby potatoes (10-12)
1 tablespoon Red chilli powder
1 tablespoon Coriander powder
1 tablespoon Cumin powder
A pinch of Asafoetida
1 inch piece of ginger
8-10 garlic cloves
1/4 tablespoon of Ajwain (Carrom seeds)
1 teaspoon chat masala
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons of Oil
1 tablespoon Chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing.


Method:

1. Choose only Baby potatoes for this recipe. Since it not only looks good but also tastes better and easy to cook as far as this recipe is concerned.
   
2. Wash the potatoes properly and let them dry.
3. Pierce the potatoes 2-3 times with fork. Pierce the potatoes at different parts but 2-3 times. This allows the pototoes to cook from inside too and allows the masala to penetrate inside.
4. Arrange all the potatoes around the bowl on the microwave plate. If you have microwave without glass plate, place the bowl of water in a microwave-safe serving plate and potatoes around it. Those who dont have Ovens, can bake the potatoes in cooker .
5. Cook the potatoes for 5-6 minutes or until they are soft and cooked.
6. Now let the pototoes to cool.
   
7. Meanwhile grind the rest of the masala powders (rest of the ingredients) to a fine paste in a blender by adding 2-3 tablespoons of water.
8. Now heat the oil in a microwave for 1 minute on high. You can also use stove, just use a kadai and heat the oil.
9. Meanwhile cut the potatoes into halves.
10. Mix paste into the oil in a big bowl and heat for 30-40 seconds.
11. Stir and add potatoes into the bowl and cook 2-3 minutes.
12. If you are using stove, then cook it a kadai on low flame with closed lid for 3-4 minutes.
13. Remove and garnish with Coriander leaves. You can also garnish with grated cheese for added taste.
    
14. Serve hot with Tandoori roti or a side dish to jeera rice.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with Tandoori roti or Jeera rice or a platter.


Note:

• Choose only baby potatoes for making the dish intresting.
• Grind all the masalas to fine paste.
• IF not oven , then use a normal stove.

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One more green leafy veg recipe to the platter. This recipe is Aloo Palak, again a side dish from Punjab served with rice and chapatis/phulkas. It is cooked using main ingredients potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and few masalas. It is a simple and easy to cook recipe. And it takes hardly few minutes to cook it. Green veggies are good for health and if cooked with pototoes, it makes it intresting . Though green veg recipes are boring, this would not be that boring but tasty.



Ingredients:
2 Bunches palak
2 Potatoes
2 Tomatoes
1 Onion
2 Garlic flakes
1 Ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp Corainder powder
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying.



Method:

1. Wash and clean the palak, chop them and set aside
2. Cut the potatoes into small cubes.
3. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
4. Grind ginger and garlic to make a paste.
5. Chop the onions into small pieces
   
6. Take 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai, and add the chopped onions. Fry onions till they turn transparent.
7. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and turmeric powder to it and saute for a minute.
8. Add ginger garlic paste. Saute them till the raw smell of ginger and garlic goes, so fry them for 1-2 mins.
9. Add the tomatoes and saute till oil leaves the sides of the pan and the tomatoes are tender soft.
10. Now add the potatoes and cook it with closed lid for 5 mins.
11. Add chopped palak and salt and mix well. Cover the kadai with lid and cook for 20 mins on medium flame.
12. Open the lid and check the dish, palak must be well cooked and turned into dark green colour.
13. Aloo palak is ready to serve. Serve hot with rice or chapathis.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestions: Serve hot with rice or chapatis.


Note:

• Cook the dish in its own water. Dont add extra water.
• This dish needs no garnishing. But if needed, decorate it with chopped tomatoes .
• Few like this dish in the form of gravy. In that case, blanch the spinach and grind it to paste.
  

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Aloo Methi is a side dish served with rice , such side dishes are called sabzis in India. Aloo is a cuisine popular among North Indians from the places of Punjab, UP, Bihar and Delhi. It is a dry curry and taste is simple and is good for health. Green vegetables are considered good for people belonging to every age. But green vegetables are considered boring, but with dishes like Aloo Methi, they can be made wonderful. This cuisine looks simple and it is even more simple and esy to cook. It can be served with rice as a side dish or even served with Chapathis.




Ingredients:
Fenugreek leaves -2 cups (cleaned, washed and finely chopped)
Potatoes - 4 -5 nos ( peeled and cut into cubes of small pieces)
Tomato - 1 medium (chopped into small pieces)
Garlic cloves - 1-2 nos (crushed)
Green chillies - 1-2 nos (silted)
Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Whole dry red chillies - 2
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garam masala powder - 2 -3 pinches
Salt -to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoons.




Method:

1. Wash the fenugreek leaves thoroughly several times and chop them fine. Sprinkle some salt over them and keep aside for about half an hour.Sprinkling salt water removes a sour taste which fenugreek leaves have. This step of sprinkling salt water can also be avoided .
2. Heat oil and add crushed garlic and fry till brown. Add cumin seeds , asafoetida, dry red chilies, chopped onions and silted green chillies. Saute them till onions turn golden brown.
3. When cumin seeds crackle and onions and chillies are brown, add turmeric powder, chilli powder and tomatoes. Saute them till tomotes are tender soft.
4. Now add the potatoes and saute them. Add salt and saute them for a minute. Sprinkle some water and close the lid and cook on medium flame till the tomatoes are half done. Even potatoes can be pre-boiled and chopped into cubes. In that case, just add the potatoes and stir for a minute, dont cook for long time .
5. When pototoes are half cooked and the spices gets coated over them, add the methi leaves and cook them on medium flame for 5 minutes or till water is fully absorbed. ( If you are cooking on low flame , cook for 15 minutes). And see to it that all the water is evaporated. This indictes that the methi is well cooked.
   
6. Finally add 2-3 pinches of garam masala to it and stir for a minute.
7. Aloo methi is ready to serve. Serve them hot with steamed rice or chapathis.
   

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons.
Shelflife: 1 day.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with steamed plain rice or Chapatis.



Note:

• This curry is served dry. But those who prefer it as gravy can add 1 glass of water at the end and cook for few minutes.
• As a variation, the potatoes can be boiled first and then cubed. In this case, the fenugreek leaves should be first squeezed of all the salt water and added to the oil seasoned with spices. Cover and cook for a few minutes and then add the boiled potato cubes. Mix well and cook covered for a little while.
• This dish doesnt require any garnishing. But still those who prefer garnish can add few chopped tomatoes pieces on the top and serve it hot.

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1. Peel, wash and prick potatoes all over with the help of a fork.
2. Keep in salted water for fifteen minutes.
3. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep-fry the potatoes on medium heat till golden brown.
4. Drain and place on an absorbent paper and keep aside.
5. Heat mustard oil in a pan to smoking point. Cool and heat again.
6. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida and cook on medium heat till the cumin seeds change colour.
7. Add onion and sauté for three to four minutes or till the onion turns light golden.
8. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add a little water and stir.
9. Add tomatoes and sauté for a minute. Add a little water and cook till tomatoes turn pulpy.
10. Add red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and a little water and stir.
11. Add fried potatoes and stir to mix well and cook for two minutes.
12. Add a little water and salt.
13. Mix well and simmer for five minutes or till the potatoes absorb the gravy.
14. Add garam masala powder and stir.
15. Remove from heat and serve hot garnished with coriander leaves and ginger strips.

Preparation Time : 30-40 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: 1 day.

Serving suggestions: Serve hot with Parathas or jeera rice.

Note: For a different and better taste, use mustard oil for this recipe.

Click here to know more about Punjabi Cuisines and Recipes - An Introduction To Punjabi Cuisines and Recipes.

1. Puree tomatoes.
2. Boil potatoes, cut 3 potatoes into big pieces and coarsely mash the rest.
3. In a pan heat oil, put saunf, methi seeds, kalonji, red chili powder, haldi and kadhi patta.
4. Stir fry for a while. Add pureed tomatoes, keep stirring until it dries up a bit and then put all the potatoes.
5. Mix well.
6. Add 4 cups of water, bring to boil.
7. Add salt and corriander leaves, let it boil for ten minutes
8. Serve hot with puris.

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 persons

Shelflife: 1 day.

Serving Accomplaince: Serve Hot with Puris.

Note: The Potatoes are mashed coarsely to get a thick gravy. You may substitute it with 1 tsp of wheat flour mixed in water instead of potatoes. You will get same results.

Click here to know more about Punjabi Cuisines and Recipes - An Introduction To Punjabi Cuisines and Recipes.

Amritsar is a place in punjab which is known for its pilgrim sites like the Golden temple and also well known for its tasty foods. The people of Punjab are usually known to have a good appetite and hence their cuisines are not only healthy but also rich. Aloo (Potatoes) are among favourite vegetable to punjabis as it is the the people in rest of India. Aloo Amritsari is a similar tasty and delicious cuisine from the land of Amritsar and hence it gets its name from there.




Ingredients:
250gms Aloo (potato)
2 Onions, sliced
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp Ajwain
Salt To taste
1/2 cup Besan
1 tsp Corainder Powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Annardana Powder
Oil For frying
Handful Corainder leaves .



Method:

1. Cut aloo into long pieces.
2. Make a thin batter of besan, salt, ginger-garlic paste, ajwain seeds adding little water. Add 1 tsp of oil and mix well.
3. Marinate alu pieces for 15 minutes.
4. Heat oil and deep fry the aloo. Keep aside.
5. Heat 2 tsp of oil, add onions and saute till brown.
6. Add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, annardana powder, garam masala and mix well.
7. Add the aloo (potato) and toss well.
8. Simmer the flame and cook for another 5- 6 minutes.
9. Garnish with corainder leaves and serve punjabi aloo amritsari hot with paratha.

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

Serves: 4 persons

Shelflife: 1 day.

Serving Suggestions: Serve hot with Parathas.

Note: Deep fry the Aloos til the bubbling in oil stops. It suggests that the potatoes are fried well.

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Aloo Mangodi is a well known cuisine from the dessert state of Rajasthan. Mangodis are basically sun dried ground lentil dumplings. And these Mangodis are prepared from urad dal . These days Mangodis are available readymade in most grocery stores, that makes it easy to cook. Dried Mangodis look like Soya nuggets and tastes delicious when cooked with spices.


Ingredients:
200 gms mangodi
2- 3 red chillies whole
2 tblsp bengal gram flour (besan)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tblsp oil
200 gms potatoes
1 tblsp red chilli powder
1 tblsp ginger paste
salt to taste
2 tblsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tblsp coriander seeds
2 tblsp tomato puree
100 gms coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 bay leaf.


Method:

1. Cream curd, mix in besan and salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder to it.
2. Peel, wash and cut potatoes into 1 centimeter cubes.
3. Keep aside in water, to avoid it from blackening its colour.
4. Dry roast mangodi on hot tawa until crunchy and slightly browned.
5. Heat up oil, mix in brown bay leaf, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, whole red chillies and salt and cook.
6. Mix in potatoes and stir fry stirring constantly until golden brown.
7. Mix in ginger paste, mangodi, tomato puree and yogurt mixture, mix in 1 cup of water and mix well.
8. Mix in garam masala powder and cut coriander leaves.
9. Stir fry for a further few minutes and serve hot with rice.

Making Time: 25 minutes.

Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: 1 day.

Note: If not mangodis, you can susbtitute soya nuggets for this recipe. Just soack the nuggets in hot water for few minutes and use it for cooking .

Click here to know more about Rajasthani foods and cuisines - Introduction to Rajasthani Foods And Cuisines.

Aloo Ka Bharta is a simple yet spicy cuisine from Rajasthan. This cuisine is also prepared in Bihar and some parts of Uttar pradesh. It is served with Batti, rotis or Parathas . It reqires less ingredients and is fast to cook recipe.


Ingredients:
5 medium size potatoes
2 small onions, chopped
2 t grated ginger
7-8 cloves garlic, mashed
2-3 whole dry red chili peppers
1 t cumin
salt
2 t peanut oil
1-2 t uncooked mustard oil
chopped coriander leaves or cilantro.


Method:

1. Pressure cook potatoes for 12-15 min.
2. Peel and mash the potatoes coarsely.
3. Heat the peanut oil (or any other vegetable oil) and add the cumin.
4. Let splutter and add the garlic and ginger.
5. Stir for a few seconds and add the chopped onions.
6. Lower the heat and saute the onions till lightly browned.
7. Add this to the mashed potatoes.
8. Toast the chili peppers in a pan or on a low fire.
9. Crush and add to the potatoes.
10. Add the salt and mix.
11. Now add the mustard oil and the cilantro and give it a good mixing.

Making Time: 20 minutes.

Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: Best fresh.

Note: Mustard Oil can be substituted with peanut oil or vegetable oil too.

Click here to know more about Rajasthani foods and cuisines - Introduction to Rajasthani Foods And Cuisines.

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the cumin and mustard seeds.
2. When the seeds crackle, add the potatoes and fry them till they are cooked.
3. Add the tomatoes, cook for a few minutes, cook them till the tomatoes are tender soft.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies, mix and cook for a further 5 minutes .
5. Add the salt, tumeric, coriander and cumin powders, mix and cook until the potatoes are cooked.
6. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
7. Serve hot with rotis, puris or Steamed Rice.

Cooking Time: 25 minutes.

Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: Best fresh.

Note: Try using Non stick pan if you find frying the potatoes at intial stages. DO strir the potatoes time and again. Since water is not added to this recipe, close the pan or vessel with lid and keep on low flame. The steam itslef helps in cooking the potatoes further.

Click here to know more about Gujrati foods and cuisines- An Introduction To gujrati cuisines and Recipes.

Potala Rasa is a favourite among oriya people. It is delicious and eye catching. More over it is simple and dont require many ingredients.



Ingredients:
10 pcs: Parwal
2 large: Potatoes
2 medium size: Onions
1cm: Ginger
1teaspoon: Garam Masala
1 teaspoon: Cumin seeds
½ cup: Coconut
½ cup: Oil
Salt .


Method:

1. Grind the grated coconut. Add 3 cups warm water to it. Pour out the coconut milk and keep aside.
2. Grind the onion, ginger and cumin seeds and make a smooth paste.
3. Peel the skin and cut the parwal into two pieces.
4. Cut the potatoes into pieces.
5. Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes, parwals, salt and turmeric powder.
6. Cover the lid for sometime. Then fry it till it is red.
7. Add the grated spices and powdered spices and fry.
8. Then add the coconut milk and grated coconut to it and let it boil till it is cooked.

Making Time: 30 minutes.

Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: 1 day.

Note: This cuisine can be garnished with chopped coriander.

Click here to know more about Oriya cuisines and Food Recipes- Introduction to Orissa Cuisines And Recipes.

Ingredients:
3 cup potatoes1
tsp mustard seeds
4 green chillies, chopped
5 small onions, chopped
a pinch turmeric powder
2 tsp grated coconut
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped coriander
salt to taste
Oil
curry leaves (coriander leaves).

Method:

1. Mash the potatoes or cut them in cubes and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds to it.
3. When they crackle, add the curry leaves, green chillies and onions and stir till the onions turn golden brown.
4. Add the mashed potatoes, turmeric, coconut, lemon juice, coriander and salt and mix well.
5. Remove from the heat and keep aside.
6. Serve Hot with Steamed rice or chapatis.

Making Time: 20 minutes.

Serves: 4 persons.

Shelflife: Best fresh.

Note: Green chillies can be replaced with red chilly powder if preferred.

Click here to know about Maharashtrian food and Recipes- Introduction To Maharashtrian Cuisine.