Kadhai Gobhi Masala

Ingredients:

1. Gobhi - 300 gm, cut into florets
2. Tomatoes - 4, quartered
3. Onions - 1 big, or 2 small, quartered
4. Coarsely ground garlic - 1 tspn
5. Coarsely ground ginger - 2 tspns
6. Tamarind pulp - 1 tbspn
7. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
8. Oil - 2 tbspn
9. Salt
10. turmeric
11. chilli powder
12. sugar - 1/2 tspn
13. Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Procedure:

1. In a heavy bottom dish, heat up half the oil and add the quartered tomatoes and onions and cook till the vegetables are slightly soft, for about 5 min
2. take them off the heat let them cool a bit
3. meanwhile, in the same dish, heat the remaining oil and add the cumin seeds, ginger and garlic. Cook them for about 3-4 min. 
4. grind the tomatoes and onion and add them to the ginger-garlic-cumin mixture on the stove. 
5. cook for about 5 min, till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the dish. 
6. add in the cauliflower florets. Cook for 10 min, till the florets are soft enough
7. Dish it out, garnish and serve hot! 

Shahi Methi Paneer

Ingredients:

1. Paneer - 200 gm , cut into cubes
2. Almonds - 150 gm, soaked in water for 1 hr, and then skinned
3. Garlic - 5-6 cloves, finely chopped
4. Red chillies - 4-5
5. aesofotida - 1/2 tsp
6. Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves) - 30 gm
7. Fresh Fenugreek leaves - 40 gm - chopped finely
8. milk - 30 ml
9. water - 20 ml
10. Salt
11. turmeric
12. Oil to cook

Procedure:

1. Grind the almonds with milk and water, to a fine paste. 
2. In a deep dish, heat oil and add the chopped garlic and chillies and aesofotida
3. after 1 min, add half the kasuri methi and half the fresh methi leaves
4. cook till the methi leaves wilt and then add in the almond paste. 
5. cook for about 7 min, till it gets cooked. 
6. add in the rest of the dry and fresh methi leaves, and cook for aother 3 min. 
7. add the paneer cubes, salt, turmeric and cook for another 2 min. 

Serve hot with roti/rice! 

Gobhi Musallam

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower (Gobhi) - 1, cut into florets
2. Red Onions - 2, just foured into cubes
3. Tomatoes - 6, chopped roughly
4. Ginger - 1 inch - chopped finely
5. Garlic - 6 - 8 cloves - chopped finely
6. Mint leaves - 4-5 chopped finley
7. Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped finely
8. Tamarind pulp - 1.5 tbspn (15-18gm)
9. Cumin seeds - 15 gm 
10. Aesofotida - 1 tspn
11. Red Chillies - 3-4
12. Green Peas - 150 gm (I use frozen)
13. Salt
14. Turmeric
15. Red Chilli powder
16. Oil to cook

Procedure:

1. Grind the tomatoes and onions together
2. In a deep dish, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. After 30 sec, add the aesofotida and red chillies. After they start to splutter, add the chopped ginger, garlic, coriander and mint.
3. add in the ground tomato-onion paste
4. After the mixture comes to a boil, add in turmeric and chilli powder and a little salt
5. cook till all the moisture leaves and only the paste remains. 
6. Meanwhile half boil the cauliflower florets and keep aside. Add more salt at this point.
7. Now add in the cauliflower  and the green peas to the tomato mixture and cook till done.

Serve hot with Bread/Rice !
 

Brown Rice Brocolli Pulao

A mildly spiced pulao, ideal for lunches and potlucks. Keeps well balanced and spiced till lunch time! 

Ingredients:

1. Brown Basmati Rice - 150 gm, cooked as per instructions 
2. Brocolli - 1 large flower, cut into florets (about 120 - 150 gm)
3. green peas - 50 gm
4. Garlic - 30 gm , or 2 tbspns, chopped finely
5. Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
6. Bat leaf - 1 -2 
7. Cinnamon Bark - 1/2 inch 
8. cardamom - 4, crushed slightly 
9.  Extra virgin olive oil - 3 tbspns (I use olive oil, but you can use ghee or any other oil from your cupboard. But Olive oil gives that extra nutty flavor to the Pulao)
10. salt
11. turmeric
12. Mint leaves for garnish

Procedure:

1. In a heavy bottomed dish, heat a tspn of oil and fry up your spices (jeera, cinnamon, bay, cardamom), and after they release their aromas, add in the garlic
2. wait till the garlic is browning and then add in the broccoli.  I cook till just the broccoli turns green and becomes a bit tender. But you can cook till you like. 
3. add in the peas and cook for another 3 min. 
4. add salt and turmeric and cook for another minute
5. add this mixture to the cooked rice and mix gently, till all of it thoroughly mixed. 
6. Garnish

Serve Hot !

Bhindi Dahi ka Salan

After a long time, a mild spiced recipe. I don't know the origins of this recipe.. Its definitely not punjabi. And definitely not Gujarati. Oh well, who cares - its really tasty

Ingredients:

1. Ladyfingers - 10-15 , cut in half and then slightly split length-wise
2. cumin seeds - 1 tspn
3. methi seeds - 1/2 tspn
4. corainder seeds - around 5-6 slightly crushed
5. cinnamon bark - 1/2 inch 
6. gram flour - 100 gm
7. corn flour - 15-20 gm (optional; Even small amount can be substituted as gram flour. I use corn flour completely for this recipe. But its your choice)
8. Turmeric - 1/2 tspn
9. Red/Pink Onions - 1 medium sized, made into a paste 
10. ginger - 1/2 inch - chopped finely
11. garlic - a little less amount than the ginger - chopped finely 
12. Red Chillies - 4-6
13. Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
14. Dahi/Yogurt - 250 m, whisked to perfection, without any water
15. Salt 
16. Fresh coriander leaves - for garnish 
17. Oil for cooking - 2 tbspns

 Procedure:

1. In a pan,  heat around a tbspn of oil and start frying up your spices (jeera, methi, cinnamon, coriander seeds, chillies)
2. after they release their aroma, add in the ginger, garlic and onion paste. Cook for 2-3 min, till the paste and other ingredients are cooked. 
3. for this recipe, the ladyfingers are generally fried separately; But I prefer doing a 1-pot dish. So add in the ladyfingers, stir and let them cook for about 5-7 min, till they are tender, but still in color. 
4. in a separate bowl, add yogurt, turmeric, gram flour/corn flour/both and whisk thoroughly till all lumps are gone 
5. To this, add in salt, and add this yogurt mixture to the already cooking ladyfingers. When you do so, remove from heat for a brief time. 
6. on low heat, keep stirring and cooking for about 10 min, till the mixture thickens
7. add garam masala and add salt, stir for another 2 min
8. Garnish with coriander

Serve Hot with Rice ! 

Broccoli and Green Peas Stew

Today's lunch was Moroccan fusion..

Ingredients:

1. Broccoli - 200 gm- florets boiled for 5 min.
2. Sweet Green Peas - a handful or 80 gm
3. Onion - 1 medium, sliced roughly
4. Cherry Tomatoes - 200 gm
5. Green Chillies - 3, slit
6. 1 inch minced ginger
7. Salt
8. Cumin Powder - 2 tspns
9. Olive Oil - 1 tbspn or 25 ml
10. Fresh Thyme leaves - a handful
11. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Procedure

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil and add the minced ginger and cook for about a min.
2. add in the onions and cook till they are soft
3. add the cherry tomatoes and cook for another min
4. add the chopped broccoli and cook till they are softer 
5. add the green peas, and cook for 2 min. 
6. Do not squish your tomatoes, keep them hardy and firm even while cooking. This is the beauty of this dish. 
7. Add salt and pepper 

Serve hot with some bread, or a Bulgar wheat salad! 

Punjabi Dal Tadka

Ingredients:

1. Toor Dal - 2 cups or 200 gm, cooked in the pressure cooker, and partly mashed
2. Garlic cloves- about 6-7, finely chopped
3. Green Chillies - 4 - slit length-wise
4. Salt
5. Dry Mango powder - 1/2 tspn
6. Red Chilli Powder - 1 tspn
7. Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
8. Cumin Seeds - 1 tbspn
9. Veg Oil - 1-2 tbspn

Procedure:

1. Add salt to the cooked Dal and keep it aside.
2. To make the tadka, pour the oil in a heavy saucepan
3. after the oil is hot enough, add in the cumin seeds, and after they have started to splutter, add in the garlic
4. after the garlic has almost browned, add in the green chillies, dry mango powder and garam masala
5. stir in well and then take out all the ingredients except the oil, for the next step.
6. take the ingredients and add it to the Dal. Stir well to mix
7. now to the hot oil, add the chilli powder and stir about 2 times.
8. now add this also to the dal and just stir in once, so that there are just red streaks to the dal, and the dal does not change its rich yellow color.

Serve hot with rice, roti or naan. But it works best with roti!

Tandoori Pears

Ingredients:

1. Pears - cut into flat pieces, avoiding the center with seeds
2. yogurt - 1/2 cup
3. roasted cumin powder - 1 tspn
4. garlic paste - 1 tspn
5. ginger paste - 1/2 tspn
6. juice of half a lemon
7. salt
8. pepper/red chilli powder - 1 tspn
9. turmeric - a pinch
10. vegetable oil - 2 tspn

Procedure:

1. In a big mixing bowl, add the yogurt, cumin powder, garlic paste, ginger paste, lemon juice, salt, chilli powder, turmeric and oil and mix well
2. take your pears and dip in them and let them be coated completely with this mixture
3. marinate them for 30 min., so that all the flavors are imbibed by the fruit
4. on a hot grill-griddle, place your pears one by one and char them till they turn dark golden brown. 

serve hot! 

Vegetable Fried Rice - My Version!

Ingredients

Carrot - 2
Beans - 150 gms
Onion - 2 medium sized
Sweet Corn seeds - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 4 pods
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Ghee - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Salt

For the Rice:

• Wash and soak rice for 10 minutes.
• Then reserve the water for cooking and fry the rice in a kadai for few minutes. Be cautious not to burn.
• Add little salt and cook rice with the reserved water.

For the Veggies:

• Chop carrot, beans and onion into small pieces.
• If sweet corn is frozen, microwave for one minute.
• Grind garlic to a paste.
• Half cook carrot and beans. I cooked it for 2 minutes in microwave with very little water.
• To this, add the sweet corn and oil and again microwave for 2 minutes. (This can be skipped in case of not using microwave and fry later for a longer time)
• In a kadai, add ghee and the garlic paste and fry for few seconds.
• Add in the onions and fry well.
• Add the cooked veggies, salt, garam masal powder. Mix and fry well until done. (If the veggies have been microwaved, you need to fry them only for few minutes for the salt and masala to be mixed)
• Once the rice is cooked, mix the fried veggies with the cooked rice.
• This can be reheated once so that all gets mixed well.
• Enjoy with onion raita or any raita of your choice.

Moroccan Mashed Pumpkin

A special take on pumpkin..

Ingredients:

1. Yellow Pumpkin - 200 gm
2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 3 tbspn or 1/4 cup
3. Salt
4. Pepper
5. Cumin Powder
6. Nutmeg Powder

Procedure:

1. Boil the pumpkin in the pressure cooker and then mash it well. You can use a fork and whip it for that delicious consistency
2. add a pinch of salt, a tspn of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg powder and a pinch of cumin powder, and whip again
3. add the olive oil and whip till everything emulsifies
4.  smoothen it and keep it covered till u serve

a great lunch dish! Serve hot or at room temp!

Karele ka Masala

I know, I know. You must be wondering if it is really possible to make something out of bittergourd, and moreover getting your family to eat it ! But this recipe is sure to delight you and all. But, spare atleast 20 min to cook this dish up. Well, you dont have to do anything while this is cooking, except sipping your tea! :)

Ingredients:

1. Karela/Bittergourd -  2 large - cut into 4 - 5 pieces each, with an incision or an X made on top
2. Peanuts - handful
3. Red Chillies - 6 
4. Cumin seeds - a tbspn
5. Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
6. Oil - 1 tbpsn
7. Salt
8. Turmeric
9. Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbspn
10. Tamarind Paste - 1/2 tbspn
11. Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbspn
12. Tomatoes - 5 large, one cut into just 4 pieces, to be later blended. And the remaining 4, chopped finely.
13. Large Green Chillies - 1, cut into strips (optional)
14. Fresh Coriander Leaves - a handful, finely chopped. 

Procedure:

1. In a heavy bottomed dish, steam your bittergourd till they are almost soft, and change color. (You can add salt and a little sugar at this stage, but I generally avoid both. )
2. meanwhile in another dish, roast the peanuts, jeera and red chillies. Roast till the peanuts and jeera start crackling and the peanuts change color 
3. take out the dry roast ingredients, add the oil to the same empty dish and start cooking some of your masalas:
4. first add in the ginger garlic paste, and cook while stirring. 
5. add in the chopped tomatoes and some of the coriander and let the mixture cook. 
6. meanwhile grind your roasted peanut mixture, till it becomes an almost fine powder. 
7. Take out this mixture, add in the one chopped tomato, and blend till it is almost a paste. 
8. now add in the peanut mixture and blend again, so that you get a paste of the peanut mixture and tomato. 
9. add this mixture to the dish that is cooking on the stove. 
10. start cooking this mixture, by adding about half a cup of water. 
11. This mixture will tend to come together sooner than usual, thanks to the peanut mixture in it. So add in the turmeric, chillie powder, garam masala and tamarind paste to the mixture and cook for another 3 min
12. Add in sugar and salt and cook for another 2-3 min. 
13. By this time your bittergourd would have cooked well. So add the vegetable to the mixture, cover and cook for another 10 min, till all the flavors get into the vegetable. 
14. Garnish with remaining coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Bread/Rice!

P.S. Will post the picture soon.. 

Triple Decker Sandwich

Ingredients:

1. Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread - 3 slices for 1 sandwich
2. low fat cheese - 2 slices
3. chilli tomato sauce - a squirt
4. mint leaves - a bunch - chopped finely
5. fresh thyme - a bunch ripped off the twig
6. cucumber - half - chopped into small pieces
7. onion - half - chopped into the same size as the cucumber
8. black kalamata olives - about 10
9. tomatoes - 1, seeds removed
10. carrots - chopped just like the cucumber and onions 

Procedure:

1. heat your grill or your toaster until hot enough.
2. meanwhile prepare your sandwich:

a. add all the chopped vegetables, including the mint and thyme leaves to a big mixing bowl and combine.

b. next take a slice of bread, place a slice of the cheese and place 2 tbspn of vegetables on it

c. top it with the second slice of bread 

d. place the next cheese slice and add the squirt of chilli tomato sauce

e. place more vegetables on top 

f. top it with the next slice

3. Now line your grill with a little butter/oil, and place this on the grill and toast till the sandwich stripes in gold

 on both sides.

Serve Hot !!  

Avial

Ingredients:
Ash gourd - 1 piece
Carrots - 1
Beans - 10 Nos.
Drumsticks – 1
Plantain - 1
Potato - 1
Yam - piece
Green Chillies –5
Coconut grated – 1 cup
Coconut Oil - tsp 1
Cumin seeds – tsp 1
Curd – cup 1
Curry Leaves- 3 strings
Salt - to taste

Method

1. Cut all the vegetables mentioned above into 2 inch long pieces and cook it in the cooker with little water and turmeric powder for one whistle.
2. Grind the grated coconut with jeera & green chillies with few curry leaves in the mixie.
3. Mix the cooked vegetables and the Coconut paste in a vessel and boil for few minutes, while it is getting boiled add few curry leaves and salt as per taste and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in between.
4. Now add the curd and mix it together and cook 2 more mintues. Once the curd is added don't boil too much.
5. Do seasoning with mustard seeds, curry leaves(again) with coconut oil.

Note: You can add any of your favourite veges in this avial. But above said items are essentials.

Yam Curry

Essentials

Yam - 1/4 Kg
Onion - One (Medium Size)
Tamarind - Small Gooseberry size
Jaggery - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - Two pinches
Sambhar Powder - 1 Tbsp
Oil, Salt

 

Seasoning - Mustard, Jeera, Red Chilli, Bengal Gram, Urad Dhal

 

Procedure

1. Peel and chop yam into small pieces. Pressure cook, drain and keep it aside.
2. Chop onion finely.
3. Soak tamarind, jaggery and salt in very little water.
4. Drain Take tamarind extraxt add to cooked yam. Then add in turmeric powder and sambhar powder.
5. Mix well. The Yam can be slightly smashed with few pieces around.
6. In a kadai, add oil and season. Once it crackles, add onions and fry till transparent.
7. Add the prepared yam mixture to it and fry well on low flame.
8. The curry should cook well and becomes dry. Add oil when necessary.

Tastes good with Roti or Rice.

  Friends I have not tried it out.... But the curry might go well as a filling for sandwich! Start Experimenting!!!!

Note
If you are cooking in a oven, season and cook onions. Then add in the yam mixture and few spoons of oil.
Microwave at small intervals and stirring in between. This can be done till the curry is cooked and dry.
(Might take around 10 - 15 mins)

 

Nizami Baghare Baingan

Fusion food from my land.

Ingredients:

1. Brinjals – 250 gm, cut length-wise into halves
2. Onion- 1, cubed
3. Peanuts – 20 gm
4. Coriander seeds – 10 gm
5. Cumin seeds – 10 gm
6. Fenugreek seeds – 5 gm
7. Dried coconut powder- 10 gm
8. Khus khus seeds – 10 gm
9. Dry Mango powder – 2 tspns
10. Chilli powder – 1 tspn
11. Turmeric powder – a pinch
12. Ginger paste – 1 tbspn
13. Garlic – finely chopped – 1 tbpsn
14. Salt
15. Sugar – 1 tspn
16. Oil – 2 tspn

Procedure:

1. Cook the brinjals in a dish – without oil and with drops of water, till they are almost cooked.
2. Dry roast the onion and the seeds and the dry coconut powder, till the onion is transparent and the seeds release all their flavors
3. Blend the mixture into a fine paste and keep aside
4. In a heavy bottomed dish, heat a little oil and add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a min.
5. Add in the dry mango powder and sauté with little water – for another 2 min, till the fats are separated
6. Add the paste blended earlier.
7. Cook for about 10 min, adding salt, sugar, chilli powder and turmeric at relevant intervals.

Serve hot with Rice or Bread!!

Aubergine

Bhutte Palak ka Saag

This is also one life saver, when your fridge is empty :) :)

Ingredients:

1. Palak or Spinach - about 300gm - chopped coarsely
2. Baby Corn - 125 gm (I use frozen)
3. Garlic - chopped very finely - 1 tbspn
4. Oil - 1 tspn
5. Salt
6. Cumin powder - 1 tspn
7. green chillies - slit length-wise - 2-3
8. Fresh Cream - 2 tbspns

Procedure:

1. Add the cut spinach to boiling water. (Dont add salt at this juncture. It makes spinach loose its color sometimes. )
2. Let it boil and loose all its raw flavor and boil thoroughly, but still stay green
3. Strain and let the spinach cool.
4. Blend the spinach in a blender, till you get a hideously green, lush paste.
5. In a heavy bottom dish, heat some oil. (you can use garlic oil for more flavor)
6. Add in the cumin powder and saute for a min.
7. Add the chopped garlic and saute till brown.
8. Add in the blended spinach and cook for about 3 min.
9. Add the baby corn kernels and cook for 3 more min
10. add salt and stir for a minute more
11. now add in the fresh cream, stir well till you see ripples

Serve Hot with Bread or Rice!!

Paneer Methi Malai

There are few ingredients which come to your rescue when you are out of vegetables adn everything else in the fridge! Paneer is one such !

Ingredients:

1. Home made Malai Paneer - 200 gm- cut into cubes (room temperature)
2. paste of almonds - 3 tbpsns
3. milk - 1/2 cup - 75 ml
4. fresh cream - 75 ml
5. dried methi - kasuri methi - 125 gm
6. salt
7. oil - 1 tspn
8. cumin powder - 1 tspn
9. ginger finely chopped - 1/2 tspn
10. garlic paste - 1 tspn
11. Onion - 1 finely chopped (optional)
12. turmeric - a pinch
13. dry red chillies - 3 - whole or slit or cut (a matter of choice)

Procedure:

1. in a heavy bottomed dish, heat oil, and when hot enough, add in the cumin powder and saute till its aroma is released
2. add in the garlic, ginger, and onions, the methi and saute.
3. Add in a tbpsn of water to help it release its flavors and cook well
4. now add the almond paste and cook for 3 min
5. add the milk, cook for another 4 min, till there is fat separation
6. add the salt and turmeric and quickly stir, to avoid any breakage of milk or the mixture as such
7. add in the cream, stir for another 2 min

Serve hot with bread!!

Middle - Eastern Gherkins

Fusion Food again ! .. Easy, healthy and takes very less time to cook

Ingredients:

1. Raw Gherkins/Gentleman's Toes - 250 gm, cut length-wise into 4 each

2. Peanuts - a handful

3. Ground Nutmeg - 1 tspn

4. Oil - 5 tbspns (20 ml)

Procedure:

1. Heat oil, about 10 ml, in a heavy bottom, wide mouthed dish.

2. After the oil is heated up substantially, throw in about a handful of the cut up gherkins

3. Let them fry up in the oil, till they are golden and the seeds are all brown and crisp

4. Do the rest of them in more batches

5. after you fry the last batch of gherkins, tip in the peanuts and fry till they get brown and glazed.

6. Take everything into a dish and sprinkle the ground nutmeg.

Serve hot with rice, bread or just eat as it is!

Shaahi Pyaaz Baingan

Ingredients:

1. Brinjals – small – 250 gm – chopped into 4, each
2. Onions – 4 – chopped into cubes
3. Almonds –75 - 100 gm
4. Green chillies – 2, slit length-wise
5. Oil – 2 tspns
6. Salt
7. Turmeric – a pinch
8. Ginger paste – ½ tspn
9. Coarse garlic paste- 2 tspns
10. Cumin powder – 2 tspns
11. Coriander - chopped - 100 gm and some more to garnish

Procedure:

1. In a nonstick dish take a tspn of oil and cook the brinjals, till they are 80% cooked
2. In a food processor , blend most of the onion cubes, leaving some aside for cooking, and the almonds till an almost fine paste is formed
3. After the brinjals are so cooked, take them off heat , empty them from the dish and keep them aside.
4. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and add in the cumin powder, cook for a min
5. Add in the pastes and most of the chopped coriander and cook for another min
6. Add in the onion-almond paste, some water and cook for another 5 min, till the gluten seperates
7. Now add in the brinjals and cook for another 10 min, adding the salt, sugar and turmeric after 6-7 min.
Garnish with coriander and serve hot with roti, kulcha, parantha or rice

Palak Paneer Bhurji , Mixed Fruit Salad

I. Mixed Fruit Salad

II. Palak Paneer Bhurji

Ingredients:

1. Palak/Spinach - 1 kg - chopped finely
2. Paneer - 150 gm
3. Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tspn
4. Coriander Powder - 1 1/2 tspn
5. Onion -1 - chopped into half rings
6. Garlic - paste - 1 tspn
7. Garlic - Chopped finely - 1 1/2 tspn
8. Oil
9. Juice of half a lemon
10. Sugar - to taste
11. Salt - to taste
12. Ghee/Butter (Optional)

Procedure:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat some oil and fry the cumin and coriander powders.
2. Add in the garlic -chopped and paste and saute for about 3 min
3. Add the onion half rings and cook till transparent.
4. Add in finely chopped palak and cook till it wilts down and reduces in quantity.
5. Now crumble the paneer with your hands and add to the palak mixture.
6. Add in salt, sugar.
7. Lastly add in lemon juice.
Serve Hot with roti, naan or kulcha!