Happy Belly

Black chana Masala ( Black Chick peas gravy )

2012-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

This is very frequently made dish in my house; reason being black chana is full of protein .. ohh who am I kidding? This is irresistible and spicy and I love it :-)

Here is what we need -

black chana
1/2 small size onion
1 tomato
2 tbs dry coconut powder
2 garlic pods
1 bay leave
2 cloves
1/2 sp butter chicken masala
1 tbs dry onion garlic powder
1/2 sp garam masala powder
1 sp red chili powder
1 sp kashmiri red chili powder
salt per taste
3 tbs oil

Soak chana overnight in the water. Pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles as this should be bit soft and mushy.

Chop onion, tomato and garlic in big pieces.

In a pan take 2 tbs oil, once hot put bay leaf, cloves and garlic. After a few minutes add onion. After 5 minutes put tomatoes. Give it 5 minutes to lose water and blend in.

In another pan dry roast coconut powder to slight brown color. Add this to the gravy mix. Let the mixture cool down. Take the mixture in the blender and add all the dry spices except Kashmiri red chili powder and garam masala. grind it to a smooth paste. I prefer adding dry spices as it incorporates well.

In the same pan take remaining 1 tbs oil, once slightly hot add Kashmiri red chili powder; immediately pour the ground puree. On the medium heat let cook for 7 minutes. Add chana. Add garam masala powder. Give it a good mix. Add some water and cover it and let it simmer on Medium-low flame for 10 minutes. The layer of oil forms on the gravy.

Serve it hot with rice or roti .. Bon appetit!!

Tip : If you like to have raw onion along with your spicy gravies; cut the onion, put some lemon drops, salt and most flavorful chaat masala. It enhances the taste of your dish.

Vegetable Pulao

2012-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

Veg Pulao - Basmati long grain rice, loaded with vegetables, easy to prepare and every rice lovers favorite !!

Here is what we need -

1 cup long grain basmati rice
1 small potato
1/2 onion
handful of gree peas
2 green chilies
6-7 baby carrots
handful of cauliflower florets
4-5 cashews and some resins
2 tbs clarified butter or ghee
1 sp cumin seeds
1 garlic pod
2 bay leaves
4 pods of whole green cardamom
3 cloves
4 black peppercorns
1 sp pulao or biryani masala
cilantro and lemon to garnish

You can add some paneer( I didnt have any but I love paneer in pualo) and some corns or beans if you like.

This is very simple but you have to follow the steps carefully.

First rinse the rice in cold water 3 times and soak it in cold water for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile dice potato, cut carrots lengthwise, slit green chilies, chop onion lengthwise, chop garlic very fine.

Heat ghee in heavy bottom pan. Add cumin seeds. Put dry whole spices ( green cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns) and onions. Put garlic and rest of the veggies except green chilies and green peas.

Let it cook uncovered for 5 minutes( keep stirring) and covered for 10 minutes.

Right before adding rice put green chilies.

Drain all the water from soaked rice and save it to add later.

Add rice and stir it without adding water for 5-7 minutes. Add double the amount here 2 cups of water. I had 1 cup of remaining water from soaked rice and 1 cup fresh water.

Add salt, pulao masala, cashews and raisins and green peas.

Cover it and let it cook on medium heat for 7 minutes. Take out the lid and mix it gently.

Cover it for 5 minutes. Check if the rice is cooked. At this point sprinkle some cold water on top and cover it; switch off the stove in 2-3 minutes and keep it covered for another 10 minutes.

The rice turns out delicious. Garnish it with some lemon and chopped cilantro and serve it with Raita!

Papadi for Chaat

2012-01-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

Chaat is very famous street food in India. There are so many chaat varieties like Bhel, Pani-Puri, Dahi-puri, papadi chat, sev-batata-puri ohh .. this list is gonna be endless leaving us with the hankering to have everything at once. If you have this Papadi ready or made in advance you could satisfy those taste-buds literally any time :-) So today lets just make these papadis and store it in the airtight container so we can use it for papadi chaat later.

1 cup of all purpose flour will make 50-60 small size papadis.

In a mixing bowl take 1 cup all purpose flour. Add ajwain or carom seeds. Add 3 tbs of oil and some salt. Now by adding water little by little make a stiff dough.

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil for deep frying.

Divide the dough into 5-6 big equal size balls. Roll each ball into not so thin circle. Using a small lid cut circles in the big rolled circle. Fry 1st batch at one time. Make next batch and fry it.

Delicious and irresistible papadis are ready to use and while putting in the container you realize some of them are already gone :-) so before they all go we should make some chaat .. haappy cooking lovelies !!

Vegan Spiral pasta in white Ragu Sauce

2012-01-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

There are innumerable ways pasta is made. I have tried a lot of variations myself but if you like white saucy pasta with lot of vegetables. This is so far the best.

Here is what we need -

spiral pasta
handful cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini
5-6 baby carrots
1/2 small onion
2-3 pods of garlic
oregano leaves (Store bought)
Italian Seasoning (Store bought)
crushed red chili (Store bought)
1/2 cup Ragu's ( or your choice or Fresh home made) white sauce
salt per taste
1 tbs Olive Oil

Let water come to rolling boiling. Add salt and some pasta. Let it cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Add spoonful of oil to water to avoid sticking.

In a pan. Add olive oil, Chopped garlic and oregano leaves, Italian seasoning and crushed red chilies. It will leave nice aroma. Add chopped onions.

Chop carrot and zucchini in big chunks. Microwave it with water for 5 minutes to cook. Drain the water and add it the pan to cook a little more.

Cook it covered for another 5 minutes. Add white sauce cook for another 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce mix. Switch off the stove and keep it covered for a few minutes.

Garnish it with some Parmesan cheese... yumm!!

Bread Rolls

2012-01-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Bread is something that we have in stock any time of the season. You could just butter it and have it with tea or spread some bread spread on it and would make a good breakfast. or make a sandwich outta it or these gorgeous looking bread rolls.

Make a stuffing of your choice.

I used 2 boiled potatoes
handful of peas
1/4 chopped onion
2 garlics
2 green chilies
some frozen carrot, beans and corn mix
salt
pinch of turmeric
1 sp pav bhaji masala
1/2 sp chaat masala

Mash the potatoes and stir fry onion, garlic and frozen mix, chilies on 1 tbs oil. Add this mixture into mashed potatoes. Add dry spices. Make very small round balls. It should make 15 balls.

I used white bread to make this. Slice the brown edges of the bread and sprinkle some water on the bread. Put 1 ball of stuffing and make a round ball using both of your palms. Make all the balls like this.

Heat oil for deep frying and fry the bread rolls.

Serve it with ketchup or chutney. This is so crispy .. perfect for the snowy snow :-)

Chiwda - Tea Time snack

2012-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

This is very famous snack in central part of India like Maharashtra, Gujarat.. The method of preparation could vary; this is my recipe. In my household this is made during Diwali time too :-0

I don't wait for Diwali to make this as we love this with tea!

It is very easy yet super delicious ..

Here is what we need

2 cups thin poha
handful of peanuts
handful of soft chana daal
4-5 green chilies
1/2 sp amchur or dry mango powder
3 sp mustard seeds
1 sp cumin seeds
5-6 curry leaves
handful thinly sliced dry coconut ( I don't like this so I avoid)
4 sp oil
1 sp turmeric powder
2 sp sugar
salt per taste

Microwave poha for 1 and half minute to make it crispy. Time will vary so try some and check if its good enuf for you. I like to hear the crunch of poha.

Chop green chilies in fine circles. chop curry leaves.

In a pan, heat oil, once hot add mustard seeds, as they splutter put cumin, green chilies, give it a good mix. Add curry leaves. Put peanuts and let them brown. Then add chana daal. Add turmeric powder. Add poha.

Mix it well. Switch off the stove. Add amchur powder, sugar and salt.

Keep it open in the pan till it cools down a bit. Dig in :-)

Thalipith

2012-01-04T09:26:00.000-08:00

Maharashtrians need no introduction of this but for others it is a kind of paratha. You need a dry flour to make thalipith. This dry flour is called bhajani. This could be bought in any Indian store or could be made home. In India it is usually made home and given it to grind outside. The home blenders wont give the fine texture we need to make this.

While makin thalipith you can add onion, cabbage, carrot, beet root; anything that you want to add.

This time I made cabbge thalipith. Fine chop cabbage (approx 1 cup) Chop cilantro.

In a mixing bowl; put cabbge, cilantro, dry thalipith flour, pinch of turmeric, red chili powder and salt. make it a soft dough using water. this doesnt need any kneeding. It will take only a few minutes to form a dough.

Put some oil and let it rest for 10 minutes.

In a small non-stick pan, add 1 tbs oil, take a big ball of the dough (may be cricket size ball) and using your hand spread it on the pan to a flat round shape roti.(obviously thick roti)

Put the pan on the stove; cove it and let it cook from one side. Flip the sides till it turns golden brown.

The process of making/rolling thalipith could be done on a plastic sheet or aluminium foil.

Serve this hot with dollap of ghee or a bowl full of yogurt. This is my absolute favorite home recipe :-)

Mutter Paneer

2012-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Paneer is mostly everyone's favorite and so is mine. So this is another paneer combo this time with Mutter or peas. This rich creamy gravy has a tomato base.

here is what we need -

1 cup frozen green peas
paneer cubes
2 big tomatoes
handful of cashewnuts
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or boil 1 cup milk and reduce it to half
1/2 tbs butter chicken masala
1 sp garam masala powder
1 tbs tomato paste ( I use store bought)
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs red chili powder
salt per taste
1/2 tbs honey
1 tbs cumin+coriander powder

Blanch tomatoes, once cold peel and puree them to a smooth paste. While blending add cashews.

Microwave green peas for 3-4 minutes. If you are using store bought paneer you will have to thaw it by resting it outside or may be in a pot with hot water for 10-15 minutes.

In a pan take oil, add red chili powder and puree. Add rest of the dry masala powder. Add salt

Add mutter. Add paneer. Add cream or thickened milk.

Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes on Medium heat.

Finally switch off the stove and add honey. Serve it with roti, paratha or jeera rice .. Irresistible !!

Spinach Pesto Pasta

2012-01-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

This pasta I had eaten first at my friend Shreya's house. Since then I have been waiting to make this myself. This Italian recipe is quick, healthy and very flavorful.

Here is what we need -

1 tbs Extra Virgin olive oil
Farfalle or bow-tie pasta
2 garlic pods
2 tbs Pine nuts ( Bought from Kroger)
1/2 sp Basil Paste (store bought)
2 cups spinach
2 green chilies
salt per taste
1/4 of the tin Whipping cream

Lets get cooking

Boil 4 cups water in the pan. Add salt. Once water starts boiling add approx 2 cups pasta. This should take 10 to 15 minutes to get tender.

meanwhile blanch spinach leaves. In a grinder, make a paste of garlic, spinach, basil, pine nuts, green chilies using cream. Add some water if needed.

Once pasta is cooked drain the excess water.

In a non stick pan, add olive oil and add the spinach pesto paste. Add boiled pasta. Adjust salt.

Enjoy.. This is absolute delicacy!!

Veg Manchurian with Chinese sauce

2011-12-17T11:06:00.000-08:00

Manchurian is our very own Indian recipe which takes front rather VIP seat in Indo Chinese cuisine. Go to any Chinese restro outside India and Manchurian cant be seen in the menu surprising rite? I guess this is the only Chinese thing that's actually "Made in India" well I am guessing Chinese are yet unaware of it otherwise so far they would have came up with Original Chinese Manchurian to retain the "made in china" tag !! well enough of jabber jabber ..

Here is what we need -

2 cups fine chopped cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrot ( save some for sauce)
3 tbs ginger garlic paste ( divide half and save it for sauce)
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
salt per taste
2 tbs corn starch ( 1 tbs to make dumplings+ 1 tbs for sauce)
2 tbs rice flour
1/4 cup cut green bell peppers
soy sauce
red chili sauce
1/2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cup onion cut horizontally
tomato ketchup
oil to fry

In a mixing bowl, add chopped cabbage, carrot and cauliflower. add salt and leave it for 15 minutes. It will start to leave out water. Add rice flour and corn flour/corn starch. Rice flour adds the crunch. put ginger garlic paste.

Make small dumplings (add some water if neede) and fry it once the oil is hot enough. Take it out on kitchen paper towel to let it absorb extra oil.

To make sauce - Take 1 tbs oil, add ginger garlic, onion, bell pepper, carrot and tomato paste. Let it cook a bit for 5-7 minutes.

In a small bowl take remaining 1 tbs corn flour add some water and make a paste. Add this to the pan. add water depending on how much saucy you want. Add soy sauce ( I have dark soy so I use just 1 tbs), chili sauce and ketchup. Taste it and adjust salt and sauces.

let the dumplings rest or soak in the sauce for 20 minutes.
This is one delightful recipe; enjoy it with Noodles or fried rice !!

You can garnish it with some spring onion ..

Instant Daal Tadka

2011-12-15T21:22:00.000-08:00

This is delicious yet very simple recipe. It goes well with roti and rice both. I will say this is my version of Daal-Tadka.

1 cup toor daal
1 sp mustard seeds
1 sp cumin seeds
pinch of turmeric
1 sp red chili powder
1 tbs tomato paste
3-4 garlic pods
1 tbs olive oil
2 green chilies

Pressure cook toor daal till its very well cooked. To help daal cook faster add few drops of oil and pinch of turmeric in it while cooking.

In a pan add oil, once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Lower the heat. As it sputters add chopped garlic, chopped green chilies and tomato paste. Add red chili powder, turmeric. Put daal and add some water to make it thinner. Add salt and let it simmer for a while till it reaches desired consistency.

This is my all time, any time favorite!!

Bhel

2011-12-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is insanely famous street food in India - Bhel. It is a mixture of all dry snacks and puffed rice with some tangy, spicy chutneys. I know the description itself is drooling. I always have tamarind chutney handy as Bhel hankering is very common in my house .. Lol

here is what we need -

puffed rice
mix snack from Indian store ( I like farsan, papdi, gathi and nylon sev)
Tamarind chutney
1 sp red chili powder
1 tbs masala peanuts ( I got this from a farmer's market )
salt per taste
1/2 red onion
1 tomato

Microwave puffed rice for 30 sec to a minute to get that crunch in the bhel. This is the most important step in making bhel.

Fine chop onion and tomato.

Mix everything together. You can put handful of every snack.

Add 2-3 tbs Tamarind chutney, chili powder ( you can add green chili paste too but red chili powder works for me ), Give everything a good mix. I know you gotta add some more tamarind chutney right? Me too :-) Go right ahead !!

garnish with cilantro, nylon sev and masala peanuts.. Delightful !!!!!!!!

Garden Burger

2011-12-15T20:49:00.000-08:00

Burger King & Burger Queen .. right? well fries on the side would go so well but I wanted to go easy on the caloriess :-)

Making Burger is all about making the right tasting patty. I know it is way easier to buy frozen patties but I hate those. :-(

so lets first get started with making patties -

Amongst the places those serve delicious vegetarian burgers with veg patties "Subway" tops my list. So wanted to make one very similar tasting to subaway footlong patty. I will say "Not bad girl" or lemme go easy on myself and say "you go girl" :-)

For patties Gather -
1 big potato
1 small red onion
6-7 baby carrots
beans & corn frozen mix
spinach leaves
nutrela soy crunch
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs ginger garlic paste
1 sp of red chili powder
2 tbs of corn starch
1 tbs garam masala powder
salt

Well, Boil 1 big potato, Chop 1 small red onion, chop 6-7 baby carrots, take out handful of beans & corn frozen mix and lastly handful of blanched spinach leaves ( Spinach brings so much flavor ) ok are you with me so far? Nice!

To blanch the spinach; I would cut some handful leaves and microwave it for 4-5 minutes.

I have got this nutrela soy crunch from Indian store. Soak handful of those in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the water and try to crumble it a bit.

In a pan add 2 tbs olive oil. Add 1 tbs ginger garlic paste, chopped onion and chopped carrots. add frozen mix of green beans & corns.Add microwaved spinach. Put 1 sp of red chili powder.

In a mixing bowl mash boiled potato, add soaked soy crunch. Add sauted veggies. Put 2 tbs of corn starch, salt and 1 tbs garam masala powder.

Make medium size patties. shallow fry it till dark brown as it brings crunch to the patties.

Now its time to cut veggies you need to put in your Garden Burger. I like red onion, Cucumber, tomatoes and Lettuce. And a cheesy cheese slice !!

Add spoonful of Mayo, honey mustard and ketch up on one slice.

Enjoy!!

Sauted Broccoli

2011-12-11T20:35:00.000-08:00

I know it is the simplest making but I wanted to add this on my blog as many of my friends ask me what do I make outta this cauliflower family green veggie.

I LOVE broccoli as it gives me my dietary fibre and it is so flavorful. I usually make this as a side to daal-rice dinner as they make a perfect trio.

Well separate the florets. chop 2-3 garlic pods. slit 2 green chilies

In a non-stick pan add 2 tbs olive oil. Add garlic, green chilies and in a minute put broccoli florets. Add salt and black pepper. constantly keep stirring. Cover it with lid in between for a few minutes and give good stirs. It takes 7 minutes to cook.

Aloo Ragda Chaat

2011-12-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

This is my all time favorite food. I can gobble this for snack or dinner as it is heavy and healthy both.

Well to be honest with you; I don't have a picture of serving dish as I had strong hankering to taste it and decided to chuck the picture. I know .. sorry :-(

Here is what we need -

Lets identify this -

I got chopped onion, tomato and cilantro

I got 2 small boiled, mashed potatoes

I have Indian store bought nylon sev

I have Indian store bought green chutney

I got Tamarind chutney

And lastly I have my Ragda - Soak the white chana ( Not the chickpeas - It is smaller in size than chick pea & it doesn't have the head like chickpea, it is plain round ) overnight. Pressure cook it to 4 whistles as we really want it to lose it texture and if it doesn't mash it a bit. Add 1 sp garam masala powder, 1/2 sp chili powder and salt to it.

What are we waiting for - Grab a serving plate. Add potato, add ragda like 2-3 laddle full, put onion, tomato, cilantro, Add very little green chutney. Add 2-3 spoons tamarind chutney and finally top it with handful of sev. ummmmmmmmm irresistible guys .. trust me!!

Dry Gobi Sabji

2011-12-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

The key to making good Gobi or cauliflower is cooking it just right. If it gets over cooked it will lose its texture and the taste both; well under cooking will hold the texture but would have raw flavor. I feel cooking it without water just makes it so perfect.

Here is what we need -

cauliflower
1 medium onion
1 tomato
2 tbs tomato paste ( I use Kroger's brand )
4 garlic pods
1 tbs red chili powder
pinch of turmeric
salt per taste
2 tbs olive oil or make it 3 if you are making a bigger batch
1/2 sp cumin seeds
1/2 sp garam masala powder
1/2 sp onion-garlic red chutney ( you can buy this at any Indian store )

Lets get started -

separate the florets and cut them into half or bite size pieces (not too small though).

Fine chop garlic, onion and tomato

Heat oil in a pan; once hot add cumin seeds. Add garlic. Let it turn slightly brown. Put onion, turmeric and chili powder. Add tomato paste. Give it a good stir.

Add tomato and salt. In 2-3 minutes add cauliflower.

Cook it on medium heat. This needs occasional stirring otherwise the sabji might burn at the bottom.

Cook it without lid otherwise it will turn soggy.

In 10 minutes add garam masala powder and onion-garlic red chutney. These spices bring in the whole flavor.

Serve it with roti or rice.

Aloo Sabji

2011-12-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Aloo or potato sabji goes well with Roti, Dosa, bread or Puri. This is very quick to make & potatoes are readily available at all seasons. Potato is dietetically scandalised but once a while it is absolutely healthy to eat potatoes. This devil's food is a great way to avoid binge eating as it helps you keep full for a longer time. Spuds are a great source of fibre, vitamin B..

Well gather 1 small onion, cilantro, 2-3 garlic cloves, mustard seeds, turmeric, oil, curry leaves, green chilies, salt and potatoes.

Pressure cook potatoes & after cooling cut them or mash them in big chunks.

Chop onion, chilies, garlic and curry leaves. Heat 1 tbs oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds; once they sputter add chopped veggies, turmeric, cilantro and salt. I like to add a little lemon juice too. Finally add potatoes and give it a good mix.

Enjoyy !!

Methi Paratha

2011-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite kinda paratha. Methi or Fenugreek is bitter in taste so the first thing is to get rid of its bitterness; to do that chop fresh methi leaves and soak it in water for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the water and take the methi leaves in a mixing bowl.

For this preperation the ingredients vary as per your liking but I use this -

1/2 bunch of fresh methi or fenugreek
2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup besan or chickpea flour
1/2 sp ajwain
1/2 sp cumin & coriander powder (I like to make it fresh by dry roasting & grinding the cumin+coriander seeds)
pinch of turmeric
1 sp red chili powder
1 sp ginger garlic paste
salt per taste
yogurt

Knead everything with yogurt to make a soft dough and roll slightly thick parathas using rolling pin.

Fry these on the griddle by dropping a little oil by the side.

Serve it hot with yogurt, pickle or chutney !!

Patra Leaves Sabji

2011-12-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

Colocasia or Patra leaves or in regional way "Aloo" is very Traditional Maharashtrian dish.

Here is what we need -

3 to 4 Patra leaves
handful of peanuts
handful of chana daal
2 green chilies
pinch of turmeric
salt per taste
1 lemon size tamarind
1 tbs oil
1 tbs jaggery

Preparation -

Soak peanuts and chana daal in warm water for 5 to 6 hours. Wash the leaves and chop them. I make this curry in pressure cooker. It saves a lot of time and cooks well.

Soak tamarind for 1 hour. And extract the pulp.

In a pressure cooker add oil. Once hot add slit green chilies. Put soaked chana daal and peanuts. Put turmeric. Add chopped leaves, tamarind pulp, jaggery and salt.

Pressure cook it till 3 whistles. It gives wonderful aroma as the sabji itself is so flavorful.

This goes very well with Chapati. Bone Appetit!!

Stuffed Paniyaram - Chinese Style

2011-12-05T11:45:00.000-08:00

I wanted to eat Indo Chinese Manchurian the other day however the oil in it .. sigh* so I decided to get the Chinese flavor with my favorite Paniyaram.

To check how to make Paniyaram please visit my another post - How to make Paniyaram

Well to make Chinese style paniyaram you need - Paniyaram batter for sure :-) apart from that ..

Soy sauce
hot chili sauce
carrot
onion
tomato
green chilies
green peas
green bell pepper

You can add or avoid any of the ingredient as per your liking. I love mushrooms but PJ doesn't so this time I did not add Mushrooms but it goes well.

This is the batter after adding fine chopped veggies and sauces. You can add 2 green chilies; it brings a lot of flavor to the dish.

Put some oil in each compartment and put a spoonful of batter. The heat should be on Medium.

Flip the side and put little oil again.

Well Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chana Palak/ Chickpea Spinach

2011-11-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Spinach and chick pea is a very Healthy duo spinach being a very rich source of vitamin A & Chickpea is full of fibre & Iron .. so a way to eat healthy & tastilicious is to mix them both.

Spinach goes well with Paneer, Aloo, lentils and chick-peas or garbanzo beans as well.

Here is what we need -

1 bunch fresh spinach or frozen spinach
handful of garbanzo beans/chhole
1 Cinnamon stick
1/2 sp turmeric powder
3-4 black peppercorns
1 sp ginger garlic paste
2 green chilies
1 sp coriander powder
1/2 sp garam masala powder
salt per taste
1/2 sp sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream ( You can boil milk to half and use that instead)
1 tbs olive oil

To make this you have to soak handful or a little more chhole overnight. Pressure cook it till they become tender.

In a big pot boil some water and blanch spinach leaves in it to semi-cook. Let it cool a bit.

Puree spinach with green chilies.

In a pan add oil, once hot add Cinnamon stick, peppercorns and ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder. Turmeric helps to retain the green color of the spinach.

Add garbanzo beans. Give it a good mix. Add pureed spinach. Add coriander powder. Add some water if required. Let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add cream. Add garam masala powder and switch off the stove.

Serve it with roti or rice. Quite restaurantee style :- )

Cucumber Sandwich

2011-11-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

I love these sandwiches. I like to make these with white bread.

First make the green chutney. In the blender, blend 3 green chilies, cilantro, some mint leaves and 1 sp cumin seeds. Add dash of salt to it.

Peel and slice the cucumber in circles.

Spread spoonful of mayonnaise, some chutney on either sides of the slices. place some cucumber pieces in it. you can add tomatoes too. Add some ketch-up and eat it up.

Squash Dessert

2011-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Remember the Butternut Squash soup??? We had kept some roasted pumpkin pulp for some experimental dishes. There you go .. the dessert :-)

Butternut squash itself is sweet in taste so it made a perfect dessert.

In a pan add some unsalted butter and cook roasted squash pulp for 5-6 minutes. Add little sugar and some milk. You need to adjust sugar as per your taste and sweetness of the squash. Add pinch of cardamom powder. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Garnish it with some chopped dry-fruits.

Shaam-Savera with rich gravy

2011-11-20T19:42:00.000-08:00

I love to lay the table. The way to the stomach is through eyes! so my belief is, it should look good to the eyes before your belly gets to enjoy it. This was Diwali Night Dinner.

I tried sanjeev kapoor's shaam savera recipe for the first time. It was not difficult to make but just needed some hours' work.

Shaam implying back color where savera is white. ( This is not to vilify any community but just kitchen names ) :-)

These are paneer dumplings coated with spinach coating dipped into rich cashew-tomato gravy.

Lets make the dumplings first.

Make the paneer. (check my Home made paneer recipe) You don't have to form cubes of it as you need crumbly paneer to form lemon size balls.

Blanch 2 cups spinach in the water. drain the water and chop it. In a pan take 1 tbs oil, add 1 sp ginger garlic paste, pinch of turmeric and 3 chopped green chilies. In a minute add chopped spinach to it. add 1/2 sp coriander powder and some salt. Keep stirring to take off any water. You need dry spinach. Let it cool off.

To make the rich gravy take 3-4 tomatoes and 1 onion. Heat some water and add those tomatoes and onion in boiling water. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Tomatoes and onion become tender. Let it cool down.
Peel the tomatoes.

In a blender take onion, tomatoes and handful of cashews. Add 2 back peppercorns, 1 cardamom, 1 Cinnamon stick. By adding water blend it to a smooth paste.

In a pan take 2 sp butter, Add the above paste and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add 1/2 cup fresh cream to it. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 spoon garam masala powder. Add some salt.

In another pan, slightly brown the dry kasuri methi. let it cool off a bit. crush the leaves using your palms and add it to the gravy. switch off the stove. Add 1 sp honey.

To make the dumplings take some paneer and make lemon size balls. Coat them using some spinach. This way make all the dumplings ready.

In a heavy bottom pan take a very little oil and fry the dumplings. Once they cool off refrigerate the dumplings for 1 hour. Cut it into half. and drop it in the gravy. make sure the dumplings float in the gravy so don't use deep pan. If needed divide the gravy in 2-3 pans and then add the dumplings that way you get to see shaam-savera. :-)

Let the gravy simmer on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. The gravy is ready to serve. This should make a perfect entry to your special occasion dinner.

Instant Akha Masoor

2011-11-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

People who have experienced the joy of eating at the road side dhabas in India would need no introduction of this dish. But for the rest - There is nothing like Akha Masoor on the rainy, gloomy, sunny, chilli ... ohh leave it;on any day :-) My absolute favorite .. Well I personally feel some vegetables in the kitchen don't gel with some of its counter parts and so is Masoor and Onion. So when I made it I decided to make variation to the traditional recipe by leaving onion out and using mere ingredients. Believe me I never looked back; I found my perfect yet instant recipe.

The secret ingredients - 1 spoon tomato puree ( I use Kroger's ), 3-4 curry leaves, 2-3 garlic pods.

Boil 1 cup whole masoor in the pressure cooker. The best part of masoor is you don't have to soak it unless you need to sprout it.

In a pan add 1 tbs Olive oil, once hot add mustard seeds. Once they start to sputter add chopped garlic. Let it turn golden brown. Add chopped curry leaves and tomato puree. Add boiled masoor. Put pinch of turmeric and 1 sp red chili powder. Add 1 cup water and let it boil for 8 to 10 minutes. The curry thickens as you boil it.

This goes very well with roti as well as rice. If you are wondering what is the foil doing in the pic. I just had wrapped chapatis in it to keep it hot till we eat it :-) .. hot chapatis just double the taste!!