Magic Potion

Whole Wheat Crepes with fresh Strawberry and Walnut and Banana in Maple Syrup

2011-04-30T20:48:00.004-04:00

Courtesy Sadhana Prasad aka Mausi

Serves four

Ingredients

1 Quart of ripe Strawberries sliced thin
2 bananas sliced thin
1 cup of maple syrup
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
1/4 inch butter stick
2 cups whole wheat flour
A pinch of salt
2 tsp sugar
Approximately 1 & 1/2 cups Milk

How to :

For the syrup, in a pan melt the butter and when the butter starts to bubble add the maple syrup and warm it a little
Add the bananas and stir till the bananas start to wilt
Add the walnuts and stir it again and warm it for a couple of minutes.
For the crepe batter, mix the flour, salt, sugar and milk and whisk. Add milk till the batter is thinner than a pancake batter
Ladle the batter on the nonstick round pan and spread it with the base of the ladle.
When the pan side is reddish brown flip it over. The crepe should leave the surface easily
Cook the other side for a minute and then flip it on a plate.
Put a handful of strawberries and fold the crepe to make a roll
Put a ladle of syrup with banana and walnut on top and serve

Serving suggestion

You can top with whipped cream or icing sugar to dress it up

Bihari Tomato Chutney

2011-01-15T18:49:00.001-05:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar aka Ma

Serves four

Ingredients

2 medium sized tomatoes
1 table spoon mustard oil
3 green chili chopped finely
2 table spoons finely chopped ginger
2 table spoons finely chopped garlic
3 table spoons finely chopped coriander
1 table spoon lemon juice
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Small onion chopped finely

How to :

Roast the tomatoes on fire till the skin starts to turn charred.
Mash the tomatoes into a chunky chutney
Add the oil, salt, pepper, chili, ginger, garlic, onion, coriander and lemon juice and mix well.

Serving suggestion

Serve with Khichdi

Bihari Aloo Bharta

2011-01-15T18:45:00.000-05:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar aka Ma

Serves four

Ingredients

2 large boiled skinned potatoes
1 table spoon mustard oil
3 green chili chopped finely
Salt to taste
Small onion chopped finely

How to :

Mash the potatoes such that there are no lumps.
Add the oil, salt, chili and onion and mix well.

Serving suggestion

Serve with Khichdi

Bihari Baigan Bharta

2011-01-15T17:45:00.001-05:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar aka Ma

Serves four

Ingredients

1 large sized Indian Eggplant
1 table spoon mustard oil
3 green chili chopped finely
2 table spoons finely chopped ginger
2 table spoons finely chopped garlic
3 table spoons finely chopped coriander
1 table spoon lemon juice
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Small onion chopped finely

How to :

Roast the eggplant on fire till the skin starts to turn charred.
Remove the skin completely from the eggplant and discard
Make a lumpy mash of the eggplant.
Add the oil, salt, pepper, chili, ginger, garlic, onion, coriander and lemon juice and mix well.

Serving suggestion

Serve with Khichdi

V for Vendetta inspired egg on a toast

2011-01-09T12:25:00.001-05:00

Backstory!

I love omelet with toast, but not such a big fan of plain eggs (esp sunny side up). After seeing V for Vendetta, I came up with this (original) recipe of combining an omelet and toast as a single unit that can be eaten with 1 hand!

For those who are looking for the original V for Vendetta recipe, go here.

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 bread slices - I prefer wheat or something more hardy than white bread.
3 eggs
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1 cup diced tomato
3 green chillies finely chopped
handful of finely chopped cilantro
1 cup diced green bell pepper/capsicum
1 cup mushrooms (optional)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Steps

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and salt/pepper.
On a hot skillet, add 2 teaspoons of oil and cook the veggies with a pinch of salt until they lose some of their moisture. Keep the cooked veggies aside. This is done to avoid a soggy toast. You can skip this step, if you prefer.
In the same skillet, add some more oil, 1/4 egg mixture and evenly spread the cooked veggies.

As soon as the omelet begins to cook, stick a bread slice onto it pressing gently so that the 2 bind. Don't press too hard, else the liquid will ooze out. Put a lid on the skillet to cook the eggs completely. If the egg mixture begins to ooze or spread while cooking, just push it back into and under the toast :-)
After about a minute or so, flip the toast and continue cooking to the desired level of toastiness!

Serving suggestions

You can enjoy the egg toast with some ketchup or hot sauce or Thai Chilli Garlic Sauce (SriRacha).
You can add some grated cheese to the toast too.

Tips

To make the omelet fluffy and soft, add a couple of tablespoon of milk when beating the eggs.

Khichdi

2011-01-09T11:59:00.052-05:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar aka Ma

Serves four

Ingredients

1 cup rice
1 1/2 cup lentil - mallka or masoor
6 cups hot water
One large onion - sliced very finely
4 bay leaves
One large dried red chili
1 table spoon cumin
1 tea spoon turmeric
Salt to taste
2 table spoons Ghee or Oil

How to :

Soak the rice and daal/lentil in hot water for 30 minutes
In a thick bottom pot heat the ghee or oil and add the bay leaves, cumin and red chili and let it sputter
Add the thinly sliced onions and let it saute till the onion starts to turn crispy brown
Add the salt and turmeric and stir in for 15 seconds.
Add the soaked rice, daal and water and bring to a boil.
Cook for about 25 minutes till the rice and daal are well cooked to almost a mush.

Serving suggestion

Serve with Bihari Baigan Bharta, Bihari Aloo Bharta, Bihari Tomato Chutney, Papad, Pickles and Yogurt

Vegetarian Risotto

2011-01-05T14:20:00.039-05:00

Courtesy Alex McLaren

Serves four

Ingredients

1+3/4 Arborio rice
6 cups or more vegetable stock (I prefer College Inn stock)
Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, a few handfuls of it, finely grated. It's also standard to have some to spoon over at the table.
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (sweet onion preferred) or shallot
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped mushroom

How to :

Get the stock very hot, close to boiling point.
Fry the mushroom in 3 tbsp of the butter slowly so as to soften the mushroom but not brown it much. Getting the mushroom flavor to infuse into the butter is particularly important, so save the butter along with the mushroom.
Lightly fry up the onion in the remaining butter. A little olive oil can be a helpful addition at this step, to keep things even. The onion should be fried only until soft translucent, not further.
Add the rice to the onion/butter mixture and stir so the rice is coated.
Add 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of the stock and bring the mixture to a slow simmer, stirring fairly constantly. When the stock has been almost completely absorbed, add another half cup or so, stir it in, with the mixture still simmering. The process should continue until the rice is somewhat firm, but fully cooked. Al dente, if you will.
Mix in the mushroom and its butter, as well as two handfulls of the cheese. Mix it up, it should be done.

Tips

This dish becomes very sticky and unpleasant fairly quickly, so it should be eaten when cooked.

Indo-Chinese Vegetable Noodles

2010-12-29T19:19:00.001-05:00

Serves four

Ingredients

1 cup French cut Green Beans
1 cup finely shredded Carrots
1/2 cup thinly slices Capsicum
1 cup chopped Mushrooms
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 big onion cut into rings
250 gms thin noodles - boiled with a little salt and oil and strained
Salt to taste
Ajinomoto/MSG optional
Pinch of black pepper
4 tblsp. Soy sauce
2 tblsp. Tomato Ketchup
1 tblsp. green chili sauce (I prefer Ching's)
2 tablespoon Oil
Spring Onions - chopped finely

How to :

In a non stick frying pan put two tablespoons of oil and heat.
Saute the onion rings for 3-5 minutes till translucent.
Add the beans, capsicum, carrot and mushrooms and stir fry for 10 minutes on medium flame.
Add the noodles, cabbage, salt, MSG and black pepper and mix thoroughly.
Stir fry for 5 minutes on low flame with a closed lid.
Stir in the Ketchup, Soy and Chili Sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
Garnish with Spring onions and serve

Tips

As Soy Sauce has its own salt go easy on table salt or add it at the end

Serving Suggestion

Best eaten with Chilli Paneer or Gobhi Manchurian or Dry Tofu dishes
You can serve with finely chopped green chili marinated in vinegar for the spice lovers
Top it with soft scrambled eggs just before you serve

Vegetable Chinese Fried Rice

2010-12-29T14:03:00.002-05:00

Serves two

Ingredients

2 cups mixed Vegetables : Broccoli, Corn, Beans, Carrots, Capsicum, Mushroom, Peas, Water Chestnuts - finely chopped
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
3 cups cooked rice - preferably a day old and not too soft
1 tblsp. finely shredded ginger
Salt to taste
Ajinomoto/MSG optional
Pinch of black pepper
2 tblsp. Soy sauce
2 tblsp. Chilli Garlic Sauce (I prefer Sriracha)
2 tablespoon Oil
Fresh Chinese Basil - chopped finely
Spring Onions - chopped finely

How to :

In a non stick frying pan put two tablespoons of oil and heat.
Add the ginger and onion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the mixed vegetables and cook for 5 minutes on high flame.
Add the cooked rice, salt, MSG and black pepper and mix gently till all the rice grains are separated. Cook for 5 minutes on low flame with a closed lid.
Stir in the Soy and Chili Garlic Sauce.
Cook for a few more minutes stirring occasionally
Garnish with Chinese Basil and Spring onions and serve

Tips

As Soy Sauce has its own salt go easy on table salt or add it at the end
Avoid using over cooked rice for this recipe

Serving Suggestion

Best eaten with Chilli Paneer or Gobhi Manchurian or Dry Tofu dishes
You can serve with finely chopped green chili marinated in vinegar for the spice lovers

Spicy Egg Curry

2010-12-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

Serves four

Ingredients

4 shelled hard boiled eggs
2 medium sized potatoes cut to medium sized cubes
Wet Ground Masala

One large Onion
2 large tomatoes
1 inch ginger piece
10 cloves garlic

Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
4 tablespoon Oil
Dried Fenugreek leaves

How to :

In a hot pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and shallow fry the boiled eggs until they are golden red. Keep the eggs aside for now.
Puree all contents under Wet Ground Masala in a blender.
In a frying pan put two table spoon oil and heat.
Saute all the potatoes for 5 minutes.
In a non stick pan put 2 table spoon oil and heat.
Pour the pureed contents into the hot oil and saute for 20 minutes or more on medium flame, stirring frequently till the oil starts to separate out in the pan.
Add the salt, turmeric and chili powder and cook for 10 more minutes. Sprinkle water when needed to make sure that the spices don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the dried fenugreek, eggs, curry and 500 ml water to the pan.
Boil for 10 minutes till the gravy thickens.

Serving Suggestion

Best eaten with Roti or Parathas or Rice

Mixed Vegetable Masala

2010-12-28T21:52:00.001-05:00

Serves four

Ingredients

Mix Vegetables : Cauliflower, Potato, Beans, Carrots, Capsicum, Mushroom, Peas - chopped to medium sized pieces
Wet Ground Masala

One large Onion
2 large tomatoes
1 inch ginger piece
10 cloves garlic

Salt to taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
4 tablespoon Oil
Dried Fenugreek leaves

How to :

Puree all contents under Wet Ground Masala in a blender.
In a frying pan put two table spoon oil and heat.
Saute all the vegetables for 5 minutes.
In a non stick pan put 2 table spoon oil and heat.
Pour the pureed contents into the hot oil and saute for 20 minutes or more on medium flame, stirring frequently till the oil starts to separate out in the pan.
Add the salt, turmeric and chili powder and cook for 10 more minutes. Sprinkle water when needed to make sure that the spices don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the dried fenugreek, sauteed vegetables and 500 ml water to the pan.
Boil for 10 minutes till the gravy thickens.

Serving Suggestion

Best eaten with Roti or Parathas

Malai Kofta

2010-05-09T15:56:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

For Koftas

Paneer - 250 gms
4 medium sized potatoes - boiled
2 table spoon cornflour
Broken cashew pieces
Salt to taste
Black pepper 1/4 tsp
Oil to deep fry

For Gravy

3 medium sized onions - boiled and pureed
4 tablespoon ginger/garlic paste
4 cups tomato puree
2 tablespoom Kasuri Methi
Salt to taste
Turmeric - half tsp
Corrander pwdr - 1 tsp
Cumin pwdr - 1 tsp
Red Chilli pwdr - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Oil to cook - 2 tbsps
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)

Method

Kofta :

Grate the paneer finely and mash it together with the boiled potatoes.
Add the cornflour and make a smooth mix with no lumps.
Add the salt and pepper to and mix the dough
Make small balls of this dough and put a small piece of cashew in the center.
Deep fry these paneer balls till golden brown.

Gravy :

In a non-stick deep pan put 2 tablespoons of oil and heat
Pour the pureed onion and cook on medium flame till the moisture is gone and starts to turn light brown
Add the ground ginger-garlic and fry for another 5-7 minutes.
Add the tomato puree and fry for 10 more minutes stirring occasionally
Now add the all the powdered spices and Kasuri Methi and fry for 5 more minutes.
Add 2 cups of water and boil for 15 minutes
Stir in the cream and cook for 5 more minutes on a medium flame.
Drop the koftas when u r ready to serve.

Pecan Banana Bread

2010-02-21T12:29:00.002-05:00

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Handful of pecans/walnuts
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
Mix in the flour and pecans (save a few for step 7).
Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.
Sprinkle a few more pecans on the top.
Bake for 1 hour rotating once in between after half an hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Baigan (Eggplant) Chakka

2010-01-09T13:40:00.004-05:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar (aka Mommy)

Serves four

Ingredients

2 Chinese Eggplants
Spice mix

2 table spoons ginger garlic paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Aamchur powder or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp asafoetida powder

2 tablespoons oil

How to :

Mix all contents under Spice mix in a bowl and add 2 tablespoon water to make a thick paste.
Cut the eggplants into 1-2 inches thick circular wheels
Fork the eggplant slices or poke with tooth pick.
Drizzle oil generously in a non-stick shallow pan and heat.
Dip the eggplant slices in the spice mix and coat on both sides.
Place the slices on the heated pan surface in a single layer with enough space to ease flipping. If all the slices do not fit on the pan, cook in batches.

Cover the pan and cook on reduced flame for 10 minutes till one side is reddish brown.

Drizzle oil on top of eggplant slices before flipping over.
Repeat step 7. Before removing the eggplants from the pan you can cook uncovered to remove excess water if any.

Tip:

You can cut thick slices of onions, potatoes or green peppers and dip in any leftover spice mix and saute in the same pan to serve with the eggplants.

Serving Suggestion

Best eaten with Roti or Parathas

Lauki Raita

2010-01-09T12:47:00.004-05:00

Serves Six

Ingredients

1 small lauki/doodhi (Image)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to Taste
1 tea spoon dry roasted cumin powder
two pinches crushed black pepper
2 green chillies - chopped finely
1 teaspoon oil
2 cups beaten yogurt

How to :

Chop the lauki/doodhi very finely or alternatively thick grate it.
In a non-stick deep pot - add the oil and let the cumin and mustard seeds sputter.
Add the chopped lauki, salt, pepper and cumin powder and cover on low flame for 15 minutes till the lauki is soft or mushy.

Remove from fire and let it cool.

Add the lauki into the beaten yogurt and mix well. Keep refrigerated.

Serving Suggestion :

Serve with stuffed parathas, naan, or just as accompaniment to any meal

Cracked Wheat (Daliya) Upma

2010-01-09T12:27:00.003-05:00

Serves Two

Ingredients

Curry leaves
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Potato - 1 medium, chopped into small pieces
1 big Onion - chopped
1 big Tomato - chopped
3 green chillies - chopped finely
1/2 cup peas
Small piece of ginger chopped finely
Oil
Salt to taste
Pinch of black pepper
1 and 1/2 cup cracked wheat -dry roasted five minutes till it turns reddish
3 cups hot water
20 Peanuts - roasted and crushed coarsely
1/2 cup chopped Coriander

How to :

In a non-stick deep pot - add the oil and let the cumin, mustard oil and curry leaves sputter.
Add the potatoes and cook till the potatoes are golden red.
Add the chopped onions and ginger now and cook and cover till the potatoes are soft and onions are translucent.
Now add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies, peas and salt and cook covered for 5 minutes till the tomatoes are mushy.
Add the pepper powder and cook for two more minutes.
Add the roasted wheat to this and stir it in with the rest of the ingredients.
Now add the hot water and mix the contents.
Cook covered on a medium to low flame for 15 minutes, stirring once in a while
Now add the crushed peanuts and coriander and mix.
Cook till it is slightly dry.

Serving Suggestion

Best served with green coriander or garlic chutney

Quick Indian Tomato Soup

2009-12-30T18:52:00.001-05:00

Serves Six medium cups

Ingredients

1 can Campbell Tomato Soup
1 can water
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon kalaunji seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 pinches of coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

How To

Melt butter in a nonstick pan and crackle all the different seeds.
Add the turmeric, salt, black pepper and chilli powder and saute for 15 seconds.
Add the soup and water and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Add the coriander leaves before serving

Serving Suggestion

Serve with mini croutons and thick cream

Dal Bukhara (Kali Dal)

2009-12-30T17:46:00.001-05:00

Serves Twelve

Ingredients

1.5 cup black urad dal
Half cup rajma
Half cup chana dal
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Half cup ginger/garlic paste
Half teaspoon turmeric powder
Three teaspoon coriander powder
Two teaspoon chilli powder
Two cups thick tomato puree
One teaspoon garam masala
Two tablespoon dried methi leaves
One tablespoon oil
One stick butter (or alter to suit diet :))
One cup half and half cream (or yogurt for the healthier alternative)
Salt to taste

Preparation

Soak all the dal/lentils in water overnight.
Pressure cook the dal mixture in little water for 15-20 min.

How to

In a deep non-stick pot, crackle the cumin seeds in oil.
Add the ginger/garlic paste and turmeric and saute for 5-10 min stirring frequently
Add the tomato puree, salt, chilli and coriander powder and saute for 20 min on a medium flame, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a thick paste.
Add the butter to the pot and cook for 5 min
Mix in the dal, garam masala, methi leaves and 3 cups of water to the pot. Reduce flame to avoid spatter and let the mixture cook for at least 30 min. The longer you let the mixture cook, the better the end result!
Stir in the cream and cook for 10 more minutes.
Bonus points - transfer the dish to a slow cooker at least 3-4 hours before serving and enjoy the compliments :)

Serving Suggestion

Best with hot rotis/naan.

Torta di Spinach

2009-12-27T12:53:00.001-05:00

Courtesy Lauren Veisz

Ingredients

1 pk. chopped spinach, cooked and drained
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste
small container of ricotta
2 eggs

How To

Combine all the ingredients mentioned and place in a pie crust, top and bottom.
Place in oven at 475 for 10 min., 325 for 1/2 hour or until golden brown

Aloo Matar Anda (Potato Peas Egg) in Coconut curry

2009-05-31T11:49:00.000-04:00

Courtesy Tanya Sarang

Serves Four

Ingredients

8 eggs hard boiled and sauteed in very little oil till the outer layer is golden brown.
2 medium potatoes cubed into 8 pieces each
1 ½ cup of shelled peas
½ Coconut – coarsely grated
Ginger – 1 inch piece coarsely chopped
Garlic -10 cloves coarsely chopped
2 medium Onions – chopped finely
2 medium tomatoes – chopped finely
2 green chilis – chopped finely
Salt
Powdered spices – 1 table spoon garam masala, 1 tea spoon turmeric and 1 Maggi Bullion
4 table spoon oil
Half cup of finely chopped coriander for garnishing

How to

Put two table spoons of oil in a deep pan and fry the chopped onion, garlic and ginger till golden brown
Now add the grated coconut and sautee till the coconut is slightly brown.
Grind this mix in a mixie and create a puree.
Put two table spoons of oil in a deep pan and fry the rest of the chopped onion till golden brown
Now add the chopped tomatoes and green chili and the powdered spices and cook till it is mushy.
Add the pureed coconut, onion, garlic and ginger into the pan and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame, stirring occasionally, till it mixes well.
Now add the peas and potatoes and cook for 5 more minutes
Add 2 cups of water and the eggs and boil for 10 minutes.
Garnish with coriander and serve

Garam Masala

2009-05-31T11:41:00.000-04:00

Courtesy Tanya Sarang

Ingredients

To Dry Grind

2 bay leaves
5 green cardamom
2 black cardamom
2 table spoons cumin
2 table spoons corriander seeds
2 table spoons poppy seeds
1 piece of cardamom
5 black pepper
10 cloves
5 red chillis

How to

Slow dry roast and grind to a powder.

Different Ways to Cut Food

2009-05-22T07:11:00.004-04:00

Julienne, Batonnet, Baton, Allumette: They're all stick-shaped. Think small, big, bigger, biggest. Julienne is short and slender, as in celery sticks on a vegetable platter, the other three are increasingly longer and thicker, as in French fries.

Rondell: Use for carrot coins, zucchini or any vegetable with a rounded or long shape. Cut at 90 degrees.

Diagonal: Use for any longish vegetable you want to stir-fry, such as celery, green onion or carrot. Cut at a comfortable 45-degree angle. A mandoline makes this fast and easy.

Brunoise: Dice into smallest possible cubes, 1 to 2 millimetres wide. Use for root vegetables or firm fruits.

Lozenge: Purely ornamental, these are diamond shapes cut from a firm vegetable that's already been thin-sliced. Pretty in clear soups. Sweet potatoes and turnips are good candidates.

Mince: Exactly what it says -- chop as finely as possible. Eggs for egg salad are minced.

Shred: It may look like a chiffonade, but it's used on heavier leaves (as in shredded cabbage) or roots such as carrots or ginger. A mandoline is wonderful for shredding.

Chiffonade: Use for spinach, chard or romaine. De-stem leaves and stack 8 or 10 of them. Roll tightly like a cigar and slice into fine shreds. Good technique for creating a bed of greens or a garnish

Punjabi Chole (chickpeas) Recipe

2009-05-22T07:05:00.000-04:00

Courtesy Anjali Aggarwal

Serves Four

Ingredients

Chick Peas – 1 ½ cups – soaked overnight
Onion – 1 large – chopped finely
Ginger – 1 inch piece – 3/4^th brunoise, 1/4^th julienne
Garlic -10 cloves – brunoise
Tomato – 2 medium – chopped finely
Salt
Powdered spices – 1 tea spoon chilli powder, 1 table sp cumin powder, 1 table spoon coriander powder, 1 tea spoon garam masala
Whole spices – 2 bay leaves, 5 cloves, 2 big black cardamoms, 1 inch piece cinnamon tied in a muslin cloth AND 5 small green cardamoms
1 table spoon Amchur powder
2 table spoon oil
Half cup of finely chopped coriander for garnishing

How To

Put the soaked Chick Peas, chopped onion, tomatoes, salt, brunoise ginger and garlic and the whole spices (the ones tied in muslin and the green cardamoms) in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water (the peas should be just about immersed in the water) in a pressure cooker and cook at medium flame for three whistles.
Let the cooker cool and then open and remove the muslin with the whole spices.
In a shallow pan add the oil and heat on medium flame.
Add the julienne ginger and saute for one minute, then add the ingredients under ‘Powdered spices’ and saute on low flame for 1 minute. Now add this to the chick peas and mix well.
Put the chick peas on medium flame and cook for a few more minutes to allow the spices and chick peas to mix well.
In another pan – dry roast the Amchur till it is coffee colored। Now add this to the chick peas and cook for a few more minutes.

Serving Suggestion :

Garnish with coriander and serve with puris, bhatura or kulchas.

Amaranthus (Cholai saag) Coconut Milk Curry

2009-05-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

Courtesy Nibha Kumar (aka Nitu)

Ingredients

150 gms amaranthus
11/2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 medium sized onion,chopped
3 cm piece ginger ,chopped
10 green chillies,chopped
1 stalk curry leaves
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk(1st extract)

How to

Wash amaranthus and chop finely
Heat oil in pan and sprinkle mustard seeds ,when it starts sputtering add onion ,ginger,green chillies and curry leaves and fry till onions turn translucent.
Mix amaranthus, pepper and salt and cover pan and cook over low heat for 5 mins
Pour in coconut milk and cook for two mins.

Karela Chana (Bitter Gourd stuffed with Black Bengal Gram)

2009-04-04T11:22:00.001-04:00

Courtesy Anjana Kumar (aka Mummy, Mumma, Ma)

Ingredients

1 cup black chick peas soaked over night
2 dried red chili (khadi mirchi)
2 big size Karela (Bitter Gourd)
1 big onion - chopped finely
10 cloves Garlic and 1/2 inch ginger ground to a fine paste
4 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Red Chili
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder

How to :

In a non-stick deep pot - add the oil and let the cumin and red chili sputter.
Add the chopped onions and saute till golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for another 6 minutes till the paste starts to leave the surface of the cooker.
Now add the salt and all the powdered spices like coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili.
Cook for several minutes till everything mixes well.
Now add the black chick peas, minimum water and close to pressure cook. On medium flame cook till u hear two whistles.
Take the karela and slit it lengthwise and remove all seeds and contents from inside the karela. Now boil it in salty water for 10 minutes.
After cooling the karela, stuff it with the seeds and the cooked chick peas.
Now heat oil in a shallow frying pan and lay down the karelas lengthwise to shallow fry the karela. Let the Karelas get crispy brown on the outside.
Serve with Rotis or Parathas.