Curd Dip

Ingredients:

1.  Hung Curd – 1 cup
2.  Garlic cloves – 5-6
3.  Crushed black pepper - according to taste
4.  Lemon Juice - 1 spoon or according to taste
5.  Salt - to taste
6.  Finely chopped cucumber - 1
7.  Finely chopped green chilly - 1 (optional)
8.  Mint Leaves - 3-4 (Optional)
9.  Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 spoon

1. Method:

1. Hang the curd in a muslin cloth overnight to remove all water
2. Take the hung curd in a bowl and add all the ingredients. Whisk properly.
3. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Tip:

Experiment with this dip by adding or removing vegetables. Other vegetables that can be added are onions, carrots, olives, gherkins and jalapenos.

Kale Chane ke Kebabs

This is another health and tasty recipe which you can serve as snacks at any party or can enjoy in your breakfast.

Ingredients:

1. Bengal Gram or kala chana - 1 cup
2. Onions chopped finely - 1
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 spoon
4. Green chilies finely chopped - 2
5. Fresh coriander finely chopped
6. Oats - 1 cup
7. Chaat masala - 1/2 spoon
8. Salt - to taste or 1/2 spoon
9. Garam masala powder - 1/4 spoon
10. Oil to fry

Method:

1. Soak the bengal gram overnight and boil in morning with  salt.
2. Drain them and let them cool.
3. Grind the chanas to a paste. Add very little water if you face difficulty while grinding.
4. Take the paste out in a bowl and add ginger garlic paste, green chilies, onion, coriander and all dry spices to this. 
5. As we have added salt while boiling the chanas, adjust the seasoning accordingly.
6. Add 1/2 cup of oats to this and mix well. You can add more if you feel the dough is too watery as oats will soak up extra water and kebabs will not break.
7. Make small kebabs of this dough of round or oval shape.
8. Take oats in a dish and coat the kebabs with the oats.
9. Put this in fridge for some time so that the kebabs are firm and oats are properly coated on them.
10. You can now deep fry these in hot oil or shallow fry in non stick pan with little oil for healthy snack.

Kuttu Atta Chila in Navratra

Navratras are here and everyone is busy fasting...or should I say feasting. Well these days navratras have become more of a fest than fast, with Haldiram's and Bikanerwalas coming up with navratra chaat, tikki, thali and what not.

If you are like me and want to eat light during the 9 days fast then I have just the right recipe for you. We usually use kuttu atta and singhada aata to make fried puris or paranthas which we eat with equally oily aloo sabzi during navratras. You can use the same flour to create something filling, healthy and yet tasty. You can remove/add few ingredients based on what you eat or avoid during fast.

Ingredients:

1. Kuttu atta or singhada atta - 2-3 serving spoon
2. chopped green chilies - 1
3. chopped tomatoes - 1
4. chopped fresh coriander - 2 spoons
5. Sendha Salt - to taste
6. Oil to cook - 1/2 spoon

Method:

1. Take your selected flour in a bowl and and pour 2-3 spoon water in it. Mix well to create a smooth paste.
2. Add some more water to adjust the consistency to make a thin paste so that it falls freely from the spoon.
3. Add salt to taste and mix.
4. Heat a non stick pan and and little oil to it.
5. Pour and spread the flour mix in pan with a spoon.
6. Sprinkle chopped coriander, green chilies and tomatoes on this, cover and cook for 3-4 mins.
7. Flip and cook from other side as well.
8. You can enjoy this with a peanuts chutney or curd.

Hummus

Hummus is an Arabic dip made of chickpeas which is very healthy and is normally consumed with pita bread and falafal. The recipe below is a bit different from authentic recipe and you can use this as bread spread or in sandwiches, instead of using butter and cheese spread. This can also be served with salad, nachos, chips and crackers at your next party.

Ingredients:

1.  Chickpeas/White Chana – 1/2 cup
2.  Garlic cloves – 5-6
3. Chilly flakes - 1/2 spoon or to taste
4. White sesame seed paste -  1 spoon
5. Olive Oil - 1 serving spoon
6. Lemon Juice - 1 spoon or according to taste
7. Chilly sauce - 1 Serving spoon
8. Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Boil the chickpeas with little bit of salt, drain water and let them cool.
2. In a blender add all the ingredients together and blend to smooth paste.
3. Add water if necessary to adjust the consistency of dip You can consume it as a spread on toast or as a chutney with kebabs.

Tip:

You can add chopped olive, pickles, jalapenos, capsicum, gherkins etc to this dip and make a sandwich with it.

Image courtesy @BostanMagzine

Pindi Chana

This is the easiest recipe in my cook book. Whenever we are going to have some guests in house this is my favorite as this does not involve any chopping, cutting or cooking the onions/tomato masala for hours.

This recipe demands some extra grease so if you want a healthier version you can use non stick but taste will be compromised. I usually do not use much of oil in this when cooking as a daily meal option. But for guests I try to be more generous.

Ingredients:

1. Kabuli Chana/White Chikpeas - 1 Cup
2. Tea bags - 2
3. Garlic - 6-7 cloves
4. Ginger - 1 inch long piece
5. Whole black pepper - 3-4
6. Black Cardamom or badi elaichi - 1
7. Cinnamon or Daalchini stick - 1
8. Cloves or laung - 2-3
9. Salt to taste
10. Coriander powder - 7-8 table spoon
11. Red chili powder - 1/2 table spoon
12. MDH Chana Masala - 4-6 table spoon (I prefer MDH because it gives the chana a very good taste. I have never been satisfied with any other brand , specifically for this dish)
13. Mustard oil - 1/2 table spoon
14. Cooking oil - 8-10 table spoon

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least a couple of hours if you are in hurry.
2. Put the chickpeas in a pressure cooker along with black peppers, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, salt, whole garlic cloves, ginger chopped in big chunks and tea bags.
3. Add mustard oil and water to this and let it cook for about 20-25 mins. Do not put a lot of water as this is a dry dish.
4. In another pan take cooking oil and let it heat. 
5. Add coriander powder and red chili powder to hot oil and let it cook for a minute.
6. Add this tampering to the boiled chickpeas in pressure cooker and let cook.
7. Add chana masala to the pressure cooker and give a nice stir.
8. Let this cook till the water dries and chickpeas have a good consistency.

Tampering (Optional):

1. Heat 1 serving spoon of clarified butter or desi ghee in a small pan.
2. Add dried red chilies to this.
3. Once chilies are cooked add this tampering on top of your serving bowl. 
4. You can add some degi mirch also to this tampering to add that extra color to your dish.
5. Garnish the chanas with fresh green coriander or sliced Onions, tomatoes and green chilies.

Paneer Rolls

What to pack for lunch box is one matter which takes up about half an hour of my precious time every day. Having a week long menu planned on Sunday itself is one is one thing which sets my mind on rest on the already busy weekdays.

I have this habit of trying different snacks for my son’s lunch box. As it is difficult to make him sit and eat at one place, I try to conjure up finger foods which are easy to cook in mornings. Not to mention many of my experiments fail but I do not give up.

Paneer roll is one such attempt which was successful and so I am sharing its recipe with you.

Ingredients:

1.       White bread slices – 2

2.       Cottage Cheese or Paneer , grated or mashed – 2 serving spoons

3.       Salt to taste

4.       Chaat masala to taste

5.       Black pepper – a pinch

6.       Corn flour – 1 level tea spoon

7.       Oil to fry

8.    Fresh Coriander

Method:

1.       Take the grated paneer in a bowl and add salt, chaat masala and black pepper and fresh coriander to it. Keep it aside.

2.       Mix 1 spoon water with the corn flour in a separate bowl and make a fine paste.

3.       Remove the sides of bread slices.

4.       Take a bread slice and flatten it completely with help of a rolling pin.

5.       Put the paneer mixture at one side and slowly roll the bread to form a cigar.

6.       Seal the edge with help of cornflour paste to avoid spilling the contents.

7.       Cut the cigars in 2 halves carefully.

8.       Repeat with the other slice of bread.

9.       Deep fry the rolls in hot oil at medium heat.

10.   You can serve as it is or can cut the roll in smaller circles.

These can be packed in lunch box or served as an evening snack for kids.

You can serve them as a snack as well at one of the house parties by changing the filling to chicken or adding capsicum and some spices to cottage cheese. Optionally processed cheese can also be used.

Peanuts Chutney

Swapna, this recipe is totally dedicated to you.

I never imagined myself eating idli or dosa without sambhar. The idea always appalled me till the time I tasted the most yummy peanuts chutney made by my friend Swapna who is a Telagu Brahmin. A regular breakfast for her is idli or dosa with peanuts chutney and I always ended up eating more than half of her breakfast every morning.

I noted down the recipe from her and tried it at home. Now this deadly combination is a regular breakfast option in my family as well.

Ingredients:

1.       Peanuts – 1/2 cup

2.       Garlic cloves – 5-6

3.       Whole dried red chilies – 2-3

4.       Curd (optional and does not go in authentic recipe) – 2 serving spoons

5.       Salt to taste

6.       Curry leaves – 4-5

7.       Mustard seeds – ½ tea spoon

8.       Oil – ¼  table spoon

9.       Chaat masala (optional and does not go in authentic recipe) – ½ table spoon

Method:

1.       Take a pan and dry roast peanuts with garlic cloves and dried red chilies for about 3-5 mins on low flame. Keep stirring in between.

2.       When peanuts turn a dark red color, remove them from flame and add to the grinder.

3.       Put salt and chaat masala (optional) to this along with 2 spoon water and grind.

4.       Check for the consistency and add water or curd (add either chaat masala or curd. Do not add both as it will make chutney extra tangy) to adjust the consistency and grind it to a fine paste.

5.       Heat oil in a ladle and add mustard seeds and curry leaves to it. Once they splutter, add this tampering to chutney.

Enjoy with idli or dosa for your breakfast.

Mix Vegetables and Rice Casserole

As per me Casserole are the perfect comfort food. When you are not in a mood to cook a complete meal with different variety of veggies, proteins, carbs etc. and still want to eat something light and healthy at home while sitting in front of a TV, it does wonders.

One such comfortable yet healthy recipe is mixed veg and rice casserole. In the recipe shared below I am using fresh lentils (daal), but you can easily substitute this with any leftover daal from previous day.

Ingredients:

1.       Rice, washed and soaked for upto 1 hour -  1 cup

2.       Arhar/Tur dal (yellow lentils or any other as per your choice), washed and soaked upto 1 ½ hour – 1 cup

3.       Curry leaves – 5-6

4.       Cumin seeds – ½ tea spoon

5.       Medium size onion – 1

6.       Peas – 2 Serving spoons

7.       Carrot chopped finely – 1

8.       Capsicum chopped finely – 1

9.       Beans chopped in small either small pieces of diagonal slits – 8-10

10.   Cauliflower flowerets – 6-8

11.   Green chilies sliced – 2

12.   Optional vegetables like mushrooms, eggplant etc can be added

13.   Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon

14.   Red chilli powder – ¼ tea spoon or as per taste

15.   Garam masala – ¼ tea spoon

16.   Dry mango powder/ Amchoor – ½ tea spoon

17.   Sambhar powder – 1 tea spoon (use this with arhar daal. If you decide to use any other daal just omit this masala)

18.   Clarified butter or desi ghee – 1 serving spoon

Method:

1.       Wash the rice and daal separately and soak them for a couple of hours.

2.       In a pressure cooker add ghee and let it heat.

3.       Add cumin seeds and wait for them to splutter. Add green chilies and curry leaves after that and stir for 30 seconds.

4.       Thinly slice the onions and add them to the pot. Sauté till onions turn translucent.

5.       Add remaining vegetables one by one, stirring each one of them for a minute or so after adding. Add capsicum as the last vegetable as it cooks quite quickly.

6.       Let the vegetables fry for about 2-3 minutes and then add all the dry spices except for salt. Stir for another minute.

7.       Drain water from daal and add it to the pot. Mix and stir for 1-2 mins.

8.       Remove water from rice and add to the pot. Mix well.

9.       Add about 3 cups of water and salt to the pot. Close the lid of pressure cooker and cook on high flame.

10.   Cook on low flame for about 5-8 mins after the first whistle.

11.   You can cook this in an open pot as well. In this case the water to be added will be around 5 cups. You can adjust the water as per the consistency you like your casserole to be in.

The best thing about this dish is that there are no rules. You can add any leftover daal or veggies to it. Many times I am confronted with a situation where I have just one carrot, half a cauliflower, a lonely piece of capsicum lying about in my fridge demanding attention. In such cases such casserole recipes comes to my rescue.

So do not ponder over the leftovers now and enjoy this simple meal.

Atta Chocolate Cake

It is every alternate day that my little three years old keeps on requesting me to bake a black cake for him so that he can celebrate his birthday. Black cake does not mean that I burn the cake; it simply is a dark chocolate cake as he is still not able to clearly draw the line between black and dark brown.

I am more than happy to fulfill his demand as he is a fussy eater and cake is one thing he enjoys. But baking a cake with refined flour was what made me worried. Hence, I thought about experimenting with whole wheat flour to make a cake that is both healthy and yummy and will give a balance of carbs and proteins to my little one.

I succeeded in first attempt and here is my recipe to bake a quickie atta (whole wheat flour) cake.

Ingredients:

1.       Whole wheat flour (atta) : 1 cup

2.       Refined oil/unsalted butter: A little more than one cup but less than 1 ¼

3.       Eggs: 3

4.       Brown sugar/grounded white sugar : 1 cup (you can use a little more if it is brown sugar)

5.       Chocolate powder: 2-3 spoons (If you want a dark chocolate cake then increase this as well as sugar content)

6.       Vanilla essence :  1 tea spoon

7.       Baking Powder: 1 level tea spoon

8.       Assorted nuts chopped – ½ bowl

9.       Milk – About half cup

Method:

1.       Sieve wheat flour and mix baking soda with it. Mix well and keep aside.

2.       Grind the sugar finely and add it to a blender.

3.       Add butter or refined oil to this and mix for about 3-4 mins in blender

4.       One by one add all three eggs. Churn the blender for about a minute after adding each egg.

5.       Add vanilla essence and mix well.

6.       Add the chocolate powder to the sieved flour and mix with a spoon.

7.       Slowly add this flour mixture to the blender. Do not put the entire flour in one go. Add a little and blend and so on.

8.       If the mixture is too thick then add some milk and mix well. The final consistency should be a thick layer of batter falling freely from your spoon. If batter falls in thick chunks then add some more milk. (generally a little less than half cup milk is sufficient for these measurements)

9.       Add half of the chopped nuts and give it a good mix.

10.   Grease a baking dish with some oil and pour the batter in it. Top it with remaining nuts.

11.   Set the microwave on convection at 220 degrees.

12.   Ones the desired temperature is reached put the baking dish in for 10 mins.

13.   After convection 10 mins are over, microwave for another 4 mins.

14.   Check the cake with a knife. If it comes out clean your cake is done.

15.   You can top is with some icing sugar to make it pretty for your little one or add some colorful candies.

There can be many variations to this cake. You can do it without chocolate and with only nuts. You can also add a couple of mashed bananas to the batter to make a banana cake. Any other fruit like tinned pineapple or dried plums can be added for a little tangy flavor as per the taste buds of you children. The sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or even jaggery in same amounts. 

Hope you enjoy this healthy variation of the cake. Do share your variations in this cake.

Masala Fries

French fries are and will always be a favorite snack among kids. As we are moving one step closer to a more comfortable lifestyle each day, making French fries on request of you kids have become super easy. Just open that packet of frozen fries and put them in the wok to deep fry. Voila; you are ready with a tempting looking plate of fires.

As easy as it seems, that frozen packet comes with a baggage of doubts. They are a boon when an unexpected guest lands at your house expecting to be served tea with some hot snacks but a big No-No option as everyday snack for kids, especially for mothers like me who are always conscious to give fresh food little ones.

I try to make evening snacks as healthy as possible but once in a while indulge into French fries also. Here I am quoting a variation on those regular fries and they are called the masala fries.

Ingredients:

1.  2 large potatoes
2.  2-3 serving spoon of besan (gram flour)
3. Salt to taste
4. Chaat masala – ½ tea spoon
5. Chilli flakes – ¼ spoon (optional)
6. Oil to fry

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and wash them thoroughly.
2. Par boil them so that they are a little soft but not cooked completely.
3. Cut them in long fingers and try to make those fries equal in size.
4.  Put the potatoes in a bowl and add besan, salt chaat masala and chilli flakes to this. Mix well so that besan coat the potatoes evenly.
5. Fry them in medium hot oil on low flame till they are crisp.

So next time you kids want some French fries, go for these masala fries as it will have some proteins added along with the carbs. Optionally you can cook them in an oven to avoid frying but I do not care about frying with kids.

Ice Cream Cake

This recipe is a variation to our normal cake and ice cream combination, that we often serve as a desert. In this recipe I have used a chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream but you can experiment with various flavors of cake and ice cream both.

Chocolate Cake in Microwave:

Ingredients

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. Breakfast sugar - 1 cup
3. Unsalted butter/refined oil - i cup
4. Fresh cream or malai - 2-3 serving spoon
5. Chocolate powder - 1/2-3/4 cup depending on how dark you want your cake to be 
   
6. Eggs - 3/4
7. Vanilla essence - 1 tea spoon
8. Baking powder -  1 level tea spoon

Method

1. Mix flour and baking powder in a dish.
2. Add cocoa/chocolate powder to this dish and keep aside.
3. In cake beater or food processor add breakfast sugar and butter/oil. Give it a good beat for 2-3 mins.
4. One by one add the eggs and beat for 2 mins after every egg.
5. Add vanilla essence and beat for another 2 mins.
6. Now add malai/cream to this and beat for 1 mins.
7. Add the flour and coco powder mix to the processor 3-4 serving spoons at a time and beat for 1-2 mins after every addition.
8. If the cake mixture is too thick then add some milk and beat. The final mixture should fall in thick layer from your spoon  but not like thick drops.
9. Grease the baking dish and pour this mixture into it. Optionally you can add some chopped walnuts or almonds to this.
10. Set you microwave in convection mode and pre heat it to 220 degrees.
11. Once the oven reaches the designated temperature put the baking dish in convection mode for 10 mins.
12. After 10 mins put it for another 4 mins in microwave mode.
13. Check with a knife to see if the cake is done.
14. Let the cake cool.

The Ice Cream Cake

1. Keep the vanilla ice cream out of the fridge till it is completely soft.
2. Beat the ice cream with a beater and keep aside.
3. Take the cake on a chopping board and cut it in half from center horizontaly so that we have two layers of cake (top and bottom).
4. First take the botton layer and cover it completely with the beaten ice cream. You can experiment here by adding some tinned cherries or pineapples or some crunchy nuts.
5. Put the top half layer on this and place the cake in a deep dish.
6. Now coat the entire cake with remaining ice cream. We take this in deep dish because ice cream is molten and will drip from every where.
7. You can decorate the cake as you want. I have used some gems and chocolate sauce for marble effect.
8. Marble effect: Pour chocolate sauce on the cake and spread it with the help of a toot pick thus creating a marble pattern.
9. Now deep freeze this cake dish for 4-6 hours before serving. 

Curd Rice with a Twist

Curd Rice is famous recipe from southern parts of India and is normally consumed at the end of a meal. This recipe is authentically cooked sans any spices and hence is very light on stomach.

Here I am presenting a little twisted version of it and hope you will enjoy it as an option when you feel like eating light on stomach khichdi.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1 cup
   
2. 1 cup boiled american corns 
3. 2 capsicums finely chopped
4. curry leaves - 6-8
5. chana daal - 2 spoon
6. urad daal (white) - 2 spoons
7. Ginger finely chopped or grated - 1 spoon
8. 2 green chilies finely chopped
9. 2 cup curd
10. salt to taste
11. black pepper to taste
12. mustard seeds - 1 spoon

Serves : 2 people

Method:

1. Cook rice by boiling them in more that double the amount of water. We need rice to be a little over cooked for this recipe .
2. When rice is done, then drain them by removing access water and let them cool.
3. Heat a pan and add 1 spoon oil to it.
4. When oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
5. Add urad daal and chana daal to this and let it cook for 2-3 mins.
6. Add green chilies, curry leaves and ginger to the pan and give a good stir for another 2 mins
7. Now add boiled corns and capsicum to the pan and stir well. Let this cook for 2 mins and then turn off the flame as we do not want the vegetables to over cook.
8. Whisk the curd and add it to the rice bowl. Stir well while mashing the rice with spoon.
9. Add some salt and pepper according to your taste to this and mix again.
10. Now add the prepared vegetable tampering to the bowl and give one final stir.
11. This can be consumed as it is or chilled with some chutney or home made pickle.

Bhindi Masala

Ingredients:

1. Bhindi or Okra - 1/2 Kg

2. Medium size onions - 4

3. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon

4. Coriander powder - 2 tbl spoon

5. Amchoor/dry mango powder - 1/2 tbl spoon

6. Chatt masala - 1/2 tbl spoon

7. Chana masala - 1 tbl spoon

8. Salt to taste
9. Mustard oil - 3 spoon

Serves - 3-4 people

Method:

1. Wash bhindi/okra and dry it properly with a cloth. It should be dried very properly otherwise it secrets a transparent sticky material.

2. Chop dried bhindi in round psc.

3. Chop 4 onions roughly in thick psc.

4. Heat a flat botton pan and add mustard oil to it. Let the oil burn for 3-4 mins or till the time it releases its smell.

5. Add Onions to the oil and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame.
6. Add bhindi tho this and let it cook on slow flame for 10-12 mins. Keep stirring in between.
7. Once the bhindi is a little tender add all the dry spices except salt and mix well. Let it cook for another 3-5 mins.

8. Add salt and cook for 2-3 mins on slow flame. Then serve hot with chapatis.

Tips to cook okra :

1. Do not put water in okra.

3. Dry it properly before chopping.

4. Okra is not good for people with kidney stones.

Okra Nutrition (half-cup cooked okra)

• Calories = 25
• Dietary Fiber = 2 grams
• Protein = 1.5 grams
• Carbohydrates = 5.8 grams
• Vitamin A = 460 IU
• Vitamin C = 13 mg
• Folic acid = 36.5 micrograms
• Calcium = 50 mg
• Iron = 0.4 mg
• Potassium = 256 mg  
• Magnesium = 46 mg

Microwave Eggs in Cup

What better way to start a day with a filling breakfast of eggs and toast. Egg is a major source of protein and a quick and easy choice for those who have a busy and hectic lifestyle.

Eggs can be consumed in multiple ways boiled, half cooked, scrambled, microwaved etc.

Ingredients:

1. Eggs - 4
2. Small size Onion - 1
3. Medium size tomato - 1
4. 1 small capsicum
5. Button mushrooms - 4-5
6. Coriander leaves
7. Salt - 1/4  tbl spoon or to taste
8. Black pepper - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Oregano - 1/4 tbl spoon
10. Grated processed cheese - 2 spoons
11. 1 spoon oil to cook

Serves: 4 people

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables onions, tomatoes, capsicum and mushrooms finely.
2. Take a pan and heat some oil in it.
3. Once oil is hot add chopped onions and saute for 1 min on low flame.
4. Once onions have turned translucent add half of the capsicum and all mushrooms to it and cook for another 2 mins.
5. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and cook for 2 mins while stirring.
6. Switch off the flame and add oregano and fresh chopped coriander to the pan. Mix well.
7. Take 4 small bowls and add 1-2 spoons of this mixture to each.
8. Break one egg each on every bowl.
9. Add the remaining capsicum and some chopped tomatoes on top of eggs in each bowl..
10. Sprinkle some cheese in every bowl.
11. Microwave each for 1 min 30 seconds. (More if you like your egg completely cooked)
12. Take out and serve hot with Garlic bread.

Shahi Paneer

Cottage cheese is the most favorite option for vegetarians in India as it is rich in protein and serves as a substitute for chicken or fish. A good Indian meal is never complete without a preparation of paneer.

Paneer is cooked in various forms as starter, main course or dessert, with gravy or as a dry dish. It is also used to garnish Indian biryanis and as a stuffing in famous Indian breads.

Shahi paneer can be cooked in various different ways. The method described below is the simplest of them all and can be used by any amateur to cook a great dish. The cooking time of paneer is negligible which also makes it a popular choice among most people.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/Cottage Cheese - 1/2 KG
2. Medium size onions - 3
3. Medium size tomatoes - 4
4. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
5. Garlic - 5-6 cloves
6. Green chilly - 1-2 depending on the amount of spice you want
7. Cream/Full cream milk - 1 cup
8. Salt - to taste
9. Red chilly powder - 1/2 spoon
10. Indian garam masala - 1/2 spoon
11. Kasoori Methi/dry fenugreek leaves - 1 spoon
12. salt - 1 tbl spoon or to taste
13. Oil - 2 spoon to cook.

Serves: 4-5 people

Method:

1. Peel the onions and roughly slice them.
2. Take a deep pan and heat some oil in it.
3. When oil is hot add onions to it.
4. Add whole garlic cloves, green chillies and roughly chopped ginger to the pan and let this cook on slow flame, while stirring in between.
5. Once onions have turned golden brown add red chilly powder and stir for 1-2 mins.
6. Roughly chop tomatoes in large pieces and add to the pan.
7. Add salt to this, cover and let it cook for 8-10 mins or till the time tomatoes are done.
8. Switch off the flame and let this mixture cool down for 5 mins.
9. Put the above mixture in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add 1/2 cup cream or full cream milk (whichever is available) and blend again.
10. Switch on the flame again and add the paste to it.
11. Add the remaining milk in the pan while stirring it continuously on high flame.
12. Switch the flame to low after first boil and add garam masala to it.
13. Dry roast the kasoori methi in a pan and crush it to powder. Add this powder to the paneer gravy.
14. Cut the paneer pieces in square and add to the gravy.
15. Adjust the consistency of gravy as per your taste by adding either some milk or water.
16. Take out the paneer in a bowl and garnish it with fresh cream before serving.
17. This can be enjoyed with any Indian bread or rice.

Tips:

1. Make sure you stir gravy continually on high flame while adding mil or cream it is being added to tomato gravy which is sour and can react with milk to cause its curdling.
2. Once paneer is added to gravy it should not be cooked for more than 2-3 mins as it will make paneer hard and stretchy.

Vegetable Suji Pizza

Suji Pizza is a pan cake made of suji (semolina) with various vegetables and is a very healthy breakfast option. It gives you the carbs and vitamins required for head start of a good day.  

It is also a very good option for mothers trying to feed their kids something healthy as it can be presented as PIZZA, which is the most famous food choice for kids. You can ensure to feed some wholesome vegetables to your children using this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1. Suji (Semolina) - 1 cup
2. Curd - 1 Cup
3. 1 Capsicum  - chopped finely

4. 1 Onion - chopped finely
5. 2 Carrots - chopped finely/grated
6. 3-4 button mushrooms - chopped finely
7. Salt - to taste
8. Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Mustard seeds - 1 spoon
10. Oil - to cook
11. Baking soda/Eno - 1 large spoon

Serves: 2-3 people

Method:

1. Mix suji and curd together.
2. Add some water to make a thick consistency batter.
3. Add salt, red chilly powder and baking soda/eno to this batter and leave for 15 mins.
4. Add all the vegetables to the batter and mix well.
5. Take a medium size, non stick flat bottom deep pan or a wok and heat 1 spoon oil in it.
6. When oil is medium hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
7. Put 2 large spoons of suji mixture in the pan and spread out evenly in the pan. This should be a thick layer.
8. Cover it with a lid and let it cook on slow flame for about 5-7 mins.
9. Check if semolina is cooked and the pan cake is crisp from bottom. If so take it out by keeping a plate on the pan and flipping the pan upside down.
10. This can be cut into slices like a pizza and served with tomato sauce.

Note: Pic to follow.

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

1. Boiled/Precooked plain rice - 2 katoris
2. 2 medium size Onion
3. 2-4 Green chillies
5. Kari patta - 9-10 leaves
6. Lemon juice of 3 medium size lemons
7. Mustard seeds -  1 spoon
8. Bengal gram/Chana daal - 1/2 katori
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
10. Sambhar Masala - 2 tbl spoon
11. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
12. Salt to taste
13. Refined oil to cook - 2 spoons
14. Peanuts - 10-15

Serves: 2-3 people

Method:

1. Soak Bengal gram overnight in normal water or for 1/2 hour in hot water.
2. Heat oil in wok and add oil.
3. Once oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
4. Add slitted green chilies and let them fry for 30 seconds on slow flame.
5. Add kari patta leaves.
6. Now drain water from chana daal and add it in wok. Let it cook while stirring for 3-4 mins.
7. Thinly slice the onions and add them to wok. Cook for another 3-4 mins or till the time onions turn golden brown.
8. Put turmeric powder, red chilly powder, sambhar masala powder and salt. Mix well.
9. Add pre cooked/boiled rice to the above and 2 spoon water. Mix well and cook for 2-3 mins.
10. Add lemon juice and stir. Turn off the flame.
11. Stir fry peanuts in 1 spoon oil till done and add on top of the rice.
11. Serve hot with curd and chutney.

Tips:

1. Do not cook rice after adding lemon juice as it may turn bitter.
2. This is an authentic lemon rice recipe. You can add vegetables like carrots, capsicum etc for variation and more taste.

Healthy Gobhi Aloo Matar Masala

Ingredients:

1. Phool Gobhi/ Cauliflower - 1

2. 2 medium size potatoes
3. Green peas - 1/2 katori
4. 2 medium size onions

5. Green chilly - 1

6. Finely chopped ginger - 1/2 spoon
7. Red chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
8. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Coriander powder - 1 tbl spoon
10. Sabzi Masala (Available in market) - 1 tbl spoon
11. Salt to taste

12. Refined oil - 1 large spoon

13. Whole jeera/Cumin seeds

Serves: 3-4 people

Method:

1. Take out cauliflower florets and dip them in warm water with some salt for some time.
2. In wok(kadahi) heat oil and add cumin seeds and let them splutter.
3. Add finely chopped green chilly and ginger and saute for 30 seconds.
4. Put finely chopped onion in the wok and saute n slow flame for 3-4 mins or till onions change colour to golden brown.
5. Add coriander powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder and 1/2 katori water to release the flavours. Mix well.
6. Put diced potatoes and salt. Cover and cook for 5 mins on slow flame.
7. Now strain cauliflower properly to remove all contents of water and add to the wok. Also add peas. Mix well and again cover and cook for 8-10 mins while stirring in between.
8. Put Sabzi Masala and cover and cook for another 2 mins then turn off the flame.
9. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve hot with paranthas or chapati.

Tip: You can avoid peas to make healthy and delicious Gobhi Aloo.

Veg Soya Kababs

The soya kababs are a very healthy snack option for those trying to loose weight as it is rich in protein and does not contain carbs like potato.

Ingredients:

1. Soya granules - 2 cups

2. Boiled peas - 1/2 cup

3. 1 medium onion
4. 1 green chilly
5. Besan/Gram flour - 4 big spoon
6. Chilly powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
7. Coriander powder - 1 tbl spoon
8. Roasted jeera/cumin powder - 1/2 tbl spoon
9. Garam masala - 1/4 tbl spoon
10. Chaat masala - 1/2 tbl spoon
11. Chopped ginger - 1 tbl spoon
12. Fresh coriander - 3 big spoon
13. Salt to taste
14. Refined oil - 2-3 spoon

Serves: 5-6

Method:

1. Soak soya granules in boiling hot water for 5 mins and then strain them by removing extra water.
2. In a pan heat 1 spoon refined oil and add finely chopped onion to it. Saute the onion till it turns light pink in colour.
3. Put finely chopped ginger and green chilly in this and saute again for 2 mins.
4. Put gram flour/besan and saute it for 3-4 mins so that besan is cooked properly.
5. Now add red chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chaat masala and garam masala to the pan and mix well.
6. Mash the peas and add them to pan and mix well.
7. Add soaked soya granules to the above and 1/2 katori water. Mix well so that mixture is properly binded.
8. Turn off the gas and take out mixture in a bowl and let it cool.

9. Add salt and green coriander to the mixture and mix well. If you find mixture is a little wet then you can add some bread crumbs or oats to improve the texture. Bread crumbs and oats soaks extra moisture.

10. Make round shaped kabas from this mixture.

11. Heat 2 spoon oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the kababs on slow flame from both sides.

12. These can be served with mint chutney or tomato ketchup.