Aloo Gobi!

I realised that one Indian dish which has become universal is Aloo gobi. I was talking to a swiss lady in the tram and she confessed that she loved Indian dishes. In her german accent, she said- I love aloo gobi! A very popular menu in Indian restaurants, it sure has caught the fascination of people- Cauliflower (gobi) florets & potatoes (aloo) sauteed with Indian spices!

Ingredients-

1 medium sized cauliflower (seperate the florets from the stem)

4-5 potatoes - peeled and cut in small cubes

one medium sized onion (chopped finely)

garlic & ginger paste 1 tsp

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

cumin seeds - 1 tsp

red chilli powder- 3/4 tsp

garam masala- 1 tsp

coriander powder- 1tsp

salt according to taste

kasoori methi leaves (dry leaves crushed) 1 tsp (fenugreek leaves)

How did I make it?

If you are a bit careless, you will land up making this dish into one soggy yellow paste. The potatoes take a longer time to cook and cauliflowers cook pretty easily. First step is to heat oil and add cumin seeds. As the seeds start to sputter, add onions. Fry the onions for 3-5 minutes till they become translucent. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for a couple of minutes. In a small bowl of water, mix coriander powder, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric powder to a liquid paste. Add this paste to the onions that are getting sauteed and cook for a couple of seconds. Mix in the potatoes and cover the wok to cook. When potatoes are half done, add the florets and salt. Cover to cook. Open after a few minutes, add kasoori methi leaves and mix them thoroughly. Sprinkle a bit of water, if need be. Allow the cauliflower to cook with potatoes for 5-8 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy it hot!

carrots & potatoes cooked in a masala gravy

Nothing fancy about this dish- all I can describe is - hearty, comforting with simple flavors to go with roti or rice! I just made this dish and my whole house is smelling of a lovely coriander flavor with garam masala wafting through out the house. Should get that appetite up and running, shouldn't it?

What do we need?

2 cups chopped/cubed carrots
1 cup chopped/cubed potatoes
garlic/ginger paste - 1 tsp
cumin seeds
1 green chilli- chopped
garam masala 1/2 tsp
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree
salt according to taste
1/4 tsp red chilli powder

How did I make it?

Once the veggies are chopped, cooking the dish takes about 10-15 minutes. It is a gravy based dish and works well with rice dishes. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add green chilli pieces and chopped onions. Fry them for about 2 minutes till the onions become translucent. Mix the garlic/ginger paste and toss them for a second. Add the tomato puree and cook for a couple of seconds. Blend in the garam masala and red chilli powder. Add the carrots and potatoes to this mixture with a bit of water for them to cook. Adjust salt according to your taste. Cook on a medium flame till the vegetables are cooked. Bring in the magical coriander leaves for garnishing! Enjoy :)

Lentil dumplings in Yoghurt (Dahi vada)

Cricket has become a religion for India- There is a buzz in the air when you gotta match on weekends. Especially, when your home country is performing badly (the atmosphere is tense)- players are criticized for their techniques, captain takes the blame, there is disappointment written all over the faces of viewers...and then things start turning in your favor. Last few overs are thrilling when the match is evenly paced and you are not sure if your team is going to win... Food becomes critical for such crucial matches- I threw in some bruschetta and a south Indian lentil dumplings to go for the occasion. Of course, things turned out great with a win for India and my lentil dumplings in yoghurt was a hit! Simple to make, the dumplings taste awesome when soaked in yoghurt seasoned with mustard and coriander- a true match winner :)

Ingredients- (for dumplings)

Urad dal ( 1 cup)- white gram/lentils

2 tsp rice

chopped curry leaves

salt according to taste

black peppercorns (1/2 tsp)

1 green chilli

For yoghurt base-

Thick yoghurt

corriander leaves finely chopped

green chilli pieces (finely chopped)

salt according to taste

mustard (1/2 tsp)

broken red chilli pieces

oil to saute

Preparation-

Batter preparation is the tricky part. Soak urad dal (lentils) with rice in water for an hour. Drain the water completely after an hour and blend it in a mixer to a smooth dough by adding green chillies, pepper, salt. The batter should be firm and not watery. Avoid using water when blending in the mixer. Once batter is ready, add chopped curry leaves and blend it well. Heat oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, shape batter like a doughnut with hole in middle and fry it to golden brown on both sides.

Yoghurt base preparation-

Blend chopped coriander and green chilli pieces in yoghurt. Add a bit of water and whisk it to a smooth texture. Adjust salt according to your taste. 

Final preparation-

Soak the lentil dumplings in hot water for few minutes till it becomes soft. Squeeze water gently from the dumplings and drop them in yoghurt. Allow the dumplings to absorb the yoghurt. In a small frying pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, broken red chilli pieces with asafoetida powder. As the mustard begin to sputter, remove from fire and add them to yoghurt. Chill it for half an hour and serve!

Punjabi cholay

Cholay is a very popular chickpea dish in northern India. Cooked in a rich brown gravy with exotic spices this dish tastes heavenly with roti, rice or bhature. Chickpeas can be cooked in a simple normal gravy with spices but then if you ever had the chance to taste punjabi cholay you will never want to eat anything else! So, take a plunge and get cooking with something exotic and flavorful.

Ingredients

Chickpeas/garbanzo beans -1 cup

For the gravy

2 onions chopped
1 tomato chopped
Ginger - peeled and grated (about 1tsp)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Spices

Coriander seeds 2tsp
Seeds of wild pomegranate/anardhana (omit if not available)- 1/2tsp
1 piece cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 black cardamom
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 dry red chilli piece

Preparation

Soak the chickpeas overnight in water. It will double in size the next day. Rinse it thoroughly and pressure cook it with a tea bag. Yeah, yeah, you read it right- tea bag! Why tea bag? Punjabi cholay is known for it's rich brown color and when you cook it normally it turns out yellow in color. To give it a good brown color you always pressure cook it with a tea bag. The chickpeas should be cooked super soft and should melt in your mouth.

For the spices, roast all the above ingredients in a pan. Keep tossing them and do not allow them to get burnt. Once roasted, grind them to a fine powder.

Now comes the gravy- Heat oil in a wok and add the chopped ginger. Add the onions and sauté them till translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook the mixture till the oil separates (takes around 8 to 10 minutes). Add the fresh ground spices and garam masala with chilli powder. Cook on a medium flame till the masala gets incorporated. Mix the cooked chickpeas and adjust salt according to taste. Add a little bit of water to cook the chickpeas. Allow it to cook on a medium flame for 20 minutes(keep stirring it consistently). Garnish with chopped onions, lemon wedges, split green chilli pieces or coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Masoor dal - red lentils

Cooking lentils is fun. You can mix and match different spices and give a new look to them. Tired and bored of cooking lentils in a simple manner I tried something different- check out!

Ingredients-


2 cups masoor dal (red lentils)
1 dry red chilli - broken to pieces
1 big onion chopped
1 tomato chopped and smashed
2 garlic pods - crushed & chopped
oil for cooking
red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
corriander leaves chopped for garnishing
mustard seeds -1/4 tsp
Salt according to taste

Spices-


2 tbsp corriander seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp white sesame seeds
2 cloves
cinnamon stick-1
bay leaf-1
black cardamom or badi elaichi- 1 (remove the skin and discard- just use the seeds)
black pepper seeds - 1 tsp
oil to roast the above spices

Preparation- spices

In a pan, heat oil and roast all the spices mentioned above till they turn dark brown. Just ensure that you don't burn the spices. Once roasted, remove it from fire and allow it to cool. Grind it to a fine powder-

Preparation- dal


Pressure cook the red lentils till they melt in mouth. In a pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds along with the broken red chilli pieces. As the mustard seeds start popping saute garlic and onions on a medium flame for 5 minutes. Add the tomato. Cook for another five minutes till they are incorporated. Mix the above prepared spices and red chilli powder. Add dal (lentils) with a bit of water and allow it to cook well with the spices. Adjust salt according to taste and cook the dal for 5-8 minutes. Remove from flame and serve hot with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with rice/roti/naan!

Tomato & paneer aromatic rice

I love basmati rice. The aroma of basmati rice is simply irresistible. Use bay leaves and cardamom to bring out the best from basmati. It is not necessary that you have to go the extra mile of making it exotic- a simple combination of the right spices is all it takes to win you accolades on your cooking. Even if you don't have many ingredients just cook your basmati rice with bay leaves and cardamom to enhance it's aroma!

Ingredients

2 onions sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
2 green cardamom pods crushed
Kasoori methi leaves (I used dry crushed leaves- also known as fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
3/4 tsp garam masala powder
Cumin seeds
Garlic & ginger paste
1 Bay leaf
1 small cup chopped cottage cheese
Coriander leaves for garnishing
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
Salt according to taste
Dry red chilli (broken)

Preparation

First step is to cook rice with two cups of water over medium flame on a non-stick pan. Allow the rice to cook on its own and do not stir in between otherwise the long grain of basmati tends to break. Once the rice is cooked just give it a slight toss and keep it aside. In a separate wok heat a liberal dose of oil- add cumin seeds and bay leaf. As the cumin seeds begin to sputter add broken dry red chilli and onions. Fry them till they are translucent. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook them over a medium flame for 5 minutes. Toss in the chopped tomatoes and cook till it is incorporated. Add the cottage cheese and cook for a couple of minutes. Now comes our spices- red chilli powder, garam masala powder, crushed cardamom, kasoori methi leaves. Add a bit of oil and mix the spices. The aroma should get your audience up on their feet literally begging you to serve the food immediately! Adjust the salt and blend this mixture to you cooked rice.

Add coriander leaves and a bit of melted butter to make it more silky. Serve hot and watch the rice vanish with the aroma lingering to make it a memorable meal!

You can really do much more with this rice- add different vegetables to make it look colorful or add cloves/cinnamon to give extra aroma. If you are not fond of cottage cheese/paneer just skip it or fry it befor you use if you don't like the raw taste of paneer.

cottage cheese and onion stuffed roti!

Gloomy sunday afternoon always demands spicy food! Cottage cheese, onions, spices stuffed in a flat bread and fried to golden brown- top this with spicy pickle and yoghurt on the side. Now that's what I call a belly filling dish :)

Ingredients (for stuffing)

1 cup grated cottage cheese
1 onion chopped finely
coriander leaves chopped finely
2 green chillies (chopped)
salt (according to taste)
garam masala (1/2 tsp)
coriander powder (1/4 tsp)
Kasoori methi leaves (1 tsp)- fenugreek leaves
2 garlic cloves (chopped finely)

Ingredients (for the base)


Wheat flour (11/2 cup)
water
salt

Preparation


Knead the flour to a smooth dough with the help of water and set it aside. In a bowl mix all the stuffing ingredients with a liberal dose of oil. Take a ball of dough and flatten it to a small circle. Add the filling in the middle and fold the sides to make it into a small pouch. Flatten this small pouch to a medium sized circle. Fry this in a pan to golden brown on both sides. Serve with yoghurt and pickle. Enjoy!

Chickpeas in a spicy gravy (chole)

I am really comfortable making chickpeas. Easy to cook and tastes great with everything- Rice/Roti. I always get the regular white chickpeas (also known as Kabuli chana in northern India) and hardly use the black small ones. If you get your hands on the small black chickpeas also known as kala chana, try them out. If you cook them with Indian spices in a gravy, it tastes swell and doesn't take much of your time either!

What do we need?

2 cups Kala chana/small black chickpeas
one onion medium sized (chopped)
1 big tomato (mashed to a paste/pureed)
2 big cloves garlic (crushed and chopped finely)
1/2 tsp ginger grated
1 green chilli chopped
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
coriander powder 1 tsp
cumin seed powder 1 tsp
red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
black pepper powder 1/4 tsp
garam masala 1/4 tsp
kasoori methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)
coriander leaves (for garnishing)
1 bay leaf
cinnamon powder (dash of it)
salt (according to taste)

Preparation-
Soak the chickpeas overnight and then pressure cook it till they are soft and melt in your mouth. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin seeds and bay leaf. Add onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Fry them till they are golden brown. Add the tomato puree/paste with red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, black pepper, garam masala and a dash of cinnamon. Keep stirring till the oil separates from the gravy. Take 2 big tbsp of chickpeas separately in a cup and crush them to a paste. Add this paste to the gravy and fry the gravy for five minutes. As the gravy starts becoming rich and thick, add the rest of the chickpeas with some water (for the chickpeas to cook and blend with the gravy). Add salt and kasoori methi leaves. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or roti!

Finally some aloo parantha (Rotis stuffed with potato filling)

There is always one dish which is done by everyone belonging to a particular region/country. I consider Aloo parantha (rotis stuffed with potato filling) as one of the popular dishes in Northern India. I was intending on making this dish and blogging about it some months ago- never had the opportunity with so much going on in my head :)- I had a friend coming home for lunch and the request from the friend was simple- Aloo parantha. Finally, I had a go at my favorite dish, which turned out pretty sumptuous. It is really simple to make and can be prepared at a short notice with minimal ingredients!

Ingredients for the stuffing-

One big onion- chopped finely
2 boiled and mashed potatoes (medium sized)
Coriander leaves- chopped finely (about a handful)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp corriander powder
chilli flakes or paprika powder (1/4 tsp)
Salt (according to taste)
Oil to mix all the ingredients mentioned above.

Ingredients for the Base-

Wheat flour (2 cups)
salt
water to mix

Preparation-

The base is pretty simple- You have to knead the flour with salt to a fine and smooth dough. There are two ways to actually go about your filling- you can sauté the potatoes and onions with the spices mentioned above in a wok and then use it to stuff the roti's. The other way (which I follow) is to just mix all the ingredients in a bowl without cooking and use it for stuffing. Once you have the base and the filling ready all you need to do is take a ball of wheat and flatten it to a small round. Fill around 1 to 2 spoons of the filling in the middle. Fold the roti with the filling in middle so that it appears as a small pouch. Flatten this pouch with a rolling pin to a medium sized round shape.

Fry the parantha in a hot pan till both sides are golden brown. Serve with chutney/pickle and enjoy!

Potatoes cooked with peas in a gravy (aloo matar)

Come sunday and my house smells of good authentic Indian food. I love taking my time to whip up something special. The demand of the house was aloo matar and boy, we had a sumptuous lunch with basmati rice, aloo matar, lemon pickle and raita. Here is my take on the famous north Indian dish- Potatoes cooked with peas in a gravy (aloo matar). Enjoy!

Ingredients-

4 big potatoes (boiled, peeled and chopped in cubes)
1 big cup thawed and ready to use frozen green peas
onion (1 big sliced)
2 tomatoes (chopped)
cumin seeds (1 tsp)
garlic (2 cloves)
red paprika powder (1 tsp)
coriander powder (1 tsp)
garam masala powder (1 tsp)
salt (according to taste)
dash of cardamom powder
coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation-

In a pan, fry the cubed potatoes and set it aside. Grind the onions, garlic to a fine smooth paste. In a wok heat some oil. Add the cumin seeds. As the seeds start to sputter add the onion-garlic paste. Fry the paste till the onion loses its raw taste and the gravy starts to become golden brown. Mash the chopped tomatoes to a pulp and add them to the onion-garlic gravy. Cook it for 5 minutes and then add the spices- paprika powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, cardamom powder and salt. Keep cooking on a medium flame for 10 minutes till oil separates from the paste. Add the thawed peas and some water for the peas to cook. When the peas are cooked add the fried potatoes and stir it for a while. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve it with roti or rice!

Flavorful quinoa!

It is small, red and very intimidating to look at! It will look at you from the package and dare you to come up with something innovative...Once you get to know it, you will be humbled by its sheer goodness- that's quinoa in a nutshell for me :) I spiked it up with some Indian flavors- Check out!

Ingredients-

Red quinoa- 2 cups

Bell peppers- 1/2 cup (preferably yellow one- color combination works great with red quinoa)

Broccoli (1/2 cup)

Onion - 1 medium sized (sliced)

Corriander leaves - chopped

Cumin seeds

Dry red chilli piece- broken in half (alternatively, you can use chopped green chillies)

2-3 tbsp grated coconut

Salt according to taste

Sambar powder (1/2 tsp)- completely optional (alternatively, you can use garam masala, curry masala powders)

** sambar powder is a spicy powder consisting of lentils, corriander seeds, mustard, black pepper, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds** (you will get it ready made from any Asian grocery shop)

Preparation-

Bring some water to boil and put the quinoa in. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. Keep it aside. In a seperate wok heat some oil. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add the red chilli pieces and sliced onions. Fry them till they are translucent. Toss in the bell peppers, broccoli. Cook for few minutes before adding sambar powder and salt. Add the cooked quinoa and cook all the ingredients for a few minutes. For the finishing touch add the grated coconut and corriander leaves. 

Penne Arrabiata

Everyone has a comfort food that they love whipping up in a short span of time...My comfort food is penne arabiata- With the main star as tomato, you could practically get this on the table within 10 minutes. There are countless variations of making this one- with white wine, red wine, balsamic vinegar....I like to keep it simple with just tomatoes and a strong flavor of garlic (I am nuts about garlic)

If you need something tangy and spicy which doesn't take too much time, then this dish is ideal-

Ingredients-

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4-5 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can Italian tomatoes with their juice, chopped 
• 1 or 2 dried hot red chilies, broken into pieces, or 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes to taste
• Salt to taste
• Penne pasta
• Crushed black pepper
• Grated parmesan to serve

Preparation-

In a pan, saute the onion and garlic with olive oil. Once the onion has softened, add the chopped tomatoes and chilli flakes. Cook the mixture for a few minutes before seasoning it with salt and pepper. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes till it thickens to a good sauce consistency. Meanwhile, cook the penne pasta in plenty of salted water until it is softened. Remove from fire and drain the excess water. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. Serve with grated parmesan!

Guacamole dip with veggie tortilla

Gosh, guacamole is one recipe that has so many variations and you never get tired of trying different combinations of it! This one is slightly different and I gave it a twist with some ground cumin and pepper-

What do we need?


4 Avacados
about 2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (4 for a stronger garlic flavor- I am a huge garlic fan)
1 tomato chopped (the fleshier it is the better it comes out)
cilantro/corriander leaves
1 medium sized onion chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin (dry roast cumin seeds on a pan till light brown and then grind it)
green chillies (4) (serrano chillies are preferable, if not use the normal ones like I used in this recipe)
salt and dash of ground pepper (according to taste)

How did I put together?

Peel and mash your avacados in a bowl. In a mixer/food processor, blend the rest of the ingredients for about five seconds. Add your mashed avacados and again blend them for few seconds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving- Popularly used as a dip, I used it for the tortilla wrap- You can store it in a tightly closed jar and keep in fridge for two to three days...

Simple veggie filling- for the tortilla

You can use any vegetables for the filling- (I used 4 medium sized potatoes and 2 carrots for the filling). Chop the carrots and potatoes into cubes and boil them for around 10 minutes (till they have softened a bit and not lost their shape). In a separate wok add oil and once it is hot, toss in some fennel seeds. Add the potatoes and carrots and fry for few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and salt. Cook the vegetables on a low flame till they are golden brown. Add chopped coriander leaves for the extra flavor.

Final presentation- 

Take a wheat tortilla and spread your guacamole on it. Fill in the veggies and roll them to enjoy your evening!

You can be really creative with the filling- Instead of guacamole, you can use salsa or garlic sauce with the vegetables- Makes a great lunch box recipe!