Aloo fry

One thing is for sure- Potato dishes are popular in every corner of this earth. That is one vegetable which is a hit with everyone. Imagine a lazy saturday afternoon with a dish that is smeared with spices and has been fried to a perfection with corriander leaves... here we go with Aloo (potato) fry dish- Requires minimal effort with maximized guarantee of satisfaction :)

  

Ingredients-

• Potoatoes (1/2 Kilo)
• Cumin seeds
• Green chillies (2) chopped finely
• Paprika powder (3/4 tsp) 
• Corriander powder (3/4 tsp)
• Salt (according to taste)
• Chat masala/garam masala/tandoori masala (1/2 tsp) - I used tandoori masala for my dish, but you can also use chat masala or garam masala or avoid using any masala altogether.
• Chopped corriander leaves

Preparation-

Boil potatoes and peel the skin. Cut them in cubes. In a wok, add oil (liberal dose) and as it gets hot put in the cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds start sputtering, put the chopped green chillies, boiled potatoes and give it a good toss. Let's shake this up with our spices- add paprika powder, corriander powder, tandoori masala/garam masala and salt. Pour some oil and allow the potatoes to fry with the masala. Just ensure potatoes don't stick to the bottom and keep tossing the potatoes so that it turns golden brown. Leave the potatoes to fry on a low flame for around 15 minutes. Finishing touch is our corriander leaves- sprinkle and enjoy! Makes a great starter :)

                                                                                                           

    

Leftover lentils?

What do you do with left over dal (lentils cooked with Indian spices)? Simple- make some paranthas (Indian flat bread) with them! One of the easy to make recipes which tastes fantastic with yoghurt.

  

                                                                                                        

Ingredients-

• Left over Yellow dal/lentils 
• Wheat flour
• Salt (according to taste)

Alternatively (if you don't have left over yellow dal) you can pressure cook some yellow split bean/moong dal around 1 cup and cook it simply with Indian spices. Here is a quick recipe for dal- 

Ingredients- Chopped ginger (1/2 tsp), crushed and chopped garlic (3 pieces)- if you are fond of garlic, go for four to five pieces, 1 onion chopped, 1 tomato chopped, 2 green chillies (chopped), cumin seeds (1/2 tsp)

Preparation-
As mentioned above, cook the yellow dal/lentils till they are soft or pressure cook them (for around 3 whistles). In a small frying pan heat some butter and once it melts, add cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds start sputtering add chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies. Fry them for a minute before adding some chopped onions and tomatoes. Fry them for ten minutes. Once it is fried well add salt and corriander leaves. Pour this gravy into the cooked lentils and cook the dal for 2 minutes- Remember your dal has to be soupy.

Now back to my original recipe for parantha-  I had good quantity of left over dal and this is what I did with it- In a big mixing bowl, add around 2 cups of wheat flour and with the help of the soupy dal knead it to a fine dough. Add salt according to taste. Try to avoid using water to knead the flour (the soupy dal should suffice). In case you run out of dal, add water. Once you are finished kneading the flour add a big spoon of oil to make the dough silky and pound it well. The end result should be like this-

For making paranthas take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin using a bit of flour so that it doesn't stick to the surface-

Cook this parantha in a frying pan with oil/butter till they become golden brown on both sides-

Enjoy them with yoghurt and pickle or hot chilli sauce!

This is one style of preparing the parantha- there is another way to make this (with stuffing inside). Will blog someday about that as well - watch out for this space! Remember you can do this with any kind of left over dal/lentils -not just yellow dal- you can improvise this recipe by adding chopped corriander and chopped onions to the dough when kneading.

Black eye beans

I love black eye beans (lobia) and if cooked in a good spicy gravy it absolutely tastes heavenly! So let's get cooking black eye beans-

Ingredients-

• 2 cups black eye beans (soaked overnight)
• 1 tablespoon corriander powder
• 3/4 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 tablespoon garam masala
• one chopped onion
• 3 big cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tomato (chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• cardamom powder for flavor (dash of it will do)
• Dry red chilli (2 pieces) - 
• Chopped corriander
• 1 spoon butter

Preparation-

Pressure cook the black eye beans till they are soft and tender (takes about 30-40 minutes). In a wok add some oil and once it gets hot put in the cumin seeds and dry red chillies (break them into small pieces). As the cumin seeds start sputtering, add the onions and fry them till they are translucent. Add the garlic and ginger. Keep stirring for two minutes. Add the chopped tomato and mash them a bit so that it becomes a good thick paste. Now comes the spices- put the turmeric powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala. Cook for around 5 minutes till the oil separates from the mixture. Add the boiled black eye beans with two cups of water and continue to cook till the beans blend well with the spices (which should take just around 5 minutes). Add salt and cardamom powder. Add the butter and cook for one minute. Before serving add chopped corriander and enjoy it hot with rice or rotis!

Mixed Vegetable Rice

Rice is truly a flamboyant ingredient as you can be super creative with it. You can mix and match spices and come up with something really flavorful. My recipe is a simple vegetable rice where I cook the vegetables with Indian spices and mix them with Jasmine rice or Thai rice. 

Ingredients-

• Jasmine rice 1 cup 
• Half a cup of peas, bell peppers, cauliflower, carrot and boiled potatoes
• One onion (sliced)
• One tomato (sliced)
• One spoon garlic-ginger paste
• Cumin seeds
• Salt (according to taste)
• Corriander powder (1 tablespoon)
• Hot curry masala powder or Garam masala powder (1 tablespoon)
• Crushed cardamom seeds

Preparation- (Rice)

Wash the rice thoroughly and leave it soaked in water for about half an hour. After half an hour drain the excess water and keep it separately. In a wok heat some oil and add cumin seeds once the oil is hot. As the cumin seeds start sputtering add the rice and pour two cups of water. Allow the rice to cook on a high flame for few minutes and once the rice starts boiling close the wok with a lid and allow it to cook on a low flame. In about 15 minutes, the rice should be ready.

Preparation - (Vegetables)

In a separate wok heat some oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions and fry them till golden brown. Add the chopped tomato and vegetables and fry them till tender (don't allow it to get mushy). Add the garlic- ginger paste, corriander powder, garam masala and crushed cardamom seeds. Mix the vegetables with spices and add salt according to taste. Once the vegetables are fried and have completely taken the spices mix them with the prepared rice. Enjoy it piping hot :)

Simple home food...

It is really sad that people don't cook at home these days. It has become a trend to go out and discover new restaurants rather than cook at home. Cooking is an art and if you keep the recipes simple, you can discover the joy of cooking great food- Try out this north Indian dish called Rajmah chawal- really tastes great for dinner with friends- Rajmah is nothing but red kidney beans cooked in a rich gravy which can be eaten with naan/roti or steaming hot rice. I love Rajmah with rice (chawal). The only effort that goes in this dish is cooking the kidney beans- You have to soak it overnight and cook it in a pressure cooker/steamer till it softens and melts in your mouth- If pressed for time, simply grab a tin of ready to use kidney beans (that has already been cooked). 

Rajmah Chawal

Ingredients to cook Rajmah (Red kidney beans)

2 cups red ked kidney beans (soak it in water overnight)

1 big tomatoe - chopped

2 onions - chopped

1 spoon ginger grated

1 red chilli

2 garlic pieces crushed and chopped

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 big spoon corriander powder

salt according to taste

Bay leaf

Cardamom seeds- crushed

Cinnamon stick (small piece)

dash of black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika powder or red chilli powder

Let's get cooking Rajmah- 

First cook the soaked kidney beans in a pressure cooker or steamer for 30 to 40 minutes till they soften - The test is once they are cooked try crushing them with your thumb- the kidney bean should crush without any effort. In a wok, heat some oil. Once the oil is hot, put in the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garlic, ginger and chopped red chillies. Now throw in the onions and cook them till they become golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and keep blending the ingredients till they become a thick paste. Now comes the spices- Add corriander powder, crushed cardamom seeds, pepper, salt, paprika powder. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes until the oil separates from the mixture and it becomes a thick gravy. Add the cooked kidney beans with 2 cups of water and allow the beans to blend well with the gravy. Close the wok with a lid and allow the beans to cook with the gravy for 10 to 12 minutes on a low flame. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and lightly smash the kidney beans while mixing. Add a spoon of butter and mix the kidney beans thoroughly so that it takes the essence of butter. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves- Cook some basmati rice and enjoy your kidney beans!

Mushroom Pulav

You can do so much with rice-  I have lost count of the varieties that I keep making.... You can mix and match different spices, vegetables and come up with something special- I got way too many mushrooms on sale  and my fridge was literally bursting with them :(

The problem with mushrooms is they don't have shelf life and you have to use them as soon as possible- So, I cooked rice with mushrooms, bell peppers, peas, corn with spices. Try it out for a good lunch time!

Ingredients- Mushroom (diced), Bell peppers (red and yellow variety- use green if you have), peas, sweet corn, uncooked rice (washed and soaked in water for half an hour)-

Spices- corriander seeds (1/2 teaspoon), cumin seeds (1/2 teaspoon), green cardamom (3 pieces), dash of Ajwain seeds- crush them and keep it aside-

Apart from that keep crushed garlic, bay leaf, chopped ginger, cinnamon stick, dash of nutmeg ready!

Preparation- We need to cook the rice first- In a wok, add liberal dose of oil. Once the oil is hot,  add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, one bay leaf, green chillies, crushed garlic and ginger. Allow the oil to absorb the garlic and ginger. Toss in the rice with two cups of water and allow the rice to cook (for one  cup of rice you need two cups of water). You need to cook the rice first on a high flame and as the water starts evaporating reduce the flame. Allow the rice to cook on a low flame for five minutes.

In a separate wok, pour in oil and stir fry mushrooms with bell peppers, corn and peas. Add the crushed spices, salt and stir fry the vegetables till they become tender and not mushy. Add the stir fried mushrooms to the cooked rice. Garnish it with fried cashew nuts and chopped coriander leaves to enjoy a good meal! Serve it with papads and raita for a great experience :)

Spinach cooked with cottage cheese...

I love Paneer (cottage cheese) and any recipe tastes great with it! Especially if you are not a huge fan of spinach, then try making it with paneer and boy you will love it. This recipe is very popular in northern India. Here is my take on palak paneer- Enjoyyyyyyy

Ingredients- Spinach (about 500 gms), cottage cheese (cubed- about one big cup)

For the Gravy- you need 2 onions (finely chopped), garlic (3-4 cloves-crushed and chopped), grated ginger (about a small tablespoon), medium sized tomatoe (finely chopped)- the spices that go in are- cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, bay leaves, a little bit of ajwain (carom seeds), garam masala, corriander powder, amchoor powder (dried mango powder), dried red chillies (2 pieces) and of course my favorite chopped corriander leaves!   

Preparation is simple- We need to wash the spinach leaves, and boil them a bit in water till they become soft- once they are soft blend them in a mixer to a paste and keep it aside- Now get the gravy ready- In a wok, pour oil (liberal dose), and once it becomes hot add the cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, a bit of ajwain or carom seeds-When the garlic is golden brown add the chopped onions, dried red chillies and roast them till they are golden brown. Toss in the chopped tomatoes and keep mixing the ingredients till the tomatoes blend with onions and becomes a paste. 

Now comes the spices- Put in the garam masala, corriander powder(about a big tablespoon each) and amchur powder (just a dash of it). Cook the ingredients till the masala blends and the mixture starts to become a thick consistency of a gravy. Add salt according to taste. 

Add in the blended spinach to the gravy and cook till spinach loses its raw taste and takes in the spices. Add the bowl of cottage cheese towards the end and cook it on a low flame for around 5 minutes. Before removing it from fire, add a big tablespoon of butter and blend in till the butter melts. Garnish it with chopped corriander! There is a slight variation in this recipe- Usually, the cottage cheese is deep fried (separately) in oil before mixing it with spinach. I simply love to keep the flavor of cottage cheese and mix it without frying it in oil. 

Serve it with hot rotis- yum!

Spice up your world....

I wanted to highlight some of the spices used in Indian cooking- 

Garam masala- (hot masala powder)- well, the recipe differs from region to region and I am pretty much sure that you will get a decent brand from your local market- Garam Masala is a culmination of various spices like- cumin seeds, shahi jeera or black cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom (Green, black and brown varities), nutmeg, coriander seeds, fennel seeds (may contain traces of garlic powder, ginger powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder- depending upon the brand). Using Garam masala will add good authentic Indian flavor to your food.

Another powder which I most commonly use is the hot curry masala powder. This is similar to garam masala but has a different and strong flavor than Garam masala- This masala not only contains similar spices to that of Garam masala but also asafoetida, mustard seeds, caraway, coriander seeds and brings in a little bit of color to your food (because of turmeric).

Corriander powder- I love using this one and tend to add it to almost all my cusine because of the exotic flavor it brings to the food.

Turmeric powder- Bring that lovely color to your food with turmeric powder- it is really good for health! 

To get a tangy taste to your recipe you can even use amchur powder (made from dried, ground mangoes)- A dash of this powder in vegetables wouldn't hurt and gives a nice tangy flavor-

Bay leaves gives you an exotic aroma to any gravy or rice and I do use it a lot along with green cardamom-

I love adding a bit of Ajwain seeds (Carom seeds) for medical reasons- It helps reliving gas from your stomach- 

There are many more masalas that can be used to bring a good flavor- I have often seen that sticking to the basic ones really helps and you can keep trying out different ones till you feel a particular combination gets your taste buds tingling! There is no hard and fast rule for the masalas- My mom always used to tell me- Keep it simple for the real flavor to come through :)

Mushroom Mattar

I am not so fond of mushrooms- When I tried my hand at this north Indian recipe, I have started enjoying Mushrooms and this one is real simple and tastes great with rice or naan! 

                               Mushroom and peas cooked in a gravy-

Ingredients- Sliced mushrooms (about half a kilo), 1 cup frozen peas (thawed and ready to use)

For the Gravy- 3 onions finely chopped, 1 tomato finely chopped, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, bay leaves, pinch/dash of cardomom powder for flavor, crushed garlic 2 big pieces, a little bit of chopped ginger, garam masala, curry masala powder, corriander powder, chopped green chillies (about 2) and corriander leaves for garnishing-

First step is the Gravy- In a wok, add liberal dose of oil. Once the oil is hot,  add cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, one bay leaf, green chillies, crushed garlic and ginger. Allow the oil to absorb the garlic and ginger. Add the chopped onions and fry it till the onions lose their raw taste and becomes translucent. Put in the tomato and fry it till it mixes thoroughly with onion and forms a paste. Now comes the masala- add a spoon of garam masala, corriander powder, curry masala powder and allow the contents to cook into a thick paste.

Add salt according to taste. Now pour in two glasses of water to make it to a thick pouring consistency liquid gravy. Toss in the chopped mushrooms and peas to this gravy and allow it to boil till the ingredients blend well. Towards the end, add a dollop of butter and chopped corriander to enhance the taste!

Vibrant Vermicelli

With the football fever around you hardly feel like cooking at home- We land up ordering pizzas before the game. Absolutely sick and tired of eating pizzas, I decided to do some fast cooking- I remembered having a packet of vermicelli (rice noodles or fedelini) and decided to toss it up with some vegetables in fridge- Took me half an hour to prepare and simply vanished within seconds when served :)

Ingredients- Grab all the vegetables that you can find in your fridge- Peas, carrot, beans, Cauliflower, broccoli... cut them and keep it aside. Empty the packet of vermicelli on a hot frying pan and dry roast it till it is light brown. In a wok, heat some oil. When the oil is hot - toss in cumin seeds, peanuts (optional), cashew nuts, green chillies or red dried chillies and fry it till golden brown. Now toss in the vegetables and give a good swirl. Add salt according to taste. Once the vegetables are tender, pour in two cups of water (for two cups of vermicelli) and allow it to boil. When the water is boiling add the roasted vermicelli and allow it to cook with the vegetables. When the vermicelli is cooked and water has completely dried up add in some butter or oil and give it a good toss. This will stop the noodles from sticking to each other and give an enhanced taste. Before serving, add in chopped corriander leaves and enjoy your football game! Tastes great with hot chilli sauce-