Veg Stir Fried Rice

Now this name ie vegetable fried rice or veg stir fried rice reminds me of one thing I love about baroda, the amazing chinese food we find there. Quiet unimaginable but dingy looking small road side eatery called "lari" serves the best veg fried rice and noodles and soups and many more dishes. The key to their success - knowing their spices and knowing their customers. Usually all the dishes served on lari are quite spicy except veg fried rice, this has a subtle flavors to it.

Fried rice is a popular dish in many cuisines ranging from chinese to most of asian and even african nations. These days UK and America's too have their staples like american version of chinese food just as india has indian version of chinese food.
Last vacation I had been to one up beat restaurant called "Mainland china" located in Centre Square Mall and they served genuinely authentic chinese food, the best part, they served us with aromatic jasmine tea as a welcome drink, it was a treat to all of my senses. :)

Today the veg fried rice is for P's lunch pack. These days again he is working crazy hours so I really hope he enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it.


Ingredients :

1/2 cup Long Grain Basmati Rice washed and soaked for min 20 mins, then pressure cooked adding exact 1 cup water.
1 small onion sliced thinly
1 small carrot grated
2 spring onions chopped including the greens
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
2 green chillies slit
1 inch piece of ginger grated/thinly sliced
1/2 tsp red chilli powder/flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
salt to taste
pinch of asafoetida
2 tbs oil

Method :
Cook rice and let is cool for atleast 30 mins before starting the stir fry process. This way rice has time to cool down and bind itself to a perfect shape which is less likely to break easily while stir fry process. Remember warmer rice means more prone to breakage almost like "don't comb your hair while they are wet- more prone to breakage".
Now take a heavy bottom pan and heat oil in it. Add cumin seeds and let them come to a crackle then add asafoetida to it.
Add green chillies and sliced ginger and fry for 10 seconds. Now add all veggies except onion greens. Stir fry for about 2 mins or till the veggies are raw but just a bit tender, specially keep an eye on onions once they are tender but retain the shape, you know its done.
Add rice gently along with onion greens, salt and red chilli flakes.



Tips:
This recipe calls in for minimum salt and spices. You should be able to taste the sweetness of carrots and onions along with natural spiciness of green chilli and ginger. Cabbage and onion greens should give the taste of eating raw leafy veggie. So remember put only half the amount of salt you usually put in any dish with same quantity of rice and veggies.

To make a healthier version you can also add in mung sprouts or any other veggies in hand such as capsicum, cauliflower, zucchini etc.

Gajar ke Parathe

There is something very sweet about this recipe, gajar literally adds sweetness to this paratha recipe. As it is, whats the point in eating paratha if it doesn't have that extra kick of something in it!!!!
The best thing about this recipe is it contains lots of fiber in form of pearl millet or bajri ka atta. It is a nice way of getting more vitamin A too, as it calls in for carrots. Just remember dry roast this paratha and apply just a dash of ghee on top rather than shallow frying it with about 1/2 to 1 tsp oil on each paratha. Ghee tends to give a nice rustic charm to it and that is way I like it. Feel free to play with your food!!
So get your sleeves rolled up, as we make this yumm parathas.

In a large vessel take 1 1/2 cups of wheat flour and same quantity pearl millet flour/bajri ka atta.
Add in 2 large grated carrots (squeeze the juice out of grated carrots)and 1/4th cup chopped parsley or coriander leaves
Add 2 tbs of oil, 2 tbs green chillies-garlic-ginger paste, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 2 tsp sugar, pinch of asafoetida and salt to taste.
Now get your hands dirty and knead a medium soft dough using yogurt/dahi.
Now roll out paratha out of lemon sized ball of dough and roast or shallow fry it using minimum oil on a non-stick griddle.

Serve hot with chutney, achaar, raita or curry of your choice.
Enjoy.

Gajar-Kakdi ka raita

Indian food platter is never complete without raita of some sort, may it be plain boondi raita or coriander mint raitha. Raita is a yogurt based dip served with kebabs or paapadums or biryani etc. It is specially served with spicy food so that this yogurt dip foils the effect of all those spices. Raita, in gujarat, is prepared in many different ways using either or combination of cucumber, mint, raw papaya, pineapple, onion, tomato, capsicum and even eggplants. Further dressed to perfection adding salt, pepper, cumin and other condiments of one's choice

Today I'm posting this simple Gajar-Kakdi raita recipe which I had prepared a few days back but hadn't been able to download the snaps, which delayed its posting.

In a large bowl I mixed in 1 medium sized grated carrot along with 1 medium sized chopped cucumber, 1 green chilli chopped and 2 tbs of chopped coriander leaves. Add 180gms of yogurt and added salt, freshly ground pepper corns and freshly ground cumin seeds/jeera.

Mixed well and refrigerated it for about an hour before serving it.
This raita tastes best when refrigerated for atleast 30 mins to one hour before serving.

I sometimes like to play up with the dressing and add 2-3 pinches of red chilli powder or 1/4th tsp of chilli flakes. Also sometimes I toss in a few chopped mint leaves, gives nice aroma.
So as I said play up with it and enjoy.

Muthiya/Muthia

This lovely steamed dumpling snack comes from the heart of Gujarat. Gujarat is famous for its food especially handvo, muthiya, dhokla, patra, khaman, khamni etc the list is endless. Muthiya is all time favorite tea time snack, sweet and tangy soft muthiya is a comfort and mouth watering snack for those lazy sundays when I just feel like laying back and reading my favorite novel.
I still remember my mom making this lip-smacking dish frequently during winter as fresh methi leaves are abundant during that time. She used to prepare it using kanki-korma loat (ready mix of rice and lentil coarse flour). Here in riyadh its impossible to find kanki -korma loat and methi leaves, so I have modified my mom's recipe to suit my need.

Ingredients :

2 tbs garlic-ginger-green chillies paste
350-400 gms or 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups peeled and grated bottle gourd/dudhi/lauki
1 medium sized cucumber/kakdi peeled and grated
1 large onion grated
1/2 cup whole wheat flour/atta
1/2 cup semolina/rava/soji
1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
1/2 cup pearl millet flour/bajri ka atta
2 tbs rice flour/chokha no loat
2 tbs oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
2 tbs sugar
1/4th cup yogurt/curd/dahi
1/4th tsp soda-bi-carb
2 tsp lemon juice
handful of chopped coriander leaves
pinch of asafoetida

For Tempering :
2 tbs oil
1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1 tbs sesame seeds/til
Pinch of asafoetida/hing

For Garnishing :
3-4 tbs of chopped coriander leaves
2 tbs grated coconut (optional)

Method : (For Muthiya)
Strain juices out of grated lauki, onion and cucumber and keep it aside as it can be used to knead dough if required.
Mix all the ingredients of muthiya in a large bowl and knead into soft dough using the veggie juice if required. You can also add more yogurt instead of veg juice for that ultimate soft muthiyas.
Now oil your palms and form cylindrical shaped muthiyas and place them in a steamer.
Steam them for 25-30 mins or untill well done. To check it they are ready, insert a tooth pick in muthiya and if it comes out clean they are ready and done.
Let them cool for a while.
Cut them into bite sized pieces and get them ready for tempering.

Method : (For Tempering)
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling add sesame seeds and asofoetida.
Add cut muthiyas and stir them in for 5-7 mins.
Garnish it with chopped coriander and coconut.
Serve Hot with green chutney.

Tips: The key to great tasting muthiya is in sweet and sour taste along with delicate softness which can be achieved only with adding right amount of sugar and curd. Sugar can be adjusted according to taste and can be avoided if you don't prefer sweet at all but there should be no compromise of yogurt, it is a must. If you knead dough entirely from dahi, you can never can go wrong with softness issue, but remember in this case don't add lemon juice at all.

Chawli/Chauli nu shaak

Chauli/chawli also known as long beans, lobiya/lubia in northern india or dau gok in eastern asia is a versatile vegetable used in range of dishes from omelets to stir fries and pilaf to salads. The crisp, tender pods are eaten both fresh and cooked. They are at their best when young and slender. Not to mention they carry high potential in nutritional values. Searching for more information I found this information useful, thanks to wikipedia:
"In a serving size of 100 grams of yardlong beans there are 47 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 4 mg sodium (0% daily value), 8 grams of total carbohydrates (2% daily value), and 3 grams of protein (5% daily value). There is also 17% DV vitamin A, 2% DV iron, 31% DV vitamin C, and 5% DV calcium. (Percent daily values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Individual daily values may be higher or lower depending on individual calorie needs.) "

So here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

250 gms chopped chauli/long beans
1 medium sized onion sliced
1 tbs ginger-garlic-green chilli ground to coarse paste
few curry leaves
handful of chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander cumin/ dhania-jeera powder
1 tsp urad dal/white lentil (optional)
salt to taste
2 tsp oil

Method:
Heat a heavy bottom pan on medium heat add oil and urad dal.
Once the dal changes it color from white to brownish white add jeera and rai. Let them sputter then add asafoetida, curry leaves and sliced onion.
Cook for about 1 minute. Now add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and cook for another minute.
Add chopped chauli/chawli along with turmeric powder and salt.
Add 2 tbs of water at this stage. Cover and cook for around 7-8 mins on low flame.
Open the lid add red chilli powder and dhania-jeera powder, mix well and cover and cook for 1 more minute.
Turn off the heat. Garnish it with chopped coriander and serve.
Goes nicely with thin chappati, rice and paratha of any kind.

Surmayi Paratha

This recipe is invented by me by mistake(total mistake)..... however it came out amazing in taste. The other day, I guess, I was pondering over some episode I had watched, of course it was Oprah and some girl burnt by his ex-boyfriend by acid or something... and I kept thinking what the hell is happning to this world and what not and it was during this that I committed this crime of mixing wheat flour along with millet flour... actually I was intending to prepare chapati dough.... but by mistake I mixed millet flour into wheat flour... So I had to use that concoction of flour so I just added a dash of ground peppercorn and jeera along with handful of chopped coriander and salt.Made paratha of it which were a bit blackish in colour, attribute goes to millet flour and peppercorn powder and so I decided I should call it Surmayi Paratha, as we know Surma means kajal/kohl.
To my amazement this paratha at great in taste and can be prepared in a jiffy. I think I'm going to stick with this recipe for a long long time.
Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bajra flour/pearl millet flour
handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper corn
1/2 tsp coarse ground cumin seeds/ jeera
salt as per taste
oil for shallow frying
water for kneading the dough

Method:

Now girls you know the drill, mix everything except oil, knead into a soft dough, make 10 lemon sized balls from the dough, roll out the paratha, heat iron griddle, place paratha on hot griddle, apply oil (about 1 tsp) and shallow fry the parathas.... voila surmayi parathas are ready.

This paratha tastes amazing with anything like any veg curry or dal, sweetened yogurt, raita, chutney, ketchup or your favorite aachar.
I love it with pipping hot cup of masala tea.
Enjoy.

Minty Vegetable Biryani

This is a simple recipe which can be served either in lunch or dinner, also handy recipe when I'm feeling a bit lazy or short of time or just when my taste buds are demanding more. P too loves aromatic recipes like these. This time I prepared this recipe as a lunch box item for P, I'm so happy since he started carrying his own home made lunch to office, atleast I don't have to worry about those greasy foods he has when he goes out for lunch from office.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Basmati rice soaked for 15-20 mins
1 to 1 1/2 cups of diced veggies of your choice, I used potato, onion, cauliflower florets and carrot.
1 cup chopped mint leaves
Handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 tsp garlic paste
2 green chilles slit into half
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 inch piece of cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 to 2 tsp biryani masala
Salt to taste.
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp oil.

Method:

Put pressure pan on medium heat and add oil and ghee, once oil is hot enough add jeera seeds along with cinnamon stick, curry leaves, slit green chillies and garlic paste. Saute for 20 to 30 seconds.
Now add diced veggies, also add all dry masala including salt, which will be for all veggies + rice. Saute for 2 mins.
At this point add soaked rice with 2 cups of water and all of mint and coriander leaves. Cover the pressure pan and cook it till 3 whistles.
Yummy biryani is ready, serve it with raita or plain curd, anything will go with this lovely aromatic wholesome dish.

I served it with cucumber raita.

Happy Diwali!!!

Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year to all. Diwali holds a special place in my heart, its all about diyas, rangoli, patake and sweets to me. Its a feeling of fresh start of life, fresh hope and fresher newer dreams for the year ahead. I badly miss that barodian way of diwali, echoes of laughter buzzling around my karelibaug home which would be packed with near and dear ones, those shouts of my mom to keep watch on my younger bro and sis as they overexcitedly ignite cracker bombs (sometimes just to annoy some nosy neighbor..lol). What I miss the most is the smell of just went off diya.... hmmm I just crave it badly. I miss those slow afternoons spent preparing lovely sweets and snacks with my "mummi". I miss those most awaited evenings when my "pappa" came home with gifts for us, I used to get books lots of it but my younger bro and sis would get some video games or something that would have never attracted me but was a stunner for them, I guess its now that I realized how well our parents know what appeals us the most.
Growing up together with my siblings, I was very different than them, I was termed "a big bore" for my likings for books and jagjit singh's gazals but that neither stopped me nor discouraged me. I still remember my brother and sister quarreling over highest points made in some stupid video game Mario... it was such a huge fight, those guys didn't talk to each other of 6 days.... I never understood then what was the big deal!! but i surely have a good laugh when I remember it now.
All these things and many more happened during Diwali and Diwali Vacations.
Okie!!! so after of this random visit to memory lane all I can say for sure is Diwali is the time when I feel I'm that same silent and shy girl who used to escape on to terrace to watch the night sky lighted by all pyrotechnicians of baroda (until of course anu or ketav interupted with some silly arbitration case of "who's chance it was to light the last cracker bomb or something")
Happy Diwali !!!

Dhania Mung Sorba

And so I'm back, after spending lovely vacation in India and Mauritius, my home welcomed me with its arms open, smiling as if to welcome me or I guess grinning over the dust and grime it had collected over 25 days, whatever it was I was prepared being thoroughly relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated.
Mauritius was a gr8 gr8 trip, me and P were awed at the beauty of that small island nation, beautiful turquoise beaches and breath taking views from dead volcano to 7 coloured earth, beautiful mountains to lovely meadows and not to forget the endless sugarcane fields.... yeap, makes me nostalgic. It is here that I tasted dhania ka sorba at a dinner served at our hotel Le Meridien Ile Maurice... which was rather sordid but I knew it could have been better, all it needed was some "zing". So coming back to Riyadh and in urgent need to healthy eating I tried my hands on Dhania Mung ka Sorba which, by the way was million rather gazillion times better than the one served at Le Meridien. Here goes the recipe.


Ingredients:
3 Tbs boiled Mung/Mag/Green Gram/Mash Bean along with the water in which it has been boiled or pressure cooked.
3 Tbs Fresh Coriander Leaves
1 Tbs Lime juice
1 Tsp ground cumin seeds
2 pinches Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Paprika powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Method:
With the help of hand blender or any other blender, blend the pressure cooked mung along with the water in which they were boiled. This blended mix should make around 3/4th cup, now add some more water to make it around 2 cups or 500 ml.
add all the ingredients except freshly ground black pepper and bring sorba to a boil.
Serve hot with lill more dhania (if you wish) and freshly ground black pepper.

Tip: adding an extra dash of lime juice to the dish while eating makes it more aromatic.

As you might have noticed this dish is a perfect health dish recipe as it bypasses oil, ghee or butter. Keeping it simple increases its appeal and I promise the taste will linger on in your minds.
Bon Appetite!!

Lasaniya Bataka/Lahsuni Aloo

Few days back Chaitali, my (cousin) sis-in-law requested this recipe, lasaniya bataka. It is a lovely fragrant potato subzi with loads of garlic in it, in fact it is a tribute to garlic in a way and blessing for all garlic lovers like me and P.
So Chaitali here's the recipe for you, cheers to the good times spent together in Baroda. Miss those days dearly.

Ingredients :
3 medium sized potatoes (boiled and cut in cubes)
Oil for tempering
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
Pinch of asafoetida
Handful of fresh coriander leaves/cilantro

Ground to Paste:
1 big Pod of garlic approx 12-15 cloves of chunky garlic
1 tsp salt (remember we wont be adding any salt to subzi later on)
2 tbs sesame seeds/til
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbs water

Preparation Method :

In a heavy bottom pan/kadhai heat oil for tempering, add cumin seeds, let them crackle and then add asafoetida.
Now add all of the prepared ground paste add 1/4th cup water and let it simmer for about 2 mins or till garlic is well cooked and does not smell raw.
Add potato cubes, mix well and cook for few mins till potatoes soak up all the garlic flavors. (adjust salt at this stage, usually you'll have to add about 1/2 tsp more salt)
Garnish it with chopped cilantro and serve hot with fulkas or chapatis.

Bharela Ringan/Bharva Ringan

This recipe comes from my M-I-L, she prepares this amazing dish during the time of year when they get green baby eggplants in India. According to her those green eggplants have a specific sweetness in them which makes the dish more likable.
Myself I'm not a huge fan of eggplants green or purple, actually I avoid putting eggplant into my mouth altogether(ask P about it as he is the one who has to eat all bits of eggplant that are on my serving dish :)) but the day she prepared it and asked me to tasted the bharva ringan dish without telling me the name of the dish, I just fell in love with it. It was awesome, simply amazing and out of this world, I could really taste the sweetness of those green luxurious eggplant. I couldn't believe I was eating eggplant dish!!!
There are many versions of this dish starting from kutchhi style to surti style and even hyderabadi style of baghare baingan, which has coastal aroma and taste to it as it is prepared using totally different ingredients like dessicated fresh coconut, onions etc. The version that I'm preparing today is authentic Gujju recipe, it has sweetness and nice aroma of besan to it.

So here goes the recipe:

Take 1 cup besan in a big bowl and add 1 tbs chilli powder, 1 tbs turmeric powder, 2 tbsp sesame seeds/til, 2 tsp aamchur powder or 1 tbs lime juice, 1 1/2 tbs sugar, 1 tbs dhania jeera powder, 2 tsp garam masala, 1 to 1/2 tbs chilli ginger garlic paste, 2 tbs oil, salt to taste and mix well.

Take 5-6 medium to small size eggplants/baingan/ringan and 1 medium sized potato.
Peel dice and wash potato thoroughly.
Wash eggplants and dry them. Slit eggplants length wise and take care not to cut them all through as we intend on filling them with besan mixture.
Fill eggplants with the besan mix. At this stage almost half besan mix should have been used for filling, leaving you with some besan mix still remaining, we shall use that while cooking.
In a Heavy bottom Kadhai/pan add 4 tbs oil, once it starts to smoke add 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera and let it sputter. Add a pinch of asafoetida and add diced potatoes.
Now arrange the eggplants delicately in such a way that each one touch hot oil in the pan.
Sprinkle the remaining besan mix on top of eggplants and potatoes.
Now add 1 cup water slowly frm the sides of the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 20-25 mins on medium heat, stirring once or twice in between.
If the water evaporates without cooking all masala, add a little more water.

Remember at the end of cooking, this dish should not be soggy at all, besan should have lovely dark yellow colour and should taste well cooked. Adding right quantity of water, enough to cook this dish but not to make it soggy is the key.

Turn off the heat and garnish it with freshly chopped coriander leaves/cilantro. Serve it with hot roti or thepla or bajra roti.

Hari Chutney

Hari Chutney or dhania chutney is the most versatile chutney, used in sandwiches, chaats like bhel, sev dahi batata puri, etc etc etc. It goes nice with aloo paratha or any kinda paratha or dosa and gives nice twist to any bland meal.
I usually prepare this chutney in large bulk, almost 2 cups or more at a time and freeze it in small portions ie in 4 small Tupperware containers which makes it easy to thaw and use only the required quantity of chutney while keeping rest of the batch untouched. Usually if you prepare chutney and refrigerate it, it will change from lovely green to darker green and then to blackish green changing along with it the flavor and taste too. Freezing chutney helps it to maintain its taste, flavor and lovely green colour even after a month of preparing and freezing it.

Prepares 1 cup
Ingredients:

2 cups packed green coriander leaves chopped and washed
8-10 green chillies
2 inches ginger
3 tbs lime juice
2 tsp cumin/jeera seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds/ til
salt to taste

Blend all the ingredients using a food processor or a blender to a fine paste, add a little water if required.
Tip: add salt towards the end of blending process this prevents chutney going all salty.
you can also add 2-3 tbs of fresh coconut to get nice "coastal taste" to this chutney.

Today I'm planning to prepare Chutney Cheese Sandwich. Will Jot down that recipe too later on.

Marinated Potato Capsicum Curry

This weekend I had prepared Marinated Potato Capsicum curry. This recipe is a culmination of two amazing dishes paneer tikka and veg stir fry.
Why on earth I did that?!! I don't have answer to that myself. But let me ensure the result was gr8.

Ingredients :

2 medium sized potatoes boiled and cubed
1 large capsicum chopped into big square chunks
1 onion chopped into big square chunks
1 tomato chopped into big square chunks
oil for tempering
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
pinch asafoetida


Marinating Sauce :
3 tbs yogurt/curd whisked
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp fennel seed/saunf powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste

For Garnish :
2 tbs freshly chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
Lemon wedges


Preparation Method:

Whisk the marinade into a big bowl, big enough to contain all the veggies. Now add all the diced veggies and mix well into the marinade sauce. Let is marinate for at least 1 hour.

After an hour of marination our veggies are ready to be stir fried. So in a big non stick pan add oil and let it come to a smoke, add cumin seeds and curry leaves when it starts to crackle add the marinated mix of veggies and saute it for 2-3 mins or till the oil starts to separate. Adjust salt and spiciness.

Garnish it with fresh chopped cilantro and lemon wedges.
This dish goes nice with jeera rice or any kinda biryani. Can also be enjoyed with roti or naan.

This lip smacking dish is easy to prepare and hearty at taste.

Lauki Mung Dal Sabzi

You guys might be thinking whats the deal with me and lauki?!! but the thing is after having junk food all weekend I tend to take shelter under the Bottle gourd tent to relax my digestive track.
As bottle gourd has cooling effect on our digestive system.
Today I'm preparing a dish which my M-I-L cooks to perfection. Her version has that rustic old charm to cooking mine is rather like "cooking in a jiffy" kinda touch. But the end result is almost similar.

so here goes the recipe.

Ingredients :
3 cups peeled and diced bottle gourd/lauki
1 cup washed mung dal
2 tbs green chilli, ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp mustard seeds/rai
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
1 tbs oil for tempering
2 sprig curry leaves
2 dry red chillies
hand full of freshly chopped coriander leaves/cilantro

Preparation Method :

Put Pressure pan on medium heat, add oil and once it starts to smoke add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. let them crackle up, now add asafoetida, curry leaves, dry red chillies and turmeric.
Add diced bottle gourd and ginger garlic chilli paste.
Saute for two mins and add mung dal along with 2 1/2 cups of water.
Add salt to taste.
Close the pressure pan and cook up to 3 whistles.
Once the pressure pan is removed frm the stove and the pressure has subsided, open the pan and remove the sabzi into serving bowl, garnish it with fresh cilantro.
Serve hot with Steamed rice or roti.

Remember to keep this curry simple as possible. Flavors from fresh green chillies, ginger and garlic are the key to this recipe. But in case you want a bit more spicier you can add red chilli powder but rather adjust green chilli paste to get more spiciness. Aroma of curry leaves and fresh chilli along with garlic itself is soothing to gastronomics of our body.

Sev

As the weekend is approaching, I intend to prepare spicy and tasty delhi chaat. Ofcourse I shall be posting that recipe later in this week, but preparation of it has began since today. I've prepared nice crispy hara dhania puri and sev. These two items can be easily prepared in advanced and stored upto 15 days.

Sev, calls in for minimum effort and can be prepared in a jiffy. All you need is Sev Sancho, a kitchen utensil which is found is almost each and every gujju kitchen. It helps in preparing other lip smacking snacks like crispy chakri, ratlami sev, ganthiya etc.

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups besan/chickpea flour
salt to taste
1 tbs lemon/lime juice OR 1/2 tsp citric acid crystals/nimbu phul
3 pinch Soda bi-carb
water
oil for frying

Preparation Method :

Take chickpea flour in a broad bowl. Remove all the lumps in the flour, add salt and lemon juice, in case using citric acid, dilute the crystals in 1 tbs water before adding to the flour this will ensure its uniform distribution within the flour.
Now make a batter frm it adding little water at a time. Remember batter should not be too liquidy but should not form a dough too. How can I explain it better!!! Ok if you try forming a lump it should spread .... sorry for this but this is the best I came up with.
Now in a spoon full water add soda and add this to the batter and whisk the batter using your fingers and palm.
Place this doughy batter into sev sancha.
Heat oil in deep frying pan and once it reaches the smoking point, reduce the heat to slow and start making sev by turning the handle of sancha directly on frying pan.
deep fry for 2 mins and make sure it is fried evenly on both sides.

Don't know how many times I shall repent over the forgotten camera, but I really wished I could have posted the snaps of method of making sev.

I know I'm sweating over nothing as most of those who shall read this blog would know how to use sev sancho, funny me!!

Mag/Saboot Mung/Green Bean Dal

Mag or Saboot mung is highly nutritious in terms of dietary fiber and protein. As in India, Chinese and Indonesian cuisine uses this green gram pulse in variety of dishes starting from snacks to desserts. Actually wide spread use of this pulse is found all over south east asia.
Today I've prepared a very healthy and filling Mung dal.

Ingredients :
1 cup green gram/mag (washed, soaked for 30 mins and pressure cooked for 3-4 whistles)
1 medium sized onion chopped length wise
3 green chillies slit
1 tbs ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 pinch asafoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 cumin seeds
salt to taste
1 tbs oil for tempering
2 tbs coriander chopped finely
2 sprigs curry leaves

Preparation Method :

Pressure cook the gram and keep aside
In a heavy bottom pan add oil for tempering, once hot enough add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once they start to crackle add asafoetida, curry leaves, slit green chillies and chopped onion.
Saute for 2 mins.
Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and ginger-garlic paste along with some water.
Saute for 1 min.
Then add cooked green gram. Adjust the consistency of it by adding a little water and let it come to a boil.
Turn off the heat and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with rice or chapati, this dish goes nice with aloo paratha and koki too.

Hara Dhania Puri

Hara Dhania Puri is the creation of my imagination. I had this bunch of green leafy coriander in my refrigerator and I desperately wanted to be creative with it. So I started thinking of making some kind of dip which made me further think of something what I can dunk in a dip. And an idea struck why not make puri using green coriander chutney.
Actually I have already prepared the dough and is awaiting its final stage to glorious green munchy snack. I have a great feeling for this recipe coz the dough came out to be beautiful green coloured and tastes gr8 too (I know I tasted it raw ...but I couldn't help it, it looked so inviting).
Now I shall get back to my eagerly awaiting experiment and shall write all about it when I'm done rolling, cutting, frying etc.

Well friends I have some gr8 news, it came out yum, its a lovely golden brown puries with a ting of green shade in it. Smells heavenly too.

So now that is recipe is tried and tasted, I'm confident that this recipe can crunch (I mean melt) anyone's heart who is in visual vicinity of it.

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4th cup semolina/sooji
5 tbs oil

Oil for frying

Ground to paste
2 cups chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
8-9 green chillies (hotter, the better)
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbs salt (this contains the part of salt to savour the flour too)
1 1/2 tbs lime juice

Preparation Method :

Blend the ingredients mentioned for paste adding 1/4th cup water.
Mix semolina and wheat flour nicely, also add in 5 tbs oil and mix it well until crumbly texture is achieved.
Now add the ground coriander paste to the flour mix and knead a stiff dough, adding little water at a time (if needed).
Cover the kneaded dough in a moist cloth and let it stand for 10-15 minutes.

After the stand off time, Pinch a ping pong ball sized dough and rolling it into a circular chapati. With the help of puri cutter, cut it into small circular shaped puries. Dent this puris with the help of fork. Use all the kneaded dough with the same procedure.

ALTERNATIVE METHOD:
After rolling circular chapati dent it with fork and just cut diamond shaped pieces frm it with the help of a knife.

In a frying pan add oil, enough for deep frying. Fry those lovely green puries till they are golden brown in colour.

These puris can be enjoyed with any dips like salsa or guacamole, chutney or ketchup or as I did with hot cup of tea.

ALTERNATE USE OF PURIES :
Use these puries to make yummy papdi chaat or delhi chaat .

I shall be storing my batch in nice air tight container and shall use it in many different ways. Of course all different uses and recipes shall be posted duely.

Tomato Soup

Who said we can't enjoy a bowl of pipping hot soup in summers?!! Just turn on your air conditioners to high and see the fun. ☺

Tomato soup can be prepared in various ways... with cream, without cream etc. I prefer a healthier version of without cream. This recipe again calling in for minimum ingredients, remember lesser the ingredients, more the aroma and flavor.

Ingredients :
3 large tomatoes
1/4th tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp sugar (optional)
1/4th tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp corn flour or all purpose flour (add whole wheat flour if want to make it more healthier) add a ladle full of water and turn it into a floury paste.
salt as per taste

Preparation Method :

Boil tomatoes in plenty of water till the skin starts to wrinkle and crack. Turn off the heat and let it cool a bit. Do not throw away the water in which you have boiled tomatoes in.
Remove the skin of tomatoes and blend it into a smooth puree.
In a pan add puree and all the spices along with the flour paste, keep stirring it at regular intervals as the soup starts getting a bit thicker and bring it to a boil. Adjust the water level of the soup using the tomato stock that we had preserved.
Once its thick and its water adjusted boil for a minute or so and turn off the heat.
Serve hot.

As you have noticed I haven't added any butter or oil to the soup also I had prepared my soup using whole wheat flour to make a wholesome dish low in calories.

Tip : you can also add a spoonful of cream to make cream of tomato soup out of the above recipe.
Remember to add very little salt the first time, taste and adjust, this is done coz soups require almost half the quantity of salt for that "restaurant like" taste.
You can also add ground cumin to this soup for a homely taste.

Ringan Bataka nu Lashkari Shaak

Thinking what to cook everyday, is a daunting task, ask any momma if you don't believe me!! Also have to keep in mind its not too rich in calories but also has all nutrients, shouldn't be junk food but should be tasty enough, so today amongst the turmoil of 'what to cook?' I simply grabbed some eggplants, potatoes and onions and started slicing and cubing them without thinking what to do exactly. I prepared this dish as if I was Camping out on hills and had bare minimum stuff to prepare my food, hence the name of the dish 'Ringan bataka nu lashkari shaak', I know its funny name but my mom used to say this all the time that so and so dish she prepared is lashkari version.

here goes my recipe.

Ingredients :
2 medium sized potatoes
1 large or 2 medium sized eggplants/ringan
1 medium sized onion
salt to taste
turmeric 1 tsp
red chilli 1 tsp
oil for tempering
mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida

Preparation Method :

In a pressure cooker add 2 tsp oil, mustard seeds and once they crackle add asafoetida.
Now add chopped onions and saute for 1 min.
Add chopped potatoes and eggplants along with all masala.
Add 1 cup water, shut the pressure cooker. Cook for 2-3 whistles.

Garnish it with Cilantro/Coriander leaves, serve with rice or chapati.
You can also add a bit garam masala to this dish to give it nice curry aroma.

Wasn't it fast and easy?!!
I also plan on preparing Tomato Soup keeping in mind the eating healthy regime. Although this dish supplies with nice veggies like eggplants and antioxidant donating onions, I would love to have some nice bowl of soup with it.

Gajar Ka Halwa

These days P is working crazy hours and nothing lifts up his spirits as sweets especially Indian Mithai. He is crazy over Sukhdi, Seera, Soan Papdi, Magas, Rossogulla, Phirni, actually the list is endless.
Hot Gajar ka Halwa is one of the things he loves.
So today, I thought, as he isn't having his regular portion of meals, I should prepare some mithai to compensate his lack of appetite. Hence I attacked my ladder to find something to make some nice Mithai, I came across a tin of Sweetened Condensed Milk and I remembered I had a few Carrots in my fridge too. And so within 45 mins I had a casserole full of Gajar halwa decorated with saffron and dry fruits and cardamom on my counter-top.

Ingredients :
4 large or approx 1 1/2 pounds carrots (washed, dried, peeled and shredded)
1/3 tin sweetened condensed milk (approx 130 gms)
1 cup full fat milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tbs dry raisins (soaked in warm water for about 10-15 mins)
slivered almonds and cashew 2 tbsp
1 tsp saffron (soaked in 1 tbsp warm milk)

Preparation Method :

In a wide heavy bottom pan add shredded carrots along with 1 cup milk and let it cook for around 12-15 mins or untill carrots are soft, tender and almost cooked. Keep stirring occasionally.
Add sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Let it cook for another 10 mins or until required consistency of Halwa is achieved.
Now add saffron, slivered dry fruits and drained raisins along with cardamom powder to halwa. Mix well and turn off the Heat.
Remove Halwa into a Storage or serving utensil like a casserole or microwave safe bowl (which makes it easy to store and reheat in case of leftover) .

Tips :
In case condensed milk is unsweetened, increase the sugar quantity as per taste.

In case of absence of any kind of condensed milk altogether, increase the quantity of milk to 2 cups along with sugar. If u have milk powder on hand add 2 tbs to halwa along with 2 cups of milk, this will increase the aroma and will give nice chunkiness to halwa.

Wish I hadn't forgotten my camera in India, wish I could have posted snaps of this lovely adventure of mine. Sheer sight of the casserole makes me drool. ☺

Aloo Lauki ki sabzi

Simple eating and healthy living, this is the fact that is being forgotten in this age of drive-thru and dial a pizza. Aloo lauki or as we gujju's call it dudhi bataka nu shaak, is a simple dish but with tons of flavor borrowed from garlic and ginger along with a dash of garam masala. Simple to make, easy on stomach, low on calories and lots of fiber. What else do we want from a dish which almost does workout in gym for us?!!!

Ingredients :
1 medium sized potato cut into cubes
1 pound Lauki/bottle gourd cut into cubes
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
3 green chillies slit
2 sprigs kadhi patta/curry leaves
2 tbs chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch Asafoetida/heeng
1 tbs oil for tempering
salt as per taste
1 to 1 1/2 cups water

Preparation method :

In a pressure cooker add oil, cumin, mustard. once the seeds start to crackle add hing and curry leaves. Then add ginger garlic paste and slit green chillies. Saute for a 20 seconds, add cubed potato and bottle gourd, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and water.

close the lid of pressure pan and cook it untill 2 whistles on medium heat and there after 3 mins on low heat.

let the pressure subside, which takes almost 15 mins or so, then open the pan and add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves.

serve hot along with chapati or rice.

For those who are on diet regime, they can subtract potato frm this dish and prepare only lauki sabzi. Also reduce the oil to 1 tsp.

Gujarati Chai Masala

Tea or chai, is a single most powerful word in my life. It is one of the top most item in my survival list, without which I really really have bad headaches and sometimes even nausea.... don't want to even think about it. P knows this and every weekend (almost every weekend) I'm awaken by him with a tray bearing that heavenly concoction. Actually I think he too has started liking tea, which he rarely used to have before our marriage, he is rather a coffee person that too hot and black.

Back in India, my side of family, my parents and my siblings, we all are huge chai fans, never a day goes by without we guys having two cups of tea in morning and one in evenings. My mom prepares chai either by adding ginger to it or adding chai masala and sometimes both. My bro used to prepare chai adding just cardamom. But what ever the way, Chai is all we need.

Here is My Mommy's way of blending chai masala. Tip of teaspoon full is all you need in 1 cup of tea.

Ingredients :

2 tbs dry ginger powder
1 1/2 tbs black peppercorn
1 tbs cardamom
1 tsp cloves
1 inch piece cinnamon

Blend all the ingredients into a fine powder and what you have is aromatic chai masala. You can adjust the spiciness by adding or reducing the quantity of peppercorns.
In a way you can adjust quantity of each and every spice as per your taste and preference.

Orange flavoured kitkat cake

This recipe is borrowed from one of my condensed milk tins.... surprisingly simple and hearty delight it seems.

Preparation time 10 mins
Cooking time 55 mins
Serves 8-10

Ingredients :
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups or 210 gms plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup or 150 gms melted butter
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
Zest and juice of 1 small orange
3/4 cup or 150 gms sugar
1 bar or 65 gms chunky kitkat caramel chopped

Preparation method :
Combine all ingredients except the kitkat in an electric beater (If you dont have an electric blender, place the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them using a wooden spoon).
Beat on low speed for 2 mins then on medium speed for another 2 mins or until the mixture is smooth.
Pour mixture into a 30cm x 11cm greased baking loaf tin, then sprinkle the chopped kitkat on top.
Bake in a 175° c preheated oven for 55 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Pretty simple hmm....... ☺

Sindhi Koki

Did I mention chole curry smells yummy?!!!! Well it does.... My aromatic kitchen thats the reason my blog has this name. Heavenly aroma swirling in and around my kitchen and lounge.
Now its time to prepare some paratha and today as I've mentioned before I'm trying my hand on Sindhi koki.

Sindhi Koki as the name mentions is a sindhi recipe for paratha prepared just like out chappati. Finely chopped onion and parsley along with freshly ground pepper, salt and a table spoon of oil is added to 2 cups of whole wheat flour. Mixing it well, a soft dough is kneaded using warm water. Recipe calls in for warm milk + water in 1:1 concentration but I wanted it to be light at palate and calories so I just used warm water.

Let the dough rest for 20-30 mins. Rolls out kokies out of ping pong sizes dough portions and grill it on hot griddle or tava. Add oil to kokies if you wish but I prefer healthier version of simple roasted koki instead of shallow fried one.

As mentioned before its raita for side dish and that is prepared by tossing in chopped tomatoes, cucumber and onions into bowl of whisked curd and flavoring it with salt, pepper, chopped green chillies and parsley. Simple and Healthy.

Now all I have to do is change tv channels and wait for P to return home.

Chole Curry

Thursday-Fridays are weekend in Riyadh, but this weekend shall be working weekend for us, as P overloaded with work, has to be in office. But this won't stop me from having a nice weekend, I've decided to give P a small treat, which he duly deserves, so I shall be preparing nice Chole curry, Sindhi Koki and raita along with papad and salad for dinner tonight.
During these 5 or so odd years of experimenting in kitchen, one thing I've learnt is that more simpler the recipe, the better the dish tastes. The thing is, limited spices gives greater flavor and aroma to any dish. So I shall be preparing chole with minimum spices but with nice aromatic fennel seeds to give "hmm...." to the dish.
I've tasted chole prepared by adding all spices like bay leaf and cashew and what not, prepared painstakingly, cooked for long time etc but believe me this recipe is one of the best I've tasted. Thanks Mommy, you're the best.

Ground to fine paste:
2 large onions
1 1/2 tbs fennel/saunf seeds
2 tbs sesame/til seeds
1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds

1 cup dry chick peas, soaked for 7-8 hours or overnight and pressure cooked/boiled, yields about 3-31/2 cups of cooked chick peas.
1 tsp nigella/kalonji/black onion seeds
2 tbs oil
1 1/2 tbs ginger-garlic paste
2 cups tomato puree or 2 tbs tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
handful of chopped fresh coriander/parsley leaves
1 1/2 tbs chole masala
salt as per taste

Heat oil in heavy bottom pan, add nigella seeds to it and once its sputters add the ground paste of onion to it. Let the paste cook for 12-15 mins or till oil starts separating.
Now add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2-3 mins.
Add all dry masala except salt and chole masala and cook for few more mins. add a little water at this stage, if u find curry is too dry and is sticking to the bottom the the pan.
Add tomato puree and let it cook till the raw smell of tomato is gone. which takes almost 10-12 mins.
now add chole, salt and chole masala also add the water if u find curry is too thick. let this come to a boil and keep boiling it on slow flame for around 4-5 mins. this will help chole to soak up all the flavors.
garnish it with chopped coriander/parsley leaves.

serve it hot with rice, chappati, paratha, naan or bhature.

when cooking for party or some guests in evening, prepare this dish in morning itself .... believe me this dish tastes best when it rests for 5-6 hours after cooking.

my plan is to serve this with Sindhi Koki, a type of paratha/flat bread.... but with amazing twist.

Vegetable Paratha

Riyadh is hot .... very very hot. P keeps complaining about his car steering giving him burns and his seat belt torturing him like wicked devil but I guess today is the worst day, after just 40 mins on my treadmill I was sweating and panting like hell. This was the sign that temperature outside might be souring around 50 degrees or may be higher. Bless my A/C, poor thing goes on without a complain. And cherry on top, tap water was almost boiling so guess how the shower would have been for me!!. Now I'm to blame for it entirely... as I'm not a early riser.... today I almost envied P, coz he has his shower at around 7 am when the tap water ought to be cool and refreshing. :)
Macbeth said "all the water in the oceans wont cleanse this blood"... I say - all the water in the oceans wont cleanse this sweat. lol.

After all this rambling about heat it would be sarcastic to have a large appetite so I think I shall settle with something like one dish meal and what better than lovely Vegetable Paratha.

Makes 10 parathas

Ingredients:

For Filling:
4 medium sized boiled and grated potatoes (put boiled potatoes in fridge for couple of hours before grating)
1 large Carrot grated
1 large Cucumber grated (squeeze out water after grating)
1 large Onion chopped finely
1 tbs green chilli, ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 tsp garam masala or aamchur powder (put garam masala if u like spicy paratha or put aamchur powder if u like tangy taste)
2 tbs chopped coriander or parsley
Salt as per taste.

Mix all the above ingredients and prepare 10 -12 balls of this filling.

For Coating:
2 Cups Whole wheat flour ie atta
salt as per taste
2 tbs oil
water as per needed.

knead a soft dough of atta with water, cover it and keep aside for 15 - 20 mins.

to make paratha, take a ping pong ball sized dough and roll out into a flat round with the help of a rolling pin, put one ball of filling and place it on rolled dough. now cover the filling with dough and pinch it on top covering all filling inside. dust this ball into flour and roll it into a flat bread.
put griddle or non stick pan on stove and cook this paratha on medium heat untill both sides have small lovely brown patches on it u can apply a dash of oil or altogether avoid oil.

vegetable paratha tastes gr8 with chutney, raita, aachar and sweet dahi.

Saucy Spicy Pasta

How should I put it politely?!! but today I woke up with a funny dream in my memory. All night long I had dreamt of making baking and cooking pasta dishes.... I know it sounds funny but happens with me sometimes. So I came to a conclusion that I'm pasta starved!! lolz
These days Parag is unusually busy, works crazy hours, leaves at 8 am and returns at 10-11pm, this has affected my cooking someway.... whatever I cook seems to be too much portion wise and there is always almost half of it left over.
So today we are going to have very very funny dinner of leftover Pav-Bhaji, Cucumber sambar along with Rice and yes, u guessed it right, Spicy pasta. Makes me feel bad spouse but then we have to finish the leftovers.

P loves pavbhaji and sambar rice and likes pasta dishes in moderation, so no problem. I wish I could post my recipes along with lovely snaps but the thing is that I left out my camera back in Baroda during my last visit, so I shall not be posting any snaps till sept end, ie after my next visit to India.

Now back to our recipe.

Now the thing is that we Indians love everything that is spicy, much more spicy than the Mediterranean or continental cuisines, so I have modified the original Italian recipe to a little bit spicy version.

Saucy Spicy Pasta

Serves 2-3

Ingredients :

2 cups cooked pasta of your choice (I have used medium sized elbow macaroni)
(3/4th cup of uncooked pasta yields 2 cups cooked pasta and add salt while boiling them)
1 cup milk
2 tbs all purpose flour or cornflour
1 small onion
1 tbs butter
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp fresh ground peppercorn
1/2 tsp oregano (optional)
pepper jack, cheddar cheese or any other cheese of your choice
salt as per taste
capsicum and tomatoes for garnishing

Method:

Cook pasta, drain and run them under cold water. keep aside.
In a heavy bottom pan add water + minced onion and let it boil for couple of minutes. In another bowl add milk, flour, salt, ground pepper, oregano, chilli flakes and whisk to blend them nicely.
Add this mixture to boiling water and onion and keep stirring. once the mix gets thick remove it from the stove and add butter and grated cheese of your choice.
Add pasta to this spicy sauce and mix well.
Adjust salt and spice to your taste.
Remove this mixture to microwave safe casserole and garnish it with rings of capsicum and tomatoes along with more shredded cheese. Grill for 10 mins and serve hot.
those who dont have microwave in hand can enjoy it without grilling coz grilling is just done to attain that semi baked taste to the cheese on top.

Hmm!!! my kitchen has heavenly smell of cheese and pepper right now.... nothing better than this.
Cheers!!!!

Cucumber Sambar

Today, is one of those days when i feel a bit needy for some nice sippy food... so here comes in our handy south indian recipes. Cucumber sambar is one of the nicest things i learned after meeting Vani Didi. She just tossed a handful of cucumber along with other sambar ingredients and it came out gr8.... lovely and aromatic.
so here goes the recipe.

Serves : 3-4

Ingredients:
Toor dal 3/4th cup
Onion 1 small size
Potato 1 medium size
Cucumber 1 medium size
Tomato 1 small size
Fresh Coriander handful
Green chillies 2
Ginger as per taste
Curry Leaves 2 sprigs
Turmeric 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Urad dal 1 tbs
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Hing one pinch
Sambar powder 1 1/2 tbs
Oil 2 tbs

Method :

Wash and soak dal for 30 mins. Pressure cook it after adding turmeric. Also put potato in pressure cooker in a different container.

Cut all veggies and prepare all other ingredients as required.

remove dal frm cooker and mash it with hand mixie or hand churn ladle. add sambar powder, salt and red chilli powder.

In a heavy bottom utensil add oil and prepare tempering, once oil is hot enough add urad dal and mustard seeds, add hing once they start sputtering. Add green chillies and ginger along with cucumber, onion, boiled potatoes and fresh curry leaves. Saute`e for a few mins and then add the mashed dal mixture to it. Bring it to boil and garnish it with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Adjust water and salt as per ur need.

Enjoy it with boiled rice or with dosa or idli of ur choice.

My plan is hearty dish of chaval and sambar along with papad and aachar..... hmmm yummm.