Lauki nu thepale

I tried this today for the breakfast. Thepale is a nutritious and tasty Gujrati bread that is made using different fillings like methi, jowar, etc. This one uses bottle guard or lauki and is a good breakfast, tiffin for kids.

Take:
2 cups of wheat flour
3/4 cup- grated lauki (drain water out )
curd- 1/2 cup
salt to taste
ajwain- 1 tspn
garam masala- 1 tspn
kasuri  methi- 1 tbspn (optional)

Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough using additional water if required.
Roll them in 10" thepalas and cook them on medium hot skillet using oil on both sides.
Serve hot with green chutney and curd.

Fried baby potatoes

I wanted to use the leftover marinade as I personally do not prefer wasting anything. This idea came to my mind and I attempted this one...it turned out awesome.
I took around 400gms baby potatoes, washed them clean to remove all the coated mud. Then I boiled them in salted water in pressure cooker. (I also trued using baby corn, capsicum, mushroom along with boiled veggies, they turned out good. just microwave the these veggies for a minute before throwing them in pan with fried potatoes.)
I chopped the boiled potatoes into half longitudinally, and deep fried them in 5-6 tbspn vegetable oil over high flame (2-3 turns) till they are crispy brown. Potatoes absorb very little oil when fried in very hot oil. I didnt peel the potatoes.
To fry  I took very little oil-1 tspn, heated it, added the fried potatoes, pepper (2 tspn), 1 tspn (chat masala), 1 tspn black salt and tossed the potatoes to mix the masala. I then added around 1 cup of left over marinade on high flame and tossed the potatoes to coat them with marinade. The potatoes tasted yum when hot.

Barbecue veggies

Its chill in the evenings (in Delhi) and a long week end was the right time to have season's first barbecue last evening.. had an awesome time, three of us together with our favourite things. I had set up a traditional coal  grill apart from the electric BBQ grill and the traditional one proved better..plan to do some more this season. Here's the marinade that I had put together-
Medium sized onion: 2 nos
garlic cloves- 7-8
ginger shoot- 1" piece
green chillies -2 nos
curd- 2 cups
salt to taste
kitchen king or tandoori masala- 4 tspn
red chilly powder- 2 tspn

Grind onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies, add it to the beaten curd. Add kitchen king/tandoori masala, red chilly powder and salt.
Take all veggies u wish - baby potatoes (parboiled), capsicum green, red, yellow (1" pieces), baby tomatoes, paneer(cottage cheese) 1" cubes; onion, button mushrooms and baby corns. Pour the marinade over the veggies and let them marinade for 4-6 hrs before taking them to BBQ.

Makke ke parathe

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali. It looks so festive in Delhi and now I am heading for Indore tomorrow, more excited to go back home on Diwali after three years.
Sorry for being away for long. I bring you something very easy to make and very good for winters.

Take 5 cups  of maize flour (makke ka atta)
Finely chopped onions (1 1/2 cups or less as you prefer)
Chopped green chillies- 2 long ones
chopped coriander leaves- a bunch
Coriander powder- 2 tspn, garam masala- 1 tspn; salt to taste.

• Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough with warm water. Don't keep it for long after kneading, it is to be made immediately after kneading.
• Make ten to twelve balls of dough.
• Roll each ball into round parathas. My mom in law can make it with hand but lesser experienced like me prefer to use polythene sheets to roll parathas. To go my way, take two 10"*10" square pieces of thick polythene sheet. Grease them with cooking oil on one side. Keep one ball of dough on the greased side of plastic sheet and cover it with another one with the greased side down on ball. Use a rolling pin to roll the paratha with soft hands. Remove one sheet on top and carefully place the paratha on a hot greased skillet or tawa. 
• Turn sides when cooked oiling on both the sides with ghee or cooking oil.
• Serve hot with Sarson ka saag or chutney.
• 
  
• 
  

Bharwan Karele (Stuffed bittergourd)

I just love karele in all forms. This one is a very tasty recipe taught to me by Mrs Shrivastava, my colleague's wife who is an amazing cook.  Use of methi dana and onion reduces the bitterness and imparts a unique sweet flavour to karele. Well try it and let me know how it turned out in your kitchen.
You need:
Chhote Karele (small/medium sized bittergourd) : 8-10
Chhote pyaz (Small onion) : 5-6
Tel (Cooking Oil): 3 tbspn
Rai (mustard seeds): 1 tspn


Baravan masala (stuffing)
Pyaz (onion): 1 large
lahsun (garlic cloves): 7-8
Adrak (Ginger): 1 " shoot
Hari mirch (green chilly)- 2-3

methi dana (fenugreek seeds): 12-15 seeds
saunf (aniseeds): 1 tspn
Dhania (coriander) powder: 1 tb spn
Lal mirch (Red chillly) powder: 1 tspn
Amchoor (dry mango) powder: 2 tspn
haldi (turmeric powder): 1 tspn
salt to taste (use lesser than what you would use in normal course as we rub salt on karele which makes them little salty).

• Peel karele (bittergourd), slit on one side longiitudinally, remove hard seeds.
• Keep the peel, chopp it finely.
• Take 2-3 tspn salt and rub it on each of the karelas (bittergourd) and on peel. Keep for 1 hr. This helps to reduce the bitterness.
• Peel the small onions, and put two slits half way from top crossing each other  .  
• Grind onion, ginger, garlic, green chilly, fenugreek seeds and aniseeds. Add rest of the stuffing ingredients and mix well.
• Wash karele and peel seperately.
• Mix the peel in the stuffing/masala.
• Fill all the karelas with the stuffing and tie them with thread so that the masala stays inside.
• Heat oil in a large flat bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and gently place the karelas and small onions in it. 
• Cook it on slow flame for 30-45 mins stirring occassionally till karelas are cooked evenly.
• Serve them with chopped green coriander garnishing. You can store these karelas for 2-3 days in refrigerator.

Eggless chocolate cake (in microwave)

I have been making this recipe for long. It turns out best in a grill, even microwaving it makes a good cake but the cake turned out well in microwave convection cooking also. Sharing the recipe:

Missed to take a picture...
You need:
Maida (Flour)- 1.5 cups
Malai (Cream on top of boiled milk)- 1.5 cups
Milk powder- 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar- 1 cup
Baking powder- 1tspn
Baking soda- 1/2 tspn
cocoa powder- 3-4 tbspn
Warm milk- 3/4 cup
Ghee- 2 tspn
Vanilla essence- 5-6 drops
Chocolate sauce to decorate

• Keep the microwave on convection preheating at 190 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.
• Mix flour, milk powder, soda, baking powder.
• Beat sugar in malai using a hand mixer (or grinder).
• Add the flour mixture in this paste. Keep adding small quantities of flour while beating. Add milk as and when required (you may need more than 3/4 cup of milk, check the consistency of dough, it should be of pouring consistency).
• Add cocoa powder and mix well.
• Add ghee, essence and mix well.
• Grease a baking tray, dust it with flour.
• Pour the batter in tin and convection cook it in preheated microwave at 190degrees centigrade for 1 hour. 
• Remove from microwave and after 10 minutes turn it upside down on the serving dish.
• Decorate it with chocolate sauce.
• The cake turns out well without cocoa powd

Mordhan ki Idly

Mordhan ki khichadi is the most clicked recipe on my blog. So I thought of bringing some more recipes of mordhan. I  tried two variations with Mordhan today for asthami vrat. This is a steamed preparation, so is pretty light. Sanjeev liked the fried mini idly variation as he found the other one too plain.

You need:
Mordhan: two cups
Curd: 1 1/4 cup
Crushed- ginger chilly- 2 tspn.
sodium bicarbonate (meetha soda) or Eno- 1/4 tspn

• Mix curd in mordhan, add enough water to soak it well (of idly batter consistency). Soak it for 45 min to 1 hr. The  batter would not be of fine consistency and curd and mordhan are quite separated. Let it be like that or you can slightly churn it in the mixer. 
• Before steaming, add soda (or eno) and mix well.
• Grease idly cast. I greased both mini idly cast and normal idly cast. Made one set of mini idlys and one set of large idlys.

Fried Mini Idly

• The mini idlys' will splitter a little bit on steaming, so use the thick batter at the bottom. Remove it after steaming, and keep it to cool for 5 mins.
• Remove the idlys from cast. 
• Heat 2-3 table spoon oil, add mustard and zeera to splitter.
• Add one chopped green chilly, 2 tspn til (sesame) seeds, 7-8 curry leaves and 1 tspn coriander powder in same order.
• Add the mini idlys. Mix well, add 1 tspn garam masala, little bit of chopped coriander and mix well.
• Serve hot.

Plain Idly

• Serve large idly with green chutney and curd.

Singhade ke Cheele

Singhade ke cheele- I tried making cheele (dosa) with singhade ka aata like rawa dosa yesterday and it came out well. I can say its an instant vrat recipe that tastes good and is light to eat.
You need:
Singade ka aata (Singada flour): 1 cup
curd (beaten) - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds- 2 tspn
coriander powder- 2 tspn
red chilly powder- 1 tspn
ginger finely crushed- 1 tspn
green chilly finely chopped - two medium sized
salt- to taste

• Mix curd in singada flour, add 3/4 cup water or more to make the batter of very thin pouring consistency (just like rawa dosa). Add other ingredients to the mix.
• Pour the batter in circles on a hot tawa/skillet so that it spreads evenly, and you see holes in the cheela. (do not spread it with a laddle). You can swivel the tawa to spread the batter evenly in a round shape.
• turn sides when cooked.
• Serve with curd and green chutney.

Methidana curry (Fenugreek seeds: sweet and sour curry)

Methi (fenugreek) is very good for health in all forms. This recipe is from my mom's kitchen. She would make it during "Paryushan parva"- the ten day fasting festival for Jains, when we don't eat green vegetables. There are other things that she would make during paryushan- kharak-kishmish ki launji, mogar ki subzi, ker saangri, which I will try to bring up here. 


You need:
Methi dana (fenugreek seeds): half cup soak for 5-6 hours.
Oil/ghee: 3 tbspn
Asofoetida (Hing): 1 pinch
Coriander powder (dhania powder): 2 tspn
Turmeric powder (haldi powder): 1/2 tspn
Red chilly powder: 1 tspn
Tamarind paste: 1 tspn
Jaggery (gur): 1" cube (you can use less if you want it less sweet)
garam masala: 1/4 tspn.
chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
salt to taste

Heat ghee, add a pinch of asofoetida, coriander powder and turmeric powder.Add boiled fenugreek seeds. Add salt red chilly powder and mix well. Add tamarind paste and jaggery. Mix well, cook covered for five minutes. Add a pinch of garam masala and remove from fire. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Chane di daal ke pakode

This is my Holi recipe.. I invariably make it on every holi…for it is a good serving to the Holi visitors....

• Soak 2 cups of chana dal in water overnight or  for 4-5 hours.
• Grind it with a pinch of heeng.
• Add finely chopped onion (1 cup), sabot dhania (2 tspn), grated ginger (1” shoot), chopped green chillies (two), Coriander powder (2 tspn), garam masala (1 tspn), chopped green coriander (1/4 cup). Add salt to taste, soda (1 tsp) and mix well. 
• Deep fry pakodas of 1” size on high flame. 

But today I tried it differently- mixed spinach to make vada (cutlet) and it worked well. Heres what I did:

• Took 1 1/4  cup chana dal (soaked it overnight).
• Kept aside two tb spoon soaked dal and grinded rest of the dal with a pinch of heeng (asofoetifa). (avoid adding any additional water)
• To this paste I added the coarse dal that I had kept aside, 1 cup chopped spinach, 1 onion chopped longitudinally, 4-5 chopped garlic flakes, 1 tspn garam masala, 2 tbspn chopped coriander, 2 tspn coriander powder,  2 tspn coriander seeds.
• I added two tspn besan (gram flour) to make the paste tough so that vadas can be made.
• Made vadas (cutlets) and deep fry them.
• Serve it with green chutney, curd chutney and tomato sauce.

Chat ke chhole

Chaat needs no introduction in India; its hot, sweet and spicy(chatpata) recipe from North of India. Chaat includes many items and this is one among them, can be used with alu tikki (potato cutlets), mathri or hotdog.

To make chhole you need:
1 cup: Kabuli chane (white chickpeas)
Imli/ tamarind paste: 2-3 tb spn
Jaggery (gur): 1" ball
Cumin seeds (zeera): 1 tspn
Dry coriander powder (dhania powder): 2 tspn
red chilly (lal mirch) powder: 1 tspn
Roasted cumin seed powder (bhuna zeera powder): 1 tspn
Black salt (kala namak): 2 tspn
black pepper powder (kali mirch powder): 1 tspn
Chhole masala: 2 tb spn
salt to taste
oil: 2 tbspn
Green coriander (hara dhania) chooped: 1/2 cup for garnishing

Preparation:
Soak chane overnight or  for 6-8 hrs. Cookwith 4-5 cups of water in pressure cooker for 4 whistles on high heat and  10 minutes on low heat. The chane should be cooked but not meshed. Take out half a cup and mesh them.
Heat oil, add zeera to crackle. Add dhania powder and saute for some time, add the boiled chane with water. Make a well in the centre using a steel mug, water will collect in the centre. Add Imli paste, gur, bhuna zeera powder, kala namak, kali mirch powder, salt, red chilly powder, chhole masala. Add the meshed chole also. Mix well. Let the chane cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If required add more water to get the desired consistency).
Serve it with alu tikki, or Alu tikki hotdog (picture).

Moong Dal cheela

I am putting up a healthy recipe for morning breakfast shared by my friend Rachna. I tried it sometime back and it turned out fantastic. Missed taking a picture. It is similar to pesserettu made in Andhra Pradesh.
You need: 
Chilka Moong daal (2 cups)
Garlic ( 5-6 cloves)
Onion (medium size - half)
Ginger (a small chunk)
green chillies (3-4)
besan- half a cup
salt,red pepper
Soak Moong dal overnight or for 4-5 hours.

Method:

• Blend Moong dal, onion (chopped) ,garlic,chillies,ginger in a blender
• When ready to make, take this mixture and add besan to it,
• Add salt, red pepper according to taste (since green chillies are already added)
• Spread on the skillet/tavaa like a dosa and turn sides when cooked.
• Enjoy with green corainder chutney or pickle.

You can garnish each cheela with grated paneer (cottage cheese) or a mixture of grated orange carrot, ginger, salt and garam masala.  I used paneer and it really worked out, and my friend once served us with the carrot topping which was something different and very tasty.

Singhade ke pakode

I observed heavy traffic on my blog today, especially on the "upwaas ki recipes". So I thought of sharing one more vrat ki recipe that I made today- Singade ke pakode. Thanks for visiting my blog, I would greatly appreciate if you share your experiences.

You need:
Boiled and meshed potatoes: 3 medium sized
Green chillies: 2 (chopped)
Green Coriander (chopped): 2-3 tb spn
ginger (grated): 1 tb spn (optional as some people dont take ginger in fast)
singhade ka aata: 5-6 heaped tea spn
coriander powder: 2 tspn
garam masala: 1 tspn
red chilly powder: 1 tspn
salt: 1 1/2 t spn or to taste

• Mix all the ingredients, add approximately half cup water and mix it well. Infact beat it with  hand/ladle to make a uniform mixture.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and then fry small pakodas around 3/4" in size on high flame.
• Serve hot with green chutney.

Singade ke aate ka halwa

Its Mahashivratri today! So I bring you another vrat ki recipe, singhade ke aate ka halwa. Toshini just loves this.

You need: 
Singhade ka aata: 1 cup
Ghee: 1 cup
sugar 1 cup
cardamom: 2 deseeded and crushed
2 cups warm water
dry grated coconut for garnishing

• Heat ghee in thick bottomed pan/kadhai
• Add singhade ka aata and roast it on slow flame stirring continously, till it turns dark brown. (depending on how much brown you prefer)
• Add warm water slowly, stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed.
• Immediately add sugar and stir continuously to mix everything well.
• Add cardamom seeds powder and mix well.
• Transfer in a flat dish/thali and spread the halwa evenly. You can use greased flat laddle or your palm to smoothen the surface.
• Garnish it with grated coconut.
• Let it cool for 10 mins. Cut square/rhomboidal slices and serve.
• You can reheat in microwave at the time of serving.

Dahi ki idly...

this is a yum preparation...takes very little time , whenever you make idly this can be a side recipe and everyone likes it for the garlic flavour with raw coconut gives it a different touch. Try this....

Will  post the pic soon

• Make mini idlies of approx. 200 gms batter ( To prepare approx 500 gms batter soak 1 cup urad dal, 1 tspn methi dana and 2 cups boiled rice over night. Grind it coarsely and keep it in warm place to ferment for 7-8 hours)
• Take 2 cup curd, beat it, add salt to taste.
• Mix in curd: 5-6 flakes of garlic (crushed), 3 tbspn grated raw coconut and idly in curd.
• Temper: heat 1 tbspn oil, add 1 tspn mustard seeds to splitter, 1 chopped green chilly, and 7-8 curry leaves.
• Put the temper on idlys, mix well and keep for 30-40 minutes for idlies to soak in curd.
• Serve.

Pasta Lasagne with vegetables and cottage cheese

I have been trying to share this recipe for long..but just couldn't get a chance. Here it goes..

You need:

6 sheets of lasagne (3'X6")

walnuts: 3 tbspn

olive oil: 2 tbspn

cottage cheese (paneer): 100 gms

bread crumbs: 3 - bread slices

walnuts: 2 tb spn coarsely crushed.

Tomato puree: 3-4 medium sized skinned tomatoes blended (for skinning dip in hot water 4-5 mins and remove skin)

tomato sauce: 3 tbspn

capsicum, carrot, cabbage, sweet corn kernels: 3 cups chopped (all in equal quantities)

grated cheddar cheese: 100 gms

black pepper crushed: 1 tspn

oregano: 1/2 tspn

salt to taste

• Boil lasagne sheets in hot water in a large vessel for 5-7 minutes. When cooked, remove from water and place on cotton cloth separately.
• Heat oil, add vegetables and cook for five minutes.
• Add tomato puree and cook covered till vegetables are cooked properly and it thickens to a sauce.
• Add salt, oregano, 1/2 tsn black pepper, tomato sauce.
• Mesh cottage cheese, add 1/2 tspn pepper powder and salt 
• At the bottom of the vessel place vegetable sauce.
• Put a layer of lasagne sheets (two side by side). Put a layer of cottage cheese on top.
• Put alternate layers of lasagne sheets, sauce, lasagne, cottage cheese.
•  Top it up with bread crumbs and walnuts. Garnish it with a layer of cheese.
• Cover it with tin foil and grill it for 20 minutes.
• Serve hot.

Khatte Meethe Karele (Sweet and Sour Bittergourd)

Good to be back after a long time with a very traditional recipe from my mom's kitchen. Karele or bittergourd is very good for health, but most of us fail to cherish it because of the typical bitter flavour. Here is something my mom used to do to make them tasty for us when we were small kids and since then I have developed liking for karela.

Take:
Karela (bitter gourd): 4 large
salt: 3 t spn
Hari mirch (green chilly): 1 large chopped
Adrak (ginger): 1 tspn grated
Dhania powder (coriander powder): 2 tspn
saunf powder: 1tspn
Haldi powder (turmeric powder): 1 tspn
garam masala (Kitchen king): 1 tspn
oil: 3 tbspn
mustard seeds: 1 tspn

• Take four large karela (Bitter gourd), peel them (keep the peel separately, we will use them ) . Cut each karela in four round pieces and then slit each piece longitudinally to get four pieces. Rub one tea spoon salt on these pieces and one tea spoon salt on the peel. Keep them for 15-20 mins. This helps to reduce the bitterness in karela.
• After this wash the peel and karela pieces to remove salt.
• Take oil, heat it and add mustard seeds till they splutter, add green chillies, ginger and turmeric to oil. Add the karelas and cook them covered for 5-8 mins till they are crunchy.
• Add the peel, and add about 1/2 tspn salt (less salt is needed as we had already kept them in salt for some time).
• Keep the karela and peel on slow flame, tossing in between, till they are soft and cooked well.
• Add coriander powder, saunf powder, red chilly powder and mix well in curry. Saute it for 1-2 minutes. 
• Add 1" x 1" jaggery cube and 1 1/2  tspn tamarind paste and mix well.
• Saute it for 2-3 mins add garam masala, mix well and transfer in a serving dish. garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and serve it in meals along with dal, curry and chapatis.
• 
  
• 
  

Bread Idly

I wish you all a very Happy New Year 2011. As the new year unfolds, may God fulfill all your wishes.

Today I bring to you an exciting snack item based on bread. The idly is crispy at its base and soft on top that gives it a very different feeling in mouth. And a mixture of potato and curd gives it all together a very  different flavour. So enjoy making this quick item, serve it hot in breakfast or evening snack.

You need: 

12 slices of bread (sandwich/ brown/ multi grain bread anything will do depending on your taste). Use a round sharp vessel to cut it in roundals. 

Potato: 4 medium sized (Boiled and meshed)

Onion: 1 medium sized (finely chopped)

green chilly: 1 large finely chopped

pepper: 1/2 tspn

fresh coriander: 2 tbspn finely chopped

salt to taste.

Curd: 3/4 cup: beaten, add salt and 1 tspn red chilly flakes.

Butter: 25 gms.

Oil: to roast bread on tawa/ flat pan.

• Mix meshed potatoes, chopped onion, green chilly, coriander,salt and pepper to make the masala (filling).
• Make six balls from the potato masala.
• Take a bread slice(cut in round shape), flatten one ball of potato masala on one side.
• Heat a flat pan/ tawa, put 1 tb spn oil on it and keep the bread with potato masala side facing pan.
• Take another slice of bread , put butter on one side  and keep it on the bread on pan with butter side facing down.
• Spread a tbsp of curd on top of this idly.Cover it with a deep plate, so that the curd doesn't stick on cover. 
• Cook it in low flame covered for 4-5 minutes. This will make the potato at the bottom crispy and the curd on top seeps in the bread.
• Remove from pan and serve it hot with green chutney and tomato sauce.
•